Chapter 2

Rose was coughing hard as she sat up and dragged in a lungful of air and coughed again. She ached all over, felt as if she had been slammed into a wall.

No,not a wall.

A floor, because there had been an explosion and the ceiling had come down and...

"Oh no..."she whispered, and looked about the rubble as the dust began to settle. There was glass everywhere and chunks of masonry and... the place was wrecked. She looked up through a gaping hole into the second floor, and saw far up into the scorched ceiling beyond. Then she heard some screaming and cries for help, but they sounded distant.

"Doctor?" she called, and coughed again.

"Rose..."

She turned around and saw him, on his back with his coat covered with dust and as he reached for her a trickle of blood ran over the back of his hand.

"Rose...are you okay?"

She was at his side,kneeling right next to him as she grasped his hand, but as he looked up at her, the Doctor struggled to focus and knew the score at once:

This was very, very bad.

He could feel his body going numb, a sense of darkness drawing closer.

He drew in a sharp breath and it hurt, reminding him he was still in his damaged body and it wasn't too late.

"I won't regenerate...I'm not ready...got too much left to do..."

Breathing was still difficult.

He looked up at Rose and blinked, managing to clear misty vision for a brief moment.

"I...I can do something else...I won't leave you...Rose, I won't..."

His hand slipped from her grip as he lost consciousness.

"Doctor?" Rose said in alarm, but he gave no response.

She grabbed his hand and rubbed the back of it.

"Doctor, please...please stay with me!"

But he remained motionless, his breathing was slow and steady now, yet he remained unresponsive.

As tears stung at her eyes, Rose recalled the last thing he had said to her – that he wouldn't leave her.

Was he leaving her?

Was she going stay trapped in the rubble as the Doctor died and she could do nothing to stop it?

She drew in a breath and looked tearfully to the place where light shone through from outside, too much blocked the way and the rubble was too heavy to move by herself – and she wasn't going to leave the Doctor's side anyway. She couldn't, she was too afraid that if she turned her back just for a moment...

She looked back down at him. He was still breathing. As long as he was breathing, she wasn't going to lose hope.

"Help us!" she yelled, "We're trapped! Please, someone..."

And then she held tight to the Doctor's hand, watching anxiously as his breathing continued to be slow and steady.

"It's going to okay," she said as she started to break down and cry, "We will get out...we will, soon..."

And then she heard a crack and more damaged ceiling came crashing down in the corner, making the floor shudder as more dust clouded the air and then settled.

"We will get out," Rose whispered, looking to the tiny gap where daylight came though, as she made a silent vow that she would not let the Doctor die here...

It had grown silent and the wait was long, and Rose knew she was shaking and the cold she felt to her aching bones had to be shock, but the pain she had felt on waking was gone by now. She focused on the Doctor, talking to him, hoping he could hear her as she wondered how deep his unconsciousness was. And he remained unresponsive as she watched the rise and fall of his chest, but this was enough to reassure her that the man she loved was still alive.

Then rubble was forced aside, it was lifted and tossed out, landing with a crash that split the floor beyond the site of the blast.

Rose turned her head to see daylight streaming in – and the rescuers were not human...

"What's going on?" she murmured as she knelt beside the Doctor, watching as the big creatures that reminded her of rhinos made their way over the rubble.

"Please help us!" she begged as she looked up at the creature.

The alien grasped her hand, raising it and snapping a bracelet on her wrist, and then he made a move to do the same to the Doctor.

"Wait – he's hurt, don't move him -"

"You will both come with us, " its deep voice stated, "We are Judoon, seeking the perpetrator of this crime and others."

"Crime?" Rose exclaimed, "What crime?"

"You will accompany us, human. The male from Gallifrey, species TimeLord, needs medical assistance."

And he snapped a bracelet on to the Doctor's wrist.

Rose stood up and looked in defiance at the creature.

"You can't take us anywhere -"

Her words were drowned out by a shimmer of light that covered her and the Doctor and the Judoon, as the three of them were teleported out of the bomb site.

Missy had been watching from the corner near the exit, where she had stayed very quiet and very still as she looked on, towards the centre of the building where the area had been devastated...

Was the Doctor dead?
The thought of a universe without her enemy in it was worrying...

She didn't want to be alone, she didn't want to know he wasn't there any more... What point would there be in Missy without the Doctor?

And she didn't want to think too deeply about why she felt that way.

Instead she stepped back into the shadows to avoid a passing Judoon and used the bracelet to lock on to the alien ship, and then she hit the teleport button.

