A/N: Well this is it. The end of the story, I worked hard, just so I could finish the story. Hoped you liked it. I may do another story sometime in the future. But it will be a bit longer time down the road, since I have so many other stories I am working on at this moment in time.

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Chapter Twenty-One: Hospitality

The Doctor walked around a bit Mala'shi, he was being careful though. After all his last visit here entailed him tripping over a root, falling face first in a pile of mud, and then being chased by moving trees. Oh yea, and a very fussy planetary consciousness. Tash had told him that the planet had wanted to speak to him alone, for some odd reason. He didn't like it. Maybe he was just nervous; it wasn't as if the planet had gone completely rogue on him. Crossing a ridge into a valley, he gasped seeing a tree, it had silver leaves. A white haired girl appeared, "Do you like it, Doctor. It's a gift. It's not a Gallifreyan tree, mind you, but…I thought of trying to grow a silver leafed tree just for you."

The Doctor sighed, "It's pretty just the same, Mala. It reminds me of home."

Mala nodded and then said, "Take a seed from it, Doctor and grow it in your TARDIS, when you look at it think of me. Then perhaps you will not stay away so long from me and my children."

The Doctor reached out and snapped off a seed from off the tree. He plopped it into his trench coat pocket.

"I guess this is it. Goodbye…"

The white haired girl laughed, "It is never goodbye, Doctor. Goodbye means you are staying away forever. You are not leaving forever are you?"

The Doctor chuckled, "I suppose not. How old are you anyway? Forever is a long time, and I don't really know when I am coming back."

The girl laughed, "Ahh….that I have no answer for. I wasn't always actively aware of things, the day one of your race came upon me, was the day my mind was fully aware. I owe more to your people than you realize, Doctor. It is your people who gave me conscious thought and awareness. And I don't even know when that was; it was such a long time ago."

The Doctor smiled, "Well Mala, it's been nice talking to you. And…"

The planet chuckled.

"What?"

"Oh Time Lord, my daughter, Ta'sheeka, she wishes to call you her brother. She wants to adopt you."

The Doctor made a bit of a face, "Now I really have to go. I don't do families."

Tash smiled lightly as she crossed over the ridge and joined him and Mala, "You would insult me, Doctor. The Mala'shra don't offer such a rite to anyone, or everyone. You respect us. You respect my people. No other race has ever or completely done so, in our long history."

"I respect all races, Tash, but I don't expect to be adopted because of it."

"Doctor I think of you as a brother. And…."she sighed, "I have seen some of your mind. You are lonely, a lonely man without a race and without a home." She paused, "I can not take the place of your people, Doctor. No one can do that. But I am trying to….trying to make your existence a little less lonely. You can call me sister and I can call you brother, to be called family is….well it makes existence a little less empty."

The Doctor sighed, Tash was right. "But being your brother….it might….well I….everywhere I go, Tash, destruction and death follow me. If you adopt me….I fear that curse will come on you as well."

Tash laughed, "That's just life, Doctor. Life is dangerous. Even the youngest flowering bud fears that its bud will freeze from the chill. Although your life is a little more perilous, it's not as if everyone else's is not. Let me call you brother, for it is a simple thing. I don't expect you to stay, Doctor, but perhaps it will give you some small comfort to know that somewhere, someone calls you family."

The Doctor threw up his hands in mock defeat, "Alright…fine. You win. Are you sure there isn't a bit of Gallifreyan blood somewhere in you? You could have confounded a lot of my people at one time."

Tash giggled lightly, "I am 639 years old. I am nearing the end of my life; you would think that at this time that I might know a thing or two about… people to do what I wish."

The Doctor chuckled lightly, "I suppose that's true. Good bye Tash, goodbye sister. I'll try and come back a little more frequently, even if it's just to say hello."

Tash nodded, "It's all I ask."

The Doctor smiled and giving Tash one more hug and a kiss upon her cheek, he walked back to the TARDIS.

-0o0-

The Doctor entered the TARDIS. Sarah Jane held in her arms various flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Not to mention she also had quite a few baskets as well with similar items. The Doctor chuckled, "Sarah Jane, you look like a vender at a market."

"Very funny, I tried to say no to these people's offering me gifts. They wouldn't take no for an answer. They kept laying down fruit and vegetables, and all sorts of plants on me."

The Doctor smiled, "That's the hospitality of the Mala'shra for you. They don't take no for an answer either. They are very stubborn like that. Anyway….home for you Sarah Jane."

The Doctor worked his console and the TARDIS dematerialized off the planet. The next minute, they were back in Sarah Jane's house.

Sarah Jane smiled, "Now to see if I am right."

"Right about what?"

"You getting me back in time."

"Oh and you think I can't do it."

Sarah Jane opened the TARDIS doors and found K9, "K9, how long have we been gone?"

"Mistress, you and Doctor, master have been gone for 2 weeks."

Sarah Jane looked at the Doctor and he sighed, "Sorry….Sarah Jane. But by this time, you ought to know the TARDIS never really ummm….works exactly well…"

The TARDIS let out a bit of a growl and the doors slammed shut.

The Doctor tried to open the doors but they remained shut. "Now look what you have done, Sarah Jane. You've upset the TARDIS."

"I've upset her. Oh no, Doctor. You're the one who ended up angering her."

The Doctor sighed and rubbed the blue box gingerly, "She'll calm down….eventually. So….Sarah Jane…" He reached into his pockets and held out a bag, "Care for a jelly baby, while I wait."

Sarah Jane sighed, "Of course."