Hello again! Same as before enjoy, review etc.
Just a few quick notes : I wasn't sure how to make the black hole dissappear so I came up with a lame excuse I know sorry, just go with it. TheDoctor and Rose may seem a little OC but that's because they've gone through a trauma. So.
Disclaimer – Not mine in anyway shape or form Doctor Who and related characters belong to the BBC/ Russell T. D
Chapter Two: Rude Awakenings
The Doctor saw fire. Red hot and cracking. He could smell the acrid smoke, the stench of burning rubble and flesh. The small woman was in the distance crying bleeding as the Darleks glided towards her.
"Doctor?" He scrunched his eyebrows. That wasn't right – she never saw him, never said his name.
"Doctor!!" That voice again he knew it somewhere; feminine with a thick accent. He was suddenly in the dark flailing uncertain of everything. He jerked forward with a cry.
His throat felt like sand paper. He was breathing raggedly and his eyes when opened couldn't focus on anything, the light was all he could make out.
Memory rushed to him as he blinked awake. There was Rose blonde hair falling around her heat shaped face, her lips were pursed as she frowned at him.
His hearts were momentarily weightless before thinking about it he grabbed holding her tightly to his chest. He gave a choked gasp of " Rose!" as he stroked the fine locks of her hair.
She gripped him back with equal ferocity "Doctor." She said quietly from his shoulder. For a moment that's all they can do cling to each other in comfort and relief, trying to avoid thinking of their situation. Slowly hesitantly they pull apart but keep close arms touching each other.
They are sat on an old chair a bit like a dentist chair but flatter reused obviously. The room there in is small and made of metal with hardly any light to illuminate it. Not that there's much need all there was in the room was the chair and a metal table- with his suitcase placed on it. The Doctor stared at it his brown eyes darkening for a fraction of a second as he feels an unpleasant jolt in the stomach.
Turning his head his hair flopping he could see Rose just sat quietly staring at him worriedly.
"What happened?" He asked. His voice sounded horribly and gravelled Rose leant over and passed him a bottle of water that tasted slightly stale but wonderful nonetheless.
While he gulped down eagerly Rose started to talk.
"We were on the ship. I didn't want to go without you but they made me you know." She stated angrily eyes flashing, he nodded silently secretly relieved that they had protected her. If they hadn't she could …no that wasn't the thought for now, she was alive and safe.
"We were flying through the gravity funnel watching the planet go into the black hole and Toby was still the Beast. Those markings on his face and eyes red." Her she drew in a breath; she'd turned to look down to the floor her hair covering her face. The Doctor felt a longing to move forward and tuck them behind her ears; instead he gripped her arms in reassurance.
"I blew the bolt gun at the window and I undid his belt. He went just…sucked out into the black hole." She finished her voice quiet. The Doctor dropped the empty bottle on the floor and gently took her hands in his own. He could feel the softness of her skin, he could feel her heartbeat in her hands her life force, if that's what it could be called. Her light. She curled her fingers around his and looked up al most shyly at him.
"You did what you had to do" He stated gently but firmly his voice losing its hoarseness. Rose shook her head her eyes had a sharp glint for a second before it vanished.
"I know I did. It's just what if I killed Toby too? Could we have saved him?" She only half asked leaning forward to the Doctor for comfort.
He squeezed her tightly "Toby wasn't there anymore. The Beast had taken over completely. He was already dead." He wasn't completely sure that's true, he could tell Rose didn't believe it but it was something that they could believe was true.
Rose flashed a wan smile and his hearts beated just a second faster but Rose didn't seem to notice but carried on with her story.
"Well we were trying to get the shield down when I saw you lying there. I don't know how there was this light or something. That suit stood out. They told me you wos dead but I knew you couldn't be. We were falling down with the planet so we dropped this metal rope from the cargo hold way down the rocket. We hauled you up to the ship. You had that suitcase thing with you." She cast a side long glance at the tatted case and the Doctor unwillingly followed it.
"You looked so pale; we put you in the lower part of the ship. We're in the living bit, for long travel you know." She sounded deliberately light but there was a quiver in her voice. "We thought we were going in but the black hole sort of – swallowed itself up. Like when you pull the plug and all the water goes down the sink." She looked at him and before he had time to react she flung herself into his chest and was crying her eyes out.
"I thought you were dead! All alone on that stupid planet and then… and then I find yeh and your so pale…so pale and hardly breathing. You wouldn't wake up." Her voice was drowned out by her sobs and he clung to her desperately drawing comfort from her closeness.
After she had cried herself out she pulled back red not only with tears but also embarrassment. Her eyes were red and swollen but peering closer he could see her makeup had long since gone and there were heavy bags under her eyes.
"How long was I out for?" He asked softly he felt limp still but he refused to let go of Roses warm velvety hand. He couldn't let her go when for a moment he was almost positive he would never see her again. When he heard the sound of the rocket taking off he had never felt so alone, in that darkness.
"A week" She said quietly "We're still on the ship. We're erm heading for the nearest planet. It's only another week away." She said faintly her voice a little hollow.
The Doctor sat for a moment horror on his features for a second it had disappeared when he realised that Rose was fine, now it came back like a wall hitting him. His TARDIS, his beautiful magnificent TARDIS was –gone. Sucked into a black hole. He had no home anymore. No more travel. He was marooned to the slow path. If he wanted to go to the nearest planet it would take two minutes now he'd have to wait a week in tiny cramped conditions. And what of Rose! Poor Rose. He'd stranded her millions of miles from Earth, centuries away from her own time. He could feel this gnawing guilt in the pit of his stomach writhing inside him.
Before he could get lost in this anguish Rose interrupted him.
