Breathing was the only noise that filled the room, hers and his. Ara was in a deep sleep, had been for hours, and he knew that it was probably safe to leave her alone. But he couldn't bring himself to do it.

When he was worried about someone his mind began to twist unlikely possibilities into reality. If he left her alone in here, he would conjure up horrible outcomes, enough to the point he would just have to come back.

So he was staying, at least until she woke. The darkness was sort of peaceful, at least when it wasn't him that was trying to rest.

He heard a whimper, tiny, and the only indication that she was coming out of her deep sleep. He waited, unsure if she was having a nightmare. When, what had been easy breathing sped, he rose and moved to the bed.

She sat up straight before he got there, tears rolling down her face.

"Tave?" she whispered.

The Doctor sat on the edge of the bed, wanting to be comforting but unsure how to approach this.

He didn't want to remind her of her loss, so instead he gently took her hand. He wiped her tears away with his free hand and sighed.

"Tell me about him," the Doctor said.

The TARDIS raised the lighting, and Ara's green eyes were almost light for the tears. She swallowed hard, but she didn't take her hand back from his.

He didn't know if she would do it, or if she would be able to do it. Everyone healed differently and she was a lot like him, he could tell.

When you don't have someone to make your life better, you usually don't try. It was why it was so hard to share, even if he did have someone now. Actually a couple of someone's, but old habits die hard.

She bit her lip, and withdrew her hand, scooting over on the bed. It was clear that she was inviting him to get more comfortable and he debated it for a moment, before swinging his legs up onto the bed.

"Tave's mother was from the Gov, that's why he had those light blue eyes," Ara started, her voice soft and full of memories. "His father was a well known soldier, who just happened to be on a mission over the border."

She proceeded to talk, and he didn't miss that she kept her feelings close to her chest. The stories were told as if she was an outsider who had witnessed her own life, but the Doctor could understand.

"We…" Ara said after telling her story, here her voice cracked, as if this was the part she couldn't be absent from. "We were going to go to the galactic council, to try to convince them to intervene. "

He nodded and asked, "I can take you there, if you want. Not today, but when you are ready."

She sighed. "Tave was the one with the words, I'm afraid I don't stand a chance."

"Of course you do," the Doctor told her at once. "You believe in what you are fighting for, that's what matters."

"And what if it doesn't work, Doctor?"

That was where it became complicated. How something that wasn't your fault could always be worn in the form of a scar. If it didn't work a galaxy tore itself apart, starting on little far off planet, and working out.

He wouldn't take her home, not if it failed. If she didn't want to stay with them, he would find her a new home. She wasn't going to go down with them. He had already decided.

"Then you learn to live with it," the Doctor said, softly, tears prickling his own eyes.

He thought about that, how hard he had tried, and how often he still failed.

"How do you do that?"

She asked it softly, as if she were afraid to hear the answer.

The Doctor sighed, leaned his head against the headboard.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out," he said, unable to look at her.

He heard her sigh as well, and then felt her touch his jacket. He looked over and she said, "It wasn't your fault, you know. You did what you had to."

He swallowed hard. He hadn't realized that she had seen, never meant to unload his past into her already troubled mind.

"Wasn't it?"

She shook her head and looked away.

"Maybe," she said, and cleared her throat, "maybe I can go on too. If you can do it, if you can learn to heal, I can too."

His hearts raced. He knew what she was doing. It was gentle, far from forceful and still giving him the option. She would learn to live again, if he would.

He was on the right track, but they both knew there was a long way to go. Could he face his darkness, to help someone else out of theirs?

He looked at her. He had saved planets, galaxies. He had done what needed to be done, stood up when no one else would. But none of that scared him like this did.

"We'll figure it out together?" he asked, still unsure if he was saying yes.

"With Rose and Jack?" she responded.

He smiled. "With Rose and Jack."

"Okay," she agreed. "So, how long have you loved her?"

He frowned. He was grateful for a new subject; this just wasn't the one he would have chosen.

"What makes you think I love her?" the Doctor asked.

"I've been in your mind," she reminded. "And seriously, you should throw up a warning sign before someone sees some of those fantasies. "

"No one told you to look," he said, firmly.

She gave him a glare and said, "I was not looking! Listen I have barriers in place, but you fell past them all, why?"

"I think," he said, trying to figure out how to tell her without it sounding odd. "I think our minds like each other. Possibly from the trauma they have endured, it's not unheard of."

She nodded. "The pool?"

"What about the pool?"

He was grateful to leave the subject of loving Rose behind them. It was an argument in his mind constantly as it was.

"Can I go in it, is that allowed?"

He looked at her, his expression gentle.

"You can go anywhere the TARDIS lets you, Ara. I want you to feel welcome, because you are welcome."

She looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap.

"I'm not anything special, I would understand if you didn't want me around."

He'd be lying if he said that statement didn't break his hearts a little.

"Ara, look at me," he said, and she did at once. "Of course you are special. You are special because you are you, nothing more nothing less."

She looked away again. "If you want me to go, will you tell me?"

He nodded and said, "I think it'll be you telling me you are ready to leave. But all of us are here for you until that day, okay? So how about it, pool? Rose and Jack will probably want to join."

She smiled at him, bright and easy. He was right; being the cause of it was uplifting.

He didn't know how to face down his past, didn't know how to learn to live with what he was instead of ignoring it. But to help someone else, he would try to learn.