Bananakaffawhonow?

Half an hour later, the party was still in full swing and the members of Red 6-7 had rejoined it. Including Astrid, who'd apparently had the time of her life during those few minutes on Earth. Rose didn't know whether to be happy or sad for her. Every so often Astrid would catch her or the Doctor's eyes as she served drinks and beam at them. Morvin and Foon, disappointed about their trip cut-short, had returned to their table and resumed their feast. Bannakaffawhawha was killing it (if the reactions of the people around him were anything to go by) on the dance floor.

Rose wanted to rejoin the party but something was itching at her. The malfunctioning Host—she'd witnessed two more carried off in the time since their aborted shore leave—and the increased wariness and anxiousness of the Chief Steward. The "power fluctuations" they claimed had caused them to be beamed back up. What sort of power fluctuations were strong enough to do that while not affecting anything else? No, no, something was going on. Or something was about to go on.

It figured, of course. They were on the bloody Starship Titanic. Instinct said they should flee but she couldn't leave these people behind. And there was a risk something could happen to planet Earth as well, they were so close. Perhaps she should give UNIT a ring? Or Martha…?

The Doctor was similarly on edge. They didn't have to be communicating telepathically for her to know. After nearly a decade, she knew how to read the tiniest twitches in his jaw, the tightening around his eyes, the shifting of his weight, and the movement in his hands for what they were. While to others he may seem closed off or at ease, she could see through the façade. He was worried.

She left him to get a round of those free drinks they'd been promised by the Steward for their shore leave being cut short. When she came back, he'd gone and defaced the ship. He had one of those portraits playing the Max Capricorn promo on loop pulled away from the wall, like a door. The portrait itself wasn't playing the promo, either, but instead showed some sort of scanner feed. There was an active sonar sweep on the top, a rotating model of the ship, and a red flashing alert that warned: SHIELDS OFF-LINE.

He looked out the window and she saw him stiffen. She couldn't see much of his face but what she saw looked panicked.

Oh, no. No, no, no. Rose, get to the TARDIS. Grab Astrid, the Van Hoffs, and bgo./b

The urgency and fear in his tone was enough to throw her off. It took her a second to get the message through. Why?!

There's meteors incoming and the shields are down. Unless they get put back online—you know what'll happen. Go!

I'm not leaving y—

The Doctor looked at her over his shoulder, teeth bared, eyes alight. DO IT,he yelled and the cry resonated through her mind like a gunshot in a small space. It was enough to trigger the instinctive response to danger within her. The Bad Wolf woke up. As she reflexively flinched from the emotion in his mind, on his face, the glasses fell from her hands, a spark zinged through her veins and she could feel the energy within her, ready to bend to her will and serve her. By the time she realized what she was doing, her feet were already carrying her away from him.

The world sharpened into extreme clarity. She could see details she would otherwise miss, hear the hum of the ship around her more distinctly. She could feel time moving around and through her, sense a pivotal moment in the timeline approaching rapidly.

Rose weaved through the crowd of Stoans, trying to be discreet—as discreet as someone with glowing eyes could be. A man laughed jovially and leaned back with the force of it. She shoved him out of the way without thought, paying his indignant cry no mind. She was starting to become frantic when she located Astrid in the midst of the tables with her tray in her hands.

"Astrid!" she called. "Astrid!"

Astrid turned with another winning smile on her face that quickly fell away when she saw Rose's face. "What's wrong—"

"You've got to come with me," Rose interrupted, seizing the tray from her hands, and set it on the table. "Right now."

Astrid's brow furrowed. "Why are your eyes—?"

"Never mind that. Do you trust me?"

"I…suppose, yes."

"Then, listen to me, and come on." She grabbed Astrid's hand and pulled her through the crowd. She felt Astrid stumble behind her but, thankfully, she didn't fall.

Where are you? the Doctor asked.

Got Astrid, getting the Van Hoffs, she replied immediately. She'd always found talking telepathically easier when she was in this state. You?

