The Doctor Is In

((Closed for 10th Doctor, Charity & Nancy))

The night was long and cold, patients lined up in a seemingly endless flow in and out of the front door of the Barnes Hospital in London. Rebecca, a local Registered Nurse approached the building, holding her jacket closely to her face as she exhaled. Her eyes drooping as he exhibited obvious signs of stress, her long night shift taking a toll on her as she entered through the automatic front doors. "Oh thank the stars! You're back early!" A nearby front desk receptionist proclaimed upon  seeing the returning RN, "Why? What's going on?" Rebecca questioned curiously, "Endless reports of ear problems with our patients. Our rooms are practically filled, we had to call in a Doctor from another hospital. We need you in immediately in operation room 2! Somethings going on Becca".

Rebecca bolted from the reception desk straight into the back, turning left and heading into the operation room. Quickly putting on her work attire and proper gloves, Rebecca entered the room, immediately noticing the lack of staff, "Where is everyone?" she asked her nearby coworker, "Handling patients" Steve replied, "We're waiting on the Doctor we borrowed to help this poor lad here". Just as he finished, the doors burst open, revealing The Doctor, "Someone call a Doctor?" he asked, pulling a rubber glove over his hand.

1 Hour Prior.....

The Doctor shuffled through his clothes rack, intent on finding a specific coat he swore he had, "I swear, i had a rainbow colored coat somewhere around here" he mumbled. Releasing a groan and a sigh, "Oh well..thing looked horrible on me anyways". Suddenly the Cloister bell emitted, ringing through the entire interior of the TARDIS; immediately catching The Doctors attention as he bolted up the spiral staircase.

Once reaching the control room, The Doctor called back down the stairs, "Charity! Don't be wondering off down there, it'd take weeks maybe months to find you!". His eyes locked on the scanner as he yanked it over and read over the data coming in, "Oo! Look at that! That's not good now is it....i wonder what's causing that. Odd though, nothing else seems disturbed". The Doctors attention shifted back over to the staircase as he ran over to and leaned over it, "Oi! On your way up can you grab two white doctors coats from the wardrobe, a yellow rubber duck? Should be in the case next to the shoes".

As expected, Care had a small headache last night following her meeting with the strange teen. The whole day seemed more like one of her strange dream, out of time, then reality. This young man had been weird, but not wrongly, on the contrary. The meeting with him, looking backward, felt like being at the right place, like it truly was right. But thinking about it was too strange and all yet, so she made her mind go elsewhere.

She could barely remember the rest of the day, it just felt like a dream even more. She had wandered around the city for somewhere to live, letting her feet guide her. And she had somehow found herself in front of a youth hostel and it felt right. She loved it at first sight. The feeling, the look, everything about it said home. She just had stepped inside and was greeted by a very nice couple, and before she knew it, she had rented a nice and cozy room.

This morning, though, a very very strong intuition had taken her. Her life would change forever... today. Why ? How ? She had that feeling since coming to England, and it had worsened upon arriving, and all that followed, but this morning, it was almost like her heart would burst. It was not just a feeling anymore, it was a certainty.

At 6 in the morning, in fact, the feeling had woken her. She had to make ready for the day, it was an urgency. She was needed, she had to move, to do something. She got ready in less than 10 minutes, not exactly a record for her, but it had been some time since she had to get ready so quickly. She took her backpack even without realizing it. She hadn't unpacked yet, so it was fairly easy to just put what she used today inside again. Not like it was a new routine for her anyway.

She headed for the kitchen downstairs to make some breakfast, but then she heard some talking. The nice couple who owned the place seemed to be having some problems. She couldn't make out the word, but they sounded concerned. So instead, she headed for the voice. She had never been able to resist helping those in need, even sometimes when she wasn't welcome.

She entered the dining room to find Mrs. Brooks very white and obviously in pain sat at the table, her husband concerned and fussing about her. She was arguing for not going to the hospital, and he wanted her to go. Care cleared her throat to make her presence know, and when she had the look of then, asked what was happening.

In the end, she finally was able to understand the situation. Mrs. Brooks always had trouble with her ears, since she was a child. A lot of infections and one of them was half deafened. And this morning a searing pain had woken her, a few moments ago in fact, and Care sighed inwardly, it was probably the exact moment when her intuition had woken her. She had experienced with handling those kinds of situations as well, and she felt the pulling. She had to get involved.

"I really suggest the hospital. You had a lot of problems with your ears over the years, and it really doesn't seem like benign, even your husbands as some pain in his own ears. There has to be something. And if it's dire, at least they will be able to help, wouldn't do you any good to lose completely your hearing would it ?"

And so she convinced them both to go and decided to jump in the car. She didn't knew why, but she felt she would be of use. It was strange, being on the "wrong" side of the road for her. Everything was inverted and it was very very awkward. At least she had Mrs Brooks to care for, it helped her focus and center. And that intuition that was just tugging more and more. And the headache that wasn't strong, just annoying. She just hoped the event was going to happen soon.

It took just a few minutes to get to the hospital, but it was crowded. There were people with ears problem everywhere. The front desk lady seemed overwhelmed, and the rest of the personnel as well. But with Mrs Brooks' medical history, they passed her right away. Care waited in the waiting room, trying to talk and ease other patients concern, making them more at ease. She couldn't help them for real, but she could do what she did beast, care counseling.

Then the couple returned... with bad news. Mrs Brooks would have to go into surgery, and right now. They would keep Mr. brooks in observation, but he was a minor case.  Care didn't had anything to do, and she didn't knew the way back. And besides, she just couldn't leave, not without knowing what was happening.

She was helping and talking with others in the waiting room for some time when someone entered the hospital. It was like in one of those commercial when all is in black and white, and then suddenly someone or something appears in color. But he was not just in color, he was like in bright red. A surge of electricity passed into her whole body. She didn't knew who he was, but he was someone. She had to... but then she realise everyone was talking to him, he was a doctor, and very much needed it seemed... but why was she having that feeling about him them. What could she have to do with a doctor.

She didn't even realize that she was almost by his side. She didn't even knew she had got up from where she was...

