A/N: new chappie! enjoy!

Chapter 10: The Cavern Before the Temple

Olivia groaned as she awoke, her head throbbing as she stirred. She soon realized she was lying face down, her hands out in front of her and bound at the wrists with something that cut into her skin. As more of her senses came back, she frowned when she realized she was covered in darkness, but she could feel something wrapped around her waist, and a slight draft fanning her face.

"Oh, please don't let that draft be a wild alien animal in front of me," she whispered, then gasped when something shifted beneath her. "Wonderful. They would tie me face to face with the Doctor. And with his arms tied around me. This is just spectacular."

"Olivia?" he groaned, making her look into the darkness where she thought his face was. "You alright?"

"My head hurts," was all she could reply, not wanting to think about the fact that gravity was pressing them together, or that his arms were tied around her waist.

"Yup, mine, too," he sighed, starting to try worming his way out of the bonds.

Olivia swallowed as she felt his hands at the small of her back try in vain to wriggle out of his bonds, but decided she should try to do the same. The Doctor felt his hearts skip a beat each when he felt her move against him, trying to escape the ropes she was tied up in as well.

"Liv, stop moving," he blurted and she froze.

"Why? Do you hear something?" she wondered and he shifted his hips slightly, not wanting her to feel his reaction to her movements.

"I…I thought I did," he lied, swallowing hard before trying to free his hands again. "These…ropes are too tight."

"I can't see anything," she murmured, deciding to keep watch. "Why do you think they left us here alive?"

"Oh, who knows?" he strained against his struggle before growling in frustration.

"Where do you think we are?" she breathed.

"Well, judging by the echo and the darkness, I'd say we're in a cave of some kind," he replied. His eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness and he looked to Olivia, finding her silhouette in the dark and his hearts clenched painfully. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" she echoed and he caught the shadow of a frown over her brow as she looked to him. "For what?"

"For all of this," he replied, still struggling. "None of this was supposed to happen."

"I know," she replied. "This place used to be all in fun, but now it's—"

"That's not what I mean, Olivia," he sighed, making her frown deepen and he let his head fall back against the ground. "None of this was supposed to happen to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll have to take you home, eventually," he continued, not seeing Olivia's eyes widen in disbelief in the darkness. "Your future back on Earth…you're an important person."

"Why are you telling me this now?" she wondered in a breath.

"Because I only just found out about it before we arrived," he admitted. "I didn't realize it when I invited you, but when we were in the infirmary on the TARDIS, I remembered what it was about you that made me all…tingly. I get that way when I meet important people. Tingly."

"So you know my future," she muttered. "That doesn't unsettle me at all."

"Well I can't help it!" he snapped defensively to her sarcasm.

"I know, Doctor," she sighed, making him look at her with wide eyes as she tried freeing her wrists again. "We can talk about this later—"

"But that's why I'm apologizing," he continued. "There may not be a later, and it'll be my fault."

Olivia froze and looked to him in the darkness with wide eyes to breathe, "Are you giving up, Doctor?"

"Of course not! I just—"

"Because if I've learned anything from you this far, it's to never give up," she cut in, firmly. "So we're not gonna give up, right?"

"Right, but—"

"No, 'buts'!" she snapped. "No 'ifs' or 'ands,' either! Now, where's the Sonic?"

"In my left inside pocket," he replied. "But how are you—? Ah! That tickles!"

Olivia nuzzled her way under the lapel of his jacket pocket and felt around his chest, ignoring his squirming and giggling until she felt the screwdriver brush against her nose. She clamped her teeth on the end and pulled it from his jacket.

"God id!" she cheered before shifting her bound hands to reach the Doctor's shoulder, bowing her head to take the Sonic into her hands and turn the right end toward the ropes. "This'll cut the ropes, right?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure if it's set for that, and I can't see," he strained, lifting his head when he felt her hands fidgeting behind him. "Just try the telepathic interface. Point and think."

"I don't have a clue what that means, but I hope it works," she muttered, pressing the button and the hum of it filled the empty cave, echoing rhythmically. "Ow! It's hot!"

"It won't burn you," he assured her. "It just feels like it will. Wait! Stop!"

