A/N: Many, many thanks to my wonderful followers, to all you lovely people who has favourited, and to everyone who has taken the time to review. You guys are the best and I really hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or anything related. That all goes to the BBC. *Some lines below are borrowed from the episodes Turn Left and The Stolen Earth. Credit for those lines belong to their respective writers.*
"Bad Wolf."
Immediately the colour drained from the Doctor's face, a look of true terror in his eyes. Rose could barely process the two words before he was out of his seat and running back into the marketplace. She followed hot on his heals.
"What's it mean?" Donna shouted, chasing after them.
"It's a message," Rose called back as they ran towards the TARDIS. Everywhere they looked the words 'Bad Wolf' were on display. Haunting them. Mocking them. Even the TARDIS, their beloved ship, was not immune to the message. As the Doctor flung the door to the time ship open, Rose had to fight the urge to double over in shock. The entire control room was bathed in an unnatural red light, stemming from the console.
As soon as Donna entered behind them, she slammed the door shut and said, "Doctor, what is it? What's Bad Wolf?"
Rose turned to face her, tears streaming down her face. "Me. I'm the Bad Wolf."
"No!" the Doctor shouted, causing both woman to flinch as he violently sent them into the Vortex. "This isn't... This can't be."
"Doctor..."
"No, Rose. No. Whatever this is, whatever is happening, it does not involve you. I won't allow it."
Rose sighed and shook her head. "But it does involve me, it does. This has me written all over it! Literally," she added in a teasing voice, hoping to coax a smile out of him. She needed him to remain with her and not go full Oncoming Storm.
"Don't," he protested halfheartedly.
"I remembered something back there, something important. About what happened to me when Donna changed the timelines."
He frowned and pulled her over to the jump seat. "Explain."
And she did. She quickly and efficiently told the Doctor and Donna both about what happened when the blonde man, she later learned was named Tony, rescued her. She explained how he and his wife each wore a symbol of a wolf (he with his tattoo, she with her charm necklace) to identify themselves as members of Rose's "Pack." Before she was even finished with her tale, she knew the Doctor had his doubts.
"What makes you think you can trust these people? They kidnapped you!" he argued.
"They rescued me! They're from our future, Doctor. I know it, I just know it." She raised her right hand to her heart. "I felt it in here."
Donna jumped in, saying, "And they gave you the same warning about the darkness, yeah? The same one that bloke gave me?"
"Oh, that wasn't just some bloke. That was Mickey Smith!" Rose's smile grew wide as the Doctor moved away and began directing the TARDIS towards Earth. If there was trouble, and there most certainly was, that's the most likely place to find it. As soon as they land, they were all racing at to the door, the Doctor in the lead.
"It's fine... everything's fine," he said as soon as he was outside. "Nothing's wrong, it's all fine!" Looking around, Rose could place their exact location. It seemed to be a normal suburban street corner. The only thing around to attract any sort of attention was a bumbling milk-cart that parked a few houses away from them. "Excuse me? What day is it?" the Doctor shouted towards the milkman.
The man gave them a suspicious look, but replied, "Saturday."
"Saturday! Good! Good, I like Saturdays."
Donna turned to Rose. "So... I just met your ex boyfriend Mickey?"
"Yep," the blonde woman answered with a sigh as she and the Doctor took in their surrounding, both wearing a look on uneasiness.
"But you told me he was locked away in a parallel world."
"Exactly," the Doctor injected. "If he can cross from his parallel world to your parallel world, then that means the walls of the universe are breaking down, which puts everything in danger. Everything. But how?"
Back inside the TARDIS, the Doctor immediately moved to the console, setting up various scans for the immediate area. Rose followed him, pushing the buttons he pointed to.
Donna trailed the couple cautiously, as she said, "The thing is, when I was in that other world, it wasn't just Mickey I encountered. There was another woman with him. An older blonde woman."
Rose whipped around. "What?" she whispered, just as the TARDIS gave a loud and mighty shake, knocking all three travellers off balance.
