"Rose?" The Doctor turned, looking for her, the screams from the guard echoing down the hallway. "Rose!" He ran out the doors, grabbing her and throwing her back in but his own dash was too slow. He hit the floor with a thud as the huge wolf landed on his back, biting down on his arm, hard. The Doctor cried out, fumbling for his sonic screwdriver, and aiming the device right into the wolf's eyes. The Wolf whimpered, letting the Doctor go, backing away, muzzle bloodstained.
The Doctor dived into the room, arm tight to his chest, trying not to wince. Rose rushed to him but he helped block up the wall, listening. He heard the wolf snuffling on the other side and then retreat.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Rose sat comfortably on the sofa, watching the Doctor as he sat there tinkering with something. She was dressed up nicely, hair in ringlets, with a pretty top and skirt on. "You gonna finish tinkering and take us to this wonderful resteraunt, then?" She asked, and he looked up, currently wearing a blue suit and shiny red tie. "Yes, sorry" He said, putting the little thing and the screwdriver down, standing up and grinning. He held out his hand. "Got distracted. Come on!" She took his hand and they ran into the console room, the Doctor darting around the console.
"Time I took you for that tulgy pudding I promised! You'll love it, promise. 29th centuary, one of your best." He grinned his slightly manic grin. The Time Rotor rose and fell steadily and the TARDIS at least seemed to favour Rose's hair, keeping the journey rather smooth. The Doctor's arm had been bandaged and was still in the process of healing, which rather surprised the Doctor. He knew the consequence of that bite but he hoped his Time Lord immunity would prevent it from affecting him.
They stepped neatly out the doors, the Doctor smiling. He led her down a street little different from her own except it was cleaner, and the buildings seemed to have little metal plates by the doors. Also, there were different cars. She smiled, looking up at the warm twillight, soon it would be dark. He led her into a large, metal structure, the resteraunt, and they sat.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\/\/
They left the resteraunt half an hour later, Rose full and happy, leaning against the Doctor, who had his arm around her shoulders. She sighed contentedly as they walked and he smiled at her.
Then the sky darkened a notch and the Doctor watched as stars began to appear brighter. There was a walk to the TARDIS and as they could just see it, he went ridgid. Rose felt it, as they stopped, and looked into his face. "Doctor?"
He seemed to be shaking. She took a step away, from under his arm, and looked at him, confused. "Doctor?" She asked again, watching him take a shaky breath. "Rose" His voice was hoarse. He looked at her and she took a step back. His eyes were turning blue. "Are you regenerating?" She asked, softly, confused. He shook his head violently.
"No, rose" He spoke hoarsly. "The bite. The werewolf bite" He looked at her and then the sky, willing her to understand. "Oh my god" she transferred her gaze skywards to see the full moon shining on them. The Doctor slid to his knees, gripping the floor tightly. "Run. Rose, run!" He gasped out through the pain. She didn't move, instead touching his shoulder. "I won't let you go through this alone!" She cried, and felt his shuddering through her touch.
"You have to… run…" The Doctor's voice had gained a growl. He began to yell out, as his jaw cracked into a new shape. "Can't… fight it" He snarled, as he continued to transform. "You have to… run… before I… change!" He growled at her, as she stepped back from him, watching him transform, growing larger as his clothing was ripped away, sonic screwdriver and psychic paper falling to the floor.
She scooped them up as he continued to change, fur growing thick across his body. "RUN!" He yelled out as best he could through the muzzle, watching in alarm as his claws grew long and sharp, a tail tearing out behind him. He yelped, agonized, and then froze. He snarled, long and deep, and looked up, pure wolf in his eyes.
"Doctor?" She asked. All she heard was a snarl and he stepped forward, menacingly. She turned and ran as fast as she could towards the TARDIS, heading for her bright blue. Then the wolf leapt, and she kicked it hard in the chest, forgetting that it was the Doctor. It fell away with a whimper, a snarl and then-
Rose!
"Doctor?" She asked, staring at the wolf, which was thrashing its head violently. It froze for a second, with eye contact for just a second, before starting to thrash again. Rose knew, though, what was happening. In that one second, she had seen the Doctor in those eyes. He was in there, fighting whatever it was.
Rose! I can't hold this out for long. Take the oppurtunity, get in the TARDIS! I can't bite you. I can't let you get cursed. GO!
Rose turned, hearing his telepathic message of fear. She ran as fast as she could and was soon aware of the wolf behind her, snarling angrily. She opened the door and threw herself in, slamming it shut, hearing a thud as a body hit it, angry snarls and scratching noises.
Doctor?
She accessed her mental link to him, feeling only anger from him, anger and animal force.
You
have to fight it, Doctor! I need you to! I can't stand to see you
in pain and if you can't control it my life'll be at risk. Come
on, Doctor! I hope you can hear me, please Doctor, you have to do
it?
