Doctor Who_ Father Time - Lance Parkin [9]
The man’s eyes snapped open. Blue eyes, with traces of crows’ feet around them.
‘I-I’m sorry,’ she found herself saying. ‘The door was open. I’ve been in a car accident. My name’s Deborah Castle.’
‘I’m the Doctor,’ he said, clearly a little bemused.
It wasn’t a name at all, not a proper one, but for some reason Mrs Castle didn’t think that, she just accepted it.
‘I ran someone over. A UFO spotter.’
The Doctor frowned. ‘Why?’
‘Not deliberately,’ she added hurriedly. ‘He ran out in front of me. He’s in my car at the moment. He’s hurt his leg and can’t walk.’
The Doctor showed her to the phone, hidden behind a pile of yellowing scientific journals in one corner of the room. Once she’d called an ambulance, the Doctor insisted on going back to her car with her. She didn’t want to impose, and they didn’t speak as they made their way back up the hill.
They arrived just before the ambulance did. Arnold was conscious, and lucid, and he and the Doctor exchanged a few words while Mrs Castle flagged the ambulance down. Arnold joked with the ambulancemen as they carried him into the back of their vehicle. Arnold seemed much more relaxed now, and didn’t seem to bear Mrs Castle any ill will. The driver told Mrs Castle that they would need to check thoroughly, but that Arnold had escaped with a broken leg and some mild bruising. He took her details and reminded her that she would need to contact the police to report an accident.
He offered her a lift back into town, but she told him she was safe to drive, not too shaken – although the Cortina might not be up to it. The ambulance drove off, but without putting on its siren or even putting the blue lights on, which disappointed Mrs Castle a little.
The Doctor was already checking under the bonnet for signs of damage.
‘Are you sure you can see?’ Mrs Castle asked. ‘Don’t you need a torch?’
‘Don’t worry about that.’ The Doctor said, peering into the depths of the engine. Mrs Castle could hardly see at all: just some dark shapes, connected together with a labyrinth of cables and pipes.
He fiddled around for a moment before putting the bonnet down, and then bent over the car, studying the panelwork.
‘There’s a slight dent on the bonnet,’ he told her, ‘but other than that, the car’s fine, now. Were you having problems before the accident?’
Mrs Castle nodded. She had never owned a car of her own, and her husband had kept her away from the engine – he’d shown her how to open the bonnet and how to fill the screenwash bottle, but that was all. It felt odd seeing someone else closing up the Cortina’s bonnet – particularly another man.
‘Nothing major,’ the Doctor announced. ‘The radiator didn’t like the cold weather. If it had been given a winter service, it would have been fine.’
Mrs Castle’s spirits lifted. Not just because the problem with her car wasn’t serious – although it is always good to hear news like that – but because it meant it wasn’t her fault. More than that, it was Barry’s – he’d talked about getting the car ready for the onset of the cold weather, but he’d never got around to it.
‘Give it a go,’ the Doctor prompted.
Mrs Castle got back into the car and turned the ignition key. It started immediately, and even she could tell the engine sounded perfectly healthy.
She wound down the window. ‘Thank you so much,’ she said. She took a deep breath. ‘Time to get home.’
‘You look shaken,’ the Doctor told her. ‘I’ll make you some tea, let you calm down a bit.’
He unlocked the gate and pointed her towards his driveway, which was difficult to see under the snow, and they drove the short distance down to his house. The Doctor took her back inside, sat her down in his chair and then disappeared to make her a cup of tea.
Sitting here, in warmth and comfort, Mrs Castle couldn’t argue with the Doctor’s logic. Although