amberfocus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
amberfocus) wrote2008-05-30 09:35 pm
amberfocus) wrote2008-05-30 09:35 pm
Entry tags:
Repercussions (49-51 of 55)
Banner by Megz33
Chapter Forty-nine: Sancutary
I have been in worse positions than cowering behind a desk with a gun and a man willing to defend me with his life and I have come through them all. Yet this time something feels extraordinarily different. This time I feel like I might really die. The screams below me in the hub are wrenching and I can smell the iron of blood and the sulfur of gunfire and the strange astringent smell coming from the EMP bombs as they detonate against the cybermen's casing.
And then the desk we are hiding behind is lifted by a cyberman and tossed over the railing. Owen leans forward so that he is blocking me from view. He raises his weapon and fires but not before the cyberman gets off a shot. The laser goes through his shoulder and out, singeing across my head. I smell the burnt hair before I feel the pain.
The cyberman goes still and Owen is on his feet, pulling me to mine. “Come on, Rose. We’ll be safe in the vaults.” He grabs my hand and pulls me down a back set of stairs.
“But they need help,” I tell him pulling back against his grip. “We can’t just abandon--.”
“Rose, my priority is keeping you and that baby alive. So quit arguing with me and come on.” He’s stronger than me, far stronger than his wiry frame would lead one to believe and he does not let go of his death grip on my hand, tugging me onwards.
When we arrive at the vaults he enters a code and then a series of keys go into locks in a mind-bogglingly complicated order. The door opens and he shoves me rather forcefully inside, then pulls the door closed behind us. An ominous beeping sound begins, but is cut off quickly by Owen’s override order.
He lets go of me at last, having feared the entire time that I would bolt back to help the others. It isn’t in me to hide when people need help but I know that I have to start thinking about the life growing inside of me and not just myself anymore. The old Rose would be on the front line fighting but Mama Rose needs to protect her cub.
I sigh. “Do you have anything in here to clean that up with?” I ask indicating his bloody shoulder.
“Yeah, there’s an emergency stash of first aid supplies in box 23B,” he says.
I go over and open the door to that box and pull out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some bandages. “Take off your shirt,” I tell him.
He makes the attempt but he can’t get the hand on his injured side to work. I brush them away and start undoing them myself. “Any other time I’d be enjoying this,” Owen says. “A pretty girl stripping my clothes off.” I pull the shirt off his shoulder just a little rougher than necessary and he hisses.
I clean the wound with the peroxide and then dry it. “Do you have a stitch kit in there?” I ask. “I don’t think just dressing the injury is going to be enough.”
“You know how to give stitches?” He sounds surprised.
“I know I look young, Owen,” I say, “But I’ve had a lot of experience. The Doctor taught me how to sew up wounds a long time ago.”
Owen rummages around a bit, pulling out a stitch kit and a preloaded syringe of lidocaine. He plunges the medication into his arm and waits a moment for the relief of the anesthetic to take over. I pour peroxide over my hands to sterilize them and sew him up carefully. Finally I put a bandage on and secure it in place.
“You do good work and have a steady hand. You should think about field nurse training when this battle is over,” Owen tells me. “We could use you.”
“When this war is over I’ll be with the Doctor again, and we’ll have the baby soon enough. We won’t stay here for long.” I shrug. “We’re travelers. That’s just the way it is.”
“Not much of a life for a child. No house, no school, no friends.”
“Our home travels with us and the Doctor can teach her himself. Lots of kids are home schooled these days. And she’s going to have lots of siblings so there will be plenty of other children to play with,” I say running my hands across my belly. “Besides, we’ll visit Earth to see my parents and there’s lots of kids around where they live. She’ll be fine.”
Owen frowns, sighs, and I can tell he’s decided it’s none of his business. “You better let me treat your head wound,” he says.
“I have a head wound?” I ask. I suddenly remember the brief pain I'd felt when Owen had been shot.
“Well, it’s more of a hair wound. You’re going to need a serious haircut when this is all over. The top left side of your hair was singed clean off.”
My hand dashes to my hair and comes away with crumpled black bits and looks like what could be dried blood. I inch my way across my skull and wince. “I think it grazed my skin,” I tell him.
He is promptly beside me, examining the injury with the cool fingers of one hand. “I’ll need you to poor some hydrogen peroxide on a clean cloth,” he says.