The bdamned/b Stewards are hauling me out.

Rose skidded to a halt and Astrid bumped into her. She steadied them both and then looked around for the commotion hauling the Doctor off would cause. Want help?

Almost free—GO!

Rose scurried around the next few tables, not bothering to check Astrid was following. Foon looked up and saw her coming. "What's got you in a hurry?" Foon twittered. "Sit down, try some of the—"

"Get up," Rose barked as she marched around the last table between them. "Both of you get up now and come on."

"What's going on?" Morvin asked, taken aback by her tone.

"We need to get somewhere safe."

"Why?"

It was at that moment when the Doctor's voice suddenly shouted through the speakers. "Everyone, listen to me!" The music tapered off as the band stared at their intruder in confusion. Most of the room turned to see what the sudden fuss was. "This is an emergency!" One of the Host approached from behind. "Get to the life—"

The Host covered his mouth and restrained him while the Stewards rushed up. They seized his arms once again, forced him off stage, and through the partygoers. All the while he shouted for people to look out the widows. He sounded a bit mad. The music resumed, with the singer apologizing for their interruption, and the guests laughed off the strange man's antics.

Rose didn't like seeing her husband manhandled and normally would rush to liberate him but he'd charged her with saving the three people they'd befriended. So she bit back the growl of anger building in her throat and turned to them. "There's a meteor storm heading this way," she explained bluntly. "The ship's shields are down. I can save you if you come with me."

The Van Hoff's eyes widened and with a glance at each other, they scrambled to their feet. Rose raced off in hot pursuit of the stewards and her posse hurried behind. A few people blocked her path but one glance at her face had them scrambling out of the way. They caught up to the Stewards in the reception.

"If you don't believe me, check the shields yourself!" the Doctor snarled at them.

"Where do you think you're taking my husband?" she demanded in her most authoritative, lady-of-high-class tone. "Release him at once and do as he says!"

"Please, sir, I can vouch for him!" Astrid cried.

"Look, Steward, he's just had a bit too much to drink!" Morvin tried to reason with the Chief Steward, placing his hand on his shoulder.

They were all ignored.

"Sir," Copper said as they passed his podium, "something seems to have gone wrong. All the teleports are down."

"Not now!" the Chief Steward snapped.

"Let him go!" Rose demanded.

The stewards continued to ignore their protests. At some point, Bannakaffiewhatna joined the precession, his high-pitched cries further adding to the cacophony of voices. Rose tried throwing herself in front of the stewards and was subsequently restrained by a third steward that happened to be passing by. This only further agitated the Doctor who alternated between telling them to check the shields and to let her go (with an alien explicative thrown in once or twice). The stewards lead them into the maintenance corridors, probably heading towards some sort of holding cell.

"The shields are down, we are going to get hit!" The Doctor screamed over everyone else talking around him.

It was right around this time that Rose had had enough. She slammed her foot down onto that of her captor and then when his grip loosened, she jerked free to elbow him in the solar plexus. Spinning around, she punched him square in the nose and sent him sprawling. She leaped away from him, landing lightly on the balls of her feet with ease.

"Madam!" The Chief Steward exclaimed.

"Listen to him!" She screeched twice as loudly. "Or we're all going to die!"

"Oi! Steward!" The rude man Rose had told off earlier shouted from behind them, evidentially having followed their strange parade. "I'm telling you the shields are down!"

The Doctor turned to the Chief Steward. "Listen to him! LISTEN TO HIM!"

The TARDIS cried out in her mind and the world seemed to slow. Rose felt the breath rush out of her as she exhaled and heard the Doctor's sharp intake as he, too, registered the ship's panic. Their eyes met.

Then came the impact.

