To the Stars and Back

by riverofmemories

Tagging along in the TARDIS after being rescued from a situation she was sold into, Jayden O'Connors finds that there's much more to life than expected. When the Doctor's involved, it's full of adventure, other worlds, saving lives, and quite a bit of running. But the clock is ticking, and even a Time Lord from Gallifrey can't help her run forever.

15. Voyage of the Damned

"What the hell is going on?" Jay demanded as the Doctor whirled away and bolted for the console. He whirled around like a cyclone, switching and turning and twisting and flipping until finally, the ship was pushed free of the TARDIS. The wall closed back up and Jay listened to the familiar sound of the ship landing securely. The TARDIS hummed as Jay strode across the control room, carefully brushing her fingers over the wall, as if making sure it was okay.

"I'm not sure," the Doctor admitted, worried. It wasn't every day that the Titanic managed to slam through the side of the TARDIS. He really needed to get the shields fixed. They were still a little frazzled thanks to the Master's use of the ship as a paradox machine.

As soon as he was sure they'd be safe, the Doctor briskly strode for the doors. Jay bustled after him, not wanting to be left behind. He stepped out and frowned, warning her back for a moment since the closet the TARDIS had materialized in was rather small. He checked the TARDIS's side, running his hand over the ancient wood, and then stepped out of the closet. Jay hovered in the entrance, waiting as he scanned the space outside the closet.

When he stepped further out, brushing himself free of dust, Jay stepped after him, copying his actions. "What are those?" she whispered to him, making sure to stick close as he strode slowly through a room that held walls made of panelled wood and held various potted palms decorated with a variety of balls. It was a large room, full of people dressed in evening gowns and suits as a live band played a song in the corner. It sounded vaguely familiar.

The Doctor looked at her in surprise when he realized she'd pointed to the decorations. "Christmas decorations. Have you never seen Christmas decorations?"

Jay shrugged. "Not really. Christmas was always about how nice the parties could be so that Father would get more business. We had a tree in the corner, but the rest...is it really Christmas? I didn't think it was anywhere near Christmas time." She paused. "Right. Time travel. Still surprises me sometimes."

The Doctor chuckled and then eyed a pair of robotic, golden angels that moved in a very mechanical way. The Doctor moved Jay aside, eyeing them. "Robots," he told her before grabbing her shoulders and steering her over to a window, just as a voice made an announcement over an intercom.

"Attention to all passengers. The Titanic is now in orbit above Sol three, also known as Earth. Population: human. Ladies and gentlemen...welcome to Christmas."

"Wow," Jay breathed, taking in the starry skies around them. "Space? I thought the Titanic was a ship in the ocean...although I suppose they would have named this ship after the original, right?" The Doctor furrowed his brow, curious as to why a ship would be named after a ship like the Titanic. Bad luck, some would say. Jay bounced on the balls of her feet and looked to him with wide blue eyes. "Can we look around?"

He winked, offering her a small grin. "Of course," he said. "We'll need a wardrobe change first though." Jay took a quick look at the other finely dressed attendees and moaned.

She hated evening dress.

---

Jay grumbled as she stepped out of the TARDIS and back out of the storage closet to join the waiting Doctor outside. "This isn't good," she grumbled, fixing the midnight blue dress she'd put on. The lace hugged her throat, feeling as if was going to choke her. She was pleased with the height boost the heels had given her though. She was a few inches taller than normal. "The last time we dressed up, I nearly fell down a giant clock tower after being chased by that bastard Lazarus."

"Language," he chided almost playfully as he fixed his bowtie. "And it'll be fine. Come on, let's go enjoy the party." He offered his arm and Jay slipped her arm into his without hesitation, furrowing her brow a little as they started forward, intent on mingling with the others on the ship. There were a few aliens, Jay noticed, though she was entirely fine with the sight of all of them and none of them seemed to pay her much attention in return.

Jay was content to not do anything but watch for a short while, but her mood darkened a little with sadness when she turned to tell Martha something only to remember that Martha was no longer there. The Doctor noticed immediately and proceeded to drag her towards where a few people were dancing, rambling on about the origins of the music that was being played by the live band and singer. Jay hid a small smile, grateful for the attempts, and even happier that he didn't try to coax her into dancing herself. She was still a little tired despite the few hours of rest. The aftermath of the Year That Never Was would stick with her for some time, she expected.

But it was still enjoyable. Jay found herself smiling as they watched others have fun dancing. When they grew bored with that, the Doctor whisked her over to a large expanse of decorations, pointing out certain ones and explaining the origins of them. She was delighted with the Christmas wreaths, her eyes dancing as she took in the beautiful sight of them. When she expressed her interest in them, the Doctor went into a new rant about wreaths, mentioning different kinds and what they'd originally been for.

When that was done, they decided to sneak past a table of food. The Doctor was pleased with the nibbles and whisked away a platter for them to share, leading Jay directly to a robotic angel to ask questions as they ate a few pieces of food. "Evening," the Doctor said, pushing the remaining food into Jay's hand. She simply kept eating, liking the taste. "Passenger fifty-seven and fifty-eight, terrible memories. Remind us. You would be…?"

The robotic angel's voice was clear and calm, almost pleasant although it was unnatural. "Information: Heavenly Host supplying tourist information." Jay wrinkled her nose thoughtfully. She'd never heard of that before. She left the Doctor briefly to put the platter aside before returning just as the Host answered his next question. "Information: the Titanic is en route from the planet Sto in the Cassavalian Belt. The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures."

Jay arched a brow. She wasn't aware that her planet's cultures were thought of as primitive. "And just who thought of the name?" she asked curiously. Even in her time the Titanic was famous, the stories of it known as a common title among households. There had been attempts at recreating it, although Jay found herself believing the name to be cursed. Every single one had sank.

"Information: it was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth," the Host informed her. Jay's eyebrows rose higher. Had they not been informed why it was famous. "All designations are chosen by Mr. Max Capricorn, president of Max...Max...Max…" The Host suddenly began to stutter, voice lifting in pitch until it nearly hurt Jay's ears. She flinched, putting her hands over her ears and the Doctor dug in his pocket for his sonic screwdriver, curious about what was going on with the strange robot. Before he could so much as try anything, however, three men rushed over, eyes wide.

"Sir, we can handle this," one said firmly to the Doctor, a look in his eyes making the Doctor surrender the control of the situation. He put his sonic screwdriver away and stepped back, hands up. Jay kept close, her lips parted as she watched. "Software problem, that's all. Leave it with us, sir. Merry Christmas." A quick press of a button on the back of the Host's neck had it snapping upright. The robot toppled to the side and one of the men caught it with ease. Between the three of them, they quickly took it away.

"That...was interesting," Jay murmured, her stomach turning oddly. She shouldn't have eaten so much rich food that quickly, even if they'd only been nibbles. The Doctor glanced at her and she met his gaze. "You don't think it's something to worry about, right?"

"Nah," the Doctor denied, shaking his head. "It'll be fine. Come on, let's look around some more…"

"I've never heard of that name," Jay said as they strode through the room, mutually agreeing that both could use glasses of water after their snacks. "Max Capricorn. Have you?"

"It rings a bell," the Doctor admitted, "but nothing too big. I think it's fine."

"When you think things are fine, they're generally not," she grumbled.

The Doctor huffed softly. "You're very distrustful today," he told her and she lifted her brows, silently questioning if he might have any reason to think otherwise. A frown appeared on his face, a touch of hurt there, and she grimaced, feeling a little bad.

She bumped him gently with her shoulder. "I woke up yesterday morning thinking the Master was going to murder everyone and everything I like and care for, Doctor," she said quietly, her tone soft. She didn't want him to think she blamed him for anything. "None of it was your fault. But...it was still hard. I had to watch every move I made for a year and one day and it wears on you. One wrong word to the wrong person, and we were tormented. And none of it's your fault, and I trust you entirely, but..."

The Doctor said nothing in response, but the hurt had disappeared. Jay shook her head. For someone who carried the weight of the world by his own choice and regularly faced danger...sometimes he was a bit silly, she thought, rolling her eyes.

Jay jumped when there was a loud crash and they both looked back in time to see a woman apologizing desperately to a furious man with a phone held away from his ear. He was glaring angrily at a young blonde woman in a uniform that signaled her as a waitress. She'd turned scarlet from embarrassment. She was on her knees, trying to pick up glass that she'd broken after bumping into the man. She apologized faintly and the man spat at her before turning and walking off, snarling aloud, "Staffed by idiots! No wonder Max Capricorn is going down the drain…"

The Doctor glared after him and then turned to Jay, but Jay was already walking over. She carefully knelt beside the other woman, smiling as she said, "Be careful, you'll cut your fingers." She carefully began helping her pick up the shattered glass. The Doctor knelt beside them, helping, too.

"Thank you, ma'am, sir," she said, flustered, "I can manage-"

"Never said you couldn't," the Doctor told her warmly. "I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"Astrid, sir," she said shyly, grimacing at the glass on the platter. "Astrid Peth."

"Jay O'Connors," Jay said, "and it's a pleasure to meet you, Astrid." She climbed to her feet, offering a hand to help Astrid to her feet. Astrid took it, and the Doctor grabbed the platter of broken glass. "Merry Christmas, Astrid," she added, looking to the Doctor. He nodded encouragingly.

Astrid looked startled. "Merry Christmas, ma'am, sir," she replied politely, offering a hesitant smile. The Doctor corrected her, telling her to call him "Doctor" and Jay by her name, and Astrid made a small nod to show that she'd acknowledged their request. Jay smiled warmly at her, finding that she liked Astrid as she asked, "You enjoying the cruise?"

"Yeah, I suppose," the Doctor began to say, and Jay warningly glared at him. He closed his mouth, startled.

Astrid giggled as Jay said, "Some of us are, although it looks like some of the other customers are a tad bit rude...what about you, Astrid? You're a long way from home. Planet…?" She looked to the Doctor for help now, unsure that she was remembering the name properly.

"Sto," he finished for her.

"It doesn't feel that different. I spent three years working at a spaceport diner, traveled all the way here...and I'm still waiting on tables." Astrid suddenly frowned, her pretty dark eyes flashing with annoyance. She turned and started for a series of tables near a massive series of windows that looked out at the stars. Jay and the Doctor trailed after her, watching as she put the platter of broken glass down and began to clear off a table.

"No shore leave?" the Doctor asked, pushing his hands into his pockets. His dark eyes were thoughtful, watching her, and Jay hid a smile, turning her eyes to the stars. Her gaze filled with awe at the expanse of space. Despite her time with the Doctor, she couldn't recall ever seeing such a thing. She abandoned the conversation as Astrid spoke to rest her fingers lightly against the glass, studying the beautiful lights and the planet Earth below.

"We're not allowed," Astrid admitted as she worked, glancing up. She noticed Jay by the window and faltered, studying her. Finally, she simply gave up and went to stand beside her, looking down at the planet mournfully. "They can't afford the insurance. I wish I could though. I'd love to try it, just once." She looked briefly at Jay and then back to the beauty before them. "I've never stood on another world. I used to watch the ships heading off to the stars and I always dreamed of...well, it sounds daft."

