Hermione was so deep in thought that she barely noticed where her feet were headed as she wound her way back across the ship to the galley. She realized later that the TARDIS must have been guiding her subconsciously because she certainly would have gotten lost, otherwise. She had been completely immersed in her ponderings because she was beginning to understand what must have happened to her dear friend. She thought she had finally solved the mystery about why he was alone and why he had just become so emotional over something as simple as a tree – and the realization was both horrifying and heartbreaking to her! It put her losses – as catastrophic as they were – into perspective and she realized that he probably needed her even more than she needed him – and every day she was becoming more and more aware of exactly how much that was! She also knew that she would have to eventually face down her own demons as soon as she felt strong enough - and she didn't really know how that would end – or where it would lead her. However, until then at least, she promised herself that she would be here for the Doctor in any way that he needed her!
She had a quick meal spent in the silent, but comforting, presence of the ship. However, Hermione could tell that the TARDIS's main consciousness was elsewhere, so she just knew without a doubt that the Old Girl was still keeping vigil over the Doctor, as well. After eating, she waited for a little while until it became clear that the Doctor wasn't going to join her. She was disappointed, but she completely understood. She knew that there were just some things that you had to do on your own…and that you couldn't rush them. Therefore, she just sighed and put his food under a stasis spell so that he could eat it whenever he was ready.
She then decided that it would be a good time for that run she had planned. Therefore, she took off in the direction where she remembered finding the gym on the previous day and was happy to discover that she was able to find her way back there without any problems. She glanced over at the sparring mats and was gratified, and a little embarrassed, to see that someone - probably the TARDIS - had cleaned up the mess that she had made the night before. None of that today, she promised herself, and looked at the running track instead. She did her mandatory pre-run stretching routine and allowed herself a moment of regret that she had not arranged for some kind of workout music. Just then she felt the TARDIS touch her mind and the upbeat strains of her favorite exercise tunes filled the air. Hermione was able to send the ship her sincere thanks before the Old Girl's consciousness left again, just as quickly as it had arrived. The witch allowed herself a small smile at the thought that the TARDIS seemed to be keeping an eye on both of her occupants in turn. She only hoped that the Doctor was doing okay and would join her soon. She then shook all of the negative thoughts out of her mind, focused it on the music and the track instead, and just ran!
She ran until she just couldn't run anymore. She knew that such actions would cause her to be sore tomorrow, but she also knew that it would be worth it in the long run when she built her endurance back up. She then proceeded to do her cool down stretching while she looked longingly at the pool and wished she had brought a suit. However, she soon realized that her sports bra and panties would work just as well – especially since she was alone. Therefore, she slipped out of her sweaty clothes and slid her overheated body into the crisp coolness of the water. She sighed at the sensation of being gently enveloped by it before completing a few leisurely laps, but was careful to not overexert herself again after her hard run. An indeterminate amount of time later, she went to climb out of the pool and smiled at the large towel waiting for her there. Apparently, the TARDIS had visited her again and anticipated her need – even though she had been too wrapped up in her exercise to notice.
Even though the gym was equipped with shower facilities, she decided to head back to her room to clean up there. She didn't have any clean clothes with her and she didn't want to take the TARDIS's attention away from the Doctor by asking for some nor did she want to parade around the ship naked. Therefore, she decided to just keep her wet undies on and proceeded to dry them with a useful spell she had learned after the Weasley twins had gone through a period of thinking that charmed water buckets on the tops of doors was a hilarious idea for a prank! Hermione then paused in surprise as she realized that she was actually able to smile at that memory, rather than cry over it. Maybe I am beginning to heal, she thought optimistically. Then she wrapped the towel around herself before muttering the same spell to dry the floor behind her as she left the gym and went back to the bedroom corridor.
After a hot shower, she felt fantastic – physically, at least. She was tired after her workout, but her body also practically thrummed with excess energy. Her mind then drifted as she thought of some very pleasant ways in which she could expend all of it – if she just had the right partner. That, of course, made her think of the Doctor! However, just as soon as she thought of him, sadness and self-recrimination quickly descended upon her as she realized how inappropriate those kind of thoughts were at the present time! She squashed the naughty ideas that had just started forming in her mind as she remembered that the Doctor was obviously in mourning. Plus, the fact that the TARDIS was still preoccupied, proved that he was still working through his…problems…as well. Therefore, Hermione was torn. Even when she disregarded the physical nature of her previous thoughts, she still wanted to go to him and comfort him as a friend. However, she wanted to respect his privacy at the same time. She knew, however, that she really didn't want to inflict her presence on him if he didn't want to see her. Therefore, she decided to play it safe and go prepare some dinner instead. Once in the galley, she frowned when she found his lunch, still in stasis, on the table. However, she left it there – just in case. Then she went ahead and prepared her dinner, ate it in the galley, and then left the Doctor's dinner in stasis – right next to his lunch. That way he could decide what he wanted to eat – whenever he was ready to do so.
After cleaning up the mess that she had made, she decided to retire to the library for the evening. She knew that the Doctor would know to look for her there if he wanted to see her. Therefore, she browsed the shelves until she found a multi-planetary cultural section. Remembering the blue, four-armed, and extremely polite alien that she had met on the previous day, she selected a book about the Tripurlians. Therefore, she was able to distract herself for a couple of hours by relaxing on the comfortable sofa as she read about the courteous species. By the time she had finished the book, however, it became painfully obvious that the Doctor wasn't going to put in an appearance while she was in the library, either.
Consequently, she decided to go to bed and reluctantly headed for her room. After she had performed her usual nighttime routines, she slipped between her sheets and soon fell asleep while thinking about how she was going to approach the Doctor the next day. She refused to allow him to spend another day in solitude – whether he wanted to or not! Fortunately, however, she didn't have to put any of her tentative plans into motion because a couple of hours later, the door to her room slowly swung open. The small sound caused Hermione to awaken instantly because, even though she had healed physically, her survival instincts were still battle-sharp from her year on the run. Therefore, she was awake enough to be able to repay the previous night's favor by wordlessly holding up the edge of her blanket to allow her visitor access to her bed this time. Once he had slid in beside her, she silently wrapped her arms around him and even hooked her leg over his in order to pull him even closer - while he buried his face into her hair and tried not to lose his composure again. Without a word, she held him that way until his even breathing proved that he had finally fallen asleep! Only then did she allow her grip on him to loosen slightly as she slipped back into slumber herself.