Chapter Forty Eight : Return

They walked with long strides, determination and purpose in every step. Korrok was still unclear as to where they were heading but he trusted that the Doctor knew what he was doing, and as such did not question him further.

The afternoon sunlight was at their backs for a good deal of the trek and later when they began to feel the suns warmth begin to wane, neither mentioned it, they simply quickened their step.

Some time later, with the sun burning low in the sky, the two men clambered over a grassy bank and down the other side. As they did, the Doctor glanced to Korrok, a wide and gleeful smile lighting up his face.

"Come on!" he rallied. "We're nearly there." And he broke into a run.

Bemused, and a little out of breath, Korrok began to run too. "We're nearly where?" he asked, doing his level best to keep up.

The Doctor did not answer; instead he headed toward some trees and quickly disappeared from sight. Heaving in a breath, Korrok continued on after the Doctor with a dogged determination.

As Korrok came out on the other side of the trees he stopped abruptly. The Doctor was standing beside a strange, blue, box-like object.

As Korrok approached, the Doctor turned around, his features decidedly smug.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked, beaming like a proud parent and gently patting the box with what Korrok took to be affection. "Impressive, isn't she?"

Korrok shook his head, clearly not understanding. "It's a box," he said, dumbfounded.

"It's not a box," the Doctor corrected.

"It looks like a box," Korrok reasoned. "And if something looks like a box, it is safe to assume that every so often it might be mistaken for one."

"It's not a box," the Doctor repeated, a little defensively. "It's the TARDIS."

"Call it what you will, Doctor," Korrok said disparagingly. "The fact of the matter is that it's a… big blue box."

Choosing to ignore Korrok, the Doctor lifted up the metal lantern he carried, so that he could see the p'tar eye held within it.

"Hear that, Rose? The TARDIS – home sweet home!"

Surprised and intrigued, Korrok took a step closer. "Doctor, do you mean to say that this is your home?"

The Doctor lowered the lantern back down to his side and set Korrok with another grin. "Sort of, yeah."

Korrok frowned. "You're telling me that you live in a box?"

The Doctor's grin became obscenely ridiculous. "Korrok, my old fellow, prepare to be amazed."

Korrok raised a sceptical eyebrow. "I do not amaze lightly."

"Just get inside," the Doctor said, taking hold of Korrok by the arm. "And we'll be back at the coven before you can say 'it's bigger on the inside'."

Bemused, Korrok looked at the Doctor. "Why would I say that?" he asked.

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "You'd be surprised how many people do," he said. "Now, get inside!"

"Doctor, we don't have time to waste with…"

"Inside!"

Korrok gave a belligerent sigh and headed toward the TARDIS. The Doctor opened the door and let Korrok walk inside. A moment later, still grinning to himself, the Doctor followed.

Hearing the TARDIS door close behind him, Korrok turned around to face the Doctor. His one eye was wide with astonishment and his mouth had fallen open – wide enough to catch flies.

The Doctor, grinning from ear to ear, stood for a moment next to one of the coral struts. Korrok abruptly closed his mouth and pulled back his shoulders.

"This is… impossible," he said, glancing left and right, still trying to take it all in.

The Doctor stepped away from the strut. "I like to do five impossible things before breakfast," he said breezily. He headed over to the console and once there he began turning dials and throwing levers with a look of manic determination. After a moment he glanced back to Korrok. "It keeps things interesting, don't you think?"

Korrok slowly turned around, listening to the unusual notes that resonated through the room, and gazing at the weird and wonderful strangeness of his surroundings. When he was once again facing the Doctor his expression was even more dumbfounded than before.

"I think…" He stopped, shook his head and began again. "I don't know what I think any more."

The Doctor left the console and walked over to where Korrok stood. "I'm not one to blow my own trumpet – well, okay maybe I am - but trust me, you ain't seen nothing yet."

"But…"

"Outside," the Doctor said simply, taking hold of Korrok by the elbow and steering him down the ramp.

"But we've only just come inside," Korrok protested, his busy gaze still searching out all manner of wonders even as he was manhandled toward the doors.

"Yes," the Doctor agreed emphatically. "And now we're going outside."

Korrok tugged his arm free of the Doctor's hold. "It would help if you could make up your mind," he stated churlishly. "Haven't you noticed how low the sun is in the sky? We don't have time for these infantile games."

"Oh, we have more time than you might think," the Doctor corrected. "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect. But actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey… stuff."

"Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey?" Korrok repeated in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a technical term," the Doctor breezed dismissively. "It would take far too long to explain, but well, you'll see." He opened the TARDIS doors.

Korrok, muttering disagreeably under his breath, stepped out of the TARDIS. He fell silent almost immediately as he looked around in amazement. They were back at the coven. In fact, they were directly outside Enissa's house.

