Hi guys! So, I lied... I finished this part early, and thought I'd post :) HUGE thanks to imsuchanut for being my only reviewer, and all you other wonderful people for favouriting and following! You have no idea how much I appreciate it :D This bit was insanely fun to write, so I hope you all enjoy!

Again, big thanks to my Beta: Remie Weasley.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Doctor Who.


It wasn't until four hours later that Rose heard from him again. The young woman had been sleeping peacefully when the creak of the bedroom door dragged her from her slumber. Eyes immediately opening, the blonde felt her body tense on high alert: It was rare that the Doctor came into her room at all… Let alone in the middle of the night.

"Rose?" he croaked. He sounded awful.

"Yeah, 'm here. What's wrong?" She sat up and blinked in the darkness, just barely making out his shape: a bulky, swaddled outline near the door.

The Doctor shuffled forwards pathetically, sneezing loudly as he did. Rose nearly jumped five feet in the air. "I think... I think I might be sick."

"Might be?"

He coughed again, rasping out a: "Maybe."

She was torn between feeling sorry for him, and wanting to smirk in triumph. She chose the former. "How d'you feel? Nauseous?"

"No," he murmured pathetically, blanket-covered hands cradling his head. "I just hurt. 'M cold."

The young woman immediately moved aside, all retributional thoughts gone as she pulled the covers open, beckoning to him. "C'mere."

He was beside her in a flash, climbing out of his portable cocoon and into bed with her in an instant. The alien cuddled into her quickly, sighing when Rose wrapped her body around him. She was warm. Oh so very nice and warm.

He was sweaty.

Concerned, the blonde pressed her lips to the Doctor's forehead, frowning when she felt how unnaturally heated his skin felt. "Rose..."

"What d'you need?" she asked seriously, a hand running through his hair.

He didn't answer her, instead groaning into her skin as the blonde struggled to see him clearly in the dark. "Doctor, talk to me," she murmured lowly, fingers brushing through the damp strands at his nape in what she hoped was a soothing manner.

He whimpered, pressing his head into her hand in a positive gesture before fixing his eyes on hers almost unnervingly in the blackness. "Hurts."

"Where?" she asked softly. "Where's it hurt?"

"Don't leave me alone."

"No, of course not," she murmured delicately. "I'll be right here the whole time. Forever, remember? I'm never leaving you… Where do you hurt, Doctor?"

"Good," he replied, voice small. "Golden and sunshine and always."

There was something seriously wrong. She needed to see him.

"Yes… Doctor? I'm going to turn on the light, all right?" Reaching over, the young woman flipped the switch on the bedside lamp, grimacing when the Doctor dug his fingers into her skin painfully at the brightness. He moaned in agony, tensing unbearably in her arms before Rose flipped the switch again, leaving them in utter blackness. He slowly unwound himself from her, shaking and sweating more than ever. "N-No more, Rose. Please."

Her heart broke for him as she ran her hands over him softly, cooing: "No, no more. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I promise, no more…" Rose pressed a kiss to his forehead, mind racing. She needed to see if there was anything physically wrong with him. Untangling herself from the sick Time Lord, Rose grabbed a blanket from the edge of her bed and threw it over the lamp, turning on the light. "That okay?"

"Cold," he whimpered, sitting up. "'S cold."

He had blue dots all over him. They looked a lot like chicken pox, but they had a shiny film over them and they were blue. What if this was serious? What if he needed a doctor? Was there even a doctor who could treat him? Could she fly the TARDIS to one? She had no idea how to help him, could she give him something from the medbay?

What was wrong with him?

Taking his face in her hands, Rose funneled his complete attention to her, brows knitting together when his hands clutched at her shirt like a lifeline. His eyes were quite literally clouded and she could barely tell if they were focused. Rose felt her heart jump up to her throat, her entire body tingling in panic. She was completely over her head. Completely. And whatever this was… it seemed serious.

"Doctor," she said softly, "you need to tell me what's wrong. I can't help you unless you tell me. Where's it hurt?"

He frowned, very obviously trying to understand both the question and what was going on. "Hurts? Where?"

She felt like crying.

Rose raised her voice, needing to get through to him. He was delirious. "Doctor, you need to tell me-"

He yelped at the change in volume, holding her tightly and shaking his head violently. "Please," he whimpered, "no more ring-ring-ringing."

She bit her lip. Okay, not so loud then. "Is it dangerous, this illness?" Rose whispered. "Will you be alright?"

But he had turned a very pale shade of green and had closed his eyes, groaning as he let go of her and clutched his stomach. "Not good. No, no, no, not good."

She barely had time to reach for the wastebasket by her bedside before he was vomiting.

Her heart went out to him and the young woman rubbed his back soothingly, murmuring soft words of reassurance as he expelled the contents of his stomach, his muscles spasming to upheave bile towards the end. With every retch he'd look at her, brow furrowed like he needed to tell her something important before he'd be right back where he started.

