"He is going to be okay though isn't he?" Josh asked Martha. "Even if he's still unwell?"

"Yeah, he will recover, but it's just as well you called me when you did," Martha offered. "I'm confident he's going to make a full recovery and a lot of that is down to you. You've done brilliantly this today, Josh," Martha assured him. "You used a Code 9 to get through to me didn't you?"

"I went to speak to the soldiers first, but I wasn't sure if I could tell them the Doctor was sick. They thought I wanted to speak to you about my ankle and they just told me to put it up and put some ice on it. I didn't realise you're the Medical Director. That is really high up isn't it? They said you wouldn't come in early for me. Are you really Medical Director?"

"For UNIT special projects," Martha confirmed.

"Are the creatures a special project?"

"No, not really," Martha commented. "But the Doctor is and I respond to anything that could be related to a Code 9, so even if he wasn't a special project I'd still be here to look after him, and, the soldiers were wrong. I'd have come out if you needed me as well," Martha assured him. "Have you saved my phone number into your phone now?" Martha checked with him, but Josh shook his head. "May I?" Martha went to take his phone from the side table. Josh unlocked it for her and he passed it over. It was an old phone but Martha found that easier to use than the new updates UNIT kept on insisting she used. She accessed his contacts and put three new ones in for him. "You've now got my number, Mickey's number, and Jack's number in there. You can call any of us any time if you need to."

"Okay."

"Is it okay if I save your number into my phone?" Martha checked with him and he nodded. "I'll give it to Mickey and Jack too. That way we'll all know it's you if you call. I'm going to check your cast now and then I'll have to check in with Major Magumbo, but I'll only be outside if you're worried about anything then if Jack can't help with it he can come and get me, or you have my number now so you can ring me."

Martha checked the capillary refill in Josh's toes and renewed the ice. She then got the TARDIS to do another scan to measure the blood flow. "You're okay for now. How is it feeling?"

"As long as I'm doing stuff it's not too bad," Josh told him. "I can kind of put it to the back of my mind and not think about it. If I think about it then it hurts quite a bit more," Josh commented.

"Mind over matter," Jack offered, but Martha wondered if there was a bit more to it than that. "Mind over matter and that clicker you've got," Jack suggested. "I'm fairly sure the Doctor didn't take the time to set all that up for you so you can let the doses build up in the reservoir and not in your leg."

"There are four doses in there, Josh," Martha realised. She went and pressed his clicker twice. "Only let two doses build up in reserve."

"I forgot while I was busy."

Jack went to the dispensing system and had a look at it. The Doctor had set it to release 10% of the maximum dose for him to use every 15 minutes. He didn't adjust the flow rate of the drug but pressed a few buttons on the pump. "What are you doing?" Martha checked with him. She hadn't had a chance to ask the Doctor what the drugs were yet and she didn't feel comfortable adjusting anything until she knew exactly what the Doctor was giving him.

"It's going to bleep now," Jack informed both Martha and Josh. "Every time a third dose drops into the reservoir then it's going to bleep, and, if it gets to four then it's going to bleep and the bleep is going to get louder and louder until you deliver the drugs. It's going to remind you when you get to three and it's going to drive you mad if you get to four and potentially wake the Doctor up, so don't let it get that far."

Martha quickly checked the Doctor out again, and then headed out to see how the autopsy was progressing and to make sure none of the UNIT personnel needed anything. She knew they hadn't engaged yet, but that didn't mean no one would have twisted an ankle walking through the trees or trapped a finger setting up the base of operations. She had the scientific brief Josh had written. She read it as she went across to the UNIT field operation command centre. She had to say it was very good. The facts and the theories were well thought out even if there wasn't any substantial data to support anything yet. It included information she doubted the science team on site had yet, so she expected they were going to find it useful.

There was no one in the medical tents apart from two junior medics who were drinking tea. They stood to attention as Martha entered but she put them straight at ease. If they did end up engaging with the creatures then they could end up being very busy. While it remained quiet and peaceful she was not going to insist they looked busy. She trusted that unless they were ready to leap into action at the first hint of a medical response that they wouldn't be drinking tea and she knew from experience that if they had a number of casualties to deal with then they would go without tea, without food, and without sleep either as long as was necessary, or as long as was physically possible, to ensure everyone had the best possible treatment and best chance of recovery.

Behind the first five bedded triage tent there was a further medical tent which was set up with three acute beds where they would aim to keep anyone seriously injured alive until they could be shipped out. From their current location they would either be transferred by helicopter to the major trauma centre at the Leeds General Infirmary or by ambulance to Harrogate. Then when stabilised and safe to move they would be transferred to the Royal Hope in London.

The final medical area was at the rear and was where anyone who was fatally injured would be examined and stored. The autopsy on the teenager who escaped was well under way and she checked with Lieutenant Lawrence if he needed anything. He indicated that it was under control. Martha would report back for a full briefing, but she wanted to make sure the science team had the information Josh had prepared. She headed out the side of the tent that no one ever referred to as their makeshift morgue even if that was what it technically what it was. It was only ever referred to as Medical 3.

"I've got a science briefing for you." Martha waved the printed brief toward the woman sitting behind a desk in the first of the science tents. "How is it going?"

