I was meant to be working on episode two of Rynne Davies today, but I found myself watching Black Orchid and began to explore the Nysric ship, and now here I am. I have a couple of chapters of this little fic written, so stay tuned :)

Adric couldn't sleep. He could hear soft snoring coming from Tegan's room next door, and he assumed Nyssa was asleep too.

Nyssa...

He got up and decided to go for a walk to clear his mind. Without meaning to, he found himself in the Control Room, where the Doctor was kneeling in front of the TARDIS controls, presumably performing some sort of maintenance.

"Adric!" said the Doctor, noticing Adric standing in the doorway. He gave the boy a curious look before turning his gaze back towards the TARDIS controls. "What are you doing up and about at this time of night?"

"Well..." began Adric, wondering about what he should say. "May I ask you about something, Doctor?"

The Doctor turned away from the TARDIS control panel to focus his attention on Adric, before answering his question with, "Certainly, Adric. Ask away."

Adric opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He closed it, and began to pace back and forth, a look of genuine discomfort on his face. "I'm not sure how to phrase it," he said finally.

"Well do try," said the Doctor. ""It must be of some importance to keep you from sleep."

"I..." stuttered Adric. "Oh, Doctor, why can't I stop thinking about...?"

"About...?" encouraged the Doctor, patiently waiting for Adric to speak in his own good time.

"Oh, about Nyssa!" said Adric, finally. "I can't stop thinking about her!"

"What do you mean, thinking about her?" asked the Doctor.

"Oh, Doctor, I can't even explain..." said Adric. "When you, Tegan, Nyssa and I leave the TARDIS, I always want to walk next to her, speak with her, and then when I'm not with her, she keeps popping into my mind!"

The Doctor began to smile at his young companion's naivety. "I believe, young Adric, that you may be in love with dear Nyssa."

"What?" exclaimed Adric. "No, Doctor, I couldn't be in love with her..."

"Why ever not?" he asked. "You're roughly the same age; you're both exceptionally intelligent... And she is very pretty, you know."

The Doctor grinned as Adric's face began to burn up at his last comment.

"Oh, come on; don't tell me that you don't agree."

"I do agree," Adric mumbled, staring at his shoes. "She's... Well, I mean... She's beautiful."

"There's the ticket!" laughed the Doctor, patting Adric's shoulder jokingly.

"But how do I make it stop?" he groaned.

"Why on Earth would you want it to stop?" asked the Doctor.

"Because, Doctor, it's infuriating!" said Adric. "I can't go on like this!"

"Oh, Adric," sighed the Doctor. "What you need to do is inform Nyssa of your feelings."

The colour visibly drained from Adric's face

"I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"I don't think she cares that much for me," said Adric, sadly. "She's so close to Tegan that she spends all her time talking with her, or helping you to fly the TARDIS..."

"Nonsense!" replied the Doctor. "She cares very much for you, Adric!"

"You think so?" he asked, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I do," said the Doctor. "But what you need now, Adric, is rest!"

"Ah, yes," laughed Adric.

He turned to walk back towards his room, but not before pausing to look back and say, "Thank you, Doctor," but he Doctor was once again engrossed in the TARDIS' controls and Adric got no reply, which made him chuckle.

A little review from my fellow Nysric shippers would be lovely :)