Chapter Fifteen: Impossible Planet

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THINGS WERE QUIET FOR TEAM TARDIS THE FEW WEEKS AFTER THE WIRE.

Rose followed Claudia around nearly every waking moment, not that Claudia minded, and the Doctor took them to small shops and distant planets. Claudia found an alien device similar to a baby's raddle that would play ancient soothing songs when shaken, and immediately thought of Dean.

Still, the trio craved adventure. She was getting the familiar itching feeling of not hunting, the need to solve a mystery or punch something in the face. Whichever came first.

She knew the Doctor was antsy too, checking corners and observing other species and people. Rose would bring up small things — that look's suspicious, donnit, Claudia? See that, Doctor? — but they'd yet to find anything worth looking into.

She wished it had stayed that way.

"I wonder what's wrong with her," the Doctor commented as they landed. He'd set the controls for "fun" whatever they meant, and apparently there seemed to be a bit of a problem. "She's sort of queasy."

He stepped out first, Rose second, and Claudia third, shutting the door behind them. She'd had a bad feeling that morning, slipping her angel blade in her sleeve holster and Ruby's old demon blade rested heavily in her backpack. She couldn't explain it, but she was getting what Dean called the "hunter's intuition."

"Indigestion," the Doctor continued, running a hand softly along the exterior door. "Like she didn't want to land."

Claudia frowned, looking at the TARDIS in worry. "Will she be okay?" She asked in concern.

The Doctor nodded, glancing at Claudia. "Should be, yeah, just a bit concerned, is all."

Claudia placed her hand gently on the TARDIS door. "It's okay, girl," she commented softly. "I feel it too."

"Well," Rose looked between them and the TARDIS. "If you think there's gonna be trouble, we can always get back inside and go somewhere else."

The trio exchanged a look, fighting back smiles before bursting into laughter. Claudia nudged Rose's arm lightly.

"Good one, Rose," she grinned at her friend. Rose stuck out her tongue in response and the Doctor shook his head at the pair.

"I think," the Doctor sobered up a bit, looking around. "We've landed inside a cupboard."

"We're Harry Potter," Claudia stated dryly and the Doctor snorted.

Rose's nose crinkled in distaste. "I never liked those books, a bit too unrealistic."

"Rose," Claudia chuckled. "You travel through space and time with an alien and you think Harry Potter is unrealistic?"

"Well," the Doctor shrugged. "I'm real, he's not, so she's not far off."

Claudia shook her head, grinning, before leading the way out of the cupboard.

"Come on, you two," she glanced over her shoulder before stopping in front of a large door with a heavy wheel. "Oh, time to show off my impressive strength," she joked, turning the wheel and grinning when the door successfully opened.

"Open door fifteen."

"Here we go," the Doctor moved around her gently, his hand ghosting her lower back for a moment as he passed, and then it was gone. "Some sort of base," he looked around as Rose closed the door behind herself and Claudia. "Moon base, sea base, space base. They build these things out of kits."

"I know what I'm getting Ben for Christmas," Claudia smirked a bit. The Doctor shook his head.

"Absolutely not, you'll mess with the flow of time and potential for human advancement," he said sternly, before leaning a bit closer. "But I won't tell if you won't."

Claudia grinned up at him and the trio continued on, the Doctor opening the next door.

"I'm glad we're indoors," Rose commented, looking around. "It sounds like a storm out there."

"Yeah, good point," Claudia nodded, looking around. "There's loud air, like a tunnel or vacuum or something."

"Open door sixteen."

"Human design," the Doctor continued as they ventured through the base. "You've got a thing about kits."

"Oh, you're not honestly still on about the kits?" Claudia asked with an amused expression.

"'Course I am," he nodded, hands in his pockets. "This place was put together like a flat-pack wardrobe, only bigger and easier."

"Open door seventeen."

