TWISTED ACTIONS

TWISTED ACTIONS
(The long awaited sequel to my story "Twisted Words”, which you can find here on my profile. Rated T for slightly mature themes. Enjoy! The theme for this is the song "Haunted" by Taylor Swift)

♫ You and I walk a fragile line
I have known it all this time
but I never thought I'd live to see it break.
It's getting dark and it's all too quiet
And I can't trust anything now.
And it's coming over you like it's all a big mistake.
Oh, I'm holding my breath
Won't lose you again
something's made your eyes go cold...
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this,
I thought I had you figured out.
Something's gone terribly wrong
You're all I wanted.
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this,
I thought I had you figured out.
Can't breathe whenever you're gone,
Can't turn back now, I'm haunted...♫

Last Time:
“Everything alright?” The Doctor's face showed slight concern.
“Yes, of course.” She slipped the positive pregnancy test off of the sink and into the trash.
“Good.” The Doctor said. He then embraced her, completely clueless. He kissed her forehead and ruffled her hair fondly. “Figured we should go to the planet Feloña soon, the gardens they have there are brilliant! You would not believe it...” He looked up, seeing images in his mind while still monologuing about the gardens. Rose ignored him and turned away from his sight slowly.
And her eyes flashed yellow.

“Gardens! Yeah that sounds great!” Rose turned back around, her eyes completely brown. “Can we go there today?” She threw her arms around his middle and looked up at his face.
“Okay, sure.” He grinned at her, wrapping his arms around her to complete the hug. Rose felt a shiver run up her spine and the Doctor felt it too. “You okay?” He asked, letting go of her.
“It's a bit cold in here yeah?” She dodged the question.
“I have no idea.” He replied. “Time Lords have regulated body temperatures. Strange though, usually the TARDIS sets the environment to your personal preference. I'll see if I can fix that.” With a hop he bounded off towards the console room.
As soon as he was gone Rose gasped and gripped the edged of the sink. She looked in the mirror and was startled to see her eyes flashing from brown, to yellow, to bright gold, then back to yellow and brown again.
“Control, Bad Wolf.” said a sinister voice in her head. “Soon I will have control Bad Wolf.”

♫ “Now I'm haunted...” ♫

The Doctor frowned. There was nothing wrong with the environment systems, but that was not currently what was troubling him. Every time he set the coordinates for Feloña, the main rotor would make a crunching sound. For some reason the TARDIS didn't want to land. He reached down and grabbed the mallet that rested under the console. After trying and failing to land again, he struck the console with the mallet. The console suddenly sparked madly at him.
“Oi!” He shouted in anger. “Why won't you land?” He heard a 'ding' and looked up. On the console screen was a picture of a black rose, slightly wilted, with blood dripping off the thorns. The Doctor frowned again. Why would the TARDIS give him enigmatic symbols? Well he'd have to find out later. Bearing his sonic screwdriver, he climbed beneath the console and tried to find whatever the hell was wrong with his ship.

Two hours later...

The Doctor heard a noise and looked out from his position under the console. It was Rose, wearing different, looser clothes. And suddenly he understood what his ship was doing. Something was seriously wrong with his companion, and the TARDIS was trying to tell him that. Rose looked different. Her hair was a shade darker, but did she just dye it without telling him? Not like it had never happened before. But that didn't explain the other changes. Instead of her eyes being bright and inquisitive, they were dimmer and held a trace of...something he couldn't place. And then there was the other thing.
Was it just his imagination, or had she put on some weight? Well, she did love her chips but...no, not with all the running she did, it was not enough to explain the slightly extra weight around her middle. He was surprised he noticed, considering she had been wearing bulky sweaters the past few days...
“Hey.” She said, not noticing his awareness. “We going somewhere today?”
“Oh, uh...” He was about to tell her that the TARDIS wouldn't land, but got a strong feeling that he shouldn't. “I was thinking we'd take a break today. The TARDIS needs to fly through the vortex for a while...it cleans out her engines.” Rose narrowed her eyes and the Doctor thought she had seen through his lie, but after a second her face softened and she smiled, albeit strained.
“Oookay, I'll grab a book then.”

