The Doctor bounced excitedly as he came from the fireplace to the ship. He wasn't going to be trapped in France for centuries and that was always a plus. As he went to get back to the Tardis and find Rose and Mickey. He stopped and had an idea.
He went back to the fireplace and called for Reinette.
"Madame De Pompadour!" he said excitedly "still want to see those stars?"
"More than anything" she replied.
"Give me two minutes" he said "pack a bag"
"Am I going anywhere?" she asked.
"Go to the window" he replied "pick a star, any star"
He then rushed off, back to the Tardis. There he found Rose and Mickey waiting for him. He ran up to Rose and hugged her.
"How long did you wait?" he asked
"Five and a half hours" she replied
"Great. Always wait five and a half hour" he said.
He disengaged from his hug with her and went over to shake Mickey's hand.
"Where've you been?" asked Rose, rather testily.
"Explain later. Into the Tardis. Be back in a sec"
As he turned to leave and run back to the fireplace he suddenly had a thought. The time windows were almost certainly still unstable. There was no guarantee that he'd arrive at the right time and if he didn't, not being there would become part of his personal timeline. He'd be better off using the Tardis, which might send him somewhere completely different but would, at least not prevent him from trying again. After all, he could take centuries to get back to where he left and Reinette would be none the wiser.
He turned back to Rose and said "actually, on second thought I'd better get back to the Tardis with you. Come on then!"
He headed back into the control room, Rose and Mickey trailing behind him.
"Now" he said "it doesn't look like there's much left on this ship for us, so I think we'd better be going, don't you?"
"Hang on a minute" said Rose "didn't you say you had something else to do?"
"Yeah" he said "but I can do it from here"
And with that he began flying the Tardis. He rushed around the console like a man possessed, pushing buttons and flicking switches. He gave the console a few whacks with his hammer to keep it moving smoothly.
For some reason, that didn't seem to be working very well. It was the bumpiest ride they'd had in a while and Rose and Mickey were frantically grabbing on to whatever they could. Finally the bumpiness subsided and, with a great, wheezing groaning noise, the Tardis reached its destination.
The Doctor ran up to the scanner and checked it. He was exactly where he wanted to be.
"Thanks, old girl" he muttered.
"We're here" he said to Rose and Mickey.
"Where's "here"" said Mickey.
"In Reinette's bedchamber" said The Doctor "she's always wanted to see the stars"
"Her bedchamber?" said Mickey "ohhoho, the plot thickens"
"You mean you're taking her with us" said Rose.
Mickey laughed at her displeased expression "the more the merrier, I say"
The Doctor left the Tardis to find Reinette waiting for him. Her luggage was arranged neatly beside her.
"Fireplace man" she said "where have you been? I have been waiting a day and a night for your return"
"The girl who waited, eh?" he said "well let's not keep you waiting any longer. Come on in, I know you'll like it. Allons-y!"
Reinette stepped through the door to find something entirely unlike anything she had ever seen before. What looked like a tiny box contained within it a huge cavern, easily the size of many of the rooms in Versailles. Corridors led off from the room to other places. The room looked as if it were made of some form of orange crystal, which grew as if it were a living thing.
The Doctor looked at her shocked expression with amusement.
"Come on, say it" he said "you know you want to"
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen" she said. He didn't look like he was expecting that. "Thank you"
"No need to thank me yet" he said "that star you were thinking about, which one will it be?"