Rose Tyler needed a plan. I mean, this was obviously more than the common cold. But what could she do? Anti-inflammatory drugs for the fever; that was a start, though she'd have to wait until his stomach truly settled. And those dots on his skin, they reminded her of chickenpox… A bath might be in order when he stopped vomiting, and that could also possibly bring down his fever. He was saying he hurt… maybe it was an aching hurt? She could always try giving him massages or something, and see how that would go. She'd also need to keep him hydrated.

Biting her lip, the young woman racked her brain for other things her mother would do when she was particularly ill. When she had the chickenpox they had just waited it out, there had been nothing to be done about it… Wasn't there some sort of evolved quick fix to this?

He was scaring her.

Closing his eyes, the Doctor leaned his head on the side of the bin, hacking a cough. Pathetically, the alien looked over at his companion, sighing when she resumed rubbing his back. "Better?" she asked softly. He looked woozy, brows furrowing as if he was trying to understand. Rose continued: "You're burning up. Once you finish here we're gonna take a bath, yeah? You'll be all right."

He had stopped vomiting about a half hour later, but was wide awake and warm as ever. Rose pressed her lips to his forehead, heart sinking when she felt his boiling skin. "I'm gonna go run a bath, okay Doctor?"

He paused and she tried to let the information sink in, knowing that it wouldn't do any good anyway. He, however, understood the moment she got up from bed. Reaching out, the Doctor clutched at her tightly. "You can't!" he gasped. "You p-promised you'd never go!"

Rose's heart broke in two. "I'll be right back," she promised, "I just need to run you a bath."

She didn't wait for his reply before jumping out of bed. She ignored the whimpers that came from her companion, his small groans tearing at her heartstrings. She ran back as fast as she could, amazed at how quickly he tucked himself into her side, rubbing up against her skin. He immediately relaxed upon contact, murmuring something about warmth and sunshine. Carefully, Rose then managed to help him up and out of bed, the Doctor blinking at her blearily in confusion. "Bath time," she smiled. "Come on."

"W-Where?" his teeth chattered.

Rose wrapped a blanket around the both of them, shuffling along with him until they reached the dimly lit bathroom. Upon seeing the filling tub, the Doctor's face lit up in the dim, his sneeze immediately after making him all the more adorable. "A b-bath!" he chattered gleefully. "Oh, this is brilliant!"

Rose looked on in a sort of anxiety-ridden amusement as the Time Lord shuffled toward the tub, taking the blanket with him. He was just about to step into the water when he realized that he was still swaddled. Rose turned as he dropped the blanket, thinking him safe for the moment as she reached for a fresh towel.

Upon turning back, Rose was greeted with the sight of the Doctor's bare bottom as he leaned forward, trying to take off his pants. "Doctor, what- Put your pants back on!" He cringed at the noise as her hands immediately came to cover her face, unable to resist peaking out between her fingers.

He was delirious anyway, right?

By this point, the alien had turned back to look at her, frowning adorably. "Rose?"

Oh, he was fit; all lean and hard angles. The woman in question squeaked out a reply, again asking him to put his pants on. But Sick Doctor was not having it. In fact, she doubted the daft man even heard a word she said; he was so out of it. So, he did what anyone would do in that situation… He went to Rose, stark naked, and moved her hands, looking as confused as ever. "W-What's wrong?" His skin had goose-pimpled and the blonde was using all the self-control she possessed to keep her eyes on his face and shoulders. She rubbed her hands up and down his arms, being careful not to put too much pressure and irritate his spotted skin. "You need to put your pants back on, Doctor."

"Pants." He sighed, leaning into her. "I like pants."

By this time, the Time Lord was all pressed up against her, naked as the day he was born. Rose was trying very hard not to get distracted. Up until now, Naked Doctor had been someone reserved for her dreams… Never mind 'Naked Doctor Pressed Up Against Rose Tyler'. "I do, too." She responded, happy that he was at least seeming to understand what she was saying. "Right, back on they go-"

"But they're cold," he replied, looking at her seriously. "No. No pants. Just me and Sunshine Rose."

"Doctor-"

"And also, it's okay that I am technically naked. Because I think that us naked is a good idea. Don't you?"

"I-"

He nuzzled into her shoulder, arms moving to wrap around her waist as he shivered… Or was that her? "Clothes are all cold." A hand snaked under her shirt.

Rose momentarily forgot how to breathe. "Right," she gasped. "Come on."

The young woman was surprisingly good about keeping her eyes up as she carefully helped her companion get into the bath. He yelped at the cold and immediately clutched to her again, shaking his head. "No, no, no, Rose. Too c-c-cold."

She pressed her forehead to his, cupping his cheek as she looked at him. Her Doctor: Sick as a dog. "I need to bring down your fever," she explained. "And I can't give you any medicine because you threw up a little while ago."

He seemed to accept this, so Rose made to step out of the tub, almost falling over when the Doctor grabbed her again, dragging her back and nearly toppling them both over. "Where are you going?!"

"I'm just gonna wait with you outside the bath."

"No, you have to be in with me."

"Doctor-"

"I need support."

She frowned. "Sorry?"

"Support! I need… Oh, I don't feel so good."

She had brought a bin close to the tub just in case and reached back for it, handing it to the Doctor quickly. He took one look at the thing before pushing it away. "What's that for?"

"I thought you didn't feel good."

