Parting Gift

He could still feel it, tucked away at the back of his mind. A sun's parting gift. It burned when he thought about it. But the rest of him was cold, freezing cold. Even with his coat on he felt cold. So now he was cuddled up in front of the fire in the library reading a book. He didn't even know which book it was because his mind was elsewhere. It burned to see the flames in the fireplace but he had to. It was too cold without them. His mind was burning but his hearts were cold. Three days has passed since the sun had tried to take over him. It hadn't felt nice, worse than regeneration. It hurt more than regeneration too.

He shifted slightly, wrapping his coat around him trying to warm his body up. Well he had been frozen to –70 degrees and it was starting to take its toll on him. His muscles ached from being in the same position and it hurt to move but it was worse when it burned. Martha hadn't found him yet and he supposed it was a good thing. She would go bonkers if she saw him, in his coat, in front of the fire in a room with a high room temperature. But he needed the warmth to drive away the cold.

Why did it hurt so much? He had asked himself again and again. The TARDIS had tried to sooth him but the burning sensation was getting worse day by day. Soon it would try to take him over again. He didn't want to burn. So instead he had kept it contained (but he wasn't sure how) tucked away in the back of his mind. But somehow he knew it would be there forever and it would burn him forever too. For now he would just have to ignore it.

The door creaked open but the Doctor no longer minded if Martha found him.

'Doctor?' Her concerned voice rang across the library. Then she saw the vulnerable figure snuggled up by the fire.

'Are you alright?' She asked approaching slowly. She didn't know how he could have his coat on, let alone sit in front of the fire; the room was so warm.

'Doctor?' Martha asked again, a little more urgently, 'What's wrong?' The Doctor lifted his head and looked up at her with deep brown eyes.

'It burns Martha, but I'm so cold.' He muttered. Martha sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He did feel cold to touch even though the library was boiling. He snuggled into her, seeking her warmth and she pulled him into a hug.

'Tell you what, I'll make you a nice warm cup of tea and we can get you all nice and warm and cosy yeah? I'll bring a couple of blankets. You'll need them 'cos you look shattered.' Martha suggested. For the first time since he had burned the Doctor smiled.

'Yes, that would be nice.' It might be their forever but never mind, it was just a suns parting gift, a bit of itself.