Most of the ship is sealed off. Doors with complicated grid patterns bar my way. So instead I make my way around the maze like tunnels and try and open every door I find. It gets colder as I wander further away from the main room. Every room I enter drops another few degrees.

At last I find an odd shaped door. When I made odd I mean small. There's barely enough room for me to stand up in the tiny room. I duck under the eaves and try the door. Big surprise, it's locked. But instead of a pattern grid, there's a deadbolt.

Perfect. This is my area of expertise. I pick out a bobby pin and lift up my hand. Quite suddenly I feel a burning in my wrist. I look down and see my whole wrist is lit up in blue, literally glowing. The liquid seems to burn into my skin. I wrestle it around in pain for around 5 minutes before it slowly fades. My wrist completely goes back to normal. I sigh and focus on the task at hand. It takes me another 10 minutes until the lock clicks and the door creaks open. It's silent. Deathly silent. I shiver because it's so quiet and dark, and hesitantly enter the tiny doorway.

I can't see anything except a huge concrete door like structure in front of me,and when I look to my right I see a small power grid. It's bolted shut. I drop it back with a sigh and then jump as something lights up the darkness.

"Hi." Ted says with a huge smile on his face. In  his hands he holds the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. "Couldn't risk you wandering around on your own. They sent me to find you, and the Doctor said you might need this. Whatever it is." He flicks the screwdriver to me.

"Oh, brilliant thinking Doctor." I grab the screwdriver and press the button. The grid slides open and unlocks, flooding the room in light. After our eyes adjust, I poke forwards in the room. "What's in here? It's certainly guarded well." 

"I don't know." He says with a shrug. "I wasn't one for much exploring. I've never been this far down the ship before.

"But don't you live on this thing?" I sonic open the heavy concrete door. It slides open to reveal yet another door, barred shut with a heavy chain.

"My first voyage, actually." I wasn't old to go on my first voyage until now. They don't let minors attempt something so risky. But here I am... and... OH MY GOSH!"

We both scream as the heavy concrete door slides open revealing an iron cage harboring the most ferocious monster I've ever seen.

Its' eyes are glinting a fiery red. Its claws are as sharp as steel. Its breath ascends in smoke, and it lets off a terrifying roar.

Ted stumbles backwards, pulling me with him, trying to slide the door back across to hide the monster.

"Wait!" I shout, heaving against him. "The Doctor should see this. We have to ask what this means."

"WHAT?!" Ted asks, aghast. "It's the ice monster!"

"Yes!" I say with a high laugh. "AND WHAT THE HELL IS IT DOING DOWN HERE?!"

"Oh." He sits back, breathing heavily. "Hadn't thought of that.I thought Melissa had said that the creature was still in its cave..." He takes a deep breath and plucks a walkie talkie from his pocket. "This is T12 to M1. We have a situation. Repeat this is T2 to M1, we request immediate assistance in the..." he looks all around until I point to a sign above our heads. "...in the Boiler Room. Over."

"T12? M1?" I ask. "What are those? A psydenom or something?"

"Code names." He syas straight faced. "They go on our rankings."

"So you're 12 on the ship heirachy?" I ask with a small smile.

He sneers. "There was only 12 crew members. Yeah i was pretty much the new kid."

"M1 to T12. What have you found? Over."

I can tell he's about to spit out something snarky like: "Come here now" or something, so I nudge him and simply mouth words at him. 

He looks at me. "Are you sure?"

"Just tell them! I promise you they'll be here in 10 seconds." I cross my arms.

"T12 to M1 we need help. Over." He looks darkly at me. "Why did we tell them that?"

"1 thing you should know about the Doctor." I pull back the concrete wall. "He can never resist a cry for help."

*************

"Is everything alright?" The Doctor hurries into the room, and about 10 seconds later Melissa joins us. He seems relieved to find us both unharmed, very much alive.

"Sorry, it was her fault." Ted flicks his hand at me.

I roll my eyes. "Melissa. You don't mind if I call you that, do you? Good. Well we were wondering..." I pause and heave open the concrete door. "What is this doing down here?"

