Part 02 - Chapter 16 - LOST!
Rose had never been in a serious earthquake and so immediately she was frightened by the force that threw her from her feet, but what made her scream was the sudden break in the ground beneath her which caused her to go sliding into a newly formed hole in the ice. She had the unfortunate luck of being right over a rather large pocket in the ice when the earthquake hit and the violent shaking had shattered the ice beneath her, sending her feet first into the hole. When she came to an abrupt stop against the inside of the cave her screaming too came to an abrupt halt as the impact knocked her unconscious.
The Doctor was convinced that the only thing worse then hearing Rose screaming in terror was the sudden silencing of that scream which made him all the more desperate to find her. ‘Verity, I need you to find Rose!’ He said. Reaching out to the TARDIS to enlisted her assistance in trying to find his now missing and, he feared, injured friend, while he tried desperately to figure out from what direction he had last heard her cry.
The TARDIS too was having problems with the earthquake; the ice wave that had towered over her when they landed had not fared well in the vigorous shaking and large chunks of ice had pelted down upon her until only her very top was visible. There would be no re-entering the TARDIS until she moved. ‘Theta? What’s wrong?’ she could feel his panic sharp and brittle in her mind and knew that she was not the only one that now was facing problems.
‘Something has happened to Rose, when the quake hit she screamed, Rose doesn’t scream without reason and these bloody ice rocks were distorting her voice. I need to know where she is NOW! She stopped screaming…’ suddenly he couldn’t continue, fear beginning to paralyze him.
‘Theta?’ When she didn’t hear a response she too began to panic ‘THETA!’
‘Yes, here. Did you find her?’
At the resumption of their contact she began to search furiously for Rose; if he was this close to the edge over the loss of the human she had to help him find her. He was still too fragile to lose her now and she could feel how desperate he was to do so, to receive some assurance that she was okay. She couldn’t bear to think of what he might do if he were to lose her too, so soon after the loss of Gallifrey. It had been a few months now since his collapse with the Brigadier but that was not nearly enough to time. To placate him she tried to send him soothing calm as she searched, trying to help him regain his equilibrium. She was afraid he would need to take care of Rose when they found her and he couldn’t do that if he lost control. The fact that she was having so much difficulty figuring out Rose’s location made it clear that whatever had happened Rose was unconscious. Theta was beginning to grow angry and desperate at her lack of information so she was relieved when she found Rose, discovering her dull spark in the mental landscape. ‘I’ve found her Theta!’ she tried to pour as much positive energy into that statement as she could and felt a wave of relief at her announcement.
‘Where?’ he queried impatiently when the TARDIS was not immediately forthcoming with the information.
‘She’s unconscious,’ at those words she could feel his panic begin to rise again. Reaching out to him, she focused on the blazing ball of energy in her mind that was her Time Lord and measured from him to the energy signature she had found indicating Rose’s location. ‘Maybe 100 feet to your right.’ Mere fractions of a second after telling him where to find her, she felt his movement in a ragged line toward Rose’s location.
The Doctor took off, moving as quickly as he could in the direction indicated, the boulders which had been a wonderful obstacle course earlier for their fun now were just obstacles to finding out what had happened to Rose. Rounding a final boulder he came frighteningly close to falling into the hole that appeared just beyond. He stood, staring in horror, at Rose’s crumpled form at the bottom, his breath catching as he spotted the smear of blood near her head and immediately dreading the worst.
The soft words of Verity in his mind assuring him she was still alive was the only thing that permitted him to collect his senses enough to begin working out how to get down to her. It would take some climbing but he should be able to get to her fairly easily as the descent was more like a slick slope then a sheer drop. The entrance to the cave she had fallen into was barely large enough to allow his form to enter and for the briefest moment his shoulders stuck on the lip but after a quick wriggle he was through slipping and sliding his way down to her. He knew he would have to go back up to the TARDIS to get a rope to be able to get her out but he had to find out immediately how extensive were her injuries and whether he should even try to bring her out himself, or have the Verity try the tricky materialization into a space that would be only just large enough to contain the three of them.
