"So where should we go next?" the Doctor asked. They were sitting in the Bonjaxx' Bar on the planet Marutha. He was tipped precariously back in his chair, his red sneaker clad feet up on the table. He was sipping on a glowing bright blue drink he called "Terellian Brandy". Sophie had tried a sip and found it to be obscenely sweet and just a wee bit intoxicating. The Doctor didn't seem to be affected by it. She shrugged. Must be some sort of Time Lord/Human thing. She was still trying to sort that all out. On the outside, he seemed normal, human even. On the inside, well sometimes she wasn't exactly sure what he was. She did know that he was a wonderful companion and she was having the time of her life. She wasn't sure how long it all was going to last but for now, she was willing to go along for the ride.

The Doctor had been taking her to some amazing places. The Layoran Temple with its grand views, Sky City in the 453rd Century and The Hanging Gardens of Babylon on Ancient Earth were some of her favorites. The market place on the planet Shen Shan was amazing and she literally spent days marveling at all of the wondrous goods from across the Universe offered for sale. She bought herself a remarkable number of shoes there, which the Doctor found to be quite amusing. He might be happy with two pairs of tennies but Sophie liked to have a number of choices in footwear to match her mood.

Sophie sipped on her Riverfruit wine, a remarkably familiar flavor considering it came from the planet Alzarius. She hated when he asked her to choose a place to visit. Her world and ideas were so limited compared to this. It seemed silly, the Earth things she asked to see when there was a

whole Universe available to visit. She shrugged, hoping he would think of something and go off on one of his dizzying exaltations of some marvelous place he wanted to take her. This time he just sat and stared at her.

"C'mon m'dear! It's your turn" he prodded. "The Library at Alexandria? The Palace at Versailles? No not there…bad memories there…" he mused. "The Court of Queen Elizabeth? No probably shouldn't go there either". Sophie laughed. "Romances gone wrong?" she asked. "Hmm…something like that" he replied. "Let's just say that red headed women and I well..that red head…yeah…" Sophie laughed again. "Well it's a good thing I don't have red hair then huh?" He smiled at her. "No. You don't need red hair. You're beautiful just as you are." Sophie blushed and ducked her head as he lowered his chair and reached over the table to touch her hair.

Behind Sophie, the Doctor caught the beginnings of an argument between two of the bar's patrons. He grabbed his drink just as the altercation became physical and one of the combatants went sliding on his back across the table. He quickly downed his remaining brandy and grabbed Sophie's hand. "I think it's time we should be getting back" he said with a wink as he began to pull Sophie toward the front door. She looked down at the hapless fighter sprawled in front of her and smiled. The scene reminded her of someone she was very fond of, a friend living in a different time and place. She drank the rest of her wine and allowed herself to be pulled from the bar.

They walked hand in hand back toward the corner where the TARDIS was parked. The Doctor could tell that something had changed. Sophie was quieter, her mood darker. He didn't ask. He didn't want to. It was a look he knew well. Something has reminded her of her home. She would tell him if she wanted to. He would take her home if she wanted to go.

Sophie tried hard to get the image of Eliot out of her head. It's not that she didn't think of her friends back home. She missed them, she missed them a lot. She also knew that sacrifices would have to be made. In order to be with the Doctor, she had to be happy here in the moment, to enjoy the ride for as long as it lasted. To go home, even for a moment, would be to lose him forever. She looked up at the sky, at the moon. It amazed her that even though things were so different now, some things would always remain the same, a moon, the warmth of a hand in hers, the feeling of falling in love. She looked at the Doctor. Yes, she would sacrifice for this man. Right now, right here, this was her choice. She quickly leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "What was that for?" he asked. "For the moon" she replied. He looked puzzled and started to ask when she pulled him toward her and quieted him with a kiss.

Back inside the TARDIS, Sophie disappeared into the back. The Doctor spun the dials and the ship lifted off the ground with its signature whooshing groaning sound. He was told once that it was because he always left the parking brake on. That might be true but he liked the sound so he never went looking for the brake to find out. Satisfied with his coordinates, he went to the front door and opened it wide. He looked outside and sighed. By the time Sophie came looking for him, he was sitting on the edge of the metal platform, his legs dangling and his arms resting on the rail. He was staring out the open door into the space beyond. Sophie quietly lowered herself down next to him. The cloth of her silk gown slid off her shoulder but she made no move to fix it. She tried to look out the door where he looked but the sight of endless space made her dizzy and she had to look away. Neither of them said anything for a time.

Finally the Doctor spoke. "It's called the Crab Nebula." Sophie took a quick peak. She focused on the pink cloud dancing in front of her, keeping her eyes on the fixed stars rather than letting them wander across the never ending horizon. "It's beautiful" she said. "I imagine there aren't many who can see it like this. It really is something special." "You can see it from Earth you know" he said. "Can you? I've seen pictures I suppose but they don't look anything like this" she replied. He still didn't look at her. "Sophie? Do you want to go home?" The question startled her and it took her a minute to reply. She wanted to be honest but she wasn't sure she had an honest answer. Finally she said, "Yes." She heard him let out the breath he was holding. She continued "Yes but not now. Not today. Not for a while. OK?" He still wouldn't look at her. She could tell that his heart was going to break. They both knew it would someday. But not today. She touched his face with her hand and he turned to look at her. "Not today OK? She asked. "Can we be OK just for today? And then tomorrow you can ask again. And I will say 'not today'. And we can just be happy today for as long as today lasts. OK?" He looked deep into her eyes and was comforted by what he saw. "Ok" he said.

