Last of Their Kind

by ThyWanderer

Worn down from years of strife as the last of her kind, Madison once believed happiness was far from reach. Everything begins to change when she meets a man called the Doctor. As secrets and sorrows are shared between them, the pair finds comfort together amidst the stars. Madison can only hope that this time things will be different, even if the universe has other plans for her.

37. Chapter 37

Hello again! I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. Thank you again for all the support! A million thank yous!

---

Chapter 37

The goodbye between Rose and Pete did not go as well as Madison and Andy's. Madison watched as Pete shook his head at Rose, eyes both fearful and angry before walking away, back into the city and to where Lumic's zeppelin had been parked. Madison and the Doctor had just walked out of the TARDIS when they witnessed the tail end of this. It was clear as day the devastation Rose felt when seeing her disheartened expression. Madison could see the quiver in the girl's bottom lip, though it was obvious the blonde was trying her best to not let Pete's dismissal of her trouble her. Even if her determined demeanour was slowly breaking to pieces by the second. Madison walked over to Rose then, giving the girl a strong hug.

"I'm sorry," she said as she pulled away from the girl. Madison knew why he had walked away. Finding out he had a daughter from another universe, on top of losing his beloved, had been simply too much for him to handle. Even Rose must know this. However, it still did not mean that his departure had hurt any less for the girl. She had been so hopeful to have a similar reaction with Pete as Andy had been with Madison. That much was obvious.

"The hardest part? Knowing that he doesn't have his Jackie anymore," Rose murmured, head hanging as she stared at the ground in defeat. She had her arms tightly wrapped around her, shivering from the cold winds blowing in from the Thames. Madison pulled her in close, rubbing an arm up and down to help warm up the girl.

"He still has friends, though. Andy will be there for him. And if Madison of this world is anything like me, then I know she'll be there, too," she assured the girl.

"Yeah." This thought seemed to ease the girl somewhat as a weak smile graced her for a moment. "I'm glad for that."

They heard the Doctor clear his throat at this point, earning the two's attention. "Only got five minutes of power. We might want to head out," he said, thumbing over his shoulder towards the ship.

Madison couldn't help but feel at ease with this thought. The moment the power came back on the ship while she had been inside the ship with the Doctor she felt the presence of the TARDIS and experienced the relief that the old girl was feeling in being back to life. It also gave Madison a strange wave of easement that washed over her. It wasn't until she was back outside that she realised why this was. It was the different universe. It was still affecting her. Even now. She wondered if it always would have if she had been stuck in this world. Always at unease and weary, never once feel settled or well enough to live here. The air, always just a tad off when she breathed it in, felt like tingles against her skin. The water, gritty and wrong. The food, with taste far too sharp. But in the TARDIS, the piece of her universe, it was truly home. Truly at peace within her in feeling the ship's mind mingling with her own.

It was by then that Jake and Mickey were walking over to them. Mickey held the Doctor, Rose, and Madison's clothes in his arms. Both Mickey and Jake had gone off to retrieve the items from Pete's mansion a while ago after they had landed, driving in a hurry with Angela's van. Oh, dear. That was a sad thought. Madison felt her heart ache for poor Angela.

"Here it is. I found it. Not a crease," Mickey said as he handed the Doctor his suit. Rose and Madison took their own clothes only a moment later.

"My suit! Good man!" the Doctor exclaimed, grinning away merrily. "Now then, Jake, we've got to run, but one more thing. Mrs Moor, her real name was Angela Price. She's got a husband out there and children. Find them. Tell them how she died saving the world."

"Yeah, course I will," Jake said, nodding with a forlorn smile briefly forming.

With this taken care of, the Doctor looked to his group. "Off we go, then."

"Erm," Mickey spoke up, making everyone look at him now. It was clear he was nervous as they could see him shifting on his feet, but at the same time determined on something as there was a strong firmness written into his demeanour. "Thing is, I'm staying," he finally said after a moment's hesitation.

Hearing this, Madison's stomach dropped. It felt like the ground suddenly shifted beneath her and it wasn't pleasant. She, and the others, could only gaze at Mickey with wide eyes. Her throat tightened at the thought of a friend leaving. Especially one which whom she hardly had time with. It felt as though she were only just starting to know Mickey. And now . . . She let out a breath, trying to see from his perspective. His gran was alive here. With Ricky gone . . . it only made sense. Still, though, it was a large decision to have to make and she couldn't be any more respectful towards Mickey for being so strong to make it.

"You're doing what?" the Doctor finally spoke, completely taken aback and not believing what he had heard.

Rose was just as stuck in a state of disbelief as him, her head starting to shake as her eyes stared wide-eyed at Mickey. "You can't," she said.

"It sort of balances out 'cause this world lost its Ricky, but there's me," Mickey said, his voice shaking slightly from his overwhelmed state. "And there's work to be done with all those Cybermen still out there."