I do as he asks and hand him the wet cloth. Carefully he cleans the stinging wound. “You shouldn’t need stitches,” he said. The bleeding is well stopped now and the laser burn didn’t go very deep. Good thing. I don’t think I could do it with this useless arm.”
That taken care of I put away the medical supplies and then turn back to Owen. “So now what?” I ask him.
“Now we wait,” he says simply.
Chapter Fifty: Waiting
It feels like I’ve been trapped in the vaults with Owen for days, but it has really only been 18 hours. Apparently the Torchwood team has planned for having to hide in the vaults, for not only are there the emergency medical supplies there is also a vault drawer filled with vacuum-sealed food and water bottles.
Fortunately there is also a very tiny loo in the back. Owen tells me they’d had it installed after a very unfortunate incident with a berserk Coratzian that had thawed out on the autopsy table. Forty-eight hours later the vault had not been a pleasant place to be hiding, even if it had been the safest place in Cardiff to be while Jack carried out a desperate plan from the outside to save them all.
All I care about is that it exists because I am to that point in my pregnancy where I need it. I am just grateful I haven’t gotten to the point where I am several sizes larger because it is hard enough fitting inside at my regular size.
My pacing up and down the narrow paths between walls filled with lockboxes starts to wear thin on Owen’s nerves. Finally I settle down and start asking him questions.
“How did you get involved with all this?” I ask him.
“Jack recruited me. I was on scene helping to treat the human victim’s of a crashing alien ship. It crashed into the hospital I was interning at. I found the first alien and I didn’t freak out. I treated its wounds and saved its life, same as any other patient. Jack liked that,” Owen says.
He pauses and looks me over. “No offense, but how did a kid like you end up traveling the universe and knocked up by Jack’s mysterious time traveling alien friend?”
“Just got lucky, I suppose,” I say. “And I’m not a kid. I’m twenty-one.”
Owen laughs. “You’re still a kid to me.”
“And what are you? All of twenty-six?” I shoot back. “I’m probably more of a grown up than you’ll ever be.”
“Maybe so,” he says and suddenly he is all disarming grin and charm and I smile back at him. The tension is lost and we chat about stupid things. Things I haven’t really thought about since I first left Earth. Our conversation turns to my travels again and I’m halfway through a story about running into a werewolf when I hear the series of locks start to turn on the vault door. The almost carefree Owen vanishes. “Get behind me, Rose,” he says.
“It’s got to be Jack, right?” I ask.
“Get behind me, Rose,” he repeats grimly. I hurry to obey him. He’s probably the only reason I’m still alive. “It might be Jack,” said Owen, “But the Cybermen are clever. It’s entirely possible that if they got their hands on the keys, they could work it all out. It’s a complex pattern and there’s nothing they like better than complex patterns.”
“Owen, if we don’t make it out of here--.”
“Don’t, Rose.”
“But I…I just want to say thank you for trying so hard to keep me safe,” I tell him.
“It’s my job. I told you--.”
“Yeah, I know. Jack assigned you and he’ll kill you if we end up dead,” I say. “But you’re still doing it. So thank you,” I tell him.
“You’re a good kid, Rose. I can see why Jack was so in love with you. Now can you shut it and let me concentrate?” he asks. I shut it. But I can tell he’s pleased.
Finally the door cracks then very slowly swings open. “Owen?” comes the female voice out of the dark.
“Gwen?”
“I’ve found them, Jack,” Gwen hollers back behind her. Gwen cranks the door all the way open and I can hear the heavy footfalls of boots on concrete. And then Jack runs into the room and sweeps me into a hug.
“Come on, Rosie,” he says. “You’ve got to come. The Doctor’s been hurt.” He lets go of me and grabs hold of my hand, hauling me behind him. He leads me out of the hub and the building into the alley where the TARDIS is parked so quickly I barely get to lay eyes on the severe carnage that is Torchwood Three. From the glimpses I do see that is probably a very good thing.
We enter the ship and go straight to the infirmary where the Doctor is laying on the examining table. Martha is busy dressing his wounds and she’s joined by Owen, who along with Gwen follows us into the TARDIS.
“Doctor?” I say softly and my stomach sinks at the sight of so much blood. His dress shirt is soaked with it.
“He’s out,” says Martha, loosening the tie around his throat and removing it. “Don’t worry. He’s got two strong heartbeats.”
“But all the blood,” I say.
“I think most of it’s mine,” says Jack.