Ever so gently he touched her, reassured by the warmth of her skin and relieved that none of it had been directly in contact with the icy surface on which she was lying, which meant he wouldn’t have to move her until he had been able to scan her fully for injuries. His next action was quick and practiced as he took out the sonic screwdriver and began scanning her for any other injuries besides the obvious cut on the back of her head and the break in her right leg, twisted unnaturally beneath her. Relieved, he found that these were the extent of her injuries. He sighed; at least her continued unconsciousness would allow him to reset her leg without her feeling any pain.
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As Rose regained consciousness the first thing that she felt was shock of pain from her right leg, a pain that extracted a scream from her lips and brought tears to her eyes. Sobbing at the pain, no longer quite as excruciating but more then painful enough, her next realization was that the Doctor was holding her, cradling her upper body in his lap. Forcing her eyes to focus she mumbled “Doc…tor?”
“Yes Rose, I’m here. You’re going to be okay. Hang in there sweetheart.”
Her muddled mind only seemed able to latch on to the last part; he’d called her sweetheart. She smiled up at him.
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As she smiles up at him, with her million-watt smile that melted his hearts every time, his mind is flooded with the realization that the only thing standing between him and his darkness is that smiling face. In that moment he decides that, no matter what happens, he will tell her how much she means to him. He prays to any god listening that she won’t reject him and leave him with shattered hearts.
Reaching out, he calls to the TARDIS and asks, ‘will you please move the closet with the climbing equipment to the room closest to the front door? I will be there in a few moments. Rose has been hurt and I need to get her out of this hole. Her reluctant reply sends a shiver of fear though him.
‘I can do that, but Theta, we have a problem… I’m buried and you won’t be able to get in the front door. The ice wave above me collapsed in the quake.’
For a long moment he pauses, taking in this new information. He can’t help but think can this day get any worse? ‘Okay, well then were just going to have to move you out from under it.’ With that he sends over the coordinates. ‘Materialize near the break in the Ice. That should free you.’
‘I will be there in a moment,’ comes her comforting reply, right before she disappears from his senses.
As the moments pass and she doesn’t return he begins to suspect his day just got considerably worse.
Chapter 17 - Buried Alive
Moving Forward Index 1
The Doctor was convinced that the only thing worse then hearing Rose screaming in terror was the sudden silencing of that scream which made him all the more desperate to find her. ‘Verity, I need you to find Rose!’ He said. Reaching out to the TARDIS to enlisted her assistance in trying to find his now missing and, he feared, injured friend, while he tried desperately to figure out from what direction he had last heard her cry.
The TARDIS too was having problems with the earthquake; the ice wave that had towered over her when they landed had not fared well in the vigorous shaking and large chunks of ice had pelted down upon her until only her very top was visible. There would be no re-entering the TARDIS until she moved. ‘Theta? What’s wrong?’ she could feel his panic sharp and brittle in her mind and knew that she was not the only one that now was facing problems.
‘Something has happened to Rose, when the quake hit she screamed, Rose doesn’t scream without reason and these bloody ice rocks were distorting her voice. I need to know where she is NOW! She stopped screaming…’ suddenly he couldn’t continue, fear beginning to paralyze him.
‘Theta?’ When she didn’t hear a response she too began to panic ‘THETA!’
‘Yes, here. Did you find her?’
At the resumption of their contact she began to search furiously for Rose; if he was this close to the edge over the loss of the human she had to help him find her. He was still too fragile to lose her now and she could feel how desperate he was to do so, to receive some assurance that she was okay. She couldn’t bear to think of what he might do if he were to lose her too, so soon after the loss of Gallifrey. It had been a few months now since his collapse with the Brigadier but that was not nearly enough to time. To placate him she tried to send him soothing calm as she searched, trying to help him regain his equilibrium. She was afraid he would need to take care of Rose when they found her and he couldn’t do that if he lost control. The fact that she was having so much difficulty figuring out Rose’s location made it clear that whatever had happened Rose was unconscious. Theta was beginning to grow angry and desperate at her lack of information so she was relieved when she found Rose, discovering her dull spark in the mental landscape. ‘I’ve found her Theta!’ she tried to pour as much positive energy into that statement as she could and felt a wave of relief at her announcement.
