20: Emergency

Clara was in her TARDIS on-suite, gently rubbing a cloth over her wet face. It had become her little habit to come in here and freshen up a bit after every especially adventurous trip. Sometimes she also took a nap or read. The cloth was from a spa she and the Doctor had recently visited, and was smooth on her skin. It always reminded her of her mum, from when she was little and got caught in the rain. She'd always get incredibly dirty in the mud and go home to thorough washing down, which her mother gave to her with many giggles and smiles.

Clara looked at herself in the mirror and set the cloth on its rack. She still had traces of purple glittery alien mud on her cheek, but it honestly looked pretty beautiful, the way it sparkled in the light. Maybe she would use it as an accessory in the future.

"Clara!"

She spun around to the sound of her name, and then hurried out of the room at the resounding crash that followed it. Her heart beat quickly as the Doctor continued to shout for her, growing increasingly more desperate. "Doctor? You alright?"

Her legs carried her quickly through the TARDIS' winding corridors until she finally reached the Console room. When she finally looked up at the Doctor, fear in her eyes, she almost screamed, not in fright or horror, but in agitation.

"Doctor we talked about this!"

The Doctor had his fingers stuck in one of his infernal little robots. Why he was suddenly designing little metal robots was beyond her, but for the most part it was a harmless diversion for him between trips. That is, until he got his finger trapped in their inner workings. This was the third time in a week that such a thing happened. Clara stomped up the steps.

"Give me your hand."

He shakily showed her his hand, caught in the torso of a robot with a snide smile on its face. Clara took his wrist with her fingers tighter than she meant, causing her space idiot to grimace at her and go into a cascade of apologies and excuses. "I thought my hand could fit. This one's never given me trouble before."

Clara maneuvered his hand out of the robot's grasp and 'accidentally' dropped the contraption on the floor. The Doctor didn't dare question her, massaging his newly freed hand with the other. Clara's eyes pierced his own.

"I told you not to shout like that unless there was actually something wrong."

His voice came smaller than usual. "I'm sorry."

"I thought you were seriously hurt!"

He looked at the floor. "I know."

She sighed and looked at his hand with gentility. Her voice softened dramatically, her berating over. "Are you alright?"

He let go of his hand and looked it over. Besides a few pink pressure spots, he was unharmed. "Yes. I'm fine."

Clara turned up to him, shifting her weight onto a different foot. "I didn't mean to treat you like a child. You just...scared me. I shifted into teacher mode."

The Doctor smiled lightly. "Is that what happens at school?"

Clara chuckled. "Maybe...hey, do you want to go somewhere? I'm all washed up and rested."

The Doctor sprang to the controls, pulling a red lever. "I've already got a place in mind. They're lovely people; very hospitable. You'll love them."

Clara danced up beside him looking at the coordinates. "Where are we going?"

The Doctor grinned madly as he pressed a button and the ship lurched sideways. "It's a planet called Bonum. They're all obsessed with being good and moral. Once there was this coux and a family with a murder streak and yellow sashes took control, but luckily that didn't last too long."

"What did you do to kick them out?"

"How did you know it was me?"

Clara raised her eyebrow, but replied with a mere smile. When the TARDIS landed with a thud, the Doctor ran to the doors and pulled them open. Clara stepped out and was instantly greeted with the smell of wine and cheese.

They were in a beautiful outdoor restaurant. Green and pink plants lined the border, and people of all shapes and sizes sat enjoying meals of fish and strange blue algae at the wooden tables. The Doctor closed the TARDIS doors and came beside her, smiling proudly. "Hope you're hungry. They have some of the best food and wine here."

Clara turned up to give the Doctor an excited grin as a tall man with yellow whiskers and a neatly tailored overcoat approached them. Resting on his open palm was a tray with a single wine glasses. "Doctor! How lovely it is to see you again. We detected your ship in the atmosphere, of course."

The Doctor eyed him curiously, and the man shook his head. "My apologies," he held out the wine glass for the Doctor. "Compliments from the owner."

The Doctor took the glass and sniffed it, tilting his head approvingly. "Thank you."

The Doctor took a sip of the wine as the man then turned to Clara. "We'll bring your glass out shortly. We didn't know the Doctor had a travelling companion this evening."

