Well the Christmas special was some Grade-A bullshit. How about some WSITW to make your week better? :3

Let's see how many of you were on track with Rose. (And, also: Guys. No. She is not a Time Lady, nor will she become one.)

When Rose finally emerged from her restorative sleep, the first thing she was aware of was the powerful smell of rubbing alcohol and the faint scent of blood underneath. She opened her eyes and found herself staring at a dark blue button up shirt. She blinked in surprise and tilted her head upwards. Oh. The Doctor. Everything that had happened came flooding back in a rush.

She smiled at him but he didn't smile back. He didn't look angry, exactly, but he wasn't pleased. Slowly her grin faded and she licked her dry lips nervously. Either Jack hadn't explained things or his explanation hadn't been adequate for the worried Time Lord. She new from experience that getting up immediately wasn't the best idea, which meant she had to just stay there and face the music. She shifted around, trying to get more comfortable, and her body whined in protest.

The air rushed out of her in a heavy pant and she bit back a whimper. She'd forgotten how bad waking up from one of these was. That intense craving she felt afterwards. She couldn't believe Jack had forgotten, though. He'd been on top of these things since the beginning.

For a long moment, the Doctor didn't say anything. Then he held up a protein bar with the wrapper already open and waiting. Her eyes widened and her hand shot up to snatch it from his. She practically inhaled the thing. Bite after bite, shoving more into her mouth before she'd even swallowed the previous one.

"Easy," he cautioned, propping her shoulders up with his arm so she could swallow.

The process took a lot out of her. The first time she'd healed a serious injury she'd been in quite a pitiful state after waking up, moaning and crying on the bed, weak but not enough to pass back out, and cravingfood. Ianto had been the one to figure out she had depleted her body's energy levels and after eating a plateful of fish, cheese, nuts, and eggs, she felt loads better. Her body took care of the rest, and she was at a hundred percent within an hour or so. So Owen made up a list of things that would give her plenty of protein and vitamins, and Jack made sure they always had enough around for her.

Healing little things, Rose discovered, wasn't quite so bad. A scrape or a fractured bone didn't require as much energy all at once and she was usually able to keep herself going by consuming foods from Owen's list immediately after. Jack had ordered she always keep a pack of nuts and a protein bar with her when they went out on missions, and there was a tin of cashews and a pack of protein bars under the seat in the SUV.

When she was finished with the protein bar, the Doctor shifted her so her shoulders were propped against the arm of the couch. He leaned forward and plucked a red bottle from the coffee table and handed it to her. She recognized the smell before she even saw what was inside, and she locked her hands around it firmly, lifting the rim to her lips. On top of that list of foods he'd made, Owen had cobbled together a recipe for a shake with lots of protein and vitamins for her, and made sure to keep the kitchen stocked to make at least three at all times.

"Jack said you'd be wanting these when you woke up," the Doctor told her as she drank.

Uh oh, she knew that tone; slightly detached, way too conversational for the circumstances. He was angry and barely trying to hide it. She glanced up at him.

"Said the process saps your energy and you need a heaping helping of proteins and vitamins to get you back on your feet."

She nodded.

"So. You want to explain to me just how you did that?"

She swallowed and lowered the bottle. She smacked her lips a few times, licking the bits off and drawing them into her mouth. "That thing in my head—the TARDIS—it started right around then. I don't know how it works. I just…sort of know what I need to do." She took another drink.

"I see."

"Is that alright?"

"You shouldn't be able to do that, Rose." He told her seriously. "The TARDIS's consciousness amplifying your mental abilities is one thing. But this is something else entirely."

"Can't the TARDIS heal herself?"

He nodded tersely. "Yes. She draws power from the Time Vortex and it can function as a restorative."

"Isn't that what I just did?"

"That's a natural ability for her. It's part of her biology." The Doctor opened his eyes. "You shouldn't be able to do that, Rose, even with a part of her consciousness in you. You might be subconsciously aware of how the process works but you physically should not be able to draw on the Vortex that way."

"Well, maybe I'm not," she said flatly. "Maybe this is just a part of me. I dunno."

