The Great and Powerful IV
Hidden Rose
By the Plot Thinens
Rose heard a humming. That was it, just humming. It wasn't an annoying humming, it was actually sort of comforting, but where was it coming from? It was so dark and she felt heavy. Well her eyelids felt heavy. With great effort she opened them to be greeted by a soft blue green light in a relatively dark room. In fact the light was focused around her. She was surrounded by it. The second her eyes focused she felt a drug induced headache take over her faculties. Where was she? From the best she could tell it looked like some kind of medical room. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was John in an argument…with Time Lords…Dear god, was he alright? The last bit of information she remembered finally clicked. She found out that John was a Time Lord. She was being held captive by Time Lords. She tried to get up but found that she couldn't, the light wouldn't let her move off the bed she was on. She placed her hand up against the light and realized she was inside a green blue orb like force field. She was trapped in this very soothing prison. As if she wasn't full of anxiety enough she heard shouting voices from the open door and down the corridor in front of her.
"So where is this 'life saver' of yours? And why did you bring it back with you? Those things aren't suppose to be anywhere near our capitol and you brought it home like a stray cat. You should have just given it some money and left. Get it out of here, before I decide it's seen too much and have it thrown in prison for being in our capitol in the first place!" Roared a voice down the corridor. Rose did not like how this was going, who was that shouting and to who were they shouting?
"First off IT is a she. She got injured saving me several times last night from an enemy that she single handedly defeated. Let her rest and you get out of my TARDIS. She's no danger to anyone in here and I'll take her back home as soon as she feels fit to leave." Yelled back a voice, that suspiciously sounded a lot like John, and he was defending her from whoever he was 'talking' to. That made her feel a little better, but she still didn't know what was going to happen to her next.
"If it's no danger than why aren't you letting us identify and process it? I didn't bring my security officers here just to cringe at your interior design choices with this hunk of bolts you call a TARDIS!" Growled the same curt voice again. TARDIS, was she inside John's TARDIS? Well that would make sense. She must be in a room in the TARDIS. It was bigger on the inside so maybe the two of them were talking in that main console room. Well at least she knew where she was, but with a ship that could teleport anywhere, where was more of a general concept. She was inside a Time Lord mobile home, essentially.
Anyway maybe it was better that she couldn't get up. Rose seemed too weak to get up anyway. But the thought of being processed by Time Lords was making her nervous to say the least. She then heard an angry voice signal two people to find her against John's wishes. She watched in horror as the shadows of two unfriendly looking men who she assumed were also Time Lords got closer to her only to keep walking the opposite direction, not once, but nine times. It was almost beyond describing how they were being led around in avoidance of her. At first it played at her nerves but then their bad directions became almost comical. They sounded so close she would have thought them fools to not spot the room she was in by now. She then heard John's laughter as he said,
"They could march around here for days and never find her. If my TARDIS isn't ready to give up the secret of her location then you won't find her. Simple as that. Now oh, 'Great and Powerful one' I believe that you have other business to attend to besides screening your son's guests. I'm a big boy now and I can handle keeping company without you."
"This isn't over, son. You and your pets. We are going to talk about this again." Hissed the loathsome voice, that Rose could only now assume was John's father. Her memories were fuzzy, but she seemed to remember something said earlier in that underground chamber about Rassilon. Could she ask about that? Normally she wouldn't have thought twice asking John a question, but obviously the rules had change and she was a prisoner too. The sound of retreating feet where heard through the corridor and Rose let out a sigh of relief that most of the Time Lords seemed to have left.
"Thanks for stopping by, Dad, bring biscuits next time and we'll have tea." Smirked John's voice as she heard wooden doors slam shut. Rose felt her head grow heavy along with her lids again and fell asleep.
Rose eyes opened again in what seemed to be minutes but was actually several hours later. The only thing different this time was that she was not alone with the soothing humming, John was sitting on a stool next to her. Rose was startled by the company and tried to jerk back only to find that she was still in the force field.
