Becca had been washing dishes when she heard the knock on her door. Funny, she thought, I wasn't expecting anyone. Drying her hands with a towel she walked to the door and opened it. There, standing on her front step was a man looking on the verge of collapse. Looking him over she knew she had never seen this man before, and yet...she felt like she knew him. If he were standing straight she guessed he would be tall, but it was hard to tell for sure as he was standing with shoulders bowed and weaving slightly where he stood. She could see sweat beading on his forehead and noticed that his hair looked damp as well.
"Hey there...are you okay…?" she started to ask him but her voice tapered off into silence as he raised his eyes to hers. The towel in her hands dropped unnoticed as she met eyes tinged with a slightly golden hue. Though physically different otherwise, the eyes that met hers contained a very familiar presence…Could it be…?
When the door opened and Becca appeared the Doctor felt a wave of relief course through his new body. He was in the right place after all! As she looked him over and started to say something, he steeled himself against the likelihood that she wouldn't know him and slowly met her eyes. In that moment he felt his knees giving out and desperately grabbed the door frame for support. Great, just great I show up after how many years; only to collapse at her doorstep…oh this is going to be fun to try explaining.
To his surprise, she immediately ducked under his raised arm and led him inside the house. Part of him was aware she was speaking, but he was having a hard time focusing enough to hear what she was saying. He was unsettled by how much effort it was taking him to just stay upright and felt grateful for the support of her arm around his middle. He felt like he was burning up inside and that feeling was robbing him of his considerable mental faculties. This was NOT how he wanted this to go, he had so hoped he would have time to explain, but as it was he was just fighting to stay conscious.
Becca and the Doctor were just about to her spare bedroom when he lost consciousness. Becca, who had already been supporting half his weight, gamely maneuvered him until he was lying on the bed. She was positive that this man was the Doctor even if he hadn't spoken. Despite the physical changes the person she saw looking out from behind those eyes was the Doctor and she'd recognize him anywhere. Before he had lost consciousness she had sensed some of the turmoil in his mind and was quite concerned as she observed him further. It was obvious that he was burning up with some type of fever. His face was pale and sweaty, and even as she stood there she noticed his body begin to tremble as if he was cold. Moments later a golden mist started to rise from him.
Quickly she grabbed the blanket hanging from the footboard of the bed and covered him with it. Then she left him long enough to get a few things…a bowl of cool water, a washcloth, another blanket and her thermometer. The Doctor was obviously in some sort of trouble and needed help. As she walked back in the room, she paused for a moment in awe as the realization hit her that of all the people and planets in the universe, he had shown up on her doorstep! It didn't make sense...she hadn't heard from him in years…why come to her?
Shaking her head of these thoughts, she took the stuff to the bedside table, and pulling a nearby chair closer to the bed, sat down. Grabbing the thermometer she quickly took his temperature…thankfully she used one that you put in the ear to get a reading. When the meter beeped indicating it was done, she saw his temperature was already almost 98.6 degrees. Becca frowned, remembering what he had told her about his normal body temperature being lower than that of a human's. Trying hard to remember everything she knew about The Doctor, there was one thing she was sure of: this was not a good situation. Soaking the washcloth in the cool water she immediately placed it across his forehead, she had to cool him down somehow. She didn't know what had happened to the Doctor or why he had come to her, but she was going to do all she could for him...that's what friends were for after all!
She stayed with him constantly, except for when she needed to get cooler water. She found herself watching fearfully as he seemed to get paler, his breath growing shallow and uneven. Observed the times when that strange golden mist left his body…hoping he would be okay but afraid to leave until he woke up. Hours passed with no change, and she found herself fighting off both worry and exhaustion…