An Entirely Unprecedented Event - (12 Parts)

[angora48]

Title: An Entirely Unprecedented Event

Fandom: Doctor Who

Disclaimer: No matter how much I might wish it, I don't own the delightful Eleventh Doctor and his friends. The story is set during season 5, while Rory was traveling with Amy and the Doctor.

Summary: As humans, Amy and Rory are plenty familiar with sneezing, but the Doctor has never experienced it - until today.

I haven't finished writing this fic yet, but I'm far enough ahead that I should be able to keep up with my usual daily updates.

Here's Part 1 - no sneezing yet. I'll post it now, and get on to Part 2 (which is when the more noteworthy stuff starts) when I get up in the morning, after which I ought to be able to post one part a day.

The TARDIS was, by all appearances, plummeting through space and/or time. “Doctor, what’s going on?” Amy cried as they were tossed about. “What’s happened to the engines?”

“Nothing – nothing’s happened to the engines,” the Doctor replied. He clung to the control panel, flipping switches like mad. “We’re still going at full speed ahead! It’s just that we have next to no control whatsoever.”

“Oh, well, that’s a relief!” Rory shouted darkly.

“Come on now – chin up!” the Doctor encouraged. “At this moment, we are – very quickly – coming in planetside. I can assess the problem much more thoroughly from the ground.”

“Yeah, if we’re not all killed!” Rory cried.

“That’s the spirit!” the Doctor exclaimed cheerfully. “Now hold onto something!” He threw his entire weight onto a lever, and the TARDIS stopped spinning. There was a loud screeching noise, and the TARDIS finally began showing a bit of resistance against its alarming speed. The Doctor gleefully pressed buttons and fiddled with dials whilst Amy and Rory hung on for dear life.

“Courage, now – this will be a bit bumpy!” the Doctor shouted. Almost instantly, there was a loud crash as the TARDIS hit the ground and tumbled across the surface of the planet, skidding and bouncing for more than a few hundred meters. Amy squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, her knuckles turning white as she clung to a railing.

Finally, thankfully, the TARDIS slowed to a stop, tilting precariously for a moment before ultimately righting itself with a thud. Amy cautiously opened her eyes. “Is it over?” she asked.

“Seems that way,” the Doctor said. He’d wound up on the floor at some point, and now, he leapt nimbly to his feet. “All right! Is everyone okay?”

“Fine – just a bit shaky,” Amy said quickly, brushing herself off as she stood back up.

Rory stayed where he was, on the floor. “I think I’ve got whiplash,” he groaned, rubbing his neck.

“Hush – you’re fine,” Amy replied. She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him up. “Doctor, what the hell was that?”

“Good question, Amy – excellent question,” the Doctor said. “No evident mechanical problem, and no disruptive environmental factors, so why, precisely, did we very nearly meet incredibly messy ends just now?” He ran to the door, threw it open, and raced outside.

“We’ve just been pitched about six ways to Sunday,” Rory observed, exasperated and breathless. “How is it that he’s already up and running? How is it that his head’s not spinning?”

“Who says it’s not?” Amy countered. “It’ll take more than a near-fatal crash to stop the Doctor from running.” She hurried after him.

Outside, the Doctor was circling the TARDIS, his nose inches from the box as he examined it up and down. “You think the problem’s out here?” Amy asked, a little surprised. “You’re not going to check the controls or anything?”

“Everything’s fine in there, I told you,” the Doctor said. His voice was distracted, no more than half invested in the conversation as he continued poring over the TARDIS. “No, our problem is something different. Our problem is… here!” He dove into a crouch, running his fingers along two short rows of puncture marks at the base of the TARDIS, near the corner. “Oh, I’m sorry, dear,” he murmured, stroking the punctures gingerly.

“What is it? What’s happened?” Amy asked.

“Something small and nasty has been nibbling at my TARDIS,” the Doctor explained, rising. “A millenora, from the looks of it. Not its fault, mind you – it’s just its nature – but not very polite.”

“Can you fix it?” Amy asked. She had no idea when or where they were, but they’d crashed in some sort of forest, and she didn’t see any signs of civilization. That had her feeling a bit anxious.

