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She'd been feeling unwell. She was breaking into chills and then turning scorching hot, her vision would blur in and out at random, and sometimes she felt very close to collapsing, her knees weak under her.
One thing she swore she wouldn't do was tell the Doctor. He didn't need to be worried about something that was probably just a regular virus that her body needed a little time to ward off. A disapproving hum from the TARDIS told Rose that she really should let the Doctor know what was going on, but she didn't want him to see her as weak.
Which he didn't. Until she collapsed.
It made it worse that they were running at the time, from a horde of angry humanoids who didn't take too kindly in Rose and the Doctor helping the rebellion on their planet. Rose started to hear her blood thump in her ears, and her vision start to go red. She continued to push on next to the Doctor, watching the TARDIS grow nearer and hoping she could just reach it. That was all she needed, was to reach it.
They were about ten feet away when Rose felt her knees buckle under her and she fell face first onto the pavement below. Somewhere, in the deep corners of her mind, she heard the Doctor calling out to her, felt him lift her into his arms and carry her the rest of the way to the TARDIS.
She wanted to protest, tried to, but her mouth wasn't moving and her eyes weren't even open. She was too weak to even feel fear. A place deep inside her simply accepted it as fact that she was a goner as she continued to be sort-of awake.
How, she didn't know, but she could tell that they were back on the TARDIS, and that she was laying in the med bay. She felt as though her skin were on fire and tried to claw at it, whimpering because it just hurt so bloody much.
"Rose, don't do that!" She heard the Doctor shout, and felt him pull her hands away and pin them on either side of her on the medical table. "You have to keep still, can you hear me?"
The only word she could manage was "Doctor."
"Good, yes, I'm the Doctor and I'm going to find out what's wrong with you, do you understand?" His voice shook and she wanted desperately to comfort him, but she couldn't bring herself to move to do it. She opened her eyes halfway, peering up at him.
"It's so bright in here," she whispered, closing her eyes again.
"Okay, Rose, I'll turn the lights down," the Doctor replied urgently, and did just that. Rose saw the insides of her eyelids darken as the lights did, but was still afraid to look again.
He'd been surrounded by light when she'd looked at him, and it made her angry that even when she was this sick she could still look at him and think he was beautiful. She tried to channel that energy into getting herself better.
"Rassilon, Rose," She heard the Doctor hiss from one of the testing computers on the far side of the med bay. "How did you manage?"
Furious typing followed, with mutterings from the Doctor (mostly curses), and eventually he hooked her up to an IV, and she felt a cold liquid course through her. She almost immediately fell into a deep, dark sleep.
***
When she woke up, she was propped up in a hospital bed, the Doctor sitting next to her, gripping one of her hands in his, holding it pressed to his mouth. She didn't find this odd. Instead, it was comforting and made her feel warm inside. Also, she was incredibly tired.
"You're awake," he said hoarsely against her fingers.
She lifted her other hand and ran it through his hair once, then lay it back on the bed when that proved to put out too much effort. "What happened?" She asked.
"What happened is you kept a very serious sickness from me, Rose. A very, very serious sickness." The Doctor replied, keeping his tone level.
She blinked slowly, having trouble processing, still feeling so sick she knew if she tried to stand up she'd be down again in a second. "Sorry," she whispered. "It's not just... Like a flu?"
"You can't get the flu anymore, Rose, I made sure of that when you promised to stay with me. You can't get human viruses," the Doctor explained. "I didn't account for anything else." She could practically see him mentally kicking himself.
"Then, what have I got?" She asked, her voice trembling, afraid of her diagnosis.
"It's called Eplothermian Cancer," the Doctor said slowly, his mouth still on her hand. "It starts out much like a human flu, but develops quickly until the body that's infected just shuts down."
"But... You're curing me, right?" She asked hopefully. "The IV, it's helping, isn't it?" Her head started to hurt at all the thoughts that were pounding their way through her head.
He dropped his forehead to her knuckles, looking as though he was praying over her. "I'm making you comfortable, Rose." He said quietly, his voice shaking.
Her stomach lurched. She'd heard that before. When her gran was sick, just before she died, that's what the nurses had said. "Try to make her comfortable." Which meant only one thing. Rose Tyler was dying.
