A/N: Hello lovely readers and followers! I'm back and now I have a Beta! So a big Hurrah to anna1991, she's the best!
Anyway, here's the next chapter, again my own original. Please leave me a note to tell what you think! I'd love to read your comments!
Disclaimer: Doctor who is not mine but some of the characters in this chapter are, I gues...
Dungeon And Dragon
Rose had hoped that speaking about the Master would somehow make the pain go away. Or that speaking about him with the Doctor would somehow correct what was broken. But it didn't. The next day they had come to a wordless agreement not to mention anything they had spoken about last night. She wasn't sure what exactly it was that had caused this or whether is had just been the overall idea of the Master that kept the Doctor on his toes. He didn't act any differently but Rose could sense that he was more distant and cold towards her than normal. And he kept acting like that for days. There wasn't exactly anything she could complain about. The Doctor was his usual, overactive self: he spoke to her like he always did, but there was still something lacking. It took suprisingly long for her to figure out what it was: she couldn't feel his love anymore. It wasn't like he didn't touch her, because he did, just as much as ever. But somehow it was different, and the lack of that overwhelming, warming, crushing feeling made his touch feel that much emptier. She first noticed it in Pavola, where they went to a wedding. It was a great celebration of love, and while she leaned her back against the Doctor's chest, his arms wrapped around her waist as they looked at the fireworks, she noticed that his presence in her mind was somehow different. After that it became more obvious as he didn't touch her as often anymore. He didn't hold her hand while they were running. He didn't lean against her shoulder, or touch her arm, or put his hand on her waist, or wipe her hair away from her face, or kiss her anymore. The biggest thing, even though it was kind of obvious after all the other things he didn't do anymore, was that he didn't come to her bedroom anymore to lay down with her until she fell asleep. It started with him saying that he had something important to do, like checking the readings of the missing planets and couple of stars that had disappeared. But then it just became a habit. It was like they had never been that close to begin with. She felt a bit hurt by that, so she let him be. She was so glad that Donna was with them and that she was a perfect distraction from her worries about the Doctor.
"What's going on between you and the Doctor?" Donna asked her one day in the marketplace of a very popular planet.
"Nothing", Rose said, picked up two purple orange-like pieces of fruit, paid for them and gave one of them to Donna. She started to peal her fruit and exposed the white flesh inside it. Donna looked at it with great suspicion.
"Do you mean nothing literally or I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it nothing?"
"These things are so tasty at this time of the year."
Donna sighed. Rose couldn't really blame her. Every since she and the Doctor had started to act like they were only aquintances, Donna had acted like a buffer between them. She was the one who woke up Rose, and she was also the one who told the Doctor that the dinner was ready, and that part didn't really suit her.
"I just wish you could talk about it", she said after she had skinned her fruit. She took a bit and spat it out, horrified. "This thing is disgusting!"
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And the nightmares never ended. She was playing with the ring when she went to bed and, she didn't know if it was because of that or not, had the most vivid dream she had ever had.
"Rose", the Master said. His voice was so gentle, much more gentle than it had ever been before because it lacked all the desperation and fear. Maybe it was because he wasn't real. "You have to let me go."
Rose shook her head rapidly.
"No. I don't want you to die."
"I'm already dead", he said firmly, without hesitation.
"Then I don't want you to be dead!"
He smiled sadly and he looked so human and so different that she felt she didn't really know this man.
"It's not meant to be like that. The dead should stay dead."
"Don't you want to be alive again?" she asked.
"No."
Tears started to run down her cheeks and she shook her head again.
"I can't..." she started but didn't know how to continue. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked angrily. "Why didn't you regenerate?"
"You have the Doctor now", he answered.
"No, I don't! He doesn't want me, not anymore. He just feels responsible because I'm no longer human, because I have no one to go to. But he doesn't want me, not the way he used to."
"But you love him all the same", the Master said without any bitterness and she hated how right he was. She started to cry because it was all so true and unfair. The Master laid his hand on her shoulder and the gesture was so wrong coming from him that she shook it away.
"It's not really you, is it?" she asked, her voice breaking. He didn't answer. She woke up before she could ask again and put the ring aside, scared that it might bring her more of those dreams.
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Rose and Donna were chatting and drinking tea in the kitchen. She was telling Donna about Jack and how they had had champagne on an invisible spaceship infront of Big Ben during the London Blitz. Donna was laughing so hard she almost fell off the chair. That was when a weird, highpitched noice filled the room. Rose looked around.
