A/N - So I was going to get this to you yesterday, but I've been feeling pretty yuck and my internet died on me last night as I was just about to post it. Anyway, I'm feeling better now, so have this.
Since I'm currently at sea the internet is intermittent at best, so if I haven't been able to reply to your reviews I am truly sorry but there's nothing I can do. Have your love now. I love you. Thank you. You are ace.
Also, thank you to the crazy people who have put me on alert and whatever, you're very kind.
DISCLAIMER: Nope, still don't own. Check back later.
Amy Pond was no doctor, but she didn't need a degree in medicine to tell her that nosebleeds and passing out wasn't a good sign for anyone, human or Time Lord. As she heaved the Doctor into a sitting position, pinching his nose and trying to ignore the blood on her hands, she replayed the past half hour in her head. She knew he'd tried to block out most of the pain for the TARDIS, and she supposed he must have succeeded, because the ship did indeed seem much happier. However, that meant that he was taking the full force of whatever it was - by now she had assumed it was some kind of virus - and that couldn't possibly have been good for him.
His nose had stopped bleeding by now and she shook him gently by the shoulder, trying to wake him up. "Doctor. Oi, wake up."
He did nothing but sigh and shift slightly, and Amy could only assume that he had fallen asleep. Hoping that he wouldn't wake up while she was gone, she disappeared into the kitchen and returned several minutes later with a thermos of tea and a large bar of Cadbury's chocolate, then sat down cross-legged in front of him, waiting for him to wake up.
It took perhaps another ten minutes for the Doctor to come round again. Amy smiled as he muttered something that sounded like a curse and opened his eyes.
"Hello," Amy said, and before he could say another word, she shoved a piece of chocolate into his mouth. He frowned questioningly at her as she handed him a steaming mug of tea, swallowed, and then spoke again.
"And why are you shoving things into my mouth now?" he said.
"Tea and Cadbury's," Amy explained. "It always makes me feel a bit better."
"Thank you," he smiled, and accepted another piece of chocolate. He knew it wouldn't have any effect on the Something that had invaded his TARDIS, but he had to admit that it was making him feel just a little bit better. Aside from that, it was making Amy feel better, too - he knew she'd been feeling pretty useless, and he didn't want that.
He drained his mug of tea and jumped to his feet, feeling much better. He couldn't quite explain it, but there was something very comforting about sharing tea and chocolate with your best friend. He pulled Amy into a hug, trying to put a lot of unsaid things into it, then pulled back and kissed her forehead lightly, smiling.
"Anyway," he said, rubbing his hands together and reaching for the contraption he had made earlier. "Better get back to it." He began to wind the handle and the lights flashed again.
"What is that thing?" Amy said, watching the Doctor as he simultaneously wound the handle, plugged a lead into the console and pushed his hair back out of his eyes and feeling certain that he must be hiding an extra hand somewhere.
"This?" the Doctor said, holding up the whatever-it-was. "Undetectable Detector. Brilliant piece of kit, even if I say so myself."
"Undetectable Detector…" Amy said slowly, frowning.
"Yeah," the Doctor said, winding the handle furiously again. "In theory, I should be able to detect whatever has got into the TARDIS without it detecting me. Pretty cool, huh?""Cool. Yeah, let's go with that," Amy grinned. "You want me to wind that thing for you?"
The Doctor shook his head. "Absolutely not. If this virus thing does detect the Undetectable Detector, it might think you're me, and then we really are in trouble."
"Why? What's it gonna do to me?" Amy asked curiously.
"As far as I can tell, it would mess with your head," the Doctor said, not quite meeting her eyes.
"Would it be as bad as you've had it?" Amy pressed, feeling certain that he wasn't telling her everything.
"It's hard to say." the Doctor kept his eyes on the console, refusing to look at her.
"Shut up lying and tell me the truth," Amy folded her arms and fixed him with a stare that would have sent many a courageous man running for the hills. The Doctor opened his mouth to deliver a quick lie, and faltered under her piercing gaze.
"No, it wouldn't be half as bad," he said, and then went on to explain without pausing so that she couldn't interrupt. "Humans have next to nothing in their telepathic cortex - that's an area in your brain, by the way. Used to take up rather a lot of space in your brain; now it's about as useful as your tonsils. The telepathic cortex is never used unless it's disturbed by something, like another telepathic being, for instance."
"So why can't I -"
"Amy, I'm not going to let anything mess with your head. Ever. And I'm certainly not going to let you sit through who knows how much pain instead of me." The Doctor turned back to the console without another word, and Amy knew it would be useless to argue any further. That didn't stop her from being angry with him, however, and she watched him from one of the chairs as he worked, arms folded and legs crossed.
Neither of them spoke for a while, and it was the Doctor who broke the silence, throwing the Undetectable Detector unceremoniously onto the console and shutting his eyes tightly against a wave of pain.
"No, no, no!" he yelled, kicking the console viciously and achieving nothing but a sore foot. Amy looked up to see him hopping around on one foot, cursing loudly and clearly fighting off another headache.
"What's wrong?" she said.
"This thing is attacking me again," he said distractedly, and slapped himself around the face as he almost passed out again. No, said a small but fierce voice at the back of his mind. No. There's been quite enough of that today. Shut up. Open your eyes. Get on with it. You're never going to get rid of this thing unless you work on it and you are not passing out again, not now, not ever.
His eyes snapped open again and he grabbed his invention, winding the handle furiously and ignoring the pain. Come on, come on, you can do this. Almost there. His knees buckled and he met the floor rather harder than he would have liked, but kept the handle turning just as quickly nonetheless.
Amy leapt up from her seat as soon as he fell and crouched beside him, ready to do anything she could to help.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Turns out the Undetectable Detector is quite so undetectable," he said shortly, concentrating on staying conscious.
"What are you going to do about it?" Amy said.
"Nothing I can do except going. I think this is going to hurt, and I need to keep turning this handle no matter what. You use any means necessary to keep me awake," the Doctor said fiercely, fire burning behind his eyes. "I am getting rid of this thing and I am getting rid of it now. Got it?"
A/N - If you have never had tea and Cadbury's I strongly suggest you abandon whatever it is you are doing and try it. It is beautiful.
Reviews are love and love is brilliant. :)