Title: Healing Halls of Madion
Author: MYBIGBLUEBOX
Series: Doctor Who
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance/ General
Spoilers: Some spoilers for Doomsday and very, very subtle spoiler for The Age of Steel ( I know the episodes are ages old, sorry folks!)
Characters: Doctor (Tenth), Rose Tyler and Martha Jones
Disclaimer: God knows how many times you’ve all read these disclaimers but I’m going to say it all again just coz. I don’t own these characters or the story line this fanfic is based on. They belong to our lord and master ‘The BBC’ ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Summary: After Doomsday Rose goes to work for Torchwood. The Doctor and Martha struggle to get her back to their world but when everything seems to be going to plan a fatal mistake leads to disaster, and the Doctor must fight to keep his companion and love alive
Dedications: For everyone who has ever read anything I’ve ever written and given their support and constructive criticism.
Warnings: May contain a little bad language further along in the story.
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Rose lay unconscious in the Healing Halls of Madion. The resounding silence filled every corner of the unbearable white room. The Doctor slept with his head on Rose’s bed, parallel to her hip, his deep breathing mingled with hers the only sound that was heard. A nurse entered, covered from top to toe in white, her face veiled, almost like a child at Halloween who uses its mother’s best sheet to pretend to be a ghost. She glided silently to Rose’s bedside and checked her pulse. When she presses two fingers to Rose’s forehead, a green light glowed from under the nurse’s fingers. Rose gasped slightly in her sleep, waking the Doctor.
Sitting bolt upright, he tensed his back, ready for a fight. Catching sight of the nurse, he relaxed, gently removing his hand from Rose’s he walked around her bed to the tall white lady.
‘How is she?’ The nurse nodded, maintaining her rigorous silence. The Doctor smiled tiredly at her, then looked back at Rose. Once again the nurse bent over to check Rose’s pulse. Seeming pleased with the result, she moved away from the bed and, bowing low to the Doctor, left the room.
Taking his place once again at Rose’s side, the Doctor studied his lover. He should never have let Martha give her life. Rose had made it here because of her sacrifice, but the vision of Martha’s fear-filled face plagued his mind. Leaning back in his chair, he rested his elbows on the arms and linked his fingers together. Sighing, he thought of his dead companion, alone in her last moments. He was so lost in his guilt and reflection that he didn’t notice Rose stir on her bed until she turned to look at him. Immediately he was standing by her side, her hand back in his unrelenting grasp.
‘Hey.’ Rose smiled up at her Doctor.
‘Hi,’ She whispered back. Her eyes glanced around her, taking in the surroundings.
‘Where am I?’ Squeezing her hand gently, the Doctor reached behind him to draw up his chair.
‘The Healing Halls, just like I promised. I told you I would never let you down.’ Sitting up slightly, Rose carefully stretched, testing everything for long term damage. Finding no complaints apart from a few stiff joints she turned back to face the Doctor’s grim expression.
‘Did the doctors… or whatever they have here, cure me?’ , the Doctor nodded.
‘Yep, they gave you regenerative drugs, and repaired your internal damage with something called mental re-growth. Basically it’s a tropodic telepathic link that connects the cerilumtitis in their brains to your mind and stimulates the geralatithic natural repair system that you kind of absorbed when you looked into the heart of the TARDIS.’ Rose stared at him, desperately trying to get her sleep muddled mind to catch up with his last sentence.
‘Sooo…basically, I’m okay?’ Smiling again, the Doctor nodded. Rose grinned and relaxed back into her pillows.
‘Good.’ Another silence fell upon them, a comfortable silence that both enjoyed. Just to be in each others presence spoke volumes.
Rubbing her fingertips against her thumb Rose flinched as dull pain hit her. Glancing down at her burnt fingertips, she remembered what Martha Jones had done for her. Looking over at the Doctor, who was busy studying the pattern on his tie, she called his name gently.
‘How is Martha?’ The Doctor’s face grew stony. He met her eyes with a cool gaze that he usually saved for the enemies they encountered, something that reminded her that he was the last Time Lord.
‘She’s dead Rose. She gave her life, so that you could live.’ Rose turned her face away from him into the rays of sun that streamed through onto her pillow. Unsure what to think, she thought back on Martha Jones. The cold look she had given her, the harsh words she had spoken, the doctor’s pain at her loss. An immense guilt filled her, and she quickly swiped a few tears away from her face before turning to look at the Doctor.
‘I’m so sorry ,love.’ She squeezed his hand weakly. He smiled tiredly at her, as if all the weight of the world hung around his neck. Leaning up, he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
‘Get some rest, my love.’
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Deep in the heart of the TARDIS, a new Martha Jones stood, wreathed in darkness. A few tears of pain fell down her cheeks; she could feel the Time Vortex running through her head. The power was stifling, her head was throbbing, blood whooshed in her ears. Still she thought of him, the Doctor, through the blinding pain, and remembered that she had died. The memory of her life tumbling out of her fingers, draining her dry, was still fresh in her mind.
She was back now, back for a reason, for a purpose. He could tell her, the Doctor could help her, take away this pain. Still silently crying, Martha stumbled barefoot through the halls of the Tardis to the control room.
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Two weeks had passed, and Rose had gained strength every day. The rose colour of her cheeks living up to her namesake once again. The Doctor beheld her with growing joy and love as she unsteadily tried her feet out for the first time in fourteen days. Holding her hand, he helped her across the floor and down the corridor to the canteen, where they drank piwert juice and talked.
