"The wonderful world of space travel," Riley said, staring at Martha as she looked out the window, "Prettier it looks, the more likely it is to kill you."
"He'll come for us," Martha assured the man.
"It's too late," Riley argued, not wanting the woman to have false hope, "Our heat shields'll pack in any minute. Then we go into freefall. We'll fall into the sun way before he has a chance to do anything."
"You don't know the Doctor or Chris," Martha insisted, "I believe in them."
"Then you're lucky," Riley said, "I've never found anyone worth believing in."
"No girlfriend?" Martha asked and Riley shook his head, "Boyfriend?"
"The job doesn't lend itself to stable relationships," Riley chuckled.
"Family, then?" Martha wondered.
"My dad's dead," Riley told the woman, "I haven't seen my mum in six years. She didn't want me to sign up for cargo tours. Things were said and, since then, all silent. She wanted to hold on to me. I know that. God, she's so stubborn."
"Yeah, well," Martha shrugged, "That's families."
"What about you?" Riley wondered.
"Oh, the works," Martha told him, "Mum, Dad, Dad's girlfriend, brother, sister. There's no silence there. So much noise!" Martha paused in realization, "God! They'll never know. I'll just have disappeared. And they'll always be waiting."
"Call them," Riley urged gently, knowing that the girl would regret it if she didn't.
(000)
Chris was breathing heavily, trying to relax so that she could focus on the task at hand when suddenly someone grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her. Her head snapped up to see The Doctor glaring at her, his eyes dark.
"You," The Doctor growled, "why didn't you do anything? Why didn't you save her?"
Chris could feel her panic deepening but there was little she could do about it. The Doctor tightened his grip on her shoulders so that it was painful to the woman who was unable to stop the panic that was rising in her.
"I-" Chris started before closing her eyes, "I-"
"You could have stopped this," The Doctor said evenly, his voice much calmer, it felt deadly to Chris and made her shiver.
Tears started to roll down Chris' cheeks as she kept her eyes shut tight, the guilt piling up. The Doctor was right, Chris could have stopped this. She could have gone with Riley, she could have gotten to Martha sooner, she could have prevented both Abi and Erina's death. But she didn't. Chris didn't do anything to prevent all of this. She had tried, but what use is trying when people, good people, were dead.
"Doctor," Scannell said, interrupting the two.
After a final painful squeeze to Chris' shoulder, The Doctor shoved the girl away and turned to Scannell, who was holding an orange suit. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at the man in question.
"Chris told me to bring it," Scannell said, nodding to the girl with concern showing clearly in his eyes.
Chris leaned against the wall trying and failing to catch her breath. The short shallow breaths were not getting enough oxygen to her system and her heart was beating a lot faster than was healthy. Her eyes were still tightly shut and her whole body was shaking as she tried to prevent the oncoming panic attack.
The Doctor felt a brief moment of concern for the woman before turning to Scannell and grabbing the suit, understanding of what he needed to do dawning on him.
"I can't let you do this!" Scannell said when understanding clicked.
"You're wasting your breath, Scannell," The Doctor pointed out, casting another glance at Chris as the woman slid to the floor, "You're not gonna stop me."
"Open an airlock on a ship spinning into the sun?" Scannell questioned, "You can't survive."
"Oh, just you watch!" The Doctor grinned for a moment.
"It's suicide," Scannell deadpanned, "This close to the sun, the shields'll barely protect you."
"If I can boost the magnetic lock, it should remagnetize the pod," The Doctor explained, "You've got to get the rest of the doors open, we need those auxiliary engines."
"Doctor!" Scannell said, "They're too far away. It's too late."
"I'm not gonna lose her," The Doctor said with one final glare at Chris before turning to the controls.
"Decompression initiated," The system announced.
"Impact in 12.55."
She'd messed up. That was obvious. Two lives had been lost, The Doctor was pissed at her, and she was about to go into a full blown panic attack. Chris tried to snap herself out of it but she was quickly losing control of her body. It felt like she was trapped and there was nothing she could do about it.
Why're you giving up? Rain asked, startling the young woman.
What else can I do? Chris wondered to herself, The Doctor's pissed and I don't want to mess anything else up.
You've not messed up anything, dumbass, Rain pointed out, You've not changed anything, sure, but you've not messed anything up. In fact, you've made things easier for The Doctor, not that he's noticed, the prick.
What? Chris asked, What did I make easier?
The suit, the controls, and you know what you're gonna do next, Rain told the human, you've had this plan since the start, you can't hide it from me.
Oh, Chris said, understanding spreading through her body and pushing the panic away.
