Chapter Text
“Hold on!” Screamed the Doctor. Rose could only think 'to what?' before the TARDIS erupted into chaos. It felt like the TARDIS was a can someone was shaking vigorously. Or like one of those stupid shake weights. She'd be laughing at the memory of that adventure, but she was hurled across the TARDIS.
The Doctor was yelling. Sparks and smoke were coming out everywhere. She managed to curl around the TARDIS coral, despite her limbs shouting at the abuse she'd sustained. The TARDIS gave another horrid shake, and stopped. Cursing soon followed. She wanted to laugh because he sounded like a right navvy then, but her head hurt too much. Groaning instead, she caught the Doctor's attention.
“Rose?” Next thing she knew, the Doctor was pulling her down. She'd been tossed up in to the coral strut. It was no wonder she'd felt disoriented; she'd thought she was on the floor. When she was finally, vaguely, upright again, he had to catch her as her vision started to black out and her legs buckled.
“Whoah there, Rose. I think a visit to the infirmary is due.” He swung her up into his arms before she could try to continue walking.
“ 'at 'appened?” She slurred.
“Hit a bit of turbulence.” He peered at her face.
“Some'at on my face?”
“Checking your pupil dilation. I think you might have a concussion.” She groaned in response. Horribly tired though, her eyes started to close.
“Oi! Eyes open and keep talkin'!” She opened her eyes to slits and stared at his face.
“Damn 'ou're sexy when ye' go all Northern and command-somethin'. All leadery and dom and stuffs. Ye've got gorgeous eyes.”
“Well then.” He blushed.
“Did I say tha' out loud?” She asked, wonderingly.
“Just a bit.”
She giggled. “If you blushed at tha', I prolly shouldn' tell wha' I fink abou' yer arse” His face and ears had turned red at that. Relieved to see the infirmary coming up, he sped up his steps.
“Oh look, Rose! The infirmary. Let's get that noggin of yours checked out, eh?”
Rose laughed and said, “That's not all I'd like ye to check out.” She winked at him, with her tongue partway out her mouth. The Doctor choked a bit, but managed to get her on one of the beds without dropping her.
“Right.” He gathered his wits about him. “If you don't remember from last time, don't move. I need your head just so, and still, for this test.” He made sure her head was aligned properly, and backed up. With a whir of his sonic, the ceiling made some beeps and stopped. She startled as a hologram of her brain and insides showed up. Nerve signals, vitals, and everything else lighting up the display.
“pretty.” She breathed out. It was like a complex northern lights. Or something. Where her arm was pounding away, it lit up in various yellows. Maybe not the northern lights, maybe it was more a galaxy of herself. Like cloud formations, supernovas, and spinning galaxies comprised of herself. Miniature suns pulsing. Strands of life giving color spreading out to the distant reaches of the universe.
“You're rather poetic when you've a concussion, Rose. Although half that might be the pain relieving atmos' of the bed giving you a bit of a high.” Apparently she'd been saying everything out loud.
“Yes, you have.” He chuckled. He probed a couple areas on the hologram lit up in red, which included her brain. The bed made a little 'ding' and something clunked below her. The Doctor reached down and pulled out what the bed had dispensed. She almost started giggling again at what she'd really like him to reach down for. She settled for a contained grin. The Doctor straightened back up with several cylinders in his hand, saw her face, and started blushing again. He mumbled something about lascivious human beings and how of course she only caught on when her head was injured.
He ordered the cylinders in his hands and looked back up at Rose. “These should get you back to normal soon enough. I've got some anti-inflammatories, antibiotics for the gouge you haven't noticed yet, and a special recipe courtesy of the 51st century that should help your noggin.” So saying, he pressed each tube to either her arm or neck. She was expecting a pinch or jab, but only felt a compressed burst of air. It felt tingly.
“Now, I need to go check on the TARDIS again, but I need you to stay on this bed for me, Rose. It'll monitor you and notify me of anything important. Can you pause on any wanderin' off you're thinking about doin'? Can you do that for me?”
“Yeah-” she yawned.
“Good girl.” He bent over and kissed her forehead. “If you ask nicely, the TARDIS might even put on the telly for you."
“Okay.” She sleepily smiled. There was definitely something special in that special 51st century formula...
“I'll be back in no time at all, Rose. Just. Stay on the bed.” With that, he went for the door to leave the infirmary, but as he crossed the thresh hold he whispered. “Take care of her, girl. Let me know if she gets up.” The nearest light flashed a bit and the ship hummed lowly in response. He took one last look at Rose and finally left, jogging back to the console. There were some extremely odd readings he needed to take a look at. He'd only caught a glimpse at the TARDIS communication folder while everything was being tossed around. He could almost swear it was like two TARDIS talking to each other. But that was impossible!
.-.
Unknown to both Rose and the Doctor, the TARDIS slowly erased the old Gallifreyan messages passed back and forth between her selves. There were still traces and negative impressions left over for the Doctor to find and puzzle over. Something had to be left behind both for the present and the future. She needed him curious, not paranoid. Then, she started up another round of testing on Rose. There had to be a way to achieve it here, in this universe. At the aural, very polite, questionnaire from Rose, the TARDIS lit up some 43rd century dramas on the wall.