Title: Mind Games
Rated:
PG
Warnings: darkish themes, language, sexual overtones.
Summary:
D9, Jack, and Rose have to track down a being with strong telepathic
powers so solve a murder.
Chapter Two - Cold
I never know when he's coming back for someone else…
The Doctor rolled the warning over and over in his mind. Roughly, it meant if anything strange started happening that he needed to let his inner red flags clue him in that the suspect was close by. Then again, if something strange were happening in the TARDIS, how would he know? Strange things happened all the time, so how would he know something was different?
There was a loud crash outside of his bedroom door, followed by Rose calling, "Doctor!"
Considering that was actually something fairly common, The Doctor calmly walked out of his bedroom without any worry that something dramatic was going on. Or rather, at least nothing so dramatic that it couldn't be fixed easily. He walked to the front of the ship and Jack was sitting on the floor in the middle of some spare items, holding his mouth. Rose was standing over Jack, trying to get him to put his hands down.
"What happened?" The Doctor asked.
"I was trying to show him about boxing and he didn't dodge in time," Rose said with a half smile. The Doctor raised his eyebrow speculatively. "What? His only useful skill is with guns, he needed a little boxing instruction. It was intended to be a hands on lesson. Just in case he needed to know."
The Doctor looked down at Jack, he nodded in agreement. "Did you break anything?"
"I think maybe she knocked a tooth loose, but other than--"
"Not you, I was talking about these," The Doctor commented. After Jack was standing again The Doctor checked the state of his precious items. "Everything looks to be fine." He looked at Rose, who was clutching her hand in the other. "Is your hand alright?"
Her gaze seemed to linger on him for a long moment. The smallest of smiles appeared at the corner of her lips there was a flicker of empty warmth in her eyes. "Of course Doctor."
The Doctor shook his head to clear it. The small smile and flicker in her eyes was gone. "The two of you need to try and get some sleep before morning comes," The Doctor instructed. "We have to try and track down that murderer tomorrow if we want to get back on schedule." He walked up to the console and lightly drummed on it. "If we actually knew what tomorrow was it would be a big help…"
Rose and Jack retreated to their respective quarters. The Doctor meticulously stacked the boxes of items Jack had knocked over to their original state and returned to his own room. He grabbed a book at random and plopped down on his bed to read. His eyes merely skimmed the pages, but the Doctor was really wondering what sort of mission they were really on.
A telepath that had the ability to alter time and existence could mean they were a person capable of almost anything. In fact, that could also explain the lack of a date and time from TARDIS. If they were in a time and place outside of time and existence… anything would be possible. Not to mention the person was able to get into his head and know every last one of his thoughts, fears, and desires.
That alone would be enough to get The Doctor into a lot of trouble. There had to be some sort of way to block the person out so they would be unable to know exactly what he had in mind -- literally. Some way to know when it was real and when it wasn't…
The Doctor's ears perked as he heard the sound of softly padded footsteps outside his door. A soft knock sounded at his door. He put his book down and walked over to his door. Slowly, he pulled the door open to see Rose's smiling face on the other side. His eyes slowly roamed over her frame and the nearly see through the gown she was wearing. Lucky for them both she was wearing an old cotton robe over it.
"May I come in Doctor?" she asked quietly, looking down at her feet while trying to demurely catch his eyes. Her eyes had the same empty light as they had not too long ago. It was almost as if Rose were under some kind of spell and it was only her body, not her mind in front of him. Before he could get a closer look, she turned her eyes back to her feet. "May I Doctor?"
"Of course," The Doctor smiled and stepped aside to let her have entrance to his room. He peeked his head out the door and frowned slightly when he heard Jack muttering something down the corridor. He closed the door and turned toward Rose. "So what brings --"
Rose shoved him against the door and sealed her firm lips against his. Her fingers eagerly pushed his jacket open more so that she could run her fingers over the front of his jumper. The tip of her tongue teased his lips as she raggedly exhaled and her hands found their way under his jumper. Her hands were surprisingly cold against his skin.
