The Artist and the Doctor

Chapter 9

Great I'm in a hospital.

I groaned at the thought and attempted to push myself up. A sharp pain went through my right side and my head began swimming as nausea came over me.

Bad idea.

"No, no, no." I was gently pushed back down and a hand brushed back stray bits of hair that had fallen in front of my face.

"Doctor-"I started, but my throat burned when I tried to speak.

"Here this will help." The Doctor handed me a glass containing a bright green liquid.

I eyed it uncertainly before downing the mysterious liquid. Immediately I spit it back out in The Doctor's face, gagging in the process.

"Oh God, what the hell was that?" I asked my voice suddenly back to normal.

"Oi, don't go spitting liquids in my face!" The Doctor said in disgust, wiping his face on my blanket.

"Eww, you're so gross!" I laughed.

The Doctor threw me a cheesy grin as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Why am I in a hospital?" I asked suddenly.

"You're not in a hospital; you're in the TARDIS medical bay. You got knocked out when I counteracted the tank from exploding. The energy sent out very forceful waves of pressure knocking you out in the process. Nothing to worry about though, you just have a minor concussion and a bruise on your right side. You'll probably be a little sore for the next couple of days. As for the liquid I just gave you, that was a throat cleanser, so now you can speak with no problem." The Doctor explained.

"What about Transylvania and the children? Are they ok?" I asked worry lacing my voice.

"The planet is safe, for now. As for the children, they're back with their families and going about their normal way of Transylvanian life." He assured me.

I let out a sigh of relief and let my eyes rest on the monitor to my left. It made a soft humming noise and consisted of intricate green glowing circles. I stared at the symbols in awe wondering what they stood for.

The Doctor followed my line of vision and smiled sadly. "It's Gallifreyan. The ancient language of the Time Lords."

"It's beautiful."

The Doctor stood up from the bed. "You should get some rest. If you're feeling better tomorrow we'll go to a much quieter planet."

"Doctor."

He stopped at the door and turned around eyeing me expectantly.

"You never told me about Gallifrey."

A forlorn expression crossed The Doctor's features. He looked down at his feet before looking back up at me a hurt smile tugging at his lips.

"You would have loved it, Claire. Red orange skies and sliver leaves decorating the trees. One of the most beautiful planets these old eyes have seen."

"We can't go there can we?" I asked.

He shook his head with a sad smile.

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

The Doctor fell quiet for a moment.

"You don't have to answer! I'm sorry I never should've asked you." I said quickly, regretting that I brought up an obviously touchy subject.

"No, it's ok." The Doctor moved back to the bed and settled on the edge of it again. "There was a war. The Time War. I'm the last of my kind, the last of the Time Lords. I had to burn my planet because an evil race called the Daleks were invading. There was nothing I could do to save my people."