A/N: Ugh I can't believe it took me this long to update... I'm so sorry! Also, this was only supposed to be two chapters long, but it sort of took a life of its own as I was writing this chapter... But now there really should only be one chapter left, and I will try to bring you the conclusion faster this time!
"Yeah, I saw someone that looked like that. Tall humanoid bloke, long brown coat… He turned the corner right there about two hours ago, didn't come back. There was a rather nasty-looking guy with him, and I did have the impression that your friend wasn't following him all that willingly, but you know how it is – not my business, really."
"Yes, that's perfectly understandable. Well, thank you. You've been very helpful."
Rose and the Doctor nodded to the street performer they'd just questioned and walked to the street corner he'd indicated, the same street the merchant had instructed them to turn into in order to reach the fake artist's studio. If there were any doubts left in Rose's mind as to what had happened, they were quickly fading away.
She could easily imagine it – her Doctor walking down the street when some items in a stall grabbed his attention. It only took him a second to realize that they were forged, just like his past self had. Like him, too, he'd probably ran his gob and told everyone within hearing distance what he'd just discovered, only in his case his words had fallen into the wrong ears. That man escorting him was most likely an associate of the forger, if not the forger himself, taking the Doctor prisoner to prevent him from spreading the truth any further. As to what he intended to do with him…
She was trying very hard not to think about it.
"Look, down there. This must be the place we're looking for."
The merchant had told them to take a left after turning into the street, and this had brought them to a small road, lined with unremarkable houses on both sides except for one which definitely stood out. It was larger than the others, for one, and stood isolated from the others, the area surrounding it bare of anything other than yellowing grass. The building itself had a dreary, forbidding appearance, enclosed as it was by a high metallic fence, its front wall devoid of windows, a surveillance camera above its heavy front door.
As they approached, a man within the enclosure came into view, marching down one side of the building. They scrambled for cover, managing to hide behind a hedge of a house on the other side of the street before the man could see them. They watched as he walked around the corner, paused at the front door to scan the street, and disappeared around the other side of the building.
A guard patrolling the perimeter. Great. It would have been too easy otherwise.
"Alright, I think we need a plan," she said in a low voice.
"Agreed. I suggest we circle the building and see if we can find an easier way in – there must be a window somewhere, or at least a smaller door, one without a security camera. "
"Yeah, or we could walk up to the front door," she suggested with a raised eyebrow. "That's usually the kind of plan you like, no? Take me to your leader, that kind of thing. And, well, if they want to take use prisoner, them just let them. We can find a way to escape once we're inside and reunited with your future self."
"Let's keep this as a last resort, shall we?" he answered with an amused smile. "After all, he's had over two hours to free himself, and he hasn't managed to do so yet. Who says we'd do any better? No, I think we should try to find a back door, first."
Rose nodded in agreement, and together they circled the building as best as they could. They had to stray far from the fence sometimes, the surrounding area of grass making it difficult to move while staying out of sight of the patrolling guard. They reached the back of the building by taking a side alley and trespassing into the backyard of the house situated directly behind it, crouching behind some bushes to observe the building without being seen.
The Doctor had been right. There was a door there, and from what she could see there weren't any cameras, either.
"So, what do you think? Is this our way in?"
"Hmm, maybe. Let's wait for the guard pass by, first."
A few minutes trickled down in silence. Rose sat down on the ground, letting the Doctor keep watch as she stretched. The day had been one giant roller-coaster, and it was far from over yet. She squinted at the sky to see that the sun was already dipping down towards the horizon, and she suddenly felt the urge to get moving, now. They had to rescue the Doctor, and quickly. She wanted to watch the opening ceremony in a few hours with both of them by her side.
"That's not going to work." The voice of the Doctor by her side startled her out of her thoughts. "I've counted the time the guard takes to complete his circuit, or rather, the time when this side of the building is not in his line of sight. He's not absolutely regular, but it's a few minutes, at most. That won't be enough time for both of us to sprint from here to the fence, to climb it and go back down again, and to find the correct setting on the sonic to open this door. It can't see it too clearly from here but it looks like the front door, which I could see in a second was a double encrypted security door – this takes much longer to sonic open than normal locks."