The door opens to reveal the howling ice monster. Its white fur clings to its scrawny body, and it puts its bear like hands around the iron rungs of the cage.

The Doctor rushes forwards, admiring the huge creature. " You're a beauty, aren't you?" He squints at it and turns back to Melissa. "What do you think you're doing?! She was perfectly happy wandering around the snow until your lot came along and provoked her." 

Melissa inhales sharply, obviously swallowing her impatience. "Doctor I appreciate your concern, but in case you've forgotten she tried to kill us."

"Oh, she was only protecting her babies." The Doctor strides over to a glass cage fully submerged in a strange liquid which bubbles constantly.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Melissa bounces forwards instinctively. "For a Doctor, you're not very smart, are you?" She asks snidely.

"For the head of an extremely dangerous operation, you're not very perceptive." He fires back. "For your information that thing you keep referring to as an it is a Borat Ice Bear. It protects the Borat caves around its region. It's incredibly docile and not easily angered. Unless of course you get too close to its young." He taps the glass cage. "These little guys, if they're let out into the open air can freeze your insides with just 1 sting. Takes a few hours but death is imminent and not even remotely curable." 

"Yes we know that. Thank you. So you've heard of the Borat monsters have you?"

"Borat Ice Bears" The Doctor corrects. "They used to be allies of ours. Well... not exactly allies more like friends. WELL, not really friends either, but... we'd met on odd occasions. They certainly weren't dangerous or harmful."

"Where you come from? Where is that, Doctor?" Melissa glares at him.

"Gallifrey."  He says without missing a beat.

She sighs and rubs her forehead. "You're all mad."

"LOOK AT THIS!" Ted shouts making us all jump. He points behind the ice bear where crude drawings have been etched into the concrete walls. "Looks like the ice mon - I mean bear - got bored."

"They're not just random scribbles though." My eyes sweep the walls, admiring the curved lines, the rough jaggered ones. "They're maps!"

"MAPS?!" Ted throws his arms around me and gives me a huge hug, a look of sheer delight on his face. "You're a freaking genius!"

"Would SOMEBODY please tell me what's going on?" Melissa puts her hands on her hips.

"Well someone's excited." The Doctor grins. "I think they're on to something."

"These maps." I turn to Ted. "What do they lead to?"

"Well..." He runs his hands through his hair leaving it spiking up. "It's just a legend. Nothing more... but they say it leads... to..." His face falls. "Well I don't exactly know... but it's got to be something amazing."

"Legends." I mutter. "Have proven to be false."

"You can't keep the ice bear locked up in here forever." The Doctor says passionately. "She doesn't belong in a cage, she belongs out there in the wild."

"I told you that!" Ted says feircely. "Well, If I had've known you were going to bring it - her - back here."

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Melissa takes a step backwards and pulls out something shiny and silver. A gun. I gulp. Ted moves in front of me protectively and the Doctor takes a step towards us.

"Now, calm down Melissa..."

"Oh shut up!" She says, red in the face. "All this time you've been babbling on. I've heard the legends. They say the maps lead to great treasure. Don't you think I'd love to get out of this hell hole and somewhere else for a change?"

"What's stopping you?" The Doctor asks softly.

"Money." She spits. "We spend years of our lives slaving away at the central station for what? Nothing. We'll never get out of here. Never see the world." She points at Ted. "Look at him. He's so young and he'll never know that he's just dedicated his whole life to the ice. Never to feel the sun on your skin and the warm breeze in your hair." She holds the gun more pointedly. "Now, everyone step away from the ice bear. If I'm going to find this treasure I'll be needing those maps."

Ted slips his arm around my shoulders as the threat of being shot seems to immobolize me, and moves me slowly to the side. When I look back at the Doctor he's got that smirk on his face that I know all too well. Well - not that well.

He starts laughing, very softly, but still laughing. Melissa swivels her head. "What's so funny, Doctor."

"Well it's kind of cute, you threatening our lives and all with that gun." He smirks pointedly.