Ten minutes later

The Doctor was still tinkering with the TARDIS, but it wasn't enough to distract him from thinking about what might be wrong with his blonde companion. She was still wearing an oversized sweater as if she had something to hide, and she was currently reading a book that hadn't been published in her time line yet, and one he didn't think she would like. To be honest, it was above her skill level. Heck it nearly matched his own, but here she was reading it like it was Dr. Seuss. Boy was that man talented...The Doctor shook his head. He needed to stay on track.
Making a decision, he pulled the console screen away from Rose's sight so she couldn't see what he was doing. He punched in a few keys and secretly the TARDIS began scanning Rose's body. After a minute the results flashed up. The Doctor blanched.
“Oh Rose...” Why hadn't she told him she was pregnant? Surely he could have...wait how could she...? Unless...
No. Suddenly it all clicked. The image of the black rose the TARDIS had shown him, the way she kept turning away from him and shivering violently, the avoidance of certain topics relating to what had happened two months ago...
The Doctor's head shot up. The only way it could have gotten inside her was....No.
His hearts clenched sickeningly. This was all his fault.
But his self-loathing would have to wait until later. First he had to save Rose. And if he remembered correctly, the Pionine would want to get Rose off the TARDIS and onto another planet that it could eventually overrun. Soon the instincts will kick in and she will try to get off the ship.
But he would be ready.

The Next Day...

The Doctor waited patiently by the console for his companion to come out. His trap had been set for hours.
Soon she came out wearing another bulky sweater, but the Doctor noticed that very soon it wouldn't enough to hide it. The alien inside her would speed the process up as quickly as possible. If he didn't save her before she gave birth, the alien would kill her after getting out, and then the whole planet would be gone beyond saving...
“Let's go somewhere today Doctor.” Her remark brought the Doctor out of his stupor.
“Can't.” He said, leaning up against the console but being careful not to touch the controls. “Still won't land.” He watched the expression on Rose's face. It turned to desperation and anxiousness.
“Why not?” She cried loudly, before lowering her voice.
“Why are you so worried? You need to go somewhere?”
“Uh...” She stammered. “No, I...just want to see my mum.”
“Sorry. That will have to wait.”
“No!” Rose suddenly cried out, leaping forward. “I need to get off this ship, now!” She grabbed the controls with both her hands. Suddenly the console sparked and a blue light gathered around her hands, forming manacles on her wrists. She tugged them away, but they were stuck.
“What have you done?” She cried. The Doctor came over to her and ripped her sweater off, exposing her enormous stomach.
“You think I wouldn't notice? What kind of fool do you take me for?” He could feel the Oncoming Storm rising up in him. Nothing made him more angry than someone trying to hurt his Rose.
“Doctor, it's me.” She said weakly.
“Don't give me that! I'm not falling for it again.” Suddenly her eyes flashed yellow and she snarled.

♫ “Somethin's made your eyes go cold...” ♫

“Let Rose go immediately!” The Doctor cried.
“Never!” The Pionine shouted back. “This one's mine now. All because of you.” She struggled and pulled on the light chains but to no avail.
“Let me speak to Rose, or else...”
“Or else what? You'll kill me? You won't touch me as long as I'm in her.” The Doctor stepped back, his brain trying to think of an idea.
"You let me talk to her, and...I'll land the TARDIS.” The creature seemed to consider it, before Rose shot forward and gasped in breath.
“Rose?” The Doctor came closer to her.
“Doctor! Why am I...” She tugged on the light before looking down. She screamed.
“Rose, Rose listen to me!” The Doctor grabbed the sides of her face and forced her to look at him. There was terror and confusion in her tear-filled eyes.
“Why am I like this?” She sobbed.
“Rose, I'm going to help you, just trust me.” Rose gasped again.
“I can feel her. Not the thing but...the Bad Wolf. She's trying to help me but she's not strong enough.” The Doctor narrowed his eyebrows. All traces of the Bad Wolf should have been gone when he removed the heart of the TARDIS from her. Rose shrieked and nearly collapsed. She looked down at her stomach then back up at the Time Lord.
“It's starting.” She whimpered. The Doctor knew he only had minutes left.
“Rose, can you work with the Bad Wolf to stop the labour for a while?” Rose closed her eyes and concentrated.
“Yes.” She finally said. “But I don't know for how-” She was cut off as she arched her neck, the two beings inside her fighting for control. The gold in her eyes faded to yellow.
“What did you do to her?” The Pionine snapped. The Doctor stuck his face in her's, glaring angrily.
“She's stronger than you think. You can't win this.”
“Watch me.” It replied. “Now hold up your end of the bargain.” The Doctor turned away, his mind whirling. Where could he take her where she couldn't get away from him, yet also had the technology he needed to help Rose? He thought of an idea and immediately hated it. He had heard rumours of a Torchwood farther in Rose's future, run by an...ugh Captain Jack Harkness. Everything about it felt wrong, but if it was the only way to save her... Surely they would have a containment cell and possibly some technology that could help him. He strode over to the console and set the coordinates for 2008, Cardiff, Torchwood 3 Base. The Pionine looked on in satisfaction.