"What the hell was that?!" the ginger woman exclaimed as the ship gave a final shudder.
"It came from outside!" the Doctor responded, jumping to his feet and, once again, running towards the door.
The three gasped in unison when they were met, not with the sight of Earth, but with the sight of deep space. Rose shivered slightly, sensing the TARDIS's own discomfort.
"We're in space," Donna pointed out, as she regarded the lumps of rock floating around them. "How did that happen? What did you do?"
The Doctor made his way back to the console and immediately scanned the monitor. "We haven't moved. We're fixed."
Rose moved to his side and said, "How is that even possible? Unless..."
Catching her train of thought, he replied, "It can't have... No!" He went back to the doors and took in their view of space. "The TARDIS is still in the same place, but the Earth is gone. The entire planet... it's gone!" After a beat of silence the Doctor closed the door and moved back to the console.
"But if the Earth's been moved, they've lost the Sun. What about my Mum? And Granddad? They're dead, aren't they? Are they dead?" Donna asked, following his every step.
"I don't know, Donna. I just don't know. I'm sorry, I don't know."
"That's my family. My whole world!"
"And what about Martha? And Jack?" Rose added, using every once of willpower to keep her voice calm. "They're on Earth too."
The Doctor just shook his head and scanned the monitor once more. "There's no readings. Nothing. Not a trace. Not even a whisper. Oh, that is fearsome technology."
"So what do we do?" Donna questioned.
"We've got to get help."
Rose scoffed. "Well, there's a first time for everything. Where's this help supposed to come from?"
The Doctor met their gaze, a mad glint in his eye. "Ladies, I'm taking you to the Shadow Proclamation. Hold tight."
The journey to the Shadow Proclamation was clearly one the TARDIS did not want to take, however necessary it may be. Donna and Rose both held as tightly as they could to the console while the Doctor did his best to navigate the time ship through the bumpy journey.
"So go on then, what is the Shadow Proclamation anyway?" Donna asked.
"Posh name for police. Outer space police. Here we go," he answered as they landed with a thud. The Doctor was at the door before the TARDIS had even finished materialising with Rose and Donna right behind him as he exited. All three raised their hands in surrender when greeted by several armed Judoon.
"Sco bo tro no flo jo ko fo to to," the lead Judoon stated harshly.
The Doctor straightened his stance and responded, "No bo ho sho ko ro to so. Bokodozogobofopojo." He paused as the Judoon platoon stood at attention. "Moho," he added, ignoring Donna quizzical glare.
Immediately the Judoon guard left.
"Where's he going?" Rose whispered.
"To the Architect, the leader of the Shadow Proclamation."
Donna snorted. "The Architect? Doesn't anyone just use normal names anymore? What makes him so high and mighty?"
"It's a she not a he," the Doctor informed her, "and she was chosen at birth for this position."
Inside the Architect's chambers, they were met with the sight of a woman in a long, modest black gown. Her hair, so pale, looked silvery blonde, and her eyes were sickly red. She wasted no time with introductions, having already been informed of her guests by the Judoon.
She began pacing her chambers, taking in the sight of the Doctor and his blonde companion. "Time Lords are the stuff of legend. They belong in the myths and whispers of the Higher Species. You cannot possibly exist. And the Bad Wolf? The Times Lords' mighty protector? How is this possible?"
"Yeah. More to the point, I've got a missing planet," the Doctor told her, not wanting to discuss the fate of his people, or draw more attention to Rose as the Bad Wolf.
"Then you're not as wise as the stories would say. The picture is far bigger than you imagine. The whole universe is in outrage, Doctor. Twenty four worlds have been taken from the sky."
His eyes widened in shock. "How many? Which ones? Show me," he requested, moving to join the Architect at her computer screen.
"Locations range far and wide, but all disappeared at the exact same moment, leaving no trace," she explained.
The Doctor began reading off the names of the missing planets, "Callufrax Minorr. Jahoo. Shallacatop. Woman Wept. Clom. Clom's gone? Who'd want Clom?"
