Hoarse Of Course
By Sonic Jules
A/N: A very special shout to Catharticone. As always, she's my encouragement and spell-checker and dear friend, all rolled into one. She wanted this story out here, so here ya go...
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"How -" Rose cleared her throat, feeling a bit of scratchiness when she'd begun to speak, "How long before you fix what's wrong with the TARDIS?" she asked, looking down under the center console where the Doctor was currently working on something burnt, if her nose was not mistaken.
He looked up at her with an odd expression, and she couldn't help but grin. He looked absolutely adorable, cheeks touched with soot and hair all tangled.
"Maybe a day or two, depending on when I figure out which wires got crossed when we entered the Vortex. I must've forgotten to change the timing when we left Cathord's Wharf. Can't imagine how I'd overlooked that," he said, absently scratching his fingers through his hair.
"You have to change the timing? On a ship that travels through time?" Her voice raised an octave or two on it's own, but luckily the Doctor didn't seem to notice. Her question was a bit on the sarcastic side, after all.
"Ah yes, well, think of it like time zones in the United States. They change time periods for daylight savings time and all to conserve energy and whatnot. Here I have to adjust times for relative spatial excursions and dimensional transitions - things like that. I do it practically all the time, depending on where we're going and where we've been."
The Doctor pulled himself up from beneath the grating just as Rose coughed. She hoped the noise of her clearing her throat again was lost on the Time Lord as he came to stand beside her. He was a bit of a worrywart, and she was just a little hoarse, no doubt due to a lack of sleep. They'd had a busy last few days, and although it was immensely fun, she was ready for some rest.
Once the Doctor was standing beside her, he gave her a quizzical look, wiping his hands with a handkerchief. "What - did you think I was fiddling around down there just to make myself look busy?" he asked with a tone of skepticism, his grin belying the aired challenge.
"Well, yeah. Kind of," she grinned back, her tongue poking out slightly from between her teeth when she'd finished her teasing.
He raised one eyebrow at her but smiled as he put his hanky back in his pocket. The next thing Rose knew, he'd brought his palm to her face and rested it on her forehead.
"What are you doin'?" she asked, backing away from him just enough that he dropped his hand from her.
"Trying to figure out how sick you are, since you're obviously trying to hide it from me. Why didn't you tell me?" His words were far from accusing, his tone simply implying his worry.
"'M not sick, Doctor, I feel fine. What makes you think somethin's wrong?"
"Rose," he began, taking her hand into his, "I can hear it in your voice. Don't worry - whatever it is, we'll have it sorted in no time. They don't call me the Doctor for nothing," he smiled, using his other hand to brush a few strands of hair from her face. "At least you don't have a fever," he said softly, admitting his touch was for more than just comfort.
"I don't feel sick, I promise." Her words were meant to reassure him, but her voice faded when she spoke, and his eyebrows rose to show his doubt in them.
"It sounds to me like you may be coming down with something."
"'M not," she practically whispered, fearing her voice might betray her conviction.
"Tell you what," he began, placing both hands on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes. "How about we take a little walk down to the Infirmary, and you let me run a few tests. I'm sure you're right; it's probably nothing. But I won't be able to stop worrying unless you let me find out for myself."
It was true. He knew his worry couldn't evaporate, and Rose knew it as well.
"An' as soon as you find out it's nothin', you'll let it go?"
"Of course I will," he said quite convincingly.
"All right, let's get it over with, then," she said hoarsely.
OoOoO
The Doctor stood in front of Rose as she sat on the examination couch, staring into her eyes with great intensity.
"I have to admit Rose, you were right. Other than a touch of sinus inflammation, most likely due to allergens from Cathord's Wharf, you seem to be in perfect health."
"You don't have t'sound so disappointed," she teased.
"On the contrary," he began, offering her his hand so that she would stand up, "I'm ecstatic! Rose Tyler, defender of the universe, is fine and well. That's the best news we could hope for," he finished with a hug.
"Told ya so," she replied into the cloth of his jacket.
He pulled back from her, looking at her with a cursory glare of concern. "Still, you sound a bit raspy. Maybe I should -"
"Do nothing." Rose finished for him with a smile. "I feel all right, yeah? So the best medicine is no medicine."
Of course her voice cracked with her words, prompting the Doctor to tease.
"You sound a bit ... masculine. Maybe I should check your testosterone levels?"
"Oi!" Rose exclaimed, stepping back from the Time Lord. "Do I look masculine to you?" she asked, batting her eyelashes.