"What do you want…with me?!" Rose shouted the best she could in a weakened voice. The Doctor jerked up equally as startled and went for a control on a panel next to the bed.
"Sorry, relax, Rose. You are inside a healing pod. You had a concussion and the pod is healing you. Well it's also the equivalent of your IV drip too, so you might need to use the bathroom soon as well." The Doctor rambled as he checked to see if her injuries were healed yet. Rose did not really calm down.
"Well major damage seems to be all healed, though you might have a bit of a headache when I drop the force field. I can give you something for the pain though." The Doctor continued as he dropped the force field. Rose was relieved by that because now she could sit up. She sat up and pulled her legs in as if to form her own shield from him. They were quiet for a moment until the Doctor said,
"I was going to tell you…eventually…I just thought that you finding out I was an alien was enough new information without finding out that I'm a member of the species that enslaved your species." The Doctor looked anywhere but at Rose especially when he said the last part. He was so scared to see the look of fear and or hatred that might be there.
"I woke up earlier and I was alone, but I heard a man's voice, you called him 'Dad'. He didn't seem too thrilled about me." Rose stated. The Doctor let out a pained breath,
"Time Lords rarely are thrilled about humans…But not me! I love humans. I was a bit of a student of Earth and its culture before my people decided that they were going to play lord and master of the universe. My Dad's idea. I was a bit out voted at the time." Rose's head was still a bit confused from the previous night. Okay, John is a time Lord, so his Dad was a Time Lord too, naturally and is in a position of authority.
"Wait, who is your dad? All I heard was his voice. I didn't see him" Questioned Rose, wanting to know exactly who was speaking so ill of her.
"My dad is Rassilon. I'm the sole heir of Rassilon." Explained the Doctor only glancing at Rose because he was sure she'd want nothing to do with him after learning that. Rose was stunned by this information. The gravity of the situation hit her again and how much trouble she stood to bring down on herself.
"So I've been dating not just a Time Lord, but the bloody Prince of them?" Rose asked in astonishment.
"Just a bit, yeah…" Answered the Doctor and man was the mood too serious, hoping against hope that she would find it funny the Doctor then joked though he was kind of serious,
"So we are actually dating, then?" Despite herself Rose did laugh and boy did that help. It then turned in to being indistinguishable from a laugh or a cry.
"I'm sorry I...I, it just would be such a funny situation to find yourself in if I wasn't a bit scared stiff by the concept. And you're right. Getting use to you being an alien was a big adjustment for me. I mean I saw that sort of working, but this… You're a Time Lord and I'm a human…would that even work out? Could that work out, I'm pretty sure there is a no fraternizing policy based on your Dad's reaction to me just being near you." Rose grabbled. Rose then was done finding humor in the situation and looked John in the eyes before punching his arm.
"You lied to me!" She growled. John pulled back in shock and a little pain at the sudden assault.
"Ow, oi." Whined the Doctor. Rose was still glaring at him.
"Be fair, Rose. What would you have done in my situation? I was going to tell you everything eventually, I was just afraid that you wouldn't be able to see past what I was. I wanted you to see me for who I was first." Explained Doctor. Rose took a deep breath and as mad as she was at John, she couldn't argue the point.
"I guess I would have done the same, John. But this is a lot to take in. One minute we're a normal man and woman dating and the next we're being attacked by aliens. Turns out you are also an alien. We stop an alien invasion. And then to top it all off I find out you're the Time Lord Royalty. Sounds like something out of a cheap novel or movie than reality." Noted Rose. The Doctor tugged on his rather large left ear and declared sheepishly,
"Yeah, but we did it so fantastically didn't we? We saved the world together, yeah?" Rose found his sheepish manner funny and placed her palms on her face and then looked at the Doctor.
