THE ADVENTURES OF THE DOCTOR'S AMAZING HAND

Chapter Sixteen

Jack and Rose ran down the hallway as klaxons rang out. Jack was now visibly tired as he carried his aged friend.

"I know you're skinny, Doc, but I'm starting to feel your weight now," he gasped as they ran.

"Well, I would tell you to put me down but at the moment I don't think that's a wise idea," the Doctor replied.

They listened while they ran, gauging the distance of the guards from their frantic voices that echoed down the corridor. So far, they seemed far away but they kept their eyes peeled for any surprises.

Then they rounded a corner and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw a guard a few feet in front of them. He was holding a semi automatic pistol in his hand. Jack was about to knock him out when he waved at them.

"Hello," the guard said.

Jack stared at him.

"Hi," he said warily.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Jack said, still wary.

"My name's Anthony. Normally, I'm a janitor here and I was mopping the floor when someone ran up to me, shoved this gun in my hand and told me to kill the Doctor. Do you know who that is?"

"Um…no," Jack said.

"Nope," Rose said, shaking her head.

"Damn. I was hoping you'd know. See, I'm just a janitor and I don't know what goes on half the time because I'm busy mopping and cleaning so I have no idea who this doctor is. I tried to ask the chap who gave me the gun but he ran off. He didn't even give me the guy's name, just doctor. So I was hoping you'd know who he or she was."

"Nope, haven't a clue," Jack said, shrugging.

Anthony stared at the Doctor who had an embarrassed look on his face.

"Why are you carrying him?" he asked Jack while he pointed to the Doctor.

"This is my grandpa. He's paralyzed and wet himself and I need to take him to the shower to clean him up."

The Doctor glared at Jack but he ignored it. He half expected Anthony to say something to that but to his surprise, he believed him and nodded.

"Well, I'll leave you to your task. I need to go to the cupboard and get some disinfectant so I can go back to cleaning if this hunt for this doctor ends. I don't want Mister Saxon mad at me because I'm standing around doing nothing."

"Yeah, I don't blame you. I know what it's like to make Mister Saxon mad," Jack muttered.

"Me too," the Doctor muttered.

Anthony nodded and turned to leave. Jack suddenly had a brainstorm.

"Hey, Anthony. Mind if we come with you. I need to get some bleach. I'm sure my grandpa will urinate and shit everywhere in the shower and I need to sterilize it after I'm done cleaning him up."

Jack coughed nervously and Rose bit her lip when the Doctor gave him a look of death. Anthony shrugged.

"Sure, follow me. I'll take you to it."

"Thanks, Anthony," Jack said, smiling.

While they walked, John got Rose's attention while she held him by his wrist.

What a moron, he signed to her.

She nodded.

They followed him down a couple of hallways. Each time they were terrified that they'd run into a guard but to their relief, they reached the supply closet without being seen. They waited patiently while Anthony unlocked the door, went inside and came out with a bottle of disinfectant.

"There ya go, just lock the door when you're done using it."

"We will, thanks," Jack said.

They waved at him when he gave them all a cheerful wave and waited until he rounded the corner before going inside and shutting the door. Once inside, Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close. And now that we're here, we can use the chemicals on the guards and throw it in their faces if they attack."

He paused and thought.

"Except for Anthony. We won't throw chemicals in Anthony's face. He was nice," Jack said.

He grabbed a large bottle of bleach and the Doctor grabbed a can of solvent. Rose looked around and grabbed a spray bottle of bleach. Once they were armed, Jack opened the door and the three of them headed out. The Doctor ran with them since Jack had the bottle and he kept his guard up while he kept the can of solvent ready for use. They ran for several minutes and then they saw it. They rounded a corner and saw an escape pod at the end of a short hallway.

"At last!" Jack said as they ran.

They reached the pod and the Doctor used a keyboard mounted in the wall to open the outer door and the door of the pod. To their dismay, the pod was tiny.

"Damn, we're gonna have to sit on top of each other in order to escape," he said.

The Doctor shook his head.

"No, it's too small. Only one can fit in it."

He looked around when he heard guards coming closer.

"Rose, get in," he said, gesturing to the pod.

"You what?" Rose said.

"Get in, you're going. You and John," the Doctor said.

"No way. I'm not going without ya," Rose said.

"Rose, you've got to. We can't all fit in it and this is a chance for one of us to escape. I'd rather see you escape than be back in the torture chamber."

"Same here. Get in, Rose," Jack said.

"But…"

The Doctor sighed.

"Rose, I'll be alright. The Master wants me alive. Otherwise, I'd be dead by now. Jack can't die so he'll be alright."

Rose was taken aback.

"What d'ya mean you can't die?" she said to Jack.

"We don't have time for explanations. Just get in. I'll explain it when I see you again," the Doctor said.

Rose swallowed hard.

"Doctor…"

"Please, Rose, I'm begging you, get in," the Doctor implored.

Rose hesitated a moment and then gave him a kiss on the lips. Jack raised his eyebrow and smiled when the Doctor sighed and returned it. They kissed for twenty seconds and then touched foreheads for another ten before Rose reluctantly got in the pod with John. He lay on her leg while she strapped herself into the seat. The Doctor stroked her cheek briefly and then smiled at John.

"Take care of her, little friend."

John gave him the thumbs up and the Doctor patted his back before he turned back to the keyboard. Rose watched in sorrow as the Doctor used it to seal the pod door and then the outer door. Then he quickly punched in a command and the pod sailed away into the sky towards the Earth. At that moment, they heard a man yell and knew the guards had found them.

"Stop! Put your hands up or we'll shoot!" the guard yelled at them.

"Rose is away from here, that's what matters," the Doctor murmured to Jack.

"Yeah and I hope she stays out of the Master's reach like Martha's been able to do," Jack muttered back.

"I said get your hands up and turn around or we'll open fire."

Both men glanced at each other. They put their hands up, turned around and waited patiently while the four guards moved in to capture them.

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