An Entirely Unprecedented Event - (12 Parts)

[Merino Sheep]

Poor Doctor, I just want to wrap him in a blanket, fix him a nice cup of tea, and big hug.

Loved this chapter. Thank you so much for writing this story, with it's nice daily updates. I cannot wait to read tomorrows installment! =]

[angora48]

Here's Part 6.

Rory ventured close to the pile of meat and cheese they’d left out and sighed. “Nothing here!” he called. “Not even a nibble! What about yours?”

“Not a thing,” Amy replied with disappointment. “It’s like it’s just vanished.”

Rory walked back to the others. “What else can we do?” he asked the Doctor.

The Doctor sniffed, coughing into his hand. “I – I dod’t doh,” he said. He rubbed his forehead wearily.

“But there’s hardly been a sign of it all day!” Amy cried out.

“Yes,” the Doctor said. “Our best odds of fiding it were right after we crashed.”

Amy sank to the ground, back against a tree. “Are you saying we won’t be able to find it?”

“I dod’t doh,” the Doctor said quietly. “I just – I cad’t thidk.” He raised a hand to his temple and sniffed.

“Then why’d you tell the Cherrhoksians we could?!” Amy argued.

“Because it gave us two days we wouldn’t have had otherwise?” the Doctor replied weakly. “Hah-eh-ah-SHOOOO-ehhh!” He sneezed suddenly.

“Oi, I said to cover your mouth!” Amy said. “You want us getting ill?” The better part of a day searching in vain for a nasty alien creature had left her a bit grumpy.

“It sdnuck up od be,” the Doctor admitted, pressing a finger to his nose.

Amy was losing patience, but Rory had a better frame of reference. While he’d never come across anyone who was flummoxed by a head cold, he’d given an hand to plenty of patients who didn’t know how to see to their illnesses. “Don’t worry about it, mate,” he told the Doctor. “Have you got an hankie?”

The Doctor nodded. “Od the TARDIS,” he said.

Rory resisted the urge to chuckle. Of course, it hadn’t occurred to the Doctor to bring his handkerchief with him whilst he was sneezing. Just another one of those things to constantly remind Rory that, though the Doctor looked human, he was totally alien. “Let’s go find it,” he said. “Amy, do you want to keep an eye on the bait?”

“Sure,” Amy replied dully. “It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

“We’ll just be a minute,” Rory told her. He walked back to the TARDIS, slowly – the Doctor seemed listless. “You doing all right?” he asked.

“Lovely,” the Doctor replied glumly. He covered his mouth to cough.

“Gives you a bit more respect for humans, eh?” Rory said, trying to put a smile on the Time Lord’s face.

Rory’s efforts were met with a slight crack of a smile. “Oh yeah, you hubads cad survive addything, cad’t you?” the Doctor said with a whiff of irony. “Barvels, you lot. Eh-heh-uh-CHUHHHH!” He lifted his hands up to catch his sneeze.

“Bless,” Rory said. He was relieved when the TARDIS came into the view. “Come on.”

Naturally, the Doctor’s handkerchief wasn’t anywhere handy – he threw several rooms into disarray as he searched through boxes and cupboards and drawers. “Here we are,” he announced finally, holding it aloft like a white flag.

“That’ll get Amy off your back,” Rory told him. “Plus, you’ll feel a little better if you can blow your nose.” A sudden, strange thought occurred to him. “Do, um… do you know how?”

“Of course I do!” the Doctor cried defensively. “I’ve seen hubads do it loads of tibes.”

“I’ve seen plenty of humans drive boats, but that doesn’t mean I can do it myself,” Rory pointed out jokingly.

“Very fuddy,” the Doctor replied. He buried his nose in the white fabric and blew noisily.

“There,” Rory said when the Doctor folded up the handkerchief and placed it in his jacket pocket. “Did that help?”

“Doh,” the Doctor said in a disappointed voice. “It feels the sabe.”

“…Are you sure you did it right?” Rory asked.

“Rory, I told you, I doh how to do it!” the Doctor insisted. He sighed, rubbing one of his eyes with his palm. “I cad use it for the sneezing, addway,” he said. “As you said, Abey will appreciate it.”

“Right,” Rory agreed.

The Doctor yawned; he rubbed his throat. “We’d better get back,” he said.

Rory wanted to tell him no. He wanted to assert his nurse expertise and make the Doctor get into bed and stay there until he didn’t sound so miserable, but he knew that was no good. It was enough of a surprise to see the Doctor slowed down so significantly – he knew there wasn’t much hope of actually getting the Doctor to stop, especially not when they had a deadline.

As they exited the TARDIS, a greenish blur shot by the corner of Rory’s eye. “Doctor!” he cried, turning toward the blur. He didn’t see a creature, but he saw the leaves rustle as the blur disappeared into the bushes.

“Did you see it?” the Doctor asked, but Rory was already off running.

“Amy!” Rory called as he tore through the bushes, in pursuit of the source of (most of) their recent troubles. “Amy!”

“Rory? Did you find it?” called Amy’s voice, distant.

“Get over here – help me!” Rory cried. There was a rustling sound behind him, and he whirled his head around.

Much to Rory’s surprise, the Doctor wasn’t far behind him. He opened his mouth to question it, but the Doctor said, “Eyes id front – you wadt to rud idto a tree?”

