The Fate of Persephone (10/OC) (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Fourteen: Cassandra

            Once they had made their way to the front entrance area, the Doctor made a beeline for the lifts, sprinting as to get to them before the doors shut behind a man who had just exited one. In his moment of distraction as he rejoiced in his success, he realized too late that the doors were closing and his bonded was not there. Instead, he saw her several feet back and when she looked up and saw him behind the rapidly closing doors, fear flashed across her face and her hearts jolted for a reason she couldn't explain.

            "No no wait!" The Doctor called as he rushed to stop the lift, but it was too late and the doors shut. Frantically, he looked for an 'open doors' button, but (in accordance with the technology of that era) there were no such things and everything was voice activated. The Time Lord swallowed to calm his nerves and pressed his ear against the cold doors calling out "Percy?! Percy take the other lift and go to ward 26!" He didn't know if she had heard him, but it was too late, as the AI in the lift had heard him say 'ward 26' and had begun to move upward. "And watch out for the disinfectant!" After that, there was nothing else he could do but wait for her to join him in the ward.

            Already, he could feel the twinge in his hearts as he was separated from her. He knew she would likely feel nothing (or at least would brush the feeling off) but he knew that it was their bond reacting at the distance between them. He'd have to get a bio dampener on her soon, or those feelings could get a lot more painful!  But they wouldn't be separated for long, so there was likely no risk.

~*~*~*~

            On the main floor, Percy was left staring at the doors that had just shut in her face. There were two thoughts splitting her mind as her hearts thudded against her ribs. First, her brain screamed that this was the perfect opportunity to escape the Doctor, find help, and get back home! Surely if all these aliens around her were super high-tech, they would be able to get back to London, right? And perhaps they could travel in time too, so the billions of years between now and the London she knew wouldn't be a problem?

             But the second thought was much more powerful, overwhelming her senses and causing a brainstorm of emotions: Get back to the Doctor! Find the Doctor! Where is the Doctor?   These thoughts momentarily filled her mind to the brim and pushed out all rationality, and before she knew what she was doing, she was sprinting toward the lifts and jabbing at the button repeatedly. The door had barely opened when Persephone burst through, searching the walls for a button to press. But there was none. And when the doors slid shut and the quietness of the small space enveloped her, her mind cleared.

           'Okay,' she thought. 'I don't know what these flashes of fear and desperation are, or why I have these impulses to be near the Doctor, but they have got to stop. It must be some kind of alien thing to make sure I don't wander off! I've got to get out of here!' But still, no buttons turned up and she resorted to slapping the walls, trying to find a control panel or something. Finally defeated, she called out "Get me out of here!" Then, to her surprise, the whole room jerked and she felt herself traveling downward.

           'Huh,' she thought. 'Voice activated. It must be taking me to an exit.' For the first time since she had met the Doctor, Persephone felt at peace. The lift was taking here somewhere where she could leave the hospital, and from there, she would find someone she could trust to take her back home.  And, she reasoned, even if she couldn't get back, there was a whole city out there for her to explore and get lost in! If worst came to worst, she could just settle down in the alleys of New New York!

"Commence stage one disinfection."

           And after a while, she wouldn't even know she had left London! After all, adapting to her surroundings with no help from others was kind of her---