Fat Chance
Part Two
Rose raced up the stairs and burst through the fire door onto the roof. During her few days at Adipose Industries she had noticed a window washing cradle making its way up and down the office block and that seemed like the ideal way to get a bird's eye view of what was going on. She ran across to where the metal box was stowed. It hung, suspended over the edge of the building, swaying gently. Rose took a few seconds to figure out where the control panel was and how it worked, but she was soon gliding silently down the outside of the dark building, her gaze fixed on a single window several stories below that glowed with light.
As the cradle drew level with the window, the door of the office within swung open and two heavily armed men dressed in security uniforms began to enter. Rose ducked down under the level of the window ledge and, searching frantically in her pockets, managed to find the small listening device that was standard issue from Torchwood. She dialled the proper frequency on her ear piece and hooked it firmly over her ear. Reaching up slowly she placed the round microphone onto the glass. As she waited for someone inside to speak she could not help thinking that the Doctor would probably have used his stethoscope and she had to stifle a giggle at the thought.
As soon as the microphone touched the window, Rose heard a harsh, female voice say, "...Because soon, there won't be anything left of you to care."
Her heart beat faster and she began to worry that whoever had been captured was in real danger. She was just contemplating revealing herself in an attempt to save the person, when she heard a voice that made her breathing lapse and her chest pound.
"That won't do anything to me; I haven't taken any Adipose tablets." Could it be? Was it really her Doctor?
The woman spoke again, "Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Doctor." Rose gasped, her eyes filling with tears. It was him.It had to be him. All this time, a year and a half of searching and she'd finally found him. The female continued as Rose stood up on shaky legs and risked peering into the window. "That's just where you're wrong."
Donna had followed the heavy footfalls of the armed goons along the winding corridors. She had no idea where she was and a little voice in the back of her head told her to 'Run', but she stayed low and kept moving. Finally she came to the outer door of a large office. She had worked in places like this before when she was temping: the 'Big Boss's' office. As the door to the inner office slammed shut she crept into the ante room and pressed her ear against the it.
"That's just where you're wrong."
Hardly daring to breathe Donna moved upward, hand over hand until she was staring through the porthole window. The scene in front of her almost made her cry out. It was only the sight of another, strangely familiar face, staring back at her from the window opposite that stopped her from barging into the room.
They gaped at each other a moment before Donna finally mouthed, "What are you doing here?"
Rose shook her head in amazement. That was the woman from the office, Health and Safety. "I was looking for him," she mouthed back, pointing first at her eyes and then through the window at the Doctor, who was smiling at Miss Foster, completely unawares.
Donna looked to where Rose was pointing. Her pulse suddenly increased as she saw the familiar messy hair and pin striped suit of the man she had been seeking for almost a year. Her jaw dropped open and she whispered, "Doctor?" She had to lean on the door jam for support so that she wouldn't fall over.
Her movement caught the Doctor's superior peripheral vision and he turned his head slightly, trying not to alert Miss Foster and her henchmen, who were standing behind him, to the arrival of someone else. Only his respiratory bypass stopped him from gasping in surprise at the face of Donna Noble framed in the window of the door. Miss Foster turned to reach for something on the desk and he couldn't help mouthing "What? WHAT?"
Donna was practically vibrating with excitement. It was all she could do to remain quiet as she mouthed, "Oh. My. God."
The Doctor was completely nonplussed. He glanced back at Miss Foster, who was pulling something out of a box behind the desk and had noticed nothing. Aware that any sudden move on his part would alert her, he simply raised his eyebrows and waggled them at her, silently shaping the word "How?"
Donna pointed to him, and then back to herself. Then she began to mouth her explanation, matching each word with actions. "Icame here, trouble, read about it, internet, I thought, trouble equals you! And this place is weird! Pills! So I hid. Back there. Crept along. Heard this lot. Looked. Saw her..." she pointed to the large window where Rose was watching their exchange with rapt fascination, her hands pressed against the glass.
The Doctor turned carefully to look over where Donna had indicated, saw Rose's face pressed against the window and then turned back. "Oh yes. Rose." he mouthed, oblivious to the implication of that statement.
Donna gasped, and quickly covered her mouth to muffle the sound. "ROSE?!?!?!" She mouthed incredulously. shifting her gaze between them. Rose's eyes were fixed on the Doctor's face and Donna could see the silvery shimmer of tear tracks glistening on her cheeks. "As in Rose, Rose?" If the circumstances had been different, Donna would have jumped up and down and squealed with excitement.
