A.N. So I know these last few chapters have been dead boring, but they're necessary. Maybe someday I'll go back and write them a bit more exciting. well there should only be one more dry chapter here, and then it will start to pick up, I promise.

9Demon9Girl9: Thank you very much for your comments and yeah, maybe me making Zeta an alien is my way of expressing my hope that the new companion in the next season is an alien. Who knows ;)

And to all of you reading and not commenting: Yes, I know you're out there. Come on, you KNOW that the little review button is quite lonely. Give it a friend If you do, a pair clownfish will name all of their children after you . . . Except one. That one's name is Nemo.

And on with the story!

Chapter Four

Alien Relationships

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"Doctor!" Zeta said, grabbing his arm and forcing him to look up. Her warm caramel eyes met his sharp green ones. She looked at him meaningfully.

"I'm not human."

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"What do you mean you're not human?" The Doctor stared up at her, dumbfounded.

"I'm . . . not . . . human. " She said again awkwardly. "I guess I forgot to mention it."

"You're not human?"

"Yes, Doctor. I'm not human. As in 'alien', not from the planet Earth, from outer space." She spoke slowly and clearly, as if talking to a small child. "I guess you're gonna return me for your money back because you didn't get what you wanted, huh?" The sarcastic comment obviously didn't register, because his stunned expression continued.

"You aren't human!"

"Yes, I'm not human! Neither are you! Can we stop saying that now!" She suddenly felt the need to defend herself, like she had done something wrong. His baffled look bloomed into a wide grin, spreading across his face as the news sunk in.

"What are you then?" He grinned.

"I'm Tesuron"She stated proudly, puffing out her chest and pulling back her shoulders like she deserved an award. The Doctor glowed.

"A Tesuron! You're from Tsinuronin! That's just marvelous, Miss Zeta, absolutely brilliant. Fantastic!" He said, leaping up and shaking her by the shoulders. Zeta almost blushed, pleased with his approval. She thought he looked happier than a boy on Christmas morning. "What are you doing on Earth?" He questioned excitedly.

"Our planet has been branching out. Tsinuronin is one of Earths cousin planets, but we lost contact with the humans a few thousand years ago. Now that we're starting to mingle with other planets, we thought Earth would be a good first candidate."

"Oh, Tsinuronin, what a beautiful planet! How long have you been on Earth?"

"I've only been on earth a few months, but the government has been sending out scouts for almost thirty years now."

"Thirty years!"

"Our mission is to integrate ourselves among the humans before actually contacting them."

The Doctor mussed up his hair more, pacing, his mind racing a million miles a second.

"Marvelous marvelous marvelous. Wait," He shook his head, vigorously confused. "I've been to Tsinuronin, I've seen Tesurons, and Tesurons don't look human! Sure, you're humanoid, but you're big shimmering flower people, how did you-"

Zeta snorted.

"Doctor, Tesurons haven't looked like that for at least a hundred years."

His eyebrows shot up his forehead. "A hundred yea-"

He was cut off when the room suddenly jolted, causing him to topple into the counter clumsily, Zeta squeaked as she flew off of the table and landed on the ground next to him. The TARDIS lurched twice more before settling. Zeta sat up slowly, pressing the palm of her hand to her head where she hit it and groaning. The Doctor pulled himself up, using the medicine table for support.

"What was that?" She mumbled. The Doctor's head whipped around, bewildered.

"That's not supposed to happen."

"Of course not." Zeta sighed and tipped her head back against the table. This seemed to be a reoccurring theme with him. The Doctor jumped back onto his spindly legs and poked his head out the door. A small smile crept up at the corners of Zeta's lips and a spark lit her eyes. A little well of excitement bubbled up in the pit of her stomach, churning and rolling. She sat up and eyed him carefully.

"Have we landed someplace?"

"Seems like." He shrugged. Zeta jumped up, thrilled to be someplace new.

"Well, let's go see!" She strode towards the door, but the Doctor grabbed her shoulder tightly.

"First we have to finish seeing to this." He flailed her arm around, displaying the gashes. They were quite deep and the glowing purple hadn't dimmed. Just looking at them gave Zeta a queasy feeling in her stomach. She quickly looked away.

"Come on, just a peek, Doc. We'll worry about it later."

"No, Zeta. This is serious. Exploring can wait." The Doctor insisted, adamant. He gently pulled her back to the table, where she hopped up and crossed her arms, puffing her bottom lip out in a pout and glaring at him. She tried to look mad while he bound her arm in gauze, but anticipation made her bounce in her seat and wriggle her toes.

Where were they? An alien planet? What was it like? What was its name? Were there people? Questions like these swirled through Zeta's head. The second he declared he was finished she jumped to her feet, beaming, and ran to the door. He laughed as she yanked it open and fled into the hall.

"Wait a minute!" He called after her as she bounded into the console room.

"By Raxipous, Haven't I waited enough!" She groaned, flinging back her head and drooping her shoulders. "You're spoiling my fun!"

"I have to change!" The Doctor reminded her as he strolled into the room, hands shoved in his pockets. Zeta turned, hands on hips, and looked him up and down, scrutinizing his outfit.

