Fic Repost: The Next Christmas Invasion (Ten II/Rose) (2/2)
Title: The Next Christmas Invasion (2/2)
Authors: goldy_dollar, mrv3000 and shinyopals
Rating: PG
Summary: The Doctor and Rose are looking forward to a completely ordinary first Christmas in Pete's World. Unfortunately, their version of ordinary involves an alien invasion.
Pairing: Ten II/Rose
Disclaimer: We are RTD. Really we are. All three of us.
Beta: Thank you, rynne!
Original post here.
Ten minutes later, Rose drew in a pained breath, pressing her hand against the stitch in her side. Christmas dinner was just not a good idea before chasing down a bomb planted by aliens intent on destroying the Earth's population and setting up a bug colony. The turkey and stuffing sat heavily in her stomach and Rose slowed her pace, trying to keep her breaths even and doing her best not to be ill.
“Rose!”
She jumped at the Doctor’s voice, and noticed that he’d pulled quite a distance ahead of her. He disappeared around a corner. Rose put on a burst of speed to catch up-and then immediately wished she hadn’t.
Christmas dinner was definitely on the way up.
She turned the corner and then braced her hand against a pipe and leaned over, stomach churning. Up ahead, the Doctor stopped and began slugging back to her, speaking urgently.
“Rose, as far as we know, that bomb is set to go off in ten minutes. If we don’t get there before then, it’s going to poison the whole world.”
“I know,” Rose said. “You go on up ahead.”
He frowned at her, seeming to notice her discomfort for the first time. “You all right?”
“Fine,” she snapped. “It’s just not a bright idea to run three clicks after turkey and stuffing, yeah?”
“Oh,” said the Doctor. “I hadn’t noticed. It’s probably my Time Lord biology. I can digest food at a higher rate than-”
“Yeah, yeah,” Rose said. “Listen, you go on. I’m just gonna be… sick.”
She leaned over, holding her hair back with one hand, when something grabbed her from behind. She shrieked in surprise and she vaguely registered the Doctor springing forward and yelling, “You leave her alone! LET HER GO RIGHT NOW!”
It was never good when the Doctor shouted, Rose thought, swallowing past the bile rising in her throat. A giant claw wrapped around her neck and yanked her backwards. Rose’s feet slipped against the sewer’s slippery surface and she fell back against the being that had taken her hostage. The lk'ljks, she realized with a shiver of fear.
The Doctor was still yelling. “LET HER GO, I’M WARNING YOU, YOU DO NOT WANT TO MESS WITH ME-”
Rose tuned him out and tried to struggle out of the lk'ljk’s grip. She tried to reach for the gun still attached to her belt, but the lk'ljk anticipated her, one of its claws swiping at the gun. A moment later, Rose heard it clatter to the ground. The lk'ljk hissed something in her ear that she couldn’t understand and tightened its arm around Rose’s neck. Rose choked and she pushed at the lk'ljk’s giant claw to no avail. Finally, vision darkening, she stopped struggling and went limp in the lk'ljk’s arms. The alien relaxed his hold and Rose coughed, gasping in huge mouthfuls of air.
She looked around her, desperately trying to get her bearings. There were at least three lk'ljks-the one that had grabbed her, and two on each of its sides.
The Doctor stopped yelling, his face unusually pale even for him. One of his hands twitched next to his pocket like he was debating whether or not he had time to reach for the sonic screwdriver before the lk'ljk hurt her-or worse.
His eyes flicked over to meet hers. “Go,” she croaked out. “Don’t worry about me.”
The Doctor shook his head and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He clamped it shut, but didn’t move, staring at her with wide eyes.
“If that bomb goes off, the whole planet dies.” Tears welled in her eyes, but she swallowed past them. “You’ve got to go.”
He didn’t move; he just continued staring at her. Rose felt a tear roll past her cheek, but she pressed her lips together and stared back at him bravely, silently urging him on.
The lk'ljk jerked her backwards and then said something in their hissing and jumbled tongue. The Doctor’s eyes darkened and he glared at them before responding in the same hissing language, his tone quiet and urgent. Rose found it more chilling than when he’d been shouting.
“What did they say?” she asked.
“That they’ll kill you if I go.”
She tried to smile and couldn’t quite manage it. “Course. And what’d you say?”
“That it would be a very, very big mistake on their part.”
Rose felt a surge of affection for him sweep through her. She tried struggling against her captor again, but nothing happened. She slumped in defeat.
“Doctor,” she said, “if you don’t stop that bomb, I’m going to be dead anyway.”
The Doctor dragged his gaze back to hers, something deep and indefinable in his eyes. “I can’t. I can’t save the city and lose you. It’d mean nothing.”
“Don’t say that.” She paused. “Doctor, please. You’ve got to.”
He hesitated and then turned his attention to the lk'ljks. He hissed something in their dialect and then turned around, taking off down the sewer again.
Rose barely had time to register that this might be the last time she ever saw him before the lk'ljk clenched her elbow with its spare claw and pulled. There was a crack and Rose bit down on her lip to hold back her cry, causing it to split, but she couldn’t quite muffle her whimper of pain. The coppery taste of blood filling her mouth, and she jerked her head around to look at her arm. It looked... weird--all bent out of shape and hanging in the wrong direction. Her stomach churned, and she hurriedly turned away. Small moans of pain passed through her lips and she clamped her mouth together, trying not to alert the Doctor.
It was no good. Down the sewer tunnel, the Doctor stopped, his back still to them. Then, seeming to come to a decision, he whirled back around and stalked towards them. He reached into his pocket and emerged with the sonic screwdriver, face tight and furious.
The lk'ljk pulled on Rose’s elbow again and she cried out, the colour draining from her face. The lk'ljks hissed something at the Doctor, but he didn’t stop his stride towards them.
“Oh, I wouldn’t hurt the one thing still keeping you alive,” he said before responding to the lk'ljks in their clipped, hissing tone. "It's your choice," he finished, in English, and Rose realized it was for her benefit, not theirs. "We can contact your homeworld and find you another planet."
They hissed back at him, and the one holding onto Rose began to shake, its free claw gesturing wildly in the air. Rose watched with a hazy, hooded gaze, only aware of the heavy, pounding pain in her arm. She shook her head, trying to clear it. Any moment now that bomb would go off, poisoning the entire world, and it would be over for all of them.
He shouldn’t have come back, she thought angrily, thinking of her mum, dad, and Tony, tucked up at home, waiting for them to get back so they could open their presents. The Doctor had just killed them. With some shame, she found herself thinking that the Time Lord Doctor would have done it-gone on without her to save the city.
The lk'ljk holding Rose jerked her backward, his claw arm pressing, pressing against her chest. Her arms and legs flailed instinctively and she heard something in her chest snap. She cried out.
"Stop it, stop it right now," the Doctor called, and then continued hissing in the lk'ljk language.
They hissed something back at him, but the lk'ljk didn't release his fierce grip on Rose. Finally, the Doctor took a few steps back and lowered the sonic screwdriver. The lk'ljk relaxed his hold on Rose. She released a sharp, gasping breath.
"I warned you," said the Doctor, and his face was cold, so unlike the soft warmth Rose had grown so used to seeing in his eyes. "You had one chance. Let her go or-”
He never finished his sentence. Instead, he pointed the sonic screwdriver at the pipe jutting out of the wall. The sonic screwdriver whirred to life and a moment later the pipe split, water gushing out of it and hitting Rose and the lk'ljks in the chest. She sputtered as the cold water slammed into her. It felt like a giant weight was being pressed into her, but the lk'ljk’s hold on her loosened. She reacted immediately, throwing her good elbow back into its armoured chest and kicking backwards at him with her legs.
The claw around her neck twitched and then began to fall away. Rose opened her mouth, sucking in a gulp of water before sputtering. The pain in her arm flared to life again and she squeezed her eyes shut, blackness beckoning.
Then a hand wrapped around her good arm, yanking her to her feet. Rose came back to awareness with a jerk and coughed out the rest of the water.
“Come on, come on,” said a familiar voice. “Rose, stay with me.”
“Doctor,” she said in relief, eyes opening. She staggered, and his arm slid around her waist, coaxing her forward.
She leaned against him and he spoke urgently into her ear, “Rose, we have to get out of here. You’ve got to keep moving. I’m sorry. I am.”
