Time is Still A-Flying

by chocolatequeen

Part 3 of Being to Timelessness. With a bond and a promise of forever, the Doctor and Rose have managed to escape the trap set for them in Torchwood, but Time is not yet done with them. The Master is still in London and Election Day draws ever closer. He's tried to separate them once; will they survive a second attempt? Sequel to To Make Much of Time

24. If You Can't Stand the Heat

Chapter 24: If You Can't Stand the Heat…

Martha stared through two windows at the man trying to send her out into space while Riley worked frantically at the control panel in the escape pod.

"Doctor!" she called out over the intercom. "We're stuck in an escape pod off the Area 17 airlock. One of the crew's trying to jettison us! You've got to help us! Tell me you can stop it."

Riley kept tapping at the keypad, and finally they heard, "Jettison held."

He slumped against the computer. "Thank you."

But they barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before the computer spoke again. "Jettison reactivated."

Martha couldn't help it—she screamed in fear. She was vaguely aware that Riley was working at the keypad again, but mostly what she knew was that if something didn't change, she was going to die by falling into a sun.

"Come on." Riley's fingers were working furiously, but she couldn't help but feel like it was taking longer than it had last time to counter Ashton. "Tsilpinski sequence," he muttered. "This'll get him."

"Jettison held. Escape pod stabilised."

Martha squeezed Riley's shoulder. "You're pretty good." They were both sweating and breathing hard.

The familiar sound of keystrokes filled the pod, and Riley jumped back to the keypad, duelling against Ashton once more.

"Jettison activated."

Martha looked hopefully at Riley, but he was looking helplessly at the keypad. "He's smashed the circuit. I can't stop it. I can't stop it!"

Martha watched Ashton move away from the door. "Riley! Ashton's gone, let's get out of here before the pod jettisons."

"Airlock sealed," the computer announced.

Martha pushed at the hatch, but it wouldn't open. "This thing's locked!"

"Airlock decompression completed. Jettisoning pod."

She and Riley exchanged a look of horror. If the pod had been jettisoned, there was only one person that could save them. Martha pounded on the hatch and called for the Doctor.

"Martha, it's too late," Riley told her, sounding resigned to dying.

But she could see the Doctor through the portholes, trying to say something. "Doctor!" His lips kept moving, but she couldn't tell what he was saying. "I can't hear you!"

She heard a loud pop and hiss and realised a moment later, as the Doctor's face got smaller, that the escape pod was free of the ship, floating towards the sun.

He looked so desperate, and Martha knew losing a friend would eat him up. "I'm sorry," she whispered as she slouched down.

Riley moved closer to her, and they both watched the ship get smaller as they were drawn ever closer to the sun. "The wonderful world of space travel," he said. "The prettier it looks, the more likely it is to kill you."

"He'll come for us," Martha said quietly.

"No, it's too late," Riley told her fatalistically. "Our heat shields will pack it inany minute, and then we go into free fall. We'll fall into the sun way before he has a chance to do anything."

But Martha refused to believe the man who'd been so determined not to lose another life that he worked a genetic miracle to save a pig-mutant would let her go without a fight.

"You don't know the Doctor. I believe in him." Another thought occurred to her. "And there's always Rose, if he can't do anything."

Riley sighed. "Then you're lucky. I've never found anyone worth believing in."

She sat back from the window and took in the bitter resignation on his face. "No girlfriend? Boyfriend?"

He smiled wryly. "The job doesn't lend itself to stable relationships."

"Family, then?" Martha suggested, having a hard time comprehending a life without any ties at all.

Riley stared stoically out the window. "My dad's dead, and I haven't seen my mum in six years." He looked over at Martha. "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. Oh, she's so stubborn."

Martha thought of the way her mum had tried to get her to leave the Doctor alone. "Yeah, well, that's families."

"What about you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Full works. Mum, Dad, Dad's girlfriend, brother, sister. No silence there. So much noise." The full truth of the moment slammed into her. "Oh, God! They'll never know! I, I'll just have disappeared, and they'll always be waiting."

oOoOoOoOo

The Doctor sprinted through the corridors towards Area 17. Ashton stood by a control panel, but what was more concerning was the welding helmet he wore. Korwin hadn't wanted to open his eyes, and then he'd somehow vaporised Abi. If Ashton had been affected as well, a welding helmet would allow him to roam the ship without burning up everything in sight.

"That's enough!" the Doctor ordered. "I know these people hurt you, but we're trying to make it right. If you'll let us go, you can have the ship—take back what they took."

Instead of answering, Ashton put his fist through the keypad.

