#I am a medical biologist so I've got the gory details

[the-immortal-redshirt]

The Graveyard Shift: Chapter 11: Dire Straits

After a failed execution for a murder he did not commit, Clara Oswald and Missy must team up to prove the Doctor's innocence before the authorities discover their mistake. (Whouffaldi, takes place between Last Christmas and Magician's Apprentice)(Rated T for Graphic Violence, Suggestive Scenes)

Warning!! This chapter contains detailed descriptions of gory medical procedures! Not for the squeamish!

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Read it on ff.net

Chapter 11: Dire Straits

“Oh my God! Doctor!” Clara cried. She dove to her knees and cradled his head in her lap.

“Missy!” Clara screamed back into the restaurant. “Missy, get out here!”

There the Doctor laid on her front porch. Miraculously alive, but barely. Blood and pus caked the bandages which clung stickily to his swollen arms. His hair was wild and his face was scruffy with the shadowed beginnings of a beard. His feet were bound with rotten leaves, full of blisters and bruises. The black embroidered robe he wore was in tatters, hardly covering his torso down to his knees. 

Dirt encrusted the front of his body. Sunburn and jaundice discolored his usually pasty white skin. His lips were dry and cracked. He looked like death. He mumbled incoherently, babbling nonsense. Clara felt his forehead. He was boiling hot to the touch. 

How the hell did he survive the execution? Where the hell had he been? How did he find them? Nevermind that, she would have time for all her questions later. She brushed the wild hair from his forehead and felt tears welling up in her eyes. Now that the initial shock had worn off, she could start to process what was going on. The Doctor was back. Her Doctor. He had come back to her. 

“Doctor, I've got you.” She cradled his head and rocked gently. “I've got you.”

Missy’s heels stomped against the tile angrily. “Clara, this better be good!” She approached the door and looked over Clara’s shoulder. Her jaw dropped. 

“What the fu–”

“Missy!” Clara ordered. “Help me get him inside! He needs help!”