A/N: I like to think that was quick. Was it quick? I think so :o That won't happen again for a while...
Chapter 16 – Scary Voice
The Doctor slept like a child in the throes of a nightmare. Perhaps he was having one, Donna couldn't tell, but he twisted and turned violently, his body seemingly convulsing in pain at every inch he moved as tears streamed down his face in his sleep. Donna had tried to hold him down to prevent him moving and hurting himself but this only seemed to worsen his pain, so she was forced to watch him try and handle the agony on his own knowing she couldn't do a thing to ease it. If only she knew where the TARDIS was, then she could fetch some medicines or something that would help. She hated feeling like a spare part.
Hours passed. Larec and Gabrielle came and went with their herbs and oils, Father Jace with his prayers, before the Doctor finally opened his eyes again, and within seconds she and Martin were standing ready by his bedside like loyal dogs ready to do anything for their master.
"Water," the Doctor gasped again, and luckily Martin had already forward planned. He and Donna moved the Doctor to sit up again, before Martin pressed the tankard to his lips and he gratefully gulped it down. When he was finished he contentedly breathed out, slumping exhaustedly against the pillows of the bed. "Thank you," he breathed.
"Do you require anything else?" Martin enquired anxiously, and the Time Lord made a feeble attempt at shaking his head negatively.
Donna reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. "Where's the TARDIS, Doctor? Can you feel her? I could go get medicines or a machine or summat…" she said, completely forgetting the presence of Martin in the room. But it didn't matter anyway; the Doctor had passed out again as she'd uttered the sentence.
Donna sighed, exasperated. This was taking far too long. She'd have to try and hunt the TARDIS down for herself. She got to her feet, and Martin looked at her quizzically. "Where are you going?" he asked.
Donna didn't answer him directly. "If he wakes up, tell him I've gone to find the TARDIS. He'll know what I'll mean."
But Martin's eyes were wide. "But she's probably at the bandit camp, a few may have survived…"
"I'm sorry," she said gravely, "but I can't just stand by and watch him like this. It's not right. I gotta find summat to help him."
Martin sighed, knowing he was not going to talk her out of it. He extended a hand to shake hers solemnly. "May Mondrith bless your journey," he said.
Donna didn't really know what to say to that. "…Yeah. Thanks," she said, quickly rummaging through the Doctor's coat pocket hung up by the bed for the sonic before stepping out of the door. She closed it behind her, and then suddenly stopped. Wait. She'd said the 'TARDIS', and Martin seemed to take the notion into his stride. He had even referred to the TARDIS as a 'she'.
Just what was the Doctor not telling her?
Flashback…
"No," Rose suddenly said, standing up straight with a strong sense of determination. "I won't let him die. I'm gonna find that bandit camp and I'm gonna get that nanogene water. I've already watched him die once, Jack. I won't watch him die again."
"Rose…" Jack began, but Rose was already on her feet.
"Stay here, Jack. Look after him. I'll be faster on my own. Big guy like that leaves tracks in the forestry – broken sticks and stuff. Just need to follow it."
"No way," Jack got to his feet beside her, grabbing her by the arm firmly. "If they spot you they'll kill you."
"I don't care, Jack!" Rose struggled to pull free of his grip. "Let me go!"
"I made a promise to a dying man, Rose," Jack said sternly, and Rose stilled in his grip. "And I don't break promises. I'm keepin' you safe."
Rose tried to pull away again. "I'm gonna go find this camp, Jack!"
"I'm not stoppin' you, Rose. I'm comin' with you."
An hour of stumbling about in the knee-high mud of the forest and Donna was beginning to wish she'd brought a pair of wellies. Come to think of it, this was a pretty stupid idea to begin with. How did she possibly think she'd be able to even find the camp let alone the TARDIS?
But the thought of knowing the Doctor was, for once, relying on her, fuelled her onwards. She didn't know how, but less than an hour later she was standing in front of the gateway to the bandit camp, heads of unfortunate passer-bys serving as warnings on sticks to anyone who might be thinking of strolling in.
Someone like her.
She gulped, and began to walk forwards. It was eerily silent. She could see the pools of red that she knew to be the Doctor's all over the camp floor. She forced herself to breathe slowly and evenly. Relax, Donna. He's all right. He's getting better. She hoped.
She walked through the encampment, skipping around the pools of blood she came upon every now and then. Her eyes searched desperately for that familiar bright blue of the TARDIS, but she could see nothing.
It took her thirty minutes to completely search the entirety of the bandit camp, and there was absolutely nothing. Not even a clue like a giant square hole in the middle of the muddy floor. She sighed, shoulders dropping as she cast one last look around the encampment in the vague hope of missing something absurdly obvious before turning back to the gate.
