Make a Wish
Tegan sighed as she sprawled across her bed. She didn't want to read, or go explore the TARDIS. She didn't want to do anything really. All she could do was think of three words. Probably the closest she would hear to "I love you" from that impossible man. Make a wish.
He had first started saying them to her when the Silurians had attacked the sea base on Earth. She normally only heard people say those words at birthday parties and… How long have I been on the TARDIS? Did I miss my birthday? She wandered out of her room, walking towards the console room.
"Doctor?"
"No Doctor I'm afraid, just me Tegan."
"Sorry, Turlough, I wanted to ask him something."
"Well maybe I can help."
"Doubtful, I was just wondering how long it was that I had actually been on board the TARDIS. Was wondering if I had missed my own birthday. Silly I know, but I just wanted to know."
"Not that silly, let's go ask him."
"Where is he?"
"Not entirely sure, I think he said something about looking up a time period, so the library?"
They left the console room to look for the Doctor.
The Doctor was in his library, looking at a volume of very advanced biology. He was just about to open his mouth when he realized that Nyssa had been gone for a while. At least he stopped trying to talk to Adric out loud. Who knew what Tegan would say if she'd even thought that he was having trouble like that. Missing people so much that he started talking out loud to shadows? She'd laugh he was sure. He put the book back and decided to look at the old travel guides that he had from Earth. He made sure to go to the right time as he didn't want Tegan anywhere near spoilers for her own timeline. Especially since she insisted that he would have to return her to Earth eventually. He really hated that thought, and he didn't know why.
Turlough and Tegan walked in. "Doctor", they both called out.
He looked up from his reading, and wandered over to the entrance of the library. "Yes?"
"Tegan has a question for you."
"Oh, well spit it out Tegan." He couldn't deny that his heart was pounding at the thought that she might want to go home.
"Well, it's actually rather stupid Doctor, but I was just wondering, how long have I been on the Tardis?"
"In chronological time? Or time that you've actually lived?"
"I don't think I understand the difference."
"We'll go with actually lived time then. You've been aboard for approximately 3 years, on and off."
"Oh."
"Is that a bad thing Tegan?"
"No, although I guess that answers my next question."
"What?"
"I wanted to know if I had missed my birthday. "
"Well, today is the 3rd year exactly, since you joined me on the Tardis. Let's celebrate that for tonight."
Tegan smiled at him. Neither one had noticed that Turlough had slipped out the door during their conversation. "Sounds good Doctor."
The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough were found later that evening, in the kitchen with a big cake and a few glasses of bubbly (from their respective worlds so that they'd all be on fair footing in the morning). They laughed and talked and then the Doctor put three candles on the cake. Tegan looked at him.
"Make a wish, Tegan."
She smiled, and took a deep breath and blew the candles out in one go. She closed her eyes and thought of her wish. Then decided to promptly forget it, since she knew actually understanding the Doctor was something no one was capable of, not even the Tardis. She'd have to leave because of that. She just knew that one day he'd be asking her to leave. It's what all the men in her life did eventually. Either they grew bored with her constant need for reassurance, or they got tired of arguing, not noticing that it was part of the way she showed her affection.
Neither one noticed later in the evening when Turlough had slipped out, making his excuses that they were up far too late for him. They continued talking and laughing just as they had before he left. They also continued drinking and getting a little less inhibited with each sip.
"What did you wish for Tegan?"
"It can't come true if I tell you, you must know that Doctor!"
"Superstitution! You know you can tell me."
She laughed at his unsubtle attempts to cajole her into revealing her wish. He started to pout at her. "But Tegan, you know you really can tell me anything."
She stopped laughing, "Not anything Doctor. No one means that even if they think they do."
He huffed at her a little. "You know I'd never tell a lie about something like this. I've been keeping secrets since long before your existence. And those secrets are still intact." He wondered if her wish had anything to do with Turlough. The two of them had been getting friendlier as of late. He needed to nip that in the bud, but first he had to figure out if that actually was the case.
"It has to do with you though. So it would be ruined if I told you, don't you think?"
"And what was that? You have to tell me now. It wouldn't be fair Tegan."
"I wanted to understand you. What you mean when you tell me 'Brave heart, Tegan', or if 'Make a wish' was anything more than just a code for me to close my eyes."
The Doctor's eyes dilated slightly in panic. He never thought she'd be thinking along those lines. He never thought that she would wonder if they were more than a code to be brave and shut her eyes.
"Well make a wish, just once more, and I'll show you what they mean."
She squinted at him slightly, wondering if it was a joke, but decided that the Doctor wasn't that mean. She closed her eyes.
He walked over to her, leaned down to whisper his real name in her ear, and before she could say anything, his mouth swooped down to claim hers, branding her in that instant as forever his.