A/N: Late again, I know, but rl decided they wanted to fuck with me even more than usual these past three weeks... things are better now and headed towards staying that way, but it only happened today, so...

Anyways, new chapter! A bit Eva-lite but we get a lot of Doctor, so there's that.

I'd like to point out srirachacha for absolutely no reason other than being my 100th follower on this story!

Eva was awake for barely a minute before falling asleep, though this time is was a natural one, rather than a coma. The Commander showed the Doctor the ripped and torn clothes she was wearing when they found her, and the Doctor recognized it immediately.

"So that's where you ended up," he muttered, remembering how scared she was when she left in the middle of the whole Autons and Master deal on Earth, back in his third body. "I'm sorry."

"Who are you to her?" Jaffrey questioned from the bed next to hers.

"I don't know yet," the Doctor replied. "She's too young."

"Who is she to you, then?"

"She's..." the Doctor sighed. "She's my everything."

Jaffrey was silent for a moment before talking again.

"She spoke about you," he said. "She said that the thought of seeing you was what kept her going. At the time, I thought she meant a regular doctor, but now I understand... it was you."

"I let her down," the Doctor said quietly. "I should have come here sooner. I should have saved her."

"She's fine now," Jaffrey said. "She's here, and she's safe, and she's alive. But we have bigger problems. It's alive."

"What?" the Doctor asked. "What's alive?"

"I have no idea," Jaffrey replied. "I just know it is. It was clear in my mind when I was in the Storm, and Eva said it a couple of times, too. It's alive."

"It's alive," the Doctor repeated. "Well, then. Let's meet it."

"Whatever 'it' is," Jaffrey added, watching as the Doctor left the room.

EMH

"It's alive," the Doctor quoted as he and Rose walked into the Commander's office.

"What?" the Commander asked.

"We asked around," the Doctor said. "It's alive, that's what all of the people who spent time in the Storm said. It's alive."

"Yes," the Commander said grimly. "I'm afraid it does seem that way." He sighed. "It was a rumour passed from one High Commander to another, starting with the Storm. They say the Storm is alive, and that it's devouring the people who die in it. At first, I thought it was nothing more than ghost stories, but as the time goes by, it seems more and more true."

"How could that be?" Rose asked. "It's a storm. How can it be alive?"

"You'd be surprised," the Doctor told her. "Though it might not be the Storm itself, as much as the particles in it. The ice, the wind... even the snow. Snow remembers."

"Remembers what?" the Commander asked.

"What was here before," the Doctor replied. "Before you lot popped up and changed the Atmosphere. There was a stable Ecosystem on this planet and you disturbed its balance. You hurt the planet, and now –" He paused as he realized. "Now," he said slowly, "The planet is fighting back. Commander, how long ago did you settle on this moon?"

"One hundred and forty five years," the Commander replied.

"And how long ago did the storm hit, for the first time?" he inquired.

"One hundred and thirty nine years."

"Doctor?" Rose asked. "What is it?"

"It's alive," the Doctor repeated. "They didn't mean the Storm. They never meant the Storm, none of them. They meant the moon. The moon is alive."

"Titan?" the Commander asked. "Are you saying Titan is alive?"

"Just the name of it," the Doctor muttered. "The naming of all of the moons was after Titans, Titanesses and Gods. Just this one, this one alone was named 'Titan'. Didn't you ever wonder why?"

"Herschel named the moons," the Commander said. "Why should I know how a man who died several millennia before I was born thinks?"

"Because it matters," the Doctor said. "You lot settled in here, wiping the place with your scanners, and cameras, building buildings and digging into the shell of a living organism. And it took it a while to fight back, but eventually it did. And it won't ever stop."

"If what you're saying is true, then this living organism killed hundreds of people," the Commander said. "It's a murderer."

"It was protecting itself," Rose said. "You changed the gasses of the Atmosphere, adding in Oxygen and CO2... this creature lived on this planet most likely lived off Nitrogen."

"Then how isn't it dead?" the Commander asked. "It lived a hundred years just fine without it."

"It's a living being that is literally the size of a moon," the Doctor snarled. "It'll take hundreds of years for it to die, and it suffers through it slowly."

"It's taking us down with it, that's what it does!"

"He."

The three turned to see Jaffrey standing at the doorway, looking at them.

"You should be in bed rest," Rose said worriedly.

