Winter Rose, Book 1

All That Glitters Isn't Gold

"Cathica, I'm going to miss you!" Suki hugged her friend who only hugged her back half heartedly, still annoyed that she hadn't gotten the promotion. Then Suki turned to Win and the Doctor with a grateful grin. "Floor 500, thank you!" She thanked them. The Doctor just shrugged.

"We didn't do anything." He told her truthfully.

"Well, you two are my lucky charms then!" Suki compromised, holding her arms out to hug them as well.

"Alright, I'll hug anyone." The Doctor relented, letting Suki hug him tightly before she moved to Win with a beaming grin which Win returned. Only for heat to pass through Win's right eye, and her smile immediately dropped at the sight of people covered in ice and frost sitting in a dark room in front of many many screens. Suki pulled away only a second later, not noticing Win's change in mood.

"All staff are reminded that the sixteen forty break session has been shortened by ten minutes." Suki gasped at the announcement.

"Oh my god! I've got to go, I can't keep them waiting!" Win swallowed hard, trying to figure out what she'd just seen, barely hearing what Suki was saying. "I'm sorry, say goodbye to Steve for me! Bye!" With that the young woman stepped into the open and waiting elevator, disappearing behind the doors.

Carthica huffed. "Good riddance." That caught Win and the Doctor's attention.

"You're talking like you'll never see her again, she's only going upstairs." The Time Lord frowned at the woman.

"We won't." Cathica rolled her eyes as Win's frown got much deeper.

"What do you mean?" Win asked warely.

"Once you go to Floor 500, you never come back." That sounded ominous to Win and she had a sinking feeling that what she'd seen had something to do with why no one ever came back.

"Have you ever been up there?" The Doctor asked curiously, but Cathica just shook her head as they began walking back toward the news broadcast room.

"I can't, you need a key for the lift, and a key only comes with promotion." She muttered bitterly. "No one gets to Floor 500 except the chosen few. Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance, can't you give it a rest?" The Doctor sat himself down in the broadcast chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But you've never been to another floor? Not even one down?" He kept pushing as Win leaned against the side on the chair.

Cathica sighed. "I went to Floor 16 when I first arrived, that's Medical. That's when I got my head done, then I came straight here. Satellite Five; you work, eat, and sleep all on the same floor. That's it, that's all." She paused and then frowned suspiciously at them.

"You're not Management, are you?" Win smirked at her along with the Doctor and Rose, Adam having disappeared when Win wasn't paying attention.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! That's fifty points for Miss Cathica Santini Khadeni!" Win mimicked cheering, making her two friends snicker as Cathica glared at her.

"At last, she's clever." The Doctor agreed.

"Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything." She sneered at them.

"Oh yes, we know." Win scoffed to herself.

"Don't you even ask?" The Doctor looked at her in confusion. She was a journalist, it was her job to ask questions.

"Well, why would I?" Cathica retorted, as though the mere thought of doing so was beyond her.

"Uh, because that's literally the job description?" Win told her in a duh tone.