She didn't know how long they sat there, her with silent tears streaming down her face, and him just quietly scrubbing at all the blood on her hands. But at some point he sighed and put down the stained handkerchief, squeezing her still-red hands with his own.
"Do you want to go back to the TARDIS?" His voice was soft, and hesitant. As if he feared to break the silence that had fallen over the large room that used to hold so much life and now held almost none. She leaned her heavy head against his chest and nodded, unable to find the words to speak. He paused before asking his next question. "Do you think you can walk?"
She contemplated the question for a moment, wondering if she would be able to will her shaky legs to hold her. She felt so weak and tired and just plain empty that it seemed to take a great deal of effort just to reopen her eyes every time she blinked instead of just leaving them closed forever. She glanced down at her feet, but hastily shut her eyes and turned her face towards his coat, feeling bile start to rise up into her throat again at the sight of the blood that had soaked through her jeans and dripped down her boots.
"It's all right, Lyssa. You don't have to say anything," he reassured her, sounding pained. Placing his arms under her back, and under her knees, he carefully stood to his feet with a grunt. Lyssa didn't really react, only gripping the lapels of his coat tighter and trying to avoid the blood she had accidentally rubbed on it earlier. She kept her eyes firmly shut as he carried her through the maze of hallways and rooms back to wherever Torchwood had put the TARDIS.
She heard him struggle briefly with the key to open it, before pushing open the door, then shutting it firmly behind him. Without putting her down, he starting up the TARDIS, sending them somewhere - anywhere - besides Canary Wharf. Once they were safely away from the place that would likely haunt both their nightmares, he carried Lyssa through her room and into her bathroom, carefully setting her down in the bathtub.
Her fingers seemed frozen to his coat, and fresh tears trickled down her face as he gently worked to remove them before taking off his own bloodstained coat and tossing it off to the side. Then he removed her boots, careful to avoid touching the various blood drops and stains scattered across them, placing them with his coat. Turning the shower on to a gentle stream of warm water, he grabbed a clean washcloth the TARDIS had provided and some soap, and began to wash her face and arms, a pensive look on his face.
After several minutes, Lyssa managed to gather enough energy to place her hand on his, stopping him instantly as his eyes met hers. She tried to tell him what she wanted, but the words refused to come.
Maybe it was better this way. If she starting talking, she might start screaming too, and never stop. Or maybe her body had decided that she had already screamed enough today, and refused to do anymore. Either way, he at least seemed to understand what she wanted, as she tugged at her now thoroughly soaked tunic with pleading eyes, and stood to his feet.
"I'll be right back," he assured her. "I'm not leaving you, I'm just going to grab you some clean clothes, all right?"
She nodded, allowing the still-flowing warm water to run over her and ease some of the aches from the day, although it couldn't begin to touch the most painful ones. She felt her heart clench in her chest when the Doctor stepped out of the room, felt the panic beginning to rise, and half expected at any moment to see a Cyberman appear around the corner, ready to drag her off to her fate.
But the Doctor reappeared a moment later, bearing a towel, a hairbrush, and a small pile of clothes neatly folded up. He set all the items neatly on the edge of the sink, then moved over to her, taking her cold hand in his and rubbing his thumb over it soothingly.
"I don't think you have the energy to stand long enough to take a shower. Are you all right with taking a bath? I've got some new clothes for you by the sink, and I'll be waiting in your room for you once you're done. Do you think you can handle that?"
She looked at him, then nodded slowly. She barely felt strong enough to do that; there was no way she would be able to stand long enough for a shower. He squeezed her hand once more, reiterated his promise that he would be right outside, then left, clearly as reluctant to leave as she was to let him.
Once he was gone, she swallowed hard before forcing herself to sit on the edge of the bathtub, where she stripped off her sopping clothing, and flung them to join the rest of her discarded clothes. She didn't care what happened to them, having no desire to see any of those clothes ever again. Her hands found her necklace, still sitting delicately on her neck with its sole snowflake charm. Her fingers stroked it as she waited for the tub to fill, taking comfort from the small proof that the Doctor was there for her, and reminding herself that he wouldn't leave her alone.
The water was just shy of being too hot, and helped soothe her aches and bruises further, although she didn't linger. She quickly rinsed, glad to see that there was no sign of blood on her skin, and drained the tub, rising to her feet and drying off with a wince. She slowly made her way over to the sink, vaguely noting that there was no sign of the clothes from earlier, although she hadn't seen them disappear.
