That's right, you're getting a two for one deal seeing as these are shorter and I took so long to get them to you!

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Epilogue: A Time To Belong

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It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, really. She had planned to be in and out in next to no time at all. The job was simple. All she had to do was pretend to be a lady for long enough to get past security and it was in the bag. No one would even think to question a lady of wealth if she were to leave someplace wearing different jewellery than she had arrived with; the rich love to make a show of their wealth. Simple. Easy. Elegant, one might even say. However, throw in a few niceties of a polished society and Kit was out of her depth. She should have seen it coming, really.

"Something cheap and nasty,"Kit yells at the barman, "and make it a double."

The run down bar isn't exactly a place she would normally wish to be found, but then she doesn't want to be found at all, really, so it matters very little to her at the moment. It's times like this that she regrets her decision to leave the Doctor, even Jack sometimes – which only goes to show that she isn't in the best state of mind. Two years doesn't seem like long, but the road has been difficult and she isn't exactly doing well for herself. She had spent the first year trying to find herself again, picking through the remnants of her memories and trying to see what was real and what was merely the lies she had been so willingly fed. She had healed, well, as much as she supposes she ever will, but she isn't in the best line of work and she has no time machine to escape on. Instead she's in a musty old bar on a backwater planet. The air's smoky, the seats are sticky (she refuses to even going to think about it), and the smell is worse. It isn't hard, therefore, to spot the man that's rather out of place amongst the throngs of dirty old men.

In the far corner of the bar, watching her with a gaze that's too penetrating by far, is humanoid male in his mid thirties. He's openly staring at her and the glare she sends his way doesn't seem to do much. Instead he stands and begins to walk towards her.

He isn't conventionally good looking, not even in the slightest, but there's something handsome about him all the same. There's also something…familiar about him, something she can't quite put her finger on. He's tall, about six foot four, wearing tight blue jeans and a navy pinstripe suit jacket, his messy blond hair and black rimmed glasses finishing the job nicely. No, she definitely wouldn't kick him out of bed.

Rather than ignore him, she watches closely until he's standing next to her. They continue to stare at each other for a moment, neither willing to be the loser. And then he grins, almost manically. Her eyes widen and she shakes her head in disbelief. She knows about regeneration, but everything should have changed. Instead, she can still see him, lurking behind the baby blue eyes in front of her. Mischief. With a capital 'M'.

"Doctor?" she asks, her mouth slowly breaking into a smile that her brain prays isn't premature. He nods and she stands, almost craning her neck to look him in the eyes. "What the hell happened to you?"

He laughs and it has more music to it than before, she doesn't think it's possible for him to have more life than his ninth incarnation, but it's the same kind of energy, just a different spirit. He leans against the bar, lowering himself so that she can look at him easier.

"Well?" she prompts and he smirks at her.

"I died. Again."

"So, you're…what? Number ten?"

He shakes his head. "Eleven," he says grinning. "Ten would've been dead within a week living with you."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment for me and a dig at your previous self or the other way about. I choose to believe the former." He just continues to smile at her and she laughs. It's the first time she's felt happy in a long time.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"I'm a bit later than you asked," he says, the strange lilt in his voice sounding almost Scottish. "But then I was meant to be or you wouldn't have been here."

"I asked you to come?"

"You will."

She shrugs. "Okay."

Laughing, the Doctor indicates the door. "Well, you coming?"

"You've got room for me on board with all yours and Rose's kids running about?" she asks with a smirk.

"What do you think?" He rolls his eyes and starts walking towards the door. She follows on and, just as they're leaving the bar, he continues, "They're all back on earth."

She stops and looks at him questioningly, but he hasn't turned round, so she scurries to catch up. "Never really saw the old you as the domestic kind." He's just looking at her with amusement and she's still not sure if he's serious or not.

They walk quickly through the streets and she slips her hand into the crook of his arm. It seems both familiar and unfamiliar to be with him again. He's very much a different person, but she feels drawn to him all the same. His energy, his life spirit (as her grandmother would have said, in what seems like a different lifetime from this), is the same.

Before long they're standing before a familiar blue box and she grins, reaching her hand and placing it gently against the door. She feels a familiar thrum vibrate almost imperceptibly at the contact and takes a deep breath.

"I've missed you," she says softly and she almost thinks she hears a similar sentiment in return. "Come on then," she says to the familiar stranger at her side. "We've got adventures to be having."

"We've got a stop to make along the way first," he says, opening the door and leading the way into the TARDIS. "Left Jack on a space station a while back, think he might be a bit upset by now."

She stops and glares at him. "Very funny." He doesn't say anything, just smirks. "Doctor, Jack is annoying and that is not funny." She enters and closes the door as he begins moving the controls. "Doctor." Still there's no reply.

The TARDIS shudders and he winks at her. "Hold on."

She grins momentarily as the familiar sounds surround her and takes a deep breath. "It' good to be back."

"It's good to have you back."

"And you're kidding about Jack, right? Right? Doctor!"

The TARDIS lands abruptly and he moves past her, opening the door. He turns to her, still not answering her question and inclines his head.

"Coming?" he asks, holding out his arm and she takes it, still glaring at him. Something tells her that her life definitely isn't going to be dull.

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End Epilogue

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Well, this time that really is it. I wanted to wrap up Kit's story and I really did think she made a good companion for the Doctor, just perhaps not our lovely number nine.

Hope you enjoyed the ride and here's a big thank you to everyone who reviewed and to Mental Midget for reading them through and okaying them for posting!