Chapter 4: The Driver

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.

A/N: I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS in a hay hat, sunglasses, and lay-necklace around his neck. It was snowing. He saw the Ood waiting for him. "Hello," He waved. The Ood didn't move. He continued walking to it. "Just came from Akhaten. Lovely festival, that," He continued spouting out his visits to different places. He cleared his throat and sniffed as he stood in front of the Ood. "I was summoned, wasn't I? By an Ood, in the snow," He nodded. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"You should not have waited so long," said the Ood Sigma.

"Well, I mean," the Doctor nodded and shrugged awkwardly. "Last time I was here, you said my song would be ending soon. So, of course I put this little meeting off. I'm surely in no hurry for my ending. So…"

"You will come," said the Ood.

"Yeah, lemme just lock the TARDIS," the Doctor took out his key and pressed it. The TARDIS's light beeped twice and so did the alarm. He smiled, "Like a car," He frowned when the Ood didn't react. "I l-locked like a car, you know," the Ood still just stared at him. "Oh, come on. It's funny," He looked back at the TARDIS then at the Ood. "Nothing? No?"

"This way," the Ood turned around and started walking.

The Doctor raspberried (Don't know what it's called) his lips and shook his head. "Boy, try to make an Ood laugh…" He followed, hands in his pockets.

Along the way, the Doctor kept trying to make conversation. Soon, they reached what looked like an ice castle. "Oh, that is terrific!" He exclaimed. "Oh, come on," He nudged the Ood with his shoulder. "It is! It's magnificent. How long did it take to build that?"

"One-hundred years," the Ood Sigma answered.

The Doctor sobered and looked up at the building. "We've certainly got a problem on our hands than," He looked back at the Ood. "This is all way too fast. Not just the city, no. I mean, being able to contact me all the way from the twenty-first century. Something is accelerating your species. And it is way beyond normal."

"The mind of the Ood is also troubled," stated Ood Sigma.

"What's the matter?" the Doctor asked.

"Every night, Doctor," Ood Sigma sounded a little desperate, if that was possible for an Ood to show emotion. "Bad dreams. Every single night, we have bad dreams, Doctor."

Ood Sigma took the Doctor to the circle of Oods. One had his brain in his head. They were gathered around a fire. They were seemingly prophesizing or chanting. "Returning. He is returning. Returning. It is too late. He has come," They all looked back at the approaching Doctor and Ood Sigma.

"Sit. And share the dreaming," Ood Sigma said to the Doctor as they stood with the group.

The Doctor obeyed and looked around, smiling awkwardly. "Hello."

"You will join. You will join," They kept on chanting as the Doctor frowned and watched them start to hold hands. "You will join. You will join," They kept repeating.

The Doctor listened and took the two hands of the Oods sitting next to him. A flash of their nightmares came into his head. He flinched as he saw the man laughing. No, it couldn't be him. He opened his eyes.

"Every night, he comes to us," said the Head Ood. "Even the people of the universe have dreams of him too."

"But he's dead," said the Doctor. "Trust me. He is no longer alive."

They all took hands again. "Events are taking place. There is a man. So scared."

The Doctor saw an image of Donna's grandfather. "Wilfred? Is he alright? What about Donna, is she safe?"

"There is a woman," the Ood continued as though there were no interruptions. The Doctor saw a blond woman. She was walking down the street, smiling and waving. "She is impossible. She is brave. But she too is bothered by these events. She does not know what is happening in the world. She wants it to stop."

"That's Rose," the Doctor said, in a panic. "How is that Rose?"

"She is impossible," the Ood answered vaguely.

"Obviously," the Doctor mumbled as they continued.

"The king is in his counting house," the Doctor saw images of a man and woman getting their picture taken as the Elder Ood said this.

"Who are they?" the Doctor asked.

"And there is one more. The loneliest, and forgotten," said Elder Ood as the Doctor saw the image of Lucy, crying in her cell.

"The Master's wife," He muttered.

ROSExDOCTORxROSExDOCTOR

"You don't know what you're doing!" Lucy told the governor. "Whatever he told you. It wasn't true. You can't believe him."

They took his imprint from her lips. Tears were in her eyes as she watched one of them dangle the tissue over the pit. "You can't bring him back! You can't!" She was practically begging. Where was the Doctor when you needed him?