"I don't?"

And they were right back to square one. Biting her lip, the young woman sat down behind her Time Lord companion, hugging him as he shivered again. His hands suddenly reached back, attempting to push away her clothes. "To cold," he muttered. "No more cold."

As soon as a hand rested on her skin he sighed in contentment.

"Of course," she breathed, understanding. "I'm such an idiot! You feel better when you touch my skin." Her clothes were off in a flash; a soggy pile on the bathroom floor as she wrapped herself around her Doctor, both parties completely naked. Rose didn't have time to feel nervous or uncomfortable, she was much too preoccupied with worrying about him. Her fears were somewhat quelled, however, when the Time Lord leaned back, pressing himself flush against her with a sigh. "Beautiful, barmy and beautacious bold, basking in golden from my Sunshine Rose."

She couldn't help the smile that broke across her face, and boldly pressed her lips to his shoulder blade as he babbled on. He nodded at her action and continued, gesticulating with his hands in the telling of some story that made no sense. "You're mad," she murmured fondly.

"Mad as a hat." He nodded at her sagely, "Hat on a hatter. Hatter in a box. Big blue box with a little pink Rose! Care for some tea, Alice?"

"Maybe later."

At that the Doctor turned, sloshing the water about as he pressed himself awkwardly into her, torso contorted so he could hug her. "Why don't we do this all the time?" he asked, breathing in at her neck. "All the touch-touch-touching." Her voice caught as she floundered, trying to speak. "Or have we?" he continued, a hand now tangled in her hair, "Rose, Rose, Rose… We do it all the time. It, I mean. Every day and every place. But don't tell her. She might think it's gross." His head cocked to the side as he looked at her, frowning adorably. "Do you think it's gross?" his brows raised as he looked up at the ceiling. "Because I don't. I think it's brilliant."

"I-"

"Is that a miniature Dunderwhale?"

"…What?"

"A miniature Dunder-dundee-Crocodile Dundee! Oh, that Steve Irwin, what a bloke, eh? Went with all the al-alligators and croc-cocodiles." He paused then, looking at her eyes intensely. Her own eyes widened as she stared at him, alarmed. "Doctor…?"

He whistled lowly. "You have beautiful eyes. Green and not green and other… what else is colourful?" He thought for a moment before shrugging and starting to move out of the tub, reaching forward Rose stopped him, and the Doctor turned to look at her pathetically: "Too cold, Rose."

She ran a hand through his hair, stopping to feel the back of his neck and his forehead. He was still much too warm. "Just a tick longer, yeah Doctor?" She began to run her hands over his back and shoulders in soft motions, blushing when she heard him groan at the action. "Nice," he sighed. "That's nice."

They stayed like that for ages until Rose's body temperature dropped so far she feared frostbite, but it was thankfully around that time when the Doctor's fever broke. She could tell because not only was he at a more normal temperature, but he began slumping against her, exhausted.

He was crashing.

Rose Tyler thanked her lucky stars and clumsily helped the alien out of the tub, swaddling him in a towel as he swayed on his feet, touching her innocently; just to remind himself she was there. It felt strangely intimate, being touched like that… and not because they were nude. There was something about the Doctor needing her, about him being affectionate towards her that made Rose's heart want to burst.

Getting him into some fresh pants, the blonde helped her Time Lord into bed, pulling on an oversized shirt and a fresh pair of knickers herself before joining him. Again, he wrapped an arm around her, falling asleep almost immediately after. Rose took the opportunity to run her fingers through his wet fringe, brow furrowed anxiously as her eyes raked over his face. He was scaring her; not in the way that he sometimes did when he got dark and brooding and dangerous, but in a way that made her feel completely helpless and lost.

She had no idea what to do. Biting her lip, the blonde blinked back tears, refusing to cry. She wasn't ready for him to go. Not when she barely knew him. Not when there was so much more they wanted to do together… But there was nothing to cry about. He was fine. He'd be fine. Besides, crying wouldn't help anyone anyway. Rose took a deep breath, fingers brushing the shell of his ear. He looked so peaceful here. Even in those rare moments she'd seen him sleep, he'd looked troubled, plagued, at war with himself.

But here the Doctor looked serene. Innocent. He looked so young.

He'd always been so guarded, even around her, perhaps sometimes especially around her… but now he was completely open. Laid bare. Rose desperately wanted to take advantage. Sighing, the young woman pressed her forehead against his, almost jumping when her mind was immediately assaulted by image and sound. It was a beautiful place, with shining silver buildings and red grass… white-capped mountains and the sky, oh that sky. All different hues of red and orange and yellow with two large big balls of light hanging just above a big glass dome. The city. The Citadel. Gallifrey. Home.

And there was a song. A sad song that filled up her entire being and made her want to cry. Swallowing thickly, the young woman pressed her lips to her companion's cheek, gasping when the images and sound cut off abruptly.

She'd been inside the Doctor's mind. With him sick, all his defenses were down… he really was laid completely bare before her. And she had just invaded his privacy.

Burying her face in his neck, Rose squeezed her eyes shut. She'd have to be more careful in the ways she touched him henceforth. "Please be all right," she breathed, "please."