Poor, poor, lonely Doctor... :P

Doctor: "Love is giving someone the ability to destroy you, but trusting them not to."

Hero: "It's funny how one can feel so much, but cannot say a word."

It turned out that the wash basin in our room wasn't really for washing bodies, but rather for dishes and clothes and such, so that night I lay out my towels and bathing things for the morning. After our awkward conversation, the Doctor and I maintained a polite distance, talking only when most needed. My stomach burned with embarrassment and confusion whenever I looked at the Time Lord, and I could tell he was also avoiding my gaze. I had no idea how to interpret his words and actions when I'd asked him about love, and his detachment from Clos was giving me some pretty mixed signals. Was he jealous? Just a friend? Incapable of romantic love? I was grateful when at last my eyes grew heavy and I curled up on my sleeping mat, pulling the soft cotton blankets over me. I could hear the Doctor nearby, getting ready for bed, but I kept my back turned towards him when he blew out the candles and lay down.

Eventually, sleep claimed me, and I dreamed of talking statues and silent monks.

I woke up just before dawn, blinking as I found myself alone in the small house. The Doctor's blankets were neatly folded on his sleeping mat, his bath things gone. After a moment, I roused myself and slipped into a long robe I'd borrowed from the TARDIS wardrobe. Outside the air was misty and gray, the tall trees overhead slowly becoming visible in the growing dawn. The Doctor had mentioned the night before, during one of our minimalist conversations, that the monks had a large bath house situated a bit into the forest. I followed one of the many dirt paths, hoping I was going the right direction, then came across a long, low building on which was a small sign which read "bath house."

Stepping inside, I found myself in a long, narrow hall, which seemed to run along one whole side of the building. Opening off the hallway were many narrow, wooden doors, some labeled "male," some "female," and two "omnisex." I was a bit confused at the last one, but shrugged and chose one marked "female." I noticed that there was a small sign hanging on the door which could be flipped around to read "occupied," but no lock on the door. This gave me a bit of pause, but after a second's deliberation I opened the door fully and peered inside.

Inside was a nice-sized room complete with low shelves for towels and clothes, a foot-deep pool sunk into the floor, and a thin stream of steaming water pouring into it from a pipe coming from the ceiling. It looked something like a cross between a shallow hot tub and rustic shower. Everything was made of smooth stone and scrubbed clean.

Hmm... Looks nice and warm...

I carefully removed my robe and pajamas, folding them and placing them on one of the shelves. I also put my towels as close to the bathing area as possible.

Moving to the shallow pool, I carefully dipped in a toe. It felt perfect, so I stepped right in and began rising my hair and body under the stream of falling water. It was better than a normal shower, I thought, since it felt like someone was pouring water over me at precisely the right pace, and the hot water felt nice as it ran down my skin. I'd brought a few small bottles of soap and shampoo, which I used slowly and luxuriously, letting the bubbles rinse off into the pool and watching them gradually disappear down a small drain in the corner of the tub. Getting an idea, I stooped down in the pool and sat down under the stream of water, finding that the water covered me to my waist quite easily. This was even better, I decided, and I was just about to lie back and relax when a sudden noise at the door startled me.

The door opened.

I screamed, hastily covering my chest and side even though my seated position would keep the view of me fairly chaste. Clos stood framed in the doorway, smiling down at me.

"Good morning," he said, like there was nothing weird about the sight of me clutching at myself in the pool, looking at him with shell-shocked eyes. He was dressing in a loose, white robe, one which gapped open at the chest to reveal his well-formed, scaled chest. I hastily jerked my eyes up to his face as he proceeded to enter my bathing chamber.

"Clos!" I squealed, trying to cover myself even more, "What the hell are you doing? Don't look at me!"

He froze, looking concerned and slightly confused as he regarded my frantic movements. "I'm... I'm sorry..." he managed, "But, you see, I've seen the female form before, I mean nothing by it."

"But you haven't seen me!" I cried, reaching as fast as I could for a towel while still keep one hand spread over my bare chest, "Just... just turn around for a moment, okay? Please?"

He nodded, still looking a bit worried for me, then politely turned his head away as I stood and wrapped the towel around my soaking self. At this moment, however, I didn't care so much about the rapidly-soaking towel, but more about the half-naked, admittedly handsome alien in front of me.

"Okay, okay..." I said, and Clos looked back around at me, "Again, why are you in here? It's a private room! And it's for females!"

Before Clos could answer, however, we were interrupted by a great crash from down the hall. A second later, sonic screwdriver buzzing in his hand, the Doctor burst into the small room wrapped in nothing but a striped towel which was clinging rather precariously to his slender hips. His mop of hair was strewn around his forehead, dripping water down onto the pale skin of his bare chest.

"Hero! I heard you scream, are you o-" He stopped short, noticing Clos for the first time. I was blushing furiously now, clutching my towel tightly around myself.

