Through the Universe [2]

II. The Impossible Planet

"You really will eat anything, won't you?" I ask her, making her look at me confused before looking at the Doctor to make me turn to him to see him with a banana in his hand. "Seriously? A banana? Out of all the food in the entire world you choose to carry with you in your pocket, you choose a banana?" I ask him, slightly confused before shaking my head and taking out a bag of salted peanuts from my pocket and opening them. "Oh, so you're criticising me for having a banana in my pocket but you have a bag of salted peanuts?" my husband asks me making me roll my eyes at him. "Oh, criticise me all you like but this is better than a banana. There's more in a bag and before you ask, you're not having any of these." I tell him, making him pout. "Now, don't give me that look. You know I'm right. Put the pout away." I point at him and before I know it, the Doctor sighs and the pout is put away, making me smile at him sweetly.

Moving to sit opposite Rose on one of the tables, with the Doctor sat opposite me, I pick at the peanuts before beginning to eat them. Suddenly, the lights flicker in the room. "Zach, have we got a problem?" I hear Ida ask into her wrist comm.

"No more than usual. Got the Scarlet System burning up, it might be worth a look." Zach tells her through the other end of the wrist comm. This causes Ida to turn to us and I turn my head to look at her. "You might wanna see this. A moment in history." she tells us, making me shake my head as the Doctor and I have seen quite a lot of moments of history happen right in front of our eyes. She pulls a lever that opens the overhead 'shutters', revealing the black hole overhead and flooding the room with soft red light. "There. On the edge." Ida continues, pointing up at a stream of red light that is spiralling into the black hole. "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." she informs us, gazing up at it, fascinated, as is Rose, the Doctor and me. The last of the Scarlet System disappears into the black hole. "Ladies and gentlemen... we have witnessed it passing."

She goes to pull the lever to close the shutters again, but the Doctor and I stop her. "Er, no, could you leave it open?" the Doctor and I ask her to cause Rose to look at us confused. "Just for a bit. We won't go mad, we promise." I tell her.

"How would you know?" she asks us as the Doctor and I smile at her. "Scooti, check the lockdown." she orders and Scooti nods and leaves. "Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me." she continues before both she and Jefferson exit the canteen area, leaving the Doctor, Rose and me sat there. "Open Door 18." the computer says.

"I've seen films and things, yeah, they say black holes are like gateways to another universe." Rose tells us.

"Close Door 18." the computer says.

"Not that one." I begin to tell her.

"It just eats." the Doctor finishes for me.

"Long way from home..." Rose tells us, making me nod my head and the Doctor looks at her. "Go that way, turn right, keep going for um... about five hundred years... then you'll reach the Earth." the Doctor says, pointing at the black hole.

"Like she said. A long way from home. Although, it's further for us to get home than it is for Rose." I tell the Doctor, whispering the last part as Rose takes out her phone and presses a few buttons. "No signal. That's the first time we've gone out of range. Mind you, even if you could... what would I tell her...? Can you build another TARDIS?" Rose asks us, laughing half-heartedly, knowing it's impossible. "They were grown, not built. And with our own planet gone... we're kind of stuck." the Doctor and I tell her.

"Well, it could be worse. This lot said they'd give us a lift." Rose reminds us, trying to console us and trying to keep her tone light. "And then what?" the Doctor asks her.