A/N: As always, much love and many thanks to every one of you awesome viewers! You guys make my days that much brighter :D

****EDIT: I made some revisions to the Library episodes. To anyone rereading this story, you'll notice the changes.****

Chapter 35: Silence in the Library Part 4

"Run?" Donna repeated, incredulously.

"Where we supposed to run, Doc?" Rueben asked.

The Doctor placed his hand on Rose's arm and lifted them up to their full heights and looked around the room. "This is an index point in the building," he said. "There must be an exit teleport somewhere."

Everyone turned to Mr. Lux, who only shrugged. "Don't look at me," he protested. "I haven't memorized the schematics!"

Rose rolled her eyes. A man going on about family pride and business, and yet he had no idea of what to do.

"Doctor, the little shop," Donna spoke up, gesturing at the area to the side. "They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff."

"She's right!" Rose said with a smile. "Way to go, Donna!"

"Brilliant!" the Doctor said as he moved around the shop. "That's why I like a little shop!"

"One reason," his wife remarked. "Other than wanting to buy everything in sight like it was on a clearance sale." He shot her a look and she threw him a teasing grin.

"Okay, let's move it!" Proper Dave said as he crossed the open circle of light in the room, but something had caught Rose's eye and her insides shivered.

"Wait, stay there," she told him firmly, holding a hand up to stop him in his tracks.

"Why?" the man asked, confused.

The Doctor caught it as well and came over to him with his hands on his pockets. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But you've got two shadows." Everyone looked down to see for themselves—one of his shadows, the proper one, extended behind him in the light's opposite direction, but there was a second one stretching to the side. "It's how they hunt," the Doctor said. "They latch on to a food source and keep it fresh."

Proper Dave gulped, but kept his voice steady and his eyes forward. "What do I do?"

"You stay absolutely still," the Doctor told him firmly. "Like there's a million wasps in the room."

"We're not leaving you behind, Dave," Rueben said.

"'Course we're not leaving. Where's your helmet?" The man made a move to gesture in its direction but the Doctor stopped him. "Don't point, just tell me."

"On the floor, by my bag," he answered. Anita went to fetch the item.

"Don't cross his shadow!" the Doctor told her. The woman carefully stepped around the shades to retrieve the helmet and handed it to him. "Thanks, Anita." He took the he let and placed it over the man's head and clicked it. "Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up. We'll need everything we've got right now."

"But Doctor, we don't have any helmets," Donna pointed out.

"Yeah, but we're safe anyway," he replied.

Rose arched a brow. "And how's that? You're just sayin' that, aren't you?"

He hesitated. "Yeah…" he drawled.

"Wasn't hard to see through that."

"I know, but hope is what you need in a time like this. A fat lot of it. Rueben, anything I can do with these suits?"

"What good are the damn suits?" Mr. Lux snapped. "Miss Evangelista was wearing her suit, there was nothing left!"

Rose thought for a moment and had an idea. "Maybe we can sonic them," she suggested. "They've got ports in the suits, maybe we can place a filter or shield into the material."

"We can do that," Rueben said. "We can increase the mesh-density, dial it up four hundred percent. Make it a tougher meal for them if they try to chew."

The Doctor's brows raised and he looked at his wife proudly. "Oh, brilliant, Rose!" He placed his hands on either side of her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We can increase it even more with both of ours, up to eight hundred." He reached into his pocket and took out his sonic and stuck it into the chest port of Proper Dave's suit, changing the frequency. "There we go."

Rose worked Anita's suit with her own sonic. "Got it. Everyone else, you're gonna be taken care of."

"No worries, I got it," Rueben said as she rummaged around in his bag for something.

"S okay, me and the Doctor can—"

Rose cut herself off when she noticed the man pulling out a sonic screwdriver, but that wasn't all that she was ready for. It wasn't just any sonic screwdriver—it resembled le. It looked golden and a little larger, but had a wider pink tip and other features. She blinked a few times to see if she were hallucinating. From behind her she could feel her husband's pointed glance.

"What's that?" Rose finally asked. It was rhetorical, but she was curious to how where he got it.

"It's a screwdriver," Rueben replied casually.

"But it's sonic," the Doctor said, dumbfounded.

The young man nodded, regarding them as if they dribbled on their shirts. "Yeah, I know it is."

"Where the hell'd you get that?" Rose asked, stepping closer.

