A/N: This is Cheri again. I guess you've noticed by now that this story is a lot darker than the other stories in the series and I just want to warn you that right now with the way Carol and I have planned it, it's gonna get a lot darker so if you don't like that sort of thing, this is just a friendly warning to all!
Chapter Seven
Rose finished making tea for everyone who was in their house. Most of their friends and family went home but there were still a few who lingered hoping for any news or a sign that the Doctor, Tara and Rain were alright. She felt sure they would be alright, after all, it wasn't the first time something like this had happened. What disturbed her more was Alan's depression. She rarely saw him depressed and when he was, he quickly snapped out of it, it was never as bad as it was now and that frightened her. As she carried the tea tray out into the living room, her mind searched through the numerous minds on New Gallifrey and out in the cosmos but again there was no sign of the Doctor, Rain or Tara. She sat the tray down and excused herself as she climbed the stairs to the second floor. She found Alan out on the porch staring up at the sky and she wrapped her arms around him, smiling when she felt his love in her mind.
"They'll be alright, love," she said softly. "This isn't the first time they've gotten into trouble."
"I know but…I sense something is really wrong this time, Starlight," he said to her. "I don't know what it is but I have a feeling we won't just bounce back from this one like always. I can't explain why I feel that, I just do. I know Brother's suffering. I can feel it. I s'pose it's because my hand was once his but…I just wish I'd gone with them today. If it wasn't for that damn council meeting this morning with the elders…"
"Alan, don't beat yourself up. You're on the high council so you have to fulfill your responsibilities."
"I wish I wasn't on the high council. My brother's a lucky sod."
"Your brother was on the high council for one hundred and five years. He served his time and now it's your turn to suffer," Rose said, trying for a bit of light hearted humor.
It didn't work and Rose sighed as she came around to Alan's front and wrapped her arms around him.
"Please cheer up, it scares me when you get this way," she begged.
"Scares you? In what way does my being depressed scare you?" Alan said, confused.
"Because I'm used to you being the one who cheers everyone one and keeps their spirits alive. The Doctor is the backbone of our family but you're the heart and if the heart is sick then everyone feels it," she said. "You don't realize how much of an effect you have on people because you tend not to care what other people think but I'm not the only one who's upset that you're not happy."
Rose stroked his face.
"Please don't do this. Don't worry yourself to the point you make yourself sick and lose all hope. I couldn't bear it if that happened."
Alan held her close and stroked the back of her hair. He lowered his nose to her scalp and breathed in the scent of her shampoo.
"Oh, Starlight, hard to believe it's been two hundred and twenty five years since we first met each other. Back then we didn't think we'd have much of a future, just live our human lives and die and now look at us. Standing here on this planet we call our own with our people resurrected and thriving. A Gallifrey that is far better than the one the Doctor knew, one that we helped to create and run. And now we have so many friends and family members, so much happiness these past two centuries. What if it all comes crashing down around us?"
Rose held on tighter to him as Alan resumed staring off into space. She glanced down and saw Adam and his family laughing and playing in and by the pool. But their laughter didn't faze Alan who was still morose. She poured love into his mind, trying anything she could think of to cheer him up. Alan managed a small smile for her and kissed the top of her head before he lingered there and shut his eyes.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
For the hundredth time in an hour, the Doctor tugged at the straps around his wrists trying to free himself. With each passing moment, he was becoming more and more frightened for his family. He should have known that sooner or later Jasper's men would catch up with them but it had been so long since that day on Mordos and with no sign of them, he had loosened up and became less vigilant and now he and his family were going to suffer for it. He cursed under his breath thinking how the randomizer had been installed to prevent them finding the TARDIS and yet in the end it led his ship right to them. In the two centuries plus that he had been with his wife and daughter they had become a part of him and he couldn't imagine how he ever got along without their love and support and seeing their beautiful faces every day. It terrified him to think that they could be taken away from him and since Jasper's goons had all that information on him and his companions, he knew that they knew how to kill them and make it permanent. That fact alone scared him more than anything and he cursed the damper that surrounded him and prevented him from knowing if Rain and Tara were truly alive.
He raised his head when Rath came into the room.
