Hello and welcome back! Thought I'd post a quick chapter. Sorry it's not that long of a chapter. I promise the next one will be much longer.

Enjoy the read!

Chapter 24

The TARDIS door slammed behind her as she briskly walked to the console. She wanted to run into her room and hide away in the bath to have a good cry. It also didn't help that she hadn't been in water for some time now and her skin truly needed a good soak. It would also help her heal from the injuries she received from the game station and the Sycorax fight. However, she felt she was still needed so she stayed in the console room, sitting down in the captain's chair as she waited for the others to join her. Soon Rose, Mickey, and the Doctor were coming into the TARDIS, with the Doctor being the last one to enter and close the door behind him. Rose was swift as she made her way over to Madison and gave her a strong hug.

"I'm so sorry. I just want you to know that she doesn't represent all humans. Not everyone is like that," Rose whispered into her ear. Madison sighed, patting Rose's back lightly.

"Yes. I know. You're not like that at all. I was just . . . angry when I said that," Madison reassured her. When they pulled back from their hug, Madison grabbed both of Rose's hands and gave them a squeeze. "Rose, you're the best humanity has to offer."

"Gee thanks," Mickey said sarcastically, earning their attention.

"Oh, you as well, Mickey," Madison responded, smiling in humour.

"We're really not the best you know. I'm sure there are others out there better," Rose said, waving a hand in dismissal.

"No. You're the best. Don't ever forget that," Madison whispered, gently patting Rose's hand. Rose seemed touched by this as she appeared misty-eyed then before grinning largely in happiness.

"So, back to Powell Estate, then?" said the Doctor casually, walking around the console to pilot them off. He moved around the controls with ease, bouncing in step as he did. It reminded Madison of what he had done before while with his last face. Though it felt different this time, the way he moved around the console. It was giddier, more excitable with his motions and he bounced around on the balls of his feet while hopping from place to place. Once more she had to remind herself that he was different now. Though different was good. It can always be good . . . Even if seeing him still wearing his old clothes made her heart ache.

"What about Harriet? We can't just let her get away with it," Rose said, watching the Doctor bounce around the console.

"Don't worry. I took care of that," he said, voice going quiet as his expression shifted from happy to that of unwavering disdain. Then he was happy once more as he looked back at them. "But let's not worry about that." The TARDIS settled down in her flight, coming to a halt as she arrived at her destination. "Now then! It's Christmas, ain't it? We should celebrate!"

"It's Christmas?" Madison wondered aloud, surprised by this news. She hadn't even thought about when they had arrived to. Had so much time really passed for it to be Christmas already?

"Yep!" the Doctor replied with a pop of the 'p'. "It's been a while since we've been to Christmas. This time we should actually have a sit-down meal. Fish and chips, sausage and mash, beans on toast. No, wait, this is Christmas. Turkey! Although, having met your mother, Rose, nut loaf would be more appropriate. Still, the thought counts." He beamed at them all, seeming eager. "What'd say? Fancy a Christmas dinner celebration of saving the Earth?" He then frowned lightly when seeing the blank stares from Mickey and Rose. "That wouldn't be too imposing, would it? I could help cook."

"No, that's fine. It's just," Rose muttered, shaking her head as she stared at the Doctor in slight disbelief, "how can you still be the Doctor? Just . . . how?"

"Yeah, how'd we know that you ain't some kind of imposter or Slitheen or something," Mickey agreed, crossing his arms and nodding firmly. "I mean, you just bolt out of the back of the TARDIS and start shouting questions about where Maddie was and then next thing you're taking us straight to that alien ship to die for all we know."

"Come on, Ricky, I know you can be an idiot, but I thought you weren't that big of an idiot," scoffed the Doctor, rolling his eyes. He then blinked, muttering under his breath next, "Oh. That was rather rude, wasn't it? Huh. Rude and not ginger. Guess that's who I am now."

Mickey rolled his eyes, mumbling to Rose and Maddie, "Yeah, it's him."

"He's definitely ruder than normal though," Rose muttered in response.

"I can tell you both, it really is him. I watched him change myself," Madison added firmly, not wishing for the two of them to question the Doctor repeatedly and make him feel uncomfortable about his change.

"But how does that work, though? How'd you go and change your whole face and everything?" asked Mickey. Instead of answering right away, the Doctor made a face and exhaled a wave of golden light that vanished within seconds. His body shook, giving a shiver as if the experience had been unpleasant.

