{"Bet you wish you could strip me, huh my love."}

Theta uses his sonic screwdriver on Martha's mobile phone. I still had no idea where he got one of his own, apparently it was for emergencies only. "Right, there we go. Universal roaming. Never have to worry about a signal again." I chuckled as she smiled happily, "No way. This is too mad. You're telling me I can phone anyone, anywhere in space and time on my mobile?" I nodded as Theta chuckled, "As long as you know the area code. Frequent flier's privilege. Go on, try it."

The Tardis judders, "Distress signal. Locking on. Might be a bit of" They get knocked to the floor. "Turbulence. Sorry. Come on, Martha. Let's take a look."

Lots of steam and the place is glowing red. "Distress signal transmitted." A computer speaks, "Whoa, now that is hot and I do mean you my love." I scoffed at him and nudge him causing him to chuckle and pull me into his side. "Automated distress signal transmitted." We all gasp in the heat, "Whuff, it's like a sauna in here." Martha mutters out with a frown, as she strips her jacket, "Bet you wish you could strip me, huh my love." He rolled his eyes with a chuckle, "Venting systems. Working at full pelt, trying to cool down. Wherever it is we are. Well, if you can't stand the heat." He clicks his tongue and winks.

Theta opens a bulkhead door and goes through. On the other side, it is labelled Area 30. Two men and a woman come running towards them, "Oi, you two!" One of the men shouts, causing me to get a a strange sense of déjà vu, "Get out of there!" Great it was the Satan Pit all over again. "Seal that door, now!" Another man shouts, "Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?" The women glares causing me to raise an eyebrow. "Are you police?"

"Why would we be police?"

"We got your distress signal."

"If this is a ship, why can't I hear any engines?" Theta asks with a frown as he looks around, "It went dead four minutes ago." The Captain explained, "So maybe we should stop chatting and get to Engineering. Captain." The man snapped, "Secure closure active."

"What?"

"The ship's gone mad." Another woman comes running towards them, bulkheads slamming shut behind her. "Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked in to area twenty seven." The last bulkhead slams shut, "Who are you?" She looks at us in confusion, "He's the Doctor, she's Kate and I'm Martha. Hello." Martha gives a small wave, "Impact projection forty two minutes twenty seven seconds."

"We'll get out of this. I promise." Martha looks out of a porthole, "Doctor."

"Forty two minutes until what?" Theta asks with a frown, "Doctor! Look." Martha gaps at the sight outside, "Forty two minutes until we crash into the sun." The long, thin, but utilitarian spaceship is spinning towards a massive yellow fusion reactor. I grunt, it really is something with him, only two day since Lazarus and we are already at deaths door again. "How many crew members on board?" I turned to them with a frown, "Seven, including us." The captain told us, "We transport cargo across the galaxy. Everything's automated. We just keep the ship spaceworthy."

"Call the others, I'll get you out." Theta runs to the door to area 30, "What's he doing?" A man asks, "No, don't!" Theta opens the door and is knocked down by the blast of heat. Erina puts on a welder's mask and shuts it again. "But my ship's in there!" I smack my forehead, he always parks in places we can't get to when we're in danger. "In the vent chamber?" A man asks looking at us like we were idiots. "It's our lifeboat." I muttered out, "It's lava."

"The temperature's going mad in there. Up three thousand degrees in ten seconds, and still rising."

"Channelling the air. The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room's going to get."

"We're stuck here."

"So, we fix the engines, we steer the ship away from the sun. Simple. Engineering down here, is it?"

"Yes."

"Impact in forty twenty six."

—

"Blimey, do you always leave things in such a mess?" Theta mutters as we enter a room that was a mess, "Oh, my God." The captain gapped in shock, "What the hell happened?" The engine is a collection of bits and pieces. "Oh, it's wrecked." The first man gaped, "Pretty efficiently too. Someone knew what they were doing." I spoke looking at it with a frown, "Where's Korwin? Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?" The captain looked around, "No." A man shook his head back, "You mean someone did this on purpose?" She goes to the intercom. "Korwin, Ashton? Where are you? Korwin, can you answer? Where the hell is he? He should be up here."

