"Quick," whispered the TARDIS to me, "he's coming. Hide, he will not take kindly to you being up here with me. He is very... Protective..."
Scrambling, still dazed, I stumbled down the steps to hide beneath the platform, just as the Doctor strode into the room. He looked worried and his footfalls were heavy. I looked up, through the glass flooring, trying to hide myself against the wiring. He flailed his arms about and turned to TARDIS's console.
"What have I done to deserve this?" he demanded.
There was silence, apart from a soft whirring from the console.
"That girl is not right," he said aloud, touching a couple of the buttons, "after that scan, I thought I must be wrong. That the screwdriver is faulty. But I know you wouldn't have given me a faulty Sonic, would you, dear?"
He patted TARDIS and continued.
"Then there was all that void matter on her... That seemed to make a kind of sense, I suppose. Travler from another universe, another time. Winds up on Earth. The Krisptick pick her up because she will live through the journey and that's that." There was a pause.
"And her memories..." he said quietly, "I had no idea. I almost wish I hadn't been able to see them on that monitor. Rauwl was beside himself..."
I felt my breath catch in my throat. They had been able to see my memories? I felt the colour drain from my face.
"Then there's that whole business as to why you chose her. Perhaps it was just that her memory kicked in, seeing as she's not human. Maybe I just read into it as a sign and I was stupid. I should know by now that there are no such things as signs, only coincidences. But then, you threw a wobbly when I was going to leave her somewhere... Perhaps this is all a set up by one of my old enemys and I'm playing right into their sticky little hands..."
I could feel my hands shaking, I was afraid by what I was hearing and what would happen if he discovered me here listening.
"Then when you scanned her for me, I thought that I saw something else there, but I know that's not possible. We both do, surely? There was just that faint trace of regeneration mist..."
He trailed off and stared blankly at the console. He didn't say anything for a time, then spoke again.
"It could just be that she traveled with a Time Lord from another universe and got stranded here. But, there's that possibility, just that tiny possibility, that I'm not alone. That there is another out there, somewhere, and she traveled with them."
He fell silent again, then-
"Or she could be from my future. But I don't see how. This is my last regeneration, after all. And that's a shoe box under the bed I really don't want to open. I don't want to think what kind of person I could become."
He sighed and stroked the TARDIS absent minded, like you would do to a pet cat.
"Or perhaps... I should dare to hope... She's another, well, like me."
I could hear a longing in his voice as he spoke and I could tell he was so lonely.
"After all, I did once hide myself as a human, on Earth. But I couldn't imagine what she must be hiding from. I even lost my memory, then. I had to give myself the perfect disguise. I became Mr. Smith. Perhaps she has made herself Miss Tea? The letter 'T' that she remembers could be for Time Lord..."
He fell silent.
Heart pounding in my ears, confused at what I was hearing, afraid of what was being said, I closed my eyes and hoped desperately for a way out. When I opened my eyes I found a small opening by my feet with a ladder leading downwards. I let out a shaky breath, very quietly, and quickly moved over to it, stealthily making my way downwards. Above me the opening slid shut as I scrambled downwards.
Vaguely I wondered where this would lead, but I knew not to worry too much, TARDIS would look after me.
Beneath me another panel opened up and the lader slide downwards, touching the floor of the room. I glanced around myself and my already terrified, stuttering heart beat faster. This was Rauwl's room. I had only been in here twice.
The light was off, but I could see the large bed and the wooden tables with flowers and sculptures on. I could hear the faint sound of water playing in the room adjacent, where I knew there was a tropical water feature, a small waterfall that acted as a shower. The air was cool and smelt of jasmine. It was almost as though we were in a little villa in the middle of a rain forest. I felt a little confused about how I thought of that comparison.
Under the blankets, the mound that I knew was Rauwl, began to stir. Fighting panic I tried to scramble back up the ladder, only to find that the panel at the top was closed and appeared to never have even been there. I didn't want to be found in Rauwls room, what if he thought I was spying on him or something?
I tried to move very quietly over to the door, but just as my hand touched the handle, Rauwl sat up.
"Tea?" he asked, blearily rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing in here?"
I sagged and leaned against the wall.
"I went for a wander and then the Doctor came and I had to hide in case he got angry." Technically true.
"Oh, right. So you just happened to wander past my door and have to hide in here?"
I blushed a little, not that he would see it in the dark.
"It didn't quite happen like that."
I saw him smile in the little light that filtered in.
"It's okay, I forgive you. And now the way I see it, you should come over here and help me get back to sleep, seeing as you so rudely woke me up."
"I, uh, I should get back to bed, uh-"
I stood awkwardly for a moment, my inner monologue arguing about whether I should go or stay. The stay won out, I wanted comfort and I was still rather shaken up about what I had seen and heard.
