Gallifreyan legend said the soulbond evolved because two souls could carry burdens that would break one. During the final dark days of the Time War, the Doctor had been torn between wishing he had a soulmate to share the burden with, and wondering what kind of sick person would want their beloved to live through that horror.
Then, when he thought pushing the button had destroyed his soul beyond repair, he'd finally found his mate… and he'd understood the legend for the first time. Even before he had kissed Rose, sealing their bond, just having her with him lessened the weight of over a thousand years of life and difficult decisions.
He was always grateful for Rose's presence in his life, but today was one of those days when he needed her strength bolstering his own. Cybermen and Daleks? A breach in the void, putting their entire existence in danger? He clutched her hand as they ran through Torchwood's basement corridors, looking for Jackie Tyler.
How could I do this without you, love?
Rose glanced over at him. Well, you'll never have to find out, so let's not waste time thinking about it.
Just as they reached the north corner of the building, they heard the metallic clank of a Cyberman stalking down the hallway. "You will be upgraded." They wheeled around the corner and saw two Cybermen looming over some unfortunate human.
"No, but you can't. Please."
The Doctor groaned. Jackie. Of course it was Jackie.
Before he could devise a plan, the parallel version of Pete Tyler pushed past them, hefted his weapon, and destroyed both Cybermen.
Jackie squinted through the smoke, then her eyes widened when she realised who had saved her. "Pete?"
Rose tugged the Doctor forward and watched her mother reunite with… well, sort of reunite with her late husband. Since finding the Doctor, she'd tried to imagine what the last twenty years must have been like for her mum, losing her soulmate that young.
Pete slowly lowered the weapon. "Hello, Jacks."
Her mum looked past Pete to glare at the Doctor. "I said there were ghosts, but that's not fair. Why him?"
"I'm not a ghost," Pete said, his posture opening up.
Rose held her breath; when she'd met this other Pete, he'd refused to even acknowledge her as his daughter. That had hurt desperately. She couldn't imagine how much it would hurt her mum if her soulmate rejected her.
Parallel versions, love, the Doctor reminded her. Parallels don't share a soul, so they don't share soulmates.
"But you're dead," Jackie protested. "You died twenty years ago, Pete."
The Doctor let go of Rose's hand and stepped forward to stand beside Pete. "It's Pete from a different universe," he explained, and Rose loved the gentle tone of his voice. "There are parallel worlds, Jackie. Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence, a different dimension where—"
"Oh, you can shut up," Jackie retorted.
The Doctor accepted the rebuke and moved back to stand with Rose, this time wrapping an arm around her waist. Rose welcomed the simple embrace, wanting his support through all the emotions of the moment.
Her mum assessed Pete. "Oh, you look old."
"You don't," Pete said, and Rose's heart beat harder at the admiration in his words. Could he… maybe they wouldn't be soulmates, but they'd been missing each other, they both had. Couldn't they be happy together?
"How can you be standing there?" Jackie asked.
Pete shrugged. "I just got lucky. Lived my life." He hesitated, then asked the next logical question. "You were left on your own. You didn't marry again, or—"
Somehow, the atmosphere in the room shifted with that question, and not the way Rose would have expected. Her mum's eyes shuttered, like she was hiding something, and Pete's back stiffened.
"There was never anyone else," Jackie said, then quickly changed the subject. "Twenty years, though. Look at me. I never left that flat. Did nothing with myself."
Pete nodded at Rose. "You brought her up. Rose Tyler. That's not bad."
Her mum smiled and nodded. "Yeah."
Pete took a deep breath, like he was steeling himself for something unpleasant. "Thing is though, Jacks, you're not my wife."
Jackie flinched, and Rose itched to step forward and protect her. The Doctor tightened his grip on her waist, and she sighed—he was right, they needed to hash this out themselves.
"I'm sorry, but you're not," Pete continued, but Rose didn't think he sounded quite so certain this time. "I mean, we both. You know, it's just sort of. Oh, come here."
He chucked his gun aside and ran down the corridor. Tears welled up in Rose's eyes when Jackie jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist—finally, her mum would have the happiness she deserved.
But their lips had barely touched when they jumped back as if electrocuted. Jackie touched her lips and stared at Pete. "Your Jackie wasn't…"
Pete was pale as a ghost. "No. And your Pete wasn't either, I guess."
