Title: Darker Edges
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Ten/Rose
Time Frame: Late Season 2
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I own nothing. Just takin' 'em out to play for a bit.
Summary: The Doctor and Rose encounter a group of vicious bounty hunters that are set on capturing the Doctor and the TARDIS. Curious as to the reason for this bounty, the Doctor and Rose trace its source back to one of the most vile planets in the universe.
Author's Note: My first big DW fic! No, it is not Post-Doomsday, for those of you wondering. =] This is just a fun idea I came up with to fit in between the episodes we got to see, sort of like the books. This does have a lot of fluff and angst, though, so don't think it's ship-deprived. ;) The graphic below was created for me by a friend. =] A huge, gianormous, outrageous thanks goes to Jagwriter78 for being a totally wicked cool beta and for helping me through the tough parts and smacking me in the head for the bad parts that needed fixing or rewriting. ^_^ Anyway, I'll stop gabbing and let you all read. I hope you guys enjoy it!


Darker Edges Title Graphic

One

The Doctor couldn’t help but smile as he watched Rose take her first lick of Tandian Marshel–otherwise known as ice cream.

Rose’s eyes went wide, a broad smile lighting up her features. “Wow, it really does taste like ice cream.”

“Of course it does! That’s what I said, innit?” the Doctor replied with a proud grin.

“What is it, really?” she asked before licking some melted cream off her finger. “I mean it can’t really be ice cream. Not like on Earth.”

“It’s not, but it’s close enough. Do you like it?”

She faced him with a dazzling smile that made his hearts soar. “Oh, I love it! No flavor quite like this back home.”

Her tongue peaked out between her teeth as she reached for his hand; he gladly intertwined his fingers with hers, keeping their palms firmly pressed together. He gave her a pleased grin before returning his attention to their stroll, taking in the warm sunshine and surrounding grasses and plants.

“This stuff sure melts a lot faster, though,” Rose murmured, pulling her hand away from his as she made weak attempts to keep rivulets of ice cream from trickling down her fingers.

“Need a hand with that?”

Rose giggled. “I think I might. Want some?” She held out her quickly melting ice cream cone to him.

“Oi! Not me!” the Doctor declared, taking a step back. “Too sticky!”

“You offered!”

“No, I don’t – ”

The glistening clump of cream slipped off the cone and plummeted toward the pavement, somehow managing to partially splat down the front of the Doctor’s tie and suit coat on the way down. Both he and Rose stood in silence for a moment, staring at the sticky mass splotched on his clothes. Rose glanced up at his face, struggling to hold back laughter, snorting quietly with the effort. He met her with stunned eyes and she couldn’t help the burst of giggles that escaped her mouth.

“Doctor,” she began, voice strained with laughter. She shyly covered her mouth, looking again at the spilled mess on his suit. “Sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that.”

“I buy you ice cream, Tandian Marshel at that, and what do I get for it? You spill it on my suit!” he announced, aghast, but apparently not too upset. Rose bit down on her bottom lip, grinning innocently at him. He frowned as he pulled out his tie to inspect it, simultaneously sliding on his specs. “One of my favorite ties, too,” he said sorrowfully.

“We can always wash it, yeah?” Rose said, her tone a bit more serious, having sobered up. She leaned in to look at the garment. “‘s just ice cream. It’ll come out. Wanna head back to the TARDIS before it soaks through?”

“Nah!” the Doctor shrugged, haphazardly stuffing his tie back into his suit coat. “I’ll live. Could do some dryin’ before we head off, though.”

“I’ll get some tissues. Need some myself,” Rose told him, holding out her sticky hands for him to see. “Be right back!”

The Doctor made no protest, sticking his hands comfortably in his pockets as he watched her race back toward the ice cream cart. Settling himself on a nearby bench beneath the shade of a tree, he pulled off his glasses and put them back in his suit pocket, then stretched out and closed his eyes, taking the few free moments of time to simply relax.

But being as clever as he was, even while in a relaxed state, he was still extremely accurate at keeping time, and the time it was taking for Rose to retrieve some napkins was far, far too long. The Doctor sat up straight and ran a hand through his disheveled hair as he blinked through the sunlight. He glanced around the courtyard in search of Rose. But even his sharper sight couldn’t spot her, and concern was beginning to spark inside him.

Hastily getting to his feet, the Doctor made his way to the opposite side of the courtyard and glanced down the pathway Rose had headed. He could see the ice cream cart well enough, but there was no sign of Rose.

Perhaps to the loo to wash up, he thought, still scanning his surroundings for any sign of her.

“‘scuse me,” the Doctor greeted the Tandian Marshel seller. “I was here just a bit ago with my friend. Did you happen to see her come by this way again?”

