A/N: Bit of a shorter chapter this time as things calm down. You can start seeing that the Doctor and Talia care about each other...but will it become more? Lol.
Chapter 5: Saved (NOT like in Forest of the Dead in a computer)
I was next to him in a nanosecond, listening to both sides of his chest, desperately trying to believe what the TARDIS was telling me. Sure enough, there was a faint heartbeat from his right heart. It was barely anything…but it was there. Quickly composing myself, I used the energy that had coursed through me at the sound to pull him through the TARDIS to the medical bay. Again, she helped me; it was the first door.
He wasn't breathing, one heart was bust…but he wasn't dead yet!
I lifted him onto an examination table and looked around for a way to scan him; if I could find out what was in that syringe, I could go to the TARDIS' library and find out if there was an antidote.
She was on my side, just as worried about him as I was. Instructions appeared on one of the many computer screens surrounding me. I picked up his sonic screwdriver, put it on the setting that was on the screen and ran it over his body from head to toe. Then I plugged it into the computer.
A few seconds passed as it was processed, then:
TRACES OF ABISITH FOUND IN THE BLOODSTREAM. PATIENT IS ALIVE. PATIENT HAS 23 MINUTES BEFORE REGENERATION MAY ENSUE, OTHERWISE DEATH WILL OCCUR.
23 minutes. 23 minutes to find an antidote and give it to him before he dies…or regenerates. Either one was bad. I quickly hooked an oxygen machine up to him and raced to the library, which was the next door down…again, I reminded myself to thank the TARDIS.
I dashed to the catalogue and sifted through the pages, looking for the name Abisith. I found it and quickly located the book. Flicking through, I searched for the word 'antidote'.
Then I found what I was looking for:
Abisith is a poison from the plant of the same name, originating on the planet Esister. The poison causes paralysis, unconsciousness and eventually death. Death can take up to ten hours, but is unavoidable unless the correct antidote is administered.
Following was a list of ingredients. I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote it all down, then ran to the kitchen.
Still counting my lucky stars, almost everything was a consumable product from Earth. I almost laughed in my hysteria at one of the ingredients; pear skin.
I chucked everything in a blender, including the one obscure ingredient that I didn't even bother to read about, pureeing it all. Then I ran back to the med bay, grabbed a syringe, went back to the kitchen and filled it up with the correct amount of the antidote.
Then I was at his side again. I quickly checked to see that his heart was still going, relieved when it was. I put the syringe against his neck and, hoping that I hadn't made a mistake, I pushed the plunger.
For a second nothing happened. Then he spasmed wildly, forcing me to hold his arms down lest he injure himself. My heart ached, for he was clearly in pain, but I knew this was a sign that the antidote had already begun its work. After several minutes of fighting to keep him still, he went completely limp.
I listened to his chest again and, to my joy, heard two stronger heartbeats. He had also begun breathing again. I hooked him up to two heart monitors, just in case, and continued providing him oxygen. I quickly read through the next few pages of the book in case there was anything else I had to do.
Then, for the first time, I pulled a chair up next to the table where he lay and sat down. I hadn't eaten or slept in ten hours or more, and I was well aware of all the aches that had begun to return…but I was determined not to leave until I saw him awake and okay again.
It was stubborn, I knew.
I was barely aware of how much time passed. An hour, maybe more. My eyes prickled with tiredness, but I sat rigidly in the seat; if I relaxed or put my head down for even a second, I would be unconscious.
I think I went into a daze, for it wasn't until he sat up that I realised he had woken. Focusing, my brain processed what was in front of me.
Then I quite literally threw myself at him in a hug.
"Oh Doctor! You're alive! You're alright!" I screamed and, like a dam had been broken, tears begun running down my face in relief. "I was so scared, and so worried. I thought you were dead!"
He wrapped his arms around me gently. "Hey, it's alright. I'm here. And I've got you to thank. How did you do it? No, forget it. I don't care. The point is, you did."
We remained in the embrace until my tears stopped. He held me at arm's length and examined me, frowning at what he saw.
"What is it?" I asked, wiping my eyes and grinning.
"How long has it been? What happened to you after they poisoned me?" he asked, his face a mask of concern.
I shrugged. Now that I could see he was alright, the weariness begun to take over. "It's been…about eleven hours. They took me to this lab…electrocuted me several times, I've no idea why…"
"That would be to remove any foreign bacteria." The Doctor said bitterly. "Completely unnecessary."
"Then they, um, injected me with several things. One gave me a massive headache which…" I winced, "Is kind of still there. Another made me drowsy. I tried to escape and they, um…" I trailed off, not wanting to voice it.
He lifted my head, which had lowered. "They didn't? They didn't beat you?" he asked with horror.
I nodded. "They put me in a cell. The guard was a Sontaran, so I used what I knew to escape."
"Have you eaten yet?"
"No. I've been here since I gave you the antidote." I replied. Waves of tiredness and dizziness washed over me. His hands closed tighter over my shoulders to keep me standing.
"I think you need to lie down." He said quietly, but forcefully.
"I just want to know that you're okay." I murmured, fighting now to keep my eyes open.
"Absolutely fine!" he exclaimed with my favourite grin. "A few more minutes and I would have started regeneration, so you were right on time!"
"So you were going to regenerate? Not die forever?" I asked.
He nodded. "Would have done, yeah. But, I'm glad I'm still me."
"So am I." I whispered. Suddenly my legs gave way. He stood and supported me, pulling my arm around his neck…which was slightly uncomfortable considering his height.
"Come on, Talia. Let's get you some rest."
"You too." I said, the words slurring together with exhaustion.
We took a few steps towards the door of the med bay, before he realised that my legs were not going to cooperate. So, scooping me into his arms in a way that was almost romantic, he carried me towards my room. At some stage I must have drifted asleep because I didn't remember being put on the bed, only his voice whispering gently, "Goodnight, Talia. Thank you for everything."
A/N: Now, over the next few chapters the Doctor 'conveniently forgets' that he's meant to be looking for Rose, but it will come up again soon.