Slitheen on the outside, useless Emergency Protocols on the inside. No contacts left, not anymore. All his contacts are dead downstairs. He really hopes Brigadier wasn't there. Didn't see him, but you never know. He lost track of him years ago, he doesn't even know if he still works for UNIT.
"Voicemail dooms us all," he hears Harriet say, and he looks up. Rose is pacing, trying to think of a solution. Of course she is, wonderful, clever Rose. Always trying to fix everything.
"If we could just get out of here-" she starts to say, and he's speaking before he can stop himself.
"There's a way out." he mutters, not meeting her eyes. "There's always been a way out."
"Then why didn't we use it?" she asks him incredulously.
Still not meeting Rose's eyes, he walks forward to lean on the table. "Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe." he tells Jackie.
"Don't you dare, whatever it is, don't you dare." her voice snaps at him through the speakers, and he has to resist the urge to roll his eyes.
"That's the thing, if I don't dare everyone dies." he says. Jackie Tyler, so frustratingly human. She loves her daughter so much she's willing to let the world die to try and keep her safe. Of course-
"Do it."
He looks up at Rose. She's standing across the table from him, scared but determined. Just a glance at her and he knows she won't back down. She's so bloody stubborn sometimes. Then what she said reaches his brain and he gapes at her in shock.
"You don't even know what it is, you'd just let me?" his mask is slipping again, as it does so often around her now. How can she say that? How can she trust him so completely with her life after such a short time?
She shrugs minutely and just mutters "Yeah," he can't take his eyes off her. This crazy, stupid, irrational, wonderful, clever, fantastic girl, putting her life in his hands without a second thought.
"Please Doctor, please." he hears Jackie say. "She's my daughter, she's just a kid."
"Do you think I don't know that?" he asks softly, finally tearing his eyes away from Rose. "'Cause this is my life, Jackie. Its not fun, its not smart, its just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Rose asks. He meets her eyes, and now all his walls, his masks, his smiles and laughs and bravado and pride are all gone in the face of her trust. And he's scared, so scared, 'cause she's seeing the real him now. She's seeing his very core, and what he does and what he is, and how he really, actually feels.
"I could save the world but lose you." he thinks, then realizes too late he's said it out loud. Rose looks shocked and he wants to look away but he can't, and for a moment the rest of the universe doesn't exist. For a moment its just her and him, Rose Tyler and the Doctor, not Slitheen or Harriet or Jackie or Ricky. Just them. And in that moment he keeps the walls down, and lets her see him, no matter how terrifying it is. He needs her to see, for some reason.
"Except its not your decision, Doctor. Its mine." Harriet says, and the moment is over. The universe is back and they're still looking at each other, but his walls are back. Rose can see his walls now, but she can't see behind them anymore.
"And who the hell are you?" Jackie snaps.
"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North." she answers formally. "The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people, for the people, and on behalf of the people, I command you. Doctor."
He glances at Harriet, then looks back at Rose, a grin on his face. "Let's get to work."
Words of warning: I'm a sucker for reviews. I love them so much, and they inspire me to write a lot faster. However, one week of school is already bogging down my writing schedule. Care to give me some extra inspiration?