Hello everyone- God, it has been a long time! I apologize for the unholy and obscenely long wait. This episode has been an absolute pain to write- I could not find very much inspiration for it at all. And, plus, life gets in the way sometimes- as do other projects, school, friends, family, college applications, moving- you get the point. So, in the interest of rewarding all of you who have kept watching this page, here is the first half of 42. Hot off the presses, and, as of yet, Unbeta'd.

On a secondary note; while I would love to finish the story of Evy, It is getting rather long and intimidating, what with all the seasons left to write. So, rather than give up and disappoint all of you lovely readers, I want to announce that I am in the market for a co-writer for I'm Here Now and any sequels or spin-off stories that may follow. Please PM me if you are interested. Submissions of previous written work will help your case!

Thanks, enjoy! -Wings

The TARDIS was flying through the Vortex at top speed, the Doctor, Evy, and Martha standing around inside as the Doctor used the sonic on Martha's phone.

"There we go!" he smiled, "Universal Roaming. Never have to worry about a signal again."

He tossed the phone back to her. She caught it one handed and flipped it open to see 'Universal Roaming Activated' on the screen, "No way!" she shouted, "But it's...too mad! You're telling me I can call anyone, anywhere in space and time on my mobile?"

"Long as you know the area code," he replied, as she looked stunned, "Frequent Flyer's privilege." He turned to Evy, "Your turn," he held out his hand to catch her phone. Evy didn't respond, seemingly lost in thought, eyes boring a hole in the TARDIS wall.

Or thoughts, plural-

Remembering Evy's newly awakened senses, the Doctor spoke a bit louder. "Evy!"

She jumped slightly, blinking and returning to the world of solid reality. "Sorry. Yes?"

"Phone?" He asked. "We were setting phones to Universal Roaming." He reminded her. Evy frowned slightly for a moment- before remembering and setting about searching her pockets. Finding it nowhere, she shrugged and gave a lopsided smile.

"Left it in my room, I guess."

"Really?" he frowned, tilting his head to the side. A slight feeling of concern crept its way into his thoughts. Ever since that night a couple of days ago, Evy had become more absent-minded and distracted; misplacing things often, becoming increasingly preoccupied within her own thoughts.

That could have been an effect of the new telepathy, and he'd offered his help several days ago. But she had politely refused with such a look of apprehension that he hadn't offered since. Now he wondered if he shouldn't have insisted- but to enter another sentient being's mind without full consent, unless in dire straits, was a repulsive infraction of personal privacy.

"That's alright, I can do it later." He grinned at Evy, trying not to give away the conflicting concern and worry he felt. "Oh, go on. Try it!" He added encouragingly, turning to Martha.

Martha's grin widened as she began to dial, but she was thrown to the floor with Evy and the Doctor as the TARDIS jolted. The monitors began flashing red.

"Distress signal!" the Doctor shouted, pressing some buttons, "Locking on!" he lifted his foot to try and hit another switch when Evy slammed it down for him, he nodded his thanks to her, "Might be a bit of..." he tried to warn, when another jolt sent them flying again.

Suddenly it was still.

"Turbulence?" Evy asked with a hint of sarcasm as she picked herself up off the floor, rubbing a sore spot on one knee. The Doctor looked at both girls sheepishly. "Sorry!"

Then he took off for the door, leaving the two girls to help each other off the floor. Martha offered Evy a hand, rolling her eyes in the Doctor's direction. Evy grinned and took it. "Come on you two!" he called from the doors."Let's take a look!"

Martha grabbed Evy's hand and ran over to the Doctor, walking out and nearly stumbling back at the blast of heat outside the doors. They had landed in what appeared to be a venting room of some sort, the walls glowing red from the extreme heat.

"Whoa!" the Doctor called, "Now that is hot!"

"It's like a sauna in here!" Martha agreed, taking off her jacket and tossing it back into the TARDIS. Evy did the same, peeling off her jumper. She left her t-shirt on over her camisole, hesitant to show so much skin.

"Venting systems," Evy muttered as she looked around, examining the room.

