A/N: Thanks to those of you bothering to leave a review, they are really appreciated.
Chapter Three.
The next morning Tilly stepped into the control room looking much better. She was smiling happily and poked the Doctor on his shoulder.
"So, we're going to see Queen tonight?" she asked excitedly and the Doctor grinned.
"We sure are," he replied. "Should be great. You feeling okay today?"
"Yeah, sure," Tilly said dismissively. "Just tired last night, that's all."
The Doctor got the feeling that she wasn't being entirely truthful, but he shrugged it off. He had his own secrets and his own reasons for not sharing them.
"Wanna go for a walk?" the Doctor asked, noticing that Tilly still looked quite pale. "You should get some fresh air."
"Doc, I'm fine," she said firmly. The Doctor stared.
"Did you just call me Doc?" he asked incredulously. Tilly giggled.
"It suits you," she said. "But if you don't like it then I won't use it again."
"Good," said the Doctor. "It sounds ridiculous."
Tilly had every intention of calling him Doc from now on.
Tilly followed the Doctor, complaining loudly. He'd finally convinced her to come out for some fresh air and they were now walking down a street, cold wind biting at their faces.
"It's freezing out here," she whined, pulling her coat tighter around herself. "Can we go back now?"
"Nope," said the Doctor, striding forwards energetically. "This cold air is good for the lungs."
Tilly growled angrily and jogged to keep up with the Doctor. Suddenly the Doctor heard something hit the pavement and spun around to see Tilly lying motionless on the ground. The Doctor yelped, hearts hammering in his chest with panic. Several passers-by stopped to watch and the Doctor wished he could be alone so he could think straight.
He dropped to the ground beside Tilly and felt for a pulse. Good, she had a nice strong pulse, a little fast if anything. He checked to see if she was breathing properly and was relieved to see she was. Now he didn't know what to do. Tilly shifted and groaned, her head rolling slightly before her eyelids snapped open.
"Uhh," she moaned, sitting up carefully. "My head..."
"What happened?" the Doctor asked, panicking yet relieved that she was awake.
"Don't worry," she muttered, pulling herself to her feet. "Happens sometimes. More often lately, but I'm fine."
"What d'you mean, it happens sometimes?" the Doctor demanded. "Have you been to a doctor or something?"
"Yes," Tilly said softly. "Just forget it. I can't handle too much at the moment, that's all."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes at her, again getting the feeling that she was hiding something from him. He could tell that there was more to this but she obviously wasn't ready to tell him.
"Can we go back to the TARDIS now?" Tilly whispered and the Doctor nodded immediately. She looked awfully pale and weak.
"Come on, you need to rest up for the concert tonight," he said as he led her slowly back to the TARDIS. She smiled weakly.
Tilly sat in a corner of the TARDIS control room, leaning up against a wall, and the Doctor studied her carefully from a distance. He hadn't realised how thin she was until now. She looked very pale; perhaps she had an eating disorder? He pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and adjusted the settings, directing it at her. She noticed and sat up.
"What's that?" she asked nervously, eyeing the silver object.
"It's a sonic screwdriver," the Doctor explained. "It's got lots of functions, and the one I'm about to use is just a quick medical scan. Just keep still for a sec."
"No!" Tilly yelped, leaping to her feet. "I'm fine. Just drop it, will you?"
She turned and ran to her bedroom, slamming the door and locking it behind her.
"Hmm," the Doctor frowned. "I didn't even know that door had a lock."
He sighed and pocketed the screwdriver, wondering what she was hiding. It had to be an eating disorder, what else would she be hiding that made her so thin and pale? Plus, he hadn't seen her eat very much.
A few hours later Tilly emerged from her room in the TARDIS looking rather guilty.
"I'm sorry for how I reacted before," she said apologetically. "I guess I overreacted."
"Doesn't matter," the Doctor said, though they both knew it did. "We all hide things we don't want others to know. Maybe because we worry what people will think?"
He looked at her meaningfully and she glanced at him in confusion.
"What d'you mean by that?" she asked and the Doctor sighed.
"Do you want to talk about what's wrong with you?" he asked gently. "I noticed you don't eat very much."
"I don't have much of an appetite these days," she answered nonchalantly. "And I'm perfectly fine."
"You are not fine at all," said the Doctor sternly. "You collapsed earlier and you said it was a regular occurrence. You hardly eat, you're skin and bone, you're extremely pale. Are you going to tell me what it is?"
"No, I am not," Tilly said sharply. Her eyes flashed angrily. "You haven't told me anything about you and your life, so why should I tell you anything about me? Besides, you're pretty much a total stranger."
"Yet you still agreed to come with me, even though I'm a total stranger," the Doctor pointed out.
"Yeah well it's not like it matters anymore," Tilly said defiantly. "I'm going to die anyway, doesn't matter if you turn out to be a serial killer or something."
"Don't be so negative!" the Doctor cried. "We all die eventually; you don't need to be so careless though."
"And some die sooner than others."
A/N: Pleeaase review, it only takes a sec!!