Having started to explore the Tardis, Charity was curious just how big it was. It seemed endless! She had just wandered into a room with unidentified things in it. Reaching out to touch something, she was startled to hear a sort of alarm suddenly start up. She jumped back and looked around, worrying about what she might have done. Hastily exiting the room, she started toward the console room when she heard the Doctor call out asking her to bring some things.

After a quick detour to grab the things he requested, she hurried back to the console room, two white doctor coats and a rubber duck in her arms.
"I didn't do anything..." She insisted as she passed him the items, looking at him with wide eyes and worried she had, in fact, damaged something unintentionally. "What's the alarm for? I just barely touched anything..." She really hoped she hadn't damaged anything, and that he wouldn't be upset with her.

As an afterthought, looking at the stuff she was handing him, she gave him a puzzled look.
"What do you need these things for, anyway?"

((I only did a reply to the '1 hour prior' part, because I wasn't sure where to put charity yet in the current time part. Hopefully I'll figure it out by the next post!))

((That's fine, i was just giving the RP some back story ))

The Doctor grinned and gestured with his head towards the screen for Charity to look at, "See that" he asked, pointing at the screen where a blinking red like rang on a grid map, "That is a unusual surge of time space disruption. Usually you'll get some things here and there no big deal but this...this is big enough to cause black holes or rifts to start opening up all across Earth.". Walking around the TARDIS, The Doctor continued, "And it just so happens to be located in a hospital...Barnes Hospital in west London to be exact. Nice hospital..terrible mashed potatoes. Anyways! The hospital just sent out an emergency call to another hospital for a Doctor, i intercepted the call so we're going to pop in, find the anomaly..maybe help a few people if we can then pop out".

Stopping back at the screen next to Charity, The Doctor grabbed one of the coats and quickly put it in, "Shouldn't take too long. Don't wonder off though..there's no telling what might happen" he mumbled; his eyes fixed on the screen. A beeping sound from the monitor grabbed The Doctors attention and drew him closer to the control console, "Increased levels..we need to go now." he exclaimed, grabbing the main lever and quickly thrusting it down. The TARDIS roared as its time rotor raced up and down, the thrashing kept at a minimum thanks to The Doctors efforts stretching and extending his body over the console to keep the flight pattern in check. A confirming thud echoed throughout the control room as the TARDIS landed at its destination just across the street from the hospitals front doors. Making sure he had everything, The Doctor padded his jacket, checking for his screwdriver and psychic paper mainly, "Ooo! Can't forget this" he exclaimed, turning back to grab the rubber duck and quickly tucking it into the doctors coat.

Once making sure Charity was ready The Doctor proceeded down the ramp, allowing Charity to exit first so he could lock the door behind him once they entered the street. The lines of people could be seen from across the street, the hospitals neon sign and inside lighting served as lights to guide The Doctor and Charity across the street and eventually into the building. The front desk receptionist glanced up from her computer screen as The Doctor approached, "Please tell me who i think you are" she said tirelessly. The Doctor reached inside his jacket and flipped out his psychic paper, "Doctor Smith and my assistant. Came about your call" he added as he handed her the pamphlet. A moment of silence emitted as the receptionist reviewed the psychic paper then handed it back with a sigh of relief, "So glad you're here! operation room 2 needs you immediately!".

The Doctor nodded, taking back his trusty device and proceeding towards the room with the help of the receptionist who pointed back to her left. Patients looked up and over at The Doctor as he passed them, their eyes filled with pain, some with hope that he'd be able to help. The Doctor couldn't help but ponder the cause of all of this and the correlation to the disturbance the TARDIS picked up on as he approached the door. Grabbing a pair of rubber gloves from an open cabinet to his left, The Doctor glanced back to Charity then entered the operation room.

((Now it's caught up to the opening haha))

Relieved that the alarm was apparently nothing to do with her touching anything, Charity came over and looked curiously at the screen that the Doctor pointed out to her, and nodded slightly as he explained about the grid and the time space disruption. The names of the places were unfamiliar to her but she tried to remember them for future reference, just in case. Earth, London, Barnes Hospital. She assumed that Earth was the planet name, London must be the country, and of course, Barnes hospital was the hospital. Unless Earth was the country and London a city name, but she would sort that stuff out later.

She grabbed onto something to steady herself as the Tardis landed, then put the other white lab coat on over her uniform.
"What do you need the rubber duck for?" She wondered curiously as she followed the Doctor to the doors. As she stepped out and looked around, she noticed the line of people and frowned, thinking that didn't seem right. People shouldn't be lined up waiting to get into a hospital, that must mean there were a lot more people coming in for treatment than the hospital could handle. That couldn't be a good thing.

She offered some reassuring smiles to the people waiting to get in the hospital as she followed the Doctor inside. Giving him a curious look as he handed a piece of paper to the lady at the desk, Charity stored away some questions in her head for later, having decided that now wasn't a good time to be asking what that paper is and what it does. Just then she noticed a girl approaching them. She had her eyes fixed on the Doctor, she noticed, but he was heading toward an operating room. She vaguely wondered if he had any idea how to operate, but she figured that he surely wouldn't try it without knowing how.
"Uh, Doctor, if you don't need me in the operating room, I'll just talk to some of the people... find out what I can, you know?" She suggested, figuring that would be better since she had absolutely no idea what to do in an operating room, and probably would be no help whatsoever since she only had basic first aid training. Besides, then he could find out things in the Op. room while she could do a little investigating in other parts of the hospital. Plus, she was a bit curious about this woman who had approached him, maybe this would give her a chance to ask her some questions.

Care hadn't made it to this doctor, to the beacon that was like calling her. But there was a firefly with him, one that seemed approachable. The lady seemed decided to stay and talk with the people around, so maybe she could try with her. Before she was by her side, she didn't have any idea of what she would be doing, but as she realise she was heading toward them, her super-speed mind had already decided what course of action was the best.

If she stayed silent, nothing would move, and perhaps no one would even realize that something was wrong here. That the hearing problems was more important then it seems. At whorse, she would pass for a weird lady, for a bit craked lady. But no one knew her here yet, and she was no one. So there was no harm, and only gain to have. If no one believed her, they were still too busy to prevent her from investigating on her own, and perhaps the firefly would believe her. It had happen so often that the right person would believe her. She had become quite good at guessing character, finding the right person and the right word. She would just have to trust in her instinct, she always had trouble to trust in herself, but in the end, there was no other viable solution.

