Janet Fraiser, M.D.

Chief Medical Officer, Stargate Command. (RP blog for Dr. Janet Frasier of Stargate SG-1)

[gayspacedorks]

[tpols]

[sharkyy-deactivated20190102]

LOOK AT THIS SMALL MEDICAL DOCTOR

[tenthofalonewanderer]

An unexpected visitor [with MajorSamanthaCarter]

[conkedinthehead]

In the other room, Kai Owen watched the guards as his hand gripped the… pen? Flashlight? Whatever it was. His head ached, but at least his vision was clearer than when he’d initially been hit by a wrench earlier that day. The Sergeant had apologized, but he knew he had an impressive goose egg, and Dr. Fraiser had insisted he stay. Now, he was glad he had. That man, that interesting man… Kai frowned. He’d left his coat with Kai, and now those two guards were pulling everything out!

The pile they were making on the table by the door was a varied and interesting one, though they hadn’t turned up anything odder than a ball of string with no apparent end and a lens that seemed to change color in the light. Kai settled his shoulders lower, feeling grumpy as they talked in low voices. Well, maybe that man would come and find them with his things spread out all over. He didn’t even look like a soldier, probably a civilian… Kai wondered if he’d make a fuss. He hoped he would. Serve them right. He wanted to pull out the pen to look at it more closely, but if he did, he knew those two would notice and come take it. They were pointedly ignoring his glare, but he kept glaring at them anyway, unaware of how unfortunately cute he looked with his head bandaged and his sheets all rumpled around him again.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

Seven minutes and forty seconds..? That was quite a long time. The Doctor gave Janet a suspicious look for a short moment, wondering what she could have been up to during that time. There had to have been a reason. But he didn’t hold that look for too long, turning instead to the CT scanner. At least he hadn’t been too off in his estimate, if it was any consolation.

He continued to eye the scanner warily, not really noticing that he’d been quiet for some time now. To be honest, the big tunnel shape gave him the chills. It reminded him a bit too much of that time on the ship that had been about to crash into the sun. It awakened memories he really wasn’t fond of, of a time he’d truly been bone deep scared, and of the pain of slowly being frozen to almost absolute ze—

He shivered violently, bringing himself out of the… what was that even? Flashback? Memory? He tore his eyes away from the machine, feeling a bit sick and rattled. He tried to find something to let his gaze latch on, struggling for words.

“I— Yes, that’s—“ He walked to a table, his back turned to Janet, distractedly toying with some random stuff on there. “I mean. Yeah. I guess it makes sense.” He rambled a little, aligning words after words without actually saying anything, just making noise. He hadn’t really taken any time to think back to that awful ‘adventure’, pushing it back to the back of his mind and just marching forward, like he always did, but now he was wondering if he hadn’t made a mistake if it was affecting him that much…

He stayed silent a few more instants. Then his brain seemed to reboot and he turned back to Janet with an embarrassed half smile, “Tell me more about that scanner.” He asked, a bit brusquely. He just needed someone to highlight the differences between the two machines, no big deal. He could do it.

[sgcmd]

Janet watched the Doctor with hidden concern, alert to his further manifesting signs of distress. His unnatural silence as he stared at the machine, and his sudden harsh shudder and turning away clearly told of his anxiety about the upcoming test. He filled the air with awkward phrases, chopping away at the silence as though to cut away his own fears. Janet resolved all at once to give him a clear and simple picture of what to expect, for his own peace of mind and to reassure that the test would do him no harm. She badly wanted to see those X-rays!

First things first. She needed to calm him. She broke into his distraction and toying with the medical supplies, moving a couple steps closer to stand between him and the machine. Her smile was gentle but professional. "Let me explain what you can expect." She nodded to the flat bed piece, haloed by the donut-shaped scanner. "You lay there, with your arms over your head, as still as possible, for the duration of the test." She refrained from mentioning that she would ask him to hold his breath. It seemed that it would be redundant, perhaps? She would see. She kept speaking. "You will slide slowly through the machine, which will take scans of your body. When it's complete we can look at them all together, combining them to get a fuller picture of how everything fits and works." Her voice was firm but kind. "This test is quick and painless. If you follow my instructions it should take ten minutes or less." She would aim for less, but the more data, the better. "It exposes you to more radiation than an X-ray, but it's still safe." A sudden frown appeared on her face at an intruding thought. Wait. If he is alien, if he does have a different physiology than humans… He said radiation was fine, but— "How do you feel?" Concern colored her tone. "Any pain or discomfort, strange sensations?" Her gaze on him was keen as she waited for his answer.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

On the Sortcomings of Symbiosis [@ SGCmd]

[tenthofalonewanderer]

The Doctor didn’t stir or react even once during the whole process, from the manhandling out of the TARDIS, to the cleaning and undressing, to the getting settled in bed. Even afterwards, he still didn’t move an inch, didn’t twitch, almost unnaturally still the whole time, if not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, seemingly completely dead to the world.

It wasn’t until long minutes after Janet left his bedside that the Doctor returned to the waking world.

A Time Lord physiology was very different from that of a human. Time Lords didn’t take time to fall asleep, they literally sank in deep sleep almost immediately, brain almost disconnecting completely. Likewise, they didn’t take time to wake up, having none of that long disorientation phase humans had to go through every morning. Those two phases were waste of time to Time Lords. Completely useless.

As such, when the Doctor woke up, and despite his current diminished health, it was a quick shift into wakefulness.

He took a slightly deeper breath and opened his eyes all at once, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. His eyes shifted a little, but he didn’t move anymore than that. He was in fact taking stock of himself and his surroundings. Two legs, two arms, head still in place, everything seemingly in working order. Check. His eyes shifted to the source of the beeping sound. A heart monitor. He frowned vaguely, he’d been moved apparently. His eyes shifted to the right, falling on a blue box. But not just any blue box, and his hearts filled with warmth at its sight. It all came back to him in that moment. The TARDIS, the crashing, the illness, the moving to the SGC and the telepathy linking, culminating in Janet and Carter trying to get him out to “help” him. The corners of his mouth angled down despite himself, but at least Janet seemed to have managed to keep her words, however she managed that.

Still, aside from feeling a bit detached and vague —which could probably be explained by the state of his TARDIS— he felt fine. He had really just needed sleep, after all.

He shifted slightly, intent on getting up, when suddenly an important fact dawned on him, making him stop in his movement.

“Oi! Who took off my clothes?!” He exclaimed, outraged, as he threw the cover off himself brusquely, sitting up. “Where are they? No, but seriously, I fall asleep for juuust a little while and you guys already run away with my clothes?! That’s not fair. Completely uncalled for!” He shifted to look around, giving a glare and a pout to the nurse there before ripping away the finger clip and moving his legs to the side of the bed, clearly intending to get up. “I’ll have them back now, if you please.” He didn’t so much ask as he demanded.