"You mean 'I' saved the World. You'd be dead without me." Announced Rose and the Doctor nodded,
"Yes, I would be. You're my life saver. And that being the case I owe you my life, Rose Tyler." The Doctor then fidgeted a bit in his seat and asked,
"Rose, is there any way we can still be like we were? I mean I know it's impossible to be exactly like things were before. But I value our relationship and friendship and I'd like to preserve it if possible. Nothing has made me happier in so long as your company has." Rose stared at the Doctor. She had never expected or even thought she would ever find herself in such a position. Here she found herself in a relationship with a Time Lord alien prince that owed her his life and was begging her to keep seeing him. She had been falling for John when she thought he was human, she had more or less still felt that way when she learned that he was an alien, she would have just needed time to adjust her expectation of their relationship as far as that had been concerned. But this was something all together different. Her two species only barely tolerated each other. If she were to continue this relationship then what would her people think? Hell, what would her mother think? Her mother certainly didn't like space aliens. People would call her names like species traitor or worse for just befriending a Time Lord, let alone pursuing a romantic relationship. But on the other hand wouldn't it be a good way to open a bridge between the two species. She couldn't see the relationship going too far, not with the way his father seemed to view humans. But the Doctor didn't seem to listen to his father, though how much rebellion was he actually capable of doing? Could he defy his father's wishes and do whatever he wanted unmolested? Could he protect her from the other Time Lords? Could she protect him from the humans? It was all dangerous and terribly unpredictable. That was the logically argument, now came what did she feel. She had been willing to accept him as an alien, did it matter the species? She didn't like to think herself a bigot. If she backed out now, he'd be disappointed but understand where she stood. She didn't really have much power in the situation. Well she did in one way. She had the power to break John's heart and her own. The sane person would run away and never look back, but Rose had never remembered a happier time than her times with John. And that was the rub. Despite it all, she enjoyed John's company and she had wanted to kiss him. Did she still want to? While lying to her had been a turn off, saving her from members of his species, was definitely a bonus point. Rose let out an exasperated sigh, she still cared for him. And against all common sense she still wanted to be with him. And it probably was going to blow up in their faces in the end and she'd be heartbroken, or worse, but some people she guessed were worth getting your heart broken over.
"I still like you, John…"She said so low he had to ask her to repeat herself.
"I still like you, John. In spite of this 'huge bomb' you dropped on me, I guess if I put it all aside and I'm just looking at you…I still want to date you. But is that going to work? Will we be allowed?" She questioned. Being honest the Doctor replied,
"We probably won't be allowed, but as you might have noticed we have a TARDIS at our disposal. We can go anywhere and do anything. Rose, I can't guarantee that I can keep us safe always, but I will do my best and fight for you. I've been lonely for so long, Rose and when I'm with you I'm not."
"I never feel lonely when I'm with your either…Alright then, I'll fight for you too, but no secrets between us anymore. And if that's the case then we should reintroduce ourselves. Hello, my name is Rose Tyler and I'm a human from London." Rose smiled and put out her hand to shake. The Doctor took her hand and grinned back,
"And I'm Theta Son of Rassilon, but the name I've chosen for myself is The Doctor, though I sometimes go by John Smith."
"Nice to meet you, Doctor John Smith." Giggled Rose, this was an odd relationship indeed.
"Please, call me, Doctor." The Doctor grinned back and for that moment at least things were right in their world.
"This place really is huge!" Whistled Rose as soon as she saw the pool, which, by the way, was in the library. She had been impressed by the kitchen, sitting room, and media room, but the library took the cake.
"If you had a farm you could live in here and never leave!" Marveled Rose, to which the Doctor noted that he did have his own garden to eat from when he felt like it. The Doctor had been enjoying Rose's extended company for quite a few hours now. It had been so long since he had the company of a human in his TARDIS and he had forgotten how jaded he was to his TARDIS at times. The Doctor and Rose finally came to what appeared to be a little park once they turned the corner and much to the Doctor's joy a picnic lunch seemed to be set under it.
'That's my old girl.' The Doctor silently thanked his TARDIS as he and Rose sat under the shady tree as Earth like sunlight came down from Rose knew not where.
