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misaffectionLast part! ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
groovekittie can you still beta this at some point purlease?
The door of the TARDIS banged open, making Jack look up. His expression of annoyance dissolved into one of horror at the sight of the Doctor, Rose limp in his arms. The Doctor paused at the fury on Jack's face. He sighed heavily, though his own expression became harder than it was already.
“Not now,” was all he said, then he carried Rose past Jack.
Entering the medical room for the third time that day, the Doctor laid Rose carefully on the bed. His immediate concern was that she'd lost the memory of looking into the Time Vortex, and all that surrounded that event. He was terribly afraid that he hadn't gotten to her in time.
Rose groaned and stirred.
“Rose?”
“What- What happened?”
“It went a little bit wrong,” he said wryly.
Rose laughed then winced. “Oh don't.”
“Sorry.”
“S'okay, I just have the hangover from hell. I just wish I'd been at the party.” Rose opened her eyes, flinching at the bright lights of the room. “So, what went wrong?”
“You came out of the drugs sooner than I thought you would,” the Doctor said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Do you remember what happened at the Games Station?”
“God, yes,” she answered with a shudder.
“What happened?”
“Which part?”
“Do you remember going home?”
Rose's face darkened. “Yes,” she said shortly.
“And then?”
“And then I opened the TARDIS and looked into the Time Vortex.”
“And then?”
“Then I came back. I... I stopped the Daleks. You know that, you were there.”
The Doctor looked at her. “I was,” he nodded. “I just wanted to make sure you remembered.”
“That's what it tried to take?”
“Hmm.”
“Oh.”
“I shouldn't worry about it,” the Doctor said lightly, jumping off the bed again.
“No, you wouldn't,” Rose retorted.
The Doctor paused. “I did.”
“Because it's a secret,” she said bitterly.
“Because it's part of who you are.”
“I didn't know you cared.”
“Don't be childish,” said the Doctor, looking annoyed. “Of course I do.”
“It hasn't been obvious.”
The Doctor paused at the door, staring at the floor at his feet. After a moment, he glanced over his shoulder at her.
“You know, you might want to consider the possibly – just possibly – that this has been just as difficult for me.” He walked out.
Rose sat up slowly, staring at the closed door. She swallowed, feeling a shock of guilt wash through her. She hadn't considered it, had been too wrapped up in her own loss to think about the situation from his point of view. The realisation made her feel sick.
She got up. The room spun slightly, but she ignored it. She needed to set things right. Now. She virtually ran to the console room.
The atmosphere there was heavy. The Doctor stood at one of the consoles, his expression watchful. Jack stood next to him, chewing at his thumb.
“What's going on?” she asked, picking up on the tension.
“We're reeling in a fish,” the Doctor said. His tone was light, as if their exchange a minute ago had never happened.
Rose closed her eyes briefly, then looked at Jack. He smiled.
“Spaceship,” he reported. “On it's way here.”
“The trap worked.”
“Ooh yes,” the Doctor said.
“Do we have a plan? What if they're armed?”
“I'm hoping, actually,” Jack said. It was only then that Rose realised he had his gun. She blanched and headed for the chair, suddenly feeling the need to sit down.
“Oh,” she said faintly.
“Plan? We have a plan. We let them land. We let them go in and get... whatever it is. Then when they come out, we...”
“We what?” Rose said, her eyebrows lifting as she sat forward. “Is Jack going to shoot holes in them?”
“We stop them,” the Doctor replied firmly. He held her gaze for a moment, then he looked at Jack.
Jack sighed and put the gun on the console.
The spaceship wasn't large, just a little bigger than Jack's Chula warship had been. It was black, with no markings. The Doctor and Rose watched a group exit the ship on the monitor. Jack was busy pacing and trying not to pick his gun back up.
Rose glanced from the monitor and sighed.
“Shouldn't he stay here?”
“I'm not making that decision for him,” the Doctor said. “He's a big boy.”