Rueben ignored her and moved around the rest of the group and sealed everyone's suits with the sonic. The Doctor and Rose kept their eyes trained on the man, watching him warily as he changed the frequencies with ease as if he knew how to operate it. There was no chance that there would be a near duplicate of Rose's sonic since her husband designed it for her himself. So how did this mysterious man get it? The only explanation would be that their future selves handed it to them, but why would they do that?

Since Rueben was distracted with his current task, the Doctor took the opportunity by grabbing both Rose and Donna's hands. "With me, come on!"

They circled the main desk of the shop before heading inside of it. In the center of the room was a raised platform with three circular pads next to a wooden booth beside it. The Doctor released their hands and dashed over to it and ran the sonic over the controls. Rose stood with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring daggers at him. He kept his gaze low, even keeping his end of their bond blocked to keep her from scolding him mentally.

"What are we doing?" Donna asked, looking around the room at the small baubles and collectibles lining the shelves. "I hardly think this is a good time to be shopping."

"That's 'cause we're not," Rose ground out, her eyes fixed on her husband. "He's trying to send us away."

He didn't respond. Instead, he moved away from the pedestal and grabbed Donna by the shoulders. "No talking, just moving, c'mon!" The redhead seemed a little surprised by his command as he forced her onto the platform. "Right, stand there in the middle. It's a teleport. Can't send the others, TARDIS won't recognize them."

"What are you doing?" Donna demanded as he moved back over to the controls and began pressing buttons.

"You don't have a suit, you're not safe," he replied shortly.

Rose snorted out of mirth. "'Scuse me, but you're in just as much danger as us! The only suit you've got is your pinstripes, and I don't think they'll be able to protect you! And even if we had suits, they're not really armor."

"Listen to me, you've got to—"

"No! We're not leaving you!"

"Just let me explain!" In a flash he hit a button on the panel and Donna disappeared.

"Don't even try it," Rose told him, her voice sounding like ice. "You know I'm not gonna leave you in some carnivorous-shadow infested building, so don't even."

The Doctor shook his head in protest. "Rose—"

"Don't."

"You need to head back to the TARDIS!"

"Why? So I can let you can send me away again?"

"You'll be safer there with Donna and, should anything bad happen, emergency program one'll—"

"I thought you said you got rid of that?" Rose cried in disbelief. "You reactivated it?"

He ran a hand through his hair again. "Only now that we've got a companion onboard," he reasoned. "It's been intact since I've operated the Old Girl, I can't permanentlyget rid of it. It's there just in case and would always be there. Although I know that if the program somehow deactivated or was shortened out that I could rely on you to take her back home as a plan 'b'. But that's for the worstcase scenario."

She snorted. "Nice plan," she said sarcastically. "Doesn't matter. I've been with you for years, Doctor, and you're not trying that on me again."

"Rose, please—"

"No, I already told you I'm not. Going. Anywhere," she told him fiercely, her arms crossed as she gave him a steely glare worthy of his ninth self.

He made a frustrated sound and stepped down from the booth and sauntered towards her, his feet swift like his words. "Listen to me, I don't wanna argue about this—"

"Then stop talking!" Rose cut him off. She poked him in the chest. "I don't know what it'll take for you to get it through that thick head of yours to realize that no matter how dangerous the situation is that I'm gonna stay with you and that's that."

"But you haven't been feeling like yourself since we arrived," he told her. "More than once you have been getting dizzy spells."

"So what?" she challenged. "I've dealt with worse in situations like these, I can handle myself."

"Rose, you don't understand fully what's happening around here," the Doctor said as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "I know you've always got my back, I'm forever grateful for it, but we're in the middle of a desolate location with one of the most dangerous beings in the universe."

"You said that about the Daleks, the Family, the Weeping Angels—"

"Yes, yes, I know," he interjected, stopping her from running down the long list of creatures they've encountered. "Aside from the Daleks, since they're in their own standalone category of danger, what we're dealing with now are worse than the others, and I don't wanna put you in this position. I know you hate the idea of being sent away, trust me I know, I can see the look in your eyes right now and can tell you wanna slap me into last regeneration."

Rose arched an eyebrow. "Can't fool you," she snarked. "I don't care how dangerous they are, I'm not leaving you here by yourself with-with…this man who knows who we are."

"Doctor! Rose!" Rueben called from the other room, almost on cue after being mentioned.

"Who is he, Doctor?" Rose asked, her voice a little lower and less cold than before. "Why does he have a screwdriver like mine?"

