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Chapter 30 - Headache
They returned to the penthouse and had a late lunch. It was some pasta dish that Rose had picked for them. The Doctor was messing with the gizmo again, much to Rose's displeasure. It zapped him away several more times. But, he had stopped throwing on the floor as soon as he reappeared. Rose couldn't tell if he was making progress with whatever he was attempting or not. It still appeared to her that he was accidently triggering the gizmo. The swearing reached an epic level of which she had never seen.
"What language are you even speaking?" she asked him when he reappeared after another unexpected jump.
"When, sweetheart?" he asked her not taking his eyes off of the gizmo.
"When you pop back and are so cross with that thing?"
He gritted his teeth. "Things I probably shouldn't be saying in the presence of a lady. Sorry, about that."
"Is it even all the same language you are talking?" she asked him as she sat down on the couch next to him.
He didn't look over at her as he continued his work on the gizmo. "Probably not. I tend to revert back to languages I'm more comfortable speaking than English when I get-"
The gizmo zapped him away again.
Rose rolled her eyes at the situation.
Ten seconds later, he had returned in the same spot he had been sitting. He threw the gizmo on the coffee table and exclaimed, "Damn touchy little son of a -"
"Umph! Doctor." Rose fussed at him.
He looked over at her and blushed. "Sorry about that. I need to take a break from that thing."
He ran his hand through hair. "That gizmo has ran up my blood pressure. Blimey! I can feel my blood running too fast through my veins."
"Is that normal for your people?" Rose asked him.
He looked surprised at her. "Cussing out something that's driving you mad? Isn't that normal for anyone?"
"No, being able to tell what your body is doing. I notice you say stuff like that often."
He ran his hands through his hair, pulling it a bit. It made it stand up even more crazy than it was before. He leaned back on the couch and raised his arm on top of his head as he put his arm around Rose.
"Time Lords have more senses than humans do. We have the five that humans have: sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell but to a generally superior degree. We also have excellent reflexes and precision timing. All of us were what they would call 'athletic' here on Earth."
"So you can hear better and see better than me?" she asked him.
"Yep" he confirmed, popping the 'p'. "I can usually identify things by tasting them, but more than a human can. Remember when I tasted the blood Christmas Day that the Sycorax were using to control everyone?"
"Yeah, you could tell what type it was. That's remarkable."
He nodded to agree with her as he rubbed the side of his head. "And disgusting. I still can't believe I did that."
"Athletic, huh? Like you play football?" she teased him.
"I don't know if I've ever tried that. I remember playing cricket once. I enjoyed that and wasn't bad. In my third incarnation, I was a martial arts master."
Rose looked impressed. "Really?"
He nodded his head and smiled at her. "Yeah. Didn't know I was a ninja, too? Although, I don't know if I remember much of it. That was a very, long time ago."
"How many more senses do you have?"
"I have the five like you have, and twenty-one more. Some of them honestly don't work as well since I've been here, though."
"Like what?" Rose was concerned.
"I can't see the time lines the way I used to." Suddenly, uncomfortable he ran his hand through his hair again, then rubbed the side of his forehead as he closed his eyes.
"I don't see distortions and jumps in time like I used to. Granted, that's probably because I'm not creating so many now. "
"When you changed, you looked completely different. It scared me to death." He reached over and grabbed her hand. "I wonder, how does that work between Gallifreyans? When you change, do you have to convince one another that you are still you?"
The Doctor looked surprised. "That's a really good question! I've never been asked that before. No, that's one of our senses, too. We can identify one another even after regeneration."
Someone knocked at the door.
The Doctor leaned over and kissed Rose on the forehead and he went to answer the door. It was Jake.
"Jake! What the hell? Come in!"
Jake was all smiles and shook the Doctor's hand. "Good to see you!"
Rose jumped off the couch to greet her friend. "Jake! We wasn't expecting you!"
"Yeah, I'm passing through town and thought I would stop in. Hope you don't mind. Shakes told me where you were staying. I also understand that Congratulations are an order."
The Doctor looked confused. "What, why?"
Rose laughed at him. "Because we are engaged, you nutter!"
He rolled his eyes back in his head, "Oh that's right. I knew that. I've got too much on my mind."
Rose and Jake laughed at him.
"I need to talk to you for a bit." he pointed at the Doctor. "Then I will come back and see you." He then pointed at Rose.
"Divide and conquer!" the Doctor laughed. "Is that alright, Rose?"
"Sure. I won't turn on the telly. I think I'll go hide that gizmo you keep messing with."
He was walking out the door with Jake. He stopped and pointed at Rose and demanded, "No! Don't touch that damn thing! I'm very serious!"
Jake looked funny at him.
"Don't ask." the Doctor told him as he started to walk towards the door. After a few steps, he reconsidered and returned to the coffee table and picked up the gizmo.