Jay shook her head, throwing her a gentle smile. "It's not daft at all, Astrid. You dreamed of more. Of other skies, suns, air. Life. I know what that's like. Why stand still when there's all that life out there?" She winked at Astrid and then turned to the Doctor, startled to find him watching them both from a few steps away. He looked troubled, although he pushed a smile onto his face when Jay turned to look at him, and quickly joined them.

"You travel?" Astrid asked them as the Doctor took up a position on her other side. Jay hoped that the Doctor would perhaps offer the other woman a chance at stepping on the planet below. She deserved it.

"All the time," the Doctor said comfortably. "Just for fun, just like we plan. Well," he said under his breath, correcting himself when Jay snorted loudly. "Never quite works out that the way."

"I'd say," Jay muttered. She grinned at Astrid. "We're broke as can be, mind you, so we kind of just hop aboard other ships."

"You're kidding," Astrid said, gaping at them and their rather expensive looking outfits. When the Doctor playfully smirked at her, she gasped, laughing, "No! How did you get on board?"

The Doctor liked her enough to be truthful, and Jay noticed it immediately. "It was an accident. I've got this...ship thing. I was rebuilding her and left the defenses down, and then bumped into the Titanic. Saw there was a bit of party and thought, 'Why not?'"

A smile danced across Astrid's lips as she looked between the amused Jay and grinning Doctor. "I should report you," she said teasingly, her gaze alight with relief that she'd found a pair of people who didn't seem inclined to be rude. When the Doctor gave her a challenging look, she winked. "I'll get you a drink. On the house."

She turned and strode away and Jay wrapped her arms around herself with an affectionate look that she threw after Astrid. When Astrid was gone, Jay looked back to the space outside. "You know," she said quietly as the Doctor moved closer, pushing his hands further into his pockets and looking out at the stars with her. "We're always running around. I love it, don't get me wrong, and I know we help people...and I suppose there have been a few places you've taken Martha and I that were gorgeous and peaceful...but we've never looked at the stars like this before." Jay promised and then tightened her arms around herself. "Martha would really like this. I miss her." They'd not been away from her for long, likely less than three hours but it still hurt that she wasn't there.

"We'll make sure to look at the stars more often," the Doctor promised gently, watching her out of the corner of his eye. He was somewhat worried she'd want to leave, too, despite what she'd said earlier, and was reassured when after a short few moments, she turned to him and smiled broadly at him. Her eyes danced when he playfully offered his arm as loud laughter came from the nearby banquet area. "Should we go see what everyone thinks is so funny?"

"I think we should," Jay agreed, taking his arm gracefully. "I doubt it'll be anything nice with the way the majority of these people seem to be. But maybe we can make someone else feel better." She'd enjoyed their talk with Astrid, had liked making her feel better about herself. There were likely others on this ship who could use words of kindness.

Her thoughts were proven correct when the Doctor and Jay followed the source of the laughter and found a group of clearly wealthy passengers jabbing their fingers at a large couple seated in a set of chairs at a table and mocking their weight. Both looked hurt, though they were clearly doing their best to hide their emotions. Jay scowled at the rich. "God," she hissed under her breath, disgusted, "I can't believe I was ever a member of societies like that."

"From what you've said and done," the Doctor pointed out, frowning in agreement at those who were laughing. "You weren't a part of that. Come on." He led the way over to the otherwise empty table and didn't hesitate to slip into a chair. Jay hesitated before pulling out the last chair available.

"Something's tickled them," the Doctor commented when the pair looked at them in surprise. Jay thought both looked very cheerful despite the fact that they were being mocked. The woman's bouncy happiness was practically radiating off of her, her curly dark hair seeming to vibrate while her dark-skinned husband looked at her with a fondness that made Jay smile.

"They told us it was fancy dress," the woman said, furrowing her brow. "Very funny," she added, throwing a small glare over her shoulder. "I'm sure."

"They're just pickin' on us because we haven't paid," the man explained to Jay and the Doctor, smiling hesitantly at them. There was clear pride in him as he added, "We won our tickets in a competition."

"Congratulations." Jay leaned forward, bracing her elbows on the table and putting her chin in her palms. She sent the wealthy people who sneered at them a glare, her gaze icy. "How'd you manage it?"

"I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystalle in By the Light of the Asteroid," the woman boasted. She beamed, proud of herself. "It was marvelous...I couldn't believe that I won them."

The man snorted in disgust when the crowd laughed a third time, making motions that were rude enough for Jay to want to throw a bowl of punch at them all. "Not good enough for that lot, of course. They think we should be in steerage."

The Doctor thought that over and then slid a hand into his suit jacket, smirking slyly at Jay. She gave him a warning look that he returned with an innocent one. "Can't have that, can we?" he said calmly as he casually tucked the sonic screwdriver carefully under his arm, copying Jay's motions and resting his chin in his palm. He didn't bother to look as he pressed the button on the sonic screwdriver. Jay winced when the bottle of champagne that had rested on the table beside the group suddenly popped the cork, spraying foaming champagne all over those beside it. They screamed and shouted, and the couple burst out laughing. Jay shook her head, trying to hide her smile. It was karma, she thought, but still somewhat wrong.

The woman smiled at the Doctor. "Did you…?" He wiggled his eyebrows as he slowly put his sonic screwdriver away. "We like you," she declared to the pair and Jay smiled, pleased. She liked them, too.

"I'm Morvin van Hoff," the man said, offering his hand to the Doctor, who shook it. He then shook Jay's hand with a firm but gentle grip. "This is my good woman, Foon."

"Hello, Foon. Hello, Morvin." The Doctor shook Foon's hand, too, then sat back. "I'm the Doctor. And this is Jay."

Foon gifted Jay a kind smile and then admitted, "I'm gonna need a doctor by the time I'm finished with this buffet. Have a buffalo wing." She waved to the food before them. "They must be enormous, these buffalo! So many wings…"

Jay's lips quirked as she bit back giggles, picturing a buffalo with wings. They'd not existed in her time, having gone extinct several decades prior despite the effort to bring them back. But she'd seen images of them, and she knew that they did in fact not have any wings at all. She took a buffalo wing at the Doctor's nod and was about to take a bite when a voice filled the air.

"Attention, please!" a voice called through the intercom. "Shore leave tickets red six-seven now activated. Red six-seven."

Foon fished in her purse and produced a pair of tickets. "That's us!" she declared. She stood with Morvin, who put an arm around Foon. Both paused to look at the startled two that had sat with them. "Are you red six-seven?"

"Might as well be," the Doctor said, exchanging a quick curious look with Jay. She shrugged, eager to see what all of this would be about. She climbed to her feet, carefully balanced in her heels and waved for Foon and Morvin to lead the way. She followed them closely with the Doctor, grinning with an amused smile when Morvin called that they'd be visiting Earth.

"This ought to be interesting," Jay whispered to the Doctor as they joined the group that would be apparently visiting Earth. An older man wearing a tweed coat was holding a sign over his head, she noticed, shouting for people with red six-sevens to come over as quickly as they could.

"Doctor!" Jay suddenly gasped, pointing, and he followed her gaze. Astrid was approaching, her hands holding a tray that held two glasses. "Can we-"

"Of course." He tossed her something that Jay nimbly caught. She recognized it immediately. Psychic paper. "I'll get her, you get us those bracelets." He nodded at the bracelets that others in the group were grabbing. He rushed off, quick to grab Astrid, and Jay approached the man gathering them all with a smile.

"Red six-seven," she said, holding up the psychic paper so that he could look. "Plus two!"

The man nodded to confirm that they could go, and told her, "Quickly, ma'am, please take three teleport bracelets if you would."

"Got it." Jay smiled gratefully and retrieved three bracelets before sliding through the group to join the Doctor and Astrid at the back. Astrid was protesting that she'd get fired, but the Doctor silenced her with a simple phrase: "Brand new skies."

Astrid clamped her mouth shut, nervous, and placed the bracelet on her wrist as the old man began to speak up. "To repeat," he called, and everyone fell quiet. "I am Mr. Copper, the ship's historian, and I shall be taking you to old London in the country of U.K. ruled over by good King Wenceslas. Now, human beings worshipped the great god Santa Claus, a creature with fearsome claws, and his wife Mary. And every Christmas Eve, the people of U.K. go to war with the country of Turkey. They then eat the Turkey people for dinner, like savages!"

Jay's eyebrows rose as she listened and she glanced at the Doctor while others gasped. He returned her look with one of disbelief. Leaning in, she muttered, "Doctor, what year are we going down into?"

"The same year we were in," he murmured in response. "Just a few months along, I expect."

"Then am I correct in saying," she said slowly, aware that Astrid was curiously peering between them, listening intently to the conversation they were having. "That even two hundred years before my time, there is no cannibalization and the great god Santa Claus?"

"No, no, you're definitely right. Hold on. Excuse me!" The Doctor lifted his voice so that he was overheard over those around them, lifting his hand so that Mr. Copper would look at him. "Sorry, sorry, but...where did you get this information from?"

Mr. Copper faltered, although no one else seemed to notice. "Well, sir, I have a first class degree in Earthonomics…" He squared his shoulders. "Now, stand by-"

"And me!" a new voice suddenly squealed, and everyone in the group turned to look as a small alien with red skin and spikes on his head came sprinting over. "Red six-seven!"

Astrid cocked her head curiously at the sight of him, and Jay looked just as interested in the alien. The Doctor lifted his protests again as the alien quickly put his own teleportation bracelet on. "Um, but...hold on, hold on, what was your name?"

"Bannakaffalatta!" he said firmly.

"Okay, Bannakaffalatta," the Doctor said, addressing him. "But it's Christmas Eve down there! Late-night shopping, tons of people. You're going to cause a riot in the streets!"

Jay elbowed his side gently, hissing, "Doctor, you're being rude again!"

Before their conversation could continue, there was a flash as the teleport bracelets were activated and then they appeared quite suddenly in the middle of a street in London. It was quite empty, Jay noticed immediately, and the Doctor looked around in surprise as Mr. Copper, pleased, said, "Now, spending money. I have a credit card in Earth currency if you want to buy trinkets or stockings, or the local delicacy, which is known as 'beef.' But don't stray too far, it could be dangerous! Any day now, they start boxing."

The Doctor peered around in absolute confusion, even as Astrid put a hand over her mouth, awed by the sight before her. The Doctor frowned as Jay smiled and asked her if she liked it. "It's beautiful," Astrid whispered.

"Really?" the Doctor said without looking at her, looking very displeased by the lack of people out and about. "I mean, it should be full! Busy! Something's wrong...and it's just a street. The pyramids are beautiful, and New Zealand…"

"Moon's quite lovely, too," Jay admitted before elbowing him again. He scowled at her, rubbing the spot. "Stop being rude. She likes it. Leave it be." She gestured for the Doctor to look at Astrid as she wandered a few steps forward. The Doctor focused and shook his head to clear it, realizing he'd been focusing on unimportant matters - although he was concerned about just why it was so empty.

