AM I A GOOD MAN?

Chapter Six

"And this Valeyard guy is really bad, yeah?" Rose asked.

"He only tried to have the Doctor tried for treason then have him killed so he could steal his lives," Gaz said and Rose's eyes widened. "See, that's why I didn't want to tell you. I don't want you to hate him…or me."

"Why the hell would I hate you? You, Gary Nicholas Lachlan, are the most loving and caring man I know. Who went with Pete when he went to the President to stop those alien panther cubs from being killed?"

"That was me."

"And when the owners of said cubs came to get them, who got hugged by three, very happy children for getting their pets back?"

"That was also me."

"Who introduced Torchwood to banana, sausage and spicy mustard sandwiches?"

"That was me as well, but I'm the only one who likes them," Gaz said with a small smile.

"Finally, who was it who stayed by my mother's side when Pete had triple bypass surgery and spent nights on the computer researching what kind of care and diet Pete was going to need?"

"Me," he said and she slid her arms around him, hugging him.

"So stop thinking I hate you. I don't. I'm glad you told me about this Valeyard wanker," she said and Gaz gently kissed her lips.

"Ok, but I'm still concerned about the Doctor. I'm not sure, but I have a feeling things have really gone potty for him."

"All the more reason for us to go find him," Rose said as Gaz nodded when the TARDIS made a soft grumbling sound and he looked at the ceiling. When the TARDIS first made contact with him, he realized she only spoke in Gallifreyan and it took him a while before he could understand what she was telling him. "What's wrong?"

"She says she wants to try something," he said as he walked around the console and looked at the screens. "The trouble is she might blow all her circuits doing it."

"You mean it'll kill her?" Rose said as she gently patted one of the corals.

"It might kill us as well...or it'll destroy both universes."

"Then maybe she shouldn't do it."

"If there was only a way to contact his TARDIS," he said, looking at the screen. "She might be able to help us."

"Can we do that?"

"I don't…," Gaz said then his eyes went wide. "It can't be."

Rose watched her husband moving around the console as he pushed buttons, typed on the keyboard, checked screens and ran his fingers through his hair. He seemed to be prancing as he spun on the balls of his feet and flicked his hands in the air.

"Yes, that's perfect," he said and she gave him a confused look.

"What is?"

"Even though our universes are sealed, signals from the TARDIS can still travel through the vortex."

"So you can contact her!" she said and he gave her a wide grin.

"Exactly," he said then looked at the screen. "The problem is my Gallifreyan is a little rusty."

"Well, go ahead," she said as he cracked his knuckles then typed on the keyboard and his tongue stuck out between his teeth.

"Done," he said while moving his arm with a flourish and she softly laughed. "Now all we have to do is wait to see if it worked."

A few minutes later the screen beeped as he looked at the screen and took the black frame glasses off. Rose got off the jump seat when she walked to him and he slid his arms around her waist.

"Did it work?" Rose asked while he put the glasses in his pocket and gave her a stunned look.

"Of course it worked, Rose Marion Tyler-Lachlan," he said with a grin. "I am a genius!"

"So what are we supposed to do?" she asked and he looked at the screen.

"Do you see this swirling squiggle?" he asked as he pointed to the white, swirling light on the screen and she nodded her head. "THAT is a vortex whirlpool!"

"Aren't whirlpools dangerous?"

"Yep," he said and she softly smiled as he popped the "p". "But, if we sail to the heart of the whirlpool, we will gently float down as if we were in a lift."

"What if we don't?"

"Oi, Miss Doubting Doo, enough of the negativity," he said then started pushing buttons, moving levers, flipped switches and turned switches. He looked at the screen then at Rose with a smug look and she smiled, rolling her eyes. "Right, here we go. Allons-y!"

Pulling on the hand break, Gaz smiled as the TARDIS moved through the vortex when the TARDIS moved toward the vortex whirlpool then rose upward.

"So far so good," Gaz said, looking at the screen. The TARDIS moved over the edge of the whirlpool then started shaking and Rose gave him a worried look. "Ah, I didn't say there wasn't going to be a little turbulence."

"A little turbulence?" she asked as the TARDIS shook and shimmied and she held onto the console. Gaz looked at the screens as he typed on the keyboard and winced when a short spark of electricity shocked his right index finger. Sucking quickly on his finger, he shrugged then pushed a few buttons and the TARDIS softly hummed around them. The whirlpool swirled violently below the TARDIS while the TARDIS moved over the center of the whirlpool and Gaz pumped his fist in the air.

"Yes!" he said as he checked the readings on the screens then looked at Rose, arching his eyebrows up. "Well, here goes nothing!"

Rose held tightly onto the console when Gaz pushed the buttons and the TARDIS sank into the heart of the whirlpool and a loud rushing sound filled the control room. Gaz laughed while Rose held her hands over her ears and blue/white light crackled inside the whirlpool.

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next