"I don't know, Rose," he answered.

"He knows us, we've covered that, but how did he get a screwdriver? If he's a companion then he wouldn't just receive one like a welcoming gift."

"Definitely not, you're the only exception for that." He cupped her face and brushed his thumbs over her cheekbones. "You're my wife, Rose. You're the only one that would ever get a screwdriver or psychic paper. No one else comes close to receiving those things, only you."

"Then why does he have one?" she asked. "Do you think…I gave it to him?"

"Anything's possible. I don't know what crossed your future self's mind to give him your sonic, but we'll find it out."

"I…sense something about him. I can't describe it. 'S like…some strange kinship or something."

"Kinship?"

"I'm not sure though."

They heard Rueben calling for them again and Rose rolled her eyes in annoyance. As much as she wanted to leave this place from the start she didn't fancy leaving just yet. Not when they needed to save the rest of the group. She uncrossed her arms to clasp one of his hands in hers.

"Come on," she said, tugging him out the double doors, hurrying back into the area.

She could feel him trying to protest through their bond, but she kept herself grounded and he backed away. The last thing she wanted was to leave him alone with a group of strangers, save for one that knows them in the future, and a bunch of man-eating shadows. They made it back into the main room to find Rueben and the others with their helmets secured over their heads and surrounding Proper Dave, but something was wrong and made Rose shiver. He only had one shadow now.

"What happened?" the Doctor asked, coming forward and staring at the man's feet. "Where did it go?"

"It's just gone," the man said. "I looked around, one shadow."

Rose frowned. She may not have been an expert with these creatures, but there was no way something that could easily melt people's flesh away just give up. "It can't be that simple," she thought to the Doctor.

"Moving is one thing," he replied. "But…something feels wrong."

"Does that mean we can leave?" Rueben asked. "I think I can speak for the rest of us and say that we don't want to hang around here much longer."

Rose nodded. "Seconded."

"I don't know why we're still here," Mr. Lux huffed, irritating Rose more and more. "We can leave him, can't we? I mean, no offense."

How she didn't slap this self-absorbed git yet was shocking to her. "Oh, Mr. Lux," she said calmly. "Did you miss the hint?"

The man frowned. "What hint?"

"Shut up!" both she and Rueben said in unison before giving each other looks, the latter with an amused toothy grin.

"Did you feel anything?" the Doctor asked Proper Dave. "Like an energy transfer or something?"

"No," the man replied, holding his arms out. "But look, it's-it's gone." He began to turn around to show he was clean from any extra shadows, but the Doctor stopped him in place.

"Stay there!" he said, holding his hands out. "They're never just gone and they never give up. Not like that." He pulled out his sonic and knelt to the ground then began to scan the shadows.

Rose moved forward to take a look at the other man's feet. Nothing was there. "Is it really gone?" she asked, looking around warily. "It couldn't have just gone off and went away like that. Not like the one earlier."

"Well, this one's benign," the Doctor murmured.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave suddenly said.

Rose frowned and looked around the room. Nothing changed. "Nobody touched them."

"No, seriously, turn them back on!"

"They are on, Dave," Rueben stressed slowly.

"I can't see a ruddy thing," the man protested.

A sharp chill shot down Rose's spine. The Doctor slowly stood to his feet. "Dave, turn around," he instructed.

Proper Dave did turned back to face the group slowly, but when he did it made the others uncomfortable. His visor was darkened where the blue light had been, his face invisible. The Doctor held his arms out to keep the others from approaching the man.

"What's going on?" Proper Dave asked. "Why can't I see? Is the power gone, are we safe here?"

"The power never went out," Rueben said quietly.

Rose bit her lip, hoping that this man wouldn't be the next one to fall victim in the claws of the Vashta Nerada like poor Miss Evangelista.

"Dave, listen to me," the Doctor said, keeping his authority intact. "What I want you to do is to stand absolutely still. Have you got that? Can you do that?" Suddenly the man began to convulse. "Dave, Dave? Can you hear me? Are you alright? Talk to me, Dave!"

The man stopped his violent jerking then stiffened into a straighter stature. "I'm fine," he said. "I'm okay I'm…I'm fine."

Rose clutched onto her husband's arm. It didn't sound like the same Proper Dave. His voice took a lower and more eerie tone, almost vacant and devoid of emotion. "I want you to stay still," the Doctor repeated calmly.

