HI GUYS! So, I've been away for a while because school is trying to kill me, but I've been slowly working on this fic. It's gonna be three parts, and is a Doctor/Rose Sick!fic. I'll be posting a new part every week :) A HUGE thanks to my wonderful beta: Remie Weasely. Hope you guys enjoy!

PS. I live off of your reviews :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone you recognize.

Chicken Soup, Part 1

Rose Tyler hadn't been aware that she had never heard the Doctor sneeze until the sound of it resounded through the TARDIS console room. She murmured a: 'Bless you' unthinkingly, only noticing some time after the fact that she had never heard such a sound come from the Time Lord. It was then that Rose turned, a frown on her face. "You okay, Doctor?"

He sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve as he nodded, though the action lacked some of his usual enthusiasm. "Oh yeah, brilliant!" His smile didn't reach his eyes. Come to think of it, he'd been a little off as of late. Nothing that had seemed too serious, so the blonde had given him his space... But he'd definitely been less energetic. Rose had attributed it to the normal moods he sometimes went through; the ones they acknowledged but never spoke of… those that dealt with his past. During these times, the blonde would give him some space, knowing that once he worked through whatever he needed to, he'd seek her out.

"You sure you're all right?" Rose questioned, approaching him cautiously. He looked pale. "You look kind of peaky."

"Peaky?" he scoffed. "Rose Tyler, I have never looked peaky; Superior biology, me. I don't get sick."

She reached a hand out to touch his forehead, frowning when the alien danced away from her, moving to fiddle with the chameleon circuit uselessly. "Well, if you're not sick, then there should no problem, yeah? Let me check."

"There's no need to check because I am not sick."

She frowned at him. "You're breaking out into a sweat."

"'S hot, that's all. I should really check the thermostatic cooling system. Aren't you hot?"

"Doctor-"

"Rose, I'm fine. Really." He gave her a look, the one that meant he wanted her to let it go. She did, turning on her heel and disappearing into the depths of the TARDIS, only to emerge fifteen minutes later bearing a bowl of chicken soup and mug of tea.

Upon her arrival to the console room, the Doctor immediately turned, regarding the items wearily as she set them down upon the jump seat. "What's this, then?"

"Chicken soup an' tea. My mum used to make 'em for me when I'd get sick." Rose replied.

He gave her a thin smile and immediately went back to tinkering, seeming much more busy than he actually was… Which was easy to spot when he tightened the same bolt twice. "Thank you, Rose, but I'm perfectly fine." He hacked a cough and cleared his throat noisily at her raised brow. "See? Just a tickle in my throat. The air's dry in here… might to adjust the humidifier as well."

Rose Tyler was unimpressed but decided to let it go. For now. "Right, well I'm going for a shower."

"Wait, you forgot the soup-" But she had already gone. Narrowing his eyes, the Doctor looked at the ceramic bowl for a moment, heavily debating with himself before finally giving in and eating.

He slurped the broth noisily, too preoccupied with how wonderfully warm the concoction made him feel to notice much else. Which was just as well, because there wasn't anybody to hear him either way. Sighing, the Time Lord took this opportunity to sit back on the jump seat, closing his eyes and frowning. He ached all over, his head was killing him, and his body needed rest.

But the one thing he even more than rest was to get off this stupid planet. They had been there for a week after the TARDIS' dematerialization circuit had broken, he was beyond restless. They needed a scrap yard or seedy market place to search for spare parts, but the planet Nebulon was much too 'green' and perfect for its own good. Finding the bits he'd needed had been a job and half, not to mention that they hadn't been the correct ones. He'd had to twist and tinker with them, soothingly telling his ship that this was only a temporary fix and they'd get her fixed up properly as soon as possible. After the first couple of days, she began to get restless as well.

Forcing himself back underneath the console, the Doctor continued his work. It was no use worrying Rose about his health when this was just a cold… He'd be fine in a couple of days, when they were back roaming the Universe.

The next day had been much the same; the Doctor had refused he was sick despite the fact that he was sneezing and coughing all day, Rose had again made him chicken soup, and again, the alien had waited until she was gone to practically lick the bowl clean. For the second time, Rose picked up the dish but said nothing.

He wanted to deny it? Fine. She knew when to stop prodding him… But that didn't mean she wasn't worried. He was eating the food she gave him, good, but he wasn't getting any sleep.

He needed rest.

However, trying to tell a stubborn, prideful alien that his 'superior' biology didn't exempt him from sleep was like trying to tell a Judoon that you were 'sorry and didn't mean it'. The Doctor worked well into the night, tinkering and fixing things that needed to be fixed while Rose lounged around the console room, keeping him company before she grew too tired. It was at this point that the young woman bid her Time Lord companion good night, asking him get at least a couple of hours rest. He had hummed in agreement, obvious in his placation of her.

"Doctor, really, you need to sleep."

"Not as needy as you are with the whole 'resting' thing. Superior biology, remember?"

"No, but you need to sleep sometime… Especially when you're sick. Why don't you stop for the night, yeah? We can watch some telly!"

He raised a brow, looking up at her from his place on the floor. "You said you were going to bed."

"Well, I'm not so tired, come to think of it, and worst comes to worst I can just sleep on the sofa! Come on, we'll get in our jimjams and watch something good… Didn't you want to see 'How to Train your Dragon'?"

"Rose, you were falling asleep on the jump seat."

She reached down, tugging on his sleeve. "Please? We just haven't relaxed in a while. I miss…" She paused, biting her lip. She missed cuddling with him, that was what she missed. But could she tell him that? They'd never really called it cuddling before…

"Yes?" the Doctor asked, looking up at her with a somewhat hopeful smile.

"I just… I miss… cuddling with you, is all," she murmured, trying to sound nonchalant.

His smile grew tenfold and Rose rolled her eyes. "Yeah, fine. Are you coming or not?"

"Coming!" he grinned, "I am most definitely coming… Just right after I finish this."

"Doctor-" she groaned.

"Rose, this is important! If I don't finish it now we'll never leave this planet!"

"But this is a time machine. We've got nothing but time, Doctor!" He gave her a look and the blonde growled. "Fine. Night, then."

"Wait! What happened to 'How to Train your Dragon'?"

Rose shook her head. "We'll watch it tomorrow. Just… promise me you'll sleep at least a little while? Please?"

"All right, a couple of hours."

"Thank you."