Sorry for delay - I have been all sicky sicky throwy uppy. Ew. Not nice. Thank you for your beautiful reviews!

This chapter is dedicated to everyone who took their time to review - merci!

She hadn't seen the Doctor in weeks, maybe months… possibly years? It felt like centuries had gone past for Rose, as she hung limply to the shackles, exhausted and delirious. The room never changed lighting, and she could never tell the difference between day and night. Each hour ticked away slower than the last, and she was only grateful when they allowed her to get some uncomfortable sleep. For hours they managed to torture her, but each time she just thought about the Doctor and just hoped he was still alive.

Crow came into her room everyday and was the one who usually did most of the torturing. Rose was usually blindfolded before someone entered the room so she would get the element of surprise when the whip would be brought down against her battered skin. They would say nothing to her as they tortured her and would usually only give her a spoonful of food once a week to keep her going.

Rose had become desperately thin, her ribs were noticeable through her skin and her arms and legs were skeletal. They had to tighten the shackles against her ankles and wrists because she had gotten so slim.

Her body was battered and bruised with gashes all over her skin. Her clothes were shredded and she couldn't hold her pride. Rose felt embarrassed each time someone entered the room, and only hoped it was someone going to save her, but it was always the Screaming Nightmare. They did the cruelest things to her, electrocuted her shackles, whipped her mercilessly and slashed her skin. Rose was on the edge of madness and yet she had to endure the never ending torture.

Each time she closed her eyes to sleep, she could see Crow's bloodshot eyes staring back at her, his pale, spindly fingers closed around her neck as she choked to death.

She had had many near-death experiences but they had sufficient equipment to bring her back to life. Every time Rose closed her eyes and submitted herself to the howling darkness, they brought her back to the nightmare she called reality.

--

The Doctor couldn't bear to feel so timeless. Days could tick by and he wouldn't know about them. All he did was sit in the corner of the room, away from the projector, and listen to Rose's pleas for help. The Time Lord couldn't bring himself to look at what they were doing to her. He had hardly moved from this spot for weeks, but now he suddenly heard the locks going by the door as it swung open.

Immediately, the Doctor got to his feet, his face hardened like stone. Crow ignored him as the guards stepped forward and took each arm, like they had done so the last time they had been in here.

"I will give you one last chance, Doctor." Crow explained, leading the guards towards the TARDIS. "If she refuses to open, then we will take you to Rose's cell and you will watch as she dies at your feet."

The Doctor shot him an icy stare but said nothing.

They reached the doors of his beloved ship and the key was put into his hand. Again, the Doctor put the key in the lock, but again it refused to open. He banged his fist again the blue wood angrily, tears springing to his eyes.

NO! Let me in! Rose will-

Not with them there! The TARDIS shot back before he could finish his sentence.

They will never go away, old girl. They will try and open the door forever, and I can't stop them. Either you let your doors open, or Rose will die. You remember Rose, don't you? You love her just as much as I do, and you know her. She is part of you now. Together you are Bad Wolf. The Doctor was trying anything to convince the TARDIS to let them in.

There was a long pause but then the TARDIS began to hum excitedly.

Of course! I have an idea, but I will have to be quick. Together we can be Bad W-

No! The Doctor couldn't let the TARDIS do that again to Rose. It made her too powerful, and the only way to get the wolf out of her was to sacrifice one of his regenerations. Surely the TARDIS couldn't risk it?

Don't fret. I will keep you two safe.

The TARDIS started to glow inside and a bright light began to drift between the gaps of the door. Crow looked at the light angrily and watched the Doctor turn around. "What is it doing? What did you tell her to do?" He demanded.

The guards twisted the Doctor's arm around his back and he started to struggle. "I don't… I don't know! She… she's never…"

"Guards! Take him to Rose's cell, we will get this over and done." With that, they dragged the Doctor away, towards the cell he hadn't been in since the day they had arrived.

--

Rose hadn't even heard them come in. The blindfold was tightly tied across her eyes and it was only when someone touched her head roughly that she jumped in surprise and started to shy away from his touch, beginning to scream. His hand clamped over her mouth and the blindfold came away.

She blinked in the bright light and immediately had to close her eyes. Rose was vaguely aware of a gasp not too far away, but she thought nothing of it. Finally she began to get adjusted to the light and her eyes met the man's that was standing a few metres away. Rose gave a muffled scream of delight and started to struggle in the bind, causing her to cry in pain.

