Thanks for the follows, reviews and favorites! This chapter is more of a filler chapter until the next episode, but important none the less. Especially since what happened last chapter. I hope you guys like how I portrayed their fight and everything… it was kinda hard to write this, and I don't really think it's my best work, but I don't want to leave anyone with the cliff hanger in the last chapter.

Please leave reviews! It's how I have the motivation to continue the story!

Without further ado…


The Aftermath

Nyla groaned and slammed her hand down on her irritating alarm clock. She had set the alarm for 7:00 because she wanted to be up early enough that she wouldn't run into Amy, and hopefully the Doctor. Although she didn't really know his sleeping patterns, so she had no idea if waking up this early was just in vain.

Nyla pulled herself out of bed and crept toward the bathroom to get ready for the day. The room the Tardis gave her was painted sky blue and had light pickled oak wood flooring, with a bed that was simple- a lightly stained wooden frame and white sheets- reminding her of her old house she lived in before her parents died. Three plain white dressers sat on the wall to the left, and after looking through them she discovered they were bigger on the inside, holding her style of clothing in exactly her size. One the wall to the right was a study area: there was a large bookshelf carved into the wall in the shape of the earth, where the continents. As she skimmed through the titles, she realized that most of her physics and other science related books were there, along with very advanced books as well. Next to the bookshelf was a simple desk that had an odd looking orb sticking up out of it. On closer inspection, Nyla realized that when you touched the orb it would light up, like a desk lamp. With the dressers and the desk lining the side walls, and the bed nestled into the corner of the room closest to the doors, the wall farthest from the door was empty. Said wall wasn't even a wall at all actually, instead it was a floor to ceiling window that made it seem as if her bedroom was standing on a cliff, looking down at a yellow house with blue shutters and two cars parked in the driveway. The house sat in an open field that was covered in at least two feet of shimmering snow, with the sun bouncing off the frozen water droplets to create a blinding scene. It was exactly how she remembered her parents' old house to be- beautiful.

The Tardis had supplied her with this room as soon as she had stepped into the corridor last night. Nyla had no idea how the Tardis knew what her old house in upstate New York even looked like, and she found herself with even more questions than when she had first even walked on the ship. She was still confused as to how anything on here even worked, but she couldn't really ask the Doctor, now could she? He had made it clear that he didn't want her talking to him.

After Nyla had sprinted on board the Tardis last night, she had stridden right past the console room, into the hallway, and then straight into this room. She didn't even mean to, she had planned on just letting herself wander a bit, but the Tardis it seems had other plans. As soon as she sat down on the bed she could feel herself collapsing. The emotional stress of the day was getting to her, along with the taxing mental sensation of someone beating her with a club repeatedly during their last adventure. She was extremely thankful that the pounding had stopped, but it still left her with questions that as far as she knew, had no answers what so ever. Rather than waste time thinking about what she didn't know she pondered what she did. The words the Doctor had thrown at her were obviously said in the moment; he had been stressed, aggravated, and enraged at the torture of the star whale. Still, the words he had spoken hurt even more because he said them in the heat of the moment. Nyla had learned from experience that when someone says something because they're stressed out, it's usually true. The person doesn't take the time to filter their words like they normally would, which makes everything they say exactly what they think. It was disheartening to know exactly what he thought of her.

Stupid. Pompous. Egotistical. Child.

It wasn't her fault that it felt like her brain was being beaten in with a sledge hammer!She couldn't have heard exactly what he was saying at that moment if she tried!

Maybe it was good you and Amy didn't talk for two years. I would hate for her to be influenced by you. Actually I would hate for anyone to be influenced by you.

Nyla crossed her arms and placed her hands around her sides so that she was hugging herself. She wasn't a bad influence… or at least she thought she wasn't. Was she though? Everyone at Cornell thought she was. You're more trouble than you're worth, Nyla. When she had worked at the library she was always yelled at for having a bad attitude. And obviously Amy and the Doctor didn't like her. Well at least the Doctor didn't. He made that exceedingly clear. Maybe everyone has a point.

The rational part of her brain- or at least the side she labeled rational- argued against this reasoning however. She was smart! She knew what she was about to do when she was almost hit the 'abdicate' button. However, being that it was the rational part of her brain, it also brought up the fact that she had done it for all the wrong reasons. She had been rash and a know-it-all, declaring she was right before anyone else could stop her. What if she had been wrong? With both parts of her brain pitted against her, she knew what she had to do.

Alright from now on, Nyla thought with determination, I am not going to inflict my opinions, beliefs, or theories on anyone else. No genius explanations, no rash decisions, no insults. Nothing. The thought of it made her eyes swim with tears, but she pushed them back and assured herself it was for the best. Still, the itchy eyes and runny nose didn't fade until she woke up this morning.

