Work Text:
"Doctor McCrimmon, isn't there something you can do?" the woman pleaded. Terror and desperation radiated from the nurse as she clasped the hand of the young, unconscious, blonde woman.
"It is my solemn promise, if it's the last thing I do Nurse Suzette, I'll find a cure. If I have to stay up all night, for a thousand sleepless nights," he said through gritted teeth, "I will! There is nothing... nothing that will stop me now! I will find a cure for the cybovirus. I swear to you!"
The tall, lanky, brown-haired physician clenched his fists and strode to his patient's bedside. He looked at the greenish-blue lines that registered a weak heartbeat and quickly dropping oxygen levels. Her fever was dangerously high, and nothing that he had tried so far had brought her temperature down.
A camera zoomed in on the face of the actress, and then a second camera moved tightly in on the face of the desperate physician.
"...Cut! Cut! Cut! That's a wrap for today," show director, Donna Noble bellowed. "Good job everyone."
The actors relaxed, immediately letting the tension of their characters drain from their features. They chatted happily as they headed for the craft services table. Donna looked over at the blonde actress, who was still under the covers, and smiled. "You can take that breathing tube off now, sweetheart. You did fine."
Tentatively, the blonde actress in the bed sat up. With wide, whiskey-coloured eyes, she removed the fake breathing tube from her mouth. A stage hand sauntered over and peeled the various IV lines and leads from her arms. She got out of bed, and sighed, secretly relieved that her first day had gone off without a hitch.
John Smith, aka the soap opera's eternally-single and hot physician, Dr. Jonathan Ian McCrimmon, ran his hands through his conservatively-styled hair, freeing it from the stifling slicked-back coif. Jacqueline Prentice, long-time star and beloved Nurse Suzette Vitex, was already sipping on a mug of hot tea, which was immediately handed to her as soon as "cut" was called.
Donna Noble, glamorous redheaded director of long-running daytime drama, As the Starlight Fades, slid off of her stool and yawned widely. "I'm knackered. That was a long day. John, you missed a line about the virus burning her up from the inside. Jackie, ask Lynda to lay off the aqua blue eyeshadow. It makes you look tired. And Rose Tyler, great job being almost dead."
Rose laughed. "Thanks."
Jackie Prentice wiped the fake tears from her eyes with a tissue, and then handed a fresh one to the young woman who had been recently cast to play her long-lost and secret daughter, the product of an affair with billionaire entrepreneur, Peter Vitex, whom Nurse Suzette had recently married in elaborate, and much-hyped, daytime drama fashion. The gown was Armani and rumoured to have cost six figures. A cologne to commemorate the event - Forever Suzette - had been launched. The wedding had been filmed on location in Hawaii. Live. Nurse Suzette was the darling of the show, and the actress was just as sweet as the dessert her character had been named after.
"Didn't know it'd be so hard pretending to be in a coma!" Rose said with a laugh, wiping the pasty-white makeup from her face, revealing a natural and healthy glow.
"You did just fine, love. And please, call me Jackie. I've been almost dead many times over the years, and it is very hard to keep a straight face when everyone's hovering over you, teary-eyed and all."
"Yeah, I suppose you have." Rose smiled with a sigh. "I can hardly believe I'm even here. I keep pinching myself, forgetting it's real."
"Well, we are glad to have you here. I've been wondering when my long-lost daughter would show up." Jackie laughed. "You even look a bit like me."
"So if I'm understanding this right, you got pregnant with me when you were eighteen after a forbidden relationship with young and rich, Peter Vitex. The baby, that's me, was stolen from Bad Wolf Bay City Hospital by the agents of Peter's rich and evil uncle, John Lumic. And I've been hidden away in a convent in Norway all these years?"
"Sounds about right." Jackie shrugged. "Don't try to make sense of it. I don't. I just show up, put on the designer clothes, and say my lines."
Rose laughed, and Jackie returned a smile.
"You know, I've been watching Starlight since I was just a kid. I can hardly believe I'm on the same show with you and Cassandra O'Brien! She's a living legend."