"He does," Jaffrey repeated. "Not 'it'. He."

"You felt him, didn't you?" the Doctor asked. "In your mind, while you were in the storm."

"He's angry," Jaffrey said. "And in pain."

"Angry and in pain," the Doctor muttered. "That's never a good combination."

"So he lashed out," Jaffrey went on. "Could you really say he was wrong?"

"Yes!" the Commander replied. "It's killing us for decades."

"And we were slowly killing him." Jaffrey swayed, leaning on a wall so that he wouldn't fall down.

"You need to rest," Rose said, hurrying to him and letting him use her for support.

"No," Jaffrey said. "We need to end this. I'll rest later."

"You need to lay do –"

"Are you sure?" the Doctor asked, cutting Rose in the middle of a sentence.

"Never been so sure of anything in my life," Jaffrey replied.

"It's not gonna be easy," the Doctor warned.

"When is it ever?" Jaffrey asked, allowing Rose to lead him out of the room.

EMH

"Open the gates," the Doctor said as they headed towards the guards.

"Don't you dare!" the Commander said. "The Acceleration hadn't passed yet."

"Acceleration?" the Doctor asked.

"That's what we call it when the Storm gets worse," Jaffrey said. "This Acceleration started in Area G about two weeks ago, and it slowly headed towards us. It arrived here when Eva did, I barely managed to get her into the gates in time."

"Arrived with Eva," the Doctor repeated. "What are the odds?" He looked at the rest of them before explaining, "If I'm right – and I usually am – and this Moon is sentient, then it's probably not very happy that somebody lived through its Storm."

"It's after Eva," Rose said in understanding.

Jaffrey took a deep breath before pulling out a gun from an inside pocket in his robes and aiming at the Commander. "Open the gates or I shoot him," he said.

"Not guns," the Doctor muttered.

"Will you really kill me?" the Commander asked.

"If we don't solve this mess, the Storm will kill us all," Jaffrey said.

"No, it won't," the Commander replied. "It's only after the girl. If we just hand her over –"

The Doctor took two steps, taking the gun out of Jaffrey's hand and aiming it at the Commander himself.

"I really don't like guns," he said. "But if you even think about mentioning it again, I will shoot you." He looked at the guards. "Open the gates."

"Yes, sir," the guards said, moving aside and opening the gates for them to pass.

The Doctor marked for the Commander to go first, knowing that if they went out without him, he'll lock them outside. He was so busy watching the Commander that he didn't notice Jaffrey was walking too far away from the rest of them, wind engulfing him.

"Jaffrey!" Rose called out.

"Stay back," the Doctor said, holding her down before stopping and aiming the gun at the Commander. "Don't move."

"Who are you to march this land?" Jaffrey asked, though his voice was different, deeper. "To walk on my skin, the man who appears out of nothingness?"

"Is that..." Rose started.

"It is," the Doctor turned to Jaffrey once more. "I am the Doctor. Who are you?"

"I am Titan."

"That's how we call you," the Doctor said. "How they call you. But who are you?"

"I am Titan," the planet repeated, speaking through Jaffrey.

"Oh," the Doctor said. "The humans thought they named you after the Titans from their Mythology, but it was the other way around, wasn't it? They named them after you."

"I am Titan," Titan repeated.

"How do you do this?" the Doctor asked. "You're speaking through him, but how do you do it?"

"His body is weak," Titan said. "And so is his mind. He has come to me of his own free will twice. He will not survive a third."

"I know you're hurting," the Doctor said. "I understand it, and I promise you that if you just let me help you, these people will go away. They'll leave you alone."

"Why would I want them to leave me alone?" Titan asked. "Their bodies are so warm... they taste so good... why would I ever want them to leave?"

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"For years, I was asleep," Titan said. "The ice and cold and darkness covered me for so long, that it had become a part of me. And then, they came. The humans, with their light and their air, waking me from my slumber."

"And you repaid them by killing them," the Doctor said, sounding disgusted.

"So warm," Titan repeated. "So tasty. Why would I want them gone?"

"It's a murderer," the Commander said. "It was killing us for all of those years, for fun."

"For food," Rose corrected.

"Like sheep at the slaughterhouse," the Doctor muttered.

"My Storm is too strong for any ship to land," Titan said. "I will devour everybody on my surface, one by one. Starting with you."

"I don't think so," the Doctor said, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and using it to make the Storm back away. "If you kill us all, there will be no food left for you, because nobody will return here if everyone were dead."

