Chapter 4

The last working TARDIS moved erratically through the vortex. Two of its inhabitants found that fact thrilling. The other found himself queasy from the constant movement. Sam lifted his head from the console as the ship made a clunk upon landing, only barely hanging on as he did so. Glad and the Doctor laughed as they landed on their butts, clearly joyous from the journey.

Turning his head to see Sam's reaction, however, the Time Lord's face dipped slightly. "I gave you nausea pills, Sam. Why aren't you taking them?" he questioned.

"I did take them. As indicated by you - half a dose every six hours. But they make me irritable and jumpy. Between the two, I'll take nauseated," Sam answered miserably.

"Suit yourself," the Gallifreyan told him as he pulled himself to his feet before helping Glad up.

"What would suit me is to have neither," Sam groused.

The Doctor grimaced with sympathy. "I suppose that last trip was a bit... bumpy."

"Bumpy is driving down a farm road in Indiana. "That was more... 'Mr. Toad's Wild Ride'...or maybe 'Space Mountain.'"

"I love Disneyland!" the Time Lord exclaimed. "Glad, remind me to take you to Disneyland some day. You'll love it!"

"I love it as well. Just not rides where you have no freaking idea which way the car's going to turn."

"Are these rides anything like a haywagon?" Glad asked, trying to put the statements in context.

"Well, it depends on the ride," answered the alien. "Some of them are like hayrides, like 'Mr. Toad's,' while others are like the TARDIS in a playful mood. Some are scary, some are funny..."

"If that's playful, I don't want to get on her bad side," the Earth physicist noted.

"This Disneyland sounds fun!" Glad looked over to Sam. "I'm going to make you some of my mother's special stomach tea. Be right back." Without further word, she ran off into the corridors towards the kitchen.

The Doctor grinned as he watched her leave. "She really is a jewel, isn't she? I'm so glad she came along. Just wait until she sees Dragons. Can't wait to see the look on her face."

"She does sort of grow on you," Sam agreed, having now fully become comfortable with the teenager. "I'm not even worried about going into a shopping district with her anymore."

"Not afraid she'll spend me out of house and TARDIS, eh?"

"If it hasn't happened in 900 years, I don't think she'll bring it about. Not that you ever have money on you. Learned that in Chicago. Besides, if you've collected all this stuff, I'd say you probably spent enough yourself that whatever Glad does is a drop in the bucket."

"Well... most of what I have were gifts or are TARDIS fabricated," the Doctor told him. "Still I do have my means of maintaining some financial stability of sorts even without a penny in my pocket."

"Yeah. I remember the ATM caper."

"Oi! It's not all ATMs."

"No. You probably hold up trains too."

"I may be strong but even Time Lords aren't strong enough to hold a train."

Sam's mouth turned up in a sarcastic smile. "Cute. Real cute."

"What?" the alien questioned. "Oh! That's a human phrase, isn't it? For... robbery! Samuel, I do not 'hold up' trains. That would be unethical!"

"Ethics seem to be a rather 'fluid' concept for you. All I'm saying is, I get a little nervous around you sometimes."

The Gallifreyan frowned slightly at his words. "Because I'll take from a machine when I need money but I won't use violence to commit blatant robbery of a moving locomotive? Besides... I like trains. Wanted to be a conductor once." He paused for a moment as his eyes widened. "Anti-venom!" he said abruptly.

Sam was about to comment on the Doctor's response when the alien suddenly changed the subject. "What?" the leaper said, trying to shift gears on the fly.

"We're going to Lastiarus right now to deliver Krazan's body to Her Royal Majesty."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, we need anti-venom."

"This planet is covered with blue goo? Doesn't sound like much fun."

The Doctor turned his head slightly. "No. Don't be so thick. What kind of world do you think the Dragons live on? It's perfectly habitable. Anyone can walk around outside. Perfect weather. Well... a little chilly but not bad. But, before we step out, we're all going to need to take a dose of the anti-vemon. Just in case one of the Dragons there gets a little nervous about having visitors. Wouldn't want any of us to shake hands and then have to be rushed to the hospital. That wouldn't be good."

"Oh," Sam answered. "That makes sense. That toxin isn't something to repeat if we can help it."

