Bounty Part Three
Notes: A long chapter but I didn't really want to split it up. Serious mood swings in this one. Let's just say Rose has a bone to pick. It's a big bone.
Immi: Blink Immi, blink! No blinking equals eyeball drying! But I'm glad you're so eager!
Dingbatt: Yes, yes, I think he always was.
Becsy: OH MY GOSH! Those reviews…were so awesome I think I must have died half way through in complete happiness. It's OK to be sceptical, but I'm glad I convinced you in the end. You're right, those questions WILL be answered and if they're not, you can slap me with a wet noodle. You're right, Mickey definitely didn't deserve to die because (as you'll see in this chapter) he was doing the right thing. Yeah, Jack's got more suggestive, maybe even sleazy, but should revert back to everyone's fave big brother type in this chapter. I think he has to because Rose is back, and now he DEFINITELY doesn't have a chance with the good Doctor. I'm glad you liked the flashbacks! Music of the night is the most BEAUTIFUL song, especially the way our chamber choir do it…that one line…'only then will you belong to me' sends shivers down my spine every single time we sing it. Rose is very messed up and lost. I don't think she really knows what she wants now because she's lost so much. On the one hand she's sick and tired of the kind of life she's been leading but she also wouldn't want to settle down. Then there's the Doctor, and he's changed, and she's all confused…anyway, thank you for your reviews. They really got me thinking about where I want to take this story. Let's hope it goes in the right direction, eh?
Banshee: I'm glad you think so Banshee! You are so so sweet…on your faves and you're not even a Whovian! That's why I aime you so much…I do I do I do!
Dory Shotgun: Yes…and about to become even more intense…yeah, that irritates me. I dunno, people seem so desperate, and maybe I am too, but if you're not gonna let people review! I did have anon reviews blocked at one point but I got some really nasty flames, so at least I had a reason. But now they're back, and I'm really glad I decided to do so, because I love hearing from YOU!
Sands of Patience: Aww…tears? For me? Why thank you. I think it's very easy to make people laugh with a fic, but it's really difficult to make them cry! Yay! Goodo, we'll stick with each other then.
My Poor Jessie: Oh dear oh dear oh dear! This is a pickle…because I reckon there'll be more romance to come! What does AU stand for? Ninth Doctor. I'm glad you're overcoming your romance obstacles because I love hearing from you. Oh, I've never seen Phantom but I love that song. We sing it in chamber choir…beautiful lyrics…Yes, she's a bad guy, and for a little bit longer if I can help it!
Cossie: Awww…(hands tissue) More crying! For me! In newspapers…heck, that would be interesting. Cossie, you rock, you know it, I aime you, I show it.
Loretta Thesane: Yeah…I like twisting up characters…thank you, thank you, very much obliged.
Uh.yeah: YES! FOR YOU! Why, I hear you ask? Because you rock my dear. You rock. You're an awesome reviewer and I need you! Without you…well…I wouldn't smile nearly as much as I do. Which goes for all of you guys really…if it weren't for you I'd probably shrivel up and die somewhere.
Ferntree: What an excellent name…yeah, different is what I'm really going for. Whereas in the Pokemon world this would be almost normal, which goes to show how weird fanfic is really. Thanks for your review my dear!
Dr Azaria: Yes! The fearsome pollination! Thank you, thank you…all of those points make me beam with pride. I'm so happy!
Cloud: Worship me…anyway, thanks for your review my dear little Cloud! Stella doesn't have to be in ALL of my fics! She's not in this one…in fact, she may never be in another fic! Two sequels is enough I think. But thanks for your support all the same.
Lota long notes there, and a long chappie for ya, so get cracking!
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The familiar whooshing, breathing noise of the TARDIS filled her ears.
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?
"Found her," said Jack awkwardly, swinging his arms.
The Doctor and Rose regarded each other.
"Say something then," said Rose, glaring at him.
"Welcome back," he replied. He smiled faintly then remembered why she was there. "You killed Mickey," he blurted.
Rose's composure threatened to crack, so she refused to answer.
"Why did you kill him?" he continued.
"Because he was an idiot," she replied harshly. "Where's my room?"
