CHAPTER NINETEEN

Charley awoke slowly. Still groggy, she drew in the familiar scent that reminded her of somewhere she couldn't quite remember. An old place, a safe place. How long had it been since she'd felt so safe? She was resting on a soft mattress, with a heavy blanket over top of her. And she was comfortable.

Suddenly, she remembered.

Eyes flying open, she looked around her. Where was she? Was she dead? No... definitely not dead. And not in the bright, sterile room she'd fallen asleep in, either. She was... in the Tardis. Confused, she rubbed her eyes and looked down at the child sleeping next to her. Julia, quiet and peaceful. Charley felt her wrist for the bracelet, but found it gone. Then she reached out slowly and brushed the little girl's hair off of her forehead. She didn't stir, sleeping peacefully. But her skin was warm. She was safe. And she looked... older.

Charley studied her for a moment, her confusion growing. Julia's face had changed, just the slightest bit. She looked more like a child and less like a toddler. Slowly, Charley traced the edge of her longer hair, and turned to look around the room. This had been her room once. But how had she gotten here? What had happened? The last thing she remembered, she had been wondering if she would ever open her eyes again. And the Doctor...

She moved the blanket off of her as she turned and placed her feet on the floor, smiling to herself as she felt the familiar hum of the ship against her soles. She hadn't traveled in this ship for a very long time, but she was almost certain they were in flight. After so many years of trying to put this life behind her, she'd not realized just how much she missed that low, almost unperceivable hum. All at once, she felt happy, safe, and relieved. She couldn't remember the last time she'd fell any of them, let alone at the same time.

She stood, and made sure that Julia was tucked in nice and warm before she looked around. She wasn't in the same clothes she'd fallen asleep in, she realized. She was instead in a rather comfortable night shirt that went to just above her knees. Casting about, she found a dressing gown draped over the back of a chair and a pair of slippers placed in front of it. Slipping them on, she walked over to the bed, placed a gentle kiss on Julia's forehead, and left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

*X*X*X*

The Doctor was pleased with himself. He had found the solution to an impossible situation, had left the Boraeli on even better terms than he'd arrived, and had formed a plan for how to tie up all the loose ends. Like it or not, there were a few of those. The Rani had lived up to her side of the bargain; six months almost to the day after the agreement was made, the human Julia opened her eyes to the world for the first time. With no memory and only a minimal understanding of language, she was in many ways like an infant child in a four-year-old's body. Her awe and wonder at the big wide world around her kept her from fear, but the task before her - learning to communicate and to fit in - would be tremendously difficult. And that was after he took her to New Earth and treated her severe case of narcolepsy. He still wasn't quite sure how he was going to explain that bit to Charley...

If the Viyrans had marveled at the transformation, they had done so candidly. They had barely said five words to him when he arrived on the ship to present her. Like the Rani, who had more or less ignored him for the past six months, they did little to alleviate the boredom that the unbelievably long waiting period had brought on. Aside from T'Lest and C'Ronal, who had occasionally stopped in to say hello, he'd had no contact, no real conversation, for a year and a half. And the entire time he'd stood watching their tests on the (sleeping) Julia, his mind was engaged in the daydream of how nice it would feel to put this whole business behind him, close the door to the Tardis, and disappear into the Vortex with Charley and Julia safe inside.

Which was precisely what he had done.

They would have to make a pit stop before they could go anywhere interesting: a quick trip to New Earth. He wasn't entirely sure what the treatment and cure for Julia's sleep disorder entailed, but he knew for a fact that the medical advancements of the 47th century all but guaranteed a cure. He'd had plenty of time to do his research, after all. The condition was simple, and human in origin. It wasn't until the humans began traveling to other worlds and coming into contact with foreign diseases they were never meant to encounter that they truly knew what it was to be sick, and "incurable".

He heard the door close at the top of the steps and spun around at the console. Instantly, his face broke into a full smile. "Hello, Charley!" He couldn't contain his excitement at seeing her awake again. He really had been deprived of company for so very long... "How are you feeling?"