"I'm fine, I'm okay," Proper Dave replied. "I'm-I'm fine. I can't…why can't I? I…I can't…why can't I? I…I can't…why can't I?"

As he kept repeating the same sentences, it was obvious that he was too far gone. Rose's eyes fell to the man's communicator and her suspicions were affirmed when she saw the green lights on the the neural relay blinking on and off.

"He's gone," Rueben said behind them sadly. "He's ghosting."

"Then why is he still standing?" Mr. Lux questioned.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" the man who had been Proper Dave exclaimed. "Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

Taking heedful steps, the Doctor began to inch closer to the suit with all intents on checking the inside of the helmet's visor to see Dave's face. Rose stepped forward and grabbed one of his arms, trying to yank him back. She sent him a mental note of warning but he let it slide. "Doctor, don't go near him," she thought to him again. "Get away from him."

"Let me just take a look," he replied, gently slipping his arm from her grasp.

She made a move to grab him by the waistband and haul him back over, but was stopped when she felt someone seize her by clapping a hand on her shoulder. Looking back, she saw that it was Ruben, offering an empathetic look. As if she'd actually just stand by and let her husband walk up to a man who was touched by carnivorous shadows.

"Dave, can you hear me?" the Doctor asked gently, his hands held up to show no sign of attack.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" the empty shell of a man repeated.

Suddenly the man extended his arms and grabbed the Doctor by the neck, bringing him down to his knees. He fought against the man's hold, but it did him no good with the man's surprisingly inhuman strength. The blackness in the visor illuminated to reveal a skeleton as it fell forward against the surface. Not even wasting another second, Rose forced herself out of Rueben's grasp and rushed over to attempt prying the locked hands around her husband.

"Rose…" the Doctor choked out. "Get back!"

"Like hell I will!" she retorted.

"Who turned out the lights?" Dave's voice intoned before turning his head towards Rose and lifting an arm up to shove her aside. She stumbled into Anita's arms. "Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Leave her alone!" the Doctor growled as he tried to push himself upright.

"Hold on, Doctor!" Rose cried as she reached into her pocket to grab her sonic but Rueben beat her to it.

"I got it!" The young man rushed forward and jammed his sonic into the open chest port of the suit, stunning the skeleton as its body convulsed. Taking the distraction, Rose moved forward and grabbed the Doctor, hauling him up to his feet when he was freed.

"Back away from it!" he hollered. "Get back!"

The others gathered around each other and moved away from the skeleton in the suit. The body walked towards them oddly, resembling either a bloke staggering after having one too many drinks or a zombie.

"Doesn't move very fast, does it?" Rueben remarked.

"It's a swarm in a suit, but it's learning," the Doctor said. By the man's feet several shadows stretched out towards them like extended arms looking to drag them into the darkness. Rose shivered again.

"What do we do?" Mr. Lux asked shakily. "Where do we go?"

"I've got an idea," the Doctor murmured. "But I can't very well execute it from here."

"How come?" Rose asked. "Didn't reach the next step yet?"

"No."

"Well, you better think fast!"

"See that wall behind you lot?" Rueben spoke up.

"What of it?" Mr. Lux asked, looking back at it.

"Duck!"

Rueben pulled out a device hooked onto his hip and aimed it at the wall just as the older man ducked. Accompanied by a whirring sound, a square hole formed into the wall. Both the Doctor and Rose exchanged an amused look, feeling a sense of nostalgia with the gadget choice.

"A squareness gun!" she exclaimed at the same time he said, "Sonic blaster!"

"Where'd you get that?" Rose added. "And why didn't you use that earlier?"

Rueben smirked. "Special wedding present and the battery needed to be saved. Now everybody get out, go! Move, move, move, quick as you can!"

"Next time we're in Cardiff you're gonna apologize to Jack for knocking his blaster," Rose thought to the Doctor.

He didn't give a response, but she could tell he was a little abashed. They each darted into the open area as fast as possible to get away from the possessed suit. They ended up in a dead-end shadowy aisle in between towering book shelves and ladders.

Rueben was the last to hurtle in the corridor. "You said not every shadow," he reminded.

"Yeah, but any shadow!" he clarified.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" the creature said as it slowly found its way into the aisle.

"Now what?" Mr. Lux asked.

Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand. "Run!" So they did, all the way into the darkened halls.

