A Higher Power
Chapter Four
Previously...
"Are you sure I can't talk you out of going with me?" (the Doctor) asked, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes as he reached out his hand to her.
"I'm sure." (Rose) replied, taking his hand as she stepped closer to him beside the bed, letting him see how sure she was in her eyes. She was more than determined, he had to give her that.
"Positive?" he asked, hoping she'd rethink this need to go out there with him.
"Yep. Absolutely positively."
"Nothing I can say to change your mind?"
"Nope," she replied cheekily.
"I was afraid of that," he answered, looking down at their joined hands. He released her hand then looked sharply back into her eyes.
Before Rose knew what was happening, the Doctor had his hands to her temples as his intense stare held her captive. Then her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her eyelids closed.
"There you go," he whispered. He relinquished his fingertips from her face and wrapped his arms around her body as it collapsed into his, then he easily swung them around, lifting her up and placing her on the bed. "I'm sorry. But in all honesty, I did offer you an out. I just can't risk you going out there again," his tone was gentle and hypnotic as his fingertips returned to her temples. "Sleep. Sleep, Rose Tyler. And when you awaken, I'll be here."
A/N: Thank you all for the encouragement and support and wonderful feedbacks - you've really been fantastic and a great motivation for me to continue, only second to the Doctor himself. g
Chapter Four
The Doctor walked out of the TARDIS and found himself doubly assaulted. First of all came the rain, which was a mere drizzle when his right foot stepped out, but had now turned into an out-and-out downpour once he stood tall in the elements. As if that hadn't been enough, the TARDIS had landed right outside of the small township they'd visited before on Scroibrulla, and thus made her presence quite known. Which probably explained his second assault - that of many humanish beings poking him with crude weapons, forcing him to stand still. In the rain.
Marched into town by his new entourage, the Doctor began talking - something he was very good at. Many, many words that had come to save him from the room of shackles they'd led him to and given way to the opportunity of taking the blame of the early rain season off from himself. And, bonus points were his, when the Doctor explained to them that he could actually make it stop raining. After showing them a few tricks of 'magic' with his sonic screwdriver, they believed him. All he asked in return was the cure they had for the menace the rain caused. It had been obvious that they had one, since none of them were affected like Rose and his ship. They readily agreed.
Stratches, he'd been told, were the culprits that infected his TARDIS and Rose. Little microscopic creatures that were borne from the mud. Tiny little bacteria-like larva that were fertilized by the rain when it arrived, on time, like clockwork, every year. Except for this year, of course, when he'd landed the TARDIS - and she hadn't needed any mountainous rains to fertilize the little buggers, apparently. It had been all too easy to determine that his ship had been the bee to their flora, so-to-speak. And obviously, when she'd become contaminated by the little things, she started malfunctioning, somehow causing the rains to come.
He'd found out that each year about a week before the rains came down from the mountains, the townsfolk sent groups of men to a valley where a small lake sat, full of crystal clear water and a healing power that killed the stratches' infection. It had worked on their people as well as their livestock, and they'd discovered that if they drank from the water before the rains began, it prevented the absorption of the creatures into their systems. If they'd all ready been infected, they could either drink from the water or touch it to their skin, granting them the same results. They'd also informed him that they hadn't had a death by stratches in many generations because of this 'holy water'.
The main symptom of those infected was a lethargy which became progressively worse over a four week period, and it used to mean certain death for them. Now no one was infected, because they simply planned ahead. That was why the early rains had sent them into a panic. It impressed the Doctor to no end; these smart little humanesque people figuring this all out and saving themselves. They were an amazing growing race.
The Doctor couldn't very well explain to these people that his ship was actually a living thing, so instead he told them that in order to stop the rains, he'd have to go into the TARDIS and while he performed his rain-stopping ritual, they would have to pour a few buckets of their healing water around the bottom of his ship. They agreed to it eagerly, fetching the water in pails and following him back to her. Once inside, the Doctor watched his monitors to make sure they'd done what he'd asked, then he went to check on Rose. Finding her still sleeping and healthy, he returned outdoors with the natives, adjusted his sonic screwdriver, and aimed it towards the sky. The rains dissipated quickly, and the sun soon shone itself with late-evening hues of amber and blush.
A great feast was being put together just for the Doctor's benefit, and although he was reluctant to stay, it had also been explained to him that he was not 'allowed' to leave until the festivities were over. At their insistence, and the Doctor's knowledge that Rose Tyler was fine, he agreed.