“Right, yeah, I’m fine,” she said. Her injured arm hung limply at her side, useless and unmoving. She blinked at it, and then remembered. “Doctor, what about the city-the bomb, it’s going to go off and-”
“Shhh,” he said. “I contacted Torchwood. They’re going at it from another point. They won’t know the technology like I do, but I’d give them-oh, a sixty/forty chance of stopping it?”
“Those odds could be better.”
The Doctor ignored her. “Come on, we’ve got to get you out of here.” He looked around, gaze falling on a ladder that led to the surface. He glanced back at Rose hesitantly.
“Yeah, there’s no way I’m gonna be able to climb that,” Rose said. “And anyway, we’ve got to keep moving. We’ve got to get to that bomb, yeah?”
“We’ve got to get you to the nearest hospital,” the Doctor said. “Torchwood can handle it.”
“Since when? You hate letting Torchwood do anything on its own,” Rose shot back. She stopped moving and pulled away from him, breathing hard and struggling to ignore the pain in her arm. “I’m not leaving.”
The Doctor looked frustrated, but he glanced behind him, frowning as the sounds of scuffling claws against the ground got louder.
“Well, we can’t stand here,” he said. “They’re slow, but they’ve got massive amounts of stored up energy. We have to put as much distance between us as we can.”
He reached for her hand, body tense and worried as he urged her on.
--------------------
“Ooh, look at that,” said the Doctor, as they entered the cavern where the bomb was hidden. He bounded up to the bomb and let go of Rose's hand to put on his glasses. “That is fearsome technology.”
Rose blinked at the bomb doubtfully. It looked like a giant piece of neon green Play-Doh that someone had slapped together and accidentally abandoned. The Doctor circled it, making low, appreciative noises in his throat.
“Ma’am,” said the closest Torchwood expert. “We’ve managed to stall the bomb, but we have yet to find a way to shut it down permanently.”
“That’s because you didn’t have me,” said the Doctor, head popping up on the other side of the bomb. He waved the sonic screwdriver around and then leaned forward to study the readings. “Fascinating.”
Rose almost laughed, but a sudden, sharp pain in her chest reminded her that it wasn’t such a great idea. The Doctor glanced over at her, face tightening in worry. “Rose?”
“I’m fine,” she said. He watched her hesitantly, and she suddenly realized that he wouldn’t be able to focus with her standing next to him. She forced a smile. “I’m gonna go keep watch. You work on shutting that thing down.”
He looked like he might argue, but then he nodded and returned to the bomb. Rose edged to the cavern’s entrance. The Doctor had given her his jacket to use as a makeshift sling, and she kept her arm cradled close to her body, gritting her teeth against the steady waves of pain that hit her.
She glanced behind her, relieved to find the Doctor completely focused on the bomb. She was reluctant to tell him she now suspected cracked ribs in addition to her broken arm, but the fact was, she didn’t think she’d be able to stay standing for much longer. Her head felt like someone had opened it up and shoved it full of cotton, and each breath was a pained struggle.
She clenched her jaw and leaned heavily against the nearest wall. She just needed to make sure he disabled that bomb. She could hold out that long.
Time passed. Rose wasn’t sure how long. Every few minutes, Rose heard the Doctor cry “Ha!” or “Nearly there!” and the circling Torchwood experts all jumped at his outbursts. She felt her eyes drift shut, somehow soothed by the scene behind her-they’d done this millions of times before, and the Doctor always came through in the end. She could let her eyes rest for a bit, just until he was finished.
Her head lolled heavily to the side, cheek pressed against the cold, wet cement. That’s when she heard it-that click, click, clicking from before. Bugs, she thought, some sort of fear getting through the heavy fog in her head.
Bugs.
Rose’s head jerked up, arm giving a furious twitch of pain as she did so. She stumbled backwards, almost falling over her feet. When did her legs get so heavy?
The shadow of one antenna appeared in the sewer’s corridor. Rose whirled around, eyes falling on the Doctor. His tongue was out in concentration, sonic screwdriver near the top of the bomb.
“Doctor,” she said. “They’re here. The lk'ljks.”
He looked up, sonic screwdriver still buzzing in his hand. His gaze was unfocused as he thought. Finally, he turned to the Torchwood expert on his right.
“Give me your gun.”
“What?”
“Just do it,” he said.
The Torchwood expert glanced in Rose’s direction and she nodded. “Whatever he wants, Henry.”
The expert reluctantly handed the gun over to the Doctor, and he promptly began poking at it with the sonic screwdriver.
There was a spark and the Torchwood expert made a grunting noise in his throat. “Oi, what do you think you’re doing-”
“Hold on, hold on,” said the Doctor, putting up one hand to shush him. “Nearly there-”
The gun sparked again, jumping in the Doctor’s hand. He made a hum of approval and then handed it back to the Torchwood expert. “All set.” He turned to address the rest of them and raised his voice. “Everyone else-find a dry place to stand.”
Everyone stared at him blankly. “You heard him,” said Rose, who was used to the Doctor’s strange commands by now. “Find a dry spot. Do it.”
“Um, Ma’am? We’re standing in a sewer-”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said the Doctor, waving a hand dismissively. He bent down to study the gun he’d just altered with the sonic screwdriver, and then fixed his gaze on the Torchwood expert. “Listen, the lk'ljks are a genetically created race, bred with the single purpose of serving their leader. Their minds are linked, connected by a low-level telepathic field-”
“Oh!” Rose called out. “Like the Ood!”
The Doctor sent her a quick grin. “Exactly. Except unlike the Ood, each tribe of lk'ljks has one leader who controls the telepathic link. Normally he's protected, but right now they're low on numbers so he's out here getting his hands dirty and looking for us!” He turned back to the Torchwood expert. “Henry, is it? Well, Henry-” The Doctor leaned in closer before tilting his head towards the three lk'ljks creeping towards them. Their angry hissing made it clear they hadn’t forgotten the Doctor’s earlier attack. He pointed towards an unremarkable looking lk'ljks at the back of the three. “You hit one that one there right now and you hit them all. ”
Rose frowned, suddenly uncomfortable with where this was heading. “Hold on. Does that mean that if we kill one of them, we’ll… we’ll be wiping them all out?”
The Doctor glanced at her. “No. But it’ll hurt.” Then he really looked at her, eyes suddenly fearful. “Rose-” He was by her side in an instant, hands falling to her waist and none-too-gently pulling her backwards. “What did I say about finding a dry spot?”
“Oh,” said Rose, stumbling and using his arm as a crutch, “I hadn’t noticed.”
There was a clicking noise, and the Doctor cricked his head around, calling, “Now, Henry!”
Henry pulled the trigger on the gun. A beam of light particles shot out, hitting the back lk'ljk in the chest. The lk'ljk jerked and then screeched, body beginning to spasm as electric bolts snapped and cracked against his body. The two other lk'ljks joined his screams, their bodies beginning to jerk and twitch in the same way.
“What’s happening?” Rose whispered. The light hurt her eyes, but she found herself unable to turn away from their agonized screaming.
“They’re being electrocuted,” said the Doctor dully, watching the scene before him impassively. “With the amount of water I sprayed them with earlier… well, it’d be a miracle if they survived. And it should slow the rest of the colony down.”
“Doctor-”
“I didn’t have a choice, Rose.”
She drew in a sharp breath, the pain in her chest making her wheeze. It was an effort to get words out and a bead of sweat broke out on her forehead. “Why? Because they hurt me? Or ‘cos of the bomb?”
"I gave them a choice," he said quietly.
It didn't exactly answer her question, but Rose reckoned that if something hurt the Doctor, she'd react similarly.
The three lk'ljks finished jerking and then fell to the ground, smoke rising from their burned bodies. Henry glanced from his gun to the charred remains of the lk'ljks, looking like he might be sick.
Rose’s vision swam, her legs beginning to shake. She unconsciously reached for the Doctor, hand closing on empty air.
“Right, then,” she heard him say, “now, to shut this thing off…”
“Doctor-” she began, mouth forming the word, but nothing coming out. She pursed her lips and struggled to take in a steady gulp of air. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. She tried again. “Doctor.”
This time, he looked over. “What’s wrong?”
Her mouth opened soundlessly, and she swayed, stumbling over her feet. The Doctor’s eyes widened and he rushed towards her to break her fall.
He caught her before she hit the ground. “That, Rose Tyler, was dangerously close to a swoon,” he said, voice light, but his eyes were worried.
She smiled fondly at him. “Don’t tell my mum,” she tried to say. And then passed out.
