I had a review from a reader who pointed out a small error in a previous chapter - I accidentally wrote the name William instead of Alex. This is because originally I was going to name 10.5 William (sort of after Wilfred Mott). I'd also had the scenes in the story in a different order. I changed my mind about the 10.5's name when I found out what the name Alexander means. Alex so much fits the Doctor better than William. :) At the same time, I had rearranged the scenes so that the story read better. I have now corrected the name error in the previous chapter. Oh, and I will have the meaning of Alex's name... in the next book.

Chapter 16

Late April 2015

"What's wrong?" Alex questioned. He was working on yet another identification of artifacts project but his interest instantly waned when he saw the concerned look on Rose's face as she came to his desk.

"We need to go to the Genetic Research lab," she stated. "Something bad is going to happen."

Knowing that Rose likely had a premonition, he stood up, his own anxiety starting to show. Since that day when she had told him all about her having prophetic dreams, which he had determined was due to her being touched by the time vortex so many years before, he had taught her how to discern between random images that come from normal REM sleep and images that came from her still present, if weak, connection with the time vortex, which they gave the nickname "Bad Wolf" due to how she had used the connection before. The premonitions she had were never cut and dry. More like images and instinct. Still, he'd come to trust that, if Rose said something was going to happen, it very likely was.

"What did you see?" he asked, abandoning his work and guiding her towards the lift. The Genetics Research lab was on the fourth floor of the Torchwood Building.

"Smoke, something silver and blue…" she told him, her voice uncertain. "Someone was in pain. There was so much noise. Everyone was running around… I've already warned Dad but without knowing exactly what's going to happen it's practically impossible to take preemptive measures." She sighed as they got into the lift. "I hope that I'm overreacting and this is just another case of reading too much into my visions."

"When did you have this vision?"

"Just a few minutes ago." Seeing the surprise on his face, she nodded her own agreement to the sentiment. "Surprised me too. I've never had these happen while I was awake. That's what's got me worried. If I'm having them while I'm awake…" She let the implications behind her statement hang, unsure what the significance really was, only that it frightened her greatly.

The moment the lift doors opened, her supposition was affirmed as the sound of alarms assaulted them. A frantic but firm voice warned over the PA system, "Containment breach in Lab 2B! Containment team to the scene! Non-essential personnel evacuate immediately! Repeat…"

"That's Aderyn's lab!" Alex exclaimed, ignoring the warnings and racing towards the lab. Technically, the Avian didn't have a private lab, only being a junior scientist in the division, but it was where she did her work when it was available to her.

Rose quickly ran after him, catching up to him as he was trying to get passed the blockade the containment team had put in place.

"You don't understand!" he exclaimed with passion to the two human males, dressed in hazmat suits, who refused his entrance. "Aderyn's in there. She's in pain. I can feel her. Let me in. I'm a doctor. I can help her!"

Seeing that the Doctor wasn't getting far in his insistences, Rose stepped in front of him, addressing the containment personnel. "What's your name?"

"Steve," one of the men, who appeared to be the one in charge of the blockade, responded.

"You know who I am, Steve?"

"Yes, ma'am." He apparently was surprised by her presence there in what, to him, was a matter for the containment team.

Seeing that she got the men's attention, she continued bluntly. "The scientist in the lab is an extraterrestrial and, as such, her well-being falls under my jurisdiction. Any activities in this area go through me from here on out. Now, is there any immediate danger of contamination in this area?" Noting his hesitation, she pressed on. "I'll take that as a 'no'. In which case, Dr. Smith and I are going in. You want to stop us, call the Director." With that, she pushed through the two men who, stunned by her forthright authority, allowed the two of them to pass.

They hurried down the hallway stopping just in front of the door to the lab where the main containment team were prepping to go through the door.

"Give me an update," Rose ordered, not knowing who was in charge in the area but aware that she had enough clout to get an immediate response. She had to raise her voice to be heard over both the alarm and the high-pitched but muffled squawks that were coming from the other side of the door.

"Ms. Tyler," a human female responded to the demand, hurrying over to Rose.

"Dr. Parsons, what's going on?" Rose asked of the woman. Edna Parsons was the head of the Genetic Research division of Torchwood.

"We're pretty sure that the general area of the lab is safe as the containment breach happened in the clean room inside. We're about to go in to…" Edna stopped speaking when she saw Alex rush into the lab without appropriate protective gear. "Stop!" she demanded, not getting a response. "Bloody hell!" Without thought of her own safety, she quickly followed, Rose right behind her.

