Donna found herself feeling quite useless, but still trying to do all she could do for her sick friend. AT the moment that seemed to consist of holding his hand, smoothing his bed sheets a little and wiping a damp cloth over his fevered brow.

She was terrified something else might go wrong at any minute and hoped Martha would be back soon. She felt more at ease when the medic was in the room. Although, she supposed it was good that Martha obviously didn't need to be there and a sign he was stable at present. By now she had gotten used to what the readouts on his monitors should read and she kept an eye on them. She made it her duty to notify someone as soon as anything changed.

She decided to speak to him for a while, even though he was unlikely to hear her. She needed to hear some other sound than the medical equipment, which she knew was helping the Martian, but was putting her on edge all the same.

"When you're all better, we'll go visit Gramps, yeah? We can all head up to the allotment together with that telescope of his and have ourselves a picnic under the stars. He'd like that a lot. I bet you would too. You can have a good long chat to him about how you've seen and visited every one of those stars up close. I know you like to show off like that. Maybe Martha can come too. She can bring her man, Tom. It's lovely to see her and all, but it hasn't been under very good circumstances so far, has it? And she's working so hard to get you better. Running herself ragged, she is. It will be good to have a relaxing time, all together. No danger, or running, or deadly illnesses - just us mates and good old Gramps, having a laugh and a bit to eat, up the hill.

"But first things first and that's you getting better. So, you hurry up and do that. I'd like to see some colour in that face of yours quick smart and none of it to be green. It's quite freaky to look at actually – like you're beginning to 'hulk out' or something. I'd not want to see you when you're angry. Well, I have though, haven't I? First time we met I witnessed your wrath, under the Thames and you just stood and watched as you were washing the spiders down the drain. In Pompeii you had all that weight of being the last of your kind and having to let history unfold. I thought it was a going to be a new beginning for you, with dear young Jenny until she was shot, right in front of you like that. You've a fire that burns in your soul and I know you have a lot to carry and you've lost so much. You are a good kind man, Doctor and nobody deserves to get ill like this, but definitely not you, of all people. Yet, while you've suffered so much, you're stronger than anyone I know. If there's anyone that can better from this, it's you.

"I am so glad I'm travelling with you. Despite all the tragedy and the heartache, you've opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities, that in my life as a temp, I would never have otherwise dreamed of. I'm a changed woman, thanks to you. And you don't just need someone to look after you and tell you when to stop, do you? You really so just need someone to be your mate. Thank the stars you've seen that for yourself too. I think you had a mate in Rose and possibly more. And I'm sorry you lost her. She must have kept your light a flame. I'm sure Martha helped a lot more than you realised when she came along. It's just a shame it didn't work out, to keep travelling with her all the time. But you've got me now." She squeezed his hand. "And I'm not going anywhere, alright? I'm going to travel with you forever."

"It's a fungus!" George Hunt announced, excitedly.

"What?" spoke Martha. She felt pushed to her limits with having to revive her friend and the intern's enthusiasm upon her entrance just now, was a touch unnerving.

"We've analysed the data, the TARDIS cross-referenced with The Doctor's test results. The contagion is definitely fungal in nature."

"But then he just needs anti-fungals," Martha realised in astonishment.

"Exactly," Harrison stated. "In fact, we've already tested our strongest anti-fungal drug on the biopsy sample from his kidney, in isolation and it's already eliminating the fungus, leaving the tissue cells intact."

"Let me see?" Martha examined the process under view of the microscope and was delighted, but not completely assured. "We better check with the TARDIS that it will still be safe to give him. It looks incredibly promising though. He may well even get use of his arm back if it can safely destroy the fungal growth in his brain." She made to head for the ship straight away.

"I'd like to test you and Donna too, and give you a dose of the weaker anti-fungal, just to be safe?" said Harrington. "There's still risk that you both were exposed on that planet.

"Sure, but after we treat The Doctor," Martha accepted, putting her most high-priority patient first.

After the drug was confirmed by the TARDIS to be safe, Martha administered the ship's surprisingly high recommended dose into The Doctor's blood-stream. She stayed with him, in case there were any adverse effects. She had taken the drip down containing the antibiotics, as it was now clear they weren't going to help. He only had glucose, potassium, temperature managing drugs and anti-fungals going in. The dialysis was still running, but hopefully they'd be able to stop that once both his kidneys were functioning properly again. The ventilator still clicked and hissed as it forced mechanical breaths of highly oxygenated air into The Doctor's lungs.

