A/N: Don't shun my recovery scene sklils... I have no self-confidence as it is. Q_Q
Amy and Rory didn't have a chance to elaborate to their two completely puzzled escorts, as the Doctor gasped into life from beside Apollo. His eyes flew open and he sat up abruptly, but then fell back to the floor, clutching his chest. Rory knelt beside him.
"Oh," he said faintly. "What happened? I don't –" He coughed. "– feel too well."
Amy and Rory exchanged glances. "You scared us." returned Amy slowly. She knelt down next to him also. "You're sick, but Rory's going to make you better." she assured.
Amy looked at Rory expectantly, relief shining in her eyes. Rory smiled gently in return, glanced to Apollo and Starbuck – who were both partly watching the Doctor and getting their head around the TARDIS – and then back to the Doctor.
"What happened?" he asked again, his voice rough. Rory laid a hand on the Time Lord's forehead gently as if to soothe him.
"Don't you remember?" Amy queried, this time choosing to answer him. Rory said nothing.
The Doctor's eyelids slid shut for a moment, but then they cracked open again and he managed a gentle shake of his head. "I – I remember a gun and – flashing colours – but –" He started to cough. He suddenly looked panicked. "The TARDIS. She –" the Doctor cut himself off. He blinked heavily. "The Zero Room." he stated. "It should be –" He winced, grunting ever so slightly. "– should be here. I need – the Zero Room." he repeated.
The Doctor's eyelids slowly closed again the hand on his chest went limp, falling to his side. Amy threw a panicked look at Rory. She scrambled to her feet, but her husband remained at the Doctor's side. He appeared to be trying to wake him up. Amy turned to Apollo and Starbuck, and they nodded before she could ask for their assistance.
Amy was about to take off to find the said room when Rory called, "He's more stable now." She paused and spun to face her husband, head titled. "It's the TARDIS." he concluded, flicking a glance to the console at the top of the stairs. "Do you think she'll help us find the Zero Room?" asked Rory.
"She?" Starbuck remarked. She was standing at the foot of the stairs. Apollo was halfway around the console towards the flight of stairs which led to the upper landing. "You mean this thing is alive?" she asked.
"I'll explain later." Amy dismissed. She looked back to the Doctor. "We have to find the room first." she said. Starbuck made a face, but Amy ignored her.
In the midst of her statement, Amy felt a familiar-yet-strange touch brush her mind. Although she didn't know, something told her it was the TARDIS.
"I'll stay," Rory alleged as she began to follow Apollo up towards the landing. "and when you find the room, yell, and someone come back and help me lift him." he said.
All three of them nodded and took off down the hallway on the landing together. They were halfway down the corridor when Apollo observed, "Is it marked, or something? All these doors are plain. There's no indication."
Starbuck halted at this, but Amy continued to walk. Apollo slowed his pace but didn't stop completely.
"I know where I'm going." said Amy. "It's down this corridor here. Starbuck, you've got the biggest mouth. Shout for Rory, would you?" she called as she turned the corner. A grin graced her face when she heard Starbuck call for her husband.
She found the door. The TARDIS had directed her to this corridor somehow. She couldn't explain it. But she knew it was here and there was no way the TARDIS would lie to her at a time like this. Apollo rounded the corner and approached her.
No one said anything until Rory and Starbuck came, carrying the Doctor between them, and entered the room. Amy was surprised to see it was an empty room; its design was exactly the same as the corridor outside. It was no bigger than a child's bedroom, but yet she knew this was the right place.
The three people behind her expressed their doubt and Amy retorted, "The TARDIS told me it was this room. She wouldn't be wrong... after all, it's her we're waltzing around in."
Rory, after a moment's hesitation, grunted in approval. He and Starbuck set the Doctor down, and then much to everyone's surprise, the room took it upon itself to take the injured Time Lord into the centre of the room. The room then took on an eerie yellow glow, and Amy got the kicking sensation that the four of them were no longer needed.
"It's that easy?" Rory queried in disbelief. "There's got to be a catch... got to be. Nothing is ever this easy." he said.
"Come on." Amy expressed, ushering the other three back towards the door. "Maybe we should leave him for a little while," she suggested. "and then Rory can come back later and see if he's improved."
The nurse agreed to these terms, but Apollo and Starbuck seemed very far from convinced. Upon exiting, both companions were rather happy to see the TARDIS had placed the kitchen and somewhere to sleep close by. Both of them thanked the time machine and then proceeded to retire to the kitchen.
But both Starbuck and Apollo stepped in front of them. "Answers." Starbuck stated plainly. "Right now." Apollo nodded in agreement.
Rory held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay," he said quickly. "we'll talk about it over some tea, yeah? Nice, British tea?" he suggested, adding in a smile just in case.
Starbuck looked at Apollo for approval, and he nodded. All four of them entered the kitchen and Rory began to make the tea. Amy sat herself down at the table with Apollo and Starbuck. It didn't take Rory that long to make four cups – he'd had plenty of practice, it seemed.
Apollo and Starbuck took them gratefully. It didn't them both long to finish them, either. Amy had only had a sip from hers, and Rory was the same.
Apollo set his mug on the table. "Okay," he began. "I want to know everything." he said.