“There aren't as many of them as I thought there would be.”
“It's easier to hide a small group.”
“I suppose. Doctor?”
“What?”
“You were right.” She looked up at him and waited until he looked at her. “I hadn't considered... it. And I'm sorry.”
The Doctor smiled slightly. “It's okay. Period of transition, as it were.”
“Yes,” she glanced down. Anything else she was going to say was forgotten. “They're coming back out.”
“So there are. Let's go say hi.”
Rose went to Jack, taking his hand. She held his eyes as he focused on her. Then he nodded and they walked to the door, the gun still on the console behind them.
The Doctor opened the door and all three stood there, watching the group approached. There were five of them; three men and two women. One of the woman was slightly ahead and she stopped at the sight of the Doctor Rose and Jack, standing in her group's way.
“Evening!” the Doctor greeted them brightly. “Nice night for it, isn't it?”
“Who the hell are you?” the woman asked.
Rose felt a shock. She stared at her, wondering if she'd heard right.
“I'm the Doctor,” he told her. “These are my companions Rose and Jack. Jack's really rather annoyed with you since you have something of his. And since it's a nice night and I really don't want it spoiled why don't you give it to him?”
The woman sneered. “I really have no idea what you're talking about. Get out of my way.”
“Or she'll moisturise you,” Rose murmured to the Doctor. He looked at her. She nodded at the woman.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“You sure?”
“Pretty much.”
The Doctor looked back at the woman. “Excuse me, but my companion believes we know you. Lady Cassandra?”
“My name is Cassandra, yes.”
“Told you so,” Rose said.
“Rounder.”
“I noticed that too.”
“Excuse me, but what do you want?”
“To stop you,” the Doctor said. “You see, we know what you're doing. We know about the crystal and the memories. From the looks of the very nice and extremely fancy spaceship it's obvious a lucrative trade. However, it's wrong. So we're going to stop you.”
“Oh I'm so scared.”
“I would be,” Jack said, dropping Rose's hand to step forward. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is you had over all the information you've taken – all your records and everything. You get the ship and to live. The hard way is I go back into our little blue box and come out with my big black gun.”
Cassandra stared at him. His expression was dark and dangerous, his hands fisted at his sides. She took half a step back.
“There are five of us and only three of you,” she challenged, though her voice quavered slightly.
“Go ahead,” Jack said. “Make my day.”
Rose groaned. However, Cassandra seemed to be having second thoughts about the odds and her own mortality.
“And you are?”
“Jack Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness.”
“Oh yes. It is worth quite a bit of money for the information we got from you not to get to the Time Agents. That-” and she waved a had at the TARDIS “-isn't a Time Ship. Give me your word you will not give the information to the Agents and we have a deal.”
Jack frowned at her. “Okay,” he said slowly. “I can do that.”
Cassandra waved to one of the men, who came forward. He had a silver metal box that he opened. From it, Cassandra withdrew a clear square with a red disc inside.
“We give you this and you let us go.”
“Deal,” the Doctor said, ignoring the look he got from Rose. Cassandra handed the disc to Jack, then walked past them, her people following her.
Rose watched the go, her bottom lip between her teeth. A part of her screamed to say something, anything. However, she'd done that before and it had been a hard lesson. She still looked away as Cassandra went into her ship, as the moment was lost altogether. She glanced up to find the Doctor watching her.
“Everything dies,” she said faintly.
He nodded. “That it does.”
“What about the other discs?” Jack said, still looking at his.
“Come on, one last thing to do,” the Doctor announced and went back inside the TARDIS. Jack and Rose followed him, Rose pausing at the doorway to look up at the spaceship – now a black speck against the dark sky. She went in.
“Give me your disc Jack.”
Jack handed it over and the Doctor placed it into a slot on the console.
“Just a minute... and there we are. That's the frequency the discs are recorded on. So we-” he flicked a switch “-reserve it and-” he pushed a button “-magnify and baddabing!”
