The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday – Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Doctor Who doesn't belong to be, unfortunately. However, Rhea Adwani does.
A/N: OK, so people asked me whether I plan on doing Classic Who. I'm not very familiar with it just yet, but in the future I do plan to, or at least try. The Doctor mentioned to Rhea that he has known her all his life, so she will be making appearances in his early years, but for the near future, it will only be the 9th to the 11th Doctors with Rhea, because I'm most familiar with them.
Warning: Use of a swear word in this chapter.
Voyage of the Damned: The Ship of Dreams
Suddenly, the meteoroids struck the side of the ship, causing the entire ship to shake violently. The Doctor wrapped his arms around Rhea, protectively, and she grabbed Astrid, pulling the girl to her chest as they were all thrown to the floor.
Sparks flew around them as pipes and walls were broken by the impact. Bits of rock soared across the room and the corridor exploded in fire as everyone desperately tried to hang onto a bar or a wall that would keep them steady as the ship shook dramatically. The air was clouded with smoke and fire and flying debris and the Doctor kept a tight hold on Rhea and Astrid as they were thrown from side of the corridor to another.
They were knocked to the floor by another explosion, the Doctor covering Rhea and Astrid with his body. Rhea watched as the tremors ceased and the Doctor pushed himself up, his mouth open in exertion. They were all still on the floor, whimpering, as the Doctor got to his feet, yanked Rhea up, pulling her close to his body, and walked a few steps.
"Shush, it's stopping." The Doctor whispered, raising a finger in the air. He looked down at Rhea, visibly shaken, her hair out of the comb and messily flying about her face, a small cut on her forehead. "You all right?" He asked, softly, pushing a curl out of her face and behind her ear.
"Yeah." She whispered, turned around in his hold and slowly stepping towards Astrid. She grabbed the girl by both her arms and pulled her up as well.
"You okay?" She asked Astrid.
"I think so." Astrid said, breathily.
"Bad name for a ship. Either that or this suit is really unlucky." The Doctor said.
"Personally, I think it's the guy in the suit, but what do I know?" Rhea muttered. "What smart person names a ship after the freaking Titanic?"
The Doctor knelt down to examine one of the stewards, lying face down near the wall, unmoving, and shook his head. Rhea swallowed hard as she realised the man was dead.
"Ev-everyone... Ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, I must apologize on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners. We seem to have had a small collision." The steward said, trying to keep the peace, while the Doctor found a comm, where Max Capricorn's voice kept repeating "My name is Max."
"Small?" Morvin asked, indignant.
"You know how much I paid for my ticket?" The black-haired man shouted, approaching the steward.
"If I could have silence, ladies, gentlemen..." The steward started, attempting to settle them down.
The voices of the passengers simply drowned out his words.
"Quiet!" The steward yelled and everyone stopped shouting. "Thank you. I-I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruiseliners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience. But first I would point out that we are very much alive."
Rhea noticed a cut on Mr Copper's forehead and rushed over to him. She helped him dab the cut with his handkerchief, the Doctor rushing over to them to examine the cut himself.
"She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship. If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the-the situation." The steward said and went to open a hatch on the wall.
"Don't open it!" Rhea and the Doctor yelled.
The hatch opened and the steward was sucked into space by the vacuum. Everyone grabbed hold of any piping on the walls or on the ceiling near them. Rhea shrieked, grabbing the pipe on the ceiling, swinging desperately as the suction pulled her. She watched as the Doctor struggled, grabbing and jumping from one thing or another so that he could get over to the comms. He was able to use the sonic screwdriver on the computer to replace the shield before everyone else was sucked out as well.
"Oxygen shield stabilized." They heard the computerized voice say.
"Everyone all right? Rhea?" The Doctor called out.
"I'm fine!" Rhea called back, panting when she let go of the pipe.
"Astrid?"
"Yeah." Astrid said, gripping her chest.
"Foon? Morvin? Mr Copper? Bannakaffalatta?"
"Yes." Bannakaffalatta said.
"You, what was your name?" The Doctor asked the black-haired man.
"Ah, Rickston Slade." He replied.
"You all right?"
"No thanks to that idiot." Slade snorted.
Rhea watched as Astrid swelled with anger. "The steward just died." Astrid said through gritted teeth.
