Betaed by the amazing orchids117
Chapter 8
Rose reached down through the straps of her seatbelt and grabbed the Doctor's hand, grinning. Out of the view screen, the sun kept getting closer, until all that could be seen was a blinding light.
"Light-shield on!" Marian barked with the push of a button, causing a dark, fine, mesh-like screen to lower over the windows, just barely muting the light.
Now, the great Golden Giant could be seen for what she truly was – beautiful. The red sun behind haloed her in a deep maroon light, the curtain framing her performance. Ribbons of fire and light danced and tangled sensuously to a music-less ballet of ethereal elegance. As they got even closer, her arms reached out and seemed to pull them in, enveloping them in her stellar atmosphere. Light entered the control room from every angle, causing everything to glimmer… especially the Doctor's hair.
Rose giggled.
"What?!" the Doctor exclaimed, affronted.
"Your hair… it's glowing."
"What do you mean 'glowing'?" he questioned, running a hand through his hair. When he pulled his hand away, Rose only started laughing harder. His hand was now also glimmering. "It's just the increased light radiation from the sun reacting with my hair gel! There's nothing funny about that!" he explained, his voice higher than normal.
Rose feigned seriousness. "You're right, it's not. I mean, what if it catches fire?"
He stared at her, mouth agape, eyes horrified. He immediately pulled down the sleeve of his suit jacket and used it to rub at his hair furiously.
"D-doctor! St-stop! I was just kiddin'!" she laughed.
"You," he emphasised with a finger in her direction, "are pure evil."
"Children, settle down!" Capitan Owens commanded with an eye roll. "The grown-ups are trying to concentrate."
The Doctor and Rose tried to quiet themselves, but the moment their eyes met, they both erupted into giggles, unintentionally dragging Kallias down with them
Corey made an aggravated noise in the back of his throat, but ignored them. The nose of the ship had penetrated the photosphere; the next few moments were critical. They were close enough now that they couldn't actually see where they were going; everything looked the same: bright. He had to rely on the readings from various scans to manoeuver. The logical path would be to find a low-heat, more stable area to enter through, minimizing turbulence and room for error. However, time was now of the essence.
Captain Owens glanced at his wife. "Bring up the cross-section images for the areas with highest thermal activity." Marian found the correct charts and lined them up with the view screen. He examined them quickly and found what he was looking for. "There: 2.2 degrees toward alpha 7. It's the hottest point we can get to."
Marian frowned. "Won't it be extremely unstable?"
The Captain gripped his controls tighter as a shudder reverberated through the ship. "Yes, but it's also the fastest," he explained, keeping in mind the Doctor's three hour warning about overheating.
As they moved increasingly closer to their entrance point, the light tremors that occasionally shook the ship started turning into rough shakes. Corey concentrated on his breathing and tuned out everything else going on in the cockpit. He relaxed his shoulders and focused on the ship's movements. Whenever she shook, he went with her, compensating for every slight change. He was the ship, and it was just him and the sun, dancing. There was one final, unavoidable, violent quake, and then nothing. Everything became eerily still. They were in.
He turned on the intercom. "Neal, Angela, report!"
Angela's voice came through first. "The engines are a bit strained, but they're still within operational limits."
Neal said soon after, "Nothing to report."
"Great. And in case you haven't already guessed, we are now safely inside the Golden Giant. Well done," Owens informed them, turning off communications on his end. He then quickly set a course for the center of the star and fell back in his seat, exhausted.
"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Marian sighed, letting her hands slide off the controls.
Corey nodded and reached for her hand, eyeing her intently. "You should get some rest."
"I'm fine. Stop worrying so much. I can take care of myself," she replied sternly.
"It's not you I'm worrying about, not completely." He reached out and pushed a loose piece of hair back from her face. "We agreed that he only way I'd let you come was if you took it easy. So go. Sleep. Maybe get something to eat. I'll wake you in an hour."
Marian huffed, but a small smile was pulling at her lips. "Fine."
The Doctor watched as she got up from her seat and headed for the door. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but Rose had moved to the other side of the room to sit with Kallias, leaving him by himself. What had the Capitan meant when he said he wasn't worrying about her? The Doctor was always worrying about Rose's safety. Who wouldn't worry about someone they loved? Unless…
He unstrapped himself and went over to the seat Marian had occupied moments earlier. "May I?" he asked, gesturing to the chair.