The Time Lord smiled at Sam's words. "Go find Glad and bring her back to the console room. I'm sure she'll have that tea ready for you by the time I get back," he instructed as he walked to the medical bay to retrieve the anti-toxin before returning to the console room. Seeing that Sam had brought the teenager back to the console room, and that they both were sipping on tea, he gave them a smile. "Enjoying your tea?"

Sam nodded. "Glad's got a knack for this kind of thing."

"Really? Guess I'll have to try her tea sometime then," the Doctor commented, giving the girl a wink before telling them. "Don't drink too much. In fact, it's probably a good idea if you put those to the side for a time. Not on the console, if you please."

Sam looked around the mostly empty room. "Then where do you suggest?"

"Put it in a corner or something. Just out of the way," the Time Lord told him as he placed the small box he was carrying on the console.

Shrugging, Sam took Glad's cup and his own and put it on the floor away from the console. He watched in amazement as the TARDIS enveloped them and the mugs disappeared. "That must be handy."

"What must be handy?" the Doctor questioned, his focus on the box in front of him as he opened it.

"Self-cleaning TARDIS."

The Gallifreyan shrugged slightly. "When she feels like it, she is."

"Why'd you make us stop drinking the tea?" Glad questioned with disappointment clear in her voice, having seen her mug vanish from sight.

"Because you are both going to become nauseous and I don't want you to be sicker than necessary," he replied as he took out a syringe.

"Oh, boy," Sam said, remembering how sick the anti-venom had made him feel before.

"I'm not going to get sick," the girl stated firmly. "I have excellent equalithium." She stiffened when she saw the object in the Doctor's hand. "That's a needle," she stated with trepidation. She couldn't help but think of what Sam had to do with the larger needle and hoped that this needle wasn't going to be jabbed into their chests.

"Equalibrium," the Time Lord corrected. "You have excellent equalibrium. Unfortunately, it isn't going to help in this instance."

"It won't?" She looked at the object in the Doctor's hand again. "Oh... that one's small. Still looks sort of dangerous, though." She swallowed slightly with disconcertion. "What are you going to do with it?"

The Doctor started to fill the needle with a dose of anti-toxin. "On Lastiarus, the inhabitants can be sort of... well... toxic if they get too emotional. Their toxin is deadly to humanoids... beings like you and me," he explained, seeing the frown on her face. "Now Sam and I have already been injected with anti-toxin which means that we only need a very small dose." He looked at her with sympathy. "But you haven't. So I have to give you a large dose to keep you from getting sick when we step out of the TARDIS."

Glad's eyes opened wide. "You're going to put that in my chest!"

Sam shook his head. "The Doctor doesn't need to do that. In the case of the gas, I had no choice."

She swallowed tightly. "Then where do you need to put it?"

"This is going to go into your arm," the Galllifreyan told her gently. "And I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry but it's going to hurt. It's going to burn and you are going to feel very ill for about thirty minutes."

"This is what I have to do to see the dragons you told me about?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered softly. "Without this, the moment you shake hands with an overly nervous Dragon, you would become so ill that you could die."

Glad thought about it for a moment and then put out her arm. "Okay."

The Doctor gave her a gentle smile. "We'll show you how it's injected first before we give you a dose. That way you can see what I'm going to do." He handed the slightly filled needle to Sam so that the human doctor could give him his injection before he took a second needle and returned the favor. In both cases, the two of them grimaced as the burning sensation flowed through their veins. It was worse for Sam though as, over the years, the Doctor had developed a tolerance for such things.

Sam went to sit down. "Almost like I feel when I'm on a roller coaster," the human said, his face pale and looking a little green. "Or traveling through the time vortex in the TARDIS." He appeared thoughtful. "You know, traveling unprotected because of Quantum Leap may leave me with Swiss-cheesed mind, but I can't say it's ever made me feel sick to my stomach."

The Doctor's visage seemed personally offended. "I can't help it if she's a little rickety. She is over two thousand years old. Give her a break!"

"I really don't think it's the TARDIS. I think it's the person operating the console."

"Oi!" the alien protested. "I'd like to see you... No... Wait... The last time I said that Romana figured it out on her own. Then again, she was a Time Lord."

Sam was going to answer but a wave of nausea hit him and he moaned instead.

The Gallifreyan grimaced in sympathy. "Maybe you should lie down for a moment."

Sam nodded before putting his head down on his arm against the console. This wasn't as bad as the first time, but still he felt ill. At least it didn't burn anymore.

