Peri frowned and watched the Doctor bustle around the console. He
ran a hand through his hair and seemed distracted at best, grouchy at
worst. Their last adventure had taken them on an intergalactic
treasure hunt and neither of them was any worse for the wear, but she
had a feeling that the Doctor was in need of a vacation of sorts.

"Doctor?" she asked, leaning on the console.

"Hmm?" he replied, flicking a couple of more switches. "Yes, what is
it, Peri?"

"Your mind is elsewhere," she stated plainly. "Makes me wonder where
the TARDIS'll end up next. You're just putting the coordinates in"

The Doctor straightened, slightly chagrined by the case that Peri
presented. "Well, I was thinking about taking you to another little
planet I know. Beautiful little jewel of a resort there"

Peri nodded and then sighed. "That makes four places that you've
taken me because you think that's what I would like to see. But
don't you ever want to go somewhere for you?"

The Doctor frowned. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Don't you want to go someplace just for you?"

He stopped punching coordinates and frowned. The girl had only been
traveling with him a short while and yet she seemed to have an almost
intuitive understanding of him. Or rather had an intuitive
understanding of something about him that he hadn't considered.

"And where would you think that would be, Peri?" he asked quietly.

"Earth."

"Peribelieve me I have spent more than enough time on Earth
especially in this regeneration. Now," he straightened and rubbed
his hands together. "Where to"

"Earth."

He put his hands into his pockets and shook his head. "Quite out of
the question."

"You're afraid to go, aren't you?" Peri shook her head. "I might be
young, Doctor, but I know when someone is avoiding something. The
last time I saw you happy was when I returned from visiting friends
in Morocco."

"Well, you visited old friends and so did I," the Doctor answered
very quietly.

"And you said that he or she"

"She."

"invited you to visit. I think it's time you went." Peri concluded
her argument by crossing her arms and pouting. "And besides, I could
do with a small shopping trip on Earth. I need some clothes for
school."

"The clothes"

"That we've bought I could never wear on Earth and you know that,
Doctor," Peri explained. She gave him a steady stare until he hummed
and frowned. Peri, it appeared, was very perceptive. He had been
rather melancholy of late. Although she was proving to be a very
capable and very companionable friend, he did still have a sense of
isolation, of separation from her. True, he was more affectionate
with her than with his other companions of late, but where as he was
closer, if in a somewhat physical sense to her, he was more distant
on a personal level.

It was hard to understand. He hadn't felt the same towards
Turlough, Kamelion or Peri that he had felt towards Tegan. She had
been troublesome, argumentative, had pushed the bounds of his
patience. She had shouted, complained and pushed her way through the
Universe. She had yelled at him, yelled at Turlough, yelled at
Nyssa, yelled at Adric and Kamelion.

But she had had an undying sense of loyalty, a driving, almost at
times suicidal sense of duty to those she called friend. Tegan had
yelled at him, but she had accepted nothing he had told her and had
made him prove his word, his abilities and even himself. It wasn't
something he was used to, but he had grown to accept it, almost rely
on it. He had told her once that he wouldn't know what to do without
her. Of course, he had made it into a joke. A Time Lord, by
definition, does not need a human. His emotional detachment training
in the Academy insured that fact. But that didn't mean he didn't
want the companionship. And Tegan's companionship was like nothing
he had ever known before.

Any way that he thought about it: whether it was the quiet that hung
in the TARDIS, or the fact that no one acted as his conscience quite
like she had, or had forced him to be as responsible as she had
required him to be, he missed Tegan. And seeing her just a few weeks
previous had driven home that fact to him.

He didn't entirely know if he liked it, either.

"You want me to visit Tegan, then," the Doctor stated quietly.

"That's your friend's name? Then, yes. I think you should."

"I wouldn't know where to find her, or when," the Doctor hedged,
fighting the urge to smile at Peri's persistence.

"How about a few months after we left the last time?" Peri
offered. "And you wouldn't be the alien I know if you couldn't find
her. You have friends in high places and a computer system. Just
find her."

The Doctor shook his head with a little laugh. "You are quite the
persistent one. All right."

**

Tegan pulled the car into the parking garage and helped Michael out
of the car seat as Amy piled out of the passenger side of the car.

As the girl rambled on about her day at school, Tegan picked up
Michael and encouraged her daughter to carry a small bag of
groceries. But Amy scampered off to the stairs that led up to their
apartment.

"Amy Louise!" Tegan called exasperatedly as she juggled Michael and
her pocketbook. With a sigh, she shut the car door, hoping that she
could leave the children for two minutes to run back down and gather
the groceries. Not wanting her child to get too far ahead of her,
she began to jog and climb the steps while Michael chattered happily
in her ear. "Amy Louise, you wait for mewhat have I told you about
running ahead of Momma?"

Her admonishment drifted off as she heard Amy quickly talking with
someone and her heart fell into her stomach. She felt a panic that
her child was talking to a stranger and hurried up the remaining
steps to gasp and run down the corridor. "Amy!"

Her run slowed and she stopped when she saw who her daughter was
talking to so familiarly. "Oh no."

Amy was holding up her current piece of artwork for the man, proudly
telling him that she had done it herself. The man smiled and bent to
take the piece of paper, squatting as he did so. "It's quite good,"
he reassured. "With your own hands?"

Her little girl nodded and smiled widely nearly dancing with
excitement. The man tilted back his hat and then noticed that Tegan
was in the hallway. He rose and faced her. "Hello, Tegan."

Tegan found she could draw a sigh of relief as the fear for her
daughter wore off. "Hello, Doctor," she answered, with
relief. "What on Earth are you doing here?"

The Doctor frowned and then grimaced. Amy was pulling on his trouser
leg. His attention turned to her. The girl was holding out her
hands to him. Tegan approached, juggling her son and the
pocketbook. With a puff of breath, she nodded to her daughter. "I'm
surprised she remembers you, Doc," Tegan said by way of an
introduction.

