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Post by The Eighth Doctor on Nov 7, 2010 16:43:01 GMT -5
The Doctor once again came out on deck and took a deep breath of the sea air. It was rather stuffy below decks and the odors in the mess area didn't help. A plate filled with salted meat, saurkraut and two hard tack biscuits along with a wooden mug of tepid water wasn't what one could call a feast but he didn't expect much else at this time period. At least he managed to keep them from adding rum to his water.
He still hadn't seen any sign of Tyler and it was beginning to worry him. After promising Isiah he would get back to treating his aching joints as soon as possible he made his way back to the cabin they had been given.
He grabbed the knob and fully expected it to open but instead almost collided with the door. He frowned and tried the knob again. It wass locked!
Nothing to do but knock. "Hello? Hey in there! Hello?"
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Post by The Tenth Doctor on Nov 7, 2010 16:50:51 GMT -5
Tyler, having tried to fall asleep, heard the knocking at the door. Hoping that it was the Doctor and not the pirate Dan, he cautiously made his way to the door. Realizing that it did indeed sound like the Doctor, he unlocked the door, jerking it open.
He backed up a bit before frankly trying to speak. His breathing was still bad, and he hoped that the Doctor could understand him. "Dan.....saw me with the key."
He reached into his pocket and handed it back to him. "He saw the blue box....wanted to take the key from me...."
He hoped that the Doctor would understand what he was trying to say without him having to say any more words. He then picked up the leather bag and handed it to the Doctor. "And here's this."
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Post by The Eighth Doctor on Nov 7, 2010 19:51:20 GMT -5
"Ah excellent!" the Doctor took the TARDIS key back and absent-mindedly replaced it in his vest pocket. It was the leather bag he was more interested in at the moment. "Thank you! With this we'll have a better chance of treating these poor devils. Ah..Dan, did you say? Saw you with the key? Well.....I suppose something like the TARDIS would be a tempting target. I have so much stuff in there..perhaps it wouldn't hurt to get clear of a few things. It would be only a matter of time before someone saw her in the hold and tried to get in. Yes! I knew I had some of this in here! This would make poor Isiah better able to use his hands."
He set aside what looked to be an odd type on injection ensemble and held up a small bottle filled with a solution so clear it almost sparkled to show Tyler. "This is actually derived from coal dust, if you can believe it. Almost pure carbon but with a mix of protein. It does wonders for the human joints and..."
He stopped in mid-sentence and looked at his assistant carefully. "Tyler? Are you all right? You don't look well. In fact you look like you've been dragged through a worm hole sideways!"
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Post by The Tenth Doctor on Nov 7, 2010 20:02:58 GMT -5
Tyler nodded at the Doctor, glad that he could be of use to the man. "It was Dan....and he has a gun....he threatened me...hit me a few times and was going to make me open your....what did you call it....Tardis? Anyway....yeah....he was after it. Oh...and what is that blue box? How did you get it on the ship? And....how is it bigger on the inside?"
He had to take breaks in his words to allow for the breathing trouble, but he was able to get all of that out. Curious about the box and what it might be, Tyler awaited an answer.
With the Doctor's mention of the coal dust and the clear liquid, he shook his head. "I....I never heard of such a thing before. Medicine being made from coal?"
Tyler went slightly red at the careful examination, feeling slightly embarrassed. Since this Doctor had asked, Tyler replied, "Well....I'm actually feeling a little ill at the moment.....but I should be all right in a while. Really, it's nothing to worry about...it's happened before." He chose not to tell the Doctor how often it happened, or how badly he really was feeling. He would prefer to avoid an examination -- not knowing what this Doctor would think if he found out that Tyler was odd, having a heart on the wrong side...not where it should be.
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Post by The Eighth Doctor on Nov 7, 2010 20:09:31 GMT -5
"I'm not so sure." The Doctor put down the medicine and walked over to him. "This has happened before? How often? Here, let me see...."
He hurried back to the bag and fished around. "The TARDIS? Well, it would be a bit hard to explain why it is bigger on the inside. It's just something that my people had found out when they were working on a temporal experiment. Quite by accident, in fact. Ah! Here we go!" He pulled out what he had been looking for. It was an old-fashioned stethescope. Putting in the ear tips he returned to Tyler. "Here, let me listen to your lungs."
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Post by The Tenth Doctor on Nov 7, 2010 20:21:44 GMT -5
Tyler gritted his teeth. He really wished that he hadn't mentioned that it had happened before. "I don't know how many times..." Tyler admitted. Of course he didn't have a count of it, but he knew it had happened often.
