Part Four

Rose stared at the dark road ahead of them, her vision hampered by the rain pouring down heavily onto the tarmac and the windscreen, drumming a loud rhythm on the roof of the car. It was about the only sound she'd heard for quite some time, having sat in silence with Jimmy since he had bundled her into the car and driven them quickly away from the flats.

She didn't know how long they'd been driving for, but she had noted that they had left the built up expanse of London behind in favour of more open countryside. He was avoiding the motorways, sticking to the side roads to lessen the chances of being caught she assumed. She had no idea where they were going, but she guessed that it was somewhere where he could hide whilst he tried to blackmail the Doctor for her safety.

She was trying so hard to feel angry towards her kidnapper, to hate him as much as he deserved, but she just felt numb inside. As if her body didn't know what to do with the current situation so it had just stopped trying. It was shock she guessed; she still hadn't quite digested all that had happened.

Try as she might, she couldn't get Mickey's face out of her mind. The fear in his eyes for both of them as she had been dragged away. Morbid thoughts, like that might have to be her last memory of him, kept creeping into her mind and she was fighting a losing battle to keep them at bay. What if he died? It would be her fault. If only she'd tried harder to get between them, if she had tackled Jimmy herself before they'd gotten into a fight…

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jimmy turn to look at her momentarily.

"He'll be alright," he muttered quietly, reading her expression perfectly, "It wasn't that bad."

He had to keep telling himself that she supposed. He didn't like to think of himself as a murderer.

Rose pressed her lips together firmly, swallowing hard, refusing to cry. What she wouldn't give right now to hear the soothing hum of the TARDIS making its appearance. To see the Doctor's big grin smiling at her reassuringly. To smell his leather jacket. To feel the indescribable comfort of his arms hugged around her.

Did that make her weak? Was wanting to see him that much really a weakness?

There was one other thing she knew for definite that she wanted, the certainty of it becoming clearer with each mile they drove; she wanted out of this 'normal' life. She wanted to be back amongst the stars with the Doctor, exploring the universe and leaving nonsense like this behind. How had she even considered that what she had here was better? Was she insane? Right now she couldn't even see the night sky because of the thick rain clouds that were billowing overhead. She sighed to herself, realising that she never should have come home. What did she need blue trainers for anyway? She was suffocating here, stuck on this one tiny planet. She needed out.

She had never felt so trapped. Nor so alone.

Shifting in her seat slightly Rose almost gasped as her elbow brushed something in her pocket, her heart rate increasing as a wonderful realisation hit her. She quickly clamped her mouth shut even tighter so as not to give the game away. How could she have been so stupid? It had been there all the time and she hadn't even thought about it.

Her phone was zipped up in her jacket pocket. She could phone the flat and tell them where she was. Then the Doctor could come and get her. He must have some gadget onboard the TARDIS which could trace her whereabouts. All she had to do was get away from Jimmy long enough to make the call.

She looked out of the window with a purpose this time, noting that they were surrounded by woods and fields. It was pitch black too. Surely she could hide out there long enough to allow the Doctor to get here and take her home. She just needed to get away from Jimmy, she needed a plan. They were travelling at some speed down tight, narrow country lanes. Simply throwing herself from the car was clearly a completely daft idea, but he seemed in no hurry to stop.

Then he did one of the few useful things he had ever done for her. He pulled over.

"I need to pee," he explained, "Wait here."

He ducked out of the car and into the still pouring rain, taking the keys with him. He didn't bother locking the car however or securing her inside in any way. He was either being a bit thick, trusting her too much or just didn't think she'd have the balls to run out into the middle of deserted countryside in the pitch black and pouring rain. The old her, the her that Jimmy had known, certainly wouldn't have even considered it. But the old her hadn't travelled around the universe. The old her hadn't run from dozens of potential deaths and survived. The old her hadn't helped to save the world more than once. And incidentally the old her didn't have a time travelling alien to call upon to come to her rescue.

She watched Jimmy carefully for a moment, waiting until he disappeared behind a tree and counting to five before seizing her chance and bolting from the car hurriedly, trading speed for silence. The rain blinded her as she ran across the road in the opposite direction to where he had gone, and she just prayed there wasn't anything coming the other way that was about to run her over. Safely reaching the other side, she stumbled down the small embankment ahead and fell to her hands and knees in the field below. She quickly forced herself to her feet again, ignoring the slight stinging jolt that the fall had sent through her. She ran as fast as she was able with sodden clothes and long thick grass to hinder her. She was too exposed here. He'd see her. She had to get across these fields and into the distant woods where she could hide. Then she could call the Doctor and everything would get back to normal. She could go home.