The Doctor was quiet for a long minute. She continued to take sips of her shake and listened to the familiar sounds of the Hub. Then he lifted his hand brushed his fingers across her cheek. She lowered her cup.

"You were so pale. I thought you were dead when I saw Jack lift you off the floor, even though he told me you'd be okay. I've been watching the color return to your cheeks for the last hour."

"How long was I out?"

He swallowed. "Two hours."

"Okay." She nodded. "Not bad. The first time I was out for three."

The Doctor made a noise of exasperation. "And I suppose it didn't occur to you that this could be a bad thing?"

"Actually, it's occurred to me quite a lot," she corrected tersely.

"Right. Anything else? Any other secrets you've been keeping that I need to know?" He asked tartly.

She had loads of them. Things she'd done, things she'd seen, things she'd learned. That glimpse into their future she'd been given. Aliens she'd met, friends she'd made, people and creatures that were waiting in hope after being dumped here through the rift that the Doctor would return one day with his time machine to take them home. But all that could come later after they'd defeated the Master. Right now that was the task that required his attention.

Rose took another long swig, swishing the shake around in her mouth to stall, and swallowed slowly. "It's not like I've been keeping secrets. I just haven't had a chance to tell you. It's been over a year," she reminded him.

"But is there anything else you've been able to do that you couldn't before?"

"Well, I destroyed those bullets inside you." She took another long, slow drink.

"I felt that."

"And I can get these sort of…vague impressions of things about to happen or things that have happened—but I don't have any control over those and they're very random. Beyond that, there's nothing that I've noticed." She frowned petulantly at her empty cup. Usually a bar and a shake was more than enough. Not this time, it seemed. Maybe it was because she'd destroyed and healed in one go.

"Do you need more?"

She nodded.

"Jack!" The Doctor shouted. His voice echoed through the Hub and Jack appeared a moment later on the second level. "Can you whip up another one of these?"

Jack saluted and walked around the walkways towards the stairs that led to the kitchen. Rose watched him go silently before turning back to the Doctor.

"So, what did I miss? 'Cos you got that look in your eye that means you're thinkin' really hard about something."

The Doctor sighed. "While you were out, Martha contacted her brother and somehow the Master interrupted the call. We had a little chat."

Rose shifted, sitting up a little straighter. "Tell me."

He heaved another sigh, puffing out his cheeks, and leaned his head against the wall. "Blimey, where to begin?"

"Did he say anything about the Toclafane?"

"No. But they can't be Toclafane, not really. They're just made up. Stories told to kids on Gallifrey to make them behave and stay in their beds at night. Like the Bogeyman."

"Looked pretty real to me."

"Well, yes, but they're not Toclafane."

"And you didn't recognize them?"

"No, never seen 'em before."

"Great." She muttered. "What else did he say?"

"Oh just…well, it's not important. But he's somehow managed to make us public enemies one through four."

Rose blinked. "What?"

"Apparently we're extremely dangerous terrorists. So I don't think we'll be ordering pizza tonight."

Rose snorted. "Are you kidding? They'd probably knock off the delivery fee if we told them what the hell we'd done this time."

He frowned at her.

"Look, Doctor, Jack and I are a part of Torchwood. According to the royal charter, you're to be apprehended on sight. So we technically could say you are our prisoner and Martha's being held for her association with you. You two are safe with us."

"What makes you think you can get away with this?" he demanded. "He's Prime Minister."

"And we're outside the government's control. We might have to answer to them occasionally, but they're not allowed to interfere without good reason."

This didn't seem to reassure him. "So you're saying Torchwood's almost entirely left to its own devices? No bloody wonder Torchwood One was able to get away with everything they did."

"Jack is not like Yvonne Hartman. What we do, we do for the good of the people and the planet. If we had to worry about cutting through all the red tape and being apprehended, having our work looked through and seized, we would never get anything done."

The Doctor exhaled through his nose and simply shook his head. Then he stopped. "And as Prime Minister, wouldn't Saxon have the authority to declare your suspected terrorism a good enough reason to interfere?"

Rose closed her eyes. She'd known there was a possibility this would happen. The moment he'd been elected, the barrier that Torchwood formed between the two of them had been crippled. He could smash through it in no time at all, especially now that she was labeled a terrorist. "Shit," she breathed.