"It's a different planet...I'm standing on a different planet!" Astrid breathed, bouncing a little and smiling at the concrete beneath her feet. "And there's shops, real alien shops! Look!" She tipped her head back, shivering a little alongside an admittedly cold Jay. It was rather brisk outside and neither of them wore jackets. "You can't see the stars! Thank you," she added to the pair, and Jay gave her a warm smile. "Thank you!"

"No problem," Jay said, sincerely happy that Astrid was happy. She missed Martha dearly, wished she was there, too, but was grateful that she'd made someone else feel happy alongside the Doctor.

The Doctor grabbed their shoulders and began to steer them across the street to where there was a booth that held an old man, bundled up in winter clothing as he read a newspaper, waiting for people to come by. He was the only person out, Jay realized, other than them.

"Hello there!" the Doctor cried, scaring the daylights out of the poor old man. His hair was white as the snow that was falling softly, his eyes kind with a hint of surprise at the sight of them. "Sorry, obvious question, but where's everybody gone?"

"They're scared," the man cried, startled that they'd not know any better.

"Hi, excuse me," Jay said, cutting in before the Doctor could insult someone else. She offered him a kind smile that the old man returned. "May I ask what they're scared of?"

"Where have you been living, my dear? London at Christmas? Not safe, is it?" The old man shook his head, in disbelief with their silly lack of knowledge regarding the matter. He leaned forward a little, gesturing to the sky. "It's them, up above! Look, Christmas before last, we had that big bloody spaceship, with everyone standing on a roof. And then last year, that Christmas star electrocuting all over the place...draining the Thames…"

"This place is amazing," Astrid whispered to Jay, who was eyeing the Doctor suspiciously. There was a guilty look on his face. When he saw Jay giving him the look, he winced. He'd definitely had something to do with it.

"This year," the man continued, not noticing them speaking among themselves, "Lord knows what! So everybody's gone to the country. All except me...and Her Majesty," he added when the TV in the booth with him suddenly began blaring information. The Doctor peered intently at the TV as a newscaster declared that the queen of the country would be staying in Buckingham Palace over Christmas to show that there was nothing to fear. "God bless her!" the man cried, saluting the TV. "We stand vigil!"

Jay found that she quite liked the old man. He was a fierce person, who was very passionate about the matter. He was rather adorable, she thought as the Doctor leaned in with a wink. "Between you and me, I think she's got it right. Far as we know, this year, nothing to-"

Between one blink and the next, the Doctor was interrupted by the flash of the teleport.

The old man collapsed back into his chair, stunned. "Then again…" he whispered, and hoped that nothing bad would happen that upcoming Christmas Day.

---

The first thing the Doctor said as they appeared back aboard the Titanic was "I was in mid-sentence!" Jay drew a hand down her face, sighing heavily, and Mr. Copper looked puzzled as he gathered their bracelets. Jay gratefully gave hers over.

A man who introduced himself as the chief steward immediately lifted his voice, approaching the group as if he'd been expecting them. "Apologies, ladies and gentlemen - Bannakaffalatta," he added quickly as he looked at the small alien. "We seem to have suffered a slight power fluctuation. If you'd like to return to the festivities. And on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise Liners, free drinks will be provided." He smiled faintly and then left them to disperse.

Jay furrowed her brow as Astrid gave her a quick hug, not at all bothered. "Thank you," Astrid whispered.

Jay smiled and hugged her back quickly. "No problem. You better get back to work," she added, watching as the Doctor strode after the chief steward. She needed to hurry or risk being left behind, she supposed. She bid Astrid farewell, and then hurried after him. She reached the Doctor just as the chief steward left. "Anything interesting?"

"He didn't say, but something's off," the Doctor said slowly, mistrustful of the situation.

Jay sighed, glaring down at her heels. Why did things happen when they just tried to enjoy themselves? "Trouble, I suppose?"

"Perhaps." The Doctor narrowed his eyes after the chief steward and then strode towards the nearest screen displaying Max Capricorn's face on it. He perched his black glasses upon his nose and glanced around, waving for Jay to keep an eye out as he worked. She rolled her eyes and did as he said as he buzzed his sonic screwdriver at the screen. Finally, Max's face disappeared, and the images were replaced by a screen displaying a blue-print like image of the Titanic.

Jay immediately perked up, her eyes narrowing as she took in the image. She didn't know much regarding anything, although she was proud that she'd been doing better regarding such things in the past few months, but she knew space ships, and she prided herself on it. "The shields are offline," she said suddenly, glancing at him. She pointed at the image. "See?"

"That's not good," the Doctor said, thinking about how the ship had slammed through his own ship's walls because of a lack of shields. He grimaced and then frowned at the sight of something blinking off to the side. He studied it for a moment and then tore off at a jog for the windows. Jay gathered her dress in her hand and hurried after him, kicking off her heels as she went. She didn't bother pausing to pick the up. Wishing she'd not worn them, she peered outside with him and then stared.

"Oh, no," she whispered as the Doctor bolted for the nearest intercom system, not caring if he was seen. He used the sonic screwdriver to hack into the systems, speaking as soon as he was sure he'd connected. "Is that the bridge? I need to talk to the captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in west zero by north two."

The captain was anything but pleased. "Who is this?"

"Never mind that," the Doctor said hastily as Jay rejoined him, already breathing heavily from the running back and forth. He passed her his sonic screwdriver for safekeeping when he noticed a pair of men starting to approach. "Your shields are down. Check your scanners, Captain. You've got meteoroids coming in and you need those shields!"

"You have no authorization," the captain snapped, angry. "You will clear the comms at once, sir!"

"Just look starboard!" the Doctor cried in response and then whirled around when Jay suddenly snapped at one of the men to let go of her. He'd grabbed the young woman's wrist as the other approached the Doctor. The Doctor recognized him immediately as the chief steward had approached them only moments prior.

"Come with me, sir," the chief steward said grimly, grabbing his arm. The other man released Jay in favor of helping him when the Doctor angrily shrugged him off. They grabbed his arms and forced him forward. Jay nervously followed, demanding they let him go, and the Doctor's voice lifted in his determination to get people aware of what was happening. "You've got a rock storm heading for this ship and the shields are down!"

"Enough," he was told.

The Doctor turned his head back to make sure Jay was still there, not wanting to lose her among the dozens of people aboard the ship when he knew they were very much in danger, only to find her gone. He desperately tried to pry himself around to look and felt a flash of pride when her voice filled the air, echoing through the microphone on the stage as she interrupted the band to say fiercely, "Listen up! There's an emergency! There's a - ouch, let go of me!" she cried as a Host suddenly appeared and grabbed her, dragging her away from the stage.

The Host forced her after where the stewards were taking the Doctor, and the Doctor was furious as the stewards sent it back to its work and took over, pushing them both forward against their will. What was going on that they weren't listening to him? "Look out the windows!" he shouted. "If you don't believe me," he added to the chief steward, "check the shields yourself!"

"Sir!" a voice suddenly called, and they all paused. Astrid had come after them, her face lined with anxious concern. "I can vouch for them!"

"Astrid," Jay said happily. Her eyes lit up when she saw that others had trailed after, too. Bannakaffalatta had followed, although Jay couldn't imagine why, as well as Morvin and Foon. Even Mr. Copper was there. All were chattering away about various reasons that the pair should be let go, although Mr. Copper was more focused on something regarding the teleports being down, and Jay felt a flash of warmth even as they were ignored. She was impressed at how far they followed, pushed into some maintenance corridors that made her shoulders tighten anxiously.

These were far too like those on the Valiant. She clenched her hands into fists, forcing herself to focus on the present situation. Jay's head was aching simply from the amount of shouting going on when another joined the party. The man who'd yelled at Astrid earlier in the evening came rushing down the tunnel, eyes wide as he shouted, "Oi! Steward! I'm telling you, the shields are down!"

He'd barely gotten his words out before, quite suddenly, the ship was slammed into by something none of them could see. Jay cried out, pain snapping through her head as she was thrown to the floor painfully along with the rest of them, the world tilting around them. The Doctor, grunting after landing hard on his back, crawled over to grab her hand, making sure she didn't go far as they were slammed into again, and then a third time. The tunnel nearly collapsed around them, a beam falling, and Jay cried out again when it nearly crushed her.

It was only when everything had stilled that the Doctor released her, slowly rising to his feet with his finger pressed to his lips to shush everyone there. Those he could see were clearly shaken. Even the man who'd been yelling at Astrid looked frightened. The ship groaned around them, metal creaking, and then settled. The Doctor waited until he was sure that everything was safe for the time being, and then reached down and grabbed Jay's arm gently, helping her up. "You all right?"

"Yeah," she breathed, swiping at some blood that had trickled from a gash in her forehead. She winced when it stung. "I'll be fine. Astrid, are you okay?" she added to the blonde as she staggered to her feet beside them.

"I think so," Astrid confirmed.

"Bad name for a ship. Either that or this suit is really unlucky," the Doctor said, kneeling beside one of the stewards that had been pushing he and Jay through the maintenance tunnels. Jay went to check on Foon and Morvin, ensuring that they were okay.

Jay snorted, smiling faintly at Foon as she pulled her to her feet. "I'm going to say that it's likely a combination with a hint of extra on the suit." She grimaced as a voice filled the air, Max Capricorn's voice echoing "My name is Max." The Doctor went in search of the voice and Jay considered trailing after him like a lost duckling but decided to help Astrid tend to Mr. Copper, who had a cut similar to her own on his head.

The chief steward looked stunned by what had happened, but quickly stepped up to try and take control. Jay snorted; the Doctor would be the one in charge from here on out, simply because she doubted the others would listen to the steward after he'd failed to do as the Doctor said. "Everyone - ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta," he stammered, "I must apologize. We seem to have had a small collision."

Everyone responded loudly and Jay rolled her eyes, smiling gently at Astrid in approval as she asked Mr. Copper, "Are you all right?"

The poor man was too shocked to respond, simply looking at her as Astrid dabbed at the cut with her apron.

"Quiet!" the chief steward suddenly shouted, and everyone finally fell silent. "I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruise Liners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience. But first, I would point out that we are very much alive. She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship." He strode towards a hatch at the end of the ship now, calling over his shoulder, "If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the situation-"

The Doctor returned just as he gripped the handle of the hatch. His eyes snapped wide, and he began to shout, "Don't open it!" just as the chief steward did. Matching screams left Jay and Astrid when the man was suddenly sucked out into space. Astrid latched onto the piping beside her and grabbed Jay's arm when she lunged, but missed it. Jay clung to her arm desperately, wincing at the icy cold. She heard nothing but the roar of the vacuum until suddenly, the shield was replaced and they all slammed back into the ground.

"Oof!" Astrid gasped as she hit the ground hard again. Jay winced, head throbbing. This wasn't turning out to be a very good cruise, she thought blearily. She was going to kill the Doctor and burn that damn suit.

"Everyone all right?" the Doctor called as he pocketed his sonic screwdriver again, breathing hard. "Jay? Astrid?"

"We're fine!" Astrid informed him, turning her attentions onto Jay and dabbing at her cut with a new part of her apron. The Doctor studied them closely to make sure before moving on, asking each person in turn if they were okay. Finally, his attention turned onto the angry wealthy man.

"You, what was your name?" he asked. "Are you all right?"

