She may be a Time Lady now, but Hero's still capable of getting her head into a spin! Read and review! :)

"This is so cool, I feel like a real tourist!" the Doctor crowed, and I couldn't help but grin as we both surveyed the large hotel entrance hall around us. We'd parked the TARDIS in a special cargo bay in the Welcome Center on the city-planet, Gy, and the Doctor had led me with our bags down a long, brightly-lit corridor to the largest hotel in the city. So far I hadn't gotten a chance to look outside at the huge, endless city, and I couldn't wait to meet more aliens from different planets, maybe from different galaxies.

As we approached the front desk of the hotel, we were greeted by a tall, thin alien with a scruffy bush of orange hair, pale blue skin, and large, sad green eyes. "A Wombulan," the Doctor whispered briefly to me, then he went about arranging for our stay.

"Would... you like... the deluxe three... planet... tour...?" the Wombulan asked very very carefully, and I was astounded that he could speak English, albeit very slowly. I found out later that he was actually speaking his native tongue, just as much as we were speaking ours; the TARDIS was supplying the translation directly into my brain. The Wombulans were just... very careful with words.

"The deluxe package would be wonderful" The Doctor agreed, taking the large stack of shiny brochures offered to him from the other alien's slim blue hand.

"Excellent. We... are pleased... to welcome the... two... of you... humans... to the Gypernion system... Please... enjoy your stay, Mr... and Mrs. Smith..."

I didn't say anything, but as we walked away towards the double staircase, I shot the Doctor a look with raised eyebrows.

"I like to keep... undercover," he explained, shouldering both is own bag as well as my own, "being what we are, it's better to keep a low profile."

I chuckled, then smacked him on the arm lightly, "I figured that, silly! We certainly look like humans, at least on the outside. But did you really say we're 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith'?" I couldn't help but blush a little and smile as I said the words, hoping my making a big deal out of the situation didn't make him think I was a hopeless romantic or something.

The Doctor, oblivious as he usually was, actually looked a bit uncomfortable. "Yes, well," he began, clearing his throat, "I had to... improvise. We can't really pass for brother and sister, and the plan where you pose as my mother didn't seem to quite fit, so..." I realized that he was teasing me, and I pretended to look outraged.

"Your mother? Really now, what if I was older than you, hm? I'd still have this face, but I'd be much more mature, capable, commanding..."

"Which is why I'm actually the older one," he concluded, making a very superior face. But a moment later he smirked and ruined the momentary win.

After climbing the staircase, we reached a broad landing with at least twenty little elevators all crammed together. The Doctor chose the nearest one, pressed in the number "75" on the key pad, and beckoned me inside when the doors slid open. The journey upwards took a lot less time then I had imagined, and in a few moments the doors slid open once more and we stepped out into a very small room. The carpet was thick underfoot, and the only interesting feature about the room was the white door on one wall. The Doctor produced the key, looking excitedly at me, then opened the door.

Inside was a truly magnificent room complete with two large beds, a huge picture of a forest on the opposite wall, and what appeared to be a pair of cut-glass doors with a balcony which looked out over the city. At once I rushed to the doors, opening one carefully, and crept out onto the landing.

For a moment I couldn't breath. We were so much higher than I had thought, it felt like miles, and spread out before me was a vast city, much taller than any cities on Earth, stretching out to the horizon. Small space ships zoomed around beneath where I was standing, almost like there were floating roads that only they could see. Despite the city below, the air up here felt remarkably fresh against my face and this seemed comforting, somehow.

"Isn't it lovely," the Doctor murmured beside me, and I jumped a little since I hadn't heard him approach.

"Yeah," I said appreciatively, drinking in the sights, "Thanks for arranging this, you have no idea how excited I am about being on an alien planet, without an bad things or death threats or crazy monsters..."

"Yes, let's hope it stays that way," the Doctor replied quietly, but he smiled gently as he said it and I could sense that he felt as happy as I.

Dinner a few hours later was... interesting.

Everything I tried tasted delicious, but I ended up having to eat most of my meal with my eyes closed because things that tasted a certain way didn't look at all like I thought such a taste should, and it was a bit confusing. The Doctor seemed perfectly at ease in this new environment, as he usually did, and greatly enjoyed himself ordering dozens of different foods and tasting each one. Fortunately, the hotel restaurant served everything in very small portions, so we were able to sample almost everything.

