The Colony Hospital - Doctor Who
Jan. 2nd, 2008 02:07 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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randomsushiThe Doctor and Zoe get Jamie to a hospital on the planet Ghiaccio Quattro and uncover an alien plot to control the people using flu. Follows on from The Prison Beneath The Sea.
It felt like forever, but when the Doctor glanced at the clock, only forty minutes had passed since Doctor Sandhu had left. He had reappeared and was smiling, which was always a good sign when somebody came to inform you that they’d finished meddling with your friend’s guts.
He got to his feet, quickly followed Zoe. “He’s out of surgery and stable. Follow me,” Doctor Sandhu instructed. He spun around led them down a network of pleasantly decorated corridors, up a flight of stairs and past a nurses station to a small and sunny room. Inside, on a clinical but comfortable looking bed, lay Jamie, groggy and bruised, but awake. More importantly, alive.
“Oh Jamie! How do you feel?” Zoe asked, rushing over to his side. She made to hug him, but stopped when she noticed a plastic cast on his arm and sat on the edge of the bed instead.
Jamie smiled weakly at her. “Ahm fine. A wee bit sore, but ah’ll live.” He looked at the Doctor. “What happened t’ the prisoners?”
“Well we didn’t exactly stay to find out, I’m afraid,” the Doctor admitted. “But we did let the authorities know. Hopefully they were able to catch them when they surfaced.”
Jamie looked slightly disappointed. “Y’ mean they could just get away? Och, Doctor!”
“They’re very conspicuous fellows, if they did get away, it’s doubtful they’d go far,” the Doctor reassured him. “We were much more concerned with getting you seen to.”
“I told ye, I’m fine.” Jamie looked down at the plastic wrapping on his arm. “Well, OK, almost fine.”
Zoe reached over and poked him lightly in the chest. He yelped and jerked away. “Liar,” she said with a slightly hysterical giggle.
“All right, so I’m not feeling mah best,” he admitted. “But I am feeling better that I was. When can we go?”
“When the doctor says so,” Zoe replied. “Not that Doctor,” she added as he glanced hopefully towards the scruffy man.
“She’s right, Jamie,” the Doctor said. “You’ve been through a rough time of it and you need to rest.”
“For how long?” Jamie asked.
“Oh not too long.” The Doctor indicated towards the plastic cast. “There’s nanogenes on the inside of the cast. Little robots,” he added, seeing the confusion on the boy’s face. “They’ll heal your arm a lot quicker than it would on its own. It should only take a day or two.”
“There’s robots in mah arm?!” Jamie exclaimed in disbelief. “Are y’ pulling mah leg?”
Zoe examined the cast with interest. “That’s fascinating. Back on the Wheel, nanotechnology was still in experimental stages. When are we?”
“Forty-one seventeen,” the Doctor said promptly. “At least, according to the magazine in the waiting room. It could be a few years later than that though, hospitals are notorious for only stocking old magazines in their waiting areas.”
Zoe looked surprised. “Are you sure?”
“Och, don’t ask him, he never knows when we are,” Jamie said.
The Doctor looked huffy. “I do too know when we are! Close enough, anyway!”
At that moment, a nurse appeared in the doorway. “Hello, sorry to bother you, but visiting hours will be over in five minutes.”
“OK, thank you,” the Doctor smiled at her. “Well, Zoe, I suppose we should be off then.” He held out a hand and helped her off the bed. “We’ll be back tomorrow, bright and early,” he told Jamie. “We’ll see you then. But now, you need to rest.”
“Is it safe here?” Jamie asked.
The Doctor smiled reassuringly “Oh yes, perfectly safe.”
Jamie flopped back against his pillows with a scowl. “Aye, I’ve heard that one before an’ all. What about these wee robots? Are they safe too?”
“Safe as can be,” the Doctor reassured him. “They’re simply programmed to rebuild bone tissue. As soon as they’re done, they’ll stop working and your body will get rid of them. That’s all there is to it.”
The Doctor and Zoe left him marvelling at the thought of tiny robots mending his arm. “Well, shall we stay in the TARDIS?” the Doctor asked once they were outside. “Or shall we see if we can find a hotel in the town nearby?”
“Do you have any local currency?” Zoe asked.
The Doctor patted the pockets of his baggy coat. “I should have, somewhere. Ah yes…” He delved into a pocket and pulled out a card. “Oh no, that’s my WH Smiths gift card. I should have some cash in the TARDIS.”
Zoe smiled. “Then let’s stay in a hotel. I could do with a change of scenery. And while you’re looking for money, I want to check something on the TARDIS data banks.”
“Oh yes?” The Doctor looked at his companion in interest. “What’s that?”
“Well there was something strange about that magazine I was reading-“
“Do you mean the recipe for roast cheef?” the Doctor interrupted. “It’s made from a genetically modified animal called a chow; a mixture between a chicken and a cow. Apparently they coped better with space travel than their predecessors. It’s rather tasty with pepper sauce.”
Zoe smiled and shook her head. “No, not that, although it does sound interesting. No, there was a health section in the middle. It had an article about influenza.”
The Doctor looked puzzled. “So?”
“Well I could be mistaken, but when I was looking through all the medical files earlier on, I’m sure I read that flu had been wiped out in the thirty-third century,” Zoe said earnestly. “But according to that article, there have been several outbreaks in the past year of primary influenza pneumonia. Last month, twenty-thousand people on this planet caught it. I need to check the dates again to be sure, but if I’m right and this really is the forty-second century, there shouldn’t be flu on this planet,” she finished breathlessly.
“I thought you were supposed to have a photographic memory?” the Doctor asked, looking amused.
