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This was not how you wanted this trip to go. Unfortunately, that was becoming a familiar line in your inner monologue. But right now the inner monologue was all you seemed to have, so you were going to roll with it to the best of your ability. First step, of course, was to find the Doctor. This was also something that had become all too familiar to you, and you were beginning to wonder if there was some way you could switch on some kind of universal location tracking, like some overprotective parents did with their teenagers. That would certainly cut down on your problems in situations like these.
For now, you settled with sending a text to the cell phone she may or may not have with her. ‘Code Blue’, as was her suggestion. You were about to put your phone away and start walking when it buzzed in your hand, and when you unlocked the device you were surprised to find she’d responded already, never knowing her to be the type to pay attention to when she receives messages. You’d heard stories of people going so far as to carve messages into pieces of crashed starliners, or ancient cliffs, just to get a message to her.
Evidently, that was not the case for you. The words ‘stay right there’ stared back up at you, and you frowned, shifting your weight from foot to foot anxiously. You re read the message several times, hearing the words in her voice in your head, letting it bring you comfort. You finally locked the device once more, placing it back in your pocket with one hand so you could reach up to wipe at the blood on your lip with the other.
You jumped at the sudden sound of your name, and when you turned you found the Doctor with one hand outstretched between you, as if she’d moved to touch you and had hesitated. That was quick. You immediately offered your hand in response, and the action of your hands coming together felt like the most natural thing in the universe. The Doctor attempted to offer you a smile, but it was quickly chased away by a worried frown when she took in your appearance.
“What’s this from?” She asked, lifting the hand in hers so she could get a better look. She rubbed softly at the red mark on the back of your hand. You only shook your head, pulling away just enough to sign letters at her like you had been practising for just this kind of occasion.
“Fine?” She repeated incredulously, her free hand going up to the side of your face, steadying you so she could get a better look at the faint streak of red just above your lips. You were just glad your nose had stopped bleeding fairly quickly. “Then where did this blood come from, hm?”
T r i p p e d
The Doctor actually laughed at that, shaking her head a little. “Did you now? Really?”
You glanced away, not meeting her eyes, and shrugged.
“You know you can tell me when you’re not feeling well, right?” The Doctor said, and you returned your gaze to her, even if it was with a certain amount of hesitance. “There’s no trace of a fall here, or anywhere else on you. You didn’t fall, and yet you’re bleeding” She wiped the remaining traces of blood from your face with a gentle hand, and you watched her concentrate on her task before either of you spoke again, in any form.
“And we don’t just get a code blue out of nowhere” She went on. “You’re well rested, you just woke up a few hours ago, and you ate recently, so you must be feeling sick”
You frowned, and suddenly the tree behind her looked very interesting. The deep pink blossoms took up more of the branches than the orange leaves did, and petals drifted lazily to the ground as you watched. The Doctor glanced over her shoulder to see what had gained your attention, and she let out a soft ‘ohhh’ in realisation.
You gave her a questioning look, but she didn’t respond at first, just gestured vaguely to the tree.
P r e t t y ?
“Pretty, yes, but not exactly good for you” The Doctor explained. She adjusted your hands so she could hold yours at her side now, and began to lead you back in the direction of the tardis, away from the offending tree. “In fact, seemingly all humans are sort of… allergic to that specific breed of flora. My bad”
A l l e r g i c ?
You raised an eyebrow.
B l e e d i n g ?
“Okay, granted, that’s not something that usually happens with allergies. I will admit I use the term loosely. But that’s easier than explaining that the pollen from the flowers is infecting your airway and has likely been damaging your lungs over the past hour since we’ve gotten here”
You blinked at her in surprise, and when she looked back at you her eyes widened to mirror your own shocked expression.
“But it’s nothing to worry about!! Tardis can fix you right up! You’ll be fine, I promise!”