"Where is always was," said the Doctor stiffly. He knew he would get nothing from Rose for the moment, even though the angry glances he was getting from Jack told him he was supposed to try harder. But interrogating his best friend was not something he was mentally prepared for. Even a few seconds talking to Rose now had left him feeling drained.
As Rose swept away, he reflected on the very evident walls she'd built around herself. He wondered if he'd be able to do anything about that. More to the point, he wondered if he'd done the same to himself.
Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin
"That was pathetic," announced Jack. "You let her walk all over you."
"Trample me more like," he agreed. "She's not what I was expecting."
"Well deal with it! Because pretty soon you're gonna have to decide whether to turn her in or not," he countered fiercely. The Doctor didn't reply straight away.
"How can I turn her in Jack?" he asked. "She's not worth the money. She's worth so much more to me."
Jack smiled, a huge grin that made his eyes crinkle. "Right answer. We can't do that to her. We promised a long time ago to protect her."
"We screwed that up," noted the Doctor.
"But we'll fix it," Jack assured him. He walked over to him and flung an arm around his shoulder. "We have a man in the cupboard who needs dropping off!"
"Aye aye Captain," teased the Doctor, glancing one last time at the monitor showing the outside world. Nothing was stirring in the court except litter.
And if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?
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Rose sat on the edge of the bed, her shoulders hunched. She would not let herself cry about Mickey. That was done, over. She'd had it with cheating time.
She was certainly not going to cry over the Doctor. That was over too.
Liar.
He looked the same as ever, exactly how she'd remembered, all except his eyes. His eyes were different somehow.
Maybe on the inside he was as closed up and hollow as she felt.
They don't understand what I went through alone.
Neither of them understand! Rose hit the pillow hard.
I watched my mother slowly die. I reduced myself to scrounging a lift with a no good alien freak. Then I decided I wanted out and consequently had to repay him. Then I killed my ex boyfriend.
That concludes today's episode of 'Rose's Life'.
She hated being back in the TARDIS because it made her feel safe. It made her feel happy. She could feel the ice around her heart melting, and it made her angry because she'd worked hard on freezing it. Things didn't hurt so much if you were numb.
Now it was beginning to ache.
Bitter and hardened heart
Aching, waiting for life to start
Meet me in the morning when you wake up
Meet me in the morning then you'll wake up
She felt the TARDIS shudder into life, rocking slightly as it sped through the empty space between here and…there.
Probably a police station.
They'd have to turn her in eventually, like it or not. She was a murderer now, cold blooded, brutal. She deserved punishing. The Doctor was a righteous man, Jack too.
She had no reason to expect their loyalty anymore.
But when the TARDIS stopped and no one came to drag her away, Rose let herself relax. She looked around her. The room wasn't pink anymore, but all the furniture was the same.
She looked at the table beside her bed. There was a photograph lying on it, face down, so she picked it up. It was a photo of her and the Doctor, taken by Jack. She could tell because there was a white smudge where the shutterbug had put his finger over the lens. Neither of them were looking at the camera, they were laughing at some joke.
Smiling at each other.
Holding each others' hands.
She slammed the photo down.
"That is not me," she said fiercely, feeling her eyes grow hot with unshed tears.
"Then tell me who you are," said the Doctor's calm voice from the doorway. She slowly turned her head to look at him, angry that he'd been able to get so close without her noticing.
"All that counts," she snarled, mimicking him down to his hand gestures as she spoke some familiar lines. "Is here and now. And this is me!"
"Liar," he said lazily, sitting down next to her. "It's a front. You're a lie."
"Aren't you?" she asked, glaring at him. He was not getting away lightly.
He fixed his eyes on her. "Yeah, maybe I am." He lay back on the bed, pretending to be at ease. "But I'm better at hiding it than you."
"I don't care. I don't care if you think this is a front," she lied.
"Complete fiction, as our Editor friend would say," he said merrily, putting his arms under his head. Rose bit her lip to stop herself smiling.
"Don't," she said. "Don't talk about it."
"Struck a nerve?" He sat up again and scrutinised her. "You're so different. Your hair looks nice."