She was about halfway across the field, running at full pace, when the cry of anger rang out, loud enough to be clear even over the almost deafening noise of torrential rain and swirling wind. She didn't even bothering looking back, knowing he was already chasing her. She just had to keep running, had to find a place to hide and make her phone call. She reached up and swept her drenched hair from her face, needing to keep her visibility clear.

Rose thought she could hear his footfalls behind her but she didn't dare look back. She had made him angry now, and she had already seen what happened when this new Jimmy got angry. She didn't even look back when she made it into the relative safety of the woods, running a diagonal zigzag path through the trees so as to make it harder for him to follow. Rose had run for her life many times since she had met the Doctor and she was getting rather good at it by now.

She finally stopped when the agony of drawing enough air into her lungs to keep herself going at such a sharp pace became too much. Hiding herself behind the far side of a tree, she bent over double, trying to get her breath back as quietly as she could. When she was sure she had recovered enough to speak she fumbled in her pocket for her phone and pressed the speed dial with trembling fingers.


The Doctor burst inside the TARDIS with purposeful strides, his mind already having formed a plan on the way down here. Crossing to the consol he set up what he needed by pressing a few buttons and turning of a couple of dials. He was just picking up the old-fashioned telephone that was mounted on the wall when Jackie marched in after him. She looked hesitantly around the interior of the TARDIS for a moment, clearly uncomfortable about being here. She quickly pushed that aside however when her determined gaze fell on the Doctor.

"You should go and wait with, Mickey," he ordered coldly, "Go with him in the ambulance."

He didn't need her hysterics and her blame right now. He needed to be calm and methodical so he could save Rose.

She shook her head firmly, swallowing hard, "It's alright. He said he'd be okay. Told me to come with you and make sure she's alright."

"There's nothing you can do for her," he said harshly, checking the consol again, her interruption making him forget whether he had set everything correctly.

"How dare you!" Jackie hissed, storming over to him, her eyes locking on his.

He glared back at her, a look that would have made most people back down in intimidation. But not Jackie Tyler. Mother's were the same the universe over. There was little that was as fierce or dangerous than a female protecting her offspring.

"Who do you think you are?" she spat, "Coming down here and stealing her away from me? I don't care how long she travels with you Doctor or where you take her. She's still my little girl. I still care about her. More than you ever will."

He doubted that but he bit his tongue. Now was not the time for that revelation.

And how could you explain to one rather uneducated twenty-first century human what it was like to be entirely alone in the universe? To love the only thing you had so desperately that it worried you? He didn't understand it himself.

"She's my daughter and I love her," Jackie continued, a fierce determination setting in, not unlike the one he often saw in Rose, "I'm not going to sit back and wait for you to bring her home. Not this time."

Inside he smiled very slightly. Maybe he had been a little unfair to her. She wasn't the most shining example of her race but she was willing to go into potential danger if it meant helping her daughter. Even though deep down she probably knew that there was little she could do. He grudgingly admired her for that.

"If you had a family you'd understand," she added darkly, not breaking eye contact.

That cut him much more deeply than he like and he drew in a sharp breath, his eyes darkening considerably.

Clever little human, she knew exactly what she had to say to get him to agree to what she wanted.

"Fine," he said shortly, "Just keep out of my way."

He turned back to the phone, picking it up once more and beginning to dial.

"What are you doing?" Jackie asked after a moment's unbearable silence.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. Perhaps he should have stipulated that keeping out of his way also meant shutting up.

"I'm phoning her," he explained, "I souped up the battery in her phone. It gives out a unique electrical signal unlike anything else on Earth at this time. If I ring it the signal will peak sharply and the TARDIS can use it to trace her position."

Jackie nodded although he suspected that she hadn't entirely followed all of that explanation.

Then his attention left her completely as the dial tone ended and the phone began to ring.


Rose wasn't usually one to plead with inanimate objects, having realised long ago that the more she wanted something to do as she wished, the less likely it was to comply. Right now she couldn't help it though and she pleaded down the phone as it rang, hoping someone would pick up soon.

Eventually though she had to surrender. If her mum or the Doctor were in the flat they would have answered long before now. Unless they had killed each other of course, she realised with the slightest trace of dark humour.

