A/N: In this fic, the Doctor's body temperature is hotter than the average human, just for plot's sake. There's no written lemon because I couldn't bring myself to write one. Sex is, however, implied to have happened.

Sorry to those who wanted something graphic :)

Rory was in bed with Amy when he felt it.

It was a sense of urgency, implanted into his mind by someone that was not himself. He opened his eyes slowly, gazing up at the ceiling of the TARDIS, wondering where the external sense had come from. He turned groggily to his side to see Amy, still next to him and fast asleep. She wasn't in urgent need of anything besides a cuddle.

Rory knew the Doctor had briefly mentioned in Venice that the TARDIS was telepathic. It was the little of chance he caught the conversation between the alien and her fiancé, but he could only assume the sense of urgency was being produced by the ship itself.

Perhaps the Doctor was in trouble. Rory knew he'd had a tough day – electrocuted, thrown to the ground by an explosion, and then to top it all off, climbed a bell tower in the rain. His nurse side was screaming at him to question the alien's wellbeing but he'd managed to brush it off, telling himself he probably had a superior alien body and would be fine.

But now he felt guilty for assuming that, because all in all the Doctor still looked human. That still meant he might be in trouble, right? The sense of urgency from the ship was certainly saying that.

So Rory slipped out of bed into his slippers, and rubbing his eyes, he made his way to the door. As he moved outside, he could have sworn the layout of the corridor he and Amy's bedroom was in had changed. It was probably from the fact he'd barely had any sleep. His watch read midnight, meaning he'd only been asleep one or two hours.

The ship seemed to guide him as he wandered through the endless corridors, finally reaching the main control room. He found the Doctor on one of the yellow worn seats around the outside, gazing at the console with a somewhat pained expression. His attention snapped up to Rory when he heard his slippers pad down the stairs.

"Ah! Rory! What brings you down here and such a time?" He exclaimed, jumping up and checking his watch as he does. "It's late for you humans, isn't it?"

"Your ship woke me up." He said dully.

The Doctor's face contracted slightly and he gave the console a brief glance. Once he seemed content the complicated panels were next to him, he turned back to Rory, a smile plastered across his face. The nurse couldn't help but notice the motion didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Did she now?" He questioned, still grinning.

Rory nodded, a yawn escaping his lips. The Doctor turned to look at the console again, muttering something he didn't quite catch, but then put a hand on the side of Rory's arm. He then raised his other hand to gesture to the staircase beside the both of them.

"You go back to bed, then." He said.

He pushed Rory in the direction of the stairs, but the nurse kept his feet glued to the ground. He was determined to find out what the ship had pulled him out of bed for. He shook off the Doctor's hand as he turned to face him again.

"You are alright, aren't you?" Rory asked. "The ship wouldn't wake me up for nothing."

The Doctor did a little twirl on the spot to show he was coherent, and then said, "I'm absolutely fine, thank you Rory. The old girl's just a little concerned because it's been a long day." He patted the console beside him twice, and then went to fiddle with his fingers.

"You're still coming with me to the med bay, though." Rory said, grabbing the Timelord's hand.

Rory somehow felt satisfied his hand touched the Doctor's. He took to gripping it tightly, just to feel the warmth of his above-average body temperature.

"I'm fine!" The Doctor affirmed. "I said before – long day. I'll grab some shut eye later, Rory, but right now I need to make some little adjustments to the flight co –"

"If you're fine, then you can go tinker when I've finished. I'm just going to do a check-up." Rory interrupted him as he began to drag the Timelord up the stairs behind him.

The Doctor huffed as he eventually gave in to being dragged. He took to stumbling along beside Rory, mumbling directions every so often to reach the medical bay.

"It's this door here." The Doctor stopped Rory by tugging at his hand, which he still hadn't let go of.

Rory didn't actually quite mind being attached to him. The Timelord was actually quite warm and getting out of bed so suddenly had made Rory feel a little cold. His spirits fell a little when the Doctor's hand slipped from his. The Timelord sat himself in a chair and gestured to the countertops littered with medical equipment and the likes.

"Check-up." He agreed to Rory's preposition, nodding in agreement. "To satisfy your thoughts, Mr Pond."

Rory looked over the mass of equipment scattered around the room, wondering if the Doctor had ever had to use it before. Some of it looked alien, as he'd never seen some pieces before. The nurse finally spotted a thermometer on the countertop which he swore wasn't there before. He picked it up, glancing back at the Doctor.

"I'm going to take your temperature." He announced, holding up the medical object.

The Doctor made a sound that resembled "obviously" and held his mouth open, waiting for Rory to take his temperature.

