Chapter Three

Two very pissed off friends!

Lara stared into space, literally. The TARDIS door was open and they were in orbit around a supernova staring into the dark depths of space. Lara sat in the doorway her legs dangling over the edge swinging idly. She breathed in the icy air and gazed at the magnificent sight before her just dwelling on the profound sadness inside her. The star in front of her was made up of red flames churning away and licking at the empty space around it. Even though they were approximately 200,000 miles away from it Lara could feel its intense heat on her face. Tear after tear ran down her cheeks, her face red and blotchy. She just didn't know what to do. She thought of home again she had only been gone for about a day but already Lara thought she had changed so much she couldn't go back. She couldn't just go back to a normal life after having experienced all that. Not that her life had been exactly normal anyway.

"Come on" The Doctor said placing a hand on her shoulder and crouching next to her. "That stars about to implode, stay there and you'll get toasted" Lara climbed to her feet and walked silently back up to the TARDIS console as the Doctor shut the doors. She looked at the monitor which was showing the star she had just been watching. All of a sudden there was a bright light and a massive explosion as it collapsed in on itself.

"Blimey!" Lara exclaimed and took a step backwards stumbling into the railings. The Doctor walked up to the console then flicked a couple of switches then released the thing he called the handbrake. Lara gripped tightly onto the railings her knuckles turning white as the whole TARDIS lurched sickeningly.

"You could have warned me!" Cried Lara.

"Oh! A shocks good for the system!" He smiled back at her. Lara flashed a dangerous grin forgetting her earlier troubles. She held on tightly as the whole place rocked and swayed. She glanced back at the monitor which was now showing them hurtling through some blue vortex. Lara fell to the metal grill floor as the TARDIS suddenly straightened out.

"Where are we now?!" She questioned with an excited grin.

"Why don't you take a look?!" He smiled back gesturing towards the door. Lara ran own towards it her feet clanging against the metal floor then yanked it open.

"Oh you're kidding me!?" She exclaimed looking at the landscape before her.

"Nope!" Grinned the Doctor coming up behind her in the doorway.

"No way!" Lara cried staring at the lunar landscape. The freezing air hit her like a wall in the face knocking the air out of her. Once she got over the shock she looked out across the bleak landscape. The earth was visible spinning in space over the horizon. She could see England so far off almost shrouded by cloud. Home. Her friends and family were down there now no idea where she was. What the hell would they think if they saw her now? She thought amusingly to herself. She looked at the bleak and abstract place around her. The grey landscape was dominated by craters and pieces of fractured meteorite and the ground was covered with a layer of ash.

"How am I breathing?!" Lara asked amazed at the freezing air that was rushing in and out of her lungs.

"Small atmospheric force field" The Doctor replied. "The TARDIS generates one at any destination that hasn't got a humane atmosphere or any at all. Just don't wonder too far away"

"Do footprints really stay on the moon forever?!" Lara asked inquisitively.

"Pretty much!" The Doctor winced as she stepped out onto the ash. She walked a couple of meters into the landscape then looked back at the trail of footprints she had left behind her.

"I wonder what NASA would think if they found imprints of dolly shoes from rocket dog on the moon?!" She sniggered.

"Not a lot I should think" He muttered with a smile.

"Can I write ha ha suck on that Neil Armstrong in huge letters?!" She laughed.

"No!" The Doctor replied simply.

"Awwww why?!" She moaned.

"Because approximately 7.84928 percent of the universe would implode because of an unbalance of hix particles in the hyper logical flow" He said.

"Maybe I wont then!" She smiled crossing out a large h.

"All my family are down there" She commented.

"Maybe not" The Doctor replied "Well apart from your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents"

"What do you mean?!" Asked Lara turning to him.

"It's the year 1"

"The year 1!" She repeated.

"Well there's got to be a year 1 hasn't there!" He exclaimed leaning against the TARDIS doorframe.

"I suppose" She frowned "But that means I'm the first ever human on the moon!"

"Yea" He breathed.

"Wow!" Lara squeaked "That is so cool!"

"Come on" Said the Doctor nodding his head back toward the TARDIS. "I think you've left enough footprints and its time I took you back"

"Do I have to!?" She questioned with a disappointed sigh.

"Why, don't you want to?!" He asked.

"Its just I'm not sure I can go back to them after having seen all of this" She sighed gesturing at the lunar landscape all around her.

"You should go back, your family will miss you" He said.

"But what about you?!" Lara replied "I can't just leave you by yourself after all that you've done"

"I'm fine alone" He said his face going cold as he turned back inside. Lara ran back into the TARDIS after and stopped him in his tracks by grabbing hold of his arm.

"Be fair on yourself!" Lara retorted. "You care about other people too much and not about yourself! You need someone!"

"I'm taking you home" He said.

"Why?!" Lara demanded moving back in front of him as he attempted to get past her.

"Because I care about you too much!" He said almost yelling. "Every person who knows me, gets involved with me ends up with their heart broken or their family captured and tortured or has their memories wiped or trapped in a parallel universe; such dreadful things that you can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to go through it yourself. I'm taking you home!" He finished.

"And I care about you too much!" Lara said to his face "And I know that those people knew what was coming to them but carried on with you for your sake and they knew that it was worth it! They lived more with you then in any possible life they might have had on earth and they used it to help millions of people and different species and that's what I want to do with mine!" Lara yelled at him "Please…" She begged. The Doctor took a deep breath knowing what Lara said was the truth then thought what the heck and gave her massive grin.

"Is that a yes?!" Lara squeaked.

"What else is it going to be?!" He grinned.

"Oh thank you!" Lara squeaked then gave him a crushing hug. He pulled away from her then ran up to the console obviously forgetting their earlier rant.

"So where's it going to be!" He asked with a smile running round the console adjusting various switches and random levers. "Lost moon of pooch?!" He suggested "The Medusa cascade?! Or… random destination!" He exclaimed his hand above a small button already anticipating her answer.

"Random destination it is then" Lara smiled back running over to join him .The doctor smiled pressing the button the yanking the handbrake. Lara was thrown about the place until they landed. Her head span but she managed to keep the nonexistent contents of her stomach down.

"God that one was rough!" She exclaimed as she felt the TARDIS stabilise and hit the ground.

"It's not normally that rough" The Doctor said concernedly checking the monitor "Feels like she's got indigestion" He ran his hand over the control panel. Lara rolled her eyes and began to walk towards the door.

"Better let me go first" The Doctor exclaimed catching her up. "Don't know what's out there" He moved in front of her and opened the door. A cold dale wind blew in through the open door and Lara spied a grey and bleak sky over the Doctors shoulder. She shivered as the nippy wind caught her bare arms.

"I think I'll fetch my jacket" She muttered quietly and turned and jogged back to where she had left it hanging on the metal railings. She heard he Doctor talking to some people outside as she shrugged it on.

"Come on Lara don't be shy!" He called.

"Just a second!" She replied doing up the zip on her jacket then jogged down to join him. No amount of aliens or spaceships could have prepared her for the sight she saw next. Standing in the middle of what year did the Doctor say it was? Then realised he hadn't, were her two best friends Phoebe and Chloe. She stood there with her mouth hanging open as they both screamed her name simultaneously. Lara then screamed their names back at them and went over and swept them both into crushing hugs. The Doctor stared bewilderedly at the not very elegant reunion before him not quite sure what to make of it all.

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