Sorry for the delay in updating, this chapter is the longest I've done so far. I hope to finish Kill the Moon in the next chapter and move on as it's not a favourite episode so it was harder for me to enjoy writing about. That, and I spent my time editing a YouTube video for my channel, got no sleep. Can't wait to write about the Mummy episode next, I have a fair idea about what I want to do with that one, but not quite certain yet.

I am curious to know everyone's responses so far to the story. How are you enjoying it so far (or not)? I'm interested in opinions over characters, am I writing them Ok? And is there any thing you would like to see in this story or any questions about the character of Lauren that I can explain regardless if it not related to the story?

Anyway to answer a Guest question: Why did Lauren say she was fine when she was bleeding, and why didn't Clara or the Doctor notice?

Well, I wrote in the last chapter Lauren didn't allow Clara to check for injuries and she used her long hair and the collar to hide most of it from view. The cut is low down on the neck, and trust me, I once had quite a big cut on my neck from an accident in that area and back when I had long hair I used my hair as a curtain (combined with high collar clothes) and nobody noticed at all even when it bled. As for why she said she was fine, well basically she's a stubborn idiot and has yet to learn. She doesn't want to prove the Doctor was right in that she shouldn't of wandered off. Kinda like a child who went against the wishes of the parent then gets hurt but asking the parent for help means revealing what they did wrong.

Chapter 11 Not My Earth, Not My Moon

They walked across the surface of the moon in single file with the Doctor taking the lead. Lauren hovered at the back behind Henry, she smiled. Him still being here and alive made the whole nightmarish experience for her worth it, and it was easier to ignore the stinging pain at the side of her neck just where it met her collarbone. The bleeding had stopped for now. Still, she really wanted a nice warm shower right about now. Or maybe a bath. A bath would be nice, she could spend more time relaxing with bubbles. Lauren sighed at the pleasant mental image of relaxing in a bubble bath with just the right temperature of water to make her feel good and comfortable. However her image was quickly shattered as she was forced to snap out of her musings when Lundvik enquired if Henry primed the bombs. This was a moment she was personally dreading, now she had to cover her tracks.

Lauren jumped in quickly before Henry had a chance to reply, "We were on our way but we got caught up with more of those spider germs, we panicked and made our way back to you guys. Isn't that right Henry?"

She wasn't exactly lying

Lauren who had moved to walk beside Henry, shot him a look that said 'roll with it!'

Poor Henry fumbled, "I, well, I'd thought you told –" He tried to speak before Lauren nudged him and sent him another look that was both pleading and glaring. 'No trouble' she mouthed at him for good measure. Finally Henry seemed to take the hint, he did owe his life to her, and so did she when she thought about it. "Yes, Captain. Those creatures tried to attack me, I owe my life to Lauren if she didn't step in."

The others shot the pair various looks. Lundvik surprised and grateful, Courtney was curious, Clara too gave her a curious if slightly confused glance, but Lauren couldn't read the expression on the Doctor's face before he turned back to look ahead again.

"Then I thank you for saving my colleague," Lundvik said sincerely to Lauren. Having lost Duke she was thankful not to have lost Henry too, no matter how useless he was at certain things.

Lauren breathed a sigh of relief, the topic was dropped and she got away with it for the most part. That was easier than she thought, maybe too easy said that little voice in her head which she shushed.

Clara started up a conversation with the Doctor, or rather informing him the situation was dangerous now, she feared for the safety of her student. The Doctor scoffed, remarking the situation had always been dangerous and compared normal day life to be just as risky. Clara reminded him she had a duty of care, of course the Doctor knew what that was before guessing Courtney's age painfully wrong. Thirty five? Really Doctor?

Maybe he just sees everyone as they would be on a Time Lord age she thought. Was a thirty five year old Time Lord or Time Tot, whatever they were called, the equivalent to a fifteen year old human? The tenth Doctor remarked still being a child at the age of ninety. Lauren made a mental note to ask the Doctor about the ages of Time Lords compared to human growth development, when he isn't cross with her that is.

They reached the shuttle safely and the Doctor opened the TARDIS door to allow Courtney in.

"Now, don't touch anything." The Doctor warned.

"You got any games?" Courtney looked around the ship realizing she will probably get bored quickly.

