Chapter Seven

The Doctor had lied. The moment the whip fell on his back, pain shot through him like a lightning bolt, and no amount of fantasizing about Rose was going to make it hurt any less. In fact, the fact that Rose was a few feet away from him, screaming hysterically, only made it hurt worse.

He had been tortured before. In fact, many times before, and there had been times when it had been in front of his other companions. But, like everything else with Rose, this was different. No other companion had affected him the way Rose had, and this fact made it very hard for him to maintain the mental control that in the past had allowed him to numb his body, so he would be able to get through the torment unscathed. The fact that the love of his life was kneeling near him on the verge of a nervous breakdown made it hard to focus on anything.

He gritted his teeth to prevent himself from biting his tongue in half, as the whip came down on him again. Pain coursed throughout his already weakened body, and he felt warm rivulets of blood run down his back and onto his buttocks, as Rose begged and pleaded for Amenemhet to stop. His response was a taunting laugh, and the Doctor groaned as the whip hit his backside once more.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you thief? Thinking twice about stealing things that don't belong to you?" he taunted.

Pure hate coursed through the Doctor. His eyes darkened, as he wished Amenemhet and his men dead. For a moment, he imagined killing them all with his bare hands and killing them slowly and painfully, so he could derive as much satisfaction out of it as he could; a thought he would never have entertained in his younger years. The thought was interrupted, as the whip hit his back once more.

Through the haze of pain, the Doctor noticed that Rose had gone quiet. He glanced up and noticed to his horror that Rose was beginning to retreat into her own mind. If this wasn't ended soon, she would be lost forever in a catatonic limbo.

As inhuman as it seemed to make her witness this, he couldn't let her lapse into a comatose state. She had to stay with him, for his sake as much as for hers.

"Rose," he grunted out. "Rose, listen to me. Don't go. Stay with me, Rose. Please."

"Something wrong?" Amenemhet taunted.

Fighting the pain, the Doctor turned his head and looked up at him.

"Listen to me," he grunted. "Stop this right now. I'll tell you what you want to know. Or…if you won't stop it, take Rose away from here. She's seen enough."

"What's wrong? You don't like having your lover here to watch you?"

The Doctor glared at him wanting nothing more than to be free and strangling him with his own whip.

"Listen to me, you git," he said through gritted teeth. "If you keep this up, Rose is going to be catatonic and won't be able to see anything! You're destroying her mind, and I'm sure you don't want that; especially since you want her to be fully conscious when her turn comes. Now either stop this or move her someplace where she can't see me. Deal with me alone, because if you let this go on and Rose becomes a vegetable, I guarantee I'll make you regret ever being born"

Amenemhet paused. He looked at the Doctor and looked over at Rose who was now sitting quietly with a blank look on her face. He lowered his cat o' nine tails to his side.

"Very well, you have five minutes to revive her," he said. "I need to rest my arm anyway."

Amenemhet moved off to the side to get a drink of water while the Doctor gulped in a welcome breath of air and steadied himself. Sweat rolled down his face and into his eyes, and he blinked trying to clear his vision.

"Rose," he said to her. "Rose, wake up. Please, come back to me. Don't go away, Rose. He's stopped. I'm alright, I promise."

He paused, and his hearts ached, as Rose remained impassive. He felt rage at Amenemhet begin to rise within him, as he tried desperately to snap Rose back to her senses.

"Rose, please…please wake up," he pleaded with her.

He gulped when Rose remained quiet. He spun his head around and glared at Amenemhet who was over in the corner with a couple of his men getting sips of water out of a jar with a wooden ladle.

"Let me go," he commanded them.

Amenemhet paused and raised his eyebrow, as the other soldiers stared at the Doctor, amused.

"Let you go?" Amenemhet asked, smirking.

"Yes, let me go. I want to go over and touch Rose."

Amenemhet snorted.

"You must think me a fool if you think I'll just set you free."

The Doctor stared at him, enraged.