"Groggy and a bit stiff," she answered honestly, walking slowly down the steps. "But otherwise fine."

"Excellent!" He was all smiles and energy, ready to take on the universe if given half a chance. He hadn't felt this good in ages...

"I saw Julia," Charley said hesitantly. "Is she...?"

"Human. One hundred percent, completely human."

"And the Viyrans?"

"Gone. They have no more interest in either of you. Which reminds me..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the locket, holding it out to her as she came closer. "This belongs to Julia now. But you must make sure she never opens it."

"What is it?" Charley asked, taking it carefully and holding it up to the light from the time rotor.

"The chameleon arch is designed to store all information it overwrites in a small receptacle so that the process can be undone at a later point. If you open that locket, it would change her back. And I don't know that she could withstand the process a second time."

"Oh."

"There's a low level perception filter around it so as an adult, she'll see no reason to give it a second thought. But accidents happen around children. So please, keep it safe."

Charley slipped the chain over her head, tucking the locket into her night shirt. "Best to keep it out of little hands, I think."

He smiled, and skipped around to another of the panels on the other side of the console, setting coordinates and checking readings. "I'm taking the long way around because I want her to have plenty of chance to rest before we take her out and expose her to any kind of excitement. Don't want her to get over stimulated."

"I noticed she looked a bit... older."

"Well, Charley, that's because she is," he answered simply, and with a smile. "A bit. A perfectly healthy four-year-old girl. Earth normal."

"Four?" Charley asked, confused.

"The process took a bit longer than we'd expected."

"I thought they said when she was changed, she would start aging from that point."

"Hmm?" Startled out of his thoughts by the sound of her voice, it took him a moment to realize what she was asking before he could respond. "Yes, that's right."

"So... just how long did the process take? If she's four now, and she looked three then..."

"Well, that sounds about right. About a year. Give or take a few months. More give than take, really."

"She was gone for a whole year?" Charley's eyes were a bit wider than normal.

"Well, yes, but she won't remember any of it." He paused briefly, and continued in a low, rambling tone, lost in his thoughts. "Actually, I don't think it's likely she'll remember anything at all. Probably best if your face is the first she sees when she wakes up."

"You mean she hasn't woken up yet?" Charley asked, alarmed.

"She did. Briefly. We need to make a quick stop on New Earth and get her checked out. Possible side effect from the process." He was still full of energy, rambling happily. "Her speech center seems to still be intact but her memory of language is a bit... faulty. During what little time she was awake, she didn't seem to be comprehending much."

"What do you mean it's faulty?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "The process we performed on her has never been done before. That's why it took so long. I had to stay until we got it right."

He tipped his head studying Charley. 'Worried mother' was an interesting role to see her play, chewing on her lip, trying to take calming breaths. It made him smile a bit, and he placed his hands on her shoulders as he took a step forward.

"She's perfectly safe, Charley. And whatever lingering effects there are, we'll deal with them." He turned toward the console again. "You'll have plenty of time to give her your undivided attention now that you don't have to worry about the Viyrans."

She was staring at him. He looked back at her, and raised a brow questioningly, waiting for her to speak. Finally, she gave a brief laugh as she shook her head in amazement. "I can't believe it."

"You can't believe what?"

"You actually did it. You just... made the Viyrans go away."

"Of course I did it! I'm the Doctor. Besides," he smiled knowingly, "I told you I would."

"No, but you actually..." She trailed off as she took a step closer to him. "You saved my life. Again."

"And I think we've managed to avoid any paradoxes this time!" he exclaimed, quite proud of himself.

"Doctor..." She paused for a long moment in front of him, then leaned in and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Thank you."

He hesitated a beat, then slowly circled his arms around her, hugging her back. "You know, you're one of the few people in all my lives who's said that and meant it."

She clung to him for a long moment, then pulled back and wiped her eyes roughly. "When I took her and ran, I prepared myself for the fact that we would always be on the run. I never allowed myself to think anything different."

"Well, now you can start preparing for a new future."

She hugged him again. "I don't even know how to thank you."

