Of Assassinations and Reunions

The Tardis— Fear

Rose opened her eyes slowly, reluctant to leave comfort of sleep. For half a second, she was disoriented by the arms draped around her and the heady scent in the air. The soft slow drone of a double heart beat reminded her precisely where she was. Unbidden, memories from a life time ago came to her. Long nights full of longing for a family far away, the comfort of his arms solid around her, and then inversely, the times when nightmares and memories caught up with him and he found solace in her embrace. It was funny the way just the presence of the other could keep the worst away, or at least make it bearable. This night had been no different.

Rose slipped out from his arm and off the bed, pausing to look back at the Doctor's still face. He was so different now, but she had never felt so at home. She brushed out of the room before she could linger on the thought.

The Tardis was nearly silent, all but for the familiar hum in the background. Rose slipped into the bathroom, still the same flawless porcelain from before. Her things weren't scattered across the counter as they used to be, but she found them all stashed neatly behind the mirror. She nearly cried at the sentimental placement of all her things in their proper place. Her mind flew to the her old bedroom, wondering if it was in a similar state.

"Rose?" John's voice called softly as he tapped on the door. "You in there?"

"Yep," she answered. With one hand she pushed the door open, and the other she kept clamped around her ponytail.

John entered silently, leaning casually against the counter. She twisted an elastic through her hair, her eyes never leaving his as she analyzed his mood. His expression was thoughtful, his eyes somber, but his hands were clenched with worry. She had a feeling things were about to take a turn for the worse.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

He shook his head. "Rose... this—this is only the beginning."

"What do you mean?" she asked, fear beginning it's gradually course through her blood, chilling her to her toes.

"Someone was behind the attack, someone very powerful, and someone with a terrible vendetta against the Doctor," he explained.

"But who..." she trailed off, searching his face worriedly. "You think they'll try again?"

"I think they've been trying for a very long time," John said. "I've been through the archives... it doesn't look good."

"What can we do?" Rose whispered, sinking against the wall. "They almost succeeded this time. What's to stop them next time?"

"Same thing that stopped them this time," he replied staunchly. "But we've got to work as quickly as we can. Whoever is behind this has been waiting a great deal of time, but he's getting anxious, moving quicker lately. If we don't act soon, the next plan may already have been set into motion."

"What about the Doctor? There's no way he can go traipsing across the universe to hunt down the killer."

"That's why we're not telling him," John said. "We've got our own Tardis. We take off before he wakes up, and he's got no choice but to stay behind."

Rose shifter her gaze nervously. She didn't like this. It was all too... too contorted. She couldn't leave the Doctor, not when he needed her to care for him. But she couldn't just sit back and wait for another attack.

"We can't just leave him on his own," She argued, her throat tight. "He needs us."

"Amy and Rory can-"

"John," she cut in. "We can't"

John sighed in frustration, throwing up his hands. "What am I supposed to do, Rose? You think I don't care? Do you think for one moment, I want to leave him anymore than you do?"

"I never said that," Rose said, gritting her teeth. "I'm just saying we ought to come up with a different alternative."

"What are you proposing?" he asked sharply. "Because I would love to hear if you have another solution."

"Stop being snappy," she said, her voice tired. "I haven't done anything wrong."

John's face dropped and he stepped back a little, running a hand through his hand. Rose reached out, catching his hand in hers. She smoothed away furrow of his brow with her other hand, meeting his brown eyes steadily.

"We're going to get through this," she stated. "We need the Doctor though. It's his life after. Do you believe me?"

He nodded slowly, letting his hand drop from hers. Rose watched him for a moment, the pain and sadness he was fighting, and her heart ached to see it. She pulled him into a hug, clutching him tightly. He was sacred, and she was doubly scared. She wasn't sure if they really could get through this one, but she was determined to fight to the death if necessary. And because she knew John and the Doctor would fight with her every step of the way, things didn't look quite so hopeless.


A/N Sorry this is so short. I just need to kind of set things up for the next chapter which will be a little more action oriented. I hope I'll have it up a little sooner as well. Anyway, pairing polls are still open if anyone wants to be heard... Thanks for your reviews, guys. You're great! Oh and I apologize for the typos in the last chapter and any in previous chapters or the current one. I don't have a whole lot of time to look over them.