"Then he's a dead idiot." Slade said, arrogantly.
Astrid gasped and made for Slade before Rhea pulled her back, keeping her arms wrapped around the girl's waist, just in case she decided to lunge.
"All right, calm down. Just stay still, all of you. Hold on." The Doctor said.
He walked over to the hatch opening. Rhea made sure Astrid wasn't about to attack Slade before following him over to the window. They watched what was left of the ship floating out across into space, the debris from the ship and the bodies that had fallen into the vacuum.
Astrid joined them both. "What happened? How come the shields were down?"
"I don't think it was an accident." The Doctor murmured.
Rhea clicked her tongue. "You mean sabotage."
The Doctor gave her a look. A look that said she had hit the nail right on the head.
"How many dead?" Astrid whispered, horrified.
"We're alive, just focus on that. We will get you out of here, Astrid. I promise. Look at me. I promise." The Doctor said to Astrid, placing his hands on Astrid's shoulders, forcing her to look at him. At Astrid's nod, he continued. "Good. Now…" He looked around. "If we can get to Reception, I've got a spaceship tucked away. We can all get on board..." He looked outside. "Oh."
Rhea groaned as she stared out the window, a familiar blue box floating into her sight. "You have got to be kidding me."
"What is it? What's wrong?" Astrid asked, eyes flipping between the two of them.
"That's my spaceship over there." The Doctor pointed.
"Where?" Astrid asked, not seeing anything resembling a spaceship.
"There, that box. That little blue box."
Astrid raised an eyebrow. "That's a spaceship."
Rhea grinned as an offended look formed on the Doctor's face. It seemed he took slights to the TARDIS really seriously.
"Oi, don't knock it." He protested.
"It's a bit small." Astrid said, hesitatingly.
"A bit far." Rhea snorted.
"Trouble is, once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest centre of gravity and that would be...the Earth." The Doctor said.
Rhea held onto his hand as they watched the TARDIS head down to Earth.
He turned to her, sighing. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking into her eyes for any sign of distress or worry.
She smiled tightly. If he was expecting her to breakdown, it wouldn't happen. At least, not now, not here, not in front of the Doctor. Maybe later. She hated crying in front of others, except for her parents, especially in front of this man. The man who inspired such intense feelings inside of her. Admiration, terror, longing and trust that came entirely too easy for her. Crying in front of him was admitting weakness and, with the state of their relationship, that was unacceptable.
But apparently he could see right through her mask. Damn.
"Hey, hey," He soothed, cupping her face in his hands, offering her comfort that she didn't know she needed. "We'll make it out of here, all right? I promise, I'll get us out of here."
"It's not that." She whispered. "All those people…someone actually wanted them to die! I've seen people who have no care for life, but not on this scale. Not like this!"
He closed his eyes tightly. He didn't know how he could possibly soothe her. What would he even begin to say that would work?
She tensed suddenly and made sure to wipe any trace of her sorrow from her face, the same sultry confidence displayed on her face.
"Come on, alien boy, let's get outta here." She said in her heavier-than-usual Californian accent.
The Doctor was flummoxed from her sudden change from a vulnerable girl to a girl so comfortable in her skin that she was flirting with someone she had just met.
"I love it when you put on the accent." He said, grinning and deciding to go along with it. She'd open up when she was ready to. There was no need to push her.
She pursed her lips, giving him a small, secret smile. "There's more where that came from, honey." She said, winking.
They moved over back to the comm, the Doctor speaking into a tube that came out of the device. "Deck 22 to the bridge. Deck 22 to the bridge. Is there anyone there?" He spoke harshly, as pipes and wiring sparked around them.
They heard a moan and man spoke. "This is the bridge."
The beginnings of a smile formed on the Doctor's face and were mirrored on Rhea's as she realised that things might just be getting better. Hello, silver lining. "Oh hello, sailor." The Doctor drawled into the comm. "Good to hear you. What's the situation up there?"
"We've got air. The oxygen field is holding. But the captain..." They could hear the man saying in between deep, hoarse breaths. "He's dead. He did it." His voice broke. "I watched while he took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I tried. I did try."
"It's okay. Keep it together, sweetheart." Rhea said into the comm, trying to offer comfort to a man who was obviously not coping with the events around him.