Both women halted the moment they entered, staring at Alex who had gone over to the glass window which gave a clear view of the clean room. His hand was pressed on the glass as tears rolled down his cheeks, his whole body tense with anxiety. On the other side of the glass, thin smoke filled the room. Aderyn was barely visible, mostly thanks to her bright silvery blue feathers. She was pressed against the window, her clawed hands scraping against the window with the instinctual need to escape. The squalling she had been doing in her agony had softened as her strength began to drop rapidly. From the way she struggled, it was also plain that she had lost her sight somehow.

The Doctor turned his head towards the door to the clean room; Rose could easily read his intention.

"Seal the clean room!" she ordered Edna, running to block Alex's path as he started towards the door.

"Get out of the way! She's dying and she can't find the way out. I've got to save her!" Alex protested angrily as Rose held him back long enough for Dr. Parsons to follow her order.

"You can't save her!" she countered over a loud buzzing alarm chiming three times follow by a loud thumping sound, indicating that the clean room was sealed off.

Alex pushed Rose aside. Running to the door, he pounded on it urgently with the need to get in to save his friend. "Open the door!" he demanded, ignoring Edna who left the room to give the team the all clear for the immediate area.

"No!" Rose responded with equal vehemence. "The clean room is contaminated. Procedure says we seal it off until…"

"To hell with procedure! We have to get her out of there!"

"I'm not going to risk the lives of every person in this building, possibly this whole city! Besides, if you go in there, you'll die too."

"You don't know that! I'm half Time Lord. I have…"

"Yes, I know all about your superior physiology," she told him, a hint of condescension in her tone. "But just because you're half alien doesn't mean you can survive what is killing Aderyn. She's an Avian; she's even more alien than you!"

"It won't kill me."

"Yes, it will!" she shouted with such finality that it silenced the room. The alarms in the building had been quieted, leaving only the sound of Aderyn's weakly clawing at the window. "Don't ask me how I know. I just do."

The Doctor stared at her, shock plain on his features. Rose thought that perhaps she had stunned him with the knowledge that he had nearly killed himself but that thought was soon dispersed with his next words. "You bitch… you want her dead."

"What?"

"I knew you tended to get jealous easily but this… this is barbaric!"

Rose's jaw tightened with fury. "I've had it with this attitude of yours. I don't care if you are a little off in the head. This time you've gone too far. Accusing me of murder?" She gave him a brutal glare. "Aderyn's my friend. It's killing me that I had to seal her in there!"

"No. It's killing her," he contradicted without pity.

She shot daggers at him with her eyes before delivering a jaw-wrenching slap. "Sod off, you bastard."

"With pleasure," he told her, his tone showing his anger. Going back to the window, he got on his knees so that he was at the same level as the dying creature on the other side of the glass. Pressing his hand to it again, he murmured, "Aderyn, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Forgive me." He received a couple of weak chirps before the bird-woman slumped to the floor. He slowly stood up, his body shaking with grief. He looked with rage on Rose for a moment before marching towards the exit, violently hitting some glass beakers to the floor as he did so, causing them to shatter.

Rose closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down before feeling at least a dozen eyes on her. She looked on the containment team and scientists that stood in the room and realized they had all witnessed the confrontation she and Alex had. Turning to the window, she noted Aderyn's still form, knowing that the female was dead. She quickly blinked, trying to hold back her tears and failing miserably. Wiping them away forcibly, she sniffed with determination. "One of our own is dead. I want to know how and why," she stated firmly. Looking on the team surrounding her, she saw none of them had moved an inch. "Shift!" she ordered.

Seeing that they quickly moved to obey, she walked out of the room, anger and sorrow enveloping her like a rough-hewn sack cloth.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

The moment the alarm has sounded, Pete jumped to his feet. While Rose had warned him that something bad was going to happen in the Genetic Research lab, both of them agreed that the only thing they could do was wait, since they didn't know in which lab or when it, whatever it was, was going to happen. Now that the alarm was blaring and the verbal warnings were being given, he didn't hesitate to act.

The staff at Torchwood knew their jobs well. He knew that the alarm wouldn't cause them to panic but to prepare to evacuate the building, if necessary. He was confident that the containment team was already at the scene, working to resolve the situation as quickly and safely as possible.

First making sure that the usual emergency procedures were being implemented in case of evacuation, he went to the lift to go down to the Genetic Research lab in order to see for himself what was going on there. He encountered an ill-tempered Alex when he stepped off, barely getting out of his way as the latter got into the lift and pressed his destination. Despite his concerned questions, he got no answers from the half-Gallifreyan, leaving the Director a little befuddled. He'd never seen Alex angry to the point of silence and it was completely disconcerting.