"That's what I thought. We might have to run, you know. Are you up for it?"

"Not yet. I don't even know if I can stand. I need another shake, maybe some food. My body's really good about restoring itself; it just needs a little boost in the beginning." She shifted around again. "Help me sit up properly?"

It took a little maneuvering, and the Doctor had to prevent her from dropping off the couch once, but they managed to get her into an upright position between him and the arm of the couch. She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

Martha came down the stairs over Rose's terminal and smiled at them. "Hey. Feeling better?"

"Getting there," Rose replied.

"And you, Doctor?"

He shrugged. "Bit sore but it's fading."

"Good." She plopped down onto the couch on the Doctor's other side and sighed heavily. "I've been refreshing every page talking about us every thirty seconds, I swear. It just says my family's been taking in for questioning. No mention of Leo, though. Guess he's not as daft as he looks."

"I'm sorry." Rose mumbled.

"'s not your fault." Martha sighed. The Doctor lifted his arm and she shifted closer.

He squeezed her tightly, reassuringly.

"But what are we gonna do? Not like we can just walk around in public now."

"Oh, I think I can do something about that." The Doctor said nonchalantly. "In fact, I will. Just as soon as Jack gets down here."

"Anything we can do to help?" Rose asked.

The Doctor gazed around Torchwood thoughtfully. "Lots of equipment in here so I should have everything I need. Do you have a work area?"

"Several."

"Excellent."

Jack turned up a few minutes later with a tray full of food: a shake, a platter of fried eggs, and four bowls of microwavable noodles. Martha, Jack, and the Doctor each took a bowl of noodles. Rose barely had hold of her plate before she was shoveling the eggs into her mouth like a starving woman. Once she'd finished her eggs, Rose picked up the remaining bowl and began to eat it slowly, savoring.

"Really took it out of you this time," Jack mused.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it."

"So, Doctor…"

"Hmm?" the Time Lord grunted around a mouth full of food.

"I got a question. How come the ancient society of Time Lords created a psychopath?"

The Doctor glowered at no one in particular as he swallowed his food. "He wasn't always that way. Long time ago, just barely out of infancy, we were friends then, I can't really remember everything, but he wasn't always…." He exhaled slowly. "You have to understand the way Gallifreyan society worked. Children were taken from their families at the age of eight to enter the Academy. That's when we saw eternity. During initiation, we're taken to the Untempered Schism. It's a…gap in the fabric of reality through which could be seen the whole of the vortex."

Rose inhaled sharply through her nose. "But that's—"

"I know." He wasn't looking at them. His eyes were fixed on something in the distance and clouded with memories. "You stand there, eight years old…staring at the raw power of time and space. Just a child," he whispered. "Some would be inspired…some would run away…and some would go mad." Then he shuddered. "Oh, I dunno." He took another bite of his soup.

"What about you?" Martha asked.

"Oh, the ones that ran away. I never stopped!"

"And the Master…?"

"Sometimes it was difficult to tell if he was inspired or went mad. I think it was a little bit of both, to be honest." He sighed. "He was normal enough as a child but sometimes, if you looked and listened hard enough to what he was saying and doing, you could tell."

"A mad genius?" Jack deduced.

The Doctor nodded.

"Sounds a lot like you. You sure you weren't all three? A mad genius who never stops running."

He laughed quietly. "I never thought of it that way."

Rose smiled. Despite the circumstances, it was nice having the four of them together like this. It wouldn't last long, though. Sooner or later they'd have to act. They were technically on the run, and aliens would be landing at dawn. And she told them that. What bit of humor that had formed in the atmosphere was squashed, leaving behind seriousness and a sense of dread.

Martha shook her head. "But why's he gone and made us terrorists? I don't get it."

"Well, it's keeping us from going out in the open and warning everyone." Jack pointed out.

"That it is," the Doctor agreed. "My guess is the Archangel network is fragile. Anyone who's confronted him directly, anyone not under the influence of Archangel, he's probably dealt with easily. Like I said, he can control small numbers with ease. But if masses and masses were suddenly being presented with undeniable proof of what Archangel is, and what he's been doing, well, he'd lose control. But right now, no one's going to listen to us."