"Oh!" The Doctor exclaimed as he pushed open another door, showcasing a room with tables and chairs, a bold sign reading: HAB 3, and cutouts in the walls with ladders and stairs. "It's a sanctuary base! Deep-space exploration. We've gone way out." He looked around, Claudia following suit, finding a notebook with mysterious letters, but her attention was pulled when the Docter redirected it. "And listen to that," a humming sound was heard, deep and heavy. "Underneath," he pointed below the grates. "Someone's drilling."

"To what?" Claudia murmured, looking down.

"Welcome to Hell," Rose said with raised eyebrows.

Claudia's attention turned to her with wide eyes, heartbeat speeding. What? What did she say? Why would she say that?

"Oh, it's not that bad," the Doctor replied.

"No," Rose grinned, pointing behind both he and Claudia, where the strange language was. Above it, printed in what appeared to be spray paint read: Welcome to Hell. "Over there."

Claudia's heart dropped and she walked closer to the language. The Doctor kept speaking, but it grew muffled the longer she stared at the language. It seemed almost...familiar, somehow.

"I should see English," Rose's voice stirred Claudia's thoughts momentarily. The pair leaned down next to her, observing the words and Claudia's head tilted a fraction.

"Exactly," the Doctor agreed. "If it's not working, then that means this writing is old. Very old. Impossibly old."

"I..." Claudia reached a hand out, touching it lightly. "I've seen this before," she muttered. "I know this language. It's Enochian, I know that, but I..." she blinked in surprise when the letters began to rearrange themselves. "What the...?"

"What?" The Doctor asked, head snapping to her. "Did you say Enochian? That's not, come on, Claudia."

"No, it is," she replied dazedly. "I can..." she read from bottom to top, right to left. It seemed to start in the middle, and at the ends. It was a very complicated language, but it seemed to translate. She wondered why it was translating for her and not the others and then her heart sank with realization. "Castiel," she whispered. "This is his language, the language of angels. We've never been able to translate without him, but his grace must allow it somehow. It's a piece of him, so..."

"You can read it?" The Doctor asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Claudia nodded. "I'm trying to figure out the English translation, it's not -- it's words that aren't able to be translated," she continued slowly.

The Doctor stood quickly, walking to the next door, glancing at Claudia momentarily in worry. "We should find out who's in charge." He spun the wheel of the next door and Claudia tore her gaze from the wall but glanced at it a second later. There was a pull there, as though something was calling to her. Or to Castiel, she supposed. "We've gone beyond the reach of the TARDIS' knowledge. Not a good move. And if someone's looking for--"

"--Open door nineteen--"

The trio jumped when the door opened, and three egg-headed aliens stood before them. They had wrinkled faces and high eyes and long noodle-like tentacles hanging where their noses and mouths should be. Each was pale, and wore dark outfits, holding a white ball with a long connecting device under the tentacles.

They were very off-putting.

"Right, hello!" The Doctor grinned, unbothered. Rose looked at the trio with wide eyes and Claudia observed them for a moment before her attention drifted back to the writing. "Sorry. I was just saying," the Doctor continued. "Nice place."

"We must feed," the three aliens said together.

Claudia took a step back. "Yeah, no, that is terrifying."

"You gotta what?" The Doctor asked with raised eyebrows.

"We must feed."

The aliens took a step closer and Claudia pulled the Doctor and Rose back by their elbows, all three walking backwards across the floor. She pulled out her angel blade, holding it out threateningly, ignoring the Doctor's disappointed face.

"Yeah, I think they mean us," Rose said quickly.

"We must feed."

They turned to head back to the TARDIS, but the door opened and more aliens walked through.

"Oh, this a great start," Claudia glanced to the Doctor. "Mysterious Enochian and weird aliens, thank you so much for this trip."

"Oi," he retorted, holding out his sonic. "Don't start with me, Winchester, you're chalked-full of terrible luck, it practically follows you everywhere."

"You're both prone to danger," Rose groaned in exasperation, grabbing one of the chairs and holding it out to the aliens. "Now's not really the time to debate about it!"

