The Doctor climbed out of bed, not having slept at all. He had weighed every option in his head. He could take Athena back and pump a ton of medicine into her and get her through her withdrawal in no time and they could keep traveling. Or he could take her back and make her go through the withdrawal. Or he could leave her. His Time Lord's instincts were telling him to leave her. He had the entire night to think; Jack was right, he needed her. They were very similar, sad and hurtful pasts and memories. No one else would understand them as well as they understood each other. The TARDIS already felt empty without Athena's music sounding throughout the hallway.

Athena woke up with a start, covered in sweat. She had a throbbing headache and it felt like her stomach acid was eating through her stomach. She tried to sit up but found that she couldn't. Jack was asleep in a chair near her. Athena took a few deeps breaths and regained herself as best she could.

Suddenly a bell sounded through the basement and Athena's hands flew up to her ears to block out the sound. Jack woke up and almost fell out of the chair. He gathered himself, checked on Athena, and then went upstairs.

The Doctor stood at the door to Torchwood. Jack answered the door and the Doctor walked in without acknowledging him.

"Is there any paperwork or anything I need to sign, saying I'm taking them?"

"Nah, don't you worry about that. I'll go get the Lorians."

"Yeah." The Doctor stood in Torchwood's main room and waited for Jack to return.

Jack came back with the Lorians in tow. "Doctor, I think you should see Athena." He suggested.

"I'll see her after I take the Lorians back home. I need to think about taking her back. I can't have that sort of situation on board."

"Can you at least check on her, please?" Jack pleaded.

Zeni spoke up, "you are a doctor. You should check on her. She is not well. She needs you."

Kleo spoke up too, "that girl has a dark past. We can sense it. She just tries to bury her sorrows. Can you blame her, Last of the Time Lords?"

The Doctor straightened up and sniffed the air, "fine. I'll check on her."

Jack led the Doctor downstairs. He saw Athena curled up on a cot, covered in sweat and sobbing. She was clutching her stomach and had her back turned towards the door.

The Doctor kicked open the door, sending a huge crashing sound through the room that caused Athena to scream and cower further into herself. He walked up to her and forced her onto her back. He stared at her. She had dark circles around her bloodshot eyes. A wave of sympathy overcame him, he silently reprimanded himself for kicking the door open.

He quickly shook off his sympathetic notion. He crouched down so he was eye level with her. "Good morning."

Athena tried to laugh but could only manage a strangled breath. The Doctor brushed her hair out of her face. He was quickly filled with sympathy again. There had been several times where he had been compelled to turn to something, anything that could get rid of the hurt he always felt. But he never did. He always snapped himself out of it. The girl staring at him from the cot could have very easily been him. The Doctor stared at her face for several minutes, seeing nothing but fear, pain, and sadness.

Without another word the Doctor picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and passed out.

"So you're going to take her?"

"Jack, what has happened to her is awful. I had a lot of time to think last night. I could've been in her position, feeling like I had no escape and needed to resort to drugs or alcohol or something. That's why I have companions. They're my drugs and alcohol. I can't leave her." Jack nodded. The Doctor turned to go back up the stairs and Jack smiled to himself, the Doctor was in love again whether he knew it or not.

The Doctor emerged from the basement with Athena in his arms. "Can someone get a chair please?"

Jack pulled a chair out from behind a desk and the Doctor set Athena down. "Right, someone make sure she doesn't fall over. I'm going to get the TARDIS and bring it in here. Then we'll be off to Loxikap!" He shed his overcoat, laid it across Athena, and ran out of Torchwood.

Within minutes the TARDIS was materializing inside Torchwood's main room. The Doctor bounded out of the TARDIS, wrapped Athena in his coat and picked her back up. "Can someone carry her backpack for me, please?" Kleo grabbed Athena's backpack and followed the Doctor into the TARDIS. "You three wait here." The Doctor continued on to Athena's room. The TARDIS swung the door open, happy to welcome Athena back. The Doctor laid her down on her bed. He smoothed out her hair and smiled. Yes there would be problems between them, he still had to answer for his outburst, but they both needed someone right now. Maybe more than either of them ever did. He kissed her forehead and left her room.

The Doctor walked out of the TARDIS and back into Torchwood.

"So this is it, Doctor?" Jack asked.

The Doctor nodded, "for now. I'm sure I'll see you again."

"Don't doubt it." The Doctor extended his hand, which Jack snubbed for a bear hug. The Doctor tensed up and after a while Jack let go. The Doctor awkwardly bowed his head and went back inside the TARDIS.