"Just stay calm. Tell me your name. What's your name?" The Doctor said in a slow and deep voice.
"Midshipman Frame."
"Nice to meet you, sir. What's the state of the engines?"
"They're um…" He began. "Hold on." They heard a low pained groan.
Rhea swore under her breath. "Are you hurt?" She asked the man.
"I'm all right. Oh my vot. They're cycling down."
"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?" The Doctor asked, rubbing his forehead and one hand clutching his hair. She wrapped a hand around his forearm, squeezing tightly and resting her head on his arm.
"Yeah."
"The moment they're gone, we lose orbit."
"The planet." Frame managed to say through the pain.
"Oh yes. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth." The Doctor swallowed hard.
"Fuck!" Rhea cursed and the Doctor turned to glare at her. "Now is so not the time to be lecturing me on my language!"
"Midshipman, I need you to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core." The Doctor said, becoming agitated, clutching onto the comm.
"This is never going to work." Frame said.
"Trust me, it'll keep the engines going until I can get to the bridge." The Doctor said.
The Doctor then switched off the comms and face the others.
"We're going to die!" Foon said.
"Are you saying someone's done this on purpose?" Mr Copper asked.
"We're just a cruise ship!" Astrid protested.
"Okay, okay. Tch, tch. First things first." He said, holding up a finger on each side. "One: we're going to climb through this ship. B..."
"Two." Rhea corrected.
"Right…we're going to reach the bridge. Three, or C: we're going to save the Titanic. And, coming in a very low Four or D or that little "iv" in brackets they use in footnotes...why? Right then, follow me." The Doctor said, turning his back on the others and grabbing Rhea's hand.
He stilled and turned back when he heard Slade's sceptic voice. "Hang on a minute. Who put you in charge and who the hell are you anyway?"
"I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below."
"So, basically, you got a problem with that?" Rhea chimed in.
"No."
"In that case, Allons-y." He pulled Rhea along as he stalked forward down the corridor.
As they were walking, Rhea shifted so that the left side of her body was a hair's breadth away from the right side of the Doctor's body.
"So, two things I need to clarify." Rhea began and, at the Doctor's nod, she continued. "First, Gallifrey, is that the name of your planet?" She asked.
Something indiscernible flashed in his eyes. "Yes." He said, shortly. She resolved to ask him more about it later, when there was less company and their lives weren't being threatened.
She smiled softly. "I like it. The name sounds like something out of a fairytale."
"It was, something out of a fairytale." He murmured, lost in his memories.
"And two," He turned his attention back to Rhea. "Allons-y? Really?"
"What's wrong with 'allons-y'?" He asked, in a high pitched voice that only appeared when he was really insulted.
She smiled, running her tongue over her bottom lip. "I thought that it was a weird thing to say, under the circumstances, but," She looked him over, head to toe. "I got to say, it suits you."
She clicked her tongue. "I was hoping this would be like the movie 'Titanic', to be honest."
He frowned. "Is that the one with Kate Winslet?"
She nodded, grinning. "I had hoped I'd get to say my favourite line."
"What is it?"
"I'll change it up a bit." She smiled at him, a full smile, with all of her teeth showing. "I'd rather be your whore than his wife." She growled, her eyes bright with humour.
The Doctor choked and looked at her, and then realised that she was joking. They beamed at each other, their joined hands swinging between them, and continued to stomp down the corridor, Astrid running up to join them.
The Doctor slowly pushed open a bulkhead door, blocked by a little debris, that led into a stairwell littered with more debris and sparking cables.
"Careful." He murmured to Rhea, and in a louder voice, said: "Follow me."
The Doctor went first, making sure to clear the way for the others. Rhea was at his back, Astrid behind her, then Mr Copper, Slade and the Van Hoffs were at the end of the line.
"Rather ironic when this is very much in the spirit of Christmas. It's a festival of violence. They say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric." Mr Copper said.
Rhea opened her mouth to contest every word he had just said, but the Doctor placed a hand over her mouth to prevent her from talking.
"Actually, that's not true. Christmas is a time of-of peace and thanksgiving and...what am I on about? Christmas is always like this." The Doctor muttered.
