Time Can Be Rewritten
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
OoOoOoOo
The Unquiet Dead
The TARDIS shook as the Doctor shouted out commands, "Hold that one down!" He pointed to a switch on the opposite side of the console.
Rose rolled her eyes, exasperated, "I'm HOLDING this one down!"
"Well, hold them BOTH down!"
Both his eyebrows rose as Rose rolled her eyes again, muttering something about boneheaded stubborn timelords who don't know how to drive, and threw her leg up over the console to hold the other button down, "It's not going to work!"
"Oi!" He couldn't keep the grin off his face as he looked at her, "I promised you a time machine and that's what you're getting. Now, you've seen the future – let's have a look at the past. 1860. How does 1860 sound?"
Rose smirked and taunted, "Outta your driving range."
"Oi! Cheeky!" He did look offended then but the amusement in his eyes gave him away, "I could just drop you off at home if that's how you feel!"
"Just proving my point, Doctor!" She teased playfully, her tongue poking out between her teeth as she grinned at him. He just snorted and rolled his eyes before she finally gave in and asked, "What happens in 1860?"
He grinned at her, shrugging happily, "No idea! Let's find out. Hold on, here we go!"
Rose braced herself as the TARDIS shook violently, throwing the two of them to the floor as she landed. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her as the Doctor helped her to her feet, grin still on his face.
"Blimey!"
The Doctor looked her over, "You're telling me! Are you alright?"
"Yeah, nothing broken…" She paused a teasing smirk played over her lips, "Though I think you need driving lessons!"
"Still with the insults!" She giggled at the offended look on his face before he huffed out a laugh himself and looked at the screen, "I did it! Give the man a medal. Earth – Naples – December 24th, 1860!"
"It's Christmas!" She burst out excitedly.
He gestured to the door, "All yours."
Rose beamed at him, "Christmas. 1860. Happens once. Just once, and it's gone. It's finished. It'll never happen again. Except for you," she paused, staring at the Doctor intently for a moment, "You can go back and see days that are dead and gone and a hundred thousand sunsets ago… no wonder you never stay still…"
The Doctor smiled softly at her, "Not a bad life."
"Better with two," She gave him her tongue in tooth grin as he grinned back at her, before a teasing glint entered her eyes and she slapped his bum, relishing in his shock before she dashed to the door, "Come on then!"
"Oi, oi, oi! Where do you think you're going?!"
"1860!"
"Go out there dressed like that, you'll start a riot, Barbarella!"
She arched an eyebrow, mischief written over her face, "Could be fun."
He snorted, "There's a wardrobe through there, the Tardis should show you the way. Hurry up!"
She rushed off, though she did wonder why there were no complicated instructions this time, the TARDIS hummed in amusement in her mind, lights flickering as she led her through to the wardrobe. Rose opened the doors excitedly and grinned as she saw the dress she had worn last time lay out waiting for her, along with all the other accoutrements.
She put the finishing touches together and looked into the mirror. Perfect, Rose thought. She looked exactly as she had last time. Normally, she wouldn't bother so much, but she absolutely adored this dress and she couldn't help but want to see the gobsmacked look on the Doctor's face when he first saw her. Beautiful. Even if he did cover it up with an insult after, it was one of her favourite memories.
Rose wandered back into the console room and watched for a moment as the Doctor did unnecessary repair work as he waited for her. She coughed to gain his attention and preened as he did a double take as he noticed her, "Blimey!" He turned to face her 'repairs' abandoned, "You look beautiful!"
She beamed at him, a light flush covering her cheeks, as he looked away awkwardly.
"You don't look so bad yourself," She blurted out quickly before he could say anything else, she let her eyes travel up and down him before she added teasingly, "I see you've changed your jumper."
He fumbled with the sonic screwdriver as his ears went red, "Yep," he jumped out from beneath the controls and moved towards the doors, averting his eyes from her, "Come on, then!"
"Oi!" She stopped him in his tracks, his eyes wide as he finally looked at her, "You, stay there! This is mine," she grinned as he relaxed and rolled his eyes.