Then his gaze fell on Janet, who had just entered the room and his face lit up in a brilliant smile. “Ahh! Doctor Janet Fraiser! The voice of reason, finally! Can you tell them I need my clothes? I don’t get why they were even taken away in the first place, to be honest. I have spares, mind you, but I need the stuff in my pockets, quite badly too. I couldn’t do without it— Did you know I’ve got a gift from the King of Beltagal II from my last visit to the Gaspanstar system, in there? A wonderful thing that was. ‘d be a shame to have to part with it. And I don’t know what I would do without most of those things in my pockets. They save my life on a daily basis, haha!” Then, without a break, he shifted gears, opening his arms wide and grinning even more widely. “See? I’m good, fine, all dandy. I just needed some sleep, was exhausted I’ll admit, but now I’m peachy. Never been better. Well, not never, but close. Well, actually I’ve had a lot of better times but it’ll pass. It all always does. Nevermind that. Thanks for taking care of me while I was out!” He winked and gave her a thumb up, jumping off the bed and to his feet in a single movement. “I’ll just go check on the TARDIS, have you seen my key—” But the rest of his speech was drowned by crashing sounds. He’d taken a step forward, but his legs hadn’t agreed with him. He’d grabbed on the closest thing, the heart monitor, sending it to the floor with him as he fell, completely crumpling to the ground.

He gave a little groan, and shifted, rambling effectively ended for now. From his spot on the ground, he moved wide, confused eyes to an upside-down-looking Janet, blinking in uncertainty.

“Err.. Sorry? That wasn’t what I had in mind, I promise.” He offered, contrite, not moving from the floor.

[sgcmd]

A sudden increase in the noise level, almost a commotion, brought Janet swiftly to her feet, then to to door of her office, where she saw the Doctor apparently wide awake and talking indignantly. He'd already removed the finger clip monitoring his hearts, making the machine complain loudly before a nearby nurse hastily shut it off while staving off the Doctor's impatient speech.

Janet moved quickly and confidently into the room, her face professional and serious. Surprisingly, the Doctor grinned hugely when he saw her, addressing her with a torrent of words, first asking about where his clothes were. Janet had had the nurse change him into a gown so his things could be cleaned (secondary to him being cleaned and checked for wounds), and while that meant his coat was sitting puddled on the extra chair in her office, the rest of his things hadn't yet made their reappearance from the laundry.

The Doctor shifted gears before she could answer, going off in a long quick spiral of words that he was good, well, fine, well, not really but he'd be better, all the time putting on a bold energetic face—but Janet just frowned slowly in return. From what she'd learned in the TARDIS, she doubted it, and she felt in her gut that the Doctor was the type who would put off admitting weakness or illness to the very undeniable end. She felt a sense of alarm at the Doctor's next words.

Thanks for taking care of me while I was out! I’ll just go check on the TARDIS, have you seen my key—

Janet had positioned herself so she could face both the Doctor and the TARDIS. It felt strangely rude to her, to put her back to it—now that she saw the TARDIS as a living thing, it was like ignoring a  person in the room, and she couldn't quite bring herself to do it. That meant that when the Doctor bounced to his feet, and subsequently his knees buckled and he crashed to the floor, she had a front-row seat to his spectacular collateral-damage-causing tumble and his final surprised upside-down face from beneath the heart monitor.

Err... Sorry? That wasn’t what I had in mind, I promise.

He lay still, as though afraid to move and be betrayed again by his body, and Janet's face softened in sympathy even as her lips crimped in exasperation. His tone had been genuinely apologetic, but the man was a force of chaos wherever he went! Janet wordlessly waved to the nurse to help her, and bent to first disentangle the Doctor from the machine, then to quickly check for any injuries. The necessary movements gave her a grinding pain in her hand, and it felt stiff and sore. The machine didn't seem to have added to his injuries, she noted grumpily, so that was one very small thing to be glad for. One.

The two nurses moved to stand beside her, and she gave them a significant nod and stood up. Efficiently the two of them lifted the Doctor and tidily deposited him back on the bed, one scooping his feet into place and swiftly flicking a blanket out over him. For a moment Janet looked at him with consideration, then spoke. "Doctor. You passed out while in the TARDIS, and you've been out for…" She checked her watch. "About two hours. From that, and from what just happened now, as a medical professional my evaluation is that you are not yet ready to be up and about." Brooking no argument, she deftly got out her stethoscope and her cold temperature thermometer, facing him solidly but still keeping the TARDIS in her view. "I have a few questions for you about your baseline, and I'd like to check your vitals. Don't dismiss the importance of your health, for your sake—or hers." She nodded to the TARDIS. "If this really is mild, or nothing, then resting for a few hours or a day won't hurt you. If it's not, then it's imperative that you not endanger your health by pushing yourself. Understood?" Her hand ached, and she felt irritated. She would put up with very little pushback on this, especially from him—he was far too cavalier about dismissing her expertise.

[lichen-soup-scribe]

Writing Traumatic Injuries References

So, pretty frequently writers screw up when they write about injuries. People are clonked over the head, pass out for hours, and wake up with just a headache… Eragon breaks his wrist and it’s just fine within days… Wounds heal with nary a scar, ever…

I’m aiming to fix that.

Here are over 100 links covering just about every facet of traumatic injuries (physical, psychological, long-term), focusing mainly on burns, concussions, fractures, and lacerations. Now you can beat up your characters properly!

General resources

WebMD

Mayo Clinic first aid

Mayo Clinic diseases

First Aid

PubMed: The source for biomedical literature

Diagrams: Veins (towards heart), arteries (away from heart) bones, nervous system, brain

Burns

General overview: Includes degrees

Burn severity: Including how to estimate body area affected

Burn treatment: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degrees

Smoke inhalation

Smoke inhalation treatment

Chemical burns

Hot tar burns

Sunburns

Incisions and Lacerations

Essentials of skin laceration repair (including stitching techniques)

When to stitch (Journal article–Doctors apparently usually go by experience on this)

More about when to stitch (Simple guide for moms)

Basic wound treatment

Incision vs. laceration: Most of the time (including in medical literature) they’re used synonymously, but eh.

Types of lacerations: Page has links to some particularly graphic images–beware!

How to stop bleeding: 1, 2, 3

Puncture wounds: Including a bit about what sort of wounds are most likely to become infected

More about puncture wounds

Wound assessment: A huge amount of information, including what the color of the flesh indicates, different kinds of things that ooze from a wound, and so much more.

Home treatment of gunshot wound, also basics More about gunshot wounds, including medical procedures

Tourniquet use: Controversy around it, latest research

Location pain chart: Originally intended for tattoo pain, but pretty accurate for cuts

General note: Deeper=more serious. Elevate wounded limb so that gravity draws blood towards heart. Scalp wounds also bleed a lot but tend to be superficial. If it’s dirty, risk infection. If it hits the digestive system and you don’t die immediately, infection’ll probably kill you. Don’t forget the possibility of tetanus! If a wound is positioned such that movement would cause the wound to gape open (i.e. horizontally across the knee) it’s harder to keep it closed and may take longer for it to heal.

Broken bones

Types of fractures

Setting a broken bone when no doctor is available

Healing time of common fractures

Broken wrists

Broken ankles/feet

Fractured vertebrae: Neck (1, 2), back

Types of casts

Splints

Fracture complications

Broken noses

Broken digits: Fingers and toes

General notes: If it’s a compound fracture (bone poking through) good luck fixing it on your own. If the bone is in multiple pieces, surgery is necessary to fix it–probably can’t reduce (“set”) it from the outside. Older people heal more slowly. It’s possible for bones to “heal” crooked and cause long-term problems and joint pain. Consider damage to nearby nerves, muscle, and blood vessels.

Concussions

General overview

Types of concussions 1, 2

Concussion complications

Mild Brain Injuries: The next step up from most severe type of concussion, Grade 3

Post-concussion syndrome

Second impact syndrome: When a second blow delivered before recovering from the initial concussion has catastrophic effects. Apparently rare.

