"You boys need rest," a voice in her mind said firmly. "Why don't you let me watch over her?"
"You don't even know what you're looking for!" said a voice she thought she should know. Something about it was achingly familiar.
"I would, if you would TELL me!" the first voice protested.
"Let's just go rest like she said. It's been two days. No change. Maybe…" this new voice trailed off.
"What?" the familiar voice asked hoarsely, like it knew the answer but was afraid to admit it.
"Maybe she'll never wake up."
…..
"Her brain activity is slowing down!"
"That means?"
"She might be able to wake up soon."
"Doc…"
…..
Her eyes fluttered open.
The first thing Rose was aware of was the disorientation of waking up after a long nap. Like you weren't quite sure how long it had been.
"Doctor?"
"Oh, my God!" Donna exclaimed. "Spaceman, you skinny strip of nothin', get in here!"
There was a bounding of something that sounded like feet, and then a cool hand pressed against her forehead.
"You're still burning up," the Doctor said disapprovingly. "Other than that, how do you feel?"
"Disoriented," Rose answered truthfully. "And I...my head." She clutched it and tried to push herself up, only to be pushed back down gently.
"Ah, ah, not yet," the Doctor commanded, moving into her field of vision finally.
A throat cleared itself from the doorway. "No one thought to inform me, I see."
"Jack!" Rose exclaimed cheerfully.
"Hey, Rosie," he said, voice thick with emotion.
"Did I fall asleep while we were talkin'?" Rose asked, eyebrows furrowing. "That's embarrassin'. Although, why am I in here?"
The entire room fell completely silent.
"What do you remember, Rose?" the Doctor asked carefully.
"Talkin' to Jack," she said thoughtfully. "Then, I got lightheaded, so I leaned back and closed my eyes to rest them for a bit, then there was a burnin'..." she trailed off. "That's it."
The Doctor sighed.
"Can I sit up now?" she asked.
"Sure," he agreed easily.
When she was sitting upright, she wasn't sure it was the right decision. The company in the room looked in a right state. Both Jack and the Doctor had red puffy eyes, the Doctor had at least a three day stubble, and their hair looked a ratty mess. Donna looked like she hadn't slept in a while, and her clothes looked slept in.
"How long have I been out?" she asked nervously. "Long enough for you to not show our newest memeber some hospitality, I see," she tried to joke, but it fell flat.
"It's been-" Donna began then stopped. "I think the Doctor should tell you what's been goin' on. Talk about a hell of a scare right when you first sign up for the Interglactic Weirdo Club." She rolled her eyes, but she could see the undercurrent of worry dancing beneath.
Jack opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but closed it. "I'll give you a minute to talk to her, Doc. After that, I'm coming in, because I'd like to have a few choice words
as well."
Rose frowned. "What did I do?"
Jack said nothing, just pulled Donna up by the hand and they walked out into the corridor.
"Doctor, what was Jack talkin' about?" she asked, searching his eyes.
His expression was guarded giving nothing away. "What he was talking about was you almost dying, Rose Tyler," he said flatly.
"Dying?" she asked. "But I don't understand-"
The Doctor sighed heavily and scraped his hands down his face roughly. He sat on the edge of the cot next to her. "What you need to understand, Rose Tyler, is we almost lost you. We almost
lost you because you once again thought that you could handle something on your own."
"But, Doctor," Rose protested. "They were just dreams, they were just-"
"The beginnings of regeneration," he said coldly.
"They were what?" she asked in disbelief. "But regeneration is somethin' only-"
"Time Lords do, yes."
"Then how?"
"Because of a decision you made almost a year ago," he told her softly, turning to face her. "Rose, you can't...what I mean is, a human body can't handle that kind of pain. That's why you
almost died."
"But I didn't," she pointed out.
"Barely," the Doctor said, a shiver running through his body. "The only reason you made it through was the TARDIS. She alerted me every time your heart was going into cardiac arrest."
"How did I not feel that?" she asked.
"You tell me," he said, searching her face. "I honestly don't know."
"So, what does that mean for me?" she asked. "Am I still human or?"
"Or," he supplied. "Something new."
"Or?" she asked confusedly.
"Your body is evolving," he said. "And it's all my fault. A human was never meant to withstand the Time Vortex, and even though I could contain most of it, there's still been traces lingering in your blood stream, within your very DNA. You're becoming human plus Time Lord. The thing is, Rose, there's never been anything like it. I don't know what that means for you."
"Does it mean I could stay with you?" she asked hopefully.
