Doctor Who_ The Stone Rose - Jacqueline Rayner [42]
He looked again at the statue. And he went mad.
Mickey watched in alarm as the Doctor ran to the TARDIS, yelling ‘Oh, please! Oh, please!’ at the top of his voice. A moment later he emerged from the ship, carrying Rose’s denim jacket.
The Doctor held it up and shook it.
Out fell a purse, a hankie, a packet of mints, a mobile phone and an earring.
He retrieved the earring and held it up to the statue.
‘It’s the same one,’ said Mickey.
‘She forgot to put it back on,’ said the Doctor. ‘So Rose – the real Rose – is only wearing one earring. But the statue has two. That means this…’ He let it sink in. ‘This isn’t Rose. This is just – a statue.’ He pulled himself together. ‘I’ve got to go back and find her.’ He stared at the glass phial. There was the tiniest hint of liquid still in the bottom. ‘This had better be enough…’
Mickey’s face was shining with relief. But a thought struck him. ‘Hang on, though. How did this statue get to be here, then?’
The Doctor grinned. ‘I’ve got an idea about that. Do you believe in gods?’
Mickey looked bewildered. ‘No.’
‘Well, right at this moment I do,’ said the Doctor. ‘I think Fortuna here is smiling on us. Come on. I need you to give me a hand here…’
* * *
They’d just finished when the security guard came rushing back in.
‘Time for a quick getaway, I think,’ said the Doctor. He pushed Mickey towards the stairs and then dashed for the TARDIS.
‘You will get her back, won’t you?’ Mickey yelled. ‘You can bet on it!’ cried the Doctor. But as he shut the TARDIS doors behind him, he muttered to himself, ‘I’ve just got to make a quick stop on the way…’
And then, some time later, the Doctor arrived in Rome some time earlier.
* * *
TWELVE
Rose gasped, as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over her. She spluttered awake, dazed and confused.
She had shut her eyes for a second and when she opened them again she was in a completely different place. This wasn’t Ursus’s workshop; this was… leaves. She could see leaves. Branches. Trees. This was a wood. And she was standing next to something with wheels… Car? No. Penny‐farthing bicycle? No. A wooden cart! And there in front of her, something tall, thin – a person – definitely not Ursus. A great big grin swam into focus. The Doctor!
She stumbled forward and enveloped him in a huge hug. ‘Boy, am I pleased to see you!’
He yelped. ‘Ow!’
She’d forgotten she was holding a spear. ‘Sorry,’ she said, grinning. She took off the uncomfortable helmet and shook her head to clear it.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Rose Tyler, warrior queen?’
‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘I’m planning on popping home and rampaging through Colchester.’
‘Ah, I know you wouldn’t say “Boo‐dicca” to a goose,’ the Doctor replied, and she groaned.
‘Yeah, but, look, how’s this work?’ she said. ‘Last thing I remember…’ She fell silent.
The Doctor looked a bit sheepish. ‘You got turned into stone,’ he said. ‘Sorry.’
The memories flooded back. ‘I knew,’ she said. ‘When he showed me the statue of Tiro, I knew.’ She shivered.
The Doctor smiled sadly, sympathetically. ‘Don’t think about it any more. And Tiro’s going to be OK. I’m going to rescue him, in, ooh, a day or two.’ Rose wrinkled her brow and he explained.
‘That’s the beauty of time travel. I’ve arrived back a few days before I left.’ He handed her the now‐empty phial. ‘There you go. One miracle restorative. Roll up, roll up! Does your head feel like it’s full of rocks? A drop of our potion will sort you out. Ladies, does your husband receive all your loving comments in stony silence? Give him our amazing remedy and he’ll be a new man in no time at all.’
Rose grinned. ‘So where did that come from, then? And where’s Ursus? Did you sort him out?’
‘Don’t really know. Somewhere around and not yet.’
‘You’re lost without me!’
He tucked his arm through hers. ‘Don’t I just know it? If anyone ever asks me what sort of friend you are, I tell them: Rose Tyler? I’m lost without her. Rock‐solid, that’s what she is.’
Rose growled at him, but it turned into a laugh