Stellar Collision

Chapter 5

"Do they hurt at all?" Dayle was asking him as she applied aloe to the burned skin around his eyes.

"Not really. But they aren't doing me much good either."

She chuckled at that and handed him the ice pack anyway."Stop opening them. The best thing you can do is just keep them closed for now. Rest."

The Doctor would have loved nothing more than to do just that. But the inner turmoil he was experiencing made that a bit difficult.

After a pause, she asked, "Are you sure your eyes weren't burned by some type of chemical...?"

He interrupted indignantly, "I told you, I was caught in a-"

"Gamma ray flash." She finished for him. "Yes, yes, I heard."

Dayle once again sat next to him, slightly derisive. "So you want to provide more details on what happened to you? Where on earth were you exposed to gamma rays?"

The Doctor laughed at her choice of words. "Well, to start with, it didn't happen on earth."

Dayle sighed and headed to the kitchen. "You are one strange man John." She sounded annoyed. He heard plates and cups clink as she reached into her cupboard. "Would you like some chamomile tea to help calm your nerves? I'm having some."

"Tea would be just lovely Dayle." He paused, remembering himself. "Thank you, by the way. For taking such good care of me. You seem like a wonderful mum."

She had just brought the tea in and set it on the small side table. She stood frozen to the spot. "What did you say?" she asked uncertainly.

"You seem like you would be a wonderful... uhm I mean." He fidgeted and grimaced. "Should you ever decide to ah... You seem like a wonderful nurse, I meant. I bet all your patients are glad to get you." The Doctor didn't need eyes to see he'd unsettled her by calling her a mum. He wasn't sure why he'd made the assumption. Something in her manner was very maternal though. Must be a delicate subject for her. He would steer clear of it from now on.

"So, tell me. How long have you known Melody?" He wondered.

Dayle prepared both their cups of tea. She had thoughtfully put his in a travel cup with a lid that he could sip from. She carefully placed the cup in his hands and joined him on the couch. She checked his bandage before answering.

"Melody just moved into the building this past year. A bit too basic for me actually. Today is Yoga Tuesday and yesterday would have been Manicure Monday." Dayle giggled. "She's real heavy into astrology and all that woowoo shit. Just got her real estate license of all things. She's always asking me to join her for a girl's night out. I guess she thinks since we're the only single women here we have to automatically be friends... is your tea bitter?"

The Doctor had been making a disgusted face listening to this information. Manicure Monday? Astrology? Real estate license? River, no.

"No. The tea is lovely." He tried standing up. "Wonder if you could point me in the direction of the loo though?"

Dayle rushed to help him up and guided him to the door of her restroom. He had to lean on her heavily. "Have you got, uh, control of everything there... won't be needing any assistance?" Dayle stammered awkwardly.

The Doctor realized what she was getting at and was appalled. "I should think I can handle things myself!"

She continued, amused "But, like, you can't see, so..."

Oh. He hadn't thought of that. Of course, he was really just escaping to the lav so he could fiddle with his sonic screwdriver. He wanted to get some readings to learn about the universe he'd ended up in. But he couldn't very well tell her that. She probably already thought him a headcase.