“And mine,” says Martha. “Bloody nose,” she adds at my look of concern. “Though he got hit by a flying piece of a Cyberman casing so there is a head wound. You know how they bleed like crazy. He’s got a broken leg,” said Martha. “That’s the worst of it. He’ll be fine.”
“But he’s unconscious!”
“Oh,” said Martha. “He told me to give him an injection. It knocked him out. He just wanted us to make sure you were okay and here when he woke up.”
“Just as well he’s out,” said Jack a little disparagingly. “He was whining like a little girl when we set his leg.”
I smack Jack on the arm. “The Doctor does not whine like a little girl.” Jack raises an eyebrow. “Pouts, maybe,” I admit grudgingly, “But he doesn’t whine.”
Jack laughs. “You two are so married.”
“Not quite,” I say.
“So when is the big day, Rose?” Jack asks.
I bite my lip while I watch Martha begin shaving away a patch of the Doctor’s hair so she can sew up the gash. He’s going to be so annoyed that his hair got injured. I guess that’ll make us a matching set though, I think as my hand creeps up to my own singed roots. “We haven’t set a date. Soon, though. I have my dress.”
“Well, he’s got enough hair to hide this impromptu haircut so he shouldn’t ruin the wedding pictures,” Martha says. She looks at me but doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to.
“Well, maybe you can get a wig,” says Owen.
“Nobody asked you,” Jack says.
“Leave off,” I say when it looks like the two men might have words. “Owen took good care of me. He can snark a little bit.” Owen opens his mouth and I raise my hand. “I said a little bit.”
“Yes, Rose,” Owen says meekly and Jack throws his head back and laughs.
“The tempestuous Tyler temper tames another male.”
“Perhaps you’re well out of it then, Jack,” I say with narrowed eyes.
He glances thoughtfully at Martha. “Maybe I am.”
The Doctor groans. “He’s coming around,” says Martha.
“Rose?” The Doctor mumbles.
“I’m here,” I say and rush to take his hand.
“Did we do it?” he asks. “Did we wipe out the Cybermen?”
Chapter Fifty-one: Order Out of Chaos
“Jack says yes,” I tell him.
“And you’re okay? And the baby?” he asks.
“Yes, we’re both fine,” I say. I move closer to him and press a kiss on his forehead. His hand tightens around mine.
“What about the rest of the U.K.?” he wants to know.
“I’ve been in touch with U.N.I.T. They’re mopping up as we speak. Now that they know there are no more Cybermen coming, they’re able to position their forces much more efficiently,” Jack says.
“I thought satellites were down,” I say. “How’d you get through?”
“I used the TARDIS phone. It can get through anything,” Jack explains with a shrug. “I guess now we can get back to mopping up our own mess.”
“What happened inside the hub?” I ask Jack. “How bad did it get?”
“No survivors,” Jack says harshly, a muscle working in his jaw.
“None? Not Suzie? Not Tosh?” Owen asks.
Gwen frowns. “I found Suzie’s body in the wreckage,” she tells him. “Do you remember seeing Tosh?”
Jack and Gwen think hard and then Jack is out the doors, followed closely by Owen and Gwen. A thorough search is performed of the hub and Toshiko is found huddled in one of the cadaver drawers. She is half out of her head with fear but she’s alive.
It is one more piece of good news in an otherwise horrible day. I like Tosh. Well, I’d liked Suzie, too but…war had casualties and I’d learned a long time ago not to get attached to people I’d just met.
As things settle down and the bodies of the dead are disposed of in the incinerator, the hub is slowly restored to order. It will never be the same again, the burn marks from the cyber lasers leaving pit marks deep in the concrete walls. The smell of humanity may never leave either, but with deep buckets of bleach and the ventilation system turned on high, we are at least able to wash away the blood.
It takes three days to restore the hub to a semblance of normal. As we do so, Martha and I chat about her sudden and instant relationship with Jack.
“So what about Mickey, then?” I ask her.
“Mickey and I didn’t…well, turns out he wasn’t my type,” she says.
“What? Sweet, handsome, and loyal isn’t your type?” I want to know.
“How long have you known him for, Rose?” she asks me.
“My whole life,” I say.
“And you didn’t know he was…” she trails off.
“He was what?” I ask in confusion.
“Interested in men.”
“Mickey?” I shake my head in shock. “No. He’s always had a crush on me. Never was interested in him myself. But gay? Are you sure, Martha?” I ask.
“Maybe he had a crush on you because you were safe,” Martha said. “He knew you’d always say no to him and so he didn’t have to put up a front of trying to like another girl.”