She hurried towards the door, excitement bubbling up within her. Rose let out a breath and opened the doors, stepping out delicately onto the snow. She did adore snow. She jumped a little as the Doctor followed her out, smiling at her in amusement.
"Ready for this?" He asked softly as she took his offered arm, "Here we go. History!"
Rose looked around in wonder, still bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, unable to entirely control the excitement that never quite went away when travelling with the Doctor. She loved this though, stepping out into the past, the future or different planets or space stations, even if she had lived through it before. Although she had to admit, she wouldn't enjoy it half as much without her Doctor, the mere thought of staying with him forever made butterflies flutter excitedly in her stomach.
She was so caught up in her thoughts, she barely noticed as the Doctor wandered off to buy a newspaper, "I got the flight a bit wrong."
"Should've put money on it," She teased him lightly, making him roll his eyes.
"It's not 1860, it's 1869."
"I don't care!"
"It's not Naples."
She grinned at him, "We're in the past, it's Christmas Eve in 1869 and it's snowing, Doctor, it could be the Estate! It's still brilliant."
"It's Cardiff." He said flatly, looking at the paper in distaste.
She rolled her eyes, "Don't be a snob, I've never been to Wales before."
He looked at her in surprise, "You've never been anywhere?"
"Never been away from the Estate," she beamed up at him, wrapping her arm back around his and nuzzling into his shoulder, "Not until a man with a magical box crashed into my life and told me I could go anywhere."
He shifted uncomfortably, his hearts racing at the way this young human girl viewed him. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, when a scream pierced through the silence.
Grasping onto the distraction, he threw the paper to the side, "Now, that's more like it!"
Rose grinned as she hiked up her dress and ran after him towards the theatre. She giggled as she heard him exclaim, 'Fantastic!' ducking out of the way of the ghostly creatures as he made his way to the stage and Charles Dickens. Rose paused and watched as the old woman's body slumped, the aliens leaving her body. She hesitated; how could she make the Doctor see the Gelth weren't to be pitied, that they weren't good.
She felt the TARDIS press into her mind, enveloping her in a comfort and love. Her eyes fluttered shut as she revelled in the feeling of home for a moment.
Her eyes snapped open then as the TARDIS pulled away and she watched as Gwyneth and her boss made off with the old woman's body. She felt guilt pull at her as she failed to recall the man's name, she hadn't particularly liked him, but that didn't mean he deserved to be forgotten.
"Oi! Leave her alone!" She shouted and moved towards the pair, "I'll go after 'em, Doctor!"
She rushed out after them, just in time to see them load the body into the hearse. "Gwyneth!" she shouted causing the young woman to look around in shock as Rose caught up to them, she grabbed the girl's hand gently, "Listen, I know what's going on – me and the Doctor, we can help-" she was cut off as her mouth and nose were covered, she struggled, kicking and hitting out as an arm tightened around her, pulling her head back to his shoulder before going limp. She thought she heard the Doctor shout her name before she blacked out.
OoOoOoOo
Rose groaned as she woke up, her head was throbbing. She rubbed her hand over her eyes before she jolted up quickly remembering where she was. She stumbled off the table as she heard moaning behind her.
She leaned against the door as she saw a man staggering towards her, the old woman rising from her coffin, "Not again." She turned and banged against the door, attempting to throw her weight into it without it budging, Rose shouted angrily before she gave in and screamed, "Doctor! Doctor! Let me out! Doctor!"
A hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her screams and pulling her back just as the door was kicked in. She sighed in relief as she saw him, her Doctor.
"I think this in MY dance!" He quipped, pulling Rose against him and out of the corpse's grasp. Her fingers grasped his leather jacket tightly as his arm stayed wrapped around her waist, his grip tightening as she slumped against him slightly.
"It's a prank?" A bewildered voice came from behind her, "It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence."
"No, we're not. The dead are walking." He grinned down at Rose, who was still trying to catch her breath, "Hi!"