"What's that?" Donna asked.
"It's a distress call. When someone is in trouble, they might send a distress call. The TARDIS picks it up easily. Followed a lot of those."
She jumped down from the chair while talking.
"We better go", she said, and Donna followed her.
"Where's it from?" Rose asked as they stepped into the console room. The Doctor pulled down a lever and glanced at them.
"From Tar'ah", he said. "That's strange."
"Why?" Donna asked.
"Because the creatures there don't usually get into trouble", the Doctor said as the TARDIS landed with a thud. "So no wandering off!"
Rose grinned at Donna as the all three of them stepped out of the TARDIS. The heat hit them immediately. The air felt heavy and moist. They were in the middle of a jungle. Rose smiled.
"You could've landed somewhere with a little bit more space", Donna muttered. Something wet and thick hit her in the face and she yelped. "Some place where there isn't any alien goo falling from the trees."
The Doctor chuckled and looked around.
"Yeah, well. Best to hide the TARDIS just in case. And what's a better place than this?"
He started to head off and the women followed him. Donna tripped behind them and started yapping about alien jungles. The Doctor stopped to help her up and Rose kept going. She had the weird sensation that someone was looking at her but when she turned around she could only see leaves and bushes. She pushed away some lightblue leaves and found that the jungle got sparser. She looked around, her eyes met something that didn't fit in with the surroundings and her heart skipped. The TARDIS.
"Rose?"
The northern accent made chills run up her spine and she turned around with a huge grin on her face. The Doctor, her first Doctor, was standing there, completely astonished.
"What are you doing here?"
She just stared. She had thought she'd never see this him again. But there he was. And that was wonderful.
"I could ask you the same question", she said. "Where have you left me?"
"I asked first."
Rose laughed a little.
"Fine. We got a distress signal."
"'We'?"
"You, me and Donna."
"Right", he said and paused. A glimpse of joy shone in his blue eyes. "So you're with me after..."
"Yeah."
He nodded and smiled. Oh, how much she had missed that smile! How much she had missed him!
"So, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Probably the same as you. I got a distress call."
Rose opened her mouth to ask again where her younger self was, remembering what had happened the last time she had met herself, when a voice interrupted her.
"Rose? Who are you talking to? That sounds exactly like... oh."
The Doctor, the one whom she was with now, had finally found his way through the jungle and to see who she was talking to. They stared at each other. The younger Doctor crossed his arms. Donna stumbled out of the jungle, cursing the lianas, and turned to the younger Doctor.
"Is that him? Did he call for help?" she asked.
"No", Rose and both of the Doctors said at the same time. They grinned, and Rose shared her amusement with the younger version.
"Okay. Who is he then?" Donna asked, sensing that there was something everyone else but her knew.
"I'm the Doctor", the Doctor said, nodding to Donna.
"You too, huh?" Donna said. She turned to look at the older Doctor and grinned. "So you're not the one and only 'Doctor'. Is that why you glare at each other like that? Because you aren't so unique in the universe anymore?"
"Well, yes and no", the older Doctor said, not taking his eyes off his other self. Suddenly Rose found the situation extremely funny and burst out laughing. Donna seemed to confused and both of the Doctor's looked a bit hurt, but she didn't mind. She hadn't thought something like this could even be possible. And this was completely brilliant. In the end she got a hold of herself, wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and cleared her throat.
"Sorry", she said with a giggle. "Just seeing both of you..." she smiled at the older one and then at the younger one. "It's just... fantastic."
"What are you doing here anyway?" the older Doctor interrupted.
"Got a distress signal."
"Well, we're on it. So you can go back to your TARDIS and pop off."
"No, I don't think I will", said the one in leather. "Besides, Tar'ah is a big planet. I think we are much faster if we go in pairs."
He winked at Rose, who grinned back. The older Doctor immediately stepped closer to Rose and wrapped his arm around her waist in a possesively. Rose managed to catch a hint of jealousy from him before he shielded his mind again. She looked up at him and frowned. He hadn't touched her in days, and now suddenly... that was ridiculous.
"Okay, I'll go with Rose", he said, cutting Rose's thought short. "You can take Donna..."
"That's fine with me", Donna said, giving the younger Doctor a smile that made Rose want to laugh again. Especially when she saw both of the Doctor's reactions.