"You're right. I can't be seen in public with you dressed like that." The Doctor just rolled his eyes and started up a flight of stairs.

"Give me ten minutes, and I'll be down."

. . .

The Doctor slid out of his overlarge coat and threw it on the back of a plush chair, staring at the dozens of clothing racks that filled the large room. It seems just yesterday he was standing in here, picking out that hideous coat from among them. It had been barely a year, hardly enough time for a man to get to know himself. But there he was, tossing the coat onto the back of the chair, as if one life wasted didn't matter. He approached the stacks of clothing, mind set on the task of finding something suitable to wear. As he riffled through the bright clothing, his mind wandered to Zeta. A Tesuron. It was brilliant. Out of all six billion humans in the world, he just happens to stumble across an alien girl. It was the oddest of coincidences.

The Doctor snatched up a pair of dark-wash jeans that appealed to him. In no time at all, he had sifted through most of the clothing racks, each piece of clothing re-living a new memory, and once even found himself in the girls section by accident. Eventually he strolled past a dusty rack that he hadn't looked at for quite a while, and something caught his eye. A small smile stole to his lips as he took the piece of clothing from its hanger. Pleased with his choice, he went to go put it on.

. . .

Zeta stood at the console, scratching the back of her head in confusion and staring at the screen. A swirling mass of circles and lines blinked and churned on the screen. She didn't dare touch anything, for fear she might trigger something. The code on the screen didn't make any sense to her. Zeta leaned forward, squinting her eyes, as if that would make the answer to the puzzling images appear. She placed her hand gently onto the console . . . and everything when haywire. Suddenly lights flashed in her eyes and a shrill alarm rang through her ears. The soft humming sound the machine had been making turned into violent rattling. Zeta jumped back, hands in the air, and nearly panicked. The Doctor appeared at the top of the flight of stairs in less than an instant, and flew down the steps three at a time.

"What did you do?" He yelled.

"I didn't do anything!" She shouted back, covering her ears. "It just freaked out on me!"

The Doctor ran up beside her and immediately began flipping switches and large levers and pressing buttons. He rolled a little wheel in the dashboard of the controls and picked up a mallet and whacked it. Finally the chaos stopped.

"What happened?" he asked, turning to Zeta.

"I just touched it. I was looking at the screen and grabbed the bar and everything just exploded." She put her hands in the air, defending herself. The Doctor turned back to the console and reached up, placing his hand against the warm glass of the blue cylinder.

"She's never done that. Well it's over now, whatever caused that little episode. I hope she's okay." He coaxed to the machine. Zeta looked at him oddly. He was such a queer man. Talking to the machine like it was alive. He turned back to her and leaned back onto the controls. She finally got her first look at his clothes. A pair of worn, dark jeans sat snugly on his hips.. The sleeves of the bright white dress shirt he was wearing were rolled up, and a deep black vest draped over his torso. Dozens of pockets were neatly stitched into the vest, filled with heaven knew what. When he caught her looking, he smiled, held out his arms and asked,

"How do I look?"

"Like a giraffe. Only you're legs are impossibly long, instead of your neck." She snorted. He threw his head back, chin held high in an offended air.

"Well, you look like a little rat, Miss Zeta." He replied indignantly. Zeta's arm swung around and she fairly smacked him in the arm.

"Ow!" He cried. She laughed as he rubbed his arm painfully

"So….do you know where we are?" She inquired. The Doctor shook his head.

"Have no idea."

"Good. Let's guess."

"Well then, Miss Zeta, would you care to join me, off to stroll through alien planets in strange corners of the universe?" He offered her his arm, but she dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

"Shut up, you know I am, cheese-ball, now let's go."They laughed together and approached the door. The Doctor stood forward and graciously opened it for her. Zeta glanced hesitantly at him. She recognized bright curiosity in his eyes, but there was something more; like a challenge. Those striking green eyes pierced her, and she caught her breath. Suddenly she had the feeling she was doing something important. Huge. Something that would change her life forever. And he was daring her to do it. He wondered if she had the nerve. Well she would prove to him she did. With that thought, she stepped out into brilliant sunlight. At first she shielded her eyes from the brightness, but her eyes soon adjusted, and Zeta got her first glimpse of the alien world she stood on.

Golden brush crunched lightly under the heel of her boot. The brush itself stretched out over miles of swelling, rolling hills. It whipped about in a delicate wind, making the landscape look like a fluid, golden ocean. Twisting trees dotted the valley, filled with pure white blossoms, as if they had exploded, and frozen the white hot flames into flowers. Other trees, green pines, clustered in an expansive forest in the distance. An orangey-red canopy was painted above her head. She stepped out further, wonder and amazement kindled in every feature.

"Wow..." she gasped, breathless. The Doctor, hands shoved in pockets, peeked out behind her. He peered around casually, as if he just stepped into someone's house and was examining the interior.

The Doctor peeked out after her, hands shoved in pockets. He grinned at her expression and then sauntered past her, beckoning her to follow, which she did. They wandered through the golden brush up to their waists, going nowhere in particular.

