The door is blocked... there's no way out, I'm stuck here.
But that doesn't mean I won't fight.
I struggle against the tight grip of my captor, some man wearing all leather and a black motorbike helmet.
"Get off me!" I scream, still fighting.
"Well well dear...haven't you just stumbled upon the wrong place at the wrong time?" An elderly woman states.
When I arrived she was hovering over Mr Stoker's body, straw in hand...blood dripping from the end of it.
Oh my God! Is she a vampire? Don't tell me vampires are real! That's insane!
"Please, just let me go!" I plead.
"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, you've seen far too much you pretty thing" She explains, there is a cold chill to her voice that contrasts the warmth and gentle tone I expect to hear from the elderly.
"I won't tell anyone. I swear!" I promise in sheer desperation.
I mean, I'm lying, I'd run and tell the Doctor... but she doesn't know that.
"I can't take that risk, you see, they're looking for me" She continues.
"Who?" I ask her.
"The Judoon of course" She confirms.
"Wait, you're the reason this is happening?" I question in shock.
"Indeed my dear... now I think thats quite enough from you" She begins to approach me, raising that awful straw.
Oh lord...she's going to kill me, she's going to suck my blood!
I cry out in fear as she gets closer.
"Now now, there's no need to make all this noise. Not long until it's all over...hold her" she commands the man holding me.
He positions my head to the side, still restraining my arms, as my neck becomes exposed.
Tears begin to leak out of my eyes as my hair comes to fall over my face from the position I am being forced in.
"No..." I whimper.
Then there is a sting on the side of my neck, its like an injection only ten times more painful as what I assume is the straw pierces my skin.
I shriek in pain and fear, fighting in the firm and unwavering grip of the man to no avail.
Then things start to become fuzzy, and I start to realise that this is it. I begin to fee weaker and dizzy, almost like I am about to faint.
My eyes begin to roll to the back of my head as I struggle to stay conscious while this monster drains me.
Then my hands start to feel cold, I try to move them but they feel heavy, it becomes harder to stay standing.
My eyelids flutter, and I know I can't hold on much longer, it's over for me.
I hope that little boy finds his mum.
Then there is a scuffle, and I can just about make out a gasp of shock coming from the doorway before I hear the old woman.
"Kill her" she says.
Kill who? Me? Is there someone else there, has someone walked in?
Suddenly I am released from the tight grip of my captor and my body slams to the ground, lacking any energy to keep me standing.
Then the men are gone and I glimpse the woman leave the office too, walking off in another direction. Clearly I am no longer a threat.
I try to fight the desire to just pass out, but its hard, my eyelids won't stay open and I dip in and out of consciousness.
I don't know how much time passes.
There are moments of consciousness where I can feel the shaking of my limbs, it's so cold.
After more time passes, I find the energy to move, curling myself into a ball in an attempt to seek comfort and warmth.
Tears continue to streak down my face as I process what just happened.
Shuddering breaths accompany the sobs that continue.
I can't even lift my head off the floor, I try to, but I immediately feel dizzy.
As time continues to pass the sounds of the hospital seem to become quieter. I'm not sure if its because I am loosing consciousness again or if its because we are running out of oxygen.
But soon I realise it is the latter as I struggle to take in breaths.
It's scary, terrifying in fact, trying to breathe in air and only getting a small amount of relief from what little oxygen there is.
The blood loss isn't helping me to stay awake as we clearly begin to run out of oxygen.
Then I hear the sounds of marching, stomping boots, the Judoon maybe?
The noise passes the through the corridor connected to the room as I finally succumb to the darkness that has been tempting me for a while.
Then I know nothing.
The first thing I am aware of is a voice.
"Nadine, hey, Nadine. C'mon wakey wakey, its ok" is the distant, anxious voice I hear.
"Is she ok?" There's someone else, a woman's voice?
"...blood loss... improving. Not helping the lack of oxygen earlier... I should really..." I catch parts of a conversation before I can feel a hand pressed against my cheek, stroking the hair from my face.