"Thirty seven degrees Celsius is normal for humans, but around forty to forty-five is normal for me." He informed Rory before the thermometer went into his mouth.

"Why such the broad range?" Rory questioned, putting the instrument into the alien's mouth finally.

He answered with something that sounded like, "Two hearts. Blood pumps around faster."

Rory wasn't really interested in finding out, to be honest, since it was probably some long-winded recount of his race's history. He was curious medical-wise, but the Rory side of him just didn't want to hear the alien ramble at this time of night. It made him question his motives of getting up in the first place.

After a minute or two he removed the thermometer and checked it for the Doctor's temperature.

"You're a little hotter than you should be." Rory announced. "Forty six point three degrees."

"That's alright. The thermometer might be a little off, is all. It's a little stuffy in here." He waved his hand in front of his face to show he was hot, just to prove his point further.

"It's always cold inside the TARDIS." Rory stated dully. "You don't notice it because your body temperature is hotter. Amy always says it's freezing, and it is a little nippy in here now that I think about it." He reasoned.

"Pond just whines." The Doctor retorted. "That's all you humans do. You complain, you whine and then you come and tell me I'm ill." He made a big gesture with his hands. "Timelords don't get sick! Our biology is too superior – it can process a human cold in twenty minutes." He demanded Rory to agree with him, but the nurse only shook his head.

Rory was certain the alien had a fever. Or at least – if not a fever – the start of one. By the way he was sitting at the console when Rory had walked in appeared as if he was in pain. Rory assumed he had a headache, although, he wanted to sure.

"Could you stand up for me?" He requested. "Going to check you down for any injures." He set the thermometer down on the counter next to him, and then moved in close to the Doctor.

The Doctor grumbled that he was perfectly fine as he stood up. He grumbled even more when Rory decided it was necessary for him to take the tweed jacket off just so the check would be more accurate.

"Right, first, are you feeling any pain?" Rory asked.

"Nope." The Doctor replied.

"Honestly?" Rory questioned his response.

"Honestly Mr Pond, I'm absolutely fine. Or is it still Mr Williams? Since you and Amy aren't married yet?" He went on to ramble, and Rory just sighed.

"Just tell me if it hurts when I touch somewhere." He said.

Rory started from the head, running his hands down the rest of the Doctor's body. He wasn't sure if he was imagining or not, but it seemed like the Doctor was shuddering as Rory touched him. He pushed the thought to one side, judging it to be his imagination.

The Doctor hissed in pain once Rory touched the upper part of his torso and immediately the nurse recoiled, having found the source of the discomfort.

"Just a bruise." He quickly piped up to explain to Rory, but he ignored him.

"Shirt off. Now." Rory commanded. "I want to see."

"It's nothing..." The Doctor whined, but Rory once against ignored him. "I just slipped a little on the bell tower and hit my side on the concrete... It's nothing. It'll be gone by morning." He covered his injury protectively, but Rory only sighed in frustration.

"You know, for a Doctor you make a really lousy patient." He commented in monotone. "Just take your shirt off. I'm a nurse. I've seen it all before."

"Unnecessary comment there, Mr Po- Williams..." The Doctor commented whilst slowly removing his shirt, but then he paused. "I think I'll just call you Rory." He decided with a nod.

"You're not delirious, are you?" Rory found himself asking, once the Timelord's shirt had been removed. "From what Amy told me, you're usually like this. But are you?"

"What?" The Doctor asked, pouting. "What am I like?"

"Delirious." Rory answered with the suggestion of a smirk.

"I'm not delirious!" He huffed. "And – oh! You're smirking!" He pouted even further when he discovered the nurse's expression.

"Right." Rory tried this best to change the topic from the current one, but the Timelord only glared at him. Recoiling slightly, he continued, "I think you're bruised a couple of your ribs."

"I didn't even hit myself that hard..."

"I'm going to poke around a little bit more, and you need to tell me how much it hurts. On a scale on one to ten. One being not at all, ten being completely unbearable." Rory almost commanded, and he watched the Doctor's face fall at being ordered around.

"I can assure you, Rory, that it's nothing. It'll clear up by morning and I'll be fit as a fiddle." He said, the start of a smile tugging at the sides of his mouth. "How do fiddles even get fit anyway?"

Rory, sighing inwardly to himself, took to jabbing the Doctor rather hard in the side.

He yelped in what was hopefully surprise, but he grunted, "Five."

"Maybe it's more extensive than I thought." The nurse pondered, hovering over the Doctor's side. "Your side hurts, too?"