"Working at full pelt trying to cool down," the Doctor nodded, "Wherever it is we are," he noticed a heavy duty door off to the side, "Well! If you can't stand the heat…" he walked over, holding it open for them to walk through. It was much cooler in the hallway, still hot, but less so than the venting chamber "Well, that's better…"

"Area 30," Evy read off the sign above them. By the look of things, this was either a ship, or some sort of station.

Just as she was about to poke around further, three people, two men and a woman, ran down the corridor towards them. All of them were sweating heavily and had stressed expressions.

"Oi!" one of the men, the younger one, shouted."You two!"

"Get out of there!" the woman ordered, toned edged with panic. All of them froze, startled by the sudden appearance of the area's inhabitants.

"Seal that door!" The first man shouted, pointing at the door they'd just come from."Now!"

Surprised and confused, none of them made any move towards the door; without waiting for a response, the two men to rushed forwards and shut it.

"Who are you?" The woman demanded, as the door sealed. "What are you doing on my ship?"

"Are you police?" the first man asked, looking them up and down. He sounded defeated, as though he hoped they were, but knew that it was impossible.

"Why would we be police?" The Doctor asked, as a bad feeling started growing in the pit of Evy's stomach. She most definitely did not like where this was headed… frowning, she cocked her head to the side, trying to hear over the conversation. The bad feeling increased when she couldn't find the sound she was looking for.

"We got your distress signal," Martha explained, glancing from one crew member to the other.

"If this is a ship, why can't I hear any engines?" Evy asked, knowing that she was not going to like the answer. The lack of a deep seated rumble unnerved her. A ship without engines was immobile and vulnerable; not something you wanted to find yourself on.

"It went dead four minutes ago," the captain replied. Evy swore, earning a half surprised, half scandalized look from the Doctor, and a curious and confused one from Martha.

"So maybe we should stop chatting and get to engineering," the second, older man said sharply."Captain." He addressed sarcastically.

"Secure closure active," a computerized voice interrupted. There was a loud clang from down the corridor,and they spun around to face the noise. "What?!" the captain shouted.

"The ship's gone mad," the second man muttered, exasperated.

Another woman came running down the corridor, barely able to stay just ahead of the doors slamming shut behind her. "Who activated secure closure?" she asked, annoyed, as she jogged over to them. "I nearly got locked in to Area 27."

The last door banged shut, locking them all into Area 30. "Who are you?" she frowned, registering the newcomers.

The Doctor moved to answer, but Martha beat him to it. "He's the Doctor, she's Evy, and I'm Martha," she answered distractedly. "Hello," she added before walking towards a small window with a golden light shining through it. Evy followed her.

"Impact projection: 42 minutes." the computer announced; a loud and emotionless voice.

"We'll get out of this," The captain assured her crew, although she sounded like she was trying to convince herself. "I promise."

Reaching the window, Evy looked out- and what she saw made her blood turn to ice. "Mere de Dieu..." she breathed in French.

"Doctor…" Martha called shakily. She and Evy stared out the window, caught in horrified fascination at the sight below them. Like watching a train wreck, it was impossible to look away from eminent destruction.

"42 minutes 'til what?" the Doctor asked, more concerned with the computer's countdown.

"Doctor!" Martha shouted this time, she and with their faces and palms pressed to the glass. "Look."

He ran over and looked out the window, Evy moving aside to make room.A short distance from the ship was a burning sun. The sight was mesmerizingly terrifying; almost beautiful. However, the one thing on everyone's minds was their perilously close proximity- and the ship's continuing fall toward the ball of fire.

"42 minutes until we crash into the sun." They all heard the captain say, unnecessarily, as they looked out the window, realizing their precarious situation.

The Doctor turned away from the window and strode over to the captain, grabbing her arm. "How many crew members on board?" he demanded.

"Seven, including us," she answered, sounding slightly shaken.

"We transport cargo across the galaxy," the second man explained, "Everything's automated. We just keep the ship…"

The Doctor ran back to the door where the TARDIS was located. "Call the others, I'll get you out!" he called, tying to open the door.

"Don't!" Evy yelled, realizing what would happen if the door was opened.

"What's he doing?" the first man shouted.

"No!" the captain yelled, "Don't!"

But it was too late, he opened the door, only to be knocked back by the pure force of the heat building in the room. He fell to the ground, yelling as he fell. Martha and Evy immediately ran to his side to help him up while the crew members shut the door.

