CHAPTER 2. A Stolen TARDIS
"You don't just snap another man's ship out of the sky!" the Doctor announced, annoyed.
"You are the Doctor… You must be EXTERMINATED!" a few Daleks announced.
"Well at least you remember me, do you remember what I did the last time you messed with my friends?" he stood with his hands in his pocket
"You sent us into the void; you lost your companion...Rose Tyler." Their robotic voices stating in unison.
The Doctor breathed in sharply at the memory.
"We scanned your TARDIS; she is here along with your new companion, Martha Jones."
"Oh,I know that," The Doctor stated, an annoyed look passing over his face. "why did you take my TARDIS?"
"It is no longer your TARDIS."
"What? What do you mean?" The Doctor felt panic rise into his throat. Maybe the big thing they had wasn't the Doctor coming but his ship coming to them! Maybe the big thing they had was a way to take her from him.
"What do they mean?" Rose asked, frantic at the idea of losing the TARDIS and possibly the Doctor.
"I wish I knew." Martha said quietly.
"He is not doing this alone!" Rose was about to run out of the TARDIS when the doors flew open, and a man fell through. "Doctor!" The Doctor was on the ground, clearly unconscious. She tried to run to him but was stopped by Martha's voice.
"You can't just run into the base ship!"
"Done it before, that time we had a safety field but I'm willing to take that chance for my Doctor."She huffed out, stressing the word 'my' involuntarily but was glad she did- Martha didn't know what they had, but then again, neither did she. She knew she loved him, she knew he needed to be safe, and she knew leaving him with Daleks who had a strong power over him was not something she could ever live with. She ran to him and saw the TARDIS try to close her doors.
"Doctor..." She whispered into his ear as she held him "Please wake up."
"They're too strong now Rose… Something happened in the void… Something that should never happen, get in the TARDIS and run." His voice was faint and cold.
"Doctor! Stay awake...Please!" She turned to the Daleks "don't you dare go in that ship!" she yelled
"You will not stop us, you are inferior, we are too strong for you and the Doctor." Their voices were so full of victory even though she knew they had no emotions.
"You don't know that!" Rose felt powerless but she was not letting them into theTARDIS "Doctor… The TARDIS." she whispered, desperate for a response from him.
No answer.
"Doctor!" Martha screamed as Daleks invaded the TARDIS.
"Martha!" Rose cried as the TARDIS slowly faded "NO! NO! Come back!" She cried. "This can't happen! It can't!" suddenly everything around her turned a very bright white and then she woke up.
She was lying in her old flat, in her old bed, in her old universe. She was happy for a quick second before remembering about the TARDIS and the Doctor. She looked around and saw the Doctor lying next to her. Rose traced his cheek with her fingertips "Doctor," she whispered. "please." Rose knew something was wrong but she didn't know how to fix it, until she remembered when he first regenerated. She hopped up and ran into the kitchen "Tea...Tea" she mumbled, flinging cabinets open. "Oh bloody hell, where- oh here you are." She smiled as she picked up the tea, boiled some water, and put a tea bag in it. It wasn't good tea, she remembered when her mum bought it, it was awful but it was all she had.
"Doctor, I brought you tea." She didn't mention how awful it tasted but it smelled okay. Rose placed the cup on the end table and sat with the Doctor. She rolled him so his head was in her lap.
"My sweet Doctor, I'm so sorry." Rose knew she should have stayed in the TARDIS, she could have done something instead of leaving Martha.
"You will be so upset, no...You'll be heartbroken." she pushed his head up and gently tipped the tea into his mouth. He coughed and his eyes opened.
"That is a very horrible excuse for tea." he muttered. "Rose!" He sat up. "My TARDIS!" She could see his face fill with worry and fear.
"I'm so sorry Doctor...I should've tried harder...I should have stayed." Rose looked down and twisted her fingers around each other.
"What happened to her Rose?" he panicked and Rose felt awful.
"They… They took her and Martha...I woke up here." Her eyes filled with tears. "I should have stayed in the TARDIS."
