Rose didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. However, the time she had spent with the Doctor had changed her reaction to scary things. That was why when she saw the crack in wall, she did not run or hide. Even though the whispers and fear filled voices coming from it sent shivers down her spine, she knew she had to investigate. She stretched her arm out in front of her and brushed her fingertips along the crack. All of a sudden she began to feel her stomach drop and fear course through her veins. "Doctor!" she managed to scream before a bright white light engulfed her and then everything went black.
Rose awoke in a weakly lit room. She was lying on her back underneath a light sheet and when she tried to get up she felt a sharp pain in her side. Taking a slow breath, she moved her hand down to graze her abdomen. There was a large wound that started at her back and crept around her side and ended near her navel. As she breathed in and out she could feel quite a few stitches sitting uncomfortably in her tender flesh. The thin shirt she was wearing was soaked through in blood and the sickly smell of copper was making her feel nauseous. "How are you feeling?" the question came from the door, and in a distinctly Welsh dialect. Rose twisted her body around to look at the speaker, wincing as she did. It was a young woman with dark hair who leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest. "Who are you?" Rose asked, a hint of suspicion entering her voice. The woman watched Rose carefully, and Rose couldn't help but notice the gun that was hidden underneath the woman's jacket.
The woman opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by a male voice. "Gwen, he's back!" at which she left the room, leaving Rose alone again. She held back the urge to run or to scream. She had to stay, to find out why they had taken her here and if they'd done anything to her Doctor. She looked around, taking in the room. The technology was astonishing – she'd only seen devices like that when she was travelling with the Doctor… The other one. The walls were made of stone, and the floor was cold steel. The bed she was lying on was similar to those used for autopsies. She shivered at that thought and went back to assessing her own situation. However, she was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps marching into the room. A commanding voice echoed around the room, and caused Rose to nearly die of fright. "Who've you got here then?" the familiar American accent asked. Rose turned herself around slowly, telling herself it couldn't be him. She couldn't stop the broad grin from stretching across her face when she saw him.
"Jack!" she cried in delight. She tried to leap up to greet him, but the pain in her side caused her to fall back down onto the bed. The Captain walked towards her in disbelief. "Rose?" he asked, his handsome face twisted in confusion. "How did you end up here?" he asked her, but she was cut off before she could say a word. "She fell out of the rift," Gwen supplied sharply. Rose looked up. She hadn't noticed the other four people standing in the room with them. "The crack in my wall… Jack, where is this?" she asked, trying to ignore the pounding that was starting to grow in her head. "This is Torchwood… Is the doctor with you?" he asked in return. Rose bit her lip, holding back a string of emotions that threatened to overflow. "I don't know where either of the doctors are," she answered quietly, passing the edges of her blood soaked t-shirt through her fingers. Jacks face fell slightly, but it didn't stay that way for long. "Gwen, go get Rose something to wear that isn't covered in blood," he said, up and animated again. "Rose, that was Gwen, this is Ianto, Toshiko and Owen," he said, motion towards each of the people standing behind him. He spun around and was heading for the door when he stopped, as did everyone else in the room when a familiar sound filled the room.
The sound of the TARDIS.