Chris took a deep breath and blew it out before blinking her eyes open. The Doctor was already out of the ship and Scannell was nowhere to be seen. She slowly pushed herself up and stumbled to the controls, trying to make sense of them as the fog left her brain.
While the panic had subsided the tremors still remained and Chris was finding it difficult to focus. She closed her eyes briefly and leaned her forehead against the wall.
"Heat shields failing." The system announced and Chris took a deep breath before pressing the comm.
"Scannell, Chris here, whatever happens, keep moving forward on those locks. The Doctor will have some help for you shortly, I promise," Chris told the man before moving away from the comm as she heard the door beginning to open. Chris was immediately at The Doctor's side as he stumbled through.
"It's alive," The Doctor growled, pushing Chris away, "You knew it was alive and you let it suffer."
Chris sighed, pushing the guilt down as she gripped The Doctor's shoulder tightly. She shook the Time Lord a little before suddenly bringing their lips together. Chris didn't notice as Martha entered the corridor, her expression falling to disappointment.
What? The Doctor demanded weakly before he felt the entity that was in his body move from his to Chris'. He tried to pull it back but whatever was moving it was too strong for him.
Do not worry, Rain told The Doctor, We are in control.
Suddenly Chris scrambled back from The Doctor, her breathing heavy and her eyes shut tightly. She grit her teeth against the pain before breathing deeply. Her voice when she spoke was deeper than her own, but she was the one who chose her words as The Rain encased the sun in a barrier to prevent a full infection.
"Vent the engines," Chris gritted out, keeping her teeth clenched, "DO IT."
"Go, Martha, Riley," The Doctor ordered as he caught his breath. "Vent the engines."
"Doctor," Martha breathed, "what-"
"Martha," Chris interrupted, her voice strained, "the sun is alive, you have to vent the engines."
Chris turned her head slightly, hearing someone else approach as she kept her eyes closed, "you."
McDonnell entered the room but paused when everyone turned to look at her.
"It's your fault," Chris hissed, "you should have scanned for life."
"W- what," McDonnell stuttered.
Chris took a deep shuddering breath as a wave of pain and heat coursed through her body, she cried out before yelling at the captain of the ship, "you should have scanned for life!"
"Chris," The Doctor breathed before turning to Martha and Riley and snapping at them, "go vent the engines!"
Martha gave Chris one more worried look before nodding at The Doctor and pulling Riley after her. McDonnell remained with the Time Lord and the human, glancing between them guiltily.
"Doctor," Chris groaned reaching for the man, "please."
The Doctor quickly moved to the woman and grabbed her hand. He could feel guilt welling in his chest as she watched the woman writhe in pain. He was about to lean forward and draw the sun back into his body when a voice sounded in his head.
You can't, Rain stopped the man in his tracks, You draw it back into yourself and we both die.
But I can't let you do this, Chris.
Stasis chamber, you know what we can withstand. Rain ordered.
The Doctor nodded before gathering the woman into his arms and standing up. He staggered towards the med bay and was grateful when McDonnell moved to help stabilize him.
"Why did you do this?" The Doctor ground out as the ran towards the stasis chamber.
"Because I trust you," Chris grit out between grunts of pain, "because I trust you and I cannot watch you suffer."
"Why didn't you just tell me," The Doctor grunted as he shifted the woman, "why'd you let the sun suffer if you knew it was alive."
"I'm only human," Chris sighed before suddenly going limp.
"Chris," The Doctor called down to the woman in his arms, his voice panicked. He felt Chris's breath on his neck as the woman's head flopped to rest on his shoulder and let out a breath of relief.
As soon as they entered the med bay The Doctor set Chris down in the stasis chamber and got to work. He started pushing buttons, entering formulas and pulling levers as McDonnell watched, unsure how to help.
"Heat shield's failing, at five percent," the system called.
The Doctor was just about to start the chamber when suddenly the power was cut. He hit the machine before turning to McDonnell.
"What happened," The Doctor demanded.
"Power was cut in engineering," McDonnell said, reading out from a screen.
"Kath," Chris' voice said, making The Doctor and McDonnell turn to the woman, "Kath, you must stop them. I- I'm I'm so sorry."
"I understand," McDonnell said before taking off, leaving the Time Lord and Chris alone in the med bay.
"Doctor," Chris called, voice hoarse and searching, "Doctor, I'm so afraid. Always so afraid."
"I'm sorry," The Doctor said grabbing Chris' hands in his own as he bowed his head, "I'm so sorry."
"I can't control it anymore," Chris grunted, "Doctor, I could kill you."
"Oh Chris," The Doctor murmured, pushing her sweat drenched hair out of her face.