“Not a problem,” the Doctor told her. “The millenora’s gone now, so we’ll be able to navigate – if there’s any damage, it’ll be from the crash, and that’s simple enough to fix. But, first things first! We’d better see to that millenora. Rory!”

“What?” Rory groaned, trudging to the door of the TARDIS.

“Look sharp! We have work to do!” the Doctor instructed. He set off briskly.

“But Doctor, you said the millenora was gone,” Amy pointed out, trailing after him.

“Exactly! No time to waste,” the Doctor said. “Millenorae are fast, and they’re small, and they can hide in all sorts of crevices.”

“Wait, so this thing almost got us killed, and we’re going to go looking for it?” Rory asked.

“Of course we are!” the Doctor exclaimed.

“Why?” Rory protested.

“Because we’re the ones that brought it here!” the Doctor explained. There was just a hint of irritation in his voice, like he’d repeated himself several times to a child who was a bit thick and just wasn’t catching on. “The millenorae are an invasive species that causes a lot of problems, and we’ve just brought one to…” He turned a quick 360 degrees, taking in his surroundings. “Cherrhoksia – blimey. The point is, the Cherrhoksians won’t appreciate a millenora on their planet. Travelers are strictly penalized for things like this. I’m serious – there are fines and everything. You don’t want to pay a fine, do you?”

“Uh, no?” Rory replied hesitantly.

“All right! So we’re in agreement,” the Doctor said. “Now let’s go.”

That's all for now. More interesting developments in the morning!

[Shay]

Very interesting plot so far.

[Merino Sheep]

I was hoping that you would write another Doctor Who fanfiction, and you did, with the Eleventh Doctor. I lack the words at the moment to express how happy I am.

This sounds like we're off on another exciting adventure and I cannot wait to read more.

[angora48]

Here's Part 2!

Amy raised up a section of underbrush and peered beneath it, but she saw nothing creeping about. Rory wiped his brow and sighed noisily. “Doctor, what’s this, uh… this thingy look like, anyway?”

“Millenora,” the Doctor corrected. “You’ll know it when you see it. Small. Green. Four legs. Four eyes. Hard body with little tufts of wiry hair. Claws. Sort of razory teeth.”

“You might have mentioned the razory teeth a bit earlier,” Rory pointed out.

“Well, their teeth very rarely cause any sort of permanent damage to people, so I didn’t think it was relevant,” the Doctor told him. “Stay alert, though – millenorae don’t take kindly to being caught. All sorts of defense mechanisms come into play.”

Rory gulped. “…What kinds of defense mechanisms?” he asked with dread.

“Oh, lots of things,” the Doctor replied distractedly. “Foul odors, mild hallucinations, temporary paralysis – different breeds have different methods, and I don’t know what sort we’re looking for.”

“Brilliant,” Rory muttered under his breath.

“Why don’t people like them?” Amy asked. “How come they’re not allowed on planets?”

“Mainly, because they hitch rides,” the Doctor said. “Millenorae love to go whooshing through space. Used to be they’d get around mostly on meteoroids, comets, asteroids, and that was fine – they’re not large enough to have any effect on an asteroid. Nowadays, though, they like ships, and that’s where the trouble starts. When they latch on, they tend to muck up the navigation. You may remember the small incident of our recent crash landing? If we don’t find the millenora, it’ll hitch a ride on some other ship and cause similar trouble. That’s why people aren’t generally excited to see them.”

“You mean, it’ll crash another ship?” Amy asked.

“Quite possibly,” the Doctor said. “It depends on – wait a minute.” He knelt by the trunk of a tree and studied a collection of deep scratches. He rubbed his fingers against the tree and brought them to his nose, sniffing curiously. With renewed determination, he produced his sonic screwdriver and began taking readings of the area. “It was here,” he announced, “within the hour. The last half-hour, if we’re lucky. You smell that, that slightly sour odor? That’s what we want.” He strode forward, with Amy and Rory trailing behind him.

