Author's Note: What a great chapter to leave you all literally hanging. My bad. Sorry. My brain went Hyperfixate Mode(tm), for what amounts to only a five minute scene, not even the whole show. I've thought of nothing else for almost a week. It's finally calmed down enough that I finally convinced it to let me do a quick edit before uploading. I'll upload a second chapter this week to make up for it!

Emerald Green

Chapter Eleven

The Worst Episode

"EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE."

Molly felt like her head was collapsing in on itself. The word had been frightening to hear on television. There were no words to describe how horrific and petrifying it was to hear it in reality. The Dalek was looking right at her, aiming right at her. Worse – it wasn't even a Dalek. It was an empty, metal shell.

"I-it's like it's been possessed by a Dalek," she shouted back at River, who she just realized was screaming her name repeatedly.

"Molly!" she heard the Doctor shout her name as he ran up to the wall. "I can't get this wall open, but I can get the door behind you open! Are you ready to run?"

Molly glanced over at the door, a couple dozen feet away. "Am I ever!" Whether or not she could make it to the door was another question.

"When it's open, run! Just run! I'll find you!"

She tried to answer but choked on her fear as the Dalek moved closer, and she began taking slow steps towards the door. Why it hadn't shot her yet she didn't know, but she was grateful to whatever power in the universe it was that had sent her here in the first place.

"EXTERMINATE."

She heard the tell-tale sliding sound, and without even looking at it, she ran for the door. She managed to tear her eyes off the Dalek as she sped out of the room, just in time to hear it take a shot. Hopefully, River could see on the scanner that Molly was still alive. And where she was, as she ran down corridors with turn after turn, some lit and some dark. Running through the dark, realized she'd dropped the flashlight at some point.

After running for so long her lungs felt like they would collapse and she couldn't run any further, she stopped and looked behind her. There was no sign of the Dalek, even if she closed her eyes to listen. No EXTERMINATE, no metallic sound, nothing. She turned and continued down the corridor, hoping to find some space where she could stand with her back to the corner, but also have a quick exit.

It was difficult, though, navigating her way down tunnels of darkness. More than once she bumped into a wall. When she bumped into what she knew had to be a Dalek, her heart stopped. She waited for a moment to see if she would die, but the Dalek didn't light up. She felt around it, and gripped the eyestalk. Well. At least it was something.

Molly pulled on the eyestalk as hard as she could, but could only get it to shift ever so slightly to the side. She knelt on the floor and tried yanking it down with her strength and her weight, and though it bent some, it remained in place. She got back on her feet and braced a boot against the body of the Dalek shell, and pushed herself up with her foot just as she pushed down with her arms. She bounced up and down a few times, and then shoved herself up in the air, threw her feet straight out, and landed hard on her back. But the crack! sound told her that the bumped head was worth it. She had a Dalek eyestalk as a weapon now.

What good an eyestalk would do against a possessed Dalek shell or the metal thing that had chased them or whatever it was that had killed the Daleks, she didn't know. But she felt better having something. Something. Even if the last time she'd used a weapon had gone wrong, surely, on a Dalek ship, the Doctor couldn't judge her for having something to defend herself with. Maybe she would get the chance to go Ace on a Dalek, if she were brave enough.

After taking a moment to catch her breath and wait for the throbbing to fade, Molly got back to her feet. She didn't know where she was going, and now she wasn't even sure which way she'd come from. She started walking in whatever direction it was she was facing. Forward was as good as back.

Molly wandered in the darkness for a few more minutes, brushing against corners and feeling grateful that it was highly unlikely a Dalek ship would have steps, when she heard a mechanical whirring sound that made her stop dead. It was coming from her left.

With her heart in her throat, she took a deep breath and turned her head. A blue light was approaching slowly from down the corridor. Her mind tried to find any excuse for something else it could be, but there was no denying when the dreaded word echoed against the walls.

"EXTERMINATE."

She shrieked, and ran forward, hoping turning the corner would buy her a little more time. With that in mind, she held a hand against the wall, feeling for another turn. A glance back made her head spin; the possessed Dalek shell was already behind her. Even worse was when she heard the unmistakable sound of a shot landing just behind her, even as the heat of it surprised her. She found a corner just in time and spun around it. After a moment of deliberation, she held the eyestalk out the other side of her. She was certain she looked ridiculous, running with both arms outstretched, but she needed, desperately, to serpentine, and it was the only way she could think of doing so without missing another turn.

"EXTERMINATE."