"Slowly. Engineering are taking their time drilling down so we can get some optic cables and cameras down into the two main caverns identified. I tried to chase them up, they told me it was tough, I told them it was limestone and as far as rock goes it was soft, but that is apparently what makes it tough. Doesn't make sense, but that is engineering for you."

"I'm sure they don't mean to be difficult."

"I'm fairly sure they do," she commented and then smiled. "I'm trying to get hold of some more current maps of the cave systems as well. The ones we're using are over 20 years old and we're planning to get some aerial scans done. No time frame on that either. The nearest available chopper with the right equipment to do a geological survey is three hours away. Apparently the nearest is out of commission and the second nearest is currently assisting the Coast Guard off the coast of Bridlington, so, we'll get the third closest here eventually and then we should get some decent scans of the area," she explained as she glanced through the brief. "I was going to get infra-red done at the same time, see if we could see how many of those creatures are down there, but your brief indicates they are most likely reptilian? That means they'll be cold blooded and won't show up on infra-red," she commented thoughtfully. "But, if they're cold blooded and they're down in the caves? How are they so active? Unless," she paused. "Oh, that is a gruesome thought."

"What is?"

"Piles of decaying carcasses are going to produce heat," the scientist stated as she got up from the desk and walked towards a cabinet on the side still reading through the brief. "Could that be deliberate?" she asked. "Are they storing decomposing flesh for body heat? Are they that intelligent or is it just accidental?" She checked the brief and looked at the TARDIS stamp on the bottom corner. "Is she going to be showing her face then?" She asked Martha directly. "Or, is she planning on staying in the TARDIS and produce briefs for a change — since when does she write briefs? I've not met her yet, so why hasn't she been in here messing up all my systems and turning my staff into gibbering wrecks with her presence?"

"He," Martha corrected. "He's not going to be coming out for a while."

"He? She regenerated again?"

"No, his timing is out of synch," Martha offered. "When he does show his face it's not one you've met yet, Kate. He's not met me yet in his time line, though he is familiar to me. He isn't going to have met you yet. He's come from 2006 at a time when he's still travelling with Rose Tyler. It's not long after the Sycorax incursion for him. We need to keep personal contact to a minimum. He will consult on what is going on here when he's able to. He was injured by one of the creatures," Martha informed her. "It clawed him and he's suffering from a significant infection and some cellular degradation from toxins in the wound."

"Toxins?"

"The TARDIS is analysing it to see what it is. As soon as we have a chemical structure I'll get it to you. It's floored the Doctor," Martha informed her. "I'll be wanting you to cook up some sort of antidote because I've seen what it's done to him," Martha commented gravely. "I doubt a human would stand much of a chance."

"Contrary to what he might say, not everything that floors the Doctor is going to wipe out a human," Kate reminded Martha. "I know he likes to think he's invincible and superior in every way, but I could kill him with the very innocuous contents of my handbag - if I was that way inclined, and, if he starts harping on I may well do so," Kate commented making Martha smile then laugh.

"I think in this case it's more likely that a human would have more significant issues with the toxins," Martha advised.

"Oh, I entirely agree," Kate confirmed. "But, I won't be telling him that, I'll be waving my aspirin and my hand cream at him," she suggested. "Though, when you say he's been floored?"

"He's recovering," Martha assured her. "A little slower than I would have liked, but he's sleeping and he should be fine in another day or so."

"And, wait a second? He's not met you yet, but you're having to treat him for injuries and poisoning. I bed he's loving that!"

"He let me stitch him up yesterday without too much of an issue. He became so unwell overnight that he's had no choice and I doubt he's been aware of anything that's been done to him. He's been pretty unwell, but he's improving now which is the main thing. Has Lieutenant Lawrence reported anything to you on the autopsy yet?"

"Liam and Pattie are giving him a hand. I've not seen any results yet. Are you thinking this toxin might be responsible for his death?"

"If he's no significant injuries it may well have done," Martha confirmed.

"If the Doctor is asleep then who is looking at the toxin?"

"Jack Harkness is on site."

"Ah, has the Major seen him yet?"

"Yes."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?"

"Her foul mood," Kate commented and chuckled. They walked together back into medical 3 to get an update on the autopsy. The teenager had been identified by his fingerprints. He was Niall Buchan, known as 'Blag' to his friends and to the police. He had a long record of relatively minor crimes on his rap sheet and had spent 4 months in a young offenders institute for aggravated burglary and assault. He also had some drugs convictions. He was 19 and lived locally. The autopsy was well under way, but there wasn't yet anything that indicated what the cause of his death was. They knew why he'd died. His cardiovascular and respiratory systems had shut down. His lungs were filled with fluid and his heart had given up, but they hadn't found an actual cause yet. Martha insisted they did toxicology as a priority, but if it was the toxin then the effect of it on the human teenager was very different to the cytotoxic effects on the Doctor. The only injury they had found on the teenager was a minor scratch on his calf which looked more like he'd run through a bramble compared to the vicious wounds the Doctor had received. It remained a mystery.

"Keep Dr Stewart and myself informed of any new information," Martha instructed.

"Yes Ma'am."

"I'll get a sample and see if I can run it through the TARDIS, and see if they've got anywhere with the cytotoxic compound yet," Martha suggested.

"I'll come with you," Kate announced and followed her toward the ship.