Captain Jack Harkness jerked out of his slumber at the oh-so familiar wheezing sound coming from somewhere inside the Hub. Bursting out of his office, he ran down to where the TARDIS was appearing near the front entrance. Ianto and Gwen joined him.
“Is it him?” Gwen asked, excitement rising in her voice. “Is it the Doctor?”
“Yeah.” Jack replied, just as excited. He already knew what the Doctor was going to look like, having seen him a year previously when they fought the Master.
But what he was not expecting was an expectant Rose to come out behind him, with a blue light around her wrists. Recovering from his shock quickly, he was about to come up with a smart remark congratulating them on finally hooking up, before looking at Rose's eyes and noticing they were yellow. The Doctor noticed him frowning.
“A Pionine.” He explained. Jack blanched in recognition. He immediately sprang into action.
“Gwen, get a containment cell set up, Ianto, fetch the singularity scalpel from the vault.”
“But sir,” Ianto replied. “Are you sure–“
“I said do it Ianto.” His words were a bit harsher than he intended, but the two sped off to obey him. The Doctor led Rose over to a chair and made her sit down.
“I thought you said you'd let me go.” She said, growling.
“No.” The Doctor replied. “I said I'd land the TARDIS. I didn't say I'd release you.” She glared daggers into him, but the Time Lord turned away and ignored her, instead going over to talk to Jack.
“Doctor, how did you find her...” Jack looked into his friend's eyes and noticed he was younger than when he had seen him last. He wisely shut his mouth. If the Doctor was about to lose Rose soon, Jack would only be messing the time lines up by telling him about it. Rather, he brought up the other question that was on his mind. “Never mind. I know how Pionines reproduce. The only way for it to get inside Rose was–“
“Yes.” The Doctor interrupted him. “It's my fault. It got inside me first. I don't even remember doing it to her.” He turned away, running his hands over his face. “I wish she had told me earlier. I could have helped her before it took over.” He looked at his friend whose yellow eyes were glaring into them both.
“It's not your fault Doctor.” Jack said. “You couldn't control what that thing did to you.” He jumped back as the Doctor suddenly turned on him.
“But I'm stronger than that Jack. I should have been able to stop it before it got into her.”
“You can't change the past,” Jack replied calmly after a minute. “You know that better than anyone.” The Doctor slumped his shoulders in defeat, knowing he was right.
“Jack,” Gwen spoke into his earpiece. “The containment cell is ready.”
“Thanks Gwen” Jack replied as the Doctor pulled Rose up. She struggled but the Doctor placed both hands on her shoulders and lead her forward. As they walked Jack whispered in his ear.
“Can Rose still be saved?”
“The Bad Wolf is helping her from going into labour at the moment.”
“The Bad Wolf?”
“I'll explain it later.”
“You already have.” Jack said before he could stop himself. The Doctor looked at him strangely. “Never mind.” He said again. “What about the child? No matter what the Pionine did, it's still a product of you two, a human, well, human-Time Lord.” The Doctor gazed at him gravely.
“I can't. The alien's taken over too much already. If Rose gives birth to that thing...not only is she dead but the whole Earth is in danger.”
Briefly Jack wondered if the Doctor could make himself do it, not save the child that is. After all, his whole planet was gone.
But the Doctor would do what was right in order to save Rose and the world, no matter what the cost to him.

