Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Chapter 4

The next morning, it was Rose who woke up first. Still naked, she was curled up under the blankets next to the Doctor, who was still fast asleep.

Lying around in bed once she was awake had never really been Rose's thing (except when she was younger and was supposed to be getting up and going to school), so for a moment she thought vaguely about maybe getting up, but it was never really a serious thought. She was lying next to the man she loved, his arm across her waist (so she couldn't go anywhere even if she wanted to), and for once he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. This was the first night in weeks when he hadn't had a nightmare, so she wasn't about to disturb him.

Instead, Rose just stayed where she was and looked at the Doctor, thinking about lucky she was to have him. She brushed a hand over his hair and then traced the back of her fingers down his now-scarred face. She'd become almost used to the scar that ran down his face by now. But it sometimes still upset her when she'd been looking though the photos of the good days, before they'd been separated, before he'd been scarred.

The Doctor still never talked about anything that'd happened in those 57 years… And it was still so difficult for her to get her head around the fact that he'd been alone for so long. It broke Rose's heart even just to think of it. She hoped that maybe someday, and hopefully soon, he'd feel able to tell her about it—or at least some of it.

Brushing her fingers against his cheek again, Rose's mind switched tracks, and she wondered why the Doctor always had such cool skin. It was probably a Time Lord thing; maybe she'd ask him about it sometime.

As she was looking at the Doctor, she noticed that because they'd been so wrapped up in each other (literally and figuratively) when they'd got back to the TARDIS yesterday, he'd never washed the blood off his face, or cleaned the wound. The blood had dried onto his skin. But fortunately it didn't look as though the wound was infected at all, in fact it looked as though it was healing quite nicely by itself. However, Rose made a mental note that later she'd make the Doctor put some antiseptic or something on it, just to be sure. That was what her mum always said to do.

Thinking of her mum reminded Rose of one thing that she definitely was not looking forward to. She was going to have to tell her mum about herself and the Doctor. And while her mum had warmed to the Doctor over time, Rose still didn't think that she'd be particularly pleased about it. In fact, Rose was thinking that maybe she'd better tell her mum on her own, then she'd fear for the Doctor's safety a bit less. She had a feeling that her mum would whack the Doctor so hard that he'd think that she had gotten hold of a sledgehammer!

But Rose really didn't want to think about that just now. So she snuggled up to the Doctor, and closed her eyes again. She was just glad that he was there with her.

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And so, this was how time passed. Rose and the Doctor would have adventures and go exploring during the day, usually managing to get in trouble and have to run for their lives at some point, and then curl up together at night.

During this time, it had seemed to Rose that maybe the Doctor was getting better. He was having far less migraines and nosebleeds, and he wasn't accidentally blowing things up, which was always a bonus. He was also having fewer nightmares, and it seemed to Rose that he was generally more lively and energetic.

But little did Rose know, that was only the calm before the storm.

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Sure enough, several weeks later, late one night, Rose was lying in bed next to the Doctor. He was already asleep. But in what seemed to be becoming a pattern recently, Rose was restless and couldn't sleep. Eventually, after counting sheep for what felt like hours, she drifted off. But her sleep was uneasy, and full of strange dreams…

She was standing at the top of a hill, looking down at a spectacular city. All of the buildings were made with white bricks and had flat roofs. But there was one exception to the general rule. One of the buildings, one that was much larger than any of the others, had a huge, golden domed roof. The sunlight reflected off of the magnificent roof making it look as if it were the building that were shining.

Feeling the sun, warm on her face, Rose looked to the sky. There was barely a cloud in sight, and she instantly became certain that this was nowhere on earth. Instead of just the one golden sun shining in the sky, warming the planet, there were three, of varying sizes.

Rose looked around her, and saw that the hill she was standing at the top of, was in fact a meadow. The grass was green, but not the same green as the kind on earth. It was more of a silvery green. The trees were the same. Behind her, Rose could see a forest, and flowers. As she watched, a soft breeze passed by her, rippling through the flowers. And as they were disturbed, dozens of beautiful butterfly-like creatures flew from where they'd been sitting on the petals, and took to the sky.

At this point, as she watched the butterflies fly down and over the city, it occurred to Rose that she'd never seen this planet before, and that her imagination was nowhere near active enough to create a place like this in her mind. So where had it come from?

But before she could think any further on the subject, the sky dimmed, and the bright sunlight was gone.

