This story takes place between The Invisible Enemy and Image of the Fendahl. It shows how two of the most unlikely Tardis occupants became good friends.
Chapter 1
Leela had asked that the Tardis corridor lights be turned down to bare minimum. So much had happened to her, ever since she left what she now considered a planet. Even that was new, considering how she was born and raised. It wasn't that she did not know the Doctor or the Tardis, but it felt good sometimes to be alone and to act alone. Yet, she had seen so much and wondered how exactly she was feeling getting used to things she would never have seen if she had not run into the Doctor. She knew that the Doctor was not a God or a mystic, but merely an alien in control of a wondrous device. Not that the Doctor was now alone, either. He now had the presence of a robot dog. Not that she cared or did not care for robots. The Doctor was more involved in having K9 listening to the Tardis rather than her interests. As for that, she never minded that either. The Doctor could be a strange one when it came to his companions. Still, it gave her more time to focus her hunting skills and she found that, when you were with the Doctor, you needed all the training and skills you can muster, so she was pretending to hunt a wild animal. She pretended that the bushes were broken in several spots. She tracked her quarry all the way down the newly darkened Tardis corridor. Along the way, she remembered her basic skills of traveling upwind, never letting an animal get your scent, and using whatever you found along the way. You never knew when a broken branch would be just as good as a blaster. Yet, the Doctor never carried weapons of any sort, just a merely pencil thin screwdriver that he described as sonic. Good for only checking out things and undoing screws. Yet, the Doctor would arrive in situations that would almost call for the use of weapons. He did say there were weapons, but they were mostly for defense, yet he did tell her he shot arrows with a man named William Tell. Well, that was the Doctor for you. Not that she wasn't encouraged by his travels, but she preferred to be in some of his adventures. Nevertheless, all that vanished when she realized she was straying from her training. She could ask the Doctor later, if she remembered and if the Doctor was not preoccupied. Then she thought she would have better luck talking with The Nucleus of the Swarm. Anyhow, she went back to her training. She concentrated on her skill and found she really never lost them, even after traveling with the Doctor for so long or maybe, the Doctor never wanted her to lose those abilities in the first place.
As she was training, she heard a noise almost robotic in nature. She ducked low and crept quietly at the noise. She was about to pounce at the noise when she saw a red flash in the gloom of the Tardis corridor. Something red was coming, then she realized it was K9. "Mistress Leela…" it called, with half a whine. Leela rose from her crouch. "Apologies, Mistress Leela, but Doctor Master wants you in the console room." She issued a half-hearted grunt and told K9 "Tell the Doctor I am coming to see him." and K9 trundled down the corridor to deliver her message. Telling herself this was going to work out well, she asked that the lights come back on and headed back to the console room to se the Doctor.
As she got there, she was surprised to find that K9 was again hooked up to the Tardis console and the Doctor frantically moving around the mushroomed shape device with all the skill of a concert pianist trying to play ten pianos at once, or that was what he told her. Sometimes she wondered how the Doctor could fly the Tardis at all. Yet, he did and they usually landed in some place totally unexpected. Yet, the Doctor was in cheerful spirits and even his scarf seemed brighter than before. "You wanted to see me, Doctor." "Ah, yes, Leela, ah, what was it? Oh, yes. Happy Birthday! No, that wasn't it or was it? Anyhow, I have been remiss with giving out compliments to my companions. Oh, yes, now I remember. Thank You! That was it!"
He said it with a smile, but Leela remained unconvinced. "So, what is going on, Doctor?" The smile never faded, much to Leela's consternation "Well, I have been talking to the Tardis through K9 and I have been able to fix some broken instruments so we might just be able to get where we are going from now on. I've decided we should take a holiday, especially after the last goings on." Leela would have argued the last part, but she wondered if the Doctor had really fixed the Tardis. The thump of materialization came first and Leela managed to stay on her feet. The Doctor checked the readings and saw the result. "There you are, Brighton Beach!" and opened the doors. Leela looked outside and started laughing. The Tardis was standing at the edge of a jungle.