“Now, where was I?” the Doctor went on. “Oh, yes! It depends on how far the ship is from a planet when the millenora starts affecting it. If you’re near enough, you’ll crash. If you’re not close to any large mass, you’ll just spin and drift. Ships have been stranded in space that way. Terribly unpleasant – I don’t recommend it.”

They continued to search with little sign of the millenora. Rory grumbled under his breath almost nonstop, muttering about how this certainly didn’t feel like exploring the wonders of the universe.

“What do we do when we find it?” Amy asked the Doctor.

“We catch it – somehow,” he told her. “We’ll bring it back to the TARDIS and find a nice asteroid belt for it to fly about in.”

“We’re bringing it back to the TARDIS?!” Rory exclaimed. “Is almost dying once in a day just not lively enough for you?”

“It won’t be a bother if it’s inside a ship,” the Doctor replied, as if this was common knowledge. “What do you want us to do – kill it?”

“It nearly killed us!” Rory argued.

“Accidentally!” the Doctor countered. “It doesn’t know any b-beh… Heh-ih-SHUHHHH!” The Doctor sneezed suddenly, the force of it bending him at the waist.

Amy grinned, bemused. “Bless you,” she said. “You were saying?”

The Doctor straightened; his eyes were wide. “Was… was that a sneeze?” he asked. “Did I just sneeze?”

“Oh, come on,” Amy retorted. “Don’t say you’ve never sneezed before.”

“I haven’t,” the Doctor told her gravely.

“But everybody sneezes,” Rory said.

“Not Time Lords,” the Doctor insisted. “That’s not something we do; we don’t sneeze. Oh my…”

“What – never?” Amy asked, but the Doctor wasn’t paying her any attention. He was gently and inquisitively feeling his nose with both hands. “Doctor, what are you doing?”

“Checking to see that it’s all still there,” the Doctor replied. “That was quite something! Whew!” He seemed jittery; even when his hands returned to his sides, his fingers drummed nervously against his trouser legs.

“You all right?” Amy asked, a bit concerned. Ordinarily, the Doctor wasn’t so easily disconcerted.

“Yes – yes, of course,” the Doctor said quickly. He shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. “Let’s just find that millenora.”

They went back to their search, but Amy kept her eye on the Doctor. He was definitely perturbed – he’d gone quiet, and his face wore the frown he adopted when he was mulling over a problem. It worried her.

It was another twenty minutes before their search was similarly disturbed. The Doctor, who’d pushed his way through some tree branches, reemerged. He let out a small gasp. “Eh… hih…”

“Doctor?” Amy said.

“Hih-chi-OOOOO!” the Doctor sneezed loudly. He exhaled in a puff as his eyes snapped back open. “I sneezed again,” he murmured, more to himself than to Amy. “A second sneeze. Not once in 907 years, and now twice in one day. I don’t what it means, but it’s troubling.”

“Maybe you’re coming down with a cold,” Rory suggested in a disinterested manner.

“Rory, I told you not half an hour ago that Time Lords don’t sneeze,” the Doctor said tersely. “Do you really think we catch cold?”

“Do you get ill at all?” Amy asked.

“Of course I do – don’t be ridiculous,” the Doctor told her. “Time Lord illnesses. Haven’t been ill since the Time War ended, though. A lot harder for diseases to get by when there’s only one available host in the universe. What makes you think I’d catch a human illness?”

“You spend an awful lot of time around humans,” Rory offered.

“Doesn’t matter,” the Doctor retorted. “Doesn’t work that way – incompatible DNA. No this is something else… eh-heh-CHOOOO!” After a third sneeze, he looked over his shoulder, turning about in a small circle. It was as if the sneeze had snuck up behind him and he was trying to spot it. Amy had to bite her lip to keep from chuckling.

“That has a real kick to it!” the Doctor exclaimed, rubbing his nose with his finger. “You wouldn’t think so when you see humans do it.”

“I heard that the force of a sneeze of strong enough to stop your heart beating,” Rory commented.

“Yes, I’ve heard that as well,” the Doctor replied. With a thoughtful frown, he began alternately tapping each hand against his chest in quick succession.

Rory sighed. “What now?”