"But you can't stay," Rose responded, starting to plead now for her friend to not leave her.

"Rose, my gran's here." Mickey's voice shook more. "She's still alive."

"I know, but . . ." Rose sniffled, turning her head away briefly to gather herself.

"She needs me."

"What about me? What if I need you, huh?" Another sniffle, voice thick with tears. "You've always been there for me. What will I do without you?"

"Yeah, but Rose, you don't need me. Not anymore. Just look at all the stuff you've been doing. Going on all sorts of adventures, saving the day. You haven't needed anyone for a while now. 'Sides," Mickey gave Madison and the Doctor a glance, "you've got them to keep you company now. Not this idiot. Not anymore."

"You've never been an idiot," Rose hiccuped, crying openly now. Rose gave the two a fleeting glance before quickly looking back at Mickey. "We—We'll come back. We can travel anywhere. Come and see you, yeah?"

"We can't," the Doctor said regretfully. "I told you, travel between parallel worlds is impossible. We only got here by accident. We fell through a crack in time. When we leave, I've got to close it." He gave Rose a sympathetic gaze. "We can't ever return." It was heavily silent then, the Doctor's words hanging on them. Slowly, Mickey turned to the Doctor, holding out his hand. The two shook, giving one another firm nods. "Take Rose's phone," said the Doctor as he handed over the mobile. "It's got the code. Get it out there. Stop those factories. And, well . . . good luck. Mickey the idiot." With the Doctor giving a sincere smile, Mickey's eyes lit up somewhat, returning a small smile in kind.

"Goodbye, Mickey. I wish we could have had more chances to know each other better. Perhaps the Madison in this world can become a better friend for you here," Madison said as she stepped up and gave Mickey a strong hug.

"Nah. You were a great friend," Mickey said while returning the hug. When they stepped back, he jerked his head towards the Doctor. "Just don't let him get too much for ya. Keep 'im on his toes."

Madison chuckled. "Will do."

The Doctor grabbed her hand then and together they turned away while carrying their clothes. They walked into the TARDIS, giving Mickey and Rose some space to get in their goodbyes. Madison let go of the Doctor's hand once inside the ship while he continued on to the console. He gave her a look of question, but when she nodded to where she stood by the door, he made a small 'ah' before going to the console to start working the controls, preparing for their eventual departure. She stood by the door, waiting for Rose to enter. She was ready to give the girl a strong hug, knowing that Rose would need it. And so, she did. The moment Rose entered the TARDIS, giving one last fleeting gaze at her best friend before closing the door, the girl began to cry hard. Madison scooped up Rose into a strong hug, wrapping her arms around her friend's shoulders while Rose hugged her middle in a vice grip. The girl openly sobbed as the ship rocked around them in flight, shaking somewhat harder than normal as the TARDIS struggled to leave the other universe. Madison could feel it. The moment they reached their universe. The air suddenly tasted right and the tickling sensation in her mind ebbed away. She sighed as she hugged Rose tighter, letting her own tears slip down her face as Andy's last smile flashed through her mind.

XxXxXxXxXx

Rose decided to go to her mum's after that. She needed time to process everything that had happened. From seeing her mother dying in another universe, to her friend deciding to stay in said universe, it had been a lot to handle all in one go. Madison did not blame the girl for wanting to spend time away from travelling for a while. Though Rose said a week, she wondered if the girl might need more time than that. The Doctor must have thought of this as well for he offered two weeks for the girl if she needed it. Rose took him up on that offer, shoulders slumping in relief of sorts. As though she had been tense in even asking for time away at all. There was an unspoken remembrance between them all, recalling the year's absence for Madison. So the Doctor assured Rose a multitude of times that he would indeed be back by the end of the two weeks. No more, no less.

Sitting in her room after this, Madison sat in one of the armchairs of the small study she had. Curled up into the chair, legs folded to the side and under her, she held her picture album in her lap. Absently turning the pages, she stared at the different pictures. Both from the past and the present. She had been taking pictures here and there when she could of her travels alongside the Doctor and Rose. Different moments that she could look fondly back on. It saddened her, but she saw that she had no pictures of Mickey during his time with them. She feared that, without his image in her album, years from now she may forget what his appearance was. It was the reason why she loved taking pictures in the first place. A way to remember in case her mind failed her. There came a knock on her door, making her lift her eyes to see the Doctor poking his head around the doorframe. He didn't say anything. Only walked in and came over to sit in the other armchair beside her. The silence between them was heavy as neither one dared to look at the other.

Finally, Madison decided to break the silence. "I don't have any pictures of Mickey," she spoke softly, earning the Doctor's gaze. "I . . . I feel awful about that."

"Do you think Rose might have one you can have?" the Doctor offered in thought.

"Maybe." She sighed as she thumbed at the pages in the album. It was getting rather full. She may need to buy a new one soon.

