Jack's peaceful sleep was interrupted after only a few hours by the unhappy cries of an infant. Jack figured he could forgive her as he was just happy that she was announcing her hunger. As he moved out of the bed, he realized how hot the man sleeping next to him was. The Doctor's body temperature was normally lower than his. The Doctor though felt warm to the touch and Jack worried that he allowed the Doctor to get to warm by cuddling with him. He pulled the blanket off of him, allowing the colder weather to try to cool the Doctor down. The Doctor shivered, reaching for the blanket, but Jack didn't allow him to grab it.
"You're way too hot sweetheart," Jack explained to him. The Doctor groaned and curled up on his side, he curled into a ball shivering as he continued to sleep. It concerned Jack even more as he couldn't remember if he had ever seen the Doctor shiver before. He put the back of his hand on the Doctor's forehead but beyond feeling the Doctor was hot to the touch he was unable to gauge his temperature. He also had no way to cool the Time Lord except by exposing him to the cooler air and hoping it brought down his temperature.
"Carys," the Doctor whimpered as the infant cried louder as jack failed to retrieve her.
"I've got her," Jack reassure him. He stood going over to the cot and picking up the infant. She pressed her face to Jack shirts and he chuckled. "Don't worry I have your meal." He took off his shirt and put on the carrying pouch putting her in it. It only took a minor adjustment to make sure she was able to eat and she began to gulp greedily as she stared up at him.
"Oncoming storm," The Doctor mumbled as he rolled over in his sleep sprawling out on his stomach.
"You tell him," Jack encouraged the Doctor as he took a seat on the edge of the bed. Sensing he was near, the Doctor moved so he was closer to Jack resting his head on Jack's leg. Jack let him, running one hand through the Doctor's hair as he cuddled Carys with his other arm. He wasn't sure what the Doctor was dreaming about and the occasional mumbling told him nothing. He tried to move his leg away from the Doctor and the Doctor followed him, trying to hang on to the little bit of warmth that he had found. Jack shook his head as he moved back on the bed a little further to keep the Doctor from falling off. Reaching down, he pulled only one of the blankets up over the Doctor leaving his body mostly exposed to the cooler air. The Doctor seemed to relax more allowing Jack to finish feeding Carys in peace. He burped her and held her for a moment while he tried to figure out the best way to get his leg away from the Doctor. In the end, the simplest solution was the easiest and he pulled it away quickly. The Doctor once more tried to follow him, but Jack was ready and gave the Doctor a pillow to hold for a moment. He then moved away from the bed with Carys and laid her back in the cot. She immediately began to scream her protest of being laid down. Jack picked her back up, cuddling her close once more. She calmed as she relaxed into him.
"I'm just a heater for you two. Admit it, that's all I am good for," Jack teased her softly. He went to the cupboard and took a bottle of water out. Opening it, he poured a little on a clean cloth then took a long drink. He closed the bottle and brought it with him as he returned to the bed. Sitting down beside the Doctor, he placed the wet cloth on the Doctor's forehead. That seemed to make the Doctor mad as he grumbled to himself, grabbed the cloth and threw it on the floor. He opened one eye to glare at Jack as he pushed the pillow aside, wrapping himself around Jack's leg again. His eye closed and his breathing immediately evened out again. Jack looked down to see that Carys was also fast asleep in his arms. Jack chuckled.
"Just a heater," He told them as he settled back against the headboard. He worried about the fact that Doctor still hadn't eaten or that he had been barely awake since they left the village. He had let the Doctor drink more than his fair share of water as he seemed to be constantly thirsty but he had refused to eat anything that Jack offered him. Making a decision, he pried his leg loose before standing. He went over to the cupboard and took out a bowl with a bottle of water. He then retrieved the bag of rice from his pack. They weren't able to use the rice on the journey as he concentrated on getting the Doctor to help but he could make it now. He made the rice making it mushier than he preferred as he wanted to make sure it was easy to eat. Going back to the Doctor, he knelt beside the bed.