"I think we can all discuss this later. How about over dinner, yes?" Madison spoke up then, getting up from her seat to go over to the Doctor. She touched his arm, staring at him worriedly. She did not want a repeat of him passing out again. He gave her a smile of reassurance, though, as he patted her hand that rested on his arm.

"Maddie's right. I need to get a good cup of tea in me if I want to finally heal the synapses, or I might be releasing energy all night and we can't have that. There might be scavengers hanging around that had followed the Sycorax here. Like pilot fish," the Doctor spoke rapidly to them. There came a loud, fast knocking from the TARDIS door, earning their attention.

"Rose? That better be you in there! I swear if you're off hurt somewhere, I'm not gonna hold back in giving the Doctor hell this time!" they heard Jackie's voice from the other side. Letting out a sigh, Rose walked over to the door and opened it. There was Jackie, blinking in surprise to have actually been answered.

"Mum, I'm fine. Give it a rest, will ya?" Rose told her mum.

"Well, how was I supposed to know you were okay? You go running off with them agents and then a bleeping spaceship comes roaring overhead," Jackie retorted, stepping into the TARDIS. She blinked again, this time with confusion as she frowned upon the sight of the Doctor. "Who's he?"

"That's the Doctor," Rose explained carefully, seeming unsure of how to explain.

"What do you mean that's the Doctor? Doctor who?"

"Jackie! Hello!" greeted the Doctor, waving lightly as he moved away from the console and towards the mother. "It's still me. Just a new face. Nothing to worry about."

"New face?" Jackie replied, gawking at him. "What'd you go and do that for?"

"I was dying, so rewrote all my cells and," he made a popping sound, "here's the new me."

"So like a facelift?"

Blinking, the Doctor frowned for a moment as he spoke slowly next as if he were speaking to a child. "Yes, Jackie. Like a facelift."

"Oh . . . Well, all right, then."

Madison couldn't help but smile in humour, finding it amusing in Jackie's response. At least the mother was taking it well. There was more talking amongst Jackie, Rose, Mickey, and the Doctor. All of them chatting away about what had happened to catch Jackie up to speed. Though there were some questions from Rose and Mickey about the Doctor, the TARDIS, Madison, and what had happened in the long time since the two of them had been gone so long. As the Doctor casually explained it all, he met Madison's gaze with a quick glance. The genuine soft smile he gave her made her heart flutter and stomach flip. Oh, dear. It seems she'll have to relive the beginnings of a crush all over again.

Eventually, the Doctor had to ask the three of them to leave when he burped out golden energy again. And none too kindly either as he spoke rather blunt and rudely. He shut the door behind the three departing figures, turning to grimace somewhat.

"Blimey, I need tea. You don't know how unpleasant this is," he groaned, walking back over to her. He hit his chest with his fist lightly. "I might actually have to sleep again if I don't hurry."

"I'll make you a quick pot," she said, standing up to go down the corridor.

"Wait, wait, wait. Not yet. First, we need to patch you up." He made quick strides over to her, grabbing her hand and leading her away.

"But that can wait. What if you get all loopy again and pass out on me?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. You're hurt. That takes priority." He led her straight to the TARDIS infirmary, letting go of her hand once inside and walking over to one of the many cabinets within the room. "Here we are! Heal ointment. That'll patch you right up." He walked over to her and took a glob of cream from the tube he held and gave a quick sweep across her upper cheek. She felt the sting for a moment before eventually it faded. He waved for her to show him where else she had been hurt, making her point to the cuts through her trousers and onto her legs. He made quick work of those cuts, dabbing them with the ointment.

"Anywhere else?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, um, in my shoulder," she mumbled, face growing flushed as she realised she would have to take off her jumper for this next part. She shifted anxiously, nervous to have him see her so exposed outside of water. "I'll have to take my jumper off."

Seeing him just standing there patiently, unaware smile and all, she decided not to try and explain to him how awkward she felt. Instead, she turned her back to him, hurriedly lifting up her jumper and exposing her injured shoulder blade. She held her jumper tightly to her front as she felt his strong fingers rub into the cut, working the cream into the injury. It was a rather deep one, so she knew he would have to put on plenty of ointment. She felt her heart skip a beat as his other hand came up, holding onto her uninjured shoulder to steady her as he rubbed more into the wound. With stomach and heart fluttering, she swallowed thickly as she felt his hand begin to trail down her back, his fingertips just brushing against her skin, leaving hot trails as they went.