She dodged another shot just in time, though she felt a few strands of her hair burn away with it so close. There was no time to dwell on how close to death she was, no time to even recite the names in her head. Molly spun around another corner.

She only registered that something terrible happened and not what it was. Suddenly she hadn't been able to move anymore, and was pulled sideways. Eventually her mind recognized hands at her arms, but still her body was flooded with panic and adrenalin. She pulled away and took a swing with the eyestalk at whatever it was that had grabbed her while giving a battle cry, but the person-like thing dodged her.

For a moment, she thought it was the Doctor.

It most definitely wasn't.

Molly wanted to scream again, but it felt like her chest had been torn to shreds and she couldn't get enough air in her lungs. She took a gulp of air, and then, staring wide-eyed at the thing that had grabbed her and pulled her into another room, swallowed back vomit.

"I'm not trying to hurt you," it – he, she corrected – assured her.

Finally able to make sound, she couldn't resist making a sound to indicate disgust. But then she managed a smile. "Hi."

"Hello," Dalek Sec said in return. "You came here with the Doctor."

"Yeah," she confirmed eloquently. "I'm not sure where he is." Face to face with the human-Dalek hybrid. And the Sass Queen of the Daleks, to boot; she recalled the exchange between him and the Cybermen.

"You were separated, I saw," he replied, and turned back towards one of the large computers Molly thought reminded her of something on Star Trek. Molly assumed there must be some sort of security camera display that let him watch the Doctor, River, and her navigating the ship. "I'll try to lead him here with the lights. It's difficult to force them to be bright enough, but I have to make the attempt."

"Right," Molly breathed, as she rested the Dalek eye stalk on her shoulder. Her head was swimming. "You sent the distress signal."

"Yes," replied Dalek Sec. "Once I realized what was happening, I knew I had to escape, for the sake of the universe. I had hoped the Doctor would find it somehow."

There were too many things that didn't make sense, and Molly felt confused and dizzy, and her stomach twisted, and she felt she was burning up from the inside, so it was time to sit down. Her legs got the message before her brain did, and she found herself collapsing to the floor. "Ow."

Dalek Sec spared her a glance. "You're one of the Doctor's associates?"

Molly thought about it a moment. "I guess." She still wasn't sure she could really call herself a Companion with a capital C, but she did travel with him. And – she thought with a warmth in her chest that made her smile – they were friends.

"You don't seem as alarmed to see me as I thought you would be."

"Oh." Of course. She wasn't supposed to know about the human-Dalek hybrid. She needed to play along. She rearranged her face in a frown. "I'm definitely alarmed. Super alarmed. Like an alarm clock." She hadn't been lying when she'd said she was bad at lying. If she'd attempted that particular lie, it still would've been obvious. "I'm too tired to display how very, very alarmed I am."

Dalek Sec only nodded his head. Molly decided it would be best for her stomach to stop looking at him until she got better control of her body. She felt a bit guilty, as it wasn't his fault he had slimy tentacles on his face, or an exposed brain, or one eye, but seeing these things on a screen was infinitely different than seeing them in reality, and it gave her the heebie-jeebies. She'd just take a moment to close her eyes and get over it.

A banging at the door made her give up on the break and leap to her feet, eyestalk in swinging position.

"EXTERMINATE." Came the sound of the possessed shell on the other side of the door. "EXTERMINATE."

"Phoebe, Heather, Olivia, Eleanor, Nina, Ivy, Xyla," she muttered.

"It can't get in. It's not clever enough to hack into the controls," she heard Dalek Sec assure her. "…What were those names?"

Molly still couldn't tear her eyes from the door as the banging continued, the shell ramming against it repeatedly. "Nothing. Don't worry about it." She held her breath until she heard the Dalek shell retreat. She lowered the eyestalk and turned to face Dalek Sec. "How is it moving on its own? We know it's empty."

"I think it would be best if I waited until the Doctor arrived to explain."

Molly tried not to be offended by that seeming insult to her intelligence. Despite the fact that he was probably right in thinking she wouldn't understand as well as the Doctor, she failed. "What's your name?" she asked, setting the eyestalk down and approaching. Then she remembered that she should also be confused about his existence in general. "Also, and I mean very little offense – what are you?" She wasn't able to ask the questions she really wanted an answer to: Why wasn't he dead, how was he here, was he still trying to make more hybrids?

"I am Dalek Sec," he said, as he continued working. "I am a Dalek-human hybrid. I can explain more when the Doctor and his other companion arrive."

