They went to their rooms to rest: it had been an exciting day, all could not sleep, but for different reasons. The Doctor was too busy looking over his planet once more; Rose was worried about two things one: how the Time Lords viewed them and two: would the Doctor want to stay here now? She knew it was selfish of her to think like this, he had just got his world back after thinking his entire race destroyed: of course he would want to stay. So she had best enjoy his company while she could. She rose from her bed and walked to the door, she looked out into the dim hallway, the white stone prominent and the seal of Rassilon spattered here and there in ordered chaos. She crossed the hallway and knocked on the Doctor's door.
"Come in," came his gleeful voice and she smiled, he was still giddy. She stepped into his room to see him standing on the balcony, the twinkling lights of the street torches flickering in the night breeze.
"Does Gallifrey have a moon?" She asked as she came to stand beside him looking over the scene as he had been.
"No. It doesn't have one."
"So how do the tides move?"
"Ah, who said we have tides?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
"You mean you don't?" She seemed gob smacked.
"Nope!" He laughed.
"Look at you, Father Christmas all over again!" She laughed as he hugged her.
"Oh god Rose, I never thought I would see this again. Then poof: Galen brings it back for me. I'll never be able to thank him after all he has sacrificed for us. How can I repay that Rose?" He asked all concern a moment.
"By being the friend you always have been Doctor. I think now Galen sees you as the closest thing to family he has: just be you, that will be enough for him I think," Rose answered sincerely thinking about the man, alien that had become the fourth part of their family.
"Come on….let's go see if he's okay," she looped her arm through the Doctor's as they walked to the door. When they opened it they were met with the surprised face of Jack.
"Well, what have you two been up to, eh?" He asked with a smirk, looking between the two.
"Just talking" Rose replied, prodding Jack. "Coming to see Galen with us?" The Doctor and Rose set of a little way, passing three more doors before they came to Galen's. The Doctor put his hand on the handle and opened the door without knocking causing Rose to roll her eyes. Jack followed, walking towards the bed intending to try and make Galen jump. He had been trying a few times in the TARDIS, but Galen could always sense him before he pounced, ending up with Jack usually tied up before he could blink.
He was ready to pounce on Galen when something caught his attention: a raspy breathing.
"Galen?" He reached over and turned on the light. All gasped to see the state Galen was in. he was pale, sweat pouring off him as if he had a high fever. The Doctor moved in an instant: slipping into his medical façade, he checked Galen's pulse and eyes.
"He's catatonic, pulse is high so is his temperature."
"What's caused it Doctor?" Rose asked, coming to sit beside the bed taking Galen's hand in her own.
"I know this, I've seen it before," Jack commented with barely contained rage. "This is the result of a half assed memory scan."
"But I don't understand: this shouldn't happen," the Doctor looked confused. He walked over to a COM unit and called up the medical wing, then he started to walk from the room.
"Doctor? Where are you going?"
"I'm going to have a chat with Romana. You two stay with Galen," then he was gone from the room, the anger lessening somewhat with his departure. Jack was still mad, looking upon Galen's form with concern and anger.
"Jack…." Rose touched his arm gently as they watch Galen being placed on a hover bed.
"I'm alright Rose. Lets just make sure he's okay," with that they followed the medics to the medical wing.
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The Doctor strode down the hallways to the hall of Rassilon, thinking at that moment that too many things had 'Of Rassilon' in their name. He came to the large hall doors, the stonework depicting the history of Rassilon….he sighed. What next? The toilet of Rassilon?
The Guards stopped him a moment, but they let him pass. He walked into the grand chamber, the floor covered in marble again with the seal. The rear had large windows that looked out upon the scenery of Gallifrey, Romana as he expected was there already, not able to rest until she made sure all would be well on the world.
"Doctor? What brings you here so late?"
"Galen,"
"What of the Guardian?"
"What level mind scan did you use?" the Doctor asked, straight to the point.
"Only a surface stage one: to see if was telling the truth. Why?" She replied, asking her own question, confused by the Doctors sudden hostility. This Doctor was so different from the ones she knew: something had been damaged inside him in this regeneration.
"Well you see that's strange, because I have just sent Galen to the medical wing, he's suffering from what appears a forced deep mind scan."
"That is impossible: I was there Doctor."
"What I still can't understand is why you subjected him to it in the first place," the Doctor watched her as she walked towards the large windows.
"We need to ascertain weather all the facts had transpired as he informed us," Romana spurted out the usual political rubbish
"You've been hanging around the council too much," he commented dryly. "The fact still remains that Galen is in the Medical wing because of the mind scan. You disappoint me Romana."