Come to think of it, so were her lips. Everything about her seemed too cold. The Doctor closed his eyes and pushed her away. "No," he stated firmly. "You're not real." He opened his eyes and Rose was gone. He looked around his room as if expecting Rose to pop out from behind a book and say 'surprise'.
He hurried out of his room and down the corridor to her room. He eased the door open. Rose was huddled up beneath her blankets, only her head and the pillow she was curled around peeking above the edges. A gentle smile was playing on her lips as she slept. A warm, very Rose, smile. Not the fake smile he had seen in his room moments ago.
The Doctor glanced over his shoulder to make sure Jack had not migrated out into the corridor. Once he was assured of Jack's absence, The Doctor reached out and lightly touched Rose's lips and cheek. They were both very warm and soft, a complete contrast to the hard cold lips he had felt.
Rose inhaled sharply in her sleep and raggedly exhaled, "Doctor…" A tiny smile tugged at her lips and she seemed to float back into deep slumber.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. Warmth had also been in her voice, whereas moments ago her voice had sounded almost hallow and fake. The Doctor smiled slightly as he realized that he knew the difference between the real and the false. And next time, he would be ready.
Though, as he walked away from Rose's bed, he couldn't help but wonder what sort of dream she was having that had her whisper "Doctor" with such a beautifully breathless tone.
888
Rose sat up sharply in her bed as her door closed. She looked around her room quickly to assure that no one was there to hurt her. "Doctor?" she asked quietly. As far as she knew, The Doctor was the only one that would be up at this hour. She knew he would habitually check in on her some nights. Perhaps this was one of the nights he felt more drawn to keeping a watch on her.
Given the circumstances, it would have been understandable.
"Hello Rose."
Rose startled slightly, she grasped her blankets to keep them from falling away from her chest. She managed a smile when The Doctor came from the shadows of her room. His hands were buried deep in his pockets and he was wearing nothing more than his trousers and an old undershirt.
"Hello, Doctor, making our nightly rounds are we?"
He only gave a slight smile and walked over to sit on the edge of her bed. "I was just making sure you were alright." He reached up and put his hand on the one she had keeping her blanket to her chest. She shivered slightly at the coolness of his hand.
Rose opened her mouth to speak but The Doctor had swooped in and lightly pressed his lips to hers. She felt her body shiver again at he feel of his cold lips. Why had she always thought he would be warmer? True she had only been in his embrace for a short moments before, but she seemed to remember him being warmer…
Not to mention he just felt fake.
She moved to put her hand on his chest but her hand continued to push forward. She opened her eyes and the Doctor was nowhere in sight. "Doctor?" she called quietly. "Doctor?"
She jumped at the sound of Jack crying out in terror. "Jack!" She leapt from her bed and quickly snatched up her old bathrobe to cover her naked frame. She flung her door open as soon as she had it tied shut. The Doctor was running down the corridor toward her, fully dressed and groomed. For a moment she looked at him in surprise then Jack's cry of terror brought her attention back to what was at hand.
Just as her and The Doctor reached Jack's door, it slammed shut in their faces. She rattled the handle but it seemed to be locked. The Doctor began banging on the door loudly calling Jack's name.
Soon, the cries died away and the door popped open at its own accord. Rose and The Doctor tumbled into Jack's room. She instinctively grasped The Doctor's arm and gasped in shock as she looked at the dishevelled sheets on Jack's bed. Judging by the traces of blood on them, he had put up a bit of a fight.
Rose looked up at The Doctor. His eyes were stonily locked on the blood stained sheets, his jaw was set with stubbornness. "Don't worry Rose, we'll get him back." He looked down at her sharply, a softness seemed to cross his eyes then flitter away. "As soon as I can, I'll be finding out where this person can be found and we will get Jack back."
