KITG: Sorry for the long wait. just moved house, and my internet only got recconected today.

Monsters in the Dark

She was in darkness, shadows and noises moving in the blackness. She could not see anything but the fear gripped her soul. Something was coming, something just beyond recognition.

Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being with the Doctor and the cold. He was trying to keep her awake.

"Stay with me Rose" a voice that held her heart. The Doctor, a man of many faces, many lives, but his heart always remained the same. The goodness that drove him to protect the helpless from the monsters that go bump in the night always endured.

"You do not want to stay with him…" a voice came from the darkness, it was male and full of malice. Hiding behind fake concern. There was something about it, something she knew. Something that told her it should be feared.

"I'll always stay with him" she replied, turning in the nothingness.

"Always? There is no always. There is only the beginning and the end." The voice intoned, coming closer then fading away as it spoke.

"Who are you?" she called out.

"I am many, I am few. I am then I am now" it laughed "just like you"

"You're not like me. You're lying." Rose quivered at the voice, the part of her howling in rage at these lies. It could not be. Only she and the Vortex could claim that. Only the Bad wolf was then and now, many and few.

"Am I? You burnt like the sun. But you pale like the moon in comparison to me" the voice came closer whispering in her ear. She turned to see a man standing in the darkness. His face obscured by the blue flames that surrounded him. Rose took a step back as he advanced on her. "Do you fear me bad wolf? You should."

"Who are you?" she asked again, as gold began to flitter around her. Bad wolf was coming to shield her.

"I am the Dalek Sun….and you are mine" the blue fire came flaring towards her to cover her body. His blue flame overwhelmed the gold dust that was her power as the Bad Wolf was no match.

8888888888

The Doctor woke to Rose screaming in agony. He shot up like a spring to look at her, she was thrashing around on the bed, and he rushed over to her side, trying to hold her down.

"Rose! Rose! Wake up Rose!" he called to her, holding her shoulders. She seemed to convulse a moment then stopped…totally. "Rose.." he asked fearfully then she took a great breath as if she had plunged into ice cold water. Rose blinked her brown eyes trying to focus them.

"D….Doctor?" her voice croaked as she finally looked at him.

"Is she alright?" he looked over his shoulder to see Johnson and Kate standing there. Kate was rubbing the sleep from her right eye.

"I think so.." the Doctor replied, he looked at her glazed eyes. She seemed to be here but not. He decided to try to see if everything was okay before she fully woke. He placed his fingers at her temple, looking into her mind. Yes everything was okay except….something was hidden…but it did not concern him too much, it was like a dream. And from the way he had screamed it must have been a nightmare that was best forgotten.

"D…Doctor?" Rose asked again. Something bugged him about her gaze. It was if she could not fully focus.

"I'm here Rose, how do you feel?" he asked, he was looking intently at her eyes.

"Like that time you landed on me out of that ventilation shaft" she replied with a shaky smile.

"Oi, it wasn't my fault" he replied in a pouting voice, but his eyes still showed his blazing concern for her, something wasn't right.

"Rose…anything hurt?"

"Few aches and pains…but Doctor..my eyes can't seem to focus…it's all a blur" her voice quivering in her fear.

"What can you see?"

"Well you're a brown blur with blur hair right now. Can't really see your face" she replied.

The Doctor turned when someone tapped him on the shoulder. There was Kate, she had in her hand a glass of water and was looking at Rose with awe filled eyes. The Doctor nodded his thanks and helped Rose to take small sips to ease her parched throat. Then he got out his sonic screwdriver to look at her eyes. The read out came back the eyes themselves were fine. But the part of the brain that interpreted the information from the retina, had been for a better word overloaded. But it would have taken some force to do it. He could understand the eyes themselves being damaged but not the brain. Only some sort of trauma to the head…or physic force could do such a thing.

"The part of your brain that deciphers the image seems to be damaged. Not permanently" he added at her stricken face. "But it may take a while to sort itself out."

"Great." She replied with a sigh.

"What where you dreaming about?" he asked. Rose's face scrunched in concentration as she tried to remember. But images seemed to flutter from her mind. One feeling remained. Something was very wrong as the beast inside her quivered.

"I'm not sure…but something is very wrong here. It's as if something was watching me…I remember blue fire that was cold, yet burnt worse than a normal flame. And something was there….I'm sorry Doctor I can't really remember"

"That's okay Rose." The Doctor looked over to Kate as he heard her whispering to Johnson. Seems she hadn't seen another female for quite some time. The Doctor smiled. "Kate, would you like to meet Rose?" he asked, seeing the girls shy nod in reply he motioned his hand for her to come over.

"Kate, this is Rose Tyler. Rose this is Kate, seems she came from the village" he made a heavy implication as he said she lived in the town. One that Rose did not miss. She was the girl they had read about in the journal.