She yelped in surprise and stumbled back a few paces as a bandit suddenly lurched into view, a ruffled, dirty-looking man with a heavily bleeding wound in his side. A toothless grin broke onto his face.
"Well, well, well," the bandit said, looking her up and down as he reached for the half-broken sword in his belt. "Back for more, eh? How is your friend?"
Donna ignored the jibe. "I'm here for my…" she paused, thinking. She could hardly call it a spaceship. Neither was it a horse. She thought a little more. "… My wooden box," she decided. "You seen it?" she continued, keeping her voice as level as she could to show she wasn't scared. "It's big. Blue. Had a lot of valuables in it."
The bandit looked taken aback, surprised at her show of fearlessness. He tried not to let it get to him. "Yeah, I seen it."
Donna waited for him to continue, but he didn't, so she raised an enquiring eyebrow. "Where?"
Suddenly the bandit threw back his head and began to roar with laughter, but the resultant force on his injury made him double-over and cough chestily, gasping for air. It was then Donna recognised who he was. It was the leader, the one who had kicked Joshua; who'd nearly broken the Doctor's neck; who'd condemned the Doctor to relentless, inhumane torture.
Donna's blood was boiling.
"Answer the question!" she demanded in a voice that the Doctor had deemed her 'scary voice'. It worked a charm. The bandit instantly stopped laughing, gazing at her in apprehension.
"We sold it," he answered quickly. "Some guy called Peter from Bowerock. Good price we got 'n all."
"Bowerock," Donna repeated. "Thank you." She started to walk forward towards the gate, but the bandit purposefully stepped in her path with a grin back on his ugly fat face. She glared at him, Donna style. "You standin' in my way?" she challenged, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the sonic, holding it in a way she hoped could be interpreted as threatening.
"Yes I am," he gruffed, eyes on Donna.
"Out of my way fatty," she demanded, holding up the sonic screwdriver to his eyes. "I'm not afraid to use it!"
He looked at it warily, but within seconds had put on an assertive face. "Little thing like that ain't gonna do nuffin'."
"Oh yeah?" she raised the sonic and pointed it at a log nearby, praying it was on a good setting as she pressed the button. The bandit nearly jumped out his skin at the strange high-pitched whine the device made, staring in fear and confusion at the beam of bright-blue light coming from the tip. It was only a matter of seconds before the log spontaneously erupted into flame and the bandit shrieked like a little girl.
He pointed a finger at Donna, his eyes wide. "Witch!" he shrieked, "witch!"
"And yeah," she said, gesturing him away. "You'd better bloody run mate, else I'll turn ya into a frog."
The bandit screamed and ran away across the mud, seemingly undeterred by his wound in favour of being turned into a frog. Donna Noble put on a satisfied smirk, and headed back towards the village.
Flashback…
Jack and Rose had gone, leaving Father Jace and Gabrielle with the Doctor. It was eerily silent, Gabrielle busy tending to the Doctor as Father Jace continued his prayers. Jack and Rose had been gone for a good hour now and the Doctor didn't seem to be getting either better or worse.
"He needs water," Gabrielle announced after a moment, looking up at Father Jace.
He nodded, getting to his feet. "I shall go get some."
"Hurry," Gabrielle begged, resting her hand on the Doctor's forehead.
Ten minutes passed before she finally heard the sound of footsteps coming to camp. She called out, but there was no reply. She called out again, thinking he may not have heard her, but again there was no reply. The footsteps got louder and louder, and suddenly Gabrielle realised it was not Father Jace. She got onto her feet and began to back away, torn between running for her life and staying to protect the defenceless Doctor.
"'Ere! They're right 'ere!"
She recognised the voice. It was the bandit who had been guiding them. He'd run away, gone back to camp to fetch him bandit friends to come and slaughter them…
Before she could even make a decision on what to do an army of bandits appeared through the trees and spotted her. She panicked, looking down at the Doctor still comatose on the floor. If she started running now she could easily get away… but she could hardly leave the Doctor here alone…
"Stay righ' there!" a deep voice gruffed and she froze. "Goo' work, Boz." The bandits began to fill in the camp, surveying their prisoners.
"There're more," the bandit she recognised to have been guiding them said. "Two men and another woman."
"Don't matter," the particularly large one she thought to be their leader said. "These two are enough." His eyes snapped to Gabrielle, who was kneeling on the floor absolutely terrified, her arms covering the Doctor's body. "You," he said to Gabrielle. "What's wrong with him?"
"He's sick," she said, voice barely above a whisper.
"Is he dyin'?"
"Yes."
"Good," the leader said, and gestured to the Doctor. "Pick 'im up, we'll take 'em back to camp."
One of the bandits stepped forward and swiftly lifted the Doctor in both arms, flinging his body carelessly over his shoulder. Another moved towards Gabrielle, raised a club, and brought it down over her head.