"Hello," she let out a laugh, "Who's your friend?"
"Charles Dickens!"
"Oh, hi Charlie," she grinned at Dickens who looked flustered for a moment.
The Doctor frowned before he turned to the corpses, "My names the Doctor. Who are you, then? What do you want?"
"We're failing. Open the rift, we're dying. Trapped in this form – cannot sustain – help us." Both of the corpses raised their heads to the ceiling as the Gelth left them and the fell motionless to the floor.
He stared at the bodies for a moment before he turned back to Rose, "Are you alright? I told you to be careful!"
She smiled weakly, "You got here just in time, and it's not as if I expected to be chloroformed after offering to help."
"What?"
"Well, I figured if they were worried enough to follow and collect the old woman, they might know what was going on, so I said we could help, didn't expect to end up being left to die."
His eyes had darkened as she spoke, anger welling up inside him. His companion could have died because she was too kind and just wanted to help, he was snapped out of his thoughts as her hand grasped his, "Come on, Doctor, let's find out what's going on."
They walked into the parlour where Gwyneth was pouring tea for them all. Rose glared at Sneed then, anger coming to the surface, he knew full well what could have happened to her, but he still left her to die in that room, she stalked over to him, "First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man!"
Sneed cut her off, "I won't be spoken to like this!"
Rose snarled at him, "Yeah, you will!" He sat back meekly in his chair, "Then you stick me in a room full of zombies! And if that ain't enough – you swan off! And leave me to die! So come on! Tell us!"
He swallowed nervously looking from Rose to the Doctor who was scowling and then to Charles Dickens who looked in a state of shock, "It's not my fault, it's this house!"
She scoffed, "This house didn't leave me to die!"
"W-well, it always had a reputation," He stuttered, cowering back as the Doctor darkened even further at his companion's words, "Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back. And then the stiffs-" he paused as Dicken's shot him an offended look, "… the er, dear departed started getting restless," he amened quickly.
"Tommyrot," Dicken's scoffed.
"You witnessed it!" Sneed defended, "Can't keep the beggars down, sir! They walk. And it's the queerest thing that they hang on to scraps…"
Gwyneth handed the Doctor his tea, "Two sugars, sir, just how you like it." The Doctor watched her curiously as Sneed continued.
"One old fella who used to be sexton almost walked into his own memorial service! Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir! Just as she planned."
"Morbid fancy." Dicken's dismissed.
"Charlie, it wasn't a trick or an illusion," Rose cut in and he looked at her curiously, "They tried to kill me – if it wasn't for you and the Doctor, I'd be dead."
His mouth snapped shut as he considered her.
The Doctor looked at Rose approvingly before he turned to Sneed, "What about the gas?"
"That's new, sir, never seen anything like that."
He nodded, "Means it's getting stronger, the rifts getting wider and something's sneaking through."
"What's the rift?" Rose cut in.
"A weak point in time and space. The connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time."
Sneed nodded, "That's how I got the house so cheap, stories going back generations. Echoes in the dark. Queer songs in the air and this feeling, like a… shadow. Passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine."
OoOoOoOo
Gwyneth was lighting a gas lamp as Rose wandered into the kitchen and began washing up. She gasped and protested, "Please, Miss! You shouldn't be helping! It's not right!"
Rose smiled gently, "Don't be daft. Sneed works you to death," she handed Gwyneth a cloth to dry up, "So, did you go to school?"
"Of course, I did." Gwyneth looked at her, "What do you think I am? An urchin? I went every Sunday. Nice and proper." She looked uncertain for a moment, "To be honest, I hated every second."
"Me too!" Rose laughed with Gwyneth.
The Welshwoman grinned, leaning in a little, whispering, "Don't tell anyone, but one week, I didn't go and ran on the heath all on my own!"
Rose smirked, "I did plenty of that, I used to go down the shops with my mate Shareen. And we used to go look at boys."
Gwyneth gasped scandalised, "Well, I don't know much about that, miss," she turns back to the washing up.