The Doctor began laughing. "Oh, my poor, dear Rose. Maybe you should try that without using your voice. Might be more persuasive that way."
"Fine," she croaked out, walking slowly towards the Doctor like a cat prowling around a mouse. She raised her hand to his chest, rubbing up and down as if to straighten an imaginary wrinkle. She then cupped her hand around his neck, slowly pulling him down towards her, stopping only when her lips were oh-so-close to his ear.
"I'm going to bed now," she whispered, enjoying a satisfied grin when he shivered.
Rose let go just as slowly as she had pulled him towards her, then walked the few steps it took for her to reach the corridor.
"Doctor?" She turned to face him.
"Yeah, uh, yes?" he asked, visibly flushed.
"Was that better?"
He cleared his throat, nodding a few too many times. "Um, yes. Much."
She winked at him then disappeared down the hall, leaving the Doctor just a bit flustered.
OoOoO
Rose walked into the console room, armed with a cup of tea in each hand and a folded magazine under her arm. She knew they wouldn't be leaving the Vortex any time soon, and keeping the Doctor company while he worked on the TARDIS usually meant having to entertain one's self.
Walking over to the center console, she once again found the Doctor underneath it, a feeling of warmth enveloping her upon seeing the top of his unruly head.
However, two attempts at trying to call him with no voice at all had Rose stomping a foot on the grating, immediately getting Time Lord's attention.
"Rose! What are you doing up?" he asked, pulling himself up to her level.
She held out a cup of tea for him and smiled.
"Ah, lovely! Tea! Just what the Doctor ordered. How did you know? You always know," he answered himself, taking the cup from her hand then following her over to the captain's chair.
"What's the matter? Can't sleep?" he asked as he sat down beside her. "You've only been gone about four hours. I figured you'd be deep in your sleep cycle by now. Oh, I see you brought a magazine. That and a good cuppa should relax you well enough to get the rest you need, I'm sure."
Rose nodded, then placed the magazine in her lap, flipping through the pages one handedly as she held her tea with the other. When she realized his silence, she also felt his stare. She lifted her eyes from the magazine, meeting the Doctor's gaze.
"Are you having trouble sleeping?" he asked quietly.
Rose nodded, but she doubted seriously whether he saw it.
"That's it!" The Doctor shouted, standing up so suddenly Rose almost tipped over her cup. He placed his mug on the console then turned in place, facing her.
"You haven't spoken a word since you've come in here. Can you talk at all Rose? Is your throat sore? Are you in pain?" He turned away from her as he continued talking. "I can't believe I didn't notice right away. Stupid I am, literally," he said walking himself back in front of her. "Talk to me, Rose," he said gently, kneeling in front of her.
"I can't," she all but croaked, her voice no longer recognizable.
"Are you hurting? Throat sore?" he asked, hands lifted towards her throat, feeling her glands.
"No," she whispered.
His hands left her throat, one moving to her wrist, the other to cup her forehead. "Glands aren't swollen. No fever, and ... pulse is normal," he declared, releasing her hand.
"Open up," he stated, tapping her lips with his left index finger as his right hand pulled out a pen light from his pocket. Rose opened her mouth as he shone the light inside, giving him a pointed stare when he told her to say 'Ah'.
"Yes, right, sorry about that," the Doctor grinned sheepishly, realizing she couldn't utter his requested sound. Putting the light back in his pocket, he sat down, relaxing enough with his new-found knowledge to sit beside her again. "I know I ran all those tests earlier, but with you sounding a bit worse, I just wanted to be sure. You don't mind, do you?"
"'S okay," she practically mouthed the words, giving him a grin.
"You really should get some rest."
"Can't sleep," she rasped out.
"Yes, I suppose it would lay heavy on your mind," he began, standing up again to give himself a bit of distance from her.
Rose cocked an eyebrow at him. He was almost grinning. Something was up.
"Must be horrid for you," he continued, his grin expanding, "Rose Tyler, Miss Talkity-Talk, unable to speak a single word. I can say anything and everything I want to, and you - you can't utter a syllable! Oh, this is good. Very good."
The Doctor moved quickly and therefore was not hit by the magazine that was suddenly launched towards him.
"You know it's true what they say - what goes around comes around - I should know - I've been around," he chortled, wiggling his eyebrows. "How's it feel to be teased, Miss Tyler?"
Rose looked at him with an all-too-innocent glance.
