What Kind of Weird (Doctor Who: 10th Doctor)

[alyssa]

Haha this is great He's disappointed that it's nothing exotic or strange, just a cold! And I love Rose pretending to get dizzy just to get him to go back to the TARDIS Can't wait for more!

[a-tissue]

I'm loving this!

[alias]

OH I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT! I cannot express how much I love this. You have stayed so true to both characters throughout, and each chapter brings something new. Again, I must say how much I love the dialogue and interactions. You are a very gifted writer.

[ohlala8]

Oh, god. 10/Rose sneezefic. I can't even... this is my character combo, and my kink, and it's hard enough to find the two in conjunction, but genuinely well-written? I will now commence worshipping you.

[Akahana]

OHMAIGOD I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING OW MY TUMMY!!!!! XD That was so awesome and hilarious and lolololol!!! <3

[hails]

Cannot....handle....sick!10 awesomeness....

I love you.

[Jorm]

XD ALL OF MY LOVE!

[matilda3948]

Thank you all so much for your comments! I'm not sure if this is the last section for this story or not. It kind of feels complete but I might do more. Or I might start another story. Who knows with me?

Also, I don't know if the TARDIS has a library or a kitchen...but for purposes of my story it does. My story, my rules, right?

“Bless you. Well I hate to break it to you Time Lord, but you have an ordinary, boring, not-weird human head cold.”

He turned back to the computer and began typing again, double-checking his work even though he knew the results were correct. He was sniffling and mumbling to himself as he worked.

“Travel the whole of space and time and come down with a cold. Battle intergalactic monsters, quantum fugitives, fix space stations on the verge of meltdowns, and catch an ordinary human—”

“Stop.” Rose’s voice interrupted just as she laid a hand on his arm, stilling his motions. “Just stop.” He sighed and then turned his head away from her and coughed.

“You’re right. No use wasting any more time on it. Where do you want to go next?” He was already moving around the console pulling levers and pushing buttons.

“Stop,” Rose repeated. “We’re not goin’ anywhere until you’re feeling better.”

“No reason to stop traveling just because I’ve got a bit of a cold,” he said. Rose crossed her arms across her chest.

“We are not setting down on some foreign planet in some strange time with you ill. You know what’ll happen—it’ll start out a normal day and then something will go wrong, or someone will need help, and we’ll be caught up in some kinda adventure or rescue mission.”

“And?”

“And you are not well and you need to be if you’re going to get us out of whatever trouble you’ll get us into,” she said.

“So what exactly are we going to do?” he asked, coughing again.

“We’ll just hang out here for a couple days until you’re feeling better.”

“And do what?”

“Really?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been sick,” he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. She shook her head and grabbed his hand.

“Lucky for you, I’m an expert on what to do for colds. “ She pulled him away from the console and pushed him towards the hall leading to his room. “Go change into something comfortable. You can’t get any proper rest in a suit and sneakers. Then meet me in the library when you’re done.” He walked down the hall, pausing once to sneeze. HehhAHHtscchhOOO! “Bless you,” she called after him. She went into the kitchen and put water on to boil. Then she grabbed a teapot and put some chamomile tea into the pot. As soon as the water boiled, she poured it in and let the tea steep while she fixed a tray with two cups, a jar of honey, and a spoon. Then she carried the whole thing with her to the library—probably her favorite room on the TARDIS. It was like a cozy sitting room, the walls lined with books, and a matching sofa and oversized chair. She gingerly slid the tray onto a side table and began fixing them both a cup. HAHHHKTSCHHOOOO! She spun around to find the Doctor coming through the open door. “Bless you.”

“Thank you,” he sniffled. Rose offered a sympathetic smile. Now that he’d traded his tailored suit and tie for a pair of sweats, he looked sick. His hair was sticking up a bit more than usual and he looked… “perplexed” was the best she could come up with. She nodded towards the sofa.

“Sit down. Made some tea.” She handed him a cup and then wandered over to one of the shelves and picked up a book. “Thought we’d read for a bit. How does Dickens sound?”

“Always liked him,” he said, taking a sip of tea. “Even before we met him.” Rose sat down next to him and took a drink of her own tea. “Thanks for this,” he said.

“Of course. It’ll help your throat. It sounds worse than it did at lunch.”

“It is a bit,” he admitted, fidgeting with the handle of his cup.

“Doctor, I know you’re not used to being sick, but it’s alright. All you have to do is relax. Just rest and you’ll be back to hoppin’ around like a crazy man in no time.”

“I don’t hehh…” He held up a finger and set his cup down before doubling over with a strong sneeze. Hehh HahhEHHSTCHHHoooo! “Scuse me.” He rubbed his throat. “I don’t just sit around and do nothing all that often.” He sighed as his nose twitched with another impending sneeze. Hehh EHH EhhHAHHTSSCHHHHHoooo!

