It seemed like Rose was going to stay put. Her minute struggle having proved too much exertion, as she lay, breathing raggedly. The Doctor attached a monitor clip to her finger. It would take a moment to collect the correct reading. The gel packs had slipped away with her writhing, so he re-situated them for her, resisting the urge to stroke her tenderly. He had to be her doctor, not her lover right now.

Noticing how Rose had taken to shivering, he went to the linen cupboard and selected a thin sheet. Despite the trembling of her body and the goosebumps erupting on her flesh, Rose was still too hot. As was clear by the flush to her cheeks, against the rest of her all too pale face. The fever had altered her brain's perception of temperature, in the hypothalamus. It was evident to him, that she wasn't really cold, but he still wanted her to be comfortable. Covering her over with the sheet, to her shoulders, he tucked it under one arm, leaving it exposed for the IV treatment.

He was snapping on a pair of rubber gloves when he became distracted by Rose gagging again. It dismayed him to witness how Rose lacked either the strength or cognition to move from the position on her back. She risked aspiration of her vomit. He was quick to turn her on her side, placing the container to catch the bile. He swiped a latex finger into her mouth, to clear her airway. He really needed to give her that anti-emetic soon.

Distracted again, he glanced at the finger clip, noting her blood's oxygen saturation was rather low. Placing his stethoscope in his ears, he had a listen to her chest sounds. Moving the bell around, under Rose's silk nightie and over the fevered flesh of her her chest and back, he listened with concentration and concern. The Time Lord heard just how quickly Rose's single human heart was beating, matching the monitor's readout. He hoped the electrolytes would help normalise that. Her breathing however, was lacking in depth and she would continue to feel dizzy and perhaps get into other problems, if that didn't resolve. Her heart would be racing faster to try get blood to her brain in a way that would only compound the problem further. No wonder she had passed out. It was unfortunate how humans had not evolved with a respiratory bypass, to counteract these sorts of problems. The med bay was equipped with spare oxygen and The Doctor activated the feed. Turning it on low, to start with, he put a nasal canola around his companion's ears and to flow through nostrils, to provide some gentle assistance, for now.

Pulling the sheet that covered Rose down, the Doctor needed to perform a manual examination of her abdomen. Rose moaned with the draft that came in the fabric's wake. She groaned louder when he put his gloved hands on her already aching belly. The Doctor could feel a lot of rigidity, as her stomach muscles remained in a tight cramp. Apologising, he pressed into her abdomen quite diligently, in order to feel and examine her. Her lungs certainly couldn't expand to their potential, with her abs this tight. She definitely needed a muscle relaxant. He moved the sheet enough to give her nappy a squeeze. It was wet, but he needed to treat her, before giving her a change. She was going to have to lay in a dirty nappy for a bit longer. He rolled the sheet back up again.

After rustling about within the dimensionally transcendental cabinets, he found the equipment and drugs he needed for the IV and blood test. He used his sonic screwdriver to dissolve the electrolyte powder quicker into the bag of chilled solution. The muscle relaxant he decided to use had a light sedation effect that would help her to rest. A stool hardener could potentially aid her as well. He hung the bag of solution on the drip stand, ready. As he wrapped a tourniquet around her arm, he worried about being able to find a stable vein in her current state of dehydration. He pulled the strap quite tight around Rose's bicep, eliciting a moan from her, tugging at the Doctor's hearts.

"It's alright Rose. This is going to help you feel much better," he informed and slid the canola into the best vein he could find. taping it in place. In her extra-sensitive state, Rose howled at the needle's sting, her body writhing on the narrow couch. "Shh, keep still now." He stilled her, with a hand to her shoulder, before taping the bit needle in place. He then reached for the syringe from his tray.

"The cactuses are too prickly, Doctor!" Rose cried to him, with a look of uninhibited fury, her pupils dilated.

"I know, Rose. I know. It's gonna be okay. I'm here." The Doctor accepted her delirious distortion of events for now and went to draw the blood he needed from her.

A new wave of adrenaline had already overtaken Rose though. The monitor emitted a warning, as her heart rate shot up. Rose thrashed on the treatment couch. Although her manner was uncoordinated the movements were surprisingly strong. "Rose!" He tried to reason with her. "Come on, behave. This is getting silly now." Her sickness and delirium had certainly heightened her aversion to needles to no end. He had to grab her quite forcefully this time, as she risked pulling the IV out and that could cause complications.