"Don't trust me?" Rose teased him.
"I've known you too long for that, Rose Tyl-"
He disappeared in smoke and a light again.
"What the hell?" Jake exclaimed.
Rose laughed, "Oh, just wait. This is hysterical."
Ten seconds later, the Doctor zapped back into the room close to the door. His hair looked wild and he was clearly in the middle of swearing again.
"- cking erratic piece of 21st century shitty alien damn shit!" He swore as picked up a plastic rubbish bin that was close-by, and tossed the gizmo in so he wasn't touching it anymore.
Rose was crying she was laughing so hard at him.
Jake was still processing what he had just seen. Realizing what he just saw, his chuckling quickly turned into laughter with Rose.
The Doctor looked at them both. He turned away from them and walked out the door.
"Oh just shut up, the both of you." he grumbled as he carried out the rubbish bin.
Jake and Rose had tears in their eyes.
"Blimey, that was the funniest thing I've ever seen! What the hell is trying to do to that thing?"
Rose continued to laugh and shook her head. "Improving it. He's been doing that all day."
"Ohhh... damn that made that long trip out on the bullet so worth it! I'll be straight back." Jake laughed all the way out the door.
Jake was still chuckling as he walked into Shakes' room. Lewis had went to stay with Rose in the their absence.
Shakes turned to shake Jake's hand as he entered the room. "Good to see you Jake."
"Good to be here!"
The Doctor had tossed the rubbish bin with the broken gizmo onto the table they were standing next to. He collapsed into the chair and rubbed his face. "That damn thing." he mumbled.
Jake laughed under this breath hearing the Doctor complain again.
"I had no idea you swore so much, Doc. Damn." Jake told him.
"Sometimes the situation calls for it. So, Jakey-boy. What news do you have for us?" the Doctor began.
Jake tossed his hands up and said, "Great news. We got them."
The Doctor couldn't help but look shocked. "What do you mean? Explain."
All of the men sat down. Jake began. "After you called me last night about you remembering something about there being an Underground in America, I got some guys on it and found out there is an area in Atlanta, Georgia...near Disneyworld...that's called Underground Atlanta. The bar in question was there. They went in this morning and got Ben Perrick and he confessed everything."
Shakes was in as much disbelief as the Doctor. "Really? That quick?"
Pete nodded. "President Shepherd authorized anything we needed. He was tremendously helpful."
The Doctor inquired. "Was Melissa there?"
"No." Jake said seriously. "But, Perrick told us she is working with them. That was a great hunch. Shakes called me shortly after you came back."
The Doctor was pleased, but still in disbelief. "I don't like it. Seems too simple. There's still more to this."
He pointed at Jake and looked him seriously. "And Melissa might be innocence in all of this. Let's find her before we decide what's really happening. Rose would have been able to tell her emotions if they were touching while they spoke."
Shakes nodded, "I agree. There were too many people involved for this to go away this quietly."
The Doctor agreed. "Yeah, exactly. Why Atlanta? That's not on the coast or anything?"
"The bullet has a huge hub there. The bullet comes out of the Atlantic in Savannah, then rides on top of the ground until it gets to Atlanta. It's the busiest hub in the world."
The Doctor scratched his chin. "Fantastic." He marveled.
Shakes spoke up. "I don't think we need to reveal that Miss Tyler is still alive. There are more of these people. This happening will only make them more determined to claim their prize."
Jake agreed. "I agree. I think we should continue to be very careful. They are more likely to retaliate with this happening."
"But it is good news. Thank you, Jake! I'll have to thank, Howie tomorrow. We are going to the White House, then. Will you be joining us for the state dinner?" the Doctor asked him.
"I have to leave here and go to Atlanta to help this mess get sorted. If you think of anything, ring me. If I'm still state-side, I'll come to the White House for the dinner. I love anytime I can listen to President Shepherd speak."
The Doctor laughed, "Can you understand anything he says?"
Jake laughed and shook his head. "Not a bit. It's hilarious!"
The Doctor rubbed the side of his forehead as he laughed.
Jake noticed. "You alright there, Doc?"
The Doctor looked back at him, "I'm always alright. I need to talk to Shakes about something. Tell Rose I'll be right in."
The men all shook hands as Jake left. He walked back across the hall and excused Lewis.
"Hey Jake. Good news?" Rose asked him.
Jake was smiling ear to ear as he walked over and kissed Rose on the cheek. "Yes! But I'll let Doc' tell you everything. Is he alright?"
Rose looked stunned. "I suppose he is. Why?"
"Well, he looks pale to me. I don't know, it might be the beard. I didn't know he had grown one. He was rubbing the side of his head a few minutes ago."
"He was messing with those gizmos all morning and they kept popping him back and forth. He got cross and told me his blood pressure was too high from it." Rose was now worried.