"Oh, we're in the Torajii system. Lovely. You're a long way from home, Martha. Half a universe away." I chuckled towards her as she rolled her eyes with a scoff, "Yeah. Feels it." She mused back, "And you're still using energy scoops for fusion? Hasn't that been outlawed yet?" I asked them causing them to pause, "We're due to upgrade next docking. Scannell, engine report." I glared at their suspicious looks, "No response."

"What?"

"They're burnt out. The controls are wrecked. I can't get them back online."

"Oh, come on. Auxiliary engines. Every craft's got auxiliaries."

"We don't have access from here. The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship." The captain speaks, "Yeah, with twenty nine password sealed doors between us and them. You'll never get there in time." The second man scoffs at the dreadful thought, "Can't you override the doors?" Martha and I asked together as I rubbed circles on my stomach. Theta immediately taking notice as he moved over and ripped the sleeves off my dress, I gapped but didn't say anything. "No. Sealed closure means what it says. They're all dead-lock sealed." The group look at us before looking away, "So a sonic screwdriver's no use." Theta muttered.

"Nothing's any use. We've got no engines, no time, and no chance." The man spoke in defeat, "Oh, listen to you. Defeated before you've even started. Where's your Dunkirk spirit? Who's got the door passwords?" I asked them as I crossed my arms over my chest, "They're randomly generated. Reckon I know most of them. Sorry. Riley Vashti." Riley introduced himself, "Then what're you waiting for, Riley Vashti? Get on it." Theta pushed with a smirk, "Well, it's a two person job. One, a technish for the questions, and the other to carry this. The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh, Captain?"

"Reliable and simple, just like you, eh, Riley?" Riley puts a massive backpack on. It contains a portable computer and a keyboard. "Try and be helpful, get abuse. Nice." Martha stepped up, "I'll help you. Make myself useful." I raised an eyebrow but she just nodded to me causing me to nod back, "It's remotely controlled by the computer panel. That's why it needs two."

"Oi. Be careful."

"You too."

"McDonnell. It's Ashton."

"Where are you? Is Korwin with you?"

"Get up to the med-centre now!" Theta, McDonnell and I run out past Martha and Riley. "Impact in thirty four thirty one."

A man and a woman are trying to hold a man down so they can put him in what looks like an MRI scanner, but turns out to be a stasis chamber. "Argh! Stop it!"" A man shouts in pain, "Korwin, it's Abi. Open your eyes, I need to take a look at you." We run in, "Korwin! What's happened? Is he okay?" I frown at Korwin as he continues to wither in pain. "Help me! It's burning me!" He shouts thrashing around, "How long's he been like this?" I asked, "Ashton just brought him in."

Theta scans Korwin with his screwdriver, "What are you doing?" McDonnell asked with a frown, "Don't get too close." I pulled her back, "Don't be so stupid. That's my husband." She snapped causing me to feel for her, "And he's just sabotaged our ship." Ashton snapped, "What?" She asked in horror not believing he could do something like that. "He went mad. He put the ship onto secure closure, then he set the heat pulse to melt the controls." Ashton explained, "No way. He wouldn't do that." She glared at her man, "I saw it happen, Captain."

"Korwin? Korwin, open your eyes for me a second."

"I can't!"

"Yeah, course you can. Go on." I place my hand on his causing him to look at me as I shake my head. We really didn't want him opening his eyes, "Don't make me look at you, please." Theta takes a hypo-gun from a medical tray. "All right, all right, all right. Just relax. Sedative?" He asked the female doctor who nodded back, "Yes." He sedates Korwin. "What's wrong with him?" McDonnell asks in pain as she stared at her husband. "Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings. Stasis chamber. I do love a good stasis chamber. Keep him sedated in there. Regulate the body temperature. And, just for fun, run a bioscan and tissue profile on a metabolic detail."