"I am very much prepared to use it." Her fiery eyes glint into his.

"Well, go ahead." He shrugs, putting his hands in the air. "Shoot me."

"Doctor no!" I cower against Ted as he wraps both arms around me. I can feel his heart racing against my back.

Melissa snarls, leaps forward and pulls the trigger. I scream. And then stop as nothing happens, my heart pounding.

The Doctor laughs again, his hands resting on the bubbling tank. "You know what this is, don't you? The stuff keeping the ice bear's baby's safe?"

She swallows. "I believe it's called..."

"Hydrofluoric acid." They say in unison.

"Very good. Unfortunately for you, the bullets in your gun are made out of lead."

"So?" She smirks, looking at the black gun in her hand.

"It dissolves lead. Doesn't take long either, but all the time it's been in your pocket the acid has been eating away at the lead. Essentially rendering that gun harmless."

"Fine." She throws it on the ground at her feet. It skids across the room. "I don't need a useless gun."

"Oh I wouldn't call it useless." He picks it up, gives her a quick grin and uses it to smash the bolt on the ice bear's cave. "Sonic screwdriver please." he holds out his hand. It takes me a moment to realize that he's talking to me. Still slightly dazed after the shock of someone almost getting shot, I hand it over.

With a smooth grinding motion he lasers the small hole in the wall opposite the ice bear's cage. It opens to a slightly larger hole, and the cold air from outside starts seeping in. "Well then my little beauty. Allons-y!" The creature yowls with delight - or frustration. And claws at the hole, absolutely destroying the whole in the ship. It leaps out into the frozen lake and races across the ice.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!" Melissa leaps forwards. "That was the only hope of finding that treasure."

"There's no treasure." The Doctor says softly. "Believe me. I've read the myths. And I've talked with the people who invented them. They invented the legends so that people would come here - visitors. Visitors that would inhabit the ice station. Because they were desperate for colonisation. I'm sorry. There's no riches waiting for you."

There's silence as we all stare at one another. Melissa's eyes are red and wide as she glares at each of us in turn, and Ted releases me slightly with a mumbled apology.

Before any of us can see it coming, the leader of this wild expedition has grabbed the box full of the ice bear's babies, and as she holds it threateningly over her head, Ted leaps towards her with a strangled sound.

"You can't, Melissa." He begs. "Please."

"I'm sick of all of this!" A tear slips down her cheeks. "And you will be too one day. I came here thinking they'd be work - money for me and a better life. But I was so, so wrong. And all that stretched out in front of me was years of hard work and labour - all for nothing. This is my only chance."

"Give the jar to me." Ted begs. "I - The Doctor can help you. We'll get you out of here."

"No you won't." More tears join the ones streaming down her face. Then we're all interrputed by the roaring of the ice bear as it ravanges around outside.

"She wants her babies back!" The Doctor warns. The defeaning roar comes again. The glass jar starts to rattle and shake. "Everyone..." He glances curiously at the jar. "RUN!!"

Without a second hesitation, he grabs my hand and pulls me up to where Melissa and Ted are standing. "The Ice Bear is coming back." He says urgently. "And we need to get out of here, because a roar that loud can shatter the glass cage - let the babies out. We need to get behind that concrete door so her babies and her can leave in peace."

"I'm not! I won't!" Melissa says feiricely. "This is my only chance."

"It's not. Please listen to me." The Doctor begs. "We can help you. Just put that jar down before it shatters.

Finally, she lowers it a fraction, hands shaking. "Ted..."

He takes the jar and puts it on the ground where it continues to shake. "Everyone behind the door!" The Doctor yells, pushing us behind the concrete door and using his sonic screwdriver to bolt it. There's another roar and a huge chunk of the ship comes flying off the side.

"She's destroying the ship!" Ted yells over the sound of the wind. "If that room goes... there won't be much protecting this one. Someone needs to give the babies to her so she doesn't tear this place apart."