Glad regarded Sam with some concern, obviously noticing the reaction he'd had to the medicine. "Doctor? Are you sure that I have to have that put in my arm? Sam doesn't look well at all."

"If you want to see Dragons you do. You could stay here in the TARDIS the entire time we're on Lastiarus," he replied as he rubbed the area where Sam had injected him. "Bloody hell, that stings."

Glad looked from the Doctor to Sam and back again. Both seemed to be having a reaction to the liquid that she didn't want to experience but the idea of staying behind in the TARDIS was the push she needed. Putting out her arm, she said bravely, "Okay. I'll do it."

"You're sure?" the Doctor asked as he filled a third needle with almost three times the amount he'd given to himself and Sam.

Glad looked at the needle. "Um... well... YES! Yes. I don't want to stay in the TARDIS and I want to see the Dragons." She said it in such a way that it was clear she was as much convincing herself this was what she wanted as trying to convince the Doctor.

"All right. If you're sure." She nodded once more and he lightly took her arm. "You'll feel a prick," he warned, before putting the needle in.

Sam gave her a weak smile, trying to ease her fears. "It's not bad in smaller doses." He closed his eyes, deciding that was the only way to keep the nauseous feeling at bay.

As the needle went into her arm, she reacted with an, "Ow! That hurts!"

"Sorry," the Time Lord murmured to her as he pushed down the depressor. "It's going to hurt a little but don't worry. We're right here." Slowly, he removed the needle from her arm, placing it on the tray with the other used instruments.

A moment later, the liquid flowing into her started to interact with her body. "It burns, Doctor. It's like a fire going into me." Tears had sprung to her eyes and now they fell, tracing tracks across her cheeks. As she shook her arm, trying to stop the pain, a sudden nausea joined in. She would have fallen to the floor if the Doctor hadn't caught her.

"Whoa!" he cautioned gently. "Easy there, dear girl." Seeing her face getting paler, he guided her towards the inner door. "It's okay," he murmured as he helped her into the closest bathroom.

Glad couldn't say anything as she felt her stomach revolt against the medicine in her blood stream, causing her to vomit into the toilet while the Doctor held her hair away from her face. She sobbed with a hint of panic, which came from her loss of control. Having emptied the contents of her stomach, she slumped to the floor, her sobs increasing while the Doctor flushed away the evidence of her pain before wetting a washcloth.

Slowly sitting beside her, he gently wiped her mouth and face clean before tossing the cloth into the tub behind them. Then, pulling her into a paternal embrace, he brushed her hair comfortingly with his free hand. "I know it hurts. I know. I'm sorry," the Gallifreyan whispered gently. "It'll get better. I promise."

"I know. You told me that before I agreed to this. I still want to go with you and Sam and see the Dragons..." She stopped suddenly as a cramp claimed her. With a moan, she rode through the wave of pain. Then catching her breath, she finished, "It just hurts so badly now and I want it to stop."

"Me too," he agreed quietly. He slowly moved his hand to her forehead. "Why don't you get some sleep?" he encouraged, his voice singing in her mind as well as in her ears.

Glad felt something - she wasn't sure what - changing within her. Where she had been filled with despair from the pain, she now felt a calmness moving in to take its place. She blinked as she looked into the worried eyes of the Doctor. Putting her hand to his face, she smiled lightly. "It's all right. I'm going to be all right." With a sigh, she closed her eyes and within moments was sleeping, if not peacefully then without the extensive pain.

The Doctor watched the girl, a little stunned by her reaction to his ministrations. On the rare occasions when he used his telepathic abilities to help someone into sleep, they would simply do that - sleep. But Glad got this expression on her face that seemed almost as if she were having a revelation of some sorts. And the tone she had used when speaking to him was almost as if as she were reassuring him of her eventual well-being. He smiled slightly as she shifted closer to him, resting her head against his shoulder. Whatever he had just witnessed with the teenager leaning on him, he knew one thing for certain. It was yet more proof that Galadriel was a unique young woman, one that deserved a better life than she would have had in Camelot. Carefully. he positioned her so she was supported by the tub as he stood. Then gently raising the girl into his arms, he carried her out of the bathroom, through the hall, and into her bedroom. Placing her softly on the bed, he removed her shoes and put them on the floor. He then pulled the sheets over her still form. Smiling as she shifted into a more comfortable position, he brushed her hair softly before placing a light kiss on her forehead. Exiting the room with the knowledge that his friend would have a chance to sleep off the side effects of the anti-toxin, he returned to the console room to see Sam sitting on the grated floor and leaning against one of the coral pillars.

