'I'll stay in the generator room, patch the dimensional stabiliser into the TC Warp control program.' Oh sod him, he was putting his life on the line again. 'I'll be all right. Now go on, run!' He shooed them out of the console room.

Sam knew that it was for the best, that he was right. There was no sense in their all dying. But, as she stepped out of the TARDIS behind Fitz and Kerstin, it felt like a betrayal. A betrayal of the Doctor, of Itharquell, of everything she stood for.

Professor Nagle opened her eyes, and her mouth, ready to scream.

The node had gone.

Before her, everything was normal. The forest, the trees, all as they were before.

She turned around, thinking she may have stumbled about a bit. But no the node had definitely gone. The only signs that anything out of the ordinary had taken place were the slumped and broken bodies of the Ruin. And the bodies of UNIT soldiers, black against the lush green.

What had happened? Was Earth safe? She fell to the ground, her hands digging into the soil. 'I don't understand!' she wailed.

Footsteps, crashing through the forest. She looked up to see Major Wolstencroft's powerful figure standing over her, Private Schofield by his side.

She stood up, brushing leaves from her white lab coat. 'What's happened to the node?'

Wolstencroft's dark eyes glittered. 'You're asking me?' His voice was low and hoa.r.s.e. He grabbed her arm and she stumbled.

'Hey, let go!'

His face was close to hers, and she could see he'd lost it. 'You're asking me what's happened? You built the b.l.o.o.d.y thing!' He was shouting, spittle flicking from his mouth on to her gla.s.ses.

'Sir!' cried the Schofield. 'With respect, sir.'

Wolstencroft let go of Nagle, and she stumbled back. She wiped her gla.s.ses.

Private Schofield was talking calmly, suggesting that they go back into the base, see what was going on. Wolstencroft seemed to calm down, and without looking back at her, stormed off through the forest.

Nagle followed. The node had closed. The Doctor had saved them, just as he said he would.

She allowed herself a tired smile. That would be one in the eye for Wolstencroft.

The TARDIS had landed smack bang in the middle of the generator room. Fitz looked around; it was a mess. There was torn and twisted wire-mesh fence in front of the generator, and tables, desks, chairs and computers were strewn everywhere.

Fitz felt Sam push him out of the room, into the corridor. He had one last look behind him the Doctor sitting at the generator control desk, muttering soothing words, the TARDIS waiting nearby. Then he followed Sam and Kerstin out into the corridor.

He caught up with them. Sam was yelling that she didn't know the way out. Kerstin was just yelling.

'Follow me!' cried Fitz, and ran past them, hurtling round a corner straight into something tall He bounced back, gasping.

Major Wolstencroft. His uniform was grubby, there was blood on his arm and cuts on his face. His brown eyes were wide, staring. This was someone at the end of his tether.

Fitz could see Professor Nagle and a UNIT soldier, in the corridor behind Wolstencroft. Nagle was in a terrible state. She'd lost her shoes and her legs were covered in scratches. 'Let us past, we gotta get out of here!' he gasped.

Kerstin and Sam ran up behind him. He heard Sam's voice. 'No time for playing soldiers now! Let us past!'

'You're not going anywhere,' growled Wolstencroft.

Ignoring him, Fitz addressed Professor Nagle. 'Look, there's going to be an expl, an im implosion or something. Bang! We have to get out of here or we'll all be killed!'

Wolstencroft had drawn his pistol. 'Schofield cover them!'

The UNIT soldier raised his machine gun. Fitz felt a horrible sense of claustrophobic deja vu deja vu.

Wolstencroft waved his pistol. 'Turn around. Back to the generator room.'

Fitz fell into step beside Sam.

'We're running out of time,' Sam said from between clenched teeth.

'We'll have to take our chances in the TARDIS with the Doctor.' At least they would all be together at the end. Fab.

They entered the generator room. The Doctor was still hunched over the control desk.

Fitz opened his mouth to shout out a warning, but Wolstencroft beat him to it.

'Doctor, step away from the control desk!'

The Doctor gave a surprised yelp and twirled round on his swivel chair. On seeing Wolstencroft he gave a groan of frustration. 'Not again! We've been through all this before!'

Heart in mouth, Fitz cried out, 'Did you do it, Doctor?'

The Doctor nodded. 'Yes yes yes, the Earth is safe but we're not!'

'How much time have we got left?' yelled Sam.

The Doctor stood, spreading his arms wide. 'Minutes, at most!'

That was enough for Fitz. Letting out a yell he dived backwards, elbowing Wolstencroft in the stomach.

'What are you doing?' screamed Nagle.

Fitz fell on top of Wolstencroft, banging his gun hand against the floor. He was dimly aware of Sam prising the weapon from Wolstencroft's hand, the Doctor bellowing for everyone to get into the TARDIS. He was painfully aware of Schofield, standing over them, aiming his machine gun at his head.

Fitz stared along the barrel of the gun to the soldier's impa.s.sive face. 'You heard the Doctor,' he gasped. 'We're all going to die unless we get into the TARDIS!'

Then the soldier slumped forward.

