Chapter 23 – A Hairy Situation

It felt like hours since Leah had been taken away, and Rose had only just stopped crying. They could be doing anything to Leah right now, and Rose was terrified. Not to mention the fact while her daughter was having God knows what done to her by the Shadow Proclamation, meanwhile on the other side of the family spectrum she had her husband lying limp and pale and probably suffering from blood loss in her arms from a hole in his stomach.

Rose had tried to care for him as best she could, covering him with his coat, even taking the Doctor's phone to see if she could try and get hold of Martha for some medical assistance – but it had rung out. At least he had a bit more colour in his cheeks – not a huge amount, but that meant he was getting better, right?

When the Doctor opened his eyes Rose had him in her lap, cupping his head.

He looked up at her groggily. "Leah's not back?" he whispered.

She noticed him, stroking his face and shaking her head.

"How long was I out?"

Rose could only shrug. "I dunno... a few hours, I think."

He nodded, looking down at his abdomen, still covered by Rose's hoody that was now soaked in blood. He winced, reaching down weakly with his good hand to pull it back, looking at the wound in amongst the bruises. That was going hurt for a while, but at least it wasn't bleeding anymore.

He groaned and attempted to sit up, the world almost spinning around him. Rose helped him until he was sat up against the wall, breathing heavily and clutching at his stomach as he blinked erratically.

"Okay?" Rose asked, holding him.

He just kissed her in return, leaning on her and the wall for support. "Hemorrhagic shock," he said. "But I'm making new blood right now."

"Are you sure?" she asked, anxious.

He nodded. "I've had worse, much worse."

"Good," she said quietly.

The Doctor could see she wasn't holding up well in their current situation. "I'll be okay, and Leah can handle herself," he assured her. "You know what she's like."

Rose nodded, holding him tighter. "I know, it's just..." She paused for a moment. "... What's Volag-noc?"

"It's a high security prison on one of the coldest planets in the Universe. Security tightened up recently too, I think they just take mass murderers and the like, now."

"And they're sendin' you there," Rose croaked.

He looked at her. "I have no intention of going back there."

"Back?"

"Long story, Balthazar, some gold and a teaspoon," the Doctor said, grunting as he shifted again. "But," he said through pants, leaning closer to her to whisper, checking the room for cameras or sound bugs. "That phone call? It was some elusive guy trying to hide who he was. I don't know who he is, but he's playing a game with us... and knowing that makes this easier to deal with."

"So what do we do?"

"Break the rules of the game."

"How?"

"Working on that bit," he admitted. "But I don't just love your pretty face, Rose, I love that brain of yours too," he said, grinning as he tapped her head. "So think. Even if it's not true, even if it is true, even if it's ridiculous. Try thinking of the thing you'd never think of. If it keeps me here, helps Leah and keeps you and our boy alive, do it. No matter the consequence. If I go to Volag-noc, chances are I will never escape. And in 500,000 years when I'm released, I don't think you'll be knocking about."

"Think of the thing I'd never think of," Rose repeated slowly.

The Doctor frowned slightly. "Well... I'll admit it's a little flawed. But it's the best I've got."

She laughed and held him. "... You don't think it's the Master, do you?"

"No," the Doctor replied. "This is way too smart for him. Honestly, this person is a genius. Almost as good as me."

"Because you don't have a big ego," Rose said sarcastically, grinning.

He beamed tiredly. "You love my big ego."

"Yes, it is very big," Rose replied, snorting. "Almost as big as the beard you're starting to grow."

"And yet I was polite enough to mention nothing about your armpits."

"Don't go there."

"I don't want to, wading through the forest of smelly armpit hair..."

"Hey!" Rose said with a giggle.

"And the other forest you're currently growing..."

"You bastard!" Rose said with a laugh. "You can't say anything about that one. You know, I don't exactly appreciate getting a mouthful of..."

"Rose!"

"... Everytime I try to..."

"Okay I get the idea!" the Doctor said quickly, cutting off anything else she was going to say. "Change of subject." He pulled out the drawing he had done at Yash's from his coat pocket, giving it to Rose. "I was thinking that's what his room could look like when we get out of here."