Now, Nyla was completely dressed and ready to go. She crept out of her bedroom quietly, determined to stay out of the way of the Doctor and Amy long enough to eat breakfast and gather her thoughts again. She was still sure of the decision she had made last night, but it would be easier to hold herself to that if she didn't spend too much time with the other travelers. She sighed in relief when she entered the kitchen and found it empty, quickly making herself a cup of coffee and some eggs. The only problem was when she sat down to start eating; the Doctor sat across from her.


The Doctor sighed as he finished working on the Tardis repairs. He had been working the entire time the women were sleeping. The Tardis really didn't need too much fixing because she just fixed herself a day ago, however the Doctor was a runner- there was no way he could face Nyla. He really had no idea what to say to her. While he was working he attempted to plan some way he could apologize to her, trying to work out what to say in any possible situation, but it was hopeless. By the end of the day he would be lucky if she hadn't slapped him and left.

The Doctor stood up from his work-swing and placed the tools in a compartment underneath all the wiring. After he had cleaned up mostly, he wandered around the corridors, seeking something to entertain him until Amy woke up. He could feel the Tardis urging him to speak with Nyla, but he refused. The Tardis' irritation was palpable, and when he touched the wall next to him he was met with a small shock. With a yelp the Doctor gave in; he had to talk with her at some point he supposed.

Alright where is she? He thought warily. The Tardis didn't give an actual reply, instead rearranging the hallways so that the kitchen was right next to him. He swallowed and adjusted his bowtie before walking nonchalantly into the room.

She didn't even notice he was there, just continued to eat her eggs and drink her coffee while staring at the metal table. Cautiously he sat down across from her. The minute his chair scraped back she jumped and flicked her eyes up to his in surprise. The Doctor cleared his throat nervously, "Nyla?"


"Nyla?"

She mentally groaned. She wanted just a little more time to herself. Still there was no putting off the inevitable. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to say sorry. About everything I said and I really didn't mean it honestly. It's just you scared me when you just disappeared, and then reappeared about to press the button that could have killed everyone! But really Nyla, I didn't mean any of it and I would really love it if you stayed on board with me." He had been talking a mile a minute, and stared at her for a moment after he finished. He couldn't explain it but something was different about her. She seemed more closed off… and there was something in her eyes too.

Nyla shook her head and kept her eyes on her food, although she wasn't eating any of it, more just pushing it around with her fork. "Doctor, it's alright. You had every right to say what you did. I was being rash, and I'll admit I was a little… insane when I tried to press the button. It's just there was this pounding in my head, and it was so loud and painful and I seriously couldn't hear anything you said. Still, not an excuse really." She flicked her eyes up to his for a moment. "I forgive you Doctor. No harm done."

The Doctor's jaw dropped. What, she was just going to forgive him? Just like that? There was no way Nyla was fine, and the pounding she mentioned she had felt just made him feel guiltier. He watched as Nyla stood up and threw out her food and cleaned up her plate. As she made to leave the Doctor grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards the table. "Nyla, are you sure you're alright? You have every right to be furious with me, yet you aren't. I may have only known you for a day or so, but even I know that's not right."

Nyla placed her hands in her pockets and glanced up at the Doctor. He had stood up when he grabbed her arm, and he looked so concerned and guilty. She wasn't completely sure why though. He had only said the truth, right? Why do people always feel so guilty about that? "Doctor, do you want me to be angry at you? I said I forgive you." Nyla dropped her eyes from his and tried unsuccessfully to pull her arm out of the Doctor's grasp.

The Doctor shook his head and held her arm tighter. He couldn't let her leave now, not when he had finally worked up the courage to talk to her. "Nyla please, just tell me what you're thinking. I know what it looks like when people close themselves off; I know what it feels like. I know how it changes a person, and right now, it's not difficult to deduce you're doing just that. So what's wrong?"

Nyla sighed and decided to deflect instead, "Why do you look so guilty, Doctor? You haven't done anything, you just said the truth, and you don't have to be guilty about that."

The Doctor let go of Nyla wrist to cross his arms, "Nyla I just told you that what I said was wrong, and you know not true."

"Everyone always says that though," she let her eyes float up to his as she spoke. "When we were arguing we were stressed out, angry, in the 'heat of the moment' kind of thing, right?"

"Yes!" The Doctor jumped on what he thought would be the chance to explain to her why he was wrong. "I told you I didn't mean any of it!"

Nyla shook her head, causing the Doctor's face to fall. "Doctor, when someone says something in the moment like that, it's usually true. When you're pumped up with adrenaline, angry, stressed, and irritated- people just say what comes to mind. There's no filter. There's nothing to keep the thoughts that usually stay in their own minds from leaving them. Therefore, everything someone says during those kinds of situations is true."