"Oh, don't be so stupid!" He breathed, fed up.

"Can I get reception up here?"

Instead of answer the Doctor ordered her to get in. He turned to Lauren noting her clouded expression which she seemed to have since they stepped out from the TARDIS in the first place on the moon. "Do you want to join her?" He asked, the girl shook her head. "Wander off again and you'll be sent straight back to the TARDIS," the Doctor said roughly before shutting the door.

"Got it," she replied with gritted teeth.

He's only cross because he cares she mentally repeated to herself.

She moved away from the Doctor and Clara and stood by the small airlock window on the door, Lundvik began setting the triggers on the nuclear devices showing Henry how simple the task was. Lauren carefully removed her helmet to avoid her cut, she didn't need it at the moment; everyone else had theirs removed so she just looked weird with hers on. The only problem was having her helmet on meant nobody had a chance to see her cut, by removing it there was a chance and she didn't want all the fuss. She slowly took it off her head, keeping her long hair as a curtain over her injury. She deliberately messed with her hair to rest and cover over her neck and held the helmet up to her collarbone to block the area from further view even if it looked slightly silly holding it so high up her body that she could practically rest her chin on it. She was like one of those children that held their teddy bear to themselves.

Lauren feared that if they see the injury the Doctor may just force her to stay in the TARDIS for the rest of the trip. Though she debated if that was such a bad thing if she really didn't like being part of this adventure. But she wasn't the type of person to just leave, especially when the Doctor was going to leave Clara to make the decision by herself. A good companion would never try to leave or give up! The Doctor can give her a quick medical check when everything was over. Simple. Anyway she didn't want to prove him right on the whole don't wander off debate. She didn't want to be treated like a child, it was her own doing, no regrets, and she will take it by herself. Lauren stared out of the window lost in thought, absentmindedly listening to the Doctor and Clara's conversation at the back.

"Why are you shutting her in? We don't need to stay, do we?" Clara asked looking up at the Doctor with a frown.

The Doctor turned to her, "Eh?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? The moon doesn't break up."

The Doctor leaned down so his eyes were more level with hers, "How do you know?" He said in a way that made Clara pause before walking away from her.

Confusion and many questions floated through Clara's mind as she tried to understand the situation. However she responded confidently, "Because I've been in the future, and the moon is still there," Clara followed him, staring at his back as he walked and stopped just short of where Lauren was standing by the window. Clara continued in a less confident voice this time, "I think." She said more to herself.

The Doctor didn't respond to her at first, he stared out briefly at the moon's surface from behind Lauren's form which blocked most of his view of it. Clara decided to ask him directly.

"You know the moon is still there right?" She was clearly hoping the answer was a yes.

The Doctor turned around to face her again, "Maybe it isn't the moon. Maybe it's a hologram or a big painting, or a special effect. Maybe it's a completely different moon."

Clara closed the distance between her and the Doctor. She stared up at him, knowing he would know more than he would let on. "But you would know." It was a statement not a question.

Lundvik glanced at the pair in their unusual conversation while she set everything up.

Lauren finally pulled her gaze away from the moon and towards the Doctor and Clara, only to jump slightly because they were suddenly right in her space. God when did they move so close? She thought, griping her helmet tighter. Clearly she should never zone out around these two or they'll just invade her personal space or sneak up behind her in future.

"I would?" The Doctor asked Clara.

"If the moon fell to bits in 2049, somebody would've mentioned it. It would have come up in conversation. So it doesn't break up. So the world doesn't end. So, let's just get in the Tardis and go." Clara said making her way towards the blue box intending to leave and go home until the Doctor stepped forward and spoke up.

"Clara, there are some moments in time that I simply can't see," he called to her seriously, hoping his words hit their mark, which they did. Lundvik and Henry paused in their work to look at the Doctor, Clara had stopped abruptly in her tracks; turning her head sharply back, look at him in uncertainty, and if Lauren didn't know any better, a part of Clara looked afraid.

The Doctor spun on the spot away from the eyes of the others, but Lauren could still see his face looking almost lost in thought, concentrating, as if he was trying to connect to the Vortex itself. "Little eye-blinks. They don't look the same as other things. They're not clear. They're fuzzy, they're grey. Little moments in which big things are decided. And this is one of them." He paused and his blue greyish eyes met Lauren's light blue ones. "Just now, I can't tell what happens to the moon –"

Liar

She stared right back at him.