The Doctor set the coordinates for Loxikap's capitol city, Olax. He turned to Kleo, "There is a room, the TARDIS will lead you to it, where you can spend the day and night. It's going to take us about 36 hours to get to Loxikap."

"Thank you very much Doctor. We are in your debt."

"Oh don't you worry about it!" The Doctor sent the TARDIS into the Time Vortex. The three Lorians set off down the hall, leaving the Doctor alone in the console room.

Once he was certain the TARDIS was flying smoothly, the Doctor made his way to the med bay. He searched through the drawers looking for his anti-withdrawal pills. "Hm…cocaine, meth…ah! Heroin!" He pulled a packet of green pills out of the drawer and put them in his pocket.

He went into Athena's room. He moved a chair she had up to the side of her bed, sat, and waited for her to wake up. It didn't take long, only six minutes. 'Right, insomnia…' he thought to himself.

Athena forced herself to sit up. She wasn't shaking nearly as much as she had been yesterday, that was a good sign.

"Hello Athena."

Athena nodded.

"Heroin withdrawal typically lasts 72 hours. Everyone's different, but that's an average. You've already endured 14 hours. We have 36 until we get to Loxikap. That's 50 of you 72 hours of hell and torture right there. Well, then there are another couple weeks of headaches and fatigue and overall pain."

He saw how scared Athena looked. He took the packet of green pills out of his jacket pocket.

"I have anti-withdrawal pills. Some for heroin."

He saw the hopeful look in her eyes, and he almost caved. But he held himself together and put the pills back into his pocket.

"But I'm not giving them to you."

She slumped back against the headboard, groaning as her head made contact. The Doctor leaned closer to her.

"I want you to suffer, Athena. That way you never touch another drug again. Do you understand me? Do this, and I won't throw you out. Do this, and I'll take you to see as many stars and planets as you want."

Athena saw this coming. She didn't put it past the Doctor. He did want what was best for both of them, even if it meant causing one of them a considerable amount of pain. He wasn't a softie, but she was still furious. Couldn't he at least give her one, to help ease the symptoms? She studied his face and noted no sign of flexibility. She nodded her approval.

"There's a good girl." He stood up to leave. "Try to get some rest." He turned out the lights and walked out of her room.

The next 36 hours passed by very slowly. The Doctor could hear the Lorians going over Loxikap's government and diplomatic affairs from their room. Usually that would interest him and he'd be participating in the discussion, but he wasn't in the mood right now. The Doctor found himself in the library. He could hear Athena's screams echoing through the TARDIS halls. Every time she screamed the TARDIS tried to get him to go check on her but he refused every time except to occasionally take her a glass of water.

After that long and arduous wait, the TARDIS landed. The Doctor told the Lorians to gather their things then led them out of the TARDIS and into the main assembly at Olax.

The Senator, who basically acted as commander of the Lorians, greeted them with open arms. "May I ask who Kleo, Undai, and Zeni's savior is?"

"Right, I'm the Doctor. Pleasure to meet you." The Senator held out his hand, which the Doctor clasped with both of his in an enthusiastic handshake.

"We must feast, to honor our hero!"

"Oh, that really isn't necessary." The Doctor countered, while awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"But I insist." The Doctor groaned in response, he hated recognition. He just wanted to go back into the TARDIS.

"Senator, sir," Undai interrupted, "there is another on board. She travels with the Doctor."

"She must join us too!"

"Oh," the Doctor stammered, "she's quite ill, I'm afraid." Maybe the Senator would let them leave.

The Senator beamed at him, "well you're a doctor! Go and fix her so she may join in the festivities! These three are my best squad team and they've been missing for weeks! This is cause for a fantastical celebration! Go get her, Doctor! You have two hours!"

"Oh all right." The Doctor turned towards the TARDIS and rubbed his neck. He went inside and towards Athena's room. "Athena?" She stirred in her bed and groaned in response. "Hey Athena. Come on, get up."

"But…still…head…"

"The Senator wants us to celebrate with them."

"Who's The Senator?"

"Chief Lorian. He wants to reward us."

"Can't."

"Come on." The Doctor sat her up against the headboard. He went into the bathroom and filled up a glass with water. "One of these pills is good for five hours. I'm going to give you one, okay?" Athena nodded while her head drooped off to the side. The Doctor held her head up straight and opened her mouth for her. He gave her the pill and made her drink some water. She swallowed the pill with considerable effort, but she swallowed it nonetheless.