The Doctor stared at him as he stalked towards him. "Come on. Give them a chance to do the right thing." Ashton got right in his face, and they looked at each other nose to nose. "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

Ashton raised his hand to the visor, and for a moment, the Doctor felt a hint of fear. What was he doing, negotiating with a man who could kill him on the spot? But instead of flipping the visor up and incinerating him, Ashton stumbled back several steps and doubled over, grunting in pain.

The Doctor watched in astonishment as he straightened, then ran past him towards the main part of the ship. He jabbed at the intercom, calling the captain. "McDonnell? Ashton's heading in your direction. He's been infected, just like Korwin!"

"Korwin's dead, Doctor," Scannell told him.

The Doctor realised that must have been what had stopped Ashton. All the cells of that sun were connected, and when one hurt, they all hurt. Well, that explains why they're so angry.

"Airlock decompression completed. Jettisoning pod."

The Doctor froze for a moment when the computer announced that. It hadn't clicked when it had earlier said the airlock was sealed—but of course the airlock would have to be sealed before the pod could be jettisoned.

He turned to the window and looked through at Martha, tapping on the pod's hatch. "I'll save you!" he promised. She kept beating at the door, and he repeated himself three more times, not looking away from the pod until it started drifting away from the ship.

Then he turned back to the intercom. "Scannell! I need a spacesuit in Area 17 now!"

"What for?"

The Doctor was fed up with his constant questioning. "Just get down here!"

Doctor, what's wrong?

He groaned and rested his head against the hull plating. The one good thing about this whole miserable day was that Rose was safely out of harm's way. He really didn't want to tell her what was going on, because he had a feeling if she knew, she'd find a way to get onto the ship and into danger. Until Martha and Riley were back on board, all evacuation plans were on hold.

But there wasn't any way to evade the question. The sun is infecting the crew one at a time. One of them just jettisoned the escape pod Martha was hiding in.

What are you going to do?

I'm going to reach outside the ship and remagnetise the pod.

Couldn't I materialise around the pod?

He was shaking his head before Rose even finished the thought. You'd have to have their current coordinates, and be able to calculate the exact rate of drift to pinpoint the right spot. And even if you managed that, you'd need to get the TARDIS away from the sun, and pulling away from a gravitational field like that isn't easy.

The Doctor hesitated for a moment. The last thing he wanted to do was alarm Rose further, but this honestly was one of the riskier things he'd done, and he couldn't do it without telling her one last time.

Rose.

Yes, Doctor?

I love you.

oOoOoOoOo

I love you.

Rose stared at the time rotor in horror. The Doctor didn't shy away from those words, but saying them in a moment like this meant he didn't know if he would have a chance later.

The TARDIS hummed, voicing her concern. Rose looked up at the ceiling, then planted her hands on the console and leaned forward. It's time to get to the ship, Dear. There's just a twenty… maybe fifty foot jump over. We can do that, right?

The lights flashed.

Rose took a deep breath. The Doctor had shown her how to calculate the coordinates and set them, but this would be the first time since the Game Station that she would do it herself.

The maths for the actual coordinates wasn't difficult, but staring at the array of dials and levers on the navigation panel, Rose was petrified she would make a mistake. Help me out, she said, and opened herself up as much as she could to the TARDIS.

Images flashed through her brain like one of those animated flip books, far too quickly for her to pick up any of the directions.

Slow down, she told the ship. One at a time. Just show me the right control and let me know when I've got it set where it needs to be.

A single image crystallised in her mind, and she adjusted the dial until she knew it was in the right position. In this way, step by step, the ship taught her how to truly pilot her.

It was a slow process, certainly slower than the way she'd seen the Doctor fly around the console, turning knobs and throwing levers. But he didn't have to look at the instruction manual as he worked either.

The TARDIS showed her a picture of a supernova, and Rose paused for a moment, then realised she was saying the Doctor had thrown the manual into a supernova. "Oh, that's very him," she muttered as she slid a control into place.

She waited, but no more pictures were given to her. Is that it? The lights flashed again. Rose took a deep breath and threw the dematerialisation lever.

oOoOoOoOo

Scannell's arrival interrupted the Doctor's conversation with Rose. He felt her fear, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

The Doctor got into the suit with maximum efficiency. There was no way he was going to let Martha die out here, not when there was a possibility he could save her life.

"I can't let you do this," Scannell said.

The Doctor looked up at him, continuing to buckle the spacesuit together automatically. "You're wasting your breath, Scannell. You're not going to stop me."

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

"Believe me, I don't plan on dying," the Doctor scoffed. "Or have you forgotten that my wife is still on our ship?"

That gave the man pause, but after a second, he shook his head again. "You open that airlock, it's suicide. This close to the sun, the shields will barely protect you."