Pretty soon Rose was tied up to a chair near the back of the cell. Ianto burst into the room, the scalpel in his hands.
“Here you go sir.” He handed Jack the device as Gwen rushed him behind him.
“Thank you Ianto.” He said with a smile.
“Ooh a manipulative sonic cell distributor, I haven't seen one of these for years!” The Doctor grabbed it from Jack's hands.
“Actually we call it the Singularity Scalpel. And it doesn't work very well.”
“Yeah it's only worked twice, really. Once on me.” Gwen spoke up. “Rhys and Owen are the only ones who have been able to work it so far.”
“Except Owen's dead.” Jack spat bitterly, the Doctor took notice.
“That's because the defigurator beam's wires are crossed with the refracting chamber.” The Doctor looked up at Gwen as he pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket.
“You say this worked on you?”
“Yeah, I was...pregnant with an alien that wasn't mine too, about a year ago. My husband Rhys used the Scalpel to get rid of it.”
“I'm surprised you didn't implode.” He replied bluntly. Jack slapped him on the arm as Gwen's face blanched. “I'll have to meet this Rhys.” Gwen smiled in pride.
“He is a pretty great guy. Hold on, it worked on Martha too, didn't she travel with you Doctor?” Jack shook his head roughly behind his back. The Doctor cocked his head.
“Martha? Martha who?”
“Doctor, how long do you need to fix it?” Jack distracted him.
“Oh, I only need a mo to fix this, get your team to seal all the exits.” He looked back at Rose, who was trying to chew off the ropes on her hands, but to no avail. “if that thing gets out of her the whole Earth is in danger.”
“You heard him men!” Ianto and Gwen rushed off again. “It'd be so much easier with Owen here. And Tosh.” The Doctor glanced at him.
“I'm sorry.”
“Don't be. Not your fault. It's mine.”
“Jack-”
“No, they were my team. Don't worry about it.” To distract himself, he walked over to make sure Rose's bonds were secure. They were a bit chewed up but otherwise fine. She snapped at him as he came close.
“Oh no!” He said, leaping back just in time. “Last thing I want to do is get pregnant again.” His eyes suddenly turned hard. Coming back to her, he gripped her chin with one hand. She tried to shake it off but he was stronger. “If you weren't inside one of my dearest friends I'd–“
“You'd what?” The creature inside Rose snapped. “You'd kill me? I already went over this with your Doctor.” She narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. “You're much more angry than he is though.” Jack glanced back at his friend, who was so engrossed in fixing the device he didn't hear them. He leaned in closer to her face.
“He has a lot to be angry about too. I'm just not as good at hiding it.”
“Oh, but you are! You waltz around on this planet, calling it yours, pretending to be okay by laughing and joking but inside you're so bitter, not knowing who or what you are because of what Rose did to you.”
“My friends and what I do define me now.”
“Really? Well how does it make you feel knowing that your Doctor is about to lose his precious Rose soon? Any day now they will be separated forever and you can't even warn him about it.”
“How do you know anything about that?” He whispered loudly, his eyes flashing.
“You're as easy to read as a book Harkness. You knew he was coming but you were surprised to see me.”
“What if it was just because of...your condition?” He looked down at her enormous state.
“It's more than that,” The Pionine replied. “Your eyes tell it all. You weren't even expecting me here, to pardon the pun.”
“I can't change the time lines.” He retorted, hating how weak his voice sounded.
“Pretty soon you wouldn't be able to if you wanted.” She snarled with a wicked smile.
“Don't listen to anything she says.” The Doctor yelled at them, only hearing the last thing she said. “Pionines have the ability to slightly peek into the future and twist it as they tell it to you.” Jack walked away from her.
“Something she forgot to mention?” Rose winked at him. Jack growled.
“Easy.” The Doctor calmed him. “She'll be back to normal soon.”
“You only hope so.” The Pionine replied, a knowing smile on her face. “Now you better hurry.”
“Rose!” Jack shouted, rushing forward as her eyes faded to brown and she jerked forward violently.
“Jack, don't!” The Doctor leapt forward and held him back by the shoulder, at the same time dropping the Scalpel to the ground. It cracked as it hit the stone floor. “Stay back, her body's unstable now.” Rose screamed.
“Doctor, help me!” A yellow light surrounded her and she shrieked as her body began to shimmer.
“I'm here Rose,” He said as he picked up the singularity scalpel. “Oh Gallifrey.” He muttered. It was broken in three places. Rose screamed louder.
“Doctor, what's going on?” Jack demanded.
“The creature has focused all its energy into the labour process, thus leaving Rose back in control of her mind.”
“You gotta get that thing out of her!”
“You think I don't know that?” The Doctor snapped back. He shook the machine in his face. “There's no way I can fix it this time so it works properly. I'm back where I started!” Jack blanched as the Doctor came over and stood in front of Rose.
“But you can't use it now, you don't know what's going to happen!” Rose looked at the Doctor with tear-filled eyes.
“Help.” She whispered. That did it. The Doctor fired the button and prayed to Rassilon that it would work. Time seemed to slow as the device shot and headed towards Rose. For a second he thought he failed when Rose screamed, but as the dust cleared, he saw his Rose breathing heavily, her head down, her stomach size back to normal.
“You did it!” Jack shouted. The Doctor embraced him, laughing at his success. He then came up to Rose and knelt in front of her. He stumbled back in surprise as she lifted her head. Her eyes were bright gold.
“Thank you Doctor.” Her voice was ethereal.
“Bad Wolf,” He muttered in recognition. Jack gasped. “I thought there wasn't enough left in you to do this again.”
“Do not worry my Doctor. I do not have any power this time, except to do this.” She looked to her left and then to her right as the ropes slid off her arms. Her arms collapsed wearily to her side. “I was trying so hard to stop that thing coming out that when you removed it I accidentally took control.” The Doctor pursed his lips.
“It's good to know that if something like this happens again, you'll be there to help her. I may not always be there for her like you can.” the Bad Wolf nodded and Jack's eyes widened. Did he know?
“Until that happens,” The Bad Wolf continued, “take care of her Doctor.” With that her head lolled forward again.
“Rose, Rose speak to me! How are you feeling?” She lifted her head back up. The Doctor sighed in relief, seeing her eyes were completely brown. When she spoke, her voice was strange and it was a jumble of words that didn't make sense. The two men looked at each other in confusion. She tried again, but still nothing made sense. She shook her head, as if not agreeing with herself.
“Doctor, what's going on?” The Doctor shook his head, angry at himself.
“The Pionine wrecked such havoc on her system that her senses are messed up. That's why she can't talk properly. She should recover in a while, if I help her.” Rose tried to stand up but immediately fell into the Doctor's arms.
“S-S...stone?” Her face was a mask of confusion.
“Sorry.” The Doctor corrected her, wiping a strand of hair from her sweaty forehead. “You'll get it, I promise.”