“Making sure they haven’t gone out of rhythm,” the Doctor explained. After another moment intently monitoring his hearts, he nodded. “Seems to be in order. But there’s still the sneezes…” He frowned, furrowing his brow.

“…It’s all right,” Amy said quickly, trying to sound reassuring. “We’ll find the millenora and then figure out what’s the matter, yeah?”

“Uh, yes,” the Doctor said. Amy could tell he wanted to sound confident, but he wasn’t terribly convincing. “Yes, of course. Eyes open, everyone! We want to find that millenora before the Cherrhoksians know we’re here.”

At almost that precise moment, two wolf-looking dogs tore past them, hot on the trail of some sort of bird. A small gaggle of hunters, humanish but for their blue-tinged skin, came through the brush. They were all carrying firearms. “Where did you lot come from, and what are you doing out here?” one of them asked.

“This just isn’t my day,” the Doctor commented wearily.

Hope you like it!

[TheCakeIsAlive]

YES! I like it! Awesome doesn't begin to cover it. ^^

11th... Doctor... fanfic.... YAAAY! *bounces up and down excitedly*

I had to force myself to read slowly, instead of trying to read every word simultaneously. "

And daily... updates?

[tma]

*grins*

Loving this! SO cute!!!

[swann_ee_song]

Um... this is awesome?

Yes really it is.

Lovin' it so far, can't wait to see what develops next!

[Shay]

This is getting exciting!

[obsessed]

Oooh, would love to see more.

[Merino Sheep]

Like it? No. Try love it! XD

This was my favorite part:

“Doesn’t matter,” the Doctor retorted. “Doesn’t work that way – incompatible DNA. No this is something else… eh-heh-CHOOOO!” After a third sneeze, he looked over his shoulder, turning about in a small circle. It was as if the sneeze had snuck up behind him and he was trying to spot it. Amy had to bite her lip to keep from chuckling.

[angora48]

Yep, Sigrith - daily updates. Whenever I write fic, I like to have it finished (or almost finished) before I start posting - that way, if I get busy/sidetracked/lose interest, I won't leave anyone hanging. And once I have the entire fic written anyway, I'm too impatient to wait more than a day between postings.

I like that bit, too, coffee-and-cream - my ideas for this fic started with imagining different ways the Doctor would respond to a sneeze, i.e., checking the beats of his hearts, "looking" for the sneeze, making sure his nose was still there. Eleven always seems SO alien, and it was fun imagining different reactions like that.

Anyway, here's Part 3!

“Try and look on the bright side,” Amy encouraged. “It could have gone a lot worse.”

It was nearly sunset, and Amy, Rory, and the Doctor had just arrived back at the TARDIS. Things hadn’t turned out well with the hunters. The Doctor had claimed they were interplanetary environmental officers, investigating reports of a millenora in the area, but an unexpected sneeze had flustered him, causing his psychic paper to go blank just long enough for the hunters to realize they were being deceived.

The hunters had dragged them into town, where they’d been made to appear before some sort of stern-faced city council. It had inevitably come out that they’d crashed on the planet with a millenora in tow, sending the entire council into an uproar. Various punitive actions and fines had been threatened, but the Doctor had eventually convinced them that the alien could be caught. “If you keep your ships grounded, I’m sure we can safely locate it before the week it out.”

But that wouldn’t do. 48 hours – they couldn’t afford to ground their ships any longer than that. Furthermore, they weren’t about to open their hotels or restaurants to anyone who’d had the audacity to bring a millenora onto Cherrhoksian soil (Amy didn’t see why they had to be so uppity about it), so they’d had to walk back to the TARDIS for the night.

In addition to all this, whatever was making the Doctor sneeze hadn’t gone away. He wasn’t sneezing all the time, but it was just often enough to keep the worried frown on his face. Every now and then, his negotiations with the Cherrhoksians had been interrupted by a sneeze, and each one had thrown off his concentration. He’d struggled to recover himself each time, stammering and repeating himself while his eyes suggested that his thoughts were elsewhere.

Now, after a long walk (during which the Doctor had been silent except for three sneezes), Amy had tried to brighten his spirits a bit, reminding him that it could have been worse.