He looked down at her and smiled, still holding her tightly. "You're welcome, Charley."

As she held on to him, he kissed her forehead, then dropped his head to nuzzle her gently, enjoying the moment of simply being near her. "So what will you do now, my Edwardian Adventuress?"

She laughed quietly. "It's been so long since anyone has called me that."

He smiled. "You'll always be that to me. Young and beautiful and full of adventure and life and excitement."

He breathed in deep as he set his cheek against hers, drawing in the scent of her shampoo and the lingering smell of the hospital that clung to her skin. But beneath it all was the simple, beautiful scent that was simply her. And he had missed it more than words could say.

"Eternally young and beautiful," she answered quietly, nuzzling him back. "I could get used to that."

He smiled, rubbing his thumb lightly on the curve of her spine. His hands wanted to explore further, but he kept them in place as he pulled back enough to look down at her, eye to eye, saying nothing. He simply watched her, searing his memories with this moment of her. He had waited for this moment for a very long time, and it was everything he'd hoped it would be.

"What?" she asked, shifting slightly under his gaze.

He shook his head slightly, leaning down until his nose was just close enough to brush hers. She giggled quietly, and it made him smile even wider. The light teasing and fun that bordered on intimacy - never so much as a blatant insinuation but nothing short of the kind of things that only lovers do - was as much a part of her as her voice. He'd missed that. He'd missed all of it...

Standing on her tiptoes, she leaned her forehead against his, her eyes sliding closed. "I missed you."

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers, his lips almost brushing hers as he nudged her again, nose to nose and then cheek to cheek. "I missed you, too."

"I've thought about you so many times," she whispered. Wrapping her arms tighter around him, she nuzzled her face into his neck and breathed in deep. "I've missed everything about you."

Turning her head in slightly, she placed gentle, feather-light kisses along his neck. They made him smile. In seven-hundred-odd years, he hadn't been this close to anyone. But it wasn't just the proximity, the physical attention he'd been deprived of for so long. After all, he was a Time Lord; his people had developed coping mechanisms for that sort of thing ages ago, until solitude was the norm and they no longer even needed to find ways of managing the loneliness that lack of physical contact instigated.

No, it wasn't just the feel of her skin on his. It was the smell of her, the whisper of her breath on his lips, just out of reach. It was the familiarity of a thousand beautiful memories they'd shared. It was her, and the memory of everything good she had ever made him feel. The joy and the excitement of adventure on new worlds. The trust and the intimacy. The first time she'd fallen asleep in his arms, so innocent and vulnerable in a cruel world that sought to destroy her. The smile on her face when she'd excitedly announced that she was accepting his (non-existent) invitation to travel with him. The sound of her laughter and that squeaking, whingy voice she used when she wasn't getting her way on something trivial - the one that always made him think of what she must have been like as a spoiled little girl. She had made a universe without time bearable to him. Her bravery and her innocence and the simplicity of her smile... She had imprinted herself onto him from the first time he'd taken her hand.

He leaned away from her kisses just slightly, giving her better access to his neck as his hands moved slowly up her back, one vertebra at a time, all the way to the base of her skull. His body was responding, awakening. His mind was already completely wrapped up in her.

"Charley?"

She stopped briefly in her ministrations. "Yes, Doctor?"

His breath caught at the sound of her voice - that tight, tingling feeling that started in his chest, settled in his groin, then slowly spread all the way down to his toes. He couldn't think. He didn't think. He buried a hand in her hair and held her head gently as he turned and pressed his lips to her ear.

"I want you."

He was surprised by the words that came out of his mouth. It hadn't been what he'd thought he would say. He'd meant to tell her that he loved her. But she already knew that. And he didn't take his words back, or correct them. They were just as true as the words he'd meant to say. And they made her chuckle quietly, pressing her smile into his neck as she answered, "I know."