"Doctor! Where are you?" Rose called out, obliviously, as she brought a kick to his gut.

The Doctor wheezed, as all the wind was suddenly knocked from him. The empty syringe dropped from his grip, landing on the floor with a 'ting'. At least it hadn't contained any drugs. If he'd been accidentally injected, that could have ended very badly for him. The Doctor's bypass took over, while he got air back into his lungs and he checked Rose's stats. Her temperature had elevated again and the cool packs were now on the floor, providing no aid. Her respiration rate had increased again too. She didn't appear like she was going to pass out, continuing to fight. Not that the Doctor wanted her to lose consciousness, but at this point it would make treating her easier. The Doctor needed more hands. He had no other choice and went for the restraints.

He kept a set of leather cuffs, with padded lining, in the med bay for such emergencies, or for during sex. It wasn't a sexual act though, when he pinned her down to cuff her wrists and ankles, attaching them to specifically designed points on the exam couch, but one of medical necessity. Rose growled at him, but there were tears in her eyes. It was a like an added kick to his gut, to see her in such distress.

Picking up the cool packs, he thrust them into to her armpits and between her thighs, where heat was radiating from her. He pressed one to each temple, to try calm and cool her down. Her body contorted again suddenly, but only to throw up. The Doctor caught the vomit in a receptacle, making sure her hair was away from her face. When she finished, she was weakened again and as still as it seemed she would get for now. She was whining though and tugging uselessly on the restraints. "Doctor?" she asked again.

"I'm here, Rose. It's alright. Be still now, there's a good girl." He checked the canola remained in place. There was some bruising from being knocked, but it could still be used. He slid the needle in. Dark venous blood was sucked into a vacuum syringe and deposited into a vial, which The Doctor then capped off. Immediately, he put the glass item into a machine, he had constructed from scratch, during many a sleepless night, for testing medical samples. He made sure it was programmed to 'human' and 'female'.

Needing to begin Rose's intravenous treatment, the Doctor attached some further plastic tubing to the canola in her arm. Drawing up another syringe, with clear liquid this time, he flicked the little glass instrument, to inspect for air bubbles. Satisfied, he positioned it at the tubing's entrance. "This may sting a little and feel quite cold, but that's normal, so don't worry," warned the Doctor, despite Rose's wavering awareness, before flushing the necessary drugs through. Rose's shivering increased at the sensation. The Doctor set about attaching the drip. The medications would help to relieve her pain and discomfort and lower her fever. He squeezed the bag, to quicken the act of re-hydrating her. Checking her temperature again, with the ear probe, the Doctor was worried to see it had risen slightly higher,. Probably for the extra exertion, he told himself. He hoped the treatment would help to bring it down soon.

He wanted to let her rest, but he was still worried and used the cuff monitor to check her blood pressure. She moaned her displeasure at the cuff tightening around her arm. "You're doing well, Rose," He cooed to her. Not happy with the monitor's reading however, he rolled back the sheet, so he could feel her abdomen again. "Just going to check your tummy here, there's a good girl." The muscle relaxant was beginning to do its job and he was able to press in further without hurting her as much. Rose still whined and shifted weakly, trying to swat him with her tied hand. He smiled at her effort, but knew she was very tired and would need a long sleep to recover from this. Thankfully, he could not feel any obvious distension or signs of bleeding.

He moved the sheet again, to check the status of the nappy. It was leaking brown. He crinkled his nose, opening it. She had made quite a mess of her bum. He lifted her enough to pull the soiled thing from under her and dispose of it.

"What are you doing?" Rose slurred, confusedly.

"Just taking care of you, Rose," he assured.

"I'm a big girl," she moaned back at him.

"Yes, you are." The Doctor found amusement in her statement, despite his underlying worries for her. He picked up some wipes and started to clean her butt cheeks, where the feces had run. "You are certainly a big girl, but you've not been well. Let me make you feel all better here. You just rest for me, okay? Take a nap, if you can?"

"Yes, Doctor." This seemed to placate her, but she murmured something else about cacti and also lava, before going quiet again.