"I am quite unforgettable," he insisted with a smile and then the
smile disappeared. "It seems you need help again, Tegan."

"You're always carrying something for me."

"It's good to be needed for something, I suppose," he sighed.

She raised her eyebrows and sidled by him to unlock the door while
still balancing Michael. He stood back, his hand resting on Amy's
head. When the door opened, she stumbled in and set her son down. As
Michael crawled off into the living room of the small apartment,
Tegan turned to let the Doctor and Amy into the kitchen.

"I'm glad to see you again," she said honestly. "But a good greeting
will have to wait until I get back from the groceries"

The Doctor hummed and walked to the door. "Just describe the car,
Tegan"

**

"So you just decided to drop in and visit?" Tegan asked, sipping her
tea. She glanced toward the living room where the children were
playing in front of the television.

"Well," he answered honestly. "I did have a little pressure from
Peri. She seemed to think I needed a holiday to cheer me up." He
leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. The
kitchen was filling with the smell of dinner cooking and of roasted
vegetables. He had been watching Tegan prepare dinner for the last
half an hour and now was quite comfortably relaxing in the chair next
to the door.

His gaze traveled about the apartment as Tegan got up to pour more
tea. Next to the kitchen was a small living room holding a variety
of toys, a couch and chair and a television. There were three doors
leading out of the room against the far wall. He supposed two were
to bedrooms and the third to a bathroom of sorts. The kitchen itself
was just large enough for a door in, a small table with two chairs
and a highchair, and various appliances.

"You were moping again," Tegan stated, rather than asked and shook
her head. "That doesn't surprise me in the least."

He brought his gaze back to hers and frowned. "Tegan, I don't mope,"
came his indignant reply.

"Then you are quite an actor," she commented, bending over to open
the oven.

His sigh sounded much has it had when she had traveled with
him. "Tegan."

"Yes, well, the apartment is not quite large enough to receive
visitors right now. Unlike the TARDIS, it's much smaller on the
inside than the out," she laughed. "How did you find me?"

"Would you believe the telephone directory?" he asked. "I once told
Nyssa that you would be surprised who you can find in the telephone
directory. Though I had a bit of trouble, and several hours of
calling. You would have to have the last name of Jones, Tegan," he
admonished.

"Well, I didn't marry Tom for his last name," Tegan retorted. "Would
you want wine with supper, Doc?"

"No, no. I do appreciate the invite for the meal, however," he
replied.

"It's not quite the Ritz or France," she complained, pulling the
roasting dish out of the oven. "Fridays are the worst for me for
cooking. Usually I'm down to nothing in the fridge as Saturday is
shopping day, but you lucked out. It was rather a rush job, though.
With Amy in school and Michael with a friend, shopping is touch and
go on the weekdays."

"I don't believe in luck," the Doctor smiled. "Providence, however
fate"

"Oh no," she laughed. "Don't get me started on that line of
thought. I know you better than that. Rabbits. Fate is the LAST
thing you believe in"

Hands held up in mock surrender, he gave a wide smile. "True, Tegan,
very true."

"And your friend? Will she be coming as well?" Tegan asked, turning
to the cupboard for plates. "We'll have to spread out into the
sitting room if that's the case"

"I don't think so. Peri contacted a cousin in London and contrived a
couple day stay with her. She has this phone number, however. I
hope you don't mind."

"Noit's easier to contact you here than elsewhere, I suppose.
You've cut your hair again."

"Yes," he sighed. Tegan came over to the table and put out three
plates. "Can I help?"

"How are you with setting the table?" she asked, quietly.

"Passable. Where is your cutlery?" He rose out of the chair and
padded across the kitchen. She pointed to a drawer and he emptied
it, pulling out one setting after another. When all other sound
disappeared in the room, he turned to glance at her. She was looking
at him, and he thought that the shock or surprise at seeing him was
finally setting in. "Tegan?"

"Again," she sighed, quietly, resuming her spooning of the food to a
serving plate. "Again, you're here. Where by all rights, you
shouldn't be."

"How's that?" he asked in return, turning his hip against the drawer
and closing it. "Explain it to me, Tegan."

"Traveling with you is like falling down the white rabbit hole, isn't
it?" she stated the question, quickly filling the plate with
carrots. "Neverland or Wonderland, it doesn't matter. It isn't
reality."

"Isn't it?" he prodded, stepping forward. "Are you sure, Tegan?"

He watched as a steady determination crossed her features. "My
reality is sitting in the other room, Doc. My reality is getting up
and going to work each day so that they have a roof over their heads
and food in their mouths. Reality, you once told me, is of our own
making. When I was with you I was outside the reality of my making
and had to accept yours. But nownow I'm here and this is a reality
of my making."

He took a deep breath and lowered his hands, the place setting's forks
and spoons still in his grasp. "That's a very apt application." He
was impressed; he hadn't expected her to be able to grasp what he had
been trying to explain so completely.

"Well," she said, as she put down the serving spoon. She still
hadn't looked at him. "Why are you here? Really?"

A painful question, he guessed from the way she gripped the platter
in her hand. She had always been one that was willing to accept a
certain amount of pain if it meant she had the truth given to her.
He didn't answer, wondering in reality why he was really there.

"Visiting me in this apartment is not a holiday," she stated with a
powerful edge to her voice. "Not by a long shot. You've barely
relaxed. And you're not here out of guilt, like last time."

"I didn't visit you the last time purely out of guilt, either," he
argued, lowly. "That was coincidence."

"Then why now, why here?" She finally lifted her eyes to spear him
with a stare. He felt off set by the weight of it. "This wasn't
coincidence."

"No, I looked for you." He lowered his gaze to the forks in his
hands. Then he glanced at the small living room as Michael tottered
to the couch and table, running a small truck on the surface. Amy
was studiously coloring. "I simply wanted to see you again, Tegan.
And Amy and Michael."

