Disclaimer: If you believe that I own Doctor Who, then I have a very lovely villa in the south of France that I'd like to sell you.

Ch.21:

The Doctor, Lily and Martha had been thrown around the TARDIS for the last few minutes when a fuse blew and everything shut down.

"Are we there?" Martha asked curiously.

"No." Lily answered as the Doctor started muttering and whacking things. "We're in the vortex." She smiled at Martha. "You might want to get comfortable, this could take awhile." The two women moved over to the jump seat and watched as the Doctor tried to fix his beloved ship, his frustration mounting with every passing minute. As they watched the Doctor go to town on the counsel with his mallet, Martha turned to Lily.

"Aren't you afraid that that's going to break?" Martha asked, pointing to the counsel the Doctor was currently beating the crap out of.

"During moments of peak frustration." Lily replied, her smile betraying the serious voice she used. "But it's always held up. That counsel's a game-day player."

The Doctor rounded on her.

"You talk to her!" he shouted. "She's being contrary and going on about how I should be nicer to people. I can't deal with this." He turned back around and muttered loud enough for them to hear. "This never would have happened if Rose were still here."

Lily saw to flash of hurt across Martha's face and decided enough was enough. She had noticed that the Doctor was getting more irritable as days went by, but this was the last straw. Being snippy and sarcastic to her and the TARDIS was one thing, but Martha wasn't prepared for it.

Lily got up and pulled Martha with her to the door way.

"Girl, can you show Martha to the kitchen?" She asked the TARDIS. She watched as the TARDIS rearranged the corridors so the kitchen was right down the hall from the control room, and then she turned to Martha. "Can you give the Doctor and me a moment?" she asked. "You can eat anything you find in the kitchen, except for the bananas and the cantaloupe." She smiled and gave Martha an encouraging nod and watched till Martha reached the kitchen and the door shut. Then she rounded on the Doctor.

"What's wrong?" she asked, all traces of humor gone.

"Nothing's wrong." He spat at her. "Everyone is conspiring against me, that's all."

"No one is conspiring against you, Doctor. So let's try this again, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He repeated.

"Ok, fine." She said moving next to him while he studiously ignored her. "Then tell me why you just deliberately tried to hurt the TARDIS and me, not to mention Martha, who isn't used to your crap and doesn't know that you don't really mean it."

He didn't answer her. She sighed and grabbed the hand that was quickly moving and stilled it.

"Let go of me." He said, trying to pull out of her grasp, but she was much stronger than she looked.

"I meant it when I said I forget it's only been a few weeks." She told him quietly. "I also forget I'm not the only one who lost someone." He refused to look at her. "I will never be able to repay you for what you've done for me. You took me in, gave me a home, and took care of me while I was a wreak. You are still taking care of me." She made him look at her. "But now it's time for you to let me take care of you for awhile." She said softly.

"I don't need you to." He told her trying to end the discussion.

But Lily wouldn't let him. "Yes you do." She told him. "You're in pain, and if you don't let me help you, it's going to eat you up inside." She smiled at him. "You once told me you knew where I was because you had been there and that you knew the way out. Now let me show you the way."

He looked away, but not before she saw a tear roll down his face.

"Doctor…" she said softly.

"She gone." His voice broke. "She's really gone, and she's not coming back." He turned to face her, tears running down his face. "What am I supposed to do?"

Lily pulled him to her and held him as he cried for the woman he had loved and lost, tears filling her own eyes.

"You're supposed to remember that she's alive, with her family. You're supposed to remember the good times. You're supposed to let yourself mourn for her. You're supposed to grieve." She kept holding him, murmuring soothing words.

"God we're a pair." She told him when he had calmed. He chuckled and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you for not leaving me." He told her.

"For as long as you want me, I'm gonna be here." She told him softly. "I'm gonna be here to keep you grounded while you keep me together." She smiled at him. "Because, let's face it, I've got nowhere else to go. You're kinda stuck with me."

He laughed outright at her and they moved to try to figure out what was wrong with the TARDIS. Now that she had gotten her way though, she was willing to let him fix her while she and Lily made fun of him. When the last repair was done, Lily went and got Martha. If she noticed either Lily's or the Doctor's red eyes, she didn't mention it.

"Everything fixed?" She asked as she walked in.

The Doctor looked at Lily and smiled, and she returned it.

"Yeah, or it will be." He told her.

"Well let's go then!"

Lily and the Doctor laughed. He threw a switch and they were all thrown to the ground again.

"We have got to take a moment sometime," Lily yelled to him, "and teach you how to actually drive this thing!"

A/N: I know it's really short, but I wanted some sort of interlude that dealt with the Doctor's issues. Let me know what you think!

Abbey