AN/ Ok, I basically have all of the Doctor's Daughter chapter's finished, save for a few minor adjustments so my sudden onslaught of merciless coursework shouldn't affect my updates :D Oh! And I have decided to start naming chapters, just to make it easier to remember what's on each chapter.

Reviews

Jasper winked: Thank you so much! I really appreciate that.

SciFiGeek14: Awesome! I'm really trying not to disappoint.

Pachysam: yea, I love Donna's sarcasm and wit, next to Rose she's my favourite companion. Lol, I liked the 'good alliteration' line. I'm sure Rose would have a thing or two to say to Davros lol.

XxBaybeeTwilightxX: haha don't worry I'm working on it, I just don't want it to seem too rushed but they are getting there, I promise!

Professor Darwin: Thank you. LOL I'd love to see Rose call Davros 'Bonkers.'

Hellsbells101: Thank you! And yes I have made a reference to that, hope you enjoy :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, nor do I own any of the characters or objects mentioned in this story... damn technicalities...

Quote: Look at these people: These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet, and blinking step into the sun. There is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than - No hold on... Sorry, that's the 'Lion King'. But the point still stands!

Chapter 10

They had finally reached the end of the tunnel and walked out into a huge room. Its walls were decoratively lavished in fine architecture and accented with huge arched windows, sheltered under a beautifully sculpted ceiling. They were surrounded by soldiers, many were injured and battle worn.

"So," began the Doctor, "where are we? What planet it this?"

"Messaline, or what's left of it," answered Cline. "Wait here," he instructed before disappearing into the sea of bodies. A voice from a loudspeaker was reading out a seemingly never-ending list of the deceased. The voice held no emotion, as though it were merely giving updates on the weather.

"Why is their base in an underground theatre?" asked Donna.

"Maybe they're doing Miss Saigon," offered the Doctor.

"Why would they build a theatre underground in the first place?" asked Rose confused, something didn't seem to fit.

The Doctor never got the chance to answer as Cline re-emerged from the crowd of soldiers, followed by an older man. "General Cobb, I presume," said the Doctor in a friendly tone. He was a gruff looking man with a no-nonesense aura about him, he didn't seem all that impressed to see the Doctor.

The General looked the Doctor up and down with scrutinising eyes, "I'm told you were found in the Western tunnels, with no marks. There was an outbreak of pacifism in the Eastern zone, three generations back, is that where you came from?"

Rose took a moment to look around as the Doctor spoke to the general. She noted how the room's extravagant decor clashed with the dishevelled military camp and worn soldiers and how the beautiful arched windows redundantly looked out into nothing but earth. Everything about the scene seemed wrong, this area never should have been a military base camp and if this was supposed to be some underground city, where were all the civilians? Also, aside from the General, Rose couldn't spot any other older men in the room, everyone else looked to be in their early twenties, just like Jenny. She turned her attention back to the conversation with General Cobb.

"I'm sorry but you can't go looking for your friend, all movement is restricted. We are at war Doctor," said the General forcefully.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," said Donna sarcastically, "I thought you were just doing a musical of 'Saving Private Ryan!'" She was getting annoyed, Martha could be in trouble and these people were being no help at all.

"Donna, that isn't helping," muttered the Doctor quietly. He turned back to the General and with a louder voice said, "Yes I noticed that you appear to be having a bit of a spat with the Hath but tell me, 'cause we've been a bit out of circulation, Eastern Zone and all that, who exactly are the Hath?"

Rose listened as General Cobb told the Doctor the origins of the war. It sounded like an old bedtime story told to children. She suspected that the true story had been distorted over time, obviously influenced with prejudice against the Hath. "Why are you still fighting them?" she asked, "if it was so long ago, maybe things have changed, can't you try to make peace?"

General Cobb snorted at the absurdity of her proposition, "we'll 'make peace' just as soon as we have the Source in our possession."

This caught the Doctor's attention, "ooh, the Source, what's that then, what's the Source? I like a Source, what is it?"

"The Breath of Life," answered the General, cryptically.