Olivia's finger instantly came off the button and the hum stopped to reveal what the Doctor had heard above it. A low growl filled the darkness, making her heart thump so hard that she was sure the Doctor felt it.

"Get the ropes off," he ordered. "Hurry!"

"I'm trying!" she shot back, the hum filling the darkness again and their urgency made it seem like an eternity before Olivia could pull her wrists apart.

"Gimme the Sonic!" he growled.

"Trying!" she growled back, lowering one hand behind her back to find the Doctor's hand and slip the screwdriver into it.

He grabbed it and expertly flipped it to aim it at his bonds, chanting, "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry! Come on, come on, come on!"

"Doctor! It's that Cur thing we saw earlier!" Olivia shuddered, using both hands to pull at the lapels of his jacket. "It's getting closer! Hurry up!"

"Trying!" he shot back just before he yanked his wrists apart. "Run!"

"Where?!" she snapped, scrambling to her feet and she screamed when a hand clamped around her wrist to drag her through the dark. "Doctor, do you know where you're going?!"

"Toward the exit, 'acourse!" he replied, both still running as they heard snarling behind them. "There it is!" He pulled her ahead and shoved her toward the light coming into view, ordering, "Run toward the light! Go!"

Without argument, Olivia shot ahead of him, not looking back to see the Doctor running after her. She didn't look back to see him stop and turn back to the darkness as she neared the end of the tunnel, the light becoming brighter and brighter. She skidded to a stop when she took a few steps outside, panting and spun around to stare at the cavern she'd run out of. There was no sign of the Doctor.

"Doctor!" she called, running back to the gap but she froze when she heard a snarl and a shout. "Doctor! I'm out! You don't have to—!"

Another shout of pain cut her off, making her gasp as she threw her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide as she stared at the cavern. She heard nothing else as she tried not to shudder, but it did no good and she lowered her hands from her mouth, her feet rooted to the ground.

"Doctor?" she called shakily before straining her ears when she caught some shuffling coming toward her.

She contemplated running but stopped when the Doctor shuffled into the light. His hair was even more a mess than usual, his clothes dirty and disheveled, a huge gash on his arm where blood soaked his sleeve, a trail of blood running down the side of his face from his hairline.

"Blimey…" he breathed, giving a cough before squinting at her, still shuffling her way. "When did you become twins, Olivia? Whoa…Triplets, I mean."

She ran toward him in time to catch him before he fell to the ground. Realizing how heavy he was, she lowered him to the ground on his back and looked to the wound on his arm.

"Olivia, stop multiplyin', eh?" he requested weakly as she pulled the material back, blanching at the blood before leaning over him. "You're givin' me a headache."

"Doctor, stay with me," she urged. "Tell me what kind of poison that thing uses. It scratched you."

"Thing?" he frowned in wonder before lazily grinning, "Oh! The Cur! Um…something nice. No need to worry Olivia Felton. Only a scratch. Won't make me regenerate."

"Great," she muttered, standing to pull him up by his good arm. "Claws coated with drugs. Come on, Doctor. Walk it off!"

"It'll fade in…a bit," he snickered, leaning on her as he stood.

"Well, you're no good for navigation," Olivia grumbled, reaching into his jacket. "Gimme the map."

He snickered as she opened the map and he leaned an elbow on her head, still snickering as she examined the map.

"Alright, it looks like we're closer to the temple," she explained, ignoring him. "So technically the natives helped us, if you think about it. Anyway, the trail's right here. Come on."

She grabbed the hand he was dangling in front of her face and marched them down the trail, the map in her other hand. The Doctor stumbled behind her as if drunk for a moment before he gasped and hurried next to her, staring huge eyes at her in wonder.

"Have you got bananas?! Any bananas! I'm peckish, see," he told her, making her turn a frown to him.

"Bananas?" she echoed. "Was that thing's claws covered in marijuana? I don't have bananas on me, Doctor."

"But I'm hungry!" he nearly whined, hopping the next few steps they took.

"Of all times…" she sighed. "And what are you?! Five?!"

"I told you how old I am, silly!" he giggled, lifting a hand to ruffle her hair and making her duck away, swatting his hand away from her head. "Or are you asking something else? Am I five what?"