She threw on the clothes, grateful to the Doctor for picking out her softest pair of socks and pajamas, and slid her feet into a soft pair of slippers. Grabbing her hairbrush, she stepped out into her bedroom, towel underneath her still-wet hair.
The Doctor was sitting on her bed, fiddling with the blanket, his eyes far away. His hair was slightly damp, and if she had to guess, she'd say that he was probably wearing all new clothes as well, for the same reasons as her. He looked relieved when she appeared, although his shoulders were still hunched, as if bearing a great burden.
"Lyssa!" He noticed the hairbrush in her hand. "Do you need help brushing it?" She glanced down at her hand, almost having forgotten she was carrying it, then shrugged slightly, not really up to caring what happened to her hair at this point. She moved slowly over to the bed, then sank down onto it gratefully.
"Here. Let me brush your hair for you. It'll be hard for you to get at all of it when you're this tired," he murmured, scooting so he was sitting behind her and taking the brush from her limp fingers, then beginning to slowly run it through her hair, stopping when he came to a tangle and taking his time to work through it. He was slow and methodical in his work, and used the towel to help dry her hair, brushing it thoroughly before and after, and Lyssa felt slightly more like herself by the time that he was done.
Enough so that, once he had finished and placed the brush on the table by her bed, dropping the now-damp towel on the floor, she was able to offer him a weak smile that probably made her failed attempts from before it had all happened look like a wide grin. Still, the way his expression lightened made her feel like she'd just told him that the TARDIS had taken on physical form and wanted to talk to him.
"Do you feel up to walking to the Infirmary?" he asked her. "I know you don't think you were hurt, but it would have been easy for you to miss something in all the... craziness of the day." She didn't really want to move, especially since she knew she was fine. He could see the look in her eyes, and nodded reluctantly in acceptance.
"It's all right if you don't want to, I just..." His eyes looked away, reliving a dark memory. "I thought you were dead. And then you came in all -" He winced, and Lyssa shuddered, remembering her horrific discovery of the way she had looked. "Looking the way you did," he continued diplomatically. "And I'd just... it'd really make me feel easier if I knew that you really were all right. Please, Lyssa?"
It was a total guilt trip. Including the way his deep brown eyes stared pleadingly into hers. Add in the expression his face had taken when he'd mentioned believing her to be dead - a look she never wanted to see on his face, it made her want to cry for him every time she saw it - and she gave in. The small part of her brain that was still functioning normally told her it was a logical request anyways, and she'd probably do the same if their circumstances had been reversed. She sighed, but gave a small nod, her own lips twitching briefly when he smiled at her in relief.
Guessing correctly that she probably wouldn't be able to walk all the way back to the Infirmary, even if the TARDIS helped and shifted the rooms around, the Doctor scooped her back into his arms and carried her out of the room. She nestled into the added security gratefully, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes, glad when no image of the day's horrors seared itself into her brain, and soothed by the steady beat of his hearts.
She woke with a panicked gasp when her body was laid on another bed, her eyes shooting open as she searched the room for the threat. A hand was laid on her forehead, gently stroking the hair out of her face and sending warmth through her head, easing the headache she had been trying to ignore ever since she woke up in the stairwell.
"It's all right, Lyssa. It's just me," the Doctor said, his face appearing in her line of vision and calming her racing heart. "We're in the Infirmary, and you were asleep, so I just laid you down on one of the beds to take a quick scan. Is that all right?" She nodded, eyes following his movements as he opened one of the nearby drawers, shuffling through its contents before pulling out the scanner she recognized from one of her previous trips to the Infirmary, back when she still had her cast on her hand.
He ran it over her, frowning when it emitted a shrill beeping sound over her heart, before waving the scanner above her chest again. The beeping sound repeated, causing his forehead to wrinkle in frustration. He met her eyes and read the worried look she gave him easily.
"Don't worry, it's nothing too bad, it's just..." he glared at the scanner, as if it was to blame for the readings it gave him. "Nothing good either. This," he said, waving the scanner in the air, "is telling me that for some reason your body's been depleted of several of the nutrients it needs, and, also for some reason, the time in your body has as well. Which partially explains the weakness, at least. You might not be jumping for a bit," he warned her. She nodded weakly, her eyelid feeling heavy. She was growing more and more sleepy, but was still hesitant of what she might find when she closed her eyes.
