A/N The truth is finally revealed. Enter the Oncoming Storm...

Chapter 10

Bolting out of the lab and into the hallway, the Doctor broke into a sprint as he headed straight for the children's ward, seeking Rose and the source of whatever had caused the distress he had sensed from her. He skidded to a halt upon reaching the doorway to the ward.

"Where's Rose?" he quickly asked the nearest person as his eyes darted around the room in search for her. He didn't need to ask if something had happened to her, he only needed to know what. "Tell me what's happened."

One of the other nurses who'd been on duty when Rose passed out came over to the anxious Time Lord and explained what had happened with her. "She was working and just collapsed. We're not yet sure why. She was taken to the exam room next door. But it's alright," she sought to assure him. "Rose is being taken care of. Dr. Kedra is with her now."

The nurse hadn't even finished speaking before the Doctor turned on his heel and dashed to the room next door. He burst in just as Dr. Kedra was trying to reassure and urge a distressed Rose to lie back down on the exam bed so she could finish the scans she had begun.

"Rose!" the Doctor exclaimed as his eyes fell upon her. A pinstriped blur, he rushed into the room and straight to her side as Dr. Kedra stepped back to allow him space. Upon reaching her, his hands roamed her face and his eyes flitted back and forth between both of hers, seeking to find answers within them while at the same time drawing small comfort in finding that she was at least now conscious. At the sight of him, Rose realized any distress she'd been feeling had just been thoroughly topped.

"What's wrong, love? What happened?" he asked gently but with obvious concern.

The Doctor rarely used such endearments for her around others – that was too private for him, and if he spoke them it was usually only when they were alone. Now Rose knew the extent of his alarm. She wasn't sure if she could really give him an answer, though. She still didn't know what was wrong herself.

"Dunno," Rose replied, still sounding dazed. "Last thing I remember was the room feeling like it was startin' to spin, and then I guess I must've hit the floor."

He stroked down her hair, his brows knitted together in concern as he studied her pale face.

Professor T'neer came into the room just a minute behind him. He and Dr. Kedra exchanged a significant glance. She gave him a slight nod, silently confirming his single question before she turned and spoke to Nurse Leedra who had been helping attend Rose.

"Thank you for your assistance, but I can manage from here. Would you mind giving us all a few moments?"

Nurse Leedra nodded and dismissed herself from the room, closing the door behind her.

"There's no need for all this fuss," Rose insisted as she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, firmly ignoring the dizziness that once again threatened her balance as she did so. She was beginning to feel a little embarrassed for causing such a commotion and generating all this unnecessary attention. She was sure all was fine, and especially hated worrying the Doctor over what was probably nothing. He had a fierce protective streak when it came to her as it was – the fragility of her human mortality always at the back of his mind – and he didn't need an unnecessary catalyst to enhance that fear. "I didn't feel like eating this morning and I haven't had any lunch yet. I probably just got dizzy from low blood sugar, or somethin'," she reasoned.

The Doctor pursed his lips. He wasn't convinced that's all it was. "You shouldn't have had a lack of appetite regardless." He pressed his open palm to her cheek and then her forehead. "And you should have told me this morning that you weren't feeling well," he added softly. "I never would have left."

She took his probing hand in hers and smiled back gently. "And that was the reason I didn't. I'm fine, though."

Still skeptical and not taking any chances, he pulled out the sonic screwdriver to scan her, but Dr. Kedra held up her hand and quickly spoke up in order to stop him. She needed to break this news carefully.

"Doctor, wait, please. If you'll give me just a moment to explain, I can tell you exactly what is happening with Rose."

The Doctor lowered the sonic and looked between her and Professor T'neer.

"What'd you mean?" Rose asked cautiously. She had now convinced herself there was nothing wrong, but Dr. Kedra's face said there was definitely something.

Dr. Kedra paused for a heavy moment before speaking, weighing each word with care. "Professor T'neer and I have found a way to save our people, and it involves the two of you."

The Doctor shook his head impatiently, not following and already not liking anything that involved Rose that he apparently had no knowledge of. "What are you talking about? And what does any of this have to do with Rose?"

She took a step closer and spoke earnestly, imploring him to accept what was about to be said. "Doctor, are you aware that your own biology could have the ability not only to eradicate the genetic mutation we've been fighting but also to extend lives exponentially? If a vaccine could be created using your genetic material, then–"

"That would never work," he abruptly objected, and still didn't see what his physiology had to do with Rose. "Your people are in no way compatible with–"

"No," she cut in, "but we are compatible with humans. Like Rose." She took a deep breath at the same moment the Doctor stopped breathing. "If a genetic cross between the two of you was created, those genetics could be the salvation of Janyeer."

The Doctor's words, when they came, were spoken so low they were barely audible. "What have you done?"

Dr. Kedra looked at Professor T'neer, then between the Doctor and Rose. "Please understand the extreme importance of this...why we felt it necessary to do it this way. Too many lives were at stake to risk a refusal." She paused. "With the injections Rose has received, we have made it possible for the two of you to conceive a child. A child that could save our race."

The Doctor fell deathly silent. Rose felt as if she might pass out again, but not because of what she'd been feeling earlier. Dr. Kedra's words came as an utter shock. This was positively the last thing she ever expected to hear.