"Who'd want Woman Wept? I mean, yeah, it's gorgeous, but it's completely abandoned," Rose injected, ignoring the Architect's judgmental scowl.
"All different sizes. Some populated, some not. But all unconnected," the Shadow Proclamation's leader said.
"What about Pyrovillia?" Donna asked.
"Who is the female?"
Donna narrowed her eyes at the Architect. "Donna. I'm a human being. Maybe not the stuff of legend but every bit as important as Time Lords or a wolf woman, thank you."
The Doctor smirked, with a hint of pride as Rose grinned widely. "We only take the best," she said proudly of their companion.
With a nod, Donna went on, "Way back, when we were in Pompeii, Lucius said Pyrovillia had gone missing."
"Pyrovillia is cold case. Not relevant," the Judoon guard stated.
"How do you mean, cold case?"
"The planet Pyrovillia cannot be part of this. It disappeared over two thousand years ago," the Architect answered.
"Yes, yes, hang on. But there's the Adipose breeding planet, too," she pointed out. "Miss Foster said that was lost, but that must've been a long time ago."
Rose gasped. "And the Lost Moon on Poosh! Remember, Dee Dee wrote a paper all about it."
The Doctor's eyes lit up. "That's it! Donna, Rose, you're brilliant! Planets are being taken out of time as well as space. Let's put this into 3-D." He began typing commands into the computer, bringing up holograms of the missing planets. "Now, if we add Pyrovillia, Adipose Three, and the Lost Moon of Poosh..." he trailed off as the missing planets were added. Within seconds, they rearranged into a new configuration.
"What did you do?" the Architect asked.
"Nothing. The planets rearranged themselves into the optimum pattern. Oh, look at that." He moved to the center of the room. "Twenty seven planets in perfect balance. Come on, that is gorgeous."
"Oi, don't get all spaceman," Donna scolded. "What does it mean?"
"All those worlds fit together like pieces of an engine. It's like a powerhouse. What for?"
The Architect looked at him in obvious horror. "Who could design such a thing?"
"Someone tried to move the Earth once before... Long time ago... Can't be..."
Rose reached forward and grabbed his hand. "Who, Doctor?" she asked, frightened of his response.
He took a deep breath. "Who do you think?"
As the Doctor and the Architect discussed what, or rather who, was responsible for the missing planets, Rose found herself wandering over to where Donna was resting on a set of stairs. Sitting down next to her friend, she asked, "How you holdin' up?"
The other woman shrugged. "Alright I suppose. Scared, mostly."
Rose looped her arm through Donna's and rested her head on her shoulder. "We'll fix this, Donna. We have to."
"Yeah. How about you?"
"Me? Dunno really. Earlier you said in that other world you met an older blonde woman. I think it might have been my mum."
Donna nodded. "I think so to. That's a good thing though, isn't it?"
Rose clenched her eyes shut and wiped away a few stray tears. "Is it? If it was her, then she might be in the middle of this mess. In danger. And it would be my fault."
"Don't say that."
"But it's true! You know, I'm finally understanding the Doctor a little better. I never understood before how he could just leave companions behind and not go visit them, but I get it now. Because, before, I could imagine my mum living this wonderful life with my parallel dad and their new baby. And she would have money and be safe, and live happily ever after. But what if I'm wrong? What if her life has been awful? Or what if it was great, but she risked it all for me?" She took a shuddering breath. "I want nothing more than to see my mum again, to hug her and tell her I love her, but I'm terrified of what will happen if I do." Donna reached across and grabbed her friend's hand, offering the only comfort she could think of. Rose sniffed and added, "Don't tell the Doctor I said any of that, yeah? I don't want him feeling guilty."
"Course not," Donna promised.
A few minutes later, as Donna and Rose were both lost in though, a woman, similar in looks to the Architect came forward with two oddly shaped mugs.
"You need sustenance. Take the water, it purifies," she told them.
