Disclaimer: don't own it, BBC does (SOB)
A/N Egad, that was a cliffhanger of all cliffhangers, makes all of the cliffhangers on this site look like pansies. I'm talking bout the Doctor who episode 'Army of Ghosts' for those who are confused about what I am babbling bout. Can't wait till the weekend!
Ok now on to less important things, my story. Enjoy oh and thank you all for the absolutely fantastic reviews it makes me write a lot faster and post it faster! Hopefully this will be finished by the time Doomsday is on! Fingers crossed!
This is the longest chapter in the story, my hands hurt from all the typing!
xxx
The tears fell unnoticed as she stared unseeing out across the Powell Estate. She was sitting on the roof of the flats, her safe haven from when she wanted to escape her life when she had been a teenager. It was a good thinking spot, a relaxing quite place that no one knew about. She had stumbled across it when she was 13, she'd had an argument with her mum about something or other, and she had run away from home. Up here all her thoughts seemed to work out them selves.
Now, her quite escape was no help to her. She didn't want to think about it all, and all her thoughts came in an unwelcome flood. She didn't want to think of all that he meant to her, what he had meant to her. He had once again barged into her life, causing all reason and sense to be tossed out of the window.
Looking up, she took in the sight before her. Cement buildings, markets, shops, people, and the gray sky. It all looked so normal, so calm, when inside of her a storm was brewing and anger and sadness that had been built up for so long was straining to be released.
How dare he come back here, how he dare act like nothing had changed between them. She cursed her self, remembering the way that she had ran back to him when she heard the sound of the TARDIS. She might as well have run into his arms, like a love sick teenager. But where her heart betrayed her, her mind reminded her in time, just how much she had suffered those 3 years of her life. When he had spoken to her after touching her cheek, the dream like state that she was in shattered and she was overwhelmed by everything that was happening and her heart and mind had been trying to take in everything at once, which caused everything to shut down.
Sitting there her thoughts turned to the one thing that she didn't want to think about at all. He had been gone for three years, in her perspective, and then he came back claming that only a month had passed since she had walked out of the TARDIS doors. She was beyond anger when the realization hit home. He hadn't been without her for as long, as she without him, he hadn't suffered as long as her. However, that was not what made her so angry, it was the fact that he had a time machine and he had hadn't come here sooner, he had made her suffer. Why? Why, did he not come back straight after he had left, told her he was sorry and explained his weird behavior to her, and then they would have carried on their merry way. She knew that she would have gone with him, she would have forgiven him and all would have been forgotten. She had been naïve back then so young and care free that she would have listened to his every word and then dismissed it as a Time Lord mood swing.
What about now? Would she be as willing to forgive him, and if he asked would she be willing to travel with him again. These questions were only going to be answered when she found out the reason for his actions that day.
xxx
After an hour of sitting there, alone with her thoughts, Rose felt a presence behind her.
"Took you a while, thought I had at least a 10 minutes to wait until you found me." She said indifferently.
"Thought I should give you some space, some time to process everything. I knew where you were at least 5 minutes after you ran away. I remember you once telling me that this was your hiding spot, we once came up here remember, Christmas?" he said as he stared at her back.
She was turned away from him, just staring, but he could see that she was tensed, ready for him to say the wrong thing and lash out at him. Well, he thought, let's not give her the chance then.
"Nice view from up here, little chilly though, don't ya think, maybe we should go inside and talk. You must be freezing" he said looking at what she was wearing, she hadn't even grabbed a coat.
"Haven't noticed the cold, been thinking" she was upset, he could tell.
"'bout?" he mentally hit him self, what do you think she would be thinking about you moron?
She turned around suddenly, a glare to make any grown man cringe.
"What the hell do you think I have been thinking about? Rainbows" came the sarcastic reply.
"Well I don't know, maybe." She continued to glare "look, I didn't come up here to fight with you; I came up here to talk to you, civilly about what needs to be talked about" he saw something cross over her face, for a second her mask lifted and he saw the Rose that had been hiding behind it.
Anger was still there, but there was also grief and tiredness, it was like a light was dimming and there wasn't a globe in the world that could replace it. He saw that she was beginning to surrender to her feelings and she was beginning to lose her hold on the single spark of hope. He had to act quickly and chose his words right, or he might just lose her.
"I know you're angry and hurt at the moment" she huffed and turned back to looking over the city "and I know that you have little reason to trust me. But Rose, if you are willing to give me a chance and listen to me then I promise you that it will be worth while. I have so much to explain and I don't know where to begin, but if you'll let me……"
She whipped around, all the time during his mini speech she had been getting increasingly angry and hearing him asking for something that just made everything come to the surface and erupt.
"Me, listen to you! Why should I, huh Doctor? There is nothing that you can say that would make any of the pain go away, lessen it, or make it cease to exist" she spat at him " so tell me is there any thing that you can say to me that will make it hurt less" venom lacing every syllable.
