The Doctor's Cold

[42686]

When the Doctor and Amy walked into the TARDIS,

“How’s Rory?” The Doctor asked.

“I was about five seconds away from smothering him with a pillow.”

“I see.”

Amy laughed “Illness brings out a different side of Rory.”

“He kept telling me to leave him alone! All I was doing was bringing some damn soup!”

“You threw it at my face!” yelled Rory, who was leaning against the door frame.

“Well you were being a jerk!”

“Rory!” Amy ran over to him, giving him a hug.

“And River, how’s River?” the concern in the Doctor’s voice was getting easier to hear.

“She’s just miserable in general.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well I don’t know, she’s sick!”

“Look, you can go to sleep I’ve got everything from here.”

“Oh, thank god!” She said. She walked back and the Doctor turned around to Amy and Rory.

“You’re standing.” He said to Rory.

“Yeah, I know!”

“Are you getting better?”

“It sure feels like it.”

“Well, yeah, that’s – that’s good.”

“You seem happy.” Rory said sarcastically.

“I’ve just never seen a human get well from the flu so quickly.”

“What, so you think there’s something wrong with me because I’m getting better?”

“Well . . . “

“What, really?!”

“Never mind. You two need to go to sleep.”

“Oh, okay, goodnight.” Amy said.

The Doctor returned to the console room, his nose as stuffed up as it had been the past few days. He felt a bit smart, sending everyone to bed so nobody would be able to tell him to go to bed himself because he wasn’t playing around this time, he had work to do.

He sat down and thought. That was all that he could do, think. He had to figure out where Lucy’s parents were. As annoying as she was, she was a great kid and she deserved to have great parents to raise her.

The Doctor went through the last few days in his mind, what he saw and what he did. But nothing. He couldn’t concentrate until the pounding in his head left him, and he had no idea how long this cold would last.

“Doctor.” When he heard his name, he stood up and turned to River Song.

“What are you doing here? Go to bed! You need –“ his sentence was interrupted by River’s sneeze.

“Well, I’ve gotten a little better.”

“Still, why are you in here? You should be in bed.”

“I thought I should tell you something.”

He looked at the watch he set for Earth Two time “It’s two Am, why now?”

“So you can get some sleep!”

“What about you?”

“Doctor, I’m serious. The cemetery where Lucy’s parents were buried., there was a man there.”

“And?”

“He was looking at Lucy like he knew her.”

“And you’re just now telling me this?!”

“I know and I’m sorry!”

“I needed to know this, River!”

“But I’m telling you now. I think that man could have been –“

“Lucy’s father.”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lucy was sleeping on a blanked she put on the floor. She knew that even though the Doctor wasn’t planning on sleeping, he was going to anyway.

But she couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t stand that uneasiness in the Doctor’s eyes. It was always there. She wondered if it had to do with what River told her before about his regrets.

She tossed and turned but she wasn’t tired. Or maybe she was. She couldn’t tell. There were too many things on her mind, well, only the Doctor and her parents, but that was too many.

Amy was lying there awake, looking at her miserable husband. He insisted on sleeping on the floor, and she knew it couldn’t have been comfortable for him, but there was no arguing with him.

She couldn’t sleep. Rory was sick and she hated it when he was sick. He didn’t like being around people when he was sick ever since she met Rory, she always thought it was funny. He’d always refuse to come to school because of the slightest head cold, and she would always tease him about it. She finally began to fall asleep, still worrying about her husband.

The Doctor did, eventually go to bed. he was surprised that Lucy was sleeping on the floor, but at the same time he wasn't. She probably knew. She seemed to know a lot about him. His mind anyway.

[42686]

The Doctor woke up, his neck aching and . . . River’s head on his shoulder. They were still in the console room!

“River, wake up.”

“What time is it?”

“Five thirty.”

“No going back to sleep now, I suppose.”

“Yeah,” he looked at River, whose head was still on his shoulder, and smiled.

When she noticed she immediately sat up “Oh,” she rubbed her eyes “I better go get changed.” She stood up and was walking slowly to her room. She lost her balance and grabbed the TARDIS console.

