The beeping was annoying! With a groan Sarah struggled her way from blissful oblivion to wakefulness, cursing the alarm clock. She groped for the annoying little thing on her night stand to switch it off. With some regret she realized that she had forgotten to turn off the alarm when they had returned to the Tardis, bedecked with bands of handwoven honorary ornaments and wrapped in garlands of the feathery, pink flowers that indicating her and the Doctor's status as newly weds. Exhilarated from the music and the aerial acrobatics of their hosts and more than a bit tipsy from the magnum bottle of Champaign. With the gallant support of the Doctor she had managed to get to her bathroom, she had stripped out of her dress and jumped into her nightie all giggly because her brand new husband was still his old prudish self.
She lay quiet for a while, listening to the perfect silence of the Zero Room, awake enough to recapitulate the events of the previous evening. With a groan she realized how sticky and sweaty she still was. Suddenly she craved for a shower. Obediently the Tardis activated the lighting, Sarah rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, disentangled herself from the sheets and trudged to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later she was feeling clean again and fully awake. She poured herself a cup of tea from the still warm Thermos. The Shama ornaments caught her eye on the chair where she had disposed of them the night before. She moved them to a prominent place on her dresser, taking her time to admire and carefully arrange the beautifully crafted and richly ornamented pieces of handwoven fabric.
The Doctor was going to visit at eight so she still had twenty minutes for herself. With a sudden inspiration she settled down on her bed. All the telepathic stuff that had lately happened in her life unnerved her. What hat she needed right now was mental independence, so she began to practice the imagination techniques the Doctor had taught her. She tried her best to get the right balance between concentration and relaxation, but the anticipation for her beloved Timelord proved to be so distracting that she found herself peeking at the minute hand of her alarm clock with growing impatience. She reminded herself of what he told her, that it was important to be able to keep it up even when distracted so she reckoned that this wasn't the worst occasion for a little bit of training.
She jumped when finally the much awaited rap at the door ended her contemplation, at three minutes past eight.
A very familiar tousle head popped in, a huge grin plastered on his face, then he pushed through the door with his back, hands full with large tray.
"You are late!" Sarah declared, mocking him with her best fake pout, hands to her hips.
He quickly put down the tray on the coffee table. "Ah, but I didn't mean Tardis 8 o'clock, but Shama 8 o'clock," he smartly pointed out. "The Shama day is exactly one hour, fourteen minutes and six seconds longer than standard Tardis time."
"That's a cheap excuse!"
They both couldn't keep it up any longer, in unison they broke out in an absolutely childish giggle, for a moment sharing the pure delight that bubbled through the link. The Doctor sobered somewhat, not wanting to risk Sarah's mental stability he reined himself in and willed the link to disengage.
"Did you sleep well?" he tentatively inquired, closing the distance and sitting down on the foot end of Sarah's bed.
"Oh absolutely, I loved the feast."
"Mmh, I noticed that," he remarked with a cheeky grin.
Sarah moved closer to give him a hearty nudge with her elbow. "I was not nearly as drunk as you were some time not so long ago, remember? I was able to walk back to the Tardis and I have intact memories."
"Yes, but you needed help. And I have to say, you trying to teach Jegor sing God save the Queen, that was quite a sight."
Sarah flustered. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"
"No, of course not," he hurried assured her. "Just a bit out of the ordinary," he added with a chuckle and then sobered. "Now, how are those mental barriers doing today?"
"Go have a look," Sarah suggested, closing the distance between them. She closed her eyes, her skin tingling in anticipation of the fingers that were about to lightly, tenderly graze her skin. For a long time she had secretly longed for the touch of these coarse, yet so sensitive hands, how much she realized just now, when it had become their daily ritual. She realized also that the Doctor could probably hear these thoughts loud and clear when he made contact, so she quickly whipped up the image of the atomic shelter she had practised earlier.
The Doctor allowed his fingers to wander over her temples, let them linger there for longer than strictly necessary until he found the best spots to establish contact. After a moment a soft chuckle ended her contemplation and she opened her eyes.
"I can still hear you," he softly told her, cupping her cheek, eager to respond to her wishes then broke the contact and lifted her chin that she had to look up, straight into his eyes. A bashful smile graced his features. "But I have to concentrate, your attempt to block me out with the image of a bunker has some effect. You just need more practice and confidence in it," he encouraged her. "You may never be able to block out a determined Timelord or a creature like Eldrad, but it's still going to help you, especially now with the link."