Rose looked at it. "What is that?" she asked, pointing at one of the animals, something that looked like a six-legged koala.

"A flubble," the Doctor replied. "From Gallifrey. I hid one under my bed at the Prydon Academy, it nearly got found when it went into heat and started singing its mating song."

She laughed. "I like it."

"We still need a name for him."

"Whatever you want," Rose said, kissing him with a smile.

"Okay, Alan."

Rose stared at him. "Because he's going to grow up to pilot Thunderbird 3."

"You said whatever I want!"

"I meant something a little better!"

"Okay, Toby."

"Don't like it."

"Why don't you name him then," the Doctor said, exasperated.

"Peter."

"No."

There was a long pause as they looked at each other.

"Our son's never gonna get a name, is he?" Rose realised.

"Probably not," the Doctor admitted, taking back the drawing. He looked at it one more time before folding it up and putting it back into his pocket, wincing as he moved.

"... What d'you think they're doing to her?" Rose suddenly asked quietly.

The Doctor shifted with a grunt to put his good arm around her. "I assume medical tests, like blood, BMI, resting heart rate, organs, skeleton... you know. It'll probably moved onto psychological testing, like intelligence, opinions, reactions... a bit of parapsychological testing as well. Everything, really. I think they want to assess if she's a dangerous new species."

"Are they going to hurt her?"

He looked at her. "I don't know for sure... But if this is what I think it is, they might."

Her face fell.

He quickly continued. "But they do it, for want of a better word, humanely. She'll be asleep. If she's not, I will know, and I won't be a compliant prisoner."

Suddenly there was a quiet, 'ping!' from across the room – dinner had arrived. Rose went to fetch it. One chew, as before.

"Half for you, half for Leah," the Doctor said instantly.

She looked at him. "You can't starve. You need to eat."

"There's no other option," the Doctor said gently. "You, Leah and the baby need it more than I do."

She didn't look happy, breaking the bar in two and biting off a bit. She looked at him for a moment, then leant forward and kissed him, still with it in her mouth. Through the kiss she pushed it into his mouth and reached up to snap his jaw closed, forcing him to swallow it.

"Okay, no more," he said after he'd swallowed it.

"You feel a bit hot," Rose said, hand on his skin. "Don't get an infection."

"Time Lords don't..."

"Get infections, right," Rose said, sounding somewhat unconvinced. "When did you last take the pregnancy stuff?"

But before the Doctor had a chance to reply, there came the familiar sound of the synchronised Judoon footsteps. Leah was back?

The door opened... but there was no Leah. Instead five Judoon stared back, guns as always in the Doctor and Rose's direction.

"You will come," the leader stated.

Rose obediently got to her feet as the Doctor prepared himself for the mountainous task ahead of him. He groaned and whined in pain, using a combination of Rose and the wall to stand up. When he was upright Rose took his hand, gazing at him. The effort alone has completely drained all the colour that had since come back to his face as he drew quick, shallow breaths.

He offered her a weak smile, and squeezed her hand. She smiled in return, before they were crowded with Judoon and whisked off out the door.

They were taken to a modern white room, where several women in black dresses stood waiting on a platform. The Judoon marched the two prisoners to stand before them, restrained.

"Gallifreyan male known as the Doctor, you have been sentenced to 500,000 years in the high security prison Volag-noc. You will have no chance of appeal. You will be transferred in less than one universal hour to carry out your sentence." She turned to Rose. "Human female known as Rose Tyler, your memory will be erased and you will be escorted back to your home planet tomorrow."

"And what about Leah?" Rose said quickly.

"The child hybrid will undergo further testing, its sentence impending," the woman replied. "Do you have anything to say?"

Rose swallowed, looking at the Doctor. They wanted Leah. His child. Information about his child. What could she do? Think of the thing she'd never think of...

"You might not want to get rid of me," Rose said, stepping forward.

"And why not?" the woman demanded.

"Because..." she glanced at the Doctor, then back at the woman. "... Because I'm pregnant."

The Doctor stared at her, horrified. "Rose! No!"

The woman stared at her. "Scan her."

One of the Judoon stepped forward, running the scanner over her belly before drawing back, checking the screen. It looked at the woman, and nodded.