"But why? By all rights," she stated, coming to the table, passing
him. "And by your own logic, that means you that have to conform to
my reality."

"Quite."

"I won't disrupt their lives," she whispered, nodding to the sitting
room.

"I wouldn't do that to you. Or to them," he reassured. "I'm not
asking you to come with me, Tegan." He sighed as he set down the
cutlery on the table. Then with a sigh of resignation, he nodded to
the door. "Do you wish me to leave?"

"I wouldn't have asked you to supper, if that were the case," she
said, warningly.

"Then why the questions?" he asked, agitated. "Does it matter why
I'm here? Really?"

"Not really," she shrugged. "And yes."

He moved his mouth for a moment before he heard the words tumble out
of them. "The TARDIS is still very quiet without you."

With a nod, she accepted his words. "And sometimes," she
admitted. "My reality is a bit dull." There was a sense of
understanding as she turned to get the rest of dinner and he felt his
agitation bleed from him.
**

"Doctor, put him down."

The Doctor glanced up at the boy he held on his shoulders and lifted
an eyebrow. "He's quite all right and very much enjoys the new
of life," he answered with a certain amount of arrogance. "I'm not
harming him, Tegan."

She sighed and glanced up from where she colored with Amy. "No,
maybe not, but you are fraying my nerves unbelievably. All I can
picture is him falling, out of no fault of your own. Humor me,
please..."

"Well, Michael?" the Time Lord asked, glancing up at the boy
again. "Do you want to come down?"

"It's my turn, Momma," Amy studiously pointed out to her mother as
the Doctor waited patiently for the reply from the boy. He smiled at
the little girl's voice. She sounded much as Tegan had when she
first stumbled into the TARDIS, bossy and out of her depth. "Doctor
said that he would let me ride when Mike was done."

Tegan rolled her eyes and set down the crayons. The evening news was
still on going and all their bellies were full of dinner. And it was
rapidly approaching bedtime. The Doctor could see that on some level
Tegan was relieved that he was tiring her children for sleeping. He
hadn't realized right away that that was what he was doing, but after
a half an hour of walking about with Michael on his shoulders or
back, the child was tiring.

"That's very true," the Doctor answered. "I did promise Amy that she
could get a lift, Tegan."

"Oh, my girl," Tegan teased under her breath as she selected the blue
crayon. "You don't know half about his promises."

"Tegan," he admonished as he reached up to catch Michael about the
arms. "Giving your children a piggy-back ride is hardly like finding
Heathrow."

"Oh really? And how about seeing the future?"

"Yes, well, Tegan we are talking about me personally here and not my
ability to pilot the TARDIS," he lifted Michael over his head and
suddenly released the boy to catch him. He enjoyed the way that
Michael giggled and the weight of the boy in his arms and total trust
he was given. The Time Lord didn't like the look of shock and the
way that Tegan gasped, however. She rose to her feet, her hand
covering her throat convulsively. Michael was oblivious and crawled
away from the Doctor as he set him on the ground.

"Doc" Tegan breathed, half in admonishment, half in relief.

"It was deliberate, Tegan. Children love to feel the effect of
gravity," the Doctor reassured, frowning at the way that Tegan's face
grew ashen. He felt a tug at his stomach and stared at his old
companion. Amy tired of the adult exchanged and approached the Time
Lord, holding her hands out to be hefted. "I wouldn't have dropped
him." It was a plea, he supposed. For what he didn't know, but the
abject fear in Tegan's countenance made him wish he hadn't lifted her
child off the floor.

"I know," Tegan answered, but he felt sure that she didn't quite feel
assured. She watched as Amy pleaded to have her fair turn on the
Doctor's shoulders and almost against his will, he scooped the child
up. Tegan sighed and turned from him, straightening up the
crayons. "Amy, it's time for bed."

"Doctor can put me to bed, can't he, Momma?" Amy asked, but the
Doctor had a feeling it was more of an explanation of fact than an
inquiry. Tegan smiled, but it was a ghost of a smile to the Doctor
and she agreed.

"Do you mind, Doc?"

"Mind?" The Doctor asked, his voice rising on the notes. "Of course
I don't mind. It would be my pleasure to escort such a lovely girl"

"Charmer," Tegan laughed. "Careful, you'll have her wrapped around
your finger or vice versa and no amount of your Time Mechanics will
help you." Tegan grabbed ahold of Michael's small hands and helped
him walk across the expanse of the floor toward the first door
nearest the exterior wall. "Come on, you two," she playfully called,
but to the Doctor there was a lack of happiness in her exchange.


There was something almost healing about the way that a child gives
themselves completely to one's care when they trust that person and
when that person earns their trust. The Doctor smiled as he closed
the book of Fairy Tales and gazed down at Amy, against whose
headboard he sat and then over at Michael, resting in his crib. The
boy was asleep, clearly worn out by their antics earlier. Amy was
nearer to the Sandman than to anything else, but she still had the
sense of mind to glance up at the Doctor as he levered off the bed.

"Doctor?"

"Yes, Amy?" he replied as he put down the book and tucked the
blankets about her slim small body. The crisp white of the sheets
made her dark hair look raven, almost like tendrils of night. Her
brown eyes were half-closed and calm.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked. His hands stilled and
he glanced over at Tegan as she tucked Michael in, insuring that he
was positioned right and warm for the night.

"Do you want me to be?" he asked.

"Yes."

Tegan's hands slowed and she straightened, looking over at him. In
the dimmed light, she looked very young, more like 23 than 32. Her
eyes both asked him the same question and wondered at his answer.

"I'll be here," he replied, turning to glance down at Amy. "Sleep
well," he urged and turned from the bed. The girl turned over,
messing up his more than adequate tuck-in job, he mused and he waited
by the door for Tegan to kiss both her children goodnight and turn
off the light.