"Oh Rose," he tilted her chin up. "whatever you did was what you thought was right, and I'm sure I would have done the same." The Doctor kissed her forehead and wiped her tears away.
"But Doctor… They could destroy so much with her." Rose let tears roll down her cheeks.
"Oh Rose, don't think about that… We're home" she could hear the sadness in his voice.
"This isn't home." Sure, she used to live here with Jackie, but after she met the Doctor her home became the TARDIS. The Doctor knew what she meant and hugged her.
"I'll find her...I always fix things Rose."
Rose nodded and they stood up, and walked into the living room. The Doctor tripped and fell, knocking Rose down too. The Doctor somehow ended up on top of Rose with their faces so close to each other's.
"Sorry." He whispered, his face turning light red as he gazed into Rose's eyes.
"What happened?" Rose asked softly. She could feel his hearts beating rapidly, his breath smelled vaguely of bananas and Rose couldn't help but smile.
"I tripped, I guess." The Doctor whispered. His lips were so close to hers, he wanted to kiss her. He slowly moved closer, watching her mouth that was so soft and pink.
"Doctor..." Rose closed her eyes but they shot open when someone pounded on the door.
"Doctor!" a familiar voice called.
The Doctor looked at Rose, he longed to be with her but he slowly got up. He helped Rose up and looked at her.
"Doctor! Come one I know it's you." The voice called again.
The Doctor cursed under his breath and opened the door.
"Jack!" Rose felt a big smile form as she saw him.
"Rose Tyler" Captain Jack Harkness looked shocked but quite happy. "It was about time you came back." Jack wrapped Rose in a big hug and spun her around.
"I've missed you" Rose said as he put her on the ground.
"Me too, glad to see you're back where you belong." Jack smiled, then again he was always smiling around her. Rose saw the Doctor waiting impatiently.
"Right!" Jack looked to the Doctor. "Torchwood figured it out." Jack and Torchwood knew about the void probably right after the Doctor did, they loved alien stuff.
"Wait… How did you know I was here?" the Doctor looked questionably at Jack.
"I have my ways" He winked at Rose and she blushed. "Anyway, we know how to wipe every last stupid Dalek off this planet and every other planet too."
Rose's face lit up. "Really?" She looked at the Doctor, his questionable look now replaced with a frown.
"I thought I could do that many times, Jack, but I was wrong." He hated to admit being wrong.
"I know, but I know this will work." Jack was excited and wanted the Doctor to be excited too.
"Let's go to Torchwood then!" Rose called heading for the door. Rose hated Daleks more than anything else, they had tried to split her and the Doctor up more than once and she couldn't wait to be rid of them.
"Wait, we aren't at war right now." The Doctor said, drawing Rose back over to them.
"So?" Jack said.
"That's genocide!" he practically shouted. "You can't just go and wipe out an entire species just because you want to!" He ran his fingers through his wonderful, thick hair and Rose wished to do the same. He had tried to wipe out the Daleks many times before but right now it didn't matter, they can't reach them anyway.
"But they've tried to wipe out the human race more than once!" Rose exclaimed, confused.
"But they aren't right now." He was upset and Rose didn't want to push him, but she was tired of dealing with Daleks.
"They're in the other universe."
"I know, and I know your family is there, but there is no way back. We can't kill Daleks that we can't get to." The Doctor looked at Rose, her face was sad and disappointed.
"I knew it could never be so simple" She said softly, looking away for a second.
The Doctor was pained by her sadness. He hurried over and hugged her tight. "Oh Rose..." he whispered.
"Doctor." Jack cleared his throat.
The Doctor released Rose but slid his arm around her waist; she leaned against him and closed her eyes.
"Jack." The Doctor said looking up from Rose.
"As much as I'd hate to break up this touching moment, I do have questions that need answering. How did you get to the other universe?"
"The Daleks opened the fabric of reality."
"Then why can't we?"
The Doctor sighed. "They opened it from inside the void."
"What!?" Rose pulled away from the Doctor and saw him frown.
The Doctor felt cold as emptiness invaded the space Rose had taken up moments ago. "I figured it out awhile ago. From inside the void they broke out, but into both sides, creating a void to pass through."