‘We should get back to the TARDIS soon. Spending this long in a hospital is starting to rub off on me.’ Rose rolled her eyes and smiled affectionately at her lover.
‘Careful, people might start think you actually know a thing or two about medicine.’ She drained her cup and stood with the aid of her chair. Teetering on her feet, she wobbled over to the Doctor, who watched her with a smile, amazed at her strong will. Glancing up from her feet to meet his eyes with a triumphant look on her face, Rose offered the Doctor her hand. Taking it, he stood and helped her down the hall.
‘Being an invalid is so boring. I can’t wait to get back on the open road.’
‘These past two weeks have been surprisingly uneventful.’ As soon as the words had left his mouth, the floor began to shake beneath them. Rose instinctively clutched at the Doctor’s coat. Nurses walked briskly down the hall, using their telepathic capabilities to keep the patients calm. The shaking began to worsen, tossing the gurneys in the next room into the wall. The Doctor and Rose landed heavily on the floor, crawling out of the way as a piece of the ceiling fell. The Doctor felt Rose press her face into his chest, wrapping his arms around her as he protected her from the falling debris. Patients screamed, and objects crashed to the floor around them. The Doctor squinted down the dusty corridors. He could just make out the room in which he’d left the Tardis. Straining his mind, he reached out to Rose‘s; the basic telepathic field the TARDIS had provided Rose with all those years ago when she first boarded the TARDIS was still intact, but only just.
‘R…. Rose?’ Rose nodded into his chest, letting him know she could hear him.
‘I….. I’m goi…. Going to pi…. Pick you up and carry……. You to the TARDIS. We’ll be …safe there, we…….. We can help from there.’ Again Rose nodded into his chest and tightened her grip around his neck. Slipping an arm around her waist and under her legs, he hoisted her up and ran. Dodging pieces of ceiling and several terrified patients, they made it to the door, kicking it open the Doctor pushed inside.
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Pulling open the door of the TARDIS, the Doctor was almost thrown off his feet as a particularly strong tremor shook the time machine. Placing Rose against the railing, he stumbled unsteadily to the control panel. Checking his time machine’s database for any anomalies or rifts in time and finding none, the Doctor frowned: something wasn’t right. Stroking the TARDIS, he pondered the matter. Then the trembling lessened under his hand, bringing him out of his thoughts. Bending at the knees, he knelt in front of the panel and stroked his machine again, whispering gently as his face grew dark. Eventually the tremors faded into nothing and the ground beneath their feet was still again.
The Doctor hoisted Rose to her feet and checked her over for injuries before carrying her to the sofa.
‘What happened?’ Rose brushed some stray hair out of her face, trying to regain some composure.
‘It was the TARDIS trembling. She was frightened.’ Rose met the Doctor’s eyes and saw his concern.
‘What could do that?’ Taking a deep breath, the Doctor raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.
‘Nothing’s ever frightened her like that before. Something phenomenal must have happened. The TARDIS is very sensitive; she could have picked up on anything, but what ever it was Rose…it was bad, really bad.’ Knowing that this was the closest the Doctor was going to get to admitting he was frightened, she took his hand and held it gently in her own. Smiling down at his love, he squeezed her hand.
‘We need to get back to the Time Vortex; once we’re somewhere the TARDIS feels safe I can try and work out what’s wrong with her.’ Rose nodded and let go of his hand, leaning back into the sofa. Starting the Tardis up, the Doctor flew her into the vortex, keeping his back to Rose because he didn’t want his concerns to show on his face. He continued to stroke his machine, hoping that what ever it was that had frightened her so badly, he could track it down before it damaged his machine beyond repair.
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Martha stumbled across Madion, the dust of the planet’s desert making the soles of her feet sore. The heat and thirst burned across her teeming mind. Power coursed through her, itching at every corner of her mind and soul. Tripping over a jutting rock, she feel onto her knees, not having the strength to move herself anymore, Martha let the Time Vortex whisper the secrets of the Universe to her, comforting her. Since leaving the TARDIS, the boundaries that had contained her new found power had been removed, allowing the full power of the Vortex to fill her to overflowing, burning her mind. She was stretched to her limits, her body seeming to age years with every step. Exhausted, Martha collapsed onto the dusty ground and resolved to meet death head on, which ever way it may take her, too tired to care.
Out of the raging sunlight and billowing dust, figures appeared, dark outlines on the horizon. They stood watching the young girl lying in the heat of the day. Expressionless, emotionless, they showed no concern for the human’s well-being. One lifted their head, his interest peaked by what he sensed. Motioning to the others, they moved forward in silent unison, closing in on Martha Jones. Surrounding her, they watched her, scrutinised her. The tallest of the group reached into a pocket in the long white robe he wore as the others watched him intently. There was nothing that set them apart from the person next to them, except for the leader, because they all had the same white clothing, the same face, the same uncaring manner. The tall one produced a small black sphere and rolled it in his hands, crouching next to the unconscious Martha. Teasing open her mouth, he forced the little black ball into her mouth, making her swallow. Standing, he motioned for her to stand. She did as commanded, a puppet in his hands. Glancing at his followers, he began to walk. Wordlessly, they followed close behind, beginning their slow march out of the desert with Martha Jones, the power of the Universe within her, following in their wake.
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Hey! I know this is a really short chapter, there are two reasons for that. One being that I’m very behind on homework and simply don’t have the time to write really long chapters at the moment, and two: it felt right to end it here. Sorry if you were expecting more from me, hopefully the next one will be a little longer. Thanks for reading, and please don’t forget to review.
Thanks so much to my excellent beta reader generaljess. Thanks so much for all your work so far.
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