"I really don't want to know what your Christmases are like." Rhea whispered to him.
"Don't worry, you'll find out." The Doctor snickered at Rhea's grimace.
Rhea turned to Mr Copper, her voice lowering. "Christmas is a time for family. A time for miracles. A time for joy and happiness and to be thankful for what you've got. Christmas can make whole families better. It's not barbaric at all." Her voice grew towards the end of her tirade, her eyes burning with emotion.
The Doctor walked ahead and lifted a metal rack to uncover a Host, lying on its back against the wall. He made a shocked and pleased sound.
"We've got a Host. Strength of ten. If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble."
"We can do robotics, both of us." Morvin interjected.
"We worked on the milk market back on Sto. It's all robot staff." Foon added.
"See if you can get it working." He turned to Rhea and Astrid. "Let's have a look." He said, gesturing to the flight of stairs.
"You sure do know how to show a girl a good time." Rhea muttered as she climbed the stairs right beside him.
Everyone, except for the Van Hoffs, who stayed behind with the broken Host, followed the two up the stairs and found their path waylaid by broken wreckage.
"It's blocked." Astrid commented.
"So, what do we do?" The Doctor asked.
"We move everything." Rhea said, rolling her eyes. But she smiled, when the Doctor turned to her with a massive grin, showing his beaming eyes and bright white teeth.
"That's the attitude. Rickston, Mr Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta..." He made a face. "Look, can I just call you Banna? It's gonna save a lot of time."
"No! Bannakaffalatta!" Bannakaffalatta said, strongly.
"Well, he sure showed you." Rhea whispered to the Doctor, humour in her eyes dute the red-skinned alien's rebuke of the Time Lord and said Time Lord's reaction to the rebuke.
"All right then, Bannakaffalatta," This time he said the name with exasperation. "There's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."
Bannakaffalatta moved in front of them. "Easy. Good." He managed to squeeze through the opening right at the moment when the ship lurched again, sending loose debris onto them.
"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!" Slade shouted.
Rhea hissed. Her patience was honestly shot to hell at this point. Right now, she really wouldn't mind burying her fist in Mr. Full-Of-Himself's smug face.
"Oh, Rickston, I forgot. Did you get our message?" The Doctor asked, never taking his eyes off the beams that Bannakaffalatta had just gone under.
"No. What message?"
"Shut up!" The Doctor and Rhea shouted at the same time and then looked at each other with matching beaming smiles.
They heard the sound of metal falling to the floor and Bannakaffalatta's high-pitched voice. "Bannakaffalatta made it."
"I'm going under as well. I'm small enough." Rhea said, slipping under the Doctor's arm and pushing herself into the crevice in between two beams. It was true, even on her bow-tie wearing Doctor, her head only came to his shoulders, and on this Doctor, she was just touching his collarbone. Well, she wasn't short when compared to others, she was probably average. It wasn't her fault that Time Lords were like giants compared to her.
"Rhea, be careful." The Doctor warned.
"Oh, honey. I'm really flexible, in fact, I'm Gumby girl. Now, there's something for you to think about! Or dream about…" She said, giving the Doctor a saucy smile and laughing as the blush spread down his cheeks and onto his neck.
Astrid blushed when she heard the two flirting. "I'm small enough too, I can get through."
She crawled her way under the hole.
"Careful." The Doctor murmured, steadying the beams as she went under.
"I'm fine." Astrid groaned as she squeezed through.
"Thing is, how are Mr and Mrs Fatso gonna get through this gap?" Slade spat.
"We make the gap bigger. So start." The Doctor gave a low growl. He handed Slade a piece of metal and started clearing up the rubbish that surrounded them.
Laughter floated up from down below, from where the Van Hoffs were working on the robot.
"What happened? Did they find a donut?" Slade asked, snarkily.
Rhea let out a hiss from her position. The Doctor gave her a warning look. Not now, his eyes seemed to say to her.
"We can clear it from this side. Tell me if something starts moving." Rhea called out to the Doctor and removed a large piece of metal onto the platform where she was standing.
"Rhea!" Astrid said from behind her.
Rhea turned around and saw Bannakaffalatta lying on his back, propped up against a metal box, seemingly in pain as sweat formed on his face.