"Right," Molly said, trying and failing to keep the irritation out of her voice. She understood: he was focused on a task, and it was better to explain something once rather than multiple times. That didn't make it feel any better to keep hitting a brick wall with him.

Uncertain what else to do, Molly began walking around the room, looking around, but unable to really understand everything. Mostly it was computers and other sorts of equipment she'd seen on TV but had never been explained. The room was fairly large, rectangular, with a lot of lights and ramps to various levels.

"This is the main control room?" she asked, just as that possibility clicked in her mind.

"Yes," replied Dalek Sec. "I barricaded myself in here when the Daleks realized I was here."

She thought about asking about that, but knew the answer she would get. Instead, she walked up to stand beside him and watch him work, though she didn't quite understand what it was he was doing. On the screen, she saw the Doctor and River following lights that flickered on and off, with the scanner and screwdriver extended. They seemed tense, but not so panicked that she was afraid whatever the metallic sound was was chasing them.

"So, you do know what's happening." She didn't bother to make it a question.

"Yes," replied Dalek Sec. He turned his head slightly towards her. "What was your name?"

Molly felt elated for a moment, but couldn't understand why. And then she realized: of course, Dalek Sec would never have seen the show. Since she'd arrived in this universe, she'd finally had the opportunity to introduce herself by her real name a handful of times. And this time, he was sure to not already know who she was. He would never think of her as Molly Phoenix.

"Molly Quinn," she said with what she hoped was a winning smile. "Nice to meet you, Dalek Sec."

"And you, Molly Quinn," he replied, which made her smile more. The human side of him was definitely winning out over the Dalek side. She'd been sad to see him die. Which made the fact that he was standing beside her all the more confusing.

"Oh, and thanks for saving my life, and all that," she added, realizing how rude it had been for her not to mention it before.

Dalek Sec glanced at her, with almost a look of surprise in his one eye. "You're welcome." He turned back to the screen, and then pressed a button. The door slid open. Molly looked at it in genuine alarm, but Dalek Sec said, "The Doctor and his other companion are about to arrive."

Molly ran towards the door and stuck her head in the dark corridor. She watched the Doctor hesitate between going straight and turning. "Doctor! River! Over here!" She waved, and hoped he saw her in the darkness. Thankfully, the light from River's scanner was bright enough to light the corridor to a deep grey instead of black, and Molly blinked when it shone in her eyes and blinded her. The scanner lowered, and Molly saw the Doctor hurrying towards her. He seized her in a quick hug, which made Molly flush with warmth, and then pulled back and held her by the shoulders.

"Are you alright?" He looked her up and down, seeking any injury.

Molly nodded. "A few singed hairs from another shell that found me, but otherwise, I'm okay."

"You really need to stop running off," he said, a note of humor in his voice. "This is the second time."

"Uh, first time, the other time you're the one who took off, and I didn't really have a choice here." She paused. "The person who saved me and sent the distress signal is in here."

"Makes sense, it's the main control room," said the Doctor, and he tried to step inside. Molly stepped in the way.

"Uh. Maybe prepare yourself."

The Doctor looked confused, but this time Molly stepped out of the way as he entered the room, River right behind him.

Molly heard the Doctor made a sound of disgust she'd heard him make on the show before, one very similar to the one she'd made when coming face-to-face with Dalek Sec. Exact, really. Then, as she walked around him to see his expression, he smiled. "Oh. Hi."

The door behind them closed, and Dalek Sec approached them. "Hello again, Doctor. You have regenerated?"

"No, I just went out and bought a new face," replied the Doctor, but the sarcasm was light in his voice. He slapped each side of his face lightly. "Like it?"

"To be honest, I preferred the other, but that is not relevant."

The Doctor scowled. "Well, no offense, Dalek Sec, but I'm fairly certain you're meant to be dead. In fact, I saw you die, so I suppose I'm a bit more than 'fairly' certain." But there was some excitement in his voice. Molly realized he was seeing another chance to do what he'd failed to do before: work with him to end the Dalek race in the most peaceful way possible.

Dalek Sec turned back and walked back to the controls. "I am from another universe," he explained. The Doctor and Molly exchanged a look. They'd managed to run into another person who had crossed universes? "In mine, the Doctor, his companions and I were forced to destroy all the others of my kind. It was decided it would be best if I remained the last. He took me to another planet to live out my life on, but the longer I stayed there, the more I thought about the fate of the Daleks. I became obsessed with finding a way to save them, to change them, and I knew the only option was to save the Daleks in another universe. I built a machine to bring me here, with the help of others on that planet, with the intention to find my old lab on Skaro, and begin the process of creating human-Dalek hybrids there, and hope it would save my people, along with all the others of this universe in danger from them. I needed a connection between myself and where I landed here, and so ended up on this ship. I hid away, and used my connection to the pathweb to keep them from remembering whenever they saw me."

