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paynesgrey_ficsTitle: Reliance
Characters: Eighth Doctor, Lucie Miller
Rating: All Ages
Word Count: 543
Spoilers: None
Notes: Written for the "reach" drabble challenge at
who_contest . Takes place during the Eighth Doctor Audio Plays with Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller. Though this is generic enough that it can be read without knowing the audios.Links: AO3 | FFnet | Teaspoon
Summary: Sometimes even the Doctor needs saving.
The Doctor coughed from the smoke that burned in his throat. His eyes watered from heat and soot, and his ears rang from the continuous alarm of the exploding spaceship.
He willed himself to get up, but he could only to fold onto his stomach on the floor, cursing all the aches in his body. The pain was bad this time, and he could only imagine what his companion was going through. He hated himself for putting her in danger again, hoping this time he hadn’t brought her to her doom.
He held his arm outward, reaching with some small hope that the TARDIS would magically appear before him, and he could drag himself and crawl inside safely.
“Doctor!” he heard a panicked, albeit exasperated female voice call for him. He wondered if he was dreaming. “Sarah Jane? Tegan?” he coughed out in a smoky whisper.
The ship was counting down to imminent failure of its systems, the computer’s voice buzzing in his ear like a high-pitched whine.
“Oh, shut up!” he snarled, annoyed the noise interfered with his thoughts.
“Doctor!” He heard that voice again, and he blinked the blurriness from his tear-soaked eyes. A form was running toward him.
He sighed with relief and felt her arm around him, helping him to his feet. “Doctor, there you are. We have to get out of here!”
No kidding, he thought snorting into a cough. “The TARDIS?” he asked weakly, knowing the hearts of his thoughts were always with Her.
“Just up this way,” she said, leading him and pulling him along. “Come on.”
As his aching muscles started moving, the fog and ash from his brain began to fade. “Lucie? Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she harrumphed. “Though, it would be helpful if you could walk a bit on your own. You’re not exactly light, Doctor.”
He smirked from her usual joshing, and soon momentum found them, and when he saw the opened doors of the TARDIS welcoming them, he moved faster.
“I’m sorry, Doctor,” Lucie whispered to him, and he seemed confused at what she meant. Technically, she had just saved his life. He wasn’t used to relying so much on his companions, and he had felt guiltier for putting them in danger rather than regarding them as his partners, just as capable of getting them out of pinch as much as he was.
“For what?” he asked, and when the TARDIS doors closed behind them, the Doctor leaned against the center console, feeling tremendously relieved.
She stared at him with worried eyes, but he could see some mirth behind them. Lucie was trying to be sympathetic, but she was obviously keeping her laughter at bay. “Your hair, Doctor. Your long curly hair, it has burned off.”
His eyes widened, and Lucie had already let loose a giggle. He slowly began to comb his fingers through his hair, which was now much shorter and singed against his skull. He swallowed an uncomfortable lump. “Well, I suppose that will take some getting used to.”
Lucie let loose a fit of giggles, and despite the bald spots he was feeling, he couldn’t help but laugh with her, knowing that keeping them both safe was worth more than his crop of hair.
END
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