A/N: This is a long chapter but too short to separate into two chapters!
The next chapter will just be a fill in before the 'The Unquiet Dead' related chapters begin.
I'm going to keep this shorter than normal as there's loads to read below! So thanks for all the reviews and follow.
Reviews would be appreciated.
"Rose! Just- Just – Just hold on!" The Doctor was panicking, trying to think of what to do but he couldn't think properly. He spun around, looking darkly at Elisabeth. "What happened? What did you do?"
"I – I don't know," Elisabeth stuttered, backing away. "I didn't do anything! I promise! She's my friend too. Why would I want her dead?"
"Don't say that! She's not going to die!" The Doctor ordered, before putting his head in his hands. This was a mess. It was his fault she was stuck in there. If he hadn't invited her, she would be safe in her flat with her parents.
"She is if we don't do something!" Elisabeth said in barely more than a whisper, terror being shown through the tone of her voice.
"Yes, right, go downstairs, get everyone out and then call the emergency services. The address is on your invitation," The Doctor ordered, springing in to action. Elisabeth nodded but didn't move. "Move then!" Elisabeth glanced at the fire which was spreading at quite a speed now before sprinting away.
The Doctor ran to the nearest window, wondering if there was any chance of getting across to Rose via a window ledge. The chances of him managing to reach her using the window ledge without falling and breaking his neck looked very low. He needed to find a safer way. Scanning the garden, his eyes fell on the brown shed. A grin spread across his face and he ran.
~CHS~
Rose was confused. Scared and confused. She had no idea how that fire had started. She had no idea where the Doctor was (she hadn't heard his voice for a while now.) The only thing she did know was that the fire in front of her, blocking her escape out of the locked bathroom door was spreading quickly.
The light of the fire was too bright for her and was hurting her eyes so she adapted her position so that she was looking at the white wall.
Smoke was filling the room also, stinging her eyes and making her throat hurt. She wasn't sure how much longer she could last until she suffocated.
~CHS~
The Doctor sprinted down the stairs, skipping one or two steps as he ran. Reaching the bottom floor, he noticed that Elisabeth had done her job well and that the house was now empty. He raced to the back door and escaped into the back garden.
He couldn't stop running. Rose was still trapped and that fire was still spreading. He just hoped that his suspicions were right, that there was a ladder in that shed.
When he finally reached the shed, he shouted out in frustration – the door was locked.
He felt the panic from earlier slowly returning. He tried to push it away. He needed to think and he couldn't think if he was panicking.
Spinning round in a circle, his eyes fell on a large grey stone, rested at the foot of a tree. He grabbed the stone before using all his strength to throw it at the wooden shed. The result was a small dent in the shed but the Doctor wasn't going to give up.
He glanced towards the bathroom window, hoping to see a figure of Rose but he couldn't see anything. He needed to speed up.
He picked the stone up again then threw it at the shed, making the dent larger. The process continued, as quickly as the Doctor could manage, for around five minutes before the shed had become a pile of wood on the ground.
The Doctor stood back to acknowledge his handy work, noticing the sound of sirens in the background. He blocked them out, he still hadn't saved Rose. He still needed to get her out of that room.
He breathed a sigh of relief when his suspicions were confirmed and grabbed the ladder. Using the very little strength he had left, he dragged the ladder towards the house.
It didn't take too long for him to get the ladder propped safely against the window – or at least he hoped it was correctly and safely placed against the window. He shook his head, his safety didn't matter, he just needed to get to Rose.
He placed both his hands on the fifth rung of the ladder. He looked up then began climbing. He was sure he hadn't climbed a ladder so quickly in his life. He had successfully reached the window faster than he had expected to.
Placing his hands against the window, he tried to look in to find any sign of life but, since Rose had to get stuck in the bathroom, the window was clouded and the Doctor couldn't see a thing. He couldn't open the window from the outside so he knocked on the window, hoping to catch Rose's attention.
~CHS~
Rose's heart leapt in hope when she heard a knocking on the window behind her. She turned to see the figure of a boy in the window. She couldn't make out who the figure was but she had a real good idea who it was: the Doctor. She scrambled to her feet, covering her mouth with her sleeve, trying to prevent herself from breathing in the smoke, and hurried to the window.
She tried to open the window but it was stuck. She hit the window in annoyance before recognition hit her. She was going to die.
~CHS~
"Oi, kid!" The Doctor jumped when he heard the voice and looked down to see the bottom of the ladder surrounded by firefighters. "Get down from there! We're here now. Let us do our jobs!" The Doctor scoffed. He had gotten this far by himself, he didn't need their help.
He turned back to the window, to see Rose desperately trying to open the window but failing. It was stuck. She hit the window in frustration.
The Doctor stared at the window in horror. Why did it have to be so awkward? He looked back to the scene below him: the firefighters, still calling for him to get down, and the shed, now a heap of wood after the Doctor had thrown a stone at it multiple times.
The Doctor turned back to the window, then back to the shed. Would it work? Could he smash the window open with the stone? There was only one way to find out.
As quickly as he could, he scrambled down the ladder and past all the firefighters. He reached the stone in seconds. There was no time to lose. He picked it up and ran back towards the ladder.
"Oh, no you don't!" The Doctor found himself being grabbed by one of the firefighters, stopping him from helping Rose. He tried to elbow the firefighter in the stomach but that was no use. He was so close, why wouldn't they just let him go.
"Why aren't you doing anything?" The Doctor screamed as no one moved to climb the ladder instead. "There's a girl stuck in there! You need to save her! That's your job!"
Another firefighter, who looked like he was in charge, spun around to face the Doctor, who was still struggling in the arms of his capture. "Listen here, kid. I've been doing this job for many years now. I do not need a ten year old-"
"Eleven!" The Doctor argued, interrupting him.
"Okay, I do not need an eleven year old telling me how to do my job," the firefighter continued. "At the moment, we'll only have one casualty, if I send my men in there, we may get more. One casualty is better than ten."
"But you need to do something! That's why I got Elisabeth to call you! You're meant to stop fires," The Doctor protested, confused and annoyed.
"We are stopping it! I have some men in there right now, risking their lives, to put that fire out. Now quit telling me how to do my job and just wait!" The chief firefighter told him.
The Doctor was fed up of waiting now! He lifted his right foot up then slammed it down on top of his captures foot. His capture groaned in pain, loosening his grip on the Doctor, allowing him to slip out of his captures arms and run towards the ladder.
The chief firefighter ordered his men to stop the Doctor but the Doctor was determined not to get stopped this time. He dodged left and right, avoiding the flailing arms of the firefighters and smiled in satisfaction when he reached the ladder.
He scrambled up the ladder to the window. He knocked on the window once again, hoping to see a sign that Rose was still alive. After two seconds of dread, a figure appeared in the window. "Get out of the way!" The Doctor shouted as loudly as he could manage and waving his right arm from side to side to try and get his message across.
Eventually the figure moved and the Doctor got to work, hitting the window as hard as he could with the stone.
The window shattered and the Doctor covered his face with his arms in case any shards of glass flew his way. He winced in pain when he felt something sharp hit his arm but he ignored the pain, looking into the bathroom Rose had been trapped in. The fire was closed to the window now, and smoke had filled the room. The Doctor was amazed she had managed to stay alive so long. He moved down the ladder slightly, so she could get onto it.
When they reached the ground together, the Doctor could finally relax. She was alive and safe with a few minor injuries. He didn't care about her injuries though, he was just glad she was with him.
~CHS~
Rose sighed in relief. She was out, she was safe, she was with him. That was all that mattered to her at that point in time.