AUTHOR'S NOTE: See? Reviews make me update every day! Anyways, hope you like it. Thanks to BelindaDuvessa for helping me figure out Rose's injuries.
Rose lay on the bed, unresponsive, a small pool of blood forming next to her head. From what he could tell, the brick had hit the headboard and smashed, and a smaller piece had hit her in the temple. He scrambled around for his phone and dialed 911. He had returned the car that morning and had no way to take her to the hospital himself. An operator clicked on immediately.
"Someone threw a brick through our window. It hit my..." What was she, exactly? "It hit my companion in the head. She's breathing but she is unconscious." His breathing was frantic and his voice didn't sound like his own. The operator promised him that someone was on the way and advised him not to touch her. He hung up the phone in the middle of her sentence, not really caring what else she had to say.
Black lettering caught his eye and he picked up a larger chunk of the brick. Scrawled in black marker was the word "REMEMBER." The breath left his body and he collapsed to the floor. This was HIS fault. My God, it was his fault.
Red and white lights slashed across their bedroom. He leaped up and sprinted toward the hallway, throwing open the front door and motioning to the paramedics. Within moments, he had a man and woman following him into the bedroom. He flipped on the light and moved back to carefully inspect them as they worked on Rose. They took her vitals, strapped her onto a backboard, and began carrying her out to the ambulance.
The man called over his shoulder to the Doctor. "You're the guy who called in, right? Boyfriend? If you want to ride with her, come on. We have to go now!"
The Doctor quickly grabbed a change of clothes for Rose and himself and ran out to the ambulance, making it inside just before they closed the door. While the female paramedic kept a close eye on her, the Doctor reached for her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb.
"Rose... Rose, Darling. I'm so sorry. This shouldn't have happened to you." He glanced up at the woman. "Is she going to be alright?"
"Sorry, Sir. I don't know anything right now. Her vitals are a little weak, but she's still alive." The woman offered him a sad smile. He just nodded in response, his eyes back on Rose.
They arrived at the hospital not five minutes later. After unloading Rose from the vehicle, the woman, with genuine sympathy, told the Doctor that he would have to wait in the lobby until she was stable. She patted his arm and told him that she hoped everything turned out alright, then went back to work.
He sat down on a scratchy bench and sighed. After what seemed like hours with no answers, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the one number that he knew would be answered, no matter the time.
After two rings the call was answered. "Captain Jack Harkness."
"Jack?" His voice was a pathetic croak as the emotions flooded through him.
"Doc? What's wrong?"
"Rose... She, ah... She's in the hospital."
"What? Why?" His voice was filled with concern.
"Someone threw a brick through our window. It hit Rose and knocked her out." He wanted to say more, but it was like his vocal cords had forgotten how to produce sound.
"Through the TARDIS?" Jack sounded confused and a bit frantic.
"No. We're in America. In DC... We had this stupid, stupid bet going about living as regular humans. We've been here about six months..." His voice trailed off.
"Doctor, I'm sorry. What can I do?"
"I need you to come here. Help me with Rose." He couldn't believe the words as they left his mouth. He just didn't think that he could face her alone, and she loved Jack. Maybe it would help.
"Got it just... Just hold on a minute." He tried to muffle the receiver but failed. "Ianto! I need to be on the next flight into Washington. Make it happen, please." Then he spoke to the Doctor. "Okay, looks like I'll be there tomorrow afternoon about three. Can you meet me there?"
"Yes. Yes. I'll be there. Send me details."
"Keep me updated. See you soon, Doc."
They hung up and the Doctor saw a slender woman in white scrubs heading toward him. "Mr. Smith?"
"Yes?" He rose to his feet and shook her cool hand.
"Miss Tyler is awake and asking for you." She smiled and led him down the emergency department hallway. They stopped at room 23 and she opened the door for him before heading down the hallway alone. He took a deep breath before stepping inside.
Rose was reclined in bed, eyes closed. She was dressed in a thin hospital gown, and she had a small line of stitches embedded in a large, dark bruise on her temple. She was pale, but other than that, she looked just like she always did. As he closed the door behind him, her eyes snapped open, focusing on the Doctor.
"Hi." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Hi, Rose." He moved to her bedside and picked up her hand, pressing a kiss against the back of it. "How are you?"
"Well, apparently I'm concussed. Is that a word?" She giggled.
He shook his head and gave her a shaky smile. "You scared me, Ape."
"Didn't mean to. What happened? The Doctor said I got hit with a brick? How?"
"Random act of violence, I suppose." He murmured, hating himself for not telling her the truth. How could he? She would hate him forever.
"Can we go home?" Her voice was just so tired...
"Let me go check, Darling." He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
A few hours later, the Doctor was unloading her from a cab and helping her into bed. The Doctors had said that once she was home, she was to go to bed. He had been instructed to wake her every three hours to check on her and to give her a pill every six. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.
He lay in bed with her, counting her breaths. After realizing that he would get no sleep, he quietly moved around the room, removing all evidence of the incident from earlier. It made him physically ill to have the reminder. If the brick hadn't split, who knows what could have happened to her.
The next day went quickly, and at noon, the Doctor woke Rose and gave her a pain pill. He explained that he was going grocery shopping and that he would be back before her next wake up time. She nodded, smiled, and went right back to sleep. He hailed a cab and was on the way to the airport by fifteen past noon. Jack had sent a message saying the plane was ahead of schedule and he was expected there by one. He checked his phone and saw a message.
Jack: Landed.
Doctor: Almost there.
They reached the airport and the Doctor headed toward Jack's terminal. The man wasn't hard to spot in a crowd. His big blue coat was fairly unusual, even in a place as diverse as this. They locked eyes and Jack pointed him toward a back hallway. As soon as they were out of sight, the Time Agent lunged at him, pinning him against a wall, his arm across the Time Lord's throat.
"Now, Doctor. I'm only going to ask you once, and I want the truth. What the hell did you do?"
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Nice visit from Jack to stir things up, huh? Anyways, like I said, reviews get another chapter tomorrow. What do you think? :)