Author's Notes: Lindisfarne (and Holy Island) is a real place, and descriptions of the castle, priory and general orientation of the island are based on memory and a bit of research. However, while I visited the island once in the past, I do not know any of the inhabitants. All characters appearing in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Disclaimer: This story takes place within the Doctor Who universe. This story is a way of re-interpreting concepts and ideas already present in Doctor Who. All Doctor Who characters within belong to the BBC. All other characters are fictitious. This story is for fun and for sharing, but not for profit.
Chapter 6: Fear of the Unknown
The next thing Rose knew was that it was morning. She moved her head and realized that at some point in the night, someone had removed her shoes, lifted her feet onto the cot and covered her with blankets.
'Good morning, sleepy head,' said a familiar voice and Rose opened her eyes, startled. It was Martha. All the events of the night before came rushing back.
Rose struggled to sit up and, looking over to the bed, realized that Ten was there. His head was turned and he was watching her.
'Doctor!' She threw back the blankets and sprang to her feet. As she stood by his side, he reached over with his left hand and clasped hers. His eyes were open and alert, and the head of the bed had been raised slightly. He wore nasal cannula, and an IV was in the back of his right hand.
'Hey,' he said softly.
'How is he?' she asked, not taking her gaze from him.
'He's fine,' said Martha. 'Well, in a manner of speaking. But all the X-rays and CAT scans have come back negative. Not a single fracture, which is pretty unbelievable, considering what happened. Even for him.'
Rose put Ten's hand down on the coverlet and flung her arms around Martha. 'I'm so glad you're here,' she whispered. Martha hugged her back tightly.
'There's no way I'd stay away,' Martha said firmly. 'Besides, I'm considered the expert on Ten's physiology, so I was mobilized as soon as the call came in. They know better than to ask anyone else.'
'Have you...' Rose hesitated and looked to see if there were anyone outside the door. 'Have you stopped them from keeping samples of his blood?'
Martha followed her gaze and, letting go of Rose, shut the door. She returned to the bedside. 'Yes, and I personally made sure all the instruments were autoclaved and all disposable items burned. UNIT seems to accept that this is a cultural imperative and isn't questioning it. For now, at any rate.'
Rose let out a sigh of relief.
'I'm afraid I had to burn your clothes as well,' Martha added, looking at Ten. 'There was too much blood on them. We had to cut them off you anyways, so they were ruined.'
'Thanks!' he said cheerfully.
Rose frowned, but she couldn't stay annoyed with him and so her scowl melted into a rueful grin as she and Martha moved to each side of his bed.
'How are you feeling?' Rose asked. In the daylight, she could see that his face had cuts and bruises although all thankfully small.
'Ohh, well,' he said slowly. 'You know me. Always muddle through in the end. Besides, I'm in a comfy bed. Like a comfy bed, me! Mind you, never understood the attraction before. But, yep, I definitely like a comfy bed-ever since becoming human.'
Martha shook her head half exasperated and half fondly before continuing. 'Fortunately, while you lost a fair bit of blood, I think we can get by without giving you a transfusion, though you won't be able to exert yourself for a while-not that you'll be able to anyways. Besides, there's no-one who has blood that would match what you've got. Donna would be the closest, but we can't ask her.'
'No,' he agreed, sobering.
'What about her mother or her grandfather,' asked Rose.
'No,' he said immediately. 'Leave them alone. They don't need any more meddling from me in their lives.'
'So, what happened?' asked Martha. 'I've got the story from the islanders, but knowing you, there was something else. The fellow who witnessed your fall swore that your back had been broken.'
'He sort of... regenerated,' said Rose.
Martha stared at Rose across the bed and then down at Ten. 'Really? I thought that wasn't possible.'
'So did I,' he replied. 'But it wasn't complete. Just enough, it seems, to repair the worst of the injuries-to keep me alive. Possibly that was all the regenerative energy I had left. A one-time deal. Fini. Kaput.'
'Never again?' asked Rose hesitantly. 'I mean, if you're hurt again?' She took his hand in hers.
