Chapter 4
The Titanic shuddered and shifted, sending Rose and the Doctor sliding toward the wall of the passageway. The lift wasn't working, so they searched for a stairwell that wasn't clogged with panicked passengers. Rose grabbed for a door handle at the end of the hall just as the ship lurched again, and she found herself hanging as the door swung open and nearly slammed her into the adjacent wall. She swung slightly to get her other hand onto the handle, and her feet kicked involuntarily as she dangled from the top of the passageway.
"Doctor!" she yelled as her mind absurdly wondered how she always found herself literally hanging. She risked a glance down to see the hallway that spanned the length of the ship stretch on and on below her. It was a long way down.
"Rose!" She looked to her right to see the Doctor hanging on to a doorjamb by his fingertips. There wasn't much room for purchase. "This ship should right itself in a tick. Just hang on."
Rose could see that his fingers were starting to slip and fear sliced through her. Before she thought about what she was doing, she started to swing her legs to build up momentum. She bent her knees and kicked at the door just above the Doctor's hands with both feet. The door shook but didn't open. She tried again, swinging back farther before kicking the door. The jolt jarred every joint in her legs, but the door swung inwards with a bang.
"Brilliant, you are!" the Doctor exclaimed as he adjusted his grip on the doorframe. Using his toes against the wood-panelled wall of the hallway, he scrambled upwards and pulled himself into the room. The room was just a storage cupboard, so it was a short drop from the doorway to the wall that was now a floor. He stood up and leaned out into the hallway towards Rose.
"Come on, I'll catch you."
Rose swung again, starting to feel tired. Maybe she should try gymnastics again once they made it home. She never realized it would be so useful. With one last giant swing, she let go of the door handle and sailed through the air. Her legs made it through the doorway, and the Doctor grabbed her around the waist before she could fall backwards. He pulled her the rest of the way into the cupboard, and Rose collapsed against him, exhausted. When she looked up, he flashed her that manic grin that was so familiar.
The ship bucked again, throwing them against the wall, which quickly became the floor as the ship finally righted itself.
"Sorry," Rose said with a hint of embarrassment. The Doctor had inadvertently cushioned her landing, and she quickly pushed herself off him and stood up. He put a hand to the back of his head as he got up.
"Blimey, that hurt." Rose held out a hand and pulled him to his feet. "Right. Bridge." They hurried out of the cupboard through the now upright door Rose had been hanging from and up the stairs. The door to the bridge was locked, but the Doctor made short work of it with the sonic pen.
The golden android at the helm ignored them as they entered the room. The Doctor ran to the computer screen and started tapping faster than Rose could follow.
"What's wrong with the engines?" she asked.
"Information," the android answered. "Engines are operating according to plan."
"But they aren't," Rose insisted whilst the Doctor growled at the computer. "Everyone's slipping and sliding all over."
"Engines are operating according to plan," the android repeated.
"Plan!" the Doctor shouted as he whirled to face Rose. She noticed that at some point between the cupboard and the bridge he'd lost his bowtie. "He's a robot. Good at following orders but not terribly creative, robots. He's just following instructions." He stepped up next to the android. "What are your instructions?"
"Information not available."
The Doctor frowned. "What is the source of your instructions?"
"Information not available."
The ship rocked again and the Doctor turned back to the computer. "If this ship gets too close to the Earth's atmosphere without shields it's going to get awfully hot."
"Can you put the shields back up, Captain?" Rose asked the android.
"Information: that is not according to plan."
"Almost got it," the Doctor said as he continued to work on the computer terminal with the sonic pen clenched between his teeth. "Yes!" He returned the sonic pen to his pocket and turned back to the android. "Is Max Capricorn aboard this ship?"
"Information not available."
"I think that means yes," the Doctor said to Rose, who raised a sceptical eyebrow in turn. "What is the location of the highest level of authority on this ship?"
"You have exceeded the allotted number of questions," the android answered mechanically.
Rose made an exasperated noise and repeated the question.
"Information: deck thirty-one."
"You mean we have to go down thirty floors?" The ship shook again and Rose threw her arms out for balance.
"What? No, no, no, I just fixed that," the Doctor cried with dismay. Another jolt threatened to knock them to the floor and he leaned against the computer console. "It's gone offline again. The android must have disabled the shields."
"You think it's shielded?" Rose asked, tipping her head towards the android.
"What, that? Nah," he replied with a shake of his head. Rose reached into her purse, withdrew her gun and dialled it to the lowest setting before pointing it at the android and firing. The android stiffened and tipped over.
The Doctor's eyebrows shot up. "What did you do?"
"Stunner," she said, putting the weapon back in her purse. "Overloaded the electrical circuits. Can you get the shields back?"
"Can I get the shields back," the Doctor muttered indignantly. "Shields and stabilisers on line. How's that for impressive?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "Now we go to deck thirty-one?" She wasn't looking forward to thirty flights of stairs.
"Now I go to deck thirty-one. This ship should have a teleport system." He started looking over the controls and found a drawer with teleport bracelets.
"Hang on, what's this 'I'? I'm going with you," Rose protested.
The Doctor couldn't help but think of the other universe's Astrid Peth, who had died to save him. He couldn't put Rose in that kind of danger. "It's not safe."
"Not safe?" Rose demanded, her voice rising. "This whole ship's not safe. You are not leaving me behind, Doctor. Not again." Her cheeks flushed in anger and her eyes flashed as she nearly shouted at him.
The Doctor couldn't help but smile at the ferocity of Rose Tyler. How he had missed her, his pink and yellow girl. Of course, Rose was looking at him like he was mental, smiling whilst she was yelling at him. In a sudden fit of human emotion, something the Doctor was still learning how to control, he grabbed Rose by the shoulders and kissed her.
Rose was too stunned at first to react. When he released her, she looked slightly dazed. "What was that for?" she asked in a much softer tone. His only answer was a self-satisfied grin as he grabbed Rose's wrist and strapped on the teleport bracelet.
"Deck thirty-one. Going down." He grabbed her hand as they faded from the bridge.