"Confirm pregnancy."

"It's his," Rose said, gesturing to the Doctor.

"No, Rose!" the Doctor yelled, struggling to get free in what he was currently embracing as his most sterling acting performance since his stint in Harry Potter. "Don't do this!"

"And something else you might wanna know," Rose began, pretending to ignore him. "The Doctor has more information for you he's been hiding about his children."

"What information?" the woman demanded to know, strolling up to the Doctor hanging in the Judoon's grip. She looked very alarmed. "Tell me this information!"

The Doctor raised his head slowly to stare at her, his eyes narrowed, cold and unrelenting. "I am never telling you," he spat in her face.

She stared at him for a moment, before stepping back to turn to Rose, frowning. "Why would you betray your lover so easily?"

"He means nothing to me anymore," Rose replied stoically. "Stupid bastard deserves to die. I couldn't care less."

The woman continued to gaze at her for a moment, her red eyes staring at her as if trying to read Rose's mind to see if this was true. Rose maintained her demeanour for seven long, painful seconds until the woman finally looked away, and Rose glanced at the Doctor. He was throwing love at her through the bond, which she reciprocated. She gave him a ghost of a smile until the woman whirled around to face them.

"The Time Lord will be held here for an indefinite length of time to be interrogated until he has given this information, and the human woman will be held here until such time the child is born," she announced.

Rose had to physically restrain herself from jumping up and down in delight before the woman flung out her arm and pointed at the Doctor.

"Get him to the lower decks, start at level five interrogation," she ordered, and the Judoon moved to take him away.

"Wait, wait, Mrs... Umm... Proclamation!" the Doctor yelled, struggling. The Judoon stopped. "One question. This level five... How many levels are there?"

"The prosecuted have no right to question," the Judoon gruffed.

"How many levels are there?" Rose asked instantly. The Judoon looked at her, opened his mouth... "Hey, not prosecuted, yeah?" Rose pointed out. "Answer the question."

The woman stepped forward. "There are levels attributed to how severely we interrogate, the levels in ascending order. The highest is level six."

The Doctor pulled a face. "Right, could be worse, then." He was pulled away again, and it wasn't hard to work out what happened next. He managed a look at Rose, a look which conveyed unspoken words.

Don't worry about me.

Then he disappeared.

Rose was escorted back to a different cell, this time with a toilet and a basic bed. At least she didn't have to avoid puddles of her husband's blood anymore.

The Judoon fixed the metal band to her wrist, shut the door and left her alone. Leah wasn't back yet. Rose could only walk over to the bed and drop to sit down on it, head in her hands. What had she just done? She'd practically signed her husband's torture permit. Now he was going to be severely interrogated for information he didn't even have.

Was it better than Volag-noc? Really?

She tried not to cry, looking at her belly. There was a tiny sign of growth in her lower abdomen. That didn't make her feel any better, because she had pointed him out to them as well.

What the hell had she done?

It was around twenty minutes before Leah appeared, flagged by Judoon. She beamed at the sight of her Mum, running to hug her tightly.

"Tell me everything," Rose said gently, trying to hide how wretched she felt inside. "What did they do?"

"They gave me an arm needle, then everything went fuzzy and when I woke up they brought me here," Leah replied, smiling.

Rose quickly checked her over for any evidence that they'd done something to her, but there was nothing. "So they haven't hurt you or anythin'? Do you hurt?"

Leah shook her head, before looking around the cell. "Where's Daddy?"

Rose felt herself choking up, trying desperately to control herself in front of her daughter. "He's... Well, Leah... Daddy's not coming back for a bit."

"Why? Where he go?"

"The bad people have taken him to... Ask some questions," Rose said quietly. "He's not gonna be back for a while."

Leah stared at her. "Mummy, why are you sad?"

Rose looked back at her, holding her tighter. "I just miss him a lot, Leah."

"But he'll come back," Leah said positively.

Rose avoided agreeing with that. "That would be nice. I think we both need to sleep now, though."

Leah nodded in agreement as they both laid down on the cell bed, Rose holding her protectively. She waited until the even, rhythmic breaths of Leah asleep began before she began to sob quietly in the darkness.