“Yes, well, I was a little bit pre-occupied earlier,” Zoe said in a slightly snooty tone. “All I got was a blurry photograph with a finger in the corner.”
The Doctor couldn’t help but laugh.
It felt like forever, but when the Doctor glanced at the clock, only forty minutes had passed since Doctor Sandhu had left. He had reappeared and was smiling, which was always a good sign when somebody came to inform you that they’d finished meddling with your friend’s guts.
He got to his feet, quickly followed Zoe. “He’s out of surgery and stable. Follow me,” Doctor Sandhu instructed. He spun around led them down a network of pleasantly decorated corridors, up a flight of stairs and past a nurses station to a small and sunny room. Inside, on a clinical but comfortable looking bed, lay Jamie, groggy and bruised, but awake. More importantly, alive.
“Oh Jamie! How do you feel?” Zoe asked, rushing over to his side. She made to hug him, but stopped when she noticed a plastic cast on his arm and sat on the edge of the bed instead.
Jamie smiled weakly at her. “Ahm fine. A wee bit sore, but ah’ll live.” He looked at the Doctor. “What happened t’ the prisoners?”
“Well we didn’t exactly stay to find out, I’m afraid,” the Doctor admitted. “But we did let the authorities know. Hopefully they were able to catch them when they surfaced.”
Jamie looked slightly disappointed. “Y’ mean they could just get away? Och, Doctor!”
“They’re very conspicuous fellows, if they did get away, it’s doubtful they’d go far,” the Doctor reassured him. “We were much more concerned with getting you seen to.”
“I told ye, I’m fine.” Jamie looked down at the plastic wrapping on his arm. “Well, OK, almost fine.”
Zoe reached over and poked him lightly in the chest. He yelped and jerked away. “Liar,” she said with a slightly hysterical giggle.
“All right, so I’m not feeling mah best,” he admitted. “But I am feeling better that I was. When can we go?”
“When the doctor says so,” Zoe replied. “Not that Doctor,” she added as he glanced hopefully towards the scruffy man.
“She’s right, Jamie,” the Doctor said. “You’ve been through a rough time of it and you need to rest.”
“For how long?” Jamie asked.
“Oh not too long.” The Doctor indicated towards the plastic cast. “There’s nanogenes on the inside of the cast. Little robots,” he added, seeing the confusion on the boy’s face. “They’ll heal your arm a lot quicker than it would on its own. It should only take a day or two.”
“There’s robots in mah arm?!” Jamie exclaimed in disbelief. “Are y’ pulling mah leg?”
Zoe examined the cast with interest. “That’s fascinating. Back on the Wheel, nanotechnology was still in experimental stages. When are we?”
“Forty-one seventeen,” the Doctor said promptly. “At least, according to the magazine in the waiting room. It could be a few years later than that though, hospitals are notorious for only stocking old magazines in their waiting areas.”
Zoe looked surprised. “Are you sure?”
“Och, don’t ask him, he never knows when we are,” Jamie said.
The Doctor looked huffy. “I do too know when we are! Close enough, anyway!”
At that moment, a nurse appeared in the doorway. “Hello, sorry to bother you, but visiting hours will be over in five minutes.”
“OK, thank you,” the Doctor smiled at her. “Well, Zoe, I suppose we should be off then.” He held out a hand and helped her off the bed. “We’ll be back tomorrow, bright and early,” he told Jamie. “We’ll see you then. But now, you need to rest.”
“Is it safe here?” Jamie asked.
The Doctor smiled reassuringly “Oh yes, perfectly safe.”
Jamie flopped back against his pillows with a scowl. “Aye, I’ve heard that one before an’ all. What about these wee robots? Are they safe too?”
“Safe as can be,” the Doctor reassured him. “They’re simply programmed to rebuild bone tissue. As soon as they’re done, they’ll stop working and your body will get rid of them. That’s all there is to it.”
The Doctor and Zoe left him marvelling at the thought of tiny robots mending his arm. “Well, shall we stay in the TARDIS?” the Doctor asked once they were outside. “Or shall we see if we can find a hotel in the town nearby?”
“Do you have any local currency?” Zoe asked.
The Doctor patted the pockets of his baggy coat. “I should have, somewhere. Ah yes…” He delved into a pocket and pulled out a card. “Oh no, that’s my WH Smiths gift card. I should have some cash in the TARDIS.”
Zoe smiled. “Then let’s stay in a hotel. I could do with a change of scenery. And while you’re looking for money, I want to check something on the TARDIS data banks.”
“Oh yes?” The Doctor looked at his companion in interest. “What’s that?”
“Well there was something strange about that magazine I was reading-“
“Do you mean the recipe for roast cheef?” the Doctor interrupted. “It’s made from a genetically modified animal called a chow; a mixture between a chicken and a cow. Apparently they coped better with space travel than their predecessors. It’s rather tasty with pepper sauce.”
Zoe smiled and shook her head. “No, not that, although it does sound interesting. No, there was a health section in the middle. It had an article about influenza.”
The Doctor looked puzzled. “So?”
“Well I could be mistaken, but when I was looking through all the medical files earlier on, I’m sure I read that flu had been wiped out in the thirty-third century,” Zoe said earnestly. “But according to that article, there have been several outbreaks in the past year of primary influenza pneumonia. Last month, twenty-thousand people on this planet caught it. I need to check the dates again to be sure, but if I’m right and this really is the forty-second century, there shouldn’t be flu on this planet,” she finished breathlessly.
“I thought you were supposed to have a photographic memory?” the Doctor asked, looking amused.
“Yes, well, I was a little bit pre-occupied earlier,” Zoe said in a slightly snooty tone. “All I got was a blurry photograph with a finger in the corner.”
The Doctor couldn’t help but laugh.
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