"Excuse me, I overheard the conversation you just had, you are the assistant of the doctor who will operate my landlady, I just wanted to wish good success to the doctor, but he left. So... I was wandering if you had any idea of what is the problem."

It was all true, but also a cover to come closer to her without attracting to much attention. She closed the last steps to get next to the firefly and lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper. Hoping the women would still hear her, and no one else. She didn't want to cause a panic either.

"I think there is something wronger then just the hearing and ears problems. There something that doesn't feel right here. I don't know what, but this only seem like a symptôme to me, so if there is anything I can do to help the hospital, or anything, I'd be glad to help. I know I'm an unknown, and no expert in medical things, but I've got a lot of experience in crisis management. So if there is anything I can do to help, just let me know."

She hoped, really hoped it was nothing, and that everything would be back to normal soon... but she had seen too much to believe in her wish. But she was determined to do her best to help if there was anything at all she could do.

The Doctor approached the person laying down on the operating table in front of him, peering down at the unconscious body as he approached it then glancing to his side at the RN's. Rebecca paused for a moment then walked up next to The Doctor, "No signs of head trauma, can't really say why he is having the pains in his ear either. We're honestly lost..kinda hoping you could help" she admitted, much to the displeasure of Sam who stood across the room. "Don't make us look like we're foo-" Sam started before he was interrupted by The Doctor, "Sorry but i'm a different kind of Doctor. You're better off telling Martha Jones this stuff, i on the other hand..prefer to use a screwdriver" he stated, flipping out his sonic screwdriver and quickly adjusting the setting. "Oh no" Sam moaned, "They called in a lunatic..Rebecca we might as well start on the next patient", "Sorry Doctor..whoever you are. What hospital do you come from? We don't exactly use screwdrivers here for operations" Rebecca questioned The Doctor.

The Doctor hovered his sonic screwdriver over the patients forehead and began to scan as he replied, "If i told you, you wouldn't believe me. Let's just say i come from a hospital a long way away. Ooo what's this?". The Doctor's interest in the scan peeked when his sonic screwdriver registered with a bleeping sound that fluctuated on and off, "Which ear did he complain about?!" The Doctor hastily asked Rebecca, "Umm..the right why?" she stuttered. Shifting his position over to the right, The Doctor leaned over and pointed his sonic screwdriver up to the man's right ear. It was not long until slowly movement around the man's ear began to pick up, The Doctor's eyes widening, "Hurry i need tweezers!" he exclaimed. Rebecca quickly grabbed a pair off of the nearby tray and handed them to The Doctor.

With his free hand, The Doctor slowly inserted the tweezers into the man's ears and with one quick grab and pull, a glob of ear wax protruded from the man's ear. The glob began to frantically shake back in forth, trying to pry itself loose from The Doctor's grip, with each thrash flinging off more of the ear wax and revealing it's shinny metal shell. Sam and Rebecca stood back stunned and disgusted as The Doctor placed it on a nearby tray and quickly activating his sonic screwdriver over it, resulting in the small machines demise. As it lay still on the tray, The Doctor snapped off the gloves and flipped on his glasses as he picked it up again with the tweezers and brought it up to eye level to further observe it. "What...what is that thing?!" Sam exclaimed, him and Rebecca ready to leave the room, "That...is a Cybermite. It slowly converts people into Cybermen..burrowing deeper and deeper into their brains..but where did you come from ey?" The Doctor mumbled as he intently looked at the Cybermite.

Suddenly from the operation table, the man shot up with a gasp of air, frantically looking around, "Where..am i?!" he yelled. Jumping to the man's side, The Doctor placed his hand on the man's shoulder, "Sssh..sssh. It's okay, my name is The Doctor, i'm here to help. Just lay back down and we'll get you back home alright?" he reassured the man before looking up to Sam and Rebecca, "Go get someone. He needs water and rest and see if you can find my assistant..her name is Charity". Sam and Rebecca nodded slowly, gulping first before exiting the room.

Charity watched the Doctor go into the operating room, and then turned to the girl with a smile. She listened as she spoke to her, asking if he knew what was going on. Charity thought fast to try and figure out what to say to her. She gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'm Charity, you heard right about my being the Doctor's assistant. I'm afraid I don't know what the problem is just yet but sure that the Doctor is finding out everything he can. Your landlady will be just fine." She smiled. "In the meanwhile, do you mind if I ask you some questions? It may help somehow."

She led the way toward what she hoped would be a quieter part of the hospital, where they could talk a bit more privately.
"What is your landlady's name, and what exactly are her symptoms? When did she start experiencing them?" She tried to think of any other questions that might be useful to know the answer to. "Do you know how many others have the same symptoms?" She thought about that, remembering how many people had been lined up outside the hospital and jammed into the waiting room. With that so people having this problem, it would seem like there was some sort of epidemic, but that didn't make sense.. how could ear pain be an epidemic?

But then the other girl started mentioning that she thought there was more wrong than just ear problems. Charity nodded a little.
"I'm sure your help will be much appreciated, is there anything else you can tell me that might help? Even things that might not seem important?" She added, thinking that something she might not think was important could be very important to the Doctor.

Care was glad that the women seem not to take her for some crazy girl. She didn't quite feel like she was trusted, but she was not told to walk away or listened to just to calm her. She could recognize those way of acting straight away. Perhaps there was nothing that she could do, but perhaps there was. So she followed the women to a quieter and farther away place.  The women presented herself, and Nancy felt like she had to present herself as well.

"People call me Care."

Might seems weird to say, but she was so used to it now, and she really didn't relate to her real name. Besides, this was not official business, and even with the Red Cross, when Volunteering, she was presenting herself with that nickname now.

She had to do her best to make a concise but accurate summary of events. Thank Gods, she was becoming quite efficient in that capacity by now.

