AN: I'm not sure exactly how many chapters there'll be until we reach the end, but I don't think it'll be that many. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, story alerted...etc. etc. so far. Now, on with the story...it's an extra long chapter today seeing as I was in the mood to write a longer chapter than usual.

--

The faint buzzing in her mind is hurting her head. Her vision blurred as she tried to focus on the person she once thought she had trusted. She blinked, letting it clear and forcing the room back into what it once was.

"Who are you?" ordered Rose.

The girl in front of her smiled, her head tilting sideways in a similar fashion to the last time Rose seen her. This time it was no less unnerving, "It's me Rose. It's Lucy."

"No, no you're not. You're not real. This isn't real." Rose shook her head, rubbing her temples as a headache hit her, "Where's the Doctor?"

"Are you feeling ill?" replied Lucy with a smile, "Why would need a Doctor?"

"Stop it! Where is he?"

She narrowed her eyes, "There's no Doctor here."

"He has to be somewhere. This isn't real. It can't be."

"Of course it's real."

"No it's not. I woke up in a psychiatric hospital. I spent weeks there or what I thought was weeks and you were there." Lucy's smile faltered, "And the moment I dreamt or imagined or something up the Doctor or someone who looked like him, then it all started to fall apart…and I woke up here. And this can't be real so tell me, where am I?"

"You're home Rose." She replied, waving her arm around the room, "This is your home."

"No, this isn't my home. It never was. This was a dream home that I created in my mind when I was young and naïve…when I hadn't met the Doctor…" She trailed away in realisation, her eyes widening, "Wait a second, I had a dream about this the other day. And I was watching that film about someone in an asylum. This is taking things I've watched or dreamt recently and creating a world around it…"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're not real…" Realization dawned on her, a possibility entering her mind causing her to gasp in surprise, "Or maybe you are. Maybe you work for whoever did this to the Doctor and me…where is he? Where's the Doctor?"

"I don't know what you're on about." Lucy took a few steps towards her and Rose stepped backwards until she felt the hard wall against her back. The solidity of the wall was a welcome relief, but it now meant she had nowhere else to go as the woman before her advanced until their faces were inches apart, "Maybe you should go and lay down Rose. You're not making sense." Lucy leaned in closer, her voice a quiet yet harsh whisper, "Go to sleep."

Rose suddenly felt a wave of tiredness wash over her as the order was given. This wasn't right. She needed to stay awake. She was finally getting somewhere and they were trying to make her forget. She wouldn't let them take this from her – couldn't – but found instead that her eyelid felt like they were lined in lead and whoever was doing this to her, was a lot stronger than she was.

Rose felt herself slump against the wall behind her. She closed her heavy eyelids that were weighing down on her. Realising there was nothing she could do, she let herself sink into a world of blackness, hoping that when she awoke that some part of her remembered the mystery she had only just delved into. She had only touched the surface – barely grazed it in fact - and they didn't want her figuring it all out.

With her last ounce of depleting strength, she whispered a mantra in her mind, "Remember…remember…remember…"

She opened her eyes, "Remember!"

And it all went dark.

--

The door to the men's restroom opened before they had a chance to realise. They turned their heads collectively towards it before they sparing a glance at each other.

"Oh…" whispered Rose before giving a nervous smile.

The man at the door raised an eyebrow, his mouth opening in surprise. He leaned back to look at the sign on the door, "Huh?"

Rose grabbed the cuff of the Doctor's arm and began dragging him out of the men's room. She gave a quick glance to the stranger who had just entered, "Sorry," she patted the Doctor on the chest, "He just can't keep his hands off me. Insatiable," She nudged the Doctor in the chest, "This one is."

The man grinned and nodded appreciatively at the Doctor who was unsure of what was actually going on and decided to just nod in response as he let Rose drag him out.

The door swung shut behind him and he turned to her, rubbing his sore chest, "What was that for?" Rose gave him a blank stare, "You didn't have to nudge me. You know, you poke very hard."

Rose rolled her eyes before placing her hands on her hips, "So how are we gonna get out of here?"

The Doctor took in a deep breath, letting it out through his teeth, "Well…let's just go this way for now."

He had walked a few feet ahead when he heard her ask quietly behind him, "Why?"

The Doctor turned on his heel, frowning – unsure of what she was actually asking him, "What?"

"Why are you doing this? Why are you so determined to get out of hospital?" She walked forward, her hand reaching out to clasp his own, "John-"

"I am not John Smith." Interrupted the Doctor. His gaze was serious, but she regarded him under her own unsure gaze, diminishing his claims with the mere roll of here eyes.

"Fine, Doctor, you just got knocked down. You should stay here in hospital. Let yourself get better. I know it'll be awkward with me here and your wife…"

He grabbed her by the shoulders and she frowned, her sentence trailing away as she gazed into his eyes, "I am not John Smith. I do not have a wife. This isn't real. You aren't real. I'm sorry, but you're not. Now the real Rose Tyler is out in the real world and she needs my help…probably, I mean that is if she hasn't wandered off again. I always tell her not to wander off but she goes ahead and does it anyway…I know this is hard for you to understand. Whatever has created this world has created your personality and it is so much like Rose at times but you aren't her and I'm sorry. Now I need to get out of her whether you believe me or not."

"I'm real." She stated, matter-of-factly.

The Doctor shook his head sadly, releasing his grip from her shoulders, and sighed, "I'm so sorry but you're not. The real Rose Tyler's dad died when she was a little girl. She was only six months old when she lost her father, do you remember? I want you to remember. I'm sorry."