Jackie shook her head.
Pete shoved his hands into his pockets. "I guess… we had to lose each other to be perfect for each other."
Rose's eyes widened. All the times her mum had talked about soulmates, she'd never once mentioned that Pete—the Pete who'd been Rose's father—hadn't been hers.
"What're we going to do?" Jackie moaned. "I've just found you, but you don't even belong in this universe?"
"Well, you could come with me," Pete suggested.
Jackie started to smile, then she caught sight of Rose. "I'm not going without her."
Rose left the Doctor's side and took her mum's hand. "You've got to."
"Well, that's tough," her mum retorted, fire in her eyes.
"Mum."
"There is a third option," the Doctor offered before Rose could say anything more. "You could stay here, in this universe. Both of you."
"Doctor, that won't work and you know it," Pete said harshly. "This world has had it. We've got to get back to the safety of our universe, and find a way to trap the Cybers here."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Oi, do you really think I don't have a plan?" He scoffed. "Rose and I are on are way up to the top floor to stop both the Cybermen and Daleks, and then close the breach back up." He crossed his arms. "Look, this is the best solution. You won't have to let Jackie go, and Jackie won't have to let Rose go."
"No, but I'll have to give up my entire universe."
"Is there really anything there that would mean more than spending the rest of the life with your soulmate?"
Pete had the decency to look chagrinned. "You can stop the Cybermen and Daleks?" he demanded.
"I can." The Doctor looked at Jackie, then at Pete. "It'll be dangerous though, and I'd rather you were in a safe place."
"How're you going to manage that, Boss?"
The Doctor grinned at Mickey. "With a little help from you, if you're up for it."
Mickey looked from him to Rose and back again. "As long as I can get back to the other universe before you close the breach, I'm game."
Rose pulled her key out from around her neck and handed it to him. "Take them to the TARDIS," she ordered, having followed what the Doctor was thinking. "She's—"
"I know where she is," Mickey interrupted. "I saw the surveillance video when you landed."
"We're going in that direction, actually," the Doctor said. "We'll walk part of the way with you."
Rose…
But she cut him off before he could get another word out. Don't even try, Doctor. I'm never going to leave you. She looked up at him, and the fierce love in her eyes bowled him over. Soulmates and bondmates, remember? They're never gonna split us up.
The Doctor let her feel just a hint of the tangled web of timelines converging on Torchwood Tower. You can't know that for sure, not today, he said solemnly. If you went with Mickey to the TARDIS…
I'm not leaving you, she told him clearly. Whatever you've got in mind to stop the Daleks and Cybermen, I reckon it'll work better with two—won't it?
He hated to admit it, but she was right. It would be almost impossible for him to get both levers on by himself. He nodded reluctantly, and Rose squeezed his hand.
You and me, Doctor. The stuff of legends.
oOoOoOoOo
Mickey, Pete, and Jackie stuck with them as far as the warehouse. When the Doctor pushed the doors open, the roof was open and the Daleks were soaring out into the skies above London, their Genesis Ark between them.
"What're they doing?" Rose asked. "Why do they need to get outside?"
The Doctor stared at the Genesis Ark. There was still something very familiar about its size and shape, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"Time Lord science," he muttered. "What Time Lord science? What is it?"
But the departure of the Daleks left the warehouse nearly empty, and he wasn't going to miss this clear shot at his objective. With Mickey covering him, lest any Cybermen appeared, he darted across the room, grabbed the magnaclamps, and ran back to the door.
As soon as he was back in the corridor, he started running for the stairs. "We've got to see what it's doing. We've got to go back up. Come on, Rose—top floor!"
"That's forty five floors up!" Jackie protested as she trailed after them. "Believe me, I've done them all."
"We could always take the lift."
The Doctor wheeled around and beamed at Jake. "Excellent timing, Jake!" he crowed. He looked at Mickey. "You'll get Pete and Jackie to the TARDIS, then jump back to the parallel universe from there?"
Mickey nodded and looked at his charges. "If your last name's Tyler and you aren't married to that bloke, you're with me."
Jackie grabbed Rose and held her tight. "You be careful," she ordered, then let Pete pull her away.