"I think you're going to need to stay here for the night, Lyssa," the Doctor told her reluctantly.
Her eyes shot open as her body tensed up. She would probably be facing horrid nightmares, and she really didn't want to have to deal with sleeping in a new room that bore a large and very unfortunate similar appearance to the Cybermen's chamber - regardless of whether or not it was in the TARDIS.
"Just for tonight," he reassured her hastily. "I would give you a small infusion of the nutrients you need, that would help restore your energy quicker, and that would just slowly enter your bloodstream throughout the night. I would also be here," he added, making her relax somewhat. "I won't be sleeping tonight, and I have some things I could work on in here anyways."
She nodded reluctantly. At least she wouldn't be alone in the room, though she wasn't really looking forward to getting stabbed with an IV needle either. She knew they left large bruises at the site of insertion, and she really didn't want to see blood again. Ever.
But that wasn't what the Doctor did. At least, that's not what it felt like. He did have to give her a shot on her right arm with what looked like an IV needle, but there wasn't any blood, and it hadn't hurt at all, contrary to what she had heard. Then he'd connected it to a bag on a stand, filled with a clear liquid that seemed to shimmer slightly, making her wonder if it would glow in the dark.
By the time he was finished, her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier, and taking longer to open each time, but she still forced them to open, afraid that if she closed them for too long, he would be gone the next time she opened them. He finished whatever he was working on and pulled up a chair next to her bedside, draping a warm blanket over her before sitting down, holding some futuristic version of a tablet in his hands.
"Go to sleep, fairy-girl," he told her. "I'll be right here."
She closed her eyes obediently, flinching when the lights in the room went out. Her eyes flashed open again immediately, wide with panic, only to find that there was still light in the room. A dim golden light that allowed her to make out the Doctor still sitting calmly next to her, though he was clearly keeping an eye on her as well, but not so bright that it would keep her from sleeping. She closed her eyes again and nestled into the pillow, hoping that the light and the Doctor's presence would be enough to at least keep her from dreaming.
But it wasn't.
She didn't know how long it had been before she woke up screaming, but judging from the state of the IV bag, it had not been that long, as it was about half full and she still felt incredibly weak. But the Doctor was there immediately, squeezing her hand tightly, and bending over her, shaking her shoulders and trying to get her to wake up. But waking brought no relief from the nightmares, however, as the images had come from her memories, which were still as clear and frightening as ever.
Really, she might as well have just relived the day, because that was what had happened. Only this time, she hadn't been able to escape in the upgrading chamber. She had seen the saws heading for her again, had tried to run away, and had only felt a sharp pain in her arm that kept her firmly in place. Now that she was slightly more coherent, she realized she could still feel the pain, and glanced down. Apparently she had been thrashing around in her sleep, and had moved enough that it had tugged on the IV line still attached to her arm.
The Doctor followed her gaze and winced, seeing a little bit of blood seeping out around the edges of the needle from her violent jerks. He quickly reached down and fiddled with it slightly, adjusting it, and causing the pain to quickly fade. Then he pulled out a small wipe from a nearby drawer and carefully cleaned up the little bit of blood, disposing of the wipe properly and washing his hands quickly before returning to his seat, taking Lyssa's hand in his.
This time, instead of telling her to go back to sleep, he just kept her hand in his and held the tablet in the other, and began to talk in a quiet, soothing tone about whatever he was working on. She just lay there quietly, watching him work, and taking comfort from the solid, reassuring weight of his hand holding hers. Eventually her eyelids began to grow heavy again, and her free hand crept up to clutch her snowflake charm tightly.
The Doctor noticed her returning sleepiness, and switched from his long-winded explanation to a low, calming melody, similar to the one he had sung when they were back on Cuhlhan. Just as before, she couldn't quite make out the words to the song, though the melody itself was soothing enough that she soon dropped back off to a thankfully dreamless sleep.
In the morning when she woke up, her IV bag was almost empty, and the Doctor was still holding her hand, although he was bent over his tablet and tapping madly at it with his free hand. He looked up at her and grinned when he saw she was awake, putting the tablet off to the side on another table.
"You're awake! How are you feeling? Do you still feel weak, or is it a little better?"
She considered his question. She definitely felt more like herself than she had yesterday, though she also still felt considerably weaker than normal. Strong enough to move around a bit, perhaps, if she took it slow.
