Forged in Ice (Doctor Who AU Novel)

Chapter 29 Where's Daniel?

One hour. That was how long it had taken to evacuate a dozen wounded and Donnie Higgins from the Island. As the least cut up, Pete had refused care until the others were stitched and bandaged. Now, despite being injected with lido the removal hurt. "Hold still," Rose fussed, as she held her dad's hand.  He tried not to squirm away but the tweezers digging into his scalp was only slightly less than torture. It didn't matter that the navy ship doctor plucked the piece of glass from his scalp with a delicate hand worthy of a heart surgeon, it still hurt -- a lot.  

"Is the link back up?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"No, not yet," she answered, as another piece of glass hit the little metal dish. Really, it was a miracle that Pete wasn't hurt that bad. Flying glass had played havoc with some of the men.

"Where's Daniel?" he gasped when the doctor poured saline into the wound flushing out any missed bits. He made no effort to hide his worry for the man he loved like a son. He had taken Donnie's death much too hard, disappearing from sickbay the minute his ankle had been x-rayed and strapped into an immobiliser.Pete had hoped the communication satellites were back up so Daniel could call home. He needed the sound of Nora's voice to snatch him back.

"I'm not sure, probably the morgue. I'm worried Dad, he's worked hard to prove he's not a dangerous lunatic," Rose answered.

"I know ... ouch," Pete yelped as the doctor started stitching. "What happened to the bloody lido?"

"You need to be more like the Scots; they just suck it up and go on."

 Pete glanced at the door but didn't move. "Daniel? Where the bloody hell have you been?"

 "We should leave as soon as possible, it's nearly midnight. 

 "Where?" Pete said, wincing at the next stitch. 

"Communications. I still can't reach Nora. She'll be worried," he answered.

"You alright?"

 "Sure, I'm fine. You, on the other hand..." he said shaking his head. "Rose?" he asked, nodding toward her wrist.

Her eyebrows knitted, Daniel was expressionless, almost flat and that wasn't a good sign. She met her dad's worried eyes and then flashed a tight smile at Daniel. "I'm fine, just sprained my wrist. This big baby nearly broke the other one." 

  "I can see that. So, em, think we can get off this tub?" Daniel answered.

 "Yeah, Doc?" Pete turned to the ship's doctor who finished his stitches and applied a dressing.

 The doctor plopped two brown bottles in Pete's hand. "I am giving you a four-day supply of antibiotics. That will hold you until you get a script from your doctor. Don't skip them. Now, please, get out of here. You're crowding my sickbay." 

 "What's the second one for?" Pete asked.

 "Paracetamol with codeine for the pain. You cried like a two-year-old with stitches, the lido wears off, you'll really be sore. Plus those scraped up knees are gonna hurt in the morning. Take my word for it, you'll need them."

"Thanks, Doc," Pete said, sliding gingerly off the exam table. "Guess we should gather the troops, eh?"

 "Already did; the team has limped their way to the flight deck. They're overseeing Hig ...." he sucked in a breath. "Anyway, you two are the last."

 "Daniel, what happened wasn't your fault, " Rose said.

 "Right. Well, when I tell his father what happened, I'll be sure and add that part."