I had fallen asleep, something to be expected with how I felt while tucked away in the Tardis. The Doctor had led the charge with Rose and Mickey out the door to deal with the Sycorax and left Jackie with me. I was out almost a minute later and only woke when I felt someone carrying me. It was just like with the Twelfth Doctor. The gentle swaying as he tried not to shift me too much but walking effortlessly as if I weighed little more than a pound.

My eyes cracked open wearily as I was settled onto a bed, immediately curling against the cold chill before a blanket was pulled up to my chin. I grasped it tightly for only a second before I was reminded of the pain, which drew my consciousness forward more than I would have liked. A grumbled whine escaped my lips and I shifted, starting to wake up further if only to ask for my wrist to be dealt with or pain meds to numb it for a while. A hand lightly stopped me though, and the pain eased with a trickle of golden light. The Doctor looked down at me from a chair beside the bed, checking my wrist's movement for only a second before tucking it under the covers.

"Get some rest," he murmured, pressing his hand over my eyes; his skin cool to the touch and calming the feverish warmth underneath.

A question rolled from my lips though, unbidden.

"Why?"

Not "Why should I rest," but rather a question as to why he helped me. Why he used his regeneration energy to heal me? Why was he being kind? Why was he bothering with someone like me? His later selves would've probably said something fond, something about our relationship that I hadn't experienced yet or the love they had for me that I'd yet to find. This Doctor though, had no such attachments and I wanted to hear it from him. From someone I didn't expect to care.

"Because… it's not your fault," he murmured. "What you know, what you say or do, what happens in the end… you can't control that and I don't expect you to but… you still try even if you think it will make me hate you and that's…" He cracked a small solemn smile. "…amazing and… a bit sad."

He got up, lifting his hand from my eyes as I felt the pull of my consciousness go with it.

"You push yourself too far for an idiot like me," he said quietly. "I reckon I owe you for that."

I closed my eyes and breathed out my last words as I faded again. "Thank you."

"Nah," he drawled with his usual smile. "Thank you and… I'm sorry. Really I am."

I woke up in my room in the Tardis still feeling a little drained but not nearly as sore as before. My fever had broken and my headache was mostly gone, leaving only the slightest throb in my temple. A look at my wrist showed that the Doctor had healed it with whatever regeneration energy he'd had left when he brought me to my bed and the bruising on my other wrist had already faded. Quicker healing, I idly remembered, letting out a soft sigh and getting to my feet. I smiled softly at the large discus fish that swam over to greet me and went around feeding the various tanks before going to shower.

I never really took long showers but enjoyed this one for a while longer than I usually would. I stepped out and started to pull on my clothes—simple jeans and a printed t-shirt—when I caught sight of my hair in the mirror and wrinkled my nose. I'd forgotten it had been blue and the color was fading into more of a pastel teal shade. Not only that, but it was getting long and was already hanging in front of my eyes. I need it cut, though it's not like I will ever have time for that. I ran a hand through it, pulling it back out of my face before shaking my head and stepping out of my room.

My stomach twisted with a growl as I went to the kitchen, not really paying any attention to anything as I started digging through the fridge for something to eat. I set aside a soda and started making a sandwich, scrounging up a plastic box of fruit that I frowned at. Alien fruit. I don't know what they taste like or anything. Hmm. The Tardis chirped and flickered the lights and I held up the box.

"You think I'll like these?"

She did it again and I sighed.

"Alright. I'll take your word for it."

I sat down and started eating, grateful for the music the Tardis played to fill the silence. The fruit was pretty good too, and once I was done with everything—packing away some more things should I end up on my own again—I felt full and happy enough to go searching for the Doctor. It was probably then that I noticed I didn't recognize the hallway designs. Everything was grey and there were two strips of light lining the corridors; one red and one white. The console room I finally entered looked different too, though its design rang familiar. Hexagonal patterns on the grey walls with blue and orange circular lights, a blue-glowing center console, and twisting Gallifreyian patterns up above. Not Nine's or Ten's. Eleven's changed once I think but I can't remember what it looked like. Twelve's did too… didn't it? Not Thirteen's either so—My thoughts were cut off as the Tardis doors opened, the Eleventh Doctor stepping in with Clara.