Ianto and Gwen were staring at the TARDIS, fascinated by the blue box standing inside the Hub.
“And it just appeared there.” Gwen whispered to her friend in awe. They both turned at a sound behind them. The girl named Rose was leaning heavily on the Doctor as he helped her walk. Gwen gave a sigh of relief, seeing her back to normal. She knew a little about what this blonde girl had gone through in the last few hours. In fact, they were forced to wipe the memories of all her wedding guests because of what had happened. Well, at least the honeymoon was good...
“That's it, one foot in front of the other. You've got it!” He smiled proudly at her, and suddenly he reminded Gwen of Rhys. A smile of pride, devotion and most of all love. She grinned. Right then she planned to do something special for Mr. Williams that night.
“Jack, can I talk to you, alone?” The Doctor asked as he helped Rose into a chair. Jack motioned for them to go up into his office.
“Gwen, Ianto, watch her.” He ordered as he walked away.

When they got there, they were both quiet for a few seconds, both knowing what the other had to say. The Doctor sighed as he began.
“Look, I know I've messed up the time lines. Rose was about to give birth and I needed a safe, secure place with the technology that could help her.”
“It's no problem.” Jack replied.
“But it is. You've seen this face before.” He pointed at himself. “But that's not all.” Jack walked over to the glass and looked out into the Hub. The Doctor came up beside him. “Even now you're looking at her with a sad fondness.” The Doctor turned away, clearly distraught. “Something's going to happen to her.” Jack went to interject but the Doctor held a hand up. He balled it into a fist, clenching his lips, before running his hand through his hair. He sighed deeply and sorrowfully. “I can't know my own future. That means I have to wipe both mine and Rose's memory of coming here.”
“Why Rose's? She doesn't know.”
“Yeah and the first time she mentions you or Torchwood it'll either damage my memory permanently, or I'll notice the gap and come back here demanding why I don't remember being here.” Jack nodded in understanding. They were both quiet again. The Doctor still looked stressed.
“She doesn't die, Doctor.”
“Okay.” His face eased a bit.
“Jack!!” They heard Gwen scream. The two of them rushed out to see Gwen and Ianto standing over a distressed Rose. The Doctor made it to her side first.
“She just stopped breathing.” Ianto explained. It was true. Rose gripped the arms of her chair tightly, fear on her turning-blue face.
“She's forgotten how.” The Doctor explained. Rose kept shifting her head to the side, so the Doctor placed a hand on her chest. Her eyes immediately snapped back to him.
“Rose, listen carefully, make your chest follow my hand.” He lifted his palm about four inches above her. After a few harrowing seconds, her chest followed. The Torchwood trio sighed in relief. “Now back down, and up, and down.” Slowly her face colored again. As soon as she could breathe normally, she fainted into the Doctor's arms.
“What happened?” Jack asked him.
“She didn't get enough air to the brain for too long.”
“Will she be okay?
“Yeah.”

Ten minutes later...