The man nodded. “Aye, I did. She came an’ got some cloths. She went back thataway,” he gestured in the direction, “to the priv’cy chambers.”

The Doctor took off to where the native had directed, eyes darting around in wild search for his companion. So she had gone to the restrooms after all. He came to a skidding stop in front of the sealed door marked for the females.

“Rose?” he called, leaning in against the door. “Rose, are you in there?”

There was no response and he couldn’t hear anything. Panic began to well up inside him.

“Rose, this isn’t funny! If you’re in there, answer me right now!”

The door abruptly tore open to reveal a very upset, red-faced female of the planet’s native species. “Oi! What’s all this ruckus about?” she snapped.

“S-sorry. I thought you were someone else,” the Doctor stuttered, feeling somewhat embarrassed. “Jus’ lookin’ for my friend.”

“‘s not called priv’cy chamber for nothin’, you sodding tourist!” she shouted before slamming the door in his face.

Unruffled, the Doctor turned away and wiped his hand over his mouth ponderously. Maybe she had already been to the restroom and was on her way back to the courtyard. With that thought in mind, he sprinted all the way back to the spot where they had parted ways. Hearts racing, he whirled in all directions, thoroughly looking over the area. Much to his dismay, she was no where to be found.

“ROSE!” he shouted as loudly as he could, startling a few passersby and earning some angry looks. But all he was focused on was the absolute lack of response from Rose herself.

Her mobile! She always took it with her any time they left the TARDIS.

Racing over to the nearest tourist guide console, he hastily pulled out the sonic screwdriver. After sparing a brief glance over his shoulder to make sure no body was watching, he pressed the tip of the sonic probe to the screen, manipulating the machine to do what he wanted. These consoles weren’t meant for anything but providing information about the planet and tourist locations, but that had never stopped him before, and it wasn’t about to now.

He let out a small breath of relief when the console speakers began to ring, signaling that it was calling Rose’s cell phone. The Doctor stared at the machine in growing impatience, silently urging Rose to answer the call. He was startled when the ringing was suddenly cut off. No answer, no voice mail, just cut. With a furrowed brow, he studied the console’s screen; the signal was dead. The call had been stopped. With a few more workings with the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor quickly discovered there was nothing wrong with the machine.

Someone had interfered with the call.

Swallowing hard, the Doctor grimly glanced around the courtyard once more. His instincts were telling him that this was very not good–and his instincts were usually right.






The last thing Rose remembered was trying to keep the napkins from sticking to her ice cream-covered fingers as she made her way to the toilet. After that...She was startled to find there was no afterwards, just...black.

The moment she attempted opening her eyes, she regretted it, severe pain ripping through her temples. Biting back a moan, she forced her eyes open, blinking through the blurriness that obscured her vision. Fear wrenched in her stomach when she discovered that she could not move her arms or legs, both tightly bound.

“Oh, look, little blondie’s awake,” came a voice, unfamiliar and none too friendly.

A foot nudged her side and Rose jerked away. “Oi! Keep away from me!”

A series of chuckles rained down around her, sending biting chills racing up her spine.

“Feisty one,” another voice stated, sounding amused. The owner of the voice came into view, bending over Rose.

Not that Rose had seen too many aliens in her short time traveling with the Doctor, but these creatures were far different from any she had seen yet. They had oval shaped, glistening heads with flat faces and large white bottomless eyes that were highly unnerving. A set of black, scaley pointed tongues slithered out from lipless mouths, framed by jagged teeth. Rose had seen a good deal of creatures and scarey things in the last couple years, but nothing had put such cold fear in her stomach like these aliens.

“She fears us,” one of them chuckled, the two tongues of his mouth making his voice echo slightly.

“Wh-who are you?” Rose stammered out, glancing around at the two creatures grinning down at her. “What do you want with me? Where’s the Doctor?”

One of them leaned in much too close for her comfort, the stench from the creature’s mouth wafting over her as it curled its two tongues inches away from her face. “Hmm. She’d be good, yes.”

Good for what, Rose wasn’t even going to ask. Instead, she swallowed hard and tried to speak with a firmer, more confident tone. “Listen you, you’d better let me go right now. ‘C-cause I have a friend here with me, and once he realizes I’m gone, he’ll come lookin’ for me. An’ trust me, y-you’d not want him after you.”

The response she earned was not one she had been hoping for; they both roared with laughter, sharp hisses whistling through their teeth. The sound was utterly discouraging and frightening, and a very bad, foreboding feeling prickled her skin.

“We do not fear the Doctor, human,” one of them said. “In fact, we have been so desiring to meet him.” The alien grinned, the skin of its mouth stretching back to reveal even more sharp teeth, its two tongues licking the surrounding flesh of its mouth.