As the world about her solidified once more, she found herself at the end of a steel corridor near a door way and she lingered there, watching as up ahead, she saw the Doctor's companion along with others who had been caught up in the blast, who were being led into another section by a Judoon. She guessed they were interviewing witnesses in an attempt to catch the bombers.

It was then Missy's cold eyes widened as she felt a spike of fear run through her:
What would happen if they did catch them?

Then it would only be a matter of time before the trail led back to a certain TimeLady who happened to have a case full of the world's most dangerous and addictive drug stashed away in her Tardis, along with a machine to replicate the stuff forever more...

The thought of the Judoon and the Daleks pursuing her was one that chilled her to the bone and for once, Missy felt like maybe she wasn't entirely a law unto herself any more, because too much was at stake now – mainly, her own life and liberty...

It was time to rethink the plan.

She was in the middle of rethinking it when she turned her head and looked into a room where nurses were tending to some of the injured people from the explosion, and it was then she saw the Doctor lying on his back on a bed in the corner of the room. He wasn't moving and looked deeply unconscious.

Missy breathed a relieved sigh:

At least he was still alive.

She was not alone in the universe yet...

Then up ahead, she saw Judoon leading more people across a passageway – this time heading back to a teleport area. She knew she had to act fast, because with all the people being moved on and off this ship, she could easily slip out again, right under the noses and the radar of the Judoon.

She liked her plan, it made her smile.

"You're good, Missy, very good," she murmured, and then she quickly entered the room where medical staff were tending to the wounded, passed through it and into a room beyond, where she found spare uniforms hanging up and quickly began to strip off her Victorian clothing.

"I don't know anything," Rose said tearfully as she sat in an interrogation room and the eyes of a Judoon regarded her thoughtfully, "Me and the Doctor were just passing through, spending the day in town...was it a bomb? Tell me, was it a bombing?"

A communication screen on the table bleeped and then she heard a voice in alien language. The Judoon who sat opposite her replied to it and shut the channel off.

"We have found those responsible for the bombing. Manipulated humanoids programmed for the purpose by an enemy who is also wanted by the Judoon."

Rose stared at him.

"You mean the terrorist attacks...they're coming from another world? They're alien?"

The Judoon said nothing in reply as he hit a call button.

"Please tell me, I want to know who did this!" she demanded.

The Judoon got up from his seat.

"You will wait. You will be collected for departure."

"At least tell me if the Doctor's okay!"

The door closed behind the Judoon, leaving Rose alone in the room.

She got up from her seat and then as her legs shook and she realised she was still trembling from the blast, she leant against the table as she waited.

"I'm not leaving without you," she whispered as she thought of the man she loved and hoped that some how, he could hear her even though she didn't know where he had been taken.

Rose waited in silence for several minutes, and then the door opened and a young woman came in wearing a white coat. Her fair hair was tied back and her eyes glowed an unearthly shade of lilac.

"Rose Tyler?"

She nodded.

"How is he, how is the Doctor?" she said as she blinked away tears and wished the stupid shaking that ran though her body would just stop.

"I am an on board medic, the Judoon employ a variety of species and I am closest to human," she said to her, "It was felt it would be better that you spoke with one who resembled your own race at this difficult time."

Rose felt her heart miss a beat.

"What do you mean?"

"Come with me, I will take you to the Doctor," she replied, and Rose followed her out of the room and down along corridor, and the woman led the way silently, ignoring her constant pleas for explanation.

Rose gave up on asking questions as she was led to the room where the Doctor was on a bed in the corner of the room, he was on his back and his coat was still covered in dust, but some of it had been brushed away and it looked like he had been cleaned up. But he was still motionless apart from the steady rise and fall of his chest, and as she looked at him, Rose felt a rising sense of dread as she turned to the woman with the lilac eyes.

"When will he wake up? We need to leave, I'm not going without him."

"Rose Tyler," the woman replied, "Is the Doctor your life partner?"

Rose nodded.

Already tears were threatening to sting at her eyes again. She had heard the tone of her voice, she knew where this was going now...

"Then my condolences are offered," the woman said to her, "The Doctor's injuries are severe and he is in a coma. He will not wake again."

"No..."

Rose blinked as the world blurred and she looked into the eyes of the woman with the lilac gaze.

"No, you're wrong -"

"All scans indicate the Doctor is in a deep coma. Some kind of part shut down of his body. We know little of his species but estimating that his injuries are not survivable, you must accept the fact that your life partner will never wake again."

