Disclaimer: Hurky doesn't own The Beatles.
Amy and River burst back into the TARDIS, successfully completing their quest for the Mardokan Hibiscus. Amy gave River the flower so she could extract the nectar into a vaccine to inject into the Doctor. Meanwhile, Amy went to the Doctor's room to find Rory and the Doctor.
"We're baaaccckkk!" Amy said in a singsong voice.
"Hey," said Rory, sitting in a chair next to the Doctor, who was still asleep.
"How's our Doctor?" asked Amy, ruffling the Doctor's hair, which had been partially soaked with sweat from his fever.
"Well, he woke up for a minute but he didn't try to kill me," said Rory. "Instead, he was delirious, pretty out of it, I swear, because he thought I was a cat."
Amy laughed while River walked in, dusting off her hands.
"So the nectar is being made into a vaccine," she summarized. "Just give it a few moments and we'll have our cure."
"Rory, we had to deal with butterflies, swarms of them who could talk all in unison," said Amy. "And a tree tried to attack me, bloody scary."
Rory gave Amy a hug. "It's alright. You're here with us." he said with a smile. "I'm just glad you came back safe."
Thirty more minutes had passed before the cure was finally ready. River came back with a syringe and a clear liquid inside it. She handed it to Rory. "You do the honors."
Rory rolled up the right sleeve of the Doctor's pajama shirt and swabbed at the spot he was going to inject with a cotton ball. He squeezed the plunger of the syringe to make sure the liquid was flowing, which it was. He held his breath as he slowly injected the cure into the Doctor's arm.
"There we go," said Rory, taking the syringe out and tossing it in the trash. "All we can do is hope for the best."
So they did, and waited while before the Doctor began to show signs of improvement. Some color returned to the Doctor's face, which was the first sign. This was a great relief for Rory, Amy, and River. The Doctor's fever was also beginning to break. It was still high but it was no longer at a point where it nearly burned whoever was touching the Doctor's forehead.
Two hours had passed and the Ponds were still with the Doctor while River took control of the TARDIS. Rory was about to check the Doctor's blood pressure while Amy sat in the chair when the Doctor finally began to wake up.
"Mmm." The Doctor grumbled as he came to. He opened his eyes and saw found Amy sitting next to his bed while Rory pulled out a blood pressure cuff. Rory noticed the Doctor awake and smiled.
"Doctor, you're awake!" he cried happily, dropping the blood pressure cuff and darting to the bed.
Amy looked up and saw the Doctor with his eyes open. "Doctor!"
The Doctor smiled weakly. "Hullo, Ponds," he greeted. "What did I miss?"
Amy jumped out of her chair and hugged the Doctor, who lightly wrapped an arm around her. As soon as Amy was done, Rory hugged the Doctor next, who patted Rory's back.
"We are so happy you're awake!" Amy exclaimed happily. "How are you feeling?"
The Doctor ran a hand through a mess of floppy pillow hair. "Still tired, weak, head hurts..." he trailed off a little.
Amy took the Doctor's hand and put it into both of her hands. "Better?" she asked.
"You could say that," joked the Doctor. His face twisted as he felt pain surge throughout his entire body. It was almost as bad as when he had regenerated in the past. "And in a bit of pain but I don't think it'll kill me."
"Don't feel like killing us anymore?" Asked Rory.
The Doctor shook his head. "Think the worst is over," he said.
"River and I went to Mardoka and got the flower for you," explained Amy. "Took us forever to find it but we did!"
"River?" asked the Doctor.
River stepped into the room, smiling. "Hello, sweetie."
The Doctor's smile widened. River walked over to the Doctor, bent down, and kissed him on the cheek.
"How did you...?" asked the Doctor.
"Long story short, I was given a few spoilers," explained River, putting a finger to her lips. "I just knew my parents were in trouble and I had to come rescue them. I didn't think you were the one who was trying to kill them."
The Doctor's eyelids began to feel heavy. "I'll figure those spoilers out somehow, River..." he said sleepily. "But I'm just glad you're here..."
The Doctor's eyes fell shut. River, still smiling, pulled the blankets over the Doctor's chest and stroked his hair.
"He just needs more rest," she whispered. "Come on, let's let him be."
River dimmed the lights while Amy kissed the Doctor on the forehead before she and Rory left the room. River gently closed the doors as the Doctor slept peacefully with the lights on the ceiling glistening softly.
River remained on the TARDIS to help Rory and Amy out. The Doctor continued resting and as he rested, his symptoms continued to subside. His fever broke and he regained most of his strength, allowing for him to stay awake longer and sit up in bed. During the times he was awake, Amy would bring him soup and cups of tea (later, a few Jammie Dodgers) and talk to him with Rory. Amy told the Doctor of her adventure getting the Mardokan Hibiscus and the Mardokan Butterflies.
"Fascinating!" the Doctor proclaimed. "The last time I had been on Mardoka, they were just mere insects but the years have passed and they advanced drastically!"
"By the way, Doctor, you had a few episodes of delirium while Amy and River were out," spoke up Rory sheepishly. "You thought I was a cat and started petting me."
"I did?" The Doctor asked, raising an eyebrow with his lips curling into a smile. "Sorry, Rory, I didn't realize what I was doing under my atrocious state of health."
Amy couldn't hold in her laughter much longer. She burst out laughing while the Doctor joined her. Rory smiled a little bit to lighten the mood. He guessed it was pretty funny looking at it in retrospect.
Two days after receiving the cure, Amy and Rory came down that morning to find the Doctor, out of bed but still in his pajamas, a blue robe that was untied, and slippers on his feet fixing the lever he broke off under his rampage.
"Doctor!" Amy said in surprise. "You're out of bed!"
"Of course I'm out of bed," said the Doctor, sounding much better, like his normal self. "There are things to do, places to go! Time travel never takes a sick day, though in my case, I had to and I hated it. Got tired of being in bed all day. I hope to never get that dreadful Virenzapox again. Now, shall we all get ready for our destination?"
Amy groaned, however, the Doctor winked at her with a smile as he shuffled out of the control room in his slippers. He returned a few minutes later clean shaven and in his normal outfit, including the bow tie, but with a cane.
"What's with the cane?" asked Rory.
"Still feeling a bit awful, so this is to help keep my balance," explained the Doctor. "Haven't used one of these in a LONG time. Took me forever to find this."
The TARDIS shook and jolted. The Doctor smiled and pulled down the newly fixed lever.
"There's been a change in plans," he continued. "Instead of 1990s England, I figure we could go to the 1960s United States during-"
He burst the TARDIS doors open to a crowd full of screaming and cheering girls to a band with 4 young men with dark hair playing musical instruments and singing.
"-The British Invasion!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Beatlemania!"
Amy squealed. "The Beatles!" she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around the Doctor. He felt dizzy for a moment but regained his composure. Amy then grabbed Rory's hand, ran out of the TARDIS, and both began to dance to the music.
"Glad you're better," said River, standing next to the Doctor. She held out a hand. "Shall we dance, sweetie?"
"Don't mind if I do!" the Doctor said happily, taking River's hand into his and walked out of the TARDIS to join Rory and Amy...
And that is the end. I hope you all liked it. I hope you all had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. I wanted to end this on a positive note. Reviews are great! :P Thank you all for making this awesome.
