"I'll get a car."
The Doctor nodded, and Rose hurried away. She was relieved the argument had been interrupted. Slipping off her heels, she ran upstairs to the spare room her mother set aside for her when she stayed. Fortunately, she had left several sets of clothes here, and quickly slipped out of her dress and into jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of trainers. She cursed the minutes she was losing, but figured she would make them up by not tripping and breaking a heel while looking for a universe-threatening alien device.
Back downstairs, she grabbed a set of car keys off the rack in her father's office. Asking her father would mean more questions, and probably being assigned a less than useful backup. She knew from experience that the Doctor worked either by himself, or with one or two assistants. An entire team would get in his way at best, and get themselves hurt at worst.
Heading back to where she left him, she gestured for the Doctor to follow her to the large garage attached to the mansion. They climbed into the leather seats in the front of a black Lexus, with Rose in the driver's seat. She had more experience with this version of London, and the Doctor was staring at the still blinking tracking device.
"The tracker's pointing southeast. Mostly east."
"Right." She started the car up and opened the garage door, speeding the car down the mansion's long driveway and out into the city. Traffic got heavier as she got into busier areas, and she saved most of her focus for how to dodge the worst of it
It was silent in the car for a long time. She still felt angry at herself, and had plenty of fury left over for him. But she didn't feel like dwelling on it right now. She was getting some of the familiar rush of excitement from being on an adventure with the Doctor. Was this what the core of their relationship really was? These times always seemed to work best with him, she reflected. There were no complications when they were rescuing the world, no difficult discussions about how to stop an alien threat, and no arguments over new places to explore. They were a well-oiled machine, in perfect sync with each other, ready to see the universe and save it on the way. Maybe it was better to just focus on what worked. She wished she was content with that. Maybe she could be, given time
The Lexus was soon quietly gliding through an industrial neighborhood. The poorly lit streets were mostly empty, with the occasional pocket of homeless settled in for the night. There was more trash on the sidewalks here, and it was difficult at times to tell the buildings still in use apart from the abandoned ones.
"This is certainly a better location for privacy if you're worried about releasing a maddened vortisaur. Most landlords require a deposit for that," the Doctor commented, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, still creepy though," Rose said.
"Oh come on. This isn't even in the top ten of creepy yet. What about the deep space sanctuary base? Ghosts and Charles Dickens? That's not even touching on gas masked children looking for their mothers. This? This is just-" He paused, as the tracker began blinking wildly and Rose slowed to a halt in front of a large brick building. "An abandoned electricity generating station. Monster under your bed level creepy. Your great-aunt's candy from the bottom of her purse creepy." With a broad grin, he hopped out of the car and tucked the tracker into his pocket, pulling out a candy and popping it into his mouth.
Rose opened the glove box and grabbed a flashlight, then followed him out of the car, shaking her head with a reluctant smile.
A chain link fence surrounded the lot the building stood on, keeping out vandals, squatters and curious wanderers. The lock had already been opened, Rose noticed, though it had been left hung on the chain holding the gates closed so at first glance it still appeared to be locked. She pulled off the lock and the chain swung free. It was a simple matter to pull the squeaking gate open.
"Well, looks like someone's already here," she said.
"The tracker levels indicated they weren't fully powered up yet. Opening another anomaly would be a terrible idea. We really ought interrupt the device before that happens."
"Right, yeah. And how do you think we should do that?"
"I haven't the faintest idea. Come on."
He turned and headed into the yard, Rose following him closely. It was much darker in here than on the street, and she felt herself jumping at every little sound. Graffiti covered the brick walls. Some of the windows were smashed, but on the whole, the old brick building was surprisingly intact.
They threaded their way around a number of smaller outlying buildings to the large central building itself. It was a two floor structure with large, boarded up windows. There was no obvious sign of entrance, and the Doctor stopped by a drain pipe snaking its way up the side of the building.
"Right, up you go."
"Up there?"
"Unless you've got a jetpack hidden under your t-shirt."
"Righ'." She looked up, and wiped her palms against her jeans. Grabbing hold of the cold metal pipe, she began to pull herself upward. Fortunately, the old worn bricks provided sufficient spots for her to get a toehold, and she found herself moving upward at a slow, but steady clip. From the sound of the cursing and movement below her, the Doctor was right behind her.
"Keep it down, will ya?" she hissed down at him. She was relieved when the pipe snaked sideways over to a smaller roof that jutted out from the top of the first floor. Climbing over onto it, she paused a moment to pant with relief. Never a dull moment with the Doctor. Wasn't that just what she had been feeling good about in the car?
With a thud, the Doctor landed on the roof behind her.
"Like a ninja, you are," Rose teased, her tongue between her teeth as she grinned.
He had an inscrutable expression on his face, and he took a long moment to answer. "What? I'm wearing a dark jacket. You're lucky you can even see me."
