OS prompt 47.4 Alien sex pollen
"Doctor, you appear to have turned an odd shade of green." Harry frowned at him. He had seen people before with a faint greenish tinge that told him they were about to vomit. This was more luminous though and couldn't possibly be natural.
"It's the er..." The Doctor coughed.
When he didn't continue Harry asked, "Are you all right?"
"Oh, perfectly fine, I assure you." The Doctor waved a hand in Harry's direction, but wasn't even looking at him. "Where's Sarah?"
"She said something about, um..." Harry scratched his head and wished he had been listening.
"I think you should find her, Harry." The Doctor turned to him and did look urgent about it. "Go to the TARDIS and stay there."
"Why? It isn't catching is it?" The Doctor didn't look ill, but it was rather hard to tell with him.
"Oh, no." He shook his head. "It's the mating season here and the Trantons don't come into heat naturally, so they use the pollen found in the flowers." He fingered the petals of what looked like a green sunflower. "But it doesn't affect humans." He gave Harry a wide smile, which didn't reassure him at all.
Harry wasn't at all convinced he wanted to think about this pollen and what effect it might have, even if it didn't work on humans, so it was just as well the Doctor's suggestion was worrying him more. "They're not going to...to do anything to Sarah against her will, are they?" If there were enough of them to overpower her and they'd been affected by what was in essence a drug, and couldn't help themselves, he really didn't like to think what might happen.
"I don't imagine so."
Really, Harry would have much preferred a 'no'.
"But the pollen does bring on a hatred of humans. Since they don't share the mood."
The list of things Harry didn't particularly want to consider got even longer. Not talking to the Doctor any more would help an awful lot in that respect. "You will be careful, won't you Doctor?" If he was feeling urges then Harry didn't know what the Doctor might do.
"Oh, don't worry about me, Harry." The Doctor took off his hat and waved it at him.
Harry decided that meant the Doctor could look after himself for a while and set off in the direction Sarah had gone in. At the moment it seemed like she was more in need of his help. He was right too. Fortunately, it didn't take him as long to find her as he expected, although that was because not far away he could hear shouts and stopped to investigate. He found Sarah tied to what looked like a telegraph pole and the Trantons, who looked far greener than when they first landed, shouting at her and pointing with spears Harry hadn't known they owned.
He stood behind them, trying to work out how to get through the throng without being stabbed when Sarah saw him.
She gave a brilliant smile and shouted, "Harry!"
The aliens backed off a little and slightly fewer of them were shouting now, which gave Harry an idea. But he couldn't pretend he wanted to have sex with Sarah without letting her in on the plan first, it wouldn't be fair.
"I'm so glad to see you!" he called back and made straight for the aliens, who parted and allowed him to get to her.
"I didn't do anything," she said, although he hadn't accused her of such. "They just went brighter green and--"
He cut her off with an, "I know." He ought to go around behind her to untie the ropes binding her, but instead he leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear while he picked at a knot. "If you want to get out of here we need to pretend we want to..." He swallowed. "Have sex."
She frowned. "What?"
"Trust me. Or rather, trust the Doctor."
Mentioning the Doctor did the trick because she nodded. Harry ignored the jealousy he felt at that and undid the last knot, feeling the ropes fall away to the floor.
Sarah brought her arms back in front of her and he stepped away to give her more room. "Oh, Harry," she said, sounding slightly breathy and he wondered how she did that. She brushed one hand against his cheek in a way he could almost believe she meant. "That's very romantic but I think we'd be far better off using a bed, don't you agree?"
"Oh, yes," he replied quickly, and nodded. He kissed her on the cheek, which he hoped the Trantons would be satisfied with, because he didn't dare kiss her on the lips. She'd probably hit him for taking that liberty and she'd be right to do it too.
She moved her hand from his cheek and wrapped her fingers round his to lead him through the crowd. "My room or yours?"
He didn't get a chance to answer because all of a sudden the points of the spears were very close to them. He immediately put his hands up in surrender, although it would have looked better if he'd let go of Sarah's first.
"Honoured guests have their own hut," one of the aliens said.
"Oh, no, we wouldn't want to put you to any trouble," he protested quickly. "The TARDIS will be fine for us, won't it Sarah?"
She nodded, but was biting her lip and looked a lot like she was trying hard not to laugh, which Harry didn't entirely appreciate.
"We insist." The touch of a spear on his back told him just how much they insisted.
So they had no choice but to let themselves be ushered into a small hut that had little more in it than a bed. Fortunately, it had a door and they were left alone.
