He watched as her body plummeted at breakneck speed. She hit the floor with a sickening thud, her body in a crumpled heap. He could tell from the sound that several bones were broken, and likely a punctured lung. His hearts were pounding in his ears as instinct kicked in. He twisted his body against the hold of the guards.
"Rose!" the Doctor cried as he struggled against the guards holding him. "Let go of me, goddammit!"
The Doctor wrenched himself free from their grasp, throwing himself down beside Rose. He scooped her up, gently leaning her forward to assess the damage. Frantically he pulled at the fabric of her shirt, tearing the cloth in order to expose the wound. The arrowhead had penetrated deep into her back and blood was pooled around the puncture wound.
"Prisoner, you will stand down!" cried a guard. The Doctor raised his eyes for just a moment and looked toward the guards. They gasped audibly at the sight of his face.
"YOU will stand down!" he growled, his lip curled over his bared teeth. The guards lowered their weapons, stepping back away from him. He quickly returned his eyes to Rose.
"It's alright, Rose," he whispered softly, pulling his sonic from his pocket. "This is going to smart a bit, but I promise to make it all better."
"Doctor! We finally bloody found you two!" cried a familiar voice. "Oi, you two, they're in here!" The Doctor glanced up and saw the horrified look on Donna's face. "Oh God! What's happened to Rose?!"
"The guards, they shot her," he muttered, leaning Rose's body against his and then pulling a towel from the depths of his pockets. "Now Donna, I'm going to need your help. Rose is depending on us."
Just then Kema and Hikari appeared, Kema gasping for breath. She bent over a bit, head lowered. Hikari was the first to notice.
"Rose! What's wrong with Rose??" Hikari cried, her voice cracking. Kema's head shot up, eyes searching for her friend. When they fell on Rose's unconscious body in the Doctor's arms she gasped.
"Oh my goddess, what happened!?" Kema screamed, stumbling over and falling to her knees. She looked absolutely mortified. Her best friend was severely wounded.
Donna scowled. " This bloody lot happened! Them with their flying arrows! Doctor, we're here. Just tell me what to do."
"I want you to hold on to Rose, keep her steady for me. I'm going to pull the arrow out. Hikari, maybe you can help Donna keep Rose still. When I get it free, I want you to take this towel and apply as much pressure as you can to the wound. I'm going to stop the bleeding. Can you do that for me?" he said carefully, looking at Donna.
"Yes, got it. Lots of pressure," Donna confirmed, her eyes glued on Rose.
The Doctor looked at Kema. "My sonic, it's got a short. There's a set of mini tools in my jacket pocket. Could you give it a quick fix so I can cauterize the wound?"
Kema promptly reached into his pocket, pulling out the sonic and then rummaged until she located the tool set. She set to work in complete silence, her eyes fixed on the tiny circuitry of the sonic screwdriver. The crowd of Androgonians watched in equal silence, seeming both intrigued and petrified by what they were seeing.
Donna took hold of Rose, bracing her friend's body against her own. The Doctor took a hold of the arrow and began to pull it out slowly. Rose let out a muffled groan as it came free and copious amounts of blood with it. Donna immediately added pressure to the wound as Hikari continued to hold her steady. Kema was quickly done with her repairs and returned the sonic to the Doctor. He promptly put it to the appropriate setting, and the sonic heated up. The head allowed him to close the wound successfully. Soon the bleeding had ceased and the Doctor was cradling Rose in his arms.
"We've got to get her back to the TARDIS. I don't know if that arrow punctured any of her vital organs," the Doctor said quickly, kneeling next to Rose and taking her into his arms. He heaved her upward and with one swift movement was on his feet. "We've got to act quickly. I don't know how much blood she's lost."
"You're not going anywhere! You are still a prisoner in this facility!" said one of the guards. The Doctor was about to turn and tell him off, but Donna beat him to it.
"You listen here, dumbo! You're going to get out of our way right bloody now!" she bellowed, her voice permeated the cavernous room. "The object of this stupid game of yours was for us to find the Doctor, and we already did that! So GAME OVER! Now MOVE it!"
"You won't be leaving," said a voice. Just then the prison warden appeared with two members of the Elders Council. They saw the Doctor holding Rose and Donna red faced and angry. The warden was smirking confidently as the two elders looked upon them. "The condition was that if you were all caught by the guards, then you wouldallbecome prisoners!"
"Rubbish! You saidcaught, not bloody SHOT! That's not playing fair!" Donna shouted, throwing up her hands in exasperation. Both Hikari and Kema stood by Donna, the three women squaring their shoulders defiantly.
