Jay kicked her legs quietly from where she sat at the edge of her bed, listening to the sounds of the time machine as it roamed the Time Vortex, set simply to drift while they figured out what to do next. Martha had long since gone out to join the Doctor, cheerful after a nice long day-trip in the meadows the Doctor had mentioned so long ago. It had been pleasant for once, without a single thing gone wrong, and the Doctor had made sure they knew that he could get away without trouble.
Jay had made sure to not point out that one moment in which he'd nearly started an argument with a being that called the planet home.
She shook her wrists. They tingled, but not badly enough to bring tears to her eyes. She had a theory. The tingling hadn't spread nearly as much as it had previously when it started. Perhaps, Jay thought as she climbed to her feet, grabbing some shoes and tugging her cardigan - or that's what Martha had called it - tightly around her. She headed out for the control room with the intention of joining her newfound traveling companions. Perhaps, just perhaps, it had to do with her circulatory system?
She'd suggest it to the Doctor.
As she strode through the corridors, she smiled, patting the TARDIS walls. She could hear its quiet song in her ears, and once again, she wondered why Martha and even the Doctor seemed to not notice it. Surely the Doctor should have at the very least?
"-to worry about a signal again," the Doctor was saying cheerfully as Jay stepped into the control room to join them. He tossed something back at Martha, who caught it with one hand and looked proud at herself for doing so. She curiously studied it and Jay didn't bother to investigate as she went to sit in the captain's seat. She needed to put her shoes on.
"No way," Martha breathed. "But it's… You're telling me I can call anyone - anywhere - in space and time on my mobile?"
The Doctor grinned at the stunned look on her face, pressing a few buttons on the console. "Long as you know the area code. Frequent fliers' privilege."
Jay paused in trying to tie her sneaker. "What the hell is frequent fliers' privilege?"
Martha giggled, and the Doctor launched into an explanation as Martha went to work on dialing on her phone. She'd just pressed a button when the TARDIS suddenly jolted. Jay and Martha screamed as they were sent tumbling. The Doctor was a step behind, yelping when he slammed into the floor, eyes staring widely at the monitor as it began to flash red.
"Distress signal!" the Doctor cried, dragging himself back up to the console. Jay and Martha tried to scramble for a hold on something, managing to get to their feet. Jay still barely had one shoe on and had no idea where her other shoe had gone. The Doctor used his foot to flip a switch that was too far for him to reach with his hands and then shouted when another jolt had them all flying back to the grated floors. A moment later, the TARDIS finally stilled. Martha and Jay gasped for air. The Doctor merely popped back up. "Turbulence. Sorry." He bounced around, checking the TARDIS console to make sure everything was okay before suddenly abandoning them in favor of going to investigate the doors. "Come on, let's take a look!"
"Martha," Jay pleaded as she tracked down her shoes. "Help me, please?"
Martha shook her head and said gently, "I'll teach you how to tie shoes after we're done with whatever trouble's dragging us in this time, okay?" Jay nodded and let Martha tie her Converse before the pair of women rushed after the Doctor.
When they stepped outside, Jay wanted to immediately retreat. "Oh, my goodness, it's hot!"
"Like a sauna," Martha agreed.
The Doctor bounced on the balls of his feet, grateful he'd left his coat inside. "Engine room," he mused. There was a red haze, as if to enforce the idea of heat. He peered at the heavy working pieces of equipment that surrounded them, not daring to touch any of the metal. It'd likely burn even his hands. "Venting systems, working at full pelt," he explained as they looked around. "Trying to cool down...whatever this place is. If you can't stand the heat…" He winked and then sauntered over to a door. It was heavy-duty, looking like something that was hard to open. Yet the Doctor managed and Jay and Martha exchanged a look before hurrying after him. "That's better."
"Oi! You three! Get out of there!"
They snapped their heads over and found three people running at them with narrow eyes on them.. They were accompanied by a couple others. One of the men, a middle-aged person with dark hair and a furrowed brow, had spoken. The woman, looking serious and sweaty as she brushed dark hair from her eyes, snapped, "Seal that door! Now!"
The Doctor stepped aside to let the man who'd spoken and the third person do just that. Martha and Jay exchanged a worried look and stuck close. Martha shrugged off her leather jacket as the woman turned a wary look onto the group. "Who are you?" she demanded. "What are you doing on my ship?"
"Are you police?" the man who'd spoken previously added, gaze darting between them.
"Why would we be police?" the Doctor asked at the same time that Martha said, "We got your distress signal."
Quietly, Jay pointed out, her gaze searching the area, "If this is a ship, why aren't your engines running?"
They all looked surprised that she'd taken noticed - particularly the Doctor - and with reluctance the woman said, "They went dead four minutes ago."
"So maybe," the second man said finally, annoyed, "we should stop chatting and get to engineering."
"Secure closure active." The computerized voice filled the air and Jay and Martha jumped. They all looked over when they heard a heavy door slam shut. There was a woman with cropped dark hair and a square jaw running towards them, her eyes wide as she made it into the area with them just a moment before a door slammed close behind her.
"Who activated secure closure?" she cried. "I nearly got locked into area twenty-seven." Gasping for air, she suddenly realized that there were three newcomers. "Who are you?"
Jay opened her mouth to answer but was cut off as Martha, sounding shocked and dazed, answered. "He's the Doctor, I'm Martha, and she's Jay. Hello…" She strode away, looking at a window. Curious, Jay followed her, and Jay's face paled as she realized what was going on.
"Oh, my God," Jay whispered. "Doctor."
The captain sighed heavily and said, "I'm McDonnell. This here is Riley, Scannell, and Erina." She pointed to each as she spoke, indicating Riley to be the first man, Scannell to be the second, and Erina the newest arrival.
"Impact projection: forty-two minutes."
Looking grim, McDonnell said gently to Martha and Jay, "We'll get out of this, I promise."
The Doctor looked between the four people before them. "Forty-two minutes 'til what?"
"Doctor!" Martha cried, her limbs trembling as she and Jay took in the sight before them. "Look."
The Doctor rushed over, nudging she and Jay aside so he could look out. Both women wiggled so they could keep looking. They could see a beautiful burning star - a sun, even. But there was a problem, the Doctor realized. A very, very important problem.
They were flying right towards it.
From where she stood, the captain of the ship said tiredly, "Forty-two minutes until we crash into the sun."
The Doctor spun on his heel, lunging for her. She jumped, but he didn't seem to notice. He grabbed her arm, voice lifting a little in panic. "How many crew members on board?"
"Seven, including us."
Scannell said anxiously, "We transport cargo across the galaxy. Everything's automated. We just keep the ship."