The Doctor stood, processing Dalek Sec's story. River took a step forward.

"So, you're a Dalek-human hybrid? How did that happen?"

Molly watched the Doctor's face as Dalek Sec told River the story. Even from another universe, it was the same, save the ending. The Doctor's expression was more interesting. He was surprised, clearly, and impressed with Dalek Sec's ability to cross universes, and his determination to come here to do good. It was his short, occasional, unreadable glances towards her that confused Molly. They'd both crossed universes, her and Dalek Sec. Maybe the Doctor was thinking that Dalek Sec's technology could send her home. Her heart sank at the idea that this was all coming to an end so soon, even as she realized it was odd it was taking the TARDIS this long to track her path through the universes to begin with. But, setting that aside, she was most frustrated that she couldn't tell how the Doctor felt about it. Was he disappointed too? Or glad she would get to go home? She dismissed the thought that he'd be relieved to have his time to himself again. She finally believed he didn't view her as an inconvenience.

But by the time Dalek Sec was done telling his story, she still didn't know what the familiar adjustments of the Doctor's mouth and quick, almost dark glances towards her meant. And she hated it.

"Alright, then," the Doctor said when Dalek Sec was done speaking, before River had a real chance to respond. He clapped his hands together. "You must know what it is that's been happening here. Why is the ship almost entirely dead? Why do the Dalek shells move on their own? Where are the Dalek's bodies? What is it that is hiding in the walls, turning out the ligh-" He stopped. His face went pale, his eyes wide. He held a hand out as if telling Dalek Sec to stop could prevent whatever conclusion it was he had come to. "No. No, wait. That's impossible. It's really impossible."

"What is?" River asked.

The Doctor's look towards her, for a moment, made Molly think he felt as sick as she did. He turned back to Dalek Sec. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Dalek Sec shook his head. "I don't believe you are."

The Doctor walked over to where Dalek Sec stood, half-tripping for a moment over the eyestalk Molly had dropped, and then did something with the sonic to the computer. Molly thought about peeking to see what he was doing, but she wouldn't know what to look for, and with River coming to stand beside them, there wasn't much room.

River's eyes widened, and she leaned in. A light flashed in her eyes as she came to whatever conclusion the Doctor had. "But that's impossible."

"What's impossible?" Molly asked. Knowing she was the least intelligent person in the room wasn't sitting well with her.

River looked up to her, and the expression on her face told Molly that somehow, the danger they were in had just increased. "There are billions of lifeforms on this vessel."

Now Molly felt cold. "I thought there were just a couple dozen Daleks?"

Dalek Sec shook his head. "The parameters for your scans were not widened far enough."

Molly's mind raced. Billions of lifeforms. Billions of lifeforms that must somehow be invisible and silent, save for maybe the sound of metal. Empty Dalek shells, and those shells moving and speaking and attacking on their own. The lights going out. The Doctor's look at River when he realized what the threat was.

The impossible connection clicked, and she felt the air leave her lungs. It really was impossible.

"It's my fault," Dalek Sec explained. "Somehow, I brought them with me. I've hidden here for months, and in that time, they multiplied. They've finally grown large enough to destroy the ship."

The Doctor's expression was becoming more and more frustrated. "What? What?" he sighed. "It doesn't make any sense. There are no trees in here, no paper even. It's not like the Daleks keep libraries!"

"In my universe, their forests were destroyed long ago. They adapted to live in metal. They can feed, not only on meat, but on bone."

"Vashta Nerada on a Dalek ship. This is the worst episode." Molly ran her fingers through her hair. "So, essentially, we could be completely surrounded by them right now?"

"Yes," replied Dalek Sec, as the Doctor did something on the computer.

"Oh, I love that for us."

"…was that sarcasm?"

"Nooo, I totally meant it, everything about this is a dream."

"Sarcasm."

"Yeah." Perhaps sarcasm wasn't what they needed right now, but feeling helpless was one of Molly's most hated feelings, and that's what she was. The Doctor, River, and Dalek Sec knew, more or less, what they were doing. They had experience, they were smart, they were even familiar with how a Dalek ship worked, or at least the Doctor and, obviously, Dalek Sec did. And she couldn't do anything.