Shaking away his immediate concern for the man, though it remained at the back of his mind, he marched down the hall and then turned the corner to hear the murmur of a dozen people talking at the same time, the sound coming from Lab 2B. Outside the lab, Rose was leaning against a wall, the expression on her face reflecting a crushed soul.

"Rose, what happened?" he asked gently.

Apparently, the question overwhelmed the woman's emotional state as, a second later, she plunged into his arms and sobbed heavily. "Dad… Aderyn's dead. And it's my fault."

Pete held her tightly as she cried, kissing the top of her head. "Sweetheart, tell me what happened," he instructed, not denying her guilt until he knew the facts. He didn't think she was actually at fault but he wasn't going to give her platitudes. He understood Rose enough to know that would only upset her further.

She obeyed, relaying the events that occurred in the lab: how she was forced to seal the clean room, thus insuring the death of her friend, and how the brutal argument between her and Alex broke out. Pete strengthened his hold on her, hoping that it somehow eased the pain in her heart but knowing that it wouldn't. She'd had to deal with Torchwood deaths before but it had never been someone she was especially close to. Neither had she ever had to be the one to decide on possibly saving the lives of millions at the definite expense of a friend's life.

"You did what you had to do," he murmured to her. "And I don't think Aderyn would have wanted you to risk everyone's lives just to save hers. Alex will realize this once he calms down. You know how he can be when he's upset." Since the Doctor had insistent on being called by his adopted name, only the Tylers called him 'Doctor' and then only when they really wanted to get his attention or when he did anything especially "Doctor-ish."

She sighed as she pulled away from him, frustration plain in the action. "I'm tired of it, Dad. I'm tired of his changing moods. We argue more than we agree lately. But this… this was the straw. He accused me of murdering Aderyn. How can I… just forgive that?"

"Because he's Alex. And you know he didn't really mean it."

She didn't answer immediately. "I think he did," she stated bluntly. Without waiting for a response, she went back into the lab to help resolve the mystery of what really happened.

Pete stood still for a moment, thinking about what Rose said and realizing that it was pain that was ruling her words, not rationality. It would take time for her to heal from the events of the day. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his mobile and attempted to call Alex but he obviously refused to answer. Deciding that the man needed to have his own time alone, he then called Jackie to update her on the situation, telling her that he probably wouldn't be home until late and would she please check on Alex in a couple of hours to make sure that he was okay.

Gaining assurances that she would do so and her sympathies for the loss of Aderyn, whom she had never met but had heard a great deal about, Pete agreed to pass on her love to Rose and, after returning the sentiment, ended the call. He then walked into the lab, determined to help however he could.

OOOOOOOOOOO

When the Doctor left the lab, he wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone, much less the father of the woman who killed his friend. He completely ignored the human male, getting into the lift and going down to the ground level. Going to the men's locker rooms, he quickly changed into his motorcycle gear – ignoring the ringing of his phone as he did so – before going down to the parking garage and driving off, nursing his anger towards Rose the entire time. He desperately wished that he still had the TARDIS so that he could just disappear; that way not only would he never see Rose again – and with how he was feeling at the moment, he fully intended to follow through with that thought, regardless of his lack of temporal vehicle – he also wouldn't have to deal with what was already running through his mind, namely what he was going to do next.

He got back to the condominium in record time, remarkably safe in spite of his aggressive driving. The moment he arrived, he pulled out a covered side car from his storage unit and attached it to the bike before boxing everything else in the unit, most of which was his make-shift pharmaceutical lab and the supply of antipsychotics he'd made. Once he had packed everything small enough to be moved into the side car – he had to leave all of the furniture and some of his equipment behind - he went up to the condo itself and, taking the only bag he owned, packed only those precious few things he had purchased with his own money, which equaled to leaving everything behind save a shirt and some underwear, a few small knick-knacks, and a pocket watch. Again, he had to leave the larger items, like the art he'd put on the walls. A stop to his attached bath allowed him to pick up all of his sundries, including his prescription. Going into the main area, he collected a couple of DVDs he had purchased and everything that Pete had given him to create the life he now had. One more stop allowed him to collect the fondue pot he'd purchased. He put his keys to the condo and the storage room on the breakfast bar before leaving, making sure that the door would lock automatically when he closed it.