"I can stay... until...how will you?" The woman responds.
Then I can hear footsteps after the hand is removed from my face.
I start to open my eyes, feeling some strength returning slowly.
"Hey there, Nadine, don't worry the Doctor is going to get help. Just stay still, not long now" the woman tells me, Martha, yes, I think that's her.
"Martha! Oh God! You're alive!" A shrill voice arrives.
"Yes! Yes, everything is ok now. Although this is going to take a lot of explaining..." Martha responds.
She gets up from crouching at my side and leaves the office to talk to a fellow nurse.
"One minute Nadine, I'll be back in a moment" She tells me as she leaves.
I'm too tired to care or respond, so I continue laying there half conscious.
Then there is a groaning sound, I quickly recognise it, the Tardis.
Suddenly the floor seems to change and I find myself in a new location. Am I on the Tardis, how did I get here?
Footsteps approach and I blink my eyes open to make out the fuzzy sight of pinstripes crouching before me, lips set in a thin line.
"Let's get you sorted" He states.
I don't have time to respond as he leans down, sweeping me up into his arms and proceeding to walk through the corridors of the Tardis.
We enter a room not unlike the hospital I started the day in. And I am quickly placed on a bed.
Immediately the Doctor sets to work, attaching a heart rate monitor to me and scanning me with some device.
"Just rest Nadine, when you wake up this will all be sorted" he speaks softly.
And as quick as that I am out like a light.
When I wake up I feel much better, more rested than I have for weeks and warmer than I've felt all day.
As I begin to sit up I notice the Doctor enter the room.
"Aha, you're awake! Good!" He begins.
"What, what happened?" I ask.
"Well, when I found you, you'd lost a lot of blood, I'm hoping you can explain how you managed to run into the Plasmavore. Then again you've always been good at finding trouble" he ponders, attempting to keep his tone light despite the circumstances.
"I accidentally found her... We were looking for the boys mum... Jamie! Oh God, is he ok? I need to..." I begin to worry, what if he got hurt, or lost?
I begin to force myself out of bed before the Doctor rushes over and places a hand on my shoulder, keeping me sitting.
"It's fine, he's ok... Martha said she found him after she was with you. He's been reunited with his mum, no need to worry" He placates.
"Oh... good. Thats good" I let out a sigh of relief.
For a moment there is a pause, silence fills the air. I can see the Doctor struggling with what to say. I suppose there is a lot to say really.
"We need to talk" He finally admits.
I don't know if I want to, I don't know if I can. There's too much to say, where would we even start?
"I don't know..." I begin.
"You should have listened to me" He cuts me off, anger filling his tone.
"Why?... What I... I had to help" I respond.
"You need to trust me, I can't protect you if you're not with me. This is a prime example of that" He continues.
"You don't understand..." I attempt.
"No, Nadine. You don't understand. You're young and you're reckless and if you're not careful you will get yourself killed. If Martha hadn't distracted..." He stops, taking in a deep breath in frustration.
"If Martha didn't find you then with another minute you'd have been dead. You were barely alive when I found you!" He shouts.
I shrink back at his tone. I know I nearly died, does he really not think I am unaware of how close I was to death? Seriously?
"I know that but I didn't go looking for trouble, no, I just wanted to help a kid!" I argue back.
"You can't save everyone on your own Nadine. You have to keep yourself safe too. And leaving me to spite me wasn't safe or clever. Now I know you're angry with me, Rassilon knows why, but that doesn't give you an excuse to go against me in retaliation" he barks out.
I feel like a child. I didn't just walk away from him in the hospital to annoy him, I mean, yes that was part of it. But I really did want to help Jamie.
I look away from him, afraid that I might cry and I don't want him to see that. I don't want to be weak.
He pauses, reading the change in me. Then he sighs and moves to sit down in a chair at my bedside.
"Why do you hate me?" He questions.
Thats the bottom line isn't it, and he knows it.
"I don't hate you" I shoot back.
And it's true, I don't, how can I when he has saved me on multiple occasions?
"Then why are you acting like this?" He continues, desperate.