--------------------
Rose came-to hearing the Doctor's voice, high-pitched and strained. "The right sixth and seventh ribs are fractured as well as the ulna and radius..."
"Sir," replied an unfamiliar voice, "we're going to have to take x-rays to know that for sure."
"Backwards, primitive...! I'm telling you what's wrong with her! You people and your radiation to see things and...and poking things into people! And don't get me started on cutting people open; it's practically the Middle Ages!"
"She's not going into surgery..."
"Of course she's not going into surgery! Why would you even say that?"
"Sir, I really should be talking to a family member."
"That's me. Her...person you should most definitely be talking to about any sort of problems - big, medium, small, tiny. If you want to change her socks, I need to be asked."
Rose tried to laugh and mock him about the socks, but nothing was coming out.
"Oh my God." That was her mum. "What's happened to her?"
Rose finally managed to open her eyes, and the Doctor and her mother swooped in on either side of her.
"Hello," Rose said softly.
"Hey there," the Doctor said, his eyes intense. "Welcome back."
"Did you fix the bomb?"
"Piece of cake. Another team found Kevin...or what's left of him, and the rest of the lk'ljk seem to be surrendering on their own. Their only hope to take over gone, they just want off this planet now. You don't have to think about it."
"How are you, sweetheart?" Jackie smoothed Rose's hair.
"All right, Mum. Don't worry."
"I bloody well will worry when I see my daughter banged up and in the hospital. Someone needs to tell me what's wrong with her right now!"
"She has two broken ribs..." started the Doctor.
"Ma'am, we're going to need to take some x-rays to find out what's wrong with her," the medical doctor interrupted.
The Doctor and the doctor glared at each other.
Jackie looked at them both before saying, "Just tell me what's wrong, Doctor. Not you," she said looking at the unfamiliar man. "You," she said to the Doctor.
"She has two broken ribs and her arm is broken in two places near the elbow. Her arm will need to be set and her ribs will have to heal on their own. All of which would have been quick and easy if I had the TARDIS."
"Bad luck this happening now instead of just a bit later," Rose said, attempting a weak smile.
"She passed out from the pain," the Doctor continued, "and not from a concussion or anything else."
"Did not. I was just resting my eyes. Mum, you should get back to Tony."
"Oh, it'd be fine for me to leave you like this," she replied sarcastically.
"It's still Christmas, yeah?" Rose looked around to nods. "Go home and let him open his presents and eat too many sweets. It's better than sitting around here watching me get an x-ray..." Rose watched as the Doctor shot the other doctor another glare. "...and whatever else, and then his Christmas will be gone. Please, Mum."
Jackie reached for Rose's good hand, and smoothed back her hair with her other hand. "Tony can wait, sweetheart. Christmas isn't about presents. It's about all of us being together. The important thing is that you're okay."
The Doctor hovered behind Jackie, looking like he very much wanted to be the one holding Rose's hand and petting her hair. Rose felt a pang. She wanted to be close to him, too, after what they'd just gone through.
"I know, but--"
"I'm just going to stay right here," Jackie said, dropping into a chair next to Rose's bed and wriggling until she got comfortable. "I'll be right next to you the whole time, sweetheart."
The Doctor emitted an audible sigh, and went back over to annoy the medical doctor, probably to release his frustration. The medical doctor twitched when he saw him coming and attempted unsuccessfully to back out of the room. The Doctor blocked his path and reached for the clipboard he was holding.
"Pah. Rubbish," said the Doctor, fishing out his glasses to read the clipboard. And then, "I'll have to test these drugs before you give them to her..."
Rose began to think the Doctor might get escorted out by security before they managed to get a proper hello. She turned back to Jackie. "Mum," she said and squeezed her hand. "I love you so, so much, but I... I think I need to be with the Doctor right now."
There was a moment of heavy silence. The Doctor glanced over, still holding the medical doctor's clipboard, and tried not to look too hopeful.
For a horrible second, Rose thought Jackie might cry, but then she pulled herself together and forced a smile. "Of course you do." She leaned over and kissed Rose's cheek, smoothing her hand over her hair one more time before standing. "Give us a call when you're ready to go home. I'll have Pete send over a car."
"Right," Rose said, "thanks."
Jackie's eyes flickered over to the Doctor with what Rose recognized as her "this isn't over" look. The Doctor shifted uncomfortably, and handed the clipboard back to the medical doctor in an attempt to look busy.
Rose could sense the Doctor's relief as soon as Jackie left. He was by Rose's side in an instant, dropping down into the chair Jackie vacated. He reached for Rose's good hand, his other hand going to her face, fingers tracing her nose and cheeks before brushing her hair back.
"Hi," Rose said, leaning into his touch and smiling. "How're you? You okay?"
"Yeah," he said. Then he shook himself, and glanced at her injuries. Rose could practically see his brain cataloguing each of her various hurts. "Well, no. Not really."
Rose squeezed his fingers. "I'm glad you're here."
The medical doctor cleared his throat and they both looked over in confusion. Rose had almost forgotten he was still there.
"Listen," Rose said. "Just... get me the consent form. For x-rays, surgery--whatever."
"You don't need surgery," the Doctor muttered. "Or x-rays for that matter. I can--"
Rose squeezed his hand to get him to shut up, and the medical doctor nodded, looking relieved that he no longer had to deal with the Doctor.
They stayed quiet for a few minutes after the medical doctor left, just gazing at each other. The Doctor stroked her hair, and she moved her thumb in circles over the back of his hand.
Finally, the Doctor broke the silence. "Such fragile things, these human bodies."
Rose smiled sadly and decided to address the topic they were both avoiding. "We both killed today."
"I know."
"We had to, though. They were trying to kill us--and every other person on the planet."
The Doctor's hand stilled in her hair. "They hurt you," he said quietly. "They hurt you to get at me, and that--that's the one thing I couldn't allow." He paused. "I wanted to kill them."
Rose nodded. "I felt the same way." She smiled at him. "I punched Kevin."
The Doctor grinned at the memory. "You did."
"But I dunno... it was like something in me snapped. I couldn't watch him hurt you and do nothing."
"Rose..." he began, frowning in that baffled way he did when he didn't think he was worth the fuss.
She gripped his hand tighter. "Is it so wrong, though? Feeling that way? We're not mindless drones, Doctor. What's the point in saving the world if there's no one important enough to save it for?"
The Doctor looked thoughtful and he pondered her words carefully before saying, "Time Lords were discouraged from forming close relationships with others, you know--especially with primitive species."
As always, Rose felt her interest piqued whenever the Doctor talked about his Time Lord past. She decided to ignore his "primitive" dig, and asked, "How come?"
He shrugged. "To be that dependent on another person, so easily swayed by emotions and manipulations... well, I suppose it was seen as a weakness."
Rose snorted. "Then Time Lords were stupid."
The Doctor blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"We're not weaker together," Rose said. "Never have been."
The Doctor looked doubtful. Rose tried not to feel hurt; after all, it had to be difficult for him to go against centuries of Time Lord instincts. But before he could say anything, a nurse poked her head into the room. "Miss Tyler?"
"Oh, what do you want now?" the Doctor demanded.
There was a nervous throat clearing, and then the nurse said, "Are you ready for your x-rays? The doctor doesn't want to leave you untreated for much longer."
The x-ray process went fairly quickly, probably because the technician refused to let the Doctor anywhere near the room or the equipment. She saw the doctor once more, who quickly gave the exact diagnosis the Doctor had. He then set her arm in a cast without once looking at the Doctor, which was fairly impressive considering how closely the Doctor was watching the whole process.
A nurse came in bearing medication - a relief since whatever they'd given her earlier was starting to wear off. The Doctor snatched the pill from the tray and licked it, frowning for a moment and then handing it to Rose, earning a bewildered look from the nurse.
By the time they got into the Vitex car, Rose was already feeling groggy. Leaning against the Doctor's shoulder, she watched the Christmas lights blur by in the now-peaceful city. It was the last thing she remembered that night.
--------------------
Rose woke up to a dull pain. The drugs were still affecting her, but even in her fuzzy state she could swear that she had some extra limbs, which couldn't be right. She shifted slightly and determined the extra limbs probably belonged to the Doctor.
"Do you need something?" he whispered.
Most definitely belonged to the Doctor.
"'m fine. What...time?"
"Oh, it's about two in the afternoon."
"Lazy."
"Yup. That's me. Old lazy bones, sleeping the day away." He brushed her hair away from her face.
