The Ice Warrior Dilemma (1)

The Doctor, still sitting on the floor, leaned on his elbow, couldn't speak.

Give the Commander the TARDIS and he'd be able to go anywhere; destroy anything. He could get backups; fit as many as he wishes into the infinitely sized box. I've Warriors loved war. They'd never stop. It would be like the Time War all over again, perhaps even longer. The Doctor shuddered at the mere thought of it.

No way he could give up the time machine. It was out of the question. But, then again...Dawn. He had taken her out of her life; her simple, beautiful, messy human life. She was only seventeen. No way he could live with that guilt. No way he could even think about handing her over. That would be worse than giving up the TARDIS. At least, almost.

Oh, why hadn't she just declined his offer? Why did she have to follow his dangerous path? He had told her it would be like this, hadn't he? Why was she even here? If she weren't, well, things would be a bit easier. Of course, he knew he wouldn't be able to fight off an Ice Warrior on his own anyway, that wasn't his plan. He'd be snapped like a toothpick. But if Dawn weren't here; if she weren't in his care, he could have done something more...drastic. If need be, he could've blown up the TARDIS.

But as it was, Dawn was very much here and very much in danger. When the Doctor snapped out of his thoughts, he was pleasantly surprised to find it had only been a couple seconds. The good feeling dissipated almost immediately, however, as the Ice Warrior prodded Dawn in the back once more, forcing a shocked gasp from the young girl.

Blue eyes met brown again. The Doctor felt his hearts ache; this time he knew why. Dawn was trying to be strong for him.(He didn't think he deserved it.) She wasn't even crying, though her life lay in the balance. The crooked ghost of a smile turned her lips.

"Doctor...does he know, ugh, what this ship is?"

The creature boss's behind her, silencing her shaky voice instantly. The Doctor kept the enormous alien in his peripheral vision as he watched Dawn. "Yes. Me and the Ice Warriors go way back."

The Ice Warrior hissed once more, then said in his gravely voice, full of annoyance, "What is your answer?"

"You don't give much time, do you?"

The Commander cocked his gun behind Dawn. The girl tensed automatically, closing her eyes. The Doctor licked his lips, eyes flitting between them , he turned his gaze to the floor and answered, in a small voice, "Where do you want to go?"

Dawn sighed as the gun was lowered. The Ice Warrior pushed past her roughly, making his way towards the Time Rotor in the center of the room. As he passed the Doctor, he hissed into his ear, "Sentiment was always your greatest weakness." Dawn watched the Doctor with something like pity...or maybe it was even slight anger.

The Doctor creased his eyebrows in reply. The teen stepped towards him, and he could definitely see the 'anger' part grow. In hushed tones, her shaky voice called up to him. "Why would you do that?"

"I'm sorry, was I supposed to let him kill you?"

"You could've thought of something. Now he can take us anywhere. All of time and space in the hands of a big, angry reptile man bent on war."

Dawn spun around to face the door, taking deep breaths. This was all her fault, or at least, she thought it was. She shouldv'e locked the door. She knew the Doctor hadn't. Or had she? Anyway, it was still her fault. The Doctror would've been able to think clearer and come up with something if she weren't in danger. Oh why had she even joined him? Was this really worse than a five hour shift at the coffee shop?

The Doctor turned to the Ice Warrior slowly. There was nothing to be done, now. He had to go through with this until he thought of something better. A fraction of him was even slightly excited. Where did the Commander want to go? What was his plan?

After mentally chastising his misguided thrill, the Timelord approached the Console. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. Now not only Dawn was in trouble, but the whole universe. Usually he had a plan by now, or at least an idea. Right now he was useless; just the pilot of the most important ship in space and time.

The Martian was pacing in front of the controls, gazing at them with reverence. His voice called out a set of coordinates as he looked back at the Doctor. To Dawn, it was just a series of numbers; meaningless and incomprehensible. But as she turned back to face the two men, the Doctor's expression made her heart skip a beat.

His eyes were wide, laced with fear greater than she had ever seen him express. He had shifted back a few steps, utterly shocked. He seemed to be frozen still. Finally, he found his voice, but it was even shakier than before. It was almost like he'd been crying.

"You want me to take you to Skaro?"