Chapter Fourteen: Here Comes the Sun.
Series: Three.
Episode: 42.
Part: Two.

She finally made it to engineering to find Korwin trapped under a vent screaming.

"What are you doing?" McDonnell shouted at Scannell, who Rose could just about make out was turning some kind of valve through the fog.

"Freezing him. Ice vents."

"You'll kill him!"

"It's not Korwin anymore, McDonnell." Rose tried to reason, though it lacked conviction when she was desperately trying to ignore the fact that another person's screams were ringing in her ear for the third time that day.

"He recognised me!"

"He killed Abi. Korwin wouldn't have done that." Erina reasoned.

Rose hesitated for a moment, both equally valid points and she really didn't want to see another person dead, but it didn't matter. A moment later a frosted Korwin dropped to the floor unmoving.

"McDonnell? Ashton's heading in your direction. He's been infected, just like Korwin!" The Doctor informed them over the intercom.

"Korwin's dead, Doctor," Scannell told him, from where the four of them were kneeling besides Korwin's body.

She couldn't save him, he was already gone, there was nothing she could do. It didn't really matter what excuses she gave. Another person was dead. She hadn't tried to save Ashton either. Now Martha and Riley very well might join that list before the day's end.

No TARDIS, no time, no engine and a whole bunch of bodies. How the hell were they going to get out of this one?


"Impact in seventeen oh five."

McDonnell was kneeling beside the prone form of her husband.

Rose pushed down the wave of guilt that threatened to consume her at the sight. There was nothing they could have done, right? Korwin had already infected Ashton, killed Abi and tried to kill Erina. He was lost already, they'd just stopped any further damage he may have done, right?

But no matter what she told herself she couldn't assuage her guilt. She had done this. By not saving him she had just as well killed him.

"What did he mean, your fault?" Erina asked in a soft voice, similarly moved by her captain's grief and not wanting to do anything to disturb the delicate moment.

McDonnell didn't answer, maybe she didn't have an answer, stuck as she was in a grief-induced trance.

"What are you doing? Don't touch him. He's infected. We don't know how it spreads." Scannell swiped her hand away when McDonnell reached for her husband.

Scannell's interruption snapped her out of her trance. She glared furiously at him, snatching her hand back from him as if he'd burnt her.

"You murdered him!" McDonnell snapped at him, disgust lacing her words.

"He was about to kill you." Scannell tried to reason with her, guilt and grief not far from his own gaze.

"He recognised me." She rebutted.

"You heard the Doctor. It- it isn't Korwin anymore." He stumbled, eyes downcast lacking the conviction he was trying to project.

"The Doctor doesn't know. None of us knows!"

"McDonnell the Doctor would have done anything to save your husband if there was still a chance. He's dealt with things like this before." Rose tried to reassure her as she crouched next to her she laid a hand on McDonnell's shoulder.

McDonnell roughly jerked her shoulder free.

"So what are you going to do, sit there until we burn? Because without you none of us stands a chance of getting out of here." Scannell sniped at McDonnell irritation bleeding into his words.

The two of them stared at each other, begging the other to understand.

"Scannell! I need a spacesuit in area seventeen now!" The Doctor's voice came over the intercom then, bringing an end to their battle of wills.

"What for?"

"Just get down here!" The Doctor barked back.

Something had happened. Rose realised as she registered the urgency and guilt in his tone, barely concealed by the anger he was projecting. Something had gone wrong in his attempt to save Martha, Rose would bet. She gnawed at her lip as she fought the urge to just run straight to him.

Not yet, she told herself, not just yet. They had other problems.

"Well, go on. Do what he says." McDonnell urged bitterly, the underlying message clear.

Scannell had killed Korwin because the Doctor had said he was already gone. McDonnell blamed the Doctor for Korwin's death, resented Scannell for trusting him.

Scannell hesitated, unwilling to leave while she was clearly so volatile.

"Ashton's still out there." He argued.

"I'll deal with him." She said determinedly, a fire burning in her gaze.

Rose knew that look, she wanted revenge. She wanted revenge against the infection that had taken her husband and doomed her crew.

Scannell ultimately stood, already heading towards wherever the spacesuits were stored though still reluctant. Rose stood too, bent on following him but paused mid-step, her back to McDonnell.

"What are you going to do to Ashton?" She asked, she had to know.

Ashton was heading this way the Doctor had said. And despite the guilt that still churned in her stomach and her wish to remain in denial, she had to know.

But Rose didn't turn to look at her, the fierce determination in McDonnell's gaze scared her, she couldn't bare to look at it when she did answer.

"Stasis chamber should freeze him out." She answered simply, tone carefully controlled and void of emotion.

