Donna Noble was sleepily wandering through the long TARDIS corridors, dressed in her deep purple PJs. She had no idea what time it was. When you've been on the TARDIS for as long as she had, you just relied on your body to tell you when you were tired instead of relying on time.
On this particular night, Donna had been really tired after a full days running through time and space and had retreated to bed as soon her and the Doctor had finished their walk on the Planet of Rutca. She had to admit, the Doctor hadn't lied when he had said that it was a beautiful planet. It had been covered in a range of different plants that seemed to shine in every colour that existed. The walk they had been on really impressed Donna, especially since they hadn't been attacked by giant monkeys or shot at by the natives.
When she had fallen into a deep sleep, she awoke a couple of hours later and just couldn't seem to be able to get back to sleep again. Deciding that it was useless trying to sleep, she decided that she would go and fine Spaceman. He never slept anyway.
Letting a long yawn escape, Donna continued down the corridor. She was heading for the console room since the Doctor was usually in there tinkering with the TARDIS. She had once walked in on him tinkering under the console, and only his converse had been visible. The rest of him had been covered in wires of all shapes and sizes. She laughed softly out loud at the memory as she finally reached the console room.
But when she looked up, she found that no one was there. The Doctor wasn't there.
"Spaceman?" She called softly. When she got no reply, she frowned.
She checked all around the console, but there were no converse feet sticking out of anywhere. Realising that he defiantly wasn't there, the place she thought of next was the library.
Setting off down the corridor again, Donna headed for the library. Maybe the Doctor had felt like reading. She sometimes thought how bored he must get when he was alone whilst she slept. Even though she loved the adventures, she was still human and therefor still needed sleep regularly.
As she got further down the corridor, she passed an old brown door. She knew it was, indeed, the Doctors room. She had only seen the inside of it a few times. Maybe he was in there. After all, it would be better to check now in case he was in there. It would also save her the journey to the library. Sometimes she hated the fact that the TARDIS was just so big.
She wandered over to the door, raised her right arm and knocked three times.
"Doctor?" She called out. When she got no reply, she repeated the knocks.
"Doctor?" She called out again, this time a little louder.
Something crossed her mind that she really should off considered. Maybe, just maybe, he was asleep. When the thought hit her, she instantly regretted knocking loudly and nearly shouting his name.
However, there had still been no reply. And, Donna being Donna, she had to check to make sure he defiantly wasn't in there.
She raised her hand to the handle and slowly opened the door. She peaked inside as it opened wider and wider. The room was rather dark, and the features of the Doctor's room were barley visible. As she opened the door as wide as it would go, her eyes directed to the bed. And when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she spotted him.
The Doctor was lying sprawled out on his bed, still dressed in his suit from their walk. Donna noticed his hair was even messier than usual (which was saying something). But, there was something…off.
Donna squinted her eyes slightly and started to walk towards the sleeping Time Lord when she noticed beads of sweat plastered on his forehead. She could also see a look of discomfort on his face as if he was is a small amount of pain. This is when Donna realised, something definitely wasn't right.
She quickly ran round to his side of the bed, turned on the bedside lamp and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Doctor?" She said softly and shuck him gently by his shoulder. He didn't respond. Donna's heart started to race.
She placed her other hand to his forehead and had to quickly pull it away. He was hotter than boiling water.
"Doctor, wake up, your burning!" She frantically said, shaking him by both shoulders, but still to no result.
Remembering back to when her grandfather had caught Spanish flu, she had found him burning up on the sofa in the living room and had put a cold damp flannel over his forehead and it had helped him to cool down.
Wasting no time, Donna ran to the Doctor's on-suite bathroom, grabbed a towel and ran it under the cold sink until it was dripping wet, squeezed it to get the access water out and then ran back to his side, placing it over his burning forehead.
"Come on Spaceman, what's wrong with you?" She thought out loud, as she held the damp towel from falling. She pushed back the stray hair that was in the way of the towel and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.
As if that was some sort of magic code, he suddenly groaned lightly and his eyes started to open slowly. Donna felt a slight rush of relief wash over her as he turned his head to face her. He blinked a few times before his eyes opened fully. Donna gasped at the state of them. The white in his eyes were completely bloodshot, and his pupils dilated as if he was possessed by some kind of demon.
"D-Donna" He croaked.
"Oh Spaceman, I would love to slap you right now" She murmured as she dabbed his forehead slightly to the left with the damp towel. "What's wrong with you? You're lucky I was up looking for you, you're hotter than the bloody sun!"
"P-plant…on Rutca…the y-yellow one…poisonous..." He managed to croak. Donna felt her heart drop.
"Poisonous?!" She yelled. "What-what?! But I touched that plant too?!"
"R-Rutca Lily…o-only poisonous to...T-Time Lords…didn't know…" Before he could finish his sentence, his chest tightened and he erupted into a violent coughing fit. He quickly sat up and tried to control it himself. Donna took the towel away from his head and turned to rubbing circles on his back.
"Shh-shh, it's alright, Spaceman, I'm here"
After a few more seconds, the coughing finally stopped and the Doctor fell backwards onto the bed.
"Is there some sort of anti-poison or something?" Donna asked, removing his tie from around his neck.
"N-no, it's just…like a nasty c-chest…infection, m-my body will…fight it off in a f-few days." The Doctor replied, lifting his head slightly so Donna could take the tie away from his neck.
"Well, as long as you're not gonna go into a lifelong coma, then I'll try not to worry too much" She said with a slight chuckle and applied the wet towel to his forehead again. She was completely joking. She was very worried about him, but, if he said that he would be better in a few days, then she would stay by his side the whole time.
The Doctor opened his bloodshot eyes to look at Donna and he smiled slightly.
"Y-You don't have to…do this, Y'know?" He said to her.
"Of course I do you dumbo! You're ill, and I'm gonna take care of you, whether you like it or not" She said. The Doctor chuckled slightly and gave her the best smile he could muster.
"Thank you…Donna" He croaked.
"Don't mention it, skinny boy; I'm always here for you"
She dabbed his forehead some more, and perched herself on the edge of his bed. She wasn't going anywhere.