Work Text:
The Games We Play
A Doctor Who Story
At one point, Jothan was startled by an enormous bird zooming past his face. He jumped back quickly, hitting his back on a tree, and felt several sharp stings as he moved back onto the path. He tried to reach the places where he had been stung, with no success. Figuring he should tell the Doctor, he hurried along until he reached the Time Lord. “Doctor . . .” he began.
“Here, try this.” The Doctor put a wedge of some fruit in Jothan’s mouth. “Fantastic, isn’t it? I got a few to take back with us.”
“Yes,” Jothan agreed as he chewed. It was a combination of sweet and sour, faintly tasting of bubble gum. “It’s very good, Doctor, but . . .”
“Hush a moment!” The Doctor held up a hand as a faint clicking sound began. “That might be the giant army ants. If so, we had better leave.”
“How big do those ants get?” Jothan asked, feeling a bit nervous. The stings in his back were quite forgotten.
“Some are the size of a rhinoceros, and they do eat meat. Let’s head back, just in case. I’d hate to meet a colony of the vicious brutes.”
The Doctor turned around and headed back the way they had come at a brisk pace, and Jothan had to hurry to keep up. In ten minutes they were back to the TARDIS, and the Doctor was unlocking the door. Jothan stepped in just as the ground began to shake, and the clicking grew louder. “There!” the Doctor congratulated himself. “Excellent timing, as always.”
“Well, that was an adventure,” Jothan commented. He was feeling warm after his hike, and rather detached, almost like he was floating.
“Wait until you see the planet from space,” the Doctor told him as he set the controls. “The ice rings are magnificent, and set against the triple suns, it produces some extraordinary rainbows. Quite spectacular, actually. Here we are—just take a look at that!” The TARDIS doors opened onto a superb view of the planet and its rings. Rainbows were everywhere as the ice chunks acted like prisms in the light from the three suns.
“Amazing,” Jothan said dreamily. He stepped closer to the threshold, holding his hands out. “I want to touch one.” He moved to the door, about to step out into the black, when something grabbed him. He shook it off, and once more tried to step out of the TARDIS. “I’ll be a spaceman,” he whispered. “Be one with the rainbows, and catch them with a net. . .”
********
Startled, the Doctor wrenched Jothan away from the opening, shoving him toward the center of the room. “Close doors!” he shouted, and the doors slammed shut. He whirled around and took Jothan by the shoulders, shaking him a bit. “What did you think you were doing?!? You can’t just walk out into space, you know!”
Jothan started to cry as he pulled away. “I just wanted to play with them!” he wept, running back to the doors. “Come back!”
The Doctor was quite concerned now. Jothan almost never cried, and he certainly hadn’t ever tried to leave the TARDIS when it was in open space before. The Time Lord stepped closer to his companion, trying to figure out what was wrong. As he approached, he saw something sticking out of Jothan’s shirt—actually, several somethings. “Jothan, what’s that in your back?” he tried to ask calmly.
“I forgot,” Jothan sniffled. I got stung . . .”
The Doctor examined Jothan’s back carefully. “These aren’t stings, they’re some kind of thorn. They may be Effid thorns.”
“Why would aphids put thorns in me?” Jothan wanted to know.
“Not aphid thorns, Effid thorns. They secrete a hallucinogenic sap, very dangerous stuff too. If so . . .”
The Doctor went over to the coat rack and started rummaging through the pockets of his jacket, looking for something. He didn’t notice the look of panic on Jothan’s face, and by the time he had retrieved his tweezers, the medic was gone. The Doctor looked around and saw that the door to the interior of the TARDIS was open. He groaned, then raced off to find his friend. He had already lost sight of the young man, so he started opening doors as he passed, calling out cheerily. “Jothan, where have you got to? I need you, it’s important . . .”
As the Doctor rounded a corner, he saw a shadow closing fast, and ducked back just in time. A baseball bat whizzed by the Doctor’s head, missing by millimeters. He dodged again as he backpedaled, but lost his footing and tumbled down. He held up his hands as Jothan approached, the bat above his head . . .