Rose nodded. She was right, she didn't like the answer but so much had already gone wrong and it was Ashton that had put Martha in further danger. And there was that familiar churning of rage and power in her gut, the need to keep those she cared about safe, the consequences be damned. A fierce protectiveness that wasn't entirely her own but she recognised from twice before. Once, when she'd stood face to face with Lazarus as Martha dangled over the bell tower ledge. And the second (or rather the first), at the game station when she'd been faced with a legion of Daleks and their emperor, all of whom intended to destroy the Doctor.

Bad Wolf had been created for one purpose, a purpose that was now ingrained within her very DNA that she couldn't deny even if she wanted to.

So she turned away, heading after Scannell.

"Erina help her." Was all that she said as she fled the room.


Rose finally caught up with Scannell who was already lugging an orange spacesuit down the corridor.

"Just can't stay away can ya?" He asked bemused.

Rose simply shrugged as she matched his pace.

"The Doctor's going to do something stupid, I'd at least like to know what before he does it."

"Who are you guys, anyway? You just turned up when we needed help and seem to have all the answers. And even now you're running towards the trouble instead of away. You have no reason to help us, so why?"

Rose stared at the floor for a moment as she pondered her answer.

The further away from the venting room, they moved, the more intense the pain in her head grew, she noted absently as she considered. Just an irrelevant fact that helped nought at the moment, but her mind had decided to fixate on now that she had a moment to just think.

"We do this thing a lot, it's sort of a hobby. We were nearby when we picked up your distress signal and thought we'd check it out." She shrugged, "Why wouldn't we? We can, so we do."

"And now one of your crew might be dead because of it. Doesn't seem worth it to me." He shrugged.

"The Doctor's got a plan. He'll find a way to save them both." She told him simply before striding ahead.

Scannell's pessimism was starting to grate on her. So what, they weren't under any obligation to help people. But they had the means to and they could so why wouldn't they? He didn't know what he was talking about, Martha would be fine. She had to trust the Doctor on that and she did. He'd proven himself more than enough.

"Rose what are you doing here? I told you to stay in engineering."

"Yeah 'cause I always do as I'm told." She said sarcastically. "What's the plan?"

"I'm going to get Martha back. And Riley." The Doctor told them carefully avoiding her gaze as he started pulling the spacesuit on.

"Okay? What's the spacesuit for then?" She prodded.

He was avoiding answering, she knew, because he didn't think she'd like the answer. Occasionally she'd let his purposeful evasion go. But Martha was in danger as were the rest of the crew; she didn't have time for his beating around the bush presently.

"I need to go out the airlock to access the manual controls on the side of the ship." He reluctantly admitted.

Rose nodded tersely. She bit her cheek in frustration. It was one of those rock and a hard place moments. There was no nice and easy solution here. And as much as she wanted to shout and scream at him for being so reckless with himself as the churning within her demanded. She couldn't. She understood it. As she was currently also biting back a similar impulse.

She had to trust that he could do this. That it wouldn't be too much even for him. She'd kill him herself otherwise.

"I can't let you do this," Scannell told him, trying to make him see sense.

"You're wasting your breath, Scannell. You're not going to stop me." The Doctor snapped back at him.

"You want to open an airlock in flight on a ship spinning into the sun. No one can survive that."

"Oh, just you watch."

"You can't seriously let him do this!" Scannell turned to her instead.

Rose stared at the Doctor. He returned her gaze. She saw the determination in his gaze, the crippling guilt and fear that plagued him. She was briefly reminded of when Martha had been kidnapped in New New York and the ensuing conversation in the kitchen. Their combined guilt and grief. She saw it reflected in his gaze in this moment too.

Decision made then.

"I want that suit back in one piece you hear me? I'll kick your arse myself otherwise." She smiled weakly, too worried about the pair of them to properly commit to the levity she was forcing.

Scannell stared at her like she was crazy. Clearly, that wasn't the response he was expecting from her.

"You open that airlock, it's suicide. This close to the sun, the shields will barely protect you." He tried to rationalise again.

"If I can boost the magnetic lock on the ship's exterior, it should remagnetise the pod. Now, while I'm out there, you have got to get the rest of those doors open. We need those auxiliary engines."

"Doctor, will you listen! They're too far away. It's too late."

"I'm not going to lose her." The Doctor told him firmly, as he twisted the helmet into place heading for the airlock.

Scannell stared after him hopelessly. Rose briefly wondered who he'd lost that lent to his pessimistic outlook, as she bit her thumb. His quick thinking had saved McDonnell and now he was determined that the Doctor not die for someone - who in his mind - was already dead.

The Doctor stepped through as the computer sounded from above.