Recovering from a concussion

Symptoms: Scroll about halfway down the page for the most severe symptoms

Whiplash

General notes: If you pass out, even for a few seconds, it’s serious. If you have multiple concussions over a lifetime, they will be progressively more serious. Symptoms can linger for a long time.

Character reaction:

Shock (general)

Physical shock: 1, 2

Fight-or-flight response: 1, 2

Long-term emotional trauma: 1 (Includes symptoms), 2

First aid for emotional trauma

Treatment (drugs)

WebMD painkiller guide

Treatment (herbs)

1, 2, 3, 4

Miscellany

Snake bites: No, you don’t suck the venom out or apply tourniquettes

Frostbite

Frostbite treatment

Severe frostbite treatment

When frostbite sets in: A handy chart for how long your characters have outside at various temperatures and wind speeds before they get frostbitten

First aid myths: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Includes the ones about buttering burns and putting snow on frostbite.

Poisons: Why inducing vomiting is a bad idea

Poisonous plants

Dislocations: Symptoms 1, 2; treatment. General notes: Repeated dislocations of same joint may lead to permanent tissue damage and may cause or be symptomatic of weakened ligaments. Docs recommend against trying to reduce (put back) dislocated joint on your own, though information about how to do it is easily found online.

Muscular strains

Joint sprain

Resuscitation after near-drowning: 1, 2

Current CPR practices: We don’t do mouth-to-mouth anymore.

The DSM IV, for all your mental illness needs.

Electrical shock

Human response to electrical shock: Includes handy-dandy voltage chart

Length of contact needed at different voltages to cause injury

Evaluation protocol for electric shock injury

Neurological complications

Electrical and lightning injury

Cardiac complications

Delayed effects and a good general summary

Acquired savant syndrome: Brain injuries (including a lightning strike) triggering development of amazing artistic and other abilities

Please don’t repost! You can find the original document (also created by me) here.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

On the Sortcomings of Symbiosis [@ SGCmd]

[tenthofalonewanderer]

It was clear by now even to the Doctor that this—whatever it was—wasn’t just him being exhausted, he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. Though, the fact that he hadn’t slept properly for weeks probably wasn’t helping with whatever was ailing him. And that was saying something, when you knew just how little sleep a Time Lord needed on a daily basis.

And however gentle Janet was trying to be, he couldn’t help but feel the grip of fear tightening around his hearts as he felt unconsciousness creep ever closer to him. He tried to listen, he really did, but most of what she said was lost to the pounding sound of his heartsbeat in his ears. He blinked a little, gasping, trying to clear his head. He did marginally succeed, at least enough to shake his head ever so slightly and give a weak reply, voice barely audible.

"You can’t know that for sure…” They might not be able to move the TARDIS away from the infirmary, but he himself was surely easier to spirit away, if they decided so. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Janet, but there were so many variables he had no control of, out there, especially if he was unconscious… Still though, in his current position, there wasn’t much he could do in term of resistance... He would have to trust them, he had no other choice.

The Doctor let out a sigh, letting tension drain from him, finally giving in. His eyelids fell shut by themselves before he could try and keep them up. The next second, he was asleep, breathing slow and regular; a deep deep sleep where the brain was almost completely disconnected from the body. His metabolism slowed down a little, allowing his heartsrate to lower and body to rest, but not enough to look like a healing coma.

He would probably stay asleep, unresponsive, for most of two hours before he woke. And when the two woman would try and move him through the door, the shortest of the two would feel the short, grateful push of the TARDIS mind against hers before it went away, shutting the door quietly behind them and going into deeper sleep herself, relieved to know the Doctor, her precious thief, was being taken care of, now.

[sgcmd]

The Doctor was struggling to track, and Janet felt herself losing hope that he was really hearing what she was saying. Still facedown, he spoke, his voice weak.

You can't know that for sure…

Janet took a deep breath… and let it out slowly. It stung, that he trusted her so little, but at the same time, she could understand his hesitation. Before she could reply, he let out his breath and slumped, going limp as he slipped into unconsciousness. Janet felt a stab of concern, her fingers going to his neck to feel for a pulse. She found it, strong and steady beneath her fingers, and his deepened breathing reassured her. She looked up to meet Sam's worried eyes. "Asleep," she sighed. "Well, that makes our lives easier, for the moment." She looked down at him again; he seemed smaller, more vulnerable, without that spark of vigor and life in his eyes, his face oddly peaceful, all the lines of pain and exhaustion smoothed away. "Let's get him to the infirmary."

The Doctor's state made him easier to manhandle, limbs limp and head lolling, into the infirmary. As Janet opened the door and sidled out, arm around the Doctor (with Sam on the other side), she saw that the ring of airmen was still in place, a perimeter around the TARDIS. "Out of the way," she said in an irritated tone, "the Doctor needs to be treated. Nurse—"

Behind them the door closed without anyone causing it to, and Janet ignored it and the assigned airmen for now, moving through her space with confidence that everyone would get out of her way. And they did. In a brief span of time they had gotten the Doctor cleaned up and bundled into a comfortable hospital gown, ensconced in a bed beside the TARDIS—within arm's reach, as promised, the bed angled slightly so as not to block their access to his sleeping form. A finger clip monitored his heart rate, and the steady beeping of the machine that monitored that and his breathing and blood pressure echoed quietly back from the TARDIS' solid side.

Janet hadn't missed the small thankful nudge the TARDIS had given her. It was reassuring, a note of confidence among her actions as she remained the center around which all the events turned, from the Doctor's health and settling to the demands from on high for more information. Her curt I will report when the situation has stabilized had staved off the immediacy of their grumbling, for now, and she'd ousted all but two of the extraneous airmen from her infirmary. She had a little time to consider just how much she would include in that report, and whether or not she should pull Carter aside for a quiet word… But that could wait.

First, she prioritized monitoring the Doctor's health. A more accurate temperature measurement showed that his current temp was elevated, but only slightly, from the baseline they'd taken when he'd first come to the base a couple days before. Likewise, his breathing and heartsrate were faster than before, even though he was resting, but she wasn't sure if it was enough for it to be significant. Janet frowned at the monitor, then looked down at his still form.

Her hand gave a twinge, and she lowered her eyebrows in irritation. She'd cleaned the abrasion and bandaged it immediately, but it would be on her dominant hand, making work needlessly uncomfortable. And she hadn't even dared to think, yet, what kind of bacteria and viruses might be present in the TARDIS… She shook off the thought, going back to the Doctor's chart. The problem was, he obviously wasn't well, she both knew it and felt it on a visceral level; but she couldn't put her finger on what was wrong, medically, and that irked her more than she wanted to admit. What is wrong, Doctor, she thought with frustration, how do I treat you, and why won't you wake up and talk to me? With a short, frustrated huff she started to move away from his bedside and toward her office, waving to the nurse to keep an eye on the Doctor as the guards at the door looked on.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

An unexpected visitor [with MajorSamanthaCarter]

[conkedinthehead]

Out in the main infirmary, Kai gave a grimace of a smile, his hand balling the Doctor’s coat into a crumpled mass from the force of his grip on it. The guard, whose smile was also approaching a grimace, was trying to coax it out of his hand.