Panic pitted like a solid rock in Rose’s stomach, her body going numb with an icy chill as fear spread over her. She didn’t like the sound of that. Not at all. Had they captured her to get to the Doctor? Was she bait?

“What the snitz are you two doing?” came a third voice, further away, and the two above her turned to look at the source.

“The human has woken,” one of them informed the newcomer.

A third being of the same species showed up, glaring down at Rose with its blank white eyes. After looking her over briefly, it turned to its comrades and snapped, “Don’t touch her.”

“Yes, Sir, of course,” the other two replied, ducking their heads slightly in obedience.

Rose couldn’t let this happen. She couldn’t let them anywhere near the Doctor; whatever they wanted him for, it couldn’t be good. Silently, she felt around her pockets for her mobile. If she could just ring the TARDIS–

“Looking for this?” one of the aliens held out her cell phone, enclosed in its grimy fingers. It chuckled, making a slurping sound as its two black tongues slithered between its teeth.

“It won’t work,” Rose said weakly, hopelessly. “Whatever you’re planning, it won’t work.”

It laughed again. “This one amuses me.”

“Shut up, you two!” the third one, the one in command, barked at them. “And keep the girl quiet too. It’s time.”

One of them knelt down over Rose, its mouth opening wide with a smile. It lightly dragged its fingers over her chin and mouth; Rose was too frightened to move or dare at provoking it. “Stay silent, little human,” it whispered.

Rose glanced up at the other two creatures and watched as the commanding alien sucked its two tongues back into its mouth and shut its eyes. With mouth and eyes closed, its face looked like nothing but skin. The creature’s body seemed to go rigid, its breathing slowing.

Rose didn’t know what was going on, but she knew that it wasn’t good.





The Doctor raced inside the TARDIS, the door slamming shut behind him, concerns about his stained clothes now far behind him. Coming to an abrupt stop at the center console, he hurriedly began flipping switches and turning dials and pulled the monitor closer, hastily turning it on.

His thoughts were racing at the speed of light as his hands flew over the controls. He could lock onto Rose’s mobile signal, or onto Rose herself, even, and trace where she was.

Once he punched in the proper settings, he waited grimly for the screen to display the results. What popped up was troubling, to say the least. According to the TARDIS, Rose’s cell phone didn’t exist; there was no frequency to lock onto. His brow furrowed in vexation. That didn’t make any sense. For one, he knew that Rose’s mobile definitely did exist and secondly the TARDIS could track practically anything, anywhere–especially something as primitive as a cell phone.

Forcing his growing concern to the back of his mind, he began to reset the calculations to track down Rose’s DNA signature.

“Greetings, Doctor.”

The Doctor ceased all movement, startled by the sudden voice and the all too familiar feeling inside his head–the sensation that was caused only by telepathy.

“Who are you?” the Doctor replied, keeping any emotion out of his mental link.

“The question you should be asking, Doctor, is if I’m the one who took your human companion,” the voice replied.

The Doctor’s entire body tensed in reaction, a strong mix of emotions surging through him.

“What have you done to her?”

“You should be more concerned about what I will do to her,” the voice said.

Before the Doctor could make a response, a series of horrific images flooded his mind, bombarding his senses; vivid scenes of Rose being treated in the most terrible, vile, malignant of ways that it was unimaginable. The assault on his mind continued without mercy, the strength of the telepathic signal powerful and unrelenting. The Doctor concentrated his senses to fight back the barrage of nightmarish pictures, pushing them out of his head until he found himself bracing himself against the TARDIS console, trembling, his eyes burning with the depictions his mind had witnessed.

“You can prevent it, Doctor,” the voice returned, calm and confident, reassuring. “You can protect your friend from such treatments. You can stop it all before it ever happens by doing one simple little thing.”

“What do you want?” the Doctor growled out loud through clenched teeth, barely able to contain the rage ravaging inside him. Normally he would not, under any circumstances, submit to anyone’s will. But with Rose out of his reach and her life on the line, he had no other choice.

“Can you not tell? Can you not see into my mind?”

He was far too impatient and frustrated to even try, his veins broiling in anger. “TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT ” he shouted venomously.

Instead of receiving an answer, a picture of a peaceful, secluded park appeared in his mind. He and Rose had strolled through it earlier that day, had laughed together as the native animals fought over bits of food thrown to them by other visitors.

Abruptly, he felt the telepathic link cut off, the unwelcome presence drawing away from his mind.

The Doctor hadn’t gotten an answer to his question, but it was clear that this person wanted him to go to the park. He was a very punctual man, and he so did not like to disappoint.



to be continued...