“But…”
“You know that bloke he was travelling around with, collecting canned goods from the ruins and bringing them back to your mum?”
“You mean Jake?” She nods. “Jake and Mickey?” She nods again. I’m gob smacked. I shake my head and just stare at her for a moment as I adjust to that fact. “Hmm, well,” I say. “So then you and Jack? That was kind of fast.”
“Have you seen the man, Rose?” Martha asks with a laugh.
“I’ve seen him. I also know where he’s been,” I tell her. “Shagged his way across the universe. Twice.”
“Ah, so that explains why he’s so good at what he does best,” she answers me with a cheeky grin.
I sigh and shake my head. “I think you’re as incorrigible as he is.”
“I just want to have some fun with a hot bloke, Rose. Rather that then traipsing around lovesick over some guy I’m never going to have,” Martha says. “Mickey was a possibility that wasn’t going to happen. And Jack is…just so damn good in bed.”
I laugh and Martha grins at me. “Speaking of, the Doctor’s cast comes off today. I do so love TARDIS medical technology.”
“Wait, what’s that got to do with Jack being good in the sack?” I ask confused.
“Not Jack, silly. The Doctor. The two of you’ll be able to get back to your usual activities,” she tells me.
I blush. “What do you know about our usual activities?”
“I know you’re growing his child in your womb. And I can see the way he looks at you, all fire and ice and the heat at the center of the sun. It’s barely contained. He definitely needs a good shag to complete the healing process,” she says.
“Doctor’s orders?” I ask.
“I’m not quite a doctor yet,” she tells me. “But I’m sure Owen would be happy to prescribe that particular script.”
“Script for what?” asks Owen overhearing his name being spoken.
“Never mind,” I say looking at Martha and giggling. I’ve missed girl talk so much. I don’t even know if any of my old friends are still alive. Shireen is dead. I did discover that much.
“I’ll miss you,” I tell Martha. “When the Doctor and I go.”
“Well, remember, he did promise me that one trip to see Shakespeare. Maybe he’ll let me come along from time to time.”
“Actually,” says the voice of the Doctor from behind us, “I was going to ask you to come along anyway, Martha. Rose is going to need medical attention as her pregnancy progresses and you’re nearly qualified. And if it helps you make up your mind, Jack's already agreed to come travelling with us for awhile, too.”
I stand up and hug the Doctor. “I thought you and he…”
“We worked it out. He knows you're mine. And he’s kind of got his eye on Miss Martha Jones, here.”
“Not just his eye,” I say cheekily.
“As long as they keep the sex out of the console room the TARDIS will be happy,” the Doctor says.
“Besides,” I whisper quietly in his ear, “The console room is ours.”
“But they need help,” I tell him pulling back against his grip. “We can’t just abandon--.”
“Rose, my priority is keeping you and that baby alive. So quit arguing with me and come on.” He’s stronger than me, far stronger than his wiry frame would lead one to believe and he does not let go of his death grip on my hand, tugging me onwards.
When we arrive at the vaults he enters a code and then a series of keys go into locks in a mind-bogglingly complicated order. The door opens and he shoves me rather forcefully inside, then pulls the door closed behind us. An ominous beeping sound begins, but is cut off quickly by Owen’s override order.
He lets go of me at last, having feared the entire time that I would bolt back to help the others. It isn’t in me to hide when people need help but I know that I have to start thinking about the life growing inside of me and not just myself anymore. The old Rose would be on the front line fighting but Mama Rose needs to protect her cub.
I sigh. “Do you have anything in here to clean that up with?” I ask indicating his bloody shoulder.
“Yeah, there’s an emergency stash of first aid supplies in box 23B,” he says.
I go over and open the door to that box and pull out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some bandages. “Take off your shirt,” I tell him.
He makes the attempt but he can’t get the hand on his injured side to work. I brush them away and start undoing them myself. “Any other time I’d be enjoying this,” Owen says. “A pretty girl stripping my clothes off.” I pull the shirt off his shoulder just a little rougher than necessary and he hisses.
I clean the wound with the peroxide and then dry it. “Do you have a stitch kit in there?” I ask. “I don’t think just dressing the injury is going to be enough.”
“You know how to give stitches?” He sounds surprised.
“I know I look young, Owen,” I say, “But I’ve had a lot of experience. The Doctor taught me how to sew up wounds a long time ago.”
