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By the time dusk fell, the Doctor and Ace had taken stock of all that the recently abandoned house had left in it. Both were relieved that it was stocked well with food, water, and toiletries. Since neither had eaten much in the last three days, they ate heartily, making sure to save plenty for their trek ahead. They would have to hitchhike back to the capitol of Meyna. The vehicles that both of them had been brought here with had been destroyed beyond repair. Even the sonic screwdriver, which the Doctor no longer had in his possession, couldn't have helped. It had been taken from him during that first day, one of the longest days of his lives. He stopped himself from thinking anymore about that day and focused on his companion sitting next to him.
After they had eaten, Ace had gone to take a much needed shower. After three days of not being able to bathe, she relished in the feel of the warm water and soap. After finishing her shower, she stepped into the adjoining bedroom, wondering if she'd be able to find anything to wear. The clothes she had been wearing for the past three days were filthy and had memories attached to them that she wanted to forget. Fortunately, she found some clothes in the closet. They were men's clothes, but were close enough to her size that they fit relatively comfortably. Deciding to save those for tomorrow, she found something to sleep in, a dark brown short sleeved button down shirt that hung to just above her knees.
As she walked out of the bedroom into the living room, the Doctor, who had been in the kitchen organizing two duffle bags of supplies they'd need for tomorrow, went ahead into the bathroom to take his shower. Ace sat down on the couch, leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she opened them back up again. I'm so tired, but I don't think I can sleep without reliving everything, she thought to herself as her eyes started to tear up. In what seemed like no time at all, but was actually fifteen minutes, the Doctor was out of the shower and appeared in the living room dressed in a plain white button down short sleeved shirt and brown cotton pants. If this was any other day, she would have thought he looked very handsome and would have blushed at the thought. As it were, she was too tired and emotionally worn out to feel that way. Although she found him handsome, the overriding emotion she felt was one of safety now that he was here with her.
As he sat down beside her on the couch, a comfortable silence fell over them as they stared out of the large living room window at the darkening forest beyond. There were no lights on in the living room. There was just a bit of light coming in from the kitchen. "We should probably settle in for the night. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow," the Doctor stated quietly as Ace leaned her head on his shoulder, attempting to stifle a yawn. She was immensely grateful that he hadn't asked her about what had happened to her. She knew he would at some point, but he knew when not to push her. During their evening meal, they both had been so hungry that they didn't feel the need to talk while eating. Now in the silence of the night, with no distractions, she should've felt uncomfortable at the thought of him just sitting here with her, as if waiting for her to speak about what happened. She realized that she didn't. Even as he held her hand in his and wrapped his arm around her, she felt a peace she hadn't felt before. They had had moments like this in the past, but they were always short lived and followed by more non-stop adventures. This moment right now, with him just holding her, not pressuring her to speak, no tension as if his silence meant that she should fill it with words, this was just what she needed.
At his statement about settling in, she replied, "Yeah, I guess I should try to get some sleep." As he released her hand and moved his arm from around her, she got up from the couch and began to walk toward the bedroom. She stopped after a few steps, turned toward where he was still sitting on the couch staring out of the window, and asked, "Join me? There's plenty of room." She had tried to sound casual, but he detected a note of worry in her voice, as if she was afraid to be alone with her thoughts. If her days had been anything like his, and he had a horrible feeling they had been worse, then he didn't blame her one bit.
He smiled softly at her and, without a word, walked towards her, took her hand in his, and walked with her into the bedroom. He let go of her hand and she took the left side of the bed while he took the right side. Once in bed, he moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her, with her back to him, so that they were in a spooning position. He felt her take a deep breath and instantly relax into him, giving an almost audible sigh of contentment. Having her here with him, safe in his arms, produced an equal sigh of contentment from him. He kissed her temple softly and whispered in her ear, "Goodnight, Ace."
"Goodnight, Professor," she replied sleepily as she finally dozed off into a peaceful slumber.