Rose nodded gratefully as Donna said, "Thanks."
The new woman looked at her with concern. "There was something on your back."
"How do you know that?"
"You are something new."
Donna rolled her watery eyes. "Not me. I'm just a temp. Shorthand, filing, hundred words per minute. Fat lot of good that is now. I'm no use to anyone."
Rose sat up straighter and frowned. "Don't say that! You heard the Doctor. You're brilliant and we need you!"
"Suppose."
"I'm so sorry for your loss," the woman told Donna.
"Yeah. My whole planet's gone."
She leaned forward and whispered, "I mean the loss that is yet to come. God save you." With that she moved past Rose and up the stairs.
Donna's breathing became heavy, a thousand scenarios running through her mind. Rose squeezed her shoulder and said, "Don't pay the creepy lady any mind, Donna."
Suddenly the Doctor's voice rang out as he made his way towards his companions. "Donna! Come on, think. Earth. There must've been some sort of warning. Was anything happening back in your day, like electrical storms, freak weather, patterns in the sky?"
"Well, how should I know?" she snapped before taking a deep breath. "Uh, no. I don't think so, no."
"Doctor, she's been with us for quite while now. She's missed a bit of time on Earth," Rose reminded gently.
The Time Lord sighed. "You're right. Okay, never mind."
He turned to walk away when Donna said, "Although, there were the bees disappearing."
"The bees disappearing," he repeated, with just a hint of mock. "The bees disappearing... The bees disappearing!" he repeated this time with a shock and excitement.
"Blimey you could practically see the light bulb over his head!" Rose laughed as she and Donna jumped up and followed the Doctor back to the computer.
The Architect, who had been watching their interactions with mild curiosity, asked, "How is that significant?"
"On Earth we had these insects. Some people said it was pollution or mobile phone signals," Donna explained.
"Or, they were going back home," the Doctor concluded.
Rose blinked in surprise. "And I'm guessing home isn't Earth?"
"Nope! The planet Melissa Majoria."
"Are you saying bees are aliens?" Donna questioned, her tone raising in volume.
He shook his head. "Don't be so daft. Not all of them. But if the migrant bees felt something coming, some sort of danger, and escaped? Tandocca." He pointed to the Architect.
She gasped, catching on with his train of thought. "The Tandocca Scale!"
"Someone care to explain?" Rose requested.
The Doctor spoke quickly. "Tandocca Scale is the series of wavelengths used as a carrier signals by migrant bees. Infinitely small. No wonder we didn't see it. It's like looking for a speck of cinnamon in the Sahara, but look, there it is." He pointed to the screen. "The Tandocca trail. The transmat that moved the planets was using the same wavelength, we can follow the path."
"And find the Earth? Well, stop talking and do it," Donna shouted, already racing towards the TARDIS.
"I am!" he yelled back as he grabbed Rose's hand and ran after their companion.
"We're a bit late. The signal's scattered, but it's a start," the Doctor said hurriedly as he made his way into the control room and towards the monitor. "Rose, go tell the Architect that I've definitely got a blip!"
"Right." She nodded, making her way back to the doors. Popping her head out, she said, "Uh, the Doctor says he's got a blip. Not much, but a blip."
The Architect straightened her shoulders. "Then according to the Strictures of the Shadow Proclamation, I will have to seize your transport and your technology."
She guffawed. "Excuse me?"
"The planets were stolen with hostile intent. We are declaring war, Bad Wolf, right across the universe, and the Doctor will lead us into battle."
"Riiigghht. He'll love that. Let me just go get you the key."
Rose slammed the door shut and smiled as the Doctor started the dematerialisation sequence.
It was a bumpy ride as the TARDIS followed the tiny blip, but eventually the time rotor stopped wheezing and the control room came to a stand still.
"It's stopped," the Doctor said breathlessly, staring at the monitor.
"What do you mean? Is that good or bad? Where are we?" Donna questioned nervously.
