Sorry for the delay. Here's a short, but important, chapter to tide you all over. Just when you think everything's going to end happily, things take a turn. This story, which is turning into an epic saga (lol!) is far from over. Enjoy :)
The Sixth Doctor awoke to find himself in a dimly lit infirmary that seemed familiar but which he knew instinctively was not his own. I must be in my Eighth self's Tardis, he thought to himself with relief. As he began to sit up, he saw that Rose was sleeping on a med bed nearby. "Rose," he said lovingly. He stood up, walked to her bedside, and gently caressed her cheek.
"You would have been very proud of her," his Eighth self stated, in a tone filled with pride, as he walked into the room to stand on the opposite side of Rose's bed from where the Sixth Doctor was standing. The Eighth Doctor's eyes, though, as he looked down at Rose, couldn't conceal his adoration for her. This look, though expected, gave the Sixth Doctor a twinge of jealousy. He had to quickly rein in that emotion so his future self wouldn't pick up on it.
"What she did was extremely foolish," his future self continued. "If not for the Valeyard arriving when he did, I'm not sure I would have been successful in removing the vortex energy completely from her." The Eighth Doctor then went on to explain everything that had happened from the time the Eleventh Valeyard had abducted he and Rose. He decided to leave out what the Eleventh Valeyard had done to Rose's body and mind for the time being, as he wanted to finish relating the entire series of events. He recalled how volatile his Sixth self could be and wasn't looking forward to how he would react.
As his future self was speaking, the Sixth Doctor got the sense that he wasn't being told the entire story. He decided to leave it for the time being, as his future self continued to explain the rest of the events leading up to how he had been found in his own Tardis and had been brought to recover in his future self's Tardis.
"I had almost convinced myself that the end was near and that Rose would never see me again as my Sixth self," the Sixth Doctor replied in a quiet, reflective voice as he gazed at Rose's peacefully sleeping face. He then looked up into the eyes of his future self and stated humbly, "Thank you, Doctor, for looking after Rose and for helping me."
The Eighth Doctor replied in a bitter tone filled with guilt, as he turned his back on his younger self and walked out of the infirmary, "I should have done more to protect her! The Eleventh Valeyard had me in a room that was dead lock sealed. I couldn't get to her in time!"
The Sixth Doctor walked out of the infirmary, up to his future self, turned him around to face him, and asked, in a voice filled with extreme worry and anger, "What do you mean? What else did he do to her?"
The Eighth Doctor, deciding he couldn't talk about it out loud, established a telepathic link with his Sixth self and showed him what had transpired. After the link ended, the Sixth Doctor stepped back to lean against the hallway wall, a mixture of horror, anger, and grief on his face.
"Oh Rose," he whispered in anguish as he covered his face with his hand. After a few moments, he was able to regain control of his emotions and stated in a determined voice, "I must take those memories away from her. She's been through too much already."
The Eighth Doctor put a restraining hand on his Sixth self's shoulder just as his Sixth self was about to reenter the infirmary. "No, Doctor. As much as I hate what that bastard did to her, we don't have the right to decide that for her. Everything she's been through has made her who she is today. If we begin taking away every single awful thing that she goes through, how can we expect her to grow stronger, as a human being." As his Sixth self was about to protest, the Eighth Doctor continued, "I know you'll do as you like despite what I say, so I'll make a compromise with you. Let's give her the choice. If she wants you to take those memories away, then so be it. You mustn't talk her into it, though. Don't mention that you're able to erase those memories. Besides," he said as he looked toward where Rose was still sleeping, "she may not have any recollection of anything that's happened. Her body and mind went through quite an ordeal when the vortex energy and the energy of the Eleventh Valeyard's Tardis had been coursing through her."
The Sixth Doctor saw the extreme concern for Rose on his future self's face and knew that it pained his future self to be the one to even suggest having Rose keep those memories. He knew, though, deep down that his future self was right. He nodded his head in agreement with his future self and they both began to walk back into the infirmary.
Just as they were approaching Rose's bed, her body began to glow gold with the vortex energy, but it was mixed with a dark blue light encircling her entire body. Within two seconds, Rose had been transported from the Tardis. Both Doctors stared in shock and horror at where Rose's body had just been. For there was only one race of people who were able to break through the Tardis's shields like that in order to transport someone from it. The Eighth Doctor looked at the Sixth Doctor, two pairs of eyes filled with the rage of the Oncoming Storm as both stated in a deadly calm voice, "the High Council of the Timelords."