A/N: See, I promised I would update as soon as I finished writing a chapter! Exciting stuff, right here. Thanks to waterbaby84 for reviewing; I couldn't respond to the review from the link for some reason...by the way, the cliffhanger in this chapter is based on a real-life phenomenon...see if you can figure it out!
~LoverBoyWonder
The Doctor re-entered the TARDIS for what seemed like the millionth or even billionth time. "Doctor," Amy had come out of her room to meet him at the console, "We've been here for almost three hours. What's going on?" "I don't know," the Doctor said, and Amy could tell how frazzled he was from the disheveled state of his hair and the awkward angle of his skewed bowtie. "We continually land here, no matter how many times we leave. There's nothing wrong with the TARDIS, as far as I can tell- she's clean," the Doctor sighed. "But I'm sure I can figure it out. Just give me five more minutes," he added, looking at Amy. "You said that half an hour ago," she pointed out with a roll of her eyes. "Well…" the Doctor, unable to think of an appropriate comeback responded instead with a sneeze.
"Doctor," Amy said, her tone concerned, "Are you alright?" "Alright?" the Doctor looked incredulous. "Of course I'm alright. Why on Earth, or Gallifrey, for that matter; or Raxacoricofallapatorious, or any number of planets, should I not be alright? Why would you think I wasn't alright?" He said this in a rush, the words very nearly tripping over themselves in the race to escape from his mouth. Amy narrowed her eyes and stepped forward, towards the Doctor. He stepped back quickly without looking and fell right off the side of the platform. "Doctor!" Amy cried, rushing to the edge to make sure he was alright.
He was sitting on the floor, legs splayed and arms crossed over his chest like a petulant child. "Yes, yes, I'm fine," he said rather crossly and punctuated the statement with yet another sneeze. "Doctor," Amy said pointedly. "What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?" She walked over and sat on the ground beside him. "Well…now that you mention it, I'm not really feeling myself," he admitted. "But it's probably just dust in the air, or something. I haven't cleaned the TARDIS in a while, you know." Amy smiled a little and reached over to feel his forehead like a mother would do.
"Ouch," she said and snatched her hand away. "You're hot!" The Doctor stuck out his tongue at her. "Now is hardly the time for cheap advances, Pond," he pointed out. "No," Amy said, looking at him with a worried expression. "I mean you're burning up. I think you have a fever." "Ridiculous," the Doctor scoffed. "I never get sick." "Well, I think you are," Amy said with a shrug. "Have the TARDIS check if you don't believe me." "I'm definitely not sick, Pond," the Doctor said decisively. Amy shook her head. "Fine," she said. "If you want chicken soup later, I'm not making it for you." She got up and walked down the hall, closing her bedroom door only a little bit harder than usual.
The Doctor rubbed his throat. "Of course," he said, displeased. "She talks about being sick and now I feel terrible. My dear, you'll just have to prove to that I am perfectly fine," he added, talking to the TARDIS now. He pulled out a medical kit and took a blood sample. While he waited for the TARDIS to analyze the results, he walked to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face, feeling the heat a little more since Amy had brought it up. He shook his head; entertaining silly notions would only make them seem more prominent. The Doctor walked out of the bathroom, knocked on Amy's door and let her know they would be staying overnight and he had cloaked the TARDIS to discourage any passerby from visiting, and then he returned to the bathroom. He sat on the floor for a bit, feeling a bit dizzy, but then it passed and he stood, deciding to take a shower to bring his spirits up.
After he got out of the shower, the Doctor pulled some toothpaste and his toothbrush out of the medicine cabinet to clean his mouth. He was almost done when he opened his mouth and looked into the mirror to make sure he had cleaned thoroughly. Small white circles with blue-gray centers were visible all over the inside of his mouth. The Doctor paled considerably. "Oh no," he whispered, clutching the edge of the porcelain sink with shaking hands.