"Decompression initiated. Impact in twelve fifty-five."

Rose's heart pounded in her chest as the TARDIS writhed in her mind, begging her to stop him. She was currently in two minds, in one she wanted desperately to drag the Doctor back inside to relative safety but in the other, she also wanted to put herself in his shoes to save Martha. She didn't want him to do this, but if there was a chance that Martha and Riley could be saved they had to try.

"Who did you lose?" Rose all but whispered as she bit her thumb.

Scannell turned to her in surprise. She didn't face him, still staring at the door that the Doctor had gone through. She needed something to focus on other than the clawing need to drag him back inside to safety.

"M-my sister and dad. She was sick. Nothing the doctors could do, she died at only 23. Drove my dad mad. He couldn't cope, he took his own a month later. That's when I signed up for cargo tours." He said quickly with the carefully blank tone of someone desperately repressing something traumatic.

"I'm sorry that happened to you."

"How did you know?" He asked softly, it was the gentlest Rose had heard him speak since meeting him.

She shrugged.

"I didn't. I just guessed. Been around a lot of people who have lost someone I know how it clings to you."

She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye.

"There wasn't anything that could have been done to save her, she'd always been sick. And I miss her, always will. But he didn't have to go with her."

Rose finally turned to look at him. He was staring blankly ahead, lost in memory most likely.

"I think we like to kid ourselves that it would be easier to let go than to keep living with the pain." She told him, trying to rationalise the actions of a man she'd never met. "But you saved McDonnell and the Doctor'll be alright. He'll save Martha and Riley. It'll all work it out."

"Who are you?" He whispered again, eyes wide and confused.

Rose imagined she looked just as lost and fearful at the moment but for a different reason.

"I told you. Just travellers passing through and helping out."

"But why?" He asked desperately.

"Because sometimes it's easier than focusing on who we've lost." She told him.

She moved towards the coms, itching to know what was happening. And Scannell left to go open the doors like instructed.

"Doctor, how're you doing?" She asked into the intercom after several moments had passed with the change, pushing her anxiety down.

"I can't, I can't reach! I don't know how much longer I can last." The Doctor whimpered back.

"Come on. Don't give up now." Scannell chimed in, from elsewhere on the ship.

There was a scream down the coms before the screen read 'remagnetising', Rose breathed a sigh of relief. He'd done it.

"You did it!" Rose cheered. "Now get back inside."

Rose moved to the window and watched as the Doctor scrambled back inside. He turned to watch the return of the pod before seeming to become frozen in place as he stared directly into the sun.

The TARDIS shrieked and wailed inside her mind. Something was wrong. She was overwhelmed with the urge to grab him and run, just do something, anything to break his gaze. Because whatever he was doing had the TARDIS worried.

Burn with me, a voice snarled through her connection with the TARDIS.

Her head snapped up at the phrase the infected had used.

Instinctively, she knew it hadn't come from the TARDIS but the TARDIS' own connection with the Doctor. Something was broadcasting that message through the Doctor.

"Doctor?" Still he didn't move, rooted to the spot. "What the hell is he doing?" She muttered to herself.

She pushed desperately at the door, but it wouldn't open until the escape pod returned and sealed the breach in the hull. Why wasn't he moving?

"Doctor?" She banged on the glass trying to get his attention, if he didn't move he would be crushed, never mind whatever else the TARDIS was concerned with.

"Rose?" Scannell's voice called over the coms. "Did he do it?"

"Yeah, the pod's returning but now he's just sat there staring, I can't get him to move. I think something's wrong." She tried to ignore the hysteria in her own tone.

But she couldn't ignore the fear that had sunk its way into her bones.

"He has to close that airlock now! That pod's going to smash into him."

"Impact in eight fifty-seven."

"I know! But I can't get through to him." She snarled at the intercom before banging on the glass again. "Doctor, what're you doin'!"

Finally, his gaze was broken with the return of the pod. The Doctor pulled off his helmet, his face screwed up in pain. Rose stared impatiently at the screen as she waited for the door to open.

"Come on. Come on. Come on!" She urged.

"Airlock recompression completed."

Finally, the door clicked open, Rose pushed through before it'd even finished opening as she rushed over to the Doctor who was curled up on the floor, trying to crawl away from the escape pod. She helped him crawl through the door before he wrenched himself free as he backed himself against the wall.

Martha and Riley came scrambling out of the escape pod to join them. Rose looked desperately up at the young doctor for help. Fear twisted through her sickenly, her panic almost overwhelming as the TARDIS continuously flashed mauve with a hysterical painful screech in her mind.

She could barely contain her own panic and now she had to contend with the TARDIS' as well.