He walked off with the empty tray and Clara looked at the Doctor, who was eyeing the red liquid in his glass with a curious eye. "So you were here alone last time?"

The Doctor didn't reply, lost in thought. Clara nudged his arm. "Doctor?"

He turned to her suddenly, blinking and shaking his head at the rapid movement. Clara watched him closely. "You alright?"

The Doctor nodded slowly, looking around the room with eyes like a detective. Clara followed his gaze and shuddered as her eyes landed on a portrait hanging above one of the tables. "Umm, Doctor? You said that family wore yellow sashes?"

The Doctor coughed suddenly and set the glass roughly on a waiter's tray as they walked by. "Clara, don't take the wine."

Her wide eyes turned to him sharply, filled with worry as his cough seemed to intensify, breathing tight in between fits and eyes watery. The man from earlier approached them again, his tray holding another glass of red wine. "For the lady?"

Clara held out a hand that was only partially shaking. "No, no that's alright. I'm good. Not a drinker, me."

She grabbed onto the Doctor's arm and began leading them backwards, awkwardly fumbling for her key and jamming it into the lock of the TARDIS door behind them. Before the whiskered man could shout 'Security', Clara had them both inside with the doors bolted shut. Instantly she went to the Doctor, who was leaned over the railing breathing harshly. "Doctor, what was in the wine?"

He held up a finger as he continued to cough profusely. Clara took his hand gently in her own, using her other to turn his face to her. "Hey, look at me."

He pushed her away suddenly, ambling over toward the Console. "'M fine, Clara. It's not a big deal. I'll just take you home."

She rolled her eyes and followed him, keeping a small distance because of his outstretched hand. "Doctor, let me help."

He shook his head. "It's nothing, Clara, honestly. Don't be such a worrier."

His words only made her worry more, especially given his history of complaining about every tiny ailment or injury he ever acquired. And the fact that as soon as he said that, he slipped up on his own two feet and almost crashed into the floor, caught only by the TARDIS Console and Clara's Zumba arms.

"Listen, what I said earlier...You're allowed to tell me when you're hurt sometimes."

He still waved her off, using the Console to get back on his feet. She would've been furious if she weren't so bloody worried about him. "At least sit down. Please?"

At that, he finally relented just a bit, allowing her to walk him over to the nearest seat. Clara dashed over to the TARDIS Console as soon as he was secure in the chair. "Scanner...scanner...here we go."

She hovered the medical tool over his body and impatiently awaited the results. Finally the banner of the device read 'Binary Poison'. Clara furrowed her eyebrows. "Binary poison. How bad is that?"

She noticed the Doctor's eyes inflate, but he replied quietly, "Don't worry about it. You want me to take you home?"

He went to stand, but Clara practically pushed him back into the chair. Then she saw the sweat beading on his forehead and felt the heat radiating off of him. "Doctor…"

He didn't respond, his eyes shutting briefly and then opening with a jolt. They were glossy and unfocused. Clara felt her heart start to race. "Doctor, what can I do to help?"

He muttered softly, "I just need...some rest."

Clara sighed as his head dropped nearly to his chest, his energy sapped. Then, to her relief, the TARDIS' telepathic circuits found their way into her head.

Infirmary. Antidote in blue labelled bottle. Hurry. Keep Thief cool.

Clara rested the back of her hand on the Doctor's clammy forehead and frowned. He was at least a few degrees above what was normal, and probably steadily rising. "Hey."

His eyes turned up to her, barely open from heavy eyelids. Clara knelt down and took his hand in her own. "I have to run to the infirmary real quick. You stay here, alright? Shout if you need me."

He murmured under his breath, "Thought you didn't like shouting."

"This is different. This is an actual emergency. Just...stay here and stay safe, okay?"

He nodded, his head bobbing limply, and she dashed off down the corridor. Her heart was in her throat, and her stomach felt ill. As soon as she arrived in the brightly lit medical room, she ran around grabbing everything she thought she might need. In the back of her mind, she felt the TARDIS calling her name. Or maybe that was the Doctor.

Taking inventory quickly, she hurried out of the infirmary and back toward the Console room. The objects in her hand nearly dropped to the floor when she reached the top of the steps and looked down. The Doctor was lying on his stomach, completely unconscious on the floor. Clara skidded to her knees painfully and set her things beside them.