"You listen to me," the Doctor said through clenched teeth. "We are leaving NOW. And if anything, ANYTHING happens to Rose, you will have ME to answer to! Now MOVE IT!" With that he held up his sonic, pointing at the Androgonians. They all gasped, practically diving out of the path of what they believed to be a magic wand.
"Seize him!" one of the elders yelled, frantically motioning toward the Doctor. Half the guards made to step toward him and the other half hesitated, still afraid. One guard grabbed a torch from the wall and rushed at him with it, swinging it wildly. The Doctor dodged him artfully, still holding Rose tight to him.
The Doctor looked down at her face, noticing that she had gone very pale. His hearts pounded in his chest as he quickly scanned the room, looking for an escape. Before he could properly locate an exit route, Rose's body began to shake. Dizzy with panic, he held her tighter.
"It's alright, Rose. You're going to be alright. Just stay with me," he said with soothing tones, kissing her forehead. Before he could say anything else, her body began to emit a soft golden light. Confused, he lost his grip on her slightly, and was forced to ease her to the ground. Moving to quickly pick her back up again, he saw the wound on her back surrounded by the light. Right before his eyes, the wound began to heal, her skin stitching itself back together. After a mere few moments all evidence of the injury was gone, leaving her perfectly smooth skin unmarred. The Rose's eyes jolted open, now aglow with the same light. He recognized this light. But...it couldn't be...
She sat upright, leaving the Doctor utterly stunned. Slowly getting to her feet, she turned to the Androgonians. "Stand aside or your reckoning shall come to pass," boomed a familiarly ethereal voice.
"Rose, it's alright. We'll just go," the Doctor said, stepping toward her and resting his hand on her arm. She turned her gaze on him, raising her hand to cup his cheek.
"My Doctor, I want you safe," she said softly, the warmth of her aura radiating through her touch. He looked at her with utter amazement.
"Wh-what are you?!" cried one of the elders. They all looked positively horror stricken now. Rose turned to them again, her face set like stone.
"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself," she droned, raising her hand as she spoke. "And if you threaten them again, I will destroy you."
"Go! Begone foul demons! Take your dark dealings away from our world!" cried the second elder. The Androgonians had shrunk back in fear, amazed by the power Rose exhibited.
"I think that's our cue," Donna muttered, looking at the Doctor. Both Kema and Hikari were nodding in agreement, clearly stunned.
"Ah, yep. Time to go," the Doctor said quickly, casting a sidelong glance at his ginger friend. "Uh, Rose? Love, let's just go." He laced his fingers with her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She looked at him again and suddenly her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell into a crumpled heap on the floor.
"Rose!" the Doctor cried, quickly pulling her up again. He stroked her cheek, his brows knitted together. "We need to get her to the TARDIS." The Doctor scooped her up bridal style and held her close to him. He jerked his head toward the exit and Donna nodded. They made their wavy out of the caverns and headed to exit the mountainside prison.
It wasn't long before they made it back to the gardens where the TARDIS was resting. Once inside, the Doctor rushed Rose to the medbay with Donna and the others in tow. He gently eased her onto one of the exam tables and Kema stood on the opposite side, taking Rose's hand in her own. They looked at each other, and the Doctor could see the worry etched in his sister's face. He worked quickly, running several diagnostic scans on Rose. He looked and then looked again, but found no signs of damage.
"Doctor, is Rose gonna be okay?" Donna asked, glancing at her unconscious friend, absently stroking the back of her hand.
"Don't worry, Donna. I'll take care of her. I promise," he said, smiling a little in an effort to reassure his companion.
"What was that? What did Rose mean she's 'the bad wolf'?" Donna asked, looking a bit lost.
"Yeah, what was that all about?" Kema asked, looking equally confused. Hikari looked at the Doctor as well, her eyes wide.
"Well, about seven odd years go, while I was in my previous body, I sent Rose away in the TARDIS because we were under the threat of the Daleks," the Doctor began, reaching to stroke Rose's cheek. "But Rose refused to accept that. She looked into the heart of the TARDIS and took the time vortex into herself. It temporarily gave her god-like powers. She returned to the space station we were on and saved me, saved us all from the Daleks. But the time vortex was burning up her insides, slowly killing her. So I took the vortex out of her, and it caused me to regenerate into the man I am now."
"Took the- she...what? She could have died! And you went and got yourself killed to save her! You're both bloody bonkers!" Donna said, completely baffled. "But I will say, it's beautiful. Never seen a love like that before!"