The ship vibrated and rocked violently as one after the other the meteorites crashed into the hull with force enough to shatter it and the floating hunk of metal was bent and shocked beyond what it was designed for. They lost their balance and stumbled around, trying to keep upright, side to side, back and forth, up became down then up again. Sparks flew, alarms blared, and parts around them burst into flames. Rose fell to her knees and tried to push herself back up and felt the Doctor grab onto her protectively, and she clung to him for dear life. Pain seared through her leg as the ship shuddered again. The Doctor gave her a hard shove forwards and she stumbled, falling to the floor. The next second he was covering her body with his own and then an intense heat flared up behind them.

As quickly as it began, the tumult was over.

Around them the survivors moaned and called out for each other. Rose lay there on the floor, breathing heavily. There was a searing pain in her leg and though she felt the warmth of healing rushing to it, it wasn't taking hold. She moaned softly and gritted her teeth. That was never good. She saw the Doctor get up and her eyes followed his movements warily.

"Shhhh!" he urged loudly until everyone quieted. A few seconds passed in relative silence. "It's stopping," he murmured.

Rose started to push herself up but as she moved her leg, pain flared, white hot through her. Real pain. She let out a quiet wail of agony that earned her the Doctor's undivided attention. She looked down at her leg and saw a large piece of shrapnel sticking out of it, having torn through her dress as well.

"Oh, fuck," she gasped.

"Oh, no, no, there, there," the Doctor soothed, kneeling beside her. He helped her sit up, careful not to move her leg. "How deep is it?"

Rose grunted. "Not very. Don't think it hit the bone. Gonna—ah —need you to pull it out. Don't want to waist energy to get rid of it."

The Doctor nodded once and gently released Rose, waiting to see if she could support herself before shifting himself around and down her body. He braced on hand against her knee and gripped the shrapnel in his other. Rose hissed and grit her teeth, screaming when he tugged. Her leg burned in protest as the foreign object further agitated the damaged tissue but the moment it was free, the burn was replaced by the much cooler soothe of her regenerative energy. The Doctor tossed the offending object aside.

Rose panted for a few moments until the pain subsided, gone as if it had never been there, except for the lingering faint ache. Her body still, even after all these years, wasn't sure how to handle such rapid healing. It might never figure it out but she could live with that. At least her body had learned to deal with the sudden changes in energy and she didn't weaken as severely as she used to.

The Doctor helped her to her feet and realized that everyone was staring at her with varying degrees of shock and awe. Her scream must've drawn their attention. Bannawhatsitsface, Morvin, Foon, Astid, Copper, the Chief Steward, and the rude man were all alive. Two of the stewards, including the one she'd punched, lay unmoving on the ground.

The Chief Steward recovered first. "L-Ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, I m-must apologize on behalf of Capricorn Cruiseliners. We—"

"Oh, shut it," the Doctor snapped. "If you'd just listened to me you might've been able to stop this. Thanks to you, hundreds of people are probably dead or dying! Everyone's lives are at stake here and, quite possibly, the lives on the planet below."

The Steward was cowed by the harsh words but not into silence. "I would like to point out that we are very much alive! She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship."

"That's what they said about the original Titanic," Rose muttered.

"Doctor," Astrid called, kneeling beside Mr. Copper who seemed to have sustained an injury. They hurried over and the Doctor crouched down next to the man to have a look. It wasn't too bad. Rose had certainly seen worse. If she could still project the healing energy outwards like she'd been able to once upon a time, it was the kind of injury that would take seconds to sort out.

The Steward cleared his throat then began to retreat from the group, glancing over his shoulder as he did. "If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the—the situation."

Rose saw him opening the hatch before the Doctor did and she cried a warning, "No!"

"Don't open it!" the Doctor screamed, springing towards him.

The Steward heeded the warning too late. The airtight seal ruptured and the door was ripped off its hinges, revealing empty space where a hallway used to be. The Chief Steward barely had time to scream before he was sucked out. Rose flung herself at the pipes behind her just as the horrible tug of the vacuum began. She glimpsed the Doctor grab onto something before she squeezed her eyes shut.

