A/N: I am SO sorry there's been such a lag between posts! Things at work have been just nuts so I haven't been able to post until now. But it's a nice long chapter for you, so hopefully that makes up for it.
WARNING: there is torture in this chapter. This is the worst of it, and it's not explicit, but I'm warning you anyway.
Enjoy! If you do, you know what to do at the end (and if you don't, hint: feedback!)
Chapter 5 – Ten and Rose
Rose has always thought there could be nothing worse than watching the Doctor suffer a nightmare, unable to do anything but wrap her arms around him and hold him through the night.
She's wrong.
Worse is being forced to listen as the Doctor lives a waking nightmare, and being unable to go to, or even call out to, him. The commandos have them in separate rooms, but the Doctor's screams filter through the concrete walls until Rose is shaking with rage.
She's still restrained to the bloody table, or the wankers holding them hostage would be dead by now. One commando sits in front of her while another stands nearby with a cattle prod, the same one they tried to use on the Doctor. Rose isn't entirely sure what happened, but they seem scared of her now.
"What are you?"
"Human."
"We know that's a lie. What are you?" Rose grits her teeth and bangs her head back against the table.
"Human! How many times do I have to say it? I'm a bloody human!"
The commando says something into a microphone clipped to his collar. The Doctor's screams get louder and more anguished. Rose didn't think that was possible. Tears burn in her eyes as the sounds of torture fill her ears.
"Stop it! I don't know what you want! Just stop!"
The noises get louder. Rose can't distinguish what they might be, and in a way that's worse. Her mind presents her with possibilities far worse than any they could show her.
"Please!"
"Rose!" She nearly sobs at the sound of the Doctor's voice. It's hoarse and broken and so soft through the walls she has to strain to hear it, but she listens hard. "Don't give in, Rose! Escape if you get the chance! Run!"
The Doctor is cut off abruptly with a grunt and a moan of pain. Rose's whole body trembles. She can't even entertain the thought of leaving without him. She doesn't care if she has to tear apart the building and everyone in it, she and the Doctor will escape.
"You have one more chance to tell me what you are before I have to call my boss. Trust me, you'd rather deal with me," the bloke says, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and whispering to her like they're best mates. Rose wants to spit in his face.
"I'm. Human," she says, her lips curling into a snarl. The commando leans back, looking disappointed and a little bit relieved at the same time. He calls into his collar for a Mr. Devlin, and then leaves the room, the man with the cattle prod following dutifully behind.
Rose breathes a sigh of relief and slumps back against the table, all the tension leaving her body. The Doctor's screams have quieted, and Rose can only hope that means they've given him a break until Mr. Devlin appears. She wishes desperately that she could lay eyes on him, confirm for herself that he's alive, if not well.
"Doctor?" she calls, as loudly as she can.
"I'm alright." He doesn't sound alright. He sounds the very opposite of alright, but Rose can't confirm that for herself, so she has to take his word for it.
"I love you," Rose says, her voice wavering.
"I love you too."
Rose closes her eyes, letting those words, words she waited so long to hear, wash over her. They wrap around her like a warm blanket, healing her wounds and lifting her spirit. They will get out of this. They will.
It feels like ages of waiting in silence for this Devlin bloke to appear, and Rose wonders if that isn't on purpose, another torture tactic to drive Rose out of her mind. She's just about to start talking to herself, out loud, when she hears the series of clicks and grinding gears that signal the door unlocking.
Two commandos come in, flanking a man in a sharp, tailored business suit. He's tall and lithe, a bit similar to Rose's first Doctor, except with a full head of jet black hair and a shadow of stubble along his jaw. He would be devastatingly attractive if not for the cold soullessness of his grey eyes.
He sneers at Rose in greeting.
"Rose Tyler," he says in a clipped, posh accent. Chills race across Rose's skin.
"You're this Devlin I'm supposed to be afraid of?" she asks. Mr. Devlin's eyes narrow just slightly and it makes Rose feel like needles of ice are pricking her skin. She understands now why the commandos said she would rather deal with them.
"I am Mr. Devlin." He doesn't address how she should feel about him. Instead, he takes a seat in the empty chair before her and regards her coolly. "Why did you come here today?"
Rose blinks. So far they've only asked her what she is, not why she showed up at the Summit. It throws her for a second.
"Um, my…boss was invited. I'm his plus one."
"And your boss is Dr. Smith, who we've got in the room next door?" Mr. Devlin asks.
"Yes."
"Is he more than simply your boss?"
"No." Rose's answer is automatic. She knows that admitting to a relationship with the Doctor other than a strictly professional one will be disastrous. They're already using him to get to her, and she can't imagine how their torture would escalate if they knew the truth.
Mr. Devlin smiles at her like her mother smiles at small children, the kind of smile that's both condescending and pitying at the same time, and Rose half expects him to pat her on the head.
"Now, Ms. Tyler, we both know you're lying. Tell me the truth, and I'll let your lover go."
"I'm telling you the truth. I'm human. I don't know what you think I am or what you want to hear, but I'm human." Rose is so terrified, she's lost the ability to be snarky. She honestly doesn't know what to tell them. She's human. She's always been human. Why won't they just believe her?
