A/N: I am so sorry that it's taken me so long to update. Unfortunately, college has been kicking my butt and I've been so incredibly busy. But now I have a few days of break to catch up on everything. And I know it's slightly short, but I think it's just right.

I felt the Doctor's fingertips brush against my temples, then run through my hair. I sighed contentedly and smiled into his chest when his hands fell to my shoulder blades. Relief rushed through every muscle of my body and I gradually relaxed into the Doctor's torso.

"Are you alright?" he breathed into my hair.

I nodded and tilted my head back so I could see his face better. "Yeah. Are you?"

He gave me a forced smile that made the corners of his eyes crinkle. "I'm fine."

"Good." I bravely removed one hand from its grip on the back of his coat and raised it to cup the Doctor's left cheek. His eyes widened slightly and I smiled reassuringly at him before leaning in. I stood on my toes and pressed a kiss to his other cheek. "That's good."

Then I pulled my hand away and took a hesitant step back. My eyes were trained on the Doctor's face to watch his reaction. He looked startled but also pleasantly surprised, and he smiled down at me with shining eyes.

He started to speak, but was cut off when Clara and Robin came up behind me and threw their arms around me. I squealed in surprise and started laughing when I ended up caught between my two friends. Clara's cheek was pressed against my temple and Robin's chin was resting on the crown of my head. Giggling and cuddling against the two, I spared the Doctor a glance and saw his smile widen for a second.

"We did it," Clara exhaled as she pulled away.

Robin gave me a final squeeze before withdrawing his arms from around my shoulders. "Yes, we did," he agreed with a soft smile. "Thank you both."

Through the excited commotion, Alan started singing with his lute. "One awful day in Nottingham, Brave Robin Hood was in a jam. The arrow flew it true-"

Will turned and yanked the lute out of Alan's hands, tossing it over his shoulder. "Give it a rest, Alan," he sighed in exasperation.

"Give me my lute!" Alan cried as he ran after Will.

The Doctor made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat when the rest of the men started to laugh. Clara and I turned to look at him and I smiled when I saw the almost pained expression on his face.

"Still not keen on the laughing thing?" Clara asked with a grin.

The Time Lord grimaced and shook his head. "No, no, no, no."

Robin was giving Clara a brief archery lesson, as she had requested, and the Merry Men were gathered near the riverbank, which left the Doctor and I alone by the TARDIS.

"So. Not the Master."

I turned to look at the Doctor and was met with his eyes locked onto mine. "Uh, no," I finally answered after a few moments. "He just happened to look like him and have the same psychopathic tendencies."

He nodded and turned his head so he was looking straight ahead. I copied his movements and looked down at Clara and Robin as they finished their archery lesson. A light breeze blew through the opening and I shivered a little.

"Theta?"

"Hmm?"

I turned to gaze up at the Time Lord and smiled as I reached for his hand. "I'm glad you're okay."

Down by the riverbank, Clara suddenly cried out with a smile and threw her arms around Robin. They both laughed before pulling away and I smiled fondly at the pair. I absently rubbed the pad of my thumb across the back of the Doctor's hand and sighed.

"Are you… in a hugging mood?" the Doctor asked haltingly.

I laughed and leaned my head to the side so it rested against his shoulder. "No, it's okay. Just holding your hand is enough for me."

Clara ran up to us then, a wide grin on her face, and with Robin close behind her. "Did you see? I actually shot a bullseye!"

I smiled and nodded, giving Clara a congratulatory hug. "Yeah, that was great, Clara!"

Robin nodded. "Aye, she could be very skilled with the bow if she were to practice at it."

Clara's smile widened even more and I felt my own widen even more in response to her happiness. Robin gazed at her for a few moments, then finally chuckled lightly under his breath.

"Whoever he is, Clara Oswald, he's a very lucky man."

Clara's cheeks flushed pink, but she quickly wiped the embarrassed expression off her face and shrugged. "Marian is very lucky too, you know."

Robin pursed his lips and shook his head. "I fear not."

Clara's face softened and she gently placed her palm against Robin's cheek. "Don't give up," she told him. "Not ever. Not for one single day." She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Be safe, if you can be. But always be amazing. "

Robin merely hummed at her, considering her words.

"Goodbye, Robin Hood."

Robin smiled. "Goodbye, Clara Oswald."

Clara winked at him, then stepped past the Doctor and I into the TARDIS. The Doctor lightly cleared his throat and stepped towards the ship, resting his hand against the door. Robin glanced from me to the Time Lord and seemed to be thinking about something before he finally spoke up.

"So, is it true, Doctor?"

"Is what true?"