"Come on, times haven't changed that much! I bet you've done the same."
"I don't think so, miss."
"Gwyneth! You can tell me! Bet you've got your eye on someone."
"I suppose. There is one lad…" She smiled shyly as Rose grinned at the confession, "The butcher's boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him."
"Oh, I like a nice smile. Good smile, nice bum."
Gwyneth looked shocked, "Well, I have never heard the like!"
"Ask him out! Give him a cup of tea or something, that's a start," Rose grinned teasingly as the other woman giggled. Her smile faded as she thought, if things followed the same path, Gwyneth would never see that butcher's boy again.
"I swear, it is the strangest thing, miss. You've got all the clothes and the breeding, but you talk like some sort of wild thing!"
"Maybe I am," Rose smirked, "But you, you need more in your life than Mr Sneed."
"Ah, now that's not fair. He's not so bad, old Sneed. He was very kind to take me in. Because I lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was twelve."
"I'm sorry," Rose smiled sadly at the other woman, "I lost my dad."
"Thank you, miss," Gwyneth turned to look at Rose, "But I'll be with them again, one day. Sitting with them in paradise. I should be so blessed. They're waiting for me. Maybe your dad's up there waiting for you too, miss."
Rose hummed, "It's a nice thought, he died a few years back, I was only a baby."
"You've been thinking about him lately, more than ever."
"Yes, how do you know all this?"
"How did you know my name before we met, miss?" Gwyneth countered, before she looked away meekly, "Mr Sneed says I think too much. I'm all alone down here. I bet you've got dozens of servants, haven't you, miss."
"No, no servants where I'm from."
"And you've come such a long way… you're from London," Gwyneth gasped, "I've seen London in drawings, but never like that," she stared at Rose intently, "All those people rushing about. Half-naked, for shame. And the noise… and the metal boxes racing past… and the birds in the sky… they're metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People flying. And you – you've flown so far, further than anyone! From a different universe… the things you've seen, the loneliness, the metal monsters – the Big Bad Wolf-" she staggered back in fear, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, miss!"
Rose stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her, "S'alright, are you okay?"
"I can't help it – ever since I was a little girl. My mum said I had the sight. She told me to hide it!"
"But it's getting stronger. More powerful, is that right?" The Doctor spoke from the doorway behind them, making them both jump. Rose shot a glare at him before tightening her grip on Gwyneth, she didn't want the girl to die.
"It's alright, miss," Gwyneth smiled sadly, and moved out of Rose's grip before turning to face the Doctor, "All the time, sir. Every night. Voices in my head."
He smiled, "You grew up on top of the rift. You're part of it. You're the key."
Rose scowled as he called Gwyneth 'the key', she could see that he was already thinking of using the young woman to help the Gelth, not even seeing the woman before him, just a way to ease his guilt.
"I've tried to make sense of it, sir. Consulted with spiritualists, table wrappers, all sorts."
"Well, that should help. You can show us what to do."
"What to do where, sir?"
Rose looked at the Doctor pointedly, "We are NOT having a séance."
He grinned back, "We're going to have a séance."
OoOoOoOo
Rose felt the TARDIS brush against her mind in comfort as she tried not to scowl at the Doctor. He didn't know, didn't realise the Gelth would manipulate him with this, and there was absolutely nothing she could do to show him.
"This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists. Down in Mid Town. Come. We must all join hands."
Dickens got up from the table, "I can't take part in this."
"Humbug?" The Doctor taunted, "Come on, open mind."
"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I try to unmask. Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing."
At that Rose targeted her glare at the older man, squeezing Gwyneth's hand, "Leave her alone."
"I wouldn't antagonize her," The Doctor nodded, before adding with a laugh, "Besides, I love a happy medium."
Rose snorted, "I can't believe you just said that."
He grinned back at her, glad her mood seemed to have lifted, before looking back towards Dickens, "Come on, we might need you," the man sighed before sitting back down hesitantly, "Good man. Now, Gwyneth. Reach out."
"Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits?" Dickens rolled his eyes as Gwyneth continued, "Come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden." She raised her eyes to the ceiling and a murmuring filled the room.
Rose looked around, "Can you hear that?"
The Doctor squeezed her hand gently.
"Nothing can happen," Dicken's scoffed, "This is sheer folly."
"Look at her!"
"I feel them." Gwyneth breathed out as the Gelth poured into the room, "I feel them!"
Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand tightly, "What're they saying?"
"They can't get through the rift." He looked towards the Welshwoman, "Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now look deep. Allow them through."
"I can't!"
"Doctor, they're hurting her." Rose tried to protest.
He ignored her, "Yes you can. Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link."
She looked pained for a moment before she lowered her head and opened her eyes, "Yes."
Three gaseous figures appeared behind her. Dicken's mouth dropped open in surprise.
"Great God!" Sneed gasped, "Spirit's from the other side!"
"The other side of the universe." The Doctor corrected.
One of the figures started speaking in an angelic, childlike voice echoing with Gwyneth's voice, "Pity us. Pity the Gelth. There is so little time, help us."
"What do you want us to do?"
"The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge."
"What for?"
"We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction."
"Why, what happened?"
"Once we had a physical form, like you. But then the war came."
Dickens interjected, "War? What war?"
"The Time War."
Rose tightened her grip on the Doctor's hand, seeing the guilt and pain in his eyes as he looked at her. She felt her hatred for the Gelth grew as she watched them manipulate her Doctor, they knew exactly what they were doing, 'last of their kind' and 'time war', the two phrases that could trigger his survivor's guilt.
"The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state."
"So, that's why you need the corpses."
"We want to stand tall. To feel the sunlight. To live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste, give them to us!"
"Doctor, we can't!" Rose protested before she could stop herself.
The Doctor looked at her in shock, "Why not?" This was the girl who wanted him to save Cassandra, to give the Nestene Consciousness a chance, why was she so against the Gelth having that same chance, "Because it's not decent, not polite?"
"No," She had to try, "Because something doesn't feel right, Doctor!"
He raised his eyebrows at her, not knowing what to make of that.
The Gelth continued, "Open the rift, let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth!" They disappeared and Gwyneth collapsed.
Rose rushed over to her immediately, "I've got you." She looked at the Doctor, "Help me move her, she should sleep this off."
He picked her up effortlessly and placed her gently onto the chaise, his eyes turning back to Rose as she immediately fussed about getting some water for her to drink and a damp cloth which she used to wipe the Welshwoman's brow.
"Why are you so against the Gelth?" He finally asked.
"I don't trust them," She glanced at him as she brushed the sweat away from Gwyneth's brow, "If they just want the bodies of the dead, why'd they try and kill me?" Gwyneth stirred before the Doctor could answer, "It's alright. You just sleep."
"But my angels, miss." Gwyneth placed her hand on Rose's arm, "They came, didn't they? They need me?"
The Doctor stepped in, "They do need you, Gwyneth. You're their only chance of survival."
Rose turned to him angrily, "And what of her surviving? Can you honestly say that the Gelth won't kill her, or the rest of us when the 'bridge' is made?"
"They've been speaking to her all her life, why would they hurt her?"
She arched an eyebrow, "Why would they hurt her before they could use her?"
He sighed, "The last of the Gelth-"
Rose cut him off, "They are not having her!"
"Don't I get a say, miss?" Gwyneth gripped Rose's arm gently, comfortingly as both Rose and the Doctor turned to her, "I know why you're afraid, it's very clear inside your head, but I have to help my angels," she leaned closer and whispered, "Some things cannot be changed, Wolf. My angels must be stopped."
Rose felt tears well up in her eyes, "Is there no way?"
"I'm sorry, miss." Gwyneth hesitated for a moment before she drew her into a hug. Rose pulled away slightly and the Welshwoman turned to the Doctor, "My angels are waiting for me… Doctor, what do I have to do?"
"You don't HAVE to do anything," He emphasised pointedly as Rose looked away.