"Doctor! Doctor! Are you okay?"

"Martha, something's wrong with him."

Before them the Doctor opened his eyes very briefly, white light shining from behind them. The same light she'd seen in Korwin.

"Stay away from me!"

"Oh my god." Rose panted.

How the hell had this happened? What were they going to do? They hadn't been able to save the other's what could they possibly do for the Doctor?

Just then McDonnell came charging down the corridor to join them.

"You're supposed to be working on the doors." Rose snapped, they had enough problems they didn't need any more delays and she needed some way to vent her ever-mounting panic.

"Erina's doing it. What's happened?" McDonnell asked instead.

"It's your fault, Captain McDonnell!"

McDonnell stared at him panting in the wake of his accusation, the same accusation Korwin had fired at her. She knew something that she hadn't bothered to share. Rose knew in that moment that her earlier suspicions may not have been that far off.

But instead of addressing the accusation, she turned to bark orders at Riley instead.

"Riley, get down to area ten and help Scannell and Erina with the doors. Go!"

Riley ran off to do as instructed, leaving the four of them with the sick Doctor. Leaving McDonnell without witnesses to whatever she was being accused of. Rose barely paid him any mind as he left, unwilling to let her focus drift from the Doctor for a second. Even as she silently acknowledged that the Captain had likely put them in further danger with her secrets.

"Doctor what are you talking about?" Rose asked, face creasing as she reached for him again and once more he jerked away.

The TARDIS was wailing at an almost painful pitch now, screeching in pain and echoing through Rose.

"You mined that sun. Stripped its surface for cheap fuel. You should have scanned for life!" The Doctor spat through gritted teeth, face contorted in pain.

"I don't understand," McDonnell muttered, taking half a step back from him.

Rose ached to comfort him as she could clearly see he was struggling with something, but could tell by his continuous pulling away, that he believed he was currently a danger to them.

"Doctor, you're not making any sense," Rose said instead.

"Doctor, what are you talking about?" Martha urged.

"That sun is alive. A living organism. They scooped out its heart, used it for fuel, and now it's screaming!" The Doctor told them between pained gasps and pants.

Rose gaped at him in horror as she registered his words. Martha had a similar look of horror as she turned to stare at McDonnell with thinly veiled accusation.

"What do you mean? How can a sun be alive? Why is he saying that?" McDonnell asked, still not grasping what she'd done.

"Because it's living in me."

"Oh, my God." It finally dawned upon the Captain.

"Humans! You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry! You should have scanned!"

"It takes too long. We'd be caught. Fusion scoops are illegal."

"Oh of course, but why should that stop you!" Rose hissed at her, this was their fault, all of it.

They'd brought this on themselves. Bloody human greed. How many times had that been the case during her travels with the Doctor? And now the Doctor was suffering as a result.

A vindictive streak that wasn't entirely her own wanted to leave them to deal with the consequences of their creation, but she knew she couldn't, she wouldn't. The TARDIS was hurting and wanted retribution but the feeling would pass.

"Doctor, what do we do? How do we help you?" Rose turned back to the Doctor who was her main concern right now, as she finally put that hand on his shoulder like she'd wanted to from the beginning. Gripping the limb beneath the orange spacesuit.

"You've got to freeze me, quickly." He told her.

"What?" Martha questioned, looking panicked and out of her depth

"Stasis chamber. You've got to take it below minus two hundred. Freeze it out of me! It'll use me to kill you if you don't. The closer we get to the sun, the stronger it gets! Med-centre, quickly! Quickly!" The Doctor told them quickly between panted screams as he fought against the malevolent force to finish his instructions.

Rose shifted her grip to hoist him up, as Martha did the same on the Doctor's other side.

"Help us!" Martha shrieked - fear mounting - at the frozen captain as they struggled with the writhing Timelord.

"Impact in seven-thirty."

They moved as quickly as possible through the grimy corridors to the med-centre. A difficult task with the struggling Doctor in their grip causing them to occasionally stumble as he screamed in pain.

"I can do this, I can do it," Martha muttered to herself as she lunged for the instruction manual.

Leaving Rose and McDonnell to drag the Doctor the last few feet to the stasis chamber.

"What's she doing?" McDonnell asked, still wary of the Doctor's plan.

Which prompted the Doctor to ask, "Martha, where are you?"

"She's just reading the manual, Doctor. Setting everything up." Rose reassured him before addressing McDonnell. "Help me get him up."

"Stasis chamber, minus two hundred, yeah?" Martha double-checked from over Rose's shoulder.

"No, you don't know how this equipment works. You'll kill him! Nobody can survive those temperatures." McDonnell shrieked in denial.

"He's not human. If he says he can survive, then he can." Martha refuted.

