"Are you sure I look OK?" Emily asked her girlfriend for about the twentieth time. She looked at her reflection in the mirror critically, tilting her head to the side as she appraised herself thoroughly. "I don't want to show you up in front of your friends."

Serena paused on her way to the bathroom and adjusted her earring quickly, before changing direction and moving to stand behind Emily. She slid her arms around the younger woman's waist and rested her chin on her shoulder.

"You're beautiful."

After speaking to her mother about her fears that she wasn't enough for Serena, Emily had taken Kate's advice and actually voiced her feelings to her girlfriend. Serena had been shocked to hear what her daughter had said and made it her mission to ensure that Emily was under no illusions about how she felt about her. In return, the younger woman had made sure that Serena understood that she would choose her over travelling with the Doctor any day.

"But… are you sure I shouldn't be more dressed up?"

Serena slowly ran her eyes over her girlfriend's outfit, taking in the jeans that were so tight they looked as though they'd been spray painted on. Instantly her eyes darkened as she caught sight of black lace peeping out from beneath Emily's royal blue shirt and the necklace that disappeared into her cleavage.

"Nope, you look perfect." Serena managed finally.

Smirking, the younger woman turned in her arms, pressing a long, languid kiss to her lips. "Back atcha, baby."

Serena rolled her eyes, plucking at the crimson dress that hugged her figure beautifully and showed off her legs. "You sure it's not too… young?"

"No way." Emily shook her head. "You look ridiculously hot."

"We're only going to Albie's… its not too much?"

"Serena, you are not taking that dress off." The younger woman smirked. "That's my job later."

"I don't know if I'll be able to get those jeans off." Serena mused distractedly, watching Emily bend over to do up the buckles on her high heels.

"I'm sure you'll find a way."

Emily smiled as Serena returned to her side, taking a sip from her glass of wine and wrapping a proprietorial arm around her waist. Turning her head, the younger woman pressed a lingering kiss to the corner of her mouth in silent thanks for returning to her side, before shooting Serena a cheeky wink.

"So, Emily, it's nice to finally meet you properly." Fletch said, grinning at her. He took a sip of his pint before shooting Serena a mischievous look. "We've heard a lot about you."

"Have you?" Emily asked in surprise. "Rena?"

"Nah, I'm just messing with you." Fletch assured her with a chuckle. "She's never actually mentioned you before."

The young brunette turned to look at her girlfriend with a mock-serious glare. "Oh, really?"

Sensing that he might just have put his foot in it, he looked between them warily. "Uhh…"

Emily chuckled. "I'm just messing with you." When he visibly relaxed, she shrugged. "What's she like at work, then? Is she all scary and bossy? Does she march around giving orders?"

"Hush, you." Serena laughed softly, squeezing her hip gently. "I'm a delight to work for, right Fletch?"

"Right." He agreed with a nod.

"Shame…"

Sending her girlfriend a sideways look, unable to stop her lips twitching into a smirk, Serena motioned towards the bar. Both Fletch and Emily nodded and the older woman headed off to buy the next round of drinks. They chatted companionably for a while, before an older, taller man joined them.

"Ah, Mr Hanssen, have you met Emily Stewart, Serena's girlfriend?" Fletch introduced her.

Hanssen held out his hand in her direction. "Ah, Ms Stewart, a pleasure to meet you. I've heard wonderful things."

"You too…" Emily was on the brink of calling him 'Sir' before she stopped herself. "You're Rena's boss, right?"

"I am CEO of the hospital, yes." He agreed. "And what is it that you do?"

"Errr…"

"AHHH! Stewart, there you are!" A very familiar, very out-of-place voice boomed across the room causing everyone to stop and turn to look at the man who had just strode into the room. "What are you wearing? You look ridiculous. Those shoes are highly impractical."

Emily's mouth dropped open. "What…?"

"Well I had to come and meet the woman who tamed you. The one who caused you give up exploring the universe." The Doctor announced with a shrug, peering around at the faces staring at him with expressions of complete bewilderment. "Where is she hiding, then?"

"Doctor! I'm so sorry, love!" Kate gasped, appearing in the doorway and shaking her head at her daughter. "He got away from me. Os? I've found him."

"Who's this fella then?" Fletch asked, turning to look at the wide-eyed young woman beside him. "Your dad, is it?"

Despite her shock, Emily snorted with amusement at the look of complete disgust that had twisted the Doctor's expression. "No."

"Her dad?" The Doctor demanded. "Are you mad? Look at her… she's so… impractical!"

Emily grinned. "He's my granddad. Had an accident and it affected his brain. He says some pretty weird things now, don't you, Gramps?"

"Come on, Doctor." Kate urged, grasping his arm and attempting to pull him out of the room as he made a strangled sound at the young woman's words. She glanced at Osgood who had appeared in the doorway, taking a puff of her inhaler as she shook her head at her girlfriend. "We'll catch up with Em and Serena later, alright?"

"Why are you hiding her? What is it? Does she have two heads or something? She's not an Aplan, is she? Could get quite messy if she is; they can get quite jealous. Ooh? Or is she an–"

"Shut up, Doctor!" Kate snapped. "Let's go!"

Huffing and throwing his hands up in the air, muttering something about trying to help, the Doctor strode back the way he'd come and left the room. Osgood shot Emily an apologetic look before hurrying out after him.

"Sorry, love." Kate told her daughter in a quiet voice. "Where is Serena, by the way?"

