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The Doctor walked back to the TARDIS, hands thrust into his pockets as he meandered slowly in the cool night air. He had left Rose longer than he planned to (precisely 1 hour, 34 minutes and 20 seconds) but it seemed that each time he had tried to get away, someone else had come along to thank and say good bye. He hadn't felt right about leaving Rose; she had said that she was fine but he didn't quite believe her. He had found her vomiting profusely and she had barely seemed able to walk. But Rose had insisted that she was okay so he left it. Perhaps her stomach just couldn't take the alien cuisine they'd had earlier. Human digestive systems were rather feeble and often didn't take to alien food. Rose seemed to handle it well but even she had had stomach issues a few times over their travels.

The Doctor walked into the TARDIS and immediately felt a wave of concern come over him from his ship. The Doctor's stomach twisted as he began to worry about the immediate and overwhelming concern she directed at him, knowing there was only one reason for her to be basically screaming at him.

The Doctor walked down the hallway quickly towards Roses room. His hearts were beating quickly and he found that they stopped when she finally came in sight.

Rose was lying on the floor of the hallway, having almost made it to her bedroom before passing out. The Doctor knelt down beside Rose, immediately assessing her. He cradled her head in his lap, instantly concerned. Roses face was deathly pale and covered in sweat. He felt her forehead and found it was burning like a fire. He tried to shake her awake, but of course, she didn't wake.

Rose was obviously very sick and probably had been for awhile. He inwardly chided himself for not noticing.

The Doctor put his arms under Rose and lifted her up into his arms, carrying her into the infirmary. He laid her on the table and immediately began to scan her for the answer to what was wreaking havoc in her body. Alarm rose in him when he noticed she was not only very dehydrated but her temperature was at a dangerous 40 degrees. Before he could do anything else, he had to address these two serious concerns. He made quick work of getting an IV in Rose's arm that would not only hydrate her but had a fever reducer in it as well. She was out cold and he had no idea of knowing when she would be awake to take anything by mouth. He hoped she would be awake soon but he couldn't take that chance.

He took Rose's jacket off of her and the heavy jumper she had on, leaving her in a thin tank top to help her cool down. Her clothes were covered in sweat and the Doctor suddenly felt consumed with guilt. He should have stayed with her despite the fact that she had said she was fine. He cringed when he thought about how long she might have been laying on the floor unconscious.

The Doctor shook his guilt off as he sprung back into action; guilt would do Rose no good now. What she needed from him now was for him to be her doctor, in the literal sense of the word. With the IV delivering her much needed medication and fluids, the Doctor began to scan her more extensively for the virus or bacteria that was responsible for these symptoms. It didn't take much of an investigation for him to find the cause. Her body was wracked with the Skuparian Flu; her blood was completely flooded with the pathogen. The Doctor shook his head; they had visited Skupar about two weeks ago, helping the primitive people who were just discovering their ability of space travel. The flu wasn't something that was normally very serious, but left untreated it become serious. It normally just manifested human flu symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue and low grade fever. But if left untreated it could cause temperatures to go into the deadly range and could even go to the brain, causing hallucinations and brain damage. By the looks of Rose's symptoms, she had been feeling the normal symptoms for quite some time now. She had done a good job of hiding it from him, though he was not sure why she would want to hide from him. He could have helped her; she shouldn't have had to suffer. He thought of all the running around they had done for the past two weeks and felt guilty; she should have been in bed, letting him help her get well.

But the good news was that Skuparian Flu was relatively easy to treat; the Doctor rushed over to his medicine cabinet and located the correct remedy. The cure for the flu was made from a plant that actually cured many illnesses on several planets and the Doctor was glad that he had some on hand. He filled a syringe with a double dose of the remedy and injected it into Rose, giving her a boost to her healing. He hated that he hadn't know she was sick but now that he did, he would do everything that he could to make her well again.

When Rose's temperature had reduced so that it was no longer life threatening and she had gotten a good dose of fluids, the Doctor lifted her and carried her back to her room. She hadn't woke yet, but she was stirring and when she woke, he wanted her to be in her own bed. He carried her to her room, laying her on top of the covers. She shivered a little in her sleep and while she would want to be under the covers, she didn't need to get too hot; her temperature still had a long way to go down until it was in the healthy range. The Doctor took off Rose's shoes to make her more comfortable and paused as he moved toward the rest of her clothes. A blush came to his cheeks completely unbidden; her jeans and tank top were covered in sweat, causing her to shiver more. Besides, he wanted her to comfortable when she woke up. It was, however, something that crossed a line he had made when it came to Rose. He remained frozen for a few minutes thinking about having to change her clothes. He shook his head and pushed back his straying thoughts. Before he could think more about it, he grabbed a pair of her pyjamas and changed her out of her damp clothes, keeping his eyes closed as much as he could for her privacy.

When Rose was comfortably in her pyjamas, the Doctor got a thin throw from the end of the bed and draped it on Rose from the waist down to keep her warm but not too warm. She moved a little as he sat on the bed beside her and he hoped she would soon open her eyes; though he knew he was doing all he could for her and she would be out of the woods now that he had caught the virus in time, he still wanted nothing more than for her to show him she was alright.

The Doctor leaned against the headboard of the bed and scooted close to Rose. He took a wet washcloth and began to dot along Rose's forehead and cheeks which still burned red from heat. Rose stirred in her sleep and her hand drifted toward him in her sleep. It fell against the Doctor's leg as her face tilted toward him. She looked peaceful...so peaceful. The Doctor brushed her hair out of her face and gazed down at her. Why hadn't he ever seen her like this before? Sleeping, peaceful and completely open?

He was sure she was still asleep and so he allowed himself the chance to do something he never would while she was awake. He lifted her outstretched hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips with a feather light touch. "Sleep well, Rose. My Rose" he whispered to her, settling himself down beside her for the long haul.