A/N: Another short and sweet story to add to my Something Old and New series. This takes place when Tara is thirteen.
"Ah, that was brilliant!" the Doctor said as he and Alan stepped out of his TARDIS. "We need to go to the Manly Men Games on Plestox more often."
"I agree. Nothing like a rousing competition between men to get the blood pumping and the testosterone up," Alan agreed as they walked to the garage door.
They opened it and noticed the three women sitting on the sofa.
"Good afternoon," the Doctor said cheerfully. "We have returned from being men!"
"Yes, we have participated in the Manly Men Games," Alan added, "and proved to one and all that we are macho beyond belief. Especially since I tossed a caber twenty feet."
"Ah no, Brother, I tossed the caber," the Doctor corrected him.
"You most certainly did not! I tossed it!" Alan said.
"No, I did."
"Nope, I was the caber tosser."
"Yeah, you're a tosser alright," the Doctor said.
"Excuse me, was that an insult?"
"It was."
"Alright! Water pistols, twenty paces inside…"
"Ahem!"
They looked over when Rain spoke.
"I hate to interrupt your whole pissing contest but Tara is sick."
They stared at her.
"Sick? With what?" Alan said.
"Flu," Rose said. "Pagerius Flu. We sent the other children over to mum's for awhile so she could get some rest."
Rain held up her hand when she saw the alarmed look on their faces.
"She's alright. She's upstairs. We took her to the doctor and he gave her some butternut pills."
"Oh, pshaw, I have dandarion root that'll cure her quicker than butternut pills. Other than that, she's fine?"
"As far as I know, Love. She's just very sick," Rain said.
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Tara lay in her bed while she watched the holo-television that was on the table across the room. She was dressed in a pink nightdress and laying under a lavender duvet. Beside her was a small beside table that had a couple of books, activity books and a glass of Sprite on it. The lavender curtains were drawn so the sun wouldn't hit her eyes and give her a headache. It was dark and cold in the room and the only noise was the TV and her occasional soft coughing.
She looked over and smiled when her bedroom door opened and the Doctor quickly stuck his head inside.
"Blimey, it's like a tomb in here," he said in a hushed voice.
Tara giggled softly when Alan bent down under him and stuck his head in.
"By Jove, you're right, old bean. Do you think there are numerous bally traps in here?" he said.
"I don't know, old swine, but we need to go very carefully lest we get caught in a blinkered bear trap!" the Doctor said.
"You first, old rotter!" Alan said.
"No, ladies first, old prune!" the Doctor said.
"I'm not a lady; I'm a bally man, old dingo!" Alan said to him.
"By Jove, you're right. I've been such a bally fool. Kiss?"
"Don't mind if I do, old wanker."
Tara laughed when the two of them kissed and then stared right at her with wide eyes.
"Shhh, it's the laughing hyena of Pamujong," the Doctor said, pointing to her. "They're bally dangerous."
"What shall we do, old diarrhea?" Alan asked.
"I'm not sure, old gonorrhea. But I do know that we must approach cautiously."
"After you, old raging case of herpes simplex two," Alan said.
"You two are idiots sometimes." Tara said between giggles.
The Doctor opened the door wider and he and Alan came inside the room.
"So, what's all this then? I believe when we left to prove our virility, you were in tip top shape and now you're here under the duvet being sick? Explain yourself," he said as they stopped at the side of the bed.
"I just got sick," Tara said.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…Time Ladies do not just get sick. We have excellent immune systems so there has to be a reason for this sudden illness," the Doctor said to her.
"Dalek?" Tara said hesitantly.
"Nope, wiped them all out, try again," Alan said.
"Um…ya missed one?" she said hesitantly.
The Doctor snorted.
"Actually, I can see that. One Dalek wasn't connected to the others and transmatted out before the Crucible blew up," the Doctor said. "That's usually how it goes."
"So, the lone Dalek found us, snuck in here while the womenfolk were watching telly and gave her the flu?" Alan said to his brother.
"It would appear so."
"Damn those bally Daleks. They make our life hell, old big mac!" he said to him.
"Right you are, old sausage mcmuffin with cheese hold the egg and a dab of ketchup on it," the Doctor replied as Tara giggled. "And on that note, I believe I will fetch the dandarion root and make Tara tea."
"Make Tara into tea? Sounds painful…OH, make her tea. Sorry. Slight hearing problem," Alan said, wiggling his finger in his ear canal.
"Stay here and make sure she doesn't get any sicker!" the Doctor said sternly.
"I shall infect myself if that happens, old ibuprofen," he said, saluting.
"See that you do," the Doctor said, "or porridge for a year for you, old vomit in the toilet."
"Tara get sicker, I get porridge, got it!" Alan said.
The Doctor walked out as Alan put his hands behind his back and stared down at her. Tara gazed up at him and giggled when he didn't do anything except stare.
"Problems?" he asked as Tara giggled harder.
"Yeah, you're being creepy now," Tara replied.
Alan reached down, picked a piece of lint off her duvet, examined it intently and then flicked it away before he went back to staring at Tara. Tara couldn't help the giggles that came out as Alan stared down at her with an intense stare.
"Quit that, you're creeping me out," she said.
"I was told to keep watch on you and I'm keeping watch."
"Yeah, you dork, but you can take your eyes off me, I won't die on ya," she said.
"I do as commanded," Alan said.
