"Ah...ahh...ah-CHOO!"
The sounds of a vicious sneeze echoed through the TARDIS. The Doctor looked up from the comic book he was leafing through. Sadie, his companion, had left it lying on a seat in the console room, and the brightly colored cover had attracted his attention. He had let himself get sucked into the storyline, and it was the sneeze that had jolted him back into the reality. A second sneeze, perhaps even more powerful than the first, reverberated through the halls. It didn't sound pleasant. The Doctor laid aside the comic book and headed off in the direction of the sneezing - Sadie's room.
Sadie, in her bedroom, was curled into a ball of pure misery on her bed. Her head was throbbing, her throat felt like it was full of spikes and glass shards, and she was beginning to entertain the idea that she was, in fact, dying. To say she felt terrible was a gross understatement. She knew she should have listened when the Doctor told her the weather on Pluvia was quite often nasty; he had described it as "Imagine the rainiest place you know and multiply it by around a thousand." And of course, he had been right. It had been the wettest planet Sadie had ever seen. She wasn't even sure what the appeal of the place was...until she tried the food. The food had been glorious. It was almost worth the suffering she was facing now - almost.
She sneezed again, the action making her feel like her throat was going to rip open. She groaned miserably and wallowed further into the quilts on the bed.
"I think I'd feel better if I were dead," she said aloud, to no one in particular.
"Nah, being dead is highly overrated," came the response from the doorway. Sadie groaned again, louder this time.
"Go. Away."
"Well that's no way to treat your good friend the Doctor, now is it?"
"I mean it. Go away," Sadie repeated, pulling the covers over her head. The Doctor, crossing to the bed in several quick strides, pulled them down almost immediately, fishing for his trusted sonic screwdriver in his jacket pocket. Sadie sighed as he found it and aimed it at her, the high pitched noise making her wince. "Stop it!"
"Well, Sadie Mitchell," the Doctor said, lowering the screwdriver after a moment. "You are the unfortunate owner of a rhinovirus. A particularly nasty one, at that."
"Yay," Sadie droned, once again pulling the covers over her head. "Leave me alone so I can die in peace."
"No one has ever died from a cold, Sadie, and I should know." The Doctor stood for a moment, thinking. I know exactly what you need!" he declared, heading for the door. "I'll be back!"
Sadie sighed from her position underneath the covers. She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.
Sadie stepped from the TARDIS, looking around cautiously. She hadn't been able to find the Doctor at all, despite calling for him repeatedly and searching the blue box for hours. She'd finally decided there was no other option except to have a look outside the ship.
"Doctor? Are you there?" she ventured. She walked a few steps from the doors. They were obviously not on Earth. The ground here was too strange. It was a shade of green that could only be described as nasty. The landscape was dotted with oddly decorated boxes, of varied sizes. Some were garish, some muted, but all were unique and looked rather flimsy. Sadie went a few steps further and caught sight of a familiar figure. "Doctor!"
She jogged up to him and opened her mouth to speak...then she saw who he was speaking to.
Standing, er, floating in front of the Doctor, billowing slightly in the breeze, was a kleenex. Not just any kleenex, but one with eyes, and a mouth. It was a kleenex person. Sadie stood for a moment in shock before realizing how silly she must have looked and snapping her mouth closed. The Doctor continued his conversation with the tissue-creature as if she wasn't even there. Sadie tried to follow what was being said, but for some reason, she couldn't make sense of it. Her cold must still be messing with her head, she thought.
Speaking of that dreaded cold, she felt a sneeze begin to creep up. She did her best to hold it in, but, as they inevitably do, the sneeze won the fight. The sound of it echoed through the hills, making the flimsy house boxes shake. Sadie sniffed and reached in her pocket for a tissue, but it had somehow vanished.
She sniffed again, debating what she should do...her gaze traveled to the tissue creature in front of the Doctor. It wasn't even looking her way. She could just sneak a quick little wipe..
"Sadie Mitchell!" The Doctor's voice finally became clear. "What in blazes are you doing?"
"I, um..." Sadie stammered. The Doctor and the tissue-being, who was now looking quite offended, were staring at her in horror. "Don't you realize what a disgrace that is to the people of Kleenexium?" Sadie wished the ground could swallow her, and she felt herself sinking. Was this another feature of the planet?
"Sadie?"
"Sadie!"
Sadie awoke with a start. The Doctor was perched anxiously on the edge of her bed, looking a bit worried.
"Are you alright? You were mumbling a lot in your sleep," he said. "Something about huge kleenex and offending an entire planet?" Sadie rubbed at her eyes, realization sinking in.
"It was just a dream," she said, falling back against her pillows with a sigh. The Doctor didn't look convinced.
"You're sure?" he asked, pressing his hand against her forehead. "If you're feverish, it could have been a hallucination, or-"
"Stop fussing over me! It was just a dream and it's just a cold!"
"What happened to 'leave me alone and let me die'? Now it's just a cold?"
"I decided you can't get rid of me that easily."
"Good!" The Doctor replied, seemingly satisfied with the turn of events. "Now, I have just the thing for you!" He snatched a small bowl full of steaming liquid from where it was sitting on the bedside table and handed it to Sadie with a flourish. "Soup!"
Sadie eyed the bowl a little warily. "Soup?"
"Yes! Soup! The healing properties of soup are known across several galaxies, Sadie. Even you, being from Earth, should know that. Didn't your mother ever make you soup when you were ill?"
"Well, yeah, but I thought she was just making all that stuff up."
"Nope! She was completely right. Now eat up."
Sadie shrugged and took a careful bite of the hot soup. After several more spoonfuls, she began feeling somewhat better. Maybe her mother (and the Doctor) had been right after all.
Several days later, thanks to some rest and several bowls of the Doctor's soup, Sadie was feeling much better and much like her old self. She ventured into the console room, scanning it quickly for the Doctor. He was nowhere to be found.
"Doctor?" she called. From deep within the TARDIS came the response.
"Ah...ahh...AH-CHOO!"
_
Notes: I've kicked this little idea around in my head for ages, but just never made myself write it out. Buuut, I finally did, so here it is! Hope you enjoyed! :)
I have several ideas for future (and longer) stories with Sadie and the Doctor, so keep your eyes peeled!
A very special thank you to Melissa, who gave me the idea of the Kleenex people! Thank you Melissa for both the idea and inspiring me to write more! :D