The Doctor grimaced as he stretched in the bed, fighting to wake up. He ached all over, feeling more like he had run a marathon, than had a restful night's sleep. He was cold. The covers were gone, on the floor most likely. Only a lone sheet had somehow survived the eviction. It had twisted itself uncomfortably around his leg.

He rubbed the grit out of his eyes and sat up to remove the offending linen. As he did so, his ankle rubbed across the brocade of the bare mattress. The sheet around his leg had apparently started out as the bottom one. He sighed as he untangled it in the faint light provided by the curtained windows.

What had caused him to have such a restless night he had no idea. He uncharacteristically could remember none of his dreams from the night before. That fact disturbed him, but the discomfiture was overwhelmed by a sense of relief. Judging by the condition of the bed and the thick sticky layer of dried sweat that covered his body, he really didn't want to know what had been the cause of his nocturnal exertions. There were some things the subconscious mind came up with that the conscious mind should never have to endure.

When he swung his legs over the side, he found his feet buried in the discarded bedclothes, which were piled like a snow drift next to the bed. Wearily he shoved them to one side with his foot and turned on the light, which stood on the nightstand. His hair felt tacky and stiff as he ran his hand through it while he surveyed the damage. Nothing was broken, so the first order of business was obvious, take a shower and get cleaned up. If sweaty Time Lords smelled to humans, anything like sweaty humans did to Time Lords, he must be absolutely reeking right now.

He gave his spine a twist and cracked his neck, before he stood up to make his way to the en suite. There the bright lights assaulted his eyes causing him to flinch and blink from the discomfort. The cold floor on his bare feet made him seek the small thick towel that served as a temporary rug in hotels to protect them. Prudently he turned on the shower to give the water a chance to warm up, not wanting to add a chilling blast of cold water to his list of complaints. His pajamas made a faint crackling sound as he disgustedly peeled them off his body. Three of the buttons were missing. He shook his head at the discovery. It had truly been a very rough night.

The warm water welcomed him as he stepped into the shower. Using the shampoo Ianto had provided, he massaged his scalp, working the thick lather into his hair. It had a clean fresh scent, not flowery at all and rinsed out cleanly. He tilted his head back and gave it a shake under the flow of the shower to make sure none remained

The soap was smooth on one side with small raised bumps on the other that stimulated his muscles as he rubbed his body with it, producing a light slippery foam. He enjoyed the sensation of the sweat being dissolved, then washed away by the spray of the shower, leaving behind nothing but clean skin. The difference in sensation between what was clean and what wasn't was amazing. As if the sweat had been suffocating his skin and once removed, it was breathing in fresh clean air.

He set the shower head to a massage, causing the warm water to beat on his body, easing his aching muscles. Soon he was clean, relaxed and almost sleepy. He briefly wondered if he could just tell Jack he wanted to spend the day here. He laughed at himself as he realized, his first day on the job so to speak and already he wanted to call in sick.

Reluctantly he stepped out of the comfort of the shower and toweled himself off. The hotel had provided a terry cloth robe, which he put on letting it absorb some of the moisture the towel had missed. He shaved carefully not wanting a sloppy job to give Jack yet another reason to comment on his condition. When he finished he rubbed his jaw and neck. "Nice and smooth," he thought as he surveyed his handy work in the mirror, tilting his head as he checked different angles. He finger combed his damp hair drawing the top section forward so it almost stuck out like a shelf. Satisfied for the moment, he returned to the bedroom.

He picked the quilt up off the floor, spread it on the bed and laid down, folding his hands behind his head. He was enjoying the feeling of relaxation the shower had brought him and wanted to hold on to it a little longer. His breathing slowed as he lay there. Long, deep, full, breaths, the sharp, clean smell of the soap and the soft warmth of the robe adding to his comfort.

He found himself starting to doze off and jolted himself awake. He was still tired. The night's sleep hadn't done much to fix that. But he really didn't want to sleep now. Raising his arms over his head, he stretched the entire length of his body before he sat up. This time when he left the bed, though he was still fatigued, he wasn't bleary eyed and aching. It was as if he had a new fresh start to his day.

In the closet was a clean shirt that Ianto had provided, a light blue silk cotton bend that fitted him perfectly and was excellently made. The material was slick without being shiny and slid sensuously against his skin as he put it on. The seams were so fine he couldn't feel them. The cuffs and collar just the right amount of crispness without being scratchy or irritating. He smiled. The young man's taste was impeccable.

He slowly put on the blue suit as he thought about spending the morning at Torchwood. Going through Torchwood's junk pile should be an interesting diversion. It was having to interact with people that he dreaded. He didn't feel up to being social. Hopefully they would leave him alone while he worked. If they were short handed, they must have something more important to do than baby sit him.