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Rose awoke with a start, sitting up straight and finding herself in her bed, fully clothed, and very confused. She felt like someone had awoken her but as she looked around, she found no one.
Standing up, she stretched her body, arms high over her head, and then she froze. Memories began flooding her as her arms dropped to her sides, then her hands formed into fists.
He left her! The Doctor had left her! Gone on to deal with those testy little natives without her! What was he thinking? How could he?
Without a second thought, she ran out of her room and down the corridors, not even bothering to look for the Doctor. She knew he wasn't inside his ship. She was outside of the TARDIS doors in no time, and when she'd closed them shut, she stood still for a moment when she realized that it wasn't raining. Oh, there were a few clouds, but no moisture fell. In fact, there was a sunset in full glorious color just off to the left, peeking through the cumulous white puffs. Rose looked around her surroundings to be sure they actually were on Scroibrulla - after all, she clearly remembered the inhabitants screaming that the rains would last for quite a while. They were there, all right. She could see the little crop of primitive houses just down the way. She started jogging towards the town, hoping to find the Doctor. After all, she had a major bone to pick with that Time Lord.
It was a clear shock to her when she landed in a huge puddle of mud. It splashed all over her as she landed; covered in muck instantly. And she was pretty sure the rope around her ankle might've had something to do with it.
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The Doctor looked around at the spread of different dishes in front of him, amazed at the diversity of foods these simple-living people offered for a celebratory feast. He was just about ready to try some of the delicacies when he heard a familiar voice and cast his gaze in the direction it came from. 'No,' he thought, 'couldn't be ...' The cup of liquid refreshment he held stopped midway from the table to his lips.
"Let go of me!" Rose's angry voice echoed between buildings as she was dragged down the middle of them, only a few feet from where the feasting tables had been set up. The people seated at the banquet all stopped eating and stared at her as well, though looking much more angry than the Doctor, who still looked on in amused disbelief. He couldn't believe she was here, of all times, but the mud that caked her from head to toe was a teensy bit comical.
"You're mean little beings, that's what you are! What do you think you're doing? Let me go!" She practically spat at the men who pulled her along. There were ropes tied around her torso - arms immobile but legs not bound so that she could be yanked to walk forward by leashes of chain. And though she walked, she struggled and fought them tooth and nail. But even they were stunned by her strength when she suddenly stopped and brought them to an abrupt halt; standing in front of the Doctor. The look she gave him made him glad he was sitting on the opposite side of the table from her. A good five and a half feet of distance between them - hopefully that would be enough.
He waited. The Doctor waited for the words to come spewing from her mouth like fire from a dragon. Venom from a snake. Lava from a volcano. It seemed that the whole town was silent, waiting for Rose to speak as well. She stared at him, their eyes frozen to one another, then she looked down, noticing the spread of food on the table before looking back at him again.
"Having a nice meal, Doctor?" Her tone was quiet and deadly and sinister and if he'd not been a proper Time Lord, he was sure he would have been intimidated.
As soon as she'd spoken, the men renewed their grips on her chains and pulled her forward, breaking the eye contact between Rose and the Doctor and stopping him from saying something that no doubt would have made her angrier. Which would have probably anything he could've spoken. 'Yes', he thought, 'timing is everything.'
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Rose shook and pulled at the shackles that bound her to the wall of the little cell she'd been taken to and unceremoniously hung from, trying in vain to free herself from the uncomfortable restraints. It was definitely a holding station of some sort; one door and one old rickety looking chair and a window with bars that had been boarded up from the outside. Not even a cot to lay on. She pulled on the chains again - her anger alone should have gotten them loose by now.
How dare he!! How dare the Doctor just sit there, ready to feed his face in front of huge tables full of foods she couldn't even begin to describe, watching her as she was paraded in front of him and the rest of the population, kicking and screaming her way to her little prison cell. And had he actually tipped his cup to her as they yanked her away from him? After she'd given him a glare that should've caused him another regeneration? He had balls, of that she was sure.
The door to her cell creaked open and two of the men who'd brought her there walked in, carrying buckets of sloshing water. Her mind told her that one was probably for drinking and the other a loo, but being shackled to the walls wouldn't get her to either. So she tried being nice.
"What? You think I've got the strength to break these chains and fetch myself a drink now do you? What kind of rubbish is that?" she spat out as nicely as she could.
The men looked at one another then looked at her again, then pulled back the buckets and threw the contents on her. Rose shrieked as the cold water ran down her body and through her clothes, the icy chill further raising her ire. She was so angry she couldn't form words.