"Donna, there's one thing you should know", Rose said, shaking Doctor's hand from her hip and going to her. "He's the Doctor", she said, pointing at the man in the pinstriped suit. "And he's also the Doctor", she continued, pointing at the other man. "They are both the Doctor. One man. It's a Time Lord thing", she said quickly as Donna opened her mouth bewildered. "He changes his body if he's dying."
"What?" Donna said.
"He can explain it", the younger man said. "You go with Donna. There's no point for me to take her, I don't know her. I want Rose."
"But..."
"I'll go with him", Rose said, nodding at the leatherjacket Doctor. The other one narrowed his eyes at her but she only smiled innocently. He was the one acting all coolly and distantly and now that there was another man, who wasn't really another man, he got all possessive? Not gonna happen.
"Fine", he said finally. "But just one more thing."
"What?"
He bent closer and kissed her rather passionately, leaving Rose a bit breathless as he pulled away. She sucked her lips in for a second and tried her best not to look at the younger Doctor. But she did. The astonished and shocked look on his face made her grin against her will.
"If anything happens to her", the Doctor growled at himself before giving Rose a peck on the forehead and turning to Donna.
"Come on, we're going this way", he said gloomily and stormed off. Donna followed him silently. Rose turned to look at the Doctor she was left with. She was feeling very confused and, to be honest, flattered, that the Doctor seemed to be jealous of himself. But now wasn't the time to think about that. She cleared her throat and hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt.
"This way, then?" she asked, pointing in one direction. The Doctor raised his eyebrows.
"So I'm not going to get any explanation?"
"For what?"
"For what? That bloody kiss he just gave you! Is that where this is going?"
Rose smiled a little and tiltled her head.
"Does it seem that bad?" she asked. The Doctor blushed and it gave Rose more satisfaction than she had expected. She laughed and let her hand slip into his. It happened almost automatically: she had forgotten that this Doctor could also sense her mind, and that he wasn't used to it. His whole body tensed and he turned to look at her so quickly that he felt dizzy and Rose felt it too. But that wasn't all she felt. There were so much feelings inside him, and, if she was honest, she wasn't ready to feel what he felt. The emotional storm inside his mind was powerful and almost violent. The self-hatred that in the older version of him was a constant but well-hidden ache was almost physically painful in this body. There were so many dark and negative emotions and thoughts, so much more blame and fear and loneliness. It was all so horrible and surprising that Rose's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm so sorry", she whispered, taking his hand into both of hers and raising it to her lips. He took a firm hold of her with both of his hands, as if touching more of her would also make him feel more of her. She closed her eyes and let him feel everything she could to comfort him and to ease his pain. She felt his confusion and growing fear inside his mind.
"How do you..."
She shook her head, eyes still shut. His mind was different, there were a lot more shadows and the shapes were dark and towered above her, but somehow it still wasn't threatening.
"Is this how you feel?" she whispered in a broken voice. His pain pulsed through her and she shivered. He tried to pull awaty, scared that she couldn't take it, but she didn't let go. He stilled, and as she looked up at him she saw that he had closed his eyes, breathing deeply in and out.
"All the time."
Rose squeezed his hand and then, suddenly, without any warning, he placed his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her. It took her completely by surprise. Not just the fact that he kissed her but also how differently this him kissed. While the older him was exploreing, passionate, curious and playful, this one was fierce, hard, desperate and almost rough. His other hand went up to her hair to keep her face near his as the other one ran down her side and around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck, melting into the kiss, pressing herself against him. Because if there was anything she regretted not doing with this him it was this. She felt his thoughts racing and swirling so fast that it made her dizzy. There seemed to be quite a lot of 'I shouldn'ts' but he still didn't stop. She was more than happy about that.
I love you, she let herself think. And even though the Doctor didn't answer her, even though the affection he sent her wasn't exactly love, she knew that he was just about to get there. When he pulled away there was big smile on both of their faces.
"Happy you did that", Rose breathed. "One thing I always wanted to do."
"Me too", the Doctor said. "I'm just sorry I need to go back to the other you and forget this ever happened."
"You do?" Rose asked. They started to walk, and Rose took his hand, even though it wasn't so common for her and this version of the Doctor to walk hand in hand and she could feel his pleased surprise, and how desperately he took in every bit of her he could into his mind, and she could feel that he had lightened up a little. "Why?"
"Time Lord thing. We have to suppress our memories if we meet another version of ourselves. To avoid paradoxes."