The Doctor wiped Rose's anus diligently clean and applied some new gloves, before doing the same for her vulva. She had peed in her nappy too, which wasn't surprising with how ill she had been so far and the effect of the drugs.

While he had her exposed, he took the opportunity to test her temperature again, rectally, to be sure his treatment was helping. He lubricated her wrinkled little opening, that had been abused and burnt by the sickness and slid the metal tip of the glass tube inside her and a bit further, just to be sure. He watched Rose's face, for any signs of pain. Her eyes were closed and she only made a little gurgling sound, that sounded contented if anything. The Doctor was curious what thoughts were going through his companion's sickened mind.

While he waited for the temperature reading, he checked on the blood analysis. Rose's white count proved she was fighting this off. However, her electrolytes were low and inflammation markers up. However, what caught his attention most was a foreign pathogen in her blood. The bacterium was common with a certain type of off-world food poisoning.

The Doctor rubbed his face, sighing. She must have got something dodgy to eat at the market they stopped at yesterday. He'd left her with some credits to do some shopping, while he hunted down a couple of neutron cylinders to correct a fault with the time rotor. The new boots for herself and a scarf for her mum he had known about, as she'd shared her purchase story with him, but he had no idea she had stopped for some dinner.

Human eating schedules were of a confusing nature to him anyway. It was often his companions that had to remind him they needed to pause their next adventure to sit down for a meal. He needed to make a better effort to watch what she was eating, especially in notoriously unhygienic markets on strange planets.

When she was feeling up to it, he'd make her a nice meal himself, that was easy on her stomach. She had probably already lost a substantial amount of weight from the sickness, with her body breaking down fat and other tissues to support her. Rose needed to rest, but she also needed to regain her strength with some nutritious meals.

Pulling the thermometer from Rose's rectum, he saw how brown it looked. Although this was unsurprising, the Doctor thought he could take the opportunity of Rose being unwell like this to deliver her an enema. After she had a rest, he'd have a discussion about it with her. He was pleased to see her temperature had decreased, despite still being feverish.

The Doctor noticed some nappy rash forming. The nappy had been initially slapped on in a hurry, in order to get her to the med bay. Now, Rose's skin was suffering the brunt of that. Deciding to rub a topical healing cream over the affected area, he made sure to wear gloves. This particular product contained salicylic acid and was extremely toxic to him. Dipping a latex-clad hand into the container, he swept up a generous amount. Slathering it over the skin of Rose's pelvis, he lifted her a fraction, to get to her underside and up to the small of her back. He massaged it into her hips and across her waist.

As he moved across her pubis and the trimmed hair there, the Time Lord noticed signs of arousal to his patient's clitoris and some wetness between her labia. Rose was still mostly out of it, but she was definitely having a response to his ministrations. He let his creamed up glove slide over it only once. Now wasn't really the time for that kind of activity. Rose was far too weak and drugged up. He wasn't about to take advantage of her being vulnerable like this. But later? Later they could have their fun.

He smeared ointment gently across her folds too and in the crooks of her thighs, then rubbed into each ass cheek and her anus. His touch was both light and persistent, as he finished coating her bum in the ointment. Not a spot was left unchecked. He finished up with a puff of talcum powder. No nappy rash was going to get the best of Rose Tyler. Certainly not while she was in his care, at least.

Lastly, he wrapped her up in a clean diaper. The bacteria would still be in her system, and although the drugs were providing some relief and her body was fighting it, Rose remained symptomatic. She would continue to quickly produce waste in order to empty herself of the harmful bacteria. He knew exactly what was ailing her now though and could provide her with some more targeted medication.

While Rose slept, the Doctor set about concocting a remedy. He first had to isolate the bacteria from her hemoglobin. A simple task for his scientific mind. He then kept the bacteria in an agar plate, to support the it's growth. He took the tourniquet and strapped it around his arm. It wasn't safe to transfuse Rose's blood directly, but he could inject himself with the isolated bacteria. His body would quickly produce advanced antibodies that he could use to produce Rose's cure. The whole process took him just under half an hour. He then was able to inject the remedy it into Rose's drip reservoir, so as not to disturb his patient at all. He used another line to take more blood for testing. He did so, probably a few more times than necessary, over the next few hours. He justified that it was only a little bit of blood he needed and he was anxious to see that she was improving with the treatment.

