Chapter Twelve

The next morning, the four of them assembled in the kitchen. The women sat at the table as the Doctor made some more Sarmac paste.

"So, did you guys sleep well last night?" Rose asked them.

Martha and Donna glanced at each other.

"We did after you two toned down the snogging." Donna replied.

The Doctor shot her a look.

"What? I'm sorry, Doctor, I do realize that you and Rose want to reconnect after two years, but couldn't you wait till you got back to the resort? If I wanna hear two people sucking and moaning all night, I'll rent a porno movie."

"You're right, I'm sorry, that was extremely inconsiderate of us to do that to you and Martha." The Doctor said to her. "We should have waited until we got to our hotel room, but---"

"But," Rose said. "We were kissing each other goodnight and well…it just kinda snowballed into a snogging session and we didn't realize how loud we were. So, yeah, I'm really sorry we kept you up."

Donna and Martha smiled at each other.

"Eh, don't worry about it." Martha said. "I used to live in a flat with paper thin walls so it's not the first time I've heard something like that. In fact, I heard a lot worse, come to think of it."

"Sounds like the flat I had." Rose said. "Had some neighbors that used to shag every night. I thought my wall was gonna come down from all the banging on their side."

"You had a place of your own?" the Doctor said as he stirred the paste.

Rose looked back at him.

"Yup, I got my own flat after I got promoted to supervisor." She told him. "Got a nice raise then so I decided to move out."

"How did Jackie take that?" the Doctor asked.

"She was upset at first, but, you know, she knows I'm an adult and I need my space. Still, it was a good thing you weren't with me because you would have hated having to put up with her phoning me every night."

"Yeah, you're right, I am glad I wasn't there for that." The Doctor said.

Rose paused.

"Oh God, mum, she doesn't know what happened." She murmured. "She's gonna freak when she rings me and I don't answer. Doctor, is there any way we can go back over the void just so I can let her know I'm safe?"

The Doctor paused and looked at her.

"I doubt it, Rose. I don't have the technology to cross safely and I really don't feel like fighting the Arcadians for whatever they used. I just want to get off this planet and get away from them as quickly as I can."

He put his hand on her cheek when he saw the heartbroken look in her eyes.

"Rose, I'm sorry, but this is why I didn't come back to get you myself. I just don't have the technology to cross the void. I meant what I said about two universes collapsing if I tried it. If the Arcadians hadn't brought you over here, you still would have been stuck in the other reality. Jackie…she kinda figured I'd find a way back, didn't she?"

Rose nodded.

"Yeah, I think they all knew that one day you'd be back."

"Well, maybe that's what they'll think if you don't come home, that I came and got you."

"Yeah, but I think mum would have expected me to at least come over and say goodbye." Rose replied. "It wouldn't be like me to just take off and not tell her, you know."

The Doctor nodded. He turned back to the paste and stirred it as he thought.

"Rose," he said looking at her. "What happened when they abducted you? Where were you?"

"I was leaving work for the day and walking out to my car. I had just gotten to the door and put the key in the lock when this tractor beam came down and pulled me up."

The Doctor thought as he stirred the paste.

"Did anyone see this?" he said glancing back at her.

Rose thought.

"Um, maybe Terrance did. This guy I work with, I was saying goodbye to him as I came out the door." Rose said.

"Was he the only one in the building?"

"No, there were still some other people working when I left."

"So, they could have seen the tractor beam too?"

"I s'pose so, why?"

"Because if they reported you abducted to whoever was in charge, they probably phoned Jackie and Pete and told them." The Doctor replied turning off the burner.

Rose groaned and put her head in her hand.

"Oh God, mum…" Rose murmured.

Martha and Donna stared at her sympathetically as she stared down at the table. The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder.

"Rose, I'll try to figure out a way to get back over the void safely or at least send a message to her to tell her you're safe." He said to her. "But, I'm afraid for the moment, you're gonna be listed as missing over there."

Rose nodded. The Doctor squeezed her shoulder and leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek.