The Doctor started talking just as fast as Scannell had. "If I can boost the magnetic lock on the ship's exterior, it should remagnetise the pod." He reached for the helmet, then looked back at the other man. "Now, while I'm out there, you have got to get the rest of those doors open. We need those auxiliary engines." He remembered as soon as he said it that Scannell couldn't get through the secured doors alone, but the other man didn't bother pointing that out.

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

"I'm not going to lose her," the Doctor said, and put the helmet on.

The Doctor pressed the button on the airlock controls that would open the door and then start the decompression sequence immediately. He walked inside and stared out at the sun, visible through the hatch on the other side of the room. Although he had denied it, realistically he knew this plan was dangerous at best and fatal at worst.

And if I regenerate, will I survive long enough to get somewhere safe, or will I just continue burning through my regenerations until I have none left? He carefully hid that thought away before Rose could catch it, and forced himself to concentrate on what he was about to do.

"Decompression initiated," the computer said. "Impact in twelve fifty five."

oOoOoOoOo

At Riley's suggestion, Martha pulled her upgraded phone out of her back pocket and hit the speed dial number for her mum. Riley took her free hand, and she squeezed it tight while she waited for her to pick up.

"Hello."

She barely held in a sob when she heard her mother's voice. "Hi, Mum," she said, aware that her voice was shaky.

Always attuned to her children's emotions, Francine asked, "Is everything all right?"

Martha looked up at Riley, who smiled encouragingly. "Yeah. Of course."

"Martha?"

"Mum, I…" She took a deep breath and got down to the real reason she was calling. "You know I love you, don't you?"

"Of course I do," her mum reassured her. "What's bought this on?"

"I never say it. I never get the time. I never think of it, and it's like Rose said, sometimes you just realise that one day, you might run out of time. I really love you." She hesitated, knowing the next bit would worry her mum even more than she already was, but she couldn't just leave it. "Tell Dad, Leo and Tish that I love them."

"Martha, what's wrong?"

Martha could hear the fear in her mum's voice and hated that she couldn't tell her the truth, even though she wasn't ever going to see her again. "Nothing. I promise."

Riley's eyes met hers, and she saw sympathy and understanding there. He shifted and offered to wrap an arm around her shoulders, and Martha gratefully leaned against him.

"Well, then what are you doing today?"

She looked up at Riley and smiled. "I'm out with some mates."

Her mum sighed. "Martha, you know you need to focus on your studies if you want to finish school and become a doctor."

For once, the familiar argument was comforting, rather than annoying. "Mum, my schoolwork is fine."

"You've been out three nights in a row now," she said, and Martha could picture her shaking her head. "I know your trip to the moon and the drama last night with the Doctor were exhilarating, but that's not your real life."

Martha wasn't sure how to answer that, since this was her real life. "Mum, can we not just talk?" she said finally.

There was a brief pause, then her mum said, "Of course. What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know, anything!" she said, aware that she wasn't keeping the tears out of her voice anymore and not even caring. When she didn't come home, when she'd been missing for months, her mum would have this conversation and would know she'd been saying goodbye. "What you had for breakfast, what you watched on telly last night, how much you're going to kill Dad next time you see him. Just anything."

"Your sister has a new job, working for Harold Saxon," her mum said.

"Yeah, I talked to her earlier," Martha said, just barely registering in time that for her mum, this was still the day after the gala. "She was already busy, even though he gave her the day off."

"Well, tomorrow is Election Day. I'm not sure why he thought he could spare a PR person today of all days."

Martha laughed—how typical of her mum, criticising how the future Prime Minister ran his office. "I'd better let you go, Mum. Love you!"

"I love you, too. Call again soon."

Hanging up on her mum was one of the hardest things she'd ever done, and she turned in Riley's arms and cried on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and the simple act of comfort gave her hope.

oOoOoOoOo

With eleven minutes left before the ship would be held by the sun's gravitational field, the Doctor opened the outer airlock door. He kept his eyes averted from the sun as best he could, knowing it was alive and angry.

There was a subtle shift in his connection to Rose and the TARDIS, and he realised they'd moved into the main part of the ship. At least we'll be ready to leave as soon as Riley and Martha are back on board, he thought, though he knew better than to think Rose had any intention of just staying in the TARDIS, waiting for them to arrive.

Focusing on the task in front of him, the Doctor pressed a button on the door's control panel, and it slid open. He climbed through the door and stretched, reaching for the control panel only a few feet away. The heat was intense, but he knew (well, he hoped) his superior biology could handle it for a short stretch.