Owen rummages around a bit, pulling out a stitch kit and a preloaded syringe of lidocaine. He plunges the medication into his arm and waits a moment for the relief of the anesthetic to take over. I pour peroxide over my hands to sterilize them and sew him up carefully. Finally I put a bandage on and secure it in place.
“You do good work and have a steady hand. You should think about field nurse training when this battle is over,” Owen tells me. “We could use you.”
“When this war is over I’ll be with the Doctor again, and we’ll have the baby soon enough. We won’t stay here for long.” I shrug. “We’re travelers. That’s just the way it is.”
“Not much of a life for a child. No house, no school, no friends.”
“Our home travels with us and the Doctor can teach her himself. Lots of kids are home schooled these days. And she’s going to have lots of siblings so there will be plenty of other children to play with,” I say running my hands across my belly. “Besides, we’ll visit Earth to see my parents and there’s lots of kids around where they live. She’ll be fine.”
Owen frowns, sighs, and I can tell he’s decided it’s none of his business. “You better let me treat your head wound,” he says.
“I have a head wound?” I ask. I suddenly remember the brief pain I'd felt when Owen had been shot.
“Well, it’s more of a hair wound. You’re going to need a serious haircut when this is all over. The top left side of your hair was singed clean off.”
My hand dashes to my hair and comes away with crumpled black bits and looks like what could be dried blood. I inch my way across my skull and wince. “I think it grazed my skin,” I tell him.
He is promptly beside me, examining the injury with the cool fingers of one hand. “I’ll need you to poor some hydrogen peroxide on a clean cloth,” he says.
I do as he asks and hand him the wet cloth. Carefully he cleans the stinging wound. “You shouldn’t need stitches,” he said. The bleeding is well stopped now and the laser burn didn’t go very deep. Good thing. I don’t think I could do it with this useless arm.”
That taken care of I put away the medical supplies and then turn back to Owen. “So now what?” I ask him.
“Now we wait,” he says simply.
Chapter Fifty: Waiting
It feels like I’ve been trapped in the vaults with Owen for days, but it has really only been 18 hours. Apparently the Torchwood team has planned for having to hide in the vaults, for not only are there the emergency medical supplies there is also a vault drawer filled with vacuum-sealed food and water bottles.
Fortunately there is also a very tiny loo in the back. Owen tells me they’d had it installed after a very unfortunate incident with a berserk Coratzian that had thawed out on the autopsy table. Forty-eight hours later the vault had not been a pleasant place to be hiding, even if it had been the safest place in Cardiff to be while Jack carried out a desperate plan from the outside to save them all.
All I care about is that it exists because I am to that point in my pregnancy where I need it. I am just grateful I haven’t gotten to the point where I am several sizes larger because it is hard enough fitting inside at my regular size.
My pacing up and down the narrow paths between walls filled with lockboxes starts to wear thin on Owen’s nerves. Finally I settle down and start asking him questions.
“How did you get involved with all this?” I ask him.
“Jack recruited me. I was on scene helping to treat the human victim’s of a crashing alien ship. It crashed into the hospital I was interning at. I found the first alien and I didn’t freak out. I treated its wounds and saved its life, same as any other patient. Jack liked that,” Owen says.
He pauses and looks me over. “No offense, but how did a kid like you end up traveling the universe and knocked up by Jack’s mysterious time traveling alien friend?”
“Just got lucky, I suppose,” I say. “And I’m not a kid. I’m twenty-one.”
Owen laughs. “You’re still a kid to me.”
“And what are you? All of twenty-six?” I shoot back. “I’m probably more of a grown up than you’ll ever be.”
“Maybe so,” he says and suddenly he is all disarming grin and charm and I smile back at him. The tension is lost and we chat about stupid things. Things I haven’t really thought about since I first left Earth. Our conversation turns to my travels again and I’m halfway through a story about running into a werewolf when I hear the series of locks start to turn on the vault door. The almost carefree Owen vanishes. “Get behind me, Rose,” he says.
“It’s got to be Jack, right?” I ask.
“Get behind me, Rose,” he repeats grimly. I hurry to obey him. He’s probably the only reason I’m still alive. “It might be Jack,” said Owen, “But the Cybermen are clever. It’s entirely possible that if they got their hands on the keys, they could work it all out. It’s a complex pattern and there’s nothing they like better than complex patterns.”
“Owen, if we don’t make it out of here--.”
“Don’t, Rose.”
