Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Doctor Who… although… there are some parts I wouldn't mind getting hold of ;)

Reviews would be fantastic. Please don't make me beg *pouts* some allusions to violence in the chapter after this – please let me know if the ratings are still okay.

Chapter 6

"Nothing." He took a deep breath to steady himself. "Nothing, Jack. Her timelines have gone. There's nothing, nothing…. She's like you Jack." He said in a rush. "She isn't supposed to be here. That's why the TARDIS wouldn't let her in, even she could feel how wrong it was, wanted rid of her…." His frown deepened and he turned his face sharply, trying to hide the agony in his expression.

"So that's what you're going to do then Doctor?" Jack demanded, a hard edge to his voice. "You're going to abandon her, like you abandoned me on Satellite Five?"

"No." The Doctor said, low and quiet, more to himself than to Jack. "No. Not her."

" I see."Jack's face flickered briefly with pain and resentment but the Doctor understood why. "So what are you going to do, Doctor?"

The Doctor sighed, long and hard, shaking his head slightly. "The trouble is, Jack. Before all this, Rose had a purpose, a place in the universe... it was supposed to end here and she was supposed to go there, with her family. Up until then the universe was sort of keeping her safe… weeellll , as safe as possible in the circumstances… but now she's changed that. Anything could happen; she doesn't have a place here anymore and…." He'd been about to admit how scared he was. How much he feared that something might happen to Rose, that she might die, because now the odds were against her and he was so terrified of losing her… but he stopped himself. "… And so now, I'm going to have make sure that she stays safe and sound. Whatever it takes…"

"So why are you so angry with her?"

"I'm not angry with her Jack." The Doctor said sharply. "I'm angry with me!" Every gut instinct in me is screaming at me to find a way to take her back to the other universe, or any universe, just to get her out of this one… but I can't…. I won't…!

…even though I should. "

"Have you told her?"

The Doctor looked at him aghast. "No, of course not! She's vulnerable, so vulnerable… this universe doesn't want her, has no place for her… Could you tell her that?" he demanded.

"No." Jack shook his head. "No you're right, of course she can't know."

dwdwdwdwdwdwdw

Rose pushed herself away from the kitchen counter, her legs slightly unsteady beneath her, she half lurched, half stumbled to the kitchen door.

She needed to apologise. She needed to see the Doctor look at her with something other than anger and contempt in his expression. She had to let him know she was trying, but it was so hard for her, with her mum gone and Mickey gone and him so angry at her all the time, plus the two weeks of hell she'd just been through… and she'd probably just lost her job.

She used the hallway wall to steady herself as she walked towards the living room. The sound of their voices made her hesitate. They were talking about her.

"No, seriously Doctor. Ever since we got back you've been down on her. What's up?" Jack's voice. She felt a tiny bubble of gratitude that at least he was on her side.

There was silence for a moment and then the Doctor spoke. "She's just…. It's just… wrong Jack. She was, is Supposed to be on the parallel universe with her mum and her dad and Mickey."

"What do you mean 'supposed to be'?"

"She… when she stayed… when her future self stopped her being caught by Pete, she changed time –no, not just time – she changed the whole bloody universe in a way that it was never supposed to be changed. I knew as soon as the void closed. She was supposed to go with them; her time in this universe is done…. ." it was hard to make out what the Doctor was saying, he was speaking so quietly.

"And you were okay with that?" She could hear the outrage in Jack's voice.

She concentrated as hard as she could but she couldn't hear the Doctor's response to that, just a short laugh. What had he said?

"How did you know?" Jack again. She had no trouble hearing his booming American tones.

Rose heard something about 'Timelines' but it was murmured. Then, "…Getting stronger and stronger over the last few months, it was inevitable, it was a fact. But she changed it… and now, well…"

"So what do you see in her timelines now, Doctor?" Jack asked, urgency colouring his voice.

There was silence for a few moments then "Nothing… Nothing, Jack. Her timelines have gone. There's nothing, nothing…. She's like you Jack. She isn't supposed to be here. That's why the TARDIS wouldn't let her in, even she could feel how wrong it was, wanted rid of her…."

Rose's face screwed up with pain as she heard the truth of it. The Doctor had masked it before when the TARDIS had thrown her out at Canary Wharf.

"So that's what you're going to do then Doctor?" Jack demanded, a hard edge to his voice. "You're going to abandon her, like you abandoned me on Satellite Five?"

Again the Doctor's voice was too low for her to make out and her heart was hammering so loudly that all she could hear was the blood rushing through her veins.

"I see." Jack's voice sounded sad and suddenly she knew. He was going to abandon her. Why he hadn't done it already she didn't know but that was his end game, it was everything she'd feared and yet everything she expected.

Rose gasped, overwhelmed with grief and despair. She clapped both hands to her mouth in a vain attempt to stifle the harsh, sobs forcing their way up through her hitching chest. Stumbling backwards, Rose ran to the front door, fumbled it open and ran outside, feeling herself tearing apart from the inside out.