It wasn't quite as easy to maintain his hold on the door and reach for the buttons at the same time as he'd thought, and he flailed around, nearly falling out of the ship as he tried to manoeuvre to the right side of the door.

Finally, he pushed himself upright with a loud grunt and stretched towards the controls positioned above the door. "Come on! Go on, my son!" he muttered.

He managed to hit the first two buttons, but the lever that would finish the remagnetisation was just outside of his reach.

"Doctor, how're you doing?" Scannell asked.

"Not good. I can't reach!" The sun was searing through the suit, and he knew he'd have burns tonight if he survived this. "I don't know how much longer I can last."

"Come on. Don't give up now."

Encouragement from a man who'd been nothing but a naysayer from the moment they'd met gave the Doctor the extra bit of oomph he needed to grab the handle on the box and yank it down, revealing the lever. He pulled it with a shout of triumph…

…And of course, that was when things went pear-shaped. The Doctor pushed himself back into the airlock and automatically looked to see if the escape pod was coming back. When he did, he caught a full glimpse of the sun, and a moment later, he felt the angry burning in his head.

Oh, of course. That's how the infection spreads—via the eyes.

The Doctor screwed his eyes shut and fumbled back towards the airlock door. Scannell had warned him that he needed to get out of there before the pod came back, and he knew he was right.

The sun scorched him from the inside out, trying to take over. His body stayed one step ahead of it though, fighting the infestation valiantly. But until they dumped all the fuel, he was just as much of a danger as Korwin or Ashton.

oOoOoOoOo

The escape pod shuddered, jolting Martha out of Riley's arms. They stared at the control panel together, and a magic word flashed onto the screen: remagnetising.

"We're being pulled back!" Riley said in disbelief.

"I told you!" Martha said. "It's the Doctor!"

They watched gleefully as they drew closer and closer to the ship, and finally, with a thud, they docked. As soon as the airlock was pressurised again, they stumbled out of the pod, then through the door back into the main part of the ship.

The Doctor was the first thing Martha saw. "Doctor! Doctor!" He didn't reply, and she realised he was crawling across the floor like he was in pain. "Are you okay?"

He rocked back, a grimace on his face. His eyes opened in narrow slits for a moment, and white light shone from them. "Stay away from me," he growled.

The captain ran up to them. "What's happened?"

"I looked into the sun," the Doctor said, out of breath and panting. "I've been infected like Korwin and Ashton, but thanks to my superior biology, I've been able to hold it off." He writhed on the floor for a moment, then said, "You need to vent the engines and dump the fuel. Give back what you took."

"Riley, get down to Area 10 and help Scannell with the doors. When you get to the bridge, do as the Doctor says," McDonnell ordered. Riley looked at her in dazed confusion, and she pointed. "Go!"

The Doctor kept his eyes closed, but turned in the direction he thought Martha was. "You've got to freeze me, quickly."

"What?"

It was the only thing he could think of that might save his life, and keep him from infecting anyone else. "Stasis chamber. You've got to take it below minus two hundred. Freeze it out of me!" Pain lanced through his body as the sun continued to attack his system, and he was moaning in agony after almost every word. "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!"

"Help me!" Martha said, and a moment later, the Doctor felt the women take his arms and drape them over their shoulders so they could take him to the med centre.

It was hard to concentrate on anything but taking the next step and fighting the parasite, but Rose's fear and confusion wouldn't be ignored. I've been infected, he told her. They're taking me to the med centre. Stay in the TARDIS where it's safe, Rose.

The pain overtook him again, the living sun burning hotter by the second. Martha kept muttering nervously, telling him it was going to be all right, that they'd get him to the stasis chamber and everything would be sorted, but he knew the chances of that were slimmer than he'd let on to anyone.

Then he sensed Rose's presence quickly coming closer, and the comforting feel of it overruled his frustration that she'd put herself in danger, again.

Finally, he felt the plastic flaps at the door to the med centre, and he tried to sigh in relief, but instead it came out as another grunt of pain. With Martha's and McDonnell's help, he staggered towards the bed for the stasis chamber.

Martha let go of his arm, and the Doctor reached out for her in a panic. He needed someone to keep him grounded. "Martha, where are you?" A familiar hand took his, and he sighed. "Rose."

oOoOoOoOo

Almost immediately after the TARDIS landed, Rose felt something foreign shudder through her—then she realised, it wasn't her, it was the Doctor. There was something working its way into every system of his body, trying to take him over.

I've been infected, he said in answer to her obvious question. They're taking me to the med centre. Stay in the TARDIS where it's safe, Rose.

She huffed in exasperation at that instruction. The TARDIS seemed to be rolling her eyes too, and Rose patted a strut before walking out of the ship.