"I think I just startled her," Clos started to explain, as the Doctor slowly lowered his sonic screwdriver and glanced from the green-scaled alien to me, his face unreadable.

"Yeah, he just made a mistake," I chimed in quickly, waving an arm around for emphasis, "He came in much too fast and... and I wasn't prepared, but now everything's okay..." I stopped myself from babbling, feeling my face absolutely glow from blushing so hard. My hair was dripping cold water down my back.

"Ah..." the Doctor murmured, smiling mildly, "I see, my mistake..."

"Thank you, though, Doctor," I began, unsure of what else to say. The Doctor's face was still unreadable to me, and when I tried to reach out my mind to him I felt nothing.

He smiled again, rather sadly I thought, though this may have been my imagination.

"I'll just... find my own room," Clos said, far more calmly then I thought possible. He smiled at me, not bothering to adjust his robe to hide his bare, muscular legs from me. I once again averted my gaze, not really wanting to see any more the young green alien despite his apparent comfort with his own body and physical attractiveness.

Clos turned and padded out of the room, leaving a fog of embarrassment behind him, and I slowly raised me eyes to meet the Doctor's. He seemed to realize that we were both dressed only in towels. His face flushed slightly as he met my eyes, and I knew he could see how embarrassed I was. He shyly brushed his hair from his eyes, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"I'll... I'll let you get back to you bath..." he murmured, then turned quickly and left the room, closing the wooden door behind him with a snap.

I didn't see the Doctor for quite some time after that. I mean, at first I was grateful, but then in the mid-afternoon I began to feel a bit anxious. Clos had hurried up to me later in the morning to apologize properly, now that we were fully clothed, and I acted as calm as I could and told him it was alright, an honest mistake. I refused to allow myself to relax and give him any more ideas, however, so I firmly and kindly suggested he started looking for a way to get back to his home planet. He was a bit unhappy about this, but politely excused himself to go speak with the monks about transportation. My work done, I took a walk through a part of the forest I hadn't explored yet, my thoughts straying constantly to the Doctor, where he was, and what he had thought when he'd seen Clos and I, nearly naked, in the same bath room. My hearts thudded dully at the memory of the Doctor's dead-pan expression, his own embarrassment and eventual departure.

By the middle of the afternoon, I decided to seek out one of the monks for information as to where the Doctor could have gone off to.

Arriving back at the village, I quickly scanned around for someone to talk to. There was one of the small monks nearby, talking to... Clos. Great... I approaching slowly, not trying to look eager to be near the alien or anything.

"Um... Excuse me..." I called to the monk once Clos had stepped away. The small, furred alien dressed in white robes slowly turned towards me, his deep-set eyes dark and wise as he regarded me. For a moment I wasn't sure how to talk to this odd, important-looking person, so for a moment I simply stared back at the monk. At last, I asked, "Sorry, but... do you know where the Doctor has gone off to? I'm a bit worried, he just disappeared on me."

The monk regarded me in silence for a moment. Then, he croaked, "The elder one was... troubled. He came to me and asked about the Garden of Truth." My stomach clenched at the monk's words. "The elder one's mind is full of images, names, places, facts, pain..." the monk continued, staring at me severely. I drew back slightly, taken aback. "He then walked in the direction of the Garden of Truth. I know not what befell him after."

"Why would he..." Suddenly I felt very worried about the Doctor, and I found my voice shaky as I continued, "Thank you, sir, father, sir, thanks I'll go look for him." I backed away, unable to look away from the small monk's piercing gaze, "yeah, thanks..." I scurried away, heading down the path which would lead me to the collection of stone statues, the people who'd gone to the garden seeking truth and been frozen in time until the right answer came to them.

I froze.

The thought that occurred to me was too much to contemplate. I shoved it aside, breaking into a run, nearly tripping over my feet as the path wound back and forth among the trees. It seemed to be taking longer than I remembered, even though I was running now, and I was going so fast that when I finally did come to the stone steps leading down into the garden I nearly fell down them. I managed to stop, feeling my hearts beat strongly together, and I took deep breaths as I began to descend.

When I reached the foot of the stairs, I glanced around. "Hello? Doctor? Are you there?" There was no reply, so I began to make my way over to where the statues were standing. As I drew nearer, my blood ran cold.

"I see, this place is full of... something... which transforms a person, any person, into a stone statue... Until the right moment. Interesting..."

"I was seeking the truth! No other person could give me the answer for my life's quest, so I took the advice of the monks, came to this sacred place, and... was transformed. Being made of stone taught me patience, peace, solemnity..."

The stone pedestal where Clos had stood wasn't empty like we'd left it. There were still five statues.

His features carved from the cold gray stone, the Doctor stared out over the forest, looking so sad and lonely that it broke my heart.