Some quick author's notes:

I found the idea for this prompt at post/125790221057/prompt#notes

Rose awoke suddenly, straining against the restraints that bound her hands and feet. "Doctor?" She called, hoping that whomever had captured them hadn't separated the pair. Immediately, a nurse was at her bedside. "You're awake! This is great, do you know where you are? Do you know who you are?" He asked her calmly; his professionalism and relaxing demeanour doing nothing to soothe Rose's agitation.

"Course I do!" Rose's shock at his question was obvious. "Where's the Doctor?" She asked urgently.

"He'll be in shortly. 'Tyler' is near the end of the alphabet, so you're at the end of his list." The nurse said soothingly.

His list? Were they undercover? Rose was faintly aware that the nurse had disappeared. She ripped an IV from her arm and tried to sit up; she thought that she could hear her mum's voice from the corridor.

"Hello Rose," Jackie's voice was overly-cheerful. "How's my beautiful girl today? I've brought a friend – do you remember Mickey?" Rose could only gape at her mother in bewilderment; the light dissipated from Jackie's eyes and she smiled sadly. "Oh, sweetheart." Mickey wrapped an arm around Jackie's shoulder as a tear slipped down her face. "She can't even recognize me," she sobbed.

"Another bad day?" Rose fought the restraints, her eyes wildly searching for the owner of that Northern accent.

"Doctor!" His name burst from her lips. He smiled, scribbling notes on his clipboard. If they were undercover, why was he observing her, Rose wondered.

"I don't think it's a good day, Mrs. Tyler," the Doctor was (apparently) finished observing her. Jackie began to cry again and Mickey escorted her out.

"Thanks for all you've done, Doctor Foreman," Mickey's voice was laced with gratitude. Since when did they get on so well? Rose thought, her disconcertment growing stronger.

"Doctor?" She queried, her eyes still watching where her mum had left.

"Do you know who you are?" The Doctor repeated the nurse's question, slowly.

"What kind of a question do you call that? Why am I strapped down in a mental institution? Other than maybe we're undercover, how come Mickey and my Mum are here?" Rose stared at the Doctor. "What happened? We were dancing with Jack, then we went to bed and I woke up here!"

The Doctor simply handed her a pill. "If you don't take it now, it'll be ground into your next meal," he said briskly. The Doctor suddenly crackled, like the static from a television, and he flickered. He left the room, his white coat pixelated.

Though Rose still didn't know where she was, she began to suspect that it was not a mental institution. She hid the pill under the bedsheet and studied the room. It didn't feel right. She experimentally tapped the wall, looking for the same effect that had been on this 'Doctor's' coat. Rose could feel her arm move, could feel the wall beneath her fingertips, but her arm was still firmly encased in the metal band. She explored the wall, her arm moving yet still restricted.

"Rosie!" A voice shouted. Jack. "Rose, where are you?"

"Jack! I'M IN HERE! Jack!" Rose called frantically. The ex-conman was at her side in moments. "How is it that I'm locked in a mental institution when we were just on the TARDIS? There wasn't even a teleport! Parts of- of space are pixelated, like they're not even there, and my mum was here and the Doctor. The Doctor is a psychiatric doctor?"

"None of it's real. Rose, you can get up and just walk away. It's all in your mind. The people who actually run this place trap people in their own minds." Jack took Rose's hand. "There is nothing stopping you from leaving." Rose trusted Jack, and so, ignoring the sensation of not moving, ignoring the sensation of metal bands pressing against her body, Rose got to her feet and took a deep breath to re-orient herself.

The ex-Time Agent touched his vortex manipulator. "I've sent a message to the Doctor, the real Doctor. He's going to meet us at the TARDIS." Jack swore softly as his friend fell towards the ground, unconscious. Whatever virtual reality that machine had sent her to had obviously taken a toll on the young blonde.

"Doctor!" Rose cried, disoriented yet again. Instantly, a leather-clad arm was steadying her and a soft Northern accent explaining what had happened. Rose didn't pay attention, too glad to be home with her best mates. She buried her face against the Doctor's jumper and smiled as a tear slipped down her cheek. The Doctor hesitantly wiped it away with his thumb, softly kissing its watery trail and pulled Rose closer, their temples touching.