"I've just arrived in London yesterday. She and her husbands run a youth hostel close to here. This morning she was woken up by a searing pain in her ears. She has been having problems with both of them for a long time, even need hearing apparels because she is almost deaf in that ear. And I have been talking to other people here in the hospital. Almost all of them as similar stories, save that most of then didn't have any prior hearing problems before. It's impossible that all those details piles up all together. A virus that just affects one ear or people like that. All of them comes from the area, and not more than a few minutes away in cars. There is no differences of ages, medical backgrounds, nothing to link them together."

She left away her intuition that was growing stronger and stronger. No scientist or doctor or any of those working here would believe in such a non-scientific thing. She did, and she knew a lot of people did believe in psychic abilities, but no real doctor would acknowledge here, in this place, that he or she was.

Charity listened carefully to what Care said, thinking over the details. It certainly was strange that the symptoms all seemed to start for everyone around the same time. She didn't know all that much about medical things but it sure didn't seem natural for so many people to suddenly develop problems with their ears and hearing, and only in one area? It also didn't seem like the sort of thing that would be the symptom of a virus or something that was spreading around the area. In a case like that, she would expect symptoms like coughing, fever, nausea... that sort of thing. So what was going on here?

She chewed on her nails a little bit as she thought about this mystery. Maybe the Doctor would know, but he was busy in the operating room, hopefully helping, and not dissecting, the patient. She paced around a little, wondering if it would be safe to tell Care the truth about her and the Doctor; that they aren't really medical personnel, but she thought it might be better to keep that to herself for now.

"I think you're right, Care. It is very unusual and I'm sure it's not a coincidence that it all happened at the same time for everyone. I wonder... do you know if there's anything around here that might be emitting a high radio frequency?" It seemed fairly possible that there could be a frequency playing that was higher than humans could hear, but might be bothering their ears. "Have you noticed any dogs acting oddly, or like they were in pain?" She figured that would be a pretty good clue to determining if there was some sort of high pitched frequency causing this issue.

The Doctor kept close to the man until Sam and Rebecca returned with a gurney in which they used to move the man and strap him down. "So now that we know what is going on how do we cure the other patients? One at a time?" Rebecca asked as she turned to The Doctor once the man was strapped completely down to the gurney, "Oh! Yes! The other patients..sorry. First off i need to run..some data to see exactly what's going on. See if i can't whip something else for the rest of them. Where's your nearest computer?" replied The Doctor. Pointing to the room next door behind her, Rebecca watched as The Doctor nodded and quickly began to exit the operation room; looking over to Sam she motioned with her head as she grabbed the gurney and with Sam exited after The Doctor.

Waiting until Sam and Rebecca had walked out of sight The Doctor slowly flipped out his sonic screwdriver, keeping it low to not draw attention, and adjusted the setting. Listening intently to his trusty device, The Doctor waited until the sonic screwdriver locked onto the signal that the TARDIS had found. Suddenly the sonic screwdriver lit up with life, BEEP BEEP BEEEP it sounded as it locked onto the time space disruption readings. Using it was a make shift gps, The Doctor continued on his path until the beeping stopped then turned and kept following based on the sonic screwdrivers response.

Before he knew it, The Doctor wound up facing the door labeled Janitors closet. Glancing around him, The Doctor made sure nobody was looking before he extended out the sonic screwdriver and used it to open the door. Quickly entering, The Doctor shut it behind him then slowly turned around. The room was dark as night apart from a shinning blue light emitting from behind a bucket to the left of the closet. Squatting down, The Doctor shoved aside the bucket revealing a glowing puddle of water that shined a bright blue color. "That's...not good" The Doctor mumbled as he stared into the portal.

Before Care could answer and even really take the time to think about what she knew or not, and answer Charity's question, a Doctor passed by them as if he was looking for something. When he saw them, he stopped and walk right to the girls. He seemed to mean business, even if to Care he looked a bit awkward with his strange Bluetooth or something in is ears.  He didn't even take time to really asset both of them, or so it seemed to Care.

"You, I need you both now."

He looked really serious, and even if Care was surprised to be addressed like that, and even asked for help right out of the blue, she followed. She was here because she wanted to help after all. He turned around without looking if the girl would follow, but Care did. Her brains was running on adrenaline and everything around her seemed in a slowmotion, as she was thinking at almost lighting speed (or so it felt to her as usual). What could she be asked to help with ? Yes she did have an extensive first iad and even psychologic-aid back-ground, but surely, since no one knew her here, why ask her ? Why was the guy looking for them, or for anyone to help, when surely, even short handed, no doctor would have asked stranger in a Canadian Hospital... What was going on here ?

Charity was surprised as a man suddenly said that he needed both of them. Who was this guy? What could he possibly need her and Care for? Confused, she watched Care hurry after him, and then she shrugged and followed after Care, puzzled. She jogged a little to catch up to Care and gave her a quizzical look.
"Any idea what this is about?" She whispered softly as they walked.

After giving it a little more thought, it occurred to her that maybe the Doctor had sent someone to get her and maybe he asked for both of them because he wasn't sure which one of them was the one the Doctor was asking for? She thought that seemed like the most logical explanation. She followed the stranger, expecting to be led to the operating room, but to her surprise, he turned down a hall that dead-ended in a janitor's closet. It seemed evident that he was taking them there... but why?

"Uh.. sir, I think you're a bit mistaken. We're not janitors..." She frowned, stopping in her tracks. Not that she thought she was above doing a little work, but she wasn't here to mop the hallway or something, she was here to help the Doctor. "I'm the Doctor's assistant, and actually I really ought to be finding him.. and she's with me so she can't help you either." She smiled apologetically and started to try and move onward to locate the Doctor.

"I am not asking you to clean." The man replied, moving to block their way. He held out a hand as if he was going to give them something. Charity looked a little puzzled and then stepped back a bit when his hand opened to show a few strange insect-looking things, which he flung in their direction. With a gasp of surprise, Charity hastily twisted to the side, more because something was being thrown at her than because she thought it was something dangerous, and managed to avoid it so that it landed on the floor instead of on her. But then as the things began crawling toward her, she widened her eyes and stared, backing away slightly. She realized that they were actually metal, and grabbed her blaster weapon.
"What are those?" She asked, trying not to panic. As it continued moving toward her swiftly she fired a shot at it hoping to stop it...

