THE SONG OF THE OPERA GHOST
Chapter Nine Erik opened the hidden door and looked out. He couldn’t see the Doctor anywhere, so he opened the door wider and let Rose through. “No, don’t make me do this,” Rose begged. “Shhh, nothing will happen to you, I’ll be watching. Just go to him, so he doesn’t suspect us. He will do nothing, I promise.” Rose gave him a fearful look, but she nodded and stepped through the door. Erik watched her go and with a barely audible laugh, closed the door behind her. Rose gasped when she heard the door close and ran to it. She wanted to open it back up and follow him, but she knew she was forbidden to. Swallowing hard, she turned away and did what her lover asked her to do. Find the Doctor and stick by him. “There you are!” Rose nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun around and saw the Doctor walking towards her, an angry look on his face. “Where did you go? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” he said. “Don’t you know by now not to go walking off without telling me!” Rose shuddered when she saw the angry expression on his face. The Doctor noticed it and sighed. “Rose, I’m sorry, alright? I’m not angry as much as upset. I worry about you running off, especially if there’s a killer on the loose.” Rose flinched, when he took a hold of her shoulders. “I was worried about you, Rose. I was scared someone might have hurt you, all right, and I got angry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Rose stiffened when the Doctor kissed her forehead. “I’m so glad you’re alright,” he murmured. “Rassilon knows what I would do if you ended up like Joseph.” He paused when he saw the anger in her eyes. “Rose, what’s wrong? You really aren’t that angry, are you?” he said. “I mean, you do understand how worried I was about you?” Rose forced herself to nod. The Doctor smiled. “Well, now that I’ve found you, safe and sound, perhaps we should retire to the TARDIS for the night, so we can rest and start again in the morning?” He frowned when he noticed a horrified look on Rose’s face for a moment. “Rose, are you alright?” “Yeah, I’m just wanting to stay here,” Rose replied. The Doctor raised his eyebrow. “Really? I was under the impression you couldn’t wait to get back to your bedroom before Joseph got killed.” “Yeah, well, I mean we might as well keep looking while everyone is gone. That way…no one will be around to disturb us, and we can get things done.” The Doctor nodded. “I was wanting to do the same thing, but I know how tired you were earlier, and I don’t want to exhaust you, especially since you were nodding off.” “Yeah, but I’m awake now, and…I’d really like to continue searching, if it’s all right.” The Doctor shrugged. “Fine with me. Just don’t wear yourself out. You’re no use to me half asleep.” “I know, I’ll let you know, if I need to rest,” she said. The Doctor nodded. He took her hand and noticed her body tensing when he did it. He frowned while he studied her face. “Are you absolutely sure you’re alright?” he asked her. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Rose fought to control herself, as the Doctor gave her a scrutinizing look. “Well…” he finally said. “ Before you wandered off, I was going to go to the other side of the stage and look there. Do you want to come and help me look?” “Sure,” Rose said, in a slightly shaky voice. She gulped when the Doctor scrutinized her again. “Stay near me,” he finally said. “Don’t…wander off, I mean it this time.” “I won’t, I promise.” The Doctor snorted softly and turned away. Rose glared at his back and followed him across the stage towards the other side. Erik listened quietly from behind the wall. Thanks to a small hole he had drilled into it, he was able to hear the exchange and see what was going on between the Doctor and Rose. He could tell the Doctor wasn’t entirely convinced that something hadn’t happened to Rose, and he cursed softly. He should have hypnotized her more thoroughly, so she wouldn’t be so fearful, her hesitation was giving her away to him. The Doctor was clever. He knew the slightest change in her behavior would make him question what had happened to her during her absence. “No,” he muttered, as he clenched his fist. “The Doctor can’t get away from me this time. I have to lure him to me, so he will die. Then, Rose will be mine.” He smiled to himself. “And with his TARDIS in my possession, I can finally leave this miserable mud ball when I so desire. Maybe I’ll even take Rose to another planet, I’m sure there are other species who will appreciate her more than these half-dead mammals.” He narrowed his eyes. “First, I have to make sure that the Doctor doesn’t suspect what has happened before it’s time to spring my trap, and if it means I have to go deeper into Rose’s subconscious and reprogram her, then that’s what I’ll have to do.” He leaned up from the hole and made his way towards the other side of the stage, so he could continue to spy on the Doctor and Rose. “You go and check on this side, and I’ll check over here,” the Doctor said, pointing to the wall on his left side. Rose nodded and walked over to it. She pretended to feel along the walls, while the Doctor looked on the other side of the room. While she ran her hands along the walls, she suddenly heard the Doctor clearing his throat. “Rose?” Rose paused and stared at the wall. “Yeah?” “Just where did you go earlier?” Rose looked back and saw the Doctor was standing and looking at her. “You never said where you went.” Rose shrugged. “Does it matter?” The Doctor blinked in disbelief. “Yes, it matters, Rose, because I want to know what you did. We’re supposed to be a team and if you went off somewhere and investigated, I want to know if you found anything.” Rose shook her head. “I didn’t find anything.” “Okay, so where did you go, so we can rule that area out. I don’t want to go over an area you already went over. Now, where were you?” Rose thought hard, trying to come up with a solution. She tried to keep herself calm when the Doctor walked over to her and gave her that same scrutinizing look he had given her earlier. “Rose, where…were…you?” he said, emphasizing each word. “I…I was in that backstage area.” “Where? I went through the whole area, and I didn’t see you. Where were you?” Rose gulped when the Doctor inched closer to her. “I won’t ask you again, Rose. Where were you? THE TRUTH!” Erik cursed while he listened. He was behind the wall the Doctor had been examining, and he could see the Doctor through the peephole. “Come on, you little fool, think of something to tell him!” he muttered. “I…I…went up into box five and took a nap,” Rose said, flinching at the intense look the Doctor was giving her. “Why did you lie to me then?” Rose forced herself to look at him. “I…I was afraid you’d be angry if I went to sleep, especially since you were wanting to catch the Ghost so badly,” she said. “I thought it would be better to tell you that I had been searching with you.” Erik held his breath, praying her explanation would be enough to satisfy him. The Doctor sighed angrily. “Rose, why would you think I would get angry if you wanted to take a nap? I’m not a slave driver. If you wanted to take a nap, then you should have said so. I don’t mind you wanting to rest. I do mind you going off somewhere without telling me since then I have to stop what I’m doing, search for you and worry while I’m doing it. Look, maybe we should just go back to the TARDIS, get some sleep and come back in the morning.” “No, I’m fine now. I want to help you look. I won’t run off again without telling you, I promise.” The Doctor sighed. “Are you sure?” “Yes, I’m sure. I feel a lot better after my nap. I’m sorry I made you worry, Doctor. I won’t do it again, I promise. Let’s just…keep looking, yeah?” The Doctor nodded. “Alright, but you promise if you have to sleep again, you will tell me, instead of just swanning off somewhere?” “I promise, Doctor,” Rose said. “And no more lying to me, got that?” “Yes, Doctor.” The Doctor smiled. Rose kept still while he kissed her forehead and rubbed under her chin. “Well, let’s get back to work then,” he said, smiling at her. Rose forced a smile on her face, and watched, as he turned away and walked back to the other wall. Behind the wall, Erik chuckled under his breath. “That’s my girl,” he whispered to himself.
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