"Let me help you, then." McDonnel offered instead, throwing her arms down at her sides in frustrated helplessness now that her control had been entirely relinquished.

"You've done enough damage." Martha spat with venom.

Rose felt mildly vindicated by the sight. The TARDIS smug in her mind. Bad Wolf was in mutual agreement with Martha's attitude.

Rose took the Doctor's hand from where he was now lying in the stasis chamber. She wouldn't be able to hold on once the machine started up but she could give him this comfort now.

"You know what you're doin', yeah?" Rose checked with Martha, she had total faith in the med student, encouragement shining out from her gaze amongst the panic and fear that clawed at her insides.

Martha nodded her answer, her face tight with equally felt dread.

"Ten seconds. That's all I'll be able to take. No more. Martha!" The Doctor arched and writhed in pain below them as he gasped.

"Yeah?"

"It's burning me up, I can't control it." The Doctor retched, the flames clawing at his throat, "If you don't get rid of it, I could kill you. I could kill you all." He growled in a voice not entirely his own before he was cut off by a scream and a whimper. "I'm scared! I'm so scared!"

Rose's face crumpled genuinely fearful for the man she loved that was currently laid helpless as his mind was ravaged and torched by a malevolent sun. The Doctor rarely admitted that he was scared or vulnerable. It seemed wrong for a man so often so strong. Her grip tightened on his hand. They didn't get to win. Not today, not ever. They wouldn't take him from her.

"We've got you. We're going to stop this. I'm not letting you go anywhere, you hear me?" Rose told him adamantly.

"Just stay calm." Martha joined. "You saved me, now I return the favour. Just believe in me."

"It's burning through me, I dunno what'll happen." He said through gritted teeth.

"That's enough! I've got you." Martha reassured him.

"There's this process, this, this thing that happens, if I'm about to die."

Rose's heart lurched fearfully in her chest at his words. Did he really think he was going to die and regenerate here? It brought a striking moment of clarity as she realised the extent of the situation before them. He really didn't think he was going to make it.

"That's not going to happen." Rose bit out, anxiety clawing at her throat.

"Shush. Quiet now. Rose's right, we're not going to let that happen. Are you ready?"

The Doctor spluttered for a moment before letting out a choked "No."

Martha looked to Rose with wide pained eyes. Rose nodded at the unspoken question in her gaze and untangled her fingers from the Doctor's grasping hand. Martha took hold of the joystick to roll the Doctor completely into the chamber, typed -200 into the keypad and pressed the green button. Rose pressed her hands to her mouth as the Doctor screamed as his body temperature rapidly fell. Across from her, she could see the quick rise and fall of Martha's chest from her quickened breaths.

"Heat shields failing at five per cent."

The Doctor's screams tugged at something deep within her chest - that she normally tried to ignore - and all she wanted in that moment was for it to stop and his pain to cease. And then suddenly it did.

The power cut out at minus 70 when the Doctor was covered in a thick layer of frost.

"No! Martha, you can't stop it. Not yet."

"It wasn't her Doctor. Just stay there." Rose told the Doctor as her gaze flickered between Martha and McDonnell for an answer.

"What happened?" Martha asked.

"Power's been cut in engineering," McDonnell told them, staring back at the entrance.

"But who's down there?"

"Leave it to me," McDonnell told them firmly, before turning on her heel and leaving the med centre.

Rose knew she should probably stop her from whatever reckless course of action she was considering, but she didn't dare leave the Doctor's side not even for a second. Not with him still gasping and screaming in pain.

"Impact in four forty-seven."

"Come on. You're defrosting." Martha pleaded through gritted teeth, pressing pointlessly at the stasis chamber keypad.

The power was still off and the ice had all but melted from the Doctor's body. Rose had returned to gripping his hand ever since McDonnell had left, it was all that she could do in this moment but it did little to stay off the helplessness of the moment.

"Rose, Martha, listen! I've only got a moment. You've got to go!"

"No way."

"Yeah, no chance. You're not getting rid of me this time." Rose agreed with Martha, grip tightening on the Doctor's hand to reinforce her point.

"Get to the front. Vent the engines. Sun particles in the fuel, get rid of them." The Doctor screamed.

Martha darted back and forth between the keypad and the Doctor ready to start the stasis chamber back up the second they had power. Because like Rose, she was similarly unwilling to leave him when he was clearly suffering.

"We are not leaving you!" Martha snapped firmly.

"You've got to give back what they took!"

Part of Rose marvelled at his ability to think clearly, still trying to save them even with his own life in the balance.

"Doctor." Martha snapped firmly, not budging.

"McDonnell will have the power back on any moment, we're staying here." Rose tried to reassure him.