"I'm going to die," she whispered. "Would it have... Would it have helped if I'd told you sooner?"
"No," the Doctor said firmly, shaking his head and bringing watery eyes back to hers. "You've been surviving on it for over two weeks, which is incredible, Rose, but there's never been a cure for it, not for humans. For the Eplogants, they do, but not for off-worlders, because they don't know they can catch it."
Rose closed her eyes and leaned back. "Can you take me to mum's?"
"You might infect her."
Her eyes flew open again. "I might infect you, Doctor! Get away from me!"
"No, Rose, I'm immune to it. You can call your mum, but we can't go to see her, you're too contagious," He pulled her mobile from a plié of her clothes on the chair next to him and handed it to her. She looked down and realized she was wearing a hospital gown. The thought only made her more upset.
"Do you want to talk to her?" The Doctor asked quietly.
"How much longer have I got?"
"About four days."
"Yeah. Yeah, I want to talk to her," she said.
The Doctor dialed the phone, put it on speaker, and laid it on her bed. They regarded each other in silence as the ringing of the mobile permeated the room. Jackie answered on the third ring. "Hello? Rose?"
"Hi, mum," Rose said, wincing at how her voice sounded.
"Are you alright?" Jackie asked worriedly, reading her daughter like a book without even being there. "What's happened?"
Rose shifted and closed her eyes, feeling very tired but not wanting to fall asleep or waste a moment of the time she had left. "I've... I've come down sick, mum, and let's just say it's really good we visited last week."
Jackie was quiet for a few moments. "Rose, come home."
"I can't."
"Come. Home."
"She can't, Jackie," The Doctor spoke for her as tears started to build in her eyes. "She's contagious. Very contagious, that's why we're calling."
"Doctor, you take this phone out right now and talk to me privately." Jackie demanded.
The Doctor kissed Rose on the forehead and smoothed her hair back, finally releasing her hand. "I'll be right back," he promised. She nodded and watched as he left the room, shutting the door behind him and speaking in low tones with her mother.
Some time later, he came back in, and laid the phone back on its place on the bed. "Go ahead, Jackie," he said, "I'm back."
Rose reached weakly for the Doctor's hand and he took it in both of his again. They waited for Jackie to speak, which took a few moments because she was composing herself.
"Rose, I wish you could come home, and I love you very much," she said. "You know that, don't you?"
"Yes, mum. I love you too," Rose felt a tear track down her cheek and tried to stop it, knowing it would only make her feel tired. "And you've been the best mum there ever was, I promise you that."
More formalities were exchanged, and the Doctor promised to continue to visit Jackie, giver her photos of pictures, and the like. When Jackie hung up, Rose completely dissolved in tears, barely able to inhale for being so weak. The Doctor stood over her, pressing kisses to her cheeks where the tears were falling.
"Rose," he whispered, pulling her into a gentle, albeit awkward, half hug. "I'm so sorry. I should've done more, should've known something was wrong."
"Stop," she said quietly, "It's not your fault. Come here."
She started to shift over on the bed with a great amount of effort and he stopped her. "No, Rose, don't strain yourself."
"Shut up, I'm dying and I want you with me," she smiled weakly at him. "Help me budge up or I'll have to do it myself."
Knowing there was no refusing her, now or ever, he helped her shift over to the other side of the bed and adjusted the IV. He toed his shoes off and removed his jacket and tie before easing himself under the covers with her. He lay on his side and slid an arm under her, pulling her against his chest. She burrowed into him, craving the comfort, and without thinking, reached up and kissed his chest where his shirt was open.
She expected him to jerk away, but instead he rubbed a hand up her back and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "You should know something," he whispered.
He helped her scoot back from him so they could look into each other's eyes. She watched him, a quiet look on her face. "What is it?"
He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "I should've told you two years ago. In Van Stouten's basement. I love you."
She smiled at him, hoping that although she couldn't pull him into the hug she wanted, he'd understand how much he meant to her. "I love you too," she replied, leaning into his touch. "We're daft, aren't we, not saying it sooner?"
"Oh, completely," the Doctor grinned at her and she giggled.
"Kiss me?" She asked, feeling sheepish despite his admission, and despite the fact that he'd admitted said admission first.