She moved to another computer console to lean against it, while the Doctor and Dalek Sec spoke in quiet tones.

"We have to find a way to eliminate the Daleks, and contain the Vashta Nerada. They can't be allowed to spread in this universe," said the Doctor.

"The Daleks have all barricaded themselves in a safe room," Dalek Sec pointed out. "They should be simple enough to eliminate. The Vashta Nerada will be more difficult."

"I would really prefer to avoid…"

The conversation continued as River slipped away to stand near Molly. "So," she began, "How long do you think until the men figure out what we already know?"

Molly looked at River in confusion, and then back at the Doctor and Dalek Sec. She wanted to tell River that she thought the Doctor had already thought of it, but she would then have to explain why the Doctor didn't want to do it. It was too close to what had happened when he first met River. What would happen. "I give it two minutes," she said instead.

"Are you before, during, or after Amy and Rory?" River asked.

Molly considered a way to answer that question that wouldn't be too spoilery. She looked older than the Byzantium, older than the Impossible Astronaut, a little younger than the Library. But then, she had said she was going to take the age down. Maybe that was just on the show, and not in this universe. "Are you still in prison?"

"No," responded River. "I'm thinking about moonlighting as a tour guide. I made professor ages ago."

"Congratulations," Molly forced out. She felt sick again as she glanced at River's face. So. It was close. Very close. "After," she replied. "A while after."

She thought that maybe even her face was a bad liar as River examined her for a moment. But she turned to look back at the Doctor and Dalek Sec. "Must be overwhelming for you. I imagine you don't get many Daleks in your universe."

"Or aliens in general," Molly answered, then frowned. "At least to my knowledge…" Maybe Area 51 really was hiding something. Aliens, bits of spaceship. Of course, knowing the luck of her planet, it'd probably be an alien toilet or something.

River looked around at every shadow in the room. "Right now, no aliens sounds refreshing."

"No kidding."

Molly overheard a bit of the men's conversation. "…self-destruct may be the best option," Dalek Sec was saying.

River looked at her watch. "Two minutes. Right on time."

"As I said, I would really rather avoid…" the Doctor ran his hands over his face. "Yeah. Okay. Self-destruct it is."

"It will have to be initiated from here, and then confirmed in the secondary command center," Dalek Sec explained.

"So we'll have another little romp around the ship," said River as she walked back to the men.

"No. Well, yes, but no," said the Doctor. "We'll initiate here. Dalek Sec and I will go to the command center to confirm. You and Molly go to the TARDIS, and bring it there, so we can get off the ship before it, you know…blows up."

"Sounds like a plan," sighed Molly. At least she had something to do. Not that she could fly the TARDIS, or fight any Dalek shells off, but at she could watch River's back. "Should we get-"

The door to the room slid open, and Molly could see a crowd of Daleks beyond it. She screamed and ducked behind the computer console with River, who took out her gun. "I thought you said they couldn't get in!" Molly shouted.

"The shells can't," said Dalek Sec, from somewhere behind the computer. "These are the real Daleks."

"They must have scanned for lifeforms," the Doctor said quickly. She peeked around her computer and saw him on his knees in front of the console, peeking up just enough to sonic it.

"WE SAW THE TARDIS IN OUR SCANS. NOW WE HAVE FOUND THE DOCTOR," the Dalek ahead screamed. "WE MUST DESTROY THE DOCTOR. WE MUST DESTROY THE ABOMINATION!"

"I can help you!" shouted the Doctor.

"OUR ORDERS ARE TO DESTROY THE DOCTOR!"

The Doctor sighed. "Yeah, that never works."

"What are you doing, sweetie?" River shouted over the sound of a Dalek firing. Molly swallowed another scream when sparks flew from the console above her.

"Dalek Sec," the Doctor said, in lieu of responding to River. "You're connected to the pathweb. Do you think you can take down their shielding?"

"Not all at once," Dale Sec replied. "I could possibly do it one at a time."

"You lower their shields, and I'll shoot them," offered River.

Molly looked and saw Dalek Sec at the controls. He hesitated a moment, and then seemed to decide that these Daleks had to die so that he could live to save others. The Doctor watched Dalek Sec's movements, and then shouted. "Far left!"

River hopped up, fired a shot, and ducked down again. "Next!" she shouted.

Once she cleared her head of the sound of a different gunshot echoing from years ago, a problem occurred to Molly. "Do you have a second gun?"