He continued to stare as Tara flung the duvet up over her head. Alan jerked it back down and stared at her.
"Quit! I'm watching TV," she said, pulling the duvet back up to her chin.
Alan turned and walked over to it. He kept his hands behind his back while he watched the program. He raised his eyebrow when he saw a purple hippo in a tutu dance across the screen.
"No! We will not be watching Crappytown Tales," he said, turning it off.
"Hey!"
Alan turned towards her.
"You are sick; you're not going to end up demented too. Not on my watch and…"
He trailed off when Tara used her remote to turn it back on. She laughed when Alan came towards her.
"Give me that," Alan said, gunning for the remote.
"No!" Tara said, clutching it to her chest as she turned over on her side.
"Hand over the offensive object before I am forced to pick my nose and spread my findings across your cheek."
"No, leave me alone!" she shrieked.
Alan's hand jerked back when she had a sudden coughing fit. Then he reached down and rubbed her back.
"Sorry, Tara, I didn't mean to make you cough," he said, sheepishly.
"No, it's okay, Uncle Alan. I like that you're in here. You're cheering me up," Tara said, rolling onto her back.
Alan kissed her cheek. He helped her to sit up and handed her the Sprite.
"You know, I never had to do this before," he said as he took the glass from her and set it on the table. "My children have never gotten sick."
"Well, whoop-i-dee-doo for you then," Tara replied.
She giggled, flopped back down on her pillow and rolled back over when Alan eyed her.
"You know, I was going to be a saint and fluff your pillow but seeing as how you want it to be flat and warm, I won't."
Tara rolled back and sat up.
"What? You expect me to do it now that you were a complete butthole to me?" he asked.
"Please, Unca Awan, fwuff it for meeeeeee?" Tara said sweetly, rubbing his cheek.
"Weeeell, since you asked so sweetly and acted like you were two, I'll do it," he said.
He grabbed the pillow and fluffed as the Doctor walked in carrying a tray. On the tray was a small teacup, spoon, small metal teapot and a plastic bag filled with grey powder.
"Is she dead? Do we need to embalm her before the smell drives us out of house and home and…oh, she's alive, never mind then," the Doctor said, walking over to the table and putting the tray down beside the TV.
Alan put the fluffed pillow back behind her while Tara watched her father scoop a small amount of grey powder into the cup and pour hot water into it. She yelped when Alan suddenly shoved her back on the pillow.
"I just fluffed the thing, use it!" he said.
"Shut up, Uncle Alan!" she said, sitting back up.
She laughed when Alan shoved her back down again. Tara quickly sat back up. Alan shoved her down and placed his hand on her chest as he leaned his weight into it. He grinned when Tara tried in vain to sit back up.
"Unhand her, dear brother. She has to drink this," the Doctor said, turning with the tea cup.
Alan lifted his hand and Tara sat up while the Doctor brought her the tea. She took the cup from him and stared with distaste at the grey colored liquid inside.
"What is it?" Tara asked the Doctor.
"Dandarion root tea. It'll cure you faster than those butternut pills will."
"Looks like the color of fireplace ashes," Tara said.
"Well, it's a grey colored root. And I will confess, it is unpleasant to drink but you'll thank me when you're not lying there for weeks on end. Butternut pills, what was that doctor thinking? They barely work against Pagerius Flu. But drink up; I wanna make sure it goes down."
Tara looked helplessly at her uncle.
"You heard the man, drink," he said.
Tara took a tiny sip and made a face.
"Drink, Star. It won't be pleasant but It'll heal ya," he said to her.
Tara pinched her nose shut and drunk the tea as fast as she could while they watched. When she was finished, she handed the empty cup to the Doctor and he rewarded her with a kiss on the forehead.
"Good girl," he said, taking it back to the tray. "Unfortunately, you'll have to drink it a couple more times before the effects really kick in."
"Ugh, I don't think I can, Daddy."
"Yes, you can. You're my brave Time Lady, you can do anything," the Doctor said, smiling at her.
"Can I pee in the cup and see if she'll drink that?" Alan said eagerly.
"Ew!" Tara said while they both snickered. "No, Uncle Alan, you do that and I'll throw it back in your face!"
"Nah, you wouldn't. I'm your wonderful wonderful Uncle. You love me."
"I don't love ya enough to drink your pee," Tara muttered before she grabbed her Sprite and took a sip.
Alan took her glass and she lay back down while the Doctor covered her back up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Now, no TV," he said as Alan turned it off. "I want you to sleep and get rid of this flu so we can have fun again, yeah?"
"Okay, Daddy."
Both he and Alan gave her kisses as she snuggled down further under the covers. Alan tousled her hair and smiled as he left the room. The Doctor waited till he was gone before he rubbed noses with her.
"I mean it, get some sleep so you can get better and we can do more fun things," he said to her.
"Okay, Daddy."
"I love you so very much," he said.
"I love you too, Daddy."
He kissed her lips.
"I don't know what I'd ever do without you, Star. You just wormed your way into my hearts and settled there and the last thing I want is for my little starshine to be sick. So get better soon and I'll take ya to the moon."
She giggled and gave him another kiss. The Doctor whispered I love you in Gallifreyan into her ear and smiled when she replied I love you too in Gallifreyan. He laid his hand on her head for a moment before he straightened up, walked out the door and closed it. Tara smiled, basking in his and Alan's love and affection. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The End.