I'm back with another chapter woo! I just had trouble there uploading my chapter to the doc manager, no idea way. I know this is late, took me a while to write it and be happy with it and i do have a social life so blame that also for the delay in updating. But I hope you enjoy this chapter. Keep following, favs and reviewing hopefully that will get me to update quicker :)

Chapter 10 No Regrets

She ran in the direction she last seen Henry's retreating form. Everything looked the same on the surface of the moon. Dark, grey and rocks everywhere; in the horizon she could see the Earth in half-light hanging in space with the stars surrounding it, and it was beautiful. Maybe if people could see the Earth like Lauren could now, they would appreciate it a bit more and take care of it. Lauren heaved a breath as she walked up on the moon's equivalent of a hill which was actually the crater the settlement was in with the others still inside. She pondered how long it would take them to realize she disappeared and what excuse she will now have to come up with to explain her actions. Small rocks crunched under the boots of her suit, some rolling down behind her every step, causing dust to float around her ankles. Besides her heavy breathing, her footsteps were the only noise she heard. The moon was silent, well, that will soon change, but at this moment it was unnerving.

Once she reached level ground she had a good view of everything, including the crashed spaceship they landed in which wasn't very hard to miss, and there not far in the distance heading towards it was the white moving form of Henry against all the grey.

"Henry!" Lauren shouted. He didn't appear to hear her, either it was his middle age or that bulky spacesuit he wore that reduced his hearing. She began running towards him. "Henry!" she shouted again louder, this time he heard her. Henry turned around looking rather startled at the girl in the bright orange spacesuit running towards him.

He stood looking confused as the young girl finally came to a panting stop just before him a few minutes later. "Did the Captain send you as back up?" He asked sounding slightly hopeful.

"What?" The girl replied confused, "Why would she send back up when all she asked you to do was flick a switch or something?"

"Oh." Henry looked sheepish. "Then why are you here and not with them?"

"Er, she's changed her mind she doesn't need the bombs primed, not yet anyway," she lied. It wasn't the best lie and one that would certainly get her into trouble once she met Lundvik again. But judging by Henry's nature so far it wouldn't take much to get him to turn back, hopefully.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile back at the modular base Duke went to see if he could bring the power back on so they had light. Clara had guided Courtney away from the body as the Doctor cut it down, examining it.

"Hey. Look. Look at me. Look. It's all right if you're not," Clara held the girl's shoulders assuring her student was okay.

"I'm fine. What did it?" Courtney asked.

"Maybe something trying to find out how you're put together. Or maybe how you tasted," the Doctor answered her removing the cobwebs from the corpse, getting a closer look.

"Do we have guns?" Courtney looked around nervously.

Lundvik who was looking down at the body providing light from her flashlight for the Doctor to see replied, "Not unless you brought some."

"Chicken, apparently," the Doctor remarked offhandedly as the lights finally came on, revealing a room cluttered with equipment. Shelves of research notes were shacked to the sides, leaving a clear space in the middle of the room with a table haphazard with more notes and photos of findings with a computer console off to the side of it. There was more cobwebs hanging to the top corners of the ceiling and the only natural light seeped through the metal strips of a circular window onto the table, all of which added to a more eerie feeling to the base.

"Save the air," said the Doctor as he took off his helmet, as did the others. He walked to the computer console and surveys the records, while Clara looked around suddenly realizing who was missing now the lights were on. "They didn't find anything," the Doctor looked puzzled at the readings on the screen.

"Doctor!" Clara called looking over at the Doctor in concern.

The Doctor immediately jerked to face her at hearing that particular tone in her voice, "What's wrong Clara?" He took in her worried expression, his eyebrows furrowed at the sight.

"Lauren's gone!" Everyone looked around them and the realization that she wasn't standing there with them suddenly hit them. "Doctor where is she? Lauren?" Clara called out looking down the corridor hoping for a response that she was there. No reply. "Where did she go, she can't have gone outside can she?" She chewed her bottom lip worriedly.

"Clara calm down. We'll find her I promise," he held a reassuring hand out in Clara's direction.

"Duke is Lauren with you? Have you seen her?" Lundvik asked the man through her comm device.

"I thought she was with you," came his reply through the comm.

"If she's not here then she's outside, your foolish friend may have gone back to the shuttle," Lundvik informed them trying to contact Henry on the comm.

