"Okay, that's how it happened?"

"Yeah."

Max nodded, they were inside the Tardis and the Doctor had told her companion of the time she recently regenerated. A few of the memories were a bit hard to put together, meeting her first incarnation scrambled some details. But the ending… that would always be cherished. She remembered hearing the rules, the promise, and the freedom of being released into her current form.

"And… you were thrown out of the Tardis."

The Doctor blinked, that part of it wasn't exactly the highlight of the memory.

"Um, yeah, that's right… from about 40,000 feet from the ground."

She tried her best to ignore how Max stepped forward, drilling the Time Lord for an explanation with an interrogator's stare.

"Care to tell me how you're not a pancake?"

The Doctor's eye twitched, now there was an experience she'd rather not try to remember ever again.

"I'm going to keep that one to myself, actually," the Doctor said. "Not exactly in the top ten list of times I've been thrown out of the Tardis."

Max turned her head back towards the doors, she clearly noticed they were heavily reinforced to not open if the ship malfunctioned.

Took me three bloody times to remember to get better locks. The next Me's better appreciate that.

"Okay," Max said with a shrug. "It's not my promise being broken."

"What's that?" The Doctor turned towards her companion.

There was no bitterness in Max's face, just annoyance.

"You said you wanted this to be a proper partnership, that demands trust. Meaning no secrets."

"Ah," the Time Lord murmured. "Ask me no questions and I tell you no lies, heard that once somewhere." The Doctor sighed, keeping promises was going to be harder than just following the code her 12th incarnation stated before the change. Max Lin didn't seem surprised that the Doctor would be shifty, that was worse than anything.

But the Time Lord had a plan.

She stepped away from the console and walked towards her companion. The younger woman made no attempt to step away out of fear, which was nice. Now the Doctor just had to make sure that small smidge of trust was proved worthwhile.

"Fine," the Doctor said. "Memories are tricky and the nastier bits are going to be forgotten occasionally for my own sanity, but there is something I can do for you, Max Lin."

"And what's that?" Max said in a challenging tone.

"I'm going to take you to the one place I've never brought anyone." the Doctor said with a grin.

The fortitude in Max's face wavered, two adventures had been enough to educate the young woman on the potential for chaos to pop on at any second.

"Don't worry," the Doctor said as she stepped backwards without taking her eyes off of Max. "This is not a place of danger." She ran her hand along the console's various keyboards and pressed buttons by instinct rather than sight. Max remembered the bit in the regeneration story of how a poor button press led to, and gripped the railing for dear life.

"What is it then?" Max said, trying to casually guide herself hand over hand towards the console while maintaining a constant grip in case history repeated itself. When they were inches apart, the Doctor answered her happily.

"Memory."

She then pulled the lever and they were on their way.