Donna watched as the Doctor's eyes became round as saucers and his mouth dropped into an expression of disbelief as he suddenly processed that she was not an illusion or a mirage, but was actually, physically HERE! He turned again to look at the person staring at him through the window. His hearts beat faster as he took in the tear stained face of Rose Tyler; here, in this Universe, only a pane of glass away. "Rose!" he exclaimed silently.
Miss Foster's sarcastic voice broke up the reunion. "Am I interrupting something?"
The Doctor looked up, nodded and said, "Actually, yes," at the same moment that he used the sonic to release his hands. "Run!" he shouted, racing past the stunned body guards. He almost slammed the door into Donna in his haste to get to Rose. Donna felt his familiar, cool hand slip into hers a moment before she was pulled in his wake, racing to keep up with his long legs as he took the stairs to the roof two at a time.
They burst onto the roof just as Rose was climbing out of the window washing cradle. The Doctor turned and directed the sonic screwdriver at the lock fusing it shut.
"That'll keep them busy for a while," He grinned at Donna, then turned to where Rose was standing, the wind whipping gently at her hair.
He stopped, frozen in place and Donna could see that he was trembling. She looked across at Rose and realised that they were still millions of miles apart in their heads, even if their physical bodies were so very close.
"Go on Spaceman," Donna whispered softly. When he didn't move she added, "Don't just stand there like a ninny. Go to her." She gave him a gentle shove.
The movement was all he needed. Suddenly he was running, running toward Rose, ROSE,the woman he'd thought he'd lost forever.
Her face lit up as he reached her and scooped her into his arms, pulling her into a massive hug. He spun her around as he held on to her more tightly than was actually necessary. "Oh, Rose," he murmured into her hair, his voice awash with wonder.
"Doctor?" Rose's voice shook with emotion and disbelief, it really was him, he really was here. "I've been looking everywhere for you, everywhere and everywhen..."
The Doctor shook his head. His Rose, he should have known she wouldn't stop until she found him again and now that she had, he was going to prove to her that she had made the right decision. Taking her face between his hands he moved forward. Rose felt his breath on her skin and closed her eyes, waiting for the touch of his lips, the thing she had craved for so very, very long.
There was a crash as the door behind Donna began to give way.
"You have got to be kidding me," Donna shouted as she began to run toward the shocked couple, still entwined in each others arms.
She grabbed their elbows and pushed them closer to the cradle. "Doctor, get your skinny arse moving," she ordered.
Rose chuckled as she was propelled forward. "Oh, I like her!"
They clambered up the stairs and into the precarious contraption, nearly tripping over each other in their haste. Rose stumbled and the Doctor caught her. As their bodies made contact he felt the urge to finish what they'd started a moment before.
An angry shriek from Miss Foster brought him back to his senses, however and he immediately sprang into action, aiming his sonic screwdriver at the lift controls. Donna pulled the lever and with a violent jerk, they began to descend from the roof, out of Miss Foster's grasp.
"Won't they just pull us back up again?" Rose asked, anxiety warring with excitement.
"No, no, no, cos I've locked the controls with a sonic cage. I'm the only one who can control it. Not unless she's got a sonic device of her own. Which is very unlikely." The Doctor smiled down at Rose, still amazed that she was actually here.
The goofy grin that spread across Donna's face was soon replaced by a frown, as the cradle gave a sudden lurch. Donna craned her neck to see Miss Foster standing at the edge of the building, pointing a slim black object with a glowing blue end at the pulley on the roof. "Oh right, VERY unlikely!"
Before she could say another word, the cable frayed and broke in a shower of sparks, then the cradle tumbled forwards. With a scream Rose's hand was torn from the Doctor's and he watched, frozen as she fell away from his grasp. 'No! No not again.' He shuddered as an involuntary memory flashed through his mind. Suddenly he was back at Canary Wharf, back in that cursed room, watching as his beloved Rose was violently sucked toward the void. His throat was tight as he thrust the memory from his consciousness and returned to the present. His hearts thundered in his chest as he threw himself to the edge of the cradle, certain that he would see Rose's body hundreds of feet below.
To his extreme relief, the street below was empty. Rose was dangling over the edge of the cradle, hanging on tightly to a cable, but still there, and not broken like he'd imagined.