Looking around her, she realised she had no idea where she was, or how to find the Doctor. She bit her lip, then closed her eyes and focused on the bond. Getting a direction, she opened her eyes and started running.

The Doctor was moving, and she realised they hadn't reached the med centre yet. Rose kept going, trusting their bond to keep her on track. She could tell she was almost there when she ran up a flight of stairs. Turning left down a corridor, she saw an open doorway with orangish light flooding out of it.

"Martha, where are you?" he yelled as she ran into the room.

He was kneeling on the floor, gasping and panting. Rose took his hand before Martha could even turn around, and he sighed her name.

She squeezed his hand, then helped the unknown woman in the room lift the Doctor up onto the table. "Yeah, I'm here," she told him. "Martha's going to… What are you doing, Martha?"

"Putting him in a stasis chamber at -200 degrees," Martha said, scanning the manual and looking at the controls.

"No, you don't know how this equipment works," the other woman yelled. "You'll kill him. Nobody can survive those temperatures."

Rose stroked her thumb over the Doctor's. "My husband isn't human," she told the stranger absently. "If he were, he would have succumbed to the infection already, yeah?"

The woman acknowledged the point. "Let me help you, then."

Martha glared at her from where she was standing in front of the controls. "You've done enough damage."

"Ten seconds," the Doctor grunted. "That's all I'll be able to take. No more." He moaned in pain, and Rose pressed her lips to keep from echoing him. "Rose?"

Rose gently wiped the sweat from his brow. "Yeah?" she said.

He made a choking sound, then said, "It's burning me up—I can't control it. If you don't get rid of it, I could kill you. I could kill you all." His voice was hoarse and feral, and it didn't sound like the Doctor at all. But then he let out a scream, and the next words were all him. "I'm scared! I'm so scared!"

Martha came to the Doctor's other side and leaned down over him. "Just stay calm. You saved me, now I return the favour," she said, not sounding like she believed what she was saying. "Just believe in me."

The Doctor's back arched against the pain. "It's burning through me. Then what'll happen?"

Martha bit her lip and turned back to the controls, the fear on her face obvious. Rose couldn't bring herself to speak; she concentrated on giving him light caresses and offering as much telepathic comfort as she could. The Doctor latched onto it greedily, and she thought some of the tension on his face seemed to ease a little.

"Rose. If I… if I regenerate—no, listen," he insisted when she tried to interrupt. "I told you I wouldn't do something like this without letting you know what to expect."

She caught the reference immediately, and knew exactly what he would say next. Even though she hated the thought of him regenerating, she pressed her lips together and let him explain.

"Regenerating hurts." His face spasmed and his grunt of pain reinforced the bald statement. "I won't be able to avoid it. Your whole body will feel like it's being taken apart and put back together again. I'm sorry."

Rose leaned over and brushed her lips against the Doctor's, trying to ease his unnecessary guilt. Being bonded means shared pain as well as joy, my Doctor. She pulled back and brushed the sweat-dampened hair off of his forehead, then traced the line of his jaw with her fingertips. Don't be afraid. I will always be here for you.

Rose looked at Martha, who nodded. "Are you ready?" she asked the Doctor.

"No," he said, but Martha ignored him and used a large joystick to roll the bed into the chamber. Rose moved to stand in front of it, staring at her bond mate writhing in fear and agony.

She heard Martha hit some buttons, and then the Doctor screamed, more from terror than pain. Rose shuddered and clasped her hands in front of her, hating that they had to do this, but knowing it was the only chance he had, aside from regeneration.

Frost spread across his face, then suddenly the stasis chamber turned off, along with all the lights in the med-centre.

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

Martha looked from the blank screen to the stasis chamber. "What happened?" she gasped.

The other woman set her jaw and stared at the door. "Power's been cut in Engineering."

Rose stared at the Doctor. They were running out of time. His presence in her mind was more feral and less him with every passing moment. And now, someone had interfered with their one chance to save him.

"Who's down there?" she asked in a low voice.

"Leave it to me." The woman strode out of the med centre.

Inside the stasis chamber, the Doctor writhed and grunted with the effort it took his body to keep the parasite from taking him over. Martha and Rose looked at each other, both hoping the power came back in time.

The frost had entirely melted off the Doctor's body, and Martha started tapping at the controls to the stasis chamber in a vain hope that it would start working again. "Come on. You're defrosting," she said under her breath.

"Rose!" the Doctor yelled. "Martha!"

"We're here, Doctor," Rose assured him.

His whole body trembled. "I've only got a moment. You've got to go. Get in the TARDIS."

"What?" Martha asked, while Rose exclaimed, "Not happening!"