"Call the others," the Doctor said, "I'll get you out." Jay and Martha stared as he ran for the door, reaching to open it. They could only watch as the three crew members shouted at him not to, but he ignored them and cranked the door open. Jay cried out when he was suddenly thrown onto his back by the force of the heat that blasted through the area. Martha flew to his side, worried, but he shook her off, propping himself up on his elbows as the crew members fought to close the door.
"But my ship-" the Doctor breathed.
Jay's face paled. The TARDIS! If it was that hot in there, would it be okay?
"In the vent chamber?" Riley asked, heaving for air as he stared at the Doctor with wide dark eyes.
"It's our lifeboat," the Doctor said.
"It's lava," Scannell replied.
Erina bit her lip. "The temperature's going mad in there!" she announced, glancing over her shoulder apologetically at the three newcomers. "Up three-thousand degrees in ten seconds, and still rising."
"Channeling the air," Riley reported, putting his hands on his hips. "The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room's gonna get."
Horrified, Martha whispered, "We're stuck here."
The Doctor shoved himself to his feet, eyes darkening. "So?" he said, ignoring the look of contempt in Martha's eyes. "We fix the engines, steer the ship away from the sun! Simple! Engineering down here, is it?" Without waiting for a response, he turned and sprinted down the corridor that McDonnell and her crew had originally come down from. Heart racing, Jay and Martha, accompanied by said crew, went after them.
"Impact in forty minutes and twenty-six seconds," the computer declared.
The Doctor flew down a flight of stairs and paused when he saw the mess before him, eyeing the engines he'd been intending to fix with a snort. "Blimey!" he said, glancing over his shoulder at McDonnell. "Do you always leave things in such a mess?"
"Oh, my God!" McDonnell breathed, her eyes scanning the mess of wires. The engine had been completely destroyed. Everything had been thrown around them, steaming from the heat. The damage was massive, pieces in every direction. "What the hell happened?"
"Oh," Riley groaned, "it's wrecked."
"Pretty efficiently, too," the Doctor commented, nodding to himself. "Someone knew what they were doing. Jay?" he asked, glancing up at her. She squirmed through the group so she could kneel to study the pieces. "Your family sells parts. What do you think?"
"Someone knew what they were doing when they took that engine apart," Jay said quietly, reaching out and flinching when heat warmed her skin as her fingers hovered over a wire. She glanced at him, watching as he stood and went to check out a computer that had been attached to the engine.
McDonnell suddenly looked around, searching the room. A groan escaped her. "Where's Korwin? Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?"
"No," Scannell reported.
As Jay rejoined Martha, Martha frowned at her. "You mean someone did this on purpose?" she demanded, and Jay nodded slowly.
"I think so," Jay answered.
Ignoring them, McDonnell strode over to an intercom, pressing down the button and leaning in to speak through it. Her voice echoed around them, irritated. "Korwin, Ashton, where are you?" she demanded, scowling. When there was no response, she tried again. "Korwin, can you answer?" Nothing. Shaking her head, McDonnell turned to face the rest of them. "Where the hell is he? He should be here. In any case...everyone, back to work!"
"Martha, Jay, over here," the Doctor called. They got out of the way of the crew, who went to work on trying to repair the engines. The Doctor tapped the screen, his black frames perched on his nose as he looked at it. "Look, we're in the Torajji system! Lovely!"
"Really?" Jay sighed. "Now?"
He rolled his eyes and then tapped the screen again. They watched as it zoomed out to show a system of planets that revolved around a star that seemed to be much larger than their own sun. "You're a long way from home, Martha. Half a universe away."
"Feels like it," the grouchy woman muttered and then followed him when he left the computer to speak to McDonnell. Jay kept up, rubbing her chest. Her fingers up through the knuckle tingled, but she kept that to herself.
"You're still using energy scoops for fusion?" the Doctor said as he eyed the broken engine, furrowing his brow. "Hasn't that been outlawed yet?"
Half of the crew paused, everyone exchanging anxious guilty looks. Dismissively, McDonnell waved him off. "We're due to upgrade next docking." She abandoned the Doctor's company in favor of demanding, "Scannell, engine report."
Scannell went over to the computer that the Doctor had been playing with. After a moment, the machine beeped and he looked over his shoulder with a grim expression. "No response." McDonnell sputtered. Scannell quickly ducked down to investigate some wiring, explaining, "They're burnt out. The controls are wrecked. I can't get them back online."
The Doctor snatched the glasses from his face, gaze darting to Scannell. "Oh, come one," he whined, "auxiliary engines! Every craft's got auxiliaries!"
"We don't have access from here," McDonnell told him, shaking her head. "The controls are in the front of the ship."
"With twenty-nine password sealed doors between us and them," Scannell added bitterly. "You'll never get there in time."
Martha narrowed her eyes, thoughtful. "You can't override the doors?"
Scannell shook his head. "No. Sealed closure means what it says. They're all dead-lock sealed."
The Doctor looked so disappointed as he touched his pocket, pouting. "So a sonic's no use…"
"Nothing's any use," Scannell said, looking between them all. Who were these strange newcomers? "We've got no engines, no time, and no chance."
Jay rolled her eyes to the ceiling above, scoffing, "Well, aren't you a bright star in the sky. You're defeated and we've not even started yet. Where's your spirit?" She planted her hands on her hips, ignoring the shocked look on Martha's face as she asked McDonnell, "Who's got the passwords?"
Riley cut in, earning himself a glare from Jay for doing so because honestly, she hadn't been speaking to him. "They're randomly generated. Reckon I know most of 'em."
"Riley, was it?" Riley nodded. The Doctor gave him a pointed look. "Then what're you waiting for, Riley? Get on it."
"Well," Riley said, heading over to grab some things. Jay didn't recognize the first of the objects, but inclined her head as he swung a massive backpack onto his back, the black cloth simmering hot. "It's a job that requires two people. One, it takes to answer the questions. Second to carry this. The oldest and cheapest security system around. Eh, Captain?"
McDonnell gave him a look. "Reliable and simple, just like you, eh, Riley?"
Ignoring the banter between the two, Jay snatched the equipment from his hands. "I'll help," she offered. "Martha, you help the Doctor." Jay was confident; Martha was cleverer than she was. She knew that. Jay couldn't so much as tie a shoe. But she knew equipment, had studied it as her father demanded. She knew precisely what to do with these pieces.
"Jay," Martha said warningly, worried about her friend, but Jay waved her off without concern. She could do this.
"It's remotely controlled by the computer panel," Riley explained as he and Jay headed away, the man leading the way with a kind look on his face.
"Oi!" the Doctor called suddenly. Jay paused to look back at he and Martha, and searched his gaze curiously. He frowned a little and warned, "Be careful."
"You, too," Jay said with a warm smile, and then added to Martha, "That goes for you, too, Miss Jones." Martha rolled her eyes but gave a little salute to show she would be careful. Pleased, Jay continued after Riley, chatting cheerfully with the man.