Rose moved and groaned.
"That was productive," the Doctor chided. "I asked if you needed anything. And I'm quite good at fetching. Want your bunny slippers? I'll track them down! With carrots, if needed."
"I don't have bunny slippers."
"Yeah, you do."
"No, I don't. You do."
"Hold on, those are my slippers?"
"Um...yes? What'd you think?"
"I thought I was using yours. You know, as part of that whole clothes-swapping thing we're doing? You wear my shirts and so I thought the bunny slippers would be a good trade... Those are really my bunny slippers?"
"Well, Mum gave them to me a while back, but I've never worn them. You have, and so they're yours."
"I'm not sure I like this. Do extremely manly men own bunny slippers?"
"Yes." Rose attempted to sit up and winced.
"Right. Were you not here during the whole of the bunny slipper conversation? And me fetching things?"
"Yeah, but...I need to pee."
"Oh," the Doctor said solemnly. "Do you need me to hold your hair?"
Rose snorted out a laugh that she regretted. "What? That makes no sense. Just give me a push up off the bed and I'm sure I can do the rest."
The Doctor looked skeptical.
"You are not helping me pee. I'm sorry. I love you, but no. I can most definitely do this on my own."
In the bathroom she unfortunately caught sight of herself in the mirror. Dark circles under her eyes, pale skin, possessed hair, cracked lips. Lovely. It wasn't as if the Doctor had never seen her first thing in the morning. It wasn't that. But she looked just plain bad. And she felt grimy - even though she'd been cleaned up, she hadn't had a proper shower since the sewers.
Rose turned on the tap in the shower to get the hot water going, thankful that the cast on her arm was waterproof. The door immediately opened and a pair of brown eyes blinked at her.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna drown. I just want to be clean."
"Do you need--" he started.
Rose cut him off. "I can wash myself," she said stubbornly.
The Doctor tilted his head to the side slightly, and then surprised her by hopping up on the counter, sitting cross-legged. "This I've gotta see."
She gaped at him for a moment and then she started fumbling with the buttons on her nightshirt. "Lamest striptease ever," Rose said and then chuckled as she struggled with the first button.
The Doctor sat tight-lipped with his hands folded.
After the accomplishment of the second button, Rose realized she'd soon be stuck. There was a baggy t-shirt underneath the nightshirt, and there was no way she would be able to get it off without help. Her hand dropped in resignation.
"Need help?" the Doctor asked softly.
Rose nodded with a somewhat jutted-out chin.
"You are one of the most stubborn people I've ever met," the Doctor said affectionately as he undid the rest of her buttons. "And that's saying something."
"You should talk. I'd hate to think what you'd be like if the situation was reversed."
"What do you mean? I'd be the perfect little lamb! No trouble at all! Quiet as a mouse, waiting patiently for my mushy peas and my sponge bath!"
They both laughed, which Rose found was less painful to do when standing up.
"You know," Rose said, "that probably really will be us someday. Well, not the quiet part, but getting old and stuff. Waiting for mushy peas."
"Yeah." The Doctor slowly smiled. "It's a bit brilliant, isn't it?"
She thought she knew what about it he found brilliant, and she had to agree. "Yeah."
The shower felt wonderful. Even washing her hair with one hand felt wonderful. The Doctor had offered to help again, but Rose refused. Under normal circumstances it could have been fun, but right now she was feeling too helpless for her taste.
"Jackie dropped off some turkey a bit ago," the Doctor said loudly over the sound of the running water. "And a whole pot of vegetables. Oh, and a pie. Some bread too. And I think she might have put condiments in little containers, which is a bit odd, don't you think? And she cleaned. I couldn't stop her."
"Complete with a guilt trip?"
The Doctor was silent. Rose could guess the earful he'd got that he probably hadn't planned on mentioning.
"She does realize," Rose continued, "that I work for Torchwood? It's not like I was following you around. And even if I was, there was the little matter of trying to save the world."
More silence. Just great. As if the Doctor needed more guilt after what had happened. Thoughts of their conversation in the hospital drifted into her mind. That doubt he had...
It wasn't a good conversation to have like this. Rose turned off the water and was promptly attacked by a gentle flurry of towels, the Doctor taking the new strategy of bypassing asking if he could help. After getting into a warm and fuzzy tracksuit, Rose felt loads better.
"What now?" the Doctor asked. "Are you hungry?"
Rose shook her head.
"We could hit some sales," he said with a smirk. "You've gotta be up for some marathon shopping."
She grinned. "Oh yeah. Running around to shops sounds perfect. Just my luck you'd decide to blow it up. The Henrik's in this universe is probably due."
"You're never going to forgive me for blowing up your job, are you?" he asked with a grin.
"Nope!" She took his hand. "Seems a million years ago, doesn't it?"
"Yeah." He smiled and laced his fingers through hers. "Oh! I've got it! Recovery really should include watching bad TV! Well, recovery really should include the medical bay on the TARDIS where you'd be right as rain in an hour, but since the TARDIS won't be ready for a few months yet, bad telly it is!" He pulled her towards the living room.
Rose gingerly sat down on the sofa. The Doctor frowned at her and then sprinted from the room. A few seconds later an armful of pillows landed next to her. He disappeared again. A few seconds after that, even more pillows and blankets mounded on the sofa. He then stood in front of the sofa and "hmmm"ed, eyeing her and the pillows like puzzle pieces.
Rose pictured being arranged for the next hour, which didn't sound that appealing. "Um, Doctor? Did you say something about turkey?"
"Yes! Turkey! You're hungry? That's great!" He ran off to the fridge.
Rose did her own arranging and was comfortably watching TV by the time he came back with a big plate. The Doctor plunked down next to her.
Rose grabbed a piece of turkey. "So was she bad? My mum? You know, giving you grief about me getting hurt?"
"Nah."
"Liar."
The Doctor lapsed into silence, popping a sprout in his mouth and staring at the TV.
"You and my mum are alike, you know."
That got the Doctor's attention. He turned and gave her an appalled stare.
"And you're both wrong. I'm not more important than the rest of the world. Or the universe. Universes."
Rose fiddled with a roll, but she could feel the Doctor looking at her. He took the plate and set it on the table in front of them. The TV prattled on with some quiz show, and at the moment Rose was glad for the additional noise.
Finally he quietly said, "I can't lose you."
There was a finality to the statement, much like when he said something similar earlier. When he seemed ready to sacrifice the world for her.
"I don't want to lose you either," Rose replied.
"Not 'want.' Can't," he said forcefully. "I can't...my life here is with you." He was starting to get annoyed. Rose knew this mood of his - he'd always hated talking about this kind of thing, seeming to get frustrated that she didn't already know exactly what was going on in his mind.
"So what do you propose? We lock ourselves in here for the rest of our lives?" Rose asked.
"Well..."
"And don't think you can get away with this just being about me. Whatever bubblewrap you're currently plotting in your head had better include yourself as well, Mister I've Only Got One Life Now. Because my life here is with you. Don't forget that."
The Doctor's lips pinched in a thin line.
"We're never gonna get safe insurance jobs, Doctor. And we're not going to only visit zoos once the TARDIS is ready. You wouldn't want that anyway, would you? I sure don't."
The Doctor seemed hesitant, struggling with the answer she knew was there.
Rose reached for his hand. "You could stay here and fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go...anywhere."
"Rose..." That single word said so much.
"Yeah, it's dangerous, but..." Rose struggled with what to give him. The danger would always be there, but it was worth it. He knew it was worth it. "Did I mention? You also can travel in time," she said with a hopeful grin.
Something flickered in the Doctor's eyes and he slowly smiled. "How could I refuse an offer like that?"
"You could always turn it down, only to say yes later," Rose teased, still grinning.
"Nah. After all, it's such a brilliant and, might I say, sexy offer," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
"Very sexy." Rose laughed, it hurting less than the other times, and shifted to a new position of half-laying against him. "Not a bad life, eh?"
"Not a bad life." He put an arm around her, but the movement didn't stop. Rose felt a pillow being gently pushed against her. And then another. And another.
"Okay, that's good," Rose said before a full-blown pillow fort could be constructed. She craned her neck to look at him. "But I do need your help for something."
"Really? Anything! You name it! It's those bunny slippers, isn't it? No? Just say the word! Or words, more likely."
"Well, it's really hard to kiss you like this," Rose said with a smile.
"Ooh, that is a problem. A really, really, really big problem. You were right to come to me for help."