"Only because you hit me! Really hard!" He exclaimed, flinching defensively.

Rory sighed aloud this time, ignoring the Doctor's complaints. He began to gently press into his side with his fingers, feeling for any ambiguities and listening for the pain rating from the patient.

He couldn't help but think how smooth the Doctor's skin felt under his fingertips. With one hand he was gently pressing into the Timelord's rib cage, and his other hand was poised just on his bare shoulder; there to steady him if something did turn upside down. His skin was warm under Rory's touch, which was most likely the effect of the fever's beginning.

When he touched the middle of the Doctor's left rib cage, he hissed in pain again and Rory just caught a seven. He withdrew immediately, not wanting to cause any more discomfort for his patient.

"Right." Rory decided, now putting both hands on the Timelord, just in case. "I think it's only a bruised rib or two, but I want to take an x-ray just to be sure."

"If you can figure out how to work the TARDIS's x-ray machine, that is." The Doctor chortled.

Rory ignored him and told him instead, "Lay down. Please."

"Not a cheerful fellow, are you?" The Doctor continued to mock him.

"Perhaps if you'd lie down and do what I asked I'd be a little happier." Rory completely brushed off his nurse persona, losing his patience with the Timelord.

Immediately he opened his mouth to retort, but closed it when he realised Rory wasn't very happy. He laid down on the medical bed and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for Rory to figure out the x-ray machine.

Rory couldn't help but think that the bed was cold to bare skin. He made the Doctor remove his shirt for medical purposes, but now he couldn't help but feel bad for him. The bed had plastic lining, so it was most likely cold and uncomfortable.

Although... for a nine-hundred year old alien who was cooped up inside a bigger-on-the-inside time machine, he was actually looking pretty good. Although he didn't have toned out abs, he was certainly looking fit from all the running he tended to do. In the space of admiring the Doctor's chest, Rory was completely oblivious to the fact that his chest was actually a little swollen. He noticed once the alien was under the harsh light.

"It looks bruised from here." Rory commented as he took to pressing random buttons on the foreign machine, hoping to turn it on.

And then magically, it turned itself on a poised itself over the Doctor's chest. Rory recoiled, confused, but the alien only chuckled to himself. The chuckle then disappeared as soon as it appeared, and Rory saw the Doctor's face was moulded into a pout. That then disappeared, and he turned to look at Rory.

"Even the TARDIS is worried about me." He said dismissively. "She's powered up the machine for you... so all you have to do is press go." He sounded more positive about having his chest x-rayed, now.

"And which button is that?" Rory asked, looking over the machine controls once again.

"The big green one."

The Doctor gave Rory a silly grin and the nurse just stopped himself from mirroring it. Even though the Doctor must be the most infuriating alien in the world... he's just too damn charming. He's got that ridiculous mop of brown hair, and the even more ridiculous bowtie (which happens to be discarded on the floor along with his shirt) and then the sensible black shoes and pants to balance it all out.

But oh my, he looked gorgeous there. Rory couldn't help but look at him, completely exposed and trusting to this nurse he'd only just met. Although, Rory had met him once... and then Amy had run off with him the night before their wedding. Technically, it still was the night before their wedding. A good hundred years before their wedding, but that was out of the question. What mattered right now was the fact the Doctor was injured and needed medical attention...

"Rory?"

... And he was so damn attractive.

"Rory Will-iams..."

"Huh?"

The nurse then snapped back to relatively, noting the fact the Doctor was staring right at him, propped up on his elbows.

"You zoned out. Staring at me." He stated, but then cleared his throat, looking down at himself in the process. "Not that I'm complaining but..."

"You are thinking what I'm thinking, aren't you?" Rory decided to approach him straight on.

"What?" The Doctor asked completely obliviously, and Rory felt his face and his spirits fall. The Doctor noticed this fact. "Oh..." A smile the rose to his lips slowly. "You're not the first, Mr Williams, not the first."

Rory felt himself go red, but he hid behind the x-ray machine.

In a high voice, he squeaked, "Let's just get the x-ray done."

"Right." The Doctor sounded a little squeaky too now, but he laid back down on the bed.

The x-ray didn't take long. Two minutes, at the most. Rory retrieved the printings from the machine at the other end of the room, and then pegged them up on the boards. The lights dimmed as he did, and the nurse could only assume it was the time machine. He had come to terms with the fact it was alive.

Looking over the alien's chest x-rays, he saw nothing that wasn't human. His skeletal structure was exactly the replica of a human's, but the nurse could only ponder the inner workings... Actually, no. Completely wrong words for him to be using right now. The alien just confessed it himself, after all. He knew.

