Rose carefully stepped up the stairs to the West Wing, constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure nobody was following her. She half expected Jack or Donna to just jump out from behind something or under a counter, and Hannibal's eyes watching her as she walked definitely wasn't helping with her confidence. A stair creaked under her right foot and she gasped a little, standing still for about three minutes before continuing.
Perhaps sneaking around in a castle belonging to a mad man in a leather jacket who is your jailer isn't the best idea, she thought to herself as the tiptoed up. Well, too late to turn back now, I suppose.
It took a few long, drawn-out minutes with plenty of stops whenever the stairs creaked to reach the top. There was still no movement around her, and she thanked whatever gods may be for that. The West Wing was significantly smaller than any other sections of the castle, and was much less decorated or well kept than the rest as well. There were only about six doors in the long hallway, and one at the very end that was much larger than the others.
Since all the other doors were open she could peer inside without making a noise, and wasn't too surprised to see they were all empty save a chair or two. When she reached the end of the hallway she inspected the door thoroughly, disappointed to see the only way to open it would be to turn the doorknob and chance making a much too loud sound.
Could she really risk it?
If there was one thing she was sure of, it was the fact that at this point in her tiny adventure, she was definitely not going to turn back around and go back to her room. The overwhelming curiosity of what may lie behind the door overpowered her, and before she knew what she was doing she was inside, quickly shutting the door behind her.
The room was dark, like the rest of the castle at night, and the only reason she could see was three large windows allowing beams of moonlight in. Dust and cobwebs were scattered about, and she resisted the urge to squeal when she saw a spider run by her feet. The room was large and oddly shaped, a rectangle with a few extensions on every wall. Near where the windows were was the largest extension, on the wall away from the door. There were a few chairs underneath each window, and in one of them was a figure with its head buried in its large hands.
Near the windows was a large glass vase, held up by a short gold column, with a beautiful rose in it, lit up by the moonlight. The rose had very few petals left on it, and as Rose stared at it another fell off so only three remained. She took a step closer riskily, keeping close to the shadows so whoever the figure was wouldn't see her. As she got closer and closer she was able to assume it was the Doctor crying, his noises just barely audible.
With a sniffle he looked up in her direction, tears covering his cheeks and eyes red and puffy, not as intimidating or frightening as they usually were. Rose panicked, afraid that he could see her, and stepped closer to a pole that she hoped she could hide behind. Unfortunately, the wooden board that her foot hit creaked loudly, making the Doctor stand up and wipe his own tears away with his leather jacket sleeve, searching around the room for the source of the noise.
"Who's there?" He demanded with a growl, eyes regaining the iciness they usually had. "Come out, NOW!"
Rose sighed and stepped out from behind the column to face him, prepared to explain what she was doing there. However, before she had a chance to get out one word she was pinned against the wall with him holding her shirt, foaming at the teeth like an animal.
"ROSE! I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME HERE!" the Doctor screamed in her face, raising his hand as if to hit her.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, trying to squirm away from him. "Don't hurt me, please don't hurt me!"
"I told you," he repeated slowly, staring daggers at her, "NOT TO COME HERE! Why are you here?! GET OUT!"
Suddenly, lights flickered on and Jack and Donna entered the room in their nightclothes, staring at the two of them. "Doctor, what are you doing?!" Jack yelled, running over to them and grabbing the Doctor's arm, pulling it down and releasing Rose. "Were you about to hit her?! Let her go!"
The Doctor complied, not moving his eyes from Rose's even as Jack scolded him to no end and Donna slapped him on the arm. "I'm so sorry," Donna said to Rose, giving her a hug and allowing her to cry on her shoulder. "Did he hurt you?"
Rose shook her head quickly, "He was about to."
"I told you, clearly, you're not allowed in the West Wing!" he growled, trying to reach for her again but being held back by Donna. "I told you not to wander off, Rose Tyler!"
She stared at him through her tears, "I just wanted to see… I didn't mean to intrude, I swear!"
"I WILL KILL YOU!" He screamed, voice cracking a little on the third word as tears came to his own eyes again.
Rose didn't like to go back on her word, but at this point it was a necessity.
Rose broke away from Donna's grip and sprinted out the door, down the stairs, and outside the castle itself. She opened the gate without hesitation, running out into the woods without packing any of her possessions or food. "How could he?... God, I didn't mean to," she cried to herself, circling around in the snow and looking for the direction she had come from.
She rubbed her arms desperately for warmth and swiped away her tears with her sleeve. The trees loomed over her threateningly and casted shadows all across the forest, making her feel alone. Then a low growling came out from the distance and she wanted to shrink down to the size of a mouth. It couldn't possibly be wolves…
Suddenly, six wolves surrounded her on all sides and she yelped, falling down onto the snow and circling around, looking for any route of escape. They closed in on her slowly as she covered her head in her hands, completely defenseless aside from her own fists and feet. She kicked at one of them when it came too close and it snarled at her.
The Doctor ran in, jumping in between the unsuspecting wolves and grabbing Rose's hand. Before Rose could ponder on how the Doctor had gotten there, whether or not he had followed her, he was pulling her away. "Run," he said simply, tugging her past the wolves that were now chasing them. He threw Rose forward, making her face-plant in the snow as he turned back to face the animals. A wolf bit him on his arm and another on his leg and he roared in frustration, pulling out a gun in a holster on his belt and shooting it at a wolf's leg as a warning. The wolf who was shot whimpered loudly and began to limp away as quickly as it could, and the other wolves were instantly discouraged, backing away slowly before sprinting in the other direction.
"They bit you hard!" Rose exclaimed, rushing over to him as he collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Bleeding…" he mumbled, staring up at her. "Bleeding…"
She examined the wounds and found that he was right; he was indeed bleeding quite a bit. His torn arm looked to be much worse than the leg wound. Snow turned red as Rose tried to carry him, though she ended up just dragging his body on the ground with him shuffling his uninjured leg and arm to help her move him. When she got him inside the gate the Doctor finally lost consciousness and Donna and Jack rushed out to help her carry him.
A/N: I'd really, really like to apologize for the hiatus for this story! Apparently my beta had forgotten to send me this chapter which she had already read over. She's been very busy lately and hasn't had time to beta much more. However, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review if you like it!