"We must feed. We must feed. We must feed. We must feed. We must feed. We must feed. We must feed. We must feed..."

The one closest to them tapped the orb in it's hand. "You. If you are hungry."

Claudia snorted, tucking the blade in her holster. "Of course," she muttered.

The Doctor slowly lowered his sonic and Rose did the same with the chair. "Sorry?" He asked, blinking.

"We apologize," the alien said. "Electromagnetics have interfered with speech systems. Would you like some refreshments?"

"Open door eighteen."

They glanced to the right when the door opened and three people entered, dog tags hanging around their necks. Claudia straightened, her father's words in her mind as the military instinct kicked in.

"What the hell?" The man in front asked. He was older, late forties or fifties, with hair greying around the ears. "How did...?" He stepped off the stairs and to the trio, looking over their faces. Claudia inched slightly in front of Rose, hiding her a fraction.

"Captain," the man spoke into a comm. "You're not gonna believe this. We've got people. Out of nowhere. I mean, real people. I mean...three living people just standing here right in front of me."

"Don't be stupid," the reply came back through. "That's impossible."

Claudia frowned, exchanging a glance with the Doctor. Why would that be impossible?

"I suggest telling them that."

"But you're a sort of space base," Rose spoke up. "You must have visitors now and then. It can't be that impossible."

"You're telling me you don't know where you are?" The man asked in disbelief.

Claudia raised an eyebrow and the Doctor smirked a bit. "No idea. More fun that way." He grinned at the military man, but a voice over the intercom spoke next.

"Stand by, everyone. Buckle down. We have incoming, and it's a big one. Quake 0.5 on it's way."

The man dodged around them, rushing to the door they came through, spinning the wheel open. "Through here," he told everyone. "Now, quickly, come on! Move!"

Claudia frowned, disliking a man bossing her around, but did as told, following Rose and the Doctor, eyeing the unfamiliar people in mild distrust. She didn't know them and the longer she stayed here, the less at ease she felt.

They walked through another hallway and air exploded from one of the devices on the floor.

"Move it!" The man shouted. "Come on!"

They ventured down the hallway until the man opened another door, and the trio stepped into a room that seemed to be the hub, or main area of the base. A command center sat in the middle, tables and chairs around, and it appeared to be bustling with individuals.

Three looking over the command center looked up with wide eyes, spotting the time travelers.

The Doctor grinned, looking at Claudia, but it fell a fraction when he noticed her tense shoulders and worried look. She shook her head minutely and concern danced through his eyes. She couldn't explain it but something was...wrong.

"Oh my god, you meant it," one of the men from the command spoke up. Dark hair and skin, he wore a vest and dog tags. Was everyone military personnel here?

"People," a woman exclaimed from the side with blonde curly hair. "Look at that, real people."

"That's us," the Doctor waved. "Hurray!"

"Yeah, definitely real," Rose agreed. "My name's Rose, Rose Tyler. And this is the Doctor."

"And this is Claudia Winchester," the Doctor nodded to her.

One of the military men looked up, the one who guided them from the other room. "Winchester? I didn't know there was a Claudia around."

Claudia blinked, confusion on her face. "What?" She asked, but it fell when another man spoke up, standing from a desk he was sat at.

"Come on," he exclaimed. "The oxygen must be offline." He walked up to the trio. "We're hallucinating, they can't be," he looked up at them. "No, they're real!" He poked Claudia's arm and she gave him a hard look.

"Touch me again and I'll break your wrist, sweetheart," she said firmly, the events of the situation overwhelming her a bit. The Doctor shook his head at her words but couldn't fight the fond smile that curled at the corner of his lips.

"Come on," the first man spoke loudly, voice full of authority. "We're in the middle of an alert! Danny, strap up, the quake's coming in! Impact in thirty seconds!"

"Impact for what?" Claudia asked the Doctor lowly. He shook his head, unsure, and Rose looked between the pair as everyone flittered around, putting things together and pressing buttons.

