Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 65 - Running Out of Time

Lyssa shifted the sleeping Jamie so he rested a little easier against her chest in the child backpack carrier Ten had provided. There was supposedly some sort of technology - no doubt something along the lines of 'bigger on the inside' - that took most of the weight, meaning she could walk easily without strain.

At first, she hadn't even thought to use one until Eleven pointed out that they could hardly leave the children alone in the TARDIS while they went out looking for answers, and they would surely get too heavy to easily carry after a few minutes. So, here they were, Lyssa with Jamie and Rory with Amelia strapped to his chest in a similar carrier.

Neither child had woken up during the process, nor had they when they had been changed - Jamie by Rory and Amelia by Lyssa - into clothes that fit better than the over-sized shirts they had previously been wearing.

Ten had scanned the children again, and reported that while both children still appeared to be completely healthy, their melatonin and adenosine levels were far higher than they should have been, to the point that the children were basically forced into unconsciousness. Whatever it was, it acted fast. And they had no way to stop it.

And that was how Lyssa found herself back outside with an unconscious toddler strapped to her chest and a growing headache. They had debated the merits of leaving the toddlers in the TARDIS with someone to watch over them, but the idea was ultimately abandoned after Donna pointed out that the natives might be able to explain what had happened and offer a cure, or be able to do so after an examination that would require the children to be present.

Lyssa had agreed as well, but not for the same reasons. Jamie and Amelia were completely vulnerable at this point in time, and the only person she could absolutely trust was Rory, as he had been with her the whole time. None of the others had a way to verify that they were who they said they were, or even that they were where they said they had been.

Or even if Jamie was the one who was lying about the others being fake, that still meant he was clever enough to act like a proper child and fool the scanners - and the Doctor - into thinking him asleep when he wasn't. And if that was the case, then under no circumstances should he be left alone in the TARDIS, where he had access to all its gadgetry.

Of course, if he was lying about the others being fakes, then there was no way she could trust anything else he said. For all she knew, Ten and Donna and the children were fakes, and Eleven and Amy were real, or vice versa. She had no way of knowing, as they all seemed to have the same memories - or lack thereof - and even the necklace would offer no proof, as Jamie had pointed out that Eleven having another copy in his pocket - or not - would not be able to prove anything.

In short, she had nothing besides the guarantee that someone in their group was lying about who they really were.

Yay.

She shifted Jamie once more, checking to make sure that he was still able to breathe and his nose wasn't mashed up against her shirt. Unable to help herself, she brushed her fingers along his neck until she could feel his two pulses beating against them; steady, but slower than a child his age's should be. Worse, in fact, considering that Time Lord hearts naturally beat faster than humans.

But then again, the heart rate did slow down when at rest, and even more so when asleep, and Ten hadn't said anything about it being off when he'd checked. And the rest of them were right there, so he'd hardly have had the chance to skew the results.

Annnnnd she was getting nowhere. For all she knew, Jamie had just been disoriented by the sudden change from adult to child, and had gotten things mixed up due to all the changes, and they were all real. That was the best option, as it meant that there were two Doctors able to work on the problem and try to come up with a solution.