"Nothing's broken." Rory concluded. "It's some badly bruised ribs. Ice, loose bandages and some rest will clear it up." He said.

"Just rest." The Doctor reasoned. "Superior Timelord biology here."

"You still have a fever." Rory reminded him. "The ice will help calm that down." He put a hand on the Doctor's forehead, noting how smooth the skin was under his palm. "You're getting hot."

"I know."

"You're not implying anything, are you..?" Rory asked apprehensively, wondering if the feelings were currently mutual.

The Timelord paused for a brief moment, examining the nurse before him. His features were pronounced under the harsh light, Rory noticed, and he couldn't but notice the chin. Everything else was wonderful and beautiful, but the chin...

"Do you think I am?" The Doctor asked, and oh yes – that was definitely a wink.

"Bandages. And then." Rory told him.

Rory saw the grin that emerged on the Timelord's face falter slightly, but it was still there when he told Rory which cupboard the bandages were in.

When he found them, he made his way back to the medical bed, where the Doctor was now sitting up. He was hunched over slightly, the bruise now clearing showing on the skin. It was a dark purple – very dark compared to his un-tanned chest.

"Are you going to do this?" Rory asked, holding up the role of white material. "Or am I?"

"I think it would be easier if you did." The Doctor decided, raising his arms to show Rory should do it.

The nurse moved in slowly, unrolling the roll of bandage as he did. He asked the Doctor to hold one end to his chest, whilst Rory slowly wound the rest of the bandage around the bruised area. It didn't take him long – his fingers were well practiced and the Doctor barely squirmed.

When Rory was satisfied he playfully jabbed the Timelord in the side again and he grimaced. He gave Rory a glare, but the nurse only smiled.

"Six, thanks." He informed defensively, but then a smile graced his face. "Now, when was 'then'? Is then now? Because if then is now I've still got too many clothes on..." He looked down at himself in what seemed to be disappointment.

Rory looked down at himself too. He was dressed in boxers and a loose singlet, of which he only just noticed now. He had been in bed with Amy just twenty minutes ago, and his dress choice had only just occurred to him now. The Doctor, however, was dressed from the waist down. And this fact disappointed the clothed nurse.

"Your room?" Rory asked. "Amy is in mine... so..."

"We could ask her to join in." The Doctor suggested, but both men knew that wasn't a possibility. "My room it is, then." He paused. "Should we start kissing now? You know... do the thing they do in movies?"

Rory didn't need any further prompting. His mouth was on the Doctor's, his fingers in his ridiculous hair. The Doctor returned the favour, his hands locked around Rory's shoulders as they kissed. They kissed furiously, barely pausing to gaze at each other's faces. They moved down the hallway towards the Doctor's room, and the nurse could only hope the time machine was guiding the Timelord. He didn't want to be caught by Amy.

But kissing the Doctor was like sticking your lips into... well, for lack of a better word, heaven. His lips were firm but not parted, apparently not trusting Rory with that pleasure just yet. It was almost certain he'd done this many times before. But the fact didn't bother Rory. He was doing this right now, and none of those other men or women mattered.

The Doctor was equally passionate about the situation, his hands almost violently clawing at Rory's back and they kissed. The nurse wasn't bothered with this, since he was firmly gripping at the Timelord's hair, possibly almost pulling it out.

They eventually found their way to the Doctor's room, where they commenced taking their clothes off. They were determined to keep their mouths locked whilst doing this, and so the Doctor stripped Rory and Rory stripped the Doctor. Rory was careful not to disturb the bandages, as he didn't want to ruin this moment.

Before he had met Amy's childhood imaginary friend, he had imagined him to be nothing special. Before, to him, they had only been a ridiculous drawing of a man and a police telephone box. But now, Amy's childhood imaginary friend was so much more. Perhaps Amy had been right to call him gay all those years ago... because he'd never felt passion like this before. Even with Rory's fiancé, never did he get this rough. The Doctor was being rough, oh yes, and Rory was most happily returning the favour.

Once clothes were off and scattered all over the floor, they proceeded to the bed. In this time their lips never left each other. And still, much to Rory's disappointment, the Doctor hadn't parted his. Rory had. He trusted this man with his life. But it seemed the Doctor had yet to decide the trust to be mutual. Although, right now, the Timelord was holding onto Rory's naked form as if it was the last claw on life itself.

Of course, the nurse didn't mind this either. The only fact bothering him was that he wasn't allowed to explore the Timelord's mouth, even after all this. Eventually, he decided to pause and take his mouth from his partner's, much to his own disappoint. The Doctor took his arms from Rory upon this, apparently uncertain of his withdrawal.