The Doctor turned back to keep an eye on where you were going, and her hand gave yours a quick reassuring squeeze as you began to near the Tardis. You felt your chest tighten when you reached the infirmary on board, and you couldn’t be sure if it was due to whatever kind of sickness came from the flowers the Doctor had mentioned, or if it was more to do with your general unease around feeling sick or helpless in any sense. You hated having to feel like someone needed to care for you, or like you just couldn’t look after yourself. But you had to admit, when it was the Doctor who asked you, with that sad little look in her eyes, to lie back and rest in that stupid little bed with the far too white hospital sheets, you didn’t really want to say no.
She rushed around, gathered a few things and mixed something up before bringing over a big metal box on wheels. She was attaching some kind of canister on the back when you started coughing, and she suddenly looked alarmed. You didn’t really understand why until your coughing had calmed down and you pulled your hand away to find traces of blood in your palm. A distressed sound bubbled up out of you before you could even consider stopping it, and the Doctor was by your side in an instant, shushing you gently and pressing a tissue into your plam.
“You’re alright, just give me two seconds to have this ready, okay?” She muttered, an arm going around your shoulders to provide a reassuring pressure for just a moment before she pulled away. She went back to her machine and you pressed the folded tissue between both hands, trying to focus on the papery feeling instead of your own nervousness. She was back mere moments later, as promised, holding a breathing mask before you. She let you have a moment to see it, and to flash you a reassuring smile before she fixed it carefully over your mouth and nose and secured the elastic over your head.
“I know, I’m sorry but this really is the most effective way to fix the damage that’s been done to your airways” The Doctor explained, seeing your grimace at the feeling of the thing pressed against your face. “Don’t forget to breathe deep, even if it tastes a little funny, should only take about ten minutes for you to get the full dose, and then you should be good as new” she went on. You nodded, taking an extra deep breath as she pulled up a stool from behind her to sit at your side. The air did taste a little odd, and you wanted to scowl about it, but the way her face lit up when you followed her direction made you refrain from doing so, and you took in another deep breath.
She had turned her attention to your hands now, gently pulling them apart to take the tissue from you and discard it. She produced a damp cloth from somewhere, and in that moment you kind of wished you were able to ask about it, but instead you remained quiet, watching as she began to gently wipe the remaining traces of blood from your hands from earlier.
“I am glad you told me as soon as you didn’t feel right” The Doctor began. “Or, well, when you didn’t feel talk-y I suppose. But I would be more glad if you could tell me when you’re not feeling well” Her gaze flickered up to yours, as if to gauge a reaction, and you pretended you didn’t notice, keeping your eyes on where your hands met, where hers were a minute ago. “I need you to feel comfortable sharing that with me, so I can help you. I don’t want you to…”
She paused, shook her head, and returned her gaze to your joined hands. She looked over yours once more and placed the cool cloth aside.
“I want to be able to keep you safe, no matter what that entails. But I can’t always do that if you can’t tell me when something is wrong” she spoke softly, and you blinked slowly in response, dropping your head slightly in shame. “No, that’s not what I’m saying” The Doctor said quickly, almost reprimanding, and you met her eyes, glancing up at her through your lashes. “We have plenty of other means of communication when you’re not feeling up to speaking” she reminded you. “I’m talking about lying to me when you’re feeling sick”
You glanced away again, and the Doctor sighed softly. Her hands encased yours a little tighter. A comfortable pressure.
“I just need you to know you can trust me. Whatever is wrong, I’ll do anything in my power to help you fix it. You never need to be afraid to tell me you need a little help, alright?”
The room went quiet for a moment, and you realised after a moment that she was waiting for a response. You tilted your head back in her direction, not quite meeting her gaze, but making her aware that you were acknowledging her, and gave her a little smile. You adjusted your hands in hers so you could rub your thumb over the back of her hand in a circular motion, and you felt her laugh as much as you heard it.
“You don’t need to thank me for that. You staying healthy is all the thanks I need” She told you softly. You took a deeper than usual breath in, and watched the Doctor’s grin widen from the corner of your eye. Her thumb traced a circle over the back of your hand.
“I think we’ve earned a bit of a break” The Doctor said. “Should be about five more minutes until we’re done here, and then we can get all cleaned up and spend the afternoon in the cinema room, your pick”
You grinned. The both of you already knew what you would be picking.