A HORRIBLE CHOICE

Chapter Two

The Eleventh Doctor whistled cheerfully while he sat in his seat near the console, reading a book. It was a lazy day on the TARDIS. He, Rory and Amy decided to take the day off and just relax and the Doctor chose to spend that time with a good book. He had no idea what the lovebirds were doing but he figured they were spending time together doing what husbands and wives usually do. He turned the page and read his book while the TARDIS wheezed quietly. She was currently flying through the vortex and he could sense that she also was taking a breather. The mental link between her and him soothed him. Ever since he lost the shared minds of his fellow Time Lords, he depended on the comfort of the symbiotic relationship he had with his beloved ship. When she was happy, he was happy.

He frowned when he suddenly heard the TARDIS grunting to him and he lowered the book.

"What is it, girl?" he said to the console.

The monitor suddenly came to life. There was white snow on it and the Doctor set his book on the floor and went to check on it. He stood there, frowning at the static but little by little he could make out a voice, a voice he hadn't heard in awhile that chilled him to the bone. The voice was still a bit indistinct but he swore it sounded like his tenth self.

"'elp…me," the voice was saying through the static. "…in tro…ble…need…'elp…'ome…qui…"

The Doctor used the typewriter keyboard to try to clear up some of the static since the message was still broken up and indistinct. He was so intent on clearing out the static that he jumped and spun around when someone put their hand on his shoulder. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Rory standing behind him.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Rory said sheepishly.

"No, it's alright; just busy trying to clear up this signal so a message can get through and…"

He froze when he suddenly heard "Rose" through the static. Rory frowned when he saw his friend turn ashen at that and double his efforts to get a clear signal to the message.

"Help…'ose in…'ble…help!" Rory heard the voice say.

"Damn it, TARDIS, can you help me clear out the static, please?" the Doctor said, throwing his hands up in frustration.

The two men stood by the monitor and watched as the static slowly disappated and the message became clear at last.

"Help me; Rose is in trouble, Doctor. This is your clone in the other universe. I need your help."

"Clone?" Rory said.

"Long story, wait a tic, I'll see if I can respond back to him," the Doctor said, going back to his typewriter keyboard.

"Please, Doctor, I know we were at odds but we both love Rose. She's been taken somewhere and I'm at a loss on what to do, I need your help, please. I beg you for your help."

"Hello?" Rory said tentatively in case the man could hear him. "My name is Rory Williams, I travel with the Doctor. Can you hear me?"

The Doctor paused and watched to see if it worked. For a moment there was silence coming from the monitor and then Rory heard the man again.

"I am the Doctor's clone," he said to Rory. "Thank heavens I got through, wasn't sure if this would work but is the Doctor there?"

"Yes, I'm here," the Doctor said, coming up beside Rory.

There was another pause.

"Doesn't sound like you," the clone finally said.

"I regenerated since I last saw you. What's going on? How did you contact me from across the void?"

"The coral you gave me. I thought perhaps since it was a part of the TARDIS, I might be able to use it to get a signal through. I'm at Torchwood using the dimension cannon to carry the signal across. I hoped the coral would give it the extra umph I needed to get to you. I'm glad it did because I need your help. Rose is missing and we can't find her. Please, I'm begging you, help me! Please…whatever grudge you still hold against me, please set it aside for Rose's sake. You can hate me all you want but please think of her."

"I don't hate you," the Doctor said. "I did what I did because you needed to go somewhere where you could be watched over until you got better and this universe already had a Doctor in it. But that's important now, what happened to Rose?"

The Doctor and Rory listened while the clone explained what happened. While he was talking, Amy came into the console room in search of Rory. She called to Rory but he put his finger to his lips and beckoned to her. Amy came up beside him and Rory whispered what was going on while the Doctor listened.

"I will try to help but you know how hard it is to get across the void without damaging the universes," the Doctor said when he finished. "I don't know if I'll be able to help you or Rose."

"Well, I was thinking if I can use the dimension cannon to get a message to you, I can use it to come to your TARDIS," the clone said.

"But what good will that do if Rose is in your universe?" the Doctor said.

"That's just it, I don't think she is anymore," the clone said.

"How can you be sure?" the Doctor said.

"Because we figured out a way to keep track of her using the artron energy signature on her body. She goes out on missions for Torchwood sometimes and Torchwood uses the energy signature to keep track of her whereabouts like GPS."

"Don't like the sound of that," the Doctor said. "But anyway, go ahead with what you're saying."

"I ran a scan for her on Earth and it only picked up me and Jackie and Mickey. I widened it to the solar system and got the same result. I tried widening it to the known universe and still the same result. I think whatever took her took her to another universe. If they didn't, they know about the artron energy and how to mask it from Torchwood's scanners."

"Can you run a scan for her here?" Rory asked.

"Um…yeah, just a tic, Doctor, I'll see if she registers here," the Doctor said, moving to another part of the console. "I'll isolate our energy signatures and the signatures of anyone who's been in here might register."

"When did you get a clone?" Amy said.

"Awhile back."

"What should we call you then?" Rory said to the monitor.

"Well, I go by Doctor here but to avoid confusion, just call me John or John Smith."

"And who is Rose?" Amy said.

There was silence on the other end.

"You never told them about her, Doctor?" John finally said.

"I didn't feel the need to, Rose isn't here and I prefer to keep some things private," the Doctor said when Amy and Rory looked to him for a response. "She is a dear friend that ended up in another universe and the last time I saw her, I took her back to that universe to be with my clone so they could grow old together."

"I'm half human," John said.

"Half human? Does that mean you're half human as well?" Amy said.

"No, I'm not. It's a long, complicated story and…oh no…John, I isolated everyone that I can think of that's been in here except for Rose and I'm showing one match on the scan. I think you might be right."

"Please save her," John said. "And don't make her come back here if she doesn't want to. I can manage on my own."

"John, you are coming over here, we're going to find her together," the Doctor said.

"I'm not going to destroy the universe, Doctor, now that she's not around."

"I didn't say that but she belongs to you and you should be involved in this. Okay, I'm going to see if the the TARDIS can link to the coral and perhaps use it to give the dimension cannon a boost and guide you here. Can you power up the cannon."

"On it!" John said.

The Doctor asked the TARDIS to try to link with the coral in the other universe. He instructed Amy and Rory to help him with the console and the three of them helped to boost the TARDIS's power and range. The TARDIS indicated on the monitor that she was linked with her coral and the Doctor informed John of that.

"Okay, now do whatever Rose did to bring herself here and the TARDIS will guide you to the ship," the Doctor said. "Hopefully, this will work."

The Doctor pushed a button and the TARDIS shuddered. The three of them held on to the console while the ship vibrated. Then there was an enormous flash and John appeared by the front door.

"Is that him?" Rory said as they came down the stairs towards him.

"Yes," the Doctor said, hurrying to him when he noticed his clone wasn't moving.

He knelt down beside him and examined him.

"He's unconscious; the strain of crossing the void and coming here must have been too much for him. I think he'll be alright though, just needs to recover."

"Is that what you looked like in a previous life then?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, last life," the Doctor said.

"You were cute," Amy said.

"What d'ya mean "were"," the Doctor said.

He chuckled when Amy rolled his eyes at that. He and Rory picked up John and Amy followed him while they took him back to the med bay.

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