Disclaimer: See first chapter

News: I'm deleting the note with this update so this site doesn't throw a fit at me, but incase some people don't see the note before I upload this, I think you deserve the explanation of my absence too so, basically what happened: writers block, school and less time for writing of any kind, computer died, Christmas I get a new computer, wait to get it wired up, then virus and reformatting, lost files, and back to present. That sounds just joyous.

But yes, thank you to everyone for reviews, and the yelling and ranting at me to start working on this again. I really appreciate it, even the yelling! Keep it coming if you wish. But another very heartfelt thank you going out to every single person who has stayed with this story, and even to new people who start reading it, thank you SO SO SO much! I love you all; you're what make writing so enjoyable and worthwhile.

IMPORTANT: If anyone in Europe who gets to see Doctor Who season 3 (I think the next episode after the "Runaway Bride" (which I found on YouTube yay!) is "Smith and Jones" or something) please let me know how it is because here in Canada we get it about 4 months later than you. Also, just as a little update for anyone who loves Pirates of the Caribbean, a trailer for the 3rd and final movie that came out on March 20th!

I LOVE YOU ALL


Only You Chapter 6 – Alluring Light

The Doctor was walking aimlessly through the library of the Tardis, unsure of why he was there and not with Rose. Maybe he was looking for something, maybe there was something lost among these old stacks of dusty books that was meant to be found. But before he could investigate much, the walls melted and shifted.

Looking around in a daze, the Doctor realized he was now in the greenhouse of the Tardis. He took a deep, cleansing breath of the mineral filled air that wafted lazily around the room. But…wasn't he just in the library? Why was he here now? Had he blanked out and walked here? Was there something to be known about this room, so quiet and peaceful as plants grew in their exaggerated time? He reached out to touch a leaf of a pink flower with purple spots, but before he brushed against the waxy leave edge, the walls again slipped into a different form.

Now he was in a bathroom with a tub built into the tile floor, mirrors lining the walls so no move went unseen, a dim light dropping from candles on the ceiling chandelier. The Doctor didn't even have time to contemplate this time before the bathroom turned into the Tardis control room, letting off a comforting hum like a mother's hum to a sick child.

Again, a shift. An abandoned tea room, a closet, a living room with a crackling fireplace and comfortable leather couches, room to room to room the Doctor was swept away to without moving his feet or thinking a syllable. Something was wrong, he knew this of course. Maybe the Tardis was broken, maybe he was broken.

Every time the Doctor blinked his crystal blue eyes, a new room was in front of him, making him dizzy, lost, and confused. Soon he couldn't even distinguish one room from the other at how fast they were changing. Sure he had died and this was a final punishment, he allowed it to continue until, in the blur of everything a single thought rang in his head, clear as a bell: 'Rose!'

Everything came into sharp focus as the rooms stopped changing. He had to save Rose; he couldn't have died because Rose still needed him to help her, to save her. He was in a room he'd never been to before, filled with boxes, layers of untouched dust, but a faint light coming from the far side of the room, that looked to be about two football fields away.

He felt drawn to the light, a pinprick of it, no more, no less. It drew him in like the comforting hum of the console room of the Tardis. Before he had a thought, his feet had moved a few steps, slow at first, hesitant, but soon he was sprinting across the room of nothingness, for there were no more boxes around him as he ran; just darkness licking at his feet as he ran towards this light.

Suddenly he was upon a table of pale brown wood, though he saw no wall behind it. Slowing to a walk, he approached the table, to see what had given off this alluring light. But when he saw what it was, he felt breath leave his lungs and his eyes snapped open. Suddenly he was back in the hospital room, curled up on the edge of Rose's bed with the young human girl panting slightly in her sleep next to him.

Raising himself up on one elbow, to look over the girl, he noted that her face was displaying an expression of pain, though not as bad as before. Either some medicine had helped stop the pains or at least it was keeping her asleep where she couldn't suffer from them. Her eyelids were twitching slightly though, indicating rapid eye movement. So she was dreaming, hopefully she wasn't dreaming about the pain or that would defeat the purpose.

There were a few beads of sweat on her brow and the Doctor pushed himself off the bed to get a cloth to wet, slowly dabbing her forehead, cheeks, and neck. After he was finished he got a glass of cool water for himself and watched the girl apprehensively while leaning against the hard wooden counter.

Draining the last of the water, he placed the glass back on the counter and lay back down on the edge of the bed on his back, looking up at the off-white tiled ceiling. What a weird dream, it clearly must have been a dream because of how much he had moved, yet it felt like more. He felt like there was a purpose; he had to find what the dream had shown him.

