Chapter 14

Joe stared stricken at the generator. "I don't believe this," he whispered hoarsely. "Fix it!" He turned to glare at Salliery. To his satisfaction Remy pressed the gun harder into Luc's side.

"I can't, I have no idea what he's done!" Salliery spat at him from his position near one of the work benches.

"The hell you can't! It's overloading! Slowly but steadily." Behind Joe, the generator released soft beeps.

Luc threw him a forced grin. "Well, well, well. Guess the Doctor did something right, after all."

"I can't believe he would purposely blow up half of France," Remy spoke, taken aback.

Joe took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Joining up with Salliery had been a mistake from the beginning. They'd lost the Doctor. Even lost Michelle during the car chase from hell and somehow ended up back here when he'd realized she'd dropped the two escapees off somewhere. Now he was faced with a danger that had the potential to destroy a significant part of Europe. The Doctor had created some sort of feedback loop inside the generator, and he couldn't stop it. This was way out of his league. Asking Torchwood for a team of specialists wasn't an option either, since the thing would blow up way before they got here.

He grimaced, raking a hand through his hair. There was only one man who could stop this. "He can't have gotten far on foot. We have to find him," he stated, leaving no room for anyone to challenge his words. Least of all Remy. He looked sharply at the vineyard owner. "You know him better than any of us. Any clues would be highly appreciated right now."

There was no answer.

"Come on, Remy. Either we find him, or France goes up in a ball of fire. And that includes your wife!"

"His ship," the vineyard owner finally sighed. "He'll need it to take care of this. Find it and you'll find him."

Joe stared at him for a moment longer before ripping his attention away and stalking out of the main cellar. "Costa! Where the hell are you! I need your help. Now!"

Bright light pushed away the darkness, turning from blue to red to yellow. Rose opened her bleary eyes to look straight into the morning sun, rising on what promised to be a hot day. Its rays covered her like a warm blanket as she became aware of how cold she felt. The shape of buildings, basking in the glow of dawn confused her. What happened? Where am I?

She lifted her head, realizing she'd been leaning on something soft. Her hand pushed off against warm skin and clothing. "Doctor?" She blinked, taking a deep breath, willing her vision to fully focus. Whipping around she found herself sitting next to a fountain on a park bench in the middle of a town square. She'd leaned into the Doctor, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. His eyes were closed.

She didn't remember anything after getting into that car. "Doctor?" Panic touched her voice when her friend sat unmoving as if he was fast asleep. Any moment now he would snap his eyes open, look at her and declare with a huge grin how happy he was to see her awake. They would hug, and everything would be okay. The knot in her stomach twisted when she got no reaction at all. Past events came rushing back at her. The lavender, Salliery, the gun, what she'd done to save the Doctor. The vortex… I can't feel it! That means he took it back. He took it back!

"You stupid-!" She grabbed him by the shoulders, fear lashing into her, turning her insides, and cajoling into a whole new level of panic. "Doctor!" He didn't move. Even as she shook him, gripped his hand, slapped his cheek, there was no sign that he'd heard her. Her eyes blurred and she leaned in to feel soft air brushing her skin.

He was still breathing.

Something was wrong, missing. With a pang of worry she noticed there was no yellow energy, no vortex power. His skin was cooling. He was not regenerating. No. "You bloody well fight this, mister! You brought me into this mess and you can get me out! After all you've been through, you can't let Salliery win-" She couldn't finish her diatribe. Choking on her breath and letting out a soft sob she pulled him in.

The village around her lay as silent as her friend in her arms. She leaned back, feeling utterly exhausted. There was still time. Movement in the restaurant ahead caught her eye. If they would let her borrow a car or something, she could still get The Doctor to the TARDIS. But she had no clue where they were in relation to the ship. She could be searching forever and still not find it and he didn't have that kind of time.

She had to try, had to do something. Reluctantly, Rose pushed the Doctor off her lap, and lowered him onto the bench while standing up. She lifted his legs and stretched them on the wooden seat. "I'll be back, Doctor. Just hang in there." Gently, she kissed him on his forehead.

She snapped around at the sound of a car approaching. Dust blew in her face at the red vehicle screeched to a halt in front of her. Protectively stepping in front of her friend, Rose straightened, then breathed a sigh of relief when Michelle exited the car.

"Rose!" She spoke her voice thick with a French accent. "What are you still doing here? You must leave, now! Oh."

The fact that Michelle spoke English, that it wasn't translated by the TARDIS, made Rose turn around with worry. The Doctor's chest still rose and fell, but his breath's were short and halted. They needed to hurry. She looked back at Michelle who had followed her gaze but apart from the 'oh' kept silent. Rose tried to keep her composure, really worked hard at keeping her face straight. "Can you help me lift him," she swallowed, cursing the sob that managed to escape between the words. "Take him back to his ship?"

"That's why I came to find you. Joe found it and he's bringing it in. He's right behind me."

Rose felt her heart plummet as she realized what this meant. "Michelle, there's nowhere else to go." Her voice broke, strength finally shattering on the walls Salliery had pulled up to keep them from escaping. "He only has a few minutes left…" She whispered.

Suddenly, from between two buildings another car raced onto the square. Rose recognized Joe's blue Ford. Another car was heading toward them from the opposite direction, all converting on the fountain, on her, on the Doctor. The vehicles stopped a good couple of feet away. Numbly she watched as Joe, Costa and Remy piled out of them and moved to close her in.

It was over.

Rose took a deep breath and clenched her fist in an attempt to stop it from shaking. You're not taking him. Not now. Not ever! Glaring at the men she took a protective step backwards. She would defend him with her life or die trying.