The hand came away from her mouth and she started croaking his name sadly, tears burning her tender cheeks.

"Doc-tor." she choked, unaware of Crow entering the room with a knife in his hand.

The Doctor stared at her with sad eyes, assessing her bruised and battered body. She hadn't deserved any of this, and yet he had dragged her into it. If they had kept a low profile, then none of this would've happened. His guilty gaze couldn't hold her saddening eyes anymore and he watched as Crow approached her form, grazing the knife across her cheek.

Realization hit Rose and she started to struggle again, screaming in pain as the shackles dug into her deformed wrists. "Doctor! Doctor!" She cried sadly, watching Crow turn towards him with an evil glint in his eye.

"Despite her throat choking she still screams your name." Crow laughed, throwing the knife up and catching it with his other hand. "How interesting." He turned back to Rose and stared at her. "You know, the Doctor has been watching you being tortured every single day from his cell. Did you know that?" Rose watched with frightened eyes and she looked back at the Doctor.

"Please, Doctor." She whispered.

Crow spun around to look at the Time Lord. "And do you know how many times we have had to resuscitate Rose as she has given up on this world? But now she can finally say goodbye and you can watch her bleed to death."

He traced the knife along her upper thigh and across her stomach, making her tense. It reached her chest and he tapped it lightly, the sharp edge gently making a cut to her skin. "Where is best to cut? Where is the best place to make it slow and painful? You're a doctor, you tell me!" Crow stared at the Doctor, expecting an answer.

"If you do kill her," The Doctor whispers quietly, "don't you dare make her suffer!" He hisses, his temper rising. Crow looked at the Doctor straight in the face, watching his dark brown eyes dance from Rose to him.

"Is that a threat, Doctor?"

"Please." Rose cried, shaking uncontrollably. "Just do it!"

Crow spun around to face her. "Ah, a keen girl here. I guess she has wanted to die for so long now, it is inevitable."

Rose looked up at the Doctor, her eyes glistening. "I'm sorry." She croaked, "I-"

Before she could finish the sentence, a bright light filled the room, making the guards, the Doctor and Crow cover their eyes so it wouldn't blind them. "WHAT IS THAT?!" Crow shrieked angrily, trying to prize his eyes open.

The Doctor froze as he began to hear a growl, then the creak and snap of metal. The light died away and he looked up to see a huge wolf towering over them, eyes full of fire as she stepped out of the shackles and towards Crow. Rose started to approach him, her body shaking with fury and she snarled in his face. Crow was knocked back and started to plea for mercy, begging her to stop.

"Rose! Control yourself!" The Doctor shouted over the commotion. All the guards were firing bullets at her, but she could feel nothing. She felt no pain, the only emotion she was feeling was anger to the man standing before her, but she was determined to get the Doctor away from all this. She grabbed the Doctor by his coat and began to run towards the door, which had carelessly been left open.

Pride rose inside the Doctor as she ran instead of fought. She was so much like him. He could never kill, despite what they did to him or Rose. Instead he would run. Run away from everything and never to return. Of course, this wasn't the end of the Screaming Nightmare. He would come back to give out his revenge, but first he had to look after Rose. The Doctor still didn't know what they had done to her but he knew she would be traumatized by the whole thing.

Rose reached the TARDIS and she dropped the Doctor on the floor. The TARDIS key was glowing on the ground where Crow must've dropped it. He picked it up and put it inside the lock, and the TARDIS opened immediately. He grinned and suddenly watched as the bright light faded and with that, Rose collapsed in her human form, unconscious.

The Doctor picked up the naked Rose tenderly and closed the door behind them, walking up the ramp and towards the infirmary. The TARDIS didn't need any instructing and already she dematerialized from the place they had been tortured for so long and flew into the vortex while the Doctor carried Rose to their haven.

He lay her down on the bed and covered her gently with a blanket, to spare the embarrassment. Now the Doctor worked on the injuries.

It would take weeks, maybe months, for these wounds to heal completely, and he was worried about the psychological effect the torturing may have. The Doctor scanned her body and found that she had three broken ribs, her left hand had been grotesquely twisted and would need to be popped back into place, a broken right arm and a punctured lung. But those were only the major injuries, on top of that her body was battered black and blue and she was constantly struggling to survive.

"Oh Rose." The Doctor whispers, stroking back her matted hair.