He was right, of course. Rory hastily turned back around and scoured the forest floor for any signs of the troublesome millenora. Another rustle, on the low-hanging branches of a tree this time. “There!” Rory cried, pointing. He raced toward the tree and started pulling himself up.

“Ah-heh-chi-UHHHHH!” the Doctor sneezed behind him. “Atta boy!” he said.

Rory wasn’t very far into the tree when an ugly face thrust itself out, hissing at him. The millenora seemed half-mammal, half-reptile, and it looked prickly all over. It let out a growl, baring a full set of wicked-looking teeth. Rory gave a shout and reared back, losing his footing and tumbling out of the tree.

The Doctor arrived at the trunk of the tree a few moments after Rory landed hard on the ground. “Dasty fall,” the Doctor observed. “Are you injured?”

“No,” Rory admitted, a little embarrassed. Not injured – just startled.

Amy burst through the underbrush and skidded to a stop in front of Rory and the Doctor. “What happened?” she asked.

“Rory chased it up a tree,” the Doctor explained.

“That’s fantastic!” Amy cried. “This tree?” She grabbed one of the lower branches and moved to start climbing.

“It’s gone now,” Rory told her.

“What?” Amy said. “You didn’t get it?”

With a sigh, Rory admitted, “No.” Both Amy and the Doctor were looking at him now. “It sort of… swiped at me,” he said. He could feel his ears growing red. “I fell.”

“That’s it?” Amy exclaimed in exasperation. “You had it cornered and you just let it go?”

“It could have paralyzed me!” Rory protested.

“And now we’re starting that up again,” Amy grumbled.

“Eduff!” the Doctor said. Even with a stuffed-up nose and a scratchy throat, he could command attention when he needed to. “Arguing about why Rory didn’t catch it does us doh good. He didn’t catch it, but we cad… we cad follow it… dow…” As he spoke, he fumbled to get his handkerchief out of his pocket, but not quickly enough – he turned and pressed his face against his shoulder just in time to muffle a strong “Hih-i-eh-CHOOOO-uhhh!” He rubbed his nose, blinking hard. “Excuse be,” he said. “As I said, we cad follow it.” He sniffled. “…That is, if wod of you cad smell it,” he added sheepishly. "I cad't smell a thing."

Rory and Amy both sniffed the air. “This way,” Amy announced, charging off.

“Excellent,” the Doctor said. He took off after her.

Rory hurried after them. “What’s all this?” he asked the Doctor. “A few minutes ago, I wouldn’t have thought you could move like that.”

“Suddedd burst of adredaline, fueled by the desperate hope that if we catch this thing sood, I cad collapse add force you to drag be back to the TARDIS,” the Doctor replied as he ran.

Rory nodded resolutely. “We’ll get it,” he promised, speeding up to keep pace with Amy.

The three of them ran doggedly through the forest. They had a millenora to catch.

See you tomorrow!

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Awww... I'm loving this more with every installment... Rory/Doctor moments .... we didn't nearly get enough of those in the series.

I love it how he has to keep reminding himself to cover his mouth, even if he doesn't really seem to get the point of it.

[Merino Sheep]

“That’ll get Amy off your back,” Rory told him. “Plus, you’ll feel a little better if you can blow your nose.” A sudden, strange thought occurred to him. “Do, um… do you know how?”

“Of course I do!” the Doctor cried defensively. “I’ve seen hubads do it loads of tibes.”

“I’ve seen plenty of humans drive boats, but that doesn’t mean I can do it myself,” Rory pointed out jokingly.

This had me laughing for a good while. I was wondering the same thing, if the Doctor know how to blow his nose or not, so I'm glad to find out. =]

He was right, of course. Rory hastily turned back around and scoured the forest floor for any signs of the troublesome millenora. Another rustle, on the low-hanging branches of a tree this time. “There!” Rory cried, pointing. He raced toward the tree and started pulling himself up.

“Ah-heh-chi-UHHHHH!” the Doctor sneezed behind him. “Atta boy!” he said.

Rory wasn’t very far into the tree when an ugly face thrust itself out, hissing at him. The millenora seemed half-mammal, half-reptile, and it looked prickly all over. It let out a growl, baring a full set of wicked-looking teeth. Rory gave a shout and reared back, losing his footing and tumbling out of the tree.

Another part that had me laughing. Just the imagery of Rory climbing the tree was enough to get me started.

Rory hurried after them. “What’s all this?” he asked the Doctor. “A few minutes ago, I wouldn’t have thought you could move like that.”

“Suddedd burst of adredaline, fueled by the desperate hope that if we catch this thing sood, I cad collapse add force you to drag be back to the TARDIS,” the Doctor replied as he ran.

And this was the point where I just wanted to step in and say, "Doctor you're coming back to the TARDIS with me right now, and I'm going to get you fixed up. Just let Rory and Amy deal with that stupid creature."

Poor Doctor, I hope they catch it soon. Looking forward to reading more tomorrow. =]

[obsessed]

“Oh yeah, you hubads cad survive addything, cad’t you?” the Doctor said with a whiff of irony. “Barvels, you lot. Eh-heh-uh-CHUHHHH!” He lifted his hands up to catch his sneeze.