"Just doing them now."

"Oh, you're good. Anyone else presenting these symptoms?"

"Not so far."

"Well, that's something." Theta muttered out, "Will someone tell me what is the matter with him?" She demands with a heated glare, "Some sort of infection. We'll know more after the test results. Now, allons-y, back downstairs. Hey. See about those engines. Go. Hey. Go." McDonnell follows Ashton out, "Call us if there's news. Any questions?" I tell her slightly uncomfortable with leaving her alone in here. "Yeah. Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor and this is Kate." We head out after Ashton and McDonnell.

"Heat shield failing. At twenty-five percent. Impact in thirty two fifty."

—

"Abi, how's Korwin doing? Any results from the bio-scan?" Theta asked over comms, "He's under heavy sedation. I'm just trying to make sense of this data. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll let you know."

"Martha? Riley? How're you doing?"

"Area twenty nine at the door to twenty eight."

"Yeah, you've got to move faster."

"We're doing our best." She bit back in annoyance causing me to chuckle. "Find the next number in the sequence three one three three three one, three six seven. What?" Martha stairs at him in annoyance, "You said the crew knew all the answers." She snapped, "The crew's changed since we set the questions." I rolled my eyes at the two, "You're joking." Clearing my throat I speak up, "Three seven nine."

"What?" Martha asks in confusion, "It's a sequence of Happy primes. Three seven nine." I tell her as I nod along with my own explanation, "Happy what?" She asks again, "Just enter it." I snap lightly causing Theta to chuckle in my ear. "Are you sure? We only get one chance." Riley asks over the comms this time causing me to throw my hands up in exasperation. "Any number that reduces to one when you take the sum of the square of its digits and you continue iterating until it yields one is a happy number. Any number that doesn't, isn't. A happy prime is a number that is both happy and prime. Now type it in! I don't know, talk about dumbing down! Don't they teach recreational mathematics any more?"

"We're through!"

"Keep moving, fast as you can. And, Martha, be careful. There may be something else on board this ship."

"Any time you want to unnerve me, feel free."

"Will do, thanks."

"Impact in thirty fifty."

"We need a backup in case they don't reach the auxiliary engines in time. Come on, think. Resources. What have we got?" Thera utters out as he begins to think, "Doctor?Kate?" Theta groans in annoyance, "What is it now?" He snaps, "Who had the most number ones, Elvis Or the Beatles. That's pre-download."

"Elvis." I stated, "No! The Beatles!" Theta shouted causing me to frown, we actually didn't know this one. "No! Wait! Er, er. Oh, what was that remix? Er, I don't know. I am a bit busy." She sighs over the comms, "Fine. I'll ask someone else." She grumbles, "Now, where was I? Here comes the sun. No, resources. So, the power's still working, the generator's going. If we can harness that. Ah!"

"Use the generator to jump-start the ship." McDonnell demands, "Exactly. At the very least, it'll buy us some more time." Theta speaks, "That is brilliant." McDonnell smirks happily, "I know. See? Tiny glimmer of hope." I shrug, "If it works." Theta mutters, "Oh, believe me. You're going to make it work." She glares at him, "That told him."

"Impact in twenty nine forty six."

—

"Impact in twenty eight fifty."

Abi connects to us over the comms, "Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me." We pause frowning, "What do you mean?" I asked her in worry, "Well, Korwin's body's changing. His whole biological make-up. It's impossible." Abi hears a noise behind her, and sees Korwin's reflection in a steel bowl above the intercom. He is standing there, eyes shut. "This is Med-centre. Urgent assistance requested. Urgent assistance!" My eyes widen as I take off, "Kate! Stay here! Keep working!" He follows me out, and McDonnell follows him.

"Urgent assistance!"

"Abi, they're on their way."