Within seconds her bloodshot eyes returned to normal, she straightened up, and color returned to her face. "Get dressed in something fancy. We're going to another ball. Be ready in two hours." Panic found its way to Athena's face. "I promise you won't catch on fire this time." She laughed. God, how he had missed her laugh.

Athena worked her way out of bed and into the closet. She wore a strapless black and blue dress that only made it to her knees. She wore flats and put her hair up in a bun. You could see most of her tattoos, she would definitely make an impression on the Lorians. She didn't really care though. She put on some makeup and looked in the mirror. She was tired of her black hair. As if the TARDIS had read her mind, which she probably did, a bottle of hair bleach appeared on the counter. Athena smiled, knowing exactly what to do with her hair. She put a t-shirt over her dress and sat down to work.

The Doctor was waiting in the console room. The Doctor wore a simple black tuxedo and bowtie with black trainers. Athena came into the console room. She was wearing an almost knee-length black and blue dress revealing most of her tattoos, black ballet flats, blue eye shadow with cat-eye eyeliner, silver jewelry and she had changed her hair. Instead of it being just jet-black she now had bleach-white tips with two bleached streaks running near her face, but still with enough black hair in between to act as a frame. She took his breath away. Well, she always did.

He smiled at her and held out his arm for her to take. The two of them exited the TARDIS into a completely decked out ballroom.

There were pillars of vibrantly colored cloth and fire pits throughout the hall. There were tables of food and tables to sit and eat at. There was a dance floor on the opposite side of the hall. Athena was glad the Doctor had given her an anti-withdrawal pill, even though she was certain this was the only one she was getting and it was simply because The Senator had demanded it.

They heard a booming voice, which Athena assumed to be The Senator, "There they are! Our honored guests! The marvelous and heroic Doctor and the beautiful Athena!" The room erupted into applause while the Doctor and Athena both blushed scarlet. "They will lead us in the first dance!"

The Doctor audibly gulped, his hands getting clammy. Why were his hands getting clammy? His hands never got clammy. They only got clammy around Rose. 'No. Athena is nothing compared to Rose.' He thought to himself. 'Nothing.' He looked down at Athena and he felt the same warmness that filled his body when he looked at Rose. 'No!' He chastised himself. They were making their way to the dance floor when another voice popped into his head. 'Rose is gone. She has someone new. She doesn't need you anymore.' He got sad. He stole another glance at Athena and he quickly became happy again. 'Shit…' he thought to himself, 'No more humans.' Too many human emotions had rubbed off on him. He was falling for Athena. Why else would he have taken her back? He would've never taken anyone back if he had found out any of them were addicted to drugs like she was. Yet here she was, right by his side.

'Rose has moved on. Time for you to as well.' The Doctor tried to get the new voice to shut up but it just got louder. It was right though; the Doctor needed to keep going.

They were on the dance floor now. A quick song started and they just stared at each other, not sure what to do. It sort of sounded like a tango tune. Athena put the Doctor's hand on her hip while she took the other one and then placed her hand on his shoulder. She then led them in a salsa, putting all the Lorians in the room in awe. They had never seen a dance like that before. The Senator clapped, urging them on. Eventually the Doctor took over and the two of them were flying around the floor. Soon, Lorians were pairing off and trying to imitate Athena and the Doctor. Most failed, but they were all having fun anyways.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" the Doctor shouted over the music.

"Dance videos on the internet, I needed to spice up my routine when I worked in London." She answered back as the Doctor spun her around.

"Well you're quite the dancer." He pulled her closer to him.

"And where did you learn to dance like this?"

"You pick things up when you travel." He winked at her and they continued to amaze the Lorians. Both Athena and the Doctor were laughing and smiling. They were glad they were with each other, even though they were pretending everything was normal when it really wasn't. It would take time for everything to be put back together.

A few songs later The Senator declared it was time to eat. Athena and the Doctor were led to a table and sat next to The Senator. Plates of food were brought over and Athena looked over at the Doctor with a confused look on her face.

The Doctor pointed to himself, telling her to follow his lead. Everything he put on his plate she put on hers. Almost everything she tasted she could place on Earth. There was something like chicken, something like yams, and something like brussel sprouts. The Doctor and The Senator shared adventure stories. A female Lorian sat next to The Senator. Athena figured she was his wife. She kept looking at Athena.

"I've never seen such markings. What species are you?"

"I'm human!" Athena responded, too eagerly. She was being ignored by everyone, she was glad to be able to talk to someone.

"Humans don't have those markings."

"Oh, they're tattoos." The Doctor shot her a look, and then suppressed a laugh as he watched Athena try to explain what a tattoo was.