“Baddabing?”
The Doctor looked up, a wolfish expression on his face. “All the discs are now wiped. Therefore worthless.”
“But they could just start again,” Rose pointed out.
He pushed another button. From outside the TARDIS was a low, loud boom. Rose's eyes widened and she raced round the console to the viewer. On the screen the remains of the ruin were slowly toppling into the sea. She looked at the Doctor.
“Oops,” he said. “Wrong button?”
Rose bit her lip. She closed her eyes tightly, but the laugh bubbled up anyway. She shook her head, giggling.
Jack retired to his room with the disc. Rose sat on the chair, her knees drawn to her chest, watching the Doctor fiddle with the bowels of the TARDIS.
“You know, letting Cassandra go like that was really hard. I really wanted to say something.”
“What?” he asked her.
She shrugged even though he couldn't see her make that motion. “I dunno. Anything that would change the future. Not for her, you understand, but for the others that died.”
“Can't do that.”
“I know. That's why I stood there and let her fly off. I've let her die, in a way.”
“She chooses her own path Rose. If she hadn't tried to kill us all, she wouldn't have dies.”
“I know.” Rose paused. “I saw Jabe die,” she said then. “Your memory, though the link.”
“She chose her path too.”
“Yes. But the link. We couldn't have done this today without that.”
“So?”
“So I'm saying it might not be such a bad thing.”
There was a muffled bang and the Doctor dragged himself out of the hole. He sat on the edge and tilted his head.
“You thought it was a bad thing?”
“Being in your head? Just a little.”
“Oh thanks.”
“I did. I don't now.”
“That's so very reassuring.”
“Hmm,” Rose stared up at the ceiling. Then she looked back at him. “Are you done there yet?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let's go find somewhere with a better view.”
The Doctor grinned and stood up. Kicking the cover over the hole, he went to the console.
“Forwards? Backwards? Sidewards?”
“Can't go sidewards. What time has good food? I really, really fancy an ice cream.”
groovekittie can you still beta this at some point purlease?The door of the TARDIS banged open, making Jack look up. His expression of annoyance dissolved into one of horror at the sight of the Doctor, Rose limp in his arms. The Doctor paused at the fury on Jack's face. He sighed heavily, though his own expression became harder than it was already.
“Not now,” was all he said, then he carried Rose past Jack.
Entering the medical room for the third time that day, the Doctor laid Rose carefully on the bed. His immediate concern was that she'd lost the memory of looking into the Time Vortex, and all that surrounded that event. He was terribly afraid that he hadn't gotten to her in time.
Rose groaned and stirred.
“Rose?”
“What- What happened?”
“It went a little bit wrong,” he said wryly.
Rose laughed then winced. “Oh don't.”
“Sorry.”
“S'okay, I just have the hangover from hell. I just wish I'd been at the party.” Rose opened her eyes, flinching at the bright lights of the room. “So, what went wrong?”
“You came out of the drugs sooner than I thought you would,” the Doctor said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Do you remember what happened at the Games Station?”
“God, yes,” she answered with a shudder.
“What happened?”
“Which part?”
“Do you remember going home?”
Rose's face darkened. “Yes,” she said shortly.
“And then?”
“And then I opened the TARDIS and looked into the Time Vortex.”
“And then?”
“Then I came back. I... I stopped the Daleks. You know that, you were there.”
The Doctor looked at her. “I was,” he nodded. “I just wanted to make sure you remembered.”
“That's what it tried to take?”
“Hmm.”
“Oh.”
“I shouldn't worry about it,” the Doctor said lightly, jumping off the bed again.
“No, you wouldn't,” Rose retorted.
The Doctor paused. “I did.”
“Because it's a secret,” she said bitterly.
“Because it's part of who you are.”
“I didn't know you cared.”
“Don't be childish,” said the Doctor, looking annoyed. “Of course I do.”
“It hasn't been obvious.”