"I don't know," he said haughtily. "I'm still not sure if you'll even make it through the process, Rose."
Tears pricked in her eyes. "I didn't mean to make the two of you worry, it's just-"
"Just what?" he asked, his voice raising dangerously close to a shout. "I don't think you understand just how much I need you!"
Her mouth fell wide open at that. "Doctor-" she started softly.
"Jack wants to have a few words with you," he said roughly. "Remember?"
"Will you be back?" she asked, getting distressed and she could feel her heart clenching. The monitor next to her kicked into overdrive in response.
The Doctor rushed to her side and smoothed her hair comfortingly. "Relax." He sighed. "I couldn't resist, even if I tried."
She smiled at that, and felt her heart beat go down, although it still felt weird. "Seem to have that affect, me," Rose joked.
He hummed placatingly.
"Doctor," she said, but it came out hoarsely, so she cleared her throat and started again. "Will you come back and explain to me what's goin' to happen?"
"I don't know for sure," he admitted. "But, I will try."
"Thank you," she smiled gratefully. "Send in the lecturer, now."
He frowned at that. "Jack was worried too, you know. Not as much as me," he sniffed. "But he still cares about you."
"I know," she sighed.
The Doctor nodded at that. "I'll send him in."
Not two seconds later, Jack came bursting through the door. "Rose Tyler, don't you ever do that again!" he scolded, rushing to her side and sweeping her into a bone-crushing hug.
Instantly pain seared up her side. "Ow, ow!" she protested.
He pulled back, eyes looking at her apologetically. "Sorry. Got a bit carried away. Rose, why didn't you tell us?"
"Because you didn't seem to happy to talk about it." Rose shrugged. "Didn't think it was that important."
He sighed. "If you ever feel any of those symptoms again, I want you to tell us immediately, you got that? I love you, Rose. Don't want you to die on me." He grinned crookedly at her.
She smiled in return. "I'll try my best," she promised, kissing him on the cheek. "Love you too, you randy captain. So, what happened from your view point? The Doctor wouldn't tell me much?"
Jack sighed and sat beside her on the bed, tucking an arm around her for support. "You were going into cardiac arrest, you were burning up, you wouldn't stay conscious, and you were having seizures. Violent ones, in fact. Scared the life out of the Doctor so much, I thought he might regenerate."
She bit her lip in worry. "I didn't want that to happen."
He smiled at her sadly. "Then tell us next time, Rose. The Doctor could have done something to help."
"Will you tell me?" she asked him. "What happend on the Game Station?"
"It's not for me to tell," he said simply. "And I don't know much from your point of view. Just that I was dead one moment, and alive the next. When I went rushing to find you guys, you had just dematerialized."
She sighed heavily. "Great. I can already tell the Doctor isn't goin' to talk about it."
"You'd be surprised," he said softly. "He might be willing after all this. He was really scared, Rose, as were Donna and I."
"Oh my gosh, Donna!" Rose gasped. "How is she?"
"You gave her quite a fright, too. More than she'd let on of course, but she's starting to care about all of us, I can tell. Do you want me to tell her to come in?"
"Yeah, 'course I do!" she insisted, smiling brightly at the thought of their new red-headed friend. "She was here when I woke up, wasn't she?"
"Yeah," Jack said. "We started taking watch over you. She just happened to be here when you finally graced us with your presence. Anyways, I'll be right back. I'll tell her to come in," he promised, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head and darting out the door.
He returned moments later with a frazzled looking Donna.
"Don't suppose they're all done with the dramatics?" she asked exasperatedly. "That's supposed to be my bit, blondie! Thanks for takin' it," she chuckled.
Rose giggled. "Sorry, boss. I'll try better next time."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you'd better. Don't fancy baby-sittin' the spaceman's wife when we could be out travelin' the universe," she joked, then enveloped Rose in a hug.
"Don't you dare to that again," she threatened lowly before she pulled back.
"I promise I'll get better soon for you, Donna," Rose said. "So we can travel again."
The red-head waved her off. "You take your time. Don't want you over-exertin' yourself, do we?"
The Doctor strode back into the room, carrying a mug of tea and something else clenched in his fist.
"Drink up," he ordered Rose, handing over the mug and what looked like two pills.
"What is this?" she asked, eyeing them suspiciously.
"It's what I've been giving you intravenously, but I figured since you don't like needles, you would't be too keen to jump right on that."
"What's it do?" she asked.
