Chapter Text
Rose and the Doctor ran headlong into danger, hand in hand as always. They confronted Del first, on the highest battlement of the prison fortress. This was where Rose's gymnastic ability were quite useful again. As Del advanced on the Doctor, sword drawn, Rose broke away and grabbed hanging chain. She swung out, her feet connecting solidly with Del's torso. He fell backwards, not expecting the full impact of Rose slamming into him.
Del nearly fell backwards over the stone wall, fear in his eyes. Rose dropped from the chain and unthinkingly grabbed his hand to keep him from falling into the conflagration below. They locked eyes and she saw the fear replaced by cold calculation as he yanked her toward the wall. Rose fought to yank herself out of his grip as the Doctor threw himself at them.
"Oh, no, you don't," the Doctor spat, yanking Rose back out of Del's grip. An explosion rocked the tower, and Del lost his footing again, going over the side. He grabbed the stone wall, fingers scrambling for purchase. Rose and the Doctor each grabbed an arm to help him, as they couldn't let him die. They tried their hardest to pull him up but a large explosion rocked the tower and Del fell. The Doctor nearly went over, and Rose pulled him back, the fear and adrenaline pumping through her, giving her the strength she needed.
And maybe a little extra. The Doctor couldn't be sure in the light of the fires, but he saw a bit of a golden glow to her eyes as she hauled him over the side. They landed in a pile by the wall, scrambling to stand. Looking over the side, both shuddered to see the inferno burning below them. Del was surely dead and the Doctor wouldn't have been able to regenerate from his injuries, had Rose not been able to save him.
They opened their arms simultaneously and embraced, both trembling. "Oh, Rose," he breathed against the crown of her head. He pulled back from her then captured her lips in a kiss that quickly deepened.
Another explosion rocked the fortress and they had to pull apart, panting.
The Doctor kissed Rose again, a quick hard kiss, and said, "Unfortunately we'll have to go farther below. I can't risk Kralgoric getting away."
"I know, Doctor, so let's get to it," Rose agreed.
Doctor commented darkly, "If he's alive, he'll let the battle play out while he's somewhere below, hiding in the shadows. Like the Wizard of Oz sending Dorothy to kill the witch for him. Arrogant..."
"Wanker," Rose finished for him. The Doctor nodded in agreement, smirking.
Together they ventured into the prison, keeping to the shadows as best they could.
"Rose, here, take this," he muttered, shoving the sonic into her hand.
"Why....?" She began. "This isn't gonna send me back to the TARDIS without you, is it?"
The Doctor was quite offended. "Rose, it's so you can disarm them. They won't be expecting you to do it if they catch us. It'll be me they'll be watching. I'm not tricking you," he sighed.
"I'm sorry..."
"You know it's because I love you that I've sent you back. It's for your safety."
"And you know I love you and will be by your side, always. Even if you don't want me there," she asserted.
"I always want you here. I always want you safe. I love you. And now that I've told you that... I'm daring the universe to take you from me. See why I'm always so conflicted?"
He looked so miserable in that moment that Rose squeezed his hand in reassurance. She couldn't be angry with him, not when he was so distressed. "Better with two, remember? I feel the same way about you. Let's just get this over with, Doctor. Together. Then we can take a proper holiday. In the vortex."
He kissed her temple quickly, wishing it could be so simple. "I look forward to it, Rose Tyler."
She didn't think she'd ever tire of the way he said her name.
******
The power was out and the only illumination came from small fires burning here and there. They ventured deeper into the prison than they had thought they would. The heart of the battle was taking place near where Kralgoric hid himself.
The Doctor commented, "Stay in the shadows, Rose. This is too easy."
"Easy? Hauling you over that wall wasn't exactly simple," Rose argued.
"Heavier than you look."
He snorted. "Right. So, setting 221b for disarming. Have it ready."
They came to a rounded stone wall. It was a dead end. They hadn't found any entrances to the lower level, and with the riots and fires going on outside, they'd never make it to an entrance that way. The Doctor paced back and forth in front of the wall, tugging his hair. Rose was about to make a comment about mad scientists when he burst out, "I know there's some sort of tech.... a shimmer or a perception filter." He began running his hands along the wall. "Can feel the..."
"Sentences please," Rose requested.
"It's hidden. We can't see it because we don't know to look for it. But that's the beauty of perception filters. They don't work if you know what to look for. We know, or at at least suspect, so the door might be there. We have to be expecting to see the door."
