"This ship is impossible!" the Slitheen gushes. Taking a seat in the fork of one of the pillars, I regard her with a suspicious glare. "It's superb! How do you get the outside around the inside?"

"Like I'd give you the secret, yeah."

A little put out at the Doctor's blunt response, she huffs and begins to pace around the console. "I almost feel better about being defeated. We never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods."

Meeting my gaze across the room, he raises his eyebrows. "Don't worship me, I'd make a very bad god. Wouldn't get a day off for starters. Jack, how are we doing, big fella?"

He looks up from the device, a tool box waiting beside him. "This extrapolator's top of the range. Where did you get it?"

"I don't know. Some airlock sale?"

"It must have been a great big heist. It's stacked with power."

The Doctor glances thoughtfully down at it. "But we can use it for fuel?"

He shakes his head. "It's not compatible, but it should knock off about twelve hours. We'll be ready to go by morning."

"Then we're stuck here overnight."

"I'm in no hurry."

Rose sends the Slitheen a withering look. "We've got a prisoner. The police box is really a police box."

Margaret begins to fidget with a metallic sphere left on the console, watching us slyly. "But you're not just police, though. Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you."

"Well, you deserve it."

Her eyes bore into Mickey as he lowers his gaze. "You're very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood. Which makes you better than me, how, exactly?" Her lips curl into a scathing sneer. "Long night ahead. Let's see who can look me in the eye."

One by one, each of us try to prove our clear consciences by staring her down. And, one by one, each of us fail.

—

"So, what's on?" It hasn't been long but the silence is almost unbearable. Jack continues to work on the extrapolator, glancing up to the screen that has caught the Doctor's attention.

"Nothing."

He moves out of the way, allowing me to get a look at the footage. I can't help but feel my heart sink a little when I see Rose and Mickey walking away from the Tardis, hand in hand. I don't think I want to understand that look on his face.

Even across the room with her back facing us, I can feel Margaret's cold glare. "I gather it's not always like this. Having to wait?" We don't reply. "I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences. How does it feel?"

"I didn't butcher them."

"Don't answer back," Jack quickly warns, "that's what she wants."

He shrugs. "I didn't. What about you? You had an emergency teleport. You didn't zap them to safety, did you?"

She goes quiet for a moment. "It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up in a skip on the Isle of Dogs." A quiet chuckle from the Doctor immediately prompts her frustration again. "It wasn't funny."

"Sorry." But, gradually, I find my lips curling into a wide grin. He admits, "It is a bit funny."

And suddenly we're all laughing. All four of us. For a moment, it all seems normal again. It doesn't feel like we are taking her to her death.

She smiles sweetly — too sweetly. "Do I get a last request?"

"Depends what it is."

"I grew quite fond of my little human life, all those rituals. The brushing of the teeth and complicated way they cook things. There's a little restaurant, just around the bay, it became quite a favourite of mine."

Frowning, the Doctor leans against the railing and looks down on her with hesitant curiosity. "Is that what you want, a last meal?"

Her smile vanishes. "Don't I have rights?"

"Oh, like she's not gonna try to escape."

Quickly zeroing in on Jack, she gets to her feet. "Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger? I wonder if you could do it, to sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough."

"I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies, now dine with them."

Glancing between them nervously, I see the Doctor's eyebrows raise slightly in response to her direct confrontation. "You won't change my mind," he says.

"Prove it."

"There are people out there. If you slip away for just one second, they'll be in danger."

Jack holds up a pair of metal bracelets. "Except I've got these. You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away... zzzt! She gets zapped by ten thousand volts."

Seemingly satisfied, the Doctor turns to her with a fake smile. "Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat."

"Dinner in bondage. It works for me."

—

Huffing quietly, I shrug off my jacket and hang it on one of the pillars. Jack lies on his back, still working on the extrapolator from underneath to get a better angle.

Fixing the loose lever isn't too much of a hassle, it's just the pistons that I can't get at without removing something vital that I don't know how to fix.

