"...and then I- ngk." Benny stirred from a deep sleep. Slightly startled at the vague shape by her side, she turned to face who was in bed with her, grey-blue eyes now open and staring into her own, from a couple of feet away. "What? Oh. It's just you. Morning. Braxiatel... Still getting used to this. Probably gonna take a while."

Brax yawned and stretched out slightly. "Yes, quite. I'm not quite used to waking up with someone else yet either. Did you sleep well?"

"I think so." Then she thought back to things, and why last night she'd asked him to keep some distance between them. Again, he was a touch-telepath. And as they kissed, her waking thoughts that night had been less than savoury, the following dream even less so- while good enough at keeping a cool head while awake, the same couldn't be said while Bernice was unconscious. So, of course she was mildly concerned. "Did I... leak?" she finally asked.

He seemed confused. "Leak?"

She sighed in relief. "I'm guessing that's a no. But I was having a bit of a... conversation- in my dream. And usually I talk a bit, if I don't get up and do something without knowing it. Did I keep you up- or did you hear anything?"

Braxiatel sat up in his silk suit. "Well, I heard the last half of that last sentence, but that's about it. And you don't need to worry about keeping me up, I generally sleep no more than three or four hours a night."

Benny puffed. "That's... good enough."

"And for some of my kind, that would be considered oversleeping. But did you sleep well? You didn't answer," he stated, wanting to make sure everything was perfect.

"With that assurance, yes, I slept plenty well." She took a glance at the alarm clock. Luckily for her, it was still around 9:30. That meant things would be a little easier. "It's early enough, I'll fetch breakfast from downstairs this time and make something on my own. I think I've been put off from room service for a bit."

They both pushed themselves out from under the covers and stood up. But that plan was something Brax agreed on already. "Yes... quite. We don't want any more pests showing up."

Still trying not to be late, Benny took a look at her luggage. At least today was mostly going to be inventory rather than digging, so she could wear pretty much whatever she wanted. "Right, clothes... Look away! ...or don't. Whatever suits you I suppose..." she trailed off, giving a half-shrug.

Braxiatel turned his attention elsewhere, but couldn't quite help stealing a quick glance. She had her back to him, so there wasn't much to see. That wasn't to say he exactly missed anything just within that half-second or two, particularly the old, semi-faded scars from a lifetime of wear and old battles that mottled her entire body... and her bum. That too.

After a minute or so, Bernice was back in her favourite practical look- black leather jacket over a t-shirt, jeans, and combat boots, and a belt with pouches around her waist to keep it all together. When the rustling of fabric stopped and he could tell she was decent, his attention was drawn back to her as opposed to what was a particularly interesting corner of the ceiling.

Benny brushed herself off. "Alright. Let's get going then. Need me to grab anything in particular?"

"Oh no, I believe I have everything I need. I'll see you later."

"Later-? Oh..." When she realized he was still in the pyjama suit, she didn't say anything else. That explained enough for her.

Swinging the door open and stepping halfway through, she said her goodbyes before going down to breakfast.

What she ended up getting was simple, just cereal and orange juice. Fancy cereal and orange juice if that was a thing, but still just that. Still filling enough though.

Getting ready to leave on her own, Bernice made a quick call to Braxiatel. "I'm taking an aircar to the site, you can meet me-" Something stopped her in her tracks, "Oh for fuck's sake..." Face falling into a scowl, she elaborated, growling. "He's here."

Standing in front of the TARDIS which was parked on the road, grumpy as ever, was the Doctor. "Since you're not doing anything private I was wondering if I could have a bit of a talk, Professor Summerfield."

Exasperated, she shot back, "A talk!? Didn't Brax shoo you away?"

"I tried," Braxiatel's hologram shrugged.

Benny sighed in exhaustion. "You did try. And you gave us a fine rest of the day- can you come down here?"

"I'll be there in just a second-" he answered. At that, the call ended and Braxiatel was already bursting through the doors of the lobby between them. Out of breath but at least clothed, Benny had no idea where he'd come from to get there so fast. Then she realized there was a new potted plant by the entrance, and it clicked. Well, certainly one way to be 'just a second.' Benny huffed fondly. But her mind was elsewhere.

They both glared at the Doctor, and she shouted at him. "Now Doctor, what the bloody hell are you on about this time!?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you needed a lift?" he said, innocently enough.

"Why would she need a lift? I'm here," Braxiatel pointed out, and even gestured to the not-potted-plant through the glass door.