"Rickston Slade," he said angrily. Jay thought he must be an incredibly angry person, and puffed up in anger as he said sharply, "And I'm fine. No thanks to that idiot!"

"The steward just died," Jay bit out with narrowed eyes.

"Then he's a dead idiot," Rickston said coldly.

"Jayden," the Doctor warned when Jay pushed Astrid away and shot to her feet, starting towards him. He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back towards Astrid, who'd stood with wide eyes. He gave Astrid a look, clearly putting her in charge of Jay for the unforseeable future. She nodded slightly, indicating that she would. The Doctor strode over to peer outside, and Jay sent Rickston a final glare before following him. Astrid trailed after them, her dark eyes nervous.

"What happened?" Jay asked as she peered outside with her friend. "Do you know why the shields were down?"

The Doctor glanced at her sadly, and then back out at the countless bodies that were floating in the space surrounding what remained of the Titanic. Jay inhaled sharply at the sight and when Astrid looked out, she gasped softly. "Oh, my God," she whispered. "How many dead?"

"We're alive," the Doctor told Astrid quietly, turning his attention on her entirely. "Just focus on that. I'll get you out of here, Astrid, I promise." When she continued to stare outside, terror filling her expression, he touched her arm. "Look at me," he ordered. When she did, he said gently, "I promise you. Now," he continued when she nodded slowly, "if we can get to the other room, I've got a spaceship tucked away. We can all get on board-"

"Um, Doctor," Jay said faintly, pointing through the glass. "The TARDIS. It's, err, it's floating right towards Earth." The Doctor groaned as he looked outside at the blue box that was slowly drifting away, locked onto the planet below. Jay scowled. Just their luck. Of course the TARDIS was off to Earth without them.

Astrid cocked her head, arching a brow. "That's a spaceship? It's a bit small."

"Don't knock it!" the Doctor cried, greatly insulted by the comment about his TARDIS. Jay giggled despite the severity of their situation. He whirled away. "No point in worrying about things we can't do anything about. Let me see if anyone else is alive on the ship. Astrid, keep Jay away from Rickston."

"Hey," Jay protested, but Astrid smiled hesitantly at him. "Of course," she agreed readily, willing to keep an eye on Jay for him.

Jay grumbled as the Doctor went back towards the intercom systems that he'd inspected previously. He had to fidget with them for a few moments, use the sonic screwdriver - which he was extremely grateful to still have - on the system to get it to work. When it was useable, he leaned in and said, "Deck twenty-two to the bridge. Deck twenty-two to the bridge. Is there anyone there?"

Silence filled his ears for a few moments. The Doctor was beginning to worry that no one else was alive up near the controls when a voice groaned, "This is the bridge."

That wasn't the captain who'd yelled at him, he noticed immediately, puzzled. "Hello, sailor," he greeted cheerfully, practically hearing the youth of the man on the other end. He was young. Far too young to be in charge of such a situation. "Good to hear you. What's the situation up there?"

"We've got air; the oxygen field is holding. But the captain...he's dead." His voice broke, a sob escaping him. "He did it, I watched while he took down the shields . There was nothing I could do. I tried, I really did try-"

Sympathy for the man filled the Doctor. "All right," he said softly, "just stay calm. Tell me your name. What's your name?"

"Midshipman Frame."

"Good. Nice to meet you, sir. What's the state of the engines?" Frame told him to hold on and then groaned painfully as he went to check. "Have you been injured?" the Doctor demanded, instantly concerned about it.

"I'm all right," Frame said, despite being clearly not. "Oh, no," he breathed a moment later, horrified. "They're cycling down."

The Doctor grimaced, rubbing his hands down his face. "That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?" Frame confirmed it and the Doctor groaned, "The moment they're gone, we lose orbit." If they hit the planet below, that nuclear storm would burst and wipe out everyone on the planet. Not good. "Midshipman, I need you to fire up the engine containment field. Feed it back into the core."

"This isn't going to work," Frame said faintly, and the Doctor was quick to reassure him, determined. They would make it work. He ensured Frame that he'd get to the bridge as quickly as he could, and then turned to look at the others.

"We're going to die!" Foon wailed, and as Morvin hastily reassured her, Mr. Copper was going on and on about someone having done all of this on purpose in horror. Astrid was protesting that they were just a cruise ship, that there was no way someone could have done it on purpose. Rickston was yelling again. Only Bannakaffalatta and Jay, who knew better, were quiet.

"Okay, okay!" the Doctor snapped over the commotion; they all fell silent. Jay watched his face intently, waiting for the instructions on what she needed to do. "First things first," he told them all, confident despite being anything but. "One: we're going to climb through this ship. 'B'...no, two: we're going to reach the bridge. Three, or 'C,': we're going to save the Titanic." Jay's lips tugged into a smile as he finished, "And, coming in a very low four or 'D' or that little roman numeral 'i-vee' in brackets that they use in footnotes...why. Right then. Follow me."

The Doctor didn't know why he was so surprised that it was Rickston who immediately barked, "Hold on just a minute, who put you in charge? Who the hell are you anyway?"

He only had so much patience regarding men like that and he lost that patience as he turned on Rickston and got in his face, spitting out, "I'm the Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm nine-hundred-three years old and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below. Got a problem with that?"

Jay beamed proudly, excited that someone had finally put Rickston in his place as he said in a small voice, "No."

"In that case…" The Doctor winked at Jay, clicking his teeth. "Allons-y!"

He led them through the maintenance tunnel, to the other side. Jay slipped through everyone else to walk beside him, picking her way in bare feet over the debris and sparking cables that littered the floor, heels long since lost. "Careful," he warned when she winced.

"I'm wearing shoes I can run in from now on, no matter where I am," she informed him as he suddenly began shoving at a piece of metal, trying to move it. She propped her shoulder against the piece and helped, pushing as hard as she could until it moved and cleared the way for them.

"You should have done that before," the Doctor chided gently and then rolled his eyes when he overheard Mr. Copper informing the others that this was all in the spirit of Christmas, a supposedly violent holiday in which humans survived depending on whether they'd been good or bad. "That's not true," he told Mr. Copper, nearly scolding him. "Christmas is a time of peace and thanksgiving and-"

"Doctor, you need to be honest with yourself." Jay gave him a look. "I've never had the kind of Christmas you're describing, but when is the last time that you of all people managed to have a peaceful Christmas?" He sputtered, somewhat offended, and she flashed him a grin before suddenly pointing at a flash of gold. "A Host!" She ignored him and went to free it, shoving at a plate of metal until the Host, broken by the crash, was freed.

"Strength of ten," the Doctor agreed, dragging it free. He noted a flight of metal stairs that had been revealed by the movements of debris. "We can use it to fix the rubble if we mend it."

"We can do robotics," Morvin said suddenly, earning their attention, "both of us."

Foon smiled brightly. "We worked on the milk market back on Sto. It's all robot staff."

"That's fabulous, thank you," Jay said, stepping away so they could work. She smiled broadly when the pair settled down to do their work on the robot. The Doctor grabbed her shoulder and pushed her gently forward, saying to Astrid as he did so, "Let's have a look, shall we?"

"Okay," Astrid agreed, stepping aside so that he could push his way up the flight of stairs they'd uncovered. Jay let Astrid go and then followed her up. She scowled when Rickston was next up after her, but didn't mind that Mr. Copper and Bannakaffalatta followed them, too. They were near the top when Astrid declared, "It's blocked. Can we shift it?"

Jay grinned as the Doctor threw her an approving look. "That's the attitude," the Doctor said happily and then said, "Bannakaffalatta, there's a gap in the middle of all this…" He eyed the metal that blocked their way thoughtfully. "See if you can get through?"

"Easy," the small alien said brightly and went to work, squeezing past them all and into the debris. Jay watched after him worriedly, and then flinched when the ship suddenly lurched around them. They all staggered, throwing their arms up to protect their heads from loose pieces that showered down onto them.

"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!" Rickston snapped, and Jay eyed him with a glare. She hated him, she decided, wanting nothing more than to shove him over the railing of the steps. Not that she ever would.

"Oh, Rickston," the Doctor chimed from where he stood a few steps above them. "I forgot, did you get our message?" When Rickston looked up, bewildered, the Doctor glared at him and snarled, "Shut up!"

Rickston sputtered and Jay cackled under her breath as Bannakaffalatta announced that he'd made it through. The Doctor smiled, praising him, and then frowned as Astrid started crawling in after him, claiming, "I'm small enough, I can get through."

"Careful," the Doctor warned.

"I'll be fine," she called back, disappearing among the wreckage.

"Thing is, how are Mr. and Mrs. Fatso gonna get through this gap?" Rickston sneered, smirking in amusement at his own words.

When Rickston opened his mouth, Jay lost her patience with him. For a year she'd stood by, unable to do anything as people she liked were tormented. For an entire year, she'd watched as one man demoralized and hurt people as if they were nothing. And finally, finally, after escaping that, after being freed from that suffering, she was being forced to witness a proud man demean others once more.

The Doctor didn't react fast enough to stop Jay from delivering a quick blow to Rickston's face with her elbow. Rickston reeled back with a shout of pain, hand clapped over his nose and mouth, and Jay latched onto his collar, spitting mad. "We could make it wider by using you as a-"

"Jayden," the Doctor snapped, exasperated and just a little bit proud. He'd never say as much, of course. He grabbed her forcefully by the waist and hauled her up a few steps, pushing her towards the debris. "Go with Astrid," he said sternly, and she scowled at him in return.

Rickston scowled viciously up at Jay. "She punched me!" he cried.

"What's going on?" Astrid called after them, having heard the commotion.

"She punched me!" Rickston repeated, shocked that the woman had done so.

"I'll do it again if you open that big fat mouth of yours one more time," Jay spat at him, pushing at the Doctor's hands to try and get at Rickston again when he tried to gently yet firmly duck her head so she would go in after Astrid.

"Everything's fine," the Time Lord called to Astrid, "Jay's going with you."

"Like hell I am." Jay dug her heels in, glaring at him.

The Doctor glared right back. "Now isn't the time for this," he warned, wincing as he listened to Foon give a soft sob beneath them, having overheard every word that was being said. Jay heard it, too, and her anger only grew.

"I've had enough," she hissed. "I won't listen to it anymore. Not to you, not to me, not to anyone. I'm done listening to it, Doctor. I'm done." Her hands shook, heart racing in her chest. She was shaking all over, she was so angry, she realized.

"I know," he said quietly in response, squeezing her shoulder gently. "But now's not the time, Jay. Go." He nudged her towards the debris again and she reluctantly did as he was asking. She crawled carefully through the debris, hissing irritably about her dress catching on a few pieces of metal. She'd just scooted through the final pieces and out the other side, met by Astrid, when Astrid said, "We can clear it from this side."

"Got it," Jay said, still cranky after what had happened with Rickston. She took a deep breath and pushed it out to clear her thoughts. It took her a moment to realize that Bannakaffalatta wasn't moving. "What's wrong?" she asked immediately, worried enough that she forgot her anger entirely.

Bannakaffalatta shushed them when Astrid immediately looked over, just as worried. "Can't say," he said, high-pitched voice somewhat squeaky.

