a/n: Last chapter! Thanks everyone who read and reviewed! Big hugs for whoinwhoville, bittie752 and larxenethefirefly where there for me when I got stuck and who gave me encouragement when I was frustrated. They are awesome writers and you should read their stuff :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who and do not profit from this fic or any of the characters contained therein.
There had been a terrible loss of life that day, the day the Master came to the Academy. Rose's physical injuries were minimal. Emotional damage would take longer to heal but she wouldn't be alone in her recovery. Her eyes fluttered open as the Doctor carried her to safety. She could still here people shouting and calling out and the stench of the burning school filled the air as the moon peeked through the billowing smoke. As he set her down in the garden where she had first met Wilf what seemed a lifetime ago, she could see he was hurt too, in the worst of ways. It was in his eyes, so dark, sad and filled with pain. His hair was sticking straight up, filled with soot and dust that blackened his face. His suit was torn and singed in places. Rose shivered, still wet from her fight with Reinette in the pond and caked with dirt. Wilf wrapped a blanket around her, whispering reassuring words before he ran off to help someone else.
Students were huddled together weeping, some were lying on the ground moaning or completely silent, their eyes glassy and staring at nothing. Several were racing around seeing to the wounded. Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand and felt him pull her into his lap where he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his face into her neck. She cuddled with him back as the events of the night rolled through her head on a never ending loop leaving her wondering if she had made other choices would all these people have died?
"Doctor, Jack, Donna, Mickey…." She started to say in a hoarse emotional voice.
"Shhhh," he murmured and rocked her. "It'll be all right. I promise I'll check on them…in a bit."
Rose felt her eyes tear up as everything she'd been holding in welled up. She was overcome by great wracking sobs and clung to him. He held her tightly to him, careful of her tender shoulder and soon Rose realized his tears mixed with hers. They held each other until both were spent and a familiar voice interrupted them.
"Oi! You two, enough of that. We've got people to help," Donna reminded as she collapsed on her knees near them looking worn out and just as sooty and dirty as they were, her ginger hair powdered with dust and debris.
"Donna!" Rose croaked out and pulled away from the Doctor to hug her friend. Donna welcomed Rose into her arms apologizing for jarring Rose's wounded shoulder. The Doctor collapsed on the ground next to them, a slight smile on his face when he looked over at the two girls.
Donna turned to him. "Well? Come on then Spaceman, but don't get used to it," she said as she held her arm out. The Doctor soon found himself in a three way hug. They were alive and they needed this tangible evidence, the physical connection that they survived.
When they pulled apart, Donna looked at them and it was clear, she was not as okay as she pretended. "A lot of people are hurt. Martha could use a hand."
The three friends made their way into the crowd. Martha was racing around a triage area trying to help as many as she could. Rory was acting as her nurse, assessing wounds and prioritizing patients. Harriet was on her mobile, making arrangements whilst Sarah Jane organized the students to make shelters and pass around supplies. Gwen and a group of teachers walked by with rescue equipment heading toward the burning remains of the school.
"Rose!" Rory called out and waved her over. She looked at the Doctor.
"Go," I'm going to talk to Harriet and see where she needs me. I'll catch up with you. Just…" He paused and swallowed hard. "Promise me you'll be here."
Rose nodded and hugged him before leaving to help Rory. He needed help with some of the more traumatized students like Craig. Rose took Craig's hand and just her presence seemed to shake him out of his catatonic state.
"Is it…is it done?" he asked, shakily. "I mean, it's over now, we're through the worst of it?"
"Yeah, Craig. The Master's gone. He fell," she whispered, memories of Joan shooting him and him falling into the dark gaping hole in the ground.
Craig shook his head. "It's never completely over." He stared into her eyes as if looking through her to something beyond. "Everything's changed though. You changed it and maybe it's a big brighter but you know you can't have light without darkness. It's always there hovering." He reached over and held her hand. "Just like the Master. Just when the sun rises and pushes the shadows away, they always come back."
Rose shivered. She didn't understand what he was getting out. Then, like a light switch turning on, Craig's face changed from haunted to relaxed. "I should help." He stood up and brushed off his jim jams and winced. Just as he walked off toward some huddled crying students he paused and looked at Rose. "Stay out of the shadows, Rose Tyler and keep your friends close." With that odd comment, he walked away.
Rose furrowed her brow until Idris ran over and tackled her. Rose cried out as she jarred her shoulder.
