The plan had gone spectacularly well, all things considered: granted, neither Jamie, nor Victoria, nor the Doctor had taken into consideration the fact that the laboratory in which the sinister Professor had been building his army of robots was situated directly beneath a popcorn factory, and that the blast that would destroy the laboratory in one fell swoop would also cause a mountain of hot popcorn to erupt into being, bursting through windows and doors and taking over the entire half-toppled structure, leaving a trail of buttery fumes in its wake that could be smelled nearly everywhere within a ten-mile radius. Apart from that, the plan had worked splendidly.
"Well, all's well that ends well, what?" declared the Doctor, clasping his hands in delight.
"Aye, I suppose so," shrugged Jamie, flicking the last few bits of popcorn seed from his Jacobite shirt.
"Yes, fine," sighed Victoria, her boots squish-squishing unappetizingly as the trio made their way across the moonlit beach. "Though I don't understand how I was the only one of the three of us who didn't manage to avoid being hit by that horrible blast of buttery topping."
"Yes, well, I'm terribly sorry about that, Victoria," the Doctor attempted to console her, "but look on the bright side, it's a beautiful evening and the Mr. Whippy van's still on the beach, despite everything. What would you say to a nice ice cream?"
"How can you think about ice cream at a time like this, Doctor?" she sighed. Jamie attempted to place a hand on her shoulder, a futile gesture of concern. "Forget it. Congratulations us, we saved the world, I'm going back to the TARDIS, and I'm not coming out until I've scrubbed every molecule of that, that... that disgusting, so-called butter out of my hair."
"Should we go after her?" Jamie asked the Doctor. He worried terribly about Victoria: sometimes, he was struck with the sense that perhaps she did not enjoy all the danger and adventures and exploration that they lived through quite as much as he and the Doctor did. She seemed very different to them, sometimes, though he was fond of her.
"Not just now," advised the Doctor. "I'm sure she'll feel much better after a nice bath and a cup of tea and a lie down."
"Aye, maybe," said Jamie, watching as Victoria squish-squished her way into the TARDIS, closing the door behind her. "I do worry about Victoria, you know."
"So do I," the Doctor replied quietly, placing his hand on the small of Jamie's back. "Did you still want an ice cream?"
"Well, I wouldn't say no to a pokey hat, would I?" Jamie grinned, resting his head against the Doctor's shoulder as they walked to the ice cream van.
The sun had set by the time their ice creams were gone, and the night sky shone with miraculous clarity. Behind them, an array of almost magical twinkling lights illuminated the promenade. Jamie liked to think of himself as a reasonably clever man; there were, however, some things about which he simply conceded that he knew nothing. Chief among those things was the science behind how the Doctor managed to fit an entire beach blanket in his pocket, or how he could possibly have predicted that it would at any point prove useful to them. As such, they lay contentedly beside one another, imagining abstract shapes by connecting the spaces between the stars, and mapping out the universe.
"What's that one, then?" asked Jamie, pointing vaguely in the direction of a faintly twinkling light.
"That one," replied the Doctor, "is the planet Winnipeg. It has the most beautiful orchards."
"Oh aye? What about that one?" smiled Jamie, pointing to another little light.
"You know, I don't think I've been to that one," squinted the Doctor. "We'll have to investigate it, don't you think?"
"Only if we don't end up on another planet of super-intelligent jellyfish," grinned Jamie, shifting onto his side.
"Oh, I think it's highly unlikely that we'd land on two planets of super-intelligent jellyfish," handwaved the Doctor. "And if we did, who's to say these ones wouldn't be friendlier?"
"I think I'm okay with not finding out, if you don't mind," said Jamie, snuggling into the Doctor.
"Well, I'll try not to land us there then, how's that sound?" smiled the Doctor, stroking Jamie's hair.
"I can hear your hearts beating from here," Jamie smiled, leaning in further to kiss the Doctor's neck.
"Jamie," blushed the Doctor. "Perhaps we should go back to the TARDIS and be on our way, don't you think?"
"But while we're here, I thought we might..." Jamie began, his playing idly at the hem of the Doctor's sleeve.
"Oh," replied the Doctor, swallowing heavily. "Well."
"I just thought," sighed Jamie. "We've not had a moment alone without being interrupted for two weeks. It's been two weeks since I told you I fancied you, and what have we done since? Okay, so we drove those swirly-looking beasties off that space station, and then there was that whole thing in the snow, and we almost got eaten by those terrible plants, and now we've blown up an army of robots. Oh aye, it's been great fun, but now... can I just be with you for a wee minute, Doctor?"