I pause. Can I really open up?
"Nadine" He encourages.
"I just.. you... well you can be scary" I admit quietly.
"I scare you?" He chokes out.
"No... well, yes... sometimes. I just, don't know where I stand. I thought you liked me, I thought I could trust you. But then you went all... mad at me. And I don't know what to expect anymore" I continue.
"Where have you come from? Tell me this time, please. I can't fix this if I don't know what's happened" He pleads.
"You had big ears and a leather jacket... Rose was there... the Earth was... Burning" I concede.
His whole posture changes. He stands up and moves into my line of sight.
"Nadine... that... that was before I knew you, before I understood you and I was angry with everything" he explains.
"You hated me" I argue.
"Never... I could never hate you. I was hurting and I lashed out and I'm sorry. But we didn't get off to the best start, before that trip" He continues.
"I know, I was difficult when we first met... with the mannequins and then in the park that night" I cut in.
"You've been there. Wait. You went from Platform 1 to the Powell estate?" He tries to piece things together.
"Yes, and after everything that happened, well, it all got too much. I wasn't well, woke up in hospital and they moved me into a flat on the estate. I tried to build a new life, I wanted to leave all of this behind, to be normal again. And the medication... it helped... helps" I realise I need to collect my medication from hospital still, I need it.
"You don't need that" He tells me.
"What? My medication? Yes, I do! I've been prescribed it, I need to collect it" I stutter.
"That's not going to happen" He confirms, mouth set in a grim line.
"I'm sorry? That's not your decision to make" I snap back at him.
How dare he! I need it, he doesn't understand.
"Its addictive. You can't rely on it to make you feel better, those 21st century Doctors think they can just drug people who've experienced the uncanny, but you're not crazy Nadine. Thats what they are, the drugs are antipsychotics and you aren't psychotic. You have experienced a lot of stress and trauma, but you're not mentally unwell. The medication is detrimental to your health because it calms you down, stops you thinking, but that's bad because it's preventing you from processing your reality. And this is real, the aliens, the time travel, jumping through my timeline. It's not healthy for you to take these drugs" He lectures me.
My blood literally boils. He doesn't understand how much the pills help. I can't cope without them.
"How dare you tell me..." I begin.
"You're not having them anymore" He states.
"No, no... You don't get to tell me what to do!" I am shouting now.
"I am only trying to help, you need to trust me" he pleads with a pained expression on his face.
"Trust you! I barely even know you! I thought I did, and then you turn all angry... and I know what's best for me... I know this helps" I bellow at him.
"You're not thinking straight, you're addicted to them, that's what's causing this response" He states calmly.
Although his face betrays his heartbreak at the sight of me.
"I need to leave" I order.
"Nadine... will you just... you need to recover.." He begins to plead, sighing in exasperation.
I clamber out of bed, swiftly shoving past him and leaving the room. I turn left down the corridor in hope of wandering towards the exit. I can hear the Doctor calling my name but I ignore it.
I spend about half an hour wandering the halls, getting more and more lost in the maze of the Tardis.
In the end I scream in frustration. Beginning to cry and collapsing in the library.
I sit on the sofa staring out at a fireplace where a fire is crackling.
About ten minutes later I am surprised when Martha comes to sit next to me. When did she get here?
"I'm glad to see you're ok" She begins.
"Thanks" is my half hearted response, I continue to fix my gaze on the fire.
"I saw Jamie, he said to thank you for helping him. He said you're his hero" She chuckles.
I smile at that. It would've been nice to say goodbye.
Then Martha reaches into her pocket and pulls something out.
She unfolds a piece of paper.
"He drew you a picture, it's supposed to be you and him dressed as superheroes" She explains, handing it over to me.
I grasp the picture, looking down at it.
The two of us are holding hands in the drawing, he's given us both capes, mine red and his blue.
We are smiling at each other in the picture.
And I can't help the feeling of desperation that I get, wishing I could be that smiling brave hero that he sees me as.
Because the reality is that it couldn't be further from the truth.
I'm not brave.