kalleah | The Hidden Well, Chapter Ten

kalleah

Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG
Betas:

ivydoor,

np_complete,

platypus, and

sensiblecat

Previous Chapters

In this chapter: Rose has a better morning than anticipated, and the conflict between the Doctor and Emelia comes to a boil.

Rose couldn't estimate how long she slept, but when she did wake up, she felt fantastic. She sat up and scrubbed at her eyes. The Doctor's jacket and tie were still draped across the armchair, but he was nowhere to be seen.

She climbed out of bed and went directly into the longest, hottest, steamiest shower she had ever taken. She put aside her worries and sang as she scrubbed between her toes and behind her ears, and everywhere in between, enjoying the decadent sensation of a proper shower after two mornings of sponge baths. No shaving, even, which still delighted her. She had indulged several weeks ago in a treatment in a decadent alien spa that had permanently disabled the hair follicles on her legs and under her arms. The Doctor had made some quiet mutterings about human vanity, and declined to join her. She was glad, as she rather liked the rough feel of his stubble from time to time.

When she finally emerged, her fingers and toes were hopelessly wrinkled, and her skin was flushed and glowing. She towel-dried her wet hair and wound it into a turban, then slipped on a robe. As she did so, there was a soft tap-tap on the door and she called for him to come in.

"Have a nice shower?" the Doctor asked, leaning against the door and watching her. She hummed happily in response and smoothed on some moisturizer. "There is now a critical shortage of hot water in three systems."

"You're still in trouble," she said.

His eyes rounded and his eyebrows lifted in an instant expression of complete innocence. "Whatever for?"

"You drugged me," she reminded him and waggled a finger at his chest. "Remember?"

"It was herbal tea," he protested squeakily, glancing down at his chest where she pointed. "Do I not get any points for coming valiantly to your rescue?"

She rolled her eyes and let the matter drop. "What's the plan?"

"We're going to meet Connor and Emelia at the restaurant in a bit," he said, folding his arms in front of him. "Neutral territory, as if that woman doesn't think she owns the whole project anyway."

Rose couldn't help but smile at this comment, but refocused on what she considered to be the essential part of the conversation. "Do you think they know about Jonah?"

"No, I don't think they have any idea, but that wasn't why I wanted to meet with them." He gestured for her to follow him out into the bedroom, and continued talking as he took a seat in the armchair and she got dressed. "Before your, erm, incident yesterday, Connor and I had quite the interesting little chat about some oddly changing data. You were right about our coming across some dire plot after all."

"I'm shocked." She straightened and tugged her jeans up onto her hips. "So what's the plot?"

"I told you that these planetary modification projects are all about real estate," he continued. "There's a lot of money to be made – or lost. From what Connor told me, there have been systematic efforts from nearly the start of the project two years ago to undermine their development efforts here. Until about a year ago, it was small scale, annoying but harmless. Then there was an explosion that killed nine people." He paused, and his expression went carefully neutral. His eyes belied the calm he imposed over himself. "Jonah's parents were among those nine."

Rose sat down on the bed and remembered Emelia's words. His parents died and Connor and I took him in rather than let him go to some institution. "Poor Jonah," she murmured.

The Doctor nodded slowly and ran a hand through his hair. "The explosion was calculated to knock out several of the key support staff here. I expect the group responsible is working for another of the development companies, who would swoop down and claim this planet if the project were abandoned."

"Nine lives for real estate," said Rose, feeling anger burn in the pit of her stomach.

"Greed." The Doctor's voice was dangerously even. "If this project goes out of business, all the people here lose the rights to land that they acquired when they signed on. If they want back in, they'll have to queue up and wait with all the thousands of other applicants for the new project. It's more than nine lives – it's the death of the dream of every person on this planet."

--

"He's not with the company?" asked Emelia, dark clouds descending across her face. "And you chose not to tell me this yesterday because …?" Her voice lifted challengingly at the end of the sentence.