“Yes, much worse,” the Doctor replied without energy. “They might have tried boiling us alive in something. That would have been cracking.”

“Don’t pout so much!” Amy said, giving him a nudge and a smile. “All we have to do is find that millenora, and we won’t have to pay anything.”

The Doctor sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. “You’re absolutely right. All we have to do is find a small, green, excellent hider in half a mile of green forest – if it hasn’t left the forest and found one of the innumerable little hideaways in town, that is. And, naturally, this is to be accomplished by sunset two days from now.”

“Exactly!” Amy said, forcing a smile. She threw her arm over his shoulder. “No problem, right?”

“Ah-heh-SHOOOO-ehh!” the Doctor sneezed, his eyes screwing shut.

Amy jumped back a bit. “Bless you!” she said. “Cover your mouth, would you?”

“Not a problem,” the Doctor replied. He clapped a hand over his mouth. “Why?” he asked, muffled.

Amy smiled, genuinely this time. “As you sneeze, not after,” she explained.

“Oh, yes – of course,” the Doctor said, dropping his hand. “Why?”

“It’s polite,” Amy told him. “That way, when someone’s got a cold, it doesn’t get spread around.”

“I don’t have a cold,” the Doctor quickly reminded her, fidgeting.

“Right,” Amy said. “Anyway, it’s still polite – spray factor and all.”

“Oh,” the Doctor said with a frown. “Yes. Terribly sorry about that.” He wriggled his nose a little.

“Don’t worry about it,” Amy reassured him.

“I’ll remember next time,” the Doctor promised. “You know, it’s not the sneezes themselves. It’s a curious sensation – powerful – but not altogether disagreeable. It’d probably be rather fascinating if it wasn’t so troublingly unprecedented.” He was frowning again.

“Look, it’s been a long day,” Amy said. “Why don’t we get some rest, clear our heads, and we’ll work on finding the millenora in the morning?”

“Excellent suggestion,” the Doctor said. “It has been a very long day.” Closing his eyes, he lifted his hand and lightly massaged his left temple.

Now it was Amy’s turn to frown. “Doctor?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”

The Doctor’s eyes opened and found Amy. He smiled reassuringly, but it was only a slight smile. “Beginnings of a headache, just here,” he said, indicating his temple. “Don’t worry – it’s fine. Long day, as you said. I’ll see you in the morning.” Amy watched as he stepped inside the TARDIS, rubbing his nose with his finger.

[kestrel]

I love this! You got Eleven's character just right! Can't wait to keep reading!

[swann_ee_song]

Mhm I agree with kestrel. That was a BRILLIANT update.

[Lady Blessington]

Oh Doctor. You do an awesome job capturing his energy, enthusiasm, determination and cluelessness. I love it.

[tma]

Awwwww!!!! Am just LOVING this!

[obsessed]

When that cover the mouth scene ended, I was still chuckling.

I love this. <3

[TheCakeIsAlive]

That is SO like Eleven. You've captured his alien-ness perfectly. Hmmmm... I'm absolutely loving this fic. *goes off into 11-style rant*

BBC, are you reading this? Season 6? ^^ Pwetty please? ME WANTS

Can't wait for the next update. *bounces up and down happily*

[Merino Sheep]

I like that bit, too, coffee-and-cream - my ideas for this fic started with imagining different ways the Doctor would respond to a sneeze, i.e., checking the beats of his hearts, "looking" for the sneeze, making sure his nose was still there. Eleven always seems SO alien, and it was fun imagining different reactions like that.

Yes, he never lets you forget he's not human. I think that's what I love about him so much.

I love the way you've been writing him. In the words of the ninth Doctor, fantastic!

That is SO like Eleven. You've captured his alien-ness perfectly. Hmmmm... I'm absolutely loving this fic. *goes off into 11-style rant*

BBC, are you reading this? Season 6? ^^ Pwetty please? ME WANTS

Can't wait for the next update. *bounces up and down happily*

I second that on all accounts. Dear BBC, season six this please? Or maybe it could even be out Christmas present. XD

[angora48]

You guys are too kind! Here's Part 4.