"Rose, listen to me," he ground out. "I can't fight this much longer. If Riley and Scannell don't reach the front of the ship soon and vent the fuel, I'll be completely consumed."

"I don't care," she said stubbornly.

"But I do!" he screamed. "I couldn't stand it if I hurt you. Rose, please!"

That fear broke through her reluctance—if the Doctor hurt her while he was… possessed, the guilt would cripple him. Rose blinked back tears. "All right. But I'll be waiting for you, Doctor."

With one last look at him, she and Martha ran from the room back towards the TARDIS.

Rose paused when she heard the woman's voice over the intercom. "Riley, Scannell… I'm sorry."

"McDonnell. McDonnell!" a man cried out.

"Exterior airlock open," the computer said in response to the cry.

It didn't take much to figure out what had happened, at least the basics. "Who was she?" Rose asked quietly.

"The captain."

Rose understood her animosity then. It was on the captain's authority that the crew had taken part of that sun. This had all happened because of her.

The Doctor's struggle to hold back the infection was giving Rose a headache, and she moaned and rubbed at her temples. "It's getting worse," she said. "If they can't… if they don't get rid of the fuel soon, we're all going to die."

"Martha!" the Doctor called out over the intercom.

Rose shook her head frantically. "Doctor, please! Just a few more minutes."

"I can't fight it, Rose. Give it back or—" He grunted. "Burn with me. Burn with me, Martha."

The ship lurched, and Martha stared at Rose. "What was that? What's happening?"

The pain that had been steadily building in Rose's head suddenly disappeared, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "I think the fuel must have been dumped."

The Doctor's presence was clear in her mind again, and without another thought, Rose pivoted and ran back the way she'd come. The ship shifted again when the engines fired up, and she grabbed onto a railing to keep from getting thrown to the deck.

Once the ship steadied, she started running again. Rounding a corner, she saw him at the bottom of the stairs she'd climbed earlier, getting to his feet unsteadily. The unzipped spacesuit had been peeled off his upper body and hung around his waist.

He held his arms out, and she jumped into them, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing kisses to his jaw, his cheek, anything she could reach, while the Doctor was kissing her hair and her temple as he slowly lowered her to the ground.

The moment her toes touched the ground, she pulled his head down and surged up to meet him in a kiss. He groaned and pulled her tight against him with his hands on her hips. Rose flicked her tongue against his lips and the Doctor opened his mouth instantly, humming in pleasure when her tongue brushed against his.

The hands on her hips slid down to grab her bum, and she moaned her approval of that, not even caring that Martha would probably find them shortly. But the Doctor picked up on that thought and moved one hand to her waist, running the other up and down her back.

He pulled back when he could tell she needed to breathe and pressed his forehead to hers. "Rose," he whispered.

"I'm here, my Doctor." She caressed his face, and he leaned into her touch for a moment before lowering his lips to hers for another kiss.

"I was so scared," he said when he pulled back again. "If I had hurt you…"

"But you didn't. You didn't, Doctor."

He took a half step back and cupped her face in his hands. "Thank you for leaving when I asked," he said earnestly.

Rose waited; she could tell he wanted to remind her that he'd also asked her to stay on the TARDIS. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then kissed her gently.

I'm glad you came anyway, he told her. She pulled back and looked at him, wide-eyed, and his ears turned red, like she'd discovered a secret of his. Oh, I'm always selfishly glad to have you with me, even when I wish you would stay somewhere safe.

Rose brushed her knuckles against his jaw. And I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

She leaned against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. The Doctor kissed the top of her head, then encouraged her to bury her face in the crook of his neck.

"We made it," Rose murmured after their emotions settled down a little.

The Doctor smiled. "Of course we did. The Doctor and Rose Tyler: the stuff of legends."

Rose snorted. "Could stand with being a little less legendary for a while, frankly."

He could feel her weariness as the adrenaline wore off, and he had to admit, he wouldn't mind avoiding trouble for a while, either. "Hmmm… The Doctor and Rose Tyler: the stuff of pretty interesting tales?"

He felt her cheeks stretch into a smile.

"Featuring in a series of fun stories with minimal danger," she suggested.

The Doctor chuckled. After one last squeeze, he said, "Come on, let's sit down. I don't know about you, but I find being legendary takes a lot of energy."

oOoOoOoOo

Martha took her time following after Rose, knowing she and the Doctor would need a few minutes alone together. When she found them, they were sitting on the steps, leaning against each other.

"Martha!" The Doctor jumped to his feet and pulled her into a hug. "Look at us, we all made it."

She took a step back and smiled. "Never doubted it for a minute."