"Liar," she said, letting her guard down just long enough to laugh. "It's hideous, I know. But I needed to stop being me."
"Clean break, eh?" he guessed. They sat in silence for a moment. "I'm sorry about your mother." She didn't reply. He bent down slightly so his face was level with hers. "And I'm sorry about what you went through."
"Sorry doesn't make it better."
"I know it doesn't."
Well it's a lonely road that you have chosen
Morning comes and you don't want to know me anymore
And it's a long time since your heart was frozen
Morning comes and you don't want to know me anymore
For a moment your eyes open and you know
All the things I ever wanted you to know
I don't know you, and I don't want to
Till the moment your eyes open and you know
Suddenly the TARDIS groaned and lurched to one side, flinging the Doctor off the bed. He sat up, rubbing his elbow. "Hmm. That isn't suppose to happen." He grinned at Rose. "Want to come and watch me yell at Jack for breaking things?"
"Tempting," said Rose dryly.
"Come on high-and-mighty," he said affectionately, practically dragging her back to the control room, where Jack was looking very anxious. The Doctor winked at Rose then put on a stern face.
"Jack Harkness, what have you done to my ship?" he asked.
"Captain Jack," he corrected him distractedly. "And I have no idea. We were just pulling away from the station when…" He made a theatrical groan and leant sideways. The Doctor pushed past him to get at the console, staring at a monitor.
"We've been pulled of course all right," he noted, his eyebrows shooting up. "A billion light years off. We're orbiting some godforsaken rock called…" He read out the name. "Mertopia. Catchy."
Rose froze.
"Good grief, it's more like an asteroid than a planet," said the Doctor. "One little town and that's it." Jack leant over and pushed a few buttons.
"That's pretty advanced tech for a godforsaken rock, Doctor." He glanced at Rose, who was standing silently and separate some metres away. "We're talking almost TARDIS tech."
The Doctor made a disbelieving noise as he surveyed the results of Jack's scan. "Nowhere near."
"Nearer than anything else we've seen," argued Jack. "And close enough to pull us off course." He grinned at Rose. "Good job we dropped off the criminal because I think we'll be here for a while."
Rose leant against one of the coral-like pillars, looking very pale. They looked at her, worried.
"Rose, I didn't mean you by 'the criminal' or anything…" said Jack meekly, feeling guilty.
"Rose, are you OK? D'you want to sit down or something?" cut in the Doctor, moving closer to her in case she fainted.
"No, I'm fine," she insisted, pushing her hair back with one hand. He grabbed it and held it still.
"Rose, what's that?" he asked, staring at what appeared to be a white tattoo on her scalp. He reached out and brushed his fingers over it; she jerked her head away but he'd already got the confirmation he needed. "That's a scar. Someone chipped you?"
"It's a tracker," she said, sounding tired. "I was supposed to have it removed soon, after…" She stopped abruptly but they'd heard enough to fill in the gaps.
"After you killed Mickey," finished Jack, staring at her. "Who fitted that tracker?"
Rose laughed bitterly. "Who do you think? Mert Klaxotsi the Fourth, emperor of Metopia. He's got a serious ego problem so he named his planet after himself."
"And you owed him a favour," said the Doctor. He dropped Rose's hand and began to pace, thinking aloud. "He did something for you and obviously Mickey gave his usual 'Most Irritating' impression, so Mert Klaxotsi wanted him dead. So he used you simply because you're a human and could get to him without bother, I presume we are talking alien here?"
Rose nodded. "Four arms, red skin, stupid beard."
"I know Mert!" said Jack suddenly. "I met him once and never want to again. He's a Praztof, a dying breed thank God. They heated up their planet so much the ones who didn't die had to find somewhere else to go. Mert was exiled and sent off by himself for crimes against the Emperor, so I guess he made himself one to compensate."
"But how did Mickey meet a Praztof?" asked the Doctor. "And more importantly, how did you two meet one?"
"Conned him," said Jack simply.
"Similar," confessed Rose. "I was lucky. He pretty much turned up on my doorstep a year after you left." She sighed deeply. "God, it was like the Slitheen all over again, but on a much smaller scale. I think I was one of the only ones who found it."