Sarah flopped down onto the bed on her back and stretched out. "It's very comfy. Why don't you come and see?" She patted the space next to her.
Harry shook his head and stayed by the door. He wished she wouldn't tease him about this. If the circumstances had been different then he'd have quite happily shared the bed with her, but the fact was they weren't different and he'd far rather have had more time to discuss this first.
She sighed and sat up. "Where's the Doctor?"
He frowned and put his finger to his mouth. In the silence that followed he could definitely hear footsteps outside. Now he did sit on the bed next to Sarah, but so he could talk quietly to her. "They're still outside," he warned.
"So we'll just stay long enough to make them think we've done the deed," she said in the same low tone he'd used.
He nodded, then lay down. If they were going to be here a while he might as well make himself comfortable. And Sarah was right, the bed was comfy.
She lay back down beside him and asked, "So where is he?"
He propped himself up on one elbow. "I don't know." Where he left him Harry hoped, but he couldn't be sure about that. "He was affected by the pollen."
"What pollen?"
He should tell her the whole story, he realised. So he repeated what the Doctor had told him and hoped she wouldn't ask any awkward questions. "So," he concluded, "I imagine he's off... you know."
"S'pose so." She let herself fall back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
Harry had wondered before now if she had feelings for the Doctor and her sudden despondence made that likely. But he didn't like to ask, just in case the answer was 'yes'. Ignorance was bliss, after all. "I'm sure he'll be fine," he said instead, with more confidence than he felt.
She said nothing, so he turned to look around the hut. The name of it was appropriate. There was a rug around the bed, but beyond it, around the edges, was soil and growing in it were the same plants the Doctor had touched earlier. He wondered how they were growing until he saw the light filtering down from holes in the roof. These green sunflowers must be the ones with the pollen.
Curious as to how it worked, he got up to examine one more closely. However, there was nothing about the way it looked that was odd, apart from its colour. When he smelt it it just smelled flowery: Harry was no judge of these things. He really wanted to take one back to the TARDIS to study it some more, but if it affected the Doctor that probably wasn't a good idea.
Being forced to give up, he turned back to face the bed. On it, Sarah was sitting up and messing up her hair.
Upon noticing his quizzical expression she smiled at him and whispered, just loud enough for him to hear, "We should at least look like we've done more than just lie around."
He could see her point but was at a loss as to what to do. He didn't generally have sex and then get dressed straight away.
"Untuck your shirt." She had finished with her hair and was studying him.
"I... what?" He only just remembered to keep his voice down, so sat down on the bed so they could go back to talking softly rather than whispering loudly.
"Oh, honestly, Harry." She reached over and untucked his shirt from his trousers. Too surprised to object, he let her. "There. Then you can tuck it in when we leave."
"Oh, I see." Why couldn't she have explained that first?
"Just one last thing." She wiped two fingers across the corner of her mouth and then touched them to his. He was ashamed to admit it but his heartbeat sped up; he couldn't help it. She was so intent on her task that although he looked into her eyes, hers were focused on his mouth. "Don't lick your lips," she said, taking her fingers away.
He had no intention of doing so. "Ready?"
She nodded. She slipped off the bed and opened the door. He followed her out, tucking his shirt in.
"We should find the Doctor," she said.
Harry was worried about him too. "He was looking very green when I last saw him. It must be an effect of the pollen."
"Wait." Sarah put up a hand to stop him and it worked because he walked straight into it, and remained against his chest as she said, "Neither of us are green."
"Do you think that means...." He trailed off as his eyes widened at the sight of several of the Trantons coming at them with spears. "I think we should--"
Either there were more behind him or she had worked out what had happened because she cut him off with a "Run!"
When he didn't immediately move she grabbed his hand. Her movement spun him around and he nearly fell over, taking her with him. Once he'd righted himself he picked up the pace as they sprinted to the TARDIS, aware all the time of the Trantons and what they might do to them. Harry didn't dare look behind them, though.
It was only when the TARDIS was in sight and Harry was wondering if his lungs could take any more that he remembered neither of them had a key. Fortunately, at that moment, the door opened and the Doctor stood framed in the doorway.
He had a big grin on his face, which was back to its proper colour. "Hello. What have you two been up to?"
Sarah and Harry nearly trampled him in their haste to get inside.
"Never mind that Doctor, let's go," Sarah shouted.
"Oh." All of a sudden the Doctor seemed to realise the danger they were in and hastily shut the door and moved to the console. Soon after they hear the familiar sounds of dematerialisation and as grateful as Harry was to be away from that planet, he did wish he could have seen the expressions on the faces of the Trantons as the police box disappeared in front of them.