They stood side by side in the small bathroom, attending to their morning ablutions, long since accustomed to the small space and each other's movements.

There were a multitude of reasons for his not having told her immediately. He could have told her the night before, after they had put Ian and Jonah to bed. He knew he should have, but in truth, he had not wanted to face the inevitable row. "There wasn't anything we could have done until this morning." Even to him, the answer sounded trite.

She didn't respond. Instead, she turned her back to him and wound her hair into her customary bun, taking her time securing the dark, wavy strands into place. Connor studied the graceful curve of her neck and involuntarily thought of the first time they had made love, of the allure that exposed skin had held, how dangerous and shining her eyes had been as she pulled the pins out of her hair and let it fall in a mass down her bare shoulders. That release of her hair had been more of an act of intimacy than her nudity had been.

This morning, her attention to her hair was another symbolic gesture, her shuttering herself away from him. He felt placating words bubble up from within him and pressed his lips shut against them. He knew better than to patronize her.

"I'll go and get Ian and Jonah off to the nursery," she said, turning to leave.

Almost of its own volition, his hand shot out and gripped her upper arm. "You're just leaving?" he asked incredulously.

Her head whipped around so she was facing him, and despite the fury radiating from her, he didn't release her immediately. "I'm not going to discuss this with the children in the house," she said. Her voice rumbled with a lioness' warning growl.

He let go of her arm and she disappeared into the bedroom, leaving him to sag forward onto the countertop. In a moment, he heard her call for the boys and then the front door close with a faint bang.

"That went well," he sarcastically told his reflection in the mirror. The face looking back at him was haggard. Maintaining a sense of normality amongst the engineers since the sabotage had been a more than full-time job, and it showed in the lines around his eyes, the faint circles under his eyes. Sleep had been evasive last night, and he had lain awake watching Emelia, her defenses and temper gone along with her consciousness. As she had dreamed, she smiled, and he had wound himself tightly around her as if to draw energy and solace from her body.

It had helped, until she awoke and he told her about the Doctor, and she looked at him as if he told her the greatest of lies.

--

Rose wished the Doctor was holding her hand as they walked toward the restaurant. Since he had a generous armful of equipment, he couldn't, but in compensation, they walked side by side, shoulders brushing, steps in an even cadence.

"Wouldn't it be easier to bring them back to the TARDIS?" she said, putting one hand over on top of the … whatever it was … that he was carrying.

"Neutral territory," he said cheerfully. Oh yes; she shouldn't expect him to invite Emelia onto his ship, should she?

"Connor would love a tour, from what you've said about him," she pointed out.

"No doubt about it," he said. "She's a sentient, dimensionally-transcendental time machine. What engineer could resist her?"

Her one rival for his affection, and she wasn't in the slightest bit jealous. "She might like Connor better than you," she teased.

"Ridiculous," he scoffed. "I'm ten times, no, wait, twelve times, more charming than he is. And not to mention that he's a good enough engineer, but I am a genius." He winked at her.

Rose hopped around him to push the door of the restaurant open and hold it for him. "And so modest," she laughed.

"I'm simply stating a fact." He put the contraption down on a table in the corner, furthest away from the counter and the vaguely interested looks of the two lunch ladies. "How do you humans ever get through job interviews, anyway?" He put his glasses on, and Rose took that as a hint to wander off.

She didn't wander far – just outside the restaurant, scanning in every direction for Connor and Emelia. When she saw them, it was immediately obvious that they were not on the best of terms. Connor had his hands jammed into his pockets and Emelia walked with her arms swinging confidently against her sides. They walked close enough to be said to be walking together, but far enough apart so that there was no risk of accidental contact with the other person.

"Where is he?" demanded Emelia when they were close enough to speak, foregoing any social niceties.

"Inside," answered Rose. She thanked Connor when he held the door for the two of them and noted that his wife didn't so much as look at him as she walked by.

Emelia strode over to the table where the Doctor fiddled with his machine. Rose and Connor followed a step or two behind. "Explain yourself," she commanded.