The woman dropped the tissue into the pit. "No!" Lucy exclaimed as a tornado sprang from it. She shouted over the sound of the wind, "Stop this now! Before it's too late!"

Lucy stood up, staring at the storm as the others kneeled. "Can't you see that he lied to you?! His name isn't even Harold Saxon!"

"This was written also!" the governor said. "For his name is the Master!"

Lucy's eyes widened and she backed up into the wall. She knew there was no point in running. He would find her. He would make a mess and kill her. "Never dying," He materialized in the tornado. "Never dying!"

He kept repeating it as she slowly shook her head and murmured, "No. What have you done?"

The Master stretched his arms, still in the tornado. "Oh, Lucy. Sweet, dear, poor, Lucy Saxon! My ever-faithful wife. Did the widow's kiss bring me back?"

The people that had kneeled and were giving themselves to him were starting to get weaker. "You're killing them!" She yelled.

"They're dying," He smiled down at his wife. "Don't worry, honey. They're just the first," Lucy gasped and continued to watch them. She looked up at the Master, who was holding his ears. "Can't you hear it, Lucy? The drums are louder than ever! Oh, I have missed them."

"I know you better than anyone else, Harry," She scowled. "I knew that you would come back. All this time, your disciples have been preparing," He glared down at his wife. She smirked up at him. "And so have we!"

She turned to the guard behind her. The guard handed her a vile and she turned back around. "What are you doing?" the Master narrowed his eyes.

"The Secret Books of Saxon spoke of the Potion of Life," She smiled innocently. "I was never very bright. But my family knew people who calculated the opposite."

"Don't you dare," He said as she stared up at him, taking the cap off. "Lucy, I'm ordering you. Stop! You will obey me!"

"Until death do us part, Harry!" She screamed and threw it onto him. There was a huge explosion.

ROSExDOCTORxROSExDOCTOR

Rose Tyler gasped awake in a cold sweat. She took shuddering breaths. It was a dream. It was not real. No, she told herself. No. I won't forget this time. I need to remember. Rose had no idea why she had to remember her stupid nightmare. She just felt like she had to.

Her usual nightmare was about a man. There was this green light. It was shining on him. And he was laughing. It was an evil laugh. He kind of looked familiar, but she didn't know how. She always dreamt of fire. And war. And deaths. Oh, so many deaths.

But tonight was more vivid. It was with a girl named Lucy. She was in jail for… something. Rose couldn't remember. She was talking to her husband, Harold. The people who were disciples said he was called the Master. She shook her head, even though it ached like mad. It was just a dream.

She sighed and looked at her clock. It was 5 a.m. No point in going to bed now. At least she could get an early start. She got out of bed and did her morning stretches. She shook her hands and her head. "Shake it off, Rose."

Rose ran a little on the treadmill, pushing herself further and further. She had always liked running. She got in the shower, curled her hair, put it into a neat ponytail, did her makeup, and put on her favorite skirt, leather jacket, and Converse by the time it was 7:30. And she still had time for breakfast, and her volunteer job.

She finished her cereal. She grabbed her purse, shoved her keys in it, and almost ran out. She stopped and looked at herself in the mirror. Her curly blond hair was pretty. Her black leather jacket that she always wore matched her white blouse, bright red skirt, and red converse. Then again, her leather jacket went well with everything. She might have looked normal, but she was anything but. Rose shook her head at her reflection and dashed out the door at 7:45.

ROSExDOCTORxROSExDOCTOR

Wilfred waited for his bus. "Right, come on. Let's get going," He said as he climbed on. He smiled at the bus driver, Rose Tyler. "How are those headaches, huh? You okay?"

She smiled and took her hand away from rubbing her temples. "I'm okay, I suppose. But it's worse today."

"I'll make sure to keep that lot quiet, alright Rosie?" He smiled and patted her head before joining the others in the bus. He had always thought of Rose as a daughter. She had been having all these headaches recently, and she, unlike the other young people, did not ignore her nightmares. "He's tall, thin, brown or blue striped suit. Got a big coat. Modern hair. All… sticky-uppy," Rose chuckled and rolled her eyes. "On page two, is a police box. Remember those? Like the olden days," Wilfred continued.