"Gone to get some drinks." Emily replied, motioning over her shoulder. "She's gonna kill me for this… embarrassing her in front of her colleagues. It wasn't even my fault!"

"Bring Serena outside and we'll explain." The blonde sighed. "Besides, she wanted to meet the Doctor, didn't she?"

"Yeah… I'm not actually sure him crashing her Work Christmas Party was what she had in mind."

"He's parked the TARDIS in the alleyway round the corner. You might want to hurry or he'll probably attempt to come and find you." Kate advised her daughter, glancing at her watch.

Nodding and watching as the blonde strode out of the pub to join her girlfriend and the Time Lord, Emily sighed. Turning, she saw Serena watching her curiously from near the bar and smiled, heading back towards her. She accepted the drink, pressing another kiss to her girlfriend's cheek in thanks, before taking a large sip of wine.

"What was that about?"

"Drink up and then I'll explain."

"We're leaving, then?"

"Not… just for a while so I can tell you what's going on." Emily assured her. "We can come back after, if you want."

Serena nodded slowly, sipping at her wine. They were engaged in conversation with Morven and Raf, who wanted to know all about Emily. Serena rolled her eyes as they made out she'd been keeping her girlfriend a complete mystery and wanting to know what was wrong with her. Emily laughed, knowing that they were just messing around.

Finally, Emily moved to stand in front of Serena, no more than a hair's breadth between them, taking both her hands in her own. She tangled their fingers together, smiling at her girlfriend for a moment before she spoke. Serena looked at her in bemusement, distracted by their proximity.

"I've got something to show you." Emily said quietly. When Serena arched an eyebrow and smirked, she laughed. "Yes, that too. But first I need you to come outside with me."

Still clearly very confused about what was happening, the older woman allowed herself to be pulled out of Albie's by the hand. Emily grabbed their jackets off the coat stand by the door as they passed, helping her girlfriend into hers, before ushering her through the door.

"So, you know you said you wanted to meet the Doctor?" Emily said slowly, tugging on their joined hands and leading her girlfriend round the corner. "He came looking for you."

"Me?"

"Mmm… he wanted to see the woman who tamed me." The younger woman chuckled.

"Tamed you? Heaven forbid!"

Laughing, Emily indicated towards the TARDIS. "There it is… the TARDIS."

Serena hesitated, holding back slightly as she stared at the unobtrusive police box. Realising that the older woman was resisting her attempts to pull her towards the box, Emily turned to look at her. Serena was chewing her lip, her eyes wide as she stared.

"Babe, it's OK." Emily urged her gently. "Just… it's much bigger on the inside, remember? And the Doctor's a bit… he has no social skills. He doesn't mean to be rude… or maybe he does… but don't take anything he says personally." Leaning in, Emily kissed her softly. "I'll look after you."

Instead of replying, Serena just nodded and followed Emily towards the TARDIS. The younger woman raised her knuckles and rapped sharply on the wood, waiting for someone to let them in. They didn't have long to wait as the Doctor himself yanked open the door and peered out at them imperiously.

"S'up?" Emily asked, pushing him backwards with her free hand and pulling Serena inside with her. "You wanted to meet Serena? You better be nice, Doctor, or else."

"I'm always nice."

"Really? What about that incident on the planet with the glowing cow-things? You nearly got us accused of being witches. Or when we went to Salem and we were actually accused of being witches and nearly burnt at the stake? That was down to you being nice."

"That was mostly your fault." The Doctor told her with a shrug. "They really didn't like your hair. Can you blame them, though? I mean, blue? Who has blue hair?"

"I think it was you using the sonic screwdriver on everything in sight and telling them that in the future there were going to be 'moving pictures' about them that they mainly objected to." From beside her girlfriend, Serena cleared her throat, drawing their attention back to the present. "Sorry, babe."

"Serena Campbell, I assume." He asked, looking past Emily to her girlfriend. He extended his hand, which the older woman shook reluctantly. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise… I think."

Serena seemed to be doing her best to get herself under control, her eyes comically wide as she looked past the Doctor to survey the console room. She started slightly as her eyes landed on Kate and Osgood on the far side of the room, leaning against the railings and chatting casually as though they were simply in their living room or somewhere equally mundane.

"I was thinking we'd start off with a trip to the Spa on Retrexis and then I'd take you to Barcelona… the planet, not the city."

"Doctor, no." Emily shook her head. "We've got things to do. Serena's got an incredibly important job and then there's Jason, who–"

"Time machine, remember?" He knocked on her forehead, rolling his eyes. "I can bring you back last Tuesday if you want. I wouldn't advise it though… tricky business messing with timelines."

"Doctor, no." The brunette repeated.

"Doctor… yes!" He exclaimed, leaping across the console room and jamming down the landing lever.

Serena shot Emily a terrified look as the TARDIS lurched dangerously to one side. The younger woman made a grab for her, sandwiching her between the railing and her body so that Serena was unlikely to hurt herself.

"Doctor!" Kate shouted, irritated by his decision to, effectively, kidnap them. "Where are you taking us now?"

"Oh lighten up." The Doctor commanded, rolling his eyes as he caught sight of her scowl. "It'll be fun!"

"I hate you so much."

A/N: To the guest who requested the last chapter, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I'm equally glad that the story is helping you. You're right, we do all want a Kate in our lives!

If anyone has any requests to make about something they'd like to see happening to this gang of characters, just let me know. I'm always open to suggestions :)

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