Disclaimer: Doctor Who isn't mine. If it was things would be quite different. The BBC owns all and I bow before them.
Author's note: Written for timepetalsprompts on tumblr and their weekly prompt, stuck with you at the holidays.
"I'll be fine," Rose Tyler insisted, her voice hoarse, as she added another tissue to the growing pile in the rubbish bin next to the couch where she was reclining. She didn't get a reply, but a few moments later the Doctor came into their living room with a hot cup of chicken noodle soup. She immediately took the cup from him, warming her hands on the side, and breathed in the soothing aroma.
Glancing at the clock, she tried again. "Please, you can still make it."
The Doctor shook his head. Since they had been reunited, he no longer gave her looks that made her feel like she dribbled on her shirt, but there was some exasperation as he exhaled slowly.
"So eager to get rid of me, hmm?" Or perhaps it was amusement, she realized.
"Now, you know that's not true," she protested. "I'm a grown women and I have a really bad cold. I can manage a few hours on my own while you have some fun with at the Torchwood Christmas party. They're our friends and there's no need for us both to miss it."
"Have fun without you at a Christmas party? You really think I would?"
"Better than stuck at home doing nothing while I rest up."
"Oh, Rose Tyler," he whispered as he sat down next to her. "I'm not stuck with you, nor is it so bad. I thought we established that a long time ago. I'm taking care of the woman I love."
The Doctor paused and squeezed her hand. "'Stuck' implies there's no choice, and you, my love, are always my choice and I want to be here for you. Just like you were for me when I got sick last month. Would've you just left me?"
"Well, no," she conceded with a slight huff. She wanted to object further, because since coming here the Doctor had enjoyed hanging out with the friends he had made, and he loved Christmastime, but she knew she'd just lost this little argument. He wouldn't leave her, nor would she if the circumstances were reversed.
"Then that's settled." His grin was triumphant. "No more arguments. Doctor's orders."
Smug git, she thought with fondness as she tucked into her soup.
end