Ooh goodness that last chapter was crazy! :D

This one is a bit tamer, it's the sweet little filler before the big showdown! Hooray! I had intended to upload it last night, but all day I've had trouble logging in, so... here it is! Finally!

Hope you enjoy ;)

I tugged the Doctor tightly to my side as we narrowly avoided the Dalek's weapon blast. This tunnel seemed a bit larger than the others, and I hoped desperately that it would eventually take us downwards to the TARDIS... Or at least somewhere close to it. Together the Doctor and I ran, hunched over to avoid hitting our heads on the low ceiling. Behind us the enraged Dalek faded into the echoing distance, and I tried to move faster as the reality of being found and caught became more and more possible. Beside me the Doctor stumbled, panting much harder than he normally did when we ran, and I tightened my arm around his waist and prayed he wouldn't collapse. One glance at his pale, exhausted face told me that he wouldn't be able to keep this pace up for much longer.

The path we were on turned and twisted every twenty feet or so, and even after about ten minutes we hadn't come across a down-pipe, or even another grate. I began to feel more worried now, my hearts racing in my chest as I held the Doctor with one arm and scanned continuously with my sonic in the other hand. So far there was no sign of Daleks, but I still continued to run as quickly as I could under the circumstances. Now that they knew our method of moving about the facility, the chances of them finding the TARDIS and realizing that their prisoners had escaped increased with every minute.

Suddenly the Doctor's legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed hard, crying out as he struck the smooth floor of the tunnel. I stopped at once, unsure of whether I should help him get up again or let him rest for a moment. He had other ideas, however, and he tried his best to get his feet under himself and stand, but his legs were shaking so much that he only managed to get about half-way before collapsing again. "I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry," he groaned, setting his jaw in determination and preparing to try again even though his legs were shaking even harder this time. I quickly placed my hands on his shoulders, keeping him seated on the floor, shushing him soothingly and shaking my head.

"Just rest a moment, love," I murmured, giving him a stern look and gently pushing him back against the wall so that he could rest against it. He stared down at his twitching legs rather bitterly and sighed. I sat next to him, letting our bodies touch, and took a quick scan to make sure that non one was following us or setting a trap up ahead. There still was nothing, so I laid a hand on the Doctor's leg nearest to me and began to massage the trembling, straining muscles. He jumped slightly, apparently me touching him was still rather surprising, and then he relaxed against me and turned to place a soft kiss on the side of my head. I had no idea whether my hand caressing him would get the poison to be absorbed more quickly, but I had to do something; the helpless feeling I'd had back in the experiment chamber made me want to touch the Doctor – anywhere, it didn't really matter – just to know that he was still there and I was still here and we were alive.

His face was still turned towards me, so I looked up and met his gaze; his green-blue eyes were still so tired, but his expression was rather happy as he looked at me. A little smile played around his lips as he murmured, "I'd hoped to make sure you were okay with the whole idea before... before making you pregnant... Do you regret it?" His eyes grew wistful, a deep longing in them.

"No!" I exclaimed, nearly laughing at him, "You silly, why on earth would I possibly regret this?"

"But you're so young," he explained, "I had hoped that we could talk about it before it actually happened..."

"But this way is fine, too," I assured him, "Either way, a baby is a baby, just as long as I know it's yours I'm carrying... Nothing else really matters. I know it happened kind of fast," I blushed, smirking at him slightly, "but that's fine, and I just hope it's healthy and that everything works out."

The Doctor's thin cheeks flushed slightly, but he spoke quite calmly, "You know, I'm rather amazed. I didn't think... I-I didn't think it would even be possible." He sighed, looking away from my gaze, "I'm an old fool..."

I raised the hand that had been rubbing his leg and raised his chin with a finger. "You're no fool," I murmured, "just a bit mad. And I love you that way."

"I love you too," he whispered softly, his eyes looking gratefully into mine. He leaned forward, kissing me lovingly and resting a hand against my stomach. I returned his kiss with enthusiasm, and his hand on my belly made me fill up with a glowing warmth, like the sun was shining on my skin and making me smile.