Rose had stopped shaking.

It seemed like an odd time to stop, but for a moment she had gone completely numb as she looked to the alien medic and took in her words.

"You're wrong," she said in a hushed voice, "He promised me, he said he would never leave me!"

"I am sorry," the woman replied, "But it seems there is nothing that can be done for him."

"And that's quite enough of that talk, you can clear off and see to someone else who needs cheering up, you little puddle of misery. Don't just stand there, move! I've been asked to take these people back to Earth."

As the medic looked rather surprised, and then turned and walked away, Rose looked to the woman who now stood at the Doctor's bedside and wondered why she looked so familiar:

She had ice blue eyes and her dark hair fell to her shoulders, and the white coat she wore clung to her curves and barely skimmed her thighs. She had never met her before and yet, there was something familiar about her, although Rose couldn't place it...

"I want to go back home, with the Doctor," Rose said, and the woman looked at her for a moment, fixing her with a gaze that seemed again to be familiar, but after all that had happened, she guessed maybe her mind was playing tricks on her – of course she didn't know her from somewhere...

"Of course you do," she agreed, "And I'm here to help. My name is Missy."

And she smiled, but Rose just met her gaze with sad eyes and looked back at the Doctor.

"I don't believe he's not going to wake up. He will, he has to!"

"Of course he will, dear," Missy replied, glancing about the place to be a sure the other staff were busy, "Now...I'm just going to share a little secret with you. The pay on this ship is lousy and I want out, so I'm not checking out through the formal channel of the teleport room. We're leaving, here and now. But first I need to temporarily scramble something on my teleport device. It's a bit different to yours. I need something...sonic to help me out."

Her eyes widened as she looked at her.

"I don't have time for this, I just want to go home and look after the Doctor. I don't know how long he has left, and I want to be with him if..."

Rose trailed off into tears and she put her hand to her mouth to stifle a sob, then she managed to pull back from it as she found her voice again.

"I want to be there to hold his hand, he wouldn't want to be alone..."

Missy rolled her eyes.

"Oh, for goodness sake, come here!"

She grabbed her hand and turned over the teleport bracelet on her wrist, and Rose watched as she accessed a map.

"Find your home on the map. The exact location. Then I can link our three bracelets and we can go. You need to take me with you, I'm a nurse. I can help you care for the Doctor."

Rose felt confused, but all that Missy had said seemed like a good deal. At the back of her mind came the notion that perhaps if a deal was too good to be true maybe there was a catch somewhere, but at that moment, she didn't care.

"Okay," she agreed, "I'll do that, you can come with us."

She began to search the map and zoom in as she searched for home.

"And I need a sonic device? Now?"

Rose reached into the Doctor's coat pocket and took out his sonic screwdriver."

"Be careful with it," she said as Missy snatched it from her and carefully used it on the tracking device. There was a brief sound of static hissing from the bracelet, and then she handed the screwdriver back to Rose, who looked at it, then the Doctor, and became tearful again.

"I hope you're not going to be crying all the time," Missy complained, "You're starting to annoy me!"

And Rose was about to ask her what she meant by that remark, but Missy activated the device and all three bracelets glowed, and then Rose, the Doctor and Missy were transported off the Judoon ship.

Jackie Tyler had waited all afternoon, and had vowed to wait all night and the next day if she had to – because as soon as the news had broke about the bombing, she had tried to reach Rose and her daughter had not picked up the phone. And something awful had stirred within her, the same kind of feeling she got when ever Rose was far away and she wondered if she might be in danger. But this time it had been worse, it had been cold and deep and awful from the moment she had seen the news reports and the sight of the bombed out building.

Rose was caught up in it, she felt sure of it.

And as she stood in the crowd and watched as rescuers helped emergency services shift rubble, she silently prayed her daughter was still alive.

Then she wondered about the Doctor, and then she thought about how she had spoken to him the last time she had seen them both – telling him that space was more dangerous than Earth, upsetting her daughter with the things she had said...

What if they were both trapped in that rubble?

What if they were both gone?

What if it was too late to say sorry?

As she stood there watching and waiting, she refused to give up. Jackie pulled her phone from her pocket and called her daughter's number again.

The phone rang, went unanswered and switched to voicemail.

