The Doctor awoke the next morning in a tangle of blankets, still feeling groggy. He didn't want to move but he was thirsty, so he reached for his cup of water and drank from it. He immediately noticed his throat was feeling much better. He smiled in relief to himself, not caring about his tiredness.

That's a big relief, he thought to himself. That's one ailment taken care of.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a soft knock on the door. It creaked open slowly, Rose poking her head in. "Doctor?" she asked.

The Doctor smiled and waved her in. Rose smiled back at him, stepping in. Her blonde hair in a messy ponytail, she was in her pink pajamas covered by a fuzzy pink robe and cat slippers. He absolutely thought she was so darling in her jim jams.

"Mornin'!" she said happily. "How do you feel?"

"Much better!" squeaked the Doctor in a very low volume only for him to grasp at his throat. It wasn't his familiar clear, soothing voice. It had been replaced with a croaky and squeaky voice, like a squeeze toy that had hardly any squeezes left. "Oh no..."

Rose frowned at the sound of her friend's voice. "Want me to get you some tea?" she suggested. "Maybe that'll clear your voice up."

The Doctor nodded. Rose left the room and immediately returned with a fresh cup of tea. That was one thing the Doctor loved about the Tylers. Tea was always plentiful and ready at the whim. The Doctor gulped it down while Rose watched in surprise. She always forgot that the Doctor had superior taste buds compared to humans, so his tongue could withstand higher than normal temperatures and extreme spice. They went to a chili cookoff not too long ago in Texas where the Doctor enjoyed chili beans made with a ghost pepper, one of the spiciest peppers on Earth. "Don't get me started on the chili peppers on Gallifrey," he warned at the time. "There are ones that could burn down your house if you're not careful with it!"

"Tea's good," The Doctor wheezed. "But not enough for my voice."

"What's going on in there?" called a familiar voice. "Rose, did you let someone in? Do you have any idea how early it is? It's Sunday morning!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "No, Mum, it's just the Doctor. He's lost his voice!" she called out.

Jackie appeared wearing her bathrobe over her nightgown and her hair let down. The Doctor did NOT enjoy this sight as much as he enjoyed Rose in the morning. "Lost his voice?"

"Well I don't exactly sound like an opera singer right now," The Doctor said sarcastically, with his voice lowering as he spoke more.

"Try not to speak if you don't have to, Doctor," Rose instructed the Doctor. "Mum, what can we do to get the Doctor's voice back? Remember I lost my voice just a few years ago? What did we do, then?"

"You don't remember, Rose?" Jackie asked, surprised. She turned to the Doctor and spoke to him. "I had her do all sorts of things to try to get her voice back! Gargle salt water, lots of tea with honey, you name it! It took her days to get her voice back, and this was right after I gave her that mobile, the first one she ever had! Oh, she wouldn't stop blabbering on it! Serves you right for talking so much on it, Rose!"

"Mum!" Rose squealed in embarrassment. "Look who's talking! You're on that bloody phone all day long with your friends! I don't use my mobile like I used to!"

The Doctor smiled and laughed silently to himself as he watched the mother and daughter bicker at each other.

"Oh, I can't believe how big that mobile was!" Rose laughed. "That thing was as big as the remote control and it would nearly stick out of my pocket!"

"But you were so happy when you got that for your birthday," Jackie said fondly.

The Doctor imagined the joy Rose expressed when she unwrapped that first mobile for her birthday. He had remembered going several years into the future and seeing mobiles that functioned much like computers, going online, making purchases with it, even using it as a navigator. They also rarely talked on it (A/N: Remember, Tenth Doctor and Rose's stories mostly took place around 2005 or 2006) because they were using a feature called texting. He couldn't imagine what kind of mobile Rose would get someday.

"Right, now Doctor," Jackie said, getting back to the subject. "We just need to get you to do what Rose had done. Come on, up and about with you!"

So that morning, the Doctor tried to gargle warm salt water, drinking tea with honey, sucking on lozenges, but no such luck. Jackie, Rose, and the Doctor were all disappointed at the result.

"Are there any alieny ways of getting your voice back?" Rose asked the Doctor, who was on his fifth cup of tea that day.

The Doctor took a sip of his tea before replying. "There are but several of those antidotes are gone along with Gallifrey," he croaked sadly. "There was one antidote, a special root that was made into a soup, that would have done the trick, but that was also on Gallifrey."