Corey rubbed his eye and shrugged, holding back a yawn. "Why not."
The Doctor sat. He looked pensively at the screen; should he say something? He opened his mouth to babble something out as he usually would, but then he closed it again, unsure. What would be the point in bringing it up? It really wasn't his business. It was… it was domestic. But still… he wondered…
"What?" Corey demanded, exasperated by the Doctor's silence.
He took a deep breath and gave in to his inner curiosity. "Do they know – the crew?"
When Corey remained silent, the Doctor continued, "I know what the regulations are like on Koor. She shouldn't be here, should she?"
The Capitan's reaction was instant. His knuckles turned white around the controls and his face became red with anger. Who gave him the right? He was an intruder, an imposter! And here he was, making accusations, threats even, about his beloved Marian! That little…
He turned sharply in his seat to set the Doctor straight – and maybe throw a punch or two – but he froze when he saw the look in the Doctor's eyes. It wasn't one of accusation, but rather one of understanding and innocent curiosity.
At seeing the other man's reaction, the Doctor assumed the worst. "Is she okay?"
Maybe it was finally time. He had to tell someone eventually. He took a deep breath and relaxed back into his seat, returning to his controls. "Yeah, she's fine. She's stubborn when it comes to slowing down, but that's what I'm here for. To make sure she keeps the little one healthy."
The Doctor nodded and waited patiently for him to continue.
"We found out a month after we got signed on to the project. I didn't want her to come. We know it's against the law. I was hoping they'd find it when she got her clearance scan, but with the sun getting closer, they weren't too thorough in the pre-flight checks. We had a big row over it. She said that she could either let me go on my own and wait for me to screw up and roast the planet, or she could come with me and save it. Eventually I gave in. We haven't even told our families. No one knows but us – and now you."
The Doctor smiled, picturing the tough pair trying to look after a small, helpless child. Now that would be a true adventure for them. "You did the right thing, bringing her along."
Corey chuckled, becoming more at ease. "You know what she told me this morning? That not even complete galactic peace would make her happier than she is now." The Doctor grinned. "Mind you, she was still half asleep, but still…"
They stayed in a comfortable silence for a while, content with simply watching the bright, fiery colours swirling around them.
"Do you have children, Doctor?"
The Doctor sucked in a breath, catching Corey's attention. There was an odd look in his eyes, one of sadness, regret, and longing. It made him look impossibly old and worn out. "I did once," he said quietly.
"What was it like?"
He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Oh, it was centuries ago. I was a very different man back then."
Corey smiled. "You don't look very old."
"Weeell," he trailed off, not wanting to get into the logistics of that.
"Do you ever think of doing it again someday? Starting a family?"
The Doctor stared at the side of Corey's face, the question taking him by surprise. Did he want that someday? A proper family? One with kiddies and bedtimes and dinner at the in-laws?
He spun his chair around and looked back at Rose. Kallias had left some time ago, leaving her by herself. She was laying wither her head leaning back against the wall, her eyes closed peacefully. Her eyeliner was smudged from wear and her hair could probably use a wash, but she was always beautiful to him, and she always would be. Would she want kids? With him? Of course, most human women did, but she wasn't most women. Back when she was still with his Time Lord self, she had repeatedly promised him forever; she must have known that nothing romantic was ever going to happen between them, at least not before. So did that mean that it wasn't something she wanted? Or maybe she just hadn't given it much thought – after all, she had only been nineteen at the time.
But he was (mostly) human now, too. He had been given a second chance to get it right with her, and he wasn't about to let their precious time go to waste. He would give her all of it if she wanted; the big white wedding and the loud family gatherings, and yes, even the house with carpets and doors. He could picture it so clearly: Rose rocking their little baby to sleep after a long day, both of them with an equally blissful smile. And when their child got old enough, they could take him or her on safe trips in the TARDIS, all exploring the galaxy together.
He smiled wistfully. "Yeah. I think… I think I want that."
"That's good. You and your wife look very happy together. You'd make good parents."
The Doctor felt his face betray him with a blush, but he didn't correct Corey. For once he let himself indulge in a few minutes of pretending.
"Thanks. So will you."