"So, past or future? Anywhere, anywhen. What do you think?"

"Mm, the past! But not someplace boring. I want some excitement. Oh! How about Vegas?"

The Doctor's grin widened as he clapped his hands, earning a small smile from me as I watched them from the upper level near the stairs. A friendly Eleventh Doctor was far better than the awkward situation I'd left. I don't know what I'd do if I ended up back with an earlier Nine or just stuck around for another trip with Ten. Knowing I would have those adventures coming up anyway didn't help my uneasy thoughts, but that was a problem for future me to deal with. I was currently content in waiting to see how long it took for the Doctor to notice I was here. I took a few steps back, resting my chin on my arms that were folded over the railing in a languid stretch. It's nice to just watch him go for a moment with his waving hands, eager smile, and pleasantly surprised green eyes.

"Ash!"

That didn't take long. I smiled and lifted a hand in a wave, heading down the stairs. "Was wondering when you'd spot me."

"Quiet as a mouse as always," he hummed, bounding over and lightly tapping my nose, making me wrinkle it. "Just pop in?"

"Little bit ago. Fed the fish, showered, got something to eat."

"The usual then," he mused, surprising me when he leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Lovely, as always."

When he reached for my hand though I instinctively jerked back slightly; my mind not quite registering that my injury had been healed when it had only been such a short while.

"Right. Yeah, bit early as well," I informed him, hoping that might draw his small frown away from me as I lightly reached over and rubbed at my arm. "You know, for the whole… relationship thing."

He hummed, brows still furrowed in thought before he suddenly whipped around to bound over to Clara. "Right! Have you met Clara then?"

"Yeah… sort of. Future Clara," I said, offering her a small smile and wave as she shot the Doctor a look.

"Why are you introducing us again?"

"Because, Clara, Asher pops around my timeline all forward and backward. Sometimes she meets my companions in the wrong order. We meet her first and she meets us after. It's all a bit complex. Do keep up," he replied as I rolled my eyes.

"And sometimes he's nice and other times he's a dick and tries to bully his companions. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey, right Doctor?"

He scrunched up his nose at that. "You bring that up often enough that I regret saying it. Timey wimey? What was I thinking? Never mind that! Vegas! Are you up for a trip to Vegas, Ash? Ever been?"

"Never been. I've got shit luck. We used to joke it was a family trait. Never win any prizes, raffles, lottery, nothing. Gambling just seemed like a waste," I mused, heading over to the jumpseat and settling in for the bumpy ride as Clara took hold of the rail nearby.

"There's more to Vegas than just gambling, Ash!" The Doctor complained, starting up the Tardis. "There's shows, comedy gold, theme parks, the Grand Canyon!"

"Yeah, you ever get the feeling he's trying too hard to impress you?" Clara asked with a cheeky grin as I chuckled, pinching my fingers together.

"Just a bit."

He poked his head around the console with a frown. "Oi! You're hard work when you're young!"

I raised a brow. "Hard work? I'd argue I'm easy to please. Get me a blanket, a soda, and some nature, space, or crime documentary and I'm good to go. You're the one who has to be bouncing off the walls every few minutes or you implode with boredom."

"Sounds about right," Clara agreed and the Tardis rumbled to a halt as he stormed back over to us, pointing at her first.

"You can go to the dressing rooms and pick out some nice evening wear before we land while I deal with you—" He pointed at me next, frowning but not actually angry or upset about our light teasing. "—who is being a right pain while trying to hide something from me."

Uh-oh, I thought with a slight wince, glancing at Clara for help but she already had her hands up and was walking off.

"Yup. Don't want to know."

