Author's Notes: Rose and the Doctor attempt to save Jack, but run into more trouble than they bargained for. It turns out the Lonely Planet is a bit more dangerous than they expected. Rose also gets caught up on the color of police uniforms, while the crowd assaults the Tardis and Jack refuses to wake up.
The crowd was the thickest in front of the Tardis - people moving in throngs, waves of colours washing over each other, shouts rising to deafening volume. This fact made it very difficult for the Doctor and Rose to get through, especially since a group of Tethannis were now heading towards the cart on top of which Jack was thrown across. Their friend's head lolled to and fro as four Cardalians in mauve uniforms pushed the vehicle forward. Or rather tried to, for it was a considerably difficult feat to accomplish through the crowd of onlookers.
Most didn't understand what was going on, but the few Tethannis who comprehended the purpose of the strange vehicle were using flamethrowers they got from the festival earlier to try and light up the cart, along with the four Cardalians still behind it. Maybe they were just having fun, since they didn't seem to have any reason for the attack, but Rose found the proximity of the flames to Jack alarming nonetheless. When they finally managed to wriggle through the crowd, the green spider-like beings were already lighting up the woodwork on the vehicle.
"What are they doing?" shouted Rose over the cacophony that was now spreading beyond the square, swiftly spilling into the marketplace and the village streets.
"What do you think? They're trying to put fire to Jack!"
Rose rolled her eyes and tried to keep up, but it was bloody difficult when the Doctor was running at this pace.
"I can see that! I meant what are the aliens in the uniform doing behind the cart?"
"Oh, those? Well, they're wearing mauve, Rose. Mauve. Remember what I told you about mauve?"
"Erm… Universally recognized colour for danger?" she replied uncertainly.
"Yep. And also the colour of police uniforms on most planets in this corner of the universe."
"Police uniforms? Doesn't that go against the theory that it's a colour for danger?"
"No. You see, the uniform is a way to give them some authority. Bit of backward times, really. But they think on Yolg'izlik that to frighten someone equals to having your authority recognized."
"But doesn't that undermine the whole respect thing? I mean policemen are not that hard to come by on a daily basis. If everyone gets used to the mauve, doesn't it destroy the whole idea of it being dangerous?"
They stopped to catch their breaths, Rose bending over, taking large gasps of air and trying to stop herself from collapsing. Blimey, she was out of shape!
"Yeah, it does. But when the government came up with it, back in the early days of the planet, it seemed to work, so they've kept it."
"Sounds a lot like Earth to me."
"Politics is the same everywhere," the Doctor huffed and took off again.
Rose sighed and broke into a run.
By the time they reached Jack, his hair was singed and his cheeks were turning red from the heat. Thankfully the Cardalian policemen and the Tethannis were busy fighting each other, so all the Doctor and Rose had to do was get the ex-Time Agent off the vehicle and drag him out of the way.
"Jack? Jack, wake up! Jack, are you okay?" Rose was shaking her friend, trying to elicit a reaction while the Doctor checked for injuries.
"He'll be fine. They used a mood patch on him to put him to sleep, but caused no serious harm."
"Mood patches?"
"Yeah. Little cellophane patches that release chemicals into your bloodstream to induce an emotion or physical state. There's all sorts of drugs with different effects. Mind, I thought they were illegal everywhere by now. Maybe not, if the police are using it. We'd better check on that, once we get out of here."
Rose nodded absent-mindedly, but did not take her eyes off Jack. He looked so helpless, lying there on the ground. She reached out and brushed his hair out of his eyes.
"So he's just sleepin', yeah?" she whispered.
The Doctor turned around and tried to push down the feeling of jealousy at the sight of Rose cradling Jack's head in her arms, concentrating instead on the shouting crowd and the purple smoke rising from the remains of the cart.
"Yes, he's only asleep, but he'll be out for a while longer and we need to move."
He looked around, spotting some greenish-grey off-world aliens trying to open the Tardis doors by tying explosives to the top of the police box. He winced and turned back to Rose.
"Do you think you can carry his legs? We need to get out of here, and fast."