Rose nodded as she listened to him, her brow furrowed. There had to be a way, nonetheless. So, their problem was that they didn't have enough time. What they needed, then, was for the guard's patrol to take longer. And for this, what was required was a distraction. It was simple logic.
Maybe she could go back and… Yes, that would work. He wouldn't like the idea, but it would work.
"Right. I'll do it. I'll buy you more time," she declared, a determined glint in her eyes.
"I don't follow."
"I'll distract the guard. I'll go to the front of the building and delay his patrol. You can use that extra time to get inside."
"Rose, I don't think that's such a good idea," he cautioned, frowning.
"No, listen, it's perfect! I know what I'll do, too: I'll walk up to the guard and ask him to fetch his boss. I'll say I loved his products so much I want to place a special order, a very… lucrative special order. I'm sure he'll want to come and talk to me then, and that will mean one less person for you to deal with inside."
He opened his mouth to argue and closed it again without a word. It was clear that he wasn't happy with the thought of her putting herself in danger like that, especially since he wouldn't be able to help her if thing went south, but it was a good plan, and they both knew it.
"Very well," he agreed reluctantly, "but please be careful, Rose. Don't take any unnecessary risks."
"I will, I promise. But you know, I'm no rookie, I've been in worse situations before." She had meant to be reassuring but her words only seemed to make him more uneasy, so she gave him a teasing grin, trying to relieve the tension. "Anyway, you're one to talk, always rushing into danger. And I can't even imagine how it's going to be when you free your future self. Two Doctors together, that just means twice the trouble."
It worked. He chuckled, reaching over to squeeze her hand in his.
"Rose Tyler, what terrible things have my other selves gotten you used to? You'd see, if you travelled with me – I'd only take you to peaceful worlds and leisure planets. I'd fill your days with cruises on azure waters and outdoors concerts underneath the sunset. No trouble of any kind involved."
"Somehow I very much doubt that," she answered, laughing to hide the flutter in her chest. "I know you. You'd get bored in no time. You'd pretend to be aiming for the Ball of the Grand Duchess' Ball of Xalthir, in celebration a thousand years of peace, and land us smack dab in the middle of the next century's revolution instead."
"What, and miss out on the chance to waltz with you? No, no, the revolution would have to wait. Of course we could always find a way to cause a bit of scandal at the Ball while we're there. Parties on Xalthir do tend to be a bit dull."
"That sounds like a bit of trouble I wouldn't be opposed to."
She smiled at him, taken by the vision of this adventure they could never share. He raised her hand to his lips, and the twinge of longing in her heart that had been there ever since she had met him grew to almost physical pain. She averted her eyes with a sigh and pushed herself off the wall.
"We can dance once this is over, but for now there's some very real trouble that we have to take care of. Once the guard passes by again I'll make my way to the front door and wait for him there."
He nodded, his expression becoming serious once more as he considered her words.
"Understood. I'll wait a few minutes by the door before going in, to give the guard enough time to fetch his master. I don't expect there to be a lot of people left inside to deal with, once he's gone – this is a clandestine operation after all, they are unlikely to be a large group."
Rose shifted uncertainly, suddenly overcome with the same concern he'd felt for her earlier.
"Be careful in there, Doctor. We don't know what they might be capable of."
"It's alright. I've been in worse situations before," he assured her with a grin, mirroring her words from before. "But that reminds me…"
He searched his pockets for a few moments before taking out a small metallic object that looked somewhat like a can of pepper spray. She looked at it with a puzzled look when he handed it to her.
"What is it?"
"An Ethynian blaster. Nifty little thing. It can create a subsonic sound wave that will momentarily knock out anyone in front of it without inflicting any permanent damage."
"You're giving me a weapon?"
