Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

A/N: Super sorry for the long wait, I was struggling with writer's block and kept rewriting the last part…but at last, here is chapter nine!

I've also written a one-shot called 'Coffee Morning', which is basically an Osgood x Malcolm Taylor fanfic. It's a new ship that I came up with, and I'd really appreciate a review for that story as well, or even just a favourite.

Never Abandoned

"Right!" the Doctor exclaimed gaily, "Clara's back home, Akhaten is safe; we can go anywhere, in time or space - So! Where do you want to go, eh? What do you want to see?" he asked Charlotte with an excited grin.

She blinked in surprise and pointed at herself. "Me?"

"Sure. Laura's chosen somewhere, Clara's chosen, now it's your turn".

But we never went to where Laura…no, she can ask again on her next turn. I don't have to be generous all the time Charlotte told herself firmly…pushing aside the small, totally irrational pang of guilt, she suggested the first idea that came into her head. "Um, how about the crystal – diamond reefs of, um, something…"

"The Diamond Coral Reefs of Kataa Flo Ko?" the Doctor assumed, and she nodded emphatically. He grinned excitedly, and dashed about the console, rambling "Good choice, great choice! The Reefs are lovely, they're made entirely of diamond as you probably guessed from the name, and when the sunlight hits them, oh! It's like the ocean is glowing, in every colour of the rainbow" he told them, and they grinned in return, caught up in his enthusiasm.

They landed, and all three donned sunglasses, since the diamonds would shine too bright to be looked at without them. Charlotte opened the door first, eager to step out onto another alien world…rather than a glittering expanse of water and diamonds, she instead had to remove her sunglasses to reveal… an abbey sitting on a hill, with a series of stone steps running down to a small, old fashioned looking village on the seafront. Stepping out of the TARDIS onto the grass, she shivered in the sea breeze, and pulled on the jacket tied loosely around her waist.

Laura and the Doctor stepped outside after her. "Oh, this is…this is Whitby Abbey" Laura recognised, before frowning in bewilderment, "But I thought we were going to see a diamond coral reef".

"We were…so why did we end up here?" the Doctor wondered curiously, looking around for a sign of anything untoward. Charlotte bit her lip and glanced at him. "UmI was going to pick this place, cos I felt bad that Laura never actually got to see it, but then I changed my mind" she admitted. She looked over at the TARDIS, sitting there completely innocuously, and looked back at the Doctor. "I thought you said the TARDIS liked us?" she asked, feeling a bit annoyed at her chosen trip being diverted.

"She does!" he answered quickly, before changing the subject and gesturing to the Abbey before them. "There you are then, Laura. Whitby Abbey in all it's former – well, current – glory. What do you think?"

"It's beautiful" she breathed, gazing at the stained glass, the masonry, the ornate carvings of angels and gargoyles. It was almost exactly how she'd imagined it, if not better. She turned to the Doctor with an eager smile and asked, "I don't suppose…is there any way we could see inside?"

The Doctor considered it and replied "Well, it is a monastery for monks and nuns…I'm pretty sure I have some robes in the TARDIS somewhere, we could put on a disguise and tell them we've travelled from, err…where did you say you two were from?"

"Scarborough, it's just down the coast" Charlotte replied, "And are you sure about this? I mean, you and I aren't even religious. Besides, it was supposed to be my trip" she grumbled, voice heavy with disappointed bitterness.

"Um, if you want, we can leave and go to Kataa Flo Ko" Laura offered, but it was clear from her expression that she would be disappointed to not get a chance to see inside the Abbey. Charlotte was immediately torn between feeling uncomfortable in a place she knew she didn't belong in, and feeling guilty that her best friend never got the chance to experience what was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After warring with herself for a few minutes, she asked "Do you really want to go inside?"

Laura bit her lip hesitantly, and then nodded. Charlotte sighed, and dragged a hand over her face in exasperation. "I am so going to regret this…fine, we'll go pretend to be nuns – but just this one time, mind you" she insisted, wagging a finger at Laura, who nodded in agreement. "Yeah, just this once…thank you, Charlotte. This really means a lot" she smiled gratefully.

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome" the other woman replied, giving her a hug, "You owe me big time for this".