The men quickly turned and left, but didn't close the door behind them. It was then that the Doctor entered, smiling innocently at her as the door closed behind him.
"What the hell are you smiling at?" Not even her chattering teeth took away from the look of pure anger that was an all-consuming Rose Tyler.
The Doctor cleared his throat and dropped his grin, pulling the old chair over from the opposing wall to sit in front of her. Once seated, he looked up at her. "I must be losing my touch."
"What?"
"You, young lady, should still be sleeping."
"Oh yeah, I owe you for that little number, too. What were you thinking, leaving me there like that on the TARDIS?"
"You needed the rest."
"Oh, right. How stupid of me not to realize," she spoke sarcastically.
Rose shivered uncontrollably and the Doctor stood, taking off his jacket. He gave her a look that she interpreted as 'don't kick me' then he draped it over her as best he could, not quite feeling safe enough to remove her from the shackles just yet. He sat himself back down in front of her and folded his arms across his chest; waiting.
"I should slap you silly for watching me being dragged through town like that." Well, that wasn't quite the 'thank-you' he'd been expecting. He raised his eyebrows at her. "I can't believe you left me behind like that."
"I was worried you'd get more infected than you all ready were, and I couldn't let that happen to you, Rose." Any lingering anger on her face was removed by his honesty.
"Why couldn't you have just said that? Why'd you haveta go and put me out like that?"
The Doctor actually snorted. "What? Just tell you to stay in the TARDIS like a good little girl and you'd've done it nicely?"
"I might've!" she defended herself, then looked around for a moment, then looked back at him, noting his skeptical stare. "Okay, maybe not. But still ..."
"Rose, I did what I thought was best. I had to get these people to talk with me and I had to find out what was going on. I had to because both you and my ship were infected, and I couldn't risk losing either of you. I certainly didn't mean for you to end up in these people's form of a prison cell." His tone was sincere and his face reflected that.
Rose finally smiled at him, if only a little bit. "So, you gonna get me out of these shackles, then?" she asked, shaking her arms and rattling the chains.
"Depends if you're going to slap me senseless or not," he answered with a smile of his own.
"Nah."
"Good."
The Doctor stood and pulled out his sonic screwdriver as he walked in front of Rose. He leaned in towards her for a moment, enjoying the closeness as he smirked, before turning to the task at hand. In no time, Rose's arms were at her sides. The Doctor picked up his coat where it had fallen on the floor and wrapped it around her shoulders. Leading her towards the chair, he prompted her to sit down, then kneeled in front of her. He took her hands one at a time into his, removing the shackled bracelets that adorned her wrists. Once she was free of them, he rubbed his hands up and down her arms from wrists to elbows, making sure her circulation was good. When he'd finished, he held her right hand in his and looked up at her.
"Better?"
"Much, thank you." Rose's voice was whispered and her words breathy. She'd enjoyed his actions of comfort, obviously. He was looking a little smug until she spoke again. "I still haven't forgiven you yet, though."
"Ah, well," the Doctor began, standing up. "I did what I had to do."
"But you left me," she said, looking up into his eyes as he stood above her.
The Doctor pulled her hand until she stood in front of him. He leaned down so that he was eye level with her. "I didn't abandon you. I left you safely on the TARDIS - sleeping."
"A sleep you purposely forced on me."
"To protect you." The look he gave her left no doubt that he would do anything to protect her, no matter what.
"Yeah, well, it was still a sneaky thing to do." Rose smiled at him, letting him know she was eventually going to be okay with it.
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The Doctor walked Rose through the little town amid many frowns and stares from the natives. Rose saw their disgruntled looks, hearing an occasional 'hiss' and 'boo' aimed her way.
"Hi. Hello. We're going to be leaving now," he spoke to different people, keeping an arm closely round the shoulders of his traveling companion, his walk becoming brisk.
"Doctor?" Rose began, looking back at the people they were hurriedly leaving. "What exactly did you tell them, you know, to get them to talk to you in the first place?"
"Hmm?" The Time Lord stalled, looking over his shoulder to make sure they wouldn't see a repeat performance of the last time they'd left..
"When we left here the last time, they wanted our heads on a platter. Now it seems like they only want mine. They had you eating at their tables - celebrating with them when I got caught, right? So ... what's up with that?"
"Well you see," he began, making sure they were out of hearing range from the township, "I had to get them to talk to me - which they did by the way - a very interesting people once you get to know them ..."