"I sure do," said an old woman. "I got locked inside once."

"Misbehaving, Minnie?" Rose laughed from up front and glanced in her mirror.

"You bet I was, Rosie. I hope you don't act like that. Woohoo," Minnie said. The others laughed.

"Now, listen," Wilfred interrupted. "This is important. We've got to find it. Phone everybody," He started giving orders.

"Who is he then? This Doctor?" asked a man.

Rose shivered. It sounded very familiar, definitely. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Can't tell you, sorry," He said. "But tell me. You all been having bad dreams lately? All of you? Dreams you can't remember?"

"Well," Rose drew out the word, reminding Wilfred of the Doctor. She cleared her throat as she turned the wheel and they turned a corner. "I can. And every night, it's the same one. Except last night."

"What was wrong with last night?" asked Wilfred, they all nodded, meaning they wanted to know.

She grew pale and looked in her mirror. "Trust me, you don't want to know. And I don't want to talk about it," She looked back at the road.

ROSExDOCTORxROSExDOCTOR

The Doctor looked over the junk yard. There was something… or someone, out there. There was suddenly drumming. He started toward it. He ran. Run you clever boy, and remember. Rose's words echoed in his head, and he listened.

"Please, let me help you!" He begged the Master, who laughed. He could see his skull. "You're burning up your own life force," Before the Doctor could reach him, he leapt away.

He ran after him. "You are a sight for sore eyes!" Wilfred exclaimed.

"Out of the way," the Doctor shouted. But he looked over the debris, and the Master was gone. The woman was stating something, of how they found the Doctor through telephones. "Did you tell them who I am? Wilfred, you promised."

"I didn't. I just said you were the Doctor," Wilfred started. But someone else had caught his attention.

Rose walked through the crowd of elders. She smiled up at the man. She raised her eyebrows in challenge and put her hands on her hips. "So, you're the Doctor?" She unknowingly interrupted Wilfred and walked forward, so they were face to face. Except since he was tall, she had to look up a bit. She crossed her arms. "Doctor what?"

"Just the Doctor," He managed to squeak out. He couldn't move. He couldn't think straight. When he saw Rose, he hadn't believed it. Until now. Was he even breathing? He gasped. Nope.

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" She asked, smiling a little.

"Sort of, yeah," He shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. But Rose knew she had some kind of effect on him. She just didn't know what or why.

"Wilf says you can help. That you can fix everything," She bit her lip. "Can you?"

"I'm going to try," He said honestly.

ROSExDOCTORxROSExDOCTOR

The Doctor, Wilfred, and Rose were in a café. "You know," Rose said after the long silence, "We were never really acquainted properly," She held her hand out. "Rose Tyler."

"Pleasure," the Doctor wanted to hold onto her hand. Their hands were still a perfect mold together. They were still the stuff of legends. Rose gave him a weird look and practically tore her hand away, blushing a little without realizing.

"So, who are you, Wilf?" the Doctor said after a few minutes.

"I'm Wilfred Mott," Wilfred looked confused.

"People have waited years to contact me," the Doctor narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "And you find me in a couple hours."

Wilfred shrugged. "Lucky, I suppose."

"And you," the Doctor turned to Rose. Of course he was ecstatic to see her. She was Rose. But he still didn't understand what was going on.

"Me?" She raised her eyebrows and pointed her finger to her chest.

"Yes. I keep running into you. Both of you. Who are you two?" He looked between the girl that was sitting next to him, and the man that was sitting across from him.

"Doctor, I've never seen you in my life," Rose leaned forward a little.

"Never?" He asked. "You haven't even heard of me?"

"No," She smiled at the look on his face. "Sorry for not swooning, sweetie."

"Look! There she is!" Wilfred exclaimed. It was Donna, she was getting things into her blue car.

"Don't you touch this car!" She said loudly to a man.

The Doctor chuckled. "Still the same old Donna, then?"

Rose smiled and sighed. "Oh, Donna, what are you doing?" Her hand met her forehead.

"Wait, you know Donna?" asked the Doctor.

"I know all of Wilf's family," Rose shrugged.