"There. Finished," she heard him breathe into her ear. She turned gradually, meeting his gaze. Goosebumps raised along her skin as she was met with his brown eyes gazing steadily at her. The colour of them seemed darker as something crossed over his expression. Like that of hunger. Then she blinked and it was gone. His face was back to normal as he grinned happily at her. "All better! There shouldn't even be scars when it's finished healing up."

"Th-thank you," she stuttered, still internally shuddering pleasantly over what she had just witnessed. If she hadn't seen it for herself, she would have thought she imagined the entire occurrence. She hurriedly placed back on her jumper, face growing flushed as she tried to steady her rapidly beating heart. She felt conflicted feeling such emotions. It was far too soon for her to be feeling this way, wasn't it? The old face of the Doctor might not like her jumping at the chance to be with a new face. Or . . . perhaps she was being silly thinking like this. Was she being silly? It still felt as though she were being unfaithful with another man. Though she knew it was also still the same man. It was the Doctor either way. So then why did it still feel so . . . complicated?

"So, ready for some tea?" the Doctor asked her, voice cheery as he put away the ointment. She nodded as he walked over and took her hand again, leading her out of the medical ward.

The tea was made quickly and the Doctor breathed out a long wisp of golden light the moment he had a long gulp. He was then beaming, chatting merrily with her about why tea helped and all the scientifically medical benefits tea had. He then went onto a long ramble about just tea and all the different properties it had and then even onto the variety of teas found throughout the universe. She couldn't help but sit there, smiling away in amusement as she listened to him. It was pleasant to hear him speak so much about the vast knowledge he had. She loved it. Especially seeing him so . . . happy. And this happiness continued as he excitedly grabbed her and dragged her off with him into the TARDIS wardrobe. Apparently, it was a fun tradition for Time Lords to look for a new style for their new bodies. The Doctor explained it was seen as getting a fresh start or welcoming a 'rebirth' of sorts. So she gladly sat in a chair and watched him sort through all the clothes for an outfit, nodding along and commenting on his choices as he showed off what was in his hands. She already knew what he would be wearing in the future, of course. But she didn't want to influence his choice, so she made certain to give him positive feedback on everything he brought over for her to see.

"You can't like everything on me, you know," he finally said after putting away another article of clothing.

"I can't help if you look amazing in everything," she replied slyly, chuckling when seeing his pleased grin.

"Well, I have been told that I'm rather dashing," he responded cheekily, wiggling his brows slightly.

Eventually, he chose the same brown pinstripe suit she had seen him in before. Even with the same matching necktie and tan overcoat. She even noticed a pair of chucks this time around. Oddly enough, the chucks tied together the outfit nicely. She couldn't keep away the delighted smile from her face even if she wanted to. She was just so happy to see him so pleased when checking his reflection in the long mirror of the wardrobe.

"So . . . what do you think?" he asked as he turned and looked eager for her response.

She stood up, walking over to him slowly. She pretended to be inspecting him as she glanced up and down. Then, reaching up, she adjusted his necktie slightly as she smiled. "Now, I can officially say, you're sexy," she said smoothly, giving him a wink. She giggled as he merrily kissed her forehead with glee before grabbing her hand and rushing off back through the wardrobe and to the console room. "You know . . . I haven't had a Christmas celebration since before my parents' passing. I'm a bit out of touch with recent traditions and such."

"Not much has changed over the years. Though it's been a while for me, too. Doubt the others will really care if we're not 'hip' with the times," he replied back, joking somewhat as he grinned.

Madison nodded, growing a giddy smile as her excitement grew. "I'm just happy to celebrate. I . . I finally have a family to be with on Christmas again." Her eyes grew misty as she thought about it. It was true, though. She found herself a new family to be a part of. One that actually wanted her around and even a few that knew of what she was and didn't even care. They accepted her as their own and that truly meant something to her. It was just as Jack had said . . . She gasped, finally realising what had been bothering her at the back of her mind for a moment now. "Oh! Jack! We're forgetting Jack. He's bound to still be waiting for us back at the game station."

"Oh, we don't need to bother him. He's busy rebuilding the Earth," the Doctor said in dismissal, trying to lead her out of the TARDIS. She halted by the console, making him stop abruptly. He looked back at her, blinking in confusion. "What? Did you forget something?"