"Are you hurt?" Astrid said anxiously, abandoning her cleaning of material to crawl over to him. Jay took her place, working as they spoke though she kept an eye on the situation.

He shook his head. "Ashamed," he admitted. When Astrid questioned what he was ashamed of, he lifted his white button up shirt to show them the robotic pieces beneath. Jay gasped softly, recognizing the machinery immediately although it differed from that that she'd seen.

"You're a cyborg," Astrid realized, looking back at his face with a surprised look.

"Had accident long ago." Bannakaffalatta looked mournful about it as he spoke. "Secret."

"No, but everything's changed now," Astrid declared, glancing over at Jay for confirmation as she heaved a piece of metal out of the way. "Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto - you can even get married now!"

"That's a hell of a lot better than what cyborgs get where I'm from," Jay mused.

Bannakaffalatta slyly smiled at Astrid and made her blush by saying, "Marry you?"

"Well," Astrid said, flustered, and Jay laughed at the pair, her anger long since forgotten. "You can buy me a drink first. Come on, let's recharge you." Gently, she pressed a button on the small cyborg's torso, and then sat back. "Just stay there for a bit, okay? I'm going to help Jay now."

"Tell no one," Bannakaffalatta insisted to the pair of women and they both agreed before setting to work on prying a piece of metal away that was particularly stuck. Jay yelped when she slipped, narrowly catching herself.

"What's going on up there?" the Doctor called up the stairs that were slowly being revealed on either side. Worry laced his voice, and Jay and Bannakaffalatta chuckled when Astrid cheerfully called back, "I think Bannakaffalatta and I just got engaged."

---

The Doctor furrowed his brow, worried when there was a yelp from somewhere among the wreckage above his head. "What's going on up there?" he called up the stairs, worried that something bad had happened. There was a moment of silence, and then he heard Astrid call back down, her words full of laughter, "I think Bannakaffalatta and I just got engaged."

The Doctor sighed softly in amusement and shook his head. He leaned over the railing that lined the stairs, smirking when Rickston wasn't looking about the fact that there was some half-dried blood from a split lip flecking his mouth. He carefully went down the stairs that were available and approached the intercoms, feeling the need to check in with the poor young man trapped in the bridge. "Mr. Frame," he called, "how's things?"

"Doctor," Frame replied, sounding anxious. "I've got life signs all over the ship, but they're going out one by one."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed, worry flooding him. That wasn't good. "What is it? Are they losing air?"

"No." Frame's voice filled with fear. "One of them said it's the Host. It's something to do with the Host." The Doctor's eyes widened and he snapped his head around just as Morvin announced that the Host he'd been working on had started working. It was followed by a scream as the Host took Morvin by the throat, tightening its grip until he couldn't scream. Foon looked horrified, trying to stop it.

The Doctor flew to them as voices came from above. The Host was repeating a single word, "kill," and he yanked his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, shouting, "Foon, shut it off!"

She tried desperately, but found her attempts useless. "I can't, Doctor!" she wailed, terrified for her husband. Morvin was choking, struggling to pry himself free and simply breathe.

The Doctor swore under his breath in a rare moment when he found his screwdriver would be useless due to deadlocks. "Foon, go upstairs!" he ordered.

She hesitated. Foon decided to do as he said, however, and turned to flee. He managed to pry Morvin free with his hands after a brief moment, and then pushed him away from the Host as it turned after him. Morvin faltered, scared, and the Doctor shouted, "Rickston, get them through!" He caught the Host's attention, granting Morvin the opportunity to hurry up after his wife.

"Rickston!" Mr. Copper shouted in outrage a few seconds later. The Doctor scowled, furious, and silently hoped that he met Jay on the other side of the wreckage. He was relieved when he heard Astrid crawl back through to help Mr. Copper get Foon through, offering their assistance. The Doctor thundered up the flight of stairs after ducking around the killer Host. He found that Foon had finally made it through and now Morvin was struggling. "Get through!" he ordered.

"It's going to collapse!" he heard Mr. Copper's desperate voice cry. He sounded from the Doctor's point of view as he was trying. "Rickston, damn it, help me!"

Rickston's voice was lower, and the Doctor couldn't hear what Rickston said, but he certainly heard the cry of outrage followed by the determined shout of, "Hold on, Mr. Copper, I'm coming!" from Jay.

It was a lot of struggling on everyone's part before Morvin made it through and the Doctor glanced back. The Host was right there, reaching for him as Jay shouted for the Doctor to come through, too. He heard Astrid gently reassuring the couple and urging them onward. The Doctor paused. "Information override!" he cried. "You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!"

"Doctor," Mr. Copper called, his voice strained. "We can't hold it much longer-"

"Information: deck thirty-one," the Host informed him, pausing just long enough to give the requested information.

The Doctor beamed. "Thank you!" he said, and then bolted as quickly as he could through the hole that had been created. He scrambled out the other side just as the pole Jay and Mr. Copper had been struggling with was released and a beam crashed down atop of the Host that had begun creeping through after them.

Jay didn't hesitate to throw her arms around the Doctor with a gasp of relief, sweat slicking her forehead from the effort she'd put into holding that beam up, and he chuckled, briefly hugging her back. "I'm all right," he said kindly and then looked around at the room the others had hesitantly begun exploring. The Doctor noted the way Mr. Copper stuck to Astrid and Bannakaffalatta while Foon and Morvin went to grab some food from a table. Rickston was left alone.

"Where are we?" Jay asked.

"Away from the Host," he answered grimly and then headed for the nearest intercom. He was grateful that they were practically plastered everywhere in the ship. It was coming in handy. "Mr. Frame," he said into them when he reached them. He was more than aware of Jay hovering beside him, wringing her hands and shaking them out in a way he now recognized. He made a note in his mind to check with her momentarily. "You still there?"

"Yes, sir," Frame said shakily, "but I've got Host outside. I sealed the door."

"They've been programmed to kill. Why would someone do that?" Jay murmured. The Doctor repeated her question into the intercom.

"That's not the problem," Frame said anxiously, sounding more distressed. "I had to use a maximum deadlock on the door, which means no one can get in. I'm sealed off. Even if you can fix the Titanic, you can't get to the bridge."

The Doctor drew a hand down his face, frustrated. "Right, fine," he muttered, "one problem at a time, Mr. Frame. What's on deck thirty-one?"

"Um, that's down below...it's nothing. It's just the Host storage deck. That's where we keep the robots."

The Doctor tapped the screen attached to the intercom, frowning. He planted his glasses on his nose and then glanced at Jay. "See that panel?" he said, gesturing to the one he meant. She nodded slowly. "Black. It's registering nothing. No power, no heat, no light."

"Strange," Jay murmured, and Frame agreed over the intercom, "Never seen it before. I'll try intensifying the scanner."

The Doctor nodded although Frame couldn't see him. "Let me or my friend Jay here know if you find anything. And keep those engines going, okay?" He removed his glasses and pocketed them carefully turning and making his way over to an area that would be safe to sit in. Jay settled onto the floor beside him, just as Astrid approached with a plate of food.

"Saved you some," she told them, hesitantly sitting beside the pair. "You might be Time Lords from whatever that planet was, but you need to eat."

"Thanks," Jay said, "and he's the only Time Lord, Astrid. I'm just a human."

"You're not just a human," the Doctor chided, nibbling at some of the food.

Jay nodded slowly. "You're right," she said under her breath, reaching for some snacks herself. "I'm not just a human. I'm a weirdly poisoned human who's got bits of alien stuck in her." The Doctor choked, and Astrid stared at Jay in alarm. "Don't worry," she said, wiggling her fingers at Astrid. "I won't eat you or anything."

Astrid giggled, but the Doctor turned and frowned at her severely. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I was going to ask. Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She held up a hand, touching just beneath her third finger's second knuckle. "It's crept up to there. It's slower now...I'm wondering if the year we spent just hanging around let whatever it is settle or something. Maybe with the running it'll pick up again, I'm not sure."

"I can do some tests when we get the TARDIS back," the Doctor murmured, confident that they'd survive this disaster unfolding around them.

"You can try," Jay said darkly, thinking of the needles.

"Doctor," a voice said, and the three gathered looked up to find Mr. Copper coming over to join them. "It must be well past midnight, on Earth," he told them. "Christmas Day." The old man looked so excited by the prospect despite their situation that Jay giggled, smiling warmly at him.

"So it is," the Doctor hummed, flashing him a grin. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Copper."

"This Christmas thing," Astrid suddenly asked, looking to Jay as if she'd know what was up with it. "What's it all about?"

"I'm not the one to ask." Jay put her hands up in surrender, lips curving into a dry smile. "I'm from two hundred years in the future and from a family that was much like many of the passengers that were aboard this ship." She faltered at the reminder of just how many had died, but pushed on, looking to the Doctor for answers.

"Long story," the Doctor told them, shaking his head. Jay mentally noted that. She'd ask him later. Mr. Copper hesitated, and then questioned why they couldn't just send out a signal to Earth, so they could send up a rocket. "They don't have spaceships," he said honestly, although he was fairly sure that Jack likely had something that could have received their signal. And if not Jack...UNIT. He eyed Mr. Copper curiously. "Mr. Copper, this degree in Earthonamics...where's it from?"

"Honestly?" he said, sighing heavily. "Mrs. Golightly's Happy Travelling University and Dry Cleaners." Mr. Copper hesitantly sat beside them as Astrid gaped at him, shocked that he'd lied to the cruise line to get his job. Mr. Copper merely said in response, "I wasted my life on Sto. I was a travelling salesman, always on the road and I reached retirement with nothing to show for it. Not even a home. And Earth sounded so exotic."

"I suppose it is," the Doctor mused, thinking of all of his experiences on the planet beneath them.

"How come you know it so well?" Astrid studied him. "I mean, Jay's a human, but you're an alien. So why do you know so much about it?"

Jay watched him out of the corner of her eye, interested by what his response would be as he reached for another piece of food. "I was sort of...well, a few years ago, I sorta made…well, I was homeless, and there was the Earth."

Before anyone could say anything more, there was a loud banging on a door on the other side of the room. The Doctor dropped his food and sprang to his feet. Jay and Astrid scrambled to their feet, helping Mr. Copper up as Rickston, Foon, and Morvin moved nervously closer to the other three.

"A Host," the Doctor said darkly, turning and darting for the door opposite of the one the Host was trying to get through. Astrid gave a scream when the door suddenly buckled a little beneath the force. Jay pushed her and Mr. Copper after the Doctor, urging everyone to follow suit.

The Doctor rapidly used his sonic screwdriver on the door, and then shoved it forward. They all piled in and Jay immediately pressed back with a gasp at the sight of the sheer drop that was suddenly below their feet. "Doctor-" she breathed, immediately grabbing his arm when she felt disoriented. She'd not been afraid of heights before this, still wasn't, but there was something disconcerting about standing so high above an empty space-

"Is that the only way across?" Rickston snapped.

The Doctor didn't look at him, only at the engines roaring below. "On the other hand," he said grimly, "it is a way across."

"The engines are open," Astrid noticed as the Doctor took a step closer to the bridge.

"Nuclear storm drive. As soon as it stops, the Titanic falls."