Rory blinked. "Umm, alright; where do you want me to start?" he asked.
"The ship." Starbuck answered him.
"The TARDIS." Rory corrected. "Don't let the Doctor catch you calling her a spaceship." he warned, an awkward smile crossing his features as he finished.
"TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space." Amy took over – she'd already explained all this to Rory after their first adventure together in Venice. Her husband seemed grateful for the feat. "Yeah... it's a space-time ship." she confirmed, although their two escorts hadn't asked any questions. "She's bigger on the inside."
"A door to another dimension." Rory added.
Amy threw him a glance and then continued, "She's alive. Or from what the Doctor has said... we've both gathered she's alive." she said. "She's psychic – she showed me the way to the Zero Room before." She paused. "... I suppose that's it." she concluded. "About the ship." she added.
"How do you fly a tiny blue box?" Starbuck asked.
"It doesn't really, uh... fly." Amy replied – it seemed she hadn't satisfied either of them. She'd overlooked that aspect because she plainly didn't know how the ship actually worked. "It dematerializes. You must have heard it when you first came across us... It's a wheezing noise."
"I heard it." Apollo confirmed.
"So it's like jumping?" Starbuck continued. "You set co-ordinates and then off you go?"
Amy nodded rapidly. "Yeah, basically." she answered. "But it's almost impossible to fly. Only the Doctor can do it." she added.
"Who made it?" Apollo then asked. "I've never seen a ship like this before." he commented.
Amy and Rory exchanged glances. "The Doctor's race made it, I think." Amy answered. "You'll have to ask him..." she trailed off and made a face. "... when he wakes up."
Silence fell. Amy and Rory continued to sip at their tea. It appeared Apollo and Starbuck were digesting what they'd just been told.
After a few minutes, Apollo piped up, "And you two?" he pointed. "You're human?" They both nodded. "Back on Kobol the Doctor said he wasn't... a Time something?"
"Time Lord." Rory informed.
"He looks human." Starbuck commented.
"You look Time Lord." came the outworn retort from both companions.
Neither of them seemed phased by this. "The Cylons. Did the old man tell you about them?" Apollo continued.
Amy nodded. "President Roslin told me about the war." she replied.
"They look human now as well." Starbuck continued. "So we've come to question everybody we know – we don't know if the people around us are who they say they are." she said. "Three strangers who just happened to come across a confidential mission on an isolated planet in an isolated system are very likely to be Cylons." she said.
Amy sighed. "We're one hundred perfect human." she assured. "I don't know how many times I have to keep telling you that."
"How do we know you're not going to lead us into a trap?" Starbuck suddenly asked, her voice slightly raised. "That when your friend wakes up and gives us the co-ordinates... they're not into the middle of a sun or –"
"I trust them." Apollo interrupted her.
Starbuck threw him a glance. "You do? Oh, that's wonderful, Lee." she commented.
"Why should they lie, Kara?" he returned. "If they are Cylons... the Fleet would all be dead by now. They know the co-ordinates to where we are, and they've been in this... Time Lord ship and they've had every chance to submit them to a Cylon base ship." he said. "But they haven't." Starbuck opened her mouth to object, but Apollo cut over here still, "And why would the Cylon attack their own? Perhaps they could be rebels sure, but it wouldn't explain how they got this ship or their alien friend." he said. "There's a whole lot of mystery around this, sure, and even I'm questioning things in some places. But it's the best chance we have to find the Fleet somewhere safe to live." he concluded.
Starbuck grumbled. "What about the old man? And Roslin?" she queried.
"The old man trusts them." Apollo returned. "I'm not sure about the President, but I believe she's in it for the good of the Fleet." he replied.
She didn't trust me. Amy pondered to herself. Then why was she trying to gain my trust?
The look of realization and question must have been on Amy's face, as Apollo made a noise in the back of his throat while examining her expression. She sent a wry smile in his direction, and he returned it with a cock of his eyebrow and then a sideways grin as he turned to Starbuck again.
"These two –" He gestured to Amy and Rory. "– and I are going to grab some sleep." he said. "Stay awake for a while and keep an eye out." he said.
"I'll stay awake." Rory inputted. "I'm a nurse... it's easy for me to run on barely any sleep." he said. "And I'm sure both of you are tired from all the walking and running we've done these past few days." he claimed. Starbuck and Apollo seemed satisfied. "Nothing can get in," Rory continued, "so we'll be safe." he claimed.
"Alright." Apollo agreed aloud.
Amy, after a discussion with Rory about how she disliked waking up alone, reluctantly showed both their escorts to a room which included two beds – bunk beds. It made her snigger, but both of them seemed used to it. Rory kissed his wife goodnight and then made his way back to the Zero Room.
A/N: As a reviewer kindly pointed out... do all of you know what the Zero Room is? It's introduced in the classic series somewhere in Peter Davison's run. It's a room in the TARDIS that allows excellerated rest, thus making the person inside recover quicker. I described an 'eerie yellow glow', which I hope most of you know is regeneration energy. Regeneration energy mixed with the Zero Room will heal the Doctor, but it will take him a while to be 100% again. I hope that cleared things up. x