"Why would she do that though? Leave without telling us?" Clara asked pacing around on the spot.

"Maybe she didn't like it here. This place is creepy," Courtney added.

The Doctor ran a hand across his face warily before moving over to study the photos scattered across the table. "The only place she can go is back to the TARDIS so she is safe there," he said leaning over the table looking down at the photos, "Unless she decided on an impromptu walk on the moon then I need to lay down the no wandering off rule more thoroughly." The Doctor shook his head disapprovingly.

"They didn't find anything," the Doctor repeated softly.

Lundvik stopped what she was doing, now curious over what the Doctor found. "Eh?"

"The Mexicans. They didn't find any minerals on the moon at all. Nada," he picked up a photo and examined it, then another. "Oh." He said seriously as he looked at the photo which showed cracks on the moon's surface.

"Oh?" Clara echoed him coming up beside him to look at the photos.

"Lines of tectonic stress," the Doctor explained.

"That's the Mare Fecunditatis. It's been there since the Apollo days. It's always been there," Lundvik clarified.

"No, no, no. These are much, much bigger. Sea of Tranquillity. Sea of Nectar. Sea of Ingenuity. Sea of Crises."

"Meaning?" Clara asked not quite getting the point the Doctor was on. The lights started to flicker causing everyone to look up.

The Doctor looked back down, the lights continued to flicker wildly, he sighed, "Meaning, Clara, that the moon, this little planetoid that's been tagging along beside you for a hundred million years, which gives you light at night and seas to sail on, is in the process of falling to bits."

The moment the last words left his mouth a loud bang sounded through the air like thunder and the base shook violently as the surface of the moon stirred and cracked beneath their feet. Proving the Doctor's words true.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lauren yelped and stumbled to her hands and knees as the ground shook and cracked liked an earthquake. Or should it be called a moonquake? Henry fell sideways onto his knees, fortunately it passed as quickly as it started. The pair got to their feet, dust floated everywhere before disappearing in the air.

"Are you alright?" Henry asked.

Lauren nodded. "Yes. Come one lets go back!" She said urgently.

Henry tried to use his comm, pressing a black button on the front of this spacesuit, "Hello, Captain? Captain? Captain?" There was no reply, just static. The quake must have knocked out the signal he needed to reach her. Or he was simply too far way.

Lauren began walking back to the direction of the base. "Come on, you can speak to her when we see her," she called.

Though when they would reach the base Lundvik will probably shout at her for telling Henry to not prime the bombs and sending him back. Not to mention what would the responses of the Doctor and Clara be at the fact she suddenly left them only to tell Henry something she had no business to say? It was definitely a suspicious move she just pulled and she was going to have to face the consequences. The Doctor's companions wandered off all the time, so she imagined his reaction would simply be cross and a telling-off then move on with the adventure. She hoped that would be it.

A screech and scuttling was heard somewhere near them in the ground. Henry turned to face it, wondering what the cause of it was as Lauren froze on the spot, a shiver ran down her spine.

Germ spiders…

"Henry come with me now!" Her voice was urgent, terrified.

This is the moment…

Henry turned to her nervously.

"But what was that sound?" He asked as the hissing and screeching sounded again, only louder this time, more scuttling from the sound of many legs coming from a slit in the ground. Henry foolishly moved towards it taking out his torch and shining it into the gap, the flash of many little red eyes and legs caused him to gasp and stagger backwards onto the ground.

Lauren shouted his name, running to him and dragging him up just as one jumped out. She screamed, hands gripping Henry and pulling him back with her. The great big spider germ screeched and bared its teeth and pincers.

"RUN!" Lauren screamed at Henry as they staggered into a sprint, Henry lagging behind Lauren. More spiders emerged from the slit in the ground and some began to chase them. Henry was too slow she realized as one was gaining on him. She skid to a halt, turned back to reach for Henry just as it jumped towards him, and in a moment of sheer panic and hysteric she ran forward and kicked and crashed into the spider, it hit her hard. Lauren fell forward and felt and heard the spider hiss followed by the sickly crunch it made underneath her body weight and suit as she hit the ground with thud.

