I Want More

Hum, that's what it was. A humming. A constant thrum in the back of his head. It wasn't helping or hindering. It was just there. The Doctor looked up from his feet and felt the glow of the hum enter his numb body. He'd run. Ran back to the TARDIS with a vial of blood. He'd slotted the vial into the TARDIS system and waited. Agonizing seconds wasted. Tick, tick, tick. Every single second he waited, the less likely it got that Rose would be safe. The dried blood he'd had to scrape from the wood grain of the door. The fluid blood he'd had to put his fingers through, knowing where it could have come from. It killed him, piece by piece. Tick, tick, tick. Numbers and names and databases flashed on the screen. The Doctor let out a sigh of relief as he saw that the TARDIS was narrowing it down...Human…flashed onto the screen. "Damn." The Doctor swore under his breath…Female…"No. It can't be…" Age 24. "Five years. 24. She'd be 24." Searching databanks…confirmation. Blood sample. Human. Female. Age 24. Found under companion databanks. Name: Rose Marion Tyler.

The Doctor sank to the floor onto his knees. Grief spilled over him.

Beauty queen of only eighteen
She had some trouble with herself
He was always there to help her
She always belonged to someone else
I drove for miles and miles
And wound up at your door
I've had you so many times but somehow
I want more

He kept checking and checking until the TARDIS refused to go on any longer. He couldn't put it off. He ran back to Rose's hotel room. The Doctor sped past the receptionist and forced his way through the locked door, no longer possessing a key. The Doctor rushed around the room, looking, just looking. There had to be something. Anything! He pulled everything out of the drawers, the wardrobe, bed sheets. He thrashed around and around just searching for anything. The tears threatened again as frustration overwhelmed him. Looking up, he saw the bleary image of the bathroom door. Stained red with scraped blood and the message scorched into the wood. It struck him like a lightning bolt. Of course! He could extract the DNA strands from the message. It had to be something from his databank because they wanted revenge. He'd had to have met them before! Perfect. The Doctor delved into his jacket, pulled out his sonic screwdriver from the pocket and clicked it onto saw setting.

Tap on my window knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful
I know I tend to get so insecure
It doesn't matter, not anymore
It's not always rainbows and butterflies
It's compromise that moves us along
My heart is full and my door's always open
You can come anytime you want

The console's green light flowed over the scarlet stained wood of the former bathroom door. The scorched words became infected with green and were lifted from the white panel of the door, circling around the central column of the TARDIS. The hazel eyes of the tenth Doctor watched them intently, wishing and hoping for a lead, an answer. Anything that could get him to Rose. The message swirled faster and faster now, the green light turning to gold and sparking. The sparks finally merged into an image blinking, flickering and swirling still around the column. The hazel eyes turned black with fury and confusion as they focused on the image. There, spiralling slowly around and around the column was a head. The screen flashed words. 'DNA found under companion databanks. Name: Adam Mitchell.' The image above was red like fire. It flickered and blinked. The head of the Sycorax leader.

"It doesn't make sense!" He yelled at the screen, accusingly. "How the hell did Adam's DNA get on the message! We're a year out from his time!" No response came. His features darkened and he yelled at the top of his voice. "Damn, damn, DAMN!" The Doctor punched his white knuckles against the TARDIS console as the screen blinked another message to him. 'They have Rose but you need her more, Theta. There is a way.'

I know where you hide
Alone in your arms
Know all of these things that make you who you are
I know that goodbye means nothing at all
Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls

Tap on my window knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful

"THEN SHOW ME!" He bellowed at the TARDIS. No response. He slumped meekly down and his voice turned disturbingly quiet. "I need her with me." More words blazed onto the screen, 'Then I will take you to her…she needs you as well; perhaps too much.' The Doctor's mind went into overdrive as the ancient sounds of the engines started up. Why had the TARDIS prevented him from finding Rose quicker? The Doctor stared at the throb of the column going up and down, heaving for breath. The journey took five minutes, an unusually long time for the TARDIS and she landed with a resounding thump and groan. The doors flung wide open and he walked tentatively over to the beckoning darkness he could see. He hesitated. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong with his machine. Turning back to look at the console, his eyes widened as he saw the normally fluorescent light of the centre flicker wildly. Realisation dawned on him again and sadness burned through his heart once more. The TARDIS was dying. Wherever he was, whenever Rose was, it was draining his machine. The hollow tears streaked his face again. He and Rose were stuck here. No more TARDIS. She had died to save Rose and fix the Doctor's broken heart.

I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved

I try so hard to say goodbye.