A/N: Two chapters in one day! Hopefully that will make up for the dry spells I've been having lately. Annie and the Doctor continue their discussion. And thanks to tardis. wikia. com (sorry for the weird spacing - I couldn't get the link in there otherwise!) for the info on Time Lord physiology, etc. Hope you enjoy!

The next few minutes were spent in anxious silence as the Doctor and Annie made their way to the kitchen and made tea. Once they were seated at the table, Annie drew up all of the courage she could muster and stared the Time Lord straight in the eye.

"I want to pursue a relationship with you," she started, "but I have a few conditions."

"Okay," the Doctor replied cautiously.

"The first is that we have to communicate. Always. I don't mean that you have to tell me every detail of your life for the past 900 years, but you have to let me in. If you're worried or stressed or anything like that, you can't just shut me out. You have to at least tell me that you're feeling out of sorts and whether or not I did something to cause you to feel that way. I won't know how to be a better partner for you if you don't do that. And I promise to do the same for you."

"Fair enough."

"Second, I want to take things slowly. We've only known each other for two months. And yes, our friendship is much deeper than most peoples' are after two months, but we still have so much to learn about each other. I don't want to rush into things that we aren't both comfortable with."

"I agree. We have time; we need to use it. No need to take things too far too fast."

"But, if and when the time comes, are we...compatible? Can we..." Annie's confidence faltered. She couldn't make herself finish the question.

"Can we make love?" the Doctor finished. "Yes. We are compatible, as you say. It will be different, and we can cross that bridge when we come to it, but it is possible for us to have sex and we could have children, though I don't know what differences there may be physiologically."

Annie just nodded, taking in all of the information. The Doctor took this as a sign that it was his turn to name his conditions for their proposed relationship.

"I promise to be open with you, but you have to understand that part of me being closed off is to protect you. I've seen and done so much in my life. Some of it has been good - great in fact - but some of it has been horrible. I don't want you to have to see that pain."

"I can't imagine carrying around all that you do, but I don't want you to feel like you have to protect me. I'm a grown up, too. Sometimes you have to let someone share that burden."

"It's not that simple, Annie..."

"I'm not saying it is. All I'm saying-

""All you're saying," the Doctor interrupted, "is that you think you can understand. But you can't. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but it's the truth. We're two different species. We may look the same, but we're so different. I want to share my life with you, but I need you to understand that I have to keep some things to myself."

The Doctor sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. Things certainly were not going as he had hoped they would. He was letting his temper get the better of him. If he wanted this to work, he had to stay calm.

Annie stared at the mug of tea in her hands. She couldn't meet the Doctor's gaze, not after what he had just said. Part of her knew he was right, but she still felt that he was being too secretive. Still, Annie was the one who had said she wanted to take things slow. She couldn't expect him to change overnight. She would be frustrated, too, if she were in his shoes.

"You're right," she conceded. "I'm taking things too fast, aren't I?"

"Just a bit." The two shared a smile.

"So how do we start?" the Doctor asked. "I haven't done the 'dating' thing in a very long time. Are you expecting chocolates or flowers or romantic dates with dancing and feeding each other desert and a balloon drop? Because that's not me. You need to know that up front."

"That's not me, either," Annie reassured him. "I don't expect any of those things. Although dinner and a movie would be nice from time to time."

"I think I can manage that," the Doctor gave Annie a wide grin. "How about tonight? We can make a trip to Earth, go see any movie you want. You'll have a perfectly normal first date to remember."

"Nothing with you is ever normal, Doctor," Annie answered, reaching across the table to take his hand. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."