A/N: Another part edited and ready to go. I think it sounds much better than it did on live journal. So, yeah.
What followed were a few tense hours cursing the lack of at least 20th century medicine. She thought her turn-of-the-century emergency care was good, but he regaled her with stories of what the future humans would be capable in a few thousand years. Eventually things went from been terror-filled and high stress to very nearly boredom.
She watched him as he dug through his pockets purposefully. "What are you looking for?" she finally asked after a half hour of tedious searching.
"Oh, I was looking for this," he held up a slim device that he had pulled out his pocket when he first started.
"Then, forgive me for being dense, but why are you still looking?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, really. I just thought I would keep searching while I waited." He tapped his temple. "Got to keep practiced up."
She sighed exasperatedly. "Great. So you are just going to shift around in your pockets, jingling and crunching things against each other and being generally noisy while we wait for someone to decide what they want to do with us, is that correct?"
"Aw now, don't be so bleak." He began stuffing things back into his pockets. "I'm going to stop at nightfall at the latest."
"At nightfall? Why then?"
He busied himself with checking her bandages once more. "Because," he said loudly, happy with his handiwork finally, and lay down beside her, stretching his protesting legs their full length. "I am going to use this to signal K-9." He held up the slender metal item he dug out of his pocket.
"And what is that, then? A dog whistle?"
"Precisely! When it is dark, I will call for him, he'll track me down, and we'll escape with his help."
She snorted. "What, is he going to dig us out?"
He shot her a startled look. "Don't be preposterous!" he leaned back, staring at the wall in front of them. "He'll use his laser to burn a hole in the wall," he said matter-of-factly.
She closed her eyes tightly, an expression of pain on her face. "I am so confused, Doctor…"
He smiled and patted her head. "Don't worry about it. Just rest now, you'll need your strength when we run for it."
She closed her eyes, brows knitted together. "I thought you didn't want me to sleep."
"Oh, well, you can sleep, if you promise to wake up." She snorted but kept her eyes closed. Within a few minutes the gentle rise and fall of her chest suggested she had given in. He watched her with a critical eye, but when she didn't stop breathing he figured she was probably safe.
A loud sound as the bolts in the door being drawn back woke him suddenly from his own slumber. He hadn't been aware of falling asleep, and in his disorientation he saw a couple of men cross the small space to him. Grabbing him under the arms, they pulled him out of the door.
"Doctor?" Alannah said groggily. "Doctor!" she yelled, voice tinged in panic.
"Call K-9!" he managed to yell back before the door slammed shut and he had a knife pressed to his throat.
"Make another sound and I'll gut you, you pig," a man hissed in his ear. He swallowed and bobbed his head slightly in response. His hands were pulled behind him roughly, and a coarse rope was tied around his wrists before being prodded into movement.
She looked around, feeling addled. "Call K-9? How?" her eyes landed on the silver whistle lying in the dirt, just out of her reach. She crawled over to it on hands on knees, favoring her injured right leg heavily. Flopping gracelessly back down, she winced, then picked up the item and rubbed the dirt off of it. She considered how the Doctor's chapped lips were the last to touch it, berating herself for being childish. When she blew into it she was surprised when it made more noise than she thought a high-pitched dog whistle should. Then she leaned back against a barrel, feeling drained.
He was led to a large wooden building guarded by men with poleaxes. He noticed on the walk that there was a stout looking rock wall around the broad area, where several thatched buildings were standing inside its protective shadow. The massive scale of medieval castles that was expected of post-invasion England was missing, thankfully. This seemed to be just some backwater parish with an old roman wall, with the woods nearby, crowding its crumbling perimeter. Further inspection was cut off by a blow to the back of the head, informing him to duck into the short doorway of the building.
Inside the air was smoky and sour smelling. Dimly lit by torches, he was led to a great room crowded men eating and in various states of sobriety. They all paused and watched the newcomers in silence. A man at the head of the table raised a goblet. "Ah, my guest, you have finally arrived! Guard, bring him down here, he must be seated beside me."
"I can walk myself," he said gruffly to the man who grabbed his shoulder, shrugging him off and sauntering forwards, angry. "My lord Fulbert, I presume." He bowed awkwardly. "I am afraid I cannot pay you enough respect as my hands are currently restrained."
"By the Saints!" Fulbert said loudly, outraged. "Cut that man's wrists loose! Never mind, allow me." He grabbed a knife from his waistband and slashed the ropes. "My apologies, I am afraid things are a bit strange around here, lately."
"I see. I presume that is why I have been imprisoned since I arrived?" he said with mock diffidence as rubbed his wrists.
"I assure you that was a mistake that I am most ashamed of. Please, join me, and I shall explain it all." He swept a hand to the bench at his side. The Doctor sat down slowly, casually glancing at the roasted duck in front of him. Noticing the fleeting glance, Fulbert said warmly, "Please, you must be hungry, eat."
"I do not feel like eating, not when my friend has only bread waiting for her," the Doctor said pointedly.
Fulbert looked at him, confused. "You have a companion..? I am sorry, I am afraid I did not catch your name."
"I'm the Doctor, and yes, she has also been wrongly incarcerated by you, lord."
He pretended to choke on his wine, an act the Doctor saw through. "I am enraged to hear this! I promise this will all be cleared up soon." He clicked his fingers to a man behind him. "Find this woman and get her food. Quickly!" He returned his gaze to the Doctor, who unwillingly started to eat.
"Your generosity knows no bounds, my lord," he said around a mouthful of food.
"Oh, it is nothing, Doctor. The least I could do given the situation."
He swallowed dry and proceeded to ignore the rest of his plate. "You mentioned that things are not as they usually are. What ails your village that you are so suspecting of strangers?"
"It is a distrustful age, my lord. Things are going badly everywhere, and strangers found on the roads are naturally suspected." He flapped his hand dismissively. "It is how things are, Doctor," he said over his glass, then drained it quickly.
"I beg to differ, my lord," the Doctor said hesitantly. "But your village seems to be especially on edge. My guess is from the way that your men have quieted down and how you are avoiding my eye, that I am correct."
Fulbert pursed his lips. "Well, Doctor," he said conspiratorially as he leaned toward his guest. "We do not like to speak openly of these things to outsiders. You do understand, Doctor?"
The Doctor looked around at the men who were carrying on conversations, forced laughter breaking out here and there. "Would you like to go somewhere more private, my lord?" he asked, sensing the man's hesitation.
Fulbert nodded his head, his thinning hair bobbing slightly. "Yes, that would be good. Servants!" he yelled, clapping his hands. "My guest and I are moving to my private rooms. Please set us up there so that we might eat in peace." He turned toward the Doctor. "This way, if you would."
The Doctor followed, tense and waiting for ambush, but curious.