"and that would be...?" pressed the Doctor.

"In the beginning the great one breathed life into the universe. Then, she looked at what she'd done and she sighed," said the General as though reciting a memorised fable.

Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The man sounded more like an eccentric old soothsayer rather than the General of an army.

Donna seemed to be suspicious too, "why is everything built underground?"

"The surface is too dangerous," answered the General, "it is unfit to support human life."

"Then why build windows at all? And what's this for?" she asked, pointing at a metal number plate that was attached to the wall below a large arched window.

"The rites and symbols of our ancestors. The meanings... lost in time," replied the aged soldier wistfully.

"How long has this war been going on for?" asked the Doctor.

"Longer than anyone can remember," answered General Cobb. "Countless generations marked only by the dead."

"So what, you can make complicated clone-machines and fancy guns but you can't read numbers on a wall?" asked Rose not without some cheek which earned her a proud smirk from the Doctor.

"We didn't build the machines," said the General, "they are ancient relics of our ancestors."

"They don't look that old to me," Rose pointed out, catching the flaws in the General's story, much to his vexation.

General Cobb turned to the Doctor, "you'd do well to keep your woman in check," he advised, ignoring Rose's argument.

The Doctor grinned, "actually, I think she raised some interesting points. That's Rose you see, always noticing things and Donna too, can't forget Donna!"

"That's right," said Donna, cutting in, "me and Rose are the eyes and ears while he's the gob."

Rose sniggered and the Doctor pretended to look offended.

"Enough!" barked the General, "this way!"

"What is it with me and generals lately?" mumbled the Doctor to Rose.

"You just have a gift for annoying authoritative figures," she joked.

"You say 'gift' like it's a good thing," muttered Donna.

"Well it does make things more interesting," reasoned Rose.

"So does sticking ferrets down your trousers but you don't see us doing that in a hurry," countered the fiery redhead.

They stopped when they came to a panel with a hologram map floating above it. "This is a map of the entire city," explained the General.

"Does that include the Hath zones?" queried the Doctor.

"Yes, why?" asked General Cobb.

"You think it could help us find Martha?" piped Rose, noticing the gears turning in the Doctors head.

"Yup," answered the Doctor. "Hold on, there's a layer of suppressed information below this." He brushed passed the general and pulled out his sonic screwdriver before using it on the panel. The others watched in fascination as a whole complex of new tunnels appeared on the map.

"Amazing..." breathed the General in awe. A part of the map caught his attention and he pointed towards it, "that must be the hidden temple, the Source will be inside!"

Cline pushed forward to have a look, "we're closer than the Hath," he said excitedly, "it's ours!"

"Tell the men to prepare to move out," instructed the General, "we'll progenate new soldiers in the morning shift, then we march!"

"What will you do with the source once you find it?" asked Rose in concern.

"Isn't that obvious?" scoffed the General, "We'll use it to bring peace... by wiping every last stinking Hath from the face of this planet!"

"You can't!" cried Rose.

"Really? 'cause I've got a map and an army that says I can," countered General Cobb.

"Well I say you can't," said the Doctor sternly, "and what I say, usually comes to pass."

General Cobb smirked at the Doctor, "and what's a pacifist like you going to do to stop me? After all, you're the one that showed us the way, Doctor." He turned to Cline, "let them consider the irony from their prison cell. And take her with you!" ordered Cobb, pushing Jenny towards them, "she's from pacifist stoke, no good to us."

Cline raised his gun at them threateningly. "Oh and Doctor," said the General, gaining the Doctor's attention once more, "if you try anything, I'll see that your woman dies first," he threatened, looking pointedly at Rose.

The Doctor gritted his teeth and wrapped a protective arm around Rose, pulling her towards him, "touch her and you'll be sorry," he warned, with a venomous glare.

"Not as sorry as you'll be," retorted the General. "Take them away."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Things weren't looking good, there was a good chance the Source was a weapon and thanks to them, the General now had directions to its location. To make things worse, Doctor had just been on the phone to Martha and it sounded like the Hath were also on the move, if they didn't do something soon there was going to be a bloodbath. However, instead of doing something useful, the Doctor was currently arguing with Jenny.