"Doctor?" She put a gentle hand on his shoulder, then turned him over onto his side into some form of the recovery position. His eyes were still closed, breathing shallow and fast. The back of Clara's hand nearly burned when she felt his pale forehead. Then she softly rested her palm on his cheek and looked at him, nothing but care in her eyes. "You'll be alright. I brought some things that should help."

She got to work opening the bottle labelled 'Antidote' in big blue letters, then eyed it carefully. She had no idea what to do with it. It was just a simple silver cylinder. It almost looked like a miniature version of one of the original Gallifreyan TARDIS'; one that hadn't been disguised as anything yet.

As Clara continued to fumble with the device, the Doctor's eyelids fluttered open. He emitted a low groan and then shut his eyes again almost instantly, already nearly unconscious again. A quick check of his pulse told her one of his hearts had stopped beating. Clara looked up at the Time Rotor with tears in her eyes. "What do I do?"

Softly, the ship whispered directions in her ear, filling Clara with calm confidence. She rested the antidote against the Doctor's neck and pressed the button. It made a hissing sound for two seconds, and then silenced itself. As soon as Clara pulled it away from the Doctor and dropped it carelessly onto the floor, the Timelord inhaled deeply, eyelids opening a crack. Clara put a reassuring hand on the back of his head, giving him a watery grin. "Hey."

"Hey."

His voice was more gravelly than she'd have liked, but at least he was alert. Clara stroked his bangs absentmindedly, her heartbeat slowing as the adrenaline faded away. "How are you feeling?"

He shrugged. "Been better."

Clara bit her lip and looked him over. "You didn't hurt your head when you fainted?"

"I fainted?"

Clara raised her eyebrow. "Yes?"

The Doctor closed his eyes and muttered, "Nobody saw, right? That would just be embarrassing."

Clara shook her head with a smile. "Nobody saw. Maybe you should rest. Do you want to stay here or try and go to your room?"

He leaned closer to the floor, keeping his eyes closed. A moment later, he was breathing slowly and deeply. Clara set a cool cloth she'd brought from the infirmary on his forehead, rubbed his hair one last time, and kissed his cheek, whispering, "Sleep tight, Doctor."

The Doctor was nicely tucked into one of the blankets from Clara's room on the TARDIS floor, his head lying on her pillow. He hadn't stirred for over half an hour and didn't seem likely to stir for another while, so Clara finally felt calm enough to sit in the flight chair, wrapped in one of her other blankets, and read up on what exactly that poison was. What she learned shocked her system.

As soon as the Doctor awoke and got shakily to his feet, he found Clara standing on the opposite side of the Console, turned away from him, wiping at her eyes. Cautiously, he approached her. "You okay?"

She spun around, face wet with tears he couldn't identify as angry or sad. "You almost died!"

He tried to play it off, shrugged his shoulders, cocked his head to the side, went to the Console. "Did I? Just a day in the life, then."

Wrong move. Clara breathed in deeply. "Why didn't you tell me? That stuff is lethal for Timelords. It makes it impossible for you to regenerate. Another few minutes and your other heart would've stopped. And you acted like you were fine!"

The Doctor flicked his eyes from the Console to the floor, unsure what to say.

"Doctor, you scream bloody murder when you get your finger caught, but you play off getting poisoned like it's just a normal Tuesday morning. What are you trying to prove?"

"I'm not...I'm not trying to prove anything."

"Then why do you do this? Every time you're in actual danger, you tell me everything is fine."

The Doctor met Clara's eyes. The fever was calming and he was getting his color back, but if Clara didn't know him better, she'd say he almost looked afraid. He said simply, in a voice that was louder than he intended, "I don't want to worry you when I don't know if I can fix it."

He looked away, at the blue-green Time Rotor churning up and down in the center of the Console. Clara took his hand in her own, staring at their fingers thoughtfully. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

He shook his head, almost chuckled. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I was just afraid. I thought I was going to lose you. That was a real emergency."

"I guess so."

Clara pointed an index finger at him, loosening a little. "No more wine for you."

"Yes ma'am."

"And no more tinkering with robots for at least a month."

"Gotcha."

"Now Doctor?"

"Yeah?"

Clara gave him one of her biggest toothless smiles. "Show me some planets."

The Doctor pulled down the closest lever and off they were, to another adventure, to stop another emergency on another planet.