The Doctor continued to analyze the portal, first scanning it with his sonic screwdriver then, reaching in and, taking out the rubber duck. Slowly he hovered the rubber duck over the portal then released it into the portal. The portal wavered like water as the duck passed through it then began to calm down after a few seconds before suddenly the duck was tossed back out, much to The Doctor's surprise. With wide eyes and an arched eyebrow, The Doctor slowly leaned down towards the portal; suddenly a metal arm of a Cyberman burst out from the portal and grabbed The Doctor by the white doctors coat. "Aahh!" The Doctor exclaimed as he was almost forced down into the portal, the Cyberman's grip holding firmly on the collar of the coat.

Frantically The Doctor tried to pull away from the grasp to no avail; then an idea struck The Doctor. Turning and twist, The Doctor quickly maneuvered his way out of his lab coat until finally shaking free and watching as the Cyberman yanked the coat down into the portal. Breathing heavily, The Doctor stood still for a second, his eyes fixed on the portal. BANG A shot rang through the hospital, but it was no ordinary shot, it was the echo of a blaster, "Charity!" The Doctor mumbled as he jerked his body back towards the door. Stopping himself, The Doctor glanced back to the portal and quickly found a nearby heavy box to slide over the portal and cover it, "That should keep you at bay for now" he said with a nod before bursting out of the janitors closet.

The Doctors rush quickened as his eyes locked onto the man and the Cybermites rushing towards Charity and the woman beside her. "Charity!" The Doctor exclaimed, reaching down into his suit jacket and flipping out his sonic screwdriver, "Everyone back away from them! They can't touch you!". The man slowly turned around, the bluetooth in his ear blinking blue, "Doctor! You will be upgraded" he spoke brashly, extending his arm out to The Doctor to release more Cybermites but was cut off from the buzzing of The Doctor's sonic screwdriver. The mans blue tooth sparking and causing him to twitch as The Doctor rushed by him, quickly jumping to Charities side, "Your tool is useless Doctor. All must be upgraded!". "Oi! I love my sonic screwdriver, don't call it useless! Charity hand me your blaster" The Doctor replied to the man before turning his attention to Charity.

Holding Charity's blaster, The Doctor hovered his sonic screwdriver over it before placing his trusty device against it then pointing it at the man and the crawling Cybermites, "Hope this works" he mumbled before pulling the trigger. A second passed before suddenly a blue wave emitted from the blaster, hitting the Cybermites and man immediately causing them to twitch and spark, respectively, before stopping dead in their tracks. The man stood for a moment before falling down like a brick, the Cybermites sparking and then shutting down all at once. "EMP" The Doctor said breathlessly, "Gotta love it" he sniffed, handing Charity back her blaster then checking on the man as he tucked away his sonic screwdriver. The man was clearly dead, the Cyber implants having done that long ago but The Doctor needed a second; a second to process the psychic connection he couldn't help but feel with the woman beside Charity, a strange aura around her he hadn't felt in a while.

Care followed the doctor even if she was uneasy about this whole situation. The more time passed, the more everything seemed strange and out of place. It was like looking at a puzzle without having all the pieces, and you were supposed to build it still. They walked until they arrived before a cupboard, and then Charity seemed to become upset. Yes, sure, they were no Janitors, and probably the other lady would be a lot more useful as a nurse or assistant then a Janitor, but Care was willing to do anything that would help if need be.

But the doctor claimed he didn't bring them here for janitoring, and all the alarms in Care's mind were starting to ring, she felt in danger. Why ? What was happening, nothing made sense. And yet, she was not really feeling afraid, not that she wasn't, but she was in that clear state of mind that always fell on her in stressful and emergency situation. Like the world was slower, like she could do anything, think quickly, act correctly. She would lie if she said she didn't like that. It was a big part of why she was volunteering so much with the red cross, why she had been a lifeguard and all those things she always did.

She saw like in slow motion the man throwing a strange device like insect to the and her Karate reflexes took over. She side stepped and the thing flew past her. But it started crawling back toward her. She knew this was not good. She didn't understand all that was happening, but an insect-like device that looked evil, no, it really looked not good. And the guy, He didn't have any expression, he was like a total blank, like he was emotionally dead. She couldn't see, couldn't feel a thing from him. Not a trace of anything in his posturing and nonverbal. It was creepy.

So she decided she would not touch the thing. Charity seemed to have reached the same conclusion she did because she took out a gun and tried to fire at the insectoids. Care didn't have weapons with her, she was a nonviolent person at heart. She was doing Karate for the philosophy, the discipline and the physical exertion. She had taken pride in never having to use it to harm anyone. She had use it in her line of work to restrain some of her clients to prevent them from harming her or themselves, but never had she done it to harm someone. And now, she was in a fight situation she didn't even knew how she had gotten involve like that. What was this all about ?!

And then the door of the cupboard open and the doctor who had that strange aura, that strange attraction to him came out. He looked worried and angry, she couldn't truly say, she was a bit too much occupied in avoiding both the insectoid and the controlled man. Then the friend of Charity took his strange buzzing device and did something to Charity's gun. And while Care was still debating with herself if she should or not try to attack the doctor to restrain him or something, the Doctor fired an EMP from the gun and everything sort of stilled. The false doctor crashed to the floor, the crawlings stopped dead. Care didn't think, then, she just reacted on instinct and kneeled beside the dead man. No breathing, she tried to replace his head with the ease of movement coming from habit and practice. No breathing, she fumbled into her purse, trying to find her pocket mask. She looked up to tell to Charity to get another doctor, but the expression and that strange attraction coming from the doctor almost stopped her. Her hands continued to unfold the pocket mask by reflexes, but suddenly, she didn't knew what to do. All the strangeness of it all came crashing down on her.

How come she wasn't surprised, horrified or anything. Of course, she had seen strange things and met strange people in her life. She had trained a lot of them to use their psychic powers even if hers weren't as good as theirs. But why wasn't she feeling more disturb of afraid of it all ? Why did it felt so right, so homecoming. This, more than anything else made her afraid, made her want to flee and never come back. It was too sudden, to strong. She had never flet home anywhere before. She felt like a junkie on a high.