Slowly, the Doctor became aware that he was awake. He blinked sleepily, noting that he’d somehow wound up with his head beneath his pillow. He emerged with a yawn... “Ahh… hih-eh-SHUHHHH!” …And a sneeze – he only just remembered to raise his hand to his mouth, like Amy had said.

Still sneezing, then. This didn’t bode well. Frowning in confusion, the Doctor realized that he couldn’t breathe through his nose. He wriggled it and crossed his eyes, but he couldn’t get a proper look. Rubbing his nose, he sniffled – twice.

He was tired, very tired, and there was a pounding pain in his head. Entirely undesirable, of course, but not as worrisome as the problem with his nose. A headache he could at least understand. He rubbed his eyes wearily and yawned again.

The Doctor became a bit alarmed when he swallowed and found himself assaulted by a sharp pain in his throat. “Ah!” he cried out, bringing a hand to his throat as he bolted upright. He waited. The pain dulled, but not by much. “What’s this, thed?” he murmured. “Cad’t be addything good.” His voice sounded very unlike his voice, and that was disconcerting.

“Ah-heh-CHOOOO-ehhh!” the Doctor sneezed as he got out of bed. He’d forgotten to cover his mouth – must remember that. He dressed as quickly as his clumsy fingers would allow. As it was, he missed a button-hole on his shirt, but he wasn’t about to fix it. He completely disregarded his tie and his braces, absentmindedly brushing wrinkles from his trousers as he slipped on his jacket.

* * *

“I was wondering if there’s not some sort of trap we could set for the millenora,” Amy commented to Rory, setting aside her breakfast dishes. “If we knew what it likes to eat, we could lure it out. We should ask the Doctor.”

“Don’t you remember what the Doctor said about this thing?” Rory reminded her. “It could paralyze us!”

“Temporarily,” Amy clarified, “and anyway, we don’t know that for sure. Who knows what this millenora can do?”

“Well, pardon me if I’m not too anxious to find out,” Rory told her.

“Abey?”

Amy turned and saw the Doctor standing in the doorway. “Morning,” she said, giving him a quizzical look. “I was wondering where you’d got to. Were you out looking for the millenora? Did you spot it? Looks like you’ve been a bit roughed up.”

“Sobething’s dot right,” the Doctor said, his voice quiet and somewhat concerned. “I feel fuddy.”

Instantly, Amy was on her feet. “Here, sit down,” she instructed. “What’s the matter?”

“I, eh… eh-Hih-CHOOOO!” The Doctor caught a sneeze in his hand as he sank into a chair. “I dod’t doh,” he admitted.

“You haven’t stopped sneezing?” Amy asked with a frown.

The Doctor shook his head. “Add it isn’t just that,” he told her. “There’s sobething else wrong with by dose. It’s, ub… what do you call it? Ah, by head is split – I cad’t think…” He gave his head a smack, like he was trying to fix the reception on a television, and grimaced. “Ow! Boste defiditely shouldn’t have dud that. Eh, what was I saying?”

“Your nose,” Amy prompted. “It’s stuffed up?”

The Doctor snapped his fingers. “That’s the wod – how did you doh?”

“I can hear it,” Amy said, wincing sympathetically. “In your voice.”

“Oh yes,” the Doctor replied. He sniffled. “Id addition to that, by throat… it hurts.”

“You’ve got a sore throat?” Amy asked.

“Doh – well, I guess – I bead, doh,” the Doctor said confusingly. “It – there’s pain, yes, but it isn’t like a sore throat. It doesn’t burd at all.”

Rory gave Amy a confused look. “What are you on about?” he asked. “What do you mean, it doesn’t burn?”

“It’s dot like a proper sore throat,” the Doctor explained wearily. “It’s dot a burning sedsation – this is bore like there’s little pids sticking id it. I’ve never experienced addything like it before.”

“Your throat burns when you’re ill?” Amy asked.

“Of course it does,” the Doctor told her. “What else would it do?”

“Well, if you were a human, it might feel like there were little pins sticking in it,” Amy replied.