"Hello Kate." Rose said to the young one, just making out her blue blur next to the Doctor.

"You good friends with the Doctor?" Kate asked, sitting on the bed beside Rose, as if Rose was her big sister.

"Yes. He's my best friend"

"He's nice. He gave me a chocolate bar." She replied all smiles.

"Did he now? Well he's a big softie." Rose impulsively reached over to the Doctor who was still crouched next to the bed. Ruffling his hair, Kate laughed at his pout. So she followed suit and ruffled his hair too.

"Oi! I can ruffle my hair myself thank you very much!" he backed this up my giving his hair a good ruffle, only to smooth it back down again.

"No you can't you flattened it again" Kate replied in an admonishing tone, ruffling his hair once more. Rose giggled, seeing the flat top blur becoming a spiky blur again.

"I'm starting to feel like a dog…" he whined.

"Nah….You're more teddy bear material."

"Stop picking on me!"

"Oh stop being such a baby"

"You two are funny" Kate interrupted, she laughed freely making Johnson smile.

"Might as well make some breakfast" Johnson excused himself.

"I'll give you a hand," the Doctor shouted before turning back to Rose. "You sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine..you go, besides I've got Kate to look after me don't I?" the Doctor leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead before following Johnson.

"Rose, Where do you come from?" Kate asked, making herself comfortable in the crook of Rose's right side. Rose gently placed he arm over Kate's shoulders.

"Oh, far away. I travel with the Doctor to see the universe"

"Isn't it dangerous?" Kate asked, eyes wide and awe filled.

"Sometimes. But the things I see are worth it. A planet with seven moons going one way and four going the other. Always managing to miss each other. All different colors of the rainbow. To planets where you can float like a leaf, their cities in the clouds."

"Wow! How do you get there? You have a big space ship?" Kate moved her arms wide as she said "big"

"You could say that. His ship is called the TARDIS. And she's the best ship in the universe."

"Is your mother there?"

"Oh no. My Mother is at home. It's just me, the Doctor and the TARDIS."

"Is your daddy at home too?"

"No, he died when I was a baby." Rose smiled at the memory of meeting her father.

"Oh" Kate said sadly. "Do you have any brother and sisters?"

"Nope, just me"

"I had a big brother and a big sister. She was called Sarah…she wasn't mummy's daughter. Mummy said Sarah's mummy died. But I loved her like a big sister anyway" Kate replied sadly.

"And I bet she loved you too" Rose gave her a quick squeeze.

"Oh I know she did. She saved me..or that's what Mr Johnson says. He says she held on just to get me somewhere safe. Then she and William, my brother went to be with mummy and daddy in the hall of the gods. So I know she'll be happy. So I live for Sarah" Rose marveled at the courage of one so young.

"Then Sarah would be very proud of you"

"Rose?"

"Yes Kate?"

"Can you be my big sister?" Kate looked to Rose with hope filled eyes, and even without her full sight, Rose could feel it coming off the young one in waves.

"Of course Sweetheart. You can call me your big sister"

"Yay!" Kate jumped off the bed and tore towards the door, nearly crashing into the Doctor who was carrying a tray of food.

"Whoa…watch it," he said trying to stop the tea from sloshing. Kate was tugging on the bottom of his pin stripe jacket.

"Doctor! Guess what!"

"What?"

"Rose said she would be my big sister! Isn't she the best?" the Doctor smiled down at Kate.

"Of course she is. I only take the best. Now go and have your breakfast." The young one tore from the room, practically skipping. Rose and the Doctor laughed as they heard her excited voice recounting what Rose had told her.

"Seems you made a friend" he set the tray on her lap. Passing he cup of tea. He made sure she had a good grasp on it. Guiding her hands to it with one of his own. She smiled as the warmth comforted her.

"How can I not? She's so sweet. I mean you gave her one of your chocolate bars that you don't even give to me…so you can talk" she smirked

"I do give you some…. once a month"

"Only because I threaten to kill you if you don't give me one" he stuck his tongue out..but stopped when he remembered she couldn't see it..then decided to do it again because she couldn't see it.

"And just because I can't see too well, doesn't mean I don't know your sticking your tongue out right now" she aimed a slap at the brown blur that ended up hitting him in the neck.

"Ow!"

"Sorry…but I can't help it..can't see" she looked down, just seeing the cream blur that was the sheets. She smiled when she felt the Doctor's arm go round her shoulder, giving her a one-arm hug.

"Don't worry Rose. We'll find the TARDIS and I will make you good as new..better than new…all shiny with a bow on top…all shiny with a bow and glitter….all shiny wi…"

"Okay, okay…I get the point" she giggled at his madness. "Your so weird"

The Doctor reached for a bit of toast, he took a bite smiling as the sweet tang of marmalade exploded on his tongue. Then he directed the toast to Rose's mouth so she could take a bite.

