Standing still (Doctor Who, 5th Doctor)

[dorydandy]

I know I've already started a different story on here. Problem is, I'm stuck. But I'll figure something out.

Meanwhile, I've written the start to a shorter story that involves the 5th Doctor. There are preciously few fics with him around. Actually, I found one on here earlier, but can't seem to find it anymore...

Anyway, this story has turned out to be kind of dark and upsetting. It wasn't supposed to be, but there you go. I probably just picked the wrong episode to start out from. This happens after "Warriors of the Deep", one of Five's darkest stories. He goes through quite a lot there, emotionally and physically. This is what I imagine might have happened after.

Standing Still

Everybody needs a break sometimes.

The Doctor would be the last person to live by that. He was always dashing about, saving planets, fighting monsters. He never sat still. His brain always went at a million miles per hour and even when he wasn't working out problems, he tinkered around on his Tardis, to keep himself occupied.

He didn't like to sit still. He didn't like not to have some kind of problem to solve, because if he stopped only for one second, he'd remember. He'd remember everything.

All the bad things that ever happened to him. All the wrong turns he took. All the mistakes he made that cost others dearly. All the people he lost.

It hurt. And the more he thought about it, the more it hurt.

But sometimes even the Doctor had to take a break. Every now and then even he to stop and stand still.

That was the reason why Doctor was sitting on the floor in the Tardis, slightly leaning the back of his head against the console. They had been floating around in deep space for a few days now. It had been Tegan's idea. She knew the Doctor well and she knew he wouldn't attempt to get any rest if they landed somewhere. They would probably have ended up on an alledgedly peaceful planet, only to be caught up in some kind of catastrophe and escaping their death by an inch.

The Doctor'd had to give in to her. Not only was Tegan as stubborn as ever, but he had to admit that she was right. He needed the rest sorely. Especially after the ordeal he'd been through on Sea Base Four. Jumping into the freezing cooling water of the nuclear reactor certainly hadn't done any good for him. And then he'd plugged himself into the computer to stop the Silurians from blowing up the base… Without an implant to control the life-threatening electrical current running through his brain. Not good at all.

And what had it done? Nothing. Well… he had averted a devastating world war, but at what cost? Everybody on the base was dead. Humans, Silurians and Sea Devils alike. He considered it pure luck that his companions were still alive. The guilt was almost overwhelming. Not only had he failed to save the people on the base, he had nearly lost his friends. He had sworn to protect them. He wouldn't lose another one. Not like Adric.

He flinched, as the image of the young maths-genious bubbled up from somewhere inside him. Adric…

How close did he get to lose Tegan and Turlough aswell? He didn't dare think about it. "There should have been another way", he mumbled to himself, feeling his chest tighten. "There should have been another way…"

He closed his eyes, sighing and listened to the comforting hum of his time ship. The constant, soft sound always soothed him, whenever he was sad or didn't feel well. He'd sit here for hours just listening, feeling the Tardis's affectionate thoughts. And right now that was what he needed more than anything in the universe.

Their latest adventure had left him drained. Not only did he feel constantly drowsy, he also ached all over. His head had been pounding for days. That, at least, he could explain as an after effect of the stunt he had pulled with the computer. What had started out as slight bruising around his eyes had taken on an ugly, dark purple colour.

Overall, he felt miserable. And it seemed to be getting worse.

Someone took precisely that moment to slam the door open and stomp into the room. Or so it seemed to the doctor. His headache made him terribly sensitive to sound. It certainly seemed loud enough to drown out the hum of the Tardis.

He forced his eyes open and saw Tegan standing in the room, grinning as if it were christmas. She was about to say something, when she looked down at the Doctor. Her face fell. "Doctor, you look terrible!" she exclaimed.

He didn't even attempt to smile. "Not what you should tell someone first thing in the morning.", he answered in a raspy voice. He hadn't even noticed how sore his throat was.

Tegan rushed over and kneeled next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "No, I mean… you look ill. Really ill." her eyes were full of worry.

The Doctor managed a weak smirk. "I daresay, I feel accordingly." Suddenly, he scrunched up his face as a sharp tingling spread in his sinuses. He turned his head away from Tegan.

