The first thing the Doctor was aware of was a powerful throbbing in the back of his skull. He lay on what felt like grating, and hesitantly opened his eyes. He shut them immediately, however, as pain shot through his head—a dull and constant headache. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to recollect himself. A weight on top of him called him back to the moment though, and he struggled to remember what had happened.
'Rose?' he tried, his voice soft; quiet. No response. 'Rose?' he tried again, louder this time. He slowly cracked his eyes open to find himself lying to the grating of the kitchen floor on his back, Rose sprawled on top of him, motionless. The lights were out, and even some of the emergency lights flickered, powerless. The darkness was unwelcoming and unnerving; the TARDIS looking eerie and unnatural. He made an effort to sit up, his back screaming in protest, and pulled Rose into his lap, grimacing at the streak of dry blood that had trickled from her scalp. She was pale, very pale, and... terror gripped his hearts as he felt for a pulse. It was there, but weak. What if though? What if she'd... The Doctor stopped himself, trying not to let himself think like that. He shook her gently, calling her name again.
With still no response, he rose to his feet and picked her up, carrying her through the near-pitch darkness and stumbling over things that had fallen to the floor. His memories slowly crawled back, and with a dull horror he realised that though he now knew what had happened, he still didn't know why. Finally, he reached the kitchen counter and lay Rose on top of it, fetching an unbroken glass and filling it with the Neodean equivalent of orange juice that they had picked up at a mart in the seventy-third century. He got a cool wash-cloth and dabbed it at her forehead, trying to rouse her, frowning in deep concern. His eyes danced in the dim lighting, however, when she began to stir.
'Rose!' he whispered loudly, relieved.
She groaned and her face scrunched up, her hand reaching up to her head as she tried sitting up.
The Doctor gently helped her along, slowly, 'Rose, careful, don't move too quickly... here, take this,' he offered the alien juice to her, frowning as she ignored it and glanced around the kitchen in unsure bewilderment. 'shh, Rose, just...' he tried comforting her, but she didn't respond.
'What the hell happened?' she asked, eyeing the Doctor, shaken.
He smiled faintly and grabbed for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. 'Something went wrong with the TARDIS... somehow the gravity suspension went haywire, I think... we had a bit of a tumble... please, Rose, drink this...' He offered the Neodean liquid to her again, and she accepted it, still glancing around the trashed room warily.
She emptied the glass quickly, colour slowly returning to her face, and smiled weakly.
'How d'you feel?' the Doctor asked, concerned.
'A little light-headed, but better, fanks.' Her smile grew as the Doctor's did, both grinning dumbly. She let herself melt into his arms as he pulled her into a gentle but protective hug, and giggled when his lips pressed into her hair.
'You scared me a bit back there, for a moment I thought...'
'Doctor, hold on, wait.' She pulled back from him, her eyes flickering up and down his frame. 'How are you feeling? You look awful,' she turned him around as he laughed, noticing the hair on the back of his head was dried in dark clumps. She reached out, gently, and the Doctor winced.
'Oi, now hold on, hold on, I'm fine,' he spun around quickly, his hand hovering over the back of his head. 'No need to worry about me Rose, I'm just a little sore is all.'
'Yeah, but you were bleeding... even your collar's a bit stained...' she watched him, wide-eyed and concerned.
'Rose, I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about... you hit your head rather hard... you've cut your head too,' he took out his sonic, the blue light illuminating against her face as it buzzed and scanned her. 'Well... no skull fractures, no hematomas or contusions... I think you're alright... ' he nodded, reassuring the both of them.
Rose sighed in relief, but glared at him. 'Doctor, I'm not going to believe that 'I'm fine,' rubbish. You were thrown about just as much as I was, what if...'
He held his hands up defensively. 'Rose, really... really I'm—hey wh...' he stuttered as she grabbed at the sonic screwdriver.
'Okay, show me how to use this fing, yeah?' She asked sternly. They watched each other for a moment, and an understanding passed between them.
The Doctor sighed, but grinned, ' alright then, doctor Tyler. Here, let me show you... ' he helped her activate the sonic, ' setting five hundred and twenty seven: trauma scan. Go on then,' he took her hand that grasped the sonic into his own, and pointed the device at himself. His skull, specifically. 'Press that button there,' he directed, and the screwdriver clicked into life, humming with a blue glow. He watched fondly as his pink and yellow human set to work with unshakable determination.
Rose slowly ran the screwdriver up and down, mimicking what the Doctor had done to her moments ago, and after a moment, frowned. 'I can't... well. How 'm I supposed to know what the scan says...?' she asked, puzzled, letting the sonic drop to her lap as she released the button.
The Doctor explained with a small smile, 'It sends out telepathic readings... sorry... but I'll have you know that I've got a small concussion. Luckily for me it's mild enough, I'll be better within the next few hours, roundabout.' He plucked the sonic from her hands with a cheeky grin. 'Thank you, doctor Rose Tyler.'
Rose smiled crookedly, and accepted his hand as he helped her off the counter. They both took their time walking over the mess of the kitchen and out into the corridor, hobbling and wavering with mild dizziness. She held onto the Doctor for support, and helped to keep him from tripping over his own feet. The pair of them made their way to the console room, which was in a similar state, though less covered in kitchen utensils and spattered foods. There were few emergency lights activated, and the console itself was dark and ominous, pulsing with a weak blue light every few seconds.
'Blimey... what happened, old girl?' the Doctor asked the TARDIS, concerned. He took Rose's hand and led her to the time rotor, and he checked the dimly lit console, fluttering about the panels and clacking away at a keyboard; fiddling with dials and levers. He paused over the sixth console panel, hovering over the blank read-out screen. He frowned and pointed his sonic at it, and the screen lit weakly.
Rose watched uneasily as swirling, circular Gallifreyan script blinked on-screen, and she frowned as the Doctor growled in frustration. 'Is she going to be okay?' she asked, resting her hand on the time rotor comfortingly. She could feel the ship hum softly in her mind, and she smiled weakly.
'Oh, the TARDIS will be fine... she just needs to rest for a while,' he flicked a switch and the emergency lights grew in brightness, and necessary power to the console was restored, ' but I still don't understand what would cause the gravity suspension to shut off... I suppose some tinkering will solve it soon enough,' he stuffed his hands into his pockets, mentally sizing up what would have to be done. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Rose circled the console to the scanner.
He followed her curiously, and looked at the screen from over her shoulder. An image of green foliage flickered weakly, and the Doctor's brow furrowed in confusion. 'It would seem as though we've somehow materialised somewhere...' he checked the next panel over, glancing at sets of meters and blinking charts. 'Well, it's Earth. Hot, too... tropical?' he hummed, 'I can't get a proper reading on the exact when and where with only back up power, but we could always...' his eyebrows disappeared above his hairline, and he gestured with a nod to the doors.
Rose's gaze flickered to the doors, and back to the Doctor, and she grinned. 'Yeah, we could, couldn't we?' she grabbed his hand and led him over to the doors, the both of them bristling with excitement. She reached for the door but paused, 'how long until the TARDIS is ready to go, do ya fink?'
The Doctor habitually rubbed the back of his neck, wincing as he touched the sensitive wound there. 'Oh, I don't know, really... It could be anywhere between a few days and a few hours... hopefully the latter, yeah?'
Rose laughed. 'Yeah,' and pushed the door open, walking outside.