“We just need to check it,” he said in a tone that was attempting to be soothing. “Make sure that nothing dangerous is in the pockets. We don’t even have to leave the room with it.” They didn’t have to, but they might. He didn’t bring that up, his pull on the coat steady. The patient gave a grunt of disagreement but didn’t speak. He felt the fabric slipping through his fingers, and his head ached. Finally with a last slight jerk it slipped from his hand completely, and the guard stepped back, bringing it to where the other guard stood. The two of them shot a glance at the door where the Doctor and Janet had disappeared, then quickly and efficiently began emptying the pockets of the coat onto a nearby table. Kai pouted, frustrated and embarrassed at how ineffective he’d been in keeping the coat safe, his head hurting from the mild effort of movement, sliding down under the sheets and wrinkling his forehead. As he moved his hand, his fingertips encountered something smooth and cylindrical. His hand closed around it, forehead relaxing. At least they didn’t get everything.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

As Janet made him wait, the Doctor’s eyes shifted on the ceiling, bored, and he found himself sinking into memories instead, recalling the times he’d been in medical settings like he was now, mind drifting to Martha, then Rose, and finally Donna and how it all went very wrong… or very good, with big collaterals… In any case, those weren’t the nicest memories he had, and he forcefully pushed them back deep inside his mind, feeling that much more pathetic for how much this affected him. He couldn’t help it, creating connections with others, even if it kept breaking his hearts. Relentlessly.

He was brusquely brought out of his moping when Janet emerged from the other room, coming to his side. He brought his gaze to her face for a second, miserable, before taking a big breath, shaking himself internally, and jumping off the table energetically.

“Riiight!” He exclaimed as he got to his feet, bouncing a little as if to make up for his previous immobility. He rubbed his face, wiping away any leftovers from his earlier gloom, and started walking around her. “That was bloody long, blimey!” he grumbled, bringing the hand from his face to muss his already untamed hair, making it stand on end even more.

He turned back to her suddenly, “I can’t believe you made me keep still for…” He trailed off, only realising now that he’d been so wrapped in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even managed to keep proper count of time. If he were as prone to blushing as humans, he would be red from embarrassment right now. He was a Time Lord, for Rassilon’s sake! He ought to know those things.

“How long was it? Seven minutes? Eight?” He quickly covered up, looking down intently at Janet. Then, unable to stand still much longer, he started walking again in the other direction, a bounce in his steps. “Anyway! Can I see those scans?” He turned to her again, still shifting his weight from foot to foot. He then seemed to notice his own jumpiness, pausing and looking down at himself, before starting anew, “Sorry.” He didn’t look sorry at all, “Radiations always have me tingling, it’s hard to stay still.” He grinned cheekily.

[sgcmd]

The Doctor's fleeting yet incredibly sad expression was not lost on Janet. She'd been watching his face for any sign of respiratory distress or discomfort, but he didn't seem to have any trouble there. His heartsick expression sobered her, though, reminding her of his fear of scans, and she wondered suddenly if she had been very unkind… Her medical mind was noting that he seemed to have absolutely no negative response to having laid stone-still, barely breathing (if at all) for over seven and a half minutes, a truly remarkable feat.

That was bloody long, blimey! I can’t believe you made me keep still for… How long was it? Seven minutes? Eight?

"By my count, you lay still for seven minutes and forty seconds," Janet said steadily. She made no other comment on that topic, instead lifting her hand in a "wait" gesture and saying, "I've sent the X-rays to be printed on special film, and set up the other machine. After we finish the CT scan we can look at both together." She inclined her head. "X-rays can be hard to read or unclear, given different people's physiology and whether or not they held still. Overexposure or underexposure can also be an issue." She nodded to the CT machine. "Since the CT scan will give us much more data, it's likely that it will be easier to interpret as a whole." She looked up at the Doctor, eyes clear and thoughtful. "I promise that this test will take less than ten minutes to complete, if you cooperate."

[tenthofalonewanderer]

An unexpected visitor [with MajorSamanthaCarter]

[conkedinthehead]

In the next room over, Kai wondered if his concussion was affecting him more than he’d thought. As his hand groped in the man’s jacket pocket, it had found item after item, some typical, some he didn’t even recognize. His small secretive pile was starting to widen and drop avalanches of string and metal and plastic, and he blinked at the pair of 3D glasses he pulled from the pocket at last. He looked up suddenly, owlishly, to see the guards at the door making quiet comments to each other. One was staring at him—no, at the coat, he realized. Unconsciously he pulled the coat a little closer, protectively. The man had left it with him… Clumsily but hurriedly he scooped everything back into the pocket he’d pulled them from, pleased and a little bemused that everything disappeared without so much as a bump in the fabric to betray their presence. The guards weren’t looking at him, now, but one was speaking into a radio. He didn’t like it… His fingers idly dipped into the other pocket, coming up with a long, thin metal tube that had a blue light or button on one end. He moved it closer to his face to peer at it, but it slipped from his fingers under the sheets, and he released the coat for a moment to try to find it. It had slid out of sight, and he craned his neck before groaning at the pain in his head, looking up again and blinking. One of the guards was approaching him, a hey-buddy-smile on his face. Kai grabbed the jacket with one hand, expression wary and slightly despairing. He didn’t want to know where this was going…

[tenthofalonewanderer]

The Doctor chuckled at her medical joke, setting his arms at his sides like she’d asked, then turned slightly more serious, a humorously grave expression on his face, “You know, this might not be half wrong. I have a... friend. A doctor. Brilliant, really.” His face brightened as he spoke about Martha, “She travelled with me for a little while. Good times.” He said fondly, falling silent for a moment, expression turning slightly longing, bittersweet. He missed having her with him… Not that he could blame anyone but himself for his current solitude…

He sniffed, brightening back up, “Anyway. She was a doctor. Is. Met in a hospital. Tried to make sense of my internal organs on the first meeting!” He laughed. “Saved my life, actually. Well, not only mine, but that’s beside the point.” He stopped, glancing at Janet through the glass, before making a ‘o’ with his mouth.

“Oh. You want me to—” He made a vague movement with his hand beside his mouth before falling silent and settling straighter on the bench, trying to keep still. But as the machine started moving, he couldn’t help talking a bit more, tone amused, “You don’t have to baby me, you know. I know these machines inside out, I probably would be a bigger danger to them than them to me.”  A look at Janet made him pause, snapping his mouth shut sheepishly. “Sorry, shuttin’ up.”  He looked straight up at the ceiling, not really seeing it, and held his breath for the machine to work, even if she hadn’t told him anything yet, unconsciously just using his respiratory bypass instead.

In the other room, as the Doctor would probably be relieved to find out later, his falling sonic screwdriver hadn’t been noticed by the guards. Not really. In any case, if wasn’t holding their attention, not when the jacket with its seemingly infinite pockets presented so much more potential danger. After all, they’d patted the man down, from the outside. But if what they’d just witnessed now was any indication, they could have missed something important. Worse, whatever this magic or technology those pockets were based on, it might actually have been a trap. In any case, there was no chance they would be leaving one of their hurt fellow soldier holding on that thing before they were sure it was safe.

[sgcmd]

Janet found herself torn between mild exasperation at the Doctor's perpetual talking, which delayed the X-ray, and moderate interest that sharpened when he mentioned that his friend who was a doctor had examined him and even saved his life. She'd like to meet this doctor. Just how many doctors are there running around? After his first question about whether she wanted to take an X-ray, she nodded firmly. She'd just hit the button to set off the exposure as he started talking, again. Nervous babbling, or just his natural state? It didn't really matter, as it was interrupting the test.

You don’t have to baby me, you know. I know these machines inside out, I probably would be a bigger danger to them than them to me.