"Yeah, well don't let her hear you say that. She's getting a wee bit touchy about her age." Jackie leaned in. "You didn't hear it from me, but her last face lift didn't go so well. She looks a bit stretched."
Rose stifled a laugh. "I promise I won't say a thing."
"Poor thing, she's afraid she's going to be written off any day now."
"That's too bad," said Rose, genuinely concerned. "The show just wouldn't be the same without her. I'll never forget the time that you and her had the fight in the fountain in front of Bad Wolf Bay City Hospital."
"Seems like ages ago now. I was so young then, and so green. She was a different person then, too. She's gotten bitter and angry over the years."
Rose fiddled with her fingernails nervously after the comment. "Well everyone I've met has been so nice."
"Don't be too starry-eyed sweetheart, and don't let anyone push you around, especially Van Statten. I saw the way he looked at you today when he came down on set. Like a trophy waiting to be collected. He's smooth, that one, and not in a good way. Don't let him get you alone, especially in his office. If he approaches you, tell Donna. She'll give him what for."
"Anyone else I should worry about?" Rose asked, fiddling with her earring. (She'd wondered why she was wearing hoop earrings while burning up with fever in a hospital bed.)
"Not really. The cast and crew get along, for the most part. We've had our share of squabbles, of course, but seems like we always come around."
"John Smith's a lot taller than I expected." She tried not to blush at the thought of the handsome actor, upon whom she'd had a crush since she was a young teen. "Is he always so energetic?"
Jackie rolled her eyes. "He's crazy, that one. Always improvising. Makes up half his lines, I swear. But always seems to land on his feet."
Rose laughed. "So what's Jack Harkness really like?" asked Rose with tongue-touched grin. "If you believe everything you read in Soap Digest..."
"Oh, he's a playboy, that one. He flirts with anyone on two legs. But he's also a sweetheart. If you aren't interested, make it clear and he'll stop flirting. Mostly," she added with a sly grin.
"And what about the others? What are they like?" Rose asked, following Jackie down the corridor full of dressing rooms.
"I tell you what. Why don't we meet for tea tomorrow morning at the commissary before hair and makeup? I'll dish all the gossip. We don't have to be on set until noon."
"Really?"
"Of course! You're part of the Starlight family now, and you are my telly daughter after all, even if no one in Bad Wolf Bay City will figure it out for another year. At least."
Rose giggled, and Jackie turned into her private dressing room.
oOo
“What did you want to see me about, Donna?" John plopped himself down on the pristine, white leather sofa. He looked out the window at the magnificent view that came with having a window office near the top of the Archangel Broadcasting Company tower.
"I'd ask you to have a seat, but I see you already have, and get those filthy trainers off of my brand new glass coffee table."
He begrudgingly uncrossed his legs, and settled into the corner of the overstuffed couch, arms outstretched over the cushions.
"Van Statten has hired a new writing team."
"What?" John scowled.
"You heard me. Yvonne Hartman has been demoted to assistant junior writer."
"Oh, I bet she took that well," John said facetiously.
"Yvonne is beyond furious. You should have seen her face when she marched out of that meeting. She was smiling. Actually smiling. But I'll tell you what, that smile of hers was as cold as steel." Donna shuddered. "That woman frightens me sometimes. There's something scary about her."
John pulled a face. "What do you know about the new writers?" he asked, leaning forward with anticipation.
Donna closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She opened them back up and squared her shoulders. "The team is headed by a bloke named Elton Pope, and for the past few years, he has been co-writing science fiction comic books with his wife, Ursula."
"Not comic books, Donna. Graphic novels, which are, by nature, serialised literature." He drummed his fingers on the sofa back.
"Comic books are not daytime dramas, neither are they literature!"
"Oh, I'd beg to differ with you. Graphic novels are-"
"Whatever, Spaceman!" Donna waved her hands in frustration. "The point is, no one on this new team of writers has any telly experience! And the next time I see Henry Van Statten..." The blood rushed to Donna's face as she violently stood from her desk chair. "...I might just slap him into the next galaxy!" She breathed in and out a few times and sat back down, trying to appear composed. "Here's next week's script." Donna shoved it across her desk and held her head in her hands.
