THE HIVE

Chapter Twenty Six

Rose shivered as the cold wind swept over her body. The Doctor was flying her away to God knows where and she was freezing but she didn't know if the Doctor would understand that anymore. Even though she had told Jack she trusted the Doctor, she couldn't help but wonder just how much of him was still inside the insect's body. She had managed to stop him from attacking but could she keep him calm forever?

She suddenly felt the Doctor dropping in altitude and turned her head to see they were descending into a forest. She winced when she saw the treetops coming up to meet them but the Doctor skillfully navigated around the leaves and branches and flew inside and under the canopy. Once they were under the leaves, the light was reduced but the Doctor still managed to fly expertly through the semi darkened forest. Rose's arms were pressed against her sides, held tightly by the Doctor so she wouldn't slip out and fall so she couldn't touch him. She was forced to stare up at his hard yellow exoskeleton as he flew rapidly through the trees.

Then she felt him dropping down again and he hovered inches from the ground. Rose let out a grunt as he dropped her into the underbrush and then landed with his legs straddling her. Rose lay there, fearful of moving since the Doctor had a huge stinger behind him but a moment later, the Doctor flew up, moved a few feet and settled down to rest while he watched her. Rose slowly got to her feet, keeping her eyes on the Doctor but he calmly watched her get up and she lost the residual fear she had as she moved towards him.

"Where are we?" Rose asked as she knelt down beside him.

The Doctor didn't reply, just stared at her quietly.

"You can speak, you told Jack to open the door for us, yeah?" Rose said to him."Speak to me, Doctor, where are we?"

The Doctor began to buzz agitatedly and Rose frowned, wondering what he was doing. The buzzing ceased and he was quiet again. Rose, confused, looked around and then slowly got to her feet.

"Are we near her cave? The Queen?" she asked the Doctor while she walked around the clearing.

Again, the agitated buzzing but this time, Rose heard the Doctor's voice in her mind.

Trying…he thought to her. Hard to concentrate…mind being…controlled. Hard to think…to you, Rose.

Rose guessed then the buzzing was the Doctor's frustration at trying to get past the Queen's control to speak with her.

"Doctor, are we near the hive?" Rose asked.

More frustrated buzzing.

No…he finally managed to think to her. Remember you …unconscious memories…know who you are…won't give you up to the Queen. Hide, Rose.

"Where?" Rose said, looking around.

In response, the Doctor flew up into the air, above the tree canopy. Rose could tell he was circling around the area, she guessed in order to find a hiding spot for her. Then after five minutes, he came flew back down and landed at Rose's feet. Rose watched as he tapped the ground with his stinger twice…then did it again a few seconds later while he stared at her. It took Rose a moment to register he was signaling for her to get on the ground. She lay down and he once again straddled her, took her up under his body and flew up into the air. He flew about fifty feet from where they had been and went back down into the trees again. He sat her down and Rose noticed a tiny cave nearby with a four foot wide opening, just big enough for her to crawl inside. The Doctor walked over to it, turned and tapped the side of it with his stinger while he stared at her. Rose walked over, got down on her hands and knees and peered inside. She couldn't see much, just some dead leaves that were scattered all over the ground. Praying it wasn't being used by some animal, she crawled into it while the Doctor watched. She found that the inside was wider than it looked and she could turn around and lay with her head near the front. Thankfully, there were no big animals but she winced when she felt little beetles scurrying over her legs. Despite being concealed, she was still cold and she told the Doctor as much.

"Doctor, what do I do for warmth? I don't have any matches and it'll get cold tonight."

The Doctor buzzed in frustration before thinking to her.

Find something for you…stay here…he managed to get out.

Then with that, he was gone, leaving Rose all alone in a narrow cave in the semi-dark woods.

____________

Jack slammed his hand on the steering wheel of the SUV. After giving a half truth to Dafydd and Dierdre about what happened and offering to pay for the damages to their house, they hurried back outside and sped away in pursuit of the Doctor and Rose.

"Damn him, if he hurts Rose, I'm gonna spray a barrel of pesticide in his face!" Jack yelled as he drove.

"Jack, calm down, if the Doctor wanted to hurt Rose he would have done it back at the house," Gwen said as she sat beside him. "It doesn't do any good to get angry."

"Yeah, well, we shouldn't have stayed. We shoulda got her away from there as soon as possible. But no, we had to stay for a friendly chat with the locals!" Jack said. "Damn him! He's probably halfway to the hive by now."

"I don't think so," Ianto said. "He spoke to you with his voice, right?"

"Yeah," Jack said.

"Well, he's obviously got some residual awareness left then," Owen said. "We saw that much when he allowed Rose to pet him. Gwen's right. It won't help Rose if you get so mad you run us off the bleedin' road."

"Hullo," Jack said, leaning his head forward to look out the windshield. "I spy with my little eye a lone wasp in the distance."

Gwen and the others leaned up and saw a wasp flying away about ten miles in front of them. Jack hit the gas pedal and the others held on as he took off in pursuit.

