"Did I die.?" Rose put her hands to her head. "It feels like I died." She said.
"You didn't die." The Doctor reassured her, handing her a small carved wooden cup. "Here, drink this."
Rose attempted to focus her eyes, then reached out and took the cup. "That's what you said last night." She accused.
"I didn't tell you to drink three bottles of Salloi wine." The Doctor pointed out.
"You didn't tell me not to either." She looked suspiciously at the cup in her hand. "What is it.?"
The Doctor folded his arms and grinned as he looked at her. "I mixed it myself. Two parts 'H', one part 'O'... don't have a name for it yet."
"Very funny." Rose said and lifted the cup to her dry lips. As water went, she had to admit it tasted pretty damn good. She drained the cup then held it out to the Doctor. "More." She said.
"Not till you get up and start walking around."
"Walk?" Rose repeated in disbelief. "I can't even stand."
The Doctor took her hands and pulled her upright. He held onto her, just in case. "See you're standing.!"
"Yay me.!" Rose said without much enthusiasm.
"That's my Rose." The Doctor said softly.
At these words Rose immediately lifted her head so that she was looking directly into the cool grey blue depths of the Doctors eyes. He smiled at her and put his hand to her forehead.
"How do you feel.?"
Rose considered the matter. "Semi alive."
"Good." The Doctor said."Semi alive is always better than semi dead. Don't you think.?"
Rose thought, but it hurt too much. "I don't remember getting drunk." She said in confusion. "I mean, I remember the drinking, but not the getting drunk."
"That's because you didn't get drunk." The Doctor explained. "You can't get drunk on Sallio wine. But any more than one bottle will give you a killer hangover."
"That's..." Rose struggled to find the words. "Bloody unfair."
"It is." The Doctor agreed."But, since you're okay, I'll be off then."
"What.?" Rose said. "Where are you going.?"
"Well." The Doctor shifted on his feet awkwardly. "Ibroc's asked me to go fishing and well... you wouldn't like it." He pulled a face to show how much she wouldn't like it. "You have to put the worm on the hook you see, and these worms - they're not like earthworms you know. They bright red and have teeth - sharp ones. They can put up a fight, sometimes with the fish. It's only because they taste nice that the fish dare to go after them in the first place." He smiled. "Well you know yourself - you ate a bunch of them last night."
"I ate worms.!" Rose said, far too loudly for her heads liking.
The Doctor nodded. "There was a bowl of them right infront of you. Long, red, thin." He said, trying to refresh her memory. "Of course they didn't have any teeth - the heads had been cut off before they were cooked."
"I thought... I thought it was a kind of pasta." Rose said in shock.
"Oh yeah." The Doctor nodded. "The Italian influence is very heavy around here. Infact there's a coffee shop around the corner - they do a fantastic cappuccino." He grinned at her.
"You think it's funny.?" Rose threw a cushion at him. "Out.!" She shouted, her head be damned. "Get out before I..."
"Going.!" The Doctor said cheerily, as he briefly disappeared from the room, only to put his head back through the curtain a moment later. "You'll be fine. Just drink lots of water and rest. Doctors orders."
Rose threw another cushion at him. "Out.!"
A little while later, with the noise in her head having mellowed somewhat, Rose decided to venture beyond the curtain of her room and see what the house had to offer her bored mind. Although she had resigned herself to the fact that a TV or radio would be out of the question.
Walking through to the main room she was surprised to find Owler sitting by the fire, his hands busy with a bone needle mending a fishing net. On hearing her he looked up.
"Fine blessings to you Rose." He stood up smiling and dropped the net to the floor forgotten.
"Yeah." Rose said. "Um, blessings to you too." She put her hand to her head.
"Are you unwell.?" He sounded concerned, and came forward, briefly touching her face with cool fingertips. "I can send word for my fathers return - he is skilled with herbs and..."
"No." Rose shook her head."Thanks, but I'm fine." She could see that Owler wasn't convinced. So she tried again. "Honestly it's just a hangover."
Owler frowned. "I do not know that word."
Rose struggled for a second. "Three bottles of Salloi wine." She said lamely.
Owler smiled at her."Oh." He said, understanding. "That was not... wise."
Rose couldn't help but laugh, her own smile answering his. "Yeah, tell me about it."
"You wish for me to tell you about drinking Salloi wine.?" Owler said, a little confused.
"What.? Oh, no, I didn't mean..." She sighed. "Never mind."
"My people have a cure for the pains in your head." Owler said as his eyes flickered over her.
"A cure.?" Rose said hopefully. But suddenly remembering the worms she had eaten, she couldn't help but wonder if this cure might be worse than the hangover itself. "What is it.?"