"It does?"
"Oh yes! You are doing very well." A huge grin spread on his face, he clumsily patted her cheek and then sat back. "Breakfast?"
Sarah gave the tray a closer look. "Just one plate and cup?"
The Doctor's head eagerly bobbed up and down.
"And I don't have to wear the crown again?"
"Yes, I'm afraid for some time it will be safer if you do. But not right now! Erm, at least if we don't have too much physical contact," he pointed out.
Sarah couldn't help giving him a longing glance. "So it's either the crown, then I'm a bit of an annoying telepathic vacuum for you or no crown and we better don't touch?" she sulked and blew out a puff of air.
"Yes, I know. But it's so much better already. The meltdown was only three days ago, you forgot?" he gently scolded her. "I told you, a week is the minimum I would assume safe. It's not worth the risk."
Truth was, he estimated that he might still need some time to get the hormone cocktail ready, he estimated it might take him at least a week. He was glad that he had a good excuse to keep their contact limited because from what he had got through the link the young human was feeling quite starved when it came to the various kinds of male attentions, after he himself had condemned her to a life of adventurous chastity for those past three years.
"All right, you win," Sarah gave in. "But I still have pressure marks from yesterday." Sarah combed with her fingers through her hair to find the painful spots.
He leaned in and Sarah lowered her head. Carefully he parted her hair, giving the irritated patch of skin a closer inspection.
"I've just what you need!" He jumped to his feet. "I'll be back in a moment, don't start breakfast without me," he exclaimed with visible excitement, already half through the door.
Sarah heaved a sigh at his skittishness. She moved over to the sofa and peeked under the lid that covered the large plate to find sausages, scrambled egg and fried mushrooms. It took the Doctor a bit longer than a moment to return, with a large bag in hand. He sat down next to her and produced a jar with a reddish salve. Obediently Sarah turned her head and parted her hair that he could apply a dab to the painful spot. The Doctor began to rub it into her scalp with small, rhythmic circles.
"Smells awful," she commented.
"Yes, it definitely does," he agreed dreamily, taking a lot more time than strictly necessary.
"You enjoy nursing me."
He leaned close to her ear. "Only if your ailment is as harmless as this one, my princess." He stopped rubbing her scalp and instead whipped up a metallic device the size and shape of a cucumber.
"The portable tissue regenerator," Sarah commented with some disdain.
"It's good enough for smaller skin lesions."
"It itches like hell," Sarah complained. "You know I hate it!"
"I know indeed, but I can't treat you with the stationary tissue regenerator in the sick bay because I'm afraid the field might not react too well with the energy source of the telepathy inhibitor and I don't want you wandering the Tardis without it yet. The salve is going to numb the itch."
"All right then," Sarah relented, allowing the Doctor to run the humming device over her scalp.
"Itchy?"
"Mmh," she moaned.
Quietly he draped his arm around her and invited her to lean into him. He continued to treat the affected patch of skin while gently rubbing her back, glad for the thin layer of cloth between them that still provided some amount of insulation.
"Better now," he breathed into her ear, curbing his longings.
"Much," Sarah mumbled into his brocade vest, loosely wrapping her arm around his midriff. She realized that the link had not just opened a telepathic back door between their minds, the procedure had done something else, much more basic, emotional that she found hard to grasp.
With a pointed 'click` the Doctor switched off the tissue regenerator and put it aside. "Finished, butterfly!"
"So what," she muttered.
"Well, how about breakfast."
She lifted her head from his chest. A slightly bemused smile played around his lips when she looked up at his face.
"I've made your favourites." Invitingly he waggled with his eyebrows.
"I know. The smell is unmistakable." She let go of him and rubbed the back of her head. The pain was replaced by the characteristic odd tingling that indicated the accelerated healing after a tissue regenerator session. She sagged back into the back rest of the sofa while he removed the lid and picked up the plate. "Theta?"
He involuntarily started when he heard his name spoken out loud. "Yes, my dear?" he muttered, making himself comfortable next to her, the sound of his name in her voice filling his hearts with an inexplicable warmth.
She watched him out of the corner of her eyes. "Still having second thoughts in that oversized brain of yours?"
"Ah, no. It's just my lack of practice I guess. I'm rubbish at … relationships." It was no good, obviously it wasn't possible to fool Sarah, particularly not with now with the link.
"You keep repeating that. But so far I didn't get that impression."