/

We better not get sick from this thought Charlotte, as she chopped potatoes. Was it called a kitchen in this time period? Well, it was where the meals were prepared, so as far as she was concerned it was a kitchen. It was, at the moment, filled with servants busying themselves preparing a feast for the monastics. The fact that they were in a time before the invention of soap – or at least before the invention reached this part of England – didn't exactly fill her with confidence.

To be fair, the experience hadn't been as bad as she'd expected. The monks were accustomed to travellers coming there when no rooms in the town could be found, and one of them showed the three time travellers around the monastery. William – the monk – showed them the gardens were vegetables and herbs were grown, the dormitories, the church with its admittedly beautiful stained glass windows, and the library in which the monks transcribed and stored religious tomes.

Seeing life in 'ye olden times', she could admit, was rather interesting. It was certainly the most immersive history lesson she'd ever had. The disguise she wore definitely wasn't the most comfortable garment, although it did keep her warm; which helped, because the Abbey rarely had fires burning. The only exception was the kitchen, where the servants (who were all women, something that got under Charlotte's skin a bit) prepared simple, plain meals for the monks.

Despite everything, Laura seemed to have enjoyed herself, which made Charlotte feel a lot better. She finished with the potatoes and carried them over to the pot boiling on the fire. Normally the meals were very bland, but visitors weren't too common, so orders had come from the Abbot himself to prepare a beef and potato stew…which was still basic, by Charlotte and Laura's standards, though for the monks it must have seemed like a feast.

Her cooking duties completed, Charlotte went to switch roles with Laura and clean utensils whilst her friend dried them. After a short while, Laura said "Thank you for agreeing to come here, Charlotte".

"Technically, I didn't agree. The TARDIS brought us here…but I know what you meant" she added when Laura made to speak, "Like I said, you're welcome".

Laura smiled happily. "You know…I wouldn't mind living in a place like this" she remarked lightly. Charlotte chuckled, thinking she was only joking.

"Ha! Sure. You know they don't have Wi-Fi here, right?"

"I could live without Wi-Fi"

Charlotte paused and stared at Laura in mock disbelief...then gradually in actual disbelief. "You're not…actually considering staying, are you?" she asked cautiously. Laura glanced away and bit her lip, rubbing an already dried pot with the rough washcloth in her hand. Her evasive non-reply made Charlotte's eyes widen. "We can't stay here" she insisted, adding more emphatically, "I can't stay here".

Before Laura could respond, the cook passed by and scolded them for daydreaming. "You may be guests, but you offered to help and we have far too much to do for you both to be standing idle" she said disapprovingly. With a sigh, Charlotte apologised and turned back to the water tub, when suddenly –

BANG!

Everyone in the kitchen jumped as a loud noise rang out, startling them. "What – what was that?" Laura asked, eyes wide in shock. The noise rang out again – a heavy dull thud that vibrated through the floor. The head cook sent one of the maids out to investigate; two more thuds were heard before the young woman returned, deathly pale. "The saints preserve us" she prayed, crossing herself, almost on the verge of fainting.

"What is happening upstairs, child?" the cook urged her. The young woman swallowed and replied, in barely more than a whisper, "Soldiers, ma'am. Sent by the devil himself, they're battering the doors…" her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed into someone else's arms.

Charlotte and Laura stared at one another. "The…Henry the Eighth, the Dissolution of the Monasteries" Laura gasped, her words muffled from all hearing but Charlotte's by the fearful murmurs of the servants. The cook was trying to regain order, others were attempting to rouse the maid who had fainted, and still the heavy thud of the battering ram beat out.

"We have to go. We can't stop this" Charlotte decided. Laura nodded in agreement and they both ran for it, ignoring the cries of the cook to come back. There was a small window, little more than a gap in the stone; Charlotte peered through it and saw the soldiers hefting a large log, hitting it against the locked wooden doors. Why don't they just smash in the windows? She wondered, It's not like they were planning to preserve this place anyway.

"Now what?" asked Laura; Charlotte pulled away from the window and replied, "We find the Doctor, avoid the soldiers and get back to the TARDIS, but not necessarily in that order".

They hurried down the hall, but halfway down Laura stumbled on the hem of her robes. "We're never going to run properly in these things" Charlotte declared, looking around for somewhere to hide their disguises. She sighed impatiently and decided, "I guess we don't need to run in the first place; come on, just hold your robes up". She bunched the fabric in her hands and lifted the hem off the ground. Laura followed suit, and off they went, ears and eyes peeled for any sign of the soldiers breaking into the monastery.

