Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love.

10 Doctor and 9 Hatter.

The Hatter run her hand through her hair while she paced the length of her bedroom, every now and then she would pause before shaking her head and continue to pace. She could tell how upset the Doctor was with Madame De Pomadour's death, even though they both knew how and when it would happen, but it still came as a big blow to him.

A moment later, there was a knock at the door before the Doctor walked in, his hair was mussed and he still looked quite upset but he still managed to smile, "How are you settling into your room? I left it exactly the way it was".

"Yes, it's wonderful to be back," the Hatter nodded, eyeing him for a moment before looking away; "I never thanked you, did I?"

"Thanked me?" he repeated, looking confused, "What…"

"For finding me, I mean," she quickly explained, looking back at him, blushing faintly, "I doubt I would have ever became…well, me again if you hadn't. I spent so long living as a human that I even stopped dreaming about my real life. I started believing that I had simply gone through a phase brought on by the sudden death of my….human parents, I suppose we should call them".

"It was my pleasure," the Doctor smiled softly, walking forward until he was standing right in front of her, leaning his forehead against hers, simply enjoying the feeling of each other's presence within their minds.

"Doctor?" the Hatter asked after a moment, not moving away as she could feel through the brief connection they were shearing how lonely he felt , how much guilt he still felt over the Time War.

"Hmm?" he hummed back, enjoying the feeling of being close to someone, let along that person being his Hatter.

"I truly am sorry for not telling you of my plan to escape," she told him; almost whispering she said it so quietly. The Doctor blinked, opening his eyes and drew back slightly so he could see her face.

"I understand," he said, but she only shook her head firmly.

"How could you possibly understand if even I find it hard to believe that I did something like that," she frowned, taking a few steps back until she felt the back of her legs hit her bed, sitting down on it as she ran a hand through her red hair, "To leave my own best friend behind in something as horrible as the Time War? To run away and simply leave behind a note to my own parents like that".

"You were scared," the Doctor crouched in front of her, gently taking her hands and rubbing his thumbs along her pale knuckles, "Everyone was. No one, not even the High Council expected the war to become the way it did. I don't blame you for running".

"You should," she told him, looking slightly sick, "I forced you to do something that I knew would destroy you and all the while I made my escape to Earth, pretending to be human as you almost went mad with guilt and loneliness. How can I, the person who is supposed to be there for you, do such an awful thing?"

"You once told me that fear made people become something they would never usually become," the Doctor reminded her, squizzing her hands tightly as he stared deeply into her eyes, "You are not a bad person, Hatter. Your one of the kindest, caring, compassionate people I have ever met, and I won't let you do this to yourself. I've already seen enough of your tears throughout my life to last two human lifetimes; I'm not going to see you shed anymore. Not over something like this".

"But…" she started but he cut her off.

"No. Hatter, I know you better than anyone. I've seen you stress over exams, complain about your parents, playing with your children, and millions of other things, but I will not watch as you destroy yourself from the inside out over something that can't be changed. Now, why don't you tell me why you gave me the Moment in the first place?"

"You know why," the Hatter sighed, looking down but he quickly lifted her chin with his finger, "Alright, fine, I knew that the person who used the Moment would be the only the survivor, it would have given you enough time to get back to your TARDIS and into the safe zone".

"Did you know at the time that you could escape?" she opened and closed her mouth, making him smile, "Well?"

"No," the Hatter admitted quietly, "I…I never even thought about leaving and when I did, I never expected it to work".

"See?" the Doctor grinned, kissing the side of her cheek, "None of it was your fault, you were just trying to save my life even though you knew it would coast me. What you did wasn't bad, it was good, Hatter".

"You do realise how easy it would be to turn your own words against you would be, right?" she asked, giving him a slight smile after a moment, "But seeing how you were helping, I'll let it pass. Just this once, though".

"Good," he smiled back, trying not to show how relieved he truly was, "I don't like the idea of the Universe were the Hatter doesn't tease me for everything I do".

"I think I'll take that as a complement, Doctor," the Hatter nodded, laughing slightly before turning serious, "Are you alright, Doctor? I know that you and Reinette were close, I'm sorry".

"No, I'm fine," he shook his head, smiling but as the Hatter continued to look at him, he lost the smile.

"Please don't treat me like a child, Doctor," she sighed, making him wince, "I understand perfectly that you have become so used to not being able to talk freely with someone but you're not alone, not anymore, Doctor. I think we know each other well enough, don't you?"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor nodded, looking slightly ashamed of himself, "I'm still getting used to having you back".

"Understandable," the Hatter smiled, nudging his arm slightly with a playful look, "And if it helps, I never really left you. Not really. Sometimes when things get hard I like to think that my children never really left me, not while I can still picture their faces".

His face softened, "Maybe but I prefer real life Hatter to dream Hatter".

"Oh?" she raised her eyebrows at him, "Dream about me often, do you?" the Doctor blushed, making her laugh, "Don't worry, I once dreamed that you took me to a planet were we had a picnic when your other self's all appeared and we all started dancing around as if we were in this musical. Tell me, Doctor, do you remember if your sixth self was any good at brake dancing? He sure was in my dream".

"Not that I can remember," the Doctor grinned, looking amused as he tried not to think too deeply about the small thrill he felt at knowing she had a dreamed about him, "But it sounds interesting".

"Very," she nodded. They looked at each other before busting into fits of laughter, not being able to stop themselves for a few minutes until the Hatter cleared her throat and asked seriously, "Doctor, are you really okay?"

The Doctor opened his mouth, closing it a few times before nodding, "I wasn't," he admitted, sounding unsure of himself, "But I am now. Just seeing you makes me happy".

"And I think your fibbing," the Hatter smiled, rolling her eyes at him as he gasped dramatically, pretending to fall backwards in shock, "Stop acting like a child, Doctor. Besides, don't you think that's a little old, I mean, I can remember you doing it quite often back in our school days".

"Nope," he shook his head, grinning madly as he picked himself up and flopped down beside her on the bed, plopping his head in her lap.

"You do know that you could grab a pillow, right?" the Hatter raised her eyebrows, looking down at him as she fiddled with his hair.

"You're better than any pillow".

"Thank you," she said before saying slightly less sure, "I think?"

The Doctor simply grinned, his eyes tightly shut as he secretly savoured every moment, eventually both falling into a peaceful sleep at some point during the night.

Edited: 27/8/2014.

I have no idea where this came from. I was just thinking about how the Doctor and the Hatter never really seemed to talk about the Time War in the begging, or discuss Madame De Pomadour's death, which I think that they would have once the Hatter got it out of him.

I'm also thinking about doing a series of one short, some long and others shorter because I think that it's a good way to see what sort of things the two Time Lords and companions get up to while not running for their lives. If I get any ideas or if you have any ideas, I'll be happy to give them a go at writing, even if there Classic Who because I have all of the past episodes, start to finish.

I hope you liked it, please review :)