"Yes. Jack," she replied firmly, pulling her hand away from his. "We cannot simply leave him behind. I've had to do that only once in my life and I will not do it again to someone else I care for. Even if he is busy doing other things, I will not feel fine about this until I know he's safe and happy."

Sighing, the Doctor ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up more than usual. "Look . . . about Jack . . . something happened."

Fear settled in as she tensed. "What happened? Is . . . He's not dead, is he? He can't be though. I . . . I remember seeing him alive. I vividly remember that." Seeing the uncertain expression the Doctor gave her, dread hit her hard. "Please don't tell me he's dead."

"He's not dead. He's just . . . changed. Into something that shouldn't exist. I sensed it the moment it happened. As a Time Lord, something like that, it's instinct to run from it," he explained quietly.

Madison nodded as she understood how challenging instincts could be. Just look at the conflicts she was having with his new face. However . . . "I understand, but he's our friend. Instincts or not, we should be there for him and help him through this . . . change." She then frowned lightly. "What change is it anyway?"

The Doctor didn't answer her as he walked over to the console. He rested his hands on it but didn't move to touch any of the controls. "I'll . . . have to explain later."

"Okay, not a problem. Explain after we get him." Seeing his hesitation, she walked over and touched his arm. "Please, we can't just leave him. I know for a fact he would fight tooth and nail to get to us if we were left behind. So, we must do the same for him. It's the right thing to do."

"I know," he sighed, starting to work the controls on the console then. The TARDIS around them began shaking as the centre column moved up and down. The wheezing and whooshing sounded off of their departure. "When we see him again, just . . . just know it wasn't your fault."

"Did I do something to him?" she asked, feeling horrified by the notion that she had hurt Jack during the strange state she had been under with the Time Vortex. Receiving no answer from the Doctor only made her trepidation increase.

When the TARDIS finally settled, she walked to the door immediately, wanting to find Jack and make certain she did not do too much harm to him. As she stepped out of the ship, she was greeted with an eerie sight. The game station was silent. Dead silent. With no noise and movement to be seen. The lights were dim and the monitors around the control area of floor five hundred were completely off. There were wires and electronics all over the place, with a centre large lever in the middle of the mess. She recognized the Delta Wave that the Doctor had been working on. It looks as though it had been completed but never used. As she walked more into the floor room, a chill crept over her as she was met with the sight of grey dust scattered throughout the place. Piles and piles of dust. What . . . happened? She winced as brief flashes laced through her mind, showing her images of the Daleks turning to dust with the raise of her hand. Oh . . . She did this. Her stomach churned as she stared at the different piles.

"I . . . turned them into dust," she whispered as she stared around the station.

"The Time Vortex. It can be used for a lot of things. When connecting with someone so completely as it had with you . . . it can practically turn you into a god," the Doctor explained, coming up beside her. He grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. "You did the right thing. You stopped them from destroying the universe. You even stopped them from killing Earth completely. You saved lives. Just think about that."

"Right," she replied, letting out a breath. She glanced around then. "What about Lynda and the rest of the humans? I don't remember—"

"They didn't make it. The Daleks got to them before you arrived." The Doctor gave her an empathetic gaze as a look of sadness crossed her face. "I'm sorry."

"If only I had been quicker. I could have saved them," she sighed, shaking her head at the loss of so many. Lynda had been such a sweet young woman. She only hoped that Lynda had not suffered in the end. Gazing around once more, she frowned in thought. "But where's Jack?"

Frowning as well, the Doctor let go of her hand as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began giving a scan around the area as he walked. Glancing at the device, checking the readings that only he could make out, he went over to a monitor and quickly sonicked it. The screen came on and he typed away at the computer. Different images flashed across the monitor as he worked. Each one made his brow furrow as he appeared to ponder something. "No life forms on board. I think," he backed away from the monitor, glancing around the room again, "he might have used the Vortex manipulator. I'm getting residual energy readings." He waved his sonic around the air, checking the tool again. "Yep, there was definitely one used here. Guess that means he left."

"Did he teleport to Earth below, or do you think he left to come find us?"

The Doctor glanced at the sonic again. "No teleport. Definitely, Vortex energy was used." He placed away his sonic, giving a shrug. "Suppose this means we'll have to wait until he catches up with us."