"So, what do you think? It could be Earth." He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "But it's the middle of the day."

"Are there places on earth that look like this?" Zeta asked in amazement, falling into step beside him.

"Sure. Just not in the middle of the day." He stared down at Zeta, searching her face. "So Zeta, what's your full name?

"Zetafirella Shernazalea Ket." She said, matter-of-factly. The Doctor's smile broadened.

"That sounds Kretchin. Is it Kretchin?"

"Yeah. My family lives within the city limit of Bowam." She shrugged.

"Ah. Do you have siblings?"

"Yeah, I got a little brother, Jimmy. And I got my crazy Aunt Maya. She's enough to keep my hands full. What about you? Any family?" She looked up expectantly.

"Well, sort of . . . kinda. But, well, let's not talk about me, let's talk about how you got on Earth." He said, straightening.

"Well that's a funny story really. I don't know how I got the chance to be a scout. I was just in basic training and I get a letter of report telling me I was to move up to the Scout Unit. Of course I was thrilled, it's been my life's dream to travel. Earth was farther away than anywhere I ever could have dreamed of traveling to." She spread her hands, animated. "Before I knew it, I was deported, and I've been living here for seven months, learning the culture, the history, the fashions, the people, and what not. Oh, and the food! The food is amazing. I'm always eating. But that's basically everything."

"Have you had contact with other scouts?"

"Nope. We're stationed all over the planet. I'm one of the only ones in London, but I hear we're getting more soon."

"Where did you hear that?" His brow wrinkled.

"My pod. The Council from the Academy sends me messages daily. Tell me what to do. Though often I ignore instructions." She admitted sheepishly.

"And this Academy-"

"No, you've asked enough questions, it's my turn." She folded her arms over her chest.

"But I'm not done asking you questions!" The Doctor complained.

"Fine then, how about I ask a question and then you ask one and then I'll ask one and…yeah." She explained.

"Alright, whatever." He relented.

"Okay so . . . your TARDIS. Does it fly?" The Doctor shook his head.

"Nah, it disappears there and reappears here."

"How does it … oh, it's your turn."

"Okay, so what were you saying earlier about Tesurons not looking like shimmery flower people?" Zeta laughed again.

"I thought you said you had visited Tsinuronin?" She seemed confused, but continued. "Tesurons lost their sartan, the flaps of skin you say look like petals, a few generations back. It's evolution, I guess. Aunt Maya tells me that it's because of chemical engineering by the government. She said that apparently ninety years ago the government issued an order that all of the woman and children of a family had to go in and have a small surgery for something. Nobody remembered it, or what it was for, because they drugged you after it. And after that, all the children were born larger and stronger, and without sartan." Zeta explained seriously. Then she shrugged and laughed. "But I think that that's all mumbo-jumbo conspiracy junk. It just doesn't make any sense to me." The Doctor looked troubled, but didn't comment. Zeta noticed, and decided to turn the conversation around. "My turn!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "So… where are you from?" The Doctor looked like he didn't want to stop their current conversation, and looked even less enthusiastic about the topic of conversation she chose to talk about next.

"Well . . . I'm a Time Lord." He told her awkwardly, trying to think of a way to get out of the conversation.

"Time Lord….from where?"

"Gallifrey." He said solemnly.

"And that . . .where?" She asked. The Doctor elbowed her.

"My turn to ask a question." Zeta sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I don't think I got much of an answer for my question." He ignored her and thought hard for his next question. While he thought, Zeta became uncomfortable. While they had been talking, several red dots had emerged over the horizon and were growing larger as they traveled in the direction of Zeta and the Doctor. The Doctor seemed to have noticed the figures at the same time that she had, and the pair stopped walking.

"Doctor, who are those people?" The figures were within shouting distance not, which they did, and Zeta saw that they were riding and some sort of animal, like a cross between a rhinoceros and a horse. And maybe a llama thrown in the mix as well. The humanoid figures on the backs of the creatures were no less strange. They had skin the color of a red pepper, and had jet black tattoos swirling up their arms. The Doctor sighed uneasily, with a regretful look back at the TARDIS, which was only a blue dot in the horizon now. Much too far for them to run to if things got bad.

"Zeta…I know where we are." He groaned.

"Where?" She looked up at him worriedly. This didn't sound good. He shut his eyes and spoke quietly, as if it was a secret he was telling her.

"Those are Trenix warriors. Were on the continent of Barax, on the planet Som. The year 348; the Barbaric Period. The people here are ruthless savages, with a knack for killing. They don't take kindly to strangers either." Zeta held her breath.

"Doctor…What are we going to do?" She whispered.

"Zeta . . ." The Doctor kept his eyes on the figures, which were now lowering the spears in their hands, and his hand snaked into hers. Zeta, whose hand was not used to being held, almost jerked her hand away, but surprisingly allowed the contact, as she was starting to get frightened.

"Yes Doctor?" She looked up at him, forehead knit. The Doctor looked down at her, leaned in close….and suddenly grinned.

"Run!"