A/n; hey guys, sorry about chapter two, have no idea what happened to the formatting, looked fine before I posted it. anyway, its fixed now so if you haven't read it, pop on back a chapter.

Heres chapter three, anyone still reading tenxrose? x

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The Doctor stormed into the TARDIS and kept walking. He had no idea where he intended to go but he just had to keep moving. When he finally stopped he found himself staring at his office, his sanctuary. Where he hid when Rose was asleep. He paced round his desk, his hands constantly tugging at his hair as Susan's words echoed through his head. There had to be another way, he just had to think.

It wasn't fair. There was always something these days and it always ended up centred on him. All he wanted was to get back to his normal existence; travelling with Rose and Jack, helping out if needed. It was like he was being punished for accepting his feelings for Rose.

'Use them to satisfy an itch if you must, but never lower yourself to get attached.'

"Shut up," the Doctor spat. "This is my world not yours."

'For now. Remember Doctor. You WILL become me. It's only a matter of time.' A cold chuckle echoed in his head.

The Doctor squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on forcing the Valeyard back out, giving a cry at the sharp pain that shot through his head. Opening his eyes he caught sight of himself in a mirror and saw what Jack must've seen; cold and dark, eyes of steel, a sneer marring his face. "GET OUT!" he screamed, picking up a paperweight from his desk and threw it, smashing the glass.

As the chuckle faded, mocking him as it went, the Doctor lost control and with a guttural scream flipped his heavy wooden desk.

XxXxX

Rose, Jack and Susan flinched at the Doctor's cries and crashing about. As he began to throw his books Jack raced in to calm him, grabbing him from behind pinning his arms down. "Doctor, stop, stop," he shushed as the Time Lord's yells subsided. "It's gonna be ok."

The Doctor panted as he shook Jack off, shaking his head. "No. It's not. Don't you see? This could end everything for me, for us." He looked back at Rose in the doorway. "I can't stop him as I am. I can't stop him from taking over. Over time he will only get stronger and there'll be only two possible outcomes; he takes control of me or he keeps coming for me."

"Why would he keep coming for you?" Jack asked.

The Time Lord scrubbed his face. "Because that's his sole purpose. His reason for being. To destroy me and take my place. That's why they created him." He leant on a wall and hit it "damn it! I wanted you to be wrong," he said looking at Susan. "I so wanted you to be wrong."

"I know," she said quietly. "So did I."

Rose went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face into his back. She could feel his hearts racing and the deep gulps of air his body was struggling to control.

"I'll have to leave you all behind," he said straightening. He turned in Rose's arms and held her so tightly she almost lost her breath.

"Doc, come on. You can't do this alone," Jack told him.

"I have to. Trust me, you won't like me after this."

"Doc, that's just dumb. You'll still be you, just creepy. We've seen your dark side before remember?"

The Doctor shook his head. "You really haven't. I know we called him 'the dark doctor' but he's not even close. He's Oscar the grouch by comparison."

"What do you mean?" Rose finally asked, pulling away to look at him.

The Doctor stepped away from her, rubbing the back of his neck."Imagine me; all my energy, my brain power. Now take away any sense of harmless fun and replace it with the willingness to destroy a whole city because the residents are 'lesser beings'. Take away my sense of right and wrong. I'm not a nice person. And it's not just emotional detachment cruelty, it's a murder always on the edge, someone who enjoys hurting and killing people for sport, enjoys manipulating others to do it. Once upon a time we were great and peaceful. Then the corruption set in and we became rotten to the core. It's why I was always running away, why they all hated me. I didn't want to be like them, for FUCK SAKE!" He kicked his chair across the room and Rose flinched. Taking a breath he leant back against the wall and slid down to the floor defeated. "He's everything Rassilon said I was and worse." He looked up at Rose. "If you meet him, you'll never love me again. I'll be that monster."

Tears sprang to Rose's eyes as she shook her head. "But you'll be you inside. And when he's defeated you'll come back to me. Exactly as you are now."

"What if I can't get back?" he asked quietly.

Rose frowned.

"What if the pull of that part of me overwhelms this part of me and I can't regain control? He said it; human beings are only good for fun. You should never get attached. What if that side of me refuses to give in?"

"I won't let that happen. I wore you down once, didn't I?" she joked, hoping to raise a smile.

"Well I don't care what you say, if you're doing this then I'm coming with you," Jack declared.

"Jack.." the Doctor protested.

"No, I mean it. I'm coming. I'm gonna make sure I bring you back to Rose and Susan, and the rest of the universe for that matter. Because the universe needs the Doctor. OUR Doctor. The goofy, clumsy, sexy, deliciously brilliant Doctor."