My hair is tied in a rushed ponytail and I clamp a ratchet between my teeth as I get down on the floor, pushing myself under the console until I find a place that feels right. Sure enough, a small hatch opens for me. I don't even need to do anything. It's like the Tardis knows.

"Sorry, old girl," I murmur. "This shouldn't take long. If this is left any longer, we'll be having more problems and you won't be happy. Some people just don't know enough about their ships."

A chuckle sounds from nearby. "You still jealous?"

Pausing, my brow furrows in confusion at Jack's words. "What are you on about?"

"Ever since we met him, you've been gazing at him, all doe-eyed. Must be pretty harsh to see him go out with Margaret and not you."

"Do you— Do you mean the Doctor? I— That's not—'

I can practically see his smirk from here. "Ah-ah. Remember your oath. No lying."

"I'm not! Even if I did think about him like that — which wouldn't be much because we just met — there's no way he could possibly reciprocate. You've seen him with Rose, right? They're cute together. This, me, not cute."

I finish up my work, resealing the hatch before I let my aching arms rest. Jack scoffs, "Well, you would believe that. Thankfully, I don't. You know why? Because I talked to the Doctor and—"

"You did what?" My head raises in surprise, instantly colliding with the underside of the console. I let out a yell of pain and quickly push myself out.

He rubs the sore patch, looking down at me with an amused expression. "Like I said before you so rudely interrupted me, I talked to the Doctor and he said that he thinks of Rose like a friend. Just a friend. Never said anything on the matter of dating, but I have a feeling I'm not his type."

"Fairly sure you're everyone's type, mate. Now, let's not talk about this anymore. Let me take a look at that extrapolator." He smirks, beckoning me over and letting me take a seat underneath. My hands reaches tentatively towards it. "I feel like this isn't allowed. Oh my Gods, it's like I'm a kid on Quinquatria morning. What've you been up to?"

He doesn't get a chance to answer, though, as a violent shudder sends us toppling to the ground. Sparks fly, the ground itself beginning to shake beneath us.

I manage to grab for one of the pillars as support just as thedoors flew open to reveal Margaret and the Doctor. "What the hell are you doing?" he yells, staring at the console in horror.

"It just went crazy!"

"It's the rift! Time and space are ripping apart, the whole city's gonna disappear!"

He rushes to the console, searching for a remedy whilst Jack and I attempt to pry the extrapolator away.

Jack groans in frustration, "It's the extrapolator! I've disconnected it, but it's still feeding off the engine. It's using the Tardis!"

"Doctor, what do we do? How do we stop this thing from taking the whole of Cardiff down?"

"Never mind Cardiff, it's gonna rip open the planet."

"What is it? What's happening?" we hear Rose yell.

It doesn't take long to figure out. I see it on Margaret's face before she even speaks. "Oh, just little me!" With a low growl, part of her skin suit falls to the ground. A taloned, bile green arm emerges, almost the size of her. It grabs Rose by the throat. "One wrong move and she snaps like a promise," the creature warns.

"I might've known."

Sneering at the Doctor's words, she grips the girl even tighter. I reach for my spear but the Doctor quickly catches my wrist, warning me back.

"That's right," Margaret taunts. "Don't want to be making any more mistakes tonight. I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it. You, Fly Boy! Put the extrapolator at my feet!"

Jack hesitates, but another hoarse yelp from Rose is enough to force him into obedience. A condescending smile replaces her fury as he puts it down and backs away. "Thank you. Just as I planned."

Rose draws in a long, hoarse gasp of air. "I th-thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station."

"Failing that, if I were to be... arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to Plan B: to lock on to the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found. I'm back on schedule... thanks to you."

I eye the extrapolator nervously, attempting to find something that could encourage any kind of sympathy within her. "You're going to destroy the entire planet. All these people, all these lives... they'll be gone."

"And you with it!" Shoving Rose to the side but keeping her grip on the girl's throat, she boards the extrapolator. "While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno, all the way to freedom. Stand back. Surf's up!"