"They've been singing to me since I was a child. Sent by my mum on a holy mission. So, tell me."
The Doctor smiled at her, "We need to find the rift," he approached Sneed and Dickens, "This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mr Sneed. What's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?"
"That would be the Morgue."
"No chance you were gonna say 'gazebo', was there?" Rose asked dryly, causing the Doctor's lips to twitch slightly.
OoOoOoOo
"Talk about Bleak House," The Doctor said as they entered the Morgue.
"Doctor?" Rose asked quietly, he looked back at her, "I don't remember any corpses walking around in 1869… Does that mean time can be rewritten?"
"Time's in flux. Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing."
He walked further into the Morgue.
"Doctor – I think the room is getting colder," Dickens pointed out.
"Here they come," Rose whispered as the Gelth flooded into the room.
"You have come to help! Praise the Doctor! Praise him!"
"Promise you won't hurt her!" Rose couldn't help it, even with Gwyneth herself saying it had to happen.
The Gelth ignored her again, "Hurry! Please. So little time. Pity the Gelth."
"I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer," The Doctor stated, "Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, alright?"
Again, the Gelth said nothing in response. Gwyneth squeezed Rose's hand gently before she walked towards the aliens, "My angels. I can help them live."
"Okay, where's the weakpoint?"
"Here, beneath the arch," The Gelth exclaimed joyfully as Gwyneth positioned herself beneath the arch.
Rose remembered last time, 'I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch,' she rushed over to Gwyneth and kissed her cheek, subtly feeling for her pulse, there wasn't one, "I'm so sorry, Gwyneth."
Gwyneth reached out and placed a hand on Rose's cheek, "You can't save everyone, Wolf."
Rose staggered backwards as the Gelth spoke once more, "Establish the bridge, reach out of the void, let us through!"
"Yes. I can see you! I can see you! Come!"
"Bridgehead establishing."
"Come! Come to me! Come to this world, poor lost souls!"
"It is begun! The bridge is made!" The Gelth shouted as more poured from Gwyneth's mouth, "She has given herself to the Gelth!"
Dickens looked a bit queasy as he pointed out, "There's rather a lot of them, eh?"
"The bridge is open. We descend," The Gelth figure suddenly turned from angelic blue to a demonic fiery red, "The Gelth will come through in force."
Dicken's eyes widened, "You said that you were few in number!"
The Gelth sneered, "A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses."
The bodies in the Morgue began to rise. Mr Sneed stepped forward and pleaded, "Gwyneth, stop this! Listen to your master! This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, leave these things alone. I beg of you-"
"Sneed! Get back!" Rose lunged forwards and tried to grab the older man, but the Doctor grabbed her waist and pulled her back to him as one of the corpses grabbed Sneed from behind and broke his neck allowing another Gelth to inhabit his body.
As Sneed looked up at them with dead eyes the Doctor said shakily, "I think it's gone a little bit wrong."
"Oh, you think!" Rose snapped at him, her eyes fixed on Sneed, she could have saved him if she's thought ahead. But she'd been fixated on saving Gwyneth even after being told she couldn't. The felt the TARDIS hum sadly in her mind.
Sneed stood, "I have joined the legions of the Gelth. Come. March with us."
"No!" Dickens cried out.
The corpses advanced on the Doctor and Rose as they spoke, "We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead."
Rose gripped the Doctor's hand as they backed up against a dungeon door, "Stop them!" he shouted over to Gwyneth, "Send them back! Now Gwyneth!"
Dickens backed away towards the stairs, "I-I can't! I'm sorry!"
Rose turned and opened the dungeon door, pulling the Doctor in behind her as he locked them in.
"It's too much for me! I'm so-" He jumped and ran from the Morgue as one of the Gelth swooped at him.
"Give yourself to glory. Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth."
The Doctor snarled at them, "I trusted you! I pitied you!"
"We don't want your pity!" The Gelth sneered, "We want this world and all it's flesh." The corpses rattled on the dungeon door.
