A/N: new chappie! enjoy!

Chapter 11: The Golden Head of Zacros

"Ok," Olivia sighed as she shuffled through the stone hallway before she noticed an open room ahead and grinned. "Finally! I found it! Oh, if the Doctor could see me now!"

She hurried down the hall until she reached the end, catching herself just in time so she wouldn't fall into the murky water below where the floor stopped. She looked ahead to see a huge pillar with a golden skull sitting on top of it, pillars making a trail toward it from where she stood.

"Oh, I really wish I'd taken those swimming lessons when I was five," she grumbled before trying to find a way across.

She looked up to see a gap in the ceiling above, letting light flood in over the artifact she needed to get to, illuminating the entire room as she chanced to look down at the murky water. She sucked in a breath before looking ahead to focus on her goal. She bit her lip before stepping onto the pillar closest to her, carefully balancing on it before moving to the next one. The pillars seemed to sit farther and farther apart, inch by inch as she stepped onto them until she reached the one before the stand where the Head of Zacros sat.

Olivia swallowed before jumping to the last pillar, one of her feet slipping when she landed but she kept her place by grabbing that stand holding the golden skull. She sighed in relief, looking to the skull and grinning as she steadied herself before grabbing it and sitting on the stand.

"Olivia!"

She shot her gaze up to the gap in the ceiling and grinned when she was shaded from the sun by a familiar face.

"Well, hello there, Doctor!" she called, carefully standing on the pedestal to lift the golden skull toward him. "Look what I got!"

"That's lovely, Olivia, but let's get you outta there before we celebrate, eh?" he called, looking around the edge of the gap before reaching to the other side. He grabbed a vine and made sure it wouldn't come loose from the rocks before letting the long tail hang down toward her. "Grab hold of that and I'll pull you up!"

She used one hand to grab the vine just as the pillar beneath her shook and suddenly dissolved under her feet and she screamed as she was now dangling above the murky water of the temple, clutching the skull in her other hand. The Doctor quickly grabbed the vine as he noticed it starting to give way and strained at suddenly catching Olivia's weight, his feet bracing him on either side of the gap as he looked down at her.

"Drop that damn skull, Olivia!" he shouted down at her, seeing her holding on with only one hand.

"If I do that we won't get the TARDIS back!" she shouted. "I've got a good grip! Pull me up!"

The Doctor gritted his teeth as he began to pull her up, hand over hand on the vine as fast as he could until one of his hands gripped hers. He slapped his other hand onto hers and pulled her up so that she could climb out and sit next to him, still clutching the Golden Head of Zacros. They both looked into the gap before they looked to each other and couldn't help but burst into joyous laughter.

"Brave, brilliant and beautiful, Olivia Felton!" the Doctor grinned, throwing his arms around her to hug her tightly before pulling away and looking down the side of the temple. "Follow me. I found a path up here, we'll take it back down."

He held her hand the whole way down as they carefully reached the bottom of the temple, the Doctor leading the way. When they were about to head back own the trail, the brush around them rustled, making them both freeze as the Doctor pulled Olivia behind him. The brush parted to reveal their so-called be guide approaching them, making them both sigh in some relief.

"Congratulations," he nodded, shortly before holding a hand toward the two. "You've done my dirty work. Bravo, now hand over the skull, if you please?"

"Oh, I knew it," the Doctor nearly growled, keeping Olivia behind him and not looking away from the man in front of them. "We're not where I thought we were, are we? This isn't Amazonia."

"Oh, no, it is, Doctor," the man replied. "But some time ago it was shut down as a Theme Park Planet and we soon found many precious and expensive artifacts that no one even bothered to look for. Some we just dug up, and some we need to work a little harder for, like that one the lovely lady is holding. The facilities were still standing, so we've been using them for our own means, like getting saps like you to do our dirty work for us."

"We could've been killed, you jackass!" Olivia snapped, trying to step around the Doctor, but he kept her from getting too close to the other man. "What then?! You just find someone else to get it?!"

"Of course," he shrugged. "But I knew you two wouldn't die. I knew from the second I saw you two that you were a clever pair. I was right."

"What will you do with the Head of Zacros?" the Doctor questioned, not taking his gaze from him.

"Sell it to the highest bidder," he smirked. "It should sell for a pretty penny, too."

"It belongs in a museum!" Olivia shot back before glancing to the Doctor to murmur, "It does, right?"

"Right," he nodded, unable to help smirking at her before she nodded and glared at the man again.

"This isn't the Last Crusade, and you're not Indiana Jones, I'm afraid," he shot back.

