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The God Complex – Part Four

They placed the unconscious Howie and Rita side by side on a makeshift bed made from sofa cushions. Gibbis had taken to hiding in the kitchen and raiding the cupboards, defending his actions by claiming that it wasn't like anyone was going to miss the food. The Corsair stood near to the two sleeping humans like a guard dog, Romana was trying to keep her mind off of the Minotaur by talking to Flavia about how Rory and Amy might be getting on, and the Doctor was pacing back and forth in agitation.

He'd lost Joe, he'd almost lost Howie and Rita…Gibbis, his room had apparently been the one with Weeping Angels; the Doctor wasn't sure why he hadn't been possessed if the creature fed on fear…but if it wasn't fear then what was it? He could sense it, the revelation lying just out of thought's reach. He had no doubt that the Minotaur would be impatient and angry by now, and he had a suspicion that Romana had seen her room as well. Time was of the essence and he was frustrated.

"Okay" he said at last, "It preys on people's fear and possesses them. But Rita wasn't afraid. She was brave and calm. Maybe it's something to do with the people, some connection between the four of you that'll tell me how to fight it" he reasoned, or at least tried to. Gibbis came out of the kitchen just in time to hear this last sentence. "Yes, you keep saying that, but you never do" he accused, "and while we wait, people keep dying. And we'll be next!"

Romana frowned disapprovingly at him. "That's not very nice, Gibbis" she scolded, "he's doing the best he can. The Doctor will figure this out, and save us, I know he will. He's never let me down before". The Doctor pulled up short as the revelation hit, and groaned, "Oh, no. Oh, no, no"

The others looked at him in concern. "Doctor, what's the matter?" Romana asked in concern. "It's not fear. It's faith. Not just religious faith, faith in something. Howard believed in conspiracies, that external forces controlled the world. Joe had dice cufflinks and a chain with a horseshoe. He was a gambler. Gamblers believe in luck, an intangible force that helps them win or lose. Gibbis has rejected any personal autonomy and is waiting for the next batch of invaders to oppress him and tell him what to do.

"They all believe there's something guiding them, about to save them. That's what it replaces. Every time someone was confronted with their most primal fear, they fell back on their most fundamental faith. And all this time, I have been telling you to dig deep, find the thing that keeps you brave. I made you expose your faith; show the creature what he needed" the Doctor realised, feeling guilty. "Don't beat yourself up" said the Corsair, "we all made the same mistake"

Flavia asked, "Then why were we brought here?"

"It doesn't want the three of us. None of us has any faith to fall back on, unless you count faith in yourself, but I don't think that applies here. It wants you" the Doctor told Romana, who's eyes widened in alarm. "Me? Why?" she asked nervously. "Your faith in me. That's what brought us here" the Doctor told her gently. "They don't act afraid because the Minotaur transforms their faith in some guiding force into faith in him" the Corsair worked out, "why would you fear what you have faith in?"

The Doctor nodded. "It needs to convert the faith into a form it can consume. Faith is an energy, the specific emotional energy the creature needs to live. Which is why at the end of her note, Lucy said"-

"Praise him" Romana murmured without thinking, before gasping. "Exact-oh no, no, no, no" – a bellowing roar echoed through the hotel. Gibbis gave a rather girly shriek and fled. "For once I think he has the right idea" said the Doctor, grabbing Romana's hand and pulling her from her seat. "Run!"

They hurried down a corridor, running for their lives. The Doctor kept hold of Romana's hand, and felt himself being yanked backwards when she stopped and turned to the creature behind them. "He is gorgeous" she breathed; the Corsair pretty much picked her up and kicked a nearby door in, pulling her inside. The Doctor and Flavia bundled the PE teacher out of the way, and slammed the door shut as Romana clutched her head.

"I can feel it, changing my thoughts" she said fearfully. One particular thought stood out, something that she had to do before it was too late. "Doctor, there's something I have to tell you" she insisted, reaching for him. "You want to do this now?" he asked incredulously, even as he held her hands, "you're about to die!"

"That's exactly why I have to do it now. Doctor, I…I love you. Ever since House, I've been in love with you" Romana spoke the fateful words at last. The Doctor stared at her in shock. She'd been expecting that; it wasn't every day someone professed their love for you, after all; but she hadn't expected him to drop her hands like they had burned him, and take a step backwards. "Doctor…?" she asked worriedly.

