"Well, we've definitely landed somewhere." The Doctor said, staring at the door.
"Where's it taken us?" asked Jack folding his arms as he joined The Doctor by the doors.
"The gamma delta quadrant. A facility named Sanctum, that orbits the gas giant Oberon." He replied matter-of-factly. The Doctor went to reach for the door but then froze, he shook his head, "Whoa... Deja vu."
Jack tilted his head, "Surely you must get that all the time?" He laughed.
"Not like this..." The Doctor said as a little concern prickled at the back of his neck. He slowly backed away from the door and turned to fiddle with the console.
Jack leant on the railings and watched him as he nervously made his way around the TARDIS, "So if there's an out there... out there, what are we waiting for?" He pointed to the door, eager for another adventure.
"McKenzie - she's changing at the moment... I don't know why she insists on changing right before we step out." The Doctor laughed to himself, McKenzie had a habit of changing her clothes frequently since they picked up her things from her family home. It was almost like she was so glad to have her own things back that she had to wear them all at once.
"Although." He paused, "She did say that this time she was trying to make a point about–"
"Couples stuff?" asked Jack, squishing up his face as he intentionally interrupted him.
"Yeah... Let's go with that." The Doctor laughed, awkwardly running his hand through his hair. He felt a bit of red creep its way into his cheeks. He was glad that he could say things like that... but still wasn't sure of what was appropriate to say out loud. But they were somewhat official and he liked that. It was indeed a small step, but after everything that had happened on Florran, the last thing he wanted to do was pressure McKenzie.
He hadn't felt this way about someone in a long time, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to get in the way as it always did... whether it was time and space or more simple things. However the way they had been brought together, who she had become through fault or some sort of insane plan, she could stay with him for as long as she wanted and he hoped that was forever.
The Doctor smiled.
"Ready to go?" McKenzie asked as she appeared behind him.
He turned and looked over her choice of clothes, she was wearing a blue jumper and black leather jacket with a short skirt that rested well above the knee and her boots.
"TARDIS blue, I approve." The Doctor smiled charmingly.
McKenzie grinned back as she looked up at him through her eyelashes.
"So, just so I know. What kind of point are you trying to make in that skirt?" Jack asked, his eyes moving up her legs.
The Doctor looked down at her legs and inhaled sharply before mumbling something incoherent.
McKenzie raised her eyebrow at him, "That point." She said to Jack, "He's not used to travelling with an empath, so I'm gonna slap him every time his thoughts get too... distracting."
Jack looked between her and The Doctor, "You're not really going to do that are you?" he looked sceptical.
"No..." she laughed, "I'm just teasing, you really are a leg man aren't you?" She rolled her eyes and playfully punched The Doctor in the side.
They laughed as The Doctor shook himself back to reality.
"Right then time to go!" He said quickly, trying to change of subject, but in his haste he walked directly into the closed TARDIS doors. He sighed and rubbed his nose, looking over at McKenzie who was biting her lip to stop laughing, "You say nothing." He grumbled, pointing at her as he opened the doors and left.
Jack laughed and gestured at McKenzie to leave before him, catching another glance at her legs.
"But I'm sure I can say whatever I want." he said proudly, grinning at the two Time Lords.
"Jack!" McKenzie gasped. She turned quickly, her eyes wide and her face bright red.
"What?" he laughed, "It's a nice skirt!"
The TARDIS had landed in a long empty corridor, it was made up of white panels and was lined with doors leading to bedrooms. The low hum of engines echoed around them and the whine of the air filters made them almost feel a little trapped. McKenzie stood still for a moment, narrowing her eyes as the boys wandered ahead. She placed one finger out in front of her and tried to align her gaze.
The Doctor turned to her, "Everything alright?" he called from the other end of the corridor.
"Yeah... It's just–" she paused for a moment, "Can you feel that? It's like everything seems... leftier... like everything has moved a little to the left."
The Doctor stared for a moment and swayed slightly, "Now that you mention it..."
"All empty so far," Jack said after checking a few of the rooms, "It looks abandoned."
The Doctor and McKenzie shrugged and followed Jack.
As they reached end of the corridor a sign projected from the ceiling in a pale blue light, it read lounge to the left and kitchen pointing to the right. Ahead of them were two doors and a lift that lead to other floors of sleeping quarters.
"Strange that this place still has power." Jack said, sharing a worried glance with The Doctor. "If there's nothing here, what could still need the power?"
"All the more reason to check it out." The Doctor grinned.
"Can't imagine there'd be much in the kitchen?" McKenzie shrugged, looking up at the sign.
"If it looks anything like the lounge I think you're right…" Jack said, opening the door to the lounge.
A small circular panel in the middle of the door rotated round as two halves of the door shot into the floor and ceiling. They stepped through.
There was a long window on the edge of the room looking down at the planet below, a huge red swirling mass just waiting for a chance to swallow them whole. The room was a mess; everything was angled towards the window as if someone had opened them.