Rose fought to keep her voice steady as she sought to speak the impossible question now rushing through her mind. "Are you saying...are you saying that...?"

Dr. Kedra smiled, albeit tentatively. "You're pregnant, Rose. According to the scan I've just run, you're one week along."

Rose's mouth fell open limply as her hand instinctively went to cover her abdomen. Pregnant? Dr. Kedra continued speaking, but Rose's mind was reeling and she barely even heard the words.

"Even though it is early for you to be exhibiting symptoms, it's not a cause for alarm. Dizziness early on in pregnancy is quite common due to a drop in blood pressure as vasodilation increases blood flow to the developing fetus, and blood sugar fluctuations occur as your body adapts to changes in metabolism. Due to the baby's more complex physiology, it's causing your body additional exertion just a bit earlier." She was desperately trying to downplay any fear.

The Doctor somehow regained his ability to breathe but not his control over it as it came out rapid and erratic. His hands were clenched so tightly at his sides he nearly shook. He didn't look at Rose. His eyes remained blazing into Dr. Kedra's. "Do you know what you have done? Do you have any idea? Any idea at all?" A chill ran down her spine at the darkness in his tone. "This could kill her."

Mustering the courage, Professor T'neer spoke up. "We will take every precaution necessary to see that no harm comes to her or the child. As you know, our medical facilities are advanced, and I assure you we will do everything we can to ensure–"

The Doctor suddenly rounded on him, looking for all the world like he was going to throttle him then and there as the man took a sharp, stumbling step back. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!" he shouted. "Neither of you will so much as come near her EVER again, or I SWEAR you will live to regret it!"

"Doctor, p-please just listen," Professor T'neer stammered. "We ran some preliminary assessments and have no firm reason to believe any serious harm will come to Rose through this."

The Doctor's chest was heaving as his eyes, flaming with fury, bored into him. His blistering voice rang out. "You really think that's all that matters here? You believe that if Rose is physically alright then us having a child together could actually be something good? Is that what you think?"

Rose had previously been lost in the midst of her own tumultuous thoughts, but her defocused gaze snapped to attention as the Doctor's words hit her like a physical blow and was more of a shock than anything else she'd heard yet.

The Doctor swallowed down hard as he looked between the two people in front of him. His words were strained, the rage in his voice barely contained. "I have been helping you, and this...THIS is how you repay me! I've been working to save lives while you have been working to destroy mine."

Rose mentally and physically recoiled, pressing back further into the bed. She began to shut down and shut out everything she was hearing. She couldn't even begin to process it all. Her head was spinning and the blood was roaring in her ears. She wanted to curl in on herself and block out everything and everyone else.

The Doctor slowly reached into his jacket and pulled out the data-pad from his pocket. He held it up before them. His voice was suddenly deathly calm, and the cold fury in his tone was more bone-chilling than the explosive rage. "I was waiting to tell this until I was absolutely certain. I have found the cure. I've found the way to reverse the mutation and restore your people's lifespan to what it once was, without making them into something they were never meant to be."

Dr. Kedra felt her heart momentarily stop. He had done it. He had actually achieved what she had thought to be impossible for him. If she had just given him time, if she'd trusted him. What had she done?

A voice she had effectively locked away these past few weeks was now free and telling her it was far too late for remorse. Rose was now at possible risk for something that never even had to be in the first place.

The Doctor looked down at the life-saving information held within the palm of his hand, then back up at the two of them as his eyes flashed dangerously. Was there any reason at all why he should save these people now? Cold vengeance began seeping through his veins, its icy tendrils unfurling and twisting around his hearts. The ease in which he could make these people suffer for what they'd done was frighteningly simple.

In this moment he felt once again like a battle-scarred soldier holding a gun, with Rose the only one standing between him and the annihilation of his enemy. All he knew in this moment was he had to get out of here, had to leave, had to run before he did something he would regret – or would never regret – and that chilling realization was now risking his soul in this crucial moment of decision.

Rose had made him better than the man of blood, anger and revenge he had once been, so he knew what he had to do even if exacting revenge was what he wanted to do.

The Doctor's voice nearly shook as he spoke. "As the people of Janyeer are able to continue on, you had better hope that the next generation does not follow in your same path. God help them if they do." Releasing it to them, he threw the data-pad onto a table across the room where it landed with a sharp thud and skidded across the surface. The harsh sound reverberating through the room was the only thing to be heard for several breathless moments.

The Doctor finally turned back to Rose and held out his hand to her, not in gentle request but in command. "Rose, let's go. We are leaving. Now."

Maybe Rose needed his commanding tone to spur her into action, because before that she'd been too immobilized by shock to even move.

Rose followed along with the Doctor out of the hospital, his pace hurried, almost desperately so, and neither one able to even speak. His vise-like grip on her hand would've no doubt been painful if she hadn't already been completely numb.

They walked each step in loaded silence as they made their way from the hospital and across to the villa, reaching the TARDIS. The Doctor couldn't even think beyond this moment. His only immediate intention was to leave this planet far behind. What had taken place here, however, was not something either of them could outrun.