"Has anyone else on the cast seen this yet?"
"No."
John nodded as he perused.
"And I'm only showing it to you because you're my best mate, and I wanted you to see it first. As a warning. Thought you'd want to polish up your CV, because we are all going to be out on our arses. It's just a matter of time. I swear, it's like Van Statten has been trying to kill Starlight ever since he was made VP of daytime programming. Just watch. I bet he wants to replace us with the likes of Morton Downey, Jr. and Geraldo Rivera! Tabloid TV, that's what!"
"Naw. He just wants to make money, and he'll do whatever it takes. If it means way-out storylines, then so be it." John quieted as he flipped through the pages, quickly scanning next week's script.
"Well it's a bunch of rubbish, that's what." She crossed her arms and pursed her lips.
"I don't know, Donna. Maybe this is just what this show needs. A shakeup." He flipped through the script, reading a few random passages.
"Are you bonkers?" she asked.
"Listen, we all know the show is on its last legs. It's no secret we've been riding on the coat tails of our glory days. We've needed to expand our audience for some time now. Of course we can't forget our stalwart fans, but you know who don't we have? Young viewers. Other soaps have college students gathering around TVs in the student union, arranging their schedules around the times their shows air. And here were are stuck in 1972, the same droning theme song and title sequence we've had for thirty years. It's 1987, Donna! People don't want the same old tales told over and over! They want a bit of adventure with their romance! If the show is dying, Donna, it sure won't hurt to try something different. Right? No one is doing anything quite like this. It's brilliant, really. Spies, secret agents, aliens? It's gonna be fantastic!"
"Well, I'm glad someone is excited about, because I'm not ready for this. It's too much, too soon." Donna dropped her head into her hands. "You have an early call tomorrow, and a lot of lines to go over."
"Don't worry about me, I'm a genius! I'll have these memorised in no time." With the rolled script tucked under his arm, John pushed his hands into the pockets of his brown pinstriped trousers.
oOo
"Who... who are you? Where am I?" The mysterious, nameless blonde woman opened her eyes for the first time in a month.
"I'm your doctor, and you are my patient here at Bad Wolf Bay City Hospital. Can you tell me your name?" The physician leaned closer, anticipating the answer.
Nurse Suzette stood next to Dr. McCrimmon, head tilted to the side, stalwart.
"I... I don't... I don't remember my name. It's like it's... forbidden or something."
"What's the last thing you do remember?" asked the nurse, kindly.
The young woman closed her eyes and sighed, before opening them again. "I remember... I remember living in a castle. No, not a castle. It was a convent. In Norway. The Sisters of Plenitude. The nuns were kind to me. They called me... Kitty. That's not my name, but that's what they called me."
"Kitty," repeated the physician, breathlessly.
"Yeah. Kitty. And I remember getting shots every day. I hated them. They said I had to have the medicine, or I'd die. They told me my parents had died in a car accident, and they'd found me when I was just a baby, and had raised me. But... the convent, it was... attacked and... and... there were these men that saved me. They were dressed all in black. I heard them talking. One of the blokes was called Boe, and the other... Micks, and the oldest one... he had reddish hair, and was really kind. He's the one who saved me from the explosion. They called him..." She paused dramatically.
"What? What did he call himself?" Dr. McCrimmon asked intensely.
"Gemini. He said his name was... Gemini."
"Torchwood," Dr. McCrimmon hissed, under his breath.
Dramatically, the physician turned his back to his patient and looked straight into the camera, squinting in thought. Nurse Suzette walked up behind him, her bright blue eyes filled with concern.
"What is it Doctor? Is there something wrong?" asked the nurse nervously. "What's Torchwood?"
Dr. McCrimmon spun back around and faced Suzette, and then swiveled his head so he was looking directly into Kitty's eyes. "Yes. Something is very, very, very wrong."
