Once he was back on his feet, the three of us headed back to the console room. Zach gave us a sympathetic look, but the Doctor strode over to him with a new found confidence.
"The ground gave way. My Tardis must've fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you've got robot drills heading the same way."
"We can't divert the drilling," Zach told him.
"But I need my ship. It's all I've got. Literally the only thing," Seeing him reduced to begging was killing me.
"Doctor, we've only got the resources to drill one central shaft down to the power source, and that's it. No diversions, no distractions, no exceptions. Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and that is the end of it," Zach said firmly, turning away.
"I'll er, put you on the duty roster. We need someone in the laundry," Ida said.
"I can do mechanics with Scooti," i told her sadly, "Pretty good with my hands. Or i can help Toby."
"Sure, Toby could do with the help," she told me, leaving.
"I've trapped you here. Both of you," the Doctor frowned.
"No, don't worry about us," Rose told him as the base shook. "Okay, we're on a planet that shouldn't exist, under a black hole and no way out. Yeah, I've changed my mind. Start worrying about me."
"Danny, check the temperature in Ood Habitation. It seems to be rising," Zach called over the tannoy as we found ourselves a table in Habitation 3.
I stayed with the Doctor while Rose went to get some food. It was soul destroying, seeing him so unhappy. I crossed my legs and slid my hand under the table, gripping the one that was on his thigh tightly. He turned his head in my direction and i glanced at him from the corner of my eye, squeezing his hand again. After a few seconds, he squeezed my hand back, keeping his long fingers caged around mine. Rose returned to sit across from us with food, as Ida stood up and the lights flickered catching our attention.
"Zach? Have we got a problem?" Ida asked.
"No more than usual. Got the Scarlet System burning up. Might be worth a look," he replied over Tannoy.
"You might want to see this. Moment in history," she told us, opening the shutters. "There. On the edge. That red cloud. That used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi, a mighty civilisation spanning a billion years, disappearing forever. Their planets and suns consumed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have witnessed its passing."
"Er, no, could you leave it open? Just for a bit. I won't go mad, I promise," the Doctor said, smiling sadly.
"How would you know?"
"Well i'm already mad," i grinned at her, and she frowned a bit.
"Scooti, check the lockdown. Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me," Ida ordered, but she left it open anyway as she and the others left.
"I've seen films and things, yeah. They say black holes are like gateways to another universe," Rose announced.
I jumped slightly forgetting she was there and tried to pull my hand away but the Doctor kept a tight grip on it.
"Not that one. It just eats," the Doctor said.
"Long way from home."
"Go that way, turn right, keep going for er, about, er, five hundred years, and you'll reach the Earth," he said, using his free hand to point while Rose mucked about with her phone.
"No signal. That's the first time we've gone out of range. Mind you, even if I could. What would I tell her? Can you build another Tardis?"
"They were grown, not built. And with my own planet gone, we're kind of stuck," the Doctor said, sounding sorry.
YOU ARE READING
The Golden Snow (RE-WRITING)
Fanfic(UNDER EDITING) When Alex was seven years old, she was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. The reason - The Doctor. He and a woman called Red appeared before her, opened her eyes to the wonders of the universe and vanished, leaving her with broken dreams...