Kema was quiet, frowning thoughtfully. Hikari nudged her a little. "You okay, Kem?"
The younger Time Lord shook her head. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just a bit worn out I guess. Worried about Rose, too."
Hikari nodded. "Me too. Doctor, what's going to happen to her?"
"Oh, she'll be alright I think. She just needs some rest is all," he said, letting out a sigh.
"She really took in the time vortex?" Kema asked, her eyes studying Rose's face.
"Yu-p," the Doctor said, nodding.
Kema grinned then. "Wicked. Rose sure knows how to party. You're a lucky S.O.B., you know."
He would never deny that. The Doctor just smiled gently, brushing the fringe off Rose's forehead. It really was no secret how he felt about this woman. This amazing, impossible, ridiculously brilliant woman. She had crossed the void, traveled through parallel worlds just to find him again. And he was so, so glad she had. Though now, he wasn't quite sure what was happening with her. He had been certain that he had completely removed the vortex from within her, but obviously that couldn't be the case.
A short while later, after he had run several more tests, Donna helped the Doctor get Rose settled into one of the medbay cots. He wanted to keep her under observation until she regained consciousness. Fearing dehydration from her cellular regeneration, he hooked her up to an IV fluid drip and a digital monitor to track her vitals. He knew from experience how tired regeneration could make a person. The three women excused themselves to turn in for the night and the Doctor opted to wait by Rose's bedside.
She hadn't stirred for hours, and he had no idea how long it would take her to wake up. He fretted endlessly over her. He adjusted the lighting so that it wouldn't be too bright when she woke up, and put an extra blanket over her so that she wouldn't get cold. After several hours of pacing and running over all the plausible outcomes in his head for the umpteenth time, Rose made a sound. Jumping to his feet, he looked her over frantically.
"Rose?" he said tentatively, taking her hand. She groaned again, but louder this time. Her eyes fluttered open slowly as she began to shift in the bed. Squinting at him despite the low level of light, she blinked several times.
"Doctor? W'as goin' on?" she asked, trying to sit up. "Whoa, not good." She wavered in her seat, eye crossing just slightly. "Ugh, Doctor. Why did you let me drink so much? M'head is killin' me!"
The Doctor looked at her, brows knitted together. "Rose? What are you talking about?" Had she suffered some sort of memory loss? Did the fall do irreparable damage to her brain? The scans hadn't shown evidence of anything of the sort, but he was still worried.
Rose blinked again several times, looking around the room. "Hold on. We're in the medbay. Why are we in the medbay?" She returned her gaze to him, utterly confused. Then suddenly her mouth formed a small O and her eyes went wide as the realization hit her. "I got shot. By the arrow in the Androgonian prison."
"Yes, you did," the Doctor said quietly, his thumb rubbing small circles on the back of her hand. He looked at her and wondered if she'd remember anything else.
"And...and I...she came...Bad Wolf," Rose said softly, her voice but a whisper. She looked at the Doctor. "She saved me."
The Doctor smiled a little and nodded. "She did. Well, you did. Since you're Bad Wolf. Well, you both did." She didn't return his smile. Rather she looked concerned, maybe even frightened. "Rose? Are you alright?"
"I knew something wasnt right...that I was...different somehow," Rose muttered, her brow now furrowed.
This has happened before?" the Doctor asked, watching her. "Since the first time?"
"No, not really. Well, a bit. It's blurry," she said, shaking her head. "But that's not what I meant."
"Were you afraid to tell me?" the Doctor asked, his tone serious.
She looked at him them, staring hard, her mouth set in a pout. "Well, I was going to tell you, eventually. I just...I didn't knowhowto tell you.."
The Doctor frowned, tilting his head to one side. "Rose, stop being vague. What is it?"