"The Medusa Cascade." He paused and wrapped his arm around Rose's waist. "I came here when I was just a kid, ninety years old. It was the centre of a rift in time and space."
The three travellers stared at the swirling nebula on the screen, as Donna asked the question they were all thinking. "So, where are the twenty seven planets?"
"Nowhere. The Tandocca Trail stops dead. End of the line."
"So what do we do? Doctor, what do we do? Now, don't do this to me." She pleaded when the Doctor remained stubbornly silent. "No, don't. Don't do this to me. Not now. Tell me, what are we going do? You never give up. Please. Rose, you promised you would fix this."
Rose moved to stand in front of the Doctor. "She's right. Come on now, think! There has to be... has to be something we can do. Those planets have to be somewhere!"
"I don't know, Rose. I do not know what to do!" he said, his voice edging on hostile.
"The Earth isn't helpless, you know." She moved away and began pacing the control room. "It's got Jack and his team, and Martha and UNIT, not to mention Sarah Jane, and any other people you've come in contact with throughout the years. If the Earth is still... Well, if everyone is still alive, then that planet has a fighting chance!" On cue, a ringing echoed through the control room. "See!"
Donna watched as the Doctor pulled out the ringing phone."Who's calling? How are they calling?" she asked.
"Martha, is that you?" He looked at the screen. "It's a signal."
"Can we follow it?"
The Doctor donned his stethoscope and gave a manic grin. "Oh, just watch me." A few seconds later, he added, "Got it. Locking on."
Rose felt her skin prickle with sweat as the TARDIS began following the signal they'd been sent it was even rockier than before, and for the first time, Rose honestly wasn't sure if their beloved ship could do it. A flash of intense heat ran through her flames erupted from the panels below. She screamed in both pain and horror. "What's happening!?" she cried as the Doctor tugged her close, trapping her against his chest.
"We're travelling through time. One second in the future. The phone call's pulling us through! Brace yourselves... Three, two, one!" A wave of pressure fell over the TARDIS as one by one the missing planets appeared on the monitor. When the last sphere appeared the shaking stopped and the flames subsided. Rose shuddered against the Doctor's chest as he whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"I never want to do that again," she said breathlessly.
Donna looked at the monitor as her breathing slowly returned to normal. "Twenty seven planets. And there's the Earth. But why couldn't we see them?"
"The entire Medusa Cascade has been put a second out of sync with the rest of the universe. Perfect hiding place. Tiny little pocket of time. But we found them. Ooo, ooo, ooo, what's that?" he said as the monitor filled with static. He pulled away from Rose and adjusted a few knobs. "Hold on, hold on. Some sort of Subwave Network."
Rose laughed in relief when they're picture became a small square on the top left corner of the screen. Below their square they could see Sarah Jane with a young, teenage boy, and beside her was Martha and her mum. The square next to the one for the TARDIS was filled with the image of Captain Jack Harkness. "Oh my god, Jack, I could kiss you!" she exclaimed, ignoring her fiance's squeak of protest.
He offered her a small wink. "Later, sweetheart. Where the hell have you been?" the immortal man then growled at the man next to her. "Doctor, it's the Daleks."
And all at once, everyone on screen was warning them of Daleks taking over the Earth. Rose even thought she heard Martha say something about Dalek Caan, but for the brief moment, Rose couldn't care. Because there were her friends and family and at the exact moment, they were okay.
The Doctor seemed to be feeling the same, as he looked proudly at the people before him. "Sarah Jane. Who's that boy? That must be Torchwood. Oh, they're brilliant. Rose was right about you lot! Look at you all, you clever people."
Donna pushed her way on screen. "That's Martha! And who's he?" She pointed to the man next to them.
"Captain Jack. Don't. Just don't."
"It's like an outer space Facebook!"
Rose sniffed, her smile drooping. "Everyone except my mum and Mickey."
All at once the screen turned blank and once more turned to static. "Oh!" the Doctor muttered, trying to pull it back up.
"We've lost them," Donna said.