"What is a tattoo?"

"It's…uhm…" Athena racked her brain for a passable explanation that didn't sound torturous. "Some people opt to do this. We get ink injected into our skin to create patterns."

The Queen looked horrified. "That must be so painful!"

"Not really. Sometimes. Depends on where you get it, some parts of the body are more sensitive than others."

The Queen nodded. "How many do you have?"

"Nine."

"That's a lot."

"Yes it is. But I got them all for a sentimental reason. This one is my favorite." She pointed to the Eye of Horus on her wrist. "I don't really know why, but it is."

"It's very beautiful." The Queen said, taking Athena's hand in her's to observe the tattoo closer. "Doctor," she interrupted her husband and the Doctor, "do you have any tattoos?"

The Doctor spit out his drink and started coughing. Athena laughed, "No he doesn't. He's above tattoos. He thinks they mean you're a troublemaker." Athena shot him a mock glare before smiling again.

The Queen looked back at Athena, "Are you a troublemaker, Athena?"

"Sometimes." She and the Doctor said in unison. They both blushed and looked away from each other. The Queen laughed, amused by the smitten pair.

The rest of the feast went on marvelously. The Doctor and Athena danced together for several more songs. Athena danced with both Kleo and Undai. The Doctor danced with Zeni as well. Late into the night, Athena could feel the effects of the anti-withdrawal pill wearing off.

"Doctor, my head."

"Oh, right." The Doctor took her arm and led her up to The Senator's throne. "Sir, I think we need to be going. The…treatment…I gave to Athena is beginning to wear off. She needs to go back to sleep."

"Oh, yes, perfectly understandable." The Senator came down from his throne, "I am very grateful to you both. Thank you so much for bringing back Kleo and his team. You are welcome here any time."

"Thank you very much." The Doctor responded with a grin. "Have a lovely rest of the evening."

"Oh, we will." The Senator said as he climbed back onto his throne. "And Athena, get well soon."

Athena awkwardly bowed to The Senator before being pulled away by the Doctor and hurried into the TARDIS. As soon as the TARDIS doors shut, Athena's head felt like it was going to explode. She clambered to the jumpseat and lay down, waiting for the pain to ebb away.

The Doctor stood far away from her, observing her. He hated seeing Athena in pain, but he knew this was for her own good. He walked over to her and offered her his hand. "Come on. I'll take you back to your room."

Athena took his hand and let him lead her to her room. When they got there he unzipped her dress and helped her get it off. Normally that would've sent this body into a heated frenzy, he loved seeing Athena's body, but now he was rather impressed with his self-control. She changed into some pajamas, climbed into bed, and curled up into herself.

"You should be almost back to yourself in the morning. No more acute pain."

Athena nodded. The Doctor pulled the blankets over her, kissed her forehead, turned out the lights, and left her alone.

He walked back into the console room and put the TARDIS into orbit around Loxikap, they would decide where to go next in the morning. He was exhausted, which was unlike him. He went into his room and took a shower. The hot water felt both painful and delightful at the same time. By the time he got out he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He fell onto his bed without even putting clothes on.

A blaring alarm woke both the Doctor and Athena. The Doctor threw a robe on and ran into the console room. Athena ran into the console room seconds after the Doctor.
"What the hell is going on?!" Athena shouted.

"You back to normal then?" The Doctor shouted over the alarm. Athena glared at him but faked a smile. "Glad to hear it! We're being hailed."

"What does that mean?"

"We're being pulled onto another ship. The alarm is because it isn't a friendly hail, it's forceful."
"What does that mean?"

"Anything from whomever is hailing us has never hailed a TARDIS before to we're being taken prisoner."

Athena stared at the console. She had gone to prison before, prostitutes get arrested all the time. However, she had never been arrested on an alien planet.

A different alarm rang through the TARDIS. The Doctor blanched. "What's wrong?" Athena questioned, afraid of the answer since that alarm had immobilized the Doctor. "Whoever this is just took down the defenses." He ran to Athena's side and grabbed her arms and looked into her eyes, "I'm so sorry. They have enough power to take down the TARDIS's defenses. This means trouble."

"We've dealt with trouble before, it'll be okay." Athena tried to reassure.

"No. Nothing like this. This may be it."

"What do you mean?"

"It was wonderful knowing you, Athena." The Doctor hugged her and kissed the top of her head. Athena grabbed at the Doctor, pulling him as close as she could.

Then someone burst through the TARDIS doors. Before either of them could get a good look, they were both knocked unconscious.