Chapter 14:

Rose was left there hanging loosely, her mind giving in to the glory of acceptance of losing. However what made it all the more painful was it wasn't going to be a quick simple death. No, he'd toy with her and suck her dry of all compassion in her soul till he grew tired of her and even then he probably wouldn't grant her the gift of a fast death. Eyes once again brimmed as she shut them together with all her might left within her body. Only one more thing was left to contemplate and that was the Doctor.

Her heart clenched in pain as she thought what her disappearance could possibly do to him. Whether one called it cocky or not, she knew he relied on her a lot. Emotionally and the odd time physically.

Her throat was clogging up but not before she left her last breathe as the innocent Rose with such a life ahead of her, and with that one breath she uttered two words. Words which couldn't have been spoken with more passion, sorrow and guilt. "I'm sorry…"

Rose slowly felt the pull of her body, raising her towards the man who caused all this sorrow, when suddenly she heard this man's distinct voice and audible shock within his cut off words, followed by a thump. She managed to grasp two sets of conversation. One involved the words, "What the-?" and another involved "You Bastard!"

Before Rose opened her eyes she could hear the sound of one body hitting another and felt the sudden lack of support around her waist. She let out a tiny scream as she felt herself fall towards the floor, keeping her eyes tightly shut.

Continuing to keep them shut she expected to feel the harsh floor of the ballroom making distinct contact with her slack skull and prayed to be sent into an everlasting sleep. Except she found herself supported once again by two tiny and long hands. Both wrapped around let waist as she resumed her previous position. Only these hands felt different, they held her in a different manner to. Tiny and long fingers which sent pulses down her spine. Slowly one hand moved up her back to support her more gracefully around her neck.

Mesmerised by such gentleness her eyes remained closed until the hand reached her neck and a low sweet calling voice entered her mind…

"Rose…"

Repeated in her mind. She wasn't sure if she was just allowing this sweet voice to echo throughout her mind or if it really was being repeated. Ever time she heard her name it was repeated with more urgency and a greater underlying tone of sadness wrapped around every syllable.

Rose slowly opened her eyes, not due to lack of energy, but more down to fear. Fear which was hindering her senses and responses, along with the drug which was following through her body. Gingerly she opened her eyes. At first she squinted due to the flood of brilliant light entering her eyes, but slowly she was able to make out the figure in front of her.

"Doctor" She cried out along with a loud sob. She found herself shaking, but this time with relief. She was immediately pulled into long strong arms that wrapped around her, still supporting a lot of her own weight.

As she cried in his arms the Doctor squeezed her tight. The thoughts running through his mind were so overwhelming he couldn't stop the formation of tears in his eyes. Of course, he never aloud them to fall, no, he had more important issues to deal with. This reunion would have to be put on hold for a while.

Slowly he tilted her back and gazed deep into her strained red eyes. Pulling her forward and allowing his forehead to rest against hers he sighed, as if to say finally I found you.

Rose sobbed again and said, "I thought I'd never see you again. I thought -" She tried her best to grip him tightly, but failed as her strength had not fully restored itself.

"Shh" He whispered to her as she slowly regained her composure with her sobs dieing down. The Doctor was about to continue when he was interrupted.

A figure had now risen from the floor and began to stand with such a strong posture that one could only imagine what he had to be so proud of.

"Ahh Doctor, I see you decided to join us in the celebration Rose and I were just having before you rudely interrupted us."

Rose's head shifted to look at the man before her and she visibly cringed and did her best to draw back from the man. The Doctor however held his stance and merely pushed himself in front of Rose, blocking most of Rose from his view.

"You…I should have known it was you…"

He chuckled. Turning slightly he began to walk in a very slow manner around the Doctor and Rose.

"Yes I must say you were pretty slow on the uptake. You bored me, well no matter it made things easier for me really. "

"I do apologies for my poor performance, your highness Prince Nicholas. Tell me who are you really and what could have possibly possessed your thick, thick, thickity, thick mind of yours to even try and kidnap Rose."

The Doctor was pivoting on his heel at an equal pace to the Prince as he encircled them.

"Ahh sweet, beautiful and wondrous Rose. What she and I have really is none of your concern, after all-"

"You have nothing to do with her, you got it?" The Doctor bellowed and shifted his stance placing one foot slightly ahead of the other tilting his body forward in an attacking position. Rose moaned quietly as she tried her best to remain close to his back with a determined angry look on her face, whilst trying to make sure he didn't suddenly spring out and try to injure the Prince.

The Prince stopped mid way through a step and gently placed his foot on the floor. Slowly he turned head on to the Doctor and said in a loud and mincing tone, "No Doctor! It is you who has no say in my business with Rose. She and I were perfectly fine before you sprang on to the scene. Isn't that right my darling?" He shifted a little to the right, tilting his head to get a better look at Rose.

Rose's hearts suddenly began to speed up, his eyes were piercing her very soul and his gaze was extremely daunting. The Doctor growled slightly and pushed himself in front of Rose again, blocking the Prince's view.

"I think I've had about all I can take of your insane attitude. Rose and I are going to leave peacefully. But I swear to you Prince you make one move from where you're standing or one attempt at trying to take Rose from me." The Doctor paused, staring at the Prince with such hatred Rose could feel it radiating off of his body. "Then I swear to you I will unleash hell upon you."

Hmph. Was all that was heard as the Prince bowed his head down, shadows engulfing his face with the odd flicker of light allowing glimpses at his expression. No one heard him gently whisper, "Then let hell break loose."

As silence engulfed the room no one was prepared for the sudden out burst from the Prince, as he lunged forward at the Doctor at incredible speed.

