Back To You

Chapter eight: Sending A Message

Rose's point of view (She's four and a half months pregnant, and it has been 4 months since she arrived in Pete's world, and three months since Bad Wolf Bay)

After being told what my child was doing to me, everything had changed. I wasn't allowed to leave my bedroom on my own, and when I did, it was only small trips to the bathroom. I couldn't shower, as movement only caused more pain. Whilst I had morning sickness, I had to vomit in a bucket, which was kept at my bedside. Each day more doctors and nurses came to check me over, and the only thing they ever told me, was that my health was deteriorating. As the days and weeks went by, I spent more and more time in bed, and my parents were often busy. When they were with me, they kept shooting each other secretive looks, something which they always denied when I asked. Each day drained me of my already dwindling sense of hope. 

As the baby grew, I shrank; bones now protruding from places they didn't before, elbows pointier and fingers narrower. The doctors stopped me eating, as any kind of movement only excelled the rate at which my cells were destroyed. I was being fed through an IV line, taking the nutrients to where they needed to be. The drip was attached and re-attached several times throughout the day. Although I was being given all the right vitamins and minerals and stuff, it still wasn't enough. Every couple of days, a new drip would be used, with a slightly different doses, to try and keep me healthy. Mickey occasionally popped in, and kept me company for a little while. Once he left though, I was alone again, with the beeping machines and ticking clock for company.

However, my sense of hope was restored slightly, on a day in late November, roughly four months after I had last been with the Doctor. Mum and Dad came into my room, and the doctors left, leaving us alone. They both sat down on the edge of my bed, hands intertwined. A smile hung on my mother's face, and for once, it was not one plastered on for my sake; to try and keep my spirit high.

"Rose," she cleared her throat. "We've, well your Dad and I... We'd been talking, to some of the people from Torchwood, and um... They've been trying to send a message through. To the other Universe. To him. It's the only other thing we could think of, what with him being all smart and whatever."

"The thing is," my Dad started talking. "They'd tried so many times, and so many different ways to send a message across, but it's never been strong enough." I felt my heart drop, knowing that all of their attempts had failed, that the Doctor would never know, and never come back for me. I'd given up in believing that he was still trying to save me. I thought that if he wanted to, he would have swooped by a long time ago, and whisked me off in that blue box of his.

"But now," I looked up at them, with looks of pride and accomplishment on their faces.

"Have you?... Did they?... Did it?..." The questions darted around inside my head, as the sudden burst of hope took control over me.

"They found a way through darling, we think they got a message through!" The tears fell, as I sat there in silence, trying to take it in. Astonished, I stared at them, before throwing myself at them, collapsing against Dads chest with great heaving sobs, thanking them over and over again. Mum started rubbing my back, trying to explain how they did it.

"... some way of harnessing the Temporal Rift energy stuff in Cardiff, and transmitting the signal from everyone's telephones and computers and radio stations. It's really complicated from the sounds of it, and of course, no-one's gonna be able to call anybody, or watch anything on the telly, 'cos the transmissions aren't working. We've just taken over the whole planet's electronics to send him this message."

"Thank you..." That was all I could say. No other words expressed how I was feeling...

The Doctor's point of view

Four months. She'd been gone four months. I'd barely managed to cope. 121.66 days. 2919.84 hours. 175190.4 minutes. 10511424 seconds. In those four months, I'd spent every night crying, thinking about her, and most days trying to find a way through into Pete's world. I often wouldn't sleep for weeks, then collapse for a day, before repeating the cycle. I didn't eat, except when forced to. Eating, drinking and sleeping were all distractions from finding her, and I was desperate. 

There surprisingly weren't any alien threats of invasion, and I guessed word of how I dealt with the Slitheen family had spread across the stars, and scared planets into not attacking. It had done me a favor, seeing how I wasn't in any fit state to save a civilization. My hair was greasy, and I hadn't changed my clothes in days. I didn't care what people thought of my appearance, I just wanted to find Rose again.

The Shadow Proclamation aided me as well as they could, but not even they had the sort of technology to send you into a parallel universe without shattering the current one. I visited engineers and inventors in the 47th century, both Human and Alien, but nothing. I had no way of getting through to her without some kind of trace or link, of which, I had neither. Even if I had a way of getting through, I couldn't be sure of the damage it could cause.

I was in the T.A.R.D.I.S, sitting on the chair in the console room, crying yet again. It had been another unsuccessful day. My eyes were closed, as I played the memories of our few nights together when we knew how we truly felt. I missed her blonde hair, and how it looked golden in the sunlight. I missed her dark brown eyes, that would twinkle with adventure. I missed her laugh. I missed her smile. I missed her bright bubbly personality, and the way you just fell in love with her. I missed Rose Tyler with all my heart, and I missed how I couldn't tell her how much I loved her, and regretted how little I told her that.

The gentle hum of the engines were replaced with a harsh beeping, that echoed through the room. I wiped the tears from my eyes, and stood up. Swinging the computer round to face me, I was met with the harsh red glow of several words on the monitor;

"Save Her... Save Bad Wolf..."