"Bannakaffalatta, what's wrong?" Astrid asked, panicked, sinking down to where he was lying.
Rhea rushed over and crouched down beside him as well.
"Shhhh." Bannakaffalatta whispered, holding a white-gloved finger to his lips.
"What is it?" Rhea whispered.
"Can't say." Bannakaffalatta murmured.
"Are you hurt?" Astrid asked, worriedly.
"Ashamed."
"Of what?" Rhea asked, frowning.
"Poor Bannakaffalatta." He said and lifted the white shirt of his tuxedo to reveal a mechanised chest.
"You're a cyborg." Astrid said, shocked.
"Had accident long ago. Secret." Bannakaffalatta said.
"No, but everything's changed now. Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto. You can even get married." Astrid said, holding one of Bannakaffalatta's hands.
"Marry you?"
Rhea smiled at the sweet scene.
Astrid grinned. "Well, you can buy me a drink first. Come on. Let's recharge you." She pressed a red button on his torso. "Just stay there a bit."
Rhea and Astrid both went back to cleaning up the wreckage of the ship.
"Tell no one." They heard Bannakaffalatta say.
Astrid looked back at him, a fond smile on her face. "I promise." She said, softly.
"What's going on up there?" The Doctor shouted, his voice echoing throughout the stairwell.
Rhea smirked. "I think Astrid and Bannakaffalatta just got engaged." She called out. The Doctor made a face and they could hear Bannakaffalatta cackling.
"Almost done!" Morvin yelled.
"Good, good, good." The Doctor replied, quickly. He turned to the comm, staring at Max Capricorn's face on the console. "Mr Frame, how's things?"
"Doctor, I've got life signs all over the ship but they're going out one by one." Frame's voice came in a panicked tone.
"What is it? Are they losing air?" The Doctor asked, his voice low.
"No. One of them said it's the Host. It's something to do with the Host." Frame cried.
The Doctor's eyes widened and looked to where the Van Hoffs were working, just as the Host started to function properly.
"It's working!" Morvin shouted.
The Doctor rushed down just as the Host grasped Morvin by the throat.
"Kill. Kill. Kill." The Host chanted in a mechanical voice.
"Turn it off!" The Doctor shouted.
"I can't!" Foon cried, her hands desperately grabbing for the exposed circuits on the top of the Host's head. She was then pressed back against the wall as the Host regained strength and tightened its' grip around Morvin's windpipe.
"Go!" The Doctor shouted when he reached the couple, pushing Foon towards the staircase. He drew his sonic screwdriver out and frantically pointed it at the Host's hand. When it didn't work, he cursed. "Lock! Double deadlock!" He hissed. He put the screwdriver away and tried to use his hands to pull Morvin away from the Host. Once he did, he shouted at Morvin to go up the stairs and join his wife.
"Run, darling, run!" Foon shrieked as she threw herself up the stairs
"Information: kill, kill, kill..." The Host intoned as it stalked forwards. The Doctor walked backwards up the stairs, his eyes wide, as the Host determinedly stomped forwards.
"Foon! Foon!" Morvin shouted.
"Rickston! Get them through!" The Doctor shouted.
Slade raised his eyebrows. "No chance." He scoffed. He managed to get through the gap in the wreckage, ignoring Mr Copper's shout of "Rickston!".
Foon stared at the crevice with incredulity. "I'll never get through there!"
"Yes, you can. Let me go through first." Mr Copper said before shoving himself through the gap, thinking he'd be better help on the other side.
The Host followed the Doctor as he rushed up to the comm. "It's the Host! They've gone berserk! Are you safe up there?" The Doctor shouted into the communications device.
Meanwhile, Rhea, Astrid and Mr Copper were helping Foon get through.
"I'm stuck!" Foon cried.
"Come on, Foon, you can do it!" Rhea urged, grabbing her by the forearm and pulling.
Mr Copper was holding a metal pole as a lever to widen the space between the beams and floor. Rhea felt a jolt of fear in the pit of her stomach as one of the beams came down, despite the lever, and narrowly missed Foon as she managed to squeeze through.
"It's going to collapse! Rickston, vot damn it, help me!" Mr Copper shouted behind him, struggling to maintain the force necessary to hold up the beams with the pole.
"No…way." Slade said slowly, sweat clinging to his face as he looked around helplessly.