"That in the future I am forgotten as a real man? I am but a legend?"

"I'm afraid it is," the Doctor answered slowly.

Robin thought for a moment, stepping past the Doctor and I with his brows drawn together in concentration. The Doctor stepped towards the spot Robin had been standing in before and watched the bowman in silence.

"Good," Robin said after a few moments. "History is a burden. Stories can make us fly."

"I'm still having a little trouble believing yours, I'm afraid," the Doctor admitted with a partial smile.

"Is it so hard to credit? That a man born into wealth and privilege should find the plight of the oppressed and weak too much to bear..." Robin trailed off, his eyes trained the Time Lord.

"No," the Doctor began slowly.

Robin smiled knowingly, his eyes flicking to me for a second. "Until one night he is moved to steal a TARDIS? Fly among the stars, fighting the good fight." I froze in surprise, not expecting Robin to say that, and then turned to watch the Doctor's expression. He was as confused and surprised as I felt. "Diana told me your stories," he elaborated when the Doctor merely stared at him.

The Time Lord's eyes glanced at me and I could see frustration and confusion burning in his eyes. "She should not have told you any of that," he said lowly.

"Well, once the stories started, she could hardly stop herself," Robin continued with a smile. "You are her hero, I think."

"I'm not a hero." His eyes stayed fixed on me for a few seconds longer before he turned away in silence and looked at Robin again.

"Well, neither am I," Robin said honestly. "But if we both keep pretending to be…" He laughed and smiled at the Doctor. "Perhaps others will be heroes in our name. Perhaps we will both be stories. And may those stories never end."

Robin extended his right hand to the Time Lord. The Doctor hesitated at first, but finally accepted the handshake and grasped the bowman's hand in his own.

"Goodbye, Doctor, Time Lord of Gallifrey."

The Doctor managed a smile. "Goodbye, Robin Hood, Earl of Loxley."

"And remember, Doctor," Robin added as the Doctor pushed the TARDIS door open. "I'm just as real as you are."

The Doctor glanced at me once before stepping inside his ship and closing the door behind him.

"Goodbye, Diana," Robin said with a smile.

I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him into a firm hug. "Goodbye, Robin," I murmured in his ear. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I wish you the best of luck," he replied as we pulled away.

"Thank you. And Robin, as crazy as the last two days have been, I had fun. And if I can ever come back, I will."

He nodded eagerly. "Please do. The Merry Men and I will eagerly await your return."

I gently kissed Robin's cheek and gave him another hug goodbye. "Goodbye for now, Robin Hood. I'll see you again."

Then I stepped inside and closed the doors behind me. Clara and the Doctor looked around the console at me and I smiled sheepishly at them, offering an awkward wave as I stepped forward.

"So, back to the twenty first century, right?"

After the Doctor dropped Clara back home, he sent the TARDIS back into the vortex and then hid himself away at his workspace under the console. First I hurried to the wardrobe to change into some jeans, a dark blue shirt, and my leather jacket. Then I went to my room to fetch my phone, stuffing it in my jacket pocket. When I returned to the console room, I walked up to the second level and picked a book off one of the bookcases, then brought it down to the twirly chair by the console.

The room remained silent except for the sound of my breath and the squeak of the chair. I threw myself into the book and managed to read through almost half of it before the Doctor finally spoke up.

"Can we talk?"

I looked up and saw the Doctor looming over me with a serious expression. "Is something wrong?" I asked worriedly, pushing myself to my feet.

"Diana," he began slowly, "I understand why you spoke to Robin about me, but what you told him-"

"I'm sorry," I interrupted. "Really. I really, truly am. But Robin refused to go back for you. He was angry and confused after you accused him of being a robot and he was shouting at Clara and I. I was worried about you and I knew that if we didn't go back for you, you could have been killed but he absolutely refused to go back and help you. I had to tell him the truth. He deserved the truth."

"You told him about Gallifrey."

"Only a few things. Not that it was destroyed or sent into a pocket universe or anything. I didn't say anything about the Time War. Just a little about the Time Lords and why you left."

The Doctor exhaled through his nose and glanced away from me. "I wish you hadn't told him any of that. You shouldn't have."

"I'm sorry, Doctor. I understand if you're mad at me, but I didn't mean to make you upset. I was just trying to help. I-I didn't know what else to do and, like he said, once I started talking about you I couldn't even stop myself."

His stormy eyes flicked back to meet mine and I smiled nervously at him. He let out a long, drawn out breath and shook his head. My smile dropped and I wondered if he was more upset than he was letting on.

"My life on Gallifrey, before you… That's meant to be kept between us."

