Hello! FireOpal here again, with Chapter 2! Go us! This one was written by the esteemed EbonyBeach, with me acting as Beta and DW technical help. We're ecstatic about our influx of reviews, so thank you all! Personal messages at the end (as usual to my usual readers). The usual disclaimers (forgotten last chapter I think... oops) apply. We own nothing.
Enjoy!
Everything was black, aching, heavy like lead. Thoughts blurred between consciousness and an even deeper sleep; confusion, pain, fatigue. Yet this place was strangely peaceful; healing almost - and there was a lot to be healed. Something had been ripped from inside of her, she could feel where it has been torn from every cell of her body. It had been truly wonderful and utterly terrifying at the same time, bringing light and so much power, leaving her unconscious and without memory, erasing her thoughts from Time and Space.
But for all she had lost, Rose Tyler was now more whole than she had ever been before in her life. Someone was speaking softly, and yet there was no sound save the steady, familiar hum of her surroundings. The voice was in her head, carried by a throbbing, golden bond between two minds, two souls.
"Come back to me Rose."
The vortex of darkness, all she had known for so long, began to slip away. Through the bond she found strength and encouragement, and by intuition alone she answered the call. Light and warmth began to seep across her, washing away the last effects of a mind-seizing drug. Slowly she began to emerge from her sleep, coughing slightly, constantly being reassured by someone else's thoughts. In her semi-conscious state she was unable to recognise the voice behind the words which breathed fire back into her heart, but when she opened her eyes and found herself looking straight into his, she knew: the Doctor was inside her mind, and he had saved her.
Relief spread throughout his body like an orgasm, sending shivers from the tips of his fingers to the ends of his toes. He was aware of her in the back of his mind, felt the power of her mixture of emotions, sensed her blinding exhaustion and how it overrode her confusion at her current situation. And yet all he really saw was Rose.
She reached for his hand and squeezed it, managing a small smile. "You..."
He knew he was grinning like a maniac but he didn't care. "Who did you expect, Ricky?"
"It's- " She found she was too tired to even correct him, and a yawn escaped her lips. Her eyes began to drift closed against all her better instincts - she would have been quite content to sit and watch the Doctor watching her forever.
"Doctor?" She murmured. Her eyelids were so heavy, and the strange, steady pulsing of two heartbeats in the back of her mind was the softest lullaby.
"Yes Rose?"
He couldn't help it - he just had to touch her. Leaning over her, he stroked the back of his fingers down her cheek, brushing his thumb across the corner of her mouth as she moved slightly into his hand. The urge to kiss her was almost overwhelming, but again fear held him back, and he told himself she needed rest and a good night's sleep. It wasn't a bad excuse, but he couldn't quite bring himself to believe it.
"What happened?" She said after a short pause in which they acknowledged this new-found closeness. She opened her deep brown eyes, and what he saw there cut him like a knife.
She didn't remember. Satellite 5, the Dalek Invasion, the Heart of the TARDIS, Bad Wolf, the end of the Time War, their kiss... all gone, disappeared, vanished, lost forever like they had never happened.
But they had. Rose Tyler had saved the Earth; saved every human from the inconceivable evil of the Daleks; saved him, the Doctor, the last of the Time Lords, the person she had loved in that moment with every electric fibre of her being.
He faltered completely then for the first time in nine hundred years, so much so that he lost all notion of Time and Space and simply ceased to exist within himself. The darkness was complete, the silence deafening. It was life and death and everything and nothing all at once.
And yet there was light and warmth and hope in a golden cord which bound his life force to someone else's, kept him alive and sane, always bringing him back.
Rose.
You care about this one, and she cares about you too.
Beautiful Rose.
Take care of her, my Theta.
Take care of your Rose.
Go to her.
Go to her.
Go to her...
The TARDIS swam sharply into focus around him with a sickening wrench, and he knew what he had to do. What did it matter if she didn't remember? She needed him to be strong for her, to look after her: then, and only then, could he confront his own demons.
Lifting her easily into his arms, he carried her to her bed - she was asleep before her head hit the pillow. As he pulled the cover over her, he pressed a gentle kiss to her temple.
"You happened, Rose Tyler."
He stayed with her all night, watching her in the darkness, careful not to touch her; although when her hand found his in sleep, he held it tightly and did not let go.
Review Responses
EbonyBeach extends a big thank you and hug to you all!
CathP - Lol, so are we!
Uh, yeah - Glad you like it! I myself am waiting to see Tenant in action before I make a judgement, but I really think he (CE) should've stuck around longer. After all, Tom Baker was in the show for 4 years, and did it kill his career? No.
Han - This is definitely being continued! We here love 9Dr/Rose (as you can tell!)
VampireHelsing - Nice to see you again, glad you like it.
Taz - hehe, nice one Tori!
The Angel of Hope - We aim to please!
Chaimera - If you see any formatting out of place, tell us (sometimes we can't see what's in front of our faces!) and I'll correct it.
golwenadaneth - For all that is Daleky? Scary thought, but we will continue. We have plans. Mwuhahaha!
Iale - Glad you like it, more here for you!
Mandy - No spoilers, but Jack is not forgotten. And don't be afraid to babble on, I do it all the time grins
fobofish92 - Unless? Unless you read this fic of course!
Kat - A one-shot? Surely you jest! More in the making I promise you.
YamiKITG - Thank you, hope you enjoy it!
shansuedluvsbitch - More for you!
Scary Miss Mary - Interesting? Is that good or bad? Oh well, hope you like it.
Becsy Lexi - Cry? Aw, I had no idea this was so sad... but then I rarely sob over my own fics. Lol.
ears - Jack is not forgotten. That is all I will say.
Interstella - Thank you. Your reviews make our day!
sweetheartedfairie - Thank you so much for returning to review! We had technical difficulties (I posted wrong!), and I had to repost to sort them. Glad you liked it!