It wasn't long before they came across a stairwell; they were half-way up when they heard a thud, and a smash, and the sound of splintering wood. "They broke in!" Laura realised, her eyes widening in fear.

Charlotte tried to push away her own fear and tried to think straight. "Err, c-come on. We can't get cornered; we have to double back and try to get out of the abbey by a different door" she said, turning to hurry down the spiral staircase. Laura hurried after her, saying "There's a door in the kitchen, it leads to the garden".

"That's useful. Why couldn't you have mentioned that a bit"- Charlotte gasped when she heard somebody running up the stone steps towards them. She froze, thinking she couldn't possibly outrun a soldier in this stupid outfit – then she thought of ditching the outfit and heading back up the stairs – finally it occurred to her that whoever was coming didn't sound like they had armour on. All of this took place in a matter of seconds, and before they could make up their minds on what to do, a familiar face appeared.

"Doctor!" Laura cried in relief as the Time Lord came into view, having taken off his robes.

"Oh, thank goodness, it's just you" Charlotte sighed in relief, "Wait, where have you been?"

"Looking for you!" he replied, "Where have you been?"

"We were looking for you! And now we're heading back to the kitchen, but first, I'm taking this off" she decided, tugging the black nun's dress up over her head. The Doctor clapped a hand over his eyes as Laura and Charlotte pulled off their outfits and tucked them under their arms. "We're gonna have to run and I don't really care if anyone sees me dressed like this" Charlotte declared, stepping past the Doctor and half-walking, half-jogging down the steps.

They didn't get very far before rounding a corner and coming face to face with an armed soldier. Fortunately the man was just as surprised as they were, and Charlotte had time to think of a way to distract him. "Catch!" She said quickly, tossing the robe in her hand onto the soldier's head and making him stumble; then she ducked under the man's arm as he flung it out to catch himself, and scrambled down the stairs two at a time.

The Doctor and Laura took advantage of the distraction and followed Charlotte at a quick pace. "What's the quickest way to the kitchen?" she asked when they reached the bottom of the steps. The clatter of more soldiers reached their ears; the Doctor grabbed Charlotte's hand and pulled her away from the noise. She tugged her hand away and focused on not tripping up on the flagstones that covered the floor.

Laura panted, pushing herself to run as fast as she could; but she wasn't the fastest runner to begin with, and she was falling behind. "W-wait!" she tried to call out, before suddenly screaming, "Aaah!"

Charlotte skidded to a halt and spun around to see Laura struggling in the grasp of two soldiers. "Hey! Get off her!" she shouted furiously, running back to try and free her best friend. She didn't get very far before a horrible high pitched noise made her clap her hands over her ears – but the soldiers were affected too, and Charlotte risked going deaf in one ear to motion for Laura to run for it!

The Doctor stuck his sonic back into his pocket as they ran for it again. "Thanks!" Charlotte gasped out, starting to feel a stitch forming in her side. They couldn't give up though, not when they were so close to the TARDIS - if only the abbey halls weren't so narrow and difficult to run through! At last, the three of them found their way to the main hall, with its oaken doors lying broken off their hinges.

Of course there were more soldiers out there, and some of the monks and servants they'd captured. The Doctor flashed his sonic at them all, and somehow made them drop their weapons, giving him and his companions the chance to dart between the soldiers and up to the TARDIS. "This way, come with us!" Laura called out to the monks and servants, but nobody approached the strange blue box and the woman dressed like a man. Charlotte tugged her through the open door of the TARDIS, which slammed shut behind them.

"Right, that's it, no more being a monk!" the Doctor declared, "Monks are not cool!"

His companions leaned against the doors of the TARDIS, panting, as he sent the TARDIS into the Vortex. "Are you two okay?" he asked them.

"Yeah…I think so" Charlotte nodded, managing to get her breath back. She made to ask Laura if she was okay, only to find Laura biting her lip, and that was never a good sign. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I'm fine".

"I know you – whenever you bite your lip like that, it means you're worried about something. Is it cos you feel bad for all those people?" Charlotte guessed, "I do too, but I don't think we could have"-

"No, it's not that" Laura interrupted, before admitting "It's just…I couldn't keep up".

"I think you were keeping up really well, considering we don't usually do a lot of running".

