Chapter Six

In Which There Is A Great Deal Of Panicking

"We're going to die!" wailed Jackie loudly, clinging to the pillar. "We're going to die!"

"Shut up, Mum!" snapped Rose. "We're not going to die!"

Jackie whimpered, but kept her mouth shut. The Doctor began running around the console, frantically flipping switches and twisting dials. Nothing seemed to happen. He slammed his hand down on the console in frustration and spat a spiky word which was not translated.

"Translator broken?" asked Rose, smirking.

"Probably," he growled. "Everything's shot." There was a clank. "Ow."

The TARDIS jerked again, and the room was filled with a high wail, mixed with the sound of the alarm. "What's that?" asked Mickey, alarmed.

"TARDIS," the Doctor said. "She's hurt. We're--"

He broke off as the floor jerks even more violently and he was thrown backwards against a pillar. Rose winced at the loud crack and watched in horror as he slid down, his head lolling to the side, out cold. "Doctor!" she screamed, and would have run over to him if the floor hadn't jerked again.

Suddenly, everything was still. Still and quiet. The light of the central column went out, and everything was in pitch darkness.

"Where's the door?" came Mickey's disembodied voice.

Rose tried to see, but there wasn't any light at all. "No idea. Someone try and find it. Don't trip on me." She got on her hands and knees and crawled along the floor until she found something. It was alive. Good. "Doctor?"

No answer. Bad. She sat up and put her hand on his head, running her fingers along the back of his messy hair. Her hand found something wet. Bad, bad, bad. Very bad.

"Here," said Jackie. Rose could hear thumping. "It won't open. It's stuck."

"That's not good." She followed Jackie's voice. There were the doors. She tried them. They wouldn't open. "Ooh, that's really not good."

"Hey, doesn't someone have a torch? We need some—ow!" Mickey had obviously tripped and went sprawling. "What's that?"

"Be careful!" she snapped. "That's the Doctor!"

"Why won't he wake up? Is he--"

"No! Don't even say that. He's hurt, badly. We need help." There was a soft moan around them. Rose closed her eyes. "Alright, that's good, the TARDIS is alive, just not working. Come on, girl, some light? Please?"

The lights didn't come on.

"Didn't think so," she sighed. "Alright, then." She found her torch and flicked it on. "Let's see what we can do." She examined the doors. "Right, that's out. They're, I dunno, jammed up against something."

"So we're trapped, now?" asked Jackie, her eyes wide with fear.

"Yeah, that's right." Rose turned the torch past Mickey, who was standing near the controls, to focus the beam on the Doctor. He didn't look good. His face was ashen, and she could see a smear of blood on the pillar behind him. "Okay, not good."

"What?" asked Jackie, looking over her shoulder.

"The Doctor." She flashed the light around. "Here, Mickey, go see if you can find some light—the TARDIS will help if she can, but don't hope for too much." She tossed him the torch, and heard the smack as his hand snatched it out of the air. "Mum, stay where you are." She walked over to the Doctor and knelt down. "Doctor, can you hear me?"

He didn't answer. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Stay calm, stay calm. Carefully, she laid her hand first on the right side of his chest, then on the left. Both hearts working fine, if beating a bit slowly.

He moaned softly, then, and stirred. "Rose?"

"Sh," she said. "Stay still."

"What...happened?" he asked, trying to push himself up.

"Shh-shh-shh, just sit still," she repeated, holding him still. "We crashed. You hit your head, but you're going to be fine."

"The TARDIS," he said weakly. "Is the TARDIS alright?"

"She's alive," she said shortly. "That's as good as it gets for now."

"My head..." He raised a hand to feel the back of his skull and winced. "Ow."

"Shh," she said, trying to calm herself and him at the same time. "We're going to get out of this. Somehow."

"I...d'you know where we are?"

"No idea." She took his hand. "It's alright, though. We'll be alright." He struggled to sit up, but she stopped him. "Will you just stay still?"

"Nope," he said, and she didn't have to see his face to know he was grinning. "Not me. I never stay still, no, always moving, me, always running or fighting or chasing or being chased or dashing around the console to get us to the next place, where we'll do more running, and fighting, and chasing, and being chased..."

Rose laughed. "That's right," she said.

Mickey returned, carrying three torches and a lamp. He set the lamp on the floor and turned it on. Light flooded the room.

"Thanks," said Rose.

She stood up and went over to the doors. They were still blocked. She hadn't expected anything else.

"We'd better hurry," she said. "I'd be willing to bet that whoever messed up the TARDIS isn't done with us yet."

A/N: I know, I know, this one wasn't great. The next one will be better, I hope...anyways. I have a plan for AFTER they get the TARDIS fixed...until then, I'll do my best. Please stay with me!