The Green Soul

Chapter 8

The Doctor was trying to take the clinical approach on all of this, on Rose lying next to him in what was an admittedly large bed in which he had almost kissed her just about an hour and a half previous.  He felt rather stupid for all of that, admittedly, but there was nothing to be done about it.

He catalogued her breathing rate to make sure he was normal and tried to focus on her brain activity to make sure whatever had gone into her was actually gone.  From what he could gather, it had left her mind alone, only infiltrated her for a moment, but he couldn't quite put a finger on why.

Maybe it had just wanted to show Rose something, sent something through her mind and dodged right out of there.  Or, it had just wanted to get attention.  And it had found said attention in his young companion. 

He stroked his fingers over her forehead and closed his eyes, hoping to draw out her consciousness without waking her up.  He knew she needed the rest, and tried to dip into her mind without rousing her.  He felt her consciousness but all he could recognize behind it was how tired it was.  Like whatever had been in it had worn her out entirely, body and mind. 

In the back of his own mind, he wondered if she'd wake up the same as she had been before.  The parts of her that had been repressed by Cassandra were doubly repressed by whatever it was that had just been in her head.  He was nearly desperate to figure out what it was, what had caused her to cry out like that.

He nearly shuddered at the memory of her shout, a cry of anguish, and unconsciously pulled her side closer against him, his chin resting against the top of her shoulder.  The way he was curled around her, a stranger could walk in and see that he feared for her, wanted to keep her alive at, quite literally, any cost.

She stirred next to him, a development he wasn't expecting to see until the morning, and he watched her curiously in the fading light of day, her eyebrows drawing together.

"Rose?" he chanced on a whisper.

Her eyes shot open, not the gentle blinking open that was usual for a human.  She sat up abruptly, making his teeth click painfully together.  She ripped his arm off from around her and stared at him, unblinking.

"Rose?" He asked again, sitting up with her. 

She stood, never taking her eyes from him.  "You have undressed the human," she said simply.  It was her voice, but not her words.  "She is nearly naked."

The Doctor realized immediately that he wasn't speaking with Rose, but whatever had inhabited her before.  He tempered down that anger that threatened to surge through him and moved to stand in front of her, his hands reaching for her.

"No skin contact with the human," the entity in Rose responded to his movements, and stepped backwards. 

"She does not belong to you," the Doctor said firmly.  "Let her go."

"I have been unable to enter any other human mind," the entity said thoughtfully.  "The young couple who lives here will die if I inhabit them, and the servant is too dense for my purposes."

"Why Rose, then?" He asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking as his anger mounted.  It was too close to home, to see this woman he had come to lo- to care for, so much, to be within her body but trapped and screaming inside her own mind.  He had seen it before, he had felt it as well, as she had with Cassandra, and wanted nothing more than to save her.  But he knew he had to be careful, that if he said or did the wrong thing, this entity could kill Rose without making her blink an eye.

"Because, she is a happy medium between human," the entity gestured down Rose's body and pointed at the Doctor, "And Time Lord."

"You're not... You can't inhabit a Time Lord."

The entity shook Rose's head.  "They are too strong.  The humans are too weak.  And even this being I will only be able to stay in for a short period of time."

"Rose is a human," The Doctor said slowly, wondering if the entity was dense for not knowing so, especially while it was running her mind and body for her.

"The Valiant Child is not human," the entity said indignantly, "She is a new species, something never seen before.  A new breed, and as such, being the only one, a dying breed."

"Tell me what she is," The Doctor demanded, stepping forward, his hearts thumping violently against his chest. 

"I do not know," the entity responded.  "She is odd."

The Doctor sighed, knowing he had time to figure this out later, but right now. he had to get this.. This thing out of Rose.  "What are you doing inside her mind?"

"I am here to state my purpose, and I cannot stay in the child long," the entity spoke.  "I am trapped.  I cannot simply pass from human to human.  I will eventually die."

"Then what do you want me to do about it?" The Doctor asked, his voice rising with every word he spoke.

"Set me free.  When I leave the child, it will be so dark," Rose's lower lip trembled with the entity's words.  "I am afraid." 

Against his will, the Doctor felt sorry for this being.  That was possibly because it was wearing Rose's face, and therefore made him more susceptible emotionally to whatever was said from those specific lips. 

"Where are you trapped?" The Doctor asked softly.  "How can I help you?"

"I don't know where I am trapped," the entity began crying, tears spilling down Rose's cheeks.  "I do not know what to do."

"I'll do everything I can to help you," the Doctor promised.  "But you have to let go of that body, I need her, do you understand?  I need her with me, and she can help me.  She can help me save you, she knows you, now that you've been in her head.  But you've got to let her go."

The entity nodded, seeming to understand.  "You must touch the body."  It reached out Rose's hand for him and without thinking he wrapped his fingers around hers. 

Rose gasped and the Doctor watched as a green mist floated out of her mouth.  Her eyes rolled back in her head and the Doctor stepped forward to wrap his arms around her waist, keeping her knees from buckling under her.  Her hands immediately flew to his shoulders as her eyes opened.  The grin he expected did not rest upon her haunted face.

"It's so lonely, Doctor," she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes.  "It's so lonely."  She burst into tears, clutching his jacket.  He pulled her closer to him, stroking his hands up her back in what he hoped was a soothing motion.  He scooped her up into a bridal carry and settled her into the bed, trying to ignore how she clutched at him, trying to keep him close. 

"It's alright, Rose," he assure her, stroking her hair back before standing straight again.

"Doctor, I feel so cold," she said quietly, reaching up to take his hand in hers. "Will you please stay with me?"

It wasn't that he didn't want to, because he did, too much, if he was honest.  But with her being so vulnerable and looking so damn gorgeous despite just having been possessed and crying, he couldn't trust himself in bed with her. 

"Not tonight, Rose," he said quietly, releasing his grip on her hand.

He tried to ignore her hurt look as she let go of his hand and turned on her side away from him.  He took a look at the small couch on the other side of the room.  Taking an extra blanket from the bed, he decided it would have to do.

Rose tried to suppress the movement of her ribs as the tears continued to fall, feeling cold seep through her with no one to warm her.