The Doctor began hitting the monitor. "No, no, no, no, no. There's another signal coming through. There's someone else out there. Hello? Can you hear me? Mickey is that you?"
"Your voice is different, and yet its arrogance is unchanged," a high pitched, gravelly voice responded.
"No. But he's dead," Rose heard someone say faintly in the background. It sounded like Sarah Jane.
The voice resumed as it's image appeared on screen, "Welcome to my new Empire, Doctor. It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, lord and creator of the Dalek race."
Rose felt her breath leave her in a whoosh. The creator of the Daleks? But... How? The Doctor looked equally shocked, and properly frightened. In this moment there were no words she could offer for support. She knew the nightmares this... creature had caused him and all she could do now was hold his hand and hope they made it out of this one alive.
Donna, who wasn't as familiar with the Daleks, was worried about the Doctor's reaction to this new voice. "Doctor?"
"Have you nothing to say?" Davros chimed in.
"Doctor, it's all right. We're, we're in the TARDIS. You, me, and Rose. We're safe," Donna said soothingly.
The Doctor took a shuddering breath as he addressed one of his oldest foes. "But you were destroyed. In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gates of Elysium. I saw your command ship fly into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you."
"But it took one stronger than you," Davros told him. "Dalek Caan himself."
"I flew into the wild and fire! I danced and died a thousand times!" Caan injected in a childlike sing-song tone.
"Emergency Temporal Shift took him back into the Time War itself."
The Time Lord leaned closer to the monitor with fury rolling off him like waves. "But that's impossible. The entire War is timelocked!"
"And yet he succeeded," Davros taunted. "Oh, it cost him his mind, but imagine. A single, simple Dalek succeeded where Emperors and Time Lords have failed. A testament, don't you think, to my remarkable creations?"
"And you made a new race of Daleks."
"I gave myself to them, quite literally. Each one grown from a cell of my own body." He opened his tunic and revealed bare fib, covered only by nerve endings, his eternal organs exposed to the elements. "New Daleks. True Daleks. I have my children, Doctor. What do you have, now?"
"He has me," Rose stated firmly, ignoring the Doctor's silent protests. "Are you afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, Davros? Cause you should be. I've destroyed your precious children before, don't think I won't hesitate to do it again."
Davros looked quizzically at her. "What is this abomination?"
Before an answer could be given, the Doctor said, "You know, after all this time, everything we saw, everything we lost, I have only one thing to say to you. Bye!"
"Where're we going now?" Rose asked as the TARDIS moved quickly through the Vortex.
"Earth," the Doctor replied. "We've got to see what's happening down there." He looked towards her and frowned when he noticed her blinking rapidly. "Rose? What is it? What's wrong?"
"Do you feel that, Doctor?"
He cupped her cheek. "Feel what, love?" he asked softly.
Her brows furrowed. "That tingle, in the back of your mind. Do you feel it?"
The Doctor closed his eyes, and tried to focus on whatever Rose was feeling. Taking a deep breath he did feel something there. He probably would have noticed it sooner had they not been so distracted. "What is that?" he asked under his breath.
"It feels... familiar. Doesn't it?"
"It sort of feels like another Time Lord, but it can't be."
Donna stepped forward. "Um, I don't mean to interrupt, but shouldn't we be going and saving the Earth now?"
"Right! Worry about weird feeling in our heads later." The Doctor stepped back, but not before offering Rose a quick peck on the cheek. "Allons-y!"
"Like a ghost town," Donna said as they exited the TARDIS and took in their surrounds. All around them were abandoned vehicles, bikes, and even a baby buggy. An eery breeze picked up some of the trash littering the street.
"Sarah Jane said they were taking the people. What for?" The Doctor turned to his companion. "Think, Donna. When you met Mickey in that parallel world, what did he say?"
"Just, the darkness is coming."
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "What about those two who kidnapped you, Rose?"
She rolled her eyes. "You mean rescued me."
"Schematics."
"They said pretty much the same. Look around," she nodded to the black sky, "I'd say they were right."