"Well, a non-lethal one. It'll even out the playing field. That guard had a laser pistol strapped to his belt. It occurred to me that using the sonic to open the door might set up an alarm of some sort, and if that happens they will immediately become suspicious of you. Rose, take it, please. It will make me feel much better to know that you have it."
"Alright," she relented as she pocketed the blaster. "You're right, it might come in handy. What about you, though?"
"Don't worry, I can handle myself," he said dismissively. "Now, one final thing."
His eyes darted down to her neck, and she was suddenly reminded of the necklace she was still wearing. She raised her hand up to touch it, feeling a bit self-conscious after the charged moment they had exchanged earlier, but he had already raised his eyes back up to fix them firmly on hers.
"You should take it off before you go. He'll know this isn't one of his own creations and it might make him wary."
She nodded, reaching up to undo the clasp. She hesitated for a moment, looking at the necklace as it pooled in the palm of her hand, still golden and shimmering, before closing her fingers around it and extending her hand to him.
"Here, you hold on to it for me. This way we have to see each other again after you free your other self."
"Do you think I would sneak off to my TARDIS without a goodbye?" he chuckled, but his expression sobered when she shrugged uncertainly and looked away. His mouth twisted down in a sad smile at the sight, and after a moment he reached out to take the necklace from her, pocketing it with a sigh. When her gaze didn't return to him he raised a hand to her cheek, gently forcing her to look at him again.
"I'm sorry, Rose. I would like to blame my other selves for giving you a bad opinion of me, but I know I'm not blameless in this matter, either. It's true that I'm not always good at handling goodbyes. But I won't do that to you, Rose. I won't leave without seeing you again. After all," he added with a small smile, "I remember you suggesting a dance once this is over, and I'm very much looking forward to it."
She bit her lip as she chuckled softly, her cheeks flushing under the warmth in his eyes.
"I am, too," she assured him. His thumb stroked the apple of her cheek and her eyes drifted close as she struggled not to nuzzle into his hands.
It was hard to remember that this Doctor barely knew her when he did things like that, and she wondered why he allowed himself so much familiarity with her. Surely he had noticed by now the effect he had on her, had probably realized how she felt about him. Why wasn't he keeping his distance, then? With his future self, despite how close they were, the mere hint of a relationship was usually enough to send him running, or at the very least make him do everything he could to distract her from –
Her train of thought blinked out of existence as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. His kiss lingered, and she reflexively reached out for the lapel of his coat, smoothing the fabric under her fingers as she barely dared to breathe.
"I'll see you soon," he whispered when he pulled back, his lips still hovering centimeters from her skin.
She swallowed thickly as she nodded, not thrusting her voice, and she forced herself to take a step back before she did something she'd regret. The guard had just disappeared around the corner, and she stepped out of their hiding place without a word, resolutely making her way back to the front of the building.
She still hadn't regained her composure by the time she reached the front gate, and she paused for a second to take a deep breath, admonishing herself as she did so. This wasn't the time to indulge her feelings. There were two Doctors counting on her.
Rose walked up to the fence just as the guard turned the corner, and he eyed her suspiciously as he approached, his hand hovering uncertainly above the weapon on his belt.
"Hello," she greeted him with her brightest, friendliest smile. "Beautiful day, isn't it? Listen, I was hoping to talk to your boss. You know, the one that does all those lovely empathic pieces? I saw some of his work today and I absolutely adore it. I'd love to talk business with him, I have a proposition I'm sure he'll like – a very profitable one."
The stern expression on the guard's face did not waver as talked.
"Wait here," he ordered her before turning back towards the building. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding once he disappeared inside.
Phase one done. Now she just had to hold both the guard and the artist's attention long enough for the Doctor to find his future self and escape. It should be easy, right?
Time ticked by without the guard returning, and she began to feel edgy. By her best estimate close to five minutes had passed since she'd left the Doctor. Any longer now and he'd sonic the door open, without her having been able to distract the people inside.
"Come on, come on," she urged under her breath. She sighed in relief when the front door opened only to tense once again when she saw the guard returning alone.
