A/N: Apologies...I thought I'd completed this chapter so I concentrated on the Ramble, but then I found out this morning I hadn't at around 7:50am and promptly ended up writing the entire thing before I left for school :D So...sorry if it's in 'half-asleep' language...though I think we can all speak that rather fluently...

Chapter 8 – Happy Together

"Wha…what? What's going on?! Wh…why…?" the employee was stammering as he stared at the sleeping Doctor, held within the glass cage. He circled around the pod, hands on glass, as if trying to determine what he saw was real. "There's…that's…that's the Doctor in there!"

"Your boss imprisoned him," Rose said patiently, waiting for his shock to fade. "This is against every law in the book. He's my best friend and he's trapped in a computer game."

"But…but…" he stammered again, stopping once more infront of the pod and looking up to the body floating within. A few seconds of silence – and then he was running, running out the door.

"Hey! Where're you goin'?!"

"I'm phoning the police!"

"But…"

He was already gone.

She sighed loudly to herself, looking up at the Doctor once more, his unconscious slightly unnerving.

"I will get you out of there," she promised once again, determined not to lose hope. "I will try."

She had to go check on him in-game.

She could only hope the game hadn't ended yet.

She stepped boldly into the Time Catcher complex, now fully loathing Zender Жemnas right to the core for what he had done. Ten metres below her feet the Doctor was in a coma and someone was going to pay for this.

She stood in the aisle leading to the contraption which would take her back to the Doctor, she watched the giant cinema screen the thousands of people seemed to be glued to.

Then she saw it.

He was crying.

Her Doctor was crying.

He was cradling her dead and drowned body to his chest, shouting at her name at intervals, tears falling down his cheeks as her death began to take a heavy toll.

It was then she realised what was going on here.

Game? No. This was torture.

"You people are sick!" she wanted to scream at the hypnotised crowd, "you're finding this fun? This is obscene!" but she knew full well she couldn't, for it would ruin her only chances of finding him.

"The police are on their way," whispered a voice that of the employees in her ear. She nodded.

"Good. But you have to get rid of the memory filters so I can tell the Doctor what's going on."

She didn't wait for an answer, already advancing quickly down the aisle to the black Dentist-like chair she had woken up in, strapping herself in before the attendant even had a chance to utter the word 'stop'.

"Doctor!!" came a sudden voice from his arms, accompanied with a shock gasp of desperate air. Startled, the Doctor released a yell of shock and stumbled backwards as he looked down at Rose in his arms, managing to trip over his own feet and falling crashing heavily to the floor.

There was a sudden cracking sound whilst the Doctor tried to compose himself from the astonishment of what actually had happened, but there was hardly any time to think before the cracking turned to ripping and they were suddenly both plummeting downwards through the floor.

Rose screamed as they fell, the Doctor still clutching onto her from below as they hit the following floor – hard.

"Ow!" they both yelled, closing their eyes against the dust. The Doctor could feel a piece of wood prodding into his back and the fact Rose – the very much alive Rose – was spread eagled over his chest made things that ever more uncomfortable, but then the added fact his face was wet with tear tracks made things even worse.

"Jesus, floors aren't what they used to be…" Rose muttered, coughing away more of the dust.

"I'm not Jesus…" The Doctor sniffed from somewhere beneath her, groaning slightly. Immediately Rose gasped, realising she had landed on top of him. She made to get up, but something cracked beneath her hands under the floor as she began to lift herself up.

"Uh oh…" she whispered.

"Don't…move…" he whispered back, his body instantly freezing into position as did hers above him.

"Not moving…"

Seconds passed.

"Rose…" he suddenly said from beneath her, looking straight up into her eyes. "My nose…itches…"

"Out of all the times Doctor…" she whispered, more out of anticipation than fear.

He twitched his nose as if he were a bunny rabbit, crossing his eyes and looking down at the offending object. "Can't…resist…"

"Don't…"

But he was already raising an arm off of the floor, cuing a rather daunting loud creaking sound from beneath them.

CRASH!

The Doctor and Rose were suddenly plummeting again, screaming just because they could. Thankfully the Doctor hit something relatively soft, if he hadn't he might have been too weak to get out of here in one piece.

He looked up towards the ceiling just in time to see the screaming figure of Rose plummet towards him with her eyes open wide, landing directly on top of him for another time. But the force she had descended made sure whatever that object was that had saved his life collapsed beneath the impact.

With another 'oof', they both finally hit firm, hard ground. Dust from the object immediately puffed out in a cloud completely engulfing them both in a mighty whirl of sneezing and coughing. The both of them were unable to stop unconsciousness taking hold and brushing through their senses, eyes fluttering closed.

"But…but…"

"Hey! Where're you goin'?!"

"I'm phoning the police!"

"But…"

Pause.

"I will get you out of there. I will try."

Rose sat up instantly, her head pulsating rudely from the fall. She clasped a hand to the back of her skull and held the area of impact, casting her gaze around the room. What had she just dreamt? The Doctor had been there, but he…he…she couldn't remember.

She was then uncomfortably aware of the Doctor lying beneath her namely; she was sitting on his thighs. His eyes were closed.

Fear roughly gripped her as she stared at his prone form, wondering slightly if the fall had been too much after everything before. He could have concussion…or brain damage…or…or…

It didn't bare thinking about.

"Wake up!" Rose called desperately, resting a hand on his cheek. "Doctor!"

"What did you take me for?"

"A deal. A business proposition."

"Really? That's strange. All my business deals normally take place over a cup of tea with clotted cream and scones, not a scheme of abduction and captivity."

"Well that's because I knew you'd refuse."

"Tell me what you want."

"I want money. I want fame. I want innovation. And for that…I want the Doctor."

"Wake up!" someone was shouting in his ear loudly, "Doctor!"

He groaned out loud, taking in a deep breath and turning his head a little to the side. That had been a strange dream, and he couldn't seem to shake it off.

At the sight of his movement Rose immediately lifted herself off of him, hovering a hand above his cheek and hitting him lightly. He seemed to be ready to pass out again.

"Oh no you don't," she said sternly, getting entirely off of him and slipping her arms beneath his body, hoisting him up off of the floor with all her might. "Stand up," she squeaked through the strain of his entire weight. Slowly, he began to right himself, opening his eyes to look into hers. "Better?"

"Yep…" he forced a wide grin at her, standing up to full height, holding his head. "Just one thing though that's really confusing me…"

"Hmm?"

"You're supposed to be dead."

Suddenly her eyes widened, leaping to attention as a stray thought crossed her mind. "Oh my God! There was somethin' I had to tell you…summat really important…" She strained desperately to remember but everything in her brain was blackness.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything…" the Doctor added, blinking slightly to try and gain his centre of balance.

"…I can't remember!" Rose yelled in frustration, the yelling directed wholly at herself.

"It doesn't matter Rose," he said, smiling. "You're back, I don't need an explanation."

She looked up at him, her love oozing like blood out of an open wound. Without even thinking she reached up to him, arms open wide as they were both hugged tightly; glad finally to be back together.

"Thank you," Rose whispered in his ear.

He didn't bother even asking why.