"Oh god get it off!" Lauren screamed again. Henry picked her up, parts of the now crushed spider stuck to her suit. The crushed spider appeared to still be alive, screeching in pain, its limbs grotesquely twitching. "Eww! Spider bits everywhere! Get it off! I hate spiders! And more coming!" She barely gave herself a chance to breathe between each word and the helmet was not helping. Lauren grasped his hand and pulled him with her into a run back to the base, putting good distance between them the spiders, they would give up eventually, they had to. Sunlight shone and the rest of the spiders fled back into their dark hole of a nest away from the light.

The distance to the modular settlement seemed longer than before, but then she wasn't getting chased or attacked by germ spiders then.

"Come on, come on, nearly there!" The young girl heaved the man along with her. They reached the crater to the base, Henry steadily made his way down, while Lauren practically threw herself down, sliding down the crater. Rocking tumbling down with her leaving a trail of dust behind her, dirtying her suit and ensuring there would be bruising on her legs in the morning.

When they reached the door and finally stepped inside shutting the door in case of the spiders returning, Lauren immediately took off her helmet with a relieved sigh. "Proper air!" She gasped. She looked to Henry behind her and smiled proudly. "I did it! I saved you!"

However she didn't get a chance to savour the moment because she realized the place was dark, the lights where off, if Henry didn't have his torch she wouldn't be able to see a thing. Something was off, something wasn't right. Then she heard it. The sound of voices, of the others, the Doctor, Clara and Lundvik.

Lauren walked down the corridor, she could see them huddled and hiding behind the table. Then she remembered, another spider was here, she just escaped the rest only to walk straight into another one. She'd forgotten after trying to save Henry, or rather, she hoped by the time she came back this scene would have already passed, but evidently it had not. It was then as she reached the end of the corridor into the room they were in did she realize her mistake too late, even as the Doctor whispered her name perplexed then so again in alarm.

The spider sensed by movement and she moved too much and too noisily, it was all too easy for it when it jumped out at her. She let out a piercing scream as she felt it cut and tear into the skin of her neck. Her arms flailed around wildly as she fell to the floor dropping her helmet. In the back of her mind she could hear the others shouting, screaming, or was it the sound of her own screams in pain? She couldn't tell. All she was aware of was the spider latched onto her chest, crushing the air from her lungs and clawing at her neck and face.

The creature was going to rip her apart, it was too strong for her; she couldn't fight it off as it easily teared into her. She can't die like this, not when she was only starting in her new life with the Doctor. It was unfair. This was like one of her nightmares she just stepped inside of, dying suddenly at the pincers of a monstrous spider. Except she wasn't going to gasp wake in her bed after dying, would she see darkness or white light? Or did it matter, everything would just stop, and her family would never know what happened to her. She would breathe her last breath and they wouldn't know.

She could hear herself scream for Henry who was closest to her, scream for Clara, scream for the Doctor to help her.

Henry picked up her helmet and with strength that even surprised him, angrily swung it and knocked the spider off her. It wouldn't stop it but it gave Henry enough time to help Lauren up and make a break to the group on the other side as Clara tried to get the door open. The Doctor grasped Lauren and pulled her protectively behind him just as the spider reappeared from the shadows.

"Duke!" Came Lundvik's frightened whisper. It was at this moment Duke made the same mistake as Lauren. The giant spider leaped onto him as he came in from another corridor. Duke cried out. Lauren covered her ears.

"Duke!" Lundvik shouted.

Suddenly the door they need to escape by opened.

The Doctor wasted no time in trying to get everyone out, "Run! We have power. Run!" He ensures Lauren goes before him. Clara, Lundvik and Henry make it in.

"Quick, it's shutting," Clara calls just as the Doctor steps in behind Lauren as the door slams shut, however Courtney is on the wrong side, caught up as her feet no longer made contact with the floor.

"Miss!" Courtney shouts. Clara presses herself up against the window of the door, banging her palm against the glass shouting desperately at Courtney.

"Miss!" She shouts louder, she sees and hears the spider attacking Duke and is terrified.

"Courtney! The power's gone again." Courtney is now floating in mid-air.

"It's killed him. It's coming in here! Doctor, it's coming in here!" Courtney calls to them in terror.

The Doctor is by the door trying to remove the glass pane, "You'll be okay!" He shouts trying to reassure her as much as himself that she will be okay. "Courtney, look at me. Look at me! Courtney! Try and get to the door! Try and get yourself down here."

Courtney however was powerless to push herself forward without leverage.