Fully dressed, he went over to the bedroom window and opened the curtains revealing a grey and dreary day. Droplets on the window indicated it was drizzling outside. He watched as one droplet fell down the window, leaving a behind a trail of glistening water, growing larger and falling faster as it merged with other drops. He stopped his reverie with a deep sigh. He was procrastinating. It was time to get going before Jack sent someone to fetch him. He knew it would just be out of concern, but it would be embarrassing none the less.

He turned away from the window and stopped suddenly when he thought he saw something move outside the hotel, but turning back to look, he saw nothing. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, worried that he was jumping at shadows even in the daylight. He scratched the back of his neck as he searched the sky outside the window. Off in the distance he saw some gulls. That must have been what he had seen.

He left the window and stopped at the mirror on his way out of the bedroom. There he gave his still damp hair a final primp and studied his reflection. He was still a bit pale and drawn, but looked better than he had the night before, maybe enough so that Jack would quit worrying about him. He frowned at the last thought. The reflection in the mirror showed his weariness and sorrow. i"No, that would not do at all,"/i he thought.

He smiled and raised an eyebrow, much better. He quickly ran through several expressions, furrowing his brow and tilting his head, smiles, half smiles and pursing of lips. Soon he knew which ones to avoid if he wanted to convince Jack he was fine. He relaxed and dropped the façade. He had some time before his acting skills would be tested. There was some tea and a kettle in the main room. Perhaps a cup of tea would put a bit of color back in his face.

It turned out he had no time at all. When he entered the other room of the suite there was Jack, sitting on the couch, an incredibly pleased smile on his face. Someone had had a good night. That was obvious. The Doctor opened his mouth to inquire as to why he was there, but the captain beat him to the punch.

"Boy, you take longer to get ready than a prom date," Jack observed as he stood up.

"I'm not your date," the Doctor pointed out.

"I know and good thing too. If you were, I would have left by now and gone stag."

"Not sure that would be a bad thing. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Your suit was ready, Ianto took care of it himself. I didn't want to attempt to empty your pockets before taking it to a shop. I also brought your coat." Jack indicated the coat and suit draped over the sofa behind the Doctor. "With the weather here today, I thought you might want it." Jack looked out the window directing the Doctor's gaze there. The light shower had increased to a steady rain.

The Doctor rubbed his chin while he considered the situation. He could use his coat with the way the weather had turned, he had to give Jack that. Perhaps he was just doing a favor instead of trying to nursemaid him. "Yes, well, thank you."

"Besides, I had ulterior motives for coming over here."

"Really?" responded the Doctor, more surprised that Jack would admit to having ulterior motives, than that he had them.

"Yes, the spread they put out for breakfast here is amazing. Two meals come with the room so I thought I would join you for breakfast."

"I really don't feel like a huge meal. I was just planning on just having some tea in the room here."

Jack made a sour face as he looked at the hospitality tray that contained the tea and kettle. "You don't want to do that."

"Why not?" the Doctor asked, clearly confused.

"Well," said Jack as he slowly shook his head, "you have no idea how long that tea has been there. For all you know it could be as old as this room. It's likely to be tea dust by now, not leaves. Come on down with me and have some good tea and perhaps some dry toast. Surely you can handle some toast."

The Doctor looked down as he rubbed his forehead, hiding the smile that came unbidden to his face. Jack was nursemaiding him and not as subtle about it as he apparently thought he was. Some toast did sound good though, he might as well play along. He looked up to see Jack had already draped the doctor's coat over his arm.

"Well, ready to go then?" the captain asked.

"You're not going to give me much choice are you?"

"Not really," replied Jack grinning like a cat. "I do have your coat after all. Though if you ever want to part with it…"

"Never!" came the quick response.

Jack feigned a downtrodden expression. "I thought not," he said sorrowfully, then immediately brightened. "Come on, let's get you downstairs."

"Wait, shouldn't I straighten up a bit? At least pick up my dirty laundry?" the Doctor protested, not wanting anyone to see the condition of the pajamas that he had left on the bathroom floor.

"No, no need. It will all be taken care of. I paid for extra service. Your laundry will be clean and waiting for you tonight," explained Jack as he proceeded to usher the Doctor out the door.

"Oh, so your extra money pays for laundry service, but not drinkable tea?"

Jack didn't even have the decency to be chagrined at the observation, but continued to lead the Doctor down the hallway to the lift. "That will be taken care of tonight. You were a late arrival after all."

The Doctor gave up, though there were still several holes in Jack's explanation. Pointing them out would just be an exercise in seeing how creative Jack could be with his answers. Amusing perhaps, but a game he really didn't feel up to at the moment.

As he stepped into the lift he again saw something out of the corner of his eye, but resisted the temptation to turn to it. Jack was concerned enough about him, his friend didn't need to know that he might be seeing things that weren't there. He concentrated on not leaning against the lift wall for support and trying to appear more chipper than he felt. He doubted however that Jack was fooled, even for a moment.