elmo-doodle: i really suck for updates, huh? well, this is the second-to-last chapter of The Doctor got Adbucted. it's become slightler more serious and less crack-ficcy i think, but i'll take that as a good thing!

DISCLAIMER: i do not own Doctor Who. it is property of the BBC, and i just like to borrow their toys for a while, play with them, and occasionally return them in one piece. i do however own Alex, so no touchy!

The Doctor sat beside Rose's bed and watched her as she slept. She had changed in to a pair of thick pyjamas and was lying under several blankets, but she was still shivering. A mug of empty tea lay on her bedside table, which she had drank before she slipped in to slumber. The Doctor sighed and looked at his soon who was sitting on the bed. Alex was looking sadly at Rose.

"Will she be alright?" Alex asked.

The Doctor smiled, got up and went to sit next to Alex. "She'll be fine," he said, as Alex climbed on to his lap. "She's suffering from slight hypothermia, but she should recover soon."

"What if she doesn't?"

"She will," the Doctor said, certainty ringing in his voice. "She's strong, and the Rose Tyler I know will not let herself be beaten by the cold. She just needs to rest before she can fight it off completely."

Alex looked at his father and then back at the woman who he thought of as a mother. He sighed and settled against the Doctor's chest, watching Rose sleep. Suddenly, a ringing sound echoed from the consol room.

"That'll be the call from hell," the Doctor said as he reluctantly got up and set Alex back down on the bed. "You stay here and watch her while I go speak to Jackie."

Alex nodded and crawled up closer to Rose's head. If he hadn't known, he would have thought that she was just resting. Rose stirred slightly and opened her eyes.

"Doctor?" she whispered.

Alex shook his head. "He's in the consol room."

Rose rubbed her eyes and shifted to sit up and lean against the wall.

"How do you feel?" Alex asked, feeling her forehead with one of his little hands.

"Still cold," Rose replied.

"Are you dizzy?"

Rose laughed a little. "Aren't you just the miniature of your father," she said. "No, I'm not dizzy."

Alex smiled, satisfied. "That's good," he said. His smile slipped off his face, and he mumbled, "I was scared that you wouldn't wake up." He's eyes began to shine with tears.

Rose smiled a little and held out her arms. "C'mere," she said. Alex crawled up to her and snuggled in to Rose's embrace. "It'll take a heck of a lot more to beat me," she said.

"That's what dad said." Alex looked up at Rose. "He said that you're strong."

Rose laughed lightly, and attempted to flatten Alex's hair. "I sometimes am, but your dad was always the one who kept me strong," she told him.

"How?" Alex asked, sitting up.

"I dunno…just by holding my hand. When he does that I feel like there's electricity running through my body. The first thing he ever said to me was 'run', and we just kept on running."

"Have you ever been scared?" Alex whispered.

"Of course," Rose told him. "Being scared is part of life. There've been a few times when I thought I lost him, but we kept finding each other again." She smiled. "It was always such a relief to know that he was still alive, and that he was still there to hug and to hold hands with…"

Alex smiled gently at Rose. "You love him."

Rose looked at Alex with shock, before smiling back. "You know too much."

Alex giggled and so did Rose. "Are you gonna tell him?" he asked.

Rose shook her head sadly. "Nah, there's no point. He wouldn't feel the same, especially not with a human."

Alex frowned.

"Where did you say he was?" Rose asked, trying to change the subject.

"Consol room," Alex said. "There was a phone call…"

"…from Jackie checking to make sure that Alex hasn't been hurt on one of our little adventures," the Doctor said, walking in to the room and leaning against the doorway. "I told her that you were sleeping, Rose, so she doesn't suspect anything."

"Thanks," Rose said, gratefully.

Alex yawned widely, and tried to cover it with his hands.

"Nice try," the Doctor said. "Go on, get some sleep."

Alex pouted but did as he was told. He kissed Rose lightly on the cheek before clambering off the bed. The Doctor ruffled his hair as he walked past him.

"Oi," Rose teased, "I just flattened that."

The Doctor chuckled and walked over to sit on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm better," Rose replied. "I've stopped shaking, and I'm getting warmer."

"That's great," the Doctor said, grinning. Rose smiled back at him. The Doctor continued to look at her, and Rose looked away, blushing.

"Thanks for taking care of me," she said, looking at the blankets.

"You don't need to thank me," the Doctor told her. "Plus, you took care of me when I was pregnant…not that I'm saying I only looked after you in return for what you did for me! I mean, it's my responsibility- not that you're a burden, 'cause you're not. And your mother would have killed me if I hadn't done anything but that's not the reason why I did it! I mean…" The Doctor stopped babbling when he realized that Rose was laughing at him. He gave her a lopsided grin. "You should get some more rest."

"But I'm not tired!" Rose tried to protest, but the Doctor managed to get her to lie down. He took out his sonic screwdriver and ran it over her.

"You've still got a little bit of recovery to go, so you should stay in bed a little longer." He pulled the covers back round her, and tucked her in. "And I'm not having you walk around the TARDIS until you're 100."

"You sound like my mother," Rose muttered. "I think you've gone domestic."

"That happened long before Alex was born," the Doctor told her. "Comfy?"

Rose nodded. "Stay with me?" she asked.

The Doctor hesitated before replying, "Of course." He sat back down on the bed and held one of Rose's hands in his. "You scared me earlier," he told her.

"Sorry," Rose whispered.

The Doctor smiled gently at her and removed some stray strands of hair from her face with his free hand. "I'm just glad that you're safe."

Rose smiled and slowly closed her eyes. "I'm glad you're here to keep me safe…" Her breathing evened out and the Doctor chuckled; so much for not being tired…

--

A few hours later, Alex had slept enough and he went out in search of his father. The first place he tried was the consol room, the second was the library. A mental nudge from the TARDIS told him to go to Rose's room. He peeked through the doorway and had to smother a giggle that threatened to erupt from him.

Both Rose and the Doctor were in the room, and both were asleep. At some stage during the past few hours, the Doctor had laid down beside Rose to watch her as she slept. He had eventually nodded off himself and, somehow, was now holding Rose in his arms as she cuddled in to his chest.

Alex smiled, and left and proceeded to go to the play room until one of them woke up, imagining how embarrassed they would be.

elmo-doodle: and that brings us to an almost end of this story! just one more chapter to go, so stay tuned!!

R&R, cause it's like LOVE