Love this line. (:

[Guest Nindylou]

Love how well you write Eleven! Your character voices are extremely good!

[silentdreamer789]

Your character voices are extremely good!

I agree, you have the characters down! I love Rory's sympathy in particular. Looking forward to tomorrow!

[angora48]

Thanks for all the comments! They make me feel warm and fuzzy.

Here's Part 7.

Amy sighed heavily. Close to twenty minutes of hot pursuit, and they’d lost the millenora. “Nothing like a long day of hard, boring work with nothing to show for it,” she grumbled.

“That thing’s fast,” Rory gasped breathlessly.

“Think how much simpler it would have been if you’d grabbed it when you cornered it,” Amy said pointedly.

“It gave me a shock!” Rory protested. “You wouldn’t have grabbed it, either.”

“Sure I would’ve,” Amy retorted.

“…Yeah, you would’ve,” Rory finally admitted.

Meanwhile, the Doctor rested his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. “W-what ab I going to do with the two of you?” he said shakily. “Cad’t take you addywhere – always quarreling.”

Rory frowned. “Doctor?” he said, approaching the Doctor with concern. “Here, you should sit down.”

“Just – a bit – out of breath,” the Doctor sputtered out. He coughed heavily, and Rory reached out to steady him. “Thadks.”

“Sit,” Rory repeated, and the Doctor allowed Rory to help him to the ground. “You all right?”

The Doctor lowered his head to his knees. “The forest is spidding a bit,” he confessed. “Ah-hih-CHOOOO-ehhh!” He groaned. “I’ll be all right id a bidite.”

“Take all the time you need,” Rory urged.

Amy had to admit she rather liked seeing her boys getting along. The Doctor’s situation was bringing out the nurse in Rory, which seemed to override his usual insecurities regarding the Time Lord. For once, it didn’t feel like Rory was keeping a ledger of how much attention Amy paid to each of them. Naturally, she wasn’t interested in seeing the Doctor feeling so ill all the time, but as a change of pace, it could have been worse.

Gradually, the Doctor’s breathing grew less heavy. “That’s better,” he finally said, scrubbing his face with his hands. “Only I’be afraid I’ve reddered byself a bit useless. There’s doh way I could rud like that agaid. Ad arby of Sodtarads could come charging through the forest right dow, add I’d just let theb take be.”

Amy sat down beside him. “Guess we know how to stop you running now, eh?” she said, smiling a bit. The Doctor didn’t reply; he merely leaned back against the trunk of a tree and sighed. Amy slipped her arm over his shoulder.

“Eh…” The Doctor’s body tensed. Amy reached into his jacket pocket, grabbed his handkerchief, and pressed it into his hand. “Ah… heh-ih-SHUHHHHH!” He sneezed loudly into the handkerchief.

“Bless you,” Amy said.

“Thadk you,” the Doctor said, sniffling. “For both the blessing add the assistance with the haddkerchief. I’be dot used to getting it out id a hurry.”

Amy chuckled. “What do you have a hankie for, anyway?” she asked. “If you don’t sneeze, I mean.”

“Oh, you doh,” the Doctor replied. “Bopping by brow whed it’s sweaty. Drying by eyes whed I’be weepy. Cleading things that are dirty. Bostely, though, it’s good for offering to others whed they deed it.”

“But only when you remember to bring it with you,” Amy pointed out.

“Yes, that’s the catch,” the Doctor said. He coughed a few times into the handkerchief, then refolded it and returned it to its proper place.

“Are we calling it a day, then?” Rory asked.

“I’be afraid we’d better,” the Doctor told him. “I haven’t got it id be to go addy bore.” He sniffed. “I’be absolute rubbish today – I’be sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Rory assured him.

“We know how it goes,” Amy said. She jumped up, and she and Rory helped the Doctor to his feet. As they began the long walk back to the TARDIS, the Doctor, stumbling a bit, placed his hand on Rory’s shoulder for support.

After a few minutes walking in silence, Amy began to get bored. “Doctor, what sorts of illnesses do Time Lords get?” she asked.

The Doctor rubbed his nose, sniffling. “Let’s see,” he murmured. “Well, there’s kribdell. You itch all over add your tongue changes color.”

Rory’s eyes widened. “What color?”

“Yellow, bostely,” the Doctor said. “That’s all right, but if it goes orange, you wadt to see a doctor. What else? Shidosis is quite cobbud. Bit of a fever, sore throat…”

“That doesn’t sound too different from human illnesses,” Amy observed.

“But that’s a Tibe Lord sore throat, rebebber,” the Doctor pointed out. “Defiditely dot the sabe – yours is worse, I’d say. Plus, your vision goes all wobbly.” He pressed a hand against his face and coughed.

“Do you get anything that’s like what humans get?” Rory asked.

The Doctor frowned, thinking. “There’s Dyrean fever,” he said. “Th-tha…” He stopped walking and covered his mouth with both hands. “Heh-i-eh-CHUHHHH! Ugh – that’s your basic stobach bug. Every pladdet has sobething like it, add it’s dot terribly fud for addywod.” He sniffed a few times, wriggling his nose.

When they returned to the TARDIS, the Doctor fumblingly unlocked the door. “I desperately deed to lie dowd,” he admitted, “but you two thidk over what we did today. Look for addything that could be a clue as to how we catch the billedora – toborrow’s our last chance. If I didn’t feel like by braid was belting out of by head, I’d help you.”

