Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or the 28th Century. This is a DoctorxCathica pairing. Enjoy!

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Chapter 1

Cathica frowned as she shoved her way through the crowded shopping mall somewhere in the late 28th century. She was lost, hungry, and quite upset at being dumped into an unknown environment. Plus the fact that she didn't remember anything after the Doctor and his friends had left.

As far as she could figure out, Cathica was on Earth, somewhere in Africa. Ninety percent of the people around her were dark-skinned like she was, and some of the women were wearing forehead jewels. In the year 200,000, forehead jewels were a sign that an African woman was single and looking for a husband. Of course, they could have a totally different meaning here. Sighing, the woman decided to find a room for the night and get some food into her. Groaning, she then realized she needed money. How had she gone from a journalist to a beggar in less than a day?

Several hours later, Cathica sat in a dive bar on the outskirts of town. She was drunk, dirty, and was on her 5th Ultra Bloody Mary. The woman was currently entertaining a bunch of other drunks by snapping her fingers and opening the info spike implanted into her head. The men were staring at her and laughing every time she opened the panel. After one of them had made fun of her, several others had jumped the unfortunate man, saying that Cathica was cool and giving the fellow a good beating while dragging him out the door.

Gulping back the rest of her drink, the black woman reflected on the events of the past twenty-four hours. A day ago, she had been living a perfectly happy life on Satellite 5, reporting on events from around the Empire. Then the Doctor and his crew had shown up, and things had gone to hell. Literally. She had found out that the human race was being controlled by a giant slug alien, and she had been responsible for heating up it's living quarters enough to kill it. Talk about an eventful day.

Closing her bloodshot eyes, Cathica remembered the smile the Doctor had given her after she had helped destroy the alien. His gaze had been kind and it was then she had realized that he respected her for stepping up and doing something without being told to do it. She had also seen something else in his eyes…or maybe that was her alcohol-flooded brain playing tricks on her.

Sighing, she opened her eyes and gazed blurrily around her. The other drunks were either watching a football match, inhaling even more beer, or were passed out where they sat. Swaying slightly, she rose to her feet and slapped some cash down on the table. She figured it was enough to cover what she had drunk, seeing she had nicked it off of a fellow drinker earlier that evening. If not, well, she was going to be long gone by the time anyone figured it out.

Pushing open the door, she stumbled out into the street. It was around 2 in the morning, and the roads were quiet. In the distance, a dog barked and the wail of a police siren drifted through the air. Turning left, she passed by several run-down buildings, heading in the general direction of a hotel Cathica had spotted previously. Walking beneath a burned out streetlight, she paused as a low chuckle met her ears. Glancing ahead, she saw several figures in the darkness. One advanced towards her, crooning, "Hey there, sexy…wanna go have some fun?" Laughter from his companions met the statement, and Cathica took a step backwards, fear quickly clearing her mind. Normally, she wouldn't hesitate to fight the jerk, but she was intoxicated and outnumbered. Backing up a step further, she spat, "I'd rather spend the night with a homeless bum that you!"

"Hey now, that's not very nice…" Chucking again, the stranger rapidly closed the distance between them, giving Cathica a light shove into the lamppost. Leaning in, he growled, 'You better start actin' nice quick, 'cause you're getting me mad." Smelling the beer off his breath, Cathica decided that this scumbag didn't even deserve a response. Swinging her right hand up, she gave him a hard slap in the face and kneed him in the groin. As he doubled over in pain, the woman took off in the opposite direction, running as hard as she could. Behind her, she heard the leader of the little gang gasp out several swear words and start after her, accompanied by his henchmen.

Grinning, she picked up the pace and rounded a corner only to have stars explode in her vision. As she stumbled backwards, Cathica was grabbed by the collar and slammed against a brick wall, making the lights in her head double in number. Sliding down to the ground, she faintly heard the ringleader say, "Good job, ya got her. Hehehe…now comes the fun bit…" Darkness replaced light as her vision narrowed, then faded altogether as she passed out.

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Cathica woke up slowly, her head pounding as if a sledgehammer had hit her several times. Brown eyes opened cautiously, and she found herself facing a light blue wall. Sitting up, she realized she was in a hotel room of some sort. But how had she got here?

Glancing down at herself, Cathica found she was dressed in a white nightgown and her hair was loose. Reaching up, she ran an finger across a layer of bandages wrapped around her forehead. The info spike panel didn't seemed to be damaged from the hit, but what had happened?

Rubbing her temples to try and get rid of the headache, Cathica sighed and decided to get up and try and figure out how she had gotten from a street corner surrounded by thugs to a hotel room with a really bad headache.

"I have some Aspirin if you need it." Letting out a yelp of surprise, Cathica wrenched her neck around and started at the person opposite her, simultaneously gathering up the blankets and wrapping it around her body. "D-Doctor!"

Grinning, the Time Lord watched as she blushed, holding the bedspread up to her neck. "What are you doing here?" she asked, still staring at him. He was dressed in his typical worn leather jacket, and had on a dark gold jumper underneath. Shrugging, he replied cheekily, "Ah, I was just passing though. Saw you, realized that you needed help, and brought you to a hotel. How did you get here anyway? You should still be on Satellite 5."