There's another feirce roar and the sound of grating metal. "I'm going in!" He suddenly shouts. Before we can stop him, he slides the heavy concrete door open and slips inside.

"TED!!' I scream, clawing at the door. The Doctor pushes me gently but firmly out of the way and opens the door slightly.

"TED! Please come back here! That won't hel..." There's the sound of a smash outside. He coughs as the thick arctic air wraps around the room making us all shiver. In a second, Ted's back at the door, eyes glowing, smiling like he's won the lottery. 

"I did it. I told you I would. That was for you, Melissa." He runs straight up to me with a crazy smile on his face. "And for you, Miss Darcy Lester who I've only just met."

He swings his arms around me, pulls me towards him and kisses me firmly, on the mouth. I'm too shocked to react as he breaks off and gives me a tight hug. He grins into my eyes. "This is crazy... I only just met you... but I love you." All of a sudden goes slack in my grip, falling against me.

"Doctor!" I lower him to the floor gently as his head lolls back, eyes still glowing brightly.

"Oh, no, no no." The Doctor mutters, rushing over and examining Ted, pulling his head back and examining his eyes. "Oh, Ted. Why did you do that for us? Hm?" He sighs painfully. "He's... he's been stung by a miniature ice bear." His flicks out his sonic and buzzes around Ted's head, then down to his hand where a small lump is forming.

My mind flashes back to the conversation earlier. "An Ice bear's babie's stings are fateful. Death is imminent and not remotely curable."

"Doctor?" I ask, voice cracking on the end. "Is he going to die?" I drop to the ground beside him, touching Ted's face with my hands, looking into his glowing eyes.

He looks at me with tears in his eyes before he nods very slowly. "I'm sorry. He is. He absorbed quite a few of the stings. It won't take long." He reaches forwards and closes Ted's eyes.

"Oh my gosh." Melissa buries her head in her hands. "It's all my fault."

"No." I whimper. "It's mine. If I hadn't have talked to me... he wouldn't have done it for me." My heart seems to be tearing itself in two, shredding down the middle. I've never liked or loved anyone before. And Ted was so nice to me - told me everything about this expedition - and even sacrificed himself for me. Tears push their way past my eyes. 

"That kiss was saying goodbye." The Doctor pulls me up gently, and wraps me in a hug. I bury my face in his large brown coat and sob, and sob, as if my heart is breaking, which is kind of what it's doing. Melissa gets up slowly and hugs my back, creating a three way hug. We stand there, Melissa and I sobbing, while Ted lies on the cold hard ground, lifeless.

********************************

"Thank you for everything, Doctor." Melissa manages a smile as she waves. 

"Just remember - in the future - no disturbing ice bears!" He pushes a switch on the TARDIS as the heat rises around us. I take a longing look at the tropical seaside but I already know the Doctor has other plans. He doesn't go where it's comfortable - he goes where he's needed the most.

I turn around from waving to Melissa and close the doors, sighing loudly as I think of Ted's brilliant blond hair and green eyes.

"So." I run up to the platform and watch the blue liquid rise in the tubes. "Where to now?"

"What?" The Doctor looks confused. "You... you still want to see all of this?"

"What do you mean? Of course I do." I say, shocked. "Why would you think otherwise?"

He runs his hands through his hair. "Well it's hard, traveling with me. I'm sorry, but I can't lie to you. People... get hurt, and bad things happen, and aliens invade, and... people die. Sometimes, they just do. I would give my life if it saved every single one of them, but it can't. I can't."

"And I wouldn't want to do anything else." I pull up the lever I've seen him pull up a thousand times. "So, let's go, then. What is it you say? Allonsy?"

The smile on his face lingers as he taps away on the computer. "You don't say it right. It's allons-y." He pronounces the y. "I have a plan. I know where we're going. Galaxy 12. The Endoor race. Seems to be some problem with their communicators. See this frequency?" He points to a jumping line on the computer. "Should be a steady line. And when they try to talk it's all crackly. Something's disturbing the satelites." He presses a button and pulls a lever. "Let's go check it out!"

**************************************