Bernice crossed her arms and furrowed her brow, making her point very clear. "Doctor, we're through after that. No more big adventures travelling in your TARDIS. Maybe any TARDIS. I'm retiring from that. Again."

He frowned. "There's plenty of your things you've left aboard, at least could you get them?"

"Well, we can collect those." Brax rolled his eyes. This was such a fuss over nothing, wasn't it?

"Forgive me for not wanting you aboard my ship," the Doctor huffed, eyebrows furrowed.

Benny groaned, then pointed a stern finger at his nose. "Goddess... I'll come and take my stuff but for the goddess' sake do not come anywhere uninvited ever again."

And Braxiatel was incredulous and puzzled. "And what did I do!?"

"Enough."

Brax glared indignantly. "Well, I apologize if I offended you by asking you not to show up unannounced at my girlfriend's hotel room."

She still wasn't sure about the word girlfriend, but held her comment on that part. It was the principal of the thing, after all. Not the details. And, well. It was something official, if still a bit juvenile sounding.

Turning to Bernice, the Doctor explained, "I won't, Professor Summerfield. It came from your mouth this time. I trust your word."

That didn't make it better. Bernice glared daggers at him. "Just because I'm not a fan of people speaking for me does not mean I'm ready to deal with you right after getting up-" She stomped up to the TARDIS. "Just let me in there..."

He unlocked it, pushed the small blue door open, and followed her inside.

Going down to her bedroom, which was yet again still in the same place three halls down, at least- she found nothing. Well, almost nothing. Little worth keeping, at any rate. Since she hadn't actually consistently lived there for a long time, most of her things were in other places. The things that were he could've just put in a small box.

At the top of her lungs, Benny shouted, "I had one jacket, four shirts, some underwear, a few pieces of cursed jewellery and your second sonic! That doesn't count as a lot!"

Stomping back out to the console room with the three things worth keeping, she saw the Doctor manning the console in a painfully familiar fashion- she looked back at him with dread. Oh no.

"Alright Bernice, we're going. Goodbye Braxiatel," he declared grimly.

He pulled the door switch as Bernice bolted over, banging on them. "What the FUCK are you DOING-" but it was too late. They were locked shut.


"DOCTOR!" Braxiatel could just barely be heard shouting over the engines as the box started to fade away. He tried to grab at the door handle, but it was like trying to touch a ghost. He could do nothing.

Mouth agape, he stared at the void where the TARDIS had been, frozen in shock and awe.

Finally shaking himself out of this stupor, he rapidly turned around towards his not-a-plant and swung the hotel doors open with such aggression that the glass may have just shattered then and there.

Running straight into it, the console room of his TARDIS lit up brightly. As quickly as could be managed, Braxiatel started scanning for arton energy trails as his own ship dematerialized, glancing at the screen and pressing switches rapidly, but in a manner still precise. It wasn't long before he got a call, something only one person could currently do at the moment, so it opened immediately.

"Brax-" Benny whispered, from in her bed by the looks of things. "I've gotten my holowatch back online thanks to a little gadget lying around. I think he tried to disable communications."

"Benny! I'll get you out of there." That was a promise.

"I have no damn clue where we're going but at least I have privacy. I'm back in my bedroom. Unfortunately for him, he left me with his spare sonic screwdriver." She showed it off in front of the camera.

"I'm in my TARDIS now. I'm tracking you. As soon as he lands somewhere, I'll be right there behind you," he explained.

"The problem is I don't know if he plans to land anytime soon-" There was a visible shaking on the video feed. "Shit, shit, shit, shit-! I think he's moving my bedroom," her eyes darted around. "I need to get out of here."

His expression darkened. Braxiatel cracked his knuckles and got to work. This would be something big. "Well, I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but I think I can ground his TARDIS with some technology that I... borrowed when I left Gallifrey."

She frowned. "I wish I didn't know what you were talking about... Being betrayed by my friends. Hey, something that isn't new! ha- ha ha..." Benny trailed off.

But Brax shook his head. "Nothing drastic, I promise. I'm just going to tap in and engage his TARDIS' recall circuit."

"Better than I was expecting, I suppose. I don't usually wish for forced landings."

"You just focus on finding your way back to the console room. I'll take care of the rest," he assured.

"Damn it! Again, the bloody default interior! Do all the halls have to look the same?!" Bernice groaned and swore under her breath, before she looked down at what was in her other hand. "I wonder if I can use his screwdriver to track it down..."