He stepped out into the living room again and waited, somewhat
patiently, for his old companion to shut the door quietly. He knew
there was a conversation that had begun, silently, when he had hefted
her children and was ongoing as he read to them and now it was going
to gain voice. The Doctor was worried that by giving it sound the
conversation would digress into an argument. But he wasn't sure.
With the Tegan of old, he knew that eventuality; with this older,
mature version, he wasn't sure; he wasn't sure at all.

"Will you?"

"Hmm?" he asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Will you be here tomorrow?"

"I just said I would be," he stated what he hoped was obvious. Then
he realized his social blunder and sighed, reaching at once to rub at
the back of his neck. "Wellthat is, Teganif you would" he
swallowed and rolled his eyes. "Might I stay?"

"Do you really want to?"

The questions were pointed, like tiny splinters. They were aimed to
peel his surety of the situation away, he feared. He was on thin
ice, like he was walking a power line somewhere. And to be doubly
wary, he didn't know where they were leading. "Tegan, would I have
just asked or told Amy I would be here if I didn't want to be?"

She shrugged, but he knew it wasn't indifference. She disappeared
into the kitchen and he frowned, half following her, half avoiding
her. He could see her preparing something like cocoa. Her voice,
after a time, floated to him as he stood at the door. "I don't
know. I still don't quite understand why you are here, but I'm
willing to accept."

"That's a change," he joked, sullenly.

"I don't want to argue."

"That's also a change," he continued, slipping his hands into his
pockets again.

She put down the spoon and turned the heat on the range
lower. "Double on the chocolate, right?"

"Sweets to the sweet," he replied. Tired of standing and needing to
do something, he entered the kitchen proper and leaned against the
cupboards with a sigh. "I don't really know why I'm here, either,
Tegan, to be perfectly honest. We discussed this earlier."

She avoided the conversation and went for the jugular vein and he
smiled at the memory of her methods. "They, Amy and Michael, will
begin to really like you, Doc."

"Good. I like them as well," he pointed out. "It's refreshing to be
liked for no other reason than because you exist."

"They'll want you to be here; they'll miss you when you're gone."

"Your point," he prodded, leaning forward a little.

"They've already had enough loss; I don't want them to have another."

The words were said with a straightforwardness that made him start a
little. Tegan's voice had mellowed in its inflections and accent,
but it still carried a level of projection that made him feel
uneasy. The point was not lost on him, however.

"Tegan."

"You can waltz in and out of my life all you like," she said, rather
strongly as she turned the range off completely. Turning, she
gathered two mugs. "You could land that crate of yours in the
sitting room for all I care. I don't mind you being here and
understand when you leave. But they won't. If you stay long enough
to have any type of a tie with them, they'll not understand when they
wake up and you're not here. And they won't understand why they
can't visit you."

The last bit made him frown. "Tegan, I'm only here for a day or two,
not a month or a fortnight."

"Amy recognized you. I watched her watching you tonight while you
read. You held her interest; you and that calm voice of yours.
Michael loved the way you tossed him about"

"Yes, I wanted to ask you why you were so frightened of my holding
him" he pressed, coming forward to hold the mugs as she poured the
cocoa into them. "You have my word that I would never harm them,
either of them. Nor would I let any harm"

"I know that. That's not the point of this conversation."

"You didn't know it on some level, Tegan; you practically collapsed
in relief when I let him on the ground. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course."

It was said without hesitation and he relaxed, although he hadn't
realized that he was uptight. She continued as she picked up her mug
and he his. "I just don't want to lose him, see him hurt. It's a
fear unlike anything elseCybermen and Daleks included."

As they passed through the doorway and into the sitting room, he
reached out to touch her shoulder. "TeganI promise I would never
harm them or allow harm to come to them. You have my word, as a Time
Lord, a renegade and a friend."

"Ho, a renegade? Then I have to believe that oath. You've never
sworn on that, before," she collapsed in the couch and moved her feet
so he could sit on the other end. "And as for the staying"

"I can leave if this makes you feel uneasy, Tegan," he reassured. "I
only wanted to visit"

"No need for the guilt tactics," she groused. "I just know my
children. They trust easily. I did invite you here and I'm not
taking that offer back." She took a deep breath and shook her
head. "I've been called a fool before," she sighed under her
breath. "But I trust you won't hurt them. Stay. I think you want
to be here; so stay."

He lifted an eyebrow and gave a hesitant nod. "You're sure?"

Her face darkened but then she gave him a smile he had despaired of
ever seeing again. "Positive, Doctor."

He breathed a sigh of relief and then, in an effort to change the
subject, he asked: "Do you have a chess board, Tegan?"

**

"Hush now."

The Doctor cooed the words as he leaned over the crib side. It was
three o'clock in the morning and Michael was fussing. He squinted
and reached over to shut off the baby monitor next to the
crib. "What's the matter, hmm?"

The boy was moving his legs and whimpering quietly. "Momma," was the
plain explanation from Michael.

With a sigh and a frown, the Time Lord contemplated the little boy as
he rubbed Michael's stomach. "Let's let your mother get some sleep
tonight, Michael. This is nothing you and I can't handle. Are you
hungry?"

"Doctor?"

He rolled his eyes and glanced behind him to the bed. Amy sat up
rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry, Amy. We woke you."

She scrambled out of the bed and came over to look through the bars
and into the crib. Her little hand reached through the bars to touch
her brother's leg. "What's wrong?"

The Doctor licked his lips and shook his head slowly. "I'm not quite
sure, Amy. My experience with little children and toddlers is less
than wellless than anything I suppose," he continued to rub
Michael's stomach slowly.

The little girl looked up at him. "Hungry? Snack?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Does he usually eat at night?"

Amy frowned, pursing her little lips in concentration. "Diaper?"

