AN: Hey, just want to thank AFantasticRose, The Chibi's Are Stalking Me and Gamine Madcap for their reviews, greatly appreciated. Originally this was just going to be a nice fluffy, drama filled piece that could slot in just about anywhere, but as mores been written it's kind evolved and changed a fair bit.
So you know, I've kind of think it'd fit best some time after Satan's Pit, though it can sort of go anywhere between Idiot's Lantern & Army of Ghosts. Sorry there isn't really a lot in this part, but it gets us where we need to be for the next one. Enjoy :)
"Rose," she heard the whisper before she fully woke again, blinking a few times before her room came back into focus.
Looking up groggily she finally made out the subject of her dreams standing by the door, looking in on her nervously. "Hey," she croaked out, aware that the only thing covering her right now was her sheet, the towel bunched up at her side.
"Hey…you feeling alright? Seems a bit nippy in here," he said softly, not wanting to break the peacefulness of the room.
"Yeah, I still felt a bit warm when I came to sleep so turned the temp down a bit," she told him as she pulled the sheet around her. "Have we arrived?"
He nodded. Technically they'd arrived nearly six hours ago, but when he'd tried waking her three hours ago she seemed determined to stay asleep despite his calling her name, but he didn't think she needed to know that.
"Give me a minute to get ready and we can go for it," she smiled up at him, waiting for him to leave before getting up, pulling on jeans and a shirt, already starting to feel warmer as well as the familiar pounding headache. She really just wanted to tell him she wasn't up for it today, but then what? Hang around the Tardis till she was 100? If that took days, he might just consider taking her back home again. She'd already lost Mickey and the last few weeks had shown her that even though they managed to get each other back, there were many ways she could lose the Doctor too, and she wasn't ready for that just yet.
"Oh you'll need your ski jacket, it's a winter wonderland out there," he called through her door.
She couldn't help but smile at her luck. Grabbing the thinnest waterproof jacket she could find, she pulled it on, feeling as though her entire body was badly sunburnt and the heat radiated from her to her clothing and back, becoming more intense by the second. "Ready," she sang as she bounced into the control room, wanting desperately to get outside in the cold as fast as possible.
"You sure you'll be warm enough?" he asked as they walked towards the door, eyeing how little she appeared to be wearing.
"Thermal underwear, gotta love it," she said winking at him before bursting out the doors, almost giddy with how amazing the chill felt. She spun around, just enjoying not feeling stifling hot for a moment, even flopping down and making a snow angel, much to the Doctor's amusement.
It was with almost disappointment that she followed him as he discovered a path that led toward the icy hill that lay before them, a halo of clouds above it. She walked slightly slower than she would normally, partly because the light headedness had returned to the point where it took all her focus to walk in a straight line, but mostly because she was beginning to heat up once again and the hotter she got the more her head ached and dizziness and slight nausea was added to the light headedness.
At one point she even began a snow ball fight with him just to pause for a while. It was great fun though, both even making tiny little fortresses of snow while continually pelting the other with a stream of snowballs. But soon the call of adventure was too much for him and a truce was called as they continued up the hill.
Just keep walking, just keep walking, she hummed to herself in the same tune as Dory's 'swimming' version. She picked up chunks of snow when he wasn't looking, running them along the back of her neck and under her sleeves.
She'd been so focused on just keeping moving one foot in front of the other that she hadn't even looked at the path ahead, but as the steep incline increased, she finally looked up feeling like the air had just been knocked out of her lungs at the sight that met her.
The clouds she'd seen earlier weren't just above the top of the hill but surrounded most of what turned out to be quite a mountain. She felt stupid for not noticing it sooner and as she stared she felt the largest wave of dizziness yet as she stumbled backwards.
"I can't do it," she mumbled, taking a few more steps away from the mountain, almost as though it were some formidable monster.
"Pardon?" the Doctor asked as he turned back to face her, having missed what she'd said entirely. He was horrified to find her looking up at the mountain looking positively terrified, her cheeks flushed and her jacket sleeves pulled up despite the freezing temperature.