"Morvin, get through!" The Doctor yelled from the bottom of the stairs. The Host just simply stalked forwards, like something out of a horror movie.
"Kill. Kill. Kill." The Host chanted again and again.
"Doctor, he's stuck!" Rhea said, through gritted teeth, still trying to pull Morvin through.
The Doctor gripped Morvin's rear and shoved. "Mr van Hoff, I know we've only just met but you'll have to excuse me." The extra force was what was needed in order to push Morvin through the hole.
"That's it. We've got you. Doctor, come on, get through." Rhea shouted, holding out a hand for him to grip. She watched in horror as she saw that the Host was right behind him.
"Doctor!" She shrieked, gesturing towards the Host.
The Doctor turned around. "Information override! You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!"
"I can't hold it!" Mr Copper strained.
"Information: Deck 31." The Host said.
"Thank you." The Doctor sighed. He managed to scramble through the hole. "Let go!" He ordered Mr Copper, wrapping his arms around Rhea, clutching her to his side.
Mr Copper released his grip over the metal pole and the beams above crashed down onto the Host's head, decapitating it.
The Doctor, Rhea, Astrid, Mr Copper, Rickston and the Van Hoffs found themselves in another room. Foon looked around until she caught sight of a table with food piled on top.
"Morvin, look, food." Foon said.
"Oh great. Someone's happy." Slade said, sarcastically.
"Don't have any then." Morvin retorted.
The Doctor and Rhea headed for another comm device against the wall. The device whistled and the Doctor spoke. "Mr Frame, you still there?"
"Yes, sir, but I've got Host outside. I sealed the door."
"They've been programmed to kill. Why would anyone do that?" The Doctor asked into the speaker.
"That's not the only problem, Doctor. I had to use a maximum deadlock on the door, which means... No one can get in. I'm sealed off. Even if you can fix the Titanic, you can't get to the bridge."
"Yeah, right, fine. One problem at a time. What's on Deck 31?"
"Um, that's down below. It's nothing. It's just the Host storage deck. That's where we keep the robots."
The Doctor looked at the scanner. "Well, what's that?" He put on his glasses. "See that panel? Black. It's registering nothing. No power, no heat, no light."
"Never seen it before."
"One hundred percent shielded. What's down there?"
"I'll try intensifying the scanner."
"Let me know if you find anything." The Doctor said, taking off his glasses. "And keep those engines going!"
Astrid brought over two plates of food, handing them each a plate.
"Saved you some. You might be a Time King and Queen from Gaddabee but you need to eat." Astrid said.
They both smiled and took the food from her, sitting down.
"Yeah, thanks." The Doctor said, grinning.
"So, you look good for 903." Astrid said to the Doctor, sitting down as well.
"You should see me in the mornings." The Doctor said despite the fact that his mouth was full.
"Okay." Rhea said, biting her lower lip and looking at the Doctor, until she realised what she had just implied. They both blushed and turned away from each other
Mr Copper joined the three of them. "Doctor, it must be well past midnight, Earth time. Christmas Day."
"So it is." The Doctor smiled and wished them all. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas." Rhea copied.
"This Christmas thing, what's it all about?" Astrid asked them both.
"Long story. I should know, I was there. I got the last room." The Doctor said.
Rhea stared at him. "You didn't!" She hissed, then laughed. "You're the reason that Mary gave birth to-to Jesus in a barn!" Rhea asked, unable to even conceive the idea.
The Doctor waggled his eyebrows, giving her a look that said 'Oh yes, definitely'.
"But if the planet's waking up, can't we signal them? They can send up a rocket or something." Mr Copper asked.
Rhea shook her head. "We don't have spaceships." She looked around. "Well, not like this, anyway."
"No, I read about it. They have shuffles, space shuffles." Mr Copper insisted.
Rhea looked at the Doctor, deciding to let him field this one.
"Mr Copper, this degree in Earthonomics...where's it from?" The Doctor asked, trying to be as polite as possible.
"Honestly?" Mr Copper asked, sitting down beside Rhea.
"Just between us." Rhea whispered, conspiratorially.
"Mrs Golightly's Happy Travelling University and Dry Cleaners." Mr Copper confessed, wiping his brow with a hankie.