Sam. She'd clobbered him with a chair. The love.

Fitz staggered upright. He yanked the machine gun from Schofield's hands and hurled it across the room. Schofield fell across Wolstencroft.

A hand on his shoulder. Fitz whirled round. The Doctor, his eyes wide. 'Fitz! Inside now!'

There was a mad scramble for the TARDIS. Fitz turned in the doorway and saw the two soldiers getting to their feet, groggily.

The Doctor ran across to them and pulled them towards the TARDIS. 'Don't argue just get inside!'

Fitz stood aside as the Doctor shoved Wolstencroft and Schofield into the TARDIS.

Beyond them, Fitz saw Professor Nagle stumbling from the generator room.

The Doctor turned in time to see her. 'Where are you going?' he cried.

'My notes. Can't leave my notes,' said Nagle, framed in the doorway. Then she was gone.

Fitz stood on the threshold of the TARDIS, pressed into the door s.p.a.ce with the Doctor. The Doctor's face was a grimace. 'So stupid!' he said. 'She doesn't have to die! I'm going after her.'

'No, said Fitz, gasping with the effort of holding him back. 'We'll die if we don't get in there!'

Fitz shoved the Doctor into the TARDIS. The door closed behind them. Fitz all but fell down the steps into the console room.

Professor Nagle stumbled along the corridor towards her room. There was still time. The Doctor would wait. She had to get her notes and the backup disks for the control program. C19 would want them. And, more importantly, she could start up afresh, create a new TC Warp Generator. Now that Earth was safe, she could start again.

Feet skidding on the tiled floor, she arrived at her room and tapped in the code on the electronic lock. The door fell open and she stumbled inside.

The familiarity of the little room calmed her. Neat and tidy and clean, just the way she liked it. The single bed, the chest of drawers, computer, desk, fridge, a few pictures on the wall. The big map of the solar system tacked to the ceiling. How often she'd fallen asleep staring up at that.

Her feet were really stinging now, as though she had walked through gla.s.s. Ignoring the pain, she went to her desk, pulled open the drawer that contained her disks. There they all were, numbered and indexed. She scooped them out and stuffed them in the pockets of her lab coat.

Almost two years she'd lived in this room. Not a sight or scent of outside until just now, and she'd been too freaked out to appreciate it. Two years devoted to the project. No lovers, no alcohol, no Thai cooking, no nothing. Her life was in this room.

Above the computer desk was a shelf, containing a row of box files. Which ones should she take? All of them? Or just the disks?

How much time did she have left? How much time?

Sam watched open-mouthed as Fitz and the Doctor tumbled into the TARDIS and the doors closed behind them.

'Where's Professor Nagle?' barked Major Wolstencroft. He seemed to be taking the TARDIS interior in his stride. The young UNIT guy, on the other hand, was standing around with a severe case of 'TARDIS-face' open-mouthed boggle-eyed amazement.

'She went back to get her notes,' said the Doctor.

Sam closed her eyes. 'That's suicide,' she said.

The Doctor was practically tearing his hair out. 'I told you all to get away!'

Sam glared at Wolstencroft. 'We would have, if it wasn't for soldier boy.'

'It's going to hit in a few seconds,' said the Doctor grimly.

The TARDIS ceiling showed a schematic of the universe, a golden line zapping across s.p.a.ce towards the solar system.

'Can't you take off?' said Fitz.

The Doctor shook his head. 'Wherever I take the TARDIS, the wormhole will be within her.'

Sam walked up to the Doctor and held his hand. He squeezed and she squeezed back.

Wolstencroft was staring up at the schematic, his jaw slack. He looked over at them. 'I I didn't know.'

Fitz was holding Kerstin, a look of disbelief in his grey eyes. His travels with the TARDIS had only just begun; Sam knew what he must be thinking. It can't end this way. It can't end this way.

'Any time now,' murmured the Doctor.

Sam reached up and held his face. He turned to her, and the look in his eyes almost broke her heart. He went to say something, but she silenced him with a kiss on his alabaster lips.

He tasted of coffee and cream and springtime and clean bedclothes and everything.

If she had to die, then this was the time.

They held each other.

And then a huge hand dashed her to the floor.

Professor Jennifer Nagle decided that the disks were enough. It was all there: her notes on the alien technology, the plans for the generator, the control program, everything.

She turned and ran from her room, her shoulder slamming into the door frame in her haste. She yelled out, a hopeless, lost sound, and skidded along the corridor. Her feet were bleeding. She was crying, her breath and heartbeat seeming to fill her whole body.

Part of her knew that it was too late. That it was the end, if not for the world, then for her. Humanity would never benefit from her genius.

When the end came, she didn't feel a thing.

Chapter Twenty-One.

So This Is Goodbye Sam opened her eyes.

She was lying on her back, staring up at something wide and deep and blue. The TARDIS ceiling, back to normal once more. There was something across her chest. She reached down, feeling something soft. Velvet. She moved her hand down, encountering flesh. Cool, smooth. A hand.

The Doctor's hand.

She sat up, wincing. Her back hurt where she had hit the floor.