"Please, Doctor," Wilfred had tears in his eyes. "Please, just… go up and say hello. She's so sad, Doctor. But she doesn't even know why. She was better with you… happier. She gets these looks sometimes, like she knows she's forgetting something and she's so unhappy. But she doesn't know why."

"I know the feeling," Rose muttered to herself and then smiled. "Look. That's her fiancé. Getting married in the spring."

"Again?" the Doctor laughed.

"Yeah," Wilfred nodded. "He's a sweet bloke. He's on minimum wage, though. They can only afford this tiny little flat. Please, Doctor. Just… go say hi."

Rose touched her leather jacket and stared at it while the Doctor protested, "Wilfred, you know I can't. If she remembers me, her mind will burn and she will die," His lip quivered as she got into the car and drove away. "I thought traveling alone would be better. I wouldn't be able to ruin anyone's life but…" Tears were in his eyes and he rubbed his face. "It's a lonely life."

"Better with two," Rose muttered softly as she stared at the jacket, trying to remember something. She continued to stroke the arm. She looked up to see the Doctor staring at her with his jaw dropped. "What?"

"What did you just say?" the Doctor asked, his eyes shining with tears.

"Sorry," She laughed nervously and shook her head. "Spaced out a little."

"Why are you crying?" the Doctor asked.

Rose touched her face and stared at the tears on her fingers. She shrugged. "I'm sad from the dreams," She guessed, not understanding that either. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "What were you saying, Wilfred?"

Wilfred shrugged. "Just that they could only afford a little flat. And she's so sad," He turned back to the Doctor. "She doesn't know why. Don't you want old Donna? Make you laugh again…"

"Yeah," the Doctor chuckled, his voice cracking. Rose touched his shoulder in comfort. He put his palms to his face, leaning back for a moment and then taking away his hands and saying flatly, "I'm going to die."

"Don't say that," Rose said immediately, taking his hand.

"I was told a prophecy," He continued as though Rose hadn't interrupted. But he had an obvious reaction to her hand touching his. "That he will knock four times before I die."

"But I thought that your people had a way to stay alive. To not die," Wilfred said sadly.

"We can still die. If we're killed before regeneration, we're dead," the Doctor informed them somberly.

"Your people? Regeneration?" Rose looked between the two to finally hold her gaze on the Doctor. "You're an alien."

"Yeah," He confirmed, though it wasn't a question. "That alright?"

"Yeah," said Rose the minute the words were out of his mouth. "I mean, you're still a person."

He smiled the Rose Tyler Smile. She gave him her signature tongue-between-teeth smile. His hearts soared.

But they immediately sunk when Rose gasped and touched her head. The voice echoed throughout it. His laughter. Nothing but his laughter. Get out of my head.

"Rose! What's happening?" the Doctor touched her shoulder and she flinched. Her eyes were squeezed shut.

Her eyes flew open but she didn't see anything in front of her. She could only see the man that haunted her nightmares every night. "Humans. So many humans. Burning," He was exactly the same, only blond. "I'm so hungry. Food. Food," He chanted, he kept on repeating the words. Finally, he disappeared right after saying menacingly, "Doctor, come and get me."

"Rose?" the Doctor's voice started filling her ears as he became less blurry. His hands were holding her arms tightly. "What happened?" He asked when he saw her eyes come into focus.

"She's been having the nightmares. Everyone has," said Wilfred, staring at the two. "No one can remember them. No one but Rose."

She stared into space. "He said your name. He wanted you to come and get him," She said to the Doctor.

"Who?" the Doctor asked, but he knew the answer.

"The man you were chasing earlier," Rose continued. The Doctor stood up and so did she. Her eyes hardened. "Don't you dare."

"Rose, I have to," the Doctor insisted.

Wilfred and Rose left the café with him. "Then I'm coming too," Rose said.

"No," the Doctor scowled down at her. "You are not coming."

"Yes," She returned the look with more force and crossed her arms. "I am."

He was the Oncoming Storm. How could he crumble at one little blond human girl? But this wasn't just some blond human. This was Rose Tyler. Defender of the Earth. His jaw tightened. "No. Rose, I could not be more serious."

Rose sighed and put her arms at her sides. "Fine," She said sulkily, defeated by the alien.

The Doctor smiled, having won the argument. "Okay then," He waved and walked away.