Just as I am about to brace for impact, a golden light fills the ship. The brightness is almost blinding. Averting my gaze, I feel its warmth seep towards us like the rays of dawn.

"Of course," the Doctor remarks, "opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart."

"So sue me."

"It's not just any old power source. It's the Tardis, my Tardis. The best ship in the universe."

She doesn't look away. She doesn't shy away from the light like the rest of us. She remains oblivious to it, but it's almost as if the light is deliberately calling for her attention.

Sneering, she still keeps a firm hold on Rose's neck. "It'll make wonderful scrap."

"What's that light?" Rose wheezes.

"The heart of the Tardis. This ship's alive. You've opened its soul."

And then, bit by bit, the light begins to captivate her completely. "It's... so bright."

"Look at it, Margaret."

"Beautiful."

"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light."

Slowly moving forwards, I try to reach for Rose as the Slitheen gradually lets her go. She stumbles towards me, allowing me to pull her over to where Jack and I stand.

A smile creeps across the creature's face. A smile of genuine happiness and relief. "Thank you."

And then she is gone. Her empty skin suit collapses in a heap on top of the extrapolator, all signs of the being within seeming to have vanished.

"Don't look! Stay there. Close your eyes!" He rushes over, closing the hatch before it can harm us too. "Jack, Inara, shut it all down. Rose, that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right."

We rush to our stations as the world continues to shake around us. And, in the blink of an eye, it is over. The rift closes.

I sink down to the ground, resting my head against the side of the console as I stare at the empty skin suit. "Nicely done. Thank you, all," the Doctor quietly says.

"What happened to Margaret?"

"Must've got burnt up," Jack suggests with a shrug, "carried out her own death sentence."

"I don't think she's dead."

Rose quickly stands, anxiously alert. "Then where'd she go?"

He lets out a weary sigh. "She looked into the heart of the Tardis. Even I don't know how strong that is. And the ship's telepathic, it gets inside your head, translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts." Seeing him crouch, we follow suit and watch as he produces something from inside — a sickly green and the size of his head. "Here she is!"

"She's an... egg?"

"Regressed to her childhood."

"She's an egg!"

Hesitantly reaching out, I feel the mottled surface. A faint heartbeat pulses inside. The Doctor smiles softly. "She can start again. If we take her home, give her to a different family who bring her up properly, she might be all right."

"Or she might be worse."

He shrugs at Jack's comment. "That's her choice."

"She's an egg."

Rose suddenly bolts upright, hurrying out of the doors. "Oh my God, Mickey!"

—

When the doors finally creakopen again, I can't help but notice the tears staining Rose's cheeks. Quickly beckoning her over, I wrap an arm around her.

The Doctor remains oblivious, still pressing buttons on the console. "We're all powered up. We can leave. Opening the rift filled us up with energy, we can go. If that's all right."

She nods, sniffling quietly. "Yeah. Fine."

"How's Mickey?"

"He's okay. He's gone."

His eyes dart over to Jack and I before returning to her. "Do you wanna go and find him? We'll wait."

Pausing for a moment, she shakes her head. "No need. He deserves better."

"Off we go, then. Always moving on." He frowns, then, and I hold my breath, awaiting his judgement. "Inara, I don't know what you were on about. The lever's working perfectly fine."

"Of course it is. Silly me."

"Next stop, Raxicoricofallapatorius." A stupid grin spreads across Jack's face. "Now you don't often get to say that!"

Striding over to the console, I nudge the stray ratchet out of sight with the side of my foot.

The Doctor nods over to the egg sat on a small stand in front of us. "We'll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery. Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again. A second chance."

"That'd be nice."

Sending the girl a sympathetic smile, I take hold of her hand. "You've still got us," I assure her. "We're not going anywhere. Promise."

A/n:
Bit of a weird one, lol. Kinda love it, though. It's fun. Unfortunately, it gets a little sad from here.

Thanks for reading! What do you think so far? ❤️