"Yes," he had barely gotten the word out before his lips were pressed to hers, gently, being incredibly careful of her. She responded as best she could, and he pulled away after a few moments, tipping his forehead to hers. "I have to keep looking," he said, "For a cure."
She burrowed into his chest again, not wanting him to see her face. "There isn't one."
"But remember, I'm brilliant."
"Mm, that's right."
"Are you tired?" He asked, sounding concerned.
"A little bit, but I want to stay awake with you." Rose didn't think she'd ever made a truer statement in her life. Her short life, she reminded herself.
And so they stayed up talking until Rose couldn't stay awake anymore, and she cried herself to sleep as the Doctor pressed kisses to her brow, murmuring words of love and reassurance to her.
And when she was asleep, he regretfully disentangled himself from her and began working on a solution.
He ran virtual tests of different medicines with a human body with Eplothermian Cancer, and after finding no solution, threw about four compounded medicines together and ran the test, doing it out of anger and frustration.
The test came up cleared.
Really?? That was the one that worked? Never mind that, it worked! He mixed the medicine carefully, each came from a different planet and had to be mixed very specifically. Once he was finished, he tasted the medicine and ran it through his system, making sure it would be safe for Rose.
"Rose," he whispered, cupping her face gently. She blinked sleepily open, watching him curiously.
"Yes?"
"Drink this."
She wrinkled her nose and took the small glass from him. "Why?"
"Because I love you," he said simply. He didn't want to tell her it would work if my some sick twist of fate, it didn't.
Her smile told him he had made the might move. "Okay," she replied, and drank the medicine. She handed the glass back to him and laid her head back. "Come back."
He got back into bed with her, holding her close than he'd ever dared to before, and allowed her to fall asleep, only hoping that he'd been right.
***
Rose woke up the next morning feeling oddly... Healthy. She shifted and found it didn't take a lot of effort. "Doctor?" She tilted her head up to see him already looking down at her.
"Yes?" He asked, looking expectant.
"I feel better," she said bluntly. "Why do I feel better?"
The Doctor smiled. "Hang on, we'll run another test." He kissed her softly before standing up and doing just that. They waited until the test results ran through the Doctor's computer in Gallifreyan.
"I, Rose Tyler, am completely brilliant!" He said, punching the air. "Stand up, stand up!"
"Doctor, what are you talking about? I've got three days left, I-"
"Trust me." He held his hands out for her, and she put hers in them as he helped her to her feet. He pulled her into a hug at the startled look that crossed her face as she supported herself.
"What was in that stuff you gave me?" She asked, sounding as surprised as she had looked.
"I just invented the cure for Eplothermian Cancer," the Doctor said, "You're going to need days of sleep, and I mean days, and a lot of cuddling. You can go back to your own bed, but we can't visit your mum for another two days, ooh, she's going to slap me, isn't she, you wouldn't let her slap me, would you, Rose?"
As he was rambling, she was analyzing her body, seeing if it really was true, that she felt better. She gathered, finally, that yes, her Doctor was completely brilliant. Before he could ramble anymore she grabbed his lapels and pulled him down for a kiss very different than the other ones they'd shared.
This was desperate, something full of joy. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, as if he never wanted to let her go, and she had to admit, she knew the feeling.
Finally, Rose pulled away, gasping for breath, and hugged him again, gentler this time. "I'm so tired," she murmured.
"Bedtime," the Doctor said decidedly, scooping her up in a bridal carry and took her back to her bedroom. She was still a bit weak and the Doctor helped her change into a pair of pajamas before she fell into bed again.
"You get into jimjams too," Rose mumbled decidedly from the bed. "You should sleep."
The Doctor told the TARDIS to bring his room right next to hers, mostly because he was still afraid to leave her. He changed as quickly as possible and came back to Rose, who was waiting up with sleepy eyes.
He wasted no time in crawling into bed with her. He licked the shell of her ear and smacked his lips. "You're cured," he said decisively. "Don't worry."
"M'not," she said, "Just make sure it doesn't happen again."
He chuckled and pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair. "I love you, Rose Tyler."
"I love you," She whispered in response, "Thank you. For saving me."
"Always."
Jackie did end up slapping him for putting her in a world of stress, but it was worth it for Rose to respond by kissing him.
They mass produced the cure and promised each other forever again, but a new one, and it was going to be fantastic.