"But I still got caught, and…and I wouldn't have if I…if I weren't so…unhealthy" said Laura, hanging her head in shame.

Charlotte squeezed her shoulder and insisted "Hey, come on, don't be like that. You're not unhealthy, you're just…not used to this kind of lifestyle. Neither am I, to be honest, but we'll get used to it". She looked at the Doctor and asked, "Can you please tell her she doesn't have to feel bad about this?"

"Erm, didn't you tell her that just now?"

"Very funny" Charlotte rolled her eyes, even though he'd been genuine, "Just please tell her anyway".

"Okay, uh…Laura, you don't have to feel bad about this" the Doctor repeated. If he was meant to be making her feel better, he was apparently doing something wrong, because when Laura looked up at them her eyes had filled with tears. "No, no, no, no, don't cry. Please don't – hey, why don't we go somewhere else, yeah?" he suggested quickly, trying to change the subject, "We can try Kataa Flo Ko again, what do you think?"

"Yeah, okay" Charlotte agreed, before prompting Laura, "Cheer up; you know I hate to see you upset"-

"I'm fine!" Laura snapped, in a tone that clearly meant she wasn't fine. She resisted the urge to cry and declared "I don't think…that I want to travel anymore".

At first, Charlotte and the Doctor didn't get it. "Okay, sure, let's have a break. We can go to the diamond reefs a bit later" the former shrugged, unconcerned.

"No, Charlotte – what I mean is, I don't want to be on the TARDIS. I want to stay on Earth" Laura explained, before hurriedly adding "Not – not in an abbey or somewhere like that, just somewhere modern, maybe…back in Fleetwood, or Blackpool. Is…is there anywhere you know that we could stay?" she asked the Doctor, her tears drying up at the thought of remaining safely on Earth, with no soldiers or monsters to worry about.

"I could probably find somewhere" the Doctor reasoned, moving over to the scanner. He was actually a bit disappointed – his companions didn't usually ask to leave just a few adventures in. Well, some of them did, but those were the ones he'd sort of…well, kidnapped, in a way. "It might be for the best" he remarked, "It's not an easy life, travelling with me; you're probably better off living on Earth for a while".

Charlotte couldn't believe her ears. "Uh, Laura, Doctor? I don't mean to be rude or anything, but….have you both gone crazy?!" she demanded, "We can't leave! We cannot stay on Earth, that's final!"

Laura's brow furrowed in confusion as she asked "Well, why not?"

"I'd have thought it was obvious" Charlotte said in a tone of exasperation, "If we leave, we will never get home".

"Of course you will" the Doctor insisted, "I'm not going to stop searching for your home universe, Charlotte, but you'll be safer staying on Earth. Well…relatively speaking, anyway" he added. After all, nowhere was ever completely safe.

As if she'd read his mind, Charlotte retorted "Oh sure, we'd be safer compared to travelling with you, but when has that stopped any of your companions before? Unless, you don't consider us actual companions".

"Of course you're my companions" the Doctor replied immediately.

"Then why are you so eager to get rid of us?" Charlotte challenged, "Oh don't tell me, you just want us to be safe. Well that's nice of you, Doctor, but when exactly were you planning on coming back for us? When we're in our sixties, our eighties, on our deathbeds?" she glowered at him. The Doctor frowned in bewilderment, almost completely lost. Where was all this coming from?

"I – Charlotte, I'm not trying to get rid of you" he defended, "And of course I want you to be safe; when I find your home universe, I'll come back for you both and take you home. Do you really think I just want to abandon you?"

"I think you'll be late, because you're always late!" she groaned in frustration. "There's no guarantee that you'll even find our universe, but if you did, the odds of you coming back on time are very, very, very low. Yes, I know it's dangerous, travelling with you, but it's my choice. It's pretty obvious why you're really agreeing to this; the only reason you took us with you is so we could help you find Clara. You've got your precious 'Impossible Girl' now, so we're just…pointless, annoying…" tears flooded her eyes, as her frustration gave way to misery.

"No, no, no, don't, don't do that" the Doctor said hurriedly, "Charlotte, you've got it all wrong. It wasn't just about finding Clara, I really did want you to come with me. Neither of you are pointless, or annoying"-

"I am!" Charlotte burst out, her voice breaking, "I can't do this, I'm not good enough, but I just – I can't – I just want to go home!" she sobbed, turning on her heel and running up the stairs into the corridor. Laura hurried after her, but the Doctor just stood there in dismay. He hadn't been kidding when he told Kazran that he had no idea what to do when girls were crying. Should he follow them, or give them some space?

