You Give Love a Bad Name

Here we are old friend, you and me, on the first page. Yes, this is it! My first, planed-to-be-completed, multi-chaptered fic; ready for launch! This idea came to me a while ago, but with assignments and all the things it got pushed to the side. But at time of posting I have the first 4 chapters done and hope to post a chapter every two weeks or so. I know what you're asking; if they're written, why not post them now? Simple. I'm stuck with the 5th chapter! So in theory, by the time I'm due to post, I should have had the killer idea on how to write the next bit, written it, and post it on time :)

So without further ado… here's the first chapter. Enjoy!

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Chapter 1 – The Doctor

It was sunny. It wasn't supposed to be sunny when the world ended. It was, in fact, for all intents and purposes, an utterly normal day. The Doctor and Rose had touched down in Cardiff and left the TARDIS refuelling on the Rift and Rose had demanded they meet with Jackie to catch up. After the usual arguing and complaints that he "didn't do domestic" and that the "hydro-acidic purifiers on the third interface really needed testing, cause if they blow then we're dead and you really don't want that, do you Rose?" and "Really Rose, she's your mum, why do I have to see her?" before he caved to the inevitable and indomitable will of one Rose Tyler and agreed – approximately two minutes before Jackie Tyler had pounded impatiently on the TARDIS front door.

With the Doctor still grumbling good-naturedly, the trio set off around the bay. The Doctor kept an eye out for Jack, for once hoping to run into the immortal (despite his fixed-point wrongness), if only to avoid being the only man in what was turning out to be a very girly conversation. Honestly, what did he care who was the hottest soap star of the moment? He noticed Rose's eyes occasionally flicking back to him as if in comparison. He smirked, running a hand through his already somewhat dishevelled hair. 900 years and he's still got it.

It was as he was lowering his hand that he felt it. He stopped, puzzled. Something had hit him in the chest. It almost felt as if he'd been punched but looking around him there was no one within swinging distance, except for Rose and Jackie, and they weren't facing him. Jackie had always preferred a famous Tyler slap rather than punching him, although in recent months she had decided her favourite form of attack was to try and kiss him – equally as terrifying in his opinion; and Rose was happily chatting to her mum, and he hadn't done anything to annoy her so far, so she couldn't have punched him. The Doctor's eyebrow rose. How very strange. Maybe he'd imagined it?

But there was something else, something that was nagging at the corner of his frankly magnificent intellect; the very ground he stood on seemed to be behaving oddly. He'd told Rose about it once, the first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. He'd told her that; about how he can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath their feet spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and he can feel it. But now it was behaving in a very odd manner. The ground he stood on now seemed to be running uphill; but that was impossible! The Doctor knew it was flat. How could the bay be at the top of a hill? All the water would fall off! But now it was definitely slanting. Even the Millennium Centre was leaning to one side – the Doctor giggled to himself. The building looked drunk! Like the tower of Pisa! But how could a building be drunk? This wasn't like Felspoon where the mountains would sway in the breeze or Ventoso Sidere 5 where the winds were so strong buildings were built looking like they'd already been pushed over. He'd have to take Rose there some time – although she'd probably just moan the wind would mess up her hair.

For the first time in a very long while, the Doctor didn't understand what was happening. The Earth was moving in a way it wasn't supposed to and now the colours were draining out of the air. Even as he watched, the world went from the vibrant colours of a bright summer's day to black, white and grey. Although, fascinatingly enough, there were still splashes of colour here and there; the bright blue of the TARDIS behind him, a distant woman's mauve sweater (never a good colour, mauve), his pink and yellow human ahead…

…and the red of blood. The Doctor looked down, surprised. His whole front was turning a deep crimson, even his coat. He loved that coat! Janis Joplin gave him this coat! He frowned, something definitely wasn't right here. But despite his large and magnificent Time Lord brain, he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. And the dull, clanging sound echoing inside his head wasn't helping. It was so loud that it was drowning out the sound of the traffic and people around him. Or maybe, all of that had faded away?