"Not far from here grow trees with black bark. If we can find a sapling, all we need do is remove a strip of its bark and stew it down with a little water over a fire. You need only to sit a while breathing in it's vapours to clear your head."
Rose considered the matter."So how come the Doctor didn't mention this cure then.?"
"The Doctor doesn't know everything." Owler said, in a voice that made Rose wonder exactly what he meant.
"Tree bark." She said. "You just boil it up and breath it in, yeah.?"
"Yes."
"Ok." She gave a broad smile and saw it returned ten fold. "Let's go."
Ibroc reeled in his third fish of the morning while the Doctor watched, fishless on the river bank. Ibroc smiled widely at him. "Perhaps it would help if you changed your bait." He glanced at the Doctors fishing line that trailed out into the depths of the water, but had yet to recieve even one curious bite. "I have more than enough taccah worms here for us both to use."
The Doctor folded his arms. "You know I can't do the worm and hook thing." He said, glad that Rose wasn't around to hear. "It's just too... violent."
Ibroc smiled, shaking his head. "But this bait of yours... I have never heard of it, and to be honest my friend I do not think the fish have either."
"Yes, well that's the plan - surprise the fish with something they've never seen before." He nodded toward the waters. "Any minute now, you'll see."
Ibroc looked out to the place where the fishing line remained still and gentle. "This plan of yours... it is to surprise the fish so much that they leap from the waters into your basket.?"
The Doctor unfolded his arms and faced his friend. "I'll have you know I've had enormous succsess in the past with my bait and resent the implication that it's a dud."
Ibroc nodded respectfully. "I am sorry my friend." He leant down and reached into the Doctors pot of bait, removing one and looking at it with interest. "What is it called, this bait of yours."
The Doctor closed the distance between them and took back the object Ibroc was holding, dropping it back into the pot with the others. "It's called a tea bag." He said in hushed tones. "And it's top secret." He added, tapping his nose."So, not a word to Rose. Let her think we caught all the fish with the worms."
Ibroc considered the matter. "We DID catch all the fish with worms." He said.
"So far." The Doctor corrected, rubbing his hands together as he looked expectantly toward his fishing line."But any minute now..."
Ibroc nodded, a smile twitching at his lips. But soon he was busy reeling in his fourth fish of the morning, and so decided to leave his friend unchallenged.
"Tell me Doctor, the girl who travels with you. Are you fond of her.?"
The Doctors senses prickeled, as they always did whenever he was asked awkward questions. "Of course." He said, aware that 'fond' barely scratched the surface of his feelings for Rose. "Why do you ask.?"
Ibroc pulled in his fishing line and sat down on the warm earth next to the waters edge. The Doctor sat down next to him, awaiting an answer.
"Do you remember how I was when we first met.?" Ibroc asked.
"Course." The Doctor said. "It wasn't that long ago."
Ibroc smiled."No, it wasn't. Sometimes it just seem that it was. I have changed so much. Grown, matured, gained wisdom, and all of this because of the love of my wife." He looked at the Doctors face. "I see what you attempt to deny even to yourself. I see how much this girl means to you"
The Doctor suddenly found the river of enormous interest. "I don't know what you mean." He said.
"I know because I have lived it." Ibroc said simply. "My wife died when Owler was still a child."
At this the Doctor looked to Ibroc, anger burning in his eyes. "It's different." He said fiercly. "What I am is different. Rose is... she ." He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to stem the agony within him. "How can I let myself love her, knowing that she will die and I will go on living.? That every day after the day that I bury her is a day my lungs will breathe in air I dont want, forcing me to draw breath after breath after breath."
"You do it because not to is a worse existance."
"She will die." The Doctor said. "Don't you understand.?"
"I understand all too well." Ibroc looked across the river waters. "My wife... she was not Harkun."
The Doctor looked at his friend, and shook his head. "No, that can't be."
"Lanti was an off worlder Doctor. To begin with I begged her to leave, but she would refuse time and time again. She said that her place was with her heart, and because she had given her heart to me, she could not leave."
The Doctor stared at Ibroc. "She understood the risks.?"
Ibroc nodded slowly. "For a short while all I knew was joy, and then she was gone from me. Her body may have turned to dust, but she lives on in my heart, and in the eyes of our son." He smiled softly, as if warmed by a memory. "Not once did she regret the choice she made."
Clearly shaken, the Doctor got to his feet and stood for a second looking out to the waters infront of him. Eventually he looked back at his friend, his eyes dark with confusion.
"I... I need time to think." He said then he turned and began to walk away, following the path of the river.