The Doctor And I

Flesh and Stone - There's Something in My Eye

Bailee's POV-

I feel really weak, and have to stop walking behind Father Octavian and his men, and Amy and River. My vision goes blurry, and I hold onto a tree for support, my stumbling alerting River to my current condition.

"Bailee, what's wrong?" She sounds panicked, but her composure is calm, as she comes back to support me, Amy hot on her tail.

"Four." I hear myself say, my voice barely above a whisper. I feel myself sway, and I feel exceptionally dizzy, so supporting hands from Amy and River lower me down onto the floor, where I lie down.

"Med scanner, now." River snaps her fingers in the direction of Father Octavian and his men.

"Doctor Song, we can't stay here. We've got to keep moving." He insists, but I'm really not going anywhere at present.

"We wait for the Doctor." River says in a tone that implies no arguments.

"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralise the Angels. Until that is achieved" but he doesn't get to finish before River interrupts.

"Father Octavian, when the Doctor's in the room, your one and only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home. And trust me, it's not easy. Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself. And if he's alive, I'll never forgive him." I see The Doctor walk up behind River, and she senses his presence. "And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah." He grins.

"I hate you." River says shortly, not turning around to face him.

"You don't. Bishop, the Angels are in the forest." The Doctor warns Father Octavian.

"We need visual contact on every line of approach." He orders his men.

"How did you get past them?" River asks The Doctor.

"I found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe." He replies simply.

"What was it?" I ask weakly from my position on the floor.

"The end of the universe. Let's have a look, then." The Doctor kneels next to me, and scans me with his sonic screwdriver.

"So, what's wrong with me?" I ask warily, as loud as I can, but my voice barely goes above a whisper.

"Nothing. You're fine." River reassures me, but at the same time The Doctor goes

"Everything. You're dying."

"Doctor!" River exclaims sharply. The Doctor just looks sarcastically at her.

"Yes, you're right. If we lie to her, she'll get all better." He sighs, and turns back to face me.
"Right. Bailee, Bailee, Bailee. What's the matter with Bailee? Something's in her eye. What does that mean? Does it mean anything?" He scans me with his eyes, muttering to himself.

"Doctor." I say.

"Busy." He replies, but I'm dying, there isn't time to just be busy.

"Scared." I mumble, not really even up to saying full sentences any more.

"Course you're scared. You're dying. Shut up." He says to me, but not harshly, more worriedly, as he tries to figure out a way to save me.

"Okay, let him think." River says gently, placing her hand on mine.

"What happened? She stared at the Angel. She looked into the eyes of an Angel for too long." The Doctor says to himself, but is interrupted by two of Father Octavians men shouting.

"Sir! Angel incoming."

"And here."

"Keep visual contact. Do not let it move." Father Octavian ordered.

"Come on, come on, come on. Wakey, wakey." The Doctor hits his head, trying to think. "She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and, and.."

"The image of an Angel is an Angel." I whisper, remembering what happened to the Angel on the screen. It seemed like ages ago.

"A living mental image in a living human mind. But we stare at them to stop them getting closer. We don't even blink, and that is exactly what they want. Because as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind."

"Three." I hear myself say, and then my mind knows what's happening, I can feel the Angel inside me, sapping me of energy, draining my life from me. "Doctor, it's coming. I can feel it. I'm going to die." I whimper, and Amy kneels next to me and strokes my hair, her eyes brimming over. I take her hand.

"Please just shut up. I'm thinking. Now, counting. What's that about?" The Doctor holds up the walkie-talkie. "Bob, why are they making her count?"

"To make her afraid, sir." Came the reply. Well it's working.

"Okay, but why? What for?" The Doctor asks.

"For fun, sir." The malicious reply causing The Doctor to throw the communicator away in annoyance.

"Doctor, what's happening to me? Explain." I demand.

"Inside your head, in the vision centres of your brain, there's an Angel. It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind and the Angel is climbing out of it, and it's coming to shut you off."

"Then what does she do?" Amy asks desperately.

"If it was a real screen, what would we do? We'd pull the plug. We'd kill the power. But we can't just knock her out, the Angel would just take over."

"Then what? Quickly." River asks, looking at her medi scanner.

"We've got to shut down the vision centres of her brain. We've got to pull the plug. Starve the Angel."

"Doctor, she's got seconds." River warns.

"How would you starve your lungs?" The Doctor says quickly, pointing at River.

"I'd stop breathing."

The Doctor looks at me in realisation. "Bailee, close your eyes."

"No. No, I don't want to." I say, but I'm not sure why I don't want to.

"Good, because that's not you, that's the Angel inside you. It's afraid. Do it. Close your eyes." He says gently, and I squeeze my eyes shut tight.

I hear River gasp. "She's normalising. Oh, you did it. You did it." But the celebration is short lived, as there is another immediate danger.

"Sir? Two more incoming."

"Three more over here." Father Octavians men shout, referring to the Angels.

"Still weak. Dangerous to move her." River says, as I slowly sit up, not sure if that's allowed, until I feel someone's hand on my back, supporting me.

"So, can I open my eyes now?" I ask, to no one in particular, considering my world is just darkness. I feel someone kneel down next to me, and from the voice I instantly recognise it as The Doctor.

"Bailee, listen to me. If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die. The Angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, we've just sort of paused it. You've used up your countdown. You cannot open your eyes." The Doctor explains. In an alien forest, surrounded by deadly creatures that are after us, too weak to move, and unable to see? Fantastic.