"Will you follow him?" Wilfred asked as they watched him turn the corner.

"Of course I will," She laughed.

"It's gonna be dangerous," Wilf said.

"Of course it will be," She said and started walking. She turned around and called, "Later, Wilf."

ROSExDOCTORxROSExDOCTOR

Rose followed the Doctor to the junkyard. She quickly concluded that the Master and the Doctor knew each other. Maybe they were the same race. She wondered what species the Doctor was. He certainly looked human.

Just when the Doctor had walked in, the Master had sent something explosive his way. Rose was lucky she found a place behind the wall. She breathed softly and listened to their conversation, risking peeking around the corner.

"What? What is it?" the Doctor was on the ground, staring at the Master in bewilderment and backing away. "What's inside your head?"

The Master gave the laugh that chilled Rose to the bone. "It's real," He chuckled madly. "It's real!" He shouted and flew out of the building. Rose stared up at the ceiling in shock but quickly composed herself and held her breath as the Doctor passed her, not even noticing the blond.

Rose ran outside but continued to keep in the shadows. Helicopters circled and took the Master. The Doctor shouted at them, but was shot. When the helicopters were gone, she ran to his limp body and felt for a pulse, sighing with relief after a moment.

"Doctor," She said loudly, shaking him. He didn't react. Rose chewed on her lip nervously and continued shaking him. After a few moments, when he didn't show any signs of regaining consciousness, she did the only thing she could do… "Wake up!" She shouted, slapping him hard across the face.

The alien gasped, suddenly roused awake. He felt a sharp pain across his cheek and rubbed it, wondering what happened. It took him a second to realize he was being held. The Doctor looked up to see the familiar blond sighing. A flash of what happened last time she held him appeared in his head, remembering when she got in the way of the water that was coming his way. He immediately stood up, Rose clinging to his arm so he wouldn't fall over.

"Rose, I told you not to follow me," the Doctor scolded, frowning and standing up straight.

She laughed and shook her head. "Wait, you actually thought I would listen?" She asked seriously and chuckled. "You're so naïve, Doctor. It's cute," She said the last part without really thinking and hoped he was still out of it enough that he didn't hear that.

The Doctor smiled as they walked to the TARDIS. He glanced at Rose to see her reaction.

Rose frowned when the Doctor went into the blue box. Did he expect her to follow? That box was too tiny for two people to fit. She sighed and shrugged after it seemed that he wasn't coming out and followed him in. Rose looked around and surprisingly wasn't fazed. She just casually walked inside, set her leather jacket on the coral strut and stood next to the Doctor, who was looking at her in a mix of disappointment and bewilderedness and something else she couldn't quite identify as he stood by the console.

"So, what is this place?" She smiled at his dumbfounded look.

The Doctor looked away. He couldn't believe she was here. In the TARDIS with him. Like it should be. "The TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. Stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space," He flipped a lever and pressed a couple buttons before the ship took off.

Rose somehow wasn't impressed. She knew she should be. But she just… wasn't. It was almost as if she'd been here before. In a dream. A long time ago.

ROSExDOCTORxROSExDOCTOR

"It mends entire planets," said the male Vinvooci.

"What?" the Doctor asked in confusion, looking between the two green people. Rose was holding his hand, watching the conversation and trying to find out what this Master was up to. Wilf was in the background, completely stumped.

"It takes the medical template and transmits it across entire populations," said Addams, shrugging.

The Doctor had a look of concentration for a moment before he gasped, coming up with a theory. He bolted out of the room, Rose running after him since he absolutely refused to let go of her hand now that he had it again. He would figure out what she was later. Right now, the Master was the bigger problem.

"Turn it off!" He yelled as he and Rose stumbled into the room, standing in front of the immortality gate. He pointed at the Master, who was in a strait jacket. "Don't let him near this gate!"

"Oh, like that was ever gonna happen," said the Master, grinning. With a flash of light, he was suddenly in the gate.

Everybody was shaking their heads, trying to get the Master out of their heads. The Doctor was so busy fixing Wilf and frantically trying to understand what they were seeing, that he didn't notice what Rose was doing.

A/N: Aaaaaand I shall end this on a cliffhanger. Brilliant. Evil.

-Nay