“River!” the Doctor ran over to her, holding her arm so she could stand up.

“I -I don’t understand, I was fine last night.”

“You should get back into bed.”

“But it doesn’t make sense.”

“Just go to bed.” The Doctor helped River to her room, and then returned to the console room. He turned around when he heard his name, and saw Lucy.

“What are you doing up this early?” the Doctor asked.

“What about you?”

“I fell asleep out here, not very comfortable.”

“So you ended up sleeping anyway.” Lucy said with a smirk.

“Shut up, River’s gotten worse.”

Amy walked out “Worse? What about Rory?”

“Amy, I don’t know.”

“If something happens to Rory –“

“Amy, I don’t know!”

“So he could be dying!” and you just stand there like –“

“Amy! You’re not the only one who’d be losing someone!”

All Amy could do was stare. Finally the doctor’s concern was visible. “What about you? You’re ill too.”

“I don’t know, but I feel a lot better than River probably does.”

“You need to do something about this.”

They turned when they heard River scream. The Doctor ran and opened the door, and River wasn’t there.

“Rory’s gone!” Amy cried

“So is River.” A big bright light filled the room “And so are we.”

“What?”

“We’re not in the TARDIS anymore.”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

River looked around. She saw people that looked fairly normal. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with them. She was on a cement floor. The musty room had brick walls and dull lights. She looked around some more and realized that she was in a large glass case . . . along with the Doctor, Amy, Rory, and Lucy.

“Doctor!” River yelled when she saw the time lord. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve been teleported into the Ferra Mind Inc. building.”

“Why?”

“I know why.” Said an unknown voice. Everyone looked around until their eyes came to a speaker in the ceiling.

“Ah!” the Doctor said “You must be Dennis Farra!”

“Correct.”

“So what are we doing here?”

“I need her mind.”

A man and a woman walked in.

“Doctor,” River said “That’s the man! That’s the man I saw at the cemetery!”

“And that’s our waitress.”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After two hours, everyone found themselves just sitting on the floor. The people outside the glass case just stood there, watching and making sure the prisoners kept out of trouble.

The Doctor couldn’t think of a way out. He didn’t know how to save him and his friends.

Lucy felt herself slipping away. Not as if she was dying, but as if her brain was being taken over. She fought it, but when she realized she couldn’t do anything herself, she screamed.

“Lucy, what’s wrong?” the Doctor said as he walked over to her. When Lucy didn’t respond, the Doctor cried “What are you doing to her!”

“I need her mind.” Said the voice.

“For what? Why do you need her mind?”

“She will be my telepathic transmitter for the network. Her mind could connect the whole planet.”

“No! Don’t you dare! “

“It’s too late, Doctor.”

“No. No, no, no! you can’t do this! She’s just fifteen!”

“Exactly. I need a young, strong mind.”

“Well, I may not be young, but I’m strong.”

A projection appeared on the wall. It was an old, wrinkled man. “Are you volunteering, Doctor?”

“Yes.”

Amy shot up “No!”

“Amy, it’s fine.”

“No you can’t –“ but he was already starting to slip away, each second he left a little, and Lucy’s consciousness came back.

“Doctor, I don’t want to lose you.” Amy kneeled at his side and looked down at him with tears in her eyes.

[42686]

Only one of the Doctor’s eyes was open, and he looked up at Amy “don’t worry.” Then he started shaking.

The man on the projection started laughing. All everyone could do was watch. Just watch the Doctor slip away.

The tears in Amy’s eyes began to blur her sight.

Lucy couldn’t help but feel guilty. She will be the reason the Doctor can’t save the universe anymore. She should never have asked him for help.

Before they knew it, the woman shot the case, and then the glass that surrounded them shattered. Everyone covered their heads, a few screaming. When Lucy looked up, she saw her mother, laying a gun down on the table.

The man on the projection started panicking, confusing everyone in the room. That’s when they noticed the man that River saw at the cemetery was gone. He shot Dennis Farra.