"Sorry, you three, whoever you are, just hold on. Tight."

"Hold on to what?" Rose asked.

"I don't care," the man replied. "Anything. Just hold on."

Claudia sighed, sitting on the steps and wrapping her arms around the railing, the Doctor and Rose doing the same.

"Ood, are we fixed?" The man called out.

"Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated," one of the aliens spoke up. Ah, they were called Ood. Interesting.

"What's this planet called anyway?" The Doctor asked, looking around.

"Don't be stupid," a woman spoke up. "It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?"

"What's with the writing out there?" Claudia asked. "Who documented that?"

"That would be me," another man raised a hand.

"You really don't know, do you?" The woman asked, looking between the three friends.

"And, impact!"

Everything shook, the entire station seemed to bolt around in place and Claudia tightened her grip on the railing. "I always hated roller coasters!" She groaned, trying not to lose her grip.

It was done after a moment and the Doctor stood. "Oh, well, that wasn't so bad --"

It jolted again and Claudia fell back, hitting her head against the railing, wincing at the impact, as a fire erupted in multiple spots of the room. The Doctor fell onto his back and Rose nearly collapsed against Claudia.

"Okay, that's it!" The commanding one shouted as the jolting stopped. "Everyone all right?"

The man who knew Claudia's last name grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the fires.

"Speak to me! Ida?"

"Yeah!"

"Danny?"

"I'm fine!"

"Toby?"

"Yeah."

"Scooti?"

"No damage!'

"Jefferson?"

"Check!"

"We're fine, thanks, fine," the Doctor added in a high voice, glancing over Rose and then looking to Claudia, frowning seeing her clutching her head. "Yeah, don't worry about us." He reached over and placed a hand softly. "Alright, it hurt?"

"I'm fine," she smiled softly. "Just a bruise, I'm sure."

"Surface caved in," the commanding one spoke. "I deflected it onto Storage 5 through 8. We've lost them completely. Toby," he spoke to the one who wrote the wording on the wall. "Go and check the rocket link."

"That's not my department," Toby frowned.

"Just do as I say, yeah?"

Toby rolled his eyes, walking past the Doctor, Claudia, and Rose, heading through the door they entered from.

"Never mind the earthquake," Rose mumbled. "That's...that's one hell of a storm. What is that, a hurricane?"

"You need an atmosphere for a hurricane," the one called Scooti responded. "There's no air out there. It's complete vacuum."

"What?" Claudia frowned, looking around.

"Then what's shaking the roof?" Rose asked.

"You're not joking," Ida spoke up. "You really don't know."

Claudia rolled her eyes. "Obviously, or we wouldn't be asking questions. Did you hit your head when that impact hit?"

The Doctor placed a hand on her back lightly, stopping her from retorting further, but she didn't apologize for it. She didn't like incompetence and the day was already stressing her.

"Well," Ida sighed. "Introductions. FYI, as they said in the olden days."

Claudia refrained from rolling her eyes.

"I'm Ida Scott, Science Officer. Zachary Cross Flane," the one at the command station. "Acting Captain, sir." She pointed to the military man next. "You've met Mr. Jefferson, he's Head of Security. Danny Bartock, Ethics Committee."

Danny held up a finger. "Not as boring as it sounds."

"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zed. Archaeology, and this," she walked over to the younger woman, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Is Scooti Manista, Trainee Maintenance." She walked over to the far wall, placing her hand on a switch. "And this," she pulled the lever down. "This is home."

"Brace yourselves," Zachary said. "The sight of it sends some people mad."

"The Doctor's mad enough and I've seen plenty," Claudia mumbled. The Doctor smiled at her, patting her back gently before removing his hand and interlinking his fingers.

Above them, the doors opened and Claudia stood in shock at the sight before her.

A black hole.

A black hole.

They were orbiting a black hole.

"That's a black hole," Rose pointed, eyes wide in shock.