"No, Melnab! Don't do it, please!" Ace screamed at the top of her lungs, bolting the Doctor awake after only a half hour into his restorative sleep. Without thinking, he embraced her in his arms and held onto her tightly. She also clung onto him for dear life, weeping and yelling out angrily, "It's so unfair! He was too young to die, damn it! But he was the only one of us who knew how to diffuse that bomb. There was no other way around. I saw his face, the confusion on it when he saw the bomb up close. It was something he had never seen before. Oh God, he knew he was going to die when he looked up at me and yelled to keep going and to not let them catch us…". That was all she could say, since her sobbing became uncontrollable at that point, but that was all that the Doctor needed to hear in order to understand some of the absolute hell she and her friends had gone through in the capitol.
"It'll be okay, Ace. In time, it'll be okay," the Doctor said soothingly in her ear. She reached over to the nightstand to get some tissues and as she blew her nose and wiped the tears from her eyes, all he could do was to rub her back in a calming motion. After she was done and had thrown the tissues away, she sat back on the bed and asked plaintively, "Is it time to get up yet? I don't think I can go back to sleep."
"I'm sorry, Ace, but only an hour has passed since we went to sleep. We need to get more sleep if we're going to get through tomorrow. I can help you get back to sleep, but I need to establish a mental connection with you in order to do it. Do you trust me?"
"I trust you with my life, Doctor. Do what you need to do," Ace replied resolutely.
They sat facing each other as he touched his fingers to her temples, her eyes instantly closing. Within her mind, he got a glimpse of the horrors of what she had seen and felt during the past three days. Without looking too closely at these memories, he gently guided them to one part of her mind and sealed them behind a door. Although it would have been better for her to tell him all about what she had endured, in order for her to get past it and heal, now was not the time or place. If they had made it back to the Tardis, then he would have pressed her to tell him everything, in order for the healing process to begin. They didn't have the luxury of that this time. He knew they were still in danger, although for the time being, they were in a safe place. They couldn't stay at this house indefinitely. They had to go back to hell, the capitol, in order to get to the Tardis and off of this godforsaken planet.
During that first day, he had tried to make the capitol's leaders and even the planet's leaders see reason, but to no avail. They wouldn't listen to him. He had to stop himself from thinking about what happened after that. He still had a job to do and he needed Ace's help. He needed her to be stable enough mentally and emotionally for what would possibly lie ahead during their journey back to the capitol. After securing all of those memories behind the door in her mind, he gently eased out of her mind. She opened her eyes slowly and visibly relaxed.
"Thank you, Professor," she replied sleepily as she lay back down. Within moments, she was fast asleep.
He lay back down beside her, facing her, and spent a few moments gazing at her before he too succumbed to the rest of his restorative sleep.
Morning came all too soon for Ace. She felt an arm wrapped around her and she relished in the feeling of waking up in his arms. She turned around to face him and looked into his eyes, which, in the early morning light, looked a striking shade of blue. Without saying anything, he raised up so he was looking down at her and gazed into her eyes deeply, as if reading her soul, looking for confirmation of something. She felt herself drowning in his gaze and unable to look away even if she wanted to. Something within her clicked emotionally, as if giving her the motivation needed to endure until they returned to the Tardis. An instant later, his eyes seemed to return to their normal shade of blue gray. He smiled tenderly at her and stated quietly, "Good morning, Ace."
"Good morning, Doctor," she replied as she gave him a tender smile in return. He was still looking down at her and she could tell he was debating something in his mind. After another moment, she asked, "What is it, Professor?"
"Ace, there's something I've wanted to do since yesterday. If I do this and you don't feel comfortable, just let me know and I won't do it anymore," he replied with a bit of nervousness in his voice.
Feeling her heart begin to race, getting a feeling of what he wanted to do, she replied a bit breathlessly, "Go ahead, Doctor." Without another word, he bent down and kissed her on the mouth. She kissed him back eagerly. He deepened the kiss and she followed, their tongues intermingling without hesitation. Their kissing became more passionate with every passing moment, as if they both had been dying of thirst and they were each other's salvation. He didn't want this moment to end and neither did she, but he knew they had to leave this temporary oasis of safety. With regret, he ended the kiss, but not before placing kisses on her jaw line and neck. For an instant, he buried his head in the crook of her neck, savoring the moment.
With her arms around him, her hands touching his hair at the base of his neck, she said, "If this is how you intend to wake me up each morning, then I won't mind the mornings so much anymore."
He chuckled, sat up from her, smiled down at her, lightly tweaked her nose and said, "Come on, Ace. We've got work to do."