"Thought so," she said as he leaned over and kissed her.
Authors: goldy_dollar, mrv3000 and shinyopals
Rating: PG
Summary: The Doctor and Rose are looking forward to a completely ordinary first Christmas in Pete's World. Unfortunately, their version of ordinary involves an alien invasion.
Pairing: Ten II/Rose
Disclaimer: We are RTD. Really we are. All three of us.
Beta: Thank you, rynne!
Original post here.
Ten minutes later, Rose drew in a pained breath, pressing her hand against the stitch in her side. Christmas dinner was just not a good idea before chasing down a bomb planted by aliens intent on destroying the Earth's population and setting up a bug colony. The turkey and stuffing sat heavily in her stomach and Rose slowed her pace, trying to keep her breaths even and doing her best not to be ill.
“Rose!”
She jumped at the Doctor’s voice, and noticed that he’d pulled quite a distance ahead of her. He disappeared around a corner. Rose put on a burst of speed to catch up-and then immediately wished she hadn’t.
Christmas dinner was definitely on the way up.
She turned the corner and then braced her hand against a pipe and leaned over, stomach churning. Up ahead, the Doctor stopped and began slugging back to her, speaking urgently.
“Rose, as far as we know, that bomb is set to go off in ten minutes. If we don’t get there before then, it’s going to poison the whole world.”
“I know,” Rose said. “You go on up ahead.”
He frowned at her, seeming to notice her discomfort for the first time. “You all right?”
“Fine,” she snapped. “It’s just not a bright idea to run three clicks after turkey and stuffing, yeah?”
“Oh,” said the Doctor. “I hadn’t noticed. It’s probably my Time Lord biology. I can digest food at a higher rate than-”
“Yeah, yeah,” Rose said. “Listen, you go on. I’m just gonna be… sick.”
She leaned over, holding her hair back with one hand, when something grabbed her from behind. She shrieked in surprise and she vaguely registered the Doctor springing forward and yelling, “You leave her alone! LET HER GO RIGHT NOW!”
It was never good when the Doctor shouted, Rose thought, swallowing past the bile rising in her throat. A giant claw wrapped around her neck and yanked her backwards. Rose’s feet slipped against the sewer’s slippery surface and she fell back against the being that had taken her hostage. The lk'ljks, she realized with a shiver of fear.
The Doctor was still yelling. “LET HER GO, I’M WARNING YOU, YOU DO NOT WANT TO MESS WITH ME-”
Rose tuned him out and tried to struggle out of the lk'ljk’s grip. She tried to reach for the gun still attached to her belt, but the lk'ljk anticipated her, one of its claws swiping at the gun. A moment later, Rose heard it clatter to the ground. The lk'ljk hissed something in her ear that she couldn’t understand and tightened its arm around Rose’s neck. Rose choked and she pushed at the lk'ljk’s giant claw to no avail. Finally, vision darkening, she stopped struggling and went limp in the lk'ljk’s arms. The alien relaxed his hold and Rose coughed, gasping in huge mouthfuls of air.
She looked around her, desperately trying to get her bearings. There were at least three lk'ljks-the one that had grabbed her, and two on each of its sides.
The Doctor stopped yelling, his face unusually pale even for him. One of his hands twitched next to his pocket like he was debating whether or not he had time to reach for the sonic screwdriver before the lk'ljk hurt her-or worse.
His eyes flicked over to meet hers. “Go,” she croaked out. “Don’t worry about me.”
The Doctor shook his head and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He clamped it shut, but didn’t move, staring at her with wide eyes.
“If that bomb goes off, the whole planet dies.” Tears welled in her eyes, but she swallowed past them. “You’ve got to go.”
He didn’t move; he just continued staring at her. Rose felt a tear roll past her cheek, but she pressed her lips together and stared back at him bravely, silently urging him on.
The lk'ljk jerked her backwards and then said something in their hissing and jumbled tongue. The Doctor’s eyes darkened and he glared at them before responding in the same hissing language, his tone quiet and urgent. Rose found it more chilling than when he’d been shouting.
“What did they say?” she asked.
“That they’ll kill you if I go.”
She tried to smile and couldn’t quite manage it. “Course. And what’d you say?”
“That it would be a very, very big mistake on their part.”
Rose felt a surge of affection for him sweep through her. She tried struggling against her captor again, but nothing happened. She slumped in defeat.
“Doctor,” she said, “if you don’t stop that bomb, I’m going to be dead anyway.”
The Doctor dragged his gaze back to hers, something deep and indefinable in his eyes. “I can’t. I can’t save the city and lose you. It’d mean nothing.”
“Don’t say that.” She paused. “Doctor, please. You’ve got to.”
He hesitated and then turned his attention to the lk'ljks. He hissed something in their dialect and then turned around, taking off down the sewer again.
Rose barely had time to register that this might be the last time she ever saw him before the lk'ljk clenched her elbow with its spare claw and pulled. There was a crack and Rose bit down on her lip to hold back her cry, causing it to split, but she couldn’t quite muffle her whimper of pain. The coppery taste of blood filling her mouth, and she jerked her head around to look at her arm. It looked... weird--all bent out of shape and hanging in the wrong direction. Her stomach churned, and she hurriedly turned away. Small moans of pain passed through her lips and she clamped her mouth together, trying not to alert the Doctor.
It was no good. Down the sewer tunnel, the Doctor stopped, his back still to them. Then, seeming to come to a decision, he whirled back around and stalked towards them. He reached into his pocket and emerged with the sonic screwdriver, face tight and furious.
The lk'ljk pulled on Rose’s elbow again and she cried out, the colour draining from her face. The lk'ljks hissed something at the Doctor, but he didn’t stop his stride towards them.
“Oh, I wouldn’t hurt the one thing still keeping you alive,” he said before responding to the lk'ljks in their clipped, hissing tone. "It's your choice," he finished, in English, and Rose realized it was for her benefit, not theirs. "We can contact your homeworld and find you another planet."
They hissed back at him, and the one holding onto Rose began to shake, its free claw gesturing wildly in the air. Rose watched with a hazy, hooded gaze, only aware of the heavy, pounding pain in her arm. She shook her head, trying to clear it. Any moment now that bomb would go off, poisoning the entire world, and it would be over for all of them.
He shouldn’t have come back, she thought angrily, thinking of her mum, dad, and Tony, tucked up at home, waiting for them to get back so they could open their presents. The Doctor had just killed them. With some shame, she found herself thinking that the Time Lord Doctor would have done it-gone on without her to save the city.
The lk'ljk holding Rose jerked her backward, his claw arm pressing, pressing against her chest. Her arms and legs flailed instinctively and she heard something in her chest snap. She cried out.
"Stop it, stop it right now," the Doctor called, and then continued hissing in the lk'ljk language.
They hissed something back at him, but the lk'ljk didn't release his fierce grip on Rose. Finally, the Doctor took a few steps back and lowered the sonic screwdriver. The lk'ljk relaxed his hold on Rose. She released a sharp, gasping breath.
"I warned you," said the Doctor, and his face was cold, so unlike the soft warmth Rose had grown so used to seeing in his eyes. "You had one chance. Let her go or-”
He never finished his sentence. Instead, he pointed the sonic screwdriver at the pipe jutting out of the wall. The sonic screwdriver whirred to life and a moment later the pipe split, water gushing out of it and hitting Rose and the lk'ljks in the chest. She sputtered as the cold water slammed into her. It felt like a giant weight was being pressed into her, but the lk'ljk’s hold on her loosened. She reacted immediately, throwing her good elbow back into its armoured chest and kicking backwards at him with her legs.
The claw around her neck twitched and then began to fall away. Rose opened her mouth, sucking in a gulp of water before sputtering. The pain in her arm flared to life again and she squeezed her eyes shut, blackness beckoning.
Then a hand wrapped around her good arm, yanking her to her feet. Rose came back to awareness with a jerk and coughed out the rest of the water.
“Come on, come on,” said a familiar voice. “Rose, stay with me.”
“Doctor,” she said in relief, eyes opening. She staggered, and his arm slid around her waist, coaxing her forward.
She leaned against him and he spoke urgently into her ear, “Rose, we have to get out of here. You’ve got to keep moving. I’m sorry. I am.”
“Right, yeah, I’m fine,” she said. Her injured arm hung limply at her side, useless and unmoving. She blinked at it, and then remembered. “Doctor, what about the city-the bomb, it’s going to go off and-”
“Shhh,” he said. “I contacted Torchwood. They’re going at it from another point. They won’t know the technology like I do, but I’d give them-oh, a sixty/forty chance of stopping it?”