"I see it's still not agreeing well with you," the Time Lord commented.

Sam shrugged, hearing the Doctor speaking to him, but not opening his eyes. "It's not as bad as before either so I guess I should count my blessings." He paused and then raised an eyelid slightly. "How's Glad? With as much as you gave her, I imagine she's having a pretty hard time."

"Yes, she is. Not a surprise, though. It's probably the first time her body has had anything other than homeopathic medicine."

Sam agreed with a grunt as if he didn't want to move more than he had to. "Yeah. I've got to admit, living in ancient Egypt gave me a greater appreciation of modern medicine. Making an analgesic almost got me branded as a witch."

"Probably should have taken the aspirin you are so fond of with you."

"I would have if I'd known I'd be there for over a month."

"Well, it didn't help that I don't keep any in the TARDIS."

"There's that too," Sam acknowledged. "So, what's the plan now that we're on Lastiarus?"

"We hand over Krazan's body to the authorities. I'm sure that Her Royal Majesty will appreciate the gesture, even if he was technically an escaped convict."

"Her Royal Majesty?"

"The Empress of Lastiarus," the Doctor replied, as if that were the most obvious answer in the world.

Sam raised his eyebrows and grimaced at the movement. "Interesting... what more can you tell me about them?"

The Doctor frowned at his words. "About empresses? You do have kings and queens on Earth in the 21st century. Don't tell me that you don't know what an empress is."

"Of course, I know what an empress is. I'd just like a little more information about the Dragons. I mean, the only one I've met has been Krazan and I don't think he was a shining example of their species. Can you tell me a bit more about them?"

"Oh, Dragons. Well... they're... Dragons," the Gallifreyan replied. "Eight feet tall, wing-span of a small bedroom, bipedal..."

"Tell me something I don't know. Culture? Home world?"

"We've just landed on their home world, Sam. Lastiarus." Seeing the expression on his companion's face, he sighed. "You're the kind of person who buys the guidebook two weeks before going to Paris so you can plan every little aspect of your trip."

"Well, I do like to be prepared. History, culture, language, that type of thing." He gave the Doctor a half grin. "At least I did before I started leaping. Now, I'm usually just dropped into a situation and have to figure it out as I go. That can be a little... um... disconcerting to say the least."

"Oh, I think it's brilliant!" the Time Lord exclaimed. "Not knowing what's on the other side of those doors. Being scared and thrilled and completely surprised... I love it!"

"Yeah? Well, try being dropped into somebody else's life with their history and play to a role that you have no clue about. Then, it's not that fun being scared and completely surprised."

"Oh, I've been there. Once had to pretend to be a brilliant lyre player in Emperor Nero's palace. That really didn't go well. For one, the person I was impersonating was the best lyre player in the whole of the Roman Empire. For two... I can't play the lyre worth my life. Now, the organ..."

"Impersonating someone that people don't know too well is one thing. Try leaping into the aura of the person himself. It's not quite the same thing."

"Well, you've got a point there," the Doctor conceded. "I can honestly say that I've always looked like me, no matter how I've looked." He started for the door. "Come on. Can't keep Her Royal Majesty waiting, even if she doesn't know she's waiting."

"I'm not moving anywhere at this moment. Right now, it feels like my entire body would shatter into a million pieces if I did," Sam said with infinite patience in his voice.

The Doctor regarded him for a moment. "Oh," he commented. "Well... can't really blame you." He shifted from one foot to the other, obviously wanting to explore but knowing that Sam wasn't in the best condition to do so and remembering that he'd promised Glad that she could go with them. "I suppose I could get things prepared... for the transfer of Krazan's body." It was obvious from his words that it wasn't his first choice of activity.

Sam very slowly and shallowly nodded his head as if the mere change of position would cause his previously mentioned feeling to come true. "You do that." After saying his peace, he closed his eyes again and did his best to get through the situation in one piece.