"Like when you disguised the TARDIS."
"Exactly!" He stepped back from the wall and both he and Rose stared at it. It still appeared solid. "There's something here, I can feel the energy from it....."
"Feelin' rather daft, starin' at a wall, Doctor."
"So maybe a shimmer then or we made a wrong turn. But I don't think we did. Right, then......" He began to search his pocket.
Rose rolled her eyes fondly. "I have the sonic."
"Oh, right....well, then. Setting 1165b, Rose. Do the honors."
Rose grinned broadly and pulled the sonic from her pocket. She set the controls and pointed it at the wall.
The blue light glowed, making the wall take on the appearance of heat shimmering off pavement on a blazing summer day. A door appeared where the wall was once solid. She turned to grin at him smugly but was taken aback by the look in his eyes. They were dark, dilated, save for a thin ring of chocolate brown. Well, he certainly wasn't holding anything back from her now.
She recovered from her surprise to quip, "Like the way I handle your sonic, do ya?"
The Doctor's eyebrows shot straight up to his hairline. He crossed the room in three quick strides, then looked back at Rose. His face was flushed, but he was smirking. He rubbed his eye distractedly and shook his head. "We...we really need to get on with this. But yes. I do. And we can elaborate on it more, later. When I can be distracted. You are going to make this new...phase in our relationship quite....interesting." She gave him the tongue-in-teeth smile he loved. He nodded in the direction of the door. It took effort for him to focus again. He blew out a breath and flashed her a quick smile. "Put it back on the disarming setting, and get behind me."
He opened the door carefully, and not finding guards on the other side, he motioned to Rose. She followed him in.
"Doctor," she murmured. "Could you put one of those shimmer things on a person?"
"It can be done. It'd be like...a tech version of a polyjuice potion, I suppose. A perception filter would take a little less effort."
"Could you do it for me and you, then? Make it easier to sneak up."
The Doctor sighed. "That would be a great idea, but a shimmer takes a bit of doing, and I'd need some sort of Time Lord tech for you to wear to be the perception filter. Like your key. I could do that, but you're not wearing it. We'll have to settle on you being hidden. Or count on them not expecting you to have the sonic. Be as stealthy as you can if we come upon someone, Rose. We'll have a better chance to get to Kralgoric. Let's go."
Rose didn't like the answer but she didn't argue. She knew time was of the essence.
*****
They walked a good five minutes before they came upon two guards around the corner of a winding corridor. The Doctor recognized them as people who'd been with Del earlier. He nodded at Rose, who triggered the sonic. The guards dropped as their weapons backfired.
"Now here's where it gets tricky," the Doctor murmured as they stepped over the unconscious guards. "I'm counting on the noise from the battle muffling this but if it didn't....."
"We'll figure something out," Rose assured him.
"I'm glad you have a plan in mind," the Doctor quipped.
"You plan making skills have rubbed off on me," Rose snorted.
"Oi! And you say I'm rude and not ginger. Now..." He put his finger to his lips.
Rose smiled and returned the gesture. She was feeling almost giddy with excitement. She tried to calm herself, knowing that it was imperative that she focus on the task at hand. She followed him as they continued to sneak deeper into the prison's secret passageway.
The Doctor was muttering again. Rose barely caught "Too easy."
"Well, if it's too easy, why are we still heading this way? Is it a trap then?"
He looked up, gazing at the ceiling. "Could be.....Rose, back up." The Doctor pushed her behind him as a section of the ceiling morphed from a solid stone expanse to a trapdoor. Four of Kralgoric's guards dropped down, quickly forming a semicircle so that the Doctor had no choice but to back up against the wall with Rose behind him.
"Hands up, Doctor," a guard snarled. The Doctor raised his hands.
"Trap affirmative, then, I see. So how's he get the shimmer tech? Not exactly native to Luminia, needs a lot of energy...using the Starlinius for it, aren't you? All that energy, could be used to illuminate people's houses and you're using it to trap innocent visitors. Should be ashamed! Oi, unhand her!"
"Enough!" the guard shouted, pulling Rose from behind him. She took advantage of the split second she had to try to trigger the sonic. The guard was a bit quicker and grabbed her arm, dragging her hand out of her pocket. She dropped the sonic as she wrenched herself put of his hands. It went sliding across the floor.