Emotions and expressions flickered across his visage far too fast for her to figure out how he felt; he'd put his barriers up, cutting her out, and it hurt her hearts. "You can't be" he said at last, shaking his head. Romana was confused, and frightened. "But I am, really, I"-

"No, I mean you cannot be in love with me!" the Doctor shouted, suddenly angry, and she flinched. "This, you and me, it's a terrible idea. I can't save you, how am I supposed to break your faith in me if you're in love? I don't need you and you don't need me, you can save yourself, if you just get over this…attraction. Look, you're a great friend, but brunettes really aren't my type". Every word he spoke was like a knife in her hearts. Romana looked at the Doctor with tear filled eyes and asked in a tremulous voice, "You…you don't…love me?"

He lowered his gaze and turned away, as if he couldn't stand to see her even in his peripheral vision, and replied through gritted teeth, "I can't". Romana let out a sob, and sank to her knees. Flavia and the Corsair, who had been trying to hold off the Minotaur, rushed to comfort her, glaring at the Doctor. He turned away from them all, looking rightfully ashamed of himself, just as the Minotaur burst through the door. It staggered and fell backwards. The lights flickered.

The Doctor knelt down beside the dying Minotaur. "I severed the food supply" he whispered to it, "I gave you the space to die". He hushed the creature, stroking it's snout, as the hotel around them shimmered into a futuristic spaceship. Rita and Howie's unconscious forms appeared, and Gibbis hurried over to rouse them. "That's what was hunting us? It looks like a Minotaur" Rita noted, staring at it with a bemused expression.

"Alien Minotaur, actually. Yeah, here we go" the Doctor read a holographic database, "Distant cousin of the Nimon. They descend on planets and set themselves up as gods to be worshipped. Which is fine, until the inhabitants get all secular and advanced enough to build bonkers prisons" he explained to Rita. From a porthole, Howie said "Make that prisons in space…this is way cooler than Star Trek". Gibbis pointed at a small planet far below them. "See that planet there? The grey one? That's where I'm from" he told Howie.

Rita looked around. "There aren't any guards" she noted. "No need for any. It's all automated. It drifts through space, snatching people with belief systems and converts their faith into food for the creature. According to the in-flight recorder, the programme developed glitches. It got stuck on the same setting, the fears from the people before us weren't tidied away" explained the Doctor.

Howie and Rita thanked the Corsair for saving their lives. "No problem" he smiled. Romana looked outwardly calm, perfectly normal, but inside she was breaking apart. All she could think was why, why? The Minotaur growled, and everyone jumped. The Doctor walked over, studiously avoiding Romana's eyes, and knelt beside it. "An ancient creature, drenched in the blood of the innocent, drifting in space through an endless, shifting maze. For such a creature, death would be a gift" he translated, before petting the creature's head, "Then accept it, and sleep well".

As he moved away, the Minotaur spoke one last time, and a shiver ran up the Doctor's spine as he murmured, "I wasn't talking about myself". The TARDIS had reappeared, much to his relief; the two humans and Gibbis were hovering near it. "Could we have a lift?" Gibbis asked hopefully, "just to the nearest galaxy would do for me".

/

Romana didn't really hear the amazed chatter of Gibbis, Howie and Rita when they first beheld the majesty of the TARDIS. She went through the motions of dematerialising like an automaton, not paying attention to anyone, hiding behind her barriers. As soon as the three passengers had been safely dropped off near to their respective homes, she left the console room and went to her bedroom, locking the door and crying.

The Corsair tapped the Doctor on the shoulder. When the other man looked up, he punched him hard in the face. The Doctor fell back onto the console, bruising his ribs, and the Corsair felt a sort of grim satisfaction at seeing him clutch his nose and side. "Ow! Blimey, what was that for?" asked the Doctor, wincing as he struggled to his feet. His nose hurt like hell, and was apparently broken. "You know damn well what it was for. How could you do that to Romana?" the Corsair demanded furiously.

"He's right, Doctor. What you said back there, it was hurting her" said Flavia. "You think I didn't know that?" asked the Doctor, "I had to".

"Had to? Had to? Romana told you she loved you, and you broke her hearts, and now you're trying to tell us that you had to?"

