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"Are you warm enough?" The Doctor glanced down at Romana's tiny, miserable stature, and she can see his fingers already fiddling with the ten foot scarf he wore around his neck. He wanted to give it to her to warm her up. Only problem was, of course, that he had already given her his coat, and wouldn’t have much clothes left for himself if he gave away the scarf, too.
"I'm f-fine, Doctor." Romana insisted, internally scolding herself for not being able to hide her stutter when another shiver ran down her spine. Truth was, she felt positively awful, but she was not about to tell him so. It had been kind enough of him to give away his coat, and she didn’t want to seem ungrateful by telling him it didn’t do any difference.
"You sure? I could always..." The Doctor’s hands were already lifting the heavy scarf, and Romana gave him her very best death glare in an attempt to stop him.
"Don't you dare remove that scarf, Doctor, or so help me I will give you back your coat as well and walk straight out of here!" Romana shouted, meaning to threaten but being undermined by the massive coughing fit taking hold of her body after she had spoken.
Alarmed, The Doctor let the scarf stay where it was as he focused on Romana instead. "Alright Romana, I think that is quite enough death threats for today. You need rest and recovery, not energy being wasted on unnecessary anger." The Doctor moved closer to Romana, his arm closing in around her thin frame and supporting her as she continued to cough. Though he, like all Time Lords, had a very low natural body temperature, he felt as hot as an oven compared to Romana.
"O-oh! Oooh, that's good!" Feeling the heat of The Doctor’s body pressing against her, Romana sighed in relief, automatically trying to snuggle even closer as she finally started feeling a bit warm. It was a relief to her shivering, feverish body, and though she was still angry, it wasn’t enough to make her give up the warmth he provided.
"Here you go, silly little princess. You need it far more than I do." As The Doctor spoke, Romana could feel him wrapping something thick and woolen around her neck, and she realised that he had at long last sacrificed his scarf as well.
Had Romana been stronger, and the scarf less comforting around her neck, she would have made truth of her threat to walk out of the snow-covered cave without all of The Doctor's clothes. Unfortunately, the chills racking her body refused to subside and as the night fell outside she found herself with little choice but to accept The Doctor’s kind gesture.
Despite this, Romana still tries to protest out of sheer stubbornness. "I told you not to give me the sc..." She can't finish the last word of her reprimand, another coughing fit taking hold of her body and tearing her lungs apart. Miserably, Romana has no choice but to bend over coughing pathetically in an attempt to simply stay alive at all.
"Schh, schh, Romana please it'll fine." The Doctor held her tighter, stabilizing her as she coughed and coughed. It hurt, her body far too weak to brace itself against every cough, and she was sure she'd have collapsed upon the floor already if not for The Doctor’s strong arms holding her. "Of all the things there is on this planet, you manage to attract the only virus in the
solar system
that Time Lords are susceptible to!” He reprimand her, but sounds more worried than angry at the predicament.
Couching finally subsiding, Romana took a couple of deep, gasping breaths before she tried to answer The Doctor."Well, it's not going to kill me. Probably. We can just...just stay here until the weather is nicer and warmer and we can walk back to the TARDIS for medication." Romana suggested, her eyelids suddenly growing heavy as she started to realize how truly tired she was. "Yes, taking a little nap sounds about right now..." She close her eyes, slowly letting the world disappear as a comfortable darkness replaced it.
"No, no, no! Don't sleep, Romana! It's far too cold for you to sleep now!" Suddenly, The Doctor is rudely shaking her by the shoulders, and Romana is thrown back into the present, wide awake and panting slightly as though having woken up from a nightmare. Spikes of pain rush through her limbs at every shack, and she scramble to get away from The Doctor.
"That was incredibly rude of you!" She snaps, angered by his harsh action. Free of his arms at last, she no longer felt pain, but her inner temperatures plummeted and she started shivering once more. "Even a renegade should know to treat a lady better than that!"
"Well I couldn’t let you die out here now could I?!" The Doctor's reply is surprisingly hoarse, his eyes lacking their normal intense stare as he gazed at her softly.
Finally, seeing him acting so entirely unlike himself, Romana's brain was catching up to what almost happened and leaving her feeling completely mortified. She could have
died
, and she just snapped at The Doctor for saving her. "I am aware. However, my brain is not functioning at maximum capacity at the moment. I did not realise what was happening, and apologise for my harsh words." Though she knew she was far too cold for it to be visible, she imagined that she could feel her cheeks heating, embarrassment burning inside her.
Hearing this, however, The Doctor smiled. It was his normal cheshire grin, and Romana felt relieved to see it. Only problem was that she was still cold.
So
cold. Involuntarily, she felt her body began to shale more violently.
Seeing her predicament, The Doctor opened his arms again, pulling her back in to share his warmth. “Didn’t say you have to freeze, though, dear. No sleeping though.” He amended, holding her tight so she could share his natural warmth while her own was next to none.
Romana smiled mischievously, leaning into his warm body. “Guess I’ll just have to find a way to keep myself awake, yes?” Not waiting for a response, she reached up to kiss The Doctor on the lips. She was niserable, but she wanted to have some fun while at it.
“Yes, and I’ll be happy to help.” Drawing back slightly, The Doctor soon reached down to kiss Romana again, a little deeper and more intense than the last time. “Because with this speed, we can probably keep you awake all night.”
“Don’t mind if I do” Romana replied, eagerly participating in the activities. She may still feel like death warmed up, but at the very least there was no risk of her falling asleep again.
The Doctor’s mouth mischievously moved to the left, down to the nape of Romana’s neck, making her shiver for reasons beyond the horrific cold. Yes, this was going to be quite adequate in keeping her away.