AN~ This is edited to lower the rating to acceptable standards for FF (or what I understand them to mean). The full version of this chapter is on archieveofourown but there isn't much missing.

I tap beats against my temple to calm myself down; he's not dead, he's just shielding.

He's just outside.

I'm not alone.

I curl my knees to my chest as I lie on the bed and keep tapping.

One two three four. One two three four. One two threefour. One twothreefour. Onetwothreefour. Onetwothreefour. Onetwothreefouronetwothreefo ur…

My breathing is harsh pants now. There's nothing. He's… I can't…

I can't. I drop my defences and send out a directionless plea for him to return.

If he isn't there this will destroy me.

He's beside me in a moment,

'Stubborn idiot,' he pulls me against his chest as his defences drop. 'Why didn't you just come after me?'

'What if you weren't there?' I choke against neck as I grab fistfuls of his shirt.

He winces and curls his mind around mine; I can't tell if the gesture is protective or possessive.

'I'm sorry,' he offers.

'You win,' I sigh. 'I can't leave.'

I notice I'm tapping the drums against his chest now.

I don't stop and he doesn't ask me to.

He leans back a little so that he can look at me; I lift my head from his chest and we're practically nose to nose,

'I'm going to kiss you now, if that's ok…'

I close my eyes but turn my face away. He sighs and presses a kiss to my cheek,

'Our minds are wrapped together, how can kissing be too intimate for you?'

He does have a point.

He watches me turn back and then closes the gap between us. This kiss starts as sweet as our first was desperate. More careful, but more full of feeling.

Our minds mesh at the edges rather than just pressing together.

It's glorious.

I thread my fingers into his hair and straddle his thighs, which makes him gasp and clutch his fingers into my back.

'Please…' I whisper as his hands find their way under my shirt and he drags a blunt nail down my spine.

'What…' he swallows heavily as I press my face into his neck, 'what do you want?'

'Doctor…' I moan his name then clamp my mouth shut.

'Master,' he keeps marking my neck. 'Master, do you want to…?'

I don't feel like forcing him to elaborate right now,

'Yes.'

'Yes,' he repeats and recaptures my lips.

He opens his mind.

My eyes snap open, unseeing, as I slip straight into his mind. I'm surrounded by everything that is him. I hesitate for only a split second before following his example.

Our minds mesh as if they were designed to.

I feel his elation at my reciprocation as though it were my own.

Then he's moving and everything is bliss.

I'm lying on my back, arms up around my head, giving an occasional shiver as my over stimulated mind settles. The Doctor is lying to my side, propped on his elbows watching me with a dopey smile on his face.

I reach out a hesitant hand and brush the edge of the smile. He looks at me adoringly then dips his head to kiss my wrist.

We've separated our minds, but the echo of the join remains. It makes it natural for me to be fixated on him.

'You've had this before,' I meant it as a question, but it comes out as a quiet statement.

His expression changes to baffled,

'Sex?'

I let out a very undignified snort of laughter,

'A mental connection during,' I correct.

'Oh,' he looks embarrassed, 'yes. I had a family.'

He looks strangely apologetic and shrugs slightly.

'I haven't,' I close my eyes to escape his expression. 'How long will it last?'

'Us?' I've lost him again.

'The… after glow,' I peak at him.

His expression switches swiftly back to adoring,

'Several hours.'

'Hmm,' I smile happily and stretch just so I can relax back boneless.

'You're gorgeous,' he tells me.

'And brilliant,' I agree.