Chapter 3

Zinnias Incased in Stone

Zinnia: Constancy, Thinking of a lost friend

"Rose!"

The Doctor's shout rang in the sudden silence that followed the disappearance of Rose and the three guards. The Doctor had lunged forward just as they had disappeared and he now stood frozen on the spot where they had been, staring down at Rose's dropped and forgotten shopping bag.

Jack found he couldn't move, shock rendering him temporarily mute and still. They could hear little of the city around them in this quiet refuge and the silence now seemed to be crushing in around the pair. All Jack could see was the frightened look on Rose's face just before she'd vanished.

It was the Doctor who finally broke the stillness, stooping quickly he picked up something small and white from the ground next to the bag.

"What is it?" Jack asked, his voice returning to him. He sat up but found that the idea of getting to his feet was currently beyond contemplation. His shoulder burned and his whole body felt jittery as though he'd just suffered a massive electric shock. Which, he reflected, was probably what had happened. A glance at his shoulder was enough to confirm that beyond a little singling his jacket was undamaged, ruling out all projectile weapons.

"Doctor?" he asked again, when he received no response. The Doctor just stood there looking at what appeared to be a white card of some sort, about the size of an index card. Jack could see his profile and although his face was expressionless his jaw was clenched so hard it looked like it hurt.

When he finally spoke his voice was clipped and emotionless.

"At the request of the Commission for the Protection of Females you are to present yourself at the commission headquarters as soon as possible for an interview in preparation for a review of your case by a panel of adjudicators and possible legal action. Until a verdict has been reached your female will be under the care of the commission."

"What the hell does that mean?" Jack demanded.

"It means we know who took Rose," the Doctor answered, his voice still without any emotion what so ever. Jack frowned. When the Doctor went all android on them it was never a good sign, usually Jack left Rose to deal with him at such times. But now...

The Doctor turned suddenly and knelt by Jack. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "A little shaky. Some kind of an electric impulse weapon, I think. But I'm okay."

"Good. Because we have to find out where this commission is keeping Rose and get her out of here."

He was being way too calm, Jack thought. Which, of course, meant that he wasn't calm at all and when he got his hands on whoever was responsible for this... Well, Jack just hoped Rose was there to keep the Doctor from doing anything he'd regret later. She was the only one who could get through to him at times like that. Or like this, which was why Jack just nodded in assent and struggled up to his feet.

He wanted to be upset himself, to be worried and angry and all the rest of it. But one look at the Doctor's face convinced him that for once it was Jack who was going to have to be calm and reasonable.

Damn, he hated having to be the reasonable one.

This was the second time in less than two weeks that Rose had been taken from them and as worried as Jack was for her safety - and he was more than worried, he was absolutely petrified - he was also well aware that it was probably nothing in comparison to how upset the Doctor was underneath his suddenly icy exterior. He had been utterly frantic when she'd been arrested back on Meoris and Jack wished he'd be frantic again this time. Frantic was something Jack could understand, something that made sense. This icy calm was different. Jack had only seen it a couple of times and it spoke of all the things Jack still didn't know about the Doctor. It was at this point that he ceased being anything close to human and became someone very, very dangerous.

The Doctor didn't wait for Jack, he turned and grabbed Rose's shopping bag, heading out of the little memorial and leaving Jack to hurry after him.

"What's the plan," Jack asked, glancing back at the pillar a last time. His concerned curiosity had morphed into honest fear of what it might be in remembrance of. Funny what a little perspective could do for a person.

"First we find one of those guards."

When the Doctor didn't elaborate farther, Jack sighed and began scanning the plaza around them. Everything looked just the same as when they'd gone into the memorial area and it had no damn right to look the same as far as Jack was concerned. But frustration with the sunny day and the happy shoppers wasn't going to help Rose. Finding a guard might.

"Do you remember that guard earlier?" Jack asked. "And the lady by the drinks vender?"

"Yes," was the clipped reply.

"I don't understand, as soon as that guy showed up to collect her the guard moved on. Why would they suddenly change their procedure and..."

"There," the Doctor said, cutting Jack off and starting off toward a guard strolling along the street not far from them.