"I feel a little bit better," she said, her voice sounding croaky. "Not a whole lot better, but enough that I think I could maybe walk around for a bit."
The Doctor nodded, pulling out the scanner from last night and waving it over her, looking considerably relieved when the beeping was much less pronounced when he waved it over her chest this time.
"It looks like the transfusions have been working. You're still not up to your usual levels, and it will take a bit for the time levels in your body to return to normal, so you probably won't be jumping any time soon, like I said, but they're on the climb. You'll just need to take it easy for the next few days, or there's an increased chance of you getting sick with something nasty, all right?"
She nodded. "Is there anything I really need to watch out for, or do? Do I need any more transfusions or anything?"
He shook his head. "You won't need any more transfusions, the IV was to basically kick-start your system. There will be a few pills you'll need to take at certain intervals throughout the day to help your body maintain the current levels, and fair warning, they'll taste a bit like stale bread, but you should be done with the treatments by tonight, and your body should be back to normal soon. Although I don't know how long it will take for the time levels to return, as I don't know what caused them to drop in the first place."
Lyssa frowned, remembering when that had happened the first time. "Am I going to be seeing different timestreams and stuff when I jump again? 'Cause that's what happened the last time I didn't jump for a while, and it was kind of annoying. I couldn't make sense of half of what I was seeing, and had no idea what I was even seeing until you explained it to me, and I had to stay in the TARDIS during an alien invasion because I couldn't even see straight." She crossed her arms and huffed. "And those were interesting aliens, too. I even missed out on one of your epic speeches because I passed out from lack of air after the TARDIS stopped working."
"I'm sorry, what?" The Doctor stared at her in bemusement before shaking his head fondly. "Well, firstly, I don't rightly know for sure. Like I said earlier, I don't know what caused them to drop in the first place, and we don't know how long you're going to be here. I'm assuming that was your first time having a prolonged lapse before jumping, so your body had an extreme reaction to burn off the extra time energy that built up. We have no idea how long you're going to be here, nor how long it will take your levels to return to normal."
He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, his lips twitching in amusement. "As for missing one of my 'epic speeches,' I'm sure you'll be around to hear plenty more of them. And even so, you could always ask my future self to just repeat it for you. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to say yes. And since you knew that I was going to deliver a speech anyways, despite you being unconscious - something that rather concerns me, as you seem to have an absurd attraction to the Infirmary - you probably know what I was going to say."
Lyssa glared at the Doctor, wrinkling her nose at the look of amusement he was trying - and failing - to hide. "No, you wouldn't. You're all grumpy and, 'Don't be lasagna,' in the future," she informed him, with a terrible replica of a Scottish accent that would have disappointed both Amy and the Doctor she had been imitating. "And I couldn't ask you to just repeat it anyways. It would sound way less dramatic without the terrified and defeated bad guys cowering and on the run. And just because I know the gist of what's going to happen doesn't mean I'm going to remember everything."
"Was- was that supposed to be a Scottish accent?" the Doctor asked, his voice shaking with the effort to hide his laughter. "And 'Don't be lasagna'? Really? What on earth is that supposed to mean?"
"Like you could do better," she huffed, conveniently ignoring the fact that back home, his character had been played by a Scottish actor, and that he himself would be Scottish in the future. "And how am I supposed to know what it means? You're the one who said it!"
He rolled his eyes in amusement. "I'll have you know I can pull off an excellent Scottish accent," he informed her, utilizing said skill and pulling it off to perfection. "And I haven't said it yet, so clearly I don't know what context I was saying it in. Therefore, I can't know what point I was trying to get across."
"Don't be reasonable with me!" she pouted, looking away when the Doctor finally broke down and laughed, really, truly laughed, for the first time since she had realized where she had landed. She couldn't help a small smile though, and felt a small part of the ache that had been hiding in her heart start to chip away, making her feel just a little bit lighter.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh at the poor bed-ridden victim," she complained. "So can I get up now? I need to use the bathroom."
"That would mean you were no longer bed-ridden," the Doctor pointed out. "But it's up to you. Do you think you can walk to the bathroom?"
Well, she thought she could. It turns out that putting that belief into practice took a bit more doing. She needed the Doctor's help to even stand up straight once her feet hit the floor, and she was leaning on him far more than she would have liked during the short trip across the room, pulling the IV stand along with her. The Doctor was waiting for her once she was done, with a strange expression on his face, like what he was about to say was unpleasant, though he waited until she was back on the bed to speak.