"If I let you live, you'll tell everybody to never come back here," Titan retorted. "What's in it for me?"

"What do you want?" the Doctor asked. "Tell me what do you want to let these people live, and I'll see what we can do about it."

The wind around Jaffrey subsided for a moment before coming back as Titan spoke through him for the last time.

"A survivor of the Storm."

Jaffrey fell to the ground as Titan's presence left him, raising his hand as if to tell them he was alright.

"A survivor?" Rose asked. "What does he mean?"

"The Storm... it isn't just a storm," the Doctor said. "It's Titan's way of preparing his food. One last meal, that's what he's asking for."

"A sacrifice," the Commander spat. "That's who you're protecting."

"Maybe you missed it," Rose said, "But from the moment Titan said he was eating you lot, the Doctor stopped protecting him and started protecting you."

"But how much is he willing to sacrifice?" the Commander questioned. "Because right now, the only survivor of the Storm is your little girlfriend, Doctor."

"No," Jaffrey said, pulling himself to his feet. "Not the only one."

"No!" Rose called out. "You can't."

"That's the only way, right?" he asked the Doctor, ignoring her. "The only way to end this thing and keep Eva alive."

"We'll find another way," the Commander said.

"Doctor?" Jaffrey asked.

"We might find another way," the Doctor said cautiously.

"But while we're looking for it, more people will die," Jaffrey stated.

"I... Yes," the Doctor admitted.

"Then there's no other choice," Jaffrey said. "It's been an honour meeting you, sir. Tell Eva I'm sorry."

"We won't forget you," the Doctor promised.

"Just get everybody out of here before Titan will change his mind," Jaffrey instructed.

"Stop right now!" the Commander called. "That's an order, Sabbath!"

"I'm sorry, sir," Jaffrey said. "But after what I've seen today, you're not my commander anymore."

He turned away from them, running into the Storm as the Doctor pulled Rose back into the gates, dreading what he'll tell Eva when she woke up.

EMH

"Doctor," Eva muttered in her sleep, tossing and turning. "No... No... Doctor... Doctor!"

She sat upright, her muscles tense and her eyes wide as she saw the unfamiliar room. She flinched as a hand touched her but calmed down when the Doctor's voice reached her ears.

"I'm here," he said. "Everything's okay. I'm here. I've got you. You're safe now."

"The planet," she muttered. "The planet, it's alive. It's eating the people."

"I know," the Doctor said soothingly. "We've taken care of it and everybody already evacuated."

"No, it wouldn't let them," Eva shook her head. "The planet, it will kill them all."

"It won't," the Doctor promised. "I talked to him and we cleared things up."

"It's okay?" she asked.

"It's okay," he repeated. "We're the only ones left... I wanted to wait until you woke up before going back to the TARDIS."

"Jaffrey," Eva said. "He came into the Storm to save me. He... is he okay?"

The Doctor swallowed hard before starting to speak cautiously. "The planet's ultimatum for letting everyone go was one last meal," he said. "He wanted a survivor of the Storm, and –"

"No," Eva shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "No, no, no –"

"It was either him or you," the Doctor told her. "He ran into the Storm. I'm sorry."

"No!" Eva cried. "He couldn't have! He, he was only a survivor of the Storm because of me. If I wasn't here, then –"

"Then Titan would have kept killing people," the Doctor said. "You saved them. You saved them all."

"No, I didn't," Eva said. "Jaffrey saved them all. I only killed him."

"You did more than you can imagine," the Doctor said. "Just like you always do. You have an impact on so many lives... So many people are alive now only because of you."

"But how many are dead now, only because of me?" Eva asked.

"Not nearly as many as the people who are only dead because of me," the Doctor told her and Eva silenced, knowing he was thinking about the Time War. "Let's go to the TARDIS. You need some rest, it would do you well."

"I..." Eva said, wiping the tears off her cheeks. "I can't..."

"Shh," the Doctor said, taking her in his arms and carrying her away. "Go back to sleep, Eva."

"I don't want to," she said. "Nightmares..."

"I'll keep the nightmares away," the Doctor said, kissing the top of her head absentmindedly. "Don't worry. They'll have to go through me, first."

Eva was already half asleep, unable to talk, but the words she wanted to say still ran across her mind, clear as day.

That's just what I'm afraid of.