Take Care - (Ten/Rose) One Shot

The Doctor sat in the kitchen, reading an old dusty book, while drinking a nice warm cup of tea. It wasn’t any particularly special book, but it was interesting just the same. It was an informational book about a very far off planet that the Doctor had visited once or twice.

He had just finished eating breakfast. He normally waited for Rose to come out so they could eat breakfast together, but she didn’t come out at the normal time. He just figured she was sleepy from the previous day’s adventures, or maybe she just wanted to take a long shower.

Either way, the TARDIS drifted peacefully across the solar system while the Doctor drank his tea. He became so wrapped up in his book; he hadn’t noticed how much time had passed. It was nearly the afternoon! He now became curious about the whereabouts of Miss Rose Tyler.

He set down his book and took off his glasses. He rose from the table and walked through the corridors of the TARDIS. He approached the door to Rose’s room, realizing he didn’t have an idea of what to do when he got there. He settled with leaning against the door frame and softly rapping on the door with his knuckle.

“Rose?”

The reply from inside was weak and scratchy. “Doctor?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“You can come in…”

The Doctor carefully eased the door open. He hadn’t been in Rose’s room very many times, just a few instances; merely to check on her, or chat every once in a while when they were stuck on the TARDIS.

He didn’t see Rose immediately when he entered the room. All he saw was her bed with a big mass of blankets all jumbled up near the center. He walked cautiously towards the bed.

He cleared his throat and received no answer.

He cleared his throat again, and received silence.

He gently reached forward and pulled back the covers a bit. Just enough to reveal a sad and disheveled looking Rose. Her eyes were closed and she appeared almost asleep, but also very sickly. Her eyes were sunken in and she looked pale.

“Rose?”

“Ay…? Doctor?” She cracked one eye open to glance at him, and then closed it again.

“Rose, are you alright?” He asked, all the while knowing she clearly was not alright. He was very alarmed at the sight of her and wasn’t sure of what to do.

She squirmed in her bed. “Oh… Doctor… I am so sorry… I feel horrible…”

“Don’t be sorry, dear Rose. There’s nothing to be sorry about. I was just checking on you. What seems to be the matter?”

“Oh, I probably just have the flu or a stomach bug or something, nothing to fuss about. I just wish I didn’t feel so awful!” She rubbed her head. “I’m sorry; I can’t go on any wonderful space adventures today. Please don’t be angry with me.” She looked up at him sadly.

“It’s fine, Rose! I would never be angry over such a silly subject! I just want you to be well! Everyone needs a sick day every once in a while!” He smiled warmly.

“Yes… A sick day.” She looked away from him for a moment. “That reminds me. I was wondering if… you could take me back to my mum,” she winced, afraid of his response. “Just… until I get better…”

The Doctor’s smile fell. He looked very much put out. “But, why would you want to go home?”

“Well… my mum… she always makes me feel so much better when I’m sick. Fussing over me like I was still a little kid. Silly she is… silly...” Rose smiled half-heartedly.

“You know, we are very far away from earth…” The Doctor scratched his head, and quickly tried to find a reason to not take her back home. Not that he wouldn’t, he would take Rose just about anywhere in the time and space continuum if she asked. But that didn’t mean he would have to be excited about it. It didn’t make him very eager, thinking about returning his Rose to earth, and that frightening woman; Jackie.

He smiled. “Hey! Can’t take care of you!? I am a doctor after all!”

“Well…” Rose looked down at her bed sheets.

“I promise you’ll be better, Rose. Even a crazy space adventuress could use a day to recuperate! But it’s nothing the Doctor can’t handle!” The Doctor put on his most convincing face.

A few quiet moments later, Rose simply said, “Okay, I’ll stay.”

The Doctor’s two hearts leapt and bound, but he maintained a dependable demeanor. “That’s great to hear! Let us begin our sick day on the TARDIS!” He said, a bit too cheerfully. He stood in Rose’s room for a moment, before he remembered he didn’t exactly know how to take care of a sick human. But he would no doubt try his best.

“I know!” He snapped his fingers victoriously. “I’ll go make you a nice warm cup of tea! How about that!?”

Rose smiled weakly at him from her burrow in the blankets. “That would be wonderful, Doctor.”

The Doctor strolled happily out of her room, clearly pleased with himself that he convinced Rose to stay. He went to the kitchen and poured a hot cup of tea, whistling to himself. Then he walked back to Rose’s room.

When he approached the door he heard a horrible sound. It was painful to hear and uncomfortable to the ears. He opened the door and found that Rose was out of her bed.

“Rose?” He called to the empty bedroom. He walked in and heard the sound again. It came from Rose’s bathroom. It was horrendous, like someone was retching.

