Hello! Sorry this has taken so long. I'm actually three chapters ahead. My beta's have been a little busy or tech-impaired, and haven't been able to get anything back to me. But I'm going into review withdrawal, so I thought I'd post this and edit it later.
So I hope you enjoy it. I think my spelling and grammar have improved anyway.
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Oddly Parallel
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"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked, sitting down next to Rose. She shuffled over to give him room on the small couch and leant into him.
"I'll be fine," she yawned. "I'm just tired."
"You just lost your best friend," he told her softly, then he winced for bringing it up again.
"Like I said, I'll be fine. Yeah, I'm going to miss him… a lot. But life doesn't stop because someone chooses to stay behind… even if that place was some creepy parallel world. I don't know how he could stand it there."
"Mmm, a world where majority of London got turned into Cybermen… not too appealing, is it?"
"Yeah, but it's not just that. The whole place just felt… wrong. Didn't you feel it?" The Doctor shrugged. "Really?" she said in surprise. "You didn't notice anything at all?"
"Nope."
"So you still felt the Earth turning? You felt the wind and the ground?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, slightly concerned.
"The - the wind. I could feel it blowing my hair, but I couldn't actually feel the wind. Or the ground. The whole place just felt… fake. Like you and all the other people were the only real thing on it."
"I didn't feel that," he said. "Perhaps it's a human thing. I've been to Parallel worlds before. I'm used to it. Maybe humans… and other species, aren't supposed to go to different universes."
"Oh god!" Rose gasped. "Please tell me it's not like 'His Dark Materials'!" The Doctor looked at her in confusion. "'The Northern Lights', 'The Subtle Knife' and 'The Amber Spyglass'?"
"I know what they are, I don't get what you mean," he told her.
"Will's dad. He died because he spent ten years in a parallel universe. Living in a different world killed him!"
"Rose, relax," he soothed her. "That's not real. He can't die from just being there. He's more likely to be killed by a Cyberman!"
"Yeah, because that helps," she mumbled disgruntled.
"Sorry," he said. "Look, don't worry. He's going to be fine. He's brave, and strong, and much better than we ever gave him credit for."
"Oh, now you notice!" she laughed.
"Hey, I never thought he was completely useless… well, except when we first met. Just cling to your legs, god, he was rubbish!"
"Then why did you invite him along?" she said, still laughing. Even just being with the Doctor made her happier.
"He's your friend," he replied. "He made you happy."
"You make me happy too," she smiled, wrapping her arms around him. She tried to push back the gnawing feeling that she missed him. Missed him? That was silly, he was right here in his arms. It was impossible to miss him. She missed Mickey. Yes, that's who she missed. She missed the D- Mickey!
"I aim to please," he grinned.
"Whoa, careful Doctor, you're starting to sound a bit domestic there," she giggled.
"I don't care," he replied. "As long as I don't have to get a mortgage. Or all those other silly things that come with a house… But domestics on the TARDIS, yeah, I think I can handle that." Rose smiled as she curled into him, sleep quickly sneaking up on her now all the action and the crying were over. The Doctor sighed heavily, a fond smile gracing his features. "What have you done to me, Rose Tyler," he laughed. But he got no reply. She was too sleepy to even consider what he meant.
Still smiling, he lifted her in his arms, and carried her to her room.
?...DW...?
Rose stood there as the wind whipped her hair around her face. It cooled the tears tracing down her cheek and she felt like ice, so it must have been cold. But none of that mattered. She didn't care if she didn't feel like she was walking on nothing, or that everything around her felt as real as the man before her.
She longed to be able to reach out and actually touch him. To feel his soft brown hair. To feel his comforting arms around her and his warm breath on her neck. Forget going insane form the lack of feeling in this dead world, she was going to go insane from never seeing him again.
"And I suppose," he murmured. "If there's one last chance to say it… Rose Tyler-" But then he was gone. Faded right before her eyes.
She felt cold, so cold. Her heart felt like it had been stabbed with a shard of ice and she felt a lump block her wind pipe. She went numb. He was gone… he couldn't be GONE! He wouldn't just leave her. He…
Sobbing, she turned to find her mother already half way to her. She fell into Jackie's arms as another sob wracked her body. She held on to her tight, seeking comfort. But none would come. There was nothing that could make her feel better.
