"What do you think you're doing?" Wyatt said when he reached River who was holding her stolen gun up to Rose's skull, right behind her ear. Sweat was dripping from their foreheads and the tension was tangible in the air as Rose stared at River. What was she doing?

"You need her, don't you? Alive. I'll shoot her in the brain, she'll be dead in a heartbeat if you touch me," River warned, pressing the gun further into Rose's head. Her other hand was on Rose's back, tracing the letters 'NO' over and over again. She could only hope Rose would notice.

Wyatt got a look of confusion on his face and he stared back at the guards. It was true, they did need Rose alive. What would Nathaniel do? "Looks like we have a draw, then," He stated slowly, lowering his gun a little and the guards followed his lead.

"I'm sure we can arrange a deal," River said smiling brightly, nodding her head towards the exit.


Nathaniel stared at the Doctor blankly. Honestly, he hadn't seen this coming. Sure, it was obvious the Doctor would have to snap at some point, but like this? And so soon? The Doctor walked straight up to Nathaniel and stared him blank in the eyes. He had heard some rumors about the Oncoming Storm. For the longest time he considered them just silly tales, until right now. This Time-Lord's eyes meant death. Nathaniel stole a glance at the guards and noticed none of them were pulling the Doctor back, they were probably too afraid. He didn't really blame them.

"You imprison me, that's fine," The Doctor began, talking rapidly. "I don't give a damn. But you imprison Rose, River, and John. That's where we have a problem." The Doctor turned to look at John then turned back to Nathaniel and whispered. "If you think you can just come into my life and torture the people I love, you're wrong. If you think you can just talk to John and describe to him how you'll kill Rose, you're wrong. Most importantly if you think I'll let ANY of them be harmed, you're wrong. And guess what? In my dictionary, wrong means dead."

Nathaniel listened intently, slowly losing his cool. But he couldn't show that, of course he couldn't show that. He stared back at the Doctor, returning the same confident glare, and whispered, "Imagine the blood dripping down from River's head onto the rest of her body... Drip. Drip. Drip."

That was when the Doctor lost it. He threw himself at Nathaniel, wrestling him to the ground. The guards immediately jumped in to tear the Doctor away from the man, but the Doctor got in several hard punches beforehand. Nathaniel was bleeding from the nose and had what looked like a pre-mature black eye, and a very angry glare. "Put them in their cells!" He commanded, waving his hand. "And for Christ's sake where are the other two? Bloody Wyatt, I'll kill him..."


"Obviously I want you to let them go," River stated.

"If we let all of you go there's no point in keeping the girl alive for us," Wyatt replied cautiously, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't supposed to be negotiating with the prisoners, of course. He was supposed to show them that they were in charge, however, at the moment, it was obvious to any stranger that River was in charge here.

"Then... I'll release her if you cure her. And I want information. Lots of it."

Wyatt's eyes widened and he looked back at the guards as if for approval. He pulled out his walkie-talkie and pressed a button before speaking into it, "Nathaniel. We have a bit of a problem."

"If they've escaped I'll boil your eyes," A raspy voice replied.

"Are you hurt? And they haven't escaped, but... You should come up here," The man said, his eyes still fixated on River. He had lowered his gun completely since the guards behind him were covering her. His legs were beginning to get tired from standing on the spiral staircase and running around for so long, and he realized how out of shape he was.

"Be right there."

"Looks like we're waiting a bit," Wyatt sighed.

"May I sit?" River asked randomly, nodding towards the stairs. When Wyatt nodded, she carefully sat her and Rose down, being sure to keep the gun next to Rose's head. If they were both going to die, why not be comfortable?

After a few awkward minutes Wyatt sat too, though the guards remained standing. "You'll never win, you know," He said quietly.

"What was that?"

"You'll never win. You, her, the Doctor, that John bloke. You've got no chance."

"Oh, honey, I don't think you've met my husband officially."


"You idiot," Nathaniel glared at the Doctor from outside his cell.

"I prefer genius," The Doctor mumbled in response.

"Say that when two body bags come down this hallway."

"Sure, but you won't be able to hear me from in the bag you know," He smiled.

Nathaniel just shot him another glare and answered the call from Wyatt on his talkie.

John contemplated on his white bed that he was beginning to get used to. He hadn't used it very much, and it wasn't extremely comfortable, but not too bad either. The sheets weren't made (What's the point in making it?), and the pillows were lumpy. However, he laid down on it anyways and stared up at the ceiling. The Doctor had lost his cool earlier, the exact thing that he didn't want everyone else to do. What a hypocrite, John thought. He pushed that idea aside and began picturing Rose again. The hell she must be going through. If Wyatt or Nathaniel killed her, he'd tear them both limb from limb without a second thought. Luckily, he hadn't heard any shots since their escape. Maybe they made it out?

Eventually both of the men resorted to putting their ears as close to the glass as they dared to hear the walkie-talkie conversation between their captors. Even with Time-Lord and half Time-Lord senses, neither of them could hear it.


A/N: Please review! What do you think will happen to River and Rose? :o