"Doctor, are you all right?" she immediately asked, squeezing his shoulder.

He held up his left hand, the other arm ready as he took a deap breath. "Heeh-

'ksschhh!" The sneeze made his head snap forward sharply, which made the pain in his head explode to an almost unbearable level.

He groaned miserably and leaned forward, burying his face in his hands.

Tegan looked at him compassionately and started gingerly to rub his back. She'd had no idea how unwell the Doctor really was. She should have realized that something was wrong when he gave in so easily in the argument they'd had. She remembered being surprised at how well he was after all he'd been through. Of course he wasn't. He'd been faking because she didn't want her and Turlough to worry. It wasn't the first time he'd done that. For some odd reason he didn't want anyone to see his weaknesses. Maybe it was a Time Lord thing. That he didn't attempt to hide anything from her now only prooved how bad it really was.

She suddenly felt anger rise in her. Anger, not just at herself, but at the Doctor. Did he think she was stupid? Did he think she didn't care about him? Why did he always have to push everyone away when he was weak? Didn't he trust her?

She blinked away a tear. After everything they'd been through together, did he really not trust her?

"You know, you have quite a nerve not telling me how bad you really felt!" she snapped at him, speaking before she thought it through. "Why do you never let anyone help you? Do you know how worried I am right now?"

The Doctor gingerly lifted his head and looked at her, shock and guilt written on his face "Tegan, I… I'm sorry…" he said quietly.

"Well, you'd better be!" she continued before she could stop herself. Then she looked into his eyes. Tegan's heart dropped at the sight of his expression. He looked so… tired.

She grabbed his arm, trying not to look at him. "let's get you into bed…"

[TheCakeIsAlive]

*squees* Yay. Fifth Doctor fiction.

Poor fellow. He doesn't get a break does he? Love it very much. Very in character. ^^

(Oh, and the thing you mentioned finding would likely be this: http://www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=38869&hl= I'm afraid it's not very good but just in case... )

[dorydandy]

@TheCakeIsALie: Thanks a lot ^^ I love Fivey. He's my Doctor! Man I feel bad for being so horrid to him Sorry, Five!

And I'm glad you think it's in character. I was worrying about that. Tegan is hard to write for.

Alrighty, chapter two is done!

Sorry, no sneezing in this chapter, because the Doctor is sleeping through it all. But Tegan and Turlough bickering. And Tegan worrying about the Doctor.

[dorydandy]

Duh, I forgot to put the story into the post

Hours later, Tegan was sitting on a chair next to the Doctor's bed. The Time Lord was sleeping peacefully, snoring lightly in his sleep.

It had been difficult to get him here. It had become apparent in the console room that the Doctor was too weak to keep on his feet. It had surprised him as much as it did Tegan. He hadn't been aware that his condition had deteriorated so much. But as soon as he'd managed to get up, his legs had immediately given away beneath him and he would have crashed to the floor, had she not been there to catch him and break his fall. She'd had to fetch Turlough to help her support the Doctor and get all the way to his room, he was so insecure in his step.

In his room, they'd hauled the Doctor onto his bed. He managed to strip himself of his coat, jumper and shoes, before sleep overwhelmed him. Tegan and Turlough had decided to take shifts in the chair next to the Doctor's bed to keep an eye on him. Tegan had decided to take the first shift.

And there he was lying now, a shadow of his usual, radiant self. She got up for the millionth time to check on his temperature. He didn't seem to run a fever. But then again, she didn't know what his normal body temperature was supposed to be. She'd found an old thermometer in the medi cabinet that read out in celsius. It showed her that the Doctor's temperature was at 18 degrees. It kind of made sense to her. He'd mentioned to her once that his body temperature was far lower than that of a human. And his touch always felt very cool. And anyway, he wasn't human. It could very well be that his normal temperature was 18 degrees, right?

She heard Turlough come in behind her. He immediately noticed her staring at the thermometer and came over to her. "Is it bad?"

Tegan threw her hands up in exasperation. "I don't know! I don't know what he has, how bad it is, if he's going to live or die! I don't even know if he's running a fever or if he's got hypothermia! I'm useless! I'm not a nurse, I'm just a stupid stewardess!" She buried her head in her hands and let out a few shaky breaths. Turlough waited patiently next to her until she straightened herself up again and sighed.

