Doctor Who_ Earthworld - Jacqueline Rayner [95]
‘Oh,’ said Fitz, unable to bring himself to offer any insincere sympathy.
There was a groan from the other side of the room as Anji sat up. Fitz noted that she automatically shrugged off Xernic’s helping hand, and saw the hurt-puppy-dog look in the boy’s eyes. It could be hard, being a teenager.
‘I’m all right,’ she called across to Fitz and the Doctor, ‘don’t worry about me.’
Fitz thought her tone was unnecessarily sarcastic, and was reminded for one horrible moment of Compassion. He really hoped that Anji was going to be a more amenable travelling companion than the TARDIS bitch queen from hell.
Would it hurt the Doctor too much to pick up someone who was sweet and amenable and had good taste in men (i.e. fancied Fitz) once in a while? Surely not.
And Anji wasn’t the only person to wake up. On the sofa, Elizabethan was stirring. Her eyes opened, wide dark-brown eyes full of pain and confusion.
She looked dazed, and whispered, ‘John?’
The President threw himself on her, hugging her so tight that Fitz hoped she had reinforced ribs. Of course, she probably had.
The Doctor was talking, as much to himself as to Fitz. ‘Of course, an electrical shock was just what she needed to jump-start all the circuits, get everything working in harmony again. Why didn’t I think of that?’
You might have done, given time, thought Fitz. But we didn’t have time. He shot a glance at the TARDIS console. ‘Guess you knew what you were doing after all,’ he breathed, and gave it a surreptitious pat.
Now the Doctor was examining Elizabethan, but speaking to Hoover. ‘She should be fine now,’ he was saying. ‘She shouldn’t need physical rest, but she will need time to reassimilate everything. After all, as far as she’s concerned it’s about seven years ago.’
Dear TARDIS...
173
Hoover drew the Doctor to one side as they both stood up. ‘But what about. . .
about. . . ’
‘She only remembers up until the last time the triplets took a memory print, and even that will be vague. Which means she does not remember her death.
That’s a good thing, at the moment. Eventually, you will have to tell her. But the most important thing now is to reunite her with her daughters. And choose your chief technician more carefully next time.’
Fitz half expected the Doctor to recommend Xernic for the post. It would, after all, tie things up nicely. But he didn’t. Fitz hoped Hoover might think of it for himself. He was pretty sure that he, Fitz, would have got over his teenage unrequited loves a lot quicker if someone had given him a planet to run.
‘Now,’ said the Doctor briskly, addressing the room, ‘is everyone fine?’
Everyone said they were. Perhaps they didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
‘We shouldn’t trespass on your kindness any longer, Doctor,’ said Hoover, helping up the still dazed Elizabethan.
‘Oh, that’s fine, that’s fine,’ said the Doctor, who was now examining the console. ‘You’ve obviously got a lot of catching up to do. And an opening ceremony to cancel, I assume. I would offer to give you a lift back, but I think you’ll be safer walking.’
But Elizabethan had sunk back on to the sofa. ‘My legs!’ she croaked in a long unpractised voice.
‘Oh dear,’ said the Doctor. ‘Of course, there will be a lot of muscle wastage.’
‘We’ll have to help them back,’ Anji said.
‘But it’s miles!’ Fitz cried automatically. Then he felt a bit ashamed. ‘Couldn’t she be wheeled on that trolley?’ He put out a hand to indicate the trolley on which the machine’s remains sat, then snatched it back with a cry. The metal was red-hot. ‘OK, maybe not,’ he said.
‘I’ll help carry her,’ said Xernic unenthusiastically, looking at Anji as he said it.
But the Doctor’s eyes were shining again. ‘No, Fitz is right. I have a better idea.’ He suddenly dashed from the console room, and everyone else looked at Fitz.
‘What did I say?’ he asked. ‘I didn’t say anything!’
It wasn’t surprising that Fitz couldn’t work out the Doctor’s plan. When the inner doors opened again, a grinning Doctor