The Doctor sipped on his banana milkshake as Jenny told him about her adventures since their parting. There were more than a few blunders as she tried to find her footing, but she seemed to be taking it all in stride, well aware that she had much to learn about traveling the universe. She seemed to have inherited his tendency to stumble into trouble; he couldn't help his smile as she related being chased off a planet for wearing an orange shirt.

"Sounds like you've been busy," he said, stirring the milkshake with the straw.

"Just trying to do what you always do," she shrugged with a grin, finishing off her chocolate milkshake. "So what about you? Where are Donna and Martha?"

The Doctor paused, frowning as recent events came flooding back to his mind. He didn't know if he was ready to talk about what had happened. He returned his attention to the remains of his milkshake.

"They went home," he answered, and that was true enough.

Jenny knew there was more to it than he was saying, and images flashed in her mind. Terrible images that were unsettling at best.

"I had heard that several planets had disappeared, but I didn't think such a thing was possible," she said softly, eyes unfocused as the images continued. "The three-fold man and his children of time reunited to save all of reality. A farewell on a beach. The death of the most faithful friend, condemned to live the rest of her life without knowing the debt reality owes her."

Tears streamed down her face as the Doctor's memories continued to flash before her, weighed down with more emotion than she would have believed possible. The shear enormity of the grief he bore was enough to smother her. This is what he meant when he said Time Lords were a shared suffering, it had to be.

The Doctor sat frozen in his seat. There was no way she could know these things unless she had been inside his mind, but he would have felt the intrusion. Well, she might have picked up on a few things if he had let his mental barriers slip, but this was far more than an empathic response. There was no doubt that she was seeing his memories. Her Time Lord telepathy was more developed than he had imagined.

A small part of him rejoiced; he was no longer the last of the Time Lords! If he had been unsure about taking Jenny along in the TARDIS, he was decided now. He had a responsibility to teach her all he could about her heritage. It would be a far cry from an education at the Academy, but he would do the best he could.

Not wanting to make her suffer more than she already had by his memories, he shifted his thoughts to more pleasant things. Now that he was aware of her presence, he was able to guide her to what he wanted to show her. He led her to a door in his mind that glistened like mother-of-pearl, and pushed it open to reveal a wide field of red grass beneath an amber sky. Silver trees shimmered in the distance, and farther off stood the crystal dome of the Citadel of the Time Lords.

This was my home, he gently told Jenny as she took in the sight before her. This is how I choose to remember Gallifrey, in its golden age.

It's beautiful, she whispered, in awe of the beauty of this strange world. Where is it?

Her question was innocent enough, but it still made him wince. It's gone, he said. It burned in the Time War. This is the only place it exists now, in my memories.

Jenny was at a loss for words, so she simply took his hand. Slowly, the Doctor led her back out of his mind, and they were once more in the small café. Her tears had stopped, but her eyes still glistened.

"That's who the Time Lords are," he told her. "That and so much more."

She simply nodded, the weight of his words settling in.

"So," he said, suddenly shifting gears and leaving the heaviness of their previous conversation behind, "shall we go get your things?"

"I'm sorry?" she asked, scrambling to catch up with his change of topic.

"You still want to come with me, don't you?"

"You still want me to come with you?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course," he replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh yes, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, rounding the small table to throw her arms around him just as she had in the tunnel with him and Donna. "I promise I'll learn anything you wish to teach me, and I'll do my best to stay out of trouble, and I won't take up too much space."

"Trust me, that last one won't be a problem in the TARDIS," he said with a grin, looking forward to something for the first time in a while. "Come on, let's go get your things."

Practically bouncing with excitement, Jenny led the way out of the café and down the street to the spaceport where she had left her shuttle.

In her excitement, she dashed ahead, rounding a corner. Something triggered in the back of the Doctor's mind, alerting him to danger, and he hurried to catch up to her. By the time he reached to corner, however, it was too late.

Jenny was nowhere to be seen.

The Doctor's eyes scanned the busy street, examining each face in the hope of finding some indication of… something. He sniffed the air, sticking his tongue out to detect that slightly metallic twang left behind by a transmit beam. Nothing. That meant whoever had grabbed her had literally grabbed her. His brow furrowed as he tried to put together a plan of action.

"Pst."

The sound was so soft he might have missed it, except for his superior hearing. He swung around, searching for the speaker.

"Over here."

His eyes landed on a small Picon woman standing about fifteen feet away in the doorway of a posh-looking shop. Her clothes indicated she was lower class, employed by the shop, judging by the colors of her uniform matching the awning over the entrance. She furtively glanced around, as if afraid of being caught.