The Doctor carried the still-unconscious Rose to the TARDIS, her head resting on his shoulder and her legs supported by his arm.
“Hey,” Jack ran up to them. “Nice trick back there, making her breathe again.” He looked at him strangely.
“Oh, I'm just taking her to the Med Bay and let the TARDIS take care of her.” Jack was silent for a moment.
“This is it, isn't it Doctor?” The Doctor took a moment before replying.
“Yeah.”
“Do you need me to come with you, to help?”
“No, no. This is something I need to do on my own. It's my fault in the first place-”
“Doctor-”
“Don't say it isn't Jack, because it is.” He looked at Rose with her eyes closed and face of peaceful sleep. “If I hadn't invited her to travel along with me nearly two years ago, none of this would have happened to her. I need to make her better.”
“Like she did to you?” The Doctor nodded, suddenly finding himself unable to speak.
“One more thing,” Jack stopped him before he could walk away. “B-before you erase your memory of what you heard here, can I just say two words that you can remember?” The Doctor debated this.
“Okay.” He consented.
“Canary Wharf. Be careful.” The Doctor smiled to hide the uneasy feeling in his stomach.
“That's four words.”
“Oh, here, I grabbed something for you too. Picked it up off a crashed Kitarian freighter.” He slipped a small object into the Doctor's pocket.
“Thanks.”
“Goodbye Doctor.” Jack waved as his friend walked into the TARDIS and shut the door behind him. He grinned as the wind from the disappeared ship blew in his face.

The Doctor gently laid his young companion down on an examination table in the Med Bay of the TARDIS. She was still asleep, but looked like she was going to come round shortly. Ten minutes later she began to stir. The Time Lord was immediately by her side. He helped her sit up and she looked at him like she wanted to say something but couldn't.
“What, what is it?” She opened her mouth for a moment, before shutting it again. Her face turned frustrated as she tried to recall what she had to say. Finally she reached out and gave a tug on the Doctor's overcoat which he hadn't had a chance to remove yet.
“J--” The Doctor realised what she meant.
“Oh Jack! Where's Jack, is that it?” She nodded eagerly. “Well, he stayed at the Torchwood base.” Speaking of which, he needed to erase their memories soon. Rose touched his arm, a questioning look in her eyes. “Ah, you're probably wondering why he didn't come with us, since he's been helping us so much lately. Uhh...Well he said he had to take care of his base and...” Aw heck. This was coming out all wrong. How could he explain to her the immense guilt he felt about inadvertently causing her pregnancy in the first place? That he felt like it was his chance to fix her like she did the same to him? Ever since they met he had never felt like who he had wanted to be before the Time War.
She had made him better, and now it was his turn.
“Let's have a look at your vitals, shall we?” He said to distract her. “Breathe deep for me, if you will.” Rose furrowed her eyebrows, before remembering what the Doctor had done earlier. She took a deep breath. The Doctor nodded in satisfaction while he grabbed a light for her eyes. As he shined the light in her eyes he frowned. Not as good a response as he would like it to be. “Can you blink?” She looked at him oddly. “Eyelids, blink?” He put his face in front of hers and demonstrated. After a few seconds she blinked as well. “Good!” He shouted. “Okay, let's see what else you remember.”
For the next few minutes he examined and had her perform basic actions and reactions. “Wow, for once I feel like an actual doctor.” He was surprised when Rose giggled at that. “Laughter, check.” He said, grinning at the look of triumph on her face.
After that Rose began to speak again, obviously with extreme difficulty. “Lim...fling...ban...over...” She glanced away, her face reddening in embarrassment. It was simply impossible for her mouth to speak what was on her mind.
Remembering what Jack had placed in his pocket, the Doctor pulled the object out. It was a small box-like item on a short metal chain. He fingered it, debating whether or not he should use it. Rose looked at it quizzically.
