A/N: Without sounding mushy, I'm really touched by all the reviews! Thanks so much everyone XD Just to clarify, the Doctor never came to the parallel world that Rose is in, and there weren't any autons (the building blew up from dodgy building work or something )- it was part of the difference between worlds XD Thought I'd mentioned it somewhere, but just making sure cause people seem to be speculating and it's not part of my story :D Sorry!

Also although Army Of Ghosts was incredible beyond words I was vaguely irritated it included the cyber men travelling across parallel worlds -unimpressed- I'd already written the first drafts of up to chapter 5 before that episode, so no worries really. Can't wait for Doomsday, though it will probably have me crying, and I'll be so depressed after it:( How are we supposed to survive until the next series? Anyway enough rambling, here's the next chapter, sorry it took a bit longer!

Chapter 4

The Doctor's Story

The Doctor sighed heavily as he watched Rose's tear stained face fizzle away into the air. He couldn't stand seeing her like that, so he'd promised to find a way to rescue her. And he knew even if it was the last thing he ever did he would achieve it, but right now he didn't have a clue where to even start. He'd tried so much already- he felt he'd exhausted every possible option.

The key of course was to somehow unravel the mystery of how the Croulahrrs had achieved it. He sat back in the seat of the TARDIS, arms folded and brow furrowed in deep thought.

Flashback

They'd just successfully completed another mission, just barely escaping at the last minute. As usual they'd come out on top and were now laughing and joking about what had happened.

"That was insane!" Rose said after a fit of hysterical laughter, wiping a tear from her eye. The Doctor leaned back against the TARDIS console confidently.

"Knew we'd get out alright though. Well… I was…fairly sure- anyway! The big question is where to next?" He grinned at her.

"Surprise me!" she replied.

"Do I not always?" he asked looking hurt. She just laughed, and he couldn't help but smile. Even after all the planets he'd been to, all the events he'd witnessed. travelling with her truly couldn't be compared to anything he'd ever experienced.

Just when he was contemplating a new destination that would surely leave her speechless, the TARDIS jerked violently, throwing them both to the floor without warning. His head smacked full force into the console, pain shooting through his whole body at the impact. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was Rose desperately calling his name, her voice gradually fading away to nothing.

The next thing he knew he was waking up somewhere completely different, his head throbbing and Rose nowhere in sight. He shakily got to his feet, scouring his surroundings before concluding he was on some sort of space ship. And a large one at that. The room was massive, the ceiling towering far above his head.

"Ah… at long last you are awake Doctor." He spun around, looking for the source of this strange voice. A tall humanoid alien stood before him, his elaborate clothing of rich embroidered robes suggesting he was of a noble and superior race. But of course that didn't mean a thing to the Doctor.

"Errr, yes. Could you possibly tell me where I am?" The Doctor asked politely, still feeling quite dazed from hitting his head with such force. The 'man' had a fairly human looking face, but his skin was covered with strange markings that swirled mysteriously around his cheeks, and his eyes where an unnatural dark red. He smiled at the Doctor smugly.

"You are aboard my ship Doctor, amongst the great and noble race of the Croulahrrs." He announced proudly. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Strange, never heard of you lot." he replied disrespectfully. "That would make you who exactly?"

"I am Serpor, Lord of the Croulahrrs." his smile faded slightly at the lack of recognition.

The Doctor nodded, "Oh right. Well then, Lord Serpor" he said mockingly, "Could you please tell me why I am here and what you've done with my friend?" The politeness was gradually disappearing from his voice. Serpor grinned evilly, sending a chill through the Doctor. "What have you done with her?" He demanded.

"It really doesn't matter now that you're here, she is irrelevant."

"I SAID WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?" The Doctor shouted, his fear for Rose growing with every second.

"She has been placed beyond your reach Doctor, so that you may forget her and give yourself up." Serpor replied calmly ignoring the Doctors outburst.

"You did what?" The Doctor replied, using all his willpower to keep his voice steady.

"You see you would make an excellent addition to our collection. 'The last Time Lord'… how magnificent! But we needed that common human of yours out the way so you would stop caring for her, and so that you would be easier to contain."