Trying to remember something about sonic screwdrivers and counting back the facts in his head, he found something in the common list that might help. "Try setting fifty-four."

He saw her twisting the bottom on it as it started making a rhythmic buzz, changing frequency at the various shifts. "Let me see- ah! Thank the goddess, I think you're right- I guess I'm going to be playing a game of hot and cold for a bit..."

"Well, I'll deal with The Doctor and meet you halfway," he stated ominously.

Benny nodded, head darting left and right as she scanned for which way and her danger instincts kicked in. "Alright. Deal with him and then I'll kiss you until we pass out, Brax. Both of us."

Brax raised an eyebrow at her lack of care regarding his possible intentions. "You're not even going to ask what I mean by that? I'm rubbing off on you."

She didn't even seem to be paying much attention at all. "I don't really want to know."

"That's probably best, actually," he confirmed.

She gave an indignant huff as the sonic screwdriver kept whirring in the background. "Look, if I walk in and somebody else is there next to you when I get there- I still won't be mad. As long as he's not dead permanently I won't say a single word."

He was surprised at that. "Bernice! That's a bit much to assume even for me."

"Look, I am really pissed right now," Benny panted.

He froze the call so he could finally finish this. Pulling some final switches with somehow aggressive finesse, Braxiatel could feel the rough lock-on as he engaged the Doctor's recall circuit. Preparing to land himself, they should materialize within about ten feet of one another.

Finishing the materialization process, there was a strong thud at the rough landing. He winced, but comfort wasn't important right now. Urgency was.

In case Benny needed help finding him, he slid the call onto a datapad and placed it inside his suit jacket. Opening the doors to his TARDIS, the little blue box was right outside, waiting. As he pushed it, the door creaked open with little resistance. Forcing the landing drained some of the power and diverted it from the outer shell- she'd be tired out for a while, and wouldn't be able to protect against his intrusion. Good.

Scrambling at the controls to see what was wrong and get his ship back into space, the Doctor's eyes narrowed at Braxiatel's timely appearance. Of course he was unwelcome. But in this case, that was good too. Flabbergasted, the old man shouted, "Braxiatel?! How'd you land my TARDIS?"

Coolly, Brax approached- unbeknownst to the Doctor, slightly rolling back his sleeves. That common tic was turning out to be useful after all. His reply was simple and matter-of-fact, in addition to snide and uncharacteristically rude. "Well for one, I fly a modern diplomatic model instead of an antique like this one, and another little thing, but I won't bore you with the details. That's not important right now. This is."

Without any warning, and with a level of technique higher than expected- he punched the Doctor square in the jaw. A little blood spilt out, and there was a cracking as he probably lost or broke a tooth.

In surprise and pain, the Doctor cried out and groaned. He was in shock at that too. "Owww... Did- did you really just do that?" He rolled up his own sleeves and entered a boxing stance. "I don't do physical fighting often, but I know how to deal in fisticuffs."

"You bloody well deserve it. You kidnapped my girlfriend," Brax growled, squaring up again.

"I did no such thing. I'm protecting her from you- I found out about the thing that's in your head, and what you've done to her in the past, manipulating the timelines, killing her friends and family- It won't happen again." The Doctor looked far into Brax's eyes, past the mask. His words cut deep.

That almost made Brax falter. There had always been an ounce of doubt, about why exactly this had been a terrible idea. But no matter which Braxiatel happened to get out of bed in the morning, he wouldn't be harming Bernice. That point still stood, and he swore by it. Lightning flashed in his eyes, him not bothering to hide his rage anymore. "It won't happen again, no. Not if I have anything to say about it. And you locked Benny in your TARDIS, then took her away against her will, that's kidnapping no matter how you spin it! She's furious about it! She said she'd be alright if I made you regenerate over this."

Just to make sure Benny was alright, he discreetly reached into his suit coat to press a button on the datapad, then muttered into it. "I punched him in the face."

Her voice was quiet and muffled on the other end. "Punch him again for me if you please, or I will myself."

"Gladly,' he whispered back.

The Doctor explained, exasperated, "I'm not going to just keep her here- I'll drop her off wherever she wants as long as you haven't touched it." A second later, about the regeneration comment, he huffed. "And I'd be perfectly willing to do so!"

Crouching down a little, Braxiatel's posture was gradually getting less and less refined. "You do not get to decide whether or not she is around me, Doctor. She is a grown woman, for Rassilon's sake! She can make her own decisions."