She stood up, and was already tugging on Jack's feet by the time the Doctor joined her. They were about to lift him up and make their way around the edge of the square and into the marketplace when something sharp jabbed Rose's right side.
She dropped Jack's feet with a cry and spun around, finding herself eye to eye with a yellow, pointed stick.
"Lower yourself slowly to the ground, with your back to the pavement. Raise all your limbs to the sky and stay still while we secure you. You are allowed to vocalize; however making any motion after lying down will result in the use of the Oblivion chemical compound."
Rose tried to catch the Doctor's eye, but she had her back to him and the Cardalian policeman holding her in place didn't seem to be in a generous mood. She did as she was told while the Doctor argued with the cops.
"The use of mood patches is prohibited under Section C of Article 97 of the Shadow Proclamation. You've no right to use them on off-world travellers."
"Incorrect. The use of mood patches is illegal in the Central Circle of the galaxy. Under Clause 1023 it is permitted to use chemical alteration of the blood as a method of self-defence on Prison Planets."
The Cardalian guarding Rose was putting strange reddish-orange bindings on her wrists and ankles, much like the chains they used on slaves on 18th century Earth, only it seemed to be connected by a shimmering light instead of rusty metal. Having three pair of limbs were an advantage, Rose guessed, but it didn't endear the alien to her at all.
"Yeah, but Yolg'izlik isn't a Prison Planet, and this is an arrest, not an act of self-defence. So how about you release us and I take this up with your superiors?" the Doctor carried on.
"Negative. The Lonely Planet got Level 7 clearance when Tarrakus came to power. All the laws of the Prison Planets apply here."
By this time the Doctor was tied up too, with a yellowish-green substance much like the one that circled Rose's arms and legs. She wondered what exactly the strange goo was, but didn't have time to ask as she was prodded by one of the Cardalians and shoved roughly in the direction of the marketplace.
"Ouch. Look out, you big brute! No need to push me. I can walk just fine on my own."
"Leave her alone," the Doctor was much more reluctant to follow the orders of the Cardalians, struggling as they pushed him towards the marketplace entrance. When he finally realized their captors weren't going to listen, he decided to stay still and change his tone, "Okay, so you've got clearance for the mood patches. That still doesn't change the fact that you're arresting us, not defending yourself."
"Inco…"
"Incorrect, is it? Why's that then? We didn't do anything against the law, so we're not criminals. We're off-world tourists which means we were let in by the police on the border."
This last one was a blatant lie since they all arrived into the middle of the village, not having to go through customs and the would-be obligatory police check. But the Doctor was fairly sure the Cardalians had no idea about what the Tardis was, how it could be used, or indeed that it belonged to him.
"So how does that constitute as self-defence?"
"You are the associates of a law-breaker. You have tried to resist the lawful arrest of said criminal. You have committed acts punished by the government of Yolg'izlik. You are to be taken to prison and held there until the High Council decides what fate should befall you. Succeeding in performing said acts makes you dangerous. Therefore all acts performed by the Cardalian police constitutes as self-defence."
The Doctor was ready to argue more, but there was a loud explosion to their right - a few Yirelin had burst into flames again, but missed their target and set fire to a wooden stall instead of the Tardis. As it turned out the stall held fireworks and the flames has set them off. Everything dissolved into chaos and the Doctor decided he'd better just keep his eyes on Rose for now.
She seemed worried and kept looking back to Jack's motionless form, carried by two of the less-injured Cardalians; only glancing at the Doctor once or twice for confirmation that their friend would be alright. He nodded at her, trying to reassure her silently, but had trouble hiding his own anxiety. Unless they used some altered form of the patches on the Lonely Planet, Jack should have woken up by now. He was also worried about the Tardis - he knew the mob couldn't harm her, but it was hard to walk by while the crowd assaulted the doors and tried to paint over the police signs on the front. Anger rose in his chest and he had to force himself not to try something foolish, to stay calm and follow Rose and their captors. He sighed and closed his eyes briefly, trying to get a hold of his emotions.
