A/N: Here's the next chapter as promised. The one after this will be up on Friday as normal. Also I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It had to be done.
Ch. 10 ...Of humans and Time Lords
The brown-haired Doctor began pressing keys on the computer rapidly and an automated voice came overhead and said, Initiating Shift. "Hit the levers," the Doctor commanded.
Rose watched as John and the blonde-haired Doctor pulled back the levers until they were completely upright, snapping into place with a click. The automated voice came back overhead and said, Engaging Levers.
Rose grasped the magna-clamp tightly as a breeze started whipping her hair around her face, steadily growing stronger. The white wall before them was splitting, getting brighter and brighter as air started to greedily get sucked in. She let out a startled gasp when the suction grew strong enough to whip her bodily around.
Over the roaring in her ears from the wind, Rose could vaguely make out her own Doctor's delighted laughter. It was contagious and she found herself laughing along with him. Blood coursing in her veins, the rush and excitement pulsing in her body, the adrenaline building as she was jerked back and forth, knuckles white from holding on so tightly. She laughed again, feeling exhilarated.
Rose's eyes squinted as she looked to where the white wall formerly was. The light was bright and hard to look at directly as it spread and opened to encompass the whole wall. The two Doctor's were shouting back and forth at each other as they worked to keep everything stable. Rose was focusing on keeping as upright as possible and making sure her fingers didn't slip as the suction grew steadily stronger till her hair was whipping constantly in her eyes and her legs would periodically lose purchase on the ground, until she could once again find traction with her shoes.
There was a sudden jolting sound and Rose startled, gripping the magna-clamp tighter. The automated voice came back on and said, Lever Offline, in that clipped tone. Rose could feel the sudden decrease in the suction around them. She squinted her eyes to the other side, trying to jerk her head around to get her hair to whip out of the way so she could see. The lever on the other sides was still perfectly upright. That meant the problem was on their side.
"It's destabilizing!" her Doctor shouted over the noise, stumbling about as he tried to read the computer screen from his perch on the magna-clamp. His voice was panicked. "You need to get the lever back up!"
"I've got it!" she heard John shout through gritted teeth. With one hand he grasped the magna-clamp tightly and he reached out as far as he could with his other hand, finger's brushing the top of the lever.
"Hurry!" her Doctor shouted, at the same time that the other Doctor was yelling, "Hold on!"
Rose watched wide-eyed as John strained his arm further, a small grunt escaping his lips, as he grabbed ahold of the lever. He jerked his arm, gripping the lever back in an awkward disjointed manner, and was able to get the lever upright again, indicated by the firm snap into place. Immediately the suction started back up, stronger than ever. John's position was too precarious, stretched out between the lever and the magna-clamp as he was, and he struggled to regain a good grip on the magna-clamp. Rose watched in horror as his fingers slipped from the black handle of the magna-clamp. John gasped and he fumbled to catch himself on the lever, and she heard over the roaring wind, gasps of relief when he did, both his hands wrapping around the black, cushioned tip.
His legs flew out from under him, the vicious suction from the void too strong to allow him to keep himself upright. His fingers scrabbled desperately at the lever's handle. Rose was face to face with him now and she found herself looking into his eyes, their brown depths full of fear and shock. He turned slightly, breaking their contact, and locking eyes with his own Doctor, whose hoarse shouts of "hold on, John," were piercing the rush of wind. Rose followed his gaze to the blonde-haired Doctor, her face tight with fear. "Hold on!" she shouted at John again.
It was no use though. Rose turned back just in time to watch his finger's slip from the lever.
Everything went in slow motion after that. Rose could practically see each individual finger give way, wrenched from the lever under the pressure, the relentless pulling and pulling of the void. She heard her voice shouting, "John! John!" though her own mouth hadn't formed the words. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a hand, helplessly reaching out. A fruitless attempt to help him. She could hear John's own panicked shouting.
There was nothing anyone could do as the void swallowed him up.
Immediately after, as if finally satisfied with its meal, the pulling and sucking stopped and the bright light crumpled in on itself, leaving the same, mundane white wall behind.
Everything was completely silent and still.
"N-no." The blonde-haired Doctor's voice was choked, arising up out of the chilling silence. "No. No, no, no, no." Rose couldn't bear to look at her, the women with her face, as she fell apart. So instead, Rose stared at the white wall, and when she could no longer bear that either she closed her eyes.
Choked sounds and refusals and quiet, desperate pleas, were the only things to break the deafening silence. Still, Rose didn't look, didn't move. She didn't think there was any blood left in her hands she was gripping the magna-clamp so hard.
She could still see his frightened face behind her eyelids, fearful as he fell, as he was sucked into the void. Into nothingness. Rose had to remind herself repeatedly that it hadn't been her Doctor, only a man with his face that had fallen. A horrible, selfish part of her couldn't help but be grateful for that.
Careful, familiar fingers gently unclasped her hands from the death grip she had on the magna-clamp. They rubbed firmly over her white skin trying to get the circulation flowing again. Once the Doctor, her Doctor, had dropped them she buried her face in his jacket, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle and inhaled his familiar scent. He hugged her back just as tightly, as they both tried to bury themselves deep enough into one another so they wouldn't have to listen to the heartbreaking wailing of the blonde-haired woman.