"Yeah, but you have to admit, she's got a point," the Doctor shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets as Olivia stood next to him. "Now, I don't usually go about putting things in museums…on purpose, but seeing as you dragged us into this and nearly got us both killed, I'm gonna go with Olivia on this."

"You don't think you can actually stop me, Doctor," the man chuckled. "Those Natives you ran into are under my control. With a snap of my fingers their spears will darken the sky!"

"Then we'll fight you in the shade," Olivia shot back with a smirk making the Doctor nod in approval.

"Ooh, that was a good one. I like that," he smiled to her.

"Not my line, but thanks!" she grinned back, making the man in front of them groan in irritation before marching toward her to snatch the skull from her but she was quicker and ducked behind the Doctor for protection.

"Tell us where the TARDIS is, and we might give you the skull," the Doctor offered, making the other man stare at him before bursting into laughter.

"You really think you're in any position to negotiate, Doctor?" he laughed.

"Well…it was a good try," the Doctor sighed, grasping the skull from Olivia's hands and using it to smack the man in the face, sending him to the ground before the Doctor grabbed Olivia's hand and ran them past him before he could stand.

"Where are we going?!" she questioned as he pulled her through the brush.

"She's callin' me, Olivia!" he assured her. "We're close! Don't lose me now!"

She didn't respond or look back when she heard the tomb raider calling after them until the Doctor suddenly stopped with a bark of laughter. She looked up and grinned at the TARDIS as he let go of her hand to unlock the door before ushering her inside, following her in. The door shut behind them as the TARDIS gave a warm stroke to the Doctor's mind, buzzing happily that they were both back and well and they both sighed as they leaned back on the door, panting for breath.

"Right!" the Doctor chirped, running toward the console. "Now to get that thing back to its proper place! What'd ya say, Olivia Felton?!"

"That's a great idea, Doctor," she smiled, stepping toward the console as she watched him run all around it. "Can I just ask: Who exactly was Zacros?"

"Oh! He was the third Emperor of the Ka'tos System," the Doctor explained, still running around the console. "That, right there, Miss Felton, is a find. A find! The people of Gemsyti will be thrilled to have that back!"

"Gemsyti?" she echoed with a slight frown as he ran around her and the engines began their beautiful whirring as they began a steady flight.

"His home planet," he explained, not looking from the console. "You'll love it!"

"So…the Gemsy…tites have golden bones?" Olivia guessed, lifting the skull in her hands to examine it. It looked human enough, but the nose and eye cavities were smaller than a human's and it didn't look like it had teeth, just a slightly dull edge where the edges of teeth would've been.

"Yes, they do," the Doctor replied, pulling on a lever on the console and the TARDIS shuddered to a stop, catching her attention as he nearly bounded to the door, stopping next to it to smile at her, "And skin made of diamond."

Olivia's eyes shot wide at him as he grinned and she slowly stepped toward him, still holding the skull.

"Are you serious?" she breathed in shock and he only gave a huge nod before lifting an arm around her shoulders to lead her out as he opened the door.

"You don't know the half of it," he murmured into her ear as they stepped out of the TARDIS, the door shutting behind them as Olivia's eyes widened at the scenery around them. "Welcome to Gemsyti."

"It's made of jewels," she breathed, her jade eyes darting around the forest they'd landed in. "The trees…are silver. The leaves…are emeralds. The ground is…" She looked down at her feet to find herself standing on black, shining stone. "…onyx. That's black onyx I'm standing on." She shot her gaze to the Doctor who only smiled down at her. "I'm standing on black onyx!"

"Yes, darling. I heard you," he nodded with a chuckle before lowering his arm and taking one of her hands to lead her through the glittering forest. "Allons-y! We need to find one of the Gemsytites and get that skull to them. Then we might do a bit of shopping. How does that sound, eh?"

"Shopping?" she echoed with a frown, strolling next to him. "Do we really have time for that? More importantly do we have the money for that here?"

"We've got plenty of time!" the Doctor grinned. "I'm the Time Lord, remember? And as for money, we don't need any here. The Gemsytites have no use for money, since it literally grows on trees for them. They don't even trade. They use what their planet gives them to pay for things they may need from other planets like food and clothes and such. They've come a long way since their beginnings."

"I know a few people who would love to live here," she sighed, letting go of his hand to take his arm instead as she gazed up at the pale blue sun shining down on the trees above them and casting sprinklings of green light over her face. "It's a little colder than I'm used to, but I can get used to it."

"Really?" the Doctor frowned in wonder as he shoved his hands in his pockets before shrugging, "I'm comfy."

