Disclaimer etc.: see Prologue.

I'm SO sorry for the massive delay, but I got major writer's block and didn't write a thing for about two weeks.

But I'm back into the swing of things now (hopefully) and I'm happy 'cause it's my birthday soon! Fourteen! (Finally!)

Anyway, enough with the celebrations, and a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, and Enjoy the latest instalment!

Golden Death

7 - Fading

Sudden pain in Rose Tyler's head; flaring her synaptic pathways into silent infernos of black flame.

The ruins of Heaven around her faded to black in her vision as utter agony assaulted all five of her senses, the Angels intent on destroying her completely and utterly. She couldn't move; couldn't scream; couldn't breathe. She couldn't comprehend the enormity of the white-hot destructive rage that swept through her and yet did not belong to her, overtaking her and ravaging her mind.

There was nothing to stop the burning trail from sweeping through her mind and she couldn't fight it. There was nothing between her and the Blackness. And there was, on top of that, the Angels' agony, and it multiplied the blaze a hundredfold.

But there was something else, something cool in the midst of all the heat.

She reached for it desperately through the wall of pain, forcing her body and mind to work. She couldn't see her saviour, but she knew that it was there, and as a cry ripped itself free from her she tried to draw the coolness into herself.

And then it was there, inside her head, wrapping around her mind and dousing the fires with caring precision. She cried out in relief, her voice a mere rasp. She was vaguely aware of fires burning around her; the Angels' rage re-igniting the pyre of Heaven, but she curled into herself and blocked it out.

Rose. Listen to me.

"What…" She couldn't form a coherent sentence, but she didn't need to. It was inside her head and knew what she was asking.

The Bad Wolf. Remember me? Remember yourself?

She remembered the Wolf. Of course she did. She uncurled slightly, watching as the flames were held back by a gossamer-thin curtain of gold. She could feel herself joining with the Wolf once again, the equation of balance fulfilling itself.

But she was afraid. "The Doctor?"

The Wolf cast a soothing touch over her mind. He will come for you. But not right now. He needs you to stay strong. Can you do that? For him?

"For him." She smiled weakly, and part of her wondered why she was so weak. "I'll stay."

She promised that, but the weakness had already taken hold of her; a worm eating away at her energy and spirit. It was a very real possibility that her promise would be shattered into a million fragments; scattered to the winds of space and love.

It was only a matter of time.

>>>>>>>>>

Blue brilliance was being torn free from Rose's unwilling body, the Wolf's influence loosening the Angels' hold on her. A furious wail tore itself from the lips that were still controlled by Them; a rant of agony and anger against the Doctor and his love.

The Doctor himself should be smiling, should be laughing and performing his own elaborate version of gloating happily. But Rose was still in danger, and the Angels' last words hovered in his mind. "She will die."

So he couldn't quite persuade the muscles in his face to form a smile.

With a soft almost-sigh Rose's body crumpled to the carpeted hallway of the Tyler flat. The skein of gold that had been wound around her form faded, leaving her nude and vulnerable.

And beautiful, the Time Lord's mind supplied.

Now is not the time, he reprimanded himself.

His gaze remained trained on the blue wisp that hovered in the air. It twisted itself into a ghostly spiral; tendril-type trails of cloudy substance drifting through the warm air.

"Leave," he ordered softly.

It swung towards him slightly, seemed to waver, undecided.

"Leave. You've lost her." He studied it. "Now leave!"

The blue ghost faded, and the Doctor didn't give his mind over to the too-easiness of its defeat. He had more important things to worry about.

He took a step forwards and dropped to his knees beside Rose's body. Slender fingers ran over her neck, searching for the pulse-point. He breathed a sigh of relief as the blood vessel throbbed against the pads of his fingertips. Skin skated against skin as he gently stroked her satin-smooth cheek.

"Oh Rose," he murmured, before shrugging off his long coat. He smoothly wrapped it around her curvaceous form, his fingers lingering a little longer than was strictly necessary. He pulled her into his arms and rose to his feet.

"And where d'you think you're going?" a shrill voice piped up from behind him.

The Doctor sighed and turned around. "TARDIS," he answered, still unable to bring himself to inject any semblance of brightness into his tone.

Jackie came out from the next room, her hair a blonde mess. "And what the hell have you done to my daughter!"

The Doctor pulled Rose imperceptibly closer to his chest. He was not going to let her go. "That's why I have to get to the TARDIS," he replied. "She's… broken."