"Is something bothering you?" He asked, lost for breath. He was panting. "We've only been going ten minutes, Mr Williams... You have to beat an old friend of mine." He gave Rory a silly grin, still panting. "Four or five hours. I forget which now, but it is one of the two."

"No French kissing?" Rory tried his best to hide his disappointment, but it must have shone through anyway, because the Doctor invited the nurse to lie on his chest.

"Bad experience with tongues." The Doctor explained. "Don't take it personally, Mr Williams, but I just cannot bear having someone else's tongue in my mouth." He began to stroke Rory's hair gently as they lay together.

Rory nodded sadly, sighing inwardly to himself. Perhaps he'd have to get the Doctor to trust him first, because he'd love to explore the Timelord's mouth. It was foreign... it was strange and it was alien. If he wanted to, he could call it medical discovery.

"Now, where were we?" The Doctor asked cheekily.

The Doctor's fingers remained in Rory's hair as they continued where they left off. Rory ended up on top, the Doctor on the bottom. Rory had his arms laced around the Doctor's neck, unsure of where else to put them.

He couldn't help but wonder if the Doctor loved him or not... Rory certainly did, right now. As he passionately nipped at the Doctor's lips with his teeth as he kissed him, he was certain he loved him. He secretly hoped this wasn't just a one-night stand, because he'd love to continue this. But he had Amy... and a wedding in a couple of hundred years.

Rory brushed these thoughts away when the Doctor decided it was time to take it up a notch. He obliged happily, feeling close to secure in the alien's arms.

Rory's watch read four am once they were finished and he had gotten up around midnight. Now he was lying on the Doctor's chest, tracing circles on the Timelord's arms which were around him. He closed his eyes contently, listening to the steady two-hearted beat underneath the skin of the Doctor's chest. The bandages had come slightly loose during the shenanigans, but the Doctor was right – they had healed in the matter of hours. Although, neither of them had done much resting.

"Rory?" The Doctor mumbled sleepily, rousing him from his musings.

"Doctor?" The nurse returned equally sleepily, pausing in his unseen drawings on his partner's arm.

"Do you think we could do this again sometime?" The question was like a river of happiness to Rory, who nodded in answer to the question. "Wonderful."

Rory nuzzled into the Doctor's chest again, closing his eyes. His chest was warm until Rory's cheek, and even warmer from the fever that was now doing its toll. The Doctor would sniffle every now and again, and shift uncomfortably.

Once Rory's watch read five am, that was when the two men decided it was time to part ways. The agreed to next week (according to Rory's watch) same time, same place; midnight to roughly four am and the Doctor's room.

Rory had gotten dressed slowly just beside the Doctor's bed, and he noted the Timelord watched. The Doctor simply slipped some boxers on and climbed back into bed. He had grown pale and Rory hadn't even noticed.

"I'll be fine." The Doctor assured the now-concerned nurse with a little wave of his hand. "Just leave me for a few hours."

Rory got up then, taking it as his cue to leave. He slipped out the door, checking on the Doctor's now still form in the bed he had occupied only minutes ago. And he was most unfortunate to discover when he looked up Amy was shuffling out her (and his) room, yawing and stretching. She spotted Rory, and that was definitely a glare.

"Where were you?" She asked angrily, barely noting the fact Rory's singlet was slightly lop-sided. Usually she'd fix those sort of things. "I woke up cold. And we're meant to be getting married." She crossed her arms and Rory couldn't help but sigh.

"The Doctor was sick." He reasoned. "He's got quite a nasty fever and some bruised ribs. I had to take care of him."

"Is that what they call it these days?" Amy asked cheekily, a smiling tugging at her lips.

Rory felt his cheeks go red, and Amy took the liberty of patting them down with her cool hands.

"Only kidding around with you, Mr Pond." She assured him. "See you in the kitchen for breakfast, then?"

After breakfast, a shower and a change of clothes Rory went to check on the Doctor again. He indeed had a fever, since he was absolutely coated in sweat. Rory went to the magically appearing bathroom, damped a wash cloth, and then pressed it gently to the Timelord's forehead. His eyes cracked open, spotting Rory at his bedside. A smile rose to both the men's lips.

As the lock on the door clicked, Rory and the Doctor decided perhaps a week was too long to wait.

NOTE: Anti-tongue Doctor is in reference to another fic which I can't seem to find anymore. Long story short; Jack and the Doctor practice things and Jack bites the Doctor's tongue. So now he's a paranoid Time Lord.

:)