Rose inhaled deeply and sat there for a moment, closing her eyes as she slowly exhaled. When she opened them again, she looked at the Doctor. "Thing is, I was worried you'd be mad an' all. A few years back, some British troops encountered some activity in Georgia. UNIT and Torchwood are sister operations in the other universe. Because I was a specialist, I was sent as part of a small team to run negotiations with the aliens. The part of the country we were in was war-ridden, and I ended up in the middle of a battlefield. Was working on locating the signal from the alien transmission. when we got stuck in the middle of rapid gunfire. Got separated from my team, and I took cover in this broken down hovel where a family with small children were hiding. Turned out, they were the aliens I was looking for in the first place. I did my best to keep them safe while I was there. How could I not? They needed help!" she said, looking a bit sad. "They had come to Earth as refugees, after losing their two oldest children to the war, and were afraid of losing their younger two. Doctor, they were so small and helpless. Reminded me of my little brother, Tony. Their ship had crashed in a rural area in theCaucasus Mountains, and that was how they ended up in Georgia. Anyway, a bomb dropped near the house, and the ceiling came down full force. I threw myself on one of the kids to cover him, and the main beam of the house came down on my back, effectively crushing me. I tried to squirm out, but could barely move. My back was broken. Busted in a million pieces, it felt like. The pain was so bad...Doctor it washorrible!I started to cough up blood and before I knew I was growing dizzier by the moment. I knew I was going to die. But then this funny thing happened. My whole body started glowing and I got these warm fuzzy sort of feeling, ya know? Anyway, Bad Wolf emerged and healed me right up. Then she used her power to get the family to safety and out of harm's way. Next I knew, I woke up in my bed back at the Tyler Estate."
The Doctor was quiet for a long while as he listened to Rose talk. What she was telling him didn't make any sense. If she still possessed any essence of Bad Wolf, why wasn't her mind burning up? How was she even still alive? So many questions raced through his mind as he tried to make heads or tails of things. It was impossible. But then again, this was Rose they were talking about. Was it possible that while still in her body, the Bad Wolf altered Rose's DNA? He got up and crossed the room to a bank of cabinets, opening each of them in search of a particular device. Rose called after him, but he didn't answer. He rooted feverishly through the cupboards until he finally found what he was looking for. He pulled the device out and returned to Rose.
"Doctor, what's going on? You're scaring me," she said, her voice shaking. He caught a glimpse of himself sidelong in a nearby mirror and realized how grave he looked. HIs expression softened and he reached for Rose's hand.
"Rose, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I think what's happening is that Bad Wolf altered your DNA. Your body seems to have the ability to regenerate cells and mend you if you're ill or injured. This is a DNA classification scanner," he said, holding up the device. "It will give me a better idea of what's going on with your biological structure."
Rose nodded, biting her lip. "Okay. I trust you. Scan away," she said with a little smile on her lips. She comically spread her arms wide and threw her head back for effect. The Doctor laughed and proceeded to run a quick scan on her.
"Alright, there we go. Should be about fifteen minutes and we'll have a complete diagnostic report on your DNA structure," he said with a grin, and giving her hand a squeeze. "Budge up, I'll join you." He nodded to the bed and Rose scooted over a bit. The Doctor hoisted himself up and sat close to Rose. He was very aware of their legs touching and felt her warmth as she leaned against him. He put an arm around her and pulled her in a bit tighter. They talked a bit, waiting for the scan results. Soon the scanner let off a high pitch tone, signaling that it had complete its computations.
The Doctor slid down off the bed and crossed to the table where he had set the scanner. He hooked it into the TARDIS main computer and brought up the results of Rose's scan on the screen. Peering at it closely, he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. "Triple helix DNA strand...complex hybrid bio-unit..unclassified humanoid… Planets of origin Earth and….Gallifrey," he murmured aloud. The last word had him frozen in place. How was this even possible?
"Doctor? What is it?" Rose asked urgently, sliding down off the bed and then crossing the room to join him. "What does the report say?" She leaned in closer and gazed at the screen. "What's 'complex hybrid bio-unit' ?" She looked to him for answers and he just stared at her for a moment.
"Oh, um..well it's a bit complicated, but you're sort of...mixed. Well, not mixed, more like fused. Weellll, mixed and fused," he rambled nervously. He was still looking at the readout, and he spotted another interesting detail. It was an estimation of her life expectancy. It readIndefinite. Did that mean…? Before he could say anything, Rose's eyes fell on the same line of data.
"Indefinite?" she said in a whisper. "Does...does that mean I'll live as long as you?"
The Doctor raised his eyes slowly to meet her gaze. "Could be," he said, swallowing thickly. " It seems..that your DNA is a combination of bio-imprinting from the TARDIS molecular structure and sort of super human genotypes. That's why your cells can regenerate and you can harness the power of Bad Wolf."
She was quiet for a moment and then a grin spread across her lips. "So...that means...now youcanspend the rest of your life with me...if you want." She batted her eyelashes coyly and he chuckled.
"Yes, Rose Tyler. It means exactly that," he said, reaching up to cup and caress her cheek. "And I do want. Very much."
She nuzzles his hand and kissed his palm, then looking back to him. Her eyes were shining with tears to be shed. "Forever," she said in a whisper, a tear now trailing down her cheek. His hearts clenched at her choice of words.