He didn't immediately respond, and Rose could see Emelia's shoulders tense with the effort to be perfectly still. She watched the Doctor make a final adjustment and look up with a quick glance at the three of them. "Good morning, Connor, Emelia," he said with a brilliant flash of teeth. "So glad you could make it."

Rose tried not to smile. He was exerting control over the situation, attempting to take Emelia's habitual role as prime mover. Emelia didn't rise to the bait, but waited. Her eyes never left his face.

"Rose is feeling much better this morning, thanks for asking," he said with continued brightness. Connor looked momentarily guilty and gave Rose an apologetic look. She nodded reassuringly back at him.

"Of course," said Emelia sarcastically. "You did indicate you had the matter well in hand, as I recall."

"Quite," agreed the Doctor. "Please send my regards to Howard for his … assistance yesterday."

Rose gave him a glare almost as fierce as Emelia's. Leave Howard out of it. His eyes flicked over to her and widened just a touch at her expression. She narrowed hers at him and shook her head just a fraction to indicate that he should move off that subject.

Either he had already intended to let the matter drop, or he took her hint. "Have a seat, please," he said, gesturing to the chairs at the table. The three of them took their seats and waited as he struck a lecturer's pose behind the table.

"Dearly beloved," he intoned with sparkling eyes full of mischief, "we are gathered together today –" He stopped and winked at Rose. "Sorry, wrong opening. I've asked you here so we can talk about the effort to make Connor here look like a fool and drive all of you off this planet."

Emelia bristled. "Connor is not a fool."

"Never said he was," said the Doctor. "I said someone was trying to make him look like one. That implies quite the opposite, doesn't it? And before you say anything else," he hastened, holding up a hand before Emelia could start in again, "I know none of your people are planning to abandon the project, either. I get it. You're a loyal sort. Stubborn, too. It's one of your best characteristics. Well," he amended, "you as a species, not you personally."

Rose was suddenly taken by a fit of coughing and the three of them turned to face her. "I'm fine, really," she wheezed. "Go on." This morning was turning out to be much more entertaining than she had thought it might be.

"But I digress," said the Doctor, who often did nothing else. "There is something deeply disturbing going on here. Connor filled me in on most of the background yesterday –"

Emelia's head whipped around so she was staring her husband straight in the face. "You did what?" she demanded loudly. The Doctor's teeth clicked together audibly as he closed his mouth on the rest of his sentence.

"I tried to tell you this morning," said Connor with more than a trace of defensiveness. "He told me he wasn't with the company, and I told him about the sabotage. Remember, this morning, when you didn't want to talk?"

"That's our business!" She leaned across toward him, her eyes wide and snapping with anger.

"Damn it, Emelia, I think he can help!" Connor's voice rose to match that of his wife's.

"Excuse me," interjected the Doctor mildly, looking from one to the other. "I hate to intrude into this lovely moment, but I do have a way for us to find these people. If you're interested, of course."

He raised his eyebrows and waited for the two of them to give him their undivided attention. Emelia's stare could have melted glass, and Connor's face had turned several shades redder than usual.

The Doctor gave them a bright smile and continued as if nothing at all was amiss. "I've rigged up this device to retroactively track system access to the atmospheric converters and main data systems, so we can see who exactly is accessing the systems and when."

"We already have that system," Connor interjected, with a sideways glance at his wife. "There's safety protocols and biometric monitoring of anyone who taps into the system."

"Hmm," said the Doctor, untroubled. "Have you had any very odd readings on that system over the last few hours? Say, someone tapping in to run retroactive system access reports, perhaps?" Connor looked down at the table. "Thought not. I don't expect your saboteurs to be as nimble as I am, but I do expect them to have thought about your security measures. I also expect that this is an inside job."

"None of our people –" Emelia began, but once again the Doctor held up a hand and she subsided. The tips of the other woman's ears turned a darker shade of pink and Rose wondered when she would explode.

