AN: I'm sorry about this one. Y'know, one of the most universally disliked companions (don't ask me why, because I think she's adorable). But I wanted to get them off of Earth for a while and this one just sort of made sense to me. Obviously, I don't own any of these characters (although, I do like the planet I came up with).

"Alright, Zoe, where first?"

"Well…" Zoe thought about it for a minute or so. She looked over towards Amy and Rory, who were leaning against the railing. "I am rather fond of the constellation Camelopardalis. Are there any good planets around there?"

"Ooh, the giraffe. Only from Earth's perspective, of course. If I remember correctly, from the planet Svartos, it looks more like a… well, actually, the animal it resembles isn't native to Earth. You wouldn't recognize it." The Doctor set about putting coordinates into the console, flipping switches and punching buttons.

Zoe turned to Amy and Rory. "How did the Doctor find the two of you?"

"It's sort of a long story. There was a crack in my wall, and then an alien escaped, and things slowly got lost until the Doctor recreated the Big Bang. Then he almost got lost forever until my wedding-"

"Our wedding," Rory chimed.

"Yes, our wedding, which he crash landed right in the middle of because I somehow remembered him. And then we've been travelling with him for about a year since."

"That's much more interesting than my story, I'm afraid. I just met him on the space station, the one you just saw. I was sick of just sitting there. But, then of course, we met the War Chief and the Time Lords sent me back home. Tell me, are the Time Lords still as stubborn in their ways?"

"Er…" Amy wasn't sure what to say at first. "We've never met the rest. They're all gone."

"What?"

"All gone. All of them," Rory said. "Except the Doctor, of course. Well, him and our daughter. Before you ask, it's a long story. Baby in the TARDIS, time vortex and all that."

"Well, that's very interesting indeed." Zoe looked sufficiently puzzled,

The Doctor interrupted. "And we're here!" He looked quite pleased with himself. "To you, Zoe, this is the planet HD 33564 b, but, to its inhabitants, it's known as Szaantek."

"But, Doctor, how could we be here? The planet's got a highly eccentric orbit. We could go from being frozen over to being burnt to a crisp in several days."

"Not to worry. They've got an atmospheric shell. Those Szaantekians, always thinking ahead."

Once outside, the group quickly became aware of the fantastic world around them. Buildings of sparkling crystal lined golden streets, whereupon humanoids with long necks and emerald hair walked peacefully. A bustling marketplace was exploding with life. Merchants called out fantastic deals. "Genuine Earthling diamonds, seventy-two units!" "Beautiful Saturnynian textiles, forty-eight units!" "Enormous Jacondan tree cuttings, two hundred units!"

One man, standing near the limits of the marketplace, had attracted quite a large crowd. He and his assistant were obviously not Szaantekian. The man had a beard and wore leather armor, a linen satchel hanging at his waist. The woman wore more Earthly clothes, a slim pink jacket with large, puffy sleeves, and long white pants. Her full head of curly orange hair stood out against the deep green of the Szaantekians' locks.

The man was shouting out with enthusiasm. "If you will all indulge me for just one minute, ladies and gentlemen, Szaantekians and tourists alike, I must show you the finest things the universe can offer you. Not just Earth diamonds, but the largest cut Earth diamonds. Not just antidotes for your ailments, but the finest anti-venoms from the deepest caves of Androzani Minor. Not just otherworldly herbs and flowers, but the sweetest-smelling blossoms of Vortis!"

"Wait a minute..." The Doctor looked puzzled. "I know that voice."

"Oh, no." Amy and Rory looked to one another. "Here we go again."

"How many people does he know in this universe?" Zoe asked Amy.

"Well, this is the eleventh version of him so far, so I'm guessing quite a few."

The Doctor was still trying to figure out the sound of that voice. It wasn't until his eyes finally fell on the redhead standing next to the merchant that the mystery worked itself out.

"Sabalom Glitz!" the Doctor practically screamed.

The salesman looked up, puzzled that anyone here recognized his name. He was merely trying to rack up a few extra units before hopping along to the next planet. No one was supposed to know him. "Who's asking?"

His assistant was much quicker. The blue box behind the strange man was a dead giveaway for the man she had traveled with so long ago. How could she forget? "Doctor!" she screamed. She pushed her way through the crowd to see him once again. He was so different this time. She would have remembered if she had seen anyone even remotely like this before.

As she ran up to him, the Doctor grabbed her up in an embrace. Letting go, he quickly turned to introduce her to his friends. "Melanie, these are Amy, Rory, and Zoe. And, well, everyone, this is Mel."

"I thought you said Salabom or something?" Rory asked, and Amy and Zoe quickly nodded to show that they shared the same confusion.

"First of all, it's Sabalom, and second of all, he's the voice I was trying to place. I like Mel a lot more."

"Well, thank you!"

"Before we even get any further," Amy started, knowing it was going to come up eventually, "how do you know the Doctor?"

"Well, it's difficult to explain. When I met him, he knew me already, but then I had to go to his trial and he had no idea who I was. We met all out of order. Then we decided to stick together for a while, which made things a lot easier. I decided to go off with Glitz then. The Doctor didn't need me anymore, but that guy over there sure did."

"Goes by Mel, meets the Doctor out of order, and has really big hair. Remind you of anyone?" Rory muttered to Amy, who giggled in response.

The Doctor paid no attention to Rory's remark, instead choosing to continue talking to Mel. "And how have your adventures been since then?"

"Oh! They've been fantastic. The Nosferatu II is a really great ship. It's not bigger on the inside, of course, but I've only seen a few things that were. And, unfortunately, it runs on fuel, and Glitz runs on money, so our adventures aren't so carefree. Overall, though, our dangers are a lot less… deadly."

"Well, nothing lowers your chances of survival like travelling with him." Rory nodded his head towards the Doctor.

The Doctor shot Rory a contemptuous look. "No need to get cheeky."

"Oh, come off it," Mel said, laughing. "You were the cheekiest of them all once. You know he once tried to convince me that the carrot juice I was feeding him was making him colorblind? He got a kick out of insulting people."

Amy laughed. "He still does."

The Doctor looked miffed. "Well, I suppose I must have done it too much, if you ran off with that cosmic con-man."

"He's not all bad. A little bit more concerned with money than you were, but that's not too awful. He's just got a spaceship; not a time machine. It's nice meeting people in the right order all the time." She turned to Amy, Rory, and Zoe to reassure them. "But don't take that as your cue to go off. Travelling with the Doctor is something really special that most people on Earth never get the chance to do. I just needed a bit of a calmer life, personally." Turning her attention back to the Doctor, Mel said, "So, is there something horribly wrong on this planet that we ought to know about, or are you just here for a surprise visit?"

The Doctor smiled once more. "We're actually here as a gift of sorts for Zoe. Nothing wrong that I know of. At least, not yet."

Mel returned his grin and took his arm. "Shall we explore then?"

"Absolutely! Amy, Rory, Zoe, follow me, all of you!"

"You'll take a bit of getting used to," Mel said, chuckling, "but I think I'll manage."