"Alice!" Idris shouted embracing her. "The books are buried but the story doesn't end."
Rose smiled at Idris but could see her tremble slight. Idris was more sensitive than she let on. Rose held one arm close to her but gently cupped Idris' face with her free hand. "Yeah, guess that's true. I'm glad you're all right. You were real brave back there."
"Gandalf is a good wizard with a big heart. My thief and I showed the orcs what for!"
Rose nodded. "Where is Matthew? Is he okay?"
Idris smiled and pointed. Matthew was gathering up some of the younger students and babbling about something gesturing wildly and prancing around like a drunk giraffe making them smile. Rose felt warm and relieved. Matthew had so much sadness and guilt within him but he was a good in a way he didn't realize. Rose looked back at Idris. "Have you seen Amy or Jack?"
Idris' eyes lit up and she grabbed Rose's hand and dragged her over to another area where Amy was directing people and handing out assignments. "The pretty one's queen is holding court!" she announced excitedly.
When Amy saw Rose she ran over to her and gently hugged her. "Rose!" When she pulled back and she huffed at Idris. "Didn't I assign you to keeping an eye on Matthew? You know how he gets. There's been enough explosions for one day."
Idris smiled brightly. "I like explody things." She paused and looked at Rose. "But not the bad kind. Alice needs rest. The rain is coming…" She leaned over to Rose. "Soon there will be a rainbow and Alice and her knight will find the gold." Idris then bounded over to Matthew and jumped on his back hugging him. He stumbled forward as the children giggled.
"She is a complete nutter," Amy said, shaking her head.
"Yeah but she knows a lot more than people give her credit for." Rose then looked at Amy closely. "Are you all right? I mean, okay."
Amy looked down and clenched trembling hands. When she looked back up at Rose, she looked older. "They killed Lynda," she whispered and tears began falling down her face. "And not just her. Luke Rattigan wasn't one of them. Adam killed both of 'em and no one's seen Astrid. They think she's dead too. Mr. Delaware and Ms. O'Brien were lost when the building collapsed. Mickey's been shot. He was protecting Craig and they shot him. He lost a lot of blood but they think he'll be okay and Ianto… Oh god, Ianto!" Amy choked out overcome with tears. Rose grabbed her and held on with her good arm feeling tears prick her own eyes.
"I saw Jack carry 'im out. What…what happened?" Rose asked, visions of Ianto's broken body fresh in her mind.
Amy gulped down some sobs. "He was trying to help evacuate the building." Amy's face hardened and her voice took on an angry tone. "That bitch Reinette showed up with some of the Master's thugs. Christina was there too but when she saw that they were attacking Ianto she ran off. Reinette stayed for a while looking on like it was nothing to her, that is, until Rory and me showed up and then she snuck off. We tried to help. I…I lost control. Rose, they were killing people and it was like I shut myself up and just went off on them." Amy looked at her, her eyes still shiny with tears. "They would have hurt Rory," she said softly. "I couldn't let that happen and I just walked through the house stopping them until I saw the Master and I just froze."
"I saw," Rose said softly and pulled Amy back into a hug. "You did the right thing."
Amy pulled back. "So did you," she said with a strong voice. "When that wanker attacked me and Rory came running over, I told him to go help you. I made him promise."
Rose nodded. "Thank you. He saved me and the Doctor."
Amy seemed to pull herself together. "Course he did. Promised you we had your back and if he hadn't, he'd have me to deal with."
A scuffle broke out and Amy rolled her eyes. "I gotta go!" She went back screaming at everyone to "button it and pay attention."
After that, Rose had her arm examined, tied up into a sling and wandered and helped where she could until she found Jack sitting next to a broken and battered Ianto who had an IV connected to him while Martha worked on him. Rose knelt down next to Jack and put an arm around his shoulders. He turned and clung to her crying.
"He'll be all right, Jack. He's strong," Rose comforted him, as she felt him shaking from his grief.
"I should have been there, I should have helped. He was…being so brave trying to get the kids out. He wasn't fighting, wasn't even armed, Rose. He just wanted to help," Jack explained in a broken voice.
"I know. I'm sorry Jack but you have to be strong for him." She squeezed him again and he pulled back and wiped his face.
He nodded at her. "I'm glad that bastard is dead. He doesn't deserve to breath the same air as Ianto or any of us." He looked up at her. "Rose, you did it, you stopped him. I knew you could."
