Chapter Three

Rose groaned inwardly when four pairs of eyes bored into her. She should have known by now to keep her mouth shut.

"Well?" Councilor Thanis said, "how do you know about the TARDIS?"

Rose debated on whether she should tell them the truth. Would they even believe it?

"Out with it!" Thanis said, when Rose didn't respond, "are you working for the Doctor?"

"N…No, I'm not," Rose sputtered out.

"Then how do you know about the TARDIS?"

Rose shifted uneasily while she tried to think up a plausible answer.

"Rose Tyler is an expert on alien civilizations. I believe it is her job to know about things like this TARDIS," Ianto said.

Rose stared at him, thanking God that he had spoken up. She felt like throwing her arms around him and kissing him for that.

"Um…yeah," Rose added, "I've studied all kinds of alien cultures and I've come across mentions of the TARDIS before. I remembered that it was an acronym that stood for Time And Relative Dimension In Space."

The Councilors looked at each other.

"So you know nothing about this Doctor?" Thanis asked.

"Nothing about him personally. I know some basic facts about the Time Lords and that's it," Rose replied.

She paused, praying that her answer was convincing enough. She let out a sigh of relief when Thanis nodded and continued.

"Anyway," he said, "that is precisely what it means. It is a way for our people to travel through time and space and normally we use it to observe history, but the Doctor uses it for his own evil ends. We have had to send several Time Lords back into history to fix the damage that he has caused. We thought we were finally rid of him, but as I said, someone helped him escape from Gallifrey and we are sure he is hiding here on Earth. We would like permission to search for him and we would like your assistance. The Doctor is dangerous and we need all the help we can get."

"Torchwood would be glad to assist you. I will put several of my men at your disposal and of course, Rose will be happy to help as well."

He gave her a pointed look. For once, Rose didn't mind being given the extra work.

"I will help in any way I can," she said.

The Councilors nodded.

"Thank you. Now we must bid you farewell. We need to go back and report to our superiors, so we can begin the search. Time is of the essence and every moment we waste means the Doctor has more of a head start. He must be found before he causes irreparable harm."

The Councilors rose and shook Ianto and Rose's hand.

"We shall meet back here in the morning. In the meantime, if you see the Doctor, do not approach him by yourself. He will not hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his way."

Ianto nodded. They stepped aside, as the delegation went past them.

"If you have any plans, cancel them," he said to Rose, "this search takes priority over all your other work or social functions."

Rose nodded. She watched, as Ianto followed the delegation out the door.

"Oh Doctor, I hope to God this is all just a misunderstanding," she murmured, "I'd hate to find you again after all this time and find out you're nothing but a psychopathic monster."

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(Meanwhile…in another universe….)

"There, that oughta hold me for awhile," The Doctor muttered, as he dropped a heavy book on one of the tables in the TARDIS library.

Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out his glasses and put them on. Settling down in the chair, he opened up the book and coughed softly when dust flew into the air. Putting his elbow on the table, he rested his chin in the palm of his head as he began to read. He had gotten a few pages in when he suddenly heard someone clearing their throat. He looked up and saw Martha standing in front of him.

"Um…sorry, I didn't mean to disturb ya," she said, sheepishly," um…I was just wondering where the kitchen was again?"

"Go down the hall, turn right and it's the third door on the left," he said, gesturing to the door.

Martha nodded. She hesitated a moment and then inched around the table. The Doctor stiffened when he felt her come up behind him and rest a hand on his shoulder.

"Whatcha reading?" he heard her ask.

"It's a history of the Dogon race," he replied.

"Dogons? What are they like?" Martha asked.

The Doctor sighed. Martha meant well, but sometimes, he wished to be alone with his books and his thoughts.

Rose would know. He thought to himself. She knew when I was in here that I was not to be disturbed.

He chided himself. Martha was only asking where the kitchen was. Still, he wished he had kept to his promise to take her on one trip and one trip only. He was beginning to resent her presence and her not so subtle attempts to flirt with him. He glanced over at the hand on his shoulder and resisted the urge to fling it away.

Now, because of her and her stubborn insistence on knowing everything about me I've ended up telling her more about me than I wanted her to know. I should have just left her sitting there on New Earth. It was only one trip. Just one trip. Why didn't I drop her off after we went to 1599? Why did I have to take her into the future? Why can't I just resist the urge to take people along with me everywhere I go?

Because you're afraid of being alone.

But I am not alone. Boe said so.

That wasn't what he meant. He wasn't talking about another Time Lord. If any Time Lords were alive, you would know it; wouldn't you?

"Doctor?"

The Doctor was jolted from his thoughts. He looked up at Martha, who was staring down at him with a concerned look on her face.

"You okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just…there's a lot I have on my mind, Martha, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd just leave me alone for awhile."

He smiled at her.

"I'll tell you about the Dogons later, I promise. But, right now, I need some alone time," he said, gently.

"Okay," Martha said nodding, "I'll go get myself a snack, then."

The Doctor nodded.

"You want something?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine. Just go ahead and help yourself," He said, politely.

He stiffened again when Martha squeezed his shoulder and put her hand back down at her side. He sighed, as he watched Martha go back around the table and out the door.

"Dammit, I can't keep this up. One more trip and then that's it. She's going back to her time," he muttered.

Oh, who are you kidding? You need her. You need someone with you to keep you company and keep you from going off the deep end just like Donna said. You aren't about to drop her off.

The Doctor shook the thoughts out of his head and went back to reading. As he read, he suddenly found that he was reading the same sentence over and over about ten times before he would go on to the next one. Finally, he gave up and slammed the book shut.

"Bollocks! I can't keep this up! I have to stop thinking of her!" he muttered to himself, "she's gone! It's over! She's probably moved on now! Probably found a boyfriend, or she's back with Mickey now. She's happy! She didn't need you, just like Sarah Jane didn't need you. Sarah Jane moved on. She probably moved on. Now it's time for you to move on as well."

He shook his head.

"Except…I don't want to move on," he murmured to himself, "I want her here with me. I wanted her with me on the moon and when we met Shakespeare and when we went back to New Earth. I keep bringing her up around Martha and I know how rude and thoughtless it sounds, but I don't care. I love Rose and I want her here instead of Martha."

A tear fell down his cheek.

"Oh God," he moaned, "why didn't I follow my first instinct and let go when Rose did? Why didn't I just follow her into the void? Then, Pete would have caught us and we both would have ended up on the same side. I would have been without my TARDIS, but I would give it up in an instant just to be able to hold her in my arms again."

He let out a sob.

"Oh, Rose. Please don't forget about me. I'll try to find a way back to you, somehow. If it takes me a thousand years, I will figure out how to cross the void and get you back. Just have faith in me, please."

Lowering his face into his hands, he wept softly while Martha watched, anguished, from the doorway.