The Doctor's bulky spacesuit had fallen around his ankles, and Rose helped him step out of it. When he was back to his blue suit, he pointed in the direction Rose and Martha had come from. "Is the TARDIS that way?"

"What's the TARDIS?" Riley asked from the top of the stairs.

The Doctor craned his neck and looked at him. "It's our ship. Come take a look."

Rose led the way, her hand tightly clasped in the Doctor's. Riley stepped up beside Martha and whispered, "I still haven't figured out how you managed to land inside the venting chamber."

"You'll understand when you see the TARDIS," Martha told him. "She's different from any other ship you've ever seen."

She drew a deep breath when they turned a corner and she saw the blue box only ten feet away. Despite what she'd told the Doctor, there'd been more than one point today when she hadn't been sure they would make it out of this one.

Scannell circled the TARDIS. "This is never your ship."

"Compact, eh? And another good word, robust." The Doctor patted the door. "Barely a scorch mark on her."

Martha hated the thought of abandoning Riley and Scannell. "We can't just leave you drifting with no fuel."

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

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

"Just tell them." The Doctor opened the TARDIS and let Rose step inside first. "That sun needs care and protection just like any other living thing."

He disappeared through the doors and Martha went to follow him, but Riley grabbed her arm. "So, er, you're off then. No chance I'll see you again?"

This was a complication of time travel she hadn't considered. "Not really." He looked a little dejected, so she hastened to add, "It was nice, not dying with you." They laughed together, and she offered the last bit of encouragement she could give. "I reckon you'll find someone worth believing in."

Riley looked at her meaningfully. "I think I already did." He looked down at the floor.

Martha considered what she was about to do for less than a second, then she stretched up and pressed her lips to his in a firm kiss. She felt his surprise, then acceptance and enthusiasm.

She stepped back and looked at his dazed expression. "Well done. Very hot," she added as she stepped into the TARDIS.

"Are we ready to go then?" the Doctor asked once she'd shut the door behind her.

"No argument from me," Martha said. "After almost dying…" Her eyes widened. "Oh no! Mum!" She pulled her mobile out of her pocket. "I'm just going to…" She pointed to her phone and they both nodded. "I'll see you for dinner," she told them, and started for her room.

As she curled up in the chair in her room, she felt the distinctive shudder of the TARDIS leaving a place. For the second time that day, she pressed her mum's speed dial number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?" her mum said, sounding distracted.

"It's me again," Martha told her.

"Two calls in one day."

The question was obvious, and Martha gave the best excuse she could think of for the earlier call, knowing it really wasn't very good. "I'm sorry about earlier. Over-emotional, mad day."

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" her mum asked. "Why don't you come round? I'll make something nice and we can catch up."

Martha nodded, even though her mum couldn't see her. "Yeah. Tomorrow. Do my best." She thought back to the earlier conversation. "So… that would be Election Day, yeah?" she asked, cringing as the words left her mouth.

"Of course it will be."

"Right. Of course. I'll be round for tea. Roughly."

"And…" Her mum hesitated, then added, in a stilted voice, "You could bring the Doctor and Rose, if you wanted. I assume they're the mates you were out with earlier."

"Yeah, maybe," Martha said. "See you later. Love you."

oOoOoOoOo

After Martha left the console room, the Doctor turned to Rose. "I could use a little help," he admitted, feeling the tell-tale tightness in the skin on his back that indicated he had indeed been burned.

"All right," she agreed, her voice soft and not holding even hint of recrimination. "Med bay or our room?"

"Our room should be fine, I think. It's not that serious."

Five minutes later when he felt the skin pull as he slowly took his suit off, he realised it had been slightly more serious than he'd thought.

Rose stilled his hands. "Let me," she said, and the Doctor stood quietly while she helped him out of the rest of his clothes, stripping him down to his pants. "Oh, Doctor," she murmured when she saw the burns on his back.

He could feel her hand hovering over the damaged skin, but she didn't touch him. The Doctor lay down on the bed without being prompted, wincing when the motion stretched the tight skin.

"You'll need your sonic," he told her, turning his head so he could see her.

Rose nodded and pulled it out of her pocket. "What setting?" she asked.

"451 heals burns."

She adjusted the controls, then pointed the sonic at him. When the tip glowed violet, the Doctor felt a cool touch running over his back. His skin tingled, then itched as she healed him.

He sighed and relaxed into the bed when she finished the last spot. "Thank you," he told her, feeling more tired than he'd expected.

"Were they just on your back?" she asked.

"Yeah. I had my back to the sun almost the whole time. Even my right hand and arm didn't get more than a typical sunburn."

