A/N: Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy this latest chapter, if you do, leave reviews!
We're getting down to the end of this story, unfortunately. Only a couple more chapters to go. But if you're enjoying this, don't worry, I'm already working on my next DW fic, a Human AU featuring Ten and Rose. So something to look forward to, at least.
Enjoy!
Chapter 11 – Rose and Ten
It's eerie, Rose thinks, to walk down the street and have everyone's eyes slide right over you. It's as though she doesn't exist, which is fantastic for their mission, but unsettling none the less. She and the Doctor hurry down the street, eager to get in and out with the TARDIS as fast as possible.
"How will we get in?" Rose asks, tightening her hand around the Doctor's.
"Front door?"
"Too easy," Rose says. "And they'll probably still have the building on lock down."
Sure enough, the main entrance is heavily guarded by more of the commandos. The Doctor is sure that these guards have at least some measure of psychic training, and would see right past the perception filters if he and Rose were to get too close.
"What about a back door?" Rose asks. The Doctor scans the area for a potential entrance and they discuss ways of getting inside. Their heads are bent so close together, and they're so intent on their task, they never hear the light footsteps coming up behind them.
"Put your hands up and stand slowly." The woman's voice behind them shakes a bit as she issues the command. The Doctor watches all the color drain from Rose's face, and he feels the same happen to his own. His twin hearts gallop into a rhythm so fast he feels faint.
He and Rose turn as they stand, each movement slow and precise so they don't spook the young commando with her gun trained on them. The Doctor starts edging in front of Rose, wanting more than anything to keep her from suffering more pain and torture. He doesn't care about himself, only her.
The guard before them looks younger even than Rose, with light hair tied into a severe bun and a heart shaped face that would be pretty if she didn't look so terrified. The gun in her hands trembles slightly, and the Doctor wonders if she's ever even used it before.
"It's you," she whispers, her eyes darting back and forth between the Doctor and Rose. "You're the two who broke out of here. Why can't I see you properly?"
The Doctor nods. No use in lying to her.
"We're wearing a…cloaking device. How did you see us in the first place? Do you have psychic abilities?"
The girl's eyes dart around the area, assessing the entire situation. The Doctor waits, barely breathing. He feels Rose's fingers curl into the back of his shirt, anchoring them together.
"Slight. They've been training me, trying to amplify my ability, but so far it's just barely there," she finally answers, all in a rush of breath.
"Listen," Rose says quietly from behind the Doctor. He tenses, wanting to keep as much attention off of her as possible, but not able to stop her. "I don't know what Mr. Devlin has told you about who or what we are, but we aren't here to hurt anyone. If you'll just let us go…"
"Oh! I'm not going to hurt you," the girl says, her eyes going wide. The Doctor looks pointedly at the barrel of her gun, still trained on his chest. She shakes her head. "Safety's on. It's just for show, just in case someone sees us. I want to help you do…whatever you're doing."
"Why?" Rose asks. She eases out from behind the shield of his body and the Doctor clenches his fists to stop himself from acting like a caveman, as Rose would say.
The girl frowns, like she's trying to order her thoughts, and then sighs.
"I lost my sister in Canary Wharf. After that, I was lost. I wanted to do something to help, and Mr. Devlin said that's what we would be doing; defending the Earth, keeping it safe from outside threats. That's what I signed up for, not torture. Not killing aliens to harness their power."
The Doctor badly wants to ask what happened in Canary Wharf, the name itself sends shivers down his spine for a reason he can't pinpoint, but knows better than to risk damaging the timelines. Rose, silent beside him, is thinking the same thing.
"What's your name?" Rose asks.
"Jen."
"Well then, Jen," the Doctor says, grinning broadly at the rhyme. "If you're willing to help, we need to get inside. We left something when we escaped, and we need it back."
Jen nods, biting her lip as she thinks of a way to get them inside. Then she straightens, and tilts her chin towards the back of the building.
"There's a door in the back, only the guards use it. It's not guarded because it needs a keycard, a passcode, and a fingerprint to get inside. I can take you in that way."
The Doctor and Rose set off behind Jen, hoping that Jen's presence will aid the perception filters in hiding them from view. They get inside with little trouble, and between the Doctor and Rose, they find the TARDIS quickly. It is indeed inside a lab being used for storage.
"I don't have the security clearance to get in here," Jen says, sounding dismayed. Rose makes a soothing noise as the Doctor reaches for his sonic.
"Not to worry, I have…" his hand comes up empty. Another search of his bigger-on-the-inside pockets yields the same, nothing.
"My sonic…"
"They must have taken it when you were captured," Rose says.
"I need that sonic, Rose," the Doctor says, staring at his empty hand. Jen sighs.
"I'll get it. What's it look like?" she asks. The Doctor describes it to her.
"I was in a room two floors up from here, halfway down the hall on the right. I don't know if that's where they would have left it, but it's a start," the Doctor says.
Jen nods, "I'll be back, quick as I can."
"I don't know that we can wait for it," the Doctor says, watching Jen scamper off. Rose trails her fingers over the keypad.
"I could try using Bad Wolf, if there's anything left," she offers. She's never deliberately called it before, but she can still feel the spark of power deep in her mind. She might be able to do it. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, but the Doctor's hand, cool and hard around her wrist, stops her.
"No!" he hisses, ripping her hand from the keypad. She frowns at him.
"Why not?"
"We don't know what it's doing to you, Rose. You've used it too much already, we have no idea how this repeated exposure is affecting you, what it's costing you!"