She was numb, she couldn't feel a thing… No, really, she couldn't feel ANYTHING! She couldn't feel her mother's arms around her. Couldn't feel the pressure around her waist. There was nothing.
Frantically, she pulled back and started feeling at her mother's face. She could see the contact, she could see the dips in her mother's cheeks as her fingers pressed into them. But she could not feel it. Even more desperately she let go of Jackie and grasped at her wrist. When she still didn't feel anything she grasped tighter, eventually resorting to racking her nails down her skin till she drew blood. Terrified and heartbroken sobs were escaping her all the while.
"Rose!" Jackie cried in panicked horror. Pete and Mickey had run forward and were trying to stop her from hurting herself further.
"I can't-" she sobbed. "I can't feel it. I can't feel anything! There's nothing. Mummy, I can't feel anything!" She was still frantically touching anything she could. To be met my nothing. She could see it all, but couldn't feel a thing.
Hysteria rose in her and she began to panic even more. Her words becoming incoherent. Jackie was almost just as frantic and worried, trying to get her to stop and yelling at Pete to do something.
Quickly Pete ran back to the jeep and grabbed the medical pack. He came back pulling out a syringe and got Mickey to hold her still. When he finally got a clear shot, he stuck the needle into her skin. She didn't feel it, but it was only a few seconds later that the world around her faded to black.
?...DW...?
It had been four months since Dårlig Ulv Stranden. Four months since the last tear in the universe sealed itself over. And since then, Rose hadn't felt a thing. She hadn't felt the touch of her own skin, nor anyone else's. She couldn't even taste the food in her mouth.
The numbness certainly caused some physical issues, like walking into things, and not knowing when she should be feeling pain. They had had to mark a spot on the shower tap that Jackie thought was a good temperature so she didn't burn skin like she had the first time.
It didn't even feel like she were floating. There was just nothing. The only thing that made her believe she was real anymore, was what she felt inside. The pain, the heartbreak and the gnawing loneliness.
And she was alone. Somehow she knew it had nothing to do with the Doctor, though she did miss him so much it was physically painful (it was one of the rare times she could almost feel her body). This was deeper, almost like a gut instinct.
She wasn't really alone. She had Jackie and Mickey and Pete. But she just felt inexplicably alone. Even when she was surrounded by people who cared for her she felt like there was no one. No one to care for her, to check on her or feed her. And it scared her. So alone for so long. So long since she had seen the light of day or breathed fresh air…
The first panic attack had come a week after the tear sealed itself. She felt a shiver and she knew that something was wrong. Within a matter of hours she had become lonelier and lonelier. It was as if she was waiting for someone to come back, and they never were. And the longer it stayed that way, the more she began to panic.
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She was going insane. Quite actually insane. The lack of feeling and the loneliness mixed with the loss of the Doctor. It was all too much. She was surprised that no one had come to lock her up yet. They were hardly surprised about her depressive spiral.
It had been proven by all the best doctors that the numbness wasn't just a psychosis. Although there had been many hushed conversations between the doctors' and her parents. Some of them had her mother casting worried or suspicious glances at her.
It really was driving her insane… if she weren't already. She hardly felt real anymore. It just made her want the Doctor all the more. He would know what to do; he'd find out what was wrong or fix it.
Oh god, she just wanted it all to stop! She wanted to be by his side and feeling normal… like how things used to be. She just wanted to go back.
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Rose sat in the lounge of the Tyler Mansion with her mother. Jackie was seven months along now, and she was sitting watching TV. Rose wasn't a fan of TV she had avoided watching it after the incident with the Wire. But apparently Rose needed someone around her almost 24 / 7 to distract her.
She had to admit, it did help a little. But her mother's insistent chatting could get on her nerves after a while. Even though the woman didn't speak half as much as the Doctor. But maybe that was because he talked about such wonderful things and she loved the sound of his voice.
No… bad train of thought. She had to think of something else. Not her time with the Doctor. It would only make things worse.
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She stared into his eyes as tears spilled down her cheeks. He looked at her like he had just found the solution. He was so overjoyed, but she could see the shadow in his eyes. He was going to do something very dangerous. But it would be worth it.
"My head…" she sobbed.
