Triple Play
by Metzger
The Eighth Doctor and C'rizz come up with a plan to make Charley's book a best-seller.

C'rizz and the Doctor were only trying to help, Charley knew, but at times like this, she wished they wouldn't bother. They were whispering together, clearly about her, and they kept sneaking little glances in her direction. It was only a matter of time before they approached her.

The Doctor first raised the dreaded question. "How's your book coming along?"

"Not so well," Charley admitted, knowing if she lied the Doctor would ask to see the progress she hadn't made. "I haven't worked on it in some time. I really should try to make more headway."

"No time like the present!" the Doctor exclaimed. "We're not doing anything at the moment, just your standard hanging around the vortex waiting for our next adventure. Show C'rizz and me what you can do. We'll give you some feedback.." He placed a piece of paper and a pen in front of her.

Charley stared at the blank page. She had been neglecting her work for far too long, and it was proving difficult to get started now. She couldn't even think of an interesting opening sentence. But C'rizz and the Doctor were waiting, more like hovering, and she didn't want to fail in front of them.

Finally she picked up the pen and forced herself to jot several lines. Surely something was better than nothing. The fact that she had made an effort had to speak in her favor, hadn't it? Then she read the words she had just scrawled and let out a groan. "Oh, no one's going to want to read this. It's BORING."

"Really?" C'rizz ambled over, plucked the paper out of her hand, and skimmed it. "Hmmm, I quite agree with your assessment."

Charley scowled. "Well, thank you very much."

C'rizz shrugged and passed the page to the Doctor. "I was just being honest. A lie wouldn't benefit you."

"C'rizz is right," the Doctor offered after he too had scanned the writing.

Charley glared at him as she rose and snatched back her work. It was one thing for her to critique her writing and quite another for her so-called friends to tear it apart.

"Now, now, Charley," the Doctor chided. "Before you get upset, I wouldn't say it if I didn't have an idea about how to spice things up a bit - make your book a must-read."

She crumpled the worthless paper into a ball and hurled it across the room. "All right. What's your brilliant idea?"

"Sex."

Charley blinked. "What?"

"Sex," the Doctor repeated. "You need to make your book scandalous, daring, risque. And utterly compelling."

The Doctor was joking, Charley realized with relief. She lightly replied, "That's easy for you to say, but not so easy for me to write."

"I suppose," C'rizz mused, "one would need some experience to be able to write about that particular subject."

Charley nodded. "You know what they say. Write what you know."

"Exactly!" the Doctor cried. "And that is not a problem. I'm entirely willing to help you get over your lack of experience."

"You. . . . what?" Charley said weakly. The Doctor had almost sounded serious this time.

"Let me show you." And he drew her close and proceeded to kiss her. It was a long, slow, leisurely kiss that made Charley's toes curl, and when the Doctor finally released her, she did not let go of his arm right away. If she had, she thought she might have fallen.

Not that she had much of anything to compare him to, she had to admit, but she thought he must be right. This experience was just the tip of the iceberg. The Doctor's kiss had promised much more to come, and surely if she wrote about it, no one would want to put her book down!

"I already have a suggestion for the title of the pertinent chapter: Encounters With Aliens," the Doctor said with a smile.

"ALIENS?" Charley repeated, still swaying slightly. "Not alien, singular?"

"As I was saying, not only am I willing to help you but so is C'rizz," the Doctor informed her.

C'rizz's participation was a possibility Charley had not previously considered. She looked at her other friend, who smiled back. "Of course I'll help you, Charlotte. That's what friends are for, isn't it?"

Charley took a deep breath. "Right. I have just one condition. If we're going to do this, you're going to HAVE to start calling me Charley!"