(Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. If I did, Rose and the Doctor would be together.)
Chapter 1
~Rose~
199 days since I got lost. 199 days of torture. Tomorrow was the 200-day anniversary of my misery. I still hadn't stopped hoping, wishing for the blessed sound of the blue box. But it never came.
I looked around the place that I had lived for the past 199 days. Dirt floors and beds and curtains around said beds. Every night, a wave of men came through. Some were regulars. Some came every now and then, and some came only just once. I sat on my bed and stared at my filthy sheets. There were blood stains and other stains of unknown origin.
It was almost time for the wave. I dreaded it. The clock struck eight and the 'clients' came in. I saw one of them was Mr. Rouhbury. He was a regular of mine. All of the clients went to the bed of their choosing. I watched as Mr. Rouhbury came to mine, staggering and drunk. He was worst at these times. Rougher and harder. He crawled up on the bed, and slurred something unintelligible. He started touching me, his hot breath on my face. I closed my eyes and became unresponsive until it was over. He didn't care. He did what he wanted, and left soon enough, and another man took his place. And another, and another. Finally, this round of men were finished, and I had a break until one. I gathered my ripped and dirty clothes off the ground. They were the clothes that I had on when I got separated from the Doctor. Once I was dressed again, I asked the head man if I could go for a walk. Sometimes they let us go outside after we were done with our first few clients for the night. You had to earn the privilege, though. He gave me a gruff yes, and said to be back in an half hour, at 12:30.
I nodded my thanks and headed out the door. As I rounded the corner, I saw the blue box. The heaven I had wanted for so long. The clock chimed midnight. I walked slowly towards the box, as if it could disappear if I was too quick. I rose a trembling hand and knocked three times. My whole body was shaking. The door opened with the all-too-familiar squeak, and there he was. The Doctor.
"Rose?"
Tears tumbled over my cheeks.
"Is it really you?"
I nodded, speechless. My breath came unevenly. My knees buckled, and the Doctor lifted me up, grinning that grin that I had longed for for 200 days. He carried me into the TARDIS, holding me tightly. He laughed a laugh if pure joy, then pulled back to look at me. "Oh, Rose... What happened?"
I just shook my head and held him as tight as I could.
Reluctantly, we released each other, and walked slowly through the TARDIS doors, our gazes never leaving one another. His eyes glanced down to my apparel, a crease appearing between his brows when he saw the state of my clothing, but he said nothing.
I gazed around the TARDIS, drinking in the sight of my home. A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me, and I sighed. "I'm so glad to be back. I'm so glad to see you-"
"I can't tell you how thrilled I am that you're back!" He grinned, and embraced me again, lifting me up and swinging me around.
"-but I am exhausted. I really just want to go take a shower, and go to bed."
He nodded quickly, and set me down. I started off towards my room. Once there, I slowly stripped off my clothes and went to the en-suite bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. All over my body there were marks. Ugly, terrible marks. I was ugly. My eyes were dull, and my hair was dull, too. I looked away and stepped over to the shower, turning the heat all the way up. It had been so long since I'd showered. The scorching water ran down my back, and, unable to stay up any longer, I slid down until I was sitting. Then, I started sobbing. Great, heaving sobs that I tried to quieten with my hands. I sobbed until there were no tears anymore, and fell asleep under the endless hot water.
Doctor~
I paced up and down the corridor that led to Rose's room. I couldn't believe I had found her. I had missed her so much. I couldn't bear being away from her for so long. I felt horrible about losing her. It killed me. All I could do was look for her. I didn't know how long it had been for her. It had been two and a half agonizing months for me. I almost didn't recognize the dirty, sad girl I had opened the TARDIS's door to.
Rose had been in the shower for a long time. I decided to go check on her. Arriving at her bathroom door, I knocked, "Rose, are you okay?"
There was no answer.
"Rose?" I said, louder this time. I asked the TARDIS what was going on. In response, she unlocked Rose's door. I went in to find Rose curled up in the bottom of her steaming hot shower. My eyes widened as I got closer to turn off the water. She had marks all over her body, and I could see each one of her ribs. Quickly, I picked her up and wrapped her tiny form in a fluffy towel, and ran to Medbay. Once there, I laid her down on a bed, and checked her temperature. 104. Oh dear. I ran a series of tests.
In a few minutes, the machine dinged and I yanked out the list of her ailments. Malnutrition, bruising, and many forms of deprivation. "Rose?" I nudged her gently. Her eyelashes fluttered.
"I don't want to!" she moaned, "Don't make me. Please!"
"Rose, darling, you don't have to do anything. I just need you to wake up," I shook her gently and her amber eyes slowly opened.
"Doctor?"
"Yes, Rose. I'm right here."
"What... What happened?"
"You were in the shower for awhile. I went to check on you, but when you didn't answer, the TARDIS opened the door for me and you
were laying in the bottom of the shower, asleep."
She tucked the towel around her tighter and winced.
"Rose... How long?"
"Doesn't matter," she mumbled under her breath.
"It does. How long?"
"200 days when the clock struck midnight," she answered, her voice hard, and when she looked up at me, her eyes harder, the beautiful liquid, dark gold eyes frozen over.
I sucked in a breath, "What happened while you were there?"
"Nothing much. I was... taken in by some... people."
I raised an eyebrow, "Mmhmm."
"I was! I'm going to bed, Doctor. Goodnight."
"Wait! Rose, come here," she complied and I gathered her into my arms. "I'm so glad to have you back," I whispered into her hair. She nodded curtly and untangled herself from me, holding tightly to the top of her towel.
"I missed you too, Doctor," she whispered and turned around. I could've sworn I saw a tear fall down her cheek, but she turned away too quickly for me to tell.
~Rose~
"I don't want to. Don't make me. Please!" I begged with the man who found me and was selling me to The Trade.
"You don't have a say, sweetheart," he sneered. He walked me up to the stage and called out a number for the bidding to start. The man who bought me paid 200,000 qualngs. He grabbed me roughly by the wrist and pulled me towards the building I had stayed at for 199 days.
"Rose, darling, you don't have to do anything..."
My eyes fluttered open.
(AN: So this is my first Doctor Who fic. Whaddaya think? If you like The Mortal Instruments, read my other fic, Alone or Maybe Not! Please review! It makes me happy.)