Rose cleared her throat and gave the Doctor a glare, letting him know to get on with it as they continued walking.
"Yes, well, I had to make them realize that I wasn't the enemy, which was a rather difficult thing to do since we arrived and the rains came and well, you remember, right?" he asked, still stalling.
"Yesssss," Rose let the word linger, prompting him on.
"And I might have mentioned that the early rain season was not my fault, but yours."
"You've got to be kidding me,' Rose stated, stopping in her tracks.
The Doctor took a couple more steps before he, too, stopped, then turned around to face her. "Now in all fairness, Rose Tyler, I had no idea the TARDIS would rouse you from a hypno-induced sleep and you'd be coming out there strolling all through the mud."
"I wasn't strolling through anything - for your information I was hog-tied and thrown into the bloody mud before I was dragged through the center of town!"
"Really? You're not hurt then, are you?" he asked, looking her over from head to toe.
Rose sighed. "I'm fine. The story, Doctor?"
"Yes, like I was saying, I told them it was your fault because you were blonde - did you notice none of these little guys have blond hair? And I led them to believe that your species of blonde haired aliens have menacing qualities when it comes to the weather. Of course I said you didn't do it intentionally, but it's hard to make them believe that something so horrible as an early rainfall wasn't a purposely done deed. I told them that you were in my ship and could cause them no harm, because I could stop the rains myself. I'm sure you noticed it hasn't been raining since you've been out? Yep, that was me, all right. Saved your life too, telling them you couldn't do it again if you'd been touched by the cure - probably the only reason they let you live when they found you." He took a breath, waiting to see if she'd thank him, but continued on when she stayed silent. "By the way, I know what it was that caused all this fuss - the reality is the rains came early because the TARDIS was infected."
Rose took a deep breath and was quiet for a moment, enjoying the silence. Goodness but the Doctor could ramble on. "Infected with what?" she finally asked.
"Little microscopic larva in the soil called 'stratches' that come to life when the rains come in season - or not in season, as the case may be," he grinned.
"But it wasn't raining when we first arrived here, so how did the TARDIS get infected if the larva wasn't even hatched yet?" Rose asked as the Doctor looked proudly upon her.
"You are so smart, Rose Tyler, sometimes you simply amaze me," he began, but continued talking before she could blush. "The TARDIS emits low level radiation fields around her at all times. Apparently the stratches don't need the rain water to fertilize them. Seems to work with radium emissions as well, which the old girl gives off plentifully each time she lands. They were born and she was instantly infected. As her infection grew, there were slight fluctuations in the time vortex, and she emitted more radiation, messing with this planet's barometric pressure which in turned caused the rains to fall." The Doctor took a deep breath and let it out slowly, indicating his explanation was done.
"Wow," Rose said softly. "But what about you? They didn't infect you?"
"Time Lord physiology. Staves off many an unwanted guest," the Doctor replied, putting his arm around her and leading her the short distance to the TARDIS.
They stopped at the doors of the ship, but the Doctor turned to face Rose before they went inside. "How did you wake up, anyway?"
"The TARDIS, I think," she answered.
"Really?" he asked, smiling.
"Pretty sure, yeah. I just got this feeling." she smiled.
The Doctor nodded. "You ready to go home?"
Rose's smile faded. "Home?" she asked - had she pushed him too far? Was he taking her back to Jackie?
"Inside," he said, patting the doors of the TARDIS with a reassuring smile. "She should be feeling much better now. How about you?"
"How about me what?"
"You should be feeling better now too, since the cure was administered."
"It was? When? I don't remember anyone ..."
"The water. When they threw it on you..."
"You must be joking. That was the cure?"
"Oh no, no joking. You see, that's how the old girl here was cured," he said, patting the door of the ship. "Water from a lake that stops and eliminates the stratches infection of beings and livestock, and now even a TARDIS."
"Couldn't I have just drank the water?" She asked, looking at him incredulously, hands on her hips as he unlocked the door and opened it.
"Well I s'pose you could've, but it was just so much more fun the other way, don't you think?" The Doctor laughed as Rose tried to hit him in the arm, but he'd dodged her easily and took off running inside the ship. She ran after the Time Lord, who was all ready running in the corridors, laughter echoing in his wake. The sound of Rose's laughter could be heard following him.
THE END.
Thank you so much for reading, and thank you for the many positive reviews. I hope you've enjoyed my imagination.
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