Confounded, he spun around to face the Doctor. "What kind of magicks is this?" he asked, his voice full of wonder.

The Doctor closed the TARDIS doors. "Not magicks," he said. "Time Lord science." He checked his watch and then looked back to Korrok. "And if I'm not mistaken we have at least another hour before the sun is due to set."

Korrok glanced up at the sun and then back to the Doctor. "But that's… we…" He stopped and shook his head. "Oh, never mind."

The Doctor put his hand on Korrok's shoulder. "I think it's time we returned Rose to… Rose, don't you?"

Korrok smiled. "Yes, Doctor," he said. "I do."

~oOo~

Enissa pushed open the door to the room where Rose's body lay and stepping aside, she allowed Korrok and the Doctor to enter. Candles burned around the room, their light soft and restful. As he approached the bed the Doctor felt a dart of fear stab his hearts as the doubts he had so far managed to control, broke free of his hold for a moment. He took another step closer to the bed and stubbornly swallowed down his uncertainty.

He sat on the edge of the bed, opened the small metal lantern and, his hand shaking slightly, he removed the p'tar eye. The colours that had once been so vibrant within the orb were gone; changed by Ahkethia's magicks into a stark white light that shone cold and empty.

The Doctor stroked one thumb over the cool glass then looked at Rose, his gaze sombre. Tentatively he reached out and brushed a lock of her hair from her cheek.

"Rose," he said quietly. "If I believe in anything, I believe in you. And I know you'll come back to me, because…" he stopped abruptly, a sudden fear piercing his hearts. Doubts, that he had tried so long to ignore, cut through him like knives. Ignoring the sting of his wounds he swallowed hard and began again. "Please… just… come back to me."

Gently he took hold of Rose's hands and, trying not to think about how cold she felt, he carefully placed the p'tar eye into her open palms.

Not sure what to expect and hardly daring to breathe, he waited. But nothing happened. He glanced to Korrok and Enissa who were standing close to the bed, and he saw the concern in their faces.

It was then he heard a sound, like the creak of ice on a frozen lake as it thaws. Immediately he looked back to Rose. Hope was all he had left now, and he would not let it go.

The p'tar eye in Rose's hands was still white, still burning with a cold light, but it had changed – was continuing to change. As the Doctor watched, the glass seemed to dull, becoming more opaque. Small fractures began to spread rapidly across the surface of the orb. In only a moment the entire p'tar eye was so densely covered by the cracks that it looked as though it was made of delicate white lace.

Seemingly unstoppable, the fractures widened in places and the light within shone through these larger cracks. The p'tar eye glowed brighter as more of the light escaped and then, quite suddenly it shattered. Broken pieces of glass fell to the floor. And the light, was gone.

His mouth dry, his hands trembling, the Doctor reached out to touch Rose's face. Gently he brushed her cheek, half expecting – hoping – that she would open her eyes and look at him, that she'd smile and laugh and he'd pull her into his arms, the way he'd dreamed of doing a thousand times since she was first trapped. But she didn't. She was cold, still and lifeless and… nothing had changed.

The Doctor slowly drew back from Rose and looked at Korrok. "Ahkethia lied to us," he said, his voice hollow as his soul. "We never had a chance."

Korrok put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I know how much you loved her."

The Doctor looked back to Rose. "More than she ever knew," he said quietly.

Enissa stepped closer to the bed. "Doctor, aren't you forgetting what you told me before you left to find Ahkethia?"

The Doctor stared at Enissa and frowned a little. "What did I tell you?"

Enissa came closer. "You told me about the stories – fairytales you called them. Tales of magicks broken by a kiss."

The Doctor shook his head. "They're just stories," he said, regret heavy in his voice. "Besides, I kissed Rose when we found her at H'roh's shrine. If it was that simple she would have woken then."

"No, not necessarily," Enissa said with determination. "Rose was held by different magicks then."

"What do you mean, different magicks?" the Doctor asked.

Enissa took a breath and tried to explain. "Vhella's spell locked Rose's spirit inside the p'tar eye, but Ahkethia's magicks are meant to release her." She glanced to Rose and then back to the Doctor. "I think that the fairytale's are right, Doctor. Rose needs a prince to wake her from her enchantment."

The Doctor looked away. "I'm not…"

"You are her prince, Doctor," Enissa insisted. "You've always been her prince. You just have to believe it."

The Doctor looked at Rose. It hurt so much to see her so pale and cold, to know that she was lost to him forever. And yet, if there was a chance that Enissa was right…

"Rose," he whispered, reaching out to gently cup her face with his hand. He leant in close to her, pressing his lips softly to hers. And he believed in magicks.

He drew back hesitantly, and as he did his breath caught as Rose opened her eyes and looked at him.

She smiled slowly. "What took you so long?"