With a puff of breath and a sigh, he answered: "I hope not." Then
with a look between determination and disgust, he eased his hands
under Michael and felt around the diaper. Then he nodded
slowly. "Of all my luck"

He picked up Michael and settled him on his hip as he apologized to
Amy. "I need to turn on the light for this, Amy-"

"Momma never does"

"Your Momma can change a diaper with her eyes closed, no doubt. I on
the other hand, cannot," he closed the door quietly and turned on the
light. He found the changing table on the far wall and laid the
child down on the top, holding him steady with a hand. Digging
around, he found: wipes, powder and diapers. Everything that Tegan
had used on the beach that day.

"Yes, well" he sighed as he righted and set the things down on the
top of the table. Amy climbed onto the rocking chair next to the
changing area and settled down to watch. He acknowledged her with a
glance. "WellMichael, Amythis can't be any harder than refitting
the temporal cones, can it?"

The girl giggled, more at his facial expression, he supposed, than
his words. Michael still fussed. "No time like the present, I
reckon. Rightfirst, I believewe need to get you out of this pajama
Tegan has you in. Why humans insist on using these contraptions with
the feet encased is beyond me. Let's seeah yes" the snaps came
undone quickly under his fingers. "There we are. Nowdear mewhat
have you been eating?"

Amy giggled again and crossed her legs on the chair. The Doctor
frowned and somehow unfastened the diaper and lifted Michael free of
the article. He made a disgusted face and quickly folded the diaper
in on itself. "Where on Earth does your mother put these?" he asked
Amy and Michael.

As she jumped down from the chair, Amy paddled over to the diaper
pail and pointed. "Ah, thank you." The Doctor stepped back from
Michael wondering how he was going to watch that the child didn't
fall and throw out the diaper at the same time. Michael laughed a
little and grabbed his feet. Satisfied that he had five seconds to
spare, the Doctor quickly put the diaper in the pail and returned to
the table. "Nowlet's seepowder then wipes? No, nothat's silly.
It must be the other way round," he put his hands into his pockets
and stared at the accessories on the table.

With a frown of concentration, he grabbed a wipe and then gently
began to clean Michael. He was lost in a dissertation of the
physiological differences between humans and Time Lords, namely the
navel and missed Amy holding up the powder container. "Thank you,
Amy," he said, absentmindedly, taking the offering.

He supposed he didn't need to completely dust Michael's pelvic region
with powder, but more was better than not enough. "Now, Amy, comes
the hard part. How in the name of Rassilon does one know which way
is the correct way to put on a diaper?"

"With experience," yawned a broad Australian accented voice. He
jumped slightly and turned to the door. Tegan stood in it, clad in a
short and shirt pajama. Her hair was a mass of curls. With a sleepy
frown, she came forward. "And why is the entire house awake at this
ungodly hour?"

"Michael fussed and I hoped," he emphasized the word. "I had hoped
to allow you to sleep and deal with the problem." Still, he almost
released the new diaper with a grin of relief as she came forward to
take up where he had left off.

"I told him you don't turn on light, Momma," Amy chirped.

"Yes, well" he sheepishly glanced at Tegan. "She was already awake
and I did rather need the light to see."

"Hmmm, welllet's see what you've done to him," Tegan yawned again
and leaned over to rub noses with her son almost lazily. Glancing
down, she silently laughed. "Were you thinking to dust his body for
fingerprints, Doc?"

The Doctor crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall. "Tegan,"
he admonished. "I reckoned more was better than not enough."

"With him, yes," Tegan agreed. "And I see you did a top job cleaning
him up"

"Thank you," the Doctor drew dryly and frowned. "I hadn't realized I
was going to be rated. Truly, I did just want to"

"It's okay, Doc. You've done a fine job," Tegan reassured as she
unfolded the new diaper and cooed at her son, lifting his legs. The
Doctor watched as she deftly settled Michael on the diaper and
fastened the tabs. "And for boys, Doc, the extra absorbent strips go
in the front," she concluded, finishing up securing the snaps on the
pajamas. "And now, this little lad always needs some encouraging to
go back to sleep. So"

The Doctor was nodding with an almost bemused look on his face. "Of
course! Or course, how silly of methe absorbent strips would have
to be in the front to accommodate" he stopped and looked embarrassed
for a moment.

"To accommodate what makes a boy a boy as opposed to a girl,
perhaps?" Tegan laughed quietly, her voice deep from sleep. "Doc,
could you turn out the light and if you wouldn't mind, get Amy back
into bed? I'm going to need to rock junior here."

The Doctor glanced at the rocking chair and then at Michael as Tegan
hefted him off of the changing table. "I could do that, Tegan.
Rememberit's rare that I sleep. You on the other hand"

Almost surprising him, Tegan slowly agreed. "You don't mind?"

"No."

Amy pulled on Tegan's shorts and pouted. "Can you rock me?"

As the Doctor took Michael from Tegan's arms, she bent down to share
a gaze with her daughter. "There's only one chair, Amy-girl. I can
tuck you in, though."

"But-"

Tegan frowned and glanced over at the Doctor. He was standing near
the light switch, holding Michael securely. "Amy-"

"Can I sleep with you?" the little girl asked plaintively.

With a sigh and a nod, Tegan agreed and climbed into the bed with
Amy. Tucking in the sheets and blanket around the both of them. The
Doctor switched off the light and climbed into the rocking chair.
Surprisingly, Tegan was asleep within ten minutes, as was Amy.
Michael followed soon after. As he replaced the boy into the crib,
he decided to sit in the chair again. There was something quite
relaxing about watching his friend and her two children sleeping.

He slowly rocked the night away not quite understanding why it
affected him and didn't want to know why. He simply just wanted to
be.