"You'd better fix her."

"I know."

>>>>>>>>>

The red being had no idea how it fitted into all of this.

It had been, well, if not happy then at least content with its little abode in Hell. It had been warm with a nice little garden and a rectangular doormat, and then this 'Doctor' character turned up, stirred up long-buried memories of the hole in its heart, and asked for its help.

Help which, it seemed, was completely unneeded.

It was a tag-along, a follower, a sheep just following the flock.

And it felt incredibly useless.

It watched, forgotten, as the Doctor carried the female who must be Rose Tyler out into the courtyard and into the TARDIS. He could feel her emptiness, and wished fervently for him to heal her soon. To 'fix' her, and 'fix' him in turn.

As it watched, an older woman stepped out onto the exposed corridor that ran in front of the flat. Her gaze followed the pair as the Doctor and Rose Tyler vanished inside the blue box, worrying her lower lip as the time machine vanished with a throbbing whoosh. The red being could plainly see the similarity in appearance between the woman beside him and the girl the Doctor cradled so lovingly in his arms.

It cleared its throat, and the blonde woman looked over at it. She performed a mild double-take, and then smiled sympathetically at it. "Did you come with him?" she asked.

It nodded. "And he left me here."

"Yeah," she sighed. "He does that." She sniffed softly, staring at the spot where the TARDIS had vanished.

The red being reached up and awkwardly patted her shoulder. "The Doctor seems to be a very capable man," it consoled. "I'm sure that Rose Tyler will be well."

"Thank you," she replied softly. Then she looked over at it. "D'you want to come it?" she requested quietly.

The question surprised it, but nonetheless it nodded. "I would be honoured."

She sniffed again, cast one last glance at the courtyard, and then turned back to the ravaged doorway and stepped inside. "I'll put the kettle on. We'll have a nice cup of tea."

The Doctor's erstwhile helper frowned in confusion as it followed Jackie Tyler into her flat. " 'Tea'? What is 'tea'?"

"You are joking, right?"

>>>>>>>>>

It only dawned on the Doctor when he was inside the TARDIS and drifting in the Time Vortex that he had no idea how to get to Heaven. No idea at all.

He cursed under his breath, and studied the console in the hopes that something would spring out at him. Hell, he'd be happy if an idea jumped at him, wrestled him to the floor and punched his lights out. Just as long as he knew what to do; where to go.

Doctor. Use your head.

"I am. It's not working."

The TARDIS tutted. Rose.

"What?"

Rose's body is linked to Rose's spirit. One can find the other.

The faintest trace of what might be called a smile touched the Doctor's thin lips. "Are you sure?"

Of course I am.

"But—"

Bring her here, the TARDIS interrupted. Touch her hand to the console. Balance will do the rest.

"I've had just about enough of 'balance'," the Doctor muttered to himself.

>>>>>>>>>

The Angels had left the girl's body and the power that that had afforded them, but they were not gone.

A faint trace of sharp blueness wisped just next to the ceiling of the Tyler flat. The blueness was watching Jackie Tyler and the red being, and wondering.

It still had some vestige of strength left in it, the energy it had sucked from Rose's soul. Maybe just enough energy to inflict a single devastating blow. If it had had eyes they would have fixed firmly onto the older blonde.

And if it had had a mouth, its lips would have been fixed in a grin.

>>>>>>>>>

The TARDIS ground to a halt, and the Doctor stared at the doors in silence. "Are you sure this is it?" he asked, his words directed at the TARDIS.

It is nowhere else.

The Doctor sniffed hard, and then gathered Rose's body into his arms again. He looked down at her almost-lifeless form, and a loving smile wormed its way onto his lips.

"Let's go take a look," he murmured.

>>>>>>>>>

The Wolf was once again wound into Rose, making almost everything as it should be, but it could feel that there was something wrong. The rejoining of the two halves of the whole should make everything well again, at least for a while. Until the Doctor came.

But it hadn't, and the Wolf could feel Rose fading from its grasp. It howled silently at her, ordering her to wake up, to say something, to live. It berated her and cajoled her, but nothing worked.

Rose Tyler was silent, and fading, and as she faded she dragged the Bad Wolf down with her.

The Angels had done something to her before they left, drained her of her strength and spirit. And now their words were on the verge of becoming true.

Rose was dying.

>>>>>>>>>