The Doctor just as quickly pushed Rose from behind him to the side. She was unaware of anything till she felt herself flung to the right and gasped as she roughly hit the floor with her right shoulder absorbing most of the impact. As Rose lay there the Doctor raised both his arms in an X shape to block the on coming attack from the Prince.

And so it began, the battle for Rose Tyler, but each battle with a different goal in mind. One was for torturous abuse, another for an unquestionable love. Sometimes one can easily assume the "unquestionable love" to strike through and win, but sometimes life gets more complicated and fate likes to play a little game called, "Nothing comes easy…"

As the Doctor defended from the ragging attacks from the Prince he saw an opening for his attack. As the Prince stepped back and raised his right fist to supposedly pound down upon the Doctor's impenetrable defence, he had left his entire left side of his body open. The Doctor acted quickly and sent a punch right to the left side of his ribcage. The Prince was momentarily stunned but quickly regained from it sending another attack to the Doctor.

From the side lines Rose could tell that even though the Doctor was fighting, it wasn't wholeheartedly. She almost smiled at his kindness, one day it might be the death of him. All Rose Tyler could do was prayer that day was not today.

So as the Doctor continued to side step and dodge as many as the attacks he could, whilst sending some soft blows himself, he misjudged one of the blows and found himself hit from below right under his chin, sending him flying backwards until he lay flat on his back in front of the Prince.

"Doctor!" Rose cried from the side lines as she weakly pulled herself to her knees and tried to crawl towards the Doctor. "Doctor!" Another helpless plea which was answered by the moan of an injured Time Lord.

The Doctor slowly began to try and prop himself side ways on his elbow grinding his teeth together as pain shot down his spinal cord. With tightly shut eyes he replied with a low strained voice saying, "Ooh you shouldn't have done that."

"Oh no?" Came the short, calm and smart-aleck reply. With that a short cry burst out from Rose. The Doctor immediately opened his eyes and rolled over to his side ignoring every single muscle that was telling him to stop moving.

Before him he saw the Prince had lifted Rose from the ground and held her against his body tightly. Rose was trying desperately to remove herself from his grip but found her struggles were to no avail. He had one arm tightly wrapped around her waist and another around her lower neck.

The Doctor had never felt so helpless in his entire life. Damn it. If I'd just finished him off we'd be safe…Rose would be safe…The Doctor frowned ad gritted his teeth as his fists began to tighten into balls. No more…I gave him a chance, he refused to take it. But I can't move…damn it!

"What's wrong Doctor? Given up? Very wise decision I must say." He laughed as he twirled Rose in his arms so she was facing the Prince. "Every time I look at your face Rose I can't quiet believe how we had never crossed paths before this moment. I need you by me all the time, I need to feel you with these unworthy hands, I need to feel you surround me." As he uttered the last few words with a struggled breath he pulled Rose's hips and grinded them against him. Rose moaned and tried to push herself off of him but her wrists were seized and all she could do was turn her head away from him.

The Doctor was now brimming with anger; in fact he couldn't even compose sentences. All he wanted to do was rip his throat out for touching her and even insinuating sexual fantasies with her. He had now risen from the floor and was resting against his knee with one arm held out, palm against the floor briefly supporting him. As he slowly summoned enough energy to start the fight again, he lifted his head to come face to face with the sight of the Prince roughly gripping Rose in places in which only he should have the right to touch and was roughly kissing her.

Within two seconds flat the Doctor had managed to summon enough energy from the quick burst of hatred and had pushed himself off from his crouching position and lunged for the Prince.

Smack. His fist connected with the Prince's jaw and sent him flying through midair over a fatally large distance.

Rose screamed lightly as she was pushed back by the immense power of his punch, only to be caught by the Doctor himself.

"I've got you." He said as she fell back against him. And with those three words Rose Tyler was saved.

Just for a moment she leant against his strong back and allowed his arms to remain wrapped around herself supporting much of her weight. The Doctor was in the mean time trying his damn hardest not to cry and lock her away on the TARDIS never to be let out into the dangers of the universe again.

Slowly he gently lowered her to the floor. He crouched down leaning against his knees while Rose's legs lay sprawled across the floor and her upper body leaning against his legs. He was leaning over her and just looking at her. Rose was still recovering from the shock of it all, having still not quite regained all the senses in her body.

After what seemed like forever her breathing went from erratic to gentle beating. She opened her eyes and looked up to see the Doctor's loving brown eyes, and if she wasn't mistaken they were glistening. Of course it could have just been the candle light flickering and her own eyes playing tricks on her.

"Rose Tyler." Was all he said with a huge smile spread across his face as if to lighten the mood, but Rose saw straight through it seeing the pain carved into his dimples upon his cheeks, along with the wrinkles of worry flowing across his forehead.

She wanted nothing more than to reach up and with some infinite power and remove all the pain and suffering inherited ever since they stepped on this planet.

He lifted her so she was sitting up and hugged her so tightly she feared after all this turmoil and life threatening experience she would die in the arms of the man she loved. Her eyes sprang open at that last thought, conjuring up the past few days of experience. "Oh Doctor!" She cried out and began to gently allow one or two tears stream down her face. The Doctor's grip around her tightened.

"I thought…I thought I'd never see you again and I'd be trapped with…with him. Oh God Doctor!"

The Doctor shushed her and slowly pulled back to look at her.

She too had stress, fear and worry written all over her face and it pained the Doctor a lot to see that. He was supposed to protect her but even he knew that there were some points in their adventures where he wouldn't be able to protect her. Was this one of those adventures? He couldn't tell, both love and guilt clouded his judgement and he couldn't bring forth an answer as he glanced over at the unconscious form of his highness Prince Nicholas. So many questions where left unanswered but first a moment of rest could be taken before they decided what to do with his highness when he awoke.

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M x