He could feel his breathing deepen, his hearts falling into a quicker rhythm, blood rushing through his veins. Senses on heightened alert, he could feel every beat, hear every breath - his and hers. He could feel the rush of time around them as they fell endlessly through the Vortex, and it made him dizzy. He could always sense it, but right now, it was like fire along his nerves. An all-consuming fire that felt so perfectly, incredibly good.

He moved the hand that wasn't in her hair to her hip, and kept his lips close to her ear. "Right now." He could hear the tension in his own whispered voice, the way it shuddered just slightly with pent up energy. "Right here."

She didn't answer. Instead, she pulled away slightly, grabbed the lapels of his leather coat, and pulled him down to meet her kiss. His breathing stopped. His heartbeat doubled in pace. His arms pulled her tight against him as her lips parted, and he filled her mouth, claiming her. Without thought, he turned and pushed her against the pillar, putting his hands out to catch his weight before he crushed her against it.

Her hands were moving inside the jacket, sliding up to his shoulders, pushing it off. He rolled his shoulders to help her, then grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt, pulling away from her just long enough to rip it over his head. With hands on her ribs, he lifted her until they were face to face, bracing her back against the warm metal behind her. He could feel the Tardis come to attention, her time rotor humming just a fraction higher in pitch as she fed off of the excitement and energy in her control room. He smiled knowingly as he claimed Charley's mouth with his again, and dropped his head to kiss and pull at her neck.

The way she giggled and moaned, arching against him, made his body react instinctively. He realized the impracticality of this position before she did. Her legs around his waist trapped her nightgown between them and even if he could've wriggled her out of it, there was no way he was getting to his belt, much less his shoes. Of course, he didn't really need to take off the shoes... Wandering thoughts were brought abruptly back to the woman in his arms as a wave of her pheromones hit his over-stimulated senses and made him groan, teeth resting against her throat. He wanted to kiss and taste every inch of her hot, salty skin.

"Charley, do you have any idea how good you smell?"

Chest heaving, she smiled wickedly as she looked down at him. "Not nearly as good as you do, I'm sure."

He smiled up at her, and nipped not-so-gently at her lower lip. Then he stepped back from the pillar, waited for her to get her legs underneath her, and in one smooth movement, had the dressing gown off of her shoulders and the nightshirt over her head. Squeaking slightly at her sudden lack of clothes, she grabbed for his shoulders as he pulled her closer so fast she nearly lost her balance.

He moaned in pure pleasure at the full skin-on-skin contact as he held her tight, throwing the nightshirt somewhere on the floor behind him. He could feel her chest heaving, hands working between them as she worked at his waist. Lips pressed together, tongues battling for domination, her nimble fingers worked to undo his belt as she pushed him back into the console as it came unclasped. She made quick work of the button and zip and then, with one hand wrapped firmly around the back of his neck, she slid the other inside his pants and stroked the length of his shaft.

He groaned loudly. "Oh, Charley, that feels incredible."

So long since he'd been touched there. Eyes rolling back, he barely heard her quiet laugh. Dizzy with sensation, he dropped his head back and moaned, low and long, in complete abandon. The time rotor hummed louder. He could feel the Tardis' energy singing around him. Wandering through the pure time environment of the Vortex while her controller drowned in everything that felt good, right there in her control room... He gathered enough thought to consider it briefly. He'd never done this before - not here. How good must all this positive energy feel to her? He smiled.

Charley put one knee up on the console, pushing him back further and moving one hand to the time rotor for support. He was bent back, pinned and perfectly positioned to draw her breasts into his mouth, one at a time. Bracing himself with one arm on some spot of the console that wasn't going to send them careening off into the middle of nowhere, he used his other to hold her, covering every inch of her that he could reach with hot kisses. He soaked in her energy, and the hum of the Tardis sounded even louder as he lost himself in the pleasure of her salty, human taste.

She couldn't get the leverage she needed to mount him right there on the console. She nearly fell over, and he caught her, stumbling a few steps. Pants, down. Boots, tripping, off, skittering across the floor. He might well have ripped her panties as he tugged them off, dropping down to his knees. He could smell her desire, and it made his whole body throb in anticipation as she dropped to the floor with him and drug her nails up his arms, his shoulders, up his neck and into his scalp and back down again. Kisses. Pleasure. A hint of pain. Pheromones. Need. He was hard as a rock and she was so, so wet and warm and soft...