The ringing was getting louder. A heavy, metallic, clanging sound – driving all thoughts out of the Doctor's head apart from the colour of the woman's jumper. The woman who had turned to look at him, and he watched, fascinated. She was screaming, but she was making no sound.

Then the very pavement on which he was standing played a trick on him; tilting so suddenly that it seemed to turn upside down. His time senses must have slipped, because suddenly Rose was there when he was sure she had been ahead of him with her mother. But she was always there for him wasn't she? Well, he supposed, there were times when she'd wandered off and he had to go save her – maybe that's what was going on! Maybe he had to go save Rose now. That would explain the strange things going on. Obviously, he had been looking for clues to save her, that's why he noticed the strange things. So this must be the last clue – her face in front of him, silently screaming his name. Well that was fine; Molto bene! He knew the answer to this one. It hadn't been that long since Magpie's electricals and the Wire. He'd saved a silently screaming Rose Tyler then, so this must be the same thing – he could do that. Although a little voice nagged in the back of his mind, hadn't he already stopped the Wire? And Rose definitely seemed solidly in front of him…

"I'm on my way." That's what he'd said to her, but this time his mouth wouldn't work. The words stuck in his throat, almost as if he couldn't get enough air. But that was silly; his respiratory bypass should take care of that. A Time Lord could go without breathing for several minutes, superior Time Lord Physiology and all. Wasn't it working? Mentally checking his body, the Doctor started to panic. Respiratory bypass: failed. More worryingly, the nerves in his left shoulder were firing painfully – it was a wonder he was still standing! But then, there was the scratch of pavement against his cheek. Ah. Right. So maybe he wasn't standing. When had that happened? He tried to check through his time sense but it seemed jumbled and wasn't making any sense… 'Still!' He thought, no point lying in around here. He had to go save Rose. Honestly, she set new levels for jeopardy friendly companions.

So… Where to find her? The Doctor tried to get up, but his body wasn't responding to his commands. Rose was looking scared, still silently screaming his name. He wanted to hold her hand, tell her it would be alright, that he would save her; but his arms would no longer obey him. His whole body felt heavy, like he had no control over it anymore, like even the basic functions were shutting down…

He wasn't breathing anymore, but he hadn't noticed. Rose had rolled him onto his side – when had that happened? – and her hand snaked towards his chest. The Doctor blinked in confusion, eye lids oddly heavy; he had to go save her. That's what he did. He was the Doctor and he saved the universe and Rose Tyler. But how could he go and save her if she was already here? Maybe he'd done it already? Well, he was brilliant. And rude. And not ginger. He tried to grin, but he couldn't make his muscles work properly. And oh his head hurt, the dull clanging of a bell was still echoing in his head – even if Rose was safe, there was still danger here, and he meant fatal. The words from emergency programme one suddenly filled his head. How odd.

We must be in danger. And I mean fatal. I'm dead or about to die any second with no chance of escape.

Why would he think of that now? Rose reached out and touched him, her fingers feather light and oddly burning hot against his skin. Her small palm pressing against the small hole in his chest.

Oh.

There was no pain. Just a sense of tiredness. He was so old now, so tired. All that running, and that time when they had had to hop for their lives! He smiled, a slow smile that barely had the energy to lift the corner of his lips. So much running with his pink and yellow human. This pink and yellow human who was holding her little hand against his chest and cradling his head and crying. Why was she crying? No one should make his Rose cry. Oh, but she was beautiful. Even her tears were beautiful, a luminescent gold that sparkled as they fell from her golden eyes. But that was wrong, his Rose shouldn't cry.

"Rose." A whisper? A shout? Or maybe just his imagination over the clanging bells. But her lips turned up at the corners – just a little, but that was all he needed.

The Doctor smiled and closed his eyes.

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Yay! So this was a little birthday present to myself to post this today – as said at the top, the next chapter will be posted in 2 weeks!

Drop me a review and let me know what you thought!

Love and hugs,

Spannerspoon out.