TW-DW Fic: The Cure
Title: The Cure
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who.
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Eleventh Doctor.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: On a trip with Jack and the Doctor, Ianto contracts an alien disease, but it’s okay; the Doctor knows how to cure him.
Word Count: 942
Written For: Challenge 121: Bubble at beattheblackdog.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
“You seriously expect me to drink that?” Ianto asked peering dubiously into the cup Jack was holding out to him. The sludgy green liquid continued to bubble. To Ianto’s currently unreliable nose, it smelled like someone had filled the sewers with flowers in an attempt to mask their natural stench.
“The Doctor says it’ll cure you,” Jack insisted, waving the bubbling concoction beneath Ianto’s nose as if he thought that might somehow encourage his lover to try it.
“Of course he does.” Ianto broke off for another coughing fit. “I’m just not sure it’s worth the risk. He probably thinks if it kills me that counts as a cure because at least I won’t have Scoulter’s Plague anymore. Personally I’m not convinced the cure is preferable to the plague, and who was this Scoulter anyway?”
“The first person… well, alien really… to die of this particular plague,” the Doctor informed him cheerfully, seeming to appear out of nowhere. He’d probably been there all along and Ianto just hadn’t noticed. His eyes kept running because of all the coughing and sneezing, making it hard to see. “The doctors who were treating him named it after him as a sort of tribute.”
“How thoughtful of them,” Ianto muttered sarcastically. “So this is the deadly sort of plague, is it? Nice of you to tell me.”
“It wouldn’t be much of a plague if it wasn’t deadly to someone,” the Doctor pointed out. “Nothing for you to worry about though.”
Ianto gazed blearily at the Time Lord. “That’s easy for you to say; you’re not the one dying of it.”
“Neither are you,” Jack assured him hurriedly.
“Jack’s right, you won’t die. It’s not lethal to humans, just very unpleasant, but it’s easily curable. Now you really should drink your medicine quickly. It works much faster if the disease is treated before you start breaking out all over in purple boils.”
“Boils?!” Ianto squeaked, which immediately set him coughing again. When he finally caught his breath, he glared at Jack and the Doctor. “How come nobody said anything about purple boils until now?”
“Because they won’t be an issue if you just take your medicine,” Jack said with weary patience, once again waving the bubbling concoction in front of Ianto.
“Stop waving it about like that!” Ianto complained. “You’re making me dizzy!”
“Are you going to drink it, or do I have to restrain you and pour it down your throat?”
“You wouldn’t!”
“I will if that’s the only way to make you drink it. I don’t want you getting painful boils all over. That stage can last for weeks!”
“Fine; give it here and I’ll drink it,” Ianto grumbled grudgingly, holding out his hand to take the cup from Jack. He didn’t fancy being covered in painful boils either. “But I want it on record; if this stuff kills me, I will come back and haunt you both for the rest of eternity.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic; it won’t kill you. Now hurry up and drink it down because you’ll need another dose in eight hours.” The Doctor bounced on his toes, grinning happily.
“Another dose? You said it would cure me!”
“It will, but it takes more than one dose.”
“How many more?” Ianto’s skin was starting to itch.
“If you take the first one before the boils start popping up, three doses should be enough. If you wait until you have boils, you’ll need three doses a day for a week, plus a rather disgusting ointment on the boils.” The Doctor pulled a face. “Smells dreadful, and it takes weeks for the smell to wear off.”
That was enough for Ianto. “Bottoms up!” He lifted the bubbling cup and drained it in a couple of gulps. Despite the smell, it actually didn’t taste bad at all, like honey and limes, with a hint of cinnamon. The liquid seemed to fizz as it hit his stomach, but not unpleasantly, more as if he’d just downed a whole bottle of really good champagne. The bubbles seemed to be spreading through his whole body, racing along his veins, even making their way into every hair on his body, reaching the parts that nothing else could reach. There were bubbles in his eyeballs, bubbles in his bones, even bubbles in his teeth.
He beamed happily at Jack. “I’m all full of bubbles! Wheeee! I’m floating!” His eyes glazed over, he toppled slowly backwards onto the bed, and started snoring.
Jack turned to the Doctor, frowning. “Is that supposed to happen?”
“I might have added a smidge too much Attalerian brandy, I wasn’t sure of his alcohol tolerance levels, but don’t worry; at least he’s happy, which is an improvement.”
“So happy he’s really floating!” Jack grabbed Ianto as he drifted up off the bed and forced him back down, lying across him to keep him there. He didn’t want his lover to wind up out of reach, somewhere in the vicinity of the TARDIS ceiling. “I think you’d better use less brandy in the next dose, Doctor.”
“Oh, it’s not the brandy that causes the bubbles. They’re the most important part of the medicine, making sure the active ingredients spread throughout the patient’s body. They’ll wear off in an hour or two, but you might want to tie him to the bed until then.”
Jack sighed. “I wish you’d told me that before Ianto drank the medicine.” He made a mental note to be prepared when it came time for the next dose. In the meantime, there were worst places to be than lying on top of a sleeping Ianto to keep him from floating away.