"Doctor?" asked the nurse.
"Doctor?" asked Kitty.
"It's... something from my past, Nurse Suzette. Something I never thought would come back to haunt me. I thought I was safe here in Bad Wolf Bay City, living a life day after day as a simple, yet brilliant physician, that my past could be forgotten. That the people I... I... care about..." He looked at Kitty, swallowed hard, and looked back at Suzette. "That they'd be safe from my past. Safe from... me."
Nurse Suzette brought her hands to her lips and drew in a breath. A single tear streamed down Kitty's face.
"Cut," Donna said, joylessly, her head leaning heavily on her hand.
The actors relaxed.
"Bloody Torchwood. Bloody spies and Norway and nuns and terminal diseases that are cured overnight." Donna threw her hands in the air.
"Didn't you read ahead, Donna? It's brilliant, it really is!" John said, bouncing on his toes.
"Of course I've read ahead, Dumbo! And it doesn't matter what I think, it's what the viewers want that matters, and they are eating this rubbish up."
"I'm just glad I'm finally gonna get out of this bed. And I finally get to talk," said Rose with a tongue-touched grin.
John held out his hand, helping Rose from the hospital bed. Their hands remained clasped as they trotted over to the buffet.
"So has anyone figured it out? Are those two an item or not?" Jackie asked Donna, looking over her friend's shoulder at the blonde and brunette, tossing strawberries and banana chunks into each other's mouths, and laughing hysterically.
"Hell if I know. He's bloody frustrating, that one. Talks all the time, but doesn't say anything. They're inseparable, and she's all he talks about. Rose was fantastic today! Wasn't Rose great? Didn't Rose convulse brilliantly!" she mimicked.
Jackie laughed. "I just hope neither of them get hurt. On-set romances usually don't end well."
"Isn't that the truth. I learned my lesson with Lance." Donna said his name with derision.
"Donna. Just the person I was looking for."
"Hello, Mr. Van Statten. What brings you to our little set?" Donna asked, tapping her clipboard with a manicured fingernail.
"I have last week's Nielsen's. As much as I hate to say it, your humble little show is up five points. And that means advertisers pay more for their spots, which means more money for the Network, and a nice little bonus for me. I knew hiring all of you cute little English people was a good idea. Americans love the accent for some reason, though I can't imagine why." He smirked. "And I don't know how those two have done it..." Henry turned and looked at John and Rose. "But even with blondie there cuddled up under the covers, not speaking a single line of dialogue, she and the good doctor have developed a huge fan base. I've already told Elton and Ursula that I want a storyline for those two. Starlight's newest Super Couple. It'll be dragged out for eons of course. Gotta keep those watchers hungry for more. Carry on. That's what you Brits all say, isn't it?" Van Statten left as abruptly as he arrived.
oOo
Six Months Later
"Miss Kitty!" Dr. McCrimmon greeted, standing next to his patient's bed, his eyes alighting on his former blonde patient as she pushed a cart with books, cards and games into his patient's room.
She smiled brightly at him and his elderly patient. "Am I interrupting?"
The grey haired and bearded man peered around the intense and handsome physician.
"Miss Kitty! No, you come right on in, sweetheart!"
"Hi Mr. Mott! Are you behaving?"
"Never!" the bright elderly man responded.
Dr. McCrimmon leaned over and applied his stethoscope to Mr. Mott's chest, frowning before turning to Kitty as she pulled her cart over and handed his patient an Ernest Hemingway novel.
He scribbled a few things on Mr. Mott's chart and glanced over at Kitty, staring with more than just casual interest.
"Mr. Mott, do you mind if I borrow Miss Kitty for a few moments?"
"Only a few. She owes me a game of gin rummy!"
Kitty smiled and laid a hand on the elderly man's arm. "I'll be back in a jiff, Wilf."
Outside the room, Kitty stared longingly at Dr. McCrimmon, her brown eyes unable to hide her developing feelings for him.
"Tell me, Dr. McCrimmon, is he gonna be all right?"