"No, it wasn't me. It was all of us."
"Maybe, but you stood out there against him, setting an example that you don't let evil win. You're a good person Rose Tyler. Don't…don't let what happened today…." He paused and took a breath. What I mean is, please don't run from your talent, from who we are. We need you Rose, I need you."
Rose pulled him to her and held him tight, promising she would be there for him, Ianto and everyone.
Martha called Jack and he turned to see Ianto's eyes flutter open once, look at him and then close again. Jack gently grasped his hand and looked at Martha.
"He's strong and he's fighting. Remind him what he's fighting for," Martha explained and squeezed Jack's shoulder.
Rose walked around the make shift hospital area and learned Martha had been on her way to Harriet's office for a meeting with Harriet and Dr. Redfern. She found the two women arguing with Dr. Redfern demanding more control. Harriet was standing her ground and said she would not make the school a prison. Martha walked in and both women were glaring at each other. Dr. Redfern barely glanced at Martha and continued on her rant about history repeating itself and how Harriet knew how dangerous some students were. Martha had a feeling they were talking about Rose which made Rose immediately uncomfortable, especially given how Joan Redfern had died.
Martha confessed she knew how Dr. Redfern's sister died. It had been an accident. Her sister was trying to help another student with an uncontrolled talent calm down, but got in the way. Joan Redfern had been there too. She watched as the other student accidentally turned her sister to stone.
Rose caught her breath and could barely imagine what that must have been like for Joan, how it drove her mad with grief. It gave Rose a different perspective on the school physician and why she had been so hard on Rose. After she had been silent for a while Martha and reached over and took her hand.
"Joan was troubled. She rejected her own talent repressing it and refusing to acknowledge it existed after that. She never forgave the student that killed her sister. In fact, Harriet had to send the boy away. Dr. Redfern never forgave her and accused of being too soft. She thought Harriet was too lenient on you too but she was wrong. You know that, right?"
Rose nodded. "But in the end Joan saved us all." Rose said softly.
"I heard about what she did."
The Doctor made his way up to them.
"Transport's just arrived to take everyone to Castle Kasterborous. Martha, you're overseeing patient evacuation."
"I'll get with Rory and get everyone started." She looked again at Rose. "You gonna be all right?"
Rose laced her fingers with the Doctor and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Rose and the Doctor made their way around helping where they could until several teachers showed up to begin coordinating the move. The Doctor tugged Rose away toward the demolished school. They passed Wilf along the way who winked at them as he carried a few cuttings from his garden to safety and made them promise they would take care. They walked further until they reached the edge of the smoking debris. The Doctor pulled Rose into his arms.
"So many hopes and dreams in this place. All of it's gone now," Rose said sadly.
"Oh, I don't know about that. Hope is in us, part of us. I rather like hope."
Rose looked up at him, a smile lighting her face. He leaned down and brushed a quick kiss on her lips and they looked at the ruined school. "Did they find anyone else?"
"A few," he answered without elaborating but his meaning was clear, not everyone they found was alive.
"And the Master? Did they find…" Rose didn't finish her sentence.
"No," the Doctor answered in a clipped tone. "Rescue efforts focused on the school. That pit he opened up is at least five hundred meters deep. Even if Joan hadn't shot him three times, he couldn't have survived."
"But shouldn't we…"
"No," the Doctor answered, his eyes dark and angry. "He got what he deserved and so will Reinette. Harriet's seeing that she's locked up in a facility for special patients, for talents who don't adjust."
Rose let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She didn't bear any grudge against Reinette. She pitied her. There was one other thing bothering Rose. "Doctor, in the end, the Master said he won. What did he mean?"
He snorted. "He was gonna take us with him. Rose, he didn't understand what it means to have friends, to have faith, to…" He paused as if searching for a word and then looked at her with an intensity. "To love," he finished in a passionate growl.
Rose felt tears but this time they were happy tears. Even amongst all this devastation and loss, they still found each other and acknowledged their feelings. She leaned into him and just as their lips touched, she felt something in the back of her mind and pulled away.
"Rose?" the Doctor asked, a little nervously.
Rose turned to the still smoldering rubble. "Somethins out there," she said and then tugged on his hand and started climbing over and through tumbled stones, smoking wood, crushed furniture and leaking plumbing.
"Hold up," he ordered and halted their progress. "Show me."
