A blank, still wall…
A hand…herhand, reaching out, pressing against the wall…
A crack, loud and deafening…
The wall was gone, replaced by darkness…
And then she saw them. And they saw her.
Rose woke up sweating. It was the same dream as the night before, exactly the same. Silently she sat up, resting her head on her knees. It was so short, so simple, but so terrifying. What did it mean?
Deciding she had gotten enough sleep to satisfy her, Rose rolled out of bed, grabbing a light sweater. Pulling it over her tousled blonde hair, she walked out the door and to the library.
When she arrived in the large and almost antique-looking room, Rose saw it was already occupied. Thinking it was the Doctor, she was surprised to see Jack sitting in the Time Lord's usual spot.
"You know he'll be upset when he finds you were in his chair," Rose told him, sitting in the seat across from him. Jack looked up from his book and smiled.
"Well he's not sitting in it, is he? And I see no sign that declares it 'his'," Jack retorted. Rose pointed to a golden plaque mounted on the wooden part of the seat. Jack looked between his legs to where she was pointing and saw the beautifully etched words:
The Doctor's Chair
"Oh," Jack muttered. "Still. He's not sitting in it."
Rose smiled. Jack looked back up to her with a curious look.
"So what are you doing up at this time of night?" he asked.
"I could ask you the same question," she pointed out. Jack shrugged.
"Wasn't tired," he replied. "You, on the other hand, look exhausted."
Rose looked away, not wanting to get onto that topic. Why couldn't Jack and the Doctor just let her forget about the stupid dream?
"You had that nightmare again," Jack guessed after a moment. Rose sighed.
"Jack…" she pleaded. He raised his hands up in defense.
"All right, I understand. I won't ask," he said. Rose breathed out, relieved.
"Thank you," she told him. The two friends sat in silence for a few moments.
"Though, if you ever…" Jack started.
"Jack!"
Jack looked quickly to his book. "Sorry."
XxXxX
The Doctor was still in the control room the next day. At the present moment he was lying on his belly, under the floor, tinkering around with the wires below him. Every once and awhile he would pull his sonic screwdriver out of his mouth and use it to seal, cut, or examine a particular wire but, as it had been ever since he had started, he found nothing out of the ordinary.
But then he saw one wire… It didn't really look different, but the Doctor's senses were tingling so he pulled it up to get a better look. He used the sonic screwdriver to cut it and looked closely at the wires inside the wire. Suddenly the part he had been holding crackled, sending a small jolt of energy into his thumb and forefinger. The Doctor hissed with pain, dropping the wire and sucking on his fingers. That had hurt.
Frowning, he picked the wire back up and re-sealed it. He shoved the sonic screwdriver back in his coat, still holding the wire and another shock of electricity ran through the wire—this time with more force.
The Doctor swore loudly and sat up, glaring at the wire as he sucked on his burned fingers.
"What happened?" Rose asked, coming up through the entrance. The Doctor glanced at her, and then jerked his head at the prominent wire, laying innocently on top the others.
"I think I've found out problem," he told her. She smiled, sitting on the floor to be at better level with him.
"Took you long enough," she stated. The Doctor glared at her. She only smiled. After a moment, the Doctor sighed and hauled himself up next to Rose. He covered the opening with its panel, then met Rose's gaze again.
"Sleep well last night?" he asked. Rose's smile vanished and she scowled. Why? Why must this subject be brought up in every conversation?
"No," she pouted. "Had that dream again." What harm could it do to just to tell him? He would've figured it out anyway.
The Doctor frowned. "Rose, this dream…"
"Is just a dream," she interrupted, not wanting to dwell on it.
"For some reason I don't believe that," the Doctor said forcefully. "Tell me about it. I wanna know what happens in it," he whispered gently, resting his hand on her cheek. But, surprisingly, that had no effect, as Rose only stared at him.
"No," she spat, swatting the Doctor's hand away. "Just…leave me alone." And with that, Rose stood up and stormed away.
The Doctor was staring at his hand that Rose had swatted so carelessly away, utterly baffled. He had never seen Rose acting so touchy and angry. For a brief, fleeting moment he wondered if it was her time of the month, but he came to the conclusion it was all the dream…whatever it was.
He glanced at the offending wire below and decided the TARDIS would have to wait. For now, he was going to focus on helping Rose.
A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!
