The Fate of Persephone (10/OC) (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Eight: Introductions

           Persephone, on instinct, screamed and threw herself backwards away from the voice, crashing into the wall behind her with a bang as she struggled to get her bearings.

            "Ooh, I'm sorry!  I'm sorry!," the voice said, followed by the shifting of fabric and the scuffling of shoes.  Persephone threw her head up to see, in the dim light of the moon outside, a tall man in a brown suit with spikey hair.  He had an apologetic look on his face and looked ready to kick himself for scaring her.  He took a few steps toward her and reached out a hand to her, as if to help her up, but Percy scrambled away, accidently trapping herself in the corner of the room in the process.  "Don't touch me," she shrieked.  "Don't touch me!"  The Doctor instantly backed off, holding his hands out to show he wouldn't try anything.  "Who- Who are you," Percy gasped.  "Where's Jackie?" 

             The Doctor slowly lowered himself down on the floor a few feet away from her and folded his hands completely innocently.  "I'm the Doctor—just the Doctor.  And I told Jackie to spend the night at a friend's house so that I could meet with you alone."

             Evidently, that was not the right thing to say, as when he said 'meet with you alone,' Percy started to shake even more and press herself harder into the corner.  "Why," was all she could say.  She watched the man turn and lean his back against the wall, legs extended and crossed in front of him.  He responded with a jesting smile "Well how else was I going to meet you?  Last time I tried, you punched me in the face!"

              Persephone made a little 'oh' sound.  So he was who she had punched and who Jackie and Mickie had invited over those few days ago. 

            "Speaking of which," 'the Doctor' continued, "I see your hand is injured.  Is it broken?"  There was concern swirling in the man's brown eyes.  He held his hand out to her once more, though this time keeping himself at a distance. 

           Persephone cradled her had to her chest, wincing when a jolt of pain flared through it.  As she did that, a new sensation in the depths of her soul told her that she could trust this man-- and that she had to trust this man!  She didn't know what it was, but the feeling terrified her and made her want to do the exact opposite of what it said.  The absolute last thing she wanted to do was touch this man or let him touch her injuries but she knew that if she didn't get it checked out or treated soon, it would never heal properly.  He did say he was a doctor, right?

              Slowly, never taking her eyes off of his, she extended her bound hand to him, allowing hers to rest in his palm, twitching in pain and wariness.  She remained rigid, ready to pull her arm back and bolt at the first sign of danger. 

             The Doctor sat up a little and faced her properly and she saw deep concentration in his eyes as he took her hand into his with reverence, gently turning it over and, with the tender care of a friend, unwound the dirty bandage from it.  When it was fully unraveled, he cradled her hand in his with utmost care and let out a low breath.  "You've got a broken finger, Percy," he said. 

            "H-how do you know my name," Persephone stuttered, beginning to retract her hand.  Could it be that he was someone from the government?  Was he here to take her away?  But the Doctor gently secured it in his, preventing her from pulling back further as he answered "Well Jackie's a friend of mind and she told me about you."  Oh.  Percy was still on edge, but she allowed the man to inspect her fingers closer. 

           "I've got just the thing," he said.  Gently resting her injured hand lightly in his, he reached with his other into his pockets and pulled out a number of objects, including a tub of cream, a sticker of some kind, and a bandage. 

             Persephone watched him like a hawk as he bent over her hand with concentration.  She had dislodged and slightly splintered the large knuckle of her middle finger, causing it to turn purple and blue and to swell.  She really had punched him hard!  She watched as he unscrewed the cap of the tub of mystery cream and swiped a dollop of it onto two fingers, then proceeded to lightly smear it over her knuckle.  Instantly, the jabbing pain ceased and was replaced with a kind of tingling.  "What was that," Percy asked, instantly wary.

               The Doctor replied light-heartedly, as if they had been friends for a long time, "That was a little bone-mending remedy from my home.  Works wonders every time!  Does it hurt anymore?"  Percy shook her head and the Doctor proceeded to wrap the knuckles of her hand with the bandage, much like you would a boxer's.  Then he peeled the backing off of the round sticker and stuck it on top of the covered knuckle.  Instantly, a soothing iciness eased into her bones, eliminating any leftover discomfort.  

              "There," the Doctor said, presenting her hand to her in his own. He tried not to let it effect him when she jerked it back to her protectively. "All done.  It should be completely healed in five to seven days, so until then, try not to stress it." 

            Persephone nodded and brought her hand closer for clearer inspection.  He really had done a good job!  What kind of Doctor was he that he had such amazing supplies?  Surely they didn't sell this kind of stuff in hospitals, everyone would have heard about it!  She was so surprised, in fact, that she momentarily forgot about the strange circumstance she was in until the man spoke again:

            "So," he said.  He sat Indian style in front of her while she sat on her knees.  "Now that that's done with, I'd like to tell you who I am."  He looked at her with sincere brown eyes and she felt something in her soul give an unfamiliar reaction.  But she pushed down the feeling and nodded for him to continue.  "My name, as you know, is the Doctor.  I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, a long way away from here."  He could see that she was very confused by his words so decided to just lay it out plainly.  "I'm an alien." 

           Persephone felt unamusement bubble in her stomach.  Up until then, she thought, he had seemed like a pretty normal bloke (despite the fact he waited for her in a dark room just so that he could talk to her and that strange, unnatural feeling in her gut) but now, with him claiming to be and alien?  He had to have been high and broken into Jackie's flat.  Or maybe he was just insane.

               Percy felt uneasiness and the urge to dart away enter her mind.  But she knew that, given his previous display of familiarity and 'concern', it was likely that he would try to prevent her from leaving.  These thoughts only made her alarms flare up more and her need to be alone extreme.  The Doctor, however, thought their encounter was going quite well.  Because their bond was not initiated, he couldn't directly feel her emotions, but he thought she looked calm enough.  He was very pleased with himself and couldn't wait to tell her more. 

           "Wow," she said, eyes on her bound hand.  She figured it was best to let him think she was perfectly comfortable.  "Is... that where you learned to bind wounds?"  The Doctor smiled.  Now she was the one initiating conversation!  This was progress!  "Yes it was," he said cheerily.  Percy nodded.  "Huh.  Well thank you so much for fixing it, I would have been in a lot of pain without you."

The Doctor beamed.  "No problem! I-"

"No really, I mean it.  Thank you."

The Doctor was confused.  Why was she thanking him like she'd never see him again?

Wait---

            The Time Lord didn't have any warning as his young mate leapt up and bolted to the door, opening it and slamming it shut behind her.  It took the Doctor a few more seconds to get up from his position on the ground but he was just too late, as the door slammed in his face.   And by the time he opened it again, she was already a block and a half away.

This was bad, he thought to himself.  Very, very bad.