"Gee, good to know the companions are rarely going to help me with you," I muttered, leaning back as the Doctor suddenly stepped forward into my space.

I was stiff, uncertain of what he was going to do as he eyed me before he grabbed my wrist and I automatically tried to jerk it away. He held firm though, and I grimaced, unable to help but turn my gaze away from his in unease. Note to self: him yelling at me might be preferable to him just knowing when I'm hiding something. He pulled away slightly, twisting my wrist around and checking it for injury before eyeing me again.

"What happened?" He asked calmly and rather nicely given he could've demanded answers to a billion other questions he probably had running through his head.

He was giving me a chance to explain.

"I-It's fine. You took care of it," I lightly argued, not really wanting to tell him and have him be upset with his past self for what happened.

As it was, Ten was already upset… the whole thing was just misunderstanding after misunderstanding.

"Yes, but you reacting the way you are, tells me it's a trauma response," he rattled off, making me hate that he was using logic to work things out on his own. "You're early, not used to things healing quickly, so having phantom pains after an injury is expected but I didn't even have to touch you. You reacted before I could, meaning that I'm the one who did this. I hurt you."

I closed my eyes with a small groan. "It wasn't like that."

"Ash—"

"It wasn't," I pressed, squeezing his hand and facing him again. "I swear. You were regenerating. It was going a bit wrong. You weren't thinking straight."

His eyes widened in understanding, remembering what happened with his past self and tightening his grip. "When was this? Asher, when did this happen?"

I didn't want to tell him it was my last trip. That I'd just come from there but he seemed to already know based on my expression and silence. He pursed his lips, releasing me and stomping away to pace back and forth, running a hand through his hair in frustration. It made me anxious to watch, knowing that I'd kind of caused this reaction from him and I got up off the jumpseat, hands up to calm him down.

"Doctor, it's okay. I'm fine a-and it's not a big deal. I know you didn't mean to hurt me and—"

"It's not—" He cut his shout short when I stiffened and he was quick to relax his hunched shoulders and stop pacing.

I hate it, I silently thought, eyeing him cautiously. I hate that he already knows. That he knows I don't like confrontations. That shouting gets me amped up. God, I hate that he just… knows me. I didn't want to tell myself that I also hated that I reacted that way but thirty years of dealing with shit wouldn't just vanish just because I jumped universes… as much as I wished it would.

"It's not okay," he finally said quietly, eyeing me like he wanted to move closer but holding himself back. "I shouldn't have said what I did and I should have had better control of myself."

I opened my mouth, wanting to argue that he wouldn't have had a chance to control himself right after regenerating but he refused to let me speak.

"And I know that you don't hold any hard feelings over it," he said, "but that doesn't mean I don't still hate what I did back then. I'm sorry."

"But…" I hesitated, waiting for him to cut me off again, to speak over me to try and ignore what I had to say like someone else I had in my life, but he stayed silent; waiting. "But there were misunderstandings. T-That whole time I thought… I'd expected you to be angry."

He shook his head. "No. No, I knew what sort of burden foreknowledge puts on someone and I understood that you were alone in this universe. I couldn't be angry at you for that."

"But you said—"

"Yes. Yes, and it was a stupid mistake," he urged, finally stepping over and grasping my hand again. "I wasn't upset about you hiding things. When I got angry, it was because you were choosing to stay with me after I tried to get you to leave. I thought you were risking your future by trying to be brave; by trying to be kind. With the Bad Wolf… I'll admit, I was frustrated but I wasn't thinking straight. After regenerating it was all a mess, but the biggest thing I felt was guilt, Ash. Guilt for treating you harshly, for not understanding you and why you were so cautious, for not seeing that you were just as upset about the situation as I was because no one could have done anything to stop it. You had every right to assume I'd be upset and angry with you."