"Come here," he said gently, taking her hands in his and pulling her closer.
"It's killing me…"
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Shaking her head Rose snapped out of it. That was not, not thinking about her time with the Doctor. She'd always had snippets of this scene in her dreams. Bits of what had happened would reveal themselves to her. Words said, actions done. They way the Doctor had looked up at her in such fear and pain for her sake… No, bad train of thought. But she couldn't stop the memory from popping up again.
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The Doctor smiled at her sadly. "I think you need a Doctor," he said quietly. And he pulled her into a kiss. It was such a beautiful soft kiss. And as he kissed her, she could feel the power draining from her body. Slowly, his lips still against hers, she fell into unconsciousness.
But the pain didn't stop. It continued to burn. Her head felt like it were being prised slowly apart. Had she been awake, she would have been screaming. She was burning from the inside out. She was dying.
Slowly a light entered her mind, soft and comforting. It took the pin away, whispering sweet words of nothingness and comfort. It wasn't even a proper voice, just a feeling. And it calmed her so. Made her feel better.
She felt a little bit of the energy sweep back into her and seed in her heart. It would grow. It would keep her safe when things went bad in the future.
Slowly, the presence in her mind retracted, and finally, her world faded to a peaceful blackness.
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She was so confused by that. Had that really happened. And what was all that when she was unconscious? For a moment she was back in the lounge. But it didn't last long.
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She waited patiently as the elevator descended. Little odd, she would have thought that Ward 26 would have been upwards.
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It began again, a different scene. A different memory to uncover.
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The elevator opened with a ping and she cautiously stepped out into some sort of basement… this couldn't be right.
"Hello?" she called out softly. She stopped short when she saw something on the wall. The words 'Bad Wolf' printed in chipped off black paint. She realised that they had seen several of these on the way in. How could they have missed it? Wasn't it over? Had they stopped looking for them? Were there more that they had missed?
Suddenly she was grabbed from behind, the white gloved hand covering her mouth. She tried to call out around the hand, but it was pressed against her too firmly. Something sharp pressed into her neck and she started to feel dizzy.
"I thought Cassandra was supposed to deliver the Goddess to us," a voice said somewhere behind her.
"I trust that piece of skin as much as she is round. She lured her down here, we can do the rest," said a voice from right by her ear as she felt herself flop into the woman's arms. The voices became foggy and distant as black crept around the edges of her vision, and slowly consumed her…
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"What?" she found herself crying out loud. That wasn't what had happened!
"Rose, are you okay?" her mother asked sitting up straight - albeit with some difficulty because of her belly.
"Yeah, just… remembering something that didn't happen," she said distractedly.
"No, Rose, you're shaking," Jackie pointed out. Rose looked down to see that her hands were trembling so much that if she were holding something, it would have fallen form her grip.
"What the," she said, her voice almost trembling as mush as her hands. She watched as the shaking spread, slowing climbing up her arms and taking over her entire chest. Soon her whole body was convulsing.
"Rose!" Jackie cried in horror. She pushed herself up and rushed over to her daughter who was slowly slipping to the ground as her legs could no longer support her. "Rose! Rose, what's happening?" she sobbed.
Rose didn't really know herself, but she could barely get her mouth open to say so. She finally managed to say the two things she knew in her heart. "I'm going home," she said. Then she looked up into Jackie's tear filled eyes. "I love you, Mum."
"No, no you can't die!" Jackie cried, pulling Rose's shaking form into her arms. But after a moment she met nothing as Rose burst into a puddle of melted flesh.
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With a gasp, Rose found herself trapped in a tiny metal… well, it felt like a coffin. And she barely had the energy to keep her eyes open. Slowly, they drifted shut, and she was consumed by darkness.
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Yep, that is a cliff hander. Rose is either dead, or nearly dead. And yes, some of you cleverly figured out that Rose had been replaced by a Flesh like the kind in 'Almost People' and 'The Rebel Flesh' like Amy had. And the only reason the Doctor had noticed it wasn't Amy was because of the pregnancy scan.
I've explained the numbness in the next chapter, but hopefully it's obvious. But it makes sense and would really freak anyone out.
Please review! Me and my multiple personalities that have popped up would REALLY appreciate it! We love you!