Janet tilted her chin down, looking at him. Really. At her look he stopped talking, looking sheepish, and staring upward. Quickly she took a second shot, and then another to be safe. Once again she noted the Doctor's stillness. He wasn't breathing, wasn't even moving slightly. Now he's cooperative. As she busied herself setting up the CT machine, she watched him. He really wasn't moving… Curiously, she decided to keep an eye on the clock. Two minutes passed. Three. Four. Janet watched, fully intent, now. Five. Six. He hadn't moved... Enough.

Janet moved out of the booth coming to the Doctor's side and nodding to him. I have to see that X-ray, as soon as possible! "All right, Doctor," she said neutrally. "Let's get a quick CT scan of your chest as well. It should only take a couple moments." Lifting the lead apron off him, she watched to see his physical response to complete immobility and holding his breath for that long.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

On the Sortcomings of Symbiosis [@ SGCmd]

[tenthofalonewanderer]

The Doctor went down with an “Oof” as he hit the ground, luckily not on his head. But it was quickly followed by a breathless “uGh—” as the breath was doubly knocked out of him. He squirmed a bit, the pain from his floating ribs hiding the rest for now, and he struggled to roll on his front.

“Owowow... That hurts!” He pushed her arm away, trying to get to his hands and knees through sheer determination, hissing in pain. “Did I ever tell you you were a good doctor? Well I take it back—!” He wheezed, spiteful because of the pain and vulnerability he was feeling. He finally managed to get more or less up, arms wobbling and legs trembling. He could feel light-headedness catching back to him as the short burst of adrenalin drained from him. He let his head hang, feeling faint. Still, that didn’t keep him from ranting some more, if only to keep awake. No best way than that, to stay in the TARDIS, it seemed.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the ‘not’. Although, I’d be worried about you if you really lack a grasp of English this basic. Couldn’t be the ‘TARDIS’ part, I think it’s quite clear we’re in here right now, I mean, how could it not be—” He was rambling, speaking too much, too fast, but he couldn’t help himself. “...Maybe there’s a special earthian meaning to ‘leaving’ that I’m not familiar with, and that could be akin to ‘staying’, but somehow I don’t think there is—” He tried to move forward a little, to flee, to get farther from the door, but as he did, his arms gave under him and he fell heavily, breathing harshly. The room was spinning around him, far more than he’d have liked, and the faint feeling grew stronger. He took a few fast, trembling breaths.

His eyes were definitely scared as he spoke next, voice weak, “I don’t want to go—”

[sgcmd]

The Doctor knocked Janet's hand out of the way, luckily as she regained her balance, so she didn't fall again. The skin was abraded slightly, red welling from the deeper scratches, and Janet gave a "Tch” at the sight. Sam appeared at her side, offering an arm to steady her and help her fully to her feet, even as the two of them watched the Doctor push himself up to his hands and knees, wobbling and trembling as he struggled to support himself. His words were somewhat muffled by the fact of his face pointing at the deck.

Did I ever tell you you were a good doctor? Well I take it back—!

I didn't ask for your opinion, nor is it any use at this moment! Janet bit back tightly on what she'd been about to say, knowing the pain in her hand and the fact that he'd fought their help were making her irritable. Not without cause. But that wasn't constructive, right now. The Doctor continued his sarcastic tirade, his voice sharp and fast.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s the ‘not.’ Although, I’d be worried about you if you really lack a grasp of English this basic. Couldn’t be the ‘TARDIS’ part, I think it’s quite clear we’re in here right now, I mean, how could it not be— …Maybe there’s a special Earthian meaning to ‘leaving’ that I’m not familiar with, and that could be akin to ‘staying’, but somehow I don’t think there is—

His flow of words sputtered to a halt as he swayed, trying to crawl forward. Janet straightened but didn't try to catch him as he fell back flat on his chest and face, the impact making her grit her teeth and mentally assess the potential damage to his tissues. The skin of her hand was slick and sticky between her fingers, and she clenched them into a fist. He turned his head with an effort, and she was suddenly shocked to see his eyes bright with extra moisture. He was afraid, she realized, not just petulant or fussy, not just wanting his way—he was afraid to go.

At the realization, her heart softened a little, and she stepped back mentally, considering his position. He was brought here, not in a planned way, but by the TARDIS, who refused to talk to him; he's been feeling worse and worse, and unable to help her or himself, and now two near-strangers are trying to force him to leave the one place he feels safe. The thought made her want to groan, but instead she softly took her arm out of Sam's grip and knelt next to the Doctor, who was breathing with quick, shallow breaths. His voice was faint and vulnerable as he spoke.

I don’t want to go—

After a moment, Janet gave an audible sigh. She searched for the right words, trying once more. "Doctor. You must come with us." Her voice was as gentle as she could make it, though a thread of determination wound throughout. "We cannot help you here. The TARDIS asked me to take care of you, but we cannot get to the medbay, and you are not well." She used her uninjured hand to wave toward the door of the TARDIS, reassuring. "The infirmary is just out that door. We will not separate you from the TARDIS." A smile crept into her tone, wry and amused. "In fact, I imagine that would be difficult, since she planted herself in the center of my infirmary. You can be within arm's reach of each other, if you wish." Her tone grew more serious. "You are failing fast. Whatever illness you have, it's affecting you quickly, and I need you to help me understand how I can treat you—but before I can treat you, we have to go to the infirmary." She stifled a frustrated sigh. "We're respecting your wishes that no one else enter the TARDIS. But that means you have to cooperate with us!" She was frustrated that she even had to make this argument, but it was obvious that the Doctor wasn't thinking clearly.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

An unexpected visitor [with MajorSamanthaCarter]

[tenthofalonewanderer]

What the concussed patient in the other room would find in the pockets might blow his mind as much as amuse him. The sheer bigger-on-the-inside-ness might be enough for some people to already back away completely from the exploration, but if one was to pursue further, they would be presented with the most ludicrous combination of items, ranging from a pair of glasses to string and chewing-gum, as well as some adhesive, 3D glasses, a few wrappers, some pebbles, a magnifying glass, a banana, a pen and some scraps of paper, and of course the iconic sonic screwdriver in his inner pocket. The Doctor had displaced the psychic paper in his coat, left in Carter’s lab, along with his stethoscope and a few other random and more massive items that wouldn’t pass through the smaller opening of his jacket’s pockets, some of them for diversion purposes, others for more technical uses, and others that had, quite frankly, simply been shoved in there on a whim.

While the patient was playing with his jacket, the Doctor had entered the room, only getting a few steps in before stopping, completely still with his eyes resting on the machines and a frown on his face. He watched as Janet entered and started working on the machines, still unmoving and his expression unreadable.

It took Janet talking to him to drag him out of his still state, making him blink and take the first obvious breath since he’d entered the room. He let it out in a long “Ahh...” as he started to wander around the room, still eyeing the machines with a unreadable expression every now and then. He stopped near a random item on a random table, turning it in his hands as he turned back to Janet, leaning against the table, “Chest. Yeah,” he sighed, putting the thing back on the table behind him. “I’m not too fond of scans... Nothing good ever happens when I get scans,” he mumbled, digging in his pants pockets to check their contents, only to find them empty if not for a lone jelly baby that had probably been lost in there for a while now. He shrugged, walking back closer to Janet, “I think I’m as ready as I’m gonna get.” He grumbled, having nothing to set on the plate she’d offered.