"Nice to know I'm being listened to," Jack muttered as he hurried off after the Doctor. They cut across the grass as there didn't seem to be any paths which ran in the straight line from them to the guard. This earned them a few disapproving glances that Jack ignored and the Doctor seemed not to notice.

"What does this mean?" the Doctor demanded harshly, holding out the card as they approached the young man in the uniform of what, up until now, Jack had thought of only as security guards. He wasn't sure what he thought they were now.

The young man looked a little taken aback and nervous of the imposing stranger baring down on him, but he reached out and took the card anyway, glancing over it. His expression chanced immediately and became a bit harder. He glanced up at the Doctor with something akin to dislike.

"It means that you need to report to the commission," he said, handing the card back.

"Yeah, we get that," Jack said, before the Doctor could respond. "But who are they? Why'd they take her and where do we go to get her back?"

The guard looked at Jack in puzzlement. "How can you not..?" he started, then stopped and adopted a more formal attitude. "You need to go to the commission headquarters, that's on the Plaza of Trees, on the other side of the city from here. You will receive a full explanation there."

"Why did they take her?" the Doctor demanded harshly, emotion creeping into his voice for the first time.

"There could be any number of reasons," the young man said, standing up to his full height which was still several inches shorter than the Doctor. "I suggest that you go to the commission and ask them."

After a brief set of directions, Jack turned to begin what sounded like a rather long walk, but paused when the Doctor didn't immediately follow him.

"That memorial," the Doctor said, motioning back toward the park. His voice back to icy control again. "What is it for?"

"The Great Death," the guard answered.

"And that was?"

The guard looked genuinely confused now. "When the Utorian Fever struck, more than a century ago now."

"Utorian Fever?" Jack asked. "What's that? We're not from around here," he hastily added when the guard looked at him in astonishment.

"You must be from off-planet not to know about that."

"We are," the Doctor snapped. "What's this fever about then?"

"There was an epidemic. A pandemic actually," the guard told them reluctantly, still eyeing the Doctor with thinly veiled animosity. "It swept through the entire world, killed millions."

"Why is the memorial dedicated to your 'precious flowers'?"

"Why do you care?" the guard demanded, finally beginning to look frustrated with the entire conversation.

The Doctor's jaw clenched again and Jack jumped in before he could lose his cool with the guard. Somehow he didn't think that bringing the authorities down on their heads right then would be terribly helpful.

"We sort of have a bet on it," he said, blurting out the first thing he could think of. He nearly winced as he heard himself. How cliched could you get? But he put on his most sincere expression as the guard looked at him skeptically. "So, is the memorial just dedicated to the women who died or did this thing only kill women?"

"It's not a subject for bets," the guard snapped. "The death toll was catastrophic!"

"Sorry," Jack said, trying to look as apologetic as he could. "I didn't mean to..."

"So, it didn't kill just women, then?" the Doctor interrupted.

"No," the guard said finally, his tone altering slightly, betraying a discomfort with the subject. "It did only kill women. Now, if you will excuse me, I have rounds to make."

He strode off quickly, casting one last suspicious glance behind him.

"That isn't possible," the Doctor said when he'd gone. "Whether the thing was viral or bacterial in origin, it would still attack male and female alike..." Then he shook his head, pulling himself together. "We need to get Rose out of here."

Jack wasn't going to argue with that and they quickly headed off in the direction the guard had indicated as leading to the commission headquarters.

"How could a fever could kill only women and not men?" Jack asked as they left the Plaza of Glass behind them.

"I have no idea," was the short, sharp reply.

"Okay, any idea why that guard was so reluctant to talk about it?"

"Not sure about that either."

"Great," Jack said. "Think it's tied in to why they took Rose?"

"I'm certain of it."

"Well, at least that's something."

There were several things in the universe that Rose had really come to hate. Hanging from a barrage balloon was... well, up there. As was having any kind of weapon pointed at her. But there were few things that she hated with quite the same passion as teleportation.


The world was black around her and then stunningly white and all Rose knew for sure was that she was going to be sick. She felt hands on her, lifting her head which only served to bring the headache she'd acquired into focus and sharpen the nausea. She groaned as an arm slipped around her shoulders and brought her into a partial sitting position. Then she was violently ill.