Martha watched her go anxiously, and then turned to the Doctor just as a voice came over the intercom, clearly male. "McDonnell?" he said, sounding wary. "It's Ashton." McDonnell fled to the intercom, preparing to answer, but before she could, Ashton said with a serious tone, "Get up to the med-centre now."
McDonnell's face paled and she was soon sprinting out of the room. The Doctor and Martha chased after her, not wanting to be left out of some kind of fun that might happen. Well, perhaps not fun, Martha thought as they bolted past a startled Jay and Riley, who had begun to set up to break through the doors. But something exciting for sure.
"Impact in thirty-four minutes and thirty-one seconds," a computer declared as they ran past it.
They burst into a room in which a man was trying to pin down another upon a bed. A woman and a man who could only be Ashton was trying to pin him down as he screamed, spasming in agony.
"Korwin!" the woman cried. "It's Abi, open your eyes! I need to take a look at you!"
McDonnell rushed over with the Doctor a step behind her. Martha slid into a zone that she put to use, joining Abi beside the pained man. Abi eyed her warily and she said confidently, "I'm a doctor, let me help you."
Abi inclined her head, ignoring McDonnell's demand to know what was wrong as Korwin screamed, "Oh, God! It's burning me!"
"Ashton just brought him in," Abi told them, her eyes round with panic. Her dark frizzy hair was wild around her face as Martha reached out to touch his forehead, wincing at the heat of the fever he had.
"How long's he been like this?" The buzzing of the sonic screwdriver filled the air as the Doctor scanned Korwin. Korwin screamed in agony and McDonnell demanded to know what the hell he was doing and the Doctor said calmly, "Sonic impulse."
"Don't be stupid!" McDonnell snarled, ordering the Doctor to stop. "He's my husband!"
"And he's just sabotaged our ship!" was the shout that left Ashton as he glared at his captain.
Her face turned white. "What?"
"He went mad." Ashton gritted his teeth, keeping his hands on Korwin's shoulder to trap him. "He set the ship to secure closure, then he set the heat pulse to melt the controls." McDonnell shook her head, denying the possibility. "I saw it happen, Captain."
"His eyes," Martha said suddenly, realizing that Korwin's eyes were screwed shut. "Korwin? Open your eyes for a second." The Doctor pressed forward, agreeing with the idea, but Korwin only wailed that he couldn't. "You can do it," Martha soothed, or, at least, attempted to.
"Don't make me look at you!" Korwin sobbed. "Please."
The Doctor's gaze darted around and locked on a dart gun that was resting on a tray. "Sedative?" he asked, glancing at Abi. She nodded curtly. "Watch out, Martha," he ordered, bumping her aside so that he could gently rest the tip against Korwin's neck. With one final shout upon being injected, Korwin was unconscious.
He handed the empty gun to Martha and she quietly put it on the tray he'd originally gotten it from. His gaze traveled quickly over Korwin and then to a device nearby. "Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings... keep him sedated in that stasis chamber there. Regulate the body temperature." This was said to Abi. "Martha, help her."
"Right." Martha helped Abi, who looked confused, push the bed that Korwin was in over to the stasis chamber.
As they did, the Doctor, narrowed his eyes in thought, and then added, "And just for fun, run a bioscan and tissue profile on a metabolic detail."
"On it now," Abi reassured, smiling in a friendly manner at Martha as Martha leaned in to look at the screen she'd turned to, her head tilted in curiosity. "And no one's presenting the same symptoms - just Korwin."
"Oh, you're good," the Doctor said with a beaming smile. He liked this young woman.
"Will someone tell me what's the matter with him?" McDonnell said with distress laced through her voice, fidgeting with her hands. She looked after her husband with worry, her eyes flickering uncertainly.
"Some sort of infection, right?" Martha said, glancing at the Doctor and he nodded. "We'll know more after those test results."
"As Martha said. Allons-y, back down stairs!" the Doctor said cheerfully. "See about those engines...Ashton, was it? Go." Ashton sputtered, not looking inclined to obey the Doctor's orders. McDonnell glared at the Time Lord. "Go," the Doctor repeated firmly and with reluctance they both left. As he sauntered after them, he waved for Martha to follow and she did so with a sigh. He was all over the place today.
"Heat shields failing," the computer read aloud to the ship as they hurried down the corridor for the engines. At twenty-five percent. Impact in thirty-two minutes and fifty seconds."
Jay watched Riley type something into a small keypad connected to the door that they were trying to unlock, her blue eyes somewhat irritated that it was taking so long. She leaped into action, however, when Riley said cheerfully, "Alright, fix the clamp on."
Jay nodded, lifting the clamp and attaching it to the door as she was told. She leaned into it to hold it there. Riley went back to typing and she cocked her head curiously. "What are you typing?" she asked.
"Each door's trip code is the answer to a random question set by the crew," Riley explained as he worked, not looking up at her. "Nine tours back, we got drunk and thought 'em up. Reckoning was if we're hijacked, we're the only ones who know all the answers."
"Are you stupid?" Jay demanded. "What if you forgot the answers?"
"The point is we didn't," Riley said hastily, tapping the backpack he wore. "This sends an unlock pulse to the clamp, but we only get one chance per door. If I get the question wrong, the whole system freezes. When I tell you to, press the trigger on the clamp. Hear me?"
"Again, you're all idiots," Jay said pointedly. "Don't get it wrong, alright?"
Riley grinned, looking amused with the young blonde. He narrowed his eyes as the screen suddenly read a question and he repeated it aloud for Jay. "'Date of SS Pentallian's first flight?'" He answered it with ease, and then said hastily, "Now!"
Jay pressed the trigger on the clamp and as the lights on it turned green, the door creaked open. "Yes!" Jay cheered, pleased she'd been able to do it. Together, they bolted through the door as quickly as they could. "Only twenty-eight more to go!" she announced as they went to work on the next.
Thoughtful as he wandered from the engine, which Scannell and McDonnell were trying to fix with Erina, to the intercom to check on everything, the Doctor frowned. They didn't have long, only close to half an hour. As concerned as he was about getting all of these people out and saving his poor TARDIS from the heat that it was dealing with, he was trying his hardest to keep calm. He'd dealt with Daleks in the Time War. He could deal with half an hour to stop a ship from sailing into a sun.
Of course, that was easier said than done. But he'd try.
Pressing the button on the intercom as Scannell instructed Martha to hand him something, the Doctor said quietly, "Abi, how's Korwin doing? Any results from the bioscan?"
"He's under heavy sedation," Abi reported curtly, seeming to sound focused on something else. "I'm just trying to make sense of this data. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll let you know."
"Thank you," the Doctor said honestly. Abi was working just as hard as they were and for that, he was grateful. Moving on, he cleared his throat and said into the intercom, "Jay? Riley? How're you two doing?"