"Master Tva'n has agreed to see you. Come in, I'll take you to him," he announced, unlocking the fence gate for her to step through.
She swallowed nervously, hesitating for a fraction of a second. She hadn't expected this – she'd thought the man would come outside to meet her rather than risk a potential investor discovering the truth behind his operation.
There was nothing to be done now, though. With a curt nod, she stepped through the gate, waiting for the guard to lock it behind her before following him through the door.
The building was dark and eerily still, their footsteps echoing loudly in the succession of empty rooms through which the man guided her. The whole place seemed completely deserted, in fact. The Doctor had been right, then – a clandestine operation such as this meant very few people involved.
"Here we are," the guard announced, leading her into yet another room.
That one wasn't empty, though. On the far side of the room was what looked like a security station, with the video feed of the security camera at the front of the building, as well as a number of others apparently spread out over a big part of the city. There were a few chairs and a desk in a corner, covered with sheets of paper, and to her right was a heavy door with a small key pad above its handle. The guard walked up to it and knocked.
"Master, she's here."
"Very good," came the answer from the other side. There was the sound of a chair scraping against the floor followed by a few rushed, muffled whispers. Then the door opened by a fraction and two men slipped through its opening before closing it behind them.
The first one stayed by the door, watching her as he idly fiddled with the weapon in his hands. The other walked towards her with a confident step and extended a hand for her to shake. That was Tva'n, then. He definitely didn't look like any artist she'd ever met, and she spared a moment to wonder how the merchants of the city had ever mistaken him for one. He was dressed in dull and sombre clothes, from his gloved hands to his heavy boots, his appearance so unlike the colorful look of the natives she'd seen so far. There was a hard and sour expression on his face, one that couldn't quite be hidden under the mask of affability he had no doubt put on for her.
"You can go back to your patrol outside, Gerick," he told the first guard, who nodded and left the room without a word. He turned towards her then and gave her a cold smile. "Welcome to my humble studio, Miss. Sorry about the excessive security, but one can never be too careful. I'm sure you understand. My name is Tva'n, designer of empathic art. And you are…?"
"Rose Tyler. As I told your guard, I saw your work earlier today, and I just had to come see you. I have a proposition for you that I'm sure will –"
"Please, just one thing before we talk business," he interrupted her with a raised hand. "I would like to hear your opinion on this piece, as the connoisseur that you no doubt are."
He took out a long, thick chain necklace from his pocket and held it out for her to see. It looked nothing like the delicate designs of the counterfeit jewelry she'd seen earlier, but she put on an approving smile despite her surprise.
"Oh, yes, I do like it. It looks very… commanding."
"Here, why don't you try it on – please, I insist," he added when she started to protest.
She complied and slid it around her neck, puzzled by this odd request. The metal seemed to come to life under her touch, its gleam shining brighter, and Rose frowned. If this was a fake, it was very well done.
"Ah, lovely, just lovely," Tva'n complimented with a satisfied nod. "And now – no, no, you can keep it on – now we can talk business."
He looked at her with a slight smirk on his face that he couldn't seem to suppress, and it deepened Rose's uneasiness. She had the feeling that something wasn't quite right, but she had no other choice than to stick with her plan. For all she knew, the Doctor had already opened the door without triggering any alarms, and was rescuing his other self at this very moment. She had to keep the two men's attention on her for as long as she could.
"Great. Here's my proposition: my native planet doesn't have that kind of art, and I would like to help you export your products there. I am sure this would –"
The necklace around her neck suddenly flashed mauve, and in a fraction of a second the guard had his weapon trained on her. Rose froze, surprised.
"Terribly sorry, Miss Tyler, but I'm afraid we won't be becoming partners," Tva'n sniggered, wicked amusement on his face. "Did you really think we wouldn't be suspicious of the second humanoid we met today, considering the first almost exposed us to the entire city? I'm not one to let a potentially lucrative opportunity pass me by, though, so I wanted to be certain you weren't telling the truth. And this is where this neat little trick comes into play."
