Chapter 2 – Unexpected

Martin examined the injured hand, not liking what he saw. The puncture wounds were closed with tight scabbing, with no seepage of body fluids. The fingers of Donna's hand were very icy as he had felt earlier, and the swelling on the hand almost looked more like a contusion, rather than any infection or edema from destruction of tissues. "Please flex your fingers."

Donna did as he asked. "Still hurts, though."

"Snake venom usually works to destroy muscle tissues, but I am amazed that you can move it so well."

Smith, or whatever his name was, stuck his nose down close. "Yes, odd, isn't it? I observed that myself, yet what do you make of the ease of mobility and the pain?"

Martin looked at the little man with scorn. "If you are so knowledgeable, why don't you treat her?"

"Ah! Good question! Right. Well…" Smith brushed the lapels of his coat. "Not quite my area of expertise, you might say." He then scratched the back of his neck and ran his hands over his face. "Normally I'd have hauled Donna off to a cat-nun, but for some reason I couldn't lock onto their beacon. Something is all wonky in the continuum. Almost like the timelines are scrambled. Couldn't even take her to Martha Jones. She's a consultant now, you know."

"Seems to me it's your brain that is scrambled," Martin muttered.

"Yes, you might think so, wouldn't you?" replied Donna. "I know this is incredible…"

"Incredible? No I'd not say that. I think that both of you are suffering some sort of psychotic episode. Have you both been taking illicit drugs? Or perhaps escaped from somewhere with high walls and locked doors?" Martin said. "More likely, a psychotropic drug – a hallucinatory?"

Smith smiled. "Yes, but never mind! Think what you will. Just treat her hand, if you please."

Martin grimaced. "What I'd like to do is shoot you both up with a little Thorazine."

Smith laughed. "Thorazine? Nah never touch the stuff. I'm afraid that one has no effect on me. But, if you'd try chloropentathiozolsulfate, with n-octane groups added, that might have some effect on me…" his voice fell. "But what a shame it won't be developed until 2257."

Donna nodded. "Yes, the Praxitis Tribe thought they had with that, didn't they?"

"Ha!" Smith laughed. "Still have a bit of hives from that second injection." He scratched his back. "Still itches too."

"You're both quite mad, aren't you?" replied Martin.

Donna cast a sad look at Martin. "Dr. Ellingham, look. I know this makes no sense whatsoever, but please consider that I am in need of medical treatment, regardless of whether or not you believe what either the Doctor or I say. Will you help me?"

"Of course." Martin considered this. "Hippocratic Oath."

The Doctor whirled about. "Hippocrates. Fine fellow. You know, Martin, I do think that there are many qualities that you exude that would make old Hippocrates proud. You're very well dressed - do you sleep in that suit by the way? And you certainly are quite serious, but I do wish you'd work on your manners a little. Hippo bade his students to be calm and kind, you know."

"I know the Hippocratic Oath, Smith, or whoever you are! So would you shush?" Martin was shouting now.

Smith recoiled. "Hm. I'm not certain that Hippo ever told one of his patients to shush. Although there was that one fellow – oh yes, Nebrus, that old rascal, had a habit of talking and talking." He grinned at Martin. "Rather like me. Rather put Hippo off."

Martin grunted and took his sphygmomanometer and employed it to take the woman's blood pressure. He took it three times, but it was nearly normal, just slightly elevated. Heart rate was normal as well. "Strange, given a venom dose, I'd have expected some level of cardiovascular collapse."

Next he took her temperature. "Slightly elevated." He put down the tympanic thermometer and rubbed his hands together. "What sort of prank is this? Other than the hand injury, you seem to be fine."

"Curious, isn't it," replied Smith. "Very. Reminds me of…" he stopped and smiled like an idiot. "But that doesn't matter does it? But there was that time…" he paused to scratch his neck and make a very strange yawn, "Peri got toxemia, well… so did I!" He finished with a laugh. "Then there was that time that Sarah Jane… oh, never mind."

"Whatever are you babbling about? You need an entire team of psychiatrists, don't you?" Once more Martin considered calling for help.