He heard Jay's voice answer in a chirping tone, cheerful yet a little strung out from stress. "Area twenty-nine, Doctor, working on door twenty-eight!"
The Doctor pressed his lips together. Not good. He put his glasses on, reading the number displayed on the screen for him. "You've gotta move faster," he urged. Only half an hour or so, he knew. Only half an hour before they burned up. And even a Time Lord couldn't survive that.
"We're doing our best," Jay said gently.
Riley's voice suddenly popped in. "Find the next number in the sequence: three hundred and thirteen, three hundred and thirty-one, three hundred and sixty-seven - what?!"
Jay's tone became one of distress. "You said your crew knew all of the answers!"
"The crew's changed since we set the questions!" Riley cried back.
The Doctor's jaw worked furiously as he snapped into the intercom, not appreciating the lack of progress, "Three hundred and seventy-nine. It's a sequence of happy primes."
"Are you sure?" Riley demanded, sounding wary. "We only get one chance."
Irritated, the Doctor launched into a rant, mouth moving at a speed that had Martha giving him a groan of exasperation, because honestly! Didn't he know they couldn't comprehend what he was saying? "Any number which reduces to one when you take the sum of the square of its digits and you continue iterating until it yields one is a happy number. Any number that doesn't isn't. A happy prime is a number which is both happy and prime, now type it in."
"Just do it," Jay ordered Riley.
"Listen to Jay," he encouraged.
There was a moment of silence in which the Doctor waited, resting his head against the heated metal wall with impatience creeping its way through his body. The silence seemed to stretch on for far too long before Jay suddenly cheered and cried, "We're through!"
"Good girl," the Doctor praised and grimaced. That sounded almost insulting. He'd never say that again. "Keep moving, fast as you can." He stepped a little bit away, running a hand down his face and plucking the frames from his nose. He took a deep breath, thinking, and then said quietly into the intercom, "And be careful, Jay. There may be something else on board this ship."
"Aye aye, captain," she responded.
Chuckling, the Doctor went back to Martha and the others, grimacing as the computer read out, "Impact in thirty minutes and fifty seconds."
He found her standing beside McDonnell, Scannell, and Erina, all staring down at a mess of broken equipment. He crouched to investigate, thinking. Martha watched him, looking anxious as she said, "What do you think?"
"I think we need a backup in case they don't reach the auxiliary engines in time," the Doctor answered honestly. "Come on," he muttered to himself, smacking his forehead. 'Think! Resources, what have we got?!"
"Doctor?" Jay suddenly called over the intercom.
"What is it now?" the Doctor said somewhat crossly, busy with trying to think about what he needed to do.
"Who had the most number ones: Elvis or the Beatles? I don't know who either of those people are, but I mean pre-download."
"Martha," the Doctor said desperately and she sputtered, glaring at him.
"What makes you think I'd know?!" Martha huffed as she went to go and speak closer to the intercom, deciding to call her mother and see if that would work.
"I don't know," he snapped, "I'm a bit busy!" He stared at the materials, thinking. "Now, where was I? Here comes the sun, no resources. So the power's still working, the generator's going. If we can harness that-"
"Use the generator to jump-start the ship," McDonnell finished with a slight faint smile. "Brilliant."
"I know, see? Tiny glimmer of hope," the Doctor bragged, and there was a brief moment of triumph in the air.
"Impact in twenty-nine minutes and forty-six seconds."
From where she was standing, Martha said into the intercom, "Give me a second, Jay, I'm calling my mum to see if she knows the answer, okay?"
"Got it, but please hurry," Jay pleaded.
Martha lifted the phone to her ear, praying that whatever the Doctor had done to it before they'd been dragged into this mess would work. She sucked in a startled breath when her mother picked up on the other end. "Hello?" Francine Jones asked irritably, the sound of coffee brewing heard in the background.
"Mum?" Martha breathed. "It's me, Martha. I can't believe this worked."
"Where are you?" Francine sounded angry, her voice full of agitation. "Don't you check your messages? I've been calling you."
"Been a bit busy," Martha sighed, rolling her eyes. Now was not a good time for a lecture from her mother. "Need you to do something for me."
"No. Listen to me. We have to talk about this Doctor."
Martha wanted to cry. Could she not just cooperate? She should have called Leo or Tish. One of them would have done what she needed without question - particularly Tish after everything they'd been through. Temper starting to bubble to the surface, because she was an adult herself, Martha huffed. "Mum, please not now. I need you to look something up on the internet."
"Do it yourself," Francine snapped. "You've got a computer."
She couldn't help it. "Oh, Just DO it, will you?!" she shouted, earning a large group of staring from the people behind her. The Doctor himself looked stunned, staring at her with wide eyes. Martha looked just as shocked as the rest of them. Martha hesitated, and then said, "Please."
"Damn, Martha," she heard Jay mutter in a low voice through the intercom.
Martha rolled her eyes and then focused as Francine said crossly, "When did you get so rude?" Her voice became muffled as she moved around. "I'll tell you when. Ever since you met that man-"
Martha cut her off, waving for the people behind her to get back to work. The Doctor smirked a little and did just that, ordering McDonnell to grab him something. "I need to know who had the most number ones: the Beatles or Elvis?"
"Hang on," Francine muttered, grumbling. "The mouse is unplugged." Martha made a motion before her, wanting to throttle the woman. Could she not just...for once in her life, do what Martha asked without making a fuss? "Okay, I'm on. What is this? Pub quiz?" Martha agreed, and Francine scolded, "Using your mobile is cheating, Martha."
"Have you found it?" Martha wailed, impatiently.
"There's over four hundred thousand results, give me a minute!"
"Martha…" Jay said anxiously just as the computer announced, "Impact in twenty-eight minutes and fifty seconds."
Another voice suddenly popped in, and the Doctor's head snapped up as Abi called, "Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me. Korwin's body...it's changing! His whole biological make-up. It's...it's impossible-" She cut off with a gasp and the Doctor rose to his feet, a bad feeling in his gut as Martha looked between him and the intercom, not willing to move when Jay needed help. "This is med-centre," she suddenly cried, panicking. "Urgent assistance requested. Urgent assistance!"
The Doctor's face tightened with panic and he bolted, shouting over his shoulder, "Everyone keep working! Martha, stay there and help Jay!"
"Right," Martha agreed, hand pressed over her phone even as she watched after him anxiously.
McDonnell fled after the Doctor, worried about her crew member, and Erina flew to another intercom system to reassure Abi, "Abi, don't worry, they're on their way."
"Martha?" Jay pleaded.
But they all fell silent as a voice said ominously over the intercom, "Burn with me." It was deep and unhuman, unlike anything Martha could remember hearing, even more dark than that of the Judoon. Not quite as bad as the nightmare Jay had been imprisoned by, but close.