Rose pulled him close and leaned her forehead against his and showed him the spark of something she felt. It was life, an odd swirl of light, almost a tiny song calling out for help.
He stood up and ran a hand through his mussed up hair. "Blimey, it can't be," he breathed and then a huge grin lit his face. "Come on, allonsy!" he shouted and pulled her along. Rose followed along not knowing where they were going but trusting him and curious to see what this was or who this was that was calling out. Her adrenalin began pumping as they made their way and tunneled their way through the wreckage until the Doctor found an entrance to the sub-basement. They pulled pieces of rock and planks of wood out of the way. Rose winced a few times, her shoulder still being sore but the Doctor continued on at furious pace. Whatever was down there, he seemed to know about it. Rose's curiosity was even more piqued. Soon, he was helping her down as they crawled down an old stone staircase that had miraculously survived the onslaught against the school.
The Doctor pulled a torch out of his pocket and they made their way through the gloom, carefully squeezing through a doorway blocked by fallen timber. Soon they could go no further and stopped. Rose sneezed from the dust.
"Doctor, what are we lookin' for?"
"Oh you beauty!" he breathed and walked a few feet toward a pile of rubble. "You gorgeous thing, of course you survived," he practically purred.
Rose walked over to find him caressing a pink and gold rock. "What's that?"
He turned to her, a huge smile on his face and his eyes twinkling. "Rose Tyler, allow me to introduce, Project TARDIS. Isn't she just the most brilliant thing you've ever seen?" he asked and rocked back on his heels.
Rose's brow furrowed as she looked at the rock that sparkled in the light of his torch. "She?" she asked and reached out a hand and touched it. Rose gasped as she felt a presence in her mind. It wasn't like the Doctor but she knew it was a living creature. Time loved it. Rose had never seen anything like it, her talent snapped on and it was like nothing Rose had ever known, thousands of time lines flowed through this small piece of rock no bigger than a toaster. She looked at the Doctor.
"She's alive."
"Oh yes! I was hoping she survived all the turmoil. This lab is quite secure and insulated from the rest of the school. And look at her! Brilliant she is!"
"You called her TARDIS?"
"Yes, Time and Relative Dimension in Space. You see, she's a creature of time. She was growing down here. She built an environment for herself, quite advanced and sort of in a separate dimension, from the outside world."
Rose ran her fingers over the rough surface which reminded her of coral. She looked around the dark interior of this place with dust swirling in the air and was overcome with a feeling that she had to save this little creature who was not so little. She looked up at the Doctor. "We have to get her out of here. It's not safe. It could collapse on her and well, we have to save her Doctor."
He smiled laid his hand over Rose's on the coral. "Of course we do," he agreed. He slipped out of his torn and dirty suit coat and they moved the piece of coral and wrapped it up and slowly made their way out.
Carefully, they traversed the rubble until they reached the garden covered in dust. The sun peeked out around a few dark clouds, shining on the destruction. They sat down on an old stone bench that had by some miracle survived the explosions and falling debris. The looked out at the remains of their school and set the TARDIS between them and held hands, just taking it all in. A breeze blew and they caught a whiff of jasmine amongst the scent of smoke. Rose leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed as again she was overwhelmed by all that had happened since she arrived here only a few weeks ago.
A light mist of rain drizzled down washing some of the dust away. She smiled and looked up at him. "Petrichor," she whispered.
He inhaled and smiled and looked over as a rainbow appeared. "Well, I'll be. Good old Idris."
The Doctor looked down and smiled, leaning down to kiss her. She deepened the kiss reaching up to run her fingers through his hair.
A loud sigh sounded near them and they broke apart and looked over to find Harriet Jones, her arm in a sling not unlike Rose's and Sarah Jane Smith standing near them. Harriet was giving them the School Administrator look while Sarah Jane was trying not to smile.
"We've been looking everywhere for the two of you. Come now, the final transport is waiting on us and we've kept it quite long enough," Harriet lectured.
Sarah Jane winked at Rose. "Come on you two. We have plans to make and a new school to build. Somehow, I think both of you are meant to be a part of this."
"Indubitably," Harriet agreed. "And with less snogging and more focus one would hope."
"Oh come now, Harriet. Let the young be young. They've earned it I think," Sarah Jane remarked.
Rose and the Doctor giggled as they stood up, carrying their TARDIS project and followed Harriet and Sarah Jane. This wasn't an ending. It was the beginning of something brilliant and it was going to be fantastic.