The Doctor looked long and hard at Martin Ellingham. "You really have no idea who I am, do you?"

"Yes, I do," said Martin. "You are an escaped…" he glanced quickly at Donna, who looked back with a hard stare. "Whatever."

Donna Noble took Martin's arm. "Dr. Ellingham, please? Can you quit going on about that? Just treat the injury, can't you?"

Martin thought of the irony of her comment. Louisa continued to remind him, no demanded, that he treat his patients as – patients – not symptoms, syndromes, or conditions. His surgery years forced him to see only the tangled or abused arteries and veins under his hands and knife. His time in Portwenn gave him precious little time to practice those skills; in fact his haemophobia, mostly prevented it! Yet there were a few times that he could focus only on the medical condition, and not the living, breathing, person under his bloody gloves. Now this perfect stranger was asking him to see only the injury, and the becoming young woman who stared at him with that level and constant gaze, unnerved him in some strange way. Then the thought of blood made a flush of nausea erupt.

"Problem, Doctor?" she asked, as she saw his face blanch and turn to white.

"Nothing." Martin moved back to look at the hand, gulping swiftly. "May I?" He pointed to the central region of the injury.

"Yes, please do." She looked across the room at the person who called himself Smith. "Don't mind him. He does go on at times."

The strange man stood across the room now, staring at the innards of the disassembled clock, tapping a fingernail against his teeth.

Martin lowered his voice. "Are you in danger? From him?"

Donna chuckled. "No. In fact he saved me."

"From what?"

"Any number of things. Too many to count." She sighed. "Not in danger just now – other than this." She held out her damaged hand.

Martin gently prodded the lump. "That hurts," he confirmed as she squirmed a little.

Donna blew out a shaky breath. "Yes."

Martin pushed more forcefully on the swollen back of the hand, and under his sensitive fingertips, honed by years of stitching tiny blood vessels together, felt a swift pulsation – almost a wiggle. "God!"

Donna screeched as she too felt the motion, inside her hand. "There's something in there!" Her voice became a sort of choking whimper, as she shook her hand back and forth, clutching her injured wrist with the other hand.

The Doctor looked up from the clock. "Yes. I was afraid of that. Donna, I don't know how to say this… but I think… not quite certain… I mean, nah… yeah, must be?"

"Would you quit babbling on?" blurted out Martin. "He does this all the time?"

Donna interrupted her whimpering to nod violently with her eyes wide in terror.

The Doctor pulled a metal tube of some sort out his coat, examined it, and suddenly it glowed bright blue at the tip. He gestured it about over Donna's hand while it emitted a whirring noise.

"What the devil is that?"

"Sonic," said the Doctor. He looked at the object. "Yes, this confirms it."

"Confirms what?" screeched Donna.

The Doctor wrinkled his nose then smiled hugely. "You're pregnant."

Donna Noble's eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted, falling straight back onto the exam couch, arms and legs flopping.

Dr. Who Glossary (for those who are much more into Doc Martin, than Dr. Who):

Donna Noble – Played by Catherine Tate. Third Companion of the 10th Doctor.

10th Doctor – Played by David Tennant. Dressed in a pinstripe suit with red and white trainers (sneakers), usually.

Sarah Jane – Sarah Jane Smith (played by Elizabeth Sladen), a longtime companion to both 3rd (played by Jon Pertwee) and 4th (played by Tom Baker) Doctors. Character returned to the telly in 'The Sarah Jane Adventures,' a modern Dr. Who spin-off.

Peri – Perpugilliam Brown (played by Nicola Bryant) opposite the 5th Doctor (played by Peter Davidson) and the 6th Doctor (Colin Baker). Once poisoned in The Caves of Androzani, when the Doctor transforms into Doctor number 6.

Martha Jones – Played by Freema Agyeman. Second companion to Doctor number 10. She was a medical student and left to travel with the Doctor just before she was to take her qualifying exams.

Sonic – Sonic screwdriver. A generalized scanner and whatz-it whizbang tool.