The TARDIS pulsed, and he looked up at the Time Rotor to inquire "I don't suppose you know what to do?"

Another pulse, and a five minute count-down appeared on the scanner. "You want me to wait five minutes, and then go talk to them?" he guessed, "Alright, but what do I say?"

This time, the TARDIS made a noise that sounded almost like an exasperated huff. "Of course, you couldn't tell me even if you wanted to…you'd think after centuries of travelling with companions, most of whom were young women, I'd actually understand women, wouldn't you?" the Doctor remarked.

He fiddled with the controls until the timer ran out, and then he went in search of his companions. The TARDIS led him to Charlotte's bedroom door; when the Doctor peered in, the room appeared deserted…except for the mounds under the covers and the shoes lying abandoned on the carpet. "Charlotte? Laura?" he called, stepping further into the room and approaching the bed nervously.

A muffled voice replied from beneath the quilt, "Charlotte and Laura aren't here".

The Doctor perched on the edge of the mattress and figured he might as well play along. "Ah, okay. When they get back, can you tell them that I'm sorry?"

With a creak of springs, the bed shifted as Charlotte and Laura emerged. The former smoothed her flyaway hair down as best she could and scowled at him with red-rimmed eyes. "If you're just gonna make fun of us, you can go away".

"What? No, I mean it. I'm sorry".

Laura seemed as if she might forgive him, but Charlotte remained unconvinced. "You know, I do know about Rule One – but I'll be nice, and give you the benefit of the doubt".

"There's no Rule One here; I am sorry, for upsetting you, and making you think I was trying to get rid of you".

"That's probably kind of my fault" Laura sighed contritely, "After all, I'm the one who said I wanted to stay on Earth. I…I guess I wasn't really thinking about the consequences" she admitted guiltily. Charlotte leaned over to give her a one-armed hug and told her "It's alright. I get where you were coming from, but…I've been afraid of this ever since we got trapped here".

She looked at the Doctor and reminded him "Back when we first met Clara – the modern Clara, I mean - I made a mistake, I got over-confident, and you…you said if it happened again, you would kick us out. For our 'own good'…Doctor, I want to forgive you, I really do, but…I don't think I can trust you".

"I forgive you" said Laura, "But I…I'm not sure if I can trust you, either" she admitted. Their words were like knives in the Doctor's hearts; he had tried to be responsible, tried to ensure they wouldn't do anything that could risk their minds or their lives…and instead he'd lost their trust completely.

"Laura, Charlotte, listen to me" he pleaded, and they both looked at him. "I'm not going to kick you out. Not now, not ever" he declared, completely serious, "And I'm sorry, I am so sorry that I made you feel as if you had to be perfect just to be able to travel with me. I never meant to, but that doesn't matter. It was wrong of me" he admitted openly. Then he addressed them in turn, starting with Laura. "Laura, you really shouldn't be ashamed if you can't always keep up. It will get easier, I promise".

She gave him a small, grateful smile and thanked him. "You're welcome" he replied, before turning his gaze to Charlotte. "I would never have meant to be late…but you're right, I probably would have been. Yes, I wanted your help in finding Clara again, but that isn't the only reason I took you both with me. I liked you. You are good enough to be my companion, Charlotte, both of you; please, just…trust me" he implored her.

Charlotte glanced down, considering. Part of her didn't want to forgive him so easily, or trust him just because he asked her to…but she didn't really like holding grudges, and there was a very fine line between scepticism and cynicism that she didn't want to cross. "I...I…." Her throat wouldn't let the words out, so instead she just shifted nearer and wrapped her arms around the Doctor. He hugged her back, and he hugged Laura when she moved to his other side.

A few moments later, Charlotte pulled away and smiled hesitantly. "Thanks…for everything" she told the Doctor, who smiled and replied "You're welcome. Do you still want to visit the Diamond Reefs?"

She nodded emphatically – and then blushed when her stomach growled. The Doctor bounded to his feet and told them "Put your shoes on, we're going out for lunch. I know this restaurant near the reefs that does a delicious curry…"