“Go to bed,” Amy urged. “We’ll get on all right.”

The Doctor nodded wearily. “Thadk you.” He trudged inside the TARDIS.

“You want a cuppa tea?” Amy called after him.

“Abey Pond, you’re a barvel,” the Doctor replied as he disappeared off to his room.

Soon, Amy had a piping hot cup of tea, which she brought to the Doctor’s room. When she poked her head in, she saw that the Doctor had already fallen asleep. His stuffed-up breathing was slow and even; she couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Blowing lightly on the tea, she took a sip for herself.

[obsessed]

Hmmm, I like Nurse Rory.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Rory in full nurse mode is wonderful.

I love this Doctor. *sneaks into the TARDIS to watch him sleep*

[Sitruuna]

I love this fic and I love you for writing this... It's allways great to see someone, who's not supposed to be able to cacth a cold, get sick and I've been looking for something like this quite long (usualy all the doctor who things are about some of the human characters and it's pretty often allergies... Or so it seems).

I'm hooked on this fic...

Sneezy Doctor...

[Merino Sheep]

Fantastic chapter! I've read this story so many times today that I lost count.

I cannot wait to read tomorrow's chapter!

*sneaks into the TARDIS to watch him sleep*

*sneaks in with Sigrith* =]

[Zwee]

*squeals* this is fabulous! Oh, I mean, poor guy! I love Doctor who, and Eleven is just too cute! You write the characters and dialogue so well!

[angora48]

Here's Part 8, everybody.

Morning came, bringing with it the last day they had to catch the millenora. Amy and Rory woke before the Doctor again, which was an odd feeling. Normally, the TARDIS practically pulsed with the Doctor’s limitless energy and he could be found racing about at almost any hour of the day. The TARDIS seemed so quiet without him doing a million things at once.

The Doctor got up not too long after Amy and Rory’s breakfast. He was still without his tie and braces, but his shirt was buttoned properly, at least. Amy hoped that meant he was feeling even a little bit better.

“All right – bording once agaid,” the Doctor said, clapping his hands together. His arms were quite expressive, nearly taking on a life of their own. “What have you two got for be?”

“How are you feeling?” Rory asked.

“Rory, we haven’t tibe to worry about that,” the Doctor told him dismissively. “We’ve got to go out add catch a billedora, add after that, we’ll have all sorts of tibe to talk about by dose add throat add all the other bits of be. Dow, let’s have it! Ideas!” His arms never stopped moving, and he wore a determined smile, but Amy knew that they were just distractions. He wanted to look energetic; he wanted to look like he wasn’t bothered by his cold, but this wasn’t how he really was.

“We, uh… we thought of spreading out and covering different parts of the forest,” Rory offered feebly. “That way, we could – we could surround it, and it wouldn’t have any way to escape.”

The Doctor’s jaw clenched slightly, only for a moment. “Excellent suggestion, Rory,” he said with thoroughly unconvincing enthusiasm. “It’d be brilliant if we had addy proper idea of whe… of where t-to…” He had to sneeze; his breath was hitching, and his eyelids fluttered. The Doctor plowed on stubbornly, but Amy could tell he wasn’t going to finish his sentence. “Ah… heh… i-eh-uh-SHOOOOO-uhhhh!” He bent over double as he sneezed hard. When he straightened up, his bangs hung in his eyes and he held a hand to his head. “Ooh,” he mumbled, wincing.

“Doctor, you’re not feeling well,” Rory pointed out.

The Doctor pressed a hand over his mouth and coughed wearily. “You doh, you just dod’t get eduff credit for your perceptivedess,” he said.

“Do you want to sit down?” Rory asked with a frown.

“I told you, we haven’t tibe!” the Doctor repeated forcefully. “Later, we cad suss out just how rubbish I feel – every particular, I probbise you – but right dow, we have a job to do. Dow, evidently, whed I asked the two of you to cobe up with solutions, we didn’t get addy farther thad, ‘Let’s surroud the creature we dod’t doh how to fide!’ Terribly illubidating, really.” He sniffed sullenly and rubbed his temple.

And here was how the Doctor was actually feeling. “Someone’s a bit cross today,” Amy said, trying to lighten the situation.

“Yes, Abey, I’be cross,” the Doctor replied with a heavy sigh. “I’be stuffed up, I have a headache, add by throat hurts, add I have doh idea why. Also, let’s dot forget that I have to fide ad intergalactic pest so that I cad get these fussy Cherrhoksiads off of my back. By head’s too stuffed up add achy to thidk properly, add I just wadt to leg it off this pladdet, but I cad’t. I’be very cross.” He started coughing again, covering his mouth with both hands.

Amy resisted the urge to smile. While the Doctor looked not much older than her, and his manner regularly reminded her that he was actually 907, every now and then, something came along to bring out his inner eight-year-old.

“Doctor, you need to lie down,” Amy said.

The Doctor sighed. “Sit dowd, lie dowd – yes, everybody has ad opidion, add doh wod seebs to rebebber what we’re trying to accomplish today, even whed I literally just explaid it. Hih-shi-UUUHHHHH!” He turned to muffle a sudden sneeze into his shoulder.