"It's the er..." The Doctor coughed.
When he didn't continue Harry asked, "Are you all right?"
"Oh, perfectly fine, I assure you." The Doctor waved a hand in Harry's direction, but wasn't even looking at him. "Where's Sarah?"
"She said something about, um..." Harry scratched his head and wished he had been listening.
"I think you should find her, Harry." The Doctor turned to him and did look urgent about it. "Go to the TARDIS and stay there."
"Why? It isn't catching is it?" The Doctor didn't look ill, but it was rather hard to tell with him.
"Oh, no." He shook his head. "It's the mating season here and the Trantons don't come into heat naturally, so they use the pollen found in the flowers." He fingered the petals of what looked like a green sunflower. "But it doesn't affect humans." He gave Harry a wide smile, which didn't reassure him at all.
Harry wasn't at all convinced he wanted to think about this pollen and what effect it might have, even if it didn't work on humans, so it was just as well the Doctor's suggestion was worrying him more. "They're not going to...to do anything to Sarah against her will, are they?" If there were enough of them to overpower her and they'd been affected by what was in essence a drug, and couldn't help themselves, he really didn't like to think what might happen.
"I don't imagine so."
Really, Harry would have much preferred a 'no'.
"But the pollen does bring on a hatred of humans. Since they don't share the mood."
The list of things Harry didn't particularly want to consider got even longer. Not talking to the Doctor any more would help an awful lot in that respect. "You will be careful, won't you Doctor?" If he was feeling urges then Harry didn't know what the Doctor might do.
"Oh, don't worry about me, Harry." The Doctor took off his hat and waved it at him.
Harry decided that meant the Doctor could look after himself for a while and set off in the direction Sarah had gone in. At the moment it seemed like she was more in need of his help. He was right too. Fortunately, it didn't take him as long to find her as he expected, although that was because not far away he could hear shouts and stopped to investigate. He found Sarah tied to what looked like a telegraph pole and the Trantons, who looked far greener than when they first landed, shouting at her and pointing with spears Harry hadn't known they owned.
He stood behind them, trying to work out how to get through the throng without being stabbed when Sarah saw him.
She gave a brilliant smile and shouted, "Harry!"
The aliens backed off a little and slightly fewer of them were shouting now, which gave Harry an idea. But he couldn't pretend he wanted to have sex with Sarah without letting her in on the plan first, it wouldn't be fair.
"I'm so glad to see you!" he called back and made straight for the aliens, who parted and allowed him to get to her.
"I didn't do anything," she said, although he hadn't accused her of such. "They just went brighter green and--"
He cut her off with an, "I know." He ought to go around behind her to untie the ropes binding her, but instead he leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear while he picked at a knot. "If you want to get out of here we need to pretend we want to..." He swallowed. "Have sex."
She frowned. "What?"
"Trust me. Or rather, trust the Doctor."
Mentioning the Doctor did the trick because she nodded. Harry ignored the jealousy he felt at that and undid the last knot, feeling the ropes fall away to the floor.
Sarah brought her arms back in front of her and he stepped away to give her more room. "Oh, Harry," she said, sounding slightly breathy and he wondered how she did that. She brushed one hand against his cheek in a way he could almost believe she meant. "That's very romantic but I think we'd be far better off using a bed, don't you agree?"
"Oh, yes," he replied quickly, and nodded. He kissed her on the cheek, which he hoped the Trantons would be satisfied with, because he didn't dare kiss her on the lips. She'd probably hit him for taking that liberty and she'd be right to do it too.
She moved her hand from his cheek and wrapped her fingers round his to lead him through the crowd. "My room or yours?"
He didn't get a chance to answer because all of a sudden the points of the spears were very close to them. He immediately put his hands up in surrender, although it would have looked better if he'd let go of Sarah's first.
"Honoured guests have their own hut," one of the aliens said.
"Oh, no, we wouldn't want to put you to any trouble," he protested quickly. "The TARDIS will be fine for us, won't it Sarah?"
She nodded, but was biting her lip and looked a lot like she was trying hard not to laugh, which Harry didn't entirely appreciate.
"We insist." The touch of a spear on his back told him just how much they insisted.
So they had no choice but to let themselves be ushered into a small hut that had little more in it than a bed. Fortunately, it had a door and they were left alone.
Sarah flopped down onto the bed on her back and stretched out. "It's very comfy. Why don't you come and see?" She patted the space next to her.