“Oh, you can leave that.” He suddenly said, waving at the lead cover. “Röntgen radiation isn’t going to do me any harm, don’t worry.” He smirked a bit, the first hint of a smile since he’d gotten in this room, and climbed on the table, laying down on his back against the hard metal, arms crossed in from of him in an unconsciously vulnerable gesture. He looked at Janet for a moment in silence, subdued, but then he started speaking again, continuing from earlier as if he’d never stopped.

“No, but seriously, it’s always bad when people scan me.” There had been that time where he’d wasted an entire regeneration in a hospital because of that—he couldn’t ever forget that one—and also the time in his previous regeneration when he’d been force-scanned in that underground museum. Although, it had been rather more like torture if he wanted to be specific. He shuddered despite himself. Then again, there had been more instances, much less memorable, so maybe he was being a bit overly dramatic here. “Well. Maybe not always…” He trailed off before shifting a bit to get a better look at Janet, continuing in a more cheeky tone, “But I don’t understand, it’s always the chest. What’s so interesting about my chest?” He fully smirked this time, teasing.

[sgcmd]

Janet had watched the Doctor freeze as she prepped the machines, his breathing and motion stilling absolutely for a few moments. Her movement toward him seemed to spark him into action again, and he picked up and fiddled with a stray instrument for a couple moments as he spoke.

Chest. Yeah. ’m not too fond of scans.. Nothing good ever happens when I get scans.

Janet felt a small smile curve the corner of her mouth at his obvious frustration at having nothing to put in the dish, pulling a single squashed gummy bear from his pocket before shoving it back in. He perked up when he approached her, though, a sudden smile lightening his face.

Oh, you can leave that. Röntgen radiation isn’t going to do me any harm, don’t worry.

Janet filed that information under interesting and useful, but merely replied, "For my own peace of mind, then. It's part of the procedure, and it won't hurt anything." She didn't say aloud that it might weigh him down a little. The man seemed to be an endless well of restless energy, and she found herself with a growing concern that his restive movements might keep the X-ray and CT scans from turning out. And it's possible he may try to sabotage the test purposefully. His compliance in laying down, placidly crossing his arms over his chest, reassured her. She laid the lead apron over the lower half of his body, leaving his chest and upper body clear. At this range she could see his tension clearly, her observation reinforced by his next words.

No, but seriously, it’s always bad when people scan me. Well. Maybe not always… But I don’t understand, it’s always the chest. What’s so interesting about my chest?

His grin was unmistakably smug, and Janet lifted a single eyebrow. You know full well what's interesting. "I suppose doctors always want to get to the heart of things. You know what they say: 'Doctors don't judge you by your outward appearance, they want a look at your internal organs first.'" A bit of medical humor, that. She continued, not cracking a smile. "Uncross your arms, please, and lay them at your sides." She nodded to the adjacent booth, a reinforced glass wall separating the two. "When I signal you to breathe in, do so and hold your breath for ten seconds or as long as you can." She planned to take a couple exposures and get them developed while they did the CT scan. The Doctor was pushing, but she really didn't want to tip her hand. Not yet. Both what she'd heard, and what she hadn't heard, in the Doctor's chest… It didn't exactly make her uneasy, but it made her very, very attentive. "This scan is entirely non-invasive, it won't put you in any danger. You shouldn't even feel anything."

[tenthofalonewanderer]

On the Sortcomings of Symbiosis [@ SGCmd]

[tenthofalonewanderer]

“—No,” The Doctor eyed them warily, pain momentarily pushed aside—even if he couldn’t keep from panting harshly—as the two women grabbed him under his arms, clearly ready to try and drag him out.

“NooO!” He insisted, louder, eyes widening when they levered him up to his feet. He gritted his teeth and did his best to use his feet to push back against their pull, adrenalin fuelling him, making his head clearer at the same time as giving him strength.

“What part don’t you get in NOT. Leaving. The TARDIS?!” His tone was loud and firm, and almost desperate for who knew how to listen. He struggled to push back, trying to get out of their hold.

In one streak of luck and a well-timed, desperate pull, he managed to break free of Carter’s hold, but before he could savour that small victory, gravity took hold of him instead. In his haste to break free, he hadn’t thought about the next part of his plan. Without the support on one side, his knees gave out, sending him backwards to the ground before he could resist, an “Oh crap” look on his face.

[sgcmd]

Janet and Sam got the Doctor to his feet—but things went sour, fast. His eyes darted from one to the other, and he struggled hard, unexpectedly trying to throw them off. Janet had been prepared for him to give them some pushback, but she hadn't expected his resistance to be this strong!

What part don’t you get in NOT. Leaving. The TARDIS?!

Janet struggled to maintain her grip, trying to break in with some soothing words—but apparently Sam was having just as much trouble as she was. Without warning the Doctor's arm slipped from Sam's grip, making her stagger backwards to keep her balance—and leaving Janet and the Doctor to the harsh caprice of gravity.

Janet's protesting arms and shoulders had already been telling her what became immediately apparent: the Doctor was heavier than he looked. She'd been sure that she and Sam would be able to manage him between them, and that was probably true—but as he fell backward, her frantic grasp on his arm was her largest focus as she tried to keep him from slamming his skull into the metal grating as his knees buckled and his body fell.

In some respects, she was successful. Instead of the back of his skull hitting the grating at full force, his body twisted due to her grip on his arm, and his other arm and shoulder absorbed most of the impact of his landing. She didn't have much time to think on that, however, as her death-grip on his bicep dragged her down, too, completely shredding her balance. As he hit, she awkwardly half-fell over him, her knees hitting his back and side, her right hand letting go and trying to cushion the force of the fall. She wasn't sure, but her elbow may have grazed the back of his head where he lay—the shock of pain from the heel of her hand and wrist interrupted her attention, making her hiss. Irritation with the Doctor flared up, intertwined with a jolt of fear that he'd injured himself, and anger/worry/concern at the delay. She heard Sam regain her balance, moving to where they were tangled on the ground, and tried to heave herself up off the Doctor's fallen form, feeling warmth rush to her hand.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

On the Sortcomings of Symbiosis [@ SGCmd]

[tenthofalonewanderer]

The Doctor didn’t spare a reply to Janet, not even a look or a sound of acknowledgement, despite having heard her perfectly. He was in pain, his head throbbing, and his body completely uncooperative, and she was asking him if he was able to walk?! Had he been in a less helpless position, he would have been bewildered, but as he was, he could only let out a trembling breath and slump a little more. He let the fresh feel of the TARDIS’ floor wash over him as he tried to fight a vague feeling of nausea rising from the pit of his digestive system and echoing his headache. Okay, he was definitely extremely tired… It really was time he caught a blink—

But before he could really set his mind to sleep mode, Janet was calling to him again, even going so far as to move him, rolling him, and he groaned, even more irritated than before.

“No, no, no, no, no—“ he mumbled, squinting at her with one eye, before hissing and closing it, feebly batting at her hand with little success. “Blimey, can’t a bloke lie on the floor for one minute— Trying to get a blink—without people... Doing… Ugh.” He curled up on his side, grimacing. He breathed harshly for a moment, then looked at Janet with wide, surprisingly steady eyes, body almost completely still in that moment. There was an edge of anxiety in his eyes. “I’m—vulnerable. Right now.” He started, voice breaking, then continued louder, “Don’t— Please don’t make me leave her midst—” But then he took in a sharp breath, eyes clenching shut, and a deep shudder wracking his form. He panted and curled more tightly on himself. If he dared being honest for once in his life, he would admit that leaving the TARDIS now was scary as hell.