"I'll find some way to tell Jackie you're safe, I promise." He whispered to her.

"Thank you." Rose said softly.

The Doctor smiled and gave her another peck before leaning back up. He picked up the pot and spooned the paste into the bowls.

"Better eat all of this. We have a long walk ahead of us today."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Donna said. "I think once we get back to the TARDIS, I'm gonna go to my room and collapse."

"Same here, I'll be soaking my feet for several hours." Martha said.

"How long a walk is it?" Rose asked.

"'Bout ten miles." Martha replied.

"Weeell, eleven now, since we have to start from this place." The Doctor said setting bowls down in front of Rose and Martha.

"That's not too bad, I guess. I've walked further than that with the Doctor." Rose said picking up her spoon.

"Really?" Donna asked. "When?"

Rose thought as the Doctor put a bowl in front of Donna and sat down with his bowl beside her. She smiled and looked at the Doctor.

"Remember Jonquil?" she said to him.

The Doctor groaned.

"How could I forget?" he said grinning at her. "That was quite an experience."

"Why? What happened at Jonquil?" Martha asked.

"Well, first off, we landed in this huge rainforest that were inhabited by these ape-like people with big horns on their heads called the Ahtsos. Um, you know that Harry and the Hendersons movie, yeah? Well, the things looked like Harry with bull horns."

The Doctor chuckled as Donna and Martha looked at each other.

"Glad I wasn't there." Donna muttered.

"Well, we were exploring the rainforest when we stumbled onto one of their hunting camps and we got captured." Rose said stirring her paste with her spoon. "Well, they'd never seen anything like us before so they figured we were prey, so they were gonna kill us and skin us, but the Doctor managed to talk them out of it."

"Of course." The Doctor added.

"The Doctor demanded to see the chief in order to buy time for us to escape and they agreed to it. Well, little did we know the main village was about twenty five miles away."

"Oh, hell no they didn't." Martha said.

Rose nodded.

"Oh yes, they did, forced march all the way." Rose said as the Doctor nodded. "We didn't get to their camp until well after dark."

"Okay, all of a sudden eleven miles doesn't sound so bad." Donna said.

"Needless to say, by the end of it, the Doctor and I were about half dead from exhaustion." Rose said. "But, instead of letting us rest, they took us straight to the chief and the Doctor had to force himself to stay awake while he tried to convince him to let us go."

"Which wasn't easy." The Doctor said. "The chief had a nice comfy throne and I had to fight the urge to go over and just go to sleep in it. But, I have to say that Rose was in worse shape than I was. I could stand at least, the moment we got in the tent, she sank to the floor and just sat there trying to keep from passing out while I pleaded for our lives."

"So how did you get away?" Donna asked.

"Well, the chief had never seen anything like us so I used the whole we're gods story and he bought It." The Doctor said. "He immediately apologized and offered us a nice comfy tent for the night."

"And believe me, we used it." Rose added. "I barely remember what happened next because I was just about dead by that time. I remember the Doctor picking me up and carrying me to the tent, but after I heard him say we were safe, I just passed out and slept."

"So, did I. I laid her down on this cot, got in beside her, pulled this animal skin up over us and the two of us slept for, ooo, at least thirteen, fourteen hours…maybe more, but it was at least twelve because when we finally woke up, it was the next day. Then, when we came out of the tent, we were both limping from all the blisters we had on our feet. For a couple of gods, we looked completely pathetic, I have to say." He said as Rose nodded. "But, they fed us well and gave us a couple of Zors which kinda resemble the taun-tauns from the Empire Strikes Back except without the heavy coat of fur and we rode those back to the TARDIS."

"And then, once we got back into the vortex, the two of us went back to bed for another twelve hours." Rose said. "After that, it took about a week to fully recover from the walk and the blisters and the aching muscles."

"So, the next time you start in about eleven miles, just remember that." The Doctor said to Martha and Donna. "Unlike the Ahtsos, I didn't make you go on a forced march."

"Believe me, after hearing all that, I'm not complaining anymore." Donna said.

"Me either." Martha added.