"Puts the effects of regeneration into stasis," he said flatly, "until I can figure out what to do."
"You have these lyin' around, and you didn't use them on yourself?" she said hotly, thinking back to his own regeneration she experienced.
"Rose, what I'm about to attempt hasn't been done before, but if I don't do it, you die," he said blankly. "Which would you rather?"
"Then, why d'you have these pills?" she questioned, challenging him.
"I made them," he retorted, "for you, while you were dying."
Jack cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Donna and I will be back later to visit, sounds like you two are in for another married couple fight, and that is one thing, believe or not, I don't want to be in the middle of."
"Jack, you don't have to-" Rose began.
"Thank you, Jack," the Doctor said.
Jack nodded and they stepped out of the room.
"Rose, this isn't something to bat an eye at," the Doctor began. "I am completely terrified, and I have no idea what to do."
She sighed and patted the edge of her cot. "Come sit."
He bristled. "Rose, don't you get it? I can't stop, I can't take a breath, because-"
She held up a hand to silence him and downed the pills and the tea in one gulp. "There, now you have time. Sit. Down. Now."
The Doctor sighed, but obeyed what she said.
"Now, tell me what happened on the Game Station."
"Rose, I can't."
"That's exactly what put us into this situation now," she pointed out.
He muttered darkly under his breath but began. "You went back to the Powell Estates, remember?"
"More like you tricked me," she said reproachfully, smacking his arm.
He rolled his eyes. "What other choice did I have? Watch you die in front of me?" His voice broke on the last word.
Rose took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Then what happened once I got back? I remember the singing in my head, and that golden glow like with the Slitheen."
"That was the time vortex," he explained. "It understood what you wanted, which in your case was to stop the Daleks and protect us, so it rewrote your DNA and turned you into an all-powerful being, a goddess of sorts, if you will."
"Did you just call me a goddess?" she smirked at him.
"Well," he said, swallowing, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Just by way of explanation. But, you came out of the TARDIS, shrouded in this golden, glowing light. The sight of you...it took my breath away." The Doctor closed his eyes, remembering. "You explained that you had become the Bad Wolf, after the Game Station name. You told me you wanted me safe, and you defeated the Daleks like they were nothing, and they were...you were everything in that moment. The Sun, the Moon, the stars, the past, the present, and the future. It was killing you, and your last act was to bring Jack back to life, but when you did that, you brought him back permanently."
She gasped. "I made him immortal?"
"Yes," he said, "that's why I couldn't take him with us. When you're a Time Lord, beings like that, they're wrong. From a time sense perspective, he shouldn't exist, but he does. He can't die, and looking at him is painful for me."
Her grip on his hand tightened. "I did that?" she asked softly, looking down at her lap.
"You didn't know," he reassured her. "It was your compassion and the power mixing together. You couldn't stand for anyone you cared about being hurt."
"So, what happened after? How did I go back to Rose Tyler?"
"I kissed you," he admitted. "After a rather cheesy line, I took you into my arms and kissed you. I drew the vortex into myself, and that's how I regenerated. You weren't supposed to remember, because if you did, it could kill you. Obviously, I didn't do a great job," he finished darkly.
"It's not your fault," she told him gently. "You did your best. Like you said, it was my decision, wasn't it?"
"But I was supposed to protect you," he said.
"You did," she reminded him. "You sent me home to my mum. That wasn't for me, though. You should have known I wouldn't go down without a fight. That's what I did. I protected you, because you never think of yourself, Doctor."
He tilted her chin towards him so she was looking him straight in the eye. "You know," he began softly, "when you were laying there on the cot, sometimes I would just look at you, and I couldn't help but hope that I would figure this out and you would live as long as me. Do you know why?"
"Why?" she asked breathlessly, darting her tongue out to lick her lips.
"Because I've wanted to taste your lips on mine again, since I did when I took the vortex, since I did since Cassandra posessed you. Wanted to know how it is when you're in control" he said. "But I don't know...if I can, knowing you might die."
"Then let me make the decision for you," Rose said, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips against his after what felt like centuries. Her hands went up to his hair, stroking it gently, and he made a contented hum in the back of his throat. Their lips moved against each other's gently, mapping out the familiar, yet strange territory, and then they pulled away.
"So?" she asked quietly, biting her lip and not daring to look him in the eye.
"There's no power on this Earth that would stop me fighting for you, Rose Tyler," he promised her. "But you already knew that." He pulled her flush against him, resting his head on top of hers and holding her for just a few more moments.