" – because whatever happens to the moon hasn't been decided yet. And it's going to be decided here and now. Which very much sounds as though it's up to us." He concluded, still staring at her, frowning slightly at the look she was giving him.

You're lying!

She wanted to shout that at him. At the end of the episode he reveals he knew more. Eggs don't destroy their nest… When he discovers the moon is in fact an egg he deliberately doesn't tell Clara that the Earth will be safe if it hatches because it won't destroy its nest. Because he believed Clara would make the right choice. And for what? What point was he trying to make by leaving and putting her through a horrible decision like he did, or was going to in this case.

Lundvik finally spoke up, breaking the staring contest Lauren and the Doctor had going. "Neither one of you are going anywhere. I've lost Duke. We are the last astronauts. This is the last shuttle, these are the last nuclear bombs. We're the last chance for Earth, and you're staying to help me."

The Doctor looked to Clara. "Decision made."

Clara swallowed the lump forming in her throat, trying to settle her unease, "Yeah." She whispered. She was no longer certain about anything, she was definitely out of her comfort zone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Everyone now minus Courtney made their way across the moon again. Lauren began calculating how many times she had walked across the same path. There was a lot of walking to and fro. Until they began to take a slightly different path now, looking down on the Mexican's survey and sample equipment left around. The Doctor was trying to work out what was killing the moon. They continued on down further to get a closer inspection, Lauren immediately spotted more cobwebs near crusts and holes in the ground and froze just when Lundvik spots three spacesuits covered in a cocoon of cobwebs near a crack which was home to more spiders.

"Oh my…" Henry mumbled at the sight.

The Doctor walked ahead examining the large slit in the crust, home to the spiders.

"Is it those germ things then? Are they like cockroaches? Is it, is it an infestation?" Clara asks looking at the body closes to the hole, noticing Lauren back away out of the corner of her eye.

The Doctor crouches near the gap, looking into the darkness, "Well, I've only seen one of them, however Lauren and Henry claim to have run into more, but it would take an awful lot more to cause the moon to put on one point three billion tonnes." He remarked just as a giant germ spider came out from the crack and jumped onto him. He yelled in surprise.

"Doctor!" Clara shouted quickly getting the disinfectant spray and trying to use it.

"It's vacuum. It won't work!" Lundvik explained as the two women tried to get the spider off the Doctor by force. Sunlight suddenly seeped across the ground. The germ spider scuttled back into its little lair.

"Well, that makes two," the Doctor joked holding up to two fingers to count as Clara helped him up. Lauren tried not to freak out in the background with Henry. The whole thing gave her flashbacks.

"Sunlight," Clara stated to the confusion of Lundvik. "If they're germs. My nan says it's the best disinfectant there is." She clarified.

"Shine your light down there," the Doctor ordered.

Lundvik did so revealing more little red eyes and legs, they hissed at the light. Lauren refused to even look in that direction. "Where have they come from?" Lundvik asks.

"Maybe they're been there all the time. It's warmish. They're multiplying, feeding, evolving…" the Doctor deducted.

"Nope!" Lauren suddenly said before darting up the rock path before anyone had a chance to resister that she did so. It was like one of those cartoon characters who would suddenly run away leaving an outline of dust in their wake as the only indication they stood there in the first place. The others were not far behind her though as they left rapidly.

"Arachnophobic I see." The Doctor commented.

"Nooooo! I wonder what gave that away!" Lauren's voice dripped with sarcasm as she walked ahead of them.

"Doctor, if the moon breaks up, it'll kill us all in about forty five minutes." Lundvik explained.

"I agree. Unless something else is going on." The Doctor took out his yo-yo and swings it down into a fissure, it comes back up wet. Amniotic fluid Lauren knew. The Doctor began firing orders to stay safe before grabbing the cleaning spray off Clara, taking a run up he jumped down into the fissure much to the surprise of Clara, Lundvik and Henry. Lauren however, watched and tried to remember the dramatic music that played over that scene in the show.

"Doctor!" Clara had her arms raised in surrender as Lundvik asked if he will come back. She lowers her arms, sighing. "If he says so, I suppose he will."