"Please go!"

Rose stared at him conflicted. She couldn't leave him even if she wanted to, the TARDIS would not let her leave his side while he was like this. But she couldn't deny what needed to be done. It wasn't just their own lives they were risking by being stubborn. Rose gritted her teeth before turning to Martha.

"You go, I'll stay with him, turn the chamber back on as soon as we have power. We have to think about the others too, you have to tell them."

Martha deliberated, gaze flickering between the two. The pain on the Doctor's face almost mirrored on Rose's. She knew that Rose would keep the Doctor safe and that she was right. Someone had to tell them.

"I'll be back." She told them before running from the room to do as instructed.

"Impact in four oh eight."

"Rose you need to go too." The Doctor pleaded, pain lancing through him.

"No chance. You're all I've got left, I'm not letting you out of my sight." She forced a smile as she spoke her next words. "Look what happened the last time I did that." She teased in reference to their current predicament.

It fell flat. She was too consumed by worry to truly commit to it. But she meant what she said nonetheless. She didn't have anyone else and she was not about to leave the man she loved to suffer by himself.

"I could kill you, I don't want to live with that."

Rose bit the inside of her cheek, deliberating. She trusted that the Doctor wouldn't ever hurt her if he could control it, but right now he didn't trust himself.

"You trust me?"

"Of course." He gasped, the pain mounting as still, they fell closer and closer to the sun.

"Good. Because that's not going to happen, I won't let it. That sun is not about to win and I am not going to leave you. We'll figure this out together."

"Impact in three forty-three."

Just then the intercom engaged, a soft click sounded through the room barely audible over the Doctor's screams. Rose tightened her grip.

"Shush, shush, just a couple more seconds."

"Riley, Scannell, Erina." There was a brief pause after McDonnell called her crewmates names. "I'm sorry."

Rose froze. There was a finality to her words. McDonnell wasn't coming back. Rose's head whipped up, somewhere on the ship she knew McDonnell was about to die. Her heart plummeted. Oh god.

"Exterior airlock open."

Rose was still stood frozen as the computer's words registered in her mind. The Doctor twisted free of her now lax grip, with a scream. She turned her attention back to the Doctor. She tapped at the keypad but the power had never been brought back online.

"Impact in two seventeen. Primary engines critical."

With her back to him, Rose missed the moment the Doctor fell from the stasis chamber and began crawling across the floor. She jumped at the sound of the pained thump turning to find the Doctor on the floor.

"Doctor?" Voice wary, she took a step towards him. "What're you doing, you need to stay in the stasis chamber?"

"We're too close, I can't control it anymore. It's too late."

"Don't say that. Martha'll fix it. There's still time. Don't say that." She all but pleaded with him as he continued to crawl across the floor towards the door where she stood.

She hadn't even realised that she'd stopped moving towards him and started backing away. It wasn't safe anymore, she knew subconsciously. But her conscious mind still wouldn't let her leave him and she didn't want it to.

"Repeat. Primary engines critical. Survival estimate projection zero per cent."

Rose looked up at the ceiling at the computer's words, the hopelessness of the situation sinking its way into her bones. God, she hoped she was right.

"You have to go! It's too strong."

"I can't." She nearly whimpered.

It hurt to see him in such pain and currently it was overriding her survival instincts. Because the TARDIS knew that if the Doctor died here, so would she. And what would become of Rose if the TARDIS died? And what would it even matter if the man she loved was dead?

"Go! Please!" The Doctor screamed at her.

A tear streaked down her feverish skin, barely noticeable with the sweat that clung to it. She shook her head fervently, not that he could see.

"No. I'm staying." She was reminded of a time beneath a black hole when the crew had believed the Doctor was dead and she'd said the same thing.

"Please." The word was soft now, the urgency no less apparent, but gone was the demand only the quiet suffering of a desperate man left in its place.

She couldn't deny him. Wouldn't make him suffer with the knowledge that she died at his hands. Squeezing her eyes shut, she made her decision.

"Okay." She said equally soft before she turned and fled down the stairs.

She hesitated at the bottom, unwilling to move much further even as the Doctor approached. She edged backwards, hands feeling behind her to guide her, her eyes never leaving the Doctor. Ashton was dead. So was Korwin. There was no other threat on board other than the one before her and the sun below.

As she moved through the ship, always staying out of reach of the Doctor, she absently noted the surreality of the situation. Part of her was certain she'd make it out alive, this was by no means a battle. But she knew she shouldn't put her faith in pit dwelling Beasts. No, she'd already given her faith to the man before her, the man who had always saved her, even just from her boring life.

Just then the Doctor called out. The coms still open from McDonnell's parting words.