Her eyes darted to his, and she felt as though an iron fist had squeezed around her stomach. "I can't do it," she said more audibly this time, still slowly backing away from the monster.
"Rose, are you okay?" he asked, moving quickly towards her, but before he even reached her, she had fallen backwards, collapsing onto the snow. "Rose!" he yelled, covering the short distance between them. He brushed her hair away from her face, yelping at how hot her skin was to the touch. Without a second thought, he picked her up, cradling her in his arms before running the entire way back to the Tardis.
"Too hot," she mumbled, trying to pull off her jacket as she gained partial consciousness.
The Doctor groaned. It had been difficult enough getting the Tardis door open without dropping her; trying to get her to the infirmary as she moved around in his arms was near impossible. "Rose can you just wait a min---" his words were cut off as her sleeve smacked him in the face as she tried to pull her arm out.
"Doctor!" she half gasped, suddenly realising where she was. "I'm fine, just a bit warm," she quickly told him, trying to get back onto her feet.
The Doctor gave an impatient grunt as he hoisted her more securely in his arms. "Rose please just stay still! We're almost there," he growled, thankful that the Tardis had placed the infirmary right across from the control room for once. He gave a sigh of relief as he finally managed to get her on one of the beds. "Here put this on and you won't be quite so warm," he told her as he grabbed one of the short hospital gowns from the closet. When he received no response he quickly turned to face her to see her unconscious once again. "Rose!" he yelled as he ran to her side, tapping her cheek. "Come on Rose, wake up! Please wake up," he begged her.
After a moment she frowned before opening her eyes, stilling his hand with one of her own. "Are you feeling alright Doctor? You seem a bit cold," she whispered, not having the strength to speak louder.
He couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him as he looked at her with concern. "Always worrying about others first," he said softly as he adjusted the bed so she was in a sitting position. "Right we just need to get you into this gown…Rose! Stay with me Rose," he said quickly as she began teetering again.
She gave him a soft smile. "Just a quick kip and I'll be right," she said as she patted his cheek, rolling onto her side.
"Rose! Listen to me, I need you to stay awake okay? Please Rose," he pleaded, holding her gaze despite her pupils dilating and returning to normal repeatedly.
"Okay, okay, geez your worse than mum," she said softly, unzipping her jacket, not even realising this had been the problem when she'd tried getting it off earlier.
After watching her make a couple of futile attempts at pulling off the first sleeve, he went to her assistance, glad that she didn't put up a fight about it. He was slightly less confidant about helping with her shirt though as she pulled the back up and got it caught over her head, he gave a rueful smile before helping her pulled it off averting his eyes when he realised the thermal undershirt that should have been there wasn't as she pulled on the gown.
She flopped back on the pillows completely drained of all energy. "Tardis can you make it colder please," she whimpered.
"She already is," he said softly as he looked at her jeans. This was going to be difficult. In the end he undid the button and fly, moving the gown down to cover them before pulling the garment off.
Going to the fridge, he pulled out what looked like a soft, neck rest ice pack, which he wrapped around the back of her neck before placing a damp cloth on her forehead. He smiled down at her as she looked immensely happier due to the few degrees drop in temperature, though it was short lived as a frown cut deep into his forehead.
"Tardis…does she have…a hot?" he asked, his voice quivering as he said it.
"What's a hot?" Rose asked, causing him to miss the Tardis reply.
He looked down at her worried face, and quickly forced a smile onto his own. "Nothing to worry about…just like the having a cold on Earth, but on Mars you have a hot," he told her before looking up at the Tardis again. As she clicked and beeped at him, the frown returned. "Rose, I just need to go make some checks, can you stay awake till I get back?" he asked her gently.
She gave deep yawn, but nodded.
Hurrying from the room, he went straight to the control room. "That can't be right, your records must be out of date," he told the Tardis as he began working at a control panel.
The Tardis sounded insulted as she processed the information he was requesting.
"No! No, no, no, no!" he fumed, banging his fist against the control, scrubbing his face with his hands. "How can I help her?" he asked desperately. After listening to her response, he nodded. "Okay drop the temperature as low as you can…we still have those leg chilling packs right?" he asked, giving a small smile as she indignantly told him they were already waiting in the fridge.