"Oh, for Rassilon's sake, I'm not going anywhere you bastard. I'm injured. I can't exactly do a marathon at this moment. All I want to do is hold Rose and let her feel me, so she'll snap out of her catatonic state. I give you my word that I won't try to escape. Now please, unshackle my wrists, so I can get to her."

Amenemhet considered this, as he took a sip from the ladle. His men stood and waited for his response. Putting the ladle back in the jar, he shrugged, as he walked towards the Doctor.

"Why not? I've got plenty of time to finish. I can afford to take a long break," he said.

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief, as he took out his keys and unlocked the manacles.

"There," he said nonchalantly, waving his hand towards Rose.

As the Doctor brought his hands to the ground and began to crawl towards Rose, Amenemhet signaled Qeb to go stand guard at the door.

The Doctor gritted his teeth, as he crawled slowly along the stone floor towards Rose. Blood rolled off his buttocks, down his legs, and onto the floor, as he concentrated on getting to Rose and comforting her before it was too late. Cursing his tormentors in Gallifreyan, he slowly eased himself into a sitting position and fighting the wave of dizziness that threatened to make him pass out; he reached out and brought Rose close to his chest. He positioned her ear so it was right next to his heartbeats, and he stared at her quietly for a moment, as she remained impassive.

"Rose? Rose, it's me," He said, as he stroked her hair. "Rose? Can you hear me?"

His hearts ached when Rose gave no response.

He watched her for a moment. Then, getting a thought, he brought his fingers up to her temple, closed his eyes, and scanned her mind for any thoughts. Fear rose in his hearts, as he sensed nothing happening in her mind. Taking a deep breath, he began to concentrate as Amenemhet, and his men watched with silent interest. As his breath slowed, and became steady, he became oblivious to his surroundings, and the pain radiating throughout his body, as he delved deep into Rose's mind. Concentrating, he began to call out inside her head

Rose? Rose, can you hear me? It's the Doctor, Rose. I'm here. Answer me please.

He paused for a moment while he listened for a response. Finding none, he willed himself deeper into her subconscious mind. Ignoring the flashes of her memory that floated through his own mind, he paused and sent another thought projection into her brain.

Rose, answer me. Rose. I'm safe. Please come back to me now.

Doctor?

The Doctor's breath caught in his throat when Rose's voice flitted through his mind for an instant. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated once more.

Rose. Rose, where are you?

Doctor?

Rose. I'm here, angel. It's alright. Please follow the sound of my voice; I'll lead you back to the waking world.

No.

Rose, please.

No, I can't bear seeing him hurt you any more. I don't want to watch you die.

I won't die, Rose, I promise. I'll be alright. Please come back to me. Let me take you back to my side. I don't want to lose you.

Doctor.

Rose, come to me. Follow my voice. Let me lead you away from this darkness. I love you, Rose. Don't go where I can't follow you. I need you beside me. Please, Rose. Don't do this to me.

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief when he sensed Rose's mind beginning to come to life. A tear rolled down his cheek, as he began to feel her thoughts in his mind.

"That's right, Rose," he murmured. "Come back to me."

He smiled when he felt Rose began to stir beneath his fingertips. He brought his fingers away from her temples and opened his eyes, as the blank look faded, and Rose began to blink her eyes in confusion. He smiled when Rose finally looked into his eyes.

"Hello there," he said, stroking her face.

"Hi," Rose said, softly.

The Doctor stiffened, as her eyes went from his face to the blood pooling around his legs. He cupped her face when she began to turn ashen.

"No, Rose. I'm alright," he said, gently raising her head back up to his eyes.

He leaned down and kissed the tears that began to flow down her cheeks.

"I'm alright, Rose," he soothed. "I don't even feel any pain anymore."

It was another lie. He hated lying to her, but giving Rose's fragile state, he thought it necessary in this case.

His arms wrapped around her, and he brought her to his chest. Kissing her softly on the top of the head, he watched her carefully for any signs of relapse while she sobbed quietly into his chest.

Smiling softly, he brought his fingers up to the back of her head and stroked her hair, as Rose lifted her head and sat her chin on his left shoulder. He turned his head and kept his careful watch on her, studying her face for any signs that she might be going into shock again. He heard nothing behind him, so he assumed Amenemhet and his men were just standing and watching the scene unfold before them.