He took a step towards her, taking hold of the chain with two fingers. Rose stiffened at his proximity, but the weapon pointed towards her kept her still.
"This is not one of mine, you see – it's genuine, and very useful, too. You see, it only responds to touch in two ways: it flashes white when the person holding it tells the truth and mauve when they lie. Practically infallible. We used it on your friend, too – that's how we knew he wasn't alone. He didn't –"
A loud alarm started blaring inside the building, and the two men started at the noise, looking away from her for a moment.
A moment was all she needed.
In the blink of an eye she had the Ethynian blaster out of her pocket and was pressing down on the trigger. There was no sound, only a sort of sudden pressure weighing down on her head and making her wince. The two men seemed to have it worse, however: they had recoiled away from her, their hands raised up to their heads in an attempt to protect themselves. They wobbled for a few seconds, hunched over, before finally collapsing on the floor, unconscious
Rose leaned against the wall, struggling to catch her breath. The Doctor had mentioned that this was a directional weapon, but no doubt the sound wave had rebounded off the walls of the small room. She hadn't taken the brunt of the blast, but it had certainly been enough to make her dizzy. She forced herself to take deep breaths as she tried to compose herself. The alarm was still blaring, the sound somewhat dimmer in her ears now. There was no doubt that the first guard, the one who had returned to the front door, was hearing it too and would be here soon. She needed to be ready for him, but she wasn't sure if she could take another indirect hit from the blaster.
She heard the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer and she pushed herself off the wall with a groan. She stood facing the doorway, the blaster held up in a shaky grip, but the face she saw appearing through the door made her shoulders slump in relief.
"Rose!"
The Doctor hurried to her and looped an arm around her waist, supporting her as her unsteady legs almost gave out. "Are you alright? I thought you were going to distract them outside, not …" He trailed off, looking around at the limp bodies on the floor and at the blaster hanging loosely in her hand. Concern filled his gaze as he lifted it back to hers. "Did you use that in here?"
"Yeah," she answered shakily. "The sound wave must have… bounced off the walls – I didn't think…"
"Oh, Rose, I'm sorry. I should have warned you. Here, just rest for a bit," he said as he wrapped his other arm around her, tugging her closer until her forehead rested against his chest. "How's your head?"
"Getting better," she mumbled into his coat, the sound of his heartbeats and the smell of him filling her senses and soothing her dizziness away. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling herself melt in his embrace. One of his hands started to stroke a lazy path up and down her back, and she sighed in contentment.
"Boss? What's going on? Everything alright?"
The shout originating from the direction of the front door brought her back to her senses. The alarm was still blaring inside the building, and the other guard would soon be upon them. The Doctor released her from his embrace, his eyes hard and determined.
"Just wait here. I'll bear it better than you," he told her, taking the blaster from her hand.
She wanted to protest but she knew he was right. She stood and watched as he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. She waited in suspense as the sound of running could be heard approaching, followed by the crash of a door being wrenched open, a shout of surprise, and then… nothing.
After a few seconds of agonizing silence she ran to the door and threw it open to see the Doctor standing a few meters away, his back to her, the body of the second guard lying unconscious on the floor in front of him. As he turned to face her he seemed to sway slightly on his feet, and it was her turn to rush to him.
"Doctor!"
She looped an arm around his waist as he wrapped one around her shoulders. He leaned against her for a moment, his eyes squeezed shut, before looking down at her with an unsteady smile.
"I'm fine, don't worry. I hadn't used one of these in a while, I'd forgotten how powerful they were. Sorry, just… give me a moment."
She nodded mutely, not trusting herself to speak. She knew it was neither the time nor the place, but she couldn't help it – having his arms around her for the second time in mere minutes was making her heart flutter and her breath catch in her throat. She looked away, hoping he wouldn't notice the color blooming on her cheeks.
They were both silent for a moment before he straightened up. She made to step away, but his hand drifted down to intertwine with hers, keeping her close.
"Let's find my idiot of a future self before these three regain consciousness, shall we?"