The Doctor paused at the door, staring at the floor at his feet. After a moment, he glanced over his shoulder at her.
“You know, you might want to consider the possibly – just possibly – that this has been just as difficult for me.” He walked out.
Rose sat up slowly, staring at the closed door. She swallowed, feeling a shock of guilt wash through her. She hadn't considered it, had been too wrapped up in her own loss to think about the situation from his point of view. The realisation made her feel sick.
She got up. The room spun slightly, but she ignored it. She needed to set things right. Now. She virtually ran to the console room.
The atmosphere there was heavy. The Doctor stood at one of the consoles, his expression watchful. Jack stood next to him, chewing at his thumb.
“What's going on?” she asked, picking up on the tension.
“We're reeling in a fish,” the Doctor said. His tone was light, as if their exchange a minute ago had never happened.
Rose closed her eyes briefly, then looked at Jack. He smiled.
“Spaceship,” he reported. “On it's way here.”
“The trap worked.”
“Ooh yes,” the Doctor said.
“Do we have a plan? What if they're armed?”
“I'm hoping, actually,” Jack said. It was only then that Rose realised he had his gun. She blanched and headed for the chair, suddenly feeling the need to sit down.
“Oh,” she said faintly.
“Plan? We have a plan. We let them land. We let them go in and get... whatever it is. Then when they come out, we...”
“We what?” Rose said, her eyebrows lifting as she sat forward. “Is Jack going to shoot holes in them?”
“We stop them,” the Doctor replied firmly. He held her gaze for a moment, then he looked at Jack.
Jack sighed and put the gun on the console.
The spaceship wasn't large, just a little bigger than Jack's Chula warship had been. It was black, with no markings. The Doctor and Rose watched a group exit the ship on the monitor. Jack was busy pacing and trying not to pick his gun back up.
Rose glanced from the monitor and sighed.
“Shouldn't he stay here?”
“I'm not making that decision for him,” the Doctor said. “He's a big boy.”
“There aren't as many of them as I thought there would be.”
“It's easier to hide a small group.”
“I suppose. Doctor?”
“What?”
“You were right.” She looked up at him and waited until he looked at her. “I hadn't considered... it. And I'm sorry.”
The Doctor smiled slightly. “It's okay. Period of transition, as it were.”
“Yes,” she glanced down. Anything else she was going to say was forgotten. “They're coming back out.”
“So there are. Let's go say hi.”
Rose went to Jack, taking his hand. She held his eyes as he focused on her. Then he nodded and they walked to the door, the gun still on the console behind them.
The Doctor opened the door and all three stood there, watching the group approached. There were five of them; three men and two women. One of the woman was slightly ahead and she stopped at the sight of the Doctor Rose and Jack, standing in her group's way.
“Evening!” the Doctor greeted them brightly. “Nice night for it, isn't it?”
“Who the hell are you?” the woman asked.
Rose felt a shock. She stared at her, wondering if she'd heard right.
“I'm the Doctor,” he told her. “These are my companions Rose and Jack. Jack's really rather annoyed with you since you have something of his. And since it's a nice night and I really don't want it spoiled why don't you give it to him?”
The woman sneered. “I really have no idea what you're talking about. Get out of my way.”
“Or she'll moisturise you,” Rose murmured to the Doctor. He looked at her. She nodded at the woman.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“You sure?”
“Pretty much.”
The Doctor looked back at the woman. “Excuse me, but my companion believes we know you. Lady Cassandra?”
“My name is Cassandra, yes.”
“Told you so,” Rose said.
“Rounder.”
“I noticed that too.”
“Excuse me, but what do you want?”
“To stop you,” the Doctor said. “You see, we know what you're doing. We know about the crystal and the memories. From the looks of the very nice and extremely fancy spaceship it's obvious a lucrative trade. However, it's wrong. So we're going to stop you.”
“Oh I'm so scared.”