"But my ship's in there!" he protested as they sealed the door once more.

"In the vent chamber?" the first man asked incredulously.

"It's our lifeboat!"

"It's lava," the second man said, shaking his head tiredly.

"The temperature's going mad in there!" the woman read off the gages, "Up 3,000 degrees in ten seconds, and still rising."

"Channeling the air," the first man added, "The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room's gonna get."

"We're stuck here," Martha spat.

"So?" the Doctor asked, not really seeing the problem, "We fix the engines, we steer the ship away from the sun! Simple! Engineering down here, is it?" he ran down the corridor, the group following after him.

"Impact in 40:26," the computer announced.

The Doctor stopped suddenly as they entered a room to see it completely torn apart, "Blimey!" he looked around, "Do you always leave things in such a mess?"

"Oh my God!" the captain shouted, walking past him and into the room. Evy followed her- and blinked in surprise at the destruction before her.

"What the hell happened?" the second man asked, walking over to the wreckage of what had once been an engine. Parts were strewn everywhere, most steaming and nearly all beyond repair.

"Oh, it's wrecked," the first man picked up a piece and dropped it.

"Pretty efficiently too," the Doctor commented, looking closely at the engine, "Someone knew what they were doing."

"You mean, someone did this on purpose?" Martha questioned, sounding a little nervous at the prospect.

Well, I wouldn't want to be on a ship with a saboteur on board either. Particularly a ship about to burn to a crisp- and with destroyed engines to boot.

"Guess that means it's my turn." Evy said, half to herself. One of the crewmen gave a curious look at her statement, before turning back to the engine.

Evy sighed as she gazed at the machinery. Obviously, her preferences were not going to be humored today- her t-shirt was already soaked with sweat, and she didn't want to ruin it any further by getting engine grease on it. Shooting a glare at the Doctor- which he didn't notice- Evy slipped the shirt off. Looking around for a clear spot, she laid it on the cleanest one she could find.

"You got a rubber band in those huge pockets of yours?" She asked the Doctor, walking over to examine the quite likely destroyed engines. He looked up from the computer terminal.

"Yeah, I've-" He caught sight of Evy, now with only the gray camisole as a top. He might have been staring- along with several of the other crew members.

Evy arched an eyebrow, secretly amused that she had surprised him. "Problem?"

He shook himself mentally to get free of the surprise. "No." The Doctor began digging in his pockets- coming up with the requested rubber band.

"There you go."

"Thanks," Evy said, taking the object from his hand, without looking up, and swiftly pulled her long hair into a knot at the base of her neck. Then she got to work.

Hissing in surprise and pain as her fingers touched a bit of metal heated enough to burn, she poked about in the engine. The technology was more advanced she was used to dealing with, but she had experience with more complicated systems and there were only so many ways you could build an engine, after all.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the Doctor had wandered over to a computer terminal attached to the wreckage.

"Where's Corwin?" the captain asked, looking around, "Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?"

"No," the second man replied.

"Corwin?" the captain spoke into an intercom, "Ashton? Where are you?"

There was no response. She tried again. "Corwin, can you answer?"

Still, there was no response. The captain pushed away from the intercom and turned to her crew. "Where the hell is he? He should be up here!"

The Doctor and Evy continued their activities, ignoring the crew rushing around behind them. Working in quiet and unconscious concert, trying to repair the ship.

"Oh!" The Doctor shouted suddenly. Evy looked up from the wreck of engine parts, startled. "We're in the Torajji system. Lovely."

Evy snorted at his enthusiasm and bent back over her work, occasionally letting out small noises and hisses of pain or surprise when her fingers brushed something in the machinery that they shouldn't have.

He turned to Martha. "You're a long way from home, you two. Half a Universe away."

"Yeah," Martha replied sarcastically."Feels it."

"Here. Person whose name I don't know yet." Evy said, trying to catch the attention of the crewmember working with her on the engine. "The engine should be able to feed power still- do you have a way to check where the power's being cut off?"

He looked up. "Yeah- we can scan it. I'll go-" He walked over to the computer the Doctor had just been using.