The Cardalians shoved them onto a cart similar to the one they used to carry Jack, only it was much bigger and able to hold all seven of them. It was a silent ride to Alfalfa Prison, with the Doctor and Rose exchanging worried glances every now and then, but not daring to talk, waiting for Jack to wake up.
"So what now?"
Rose was sitting on the narrow metal bed, chewing her nails and tracing the Doctor's steps around the small cell with her eyes.
"Well, we'll have to wait until they come for us and either make a break for it, or better yet, get one of the Council members to talk to us."
"What is the Council then?"
"A form of government they have here. The High Council decides about pretty much everything, with the Lower Chambers and the Middle Ground supposedly acting on behalf the people. It's all rotten, of course. Everyone in the lower levels of the Council is only interested in climbing higher. So nothing ever gets done and the justice system suffers for it."
It was hard to miss the venom dripping from the Doctor's words and the obvious disgust on his face. His eyes were flashing dangerously and although Rose was very much beyond the point where the Doctor could scare her, she didn't like it when he was in Oncoming Storm mode. That's when he got reckless and guilt-ridden, and it was times like this she was unsure whether he'd listen to her when she told him to stop.
She shivered a bit, both from the cold and her unpleasant thoughts and quickly changed the subject.
"So, why is it called Alfalfa Prison? Funny name, that. Does Yol… Yolgoz… what'sitsname have Earth roots? Was it a human colony? Or do we just eat alfalfa for our meals?"
To her surprise, the Doctor, for once, couldn't give an immediate answer.
"I don't know. We're slightly outside human time progression here. Very far out, it's difficult to tell. The Earth is young right now - would be probably around 900-1200 AD in Earth time. So you didn't come here before, that's for sure. Whether you came here after, I do not know. I've only been here once, and avoided the capital where there are probably records of the planet's history. I'm not very fond of Councils…"
"O-kay… You're not really making sense though. What do you mean you don't know whether we came here after? How could we come here after 1200 AD? We don't know how to travel in time. And if it's around 1000 AD now on Earth…"
"Time's relative Rose. It's not linear, like you humans perceive it. It's more like an ocean. Coming and going in waves, flowing in all directions at once, underwater currents holding you in their iron fists if you're not careful. There are rifts, there are cracks, there're jumps, and it is very difficult to calculate how time would pass when you make such a long journey in a primitive space ship. The humans could have set out for Yolg'izlik in the 51st century and ended up here when Earth was still in its infancy. You've still got a long way to come and when you finally start to travel in space, you'll still have no idea about time."
The Doctor was so absorbed in his own doubts as to the origins of the planet that he only noticed something was wrong when he heard Rose's gasp. He whipped his head around and was at her side in an instant.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
She was leaning against him quite heavily - he checked her temperature, which seemed to be fairly normal, then her pulse, which was entirely too rapid and weak.
"I… I don't know. 'Tis nothing. I'm just a little dizzy is all."
The Doctor scowled and looked at her face next. Her pupils were dilated and her skin was as pale as if it had been freshly plastered. He cursed and pushed her back on the bed carefully.
"Did you feel it before? Rose, this is very important. You have to tell me if there was anything strange you've felt before we came to the prison."
She seemed to think for a moment, rolling her eyes a bit and trying to smile at him, but failing miserably at it.
"I'm sure it's okay, Doctor. I'm just a bit out of shape is all."
"Rose, please. You need to think!"
She huffed and was about to retort when her eyes widened and a little whimper escaped her. She clutched at her stomach and doubled over.
"Rose? Rose! What is it? Tell me!"
"It's… it's…" she was gasping for air by now, forcing the words out through clenched teeth, beads of perspiration clearly visible on her forehead. "Oh, it hurts," she moaned.
"It's gonna be okay, Rose, I promise. Just tell me exactly what you feel and whether anything felt off before."
She was trembling slightly, clutching the Doctor's hand and it was all he could do not run to the door and demand to be released right now. Taking large gasps of air, she seemed to calm a little and started to talk in a shaky voice.