“Those odds could be better.”
The Doctor ignored her. “Come on, we’ve got to get you out of here.” He looked around, gaze falling on a ladder that led to the surface. He glanced back at Rose hesitantly.
“Yeah, there’s no way I’m gonna be able to climb that,” Rose said. “And anyway, we’ve got to keep moving. We’ve got to get to that bomb, yeah?”
“We’ve got to get you to the nearest hospital,” the Doctor said. “Torchwood can handle it.”
“Since when? You hate letting Torchwood do anything on its own,” Rose shot back. She stopped moving and pulled away from him, breathing hard and struggling to ignore the pain in her arm. “I’m not leaving.”
The Doctor looked frustrated, but he glanced behind him, frowning as the sounds of scuffling claws against the ground got louder.
“Well, we can’t stand here,” he said. “They’re slow, but they’ve got massive amounts of stored up energy. We have to put as much distance between us as we can.”
He reached for her hand, body tense and worried as he urged her on.
--------------------
“Ooh, look at that,” said the Doctor, as they entered the cavern where the bomb was hidden. He bounded up to the bomb and let go of Rose's hand to put on his glasses. “That is fearsome technology.”
Rose blinked at the bomb doubtfully. It looked like a giant piece of neon green Play-Doh that someone had slapped together and accidentally abandoned. The Doctor circled it, making low, appreciative noises in his throat.
“Ma’am,” said the closest Torchwood expert. “We’ve managed to stall the bomb, but we have yet to find a way to shut it down permanently.”
“That’s because you didn’t have me,” said the Doctor, head popping up on the other side of the bomb. He waved the sonic screwdriver around and then leaned forward to study the readings. “Fascinating.”
Rose almost laughed, but a sudden, sharp pain in her chest reminded her that it wasn’t such a great idea. The Doctor glanced over at her, face tightening in worry. “Rose?”
“I’m fine,” she said. He watched her hesitantly, and she suddenly realized that he wouldn’t be able to focus with her standing next to him. She forced a smile. “I’m gonna go keep watch. You work on shutting that thing down.”
He looked like he might argue, but then he nodded and returned to the bomb. Rose edged to the cavern’s entrance. The Doctor had given her his jacket to use as a makeshift sling, and she kept her arm cradled close to her body, gritting her teeth against the steady waves of pain that hit her.
She glanced behind her, relieved to find the Doctor completely focused on the bomb. She was reluctant to tell him she now suspected cracked ribs in addition to her broken arm, but the fact was, she didn’t think she’d be able to stay standing for much longer. Her head felt like someone had opened it up and shoved it full of cotton, and each breath was a pained struggle.
She clenched her jaw and leaned heavily against the nearest wall. She just needed to make sure he disabled that bomb. She could hold out that long.
Time passed. Rose wasn’t sure how long. Every few minutes, Rose heard the Doctor cry “Ha!” or “Nearly there!” and the circling Torchwood experts all jumped at his outbursts. She felt her eyes drift shut, somehow soothed by the scene behind her-they’d done this millions of times before, and the Doctor always came through in the end. She could let her eyes rest for a bit, just until he was finished.
Her head lolled heavily to the side, cheek pressed against the cold, wet cement. That’s when she heard it-that click, click, clicking from before. Bugs, she thought, some sort of fear getting through the heavy fog in her head.
Bugs.
Rose’s head jerked up, arm giving a furious twitch of pain as she did so. She stumbled backwards, almost falling over her feet. When did her legs get so heavy?
The shadow of one antenna appeared in the sewer’s corridor. Rose whirled around, eyes falling on the Doctor. His tongue was out in concentration, sonic screwdriver near the top of the bomb.
“Doctor,” she said. “They’re here. The lk'ljks.”
He looked up, sonic screwdriver still buzzing in his hand. His gaze was unfocused as he thought. Finally, he turned to the Torchwood expert on his right.
“Give me your gun.”
“What?”
“Just do it,” he said.
The Torchwood expert glanced in Rose’s direction and she nodded. “Whatever he wants, Henry.”
The expert reluctantly handed the gun over to the Doctor, and he promptly began poking at it with the sonic screwdriver.
There was a spark and the Torchwood expert made a grunting noise in his throat. “Oi, what do you think you’re doing-”
“Hold on, hold on,” said the Doctor, putting up one hand to shush him. “Nearly there-”
The gun sparked again, jumping in the Doctor’s hand. He made a hum of approval and then handed it back to the Torchwood expert. “All set.” He turned to address the rest of them and raised his voice. “Everyone else-find a dry place to stand.”
Everyone stared at him blankly. “You heard him,” said Rose, who was used to the Doctor’s strange commands by now. “Find a dry spot. Do it.”
“Um, Ma’am? We’re standing in a sewer-”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said the Doctor, waving a hand dismissively. He bent down to study the gun he’d just altered with the sonic screwdriver, and then fixed his gaze on the Torchwood expert. “Listen, the lk'ljks are a genetically created race, bred with the single purpose of serving their leader. Their minds are linked, connected by a low-level telepathic field-”
“Oh!” Rose called out. “Like the Ood!”
The Doctor sent her a quick grin. “Exactly. Except unlike the Ood, each tribe of lk'ljks has one leader who controls the telepathic link. Normally he's protected, but right now they're low on numbers so he's out here getting his hands dirty and looking for us!” He turned back to the Torchwood expert. “Henry, is it? Well, Henry-” The Doctor leaned in closer before tilting his head towards the three lk'ljks creeping towards them. Their angry hissing made it clear they hadn’t forgotten the Doctor’s earlier attack. He pointed towards an unremarkable looking lk'ljks at the back of the three. “You hit one that one there right now and you hit them all. ”
Rose frowned, suddenly uncomfortable with where this was heading. “Hold on. Does that mean that if we kill one of them, we’ll… we’ll be wiping them all out?”
The Doctor glanced at her. “No. But it’ll hurt.” Then he really looked at her, eyes suddenly fearful. “Rose-” He was by her side in an instant, hands falling to her waist and none-too-gently pulling her backwards. “What did I say about finding a dry spot?”
“Oh,” said Rose, stumbling and using his arm as a crutch, “I hadn’t noticed.”
There was a clicking noise, and the Doctor cricked his head around, calling, “Now, Henry!”
Henry pulled the trigger on the gun. A beam of light particles shot out, hitting the back lk'ljk in the chest. The lk'ljk jerked and then screeched, body beginning to spasm as electric bolts snapped and cracked against his body. The two other lk'ljks joined his screams, their bodies beginning to jerk and twitch in the same way.
“What’s happening?” Rose whispered. The light hurt her eyes, but she found herself unable to turn away from their agonized screaming.
“They’re being electrocuted,” said the Doctor dully, watching the scene before him impassively. “With the amount of water I sprayed them with earlier… well, it’d be a miracle if they survived. And it should slow the rest of the colony down.”
“Doctor-”
“I didn’t have a choice, Rose.”
She drew in a sharp breath, the pain in her chest making her wheeze. It was an effort to get words out and a bead of sweat broke out on her forehead. “Why? Because they hurt me? Or ‘cos of the bomb?”
"I gave them a choice," he said quietly.
It didn't exactly answer her question, but Rose reckoned that if something hurt the Doctor, she'd react similarly.
The three lk'ljks finished jerking and then fell to the ground, smoke rising from their burned bodies. Henry glanced from his gun to the charred remains of the lk'ljks, looking like he might be sick.
Rose’s vision swam, her legs beginning to shake. She unconsciously reached for the Doctor, hand closing on empty air.
“Right, then,” she heard him say, “now, to shut this thing off…”
“Doctor-” she began, mouth forming the word, but nothing coming out. She pursed her lips and struggled to take in a steady gulp of air. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. She tried again. “Doctor.”
This time, he looked over. “What’s wrong?”
Her mouth opened soundlessly, and she swayed, stumbling over her feet. The Doctor’s eyes widened and he rushed towards her to break her fall.
He caught her before she hit the ground. “That, Rose Tyler, was dangerously close to a swoon,” he said, voice light, but his eyes were worried.
She smiled fondly at him. “Don’t tell my mum,” she tried to say. And then passed out.
--------------------
Rose came-to hearing the Doctor's voice, high-pitched and strained. "The right sixth and seventh ribs are fractured as well as the ulna and radius..."