"It's not fair! Bring him back!" they heard her shout and both of them jumped a little, startled by the outburst. She was banging her fist against the white wall.
"Is he...dead?" Rose whispered, voice small and quiet, muffled from where her face was pressed into his jacket.
"No," she heard the Doctor whisper back. "He's slipped through a crack to the other side. To our world." Rose gasped and hope filled her chest.
"What! How d'you know!" she asked, amazed, looking up into his solemn eyes.
"It's my universe. I'm a Time Lord and I'm attuned to it. It might be a dull feeling at the moment, but I can sense the temporal disturbance in our universe. I'm sure of it," he whispered. "Oh, Rose. He got very, very lucky."
"Doctor we can get him, though. If he's in our universe we can get him and bring him back!" she said, not understanding why his face was still set so grim. Everything would be okay. They could fix this, they could.
He cupped her cheek. "No, Rose we can't. When we go back through, we have to close the window permanently. He's trapped on our side."
Rose's bottom lip trembled. She glanced to the grieving Time Lady whose hand was pressed against the white wall with silent tears streaming down her face. "No, no there has to be a way!" she said, refusing to give up. "We can...why can't we just keep it open a little longer. Enough to get him and bring him back. Doctor, please. Look at her!" As much as the blonde-haired Doctor had been unkind the entire time they had been here, Rose never would have wished such a thing to happen to her. She could not even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose the Doctor.
Her Doctor currently was shaking his head. "If we tried we would collapse two universes Rose. I'm so sorry, but she knows she'll never see him again."
"Oh my god," Rose breathed, tears flooding her eyes.
They were both silent for a moment, still holding each other. The other Doctor was choking out sobs and muttering words they couldn't hear, and neither wished to disturb her grief, while at the same time Rose was aching to do something. Comfort her in some way.
"Does she know," Rose said after a long moment. "That he's in our universe now. Or does she think..."
"She wouldn't know," he finally said after a moment. "She wouldn't be able to tell, since it's not her universe."
"So she thinks...we have to tell her. You have to explain," Rose hissed, upset that they had already gone this long letting the poor Time Lady think...
Her Doctor hesitated again, then said carefully, "I don't...think she would really want to talk to me right now." Rose's eyes widened in understanding. "You should tell her," he finally said. "She needs to know."
"I'll try," Rose whispered with trepidation. The blonde-haired Doctor hadn't seemed to be very fond of her, but Rose couldn't let her think that...no, she had to help however she could.
The blonde-haired Doctor was huddled up on the floor now and Rose's heart ached just looking at her. She didn't look up at the sound of Rose's footsteps, just buried her head in her hands as she sobbed.
Rose sat down gingerly next to her, then very carefully placed a hand on her shoulder. She tensed up, but said nothing. "He's not dead," Rose finally said, softly. The other Doctor shrugged off her hand and shook her head back and forth. "My Doctor," Rose continued hesitantly. "He said...he said he could sense it or something. Some temporal...whats-it in our universe. He said...he said he's sure. He said that John is safe...on our side."
The blonde-haired Doctor was still and silent for a long time, slowly she looked up to Rose. Her red, tear-stained eyes suddenly had a spark in them. Something like hope, and Rose felt uneasy.
"I'll bring him back," she whispered. "I'll go through the void and I'll bring him back." The uneasiness in Rose's stomach grew tenfold. The blonde-haired Doctor's eyes were wild and fierce, piercing into her own and Rose shrank back.
"I don't think you can," Rose whispered hesitatingly. "My Doctor said...when we go back through we have to close the window for good. He said both universes would collapse if we didn't." Rose had a lump in her throat. "I'm so sorry."
"Sorry doesn't bring him back," the other Doctor snarled. "No, your sorries are good for nothing." She stood up, her face smeared with makeup and made her way to the brown-haired Doctor who looked wary at her sudden approach.
"You're going to bring him back," she said, voice low and deadly. "This is your fault for coming here in the first place! You're going to bring. him. back." On each word she jabbed him viciously in the chest and Rose winced.
Her Doctor for his part just looked sad as he gently grabbed her hand so she would stop poking him. "You know I can't," he said regretfully.
"No, don't say that. Don't. Bring him back. Bring him back," she was yelling, struggling to get away from his grasp, her eyes spilling over with tears again. "The universe can collapse! I don't care. Just bring him back!"
Her Doctor had closed his eyes by this point a pained expression on his face as she yelled at him and demanded he get John, ripping her arms free from his and banging brutally on his chest. Rose almost stepped forward to intervene, but suddenly her Doctor's mouth opened and a sweet, melodious sound came forth from his mouth, one that Rose couldn't even begin to describe. It was like honey dripping from his tongue, the different notes slipping and sliding around each other, floating in the air. The blonde-haired Doctor stood completely still and stiff at the sound, hands still raised midway to another hit.
Her anger seemed to just burn out of her, so hot and short-lived, at the sound. "Please," she was saying now, eyes filled with tears. "Please." She collapsed against his chest sobbing, and he gently caught her and held her.
"I'm sorry," he was murmuring. "I know. I'm sorry."
"Please," she said again. "Please take care of him."
"We will," he promised, voice so utterly sincere. "We will."
And with that Rose felt her heart break.