"Well it's the only plan we've got right now, isn't it?" Rose counters, her volume rising to rival Jackie's as she plants her hands on her hips.
"We've managed just fine without out it until now! We'll find another way." The Doctor's tone brooks no argument, but Rose opens her mouth to retort anyway. He's being thick about the whole thing.
She barely gets a breath out before the Doctor throws up his hands.
"What if it's now?" he snaps. "What if this is the adventure that takes you from me?"
Rose deflates, his terror practically screaming at her through the bond. She takes his face in her hands, plants a kiss on his forehead.
"We can't live like that, Doctor. We can't, or it will get worse and worse until all we ever do is float in the Vortex or hang around Mum's flat." Rose smiles at the tiny shudder that runs through him. He sighs, his breath warm on her face.
"I'm not saying we avoid life, just that we shouldn't take unnecessary risks with the power that destroyed the Daleks."
Rose goes to respond but is interrupted once more by Jen jogging down the hall, the sonic in her hand. She sighs, knowing that the point is moot, and steps back so the Doctor can open the door. They slip inside, Jen close behind them, keeping watch.
The TARDIS is easy enough to spot once they're inside, though it is partially hidden behind random bits and bobs. The Doctor strides up to it and fits his key into the lock.
Nothing. The key won't turn. The Doctor pulls on the doors, but they just rattle.
"But…but…" he stammers.
"What? Did you change the locks?" Rose asks, frowning.
"No, key still fits. She won't let me in!" He presses his forehead to the door, screwing his eyes shut. Rose comes up beside him and lays her palm against the door.
I don't know if you can hear me anymore, old girl, but please let us in. I know this isn't your current Doctor, and I know we shouldn't be here, but we're trying to take you to him. He's hurt, we're in trouble, and the only way out is if you let us in. Please. Rose pushes her thoughts at the TARDIS and feels a fond thrum from the ship. The doors swing open, the Doctor stumbling in and nearly landing on his face.
"What? What?! How did you do that?" he asks. Rose shrugs.
"I asked," she says. They continue up the ramp towards the console and it takes them a long moment to recognize that everything is different from the TARDIS they know. It's cold and clinical and more like a spaceship from the movies might look.
"He's redecorated," the Doctor says quietly. Rose shudders.
"I don't like it," she says firmly. The Doctor shakes his head.
"Nor do I." Rose circles the console, trailing her fingers along the sleek buttons and levers, so different from the TARDIS she knows and loves. The warm thrum in the back of her mind, however, is the same and it welcomes her happily. She's overcome with the sensation that the TARDIS has desperately missed her.
"I'm sorry, for whatever happens," Rose whispers, stroke the time rotor. Then she shakes her head clear and looks to the Doctor.
"Want to get out of here?" she asks. The Doctor shakes his head.
"One last thing to do," he says, making his way back to the doors. Jen is hovering outside, her back to the doors. Rose hopes that the Doctor will offer her a trip in thanks for her help.
"What?"
"We have to take care of Devlin, make sure this goes no further." Rose follows him out, making sure the TARDIS leaves her doors open, and watches as he sits down at a seemingly broken computer. A few moments of tinkering with the sonic and the computer comes to life, the Doctor's fingers flying quickly over the keyboard. Rose waits silently while he works, wondering what he'll do. She saw him end Harriet Jones' career with just six words, surely he can take care of Mr. Devlin just as easily.
After a few moments, the Doctor digs a flashdrive out of his pocket and sticks it into the computer. There's more typing, and then the Doctor removes the drive with a flourish.
"Jen! Feel like taking this espionage a little further?" the Doctor asks. Jen steps forward, her shoulders back, and holds out her hand for the little plastic stick.
"What is it?" she asks.
"The program that will stop Devlin in his tracks. Take that to Devlin's headquarters and plug it into his computer, if you can get to it. If not, any computer connected to the network there will do. The program will take care of the rest."
"Right."
"Now go, before someone realizes you're helping us." Jen nods and goes to salute, but stops herself at the Doctor's grimace. She turns towards the doors, making her way out, and Rose clears her throat, nudging the Doctor with her elbow.
"What?"
"Thank you. Say thank you."
"Oh! Jen?" The young commando turns around, and the Doctor smiles at her. "Thank you."
When she's gone, the Doctor stands and ushers Rose back to the TARDIS.
"What does the program do?" Rose asks. He shrugs, fiddling with the console.
"A little of this, a little of that; Devlin won't be a problem anymore. Why won't she leave?" The Doctor asks. Rose realizes that he's tried to send them into flight several times, but the TARDIS just shudders and stays put.
Rose feels a stubborn refusal in her mind.
"I don't think she's going to let you fly her."
"She wants me to try emergency program one, but that isn't going to take us where we want to go," the Doctor says, sticking his lower lip out in a pout. Rose can't help but smile at her Doctor.
"Use it. We'll find a way to get our TARDIS to wherever we end up."
The Doctor sets emergency program one in action, and both he and Rose deliberately avoid watching or listening to the recording, wary of anything that could unknowingly spoil their future. When the TARDIS lands, it's outside an estate building that looks incredibly similar to the Powell Estates. Rose can only assume that it's Clara's home.
As they step outside, the Doctor takes the TARDIS key from around Rose's neck and presses the sonic to it. Moments later, the sounds of their TARDIS materializing fill the air. It lands just a few feet away from its twin, and the doors open invitingly.
"Shall we go home?" the Doctor asks, holding his hand out and wiggling his fingers.
"We shall." Rose gives him her trademark, tongue touched grin, and takes his hand.