"You-you lied to the company... to get the job?" Astrid asked, her eyes wide.
"I-I wasted my life on Sto. I was a travelling salesman, always on the road and I reached retirement with nothing to show for it. Not even a home. And Earth sounded so exotic." Mr Copper said, sheepishly.
The Doctor gave a wry smile, looking at Rhea, who looked at him with questioning eyes. "Hm, I suppose it is, yeah."
"How come you know it so well?" Astrid asked them both.
"I was sort of...a few years ago, was sorta made... well, sort of homeless, and, um, there was the Earth." The Doctor said, his eyebrows furrowing. Rhea looked at him and rested her chin on his shoulder, his hair tickling her cheek.
"Well, I live down there." Rhea said. "It might not be as 'advanced' as the 'Titanic', but it's home." She said, wistfully, thinking of her mother and feeling an ache beginning to grow in the pit of her stomach.
"Thing is, if we survive this, there will be police and all sorts of investigations. Now the minimum penalty for space-age fraud is ten years in jail. I'm an old man. Well, I won't survive ten years." Mr Copper said.
There was banging on the door and both Rhea and the Doctor put down their food. The Doctor jumped up, grabbing Rhea and rushed to the opposite door.
"A Host! Move! Come on!" The Doctor shouted.
The pounding continued on the door, which started to dent due to the force applied. Astrid screamed and they all followed the Doctor to the door. The Doctor used the sonic screwdriver on the door and it opened to reveal space that looked like a boiler room that ran the entire length of the ship. They could see the only way across was a makeshift bridge, made of a fallen strut, that didn't look all that sturdy, especially if all eight of them were to make it across.
"Is that the only way across?" Slade asked.
"On the other hand, it is a way across." The Doctor said, looking back at Slade.
"The engines are open." Astrid stated, looking down at the massive pipes that breathed fire.
"Nuclear storm drive. Soon as it stops, the Titanic falls." The Doctor murmured.
"But that thing, it'll never take our weight." Morvin protested.
"You're going last, mate." Slade muttered.
"It's nitrofine metal. It's stronger than it looks." The Doctor said.
"All the same, Rickston's right. Me and Foon should-" Morvin stepped on a weak piece of metal near the edge, the railing gave away and he fell down towards the engines with a scream that seemed to get lighter as he fell.
"Morvin!" Foon screamed, crouching down at the edge of the platform, the Doctor and Rhea coming down onto their knees on either side of her. The others watched in shock and horror at the sudden disaster and the Doctor wrapped an arm around Foon's shoulders and Rhea gripped one of her arms tightly.
"I told you! I told you!" Slade shouted.
"Just shut up! Shut up!" Mr Copper shouted back.
"Bring him back! Can't you bring him back? Bring him back, Doctor!" Foon cried, hysterically, to the Doctor.
"I'm sorry, I can't." The Doctor murmured, trying to soothe a woman who had just lost her husband.
"You promised me!" Foon shrieked.
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The Doctor said.
"Doctor, I rather think those things have got our scent." Mr Copper said from his place near the door.
"I'm not waiting." Slade said and started across the bridge.
"Careful! Take it slowly!" Rhea warned.
The ship rocked and rumbled and Slade was nearly knocked off, falling to his hands and knees on the thin strip of metal.
"Vot help me." Slade murmured, panting with fear.
"You're okay. One step at a time. Come on, you can do it." The Doctor said, untying his bowtie, but leaving the strip of cloth around his neck.
"They're getting nearer!" Mr Copper shouted.
"Seal us in." The Doctor muttered. He turned around and used the sonic screwdriver to do just that.
"Leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?" Mr Copper said.
"Never say trapped, just inconveniently circumstanced." The Doctor said.
"Oh." Mr Copper said, not believing him for a minute.
Slade was halfway across. "I'm all right." He called out to them.
"Maybe he's all right. Maybe-Maybe there's a gravity curve down there or something. I don't know. Maybe he's just unconscious." Foon was trying to give herself and everyone else hope, tears still dripping down her cheeks.
Rhea felt like crying herself, sympathising with the woman's pain. She bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Foon. He's gone." She hugged Foon.
