Lost in the Universe

xxxv

Nina woke up with her brain pounding inside her head. It took her only a second to realise that she had a needle sticking out of her right arm and a wave of cold hit her entire body. She desperately tried to reach it to pull it off, but her whole body ached. She didnt have the strength to reach it, she couldn't even sit up. She could hear the beeping of her heart beats going faster and faster, and it only made her more panicked.

"Hey, it's alright," a voice tried to calm her down. "Nina. Nina, look at me, it's me. I'm right here," the Doctor told her. The loud, fast beeping had woken him up from a much needed nap he had been taking on the chair he'd pulled next to her bed in the infirmary. "Nina, it's alright," he said, grabbing her hand. He pressed a button next to the bed and the matress folded itself up. The Doctor helped her sit up comfortably.

"Can you take it out?" Were Nina's first words after having woken up. The Doctor wanted to tell her that she should keep the IV. Her body was missing nutrients and she was incredibly week from everything the Master had done to her, but he could see how her hands were trembling, and how tears were starting to form in her eyes, and how she was obviously holding back from pulling it out herself, which would be much harsher than if he did it. "Please, just take it out," she managed to choke out without breaking down.

"Alright, I will," he agreed, quickly picking up a small band-aid from the cabinet behind him. He worked as fast and as delicately as he could to remove the needle from her inner arm, quickly wiping the small drop of blood that had formed and placing the plaster where the needle previously was. It was subtle, but the Doctor noticed how her heartbeats slowed down as soon as he was done. He honnestly didn't know she was this scared of needles. Maybe she wasn't, maybe it was a new thing. Maybe it was an old, forgotten fear revived by whatever the Master had done to her.

"Thank you," she said quietly, wiping away the nervous tears that had formed in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you didn't like needles," he apologized honnestly. After all she'd been through -- and Jack had warned him it'd been a lot -- the last thing he wanted was to startle her again.

"Honnestly, I didn't know it was gonna freak me out this much," she mumbled, pulling her legs up towards herself and wrapping her arms lightly around them, trying to get as comfortable as possible in a hospital environment. "What happened?"

"The Master --"

"No, what happened to me?" She cut him off. Confusion flashed on the Doctor's face for a second, and Nina tried to rephrase. "I remember... the Master had been shot. I remember that. He's dead, isn't he?" Nina asked him, not once making eye contact.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she told him, taking his of his hand.

"He was your brother," the Doctor argued. Nina shook her head.

"He wasn't. My brother died when I was seven years old," she told him firmly. "He'd make me laugh, he'd tell me stories and take care of me. My brother wouldn't --" she cut herself off. The Doctor was unsure if she'd done it on purpose or if she'd choked out from the emotion of remembering what had happened during that one year. Nina shook her head. "That wasn't my brother. But I know he was your friend," she added, giving his hand another squeeze. "So I'm sorry."

The Doctor was silent for a moment  contemplating what he could say before settling for a simple "thank you". 

"So... what happened to me?" Nina repeated hesitantly. 

"Um..." the Doctor said, standing up. He walked to the screen of some sort of scanning device and pulled on its arm so the screen could reach Nina's bed and she could read it. "You were hypoglycemic and dehydrated," he began hesitantly, knowing he couldn't go too deep into the subject. "I believe the shock just sent your body into overdrive," he guessed. "You're no longer dehydrated, and your blood pressure has normalised, but your sugar levels are still very low. You've got to eat. And rest. Please rest," he said in a jokey, yet almost begging tone. Nina chuckled.