Scannell slid down the corridor, running after the Doctor and McDonnell as he cried, "Captain?!"
Martha briefly heard the Doctor cry out that he'd ordered Scannell to keep working, but then focused on her mother when Francine said, "Elvis."
"What?!" Martha blinked. "Really?" She pressed the button on the intercom, speaking into it. "Jay, it's Elvis! You're a star, Mum!"
"Got it, thanks, Martha!"
"Burn with me." Martha shivered as the voice filled the air, and then became even darker and more furious as it screamed, "Burn with me!"
Martha waited by the intercom, biting her lip. Finally, Jay declared that they made it through and were running to the next one. Relieved, Martha opened her mouth to say goodbye to Francine only for Francine to say crossly, "Now, we need to have a serious-" Screaming burst through the intercom, stopping everyone on the ship in their tracks when they realized it was Abi. Even Francine heard it and she demanded, "What was that?"
"I've gotta go," Martha whispered, hanging up without hesitation. She put her phone away and ran after the Doctor, shouting for him. The computer declared its time as she did so, announcing that they would crash in twenty-seven minutes and six seconds. When she burst into the med centre, she came across the Doctor, McDonnell, and Scannell standing there, all staring at a charred black humanoid shape on a wall. Martha gasped. "Oh, my God."
"You were supposed to stay with the intercom to help Jay," the Doctor said gently as he approached it carefully.
Martha rolled her eyes and said, "She can ask Erina for help. Doctor, is that-"
"Yes." The Doctor stepped forward to look at the burnt shape. He ran his fingers carefully around the outline of the burnt figure, his gaze dark with sorrow. He'd liked Abi. To see her like this was depressing. Far more depressing than anything else he'd seen so far today. "Endothermic vaporization. I've never seen one this ferocious." He glanced back at Martha, who was hugging herself as she looked at the burnt bit on the wall. As he watched, she turned and went to gather some things off the floor. "'Burn with me.'"
"That's what we heard Korwin say," Scannell muttered, furrowing his brow as he exchanged a thoughtful look with McDonnell.
McDonnell became defensive, furious. "What?! D'ya think Korwin did this?! Korwin's not a killer. He can't...he can't do this." She waved angrily at the burnt Abi, her eyes full of angry tears. "He's human!"
"Doctor," Martha called, offering out the sheets she'd gathered. The Doctor strode over and took them from her, studying them and holding them so that she could see. His gaze swept expertly over them, and he silently thanked Abi for gathering the results.
"His bioscan results," the Doctor told her. "Internal temperature was one hundred degrees!" He looked stunned as he added, "Body oxygen replaced by hydrogen! Your husband wasn't infected, McDonnell. He's been overwhelmed!"
McDonnell plucked them away, hands shaking as she snarled, "The test results are wrong!"
Martha thought over what they'd heard and seen so far. Her dark eyes studied McDonnell and then Scannell with her lips pressed together. Finally, she asked the Doctor, "You said overwhelmed...could it be something like a parasite then? A virus? Something that needs a host?"
"Could be," the Doctor mused, nodding slowly. "The question is how did it get inside of him?"
McDonnell sounded hysterical as she shrieked, "Stop talking like he's some kind of experiment!"
Ignoring her, the Doctor questioned, "Where's the ship been? Have you made planet-fall recently?" She stared at him blankly, clearly not understanding what he was trying to get at. "Docked with other vessels? Any kind of external contact at all? We've got to stop him before he kills again."
"We're...we're just a cargo ship," she whispered, turning away with a whimper. Martha watched Scannell step forward and touch her arm to comfort her. The Doctor huffed, impatient.
"Doctor," Martha said quietly, "give her a moment."
"No," McDonnell whispered. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "I'm fine. I need to warn the crew." She ignored the way Scannell looked at her with concern and instead hurried over to the intercom Abi had been screaming for help through, ignoring the scorch marks in favor of saying into the intercom, "Everybody listen to me! Something has infected Korwin. We think he killed Abi Lerner. None of you must go anywhere near him, is that clear?"
"Understood, Captain," Ashton said back in response.
"Understood," Jay's voice echoed with Riley's.
Taking another deep breath, McDonnell went to sit down, running a hand through her mess of dark hair. Scannell kept close to her, watching the Doctor and Martha suspiciously. "Is the infection permanent? Can you cure him?" The Doctor shrugged wordlessly, still looking at the results. "Don't lie to me," Doctor," McDonnell snapped, her jaw working furiously. "Eleven years we've been married. We chose this ship together…he keeps me honest. I don't want false hope."
"The parasite's too aggressive," the Doctor said with a sigh, finally looking up. His gaze swam with sorrow as he searched her gaze. "Your husband's gone. There's no way back. I'm so sorry."
She nodded, looking a little unsurprised yet sad. "Thank you."
Martha abandoned the Doctor to go over to her. She took her hand, ignoring the frown on McDonnell's face as she gave it a gentle squeeze and asked, "Are you...are you certain that nothing happened to provoke this?" She kept her voice quiet, beseeching McDonnell with her eyes. "Nobody's working on anything secret? It's really vital that you tell him." Martha nodded towards the Doctor.
"I know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew's lives." McDonnell spoke briskly, her face turning away. "There is nothing."
Martha furrowed her brow and looked at the Doctor. He nodded. They were thinking the same thing. There was something McDonnell wasn't telling them, and Martha had no doubt in her mind that they would find out.
Jay cheered as the door before them opened and let them step through. She and Riley burst into a sprint for the next door. Without hesitation, knowing now what needed to be done, Jay got to work and Riley did the same, looking at the door's panel as Jay called into the intercom upon reaching out to press the button, "Doctor, we're through to area seventeen!"
"Keep going," he answered a brief moment later, voice laced with encouragement and worry. "You've got to get to area one and reboot those engines, Jay."
"Working on it," she promised.
"Heat shield failing," the computer reported over the intercom. "At twenty percent."
Riley suddenly smacked the computer, eyes flickering anxiously. "Come on, work! Everything on this ship is so cheap!" Jay opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off when there was a sudden loud bang from behind them. Riley turned to look and so did she, both of them watching anxiously. "Who's there?!"
Nothing. Jay and Riley exchanged a look and didn't dare move as a figure appeared through some smoke. Sweat dripped from Jay's temple as she whispered, voice trembling, "Is...is that Korwin?"
"No," Riley said after a moment. He squinted a little, and then relaxed a little. "Ashton, what're you doing?"
In a deep, out of the world sounding voice, Ashton breathed, "Burn with me." Jay's eyes widened in fear and Riley stiffened beside her as he lifted a hand to remove the shield that covered his eyes. "Burn with me!" he cried. "Burn with me!"