"Okay."
They walked on.
"Is it because he's so pretty?" the Doctor asked suddenly.
"Is what because he's so pretty?" Rose asked. He smiled.
"Well you do have a thing for pretty boys", the Doctor said with a wink.
"I do not!"
"Oh excuse me, but Adam was nothing but pretty!"
"Yeah, Adam was a mistake", Rose mused. "Mickey's not exactly pretty."
"He kinda is", the Doctor said.
"Jack is definitely pretty", Rose continued without thinking. "But he's more than just a pretty face."
"Who's Jack?"
Oh, right, woops. The Doctor seemed to realise her slip and waved his hand.
"Never mind."
"But you've met Adam", Rose argued suddenly. "Jack didn't come so long after that. What time period are you from? I don't remember staying that long with Mum between Adam and Jack."
"You were just picking up clean laundry", the Doctor said. Rose lifted her eyebrows.
"And you couldn't wait that long?"
"I said I got a distress call! You don't sit around and wait for your companion to come when you get a distress call."
"No, ofcourse not", Rose said dryly. "Because you don't happen to own a time machine. Oh your older self is so gonna hear about this later! You'll be sorry not to be able to supress that lecture!"
"So you're giving me lectures now, are you?" he asked, sounding more amused than angry.
"Haven't I always?"
He shrugged.
"Someone needs to keep you the line. Not that Donna couldn't do that, she's brilliant at it."
"No one does it better than you, Rose."
She grinned and bumped him with her shoulder.
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They walked out of the forest and to the field that opened wide before them. The view was breathtakingly beautiful and Rose stopped for a moment just to look at it.
"Why haven't you ever brought me here?" she said, mostly to herself. The Doctor, however, shrugged.
"Lots of other places to see."
They walked down the hill.
"So..." the Doctor said, breaking the silence. "You look older."
Rose glanced at him.
"Thanks."
"No, I mean, you're nineteen. In my timeline, I mean. And you don't look nineteen now", he paused. "How old are you?"
That was a question she needed to think about for a while. At somepoint, during her captivity with the Master, the year that never was, and all those months in the TARDIS, she had lost her sense of time. Something that would probably never happen to the Doctor.
"Um... I guess I'm twenty-nine", she said after a small pause. He gaped at her.
"What? You've been with me that long? Ten years?"
"Well", Rose said, thinking of the time she had spent separate from the Doctor, the time the Doctor had spent separate from her and the time that the Earth had spent separate from both of them. "You can argue about that."
"You don't look that old", he said. Rose snorted.
"Yeah, because you look nine hundred. Like that's a young age."
"For a Time Lord it is."
"Ofcourse it is!"
They laughed and he pulled at her hand so she'd follow him.
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They were at the bottom of the valley when it happened. She hadn't ever felt anything like it. It was kind of like the telepathic link she had with others with the same ability, but this time it was so strong it worked without skin contact, and it was much clearer than it had been with the Ood. Because even though her hand was linked with the Doctor's, she knew this wasn't him. It was something much larger and in a lot of stress and pain. And this time it wasn't just a feeling, it was a real voice; a bit like the Ood singing, but this was a scream.
"Can you hear that?" she asked.
"Yeah."
The Doctor hesitated for a moment and then, taking a deep breath, let go of her hand. His absence was much clearer. Maybe it was because she had felt him so strongly for the past hour and a half. She followed him down to the valley. He took out his sonic, chose a setting and turned around in a circle, pointing in every direction. Meanwhile Rose closed her eyes and focused on the feelings in her mind. Where was the one in such pain? What had happened to them to cause so much suffering? Suddenly she caught a glimpse of a dim room, like a cellar, and heard a low growl.
"Underground", she said as she opened her eyes. "There's a trapdoor somewhere."
"How did you -."
"Never mind that now. We need to find it."
The Doctor pointed his sonic at the ground and, after a while, it seemed to find something.
"Over here."
She went to him, moving the blue grass away from the trapdoor, and the Doctor sonicked the lock and pulled the door open. They were hit by a horrible, hot, rotten smell.. The screaming in her head grew stronger and, without hesitation, she climbed down the ladder to the dungeon. The Doctor soon followed her, searching a torch from his pocket. Rose looked around. There was a dim light that came from a lamp at the ceiling. Dust was hanging in the air, the walls and the smell was so bad that she felt like throwing up. Then her eyes met something.