Twisting through the maze of aisles without taking a breather was getting to them, but they had to try to lose the swarm-in-a-suit before it would try to add more onto their plate. The creature picked up its pace and was coming close to them with thundering footsteps. It had seemed like an hour, which had to have only been about twenty minutes, in their dash down the empty mausoleum that the Library had become. Seeming to be a safe distance ahead of themselves, the group came to a breathless stop before taking off a few moments later. Rose, however, stayed behind. She leaned against one of the shelves and shut her eyes. Her vision blurred and her head swam as she tried to contain herself. Time around them must have really been fluctuating if she were able to feel it this intense if she felt like passing out.

"Rose?" the Doctor asked, concerned as he squeezed her hand still clasped in his. "You alright?"

"Fine," she assured quickly. "Just a little dizzy."

"That's more than just a little dizzy."

"Doctor, I'm fine. Less worrying about me and focus on the walking dead right now."

He studied her intently. "You know I'm always thinking of your well-being, Rose, and frankly I'm concerned for you right now."

"I told you, I'm fine," she stressed, hiding the pain that was splitting her head.

"No, you're not," he said firmly. "You should have gone on that teleport when we had the chance. You'd be safer on the TARDIS."

"Don't you start again," she said, straightening up. "I already made it clear that I was staying with you, and I'll be damned if I let some dizzy spells and headaches put me down."

"What are you two doing?" Rueben asked, coming around a corner. "We need to keep going!"

"We'll be with you in a moment," the Doctor said hurriedly. "Just make sure everyone's together."

"Are you sure you're okay, Rose?"

"God, I'm tired of everyone asking me that today," Rose said irritably. "I'm. Fine."

Rueben studied them before the Doctor motioned for him to go on. "Go, shift!"

"Watch your tongue, sir, you ain't gotta be rude all the time," he told him before heading back around the corner to catch up with the others.

Once he was out of sight, the Doctor peered down the other end of the corridor. With his sensitive hearing he would be able to catch distant sounds, and for the moment he heard nothing in that direction. But the swarm was on its way and he needed to get Rose to safety. Except the problem was that they were too far away from the teleport platform in the shop and they couldn't risk back-tracking with the creature following their trail.

"What are we waiting for?" Rose spoke up. "C'mon, let's keep moving." She grabbed his hand and went to follow the others, but the Doctor stayed where he was. She frowned. "What is it? What's wrong?" Her eyes widened. "Y-you don't have a second shadow, do you?"

"No," he replied. "Both of us are clean."

"Okay…" she drew out. "Then why aren't you moving?"

"Rose, you were better off going back to the TARDIS," he said gently. "The longer we're in here, the more in danger you are."

Releasing his hand, Rose huffed. "Here we go again."

"You almost fainted!" he protested.

"Stop it."

"Rose, please—"

"I don't wanna hear it," she said, cutting him off. "I told you that I wasn't leaving you here by yourself with creepy crawlers in the dark while I just sat up in the TARDIS doin' nothing but worrying sick about you."

"I wasn't sending you away for good, love, I swear," he told her softly. "You know your safety is always my number one priority. I just…I don't want any of these creatures to lay a speck of darkness on you."

"I get that," she replied evenly. "I really do. I know you're like that, but don't you know I wouldn't leave you behind like this? Don't you know I've always got your back?"

The Doctor nodded, coming closer to place his hands on her arms. "Of course I do. You'd never have to second guess that. But Rose, you know I wouldn't leave you aside. I know we'd be able to come up with a plan, maybe even get the TARDIS to—"

He paused, an inquisitive look crossing his face. A thought came to him and it tied in with his original plan. And the thing was that he still had a shot at going through with it.

"Doctor?" Rose asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "What's going through that brain of yours?"

"You trust me, Rose, right?" the Doctor asked.

"Always," she responded without hesitation. "Do you really have to ask that?"

"Not really, but what I'm about to do might make you experience some more dizziness."

Her brows creased in confusion. "What?"

The only answer he gave her was his lips crashing down upon hers without warning, catching her off guard. She patted against his chest, mentally reminding him that they were still standing in the middle of a darkened aisle with the group of archaeologists waiting for them and the walking swarm still on their tracks. It wasn't the best time for a snog. But he wanted to give her something quick before he would go through with his idea. He dropped one of his hands to wrap an arm around her waist, his hand slipping into her back pocket. His fingers brushed over the very item he had been searching for. Her sonic.

