Hey everyone! It's been a while since my last update, things have been busy. Sorry! Anyway, let's welcome River into this story, because I love her so much! YOWZAH!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF DOCTOR WHO. ALL RIGHTS GO TO BBC.

Things only got worse. The Doctor's health was degenerating so rapidly that he slipped in and

out of consciousness. Clara felt helpless, being able to do nothing but watch him losing the fight. An

entire week passed.

Clara sat in front of the TARDIS phone, staring at it. Who could she call for help? Even if she

did know of someone, how could she know the number? So, she clenched her eyes shut and reached

out to the TARDIS. Tears welling in her eyes, she felt the lump in her throat growing as she spoke.

"Please. Help me." The phone fell off the hook, and Clara heard the tone of a phone ringing on the

other end. She picked it up and held it to her ear, hopefully.

"Hello?" A woman's voice answered.

"Hello, um, who is this?" Clara asked, certain of how stupid she must sound.

"You called me, are you okay? This is Professor River Song. Who are you?"

"Of course, Professor Song! This is Clara Oswald, I'm... a friend of the Doctor. Please, I need

help. He needs help. Please-" Tears were choking her now, and she had to speak through sobs.

Quickly realizing the gravity of the situation, River spoke. "Clara, calm down. I need you to

calm down." She heard Clara taking deep breaths. "Good. Now tell me exactly where you are and what

is happening."

"I'm-I'm in the TARDIS console room, the Doctor's in the library. He's so sick..." tears again

filled her eyes, so much so that she couldn't see. "God, I think he's dying River. Please, please help

him. I don't know what to do!" She began to sob again, but River hushed her.

"Okay, Clara. Is the Doctor well enough to operate the TARDIS?"

"No, I doubt he's even conscious. Even if he was, he hasn't been able to walk, let alone fly this

thing."

"Well then that leaves a very complicated job for you. You up to it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I need you to fly it. I'm going to tell you exactly what you need to do, just make sure you do

exactly what I tell you. I can't help you unless the TARDIS gets here."

"Right. Okay, what do I do?" River led her step-by-step on what she needed to do, all the way

down to flipping the stabilizers. When the TARDIS had finally landed, Clara had to give the Doctor

credit for making it look so easy. Then, there was a knock at the door. She rushed to open it and River

pushed her way in.

"Take me to him." She was in no mood to stand around waiting. As they made their way into

the hallway, River spoke again. "Give me his symptoms. Quickly."

'Um, when it started-"

"When was that?"

"A little over a week ago. I felt he had a fever. He gets dizzy, has headaches, and has been

gradually weaker. He complains about his chest often. It's hard for him to breathe. Sometimes-

sometimes..." She felt that ever familiar lump in her throat as her voice cracked.

"What is it?"

"Sometimes, he can't breathe. Always for a short time, less then ten seconds, but it gets longer

each time. And it scares me. He cries out for help, and I can't, I can't do anything. And I hate it because

he needs help and I'm useless." She let her tears go, but quickly wiped them away. River put a hand on

her shoulder, her own tears threatening to spill.

"I'll help him. I promise, Clara."

"Thank you." She whispered. They'd reached the library now. River took a deep breath and

pushed the door open. Lying on the couch under his blanket, still shivering slightly while sweat beaded

on his forehead. His face was the color of wet paper, white but tinged with gray. River stifled a gasp

before rushing to his side and kneeling beside his head. She lovingly stroked his sweat-soaked hair out

of his face, feeling how high his fever really was. He stirred at her cool touch, his eyes opening just

enough to make out who she was, his eyes shining with recognition.

Drawing in half a painful breath, he choked out something that sounded like "Iva", the

clenching his eyes shut in pain as he tried to will his lungs to take in more air. When he finally opened

his eyes again, River pecked him on the cheek.

"Hello Sweetie." She whispered, forcing herself to smile for him. "What have you gotten

yourself into this time?" He smiled weakly at her and she moved her hand down to his burning cheek.

"I'm going to help you, I promise. Now, I've got to go to the med bay computers, but I'll be back as

soon as I can. Clara will stay with you until I get back." She stood and turned to go, but as she stepped

away, the Doctor grabbed her wrist, desperate to be with her. "I've got to go if you're going to get any

help." She took his hand in hers. "You're going to be okay, I promise." With that, she left the room. And

the Doctor, he was so very afraid that he wouldn't be around long enough to see her come back.

Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!