"You don't need to stay in here any longer, but you probably won't be strong enough to get around on your own until tomorrow at the earliest. Would you rather spend the day in one location, have me carry you, or," he grimaced, "use a wheelchair?"
"Uh..." Her mind blanked. A wheelchair meant she could go where she wanted on her own, if she was able to push the wheels. But she really just didn't want to be alone. "Maybe you could just carry me to some room that's quiet and peaceful, and we could just stay there?" She saw the look on his face and quickly backtracked. "Not that you have to stay there if you don't want to, you could go somewhere else and just come back in a few hours, or something."
He shook his head, looking strangely relieved, a small smile on his face. "No. I'd like to stick with you, if that's all right." Perhaps she nodded a bit too eagerly, too quickly, but considering the way his face lit up, she couldn't find it in herself to be embarrassed about it. "I know the perfect place to take you, we can even have a picnic!"
She wrinkled her nose at the mention of food, not feeling very hungry at all, but he saw it and shook his head at her, his face sympathetic but determined.
"I know you don't feel like eating right now. I don't either. But you need to keep your strength up, and eating will help you recover quicker." She grumbled reluctant agreement. "Thank you. Now, I'm going to take this IV off of you, so hold on just a tick..." He trailed off and fiddled with the needle in her arm connected to the IV bag. In a moment, it was off, and he had placed a band-aid covered with bananas over the small wound, making her shake her head and smile at him.
"All right, that's done, now let's get you back to your room. You can change really quick, then we'll stop by the kitchen." When she nodded, he scooped her up carefully into his arms, then set off for her room, the TARDIS making sure to open up all the doors necessary, and already having the clothes laid out for her on her bed. A purple sundress was laying on the bed, with a pair of matching ballet flats next to it.
"Wow," Lyssa muttered as the Doctor set her down on the bed, fingering the soft material. "Think the TARDIS will ever take up fashion designing if she decides to stop traveling?" The Doctor snorted, but didn't deign to give her comment an answer, leaving the room and shutting the door to give her privacy as she changed quickly. The dress came down just past her knees, and, as usual, fit her perfectly.
She called to the Doctor that he could come back in, and was in the middle of trying to pull her hair back into a pony when he came in, only to have to give up when her arms grew too tired. However, the Doctor seemed to have varied skills, and was able to expertly braid her hair into a crown braid, grinning when he saw the look on her face.
"Nine hundred years of time and space, and you think I can't braid your hair?" he teased. "Think again."
She snorted as he picked her up again, and carried her to the kitchen, where the TARDIS had set a small picnic basket on the table that the Doctor was able to pick up without trouble, then set off for the secret room he kept teasing her about. He told her to close her eyes once they reached the room, then shut the door behind them once they were inside.
He set her down for a moment, telling her to keep her eyes closed, and she reluctantly obeyed, feeling grass tickle her legs and hearing water trickling nearby. Then he picked her back up again, and set her down on a softer surface, most likely a blanket, arranged himself next to her, and told her to open her eyes, a note of gleeful anticipation in his voice.
She opened her eyes, and gasped.
The first thing she saw was the red grass. In the distance, she could see silver leaves glistening on trees, and even further, red mountains capped with glistening white snow. The sky was a gleaming blue that reminded her of home, and two suns were visible, though not so bright as to blind them. And a few yards away, was a clear pool of water, being filled by a relatively small waterfall pouring over the top of a small wall that formed a half circle around the pool, made of rock that seemed to be of all different colors, before the pool itself emptied over another waterfall. It was almost like...
"This is a combination of Earth and Gallifrey," the Doctor's voice said in her ear, his voice low and hiding emotion. "You showed this room to me shortly after the Time War, and it was one of the greatest gifts you've ever given me. But it wasn't quite right."
"Why not?" Lyssa asked, turning to look at him, her eyes wide at the realization that she was seeing part of Gallifrey. "Is it because it had some of Earth in it, too?"
He shook his head. "No. Back then, it was all Gallifrey. And that was the problem. It showed my old home, but not yours. And without you... it wasn't home. So I added a little bit, and made it ours. The grass and the leaves are from Gallifrey, as are the two suns." He waved a hand at the mountains. "But the sky, and the water, the beauty found in nature... that was all from Earth."
"So this..."