"Feeling better?" Turlough asked with a touch of sarcasm in his voice. Although he always seemed to have a touch of sarcasm in his voice, no matter what he said. It drove Tegan up the wall.

She scowled at him "Oh, yes bloody perfect, thanks. I mean, the Doctor's maybe going to die, but I am feeling splendid!"

"No need to snap at me." Turlough answered sourly. "I am worried about him too, you know."

"Yeah? Since when?"

Turlough was seeing where this was going. "Please don't start this now. We have to get the Doctor better, then we can fight, okay?"

Tegan sighed and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "Fine." She gave the Doctor another worried glance. Turlough followed her gaze and scanned the slumbering Time Lord with his eyes. His usually pale complexion had taken on a worrying tone of white. there were small beads of sweat forming on his forehead and he was shivering in his sleep. It was evident Tegan had no idea about such things, since those were clear sings that the Doctor was running a fever. Turlough also noticed that the Doctor's eyes were moving rapidly from side to side. Rapid eye movement. At least he was sleeping properly.

Still looking at the Doctor, he asked Tegan: "What was his temperature?"

"18 degrees." she answered.

"Celsius?"

"Of course celsius, what do you think?"

"Some of us aren't as warm blooded as you humans are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Only that the Doctor seems to be running a low fever." He decided to swallow the remark about Tegan's medical abilities, since that only would have made everything complicated.

Tegan felt a weight lift from her shoulders. "Thank goodness! I was starting to worry he had hypothermia!"

'Hopeless', Turlough thought. He decided not to give her a lecture on hypothermia and its symptoms and pulled a small, round container out of his pocket. "I've found that ointment you wanted."

"Oh, good. Thanks." She took the little container out of his hand and screwed the top off.

Turlough wrinkled his nose. "This stuff looks disgusting."

Tegan sniffed at it and pulled a face. "Yep. Still smells as bad as I remember."

"What is that?"

"Honestly, I don't want to know. The Doctor gave it to me once when I hurt my ankle. This stuff does wonders."

"And you're going to smear it all over his face?"

"If it helps the bruises go away, yes."

"He's not going to be happy about the smell when he wakes up."

"I don't care." Tegan dunked her her fingers into the vile ointment and went over to the bed to get to work.

Turlough smiled. That was Tegan allright. She put her mind to making the Doctor get better.

And when Tegan put her mind to something, you better didn't get in her way.

[dorydandy]

I am currently flying XD

Wow, this story is writing itself.

---

The Doctor woke up to the same debilitating headache he'd gone to bed with. He felt… strange. He seemed to be shivering uncontrollably, even though he was, going by the weight that rested on his body, under a mound of blankets. His limbs felt numb, but at the same time he felt a dull pain in his joints. And his throat was killing him.

Trying to find a more comfortable position, he rolled over to his side. At present, his body was functioning in weird ways to say the least. But he couldn't say why precisely that action made his nose tickle horribly. There wasn't even a warning before he broke out in a sneezing fit. "heh-kschh! … hh… hah-ksschhh… heh-schoo!" he buried his face in the pillow in the hopes of smothering the fit. "H'ckmpfff!… hheh… hh-kmpfff… h-kmpffff! h-ckmpfffoo!… gnnn…" That seemed to have done it. he miserably coughed into the pillow a couple of times.

"Bless you." he heard Turlough from the right. "You know, that dip in the water wasn't a very good idea after all."

The Doctor, face still buried in his pillow, only groaned in response. It sent him straight into a bad coughing fit.

"Whoops." Turlough straightened up and quickly put the book aside he'd been reading the last few hours. he grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand and kneeled next to the bed. He waited until the Doctor's coughing subsided and he was lying still, breathing heavily.

"Umm… You'd better drink something." he said.

The Doctor's red face emerged from the pillow. He stared at the glass Turlough was holding before him, blinking the tears out of his eyes. Then he nodded and turned to sit up. He emptied the glass in a few, big gulps and handed it back.