Rose…?
Doctor,
yes! Keep fighting, come on, fight it!
I'm getting control, only
just. It's almost morn- morning, it's summer. I can't get… I
cant come inside the TARDIS, I'll be too much of a risk. You'll
have to wait till morni-
The Doctor was cut off and there was the sound of a snarl, and then her blood ran cold as she heard him howl and redouble his attack, as If the wolf had realised its time was short. Rose sat with her back to the doors, hands wrapped around her legs as she listened to the Doctor fighting with himself for control. Then, it was quiet. About ten minutes later, the door opened and the Doctor fell inside, pale and sweaty. She ran off and returned with a dressing gown which she dropped on him, determindly not looking in case she saw something she didn't want to see. He thanked her feebly, pulling it on. She made sure he was all covered before turning around and helping him to his feet. He was shaky and freezing cold. She shut the door behind him and he began to speek but she shook her head, pushing him into his bedroom. She shut the door and walked back to the console.
The Doctor re-entered the console room, almost 2 hours later. He saw Rose sat across the chairs, eyes closed and breathing soft and deep. "Rose?" He asked, softly, sitting on the corner of the last chair. She didn't respond, but she closed her eyes tighter, making a quiet, upset noise, and curled up on the chair. He could tell she was having nightmares. "Rose?" He repeated, stroking her hair from her face.
She started and her eyes snapped open, and almost tumbled off the bench at seeing the Doctor. She swallowed visibly and mumbled something about a cup of tea, pulling her legs around from behind his back and standing. She walked away from him, not looking and he knew she couldn't stand to be in his company.
He sighed softly and looked away, before standing and going to look in the mirror. He took a step back, horrified. His eyes were beginning to turn pure black. He covered his mouth slightly with his hand, and turned away, heading back to his room. No wonder she didn't want to be near him. He hadn't even noticed. He passed the kitchen, hearing her inside, but didn't look. He shut the door hard behind him.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Rose heard the Doctor's door slam, and exited the kitchen, holding her cup of tea. She sighed softly, and re-entered the console room. She sat on the seats, tucking her legs up beneath her. The Doctor hadn't even seemed to notice but she'd guessed he had worked it out since his departure to his room.
She hadn't wanted him to go but he probably knew as well as her that she couldn't stand to be around those eyes. They used to be beautiful, chocolate brown flecked with gold, but now they were so different. The brown slowly being filled with black. It was creepy, so unnatural on the Doctor. She had never thought this would happen, she thought that he would be immune. But no. She sighed and wiped her eyes. Why had this had happened!?
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////////////////////////
The Doctor sat on the powder-blue super-soft sheets on his mahogany four-poster bed. He sighed softly, rubbing his eyes tiredly. No wonder his seeing had become sharper; he hadn't noticed. Now rose couldn't stand to be near him. He forced back tears, trying to think rationally. Can't give in. Never give in.
He lay back against the bed. There weren't many options. He wondered vaguely if he regenrated would he still be a werewolf; but he couldn't put Rose through that. Or could he? Would a regeneration or a werewolf be better? He didn't know. And there was no promise it would work; it would be a gamble. He sighed.
He knew there was no point. It wouldn't work. He had no choice but to live with it or live his entire life in the TARDIS. Or use the remainder of his regenerations. But he couldn't do that, not with Rose. There was a faint knock on the door and he looked up. Rose's voice floated through, muffled and with a hint of nervousness. "I brought you a cup of tea" He smiled softly to himself. At least she still cared.
He
opened the door and they made eye contact for a moment. She shuddered
visably and he placed a soft hand on her shoulder. "I know" He
whispered. "I'll try to sort it. I know you can't stand the
sight of me-"
"It's not that."
"What is it?" His
voice was soft.
"I can't stand the sight of you so helpless and lost looking." He smiled softly, taking the warm mug from her hands. "I'll find a way. Don't worry. Even if it's only for the eye thing" He the sentence hanging in the air, leaving the unspoken words. But I might not be able to fix the werewolf thing.
/\/\/\//\\//\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\/\
He didn't drink it. He left it on his bedside table to let it go cold, sat on the bed, head in hands, thinking. Then, suddenly, he stood and left the room determindly, peeking into the Console room to see Rose asleep across the chairs again, face tearstreaked. He sighed softly, and headed into the lab, using his screwdriver to sort it out. He mixed chemicals for a long time before shouting "YES!"
He sucked some of the mixture into an eye dropper and dripped some into his left eye. He winced in pain as it hissed faintly, blinking rapidly as the blackness cleared. Looking in a mirror, he grinned at the creepy sight of one black eye one brown. He did the other eye, hoping it wouldn't affect his vision.
He
headed back to the console room, and Rose yawned and sat up, seeing
him. She grinned at his grin, leaping up and looking into his clear
eyes. "You're sorted!" She squee'd, reaching her face up and
trying to kiss him. He stepped back hurriedly and she looked hurt.
