A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating, but take heart! Only a few chapters to go...

oooOooo

Peri was dead. Her mind had been supplanted, her body destroyed. Peri was dead, and he had been pulled away, moments, possibly seconds away from saving her, to suffer through a trial that had been nothing but a malicious manipulation from the start. And never mind the Master's blatant lies; she hadn't gone off to be a warrior queen at the other end of the galaxy; what a load of rubbish that had been. Merely a ploy to appear sympathetic to the Doctor's cause, when all the Master had wanted to do was get his black-gloved hands on the Matrix.

"Doctor?"

He looked up, startled, to see Mel watching him with worried eyes. "Mel. Melanie Bush," he mused. "How did we meet, again?"

Her eyes widened in alarm. "I thought your memories were restored after we returned to the TARDIS! Should we go back to Gallifrey?"

He shuddered at the thought, masked it with an emphatic shake of his head. "No. I'm fine. Silly of me to forget again; I was caught up in some less pleasant thoughts, less pleasant memories..."

"You were thinking about Peri." The words were quietly spoken. Mel's eyes turned sympathetic, understanding, and he lowered his so he wouldn't be tempted to lash out. He didn't want anyone's pity, but he restrained himself. Mel was only trying to help.

"Yes. Peri." He fiddled with a couple of levers and a knob, whichever ones happened to be under his restless fingers.

"Do you want to visit her? See how she's doing?"

The Doctor's head snapped up, and he stared at Mel in disbelief. Mel. Melanie Bush. How had they met, exactly? In spite of his reassuring words, he still couldn't quite catch hold of the memory. One minute he was traveling with Peri, the next he was on Gallifrey...and the next he was back in the TARDIS. With Mel. Who obviously believed the Master's spin on Peri's situation, swallowed it whole. "No," he finally managed in a strangled voice. "I'd rather not." Seeing her blasted remains was the only way to visit Peri without violating the ever so sacred Laws of Time, and that was one visit he knew he'd never be able to make.

Mel moved uncertainly toward the inner door of the TARDIS. They were in the Console Room, he realized with a start. Had they just come on board? That memory was jumbled as well, mixed in with leaving Gallifrey and a hundred other memories of getting back on board. Coming home. "Well, then, I'll just head for my quarters, I'm past due for a shower and change of clothes."

Those words brought another memory; for a moment, an image of Peri superimposed itself over Mel's form as he recalled the circumstances under which she'd spoken them. But Mel, he knew, was not someone he would ever admit deeper feelings to. Not that she wasn't attractive, because she was. A bit too chirpy, perhaps, but with a good heart and a pretty face to go with it, not to mention a better mind than some he'd met during his lifetime. But the memory of Peri's destruction would always be tangled with his memories of Mel. She, at least, would never be one of his regrets.

"Mel." His voice stopped her on the threshold; she half-turned to face him with an inquisitive smile that only barely masked her lingering concern over his mental well-being. "Thank you."

"For what?" When he didn't answer right away, she sighed in exasperation. "Well, whatever it is, you're quite welcome. Just let me know if you change your mind. About going to see how Peri's doing." The door shut silently behind her, and he was alone.

"For caring," he said to the door. But Mel was gone, and he was alone.

He wandered around the Console Room, aimlessly circling the perimeter. He touched a roundel, then rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "I'm sorry, Peri," he whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there to save you."

"Then it's a good thing the TARDIS did it for you."