A/N: As promised, the penultimate chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Let me check...nope, still not mine.
I learned again that the mind-body-spirit connection has to be in balance. ~Wynonna Judd
The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief as the connection faded out. "Barely dodged the bullet on that one, old girl," he murmured, glad Rose hadn't forced the Jack issue. He wanted to revel in having her back before they got into that heavy topic. His good mood returned as he placed the memory cube in one of his pockets, hoping he'd find it again quickly, and bounced out the door. Having worked out the time differential, after actually giving himself a moment to think about something other than Rose, he figured they had about 6.3 hours left on this side of the void. He wasn't sure he could contain his nervous energy that long, but remembered with a wince of sympathy that Rose had far longer to wait, relatively.
He meandered through the village, picking up the latent malevolent impulses of the infected. His pace quickened, fighting off the urge to set the TARDIS to reappear at the appointed time so he wouldn't have to spend hours warding off the waves of negative energy. Practically running through the square to the council house, he slammed through the doors, nearly wilting in relief as they closed, blocking out the worst of the aggression. Pulling himself back together, he adopted a casual stroll as he sought out Aurelia and Martha.
Finding them chattering away in the kitchen, preparing a light meal that others were trotting out to the collected elders in the refectory, he took a moment to enjoy his companion's content expression. This was why, as much as he had fought with himself over taking another companion so soon after Rose, he would never begrudge providing Martha with the opportunities of travelling with him. Like Rose, she threw herself into their adventures and thoroughly enjoyed meeting the inhabitants of wherever they ended up.
"Hello, ladies. Doing all right?"
"Doctor! How're things? Did you talk to Rose again?"
He was infinitely grateful that Martha was taking Rose's imminent return so well. He kept flashing back to Rose and Sarah-Jane and how antagonistic that meeting had been before they sorted whatever issues they had. Of course, they'd ganged up on him in the end, reaffirming his belief that he would never understand human females.
He replied, "Yep! Things are all sorted over there; we're just playing the waiting game now. That Aurelia has to return to Librum and Mickey and Rose are headed to Norway, to the weak point in the Void that matches the neutron star on this side. Rose'll probably drive Mr. Mickey up the wall by the time they get there. She's never been one for patience." He decided they didn't need to know about his brush with the Tyler temper. Martha was sure to get the full picture on that front sooner rather than later. He was bound to do something to set off his Rose, especially if he stalled on the Jack front.
Aurelia smiled at his lighthearted expression. She was glad to see his emotions had brightened from the dark and frankly terrifying morass she had observed earlier. "And so, Doctor? How long before we can right this tragedy and reunite you with your Lady Rose?"
"If I've worked out the time differential correctly, and let's face it, my math is never, well, rarely ever wrong, then we have maybe six hours or so. How long will it take you to set up and get things moving?" He was distinctly curious how they were going to accomplish the alignment of two separate universes. The whole fact of parallel universes relied on each staying in its own niche, slightly askew from each other. They obviously couldn't hold it for long, or the worlds would begin to merge together, causing both to collapse. Not that he was going to question anything that brought Rose back to him. Nope, this one time he was willing to have a little faith.
"The elders are gathered and consuming sustenance to build up their energy reserve. This will take an extraordinary about of concentration and I wish for nothing to go awry. We have gone over the ancient protocols carefully, reassuring that everyone understands and is capable of performing their part. The preliminaries need to be done approximately one standard hour before the alignment is to take place."
"Brilliant! So, we'll head off about then, Martha, and make sure we're around the neutron star before Rose sets up the link."
Martha exchanged a quick glance with Aurelia. "Actually, Doctor, I was thinking I should stay here and watch. That way I can call you if anything goes wrong on this end. Otherwise, how would you know?"
Acknowledging the point, but feeling like he was still missing something, the Doctor merely said, "Right, of course, that's a good idea. Well done, Martha. Now, Aurelia, has there been any change to the infected after Rose's communications? There was positive energy flowing back in to this universe, so there should have been some effect."
Aurelia's expression darkened. "There has only been slight improvement in the worst cases. Although, it is encouraging that no further spread has been noted. I suppose that is all that can be hoped for at the moment."
The Doctor frowned. He'd hoped for a slightly bigger reaction, but supposed that Rose was so full of this universe's energy that the full dose was needed to counteract the slow drain she'd unknowingly put on it. He fussed with a tuber-type object on the counter, not knowing what to occupy himself with.
Martha, recognizing the dangerous signs of a bored Time Lord, said, "Why don't you go get acquainted with the elders? They were all asking about you and Rose. It would only be polite to go and satisfy their curiosity."
Reanimated with the prospect of something to do and especially something that involved talking about Rose, he nodded and strode out to the refectory. He mused briefly on the abrupt switch from refusing to discuss his absent companion to feeling an urge to share just how special she was, all thanks to her impending return.
The Doctor was so caught up in relating tales of their adventures to his captivated audience that he was startled when Aurelia suddenly appeared at his side. "It is time to begin preparations, Doctor. You should be on your way."