Jay panicked and slammed her hand over the nearest button she could. it opened a door. "Move!" she cried as it began to slide open. The second it was open, they squeezed through the gaps and Riley followed her into a small area, punching a keypad that closed the door behind them. When it was completely closed, Jay and Riley exchanged faint smiles, relieved.
But a pound on the door had them jumping. Ashton was looking through a small window, his helmeted head easily seen. Riley whirled away and quickly typed in a combination on a keypad that opened a small hatch next to them. "In!" he ordered and Jay dove inside. He shut the door behind them, crying, "What is happening on this ship?!"
"That doesn't matter right now." Jay frowned at the space around her, biting her lip nervously. "Where-"
"Airlock sealed. Jettison escape pod."
"Oh." Jay's face paled. Riley swore and lunged for the keypad within the escape pod. Shaking the pins and needles from her wrists and swallowing thickly as she watched Riley try to work on the keypad as, on the outside, Ashton appeared, Jay leaned in to the intercom within the escape pod and pressed the button, saying faintly, "Doctor? Martha? Doctor, we...we need help." A soft sound of fear escaped her when the screen displayed before Riley read "Jettison initiated." "Martha, Doctor, please, we're stuck in an escape pod off of area seventeen. One of the crew's trying to jettison us. Please. Help us." She released the button, looking desperately to Riley with frightened eyes. "Please tell me you can stop this?"
"I can try," he said, sweat dripping from his temples as he typed furiously on the keypad to reverse the process.
"Jettison held."
Jay groaned, resting her head briefly in relief on the man's shoulder. "Thank you, heavens around us," she breathed.
"Jettison reactivated."
They froze and Riley swore before getting back to work on desperately trying to reverse the process again. Outside, Jay could see a hint of Ashton, likely trying to restart the process. Her body trembled with terror as Riley struggled to type as fast as he could. "Come on, Riley," she breathed.
Riley sounded confident as he said to her, "Geovinsci sequence, this'll get him. Don't worry." He typed it in and then sat back, waiting to see what happened.
Even as Ashton continued to try and restart the sequence a third time, the computer read out loud, "Jettison held. Escape pod stabilized."
Jay laughed faintly and patted his arm. "You're good."
He winked flirtily at her. "I know."
And then everything went back to despair as the computer announced, "Jettison activated."
Riley gave a cry of irritation and tried to fix it, but only grew more desperate. Finally, he sat back, feeling numb as he said sorrowfully, "He's smashed the circuit, Jay. I can't stop it." Panic set in, and he slammed a hand against the wall, shouting, "I can't stop it!"
"Airlock sealed."
Jay pressed her face to the window, trying to see through it. Surely their help would arrive. She slammed a hand against it when through it, she saw a glimpse of the Doctor. Relief coursed through her. He'd get them out. She heard his voice over the intercom shout, "McDonnell! Ashton's heading in your direction! He's been infected, just like Korwin!"
"Airlock decompression completed. Jettisoning pod."
It struck Jay a moment later that there was no escaping their fate. Her face became full of calm realization that turned to acceptance as she saw the Doctor's face appear in the window. Martha was peering through with horror beside him. Both looked stunned. The Doctor started shouting something, but Jay couldn't hear him. Nor could she hear what Martha said when she shouted something, too.
She could only see the looks on their faces as the pod disengaged, sending them spinning towards the sun.
Martha continued to stare out at the escape pod from where she stood even as the Doctor slammed his hand onto the intercom button, snarling into it, "Scannell! I need a spacesuit in area seventeen. Now."
"What for?"
The Doctor exploded, anger and frustration blasting through him. He'd just watched Jay, his companion and Martha and his friend, be sent flying away in an escape pod, heading straight for the sun. His jaw worked furiously as he shouted at the top of his lungs, "JUST GET DOWN HERE!"
Martha jumped, staring at him in surprise. He gave her an apologetic look. Even as angry as he felt, he didn't blame her. She was innocent in all of this, working as hard as she could alongside him. "Doctor," she said suddenly, searching his gaze. "We'll get her back, right?"
"I'm going to do it now," he said seriously. He patted her arm reassuringly, and then looked past her as Scannell came hurrying down the corridor with a heavy piece of space equipment in his arms. "I need you to make sure this bloke does everything I say."
"I will," she reassured confidently. "Don't you worry about a thing."
The Doctor flashed her a warm look and then began the long process of dressing in the spacesuit the second that he had it. Scannell silently helped him into it, even as he said darkly, "I can't let you do this. You wanna open an airlock in flight on a ship spinning into the sun! No one can survive that!"
"You're wasting your breath, Scannell," the Doctor told him, calmly fixing a few things on the suit. "You're not gonna stop me. Just you watch. I'll be just fine."
"This close to the sun, the shields will barely protect you," Scannell warned.
"Stop being such a downer and just trust him," Martha snapped, and the Doctor waved at her.
"Listen to her," he said, smiling briefly at the woman. "She's smart. If I can breach the magnetic lock on the ship's exterior, it should remagnetize the pod. That'll bring them back. While I'm out there, you have to get the rest of those doors open. Martha, help him. We need those auxiliary engines."
"Doctor, will you listen?" Scannell demanded with irritation, frustrated. "They're too far away, it's too late!"
Martha rounded on him and surprised them all by shoving him hard. He stumbled a few steps, blinking. "Oh, shut up will you! Jay will be okay. She has to be. We're not going to lose her. Now come on, let's go."
The Doctor gave her an approving look and then slid past the airlock door. It closed behind him and the computer announced, "Decompression initiating. Impact in twelve minutes and fifty-five seconds."
It took much too long for the airlock to finally decompress. By the time it had, the computer had announced that there would be impact with the sun in eleven minutes and fifteen seconds and that the heat shield was failing at ten percent. The Doctor took a deep breath before pressing a button on the keypad within the airlock chamber, opening it so that he could do what needed to be done.
Heat slammed into him, and he flinched. It was horrible, and he found himself squinting through the brightness. Recovering quickly, he gripped the frame of the airlock chamber and then began the long struggle to try and reach the buttons that would bring back Jay and Riley. It was challenging, hauling himself out into the outer hull, and then nearly was sucked right away from them when he started reaching. He grunted as he struggled to reach for them, sweat slicking his hair to his forehead. "Come on," he muttered desperately, grinning briefly when he managed to catch the right button.
His gaze shifted to the box just to the right of them, and his face became grim. That would be even harder a reach. He tried and found it just barely out of his reach, hissing under his breath as he tried to catch it.
"Doctor," Martha's voice said suddenly in his helmet, worried. "Are you doing okay?"
The Doctor tried again, and then cried, the heat beginning to bother him, "I can't reach!"
"You can do it," Martha said encouragingly, her tone laced with worry for him. "I know you can. Don't give up, okay?"
He smiled faintly and then managed to suddenly grab the box. He gave a gasp and yanked the cover off, reaching for the lever within. It hurt him, stretching so far, but he ignored the pain in favor of yanking it down.