"What's happening to you?" Korwin's voice is not his own, "Burn with me. Burn with me." Scannell has followed us, Theta catching up to try and stop me. "Captain?" Scannell spoke loudly, "I told you to stay in Engineering." Theta snapped back at him with a glare. "I only take orders form one person round here." He glared back causing me to raise an eyebrow, "Oh, is he always this cheery?" I asked as we continued to move.

Korwin opens his eyelids, to reveal a blinding white light. Abi's scream comes over the intercom, and Martha's phone. "I've got to go." Martha finishes the call. Korwin puts on heavy-duty protective gauntlets and a helmet, and lowers the Polaroid filter. "Doctor, what were those screams?" Martha asked us of the comms, "Concentrate on those doors. You've got to keep moving forward."

"Impact in twenty seven oh six."

We run into the med center, "Korwin's gone." McDonnell speaks as she looks around my eyes widened, "Oh, my God." I gapped in horror at the image of a figure is burnt onto the metal x-ray shield. "Tell me that's not Lerner." Scannell gaps in shock, "Endothermic vaporisation. I've never seen one this ferocious. Burn with me." Theta muttered out loud. "That's what we heard Korwin say." Scannell turns to us with a look of horror on his face. "What? Do you think? No way. Scannell, tell him. Korwin is not a killer. He can't vaporise people. He's human!"

"His bioscan results. Internal temperature, one hundred degrees! Body oxygen replaced by hydrogen. Your husband hasn't been infected, he's been overwhelmed." I explained reading the paper to her causing her to frown, "The test results are wrong." McDonnell shakes her head snatching it away from me, "But what is it, though? A parasite? A mutagenic virus? Something that needs a host body, but how did it get inside him?" Theta paced around in confusion, "Stop talking like he's some kind of experiment." McDonnell snapped at her causing me to glare.

"Where's the ship been? Have you made planet-fall recently? Docked with any other vessels? Any kind of external contact at all?" I asked her, she paused and scoffed being very suspicious. "What is this, an interrogation?" She gapped with a glare, "We've got to stop him before he kills again." Theta told her, "We're just a cargo ship." She lied, I could tell she was lying which made me look at her with a irritated look. She really needed to stop lying, "Doctor, if you give her a minute." Scannell spoke holding a hand up, "I'm fine. I need to warn the crew. Everybody, listen to me. Something has infected Korwin. We think he killed Abi Lerner. None of you must go anywhere near him, is that clear?"

"Understood, Captain. Erina? Get back here with that equipment."

-

Erina mutes the intercom, "Whatever you say, boss. Go there. Come back. Fetch this. Carry these. Make drinks. Sweep up. Please, kill me now." She closes the locker door and Korwin is standing there. "Burn with me. Burn with me." Korwin lifts the filter and the white light streams out. Erina screams.

"Impact in twenty four fifty one."

-

"Is the infection permanent? Can you cure him?" She asks looking at us with terror and sadness, "I don't know." Theta responded as he looked at the scans under to light. "Don't lie to me, Doctor. Eleven years we've been married. We chose this ship together. He keeps me honest, so I don't want false hope." She stands up to look tough but we all knew she was scared, "The parasite's too aggressive. Your husband's gone. There's no way back. I'm sorry." I explained to her causing her to pause before nodding. "Thank you." There was a moment of silence for her loss, I don't know how she is handling all this I know I wouldn't be able to if I lost Theta to this thing. "Are you certain nothing happened to provoke this? Nobody's working on anything secret? Because it's vital that you tell me."

"I know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew's lives. There is nothing." I frowned again, she was still lying to us I just know it. "Then why is this thing so interested in you?" I asked her with my arms crossed as Theta turned to look at me. The heat has gotten higher and I knew he could feel what I was feeling so he knelt down and ripped the bottom of my dress. "I wish I knew." I gapped at him as the other two watched, "Hey! That was a great dress." He scoffed before standing up and kissing my forehead. Riley and Martha have made it through bulkhead 17. "Doctor, we're through to area seventeen." Martha's voice came over comms, "Keep going. You've got to get to area one and reboot those engines."