"Oh, I can't wait till that stuff wears off," Olivia sighed, looking at the map again. "It can't come soon enough."

"You're funny, Olivia Felton," the Doctor giggled. "Ooh! When we get back to the TARDIS, can we have bananas?! I love bananas! Bananas are good."

"For the love of—" she growled before cutting herself off and stopping in front of him, making him frown at her in wonder. "Snap out of it already! I can't do this without the Doctor! The proper Doctor! Quit talking about bananas and give me back my Doctor!"

Before he could say anything, she lifted a hand and slapped her palm to his cheek, making his head snap to the side before he looked back at her with wide eyes.

"Well, what'd you do that for?!" he snapped, making her give sigh of relief with a small smile before throwing her arms around his chest with a giggle.

"Welcome back, Doctor," she smiled, making him frown in wonder before nodding silently.

"Oh, I see," he hummed, smiling down at her. "Went a bit loopy, did I?"

"A bit?" she scoffed. "More like a lot."

"Well…we won't quibble over wording," he shrugged, taking the map from her to examine it. "Ooh! We're close, then! Allons-y!"

"Wait! What about you're arm?" she questioned worriedly, making him take only a step ahead before looking to the wound.

"It'll heal soon," he shrugged again. "Doesn't even hurt. Feels numb. That'll be the mix of chemicals in the poison. No need to worry. Come along, Felton!"

He grabbed her hand and dragged her down the trail, the map in his other hand as they ran through the jungle scene until they reached, what looked like a dead end.

"Oh, great," Olivia muttered as the Doctor looked to the map with a frown. "Dead end."

"No…" he hummed, looking to the brush in front of them. "It's beyond this. We'll have to cut our way through."

"Well, unless you've got a machete or a huge blade hidden in that tight suit of yours, we're screwed," she retorted. "And the fact that your suit is so tight, and I can pretty much see everything, I'd say we're screwed."

"Ooh…Olivia," he hummed again, turning to her with a smirk, twisting at his waist and keeping his feet rooted to the ground to do so as he sang, "You've been looking."

To his surprise she smirked back, "Only a little."

"I think a lot," he smirked before lifting a rusty machete making her frown in confusion before he stepped toward the brush and she watched him.

"Where'd you get that?" she questioned, unmoving as he stepped toward the brush to start cutting it down.

"Over there," he only replied, waving to his left.

She frowned deeper before looking in the direction he'd gestured and her eyes widened in terror at the sight of a skeleton among the brush on the ground. She hurried toward the Doctor to grip the hand he offered her, not looking away from his work. He pulled her through the path he carved through the brush as she shoved herself close to him, pressing against his back, still holding his hand.

"I really, really hope that was a prop," she said. "And if you don't think it is, don't tell me. Just let me have my delusion."

"As you like," he replied, swiping at the last thick branch and leading them both into a clearing, still holding her hand as they looked up at the huge structure before them. "Well, now…is it just me, or does that thing look like it's made of gold?"

"It most certainly does," she breathed, staring wide eyes at the pyramid in disbelief.

"Good," he nodded, tossing the machete away. "Always love to identify things properly. Avanti!"

He pulled her toward the doorway leading inside as she still stared up at it until they crossed the threshold and he stopped just inside the door to let their eyes adjust to the darkness. They caught the sound of grinding stone and both turned with frowns, only to find the doorway lowering behind them.

"No, no, no!" the Doctor shouted as they both ran toward it to try to stop it, Olivia looking for a switch or lever on the wall while he tried his sonic screwdriver to stop it. "Deadlocked!"

Olivia shoved him into a ducking position to shove him out, making him roll back out of the temple just as the door was halfway down. It was a quarter of the way down when Olivia laid on her stomach and reached out to him under the door just as he ran back to the door, but when he was about to grab her hand, she pulled it back, nearly having it taken off when the door shut completely, sinking slightly into the ground.

"No…" he breathed, staring wide eyes at the door and shot to his feet to press his ear against the stone, calling, "Olivia?!"

"I'm alright!" she called from the other side.

He sighed in relief, closing his eyes when he noted the terror in her voice before assuring her, "I'll find another way in and I will get you out of there, do you hear me? I'll get you out!"