However, protesting it would look suspicious. Finally, Tyler nodded for him to go ahead. "All right, go ahead and listen then."
He glanced back at the Doctor and looked at him again, "What do you mean...your people? And what's a temporal experiment?"
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Post by The Eighth Doctor on Nov 8, 2010 6:53:20 GMT -5
"Yes, well, my people -were- rather clever at the time. Of course it all started going to their heads after a bit." A shadow flew across the Doctor's face for a brief moment then he brushed it away. "But that is a lot of water under the cosmic bridge. Let's see what we have here."
The Doctor placed the stethescope on Tyler's chest, listened for a bit, moved it, listened, frowned, moved and listened again. "How very...odd."
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Post by The Tenth Doctor on Nov 8, 2010 7:02:17 GMT -5
Tyler looked back at the Doctor, still confused. He'd have to ask the Doctor later what he meant about the time thing. Right now, he was concerned with what the Doctor was finding.
Tyler asked the Doctor, "Well.......?" He didn't know if it was the breathing or if it was the fact that his heart was on the wrong side that caused the Doctor's comment.
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Post by The Eighth Doctor on Nov 8, 2010 18:52:17 GMT -5
The Doctor moved the instrument from one position to the other, held it there for a long moment, then removed it. He removed the ear pieces and set the whole thing aside.
"Tyler, I am going to ask you what might be a very odd question indeed but just give me as honest an answer as you can."
He looked into the young man's eyes earnestly.
"Tyler, are you human?"
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Post by The Tenth Doctor on Nov 8, 2010 20:31:21 GMT -5
Tyler sat there nervously as the Doctor moved the instrument around on his chest, afraid of what he would say. When the Doctor had told him that he would ask him a question, he was quite sure that it would be something about his having his heart on the wrong side of his chest.
Tyler, completely taken by surprise when he actually heard the manner in which question was asked, just stared at the Doctor for a few minutes. Wondering how sane this man was, Tyler replied, "Of course I'm human." He frowned. "I know....I know...my heart is on the wrong side....that's why I don't go to doctors...and that's why my parents never took me to one. I'm some sort of....problem. I promise you that I'm human -- I'm not a demon or demon possessed or anything. This is just how I was born."
Sighing, he knew that this was coming -- the Doctor was going to either report him as being something not human or was going to throw him over the side.
His breathing got worse, and he looked away from the Doctor, ashamed of his abnormality.
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Post by The Eighth Doctor on Nov 8, 2010 21:19:35 GMT -5
"Oh don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with not being human!" the Doctor said quickly as he observed Tyler's reaction. Cursing himself inwardly about forgetting how humans viewed others not like themselves in this time period, he tried a calming smile. "Some of the best people I know aren't human. In fact some of my best friends don't even appear human!"
He paused for a moment, pondering on whether or not this was a good time to disclose his own origins then decided to forge ahead. After all, he did see the TARDIS. "Well Tyler, to tell you the truth, I'm not human either. I assure you it's nothing to be ashamed of!"
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Post by The Tenth Doctor on Nov 8, 2010 21:33:43 GMT -5
Tyler frowned at the Doctor, "But I AM human. You don't believe me, do you?"
It took several moments for the Doctor's words to sink in. "Wait what....you said you're not human? So then....that blue box thing was from another world? Like outer space or something? I guess that would explain all the weird stuff....but it was bigger on the inside? And how could that thing travel in space?"
He scrunched up his face, trying to figure it out. "And how aren't you human? You look just like me....and I swear to you that I'm human. It's just that my heart is in a different location than most other people.....I don't know why....just was born like that. That doesn't make me not a human."
He was still having problems with his breathing, and looked back over at the Doctor. "Please don't bleed me, because bleeding me won't fix where my heart is at...and don't try to take it out and put it on the left side.....I've lived this long with my heart on the right side and nothing on the left....I don't see why it's even a big deal."
He was having considerable difficulty getting all that out, coughing, causing him to pause in the middle of talking more than once.
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Post by The Eighth Doctor on Nov 9, 2010 6:50:12 GMT -5
"Of course I believe you, why wouldn't I? I suppose I could have worded that a bit better. Let's see. There -have- been humans with slightly re-arranged organs before but there's just something here that...." Abruptly he broke off. "Well, yes I -look- human but I'm not. Humanoid shapes are actually quite common throughout the cosmos, a tried and true pattern, you might say. There's a bit of variation here and there, the odd tentacle or two, or the head shape is different but the main shape is still a body, four limbs, upright stance, forward facing eyes. Must be a requirement, I suppose. I really must get back to Leera Four, Professor Margle does a fascinating study on the races and shapes. He may be getting ready to have one of his talks soon."
