Rose was humming to herself as they climbed. The humming was tuneless and Jack was beginning to wonder why he kept stopping the Doctor from killing her. He contemplated knocking her off the ladder. He was at his wits end and just wanted the Doctor back so they could help the planet and then get off of it as soon as possible, preferably without Rose.
"If you get out of the Doctor's body, he can think of something." Jack begged Cassandra.
"But it is so much more pleasant in his head. In her head it was just yap, yap, yap. God, it was tedious. Hormone city and she wouldn't shut up about her shoes." The Doctor complained and Jack actually felt sympathy.
"We're going to die if..." Jack started and his sentence was cut off by a loud scream by Rose.
"Get off!" She screamed and Jack looked down to see Matron Casp holding Rose's ankle tightly.
"Good now keep her there." Jack commented as he began to climb faster.
"All our good work. All that healing. The good name of the Sisterhood. You have destroyed everything." Matron Casp complained.
"Go and play with a ball of string," the Doctor chuckled and Jack laughed.
"Everywhere, disease. This is the human world. Sickness." Matron Casp didn't get to finish her complaint as she suddenly gasped. Below her the diseased were following them up the ladder and one had reached Matron Casp. Jack watched as she let go of Rose's ankle as he body broke out in boils. He couldn't watch as Matron Casp fell screaming.
"Quick Rose," Jack called, regretting the words almost as soon as they were out of his mouth. He held on to the side of the ladder and allowed Rose to pass him by as they continued their journey up the ladder. She held on to the ladder just above him and swayed back and forth still humming to herself.
"Bloody hell. Move," Jack screamed at her. It was too late though. He felt a hand grasp his leg and the burning of the disease engulfing his body. He let go of the ladder and his last conscious image was of Rose waving goodbye to him as he fell.
-DW-
The Doctor screamed for Jack over and over in his head as he fought Cassandra to regain his body. He hated Rose more then ever at that moment and if it wasn't for Cassandra, Rose would be joining Jack at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Against his will though, Cassandra kept his body climbing higher up the ladder until they reached the top. The doors wouldn't open though and he was rather pleased that she wouldn't be able to get through. He had closed all of his thoughts off to her and she was fighting him for answers.
"Now what do we do?" He heard himself ask Rose.
"He usually pulls out his "Screwdriver" and the door magically opens." Rose commented as she managed to let go of the ladder with one hand and twirl her hair around her finger with it.
"You mean this thing?" Cassandra pulled the sonic out of his pocket and held it with distaste.
"Yep, yep," Rose answer happily.
"Well, I don't know how. That Doctor's hidden away all his thoughts." Cassandra complained. Not seeing any other choice, the Doctor pushed the thought of hiding in Rose again to the surface.
"Do I have to?" Cassandra moaned and the Doctor chuckled despite himself. Cassandra sighed loudly and then looked down at Rose. "Hold tight."
The Doctor watched as Cassandra entered Rose again and Rose almost fell off the ladder. She grabbed it tightly and held on, breathing quickly. He held up the sonic and quickly changed the settings. He aimed the screwdriver down at Rose.
"Open it!" Rose begged.
"Not till you get out of her." He demanded, his eyes dark with anger. Rose looked up at him confused. "I'm going to kill her and unless you want to join her." Cassandra quickly left Rose's body and jumped backwards into one of the diseased women climbing up the ladder below them.
"Oh, sweet Lord. I look disgusting," the woman complained. He kept his screwdriver aimed at Rose for a moment before turning it to the lift doors. He opened them and climbed through, allowing Rose to climb through behind him. Killing her wouldn't solve anything. Jack would return to him and then together they would drop her off at her mother's house before making a run for it again. He aimed the screwdriver to close the lift doors, but before they closed completely Cassandra jumped back into Rose.
"Inside her head. They're so alone. They keep reaching out, just to hold us. All their lives and they've never been touched." Rose commented as she staggered against the wall. He contemplated for half a second of taking Cassandra's hand, but that would mean touching Rose. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets and hurried down the hallway.
As they entered the ward again at the end, Frau Clovis lunged at them with a metal IV stand. He stopped quickly.
"Show me your skin" She demanded.
"Look, clean. Look, if we'd been touched, we'd be dead. So how's it going up here? What's the status?" He asked as she lowered the IV stand and allowed them to enter the ward. He took in the small group of people that were still in the ward and was happy that there were at least a few survivors. Now he just needed to save the ones infected by disease.
"There's nothing but silence from the other wards. I think we're the only ones left." Frau Clovis admitted to him softly. "And I've been trying to override the quarantine. If I can trip a signal over to New New York, they can send a private executive squad."
"You can't do that. If they forced entry, they'd break quarantine," He explained to her.
"I am not dying in here." Frau Clovis replied angrily.
"We can't let a single particle of disease get out. There is ten million people in that city. They'd all be at risk. Now, turn that off!" He yelled at her, not in the mood to be argued.
"Not if it gets me out." Frau Clovis stood her ground.
"All right, fine. So I have to stop you lot as well. Suits me. Smart Rose, novice Hame, everyone! Excuse me, your Grace. Get me intravenous solutions for every single disease. Move it!" He demanded as he formed a plan. He let them gather the bags while he found a long piece of rope. As they returned with the drip bags, he attached them to the rope, securing them tightly.
"How's that? Will that do?" He asked himself as he counted the number of bags he had. It didn't seem like it would be enough, but he was running out of time quickly and he had to make a choice.
"I don't know. Will it do for what?" Rose wondered and he didn't answer her as he headed towards the lift doors. He wasn't happy that Rose followed him, but he needed her help. He opened the lift doors and looked down. His hearts broke again as he pictured Jack laying crumpled at the bottom of the lift shaft and he fought the urge to push Rose down.
"The lifts aren't working." Rose reminded him. He rolled his eyes at her.
"Not moving. Different thing. Here we go." He said happily. He put the sonic screwdriver in his mouth as he backed up and made sure he was lined up with the lift cable in the middle. Running as quickly as he could he reached the edge of the floor and jumped out in to the lift shaft, grabbing the cable and wrapping his legs around it tightly. He secured himself with one hand and let go with the other.
"What do you think you're doing?" Rose asked him in astonishment.
"I'm going down!" He informed her. He pulled out another piece of equipment that he was going to use as a wheel and used his sonic to attach it to the cable so that he could ride it down. He made sure he was secure again before he called out to her. "Come on!"
"Not in a million years," Rose replied.
"I need another pair of hands. What do you think? If you're so desperate to stay alive, why don't you live a little? He taunted her, though she really had no choice. Behind her diseased people were approaching and Frau Clovis was calling for the door to the ward to be sealed. He knew that if Cassandra wanted to survive, her only choice was to join him in the lift shaft. Rose ran and jumped, grabbing on to his back. He fought the urge to be sick and throw her off.
"You're completely mad. I can see why she likes you." Rose whispered in his ear. Her hot breath on his ear made him shudder and he swallowed hard again, feeling his stomach flip. He took a few deep calming breaths. It wasn't working though. The best thing he could do was get them down the shaft and then get Rose off of him, before he lost the contents of his stomach.
"Going down!" He whimpered and then sent them on their way.