"Careful, Jack," Owen growled as Jack kept his eyes on the wasp. "Just because he's the Doctor doesn't mean he won't turn on us and attack."

"I'm being careful, Owen. Just ready the tranquilizer gun. I don't wanna hurt or kill him if I can help it. We still need to try to find a cure for him."

"But where would we go, Jack?" Gwen asked. "The only place that could contain him is the cells back at the Hub."

Jack tightened his jaw.

"Then we go back to the Hub and risk it," he said.

As he neared the Doctor, he squinted and examined him closer.

"I don't see Rose, I hope that's not a bad sign," Jack said to the others.

"How do we know this is the Doctor we're following?" Ianto said.

"Yeah, it could be another wasp out searching for him or Rose or us," Tosh added.

"In which case, the car won't do much good against that bloody great stinger it has," Owen said. "As big as it is, it'll tear through the car roof like paper."

________________

As the Doctor flew through the air, he kept on trying to battle the Queen's influence. The burial of the memories of his friends and lover had helped him get a temporary grip on his mind, especially when he saw Rose, but he could sense the Queen's frustration at losing her hold on him again and her efforts to make him submit. He felt blessed that he had a mind that was superior to humans, otherwise he would have been hers hours ago. While he flew, he kept searching for a house, somewhere where he could find a blanket or coat for Rose so she wouldn't freeze to death. He was hoping he could smash through a window like he had done at the other house, grab a blanket off the bed and get back to Rose before he was shot. He figured his hard exoskeleton would repel the bullet but not the area in between his segmented body. It was still relatively soft and pliable to allow him to move and turn and a bullet could pierce that part easily.

He spied a farmhouse off to his right and angled his flight as he headed towards it. That's when he spied the SUV about five miles away from him. He knew it was Jack's car and Jack was following him, presumably to get Rose back. For the moment, Rose was safe and his plan was that he wanted her to remain hidden and far away from either him or Jack since he knew the wasps would be looking for her. As much as he hated to do it, he had to try to discourage Jack from following him and finding Rose. Fighting the Queen's influence, he turned and began to make a beeline straight for the car.

"Um, Doctor, what are you doing?" Jack said as he saw the wasp rapidly descending towards the car.

"Jack, I don't think that's the Doctor!" Gwen said in a panic.

"Back up, Jack! Now!" Owen screamed.

Jack slammed on the breaks, threw the car into reverse and tried to drive backwards while the others kept an eye on the wasp. Owen grabbed the tranquilizer gun, rolled down his window and leaned out it to try to take aim at the insect. He cursed when he realized the insect was coming in too fast for him to get in a shot so he quickly stuck his head back in and rolled the window up. Everyone yelled as the wasp slammed down on the top of the roof, denting it for a few seconds before it rose up into the air again. Jack slammed on the brakes and moved the car forward, wincing as the wasp again landed hard on the roof.

"Jack! Go faster; I don't want a stinger in my brain!" Owen yelled in terror.

Everyone looked out the left windows when the wasp flew down beside the car. They flinched when he angled his body slightly as if he was going to plunge the huge stinger into the back window but instead of attacking, the wasp only showed his stinger to them as a kind of warning before going back up into the air.

"This has to be the Doctor," Jack yelled at them. "It's not really attacking so much as trying to scare us into leaving."

"Well, he's doing a bloody good job, mate," Owen said.

They gasped when the Doctor pounced on the roof again and the roof dented in before popping back up. Then he flew down beside them and once again showed his stinger to them before flying back up. Jack, playing a hunch, slammed on the brakes and waited while the others held their breath. There was a moment when all they heard was the Doctor's furious buzzing and then suddenly he landed in front of them with his front legs on the hood of the car. Jack gulped when the Doctor peered in at him with his large black eyes while his antenna flicked.

Go away, he heard the Doctor think to him.

"Where's Rose?" Jack yelled at him.

Safe, the Doctor thought back.

"Where?"

The Doctor buzzed angrily.

Go away, Jack, he thought to him.

They gasped when Jack opened his door.

"Jack," Owen said between gritted teeth, "what the bloody hell are you doing? Are you mad?"

"He won't hurt us, Owen, if he wanted to kill us; he could have run us off the road or tore open the car with his stinger. I feel the same way as Rose, I trust him."

"Well, I'm glad you do because I sure as hell don't," Owen muttered as he got out and shut the door.

He kept his eye on the wasp while he held his tranquilizer gun at the ready. Meanwhile, Jack was slowly approaching the Doctor who had slid off the hood and was now walking around the car towards him.

Leave, the Doctor thought to him.

"Not until you show me where Rose is."

The Doctor buzzed and Jack thought it sounded angry and figured that's what it was. He held up his hands, trying to calm him just in case he really was capable of attacking him.

"Buddy, please listen to me, if you're concerned about Rose's safety, I won't try to take her back to the Hub. I just want to know where she's at, just in case she needs us. I know you're worried about her, we are too, that's why I want you to show me where she is. Think about her, what if you lose total control of your mind, don't you want someone who knows where she is who can help her?"

