Thanks to death-becomes-her3, CaveHobo, Guardian of Sarcasm, lucefatale, LunaVersipellis, .1996, CrystalVixen93, cuttiepattotie, stephzpollock, Centh97 for following/faving my story.
Cphfflover: you're welcome. Sorry it took so long.
NicoleR85: thanks!
CrystalVixen93: thank you!
dream lighting: Rose might gloat if she finds out what it was.
The phone slid out of her hand and landed on the grilled floor with a clatter. Not that Melanie cared, she was still far too in shock about what she just read. She slowly walked over to the captain's chair and sank down onto it. Parallel her was dead, killed by her uncle. She nearly shared the same fate as her counterpart if it wasn't for the fact that Sarah Jane had come along when along when she did. With a shaking hand, Melanie gingerly touched her stomach feeling the scar through the fabric of her shirt. The scar that had nearly killed her.
Her breaths started to come out quicker as all those memories came rushing back to the surface. Every beating. Every cut. Every scream she made. Her pleads for her uncle to stop. That cruel look on his face every time he hurt her. That monster had enjoyed abusing her. He took pleasure in it.
God please stop! Melanie thought hands going to her hair, grasping it as she began to hyperventilate.
When the Doctor stepped into the TARDIS moments later, he saw his Bonded in the middle of what seemed to be a panic attack. He rushed over, dropping to his knees in front of her. "Ellie", he said but she didn't seem to hear him. "Ellie look at me", the Doctor said louder. This time Melanie looked up at him, her face pale, eyes wide with panic. "You're having a panic attack. You need to calm down"
"I…can't!" she exclaimed between short breaths.
"Yes you can", the Doctor said gently taking her hands "Just breathe" he demonstrated taking in deep breaths before Melanie eventually joined in.
"I'm sorry", she said quietly when she'd finally managed to calm down. She didn't think she'd be able to but with the Doctor being there somehow she pulled her way out of those dark memories and back into the present.
"You don't need to apologise Ellie", the Doctor said giving her hands a squeeze. Whatever had given her a panic attack wasn't her fault. Though he did wonder, what had caused her to react like that? In such a severe way? "Could you tell me what brought that on?" he asked.
Melanie glanced at her phone which was still lying on the grilled floor. The Doctor followed her gaze and saw the device. He went over to it and picked it up. He quickly read the screen, getting angrier the further down the page he got.
"That was very nearly me", Melanie muttered making him look up at her "if Sarah Jane hadn't come along when she did…" she trailed off and looked down at her lap, hands clasped tightly together. The Doctor walked over, sat down next to her and hugged her.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that Ellie. But I promise, I will never let that happen to you ever again", the Doctor promised. And he meant it. She was his Bonded and he would protect her, no matter what.
"Thank you", Melanie murmured into his chest as she sought the comfort his embrace provided.
The Doctor looked over at the door a few minutes later when he heard them open. "I told you to keep an eye on her", the Doctor said seeing Mickey enter alone.
"She's all right…" Mickey said rather dismissively "Is Ellie ok?" he asked seeing the brunette with her eyes closed leaning on the Doctor as he continued to hold her in his arms.
The Doctor shot him a look to say 'does she look alright?' It was a rather stupid question to ask. Of course she wasn't alright! Mickey the idiot he thought. "This parallel world is like a gingerbread house, there's too many temptations for Rose. Namely her father", the Doctor said to Mikey.
"Oh so it's just Rose then? Nothing out there to tempt me?" Mickey asked rather hurt that the Doctor would assume that there was only something out there to tempt Rose but not himself.
"I'm sure there is something out there for you Mickey", Melanie piped up. She'd heard everything while she had her eyes closed.
"Yeah well I can't exactly worry about that", the Doctor said a little rudely. It was true. There was only two things that he was worried about right now. One, his Bonded. Two, his ship. Nothing else was important. Well…Rose running off to look for the parallel version of her dad was fairly important but that didn't surpass the wellbeing of his Bonded. That would come first and foremost to everything.
The Doctor turned his gaze to the dark console. "We're not even meant to be here. The TARDIS draws its power from the universe, but it's the wrong universe", he said to Mickey and Melanie.
"You mean like putting diesel in a petrol engine?" Melanie asked.
"Pretty much", the Doctor said agreeing with her analogy.
"But I've seen it in comics. People go hopping from one alternative world to another. It's easy", Mickey said leaning against the console.
The Doctor gave him a withering look "Not in the real world" he paused "It used to be easy. When the Time Lords kept their eye on everything, you could hop between realities, home in time for tea. Then they died, and took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed. Everything became that bit less kind".
"If the walls between worlds were sealed, how did we get here?" Melanie asked.
"I don't know. Accident?" the Doctor answered sounding weary "Should've been impossible. Now we're trapped".
Melanie took his hand "we're not trapped, just inconveniently circumstanced", she said trying to make him feel better. The Doctor smiled knowing what she was trying to do. How their roles had reversed in a matter of minutes. He was the one comforting her now it was her comforting him.
The brunette girl then noticed a tiny green glowing light underneath the console "what's that?" she asked pointing.
"What?" Mikey asked trying to see what she was pointing at.
"Is that a reflection?" the Doctor asked getting up to have a closer look "It's a light! Is it? Is that a light?"
"Yeah, I think it is", Melanie confirmed when she got up to take a look. The Doctor and Mickey pull off the grilling to reveal a small green light.
"We've got power! Ellie, Mickey, we've got power! Ha!" the Time Lord said excitedly. He jumped down and started pulling out some important looking internals. "It's alive!" the Doctor said deliriously happy when he reached the light.