The Doctor launched himself at Rose, shaking off the guard holding him. He pulled Rose to him, kicking the sonic away from the guards. Rose dropped to the ground to grab it as the guard aimed his weapon at the Doctor's head.
The whole altercation took a few seconds to transpire. Rose saw the guard's finger twitch on the trigger. Practically simultaneously, she activated the sonic. All the guards but one dropped, their weapons useless.
"Come on, you," the Doctor barked at the guard. You're taking us to Kralgoric. This ends now. Give me the sword."
The Doctor towered over the guard, who had enough sense to know the battle was lost. He dropped the sword and Rose picked it up, handing the sonic to the Doctor.
"You know how to use that?" the Doctor asked.
"Wasn't covered in gymnastics, no," Rose quipped.
"Then let me do to it what I didn't have time to do to Del's." He indicated the sonic. "Setting 4535. Wonderful for fusing metal. Drop the sword." Rose did and the Doctor quickly fused the sword to the floor. "Thor himself couldn't pick that up."
He turned to guard. "Now to Kralgoric. Anyone stops us, Kralgoric thinks you captured us singlehandedly. Maybe you could be a hero a bit. Or you could be a legend for life. What's your name?"
"Aron," the guard muttered.
"You have a family?" Rose asked.
"Yes." Aron said, eyeing them cautiously.
"Then make them proud of you. Help us stop this," the Doctor commanded.
The guard pressed his lips together, seemed to go through some internal struggle before he blurted, "Do you know of Brinon? He's my brother."
Rose gasped, glancing at the Doctor. She saw the Oncoming Storm in his eyes. "Oh yes. I know of him. He's clinging to life in the infirmary of my TARDIS as we speak. He nearly gave his life to save the prince from those people with whom you've unwisely chosen to ally yourself." Aron went pale and wide eyed.
"Your nephew was almost fatherless today," Rose added. "And this is the kind of world you'd have him grow up in? So he can grow up and join the tyrant's army? Get off your arse and get us to Kralgoric, so we can end it. You really have no choice. Now, move!"
The Doctor smirked proudly at Rose. From the very beginning she proved to be a formidable opponent when she saw injustice. He had no idea why the Time Lords ever considered humans an inferior species. Rose Tyler stood head and shoulders above a good many Time Lords he could recall.
He squeezed her hand and together they accompanied a chastened Aron into the bowels of the prison fortress.
******
Rose decided the Wizard of Oz was an apt description of the little man standing before them, flustered that the Doctor was confronting him personally, but yet still defiant. "The man behind the curtain," she muttered.
"Wish I had a hot air balloon to send him to Kansas. It's over, Kralgoric. You're captured. Your first lieutenant is dead and the Prince is safe."
"You have no authority here, Time Lord," Kralgoric hissed. "You interfered where you weren't needed or wanted....."
"Ah, but it's what I do best. Can't help it, gotta play to your strengths. And you may have a point about the authority thing...." He gestured for the sonic. Taking it, he entered a setting. The blue light shined. "....but no worries, I turned you over to a higher authority. Just summoned them. The Shadow Proclamation. They'll be fully prepared to prosecute for war crimes. And for the abuse of a protected species. Leander's seen to the protection of the starlinius. So. Yeah. Higher authority."
Kralgoric paled at this news.
"I had been prepared to let you face the consequences of your own people. But since you've proven to be particularly persistent with your persecution...." the Doctor paused in appreciation of his alliteration. "....Well...Stormcage should be quite lovely this time of year." Kralgoric's knees wobbled.
"Now'd be a great time to handcuff him, Aron," Rose recommended. Aron fumbled with his utility belt.
Kralgoric wasn't ready to go down without a fight, though. He struck out like a viper, grabbing Rose around the neck in a headlock. Years of dealing with tossers on the estate (not the least of which was Jimmy Stone) had prepared Rose well. She stomped on his foot hard and had wrenched herself away before the Doctor could reach for her. Aron leapt on him and cuffed his hand to a long metal pipe.
The Doctor pulled Rose into an embrace, murmuring, "You're brilliant, Rose Tyler." Then he turned a sour eye to Kralgoric, growling, "And you're bloody lucky I haven't perfected the taser setting on this yet. You'll not lay a hand on her ever again."
The air wavered around them as four representatives of the Shadow Proclamation beamed into the room. It wasn't long before Kralgoric was transported away from the planet Luminia.