"And, you're still using energy scoops for fusion?" the Doctor said, eying the captain, his words again pulling Evy from her task. "Hasn't that been outlawed yet?"

The crew shared a significant look with the captain- one which did not go unnoticed. Evy filed that away for later. Something was going on here- something illegal, most likely.

"We're due to upgrade next docking," the captain answered dismissively, walking away from them and over to her crew. Evy narrowed her eyes suspiciously after her, trying to decide what she was hiding.

"Scannell, engine report. Is the girl right about the engines?"

Scannell, the one Evy had been working with, was still fiddling with the computer; everyone looking over his shoulder anxiously. "I'm just checking to see if we can identify where the power stops-"

It beeped several times. "No response," he sighed, going over to the engine. Evy followed him. For several minutes, they both checked over the control feeds- and Evy swore again, this time a full sentence.

"What?" the captain demanded.

"They're burnt out," Scannell explained as Evy examined wires protruding from the wreck, still muttering curses under her breath. "They're burnt out. The controls are wrecked. We can't get them back online. It doesn't matter if the engines are in perfect shape; they can't be connected to the ship's computer."

"Oh come on!" the Doctor whipped off his brainy specs, sounding exasperated. "Auxiliary engines! Every craft's got auxiliaries!"

"We don't have access from here," the captain replied. "The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship."

"Yeah, with 29 password sealed doors between us and them," Scannell added, "You'll never get there in time."

"Can't you override the doors?" Martha frowned.

"No," Scannell shook his head, "Sealed closure means what it says. They're all deadlock sealed."

"Of course they are," Evy mumbled sarcastically. "Damn deadlocks. Why, in all of space, do we wind up on a dying ship where a sonic screwdriver, the solve-all gadget of the universe, is no use?" she asked the heated empty air.

"Nothing's any use," Scannell commented dispiritedly, "We've got no engines, no time, and no chance."

"Oh listen to you!" the Doctor chastised him, "Defeated before you've even started! Where's your Dunkirk spirit?"

He turned to the captain, "Who's got the door passwords?"

"They're randomly generated," the first man interrupted, "Reckon I know most of 'em. Sorry. Riley Vashti."

"Then what're you waiting for Riley Vashti, get on it," the Doctor ordered, taking charge.

"Well, it's a two person job," He explained, picking up a huge backpack and an equally large magnetic clamp. "One to answer the questions, and the other to carry this." Riley pulled the kit on his back. "The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh captain?"

"Reliable and simple, just like you, eh Riley?" the captain smirked.

"Try and be helpful, get abuse," he joked, "Nice!"

Evy cracked a small smile at Riley's teasing. At least someone among the ship's crew was working under the pressure, not running around in a panic or giving up already.

"I'll help you," Martha said, taking the clamp from him. "Make myself useful."

Martha didn't need to say that these past few adventures, she had felt relatively helpless, watching Evy's intelligence and mechanical skills and the Doctor solve problems with what felt like barely any contribution from her.

"It's remotely controlled by computer panel. That's why it needs two." Riley explained. Martha nodded. They turned and began to head away from the group when the Doctor called to Martha, "Be careful!"

Martha looked back- and was surprised by the intensity in his eyes, as though he was willing her to remain unharmed. The look was broken when Evy walked over and gave her a quick hug. "Try and stay safe," Evy said. "If I can't do anything with these engines, I'll run and join up with you two. Three minds solving trivia questions should be something of a help."

"Thanks. You stay safe too," Martha smiled at them. "The both of you."

They turned and walked off just as a male voice came over the intercom, "McDonnell? It's Ashton."

The Captain, McDonnell, rushed over to the intercom, "Where are you? Is Korwin with you?"

"Get up to the med-center NOW!" he nearly yelled through the intercom, not answering the question. The intercom cut off.

McDonnell ran out of the room- the Doctor following close behind.

Evy hesitated a moment, casting a glance back at Scannell, who was still hard at work on the wreck.

He looked up and saw her hesitating. "Go ahead. I've got this for the moment." Scannell said harshly, in frustration with the wreckage. Evy nodded once in acknowledgement- before running off, flying down the corridor to catch up; passing Martha and Riley who were already setting up at the first door.

"Impact in 34:31."