He went quiet, then ordered, "Get the hell out of my ship, Braxiatel."

But Brax stood firm, saying every word slowly and with authority. A quiet sort, that made one's hairs stand on end. The sort that he said to his rivals when making 'promises.' "Not. Without. Bernice."

"I don't want to force you out. But I may have to," he grumbled.

"I'd bloody well like to see you try," Braxiatel almost half chuckled, half scorned.

"Alright then." He took a swing at Braxiatel, landing a hit on his chest and knocking the wind out of him.

The blow really took him by surprise, but he recovered after some deep breaths. His response to that was a heavy hit on the Doctor's stomach.

"Oof-" Nearly choking, but still standing, he threw a karate chop, courtesy of his skills in Venusian Aikido, then hit a pressure point.

Braxiatel winced in severe pain, but managed not to collapse at it. It wasn't easy to resist this martial art. Perhaps he'd need to take lessons. He kicked the old man in the stomach and he crumpled over.

While almost doing something else, his mind fell back to fond nostalgia. It wasn't this Doctor, but he patched scrapes and helped him up. His brother wasn't easy, but there was care- and he was sure the other Braxiatel, this man's sister, would feel the same way if she was alive. He rarely did any sort of service to himself but supposed this was one of those times.

Instead, he fixed his hair, straightened his tie, and rolled his sleeves back down before brushing himself off. Bernice burst through the door and saw the scene. "I made it! I'm here- Brax!"

"Are you alright?" He was referring to both of them now. As Benny ran to his side, he took the Doctor's hand and helped him up.

Bernice grinned at Braxiatel. "Yeah... You're not so bad, you know."

The old man grunted. "Okay enough. I deserved it."

"Yes, you did..." Benny and Brax both said in unison.

The Doctor looked at both of them reluctantly, then sighed. "Thank you, I suppose. What you're willing to do- I should've trusted her with you. And her choices." He finally knew when to admit defeat, when he was wrong, something normally he was far too stubborn to do.

Still a stormy look on his features, he answered. "Yes, well, I'm glad you're seeing sense," then whispered in a voice so quiet the human hearing range wouldn't catch it. "Just so we're clear, the thing in my head is my business and it's perfectly under control."

The Doctor glanced at them, then turned around and swung the doors back open. "Farewell, Braxiatel, Bernice. I don't expect to see you again anytime soon. -I'm... sorry."

"Farewell Doctor. Take care of yourself."

Benny commented, paying more attention to Brax's lips, and then licking her own. "I told you I'd kiss you until we passed out, didn't I? Well, once we're out of here..."

He smirked, looking down at hers in kind. "I would be happy to oblige. Shall we?"

"Into your TARDIS and yes indeed," she grabbed hold of his hand.

They hopped from one ship to another, seeing the Doctor's own disappear into the ether, neither knowing where or when he might go next.

He was going to land them back on Betelgeuse IV, but Benny had other ideas. "Come here, you-" Fulfilling her promise, she leaned him back against the console, then pulled him down by the tie into a sloppy kiss.

He yelped in surprise, but a hand cupped her face and he reciprocated, almost as aggressively.

She bent him back further and rested a hand on the console, smirking at the effect she had on him. Pulling back very briefly just to catch her breath, she muttered, "Oh, I like that."

"Good," he smiled too, kissing her roughly again, cold tongue in her warm mouth. He liked pleasing her.

She bit his lip, and he made another little surprised noise as her teeth caught it. Bernice pulled back from Brax, a devilish smile playing across her features. "What if we went a bit further this time? Just to see, hmm?"

Trying to remain nonchalant, he couldn't help the corner of his mouth curling up a little. "Yes, we could try that. Anything specific in mind?" he asked.

"Not really, but it's an adventure. We'll find out as we go." She stuck her tongue out at him when she saw how flushed he was getting, and teased, "You're looking awfully red. Do you have a fever?"

He rolled his eyes and chuckled softly. "Hmmm, very funny. You know exactly why I'm flushed."

"Indeed. Let's take this into a bedroom-" She looked smug.

"That sounds like a good ide-ah!" Brax was interrupted as Benny dragged him by the arm excitedly, sure of where the closest one would be. It didn't matter which, as long as it wasn't a long way away.

He cracked open the door for her.

"If you will, Irving Braxiatel..." she invited him in with her.

And as soon as they were close enough, Bernice threw him across the bed.