"You're a smooth date, John…sorry Doctor." Rose corrected herself. The Doctor leaned back against the tree and smiled,
"That I am, and don't worry about the slip ups, you just learned my name."
"Doctor is a bit of an odd name though, I'd ask Doctor, who? But I can just add in John. Doctor John."
"Doctor is easier." Gruffed the Doctor as he opened the basket to see its contents. Just a few sandwiches and some fruit…ooo and a bottle of cider. The Doctor pulled out two glasses that seemed too big to fit in the box, but by now Rose had gotten the whole Time Lord, bigger on the inside thing. Rose took a sip of the pale drink and mewed in glee,
"Bloody feel like I'm being treated like royalty when I'm with you."
"Technically I sort of am, but someone as kind as you should be treated as such by default."
"Smooth talker too." Rose grinned as she put down her glass and rested her head on the soft ground.
"You're head feeling all right? That was a nasty hit, and despite what some of my people might say, no medicine, even Time Lord Medicine, is perfect." Asked the Doctor with concern.
"Oh I'm right as rain." Declared Rose as she munched on a sandwich,
"I'm just so glad I met you or I might be dead over twice with a hit like that to the head."
"Well technically you'd only be dead over once… But that's beside the point. Rose, now that you know who and what I am. I... well, at first I was convincing myself that I just wanted to try and payback however I could to your species for all the damage we've done to your way of life. And I do want to do that as much as I can for your species… But really I just want to… I wanted to tell you sooner but I needed to let you know the truth first and it sort of came out a lot faster than I had planned, not that it's bad. I just wanted to soften the blow… Rose, you're basically the nicest anything to show up in my life for a very long time. I like spending time with you and if you're happy it makes me happy. So I sort of did some research into your family history, because your story about your Dad intrigued me, I hope you don't mind and I discovered…"
"MASTER." Announced a digital voice from the entrance to the park. At the sound of the voice Rose turned to see a cute little metal dog rolling up to them. The dog then stopped and regarded Rose.
"I am sorry. I have not introduced myself to your new companion, Master. I am K-9 and what is your name, Mistress?"
"Mistress? Well aren't you a cute little thing…oh sorry, my name's Rose, Rose Tyler." Rose laughed as she looked to the Doctor for permission to touch it. He nodded and Rose scratched the metal dog's head.
"Affectionate gesture noted, and appreciated, Mistress Rose Tyler." Stated the little dog as it wagged its metal wire tail. Rose giggled again,
"You're a bit disco, aren't you, boy?" Something about the dog's design vaguely reminded her of her mother and father's pictures from their youth.
"Oi, he's cutting edge technology where I got him from." Noted the Doctor at the remark by Rose.
"I didn't say it was a bad thing." Defended Rose. K-9 then interrupted the two's playful banter and stated,
"Master, there is someone to see you in your room."
"Ugh, have they been waiting out there long? You know I like to gauge moods first." Questioned the Doctor. The dog indicated that they had not been waiting long.
"Out there?" Questioned Rose.
"The TARDIS is currently sitting in my chambers in Rassilon's palace." Explained the Doctor and Rose couldn't help but give a shiver thinking of the forbidden place that her lord and master reigned from. She wanted to change her thoughts fast,
"With a place like this, why bother even having a room?"
"The TARDIS has only recently started traveling in space again and barely time. My father wanted me to look the proper groomed Prince and live in the palace. Our compromise is that the TARDIS is parked in my room. I get my preferred living space and he had easy access to me and the illusion of an obedient son." The Doctor explained obviously not happy about it.
"Are they going to be okay with me here? Should I hide?" Questioned Rose, a little afraid. The Doctor did not want Rose to ever be afraid when she was with him and said in as strong a voice as he could,
"You're safe with me. No one will harm you if they know what's good for them. All the same who is it, K-9?"
"Mistress Romana." Answered K-9. The Doctor nodded and got up.
"Come on Rose, Romana is no danger to you." The two then made their way to the TARDIS entrance.
Author's Notes: Rose gets to see the Doctor's world next and a plan will be hatched.
