Disclaimer: As usual... I still own nothing… darn it.
Thanks to: xXMarauders childXx, Doc, loofa, JauntyChick, blondesavmorefun, Scout Girl, blackhairdye, and the ever faithful Ignoramus
Chapter Six: Escape... or not?
"Doctor, what time is it?" I asked
"About ten minutes after you last asked, twenty to five," the Doctor answered
"That's more than ten minutes after I asked, it was twenty-five past four last time," I argued, snuggling into his chest even more, his arm still around my shoulders. Mickey just rolled his eyes.
"I've had a thought," said Mickey, speaking for the first time in about an hour.
"Well done Mickey," the Doctor exclaimed sarcastically.
"How are we going to know when the guards have their supper?" Mickey asked, shooting the Doctor an evil stare.
"Maybe one of them'll start snoring or something," suggested the Doctor
"Well, if whatever they have has eggs, meat or stewed vegetables in it, you'll know when I puke all over you," I said sardonically.
"What's that Rose?" asked the Doctor, concern evident in his voice.
"Erm..." I started realising that I should have kept my mouth shut, "erm... if I so much as smell eggs, cooked meat or stewed vegetables, I throw up, I just can't stand the smell," I eventually told him,
"How long's this been going on for?"
"'Bout a week," he looked at me with worry etched on his face, before opening his mouth. Deciding not to speak, and closing his mouth again.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, after what seemed like eternity
"I...I... I didn't want you to worry about me," I told him, truthfully, forgetting all about Mickey.
"And I'm not worried now then?" he almost shouted, "Rose, I... I..." he started to stammer before continuing "I care about you," he finally finished, although I was sure that it wasn't what he was originally going to say.
I suddenly felt like I was going to cry, why? I wasn't upset, I had nothing to be upset about, but yet I was close to tears, just because the Doctor was angry at me. What was wrong with me? I was sick every morning, felt constantly tired and was now close to tears. Not being able to hold them in any more I pressed my head into the Doctor and let them flow, huge racking sobs filled my body. I felt his arm tighten around my shoulders, and at that moment I knew that I was safe, that no matter what happened here in France it was going to be alright.
"Sh.. Rose, I'm sorry," he said now rubbing my shoulder. After several minutes of crying my heart out onto his jacket, I managed to calm down enough to prize myself off his shoulder so that I could wipe my eyes. I guessed that I would have panda eyes, because water proof mascara, never is completely water proof.
"Now I've got you all wet," I told him, laughing in between suppressed sobs.
"It's alright Rose," he eventually managed to say, I could tell that he was at a complete loss at what to say. While I'd been crying he'd just held me close, and didn't say anything. The man who could talk his way out of any situation, was stumped by me, just a crying shop girl from 21st century London, just another 'stupid ape' as he liked to call me, just the latest in a long line of companions. But his complete lack of speech didn't bother me, I just felt safe in his embrace, just having him close was enough. I'd never felt like that before.
o...O...o
After several hours of doing, well, not much at all, I caught the unmistakable smell of stewed vegetables, almost instantly I began to feel sick.
"What's that smell?" asked Mickey, raising his head sniffing.
"Stewed vegetables," I replied, forcing myself to speak, even though I was afraid that if I opened my mouth I'd be violently sick all over the Doctor.
"Rose, you alright?" the Doctor asked, anxiously.
"Not really, it's that smell," I answered, then feeling my face light up I added "that means that the guards are having their supper, which means that they'll be going to sleep soon, if Reinette keeps her promise," I saw that the Doctor's face had split into his customary grin. He then leapt up, getting something out of his pocket.
"Perfect, it's charged," he said grinning at me, waving his sonic screwdriver in his hand. I smiled back. He stuck out his hand, reaching up I took it, then pulled myself up, we walked over to the door, still hand in hand. I saw Mickey, looking rather hurt, standing up himself. The Doctor checked both ways checking that all the guards were asleep.
"All asleep," he informed me, I almost jumped as I heard one of them snore.
"Yep definitely asleep," I said, suppressing a laugh. The Doctor, using his newly charged sonic screwdriver to unlock the door, and hearing it click, he pushed it open, stepping carefully over the threshold. I followed him, stepping carefully over sleeping guards, Mickey walking a few paces behind me. We eventually found the stairs that the guards had brought us down, climbing up these we realised that we were at a junction.
"Any idea which way we came?" asked Mickey.
"Nope, not at all," replied the Doctor, how he could be happy when we were lost in the Palace of Versailles was completely beyond me.
"That way I think," I said pointing to the corridor on the left, "I recognise that painting," I added.
"But there's a painting like that down that corridor too," complained Mickey.
"That one's got a horse, the other's more like a donkey," I argued, setting off down the corridor on the left, the Doctor following, leaving Mickey standing there. I saw him look around exasperatedly before bringing up the rear.
o...O...o
We ended up back tracking three times, twice because we hit a dead end, but the third time because we realised that we'd ended up in the pre-revolutionary French equivalent of a toilet. Feeling that it wouldn't be long before we all ended up being noticed as missing we all breathed a sigh of relief when turning down what felt like the hundredth hallway we spotted the TARDIS. Luckily for us there was no one guarding it, they'd probably realised that it wouldn't open for them and left it alone. The hall looked different in the dark, instead of sunlight streaming in through the windows, moonlight now filled the hall, looking out of one of them, I noticed that it was the full moon. Smiling to myself remembering the events of the last full moon, we kept walking until the TARDIS was a mere arms length away, before a black silhouette stepped out of the shadows.