"Doctor", she said slowly and the Doctor turned to look at what she was pointing at. "Is that... is that a dragon?"
"Not exactly", the Doctor answered in a low voice. "He's a Targeshé. Dragons descented from them."
He was a huge, lizard-like creature, but his head was the size of a lion and he had three two-feet-long black horns. He had six legs that ended in long, black claws; his wings were pressed against his sides and were also equipped with long claws. But as Rose stepped closer she noticed something that brought tearsto her eyes. The Targeshé was tied down with chains. They were wrapped all around him; his legs were shackled to the floor, his wings to his sides and his crocodile-like jaw was tied together. He was scarred; some of the wounds were old and some so fresh that they were still bleeding deeply blue blood. The Doctor looked speechless and, after a split second, stepped closer and placed his hand on his head. The creature gave a low growl this time.
"Be careful", Rose said automatically. But then the Doctor started to speak, and Rose, for the first time while travelling in the TARDIS, was in a situation where she didn't understand a single word. The language the Doctor spoke was beautiful and songlike. The Targeshé opened his pale eye that had a sharp and thin pupil before closing it again. The scream in her head stopped.
"What did you say?" she asked as the Doctor stood. "Why didn't the TARDIS translate it?"
"Because it didn't need to", the Doctor answered simply. "It was the only language the TARDIS doesn't need to translate. I was speaking Gallifreyan."
He didn't look at her and she knew what he was thinking and feeling right then. She didn't need the link to know it, and felt she sorry for him.
"It was beautiful", she said. The Doctor glanced at her, and even though he didn't smile, there was a certain softness in his eyes.
"A Targeshé's skin is more than bulletproof", he said than in a dark voice. "We better help him out of these chains", he said and took out his sonic. Rose followed his example, taking her sonic pen and kneeling next to the jaws. She searchedfor the right setting and pointed it at the lock. The whirr it made caused the Doctor to turn to her.
"Where did you get that?" he asked.
"Long story", Rose answered and took a hold of the chains to pull them off. But the moment her skin made contact with the iron she dropped them and cried out in pain. It was like the cool metal was burning hot and the nasty looking blisters started to rise to her palms. But that wasn't the worst part. A series of memories and imagines started to flash before of her eyes. Pete dying in her arms. Jackie crying behind the closed door. Jimmy Stone shouting at her. Mickey staying behind in the parallel world. Each memory caused the pain in her palms to grow and she dropped to her knees. The pain ran up her arms to her shoulders and head.
"Rose!"
The Doctor's voice seemed to come from somewhere far away. She felt his panic as he took her hand and sonicked it. The worry grew.
"Rose! Rose? Rose, I need you to think of something happy. Okay? Something that makes you happy."
Something happy, something happy. The Doctor. His new face popped into her mind, his grin, his hands on her hips, him kissing her. Her Doctor. I love you. You. No one else.
The pain eased. She opened her eyes and met the Doctor's worried gaze.
"What was that?" she asked, voice shakeing. Her palms were still hurting, but not as bad. She stood up.
"Psychic pain", the Doctor growled, looking from her to the Targeshé. "Turns all your emotional pain into physical pain. Just one chain of psychic pain could keep anyone down."
He let go of Rose and went to the Targeshé, his face full of rage.
"What have they done to you?" he said in a low voice. Rose could sense it, his anger, and she once again was glad to be on his side. As he bent to open the rest of the locks and move the chains away, careful not to touch them, Rose watched at the Targeshé open his mouth, showing her his two -inch-long black teeth.
"I'm sorry", she said softly, touching the scars on the sides of his jaws.
I am grateful, a voice, because this time it was definitely a voice, in her head said. That you have heard my call and come to me. Now I can die without pain.
"Don't be ridiculous, you're not dying", the Doctor snapped as remaining chains around the beast's leg dropped and he quickly kicked them aside.
There was a time when I, as well, thought that I might survive. Not anymore. I am old, Doctor, and it is time for me to move on.
The Doctor unlocked the last chain that kept his long tail still and looked around angrily.
"Who did this to you?"
You should not hold a grudge on my behalf.
"I'm not holding a grudge. I'm really, properly angry! No one should have to go through something like that. Who did this to you?"
"Doctor", Rose said calmly, but he didn't even look at her. He pulled a bottle from his pocket and gave it to Rose.
"Put this on your palms. It helps them cure faster."