'I don't know,' he admitted, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.
'Well, don't try to find out, all right?' said Martha darkly. 'No more sitting on fences at the top of a cliff.'
'Yes, ma'am,' he answered mildly. 'Not one of my better moments.'
'At any rate,' she said briskly, 'you should stay here for a few days. You're going to be bruised and hurting for quite a while and won't feel like doing much. But in the meantime, bring me up to speed. What have you found out about the island?'
They told her, or rather Rose did, mostly, with Ten adding in comments. At the point where Rose described the dark figure bending over Ten, Martha stopped the narrative.
'So there are two distinct beings?' she queried. 'The NATS-nice acronym, by the way!-and this...one alien? Could you see any details?'
Rose shook her head. 'No. It was too dark, and it disappeared when I got near. Sort of... teleported.'
Ten was also curious. 'I didn't see that-well, what with dying, I suppose-but, hm! Sorry I missed it!'
'I'm sorry you did, too,' said Martha. 'You might have been able to identify it. Nevertheless, you two have given us a lot more to go on. UNIT can send some other investigators to continue the mission. They can pose as tourists and-'
'No!'
Ten's outburst stopped Martha and she stared at him. 'Well, you two can't go back there,' she said reasonably. 'For one thing, they know who you are and obviously don't want you back. Also, you aren't in any fit shape to do anything right now.'
'No,' Ten repeated emphatically. 'It's got to be me. There's something about those NATS-I can feel it. If only I could remember... Augh! I need more time. Your UNIT fellows won't know the first thing about these beings.'
'He said they were time-creatures,' pointed out Rose. 'So is the Doctor.'
'I'm a creature?' he echoed, affronted.
'Of course you are,' she said, shaking his hand playfully side to side. 'A barking-mad, lovable, alien time-creature. And don't you forget it.'
'Oh, all right then,' he said, happily.
Martha shook her head, smiling ruefully. 'All right, you two. Back you go-in a few days, and after I'm convinced you can look after yourselves. It's against my better judgement, but you do have a point.' She thought for a moment. 'I'll have to arrange for a car. You'll find it tough to walk to the village. Luckily, your rooms are on the main floor of the castle so you won't have to deal with too many stairs. I think I can get at least one more night for you since, technically, you never had the 24 hours they promised you. I'm hoping for more if we can work on the villagers' sympathy.'
'Car's no good. I can't drive,' objected Rose.
'Oi!' Ten stared at her. 'I can.'
Martha and Rose looked at each other and then back at him.
Martha spoke first. 'I dread to think-Mr. throw-the-Tardis-around-every-which-way. If you drive a car like you did your ship, you'd end up in trouble in no time.'
'Look up your UNIT records,' said Ten sulkily. 'I had a car; I drove, and I did a mighty fine job of it too, I might add.'
Martha's eyebrows raised. 'Hm! That I must see. Well! I'll have to get you a driver's licence if what you say is backed up by the records.'
'She said you'd have trouble walking,' said Rose gently.
'A car is driven from the seated position,' he said, still slightly petulantly. 'If you're really concerned, find me one with an automatic transmission. I won't have to use my left leg, although it's not half as much fun.'
'Right,' said Martha decisively. 'I'll see what I can arrange. In the meantime, I want you to rest. We still can't give you any pain medication. I'm sorry. I wish I'd thought to ask the Doctor-Eleven, I mean-for something. Mind you, he still has my mobile.'
'Don't bother him,' said Ten sharply. 'Leave him alone, too. I'll be all right.'
Martha raised her eyebrows. 'All right, mister. But next time I do see him, I'll make sure we do get something your particular genetic soup can tolerate.'
A knock at the door sounded loudly through the room. Martha opened the door and an orderly stood outside with a food-trolley.
'Breakfast!' said Rose. 'I'm famished.'
'Lunch, more like,' said Martha with a grin. 'It's nearly noon.' She left then, with another admonishment that Ten rest, as the orderly placed the food on a tray table and quietly disappeared.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
After they had eaten the food, Ten found himself uncharacteristically tired.
