Thanks to Isabelnecessaryonabicycle, JLB429, hadrianlopez1, Charmed2100, NicoleR85, FireFly2912 for following/faving my story.

NicoleR85: thanks!

It was an hour or so later when Alyssa and the Doctor were in the console room. "So, all of time and space at your fingertips, where do you want to go?" he asked, excitedly "We could do Barcelona? Or…oh! How about back to Calaeno?" he offered "it would be a good place to see if I still can skate".

"You seem rather…excitable", Alyssa remarked, amused.

"I can't help it", the Doctor admitted "Everything is new, quite literally. There's so much I need to see with these eyes" he pointed to them "but it's not all about me. Its about where you'd like to go".

"I uh… don't know", Alyssa said. She couldn't decide where she wanted to go! Part of her wanted to visit her mother and have Christmas with her but she also wanted to go somewhere else that isn't to do with the holiday given what had happened. Suddenly music began to play from the console, startling the pair.

Heart beats fast

Colours and promises

It was the same song from they'd danced to at the place Jack took them to. "I think she's trying to tell us something", Alyssa said.

How to be brave?

"Yeah I think so to", the Doctor agreed. He held out his hand to Alyssa "Miss Palmer may I have this dance?"

How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?

"Yes Mr Smith you can", Alyssa replied taking his hand. They walked back up the ramp to the main part of the console room.

But watching you stand alone,

Once there, Alyssa put her other hand on the Doctor's shoulder, the Time Lord placing his other hand on her waist. They started to dance.

All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow.

One step closer

I have died every day waiting for you

Darling, don't be afraid.

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

The Doctor smiled softly down at Alyssa as they danced around the console room. She looked up at him with a smile of her own.

Time stands still

Beauty in all she is

He had to agree with the words. The 21 year old was definitely beautiful, even if she isn't aware of it.

I will be brave

I will not let anything take away

What's standing in front of me

Every breath

Every hour has come to this

One step closer

The Doctor spun her on the spot.

[Chorus:]

I have died every day waiting for you

Darling, don't be afraid.

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

The Doctor gazed into her gorgeous green eyes as they danced. He loved those eyes. And her smile. It made him want to smile.

And all along I believed I would find you

Time has brought your heart to me

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

The Doctor dipped Alyssa earning a laugh of delight from the young woman. He loved that laugh. He loved making her laugh. The Doctor straightened her, pulling her up against him. He looked down at that beautiful face of hers and those pink lips…

He started to lean in but stopped himself. If he kissed her, he'd be crossing a line. And to be honest, he didn't fully understand what he was feeling toward the red head. It would be wise to figure it out before he did anything that he might regret later.

Alyssa rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. There she stayed, the pair swaying on the spot for the remainder of the song.

"We're here", the Time Lord said as the TARDIS stopped. A little while after their dance, he had decided on where he could take Alyssa, a place he knew that she was going to love. It was somewhere she could see the natural phenomenon that she had once told him about.

"Where?" the red head asked.

"Iceland, just outside of Reykjavik", the Doctor replied and the empath brightened. She'd loved it when James showed her a projection of the northern lights but this was going to be so much better! This time she was seeing it for real! "You may want to get a warmer jacket, it'll be cold".

"Good idea", Alyssa agreed. She then turned and headed to the wardrobe. The Doctor wasn't waiting long before she came back wearing a black winter coat. He held out his hand and she took it.

"So where exactly are we going?" she asked as they walked.

"Not far. There's a little ridge where we can get a good view of the Lights when they appear". The pair continued on walking through the snow for a little longer until Alyssa got an idea. She hung back, kneeling down to scoop up some snow. "Hey Doctor!" she called.

He turned to answer her and was met with a face full of snow. The Time Lord wiped it away and saw Alyssa grinning. She took off when the Doctor got a handful of snow. It hit her in the back and soon they were having a snow ball war. The pair laughed as they flung snow around trying to hit the other.

Alyssa shrieked when some snow got under her clothes. "That's damn cold!" she exclaimed trying to get the snow out of her clothes, the Doctor laughing at her as she did so.

"Oh did not just laugh at me", she said stopping trying to get the snow out and glared at the Doctor. "That's it!" the woman said running at him. The Time Lord started running as fast as he could through the snow with an angry red head chasing after him.

Somehow she managed to catch up to him and tackled him to the ground. "Gonna stop laughing at me?" Alyssa asked standing up brushing some snow off her jeans.

"Yes. I promise. Want to help me up?" the Doctor asked.

"No", Alyssa said walking away.

"Please", the Doctor said with a slight pout.

Alyssa sighed and went back to where he was laying in the snow. "Fine", she said holding out her hands. The Doctor reached up and grabbed them and Alyssa hauled him to his feet.

When they eventually reached the ridge the Doctor covered her eyes. "Hey! What are you doing?" she asked reaching up to pull his hands away.

"Just trust me Ali. It won't be for long"

She sighed "fine", she said dropping her hands.

"Are you going to move your hands now?" she asked after about ten minutes of waiting.

"Just a little longer. Have a little patience Ali"

"I don't have patients. I'm not a doctor, Doctor", Alyssa said.