"Except Mickey," said the Doctor softly.
"He got in the way!" she blurted out. "He kept saying I should turn Mert in to the authorities, said someone else should know. Mert saw him as a threat. I guess he was." She took a deep, ragged breath. "So I killed him. For doing the right thing."
"Funny how often that happens," remarked Jack. "Where did you find his ship?"
"I said didn't I? Right on my doorstep…It was the courtyard where the TARDIS always materialised. He hadn't crashed or anything, it was just stood there. I heard the engines and thought it might be you. Mickey said…" She stopped. "Enough?"
"For now," said the Doctor sternly. "You can't…"
"Don't tell me what I can't do," she said, her eyes flashing angrily.
"Just to get back on course here…" Jack changed the subject quicklybefore they started arguing properly. "The tracker. Mert can see exactly where she is. He wants her, stat."
"Right. So we go to him," said the Doctor.
"He'll kill you," she said coolly. "Mert isn't some run-of-the-mill alien that you can scare away with your little sonic toys."
I hold you in cupped hands
And shield you from a storm
Where only some dumb idiot
Would let you go
"I think I've killed enough people for one day, don't you?" she continued. "Here's what we do. You land me there and I go out, by myself. If he sees you helping me, a turncoat, you're as good as dead."
"You know full well we won't let you do that," said Jack, strolling over to the console again and preparing to take the TARDIS in to land. She slammed her hand down on the console, crushing his fingers.
"Are you really so up yourselves that you won't even listen to me now?" she raged, her cool composure blown to pieces. "You think you're both so gallant, locking up criminals and throwing away the key. It's not good enough! It won't work! I am not your little Rose anymore and you can't fight my battles for me!" Angry, hot tears blurred her vision. "It is far too late for you to start acting like you care!"
Jack stepped away, stung. "Of course we care—"
"Then why did you let my mother die?" she screamed, her throat raw.
There was a stunned silence, filled only by the steady hum of the TARDIS.
"You know full well there was nothing I could do for Jackie," said the Doctor evenly, trying not to show he was losing his temper. She knew nothing about him, not anymore. Maybe she hadn't know him then. And accusing him now of letting her mother die...
"Liar!" she screamed, crying properly now. "Mert told me, you idiot! Humans invent a cure for cancer in 2156." She slammed her hand down on the control panel, venting her anger as they looked on, stricken. Jack made an attempt to stop her beating up the TARDIS but realised this would just mean her beating up him instead. The Doctor just watched calmly, seemingly indifferent.
"What exactly did he tell you about this miracle drug?" he asked pleasantly.
"It doesn't matter what he told me! What matters is that you lied! You could have gone to that time. You have a time machine!" She stared straight at him. "You could have saved my mum and you did nothing."
He slammed his hand down next to hers. "Don't you dare talk to me like that! Don't you dare!"
Jack got the distinct impression he should be covering his more vulnerable parts.
Rose stepped away from the console, stunned, but not about to back down as the Doctor glared at her, red in the face. She hadn't seen him this angry for a very long time.
"There was no cure!" he yelled. "Mert is obviously a dimwit because the 'cure' was a complete fake."
Rose wasn't quite sure how to react. Was he lying? Had Mert lied? It seemed everyone was lying at the moment and she was having a tough time deciding who to believe.
"There are some things humans had to learn to live with," he said in a more normal voice. "One was the consequences of their irresponsible global warming, another was Barney the Dinosaur. Purple demon..." He twitched."Anyway...Another was cancer, although lots of people tried really hard to find something. You can't beat everything. Everything
"I came from the 51st century, and no one had an answer there either," offered Jack. "When you watch someone you love in pain, it's natural to want to help. You being with her was probably more help than you realise."
Rose scowled. "Don't patronize me Jack Harkness." She sighed, changing the subject. "OK, here's what we do. You drop me off."
"No," refused the Doctor. "No way. We all go or none at all. We stay long enough to get that tracker removed and then we leave." He looked at Rose. "Then you decide where we go next."
"You'll both be killed," she said. "And I'll be stuck there forever. That's where we're going."
The Doctor regarded her for a moment, then turned back to the console. "So be it."
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