Taking it out, he blindly flipped a switch on the side of the screwdriver, which made a beeping sound before he set it back down. Rose caught him and pulled back, studying him oddly.

"What did you do?" she asked. "What was that noise?"

"I activated a setting on your sonic," he told her. "One I never thought I'd use, but it's handy for situations like this that I felt the need to install it just in case."

"And what's that?"

He pressed his lips together. "I'm sorry, Rose. I know you won't agree with this, but I trust you to do the right thing with the TARDIS and I want you safe. Just track me down, that's all." She shook her head, not understanding him. He gently nudged her nose with the back of his forefinger before leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "Trust me, I'll see you soon."

"Wait, Doctor, what are you—"

The rest of her sentence fell away when he stepped back and took out his sonic, aiming it at her and spinning his wrist in a circle. A moment later he watched his wife disappear from his sight. She was still confused, but before she completely dematerialized he caught a faint glare in her eyes. He knew she'd be furious with him for installing a sensor in her sonic that allowed her to be teleported back to the TARDIS when activated, but he wanted her to be safe.

He dropped his sonic and scrubbed a hand down his face. He was about to contact her through their bond to make sure she made it onboard, but he was met with blockage. She was angry at him, but she knew how to fly the TARDIS and could be able to track the coordinates from the teleport and bring the Old Girl back here to pick up the remaining members of the group so they could leave with ease. A couple people have already died and he wouldn't have any others.

Taking a deep breath he continued running and turned around the corner. "I'm sorry, Rose," he thought to her.

He got no reply. Then again he was glad she wasn't scolding him right now. He knew it was coming soon though, so he'd prepare himself for her wrath. He came up to the others, noting how they were each taking a break from running again, each seated on the ground and panting. Rueben stood without her helmet on and his arms crossed over his chest, shaking his head.

"You know how much she hates it when you do that," he pointed out.

The Doctor pressed his lips together in annoyance. All this time he wanted to ignore this man, and was succeeding a little by focussing on the creatures. Now he had to deal with him without his wife. Perfect. "As long as she's alive and out of harm's way she can hate me all she wants right now and pick a fight with me later," he replied evenly. "She'll be coming back in a matter of minutes anyway."

"What about you?" Rueben asked.

"What about me?" he retorted with a frown.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine…" he drew out slowly with an arched brow. "What of it?"

Rueben shrugged. "Just wondering. I know Rose wasn't feeling too good and I was curious if you felt the same."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at the man. Ignoring his words, he grabbed a stool from the side and moved it beneath a flickering lamp overhead. He ran his sonic over it. The others lined up on the ceiling were faintly dim, still working. This one had been dead completely. If he could make them brighter then he could at least slow the swarm down. It was all he had until Rose came back with the TARDIS so they could get out of this place. He sought her out through their link, but she seemed muffled and was ignoring him. He inwardly sighed. He was in for a massive slap once she came back.

"What are you doing?" Rueben asked as he walked over to him.

"Trying to boost the power," he replied, his eyes fixed on the lamp. "Light doesn't stop them dead in their tracks, but it slows them down enough."

"Something's better than nothin', so what's the plan?" he asked. "The next move must have come to you after teleporting your wife out of here, but knowing you with plans and how you make them up as you go along I'd guess you haven't got a full one yet. Do you?"

He wasn't paying any attention to him until he pulled out her sonic screwdriver again and aimed it at the lamp. Soon the light he had been working on clicked and grew brighter. "Your screwdriver…" he drew out. "It looks exactly like Rose's."

"That's cause she gave it to me, good craftmanship I might add ," Rueben said with a small smile.

"I don't think my wife would just up and give her screwdriver to just anyone. I know I wouldn't do it unless it was her I was giving it to."

"Well, she's not you, and I'm not just anyone. But she let me borrow it for a bit."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at the him. "Who are you?"

"We need to shift," Rueben said, diverting from the topic. "That thing's still out there. What's the plan?"

He was about to ask more questions, but refrained. "I teleported Rose and Donna back to the TARDIS. Knowing my wife like I do, she'll be able to track us down and pick us up in a matter of minutes to safety."

Rueben nodded. "Sounds good." He turned to the rest of the group. "Come on, everyone. We need to get a move on. We wouldn't want to keep her waiting."