"'Ello, Sweetie, have a nice kip while I was gone?" he said sweetly as he walked towards him.
The Doctor glared at him silently and he stroked the side of his face.
"Now, Love, don't be that way. I realize that this isn't the perfect start to our relationship, you bein' all tied down like this but look on the bright side, least ya know now what my favorite sexual fetish is."
He snickered as the Doctor rolled his eyes.
"For the last time, where are they?" he snarled at him.
"You reeeeally wanna see them?" Rath taunted.
"Yes," the Doctor said through gritted teeth.
Rath scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Dunno. Callum may not like it, risk of you escapin' and all that," he said.
"I'll be on my best behavior," the Doctor said, trying to control his temper. "Unless you've harmed them and then I might just get angry."
"Well, there's the rub, ya see. If you get angry, we might be forced to hurt or even kill ya and that's the last thing we want," he said.
"I won't resist, just let me see them!" the Doctor said to him.
"Let me go ask, Duckie, just be a good little slave and lie here while I see if it's okay to let you go for walkies with me."
He chuckled and walked out the door as the Doctor lay his head back on the table and cursed him and the others for doing this to him and his family. Ten minutes passed before Rath returned with two burly men who were just as muscle bound as he was. One was black, the other white. Both were bald and had numerous tattoos all over their face, head and body. Both were wearing black leather trousers. The white guy was wearing a leather waistcoat with nothing under it and the black man had on a dark maroon t-shirt that reminded the Doctor of something Alan would wear.
"This is Drake," he said, pointing to the white man, "and this here's Marius. They're my helpers for this afternoon."
Drake handed him a thick, black dog collar that had wires and a small metal box attached to it. The Doctor grunted when Marius seized his head and Rath slipped the dog collar around him and fastened it in the back. Then he took two of the wires that had sharp needles on the end of them and pierced the neck just above the collar. The Doctor winced when he felt the needles go in and then he glared at the men as they stepped away.
"Carrying the whole being your bitch thing a bit too far?" the Doctor quipped.
The men chuckled.
"Nah, Sweetie, this 'ere's a shock collar. You do something to make us angry and I take my little remote control and correct you with 1000 volts of electricity. And I'm sure the last thing your family wants to see is you writhing on the floor while we're shockin' the shit outta ya, eh?"
"I'll behave," the Doctor said tersely.
"You better because it won't be pleasant if we have to use this doodah on ya," Rath said. "Now, Drake and Marius are gonna keep an eye on ya while I loosen ya up and if you know what's good for ya, you won't fight back."
The Doctor complied for the sake of his family and lay still while Rath loosened the restraints. He chuckled and looked at his friends when he saw how compliant he was.
"See, mates, threaten his family and he becomes just as docile as a kitten."
The Doctor fumed inwardly at that but kept silent knowing they were looking for any excuse to hurt him or his wife and daughter. Once they were done, the Doctor sat up and stared at the three thugs waiting for them to tell him what to do next. The three men chuckled at that and the Doctor lost his patience and barked at them to take him to Tara and Rain. He was rewarded with Rath's fist on his chin that would have sent him tumbling ass over teakettle over the table if Rath hadn't grabbed him by his shirt and jerked him back so he was staring him right in the face.
"I'm warning ya, I can get really mean and cruel if people push me too far!" Rath snarled at him.
The Doctor bit back the urge to retort, "So can I," and dropped his eyes submissively which made the three men laugh.
"Get up, little bitch, and I'll take ya to your daughter first. I have to say before we go, your daughter gave me the cold shoulder earlier when I spoke to her but I'm sure she's warmed up to me by now."
The Doctor didn't like the sound of that. He knew from the way the men shared a look and snickered that it was some private sick joke between them and he dreaded finding out what the punchline was. He let Drake and Marius grab his arms before Rath opened the door and they walked out.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tara lay on her side panting and gasping for air as the air around her became oppressive and the metal box warmed up to an almost unbearable temperature. Her father had taught her a meditation method years ago that would allow her to keep her body cool in extreme heat. The technique worked for a time but with the metal heating up she found it hard to keep her concentration. Sweat was rolling off her face and she struggled to breathe. She wished that whoever was on the speaker would come back on so she could beg for her life. She figured if she died she would regenerate but that would mean she was still trapped and it was only a matter of time until each body expired and then with her thirteenth life gone it would be the end of her. Fear gripped her hearts and for the first time in a long time she felt herself reverting back to her childhood and she began to cry out in a pitiful voice for her mommy or daddy to come and rescue her before it was too late.