"At least one of your people is involved," stated the Doctor flatly. His voice had gone low and dangerous, without a trace of his earlier brightness or mirth. "Who else? Do you know anyone else on this planet who isn't one of your people?"

"You ended up here," Emelia pointed out. "Someone else could, too. And why the hell should I trust you when you barge in here and accuse my people of terrible things?"

"If you want," continued the Doctor in his deadly calm voice, "I'll be glad to pack up my things and go. Plainly, you have the situation completely under control."

There was a moment of complete, utter silence. Rose held her breath.

"You son of a bitch," said Emelia, forcing the words out from between clenched teeth. The Doctor's chin lifted just slightly enough in challenge to acknowledge the words and he looked down at her imperiously.

"Em," said Connor quietly. "We need him."

"I know it." Her words were soft, sharp, bitter. She looked up at the Doctor. "Do go on."

"Right," continued the Doctor. If he felt triumphant, his expression didn't show it. "I expect we have a small group involved, maybe two or three people at most. We don't have a large scale attack going on, after all. It's data manipulation here, some inventory fudging there." He paused and gave them a careful, measured look. "Repolarization of some circuits there."

Connor flinched at the last statement, and Emelia went completely still and pale. Rose immediately suspected that repolarization had something to do with the nine deaths.

"Are you all right?" she asked with concern.

Both of them visibly shook off their disquiet. "Fine," said Emelia, in a less snappish voice than she had used all morning. "It's – fine."

"So," the Doctor continued, studying each face in succession, "what Connor and I need to do now is to go through the access logs and determine who was accessing what when they shouldn't be. I can interpret the logs, but I need you to tell me what activity looks out of the ordinary."

Connor nodded in ready agreement and the Doctor turned his attention to Emelia. "I also need personnel manifests. I need to know who arrived when, and how, and for what. I can't assume that the same person or persons has been working against the project all along, but we'll have to start there."

Emelia stood and brushed imaginary crumbs off the front of her trousers. "I can get that from my office," she said. She hesitated for an instant and then reached out an unsteady hand to touch Connor's shoulder. Surprise crossed his face briefly and was replaced by hope as he looked up at her. Her fingers tightened on his shoulder.

Rose quickly jumped up and tugged the Doctor away from the couple. "What?" he protested. "We aren't finished yet."

"A little privacy," she murmured. "Shh."

"What for?" he asked in confusion.

"Making up," she said. "Be quiet." She smiled at his continued look of consternation and couldn't resist leaning over and giving him a brief, light kiss on the cheek.

His arm came up and around her. "We don't need to make up, do we?" he asked uncertainly. "It wasn't a drug, not really, just an extremely calming tea."

"Not us, you git," she laughed. "Connor and Emelia."

At that, his face lifted and he relaxed. "Oh. That's good. That's very good."

Rose cast a glance over at the pair next to the table. Connor had risen and was standing close to his wife, who was speaking in soft, urgent tones. She considered it a good sign that Connor was smiling faintly. He caught her eye and the smile broadened just a touch before he waved them back over to the table.

"Rose," said Emelia, "would you come with me to the office? I could – use some help with the logs."

"Sure," said Rose readily. "I'm not that good with computers but I'll do what I can."

"We'll be right here," said the Doctor. Rose and Emelia were almost to the door before he smacked himself in the forehead and let out a bark of laughter. "Sorry, I almost forgot. We need to talk about Jonah when you get back."

"Jonah?" said Connor and Emelia simultaneously, with identical notes of confusion in their voices.

"We'll talk later," said Rose hurriedly, and hustled Emelia out the door before the Doctor could elaborate further.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

misssara11.livejournal.com

Right, I'm signing up for time and space travel for Rose's spa treatment alone.

I love that he gets so insecure in the couplely stuff. Worried that they need to make up and all. *pets him*

Can't wait for the Jonah discussion.

From:

writings and ramblings from the fictional kallerine leah

The Hidden Well, Chapter Ten

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