But I shook my head, more adamant this time. "No. No, that wasn't fair of me. Just because I didn't know you, I was… I was basing things off stuff I'd read or expected when I had no real reason to. If I had just paid attention to you, properly, then…"

Then, what? I wasn't sure. Maybe he wouldn't have gotten angry. Maybe I might have been able to say something to help. Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe. That was the problem with trying to figure things out. There were always infinite possibilities. Things that I couldn't foresee, that the Doctor didn't expect, that never happened and were never shown in my world. All those times the Doctor told me to just act on my own, to forget about the plot and just be myself, it was all starting to settle in now and all it did was make me feel a little stupid. God, if I had just looked at him properly, seen him for him instead of all those things I've always thought and seen on TV…

The Doctor cracked a small smile, squeezing my hand and reaching out; grasping the back of my neck and kissing my forehead before sighing; resting his against mine as I let my gaze fall awkwardly downward.

"What a mess we were, eh?" He hummed, drawing my eyes back up to his shimmering green ones. "Still are, if I'm being honest. I blame the time jumping."

I managed a small smile as well, as he pulled away but I held firm to his hand, drawing his attention.

"Could I… hug you?" I asked, sheepishly; embarrassed that I was asking but he didn't seem to mind at all as he opened his arms.

I stepped forward and slowly curled my arms around him, burying my face in his tweed coat. The scent of old books, honey, and a splash of tea wafted up my nose and I gripped tightly to the back of his coat as his own arms wrapped around me. He leaned back up against the console slightly, just holding me for as long as I wanted as I let out a shuddering breath I felt I'd been holding for far too long.

" 'm sorry," I murmured into his coat and he hummed; chest rumbling.

"So am I. Suppose we're even then. Equally silly and equally sorry."

I pulled away slightly, lifting my head as he smiled a little; hands lingering on my waist for a moment before I heard Clara coming back into the room. She poked her head in first, cautious and raising a brow at the two of us as I took a step back out of the Doctor's arms.

"Safe to come back yet?" She asked; hair tied up in a ponytail and now wearing an evening dress.

"Course it is," the Doctor huffed. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Never know with you two. You might be flirting and I definitely don't want to be around for that," she teased, making me awkwardly look away as the Doctor lightly brushed her comment off.

"Never you mind that. We were headed to Vegas!" He chirped, getting us back on track as he pulled out some bright gold sunglasses and slipped them on. "Allonsy!"

"It's kinda weird when you say it," I commented as he started up the Tardis again and I grabbed the railing.

"You try finding a better catchphrase!"

"You used geronimo before," I argued as the Tardis jerked. "And what the hell is wrong with your driving this time!"

"Nothing's wrong with my driving! She's just being temperamental! And I forgot about that… Geronimo!" He cheered with a cackle, winding a crank on the console before the Tardis landed and he rushed out without bothering to check where we were. "Viva Las Vegas!"

He was instantly drenched with water before a jerk sent Clara and I also out into the fray. Water seeped into my clothes and hair as I caught myself on the console I nearly slammed into, ears ringing with the cacophony of noise. Loud, thunderous rumbling echoed through the ship—Is it a ship?—as the people inside shouted over the noise of that and the water pouring from the ceiling; sloshing around our ankles.

"Who the hell are you?" Someone questioned as Clara looked around in annoyance.

"Not Vegas then?"

"No," the Doctor replied, looking pleased despite the fact. "No, this is much better."

"A sinking submarine?"

"A sinking Soviet submarine!" He chirped as I shot him a glare, wiping uselessly at the water on my face.

"What the hell makes you think that's better?"

"Break out side arms. Restrain them!" One of the crew ordered but no one moved to do so as someone else called out how far down we were sinking.

"Four ten. Four twenty. Turbines still not responding!"

"They've got to," the Captain snapped.

The Doctor flicked out his sonic screwdriver with a grin. "Ah! Sideways momentum. You've still got sideways momentum!"

"What?"

"Your propellers work independently of the main turbines. You can't stop her going down but you can manoeuvre the sub laterally. Do it!"