There was little she hated more than the feeling of a force exponentially stronger than she was trying to pull her to certain doom. It reminded her too much of the force of the Void. She'd already lived through that twice and prayed she'd never have to feel it again. The pull of the space vacuum was almost as bad.

She heard the others screaming over the sound of the air whooshing past. Then the Doctor yelled in pain and Rose opened her eyes to find him across the room from where he was only moments ago.

"What are you doing?!" she shouted. Idiot! Madman!

The Doctor pulled out the sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the panel Bannakaffalatte was clinging to for dear life.

"Oxygen shield stabilized," the computer droned overhead. The pull lessened quite abruptly before fading altogether. Her feet touched the ground and she reflexively squeezed the piping she was clinging to even tighter.

"Everyone alright?" The Doctor asked. "Rose?"

"'m Good," she answered. She turned around. Everyone was still standing, for the most part. Mr. Copper was back on the floor again and looking quite frazzled.

"Astrid?" the Doctor called.

"Yeah," the woman panted from nearby.

"Foon? Morvin? Mr. Copper? Bannakaffalatta?"

"Yes," the little red fella affirmed.

"You—what was your name?"

"Rickston Slade," the rude man replied.

"You all right?"

The man straightened his tie irritably. "No thanks to that idiot."

Astrid looked at him in horror and Rose wholeheartedly agreed with her. "The steward just died!"

"Then he's a dead idiot." Rickston sneered.

Astrid gasped and both she and Rose took a step forward at the same time. Rose was already lifting her hand to smack him right across the face when the Doctor intervened.

"Alright, calm down," the Doctor ordered. "Just stay still, all of you," he ordered. "Rose, with me."

He crossed the hall to the hole in the wall where the hatch had been. Rose followed. Through it, she could see Earth, debris from the ship, and…bodies. Bodies floating everywhere. She recognized several from the party.

"Oh, God," she breathed.

"Rose…" Astrid said quietly. Rose nearly jumped, not having noticed the woman's approach. "How bad is it?"

"Bad," Rose croaked.

"We're alive, just focus on that." The Doctor instructed.

"Why weren't the shields up?" Astrid asked. "Oxygen shields must always be up—it's the law."

"I don't think it was an accident." He turned away from the hatch but Rose continued to stare out at the wreckage. More bodies began to drift by. Some of these weren't even wearing party clothes. That one…was too small to be an adult. And that was—uh oh.

"If we can get to reception," he said quietly to Astrid, "We've got a spaceship tucked away. That's where Rose was trying to take you three before."

"Um…Doctor?" Rose cleared her throat. "That's not going to happen."

"Why?" He asked, looking her way. "Oh."

"What is it? What's wrong?" Astrid poked her head around the side of the ship. She stiffened when she saw the debris and bodies out there and let out a gasp of horror.

"That's our ship over there."

Astrid shook her head quickly. "W-where?"

"The blue box." Rose pointed to the TARDIS as it drifted through their line of sight.

"That's a spaceship?" She asked doubtfully.

"Oi, don't knock it." The Doctor protested. "Best ship in the universe."

"A bit small."

"A bit distant," he muttered. "Trouble is, once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest center of gravity and that would be…the Earth. Specifically the Powel Estate, in this case."

"There it goes," Rose sighed as she TARDIS began its spinning in-flight motion and spiraled down to Earth. As it went, she felt their bond begin to stretch. Not much, not by any means—they were still in the same time and the distance wasn't even that great relatively speaking—but enough for her to feel it.

"Rose, do you think you could call it back?" he asked. That was one of her more theoretical abilities. She claimed she could do it, knew in her gut she could, trouble was…she didn't know how. Only in the direst of circumstances had the knowledge come to her and it always left just as quickly.

"Even if I suddenly could, she's probably too far."

"Eh, good point."

"Excuse me!" Rickston shouted, startling them. "If you're all done being secretive! What exactly are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, for starters, you're going to shut up." The Doctor ordered, striding up the hall. Rose started to follow but then glanced back at Astrid who was staring out the hole. "Mr. Copper, how's that head of yours?"