Rose looked back to the sky, and saw dark cloud spreading over the suns, blocking out their rays. Everywhere went very very still, and Rose got the feeling that the entire planet was holding it's breath, waiting for something. Then, through the unnatural stillness, the whole planet trembled, and she heard the first screams.

In shock, she whipped her gaze back to the city, and saw that every building in every street was ablaze. The screams rose in crescendo and volume, thousands of voices mixing in pain and terror. Within seconds the flames spread, until they reached far beyond the horizon, and Rose knew that the whole planet was burning. And still screaming.

But as the forest behind her burnt to a cinder, the grass at her feet was all in flames, and even as the very air that she breathed ignited and the atmosphere around the planet burned. Rose didn't feel the heat from the flames. Her skin didn't blister or peel, and her hair and clothes remained in tact. In fact, if it were possible, she found that she felt cold.

As she stood on the burning planet, tears running down her face as she listened to the screams that were now slowly going silent, all she felt physically was bitter cold. No, that wasn't all she felt, her wrists and ankles were sore, as if something had been rubbing against them for a long time. It would've made sense if it were only on her wrists, then she could've put it down to being handcuffed to a wall for several hours. But her ankles as well?

The flames around her were now dying down, to reveal a dead planet. No buildings, no plants, no colour. Nothing was left but rocks and dust. No signs of life, or any signs that this planet had ever supported life.

Then Rose felt a whole cavalcade of emotions that she was sure weren't her own. Despair. Grief. Anguish. And loneliness. She felt that she was the only one left. Everyone else had gone, and she was alone on this dead world with nothing but the ashes.

Rose found that even though she was the only one there, and the flames had gone, her body had gone into a state of alert. The hair on the back of her neck rose, her heartbeat increased and she felt completely on edge. Then, as if she were anticipating something coming, a wash of cold fear covered her. The kind of fear that made her feel sick and start shaking.

Suddenly, Rose's head was torn with the most intense pain she'd ever felt before in her life. It was excruciating. She couldn't think for the pain. Her vision went dark, all she could vaguely see were blurry shapes moving around. Was she not alone anymore? Had the Doctor come to save her?

But Rose couldn't think coherently anymore. The pain was agonising, and through the pain, she could feel her mind being invaded by something else. Something that she couldn't stop, however much she wanted to.

She clutched at her head in a futile attempt to make the pain go away. But it overcame her and she fell to the floor. Strangely enough, her only thought at that moment as she hit the floor was how much the dirt floor felt like cold stone beneath her.

Rose could hear someone screaming. It was somewhere close by her, and yet it seemed very far away. The sound became louder, until the very sky above her wavered, it too screaming in agony.

The pain vanished. Instantly Rose sat up. And woke with a start. But the screams continued. It was the Doctor.

In a panic, she looked over to him. He had both of his hands pressed against his head, and he was screaming. But it was definitely a scream of pain, not one of fear.

Desperately, Rose tried to pull the Doctor's hands away from his head, terrified that he was going to do himself an injury from all the pressure that he was putting there. She wouldn't be surprised if he got bruises there later. But her efforts were in vain. The Doctor was too strong, and she couldn't budge his hands an inch.

Giving up, she shook him by the shoulder and called, "Doctor! Doctor, wake up!"

He didn't wake, but remained fast asleep, trapped in his nightmare. And so, as the Doctor screamed, Rose did her best to wake him, and free him from the grips of the worst nightmare that she'd ever seen him have.

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A/N: Ok, finally I've finished this chapter! For some reason it took me a lot longer than I expected to. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't checked it properly, so please excuse any mistakes, or bits that don't make sense. And I'd like to apologise for the fact that I'm torturing the Doctor again… - runs and hides - please don't hurt me!

I'd just like to say that in the beginning bit, I know that Rose's thoughts flit around a bit, but when you're just thinking, you tend to do that, don't you? Also, the planet in the dream – I'm sure that you all know where it is… but I was completely making it up, having never seen any of the old Doctor Who's, also it's an idealised version (it's only a dream!)

Now, next time (hopefully) should be the Doctor's nightmare, which is kind of a memory too, so you'll find out some stuff. I'm hoping to update as soon as possible, because what with the finale of Torchwood, and the next series of Doctor Who, this story is going to become more and more AU… But unfortunately I also have coursework deadlines, exams, normal homework and just everything piling up… but I'll do my best to do some of this in between school work.

Wow, I've talked for way too long, this message is nearly as long as the chapter itself! So, thanks for all your lovely reviews so far, and please review this chapter!