"I'm not fine" He whispered softly. "I'm still infected; I
just cleared my eyes. I can't kiss you, Rose."
"Why not?"
She whispered, tears brimming in eyes as she looked at him. She wiped
her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'd infect you too."
"So?"
He smiled at her and she gave him a weak smile back. "I'm sorry, Rose" He whispered, then turned and was gone through the corridors. She sighed and sat back down, wiping her eyes. Then the tinny ring of her mobile cut through the silence. Cutting the waver from her voice, she answered; "Hi mum" She said softly, and smiled at Jackies friendly tone.
"I
know you're off galivanting round the universe but I thought you
ought to know that Mo's had twins and I want you two back here
pronto. It's Saturday 29th January 2007, I want you here before 1,
so we can spend a couple of hours before going to Mo's. And yes, he
has to come too! Mo's desperate to meet him."
"Twins?"
Questioned Rose.
"Yes! So get your butts in gear!" Rose
laughed and the call ended.
/\/\/\/\\\\\\\\/////////\/\/\/\/\/\//////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\//\/\/\/\/\/\/\/////////\\\\\\\\\\\\
"Doctor?"
"Hmm?"
"Why is the door locked?"
"It
isn't"
Rose slammed her full weight into the door and it fell
open, her almost hitting the floor. She saw the Doctor was sat on his
bed, a book in his hands. He grinned at her. "Weakling ape" He
taunted. She stuck her tongue out. "Mum called. We have to go visit
on 29th January 2007, before 1. Aka NOW. Mo's had twins and BOTH of
us have to see her"
The Doctor looked surprised at her and then
looked away.
"You have to, Doctor, or face Jackie's wrath" That got him moving. He was up and towards the console room in a moment. "Before 1, yeah?" He double-checked, and smiled, but she saw through it to the panic underneath. She could tell what he was thinking.
I hope it's not the full moon.
/\/\/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The TARDIS thrummed loudly as they were catapulted through space and time. In the Powell estate a faint shape began to appear and then the TARDIS materialised into existence. The door opened and Rose peeked out, then turned back to the Doctor. "Daylight" She informed him. She stepped out onto the cold pavement and shivered. "Throw me a jacket!"
A pink, fuzzy fleece flew out the door and she caught it neatly with all the quickness of someone who regularly had to avoid or catch things thrown at them. She put it on and zipped it up as the Doctor stepped neatly out the door after her, and locked the TARDIS doors. "It's about 12" he informed her as they headed towards the flat. She noted the predatory moves he made, and wondered if tonight was a full moon.
His movements were smoother than usual, and he crouched very slightly, and althugh he hadn't seemed to notice, she did. "Doctor?" She asked, and he turned sharply to look at her. "Don't you realise what you're doing?" He looked confused. "You're walking and acting like- you know" His eyes widened.
"I
am?"
"You're are. Walking like a… like a predator"
He sighed and made an effort to stop but he was still moving differently. They entered the flat and Jackie leapt, encasing Rose into a rib-crushing hug. Rose choked. "Mum, you're strangling me!" She wheezed and then laughed as Jackie released her.
Jackie leapt towards the Doctor and tried to hug him, but the sudden movement seemed to startle him and he leapt back with a noise almost like a snarl. Rose and Jackie stared. "Doctor, you okay?" Asked Rose softly and he nodded distractedly. "You tell her" He entered the flat and sat on the sofa, snatching the remote and flicking through the channels.
"Yeah. We need to tell you something, mum" Jackie looked confused and then slightly angry. "What's he done this time?" Rose bit her lip. This would be hard to tell her. "Well, he got bitten by a werewolf. So… you can work out the rest…"
Jackie seemed to inflate with anger. She stormed into the lounge and slapped the Doctor hard across the face. He almost snarled again but stopped himself, touching his cheek gingerly. "What was that for!?" He shouted, and was not daunted by Jackie. Then he backed away slightly, biting back a whimper. "YOU KNOW WHAT!" She bellowed. "AND IF YOU TURN ROSE OR ANYONE ELSE INTO A WEREWOLF YOU WILL SUFFER SO BAD-"
"YOU THINK I WANT TO BE A WEREWOLF!?" He roared back. "I DON'T, I DON'T THINK ANYONE WOULD!" He walked into the kitchen, fuming, looking around. "I JUST WANT TO GET RID OF IT!" He roared as they followed him and, with a metallic shhhnnn noise, he withdrew a large knife, holding it against his neck. Rose ran forward, and grabbed him by his jacket, shaking him, desperate.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" She screamed, and he realised what he had been doing. He began to shake, dropping the knife with a clatter, sinking to the floor. "I can't do this" He muttered. He leant into Rose's embrace and Jackie, severely shaken, left the room.