"Martha!"

"Doctor!" Martha gasped, a small measure of relief in her tone. "Rose, what's he doing?"

"He got out of the stasis chamber. He said we're getting too close." Rose told her absently, gaze still fixated on the man a few feet away from her.

"I can't fight it. Give it back or burn with me. Burn with me, Martha." The Doctor panted, voice taking on an odd growl as he threatened her, light spilling out from behind barely opened lids.

"Go, Martha! I've got him." Rose didn't know what she would do to stop him, but killing her would at least slow him down, she acknowledged with no small amount of fear.

"Impact in one twenty-one."

Before her, the Doctor screamed as he fought to close his eyes, "NOOO!"

Rose jumped at the sound before taking a further step back.

"Life support systems reaching critical. Repeat. Life support systems reaching critical. Impact in one of six. Collision alert. Collision alert."

The computer seemed to be stuck in a loop, as they neared their destruction. It's warning constant. Rose ignored it as she continued to edge backwards.

"Collision alert. Fifty-eight seconds to fatal impact."

"Think we got that thanks," Rose said through gritted teeth just as she stumbled, foot catching on a loose panel sending her tumbling to the floor, her head throbbing.

The Doctor was gaining on her now. She tried to ignore the screaming pain in her mind as the TARDIS burned. Shuffling backwards on her hands. She came to a sudden stop at the ledge of a door, unable to get herself over it. The pain in her head was more excruciating than the ache in her legs from her stumble. She leant back through the opened doorway as far as she could from the Doctor as he neared.

"Fuel dump in progress. Fuel dump in progress."

As the computer tolled above, the light slowly went out from the Doctor's eyes with a scream. The Doctor collapsed on his back as his eyes fully cleared, mere inches from her. Rose closed her eyes and sighed in relief as she slumped in place.

The ship suddenly jolted as the axillary came to life. Rose was thankful she was already on the floor as her legs would have been swept out from underneath her otherwise. The ship tilted as they moved away.

"Impact averted. Impact averted. Impact averted."

The ship levelled out beneath her, the burning in her mind starting to recede. She gently pulled herself to her feet, the task much more manageable as the pain lessened and the ship became more stable.

She carefully made her way over to the Doctor helping him to his feet as well, clutching him in relief. As soon as he was upright, she engulfed him in a hug, causing the pair of them to sway backwards from the force. She clung tightly to him, eyes squeezed shut in relief.

"That was too close." She breathed into his shoulder, before pulling back to look at him. "Don't do that again."

"I'm not planning on it." He gave her a wan smile.

Just then Martha came charging down the corridor, they turned as one to face her. Rose reluctantly stepped back from the Doctor as she neared, making space for Martha to hug the Doctor herself, their relief bubbling over as they laughed. Beside them, Rose let out a deep breath, relief and the heady freedom from passing pain.

It had all worked out in the end.


They'd finally made it back to the ventilation chamber and the TARDIS. Relief coursed through her anew at the sight of her. Whether it was Rose's own or the TARDIS' was difficult to tell but she'd wager it was her own. Now that the danger had passed the TARDIS' was all but silent in her mind again.

"This is never your ship," Scannell commented in disbelief as he drew nearer to the box.

"Compact, eh? And another good word, robust. Barely a scorch mark on her." The Doctor boasted as he finished circling her, looking out for any signs of damage.

His relief at seeing her had been practically palatable, a sensation Rose was now familiar with as she had felt the same.

"She can put up with anything." Rose smiled, patting the wood, the faint pleased hum filtering through before dying out again made her falter.

"We can't just leave you drifting with no fuel," Martha said, turning to the crew.

The TARDIS was confirmed to be fine, her way back home secure and that was enough for the med student. Transport was still transport in Martha's mind. She lacked their emotional investment.

"We've sent out an official mayday. The authorities'll pick us up soon enough." Riley explained.

"Though how we explain what happened..." Scannell shook his head, lost.

"Or where to even start," Erina added.

Rose was pleased to see that the young engineer had made it through but it did little to dull the aching guilt at everyone they had lost.

"Just tell them. That sun needs care and protection just like any other living thing." The Doctor told them simply before slipping inside the TARDIS.

Rose watched him leave, he didn't like to hang around and he certainly wouldn't today after everything. She was still reluctant to leave him, she turned back to the crew to say her goodbyes, unwilling to leave them without at least that.

"You lot take care, yeah? Can't guarantee we'll be in the neighbourhood again. Maybe take a break from cargo tours for a bit." She jokingly advised drawing a smile from Scannell and Erina before she too stepped inside, leaving the door open for Martha.

She quickly made her way over to the Doctor's side.