"Thahgk you." he said in a congested voice. "That's exactly what I deeded…" he rubbed his sore throat and then sniffed wetly, making a face. Turlough handed him the box of tissues without a word. He earned a bemused, if tired glance from the Doctor for that. "Thahgk you."

Turlough cleared his throat nervously. "I'm sorry. My bedside manners leave a lot to be desired…"

The Doctor looked up. "Don't worry." he said in between nose-blows. "Not everyone is a born nurse."

"Thank goodness for that." Turlough mumbled to himself.

"Hah-kschhh! … h-hwhat?"

"Nothing."

"hh-ksschoo!" that one made the Doctor's whole body snap forward violently.

"Bless you."

"Thank you…" he sighed deeply and propped up his head with a hand, body still bent over. Then he closed his eyes. He felt exhausted. What was the human proverb? Hit by a truck. He felt like he'd not only been been hit, but flattened by a truck. He wished it all away. The drowsiness, the headache, the sore throat, the shivering… He could live with the sneezing if he didn't have all the other symptoms. Thinking about it, he would have rather been in a room full of rosemary than this. At least the allergy symptoms could be treated successfully. More or less…

He was pulled back into reality when he heard Turlough clear his throat again. "Erm… is there something I could get for you?"

The Doctor smiled slightly, eyes still closed. It was funny to see Turlough in the role of caretaker. He had no idea how to do it. "Yes, a cup of tea would be nice." he answered.

"Anything else?"

"No, thank you." The Doctor opened his eyes again and noticed all the tissues that were already strewn around him. "Though maybe a bin would be an idea."

[alyssa]

haha I've never watched Dr. Who but this is really good! Keep going please!

[dorydandy]

*squees* Yay. Fifth Doctor fiction.

Poor fellow. He doesn't get a break does he? Love it very much. Very in character. ^^

(Oh, and the thing you mentioned finding would likely be this: http://www.sneezefet...topic=38869&hl= I'm afraid it's not very good but just in case... )

Ah, I didn't notice that little part up there. XD I thought it belonged to your signature ^^;

That's exactly the story I was looking for! Thanks for the link. I think it's a very sweet story. And you got Nyssa spot on.

haha I've never watched Dr. Who but this is really good! Keep going please!

*GASP* you need to start watching it, like, NOW! XD

No, seriously: it's the best show on earth!

[42686]

how did i miss this??? ive never seen the fifth doctor, but ive always found him attractive :3 this story...i love it!

[dorydandy]

how did i miss this??? ive never seen the fifth doctor, but ive always found him attractive :3 this story...i love it!

Aww thank you! ^^

I know! He's so cute, isn't he? The sweetest guy on the planet. What I also like about him is that he sees his companions as family. He treats them as equals. Sure they can drive him mad, but in the end he's there for them and they are there for him. If I could choose to travel with one of the Doctors it would be him.

"""""

Okay, sorry for being gone so long. ^^;

I was in the middle of my last-year-project. Finished it now! Yay! I have time to do stuff again!

Last fluffy chapter! From here on things will start getting very exciting!

****

The next time the Doctor woke up it was to something cool tracing his face. It felt nice on his warm skin. It felt soothing and made the pain throbbing in his temples die down a little. Then, the sensation stopped, the coolness lingering for a moment, before it disappeared. A moment later, he felt it again. It was a strange, comforting feeling and he felt himself doze off.

Until the smell hit him.

He made a face and turned his head slightly. The tracing stopped immediately and he heard Tegan's voice from his right: "Oh, sorry… I didn't mean to wake you."

The Doctor opened his eyes and blinked up at Tegan. He had a hard time focusing on her, still dazed from the deep sleep he'd been in only moments before. He sniffed the air, surprised at how clear his nose was, and took in the penetrating smell again. "What is that?" he croaked, realizing with dismay that, although he could breathe through his nose, his voice sounded like he'd swallowed sandpaper. Or rather that his throat was made of sandpaper, the way it felt like.

Tegan showed him a little, round container filled with a greenish ointment and gave it into his hands. The Doctor dipped his finger in the stuff and looked at it suspiciously. "Where did you find it?", he asked her.