The Doctor clearly hadn’t been expecting this. He stammered a bit, taken aback. “I – you bead I – you’re saying – do you bead to tell be that your throat feels like this every tibe you’re ill?”

“From your description, that’s what it sounds like,” Amy told him.

“But it’s awful!” the Doctor exclaimed. His voice cracked slightly – he raised a hand to his throat with a wince. “Doh – that’s dot the point. The point is why? Why has this happened?”

“Sounds like you’ve got a cold, mate,” Rory offered.

“I dod’t catch cold, I told you!” the Doctor insisted crossly.

“Yeah, well, you also said you didn’t sneeze, and we all know how that turned out,” Rory countered. “I say we might as well call a spade a spade.”

The Doctor sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Rory, would you stop prattling od about spades? We have an edtirely udprecedented biological issue od our hadds!” His breath began to hitch. “Ah… heh… ih-SHUHHHH!” His head snapped forward as he buried his face in his hands. “Wow – that’s still quite the rush!”

“Doctor, he just means, what else could it be?” Amy said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You said it yourself – you’ve never felt like this before. Seems like it’s not a Time Lord illness.”

“But you dod’t udderstand!” the Doctor insisted, sniffling. “That’s ibpossible – illdesses dod’t cross species like that.”

“What about avian flu?” Rory pointed out.

“Idterplanetary species,” the Doctor clarified in an irritated tone. “It doesn’t work that way – it doesn’t happedd – ah!” He frowned as he wriggled his nose. “Whatever this is, it isn’t what it appears.”

“I’m with Rory,” Amy declared. “It’s the only logical explanation I can think of.”

“I’ve raddomly add for doh apparent reason acquired a hubad illdess while od ad alien pladdet several dozzed galaxies frob Earth?” the Doctor asked. “How exactly is this logical?” He stood up and began pacing restlessly. “It doesn’t bake sense,” he mumbled. “Thousadds upon thousadds of species in the universe, add dearly sevedty percent of theb are prode to ad illdess chiefly characterized by a sore throat add a stuffy dose, but dot Tibe Lords.” He sniffed. “Sobewod is behind this, add… add I idtend to… heh-uh-CHUHHHH!” He threw an arm up to cover his mouth, a bit too late. “…Fide out,” he finished with a sigh. “Sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Amy assured him.

“The bright side is, if it is a cold, it’s nothing serious,” Rory told him encouragingly.

“Oh, yes – cobpletely adomalous idcidents are gederally duthing to worry about,” the Doctor replied darkly. He checked his watch and sighed heavily. “But we haven’t tibe for this,” he said. “We deed to start looking for that billedora.”

Amy bit her lip. “Doctor, don’t you think you ought to stay in bed?” she said.

“Probably, but it cad’t be helped,” the Doctor informed her. “You do dot wadt to go against Cherrhoksiad ordidances – their bureaucracy is the stuff of legend.” He trudged to the door of the TARDIS and stepped outside, slamming it behind him. Amy and Rory exchanged a look, then followed.

See you tomorrow!

[obsessed]

Awwww. I think I melted from all that whining.

IRL that would have been different I bet.

Buuuuut since this is Doctor Who...

...

[count tiszula]

More top Whoviannesse! Now with added Amy.....and I must say, I was intrigued by the alien hunters; shall we see more of them?

[Merino Sheep]

Hmm, Doctor, we know that when humans push themselves while sick, then just end up getting worse. Tell me Doctor is the same held true for time lords. I can't wait to find out. XD

I hope the Doctor doesn't bring any millenoras to Earth. I would most certainly not be a member of the 'let's go to find the thing that almost killed us' party.

Lovely chapter, I cannot wait to read more.

[angora48]

count de tisza, I'm afraid the hunters don't show up again. I made them up for the express purpose of a plot point; the Doctor and co. were in the forest, and I needed someone to stumble across them so they'd get in trouble for the millenora and get their "48 hours" instructions, therefore: hunters! We don't see any of them again, but this next part in particular does include a little bit more discussion about the Cherrhoksians themselves.

Part 5! I'm happy people are liking it!

