To Call Our Own (5/36)

[amberfocus]

Chapter Five:  Plauge

The TARDIS materialized in the middle of the Dirsan city of Reeven, the capital city and home of the throne. At any other time the ship would have drawn notice appearing as it had in the center of the town square, but at this time and in this place not one head poked out of a doorway to see what the strange noise was. No one noticed them as they stepped out into what should have been a bustling marketplace.

Where outdoor shops and food vendors had previously stood, once bright fabric hung dirty and torn in the breeze. Consumables rotted under the Dirindian sun and the smell of sickness and death permeated the air. Rose felt her stomach roil. Although her morning sickness had improved during the last week, her body was definitely making it known how it felt about the smells.

She swallowed rapidly trying to stay under control, but a moment later she ran into an alleyway and vomited. When she came back she had horror in her eyes. “There’re bodies,” she said gesturing behind her. “Just laying there.” She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth.

“Are you okay, love?” the Doctor asked solicitously. He was leaning heavily on a walking stick he’d claimed came from the Terelian Rain Forest of Jaglan Alpha, though she didn’t remember him having picked it up the last time they were there. Maybe one of his past selves had done or he’d gotten it during the time she was away.

“I’m fine now.” Donna had stepped back inside the TARDIS when Rose had gotten ill and she now emerged with a canteen of water.

“Here, drink this,” said Donna. Rose took the canteen, took a few sips and spat it out and then drank a bit more. She hooked the canteen onto her belt.

“Let’s go.”

Jack emerged from the TARDIS with Naya close beside him. She was much improved and her lesions had begun to disappear. “Lead us to the palace, Naya,” the Doctor said.

Naya nodded and slipped to the front of the pack. Jack watched her slender form with a regretful sigh. She really was too young for him. And promised to a prince. “No, Jack,” said Rose.

“I know,” he said. “I do have some self-control.”

“Then use it,” said Donna, but gently. She’d seen the way the girl had affected her friend, saw the way Naya looked at Jack, but she knew as well as he did that Naya had to be off limits if there was any chance of peace between countries and the end to the plague.

Jack sighed, slung his pack onto his back, and started off after the princess. After a moment the rest of them followed.

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There were no guards at the gates to the palace and no guards at the doors. Reeven resembled a ghost town. Inside the castle was another story. People lay where they had fallen, some dead, some in the throes of the second and third stages of the plague.

In the secondary stage, the lesions blistered and filled with blue fluid and tiny air sacs in the lungs began to fill as well. Labored breathing was soon followed by an unproductive cough. Energy drained rapidly from a person’s body leaving lethargy in its wake.

In the tertiary stage of the plague the blisters burst leaving behind oozing blue pox marks on the skin. The fluid filled air sacs in the lungs also began to burst, causing a feeling akin to drowning, and a wet cough that brought up blue fluid, and often blood. Blue fluid and blood would also leak from the ears, eyes, and noses of the victims. Complete enervation eventually led to failure to cough which led to actual drowning as the lungs filled completely. During this stage the extremities turned blue and organs began to shut down.

There was no fourth stage. It was nearly impossible to survive the third. Those who did, lived. Frequently with stiffened joints and cellular damage. It was a rare person indeed who simply was immune.

Rose shuddered as she looked around the great hall. So much pain, so much dying, so much despair. She shook it off. “Right then,” she said. “We need to divide the hall up into sections. Those in the primary stage can be taken to the left side of the hall to be given medication, those in the secondary stage can be placed in the middle and given pain relief and those in the tertiary stage can be placed on the right side and be given either pain relief or coma drugs. Once we’ve sorted the palace, we need to start searching the city and bringing in the survivors. The dead…will have to wait.”

The Doctor set up on the left side and began to administer the medication to those that were brought to him and had them lay down. Rose and Naya moved between the secondary and tertiary stage victims as Jack and Donna either carried or supported people into the great hall.