"Doctor what happened?" She blurted out obviously having been dying to ask him for a while. Her hand was tense in his own and he found himself fascinated suddenly avoiding her gaze.
"What happened we couldn't get in touch with you! How did you get on the planets surface? What's with the suitcase thing? Where did you get it? What is it?" She said in a rush of breathe leaning forward.
The Doctor glanced cautiously over his suitcase before launching into his story. He talked of the dark, the cave. How he'd walked down the pit and glossed over how he called out for her before he fell.
"You fell." She said in a stony hollow voice that he knew meant she was angry with him. "You ….you are mental!" She said shaking her head. "You could have been hurt." She said voice heavy laden with anxiousness.
"I'm fine though! No harm done!" He said giving her a characteristic wide smile flashing his teeth. "Anyway at the bottom found I could breathe pockets of air that stabilized my fall. I found the body of the beast." That was too easy an explanation but unusually he was in no mood to natter on as usual. He could feel a hole in his head that the TARDIS had once inhabited.
He gave her a brief overview extremely brief as he completely missed his impassioned speech about how important Rose was and how much he believed in her, just the thought sent heat to his face. He explained how he had released the beast from his prison and ran to the surface, in the wind falling into the black hole, how the rope had fallen on him.
There was a pause while Rose knotted her brows.
" Yeah, but what about the suitcase thing? You were holding onto it really tightly. What is it?" She asked full of cautious curiosity.
The Doctor mumbled unintelligibly and tried to tug his hand free but Rose held him in an iron grasp looking angry at the lack of answers.
"I found it alright." He said sullenly not wanting to reveal anymore. Rose gave a sceptical snort.
"A suitcase outside on the planet?" She scoffed but seriously gazed at him. "What is it really?" Her tone was soft but the Doctor suddenly felt like she pushing him too hard into this, he was shaken, out of sorts and feeling vaguely ill.
"The TARDIS left it for me alright, she ejected my stuff onto the surface of the planet and that's the only thing I could fine alright." He snarled at her pulling forcefully away. Rose looked hurt before it melted into understanding compassion; she smiled wanly and squeezed his hand supportively. He felt like the lowest scum in the universe and wondered if there was a stone he could crawl under.
"The TARDIS gave you a gift?" She said softly she blew a breath out and the warmth wafted on his skin. "It's really gone then?" She asked. The Doctor felt like he was drowning suddenly, it had been so long since he'd felt completely lost. He was surprised to feel his eyes prickle with unshed tears. The TARDIS had been his one constant in 900 years and now it was just – gone. Not there, vanished, no longer present. Dead.
Then Rose asked gently "But what's in it?" The Doctor suddenly felt rage boil in his blood at all these questions couldn't she see that he didn't want to talk about it.
"IT'S NOTHING ALRIGHT!" He shouted out yanking himself away from her. Rose sat there for a second shocked never having the Doctor act that way before.
She stood up eyes flashing dangerously and spoke her voice deliberately measured to keep her anger under control.
"Don't shout at me! I have been worried to death about yeh! I've sat by your bed for a week! And you yell at me!" At this point her voice cracks and she's shouting and crying or something in between. "I've done nothing wrong! All I asked was what was in that box!" He knew some where in his muddled that she was right but that feeling of drowning was back.
"I know alright!" He shouted suddenly standing up and facing her eyes wide and wild. "It's family possessions alright! " He spat out bitterly. "The only home I have is lost, and you're whining about the box! The TARDIS left me family stuff! Happy now!" He exclaimed waving his arms about feeling like he was freefalling and about to be ill.
"I know you haven't done anything wrong but my HOME is GONE!" He cried out tears falling.
He breathed heavily drained and horrified at his outburst. He'd never shouted like that, especially to Rose. Tears were falling and had she worn make up it would have dribbled every where.
"Mine too." She said wetly the Doctors anger faded in an instant. Holding out his arms he pulled her into a hug as she cried into his shoulder, he clung just as desperately to her.
Tired and deflated they collapsed down onto the chair clinging desperately crying in mourning for there situation, no TARDIS, no home ever again. But not alone. They stayed supporting each other until the tears had ran out leaving exhaustion in its wake.
They pulled apart and the Doctor feeling ashamed looked over to Rose, splotchy red rimmed and in need of a shower he'd never seen anything as beautiful and he felt a lurch in his chest again, a feeling he was getting to grow rather fond of.
They stared for a moment before they began to shakily laugh together.
"We must look a right pair." Rose said trailing away. The Doctor looked at her his brown eyes sorrowful and guilt ridden.
"Rose" He started shakily "I'm so sorry…I" He started unable to think how he could apologise for all that had happened. Rose smiled at him killing of any plea for forgiveness.
"It doesn't matter, we were both shook up. I'm sorry too" She said full of such forgiveness he could have burst. Before he'd realised what he was doing he'd leant forward slowly and gently kissed her head. The Doctor was suddenly aware of the blood in his lips pulsing, Rose shuffled red faced.
They swivelled so that they were side by side on the chair facing the wall, there hands reached out and found each other, clung to each other. Rose tilted her head so it rested on his shoulder his brown hair just above her head.
"What are we gonna do?" She asked again. It seemed more real now than before. More scary and looming.
The Doctor stared at his suitcase his mind numb of thought. "I guess we…go to the nearest planet and…find a home for a bit." His nervousness seemed to shine through because Rose gave his hand a needed squeeze in reassurance.
"We'll stick together right?" She asked sounding momentarily uncertain.
He answered deliberately and gravely. "I won't leave you ever." Meaning every word with both hearts.
It was a comforting thought that even though he'd lost everything he'd ever had, gotten Rose in the biggest amount of trouble ever; it was comforting to think that at least they still had each other. That made the situation suddenly much more bearable.