********
Jothan looked down at the Doctor, then dropped the bat dispiritedly. “I knew you wouldn’t want to play,” he mourned.
The Doctor got to his feet. “No, I don’t want to play,” he stated firmly. “Not at all. This is a bad game, Jothan.”
Jothan wailed, “I tried to find the cricket bat, but with all the stuff in there . . .”
The Doctor broke in quickly, “I don’t want to play cricket just now, I want to get you to the Medical Center, and right quick, too. I’ve got to remove those thorns, and see if I can counteract the sap.”
As the Doctor spoke, he was changing. Jothan could see his friend morph into a giant asparagus spear, and saw a row of large vegetables coming up behind. They all looked quite upset, especially the carrots and onions, which were his favorite. Jothan gave the asparagus a hard shove, then was off and running again. He kept moving, ignoring the shouts and calls behind him. He looked back to see if he was getting away, and missed seeing the short flight of steps in front of him. He fell straight on his chest, knocking his wind out. Behind him, he could hear the vegetables getting closer. The medic scrambled to his feet, forgetting the pain, and started running again. He only got a short distance before falling down the second, longer flight of stairs. He tumbled down, pushing the thorns deeper into his back and hitting his already hurt ribs on the banister. At the bottom, he managed to hit his head on the last stair, and lay dazed for an instant. He managed to raise his head as the vegetables approached . . .
********
The Doctor vaulted down the steps. Jothan lifted his head and gasped, “I’ll never eat a salad again, I swear!” Then the Time Lord had reached his friend, and could see the glassy stare in the young man’s eyes. “Jothan, it’s me!” the Doctor cried. “It’s the Doctor—I’m not going to hurt you!”
Jothan’s eyes cleared a little as he got to his hands and knees. “Doctor?” he asked faintly. “Where are the carrots, and the asparagus? They were right here . . .”
“Never mind that now,” the Doctor puffed. “You’re sick, you’re injured, and you need help! Please don’t run any more. I’m the only one here, and I won’t harm you, I promise. Can you walk?” He helped Jothan get to his feet. “Where are you hurt?” he asked urgently.
Jothan was staring off, barely paying attention. “I’m not sure,” he finally replied. “Everything is so . . . odd.”
The Doctor helped Jothan back up the stairs, and headed toward the Medical Center. Once he thought Jothan was going to run again and stopped, turning Jothan’s face toward his own. “Remember, Jothan, I’m the only one here. Just the Doctor, and no one else.” He was glad to see his friend calm a little.
At last, the pair reached the Medical Center. “First chance I get,” the Doctor panted, “I’m moving this room right in front, see if I don’t.”
Jothan was almost mesmerized by the equipment in front of him. His eyes had resumed their glassy stare, and he said softly, “Look at all this—quite the laboratory.” He looked around again as the Doctor helped him to an exam table. “I know,” Jothan called, “We can play Mad Scientist! I’ll be the hapless victim.”
“First, let’s play Get the Thorns Out, shall we?” the Doctor asked hastily. He got out his tweezers and removed six large thorns from Jothan’s back. Some still oozed a purple, thick fluid. “Now, I’m going to scan you. It won’t hurt at all, I promise. Just lie back and relax.” Jothan laid back eagerly, but as the Doctor turned, Jothan reached out and grabbed his wrist.
“You’re forgetting something, Doctor!” Jothan said eagerly. “If we’re playing Mad Scientist, you have to tie me to the table!”
The Doctor tried to pull away. “I really don’t want to do that, Jothan.”
“How else will you keep me from escaping your devious plot? C’mon, you have to play it right!” the medic insisted.
The Doctor hesitated. As much as he wanted to avoid restraining Jothan, he knew that if he didn’t, the chances were good that the young man would run off again before getting the help he needed. Reluctantly, he activated the table restraints.
“Much better,” Jothan piped up happily. “Now, for my part. You’ll never get me to tell you the secret formula, you dastardly villain!”
In spite of his worry, the Doctor was intrigued. “You’ve played this before, have you?”
“Never—I’m just a natural,” Jothan responded. “Do your worst, torture me if you wish—I’ll never reveal the formula!”
The Doctor scanned Jothan, finding several broken ribs and various bruises. He sighed, then got to work on finding an antidote to the Effid sap while his friend prattled on. As last he finished, and came up to Jothan with a hypodermic syringe in his hand.
********
Jothan looked up expectantly, but the thing coming toward him wasn’t the Doctor. Instead, the medic was face-to-face with a giant insect, with bulbous eyes on stalks and more arms than any creature had a right to have. It held a scalpel in one claw and was just saying, “Now, this will make you very sleepy, so don’t be surprised.”
Jothan managed to find his voice. “I’m not so sure I like this game any more” he mumbled. “Any chance I could get up?”
Jothan was surprised that the insect complied, but didn’t waste any time wondering why. He kicked the scalpel out of the bug’s claw, and sprinted for the door. “Jothan, wait!” the creature called after him, but Jothan had no intention of stopping. He dashed down the hallway, then opened a promising door.
At once, he found himself on the deck of a pirate ship under a blazing sun. He looked around quickly, but there didn’t seem to be anywhere to go. He saw the bug coming closer, now with a sword between its pincers. Jothan decided it was time to bluff. He moved out onto the tongue of wood jutting out from the side of the ship. “Stop, you scurvy sea-dog, or I’ll walk the plank!”
********
The Doctor stopped where he was. He did not like water, and he wasn’t sure Jothan would be able to swim in his current condition. The last thing the Time Lord wanted was for one or both of them to end up in the pool. “You win,” he sighed. “I’ll just go over here.” He slowly backed away.
Jothan looked over, then walked back down the diving board. He stepped up to the Doctor, placing both his hands on the taller man’s shoulders. “You’re not very good at this, Doctor,” he told him somberly. “We can’t play cricket, you’re no good at Mad Scientist, and you won’t play Spaceman or Pirate. You’re very good at Costume Party, but I can’t seem to play that one. What else is there?”
“I have the perfect game,” the Doctor said desperately, “and we can play right over here!” He led Jothan to a chaise lounge next to the pool. “This game is called Nap-Time, and I’m sure you’ll be quite good at it.”
Jothan started to cry again. “You’ll cheat!” he wailed.
“Why would I cheat?”
“You almost never sleep, so the only way for you to win is cheating,” Jothan sobbed.
“I promise I won’t cheat—in fact, I’ll give you an advantage!”
Jothan stopped crying. “What kind of advantage?” he asked suspiciously.
The Doctor took out the hypodermic syringe. “I’ll let you have this. It’s sure to put you to sleep right away.”
“How do I know . . .”
“There’s only enough for one, and it’s all yours,” the Doctor broke in hastily.
Jothan mused a bit. “I guess,” he said doubtfully. “No cheating?”
“Scout’s honor. Now, let’s get this into you.”
Within a few minutes, Jothan was asleep. The Doctor sighed with relief, then gently picked up the medic and carried him back to the Medical Center.
********
When Jothan woke, he was in bed. His ribs had been bandaged, and he could feel another bandage in the middle of his back. He looked up and saw the Doctor leaning against the door. “Did I miss something?” he asked sleepily.
“You missed all the fun and games, apparently,” the Doctor pouted. “I nearly got brained with a bat, kicked, hit, and had to follow you all ‘round the insides of the TARDIS. And I don’t care what you say, we’re moving the Medical Center closer to the Console Room, and no mistake!”
“Well, you’ve had a bad day I can tell, but I’m not sure I had much better.” Jothan sat up painfully. “All I remember is a bunch of angry vegetables following me and a pirate ship. Any idea what happened?”
“You ran into some Effid thorns. Nasty sap, those. You also fell down some steps and cracked a few ribs. All in all, not a good day for either of us.” The Doctor moved closer to the bed. “Are you still in pain? I can get you some medicine if you like.”
“No, I’ll be all right without. Where are we headed now?”
“Somewhere quiet, with no games.” The Doctor said firmly. “Absolutely no games.”
********Story to Follow: Isolation ********