Dr. McCrimmon placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Kitty. I know you've grown close to several patients. I don't know how much longer we'll have Wilf with us without a heart and kidney transplant."
Kitty threw herself into his arms and hugged him, burying her face in his white physician's coat.
"Please Dr. McCrimmon. Ian," she whispered, using his secret middle name, reserved only for Kitty, "Isn't there anything you can do? You worked a miracle on me even after my relapse and the accident after I moved into Nurse Suzette's house. There must be something someone can do to help him?" Tears glistened in her eyes.
Dr. McCrimmon looked off down the hall, his jaw clenching. He looked grim. "I'm sorry Kitty, he's in God's hands now. It would take a miracle to find a donor that matches all fifteen requirements."
Kitty again burrowed into him as he wrapped his arms around her, shutting his eyes tight.
"Dr. McCrimmon!" a cultured feminine voice called out. "Do you need me to call security?" The woman behind the voice was none other than the wealthy socialite and hospital patron, Victoria Queen. She strode forward in her Pierre Cardin, cream-coloured suit, perfectly coiffed blonde, curly hair, and mink stole wrapped around her shoulders.
"Mrs. Queen," he acknowledged as Kitty stepped away from him, one of his hands resting at the small of her back.
Victoria Queen looked down at Kitty with obvious condescension and a touch of jealousy. "We at Bad Wolf Bay City Hospital take pride in our medical staff and ask that they be treated with proper respect and not… manhandled."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Queen. I would never do anything to get Dr. McCrimmon in trouble. I owe him my life," she said in a soft voice and directing a yearning look at Dr. McCrimmon who gazed down at her intensely.
"Hospital policy is clear. I should have you dismissed," Victoria stated and brushed lint off her sleeve before glaring down at the pretty blonde in her simple light blue shirt dress.
"Mrs. Queen, Miss Kitty is vital to my patients' recovery. Perhaps you and I could discuss this in my office?"
Victoria smiled warmly at him and wound her arm through his. "Yes, in private," she purred. She walked down the hall with him, her stilettos click-clacking on the hospital floor.
Dr. McCrimmon looked back at Kitty with longing as he walked away.
"Cut and wrap!" Donna shouted as the room bustled with the set crew.
Rose let out the breath she was holding as veteran actor, Alistair Stewart walked out in a dressing gown. He winked at her. "Great job, sweetheart. Always a joy working with you and John."
With a huge grin she thanked him just as John reappeared, trailed by Cassandra O'Brien, the infamous Victoria Queen.
She stood before Rose. "It is beyond my comprehension how some little amateur chav like you was ever hired. You missed your mark again. You were supposed to be back there," Cassandra pointed to a spot closer to the doorway. "Not groping Jonathan like some hormonal teenager. If it were up to me…"
"Well it's not, Cassandra," John Smith pointed out and stood next to Rose. "She was brilliant and always is. That's why the fans love her."
"They don't just love her," Donna inserted, walking over to play referee. "They stinking love both of you two together! Soap Digest wants to do a cover with you two on it!"
"Soap Digest!" Rose exclaimed and turned to John who was grinning at her. They impulsively hugged and jumped up and down.
Cassandra sniffed. "Ridiculous. She's nothing, no talent, no gravitas, voice or charisma!" she said dramatically.
"Well she has what the audience wants and what the advertisers love!" Donna said enthusiastically.
Cassandra walked away in a huff. Donna smiled and walked up to Rose. "Don't listen to Madame Envy. You've got it and we're gonna use it. Even if it involves some weird plot involving ghosts and spies."
Van Statten walked in shouting for Donna. She rolled her eyes and walked over to talk to him.
John looked down at Rose with a light in his eyes. "Let's celebrate," he said, bumping his shoulder against hers.
"Chips?" she suggested.
He grinned, grabbed her hand and they practically ran off the set.
-o-o-o-
"Darkness, I see darkness," Kitty said in an eerie voice as Dr. McCrimmon and Nurse Suzette stood around the hospital bed where she lay.
