Out There

By Sonic Jules

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Previously, in chapter four...

"What? The wardrobe?" Rose asked incredulously.

"Yes."

Rose shook her head. "No, you're lyin'. I was just up there earlier."

"But you weren't looking for him then, were you? You were hiding from me," the Doctor said knowingly. "Go ahead. It's not like I'm going anywhere," he told her, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he once again pulled unsuccessfully on the ropes imprisoning him. "Forth row, sixteenth hanger."

Rose didn't hesitate, running in the direction he'd sent her.

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Chapter Five:

Remember

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The Time Lord sighed a bit sadly. This was all going so very wrong. He'd expected Rose to regain her memories, not knock him unconscious.

Twisting himself and grunting a few times, the Doctor maneuvered one of his hands into his jacket pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver, grateful Rose hadn't thought to search for it since she didn't believe he was himself. He adjusted the settings blindly yet knowledgeably, then strategically aimed the tool at the cord around his wrists. Releasing his hands from their binds, he dropped the rope on the floor and followed her.

OoO

Rose Tyler ran for all she was worth, afraid that each second wasted would be detrimental for the Doctor. She had no idea what condition she'd find him in, and feared the worst. Surely he was completely incapacitated at the very least, otherwise he would've made some sort of noise when she'd been up there before.

"Doctor!" she yelled, reaching the wardrobe room.

Moving swiftly, she stepped to the fourth set of clothes then began counting the hangers. When she reached the sixteenth piece of clothing she was ready to find the Time Lord behind the garments. What she didn't expect to find hanging there was the one thing he'd always worn. Rose gasped. There, suspended from a wooden hanger, was his black leather jacket.

Her head turned one way then the other as she looked back and forth, breathing heavily.

"Doctor!"

Rose looked at the jacket again and her eyes widened in confusion for a moment, then seemed to visibly show her clarity. "No..." she whispered to no one.

Tentatively, she reached out and touched the tips of her fingers to the worn, dark leather, only to draw her hand back quickly.

She brought her hands to the coat again, this time pulling it from the rack, then gently removing it from the hanger. Rose never heard the wooden holder hit the ground as she lifted the jacket to her face and inhaled deeply.

Tears began filling her eyes as she sat down without thought on the floor.

"Remember Satellite Five, Rose?" the Time Lord spoke softly from behind her. "Remember the Daleks? I sent you home from there in the TARDIS. Emergency program one."

"Shut up!" she said, never looking at him as she held the black leather jacket to her chest.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, I am the Doctor, and if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. Think about it, Rose. From the day you met me, when I was him, and especially now. I mean seriously, this incarnation certainly has the gift of gab - you've said so yourself a few dozen times."

He grinned when she looked up at him, then continued speaking. "Do you remember Christmas Eve? The Sycorax had invaded Earth's space, and I had just regenerated. Didn't do a very good job of it either, I'm afraid, but those things rarely go smoothly when you've absorbed all the energy in the Time Vortex - no one's meant to do that. But you - and Jackie, I suppose - you saved me. Took care of me and -"

"Tea," she whispered.

"That's right. Tannic acid. Works wonders, and I'm living proof of that." The Doctor slowly sat down beside Rose.

"I remember," Rose began with a deep breath. "But right now it's like rememberin' it all over again for the first time," she sniffled, muffling the sound inside the jacket as she lowered her head to the material.

"I know it was hard on you - harder than I originally realized, it seems. Apparently when the TARDIS first started going out of control earlier and she flared with fire, it triggered your memories of my regeneration. That and your head injury played with your mind, and you lost all memories of me."

Rose looked at him with watery eyes, still holding the jacket to her heart. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly as liquid spilled down her cheeks.

"Sorry? What for? It's not like any of this was your fault."

"Yeah, but I hit you! Oh my God - are you all right? I didn't mean -"

"Of course you didn't. And I'm fine, honestly. You were really just trying to protect ... well, me."

"Yeah. S'pose I was."

"Come on," the Doctor stood, offering Rose his hand.

"Where're we goin'? You're not takin' me back to the Infirmary again, are you?" she asked, but stood beside him regardless.

"I'm thinking hot chocolate," he replied with a grin.

"Sounds good," she smiled back, relief evident. She bent down in front of the Time Lord, retrieving the fallen hanger then placing the black leather jacket around it.

"You could keep it, if you want," the Doctor offered quietly.

Rose looked at him as she set the hanger back on the rack, jacket neatly upon it. "That's okay. I don't need to. I've got the real thing here, right in front of me, forgivin' me for knockin' 'im out and offerin' me chocolate."

The Time Lord smiled. "You're sure?"

"Yeah," she sniffled. "I mean, what more could a girl ask for?"

The Doctor held her face gently and wiped the tears from beneath her eyes with his thumbs, then wrapped her tightly in his arms. The relief was clear on his face as he hugged her just a bit tighter, glad to have Rose all right and her memories intact.

Rose embraced the Time Lord securely as well, glad to remember all of him and have him with her, in any form.

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The end.

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