Rose tugged at the restraints that held her body against the examination table, but grimaced as they tightened in response to her struggling. The shadow creature's had appeared outside her prison cell and proceeded to drag her into the lab she was now situated in. That had been almost an hour ago.
What in the world is taking so long?Rose thought as she tugged at the metal cords binding her. The cords had been pulled tightly against her stomach and chest and made breathing difficult.
A loud crash came from behind the door to the lab followed by distant yelling. The noise slowly faded away from the door. An eerie silence followed the loss of the commotion and Rose felt goose bumps rise on her arms. Something wasn't right.
A harsh bang against the door to the lab made Rose jolt. The familiar sound of the sonic screwdriver calmed her racing heart as the door slammed open.
"Rose Tyler, you have some explaining to do." The Doctor growled as he walked through the doorway taking in her labored breathing and the metal table she was laying on.
Rose grinned at the alien in front of her, as he walked up to the examination table.
"I take it Jack was the noise I heard earlier?"
He nodded mutely; keeping his attention on the cords as his large hands deftly maneuvered the restraints, allowing her breath to come easier.
"The cord is on a feed of electricity. I try to break them and you get fried." He rubbed his temples tiredly before returning his gaze to her torso. "Trust you to get into this kinda trouble."
Rose glared at the top of his head. "Well someone was going to get captured, might as well have been me."
The Doctor head jerked up, his eyes furious. "We have no idea who they are or what they want, and you just swagger up to the psychotic leader pretending to be a Time Lady- which you are going to explain to me how you got that kind of information later. They could have done anything to you Rose." His voice was calm but held an icy undertone that made Rose shiver.
"Doctor—"
"Got it." The cords fell from around her body and hit the floor with a dull thump.
The Doctor turned towards the door and Rose could practically see the anger radiating off his body.
"They're called the Vespine." He stopped in front of the door, his hand grazing the doorknob.
"Pravus, that's who caught us, he's their leader." Rose continued nervously, playing with the hem of her shirt. "He wants regeneration energy. This whole planet should have died out eons ago, but Pravus started this research program where they could harness energy from regenerative life forms and feed it into the planet's core."
The Doctor tuned back around, his face now full of concern.
"Who told you this?" He questioned quietly.
Rose felt guilt bubble in her stomach. She couldn't tell him that she had lived all of this before. Seen him scream in agony as the machine attempted to suck out his life force. Remembered the denial in his face when she had asked afterwards what exactly they were trying to harvest from him.
"You trust me don't you Doctor?" She asked, avoiding the question.
The urgent pounding at the door brought the two back into the situation at hand.
"Doc! We need to get out of here!" Jack yelled from the other side of the door.
The Doctor grabbed Rose hand and pushed the door open, revealing the sight of a haggard looking Jack Harkness.
"Rose! Nice to see you."
"Right back at you." She grinned as the three sprinted down the hallway. She had missed this so much. The three of them together defending planets and taking names, team Tardis was back together and Rose felt happier then she had in years.
The group passed a small gray door and Rose's heart stopped. Her feet skidded on the cement flooring and pulled on the Doctors hand urging him to stop.
The Doctor gave her a questioning look which she ignored as she took in the chipped paneling and worn key pad that stuck out of the door. The feeling of dread became overpowering as she lifted her hand to trace the indentations.
"Rose honey, we have to go. Like yesterday." She felt Jacks hands on her shoulders coaxing her backward.
"I'll be five minutes."
"Rose, we're leaving. You're not going in there."
Rose turned to the two men standing behind her. "This isn't finished." She said firmly, taking each of their hands. "There's one last thing I have to do, it will just take a minute."
"Rose there is no way I am letting you though that door." With a sigh she looked up into the stormy blue eyes of the alien that stole her heart.
"Doctor, you have to let me finish this. If you trust me at all let me go."
"This isn't a matter of trust! It's you getting yourself killed, we only have minutes before the rest of the guards find us. You are not going."
The two glared at each other, neither willing to break eye contact.
"Doctor, you have to accept that I know more about the situation then you do and allow me to do the right thing."
The Doctors eyes held an untamable ferocity as he used his full height to tower over his blonde companion. "How do I know you will come back, huh? You've somehow gotten all this information about Time Lords and how do I know it hasn't gone right to your head? How do I know something's not possessing you or convinced you to do this? Because right now Rose, I have no idea what to do with you."
Rose watched as his eyes gave way the depth of his panic and the anger he was feeling at the loss of control. She knew there was no way he would willingly let her enter those doors.
Suddenly an idea struck her and Rose felt a small grin tug at her mouth. She took a step right up to the Doctor and grabbed the lapels of his familiar leather jacket, tugging the fabric down to smash his face to hers. His lips became paralyzed under the shock of her attack and Rose used the stillness to fervently take over his lips. She felt a slight tremor run through his body before two hands came up to grasp her waist and anchor her body to his. His soft lips caught hers and suddenly the Doctor was in control of the kiss and Rose gasped into his mouth. Using his momentary distraction she stroked up the Doctor's chest before reaching into his jacket pocket and grabbing the sonic screwdriver.
She tucked the device into her back pocket and let the kiss last a few more moments. She had so many fantasies of kissing her first Doctor and none of them were even comparable to what the real thing was like. His hands were exceedingly gentle as they stroked her waist and back, tracing patterns as he went, while leaving a trail of goose bumps on her skin. She could have never imagined how amazing his lips felt as he worshipped her own. How his scent seemed to flare so all she could breathe was spices and the musk that came from his leather jacket.
Regretfully, Rose quickly pushed herself off the Doctor and in a quick flick of the Sonic, had the door open and slipped inside.
The Doctor stared in shock for a moment at the door Rose had just disappeared through. He liked his lips slowly as he savored the taste of Rose of on his mouth. With a shake of his head he turned to face the unusually quiet captain.
"Why doesn't Rose ever trick me like that?"
"Doesn't matter," The Doctor growled his anger flaring at the locked door. "She took my screwdriver and the guards will be coming any minute. I will be locking her in the Tardis after this is all over."
…
Rose walked slowly down the dark hallway, trying not to breath in the smell of rotted bodies and sickness. She kept her eyes focused on the ground in front of her, counting the edges of the cells as she went. This was where she had been kept the last time she had visited this place. In one of these cells she had begged for death.
Rose shook her head slightly to ride herself of the dark memories and focus on the task at hand.
Upon reaching the thirty-seventh cell, Rose raised her head and peaked inside. Shadows covered the room making only the outlines of a small mattress on the floor distinguishable.
"Hello?" Rose whispered softly.
Sudden movement in the corner of the cell brought her eye to a figure standing still in the shadows.
"You don't know me." Rose began. "But I'm a friend and I'm going to get you out of here."
The figure slowly moved forward to the edge of the shadows before stepping into the faint light that came from the small light bulb in the middle of the hallway.
A woman emerged, her green eyes inquiring as she looked over Rose.
"And how do you know that I want to leave?"
Rose grinned, "Because I know you River, and I'm pretty sure you'd have Stormcage over this place."