"Kitty, sweetheart, it's Suzette. Tell us what happened, love. We found you unconscious at the bottom of the backstairs after you missed your rounds."
"The sun, the moon, the day and the night, but why do they hurt?" she said mysteriously, her pupils dilated.
"Dr. McCrimmon, please! You have to help her. She's like a daughter to me now."
Dr. McCrimmon flashed a light in Kitty's eyes but Kitty didn't react. He turned away and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Is this another relapse or…" Nurse Suzette paused and looked into the camera. "Is it related to her mysterious past?"
The camera man moved out for a wide shot as Dr. McCrimmon turned to Nurse Suzette. "There's something I haven't told you, Nurse Suzette." He looked over at Kitty who was now staring vacantly at the ceiling. His face softened and he turned back to Suzette, his brow beginning to furrow.
"Kitty ending up at Bad Wolf Bay City Hospital was no accident."
Nurse Suzette's eyes widened and she placed a shaky hand to her chest. "What do you mean?"
He looked back over at Kitty. "Torchwood rescued her from the evil nuns and made sure she was my patient. They've been watching us." He walked across the room, rubbing his slightly shadowed jaw before turning back to Nurse Suzette. "I didn't know why until I found out something."
"What, Dr. McCrimmon? Tell me please!" Nurse Suzette pleaded, walking up to him and gripping his arm.
"Kitty had a blood test performed so she could be a blood donor. Her blood type is very rare, only half a percent of the world population have this rare type, Theta O negative."
"But what does that mean?" Nurse Suzette asked, her eyes misting up as she worried for her adopted daughter who she and her husband had taken in shortly after her release from the hospital.
"A comparison was performed against other donors. There is only one other person in Bad Wolf Bay City who matches her blood type. I took the liberty of running a genetic test between Kitty and the other person who had just donated blood. It was a match."
Tears trailed down Nurse Suzette's face. "Please tell me who it is? Tell me if I'm going to lose her?"
Dr. McCrimmon took Nurse Suzette's hands in his. The camera zoomed in on their faces. "It's you, Nurse Suzette. She's your biological daughter."
Nurse Suzette gasped and ran over to Kitty, openly crying. "My baby! My poor lost baby! I thought you were gone forever!" She collapsed dramatically on Kitty's bed weeping as Dr. McCrimmon watched from off to the side, worry etched on his face.
"Cut!"
Rose smiled at Jackie as she straightened up and wiped the tears off her face.
"You were brilliant, Jackie!"
"Thanks, love! You weren't so bad yourself. You got that whole eerie psychic thing down! I think you gave me the shivers a bit back there."
Rose blushed as John walked over swishing his white physician's coat. He held out his hand and wiggled his fingers and helped her slide out of the bed. She couldn't help but offer him the special grin that she reserved for him.
"So I guess we have the big kissing scene soon," she confessed as they snuck away from the fray of production staff adjusting the lights and cameras.
He pulled her off to the side. "Yep!" he said, popping his p. "Nervous?"
She looked down and scuffed her white orthopaedic hospital shoes on the shiny white floor before she gazed up at him. "Are you? Nervous I mean?"
He arched a brow and reached up to ruffle his slicked-back hair, which would have him in trouble with make-up and hairdressing later.
"Naw. I mean why would I be? You're you and I'm me and well, we sort of, um, get on. You know what I mean. We share chips, we both love Star Wars and Howard The Duck, and thought Shanghai Surprise was rubbish. We fit," he babbled nervously but looked at her with warmth reflected in his deep brown eyes.
"Yeah?" she asked breathlessly.
"Yes," he answered emphatically just as the make-up staff found them and shouted about his hair. He rolled his eyes and the two of them went off to make-up.
They missed seeing Cassandra O'Brien in the shadows, her nails digging into her palms. She turned abruptly away and stormed back to vent to her only ally on the show, the bitter Yvonne Hartman.