Harry shook his head and stayed by the door. He wished she wouldn't tease him about this. If the circumstances had been different then he'd have quite happily shared the bed with her, but the fact was they weren't different and he'd far rather have had more time to discuss this first.
She sighed and sat up. "Where's the Doctor?"
He frowned and put his finger to his mouth. In the silence that followed he could definitely hear footsteps outside. Now he did sit on the bed next to Sarah, but so he could talk quietly to her. "They're still outside," he warned.
"So we'll just stay long enough to make them think we've done the deed," she said in the same low tone he'd used.
He nodded, then lay down. If they were going to be here a while he might as well make himself comfortable. And Sarah was right, the bed was comfy.
She lay back down beside him and asked, "So where is he?"
He propped himself up on one elbow. "I don't know." Where he left him Harry hoped, but he couldn't be sure about that. "He was affected by the pollen."
"What pollen?"
He should tell her the whole story, he realised. So he repeated what the Doctor had told him and hoped she wouldn't ask any awkward questions. "So," he concluded, "I imagine he's off... you know."
"S'pose so." She let herself fall back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
Harry had wondered before now if she had feelings for the Doctor and her sudden despondence made that likely. But he didn't like to ask, just in case the answer was 'yes'. Ignorance was bliss, after all. "I'm sure he'll be fine," he said instead, with more confidence than he felt.
She said nothing, so he turned to look around the hut. The name of it was appropriate. There was a rug around the bed, but beyond it, around the edges, was soil and growing in it were the same plants the Doctor had touched earlier. He wondered how they were growing until he saw the light filtering down from holes in the roof. These green sunflowers must be the ones with the pollen.
Curious as to how it worked, he got up to examine one more closely. However, there was nothing about the way it looked that was odd, apart from its colour. When he smelt it it just smelled flowery: Harry was no judge of these things. He really wanted to take one back to the TARDIS to study it some more, but if it affected the Doctor that probably wasn't a good idea.
Being forced to give up, he turned back to face the bed. On it, Sarah was sitting up and messing up her hair.
Upon noticing his quizzical expression she smiled at him and whispered, just loud enough for him to hear, "We should at least look like we've done more than just lie around."
He could see her point but was at a loss as to what to do. He didn't generally have sex and then get dressed straight away.
"Untuck your shirt." She had finished with her hair and was studying him.
"I... what?" He only just remembered to keep his voice down, so sat down on the bed so they could go back to talking softly rather than whispering loudly.
"Oh, honestly, Harry." She reached over and untucked his shirt from his trousers. Too surprised to object, he let her. "There. Then you can tuck it in when we leave."
"Oh, I see." Why couldn't she have explained that first?
"Just one last thing." She wiped two fingers across the corner of her mouth and then touched them to his. He was ashamed to admit it but his heartbeat sped up; he couldn't help it. She was so intent on her task that although he looked into her eyes, hers were focused on his mouth. "Don't lick your lips," she said, taking her fingers away.
He had no intention of doing so. "Ready?"
She nodded. She slipped off the bed and opened the door. He followed her out, tucking his shirt in.
"We should find the Doctor," she said.
Harry was worried about him too. "He was looking very green when I last saw him. It must be an effect of the pollen."
"Wait." Sarah put up a hand to stop him and it worked because he walked straight into it, and remained against his chest as she said, "Neither of us are green."
"Do you think that means...." He trailed off as his eyes widened at the sight of several of the Trantons coming at them with spears. "I think we should--"
Either there were more behind him or she had worked out what had happened because she cut him off with a "Run!"
When he didn't immediately move she grabbed his hand. Her movement spun him around and he nearly fell over, taking her with him. Once he'd righted himself he picked up the pace as they sprinted to the TARDIS, aware all the time of the Trantons and what they might do to them. Harry didn't dare look behind them, though.
It was only when the TARDIS was in sight and Harry was wondering if his lungs could take any more that he remembered neither of them had a key. Fortunately, at that moment, the door opened and the Doctor stood framed in the doorway.
He had a big grin on his face, which was back to its proper colour. "Hello. What have you two been up to?"
Sarah and Harry nearly trampled him in their haste to get inside.
"Never mind that Doctor, let's go," Sarah shouted.
"Oh." All of a sudden the Doctor seemed to realise the danger they were in and hastily shut the door and moved to the console. Soon after they hear the familiar sounds of dematerialisation and as grateful as Harry was to be away from that planet, he did wish he could have seen the expressions on the faces of the Trantons as the police box disappeared in front of them.