Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 33 - Recovery

Lyssa stared balefully up at her ceiling as her bedroom door swung open after a brief knock. She didn't move, determined to remain sprawled across her bed, book shut firmly on the bedspread beside her.

"Lyssa?"

She heard footsteps coming closer, and then a moment later, the Doctor's worried face was peering down at her, floppy hair swinging into his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Her lower lip curled into a pout. "My book," she grumbled, sending a glare at it. "The main character is being stupid, and now we're not on speaking terms anymore. I need time to contemplate this betrayal."

"Ah, so I have good timing, then," he said cheerfully, setting something down on her nightstand with a clink. "It's time for your next round of medicine."

"Oh, wow, suddenly I've found it in my heart to forgive her, sorry, Doctor, I'm busy, can you come back later?" she asked in a rush, swiping her book off the bed and opening it to the page she'd marked. Her eyes fell on the last line she'd read before abandoning it and she cringed, recalling just why she'd shut it. "Actually, on second thought, I think I need to take a nap right now. Rest, recover, you know, like you wanted me to," she rambled, pulling her pillow firmly over her head.

She heard his bright laughter spill out above her and couldn't help a smile as he tugged gently at her pillow. "Nooo," she cried, clamping her arms tightly over it. "Didn't you hear? My resident medical professional said that I needed to rest! That means no being disturbed," she added sternly, peeking out from underneath her hiding spot.

His green eyes crinkled with amusement. "And didn't you hear?" he countered. "Your resident medical professional - a very brilliant and handsome man, by all accounts - also said that you needed to take some medicine every day for a week to boost your immune system after the stress it's been under. And, of course, some delicious, healthy soup."

She groaned and buried herself back under the pillow again. Soup was fine. Soup was great. Soup was very good for you.

Soup was not as amazing when you had to eat it twice a day several days in a row.

"Fine," she grumbled, sitting up with a sigh and shifting to lean against her headboard. "But for the record, I want it noted that I protest having to put my book down just for more soup."

"Your protest has been duly noted," the Doctor said cheerfully, sitting down on the chair beside her bed. "But it will be ignored if you don't take your medicine. How are you feeling?"

She wrinkled her nose as she pulled the tray onto her lap. "A lot less tired, for once. I might still take a nap later, but it'll be a short one, not the all-day ones I took before."

"Don't push yourself," he cautioned as she began to eat. "That's why you're napping constantly and eating all this soup in the first place."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Like I could help that I ended up on a pirate ship in the middle of the ocean, with a 'dodgy mermaid'," she pouted. "Or that said dodgy mermaid picked me as her target right from the start."

"You could have told me once you'd landed," he pointed out.

"I hardly got the chance," she defended herself. "We landed seconds after I arrived, left the ship, and then immediately got ourselves in hot water." She took another spoonful of soup, crinkling her nose at the taste. "Can you explain what's actually going on again, now that I'm awake enough to fully remember it?" she requested, eager for some form of distraction.

He sighed. "You already know you carry a portion of the Time Vortex within you, and that it would normally be lethal. But even with the original changes to your physiology, you can still only handle a limited amount before it becomes dangerous even for you. That's why you jump - it's your body's way of getting rid of the excess energy."