-

Ashton is working underneath the engine when someone enters. "You got those tools, Erina? Because I.." Ashton is pulled out from underneath the engine by his ankles. "Whoa!" Korwin pulls Ashton to his feet by his gauntleted hands. "Korwin, it's me. We're mates." He tries but it's no use, "They are getting too far. We must share the light." Korwin holds Ashton's head. It burns and he screams.

"Heat shields failing. At twenty percent."

-

"Come on!" Riley hits his portable computer, "Everything on this ship is so cheap." The bulkhead to area 18 behind them clangs open. "Who's there?" A figure appears through the smoke. "Is that Korwin?" Martha asks in horror, "No, wait a minute." The figure is wearing a helmet. "Oh, Ashton, what're you doing?" Riley tries, "Burn with me."

"Well, if you want to help"

"Burn with me. Burn with me." Ashton moves to raise the Polaroid filter, "Move! Come on!" She opens the door to a small adjacent area, then shuts it when they are both in. Ashton appears at the window in the door, so Riley opens a small hatch and they climb through. Ashton touches some controls and a second door slides closed over the hatch. "What is happening on this ship?" Riley asked in horror, "Never mind that, where are we?" Martha asked looking around in confusion.

"Airlock sealed. Jettison escape pod."

"That doesn't mean us? Doctor!"

"Pod jettison initiated."

"Doctor! We're stuck in an escape pod off the area seventeen airlock. One of the crew's trying to jettison us! You've got to help us! Tell me you can stop it." Martha's voice came panicked over comms, I looked toward Theta in panic as well. This was bad, why was everything going wrong. "Why is this happening?" McDonnell voiced my thoughts, "Stay here. I mean it this time! Jump start those engines!"McDonnell and Scannell see a charred shape on the wall. "It's picking us off, one by one." She cried out.

"Jettison held."

"Thank you." Ashton uses the keypad outside, "Jettison reactivated." Martha screams. "Come on." Riley and Ashton are fighting via keypads as Theta runs to help them. "Tsilpinski sequence. This'll get him."

"Jettison held. Escape pod stabilized."

"You're pretty good." Ashton types something else into his keypad.

—

"Ashton!" McDonnell shouts as I run after them, "Someone's hacked into the systems. I can't reroute the generators. There's no way I'm going to be able to jump-start this ship! Who the hell did that!" Scannell walks away. A figure walks towards McDonnell causing me to start backing away, I know I was supposed to protect people like theta but I had my child to worry about. "Korwin? What are you? Why are you killing my crew? What did you do to him? What have you done to my husband?" Korwin stops, "You recognise me. Korwin, you know me. It's Kath. Your wife."

"My wife."

"That's right. You're still in there. I'm your wife."

"It's your fault." I watched them with a frown, I knew it. She was lying I could tell by the way she was looking. We backed up to where Scannell is standing. "What do you mean, it's my fault?" She asked trying to play it cool, "It's your fault. Now burn with me!" Korwin is about to raise the visor when dry ice engulfs him from above. Scannell is turning a valve wheel rapidly. "What are you doing?"

"Freezing him. Ice vents."

"You'll kill him!"

—

"Come on. Let's see you. I want to know what you really are." Ashton stands nose to nose with the Doctor and raises his hand to the visor. Korwin collapses in Engineering and Ashton doubles over in pain. "Airlock sealed." Ashton walks past the Doctor, back down the ship. The Doctor uses the intercom, "McDonnell? Ashton's heading in your direction. He's been infected, just like Korwin!" I sigh at his voice, so glad he was okay. "Korwin's dead, Doctor."

"Impact in seventeen oh five."

McDonnell kneels by the body of her husband. "What did he mean, your fault? What are you doing? Don't touch him. He's infected. We don't know how it spreads." She turned with a glare, "You murdered him!" She shouted in anger, "He was about to kill you." I shouted, "He recognised me." She cried out. "You heard the Doctor. It..it isn't Korwin anymore." Scannell tried to calm her but she just shook her head. "The Doctor doesn't know. None of us knows!" I glared at her, "So what are you going to do, sit there until we burn? Because without you none of us stand a chance of getting out of here." I snapped at her causing her to look at me in shock.