"That's a good plan," she chuckled softly. "And I think I know where he might be: there's a door with a key pad in the next room, and that's where Tva'n and the other guard were when I first walked in. My bet is that's where he is. They mentioned something about how they knew he wasn't alone – they must have gotten it out of him before coming to meet me."
"Yes, that seems likely. Let's have a look."
They walked back to the room they had just left, stepping over the bodies of the two men still unconscious on the floor to reach the heavy door she had noticed earlier.
Rose tried the door handle, not at all surprised when it didn't budge – it was very likely that it needed the correct sequence of numbers inputted on the pad in order to open. She raised an eyebrow in the Doctor's direction and he smiled, twirling the sonic between his fingers.
"Child's play."
He adjusted its settings and held it up to the pad, and seconds later the door unlocked with a small click. They share a look of anticipation before Rose pushed the door open, carefully looking over the threshold.
This was no doubt the room where Tva'n made his counterfeit pieces – it was large and filled with crates, its walls and counters lined with schematics and glowing chemicals. And in the middle of it all…
In the middle was her Doctor, blindfolded and gagged, sitting with his hands bound behind the back of a chair and his ankles tied to each leg.
"Doctor!"
In a second she was at his side, the blindfold slipped off his head and the gag removed from his mouth. He blinked up at her in surprise before a wide smile slowly spread over his face.
"Hello!"
"Hi!" she chuckled.
"Rose Tyler. I knew I could count on you! You're brilliant, you know that?"
"Save the compliments for later, we still have to get out of here," she answered, smiling brightly despite her words of warning. She lowered her gaze to his restraints, which were made of a material similar to a rope but that looked much stronger, and she frowned.
"Doctor, do you think the sonic can cut through this?"
"Yeah, it should work. If you look in my right pocket, you should –"
"Hmm, this looks like reinforced Xercanium rope. Yes, setting 211A should do the trick nicely, I think."
The Doctor tied to the chair cut himself off abruptly when he realized there was a second voice answering Rose's question. He looked at her with wide, disbelieving eyes and she answered with a sheepish smile, stepping aside so he could see his past self, fiddling with his sonic a few steps behind her.
"You! What are you doing here?"
"I believe the words you are looking for are thank you," retorted the other with a mocking bow as he approached. "In which case, please don't mention it. It was the least I could do – or, well, there's nothing else to do, really, when my future self is being so foolish."
"You – you –"
The Doctor on the chair sputtered as the other kneeled in front of him and set to work on the bindings around his legs.
"Stop moving so much, will you? Unless you want me to cut through your trousers at the same time."
"Doctor, behave", Rose chided, a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. "Both of you," she added pointedly when they both looked at her with similar expression of protest. She bit her lip to keep from laughing, watching as the Doctor on the chair glared in silence at the one kneeling in front of him.
She was distracted a few seconds later by a small noise coming from the other room, and she moved back to the doorway to investigate. Both men were still lying on the floor, but the guard had turned on his back, holding his hands to his head as he groaned feebly.
"They're waking up! We have to hurry!" Rose called back in alarm.
The rope around the Doctor's legs had fallen apart and the other Doctor had started working on the on binding his wrists, but at her warning he straightened up with a smirk.
"Right. Sorry, old chap, no time for the hands. We have to run!" he said, already moving towards the door.
"Hey, wait! Come back here!" the Doctor protested as he stood up awkwardly, his hands tied behind his back restraining his movements, but the other had already caught up with Rose. He watched with more than a little annoyance as his past self grabbed her hand with a familiarity he should by no means have and tugged her forward.
'Doctor, come on!" Rose called behind her shoulder, finally prompting him to move.
They dashed down the corridor, and the Doctor's jaw clenched as he saw his past self lean in to whisper something in Rose's ear. Her answering laughter, which was usually one of his favorite sounds in the world, set something stirring unpleasantly inside him. Somehow, he had the feeling that the sooner his past self left, the better.
And not just for the sake of his and Rose's timelines.