The crew member who'd ordered for us to be restrained though, argued the point.

"Get these people off the bridge now!"

"Just listen to him, for God's sake!" Clara snapped as the Doctor continued to look at his sonic readings and crew members came over to try and grab him as I fought to hold them off.

"Leave him alone for half a second or we're all dead!" I argued with them, struggling with handling them while we were all sopping wet and I kept my gaze focused on the pistols in their grips.

"Geographical anomaly to starboard. Probably an underwater ridge," the Doctor said as the Captain eyed him in distrust.

"How do you know this?"

"Look, we have just a chance to stop the descent if we settle on it. Do it! Or this thing is going to implode!" He called out over the noise as the crew member called out that they were below six hundred meters now.

The Captain didn't like it but gave the orders as the Doctor wanted. "Lateral thrust to starboard, all propellers."

"Sir?"

"Now!"

"You're going to let this madman give the orders?" The frustrated crew member argued, getting ignored as the Captain urged the others along.

"Lateral thrust!"

The submarine jerked upon hitting the ground before stopping, making the crew pause and check where we were at.

"Descent arrested at seven hundred meters."

The Captain let out a slightly relieved breath as the Doctor put back on his sunglasses. "It seems we owe you our lives, whoever you are."

"I'll hold you to that. Might come in handy," the Doctor chirped as if this were an everyday thing as I huffed; slicking my hair back in annoyance before the suspicious crew member from before spoke up.

"Search them," he said before seeing the hesitation as the crew glanced at Clara. "Yes, I know. It's a woman. Now search them!"

We were all grabbed and pressed up against a pillar while the crew patted down our pockets and Clara glanced over uneasily.

"Are we going to be okay?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor said, drawing her gaze.

"I was asking Ash."

"Why?" I questioned, grimacing as a man ran his hands down my legs to check for anything interesting. "Because I don't lie about it?"

"Mostly, yeah."

"Ash can't tell us everything," the Doctor warned her, eyeing the group. "Very dangerous time, Clara. East and West standing on the brink of nuclear oblivion. Lots of itchy fingers on the button."

"Isn't it always like that?" She joked lightly as a Barbie doll and ball of string were removed from the Doctor's pockets and a water bottle and bag of crisps were removed from my coat.

"Sort of, but there are flash points and this is one. Hair, shoulder pads, nukes. It's the Eighties. Everything's bigger. I would like a receipt, please," he requested as his sonic was taken and handed over to the Captain.

I leaned over to Clara though. "If you really want to know, things are iffy. It's not the Soviets we need to worry about."

"We're in a sunken submarine. What else is there?" She questioned as the Captain asked the Doctor about the sonic.

The submarine creaked then and jerked, sending Clara and me falling away from the pillar as the loud whirring of the Tardis started up; making the Doctor rush away. I spit out a curse as my footing slipped on the floor, sending me falling into the dark, chilled water before there was a sharp crack and everything went dark.

There was shouting.

"You don't understand! You have to do this before that can happen!"

"You're not listening! Just shut the hell up and listen!"

"I am listening! You're not understanding what I'm saying!"

I couldn't figure out who it was, though I mentally scoffed at my own confusion. There was only one person it could be.

"Dad, just go back to your room!"

"She tried to attack me!"

"She's fear reactive and you walked into her room in her blind spot!"

"She rushed at me!"

"She didn't! If you're not going to listen just go back to your room! Just go! I'm done talking to you if you're not going to listen! God, I can't—Just go! Stay in your room! Just go away!"

I started to stir, grimacing as a slice of pain went through my head and lifting a hand to my face. My body felt weighed down and my mind felt like it was swimming as I struggled to open my eyes and figure out what was going on. A hand settled on my shoulder as someone called out, stabilizing me to prevent me from slipping to the side.

"Doctor, I think she's waking up!"

There was a slam then, making me groan in frustration.

