〖 42 〗

Lazarus had weighed down on Valarie since the moment it ended. She felt tired, as if seeing how desperate he was not to die had poked at something deep within herself. Merely days had passed since she watched a man so desperate to not die tumble to his demise. She found herself pondering on the thought of her own death from time to time. When that time would come. The thought that she had traveled so far into the future that she could've looked for her own tombstone popped into her mind.

The Doctor had taken notice of this, naturally. He pried at her in the coming days, but she brushed it off and instead would ask him to take them somewhere with a soft smile. Valarie had a longing in the pit of her stomach. Something inside her wanted to be home. She wasn't sure what about home sounded so appealing. Maybe it was her mothers home cooking. Maybe her nieces and nephews. She couldn't place her finger on what it was.

"Do you want me to do that to yours?" He asked, ripping her from the daze she had been sucked into for who knew how long. She jumped as he slid next to her on the railing, both bent over it as his shoulder nudged hers with playfullness.

"I'm sorry. What? I wasn't listening." She laughed, embarrassed. She knew he would've taken notice in her silence.

"You're phone, give it." He stretched his palm out. Valarie slipped her hands into her denim pockets and fished it out, dropping the silver flip phone into his palm. She has found lately she had noticed more and more when their skin made contact; as if the sensation alone brought brief moments of safety and security. He smiled softly at her, still deep down disturbed at her sudden gloominess. He knew where it had came from, but he didn't know how to fix it and it had drove him crazy. It had drove him crazy from the moment after they left the aftermath of Lazarus's failed party, and she had broken in tears when the two were alone. She cried for what seemed hours, and hadn't been quite right since.

"Watch." He flipped it open, holding the sonic screwdriver over it and pushing a button. It whizzed for a few seconds before stopping. He held the phone closer to his face, and shut it. He offered it back out to her. "You can now receive calls and send out calls from anywhere in the galaxy. No phone plan needed anymore."

Valarie eyed him and opened the phone, quickly observing the bars of service. She shook her head and stuffed the phone back in her pocket.

"You amaze me." She sighed. Valarie had found a comfort in him from the beginning. But this feeling only intensified as time went on. The last week was only a catalyst for this feeling in the pit of her chest, and it was becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

The TARDIS suddenly shook violently, throwing the three of the console room around like dolls. The Doctor staggered his way towards the console, hands finally grasping the monitor and observing it.

"What was that?" Martha asked. Words not understandable to the two humans played across the screen.

"A distress signal. Hold on, locking onto it." The TARDIS jolted again, and then came to a halt. Martha helped Valarie up, who couldn't hold her balance and had fallen to the floor. "Come on," The Doctor said, "let's have a look."

The door opened and a rush of heat hit them. Valarie sighed, taking notice in how sweat almost immediately formed on her forehead and her skin felt sticky in the humid air. The only light was from a red emergency light on the wall, casting a red, orange sheen on them.

"Woah!" He exclaimed, stepping out into the room. Rows of pipes constantly puffing steam out of them surrounded them. "Now that is hot!" Valarie scoffed at his remark, as if she hadn't already noticed. She slipped her jacket off, tossing it back inside the TARDIS and shutting the door behind Martha.

"It's a sauna in here." Martha fanned herself, extremely taken back by the climate. The Doctor leaned down to observe the pipes.

"Ventilation systems working over time, trying to cool this place down. Wherever this is." He opened a heavy steel door, holding it open for the two to slip out. As the door slowly shut, three people came running at them from the end of the corridor they had entered.

"You three! Out of there!" The woman shouted, a man shoving past them and shutting the door quickly. He worked to seal the door. "Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?" She demanded, hands on her hips. She was a older woman, covered in a layer of sweat and exhaustion.

"Are you police?" One of the men asked.

"Police? Why would we be police?" The Doctor asked, looking around the metal walls.

"We got your distress signal." Valarie explained.

"If this is a ship why can I not hear any engines?" He continued, looking back at the woman in visible confusion. She sighed.

"It went dead four minutes ago. So, Captain," One of the woman walked back to her side and locked eyes with her, "We should really get back to engineering." A automated voice echoed above them suddenly with alarms.

"Secure closure active." It announced as a second woman ran into the hall. Doors dropped behind her, missing her by merely centimeters.

"Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked in area twenty-seven." Behind her, a door labelled thirty slammed shut. The woman looked to the three. "Who are you?"

"He's the Doctor, she's Valarie, and I'm Martha." Martha announced, stepping forward. The computer made a second announcement.

"Forty-two minutes and twenty-seven seconds remaining."

Martha drifted towards a porthole.

"Until what? Forty-two minutes until what?" He asked.

"Doctor! Look!" Martha exclaimed. He rushed to her side, both having expressions of horror as they gazed outside. Valarie felt as if her feet were frozen in place as she stared at the presumed captain of the ship. The woman's eyes knew what expression was written on her face. A look of dread.

"Forty-two minutes until we crash until the sun." Valarie felt a new layer of sweat form on her skin. A cold sweat broke out and she struggled to prevent herself from screaming right there. Her ears had tuned everything out and she could barely hear the Doctor's words as he came back to her. He asked a string of questions in rapid succession, and his words faded to background ringing as Valarie leaned back against a hot metal wall. She wiped sweat from her forehead and upper lip. It was almost as if this was a cosmic joke. She only came to reality when the Doctor rushed towards the room where the TARDIS was left and opened it, a blast of heat throwing him back.

The panic set in much deeper again. They were stranded on a ship that had less than an hour before it became a fireball, and the only way out was locked in a room unreachable by any of the now ten people aboard. Valarie had faced death before this, but now that she was constantly aware of her own mortality everything felt heavier. She had entered a state of panic and dread and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut as if in doing so she would wake up in the TARDIS after a bad nap. She heard the footsteps of everyone in the room rushing in a direction, as the Doctor shouted something about the engines that was almost garble to her ears.

The footsteps became more distant, apart from a pair that turned and came back. Hands found their place on each side of her face. Valarie opened her eyes, and her hands grasped the Doctor's wrists. His face was close to hers, eyes searching hers.

"Val, we're gonna be fine. I'm gonna get you out of here. I'm gonna get you and Martha and everyone out of here." She shook her head, face still written with fear.

"In one piece?"

"In one piece. I promise." He brought her hands between his, holding them to his lips briefly as if he hadn't processed the physical action; as if the kiss he planted on her hands didn't even cross his mind. He pulled her along. Most of Valarie's fears had subsided, but a rock still laid in her stomach.

---

Just a shorter update, college is stressful but I got my first job. Weird to think I started this way back during the summer before my sophomore year of highschool. Stay safe out there.