Bad Wolf and the Oncoming Storm [Book One: Back in Time]

.:Chapter Four:. No Place Like Home

     Ever since Rose disappeared a while back, The Doctor hadn’t stopped trying to figure her out. He didn’t understand how she could disappear in time and space so easily and quickly, sort of like a TARDIS. He wished he could follow her somehow, because he found that being away from her that long was painful.

      He was sitting on the jump seat in front of the console with his hands folded and his feet resting on the edge of it. When he looked up, he saw Rose appear out of nowhere. She was breathing heavily as if she were out of breath, and she looked very disoriented. The Doctor immediately got up and ran over to her.

     “Rose! Don’t walk!” exclaimed The Doctor, worried. “The last time you walked, you-you disappeared.” He picked her up gently and set her on the jumpseat.

     “I-I know..” said Rose. “When I walk, I can jump to another time. Doctor! It’s scary! When I travel with you, I’m not that scared because I know you are always there and going to keep me safe, but I’ve been to many planets on my own and it’s scary.”

     “I’ll keep you safe this time,” promised The Doctor. “You’re not moving an inch.”

     “What if I have to use the loo?” asked Rose in a shy voice.

     “Oh..er..I can..well..set you in front of the..y’know...toilet..walk out, let you do your own thing..and er..come back and get you when you’re done..?” The Doctor said, rather awkwardly. He was scratching the back of his neck and looking anywhere but at her.

      Rose laughed shakily, then turned serious again. “I think I know how I got here. I found out, when I focus on something hard enough, I will end up there or close to there. I thought of home, but I didn’t think of my home in london, or home with Mum and Pete” She said, watching him. “I thought about here, with you, in the TARDIS.”

     “Oh, Rose..I missed you.” said The Doctor.

     “I missed you too.” said Rose, smiling softly.

     The Doctor smiled back at her, then turned serious again. “Do you mind if I do some tests? To try and figure out what’s causing this?” he asked.

     Rose shook her head. “No, I guess not.” She giggled softly. “Are you going to be my proper Doctor right now?”

     The Doctor smiled. “I guess so. I’m bringing you to the infirmary.”

     He picked her up and brought her to the infirmary. As he was walking, they passed many closed doors, and Rose couldn’t help but wonder what was behind them.

     “Doctor? Can I ask you a question?” she asked, looking up at him.

     “You just did.” He said, and grinned. She opened her mouth to retort, but before she could, The Doctor said, “Go ahead. Ask.”

     “What’s behind all the doors?” she asked, looking up at him with big, brown, curious eyes.

     “All sorts of things.” said The Doctor.

     “What kinds?” asked Rose.

     “All kinds. Oh, look, we’re here!” said The Doctor, and he walked into the infirmary, and set Rose down on a bed similar to that of a hospital bed back on earth. After he set her down, he dashed over to a few very complicated looking machines, and ran a series of different tests. He took a sample of her blood to examine, and he also checked her vital signs, just to be safe.

     Rose watched The Doctor as he did the tests, and winced when he took a blood sample. She hated needles. She watched him as he did the tests, never taking her eyes off him even though she’s the one with the habit of spontaneously disappearing.

     When he was done with the tests, he went over to a computer screen and examined it carefully. He looked surprised. “Rose, do you remember when you looked into the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the Time Vortex?” he inquired.

     Rose nodded. “Yeah, I remember what you told me..why?” Her eyebrows knit together in slight confusion.

     “I thought I absorbed the entire Time Vortex and removed it from you, but apparently some of it still lingers,” said The Doctor. He stood up and started to walk around the room. “Not enough to hurt you, no, but it can’t be removed, either..you’ve become sort of like..like a human TARDIS. You can hop to different planets..times..universes..just by taking a single step forward. Of course, you said you’ve got to concentrate on your destination. But think of it as being a TARDIS, that can go anywhere and doesn’t require a driver, but drives on her own.”

     There was something else in the results of the tests, too, but he didn’t say anything.

     “I’m a walking TARDIS?” asked Rose in shock, her eyes widening a little bit. “So I can’t walk anymore, or I will disappear again? Doctor... how am I supposed to stay with you? How am I supposed to stay anywhere?”

     “Oh, you could walk, but there’s always a chance that you’ll turn up somewhere else..that’s why it’s probably safe for you to rest for awhile.” said The Doctor.

     Rose nodded. “I guess.” She held her arms out. “To my room, please?”

     The Doctor nodded and picked her up. He carried her to her room, setting her down on her bed when he got there.

     “Thank you.” she said, curling up under the covers, not caring that she was still in jeans. “Doctor? Can you lie with me please?”

     “Sure.” He laid down next to her on top of the covers. She curled up against him, using his shoulder as a pillow.

     “Don’t leave me.” She whispered.

     He hesitantly put an arm around her. “I won’t.” He whispered back.

     “Thank you,” she whispered. She smiled, closed her eyes, and drifted off into a much needed sleep.

     The Doctor kissed the top of her head, got up, and went through the door that connected their rooms together. He never really knew how it had gotten there. One time, a while ago, when she was traveling with him, he went to bed, and the next morning, it was there.

     He changed into his pyjamas and laid down on his bed, falling to sleep. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have her back. He’d lost lots of friends in the past, but none made him quite as sad as she did. Without her, he felt empty. Now that she was back, he didn’t feel so empty anymore.