"Of course you are," she giggled, nudging him playfully but remaining on his arm before she glanced around and smiled, "You know…this is all kinda romantic, Doctor."

He shot a wide-eyed gaze down at her, his voice cracking, "What—?!"

"Oh, come on," she smirked, teasingly. "You can't tell me you weren't thinking it, too! You and me, strolling along a jewel-laden trail among silver trees…alone. You asking me to go shopping with you. Sounds an awful lot like a date to me."

He suddenly stopped and she looked up at him with a frown of wonder as his wide-eyed gaze softened to a warm smile, making her heart skip before it began pounding in her chest.

"Is that what you want, Liv?" he murmured, still smiling warmly. "You want this to be a date?"

"W-Well…" she breathed, their gazes locked as her heart thudded in her ears.

"Ha! Gotcha!" the Doctor grinned, making her frown in confusion before she realized he'd been teasing her and her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she looked away and he pulled his arm from her hands to take one of hers in his and pulled her through the forest. "Come on! Avanti!"

She said nothing as he pulled her through the suddenly not-so-romantic forest until they reached a clearing and he stopped with a grin, Olivia stepping next to him, still holding the skull.

"Aw! A camp! I love camps," he grinned as Olivia stared at the humanoids milling around the camp.

They all wore tattered clothing, but her eyes were led to the transparent diamond skin of the Gemsytites, showing off their golden skeletons beneath it, their eyes being either emeralds, sapphires or rubies. They were the most beautiful aliens she'd seen and knew she ever would.

"This way, Liv," he urged, pulling her closer to the camp where they were finally noticed and Olivia's gaze darted around at every one of them as they looked up. "They're gentle people. They won't hurt us."

"I know," she breathed, not looking at him and letting him lead her through the camp. "I'm not afraid just…in awe."

"Beautiful, aren't they?" he smirked, glancing at her over his shoulder and she looked to him to nod with a smile of her own before hurrying to walk next to him. "I knew you'd like it here."

They said nothing else as he led her to one of the tents set up among the others in the camp, the people of Gemsyti staring on at them. He didn't enter the tent, instead he winked at Olivia before taking the skull from her and clearing his throat.

"Oh, Edric, old mate! I've got somethin' for ya!" he called into the tent before ducking inside, dragging a shocked Olivia behind him. "Christmas has come early!"

"Doctor!" a Gemsytite with rubies for eyes smiled at seeing the Doctor who bowed at the waist, Olivia following his lead. Edric stood and raised his arms toward the Doctor to hug him before turning to Olivia, asking, "Who is your lovely companion?"

"Oh, you ol' smoothie," the Doctor smirked before introducing, "This is Olivia Felton. Olivia, this is Edric, Lord of Gemsyti."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your grace," Olivia nodded respectfully, making Edric smirk before looking to the Doctor.

"I like this one, Doctor," he smiled before looking back at Olivia and nodding in return before taking her hands in his. "Your respect for my rank now known, there's no need to stand on formalities. Everyone here is a friend. And certainly a friend of the Doctor's is a friend of mine."

Olivia gave a shy smile and nodded as his cold to-the-touch hands brought hers up to his lips to kiss them lightly. She couldn't get over the lack of physical warmth and softness, but she didn't show it as he lowered her hands and looked to the Doctor.

"What brings to you here, my friend?" he wondered.

Without another word, the Doctor lifted the skull of Zacros up for Edric to see, and he looked to it in shock, but the Doctor quickly explained, "We acquired this on Amazonia. A tomb raider made us take it from one of the temples. It is the Skull of Zacros."

Edric lifted his hands and took the skull reverently before looking back to the Doctor, grinning, "Thank you, Doctor! You have no idea what this will mean to the people! We have long thought his entire skeleton was melted for profit!"

"No thanks required," the Doctor smiled. "Just doing my duty as a Time Lord. Making sure everythin' ends up in its proper place."

"You've done more than that this time, Doctor," Edric insisted. "You have brought back a piece of history for the people of Gemsyti. It is something that cannot be replaced. How can we repay you?!"

"Let Olivia and I have a little stay here and we'll call it even," the Doctor smiled.

"Yes! Of course! Stay as long as you wish! It is the least I can do!"

They all bowed again before the Doctor pulled Olivia back out of the tent and shoved his hands into his pockets, Olivia taking his arm as he strolled through the camp.

"So," he chirped, catching her attention and they smiled to each other as he asked, "Fancy a bit of shopping?"

"Yes!" she grinned, hugging his arm before he grinned brightly and grabbed her hand to drag her out of the camp and through the forest. "Do you know where you're going?!"