"Not while I'm alive!" The Doctor glowered at the Gelth.
"Then live no more!"
"Real original," Rose muttered, feeling for the gas pipe behind her and pulling, she could barely shift it as she finally heard a light hissing fill the room.
The Doctor looked at her, "I'm sorry, Rose. I should've listened to you, but I didn't and now we might die in the 19th century."
She let out a breath, trying not to cough as she tightened her grip on his hand, certain on anyone else the vice like grip would have broken bones but he just squeezed back as she said, "It's not your fault, you just wanted to help, they manipulated you."
"I saw the fall of Troy! World War Five! I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party, now I'm going to die in a dungeon!" He looks even more horrified as he adds, "In Cardiff!"
"Well, if you could drive," She couldn't help the playful tease.
The Doctor snorted, "I don't think this is the time to question my driving skills, Rose."
Rose let out a laugh, before she looked at him earnestly, "We'll go down fighting, yeah?"
"Yeah," He smiled down at her.
"Together?"
"Yeah," Something in his eyes softened as he looked at her, his thumb brushing tenderly over the back of her hand, "I'm so glad I met you."
She beamed at him, "Me too, I wouldn't change it for the world!"
"Doctor!" They both jumped as Dickens rushed back into the room, "Doctor! Turn OFF the flame, turn UP the gas! Now fill the room, all of it, now!"
"What're you doing?"
"Turn it all on! Gas the place!" he said as he turned another gas lamp on.
"Brilliant. Gas!" The Doctor turned to Rose, concerned, "How long have you been breathing it in?"
She coughed again, gesturing to the pipe behind them, "A bit."
They turned back as Dickens said shakily, "I hope… oh, Lord. I hope that this theory will be validated soon," all the corpses meandered towards the older man, "If not immediately."
"Plenty more!" The Doctor pulled the pipe completely away from the wall, filling the room with gas and causing the creatures to be sucked from the bodies with a scream.
"It's working!" Dickens exclaimed; relief palpable in his tone, as the Doctor and Rose left the cell, they were in.
"Gwyneth! Send them back!" The Doctor rushed towards the serving girl, "They lied, they're not angels."
Gwyneth stared blankly at him, "Liars?"
"Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back!"
Rose coughed again, collapsing as the gas became too much, "Charles! Get her out of here!"
OoOoOoOo
The Doctor's face dropped as he didn't feel a pulse on Gwyneth, he remembered Rose's words, 'What of her surviving?', she'd been the only one to see through the Gelth, to see they were manipulating him – if only he'd listened to her.
"I'm sorry." He whispered as he pressed a kiss to Gwyneth's forehead, "Thank you."
He ran from the Morgue and dived out of the doorway into the street as the house went up in flame. Though as he picked himself up off the ground, his hearts seemed to stop for a moment as he saw Rose lying lifeless on the ground, her lips blue. He stumbled over to her, his entire body numb as he dropped to his knees beside her, nearly crying in relief as he felt her pulse.
OoOoOoOo
Everything was blurry as Rose opened her eyes, the last thing she remembered was collapsing as the gas overwhelmed her, she blinked a few times trying to clear her head. She was puzzled she could see the Doctor kneeling beside her, his head bowed, and his hand wrapped around her wrist.
"Doctor?" She croaked out.
His head shot up, she was surprised to see his eyes shining, "Rose!"
He helped her sit up, as she finally asked, "Gwyneth?"
His face fell, the guilt and self-hatred obvious, he couldn't look at her, "I'm sorry. She closed the rift."
"At such a cost." Dickens looked back towards the house, "The poor child."
"I did try, Rose, but Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least five minutes," he paused, "I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch."
Rose could feel tears roll down her cheeks as she threw herself against the Doctor, burying her face in his leather clad shoulder.
The Doctor seemed surprised she was even willing to touch him after he had ignored every warning, she had given that she had had a bad feeling about the Gelth, that they weren't to be trusted. Looking back, he could see the blatant manipulation, but he hadn't seen anything but his own actions after they brought up the Time War. His own guilt. He slowly wrapped his arms back around the golden-haired beauty currently sobbing into his shoulder. Another result of his actions.