“Not all day, obviously,” Amy retorted. “Just lie down for an hour. Clear your head. Rory and I will go out and look for the millenora. We can set out some more food, too – it might take the bait. There’ll be plenty of daylight left when you get up, and you’ll be in a much better state to help us.”

The Doctor rubbed his forehead. “Abey, you dod’t udderstand…” he insisted.

“An hour – that’s it,” Amy repeated. “It’ll make you feel better, I promise you.”

The Doctor considered this. “Wod hour?”

“Bit of a nap – it does wonders,” Amy told him. “Like a jumpstart.” He didn’t look convinced. “Doctor, I’m not setting foot outside this TARDIS until you get back into bed.”

The Doctor frowned thoughtfully. Amy could practically see the gears turning in his mind as he made his decision. Finally, he said, “I wadt the two of you spedding every bidite looking for that billedora id by absence.”

“We will,” Amy assured him. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll have caught it before you even get up!” She knew he didn’t believe her now. She gave him a playfully teasing smile. “Don’t think you’re the only one who can chase aliens and figure out problems.”

The Doctor exhaled noisily, rubbing his eyes lethargically. “Fide,” he conceded.

“Atta boy,” Amy said, taking him by the arm. “Come on, you.”

“I could have sword you probbised you were going to go out searching,” the Doctor observed pointedly.

“Soon as I know you’re holding up your end of the bargain,” Amy told him. She strode with him to his bedroom. “Here we are – into bed!”

The Doctor threw her a sulky look. As much as she knew he wanted nothing more than to crawl beneath his blankets and sleep his cold away, he wasn’t about to admit it for anything. That wasn’t who the Doctor was. He wasn’t the type to nap while there was a situation to be dealt with, no matter how ill he felt. “Get to it,” Amy said sternly. “I can stand here all day if I need to.”

Sighing heavily, the Doctor set himself down on the mattress, flat on his back with his arms folded stubbornly. There was that eight-year-old again. Amy raised an eyebrow at him. “Shoes off, jacket off, and get beneath the blankets,” she clarified.

“Abey, we haven’t –”

“I know, I know; we haven’t got time,” Amy replied, “so do you really want me to stand here arguing with you?”

She had him now. The Doctor sullenly removed his jacket and shoes and slipped beneath his blankets, pulling them up to his chest. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Amy teased.

“Wod hour,” the Doctor said firmly.

“That’s all I want,” Amy told her. She switched off the light and shut the door behind her.

“Okay,” Amy said to Rory when she got back to the control room. “Let’s catch ourselves a millenora!”

“Do you know what you just did?” Rory asked as he followed her outside. “You just sent a Time Lord to his room!”

Amy grinned. She had to say that even she was a bit impressed with herself. “Just need to have a strong hand,” she told him.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

“Do you know what you just did?” Rory asked as he followed her outside. “You just sent a Time Lord to his room!”

Oooh... was there a subtle reference to season one in there? ^^

The Doctor’s jaw clenched slightly, only for a moment. “Excellent suggestion, Rory,” he said with thoroughly unconvincing enthusiasm. “It’d be brilliant if we had addy proper idea of whe… of where t-to…” He had to sneeze; his breath was hitching, and his eyelids fluttered. The Doctor plowed on stubbornly, but Amy could tell he wasn’t going to finish his sentence. “Ah… heh… i-eh-uh-SHOOOOO-uhhhh!” He bent over double as he sneezed hard. When he straightened up, his bangs hung in his eyes and he held a hand to his head. “Ooh,” he mumbled, wincing.

I love this scene, stubborn Doctor is exceedingly adorable.

[swann_ee_song]

.....Are you my mummy?

*snicker*

That chap was great! Amy taking charge is always brilliant. And the Doctor finally admitting he's cross was very cute.

[obsessed]

Ooooh, this was so

I love the nap part. Cracked me up.

[Merino Sheep]

This chapter was so adorable. Now I wonder if Amy is going to keep her promise on the one hour part.

Looking forward to reading more tomorrow!

[angora48]

While I didn't specifically set out to reference season 1, the phrase "are you my mummy?" did pop into my head as I was writing that line, and it made me smile - one of the few times that phrase has made me smile instead of shudder, lol!

Here's Part 9.

Amy stretched, wiping her sweaty brow. Cherrhoksia’s sun was hotter than Earth’s. Even with the trees overhead, the heat was sapping her energy. She was glad the Doctor wasn’t with them.

“What time is it?” Rory asked her.

Amy looked down at her watch. “Almost noon,” she said. “Well, I guess. Maybe they have a different name for it here.”

As Amy had hoped, the Doctor hadn’t joined them at the end of his required hour-long nap. She’d had the feeling that if she could just get him to lie down a bit longer, his body would realize what his head was too stubborn to admit, and he’d be able to really get the rest he needed.

“Lunch break?” Rory suggested.

“Sure, but we’d better check on the Doctor first,” Amy replied. “After he was so strict about us working nonstop, he’d blow his lid if he got up and found us taking a break.”

Rory groaned. “If you wake him, he’ll want to go out straightaway, and we won’t even get lunch,” he pointed out.

“I’m not gonna wake him!” Amy protested. “I’m just gonna look in on him. You can find us something for us to eat while I do, and we’ll eat right after.”