"Course I do!" he replied before coming to a dead stop, looking around then bolting in another direction, calling, "This way!"

Olivia laughed hysterically as he pulled her through the glittering trees before coming to another stop and she stepped next to him, both catching their breath as Olivia's eyes widened. They stood at the edge of another clearing filled with isles of booths with displays of all kinds of glittering and shining things. It reminded her of a swap meet or farmers market back home.

"Well, come on," the Doctor urged, stepping into the crowd and pulling her behind him. He stopped to pull her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist and making her heart skip at the embrace before he leaned next to her ear, asking, "What would ya like?"

"I-I dunno," she replied, still a bit muddled at his closeness.

"Well, what do you wanna look at then?" he wondered. "They're all different. We can look at emeralds…rubies…sapphires. They've got some obscure gems, too, if you like somethin' like jasper or amethyst—"

"Sapphires!" a voice called, drawing their attention to the right of Olivia. "She'll look gorgeous in sapphires! How about a pretty blue necklace for the lady?!"

The Doctor gently pulled Olivia toward the booth to look over the display on her table.

"I've got a style for every planet!" the seller announced. "Where're you from, Miss?"

"Um…Earth," Olivia hummed as the Doctor smiled down at her in amusement at her uncertainty.

"Oh! Then I've got just the thing for you!" the woman grinned, ducking under her table before coming back up with a necklace in her hands, displaying it for the two to see. "It's meant to look like that famous blue diamond from that Earth movie about the sinking ship. What was it called?"

"Titanic," Olivia breathed, her eyes wide as she stared at it, taking the huge heart-shaped gem in her hands reverently. "The Heart of the Ocean. Oh, it's gorgeous. It looks just like the one from the movie, doesn't it Doctor?!"

"Very much so," he nodded before leaning into her ear again to murmur, "It nearly outshines you, but not by much."

Olivia felt her cheeks flare at the compliment. What had gotten into him?! Was he still teasing her about the comment she'd made on this being a date? If so, the joke was getting old.

"I dunno," the Doctor hummed in thought, now standing tall, his hand still about her waist as he looked at the necklace in her hands. "Might be a bit gaudy for you, eh, Liv? It's gorgeous, to be sure, but…I think something a bit smaller would suit you. Unless you like it enough."

"I do," Olivia nodded as she handed the thing back to the vendor. "But, to be honest, I don't know where I'd wear it."

"No trouble!" the Gemsytite woman grinned, looking around her booth in thought. "Let's see…something smaller. How about a ring? Can't get smaller than that! Oh! And I've got just the one! This one, here…"

She lifted a silver ring with a cluster of sapphires all attached to short, silver strings so that the gems would move with every move of your hand.

"Now we're talkin'!" the Doctor grinned. "What you think, Liv?"

"It's adorable!" she smiled, holding a hand out to try it on and it slipped easily over her left middle finger. "I love it!"

"Glad to be of help!" the vendor grinned as they walked away and she waved to them, calling, "Have nice day!"

They waved back as Olivia called out her thanks and she admired her new ring, the Doctor smiling down at her.

"Happy?" he hoped and she grinned up at him.

"Very happy," she nodded before looking around and grinning at another booth, grabbing his hand and dragging him toward it. "Ooh! Let's go to this one!"

The Doctor laughed as she pulled him toward the booth, catching the Gemsytite man's attention and he greeted them with a smile.

"What can I get for you, sweetheart?" he asked as Olivia stopped in front of his display, the Doctor stepping next to her.

"I'm not sure…" she hummed before looking to the Doctor, making him frown as she looked back at the different trinkets displayed on the table then waved the Doctor off, saying, "Go look around, Doctor."

"Oi! Don't dismiss me," he shot back, mimicking her gesture, but she didn't look away from the display. "What're you lookin' for?"

"I don't want to tell you," Olivia indignantly replied, turning her nose up at him and giving a wink to the vendor as he watched them, chuckling.

"Fine," the Doctor grumbled, turning to wander the booths, but before he walked away he ordered, "Don't wander off. I'll be back for you."

"I know, I know," she replied, waving him off again and he gave her a slight glare before sauntering off down the booths and she watched him for a moment before turning to the vendor with a bright smile. "I need to find something brilliant for him. Think you can help me?"

"Of course, sweetheart!" the Gemsytite grinned. "That's what I'm here for."

A/N: Gemsyti is pronounced gem-city. yes, i totally used a line from 300, and a line from Indiana Jones: Last Crusade. they were things i thought Olivia would say, and i'm giving credit where credit's due, they are NOT my lines. reviews?