"She saved the world," Rose's voiced was muffled against his jacket, "A servant girl saved the world, and no one will ever know," she pulled away and looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears, "We can't forget her Doctor."
"Oh, Rose," The Doctor gently wiped away her tears, "She'll never be forgotten."
He helped her to her feet, Rose wrapped her arms around his as they turned towards the burning house and watched it for a few moments before heading back towards the TARDIS.
"Right then, Charlie-boy, I've just got to go into my um… shed. Won't be long!" The Doctor fitted the key into the lock.
Rose turned to face Dickens, "What're you going to do now?"
"I shall take the mail coach back to London. Quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital!" He replied happily.
The Doctor grinned, "You've cheered up!"
Dickens nodded enthusiastically, "Exceedingly! This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world and now I know I've just started! All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor! I'm inspired. I must write about them!"
Rose grinned her tongue in tooth grin.
"I shall be subtle at first. The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word! Tell the truth!"
"Good luck with it. Nice to meet you!" The Doctor shook Dickens' hand, "Fantastic."
"Bye, then," Rose smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "And, thanks."
Dickens looked taken aback as he said, quite flustered, "Oh, my dear – how modern. Thank you, but, but I don't understand – in what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?"
The Doctor grinned, "You'll see. In the shed," He opened the TARDIS door.
"Oh, my soul. Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you. But after all these revelations, there's still one mystery you still haven't explained. Answer me this – who are you?"
He paused, "Just a friend. Passing through."
"But you have such knowledge of future times. I don't wish to impose of you, but I must ask you. My books. Doctor – do they last?"
Rose laughed, "Oh, they do, Charlie."
"For how long?"
"Forever." The Doctor grinned as Dickens attempted to look both pleased and modest at that answer. "Right. Shed. Come on, Rose."
They both turned to the TARDIS as Dickens spoke, "In – in the box? Both of you?"
The Doctor grinned at Dickens as Rose smiled mischievously and winked at him, "Down boy. See ya!"
They entered the TARDIS and Rose gently shut the door behind her.
"He doesn't get to tell his story, does he?"'
"Sorry." The Doctor answered quietly, "In a weeks' time it's 1870, and that's the year he dies. He'll never get to tell his story."
"He was so nice!"
He smiled gently at her, "But in your time, he was already dead! We've brought him back to life! He's more alive now than he's ever been, old Charlie-boy. Let's give him one last surprise."
She grinned at the Doctor as they watched Dickens' face when the TARDIS disappeared from before his eyes.
OoOoOoOo
The Doctor considered the chain carefully, normally he would never offer so soon, but there was something about Rose. He coughed to get her attention from where she was sat reading in the library. She started.
"Doctor!" She scowled playfully at him, before grinning and closing her book.
He frowned as she folded the corner of the page, "That should really be a crime in itself."
"Oi!" Rose pouted, "I like leaving multiple marks in books, if I really like them, I can continue where I left off, or go back to my favourite parts." In truth she had only started reading after she went with the Doctor the first time around, she wanted to read some of Charles Dickens' books after they had met him.
He chuckled causing her to give him her tongue in tooth grin that always made his hearts race. He coughed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he said, "I have something for you," she sat up in her seat eagerly, he held out his hand, she could see a chain as he loosened his grip and she nearly gasped when she saw a key attached, "It's a key to the TARDIS, that's if-"
She jumped up from the sofa and wrapped herself around him, her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist. He let out a startled laugh as he braced himself, "I take it, you want the key then?"
Rose let go of him and dropped back to the floor a light flush covering her cheeks, "Sorry! It's just," she paused, looking up at him shyly and full of hope, "You want me to stay with you?"
His ears went red, but he kept his eyes locked on hers, "I want you to stay. For as long as you want to."
She beamed up at him, her heart racing as she took the chain from him gently before placing it around her neck, "Thank you, Doctor!"