After Rose had shuffled off back to her room the Doctor turned and slid the little chip that had recorded Rose's vitals into the diagnostic computer. While it set to work downloading the data he took three of the blood vials to the little lab section of the room and started basic diagnostics. He would run a complete blood count as well as test the coagulation, screen it for some common infections and find out if she needed any booster vaccines by determining the titer of her antibodies.
He took his time running all the tests. So far Rose seemed healthy. Admittedly she had looked a little pale and seemed quite tired but that was to be expected with their lifestyle. The lab work was quite monotone but that gave him time to muse about this new goal he had set for himself. While on Gallifrey he had certainly been very dedicated to helping others with the medical training that he had received, it was during that time that he had chosen his name. But as he started to travel more and more this form of helping others had become less important. He often had to deal with a big interplanetary crisis or some sort of political hassle, the fate of a sick individual had seemed minor compared to this sort of conflict. Thinking about this now he wondered how he could have forgotten how much he had enjoyed easing someone's pain or helping by providing some much needed treatment. The Doctor certainly understood that he couldn't help everyone, there was a reason he had started to dedicate himself to helping in a big crisis, but he could certainly make sure his companions were well cared for.
The Doctor turned to the computer as it beeped to Indicate that the results of the blood count were finished.
As he scrolled through them he felt his concern rising. Her white and red blood cell count were quite low, while the CRP, an indicator for infection, was slightly heightened. His brow started to furrow, as he realized that something was very wrong. Usually when the body fights an infection the white blood cell count would be heightened, since the body tries to send out more cells to fight the infection. Since this wasn't the case, the bone marrow producing the cells must be suppressed. He scrolled further down to see that her coagulation was not within normal levels as well. Rose was at risk for thrombosis.
The Doctor rubbed his eyes: „Darn, I should have taken her for a check-up much sooner!" The blood results led him to a dire conclusion: Rose must have some sort of cancerous disease, probably a form of leukemia, since the white and red blood cell count were that low. Pulling his hair in frustration he thought about what he should do next. Since he didn't want to alarm Rose before he was certain about the diagnosis it would be wise to have a look at a blood smear. He got the microscope ready and prepared the smear. Within a few minutes his fears were confirmed. Rose had developed a rather rare form of leukemia, called hairy cell leukemia. It was often only found by chance in routine check ups since patients don't show any symptoms except for fatigue and very rarely swollen lymph nodes. Only when the disease had progressed quite far most Patients started to catch opportunistic infections.
He had been such an idiot. The disease they had treated in Isfahan had been Tuberculosis. While he wasn't susceptible to the disease anyway, he had not thought about Rose since humans with a working immune system didn't catch it as easily as one might think.
With his new knowledge he couldn't be so sure about Rose making it back from their adventure unscratched. Leaning against one of the counters in the infirmary he took a moment to collect himself. They were probably about to spend much more time in this room than both of them had thought or liked.
Next they would have to stage disease and run some scans to find out whether she had caught any other infections apart from the now quite probable tuberculosis. When they had certainty about her current state of health they could start treatment right away. He was more than qualified and certainly the prognosis was not as dire as it would be on earth during her time, but this was more than a cold and the medication she needed would leave her weak and uncomfortable.
Pushing away from the counter he took a deep breath. Rose needed him now and he would be strong for her. He was her Doctor after all.
Sooo guys this is me updating after years of leaving this on hiatus. I know this could have been quite lengthly and boring for some of you but first of all I like the idea of the Doctor being a real doctor and not just someone making Rose tea when she isn't feeling well and secondly I'm trying to make this sort of realistic. There will be changes since the Doctor's medicine is far more advanced than ours and I want to be able to write a bit of nice fluff and friendship into this but the key factor will stay true to the medical facts. Therefore hairy cell leukemia does exist and apparently doesn't make itself known for quite some time and as for the TBC I do hope to get this right as well.