Suddenly, the Doctor let out a startled gasp when, without warning, Rose let out an enraged yell and flew out of his arms onto the floor. Shocked, the Doctor stared at her, as she began to crawl on her hands and knees towards Amenemhet and his men.

"I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!" she screamed, hysterically.

Both the Doctor and the soldiers stared at Rose in shock, amazed at the sudden change in her demeanor. Doing a complete 180 degrees from the terrified, crying girl; Rose was now on the warpath crawling towards Amenemhet and his men, as she thought only of killing the ones who had hurt her Doctor. As Rose found the strength to get to her feet and began to lunge towards their captors, the Doctor snapped out of his reverie, and with superhuman strength, leaped to his feet and lunged at her determined to get to her before something happened, and she ended up dead. Eyes wide with horror, he noticed the soldiers raising their spears towards Rose. He put on a final burst of speed and tackled her to the ground, seconds before one of the spears would have pierced her heart. As Rose let out an enraged scream, the Doctor held onto her and glanced up at Amenemhet and the soldiers, amused that they had actually backed up a couple of feet in shock. Even as the Doctor worked to calm Rose down, he felt a twinge of pride knowing that even after all the mental anguish she had been through, she still had enough inner strength in her to be a little spitfire.

Glancing up again, he noticed with glee that there was a hint of fear in the soldier's eyes, as Rose writhed and screamed underneath him. Clearly, they weren't used to a woman who was capable of going ballistic on them at any given moment. Suppressing an urge to laugh at them, he instead turned his attentions back to Rose trying to get her calmed back down before the soldiers recovered from their shock and began skewering them with their spears.

It took a moment, but finally Rose went limp beneath his body. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Doctor stroked her side, as Rose wept quietly. He held onto her, as the soldiers looked on, unsure of what to do. He looked at them with a smug look on his face.

"See, I told you it wasn't a good idea to have her in the same room when I'm being tortured," he said.

Amenemhet glared at him.

"Well, now that you've gotten her under control, we will take her into another room. We must continue the interroga…"

"YOU AREN'T TAKING ME ANYWHERE! I'LL KILL YOU!"

An amused grin spread over the Doctor's face when Amenemhet backed up again and stood with his men, staring at Rose.

"Oh come on, captain. Don't tell me you're afraid of a little woman?" the Doctor taunted.

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT THE DOCTOR ANYMORE!" Rose bellowed.

For a moment, the Doctor wondered if her rage was going to reawaken the Bad Wolf within her. Even though he knew it wasn't a good idea to wake something that carried complete god-like cosmic power and unleash it on ancient Egypt, on the other hand, it would certainly make escape a hell of a lot easier for them.

The Doctor knew that in a moment or two, the soldiers would act regardless of whether Rose was submissive or not. He knew that they would use any means necessary to shut her up, so they could get her out of the room, and he didn't want to risk further injury to her. He looked up at Amenemhet.

"Let me take her out of here."

Amenemhet started to refuse when the Doctor pointed down to Rose.

"Do you see how she is? Do you want to deal with her?" he asked. "Let me take her back to the cell, and get her calmed down and comfortable, and then I'll come back to face interrogation."

"NO!"

The Doctor sighed angrily.

"Rose! Be still!" he ordered her.

He sighed when Rose let out a sob.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said gently. "But, you need to calm down. You're not doing anyone any good by going off like this."

"Look who's talking," he heard Rose mutter to herself.

Fighting the urge to smile at the remark, he looked back up at Amenemhet.

"What about it, captain? Do I get to take her back to her cell, or do you want the honor?"

Amenemhet stood there for a moment thinking it over, and then with an exasperated sigh, nodded his head.

"Fine, get her out of here. I'm sick of wasting time listening to this," he said, angrily.

The Doctor smiled, secretly glad that Rose had a bad temper. He hoped that the soldier's reluctance to deal with her had just opened up an avenue of escape for them both.