She rolled her eyes. "A tux doesn't make you invisible. Kind of the opposite, really."
He crept over to the nearest boarded window and ran his screwdriver along it. The nails popped out one by one until he was able to pry a corner well away from the frame. Inside a metal walkway was suspended just underneath the window. He climbed through, holding the board open for Rose to follow.
She carefully entered through the gap, and lowered the board closed quietly. The catwalk ran around the outer edge of the generating station, giving a view of the aging machinery below. Obsolete long ago, it had been left to rot inside the closed station. Over the years, people had stolen most of the easily removable parts.
It was difficult to move around the catwalk without making a sound. In the large, echoing space, even the smallest of noises seemed amplified hundreds of times. By unspoken agreement, neither tried to speak aloud to the other. When Rose spotted a small, bobbing light between two of the large machines below, she tugged on the Doctor's sleeve and pointed. He nodded and they slipped quietly along a side branch of the catwalk, taking them closer to the light below.
They heard a low whistling echoing up at them. Freezing in place, they saw the darkened figure of what looked like a night watchman. He was strolling along the aisles between the machines, pointing his torch down them and tunelessly whistling an eighties song as he went.
Not their target. They waited quietly until he moved away, then stole further along the branch of the catwalk, and continued to traverse the room. They watched the night watchman wander across the room and walk out one of the side doors. It closed with a low boom.
It was just them now. Or was it? As they continued to creep forward, they heard a 'click'. The Doctor gestured for Rose to head to the right, while he continued straight ahead.
She crept off down the path he had indicated, grateful she had taken the extra time to change into comfortable clothing. Climbing along catwalks came with the territory when you traveled with the Doctor. Traveled with...? He hadn't asked her to come along when he left. And maybe, after the way he had suddenly done an about face earlier this evening, he didn't intend to. If he didn't bring it up, would she ask him to take her along? Her stomach churned a bit, and she pushed aside the emotions that threatened to distract her.
She heard the 'click' again, up ahead. Creeping along more slowly now, she focused on not making a sound. Down below, she saw what she was looking for - a shadowy figure. It looked like a man, and it was holding a device that was softly glowing. He seemed to be fiddling with the device. She looked up ahead into the gloom, her eyes trying to make out the Doctor, but she didn't see him. Now what? Looking around, she spotted a branch of the catwalk that was only a short drop above one of the generators. Rose inched back slowly toward it.
As she moved, she saw another person on the ground floor approaching the man with the device. Oh no. It had to be the Doctor. Going it alone wasn't the best idea he'd had tonight. She tried to hurry faster towards her destination without alerting her quarry.
"Hello! Yes, you. You in the shadows. The one intent on punching a hole in space and time." Rose groaned inwardly as she heard the Doctor's voice echo in the enormous space. The shadowy figure froze, and turned to look at the Doctor. For the moment, the Doctor stood illuminated by a shaft of moonlight streaming in through a high window. He was holding his hands up in a calming manner as he slowly advanced on the figure. Rose continued to inch over to the portion of the walkway just above the nearby generator.
"Right now, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. I'm saying to myself, perhaps you don't realize you're going to destroy multiple worlds by opening another hole." In response, the shadowy figure flipped a switch on the device. A high pitched whining sound emitted from it, and the glow increased, although not enough to illuminate the face of the man holding it.
"I'm going to take that to mean you do realize the consequences of your actions. Which is unfortunate. For you, I mean. These worlds are under my protection. I'm the Doctor, by the way. And I Will. Not. Let. You. Harm. Them." Rose could practically hear the Doctor spitting out the words in the voice of the Oncoming Storm. She felt a shiver along her arms. This wasn't going to end well. While the shadowy figure was distracted, she slipped her legs through the railing and prepared to drop onto the generator below.
The man facing the Doctor laughed, although Rose thought she detected a slight tremble in the sound. He reached down to trigger a button on the device, and the Doctor bolted forward at a run. The man turned and fled, the Doctor behind him. Rose dropped down onto the generator and landed in a crouch with a loud thud. Running along the top of the generator, she leaped off the end and landed on top of the man, knocking him to the ground. The dimensional hole punch went flying out of his hands and hit the metal wall of a generator. A few sparks flew out and the glow dimmed.
Rose grabbed the man's jacket, trying to hold him down, but he was larger than her and quite strong. He slammed an elbow back toward her solar plexus. She managed to block a direct hit, but the impact was enough to leave her gasping. The man staggered to his feet, and Rose stood to follow. She swung at the figure, catching him on his jaw. He reeled back. Just then, she caught sight of his face in the gloom.
"Brian?" she gasped.
Brian swore, lunged forward and grabbed the side of her head. "No. You didn't see me here, remember? You're just too focused on the past, Rose."