Charity was unbelievably relieved to see the Doctor come rushing out of the janitor's closet, although she couldn't explain why he would have been in there when she had thought he was in the operating room. And hearing him tell them to stay away from the little insect things confirmed to her that she had been right about them being dangerous. She didn't know what they were but she was determined not to let them touch her, or Care, or the Doctor, just in case.

She looked at the man a bit puzzled, when he spoke, finding it odd how he was talking so..robotically. But she quickly handed the Doctor her blaster upon his request and watched to see what he would do with it. She wished she had more than one, but it hadn't seemed to do much good against the little insect thing, Then the Doctor started doing something to alter it again, so maybe this would work.

Sure enough, the wave of blue energy hit them and stopped them, much to Charity' relief. She widened her eyes in surprise as the man dropped to the ground. She took back her blaster that the Doctor handed to her and looked questioningly at him, while Care rushed to the guy's side to check his pulse.
"EMP? Electromagnetic pulse?" She asked, a bit surprised. She looked back at the guy on the floor, and the little metal insect things. "What..what was wrong with him? And what are those little metal bug things, Doctor? What would have happened if they'd touched us?" She frowned in concern, wanting to know what she could about this stuff.

((So sorry about the long wait guys, the holidays had me all tied up haha))

The Doctor slowly rose up from beside the body, his eyes still locked on the man as he replied to Charity, "Cyber mites they're called..programmed to get into a host any means necessary to convert them into Cybermen. That's what he was..his emotions and everything that made him human snatched and zapped away..he was dead long before we got here". Looking around, The Doctor began trying to figure out all the other pieces to this puzzle he faced before him; the portal, the Cybermen, all the patients in the waiting room and all the loose cyber mites. At first it seemed daunting but an idea struck his thoughts as his attention moved over to the woman beside Charity.

Turning towards the woman, The Doctor arched an eyebrow, "Besides with the portal over in the janitors closet and all these people to take care of we have a bigger problem at hand" he started, "Sorry, excuse me miss. What was your name?" he asked the woman. Don't worry i know The Doctor said to her telepathically, Sorry, didn't mean to barge into your mind. My name is The Doctor.

Glancing over to Charity, The Doctor patted her on the shoulder, "You okay?" he asked, making sure the event with the Cyber mites didn't frighten her too much, "I'll need your help with the patients out in the lobby. I can't deal with the rest of the possible loose Cyber Mites until after i've found a way to close that portal but i think i've got an idea. If you can help those people out there and i can work on the portal, we can knock it all out together with a little bit of allons-y".

All the explanations around her shouldn't have made sense, and yet, this whole bloody thing was a nonsense. it was like the world all around her had gone crazy. Like she was in some sort of strange sci-fi movie, and the strangest theories would made sense no matter what.  Well, cybermans or whatever it was called could made sense, it was at least an explanation where there was none. And who could claim they knew everything about the whole universe. For all she knew, aliens, magic all of that existed. She was a psychic and she had met people who could do things that almost looked like magic. So why not some strange science who could enslave people, gun out of space and god knew what.

She understood that there was nothing more to be done for the false doctor. And there was other to save, people that were still alive and needed their help. She couldn't loose her time discussing, distrusting, or even analyzing the feeling, the aura of this new Doctor in front of her. There was no time for that, he was right. She wasn't sure what SHE could do, but she would try her best to help.

"Sorry, excuse me miss. What was your name?"

Ah right, there was not a lot of time for politeness but still, giving her name was not useless. It was the first thing a first aider learned, it helped others to trust in you.

"I'm called Care."

But before she could ask his name or anything else... she felt his intrusion in her mind... not it wasn't right. It didn't feel like an intrusion. Her mind, her intuition had a strange way to work, to trust implicitly some people right upon laying eyes on them. People she was drawn to by fate. And he was one of them. It was like he had just entered her mind. Like she didn't have any barrier or anything. She didn't felt intruded or threatened. It was almost normal. Frightening to the worse. No one had ever done that to her before, never had she meet anyone who was in total control of their "gift" before. Was it what it felt for the people who met her, whom she helped over the years?

She mentally chastised herself. There was no time for this. There were people to save first, and then she would or not have the opportunity to study that link and this man. She was not very good to send words or anything. emotions were her things. And his taught had been so clear, so strong. She had never experienced that. In a tentative to reply to him, in the hope he would get it since he seemed so strong and gifted, she thought.

I excuse it... but you will have a lot to tell me when this is all done.

She wasn't mad, more extremely curious, excited and frighted to the bone.

Then she shook herself, she had to concentrate.

"would we be able to use that EMP to cure people without causing troubles to the electronic material keeping a lot of people in this hospital alive? I refuse to put their lives at risk, I won't kill, there is always another way."

She was really adamant about that. She always had refused to harm people no matter how much other it saved, she had vowed to always find an other solution.

Charity watched the Doctor study the dead guy, and finally, he stood up and explained what cyber mites are. She frowned and nodded to show she understood his explanation.
"That sounds terrible..." She commented, thinking about how horrible it would be to not have her emotions. Sure, there were some things that hurt and things that made her sad, like when her dad died, or every time she had her heart broken by some stupid boy that didn't even seem to realize she exists. But she wouldn't want to get rid of her emotions, then who would she be?

Bringing her thoughts back to the matter at hand, she nodded to the Doctor asking if she's alright.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled at him, then thought perhaps she ought to find out a little bit more information. "Um, maybe I've missed something but what exactly IS a cyberman?" She questioned before listening to his plan. "Help the people with what, exactly? Do they have those little mite things in them? Oh.. are they in their ears? Is that what's causing the hearing problems?" She asked with wide eyes.

But, she realized she didn't know what to do about that, and frowned. "How would I get them out? And will the mites attack me if I do manage to get them out of the people's ears?" Just then Care suggested using the EMP to cure the people but also suggested that it could cause problems. Charity wished she knew more about medical things so she could be of more help here.