******
It was hours before Rose and the Doctor had the TARDIS to themselves again. First Brinon, reunited with his wife and child, was moved to the hospital. It had sustained some damage, and it had been fortunate that the Doctor had cared for Brinon's injuries early on in a fully equipped TARDIS infirmary, or his wife would have ended the day a widow.
Brinon was reunited with his chastened brother Aron, and while his sister-in-law's reception was understandably frosty, Brinon was more inclined to forgive. "A near- death experience can do that to a person, I suppose," the Doctor commented as they finally left the family at the hospital.
They dealt with Leander next. He really did not want them to leave. "You will be fine, as long as you listen to the right advisors," Rose encouraged him. The Doctor hoped Leander would end up being a stronger leader than he had been when they arrived looking for the waterfalls and stayed to end a war.
"Do you think it will all work out for him?" Rose asked the Doctor as they returned to the TARDIS.
"He's a wiser man, now. He's been put through a tough test. So...I hope. And I rather like hope, as you know."
Rose smiled at him as they reached the TARDIS. "It's one of the things I love about you," she murmured, cupping his cheek gently as he unlocked the door. He covered her hand with his, then pulled it to his lips to kiss her fingers. He opened the door and they stepped into the TARDIS, alone for the first time in days.
"Home," Rose sighed.
As the Doctor gazed into her eyes he knew she didn't just mean the TARDIS.
"Indeed," he agreed. "And now...." The Doctor slid his hands down to her waist, pulling her closer. "You saved me, Rose Tyler. Multiple times. You always save me, ever since Henrik's basement, you have. I love you, you brilliant, beautiful..."
"And you're going to make my head swell, I tell you."
"You are beautiful and brave and hundreds of other complimentary "b" words...whether you're in a ball gown or a dinner lady outfit...." Rose began to laugh at that. "I'm serious. You were very fetching in that outfit and I think all my students knew I fancied you."
"Even then?"
"Even then. And now, I'd really like to pick up where we left off before the explosions."
Rose's eyes sparkled. "I'd love to pick up where we left off."
The Doctor's eyes were dark with want, but he returned her bright smile as he leaned in. Rose met him in the middle.
Their kiss began as a languid press and brush of lips. Her hands slid into his hair, tugging softly. He reveled in the feeling of her lips and hands. She gently sucked on his bottom lip and he flexed his hands at her waist, the fabric of his own shirt under his fingers. It sent a shudder down his spine. His tongue tip tasted her lips and she opened to him. They kissed each other breathless.
When oxygen became necessary they broke apart, panting. "I thought I was gobsmacked when I saw you in that gown, but the sight of you in my shirt....." He blew out a breath, shaking his head in wonder.
Rose grinned, full of mischief. "Maybe I could borrow it again. Or maybe your old burgundy jumper."
The Doctor groaned, then chuckled. He growled, "Rose Tyler, I will have to lend you one of them. Although...if you'd have been in my jumper tonight, Leander would have been on his own." His hands slid under the shirt. He drew in a sharp breath at the sensation of his skin on so much of hers. Gentle hands caressed her lower back. It was brilliant, this feeling, and he never wanted it to end.
Rose's breath caught. "Well, if I'd known that I would have worn it long ago...." Rose gasped before he kissed her again, just the way she'd always wanted him to.
They broke apart only so the Doctor could send them into the vortex. Once he was finished, she was back in his arms and his lips were on her neck. In between gentle presses of lips he sighed, "I do regret that we didn't get to dance at the ball a bit longer, though."
The TARDIS had an opinion on that revelation. The Doctor and Rose were pleasantly surprised to hear "Moonlight Serenade" playing from hidden speakers overhead. She slipped her arms around his neck, his went into the pockets of her jeans, pulling her as close as possible. They swayed to the music a bit. Rose slipped her hands into his hair and he moaned a bit. "So," Rose began. "Dancing, then....".
"Dancing, Rose. If you want."
Rose beamed. "I want. And if you want, I'll put this back on...in the morning when we wake up." She grinned, her tongue poking out saucily. He captured her lips again, becoming reacquainted with that maddening pink tongue.
The Doctor chuckled as they broke apart. He wrinkled his nose and scoffed, "That shirt needs a wash. I'll find that burgundy jumper instead."
Of course, the TARDIS was one step ahead of her Thief and her Wolf. The jumper was waiting on his bed when he carried her across the threshold. She wore the jumper at breakfast the next morning and the Doctor declared it just as beautiful as a bioluminescent ball gown.