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Barbara thinks Susan might be getting sick. It starts in the morning, at breakfast. Susan, who always takes her tea with four sugars (the horror!), adds just a bit of honey instead.
Then, the Doctor tells them over breakfast that they’ll be spending the day indoors. Susan looks relieved. Barbara is confused. While the girl doesn’t typically enjoy jumping from place to place so quickly, she does enjoy the novelty of somewhere new just as much as her grandfather.
Barbara can see, however, that today Susan looks tired. Drained, even. She resolves to keep a close eye on the girl throughout the day.
The history teacher follows Susan to the library. Ian heads off to the pool, and the Doctor- well, Barbara hasn’t the faintest idea what he is up to. The Doctor had a strange gleam in his eyes as he excused himself from the table.
Susan picks a book off a shelf at random, and sits down to read. Barbara does the same, though secretly she’s sneaking glances at her former student the whole time. A knot forms in her stomach as she hears Susan muffle a cough behind her hand.
Definitely sick, then, Barbara decides. She lets her anxiety run away with her for a moment, wondering what sort of strange or alien diseases Susan might have picked up on their travels. But the young woman seems fine, apart from the cough and fatigue.
Don’t make zebras out of horses…
Barbara knows she is misremembering the quote, but the sentiment is the same. Susan’s probably just caught a cold, she assures herself.
At lunch, Susan picks at her food. The Doctor declines to eat with them, rummaging around the room for something. Barbara frowns at him. At this point, even Ian has noticed that Susan is unwell. She thinks back to what she said about the Doctor before they’d even met.
I had half a mind to go down there myself and tell him to take an interest in her!
Susan is obviously sick. But of course, Barbara muses bitterly, the Doctor is too wrapped up in his own head to notice.
They spend the afternoon lounging around the console room. Susan is still hiding her face behind her book, while she and Ian start a game of chess. The Doctor, having found what he was looking for earlier, heads down the hall. He returns a few minutes later and begins fiddling with the console. He hardly spares a glance at Susan, and Barbara feels incensed. Ian pats her hand to calm her.
She and Ian are nearly finished with their game when Susan coughs again, louder than before. Barbara’s eyes move from the girl to her grandfather. The Doctor is staring down at something on the console, his brow furrowed. He doesn’t look up at the noise.
She’s out of her chair before Ian can even blink. She marches over to the Doctor, her mouth set into a firm line.
“Doctor,” Barbara says, lowly.
The Doctor jolts, surprised to see her standing there with such a sour expression.
“Susan is sick,” She says matter-of-factly. The Doctor grins.
“Ah, is she?” He asks, his eyes suddenly gleaming with mirth. Barbara is outraged. Just as she’s trying to decide whether to yell or rearrange his face, Susan walks up to them.
“Grandfather-” She says, clearing her throat. The Doctor narrows his eyes, turning his attention to her.
“Yes, child? What is it?” He asks, shortly.
“I- my throat hurts,” Susan admits, shyly.
The Doctor’s cold demeanor melts. He is by her side in an instant, taking her chin in hand to examine her face.
“Oh, my dear child, why didn’t you say something sooner?” He asks softly. “Yes, you’re a trifle bit warm, too- hm! It’s straight to bed, I should think.”
He gives Susan a comforting smile, guiding her by the shoulders out of the console room. Barbara is conflicted. Something about the way the Doctor’s attitude had changed; it was almost as if-
Nodding to Ian, Barbara decides to follow the pair to Susan’s room.
She stops in Susan’s doorway, surprised to see the Doctor is already tucking her into bed. A steaming mug of tea rests on Susan’s nightstand, along with a thermometer, a few lozenges, handkerchiefs, and a bottle of what Barbara assumes to be medicine.
What in the world? How had the Doctor managed to set this up so quickly? The answer is apparent. He hadn’t.
Susan notices the supplies as well. She sends her grandfather an appraising look.
“How did you know?” Susan whispers. The Doctor chuckles.
“I have known you since you were small,” He says warmly, “it was quite obvious to me, this morning, that you were under the weather.”
The Doctor presses a kiss to the top of Susan’s head. Barbara heads back to the console room without a word. A warm, fluttery feeling blossoms in her chest, and she laughs.
“What’s so funny?” Ian asks, as she returns.
“Me, I suppose,” Barbara replies. How could she have been so...silly? She’d been too focused on Susan to recognize the way the Doctor had spent all day fussing and prepping.
“Is Susan alright?” Ian asks, his voice filled with concern. Barbara nods, smiling.
“Susan is in good hands.” She tells him.