Rose gently touched Astrid's shoulder. Astrid looked at her in despair.

"Oh, um, fine, I think." The man replied. "The bleeding has stopped."

"Astrid!" The Doctor called. Astrid shook her head quickly and they both hurried up the corridor. The Doctor handed Astrid a small first-aid kit and she headed over to Copper. "Better put a plaster on it just to be safe. Anyone else hurt?"

"I think we're good," Morvin said.

"Bannakaffalatta fine," Bannakaffalatta confirmed then sat down by the wall without another word.

"Good. I'm gonna try to get ahold of the bridge. Astrid, which one of these is a comm?" He looked around the room.

She looked up from the first aid kit and pointed. "That one there."

"Thank you. Need to reach the bridge. Rose—" he reached into his pocket and pulled out her mobile (a newer model she'd picked up in 2018) and tossed it to her "—I want you to phone UNIT. Tell them Security Code eight-delta-six."

Rose nodded and unlocked her phone. She had UNIT's number saved under her contacts. Being a (mostly former) Torchwood agent, she wasn't exactly friends with UNIT, but Martha worked with them now and the Doctor had a history with them so she played nice. They were definitely useful in a pinch. But then her finger froze over the screen as something occurred to her.

"I don't think I should."

The Doctor was fiddling with the comm panel. "Why?"

She glanced at the others. They were talking amongst themselves and didn't seem to be listening but she didn't want to risk sending them into a panic. So she asked telepathically, What if they try to blast the ship out of the sky?

He froze.

Doctor, you and I both know what'll happen if something this size hits the planet. UNIT will, too. What do you think they'll do?

Security Code Eight-Delta-Six warns of an imminent impact threat, he answered. If this ship starts to fall, I want them prepared.

What if they don't wait? What if they just blast us now—stop the danger before it becomes a threat? There's still people alive on this ship, we can't let them all be slaughtered.

He sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. What do you suggest, then?

"Martha."

The Doctor straightened. "Martha Jones?"

"Do we know any other Martha's? She knows how to operate the TARDIS."

"She knows how to take off and land. Basic functions. She won't be able to fly it back here."

"No, but, what if she had…say…a control disc? A control disc with coordinates to land at a safe place on this ship. A control disc we will go back and place on her kitchen counter when we're safe and free." A grin spread across her face at her own cleverness then she bit the inside of her lip as she waited for the verdict.

"A casualty loop?" The Doctor shook his head, a proud smile on his face. "Brilliant! Now but what…oh…" He frowned. "Yes…no… OH!" He shouted, flinging his hand up. "That's it! We can use the TARDIS to keep the ship in orbit! Rose Tyler you are brilliant!" He crossed the distance between them, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed the top of her head. Then he released her and bounded back to the comms.

Rose grinned proudly. "I know."

"Care to share with the class?" Rickston demanded.

"Not just yet." She said. "Got to make sure of something first."

Rose scrolled through her contacts until she found Martha's number and pressed it. She put the phone to her ear and listened to it ring. By the fourth ring, she was getting antsy. Come on, Martha, pick up…

"Hello?" answered the voice of Tom Milligan, Martha's beau that she met at the end of the terrible paradox year then sought out in the proper timeline. He sounded like he'd just been laughing.

"Tom, it's Rose. Put Martha on."

"She…um, she's busy. Her family's here."

Tom still didn't know the Secret. As far as he knew, Rose and the Doctor were old travelling buddies. "I don't have time for this, Tom. I need her help."

"Are you alright?"

"No. Get Martha."

"Give us a sec," he said. She heard rustling on the other end of the line and voices growing louder. He said something she couldn't quite make out then the phone was handed off.

"Rose?!" Martha asked fearfully.

"Oh thank God," she exhaled. "Listen to me," she said quietly. "We're in big trouble. Right now, there's an alien cruise ship floating over Earth called the Titanic. We're on it."

