A bit longer this time…enjoy!
The Ties That Bind
THREE
Helping Another
Darkness clouded her mind.
Rose Tyler stumbled as she searched through the blackness that refused to budge. Blindly, she walked, hoping to find some way out of this dark grip. She tripped and fell to the cold, black floor.
Rising her head, a light shone down upon her. She thrust her right hand in her face, clouding her sight from the immense brightness.
"Come to me…"
The voice was harsh, almost quiet, but her eyes heard it. Entranced, she raised her head. Horror shone in her eyes as she saw a sight that horrified her.
A man - or creature - stood in black robes, holding a knife, that dripped red blood. On the floor beside him was a lump. The creature used a booted foot to push the body over, and Rose screamed.
"Come to me Rose Tyler, or he will die!"
Covering her mouth, Rose shut out the image of the Doctor lying on the floor, blood pouring around him.
"DOCTOR!" Rose yelled, sitting up, from where she had been laying on the floor. Her breathing came in ragged gasps. Her eyes ran round the room. She swallowed trying to soothe her racing heart. Slowly, she grasped the tables edge and pulled herself to her feet, swaying lightly.
Was what had she seen true? Was her Doctor in danger?
I need answers and the only way I can do that is speak to the family.
"I need to talk to you, all of you."
Jackie, Mickey and Pete all glanced up at Rose' tired face, as she walked through the hall into the dining room. Jackie immediately crossed the room, pulling her daughter into a hug. Rose' little sister carried on sleeping in the cot, unaware of her elder sister's state.
Rose pulled away from the hug, laying her bag down on the floor. "Something happened today. At work. Something that directly involves me…" she hesitated, "and the Doctor."
They had learnt long ago to listen to Rose. After all, they had believed her when she had heard the Doctor's voice in her dreams, calling her to him. Her mind wandered back to the beach, to the day when she last saw him.
The day she had declared her love for him.
The day her heart shattered when he disappeared without saying those words back to her.
Her words halted in her throat and she coughed. Shaking her head, she pulled a chair up and sat down, keeping her intense brown eyes on the three people watching her.
"I was at work when it happened. Just reading reports…when my head hurt. I fell and fainted. But the strange thing about that was, that I had a vision…well, it seemed like one. It was a thing…a creature of some description, that I had never seen before. Darkness everywhere, just that creature and someone on the floor, blood spilling around them. It was the Doctor. He was there. Lying in that blackness. The creature said to me: Come to me. Come to me, Rose Tyler, or he will die. That's when I woke, as if I was being released from this curtain of blackness."
She fell silent, unsure of how to proceed.
"We can't do anything, sweetheart." Jackie responded, leaning forward and stroking her daughter's arm.
"There has to be something. I wouldn't receive that vision for nothing. Something is happening. There's got to be a way for me to get through." She swallowed. "I'm thinking about the impossible. It just is. How can I ever return to him? We're completely blocked off." Rose slammed her fist down on the table. "It's not fair! Why did this have to happen? I didn't ask for this!"
"Rose," Mickey gently took her left hand, and bade her to look at him. "Rose, I promise you, we will find out what's going on, alright? We'll help you, in anyway we can." He stepped back.
"Thank you," Rose whispered, tears now trailing down her face.
"You made a promise that we don't even know we can keep."
"I realised that as soon as I said that, but I hate seeing Rose unhappy." Mickey responded, settling his eyes on Pete. They stood in a brightly lit room. It was hidden under the Tyler Manor, and only Pete and Mickey knew of it. For months they had been researching and experimenting on new ways to open up a hole in the universe that wouldn't cause any damage. They had yet to find a way that would help them.
"We're never going to accomplish this. It is virtually impossible. In fact, it is impossible!"
Mickey leaned his hands on a wooden table. "Thing is, Pete, I remember the Doctor telling me that the Time Lords had some sort of control over gaps in the Universes. If we could somehow replicate that technology we might be able to create our own device. Yes, it may be a impossible feat, but I did spend time with the Doctor and I learnt a few things about alien technology. With that knowledge, there must be some way of cracking through and inventing the correct equipment. We just can't give up, that's all."
"For Rose' sake." Mickey added.
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, glancing round at his surroundings. He knew instantly that he was in London. He didn't know why he set a course for Earth again, but something seemed to tell him to set down here. His mind played on the incident with the woman. Now that had been lucky.
If he had been caught…
He winced as his mind whirled through the many possibilities.
Taking a brisk walk, he found himself in a small close. Another road lay situated to his left, that could lead him to the city centre. The TARDIS had appeared on the corner of the close. He decided to take a walk to the right.
His path took him down another avenue, which in turn led to a small community. A few shops were scattered about, passer buyers walking slowly by, chatting to one another. His route eventually led him into the open countryside. He was far away from where the TARDIS was, only about forty minutes away at least.
Then, a scream reverberated through the air.
Quickly he calculated where it had come from and sped to the right, into a field. His eyes trailed over the field coming to rest upon two people. A man and a woman.
The man held the woman by the collar, dragging her towards him. She looked scared. Then the Doctor caught sight of a dagger.
The man shouted out: "I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T HOLD STILL!"
The woman looked absolutely terrified.
Taking his sonic screwdriver he ran forward. He didn't know what he was going to do, but the only thing he could think of was to attack first and ask questions later. He leapt at the man's back, pushing his sonic screwdriver at the man's head. The man collapsed to the ground.
"Come on!" Grabbing the woman's hand, he hauled her along behind him. The man rushed to his feet and followed. He had only made the man disorient, but it hadn't lasted as long as he wanted.
Running back into the road he quickly headed back to the village, the man following them. The woman yelled and stumbled. The Doctor caught her in his arms as he faced the man. The woman's leg was bleeding where the dagger had struck her.
In a split second the man tackled the Doctor sending him back into the earth. He struggled trying to push the man off him. As the man raised his fist, the Doctor grasped his sonic screwdriver shoving it right at the man's chest. The man instantly fell limp and the Doctor pushed him back. He climbed to his feet, pocketing his screwdriver and rushed over to the woman who was panting. Blood poured from her leg. He gently looked at the wound, assessing the damage. He could heal that right away at the TARDIS.
The woman was moaning. She looked vaguely familiar as well. He leaned in close to her. "I'm going to help you." Gently he soothed her to sleep. The Doctor picked her up and carried her. He skirted the village, careful to stay hidden, making his way back towards the TARDIS.
He didn't know how he managed it, but he did it. He put the woman in the medical bay and healed her leg wound, so that no one would be able to notice it. Barely a scratch remained when he was done. The only problem was that she would now have to know what he was, which he didn't mind doing, it was the aftermath of what would happen to her.
Even looking at her sleeping face, the Doctor realised where he recognised her from. The same woman from before…in that café. Was that even possible? He had left York to get away from her, but had just saved her life! One thing nagged at him, what was she doing in a village on the outskirts of London?
Was it simply fate that he had set down to save her, or was it just coincidence?
He sighed and decided to wait for her to wake up, knowing that she would likely be scared and unsure of why she was doing here.
At least, he thought, her questions about me will be answered.
TBC
Thanks so far for the reviews. Please post any comments, I don't know whether this is worth continuing as there isn't much feedback.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Leila-Rose-Bell