"No shit," Claudia stated, though it was more shock than sarcasm.

"But that's impossible," the Doctor breathed out.

"I did warn you," Zachary spoke up.

"We're standing under a black hole," the Doctor whispered.

"In orbit," Ida added.

"We can't be," the Doctor refuted.

"You can see for yourself," Ida rebutted. "We're in orbit."

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Claudia muttered. "Something bad's going to happen."

Rose glanced at her in worry, but the Doctor simply stared at the black hole. Rose gently grabbed Claudia's hand and the two tightened their grip on each other.

"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit," Ida informed them. "Around that black hole, without falling in. Discuss."

"That's bad, yeah?" Rose asked softly.

"It's a shit-show," Claudia blinked, looking up at the dying star. "This is the worst place to be right now."

"That doesn't even cover it," the Doctor added. "A black hole's a dead star. It collapses in on itself, in and in and in, until the matter's so dense and tight, it starts to pull everything else in, too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity, time."

Claudia would put money that Crowley could escape it. That motherfucker was a cockroach, could get out of any situation and come out alive.

"Everything just gets pulled inside and crushed."

Now she wished Crowley were here to test the theory. If she were wrong, the results would be extremely satisfying.

"So they can't be in orbit?" Rose asked. "We should be pulled right in."

"We should be dead," the Doctor stated.

"And yet," Ida spoke up again. "Here we are. Beyond the laws of physics. Welcome onboard."

"But if there's no atmosphere out there," Rose asked. "What's that?" She pointed to the black hole.

"Stars breaking up," Ida replied. "Gas clouds. We have whole solar systems being ripped apart above our heads before falling into that thing."

"So a bit worse than a storm, then." Rose sighed.

Claudia snorted. "Just a bit, Rosie."

"Just a bit," Ida smiled.

"Just a bit, yeah," Rose confirmed with a worried glance to Claudia.

Another tremor shook the station and Claudia's grip on Rose's hand tightened, and she held onto the Doctor's arm for support. He leaned against the back of the railing, catching himself, glancing at her and Rose in concern. They shook off his worries.

"Claudia..."

Claudia jumped, looking around, a sinking feeling in her stomach and a chill in her spine. She knew that voice...

"Claudia..."

She dropped Rose's hand, looking around innocuously, trying to place the source of it. Why here, why now? She hadn't had a panic attack in months -- and never one with an auditory hallucination, she could always see them.

"I missed you, Claudia..."

Trembling, Claudia crossed her arms, swallowing back her fear and trying to focus on the present moment. She was fine. He wasn't here. She was fine.

She glanced at the Doctor, who was focused on the command center, and inhaled shakily.

She was safe.

"Close door one."

"The rocket link's fine," Toby said as he entered the command room.

Claudia leaned back against a desk, observing everyone. The Doctor observed Zachary as he turned on a device, his glasses on, and Rose leaned over the center next to him. Neither of them was on as edge as Claudia.

Good, she didn't want them to worry.

"That's the black hole, officially designated K37 Gem 5."

"Why do they never name things simply?" Claudia muttered to herself. "John or Paul or Gregory. Gregory the Black Hole."

Rose snorted at her words, fighting a grin, but no one else paid her attention for the comment.

"In the scriptures of the Veltino," Ida added, "this planet is called Krop Tor, the bitter pill. And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon who was tricked into devouring the planet only to spit it out because it was poison."

"Fuck me," Claudia whispered. "I so wish Dean were here."

"The bitter pill," Rose repeated. "I like that."

"We are so far out," the Doctor mumbled. "Lost in the drifts of the universe. How did you even get here?"

"We flew in," Zachary answered. "You see," he switched tabs on the device and a new one showed; a green ball-like object and red satellite rings shooting off of it. "This planet's generating a gravity field. We don't know how, we've no idea, but it's kept in constant balance against the black hole. And the field," he pointed to the red rings, "extends out there as a funnel, a distinct gravity funnel reaching out into clear space. That was our way in."