"…Seriously? The Titanic? You-know-what's called a ship the Titanic…and you're on it?!" Disbelief colored her tone and Rose knew why. If there was one thing Rose had refused to do upon becoming a time traveler, one place she would never set foot as long as she lived, it was the Titanic. She and Martha had always been agreement on that front.

"Yeah, long story. I'll tell you later. But the shields were down for some reason and meteorites crashed into it. It's not looking good. We've got dozens dead and I don't know how much longer this ship is going to stay up. If it falls…"

"God," she whispered. "What do you need me to do?"

"The TARDIS fell out of the ship and automatically piloted itself to Earth. The Doctor says she would've landed at the Powell Estates. We need to get her back up here. Where are you?"

"Mum's."

"Alright. Go into the kitchen and look on the counter…by the sink."

"Oh…kay." A few seconds passed. Rose glanced at the Doctor who was trying to force the battered comm panel to work properly. "What did you do?" Martha asked. "…What is this?"

"It's an control disc for the TARDIS. It's been pre-programmed with coordinates to get the TARDIS back onto the Titanic."

"Hold on, are we in a casualty loop?"

"'Fraid so."

"Wonderful."

"When you're inside the ship—remember the CD slot in the console that wasn't a CD player at all? You'll stick the disc in there and the ship will come to us."

"What about me?"

Rose paused as the Doctor suddenly crowed, "Oh, hello, sailor!" He'd gotten through to the bridge, then.

She cleared her throat. "Well, the disc could be programmed so you're left behind as the ship takes off but, uh…we could probably use you. We've got a group of survivors here and at least one of them is hurt. We could have more by the time we get to the ship."

"Alright. I'll be there as fast as I can. See you in a bit and…be careful, alright? Both of you."

"You too."

Martha rang off and Rose lowered her phone from her ear and pressed the button on the top to lock it. Her sister was coming. She felt better already.

The Doctor, meanwhile, was leaning against the panel. He didn't look too happy. "Oh yes. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out all life on Earth."

Rose inhaled sharply through her nose. The others got really quiet all of a sudden. Whatever they'd been doing before, they'd all heard that. She tucked her phone inside her bra then walked over to him.

The Doctor glanced at her. "Midshipman," he ordered, "I need you to fire up the engines containment field and feed it back into the core."

"This is never going to work," a young man replied fretfully.

"Trust me, it'll keep the engines going long enough to—"

"We're gonna die." Foon said and it was her realization that broke the silence. They all started to speak, their voices overlapping.

"Are you saying someone's done this on purpose?" Mr. Copper demanded.

The Doctor raised his hands to quiet them. "Okay, okay—"

Astrid shook her head and cried, "We're just a cruise ship!"

"Tch, tch! First things first!" He held up one finger on each hand. "One: We're going to climb through this ship. B…no…"

"Two," Rose corrected.

"Yes, that: we're going to find another way to reach reception. My ship will be waiting for us when we get there. Three—or C: we're going to save the Titanic." He lowered is hands. "And coming in at a very low Four or D or that little 'IV' in brackets they use in footnotes—"

"Doctor—"

"We're going to find out why we have to. Right then, everyone, follow me."

With that, he turned and started up the hallway. He held out his hand and Rose was about to take it before Rickston burst out loudly. "Hang on a minute!" The Doctor stopped and turned around, annoyed. "Who put you in charge? And who the hell are you people, anyway?"

The Doctor stiffened and then stalked back up to them. "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. This is my wife, Rose Tyler, the Bad Wolf. We live and walk through time and routinely save planets and civilizations from utter destruction. We're the people who are going to save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below."

He said it with such utter certainty that Rose felt her own spirits rise. The Stoans stared at him with awe, surprise, and in Rickston's case, grudging respect.

"You got a problem with that?"

"No," said Rickston quickly, not quite meeting his eyes.

"In that case, allons-y!"

The Doctor turned again, grabbing Rose's hand, and the two of them lead the survivors down the corridor.