The Doctor's Reluctant Companion [Tenth Doctor]

Rising Guilt

The TARDIS continued to shake as the Charthakian outside continued its attempts to get in, still howling that horrible siren-like cry.

I was crushed up under Rose's protective arm, clutching the Doctor's coat around me like it would save me from being mauled.

"Hey, big boy!" The Doctor's voice sounded from outside. The TARDIS stopped shaking, so the Charthakian must've stopped attacking it.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard him yell, "Come and get me!"

The Charthakian screeched, and we heard the sounds of scales scraping the sides of the buildings outside. There was another shriek, a human-sounding one, and the Doctor crashed through the door, almost landing on top of us.

Rose gasped in relief as the Doctor writhed around, kicking the door shut with one skinny leg and standing up at the same time. He dashed between us, towards the center console, slapping buttons and throwing a lever. The TARDIS shook and started the grinding noise, which I assumed was the noise it made when it was traveling places.

Amidst the confusion, Rose and I stood, clinging to the railings of the catwalk.

The Doctor turned wild eyes on us, panting. "Are you okay?!"

Rose nodded mutely, giving him a small, reassuring smile.

"Yeah," I replied almost incoherently. I noticed he'd tied my sweatshirt around his waist, looking oddly young despite the suit.

The TARDIS stopped making the noise, and the shaking stopped. We stood breathless, the three of us, staring at each other, before the Doctor's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.

"Doctor!" Rose cried, rushing over to him. The Doctor's eyes were half-lidded, his face a mask of pain.

Something dark stained the metal grating beneath him. As Rose searched frantically for what was wrong, the Doctor groaned, rolling onto his stomach.

"Oh my God!" I gasped, staring in horror at the deep claw marks that bisected the Doctor's back from shoulder to hip. Blood flowed profusely, seeping into his ruined suit.

Rose's eyes widened in terror at the mangled mess. She cast about for something to stem the flow of the blood, tears beginning to leak from her eyes.

I yanked the Doctor's coat off and pressed it against the wounds, not caring that the blood soon soaked through, coating my hands—this man, this Timelord, had just saved my life, and I may have just gotten him killed.

"Doctor?" Rose asked tearfully, her trembling hands helping me press the coat against his injuries. "What do we do?"

"There's a little—" he began, but a round of coughing stopped his words. A fine spray of blood speckled his lips. "Ooh, punctured a lung, that's a new experience..."

"What?!" I choked out around the lump in my throat, not realizing I was crying too. "What can we do?!"

"There's a little bag there," he gasped. "Under the console—Rose, the bag I told you not to touch. Get it."

She reluctantly lifted her bloodstained hands from his back, scrabbling around under the console, pulling out a small, leather drawstring bag.

The Doctor reached for it, teeth bared in pain. He snatched his hand back when a golden glow illuminated his skin, tracing each vein.

"No, it's already happening!" The Doctor attempted to sit up, but snarled through his teeth and gave up trying. "Rose, keep the kid away!"

Rose dropped the bag and pulled me away, but I fought against her, not understanding. "No! He'll bleed out!"