Jackie's gaze was still fixed on the rubble and the bodies brought out from it covered by blankets. She clung to the hope her daughter was still alive and found the strength to speak as the tone sounded:

"Rose? I don't know if you can get this message, but...I'm probably being silly, you're probably out somewhere with the Doctor and having a great time... it's just that I'm in the town centre, and there was a bombing...people are dead. Of course you wasn't caught up in it...but it's awful and I keep thinking... I can't reach you. I hope you're safe. Both of you. Call me as soon as you can, please call me."

Then she ended the message and looked about the crowd, wishing she would catch sight of her amongst them, wanting to be wrong about that terrible feeling she couldn't shake off. But it hung in the air as sure as the grim sight of the bodies being taken away reminded her this was not a nightmare that she could wake from. This was real, and every instinct was telling her that Rose was caught up in this some how...

Since they had teleported back to the flat, Rose had felt an instant sense of relief to be home. And Missy had been so very helpful, now the Doctor was resting in bed – in her mum's room. That had been Missy's idea, because she had said, she felt sure it was better to put him in the bigger room, so that Rose could be with him all the time. Rose wasn't sure how her mum would react when she heard what had happened and found the Doctor, in a coma, lying in her bed - and after the quarrel they had that morning, the thought of more angry words now was too much to bear. But Missy had been so helpful, and Rose felt thankful for that.

"Where will you go?" she asked her as she sat on the edge of the bed, holding on to the Doctor's hand as he lay there with his eyes closed.

"Oh, don't worry about me," Missy replied, "I'll find somewhere to stay tonight. I know Earth pretty well. And I'll be back tomorrow to make sure you're okay."

"It's not me you need to worry about!" Rose said.

Missy looked at her kindly.

"Of course I'm worried about you! If he dies -"

She paused, watching as Rose became tearful again.

"You really do love him, I can see that. I don't blame you. He's a handsome man," she gave a brief but sly smile,"Nice body too. I can't say I minded helping you take his clothes off..."

Rose shot her a look of alarm.

"Missy, that's so inappropriate!"

"I'm sorry,I just hate to see you so sad."

Rose looked at the Doctor and felt an ache deep in her heart.

"The Judoon told me it was an alien attack. They said the bombers were alien -working for someone...more aliens, I guess.. But they've caught them now, so it won't happen again."

Missy's twin hearts jolted.

"They've caught them?"

As Rose looked at her, anger and pain burned in her eyes.

"I hope they execute them for what they've done!" she said tearfully.

Missy's face had paled as she guessed Rose was right – they would execute them, after they had been interrogated - and if they had mentioned a deal between Daleks and a TimeLady...

Rose was still tearful and Missy watched as she gently stroked the Doctor's hair as he gave no response.

"I'll look after you forever," she promised him, "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I'll always look after you, as long as it takes. You won't be alone."

And as she watched Rose vowing to never leave him, Missy had already made her decision:

She needed to dump the drugs.

She would do it tomorrow, she would dump them on Rose...

"I should leave you now," she said to her, "I'll come over tomorrow. I've got your number, I scanned it out from your phone. I'll call first. Take care, Rose."

And then she walked out of the room and headed for the front door.

As Missy left and closed the front door behind her, Rose stayed at the Doctor's side.

"Can you hear me?" she said softly, "I wish I knew if you could..."

And then she pulled her phone from her pocket as she suddenly realised her mum was not back home yet. The explosion had happened close by, close enough...did she think she was dead?

Suddenly Rose regretted turning off her phone after their quarrel that morning. She switched it back on and saw sixty missed calls and eleven messages.

"Oh no, no, mum," she muttered, and hastily hit speed dial.

"Rose?" her mum had answered as soon as her phone had started to ring, and she sounded afraid.

"I'm okay, I'm at home, just come home."

"Oh Rose, I thought -"

"You were right, but I'm okay..." she paused, feeling an ache in her heart once again that cut deep and was becoming unbearable, "But the Doctor was hurt...you need to come home,I need to explain -"

"I'm on my way," Jackie replied, and the call ended.

Rose was still feeling the pain of her own words. Now she had said it, she had told her mum and when she came home she would find out the rest, she would have to explain something she wasn't sure if she could live with:

The news that the Doctor might never wake up.

Rose looked to the dressing table, and as she caught sight of her reflection she saw a person she barely recognised:

Her clothes were torn, there was dust in her hair and a graze to her cheek and a look of emptiness in her eyes.

She didn't know how to get through this.

She didn't even know if she could get through it.

She wanted the Doctor back.

She couldn't imagine life without him, and she wasn't sure if she could handle any of this...

Rose felt like she was losing her mind.