Morvin held his wife's hand tightly. "That thing...it'll never take our weight."

Rickston made a snide comment, and the Doctor ignored him, swiftly taking a gentle hold of Jay's arm before she could do anything. Not that she would at this point in time; she was too busy staring in horror at the empty space beneath her. , "It's nitrofine metal. It's stronger than it looks."

Morvin shook his head, taking a step to the side. "Rickston's right, me and Foon should-" His words suddenly turned into a scream as the panel of metal beneath his feet gave out and the railing that had protected them from the drop gave way. He toppled into open air, plummeting. Within seconds, he was gone.

"MORVIN!" Foon's scream was blood-curdling. She turned to the Doctor, hysterical as she sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Bring him back! Can't you bring him back? Bring him back, Doctor!"

She sobbed harder when he looked mournfully at her and whispered, "I'm sorry, I can't."

"I told you!" Rickston cried, terrified, and Mr. Copper snarled right back at him, "Just shut up!"

Jay's knees buckled a little as she pressed her back to the door, not caring that there was a Host on the other side. She'd not feared heights this much before, she thought, shaking. She'd dropped from car to car when chasing the carjackers - partially because she knew that those cars would be exactly where they were supposed to be, ready to catch her alongside the Doctor. She'd never felt this way before she'd joined the Doctor, had never been as frightened as she was during her travels with him.

But there was something about the way the drop and the way it was empty space beneath her feet with no reassurance that she was safe from it outside of a simply - clearly unstable - metal piece of flooring. If she fell through...there was no coming back, as Morvin had just proven to them.

She didn't notice what was going on until the Doctor was there, frowning as he gently moved her aside so that he could use his sonic screwdriver on the door. She flinched, shivering. "Doctor," she croaked, staring down at the grating beneath her feet. Unlike the TARDIS's grated floor, this was anything but secure.

"Come on," he murmured. "You'll be all right, it's safer on the other side." He took her elbow and moved her towards the bridge, letting her grip his wrist tightly as he coaxed her further from the door on which a series of Hosts were now banging on. Jay took a quick look around. Rickston was halfway across, Mr. Copper not far behind. Foon was still knelt beside the edge of the floor, sobbing as Astrid tried to reassure her and get her moving.

"Jay," the Doctor said after sending Bannakaffalatta forward, "you next."

"No." She shook her head. "No way in hell."

He gave her a stern look. "You've done far worse than crossing a bridge, Jay. You'll be fine. You have to try."

"Send Astrid," she insisted, "I'll go when you go."

Astrid stood away from Foon, looking sorrowfully at the other woman. She gently took Jay's other elbow, flashing the Doctor a quick smile. "I'll take her across," she said firmly, clearly shaken herself despite her confident tone. She started forward, keeping a gentle grip on Jay's elbow before shifting it to her hand. Jay's hand gripped hers so tightly, her knuckles were white. The terrified blonde sent the Doctor a quick look.

"I'll be right behind you," he promised her, and then turned his attention on Foon. "Foon," he said quietly, crouching beside her. "You've got to get across right now. We can mourn later, when we're safe."

She sobbed, her face streaked with tears. "What for? What could I do without him? I love him. I love him." She rocked back and forth a little, unable to comprehend that her husband was gone.

Rickston's voice shouted from the other side, "Doctor, the door's locked!" The Doctor glanced up, reluctant to leave her, and scowled when Rickston shouted again. "She'll get us killed if we can't get out!"

The Doctor noted that the intense dislike Jay held for Rickston seemed to drive her forward a little as she became more confident. Her face was pale, dotted with sweat. As much as they both hated the man - the Doctor wanted to punch him as well - he was right. They needed him on the other side. "Mrs. Van Hoff," the Doctor said kindly to her, knowing she was in pain. He'd experienced pain like that, too. "I am coming back for you, okay?"

Foon nodded, snuffling. The Doctor rose and then took a hesitant step onto the bridge. It moaned, creaking beneath the weight of the five people atop it. Bannakaffalatta gave a cry, announcing that there were too many people; Astrid panicked, thinking it would fall, and the Doctor grimaced when Jay's head snapped around, looking for him. "Keep going," he told them all. "It's just settling."

Jay didn't do as he said, instead narrowing her eyes, suddenly frozen. "Doctor, they've stopped."

It struck him that it had gone silent. He glanced back. The Doctor narrowed his eyes as he realized that the Hosts had stopped banging on the door and Bannakaffalatta questioned, "Gone away?"

"Why would they give up?" the Doctor said warily to himself as he waved for the others to continue, eyeing Jay and Astrid as they tottered carefully across. Neither were pleased with their placement. "Where have they gone? Where are the Host?"

Mr. Copper caught his attention when he said loudly and very nervously, "Doctor, I'm afraid...I'm afraid we forgot the tradition of Christmas that angels have wings." He pointed up and everyone tipped their heads back to stare at the Hosts that were descending from above, their hands reaching for the sharp halos on their heads.

"Arm yourselves!" the Doctor cried. "All of you!"

Everyone grabbed what they could and within moments, they were swinging as hard as they could without falling at the creatures around them. Jay heard Mr. Copper cry out when a halo was throw and sliced deeply into his leg. The Doctor himself staggered when one caught him smartly in the arm. Jay narrowly avoided one herself, and then wheezed Astrid's name when she collapsed, heaving for air. "I can't," she gasped.

Bannakaffalatta saw this and immediately dropped the weapon in his hand. "Bannakaffalatta stop!" he cried, catching their attention. "Bannakaffalatta proud! Bannakaffalatta...cyborg!" In one smooth movement, he'd lifted his shirt and slammed a hand over his robotic pieces, sending a wave of energy throughout the space around them. All but one Host suddenly froze and tumbled through the open air to the engines below. The last one hit the floor near Foon, who was watching in horror.

The Doctor recognized what he'd done immediately. "Electromagnetic pulse took out the robotics! That was brilliant!"

Astrid seemed to agree as she crawled along the bridge to where he'd fallen. There were a few moments in which the two conversed about something, and Jay found tears rising in her eyes when she caught a few words, but said nothing as she began to edge forward, knowing she'd need to get off eventually. She knew how these things went; you kept going and mourned later, just as the Doctor had told Foon. Bannakaffalatta was dead, and they weren't. For the time being.

"I'm sorry," Mr. Copper said as he joined the softly crying Astrid, just as Jay got close enough to hear. "Forgive me, but the EMP transmitter...he'd want us to use it." Mr. Copper carefully crouched beside Astrid and reached for the machinery in Bannakaffalatta's chest. He gently removed a piece. "I used to sell these. They'd always give me a bed for the night in the cyborg caravans. They're good people. And if we can recharge it, we can reuse it as a weapon against the rest of the Host." He added after a moment, "He might have saved us all."

"Information: reboot."

The voice had them all whirling around. The Doctor spun around on the bridge with care, panicked as Foon backed away hastily. Panic crossed through him. The EMP wouldn't be ready before they needed it. His sonic screwdriver wouldn't work. "No, no, no," he said as it advanced on him, reaching for the bridge. He dug through his thoughts, trying to figure out what to do. "Override loophole security protocol...err, ten!" When that didn't work, the Doctor scrambled back, careful of where he put his feet, and spat out numbers. "Six-six-six! Twenty-one, four, five, six, seven-"

"ONE!" Jay screeched from where she was standing, arms thrown out for balance.

The Host stopped, and then straightened. "Information: state request."

The Doctor let out a gust of air, making a mental note to thank Jay later. He waved for the others to continue. He'd figure out how to cross when they were across. "Good, right. Okay. You've been ordered to kill the survivors, but why?" He heard a shout of relief as Mr. Copper got all the way across.

"Information: no witnesses," the Host said blankly.

"But this ship's gonna fall on Earth and kill everyone...the human race have nothing to do with the Titanic, so that contravenes your orders, yes?"

"Information: incorrect."

"Why do you want to destroy the Earth?"

"Information: it is the plan."

"What plan?"

"Information: protocol grants you only three questions. These three questions have been used."

The Doctor made a face as it lifted the halo above its head, annoyed that he hadn't been able to get all of the information he wanted out of the Host before it had resumed its killing spree. "You could have warned me," he grumbled. He took a careful step back, bracing himself for regeneration, and then stared as a lasso made of a chain was thrown over the Host's head.

Foon stared confidently at it, tying the other end to herself. "You're coming with me," she said darkly. She met the Doctor's gaze for the briefest of moments, and then closed her eyes and simply jumped over the side.

"No," the Doctor cried, staring down in horror as she plummeted into the engines, just as Morvin had. Jay and Astrid gave matching cries of her name, and the Doctor took in a ragged breath, desperate. Four people had died under his watch. Four too many. Three of which he'd vowed to get out of this situation. "No more," he said grimly, turning and marching across the bridge. He caught up quickly to the shaken Astrid and Jay and coaxed them the rest of the way across, to where Rickston and Mr. Copper waited.

Once they were across, he pushed past Rickston, and after unlocking the door, they all piled through. They found themselves in some more maintenance halls, and he winced when Jay only seemed to look worse about the situation.

"Right," he muttered, turning to Mr. Copper and Rickston. He was keeping Jay with him. Rickston couldn't be trusted, and he felt a little bad about ditching Mr. Copper and Astrid with the man, but he couldn't send Jay, who he knew would likely murder the man if left unattended with him. He doubted Astrid was willing to physically push her away if need be. The woman seemed to have a gentle soul, although there was clearly a fierce protectiveness in there, too.

"Get up to Reception One," the Doctor instructed the two men. "once you're there, Mr. Copper, you've got staff access to the computer. Try and find a way of transmitting an SOS. Astrid," he continued, turning to the young waitress. "You're in charge of this." He took the EMP from Mr. Copper, pushing it into her hands. She took it with wide eyes. "Once it's powered up, it'll take out Hosts within fifty yards, but then it needs sixty seconds to recharge. Got it? Rickston, take this." Jay squawked in outrage when he handed his sonic screwdriver over, and the Doctor ignored her. "I've preset it. Just hold down that button. It'll open doors." He sharpened his gaze, glaring. "Do not lose it! You got that? Now go and open the next door. Go on! Go!"

Rickston grumbled as he went to do as he said.

"What am I doing?" Jay demanded, but he turned to Astrid and asked her where a power point was. She instructed him that it was under the intercoms, and he led her over to show her how to charge EMP back up.

"When it's ready," he told her, "that blue light comes on there." He pointed.

"You're talking as if you're not coming with us," Astrid commented quietly.

"There's something down on the thirty-first deck," he replied, frowning. The Doctor glanced briefly at Jay. Understanding crossed her face. She was going with him. "We're gonna find out what it is."

"What if you meet a Host?" Astrid fretted, worried for the pair.

"We'll ask some very lengthy questions." Jay snorted softly in amusement at her own words, and Astrid smiled faintly before looking back to the Doctor.

Astrid replied quietly, sounding somewhat amused, "Sounds like you do this kind of thing all the time."

"Not by chance," the Doctor said firmly. "All I do is travel. That's what I am - what the both of us are, just travelers. Imagine it. No tax, no bills, no boss, just the open sky."