She stood in front of him her fist clenched at her side and she was in a stance that suggested that one wrong word from him and she was going to run and she wouldn't be going somewhere so obvious.
He chose the next words carefully going over them in his head several times before speaking.
"Rose, you have every right to be angry, and I don't blame you for it, I was a complete ass, the way I treated you was beyond forgiveness, but I now ask for it, and if you want me to leave I will" he stood there waiting for her reply.
"Well go on then leave, nothing is stopping you" she turned away, the third time since he came up here.
"Wait! Ok, ok I didn't mean that" he rubbed the back of his neck nervously and giggled nervously "ok look Rose, I'm not leaving until you give me a chance to talk to you" he said desperately.
That obviously was the wrong thing to say, because before he knew it she slapped him.
"OW! Now what the bloody hell was that for!" he raised his hand to his cheek and looked into her eyes. He expected to see anger in her eyes instead all he saw were tears.
"How dare you, how dare you make demands of me, tell me what is happening, like you are of high authority. You have no right to come back and expect any thing of me, you have no bloody right! I can't believe you"
He stood there dumb founded, he hadn't meant to come up here and make demands, it was all turning to shit.
"Rose, I didn't mean it like that, I just want a chance to tell you everything, please give me that" once again he was pleading, well she had brought him down to this level, the pleading Doctor, that would go down well in the universe, tarnish his scary image.
"Just answer me this" she sounded defeated, she was tried, sick of fighting. "Why?"
"Why, what?" he was confused.
She sighed, tears stating to well up again.
"Why'd you send me away, what did I do?" she sounded so lost.
He took a big breath; he knew that she would ask this question. Knew that he needed to answer it, but how could he admit that he was scared? He could tell that it had been eating at her, gnawing at her very soul. He knew that his words had hurt her and now she was asking why he had put her through the torture of the worse kind. The scars would always be present, but first he had to sew up the wounds.
"You are incredible, you know that Rose, absolutely fantastic"
She turns looks at him with sad tired eyes, her sprit is tired and worn, and she is pleading him not to prolong the agony, to make the pain stop.
"Doctor, please just tell me" she sits down slowly, edging her self down. He takes a risk; he stands next to her and then sits down next to her, copying her looking out over the city. He looks over to her and notices the tears slowly creeping down her face. It is starting to get darker; she shivers slightly due to the cold. Noting this he pulls off his jacket and puts it over her.
"It started a month before I sent you away, just after we came back form Kasarack, remember" he looks over to her and she nods her head "Well yeah you went to bed and well the TARDIS had a malfunction and started to travel through the Time Vortex, didn't know where she was going or anything, all I knew was that she was going somewhere"
Flash Back
"Where we going old girl?"
I have no idea, there's a distress signal and I'm being pulled towards it, I can't stop it.
Well is there any way that we can find out, get a bit edgy when I don't know something.
Nervous? Cheeky she was
Me, nervous? You must be kidding. Just then the TARDIS made a groaning sound and lurched forwards okay maybe a little.
No need to worry Theta, just a little turbulence. Just about to land, hold on to something.
Suddenly the TARDIS stops spinning and somersaulting in the Time Vortex and lands, lifting him self off of the floor he makes a sarcastic comment on the TARDIS'S landing skills.
I did warn you, and it's not like your any better, remember when we landed on that little planet, nice place, and you frightened the locals off, landing me on my top.
When was that? He innocently questioned
Stop stalling and get out there.
Alright, alright, shouldn't I wait for Rose?
Theta, she has been awake for 48 hrs let her get some sleep, it's not like you can't function without her.
He stepped out of the TARDIS and was greeted with the sight of a desolate waste land, as far as the eye could see. He stood there for a long time just staring out at the nothing ness. It wasn't until something caught his eye. A white building, it was a like a white box with no windows. He sighed and started the long trek to the white, square building thingy.
xxx
After walking for what felt like hours he came to halt in front of the weird building that looked to sterile for him.
Better not make a mess then. He thought to him self.
It took him a lot longer than it should have to find the door. Walking through the doors he was greeted by a deadly silence. It was as white on the inside as it was on the outside. It was cold, it wasn't the cold that sunk to your bones, no, it went further then that, to your very soul and into your heart. Everything was telling him to run, flee, and never turn back. Where as the adventurer inside him was pushing his feet forward, pushing him further into the dreadful building.
He turned and was greeted by a sight that would always be with him.
Blood.
Crimson liquid staining everything that it covered.
The sound of the dual beating of hearts echoed in his ears.
Bodies littering the white marble floors.
Lifeless eyes staring up at him, asking for help, help which he could not give.
Shadows moving in the corners of his eyes, but when he whipped his head around to get a better look, gone.