"They would've before." Martha looked between the two members of Torchwood. "That's what I don't get. You've got all this power and influence—"

"So how come we didn't tell the world about 'im when we had the chance?" Rose finished with an arched brow. She spooned more soup into her mouth.

"Yeah."

"We tried, remember?" Jack reminded her. "We sent Torchwood One after him since they had control over London. But all we had was our word and suspicions, and he was able to convince them he was human."

"So not only did he get their trust," Rose went on, "he made it look like we had poor judgment and had jumped to conclusions. They trusted us less."

"Then we tried to go to UNIT. They had files on the Master so they knew what it meant if he was back. But before that went anywhere, they contacted Torchwood One just to confirm they were aware of our suspicions and, well. I bet you can guess."

"So UNIT trusted you even less than before," the Doctor concluded. "And if you'd tried going public with your accusations, no one would've believed you, or either UNIT or Torchwood One would've countered you somehow."

Jack and Rose nodded. "And since we had no actual proof of anything there was nothing we could do," the latter sighed. "Nothing we could pin on him.

"There's his backstory," Martha pointed out. "I never noticed anything, I was never really looking, but if people had known—"

He nodded. "Tried that, too. He filled in the holes."

"We tried everything we could but without proof…." Rose trailed off and twisted her lips. "But if we'd known about the hypnosis, things might've gone differently."

"Definitely."

"Well, nothing we can do about that! Gotta focus on right now! And right now…" The Doctor set the bowl on the table and leaped to his feet. "I have a plan!"

"And I'd love to hear it."

"The Archangel Network!" He turned, no doubt expecting to see understanding or amazement at his brilliance on their faces, but the three humans just stared blankly at him. He wasn't discouraged, though. "Its primary function is to make everyone like Harold Saxon."

"Yeah, Doc, we know," Jack said dryly.

"No, but don't you see? Almost everyone caught in its range falls under its influence without even realizing. But if I were to, oh, say, reverse it…"

"Change the signal," Martha realized. "So that it tells everyone to not like him!"

Rose grinned. "That's brilliant!"

"Except!" The Doctor interrupted loudly. "I can't do that from down here. I'd have to be able to access the satellites themselves and I'd need the TARDIS for that."

"But there has to be a place that monitors the satellites," Jack pointed out. "Some way they can control them, update them, or disable them."

"But we're terrorists, remember?"

Jack sighed loudly. "Okay, so why did you even tell us this?"

"Because I want you to understand. This kind of system is its own worst enemy. Just a few bits and pieces of the code switched and suddenly the world will hate him. There is a way I can disrupt the system, however, without actually reversing it. Answer me this: if you liked someone, trusted them, and were willing to put your life and livelihood in their hands, only to find out this person was horrible and had forced you to feel that way?"

"I'd hate him." Martha answered immediately.

The Doctor grinned, a slightly mad, teeth-bared grin, and pointed at her. "Exactly."

They stared at him for a moment as they struggled to comprehend his plan. "So…you're gonna disrupt the signal somehow?" the medical student questioned.

"It all comes back to the Master in the end. But if I were to cancel it out, his control over them would be broken and people would see him for what he really is, and slowly they'll begin to wonder why they ever thought otherwise. His own system will be his downfall."

"Can you? Disrupt the signal, I mean?" Rose asked.

"Oh, sure, simple. I just need to get the disrupter around him."

"Just one problem: we're terrorists," Jack reminded him. "There's no way they'd let us anywhere near him. Even if we used my vortex manipulator, we'd have to land within five feet of him or we won't get to him before they get us."

"Not if they can't see us," the Doctor said. He looked between the three of them for a moment, grinning. "Ja-ack. I'm gonna need a laptop—preferably a PC—a mobile or two from the last year or so, tools, your TARDIS keys and a place I can work."

"Yes, sir."

By the way... which one of you said the words 'frickle frackle' the other day? I know it was someone here... 'Cos I used 'em (in that same context) in a conversation with my cousin earlier and she about died and now plans to use them.

And, hey, we're nearly up to 1700 reviews. I remember when I was freaking out about having 100 ^^;