"I know, Doctor," she replied as calmly as she could. "I know you will. I'm going to get the Head of Zacros."

"No, Olivia!" he argued. "You stay right there, hear me? Stay right where you are and I'll come get you! It's like you said: We're doing this together."

"I can't just stay here!" she shot back. "There could be things lurking around in here! I'll meet you wherever the thing is."

"But there could be traps in there! Olivia? Olivia!"

In the Temple...

Olivia felt around at the walls, her eyes still adjusting to the darkness around her. She knew she'd been right to shove the Doctor out of here. It was bad enough he'd already been attacked by a wild alien animal, he didn't need to go on stumbling blindly in the dark without her, because if she hadn't pushed him out of there first, it would have been the other way around.

"Oh, what I would give for that stupid sonic screwdriver right about now," she whispered just before her fingers brushed something tilted on the wall.

She stroked her hand over it, cringing in the dark when she felt some spider webs coating it then tried pulling on it. She cringed again when she felt dust fall onto her head, but looked up, squinting when she heard grinding stone above her. She grinned and giggled, giddily when she was drenched in sunlight.

"Well, as the Doctor would say, that's brilliant!" she grinned.

She gave a scream when the floor suddenly disappeared beneath her, but she managed to grip the lever she'd pulled tightly with both hands, dangling from it as it stuck out straight from the wall. She thought of looking down but resisted herself as she looked to the wall, seeing the end of the gap a few feet away. She looked to the wall again and found a vine hanging from the ceiling but stuck to the wall.

Mustering all her courage, she fought against her racing heart and reached for the vine with one hand, gripping it and tugging on it to be sure it wouldn't give way. She swallowed, not daring to look down and shut her eyes tightly for a moment before they shot open again and she hesitated before letting go of the lever and grabbing onto the vine. She couldn't hold back from screaming as she swung toward the end of the gap until her feet hit the stone and she let go of the vine to tumble over the floor.

She coughed when her roll kicked up clouds of dust and she sat up, looking ahead down the now brightened hall as the ceiling had rolled away the entire length of the hall. She glanced back, biting her lip before cautiously starting to head forward.

"Ok, Olivia," she breathed to herself as her eyes darted everywhere. "Just think of it like the first Indiana Jones movie. Booby traps around every corner…" She stopped and looked to her feet. "…and every step you take could trigger one."

She looked up again, glancing around the walls and noticed they'd changed slightly. Now they looked full of holes instead of smooth stone. She knew that couldn't be good…at all. Swallowing hard she took a cautious step forward, only to have her foot sink slightly into the stone. She looked down to find she'd stepped onto the exact stone that was meant to trigger…something and she looked up to find out what. Sharp spikes thrust from the holes in the walls, all at different times and began to disappear again, but not entirely before they came back out again.

"No room to bob and weave," she murmured, her eyes wide as she swallowed, hard, watching the spikes intertwine in the space, leaving no room to even inch through. "There's gotta be a way across."

She ducked down to lay on her stomach and grinned when she noticed she had enough room to crawl under the entire thing without a scratch. Without another thought, she started shuffling down the hall, keeping her head down as she heard the spikes scrape against each other above her. She kept her eyes ahead of her until she was sure she was clear of the spikes and slowly stood, dusting herself off then looking back at the obstacle.

"Wish the Doctor could've seen me do that," she smiled before turning ahead to head down the hall, her smile falling as she murmured, "I hope he's alright."

Meanwhile...

The Doctor tried his sonic screwdriver again on the door, trying to get into the temple, but it did no good. He'd hoped it was only deadlocked from the inside, not out. He growled in frustration when the door didn't open and slapped the stone with the palm of his hand before running it through is hair. He had to get in. He had to get to Olivia. But how?

He looked up at the structure, taking long steps back to see all of it, examining it closely. His mind reeled with multiple thoughts: the components of the entire structure, the layout he was sure it would have, the possible traps inside—

That thought made him swallow hard as his hearts clenched when the thought led to another: Olivia being caught in one of those traps.

"I'm coming, Olivia," he ground out. "Just hang on."

A/N: reviews?