A petulant "mmh.." was all she got in reply.
"You are chivalrous and affectionate" Sarah stubbornly continued. "Now I don't know what expectations Gallifreyan women might have, but by my ordinary, human standards you are doing quite okay so far. And what you lack in practice, well,even for Timelords that comes with practice, doesn't it?" she added. Cautiously she tugged at the link. It had changed in the three days she had been living with it she realized, just as he had promised. It had evolved into something that naturally, casually sat in the back of her consciousness, radiating a vague sense of warmth and familiarity but at the same time she hardly noticed it as long as she didn't touch it.
"Practice!" he echoed rather indecisively, scratching his nose, the idea that relationships were something that needed practice just like playing an instrument or piloting a Tardis still felt like an insult to his intellectual abilities.
"Definitely practice!" Sarah insisted. "Doc..erm, Theta?"
"Yes, my dear?"
"What are those expectations that female Gallifreyans have?"
"Oh nothing particular. From what I observed they are on the average just a bit more ah,...demanding and capricious, less patient than human women," he mused, spooning up some sausage and roasted mushrooms with a slight smile. "Of the 20st century, of course," he added. "There are so many different human societies, even some matriarchies later in human history."
Sarah couldn't help wondering what exactly he found so attractive about her. "So you chose me because you found me dominant and capricious?"
"Oh no, not at all. Although, you have the spirit, you are quite independent and intelligent, so yes, these are attractive traits for me."
"You find those attractive?" Sarah snorted. "Sometimes I got the impression that you are a chauvinist from outer space."
He screwed his face into a grimace. "Me? Really?"
"Mmh," she agreed and took the bite, letting him digest her last remark. "I definitely want to see those matriarchies," Sarah declared after some moments.
"I thought you'd say so," he chuckled, thinking back at her adamant refusal to make him coffee when he first met her at UNIT head quarter. "But not right now, I hope." He offered her a sip of tea.
"Oh no. But consider them quite high on our priority list after our stay here."
"Your wish is my command." He huddled into the backrest and began to share breakfast with her. Soon they were engrossed in a very enlightening discussion about matriarchy, Gallifreyan fashion and the advantages that being linked mates might provide on their future travels. Sarah could have spent the rest of eternity lazing on the sofa with him but the Doctor insisted that for the rest of the day she had to wear the telepathic inhibitor. They strolled up to the library where they found Teria and Jegor and decided to joined them in their card game.
"So, are you getting better?," the elderly physician asked the younger woman, dealing out cards with nimble fingers.
"Oh yes, much better, thank you. But my husband here is super cautious."
Jegor raised his eyebrow and exchanged a grave glance with his wife. She paused, then put the cards aside.
"What is it?" the Doctor inquired.
Another grave glance was exchanged. Jegor carefully weighed his words. "I think our time as your guests should slowly come to an end. I know, you promised us a trip to earth, but after all, this is your honeymoon and we certainly don't want to interfere..."
"But you don't..," the Doctor interrupted the engineer.
"We think what you two need is some alone time," Teria intermitted softly. "So we thought that as soon as you can wean Sarah off the telepathic inhibitor you take us to Nermela, and then you are free to do whatever young couples tend to do without us old folks tied to your apron's spring."
Surprised and slightly embarrassed the Timelord's gaze wandered to the engineer, then back to his wife. Until now he had been so busy that it hadn't even crossed his mind that a tourist group was not exactly the fitting scenario for a romantic honeymoon. At the same time the idea that their guests were going to leave suddenly intimidated him, because it meant that there were no more distractions and excuses not to take their relationship to the final step, a thought that absolutely thrilled him but at the same time still boggled his mind.
"Erm..." he began, quite touched to see that they were willing to give up their once in a lifetime chance to visit earth just that he and Sarah could have peaceful holiday, "this is most considerate of you!" he began.
"We can always pick them up sometime later for a trip to earth, can't we, Doctor?" Sarah interjected.
Over the centuries he had made it a habit never to return once he had left someplace, someone behind, but Sarah's request was something he just couldn't turn down. "Mmh, yes, I guess we can," he agreed after a long moment of hesitation. "If you want?"
"Oh, that would be absolutely fabulous," Teria replied. "Then this is settled, you take us to Nermela as soon as Sarah's health is restored!"