"Is he throwing shit again?" I grumbled, mind foggy, starting to push myself up and lightly pushing off whoever was holding onto me. "I swear. One of these days, I'm going to kill him."

"Doctor? I don't think she's doing okay. She's rambling about throwing things."

"Quite the knock to the head then," someone else commented as I was again steadied as I faltered. "Ash? Apologies for the shouting. Do take a moment and collect yourself, please. Clara, sit her down before she falls."

Things were starting to clear up now though, as I was led to a chair, feeling my stomach churn uncomfortably when I opened my eyes to find the world spinning. I swallowed the thick lump in my throat, hoping to hold back what I'd eaten as my scrambled mind tried to wrap itself around where we were.

"Clara?" I muttered, forcing my eyes open again as the woman moved in front of me long enough for my vision to focus. "Right. Right. I'm in Doctor Who."

"Ash, I have no idea what you're saying. Are you okay? You've, uh… got a nasty cut."

I winced when her fingers brushed near my left eyebrow, shifting away as the sharp pain managed to clear up some more fog in my head. "No. No, definitely not okay. Is this what a concussion feels like? God, I don't envy my sister for that one time she got one. What happened? We were…"

"Sinking," Clara explained. "Sank, really. Where's the Tardis, Doctor?"

"Never mind that. Listen. Captain, breath's precious down here. Let's not waste it, eh?" The Doctor rattled off as I brought my hand up to my head again and finally got my vision settled enough to spot him and the Captain over where they were arguing.

"You're right. Maybe I can save a little oxygen by having you all shot!" The Captain snapped as Clara took a step away from me toward them.

"What does it matter how we arrived? The important thing is to get—"

There was a loud breath and she went quiet as she and the crew spotted what made the rasping sound.

"—out."

"Exactly! Number one priority, not suffocating," the Doctor said as he was released; the Captain seeing the imposing figure behind him as well. "Eh? Ah. Oh, thank you. Finally seeing sense. Now, what sort of state is the sub in?"

"Doctor," I called out, drawing his curious gaze to me as I eyed the figure behind him uneasily. "Remember what I said when we got here?"

His brows furrowed as I lifted my hand to point behind him.

"It's not the Soviets we need to worry about."

He went stiff as there was another hiss of a breath behind him. "What is that? Gas? Could be gas…" He turned to see and took a step back away from the Ice Warrior. "Ah. It never rains but it pours."

An older man in the back of the group spoke up then. "We were drilling for oil in the ice. I thought I'd found a mammoth."

"It's not a mammoth," the Doctor muttered.

"No."

"What is it then?" Clara asked as I answered.

"Ice Warrior from Mars."

The Doctor nodded, still slowly moving away from the Ice Warrior cautiously. "Yes. A native of the planet Mars and we go way back… Way back."

"A Martian? You can't be serious," the Captain scoffed.

"I'm always serious… with days off," the Doctor replied.

"Doctor," Clara lightly scolded.

"Just keeping it light, Clara. They're scared."

"They're scared? I'm scared," she hissed before a crew member rushed forward with a pistol and the Ice Warrior raised his own weapon.

"No, no, no, no, no, no! Please, please. Wait, just. There is no need for this. Just hear me out," the Doctor urged, trying to keep peace between the group and the Ice Warrior, knowing how dangerous things would be otherwise. "Y-You're confused, disorientated. Of course, you are. You've been lying dormant in the ice for, for, for how long? How long, Professor?"

"Uh, b-by my reckoning, five thousand years."

"Five thousand years? That's a hell of a nap. Can't blame you if you've got out of the wrong side of bed. Look, nobody here wants to hurt you," the Doctor said, pushing down the man's gun. "Please, just. Why don't you tell us your name?"

"What are you talking about? It has a name?" The Captain snapped as I frowned.

"Why the hell wouldn't it have a name? Just because they're aliens to us doesn't mean they don't have their own cultures and languages. God, are all humans this stupid? I swear there used to be some sense in us somewhere."

