"Oh, come off it," said Rose, now thoroughly annoyed. She was standing in a junction of not two, not even three, but four corridors. Three ways he might have gone would have been bad enough. Five would be a nightmare. But seven? That was bordering on ridiculous.

"Doctor!" she shouted, looking around all the halls. "Doctor, where are you? I'm going to find you if it's the last thing I ever do, and trust me, if you keep on running away, it might well be the last thing you do for a long time, because I'll tie you down, I swear I will! Come here, now!"

She waited for a moment, then shook her head. "Not working." She glanced down each hall, and saw exactly what she was looking for. He was standing there, at the end of the hall, grinning and poking the tip of his tongue out at her.

"Ooh, he's going to regret that," she muttered, and charged at him. He didn't see her coming for a moment, and she thought she had him. But when she lowered her head to concentrate on speed, she was suddenly struck by an intense pain in the top of her head. She'd run into the wall. She feel back, dazed, and sat there on the floor until she could see straight again. Then she walked quickly down the hall at a right angle to the one she was in.

One door, under the stairs, was slightly ajar. She sighed and poked her head in, careful not to it it on the underside of the steps. "Doctor?"

There was no answer.

"Doctor, I know you're in here. It's not funny, no matter how much you think it is." She bit back a giggle. "Well, alright, maybe it's a little funny. But not if it makes you worse, it won't be." Frowning, she added, "You know, I think there's a pattern to this. Every time you've been doing something, actually doing something you've been fine for a bit, and then you've collapsed."

She heard a creak from behind her, and turned to scold him some more. No one was there.

"Alright, that really isn't funny," she said, putting her hands on her hips and scowling. "Come out."

She walked slowly forwards, until suddenly the Doctor jumped out at her, his face contorted into a hideous expression, like a gargoyle. Surprised, Rose screamed and stumbled back, and he was off again, running full-tilt down the hall. She gave chase.

Where had he gone now? She had no idea. And then she saw that half the lights were out back the way she'd come.

"Nice try," she said, and followed the turned-out lights. She had to feel her way back to the control room. "Now where?" she said, exasperated.

There was a note stuck to the console. "Hello, Rose!" it said. "You'll really have to read between the lines to find me this time!"

"Library," she said automatically, and headed there.

The Doctor did not seem to be in the library, but she was smarter than that. "TARDIS, what book might have the Doctor in it?"

Most of the lights went out. She followed the shelves to the remaining lights and pulled out a book. When she flipped through the pages, a scrap of paper fell out.

"I was thirsty, so I went to make a cup of tea. Don't worry, I won't mix it all up again." she read aloud. "Right, then, kitchen."

The same happened in the kitchen, but again she found another note. "I won't be in my room. I just wanted to find your phone. I've been meaning to add a number to it."

"Little sneak, he's been in my room," Rose growled, and ran.

For her room she was led to the wardrobe, to the pantry, and finally to the sitting room. She was exhausted by the time she reached the room. "He'd better be in here," she said, panting, and opened the door.

He was in there, beaming at her. "Well done, you've found me. Didn't take you as long as I thought it would.

"You went in my room to tape a note to my phone," she said. "Not to mention leading me on wild goose chase all over the place. You know, it's really not a good idea for you to be running around like this."

"Oh, don't be thick," he scoffed. "I'm fine. See? Much better already. I promised if you laughed, I'd get better extra quick, and so here...here I am."

She sighed. "You still need to rest. Go back to bed."

"But I'm..."

"No, you're not fine," she said, more softly. "Oh, Doctor, you're so stubborn. You'll get yourself into trouble you can't get out of one day."

"But Rose, I'm--" he began, and stopped. He took a step towards her, so he was barely a step away. He'd gone very pale. "No, never mind, I'm not fine," he said in little more than a whisper, and crumpled to the ground.

A/N: Oh, no! He should have listened to Rose in the first place. Now what's she going to do?! You know the drill—REVIEW, and you'll find out!

SS