He turned around to see if there was any other way to get out. Somewhere further away they heard a door open and close. The Doctor squared his shoulders, and the oncoming storm was clear on his face. An alien came around the corner. It was about eight feet tall; a pale, naked, female figure, completely white, including its eyes, and it had a long mane that started at the top of its head and ended at the end of its long tale. It was hard to read its facial expression as it didn't seem to have pupils or eyebrows, but its mouth opened a little. Rose took that as a sign of surprise.
"Who are you?" asked the female. "How did you get in here?"
"I might ask you the same question", the Doctor said and there was none of his usual kindness in his voice. "But I know that you're Kabilian. So I'm gonna ask you something else. Why? Tarheshés are peaceful creatures, a race with great wisdom. Why did you do this?"
The Doctor was more than two feet shorter than the alien in front of him, but that didn't make him back of or try to reign in his fury. He looked so threatening that Rose couldn't blame the Kabilian when it took half a step backwards.
"Lucky!" shouted the alien. Soon there came another one, a bit taller and obviously male.
"Yes, Joy?" he asked before seeing them. "Who are they?"
"I asked, but they didn't answer", Joy said.
"Neither did you", Rose pointed out. She stepped next to the Doctor and took his hand to give him her support. "And I must say that we would very much like to have an answer. What has that beautiful creature back there ever done to you, huh?"
"He's on his own planet", the Doctor said with spite. "Why have you come to Tar'ah to torture its inhabitants?"
"We came here to look for a place to live", Lucky said, pointing at the Targeshé with his whip. "They started a war."
"You should've just stayed on your own planet and let the other creatures be", the Doctor ended in an ice-cold voice.
"No, we couldn't! Our planet was lost! We came here to look for safety, tried to work with them -"
"So you made the targeshé your slaves and wondered why they fought back?" the Doctor asked, his eyes raging even if his voice was calm.
"We only put them out of our way", Joy said coolly.
"What, so there's more of them?" Rose said, shocked. "More targeshé locked down using psychic pain?"
"Not anymore", Lucky said with a sly grin. Right then Rose didn't care how tall or hostile or violent the Kabilians might be, she took a step forward but the Doctor stopped her by pulling her back. He then dropped Rose's hand and stepped closer to the Kabilians.
"Lucky and Joy, I do like your names. A bit like ours. I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose. And that 'monster' in the corner over there, his name is Hayl. It means mercy in Gallifreyan."
When they heard the word, they flinched as if he had punched them in the face.
"You have no power over us, Time Lord", Joy spat.
The Doctor shook his head. "No, you're right, I don't. But he has."
Then many things happened at the same time. Hayl stood up and Lucky raised his hand holding the whip, snapping it in the air. Hayl growled and roared but didn't dare to take a step closer.
"See this?" Lucky said, brandishing the whip. "It's psychic pain. You wanna know how it feels to lose everything, time after time? How it affects your body?"
And with that he lashed the whip towards the Doctor. Rose reacted quicker than she would have thought possible. She pushed the Doctor aside, but she didn't have the time to dodge the weapon herself. The whip hit her on the chest. It hurt a lot more than she had thought it would; it was like she was hit by an axe. Her whole body burned. Gwyneth sacrificed herself. The Dalek killed itself. Jackie was cybernized. The Doctor was screaming as the void pulled her off the lever.
She fell, but the Doctor grabbed her before she hit the ground. She felt like her head was exploding, like all her limbs were being ripped apart. Someone was screaming; a horrible scream, and she thought for a while that they needed to help them before she realised it came from her own mouth. Something happy, she told herself. Think of something happy. The Doctor.
The Doctor jumping through the time portal. He is worth the monsters. Sarah Jane in the dark corridors. Some things are worth breaking your heart for.
"Rose?"
The Master dying in her arms.
"No", she whimpered. "No. No no no."
A child wearing a gas mask coming towards her, calling for their mother. The Doctor sending her away from Satellite Five, from Canary Wharf. Slitheen. Cybermen. Daleks. Sycorax. Awerewolf. And the Master, coughing blood, over and over again. I'm dying in your arms. Dying, dying, dying.
It all hailed down on her in one horrible, painful moment. She couldn't move, couldn't do anything but scream in agony.
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A/N: Fun fact; the first time I wrote this chapter it was meant to be just to myself and there was only 10 and Rose. But somehow it made its way here. I hope you enjoyed reading it! I know I enjoyed writing it :)