He felt Rose turn his arm over and inspect the pink skin. "Hmmm…" she said, but evidently, she agreed with his assessment, because she didn't insist on taking care of them with the sonic.

"I've never used my sonic screwdriver to heal injuries before," she said as she stretched out next to him.

The Doctor rolled onto his side so he could look at her. "Amazing what you can do if you know how to manipulate sound waves, isn't it?"

Rose's answer was interrupted by the Doctor's stomach growling. After their giggles faded, he pushed himself out of bed. "Martha said something about dinner, didn't she?" he asked as he reached for his clothes.

She nodded, and then watched in bemusement as he dressed.

"What?" he asked as he tied his tie.

"How do you manage to put so many layers on so quickly? It takes me at least twice as long to get you out of them."

"Well, I do have more practice getting dressed than you have undressing me." He shrugged his shoulders into his jacket.

"And I suppose I'm usually a little distracted when I'm undressing you," Rose quipped as she climbed off the bed.

The Doctor chuckled, then took her hand. "Come on. We were barely on that ship for an hour, but somehow it still felt like a long day. I'm ready for a relaxing evening at home."

oOoOoOoOo

When Rose stumbled into the galley at 2 am, she was surprised to find Martha there. "Couldn't sleep?"

The other woman barely smiled as she turned her mobile over in her hands. "When you started travelling with the Doctor, what did your family think?"

Rose filled the kettle and turned it on. "My mum hated it. We told you he brought me home twelve months late, yeah?"

"God, my mum would kill him if he kept me away for a whole year." Martha frowned. "Forget Mum, I'd kill him. I've worked too hard at school to mess up now."

"Is your mum giving you a hard time about the Doctor?" Rose pulled out two mugs and raised her eyebrows at Martha.

"Yeah, thanks." Martha sighed. "No, she's being more passive aggressive, which is weird, because normally she's almost too straightforward. She's not actually saying anything against either of you, but she keeps dropping hints that I shouldn't spend time with you, or that I should be focusing on school instead." She looked down at the table, then back at Rose. "I called her today, from the escape pod."

Rose nodded sympathetically. "Of course you did. I once tried to call my mum from a planet in orbit around a black hole."

"I have a feeling I might have… encouraged some of her concerns."

The kettle boiled, and Rose poured water over the waiting teabags. "Well, what's the worst that can happen if your mum doesn't like the Doctor?" She handed a mug to Martha, then got the milk out. "She can't really stop you from travelling if you want to, and there isn't anything she can do to us."

Tension eased out of Martha's shoulders, and Rose smiled. "Feel better?"

"Yeah, thanks Rose." Martha looked at her phone. "I think I'll put this away until we're ready to go back to London. No reason to stir up more drama."

oOoOoOoOo

Francine pressed the phone to her mouth and stared at the wall. She knew her daughter, and Martha had no intention of coming round for tea the next day. Part of her hoped she wouldn't, because whatever Harold Saxon wanted the Doctor for, he clearly wasn't averse to hurting the people close to him to make it happen.

On the other hand… She closed her eyes and the image of Tish in a prison cell flashed across her retinas. She hadn't believed Agent Dexter until the cold woman had shown her the video feed from the cell, and now she would never forget it.

"Well, Mrs. Jones?" Dexter asked.

Francine took a breath and steeled herself before turning around. "I'm sure you were listening. She'll be here for tea tomorrow."

Dexter stood up from the dining table and held out a plastic bag, and Francine dropped the phone into it. "It didn't sound like she wanted to bring the Doctor, though," the agent said as she sealed the bag. "Do you think that will be a problem?"

"If the Doctor and his wife aren't with her when she arrives, I'll find a way to ask about their whereabouts," Francine promised through gritted teeth. She hated the thought of betraying Martha's friends, but if the choice was between this Doctor and her eldest daughter, what else could she do? "Is that all?" she asked.

"For now," Dexter said, and the knot in Francine's gut tightened at the implicit threat. "Don't forget to vote tomorrow."

Francine smiled tightly. "I won't," she promised. "Though you might not be happy with who I'm voting for."

It was an empty gesture and they both knew it. Harold Saxon had had the election locked up from the beginning. But if giving her vote to the other party was the only way Francine had to voice her anger, she would take it.

A smirk crossed Dexter's face. "Thanks for all you're doing, Mrs. Jones. Mr. Saxon will be very grateful."

Somehow, Francine managed to bite back the suggestions of what Harold Saxon could do with his gratitude and force a closed-mouth smile onto her face. "Just make sure my daughter is taken care of," she ordered.

Dexter's eyebrows rose. "Of course, Mrs. Jones. As long as you and your family continue to cooperate, no harm will come to Letitia."