The End
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who.
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Eleventh Doctor.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: On a trip with Jack and the Doctor, Ianto contracts an alien disease, but it’s okay; the Doctor knows how to cure him.
Word Count: 942
Written For: Challenge 121: Bubble at beattheblackdog.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
“You seriously expect me to drink that?” Ianto asked peering dubiously into the cup Jack was holding out to him. The sludgy green liquid continued to bubble. To Ianto’s currently unreliable nose, it smelled like someone had filled the sewers with flowers in an attempt to mask their natural stench.
“The Doctor says it’ll cure you,” Jack insisted, waving the bubbling concoction beneath Ianto’s nose as if he thought that might somehow encourage his lover to try it.
“Of course he does.” Ianto broke off for another coughing fit. “I’m just not sure it’s worth the risk. He probably thinks if it kills me that counts as a cure because at least I won’t have Scoulter’s Plague anymore. Personally I’m not convinced the cure is preferable to the plague, and who was this Scoulter anyway?”
“The first person… well, alien really… to die of this particular plague,” the Doctor informed him cheerfully, seeming to appear out of nowhere. He’d probably been there all along and Ianto just hadn’t noticed. His eyes kept running because of all the coughing and sneezing, making it hard to see. “The doctors who were treating him named it after him as a sort of tribute.”
“How thoughtful of them,” Ianto muttered sarcastically. “So this is the deadly sort of plague, is it? Nice of you to tell me.”
“It wouldn’t be much of a plague if it wasn’t deadly to someone,” the Doctor pointed out. “Nothing for you to worry about though.”
Ianto gazed blearily at the Time Lord. “That’s easy for you to say; you’re not the one dying of it.”
“Neither are you,” Jack assured him hurriedly.
“Jack’s right, you won’t die. It’s not lethal to humans, just very unpleasant, but it’s easily curable. Now you really should drink your medicine quickly. It works much faster if the disease is treated before you start breaking out all over in purple boils.”
“Boils?!” Ianto squeaked, which immediately set him coughing again. When he finally caught his breath, he glared at Jack and the Doctor. “How come nobody said anything about purple boils until now?”
“Because they won’t be an issue if you just take your medicine,” Jack said with weary patience, once again waving the bubbling concoction in front of Ianto.
“Stop waving it about like that!” Ianto complained. “You’re making me dizzy!”
“Are you going to drink it, or do I have to restrain you and pour it down your throat?”
“You wouldn’t!”
“I will if that’s the only way to make you drink it. I don’t want you getting painful boils all over. That stage can last for weeks!”
“Fine; give it here and I’ll drink it,” Ianto grumbled grudgingly, holding out his hand to take the cup from Jack. He didn’t fancy being covered in painful boils either. “But I want it on record; if this stuff kills me, I will come back and haunt you both for the rest of eternity.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic; it won’t kill you. Now hurry up and drink it down because you’ll need another dose in eight hours.” The Doctor bounced on his toes, grinning happily.
“Another dose? You said it would cure me!”
“It will, but it takes more than one dose.”
“How many more?” Ianto’s skin was starting to itch.
“If you take the first one before the boils start popping up, three doses should be enough. If you wait until you have boils, you’ll need three doses a day for a week, plus a rather disgusting ointment on the boils.” The Doctor pulled a face. “Smells dreadful, and it takes weeks for the smell to wear off.”
That was enough for Ianto. “Bottoms up!” He lifted the bubbling cup and drained it in a couple of gulps. Despite the smell, it actually didn’t taste bad at all, like honey and limes, with a hint of cinnamon. The liquid seemed to fizz as it hit his stomach, but not unpleasantly, more as if he’d just downed a whole bottle of really good champagne. The bubbles seemed to be spreading through his whole body, racing along his veins, even making their way into every hair on his body, reaching the parts that nothing else could reach. There were bubbles in his eyeballs, bubbles in his bones, even bubbles in his teeth.
He beamed happily at Jack. “I’m all full of bubbles! Wheeee! I’m floating!” His eyes glazed over, he toppled slowly backwards onto the bed, and started snoring.
Jack turned to the Doctor, frowning. “Is that supposed to happen?”
“I might have added a smidge too much Attalerian brandy, I wasn’t sure of his alcohol tolerance levels, but don’t worry; at least he’s happy, which is an improvement.”
“So happy he’s really floating!” Jack grabbed Ianto as he drifted up off the bed and forced him back down, lying across him to keep him there. He didn’t want his lover to wind up out of reach, somewhere in the vicinity of the TARDIS ceiling. “I think you’d better use less brandy in the next dose, Doctor.”
“Oh, it’s not the brandy that causes the bubbles. They’re the most important part of the medicine, making sure the active ingredients spread throughout the patient’s body. They’ll wear off in an hour or two, but you might want to tie him to the bed until then.”
Jack sighed. “I wish you’d told me that before Ianto drank the medicine.” He made a mental note to be prepared when it came time for the next dose. In the meantime, there were worst places to be than lying on top of a sleeping Ianto to keep him from floating away.
The End