"Right," the Time Lord stated plainly and then sniffed slightly. He looked at the front doors of the TARDIS for a moment before taking a deep breath, climbing over the boxed Dragon, and exiting the time ship to go into the planet's main city. It took him some time to get to the palace and to gain audience with the Royal Chief Protector. Once in the large Dragon's presence, he informed him of the body they had brought back to Lastiarus and where they could come to collect it. An hour and a half later, the body of Krazan had been carefully removed from the TARDIS entrance - the body having been stuck there gained quite a few glares towards the Time Lord - as well as all the secretions that had been collected. Thanking the Lastiarian Protectors, the Doctor exhaled with relief that he could finally get into his time ship without climbing over anything. Turning, he saw Sam sitting quietly on the jumpseat, somewhat worse for wear, but looking decided better than he had ninety minutes before.

"Feeling better?"

"I don't remember this feeling before," Sam said touching his lips. "I think I might be having a reaction to it this time. Lips are a bit numb. Maybe it's a sensitivity allergy or something."

The Doctor considered that. "Well, humans haven't been exposed to silphium for almost two thousand years. It's possible that could happen."

"Yeah," Sam said once more, moving his lower jaw as if trying to get feeling back after a dentist's visit.

At that very moment, the inner door opened and Glad, still barefoot from the Doctor removing her shoes, skipped in with a bright smile. "So... do we get to see the Dragons now?"

Sam stared at the girl who obviously felt fine. "You don't have a headache or anything?"

"Nope!" she chirped cheerily. She turned to the Doctor. "Can we go see the Dragons?"

The Doctor looked at her for a moment. "You don't have any shoes on," he noted haphazardly.

"Do I need shoes?"

"I would suggest it. Maybe something a little more airy. You look like you're about to go into the arctic in that outfit. And it's a bit warm out there."

"A bit airy?" she questioned with a frown. She looked down at herself for a moment. "What's wrong with my outfit?"

"I think he might be saying you'll be too warm in what you have on," Sam told her. "You might need to wear some lighter clothing. Like what I've got on."

"But you're wearing pantaloons. Girls don't wear pantaloons. They wear leotards. At least, that's what the Doctor gave me."

"I'm wearing jeans. They're unisex."

"What's unisex?"

"He means that either gender can wear jeans," the Doctor informed her.

She frowned. "But that's cross-dressing, isn't it? Like Boyne?"

"Not in the 21st century, it isn't," the Gallifreyan informed her. "And I think Sam is right. A pair of jeans or trousers would be most appropriate. Especially cotton."

"I'll help you pick something out, Glad."

She hesitated for a moment. "Are you sure? Those pantaloons don't look very comfortable, not like leotards."

"Oh, trust me. After wearing them, you won't want to wear anything else."

She glanced over at the Doctor who just gave her a smile. After a moment, she nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "As long as I won't look like I'm trying to dress as a man."

Sam smiled. "No. You won't look like that at all." He grew thoughtful. "You think that's what Rose's aura looks like? Like she's dressing like a man?"

"But you are a man. You just look like a girl. I just thought that the way you are dressed is normal for men where you come from. And... well... it's a little revealing and only a man is allowed that kind of... indiscretion."

"Indiscretion?" Sam looked down to make sure he was fully covered. "No wardrobe malfunctions here."

"Better watch it, Janet," the Doctor commented with a wry smile, looking at Sam. "Make sure there's no one named Justin nearby or there might be one. And I'd stay away from Jack as well, for that matter."

"Janet?" Glad questioned with a frown. "But he's Sam and he looks like Rose. Who's Janet? Isn't Jack one of your invisible friends?"

"Janet Jackson is an entertainer," Sam put in. "You know... like the people in the moving tapestries. The Doctor's just being cute… and failing miserably." The Time Lord shrugged a concession.

"Okay," Glad said, obviously still confused. "But what's a wardrobe malfunction and why wouldn't you want someone name Justin to be around?"

Sam pinched his nose. "It means..." he started but then backtracked, "...it's complicated."

She huffed. "That's always your answer when you don't want me to know something." She shook her head. "Well, whatever a wardrobe malfunction is, I'm sure that you can keep me from having one. So..." She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her as she headed towards the inner door.

Sam let out a sigh. "Okay," he said, following along, not that he had a choice.

The Doctor held back a chuckle as he watched the two leave the console room. One thing he could honestly say about Galadriel, she was definitely sharp as a tack.

For the story of their visit to the Empress of Lastiarus, read "A Camelot Peasant in the Dragon's Court aka We're Off to See the Empress."