"Sir," replied an unfamiliar voice, "we're going to have to take x-rays to know that for sure."
"Backwards, primitive...! I'm telling you what's wrong with her! You people and your radiation to see things and...and poking things into people! And don't get me started on cutting people open; it's practically the Middle Ages!"
"She's not going into surgery..."
"Of course she's not going into surgery! Why would you even say that?"
"Sir, I really should be talking to a family member."
"That's me. Her...person you should most definitely be talking to about any sort of problems - big, medium, small, tiny. If you want to change her socks, I need to be asked."
Rose tried to laugh and mock him about the socks, but nothing was coming out.
"Oh my God." That was her mum. "What's happened to her?"
Rose finally managed to open her eyes, and the Doctor and her mother swooped in on either side of her.
"Hello," Rose said softly.
"Hey there," the Doctor said, his eyes intense. "Welcome back."
"Did you fix the bomb?"
"Piece of cake. Another team found Kevin...or what's left of him, and the rest of the lk'ljk seem to be surrendering on their own. Their only hope to take over gone, they just want off this planet now. You don't have to think about it."
"How are you, sweetheart?" Jackie smoothed Rose's hair.
"All right, Mum. Don't worry."
"I bloody well will worry when I see my daughter banged up and in the hospital. Someone needs to tell me what's wrong with her right now!"
"She has two broken ribs..." started the Doctor.
"Ma'am, we're going to need to take some x-rays to find out what's wrong with her," the medical doctor interrupted.
The Doctor and the doctor glared at each other.
Jackie looked at them both before saying, "Just tell me what's wrong, Doctor. Not you," she said looking at the unfamiliar man. "You," she said to the Doctor.
"She has two broken ribs and her arm is broken in two places near the elbow. Her arm will need to be set and her ribs will have to heal on their own. All of which would have been quick and easy if I had the TARDIS."
"Bad luck this happening now instead of just a bit later," Rose said, attempting a weak smile.
"She passed out from the pain," the Doctor continued, "and not from a concussion or anything else."
"Did not. I was just resting my eyes. Mum, you should get back to Tony."
"Oh, it'd be fine for me to leave you like this," she replied sarcastically.
"It's still Christmas, yeah?" Rose looked around to nods. "Go home and let him open his presents and eat too many sweets. It's better than sitting around here watching me get an x-ray..." Rose watched as the Doctor shot the other doctor another glare. "...and whatever else, and then his Christmas will be gone. Please, Mum."
Jackie reached for Rose's good hand, and smoothed back her hair with her other hand. "Tony can wait, sweetheart. Christmas isn't about presents. It's about all of us being together. The important thing is that you're okay."
The Doctor hovered behind Jackie, looking like he very much wanted to be the one holding Rose's hand and petting her hair. Rose felt a pang. She wanted to be close to him, too, after what they'd just gone through.
"I know, but--"
"I'm just going to stay right here," Jackie said, dropping into a chair next to Rose's bed and wriggling until she got comfortable. "I'll be right next to you the whole time, sweetheart."
The Doctor emitted an audible sigh, and went back over to annoy the medical doctor, probably to release his frustration. The medical doctor twitched when he saw him coming and attempted unsuccessfully to back out of the room. The Doctor blocked his path and reached for the clipboard he was holding.
"Pah. Rubbish," said the Doctor, fishing out his glasses to read the clipboard. And then, "I'll have to test these drugs before you give them to her..."
Rose began to think the Doctor might get escorted out by security before they managed to get a proper hello. She turned back to Jackie. "Mum," she said and squeezed her hand. "I love you so, so much, but I... I think I need to be with the Doctor right now."
There was a moment of heavy silence. The Doctor glanced over, still holding the medical doctor's clipboard, and tried not to look too hopeful.
For a horrible second, Rose thought Jackie might cry, but then she pulled herself together and forced a smile. "Of course you do." She leaned over and kissed Rose's cheek, smoothing her hand over her hair one more time before standing. "Give us a call when you're ready to go home. I'll have Pete send over a car."
"Right," Rose said, "thanks."
Jackie's eyes flickered over to the Doctor with what Rose recognized as her "this isn't over" look. The Doctor shifted uncomfortably, and handed the clipboard back to the medical doctor in an attempt to look busy.
Rose could sense the Doctor's relief as soon as Jackie left. He was by Rose's side in an instant, dropping down into the chair Jackie vacated. He reached for Rose's good hand, his other hand going to her face, fingers tracing her nose and cheeks before brushing her hair back.
"Hi," Rose said, leaning into his touch and smiling. "How're you? You okay?"
"Yeah," he said. Then he shook himself, and glanced at her injuries. Rose could practically see his brain cataloguing each of her various hurts. "Well, no. Not really."
Rose squeezed his fingers. "I'm glad you're here."
The medical doctor cleared his throat and they both looked over in confusion. Rose had almost forgotten he was still there.
"Listen," Rose said. "Just... get me the consent form. For x-rays, surgery--whatever."
"You don't need surgery," the Doctor muttered. "Or x-rays for that matter. I can--"
Rose squeezed his hand to get him to shut up, and the medical doctor nodded, looking relieved that he no longer had to deal with the Doctor.
They stayed quiet for a few minutes after the medical doctor left, just gazing at each other. The Doctor stroked her hair, and she moved her thumb in circles over the back of his hand.
Finally, the Doctor broke the silence. "Such fragile things, these human bodies."
Rose smiled sadly and decided to address the topic they were both avoiding. "We both killed today."
"I know."
"We had to, though. They were trying to kill us--and every other person on the planet."
The Doctor's hand stilled in her hair. "They hurt you," he said quietly. "They hurt you to get at me, and that--that's the one thing I couldn't allow." He paused. "I wanted to kill them."
Rose nodded. "I felt the same way." She smiled at him. "I punched Kevin."
The Doctor grinned at the memory. "You did."
"But I dunno... it was like something in me snapped. I couldn't watch him hurt you and do nothing."
"Rose..." he began, frowning in that baffled way he did when he didn't think he was worth the fuss.
She gripped his hand tighter. "Is it so wrong, though? Feeling that way? We're not mindless drones, Doctor. What's the point in saving the world if there's no one important enough to save it for?"
The Doctor looked thoughtful and he pondered her words carefully before saying, "Time Lords were discouraged from forming close relationships with others, you know--especially with primitive species."
As always, Rose felt her interest piqued whenever the Doctor talked about his Time Lord past. She decided to ignore his "primitive" dig, and asked, "How come?"
He shrugged. "To be that dependent on another person, so easily swayed by emotions and manipulations... well, I suppose it was seen as a weakness."
Rose snorted. "Then Time Lords were stupid."
The Doctor blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"We're not weaker together," Rose said. "Never have been."
The Doctor looked doubtful. Rose tried not to feel hurt; after all, it had to be difficult for him to go against centuries of Time Lord instincts. But before he could say anything, a nurse poked her head into the room. "Miss Tyler?"
"Oh, what do you want now?" the Doctor demanded.
There was a nervous throat clearing, and then the nurse said, "Are you ready for your x-rays? The doctor doesn't want to leave you untreated for much longer."
The x-ray process went fairly quickly, probably because the technician refused to let the Doctor anywhere near the room or the equipment. She saw the doctor once more, who quickly gave the exact diagnosis the Doctor had. He then set her arm in a cast without once looking at the Doctor, which was fairly impressive considering how closely the Doctor was watching the whole process.
A nurse came in bearing medication - a relief since whatever they'd given her earlier was starting to wear off. The Doctor snatched the pill from the tray and licked it, frowning for a moment and then handing it to Rose, earning a bewildered look from the nurse.
By the time they got into the Vitex car, Rose was already feeling groggy. Leaning against the Doctor's shoulder, she watched the Christmas lights blur by in the now-peaceful city. It was the last thing she remembered that night.
--------------------
Rose woke up to a dull pain. The drugs were still affecting her, but even in her fuzzy state she could swear that she had some extra limbs, which couldn't be right. She shifted slightly and determined the extra limbs probably belonged to the Doctor.
"Do you need something?" he whispered.
Most definitely belonged to the Doctor.
"'m fine. What...time?"
"Oh, it's about two in the afternoon."
"Lazy."
"Yup. That's me. Old lazy bones, sleeping the day away." He brushed her hair away from her face.
Rose moved and groaned.
