Notes: So...um...hi? It's only been, what, a year since I updated this thing? Wow. Apologies to you all for the silence. It's just been that INSANE of a year. I must have opened this up to finish it, oh a gabillion times or more, but it just never came to be. But, here I am, and with a new chapter! FINALLY! I AM going to finish this story. I promise! Who knows, I might even write another one after this! So, yeah, if you're still out there reading, thanks for being patient. I hope it was worth it! :)

Decision

"You don't believe me?" Sadie, or who the Doctor thought was Sadie, said slowly, each word dripping with disbelief. "Why?" The Doctor frowned. He wanted to believe it was over, but centuries of experience had taught him that it was never that easy. Never. Unless…

"I…I don't know," The Doctor's resolved faltered a bit as he spoke. He was torn, utterly torn, just like the pages he'd ripped from the book just minutes before. Was this really his companion, who he could trust, or was it still the Skeeva, who he needed to destroy? Sadie stepped a bit closer, eyeing him warily. She seemed to hesitate before speaking again.

"It really is me," she said, holding her hands up in a placating gesture. "You can trust me." The Doctor looked over her carefully, looking for any sign that would tip him off to her true being. Apart from the deep purple bruises that were already beginning to form along the parts of her arms that were exposed from her shirt sleeves, he came up blank. Sadie took another cautious step forward. She seemed to be thinking, biting absently at the corner of her lip as she was wont to do in such situations. That was definitely a Sadie-trait. Maybe it was over that easily. If only he could be sure.

"Doctor…please…" she said softly, stepping closer still, hands still out. "Just take it easy. It's over." Apparently sensing that the Doctor's guard was lowering ever so slightly, Sadie closed the distance between the two, slowly lowering her arms into a more natural position. She cleared her throat, apparently hoping to dispel the tension that was still hanging within the room. "So..."

The Doctor didn't respond. He was still looking for a sign, any sign, that would clue him in as to what was going on. He just couldn't let go of that little nagging feeling that something was still wrong. She looked like Sadie, sounded like Sadie, but was she Sadie? He still wasn't completely sure.

"Right," Sadie nodded, taking his lack of response in stride. "Well, why don't we just go ahead and get rid of that stupid book now? I think we'd both feel better with it gone." She reached a hand out towards the book, but the Doctor pulled it away before she ever got close. Sadie jerked her hand back, face apologetic. "I'm sorry! I just thought-"

"I'll be making the decisions around here, preferably without your input," The Doctor responded sharply, watching to take in every detail of her reaction. Sadie's eyes widened and she nodded once. Another typical thing for her. She always did that whenever he got a little…intense. Just clammed up, refusing to speak until she was sure she wouldn't get her head bitten off. If this thing really wasn't Sadie, it was doing an amazingly impeccable job of imitating her. The Doctor drummed his fingers along the spine of the book still in his hands, thoughts spinning. He froze as the answer hit him. How could he have been so dense?

"The book!"

Sadie looked confused. "The book?"

"The answer to it all! If you really are who you say you are, then the book will be changed back to normal! If you're not who you say you are, then Sadie's words will still be there! Oh, why didn't I think of this before?" He flipped the book open and scanned the pages quickly. There, in large letters, was the answer he'd been looking for the whole time.

'DESTROY IT!'

The Doctor wasted no time. He could hear the growls coming from the Skeeva already. He grabbed a handful of the pages and ripped. He was rewarded instantly with a shriek of pain from the now-revealed imposter. He didn't stop. His sympathy was gone. He ripped until every page of the cursed book was in a pile at his feet. He tore the cover of the book in half, as well, letting it fall with a double thump to the floor.

A few feet away, curled into the smallest ball imaginable, was the un-moving body of Sadie. The Skeeva now taken care of, the Doctor had no doubt this was once again his companion. He dropped to his knees beside of her.

"Sadie?"

Her eyes fluttered once, and then opened wide. She sat up, urgency distinct in every fiber of her being. She spoke quickly, in a rough voice that showed just how harrowing this encounter had been.

"Burn it."