-o-o-o-
A script had been delivered to Rose at her tiny apartment. She gaped at it. No one had given her any indication of the twist about to be delivered. It made her a little sick. She'd become very fond of her Kitty character. And now she had just learned that she was to be shaved bald, and was to assassinate Nurse Suzette in some sick ploy of vengeance, and was then be sent off to prison.
Tears welled up in her eyes as the newly-modernised theme music for As The Starlight Fades taunted her in the background. The new music, written and performed by Kenny G on his soprano saxophone, had been unveiled in grand daytime drama fashion, along with a revamped title sequence, featuring glamorous images of all of the stars of the show, climaxing at the end with the embracing silhouettes of Dr. Jonathan Ian McCrimmon and Kitty, the newly-crowned Super Couple of daytime drama. She whirled around to look at the screen. There they were, clenched in each other's arms, looking with longing into one another's eyes, poised in an almost-kiss…
Her mind whirled at this turn of events. Had she done a bad job or offended someone? No one had said a word. She looked down at the script. It would be the episode after the big kiss between she and John. Rose knew she wasn't one of the big stars and that John had an in with Donna and always knew well ahead of anyone else what would happen. Why hadn't he told her or given her a hint? She thought they were closer than this. To just let her find out alone in her apartment was hurtful. As their characters had grown closer, so had they.
Did all those movies, concerts, and dinners mean nothing? They'd never called them dates but in her mind they were. Was he just using this time to work on their characters' relationship? How could he not tell her they wanted her to shave her head and write her off? Rose stared at the phone, wondering what to do. In the end, she decided she'd read too much into the John's actions.
-o-o-o-o-
Rose was nervous. After reading the next script, she'd avoided John and everyone. She fidgeted in wardrobe and make-up. Jackie walked in stood next to her.
"First onscreen kiss can always be a bit nerve wracking."
Rose looked down at her lap where she was picking at the string on her light blue dressing gown.
"I'm fine," she said in a sad tone.
"Don't sound fine," Jackie pointed out. "Look sweetheart, even if you and John are on the outs, you still have to make the audience feel like you care for one another."
Rose looked up at her. "What makes you think we're not getting on?"
Jackie rolled her eyes and waved a hand in the air. "Please! You're in here looking the misery and he's out there wandering around like a little lost puppy when normally the two of you are thick as thieves."
Rose sighed and looked in the mirror at her pale face and downcast expression. Jackie was right. She was a professional and couldn't allow her personal life to infringe on the show. If she was being written off, then she needed to handle herself with dignity.
Cassandra O'Brien sashayed in, a cloud of perfume filling the room. She leaned into the mirror and admired her reflection.
"Well if it isn't blonde and broken down and blonde and beastly, both looking rather common." She turned to Rose. "Ready for the big kiss, are we? Looking a bit peaked if you ask me. Was it that new French actress John's been drooling over? Awww poor dear. Well, you couldn't expect to hold on to a brilliant actor like him. Every once and a while he slums, but he always comes back for caviar. Oh yes he does," she purred. "Enjoy the kiss. It'll probably be the last time those horse lips touch something as fine as Jonathan Smith." She walked out laughing.
Rose's face was in her hands as tears trailed down her cheeks.
"Don't you dare listen to that jealous cow!" Jackie admonished. "She's a lying bint! John's not seen anyone since you started on here." Jackie looked at Rose's shoulders shaking and wrapped her up in her arms. "There, there, sweetheart. I promise it will be fine. You can't listen to envious old crows like her. She's just a bitchy over-stretched trampoline. She's being written off you know. This is her going out with a catty swivel of her hips."
Rose looked up. "But I'm the one being written out."
Jackie's brow furrowed. "What? Don't be stupid! You're a hit and the fans love you!"
Rose shook her head. "I saw the script. It was delivered to me two days ago. Next episode I'm gone and no one even hinted. John always knows the scripts before anyone else and he didn't tell me!"
"I don't believe it!" Jackie said with a hard tone.
The make-up artist showed up and was horrified at Rose's melted mascara. She shooed Jackie away and went to work.