Tears welled unbidden in my eyes and I could feel my bottom lip start to tremble. "I'm sorry. Theta, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't-… I only wanted him to understand that you really are my hero and a good man or else he never would have gone back to help you. I couldn't have saved you on my own. I needed his help."

The Doctor nodded and took a step back, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "I know," he breathed. He started to walk away from me and headed towards the second level of the console room. I watched him in silence as he approached the stairs and felt guilt tug at my heart.

"So where does this leave us?" I asked, my voice slicing through the heavy silence.

The Time Lord paused on the second step. "What do you mean?" he replied slowly.

"You're married to me." It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

"I'm not."

He turned and gazed at me in silence. I could see unspoken questions in his eyes. "And?"

"Where does this leave us?" I repeated. "After what's happened the last few days and before that-…"

"What happened before this?"

I looked down at my feet to avoid the Time Lord's questioning gaze, guilt still tugging harshly at my heart. "Do you remember when you first regenerated?" I wondered.

The Doctor's response was slow and unsure. "Yes…"

"Do you remember when I went to see you in your room and we talked?"

"You disappeared after that," he noted.

"Yeah, I know. But… do you remember what I told you?"

My eyes flitted back to his and I chewed nervously on my lip as I awaited his reply. He pursed his lips as he thought back to the time I was referring to. I wondered if he could even remember any details from so long ago if, like he had said when I first appeared in the TARDIS three days ago, he had been alive for longer than a thousand years.

"If I recall correctly," the Doctor began, "you told me that you had been with one of my future selves and had lied to me about something."

"I lied to you about being married," I clarified. "I had just been with your third self after the Master had kidnapped me and experimented on me while he tried to take over the world with the Keller machine. And after that, I ended up with your ninth self. When I explained what had happened to you, you thought I was married to you and I couldn't bring myself to tell you differently because-"

"You didn't want to disappoint me."

I nodded. "Yeah."

The Doctor nodded once. "What happened after that?"

"It's a little complicated," I sighed.

"I've got time," he answered with the barest hint of a smile. "Time Lord, remember?"

With a deep, calming breath, I leaned against the console and considered what to tell the Doctor about everything that I had been through in the last few days. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to start from the beginning. So when I finally did gather enough courage to speak again, I started with my very first meeting with the Time Lord.

Nearly an hour later, I finished my story by explaining my encounter with the Valeyard. During my story, the Doctor and I had slowly inched closer to one another until I was sitting in the twirly chair and he was standing beside me. Tears welled in my eyes as I spoke and I quickly rubbed the back of my hand along my eyes to wipe the tears away before they fell. I didn't want to show how hurt I was by the Valeyard because I knew it would only make the Doctor feel guilty.

"Diana," he began softly, reaching a hand up to cup my cheek.

"I'm fine," I insisted, smiling through my tears.

"No, you're not."

I bit down on my lip and shook my head. My emotions were running high, my heart was pounding twice its normal pace, and all I wanted was to bury myself in the Doctor and let him comfort me until I couldn't cry anymore.

I shook my head as my lip began to tremble again and my tears grew too large to hide. "I'm not," I whimpered before completely crumbling into his arms.

My arms instantly wrapped around the Doctor's torso and pulled him closer as my head fell against his shoulder. His arms curled tightly around my waist and held me comfortably against him. He lowered his head so that his chin rested on the curve of my shoulder and neck.

Suddenly, the Doctor began to sing a lullaby in my ear that I hadn't heard since I was locked up in the Pandorica with his previous incarnation. "Klokleda partha mennin kletch. Haroon, haroon, haroon." I let out a laugh mixed with a sob and nestled my head under his chin. "Klokleda sheena tirra nach. Haroon, haroon, haroon."

"I haven't heard that in such a long time," I mumbled.

"I know."

We stayed locked in one another's embrace long after my tears had dried. The Doctor seemed to understand that I needed him. So even when I pulled away from him and let out an awkward laugh, he took my hands in his and pulled me to my feet.

"No more crying," he whispered with a smile, rubbing the pad of his thumb across my cheek. "I want you to be happy. I would see you smile every moment of every day."

I smiled and nodded. "Okay."

"No more lying about our relationship, Diana. Not unless you absolutely have to. Because this is what happens when we lie. We get hurt. And I don't want you always hurting and never saying a word about it simply because you want to spare my feelings."

"No more lying," I echoed with a shake of my head. I smiled and swallowed my tears. "I promise."

"Good." The Doctor leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead, his hands cupping both sides of my face and I reveled in his touch. "Now let's keep that smile on your face."

"Where are we?" I asked, leaning against the TARDIS doors.