Going back down to the parking garage, he squeezed his last bag into the side car, making sure that nothing would fall out on the road. Getting on the motorcycle, he secured his helmet on his head, his gloves on his hands, and left the building, driving as far from it as he could without leaving the city of London. Locating an inexpensive hotel in a good area - he knew that his resources were now limited to the money he had earned while working at Torchwood – he checked in, taking all of his possessions with him into his room. The moment the door was closed, he stripped off his motorcycle gear and plopped on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

He couldn't believe that, after six months, his relationship with the woman he loved had come to such an abrupt and horrible end. Now that he gave himself time to really think about what had happened, emotions other than anger and hatred swamped him. For the first time in his short half-human life, he felt truly and completely alone. The feeling overwhelmed him, bringing tears and sobs as he curled into himself and let his emotions flow. He was asleep when the phone rang again as Jackie tried to check up on him as Pete requested.

He opened his eyes hours later to see cream-colored walls and burgundy drapes, reminding him that not only was he not in his own bedroom but also that he had effectively obeyed Rose's demand that he "sod off". It was dark outside, he noticed, telling him that he'd been asleep for several hours. Standing up, he ran a hand through his hair and, after reaffirming his whereabouts, went to the bathroom to wash up.

Returning to the main room, he looked for and found his mobile phone, more out of curiosity that any pressing need to make a call. It wasn't the phone he had come to this universe with. He had wanted to use that phone, which had belonged originally to Martha Jones, but found that it was incompatible with this universe's electrical power. Rather than spend hundreds of pounds finding a way to power the phone up, Rose bought him a new one, though he paid for the service. It was the only thing that Rose had bought for him that he had brought with him when leaving the condominium.

He checked the phone's alerts. Several missed calls, all from Rose, Jackie and Pete. He knew they were probably worried sick about him after he abruptly up and left the lab but he didn't care. The loss of his friend still hurt and probably would for days to come. He couldn't help but remember how his own empathic nature allowed him to feel Aderyn's pain. It didn't help in the least that Aderyn was also an empath, more so than him in fact, and had inadvertently thrust her own fears of death upon him. Pairing that with his bipolar disorder, his emotions had been severely compromised.

What really angered him was the argument he and Rose had. He couldn't recall them ever speaking to each other with such overwhelming anger, though he should have seen it coming with how intense their arguments had been getting. Their relationship certainly wasn't helped by them working in such close proximity. In fact, he thought it was probably hurting it. They really didn't have anything to talk about other than Torchwood, which meant that there wasn't much of a distraction from work when they got home. Their conversations focused around aliens almost constantly, whether it was something Alex identified or Rose negotiated. Added to that, Alex still didn't like his job, even though he did identify some interesting items. Fixing broken alien devices was fine as a hobby but doing it for a living was becoming monotonous, especially since there was little social interaction while you were focused on making a Pliniar medical device work.

Looking at the phone once more, he came to a decision. He speed-dialed Rose's mobile and waited for her to answer, which didn't take long.

"Doctor, where are you?" came the immediate reply.

"A hotel room on the other side of the city," he told her.

"Come home," she pleaded gently. "I'm sorry. But I had to do it." Her voice quivered with emotion, showing that she was feeling some guilt and sorrow for her previous actions.

Hearing her affirmation of her actions – like hell she had to do it! – he growled out an infuriated, "No."

"Why not?" There was a long pause. "We'll make up, just like we always do. Dinner… a movie… cuddling…"

"Is that all you can think about? Aderyn's dead, thanks to you, and you want to make out?"

"I just want you home so I can explain…"

"I've had enough explanations from you," he interrupted bluntly. "I'm not returning to the condo. Neither am I going to work for Torchwood anymore. It's not just what happened this morning. It's been coming for some time now. I find myself… stagnated… unfulfilled. I feel like you're forcing me into a mold that I know I don't fit into. I don't really know who I am other than what you want to paint me as. It's time that I finished painting the picture that is me rather than letting others do it for me and I need to be fully independent to do that. I'm going to send in my resignation letter tomorrow."

"What? But… where will you live? How will you earn money? You can't just… leave."

"I'm over a thousand years old. I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much. I'll find a job. I'll rent an apartment. And I'll make it quite well on my own without you. I didn't call to have you try to talk me out of it. I called to tell you it's over between us, Rose. And I never want to see you again," he told her vehemently.

"You don't mean that," she choked out, clearly crying.

"Like hell I don't. You murdered Aderyn and I will never forgive you for that. Goodbye, Rose Tyler." Without waiting for a response, he shut off his mobile, tossing it into his bag, assured with himself that he'd made the right decision.