Wait…

The tea dropped to the ground with a Clang! and the Doctor sprinted into Rose’s bathroom. He found her seated next to the loo, hunched over it in a most uncomfortable-looking position. He ran to her side just as she arched and began to vomit again.

He gently drew her hair out of her face, gathering it delicately behind her head. He didn’t mind the vomit or the terrible noises, or even the smell; he only thought of Rose. He caressed the side of her head, taking care to hold her hair behind her ears. He instantly felt terrible for making her stay with him on the TARDIS, considering it lead to this.

Soon, Rose stopped vomiting. She stared into the toilet, breathing hard.

“Doctor, please! I don’t want you to see me like this.” She refused to look at him, still staring into the loo.

“See you like what?”

“You know! Sick!” She said, exasperated.

The Doctor looked down sadly at his fallen companion. “Oh, you’re still the same Rose. It’s not as though your skin turned magenta or you grew a third arm!”

She finally turned around to look at him, and he let her hair fall to frame her face once more. “Have you seen that before, Doctor?”

“Yes.”

Rose laughed. It wasn’t the same laugh, not as joyful and cheery. But for a sick Rose, it was pleasant just the same.

“So, does your stomach feel a bit better now?” The Doctor asked with the true curiosity of a doctor.

“Yes… sort of.” Rose said. “Thank you, by the way.” She gestured to her hair, as the doctor just nodded happily. He leaned against the doorway as Rose stood up and went to the sink. She washed her face and brushed her teeth as the Doctor kept her company. When she was finished she put her hands on either side of the sink and stared at herself disapprovingly in the mirror. It was as if she was angry with herself for being ill.

The Doctor stepped behind her and smiled into the mirror. “Well come on then! We’re having a sick day! We can’t spend it in the bathroom!” He took Rose’s hand and guided her back to the bed. She flopped down on top of the covers and looked at him in frustration.

“I don’t want to have a sick day.” She said like a child defying her mother. But it didn’t sound very defiant considering how much her voice cracked and faltered.

“Well, you don’t want to try to fight evil aliens while you’re vomiting either.”

“True… It’s just not fair to waste a whole day inside the TARDIS.”

“Well, it’s not so bad, wasting a day…” He looked away, thoughtfully rubbing the back of his neck, “As long as you’re in here with me.”

At this, Rose was thrown for a moment. But the Doctor didn’t skip a beat. He clapped his hands together.

“How about I finish that tea, like I promised?” He looked over at the spilt cup of tea on the floor. “It seems your vomiting distracted me.”

This received another weak laugh from Rose. He retrieved the teacup from the floor and went to get a new one. He came back and handed it to Rose, and put a rag over the tea on the floor.

Rose sipped on her cup of tea, while all cuddled up in her bed. She looked at the Doctor while he walked around her room.

“You know, you don’t have to stand the entire time.” She patted the large portion of bed next to her.

He ruffled his hair nervously. “Well, I don’t want to intrude—”

“Come sit!” She frowned at him in a way that was incredibly cute. Like the kind of expression that would make your heart skip. Well, both hearts, to be exact.

“Alright, alright!” He put his hands up in surrender. He came over and sat next to Rose on the bed.

The sat in silence for only a few seconds before Rose blurted, “See? It’s boring having sick days!”

“If it’s so boring, I might not be taking care of you right…”

“No Doctor! It’s not you! You’re doing a brilliant job!”

“Oh, phew…” He looked relieved.

Rose huddled into the covers like a small child. “I know what you could do! Do you know what my mum used to do when I was sick as a little child?”

The Doctor shook his head curiously, making his hair fall in his face.

“She used to tell me stories. Great stories. Real stories, fantasy stories; happy stories, sad stories. I bet you have fantastic stories, Doctor! Some good tales for the sick.”

“Well…”

“Please?” She stuck her lip out at him, making big puppy eyes.

“Oh fine!” He grumbled, flopping back on the covers near Rose. He settled with his head on Rose’s legs, and his hands folded over his stomach, staring at the ceiling. “So, you want me to tell you some riveting stories, eh?”

“Yes, please!” She smiled.

“Hm…” He fiddled with his hands and chewed his lip. He racked his brain for good stories to tell Rose.

He told her all about his exciting encounters with evil Time Lords and deranged alien kings. He even managed to tell her some brief stories from his life in Gallifrey. She was truly interested and listened intently to every word he said. It meant a lot to him that she cared so much about the things he had to tell. He loved telling her so much that he lost track of time. And he noticed that he didn’t even care.

After countless hours of wasting the day away, keeping each other wonderful company, a sound interrupted the Doctor. It was a high whirring sound, which they pair barely seemed to notice.

“Oh! Sorry!” He said to Rose, sitting up. “I just need to check something on the ol’ TARDIS.” He jerked his thumb towards the door. “You’ll be alright if I step out for a moment?”