His eyes watered a little at the thought of Gallifrey. Rose sat on the bed next to the Doctor and rubbed his back. He sighed longingly, lying back into the pillows tiredly and resting his head to the side of the pillow.

"I'm too weak to fly the TARDIS, anyway," he said.

"Come on, Doctor!" Rose pleaded. "I'll fly the TARDIS! I don't know how but I'll learn! We need to look for a remedy!"

The Doctor smiled. One of the many things he loved about Rose was that she was not willing to give up. "Rose, I appreciate the thought but it's nearly impossible for you to fly the TARDIS on your own. This will pass in a day or two anyway."

Unfortunately, it did not pass in a day or two. Three days later, the Doctor was still having trouble with his voice. In addition to this, he started having chest congestion and Rose was beginning to hear it in his voice, causing her to worry. He was also sleeping more and having a harder time waking up.

He hadn't eaten much in the past few days, either. Jackie made chicken broth and Rose volunteered to bring it to the Doctor. She ladled some into a bowl, put some crackers onto a plate, and set them both on a tray before bringing them to the Doctor.

"Doctor?" Rose called gently to the Doctor as she walked in. "My mum made you some chicken broth."

The Doctor, who was covered from head to toe by the duvet, poked his head out, and cracked an eye open. "Not hungry," he grumbled stuffily.

Rose came closer with the broth and crackers. "Come on, Doctor, you've got to eat something," she begged sweetly. "It's been four days and you haven't had anything to eat. Surely you'll get better once you have something in your stomach."

The Doctor wouldn't budge. He didn't want to eat. His headache had returned and he wanted to avoid having to sit up. He just wanted to sleep.

"Please, Doctor?" Rose asked. "For me?"

The Doctor opened his eyes back up and saw Rose giving him that look, the puppy dog one. He couldn't stand it when she gave him that look! "Okay, fine."

Rose grinned, setting the tray down on the nightstand and uncovering the Doctor, helping him sit up, propping him up against the pillows. The Doctor held out his hands expecting the tray to put over his lap only for Rose to take the bowl and spoon, scooped up some broth, blew on it, and held it to the Doctor's mouth.

"Here," she offered.

"I thought I could feed myself," The Doctor protested.

"Doctor, you can't even sit up on your own," Rose pointed out. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to eat hot chicken broth when you're so weak. You could spill it all over yourself."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. She had a good point, he thought as he took the spoon into his mouth. His eyebrows went up in approval at the taste. This was certainly different from tea. His stomach ached for more, not realizing how hungry he really was.

He ended up eating only half the bowl and none of the crackers. Rose set the bowl down and was about to take everything away when...

"Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you...uh..." The Doctor felt himself blushing a little. "Do you think you could watch some telly with me?"

Rose smiled at the thought of the Doctor wanting her company again. "Of course," she answered.

She began to pull a chair when the Doctor stopped her.

"Um, I was wondering if maybe you could lay here with me til I fall asleep?" The Doctor asked sheepishly. "Jus' for a bit of company. Getting a little tired of being in here all by myself. Would be nice if-"

Rose immediately plopped onto the bed next to him with the remote in her hand. "What shall we watch?" She asked with a giggle.

She surfed through the channels until they finally found a cartoon movie to watch together. At first, they were both really into it, laughing at it, though the Doctor's laughter was interrupted by his cough. Then, Rose began to get drowsy, so she rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder at first, breathing him in. Oh, how she loved his scent. Even if he had been laying in bed for days, he still smelled so nice. He was just that perfect to her.

By the time the movie ended, Rose's head had slipped off his shoulder, causing her to wake up.

"Mmm?" she mumbled, snapping back into reality. "Oh, I fell asleep. What time is it?"

"Don't you worry about that, Rose," The Doctor croaked quietly, draping some of his blanket over her. "Just sleep."

Rose smiled and closed her eyes, happily resting her head on the Doctor's chest, almost immediately falling back asleep.

The Doctor smiled to himself as Rose snuggled up to him in her sleep. He felt so grateful for Rose and everything she had done for him up to this point. He wasn't sure what would have happened if he was still sick on the TARDIS, alone. He loved her. He loved everything she was, who she was. She made him whole, something he had not felt for a long time.

"I love you, Rose Tyler," he whispered as he kissed her on the top of her head before falling asleep himself.