'Just as well,' commented Rose when he once again struggled to keep awake. 'I know you. You're going to be bored silly lying here all day.'
'What about you?' he asked.
'Oh, I don't know... Napping seems awfully tempting.' She gauged the width of Ten's bed. He followed her gaze and grinned.
'Capital idea!' Immediately he hoisted himself over to the right side of the bed, but gasped as he landed in the new spot. 'Bad idea,' he muttered after he was able to breathe through the pain.
'Are you thick?' Rose shook her head. 'You've only been comfortable because you haven't moved.'
'Yeah...' he grumbled. 'Well, I'm moved now. Climb aboard!'
And she did so with alacrity, snuggling under the covers, but she was careful not to jostle him. He complained a little when she wouldn't let him put his arm around her shoulders, but he happily subsided when she gently laid her hand across his stomach.
Martha found them that way several hours later. For several minutes, she watched them with a smile on her face and then she gently roused them.
As Rose uncurled and opened her eyes, Martha apologized. 'I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you, but I need to examine the Doctor. Also, it's almost dinner time.'
Ten opened his eyes reluctantly. Rose sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. As Martha quickly and deftly examined the grumbling Doctor, Rose realized that several of the gashes he had received had needed stitches, including the back of his head.
Martha stood back, pleased. 'You're already healing well. Perhaps it's a leftover from the partial regeneration, but you are showing improvement other people would only show after three days or more. The rate you're going, you'll be able to have those stitches out in just a few days, if not sooner.'
Ten looked a little pleased until a frown appeared. 'More poking me with sharp objects,' he muttered.
'My hero,' she said, chuckling. 'Don't worry. I'll make sure Rose is here to hold your hand.'
After dinner had been delivered and eaten, Ten promptly fell asleep again, but Rose got up and explored what she could of the building. It seemed to be a UNIT base as well as a hospital. There were several areas she wasn't allowed into, and more than once she was redirected by personnel. However, she gained a basic knowledge of the building layout and had found Martha who clearly also was staying overnight. The two had a long chat, mostly about Ten in the beginning, but then ranging through recollections of adventures, hopes for the future and thoughts about the present. They parted, firm friends.
No sooner than Rose had returned to Ten's room and closed the door, the sound of pounding footsteps came from outside. It was Martha and someone Rose hadn't met yet.
As they hastily entered the room, Ten woke, blinking and yawning.
'I'm really sorry, Doctor,' Martha gasped, 'but we need to ask you more questions. This is General McIntyre, the supervisor for this base.'
The general, a stocky man with salt and pepper hair, spoke without preamble. 'We received a message a few minutes ago from one Doctor Smith of Holy Island. He reported that the villagers are very upset about what happened to you yesterday. From what Smith understands, they plan to lie in wait for the... what you call the NATS, and for the being Ms. Tyler saw, and to attack them on sight.'
'What?' gasped Ten. He sat up with a start and immediately yelped. He fell back against the pillows. 'What?' he asked again, panting.
'We have a volatile situation here,' the general continued. 'Troops are mobilizing, but we need to consult with you.'
'I need to go,' Ten said firmly.
'You're in no condition to do anything,' Martha shot back.
'Let the army deal with this, Doctor,' McIntyre said. 'We know our jobs.'
'Yes, yes, yes,' Ten said impatiently. 'But you're military. They're not going to trust you. They've already made that clear. And what do you plan to do about the NATS? Shoot them? No guns, general. Not a single one!'
'And how do you propose to rectify the situation?'
'I still haven't seen any sign that the NATS are dangerous,' Ten said stubbornly.
McIntyre raised his eyebrows. 'Driving you over a cliff isn't dangerous?'
Ten made a self-deprecating gesture. 'As people have pointed out to me, sitting on a fence at the top of a cliff wasn't exactly good planning on my part. It doesn't mean, General, that the NATS wanted me to fall.'