Her thoughts of him blurred and dimmed. Suddenly, she found her mind awhirl with a dazzling array of every moment she had spent with her husband during her five years with him. Overwhelmed, she slumped backward sightlessly. She didn't register the footsteps as Parker bolted away.
The Doctor reached her just as the figure picked up the dimensional device again. He skidded to a halt and glanced at the man several feet away, then down at Rose, who was now sitting, clutching her knees tight to her chest and just staring. Staring with tears running down her face. The Doctor cursed as the man fled the scene, knowing he could not leave Rose like this.
"Rose? No, no, no. Rose?"
Crouching down in front of her, he looked closely at her. She didn't even register his presence. It must have been some sort of mental attack. Brian Parker, he was certain. Gently, he pried one of her hands loose from her knee, and held it in his own. She was whispering softly to herself, over and over. He leaned in to listen. "Don t go, don t go," she repeated over and over.
He swallowed, trying to suppress the rage he felt toward Parker. Focusing on Rose's pain, he leaned in, gently pressing his forehead against hers and closing his eyes.
In a moment, he was adrift in a storm of memories. Parker had made quite a strong attack, and it was a testament to Rose's own mental strength that she was still conscious and fighting it. The Doctor felt as though he stood in the middle of a whirling kaleidoscope of memories, flying past without rhyme or reason, battering at his own psyche as they cascaded by. He strengthened his mental shields, and pushed his way through them. As he did so, it became clear that all the memories were of him. Well, not of him, but of his clone. Every memory she had of him was in pure chaos, and it was tearing her mind apart. He had to find Rose the core of her that housed her being, every little quirk, thought, and idea that defined her.
Shoving his way through memory after memory, he searched for her. She was here, somewhere. The memories themselves wore on him, even shielded as he was. Some of the moments were fun, or thrilling. Others were deeply personal, embarrassing or tender. He felt ashamed to be witnessing them, like a peeping tom in her brain. This was not something he had ever wanted to do without her permission, but just now, he had no choice. All he could do was try to avoid focusing on the memories as much as possible.
And then, finally, there she was. He pushed past a particularly closely clustered set of memories. His final days. He looked so old, and so happy. The Doctor realized that the clone had accepted his fate, and had been content to share his final days with Rose. Past the memories, he found her, crouched in the same position her real body had been, clutching her knees to her chest. He moved in closely to her, calling her name.
"Rose... Rose..." She didn t look up. "Focus on me, Rose. It's the Doctor. Your Doctor. Look at me."
She looked up at him, her eyes tear-filled and uncomprehending. "He's gone," she whispered to him. "I didn't want him to go, but he went anyway."
"He is," he said thickly. "He's gone. But you aren't. There is so much else in this world beyond him. So much for you to see and experience. And he would never have wanted you to lose that."
Slowly, clarity returned to her face. She saw the Doctor for who he was now, and he knew he would be able to lead her out. He helped her stand, and her mental-self clung to him, hugging him tight. Being this close to her mind, it took every ounce of mental strength not to be drawn into her, to become one. This was not the time, nor the place for that, if indeed there ever would be. Pulling back slightly, he took her hand, and led her through the maelstrom and back out to sanity.
As Rose slowly became aware of the world around her, she realized she was sitting in a ball on a cold concrete floor. The Doctor crouched over her, his face next to hers as though he had just pulled away from leaning in close. He was holding her hand tightly. She was grateful for the contact, and let him help her up.
"Thanks... thanks for that. I don't know what happened." Her voice shook. She could feel her eyes sting from crying and smeared makeup left her face sticky and uncomfortable.
"Psychic attack of some sort. It's a good thing you were taught some mental shielding. It could have been much, much worse."
"He got away," she said flatly.
"Yes." The Doctor paused. "I had to stop."
"He... he went in my head. So many memories... You saw them?"
The Doctor squeezed her hand hard to keep her from sinking back into her thoughts again. "I did. I'm sorry. It was the only way to bring you out."
She nodded to herself, feeling pure rage toward her attacker. "When we find him..." she trailed off.
The Doctor nodded. His eyes had turned cold. Whether she found the culprit first or the Doctor did, Rose knew her attacker wasn't long for this world.
Glancing toward where the device was dropped, the Doctor noticed something on the floor. He walked over, leading Rose behind him. She noticed he would not let go of her hand, so she went along with him. He leaned over and picked up a small metal piece, and glanced at it.
"Well, the good news is that he won't be creating any anomalies in the near future," he announced, smiling slightly. He showed the piece to Rose. "A tri-conic relay connector. If he isn't from around here, and he probably isn't, then he can create another one of these given time and the right parts. But we won't give him that time." He pocketed the piece.
She sighed with relief. Some amount of mental recuperation was needed right now. "But if he can't use the hole punch, how are we going to be able to track him? We're no closer to figuring out who is doing this."