‘Where?’ he queried impatiently when the TARDIS was not immediately forthcoming with the information.
‘She’s unconscious,’ at those words she could feel his panic begin to rise again. Reaching out to him, she focused on the blazing ball of energy in her mind that was her Time Lord and measured from him to the energy signature she had found indicating Rose’s location. ‘Maybe 100 feet to your right.’ Mere fractions of a second after telling him where to find her, she felt his movement in a ragged line toward Rose’s location.
The Doctor took off, moving as quickly as he could in the direction indicated, the boulders which had been a wonderful obstacle course earlier for their fun now were just obstacles to finding out what had happened to Rose. Rounding a final boulder he came frighteningly close to falling into the hole that appeared just beyond. He stood, staring in horror, at Rose’s crumpled form at the bottom, his breath catching as he spotted the smear of blood near her head and immediately dreading the worst.
The soft words of Verity in his mind assuring him she was still alive was the only thing that permitted him to collect his senses enough to begin working out how to get down to her. It would take some climbing but he should be able to get to her fairly easily as the descent was more like a slick slope then a sheer drop. The entrance to the cave she had fallen into was barely large enough to allow his form to enter and for the briefest moment his shoulders stuck on the lip but after a quick wriggle he was through slipping and sliding his way down to her. He knew he would have to go back up to the TARDIS to get a rope to be able to get her out but he had to find out immediately how extensive were her injuries and whether he should even try to bring her out himself, or have the Verity try the tricky materialization into a space that would be only just large enough to contain the three of them.
Ever so gently he touched her, reassured by the warmth of her skin and relieved that none of it had been directly in contact with the icy surface on which she was lying, which meant he wouldn’t have to move her until he had been able to scan her fully for injuries. His next action was quick and practiced as he took out the sonic screwdriver and began scanning her for any other injuries besides the obvious cut on the back of her head and the break in her right leg, twisted unnaturally beneath her. Relieved, he found that these were the extent of her injuries. He sighed; at least her continued unconsciousness would allow him to reset her leg without her feeling any pain.
-----------------------------------------------
As Rose regained consciousness the first thing that she felt was shock of pain from her right leg, a pain that extracted a scream from her lips and brought tears to her eyes. Sobbing at the pain, no longer quite as excruciating but more then painful enough, her next realization was that the Doctor was holding her, cradling her upper body in his lap. Forcing her eyes to focus she mumbled “Doc…tor?”
“Yes Rose, I’m here. You’re going to be okay. Hang in there sweetheart.”
Her muddled mind only seemed able to latch on to the last part; he’d called her sweetheart. She smiled up at him.
------------------------------------------------------------
As she smiles up at him, with her million-watt smile that melted his hearts every time, his mind is flooded with the realization that the only thing standing between him and his darkness is that smiling face. In that moment he decides that, no matter what happens, he will tell her how much she means to him. He prays to any god listening that she won’t reject him and leave him with shattered hearts.
Reaching out, he calls to the TARDIS and asks, ‘will you please move the closet with the climbing equipment to the room closest to the front door? I will be there in a few moments. Rose has been hurt and I need to get her out of this hole. Her reluctant reply sends a shiver of fear though him.
‘I can do that, but Theta, we have a problem… I’m buried and you won’t be able to get in the front door. The ice wave above me collapsed in the quake.’
For a long moment he pauses, taking in this new information. He can’t help but think can this day get any worse? ‘Okay, well then were just going to have to move you out from under it.’ With that he sends over the coordinates. ‘Materialize near the break in the Ice. That should free you.’
‘I will be there in a moment,’ comes her comforting reply, right before she disappears from his senses.
As the moments pass and she doesn’t return he begins to suspect his day just got considerably worse.
Chapter 17 - Buried Alive
Moving Forward Index 1