"In the supplies cabinet. I think you gave that to me once when I hurt my ankle."

The Doctor blinked at the container once or twice, then pulled up his eyebrows. His thoughts were still moving like treacle. "hmm. So I did." He looked at it again, then gingerly put a finger on the side of his face. The slimy ointment was dabbed on thickly. The Doctor frowned again.

"I've been using it for your bruises", Tegan explained, "I… hope that's allright…"

"No, no. That's… fine, thank you. It's just…"

Tegan smiled at him. "I know. It stinks."

The Doctor nodded. "Yes."

"And you look like you have an alien lifeform growing on your face."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. It looks a bit like a green jellyfish. but at least the bruising's gone back."

He frowned and put a little pressure on the bruised area around his eye. He was surprised to find that the touch hardly hurt. His face lit up. "Hmm. The pain's almost gone." He regarded the container in his hands with interest. "You know, I've always meant to find out what the ingredients were. There are some quite interesting plants that have a very stimulating effect on the regenerative properties of the body, when used in the right quantities. Even in humans. Whoever made this was very g-good at… ah…" the sneeze took him by surprise and he hardly had the time to turn his head away before it hit him. "heh… hah-sschoo!"

"Bless you", Tegan sighed and handed him the box of tissues from the nightstand.

And there she'd thought he was starting to get over it. It made her sad to see him this ill, but what could you do? Up until now he'd refused to take any medication, so he would just have to sit it out. And she would help him sit it out.

She looked up at the Doctor who was still sitting there, with the back of his hand hand pressed under his nose and his eyes tightly closed, sniffling as his breath hitched.

"Doctor, open your eyes", she instructed him.

He forced one eye open to a little slit, just enough to look at her. "h… hwhat?"

"Open your eyes as wide as you can and then look at the lamp."

The Doctor opened the other eye aswell and regarded her with a questioning glance, before he turned his head towards the light. The blinding light made the tickling in his nose explode. He grabbed for a tissue, squeezed his eyes shut again and took a deep breath. "Hah-ksschh! H'kschhh!… Heh-kschoo!"

"Bless you", Tegan said loyally, "It works, doesn't it?"

The Doctor sniffed wetly, frowning. "And how it works. Dear me..."

He lay back down, coughed a couple of times and rubbed his eyes tiredly. The speck of energy he'd had earlier was gone. He felt like he was right back at the beginning when Tegan found him in the control room.

"Doctor? Are you all right?", he heard his companion say.

"Hmmm… Just tired", he answered. Though that wasn't entirely true, he had to admit to himself. He wasn't all that tired. He'd been sleeping for a day and a half at least, if his time sense was working correctly. His body was slowly but surely fighting off the virus. That was not the problem. The problem was that he was lying here, bed-bound and unable to focus his mind on anything. The shadows in his mind were creeping up on him again.

He heard Tegan get up from her chair. "Well, I'll leave you alone, then. So you can get some more sleep."

"No!" the Doctor snapped his eyes open and propped himself up on his elbows. Tegan stopped. He suddenly felt very self-conscious. "I mean… please stay."

Tegan was quite taken aback with the Doctor's reaction. Usually, he would distance himself from everyone when he didn't feel all right. "Okay… "

"I just… I'd just like some company. It gets a bit lonely in here, you know…" He gave her a weak smile.

Tegan wasn't quite sure what he meant by "in here", but she smiled at him anyhow. "Sure", she said and sat down on the side of his bed, regarding him with concern. The Doctor noticed that and gave her another smirk, which wasn't very convincing. The longer Tegan studied the Doctor's face the more clearly she saw the sadness in his eyes.

Tegan couldn't shake off the feeling that he took away more than physical scars from Sea Base Four. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I…" He was about to give his answer, when the floor suddenly lurched. An almighty crash resounded through the ship, everything started to shake violently.

"What the hell is going on?!", Tegan screamed over the noise of the shuddering ship.

"I don't know!", the Doctor shouted back. "Maybe it's–"

And then he heard the sound. A deep, vibrating 'clong'- sound that came from within the deepest reaches of the Tardis. It chilled him to the bone. This was definitely very, very bad.

"The cloister bell…", he breathed.