“I would be,” Jack said, dropping Rose's hand to step forward. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is you had over all the information you've taken – all your records and everything. You get the ship and to live. The hard way is I go back into our little blue box and come out with my big black gun.”
Cassandra stared at him. His expression was dark and dangerous, his hands fisted at his sides. She took half a step back.
“There are five of us and only three of you,” she challenged, though her voice quavered slightly.
“Go ahead,” Jack said. “Make my day.”
Rose groaned. However, Cassandra seemed to be having second thoughts about the odds and her own mortality.
“And you are?”
“Jack Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness.”
“Oh yes. It is worth quite a bit of money for the information we got from you not to get to the Time Agents. That-” and she waved a had at the TARDIS “-isn't a Time Ship. Give me your word you will not give the information to the Agents and we have a deal.”
Jack frowned at her. “Okay,” he said slowly. “I can do that.”
Cassandra waved to one of the men, who came forward. He had a silver metal box that he opened. From it, Cassandra withdrew a clear square with a red disc inside.
“We give you this and you let us go.”
“Deal,” the Doctor said, ignoring the look he got from Rose. Cassandra handed the disc to Jack, then walked past them, her people following her.
Rose watched the go, her bottom lip between her teeth. A part of her screamed to say something, anything. However, she'd done that before and it had been a hard lesson. She still looked away as Cassandra went into her ship, as the moment was lost altogether. She glanced up to find the Doctor watching her.
“Everything dies,” she said faintly.
He nodded. “That it does.”
“What about the other discs?” Jack said, still looking at his.
“Come on, one last thing to do,” the Doctor announced and went back inside the TARDIS. Jack and Rose followed him, Rose pausing at the doorway to look up at the spaceship – now a black speck against the dark sky. She went in.
“Give me your disc Jack.”
Jack handed it over and the Doctor placed it into a slot on the console.
“Just a minute... and there we are. That's the frequency the discs are recorded on. So we-” he flicked a switch “-reserve it and-” he pushed a button “-magnify and baddabing!”
“Baddabing?”
The Doctor looked up, a wolfish expression on his face. “All the discs are now wiped. Therefore worthless.”
“But they could just start again,” Rose pointed out.
He pushed another button. From outside the TARDIS was a low, loud boom. Rose's eyes widened and she raced round the console to the viewer. On the screen the remains of the ruin were slowly toppling into the sea. She looked at the Doctor.
“Oops,” he said. “Wrong button?”
Rose bit her lip. She closed her eyes tightly, but the laugh bubbled up anyway. She shook her head, giggling.
Jack retired to his room with the disc. Rose sat on the chair, her knees drawn to her chest, watching the Doctor fiddle with the bowels of the TARDIS.
“You know, letting Cassandra go like that was really hard. I really wanted to say something.”
“What?” he asked her.
She shrugged even though he couldn't see her make that motion. “I dunno. Anything that would change the future. Not for her, you understand, but for the others that died.”
“Can't do that.”
“I know. That's why I stood there and let her fly off. I've let her die, in a way.”
“She chooses her own path Rose. If she hadn't tried to kill us all, she wouldn't have dies.”
“I know.” Rose paused. “I saw Jabe die,” she said then. “Your memory, though the link.”
“She chose her path too.”
“Yes. But the link. We couldn't have done this today without that.”
“So?”
“So I'm saying it might not be such a bad thing.”
There was a muffled bang and the Doctor dragged himself out of the hole. He sat on the edge and tilted his head.
“You thought it was a bad thing?”
“Being in your head? Just a little.”
“Oh thanks.”
“I did. I don't now.”
“That's so very reassuring.”
“Hmm,” Rose stared up at the ceiling. Then she looked back at him. “Are you done there yet?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let's go find somewhere with a better view.”
The Doctor grinned and stood up. Kicking the cover over the hole, he went to the console.
“Forwards? Backwards? Sidewards?”
“Can't go sidewards. What time has good food? I really, really fancy an ice cream.”