"So," I murmured, when we broke apart, "I just have to be sure..." I raised my sonic screwdriver, scanning myself rather awkwardly and then flicking the instrument open to read the results. The Doctor leaned in too, eager to see. It listed my pulse, temperature, blood sugar, intake of oxygen... and the fact that I was indeed pregnant. And only six days along. "Amazing..." I breathed, "No wonder I had no idea, there wouldn't be any symptoms yet!" Grinning at the Doctor, I slowly got to my feet, pulling him up with me. He seemed a bit more steady on his feet, though I kept an arm around his slim waist just in case.

"So," I murmured, gently helping him down the passage, "Any weird Time Lord pregnancy stuff I should know about?"

The Doctor chuckled breathlessly, his brow furrowed as he concentrated on walking properly, "Er, well, I don't really know..."

"But... but Doctor, you had children, long ago, you told me... Wouldn't you know?"

He stopped, looking at me very seriously. "Hero, I was very young then, so young and willing to please my family... Those children... Well, we were so preoccupied with perfecting our genetics, they were born from not a mother, but rather a complicated genome loom which wove them into being. Their... mother... was assigned to me by my family... I knew more about my grandchildren, years later, than I ever did about my wife or children." He looked very sad, and a flash of fear passed through his ancient eyes, like he was worried I'd be angry with him for talking about his long-ago family, all of whom were long dead. I kissed him softly, hoping to put his fears to rest, and indeed his face brightened and he briefly touched my stomach again. "I'm... I'm so happy, Hero... You have no idea..." He grinned, his eyes wrinkling adorably at the corners. "Once we're back on the TARDIS, perhaps she can run some more tests and give us a better idea of what to expect, yeah?" I nodded, smiling back at my gleeful husband, then slipped my arm around him once more and helped him walk down the passage.

We were definitely lost.

"I'm kind of surprised no one's found us," I sighed, scanning around the tunnel in hopes of getting a signal of the TARDIS. "Unless they know we can't escape, and they're just waiting somewhere..."

"Not a good thought," the Doctor mused, leaning against the wall and rubbing his trembling legs. "The thought has occurred to me that while we were unconscious they carried us a good distance away from the prison cells where we were picked up." I grimaced at his words, realizing that he was probably right. I sighed.

"However," the Doctor continued, using a voice which immediately let me know that he was about to be extremely clever, "Perhaps we can find a way to cut through these walls," He tapped one, "and see where we are. Presumably, of course, in the wall somewhere, but maybe we can jump to the level below..." I nodded, and he proceeded to scan the material of the walls with his sonic, humming and frowning slightly as he set about solving this problem. I watched him think for a few moments, smiling as I saw the gears click in his mind, as he figured out what to do. "Two sonics!" he cried, smiling broadly, "Double the power! May I?" He gestured towards my pink sonic screwdriver, and when I handed it over he tapped the two together experimentally. "Now," he muttered, "this will probably work, or they'll explode. Hmm. Better avoid that last bit..."

Concentrating, he angled the sonics towards each other, getting them to start resonating at the same time. I quickly took a step back as a stream of energy began to flow between them, creating a sort of arc light. "Here we go!" the Doctor cried, carefully aiming the new tool towards the floor, apparently trying to burn through the metallic material. Sparks flew unexpectedly, but I grinned as a cut began to appear. The Doctor made a circular sweep with his arms, and the circle in the middle fell out and below where we were standing. The sonics starting sparking dangerously, so he hastily whipped them apart and then stooped to look at his handiwork.

We were apparently in a large tube which ran through what looked like a mess of wires, but about fifteen feet below us another ventilation shaft was visible. If we could get down there safely, perhaps that one would lead us more where we wanted to go.

I smirked at the Doctor, and he chuckled softly.

"What?" I giggled.

"You've got that expression on your face, Hero."

"No, I don't. Wait, which expression?"

"The 'he's-hot-when-he's-thinking' face."

"Well... because you are."

The Doctor's cheeks flushed, and he smiled rather nervously at me, making me laugh aloud. My Doctor was so silly sometimes, flirting and acting all clever, and then blushing the next moment when I retaliated.

"Let's figure out a way down, love," I chuckled, winking at him.

Somewhere overhead, there was a clattering noise. The Doctor looked quickly at me.

Taking my hand, he retrieved the rope gun from his jacket pocket. "We don't have much time..."