(Continued)
Previously ... "How are you feeling now?" The Doctor asked, interrupting the celebrity gossip she was reading.
"Stuffed," Rose answered as she set her magazine down and yawned. "I could fall asleep right here if I closed my eyes."
"I'm a little tired myself, what with everything going on here lately."
"I'm sorry," Rose blushed a little, embarrassed.
"Again, not you fault. Understood?" He asked, trying to act firm; failing miserably.
They both stood and placed their cups in the sink, then headed out of the kitchen. Without a word, the Doctor walked Rose to her room. When they reached it, she turned to him before walking in.
"Okay?" The Doctor asked gently.
"I'm okay," she answered him, her face showing her gratitude for his concern.
"Good," he replied, bending to kiss her forehead. "Goodnight, Rose," he said, then turned away, walking back down the hallway.
"Night, Doctor," she whispered.
Chapter Two
When Rose walked into the control room the next morning she found the Doctor facing away from her at the main console, totally consumed by a mountain of paperwork the TARDIS was printing out for him. He was lost to anything else. She walked quietly behind him, interested in what bore his attention. She looked over his shoulder for a moment, seeing the papers he held, but lost interest quickly, hypnotized at the images that flitted across the screen beside her. She became entranced by the flashing scrolls. Pages of code and a language she could not decipher nor read. She watched the screen for a long time, seemingly hypnotized without the Doctor's knowledge. When she was finally released from it's hold, she'd barely noticed a second had gone by. She resumed the thoughts she'd been thinking before when she'd looked at the screen, wondering how weird it was that the TARDIS hadn't translated the language for her, but it didn't give her cause for alarm. Looking more closely at the screen, she recognized that the pages she saw were being printed. The Doctor was reading them practically as fast as the screen was flashing them. Blinking quickly a few times, she looked at him again, seeing he was still reading and oblivious to her presence. It was clear he was truly focused, because he usually always knew when she was near.
"Ahem."
The Doctor jumped nearly a foot, turning straight into Rose and in turn she jumped, both startling the other. Breathing heavily, they stared at one another for a moment; the Doctor breaking eye contact first as he pushed up his glasses then straightened imaginary wrinkles in his suit by hand.
"So, whatcha reading?" she asked as if nothing had happened.
"Oh, time logs, repair logs, relativity reports, scan logs, radiation activity reports, dimensional logs - just your basic every day TARDIS self-diagnostics." He turned himself back towards the center console, pushed a couple of buttons, then continued to read the information in front of him.
"Must be good reading, engrossed as you were, yeah?" she asked, a slight hint of a grin forming on her lips.
He looked at her pointedly for a moment, a slight frown an indication of what his response would be to Rose's question. "No. Not really," he began as his eyes returned to scanning the reports. "Especially since everything's showing up as fairly normal." His eyes met hers again briefly, only to return once more to his papers.
"The TARDIS - normal?"
"Well, yes, in a vague sort of way, I suppose. It's almost as if she's showing me what she thinks I want to see," he told her, the frown on his face more intense than before, "or can't show me what I need to know," he finished lowly. Suddenly, with a deeply inhaled breath, his face lightened and he aimed all of his focus on Rose, turning his body to face her.
"So, how are you feeling this morning - or is it afternoon?"
"Peachy. Fine as rain," she answered with a silly smile.
"All that, eh? Well that's just dandy! Dandy. Hmmm. Dan-dy. Don't think I like using that word. Need to remember that. Anyway, I'm thinking that maybe now we can actually go somewhere and have a little holiday then, aye?" he asked, looking pleased.
"What? Just like that? We can go now?" she asked.
"Well, I've adjusted the frequency emitters so that you shouldn't be affected by them, accidentally or not. So I should actually be able to land us somewhere without you going all aflutter." He waved his hand animatedly, but grinned so she knew he was only teasing. "Care to explore a bit, Miss Tyler?" he asked as he held his hand toward her.
"I think I just might, Doctor," she answered with a slight curtsey, taking his hand.
Still holding her hand, the Doctor turned towards the controls, pushing a few buttons. He turned towards her again and smiled, pleased to see she hadn't fainted again. He then turned back once more, pushing down a lever.
They were plummeted into complete darkness; the noises from the TARDIS shutting down sounding like the life was draining from her very being. Only a slight hum still remained, which made everything seem too quiet compared to the normal sounds they were used to.
Rose and the Doctor remained silent for a few moments, soaking in what had just happened. Their only acknowledgment of each other being in the tightening grips of their hands. There was no seeing each other, just a sense of presence thanks to touch.
Rose felt the Doctor moving around a bit, then heard the unmistakable sound of the sonic screwdriver. She heard him adjusting it and then spotted the blue light.
The Doctor just couldn't help himself as he put the light below his chin, giving off an eerie look indeed. His wide eyes focused on his traveling companion. "Boo!"
And Rose couldn't help herself either. "You big goof!" she replied, smacking his arm then giggling, his attempt at relieving the tenseness he sensed a success. "What happened?"
"Hmmm. Not quite sure," he answered, turning the light towards the center console and turning his body with it, which caused Rose to turn as well. He looked it over from top to bottom, the light from the sonic screwdriver growing brighter with his touch. "Don't see anything out of place so far." He stood still for a moment, then inhaled a very deep breath. "Don't smell anything burning either," he said as he exhaled.
"That's always a good, I say," Rose replied, holding his hand firmly in hers, in case he had the silly notion to per chance to let go.