The next words that left Astrid's mouth froze Jay's mind. "I'm sort of...unemployed now, and I was thinking that the blue box was kinda small for three, but...maybe I could squeeze in. Like a stowaway."

She wanted to join them, Jay realized, and the Doctor glanced back at her, searching her gaze. Jay felt horribly guilty for wanting to say no. They'd just left Martha back on Earth. Martha was down below, even, trying to enjoy Christmas with her family. She felt as if bringing in Astrid would be like erasing the other woman, and it killed Jay. Jay bit her lip, fidgeting with her fingers. It wasn't up to her, she decided. She was merely tagging along with the Doctor, on his ship. If he wanted Astrid to come...she'd push her own thoughts to the back of her mind. Remembering that she was being watched, Jay quickly pushed her face into a neutral expression.

The Doctor answered and picked his words carefully. "It's not always safe," he said gently.

"So you need someone to take care of the both of you." Astrid looked between them, her eyes full of so much hope that Jay felt sick at her own denial. "I've got no one back on Sto, no family...just me. What do you think? Can I come with you two?"

Slowly, the Doctor spoke, taking what little he'd seen cross his friend's face into consideration. "I have someone to watch out for me." Jay stared at him in surprise as Astrid's face fell with immense disappointment, her face flushing. "But...maybe we can show you one or two places. Find you somewhere that will take you to all of the places you want to go to."

Jay's shoulders loosened and she flashed Astrid a warm smile, somewhat relieved. She'd knew what "one trip" had turned into for Martha. She knew that the same thing would likely happen to Astrid. It was just what life with the Doctor was like. But the way he'd answered, it wasn't like he was trying to quickly fill the empty spot Martha had left behind.

The ship suddenly lurched. Everyone staggered, fighting for their balance. Face darkening, the Doctor swiftly stood and spoke into the intercoms. "Mr. Frame, you still with us?"

There was a moment in which the Doctor feared that Frame was no longer with them, but then his voice said shakily, "It's the engines, sir! Final phase. There's nothing more I can do. We've only got eight minutes left."

"Don't worry, I'll get there. I know the bridge is sealed off, but I'm working on it. I'll get there, Mr. Frame, somehow." A blinking blue light on the EMP told him that it was time to get moving. "All charged up. Mr. Copper," he said, spinning around to give him a fierce look. "Look after her. Astrid, look after him. Rickston…"

"Don't be an ass," Jay finished for him, earning a glare from the Doctor and smirking at the irritated man. She turned to Astrid. "We'll see you later, okay? We'll find you afterwards.'

Astrid threw her arms around her in a quick hug and then nodded. "Be careful," she told them both, eyes shining. And then she was sprinting over to Mr. Copper, the EMP in hand.

The Doctor turned to Jay, eyeing her bruised and battered feet. He'd get her something from the TARDIS infirmary when they got back to her. "Ready?" he said, winking.

"Yep!" She winked back and then they were sprinting back in the direction they'd come. Jay let him lead the way. They carefully made their way across the bridge, with the Doctor lightly letting her grip his hand when a sound of fear left her mouth. Once across, they continued onward.

---

The Doctor led them down a few flights of stairs and it was in a small kitchen that the Host suddenly appeared, surrounding them on all sides. Jay jerked away from their reaching hands when they appeared, gasping in surprise. The Doctor took hold of a pot, pointing it at each of the four Hosts. "How useful," Jay said sarcastically, earning herself a glare that told her she was being unhelpful.

"Wait, wait, wait!" the Doctor cried, whirling on another Host with his pot. "Security protocol one! Do you hear me? One!" They stopped and the Doctor exchanged a quick look of relief with his companion before saying, "Okay that gives me three questions. Three questions to save my life, right?"

"Information: correct," the one nearest to them said.

"Doctor!" Jay snapped, and he grimaced.

"That wasn't one of them," he protested to the Host. "I didn't mean it. That's not fair. Can I start again?"

"Information: no."

"Doctor!" Jay repeated, smacking his arm smartly. He flinched, glaring back at her in response before forcing himself to focus on the situation at hand.

"That wasn't one either. Blimey, one question left. One question." He was stalling, Jay knew immediately. She'd seen him do it before. "So you've been given orders to kill the survivors, but survivors must therefore be passengers or staff, but not us. We're not passengers, nor are we staff. Go on! Scan us! You must have bio records No such people on board. We didn't exist, therefore...you can't kill us. Therefore, we're stowaways and stowaways should be arrested and taken to the nearest figure of authority. And I reckon that the nearest figure of authority is on deck thirty-one. Final question: am I right?"

There was a moment in which both Jay and the Doctor held their breath. They let it out in loud gusts when the Host confirmed, "Information: correct."

"Brilliant," the Doctor said cheerfully. "Take me to your leader!"

"Really?" Jay said, shaking her head as they were pushed forward. The four Host began to escot them through the ship to deck thirty-one, and Jay kept close to the Time Lord, who in turn kept a close eye on her to make sure she didn't suddenly disappear for whatever reason seemed to be common in their adventures.

The Doctor leaned in to murmur in her ear when they reached deck thirty-one, indicating the fires that were flickering among heavy structural damage to the Titanic. "That is what you call a fixer-upper."

"You think?" she muttered back, rolling her eyes.

"Alright then!" the Doctor said, straightening with a hard look in his eyes when the Host stopped and left them to step forward on their own into a larger area. "Come on then, Host with the most, this ultimate authority of yours! Who is it?"

"Doctor," Jay said, pointing to a set of doors that had slid open behind him while he wasn't looking. He spun around, fully aware that there was a nearby space that revealed the engines. Jay shuddered at the sight of them, making sure to keep an eye on the edge. It was overlooked by a large window. "Ooh," the Doctor said softly, "that's clever. That's an omnistate impact chamber. Indestructible. You can survive anything in that, eh? Sit through a supernova or a shipwreck."

Jay knew exactly who the head of it all would be just seconds before an odd looking vehicle rolled out into the room through the double doors. Max Capricorn looked odd, with only his head among wires and machinery. The head was the only part of his body actually present, and she found herself semi-uncomfortable.

"My name is Max," he said smoothly before narrowing his eyes at the pair before him. "Who the hell are they?"

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said, wiggling his fingers playfully. "Hello. And this is my companion. Jay."

"Hi," she said awkwardly, waving.

"Information: stowaways," a Host added.

"Kill them," Max ordered. His life support machine turned to wheel him back through the doors, but the Doctor quickly spoke up as the Host began to prepare to do just that.

"Oh, no, no!" the Doctor cried, whisking Jay a few steps away from the Host. She let him, rolling her eyes. "You can't! Not now...come on, Max! You've given me so much good material. Like...how to get ahead in business. See 'head?'" He beamed at Jay, who slid a hand down her face and muttered, "Oh, my God," in a quiet way. "No?"

Max spun back around and laughed cruelly. "Oh, ho! An office joker. I like a funny man. No one's been funny with me for years." The Doctor commented that he couldn't possibly think of a reason why and Max's face flashed with irritation. "One-hundred-seventy-six years of running the company have taken their toll."

"Yeah, but...nice wheels." The Doctor didn't seem to care that he was annoying the hell out of the one who could very easily have them killed at the moment. Jay saw the problem immediately, however, why Max Capricorn was the way he was without needing to hear more. He was a cyborg, his mind kept alive by machinery. He wasn't accepted by his own society.

Ignoring the Doctor, Max demanded, "Host, situation report!"

"Information: Titanic is still in orbit." The Host that had spoken didn't say anything further on the situation.

"Let me see," Max ordered, moving closer to the window. The Doctor and Jay moved aside, splitting apart so that his machinery could drive between them. "We should have crashed by now," he muttered in irritation. "What's gone wrong?" He peered down at the engines below, growing angry. "The engines are still running! They should have stopped!"

"When they do," Jay said calmly, speaking to him for the first time. She narrowed her eyes. "The innocent people below will be killed. What has Earth got to do with any of this? Why would you do anything like that?"

Max ignored her, continuing to puzzle over the engines, but the Doctor added in, throwing her a look of approval. "I bet I can guess. Business is failing and you wreck the ship so that makes things even worse. Oh, yes! No." A pause as he checked with Jay, who nodded. "The business isn't failing, it's failed. Past tense."

"My own board voted me out," Max gritted out, slowly turning towards them. "Stabbed me in the back."

The Doctor continued as if he hadn't spoken. "You scupper the ship, wipe out any survivors in case anyone's rumbled you and board find their shares halved in value. But that's not enough," he added, narrowing his eyes. "'Cause if a Max Capricorn ship hits the Earth, it murders hundreds of thousands of people below and outrage back home."

"A scandal!" Jay added sarcastically, folding her arms. The Doctor looked as if he liked that she was making an input in such mocking things towards someone who was clearly intending to murder countless people. "And meanwhile, you're a coward. You sit here, safe inside the...what did you call it, Doctor? An impact chamber?"

He nodded and Max said coldly, "The whole board would be thrown in jail for mass murder. People are waiting to retrieve me from the ruins and enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Pentaxico Two where the ladies, so I'm told, are very fond of metal." He smirked at Jay, who made a sound of disgust.

"So that's the plan," the Doctor said angrily, just as disgusted with Max as Jay was. "Two thousand on this ship, six billion underneath, all of them slaughtered. And why? Because Max Capricorn is a loser."

"I never lose!"

"You can't even sink the Titanic," Jay pointed out, arching a brow as she gestured to the engines that were still running.

"Oh, but I can," he replied confidently, grin widening. "I can cancel the engines from here." As he finished speaking, the distant roar of the engines below fell silent. The Doctor's eyes flashed with horror as he realized he really could cancel the engines from where he stood. "Host, hold them!"

Jay yelped when two Host grabbed her by either arm, two more doing the same to the Doctor. He fought furiously to free himself, shouting at Max that he couldn't go through with his plan. Max didn't at all care about what he was saying as his machinery escorted his head back towards those doors. "A shame we couldn't work together!" he called. "Kill them."

Jay flinched when two of the four Host lifted their halos to kill she and the Doctor, yet glared up at it as it moved. But her attention was caught when a voice suddenly shouted, "Mr. Capricorn!" Even the Host paused. "I resign!"

"Astrid!" Jay gasped in horror when she saw the waitress, face pale, seated in a forklift with her gaze locked onto Max. The forklift suddenly shot forward with surprising speed and slammed into Max's life support. She fought viciously to free herself as the Hosts each turned their attention onto Astrid, the two who'd been prepared to kill she and the Doctor throwing their halos. One went wide, but another struck the forklift, glancing off and slicing through a piece.

"He's cut the brake-line!" The Doctor's eyes were wide with terror for the innocent woman as Astrid lifted Max's systems off the ground with a simple flick of the controls. Max screamed in outrage as Astrid slammed her foot over the gas and fearlessly headed straight for the drop into the engines. As she did so, she turned her head just briefly to smile faintly at the trapped pair before facing forward again, face set with determination.

"Astrid!" Jay screamed her name this time as they tipped over the edge.