"Aren't they silly, Claudia?"

Claudia jumped, looking around, but finding no one. Not now, please, please not now.

"You flew down that thing?" Rose asked with a smile. "Like a rollercoaster."

Claudia couldn't help the fond smile at Rose's comment. So excitable. She wondered when she stopped being so excited by people doing dangerous things. Maybe when she lost Sam. Maybe before then. She couldn't remember, now.

"By rights, the ship should've been torn apart," Zachary pointed out. "We lost the captain, which is what put me in charge."

"And you're doing a good job," Ida reminded kindly.

"Yeah, well," Zachary scoffed. "Needs must."

"But if that gravity funnel closes," Danny pitched in. "There's no way out."

"Oh, we have fun speculating about that," Scooti smirked.

"Oh yeah," Danny agreed sarcastically. "That's the word. 'Fun.'" He tapped Scooti on the head with a rolled up blueprint as he passed her and she grinned at him playfully.

"But that field would take phenomenal amounts of power," the Doctor narrowed his eyes. "I mean...not just big, but off the scale." He pointed to a calculator. "Can I...?"

Ida nodded, handing it to him. "Sure, help yourself."

"Sweet, sweet, Claudia..."

Claudia jumped again, closing her eyes. She could block it out. He wouldn't get to her again. Crowley must have been right. If the cage were opening, the first person he'd want to possess again would be her. A stab at Dean, a laugh in the face to Sam, and he'd done it before.

She wouldn't let him do it again. Not with Rose and the Doctor there. She'd never put them through that.

"My little bird..."

Claudia clenched her jaw, rolling her shoulders back, as though that would distract herself. She spotted Jefferson, and while everyone was otherwise occupied -- and to keep herself sane -- she walked up to him.

"How'd you know my last name?" She asked him curiously.

He glanced over her face. "Winchester. Your family's a legend. One of the oldest names nowadays. You handle," he lowered his voice a fraction. "Things no one else can."

"What do you mean by that?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "You mean hunting?"

Jefferson frowned. "You're Men of Letters." He shrugged. "Or, women, too, I suppose. Mostly boys though. You're a strong line."

"Men of Letters?" Claudia asked in confusion. That sounded familiar. Where had she heard that before?

"Yeah. Weird you don't know." He shifted. "Where'd you say you're from again?"

Claudia opened her mouth to reply, but the Doctor's voice grabbed everyone's attention.

"There we go!" He dropped the calculator. "Do you see? To generate that gravity field and the funnel, you'd need a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds."

"That's a lot of sixes," Rose commented.

Claudia, on the other hand, felt her heart stop. Stumbling back, she looked between the Doctor and Rose, suddenly feeling incredibly disoriented. Wrong. She didn't feel like she was in her own body. Why had she agreed to come here?

Her eyes watered.

This was it. She was going to lose the Doctor and Rose. And Dean. And Sam. And everyone she'd ever loved or cared for. He was here. He was going to slaughter them all. Again.

Her breathing sped up and the noise around her dulled, quieting her senses. She saw the letters again, the Enochian from outside. Her hands trembled and she could feel wetness on her cheeks but she couldn't figure out why.

She couldn't breathe.

Why did this have to be her life? Why couldn't anyone else deal with it? Why couldn't she be like Rose: happy and excited and oblivious to everything demonic and dangerous in the world. Why did He have to follow her here? Or had she followed him?

Was this always meant to happen?

Some sort of twisted cosmic joke? One last hurrah at the Winchesters? A final 'fuck you' to their sacrifices?

Someone's hands touched her cheeks and she jolted back, unseeing, panicking in her own skin. Who was that? Was it Him? He was here, he was in all of them. He'd convince them. Oh, god, what if he manipulated Rose or the Doctor? She couldn't lose them.

She couldn't stop Him before -- how was she meant to do it now?

And alone? Without Sam or Dean?