In the two weeks since Jamie's blushing confession to the Doctor, which had seen them collapse into a bundle of kisses for the better part of an afternoon, every attempt Jamie had made at further demonstrating his feelings to the Doctor, as it were, had been interrupted by malevolent invaders, or irate security guards, or grateful citizens. That was the nature of their life together, more often than not: adventure followed adventure. Jamie loved it dearly, but not quite as much, just then, as he loved the prospect of a moment alone with the Doctor.
"I just want," Jamie whispered, trailing off, his fingertips tracing quietly over the Doctor's ribcage.
"What do you want?" replied the Doctor, with a warm smile.
"You," grinned Jamie, allowing his touch to become more insistent, more brave.
"Jamie," whispered the Doctor, as though part surprised, and part relieved, as Jamie leaned in for a kiss, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. Buttons seemed to Jamie, in that moment, to be a terrible imposition.
It was almost all a blur to Jamie after that: a blur of hands, his and the Doctor's, hands tracing over unfamiliar flesh, inviting and warm. There was a ringing in his ears, either his heartbeat or the distant sea, though he could not say which it was. The sea, and the flashing lights of the promenade, seemed almost as far away as the planet Winnipeg. The Doctor moved with him slowly, mapping a constellation of kisses across his chest. He could feel the soft sand shifting beneath their weight as they breathed together, the cool air against his skin, and the warmth of the Doctor, as Jamie worked at committing every piece of him to memory. It was the most perfect thing he had ever done. Jamie closed his eyes as he found himself holding onto the Doctor, clinging with rising urgency, dizzy with love.
The Doctor gasped. "Jamie," he whispered, burying his face in Jamie's shoulder as he came. Jamie followed a moment after, closing his eyes as a thousand little lights exploded within him.
"Oh my word," the Doctor smiled after a time, breathless. "Where on earth did you learn to do... that?"
"I don't know," replied Jamie, "what did I do?"
The Doctor did not elaborate further; rather, he beamed, kissed Jamie softly, and snuggled into him.
They lay tangled together for what felt like a very long time, blanketed beneath the bright, twinkling stars, the sound of the sea rolling against the shore far in the distance. Though by Jamie's estimation, the waves seemed to sound nearer with each passing whoosh.
"Doctor, I think the tide's coming in," said Jamie, gently shaking the Doctor's shoulder.
"Is it? That's nice, Jamie," murmured the Doctor, stroking Jamie's hair.
"What I mean," Jamie continued patiently, "is that if you don't get your trousers on and get us out of here, we'll be washed out to sea, along with the TARDIS."
"Oh crumbs!" exclaimed the Doctor, sitting bolt upright. "Jamie, why didn't you say so in the first place?"
"Oh aye, I suppose I should have," eyerolled Jamie.
"Come on, then," said the Doctor, hastily gathering their belongings as the powerful waves drew dangerously nearer. "Let's run for it!"
And with that, they dashed half-dressed and hand in hand back to the safety of the TARDIS.
One hot bath and one nice cup of tea later, Victoria was feeling in much better spirits and smelling like a bouquet of pretty magnolias.
"Doctor? Jamie?" she called out, as she padded down the corridor in her pyjamas. The empty console room confirmed that the boys had not yet returned. Oh well, she thought. It was nice to have a moment of quiet, an evening without an emergency. Sometimes she missed her previous, simpler life: she missed kaiser pudding and not running from explosions, she missed her garden and her home and her father. She was terribly fond of Jamie and the Doctor, and the chance to learn just how vast and magnificently confusing the universe was, but sometimes she appreciated the chance to slow down enough to enjoy a cup of tea. After all, these brave new worlds were as teeming with horrors as they were resplendent with wonder. Just then came the inevitable crash-bang-rattlety-BOOM that heralded the end of her momentary reprieve, as Jamie and the Doctor tumbled through the front door.
"Quickly now everyone, we must hurry before the tide comes in!" exclaimed the Doctor, shutting the door behind them and whooshing the TARDIS into space.
Victoria wondered if it would be impolite to ask why the Doctor was wearing Jamie's kilt, and Jamie appeared to be wearing little more than the Doctor's coat, but elected to say nothing, choosing instead to cling tenaciously to the TARDIS console until they levelled off and stopped shaking, in the hopes that her companions would see about properly dressing themselves by the time they landed once more.