I moved over to the bed and crawled across it to Rauwl, who opened his arms for me. I snuggled into his warm, furry embrace and listened as he began to softly purr.
I closed my eyes and could feel the sleep that had eluded me for so long come upon me like a heavy blanket and I was asleep in moments.
I awoke in the morning very slowly, becoming increasingly aware of a warm, slightly damp, sand papery thing on my neck and hair, moving in upwards motions repeatedly. Confused and slightly afraid, I looked around to find Rauwl, with his arms wrapped around me, was licking my neck and hair. I wriggled away a bit and found myself a little angry.
"What are you doing?" I demanded.
He smiled sheepishly, if it's possible for cats to do that without looking smug.
"Sorry, it's a habit. Grooming, you see."
I felt my eyes narrow in suspicion, but it quickly cleared. I stretched and scrambled out of the bed.
"Did you get back to sleep alright?" I asked.
"Yes, but not as quickly as you. You where out like a light!"
"Ah, yes. I was having a little trouble sleeping last night."
He gave me a slightly odd look, but shrugged it off and sat up. I nervously smoothed down my nightgown, which was rather rumpled. I looked up in time to see him getting out of bed and the sheets falling away and-
I clamped a hand over my eyes and turned away.
"You were sleeping naked?" I growled.
"Well, yes," he said, confused.
"Why did you get me to come join you, then? Wanted something more? Thought I'd be an easy target, huh? After you and the Doctor saw my memories?" I snarled, almost surprised at the fury in my voice.
"No! No! Nothing like that! I didn't know it was wrong! Different customs!"
I still felt angry, my eyes screwed up and my arms crossed, hugging myself. I felt his hands on my shoulders and I tried to shrug him off.
"Tea, it wasn't like that, not at all. I'd never- I couldn't- not to you. Not to anyone. Especially you."
I didn't turn, but my shoulders sagged and I felt angry tears leak onto my cheeks.
"When I saw those memories I wanted to go and rip those bastards to shreds. I couldn't watch what they did to you. I would never do that, never. Tea, I respect you so much and I would never do that to you and would fight anyone that tried. If you wanted to, I would, but I wouldn't do anything to you, not ever, without your say so. Not that I do want to, or anything. Unless you wanted to, in which case I do too, but-"
"You should stop talking," I said softly.
"Right, yeah, probably for the best..."
His hands dropped from my shoulders and he just stood there behind me. I was trying to figure out what all that had meant and what I should do about it. Should I just ignore it? Leave the room? Run and hide and not talk to him again?
I turned and opened my eyes slowly, carefully looking up at his face. His feline ears were flat against his head and his eyes were averted, looking down at the floor.
"Rauwl?" I said, my voice a little croaky.
He looked into my eyes and I smiled nervously. His ears pricked up a little.
"I don't want to do things, not now. I'm sorry for how I reacted. I should know by now that different things are acceptable in different places."
"And I'm sorry for upsetting you," he said quietly, "I should have thought before I acted."
For a moment we stood awkwardly, then he opened his arms a little. I moved forwards into his embrace, resting my cheek on his fluffy shoulder. I could feel a warm, comforting feeling in me and I looked up at his worrisome feline face. I put a hand to his cheek and stood on my tip toes and gave his a small kiss on the nose.
"I'm going to go back to my room now," I said quietly, "I'll see you latter, okay?"
He nodded and I turned, leaving the room. Once out into the corridor, I leaned against the wall and breathed a huge sigh. How should I have handled that? Did I handle it in the right way? I hoped so.
"Tea?!" bellowed a voice.
I looked up and saw the Doctor standing at the end of the hallway, fury on his face. He stormed towards me and grabbed hold of my upper arm.
"What have you done?" he growled.
"N-nothing." I stammered, terrified of the pure rage coming off of him, his usually friendly demeanor gone.
"Do you not understand how dangerous that is? Do you? Do you know what happened to the last baby conceived on the TARDIS?"
"I-I d-don't know what you m-mean."
"I think you do! I'm not having this, I've had enough of you and all the trouble and pain you have brought me! I'm leaving you here, with the Proclamation! I can't be dealing with you any longer!"
His grip tightened and he tried to pull me back along the corridor, but I dug my heels in.
"Get off of me!" I screamed.
Rauwl's door slammed open and he entered the corridor, thankfully dressed in his usual toga style garb, with a murderous look on his face.
"Let go of her!" he roared.
The Doctor turned, pushing me to the wall, which I slid down to the floor against. He approached Rauwl with a fire in his eyes that was matched by the fire in Rauwl.
"Or what?" the Doctor snarled.
Rauwls eyes narrowed and he bore his teeth and hissed, the fur on his neck, shoulders and arms raising, his tail fluffing out.
"Or I'll have to fight for her."