"Then what happened to the Cybermen?" Jack asked.
"That's how they did it. They destroyed they Cybermen and used their power to break through both ends." The Doctor looked at Jack and Rose, both clearly shocked.
"It took two years?" Rose asked, not believing what the Doctor was saying.
"It must have taken awhile for the Daleks to siphon the energy from them." The Doctor realized that it was his fault this happened since he put them in the void.
Rose seemed to see it in his eyes, he was blaming himself and she knew it wasn't his fault. She cupped his cheek in her hand and gazed into his eyes. "It will never be your fault."
The Doctor looked all over her face to see if she truly meant it. He smiled when he realized how serious she was, after all, she would never blame him for anything and never let him believe it was his fault. He placed his hand on top of hers and closed his eyes for just a moment. He was happy with Rose by his side again. He opened them to see Jack looking at them curiously.
The Doctor cleared his throat and Rose moved away. "I need to shower." she hurried into the bathroom.
He watched her walk away and sighed. "Jack, I need your help."
"Great, with what? Unless you're talking about your relationship, then leave me out of it completely."
"Is the void closed?"
"The void? No, but it is closing"
"How long until it's completely closed?"
"About four hours? I'm just guessing."
The Doctor breathed heavily.
"What is it?"
"My TARDIS." He ran his fingers through his hair once again, obviously stressed.
"You left her over there, right? Wait, how did you pass through?"
The Doctor paused, looked away, and took a long breath. "The Daleks… They became too powerful and took the TARDIS along with Martha, they must have done something to take me and Rose back here so we couldn't stop them." The Doctor looked at Jack for a long moment. "Jack… I need to get her back." He didn't trust Jack entirely, but he knew if anyone could help it would be him. Jack loved anything strange and alien, he would do anything to figure it out.
"I know, and I'll help, but other than the TARDIS not much else can safely fly through a void in the fabric of reality." The Doctor scratched his head.
"Yeah, I know..." The Doctor paced back and forth with his hands in his pockets; he squeezed his sonic screwdriver to make sure it was still there.
"I'll go back to Torchwood and look through our database for something flyable." Jack smiled and hurried out the door.
The Doctor stopped pacing and looked at the floor.
"How could I have messed things up so badly again?" he asked himself. Faintly, he heard the shower switch off.
"Hello." Rose said as she emerged from the bath. Her hair wild and wet, her body wrapped only in a small towel.
"Hello." He looked at every inch of his companion. Rose smiled at him and continued towards her room. "What's wrong with me? I never acted or felt this way before." he said once Rose had closed the bedroom door behind her. "Oh my sweet Rose, I don't know how long I can restrain myself..." He sat on the couch and used his sonic screwdriver to turn the TV on. An interesting woman was talking about alien living all around the world and the Doctor snickered.
Rose come out after getting dressed and sat on the couch with the Doctor.
"What's this?" She asked, pointing towards the screen.
"A woman who thinks aliens have come to blend in and eat people." The Doctor laughed.
"Some people are just oblivious." Rose smiled at the Doctor. He moved his arms so she could cuddle against him. "Doctor?"
He looked at her questionably.
"What would happen if we can't get the TARDIS back?"
"Well…" He paused, this clearly pained him but he knew it was important for Rose to know. "So many different things could happen, they could cause the TARDIS to self destruct but that would cause the entire universe to explode along with it…" He paused again. "They could gain control of her and destroy time itself," The Doctor frowned at this idea. "but I'll get her back before that happens,"
"How can you know?"
"I'm the Doctor… Don't you trust me?"
"More than anything." Rose knew the Doctor had a way of having everything turn out for the better, but that wasn't always the case, he had lost a lot of people, lots of planets were lost in the process but she knew if there was one thing he would never let go of, it was his TARDIS.
She relaxed and closed her eyes while she breathed in his strong scent. She wasn't sure what it was that he smelled like but she loved it, it was the scent she had missed for those two years they had spent apart. She had smelled so many different smells but none of them even came close to the one the Doctor was wrapped in. Maybe it was a Time Lord smell. But, probably it was just a Doctor smell. She smiled and looked up at the man in question, only to find that he was already looking at her.