“The Cherrhoksiads have always bed like this,” the Doctor was saying. “Everything’s a coudcil or a cobbittee, add you cad’t do a thing without judicial approval. It’s a shabe – they’ve got loads of potedtial, but they get so bogged dowd id bicro-baddage…” He grimaced at the congestion in his voice. “…Id idsigdificant details that they devver get addything accoblished. Awful waste.”

He’d been going on like this for a while, whilst they’d been searching. It seemed to Amy that he was trying very hard to be like his normal self – the lively old Doctor, always thinking, always observing, always talking – but he wasn’t quite pulling it off. His conversation lacked enthusiasm, and every cough or sniffle brought a flicker of concern across his face.

“Wod tibe – oh, about fifty years ago,” the Doctor went on, “there was talk of a bassive hydroelectric project in a Cherrhoksiad city dot too far frob here. Half a cedtury of plads, cobbittees, add reports, ah… add… Hah-eh-SHOOOO-ahhh!” He sneezed wetly into his hands.

“Bless you,” Amy called.

The Doctor sniffed, rubbing his nose. “Y-yes, thadk you,” he mumbled. “Ub, what was I saying?”

“Hydroelectric something or other,” Amy prompted.

“Ah, yes,” the Doctor said. “Well, fifty years later, add they’re hoping to begin their iditial blueprints sood.” He clapped a hand over to his mouth and coughed. Groaning, he steadied himself against a tree and massaged his temple.

“You want to take a break?” Amy asked him.

“Doh,” the Doctor replied, straightening hastily. “Doh, I’be – I’ll be quite all right.” He threw himself into the search with an illusion of his usual energy.

“What do you think?” Amy said quietly, sidling up to Rory.

“What about?” Rory asked.

“The Doctor, of course!” Amy replied. “Do you think it’s as bad as he says?”

“Well, it’s hard for me to look at some sneezing and a bit of a cough and see a crisis,” Rory retorted. “If it is a cold, and it affects him the same way it would a human, I don’t see any need to worry. He should be over it soon enough.”

“Heh-i-eh-CHOOOOO!” came the Doctor’s sneeze from behind some shrubbery.

Amy winced. “Is there anything you think we should do?” she pressed.

Rory shrugged. “Treat it like we would any cold, I suppose,” he told her. “I imagine the same sorts of things will probably help – bed rest and tea and the like.”

“And maybe encourage him not to panic so much,” Amy observed.

“He seems calmed down to me,” Rory pointed out.

“On the surface, maybe, but it still worries him,” Amy said. “Just because he’s not going on about it now doesn’t mean he’s not nervous. You can tell – he wants to sound like he’s not bothered, but he is.”

Rory nodded in acknowledgement. “He’d probably have a lot more peace of mind if we could just find the damn millenora.”

“Doctor!” Amy called.

The Doctor, rifling through some thick bushes, turned. “Hmmm?” he murmured.

“Couldn’t we draw it out somehow?” she said. “The millenora, I mean? Put some food out or something?”

The Doctor shook his head lethargically, rubbing his forehead. “Food is secondary – they cad go years without it,” he told her.

“But it’s worth a shot, yeah?” Amy said.

“Baybe,” the Doctor replied with a sigh. He pressed a fist against his mouth and stifled a cough.

Amy clapped an encouraging hand on the Doctor’s shoulder. “I’ll get us some food,” she announced. “We’ll lay it all out, we’ll catch the millenora so the Cherrhoksians won’t punish us, and we’ll have a quiet couple of days on the TARDIS and get you feeling all better before we go someplace new and brilliant. Yeah?” She gave him a smile and was rewarded by the corner of the Doctor’s mouth turning up slightly.

“Yeah,” he said quietly.

“Good,” Amy replied. “You stay here. Rory, give me a hand!” She started pulling Rory in the direction of the TARDIS. “Back in a moment,” she told the Doctor, “with everything you need to coax a millenora into the open.” With more confidence than she felt, she dragged Rory off to help her gather supplies.

[obsessed]

Mmmm, I'm quite enjoying this. <3

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Hmhm.... poor Doctor. I am loving this story quite a bit.

*runs off to make him some tea*