Laughing faintly, he began the struggle to get back in. It took him a few minutes before he did and when he did, he spun around on his knees, looking out through the airlock, staring at the molten surface of the sun. His face filled with shock as he realized the truth.
"It's alive!"
"Now!" Scannell ordered, and Martha flew through the door with McDonnell, both preparing to open the next door. Martha was proud; they'd managed to reach area ten. Just ten more to go and they'd reach the auxiliaries like the Doctor had said they'd need to. "Martha, tell him to close the airlock. It'll smash into him!"
Martha moved to do just that, but McDonnell shoved the clamp at him. "Stay here," she ordered, eyes firm. "I'll go and help him. Martha, keep going."
Martha wavered, but nodded, calling into the intercom anyways, "Doctor, close the airlock! We're in area ten, almost there."
No response had her biting her lip nervously, particularly when the computer announced, "Impact in eight minutes and fifty-seven seconds."
Jay was near tears in relief when the door opened back up. She flew out of it, Riley clambering out with tears in his eyes, too. Jay froze, however, when she discovered the Doctor writhing in pain on the floor. She ran over, her hands shaking. She could feel the pins halfway up her arm as she said, "Doctor, what's-"
"Stay away from me," he snarled, making her jump away when his eyes opened a little. Her eyes rounded with shock at the sight of the brilliant light that escaped his eyes. That was certainly not normal. Riley pulled her further back.
"What's happened?" McDonnell was there, her face full of fear and confusion as she looked at the Doctor.
He turned on her immediately, voice losing the strange deep sound that had accompanied it a moment before. "It's your fault, Captain McDonnell."
McDonnell's expression flickered to shock before she regained her composure. She shot a glare at Riley. "Riley, get down to area ten and help Scannell and Martha with the doors. Go!" Riley faltered only briefly before running off. Jay stayed, not wanting to leave the Doctor as he grunted in pain.
His voice was raised to a shout as he spoke to the captain. "You mined that sun! Stripped its surface for cheap fuel! You should have scanned for life! They scooped out its heart and used it for fuel. Now it's screaming."
"Oh, my God," Jay breathed in realization. "The sun's alive?"
McDonnell's voice lifted in panic, her hands shaking as she snapped, "What do you mean? How can a sun be alive? Why's he saying that?" Her last question was thrown to Jay, and Jay only stared at the Doctor in horror, understanding what was going on without him needing to say.
"Oh, my God," she repeated, "it's...it's in you, isn't it?"
"Humans," the Doctor spat, and Jay knew the anger he held wasn't directed at her or Martha, or even the rest of the crew. Mostly at McConnell. She'd known that she shouldn't have been doing this. And she'd done it anyways. "You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry. You should have scanned!"
"It takes too long!" McDonnell shouted, her cheeks streaked with tears. "We'd be caught! Fusion scoops are illegal."
The Doctor groaned, flinching as pain washed over him. Jay shifted uneasily, sensing that he was fighting the sun in him. "You've got to freeze me," he told her, turning his head in her direction. "Stasis chamber. You gotta keep me below negative two-hundred. Freeze it out of me." A cry left him, and Jay found herself near tears, worried for him. When he spoke again, fear had crept into his voice. "It'll use me to kill you if you don't. The closer we get to the sun, the stronger it gets."
"Right," Jay breathed, grabbing his arm and struggling to get him upright. She shot a look at the frozen woman nearby. "Help me," she shouted, snapping McDonnell out of her numb shock. McDonnell grabbed his free arm and began to help Jay yank him towards the med-centre.
It was hard work, lugging the Doctor through the ship but they finally made it to the med-centre. When they did, Jay realized that she had no idea how to use the stasis chamber. "Jay," the Doctor said, suddenly turning his head desperately, and Jay touched his cheek affectionately.
"Right here," she promised. "Stasis chamber, negative two-hundred. I know. McDonnell, help me." McDonnell did just that, protesting that the Doctor would be killed if he was put in such a circumstance, but Jay leveled her with a sharp look and said confidently, "He's not human. If he claims he can survive this, he can."
McDonnell hesitated, and then nodded. "I'll take care of the stasis chamber," she said.
"Ten seconds," the Doctor said, flinching within the stasis chamber. "That's all I'll be able to take. No more."
"On it," Jay murmured, ignoring the cry that suddenly left his mouth. He seemed so scared, something that Jay had never thought she'd see in the Doctor's face. Even the Daleks had brought only hatred to his gaze. "Stay calm. You saved Martha and I, so now I'll return the favor. Believe in me like we believe in you."
"Jay, it's ready," McDonnell called and Jay abandoned him to join her. "Pull this lever." She showed the young blonde which one and Jay curled her fingers over it as the computer announced that the heat shields were failing at five percent. She took a deep breath and then yanked. They watched together as the number on the screen began to run down, and they held their breath as the Doctor groaned.
And then the machine suddenly shut off just as the screen read at negative seventy. "No!" the Doctor shouted, "you can't stop it, not yet!"
McDonnell's eyes were wide with shock and she looked to Jay. "The power's been cut in engineering."
Jay looked at her with desperation, her body trembling. "But who's down there?"
"Leave it to me." McDonnell gave her a firm look, and then turned and bolted. Jay watched her go with widened eyes, and then turned her attention onto the Doctor when he gasped. She bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed, saying anxiously, "You're defrosting…"
"Go!" he gasped. She stiffened, immediately protesting, but he insisted, "Jay. Go. I've only got a moment. You have to go. Take Martha and get to the front. Vent the engines. Sun particles are in the fuel. Get rid of them."
"No," Jay said evenly, "I'm not leaving you alone, Doctor."
He grew angry, his voice lifting with a hint of deadly undertone to it. "You've got to, give back what they took!"
Jay thought it over before shaking her head. "I'm not going anywhere," she said fiercely, eyes blazing. "But I'll tell Martha." She turned and scurried over to where the intercom was. She slammed her hand over the button, saying hastily into it, "Martha! Martha, can you hear me?"
There was a moment of never ending silence before Martha's voice said raspily, "Yeah, I hear you. I'm looking for a tool the guys said they might need to help reboot the auxiliary engines, though I suspect they just wanted me out of the way..."
Jay bit her lip, hissing in pain, and then said quickly into the intercom, "The Doctor said we need to get to the front of the ship and vent the engines. We need to get rid of the sun particles in the fuel. I won't leave him alone though."
"Got it, I'm going now. Be careful, Jay."
"You, too." Jay rested her head on the metal wall, flinching a little at the heat as she listened to the Doctor nearly scream in pain where he was still hiding in the stasis chamber. She swallowed thickly. Under her breath, she whispered, "Hurry, Martha…"
"Impact in three minutes and forty-three seconds."