[sgcmd]

The Doctor weakly resisted her hand as she moved him, mumbling about "lying on the floor" and "blink". He curled in pain, groaning, then looked up at her with an shade of pain in his eyes, fear lurking behind his momentarily-steady gaze.

I’m—vulnerable. Right now. Don’t— Please don’t make me leave her midst—

Sudden pain washed over his body, and he groaned and jerked his body inward. Janet noted with alarm how quickly his health had deteriorated, from protesting he was fine only moments before to lying helpless on the floor in pain. Enough.

"Sam." Janet's voice was authoritative, and her grip tightened on the Doctor's shoulder. "Help me get him up." She looked over, gauging their distance from the door, glancing down at the Doctor's somehow pathetic form and then back to her friend and colleague's face. "You take that side." Between the two of them, they'd manage.

Janet and Sam each hooked a strong hand under one of the Doctor's arms, readying to hoist him to his feet so that they could begin their journey to the door and the infirmary beyond. Janet's grip tightened and she locked eyes with Sam, trying to match their movements and jostle the Doctor as little as possible. They started to lever him to his feet, their movement synchronized and smooth.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

An unexpected visitor [with MajorSamanthaCarter]

[tenthofalonewanderer]

The Doctor blinked as she snarked at him quite beautifully, a slow grin taking over his face madly. He only replied “Touché,” watching her tend to the patient with military precision. “Still,” he continued as she came back to him, “if I told you right away, wouldn’t that take all the thrill out of it?” He tilted his chin up, looking down at her.

He held still as asked while she took his temperature, knowing full well what would show up on there. He continued to smile calmly, lifting his eyebrows at her earlier comments, now that she was done and he could move. “Oh? I’m allll ears.” He tilted his head, grins becoming wilder again. If she wanted to try and guess, he would be her guest, even if he really doubted she’d be able to pin down his species. “Surprise me.” he breathed, watching her as she obviously thought hard.

But his enjoyment and eagerness was short-lived. When she focused back on him and spoke about scans, his smile left him abruptly and he froze.

He leaned back an instant later, looking clearly less eager than before. He let out a long “Ahhh…,” eyes shifting across the room before landing on the guards at the door and finally on the other patient of the room, who was still watching just as closely and curiously as before. “Hold on, just… I don’t think that’s— I don’t need—” But then he brought himself to a halt, letting out a short sigh and shutting his eyes as if it pained him, before opening them again, relenting. “Oh well…” He rubbed at his face then got to his feet, quickly buttoning his shirt back up. “I suppose I can give that much to you… I did try to fire you up, after all. It’s only fair.” He looked down at Janet a moment, then pointed at her and spoke in a strict tone. “But only those two. That’s all you get, hm?” He raised his eyebrows at her, making sure she understood, but before she could reply, he straightened and turned back to the bed, “Good.”

He grabbed his discarded jacket and threw it to the other man’s bed, “Hold that for me, will ya?” then started to march to the place she’d indicated earlier, hands in his pockets.

[sgcmd]

Janet listened to the Doctor's initial hemming and hawing as he was faced with further tests. She was pleased that the Doctor didn't refuse the scans, but quirked an eyebrow at his firm declaration. She made a noncommittal "hmm" noise as he turned back to the bed, noticing that the other patient, Kai Owen, had crept up a little again in the bed. He froze as she fixed him with a Look, but at that point the Doctor surprised her by casually flinging his jacket atop the man's bed.

Hold that for me, will ya?

Janet hesitated for a breath, but the patient in the other bed didn't seem to be in distress. On the contrary, he seemed surprised and oddly starry-eyed, his free hand instinctively gripping the jacket and pulling it up so it didn't fall, while simultaneously relaxing back into the pillow. Janet gave an internal shrug before turning to follow the Doctor to the room where the equipment was. As she disappeared through the door the patient scooted up again, just enough to prop his head in a comfortable position. He turned over the jacket, looking at the outside and the inner lining, face amused and interested all at once. His fingers quested toward a pocket, curious.

Entering the room, Janet checked the machine, efficiently waking it from its warmed-up but standby mode. "First we will do a quick chest X-ray." She nodded toward a shallow plastic dish sitting next to a metal table with what looked like a large camera suspended over it. "Empty out any metal or dense items into there, please, and lie down on the table." She moved to where the lead-lined cover hung, fetching it down. It was heavy, but not overwhelmingly so, and she turned and waited for the Doctor to comply with her instructions.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

On the Sortcomings of Symbiosis [@ SGCmd]

[tenthofalonewanderer]

The Doctor didn’t truly react when Sam removed her uniform jacket, too uncoordinated at the moment to do much more than groan and struggle wanly before giving up. He rested his head on the jacket, too tired right now to be bothered with moving it away. He had liked the coolness of the TARDIS’s control room floor. It had been very nice against his forehead, and now he felt grumpy for it’s disappearance.

He didn’t struggle as Janet took the opportunity to place her stethoscope on him, allowing her to move his arm a little and letting himself drift a bit. For a moment, he was blissfully unaware of anything, the throbbing pain in his head just a distant ache in the background, mind slowly disconnecting.

But then he jolted awake with a start, fully awake and hearts pounding faster as he took in what Janet had asked Carter. He closed his eyes again, tightly, and gave out a groan as the pain crashed back on him, unrelenting, as he ignored Janet’s inquiries.

“‘m not moving anywhere.” He struggled a little with his uncooperative limbs, trying to get himself straighter again, but failing lamentably. His hand extended towards Carter, only to fall back down to the ground, and he glared in her general direction—although his ire was directed at himself, his hand, and the illness rather than Carter herself. “Y’can’t do that..!” He said, weakly. “That’s rude—!” But he didn’t manage to say much more than that, hissing in pain instead and letting his head join his hand on the floor.

As if to confirm the Doctor’s affirmation, there was a sudden grinding metallic sound coming from the hallway Carter had started to step in. The sound almost felt like a growl, and a very unwelcoming one at that. The hallways darkened, and on proper inspection, Carter would find that it had shifted into a dead end. The TARDIS clearly didn’t welcome them in her deeper chambers, they hadn’t been invited, weren’t companions. And besides, she didn’t want them to get deeper when she was like that. No, she wanted them to bring her pilot out, it would be much better for his potential recovery, she could see it. Her inside were too full of illness right now, after all.

[sgcmd]

The Doctor's face creased as he protested Janet's movements, feebly reaching out and mumbling.

‘m not moving anywhere. Y’ can’t do that.. That’s rude—!

He subsided onto his stomach, his muttering trailing away. Janet's expression was fixed, serious. She didn't respond to his complaints, only calling, "Sam? How about that medbay?"

Sam had come to a stop, pausing as the corridor ahead of her darkened and the TARDIS moaned menacingly. Her eyes couldn't make out any side doors or hallways; it looked as though the passage she was looking down ended abruptly in a blank wall only a short distance away, rather than branching off at all. "None," she called back. The eeriness of it made her stomach churn a little, and alarms were going off in the back of her mind. She'd been following Janet's lead on this, but— She turned and walked back, fast, to where Janet crouched near the Doctor. Her voice was low and serious, and she kept shooting glances back to the hallway. "There's nothing there at all. Just a blank passageway. It felt… strange." Sam didn't usually talk about how things felt, preferring specific and measurable descriptors, but she hoped that Janet would understand. "I think we should get him into the infirmary instead." She glanced at the door, a few dozen paces away, then down to the Doctor's prone form.