"My stomach feels like it wants to come up through my throat. It's churning and cramping. And my head's swimming. I can't see…"
A few tears rolled down her cheek and the Doctor held her in a tight embrace, rocking her back and forth, trying to calm her a bit.
"Shhh, it's gonna be alright Rose. I promise it's gonna be fine."
She buried her head in the crook of his neck and mumbled something the Doctor didn't catch.
"What's that?"
She lifted her head a little and repeated her previous words, "I said, I remember feeling a bit weak and out of breath before, in the square, but we were running like mad and I just thought I was a bit out of shape."
"So it didn't start now. And I seem to be fine, so it wasn't the Cardalians who gave us something…"
Although now that the Doctor thought about it, he could feel a slight pressure in his head, getting more and more uncomfortable by the minute, but he didn't want to worry Rose. He had more important things to do than take care of a little headache.
"Let me think…"
Rose's moan and the newly returned trembling kicked the Doctor's brain into gear and he quickly arrived to the conclusion that it had to be some sort of substance she'd ingested.
"What did you eat today?"
"What did I… What?"
Her eyes were shining and quickly becoming cloudy with a fever. He tried to keep her awake, lifting her into a more vertical position, not letting her lie back on the bench fully, at the same time trying to make her as comfortable as he could manage under the circumstances. He hooked his arm under her head, laying her half across his chest and tugging on her legs so they didn't fall of the bed.
"What did you eat?"
"Oh. Nothing much. I think I last ate in the Tardis."
The Doctor cursed once again, and swore to take better care of Rose from then on. It had been almost 24 hours since they were last in the Tardis, since she had last gotten food.
"Alright. What was the last thing you…" the Doctor paled and finished flatly, "drank."
"Rose, I think the hot chocolate we ordered might have done this to you."
"The hot chocolate?" Her cheeks were red and he could see the veins in her neck bulging out a little, while the rest of her body was as cold as an iceberg. She did manage to scowl at him though. "But that was just hot chocolate."
"Yes, but we don't actually know what was in it. There could be components that aren't harmful for other species, but are deadly to humans. Oh, Rose, this is all my fault! I should have paid more attention, shouldn't have been so damn distracted…"
"Nah. 'Tisn't your fault, Doctor. Just… let me… sleep…" Her eyelids fluttered shut and the Doctor realized with a surge of panic that she was slipping away. Slipping into oblivion and there was nothing he could do.
"Rose? Rose! Don't do that, now. You've gotta wake up! Rose!"
He was shaking her, none-too-gently rocking her frame to and for, and he knew he should take more care with her, but he was beyond reason. When, after a few minutes she was still out cold, he started thumping on the metal door, shouting for whoever could hear him to let them out, that his companion needed help, that they couldn't just leave them here.
Half an hour and some bloody nails later from scratching on the metal, the door finally opened. By that time his head was pounding too, his vision blurring, his stomach churning like it wanted to exit his body, and the Doctor knew there was something seriously wrong with him too. But he didn't care, didn't give a damn about himself when Rose Tyler was in peril.
"My companion," he gasped and pointed to the bench in the corner of the small cell. "She's… sick. You've gotta… gotta help her."
He slid down to the floor and was squinting; trying to make out the faces of the guards in the dark, but it was very difficult with the room spinning faster and faster. He couldn't even see their uniforms clearly.
He did register the guards picking up Rose silently and heading towards the exit.
"Wait, where are you going? Where are you taking her? She needs medical care. If I could just take her back to my… to my…"
His hands were slipping on the door handle and all it took was a good kick from one of the guards to land him on the floor. The room was still spinning and even though he tried to grab for one of his captor's legs, he knew he'd never manage. As the cell door banged shut, he struggled to make sense of the directions and reach the bunk bed, but couldn't move. As the darkness claimed him, his last thought was her name and how in the name of Rassilon he could screw this up so badly. They were going to go on a sleigh ride and ended up in prison instead. He smiled ruefully. Funny how that kept happening to him.
Rose, I'm so sorry…
There was a sound of footsteps outside. The sound of heavy boots. And a key turning in the lock…
But maybe he imagined it.