"Oh, you know what I'm talking about; that little incident in the kitchen?"
Rose had the good graces to mouth "oh" to him, then looked down.
She stood up then, walking herself right up to the Lord of Time. "'M Sorry," she whispered, then hugged him.
For the Doctor, play time was definitely over. He couldn't tease her any more, not with her holding him like that.
"Me too," he whispered in reply. Rose grinned.
OoOoO
Rose waved at the Doctor, ready to make another attempt towards sleeping. She'd sat with him while he'd worked a bit more on the TARDIS, reading the crumpled magazine until her vision blurred with weariness.
She'd had to tap on the console to get his attention, letting him know she was heading to bed. The Doctor had once again risen from beneath the console, checking her out one more time before bidding her good night.
As Rose began walking down the corridor, the Doctor just couldn't help himself, calling to her.
"Holler if you need anything!" he said way too cheerfully, smirking at his own humor.
Rose smiled then waved him off, disappearing down the hallway.
The Doctor watched her until she was out of his line of vision. Instead of returning himself to the work waiting for him beneath the console, he walked over to the captain's chair and sat down, heaving a deep sigh. He hoped she wouldn't need him, because really, if she did, how would he ever know?
OoOoO
It had been three hours since Rose had bid the Doctor 'good night' and gone to her room. Three long hours that the Doctor had worked himself into a good bit of self-recrimination.
What if something was seriously wrong with Rose - something that hadn't shown up in his earlier tests, but was now making itself quite at home within her, battling her immune system? What if she was too stubborn to come and seek his help, even if she were in considerable pain, just because he'd teased her and, in the end, she was told she was right, and he, the mighty Lord of Time, was wrong?
What if he'd been wrong about being wrong?
The Doctor had wandered the corridors, making several passes by her room. He'd stopped a couple of times, ear to the door as he listened for any sounds of distress. But there were none. So far ...
After returning to the console room and pacing around the center console too many times to count, he decided he simply needed to see her for himself; to know she was all right and ease his mind from the wandering horrors it had inflicted upon him.
Walking himself back in front of her bedroom door, the Doctor tapped lightly then waited for a moment. Hearing no reply, he opened the door just a little bit, peeking inside the darkened room, and listened. Her breaths were deep and normal, but that wasn't about to quell his worries.
"Rose? You awake?"
Getting no answer from her still, he slowly pushed the door open a little more, giving himself just enough space to walk in. His eyes adjusted easily in the dimness, and he walked to the side of Rose's bed, looking down upon her with curious, concerned eyes.
He noted the sheets, well pushed down from her torso as if she'd at some point felt overly warm. With that thought in mind, he placed his palm over her forehead, minimally relieved to find no fever through his touch.
Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor scanned over Rose, hoping the results would turn up nothing. Looking at the instrument, he clicked it off, eyebrows raised. The results had been what he hoped for, and he was visibly relieved, if not a tiny bit surprised.
"Doctor?"
Uh oh. Busted.
"Rose? What are you doing awake?"
"Sonic screwdriver's a bit loud," she croaked, blinking a bit at the light that came through from her doorway. "What're ya doin' in here?"
"Oh, nothing, really. I was just walking by and thought I heard you calling out in your sleep."
"Uh huh. Me. Callin' out with my voice soundin' like this. Come on - out with it. You were worried about me, weren't you?"
"Rose, I ..."
"You thought you must've missed somethin' 'cause I said I was all right."
"No, Rose. It's not like that."
"Yeah? Well what's it like then?" she asked huskily, sitting herself up.
The Doctor dropped his head a bit, still meeting her eyes. "I wasn't checking up on you because you said you were all right. I was checking up on you because I said you were all right."
He sat down beside her on the bed, staring at her intently. Gently he pushed away a few strands of hair from her eyes, slipping them behind one ear. "I was scared I had missed something. I came in here because I had to be sure you were okay." The Doctor tilted his head, giving her his best apologetic face. For all he knew, she'd be ready to throw him out at any moment.
"You were worried about me."
"I was."
"But you're not now?"
"No. You are in perfect health, aside from a minor sinus infection, just as you were before. Not a thing wrong with you, otherwise."
"No Doctor, you're wrong. There is somethin' wrong with me."
The Doctor looked up at her immediately, instant concern crossing his features. "Rose, what is it?"
"'M cold," she answered, holding her arms out to the Time Lord.
The Doctor smiled, instantly pulling Rose into a hug.
"Better?" he asked.
"Perfect."
The End