"This is ours," the Doctor told her, draping an arm around her shoulder. "This is something only we know about, and it's where we can come when we need to escape. It's always peaceful here, and only rains if we want it to. The light and beauty here is untouched by what happens elsewhere. So no matter what happens, I always know that there's at least a little bit of home still waiting for me. And as long as you're here," he added, his eyes unbearably sad for some reason as he looked at her, "I'm home."
She didn't know how to respond to that - how could she? And why did he look so sad? - so she just laid her head on his shoulder and looked at the water flowing past, soothed by the peaceful sound. After a while, she just said quietly,
"And you're mine," and left it at that. He didn't say anything else, and neither did she, just sitting quietly and watching the water flow and the silver leaves in the distance flutter as a breeze blew past.
They sat that way for several hours, long enough that she only hesitated slightly when the Doctor told her that she needed to eat. She also got a small pill to swallow that, like the Doctor had warned her, tasted like stale bread. But the TARDIS had provided chocolate milk for her, so she didn't complain more than she was obligated to. They ended up staying long enough that the suns began to set, the two sunsets painting the sky a brilliant shade of colors that reflected onto the water, transforming it into a shimmery explosion of colors.
When it got a little chilly, the Doctor pulled out another blanket and draped it over Lyssa, giving her another pill to go along with it as they ate their dinner. Then they laid back on the blanket and watched the stars come out, forming some constellations that she recognized from her world, and some that she had never seen before, but that the Doctor had grown up seeing. She ended up falling asleep there on the blanket, and woke up the next morning, a smile on her face when she saw the Doctor had evidently started another project - as there was a pile of something lying next to his face, currently shoved into the blanket by her feet.
She honestly felt much better by the time he woke up - a brilliant smile on his face when he saw where they were, but she also felt something pressing on her, and knew what they needed to do. He agreed, when she told him, his own smile falling. The day before had been what they both needed - an escape from reality, but it could only be temporary, as there were things they both needed to do.
She was feeling much stronger, but still had trouble walking for long periods of time, so the Doctor gave her another pill and carried her back to the console room, where she sat on the chair keeping him company while he set up what he needed to. After several hours, he came to stand before her, a serious look on his face.
"It's ready."
She swallowed hard and nodded, joining him by the console, staring at the wall in front of her. He pressed a button on the console, then stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, as if trying to lend her his strength.
A moment later, Rose Tyler appeared in front of them, her form translucent, but so clearly alive, the faint background of a rocky beach behind her. Lyssa felt her eyes fill with tears at the sight, Rose looking just as emotional.
"Where are you?"
"In the TARDIS," the Doctor told her solemnly. "There's one tiny little gap in the universe left, just about to close. And it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a supernova." He laughed softly. "I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."
Rose shook her head, her own eyes filling up with tears. "You look like a ghost."
"Hang on." The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the console. After a moment, Rose's image cleared until it looked like she was standing in front of them, which just made Lyssa's heart ache all the more as she walked over to them, lifting a hand towards Lyssa's face.
"Can I touch -?" Her voice trailed off hopefully.
"We're still just an image," the Doctor told her regretfully. "No touch."
"Can't you come through properly?"
"The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse."
"So?" Rose protested, only half joking.
The Doctor smiled slightly, tightening his hold on Lyssa before looking around. "Where are we? Where did the gap come out?"
"Norway," Rose said softly.
"Norway. Right," the Doctor said, nodding sagely.
"About fifty miles out of Bergen. It's called 'Darlig Ulv Stranden'." Rose said with a weak smile.
"Dalek?" the Doctor recoiled.
"Darl-IG," Rose corrected. "It's Norwegian for bad. This translates as Bad Wolf Bay."
The Doctor sucked in a breath, pulling Lyssa further against him, but shook his head when she looked up at him. "Talk about irony."
"How long have we got?" Rose asked, her voice cracking.
"About two minutes," the Doctor said regretfully.
"I can't think of what to say!" Rose said, almost laughing, before shaking her head and sighing. "Mum's pregnant. She's three months gone. More Tylers on the way."
"And what about you? Are you..." the Doctor trailed off curiously.
"Yeah, I'm back at the shop," Rose said casually.
The Doctor nodded, his brow crinkling slightly at the news. "Oh. Well that's good. Good for you."
Rose laughed. "Shut up. No, I'm not. There's still a Torchwood on this planet, it's open for business." Her eyes filled with tears again. "I think I know a thing or two about aliens."