He raced back to the infirmary, forcing himself to look calm as he entered. "How you holding up?" he asked as he went over to her, taking the now dry cloth away from her forehead and replacing it with a cooler one.
She groaned with pleasure at the change. "Just hot and tired," she replied, yawning again.
He stroked her cheek softly before heading over to the fridge, not wanting her to see his eyes shimmering. Quickly swiping his eyes, he pulled out the two leg packs. "Please try stay awake," he asked her softly as he returned, wrapping each of her legs in one of the packs.
"Mmm, that feels better," she gave a weak smile as her body temperature dropped a bit closer to normal again. "Can't I just have a little nap?" she pleaded, giving him her most charming smile.
He shook his hand as he placed his hand over her cheek again. "The longer you can stay awake the better," he said softly, his voice catching slightly, though he was happy to find she hadn't noticed.
"Isn't there some Marsian colds and flu medication I can take?"
"Marsian's don't get colds, they get hots," he replied with an amused grin.
She just rolled her eyes. "Okay some Marsian hots and flu medication then?"
The small grin faded as he shook his head. "The Tardis is finding it a bit difficult to find the medication in this time," he said softly.
"Well then go to the future. Honestly, anyone would think you forgot what the T in Tardis stands for Doctor. Bet they know the cure in Jack's time," she teased.
"Jack! Of course! Rose you are a genius!" he exclaimed, kissing her forehead before racing back to the control room. "Take us to Jack," he begged the Tardis, waiting for her to tell him what settings to put in. He grinned hugely as she told him she'd take care of it and that he should tend to Rose. "He doesn't have a key, I'll need to---" he was cut off by an impatient beep and quickly nodded before returning to the infirmary.
Jogging in, his hearts stopped as he saw her lying there, eyes closed and looking completely peaceful, a little too much so in his opinion. "Rose!" he yelled as he ran to her side once again. He grasped her hand in one of his, almost thankful to find it still so warm, his other hand cradling her face. "Rose," he whispered, his eyes shimmering once again.
"What's a girl got to do to get some sleep around here?" she murmured as her eyes flickered open, but only just.
He let his head fall to his chest, shaking it slightly as he sighed with relief. "Don't do that to me! My old hearts can't take it." His tone belied how deeply he meant it.
"We're moving," she said softly, beginning to sit up but deciding against it quickly.
He nodded as he busied himself changing the cloth on her forehead once again. "Yeah, we're going to go visit good old Captain Jack," he told her.
She giggled softly. "Sounds like it should be in a movie, Captain Jack," she replied as she leaned into the cool cloth he held to her forehead. "These Marsian hots bring a whole new meaning to having a fever," she whinged as he took the cloth away to dampen again. "How long is it supposed to last?"
He looked up at one of the monitors above her head. "Looks like we've landed. Think you can cope without me for a few minutes?" he asked as he stood beside her.
She rolled her eyes. "I've survived a lot longer on my own," she replied, smiling as she poked her tongue between her teeth.
"Shouldn't be too long," he replied, kissing her softly on the forehead before returning the cloth there and jogging out the room.
Opening the door he found Jack waiting for him with a solid left hook. "That's for leaving me behind!" he said gruffly.
That's right, Captain Jack's back :D Sorry, just love his character too much not to bring him into it ;) Ooh and cos I like the way Rosie-Bec adds them, here's a couple sneak peaks:
Next Time:
"What do you know about Marsian hots?" he asked as he walked quickly back through the control room.
The charming smile turned to a deep frown. "Please say your interest is purely theoretical," Jack said as they entered the infirmary, his skin paling as he saw Rose lying on the bed.
Coming Soon:
"Emergency Programme One" a voice said from behind him.
Thanks for reading and now if you could take just a second to review I will love you forever…mainly cos bribing my muse to come out it's cave with chocolate (hehe though jelly babies do the job too ;)) is starting to get expensive when reviews do such a better job ;)