He bounced up and out of his seat to kiss his friend on the cheek. "Right then. I'm off. Good luck! I'll, no, we'll see you in a few."
He bounded out of the refectory, catching hold of Martha on his way out of the council house. "You sure about staying? It's a good idea to stay connected here, but you can always give Aurelia your phone."
She smiled at him, saying, "No, Doctor, that's all right. I'll stay here and keep tabs on things. That way Aurelia can concentrate on what she needs to do. Besides, I don't want to accidentally distract you from holding the connection to Rose." She patted his arm. "Go on, now. I'll see you when you bring Rose back. I can't wait to meet her."
"If you're sure...All right then. Why don't you go ahead and phone the TARDIS when the ritual starts. That way there's an open line if anything goes wrong."
"Sure. Now, go on, stop stalling. Go get the girl!"
He grinned eagerly as he turned and darted off.
Getting back to the TARDIS and setting in the coordinates he murmured, "Well, this is it."
She chimed in support and, bowing to the significance of the trip, made sure the flight went without issue. Her Time Lord was a bundle of nerves, alternating between gripping the Taxis memory cube, which had taken him five tries to find, and pacing while yanking on his hair. They dematerialized directly on target, much to the Doctor's relief and surprise. He gratefully stroked the console and was promptly informed that she was just as eager to get her missing part back as he was and did he really think she would let anything go wrong?
Fortunately, he didn't have a chance to answer back as the console phone rang. Setting it to route through the speakers, he answered, "Martha?"
"We're all set here. They're just waiting for your cue from Rose."
"I'll let you know as soon as she starts the connection. Keep on the line; I don't know how long we'll have to wait."
They didn't have long to sit in a charged silence before the TARDIS indicated Rose was waiting for him.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, the Doctor picked up the memory cube. Rose?
Doctor, we're here and pretty much set. Just waiting for the indicator light to go off from Librum.
Same here, well, just waiting on your signal, since Martha's got an open line back on our Librum.
There was silence for a moment, the connection practically vibrating with nervous tension.
I still can't believe this is it. It's completely unreal.
Definitely. I'm so glad it is real, though. Well, not that two universes are dying and that's what clued us on to this whole thing, but the fact that you'll be back here.
Right.
Anyway, if you don't have any connection besides that crystal, how will you know what's going on?
Mickey's here, monitoring the Void and any fluctuations. He'll know exactly when the fabric pulls apart and we'll only have a moment or two before it closes.
Well, catch him and his Void expertise!
Doctor! Don't make fun; he was trying to find a way to tell you after I died the first time.
He felt a little sheepish after that. Right, well, tell him thanks, will you?
Will do. He felt her retreat a little, obviously passing on the message.
So...
Yep...
I really hate waiting, Doctor. I'm practically crawling out of my skin! Oh! The light went off!
Ok, hold on, let me tell Martha. It was his turn to pull back, shouting it was time at the phone. He vaguely heard Martha's acknowledgement as he dove back into the connection.
Right, they're starting here. Just focus on me, focus on holding on to me. The TARDIS will do the actual work of converting the energy so don't worry about that. Just concentrate on staying with me.
I can do that. Just keep talking to me!
The Doctor felt her trepidation loud and clear as their connection solidified with the alignment of the universes. He in turn concentrated on his sense of Rose, pushing his worry at their dangerous endeavour out of the way.
I'm here, Rose. I'm right here and I'm not letting you go.
I know; you never do. Weird, I can feel you holding my hand! Mickey says to get ready to pull me through.
Martha echoed that, confirming the ritual was reaching its peak.
Ok, gotcha. Hang on tight, Rose!
The Doctor sent all of his mental tethers out toward Rose, grabbing on and pulling. The TARDIS joined him, acting as an anchor. He felt Rose's essence begin to move closer and he nearly wept in relief that it was working. Her progress was smooth and he mentally tightened his grip as she got closer. About halfway through, however, the connection jerked as her momentum abruptly ceased. No amount of yanking on his part, even supported fully by the TARDIS, could budge her.
Doctor! I can't get through! I keep running into a wall or something that won't let me pass!
"Doctor!" He registered Aurelia's stressed voice coming through the speaker. "Quickly! You apparently did not deal with everything you were keeping from each other! You must sort out whatever is holding you both back and be in equilibrium with each other or you will never get her back."
The Doctor grit his teeth as he and the TARDIS struggled to hold on to the connection. He knew there was one rather large fact he'd hidden from Rose. Suddenly grateful she knew about Jack, or at least mostly, he was still dismayed as to just what that meant he'd have to tell her. There was nothing else that could be keeping them from forming a full link. He really, really had wanted to wait for this, but apparently he was left with no choice. He'd just have to find some way to make it up to her.
Rose? I'm sorry I have to tell you like this, but I'm glad I finally get the chance to say it. He paused, gathering courage. The TARDIS was unhappy with the delay and gave him a mental kick. Rose, I love you.