"Goddamn it Corsair, I was trying to save her life!" the Doctor yelled, his own temper flaring. In a more normal tone, he explained "I wanted to break her faith in me gently, but then she said she was in love with me, and I knew I had to stop her or she would never lose her faith in me. I had to hurt her, drive her away so she wouldn't die. I'd rather she was alive and hating me than having to stand over her dead body, over her grave" he explained, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes at the thought.

The Corsair wordlessly handed him a tissue, feeling guilty. He should have known the Doctor would never do something that cruel without good intentions, and he'd just punched him for no reason. "So you didn't mean anything you said?" asked Flavia. The Doctor stood by the console with his head bowed. "I meant one thing; her and me, it's a bad idea. I'm not safe, I'm not…good enough for her" he said solemnly. Flavia hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you really think she cares about that?"

The Doctor didn't answer. "You should talk to her" the Corsair prompted, and he walked off listlessly. He wandered through the winding corridors for about fifteen minutes before coming to a stop with a groan of frustration. "Come on, old girl. Let me find her" he pleaded, but nothing happened. "I was trying to save her life" the Doctor tried to defend himself. The TARDIS was doing a very good job of masquerading as an inert, thoughtless machine.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I didn't mean what I said. I like Romana's hair; it reminds me of chocolate covered strawberries! And I do need her, she understands, and she cares, she's always cared, and she's always been amazing, and beautiful, and kind, and…" the Doctor trailed off as he realised, I admire her, I care about her, if I lost her I'd be devastated…Omega, I'm in love with Romana.

The air in front of him shimmered, and transformed into…a blank wall. The Doctor banged his forehead on it in exasperation, only to hear a soft click from behind him. He turned around to see Romana standing in her doorway, light spilling from the room into the corridor and illuminating his face. "What happened to you?" she asked in concern. "Huh? Oh yeah, my nose. The Corsair punched me…not that I didn't deserve it. My voice sounds stupid, doesn't it?" the Doctor asked.

"A little bit" she replied. There followed an awkward silence, and then they both spoke at once, "Romana, I" – "Doctor, I" – the Doctor gestured for her to speak first. Romana paused, and then began to speak. "The TARDIS let me hear everything you said just now, and before, in the console room. I suppose the first thing I should say is thank you for saving me. And the second thing is…I don't care, how dangerous your life is, or if you're a renegade and I'm a former President of Gallifrey. None of that matters anymore. I love you; I think now, I love you more than ever" she revealed.

The Doctor swallowed, and straightened his bowtie. "Um…I really am sorry, Romana. I didn't want to hurt you, I swear, but I couldn't see another way to break your faith in me. It's not my life that's dangerous – well, it is, but that's not what I meant. I'm dangerous, and broken…it's like the Minotaur said, I've got so much blood on my hands. Romana, I destroyed your home, your friends and family…I didn't think you could love me after that" he explained, eyes cast downward.

A gentle hand cupped his cheek, and he looked up to see Romana smiling at him. "How could I blame you when it hurt you just as much? Close your eyes" she instructed, and he did so. He felt her kiss the tip of his nose, and winced; but then he felt his nose straighten out. He went cross-eyed trying to look at it, softly glowing gold. As it faded, his eyes met Romana's. "You…?"

She pressed a finger to his lips and murmured, "You're worth it". Very slowly, the Doctor took hold of her hand and brought it away from his mouth, cupped her face in his free hand; and very slowly, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. When he pulled away, her eyes were shining. "I love you" the Doctor admitted, feeling a tightness in his chest loosen as the words left his mouth. It felt right, to say those three words to her.

Happy tears filled Romana's eyes. "I love you too…can you stay, with me? I don't really want to sleep alone tonight" she asked. The Doctor brushed a thumb over her cheek and nodded, "always". Neither of them spoke another word as they prepared for bed, brushed their teeth and curled up together under the covers. "Goodnight, Romana" the Doctor said quietly. "Goodnight, Doctor" she murmured sleepily. Then they fell asleep, safe in each other's arms.

/

A/N: I've been waiting to write that corridor scene for ages XD. My initial plan was to have the big reveal in the Christmas episode, then I changed it to the finale episode, and finally, I decided on this episode. Once more, thank you everyone, you rock, and as always, vworp on!