Rose waited until the last minute to show up on set. In her dressing room, she closed her eyes and meditated, practicing breathing techniques, and focusing on her lines, and getting into character. By the time she arrived and slid into her hospital bed, she was determined to be ready.
John and Jackie arrived after her, both looking unhappy. She lay down and shut her eyes. John leaned over. "We need to talk. Jackie told me what you said and it's not true." Donna began counting down. "You have to trust me. Whatever you've been told or given is a lie."
"Action!"
A tall ginger haired man in a designer and well-tailored suit walked into the hospital room where Nurse Suzette and Dr. McCrimmon stood near Kitty.
Nurse Suzette ran to him. "Pete! Thank God you're here. Look, Kitty, she's really ours, our lost baby!"
Pete walked over and brought a trembling hand to cover his mouth. He looked tearfully at Dr. McCrimmon. "You're sure, she's ours?"
Dr. McCrimmon nodded. "Yes, I'm positive."
Pete shook his head in disbelief. "I don't understand but thank you, Dr. McCrimmon." He looked back down at Kitty who began thrashing, her brow furrowed as she murmured gibberish about wolves coming.
"Can you tell us any more about what happened to her? Did she faint? Is this a result of the cybovirus fever?"
"She didn't faint. She was pushed."
Nurse Suzette gasped and ran to her husband's arms.
"Who would do something like this?" Pete asked.
Dr. McCrimmon shook his head. "We don't know. Hospital Security is looking into it."
Nurse Suzette looked back at Kitty. "Why isn't she waking up?"
"Traumatic relapse from whatever happened to her before she contracted the fever and was delivered to us here. She seems to have regressed into some trance-like state. Kitty did say the evil nuns at the convent in Norway were medicating her. Maybe…"
"What Dr McCrimmon?" Pete asked.
Dr. McCrimmon walked over to Kitty and grasped her limp hand.
"Maybe they were using some sort of medication, placing her into some type of altered state in an attempt to access other parts of her brain. Her brain scans did indicate extraordinary activity."
Nurse Suzette rushed over next to him. "But what can we do? There must be something?"
Dr. McCrimmon stared down at Kitty as if the sun rose and set on her before turning to her mother. "Do you trust me, Nurse Suzette?"
"Yes, with my life, both Pete and I do."
Dr. McCrimmon nodded. "The question is does Kitty trust me? Can she let me help her overcome what has been done to her by some wretched evil harridan?"
"I'm sure she will," Nurse Suzette said and placed a trusting hand on his arm, looking at him with such faith and trust.
"Kitty," he whispered as cameras zoomed in on he and Kitty.
"The wolves are at the door — she has a bit of the wolf about her — falling stars and howling wolves — don't open the door," she murmured.
"Kitty, oh my Kitty, I'm so sorry. You deserve better," Dr. McCrimmon said softly and leaned down towards Kitty who stared blankly upward. "Forgive me."
He gently pressed his mouth against hers in the softest brush of lips.
Kitty blinked and looked at him. "I forgive you," she whispered.
He slid his arm beneath her lifting her up and pressing his mouth against hers again, applying more pressure until she responded, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly to her, deepening their kiss. As her tongue slid against his, he moaned.
"Cut!" was shouted. The kiss didn't end.
"I said cut!" Donna shouted.
Rose lifted a hand off his back and waved everyone off.
Donna sighed and shook her head. Jackie walked off of the hospital room set, smiling. "I think we need a break. I've got something I need to talk to you about."
"Now?" Donna demanded, still eyeing the snogging couple on her set.
"Yes, now," Jackie admonished her. "Come on." She turned to her on-screen husband. "Love, if they don't spontaneously combust, could you tap them on the shoulder in five minutes?"
He winked and nodded his head. "Anything for you, sweetheart."
Jackie giggled and blew him a kiss as she walked off the set with an outwardly annoyed, but inwardly smiling, Donna.
John's shoulder was never tapped, but the stage lights were flipped off, and the doors to the set locked. The sound stage was vacated by all but the very happy, and very together, John Smith and Rose Tyler, Super Couple, now both on screen and off.