Rose

It was enough.

After only two weeks of marriage, Arthur Blackburn had fled from Callow's Reach, butt naked and screaming all manner of things, incoherently babbling of monsters, snarks, and all manner of nasties. Znya claimed he'd stumbled across the spider's chamber, but Rose couldn't see how that could be so; since her and Jack's little expedition to that terrible place, it had been kept locked, and only Znya held the key.

Whilst it proved nothing, it was weird. Weird enough so that she and Jack finally resolved to air their concerns to the Doctor.

Znya had rode alone to the Blackforte, in pursuit of her runaway streaker of a husband, leaving she, Jack and the Doctor to enjoy lunch together, a rare thing it was these days.

Say what you will of Jack, but he wasn't a shy man. He was comfortable in confrontation, happy to hold difficult conversations. But for this, Rose might even have chickened out.

"Look, Doctor," he drawled, smiling encouragingly at Rose, "things are bothering us."

The Doctor frowned. "Eh?" he demanded incredulously, "whassup? 'Eck, I know this business with Arthur's a shame, but..."

"It's not just that," Rose chimed, "it's a few things..."

His baby blue eyes bored into her own, and he nodded stiffly. "All right, go on. What's bothering ya?"

Taking a breath, Rose started from the beginning and didn't stop. She admitted, for the first time, how unnerving she found Znya. The Judoon, the very creatures who'd broken he and Romana up all those years ago, conveniently being here when they arrived. The weird woman she'd seen in the Tardis, and the dire warning she'd given her.

"And last night was the cherry on top," she finished. "Arthur running away like that...there's something going on here, Doctor. Something that doesn't add up."

"Oh, is that right?" the Doctor replied coldly. "Do tell, I'm all ears. No pun intended. What, exactly, is wrong with it here?"

She and Jack exchanged a look.

"We don't know." Jack admitted. "Just something."

"Yeah, and you've waited to tell me all this for what reason?"

"We couldn't be sure!" Jack replied sharply. "And we still can't. But last night made us as sure as we've been since gettin' here."

The Doctor glared at them both, pushing his plate of roast lamb and vegetables away. "Have ya both finished?" he barked.

They glanced nervously at each other. Rose felt more scared than ever she had in her life just then, as the cold waves of anger radiated from the Doctor like a bitter winter's wind. It was just like when she'd saved her father's life, all over again. The rage of a Time Lord was worse than any horror she'd encountered on their travels thus far, worse even than Daleks.

"I got another explanation fer this," the Doctor growled, "wanna hear it?"

Before waiting for an answer he turned to Rose. "I gave ya everything ya never had, didn't I? A life worth livin', the chance ter see the universe, an' your jealous coz' I've decided to settle down with me daughter, cutting you outta the equation. That's it, ain't it? Be honest."

"How dare you!" Rose gasped, rising to her feet, tears prickling her eyes. "I want to happy for you, Doctor! I wish that I was! I wish I trusted Znya with all my heart, I wish I felt happy here! I want to so badly! For you! And I can't."

"Yeah, yeah," he turned to Jack, "and your just a hopeless case, ain't ya? Haven't got the restraint ta disagree with pretty lilttle Rose, 'm I right? I know what ya want from her, you mark me words. Well, 'ave her! Take her! Flamin' 'eck, if youse wanna go, then go! I'll drop you off someplace meself. But nothin' you say, nothin' ever, is gonna persuade me to leave here. It's where I belong. She's all I got!"

"She's not your daughter." Rose snapped, before she could help herself.

A deathly silence hung over the dining hall, and it lasted a full thirty seconds before the Doctor broke it, his voice murderous.

"Oh, yeah? The girl who's DNA matches mine, who knows all about what 'appened between me and Romana, ain't my daughter? You sure you wanna repeat that ridiculous statement?"

"I'll repeat it for her," Jack spat. "She ain't your daughter. I don't know who she is, but I know who she isn't."

The Doctor stood up, quivering with anger. "Great. Well, I think we're just about done 'ere. I'll come back in an hour, and when I do, you'll either apologize or be packed up for home." with that, he stormed out of the dining hall, brushing roughly past Cartwright, who's chosen that moment to return laden with desserts.

"My lord, my lady," he exclaimed, setting down the trifle and staring after the Doctor. "What troubles the warden?"

"I don't..." Rose swallowed her tears, and licked her lips. "I don't think that was the warden, Cartwright. I don't know who that was, but it wasn't the Doctor."