"Good weird or bad weird?" he asked taking another bite.

"I'm not sure.." she took another bite as the toast was offered. "I mean…I sometimes get scared" she felt him jerk a little " no..scared isn't the right word. I could never be scared of you. It's just you are so different and I wonder if…oh I don't know…" she sighed.

"You wonder if I'm me or an imposter?" he laced his fingers with hers as he gave her a quick hug with the arm that was round her shoulder.

"No, I know you're you. If you weren't for one thing the TARDIS wouldn't let you fly her. But she feels the same as always. She's not on guard. And for another, you do some things the same. We still hold hands, still joke around." She smiled at him giving him a quick hug around his waist with the arm that wasn't pressed to his side. "But there is another thing that makes me certain it's you. Something inside me. Think it's bad wolf."

"So the best word would be confused?" The Doctor was now also confused. He was sure he had taken all the Time Vortex out of Rose. So how?

"Yeah, think with all that happening. You changing, I didn't get chance to see how I changed. I can see a few more things now, feel a few more, hear new things too. I can hear the TARDIS…she talks to me…calls me sister. I can feel the turn of the planets. Hear a song inside my head the follows a wolf's howl"

The Doctor sat stock-still, so Bad wolf had not left her…it had changed her, made her more than human. The Doctor felt his rage build. How dare it change her? The TARDIS should never have let Rose do what she did on that station. But then wasn't it his entire fault really? For bringing Rose with him in the first place.

"Rose….can I look inside your mind?"

"What? Like you said you did with Renette?"

"Yes, you don't have to if you don't want to"

"It's okay. I trust you" she smiled, laying her hand over his hearts. He smiled in return wondering what he did to deserve Rose Tyler. The Doctor placed his fingers either side of her temple and looked inside. He was shocked by the power he felt there. He saw gold light and power. There was the astral image of rose she seemed to be asleep. This was her subconscious part of her. And sat beside her, protecting her while she slept was a wolf.

"I take it you must be the projection of Bad Wolf."

"I am"

"You shouldn't be here" the Doctors voice had dropped to his dark tone.

"She welcomed me. I am forever part of her now. You can not change that young one" the voice was soft and lilting, a mixture of Rose and of time.

"You will kill Rose"

"No my Doctor. I have had time to change her, make her body able to hold me"

"And then what? Take her over?" he growled out.

"You know me better than that. I will come when needed . if I stay long it will kill the body. That cannot be changed. No one can hold all of me. But she will hold me long enough when the time comes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I can tell you no more" with that the wolf disappeared.

"Doctor…please tell me you never wore that," the image of his sixth self flashed across his mind and he cringed.

"Hey…who said you could look in my mind?"

"Oh come on..fair is fair." She went quiet a moment and he felt his loneliness flitter across him. The fire, the feeling of loneliness as a child….

"No Rose!" he threw her from his mind. Sending her reeling.

"I'm sorry…I didn't" she held her head from the headache the now blasted he brain. The Doctor took a few gulping breaths to calm himself. He placed his finger on her lips to stop her.

"Shh, wasn't your fault. I should be the one that is sorry. And yes…unfortunately I did wear that in my sixth incarnation" She smiled then giggled.

"Oh god…where you blind"

"You can talk"

"I have a sense of style"

"Um..Union Jack T-shirt ring a bell?" she stuck her tongue out. But then she grabbed his hand with both of hers.

"You're not alone anymore Doctor" she looked at the blur that was his face. Wishing she could see his eyes. But she felt comforted when he squeezed back.

"I know" he kissed her forehead; she would never know how much she had healed him. Yes he had companions before that he called friends. But only one other truly could be called best friends. No more than that. Only two people understood him fully.

One was brigadier Leftbridge-Stewart. The other was Rose Tyler. The brigadier had known him the longest, had seen many of his regenerations. And always called the Doctor friend. But Rose…Rose was his equal in spirit. In her lust to see the universe, to help those who needed saving. To run from the monsters, then to go looking for yet more to run from without fear.

All of a sudden the animals out side began to call and cry. Their agitated sounds making the Doctor go to the window. He could see nothing, just the grey snow and the shapes of dead trees. Rose came to stand by his side. Hands touching his back for guidance.

"What is it?"

"I don't know…I can't see anything…"

"They are coming" Rose's voice with the timeless lilt. The Doctor turned his head to Rose to see the gold in her eyes. "He tried to blind us to their coming. The sight came too late."

"Who tried to blind you?" the Doctor asked but Rose just pointed with her finger, eyes still glazed.

"Too late to run" the Doctor looked where she was pointing…..to see a Dalek task Force come out from behind the barn…..

TBC…..