The Time Lord chuckled at her joke. When he saw the first whips of the Northern Lights appear in the night sky, he moved his hands away from her eyes. Alyssa gasped as she saw green and pink ribbons of the Aurora dance across the sky.

"It's beautiful. All those colours", she said staring up at it.

"I could tell you how it's made", the Doctor offered.

"Don't. That will spoil the magic", Alyssa said not wanting a scientific explanation to ruin the experience.

So the Doctor stayed silent. Instead of watching the Northern Lights, he was watching Alyssa noting how the pain and sadness in her eyes were gone, replaced by awe and wonder. It made him happy to see her happy.

~Boxing Day~

"Thank you for today", Alyssa said after a moment of watching the movie in silence "it meant a lot to me". Upon Alyssa's request, they'd stopped by her house where they spent the entire day with Sarah, her mother. For Alyssa it had been rather enjoyable especially since her mother seemed to like the Doctor, even accepted him being an alien far quicker than the Time Lord had expected.

When he commented on it, Sarah had basically told him that she had a pretty open mind given that her own daughter was an empath. He was pretty grateful that he didn't get a slap like Jackie had done. "You're welcome Ali", the Doctor said, hugging her closer to him.

The movie had just gotten past the point where Han Solo had taken the Millennium Falcon through the asteroid field when the Doctor suddenly declared that he could do a better job. He started to move when Alyssa stopped him.

"No we're not playing dodgems with asteroids", she said firmly.

"Why not?" the Doctor asked with a pout.

"Because I don't want to. Besides the TARDIS wouldn't exactly be happy with you doing that", Alyssa replied. The red head pressed play on the remote, continuing the movie. The Time Lord carried on pouting until the empath started to absentmindedly play with his fingers. The Doctor cracked smile at this.

The next day…

"Stop distracting me", Alyssa said for the third time "she's trying to teach me which control is which". The TARDIS had extended an offer to show her how to properly fly her but it was proving difficult when the Doctor was hanging around being strangely more affectionate than normal. She wasn't sure what to make of it to be honest.

"But I can do that", the Doctor said putting his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind.

"You?" Alyssa scoffed glancing at him "Mr-I-failed-my-drivers-test. And don't deny it, the TARDIS told me".

"Well…can't you learn later?" the Doctor asked not even bothering to argue. Of course the TARDIS told her. He shouldn't have been surprised. "I wanna do something more…fun".

Alyssa wiggled out of his arms "this is fun to me", she stated focusing on the console "ok, TARDIS. What's next?"

The Doctor watched as she moved around the console with such confidence, his ship telepathically guiding her. He had to admit that the was a little jealous of their bond.

The next time they stepped out of the TARDIS, the pair was in the year five billion and twenty three on New Earth. "Wow, this incredible", Alyssa breathed, staring up at the flying cars and the futuristic buildings "what's that smell?"

The Doctor bends down and pulls some grass up. "Apple grass", he said showing the blades of grass to her. Alyssa took them from him and inhaled the fruity scent.

"Apple grass", she repeated smiling "wonders never cease" then she got a very childish idea. She tapped the Doctor's arm and shouted "tag!"

Alyssa then took off with the Doctor following closely behind. The red head shrieked as he caught her, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around. The Doctor lost his balance bringing them both down, Alyssa on top of the Time Lord. They both lay there stunned for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

She got off him and got to her feet. The Doctor stood up as well only shrug off his coat and spread it out on the grass. He laid down on it and patted the space next to him. Alyssa laid down next to him. "So, the year five billion…the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted", the Doctor said looking up at the sky "but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars", he played with her hair as he spoke "they eventually end up here".

"What's the city called?" Alyssa asked, nodding to it.

"New New York", the Doctor replied.

"Oh, come on", the red head said not believing him.

"It is! It's the city of New New York!" the Doctor pauses, thinking "Strictly speaking, it's the fifteenth New York since the original, so that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York" Alyssa smiled down at him which he notices "What?"

"You're so different", the empath remarked.

"Still good different?" the Doctor questioned.

"Definitely", Alyssa answered "So…I'm guessing we're going to visit New New York… so good they named it twice".

The Doctor stood up, bringing Alyssa with him. He then grabbed his coat, putting it on. "Well… I thought we might go there first", the Time Lord said nodding to a large building in the distance.

"Why, what is it?" the red head questioned.

"Some sort of hospital. Green moon on the side. That's the universal symbol for hospitals", the Doctor said shrugging on his coat. He then pulled out his psychic paper "I got this. A message on the psychic paper" the Doctor showed her what was written on the paper.

"Have you forgotten something?" Alyssa asked. When the Doctor gave her a confused look, she added "I can't read the physic paper, its always blank to me".

"Oh, right", the Doctor said mentally smacking himself for forgetting that. He'd showed it to her before in WW2 and she'd told him the same thing then too. "Basically someone wants to see me in Ward 26 of the hospital".

"Does it say who its from?" Alyssa queried.

"Unfortunately no", the Doctor replied "but that's gonna be half the fun". He took her hand and they walked towards the hospital.