Ch 4: Without Armor

Rose was back in the field. Funny. She thought the Doctor had said she wouldn't be dreaming of him again. Someone was walking to her. She looked up, expecting to see the Doctor. But it wasn't him at all. It was an alien creature. Tall and thin with huge black almond shaped eyes inside an oval head. Three prong-like fingers adorned each hand and the beings had a sickly yellow glow. Who were they and what did they want?

"Rose Tyler."

They talked without moving their mouths. They're inside my head, Rose concluded.

"What do you want?" She asked. "Look at me, I have nothin'."

"You're stronger than we anticipated."

"Yeah? Well good! Why are you in my dreams?"

"We have deemed you to be our vessel."

"Vessel?"

"You will be mother to one of us."

"I'll be no such thing. Get out of my head, I'm warning you, get out!"

And then they spoke three words that made her blood run cold. "We have him."

Rose's breath came in ragged gasps. It couldn't be who she was thinking of; there was no possible way… "Who?"

The being stepped aside and there stood the Ninth Doctor, being held by two other creatures. And there he stood, confirming her nightmares. These beings had the Doctor's soul in their grasp, and she knew they wouldn't let him go without a fight.

"This isn't real." She said, "They're just dreams."

"You now belong to us, Rose Tyler. The freedoms you once enjoyed are gone."

"It's just a dream…" She whispered.

"You will do what we ask, or his soul will be ours forever."

"How do I know that? What insurance do I have that you'll keep your word?"

During this interrogation, the Doctor said not a word. He stared ahead, as if he were completely unaware of where he was and what was going on around him.

"You will do what we ask; there is no margin for negotiation."

"He's the Doctor!"

"Not anymore. Now he is nothing but a muse."

"So it was all you, then?" Rose shouted angrily. "Ever since I started dreaming of him, it's been you!"

The beings chose not to answer this.

Dammit! Rose felt like ripping her hair out, like punching a wall… doing something! Everything she and the Doctor had shared, everything they had said to each other had been nothing more than a set-up by these creatures. She had once thought of them as beautiful dreams, but now they were nothing but nightmares.

But hold on.

Who really was in charge here? "I can wake up anytime I want." Rose said, a smile covering her face.

The beings continued to watch her closely.

"And I have a friend." Rose continued, the smile growing wider. "He's called the Doctor, and when I tell him about this, oh, you'll be in trouble." She closed her eyes and concentrated. Okay, Rose, time to wake up…She opened her eyes and found herself still staring at the beings. Okay, Plan B…She pinched herself hard on the arm. She jumped up and down, even smacked herself across the face. But nothing worked. She was still in this field, watching these aliens decide her future. "WAKE UP!" She shouted.

The being stepped forward. "I'm going to inject you with our egg." It said calmly. Suddenly she was surrounded by six of them. They were holding her arms, and she was trying to break free furiously. And then she felt something sharp enter the base of her neck. Moments later, she had collapsed.

XXX

Rose opened her eyes, and immediately felt sick. The Doctor smiled down at her. "Ah, welcome back."

Rose leaned over and vomited, missing him by inches.

"Who's cleaning that up?" He asked incredulously.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"You're in the hotel." He said, "You were screaming in your sleep… something about waking up…"

Rose grabbed his shirt collar to steady herself. "Doctor," She whispered. Tears were in her eyes, "They have him. There are aliens inside of my head, and they have the other Doctor."

"That's impossible." He explained, "He's dea…"

"They have his soul." She couldn't bare to hear him say those words.

"Again, impossible." He sighed, "There is no heaven or hell for Time Lords. Wherever the old me is, he's with my race."

"But they had him, I saw it!"

He simply shook his head, "Our souls can travel in and out of dreams, yeah. But be held captive? Sorry."

"So, they were using my memories of him to get to me…" She said, and ran a hand over her the back of her neck. She gasped as she felt a small bump. "…and it worked."

"What do they look like?" He asked, and too checked the back of her neck. At the sight of the small bump, he took a step backward. "No…"

"They're tall, nearly seven feet… and have big black horrible eyes!"

"Limidiens." He said.

"They didn't tell me their name."

"Limidiens don't think you're important enough, but everyone in the galaxy knows who they are. They've been preying on human beings since the dawn of time."

Why did it have to be the Limidiens? Not here, not when they were on vacation. And dammit, not to his Rose. This was bad, very, very bad.

"There's one more problem." Rose said. "Doctor, I think I'm pregnant."