Martha ran like she'd never run before. It was a common theme when you were with the Doctor, she noticed. You were always running for your life, although she couldn't say she'd have it any other way. She told herself that she'd call her mother when they were safe, tell her that she loved her in case anything like this happened again.
Sweat stuck to her as she bolted through a door and down another corridor, the wall beside her reading that she was in area eight. She was heaving for air, barely able to breathe when she heard McDonnell's voice fill the air over the intercom. "Riley, Scannell," McDonnell said softly. "I'm sorry."
Martha ignored the sounds of the two men shouting McDonnell's name, forcing herself to keep up her speed even as the computer announced throughout the ship, "Exterior airlock opened." Her heart ached; another dead.
"Impact in two minutes and seventeen seconds. Survival element protection: zero percent."
"Jay!" She snapped her head around at the sound of the Doctor shouting her name. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that he'd pried himself out of the stasis chamber, and he gasped, "I can't fight it."
"Doctor-"
"Burn with me," he rasped, and Jay froze in terror when she saw his eyes open, full of light that was anything but human. She pressed her back to the wall, panic taking over. "Burn with me!"
"Martha," she called into the intercom, reaching to press the button. "Hurry up!" A sob built in her throat when the light seemed to intensify. She adored the Doctor just as much as Martha did, but right now, she found she was frightened of him. She shook pins and needles from her arms, shivering as she edged towards the door.
"Impact in one minute and twenty-one seconds."
"Impact in one minute and six seconds."
Martha rounded the final corner and nearly plowed into the first area, her breath rasping painfully in her throat. "Vent the engines," she wheezed to Riley and Scannell, who'd just gotten the door open and couldn't get the auxiliary engines to work. "Dump the fuel."
They stared at her, confused. "What?" Scannell said finally.
"Sun particles...in the fuel." Martha doubled over, struggling to get the words out past her wheezing. "Get rid of them. Now."
Riley exchanged a look with Scannell and together, the two remaining survivors of the crew flew into action. They ran for a series of dials, spinning them in order to release the fuel. "Turn the one over there!" Scannell shouted to her, and Martha lunged for it, spinning the dial he'd pointed to. She yelped when the ship lurched awkwardly, nearly sending her to the floor. She screwed her eyes shut in a panic as the lurching finally sent her to her rear on the floor, and she nearly slammed her head on a piece of machinery, her heart racing in a panic.
"How're we gonna fly?" Riley cried in a panic.
And then the computer announced, "Impact averted. Impact averted."
They all stopped for a moment, staring at each other. All of them panted for air, all sprawled out on the ground. Cautiously, Scannell climbed to his feet. Riley seemed to be near tears, crying with a breathless laugh as he climbed to his feet, "We're clear, we're clear! We've got just enough in reserves!"
Martha climbed to her feet as well, smiling faintly, but then she spun on her heel. She had people to check on. Her stomach aching with anxiety, she ran for her friends.
Jay was sobbing in relief by the time the light had entirely left the Doctor's eyes, her cheeks streaked with her tears. She stumbled over after the lurching stopped, and he laughed with an exhausted look as she threw her arms around him in a hug that he willingly returned. "Oh, thank God," she breathed.
"Good job," he praised despite having ordered her to leave. "Help me up?"
Between the two of them, the Doctor was able to get up in time for Martha to come barreling into the med-centre, and when she did, she immediately hugged the Doctor. He smiled brightly, lifting her into the air with a happy hum, and when he set her down, Jay found herself enveloped in a hug, too.
Jay awkwardly patted Martha's back, laughing tiredly. "I don't understand this hugging business, but I like it," she told them, and Martha only squeezed her tighter.
After the ship had cooled enough and they'd all taken a break, resting, the trio of travellers went to check on the TARDIS. Riley and Scannell went with them, Riley inquiring as to whether or not Jay was okay. Jay smiled at him and patted his arm reassuringly, looking pleased with his concern. The Doctor wasn't exactly bouncing with energy as he normally was, but he smiled warmly when they stepped into the once over-heated area and found his ship in perfect condition.
"This is your ship?" Scannell said as he studied the blue box, stunned.
Jay rested her fingers on the wood as the Doctor walked around the TARDIS with Martha, making sure she was okay. The song, content that the TARDIS' residents were safe, hummed to her. The Doctor peered curiously around the corner at her, interested. Why was the TARDIS so vocal with the young woman? Yet, he said cheerfully, "Compact! Another good word...robust! Barely a scorch mark on her."
Martha nodded, pleased, and then looked over at Riley and Scannell. "We can't just leave you drifting with no fuel."
"We've sent out an official mayday," Riley reassured with a warm smile. "The authorities will pick us up soon enough." He exchanged a look with Scannell. "Not sure how we explain what happened…"
The Doctor, halfway through opening the TARDIS door, paused and told them, "Just tell them. That sun needs care and protection, just like any other living thing." Scannell nodded and with a final wave, they were leaving he and Riley behind, sliding into the TARDIS.
When they were inside, Martha hummed and flounced further in. The Doctor faltered, watching her with a sorrowful look, and Jay touched his arm. "Are you okay?" she asked, studying his face.
Rather than answering, the Doctor grinned and nearly replicated Martha's bouncy steps, crying cheerfully, "Now! What do you say? Ice skating on the mineral lakes of Cuhlhan. Fancy it?"
Jay smiled as she leaned against the railing, although her blue eyes shone with concern. She replaced it with amusement when Martha eagerly agreed, and she gave her own nod of approval. She'd never heard of ice skating or Cuhlhan. Both sounded fascinating.
"Oh! By the way, you'll be needing these," the Doctor added suddenly, holding up two chains complete with a key on the end. Jay's jaw dropped. Martha gasped. Both stopped to stare disbelievingly and the Doctor chuckled, dropping one into her hand before holding the other out for Jay to grab as she joined them. "Frequent flier's privilege," he told Jay, and she gave him a puzzled look, still not understanding.
Smiling at them both, Martha said, "I'm going to go and call my mum, see if she's doing alright. Can you wait for me?"
"I think we can," the Doctor said, looking at Jay as he flipped a switch, "don't you?"
Jay nodded and admitted, "I'm going to go and take a nap, I believe. I'm exhausted from all of that panicking. Nearly ending up burned alive in an escape pod will do that to you." The Doctor furrowed his brow, not looking happy with that description, but she merely touched his arm, patted Martha's arm, and sidled away, leaving Martha to call her mother and the Doctor to steer the TARDIS, grimacing as she shook the pain from her arms.
Fun chapter to write. Next up is the Family because, as pointed out by Arashi - IV of VI, they're somewhat important. And after that we'll be having some Weeping Angels. So excited for them to show up.
Thanks to reviewers (Guest #1 and Arashi -IV of VI) as well as those who favorited and followed! I seriously appreciate it!