Quickly she resumed shuffling the cards. The Doctor's breath hitched in his throat when suddenly he felt the feather light touch of Sarah's hand on his thigh. A wave of heat washed through his brain at this unexpected display of intimacy, his gaze wandered up to meet her eyes and even the numbed link couldn't prevent a surge of feral longing. His cheeks flushed red and and he flashed a dopey grin at his `wife`, then quickly averted his eyes.
He strengthened his resolve to finish his work on the hormone cocktail quickly, hoping it woud ease those hefty reactions, that were quite normal in the initial stages of a relationship with a Time Lady partner but would certainly overcharge his human linksmate if he acted on them. He had assumed these reactions were triggered by the female's hormones, but when he dug into the medical texts he had been shocked to find out that it was rather the opposite, they were natural to male Timelords but were modulated and controlled by the female's sexual hormones, a mechanism that he found was quite alien to human biology. How stupid had he been to skip the biology classes in favour of temporal physics, alien historic studies, computer sciences and arts, daydreaming his class time away and as a result finishing his exams with the most catastrophic marks anyone of his old and noble family had ever got and without even the most basic knowledge about his own species.
He had a hard time to get his attention back to the card game and casual conversation, with the result that he and Sarah lost most of the games to Sarah's disappointment but that didn't matter to him, he was just singlemindedly focused on sneaking back into his lab to see to continue assembling the molecular synthesizer.
Over the next few days both, Sarah's mental stability as well as his project made good progress. The Doctor's days passed in a blur of work, spending his time with Sarah and in the pleasant company of their guests. Five days later Sarah passed the final test by exposing herself to the Tardis and the Shama unprotected, on the same day when Stonefruit Tail was able to fly again and once more. The Shama held another big feat, to celebrate the near miraculous recovery of a beloved family man, the Harfouche's farewell and the beginning of Sarah's and the Doctor's life together.
...
"This was quite an adventure," Jegor adressed the Doctor, summarizing the events of the last weeks when they had landed in the attic of his brother's house on Nermela, in the night of the summer solstice.
"It definitely was, we have to thank you for everything." Grinning one of his trademark megawatt grins the Doctor tipped his hat. With a flourish of his scarf he rushed to the doors and pushed them open. A dusty store room awaited him outside. He sniffed the air, then turned to the humans behind him. "Nermela, 8813 by the Casovarian calender!" he proclaimed.
"Home," Jegor whispered, his voice brittle with emotion, "I used to play here when I was a boy!" He switched on the torch and walked around the dusty compartments. They quickly unloaded their belongings and then it was time to say goodbye.
"You don't want to come down with us?" Teria inquired.
The Doctor shook his head. "Oh no! We wait here for a little while and when you don't come back up we assume that everything is going all right and we'll leave."
"To return some time after you have settled down, to pick you up for a trip to earth," Sarah added with a cheeky gin.
Teria gave her a heartfelt hug and then took the Doctor's hand. "I hope you two have a really really good time and a lot to tell us when we see you again!"
"Oh, I'm pretty sure of that," the Doctor grinned from ear to ear when the link tingled with an echo of Sarah's anticipation. He took Jegor's hand and vigorously shook it. "It was a pleasure to work with you!" He handed him the casket with the Tyredion crystals and to the elderly engineer's surprise and joy a bag of Jelly Babies. "Don't forget these!"
Sarah shook his hand, then linked arms with the Doctor. "We'll come for you when you have settled down,"
They waved goodbye, then vanished down the staircase. Sarah and the Doctor sneaked to the stairhead and listened. After a short while they heard shouting, then shreds of agitated conversation.
"You should have scanned the house," Sarah whispered
"The summer solstice festivities, Jegor was sure..."
"That's what you usually are," Sarah muttered under her breath as they continued to listen. "Maybe we should interfere!"
"No, that was Jegor's nephew," the Doctor replied. "He called for his father, he is a bit upset but overjoyed, and I think right now his brother is introducing them to some other woman of the family."
Sarah shot him an incredulous sidelong glance.
"Superior Timelord hearing," the Doctor excused himself. "Now come on, everything is going according to the plan, we are quite redundant here." Quietly they made their way back to the Tardis, he ushered her in and then closed the doors.
"And now?" he asked her, the question rather rhetorical, giving away his insecurity instead than hiding it.
"Back to is the first day of our honeymoon," Sarah suggested softly, sensing the old nervous tension in her favourite Timelord.
"It most certainly is," he huskily replied, took a deep breath to calm his heartrate, then moved to the console and punched in the coordinates of the Bluewood island on Shama.