Chapter 8
The ground was cold beneath her as Rose opened her eyes. This wasn't her room. Where was she? She winced as she moved. She was sore.
Tears sprung to her eyes when she made the connection. Oh, God. Her hands trembled as she covered her face. She was sticky and naked and in a cave. Somehow the Doctor had gotten past her mum and Mickey. He had taken her and brought her back to this planet. And he had raped her. Again.
She heard him moan and looked up fearfully. She just stared for several moments. The Doctor was tied up. His wrists were tethered, his jeans tangled around his ankles. The Doctor was naked. Rose flushed a little, getting her first real look at him all over. He was very well built.
She crawled over, hesitantly reaching out to touch him. He turned his face towards her and pulled away.
"No, Rose," he begged, pleading with her, "Not again." He closed his eyes, "You're going to hurt yourself," he continued, "Please."
Rose paused, soaking in his words. Her eyes widened in realization. She wasn't sore because he had raped her; she was sore because she had raped him. She touched his shoulder and he sighed deeply.
"Please, Rose, let me go," he asked, sounding hopeless. "You're sick. I can help you. Just, please, let me go," he begged, his eyes still closed.
Rose began untying his wrist. His eyes snapped open, looking at her for the first time.
"Rose?" he asked, his voice hopeful. Rose didn't pause, prying apart the tight knot that kept him tied down. As his hand was freed, he reached up to cup her cheek, his gaze searching her face.
"I don't remember what happened," Rose said softly, her skin brushing his as she leaned over him to untie his other hand. She felt him shiver beneath her.
"What do you remember?" he asked, his voice vibrating against her.
"I was at home. Mum had just gone to bed and I was trying not to let her hear me…" Rose trailed off, sitting back as the restraint fell from the Doctor's wrist.
The Doctor sat up, wincing as he moved freely for the first time all night. Rose stood and started to gather their clothes. He stood and pulled up his jeans, fastening them but keeping his eyes on Rose.
"Here," she said, handing him his shirt as she turned and slipped on her clothes.
"Rose," he said as she finished, "What were you trying to hide from your mother?"
"I was crying," she said softly, brushing her hair back from her face, "I was having bad dreams."
"About me?" he asked, steeling himself for her response.
Rose shrugged, "At first," she said, "but they changed. They got worse."
"Nice to know there is a worse," he said teasingly, pushing aside his worry.
Rose chuckled, "Yeah."
"So," the Doctor said, changing the subject, "to fill in a bit of your blank, your mum called me; said you were sick. I came, did a scan, and figured out I had to bring you back here. After practically having to shove Rickey out of the way, I get you here, and what do you do? You hit me upside the head with a rock!"
"No!" Rose exclaimed, gasping and covering her grin at his frantic gesturing. It was so familiar; it seemed to warm her just watching him.
"Yes!" he continued, pacing the floor, "Next thing I know, I'm tied up like a Christmas turkey. And you can guess the rest."
"Horrible experience, eh?" Rose asked mildly.
The Doctor looked up at her sharply, "I'd prefer a little less bondage," he responded, rubbing at his wrists. He stopped his pacing and strode over to her, gripping her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "I need to run another scan," he said mostly to himself. Rose nodded.
His movements abrupt, the Doctor turned away and knelt down to rummage through his bag. He pulled an instrument out triumphantly. "Finally!" he muttered. He stood in front of Rose and methodically ran it over her, frowning at the results.
"What?" Rose asked fearfully.
The Doctor shook his head, dropping the scanner into his pocket. "Nothing wrong," he said, "Just have to stay in the TARDIS for a while. The spores have decreased, but they'll take a while to fade away completely. Your memories should come back when they go."
"How come…?" Rose started to ask, then blushed and fell silent.
"What?" the Doctor asked.
"Nothing," she said quickly.
"Oh, come on!" the Doctor exclaimed, "You can't just leave a question like that!"
"Fine," she huffed, "How come the spores didn't… affect me last time?"
"Oh," he said, his voice growing a tiny bit higher, "Well, it seems that women need a sufficiently larger concentration of spores to… affect them."
"So men are easy, huh?" she teased, her tongue peeking out from between her teeth.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, mock-affronted.
Rose laughed and leaned on his arm, her hand clinging to his. She stood up on the tips of her toes to whisper in his ear. He leaned towards her, her breath tickling his ear as she spoke.
"Or maybe it's just that you're easy," she said lowly.
He turned towards her, his blue eyes heavy-lidded as he grinned, "I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to see just how easy I am."
THE END