The Doctor winked at Rose as she chuckled. She took a bite of Sarmac paste and swallowed.

"There was actually another planet we were on called…Fistula, I think, the one with volcanoes?"

"Yes, that was Fistula." The Doctor said.

"Well, there, we not only had to walk across rocks and boulders, but there were these lava streams and lakes we had to cross without falling in." Rose said to Donna and Martha. "It was hotter n' hell there too, I got a massive sunburn just from being around all that lava."

"Don't forget Votulista."

"Oh, ugh, yeah. That was an ice planet. Colder than hell and the ground was pure ice. We wore these special boots just so we could walk on it. We had to fight off these big bear things called Urks. They had long hair that just came all the way down to the ground. Kinda resembled big, walking dust mops with eyes. One of them swiped at the Doctor's leg and, God, just made this enormous gash. It kinda looked like he had fought with Freddy Krueger. I grabbed this big chunk of ice and hit it in the head just so it wouldn't finish off the Doctor. After that, I had to get him back to the TARDIS and I was terrified because there was this trail of blood behind us as we walked and he was whiter than the snow around us and I thought for sure he was gonna regenerate. Luckily, I got him back in time and we took him to the med bay and he told me how to get him stabilized and I did it."

The Doctor grinned when she gave them a proud smile.

"Wasn't the first time I owed my life to you." He said to her. "Like I said, that's why I love traveling with companions. The best decision I ever made in all my lives. Traveling by yourself isn't just boring, it's dangerous. I know I wouldn't be sitting here today if Rose hadn't helped chase off that Urk and got me back to the TARDIS in time."

He smiled at Martha and Donna.

"And you also have saved my life a time or two as well." He said to them. "A lot of aliens put you lot down and call you backward and weak minded, but with several very special exceptions, I've always chosen to travel with humans because not only is your kind resilient, you are extremely brave as well. Not only have I seen you three do things that would make most people die of fright, but I've also seen my other human companions rise to the challenge and come through for me when I needed them most. I think it's why I love your kind so much, human beings are just as nuts as I am."

He winked at them as they laughed. He looked at Martha and Donna.

"And guys, thank you so much for making Rose feel welcome. I know how awkward it was for her to show up out of the blue and I know it was awkward for her since she and I traveled alone for the longest time, but I can see the three of you have bonded and I'm glad. I like traveling with people who can get along and work as a team since given what we do teamwork is an absolute must. I told Rose that I thought she would like you guys and I'm glad to see I'm right."

"I like her." Donna said. "You're right, it was awkward at first, especially since she really wasn't what I expected. The few times I heard you mention her, I expected some leggy, arrogant, model type. I'm glad she's just a normal young lady."

"Yeah, me too, I was expecting a supermodel type too." Martha said.

The Doctor frowned.

"Why did you guys think Rose was like that?" he said.

"Because of the way you went on about her. How perfect she was. I'm sorry, Doctor, but perfect to me is Cindy Crawford or Tyra Banks, not…"

Martha trailed off.

"I mean, Rose, I'm not meaning you aren't beautiful, because you are, but…"

"It's alright, I understand your meaning." Rose said to her. "I'm more…down to earth beautiful not tons of plastic surgery and so thin you can count every rib on my body beautiful."

"I beg to differ, those skinny anorexic models are not beautiful." The Doctor said making a face. "When you can count every rib on your body, you need to be seeing a therapist, not posing in front of a camera. I realize that's the current definition of beauty on Earth, but people like Kate Moss fills me with pity, not lust. How humans ever decided that being thinner than a rail was attractive is beyond me. I'd rather have someone like Rose where at least I have some flesh to hold on to. Kate Moss, ugh, If I ever meet the poor waif I'm gonna stuff a bleedin' sandwich down her throat. It amazes me that she even has the strength to stand upright."

He shook his head.

"Anyway, I could go on and on about that all day, but I'll spare you all my little lecture on body image and self esteem and just finish up my Sarmac paste so we can get going."

At that, all of them dug into their meal and fell into a companionable silence as they ate.