**

Tegan awoke to the smell of eggs and bacon cooking and frowned. For
a moment, she was alarmed and uncurled her body, blinking her eyes
awake. Both of her children were gone. Panic rose in her throat.
She couldn't think who would be cooking in her kitchen. Her mother
wasn't there and

She looked down at the blanket and the crinkling she heard as she
moved. The blanket had become a cream colored conglomeration of
material and next to her shoulder there was a lone celery stalk. She
had crushed it. "Of course" she breathed. With rolled eyes and
with a frown, she eased out of her daughter's bed. She couldn't
think how her children had left their beds without waking her, but
she supposed the Time Lord owner of coat had something to do with it.

"And cooking in my kitchen, too," she sighed.

**

It had been years since he had cooked for anyone and he hadn't
realized that watching someone cook was entertainment, but Amy and to
an extent Michael were watching him and talking to him about their
favorite breakfasts. Amy had insisted that cake and jelly were her
favorites and that her mother cooked it for her all the time.
Michael simply played with the toys the Doctor had found in the
corner of the living room and had put into the highchair with him and
talked about his bear.

The Doctor found he quite liked the bear.

"Amy, I know your mother does not cook cake for breakfast," he
stated, checking the eggs. The girl pouted in response. "And I
spent years building up a tolerance to your mother's pouts. It'll do
no good. What else would you eat?"

"Toast."

"That's a start," the Doctor replied, turning to glance at the
girl. "And fruit, jellyand a bit of bacon, maybe? A child your age
should have more than carbohydrate intake in the morning." Frowning
at Amy's reluctance, he continued. "Would you like to help with the
toast?"

"I can?" Amy appeared ecstatic with the prospect of helping the
kitchen. She bounced out of the chair and stood in front of him
barely contained. "Momma says I can't."

"Hmm, well" the Doctor continued, turning off the range. "I'll put
the toast in and you watch it, all right? Tell me when it's done?"
He turned and rummaged through the cupboard until he found the bread
in the box and placed a few slices in the toaster.

Amy scrambled up into the chair and sat demurely next to the table,
hands folded in her lap.

"Don't touch it," he warned. "It'll be very hot."

She nodded. With a smile, he turned back to the range and speared
the bacon, turning it over. Michael held out his bear as the Doctor
passed the chair and told the Time Lord that Bear 'had no nose'. The
Doctor frowned, picked up the bear, gave it a once over and
hummed. "We'll have to see what we can do about that, won't we,
Michael? A bear with no nose: how does he find the honey?"

He deposited the bear back into Michael's outstretched hands and
continued to cook. Amy had questions, though. "How does the toaster
work?" she asked, not taking her eyes from the appliance.

"Heating of coils which in turn act as convection heat to brown the
bread," he explained quietly. "And a good toaster will heat the
bread to just the right temperature."

"Oh," came the quiet answer.

"That's right: confuse her," her mother replied. The Doctor turned
and glanced at the door. Tegan leaned up against the door jam,
wrapped in a warm large bathrobe. Her arms were crossed over her
chest and with her hair an unruly mass of curls, she looked almost as
she had on Deva Loka to him. But her eyes had drifted from him to
her children. "Amybe careful; don't touch. I'm sure the Doc told
you that, though." She ruffled her daughter's hair and then moved to
Michael. "Good morning, lad. I see Bear is up with you."

The Doctor shrugged as he flipped the bacon again. "It was quite
impossible to get Michael out of the crib without it. I once had a
chess set I was that attached to" he mused.

"Are you sure it wasn't a slide rule," Tegan joked. Padding over to
the range, she surveyed his cooking offerings. "I won't ask how you
got them out of the room without me waking"

Amy giggled. "I woke up the Doctor. And he woke up Michael by
accident"

"Hmmm," Tegan commented. "I see. She woke you up?"

"Well, apparentlyI was tired," the Time Lord grumbled.

"And you've organized the kitchen to your liking?" she asked, turning
around to glance at the room.

"I've found everything I need if that was the meaning behind your
little jokes, Tegan," he replied, turning to tweak her nose. "Eggs
over easy?"

"Why are you cooking, Doc?" Tegan asked, rubbing her head. "Aren't
you the guest here?"

"Consider it a thank you for letting me stay, hmm?" he answered.
Tegan frowned and turned off the range, saving the bacon from
becoming over crispy. He found she nodded rather easily once that
was done.

"All right," she agreed. Behind her the toaster popped and Amy
squealed out a warning to the Doctor. "All right, I'll accept that.
But Lord, I never expected you to cook. I'll get Michael set. He
gets some oatmeal"

"Ah," the Doctor stated. "I was wondering. Good, good."

She bustled one way and the Doctor went the other to help Amy with
her toast. Within five minutes they were at the kitchen table. The
Doctor drug in a chair from the living room and they collapsed to
eat. The Doctor frowned as he realized that Michael essentially was
getting just as much food over the side of the highchair as he got in
his mouth. Tegan simply sat guard, a towel nearby to catch what she
could.

Finally, after the children had had their fill, Tegan sent them into
the sitting room with the television turned on to a child program.
That done, she came back in to clean up the kitchen. When the Doctor
rose to help, she waved him down. "My turn," she
admonished. "Coffee?"

"Please."

The mug was filled and offered as she tidied up the kitchen. Soon,
she joined him at the table with a sleepy smile. "Good morning,
Doc," she finally said.

He smiled over his coffee. "Good morning, Tegan. And it is a grand
one, isn't it?" he asked. He knew she had never been a morning
person, and he had had to change the TARDIS lighting to accommodate
her rather sour wake mood. But he had had a grand morning, liking
the children's happy chatter, Amy's enthusiasm and cooking.

"Oh, my dear Doctor," he swallowed the mouthful of coffee he had when
he heard the endearment term. This does not bode well for me, he
supposed. Tegan fished in her pocket and pulled out a small sprig of
broken celery. "It was crushed," she explained. "Seems we'll have
to get you another one. Is the morning still grand?"