The Doctor stood there, his eyes dashing back and forth from Charity, who asked questions and Care, who offered a solution to the problem at hand. For a moment it seemed like sensory overload, trying to answer them both, his mind shifting from them then to the thought of the Cybermen and the portal in the janitors closet. "Alright, hold on" The Doctor finally mumbled, first turning to Care, "I've got a plan Care. Nobody is going to die today, not on my watch. Not one! You got that? Now in order for us to do that i need your help, both of you guys.". Turning away from Care, The Doctor pulled back to face them both, "Now, there is a portal in that closet over there..a strong portal that is acting as a door to this dimension, allowing all those Cybermites to crawl through. Right now it's only big enough for them, but the more time we give it the bigger it will get. There's something here its using..using as a physical link to this world to keep it open.".

Looking over to Charity, The Doctor nodded reassuringly, "I know you've got a lot of questions and i promise to answer them. But right now i need that woman i met on that ship, the tough leader who powered her way through an entire ship of enemies to save her people. I know you can do this, that's why i'm trusting you". Approaching Charity, The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began to show her the settings, "Setting five. Put this to the patients ear and have some tweezers ready. Once the Cyber mite is out of their ear it will be stunned for a moment. Yank it back to setting two then activate it. It will deactivate it". Once done showing Charity the settings and how to use his trusty device he handed it over to her.

Glancing over to Care, The Doctor thought for a moment as his thoughts couldn't help but fall back to the janitors closet and this aura he felt around Care. "How in control are you of your powers?" The Doctor asked, looking over to and focusing on Care, "Sorry, didn't mean to sound harsh. But i think i know why the Cybermen are able to get that portal through and i'm going to need your help to close it. Once we do i know a way to get rid of all the Cyber mites we've missed, i'll use the TARDIS but right now we need to focus on getting that portal closed and get those people out there some help.".

Care realized at the moment the doctor asked them to hold on, that perhaps they were a bit overloading him. She looked a bit ashamed, but it didn't last. There was no time for such a sentiment right now, they had to save a lot of people, even if, against all reason, she shouldn't be trusting complete strangers, and even ones that were from the hospital... but truth be told, she did trust them. Like all the time she trusted people on sight, on instinct, she knew those two, with herself, held the key in saving the situation.

She was beyond questioning her intuitions, she had too much experience now, in dangerous or overwhelming situations by now. Her instincts were very good, as well as her crisis management. It was not boasting or arrogance, but merely fact. There was no place in a crisis for false modesty.

And this Doctor, whoever he was, reassured her more when he assured that no one would die on his watch. She liked that very much, he was like her. She was the kind to put her own life in danger if it would save others. She had done so often, putting herself at physical risk in order to save someone, or many someones, from something.

The plan seemed fine, well, she couldn't judge much, she knew just about nothing about those cybermites, but the guy seemed to be an expert. And not just about those creatures. He had a way to talk to people, to bring out the better in others, to lead people. She could see that acting, in his voice, in his eyes, in his whole body, as he talked to Charity, and the reaction she was having. Care was truly impressed. She could follow someone like that, in fact, it felt like she had been searching for someone like him all her life. Like she was born to live those kinds of adventures, like the missing pieces of puzzle missing were coming into place. It felt oddly good and filling. She always craved the adrenaline situations, the crisis moment when she was feeling alive. This was better than all of them. She was saving people for real, more than just a bit. It was real adventures. Was it wrong to feel good and alive right now? She had no time to dwell on it.

She looked very closely at what the doctor told Charity. Not that she would remember it all, but well, it wasn't lost either. She was waiting anyway, so maybe it could come of use at one point, who knew.

And then, he seemed to take a moment to think, and Care couldn't help but look around, almost sure something would attack them as they were not paying much attention to the surroundings. It was a good thing they were not in any of her dungeon games she used to play as a teen.

Then, he took her out of the surveying and dark though by asking THE question. How much was she in control of her powers... well, how did he know she had more than just a touch of telepathy? And even then, it had been mostly him, not her. The questions made her unsure and afraid. She didn't know. Would she be able to help? Would she be enough? She didn't have much confidence in herself when all was said and done. When it was something she knew, when she was acting on instinct without thinking, she was quite good. But as soon as someone asked her how good she was, she would mostly back away. She had not self-confidence or not much.

"I... I don't really know. It's mostly instinct, and I never really had to try to test them. The angels thought me to use it, or mostly to feel and awaken people's... potential, but I never really had to use them. I know they kicked in to protect me a few times, but even then, I'm really not sure it was real. No one seems to remember the event I do. I... I know at one point I closed down some kind of gash or tear in the universe that was in my home... but I had help, the angels guided me then, and they are not with me anymore. So I don't know. I can feel things, I can even touch things that... aren't there. Most of the times, I think I'm mad. I'll do my best, but I'm not sure I'm of any use."

There it was, her old insecurity creeping back on her. She wanted to appear confident, but she didn't want to make everything fail because she was not good enough. She was very much afraid she wouldn't be enough now. When she was the most skilled person in her entourage, it was easy to be confident. When she was teaching people who knew nothing of their potential, it was child play. She could feel them, guide them, it wasn't even her powers that were really needed. When she was with the other Wiccan, she mostly followed guidelines. She knew there was something strong in her, all the "magic" was so easy to use for herself, but never before had she really tested her limit, or truly used her powers in a crisis situation. Only her intuition, some healing, and other minor stuff. It was easy to appear strong and powerfull in front of apprentices. And she never really kept in touch when the apprentice started to fly on their own, life made sure she left them for other in need.

Charity frowned a little, hearing the Doctor talk about a portal. She wasn't quite sure what that meant but it didn't sound good. But she was pleased to hear him insisting that there would be no one to die. She couldn't help but think 'no one ELSE' but she didn't say that out loud because she thought it might make him sad to be reminded that some had already died.

Then it was time to listen carefully as he began to explain his plan. She nodded seriously as he began to tell her what he needed her to do.
"Tweezers..ok." She wasn't quite sure where to find those but she was sure there had to be some, somewhere. She paid close attention to him telling her how to use the sonic device he had, and how to change from one setting to another. "Alright. Setting five for getting it out..setting two for deactivating it. Got it." She nodded seriously while trying to stay calm and telling herself that she could do this and didn't need to have the Doctor guide her through every bit of it. Questions could be answered later; right now she had lives to save.