“But I…I just want to say thank you for trying so hard to keep me safe,” I tell him.
“It’s my job. I told you--.”
“Yeah, I know. Jack assigned you and he’ll kill you if we end up dead,” I say. “But you’re still doing it. So thank you,” I tell him.
“You’re a good kid, Rose. I can see why Jack was so in love with you. Now can you shut it and let me concentrate?” he asks. I shut it. But I can tell he’s pleased.
Finally the door cracks then very slowly swings open. “Owen?” comes the female voice out of the dark.
“Gwen?”
“I’ve found them, Jack,” Gwen hollers back behind her. Gwen cranks the door all the way open and I can hear the heavy footfalls of boots on concrete. And then Jack runs into the room and sweeps me into a hug.
“Come on, Rosie,” he says. “You’ve got to come. The Doctor’s been hurt.” He lets go of me and grabs hold of my hand, hauling me behind him. He leads me out of the hub and the building into the alley where the TARDIS is parked so quickly I barely get to lay eyes on the severe carnage that is Torchwood Three. From the glimpses I do see that is probably a very good thing.
We enter the ship and go straight to the infirmary where the Doctor is laying on the examining table. Martha is busy dressing his wounds and she’s joined by Owen, who along with Gwen follows us into the TARDIS.
“Doctor?” I say softly and my stomach sinks at the sight of so much blood. His dress shirt is soaked with it.
“He’s out,” says Martha, loosening the tie around his throat and removing it. “Don’t worry. He’s got two strong heartbeats.”
“But all the blood,” I say.
“I think most of it’s mine,” says Jack.
“And mine,” says Martha. “Bloody nose,” she adds at my look of concern. “Though he got hit by a flying piece of a Cyberman casing so there is a head wound. You know how they bleed like crazy. He’s got a broken leg,” said Martha. “That’s the worst of it. He’ll be fine.”
“But he’s unconscious!”
“Oh,” said Martha. “He told me to give him an injection. It knocked him out. He just wanted us to make sure you were okay and here when he woke up.”
“Just as well he’s out,” said Jack a little disparagingly. “He was whining like a little girl when we set his leg.”
I smack Jack on the arm. “The Doctor does not whine like a little girl.” Jack raises an eyebrow. “Pouts, maybe,” I admit grudgingly, “But he doesn’t whine.”
Jack laughs. “You two are so married.”
“Not quite,” I say.
“So when is the big day, Rose?” Jack asks.
I bite my lip while I watch Martha begin shaving away a patch of the Doctor’s hair so she can sew up the gash. He’s going to be so annoyed that his hair got injured. I guess that’ll make us a matching set though, I think as my hand creeps up to my own singed roots. “We haven’t set a date. Soon, though. I have my dress.”
“Well, he’s got enough hair to hide this impromptu haircut so he shouldn’t ruin the wedding pictures,” Martha says. She looks at me but doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to.
“Well, maybe you can get a wig,” says Owen.
“Nobody asked you,” Jack says.
“Leave off,” I say when it looks like the two men might have words. “Owen took good care of me. He can snark a little bit.” Owen opens his mouth and I raise my hand. “I said a little bit.”
“Yes, Rose,” Owen says meekly and Jack throws his head back and laughs.
“The tempestuous Tyler temper tames another male.”
“Perhaps you’re well out of it then, Jack,” I say with narrowed eyes.
He glances thoughtfully at Martha. “Maybe I am.”
The Doctor groans. “He’s coming around,” says Martha.
“Rose?” The Doctor mumbles.
“I’m here,” I say and rush to take his hand.
“Did we do it?” he asks. “Did we wipe out the Cybermen?”
Chapter Fifty-one: Order Out of Chaos
“Jack says yes,” I tell him.
“And you’re okay? And the baby?” he asks.
“Yes, we’re both fine,” I say. I move closer to him and press a kiss on his forehead. His hand tightens around mine.
“What about the rest of the U.K.?” he wants to know.
“I’ve been in touch with U.N.I.T. They’re mopping up as we speak. Now that they know there are no more Cybermen coming, they’re able to position their forces much more efficiently,” Jack says.
“I thought satellites were down,” I say. “How’d you get through?”
“I used the TARDIS phone. It can get through anything,” Jack explains with a shrug. “I guess now we can get back to mopping up our own mess.”
“What happened inside the hub?” I ask Jack. “How bad did it get?”
“No survivors,” Jack says harshly, a muscle working in his jaw.