Mr. Devlin reaches out to twirl a strand of Rose's hair around his finger. She flinches and he lets out a soft chuckle.
"It doesn't matter if you know what you are or not. Do you know what happened when you thought we were going to hurt Dr. Smith? You glowed. Humans don't glow, darling. I think that if we can find just the right button to press, you'll show us what you are yet again. And we will keep pressing that button until we know what your power is and how we can use it."
Rose jerks her head back so that her hair slides through his fingers and falls from his hands. Fear and anger simmer in her veins as she narrows her eyes. She doesn't care what they do to her anymore, but they won't hurt the Doctor. They were scared of her before, maybe she can make them scared of her again.
"You can't possibly conceive the true measure of my power," she says. She isn't sure where the words are coming from, but they appear on her tongue like magic and deep down she knows them to be true, though she doesn't know how it's possible. "What you saw before was a wisp, a breath of my potential. Should you somehow manage to unleash the full strength of it, you will wish you'd never been born."
For a long moment, Mr. Devlin simply stares at her. There isn't a flicker of fear in his eyes, though his commandos back up a few steps.
"I think it's time we reunite the doomed lovers," he finally says, his voice hard. Rose fights not to sob with relief. To lay eyes on the Doctor, to see for herself the damage they've caused, is more than she could have hoped for.
The blokes in black unbind her and pull her roughly to her feet before shackling her hands in front of her. One bends down to shackle her ankles as well, and it occurs to Rose that this would be the perfect moment to fight for freedom. It might be her only moment, but she can't bring herself to make a break for it without at least seeing the Doctor first.
They're not gentle as they pull her from the room and down the hall. Rose stumbles more than once, and they yank her to her feet before pushing her farther along the way. Though the room where they're keeping the Doctor is right next to hers, the doors are as far apart as they can be, and the journey feels endless.
Finally, the commando opens the door and shoves her inside.
The sight of the Doctor is the only thing that keeps Rose from falling. He's restrained just as she was, but there are wires connected to his head and his bare chest. Every bit of skin Rose can see is black and blue, and he's covered in cuts that leak blood. Rose knows that the Doctor heals faster than humans, superior Time Lord biology, and he's been left alone for at least an hour. To still look so battered, Rose can't imagine what he looked like before.
The breath leaves her lungs.
"Hello," the Doctor croaks, trying for a smile but only managing a grimace.
"Oh Doctor," Rose breathes. She starts forward, desperate to touch him, to kiss him and reassure him, but the bloody bastards hold her back. "Let me go!"
"Now, now, Ms. Tyler. We've just given you something you desperately wanted, you must give us something in return before we give you more. What are you?" Mr. Devlin asks. Rose meets the Doctor's gaze as she responds.
"Human."
One of the commandos moves to the Doctor's side and flips some kind of switch. A current of electricity pulses through the Doctor. His muscles seize and his body bows off the table.
"Stop!" Rose cries. The commando flips the switch off.
#
The Doctor is gasping for air when the man in combat gear stops the electrocution. Even his respiratory bypass can't keep up with the voltage passing through his body. They've put him through the paces, using every method they know to make him scream. He knows it's for Rose's benefit, they've said as much, so he's tried to stay quiet, but there comes a point when no one can stay silent through the pain. Not even a Time Lord.
One of his hearts has already stopped beating, and they haven't given him a respite long enough to start it again. Too much more of this torture and they'll force him to regenerate, which would be a disaster of epic proportions. Not to mention he doesn't want Rose to have to live through another one. She stuck by him once, and he's sure she would again, but he could end up a decrepit old man again, someone she would hate making love to. He doesn't want that.
"Rose," he whispers. The man in the suit stops questioning her, and Rose falls silent.
"Yeah, Doctor?"
"Do you remember when I…changed, the last time?" Rose's eyes flick between him and the man in the suit. The man watches them with shrewd eyes, waiting to see if they'll give him something more to use against Rose.
"Yes," she whispers. He sees her swallow hard and he knows what she's thinking. Not because he's a telepath, but because he knows her that well.
"I'm not going to do that again. I'm choosing not to do that again, no matter what. Do you understand?" He spends a moment cataloging each piece of her reaction; her eyes go slightly wide and her heart races. He can see the moisture in her eyes.
"Yes," she says through her tears.
"Oh Rose. Whatever happens, I love you. Meeting you, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. You took a scared, broken man and made him whole. You made me better. I love you so much for that, my Rose. Remember that."
He says everything that's in his heart, everything he wants her to know when he's gone. He doesn't say goodbye.
#
The Doctor is saying goodbye. He isn't saying the words, but Rose knows that's what he's doing. He must be close to regenerating, and he won't let these mental wankers learn what a powerful weapon they have in him.
Rose can barely see through her tears and she lifts her shackled hands, trying to wipe them away. She doesn't want her last view of the Doctor veiled by her tears.
"Time to go," Mr. Devlin says. The commandos roughly pull her away towards the door.
"No," Rose says, trying to race forward. She has to kiss the Doctor, hold his hand one last time. She has to comfort him, let him know that she'll be okay, even if she barely believes it herself. "No!"