"You talk to me of disappointment. How do you think it was viewed when you set into motion the very act that would destroy us?" Right now she was not the Romana he used to know: but a political ruler.
"You know there was no other choice! Would you have had us all become Daleks?" The Doctor snapped back.
"There are many views on the situation, Doctor. Some are …..concerned that you would do such a thing, but the prominent notion is if the Guardians had shown when called none of this would have happened. Some say it is not wise to trust a race that betrayed the Pythia. That we were asking for the second betrayal by trusting the snake..as a human would put it," still in political mode and this really began to annoy the Doctor.
"Stop Romana: don't you understand what you're saying? You want to try Galen for his race? Stop talking like the damned council, you used to have your own mind once."
"And I still do, I am sorry Doctor that my views do not correspond with yours but I have a planet to run, a planet you decided to turn your back on when you declined the presidency and left in your TARDIS."
"What has happened to you?" The Doctor commented sadly
"I have grown up Doctor, but let us see what they say of Galen," she walked over a COM unit on a side table, the screen edge white like the marble which surrounded it. She keyed up the medical wing
"Orlith, how is the Guardian?"
"He is stable madam president. Seems he has had a bad reaction to the surface scan," the man replied, his eyes looking scared but the Doctor missed this.
"Are you sure is was a surface scan?" Romana asked.
"Yes madam president, there is no indication of it being anything else. It seems he had a reaction we could not foresee. Perhaps the neural implant we have found was the cause," the Doctor paled…could it be his fault?
"What neural implant?" Romana asked, not missing the Doctors face.
"Seems there is an implant at the base of the brain, if activated it will either incapacitate or kill the Guardian," Orlith replied.
"Thank you Orlith, will the Guardian recover?"
"I cannot yet say madam president. He may recover but with no memory of who he is."
"Very well, thank you," the link was ended and Romana turned back to the Doctor. "I think you see to your own secrets before you accuse others of having them."
She dismissed him and he walked from the hall: a dark mood following him. He passed through the numerous hallways, coming to the medical wing to see Jack standing with Rose as they looked over the form of Galen through the glass window to his room.
"Doctor," Rose said quietly when she saw him, walking up hugging him, her head against his chest. Giving the comfort he needed right now.
"Doctor, where did that implant come from?" Jack asked, the Doctor seeing in his eyes that he knew full well from whence it came.
"I placed it there," he said quietly, eyes locked on Galen's chest watching the rhythmic fall and rise as he breathed.
"Why Doctor?" Rose asked shocked
"Galen asked me to," the Doctor replied with a sigh. "After he realized what he had become…..he wanted to make sure he didn't let the Sultarrvec take control and destroy god knows what."
"He asked you to?" Jack seemed generally shocked.
"Yes. Said he couldn't picture anyone else with the responsibility," the Doctor rubbed his hand over his face. "But I may have killed him anyway."
"No Doctor!" Rose defended him, as always. "You didn't know they would use the mind scan thingy," that brought a smile to both Jack and the Doctor's faces: trust Rose to be Rose at the right moment.
"Why don't you and your…humans get some rest Doctor? There is nothing more you can do here," Orlith commented from his desk.
The three friends got up and walked from the medical wing to get some rest, the worry had drained all three, but it did not escape Rose's notice of how Orlith had said 'your humans' or how his eyes lingered on her, making a shiver travel down her spine.
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He moved down the hallway to the citadel sub structure; hardly anyone one knew of the existence of this catacomb like basement, hidden with all the technology of the old age. The dust lay thick over the stone floor, some dampness adding the only noise as the water dripped into puddles. It would be a surprise to those who found the place that was the man's destination. The sterile walls and the smell of disinfectant not much changed no matter what world you go to, it always had the clinical smell to it.
There sat at the back was his master, fingers steepled as the orb of the pythia shone and flashed in the light.
"Ah Orlith, did it go as planned?"
"Yes, Lord. They did not see the deep scan, the Doctor thinks he is to blame because of the neural implant he placed there," the medic replied.
"You sure it was the Doctor?" The Bursar asked.
"Yes, it has his trademark touch to it."
"Good, what of the girl?"
"It will be hard to get her away. The Doctor seems quite attached to her: quite a transgression and the other human is wary," Orlith replied.
"Hmm. We need to get the girl away, we will take her tomorrow. I will have the Doctor go to the market, this will be a celebration. Who would notice her little disappearance among all the distractions?" The Bursar smiled. He would have the secrets of the Vortex, and restore Gallifrey to what is should be…under his careful leadership of course. He dismissed Orlith with a wave of his hand and sat back safe in the knowledge that soon things will be as they should be…..
KITG: uh oh…….