"That was productive," the Doctor chided. "I asked if you needed anything. And I'm quite good at fetching. Want your bunny slippers? I'll track them down! With carrots, if needed."
"I don't have bunny slippers."
"Yeah, you do."
"No, I don't. You do."
"Hold on, those are my slippers?"
"Um...yes? What'd you think?"
"I thought I was using yours. You know, as part of that whole clothes-swapping thing we're doing? You wear my shirts and so I thought the bunny slippers would be a good trade... Those are really my bunny slippers?"
"Well, Mum gave them to me a while back, but I've never worn them. You have, and so they're yours."
"I'm not sure I like this. Do extremely manly men own bunny slippers?"
"Yes." Rose attempted to sit up and winced.
"Right. Were you not here during the whole of the bunny slipper conversation? And me fetching things?"
"Yeah, but...I need to pee."
"Oh," the Doctor said solemnly. "Do you need me to hold your hair?"
Rose snorted out a laugh that she regretted. "What? That makes no sense. Just give me a push up off the bed and I'm sure I can do the rest."
The Doctor looked skeptical.
"You are not helping me pee. I'm sorry. I love you, but no. I can most definitely do this on my own."
In the bathroom she unfortunately caught sight of herself in the mirror. Dark circles under her eyes, pale skin, possessed hair, cracked lips. Lovely. It wasn't as if the Doctor had never seen her first thing in the morning. It wasn't that. But she looked just plain bad. And she felt grimy - even though she'd been cleaned up, she hadn't had a proper shower since the sewers.
Rose turned on the tap in the shower to get the hot water going, thankful that the cast on her arm was waterproof. The door immediately opened and a pair of brown eyes blinked at her.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna drown. I just want to be clean."
"Do you need--" he started.
Rose cut him off. "I can wash myself," she said stubbornly.
The Doctor tilted his head to the side slightly, and then surprised her by hopping up on the counter, sitting cross-legged. "This I've gotta see."
She gaped at him for a moment and then she started fumbling with the buttons on her nightshirt. "Lamest striptease ever," Rose said and then chuckled as she struggled with the first button.
The Doctor sat tight-lipped with his hands folded.
After the accomplishment of the second button, Rose realized she'd soon be stuck. There was a baggy t-shirt underneath the nightshirt, and there was no way she would be able to get it off without help. Her hand dropped in resignation.
"Need help?" the Doctor asked softly.
Rose nodded with a somewhat jutted-out chin.
"You are one of the most stubborn people I've ever met," the Doctor said affectionately as he undid the rest of her buttons. "And that's saying something."
"You should talk. I'd hate to think what you'd be like if the situation was reversed."
"What do you mean? I'd be the perfect little lamb! No trouble at all! Quiet as a mouse, waiting patiently for my mushy peas and my sponge bath!"
They both laughed, which Rose found was less painful to do when standing up.
"You know," Rose said, "that probably really will be us someday. Well, not the quiet part, but getting old and stuff. Waiting for mushy peas."
"Yeah." The Doctor slowly smiled. "It's a bit brilliant, isn't it?"
She thought she knew what about it he found brilliant, and she had to agree. "Yeah."
The shower felt wonderful. Even washing her hair with one hand felt wonderful. The Doctor had offered to help again, but Rose refused. Under normal circumstances it could have been fun, but right now she was feeling too helpless for her taste.
"Jackie dropped off some turkey a bit ago," the Doctor said loudly over the sound of the running water. "And a whole pot of vegetables. Oh, and a pie. Some bread too. And I think she might have put condiments in little containers, which is a bit odd, don't you think? And she cleaned. I couldn't stop her."
"Complete with a guilt trip?"
The Doctor was silent. Rose could guess the earful he'd got that he probably hadn't planned on mentioning.
"She does realize," Rose continued, "that I work for Torchwood? It's not like I was following you around. And even if I was, there was the little matter of trying to save the world."
More silence. Just great. As if the Doctor needed more guilt after what had happened. Thoughts of their conversation in the hospital drifted into her mind. That doubt he had...
It wasn't a good conversation to have like this. Rose turned off the water and was promptly attacked by a gentle flurry of towels, the Doctor taking the new strategy of bypassing asking if he could help. After getting into a warm and fuzzy tracksuit, Rose felt loads better.
"What now?" the Doctor asked. "Are you hungry?"
Rose shook her head.
"We could hit some sales," he said with a smirk. "You've gotta be up for some marathon shopping."
She grinned. "Oh yeah. Running around to shops sounds perfect. Just my luck you'd decide to blow it up. The Henrik's in this universe is probably due."
"You're never going to forgive me for blowing up your job, are you?" he asked with a grin.
"Nope!" She took his hand. "Seems a million years ago, doesn't it?"
"Yeah." He smiled and laced his fingers through hers. "Oh! I've got it! Recovery really should include watching bad TV! Well, recovery really should include the medical bay on the TARDIS where you'd be right as rain in an hour, but since the TARDIS won't be ready for a few months yet, bad telly it is!" He pulled her towards the living room.
Rose gingerly sat down on the sofa. The Doctor frowned at her and then sprinted from the room. A few seconds later an armful of pillows landed next to her. He disappeared again. A few seconds after that, even more pillows and blankets mounded on the sofa. He then stood in front of the sofa and "hmmm"ed, eyeing her and the pillows like puzzle pieces.
Rose pictured being arranged for the next hour, which didn't sound that appealing. "Um, Doctor? Did you say something about turkey?"
"Yes! Turkey! You're hungry? That's great!" He ran off to the fridge.
Rose did her own arranging and was comfortably watching TV by the time he came back with a big plate. The Doctor plunked down next to her.
Rose grabbed a piece of turkey. "So was she bad? My mum? You know, giving you grief about me getting hurt?"
"Nah."
"Liar."
The Doctor lapsed into silence, popping a sprout in his mouth and staring at the TV.
"You and my mum are alike, you know."
That got the Doctor's attention. He turned and gave her an appalled stare.
"And you're both wrong. I'm not more important than the rest of the world. Or the universe. Universes."
Rose fiddled with a roll, but she could feel the Doctor looking at her. He took the plate and set it on the table in front of them. The TV prattled on with some quiz show, and at the moment Rose was glad for the additional noise.
Finally he quietly said, "I can't lose you."
There was a finality to the statement, much like when he said something similar earlier. When he seemed ready to sacrifice the world for her.
"I don't want to lose you either," Rose replied.
"Not 'want.' Can't," he said forcefully. "I can't...my life here is with you." He was starting to get annoyed. Rose knew this mood of his - he'd always hated talking about this kind of thing, seeming to get frustrated that she didn't already know exactly what was going on in his mind.
"So what do you propose? We lock ourselves in here for the rest of our lives?" Rose asked.
"Well..."
"And don't think you can get away with this just being about me. Whatever bubblewrap you're currently plotting in your head had better include yourself as well, Mister I've Only Got One Life Now. Because my life here is with you. Don't forget that."
The Doctor's lips pinched in a thin line.
"We're never gonna get safe insurance jobs, Doctor. And we're not going to only visit zoos once the TARDIS is ready. You wouldn't want that anyway, would you? I sure don't."
The Doctor seemed hesitant, struggling with the answer she knew was there.
Rose reached for his hand. "You could stay here and fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go...anywhere."
"Rose..." That single word said so much.
"Yeah, it's dangerous, but..." Rose struggled with what to give him. The danger would always be there, but it was worth it. He knew it was worth it. "Did I mention? You also can travel in time," she said with a hopeful grin.
Something flickered in the Doctor's eyes and he slowly smiled. "How could I refuse an offer like that?"
"You could always turn it down, only to say yes later," Rose teased, still grinning.
"Nah. After all, it's such a brilliant and, might I say, sexy offer," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
"Very sexy." Rose laughed, it hurting less than the other times, and shifted to a new position of half-laying against him. "Not a bad life, eh?"
"Not a bad life." He put an arm around her, but the movement didn't stop. Rose felt a pillow being gently pushed against her. And then another. And another.
"Okay, that's good," Rose said before a full-blown pillow fort could be constructed. She craned her neck to look at him. "But I do need your help for something."
"Really? Anything! You name it! It's those bunny slippers, isn't it? No? Just say the word! Or words, more likely."
"Well, it's really hard to kiss you like this," Rose said with a smile.
"Ooh, that is a problem. A really, really, really big problem. You were right to come to me for help."
"Thought so," she said as he leaned over and kissed her.