Gallifreyan Nature: Chapter 30

[nevermoreraven]

Stay safe out there, friends!
~Dreamer~

Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: Teen
DISCLAIMER: Other people have actually read this one before the internet.  Yes, I know.  It's weird.
Summary: This is a rewrite of the Human Nature/Family of Blood two-parter, because I really liked Latimer.  It's long.  I liked it pretty well at the time, as did the other readers, so let's see how well it held up.  ...so far, so good.  also I actually bothered to tab for once on this one.
It's not finished, but it's fairly close.

 

Halfway through the trip, Martha was feeling much better, and she’d had enough.  She’d been in this place too long, and the sooner they got out the better.  But that meant that they’d have to go faster than the snail-like pace they’d been going at since the incident with the scarecrow.  For the tenth time, she brought the subject up, knowing what Dan’s answer would be.  “Doctor, I’m feeling much better.  We can run again, or whatever.  I’m fine, and we need to make it to the caves as soon as possible.”

His automatic reaction, which, by this time, seemed as if he’d rehearsed it, was protective.  “You’re feeling better, yes, but are you really better?” He shook his head.  “I can’t know that until we get to the caves, so I can take a proper look at you.”

“In which case, shouldn’t we get to the caves more quickly versus more slowly?” She couldn’t quite understand why he was treating her like a baby.  She knew he was aware of her greater experience with the medical profession.  Of course, she wasn’t quite as used to diagnosing wounds on herself, but after a while of running around after the Doctor, she figured eventually she’d be pretty good at it.  And he should at least value her opinion, not dismiss it immediately.

He smiled sadly at her, understanding her frustration-but still, at the same time, continuing his stubborn assessment.  “Nope.  Don’t want to damage you on the way.”  Maybe the shock of having her almost die on him was enough to make him extremely cautious, but it was still extremely annoying.  She shrugged it aside, since it was obvious he wasn’t going to change his mind.  He’d hear more about it later, if she had anything to say about it.

 

She could tell they were getting close when the ground turned rocky and steep.  They were moving even slower now, and she knew that it wasn’t out of the Doctor’s misguided attempts to keep her safe-this time.  He seemed a bit frustrated, though he hid his emotion when he sensed she was looking.

They had to pick their way down the rocks very carefully, in order to avoid hurting themselves on the terrain.  The Doctor was springing down the rocks like an agile mountain goat, but even he had to go slower now and then to avoid starting an avalanche.  He was trying not to get too far ahead of her, keeping an eye on her-worried again, she thought.

He broke her brooding, turning towards her with a smile and holding out both hands to help her down a particularly difficult section.  His hands were soft, but very strong, and she didn’t have the slightest fear that she’d get hurt.  With his strength, he could protect her from mostly everything-and she wasn’t completely useless herself.  He lifted her down without the slightest of effort, and once again he was amazed at the power contained within his slim frame.  He was a bit like the TARDIS, with a look that could never betray the force within.  Only his eyes betrayed what he was capable of-and even they were brief in their truth.  Blink, and you’d miss a glimpse into his soul, into the depths which had brought hope and happiness to so many and despair and destruction to many others.

He smiled at her and came close to her ear to whisper, “I don’t think it’s that much farther.”

Martha smiled, feeling Dan extremely close by.  His breath on her ear felt hot but sweet, like a gentle caress on her cheek.  He must have shifted his footing; she could feel the rocks under her feet moving just slightly…

And the moment turned to one of panic, as the Doctor yelled, “Woah!” in her ear.  Suddenly the legs were taken out from underneath the both of them.  Daniel caught her and wrapped himself tightly around her, trying to shield her from the rocks that went flying by as they tumbled down the hill.  The brown coat came in handy for once-it wrapped around as well, cushioning every impact.

She heard Daniel yelp in pain, felt a twinge as her heart responded in sympathy, but she could do nothing while they were still rolling.  The ride finally slowed down as the young Time Lord moved one of his arms away from her own.  She couldn’t see what he’d done, but he let out another half-choked scream as they slid to a stop.

Instantly Martha was disentangling herself, trying to discover what was wrong.  She was startled to see blood on her hand, but was pretty sure other than a few small scrapes she didn’t have any open sores-unless the dagger wound had gotten open again, and she was almost certain the pain would notify her if that had occurred.  The liquid was almost purplish in colour, but she had more important considerations than that.

“Doctor, are you okay?  Talk to me,” she pleaded, with only a hint of emotion in her voice.

His breath came in a gasp.  He didn’t immediately reply to her statement, instead rolling away from her onto his back, breathing deeply.  “Ouch,” was his first statement.  The tone was a mixture of thoughtfulness and annoyance.

“Doctor,” she warned.  If he didn’t bother to reply soon, she’d begin fussing over him as only a doctor could and drive him crazy.

“Well, remind me to never do that again.  Not if I get the chance to decide, anyway.”  He lifted his head up, peered at his right arm.  “I seem to have skinned my elbow.  Mega ouch.”

Martha was up and examining it.  “That’ll need antibiotics-if you don’t want it infected.”

“And the only medical supplies for a hundred years around that advanced are probably in the TARDIS.  Guess we need to solve this one quick, then.”  He frowned; a hand came up to touch his cheek and came away with blood.  The blood looked funny, and she realized that she’d gotten Gallifreyan blood on her hand.  Now she touched the circular wound, carefully, and he winced in reply.  “Feels like one of the rocks decided to take a bite out of my face.  Not to worry; it’ll heal.  It may scar.  Everything feels like it’s gonna scar.  Don’t ask why, though, I dunno.  Oo, but then I might have something matching Gen's...that'd be brilliant.”  He sat up, resting one of his long arms behind him for support.  “That’s a shortcut for you.  Now let’s make sure you haven’t gotten too badly hurt either.”

Martha was about to protest, but with a cool finger on her lips, he shushed her, other hand professionally searching her for anything worrying.  His hand slid underneath her jacket, checking the bandage and making sure it was secure.  The absence of more moisture meant that her wound hadn’t begun bleeding again, which was comforting, though she was blushing furiously.  “Sorry,” he muttered to her in apology, smiling sheepishly at her.  He jumped to his feet with no hint of exhaustion and held out a hand to bring her to her feet.  When he did, he pulled her with just a little too much energy, so they ended up being closer than he’d intended.  She could tell with one look at his face, the expression slightly startled, as if he’d miscalculated.  He leaned in, but instead of kissing her fully on the lips, he settled for a quick peck on the cheek.

With another slightly guilty smile, he took her hand and began leading her back into the tunnels, now that they’d gotten to the entryway.

The way he was able to sense her emotions and react in precisely the right way without a word was, on some levels, spooky.  When she needed the space, he seemed to disappear as if he had never been there; at other times, when she really needed him, in a millisecond he was there as if he’d just teleported into the room.  He’d known just how far he could push her without them both losing control.