As the spasms passed she became aware of voices around her. One was close at hand, telling her that it was alright. Just breath deeply. There seemed to be other voices arguing not far away.

She forced her eyes open, squinting against the bright light and found herself looking down into a bucket that seemed to contain the remains of her lunch. She groaned again and shut her eyes.

"Do you feel like you're going to be ill again?" asked the voice close to her.

She didn't trust herself to speak, so she just shook her head a little, regretting it immediately. She couldn't for the life of her figure out where she was or what was going on just at that moment, but she didn't appear to be in any danger and that was a good sign at least. She heard the bucket being taken away and thankfully it took the smell of sick with it.

"Here, drink this." She opened her eyes again to find a glass of water being held before her. The hand proffering it was green, but Rose didn't particularly care at that moment. Her hand shook as she took the glass, but she managed several grateful sips of the water before pressing the cool glass to her forehead. God, she hated throwing up.

"Where..." When she managed to speak her voice came out a bit rough. "Where's the Doctor?"

"You don't need a doctor, dear," the same solicitous voice answered her. "You're just reacting to the teleportation. I'm sorry about that, by the way. Special circumstances, I'm afraid. They had to get you out of there quickly as there was a threat of violence. Usually we never use something that's such a shock to the system. And certainly never with humans since you react so badly."

While her helper had been speaking Rose found her head slowly clearing and she managed to sit up on her own, the arm that had been supporting her, green like the hand, was removed. She turned her head and found herself looking into an equally green face, with gold, cat-like eyes.

Teleportation. That would explain why she felt so crummy but...

"How is she doing, Nollon?" asked a gruff voice from behind her and turning Rose got her first glimpse of where she was.

She and the green alien were sitting in the middle of a white stone floor in a large white stone room. Elaborately carved wooden desks lined the walls to either side of them with double doors at one end, wooden and even more elaborately carved than the desks, and a very large computer of some sort at the other. There were people all around, although they all seemed to be keeping a certain distance from were she and her companion were being stood over by a large and rather pump man who looked human. Although by now Rose knew better than to assume that meant he actually was human.

The only thing all the people around them had in common, beside bipedal locomotion, was that they were all male. And that finally kicked Rose's memory into action.

She was on her feet before she even thought about it and then instantly regretted it as she swayed, the world dimming around her a little as nausea coiled in her stomach again.

"Careful, there," said the gruff man, catching her arm.

Nollon was already on his feet behind her, putting an arm around her waist to support her. "It's all right. There's no need to be alarmed..."

Rose swallowed, pushing back the pain and the nausea and shrugged away both of the mens' arms away. "Yes, there bloody well is! You kidnapped me! Where am I? Where's the Doctor? What the hell do you want?"

The gruff man merely raised an eyebrow at her as though he thought her something of an oddity as she stepped away from them, glancing around to see if there was any escape routs other than the door, which was too far with too many people between her and it. There were windows along the wall to her left, but judging from the tops of the trees she could see through them, they were at least three or four stories up. No way out that way.

"You haven't been kidnapped," Nollon assured her, gently. "My name is Nollon O'torinsalour and I am the social worker assigned to your case. This is Chief Ro'ulan, in charge of our section of the CPF. There's nothing to worry about. Now, if you'll just come with me."

He reached out to take her arm, but Rose yanked it out of his grasp, backing up another step.

"That doesn't answer anything. And I bloody well was kidnapped, I was there!" She spotted the three guards some way away, one sitting on a chair and holding his foot. "They grabbed me and... Oh my God!" she gasped. "They shot Jack! They..."

"Calm. Down," Ro'ulan said, slowly and firmly. Rose found herself shutting up. He didn't shout, she doubted he ever needed to. He had the kind of presence that gave such orders as 'calm down' the power of a shouted 'shut up', if not more. "I understand that you're upset, but becoming hysterical isn't going to get you the answers you want."

Rose opened her mouth to say that she was not hysterical, but he shut her up with a look. He reminded her of her secondary school headmaster. The one who'd talked to her slowly and softly for a half an hour after catching her and a couple of others smoking behind the school. Rose had never touched a cigarette again.