The relaxation of her muscles, from the drug he had given her, allowed the watery stool to passively run into her diaper. Because of this, he had to change them regularly, as they filled, to keep her fresh and comfortable. Using these opportunities, he checked her temperature rectally, pleased that it continued to come down. Rose stirred a little each time she was wiped, changed and had her temperature taken. The Doctor just cooed to her encouragingly, saying how good she was being, letting him take care of her like this. Each time, she seemed slightly more alert though and less patient with the ordeal. He was happy, to get this response. It meant the Rose he knew and loved was coming back to him, bit by bit. Her colour was improving too—much less pale. The fevered flush that had worried his old hearts was gradually dissipating. He decided it was safe now to remove the restraints. He unbuckled her wrists and ankles, freeing up her limbs. Rose used the new found freedom of her limbs to turn over a bit and curl up on the treatment couch. The Doctor was especially pleased when she woke up enough to ask him for something to eat.

"Oh yes," he exclaimed. "You most certainly can. It'll have to be something easy on your stomach to start with. I bet its shrunk to the size of a thimble in there now and feeling quite fragile. How about some soup, or I can purée something for you?"

"Anything. Just please not chili," Rose insisted.

"No, that's not the best food for a recovering stomach," he concluded. Then it struck him, that that was what the first puddle of sick in Rose's bedroom had looked suspiciously like. (He would have to clean that up at some point.) He quirked an eyebrow curiously at her. "Is that what you bought for yourself to eat at the market yesterday?"

"Uh huh."

"Definitely not chili then," he chuckled and planted a kiss to her forehead. Rose screwed her face up, embarrassed that he would even want to do that, while she felt so manky.

"Can I have a bath afterward?" she asked.

"Certainly Rose. I can only prescribe such relaxing activities for the next couple of days and nothing strenuous at all. Certainly no hopping for your life, is that understood?" She nodded, but was still feeling too washed out to placate his sense of humour. "Rest. I'll get you something to eat."

The Doctor went to the ship's galley and prepared a range of vitamin rich vegetables collected from earth and other planets too, for Rose, to aid her recovery and also beef, because he knew her people enjoyed that and she'd need the protein. The TARDIS cooked the food quickly, but well and the Doctor blended the food up into a purée. He put a finger in and tasted it. It wasn't bad.

"It looks like baby food," Rose turned her nose up at the mash, when she saw it.

"You did say anything but chili would be okay."

"Ugh, please stop mentioning chili." Rose stopped him, her complexion greening at the edges. "Or anything Mexican for that matter."

"Sorry, fair enough. And Rose, it may look like baby food, but you are wearing a diaper," he pointed out.

"Yeah, can I take this off now?" she requested, irritated.

"Let's see how you do with some food in you, over the next few hours first," was the Doctor's condition. Rose seemed to accept this, nodding, even if it was out of some form of resignation. "Now open wide and say ah." He offered her a spoonful of the blended vegetable and beef medley, winking, cheekily. "Here comes the airplane." She scowled at him, but took a mouthful. It wasn't bad and she let him feed her like that, until she had enough and was ready for another nap.

The Doctor didn't deny Rose's request for sleep, but not before he checked her over again. While she was reasonably awake and alert, he was able to better monitor her responses. He was relieved to hear her chest sounded much more normal, matching the rest of her vitals. He tested her reflexes with his little rubber mallet and they were slightly subdued, inline with the rest of her. She was just suffering from fatigue now, more than anything else. Her fever was still up a bit a smidgen however, so she got her to drink the aspirin. He no longer had the drip running for her, but he had left the canola in. He was confident though, as he took another vial from her, this blood test should reveal her body had finally won the battle.

There was no reason really that she couldn't sleep back in her own room now, if she wanted to, except there was a still a mess in there and that wouldn't smell very nice. Tucking the sheet around her, the Doctor made sure his companion was comfortable to sleep again. Content to leave her on her own, he got the TARDIS to turn the med bay lights right down. He put his white coat on its hook and left to clean and freshen up her room for her. Rose could then have a bath in her own, freshly cleaned, en-suite, when she woke again. With help from the TARDIS, it wouldn't take long to clean up the mess.