That was true. The last thing he wanted was for Rose to come when no one was around. Then she'd track him down and smack him into a healing coma. He knew his wife well and pissing her off was never something he wanted to do, but she was his secret weapon and last resort to help get these people to safety. It was only a matter of time until—

Wait a minute. Something important had finally come to his attention. Raising his sonic, he stared at it, noting how he hadn't received an alert from the TARDIS after teleporting both women.

"They aren't there," he breathed out, his insides trembling. No. It had to be the faulty connection. It's been shortening out nearly the entire time they've been here, that had to be it. He violently shook the screwdriver in hopes it would pop a reading up. Nothing still.

"What d'you mean they ain't there?" Rueben asked.

"I should've received a signal," he said in a rush, peering at his sonic. "The console signals me if there's a teleport breach, but I've got nothing."

"Maybe the coordinates have slipped," the man offered. "The equipment here's not really up to speed."

"No no no, it's not that," he denied, shaking his head. "I know Rose would have contacted me if something was wrong."

"She's probably still frustrated with you that you sent her away again."

"Yeah, I know that," he snapped. "It doesn't matter how angry my wife is, she still would have let me know she made it back to the TARDIS. Rose?" he added in his mind, turning away from the others. He twirled his sonic in his fingers, waiting for her reply. His nerves shuddered and he masked up his panic. Somewhat. "Rose, love, talk to me. Please. I know you're upset with me but just answer me. Where are you? Are you with Donna?" Still nothing. His eyes widened in fear and his patience was slipping. "Rose!"

Silence and muffling. He almost cursed. Something went wrong and it made his stomach turn and his blood freeze. She was alive, that much he got and it settled him down a fraction. But he couldn't find a direct wave to locate her. His hearts stopped. No. No, no, no.

"You think they're still in the Library?" Rueben asked, hopeful.

Whipping around, the Doctor breezed by the man without sparing him a glance and ran up to a nearby Node standing in the corner. "Rose Tyler and Donna Noble," he said frantically. "There's a Rose Tyler and Donna Noble somewhere in this Library. Do you have the software to locate their position?"

The statue whirred to life and the head slowly turned to face him. But the face it wore made him pale. It was Donna staring back at him. His breath was taken from him. "Donna Noble has left the Library," it said with the ginger woman's voice. "Donna Noble has been saved."

"Donna!" he whispered in horror, taking a step back as the Node repeated the same sentence.

Rueben said something in Portuguese, shaking. "How's that possible? What about Rose?"

The Doctor was frozen in place watching his best friend's face peering at him and continued to speak with a hollow voice. "Oh, Donna," he said sadly. "I'm so sorry."

The Node kept repeating the sentence and it only made him more furious. His friend, his companion. She was gone. But that wasn't all that was racking his mind. His wife wasn't even mentioned by the Node. Rose was still alive. He made that out already but knowing how sympathetic and loving her nature was she would have been grieving about it or in the very least alerting him about what had happened. He still got nothing. He could barely feel his wife's presence at all. Why? Why couldn't he feel her? Where was she? What happened to her?

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

From behind him he could hear the others gasp when the swarm in the suit came into the aisle, but he barely acknowledged it as he continued to stare at the statue in despair while at the same time continuing to reach out to Rose through their bond, waiting for any response.

"Doc!" Rueben called. "We've gotta go now!"

He didn't move. He was frozen in place. Both the Node and the swarm began overlapping each other with their unvaried messages.

"Doctor!" Rueben repeated, grabbing his hand. "We gotta move!"

He pulled him along with the others as they ran down the other end of the corridor with the haunting echoes behind them. He shut his eyes and tried to block them out, but to no avail. They followed him in the dead-end. A shadow that wasn't really a shadow moved in closer and blocked them from turning up the next corridor.

"Doctor, what are we gonna do?" Rueben asked.

He didn't answer. All he could do was look at one end of the corridor where the swarm was staggering towards them with the eerie proclamations coming along with it. His mind was screaming at him without the sounds of his wife on the other end, only the muffled static.

"DOCTOR!"

He flinched at the sudden shout of Rose in his mind, but it was enough to shake him out of his daze and he realized what was going on. He turned to Ruben. "Sonic blaster," he ground out. "Use it now!"

The man wasted no time in pulling his gun out and aimed it at the wall beside them, a square hole forming as their brief escape. Quickly hurrying in, the Doctor stared hard at the swarm as it approached before leaping through the hole.

"Rose?" he asked mentally, relieved to have heard her finally break through. "Where are you? Are you alright?" He got no answer again and he cursed.

Dun dun dunnnn.