He placed his hands on her temples, hoping she would forgive him for this. It was the only way. He watched with a sorrow and guilt in his heart as he watched Rose's face scrunched in confusion, as he forced her to think back, "No, he's alive. He's…"

She paused, as images hit her. A car heading straight for her father who was standing there unmoving, shocked, dumbfounded as it came hurtling towards him, someone running out pushing him out of the way, wait, she was pushing him out of the way and the sudden feeling rose within her. The feeling of disappointment and anger meshing with that little bit of understanding, but that small emotion that was overpowered by the more predominant feelings. Another stupid human messing with history, an ordinary man saved to live another day when he was destined for death…

"Oh god…" she breathed out, her eyes watering with tears as more images invaded her mind. These were not her feelings; these were not her memories. An argument…walking to find an empty Tardis (What was a Tardis? So familiar yet not part of her life; she didn't have a Life…she never did.) A reaper rushing to kill her, but it wasn't her. Not really. A plan forming, a glowing key, a paradox…dying…living…watching her father self sacrifice himself…walking hand in hand, returning to the life they were meant to live.

Where had these images come from? They were not her own, that was obvious. How could they possible be her own memories? She had no recollection of them and even if she did, it didn't make sense why she was remembering feeling that were directed towards herself…no, these were his memories – his real ones, his real life…

He wasn't John Smith and she wasn't Rose Tyler. She wasn't real and the man she thought she loved wasn't real either. It was all a lie. It was all made up…it was a story.

"I'm not real, am I?" she breathed out, her gaze turning to meet his brown orbs. A sad smile flittered on his face as he shook his head. She brought her hand up to her mouth and let out a sob, "I'm not real…oh god, I'm not real."

He gently removed his fingers from her temples and softly replied, "I'm sorry."

And he meant it; he really really did because even though he wasn't real. Even though she wasn't the real Rose Tyler - his Rose Tyler – she was still capable of emotion and realising that you aren't real had to be one of the most painful things possible to be part of. Her life was falling apart. She had memories of living a life, of having a family and his mind had created it and he had to destroy it and he was truly sorry for that simple fact.

This was his fault.

"Do whatever you need to do to her out of here." She said, her voice laced with defeat and sorrow, "You need to save the real Rose Tyler."

"Yeah I do, but the only problem is that I don't know how to get out. Whoever has trapped me here has machinery capable of creating reality at a substantially rate. I mean my mind is powerful and very very quick and no simple machinery could keep me trapped here. I'm too intelligent."

"And full of yourself." muttered Rose.

"Yeah, but you love me for it." He winked at her and grinned, adding, "You know you do."

She blushed, "Yeah I do, but your mind created me therefore these are you thoughts so basically you're in love with yourself."

He opened his mouth to reply, but shut it once more in realisation, "Oh yeah, you're right." He pulled a face, "Well, who can blame me for being in love with myself? I mean, come on, you have seen me." Rose rolled her eyes, "Oh right, where was I? Oh yeah, I'm intelligent. My mind is way too complex to be fooled by a simple machine so whoever has me locked up has technology that they probably shouldn't have, but what do they need it for? Why lock me in my own mind? What's the purpose?" He began to pace up and down the empty corridor, letting his hand trail though his messy hair, "Think…what is it? Are they processing information? Distracting me from my own brain? Or maybe they are just...No, oh wait, yes. Of course."

"What?" asked Rose, her eyes following his pacing self until he stopped dead and turned to her, his eyes wide with delight.

"Don't you see?"

"See what?"

"It's so simple. Why hadn't thought of it sooner? The reason they want me here is – Ah!" The Doctor doubled over as pain shot through him. The dull throb that had persisted there since he had awoken in the hospital had suddenly tripled in intensity causing his knees to buckle and hit harshly against the ground.

He gritted his teeth and said, "They're trying to stop me from figuring it out." He shouted to the ceiling, deciding to address whoever was listening, "Well, ha! I know why you're doing this. You can't stop me! My mind's already worked it out and this pain just proves I'm right."

He paused as the world shimmered around him. He closed his eyes as pain burned through him, clouding his mind. They were trying to make him forget and despite it all, he feared it might work. He whispered in his mind, repeating what was happening over and over again in his mind. Not quite a mantra but hopefully his mind would be able to keep just enough residual energy that it's repetition of it would keep the idea in his mind, forcing it into existence wherever or whatever he awoke to next.

It was his last thought before everything went dark.

--

Alarms blared in the room as the android repeated, "Machine Malfunction."

"Well fix it!" ordered the man.

"It is unfixable."

"Well, what can we do with the subject? What happens?" The man turned and paced, running his hands over his face with worry, "We've never had this happen before." He muttered to himself more than to the android.

"The subject will awaken."

"We can't let it awake." He shouted, "There must be something you an do!"

"There are few positive outcomes to the numerous possibilities available. I would advise letting the subject awaken."

"No!" he barked at the metal machine, "No that is not acceptable. You will not let it awaken. You get that? It is not allowed to wake up under any circumstances! You will do whatever it takes, but they cannot be allowed to wake up under any circumstances." He took a few steps forward; raising his finger threateningly and whispered harshly to the android, "Deal with this!"

With that he left the room, alarms still blaring in his ears, leaving the android open to the numerous possibilities that could deal with things.

To be continued...

AN: Review if you enjoyed...or if you didn't.