“Okay, but only if you’re really quiet,” Rory warned her.

“I’ll be an absolute mouse,” Amy assured him.

Back at the TARDIS, Rory headed to the kitchen whilst Amy softly opened the door to the Doctor’s bedroom and poked her head in.

If it weren’t for the sound of the Doctor’s breathing, Amy wouldn’t have known he was still in bed - from her place in the doorway, he was completely obscured by blankets. She pushed the door open a bit further and crept closer to the bed.

Looking straight on, Amy could just see the Doctor’s face, as the rest of him was cocooned in his blankets. He had one arm wrapped around his pillow, and he sniffled as he slept, wriggling his pinkish nose.

Satisfied, Amy turned back toward the door. “Heh… i-eh… hih-chi-OOOOOO!” the Doctor sneezed suddenly. He groaned, and she could hear the blankets rustling as he rolled over in bed. “…Abey?” came the Doctor’s voice, stuffed up and scratchy.

Amy winced. Rory wouldn’t be too happy about this. “Hiya,” she said, turning around. “You have a nice nap?”

The Doctor rolled onto his back. He pushed his blankets down past his waist and sighed. “You said I’d feel better if I slept,” he said in an even, but still decidedly accusatory tone.

Amy hadn’t expected this. For all that the Doctor amused her with his whinging and his studied observations about his symptoms, it hadn’t really sunk in that this was the first time he’d ever had a cold, and he would view her as the expert. “Doctor, I didn’t mean completely better,” she explained, half-defensive and half-apologetic. “I just meant, you know, it’d help you start feeling sort of better.”

“…Ah,” the Doctor replied.

Amy walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Don’t you feel at least a bit better?” she asked hopefully.

The Doctor shook his head glumly. “I feel absolutely dreadful,” he admitted. “Has it bed ad hour?”

“Oh, yeah!” Amy said. “Yeah, it’s been… well… four-and-a-half.”

“What?!” the Doctor exclaimed. He shot up in bed, then almost immediately fell back onto his elbow, pressing a palm against his temple. “Ow…” he murmured.

“You shouldn’t sit up so fast,” Amy told him.

“Yes, I realize that dow,” the Doctor said. Gingerly, he pushed himself up to a sitting position. “Abey, we said wod hour.”

“Well, we were out looking for the millenora!” Amy protested. “When you didn’t come out, we figured we’d just let you sleep. No harm there.”

“Doh harb?” the Doctor replied. “Whed we have less thad a day to fide the billedora? Od Cherrhoksia, where people have bed jailed for being seed id public wearing hats that haven’t bed approved by the coudcil? Where –?” A sudden cough cut him off, and he dropped back onto the mattress, holding his hands over his mouth as he coughed.

“Fine, I see your point, but do you really think you’re much help to the search in that state?” Amy countered.

The Doctor groaned, holding the back of his wrist against his forehead. “I thidk I have a temperature,” he complained.

“Let’s see,” Amy said. She leaned over and brought a hand to his temple. “You don’t feel warm to me.”

“Oh, what do you doh?” the Doctor mumbled, half to himself, as he reached for his sonic screwdriver on the end table.

“Well, excuse me – I didn’t know you were such an expert on head colds,” Amy told him.

“Very fuddy,” the Doctor replied. “I bead you actually dod’t doh – Tibe Lords rud a few degrees cooler thad hubads.” He held the tip of his screwdriver to his forehead.

“Yeah? How much?” Amy asked.

The Doctor looked at the readings on his screwdriver. “35.2,” he murmured, frowning.

“Is that normal, or is that what you’ve got?” Amy asked.

“Both, according to the readings,” the Doctor said. He shook his screwdriver, gave it a couple of smacks, and took his temperature a second time. “35.2,” he said again, exasperated. “What’s the batter with you?” He dropped his screwdriver back on the end table with a clatter.

“See – what’d I tell you?” Amy said. “You haven’t got a fever.”

The Doctor shifted in bed and kicked the blankets off his legs. “Thed why do I feel so hot add woozy?” he asked.

“Maybe you’re so bothered by your cold, you’re getting psychosomatic symptoms?” Amy suggested teasingly. “Really, you should stay here. Rory and I can deal with the millenora.”

The Doctor cupped his hands of his mouth. “Heh-uh-SHUUHHHH!” He sniffed. “Yes, because you’ve haddled it brilliantly so far,” he griped.

“Oi, speak for yourself – I haven’t seen you making any great strides!” Amy said. “Anyway, we came pretty close. We caught sight of it when we first left the TARDIS, and we gave it a good chase, but it disappeared on us.”

“Close doesn’t pacify the Cherrhoksiads,” the Doctor pointed out. He held his finger to his nose and sniffled, groaning.

Amy picked up the Doctor’s handkerchief off his end table. “Hey, how come you haven’t been using this?” she asked. “Your hankie isn’t meant to be spotless when you’ve got a cold; it’s meant to be used.”

“I have bed using it,” the Doctor said, grabbing it out of her hands. “Dod’t you doh dot to haddle sobeone’s soiled haddkerchief?”

“But it’s not soiled; that’s my point!” Amy retorted. “If you’ve been using it, you haven’t been doing it properly.”