Luckily the Doctor manages to remove the glass plane with his sonic screwdriver. "Courtney, grab my yo-yo!" He throws the yo-yo hoping she will catch it so he could pull her to them to the door.

Courtney catches it just as the gravity returns in the room and she drops to the floor. The spider emerges and rears over her, she screams and the Doctor and Clara shout her name, but she reaches for the cleaning product she brought with her and sprays the stuff at the spider. The cleaning spray is effective against the germ spider, killing it. The door finally opens again allowing everyone back in.

"Kills ninety nine percent of all known germs." Courtney boasts proudly.

The Doctor and Clara reach her side first, Lauren, Lundvik and Henry entered more slowly. Lauren knew Courtney was going to be okay, herself on the other hand well… She felt blood trickle down her neck and collarbone, it was painful and the air was stinging it badly. Lauren swallowed hard, she couldn't see the damage so she didn't know how bad it was or how noticeable. Her long black locks of hair and wide collar of the orange spacesuit she wore which was getting more ruined by the minute obscured her injury from view for the most part. She thought she was going to die there for a second, she was so afraid of those spiders she'd let her fear get the better of her, but it was a close encounter.

"Good stuff Courtney. Just don't try that at home, okay?" He warned with a wave of his sonic but he was clearly relieved she was okay.

"You all right?" Clara asked Courtney who nodded. Clara then when over to Lauren grasping her shoulders tightly, "Are you okay? Are you hurt? You gave us a scare, don't do that again! Where did you go?" Clara clearly in her teacher mode asked her quick fire around of questions noting with concern the other girl was shaking and altogether looked spooked.

Lauren could only answer with a nod and a less than reassuring yes she was fine, failing to answer the pressing question of why she left. She batted off any of Clara's attempts to check for injuries or hug her, she didn't want to be touched readily after that thing touched her.

Clara looked slightly hurt at Lauren's rejections but she had to remind herself it was early days for the girl. Lauren was less open compared to the future one.

"Why did I just fly? This is nuts." Courtney asked.

The Doctor scans the remains of the spider which was nothing more than a pile of hissing and steaming ash, with his screwdriver. He made the connection of germs to the creature, scanning it to reveal that it was indeed a germ. Courtney admitted she was scared, Lauren didn't blame her she was the same. Lundvik and Henry looked mournfully at what was left of Duke. Henry turned away as Lundvik explained with tears in her eyes that he just had his first granddaughter, he was her teacher. Lauren looked at her feet in regret at his death. She didn't get to save him.

"Which way to the Mare Fecunditatis?" the Doctor asked, trying to move on despite the happenings that just occurred.

Courtney spoke up, "Please can I go home now? I'm really sorry, but I'd like to go home." Clara looked to the Doctor and he looked resigned at her request.

"OK," said the Doctor quietly until he laid eyes on Lauren and suddenly remembered something. "Where did you go?" He pointed the screwdriver accusingly in her direction. "You wandered off without permission and come back only to nearly get yourself killed."

Everyone stared at her, she could see Henry's expression being different than everyone else's, he was confused but then he always seemed to be like that. Lauren was a dear in the headlights, the situation reminded her of when the Doctor questioned her in the storeroom but this was worse.

"I was with Henry," was all Lauren said. She didn't elaborate which didn't help matters. The Doctor looked to Henry then back to Lauren.

"Oh, and that explains why you decided to wander off?" The Doctor said rather crossly. "Well that explains a lot," he remarked in a sarcastic voice. Lauren winced.

"Doctor!" Clara warned.

"Travel with me you follow my rules, otherwise I can't help you every time you get in trouble!" He spoke heatedly to Lauren, ignoring Clara.

Clara had enough of the whole situation. She crossed her arms, "Doctor! That is enough! Can't you see she scared and shaking? I think it's safe to say she learnt her lesson but she's not going to answer you properly until you both calm down."

The Doctor decided to remind silent. Clara led Courtney and Lauren out first before the Doctor took the lead. As he passed Lauren caught the look in his eye, the subject was dropped for now but he wasn't finished with her yet. He was still distrusting of her. Lauren sighed, fogging the glass of the helmet she had on again. She decided to not tell them of her rather painful injury. Call it stupidity but she didn't want to approach the Doctor and further prove his point correct. She didn't regret her decision, she saved Henry, and to her that was a good start.