He didn't even want to know if she had been raped or not, but he knew he had to check, just in case she was pregnant. He sucked in his breath as he rolled up the blanket to see gashes and bruises all over her thighs. It must've hurt terribly, and Rose could do nothing but accept the pain. Judging by the excessive marks along her upper legs he knew the answer to whether she had been raped so he got out a needle filled with fluid.

The TARDIS had a lot of futuristic equipment and the needle would flush out anything alien in her body that shouldn't be there. He quickly pressed the needle against her neck and let the fluid run into her blood system. If she was pregnant with an alien baby, which was unlikely anyway, it would be taken out of her body.

He sighed and looked at her battered face.

This is going to be a long night…

--

Rose hurt. It always hurt. Every time she woke up to begin a new day of torture. But where were her shackles? Why was she lying horizontal under a warm blanket on a comfortable mattress? She managed to open her eyes into small slits and already she began to remember what happened the night before. The night she turned back into a wolf, with the aid of the TARDIS. She saw the Doctor watching her carefully and he smoothed back her hair, making her flinch. He immediately pulled away, regretting touching her.

"I'm sorry." Rose croaked. "I mean-"

"Sh, Rose. Here, drink this." The Doctor held out a glass of water with a straw in it. She used her energy to push herself up and drink the whole glass in a few mouthfuls.

"Don't blame yourself." Rose whispers, staring at the Doctor sadly. "Don't you dare blame yourself."

The Doctor sighed. "I have treated your wounds, now you have to rest and recover. It's going to take a while, but we're not going anywhere."

Rose stared up at the ceiling, feeling tears roll down her face and the Doctor wiped them away comfortingly. "It was so scary, Doctor." She whispers. "They did all these things to me and all I could do was-" She broke down sobbing, making the Doctor swallow down his own sadness and put on a brave face.

"Rose, you're safe. Safe from everyone there. You're going to be okay."

For months Rose had wished to be safe, and now she had heard it from his mouth, relief rushed over to her, and the tears kept on coming. The tears she had been so frightened to shed and the Doctor built up the courage to hold her gently, cradling her precious body. Rose didn't flinch this time, because she trusted the Doctor with her life and she knew he was no danger nor threat to her. The Doctor brushed back her tangled hair and she began to fall asleep. He lay her back down on the bed and watched Rose's beautiful face as she rested.

It had been so long since they had been together, and Rose was a broken girl that needed healing. It killed him to see her like this, but he knew she was going to be okay in the end.

He didn't move from his seat, but just watched her calm face as she slept. He rested his head on the space next to her head on the pillow and closed his eyes, beginning to drift off to the first sleep he had in so many months.

It didn't last for long and soon he was being awoken by strangled cries and screams for help. He snapped his eyes open and was ready to protect Rose from anything. He saw her thrashing on the bed, her eyes still tightly shut. The Screaming Nightmare was a good and true name for their alien race. He would never forgive them for what they did to his Rose.

The Doctor bent over Rose and placed his fingers on her temples and closed his eyes, searching in the darkness for her nightmare. It was easy to find and he began to watch with horror at what they were doing to her. One guard was whipping her across the back while the other was electrocuting her shackles, making her scream in pain. The thoughts were so dark that it was making the Doctor retch. How could they have done this to someone so innocent?

Quickly he began to replace the nightmare with the memories that they had shared, traveling together in the distant worlds. He felt her body calm and he opened his eyes to see her at peace from the storm she was fighting inside her head.

It was three hours before the Doctor decided to leave Rose and give her some peace. He got up to go but felt something cling to his coat.

"Don't leave. You made the pain go away." whispered a voice. The Doctor looked around to see Rose with her eyes open wildly. "I want to go to my bedroom." She muttered.

The Doctor smiled, knowing how people hated hospitals. "I will carry you there." He grinned, scooping her thin frame up into his arms and taking her to her bedroom. He laid her down on the soft mattress and covered her up with the duvet.

"Don't leave." She pleaded. The Doctor nodded and watched as she shuffled aside to let him into her bed. He kicked off his shoes and climbed in next to her, wrapping his arms around her thin body and closing his eyes.

"Mum would have a heart attack if she walked in right now." Her voice piped up, muffled from the pillow.

The Doctor smirked and kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry about your nightmares." He soothed. "They are all gone now."

He was glad to hear her snoring softly and he began to drift off into a sleep filled with him and Rose.

That's chapter four over and done with. Chapter five next and waiting to be written. Twenty reviews and I will update :D