The group travelled back in the direction of the shuttle and Lauren was losing patience with all the walking when everything looked the same. She felt like they were going in circles even though they weren't. It was a miracle she even found Henry that quickly in the first place. Courtney was now communicating with Clara through the speaker, posting pictures on Tumblr which made Lundvik laugh, remarking how her grandmother use to put pictures on Tumblr. Lundvik's comment made Lauren feel like that parent that is told by their child their old and not update on things. But at the same time it was rather amusing.

Suddenly there was another moonquake and everyone staggered.

Clara looked across at the shuttle not far away but this time there were large cracks on the surface of the moon surrounding it, and most pressingly it was now on the opposite side of a ravine that opened up that was not there before as the moon began to fall apart, or rather hatch. New cracks formed before their eyes as more moonquakes tore through the surface, causing Clara to hop to one side to safety as the ground split in half under her feet. The shuttle began to tumble into the currently widening ravine.

"Courtney!" Clara shouted the girl's name in terror, the quakes didn't stop.

The Doctor suddenly appeared from another fissure behind them. Good timing. "Today's the day, humankind." He declared with a mad grin despite the chaos around him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lauren, the Doctor, Clara, Lundvik and Henry were back at the modular base again. Courtney was watching through the monitor the Doctor created via the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor explained that the spiders were tiny bacteria on something very, very big. Something growing. He used his sonic to display an image of the creature (that Lauren always thought looked like a dragon) curled up inside the moon, or its eggshell it should be called.

The more he explained the more the Doctor seemed to get excited. "The moon isn't breaking apart. The moon is hatching!" He could barely contain himself Lauren noted.

"Huh?" Clara looked up from where she was crouched in front of the image of the creature, she couldn't understand the idea of the moon hatching and Lauren didn't blame her. This was where Doctor Who decided to abandon Sci-Fi at the current moment.

The Doctor braced himself before responding almost looking and sounding embarrassed, "The moon's an egg," the corner of his lips quirked as he clasped his hands together fidgeting, which appeared to be a nervous twitch of his. He was eager to see everyone else's reactions.

And here is the moment Doctor Who went from Sci-Fi to fantasy in a single sentence. Throwing all logic out the window Lauren sighed.

It broke the rules and logic of science and Sci-Fi which some Doctor Who fans didn't like and didn't believe it for being too silly, and on the other end of the stick some fans completely bought the idea of the moon being an egg without question. Then of course there were the fans stuck in the middle who decided to turn a blind eye and roll with the idea of the moon being an egg even though they recognize it's a ridiculous notion and can criticize it. Lauren was surprisingly one of the fans in the middle group who turned a blind eye and rolled with it despite being such a logical person.

However now that she was in the episode and experiencing it for real she just wanted to bang her head against the wall. But that wasn't a really good idea especially in her condition. She was leaning against the far wall away from everyone else, remaining silent despite her inner conflict.

She will admit though Clara's reaction to what the Doctor just told her was priceless. "Has it, er, has it always been an egg?" Her facial expression was the exact same as her own when she first watched the episode.

"Yes, for a hundred million years or so. Just, just growing. Just getting ready to be born."

Clara tried to wrap the idea around her head, "Okay. So the moon has never been the moon?" She said slowly, frowning.

"No, no, no, no. It's never been dead. It's just taking a long time to come alive." The Doctor explained eagerly.

Lauren decided to remain silent as the conversation slowly began to descend into more darker and political territory when Lundvik steered the topic into how to kill it, kill the moon. And this was the beginning of the arguments, Lauren tried to bottle up her political views regarding pro-choice and pro-life. However trying to do so was harder the more they just kept arguing with stupid points.

A feeling crept over her. Lauren didn't notice at first until she realized she was sweating. She tugged at the collar of her spacesuit, fanning herself, she was suddenly very warm. Did the room suddenly become warmer? Lauren used the back of her clammy hand to wipe across her brow feeling the sweat and heat come off her.

Lauren really wasn't feeling that good. She felt a heaviness in her head and stomach. She blinked rapidly and shook her head slightly, as if willing the movement to shake out the strange feeling. It didn't. She took a deep breath and focused herself to her surroundings and the others arguing. This would not be a good time to be sick everywhere.

