Title: Pieces on the Ground
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Michael Cutter
Fandom: Doctor Who/Law & Order
Rating: PG-13
Table: 100_tales
Prompt: 72, Broken
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Michael Cutter, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor pushed the heavy door of the abandoned building open, looking around him cautiously. He probably shouldn't be here; he had no way of being sure that this was where Michael was being held captive. All he had to go on were his instincts.

And the fact that one of the two men he'd seen coming out of this door only a few moments ago had been wearing Michael's trenchcoat. Or maybe it was just a coat that looked like the one his lover always wore.

No. He shook his head firmly, trying to push the doubts out of his mind. It was Michael's coat. He knew it was. And the only way that man could have been wearing it was if they were the ones who had kidnapped Michael.

It was sheer luck that he'd happened to be here, wandering aimlessly, trying to think of any place that Michael could possibly have been taken when he'd seen those men. Luck, nothing more.

And now, here he was, trying to be as quiet as possible, entering the building that those men had been coming out of. If they were indeed Michael's abductors, then his lover was here. The Doctor doubted they would have taken him anywhere else.

Unless .... he clamped the thought down as soon as it occurred to him, refusing to countenance it. But it came back stronger than ever, refusing to be silenced. Unless Michael was dead, and they'd dumped his body here.

He shook his head again, closing his eyes for a moment and fighting back the vertigo that was threatening to overwhelm him. No. Michael wasn't dead. He'd feel it, that gaping abyss that would be left in his life without Michael there to fill it. He'd know.

He let the door close behind him, taking a deep breath and looking around, letting his eyes get used to the dim light. Now that he was here, he'd have to make a quick search of the place, in case those men came back sooner than he expected.

And if Michael was indeed here -- then he would get his lover out of here as quickly as he could, call an ambulance, and get him to a hospital. Hopefully, he'd be able to avoid questions, though he thought that was highly unlikely in this case.

He'd have to think of some way to keep his identity hidden from the doctors, and whoever else might be in the hospital -- undoubtedly the police would be there because of who Michael was. But at the moment, that was the least of the worries crowding into his mind.

What if there were others here? There could easily be more than two, though the place seemed utterly deserted. If he was lucky, any other people involved in this had already gone out and he would have time to get Michael safely away.

If Michael was here. He had to keep reminding himself of that; he could just be on the proverbial wild goose chase, and Michael might not be anywhere nearby. That was a chance he'd have to take.

A sudden sound made him pause, standing stock-still and straining his ears to hear. Was that his imagination, or had it sounded like .... a moan? The Doctor closed his eyes, trying to hone his sense in on the sound.

There it was again, coming from somewhere to his right. He opened his eyes, taking a deep breath and focusing his attention in the direction that he was sure the sounds had emanated from. Yes, they'd come from his right, in the gloomy darkness of the cavernous building.

He found himself moving forward, his feet moving of their own volition. The Doctor felt strangely outside of himself, pulled along by circumstance, not by any conscious action of his own; he wanted to hold back, to be careful, but he couldn't have stopped himself if he'd tried.

There it was again -- that soft moan, muffled as though whoever was making the sound might have been silenced, or trying to be as quiet as possible.

The Doctor shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts as he moved forward. If Michael was here, then he'd been extremely lucky, and he'd have to get the two of them out of here as quickly as he could. If it wasn't Michael -- well, maybe he'd manage to help someone else.

Or he'd walk into some kind of trap that he might not be able to escape from.

He swallowed hard, the fingers of one hand curling into a fist. If he'd made a mistake in coming here, then he'd have to deal with that mistake as best he could. But he'd come this far; he wasn't going to turn and run. Not now.

Another step .... another .... The Doctor put his hand on the cement wall beside him, his hearts pounding in his chest. He almost didn't want to look into the next room; if Michael wasn't there, then his hopes of finding his lover would be crushed.

He forced himself to look around the corner, his eyes widening, a startled gasp torn from his throat. The sight in front of him broke the spell he'd seemed to be under; before he realized what he was doing, he'd run the few feet across the floor, falling to his knees beside the man lying there.

Michael. Half-naked, bound and gagged, bruised and battered -- but alive. Alive -- and within a few moments, they would be walking out of this place to safety.

The Doctor helped Michael sit up, cradling his lover against his own body. He couldn't use the sonic screwdriver; it wouldn't be any good on the ropes that bound Michael's wrists, and it wasn't as though he could explain away what it was.

Gently, he loosened the gag, pulling it away from Michael's mouth and pressing a finger against the other man's lips when Michael seemed about to speak. "Shhh, love," he whispered, his own voice barely audible. "I'll get you out of here, I promise."

Michael swallowed, nodding and closing his eyes, leaning heavily against the Time Lord. The Doctor's fingers worked at the ropes that bound him, tugging at them and hoping that he wasn't causing Michael any unnecessary pain in the process.

After what seemed like an eternity, the ropes fell away; the Doctor stood up slowly, one arm around Michael's waist, supporting him. He had to blink back tears as he helped the other man pull his trousers up and fasten them; it was obvious what had been done to him.

He kept his arm firmly around Michael's waist, letting the other man lean on him as they made their way back to the front of the building. The Doctor paused before he pushed the door open, hoping that there would be no one outside and they'd simply be able to walk away.

Luck was with them. The sidewalk was deserted, and the two of them moved as quickly as they could, both wanting to put the area behind them.

The Doctor kept Michael close beside him; at least his lover had been able to walk and keep up a fairly steady pace. But now, he was shaking his head, stopping to lean against the brick wall of a building, his voice hoarse when he spoke.

"John .... I can't .... keep going .... too .... broken ...." His voice sounded fainter with each word; the Doctor gasped and clutched at him as his eyes closed and he collapsed in the Time Lord's arms, his weight pushing the Doctor back against the wall.

"Someone help!" The Doctor didn't realize that he was almost screaming; all he could concentrate on was Michael's pale face, the fact that the man he loved might be slipping away from him. "Call an ambulance! Now!"

He cradled Michael in his arms, alarmed by the way his lover had fainted so suddenly. "We'll get you to a hospital, love," he whispered, rocking back and forth as he held Michael. "You'll be all right, I promise, sweetheart. You're not broken, Michael. I'll fix you. I swear."

It was almost impossible for him to let Michael go when the ambulance arrived, but he did; he watched as they expertly moved Michael onto the bed in the back of the vehicle, nodding when one of the paramedics gestured to him to get in with them.

The Doctor climbed into the back of the ambulance, only feeling a slight misgiving when the doors slammed shut. He reached for his lover's hand, squeezing his eyes tightly closed and hoping fervently that Michael hadn't been broken too badly to put the pieces back together again.

***