"Rose, hold on," he called his voice incredibly calm considering the frantic panic that was seizing him internally.
"Look out," Donna shouted as Miss Foster aimed her sonic device again. She grabbed the sonic screwdriver from the Doctor's hand and used it to deflect Miss Foster's attack. Miss Foster yelped and the object, which Donna now recognized as a pen, slipped from her grasp, tumbling end over end towards her. Donna hooked one arm around the remaining cable and stretching out caught it easily. She looked down at the Doctor in triumph. "HA! You're so useless sometimes," she crowed. Donna looked back to see that all the Doctor's attention was centred on Rose, still dangling eight feet below them. 'Suppose I'd better get used to that,' she thought wryly.
"Oi, Spaceboy! You're not going to save Rose by staring at her. Help me get through this window." She gestured to the window in front of her that she was attempting to break into by pounding on it with a wrench.
The Doctor cast one last, reluctant, and incredibly sad, glance at Rose before taking the screwdriver from Donna. It was only then that he noticed the Sonic pen in her hand. "Where did you get that?"
"I caught it when she dropped it. No thanks to you. Now hurry, if we're going to save Rose we can't waste time." Donna aimed the sonic pen at the window but apart from a blue glow on the glass, nothing happened.
"Here, give me that." The Doctor snatched the pen from Donna's hand and cycled through the settings until he found the one he wanted. As he ran it around the window frame Donna heard a distinct click as the dead lock seal disengaged.
"There," the Doctor grinned, "Easy peasy."
"Well! Thank YOU Mr Clever Clogs." Donna tugged the window open with an exasperated shout just as Rose screamed from below them.
The Doctor crawled back toward the edge of the cradle, panic overtaking him again. "Hold on, Rose."
"I am," she shouted back.
Donna shook her head, and climbed through the window muttering, "Men! Why can they never multitask?" She sighed, and raced forward. Apparently it was going to be up to her to 'Save Rose'. Reaching the door she took a wary look in both directions and then ran quickly down the stairs. Rose was about two floors down, she reckoned, so after the second flight of stairs she darted into the first office she found. Donna sighed with relief as she spotted Rose's booted legs hanging within reach.
Donna pulled the window open and reached out, just managing to hook Rose's feet. Carefully she manoeuvred them onto the windowsill and then shouted up at Rose, "I've got you!" Donna heard the Doctor's voice as he begged her to be careful but Rose had worked at Torchwood long enough to be able to get out of difficult situations. Moments later she was swinging into the room through the window.
"Brilliant!" Donna exclaimed.
"Bronze medal, gymnastics," Rose gasped in explanation.
"Well, you're much more impressive than useless Martian boy out there." Donna jabbed her thumb toward the lift which was still dangling outside the window two stories above. She returned her attention to Rose and beamed. "Although, I figured you would be, from the way the Doctor was always mooning over you." She pulled Rose into a spontaneous hug. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here. I've been wanting to meet you forever."
"Have you been travelling with him all this time?" Rose asked as they broke apart.
A peculiar expression passed over Donna's face. "Not exactly."
"We met about a year ago, right afte--"
"After Canary Wharf." Rose nodded and a desolate pain shone in her eyes. Donna squeezed her hand. She had seen first hand the pain the Doctor had felt and knew that Rose had suffered too.
"I was beamed into the TARDIS by a giant spider," Donna raised her eyebrows, "normal stuff when you're around him, I suppose."
Rose smiled back, feeling a pang of jealously at the thought of the Doctor having adventures without her. "Well you must be good, he only takes the best."
Donna shrugged, more pleased than she let on at the compliment. "He was devastated by losing you. He would have...I had to stop him Rose..." Donna stuttered to a stop unsure whether she should tell Rose just how far the Doctor was willing to go.
Rose seemed to know what she meant. She took Donna's hand in hers and looked into her eyes. "Thank you, Donna. Thank you for being there for him when I cou--" Her voice broke and her eyes swam with tears.
"Hey you two." The Doctor poked his head through the door, causing both women to jump at the unexpected interruption. "Need I remind you we're in the middle of a crisis here?"
"Right." Rose grinned through her tears at the Doctor. Wiping her hand across her eyes she reached for Donna's hand, squeezing it hard and laughed,
"RUN!"
To Be Continued