"Claudia--"

Her name was softly called, but she couldn't hear it properly. It felt as though she were underwater and slowly drowning and no one could pull her out. No life vest. No help. She was alone. She was drowning and she was alone.

"Hey, shh, look at me."

Claudia tried to focus on the voice but she could only see Sam. Only see him falling into the pit, into the abyss. She could only hear the dark laughter in the crevices of her mind. He was toying with her. This was fun for Him. Part of his sick, twisted, psychotic game. Some demonic foreplay.

"Claudia."

Brown.

She could see brown. Like Sam's, only not Sam's. Older, more haunted. Colder, but they held a softness in them that was familiar. She knew those eyes.

The hands were on her face again, tentatively, gently. Someone was brushing the wetness from her cheeks.

"Look at me. Breathe in."

She tried, she really, really tried. But she couldn't stop her breath from quickening.

"Focus on my voice, Claudia, come back to me. What do you see?"

"B-b-brown," Claudia managed through breaths.

"Good, good. What else?"

She tried to move her eyes around, see something else, but she couldn't. She looked back to the brown, it was stable, it wouldn't leave her. It was comforting. There was something else in there. A softer shade of green, speckled around like stars in a sky.

"G-green," she stuttered.

"Good, you're doing so well, love. Okay, anything else you can see? Anything at all?"

Claudia took a deep, shaky breath, and saw an outline of something. Someone. A face, maybe? She could make out little freckles. They were nice. There was something else, she looked down a bit, seeing the faintest blue.

"Blue," she said softly.

"That's it, sweetheart," the voice grabbed her attention again. She focused on it, focused on the colors. She could see him. The man. He was so nice. "D-D-Doctor," she stuttered between breaths.

He nodded. "Yes, that's it, very, very good. One more thing. See anything else?"

She looked down again, spotting the tip of her angel blade against her wrist in her holster.

"My angel blade," she whispered.

"That's it," the Doctor breathed out. "Come back, Claudia, four things you can hear. Yeah, go on, four things."

"Y-you," she said immediately. "A drilling noise," she listened further. "The s-s-storm," she added after a moment. "An-and my heartbeat."

"Doing so well," he spoke gently. "Three things you feel."

"Your hands." She reached hers up and placed them over his on her face. "My shirt," she grounded herself in the feeling of Dean's old flannel. "This floor. It's hard."

"Good girl, almost there," the Doctor nodded. "Two things you smell. Can you do that for me?"

"Oil," she whispered. "Like engine oil."

That grounded her a bit more. He often smelled like that. Probably from tinkering around on the TARDIS, or just spending the majority of his time on a ship with an engine. It was comforting to her. Growing up, her dad often smelled like engine oil, and Baby smelled like it too. That reminded her of home.

"One more, Claudia."

"Peppermint," she replied softly. "You smell like peppermint."

The Doctor smiled a bit. "Alright, good job. What can you taste?"

She thought for a moment. "I never liked that one, what am I supposed to say: my tongue?"

The Doctor grinned, pulling her into a tight hug. "What happened? What triggered you?"

Claudia clutched him tightly, the room coming back to her slowly. She could feel Rose's presence next to her, and the others' curious stares from the command center. She ignored them. Focusing on the Doctor; his warmth, his coat, his hands, his presence.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into his ear.

He didn't respond at first, holding her tightly. "Don't you dare apologize," he whispered back, his lips grazing her ear. "Not for a second, Claudia. I'm sorry I didn't see you panicking. I should've seen it."

"You can't see everything," Claudia murmured. "Are they staring at me?"

The Doctor breathed out a small chuckle. "Humans stare at things they don't see often." He pulled back and brushed back her hair gently. "Are you alright for me to let you sit here for a moment?"

Claudia nodded, cheeks darkening at the scene she'd involuntarily caused. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm sorry."

"It's alright," he smiled softly, placing a hand on the back of her head. "You're safe." He leaned forward and kissed her head gently before standing.