"I'm beginning to think the spacesuits are more cursed than the Tuxedo of Doom." She said gently, wary that only minutes before he'd been in excruciating pain.

The Doctor hummed, "You might be right. Though I'd rather not test out that theory."

Rose scrunched up her face. "Me neither."

They both smiled softly at the other, the weight of the adventure heavy on the shoulders. As if in sync, they moved as one to hug the other. Needing the physical reassurance that the other was here and okay. They clung desperately to each other for a few seconds longer than proper, the Doctor pulling away first.

"I wonder what's keeping, Martha?" He said, wanting to step away from the sombre mood.

Rose leant back to peek through the open doors to see Martha and Riley kissing. Her eyebrows shot up and a grin stretched across her lips.

"I think I might know."

The Doctor turned to her with a question in his gaze but at that moment Martha herself stepped through the doors. Rose schooled her features, not letting on that she'd seen the passionate moment.

"So. Didn't really need you in the end, did we?" Martha teased as she made her way up the ramp, stopping once she caught the Doctor's expression. "Sorry. How are you doing?"

"Now, what do you say? Ice skating on the mineral lakes of Kur-ha. Fancy it?" The Doctor didn't address her question, instead stepping away from her to start the dematerialisation sequence.

Martha's face fell, "Whatever you like."

The Doctor looked at her curiously, he wasn't the best at reading human emotion, Rose knew. But he could tell he'd messed up some social faux pas he hadn't noticed. He turned to look at Rose, unsure. Rose simply nodded at him, nudging the arm closest to her.

The Doctor turned back to Martha, digging in his suit pocket.

"By the way, you'll be needing this."

Martha turned to see the Doctor holding up a TARDIS key on a chain. Martha's eyes widened. From behind them, Rose smiled.

"Really?" Martha asked, hands already outstretched.

"Frequent flier's privilege." He smiled, lowering the key into her cupped hands. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Martha said softly, still cupping the key before realisation suddenly dawned on her and she was reaching for her pocket. "Oh, no. Mum!"

Rose looked at her curiously but didn't say anything. The Doctor merely raised his eyebrows and continued with the dematerialisation sequence, likewise saying nothing. He pointed to a familiar control beside Rose, silently asking her to pull it as he moved around behind her.

Her fear from earlier at seeing the Doctor so incapacitated hadn't quite faded. She didn't want to be more than a step away from him but similarly didn't want to get under his feet. However, she was familiar enough with the routine, had been asked to help a fair few times as well that she could probably manage it. Especially as the Doctor seemed to feel the same as he reached out for her hand, pulling her with him to guide her to the controls.

They'd come too close to losing each other today. The memory of the Beast's words and a storm not long passed still ever-present in their minds.

Neither paid any mind to Martha's conversation with her mother. Their focus elsewhere.

They briefly looked over when Martha said 'over-emotional mad day', they didn't know what Martha had said to her mum when she thought she was dying but it sounded like it had been more than she'd intended. Rose absently noted Martha promise to visit that night, election night as she watched the Doctor adjust the controls, tongue between teeth.

It wasn't exactly how she would have liked to officially invite the med student on board but she thought it rather fitting for their lifestyle that her first distress call had started with universal roaming and ended with the giving of a TARDIS key. Martha was no more a passenger than Rose and today had really proved that she thought. She only hoped Martha now knew that too.

She leant against the Doctor's shoulder in lieu of catching her balance as they took off. Yes, it had been a close one today, but they'd made it out alive. Just like they always did.

A/N: Sorry this chapter has taken me so long guys. I got a few comments last chapter about Rose's lack of presence across the sites and after a reread I have to agree. I've given it a bit of a polish but with the way the episode is structured and the focus of the episode it was difficult to change much. I've made a post over on my tumblr: xawkward-ariesx going into more depth on my decisions for that if you're interested. Chapter 15 and 17 have already been started in my procrastination and are non-episode chapter so should be up quicker but it is exam season for me rn so no promises. Anyway, long AN but let me know your thoughts in the comments. See ya next chapter :)

Comments:

Melikalilly:
I'm glad your enjoying it!

Ace of Spies:
Apologies for the disservice. Its definitely a very strong episode and definitely up their with some of my favourites unfortunately I just couldn't find away to add more to it due to the structure of the episode with everyone separated in their own little groups and much occurring over coms. I've explained fully over on my tumblr but its a little long which is why I'm keeping it separate. I appreciate the feedback though sweetie as the next few chapters are non-episode chapters Rose should be more present and have more interaction between Rose and the Doctor. Thank you!

Kylaia78:
Sorry to keep you waiting! Having a bit of a mad time with uni, hope you enjoy this chap though