They sat together for a long while, just watching the colors outside the door change as the TARDIS slowly moved past the nebula. Though the door was open to empty space, the room inside stayed at a normal temperature. It hurt Sophie's brain to think about all of the crazy things that seemed to happen around the Doctor. It was easier just to accept the impossible than to try to make sense of his explanations. They all seemed to start with "wibbly wobbly" something or other. Despite the warm atmosphere, Sophie began to feel a chill. She moved closer to the Doctor and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She leaned her head on his shoulder and they sat together a while longer.

Sophie guessed they had been together about two weeks, though it was hard to tell inside the TARDIS. She was still bound by the Earthly restraints that she had always lived with but, when today, tomorrow and yesterday all seemed to blend together, it was easy to lose track. Even sunrises in the morning and sundown at night, things that had always seemed so linear to her, became subjective. She tried to adjust to a timeless schedule as she found the Doctor's difficult. While she felt the need to sleep, he seemed to go for days on end before needing to rest. The Doctor never minded lying with her while she slept. She loved to tuck in next to him with his arms wrapped around her. It made her feel safe in what seemed to be a, well, wibbly wobbly timey wimey world. Still, they had never talked about what it might mean to take the relationship farther. Sophie wasn't even sure how to begin to ask him about that. Having sex with someone who wasn't human? That had never come up before, at least not to her knowledge.

Sitting at the open door of the TARDIS, looking out at the vast Universe, Sophie suddenly felt the Doctor's arm around her shoulder wasn't enough. She was still feeling fragile from her bout of homesickness and their emotional conversation. She needed to be touched. She turned toward him, tucking her leg underneath her and putting her hand on the back of his head to pull him to her. Still wary of the open door, she kept her other hand on the rail behind her. He didn't resist her as she pulled him into the kiss. She pushed closer to him, wanting him to understand but not wanting to push him into anything that he didn't want, or couldn't do.

The Doctor understood. He wanted her too. It had been a long time, almost longer than he could remember. It was in a different body than this one. He wanted to know what it would be to be touched in this body, to have this body touch Sophie. Still he hesitated. He liked to pretend that he lived only in the moment, in a world without time, but the reality was that he was as tied to his past as every other creature in the Universe. Still, Sophie was leaning against him, her hand in his hair and her lips on his. He was finding it hard to think. He raised his hand to her shoulder and fingered the soft fabric of her dress before slowly pulling it down lower on her arm. She moaned just a little, letting him know she wanted more. He slid his hand over her shoulder and into the back of her dress, letting his arm push the gown lower. Sophie abandoned all fear and let go of the rail, pushing her hand under his arm and inside his coat, pressing her body tight to his and pulling his coat off by the collar with her other hand. It was his turn to moan as she pulled the tail of his shirt from his pants and slid her hand up his back. He kissed her again and started to push her down onto the platform but Sophie resisted. One more look out the open door and the feel of the metal platform beneath was enough for her. She backed away slowly and stood up. She took his hand and pulled him up to meet her before pressing her lips back to his, holding his chest to hers. She began to move backwards on the platform, around the console in the center, to the back of the room, pulling him along with her, never breaking physical contact. Somehow she managed to lose her dress as she found her way back to the library before pulling him to his knees.

The Doctor took a moment to look into Sophie's eyes before letting them trace down the length of her body. He wanted this so badly now but not at any cost to her. She gave him a little smile before pulling him close again. He let his hands begin to touch her. The Doctor closed his eyes, his hands memorizing every curve while Sophie brushed his face with her fingertips and her breathing quickened. She began to work the buttons down the front of his shirt, helping him shrug it off. She let her fingers tangle in his chest hair then pushed him down to his back. She still wasn't sure about how this Time Lord/Human thing was going to work but she was anxious to find out. She straddle, kissing him deeply while her fingers began to tug at the front of his pants. He pulled back, just a bit and put his hand on hers murmuring her name. "Sophie. Sophie wait." She stiffened. "Sophie, I just need to know. I need to be sure. I need to…" "Bloody Hell" she whispered back. "Will you please stop worrying! I'm a big girl. I know exactly what I'm doing." With that she finally managed to get her hand down the front of his pants and he inhaled sharply. He started to talk again but she quieted him with another kiss. "I want this" she said quietly. "And I want you. OK?" "Ok" he told her with a smile. "Ok".

When they were done, Sophie curled up on his arm, her body still pressed against his. He wrapped his free arm around her waist and buried his face into her hair. He held her until her breathing slowed and he knew she was asleep. He thought about his almost 1000 years of life and all of his travels. He had experienced great joy and great loss. Sometimes he thought that maybe he had lived long enough and he wondered why he continued. Tonight he thought he knew. Moments as perfect as this didn't come along very often. But when they did, it made it all worthwhile. Sophie made a quiet noise in her sleep and he pulled her just a little closer, finally letting himself drift off to join her in her dreams.