They worked through the night and by morning some of the first stage victims had begun to recover. Amongst them were King Madon and his daughter Nialandra. As the first stagers hit their recoveries they began to take over the care of the most sick, freeing Jack, Donna, Naya and Rose to search for plague victims door to door in the city. They were augmented by some of the recovered as they felt able.

Rose was not the only one who found herself vomiting in alleys. It overwhelmed them all at one point or another. After one particularly gruesome day Rose heard crying from Donna’s room. She knocked gently on the door, heard the muffled "Come in," and quietly approached the other woman.

Donna sat up, wiping the tears from her face and reaching for a box of tissues. She blew her nose hard then offered Rose a weak smile. “Are you okay?” Rose asked softly.

“I will be,” Donna said. “But if I have to hold one more dying baby…” She swallowed and looked away from Rose. “Do you ever feel guilty that humans are immune?”

“No,” said Rose. “Because if we hadn’t been we wouldn’t have been able to save those that we have. We’ve got survivors Donna, because we were well and able to do what needed to be done.”

Donna nodded. “Yes. Sorry, I’m used to being strong, but this has been hard.”

“You’re his rock, the Doctor says. ‘That’s my Donna, steady in a crisis and clever on her feet.’”

“He says that?” Donna looked surprised.

“Frequently. And you’ve only been back with us two weeks. What? He’s never told you?” Rose asked.

“No. I thought he kept me around because I make him laugh.”

“That might be part of it, but Donna, he’s got one hard and fast rule. He only takes the best. You wouldn’t be here if he didn’t think highly of you. Maybe he can’t say it, but I certainly can. I don’t know what we’d do without you in this crisis. Even Jack thinks you’re pretty amazing. And I know I do,” Rose said fervently.

“I can see why he loves you so much,” Donna said.

Rose smiled and leaned forward giving Donna a much needed hug. “We’ll do this, Donna. We’ll do it because it needs being done and we’re just the people to do it.”

“Thanks, Rose. I’m going to be all right now.”

“Good. I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“Night, Rose.”

“Night.”

Rose left the room and was startled to find Jack standing outside the door. “That was a kind thing you did,” Jack told her.

“It was the truth. You know how close-lipped the Doctor can be with anyone who isn’t me. He needs reminding I guess, that we poor humans need to be told what he’s thinking,” Rose said.

“I suppose. Is the Doctor asleep?”

“Yes. Still needs extra for his leg to heal. Plus he worked non-stop for almost 3 days. I best be joining him. This baby needs me to take care of myself.” She gave Jack a hug and left him standing there outside Donna’s room.

****************************************

“Jack?” Jack was surprised to hear Donna’s voice coming from the hallway outside his room a couple of hours later.

“What is it, Donna?” he asked.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.” He sat up in bed and flipped on his lamp. “What’s up?”

Donna bit her lip. “I’m having a hard time sleeping. Do you think--?” She broke off, looking immensely embarrassed.

“What?” he asked keeping his tone gentle.

“Would it be all right if I slept with you tonight? Just, you know, hold me without you turning into a pervert? I’d like the human contact, if you think you can keep your urges under control.”

“I don’t know whether to be insulted or flattered,” he said.

“Both,” she said with a half smile. “Do you think you can do that for me?”

“Of course I can,” he said throwing back the blankets and motioning for her to join him.

Donna’s face flushed very red and she turned to the wall. “Umm, Jack?” she asked trying not to show him how how huge her eyes had just gotten. “Do you think you could put some form of clothing on first?”

“Whoops,” he said with a smirk reaching into the nearby bureau and pulling out some pajama bottoms which he hastily put on.

“Thank you,” she said then in relief she crawled into bed beside him and he turned off the light.

Jack put his arms around her and said, “But if you change your mind about the me not being a pervert part, let me know.”

“Go to sleep, Jack,” Donna said exasperated. He grinned wickedly into the dark.

Ch. 6:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/65910.html