River glanced over at Molly before taking the next shot at the Dalek the Doctor directed her to. "Can you use it?"

"I'm from Texas." Granted, she hadn't held one since she'd been in Texas, but hopefully it was second-nature, and she could keep her mind clear of any more echoes of the past.

River paused to pulled her second gun and hand it over to Molly. It was laser, like hers, but seemed to fire the same way the guns Molly was used to would fire. "I'm going to move around the room, or the Daleks are just going to come to us. Hopefully they won't know which of us to go after first."

River nodded, then shouted to the Doctor, "I'm coming to you!" It was the Doctor and Dalek Sec the Daleks were after, after all.

As River took a quick look to be sure she could go one way, Molly dashed the other way, taking cover behind another console. When she heard the Doctor shout another direction, Molly aimed her gun at it, hitting it. Of course, her shot didn't kill it – she couldn't aim straight down the eyestalk – but it did manage to distract another Dalek. As that one headed towards her, the Doctor shouted, "The one in front of you, Molly!"

Molly's aim had never been perfect, and she wasn't sure if the nerves would help. But as she hopped up to take aim, she realized that the adrenalin had improved her focus. She managed to fire a shot before throwing her weight backwards to fall in order to avoid another Dalek's attack. She got to her feet, crouching, and then dove back to the other console.

"Three o'clock!" the Doctor shouted.

"Whose three?!" She heard River shout back.

"Yours!"

Molly hopped up and fired at the same time River did, hoping to draw the Daleks away from River, the Doctor, and Dalek Sec. She was the more vulnerable target, and for once, she wanted it that way. She took another shot and gasped when a Dalek's returning attack missed her by an inch, and felt a burn form on her arm – but she was still alive. She leapt to the other console.

"Eight o'clock!"

Molly tried desperately to picture a clock in her head, and tilt it on its side. She only just understood which Dalek was vulnerable when River's shot missed it. It was getting dangerously close to them, but Molly would have to fully stand to hit it. She took a breath, stood, and fired. It swung its eyestalk towards her, but another Dalek took a shot at her. More of her hair burned away, and the smell was nauseating, but she fired a shot down the eyestalk of her target and dropped back to the ground.

"There's only three more here," Dalek Sec informed them.

"Left!" to Doctor shouted, and Molly heard River fire. Then, "Molly, one is coming up to you!"

Molly didn't even think before getting to her feet and dashing for the other console. Once the Doctor announced that was the next target, she aimed, and hit it square in the eyestalk again. River finished off the last one moments later.

Molly breathed a sigh of relief, even as her arm throbbed. The door closed again.

"That was only a few of them," said the Doctor. "Where are the rest?"

Dalek Sec replied, "They're headed for storage room B."

"I'm going to venture a guess that that's where we left the TARDIS."

"That is correct."

As her adrenalin levels began to drop, Molly felt as though her stomach folded in half and began to squeeze itself flat. She dropped the gun on the console, and ran for the furthest corner of the room. There was little to cough up but yellow, bitter stomach acid, and it burned her throat.

Once her stomach had emptied, Molly turned back to the others, who were staring at her. She cleared her throat and ignored the ache it caused. "You know what? I think there's a possibility I might actually be sick," she said. "…Anyone happen to have a mint?"

"First fight?" River asked.

"Kind of, but I think I am genuinely sick," Molly said, walking back. "That's not the first time my body has tried to vomit today. I've felt really hot this whole time, too."

The Doctor met her halfway with a peppermint. She smiled gratefully and popped it in her mouth while the Doctor scanned her with the sonic. After looking at the results, he scowled at her. "101.5 Fahrenheit."

"Stop looking at me like it's my fault," she said.

"You should have told me."

Molly shrugged. "We got a distress signal and ended up on a Dalek ship, I thought it was panic."

"That's a reasonable reaction," River chimed in.

The Doctor was still frowning. "...reasonable, I guess." He turned to head back towards the others. "So. We'll set the ship to self-destruct, escape on the TARDIS, and then you're going to bed."

"Yes, sir," Molly replied, rolling her eyes. She stopped to pick the gun up again. "I'll get a bowl of chicken noodle soup right after we, you know, fight against two of the most dangerous creatures in the universe in order to blow up a ship and narrowly escape with our lives."

"Marvelous."

"Let's head out, then," said River. "No time like the present."

Author's Note: There's a reference to my favorite book series of all time in here. If you catch it, you're my favorite person now.