Donna had been pleased to know they had found something that would help and was anxious to see the Time Lord better, but she'd fallen asleep. Martha didn't blame her. It was getting into the afternoon and they'd arrive yesterday morning. Martha still wasn't sure she could afford herself the luxury of sleeping yet. Instead she conducted scans. She was worried about possible permanent to his organs, from him getting so deathly ill.

She was examining an image of his left heart closely when one of the alarms caught her attention. His O2 levels were dropping off, despite the full ventilation. She pressed the call button, unsure what was happening. Slipping the stethoscope from around her neck she was quick to listen to his chest. The blood he'd coughed up earlier worried her. It hadn't been a lot, but enough to warrant damage to his lung tissue. If air was escaping, they may have to intervene surgically. She pulled up the scan of his lungs again.

"Doctor Jones, what's happening?" one of the nurses asked, worried what other medical scares the alien could have up his sleeve, or in this case, hospital gown. The Doctor remained unconscious and his blood oxygen levels were still dropping. His hearts were weak, but maintain their rhythms.

"I'm not sure," Martha fretted. She couldn't see any anomalies on the scan apart from some fluid congesting his lungs. The Doctor's O2 stats were nearing 75%, when they had been stable at 98. It didn't make sense to Martha. "Can you get Doctor Harrington in here?"

"Certainly," the nurse stepped out to retrieve the senior Doctor.

"You need a second opinion?" Oliver Harrington entered the room and studied the patient.

"Can you work out what's happening, because I have no clue," Martha admitted. "He's losing air at an increasing rate."

"I think I have a suggestion," Harrington said after a minute of thinking.

"Yes?" Martha was trying not to panic.

"Don't intervene, just wait," he stated.

"He could be dying!" Martha was frustrated with the man's answer. The Doctor was down to 72% now and she had no idea why.

"I don't think so. I think his bypass system is about to come back online," Harrington made the conclusion that Martha should have already considered. Maybe she did need to sleep. The Doctor's O2 stats dropped off again. When they reached 69% they suddenly soared. Martha watched in a slight state of shock as the readings sky-rocketed to regain normal levels.

"There now, see? It's fine. He's improving." Harrington assured his colleague. "I think you'll find that if we take another scan, his secondary lung tissues will have re inflated."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think."

"Why don't you let me watch him for a bit, while you get some rest?" asked Harrington.

"I want to be here when he wakes up. I promised I'd be his primary physician. He's frightened of being here and I don't want him to panic," Martha voiced her concerns. The senior UNIT Doctor made eye contact with Martha.

"Go bunk down for a bit, or at least get yourself a coffee. Anything changes, or he starts to wake up, I'll page you right away."

"Alright," Martha gave in and actually let herself yawn. She looked over The Doctor once more and the sleeping figure of Donna, slumped in a visitor's chair, dead to the world, before leaving the room. Walking down the clinical corridor, she noticed how fatigue seemed to weigh down each of her muscles in unison. She made it to the staff bunk room and practically fell onto one of the narrow beds. Before shutting her eyes, she got her phone out, placing it on the pillow next to her and turning it on speaker and calling Tom.

"Martha? How's everything going?" Despite it being the afternoon, her fiancé sounded sleepy. She realised she'd probably woken him, as he'd likely still be sleeping off the jet-lag. He sounded concerned though. He obviously didn't know what kind of news his fiancé was going to have for him. "How's the Doctor?" He asked, as if to confirm her thoughts.

"He's doing better. It was a fungal infection. He got quite bad, almost dying even, but we've got strong drugs and he should improve."

"That's great news," Tom was happy to hear it.

"Yeah," replied Martha.

"I'm guessing you're still gonna be there for a while though, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well, try and get some sleep. It sounds like he's probably got a while to go before he's recovered. The infection has likely to have taken a lot out of him. And knowing you, you probably got all emotionally involved. That's not a bad thing though; it's one of the things I love about you. But it would have taken a lot of you physically too. I bet you're asleep on your feet. Make sure you take the time to curl up on a bunk and I'll look forward to having you home. It's nice just hearing the sound of your voice. I missed that in Africa, you know? Fancy me, just getting back, looking forward to seeing you and then you're the one gone, eh? Martha?"

Hearing a snore, Tom just smiled and hung up, knowing his fiancé would need her rest if she was going to continue to help her recovering friend.