“Oh yes! Fine!” Rose shot him a weak smile, that didn’t fool him. He stopped and looked at her sunken eyes and sad pale skin. It made his heart thump every time he was reminded of his responsibility for this innocent girl. It was his job to take care of her.

Rose eyed the Doctor, who stood motionless looking at her. “Really, Doctor, it’s quite alright.”

The Doctor blinked. “Yes. Yes! Quite alright,” he repeated as he walked out the door, and to the console. Once there, he found the correct panel the noise was coming from and opened it up. He stepped into the machinery that was his TARDIS, and got right to work. The problem was not as quick of a fix as he thought, for he got caught up in his work. He was there for much longer than he had predicted.

After some time, he finished, and climbed out of the apparatus. “Whew…” He said, clapping his hands together. “All better!”

Then it dawned on him that he must’ve forgotten something… Now what was it?

“Rose!”

He panicked running back towards her room, not even realizing how long he’d been gone. He eased open the door, and looked in, just to find her bed empty!

“Bloody sickness!” He shouted, bursting into the room, walking toward the privy. “It seems this only ever happens when I leave! Why can’t you ever actually feel sick when I’m in here so I can help? I can’t be a good caretaker if you only vomit when I’m not—Oh?” He stopped, shutting his mouth when he approached the bathroom.

Rose was indeed in there, but she was fast asleep. She was leaning against the bathtub, with her body facing the loo. Her head lay on her arm, and her arm lay along the rim of the tub. She looked like she was in much discomfort, but she had simply fallen asleep.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. He stepped forward quietly, peering into the toilet. It was clear as crystal. “Must’ve been a false alarm,” he whispered.

He gently knelt down, so he was right at Rose’s height. He smiled, watching her sleep peacefully. “Poor Rose, always wanting to go, go, go. Sometimes we just have to stop.”

She snored softly in response. The Doctor wound an arm around her back and under her legs, scooping her up of the floor. Her head lolled and her blonde hair fell downward. He went back to her bed and gently set her in it, drawing the covers over her.

He stood for a moment, wondering if it was proper to do what he was going to do next, but he didn’t care much. He bent down and kissed Rose’s hair, then quickly walked to the door.

His hand was on the door knob when Rose’s sleepy voice made him jump. “Wait… Doctor?”

“Yes?”

“Won’t you stay with me? Just for a bit?” The Doctor turned, realizing that Rose was so dazed; she was talking to him with her still eyes closed.

“Stay with you?”

“Mhmmm…” She mumbled, pulling the covers back sleepily. The Doctor knew he should leave… he should leave right now and say goodnight… But then again, what sort of caretaker would he be if he left his only patient?

He glanced around, as is someone would see him giving in to a weak and somewhat delirious Rose. But no one interjected. So he kicked off his red Converse and quietly slid into the bed. He did so as quietly as he could, considering she was half asleep. He didn’t get too close to Rose, for he felt presumptuous enough simply lying atop her bed. But he was close enough so he could feel the heat coming off her body. Her breathing was rhythmic and calming as she slept, and the blonde hair near her face fluttered with each exhale. The Doctor tried to focus less on how beautiful she looked while sleeping and more on sleeping himself.

The Doctor closed his eyes, and lay there for what seemed like an eternity. When he opened his eyes, he didn’t know how much time had passed, but he figured he should leave Rose to sleep placidly. He moved to stand up before Rose made him jump.

“Ey…” She muttered in her sleep.

The Doctor wasn’t quite sure if he was supposed to reply or not, considering she was only semiconscious, but his curiosity got the best of him. “Yes?” He whispered.

“Aren’t you going to kiss me goodnight, like mum?”

He was taken aback. If she was indeed serious, no matter how much of her conscience was still there, it was like a dream come true for the Doctor. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t shocked.

“You-you want me to… kiss you?”

“Mm hm…” She cuddled into her pillow, sleeping peacefully.

“Well… alright,” He concluded that this was merely for his quest in trying to be a better caretaker than Jackie. He pressed forward, almost close enough for his lips to meet Rose’s forehead. But milliseconds before he got there, she sprang to life, and reached up, making their lips meet full on.

The Doctor, clearly shocked, almost yelped. He was about to instinctively pull away, before he realized that he was actually kissing Rose. She smiled a tiny smile against his lips, amused at his reaction. The very second that his brain kicked in and he began to kiss her back, the sly little fox parted her lips, and slipped back into the covers, burying her head in her pillow.

The Doctor lay, dumbfounded.

Did that just—?

…Did she just—?

He sat up on the bed, looking at Rose, who was simply a jumble of blankets and blonde hair. He was still slightly astounded. A small grin spread across his face, as he realized what she had just done. He got up slowly, and made towards the door, but hesitated with his hand on the doorknob.

“Goodnight, my lovely Rose…”