"You are such a hypocrite! You keep insisting you aren't a soldier yet here you are, drawing up battle strategies like a proper general!" laughed the girl.

"No!" protested the Doctor, "I'm trying to stop the fighting!"

"Isn't every soldier?" countered Jenny.

The Doctor looked caught out. "Well... I suppose... but that's... that's... I haven't got time for this! Donna, Rose, time to go!"

"What about me?" asked Jenny, looking hurt.

"You aren't coming, you belong with them," he said without looking at her.

Rose couldn't take it anymore, she pulled herself up from the bed and walked over to the Doctor, pulling him to face her. "You know that's not true, she belongs with you, Doctor."

"She came from that machine," he said forcefully.

"She came from you," argued Rose, "she's your own flesh and blood and you know it!" She glared at him, willing him to stop being so stubborn and blinded by the scars of his past so that he could see Jenny for who she was and not where she had come from.

Donna spoke up, "Doctor, are you still carrying that stethoscope?"

"Why?" he asked with suspicion.

"Just give it here," she said. The Doctor did as she said and watched with strained eyes as she put the stethoscope on and held the metal disk against the left side of Jenny's chest. After listening for a few seconds she moved the desk to the right side of her chest.

"Listen to this, and then tell me where she belongs," said Donna, removing the stethoscope from her ears and handing it to the Doctor who reluctantly did as she asked. Rose didn't need to listen to the stethoscope to know what the Doctor was hearing, his expression said it all. Jenny had two heartbeats. The Doctor took off the stethoscope before retreating to the corner of the cell. His eyes burned with suppressed emotion as he struggled to remain stone-faced.

Rose joined him in the corner, mirroring his closed arm stance with her back to the wall. "She's not..." he started shakily, "she's not a Time Lord, just and echo." He spoke low enough so only Rose could hear. How could he make her understand? A Time Lord was more than just a speices, it was a some of knowlege, a code, a shared history... a shared suffering! How could this child-soldier possibly relate to that?

She turned to him and took his hand in hers. Her eyes bore into his as she spoke, "you told me that you were a father once before." He stared at her. "Did you love them?" she asked. He nodded silently. "What makes her any less deserving of that love?"

He glowered, "she's a soldier, she knows nothing but blood and war."

Rose's expression softened, "yeah? And who does that remind you off?"

He looked at her sharply, "what do you mean?"

"Do you remember how you were when we first met?" something flickered in his eyes, she took this as a sign to continue. "You once held a gun at me because I was standing in the way of you killing a Dalek. You could have used that gun but you didn't, you made the right choice. Give her that same chance." She continued to gaze at him, carefully gauging his reaction, desperately willing him to let go of his denial. There was a light inside Jenny that reminded her so much of the Doctor and she desperately wanted him to see it too. She knew he would see it if only he would look.

The Doctor stared at Rose deeply, she was almost overwhelmed by the intensity of his gaze. Slowly he used the hand she was holding to pull her closer to him, then wrapped his other arm round her and drew her into a tight hug. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear.

"For what?" she whispered back.

"Being you," he replied, softly. She really was amazing, even after all this time, she was still surprising him by her insightfulness and compassion.

"So, you'll give her a chance?" she asked hopefully, pulling back to look him in the eye.

"I'll give her a chance," he said, smiling back at her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It hadn't been difficult to escape from the cell. Jenny had cunningly tricked Cline with some flirtation, though the Doctor couldn't say that he approved, it had worked quite effectively. Donna was walking with him while Rose and Jenny were a little ahead. Donna nudged him slightly to get his attention, "it's funny..." she started thoughtfully.

"What is?" asked the Doctor curiously.

"Jenny... she's your daughter but she looks a lot more like Rose to me, especially with the blonde hair."

"I was blonde once," said the Doctor with a distant look in his eyes, remembering something from long ago.

"Really?" asked Donna in surprise.