"So what do we do? Doctor? Huh? Doctor, what do we do?" Clara asked. She was desperate for the Doctor to have a plan, to help sort everything out.

The Doctor was sitting down on a stack of equipment boxes as a make shift seat, looking worn out from everything. He absentmindedly chewed on his thumb before directing his gaze towards Clara. "Nothing." He said.

No, not this moment…

"What?" Clara said, shocked.

"We don't do anything." He waved a hand between them, "I'm sorry, Clara. I can't help you." He said bluntly.

Clara stared at him not believing the words that came from his mouth, "Of course you can help." She said. The Doctor always helped people how could he say that?

The Doctor brushed her off, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "The Earth isn't my home. The moon's not my moon. Sorry." He said as if that was a valid statement to make despite his long involvement with Earth for centuries.

The Earth is your second home Doctor. You adopted it as such.

By that logic Lauren should just leave with him. This Earth was not her home, her Earth was in a parallel dimension. This moon was not her moon. Why should she care?

Because Clara is scared that's why. Being a friend means she'll stand by her when she's scared.

"Come on. Hey." Clara tried to coax him, there was a hint of desperation laced in her voice.

"Listen, there are moments in every civilization's history in which the whole path of the civilization is decided. The whole future path. Whatever future humanity might have depends upon the choice that is made right here and right now." The Doctor stood and walked to get his screwdriver before turning to Clara. "Now, you've got the tools to kill it. You made them. You brought them up here all on your own, with your own ingenuity. You don't need a Time Lord. Kill it. Or let it live. I can't make this decision for you."

"Yeah, well, I can't make it." Clara shot back, trying to control her emotions.

"Well, there's four of you here. That's plenty."

"Well, yeah. A school teacher, two astronauts, and a university student."

"Who's better qualified?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know! The President of America." Clara shouted in frustration.

The Doctor scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Oh, take something off his plate. He makes far too many decisions anyway."

"She." Lundvik corrected.

"She. Sorry. She hasn't even been into space. She hasn't been to another planet. How would she even know what to do?"

"I am asking you for help." Clara pleaded at him.

"Listen, we went to dinner in Berlin in 1937, right? We didn't nip out after pudding and kill Hitler. I've never killed Hitler. And you wouldn't expect me to kill Hitler. The future is no more malleable than the past."

"Okay, don't you do this to make some kind of point." She breathed shakily.

"Sorry. Well, actually no, I'm not sorry. It's time to take the stabilisers off your bike." The Doctor said rather harshly.

Such a horrid thing to say to anyone, cruel even!

"It your moon, womankind," he faltered then, realizing Henry was in the room. "And man. It's your choice," he recovered swiftly.

"And you're just going to stand there?" Clara remarked bitterly.

"Absolutely not." The Doctor stated coolly as the sound of the TARDIS engines filled the air before the blue box materialised in the corridor leading out of the room. Courtney bounded out more eagerly than when she first left the box in the beginning, unaware of the tension in the room.

"Doctor?" Clara questioned with her arms firmly crossed. She looked on the verge of tears. Angry, scared tears.

"A teenager, two astronauts, a schoolteacher, and a university student."

For the first time in the whole conflict Lauren decided to speak. "If you're not going to help Doctor then why should I? This is not my Earth nor my moon by your logic I should leave too," Lauren said coldly, challenging him to see if he would answer her or simply walk away.

To her surprise the Doctor actually considered her statement. "Do you want to?"

Clara turned to her, eyes misty with unshed tears, silently telling her to stay.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm just making a point." She stared the Doctor down. She felt a bead of sweat trail down her temple. The room was still uncomfortably warm.

"Hang on a minute. We can get in there, can't we? You can sort it out with that thing." Lundvik accused him.

"No. Some decisions are too important not to make on your own." And he made his way to the TARDIS.

Clara was now crying, a few tears ran down her cheeks, "Doctor. Doctor?" Her bottom lip trembled yet she refused to completely give in to them. "DOCTOR!" She shouted as the final tears fell against her will.

The Doctor didn't turn round or look back at Clara once before he shut the door and the ship dematerialised away.

"Oh, what a prat." Lundvik spat. No matter how much she loved this Doctor, Lauren agreed with her.

The lights flickered and the room shook as another quake hit.