Jay felt the grip of the Hosts loosen and threw herself forward. She didn't take any notice of the Doctor as she hit the ground on her knees beside the drop, looking into it. Tears gathered and fell as she stared down at Astrid, catching sight of her as she fell. She'd somehow shoved herself free of the forklift, Jay noticed, which tumbled beneath her.

She was gone before the Doctor could kneel beside her.

A sob left Jay's mouth as she stared down in horror. She'd not been sure about the young woman traveling permanently with them, but she'd liked her enough to want her to come on one or two trips. Had wanted to ensure she got to live the life she wanted to live.

And now she was dead, too, just like the majority of the people that had ever come around them.

The Doctor's face was grim as he pulled Jay away from the edge just as the ship groaned and shook violently, his own gaze filled with grief. He hauled her to her feet, fingers gentle as he kept her from tripping right into the engines after Astrid.

Mourn later, she heard him tell her, and she shoved at her cheeks, scrubbing them clean of tears. They had work to do.

The next few moments were a blur for the distraught Jay. She barely found herself able to focus, although she did try as the Doctor rushed around, his face set with anger. He was finally ready and with a snap of his fingers, they were airborne, the Host lifting them skyward. It didn't take long; with the Host soaring upwards at top speeds, weaving among wreckage, they reached the bridge that Frame awaited at quickly and Jay closed her eyes when they broke through the ceiling, debris scattering all over them.

"Blegh," she muttered, spitting dust as the Host released them. They hit the ground stumbling. Jay took a moment to clear her face as the Doctor bolted forward, crying cheerfully, "Ah, Midshipman Frame at last!"

"The - but the host!" the young man, looking terrified and in pain from the gunshot to his belly, cried, jabbing a finger towards them.

"Controller dead, they divert to the next highest authority: me." The Doctor examined the controls quickly as the ship groaned again, violently yanking to the side. Jay caught herself barely and stumbled forward. Frame looked at her in confusion; Jay suspected that her face was a disaster after the near endless crying for the last few minutes.

"There's nothing we can do," Frame told them quietly as the ship shook harder. The Doctor stepped forward and took a hold of the wheel, which Jay thought looked very much like ship wheels from the nineteenth century. "There's no power. The ship's going to fall."

"Titanic falling," a computer blared as if in confirmation of what he'd said. Jay jumped when the world seemed to shake wildly around. She stumbled forward and gripped the panels near the Doctor. Frame did the same, eyes wide as they looked out the windows before them. The Earth was coming closer and closer.

"What's your name?" the Doctor suddenly called to the confused midshipman. "Your first name?"

"Alonso." The Doctor turned to look at him with shock, gaping. "What?"

The Doctor laughed in delight, flashing a grin at Jay. "That's something I've always wanted to say," he told her, and then shouted as the ship began to shake so hard that his next statement could barely be heard over the screaming of metal, "Allons-y, Alonso!" An alarm suddenly went off, a red button blaring near Jay's hand. The Doctor glanced over and Jay checked with him, clinging desperately to the panel in front of her as she smacked it. A screen near her flashed and she peered at it.

"London!" she shouted over the noise. "We're going to hit London!"

"Of course we are," the Doctor grumbled. "Alonso, get those comms working!"

Alonso did as he was told, following a few instructions to get the connection to the planet below. Jay eyed him, surprised that he'd managed to accomplish such a thing, although she wasn't sure where the surprise came from. "Hello!" the Doctor shouted over the roar. "Could you get me Buckingham Palace?"

The title of the place was well-known even in Jay's time, and she sputtered, wincing when she slammed her hip into the side of the panels. The Doctor didn't give anyone warning before shouting something about security codes and ordering for people to get out. He hung up a moment later and then yanked back as hard as he could on the wheel just as the computers announced that the engines were active. Jay stared in terror, shocked by just how close the planet below had come. She could see buildings, could practically picture the people...

Disbelieving laughter left Jay as she was sent flying back with Alonso, slamming into a wall at the back of the bridge. After a few moments of immense pressure, the Titanic leveled and the Doctor laughed as Jay and Alonso joined him at the front of the bridge.

"How's that for saving the Earth?" the Doctor cried, face full of excitement as he spun the wheel, winking at Jay. She rolled her eyes and smiled gently at the wide-eyed Alonso.

"All right?" she asked Alonso.

"Who the hell are you people?" he demanded.

They exchanged a look and shook their heads, smirking.

---

A short while later found Jay seated at the back of the bridge beside a still stunned Alonso, rubbing her aching feet with a frown. They were battered beyond belief. The black veins that surrounded the areas that the creature's venom had seeped into were only the start of their disastrous appearance. Burns, cuts, bruises, even something she could scrub off with her hand.

Alonso peered curiously at the veins. "What happened?"

"Not entirely sure," she sighed, tucking her feet beneath her skirts. She knew what had happened; she just didn't know what the extent of the damage had done. She shook out her wrists in thought. Up past her second knuckle, but not yet reaching the one closest to her palm.

The Doctor suddenly strode over from fiddling with controls. He had been fidgeting with them for some time, ensuring that the ship would run until they could get help. He dropped to sit beside Jay, and she felt a flash of comfort at the fact that he was beside her. She couldn't get the image of Astrid falling out of her head.

"Used the heat of re-entry to fire up the secondary storm drive," he told them confidently. "Unsinkable, that's me!"

"Uh-huh," Jay said, shaking her head. "Sure it is."

He elbowed her gently, silently scolding her for her sass, and then froze. His expression changed to excitement. "Teleport!" he gasped, shooting to his feet. "She was wearing a teleport bracelet!"

"Doctor?" Jay called, but he was already sprinting out of the bridge, shouting for her to hurry. Jay scrambled to her feet and rushed after him, wincing as she did so. Her feet ached horribly, but she ignored the pain.

She caught up to him in the reception room that the Doctor had sent Mr. Copper and Rickston, who she found herself annoyed with as she merely glanced at his face. "Rickston! Sonic!" the Doctor barked and Rickston threw it to him. He snagged it with ease. "Mr. Copper! The teleports - have they got emergency settings?" Mr. Copper looked shocked, stammering. "Astrid fell, Mr. Copper, she fell. What's the emergency code?"

"Doctor, what are you doing?" Jay demanded as Alonso joined them.

The Doctor's eyes flashed when he glanced back, grinning at her. "We can bring her back!"

"You can?" Hope sparked in Jay's chest as Mr. Copper realized what he was doing and began to explain hastily.

"If a passenger has an accident on shore leave and they're still wearing their teleport bracelet, their molecules are automatically suspended and held in stasis so that we can just trigger the shift," Mr. Copper said hastily, and then spun around when the Doctor gave a triumphant shout and there was a brief flash.

Astrid's transparent form ahd appeared, blankly searching the air in front of her. "I'm falling," the hologram-like woman said softly, her voice hitching. "I keep falling."

"Come on," the Doctor gritted out, working furiously on the machinery that ran the teleports. "Feedback the molecule grid, boost it with the restoration matrix - no, no, no!" he cried when the machinery suddenly sparked violently. "Need more phase containment. If i can just link up the surface suspension…"

In that moment, Jay's hope vanished. There would be no saving Astrid. Tears rose to her eyes as Mr. Copper tried to stop the Doctor, telling him that she was gone. The Doctor denied it, furious, and Jay decided to step in, acceptance running through her own soul. "Doctor," she said softly, catching his arm in her hand. He snapped his head around, his frustrated gaze meeting hers. She saw grief there. Grief, and frustration, and horror, and self-loathing. He blamed himself for Astrid's death, just as he blamed himself for others' deaths. Jay slid her hand into his when he was paying enough attention. "Doctor," she echoed, squeezing gently, "we need to let her go."

The Doctor pressed his lips together unhappily, and slowly pulled back from the machinery he'd worked so hard to try and fix. She tightened her grip on his hand, eyes not leaving his as Mr. Copper said, "There's not enough left. The system was too badly damaged. She's just atoms, Doctor. An echo with the ghost of consciousness. She's stardust."

The Doctor finally withdrew from Jay's grasp in favor of slowly making his way over to the transparent Astrid. "Astrid Peth," he murmured. "Citizen of Sto...the woman who looked at the stars and dreamt of travelling…" He took a deep breath, lifting his sonic screwdriver and aiming it at a porthole nearby. "Now you can travel forever."

The window popped open and the woman became balls of light that drifted out the window.

Jay hugged herself, not bothering to swipe away the tears that fell down her face. "Fly, Astrid," she whispered to no one in particular. "Travel the stars."

---

The Doctor used the teleports to get them to the Earth, implementing the TARDIS's coordinates in so that they could find her with ease. Jay had never been more excited to see the spaceship and left the Doctor to explain to Mr. Copper, who had been brought with them, how he could live on the Earth without dealing with the penalties of lying to the cruise line. She quietly retreated within the TARDIS, seeking the comfort the song it sung and its surroundings provided her. Rather than helping Rickston, they'd left him with Alonso.

Jay was sure she'd have pushed Rickston into a supernova if given the opportunity.

By the time she sought the Doctor out, almost an hour had passed. Jay had quickly showered and scrubbed her feet gently, wincing and whimpering when brushing her fingers over a few particularly tender areas. The TARDIS had produced some fuzzy socks that she decided would be the only thing she wore on her feet from that moment on. She wandered back to the control room when she was ready and found the Doctor wasn't there for once.

"Where is he?" she murmured in confusion. The TARDIS hummed in response and Jay blinked when the hum quieted. She turned in one spot, looking around, and arched a brow when the hum immediately loudened when she was facing the entrance to the corridors. "Seriously?" she muttered, although she spoke fondly to the TARDIS.

The TARDIS led her in this manner down a few halls until she found herself stepping into what turned out to be a grand and beautiful library. Jay's lips parted in surprise. She'd not seen this library until then. There were countless books in every direction, and she loved it immediately, running her fingers along the spines of the books.

She found the Doctor comfortably settled into an armchair, changed back into the suit he normally wore. He'd propped his feet up on the armrest of the sofa residing beside his arm chair, and had a book in his hands. He looked up when she cleared her throat. "Jay," he greeted cheerfully, flashing her a smile.

"Doctor," she replied, dropping into the couch. It was lovely and comfortable, and she nearly groaned at the feeling. "I was looking for you."

"Were you?" He closed his book, setting it aside. "What for?"

She hesitated, and then admitted, "I wanted to check in. Before I went and slept for a few hours. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

A flicker of something she couldn't decipher ran through his eyes before vanishing. "I'm fine," he said firmly, and then sat up a little, propping his elbows on his knees. He paused after a moment's consideration, and then said, "Are you okay?"

She knew he wasn't okay, and that he didn't want her to know. She said simply, "No. My feet hurt, Astrid's dead, and I really, really miss Martha." She wished her friend was there with them. It was odd without her, and Jay supposed she should have gotten over it, but...she couldn't help it.

The Doctor studied her face closely and then said simply, "Me, too."

---

There were quite a few things I sort of changed, and this chapter is insanely long. I really liked writing it though and look forward to the next! Had particular fun with displaying the effect of the Year That Never Was on Jay. ;)

Next chapter will be an original! And then...Donna!

Thanks to reviewers (Rosealyn and bored411!) as well as those who favorited and followed! You're a delight!