lostwolf | Acquainted with the Night

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13 ,Chapter 14,Chapter 15, Chapter 16

Chapter 17. The End of Things

The explosion followed so swiftly upon the sound of Rose’s scream that for a moment the Doctor imagined that the one was somehow a projection of his reaction to the other. Then the cloud of dust reached him, blinding him momentarily, and the marching boots of a Judoon detachment penetrated the fog. The Judoon had arrived and they were storming the building. And Rose was still inside. The sound of gunfire split the still dust-filled air causing his hearts to hammer frantically in his chest. Picking himself up off the ground he sprinted for the entrance to the building, hoping against hope that Rose was safe, that she was not hurt, that her captors would not find her before the Judoon found them. He knew the Universe was cruel, that Time and Chance loved to toy with him, but he hoped with both his hearts and every particle of his being that just this once they would decide to be kind.

In the time it took him to reach the entrance the sounds of fighting died away. As he propelled himself into the building absolute devastation greeted him; the doorway had been entirely obliterated and much of the shop reduced to smouldering rubble. What had not been destroyed by the blast had been crushed beneath the weight of the Judoon boots, cutting a swathe through the shop to the lift at its rear. As he watched, the lift opened and a Judoon guard emerged, carrying a body. His sight dimmed for a moment, sheer terror griping him, before he saw that it was not Rose. Marshalling his senses he moved forwards, assuming the confident swagger that had never felt more of a masquerade.

‘Halt!’ The Judoon by the lift fixed his beady eyes on the Doctor and flexed his fingers against his weapon. ‘You are the prisoner called Doctor. You will be detained.’

The Doctor whipped out the docket the Judoon had presented him with upon his capture and flapped it at the guard with confident assurance.

‘Nah, look, says here, I’m free to go as soon as the fugitives are captured. You’ve caught them. I’m free. Simple. Free man, me, and as a free man, I demand the right to enter these premises and retrieve my companion.’

The guard surveyed the docket, scanning it and verifying its authenticity. With what the Doctor suspected was immense reluctance the Judoon stepped aside.

‘Acknowledged. You may proceed.’

The Doctor stepped into the lift with alacrity, Sniff following doggedly on his heels. There was only one floor before the one he was now on, so his next move was simple. With a finger that shook slightly he pressed the button that would take him to the basement, that would take him to Rose.

The Judoon ignored him as he walked through the outer chamber of the basement; they had their quarry and all else had become irrelevant. Three more bodies littered the floor and one of the Judoon was giving the order to lift the barricade as soon as the identities of the deceased had been verified and logged; Babel Emporium would soon be free once more. The Doctor’s concentration, however, was entirely focused upon the basement and, as the door swung open, Rose. Sniff left his side with an excited yelp, cantering across the expanse of featureless space and flinging himself at his mistress as she knelt by the side of a pallid older woman. At the dog’s yelp she turned and got stiffly to her feet, favouring her right side, just in time to catch the bundle of fur and tongue that launched itself into her arms. Her delighted giggle was like a symphony and the Doctor was quite sure he had never heard a more perfect sound. Slowly he made his way towards her, savouring the sight of her, cataloguing her every movement and expression. She was alright. Bruised, he surmised, from her fall, but fundamentally unharmed. Whole. Perfect. Alive.

‘Hello,’ he said as he reached her, stretching out a hand for hers.

She let Sniff drop to the ground and slipped her small hand into his, smiling up at him, ‘Hello.’ He stared at her silently then, without a word, pulled her into a tight embrace, pressing her against him fiercely, savouring the sensation of her alive and breathing against him.

‘I believe we have a rule about wandering off,’ he muttered into her hair, the slight shake in his voice the only sign of how affected he had been by her absence.

‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, and he tightened his arms still further, resting his chin against her head and closing his eyes.

‘I missed you,’ he said, his voice devoid of its normal cheerful bravado, ‘I didn’t think I’d find you in time.’

Rose pushed back against him until she could look up at him once more, ‘I knew you’d come.’ Absolute trust ran through her words and he shivered, humbled by her faith in him, a faith that held true despite his recent behaviour. He was opening his mouth to apologise, to try and explain his behaviour, when the woman at their feet groaned.

‘Rose?’

Rose pushed away from him, dropping into a crouch and helping the woman to sit, ‘It’s okay, Hiedlif, my friend is here, the Doctor. We’re safe now.’

Hiedlif smiled, her eyes drifting closed, ‘That is good,’ she whispered.

Rose looked up at the Doctor urgently, ‘We need to get her to a hospital, they took a lot of blood from her and she’s very weak.’

The Doctor nodded, bending and lifting Hiedlif into his arms. He had questions, lots of them, and there were things he needed to say to her, before the opportunity was lost, but that could wait, it would have to, if they were to save her friend.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ he said. Rose picked up Sniff and together they made their way back towards the exit, the Doctor positioning himself between Rose and the bodies of her captors in an attempt to shield her from the brutal evidence of the Judoon’s tactics. He was grateful to see her press her face into Sniff’s soft fur and avert her eyes and he hoped that the little that she had seen would not haunt her. He rushed them onwards, mind vaguely registering that the Judoon were arguing amongst themselves agitatedly, like hyenas fighting over a carcass. It was with considerable relief that he pressed the button to take them back into the light and away from the carnage below.

As they stepped into the sunlight he heard Rose’s gentle gasp of pleasure, watching her as she stepped away from him, turning her face up towards the sun like a flower long denied the light. Her hair shone like a halo and she looked exquisite, despite her dirt smeared face and torn gown. As he surrendered Hiedlif to an attentive medic, he watched as Rose spotted a friend; as she raised her hand to wave a broad smile transformed her features from pretty to perfection. He looked up to see whom she was waving at.

‘Estellige!’

As Rose cried to her friend, the Doctor saw and heard everything, a terrible sense of precognition sweeping his form. A glimpse of metal, the roar of the Judoon, the frantic bark of Sniff and, even as he launched himself towards Rose, the terrible sound of a weapon discharging.

Chapter 18

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Date: 2008-03-15 06:03 pm (UTC)

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