"Scannell! I need a spacesuit in area seventeen now!"

"What for?"

"Just get down here!"

"Well, go on. Do what he says." He paused looking at as I nod, "Ashton's still out there." He looks back at her causing her to scoff. "I'll deal with him." We both take off to get what Theta needed.

—

Ashton arrives at the bottom of the metal staircase up to Med-centre. "Ashton." McDonnell is at the top of the stairs. Ashton follows her. Once in the Med-centre, McDonnell punches Ashton in the stomach then pushes him head-first into the stasis chamber. She manages to switch it on and the temperature around Ashton's head drops rapidly until it kills him.

—

Theta is now in a spacesuit, I step in front of him. "I can't let you do this." He sighs and pulls me into a kiss, "You're wasting your breath, Kate. You're not going to stop me, you know I have to do this. To keep us all safe." I nod and back away as Scannell scoffs, "You want to open an airlock in flight on a ship spinning into the sun. No one can survive that." He snaps causing me to flinch as I shield myself. "Oh, just you watch."

"You open that airlock, it's suicide. This close to the sun, the shields will barely protect you."

"If I can boost the magnetic lock on the ship's exterior, it should remagnetise the pod. Now, while I'm out there, you have got to get the rest of those doors open. We need those auxiliary engines." Theta tells him with a determined look, I knew I shouldn't have tried to stop him. I mean this was Martha he was trying to save but my instincts kept kicking in. I knew I needed to back away before I really stopped him. "Doctor, will you listen! They're too far away. It's too late." Scannell states with a shake of his head. "I'm not going to lose Martha or my girls." He puts on the helmet and goes into the airlock. "Decompression initiated. Impact in twelve fifty five."

"Impact in eleven fifteen. Heat shield failing. At ten percent." Theta opens the outer airlock door and the unfiltered sunlight streams in. Gritting his teeth, he climbs outside and reaches for a row of four buttons on the ship's hull. He has to hold on to the edge of the airlock because there is no safety line. "Come on! Go on, my son!"He presses two buttons then stretches for the box just beyond them. "Doctor, how're you doing?"

"I can't, I can't reach! I don't know how much longer I can last."

"Come on. Don't give up now." He rips off the cover of the box, and with a big shout pulls the lever down. There is a big jolt. The computer screen says remagnetising. "We're being pulled back!"

"I told you! It's the Doctor!" Theta gets back into the airlock as the escape pod returns to its dock. He looks at the sun, and I drop in pain holding my head screaming the same thing over and over again. "It's alive. It's alive. It's alive!"

I cry out, but I have to disconnect before it developed me. Dropping to the ground out of breath, I can faintly hear speaking but my ears are ringing and my only thought is my child. I need to protect my child.

"Airlock recompression completed."

Theta has his eyes closed tight as he takes off his helmet and crawls out of the airlock. The pod docks and Martha joins us with Riley and McDonnell, "Doctor! Doctor! Are you okay?" Theta opens his eyes briefly. A white light shines from them. "Stay away from me!"

"What's happened?"

"It's your fault, Captain McDonnell!"

"Riley, get down to area ten and help Scannell with the doors. Go!" Riley runs off, "You mined that sun. Stripped its surface for cheap fuel. You should have scanned for life!" I shouted as I stood up and moved over to them. "I don't understand." She shook her head, still in denial. "Doctor, what are you talking about?"

"That sun is alive. A living organism. They scooped out its heart, used it for fuel, and now it's screaming!" He screams in his own pain making me flinch, "What do you mean? How can a sun be alive? Why is he saying that?" She looked over to me in horror causing me to glare silently. "Because it's living in him." I snapped, "Oh, my God." She cried out in her own horror, "Humans! You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry! You should have scanned! Because now the love of my life is dying because of you! Haven't you lost enough, your going to take the father of my child too!"