He heard a blood curdling scream, it sounded so familiar. Realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Rose. But how? She was on the TARDIS wasn't she, he would have seen her if she had followed him. So why did he hear her screams? Maybe he was wrong; his imagination must have been getting away with him, the silence was getting to him.
There was a draft of cold air whipping his coat around his ankles, and causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.
This was not a natural wind that flooded the halls; it was filled with the odour of death.
There it was again, the blood curdling scream that shook his very being, one thought went through his head, he could form no others. His hearts in his throat, there was no doubt about who it was.
Rose.
He ran, the sound of his shoes echoing through the lifeless corridors. Another scream, this time shorter yet louder, making him pick up speed even more so.
He was flying now, hardly touching the ground to reach the source of the screams.
They were becoming more frequent, but shorter, fading slowly. He knew it wasn't because the sound was moving away. It was because the maker of the sound was slowly fading from life.
As he got closer to the sound the colder it became, the more the smell of death became thicker. Every thing was telling him to run the other way, but there was a stronger force that was yelling to him.
Rose.
After what seemed like an eternity of running the screaming was getting closer.
He flew up a flight of steps, his coat billowing out like a cape. His eyes were dark, emotionless, his skin pale and his body drenched with sweat from all of the running.
When he reached the top of the stair case, a door stood, blocking his way to Rose. He stood there for a few seconds slowly catching his breath and regaining some self control. Deliberately slow he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and unlocked the door, pushing it forcibly open, it slammed into the wall behind it.
He was the oncoming storm and right now the storm was just warming up.
What he saw before him made his blood run cold. Before him stood Rose her mouth opened wide as she screamed her eyes full of terror, her face pale. Blood was running from her eyes and her mouth.
And surrounding her was a shadow, she seemed stuck in place. It was flowing through her, apparently causing her pain.
The Doctor flew into action. He held up his screwdriver and pointed it at the shadow.
Suddenly the shadow stopped and a golden light was emitting from an unknown source. It was too bright for the Doctor, he shielded his eyes.
When he brought his arm down there was nothing. Just the prone figure slumped on the ground surrounded by blood. There was no golden light, the shadow was gone. But above all else the Doctor only knew one thing.
Rose was dead.
Just then the shadows retuned and when they disappeared, Rose was gone.
He ran back to the TARDIS, all the time not believing what he had seen. He flew through the doors and suddenly stopped. There was Rose, in her cow pajamas on and chicken slippers, standing next to the console, hands on hips a glare on her face. That would have been a funny sight had the Doctor not just experienced what he did.
"Where the bloody hell have you been Doctor!" she shouted. Her foot tapping slightly impatiently waiting for his response.
It was in that moment, seeing her alive and safe, that he made up his mind. He wasn't going to tell her, leave her in the dark, maybe it had been a mistake. Someone that looked liked Rose had died and in his confusion he had seen Rose in her, he loved Rose and was becoming increasingly protective her and maybe the silence had made him see things. That was it, he needed a lie down, calm his thoughts, but first he had to calm The Bad Wolf.
"Bored, you were asleep, wanted to go for a bit of a walk, did I frighten you? Sorry if I did thought you would be sleeping for a little longer, you need to, TARDIS says so" he said in all good humor "now you still look tired, bit of a wreak if you ask me" a glare "no offence, now back off to bed with you"
She stomped off, mumbling about being bored and saying some very inappropriate phrases.
"OI! None of that!" he shouted down towards her.
Theta, you okay? I could sense your shock of seeing Rose standing here, and it wasn't because of her apparel. What did you see?
He showed her everything that he had seen.
Dear me, Theta, that was Rose, I don't know how but it was. But there was something different about her; I can't decipher that difference at the moment.
Well work on it, and erase this planet from the coordinates program, I don't want to chance it.
Will do, but Theta, you need to talk to Rose; she has the right to know.
Not yet until we are certain, now let's go back into the Vortex.
It didn't get better, no, it got worse, until he couldn't even look at Rose without seeing her dead form. He began avoiding her and not talking to her, until he couldn't take hearing her voice any more. Then there was a moment when her presence made him sick and his mind showed him the images, so he got rid of the one source of the problem.
Little did he know that it would get worse.
End Flash Back
He looked over to Rose, who in turn got up and slowly walked away.
"Rose?"
"I just need some time to my self, don't come and look for me please, just go back to my place and have a cup of tea, relax"
"But…" he started desperately
She looked over to him and smiled a sad smile, she walked over to him and stood in front of him and standing on tip toes she kissed him on the cheek.
"I just need to think for a while, won't be long, tell mum not to worry" she whispered and she turned away and walked away.
Touching his cheek, the Doctor knew one thing.
Everything was going to be okay.
xxx
A/N that is not the end, ok, there is still one mystery left to sort out, then it will be finished. It will take a few more chapters. So hold on not long to go!
Review please!
xx