Janet nodded, quick and decisive, then took a deep breath to prepare herself. "Doctor. Can you walk?" If he couldn't, they'd need to lift and move him. She looked up and around, thinking hard. From what the TARDIS had "said", the Doctor's closeness to her was what had made him sick. It's likely that she wants us out, to remove him from any potential harmful exposure to further illness. "Doctor?" she repeated, placing a firm hand on his shoulder and starting to roll him over. If he didn't respond, she'd ask Sam to help her move him immediately.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

An unexpected visitor [with MajorSamanthaCarter]

[tenthofalonewanderer]

The Doctor lowered his head as Janet started listening through her stethoscope again, watching her with a repressed smile. His eyes shifted to the other patient in the room for a short instant, giving him a conspiratory grin before going back to study the doctor in front of him.

He startled a little when she suddenly stopped to bring her hands up to his neck and he leaned backward a bit before he could catch himself, staying completely still as she palpated his neck, his smile gone, head up, and eyes a bit wider. His mouth slowly opened and he took a breath before asking, voice quiet and slow, “Is everything alright? You seem confused.”

He knew very well why she acted like that. Probably at least, but it was second nature for him to act dumb in this kind of situation. When she let go of his neck to press hands into his abdomen, he couldn’t resist the smile that returned to his face, only to grin straight up at her in a decidedly cheeky way when she inquired about him being human or not.

He leaned forward a little, then said quietly, eyebrows raised, “I don’t know.” He popped his lips, “You tell me.” He wiggled a little on the bed, obviously taking a lot of fun in the present situation. “I’m not the doctor here.” He paused. “Well. Obviously, I am. Just not... that kind of doctor.” He paused again. “You know.” Then he sniffed and straightened up, mouth open as he clearly focused his attention on the man on the other bed. “Besides,” He nodded and vaguely pointed in the other’s direction, “I think you just made your patient worse, with that -oh so surprising- assumption.”

[sgcmd]

I don't know. You tell me.

Janet's eyebrows slowly rose as she listened to the Doctor, who was obviously laughing up his sleeve at her. When he indicated the patient behind her with his head, she turned, first her head, then her whole body to look at Kai, who was watching with a grimace, a hand resting on his temple. She repressed a tch at the fact he'd scooted himself up into a sitting position despite her attempts to get him to rest, and moved quickly and efficiently to his bedside, gently pulling his hand away and checking his eyes before easing him back down on the bed with a few quick movements. She tugged the cover smooth over him with a military snap even as she replied smoothly to the Doctor, "I wasn't aware that one had to have a medical degree to be aware of one's own species. It seems things are different where you come from." She lifted her head to meet his eyes ironically. "Doctor."

With one last look at her concussed patient, who was looking away guiltily and hiding his chin under the cover like a scolded child, she moved back to where the Doctor was sitting, legs swinging slightly. "Since you want me to tell you, I have a few more tests to help you discover just what you are." With a deft movement she got out an ear thermometer and slipped the sterile cover on the device. "Hold still please." As she'd checked his pulse, his skin had felt cool, cooler than it should despite the moderate temperature of the room.

At her distraction, the patient in the far bed snuck a hand out from under the cover, carefully moving his head so he could at least partially see what was going on. This was the best thing to happen all day, and he wasn't going to miss a minute of it, aching head or no!

The thermometer bore out Janet's observation. A human would be dead at that temperature, she thought, her face giving no sign of her thoughts. Respiration seems similar to a human's… Pulse is too tricky to measure, with whatever is going on in that chest of his. Time for a scan, I think. Lifting her chin, she nodded to the adjacent room where more sophisticated imaging equipment lay. "I'd like to do an chest X-ray and a CT scan. They shouldn't take long, and they won't do you any harm." And they would give a great deal more insight into the man's inner workings, as it were.

[tenthofalonewanderer]

An unexpected visitor [with MajorSamanthaCarter]

[tenthofalonewanderer]

The Doctor couldn’t help grinning at the man at the other side of the room, not having missed the way he had captured all his attention. Truly, if he’d been in the other’s position, he too would have latched on any possible distraction. He focused back on Janet, especially when she asked for precision as for his allergies… and mentally sighed. Trust humans to always pick the most sensitive topic to dig in… It never failed to happen.

He tilted his head this way and that as he replied, “Welllll…” He dragged out the word, head tilted back a bit and tongue coming to rest behind his front teeth. “Let’s just say the potential causes have probably been eradicated now.” He didn’t expand more than that. His kind had been very advanced, not affected anymore by most of what could have been bad to more primitive species. But with evolving people, viruses, allergens and bacteria tended to evolve too. There were always illnesses to plague people, no matter how advanced they were… But with his home planet gone, he probably was safe from at least some of what could have made him sick… If there was anything that could be considered good coming from that disaster, it was that…

He blinked out of his gloomy thoughts, puffing out his cheek and releasing the air in a heavy sigh, rubbing his jaw before taking his arms out of the way, nodding as he let her listen to his hearts. He glanced at the man again from above her shoulder, a small smile starting to grow on his face again, then watched her intently. He always loved this part, he had to admit. Watching confusion appear and grow on the face of anyone listening to his chest. He couldn’t help the wide grin he wore at the end of her examination, and almost laughed when she said the cloth might be interfering.

He grinned some more, complying and removing his jacket first. “Ooohh! You’re very professional, I like that.” He exclaimed as he loosened his tie and started opening the buttons of his shirt, baring his chest. She’d managed to stay mostly stoic, and she was persistent, he could respect that. Most people he’d met up to now had tended to ask at this point.

Once his shirt was open, he sat fully straight and lifted his head sightly, still watching her with a small smile, silently beckoning her to try again with a raised eyebrow.

[conkedinthehead]

Kai stared at the other man, then gave a sudden, belated grin, and made a laborious attempt at a slow wink—which failed, his eyes declining to close separately, so he gave a long blink instead. When his eyes reopened, he gave a delayed mental shrug and wiggled his hips back a bit, the better to prop himself up against the bed. Doctor Fraiser’s hesitation caught his attention away from her vastly entertaining patient for a moment, but his attention was riveted once again as the intriguing man unbuttoned his shirt, his mouth closing as he swallowed and suddenly looked away for a moment before peeking again out of the corner of his eye, curiosity making him wonder at Dr. Fraiser’s suddenly stiff posture.

[sgcmd]

Janet waited patiently while the Doctor unbuttoned his shirt, her attitude professional as she pushed the fabric aside and laid the end of the stethoscope on his chest once again. What she heard was unlike anything she'd heard before, and the confused muddle of beats she'd heard through the fabric of his clothes were only amplified and clarified by the absence of the cloth. Intent, she moved the stethoscope around to different portions of his chest. The dent between her eyebrows deepened as, instead of a decrease in amplitude and volume as she moved away from the left side of his chest, the sound remained consistent. Could he have situus ambiguus? she wondered, then, Or he really is more alien than we thought. More than a time traveler. Lifting her stethoscope from his chest abruptly, she unhooked the ends from her ears and moved her hands to his neck, palpating and checking quickly around the front and nape for any abnormalities before moving to palpate his abdomen. What she felt made her sit back on her heels. After a breath she looked him straight in the eye and asked him bluntly, "Are you human?" Her words shocked the patient in the far bed into a startled jump, making him wince and rest a hand on his head.