They just sat and looked at each other for awhile before he realized the show they were watching had ended and was replaced by a sporting event. He smiled at her and then used the sonic screwdriver to turn it off, he never thought to use the remote. "Let's go outside, I bet you missed this place." He grabbed her hand and they left.
Once outside Rose looked around and realized how different this universe felt from the one she had been trapped in for the past two years. She squeezed the Doctor's hand and he smiled. "I never realized how much I could miss a place that I was so bored of." She mentioned offhandedly. They walked down the sidewalk, and Rose pointed out things that she missed, or things that were different from the other universe.
"Hungry?" He asked as they passed a diner.
She nodded and they walked in, they sat in a booth and both ordered cherry pie.
"Pie for dinner?" He asked jokingly, referring to her teasing the day before.
She squeezed his hand that she was holding on top of the table. The Doctor didn't want to let go; it was as if he thought she would disappear if he did.
The Doctor knew Jack was at Torchwood thinking of how to get back through, but this still made the Doctor feel completely useless. Rose seemed to sense this because she asked him to take her to Torchwood.
"Really?" He asked hopefully.
"Of course! I don't like waiting and neither do you, now come on!" They both hurried out of the diner and got into a cab. It smelled like chips and feet, Rose missed the smell of the TARDIS, so clean and different- just like the Doctor.
"To Torchwood, please." Rose told the driver.
"Torchwood?" He seemed confused.
"Yes, that big building over there." Rose pointed to the very tall building sticking out over the other buildings. It was at least half way across town and the man seemed to think the building had never been there before Rose pointed it out. Again, it's a very tall building.
"Okay miss." He turned out into traffic. "You work there?"
"Our friend does." Rose explained. The man nodded. Now, to the Doctor, she asked, "Doctor, what are you doing?" She noticed he was shining his sonic around the cab.
"What's that," The driver paused to think of a word to describe the sound. "buzzing?" He asked, confused.
"Buzzing? I can't hear anything." Rose said. The driver shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm looking for a cause of this smell." The Doctor joked.
Rose rolled her eyes lovingly at him.
"Yeah, sorry about that. This is cab is used by this other guy most of the time and he smells just putrid. We don't know if it is what he eats or he just smells but he was off when I was on and I drew the short straw so," The man shrugged. "hope it doesn't bother you too much."
"Oh no, it's fine." Rose answered, hitting the Doctor so he would stop using the Sonic.
"Oi!" He said, rubbing his arm where Rose had hit him. "What was that for?"
"You're being rude." Rose answered.
"Fine…" He put the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket and looked outside instead.
"Do you think Jack found anything yet?" Rose asked. She doubted it since they saw him an hour ago but wanted to ask and see what the Doctor thought.
"Probably not." The Doctor answered.
"Yeah," Rose knew that was the answer but she still felt disappointment. "I doubt it too." She leaned against the Doctor and he put his arm around her.
"Tired already?" He asked smiling at his sweet, blonde companion.
"No, I just like cud- sitting with you." she smiled, quickly correcting her slip up. She knew they were cuddling but she thought saying it would make him feel uncomfortable.
"We've arrived." The driver announced.
"Thank you." Rose said, smiling at him.
"Oh yes, thank you." The Doctor flashed his psychic paper at the cab driver.
"Oh! I am very honored to drive you anywhere." the man looked like he just won the lottery. "Tell you what, no need to pay, the ride's on me."
"You have helped this country a great deal." The Doctor said as he took Rose's hand and headed to the front doors of Torchwood.
"My honor!" the cab driver called out to them.
"Who did he think you were?" Rose asked, wondering what the paper had said this time.
The Doctor looked at the paper and laughed. "The chief detective at Scotland Yard."
Rose smiled. "I love that paper."
"As do I, Rose Tyler." The Doctor liked saying her last name, and was glad it didn't bother his companion. Then his mind switched to thinking about Martha. Was she okay? The Doctor couldn't live with himself if it was him telling her to stay that ended up getting her killed.
Hope you guys are liking it so far! reviews are needed to know this...
