Title: Manipulation of the Mind

Author: Trustno1

Disclaimer: Doctor Who related things property of the Beeb. Story, other characters and the Voice property of my disturbed little mind :-)

AN: Sorry I've been a while updating – work sucks big time. Thanks to everyone who still reads and reviews!

Chapter XVIII

She sensed her pain, her fear, her guilt and hopelessness. She also sensed the smaller rays of hope that he would return, and sensed how she clung onto anything human, anything she could relate to, anything that was him.

At the same time She sensed his fear, his guilt, his desperation, and something else she hadn't known him to feel for another person, especially a human, for a long, long time. She heard him trying to talk to her, to tell her he was coming back for her, and She could hear her begging for him to return. Only once had he heard her, and she hadn't managed to hear him through the pain. She tried to make her hear now, tried to allow his thoughts to enter hers, so she wouldn't give up. She could sense that, were it not for the fact she still held onto the tiny fragment of hope the he would return to her, she would give up. Allow the poison to take over her, allow herself to fall into an eternal slumber that his thoughts wouldn't penetrate.

And She wasn't about to let that happen. Not this TARDIS.

Rose's breathing was shallow and rapid, her chest rising and falling quickly in time with her heart that beat loudly in her ears, which in turn was in time with the throbbing pain flowing through her body. For the time being the Voice had fallen silent, after explaining in detail just why the Doctor shouldn't return for Rose, and showing Rose exactly how heartless she was leaving behind her family and friends. It was just Rose and the pain.

'I'm coming, Rose.'

Rose jerked her head upright, causing a fresh wave of pain to radiate through her head, and also through her wrists where she pulled on the restraints. She didn't notice it. Her eyes snapped open, and she was momentarily blinded by the harsh white light of the Med bay.

"Doctor?" she said, eyes restlessly searching the room for the source of the Doctor's voice.

'I'm coming, Rose.'

There it was again, though this time, Rose heard it more clearly, without the haze of pain, and she was certain it was inside her head, almost in the same place she had felt the strange feeling that told her to fight, that listening to this evil Voice was wrong.

"I knew it," she whispered to herself, laying her head back on the pillow as the Voice began talking again. She tuned out though now, accepting the pain, because she had heard the Doctor inside of her, felt his hope and determination, and something else. Another feeling, that made butterflies dance again, not in front of her eyes this time, but in her chest and stomach, like when he took her hand, or held her, or looked at her with intense blue eyes that held so many different emotions so much of the time, and occasionally only had room for one. The one that caused them to darken mysteriously, and stare so intensely at her that it seemed he was looking into her soul.

Rose closed her eyes against the pain, against the glaring lights, and watched the Doctor materialising behind her eyes. She could see him speaking the words now as well as hear him in her head, and this helped her to tune out the Voice, screaming at her to listen, and her own voice, simply screaming.

Dr. Max Duffy took a long drink of water and placed the glass on the floor beside his feet. The Director waited patiently for him to continue, the Doctor waited less patiently, but tried not to show it. He remained leaning against the wall, though he was noticeably tenser than when Duffy began relating events, and not just because of the nature of what he had been telling the two men. In the last few minutes, whilst Duffy was taking a small break, the Doctor became aware of something inside his head, some kind of sound. Although it seemed like nothing at first, it had grown into whispering and a feeling of relief. They were still growing, and now the Doctor could hear Rose, telling him she knew he would come back, and to hurry. The relief was there, too, a feeling so great it threatened to overpower him. Except that for a few seconds every minute or so, pain would invade this connection with Rose, and although they lasted but a second or two each time, to the Doctor they felt like a lifetime, as his link to her voice, that was so close he swore she was standing beside him, came under threat.

Neither Dr. Duquesne nor Dr. Duffy noticed the change in the man, and Max began to speak again, forcing the Doctor to pay attention to something other than Rose's voice in his head.

"We ran more tests on the Serpens as soon as we found out the DNA was mutating, and intended to inform you immediately, Director…"

"Jesus, Max, have you seen this? Parts of the Serpen's DNA are human, and it's actually mutating right now, it's like it's evolving – look." Bobby pushed a computer screen in front of Max, who studied it with worried eyes.

"I'm gonna inform the Director, Bobby, we need to get that thing into quarantine."

"Yeah, and what about us? We were stung by that thing, remember?"

"Well then, we'll test our blood as well, though I don't know what it could do to us since we're human already."

"I know, but just to be on the safe side, yeah? I don't feel too hot to be honest, I wanna make sure I'm not mutating into something else."

"Yeah, right, like Bobby: the Plant Man – watch out, he'll trip you on his vines!"

"I'm serious, Max. Look, let me test us both, then we can inform the Director, okay? Humor me." Max nodded and put his finger onto a small slide near a computer. A tiny needle punctured the skin, drawing the blood inside to be tested. Bobby then repeated this process with his own finger.

"Okay, we'll give it five minutes – I'm gonna get a drink, you want one?" Bobby shook his head.

"Nah, I'm exhausted, I'm gonna take a power nap I think. Wake me up if the results are interesting." Max nodded and walked out of the room as Bobby collapsed onto a couch, his face flushed and a thin sheen of sweat coating his forehead.

"When I got back he was out of it. I checked the results and they showed a slight elevation of the hormone we were working with and an increase in our body temps, though both were more pronounced in Bobby. Still, it was nothing that would have concerned me – we were overworked and overtired, which would easily have explained the temperature and fatigue, and hormones fluctuate from time to time." Max sighed deeply, running a shaky hand over his face. "I should've woken him, asked his opinion. I should've informed you. But I was just so tired. It was strange, how quickly it came over me. I was only going to rest for half an hour, and then call you. But something inside of me, inside my head, told me I needed to sleep, and now. So I did."

The Doctor watched as Duffy's eyes grew unfocused, and his shoulders slumped forwards. He remembered back to when Rose had entered the TARDIS, how immensely tired she had seemed. He remembered the temperature, and how he put it down to a reaction. A reaction! Of course it was – she was being poisoned! He couldn't believe his stupidity. And he had ignored the voice that reminded him it was a scientific base after all. Just so he didn't annoy her, so she didn't think he was fussing over her. He could kick himself – he should be kicking himself – for letting this happen to Rose.

Not for a moment while he was mentally berating himself, did he mentally yell at the young doctor sitting in front of him – it didn't even occur to him at that point. As he walked into the room, as he heard the grief and sorrow in the man's voice when he began telling them what happened, he decided that he'd suffered enough – he didn't need some distressed alien telling him he was irresponsible, he was stupid – he'd done that himself. Now the Doctor just felt sorry for him, for what he'd have to live through now. He knew that that would be the worst kind of punishment anyone could receive.

End Chapter XVIII