"Heartless," he mumbled and reached out to take the vegetable. The
cup was put down on the table and he bit into the celery stalk with a
satisfying crunch. "And yes, the morning is still grand, Tegan. The
morning isn't grand or not simply because my celery was crushed by
your sleeping body."

She smiled and there was an impish gleam in her eyes. "You'll spoil
me."

"Excuse me?" he asked, suddenly, both the celery and the coffee
forgotten. He watched as she finished her draught of coffee and set
down her mug. Amy was happily talking to her dolls behind him.
Apparently the lot of them was having tea. Michael was watching the
telly. She nodded to the room and he turned to glance at the
children. While his gaze was diverted, she continued.

"Changing his diaper last night. Rocking him, reading to Amycooking
breakfast."

"Well," he sighed, catching on to her line of logic. "Tegan, you do
look rather ill. You need more sleep."

"It'll do no good if you do this for me and I get used to it. They
are my children, Doc; I do have to take care of them."

"And your job? This new job you were taking when we last met?" He
asked. "Besides," he continued, haughtily. "I rather like helping
outI meanthe cookingI don't get to do it often. You know the
trouble with being a Time Lord, Tegan: one never seems to find the
time to do those sorts of things. And despite my fear of diaper
changing, it IS less involved than changing the temporal rotors."

"Well, thank God for that," she joked. "My job is my job. It pays
the bills."

"I gather you don't like it much," he pressed. A ball rolled in by
his feet and he bent to pick it up, holding it out as Amy came and
retrieved it.

"I'm a receptionist," Tegan sighed. "Not the most exciting thing in
the world, but it's stable and pays decent."

He nodded, understanding, probably better than she realized about
what she was saying. Tegan had always been an adventurous one, often
stumbling into dangerous situations due to her sense of adventure and
curiosity. A job, any 9 to 5 job as they were called, would be
boring to her.

"Don't give that look, DocI have to keep a roof over their heads,
you know," she explained.

"Welland the hours with two children alone are tedious, yes?"

"Not quite tedious, DocI don't mind"

"Did you get enough sleep last night?" he asked, softer.

"Yes."

"Well, thenjust let it go, Tegan. I'm glad to give you the rest."

She shook her head as she cooled the coffee with another
breath. "Thank you. But why you seem to enjoy this is beyond me.
Hell's Teeth, I never pictured you as a babysitter."

"It hasn't quite come to that, surely," he joked. But as he watched
Tegan nibble on the piece of toast and listened to the children in
the other room, he examined why he enjoyed the children. He supposed
it was the incessant curiosity he could see in Amy; or maybe it was
the way that Michael so willingly and completely allowed him to see
to the child's needs; or maybe it was that he was, as he had said,
liked simply because he existed; or maybe it was that it was all so
simple, and fun. He sighed happily. No temporal coordinates, no
running about saving lives, and no worries. Yes, seeing the
Universe, seeing life through the eyes of a child helped to replace
some of his love of living. He seemed to have been missing that as
of late.

But he simply gave her a wide smile and shrugged. "If you don't
mind, Tegan; I do enjoy your children and I do think that you and I get
along well."

Tegan laughed suddenly and the sound made his smile widen. "Yes,
surprisingly. Better now than when I lived on the TARDIS."

"Distance-" he started and then looked down at the table. The rest
of the Terran saying seemed too endearing for him to use. "Yes,
well" he said, jumping to his feet to get the coffee pot.

She acknowledged his embarrassment by looking down at the table. "It
does at that, Doc," she agreed without saying more than he had. Then
with a sigh, she looked into the sitting room. Her mouth twitched in
a smile. "Mike's desperately trying to walk. The poor boy. He
makes it so long as he can hold on to the couch or with me holding
his hands. He always looks sohesitant. He's not like Amy in that
respect."

The Doctor poured Tegan coffee and then cast a glance into the
sitting room. Michael was holding himself up at the end of the couch
and was rocking back and forth. "Not a problem with his motor
skills," he muttered. "Surely."

"No, of course not, Doc. He's just a little behind in walking that's
all."

The Doctor turned around and sat down. "What does one do to
encourage a child to walk?" he asked, honestly curious.


**

Tegan pulled Amy's hood tighter and patted her back. "Play nicely in
the sandbox, Amy. If I see misbehaving we will go right home.
Understand?"

Amy nodded quickly, lifting her chin so Tegan could tie the
hood. "Jessica is there. And I'll be right here with the Doctor,
all right?" Rising she waved to Jessica's mother and turned to see
the Doctor holding Michael so he could pet a puppy.

The Doctor thanked the owner profusely and stood, holding the boy on
his hip. He had seen the glimmer of joy in Michael's eyes and had
enjoyed that more than the feel of the puppy's soft fur. As Tegan
approached, he nodded toward a bench. Tegan shook her head,
though. "The park is Michael's padded adventure zone. There's a
patch of grass next to the swings"

"I see," he nodded and crossed the park with a spring in his step and
a giggling child. "And once we sit in the grass?" he asked.

"Well," Tegan sighed, flopping down in the blades about three feet
from him. "You want to help with the children. And Amy is with
Jessica, her friend right nowyou can help me with Michael."

"Help? Help, how?" The Doctor asked, folding his legs to sit cross-
legged on the ground. The grass felt cool in the autumn sun.

Tegan faced him and spread her legs. "Well" she looked a little
sad, but continued. "Tom and I did this with Amy when she was an
infant and toddler. It was how we helped her to learn to walk. She
felt safer when she had me or herto stumble to."

"Ah," the Doctor nodded. He could hear the anguish in Tegan's
voice. It made him feel uneasy. "You think Michael will feel better
about falling with either one of us"

"Working like bookends," Tegan offered him a brave smile. She
motioned for the Doctor to turn Michael around to face her. The
Doctor smiled at how Michael moved his legs as though he were
running. He stretched out his legs much like Tegan had. His leg
span far exceeded hers. "Now" she instructed, "Just let him do
what he wantsif he wants to walk toward me, let him. And when he
gets started, guide him"

"I understand," the Doctor said lowly. He already had the bundle of
energy that was Tegan's son edging along his arm. "Don't completely
support him." Tegan nodded and smiled.

