Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 51 - The Long Game, Part 3

A small explosion went off nearby and sent an icicle crashing to the ground near them, showering them with ice shards. The Doctor covered Rose's unconscious body as best as he could, then straightened, lifting her fully into his arms. 

"We can't do anything here, this whole floor's about to go up! We need to grab Cathica and get out of here!" he shouted. "Get to the elevator!"

"Not without Cathica!" Lyssa shouted back, shrieking as a large blob that she was unfortunately able to identify as Jagrafess flesh fell by her foot. "You get Rose, I'll get Cathica!" Not waiting for an answer, she took off towards the elevator, praying that Cathica would be nearby, ducking falling snow and icicles as she went. "Cathica! Cathica! Where are - There!" she shouted in triumph as she spotted a beam of light coming from an open door on the left.

Inside was an abandoned spike room, the corpses of several frozen bodies laying where they had fallen on the floor. Cathica lay on the chair in the center with her eyes closed, information still streaming into her brain. Lyssa tried to snap her fingers several times before succeeding, the door in Cathica's head closing and the stream stopping. Cathica opened her eyes slowly, sitting up in confusion before her eyes met Lyssa's.

"No time to talk now. We've got to get out of here!" Lyssa said hurriedly, extending her hand to help her up. She pulled the older woman to her feet and yanked her out of the room, both of them falling to the floor as a huge explosion rocked the area.

"Lyssa! Cathica! Over here!" The Doctor's shouts drew their attention, where he was standing in the middle of the elevator holding the door open with his foot. Rose still hung limply in his arms, her face pale and still.

"Come on!" Lyssa hauled the other woman to her feet and into the elevator.

"Wait! What about Suki?" Cathica protested, bracing herself against the wall as the Doctor let the doors shut, and used his sonic to send the elevator dropping back down through the levels.

"She's dead, we can't help her now; I'm sorry," the Doctor said briefly, lowering Rose to the ground and checking her pulse once more. "I've got to focus on Rose. She's still not breathing."

Tilting her head back, he pinched her nose shut and lowered his mouth to hers, exhaling for two seconds before sitting back on his heels. He waited another six seconds before continuing to breathe for Rose. 

Lyssa sank to her knees beside him, taking Rose's hand in hers and praying for her to start breathing again. Silently cursing herself for never learning CPR, she unconsciously held her own breath each time the Doctor sat back, only breathing herself when she saw Rose's chest rise.

"Oh my gosh!" Cathica cried, finally noticing that Rose wasn't breathing. "What's wrong with her? And what about the man back there, and that, that thing on the ceiling? And Suki's dead? Did they kill her? Are they going to come after us, too?"

"The Editor shocked us while we were in the manacles," Lyssa answered briefly, eyes fixed on Rose's chest. It rose briefly every time the Doctor breathed for her, then sank back down again. "He killed Suki and hurt Rose, but the Editor is dead now. Died in the explosion. But Rose got hurt from the shocks. She still has a pulse, but she's not breathing."

"We've got breathing!" the Doctor shouted triumphantly, sitting back as Rose's body jerked, coughing before falling back down to the floor, still unconscious, but breathing. The Doctor pulled out his sonic and quickly scanned her, noting the uneven rise and fall of her chest. 

"She's breathing adequately for now, but we need to get her back to the TARDIS. She needs treatment I can't give her here, and," his face darkened, "we need to take Mr. 'genius' Mitchell back home."