“None? Not Suzie? Not Tosh?” Owen asks.
Gwen frowns. “I found Suzie’s body in the wreckage,” she tells him. “Do you remember seeing Tosh?”
Jack and Gwen think hard and then Jack is out the doors, followed closely by Owen and Gwen. A thorough search is performed of the hub and Toshiko is found huddled in one of the cadaver drawers. She is half out of her head with fear but she’s alive.
It is one more piece of good news in an otherwise horrible day. I like Tosh. Well, I’d liked Suzie, too but…war had casualties and I’d learned a long time ago not to get attached to people I’d just met.
As things settle down and the bodies of the dead are disposed of in the incinerator, the hub is slowly restored to order. It will never be the same again, the burn marks from the cyber lasers leaving pit marks deep in the concrete walls. The smell of humanity may never leave either, but with deep buckets of bleach and the ventilation system turned on high, we are at least able to wash away the blood.
It takes three days to restore the hub to a semblance of normal. As we do so, Martha and I chat about her sudden and instant relationship with Jack.
“So what about Mickey, then?” I ask her.
“Mickey and I didn’t…well, turns out he wasn’t my type,” she says.
“What? Sweet, handsome, and loyal isn’t your type?” I want to know.
“How long have you known him for, Rose?” she asks me.
“My whole life,” I say.
“And you didn’t know he was…” she trails off.
“He was what?” I ask in confusion.
“Interested in men.”
“Mickey?” I shake my head in shock. “No. He’s always had a crush on me. Never was interested in him myself. But gay? Are you sure, Martha?” I ask.
“Maybe he had a crush on you because you were safe,” Martha said. “He knew you’d always say no to him and so he didn’t have to put up a front of trying to like another girl.”
“But…”
“You know that bloke he was travelling around with, collecting canned goods from the ruins and bringing them back to your mum?”
“You mean Jake?” She nods. “Jake and Mickey?” She nods again. I’m gob smacked. I shake my head and just stare at her for a moment as I adjust to that fact. “Hmm, well,” I say. “So then you and Jack? That was kind of fast.”
“Have you seen the man, Rose?” Martha asks with a laugh.
“I’ve seen him. I also know where he’s been,” I tell her. “Shagged his way across the universe. Twice.”
“Ah, so that explains why he’s so good at what he does best,” she answers me with a cheeky grin.
I sigh and shake my head. “I think you’re as incorrigible as he is.”
“I just want to have some fun with a hot bloke, Rose. Rather that then traipsing around lovesick over some guy I’m never going to have,” Martha says. “Mickey was a possibility that wasn’t going to happen. And Jack is…just so damn good in bed.”
I laugh and Martha grins at me. “Speaking of, the Doctor’s cast comes off today. I do so love TARDIS medical technology.”
“Wait, what’s that got to do with Jack being good in the sack?” I ask confused.
“Not Jack, silly. The Doctor. The two of you’ll be able to get back to your usual activities,” she tells me.
I blush. “What do you know about our usual activities?”
“I know you’re growing his child in your womb. And I can see the way he looks at you, all fire and ice and the heat at the center of the sun. It’s barely contained. He definitely needs a good shag to complete the healing process,” she says.
“Doctor’s orders?” I ask.
“I’m not quite a doctor yet,” she tells me. “But I’m sure Owen would be happy to prescribe that particular script.”
“Script for what?” asks Owen overhearing his name being spoken.
“Never mind,” I say looking at Martha and giggling. I’ve missed girl talk so much. I don’t even know if any of my old friends are still alive. Shireen is dead. I did discover that much.
“I’ll miss you,” I tell Martha. “When the Doctor and I go.”
“Well, remember, he did promise me that one trip to see Shakespeare. Maybe he’ll let me come along from time to time.”
“Actually,” says the voice of the Doctor from behind us, “I was going to ask you to come along anyway, Martha. Rose is going to need medical attention as her pregnancy progresses and you’re nearly qualified. And if it helps you make up your mind, Jack's already agreed to come travelling with us for awhile, too.”
I stand up and hug the Doctor. “I thought you and he…”
“We worked it out. He knows you're mine. And he’s kind of got his eye on Miss Martha Jones, here.”
“Not just his eye,” I say cheekily.
“As long as they keep the sex out of the console room the TARDIS will be happy,” the Doctor says.
“Besides,” I whisper quietly in his ear, “The console room is ours.”
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject