The TARDIS landed and the Doctor picked Fenn up and carried her out the door. He had no idea where or when they where; all that mattered was that there was a hospital nearby. He ran towards the nearest building he could see, hoping desperately that it was the hospital. He took absolutely no notice of his surroundings as he ran.

The building was a hospital- to the Doctor's eternal relief- and he ran into the emergency admittance section, feeling Fenn fading in his arms, which were by now covered in her blood. There was a queue twelve people long with broken bones or breathing problems- he almost collapsed at the idea that Fenn would die while they waited in line. Luckily a young male nurse noticed the copious amounts of blood covering them both and hurried over.

The Doctor didn't even let the nurse ask, "Shot. In the stomach."

"Right," the nurse said, eyes widening, "we'll get her on life support for now and try to prevent further blood loss."

They ran down a few corridors and into an empty room with a bed and what was apparently a life support system in it. The Doctor laid Fenn gently on the bed, trying to ignore her terribly weak and rasping breaths as the nurse called in a doctor and began trying to stem the blood flow. The Doctor just stood back as he watched his friend being injected with various fluids and attached to various drips and tubes as a flurry of doctors and nurses hurried around her. He realised that he had never felt so helpless in his life, watching others save the life of his companion. It must have shown in his face, because the nurse that had admitted her stopped to talk.

"We're doing all we can."

The Doctor looked at him, "I know."

"She's in a critical condition- I don't know if she'll pull through," the Doctor loved the nurse for his honesty in that moment, "We don't have the facilities for this kind of surgery, so she'll have to be transferred to Cardiff by air."

"Cardiff? Why Cardiff?"

"They're the best hospital with the right facilities that we can land a chopper at." The nurse looked at Fenn, "But for now we're just trying to get her vitals steady."

"Tell me, nurse, what's your name?"

He looked in surprise at the Doctor, "Rory Williams."

The Doctor smiled, "Nice to meet you, Rory Williams," his smile disappeared, "Pity we had to meet while my friend's on her death bed. I'm the Doctor. Just the Doctor."

Rory stared at him, "Oh my God!"

"What?"

"You're the Doctor?"

"Yes. Have we met before?"

"Yes, actually. You don't remember me?"

The Doctor sighed, "Life of a time traveller, it gets complicated. You've probably met my future self, not me. But tell me, Rory Williams, where exactly are we, and when?"

Rory still stared at him, goggle-eyed, "Leadworth hospital, two thousand and eight."

"Two thousand and eight. Not a bad year, as years go. Anyhow, I'm covered in blood. Is there somewhere I can wash myself off quickly? No doubt you'll need the space in here, anyway," he said, as even more medical staff poured into the room.

Rory nodded slowly, "Yeah, there's a bathroom just across the hall."

The Doctor smiled again, sadly, "Thanks. Until I meet you next, then, Rory Williams."

"You too, Doctor."

***

The Doctor stepped out of the bathroom and into the hall, when he was pulled aside by one of the doctors who had been working on Fenn. Her name tag read 'Dr Ramsden'. Ramsden was looking at him pityingly. She spoke up, "I'm sorry."

"What?" He stared at her.

She glanced around, "Your friend, the one who was shot. She's dying, and we can't help her."

"Oh, no," the Doctor didn't know what to do, what to say. He just kept repeating, "No, no, no, there has to be a way."

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. I don't know what she was hit with, but it's no ordinary bullet- it's like it's burning her, constantly. She's literally burning up on the inside. We don't know how to deal with it. I'm very sorry, mister..."

"John Smith."

"Mister Smith, I'm very sorry, but we're losing her. We've never seen anything like this before."

The Doctor asked, "It's alright, I know people who can help. Can I use a phone?"

Ramsden looked up at him, surprised, "Of course! Right over there." She pointed at a wall-mounted phone just down the hallway. The Doctor ran down to it, hoping that his sketchy version of a plan would work. He dialled in a number, boosting the signal with his sonic. It would take a powerful signal to reach the other end of the line...