Chapter 6: Held Hostage.

I'm forced into a room and tied to a pole in the corner. I turn my head to see my assailant is Kudir and I realise he must have slipped away while me and Rose were shutting down the machines. I've now got a throbbing sensation in my head where I was roughly shoved down the hole but I find I can talk without causing too much pain.

"What do you want?"

Kudir smirks at me.

"Thought I might need a hostage and you were the perfect fit. Oh how the Doctor will come running to save his little sister"

He pulls out an energy weapon from his coat and presses it against my temple, causing the throbbing to increase. I wince in pain and Kudir lets out a cold laugh.

"No energy draining machine anymore so this is fully functioning"

"You'll never get away with this Kudir. The Doctor will stop you!"

Kudir laughs again but it's not cold or cruel this time. He's almost... amused.

"Yes, they all say that. But this time, the Doctor won't be able to save you. He's too far away to hear your screams and by the time he gets here, you'll be dead and I'll be gone"

I close my eyes and rest my head against the pole.

"They all say that" says a familiar voice. I open my eyes to see the Doctor pointing his sonic screwdriver at Kudir's weapon, anger in his eyes, Rose standing behind him. Kudir laughs, grabs my shoulder and forces me forward. I have to hang my head because I'm in so much pain but I can feel Kudir's weapon pressed harshly against my head.

"Let her go Kudir"

"I don't think so Doctor. You see while she's here, I'm safe because I know you wouldn't, not when your own sister is at risk. Sophie knows it too, don't you Sophie?"

I don't answer because the pain in my head is so unbearable I'm close to fainting. I raise my head to see the Doctor looking very angry and the hand that grips his screwdriver is shaking wildly, as if he really is thinking about killing Kudir.

"Doctor..." I groan.

Kudir presses the weapon harder against my temple making me yelp in pain. Suddenly, I hear a shot ring out and Kudir cries out with frustration and pain. He grabs an actual gun from a table in the room and pulls the trigger. I feel the bullet hit me in the side and I lean over as pain shoots through my body. I see Kudir being arrested by alien authorities and the Doctor rushing over to me.

He uses the sonic screwdriver to cut the ropes and he takes me in his arms. Rose is pressing a wad of tissues against the wound in my stomach.

"Sophie, can you hear me?"

I nod. I feel something dripping on my cheek and realise he's crying.

"Please, you can't leave me. I've only just found you and we've got things to do. Places to travel to and alien plots to foil"

My voice comes out a croak when I speak.

"That sounds nice"

"Come on, you're a Time Lord and my sister. You can pull through and then it'll be me, you and Rose going where ever we want to"

I shakily reach up a hand to smooth his coat and he holds on to it for dear life. He's shaking with sorrow and I almost die of heart ache never mind blood loss. He rests his forehead against mine and his sobs become harsher.

"We could see anything?" I whisper.

"Yes, anything, just don't go, not now. Please"

I smile weakly and shut my eyes. He picks me up and carries me all the way back to the Tardis. He lies me down on the floor and begins searching through a medical kit when Rose gasps and calls the Doctor. All I'm aware of is a warm feeling slowly spreading through my body. Suddenly, I open my eyes and the Doctor is sitting next to me. I gingerly feel for the bullet wound by come across nothing. I slowly sit up and the Doctor gives me a huge hug.

"What happened to me?"

The Doctor beams at me.

"You regenerated"

"But, I thought I was only part Time Lord"

The Doctor grins again. "You are but you can still regenerate. Not fully because you haven't changed appearance but it appears your body heals itself if you've got a serious wound"

I smile and the Doctor helps me up. I give him a massive hug and he spins me around. I scream in surprise and start laughing.

"Wait, what happened back there? I don't remember most of it"

I lean against the console of the Tardis and look at the Doctor.

"Well, Rose came rushing in saying Kudir had taken you and as we were running back we ran into a group of alien soldiers who were looking for Kudir. Turns out he'd gone AWOL from the Army and he was wanted for questioning. Anyway, we explained he'd taken you and when we found you, you were in a pretty bad state. After a bit, one of the alien soldiers behind us shot at Kudir's hand to make him drop his weapon so he grabbed an ordinary gun from a table and shot you. He was arrested."

I nodded. "So what about the medicine?"

The Doctor shakes his head.

"There was no medicine or any plague. The real cargo was a rare spice called Potsis, used in the finest cuisine. I thought I recognised the smell of it when we first arrived. Got a sensitive nose I have"

I laugh and then remember something.

"What about earlier? When you felt my chest?"

The Doctor frowns.

"Your heart. It's beating twice as fast as a normal human heart would. It's beating the pace of two... instead of one. You're more like me than I first thought. Listen"

He pulls out a stethoscope and puts it in my ears and then places it over his chest. I hear a steady heart beat and then nothing as he moves it across his chest. Another steady heart beat.

"I know you have two hearts. I know all about you, remember?"

He smiles and places the stethoscope in my ears and over my chest. I gasp when I realise he's right – my heart is beating four times before pausing instead of two. It's beating for two hearts instead of one.

"How come I feel ok then? If my heart rate is that fast surely I would have died or at least be seriously ill"

"Well, you're a Time Lord so your body works differently. It acts like it has two hearts even if you didn't develop another one and Time Lord's need two hearts to survive so your body actually needs your heart rate to be faster"

I smile and so does the Doctor. "So, where do you want to go? Sister's choice"

I smile again and think. "Well, I've always wanted to go to Wales"

The Doctor smiles. He releases the handbrake and the Tardis takes off.

"Wales it is"