"You're looking for the pink and yellow girl?" she asked timidly.

"Yes, do you know what happened?" he pressed anxiously.

"She was taken. They have her," she said cryptically.

"Who has her? Why did they take her?" he continued, wanting answers but guessing he wouldn't get much from the skittish woman.

"She's an off-worlder, so they took her. They always take off-worlders. Don't want them to stay." Here she looked around again, even more afraid. "Who was she?"

"My daughter," he replied, putting the pieces together to form a slightly more cohesive image.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whimpered before scurrying back inside the shop.

Well, at least he had somewhere to start, now. There was apparently a group opposed to off-worlders settling on Picon 3, and furthered their cause by kidnapping off-worlders right off the street. That meant that whoever it was had to have been following one or both of them for long enough to know that they weren't native; enough humans had settled on the planet over the past few hundred years that the two of them wouldn't have stood out right away. If they had been followed, that meant they had been targeted out of all the other off-worlders. And if they had been targeted, that meant there was something particular about them that this group wanted. Or it could have been a completely random selection and pure coincidence. Either way, he needed more information, and as much as he hated dealing with the police, they were the ones with the information.

Turning around, he set off at a dead run, dodging between people and carts, back to the TARDIS. He'd lost too many people, recently—already lost Jenny once. He wasn't going to lose her again.

The darkness slowly pulled away, and Jenny found she was tied to a metal chair. The large room she was being held in had a single door and no windows, being lit only by a single light hanging from the ceiling. The grim appearance reminded her of Messaline during the war.

Her mind was still wired to be a soldier—though she had followed her father's example and chosen to do otherwise—and she immediately began searching for a way out. Each wrist was tied to the back of the chair, which seemed to be made of un-reinforced metal, meaning there were weak spots at the joints. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could leverage it against to break free.

Deciding it was best if she could at least move about more freely, she gripped the back of the chair and picked her feat up onto the seat. With some careful shifting, she was able to stand and step over the back of the chair. Yes, she had to carry the chair in front of her, which was awkward given the way her wrists were tied, but at least she could move about and could use the chair as a weapon if need be.

Her next move was to investigate the door. At first glance, it appeared to be simply a metal slab, but closer inspection revealed a magnetic lock sealing the edges. Even if she had the necessary tools, it would be hard to break through the seal. As it was, her only asset was her programming and a metal chair. It appeared her only option was to wait until someone came for her. Flattening herself against the wall by the door as best she could, she stood and waited.

She didn't have to wait long, though each second stretched into hours. A sharp clang announced the release of the seal, and the door slid out of the way. Jenny adjusted her grip on the chair and swung as hard as she could into the person entering.

The effect was just as desired and he rebounded from the hit, sprawling across the floor. Acting quickly, Jenny searched him as best she could with her hands restrained as they were. She lucked out, managing to weasel a pen knife out of his boot. She knew it was only a matter of time before someone else came looking, so she worked as fast as she could to sever the ties.

Once free, she hurried quietly down the corridor. There were no other rooms off of this leg of the hallway, but there was a bend several hundred feet from her cell. She slowed as she reached this turn, listening for anyone beyond. Not hearing anything, she continued on, brandishing the knife.

She had just enough time for déjà vu to set in as a jolt of electricity pulsed through her, sending her back into the blackness.

She came to ten minutes later. This time, she was shackled to a hook in the wall. The man she had assaulted with the chair now sat in it, arms crossed as he stared at her.

"You're not gonna get out of here that easy," he said. "You people come here and you think you can take over. You think we won't care that you overrun our government, our businesses, taking away the jobs and rights of the Picon people. Well, my people and I are going to put a stop to that."

Jenny knew he meant to be intimidating—and with anyone else, he would have been—but she could not stop herself from laughing.

"You think this is a joke?" he growled. "You're not getting out of this alive. The off-worlders need an example, and you're it."

"You're the one who's in trouble, mate," she shot back. "My dad will be here in no time, and when he gets here, you'd better pray he's in a forgiving mood."

"Others have talked like you do. 'My friends are coming, they will save me.' You won't be the last, either." Her jailor stood and walked back to the door, but turned back to say one last thing. "If you don't cause too much trouble, I'll make sure your death is quick."

Once again, Jenny was left alone. She tested the chain tethering her to the wall, but the bolt securing her was fastened tight. If she was going to get out, help was going to have to come to her.