"Cascatalia, a planet in the Gotran Galaxy that is inhabited by plant life forms," the Doctor replied as he came to stand beside me. "The entire surface of the planet consists of plant life and waterfalls. It's one of the most beautiful planets in the universe."

"Why are we going to… Cascatalia?"

The Doctor gazed at me in confusion. "I thought you would like a relaxing day beside a waterfall," he said slowly. "Was I wrong?"

"No." I stood on my toes and gave the Doctor a kiss on the cheek in thanks, flashing him my most sincere smile. "No, you weren't wrong."

The Doctor smiled in relief. "You know, Cascatalia is one of the more unique planets in its galaxy because it has two suns and three moons. The moons often cause lights very similar to Earth's aurora borealis phenomena to occur at daybreak and sunset, as well as at night, but the lights occur all over the planet instead of only at the northern or southern regions of the atmosphere."

I titled my head to the side and exhaled lightly through my nose, looking fondly at the alien as he explained what I was going to see when I stepped outside. He was in the middle of trying to explain the photosynthesis process of the special species of grass that lived on Cascatalia but stopped when he noticed me staring at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is something wrong? Have I got something on my face?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Oh, no. You're malfunctioning."

I laughed. "What?"

"How do you even do that?"

"Do what?"

The Doctor gestured vaguely to my face with his hand, a very alarmed expression on his own face. "That… sad smile. I don't know how you even do that. You'd better not go teaching that to Clara. You both already have the big, sad eyes down. I can't have the both of you giving me the sad eyes and the sad smile."

I shook my head and wiped the "sad smile" off my face. "Time to show me some waterfalls, Doctor," I told the Time Lord as I walked through the doors. "And they better be pretty impressive."

"Oh, trust me. They're impressive," he replied with a wink and knowing smile.

The waterfalls were indeed very impressive, just as the Doctor promised me. He had landed the TARDIS on the edge of a cliff that extended over a large pool of shimmering, turquoise water. When I stepped out of the ship and approached the edge of the cliff, I gasped in awe. Despite my fear of heights, I was completely amazed by the sight that lay hundreds of feet below us.

"What do you think?" the Doctor asked as he walked up behind me, his hand resting lightly on the curve of my waist.

"It's beautiful," I replied breathlessly. "The most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

A river flowed along tree-covered banks, then curved into a bowl shaped area of rocks. Along the edge of the rock formation the water fell over a small, foot long drop into another small pool of water formed with rocks and trees. Then the river poured out over the final edge where it cascaded over rock walls and trees growing out of giant cracks in the rocks.

"So you like it?"

I nodded enthusiastically with a large smile spread across my face. "Of course I like it. I love it."

The Doctor smiled fondly at me and I felt a wave of admiration for him sweep over me. I wanted to hug him like I always did with his other incarnations, but I restrained myself for his sake. Instead I clasped his hand and pressed a feather light kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you so much."

Unfortunately, the universe had other plans for me. Only a few hours later, while we were standing in a large rock cavern below one of the more spectacular waterfalls, I noticed that my fingers had started to turn transparent. The realization made me stop midstride and drop the Doctor's hand.

"Diana?" He glanced over his shoulder at me and froze when his eyes fell to my hands. "Oh, love," he sighed.

I looked up from my hands and into the Doctor's wide, gray eyes. "I'm sorry," I breathed.

"So soon?"

I shrugged and offered him a sad smile. "It had to happen sooner or later. And we at least had a few days together."

He gently tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, letting his fingertips trail down my cheek. "I don't want you to go yet," he admitted with a heavy sigh.

"I don't want to go either."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek. But before he could pull away completely, I reached a hand up to wrap around the back of the Time Lord's neck and pulled his lips back to mine. Then I pulled away and flashed him a nervous smile.

"See you soon," I whispered.

He forced a smile. "Goodbye."

I let my hand fall to my side and took a few steps back, watching the Doctor as the rest of my surroundings faded away. The Doctor's saddened face finally disappeared and my surroundings turned to that of a gray, noisy city full of people bustling around me. I took another step back in shock and bumped into somebody.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I squeaked as I whirled around to face the person I had run into.

The woman took a step back in surprise. Her hand flew up to her hat to keep it from falling off and her other arm spread to the side to keep her balance. I grabbed onto her free hand and steadied her before letting go a few moments later.

"Ma'am, I am so sorry. I didn't even see you. I wasn't paying attention."

The woman finally looked me in the eye and I smiled shyly at her. Her eyes widened for a moment and her red lips turned up into a small smile. "Diana," she breathed.

