"So how have you been, Doctor?" Doctor turned to see the source of the question. Right next to him there was a woman, propped against a wall. She had short, curly hair and a smug grin on her face. She was smoking a cigar; the thick smoke almost covered her blue eyes. The Doctor didn't recognize her, until he saw the tatoo on her hand.

"Corsair?" he asked. The tatoo of a snake eating it's own tail was so familiar and nostalgic. Last time Doctor had seen the Corsair, he was a tall man, so he was a little surprised by his newest body. "You regenerated?"

"A while ago. We've been out of touch, Doctor." She laughed loudly. "So." Suddenly she grabbed his arm and pulled him much closer to her. "Why are you back, Doctor?"

She was staring at him, eager to know the answer, he knew that. The fact that he came back after so long was almost as unexpected for him as it was for her. But there was only one answer to her question now, wasn't there?

"For the same reason you are here, probably." he said; his voice became quieter. "Am I right?"

She laughed again, with her head tilted backwards.

"War, no war; it's none of my business."

There was something peculiar about Corsair, that no matter what regeneration; young or old, male or female, Doctor always felt like they were alike. In many years of his travels, he often found himself longing for this familiarity.

"But what will you do if it starts?" The Doctor asked. "War, I mean."

Corsair threw away her cigar, and ran a hand through her hair, sighing. Doctor smiled at the sight of that, because it was bringing back memories, as her last regeneration used to do exactly the same thing. It was nice to know that there are things that don't change, even after regeneration.

"You know, Doctor, that I am anything but patriot. If ship's going to sink, I'll run."

"We may win." The very moment he said it he knew how stupid it was. But yet, he couldn't help himself; there was always a glimmer of hope for him.

Corsair just smiled at him. She was used to his unrealistic optimism. The Doctor always suspected she found bringing him back to reality satisfying.

"There are no victors in these wars, Doctor. You should know better." She turned around and looked at the Doctor again. "Will you walk with me?"

The Doctor nodded and they went down the street.

When they walked, Doctor tried to enjoy the sight of Gallifrey. He hadn't seen his planet in a very long time; he should be happy to be back. But the talks between Time Lords and the Daleks have gotten even on his nerves; he was anxious.

They stopped right next to the tree, which was, the Doctor suspected, Corsair's Tardis in disguise. He was so used to his blue box he almost didn't notice it.

"Oh, and one more thing." Corsair said, turning in his direction. She looked him in the eyes, and for a while, Doctor thought she was going to tell him something, but suddenly she turned around again and laughed. "Or not. Goodbye, Doctor."

"Wait." He tried to stop her by standing in between her and her Tardis. "What you were going to say?"

The Corsair sighed, slightly irritated. She tried to smile once again, but it felt forced and sad.

"We both know what I was going to say, Doctor, and we both know your response." She laughed, but her laugh sounded bitter. "I couldn't handle it last time and I can't handle it know. Perhaps some things are just better left unsaid."

(Time Lords don't talk about feelings.)

The Doctor looked at her with sadness in his eyes. He understood perfectly what she was talking about, but he wished he wouldn't. He opened his mouth to speak, but Corsair interrupted him.

"Oh, don't give me this sad look. I'm not..."

Suddenly, the Doctor pulled her into a hug. She felt her stiffened, but she awkwardly tried to hug him back before she pulled away. He grinned at her.

(She smelled like her cigars.)

"Well, that's...new." Corsair said after a while. "I don't remember your last regeneration being so touchy."

"I must've picked it from humans then."

"Be careful, Doctor. If you keep this up, you may just regenerate with one heart one day." She was always laughing at him for his association with humans, but her words were never mean. "You didn't bring one of them with you here, did you?"

"I'm not so reckless to bring a human to Gallifrey in a brink of war." he responded.

"There is no war yet." Corsair protested. "And you are so reckless. I heard stories about you, Doctor."

He was tempted to ask what stories she heard exactly, but he didn't. Corsair clearly wished to leave and he didn't want to prolong her departure.

"The war will start soon, maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will. So what do you say? We can make one trip, just the two of us. Think of the adventure, Corsair!"

"Oh, really? And whose Tardis we're flying?" She stuck out her tongue at him and opened the doors of her ship. "See you around, Doctor!"

He watched for a while, until the ship had disappeared completely and then came back to his own. He walked inside and leaned on the console, sighing heavily. This kind of meetings were as joyful as they were sad; they reminded him of all the things he abandoned when he decided to travel.

But he never let regret overcome him.

Doctor wondered, for a while, when he had seen Corsair last time. Was it his 4th regeneration? Or maybe it was the 6th?

He couldn't remember. It made him feel slightly guilty.

But, he justified himself, it was a very different Doctor and a very different Corsair.

(But even then, they understood each other.)

He pushed some buttons on the console and took off.

Even if war will start, he won't let himself be involved, he decided. It's none of his business.

None.