For the next twenty minutes, Michael would take a step and then
collapse and crawl back and forth between them. It was starting to
get cooler as the sun began its descent. It didn't matter to him,
however. The sunshine felt good on his face, the smell of grass and
earth blended to create a heavenly aroma, and the sound of the wind
through the trees was a symphony. He was surrounded in Earth.
Surrounded in his favorite planet. He was content. He knew that Amy
and Mike would have to go back home soon as the weather grew chilly
with the evening.

Tegan turned Mike to let the child come back toward him, and he held
out his hands. Something amazing happened as the child began to
teeter. The Doctor called for him, waving him on as he supposed he
would have waved a runner on. "Come on, Michael. Come on"

Michael teetered and then giggled. The next thing they knew, Michael
stumbled, but remained on his feet, and walked toward the Doctor.
Tegan laughed and clapped her hands. The Doctor grinned widely and
embraced the boy as he collapsed into his chest. This was more
rewarding than saving worlds, he thought suddenly as Michael wiggled
around to walk back toward his mother. He kept the child supported
until he took two steps together and then left his finger tips.

As Tegan caught her son with a whoop and a smile, she met his eyes
over Michael's head. The Doctor was surprised to see her lips
twitching in an amused smile. "What?" he asked. "What is it?"

"You. I don't think you expected this," she turned Michael around
and swiped at his bottom to clear away some of the grass. "I've
never seen you that genuinelyhappy."

He lifted an eyebrow and pursed his lips. "Wellit seems to be very
rewarding" he remarked, "Michael looks overjoyed. And I can see
why," he smiled as Michael began to teeter and toddle back towards
him. He gathered him as the boy came up to his chest. But when the
Doctor turned him around again, the boy sat down between his legs and
played with the weave in his cricket sweater. "Gaining a method of
transport to explore your universe no matter how limited that
universe might be" He chuckled and she looked surprised at his
laughter. "It's like when I first procured the TARDIS. Elation,
freedom"

Tegan nodded. "Stole, you mean."

At his frown, she shrugged. "Tit for a tat. It looks like Michael
is quite done with his exercise today and he likes your sweater."

"He has discerning taste," the Doctor replied and patted Michael
gently on his back.

Tegan's gaze was drawn to the sandbox nearby and her
daughter. "CripesAmy is playing queen of the sandbox again. Do you
have Michael?"

He nodded as Tegan sprung to her feet and walked toward the sandbox.
Michael leaned back against his leg and gave him a wide smile. "Yes,
Michael" he agreed, lowly. "It is cause for celebration, isn't it?
I'm proud of you."

**

"He is quite taken with you."

The Doctor put down his cocoa and grinned. "Well, Tegan, the feeling
is quite mutual, I assure you. I've never known a child with that
much energy. And Amy is a joyso much curiosity. She reminds me of
a companion I once hadwho stumbled into the TARDIS on the Barnett
Bypass"

She made muttering noises around her cocoa mug. "She can't be that
bad, surely."

They sat on the couch in the sitting room. The day had a stormy end
and outside the wind had picked up. He could feel a chill seeping in
the window frame. October was always a turning point in the year he
supposed, no matter where one lived on the planet. He had left his
coat on the sleeping Amy and had added a blanket to Michael. Tegan
had appeared at the door with extra blankets in hand just as he had
finished. It was quite laughable that they had had the same
thought.

And the only way to end the evening was with cocoa.

"Oh, Tegan, you were never really that bad," he said.

She looked surprised but then smiled. "Oh sure. And those shouting
matches we had?"

"Well," he swallowed his cocoa and set the mug down after a moment of
thought on the coaster. "We had to get used to each other, I
suppose."

"Um. No, Doc. I was really horrible for the first few months."

"And I was referring to your insatiable curiosity that landed you in
my TARDIS in the first place," he offered, changing the subject away
from an area that he was not comfortable discussing. Even now he had
no understanding why Tegan had rubbed him wrong in the beginning.

She nodded. "And kept me there quite longer than I should have been."

"Hmm," he neither agreed nor disagreed.

They were silent for a time, listening to the sound of the wind
through the panes. As he set the mug down, he turned to her and
smiled slightly. "Tegan, may I ask a favor?"

To his practiced eyes, she looked worried as she set down her mug as
well. "I suppose," came the answer.

He rubbed his trouser legs and nodded toward the door to the
bedroom. "May I visit again?"

She shrugged. "You are more than welcome here, Doc. I have a
feeling they'll be looking for you. I've learned my lesson this
time. Please."

"Good, good," he smiled.

She frowned and he was surprised to see sadness in her brown
eyes. "You'll leave in the morning, won't you?"

"Yes, Peri will be ready to leave."

"You'll take care of yourself, won't you?"

He frowned and shrugged. "I always do"

Her expression was laughable as she rejoined with: "You can't take
care of yourself, not really. That's why you have companions.
You're my responsibilityI always said that. I was worried you'd run
into the End of all Ends after I left."

"I'm still here."

"I can see that; I was wrong."

"I'll come back," he answered seriously.

"Then," she smiled. "We'll see you when you return, won't we."

**

He edged his hat down over his eyes and shrugged into his coat as he
stepped to the pavement. The air had become bitter overnight and in
the pre-dawn hours, it was cold. It felt strange leaving the warmth
and security of the apartment although it was not a home to him.

Turning, he glanced up at the window. Sure enough, he had not left
as quietly as he had assumed. Tegan stood in the window, her
bathrobe wrapped firmly around her frame. She waved slowly. He
returned it freely.

His step down the sidewalk was quick and sure. He felt rejuvenated
and alive. And more than ready to take on the universe once more.