"Right, yes. Sorry. She's been concussed. A bit grumpy," the Doctor offered with a grimace of a smile as I scowled at him. "Of course, it has a name and a rank. This is a soldier, and it deserves our respect."

"This is madness. That is a monster," the Captain argued before the Ice Warrior spoke.

"Skaldak."

The Doctor nodded before looking back in unease. "What did you say?"

"I am Grand Marshal Skaldak."

"Oh, no," the Doctor breathed before Skaldak suddenly roared, jerking with electricity.

One of the crew had used a cattle prod on him from behind as the Doctor ran his hands through his hair at how bad this situation had just become; Skaldak collapsing.

"You idiot! You idiot. Grand Marshal Skaldak."

"You know him," Clara realized.

"Sovereign of the Tharsisian caste. Vanquisher of the Phobos Heresy. The greatest hero the proud Martian race has ever produced," the Doctor explained as the Captain eyed the creature, rather lost.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Lock him up."

The crew went to do just that as I grimaced and rubbed at my face. The buzz of the sonic made my head throb and I glared at the Doctor as he eyed me.

"Please stop using the sonic," I muttered. "My head hurts enough as it is."

He did so, thankfully, reaching up and lightly prying my hand away and using my chin to turn my head so he could get a look at the gash on my eyebrow. I winced when he pressed his fingers around it before letting me go, eyes soft.

"How's the head? Any nausea?" He asked as I closed my eyes with a sigh, relaxing slightly; or as much as I could given the situation.

"Nausea passed. I've got a headache but that's obvious."

"Clara said you were rambling."

I had hoped he wouldn't bring it up and awkwardly glanced away. "I was confused. It's nothing."

"You woke up to shouting. It's understandable," he reassured, letting me know he knew who I'd thought was shouting and what kind of person my father was. "I know it will take time but if you need to talk…"

I nodded quietly, grateful for the offer but glanced past him as the crew removed Skaldak from the room. "We've got bigger things to worry about."

He sighed lightly, standing and offering me a hand. Once up on my feet, he adjusted his tweed coat over my shoulders—something I hadn't noticed he'd given me—tucking me into his side as he led us toward the Captain's cabin where it was drier. He would want answers too, of course.

"The Ice Warriors have a different creed, Clara. A different code. By his own standards, Skaldak is a hero. It was said his enemies honored him so much, they'd carve his name into their own flesh before they died," the Doctor explained to her since she'd questioned him about what we were up against once we were there.

"Oh, yeah. Very nice. He sounds lovely," she drawled sarcastically as I spoke up.

"He's not all bad. War stories don't tell you about the actual person outside of war," I offered, growing more sheepish with their eyes on me. "He… He just found out he's been frozen for five thousand years and woke up in a cramped metal tube with alien people pointing guns at him. Just… we're not the only ones scared, is all."

The man beside the Captain—Stephashin—scoffed quietly as the Doctor tightened his hold on me a bit. I glanced over at him and he offered a small smile as the Captain cleared his throat.

"An Ice Warrior? Explain."

"There isn't time," the Doctor argued, smile falling.

"Try me."

"Martian reptile know as the Ice Warrior. When Mars turned cold they had to adapt. They're bio-mechanoid. Cyborgs. Built themselves survival armor so they could exist in the freezing cold of their home world, but a sudden increase in temperature and the armor goes haywire."

"Like with the cattle prod thing," Clara pointed out.

"Like with the cattle prod thing. Bit of a design flaw. To be honest, I've always wondered why they never sorted it. Oh look, you've got me telling you about them and I said there wasn't time."

"Is he that dangerous?" Clara asked, glancing between the Doctor and me.

"This one is."