The sudden blast of sound from the room around him made him jump, startled. Breathing heavy and already overloaded on adrenaline and hormones, it took him a moment to figure out that the sound was music.

Charley was staring at him in confusion. "Did you do that?"

"No," he answered a bit shakily. "I think the Tardis did that, actually."

She blinked in surprise. "The Tardis?"

"Must've been."

"Does she play music at random very often?"

"No. But then again, I don't often have sex in her control room." He smiled as he refocused his attention on her, hands creeping up her ribs. "Never, in fact."

"Hmm..."

A bit loud and definitely echoing, the music was nevertheless not an entirely unpleasant addition to the environment. He slowly untensed, finding his way past the startled response. He didn't even recognize the song - there were so many he'd never heard, even after all these years - but it was low and intense and the beat made him think immediately of the steady rhythm of sex.

Suddenly, Charley planted her hands firmly on his shoulders and shoved him back. Startled, he took her weight as he fell onto his back on the cool floor, only barely able to twist his legs out from under him before she had him pinned by his wrists.

"I see you've learned a thing or two since the last time we did this," he said, intrigued by this sudden "take charge" attitude.

"Hmm, do you think so?"

Straddling him, she held herself on her knees, positioned perfectly but just out of reach. He groaned. "Well, you're certainly a bit more direct."

She dragged her nails down his chest, across his stomach. "Survival of the fittest." She leaned down, rocking her chest against his with the slow, intense beat of the music. Her breath was hot against his ear as she finished. "Take what you want when you want it."

Dipping her head down, she pulled his ear into her mouth, giving it a good bite before working her way up his jaw and finding his mouth again. He smiled as he pushed up, into her kiss, careful not to push her so hard that she hit her head on the floor when he flipped her over. She shrieked in surprise as she lost her balance. But directness wasn't the only thing she'd learned. She used his momentum to roll him over, and the two of them tumbled one over the other across the floor until they hit something hard.

The Doctor recognized the danger as he realized the "something hard" they'd hit was actually one of the candelabras near the steps. He turned to cover Charley, pinning her tightly to the floor. Luckily, the candles and hot wax fell in the opposite direction, a few feet away. He looked up to see that the flames were all out before they even hit the floor.

"Oops..."

She peered around him and burst out laughing. "I always knew those things were a hazard."

He smiled at the candles, then at her. The sight of her laughing awoke all sorts of emotions in him. For a long moment, he just stared at her. Then, slowly, he leaned down and covered her mouth with his, kissing her slowly, deeply.

The moan she gave him was satisfying. The way she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him further down, was encouraging. Pulling back to look down at her, into her eyes, he moved a hand to hold her hip and aligned himself with her entrance. But this time, the teasing look left her eyes as she blinked at him in surprise.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Nothing you don't want me to do."

It was as much a question as a reassurance. They had teased and played and fooled around too many times to count. It was less than a minute ago that she'd been ready to impale herself on him. But she never would, he knew. She wouldn't cross that line, that boundary he had set. And as she bit her lip and glanced down between them nervously, he suddenly wondered if she would let him cross it.

"Doctor, I thought you said it was too dangerous for us to actually..." She waved a vague hand between them. "Not that I'm complaining!" she quickly added. "I just... Are you...? I mean, I thought you said -"

"They'll be able to tell," he interrupted in a low, serious whisper. "My people, when they look at you, they'll know we've done this. And you know what they'll think of you - of both of us. But I don't care. Do you?"

Staring up at him, she shook her head as her eyes filled with tears, and reached up to place her palm gently against his cheek. "I don't care if the whole universe knows, Time Lord."

With a smile he felt way down in the deepest part of him, he leaned down and kissed her deeply. Then, in one slow, unbelievably satisfying slide, he penetrated all the way to her core, leaving his fingerprints there for all the universe to see.