The Doctor flicked his antenna while he considered that. Then he slowly rose up into the air and hovered in front of Jack.

Follow me, he thought to him.

___________________

Rose lay shivering in her cave. It had been almost an hour and she was nearly chilled to the bone. She hadn't seen any sign of the Doctor nor heard any buzzing, which was bad but also good since that meant no other wasps had found her yet.

She heard the sound of buzzing overhead and crawled out just enough so she could look up and see the Doctor flying in a circle in the sky above her like an airplane in a holding pattern. Then after about five minutes, the Doctor flew inside and landed beside her. Rose smiled when he scurried to her and felt her with his antenna.

"I'm okay," she assured him. "I'm still cold though, you didn't find a blanket?"

Then she heard the soft crunching of leaves in the woods behind the Doctor and a moment later, Jack emerged from the trees.

"Here?" Jack said to the Doctor in disbelief. "You stuck her in a teeny tiny cave for safekeeping?"

He knelt down beside the Doctor.

"Howdy, Blondie, you look nice and comfortable in your mouse hole," he drawled.

"I'm alright, I'm just freezing in here," Rose said to him. "You have a blanket or a heavy coat?"

"Doc, you honestly can't leave her here, she'll freeze or something will get her," Jack said to the Doctor. "Listen, let us take her to Swansea and find a hotel room for her where she'll be warm and bugs won't be crawling all over her."

"Yes, please," Rose said.

The Doctor thought it over and then mentally told Rose to come out and lie on the ground. Once she did that, the Doctor scooped her up in his legs and hovered above the ground with her under him.

"That looks like fun. Wish I could do that," Jack said to Rose.

"It's not fun when you're freezing to death," Rose said.

"Doctor, put her down for a minute," Jack said.

He sat her down and Jack removed his coat. Rose murmured her thanks as she slipped it on. Once she had it on, she lay down again and the Doctor picked her back up.

"Better?" Jack asked.

"Much better," Rose said.

"Okay, let's get back to the SUV then," Jack said.

The Doctor turned and slowly followed him as Jack walked back through the woods towards their car.

__________________

When they returned to the car, Rose squeezed inside and sat beside Gwen while Jack looked at the Doctor who was resting nearby.

"So now what are you gonna do?" Jack asked him.

The Doctor didn't reply and Jack knelt down.

"Doc, please let us help you. You can't go back to the hive, the Queen'll never let you leave, especially if she finds out you helped Rose.

Can't go back with you, not safe, the Queen will find you through me, the Doctor thought to him.

Jack sighed.

"I know, just like she did when she used Jeremy to find out our location," he said wearily. "However, perhaps if we sedate you and take you back and keep you under sedation at the Hub. I think I know a way to get in touch with a geneticist who can take a look at your findings and samples and find an antidote. And the last thing I want if we find one is for us to have to go blasting our way through the hive in order to get you back."

The Doctor thought about that and decided to take a chance.

Alright, sedate me, he thought to Jack. But if I wake and attack…

"I won't hesitate to stop you," Jack assured him.

Even if it means destroying me?

Jack swallowed hard and nodded.

Then do it, hurry, and once it's done, get out of here because the moment I become unconscious, the Queen'll know it.

Jack nodded and called for Owen to get out and bring the tranquilizing gun. Rose, panicking, climbed out of the car with him.

"Jack, wait, what are you doing?" she said, getting between Owen and the Doctor.

"Sedating him. We're taking him back to the Hub and locking him up so we can find a cure."

"Then take me back to the Hub with him."

Rose, no, the Doctor thought to her.

"Yes, Doctor, I want to be with you, not in Swansea. I'll be alright, Jack'll look after me, I promise."

The Doctor looked at Jack.

Protect her with every fiber of your being, he thought to him.

"Believe me, I will. Now stand back, Rose. Owen has to shoot the dart into his side."

Owen took a position by the Doctor's side while Rose quickly kissed the Doctor's cheek and stepped back with Jack. Jack wrapped his arms around Rose and watched with an aching heart while his friend stood quietly and stoically while Owen aimed the gun at his fleshy midsection. Then there was a bang and Rose winced when the dart hit him directly in the side. The Doctor showed no reaction, only stood quietly while Jack told Ianto and Gwen to get some rope from the back of the SUV.

"We'll have to tie you to the top of the car, Buddy, you're a bit too big to fit inside," Jack said.

Rose walked over, knelt down beside him and stroked his cheek while he slowly became groggy and lay down.

"I love you, Doctor," she whispered in the area where his ear used to be.

She smiled when she heard the Doctor groggily return the sentiment in her mind before his head lowered and he fell unconscious. Jack checked him and nodded to Ianto and Gwen.

"Okay, everyone, let's lift him up gently and tie him to top of the car and make sure the ropes are tight so he doesn't fall off on the way to Cardiff," he said.

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