“I doh how to blow by dose,” the Doctor insisted obstinantly. As if to prove himself, he held the handkerchief to his nose and blew hard. “Voila,” he said, tossing the hankie back on the table. “Fat load of good it does be.” He sniffled wetly.

Amy looked down at the handkerchief, which was just as pristine as it’d been a moment ago. By all accounts, it’d looked like the Doctor was doing it right, but… “That can’t be right!” she protested. “There’s not a thing on your handkerchief, and you’re still stuffed up.”

“I doh that,” the Doctor replied.

“But that’s weird,” Amy told him. “Congested as you’ve been the past couple of days, your hankie outght to be a mess. Doesn’t make sense.”

A slow look of revelation crossed across the Doctor’s face. “Oh my g– how could I have bed so thick?” he asked himself incredulously. He hastily pushed himself up to a sitting position.

Amy frowned. “How do you mean?”

“Dod’t you see?” he asked her. “I… eh…” Gasping a bit, he held one hand to his face and reached for his handkerchief with the other. “Eh-i-uh-CHOOOO-ehhh!”

“Bless,” Amy said.

“Thadk you,” the Doctor replied distractedly. “Look at the facts. I feel hot, but I haven’t got a fever. I feel stuffed up, but blowing by dose does be doh good. Sleeping the entire bording didn’t bake be feel the least bit improved. Tell be, what does a hubad sore throat look like?”

“What?” Amy asked, taken aback.

“Whed you get a sore throat,” the Doctor prompted, “does it look addy different?”

“Sort of reddish, I guess,” Amy replied. She still wasn’t following.

“Ahhh…” the Doctor opened his mouth wide, sticking out his tongue. He pointed to his mouth and indicated for Amy to take a look.

“Doesn’t look bad to me,” Amy told him.

“Exactly!” the Doctor said. “It’s –” He turned to cough into his shoulder. “Ugh,” he said, grimacing. “It’s as I was saying before – be, a Tibe Lord, catch a cold? Doesn’t bake sense. But you see, I haven’t. I just feel like I have. Why didn’t I see it before? I cad be so overwhelbingly stupid sobetibes!”

Amy had a great deal of affection for the Doctor, but she couldn’t stand it when he prattled on and on without saying what he was actually talking about. “Doctor, what’re you –?” But the Doctor had swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Still unsteady, he eased himself onto his feet and made his way toward the door. “Where’re you going?”

“To have it out with a certaid billedora,” the Doctor told her.

“You said it yourself – we don’t know how to find it!” Amy pointed out as she headed after him.

“We do dow,” the Doctor replied. “The adswer’s bed right id front of us – you saw it, but you didn’t udderstand it. Well, I do dow. I’be going to catch it, add thed it’ll have to adswer to be!”

[obsessed]

Ooooh, so what could it be? An allergy?

[swann_ee_song]

Definitely want to find out what happens next!

What a great plot!

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Oooh... did the millenora play a trick on our favourite Time Lord?

[Merino Sheep]

Why do I get a feeling the ending of the story is coming up soon? Hope not. XD

Great chapter, I really am loving the plot. I read this when I first wake up in the morning, other than food it is my best motivator to get me moving, lol.

Anyway cannot wait till tomorrow.

[|=)8 [eleventh doctor smiley with fez and bowtie. X3]

[angora48]

lol, coffee-and-cream, that emoticon is SO cute! I love it!

Anyway - Part 10.

The Doctor strode purposefully to the TARDIS control panel. “Hih-i-eh-CHOOO-ehhh!” he sneezed into his hand. “All right, dear,” he said to the TARDIS with a sniffle. “By flying’s going to be a bit rubbish, so I deed you to work with by bistakes, all right?”

Rory emerged from the hallway, a sandwich in his hand. “Doctor,” he said, surprised. “You’re up.”

The Doctor gave him a cursory glimpse. “Dow’s dot the tibe to eat, Rory,” he said. “We’re catching the billedora.”

“I told you not to wake him!” Rory grumbled to Amy.

“It’s not like I was trying to!” Amy protested. They watched the Doctor fiddle with switches and levers. “Doctor, what’re you doing?” Amy asked. “The Cherrhoksians won’t let us leave.”

“I thought you said we were going back out,” Rory pointed out.

“I said we were catching the billedora,” the Doctor clarified. “Going back out wod’t be decessary.” He turned suddenly and pulled a box out of a storage panel. He dug about until he found a largish birdcage.

“I don’t get it,” Rory murmured to Amy.

“The billedora hasn’t showd addy interest id the food we’ve laid out,” the Doctor explained. He still seemed awfully worn out, but he was obviously very pleased with himself about something, and that was bringing him around a bit. “Why? Because food is secondary, like I said. Food isn’t the billedora’s top priority. Doh, what the billedora wadts is a little excitement.” He threw a lever, and the TARDIS began to shake as it took off.

“Doctor, we can’t leave!” Amy cried.

“D-dah…” The Doctor turned his head away and sneezed a wet “Heh-CHUHHHH!” He shook his head to clear it and sniffled. “Sorry about that – dot leaving,” he said. “Who said addything about leaving?” And sure enough, the TARDIS materialized again almost as soon as it had left. “Sobebody look outside,” he instructed. Amy ran to the door and peered out. They were still in Cherrhoksia, still in the forest, maybe about 100 meters from where they’d originally crashed. “Addy side?”