The two men looked at each other, smiling. It was nice confiding in a relative stranger; they didn't know you well enough to have any actual opinions on the matter, but still somewhat cared what you had to say.
A few lights started flashing on the screen and Corey started pulling back. "Doctor, would you grab the controls? We're arriving at the core."
The Doctor grinned with excitement. "Of course!" He spun around in the co-pilot's chair and stretched his fingers before grabbing the controls and helping Corey slow the ship down to a stop. Out the viewscreen, the impossibly hot elements were at their most extreme. The slowly overheating second ship would not last long.
"Now to deal with this sabotage business," the Capitan said with a sigh, standing. "You wait here. I'll go get the crew."
The Doctor frowned. "Can't you just call them?" he motioned toward the intercom system.
"No, that would wake Marian. She doesn't need to be here for this. It'll just stress her further." The Doctor nodded in understanding. "I'll be right back."
As soon as he left, the Doctor went to wake Rose.
"Hey, wake up…" he said quietly, gently shaking her shoulder.
She opened her eyes. "M' not sleeping."
The Doctor paled slightly. "You weren't listening, were you?"
Rose sat up straighter and stretched her arms above her head. "What? You and the Capitan going on about Marian's baby?"
He gulped. "Uh, yeah…"
"Nah, I wasn't listening. Already guessed she was pregnant, thought I'd try to rest my eyes instead."
So, she hadn't heard his comment about wanting a family. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."
Rose raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Is it? Why didn't you want me to hear? Were you taking about something else?" She narrowed her eyes. "Are you trying to hide something from me?"
The Doctor grinned and jumped up. "Nope! Not at all! I'd never hide anything from you! You're my best mate! Anyway, we really should be trying to figure out this whole 'sabotage' thing."
"Well it's not one of us, and I don't think it's Marian or her husband; they wouldn't wanna risk the baby."
The Doctor began slowly pacing the room. "Okay, so that leaves Kallias, Angela, and Neal."
"Hey! Just because you don't like him, doesn't mean he did it," Rose chastised.
"But it doesn't mean that he didn't do it either. And it probably isn't Kallias, he's just too…" he trailed off, searching for a word.
"Good? Innocent?" Rose supplied.
"Yeah."
"So. Angela and Neal. They both had the opportunity."
"And the means, they've both proven to be pretty intelligent and resourceful."
"But why? What is their motive? Angela's brother spent his life designing and building this ship. She wouldn't do that to family – to her brother."
"Unless she secretly hated him and wanted to destroy his life's work."
"No. I have a brother, and I know that she could never do it for that reason. Besides, her whole family is on the planet."
The Doctor stopped his movements and ran a hand through his hair, wondering when Corey would show up with the crew. "That leaves Neal. He's the only one that makes sense: he's a weapon's expert with access to tools and information, and he isn't Koorian. He doesn't have anything to lose if the sun fries the planet."
Rose bit her lip. "But nobody just kills a whole planet. He has some sort of a plan, right? Maybe… maybe he works for someone."
The Doctor nodded in thought. "That makes sense. He seems like the type. He's just looking for a big payoff. There are plenty of races probably looking to take advantage of the current situation, but they don't want to ruin their interplanetary treaties by being the ones to take Koor."
Rose nodded, catching on. "But, if they send someone to do it for them–"
"–hired a third party to do their dirty work–"
"–then the other planets would never know they interfered."
"Exactly! They'd just assume the Koorians failed on their own, and that the interfering planet just happened to get there first to exploit the resources."
The pair grinned and high-fived, riding the high of having solved the puzzle.
"But wait…" Rose started. "What about Neal? He's still here, on the ship! We have to stop him before he does anything else!"
There was a sudden crackle from above their heads as the intercom turned on.
"Doctor! I need you! We're in the med bay! Hurry!" Corey said urgently.
Rose and the Doctor shared a glance, before reaching for the other's hand and running down the corridor, hoping that Neal hadn't already done something.
The whole crew was there when they passed through the clinical white doors. Kallias drinking a glass of water, trying not to faint. Angela sobbing quietly in a chair, her head in her hands. Neal leaning against the wall, arms crossed, staring at Corey, red-faced and furious, trying to hold it together… And Marian, laying on a bed, eyes frozen and unblinking, a trail of blood running down her arm from the slit in her neck.