"I feel like I missed something," Jake said in the lift.
"Ah, yeah." The Doctor would have tugged on his ear, but his hands were occupied. "Pete's going to be staying here, with us. I guess that leaves you and Mickey to run your version of Torchwood, unless you've got some kind of deputy director to step in."
Jake snorted. "Yeah, me and Mickey. Well, I didn't expect to get promoted today."
The lift doors opened onto the top floor of Torchwood Tower, and the Doctor ran for the window in Yvonne's office, dropping the clamps on the desk.
Outside, the Genesis Ark was spinning around, shooting Daleks out in all directions. Footprints and boots. Just like a footprint only gave an impression of one part of a boot, the Genesis Ark gave the impression of the shape of a Dalek.
"Time Lord science," he realised. "It's bigger on the inside."
Rose looked out the window, then back at the Doctor. "Did the Time Lords put those Daleks in there?" she asked. He nodded. "What for?"
The Doctor had heard rumours of such things, though he hadn't known one had been built. "It's a prison ship," he explained bitterly.
She sucked in a breath. "How many Daleks?"
"Millions."
"Still sure you've got a plan to take care of this?" Jake asked.
The Doctor held his breath and put the 3D glasses back on. He knew the Cult of Skaro and all the Cybermen were seeped in Void stuff, but if the Genesis Ark had sheltered these new Daleks from contamination… His breath escaped him on a loud whoosh when he saw the particles dancing around every Dalek out there.
"Oh, I'm ready." The Doctor spun around and ran to the closest computer terminal. "I've got the equipment right here. Thank you, Torchwood. Slam it down and close off both universes." He grinned when the computer announced it was rebooting, then he turned back to Jake and Rose. "Well? Isn't anyone going to ask what is it with the glasses?"
Rose grinned at him and bounced on her toes. "What is it with the glasses?"
"I can see, that's what." He pointed at the ceiling exuberantly. They were going to make it, he could tell. "Cybermen and Daleks both, they've been through the Void—the space between the universes. They're contaminated with Void stuff."
"Void stuff?" Rose repeated.
"The Void is made of a different kind of matter than we have in our universe." He pulled the glasses off and handed them to Rose. "I've been through it. Do you see?"
Rose took the glasses from him, and the Doctor swayed in front of her so she could see the particles moving around him. "It's like… background radiation!"
The Doctor beamed at her. "That's it. But the Daleks lived inside the Void." He ran to the wall and stretched his arms out across the invisible breach. "They're bristling with it. Same with the Cybermen, since they hid in the Void for three years. So, I just open the Void and reverse." He turned back around and grinned. "The Void stuff gets sucked back inside."
"Pulling them all in!" Rose cheered.
The Doctor grabbed her hands and spun her around the room. "Pulling them all in!"
"And then the breach will close?" Jake double-checked.
The Doctor stopped in front of Jake, but kept Rose's hand in his. "Oh yeah, the breach itself is soaked in Void stuff. Once it's all been removed from this universe, the breach will close in on itself."
Jake shook his head. "Mickey always said you were good, but this is incredible, Doctor." He looked down at his arms. "I assume I'm covered in this Void stuff, too, so I should go home before you get the breach open. Is there anything I can do for you before I leave?"
"Nope!" The Doctor stuck out his hand. "Thank you, Jake. Get rid of those hoppers when you get home, yeah? Save the universe one more time."
"You got it." Jake hit the yellow button on his chest and disappeared.
"All right," Rose said. "How are we going to keep from being sucked into the Void along with the Daleks and Cybermen?"
"That's why I got those," he told her, pointing at the clamps on the desk. "We'll just have to hold on tight."
The next ninety seconds passed in a whirl as he and Rose set everything up. They had a brief moment of panic when Rose spotted Cybermen on the way up, but when another Cybermen stopped them in their tracks, the Doctor figured they were home free.
Rose watched him type a command into Yvonne's computer. She knew what no one else could see—the near panic that lurked behind his grin. This plan was their best shot, but there were still so many variables, so many ways they could be separated.
"They can't beat us," the Doctor gloated as the computer announced the levers were operational. "You and me, Rose Tyler," he said as he skirted the desk, magnaclamp in hand. "We're like Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, Shiver and Shake."
