Chapter 11 – The Quest Resumes
Dawn broke over the refugee camp, and Rose Tyler was in mourning.
The fires had died out to reveal smouldering remains of wrecked houses in the camp. The medical tents were packed fit to burst of the injured whilst bodies of the ever-growing number of dead were being laid out in lines so that people could identify their loved ones. And now Rose sat in Mal's tent, holding the Doctor's coat to her chest as the reality of what had happened hit her like a ton of bricks. Her two best friends were probably right at this moment being beaten and chained up and thrown around in a labour camp somewhere…
Jackie had tried to console her with the usual, "there, there, it'll be all right sweetheart" but still Rose had wept, grieving for the two boys she loved so much.
"The Doctor always gets out of it," Jackie assured her, holding her daughter close. "And that gorgeous Jack fella; both of them."
"But the Doctor's hurt, Mum," Rose whimpered, burying her face into his coat. It smelt of him. "What if he needs help?" Then she was rebuking herself. "I'm an idiot. I should've followed the van…"
"No," Jackie said instantly, pulling her away to look deeply into her eyes. "The Doctor wouldn't have wanted that, love."
There was a pause as Rose searched her Mum's expression, before suddenly shaking her off and getting to her feet, pulling the Doctor's coat around her shoulders. "I'm goin' for a walk," she said shortly, and then left.
Jackie was right, of course. The Doctor wouldn't have wanted her to get caught up in a labour camp, and especially not just for his sake. Rose was comforted by the fact that the Doctor was used to these types of situations, but worried for the other fact that he was injured.
She pulled the Doctor's coat a little tighter around her when the world seemed to grow cold just as she entered the part of the camp by the entrance that had taken the worst damage. It was utterly deserted. She picked her way through the debris, her footsteps lonely on the concrete flecked with dark marks of the fires that had once been.
It was sound that first prompted her to look up to the entrance of the camp, and to her horror she caught sight of an advancing black van – a Kev van. Were they back for more people to take away? With a pang of alarm she realised she had nowhere to hide… they'd probably already seen her. And strangely, she wanted them to. She wanted them to take her away… maybe to the Doctor… Instinctively she pulled the Doctor's coat around her like a cocoon, knowing it would do no good but somehow feeling a little more protected as the van came speeding into the camp, bumping over various random rocks and mud hills.
The van suddenly grinded to a halt mere metres away from her – so close she could see the driver's black helmet looking her way. Right. This was it…
But then the van started to reverse, and Rose blinked, surprised. It performed a tidy 3-point turn, sitting itself neatly in the entrance of the camp with the back doors facing inwards. Before she had a chance to even think what this might mean the doors flung open – and people started pouring out. There were only two Kevs still wielding their trademark guns, and the rest were refugees.
Then suddenly she saw them. It was the Doctor and Jack. She was unable to believe her eyes as Jack jumped down from the van, giving her a cheery wave before turning back to the Doctor who wobbled slightly with a bandage around his head, searching for hands to help him get down. A few moments passed before Jack visibly sighed, throwing his arms up and grabbing the Doctor, lifting him off of his perch and onto the ground. Without even realising it Rose's feet were moving, running towards them with a smile bigger than the Grinch's spread across her face. She reached them in seconds, her heart feeling as though it might burst out of her chest in the pure happiness that the Doctor and Jack were here, and alive. She threw herself onto the Doctor, who might well have fallen with the impact if Jack hadn't supported him.
She watched over the Doctor's shoulder as more people clambered out of the van, helping to move white boxes from the van and onto the floor. Medical supplies. The Kevs were giving them medical supplies.
"Rose… you can let go now…" came the Doctor's voice from over her shoulder. Her smile broadened and she held him even tighter.
"No way."
And she wasn't lying. She clung onto him for another ten minutes.
"So, we are allied with the Kevs?"
The Doctor nodded at Harriet Jones through the thankfully untarnished communications room. It had been the first port of call after he had made sure the supplies got to the hospital, and he'd since found out that yes, he had been right. Other camps across the globe had suffered the same fate as theirs. The death toll was high, with millions more casualties fighting for their lives.
