Chapter 2

Rose was asleep when they came. It was the bubbling of their voices and the Doctor's strident discourse that woke her. Their suckers squelched across the stones as they drew close to the bars, the three octopi looking identical in Rose's eyes.

The lead octopus rose to a height of about four feet, his tentacles stretching to reach the bio lock on the door.

With a click, the door to their jail swung open and Rose leapt to her feet as the Doctor lunged forward, bowling into the group of aliens.

"Rose, run!" he shouted, struggling to keep them occupied. Rose ran towards the exit, glancing behind her to make sure the Doctor was following. Instead, she saw the lead alien's tentacle creep around her ankle, slamming her to the ground mid-step.

"Rose!" The Doctor shouted, grunting with his effort to escape the sixteen tentacles now wrapped around him.

Rose shook her head to clear it, "I'm okay!" she responded, grimacing as the alien wrapped around her ankles burbled something.

"No!" the Doctor shouted in response to the alien's gurgle. Rose paled, his voice frightening her in its intensity.

"What?" she asked, "What'd he say?"

"I said we wouldn't cooperate!" the Doctor shouted at the lead alien, "Just let us go!"

Another alien sloshed into the room, two syringes in its tentacles.

"Doctor?" Rose asked, her voice shaking as the alien approached her. She squirmed uselessly, her legs firmly encased.

The Doctor roared in anger as the octopus injected her quickly, the long needle going right through her jeans and into her thigh. Immediately, fire rushed through her veins. Rose whimpered. Before she passed out, she heard the Doctor cursing in a thousand languages.

-000-

Rose woke up panting. She was flushed; her whole body seemed on the edge of bursting into flame.

"Rose?" the Doctor's voice penetrated her frantic gasping. She forced her eyes open, looking up into his.

His eyes were nearly black, only the rims still their normal pale blue color. There was a sheen of sweat across his brow- something she had never seen before. The Doctor didn't sweat.

"Doctor?" she panted, she was immediately aroused by his proximity. He hovered over her as she lay on the softly padded floor.

His hand cupped her face, the usual chill of his fingers now warm against her flushed cheeks.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, almost too low for her to hear.

"What?" she whispered breathlessly.

The Doctor leaned down, his lips brushing hers in a gentle kiss. Rose gasped, opening her lips to grant him access as the kiss deepened.

Her hands slipped under his jacket, the warmth from his body running like fire along her arms. She had never been this close to him before, not even when they danced. It was intoxicating.

She moaned as his lips crept down her neck, her body arching up into his.

This time he gasped as their bodies pressed against each other, fitting together perfectly. He pulled away slightly to look into her eyes, his hand sliding under her shirt to rest warmly against her bared ribs.

"Rose," he murmured, his voice vibrating against her lips.

"Please," Rose moaned, her leg curling around his, pulling him closer.

He seemed to quiver, his hand slipping down to her hip. She could feel every inch of him pressing against her.

"I love you," she whispered.

The Doctor's eyes widened and a crooked grin broke out. Softly, gently, he removed his hand from her hip, brushing lightly up her torso, and came to rest on her cheek, his thumb rubbing slow circles across her sensitive skin.

"Oh, Rose," he said softly, "I'm so sorry."

She looked up at him, puzzled and hurt by his reaction. He kissed her, madly, desperately, as if it would be the last time he ever could. Then he stood and strode to the door of their cell.

Looking up, he shouted, "It is not going to work! I told you before, we will not cooperate! Now let us go!"

Rose stood dizzily, the blood rushing around her body. She stumbled to the Doctor's side, her hand slipping into his with easy familiarity.