While she lay there in a semi-conscious state weakly crying out for her parents, she heard a door open behind her head and then she felt someone gather her up and hold her close. At first she couldn't tell through the sweat in her eyes who it was and then she saw the distraught face of her father and she cried out to him. The Doctor put his hand behind her head and held her close as he wrapped his other arm around her protectively.
"Star," he said in her ear. "Oh my Star, here I am."
"Daddy," Tara said weakly.
"Shhh, it's alright, darling, I'm here now," he whispered in her ear.
Tara's eyes flicked up when the Doctor adjusted his body so he could hold her close. She saw three pairs of legs clustered around the door and heard men's laughter and taunts. Tara didn't care though, all that mattered was her father was near and he wouldn't let anything happen to her now. The Doctor murmured his love to her while he smoothed away the matted and wet hair from her face. Tara felt the cool breeze drifting in from the open door and cried at the pleasant sensation. She cried harder when the Doctor pressed his lips against her forehead and cheeks trying to soothe her and stop the crying. Then she felt a cool handkerchief daubing the sweat off her face. Tara calmed down after the Doctor finished and began to rock her gently as he whispered encouragement and love to her. When she was completely calm and at peace, the Doctor held her to his body and rubbed her back while she closed her eyes and breathed in his familiar scent. Vaguely through her disorientation, she noticed a black dog collar around his neck and her hearts ached wondering what they had been doing to him. She knew though if she asked, her father would never say since it would only upset her more.
"Daddy?" she whispered, dreading the answer. "Where Mommy?"
The Doctor nuzzled her cheek with his nose.
"I don't know, Star. These men are s'pose to take me to her after I saw you."
Fear raced through Tara's mind and she gripped her father tighter, not wanting to be separated from him again. The Doctor stroked her wet hair and laid his cheek against hers. Tara frowned, feeling wetness there but didn't know whether the wetness was from her sweat or his tears.
"Time to go," she heard one of the men say.
Her grip tightened as she whispered out a no. The Doctor kissed her cheek tenderly.
"On one condition, she comes with me," she heard him say. "I won't move from here if you're gonna put her back into this hell."
"Then we'll simply shut the door and let you roast with her," the man said.
"So be it."
"No," Tara said, panicking at that. "Don't Daddy, go with them. I'll be alright. I'll survive somehow. Please don't stay in here with me and die. You don't have many lives left and…"
The Doctor put his hand over her mouth, stilling her babbling.
"You need me," she heard her father say to the men. "You've kept me alive this long. I doubt you'll let me roast alive in here and I won't leave without my daughter by my side, so which is it? Leave me here with my daughter or let us both come with you?"
There was a pause and for a moment, Tara imagined them slamming the door condemning them both to slowly roast alive. Fresh tears streaked down her face at the thought and she sniffed and swallowed hard when she felt her father kiss them away.
"Alright, she can come with you. But I warn you, keep her in line or you'll be shocked to within an inch of your life and then you'll watch while we have our way with her."
Tara felt his protective arms tighten around her and she knew that he was boiling with silent rage. He heard her father swallow hard and knew he was reining in his explosive temper for both their sakes.
"She won't give you any trouble," he said in a cold tone of voice.
"Very well, out with ya and we'll visit Mummy next."
The Doctor kissed her cheek.
"Come, my hearts, do as they say," he whispered to Tara. "For the moment we're their captives and until we can find a way out of here we must obey."
"Daddy, I love you," Tara whispered back.
This time there was no mistaking the one stray tear the streaked down his face. In response, he pressed his lips to her cheek before he helped her to crawl out of the box and stand up with him. Once they were out and standing in the midst of their tormentors, the three men ordered them to move and Tara stayed near her father's body as she walked with him back towards the hole that would lead them underground.