"Ahhh!" He began rubbing temples. "That feeling in my mind is even stronger out here."
Rose shivered. "For me too. It doesn't feel bad though. What does that mean, Doctor?"
"I don't know. I don't know. I would say it might be Davros trying to mess with us, but you're right. It feels much to comforting." Suddenly Donna gasped, both hands covered her mouth. "What is it, Donna?" he asked frantically.
Donna lowered her hands and smiled at the pair in front of her. "I know what you're feeling."
"What do you mean?" Rose questioned.
"Turn around."
"What?"
"Turn around!"
The Doctor and Rose made brief eye contact before slowly turning to face the other direction. The sight they were met with was one they were not expecting. In the distance they saw a slight figure making their way towards them. The person was clearly female and had a large gun strapped to her side. As the mysterious female took a few steps, her hair caught in the lamplight, revealing her to be blonde. Rose was the first to recognise the figure.
"Jenny," she whispered, before breaking out in a full run.
The Doctor's hearts stuttered as he heard his beloved whisper his, their, daughter's name. It shouldn't be possible. He had watched her die, he'd held her as she died, and they waited. She didn't regenerate. She couldn't regenerate. So they left. And they mourned. But she was here now and so alive and the Doctor couldn't help but breaking out into a run as well, steps behind Rose.
He could see it all. They were going to be reunited. They were going to be a family. First they would have to take care of this Davros/Dalek nonsense, but with Jenny and Rose, not to mention Donna, by his side he felt like he could do anything. Child's play! Then they would find out what happened to Jenny after they'd left her body behind, and he'd run a few tests, just to make sure she was in perfect health. And after that? Well, they had all of time and space at their fingertips. There was so much to show her, so much to teach her. It would be fantastic.
He could hear Rose's laughter floating back to him as she raced towards their daughter. This was perfect. Like a movie, he thought. But then time shuddered.
Out of the shadows, a Dalek appeared near Rose, crying, "Exterminate!" With a giant leap, the Doctor jumped forward and tackled Rose to the ground, the Dalek's shot grazing his side.
"No!" Rose screamed as she rolled the Time Lord's body off hers, not even noticing that Jack had materialised at that exact moment and shot the Dalek, destroying it in one go.
Jenny skidded to her knees and helped Rose prop the Doctor up. "Dad? Dad, look! It's me! I'm alive!"
His eyes fluttered open. "Jenny?"
"Hi!"
"We missed you," he rasped out.
She gave a watery smile. "I missed you too. Been looking for you two everywhere!"
Rose choked back a sob and held the Doctor tightly. "Look! We got her back, Doctor. You can't do this now. Don't die. Oh, my God. Don't die. Oh my god, don't die!" she begged.
"Get him into the TARDIS. Quick. Move," Jack instructed, as he helped Jenny to her feet. Donna moved next to Rose and helped drag toward the blue box.
Once inside the TARDIS, Donna and Rose lowered the Doctor down onto the grating, while Jenny hovered nearby and Jack removed the weapons he'd been carrying.
"What, what do we do? There must be some medicine or something." Donna asked on the verge of hysteria, watching as Rose clung tightly to the Doctor's frame.
Jack bent down so he was eye level with her. "Just step back. Rose, do as I say, and get back. He's dying and you know what happens next."
Donna stood to her feet. "What do you mean?"
"I don't understand what's happening," Jenny said wringer her hands nervously.
Rose shook her head and placed kisses across the Doctor's forehead. "This isn't right. This is wrong."
Jack sighed. "Rose, you know what he has to do."
"What does he have to do!?" Donna shouted, angry that neither Jack nor Rose was explaining was what going on.
"Just stand with me," the Captain ordered, pulling Jenny and Donna close to him. "Rose, get over here now!"
The Doctor slowly raised his hand, the glow of regeneration swirling around it. "It's starting."
Rose bit her lip in determination. She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I love you," she declared, before grabbing his glowing hand in her own.
Coming Soon: Journey's End.
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