The Doctor made to shove forward when he pulled away, made to pull him back, but Rose wrapped her hand around his wrist to stop him. She wasn't as familiar with these things, but she recognized what he was doing, had a strong suspicion as to what it probably was, and let him carry on. And then he turned and smiled, and she managed a tiny, frightened smile back before he fell.
The Doctor caught him easily, hefted him back to his feet, balanced him long enough to tug him over to the hospital bed. "Easy- easy- let me have a look."
He tugged his glasses out, and the sonic screwdriver right after it. Whipped it out and scanned him from head to toe, focusing on the spear protruding from his chest. "Ooh, you've got some cowboys in here."
Rose, meanwhile, drug a chair over to the side of the bed, slipped her hand in his and gripped him tightly, eyes searching his face. She flicked them back to the Doctor, brows furrowed in concern. "Cowboys- he said he took in the souls of purgatory, are they still- they're still in there?"
"A few of 'em, yeah," Murmured the Doctor, distractedly, moving over to a computer on the side of the wall. "Really powerful bastards, leeches, hanging on to his temporal signature. They're locked in that body. Shut the door, refuse to come out."
"Can you fix him? Get them out?"
"I don't have to- that spear's doing it for me- sucking 'em all up like a sponge. Problem is, it's taking him, too. Not a biased spear, I'll give you that."
"So, what do we do?"
"We keep him healthy, keep him strong, give him a reason to stay. And we wait. And the second all of those things are out, we jerk that hunk of driftwood out of his chest."
"What? We can't just leave it--"
"Rose, if we don't, those things are going to take over. He's weak, he can't fight them off, and the second they take the reigns, they're steering the ship into the rocks. They'll kill him. Spirit. Body. Everything."
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Nappppppppppppppp!
Date: 2012-01-20 10:20 pm (UTC)The Doctor caught him easily, hefted him back to his feet, balanced him long enough to tug him over to the hospital bed. "Easy- easy- let me have a look."
He tugged his glasses out, and the sonic screwdriver right after it. Whipped it out and scanned him from head to toe, focusing on the spear protruding from his chest. "Ooh, you've got some cowboys in here."
Rose, meanwhile, drug a chair over to the side of the bed, slipped her hand in his and gripped him tightly, eyes searching his face. She flicked them back to the Doctor, brows furrowed in concern. "Cowboys- he said he took in the souls of purgatory, are they still- they're still in there?"
"A few of 'em, yeah," Murmured the Doctor, distractedly, moving over to a computer on the side of the wall. "Really powerful bastards, leeches, hanging on to his temporal signature. They're locked in that body. Shut the door, refuse to come out."
"Can you fix him? Get them out?"
"I don't have to- that spear's doing it for me- sucking 'em all up like a sponge. Problem is, it's taking him, too. Not a biased spear, I'll give you that."
"So, what do we do?"
"We keep him healthy, keep him strong, give him a reason to stay. And we wait. And the second all of those things are out, we jerk that hunk of driftwood out of his chest."
"What? We can't just leave it--"
"Rose, if we don't, those things are going to take over. He's weak, he can't fight them off, and the second they take the reigns, they're steering the ship into the rocks. They'll kill him. Spirit. Body. Everything."