The Doctor smiled at her proudly. "Rose Tyler. Defender of the Earth." He paused, then looked down. "You're dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day and you've gone missing. You're on a list of the dead." Lyssa felt the ache in her heart grow again as Rose began to cry. The Doctor continued to speak, his voice pained. "Here you are. Living a life day after day. The one adventure I can never have."
Rose began sobbing in earnest. "Am I ever going to see you again?"
The Doctor started to speak, but Lyssa cut him off, speaking for the first time. "Did you open that bag the TARDIS sent with you, Rose?"
"N-no," Rose sniffed. "I'd completely forgotten about it. Should I open it?"
Lyssa nodded, a tear of her own trickling down her face. "I think you'll like what's inside. And I can tell you this. We will see each other again one day, Rose Tyler. It will be several years for you, and you'll have to work at it, but the day will come when we'll see each other again, and we'll both be able to hug you for real. So you just hang on, and keep defending the Earth, Rose Tyler. Because this is not the end." Tears were spilling over both of their cheeks now, but she couldn't stop. "So you keep on being amazing. We'll see you again."
A shocked smile broke out on Rose's face, through the tears. "I love you both," she blurted out. "You two are my best friends, so don't you dare do anything stupid, or I'll give you both a right slap when I see you again," she threatened tearfully.
The Doctor nodded seriously. "I give you my solemn oath that I will look after Lyssa." He cracked a smile. "I don't want to be slapped again if I can help it."
"We love you too, Rose," Lyssa interceded, her voice breaking, knowing their time was almost up. "And we'll see you again. So, until the next time... Goodbye, Rose Tyler."
"Goodbye, Doctor. Goodbye, Lyssa," Rose said, fighting vainly against fresh tears, struggling to smile.
"Rose," the Doctor started. Lyssa glanced up at him, hoping he wouldn't start the sentence that was never finished and always broke her heart. "I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it for now, then... Goodbye, Rose Tyler."
The moment after he had finished, Rose's teary image vanished into thin air, leaving them alone in the TARDIS.
A/N: So this ended up being a lot longer, and somewhat less angsty than I thought it would be. But I decided to give the Doctor at least some of the closure that we were all denied in the show. *sobs*
So, the verdict seems to be keep Missy, so there'll be another homicidal maniac floating around, keep an eye out for her... Also, no one's figured out who the two characters who saved Lyssa are, so I'll give another hint... My comment about a misdirection last chapter was a misdirection. ;)
Special thanks to everyone who's favorited and followed, and shout out to twojj, E-man-dy-S, Fakira, V (I'm assuming all the guest reviews were from you, as they came around the same time).
ALSO, GUYS: WE'RE NOW AT OVER 20,000 VIEWS! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! (I have such awesome readers :D)
twojj: Missy will be around for a while, though I can't promise when she'll show up. Thanks for your input! :)
E-man-dy-S: Hmm, maybe my hint will help? I might still give a sneak peek if no one can guess, so we'll see... Thanks for reviewing! :)
Fakira: Aww, thanks! I hated Doomsday too, and I was not super thrilled about having to go through it all again for these last few chapters. Darn you, Steven Moffat! :P As for the mystery... I added another hint, although looking back, I can tell that I was not super clear (Although when I first wrote it, I was worried that everyone was going to figure it out immediately, and be like, 'that was so obvious.' lol. And thanks for your input! And don't shame your writing too much, we all have to start somewhere. And some, like me, are still learning. I just recently found out that a lot of these chapters, which I thought had been edited, hadn't - at least, not the way I wanted them to be. :P Which means I'm going to need to go and fix them, because otherwise they're going to be bothering me. Anyways, thanks for your review! Hope you liked this chapter! :)
V: Your review made me laugh so hard... Here's the new update, as requested... (I don't know if i deserve such awesome readers/reviewers, though. your review seriously made my day. It was awesome, so thanks!
(Again, assuming all the reviews were from you): Your reviews were amazing, and I loved reading every single one of them. A lot of them made me laugh, and decide that you are an awesome human being (As are all my reviewers, just saying) I don't plan on stopping writing any time soon... I have lots of plans for this story! And I may or may not have plans for writing an actual book at some point way down the line (I want to finish my current stories first, though.) Overall, thank you so much for your reviews, I love hearing from my readers. And I hope you liked this new chapter!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! :)
General Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, only Lyssa.