The Doctor stopped shaking, and then River and Rory stood up.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They were halfway to the TARDIS. “So,” the Doctor said “he forced you to spy on your own daughter, changing your faces using perception filters?”

“Exactly.” Lucy’s dad said.

“Fascinating, a bit weird . . . and cruel, but fascinating.”

Lucy tried to wrap her head around it “So you’ve been watching me the whole time?”

“Yep.”

“That’s really creepy.”

“Lucy!” her mom yelled.

“Well, it is!”

The Doctor opened the TARDIS door “Come in, I’m going to take you three home.”

“But our house is just a few blocks away.”

“How much more fun would it be to go home in a spaceship-slash-time machine? Come on!”

Oooooooooooooooooooo

“Hey, Valerie” the Doctor said as he pulled a lever on the TARDIS console.

“Yeah?”

“Does your family really have a cat named mittens?”

“Mittens is Lucy’s.”

He turned to Lucy “Mittens, seriously?”

“A bow-tie? Seriously?”

“Fine. But bow-ties are cool.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“No more of that.”

“What? Sleeping at night?”

“Yes. I will no longer be sleeping.” He pressed some buttons on the console.

Amy laughed “You wish! Your cold still hasn’t gotten any better!”

“Oh, shut up.”

“You said that after you found Lucy’s parents you would –“

“Sh!”

Amy rolled her eyes.

“Here we are!” the Doctor opened the TARDIS door.

They all walked out, into the living room of the Smith family’s apartment. That was it, Lucy thought, the last time she will see her hero. She met the man in her history book, and now he has to leave. The man that saved her life.

“Wait, Doctor, let us do something for you.” Valerie said.

“No, we’re fi – HET-CHOO!”

Amy, River, Rory and the Doctor all walked back into the TARDIS and it immediately started fading away.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

“So,” Amy leaned on the console “If that Farra guy was controlling your illnesses using his brain or whatever, why are you still sick.”

“Um . . .” the Doctor looked away “Because . . . it’s a real cold.”

Amy smiled “So you’re actually sick.”

“Maybe.”

“What do you mean ‘maybe’? You’re sick!”

“Okay, fine! I’m sick! Is that what you want to hear?”

She laughed “You said you would take care of your cold after you found Lucy’s parents.”

He found himself almost being dragged to bed by Amy. He couldn’t help but feel relieved that he was finally going to be able to get some proper sleep.

His head hit the pillow and that’s when he realized how tired and awful he actually felt.

[AppleBlossom]

Poor Doctor! I wanna take care of him!

[42686]

The Doctor shot up and let out a “HET-SCHOO!” His hand came to his mouth while he reached for a tissue with the other hand. Before he knew it he sneezed three more times.

He lied back down, his nose extremely stuffed up.

Two days now. It had been two days since he found Lucy’s parents and took them home . . . and he hadn’t gotten any better. Amy, he thought, she lied. She said he would get better but he still felt awful.

He reached for the tea on the night stand next to his bed, took a sip, then lied back down.

“HET-SCHOO!” Tissues filled the trash can next to his bed. He went back to Amy. She lied. He decided to finally get over it because he loved having Amelia Pond around.

He got up, opened the door and walked out to the console room where Amy and Rory were.

“What are you doing out here?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Then I’ll get you something to eat! Jeez, get back into bed!”

“I’ve been in bed for two days, I’ll just sit down . . . right here, next to Rory.”

“Great.” Rory said.

Amy laughed “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“So Rory,” the Doctor said with his congested voice “How are you doing?”

“Good.”

“Good. That’s good.”

“And you?”

“I’ve been better . . . obviousl – HET-SCHOO!”

“Um there’s something you should probably know.”

“What’s that?”

“Never mind . . . you’ll find out.”

Amy came back with some soup in a mug.

“Thank you!” he tried as hard as he could to sound cheery.

“So” Amy looked at her husband “You’ve told him right?”

“He’ll find out!”

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next day, River sat there next to the Doctor, with a box of tissues in between them. She blew her nose then said “I hate you.”

The Doctor smirked “No you don’t.”

Fin