Even I nodded. "He's a soldier. A lost soldier restrained in an alien ship with potentially no rescue on the way. We just showed him we're not above harming him. If he becomes desperate enough and has nothing left to lose then…"

I didn't even need to finish. They understood what I meant, not that Stepashin cared. He immediately went to accuse us of being spies and the Doctor had to explain the translation matrix to Clara as I reached up and rubbed at my face. I was tired again, despite having had a good rest after the last trip. It was the concussion probably, which only made things more annoying. Resting wasn't going to happen with or without the danger of the Ice Warrior escaping. Could do without the headache though.

"It's essential that we inform Moscow of what we have found," Stepashin told the Captain, ignoring Grisenko when he'd tried to claim that we were telling the truth.

"The radio's out of action, in case you hadn't noticed, Stepashin," the Captain sighed.

"They have our last position. They will find us. When they do…"

"Yes?"

"Well, the Cold War won't stay cold forever, Captain."

Even he was annoyed with the man now, who'd stepped over to get in the Doctor's face. "For God's sake, Stepashin, you're like a stuck record. We have other priorities right now. I want you back on repairs immediately. We need to keep this ship alive. Dismissed."

"Sir?" Stepashin argued lightly, offended at being dismissed until the Captain stood up to get in his face instead.

"Dismissed, Stepashin."

He bumped shoulders with Clara as I glared at him.

"Ass," I spat, earning a glare in return as he stormed out and the Doctor released me to approach the Captain and warn him of what was to come; lightly brushing off his uniform.

"All we needed to do was let Skaldak go and he'd have forgotten us. But you attacked him. You declared war. Harm one of us and you harm us all. That's the ancient Martian code. You hear that?" He gestured to Grisenko's headphones which were rattling out beeps. "Skaldak has sent out a distress call. He will bring down the fires of hell just for laying a glove on him."

"Unless you talk to it?" The Captain questioned.

"I'm the only one who can."

"No. Out of the question. We're not losing you. I'll do it," he argued, making the Doctor look at him in disbelief.

"What?"

"You can talk to it through me."

"Skaldak won't talk to you. You're an enemy soldier."

"And how would he know that?"

"A soldier knows another soldier. He'll smell it on you. Smell it on you a mile off."

The Captain eyed him. "And he wouldn't smell it on you, Doctor?"

The Doctor went quiet and I spoke up.

"I'll do it."

"Absolutely not," the Doctor argued, turning to glance at me from over his shoulder. "You're already hurt. I'll not risk you getting injured again."

"First off, it's obvious the Captain can't do it." I glanced at the man in mild annoyance. "You can't even consider him a being. You keep calling him 'it' and if that isn't insulting I'll eat my pants. Second," I pointed out, waving at the Doctor. "You can't go around using someone else as a talking monkey. Like you said, he's a soldier. He'll see through it and know that someone's being puppeted by you. I can figure out what to say without you rattling off a speech in my ears."

"No," he refused again, fully facing me this time. "If you get hurt—"

"I'll be fine."

"Ash."

I grabbed his arm when he put his hands on my shoulders, giving it a reassuring squeeze and trying to emphasize what I meant. "I will be."

He understood the hidden meaning but was still hesitant, leaning closer and whispering under his breath to keep the Captain from hearing. "You don't know your own future."

"I don't need to. You would've sent Clara and he would know it was you talking through her," I told him, silently hating that I was but knowing that this way was better. "He's not a threat until threatened, Doctor. You and I both know he could have wiped this whole sub out in a second if he wanted. When he had a gun pointed at him, he could've killed them but he didn't. He chose not to; chose to listen to your pleading instead. He just… He wants to go home, is all."

The Doctor looked conflicted, eyes scanning me before sighing heavily and lightly dropping his forehead against mine—being mindful of my injury. "Yes… Yes, alright, fine. Just… swear to me that you'll be careful."

I cracked a small smile. "You say that like I go looking for trouble."

"Sometimes I wonder," he grumbled, kissing my forehead and sending a flush of heat up my face as he grasped my hand and turned to face the Captain. "Ash will do it."