"It can't be too bad. After all, we're still breathing freshly recirculated air and our feet are still on the ground, so life support and gravitational fields are still in place," the Doctor said as he guided her around the console; his tone comforting.
"Always a bright side then," Rose spoke lightly.
"Yep. Even in the dark," the Doctor replied, chuckling at his own wit, looking at her as he flashed the light towards her face. "Here, you hold the torch while I have a look-see underneath."
Rose didn't want to let go of him, but found her own voice mocking her within her mind. Just what ghost or being after all, was possibly going to get her in the dark - here, in the TARDIS. In the middle of a vortex, no less. She held the sonic screwdriver while he jiggled off the grating on the floor in front of him, then jumped down into the hollows.
The doctor maneuvered himself around a bit, then began pulling on wires, hmphing and ahhing to himself. A quick "Aha!" later, and the TARDIS began humming louder and louder as everything began to light up again.
Hopping up from the floor he'd hoisted himself onto gracefully, he grinned that all-knowing smirk as he straightened his clothing, looking much too pleased with himself. "Genius," he said, pointing to himself with one hand while smoothly taking back the sonic screwdriver with the other.
"Really. What was wrong?" Rose asked.
"Just a loose connection. Simple as plugging it in. So, since that's been taken care of - rather ..." he paused, prompting Rose to say the next word with a grin, raised eyebrows, and a roll of his hand towards her.
"Brilliantly," she said for him, simultaneously grinning and rolling her eyes.
"Yes, since it's all done now, Where would you like to go? Just name the place, and we're there." His smile was contagious, or so he thought, watching hers fall.
"I don't think I want to go anywhere."
"What?"
"What I said. I don't want to go anywhere." She looked away from him, her eyes staring just over his shoulder.
"Really?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. There's just this feeling I've got. Like we should stay put. I ... I don't want to go anywhere."
"Are you sure? Because you were more than eager to go not that long ago, conveying your absolute need to be out and about."
"I'm sure," Rose answered, her tone giving an air of certainty.
"Are you feeling all right?" the Doctor asked, his concern growing fiercely.
"Do I look ill?"
"No," the Doctor began, observing her closely as he took a deep breath, "however, given your recent history, there weren't any warning signs before then either, when you, oh say, fainted dead away those past few times. So, I might not be able to tell whether you're well or not, which is why I am asking you."
"I'm fine." Her words seemed almost forced.
"Oh. Of Course. That's why after almost a week of being virtually trapped inside the TARDIS, with you yourself begging to jump ship, you've now decided you don't want to go anywhere. How silly of me to assume there's anything wrong," the Doctor's voice dripped with sarcasm. He turned on his sonic screwdriver once more, adjusting it while he stared at Rose. She was shaking slightly; her body trembling as if she were cold. But he wasn't done trying to spark her. "What I don't understand is how you can turn down a trip through there," he continued, pointing towards the TARDIS doors. She didn't look towards them. He dropped his arm down slowly.
"I have a headache." her voice had become totally devoid of any emotion. The sonic screwdriver held in his left hand began to sweep up and down her body, and that had not even gained a response from her. All his scans were telling him she was fine. But this just wasn't the case - he knew it.
"All the more reason we should GO somewhere," he said evenly, staring into her eyes. The eyes that still were not looking at him.
"No."
"Excuse me?" the Doctor asked, looking at her incredulously, his right hand feeling behind him on the console, knowing each lever without sight. He casually turned the crystal beneath his hands, securing the destination he'd programmed before her last fainting spell. Rose's eyes turned darkly to his, her face reflecting a touch of anger. Somehow she'd known what he was doing without being able to see it.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?" he asked innocently, his hand soundlessly flipping down a lever, again out of her sight.
"That." Her eyes bore into his; her tone almost threatening.
"Why not?" he asked innocently, adding a little forced joviality to his tone. He then pushed another button. One more and a flip of a lever just out of reach to his right, and they'd be on New, New Earth.
"We cannot leave the vessel." Her voice was no longer her own.
The Doctor stepped closer to Rose, bending himself until his face was just inches from hers. "And why is that?"
Rose's eyes flashed with yellow fire for a moment, then took on a subtle golden glow. She no longer looked at the Doctor, but merely stared blankly ahead of her. "We must fix what has been broken. Right what has been wronged."
The Doctor stood stock still for a moment, then took a step back from Rose, noticing her eyes did not follow him. He waved a hand in front of her face, but she wasn't seeing. She was entranced; possessed by the only other living thing there besides herself and the Doctor, and he knew it immediately. "What has been wronged? What must be fixed before we can go further?"
"We must go back to Scroibrulla, before the damage is too severe," she answered simply.
"What damage - to whom?" he asked, totally focussed on the TARDIS's possession of Rose.
Rose's eyes met his, and he couldn't believe all the emotion he saw in them - adoration, fear, sadness, and the need to protect - like a mother for her child. For the first time in all his regenerations, he was seeing the TARDIS. Her hand rose to his face, cupping his cheek gently. "To us all."
The Doctor watched as the golden light within Rose began leaving her, swirling around them both like a waft of smoke, graceful as it lifted above them. Then it seemed to pull apart into a thousand hues of color; a brilliant light show that diminished piece by piece into the walls of the ship.
It was Rose's scream that tore him away from the beautiful display. She screamed in pain as he wrapped his arms around her; fear of what was causing her agony clear in his panicked eyes. Before he could ask her what was wrong, she was unconscious. He fell with her to the ground, desperately feeling for the pulse he could not find.
To be continued ...
End Of Chapter Two
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