Foon finally realised that Morvin wasn't coming back. Her crying increased and became even more desperate. "What am I going to do without him?" She sobbed, burying her face in Rhea's shoulder.
Rhea paled. She remembered a time when she had said that about someone. And wholeheartedly believed it. She cupped her hand around Foon's head and just listened to her sob, knowing that there was nothing she could say to make her feel better.
Slade managed to reach the other side. "Yes! Oh yes! Who's good?!" He crowed, pumping his fist in the air.
"Bannakaffalatta, you go next." The Doctor said.
"Bannakaffalatta, small." The alien agreed.
"Slowly!" The Doctor warned.
They all could hear the Hosts pounding on the door from the other side. They could see the metal door cracking and denting from the sheer force the angels were applying.
"They've found us!" Mr Copper shouted.
"Rhea, Astrid, get across right now." The Doctor said, his voice low and determined, suggesting that he would not take anyone disobeying him.
Astrid started across but Rhea was stubborn.
"What about you? I'm not going without you." Rhea argued.
The Doctor growled. "Of course you'd pick right now to argue with me."
Rhea smirked. "It's why you like me." She turned to Astrid. "Go on. Get across."
"Rhea!" He groaned. "Please just cross the bloody bridge."
"No!"
The Doctor growled again, but decided to leave her for now. He turned to Mr Copper. "Mr Copper, we can't wait. Don't argue." Mr Copper followed Astrid onto the bridge. The Doctor turned to Foon, who was still standing next to the spot where Morvin had fallen. "Foon, you've got to get across right now."
Foon shook her head, tear tracks still on her face. "What for? What am I gonna do without him?"
"Doctor! The door's locked!" Slade shouted, stumbling a bit.
"Just think... what would he want, eh?" The Doctor asked, softly.
"He don't want nothing, he's dead!" Foon retorted. She started sobbing anew and the Doctor wrapped her in a hug.
"Doctor, I can't open the door. We need the whirring key thing of yours!" Slade shouted from across the bridge.
Rhea swore and went over to Foon and the Doctor, rubbing her back.
"I can't leave her!" The Doctor shouted.
"She'll get us all killed if we can't get out!"
The Doctor gritted his teeth and pulled back. "Mrs van Hoff, we are coming back for you, all right?"
Foon nodded. He grabbed Rhea's hand and started across the bridge. The metal creaked at the weight of the five of them.
"Too many people!" Bannakaffalatta protested.
"Oi! Don't get spiky with me! Keep going!" The Doctor shouted, keeping a firm hold on Rhea as he grabbed onto bits of metal that were strewn across the bridge.
"So much for a space adventure, huh?" The Doctor muttered to Rhea.
"Oh, shut up, alien boy." Rhea whispered back as she surprisingly managed to keep steady in six inch heels.
There was a great bang and everyone on the bridge stumbled, falling down. Rhea grabbed a metal slab for balance and held onto the Doctor's hand for dear life, their heads touching as they tried to keep steady.
"It's gonna fall!" Astrid shrieked.
"It's just settling! Keep going!" Rhea shouted. They all managed to get back on their feet, when the Doctor and Rhea realised that the pounding had stopped.
"They've stopped." Astrid said, echoing their thoughts.
"Gone away?" Bannakaffalatta asked.
"Why would they give up?" The Doctor asked, worried for what might happen now.
"It's never a good sign when something stops, trust me. It just means they've got another plan." Rhea said, looking around desperately.
"Never mind that. Keep coming!" Slade shouted.
"Where have they gone? Where are the Host?" The Doctor wondered.
Mr Copper looked up. "I'm afraid...we forgot the tradition of Christmas-that angels have wings!" He pointed upwards.
The Host glided down from above and encircled them.
A/N: Well, I hope you liked the chapter anyway. I hope you liked the interactions between Rhea and the Doctor. She is a bit of a flirt with him because she finds his interactions cute, but she will only be like that with him, so don't worry. And they won't be getting together for a little while, at least not until she's met the 9th, 10th and the 11th Doctors a couple of times each, for now it will just be excessive flirting, Rhea's baggage and innuendos. Oh, and I hope you all liked the 'Titanic' references, I'm a sucker for that movie and one of my favourite lines is Rose's "I'd rather be his whore than your wife" and I just had to stick it in somehow.
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