The Doctor frowned. "I have my suspicions about his identity. And I think, Rose, he will go on the offensive. He hasn't completed whatever he was trying to accomplish. I doubt he'll just run. Let's get some rest tonight. We won't be able to confront him until your mental shields have been replenished."
"Yeah, okay." She suddenly felt exhausted and dizzy. The Doctor was right, she wouldn't be much use in the state she was in right now. He slid his arm around her to help support her, and assisted her out of the building.
As they stepped out of the building, they heard the sound of footsteps running up. Rose tensed, but it was merely the night watchman coming to investigate the ruckus in the generator building.
"Hey! Come here, you two. This is restricted property, or didn't you read the sign before you broke the lock open?"
The Doctor irritably reached into his pocket and pulled out his psychic paper.
"Oh, Inspector is it? Something going on in here?"
"Organized Crime Unit. We were investigating the break-in here. Had a report the scene was being used for an arms deal. Suspect got away, but PC Simmons here is hurt, so I need to get her back to the station. No time for chatting. You might want to think about getting some dogs in here. Breaking in was child's play."
The night watchman's ears turned red. "Uh, yes, Inspector. I'll do that. Anything I can do to help?"
"No, just lock up behind us."
The Doctor led Rose carefully to the car, opened the door, and helped her into the passenger's side. She slumped back against the seat, and after a moment, he climbed into the driver's seat. Using his sonic to start the car, he began driving back toward Rose's flat.
As soon as the car was moving, he reached over and took Rose's hand again. Rose felt too tired to have a conversation, and perhaps he sensed that, because he didn't speak at all on the drive back. He held her hand continuously throughout the drive, unwilling to let go of her even for a moment. He parked the car on a street near her building and led her up to her flat, his arm supporting her again.
Once inside, he guided her to the couch. She gratefully leaned back and closed her eyes for a moment, letting the terror and adrenaline of the night wear off. It seemed like only a few seconds had passed, but when she opened her eyes again, a steaming cup of tea was sitting in front of her, and the Doctor was sitting next to her on the couch, holding her hand again.
"I really am all right," she lied.
He ignored the statement. "I called Pete and let him know we went to investigate a lead on the thefts, and that it was late enough that we wouldn't be returning. You won't need to deal with any calls until tomorrow. Also, I set your phone so that any calls from Jackie tonight will be routed to Shanghai. I could always make that a permanent feature."
She picked up the tea with her free hand, sensing that he was still unwilling to release her. The tea was flavored with a light, delicate spice that she had trouble placing.
"Mmm. Thanks for the tea. What is it?"
"A mixture I acquired at the Garazone Bazaar. It will help you regain your mental strength. Rose, I'm sorry. This was my fault. I didn't think he would attack you."
"Why not? Because I'm a woman? He didn't strike me as the chivalrous type," she said.
"No. I think the thief is Brian Parker. And for whatever reason, he has shown a definite interest in you."
"Brian? Doctor, you ve gone a bit mad. Brian wouldn t hurt a hair on my head! He..."
"Saved your life a number of times. I've heard. I don't really know what his motives are yet. But he was testing my telepathic defenses when I was heading back to Torchwood after catching the vortisaur, and now you've suffered a powerful mental attack. I doubt they're unrelated." The Doctor's eyes had gone cold again, and he squeezed her hand tight.
"I didn't see Brian tonight, and I was close enough to punch that bloke. He looked familiar, but I don't know. It wasn't Brian. I think it's a stretch." She paused, feeling the fatigue hit her again.
"You need sleep now, Rose." The Doctor stood and helped her up from the couch, leading her into her bedroom and over to the bed. "In the morning, we can work this out."
Rose sat down on the bed. Suddenly, she was afraid of being alone. The thought of the memory assault returning as she slept was terrifying. She was still holding the Doctor's hand. He looked reluctant to let go, but was glancing toward the door.
"Rose, I can do some research tonight. See if there's something we've overlooked. I want to find this man. I need to - if the TARDIS is going to be able to cross back to the other dimension." Despite his words, he did not release her hand.
"We'll find it, Doctor. You won't- I won't let you get trapped here." It made her uncomfortable to say it, but she meant it. "Doctor, I- I'm scared. I don't want the memories to come back tonight. I don't think I could hold it together. Please stay." She felt ashamed of the fear.
He squeezed her hand. "That's completely normal after an attack like that," he replied. "You've actually handled it amazingly well." He looked conflicted. She wished she understood what the conflict was.
"Of course," he said, finally. He smiled slightly, but his eyes were sad. "I'm here for you."
He let go of her hand and sat down on the bed. She smiled, slipped off her shoes, and curled up on the bed fully clothed. After removing his own shoes, jacket, and tie, he moved to the other side of the bed to lay down beside her. Feeling the cool weight of him on the bed next to her, she finally began to relax. Just before sleep had crept upon her completely, she felt him reach up and take her hand once more.