"I assure you," intervened Nollon. "The guards carry nothing but energy weapons, your friend suffered nothing more than an electric shock. There will be no lasting damage. Now, if you'll come with me..." This time when he reached out for her Rose allowed him to take her by the elbow and lead her toward the double doors. She wasn't going to get any answers standing around here and the concerted gazes of the twenty or thirty men in the room was beginning to intimidate her a little. Nollon seemed nice enough, maybe alone she could convince him that this had all been a mistake and he'd let her go. Somehow she doubted that would happen with Ro'ulin standing over them.

The doors led into a large hall, all white stone like the room, with cavernous ceilings. It reminded her vaguely of a cathedral. A large window at one end let in vast amounts of natural light, but Rose couldn't see much more than sky outside it as her green guild led her in the opposite direction toward more wooden doors at the other end. More light came in through smaller windows all along the top of the walls, increasing the churchy feel of the place.

"What is it with this planet and white stone?" she muttered to herself, not really intending it as an actual question.

It was answered anyway. "It has a calming effect and is aesthetically pleasing," Nollon said, smiling at her kindly.

Rose looked at him wearily. She still felt a little weak and sick. "Well, it's not calming me any. You gonna tell me what's happening or what? Why was I kidnapped? What do you want me for?"

"You have not been kidnapped," he explained patiently, and Rose began to get annoyed with his constantly calm patience. "You have been taken into CPF care pending an investigation into your treatment."

"Alright," Rose said, stopping in her tracks and pulling her arm out of Nollon's grasp. She folded her arms and glared at him. "What's the CPF and treatment by who?"

Nollon sighed, but seemed to accept that Rose wasn't going anywhere with him until she had an explanation. "The CPF is the Commission for the Protection of Females. It was reported to us earlier today that you were being mistreated by the men responsible for your welfare. The situation was deemed serious enough to warrant your removal from their care until such a time as we can determine whether relocation will be necessary. I promise, there is no need for alarm. We simply have your best interests at heart here."

"What are you talking about 'relocation'?" Rose demanded. "And if I was being mistreated, which I'm not, what business is it of yours anyway? And as for 'responsible for my welfare', no one is responsible for my welfare but me. If you really cared about what was best for me you'd show me how to get out of here so I can get back to my friends and make sure that Jack's okay."

"I assure you," Nollon said again, the first signs of exasperation beginning to show. "You're friend suffered nothing more than an electric shock. We're not barbarians. By now he's back on his feet as though it never happened." Rose opened her mouth, but Nollon held up his hand. "Please, let me continue. I understand that you are anxious to get back to your home and I appreciate that this is all a bit of a shock. However, I assure you that this is the best place for you to be right now. And I'm sure you're friends will be here soon. Information about where you have been taken was left with them. Then we can begin the process of getting you back home as soon as possible. But to do that I first need you to come with me."

If he "assured" her one more time, Rose thought, she was going to hit him. Unfortunately, her options were severely limited. She could try to cut and run, but she didn't have the vaguest idea where she was. She could be in another city or on another planet for all she knew. If Nollon could be trusted the Doctor and Jack knew where she was and would be showing up here themselves fairly soon, which meant that as much as she did not want to cooperate with these people it might be her only viable option. And if the Doctor did know where she was, or at least where she was supposed to be, he'd be turning up there in fairly short order. So, it might be best to just go were they wanted her to be and wait for the rescue party there.

She was so sick of needing to be rescued she could scream.

Rose bit her lip as she considered her options. Nollon waited patiently, which only served to annoy her more. However, if these people did this on a regular basis he was probably used to extremely unhappy women. Suddenly the memory the guard trying to lead that lady away in the Plaza of Glass popped into her head and she couldn't suppress a shutter.

"Why did you think I was being mistreated?" she asked.

"It's complicated," Nollon sighed. "Look, I assure you that you will be given a chance to hear the evidence and to state your wishes before a panel of adjudicators. But in order to get that far in the process..."

"I have to go with you now," Rose finished for him. "Fine. I don't like it, but I don't seem to have a huge number of options here. Where are we headed?"

"The medical lab first," Nollon said, motioning her to proceed him down the hallway. "Just to make sure you're in full health. It's standard procedure. Then I'll take you somewhere were you can rest and eat while we await the arrival of your friends."

"Okay, but quit 'assuring' me, yeah? It's getting on my nerves."