Immediately, Rose sat next to her and grabbed her hand, and Claudia appreciated it immensely.

"I'll tell you later," she spoke quietly.

The Doctor regathered the attention in the room, taking it from Claudia, which she appreciated greatly.

"Zack, was it?" The Doctor asked with a small smile.

"That's me." Zack nodded.

"I'm going to hug you, is that all right?" He asked, smile growing.

"Suppose so," Zack shrugged.

Rose and Claudia exchanged fond looks as the Doctor hugged Zack tightly before letting go.

"Human beings," he exclaimed. "Brilliant." Pulling back, his smile dropped. "But apart from that, you're all mad. You should pack your bags and go."

"You can talk," Ida pointed out. "How the hell did you get here?"

"Oh, I've got this..." the Doctor trailed off in thought. "This-this-this ship. It's hard to explain. It just sort of appears."

"We can show you," Claudia offered, smiling thankfully at Rose as the pair stood. Her heartbeat slowing exponentially, her breathing back to normal. The panic attack had come and gone, even if her worries hadn't.

"Yeah," Rose agreed. "We parked down the corridor from...what's it called?"

"Habitation three," Claudia supplied.

"Three," the Doctor confirmed.

Zach's eyes widened. "Do you mean storage six?" He asked.

"Eh," the Doctor nodded. "It was a bit of a cupboard, yeah."

Claudia's heart sunk. "No," she whispered, dropping Rose's hand and slowly stepping backwards to the door. "No, no, no..."

"Storage six," the Doctor repeated. "But you said...you said..."

Claudia was already twisting the wheel of then door when the Doctor rushed to it, both of them sprinting down the halls, ignoring Rose's shouts and questions.

"Open door nineteen."

The Doctor opened the next door, and Claudia rushed after him.

"Close door eighteen."

"Doors, come on," the Doctor exclaimed through gritted teeth, spinning the wheel of the next one.

"Open door seventeen."

They raced through the hall and Claudia made it to the next door, spinning it and clambering through the space next to the Doctor. He reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her after him, both of them full of sheer panic.

Upon reaching door sixteen, the Doctor pressed the button to unlock and tried to spin the wheel. It wouldn't budge. "Come on, come on!"

He leaned his head against the window. staring hopelessly.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked. "What is it?"

Claudia stumbled back a few steps, looking down in shock.

"The TARDIS is in there," Rose pointed out. "What's happened?"

"The TARDIS is gone," the Doctor whispered.

"Door sixteen out of commission."

"The habitation was taken," Claudia added morosely. "The whole section."

The Doctor glanced to Claudia, and she looked up at him, their eyes meeting in a shared hopelessness. Despite not being the same species, both of them considered the TARDIS home.

It was all the Doctor had of his people, his life, his existence. It was the only constant in his ever-changing universe.

It was all Claudia had to get her back to Dean. The only home Claudia had. The only home either of them had.

Her eyes watered and his jaw tightened, fighting back his own tears. She shook her head a fraction, letting him know it was okay to be upset. He closed his eyes and blinked them away, breaking eye contact. Claudia wiped her own tears. She needed to be there for him, not the other way around.

Rose turned around in shock, and Claudia moved closer to the Doctor, sliding her hand into his. He tightened his grip on her immediately, expressing his worries without words. She responded in stride, doing the same.

And despite the hopelessness in her chest, the laughter in her head, and the feeling that this day would change everything for the worse: Claudia led him and Rose down the halls towards everyone else.

They would be fine. Somehow, they always were.

Right?

--

hehehehehe spoiled you guys with another updateeee I just couldn't hold out on this book UGH.
Lots of doctor/claudia content here hehe. daudia? clocter? need a name help lollll.
I feel like the panic attack was a biiit out of place, but that's how panic attacks are, they don't wait for an opportune moment and that shit would have triggered her immensely. hope you guys enjoyed this and stay tuned for the next update!!!!