Max got used to the first proper pair of clothes she wore in three years. Navy blue slacks, long-sleeved black shirt, and red running sneakers were far from fancy but might as well be painted gold in her eyes. The Doctor had offered to destroy or ditch the uniform for the Rift Fighter arena, but something inside the former owner decided against that decision. This had been a symbol of her imprisonment but she wore it at the moment when the horror ended.
"I survived that madness, Doc, I'm not forgetting what happened for the life of me. But I'm going to do more."
The Time Lord never brought up the topic again. Max loved her new clothes but she couldn't ignore the creased lines in her skin caused by the uniform. I got through the worst bit, Max told herself, the rest is taking it one day at a time.
They spent time wandering about, talking about what kinds of things the Doctor had seen, and even playing chess. The two of them were doing anything but adventures. Max wondered if the Doctor was taking it easy on her, making sure she recuperated before the crazy things happened again.
While appreciated, Max didn't come on board to be treated with kid gloves.
"Why don't we go out for a drink?"
The Doctor leaned against a railing on the second floor while forming a pile of finished books she read, one book every five minutes. The Time Lord paused, not looking up from the text but continued turning pages after a moment.
"I'm not really one for the Bar scene." The Doctor said casually.
"But you must now a good one."
The Doctor sighed, closing the book she finished and gliding her hands along the others in the untouched pile as if the information could be absorbed by contact alone.
"And if I do?" The Doctor said, turning to face Max.
"Well, I haven't had proper fun in years. I'd like to give it a go. Unless you want to tell me what those books you've been reading are about?"
The Doctor had been picking up random books from her library, some of the titles Max noticed were 'Shadow Societies', 'Known Cybermen locations and how to burn them', and 'Whose still around that could be bothering me this time?'. Max assumed a bunch of these were self-penned by the Doctor in her previous lives. She explained a little bit about regeneration, claiming that it might help in case of something stupid. This made Max ask if that meant she could be a man. The Doctor laughed for a bit about that, and Max wondered what the story could be. No matter what, the two of them clearly needed to get out of the Tardis.
Placing all the current books on a small table, the Doctor walked down to the main console. Without a word, she started her rhythmic dance of twisting dials, pulling switches, and pulled a grand switch that made the Tardis lurch through the cosmos.
Off they went, wherever and whenever, meeting whoever along the way.