“Of the millenora?” Amy asked confusedly.

“Of course, of the billedora,” the Doctor replied.

“Don’t see anything,” Amy told him.

The Doctor acknowledged her with a nod. “Thed, l-let’s try ah-agaid,” he said, sputtering into a cough. The TARDIS took off once more. “Every tibe we’ve spotted the billedora, where was it?” he asked.

Rory shrugged. “In the forest,” he said.

“Wrong!” the Doctor exclaimed. He stifled a small cough and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “Well, actually, right, just dot specific eduff. The point is, we keep seeing the billedora just as we’re cobing out of the TARDIS.” They landed again. “Addything dow?”

Amy opened the door again. They were back where they’d started. “No,” she said.

The Doctor yanked down on the lever, and off they went. “The billedora doesn’t wadt food,” he went on. “It wadts to go back into space – it loves flying about id space, and the odly way it’s going to do that frob here is by fiding itself a ship. It already dohs it cad ride od the TARDIS, since it caught a lift with us once before, so it hasn’t strayed far. It’s hoping we take off agaid, add we… Hih-eh-SHUUHHHH!” He clapped his hand over his mouth. “…Cad bring it back up,” he finished sniffling.

They landed. Amy looked about outside. She turned back toward the Doctor, shaking her head. He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“So why do we keep taking off and landing?” Rory asked.

“To draw it out,” the Doctor said. “To bake it think we’re getting ready to head off. But why isn’t it…?” The sudden light in his eyes told Amy he’d figured it out, and a weary smile spread across his face. “Oh, you drive a hard bargaid,” he murmured.

“What?” Amy asked.

“We’re booving via the tibe vortex,” the Doctor told her, “add that doesn’t look like flying. It looks like disappearing wod place add showing up agaid sobewhere else. Which beads…” He sniffed, rubbing his nose. “We’ve got to fly it.” He let out a deep breath and lightly slapped his cheeks a few times. “You’re going to have to help be with this wod,” he quietly told the TARDIS. “By banual flying is questiondable od the best of days.”

“He’s really going to kill us this time, isn’t he?” Rory commented to no one in particular.

“Rory, let’s dot thidk like that!” the Doctor encouraged. “It’s going to be smashing.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Rory replied.

“Abey…” the Doctor began, but he halted as his nose began to twitch. “Ah… hih… eh-SHOOOO-i-ehhhhh! Ugh – leave the door opedd.”

Amy took in a nervous breath. “Will do,” she said apprehensively. She pushed the door open and braced herself against the frame.

“All right – everybody ready?” the Doctor asked.

“Ready,” Amy said. “Are you?” She was very aware of the fact that they were about to take off from the middle of a forest.

“What do you thidk?” the Doctor replied.

“I think you’d better not sneeze,” Amy told him.

He smiled a bit at her. “Add we’re off!” he announced.

The TARDIS roared to life once again, very unstable this time. The Doctor gritted his teeth in concentration as he guided the ship up, pitching about as branches scraped against the sides. They rose above the trees, flew in a wide circle, and then started back down. “Abey, you give be a shout the bobent you see addything,” the Doctor instructed.

Amy didn’t reply. She clung to the doorframe of the TARDIS, ducking as tree branches went whipping past them. The Doctor brushed the forest floor and pulled up ever so slightly, maneuvering them through the trees, all the time keeping them just above the ground.

A streak of green crossed Amy’s line of sight. She followed it to the millenora itself, scrabbling to get a grip on the front of the TARDIS. “Doctor!” she cried.

“Good! Cobe here!” the Doctor demanded. Amy was puzzled, but she did as she was asked. The Doctor stepped back a bit from the control panel, keep his hands on the controls. “I wadt your hadds right here, where bide are,” he said. “Keep things just as they are dow, add we wod’t crash.”

“Are you joking?!” Amy cried incredulously. Of all the things she would have liked to do today, flying the TARDIS through a forest was not one of them.

“Abey, hurry!” the Doctor insisted. With trepidation, Amy took the Doctor’s place at the controls. She reminded herself not to stop breathing.

Meanwhile, the Doctor moved to the open door. Holding tight to the frame with one hand, he reached out with the other, toward the millenora clinging to the TARDIS’s exterior. He pitched forward and nearly tumbled out as he missed the millenora. He stabilized himself against the doorframe, coughing deeply. Sniffling, he gave it a second try, this time catching the millenora by the scruff of the neck. Its weight nearly pulled him out of the TARDIS as it struggled to get away, but the Doctor hung on. “Blue buttod!” he shouted.

Amy slammed her hand down onto a large blue button, and the TARDIS thudded roughly back to the ground. The engines slowed and switched off. The Doctor pulled the millenora inside and shut the door behind him. “Rory, get the cage!” he said urgently, wrestling to keep the creature in his grasp.

Rory sprang awkwardly into action. He picked up the birdcage and rushed toward the Doctor. “Good – dow get back,” the Doctor instructed. “You dod’t wadt to touch it.” Rory backed away, to Amy at the control panel. They watched the Doctor shove the millenora into the cage and slam the door shut.

“All right,” he said, gasping for breath. He sniffled and peered into the cage. “You add I are going to have a chat.”

[obsessed]

Oooooh, cliffy? *wants more*