In And Through The Body [ Doctor Who | sequel to A Man With Sins ]

SIX

The pain was excruciating. I could feel the metal bullet burning beneath the surface of my skin. A whimper of pain parted my lips as the Doctor and I continued to run. He hadn't noticed yet, that I' d been hit, and I planned on keeping it that way as long as possible. The adrenaline in my veins kept me from feeling the full extent of the pain, and I was thankful for that. We ran as fast as we could until we made it back to the TARDIS. We hurried inside and shut the doors quickly. I took off towards the console before the Doctor could get there, and I started to set us in motion. We needed to get away from here, even if that meant we just went up into orbit.

My hands worked quickly, and as I was throwing back a lever, the Doctor came to my side. My breathing was still erratic but I was calm despite being shot in the back. Every few seconds I would hold my breath as if to erase the pain that was becoming more and more noticeable. "Who the hell was that?" I questioned as the Doctor ran over to the monitor, pulling up the Master's information. Who would kidnap the Master of all people? Was it some sort of power trip? The Doctor and I had undone all of the Master's evil doings before, erasing him from everyone's memory. So how could someone have remembered him? Was this Lucy's doing? Was she bringing her husband back?

No, that didn't make sense. She had been the one to kill him, so why bring him back? Shaking my head, my hands gripped the railing that surrounded the console as a dizzy spell washed over me. I could feel the trail of blood seeping down my back as I stood there, closing my eyes in hopes of staying up on my feet. When I opened my eyes though, the Doctor was looking right at me. "What's wrong?" He questioned, slowly walking over to me. His hand graced my shoulder as he turned me to face him directly. I avoided his gaze as much as I could, and I could feel the color draining from my face. "Cara," he muttered, placing his hand against my back as he went to pull me in for a hug.

That's when I broke. His hand landed directly over the hole in my back, making the pain unbearable. "Stop!" I yelled, pushing him off of me as I doubled over, holding my knees in my hands to keep me upright. "Just, we need to focus. The Master, they took him." Each breath rattled out of my chest as I looked up at the Doctor to see him studying the blood on his hand. His eyes were wide with shock as he looked me up and down. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Shaking my head, there was no stopping the Doctor this time as he came over and stood behind me, lifting my shirt up to my shoulders.

His fingertips were cold against my hot flesh, and it brought a little relief as long as he didn't poke and prod the wound. "You've been shot." The Doctor's voice was full of emotion. "They shot you, why didn't you tell me?" Panic was bleeding through as he spoke, and I shook my head. 

"There are more important things to be worried about. It's not a fatal wound, Doctor. I'm fine."

Looking back at him, the Doctor was shaking his head in disagreement. Before I knew it, he was placing both of his hands over my wound. I could feel the roar of regeneration energy pouring from the Doctor's hands down against my skin, and in moments, it was as if the bullet had never hit me in the first place. Narrowing my eyes at him as I stood straight, I reached out and smacked him across the face. "You idiot! You just wasted a part of your lifespan!" I was angry. Of course I was. While we were facing the end of time, he was wasting what life he had left on healing a non-fatal wound. "Don't ever do that again." As he stared at me with sad eyes, he reached up and rubbed the side of his face. I knew he meant well, but at the same time, he shouldn't be wasting anything on me, not one bit.

There was silence between us as I caught my breath, glad the pain was gone, but mad about how it was taken away. "We need to make a pit stop," the Doctor spoke with a lack of emotion in his voice, probably due to the fact that I'd just struck him. "Hold on tight."

a few moments later...

The Doctor had told me to stay in the TARDIS, he was afraid something else would happen to me, or that I'd stand between him and another attack. He wasn't wrong. I would do anything to keep him here, this version of the Doctor. It sounded selfish, really, but I couldn't help myself. I didn't want him to go, to change into a new Doctor, a new face, a new person. Though my love for him was endless, what if the new version of him wouldn't love me the same way? Every time a Timelord regenerates, we essentially turn into completely new people. New faces, new bodies, new personalities, but the same two hearts.