My personal favorite, though it was the most confusing to look at, was a dainty little mushroom thing which tasted exactly like fresh buttered corn, but I had a bit of a more adventurous time with a leafy vegetable which smelled and tasted like beef, and a terrible, evil little piece of what I thought was meatloaf and turned out to taste exactly like a mixture of toothpaste and earwax.

Just like with their language, the tale blue Wombulans who served us our meal made sure that our experience was as careful, methodical, and relaxing as possible. As a result, by the end of it I was struggling not to yawn, and the Doctor eyed me closely.

"Did you eat that fig-meat concoction?" he asked me very seriously, "very delicious, but I believe it may have been spiked with a soporific agent."

"No, I'm just a bit tired... I haven't slept since, well, since before I looked into the Vortex. I could sleep, you?" The Doctor nodded, and asked for the bill.

The journey up to our room seemed to take a bit longer since I was in a hurry to get to our beautiful room again. I stifled another yawn as we exited the elevator.

As soon as we were inside the room I chose the bed closest to the balcony and let myself fall down onto it. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah this is what I've been needing... I don't think I've slept in... 40 hours... at least..."

"Is it as comfy as it looks?" the Doctor asked eagerly, rummaging through his stay-over bag. I nodded, closing my eyes in bliss as the mattress neatly conformed to my form. Even though I was still in my day clothes, it felt fantastic. A moment later, I was startled by the sound of a large collision beside me, and I opened my eyes to see the Doctor bounce himself on the bed. What was more startling, however, was what he was wearing.

"Um... Doctor..." I managed, unsure whether to laugh or not.

He stopped bouncing, looking at me expectantly. His large mop of hair was tousled from his leap onto the bed, his features lit up with excitement of finding a new toy.

"Um..." I sat up, still staring at his attire, "Are you wearing a... night dress?" It was then that the laught I'd been holding in suddenly burst out, and I clapped my hand to my mouth as the Doctor looked highly affronted.

"It's a sleeping gown!" he protested, straightening the white, ankle-length garment around himself, "It's from 1896, a very good year on Earth!"

"I'm..." I chuckled, struggling not to laugh any harder, "I'm sure... it is! Um... as long as you're comfortable... But how did you even get into it so fast? Did you..." a horrendously funny thought occurred to me, and I laughed, "did you have that on under your suit jacket?"

"No..." the Doctor replied sheepishly, and standing up from the bed he slowly removed the odd garment, revealing his full set of normal clothes still there underneath, complete with suspenders and bow tie.

"I think that's intended to go just on your skin, Doctor," I explained, still grinning broadly, "you know, over your undergarments and stuff, but your jacket and shoes and pants aren't supposed to be there..."

He nodded, looking a bit deflated. Apparently he'd been happy wearing the nightgown over everything else. The smile on my face was replaced with a blush as he took off his jacket and unabashedly began to unbutton his white dress shirt. He had it nearly all the way open, revealing his pale, well-muscled chest, when I mentally shook myself and said quickly, "Yeah, go ahead and change, I'll be in the bathroom putting on my pjs." I grabbed my bag, darting over to the bathroom, and yanking open the door. I couldn't help but take one last look at the Doctor, who was now removing his shoes, shirt gone, and then I forced myself into the bathroom and hurriedly shut and locked the door.

I was confronted with my own flushed face in the mirror, and I could feel my twin hearts thudding a bit faster than normal. The Doctor was... hot! Even with this new Time Lord pattern-crazy brain, I could still be affected by a good-looking man taking off his shirt. But why did it feel so wrong?

What the hell, Hero. What. The. Hell.

Quickly I removed my clothes, avoiding my own gaze in the mirror, and then I timidly returned to the bedroom. I was greeted by the sight of the Doctor, curled up in his own bed, completely asleep. As I edged closer, I was struck by how peaceful and young his face looked now that his eyes were closed in sleep, his ancient, sad eyes. Smiling softly to myself, I turned out the light and climbed back onto my own bed, pulling back the covers and snuggling in. Damn, this is comfy... The open doors to the balcony let in a light, fresh breeze which caressed the side of my hair which was exposed, and I closed my eyes. I wished I could sort out my feelings for the Doctor, powerful as they were; one moment I felt protective, like a sister, the next I was turning to mush inside when he winked at me, or smiled in that special Doctor-ish way, or started taking his clothes off...

With a soft sigh, I turned over in the bed, took a deep breath, and released my mind into the mysterious world of sleep.