Swallowing the tides of panic that were threatening to overcome her, she tried to think rationally in the way the Doctor had taught her to do in such situations. They wouldn't have just gone out for a cosy little walk together that was certain, so they must have left the flat for some other reason. Most likely to look for her when she didn't come back. There were only two places they would think to search; Mickey's flat or the TARDIS. Try and she might, she couldn't remember the number for Mickey's and she had long since cleared it from her SIM card, having always rung his mobile because it was cheaper.

So, she should try the TARDIS. Maybe it had an answering machine. Maybe it would realise she was in trouble and record a message for the Doctor. Maybe if she was very lucky he would actually be there.

Hitting number 2 on her speed dial, she saw the familiar, 'Calling: TARDIS' symbol and it made her feel much better. Less alone, more like she was back in her real life rather than this stupid soap opera situation.

She blinked in confusion when she heard a familiar but unexpected noise. Engaged? How could it bloody well be engaged? Who did he have to ring? What was he doing, ordering a pizza?

Then she realised the reason why it was probably engaged and hurriedly pressed the red button to stop dialling. After a few tense moments, the screen lit up once more and the message 'TARDIS calling' was displayed. Rose could have cheered.

With still slightly shaky fingers she pressed the button to answer, clasping the phone gratefully to her ear.

"Hello? Doctor?" she asked hopefully, feeling a little ashamed that she couldn't quite smooth all the trembling from her voice.

If he did answer she never heard him. She'd been far too careless in her eagerness to get this whole thing over and done with, and she'd neglected to keep an ear and eye out for her pursuer whilst she had tried to make her phone call. She had no idea that Jimmy had found her until she felt someone barrel firmly into her side, tackling her to the floor, the phone flying out of her hand. Rose lay on the sodden, muddy ground, winded and helpless as he picked the phone up and looked at it. He glared angrily.

"What's this?" he demanded, showing her the TARDIS name still on her phone, the call still active, "Who were you ringing?"

"No one," Rose mumbled, getting painfully to her feet, wondering if it was worth her running again. Jimmy had her phone and if she left it behind she'd have no way of getting help.

"Who the fuck is this?" he shouted, furiously down the phone.

There was clearly no response as he paused before shouting again, sounding more scared than angry now, confusion setting in. He was so far out of his depth she didn't think he could see the surface anymore.

"Look," he hollered, his shaking voice betraying him, "You try anything and I'll fucking kill her, alright? You'll never see her again!"

She didn't know what made her do it. Afterwards she would realise how stupid it was, especially considering what he had just threatened to do, but some instinct inside her noticed the opportunity he presented as his dangerous glance turned away for a moment and decided it was worth the risk. She lunged at him unthinkingly, grabbing at the phone, meaning to snatch it from him and run off again. With any luck the Doctor would've heard what was going on and be here soon.

Jimmy's response was automatic. He growled furiously, his fist lashing out and connecting firmly with one of her cheekbones and the side of her nose. Rose crumpled instantly to the floor, in shock as much as anything else, clutching at her throbbing face and already bleeding nose. She looked back up at him, too scared to be furious, cursing her own stupidity and wondering what he was going to do now.

The young man was staring back down at her, shaking his head as though he didn't belief what he had just done. He rubbed at his sore knuckles, and she noticed his hands were shaking and that there was a look on self-disgust in his eyes. This wasn't him. It wasn't who he wanted to be.

"You don't have to do this, Jimmy," Rose pleaded, seeing her moment, knowing it was wrong of her to feel this way, but not really caring if he escaped as long as she got back to the Doctor, "You could just leave me. You'll be long gone by the time anyone gets here."

He was silent, looking darkly at the floor.

"Please," she added quietly, hating herself for asking like this but valuing her safety over her pride. She didn't think Jimmy would willingly hurt her despite his faults, but he did seem to be losing control and she didn't want to be around when he snapped completely.

"Let me go."

There was a long pause and for a hopeful moment Rose thought he was going to agree. Then he grabbed her arm, pulling her roughly to her feet. As he walked along he threw the phone away into the long damp grass.

"Those things aren't safe," he explained, although why he felt the need to justify his actions to her she wasn't sure, "They could use it to track us."

'Yes,' Rose thought, with a sigh, 'That was the idea.'

She stared at the spot where the phone had disappeared to, expecting and hoping to see the TARDIS fade into view any moment.

She was still looking for it when Jimmy bundled her into the car again and sped off.