"Yup," he piped, "back when I wore a vegetable on my lapel."

Donna cast him a confused and somewhat concerned look, "you know Doctor, some of the things you say aren't half barmy..."

They reached Rose and Jenny who had come to a halt. "What's mphff?" The Doctor tried to speak but Rose quickly covered his mouth with her hand. She shook her head and made a 'shush' motion before taking her hand away from his mouth and pointing down the next tunnel. There was another soldier patrolling the passageway. He was armed and clearly on the lookout for anything untoward, they would need to think of some way to get past him.

"Let me distract him," said Donna, fixing her hair and pulling her top down slightly, "I've picked up a few womanly wiles over the years."

The Doctor stopped her before she could approach the soldier. "Let's... save your wiles for later, in case of emergency."

"Want me to try?" asked Rose, smirking slightly.

"No!" snapped the Doctor, almost too loudly. He was not sending Rose to flirt with another man.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because..." he faltered, "just... because!" he started fishing through his pockets before pulling out a windup mouse. "I can use this!"

Rose arched an eyebrow, "are you serious?"

The Doctor shrugged, "it could distract him long enough to think of something else..."

"Like what, a remote control duck?" joked Donna.

"I'm going," said Rose resolutely, jumping out before the Doctor could stop her.

He watched as she approached the soldier, ready to jump out if he attacked her. However, upon seeing Rose's lack of weaponry, the soldier lowered his guard and played right into her hands. The Doctor resisted the urge to growl as the soldier got a little too friendly with her for his liking.

Donna looked at the Doctor and smirked when she saw him glaring daggers at the soldier. "It's a good thing looks don't kill," she muttered, "or that poor bloke would be dead on the floor."

"What do you mean?" asked the Doctor distractedly.

"Look at you, giving him the evils. You're jealous!" she teased.

The Doctor's eyes shot round to hers, "I am not!" he protested in a scandalised tone.

"Oh really?" she replied sceptically, "so you're naturally that shade of green then?"

The Doctor gaped at her, "I... I... I'm not... it's not.... Donna, now really isn't the time for this!" he hissed.

Donna scoffed, "just grow a pair and tell her how you feel already," she muttered.

The Doctor glared at her before turning back to Rose. If only it were that easy. Since she had got back he hadn't once been granted a moment alone with her.

He still remembered their last conversation on that beach, the memory of her confessing her love for him had been etched in his soul and he cursed the universe for its cruelty, tearing him away from her before he could do the same. Yet for once, the universe had been kind. Against all odds, Rose had returned to him and he had a second chance, a precious rarity for him.

However, he couldn't help the sinking feeling in his mind that told him something was coming. He felt like he was caught in the flow of a river, rushing towards a waterfall with nothing to hold onto. Helplessly unable to stop or even catch his breath.

Rose was still talking to the soldier but she had begun backing towards them, coaxing the soldier along with her. She had his undivided attention, he was so engrossed in her that he didn't even notice the trio hiding behind the wall when he passed them. Jenny took the opportunity to sneak up behind him undetected and she knocked him out with a single blow to the back of the head.

"You didn't have to clobber him!" the Doctor automatically chastised but he wasn't as upset as he should have been. A tiny, guilty part of his consciousness was thinking it served him right for coming on to his Rose. The thought stunned him slightly, when had he become so possessive?

He felt a soft hand take hold of his own and turned to see Rose standing beside him. He was looking at him questioningly, "something wrong?" she asked in concern.

"Nope, everything's fine," he said with a slightly forced smile. She looked at him sceptically, he couldn't fool her, she knew when something was bothering him.

Before she could respond, Donna called from further down the corridor, "Oi, Will and Grace, hurry it up!"

"Right!" chirped the Doctor, smiling at Rose. "Shall we?"

Rose rolled her eyes and gave up questioning him for now, "come on then," she laughed, trailing him by his arm after Donna. He chuckled as he allowed her to lead him down the tunnel.

TBC

Next chapter will be up soon, please review and tell me what you think, feedback really helps :D