Madison felt a bit sceptical of this idea. It felt rather . . . uncaring of them to just not try and find Jack. Especially after working so hard to help them through their journeys and even risking his life to stop the Daleks. "Are you certain he'll even be able to find us?"

"This is Jack we're talking about. A trained Time Agent. He'll find us in no time," the Doctor replied easily, hands in his pockets as he strode back towards the TARDIS. "No sense in hanging around here. Earth might send up shuttles soon to investigate this mess and I don't want to be around to explain ourselves to them."

"Right." Madison sighed, following after the Doctor. Once inside the TARDIS, he had them sent off again, going back to the Earth they had just left. "What about the Earth from that time? Will it be able to recover?"

"Of course, it will. Humans always bounce back. Besides, there were plenty of other colonies out there in the universe during their time. They'll have more than enough help to rebuild."

"That's good at least." This helped Madison feel better about the situation. She had been feeling guilty to have just left everything up to the humans to take care of. It had been a disaster for them, after all. But at least there had been survivors. At the end of the day, after coming face-to-face with so many Daleks, that was all one could ask for. Still, things did not settle right for her. "Are you certain there is no other way for us to find Jack?"

"I can try to track him from the TARDIS." The Doctor rubbed a hand around his neck, pondering as he glanced at the console monitor. "But it might take time and there's no guarantee."

"At least we can try. I just don't feel right leaving him on his own after such an event." She placed her hands on the console, staring at the centre column moving up and down.

The Doctor reached over and placed a hand on one of hers. "We'll find him eventually. You'll see. Things will work out for the best." He looked away then and continued to pilot them off.

Madison stared down at her hands, wanting to keep discussing ways to find Jack but felt as if she would be overstepping her boundaries if she did. She trusted the Doctor. If he said he would look for Jack, then she knew she needed to not pester him and let him do his usual thing of figuring out the problem. With that thought, there was simply one more thing that she knew she needed to discuss with the Doctor. Though how to bring it up . . . "Doctor, there is one more thing," she said carefully. "Something that I've . . . discovered very recently."

"What's that?" he asked curiously, looking at her now with bright interest.

She didn't know how to say it, so she acted instead. She concentrated on the console beneath her hands, already feeling the connection between her and the TARDIS. It had been there since the moment she touched the console. Even before that, if she were honest. But it was strongest with her hands next to the controls. She could see every single one of them in her mind, their purpose and what they were meant for. Everything. She felt nervous as before, unsure of what she was doing and if it was fine for her to even be connected in such a way. But she felt the TARDIS sending her a gentle hum through her mind, seeming to be telling her 'it's okay' in the ship's own way. So, focusing, she had one of the levers beside the Doctor move on its own. At first, the Doctor didn't seem to realise what had happened. Then he blinked as he stared at the lever. Slowly, he looked back at her, eyes gradually widening.

"Did you just . . .?" he whispered.

"Yes," she replied with a nod. "I discovered this, ah, 'ability' when we were still in drift while you were sleeping. I suppose . . . I'm connected to the TARDIS now? At least, that is what it feels like."

The Doctor blinked again. "What? But, just, h-how? I took the Time Vortex out of . . ." He rushed around the console then, making them come to a swift halt. He moved over to her, pushing her by the captain's chair. "Stand there. I need to do a scan. And don't move. It might hurt you if you do."

"Okay?" Puzzled by this, she watched as the Doctor worked at the controls, rushing in a flurry as he seemed to be doing something somewhat difficult. Then he stopped at the monitor, frowning heavily as he held onto it. His eyes scanned the screen carefully. "Is it all right to move now?" she asked him.

"What? Oh, yeah, fine," he answered absently.

She walked over to stand beside him, seeing nothing but numbers and graphs that she did not understand. Though there was an image of her on screen. It was grainy and had the appearance of a hospital chart of what a human body looked like. Though there was something there along with her image. Something glowing gold and moving around inside of her. "Doctor, what is that?"

"It's Time Vortex energy. It's still inside of you." He pushed the monitor away, rubbing a frustrated hand through his hand. "Gah! How could I be so careless?! I should have known this could happen. I should have been more thorough when taking it out of you. I—"

"Doctor, it's not your fault. Please don't blame yourself," she said quickly with a shake of her head. "Let's just focus on what this means now. So . . . what does it mean? Didn't you say it would have killed me?"

He slowly let his hand drop from his head as he stared at her. "There's not enough of it now to be harmful. But it could have some . . . side effects."

"Side effects? Like what?"