“Oh,” He jumped. “This is a Kitaran Mind-to-Mouth Translator. It reads what you're trying to say and says it for you. Great help dealing with language barriers.” Making a choice, he slid the chain over his companion's head. It rested just on the top of her breastbone. When the tiny device spoke for her, the Doctor was surprised to hear a clear, near-replica of her own voice.
“What I'm...woah that's weird. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I understand why you left Jack, and that you probably don't want to hear that it's not your fault that this all happened to me.” The Doctor started to turn away from her but she continued. “So I forgive you.” He immediately felt a peace in his heart. Just another time she had made him better. He leaned over and hugged her.
“I promise” He said, “to get you back to normal as soon as possible.”
“Can I keep wearing this?” She looked down at the translator.
“No.” He immediately replied. “No, best not. You need to recover your speech without it.”
“Okay.” She went to take it off but paused. “My grandpa was a stroke victim. After his worst one he had to relearn everything. Eating, talking. I never could imagine me losing those abilities we take for granted.”
“Well, it's not exactly the same for you. You know how to do those things, they're in your head,” He tapped her forehead. “but your senses just can't reach them. Can't read the signals your brain is sending. You'll recall how to walk and laugh and things with time.”
“And my speech?”
“That may take longer, since you seem to have the most difficulty speaking. You'll be able to talk freely soon but for a long time every once in a while you'll forget a word or two. But no worries, I'll always be here to help you remember.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth he saw Jack's guilty face in his head. He was reminded that he was going to lose her soon, possibly forever.
As soon as he thought it, he wanted it out of his head, immediately. Well, now was as good a time as any.
Before she had a chance to question it, the Doctor's hands were on her forehead, his mind delving deep into hers and removing all the memories of going to Torchwood and seeing Jack. It could be considered rather cruel to erase her memory of seeing her friend again, but the Doctor couldn't see any other way out of this.
After successfully clearing her memory, he put her mind to sleep so everything could develop correctly. Keeping his hands on her forehead, he laid her down on the examining table in one fluid motion. After releasing his hands, he took a moment to marvel at her beauty. Her golden hair cascaded in waves down to her shoulders, and her eyes were closed, showing contended peace. The steady rising and falling of her chest displayed her easy breathing.
Suddenly the Doctor was overwhelmed with feelings he couldn't define. Leaning over her, he brushed the hair off her face and ran his cool fingers over her warm skin. Was he imagining it or had she slightly moved her head against his hand?
The Doctor was surprised to feel a teardrop splash onto his hand. Reaching up, he wiped the other tears from his watery eyes. This woman had affected him that much. Normally, he would have kept the knowledge of her departure, so they could take advantage of the time they had left, but every second the Doctor thought of a life without her was killing him, literally destroying him. He simply couldn't fathom a day going by without hearing her laugh, feeling her fingers intertwined with his, and seeing her bright, inquisitive, curious eyes gazing back at him.
He sniffed loudly and grabbed a chair in desperation, setting it beside the examining table. He sat down in it and put his hands to his own temple, removing everything that he had seen in Jack's eyes, everything that the former Time Agent had said except for the two words he had given him right before he left.
He replaced the missing memories with fake ones, on how he extracted the alien from Rose using a multi-form intra-spectural ray he had found, that had disintegrated immediately after using it.
Glancing one last time at Rose before his mind was wiped as well, he finished and also put his mind to sleep.