"So you thought if you got rid of her I would just give up on her and give myself to you willingly to be put on display?" The Doctor clenched his fists in fury.

"Of course! Be reassured by the fact that she is perfectly safe, and I'm sure she's happy and has already forgotten you. I would advise you to do the same Doctor, there is no way for you to retrieve her." The thought of Rose forgetting him hurt the Doctor so deeply. She wouldn't would she? He shook his head.

"You really don't know a thing about either of us do you?" The Doctor retorted confidently. Serpor just laughed.

"I'm not interested in hearing your life story Doctor and to be honest I don't need you to give yourself up." The Doctor flinched as he felt powerful hands gripping his arms and restraining him. The next thing he knew he was being dragged deep within the ship, and being thrown into a dark cell. With great effort he got to his feet, taking a moment to calm the burning fury that threatened to take control of him.

He was being kept in captivity to raise the credibility of some pompous race who didn't care in the slightest about how he or Rose felt. At least they had said she was safe, and hadn't just killed her- although he wondered why they hadn't. Surely it would have been easier for them? But he was too grateful to dwell on it. More important was where could they have put her that they thought he could not reach? Too many unanswered questions. First things first, he needed to get out of this cell and back to the TARDIS.

Taking out his sonic screwdriver he placed it over the lock to his prison and prayed that it would work. He grinned as the tell tale clunk of the lock opening echoed around the room. They really didn't know anything about him. He silently crept out of the door, peering down the long corridor. There was absolutely no one in sight. 'Far too confident of themselves' he thought to himself.

After hacking into a nearby control panel he easily located the store room where his TARDIS had been left to gather dust, and soon after had left the ship altogether. He sat down at the console, considering his options of locating Rose. Before long he was interrupted by an attempt of communication. He accepted the transmission, and the smug face of Serpor appeared onscreen.

"I see that our prison was no match for you Doctor." Serpor smiled.

"Piece of cake!" The Doctor smiled, hiding his confusion at Serpor's confidence.

"And I suppose your next mission is to find your human friend?" Ah, now that was their game. The Doctor remained silent. "Had any luck yet?" Serpor teased.

"Tell me where she is." The Doctor replied, not attempting to conceal his anger. Serpor chuckled.

"We know more about you than you think Doctor." A feeling of unease ran through him, "We know enough to place her where you cannot ever return to her. We know that travel between parallel worlds is impossible. For you at least." The Doctors eyes widened.

"It's impossible full stop." He said angrily. Surely Serpor was bluffing?

"That's what you'd like to think isn't it Doctor?" Serpor laughed. "That girl is in a world parallel to Earth, where she can be happy and return to her original life, but where you can never reach her."

"But it's impossible!" The Doctor said firmly.

"If you're so certain then I shall send you details of her location and you can see for yourself!" The Doctor watched as a small file loaded, and felt his heart plummet as he scanned over it.

"But that's impossible…" He whispered, fear rushing through him like a tidal wave. At the back of his mind he could feel that it was true. He couldn't explain it but he could just feel that that was where she was.

"You can see for yourself that it clearly isn't. Perhaps now you might reconsider returning-" The Doctor slammed on the controls, ending the transmission and blocking all further communications. He shook with a mixture of intense rage and fear, not trusting himself to move in case of what he might do.

After that he had tried everything he could imagine to cross the boundaries and travel into the parallel world, and a few attempts had nearly caused him another regeneration. In the end he had been able to make contact with a Jayrian through Rose's mind- something he couldn't quite understand, but he knew it was because of the TARDIS. It had connected him so strongly to Rose, ever since she had looked into the time vortex and become the bad wolf.

End flashback

He now understood why Serpor had chosen to put Rose beyond his reach rather than killing her. It meant that if he escaped he would undoubtedly return to him to discover how to retrieve Rose. Serpor had been cleverer than he initially anticipated, and cursed himself for falling into another one of his traps.

But he couldn't give up so easily. He had to keep trying, for Rose's sake. Seeing her so broken… He shook the image from his head. He would find her.

He knew he would.

A/N: Again, sorry it took so long for a shorter chapter, I've only recently broken up for the summer hols, and I've been out and about quite a lot XD Will try and get the next chapter up sooner! Please review and keep reading!