A/N: I have edited chapters 1-5. 02/04/2021

Chapter Five: A Day In The TARDIS

The Doctor had parked us in the time vortex. He wanted to fiddle with something in the console room so he ordered me to show Rose around, explore and find our rooms. Entering the corridors of the TARDIS, I felt her pulling at my mind to get me to go in a certain direction. I wondered with Rose for a bit, I hadn't gone very far into the TARDIS corridors yet, only really seeing the wardrobe and one of the bathrooms (because I assumed there were more), so I was as fascinated as Rose was. After a while, Rose started yawning (she had been awake close to thirty-six hours since she hadn't gone to sleep during or after the Slitheen incident and it was nearly night time when they left), so I followed the TARDIS's mental nudging and dropped her off at her room before going to find my own.

Finally, I came to a door of rose wood, it was a lighter wood compared to the other ones I had passed up to that point. At my eye height, my name was printed in beautiful calligraphy, with ivy dancing around it in a boarder. I placed a gentle hand on the glass door handle and turned it. The Doctor had said that the room would personalise to my preferences; one of the gifts of being a multi-dimensional being that could read my mind meant that she knew exactly what I liked.

The room was beautiful. It was spacious, twice as large as the bedroom I had back at the flat. In the middle of the door facing wall was a four-poster queen sized bed, something I had always wanted because I liked the nestled feeling, I remembered from my first life. The posts were beautifully carved with flowers climbing up to the ceiling. The mattress was covered in a rich purple quilt, with lots of pillows at the top of the bed. The floor was covered in a very soft carpet that was blocked purple around the bed but as you got closer to the walls it started fading into greys. Against the right-hand wall was a large book case, full with different types of books, a vanity and a wardrobe. The left-hand wall only had a single door, which opened to reveal a large deep green bathroom.

However, the ceiling was the most stunning part of the room. It showed the universe: constellations, stars, suns and planets slowly moving across the ceiling. I didn't know any of their names since they appeared to be constellations that weren't visible from earth, but I didn't mind because they were still amazing and memorising to gaze upon.

"It's beautiful." I breathed and the TARDIS hummed happily, proud that she had made a room I liked.

After a while of just admiring the room I left to explore some more, and perhaps look for the library. The TARDIS led me through her corridors and to the library were the Doctor was sat reading a book. I stared in wonder around the room for a moment, just admiring the sheer volume and number of books that the Doctor owned. I couldn't even see the end of the room, and could barely make out the roof.

"You finished tinkering already?" I asked curiously, joining him on the sofa.

"There wasn't much that needed doing." He responded, smiling brightly. "Did you find your room?" he asked, putting his book down and giving me his full attention.

"Yeah. It's beautiful." I told him happily. "She changed my ceiling to reflect the constellations. I didn't recognise them, but they were amazing."

"That's good. Maybe I'll be able to take you to see the real things one day." The Doctor smiled, his heart warmed by the clear wonder and gratitude his companion was showing at just the room the TARDIS had given her. Normally the companions who ended up with a bedroom (something that some of them didn't stay long enough to earn), didn't show the same appreciation and wonder that Annamae was showing. They were thankful for somewhere to rest, but that was normally about it. Which might actually explain why the TARDIs didn't put as much effort into the rooms – especially if she wasn't particularly fond of the companion. "Where's your sister?" he asked curiously, remembering that they had a guest on board.

"In her room. It has been a long, stressful, day for her." I responded.

"Right, what about you?" The Doctor asked, normally his human companions would have been exhausted after the last couple of days they had had, but Annamae wasn't showing any signs of slowing down.

"I don't sleep as much as a normal human." I responded. "I can go several days with little to no sleep, it's a side effect of having magic running through my system. If I used a lot of magic, I would have to sleep though in order to replenish what I had used. Like I did after we saved the observation platform."

"I also require less sleep than a human would." The Doctor smiled, pleased to finally have someone to keep him company who wouldn't start losing focus because they were tired. The last person who could do that was Susan, his beautiful granddaughter.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" The Doctor asked after a moment, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"It was only a couple of days ago." I smiled at him in mild amusement that he would think I would forget. He had both saved my life and blown up my job in the space of thirty minutes. I was unlikely to ever forget that meeting.

"Right, I was wondering, why did you thank me?" It was something that had been bothering him. No one had ever thanked him for something so minor before unless they were a companion. He had been thanked for saving entire civilisations before, and he had also been vilified for the same act. He wasn't really sure what to do with Annamae's gratitude of something so small in comparison to what he was used too.

"Because you were risking your life to save innocent people. I know what it's like to be that person. You don't do it for the gratitude or the recognition, you do it for the small people who can't fight back. But sometimes, it's nice to know that there are people out there who are grateful for what you've done so that you can continue with a clearer conscious working to save the world."

The Doctor cleared his throat slightly, "Right. Thanks." He muttered.

"Doctor, do you mind if I ask you a question? It might be sensitive." I warned him.

"Ask away, I can't promise you an answer, though." He said, looking at me with guarded eyes, unsure what I would ask him.

"Back on earth, you said you were over 900 years old. So, I was wondering if you had travelled with other people?" I asked him hesitantly.

"Yeah, I've travelled with lots of others." The Doctor answered after a moment. He didn't normally talk about his previous companions with his current ones because they had been known to be jealous or worried about what will happen to them.

"Could you, maybe, tell me about some of your adventures with them?" I asked him hesitantly.

"Why do you want to know?" the Doctor asked guardedly.

"Because they were your friends, the people you trusted and although they're gone now – dead, at home with their family or otherwise – I think they deserve to be remembered." I told him sadly.

"You're thinking about your home." The Doctor realised, grasping my hand comfortingly.

"I never forgot the people I lost Doctor, no matter how old I get, I will always remember the people who made me who I am. Good or bad." I told him softly.

"Alright. I suppose it will be good for my memory. But first, you need to understand something about Time Lords." The Doctor leaned back against the sofa, not releasing my hand. "When we're about to die, we have this ability to save ourselves. It's called regeneration. Our entire DNA is rewritten and we become new people, with the same memories. My first face, oh, that was so long ago…" the Doctor sighed as his mind drifted to happier times when his world was still alive and he was just a grumpy old man, traveling from world to world with his granddaughter in a broken and faulty TARDIS.