Hi lovely readers! This is the first fan fiction I've let anyone read, so please let me know what you think!

Ten Days Quarantine

Chapter 1

"Damn smog!"

Rose coughed and choked and spluttered as she stumbled into the TARDIS. The Doctor followed her, not a hair out of place, annoyingly unaffected by the thick purple air outside. He closed the door behind him, and shoved his hands deep in his pockets, glancing rather sheepishly at Rose.

"Well, I must say I'm surprised. All the times I've taken friends to the Swamps of Golopo, no one's ever reacted to the atmosphere quite… like this."

Rose was hunched over, gripping at the railing, still coughing. The Doctor though she looked a little green.

Still beautiful, he thought. Always beautiful. Wait, no! Stop thinking like that!

Rose managed to catch her breath and interrupt his train of thought.

"Any of them human?"

The Doctor frowned, bewildered at the question. "What?"

"Those 'friends' you've taken to the swamps in the past. Or future, or whenever." She balked, trying to get rid of the taste of the foul air. "Any of 'em human?"

The Doctor thought carefully. "I don't think so…" he gave her a guilty puppy look, but Rose just glared at him.

"Besides," he continued, oblivious to Rose's expression, "I've never been to this particular swamp before. It does seem a bit… hostile."

"Ya think?!" Rose croaked sarcastically.

The Doctor frowned. "S'not my fault human physiology is so sensitive." She gave him another look, and he caved. "Better get you to the Medlab."

He stepped over to her, and, taking her hand, he led her into the corridor.

The TARDIS had decided to be helpful (which was unusual in itself – normally she was looking for opportunities to confuse the Doctor or at least get in his way) and the Medlab was right next to the control room. They stepped inside, and Rose – who had managed to regain some of her composure – sat on the edge of the medical bed. The Doctor fetched her a glass of water, which she downed gratefully, cooling the burning in her throat. The Doctor turned to the large monitor at the head of the bed, and pressed a few small buttons, The station whirred into life, automatically reading Rose's heart rate, temperature, and breathing. The Doctor slipped his black-rimmed glasses onto his nose, scanned the readings quickly and nodded to himself.

"Mmhmm, everything seems in order here." He frowned at the screen like it had just insulted him. "Temperature's slightly high, though…" He fumbled around in a nearby cupboard til he found what looked like a shiny purple ruler. He showed it to Rose with a flourish.

"What's that?"

"Just want to check everything's okay."

"You've already checked."

"Well," he replied, a little deflated, "I'm going to double check."

He ran the device over Rose's body (which was difficult as she refused to lay down – humans can be so stubborn!) and watched the monitor overhead. The purple ruler beeped.

"Ah."

Rose looked at him, suspicious and slightly worried. "Ah? What d'you mean 'Ah'?"

"'Ah' as in, 'Ah, there may be something wrong.'"

"What?!"

He heard her voice raise in panic, and turned to her immediately, gripping her hand in his.

"No, no, nothing serious. It's a bit like a virus. From the smog. I said I'd never been to this one before, but I thought it would be like the others: harmless air. Sorry."

"Sorry? Is that it?"

He grinned nervously, expecting an infamous Tyler slap. "I… won't do it again?"

"Too right."

The Doctor, eager to rectify the situation, turned back to the screen to get more information. What he saw wasn't going to rectify much.

"It lasts ten days, it says here."

"Ten days?!"

"Yeah, sorry, no running for your life for a couple of weeks." He read on, and hissed a breath in distaste at what he read next. "Symptoms include erratic temperatures, hallucinations, temporary lapse of judgement, itching –"

"- Please tell me there's a treatment."

"Er… no, you have to wait it out. Sorry, again." His demeanour changed suddenly, and he turned to her with his arms open wide and a smug smile plastered on his face.

"Luckily you have me, one healthy Time lord as fit as a fiddle ready to care for your every need."

Rose wasn't impressed. She snatched the purple-ruler-thing from his hand and looked angrily at it, then at the Doctor.

"I can't believe you get off without even a cough or anything. Again!" She held it up to his arm, and it immediately started beeping.

The confusion on his face made Rose smile as he checked the monitor.

"I don't believe it."

"What's that?" Rose asked, still distracted by his cute school-boy expression. Boy, he looked adorable when he didn't understand something. Not that that happened very often.

"I've… I've got it, too!" he stammered in disbelief. Rose laughed out loud. So much for his superior physiology!

"How come you weren't coughing, then?"

He sniffed self-consciously. "Different, aren't I?"

Rose laughed again. "Obviously not that different. How often do you get ill?"

"Never! Well… almost never."

Rose watched his shocked expression, trying to stifle her giggles as he recomposed himself. His eyes suddenly snapped wide, and he exploded with energy.

"No point moping around here. Maybe not up to running for our lives but we can at least go somewhere for a bit of R n R!"

He bounded into the control room, and Rose followed him reluctantly. She was getting a headache, and just felt like going to bed.

"Doctor… I don't think we –"

"Aw, nonsense," he replied, not letting her finish. Damn the Swamps! He was a 900 year old Time Lord, the Oncoming Storm, he wasn't about to let a little virus get the better of him. He whizzed around the control panel as the TARDIS set off, trying to ignore the heat rising up his neck. The TARDIS shuddered to a halt, nearly knocking them both off their feet. The Doctor grabbed his coat and bounded towards the doors.

"Rubel 5, best spas this side of Cassiopeia."

He tried to open the door, but to no avail. He rattled it in frustration, and turned to glare at the TARDIS central column.

Rose watched him, anxious. "What's going on?"

The Doctor didn't hear her: he was busy having a muttered discussion with his ship.

"Oh whatever!" He spun away from the column, leaning on the controls, arms crossed, sulking.

Rose couldn't help grinning. "What's up?"

He sighed, and glanced up at her. "The TARDIS has taken it upon herself to play matron, and said we can't risk infecting anyone else."

Rose mirrored the Doctor's stance.

"So we have to stay here?!"

"Ten days quarantine," the Doctor groaned.

--

Thanks for reading, I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Please review, let me know what you thought!