Pursing his lips, he admitted to himself that he wasn't even sure why he had to find it. Tilting his head, he watched Rose sleep, her breathing patterns continuing in its harsh and ragged manner. 'Maybe it'll save Rose? Or else, why would I be shown it? It's the only logical reason,' he mused to himself, silently reaching over a hand and playing with the girl's blond hair while he thought.

The problem of course, was the fact that he had never seen or even heard of that last room he had visited in the Tardis before. It was a practically limitless ship, which he was very proud of, but it was going to make the hunt much more challenging, and he didn't have any extra time to spare. It was only a matter of time until Rose moved onto the final stage of the illness.

The very thought of Rose going through that, after all she had already suffered through because of his stupidity made him itch to jump out of bed and rush to the Tardis to start his search now, but what if Rose woke up and no one was here to help her? He'd never be able to live with himself knowing that Rose had suffered alone, with no one to hold her hand or reassure her that things would turn out okay.

He couldn't call the doctor or the nurse; they had been up for hours. They would sleep for another hour or two, and then when they came he would go hunting through the seemingly endless corridors he would have to face. He looked at his watch and then settled back down, a bit closer to Rose's trembling body, offering warmth and comfort to the unconscious girl.

-------------------------

The Doctor was woken by a slight shake on his shoulder approximately an hour and a half after he had fallen asleep once more. He had had the same dream as before, only he had been woken up as he had started towards the table from a distance. He yawned heavily and looked up at the nurse's petit face, who was smiling down at his position.

He had fallen asleep caressing Rose's silky hair, so his hand had stayed to rest cupping her head slightly, and he was pleased to note that her trembling had almost completely disappeared. He stood and began stretching out his stiff muscles from lack of movement on the hospital bed before walking over to the nurse and the doctor who had just arrived.

The Doctor listened as the doctor did a scan of Rose's body, listing off her current state. Things were looking much better than previous cases of this, but the nurse and both doctors were still very edgy about when and if the final step would surface, or if it would simply die out in the girl's surprisingly strong immune system and she would just get better from here on out.

The nurse and Doctor A talked quietly for a few minutes, debating on whether or not to wake up the human girl to see how she was doing. They came to the idea that they would try to spare her as much discomfort as they possibly could and opted for the nurse to give her another injection to stay in an unconscious state. After that was complete, Doctor Aevum walked quietly over to the Doctor and gave him an update.

"She seems to be making remarkable progress, considering the fact that she is human and yet she is so resilient to the illness. We can't entirely be sure of how much pain she has, because we figure its best that we don't make her suffer," the Doctor nodded at this. "She isn't trembling much though, which can only mean she is making progress in the right direction. We'll keep her unconscious for now unless anything changes, but we have no way of knowing if or when the last stage will come. I'm assuming you already know the details of that?"

The Doctor grimaced and nodded, he'd rather not go over it. Doctor A did likewise and both doctors shared a moment of silence, hoping this young girl wouldn't suffer through it. The Doctor raised his head after a moment, "I have to go take care of my ship, I left it in quite a hurry last night, but I'm not very keen on leaving her alone," he inclined his head towards the sleeping human.

"Don't worry, Nurse Obviam will be staying with the girl all the time, she has been relieved of her other duties until this Rose is fully taken care of," Doctor A reassured him with a slight smile.

The Doctor let out an audible sigh of relief before returning the smile, "thank you so much, this means a great deal to me. You are a fantastic doctor. So I'll go tend to my ship and I'll be back as quickly as I can." Doctor Aevum nodded his consent and the Doctor rushed out of the room, wanting to be gone and back as fast as possible.

-------------------------

The Doctor hurried through the deserted halls of the hospital and slipped into the little blue police box he found after a few moments of searching. He visibly relaxed when the sounds and lights of the Tardis console room washed over him, he was glad to be home. But as he neared the door leading to the many corridors of the Tardis, the Doctor felt lost.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to clear everything from his mind, except for the mysterious room made of darkness, and the small light in the center like a heart, keeping it in existence. He took slow steps down the corridor, opening every door he came across, but the Tardis wasn't shifting for him, as if the room didn't even exist.

But the Time Lord knew it existed, he could just feel it, and he knew it was important too. 'Well,' he thought dejectedly, 'if the Tardis can't or won't help, I'll just have to open every bloody door on this ship!' And so he continued his search through the maze that was the Tardis.


A/N: Let me know what you think, I hope you like it. I think my writing style has definitely changed in the 8 months I was gone. I'm putting this up practically running out the door for school so if there's spelling/other mistakes, just point them out to me. Thanks for reading and I'll try to update again ASAP!