"I don't know. Something like this never happened before. Well, not that I know of anyway." He glanced back at the monitor, frowning thoughtfully. "I'll have to run more tests. It could mean nothing serious. Time Lords have some Time Vortex energy written into their DNA structure. Though that took billions of years because of exposure to the Time Vortex through the Untempered Schism. But for your DNA to be rewritten overnight—"

"'Rewritten'? What do you mean 'rewritten'?" She watched as the Doctor somewhat froze, his eyes wide as he looked back at her. He swallowed, appearing uncertain now. She took a step forward as her heart began to race. "Doctor . . . what do you mean?"

He sighed heavily, waving a hand towards the monitor. "The Time Vortex, it seems to have melded with your DNA. Not all the way through, but . . . enough for it to change."

As she stared at him blankly, she felt numb to this information. She wasn't certain how to feel. She had changed and by her own hand for that matter. Not intentionally, but it was still certainly her own fault. She did feel queasy as a thought crossed her mind. "Am . . . Am I even Mer anymore?" Her eyes began to burn as tears leaked down her face. "Did I kill off my kind completely?"

"No. Oh, no, Madison, no, you didn't. You're still Mer. You're still you," he said in quick reassurance, coming over to pull her into a tight hug. He rubbed a hand up and down her back while the other soothingly ran along her head. "You're just a bit different now. That's all. Nothing majorly changed. And you'll adjust to these changes. Whatever comes, I'll help you."

She nodded, hugging him back as she smiled weakly, glad to have him in her life. "I suppose I'll have to adapt and evolve like my kind always have."

"Yeah . . . Hold on," he pulled her back, holding her at arm's length as his brows furrowed. "What did you say? Evolve?" Before she could respond, his face suddenly lit up in realisation. "Oh! Evolve! Ha! That's it!" He hurriedly went back to the monitor, grabbing it and working the controls to bring up an image. "There!" He pointed to a DNA helix strand, one that she recognised from scientific pictures. Though she didn't know what exactly he was trying to tell her from the image. "Your people have adaptive DNA that can easily be changed around. Take bits and pieces out of what's needed and not needed. Though it would have taken a generation or two to actually make the change, it's not against anything that doesn't say a change could occur during a dramatic effect on the body. Say, the Time Vortex?" He grinned eagerly, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "It was too much for your body, flooding your system, so it was killing you. But your DNA must have shifted the moment you had the energy within you, trying to compensate for the harsh nature of the Vortex." He turned around, leaning against the console. "Think of it like those people who slowly inject themselves with venom or poison. Eventually, they build up antibodies to counteract greater doses. Mithridatism I think is what it's called."

"So my body was just trying to compensate for the Vortex?" she questioned. Seeing him nod, she sighed as she turned to lean against the console as well, standing beside him. "Well, what does that mean now? Should I be concerned about these 'changes'?"

"No. Well, not that concerned. Well . . . maybe." He frowned as he appeared to be pondering it. "Honestly, I don't know." He looked at her again, staring at her with an observing gaze. "Guess we'll just have to take it one step at a time and monitor it as we go."

She nodded, feeling at a loss of being so helpless in this situation. But she knew that, as long as she had the Doctor by her side, she could manage whatever life threw at her. "Okay."

"Anything that you notice. Anything at all, you come to me about it, all right? And best we don't tell anyone else about this."

"Agreed." She watched as he turned back around to look at the monitor. She stared at him curiously then, tilting her head slightly. "So, you have Vortex energy in your DNA as well? Does that mean you also feel that connection to the TARDIS? The walls around you. The movement of her. The–"

"The Time Vortex roaring just outside. Yeah. I feel it all." He grinned lightly, a happy gleam in his eye. As if he were excited that someone else experienced what he did. Then, he pouted. "Though I can't control her just by thought. Which is so unfair. How come you get to do that?"

She smirked slyly, turning to lean face him fully. "Maybe she just likes me more."

"Heh. Maybe." He laughed lightly, shaking his head. "So! Onto Christmas then?"

"Yes, please." She smiled as she too just wanted to not think about missing friends and DNA changes for the time being. Instead, she wished to focus on having a moment to relax for once. Something she felt they rarely had a chance to do.

"Well, then, next stop Christmas dinner," the Doctor said with a flourish as he hit a lever and sent them off once again.

I hope it was decent, even though it was short. Leave a review if you enjoy!

Until next time!