"It takes too long. We'd be caught. Fusion scoops are illegal."

"You've got to freeze me, quickly." Theta voices out as he pants in pain, "What?" Martha asked him looking over to me as I stood back a distance. I couldn't risk being near him at all. "Stasis chamber. You've got to take it below minus two hundred. Freeze it out of me! It'll use me to kill you if you don't. The closer we get to the sun, the stronger it gets! Med-centre, quickly! Quickly! You have to do it to save Kate! Please save them! Save my family from me!" Martha starts crying as I back away in horror, my heart pounding and my hands shaking. "Help me!" They move him to med bay as I follow.

"Impact in seven thirty."

In Engineering, Korwin starts to thaw. His hand moves and picks up the helmet.

Martha grabs the instruction manual, "I can do it!" She cries out, scared. "Martha, where are you? Where's Kate? Is she okay?" I tear up as I watch from the side. "It's all right, I'm here. She's fine. Just help me get him up. Stasis chamber, minus two hundred, yeah?" They pick him up, "No, you don't know how this equipment works. You'll kill him. Nobody can survive those temperatures." McDonnell tells her, "He's not human. If he says he can survive, then he can."

"Let me help you, then."

"You've done enough damage." Theta lies in the stasis chamber as I stand in a corner. "Ten seconds. That's all I'll be able to take. No more. Kate!" My head snapped up, "Yes, my love?" I don't move though, I want too god I need too but I know I can't. "It's burning me up. I can't control it. If you don't get rid of it, I could kill you. I could kill you all. I'm scared! I'm so scared!" I start tearing up, about to move forward but Martha shakes her head putting her hand up before looking down to speak to him. "Just stay calm. You saved me, now I return the favour. Just believe in me." I give a small smile in gratitude.

"It's burning through me. Then what'll happen?"

"That's enough! I've got you."

"There's this process, this thing that happens if I'm about to die." I cried rubbing my belly, praying that my stress wouldn't cause any harm. It would be okay, our child will be safe, they're strong. "Shush. Quiet now. Because that is not going to happen. Are you ready?" She's asked both of us, "No." Martha uses the joystick to roll Theta completely into the chamber, then types 200 into the keypad and presses the green button. He screams as his body temperature falls, "Heat shields failing. At five percent." I want to help him so badly but I can't and it hurts me too.

In Engineering, Korwin stands up just as a computer monitor reports - power drain medcentre stasis chamber active. He goes to a lever, pulls it up, and the monitor changes to stasis chamber inactive. The power is cut at minus 70 degrees. The Doctor is covered in frost, "No! Martha, you can't stop it. Not yet." Martha turns to look in shock, "What happened?" We both ask in panic. "Power's been cut in Engineering." McDonnell explains to us with a frown, "But who's down there?"

"Leave it to me." McDonnell leaves.

"Impact in four forty seven."

"Are we going to do it in time?"

"Come on. You're defrosting." The ice has gone from his body, "Kate, listen! Martha, I've only got a moment. You've got to go!" I shook my head in denial, "No way." I glared at him as Martha watched us in sadness, "Get to the front. Vent the engines. Sun particles in the fuel, get rid of them." I shook my head again with tears in my head. "I am not leaving you." I snapped, "You've got to give back what they took."

"Doctor!"

"Please go!"

"I'll be back for you."

"Impact in four oh eight."

Korwin blocks McDonnell's way, "You were right. It was my fault." McDonnell reaches for the lever. Korwin steps forward then starts to raise his Polaroid filter. She runs back and he follows.

"Impact in three forty three."

Martha runs through area 21 as Korwin catches up with McDonnell, hiding in an airlock. This one has no escape pod, "I didn't know. I really didn't know. Korwin, please stop." McDonnell cried out, "Everyone must burn!" McDonnell closes the outer airlock door then activates the intercom. "Riley, Scannell. I'm sorry."