Could it be, after all this time, that the universe was going to be kind to him? Was it really to be that he would get to spend his forever with the love of his lives? And there it was, in black and white, she was going to live as long as he. They really would be together.
He nodded, his own eyes feeling a bit misty. "Forever," he agreed, smiling gently. "Rose, there's something I need to say. I didn't get to finish telling you something years ago."
She sucked in her breath, her eyes boring into him. "Yeah? You never did tell me how that sentence was going to end." She grinned nervously at him, biting her lower lip.
The Doctor smiled. "Rose Tyler," he said while still cupping her cheek. He brought his other hand to her hip and pulled her closer to him. He leaned in close, his lips brushing the outer edge of her ear. "I love you." His voice was but a whisper. She pulled back and looked at him, smiling through her tears.
"I love you, my Doctor," she said softly.
Before she could say another word, he bent his head down and captured her lips with his own. His kiss was soft, yet urgent as he attempted to express what he had been holding inside for so long. For years he had pined for her, felt a gaping hole in his hearts when she was gone. The fact that he got her back was a miracle in and of itself, but now they would get to spend their forever together.
"Well, good to see you're up and about," came a voice from behind them. They pulled apart and whipped around to see Donna standing hands on hips, staring them down. She was smirking and shaking her head. "Don't mind us here. Just little ol' specks of nothing over here."
Kema stepped out from behind Donna, smiling. "So, you just had to go and one up me, didn't you Tyler? Couldn't let ol' Kema be a Time Lord. Nope. You had to go and take the bloody time vortex into your head and become some badass goddess to defeat the Daleks and save my brother."
"Well, I can't let you think you're top dog, Kem. You Time Lords, you lot need to be knocked down a peg or two now and then," Rose laughed and winked at her best mate. Rose turned to her ginger friend. "Sorry, Donna. Got a bit carried away I guess."
Donna waved off with a laugh and crossed the room toward them, her arms open. "Oh forget it, about time you two got up to something. Now give us a squinch!" Rose moved to hug Donna, patting her friend's back.
"You gave us an awful fright Rose!" Hikari exclaimed, circling her arms around her friend. As they pulled apart, Hikari was grinning. "Or should I just called you 'Wolf'?"
Rose grimaced a little and laughed. "No, that's okay. I guess I am the Bad Wolf, but only when it serves as necessary. I think. Or...well, honestly, I have no idea how it all works." She looked to the Doctor. "Will I be able to control it?"
"Yeah, Doctor. Is Rose going to be okay?" Donna asked, looking rather worried.
The Doctor smiled and nodded. "Yu-p! She'll be just fine. Probably get a bit long in the tooth eventually, but well you know, she'll be more than okay. And yes, you should be able to control it, Rose. You'll need a bit of training, but we'll take care of that."
Donna beamed and slung her arms around them both. "Right. That's fantastic! Or as you say, molto bene!"
Rose and the Doctor laughed. "Molto bene!" they exclaimed together. Hikari and Kema looked at each other and shrugged. This only invited more laughter, all of them joining in now.
"Now I say it's time for a nice meal and a bit of scenery. Why don't we visit that moon of Jupiter, Calisto? The restaurant, in the 45th century? That was a blast!" Donna suggested, grinning at them.
"Ooo yeah, that sounds great! I could use a night out. Maybe a little dancing," Rose said excitedly, looking at the Doctor.
"Yeah, dinner sounds nice. I could use a cocktail or three," Kema said with a grin.
"Ooo the 45th century?? That sounds AMAZING! And on Jupiter's moon!" Hikari exclaimed, eyes shining with wonder.
The Doctor laughed, knowing he was outnumbered. "A night out does sound nice. Why don't you ladies go and put on your best, and get ready to paint Calisto red!"
With that, all four women rushed off to the wardrobe room to find proper attire for the evening, and the Doctor headed to the console room. As he walked he thought about all that had just transpired. He ran his hand along the rough coral surface of the walls as he passed them. Once in the console room, he admired the coral struts of his ship. She really was a marvel. And it was partially thanks to her that Rose would now be with him forever. He ran a hand affectionately over the edge of the console and looked up at the time rotor.
"Thank you," he whispered, his voice catching a little. The ship sent a telepathic brush against his mind and emitted a warm hum in response.
The Doctor pulled the monitor toward him and proceeded to set the coordinates for Calisto in the 45th century. Tonight they would wine and dine and dance to their hearts' content.And then they would be on to their next adventure.