I took a step away from the woman, startled that she knew my name. "I-I'm sorry, do I know you?" I asked.

"I'm Missy," the woman elaborated, extending her hand to me with a grin.

"Um, hi." I hesitantly took her hand and shook it. "I'm really sorry, but I don't know who you are. Are you a friend of the Doctor's?"

"You could say that."

"Are you his companion?"

Missy nodded. "Something like that, my dear."

I looked over her outfit, noticing how much she looked like a Victorian Mary Poppins. Her black hair was pinned up in an elegant style and tucked under her black hat that was decorated with flowers. She definitely didn't belong in Clara Oswald's time period.

"So, you travel with the Doctor? Big blue box, smaller on the outside?" I clarified.

"That's the one."

"What does he look like, the Doctor? I don't know how well you know him, but he has the ability to change his appearance-"

"Tall, Scottish. He has a sexy silver fox look about him," Missy replied with a smirk.

"I was just with him, actually." Then I laughed a little and nodded thoughtfully. "Well that explains why I don't know who you are. I don't know very much about him in that incarnation."

Missy nodded seriously. "Yes, I think I remember you two explaining that to me."

I raised my eyebrows. "So you know about me? Where I come from and everything?"

"Oh, yes, dear. We're actually quite good friends in the future. In your future, that is," she added as an afterthought. Missy then gestured to the shop behind her with a wave of her hand. "Why don't we go inside? We can talk some more."

"So how long have you been traveling with the Doctor?" I asked.

"Oh, a while now. He dropped me here to go on some adventure on his own."

"And you don't mind?"

Missy shrugged. "Oh, I'm used to him abandoning me, dear. He needs his alone time with his TARDIS. Boys and their toys," she scoffed.

I smiled and looked down at the table we were sitting at, watching Missy tap her red fingernails against the surface in a slow four-beat pattern. "You said we were good friends?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"The best of friends."

"How long have you known me?"

Missy smiled and extended her arm, curling her fingers around my right hand and squeezing it lightly. "Many, many years now, Diana. I've known you since I was very young, actually."

"You have?" I exclaimed incredulously.

The woman nodded. "Yes. I had quite the crush on you back then," she laughed. I felt my cheeks flush and I glanced away a little awkwardly, unsure of how to even respond to her comment. "But don't worry, love. We're just good friends now. I know your heart belongs to the Doctor."

I glanced back at Missy and smiled lightly at her. "Well, I'm not married to him yet or anything," I told her. "We still haven't gone on a proper date."

Missy tsked and patted my hand with a shake of her head. "You've got to do something about that, love!" she said in a false scolding tone, her voice going Scottish for a moment. "Can't let a smashing Time Lord like him go! I quite like him, you know. I might steal him from you if you're not careful," she added with a wink.

"Hey!" I protested, jealousy rearing up in my chest.

Missy grinned and blew me a kiss. "See? You're jealous, love."

"Am not," I mumbled.

The sound of the TARDIS materializing suddenly began to echo through the shop. "Looks like your ride is here," Missy sighed. She glanced at me and rolled her eyes when she noticed my confused expression. "My Doctor's already here. But before you go, give me your phone."

"Why?" I asked as I reached into my breast jacket pocket.

Missy flashed me an almost flirtatious smile and held her hand out. "Try and keep up, my dear. I'm giving you my number."

I unlocked my phone and placed it in the palm of her hand. She typed her number in with a flourish of her fingers, then posed for a picture with her lips pouted and a lock of her hair hanging above her eye. I chuckled and shook my head as she brushed her hair out of her eyes with a quick turn of her head.

"There." She stepped closer to me, tugged on the edge of my coat and slipped my phone back into the pocket I had pulled it out of. Her eyes fell to my lips for a moment and then she suddenly jumped backwards with a knowing smirk. "Now run along, dear. Your Doctor's waiting for you."

I stared up into her eyes for a few moments, noting her dilated pupils and the extremely suggestive smirk on her face, before I scrambled backwards. "Uh, I-I guess I'll see you later," I stammered as I adjusted my jacket. "Bye."

"Goodbye, love," she called after me as I practically ran out of the shop.

A chilly breeze cut through my jacket as I stepped outside. Across the street, the TARDIS had dematerialized and the Doctor stepped out with his ridiculous scarf blowing in the breeze. He reached a hand up to pin his hat to his head before the wind blew it away.

"Doctor!" I called, waving my arm at him from just outside the shop.

He spotted me in front of the shop and grinned, waving a large hand at me while still holding onto his hat with the other. I smiled and sighed in relief. I had found my Doctor again, even if he was a little bit younger and a little crazier.