"Which one's Shiver?" Rose asked, willing to go along with his facade if it kept him from looking at the timelines.
"Oh, I'm Shake," he said, as if there couldn't be any doubt.
Rose took the magnaclamp he handed her and watched carefully as he pressed the other one to the wall above the lever on the left side of the room. On the right side, she mirrored him, then looked over to see what to do next.
"Press the red button," the Doctor instructed, and she felt the clamp attach itself to the wall.
"When it starts, just hold on tight," he instructed as they crouched down in front of the levers. "Shouldn't be too bad for us but the Daleks and the Cybermen are steeped in Void stuff. Are you ready?"
Rose started to nod, but then she looked out the window and spotted Daleks, heading their way. "So are they."
The skin around the Doctor's mouth tightened. "Let's do it!" he ordered, and Rose pushed her lever up.
As soon as she did, the Void tugged at her. She barely managed to get her elbow hooked around the clamp before she was being pulled from her feet. Across the room, the Doctor was in a similar situation, and Rose briefly wondered if they wouldn't have been smarter to tie themselves to the clamps, rather than count on their own strength.
But they weren't the only ones having difficulty. The Daleks she'd noticed coming their way were the first to be sucked back into the Void. The light against the wall was too bright for Rose to watch them disappear, but she could hear their angry shrieks and that was good enough.
With his superior biology, the Doctor was able to watch the Daleks soar across the room and into the Void. "The breach is open!" he exulted. "Into the Void! Ha!"
A sharp noise, like something electrical shorting out, drew his attention back to Rose's side of the room. Her lever was vibrating, and then, to his horror, it slid out of the online position.
"Offline," the computer announced, as if it hadn't just threatened the Doctor's whole existence.
He could feel the suction from the Void diminish, and the Daleks flying through the room slowed until it was almost like they were just hovering in midair, waiting for something to happen.
Rose please, hang onto your clamp, he begged his bondmte.
She shook her head and reached for the lever. "I've got to get it upright!"
The Doctor watched with his hearts in his throat as Rose oh-so-carefully let go of her clamp and grabbed onto the lever. He wished he were on that side of the room. He could have reached the lever without letting go of the safety of the clamp, but Rose could not. With the Void at half-power, she was safe for the moment, but once her lever was back online, she'd be hard-pressed to hang on.
She planted her feet and pushed hard, and the lever slid back into the on position. "Online and locked," the computer said.
"Move Rose, move!" the Doctor screamed. If she got back to her clamp before…
The suction was already picking up though, and she couldn't do anything but wrap her hands tightly around the lever.
She turned to him and shot him a smile. I'm not leaving you, she promised. Promised you forever, remember?
Oh, he remembered. That had been one of the most perfect moments of his life… and this was one of the worst. Just as he'd feared, the open void tugged at her, pulling her inch by inch closer to the breach.
"Rose, hold on! Hold on, love!"
Just when he thought all hope was lost, the Doctor caught a gold glint in Rose's eyes, and suddenly, time slowed in the ghost chamber. It was an old Time Lord trick, to slow the flow of Time around you so you could seemingly move with super-speed.
It was not something the Doctor had ever mentioned to Rose, or expected her to be able to do.
But it was impossible to mistake the sensation for something else, and as he watched her tighten her grip on the lever, he realised he didn't really care if she was doing the impossible, as long as it meant he wouldn't lose her.
Time sped back up a second later, and the last of the Daleks and Cybermen flew overhead and through the breach. With a soft snick, the breach closed and the Doctor dropped heavily to the floor.
The Doctor stared at his bondmate for a long moment, then they were both moving. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, nuzzling into her neck for a moment, breathing in her scent. She was here, in his arms. She hadn't fallen.
Her arms slid around his neck, holding him close. When her hands sank into his hair, he acquiesced to her silent plea and pressed his lips to hers. They groaned in unison when the intimate contact made their bond flare, and the Doctor pulled her even closer, eliminating all space between them.
I almost lost you, he told her as his tongue swept into her mouth. Rose. You were…
She ran soothing fingers down his back. Shhh, she replied. We're both here. We made it.
They'd made it. Later he could run tests to discover how Rose had done what she'd done, but for now, this was all he needed—Rose in his arms, forever.