"What is it?" Melanie asked kneeling down on the grill.
"It's nothing. It's tiny. One of those insignificant little power cells that no one ever bothers about, and it's clinging onto life, with one little ounce of reality tucked away inside", the Doctor explained.
"Enough to get us home?" Mickey asked hopefully.
"Not yet" the Doctor picked up the power cell and sat back on the small set of stairs under the grilling "I need to charge it up".
"We could go outside and latch it up to the National Grid", Mickey suggested.
"Wrong sort of energy. It's got to come from our universe", the Doctor said holding the power cell carefully in both hands.
"But we don't have anything", Mickey pointed out.
"There's me", the Doctor corrected before he blew gently on the power cell making it glow brightly "I just gave away ten years of my life. Worth every second!" he declared winking at Melanie. She grinned at him.
The trio watched the power cell, which was now nestled in Melanie's hands, with big smiles on their faces. "It's going out", Mickey said watching the light fade "is that ok?" he asked worried.
"It's on a recharging cycle", the Doctor explained as the light grew brighter before fading slightly "It'll loop around, power back up and be ready to take us home in…oh…12 hours?" He reached out, cupped his hands around Melanie's and kissed the power cell. He also kissed the brunette's forehead as well, just because he wanted to.
"So that gives us 12 hours on a parallel world?" Mickey asked.
"Surely! As long as we keep our heads down. Easy. No problem", the Doctor replied cheerfully.
"Uh…have you met you Doctor? From what mum has told me, you're a bit of a trouble magnet", Melanie said.
"I'm not that bad", the Doctor said to which Melanie just raised an eyebrow "ok, maybe a little", the Time Lord admitted. He was quite a bit of a trouble magnet, though he wasn't about to completely admit how much of one he actually was because he was planning to do better now that he had a Bonded. "Can we go tell Rose now?" he asked and Melanie nodded. The trio got to their feet and left the TARDIS.
The Doctor, Melanie and Mickey found the blonde sitting on a bench nearby. "There you are! You all right? No applause, I fixed it", the Doctor said taking the power cell from Melanie and showing it to Rose "In 12 hours we'll be heading back to our reality".
Melanie noticed that Rose wasn't paying too much attention as she was staring at her phone. "Your phone connected to that Cybus Network?" she asked sitting next to her.
"Yeah it has", Rose replied.
"Yeah my phone connected to it too", Melanie said.
"Rose, whatever it says, this is the wrong world", the Doctor reminded her.
"I don't exist", Rose said quietly.
"Welcome to the club. I don't exist in this place either", Melanie told her "I checked". It was a bit of a lie. Well…not completely she didn't exist in the parallel world because that version of her was dead. Not that she was going to tell Rose that. The blonde looked upset enough that she didn't exist in this version of Earth. Melanie wasn't about to make her feel worse by telling her that her parallel-self did, for two decades.
"They're rich. They've got a house and cars, and everything they want", Rose continued. She paused in thought "But they haven't got me" she got up from the bench and walked away. Then she turns to face the Doctor, Mickey and Melanie "I've got to see him", she said.
"You can't", the Doctor said firmly.
"I just want to see him", Rose insisted.
"I can't let you", the Doctor said. He should've seen this coming. He really should have. The moment Rose discovered that her father was alive in this version of reality, of course she was going to want to see him.
"Melanie just said 12 hours!" Rose retorted.
"You can't become their daughter, that's not the way it works", the Doctor firmly.
"But what about your mum in our world?" Melanie spoke up "She only has you and if you leave her, she'll have no one".
"I just want to see my dad, Melanie ", Rose repeated stubbornly. Melanie sighed and turned to Mickey for help. But it seemed he had other ideas.
"12 hours, yeah?" he asked thoughtfully as he started to back away. If Rose's father was alive in this world it's possible that his gran was too. He had to find out.
"Where're you going?" the Doctor asked bewildered.
"Well, I can do what I want", Mickey replied.
"I've got the address and everything", Rose added starting to back away too. The Doctor stood there with Melanie looking from one to the other as they backed away. "Stay where you are, both of you! Rose, come back here! Mickey, come back here right now!"
"I just want to see him", Rose repeated.
"Yeah, I've got things to see and all", Mickey said.
"Like what?" the Doctor asked.
"Well, you don't know anything about me, do ya?" Mickey countered angrily "I'm just a spare part".
"I'm sorry. I've got to go", Rose said still walking backward. The Doctor looks between them torn as to who he should go after.
"Go on, then. There's no choice, is there?" Mickey asked gesturing at Rose "You can only chase after one of us. It's never going to be me, is it?" Rose stops walking backward, turns and leaves. Mickey also turns around knowing that the Doctor would never go after him.
"Go with Rose. I'll go with Mickey", Melanie said deciding to make the choice for the Doctor.
"Ellie I don't think that's a good idea", the Doctor said not really wanting to have her out of his sight.
"Look someone needs to go with Rose, Someone needs to go with Mickey", Melanie said "I'll be fine Doctor", she quickly added seeing that he wasn't convinced "my parallel uncle is serving life in prison for what he did so there's no chance I'll even run into him. And I doubt Mickey is going off to do anything stupid so I will be perfectly safe with him".
The Doctor sighed seeing that she made two very good points. "Fine but meet back here in 12 hours" he told her and she nodded. Melanie turned to run after Mickey when the Doctor stopped her "be careful".
"I will", she promised. The Time Lord watched her run after Mickey wondering if he'd made the right choice to let her run off.