Suddenly Chris started screaming as the sun particles left her body. Tears ran down her face as she clenched The Doctor's hands till his bones creaked. He watched with guilt in his eyes as the woman in front of him took deep breaths when she was done screaming.
"So close," Chris murmured, her voice sounding like her own, "Doctor."
Chris suddenly screamed again as the ship started to shake. The Doctor gripped the woman tightly to keep her from falling off the table as the system called out that the impact was averted. The Doctor let out a relieved breath as the ship stabilized and moved away from the sun.
Chris groaned and turned on her side, clutching at her head. The Doctor quickly turned his attention to her, guilt filling his eyes at the state that the woman was in. He ran a hand over her forehead and was relieved to feel that her temperature was returning to normal.
"How did you survive that," The Doctor questioned the woman, not expecting a reply and receiving none, "how do you continue to surprise me?"
"Easily," Chris murmured before falling into a deep sleep.
After a few hours of checking the ship's damage, calling the police, and making sure Chris was going to have no residual effects, The Doctor, Chris, and Martha stood outside the Tardis with the two remaining members of the crew. Chris was leaning heavily against the Tardis, in need of at least forty-two hours of sleep, while The Doctor and Martha talked with the other two.
"This is never your ship," Riley said disbelievingly.
"Compact, eh?" The Doctor said proudly, "And another good word - robust. Barely a scorch mark on her."
"She's quite the beauty, ain't she," Chris teased, running a hand down the side of the Tardis while The Doctor shot her a playful glare.
"We can't just leave you drifting with no fuel," Martha said, turning back to the crew members concerned, after shooting Chris a grin.
"We've sent out an official mayday," Scannell told the woman, "The authorities'll pick us up soon enough. Though how we explain what happened."
"Just tell them that the sun needs care and protection just like any other living thing," The Doctor said before walking into the Tardis, Chris following him after sending Martha a wink and a grin.
"So, you're off then?" Riley said softly as he and Martha moved to the side a little to have a private conversation, "No chance I'll see you again?"
"Not really," Martha told him honestly. "It was nice - not dying with you. I reckon you'll find someone worth believing in," Martha told the male with a grin.
"I think I already did," Riley said before pulling Martha in for a kiss.
"Well done," Martha grinned when the two pulled away, "Very hot."
In the Tardis, Chris and The Doctor were both silently mulling over what had happened. Chris was sitting in the jumpseat while The Doctor was fiddling with some controls on the Tardis.
Chris started fiddling with the ring on her thumb while she waited for The Doctor to break the silence. After a minute or two of silence, Chris gave up waiting.
"So…" She and The Doctor ended up saying at the same time.
"You first," The Doctor insisted, turning to face Chris.
"I'm sorry," Chris said, surprising The Doctor, "I know you feel like I could have done more, or stopped the sun from suffering sooner or any number of things."
"I-" The Doctor tried to interrupt but Chris held up a hand so that she could continue uninterrupted.
"You may not consciously think that, Doc, but I know you wonder why I do things as I do them," The Doctor nodded at that, "I'm gonna be honest, Doc, I don't know. I have no idea what I'm doing ninety-nine percent of the time and I need you to understand that just because I might know some things it doesn't mean I'm all knowing."
The Doctor sighed before going to sit next to Chris, "I know, Chris, believe me, I do. And I'm sorry too, I let my worry get the best of me and I take it out on you. I want to say that I'll do better but I've said that before and here I am now."
"It's okay, Doctor," Chris said softly, smiling gently at the Time Lord, "we've all made mistakes. If you continue to blame yourself you'll get nothing done."
"And the same goes for you, Chris," The Doctor insisted, "You're not at fault any more than the rest of us are."
"Thank you," Chris said, letting out a relieved breath, "That is nice to hear." She looked at the Doctor, smiling faintly, "now I need to get some sleep, Doc, can you point me to my room."
"So, didn't really need you in the end, did we?" Martha called as she entered the Tardis letting the door close behind her, "Sorry," She muttered, noticing how close the two were with a pang and also seeing how tired and beat up Chris looked, "How are you doing?"
"I'm feeling like I fancy a shower, a nap, and a trip to somewhere cold," Chris said with a grin at the companion before she was suddenly engulfed in a white light off to another adventure.
A/N: Hahaha *sweats profusely* What do you mean I haven't updated since last year? What do you mean it's already almost May?
I am sorry about that.
I am thinking we're gonna have some ninth doctor in the next chapter but I might be wrong and it may be twelve's turn next. What do you guys think?
Any ways, I hope you guys enjoyed these last two chapters! Please review and let me know who you wanna see next!