"I doubt he'll let you."

"I won't give him a choice! I'll stalk him to the ends of the Earth."

The Doctor huffed out a small laugh then looked at Rose.

"I get it. You don't want me to see you like it," she told him sadly. sitting next to him and taking his hand, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I don't want him in a million miles of you. He's gonna be cruel. I don't want him to hurt you, tell you things that just aren't true."

Rose nodded. "Guess I'm back to staying with my mum. Greeeaaat."

A baby's gurgling sounded from Susan's pocket. "David's awake. I should go back inside before he starts screaming," she told them apologetically.

The Doctor nodded and stood, enveloping his granddaughter in a hug.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I know."

"So when…?"

"As soon as. If I wait I'll bottle out."

"Come back to us." With a kiss to his cheek and a tearful wave to the others, she ran from the room.

"So what do we do?" Jack asked the question the Time Lord has been dreading.

"First we take Rose to safety, away from me." His voice cracked as he offered her his hand, helping her up.

"I'll go and get us moving," Jack said, giving the couple a few minutes.

Rose looked at her love, watching a tear roll down his face.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, barely able to speak.

"What for?"

"I just got you back and now I have to send you away," his voice was barely more than a whisper.

She cleared her throat, hoping to tramp down her own tears. "It's only temporary, right? I mean it's a time machine. You can come back in like five minutes from now and I won't know any different."

He gave her a watery smile. "Rose Tyler. I love you more than there are atoms in the universe. Being with you, being able to love you has been the best time of my ridiculously long life."

"Stop it. Stop saying goodbye."

"I have to. Because if I can't fight my way back through, I need you to understand what you mean to me. That you're the most important person ever and that I will fight with every fibre to come back."

"And you need to know that I will NEVER EVER love anyone the way I love you. You are mine and you ARE coming back," she cried before pulling him in for a kiss. A kiss that she poured her soul into as they both opened their minds to each other. The feelings flowing between them were all consuming. Fear, love and anguish weighed heavily on them both. Rose felt the Doctor sob against her as she joined him in his despair.

XxXxX

Jack felt awash in misery. The couple's heartbreak so powerful it spread to him too. He had to keep it together, someone had to.

When they entered the control room hand in hand, he offered them a sad smile.

"You coming in?" Rose asked the Doctor as she motioned towards the doors.

He shook his head. "If I go out there I'm just gonna keep running and hiding. I've gotta do this now."

She nodded and hugged him again tightly."I love you. Remember that. No matter what." She turned to Jack. "Bring him back to me, Captain," she whispered as she hugged him.

"Yes ma'am," he saluted.

With one last tearful kiss with her lover, she ran out of the TARDIS doors and straight into her mums living room.

The Doctor quickly set his machine in motion as he heard her sobs through the doors, afraid he'd run after her.

He took a deep breath and looked at his friend. "Let's get this over with."

XxXxX

Jack surveyed the Doctor. He'd change his suit to his black one, with a black shirt and no tie. He hadn't wanted to be seen in his usual suits, he didn't want to 'taint' them he'd said. He was sat in an arm chair, his face twisting and contorting as his fingers dug into the cushions, sweat beading in his forehead. He'd withdrawn his presence from Jack and Rose's minds so that they wouldn't hear his thoughts.

It seemed like forever to Jack but suddenly he felt their connection break and the Doctor went still, his breathing calmed and his posture changed. He could see the difference in his friend immediately, his face was hard, even with his . Jack wasn't looking forward to the moment the Time Lord opened his eyes.

"Well this is different." His voice sounded strange. It was him but at the same time it wasn't. Jack winced.

"What's the matter Jack? Not soft enough for you?" The Doctor rose from his seat, straightening his suit and cuffs. "Thought you of all people would appreciate a little…darkness. You're quite good at violence from what I recall. You could be very handy to have around. Just got to ignore the smell," he sneered.

"Smell?"

"Hmm. The smell. Everything about you is wrong Jack, to a Time Lord you reek of death. Still you can't stay dead so you have your uses." He walked over to the mirror. "At least he changed the suit. That man has no style. So," he clapped his hands together and rubbed them. "What shall I do first?" A manic grin spread across the Doctor's face.

"Well dealing with the Valeyard might be a good place to start," Jack suggested.

"Hmm. He is an annoyance but he'll find me I'm sure. Maybe I should make it easier for him though." He started to walk towards the consul room. "Come on Jack. Let's make a scene."

XxXxX