"McDonnell. McDonnell!"

McDonnell opens the outer airlock door and puts her arms around Korwin's neck. "I love you." They fall towards the sun together. "Exterior airlock open." The computer reports, "It's the last door. We've got to keep going." Riley utters out, "Impact in two seventeen. Primary engines critical." Theta falls out of the stasis chamber and crawls across the floor. As much as I hate to do so, I back away from him, the heat he was putting off would kill me and our child. "Repeat. Primary engines critical. Survival estimate projection zero percent."

"Kate! Martha!"

"Doctor! What are you doing?"

"I can't fight it. Give it back or burn with me. Burn with me, Kate."

"Impact in one twenty one."

"Got it!"

"Life support systems reaching critical. Repeat. Life support systems reaching critical. Impact in one oh six." Scannell and Riley quickly enter commands into various computers. "Collision alert. Collision alert." The computer warns, "It's not working. Why's it not working?" Riley panics in horror, "Collision alert. Fifty eight seconds to fatal impact." My eyes widen as I shouted, "Vent the engines. Dump the fuel." I demanded over comms, "What?" Riley shouts back in horror.

"Sun particles in the fuel. Get rid of them. Do it. Now!" They obey, my heart pounding as I watched the man I love scream, "Come on, Doctor. Hold on." Bang! "Fuel dump in progress. Fuel dump in progress." The light goes out in the Theta's eyes, and he keels over. "There! The auxiliaries are firing!" The ship lurches, then starts to pull away from the sun as the countdown reaches one second. "Impact averted. Impact averted. Impact averted." The computer beeps, "We're clear. We've got just enough reserves." I cry out as I slid down the wall, Theta pants slowly opening his eyes. He paused spotting me staring at me, before he quickly crawls closer pulling me into a tight hug causing me to burst into tears.

"I love you."

"I love you too. So much. Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

We held onto one another as we cried, both slowly calming down as Martha made her way back and joined our hug.

—

Later, in the safety of interstellar space, "This is never your ship." Scannell mutters in disbelief, "Compact, eh? And another good word, robust. Barely a scorch mark on her." I smile as I pat her side causing her to hum under my touch. "We can't just leave you drifting with no fuel."

"We've sent out an official mayday. The authorities'll pick us up soon enough."

"Though how we explain what happened"

"Just tell them. That sun needs care and protection just like any other living thing." Theta goes into the Tardis. "So, er, you're off then. No chance I'll see you again?" Riley asked, "Not really. It was nice, not dying with you. I reckon you'll find someone worth believing in." Martha flirts, "I think I already did." Martha kisses Riley, "Well done. Very hot." She goes into the Tardis and I follow with a smile and wave of my own.

—

"So. Didn't really need you in the end, did we? Sorry. How are you doing?" Martha asked me causing me to chuckle as I looked down at my ripped up dress, "Now, what do you say? Ice skating on the mineral lakes of Kur-ha. Fancy it?" Theta asked us with a smirk of his own, "Whatever you like." I mused, "By the way, you'll be needing this." A Tardis key on a chain, "Really?"

"Frequent flier's privilege. Thank you." Theta smiled before pulling me out of the console room, he leads me to the med bay with a small smile.

We would be okay, we had to be.

"Oh, no. Mum. It's me again. I'm sorry about earlier. Over emotional. Mad day. Yeah. Tonight. Do my best. Er, just remind me. What day is it again?" Martha paused spotting Theta and I coming back from med bay, he wanted to check on our baby who was fine. "Right. Of course. I'll be round for tea. Roughly." Martha muttered as she watched us, "Dinner?" I asked Theta who nodded back, "And what about?" Martha interrupted her mother, as we moved towards the kitchen. "Anyway, I've got to go! See you later. Love you." Martha then joined us for dinner.

It had been a long and painful day but we were ok, we were all still a healthier family. That's all I could ever ask for, Theta and my baby unharmed and healthy.

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