-Sometime Later-

The Doctor opened his eyes groggily and frowned. He must have fallen asleep after administering to Rose. He looked over at his blonde companion and noticed she was also sleeping soundly. Wait, why...Oh yes, he wanted to give her body extra time to heal after everything that had happened. Yes, that must be it.
Smiling, he stood up and walked over to her. He placed one arm under her knees and the other under her head. He then picked her up and carried her out of the Med Bay and down the hallway to her own room.  Once he was there he placed Rose on her bed and tucked her under the duvet.
“I'm so proud of her.” He thought after he finished. Looking at her, he was reminded of the angelic creatures of Dominigaro, considered the most beautiful creatures in the galaxy. And his Rose could put them all to shame.
He felt something strange on his face and wiped his finger across his cheek. It was a tear. This startled him. Why did he feel so immensely sad? There was absolutely no reason to. Nothing was wrong, they were both safe and healthy, now.
Shaking it off, he smiled at Rose before leaving her room, shutting the door behind him quietly.

The next week had been long and frustrating, for both of them. Rose continued to have a hard time speaking and performing menial actions and was forced to use the translator on more than one occasion. But the Doctor was patient with her and knew it would get better soon.
The morning of the seventh day the Doctor was waiting patiently by the TARDIS for his companion to finish getting ready for the day. The TARDIS hadn't landed at all the past week, because the Doctor was afraid of her getting lost or in danger and not knowing what to do.
The Doctor frowned as he waited. Rose had been taking an abnormally long time to get ready. Of course she already took a long time, being a human female, but this was insane.
“TARDIS, patch me in to Rose's room.” The audio speakers connected to her room switched on. Soft, sobbing noises filtered through, and immediately the Doctor took off running down the hallway, afraid for her well-being.
He burst in and stopped, his gaze turning sympathetic. Rose was sitting on her bed with her back towards him, her undergarments lumped in a pile beside her.
After she heard him come in, she turned her tear-stained face to him, then blushing in fear and throwing  a blanket over her bare chest. The Doctor held his hands up in good intentions. Rose sighed in frustration and turned away from him again.
“I'm so stupid.” She said, sniffling.
“Don't say that, ever.” The Doctor came up to her, and she hugged the blanket to herself tighter. He climbed on the bed and sat behind her. “You're one of the strongest, smartest women I've ever met.”
“I can't even remember how to put my own ----- clothes on.” The Doctor flinched at her language, but chose to ignore it. After all, this was the first time she had actually broken down. She almost had two days ago with that incident of the marmalade jar.
“Oh Rose, my brilliant Rose Tyler. Not many people could have survived what you went through, much less have gotten this far.” At that Rose turned her face back to him. He reached out and stroked the side of her face lovingly. She half-smiled.
“Maybe it's just the Bad Wolf in me.” The Doctor held her face with his hands.
“No, the Bad Wolf *is* you.” He corrected her.” The Bad Wolf is a creation made inside you with the time vortex, circling back since the day you were conceived. Her strength is only made of your strength.” He sighed, pausing for a minute. “If a Time Lord...if I had done what you did, I would have gone mad with the power. But not you. You controlled it. You're brilliant!” He picked her bra up off the bed and unsnapped it for her. She turned away from him and held her arms up so he could slip it on.
“Good news, we now know you possess the ability to blush and swear like a sailor.” Rose giggled. As the Doctor hooked the clasp for her, his fingers brushed up against her bare skin, sending a spark up her spine. If he noticed, he didn't say.
“There you go!” He leapt off the bed. “Do you think you can do the rest?” Rose nodded, already wearing the rest of her undergarments and jeans.
“Yeah. I can man...man...what's the word?”
“Manage.”
“Right that one. I can manage!” She pulled a shirt out of her closet and threw it on.
“Good!” The Doctor said joyfully, bounding to the door. “Because I want to take you to Kitariah 3 today, the place the translator came from. The inhabitants are fox people. Fox people, can you believe it?” Rose giggled as he bounced out of her bedroom and towards the console room.

Two weeks later...

Rose had made a big improvement since her breakdown. She could get dressed, eat, run and do most everything she could before the Pionine attack. She hardly used the translator, though time to time she still forgot words which the Doctor said would still happen for a long while.
The day had been quite eventful, for both of them. The Doctor had taken Rose to the London 2012 Olympics, and he had become trapped in a drawing by a lonely Isomorph. After Rose found a way to get him out, he was so worried for her safety that he abandoned the Olympic Torch bearer who had for some reason collapsed on his way. Thankfully, someone else was there to save the ceremony, a man who looked an awful lot like a certain former Time Agent...
Immediately the Doctor had found Rose and had taken her straight back to the TARDIS, since her energy level was still low from the mess with the alien creature inside her, opting to miss out on the fireworks that night. Instead they celebrated on their own: A glass of wine by the console.
“To us!” Rose said happily, lifting her glass up.
“The stuff of legend!” The Doctor replied, a grin on his face as their glasses 'clinked' together. Rose took a sip and set her glass down, the Doctor frowning as he followed suit.
“What is it?” She asked him. The Doctor sniffed the air.
“Something's coming. Something's big.” He thought really hard. Why were the words 'Canary Wharf' resounding through his brain like an alarm?
“But we'll always be together, right?” Rose asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. The Doctor didn't reply, only smiled. He had been thinking about something he had wanted to tell her for a while now. Something very important.
“Rose?”
“Yeah?”
“You know, two weeks ago, what happened with the Pionine?” She nodded. “Well, I...I never told you but I was scared. So scared. I'd never come so close to losing you before and...and...I realised...uhm...”
“Doctor, what are you trying to say?”
“I...well, I know we've been together and...gah!” He yelled in frustration. “I'm trying to say...that...” Rose looked to her right and spied the mind-to-mouth translator sitting on the console. She snatched it up and held it to his chest.
“Rose, I love you.” came the words he'd been trying to say. She gasped.
“Really?” The Doctor nodded. Rose suddenly threw her arms around him and kissed him passionately. The Doctor grabbed her around her middle and lifted her up so he could kiss her back properly.
As Rose ran her fingers through his hair, the translator fell out of her hands and hit the floor, cracking as it did.

But that was okay. They didn't really need it anymore now.

END