“Bless you,” Rose said, rubbing his back. “I know you don’t, but the quickest way to get over a cold is to take good of yourself—something which I know doesn’t always come real naturally to you. I’ll look after you though…and keep you company.”

“What would I do without you?” he asked with a smile. She bumped his shoulder,

“Oh, you’d probably be runnin’ around some weird planet, sniffling and sneezing and getting into trouble.”

Hehh AHH HahhEHHHHTSSCHHHOOOOO!!

“Bless you.”

“You know how I said I loved a good sneeze?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“I was wrong. This is…hehh EHH…awful.”

“I know it is,” she said, rubbing his arm as the sneeze took it’s time building. Twice, the Doctor took a big breath only to have the sneeze disappear at the last second. Finally, his body shook with a wrenching HehhhAHHNTSSCHHHHooooo! He winced for a second as the sneeze tore at his throat. “Aww, bless you,” she said. He nodded but didn’t answer until he took a sip of his tea.

“Thag you.”

“I put tissues on the table next to you,” she said. He grabbed a couple and roughly blew his nose.

“I can’t believe humans do this three or four times a year,” he said.

“It’s not always this bad,” she said, pressing her hand to his forehead again. “Most colds are milder than this. You’re still not warm though. That’s good.”

“I’m alright,” he said.

“Yes, I know you are. Just drink your tea and I’ll read for a bit.” He leaned back against the sofa and wrapped an arm around Rose’s shoulders so she could lean against him. Once they were settled, she propped a copy of Great Expectations up on her knees and began to read. For the first couple minutes, the Doctor would interrupt with comments or point out historical inaccuracies in the book, but he soon quieted down and relaxed so that the only interruptions were regular coughs and sneezes. At one point, Rose thought he might have drifted off, but when she turned her head she found him still awake—looking almost sleepy though. She knew he didn’t have to sleep often, but she wasn’t sure how the cold would impact that. Between the tea, reading out loud, and being tucked up against his side, she couldn’t suppress a yawn, however.

“Tired?” he asked her.

“M’good. You?”

“Good,” he said. She flipped the page and continued reading, but she could feel her eyelids getting heavy. Finally she felt him reach over and pull the book from her hands. “Sleep,” he said and she couldn’t tell if he was whispering to keep from disturbing her or because his throat was that sore, but she was too content to ask. He pulled her closer to him and smiled when her head came to rest on his shoulder. The Doctor slipped his glasses on and perched the book on the arm of the sofa. He read another chapter while Rose slept. Unfortunately, his nose seemed determined to ruin his peaceful moment. First, it began to run, causing him to sniffle more and more until he finally just grabbed a couple tissues and kept them pressed to his nose. While that provided a temporary fix, the sneezing was proving to be more problematic. Twice he managed to stop himself before succumbing to one of his massive sneezes that would, undoubtedly, wake Rose up. As his breathing got shallow and he pinched his nose shut, the Doctor realized he was probably going to lose the battle this time. Releasing his nose, he pulled three tissues from the box and pressed them to his nose. With his other hand, he held Rose’s head to his shoulder so she wouldn’t be jarred too violently. Hehh EHH HEHHH…ehhAHHNGTSSCHHHoo! He half-stifled the sneeze into the tissues, but his eyes watered from the pressure. He felt Rose stir.

“Don’t do that,” she mumbled. “Sounded like it hurt.”

“Sorry. I didn’d beed to wagke you.” His voice was thick.

“S’okay. You’re sick. Blow your nose and sneeze when you need to.” He didn’t have much choice about blowing his nose and, after doing so, didn’t have much choice about sneezing again either.

HehhAHHTSCHHooo! HahhEHHKTSCHHOOOOO! He sighed, but Rose just patted his chest as she curled up against him again.

“Bless you, Doctor.”

“Thank you,” he whispered, brushing her hair off her face. He only managed to read another three pages of the book before he started to feel drowsy. He closed the book and took his glasses off, setting both on the table before sinking deeper into the sofa and letting his eyes drift closed.

Edited January 14, 2013 by matilda3948

[Jorm]

*gurgle*

Edited January 14, 2013 by Ouroboros

[TheCakeIsAlive]

*gurgle*

I second this response. Really like your take on how he'd behave when sick.

[Salamander]

Yowza! They're both adorable, and I love how you write Rose as really sweet, compassionate and helpful but not over-reacting to what it, after all, just a human cold. One of my favourite fics for ages.

[Rogue_infinity]

really Really awesome!

[LovelyLinda]

This was one of the best reads in a very very long time.

Everything about your story was perfect <3

Thank you so much for this!!

I really hope you'll be writing more 10 fiction, you're just sooo good at this =D