"No! It's really not that simple Nyla. When people don't have a filter, they also say things they don't mean! That's also what a filter does- it keeps people from saying things they really don't mean."

Nyla started to argue with herself again, because she could see that he did have a point. Maybe he really didn't mean half of what he said, she thought. But Cornell and the Library and Amy… She forced herself to stare at his face. She needed to be sure that he was telling the truth and not just trying to make her feel better. He seemed concerned, guilty, and just about ready to drop down on his knees and beg her to believe him. If what he was saying was true- that he didn't mean anything he said yesterday- then she had a lot of choice words to speak! "Wait so you didn't mean any of it? Not one, single word that you said yesterday? Tell the truth."

The Doctor nodded eagerly, "I really didn't Nyla. Although I do still want to talk about two things because my insults were terrible and everything, but I had a reason behind them. Other than hurting you I mean. I needed to get you to stop trying to save the Star whale. Because yeah, in the end you were right, but you just wandered off and tried to make a decision that would affect thousands!"

Nyla's eyes darkened angrily. Now that she knew he hadn't meant any of the insults, the previous anger that she had been feeling yesterday was back. "Doctor I don't need your approval on an easy decision."

The Doctor glared at her. "You call that an easy decision? Thousands of humans were at risk, as well as a tortured, endangered Star whale. That decision was far from easy." Taking a breath he continued, "Nyla this is what I wanted to talk to you about. You're too rash! I mean don't get me wrong, I've had other companions like you before, but they weren't smart enough to the point where they would figure everything out and then have what they thought was enough knowledge to make a decision. And I mean don't get me wrong, you don't need my approval for a lot of the decisions you make in life, like what to make for breakfast, or what kind of fruit you eat (although I would completely recommend bananas). But when it comes to major decisions like deciding something that will affect everyone- yeah, you need to talk to me."

Nyla crossed her arms tightly and clenched her hands into fists, her anger growing as he spoke. "Doctor, why do I need to ask you, huh? I'm intelligent, you said it yourself. I'm smarter than all of your other companions were! And I'm not trying to be rude to them- I'm really not- but you did just say it yourself."

"Nyla, you are smart. But this is your first time traveling on the Tardis. You don't know how to look at the big picture yet, to see things as part of a whole like my other companions learned to do. That's one area they all have you beat- every single one of them. That's why you need to talk to me first. Because you think you know what you're doing, but you really don't." The Doctor sighed. "Nyla please, stop this arguing. I don't want to keep fighting with you. You are clever. But being clever doesn't mean you're better than everyone else, doesn't mean your opinion goes above everyone else's."

Nyla rolled her eyes. "That's a bit rich, coming from you."

"I mean it though it doesn't. Trust me, I've learned from experience."

Nyla exhaled, letting all the anger seep from her body. Her arms dropped down to her sides. "I'm sorry. I know I'm rash. I know I'm arrogant. It's just I grew up making decisions for myself, completely independent from everyone else. I didn't care what other people wanted, or what they said, because in the end I just had to look out for myself and the ones I care about- in this case the Star whale. That's just how it goes in an orphanage I guess." She sucked in a breath and held out her hand as she stared up at him, "I'm sorry. I promise I'll talk to you more, and you know not be as condescending."

The Doctor grinned and grabbed her hand, pulling her in for a hug instead. "Apology accepted. You accept my apology too right? For real this time?"

He felt her nod into his chest, "Yep."

He smiled and kissed her hair, allowing her to pull back. Grabbing her hand again he pulled her into the console room, "Right-o. We have to go to meet Winston Churchill. Want to go wake Amy up?"

"Not particularly," she grumbled. "Alright I'll- wait did you say Winston Churchill?"

He grinned manically as he began to pilot the Tardis. "Ah yes, Winston and I- good friends. Helped me out when I got stuck in Germany. Then again I was stranded in Germany with a whole platoon of his soldiers so I suppose it wasn't just for me; although we did go on to save the small country of Isnalda, which you've probably never heard of. It's a small island off of Norway, where-"

"Doctor you're rambling," Nyla broke in with a snort, "Although Isnalda does sound interesting, I'd like to go meet Churchill."

The Doctor ran up to her and poked her in the forehead. "Well of course you would! He's famous. I mean who wants to go to Isnalda? No one." He started to pout a little and Nyla couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright we can go to Isnalda after wards I guess. Just let me go wake Amy up while you land us."

The Doctor waved his hand over his shoulder dismissively as he turned back to weaving around the controls. "Yeah, what are you still doing here? I told you to do that five minutes ago!"

Nyla pointed her finger jokingly at him, "Watch it you." She turned and ambled down the hall towards where she hoped fervently was Amy's bedroom. She really wanted to meet Winston.

The Doctor beamed at her back, glad to have things back to how they should be.