Jake saw the worry on her face. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't say anything. Hey. I just came back in here to congratulate you and have a look at your ring. I haven't seen it."
Rose lay her hand in Jakes' so he could look it over.
Jake whistled impressed. "Wow. Pete is paying the Doc' way more than he is me. Just saying."
Rose smiled at her friend.
"Where are you off to now?"
"Atlanta. But, I might be back for the state dinner. I'm going to try. President Shepherd is something you have to see as much as you can."
Rose nodded and laughed, "Yeah, that is true."
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A few moments after Jake left, the Doctor walked back into the penthouse. He was still rubbing the side of his head. He wore a grimace on his face. Rose noticed he did look pale. He had been talking about his short life so much lately that it was driving her crazy. She never stopped to wonder if something might be wrong. He could tell when his blood pressure was high, when he had too much magnesium sulfate in his blood stream, or when something was off. Of course, he would be able to tell something was wrong before anyone else would be able to know. And true to his temperament, he would never tell her.
Rose turned to look at him from the couch. "Hey." She greeted him.
He smiled at her and stopped rubbing his head. "Hey, sweetheart. Well, Jake brought some good news. They got some of these guys that are causing this trouble."
He sat the rubbish bin on the coffee table. Then he lay down on the couch and put his head in Rose's lap. He closed his eyes and pressed them together tightly.
"What happened?" Rose asked him.
He took her hand and she could feel he was uncomfortable. That same uncomfortable feeling she felt from him when his broken hand would hurt.
He didn't open his eyes. "It's involved. But it's good news."
"What's the matter? Is there something wrong? I'm worried about you."
"I'm alright. Don't worry about me." he told her without opening his eyes.
She ran one of her hands through his hair. "I can tell you aren't alright. Tell me what's wrong."
"Well, love. At the moment, I have a headache."
"A headache?"
"A bad headache."
"What caused it?" she asked him. "You can usually tell that stuff."
"Yeah, I can. I don't know. It just started after we ate. It's gotten worse."
"Where does it hurt exactly?"
He still didn't open his eyes. He raised his hand and pointed around the side of his eye on his temple.
"Can I try something? I think I know what this is." Rose told him.
He had a look of surprise come across his face which made Rose giggle. He still hadn't opened his eyes so the effect was comical.
"Sure, love. I'm near misery at this point and it's only getting worse." he told her.
Rose lay her hand on his forehead. She could feel the pain coming off of his skin. She brushed his consciousness, which he lowered his shields and let her into his head.
'You know, I found that I had to go see Melissa sometimes to have someone to talk to telepathically, otherwise I got terrible headaches. It didn't happen often, but it really hurt when it did.'
He hadn't thought of that. When he was in the other dimension, the TARDIS was always in his head. Since he had been here, Rose was the only one he could link telepathically to. They hadn't been in one another's heads in a while.
'I haven't thought of that. That could be it.' he agreed with her. 'When was the last time we telepathically joined?'
'I don't know. I think it was when we were back at Howie's.' Rose told him.
He smiled as he realized he was beginning to feel better. 'That's right. Caroline was going to cut my hair and I asked you to stay with me.'
'You were afraid she was going to butcher your hair.'
They both laughed quietly.
'I like my hair. The last few bodies I had, I wore it really short. I like it this length.'
'Is this making you feel better?' Rose asked him.
'Yes. Oh, I think you are right. It's ... comforting. Keep talking to me.'
She kept running her hand through his hair as her other hand stayed on his forehead.
'Once upon a time, there was a shop girl. She was very poor, and only had her mum. She decided her mum worked too hard and she wanted to help. So, as a surprise, she worked morning and night for several weeks. She was wanting to surprise her mum by paying that month's rent.'
'I think I know this girl. She sounds amazing.'
Rose smiled, 'Her boyfriend thought that it was really sweet and brought her lunch and dinner so she could continue working.'
'Mickey the idiot! I didn't know this.' he continued to smile.
'But, one night. She had to take the lottery money to the electrician downstairs in the storage room. It was always creepy because that's where they kept the plastic mannequins. But, it was especially scary that night because the mannequins were moving.'
'She was cornered against a wall. The mannequin was threatening to kill her. As she turned her head and accept her fate, this man grabbed her hand and said - '
"Run." they said aloud together and smiled.
'Then years later. That same man gave her widow mother back the husband she had lost. They had a son that adored this man. And, he also took the shop girl to a place to live where she was treated like royalty.'
"Isn't what it's cracked up to be, is it?'
'But, above all else. This man then promised her that he was done running, and would always be with her forever.'
He opened his eyes and smiled at her. She could feel his uncomfortableness had turned into love at the memory of their first meeting.
"I love your mad stories." he smiled at her.
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