'Nor does it mean that they didn't. I need cool heads, Doctor. Not poor planning.'
'So I'll sit down on flat ground! Better than blundering in there with big guns!'
The general pursed his lips and thought for a moment. Finally he spoke. 'Doctor Jones, is there any way the Doctor can travel?'
Martha looked unhappy. 'I can't hold him back. All the tests we've run have cleared him. He will be in a lot of pain, but as long as he has assistance-he shouldn't be walking yet on that leg-I can't actually forbid...'
'Good,' interrupted the General. 'Get dressed, Doctor. Lord knows you've always done well by us in the past. Is there anything you need from UNIT?'
'No,' said Ten firmly. 'And-no guns, General! I just need to be there.'
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
They were in the air thirty minutes later: Ten, Rose and Martha, McIntyre and a handful of UNIT personnel. Another helicopter carried troops, but in response to Ten's demands, McIntyre consented to that helicopter landing at Bamburgh and waiting for orders should they be needed.
Ten and Rose's helicopter headed for just outside the village, to a field between the priory and the strait. The sun was on the horizon and the stones of the priory ruins glowed red in the rich, golden light. Looking down through the window, Rose could see long shadows streaming across the fields. By the time the helicopter had landed, Ten was brought out in a wheelchair, still wearing hospital pyjamas and dressing gown and everyone clustered around him, the sun was gone and twilight had settled over the island.
Doctor Smith was waiting for them and came rushing up as soon as the helicopter blades had stopped whirring overhead.
'Thank goodness you're here!' he cried. 'I've never seen everyone so scared and defensive. They're arming themselves with whatever they can find. Someone has even brought a can of hairspray and a lighter.'
'Where are they?' demanded McIntyre.
'They're assembling in the middle of the village,' Smith answered, wringing his hands. 'One group plans to go out to the castle. The other to the priory.'
'Take me to the priory,' snapped Ten. 'It's closest. And send some of these fine fellows to the castle. Have them prevent any violence from the villagers, but leave the NATS alone.'
'You heard him,' said McIntyre. 'And self-defense only in clear and present danger.'
Four soldiers turned and headed out of the village at a run.
Unfortunately, the ground was rather bumpy, but with a word from McIntyre, the remaining four soldiers surrounded Ten and picked him up, wheelchair and all, and carried him to the pavement that ran alongside the field towards the priory. Martha, carrying crutches, followed behind with Rose. Once they reached the path, the soldiers put Ten down and one of them pushed him along. By the time his group approached the gate of the priory, they could see the villagers approaching. George was at the forefront. Betty, Arthur and Mabel were amongst the rest.
The two groups faced each other at the gate.
'Doctor,' said George. 'It's good to see you on the mend. And you, Rose. I wish I could say the same for the rest of your entourage.'
'You're planning to attack the NATS,' said Ten. His voice was gentle but firm. 'I can't allow that.'
'It's not your decision to make!' George said angrily. 'People have been attacked. You more than anyone should know that.'
'Have any of you been hurt?' Ten demanded.
'They knocked Mabel to the ground,' said Betty. 'They nearly killed you.'
'The fall nearly killed me,' said Ten. 'Not the NATS. As for Mabel, she wasn't actually hurt, yeah?'
'You're splitting hairs,' said Arthur who had moved to the front along with Betty. 'They're aggressive and they have invaded our home.'
'A minute here and there at places you don't usually visit at night?' said Ten. 'That's an invasion?'
'That's how it feels to us,' said Betty.
'All right,' said Ten, raising his hands. 'All right. But I beg you. Don't attack them! Let me talk to them. I'm not near any cliffs. I'll be fine. Just don't attack!'
But at that moment, someone yelled. 'They're here!'
Inside the ruins, amongst the highest of the crumbled walls, a glow could be seen.
'Come on!' shouted a voice Rose didn't recognize.
'Wait,' shouted Ten. 'Don't hurt them!'
But the villagers did not listen. They surged as one, forward to the gate.
To be continued
