Danger

"Look out!" Bill shouted.

The Doctor ducked as a piece of the wall splintered off in a resounding crack of sparks and wires. Bill followed closely behind him as they maneuvered through the narrow corridor. She stole a quick glance backward and found the three robots still chasing them, gaining ground.

"Doctor…"

"I know, I know," he said through gritted teeth. Suddenly he tore off down a hallway to the right. "This way!"

A moment later, Bill heard the Doctor cry out. She turned the corner and came to a stuttering stop, grabbing onto some ripped metal hanging on the wall.

"Doctor!"

The hallway was practically gone, walls mangled and a giant hole in the center of the floor. Bill's breath came quickly, her heart racing. Had he fallen? What was out there beside empty space? Could he survive space?

Before her questions and the robots inching ever closer could put her in a frenzy, the Doctor's hand reached up and grabbed onto a portion of the floor just beside the gaping hole. Bill jumped down to her knees and crawled to him.

He was hanging on by a loose thread of metal, his legs dangling out of the ship and into the whirling blues and blacks of space beyond. Bill reached out to him.

"Grab my hand."

Hesitantly, the Doctor took one of his hands off of the metal and reached up to her. Just before their fingers could grab on to each other, the ship lurched.

To Bill's horror, the Doctor was thrown back with such violence that his other hand came off of the metal. He threw a panicked look up to her as his body began plummeting out of the ship.

"Doctor!" Bill shouted, fear seeping into her voice. She watched him for a second, falling into space with nothing to grab onto. "No," she breathed, mostly to herself.

As the ship lurched again, Bill backed up a few paces. The robots were right behind her now, their metal legs clanking noisily against the rusty old ship.

Bill shut her eyes and leaned back against the only part of the wall not destroyed. Doctor gone, possibly dead. Miles from home. Stranded on a ship with God-knows-what on board.

A noise entered the space; a groaning and wheezing sound that Bill recognized immediately. She turned up and found the TARDIS materializing directly in front of her, knocking over a few of the robots. The door opened and Nardole's face appeared.

"Come on, there's not much time," he said.

Bill hurried into the ship after him, trying to get her thoughts in order. He shut the doors and the TARDIS started its ascent automatically. Bill grabbed onto the nearest railing and tried not to be sick. The colors and sounds of the last half hour were still whirling in her head.

"Take it easy," Nardole said.

At first Bill thought he was talking to her, but when she looked up, he was halfway across the room, huddled over a figure on the floor. Bill's eyes widened.

"Doctor!"

She ran up to them, but Nardole put his hands on her shoulders.

"He's fine. Just spent a little too long without oxygen."

Bill looked down at the Doctor. He was lying on his back breathing heavily with an arm draped across his face. Bill held his opposite hand while Nardole went to the Console to steer.

The Doctor dropped his arm to his chest. His eyes were a bit bleary and red, but otherwise he seemed fine. He and Bill shared a smile.

"Sorry I didn't get to you fast enough," she said.

"Don't be ridiculous."

His voice was thick and tired. Bill sighed.

"Do you know how stressful it is to be your friend sometimes?"

The Doctor smiled, just before his face creased in pain. For a moment, Bill thought he was going to be sick, but instead he rolled onto his side and closed his eyes.

She looked back up at Nardole.

"Is he gonna be okay?"

Nardole came back to their side. He pulled a self-dampening flannel from one of the Console panels and set it on the Doctor's neck. The Timelord murmured in appreciation.

"He'll be fine. Looks worse than it is."

Bill nodded. "Thank you. For, er, picking us up."

Nardole smiled darkly. "Wish he'd stop running off without telling me. This is why I get cross. I don't mind guarding the Vault so much. I just...don't want him running off getting hurt or...and if something did happen, I might never know."

The Doctor grunted. "Sorry, Nardole."

Nardole sighed. "Sir, I thought you were resting."

"I'm not unconscious."

"Go to sleep," Nardole stated.

"Yes...mum."

Bill smiled at Nardole, who rolled his eyes.

"He's worse than the students, honestly."

Bill's smile only grew, as she realized they were all alright. In the clear. Bantering again.

Out of danger.

She didn't let herself wonder how long it would last.

I'm back to doing these one word prompt stories, so if you have a word you'd like to see, please leave one in the reviews! Thank you for reading.