Annoyed that he had answered her question so lightly, Cathica frowned and muttered, "Geez, I don't know. Don't remember much anything that happened after you left. I just ended up here…" Trailing off, she thought about what had happened after the Doctor left. The box he travelled in had faded from sight, and Cathica had wandered off to try and bring a bit of order to the chaotic space station. After calming most of the people down, she had went to her quarters to try and get a bit of sleep. She had opened the door to her room…and that was all she could remember.

Tearing herself away from her memories, she looked up to see that the Doctor was also frowning. Now that she had time to study him a bit more, the woman realized that the man in front of her was slightly handsome, in a biker-gang sort of way. "Um…do you mind if I get dressed?" she asked, after looking at him for a full minute without him ever noticing.

"Hm? Oh, go ahead." The Doctor replied, waving a hand distractedly. Standing up, he moved over to look out the window and to give Cathica a bit of privacy. After making sure he wasn't looking, she stood up and went over to the bureau, pulling open the top drawer to find a small pile of clothes.

Casting a wary glance at the Doctor's back, Cathica quickly changed into a soft vermilion sweater and a loose pair of black jeans. Turning around, she found that the Doctor was still staring out the window. Since the window showed nothing but the brick wall of the building across from it, the woman suspected he wasn't staring at the stunning scenery.

Walking over to him, she laid a dark hand on his shoulder, wondering if she should say something. Bowing his head, the Doctor sighed, then his shoulders started to shake slightly. Realizing the something was definitely wrong, Cathica decided to leave him alone and go find something to eat. Taking a step back, she dropped her hand and turned for the door. Then her hand was grabbed and the ex-journalist was drawn into a tight embrace. Her face was pressed against the fabric of his jumper and she felt his arms slip around her.

It was then she found out the Doctor was crying; practically sobbing. Unsure of what to do, she patted him on his back, listening with some awe at the double heartbeat. So he was an alien…so the creepy guy on Floor 500 had been telling the truth…

Closing her eyes, Cathica made soothing noises in and effort to calm him down, switching from patting to rubbing his back. "Shhhh…it's alright…if you want, you can tell me…shhh…"

"Oh Cathica…everyone just keeps dying…and I keep putting Rose in danger." the Doctor said between sobs. Pulling her even closer, he whispered, "What can I do to stop it?" Stopping the rubbing motion, she gave in and hugged him back, eventually raising her head up to look him in the face. Brown eyes gazed into watery steel-blue ones and Cathica said sternly, "You have to accept that everywhere you go, you find trouble. If you can't do that, make sure Rose is safe. Speaking of which, where is she?"

"I left her with Jack back at the TARDIS…she'll be fine; there is nothing here that is going to cause trouble. Besides, Jack will protect her if anything does happen."

"I suppose…" her voice trailed off as she smiled lightly up at the Doctor. Well, he had stopped crying, at least for the moment. Sniffing, he returned the smile with a grin and let her rest her head on his shoulder.

"You look good in vermilion."

"Really?"

"Yeah, brings out your eyes."

"Oh…gold looks great on you, especially with that jacket."

"Hm…I'll have to wear gold more often then, eh?"

"You really should."

Snuggling deeper into the aforementioned leather jacket, she breathed in the scent of oil and sweat. There was also something she couldn't identify, but it smelled wonderful. Relaxing, she felt the Doctor move a hand from her back up to her hair, running his fingers through it. He played with her hair for a few minutes, Cathica enjoying every second of it. She had never been in a real relationship with anyone; there had been some promising guys before, but they had either turned out to be jerks or had run off on their own. Of course, she held no illusions about the Doctor. The woman could sense that he had a deep connection to Rose, and this was nothing but a little break, a chance to let feelings out that he couldn't show around the younger girl.

Raising her head from his shoulder she looked him in the eye, seeing that he was feeling slightly happier. Smiling weakly, the Doctor brushed away a few strands of black hair from her face. Tipping her head up, he gave her a very soft kiss on the lips. Breathing, "Thank you." he gave her a final pat on the back and headed for the door. Just as he reached it, he snapped his fingers and turned around.

At the click of his fingers, the panel in her forehead had automatically popped open. Snapping her own fingers, she smiled as it closed once more and motioned for the Doctor to speak.

"Opps, sorry. Forgot about that." Grinning, he continued. "There should be enough clothes in the dresser for a few days, and there is a wallet with some money in there too." Giving her a cheerful wave of the hand, he finished with, "Right then, I'm off. Be good, stay outta trouble, and have a good life. See ya."

Lifting a hand, Cathica waved back as he stepped out and shut the door behind him. That had been a great way to start off a new life, and the woman was determined to make sure she used this second chance to the best of her abilities. Running a comb through her hair, she arranged it in a braid, grabbed some money, and headed out the door to find herself a job.

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The bedroom scene was an idea given to me by Americ's Pet, so I'm giving her the credit for that.