The Doctor was miserable, utterly and completely. He ached everywhere, his head felt like it might implode, his fever was running rampant and this rubbish half-human body couldn't get warm.

To top it all off, Rose had abandoned him a few hours ago when Pete's World's Torchwood had needed her help "urgently".

Apparently her knowledge of aliens—thanks largely to her time spent traveling with him in the other universe—combined with her time spent dimension hopping had made her a supreme authority in Torchwood's eyes on alien races, cultures and how to handle crash landings, invasions and those seeking asylum or some form of aid. She had left five hours, thirty-three minutes, and fifteen seconds ago.

Though he was extremely proud of his Rose, he had wanted to spend the day cuddled up next to her for warmth and company. He had pled the case that "couldn't they get by without her this once?" He'd even pulled out the puppy-dog eyes and little lip pout that he knew she couldn't resist.

And it hadn't worked, he thought sulkily.

She had given him her infamous, tongue-touched grin and a kiss on the forehead and run out the door, telling him that as much as she'd love to play nurse to him right now, Torchwood really did need her this time. He had sulked for a while and then drifted off to sleep, which helped to pass four of the five hours she had been gone.

He really did sometimes miss his fully Time Lord body and the benefits it came with. Namely that this rubbish human illness that had the audacity to dare attack the one and only Time Lord-Human Biological Metacrisis would never have gotten past his superior biology's defenses!

The Doctor uncovered himself from his pile of blankets and made his way to the kitchen of the small flat he and Rose shared. He tested the water level in the kettle and set it on the front burner of the stove to get hot, thinking a nice cuppa might help his head. That inevitably sent his mind tumbling backwards to another time when he had found tea to be a great cure for clearing the synapses. A time when he was still unsure whether he would lose Rose or be able to convince her to stay with him.

He still remembered his dreams during that regeneration sickness being filled with the horror of a possible life without Rose, what might happen if she decided to stay on Earth because he changed. He had been so happy that he hadn't had to find out...then. Realizing where his thoughts were headed, the dark path that lay ahead—a Rose-less path—he brought his mind to the present and finished making his cuppa.

He was just about to head back into the other room when he heard the snick of the lock on the side door to their flat and saw Rose silhouetted in the doorway by sunlight. Setting his teacup down, his single heart skipped a beat and a smile overtook his face, causing his eyes to crinkle at the corners in a lovely way. He quickly made his way over and enveloped Rose in a rib-crushing hug, lifting her feet off the ground slightly.

"Oh! What's all this, then?" she laughed, hugging him in return.

"I missed you," was all he said.

"I missed you too, my Doctor," her grip on him tightening. "You know I really hated going into work when you needed me here, but I'm glad I was there, else they would have blundered everything. Almost did in fact."

He set her down a moment later, and before she could do or say anything, he grabbed her face and planted a lingering, passionate kiss on her lips. As he pulled away, her eyes slowly blinking open, she grasped his arm as she stumbled a little.

"Not that I'm complaining, mind, but what was that about?" she asked in a gravelly voice.

"For every time I should have done it and convinced myself I didn't deserve it."

He knew she needed no explanation for what that statement meant when her smile slowly grew to encompass her face, making her look as radiant as the sun.

She pulled him down for one more very pleasant snog and when he stepped back, he was pleasantly surprised to find his head had cleared and he felt much better. He decided that tea was actually a rubbish way to clear the synapses, when Rose Tyler kisses were the real cure.

Notes: Written for darthtella on Tumblr using her prompt: Fever.