Madness and Peace
By Romana Dante

Crash!

The Doctor jerked up in bed, gasping for breath as the world came into view around him. It was night, in the guestroom, in bed, he had been trying to sleep.

Crash!

And then that had happened. Loud and unnerving, the sound of thunder had intterupted him, the strong wind outside forcing him awake. It had happened everynight he had been here, haunting his dreams and his rare moments of peace, intterupting his enjoyable thoughts and memories, causing him to come down when he felt himself on a high. The sound of the thunder, the pounding of wind, the noise of a storm.

Crash!

It was dark at the Powell Estate, the only light coming from the lighting in the storm outside and the Doctor wasn't sure anyone but him could see it. It had been three nights since Christmas, and not once had either of the Tyler women woken up at the sound of the thunder or the crash of the wind outside. He had mentioned it once, at breakfast on Boxing Day, and had been given no confirmation other than two puzzled expression from Jackie and Rose. They had known nothing about it and that was all he needed. The storm was for him.

Crash!

He got up and walked around his small room, pacing as he had for three nights now to the sounds of the howling wind outside the flat. The storm wasn't real, he had long since decided, it was only an illusion, a trick on his mind. Perhaps he still wasn't fully recovered from his latest post-regenerative trauma and, like Rose had said, he just needed a good night's sleep to get himself straight again.

Crash!

But then, it was impossible to sleep with this sort of noise around him.

Crash!

The street below him was dark and calm, a picture of your typical quiet night in London, nothing at all like storm he was hearing at the time. The peacful atmosphere seemed to mock him almost, as he struggled with the chaos currently inhabiting in his mind. What was it? He could hear the thunder and the wind, feel the vibrations of the lightning as it struck so perilously close to him and the Tyler family, but he couldn't see it. With each night the storm felt closer, the wind became louder, and sleeping became harder. He had planned to take Rose after a week of staying, but now he wasn't sure. The storm became worse when he thought of her.

Crash!

That one hit him hard, the sound nearly killing him phyiscally and sending him reeling backwards towards the bed. His head pounded with the storm, Rose's name drifting occasionally through it, his own fear making it worse. There was an ache in his hearts as he listened to the wind, panting loudly against the wall of the room. It was all trying to tell him something...

Crash!

Warn him of something...

Crash!

Keep him from something...

Crash!

Warn him of his fate in the unknown...

Crash!

He sat down on the bed, his mind a torrent of wind and dark thoughts, the future clear but unseen. It was all a warning, he could feel it. Something was coming, something he didn't want to have to think about, but knew he was going to have to. The thunder invaded his mind when he least expected or wanted it, at moments he felt sure everything was fine. A reality check was what it was, reality given to him in the most bizarrest of circumstances. A warning in the dark. Something was coming.

Crash!

The storm began to fade as he slowly realized what was happening. The thunder subsiding and the wind dying down. The only thing left was the sound of the rain pouring in the background, underscoring his thoughts at all times. He decided it was best to keep this to himself and to not tell his companion. He wanted to make sure she got the full experience of time and space, and see the whole beauty of the universe without the storm clouds behind any of it. He knew though, that eventually it would all catch up with him. Eventually he'd have to come to terms with the rain in his head, and the warning he knew was there.

Crash!

One last crash of thunder. He laid down and closed his eyes, letting the sound of the rain lull him into a light, worried sleep. For now the chaos was gone, the rain being more peaceful then anything he could think of. He tried not to think about the fact that only he could hear the rythmic drops against the roof of the flat, everyone desereved a moment of madness once in a while. The threat was gone for now, but he could feel it coming. He could feel it in the peaceful night at the Tyler flat, the coming terror in the air. He opened his eyes.

A storm was aproaching.