"Yes," he replied simply. "Jack and I talked to the Kev leader, nice guy, fond of apples. They'll join the final fight to take down the Sontarans, but for now we carry on as normal. I need to sleep off my latest injury and we should be ready to leave for the Sontaran HQ tomorrow afternoon."
"How will we know if you manage to deactivate the shield?"
He gave a small smile. "That's sorted. I've rigged up a gizmo from spare parts that we can use to send a binary pulse across electromagnetic waves. Your screen will be spammed constantly until you cancel the application. Should be clear enough."
She nodded. "I'll let the others know."
"This is the best I can do. The rest will be up to you."
She nodded again. "We truly are indebted to you, Doctor. Please return safely, Rose and Jack too."
It was his turn to nod. "I'll do my best."
"Good bye, Doctor."
"Thank you, Harriet Jones. Good bye."
The screen went black. The Doctor sighed lengthily, leaning back in the swivel chair and staring up at the ceiling, spinning around a few times absent-mindedly. After a few moments he pushed himself onto his feet, preparing himself for the healing coma he was about to enter and the inevitable mothering from Jackie that would come with it.
At midday the next day, the Doctor very slowly rose to awareness. Jackie tried to hasten his awakening by waving a cup of water in front of him to which he groaned, turning over and covering his head with his arm. Jack opened his shirt and turned him over carefully, expecting resistance but the Doctor didn't even make a sound as he slumped with Jack's push onto his stomach with his arms lying haphazardly beneath him. The ex-Time Agent snipped through the bandages around his shoulder, pleased to find the bullet wound was now a scar – a scar that would probably only disappear with regeneration.
He next pulled off the lightly wrapped bandage around the Doctor's head, turning his unresisting head to the side so he could examine the wound properly. His hair, although not fully grown back in the healing coma, was long enough not to be noticeable at first glance.
"Doctor, I'm gonna remove the sutures, okay? You don't need them anymore."
"Go away," the Doctor murmured into the pillow, still in a stupor. All three humans suppressed laughter before Jack set about removing the sutures; half expecting the Doctor to start groaning in pain but he was too far under to be fully aware of himself or his surroundings.
It was ten minutes before he managed to sit up, still looking half-asleep. He tiredly consumed eight bowls of porridge in five minutes, and downed another twenty-two glasses of water on top of that in the midst of an energy deficit before he allowed himself to be dragged out of bed, stumbling and yawning all the way.
It was 1pm before the Doctor managed to get fully dressed and out the flap of Mal's tent in a state of vague coherence. They made some last preparations before the helicopter was fully ready to go, to take them on what could be their last mission.
It seemed as though the entire camp had turned out to wave them goodbye. The Doctor didn't like the attention, but accepted it gracefully anyway. It was a tearful good bye, Jackie blubbering over all three of them in turn. She knew this could be the last time she'd see them alive, but it was not mentioned. They all knew the risks, and it was all best left unsaid.
They boarded the helicopter together, giving their last waves to the crowd below as the helicopter lifted and departed away from the refugee camp, the three passengers waving at the disappearing crowd until they all just become a spot in the distance.
Rose sat on one of the seats, twiddling her thumbs nervously in obvious deep thought. The Doctor gave Jack a glance before taking a seat next to Rose.
"Second thoughts?" he asked gently.
She didn't answer him directly. "I'm gonna miss her."
He sighed, reaching out and taking her hand into his. "We can always turn back and drop you off again. No one's forcing you to come. No one will think any less of you."
She shook her head instantly, clutching his hand a little tighter than usual. "There're just a lot of people relying on us, y'know?"
He nodded. "The offer still stands," he said simply.
"I'm not desertin' you," she said with a smile, squeezing back on his hand as she looked him in the eye. "I know how hard it is for you to do this. I'm bein' your conscience."
He laughed, though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. He drew her into a hug, holding her tightly. She returned it, just as tight.
The helicopter flew on.
A/N: Ya know, normally I check how late it is but I won't this time, through fear :o Feel free to slap me, as always.
I'm quaking in my boots, though. GCSE results on Thursday! Agh! Agh! Agh! THE TENSION! *flails* Good luck to anyone else waiting! By the time I post again we'll probably all have them, so good luck!