She paused for just a moment, curiously listening to the Doctor's question to Care and she stayed for a few seconds to hear the other woman's answer. The idea that she had powers of some sort intrigued her and she wanted to know more aout it. But, then, remembering that lives might be in danger, she hurried off toward the emergency room to get started. She could always find out about Care's ability later when this was all over and people were no longer in danger.

The Doctor nodded to Charity, a reassuring smirk on his face as he watched her dash off to help those in need. His worry wasn't in Charity being able to, or not being able to, do the task he had given her; it was the daunting fact of closing this portal with the help of Care and if it would actually work. Looking back to Care, The Doctor shook the feeling off and responded to her, "Traveling across dimensions requires a link on the other side, a sort of open door for who ever wants to travel to get to where they want to go.". Stopping his response for a moment, The Doctor glanced back to the door of the janitors closet then continued as he turned back to Care, "Basically i believe you are the bridge. They are using you're abilities as a way to come into this world..this dimension. Normal people are just there but you, you're like a beacon glowing with energy".

Reaching into his pocket, The Doctor began searching for something, "Hold on..i know i have it in here somewhere" he mumbled as he searched through his pocket, "Aha! Gotcha!". Slowly, The Doctor yanked out a cord from his pocket, pulling it until a large helmet tangled in the cord flung out of his pocket. Looking up at Care, The Doctor handed the helmet to her and jammed the cord back into his pocket, "Psychic distributor..made it myself! Well...sort of made it out of a mish mash of stuff but still. Thought i lost it for a moment..forgot i had it in these pants, that's the trouble with pockets that are bigger on the inside...never know exactly all that's in there. So! This will amplify your powers so we can cut off that bridge the Cybermen are using to come over and in turn shutting down the portal.".

Shifting his attention and body around towards the janitors closet, The Doctor began walking towards it, his heart racing and mind rushing with ideas and thoughts. If the helmet didn't work then he would have to think of another plan quickly; time was ticking on the portal and The Doctor knew that, it wouldn't be too long before the portal opened up completely. The Doctor stopped, taking a deep breathe as he reached the door of the janitors closet, "You must have a lot of questions..and i'll answer them when we're finished i promise. Sorry i rushed you into this predicament but it's not every day you run into someone with your abilities..i should know. Dimensional beings and events dealing with dimensions is always tricky, there's laws and i'm sure we'll be braking a few but..this world is in danger and i'm not letting the Cybermen back in.".

This couldn't be, it was a nightmare, like the two others she had back then. No, it seemed even worse to her, because she was the cause of this all. How could it be? All her life she had dedicated it to helping people... and now she learned that she was some kind of gate, of link, for a great evil to come here into this world?

How was it even possible? This was one of her worse fear. She always knew she was what he describe, some kind of beacon, people she helped and all told her something alike, and she could sometimes see it around her. But to think it was now used for evil made her feel sick. She had to do something, she would do anything to make it right. This was all her responsibility it seemed. And she was determined to make it right, no matter the cost. Even if it meant her own life.

"I will do whatever is needed, just tell me what is required and I will do it."

It could be seen in her eyes, the extent to which she was ready to go to make it right. She didn't know how or why, but it wasn't important right now. What was important was to close this damn thing and protect all those innocent out there. If it was to be her last moment, she hoped it wouldn't but she was accepting the idea it might come to that, well, she had a very nice and full life. She did almost all she wanted to accomplish, had a very nice family and did great things. She could be okay with that. She could take strength in all of this. She was doing it for all the people she cared about, all the many friends she made in her life.

She wanted to survive this, of course, and she knew her family would like her alive, but it still gave her strength.

Then he took out of his pants some kind of helmet. How did... and before she could finish her questions he sort of answered it. She didn't have time for all the questions that also brought to her. And yet, it made sense in a way. And if the helmet could help, the better. She was a bit fearful of using it, to be honest. Every time she over did it with her powers, she had hellish migraines afterward, but she was willing to do anything to prevent those metallic demons to use her. It was her responsibility to protect the innocent her existence was putting in danger.

She put the helmet on, and she felt some kind of tingling, of energy passing right into her brain. It felt strange, powerful as well. It was weird.

"It's ok sir, there is no time for questions and all the rest. I'm personally used to meeting weird people, it's been my whole life, but again, we don't have time for this. It's because of me that it's active, this makes it my responsibility, my burden. I will do whatever is required to shut it down. Just tell me what I have to do. As long as you don't ask me to sacrifice any innocent, which I highly doubt you would, then I'm ready to do whatever is required of me. No matter what it is."

She emphasized the last. She had seen how he was completely averse to lose anyone, but he had to know she was ready for anything. Her life or her wellbeing wasn't worth thousand, possibly even millions, of lives.

Charity remembered, as she hurried down the hall, that this was a hospital. Where would she get tweezers? From any one of the nurses, of course! And an even better idea hit her as she was approaching the emergency room. She was wearing a doctor's coat, right? The Doctor had introduced her as his assistant, and she figured she could take advantage of that.

Entering the emergency room a bit briskly, she tried to look like she knew what she was doing.
"I need to see the next patient in the operating room, please." She said in an authoritive sort of tone. She smiled warmly at the lady who was called upon to go with her. She led the way to the operating room, taking a few deep breaths. She was really nervous, and really afraid this plan wouldn't work, but she was definitely going to try her best and hope that nothing went wrong.

She asked the nurse for some tweezers and then pulled out the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.
"I just need you to sit still there, alright?" She smiled at the woman and pointed the sonic at her ear, as if it were just some normal medical tool. Taking a deep breath, she hoped this would work, and pushed the button. After a moment things began to happen, and Charity acted fast. She used the tweezers to grab the wriggling thing as it came out of the woman's ear. It tried to get to her but she held onto it tightly with the tweezers, and pointed the sonic at it, switching to the other setting, and quickly de-activated it.

Once it was still, she stared at it for a moment and then sighed in relief. The woman had passed out, maybe fainted, she wasn't sure. But she seemed to be ok, and Charity was relieved. She suggested to the nurse to have the woman taken to a room to 'sleep it off', and then asked for the next patient to be sent in. Tossing the 'dead' cybermite into a tin, she prepared to deal with the next patient, and the next, and the next...