"Sweethearts, it's time to wake up," Jack cooed.
"No," the Doctor whined turning his head away from Jack's voice.
"Please you need to eat something and I have a nice bowl of rice for you," Jack informed him. The Doctor physically gagged at the mention of food and Jack sighed. As much as the Doctor needed to eat, he couldn't force him to especially if it was just going to make him sick. Not wanting the rice to go to waste, Jack ate it as he tried to figure out what else he could make the Time Lord that he would be able to stomach. A milkshake would have been nice, but they had no milk, peanut butter, ice cream, or bananas. They also had nothing to make tea which the Doctor would have also readily accepted. He debated with himself for just a moment before making the choice to step out of the house again. He walked quickly as he made his way back to the airship finding the medical unit with ease.
"Can I help you?" Amanda asked as he approached. "Is there something wrong with the child?"
"No, she is fine. My concern is actually for my partner. He has eaten nothing for the last week and I was hoping that Dustin may be able to suggest something that he could stomach," Jack explained.
"Of course, if you want to take a seat I can let him know you are here," Amanda suggested. Jack took a seat as Amanda disappeared into one of the rooms. She reemerged with Dustin a few minutes later. In his hand, he was holding a few pieces of what looked dried herbs.
"I understand your companion isn't eating," Dustin stated and Jack nodded. Dustin held out the herbs to Jack and he took them. "Seep these in water and have him drink it. It should help to stop him from getting sick. If you take these to the market, you can also buy soft food that he may be able to eat or that you can turn into a broth for him. Be careful how much you spend though as these are the only vouchers you will get for the next couple days."
"Thank you," Jack told him as he took the vouchers. They were little bits of paper that had numbers written on them. Dustin gave him directions to the market and Jack followed them. He found the market easily and was happy to see a large selection of food available. He smiled broadly upon seeing that there bananas and he bought two of them along with some sort of meat. Taking the food home, he found the Doctor sitting up on the bed.
"Where did you go?" the Doctor asked sleepily. He had woken as soon as Jack was away from the home as he wasn't able to sense him properly anymore. He was concerned that Jack had left but didn't trust himself to chase after him.
"I want back to Dustin to see if I could find you something that you could stomach," Jack explained.
"No food," the Doctor whimpered.
"Not even a banana?" Jack wondered holding up the fruit. The Doctor's eyes lit up upon seeing the fruit and he reached out for it. Jack allowed him to take it and then showed the Doctor the herbs. The Doctor confirmed that two of them were safe for him and Jack set the rest aside. He heated water letting the herbs seep and then brought it to the Doctor. The Doctor managed to eat a few bites of the banana and sipped the unsweetened water that was almost entirely unlike the tea he normally enjoyed. Still, the hot drink was nice and he managed to finish it without getting sick. Setting the banana aside, he settled down to rest again.
While he ate though, Jack had set another bowl of water near the water to warm. Now that the Doctor was done, he laid Carys down in her cot thankful when she didn't immediately stir. Going to the fire he retrieved the water along with a clean cloth. The Doctor didn't fight him as he stripped the man of his clothes before laying a blanket across his groin to preserve his dignity. As he washed the Doctor's arm, the Doctor's eyes opened. He stared up at Jack.
"I miss my TARDIS," He informed Jack. Speaking about her for the first time in a while.
"I know sweethearts. We will get her back as soon as get off this planet," Jack replied. The Doctor's eyes drifted shut again. Jack finished washing his front while he slept but didn't bother to dress him before covering him with the blanket again. He heated another bowl of water then stripped off his own clothes and washed his own body. He dressed in just his trousers before heating one last bowl. He made sure the temperature was cooler than the rest as he didn't want to accidentally hurt the infant. He carefully washed her and then dressed her in a nappy before swaddling her. She was hungry by the time he finished but he was tired so he took her to the bed with him laying down. He closed his eyes just intending to rest as she ate but he found himself joining the Doctor in his dreams where together they ran in the TARDIS. He just hoped one day he could make that promise come true.