The Doctor's voice fell down into almost musing as he pulled what appeared to be a watch from one of his pockets. He opened it and studied the assortment of dials, hands and gears. "Hmmm, no.Not for a while yet. I hope I don't miss it." Tucking the watch back he continued. "The TARDIS. Yes it does travel about, with me, of course. It would take quite a bit of explaining so let's just say it works quite well. We've been traveling quite a lot, her and I."
He picked up the stethescope again but this time held it out to Tyler. "If you think your heart is strange, try listening to mine. No, I don't believe in bleeding, all that does is make a patient even weaker. And your heart is just fine where it is!"
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Post by The Tenth Doctor on Nov 9, 2010 7:23:01 GMT -5
Tyler glanced back at the Doctor. He'd thought that the Doctor was going to listen to his lungs, but he gave up all hope of that when the Doctor seemed to put away the stethoscope after learning that his heart was in an odd place. However, maybe this Doctor fellow could check his lungs later, and tell him if there was something wrong with him, seeing how he hadn't been put off by the heart on the wrong side -- it just had seemed to distract him.
Tyler studied the Doctor a moment. He thought on what the Doctor had said, "There -have- been humans with slightly re-arranged organs before but there's just something here that...."
Tyler looked right into the Doctor's eyes and replied, "If there's something wrong with me...just tell me. I haven't ever been to a doctor because of where my heart is....afraid of what they would do to me. My parents must have been afraid of the same thing. So, what is it...what's the something here that...?" He got out with considerable trouble.
As pocket watches were common, or at least Tyler thought they were -- after all he had one too, he barely gave the Doctor's watch item a glance. Regardless of any the designs on the Doctor's watch that there might be, to Tyler, his own watch was just plain. He figured that that was all his family could afford. What Tyler didn't know, however, was that his own watch had Gallifreyan writing on it -- he just couldn't see it because of a perception filter. The watch would remain in his pocket, though, as he saw how fascinated the Doctor seemed to be with watches. True, his own watch was broken, but he didn't trust someone he'd just met with the only possession he had.
Still, struck by how the Doctor had been able to read his, Tyler blurted out, "How can you even read that thing?"
He'd have to ask about this TARDIS again later. Shrugging, he said quietly, "I always thought that Tardis was a furniture maker." That was the only meaning he had heard of with a similar sounding word. That's the company of furniture that his family had gotten.
Tyler glanced back at the offered stethoscope, taking it from the Doctor. He put the ear pieces into his ear and then reached out to listen to the Doctor's heart. Assuming that the Doctor would be similar to a human, he put it up to the Doctor's left side. Listening, it didn't quite sound normal. There was another noise somewhere else -- as if there was another heart somewhere. Frowning, he moved it around and eventually got to the Doctor's right side -- the same place that his own singular heart was located. Hearing the second heart, Tyler jumped back in surprise.
Taking the earpieces out of his ears, he glanced back at the Doctor and commented, "So...you have two hearts......" He offered the stethoscope back to the Doctor, expecting him to put it away again.
Still having trouble breathing, he hoped that the Doctor would give him a chance to rest. His breathing had gotten worse, and he just wanted to rest, hoping it would get better eventually.
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Post by The Eighth Doctor on Nov 10, 2010 8:53:40 GMT -5
"Yes, something that a lot of people are surprised at." the Doctor shrugged. He was about to put the instrument away when he noted how raggedly Tyler was breathing. "Hmm, let me have another check here. Your lungs, you're not a smoker, are you? Or did any work in a coal mine?"
He listened to Tyler's chest again but ignored the heart this time. He frowned and bit his lip in thought. "Ah...again...rather odd. Oh no no, I just meant that....well...the last time I heard something like your breathing was when.....ah......."
His voice trailed off as memories swarmed in. An old friend, at the last of his lives, breathing like this, almost a rattling. It was the respitorial bypass shutting down prior to the hearts giving way. Time lords were generally very healthy but once in a while some infection would attack the lungs and bypass, causing the odd breathing.
But Tyler wasn't a Time Lord. He couldn't possess anything even remotely resembling a bypass. Could he?
The Doctor's eyebrows raised in surprise. He wasn't sure what to make of all this.
(I'm fishing here, is this the reason behind Tyler's breathing problem?)
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