"Oh. I forgot we took a picture at Mocagantu." The Doctor pointed to one picture, smiling fondly when seeing the image of him, Rose, and Madison all standing by the large centre tree of the planet. It had been a massive tree. Over thousands of feet tall, with purple leaves and deep black bark on the trunk. An entire city had been made throughout the tree, both inside and out. They took the picture on a timer, standing on a hill far away, with the tree perfectly seen behind them. The Doctor had tripped on the way back from setting up the timer on the camera, causing him to collide with Rose and Madison. They could see in the picture the three of them laughing and clutching onto each other to keep balance from falling down the hill.

"It's one of my favourites," Madison admitted, brushing her fingers against the image, staring at it with eyes shining. "It was such a beautiful world."

"We could go again. We don't have to jump straight into picking up Rose. We could have a few weeks to ourselves. If—If you want that is." The Doctor rubbed at his neck, apparently nervous to even suggest this.

Thinking about it, Madison nodded slowly. "All right. What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking . . ." He started rubbing at his ear then. "It's been a year since we first met. At least, I think it has. Hard telling sometimes as I don't normally keep close track of dates and such. Not that I'm not good with knowing my dates and time. Just . . . not my own. And since it has been a year, I think, then I was wondering if, well, if you want to that is, if you and I might, say, wander about a bit?"

Madison couldn't help but chortle quietly. A sly smile then soon graced her lips. "Why, Doctor, are you suggesting we have an anniversary celebration?" she asked as she closed the album and leaned across the armchair, elbow resting on the arm and her chin in the open palm of her hand.

"Well, I wouldn't say that exactly . . . Wait, no, that is what I'm suggesting, isn't it?" He dropped his hand from his ear, now with a small grin. "I've never really done anything like it before. An anniversary, I mean. I don't even do birthdays. So, I thought, why not give it a try? It might be fun."

"Knowing your idea of 'fun', that might not be such a good thing," she teased him, earning herself a pout.

"Oh, come on, my ideas are always fun! They just—just lead to some trouble sometimes."

"And running for our lives. Don't forget that part." She chuckled as he gave her a bigger pout. "So, what do you have planned?"

He grinned then, seeming excited. "No plan. Just adventure. Anywhere you want to go, I'll take you."

"If it's our anniversary, we should go where we both would like. Not just what I want."

"Well, I'm happy just spending time with you."

"And I'm happy simply being with you." Madison couldn't help but chuckle again. "It seems we're at an impasse."

"Seems so." He grinned lightly at her in humour. Slapping his hand on his armchair, he stood up then, holding out his hand and wiggling his fingers at her. "Tell you what, I do have something in mind."

"Something exciting?" She grabbed his offered hand, unfolding her legs to stand up. She set aside her album on the coffee table, deciding to think about pictures later.

"Well, I may have a present to show you first."

Leading her out of the room, he pulled her along down the hallway. Soon they were arriving in the console room, with the Doctor dropping her hand to rush over to the controls and begin their flight. The ship rocked almost peacefully compared to her normal hazardous travel, landing with a soft wheeze before halting all together. Turning to Madison then, he had a large grin, appearing rather eager now. She raised a brow when seeing him grab a large beach bag that was resting in the jump seat.

"You're such a liar. You had something planned already," she accused him, her tone light in humour as he was pulling out a massive beach umbrella from the bag. The bag must be bigger on the inside.

"Quite possibly," he replied smoothly, winking at her then.

With the umbrella resting on his shoulder as he held it and the bag in his other hand swinging slightly, he walked to the door and opened it for her. Stepping outside, she was taken aback by the sight of a beautiful cove. The beach was perfectly circled around where the water could come in for a peaceful swim without crashing waves. The white sand seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, with large palm trees standing tall and proud around the edge where the soil met the sand. Their giant leaves rustled gently with the wind coming from the ocean. The water of the ocean itself was so blue that on the horizon away from the cove it was hard to tell where sky and ocean separated, and crystal clear that she could see all the colourful coral and the fish swimming around with ease. On the beach she could see a few sea turtles resting, soaking in the bright Sun and basking in its warmth. In the distance, she could hear the call of different birds coming from the mainland. Their echoed songs created music that added to the beauty of the beach. As she heard the Doctor closing the door to the TARDIS behind them, she gazed around to see where other people might be. There had to be some around here. Though so far, she only saw turtles.

"Where are we?" she asked curiously.

"O'ahu. Also known as 'The Gathering Place'. One of the Hawaiian islands. Or it will be, once it's discovered. This beach in particular will one day be called Kuilima Cove. Though, depending on which side you're on, it might also be called Turtle Bay. For obvious reasons," he explained quite rapidly, finishing off by waving a hand absently to the turtles in front of them. "So? What do you think?"

"It's beautiful. But where are the—wait, did you mean that this place hasn't been found by people yet?"

"Nope! We're a few days ahead of when the Polynesians first arrive. So we have the entire island to ourselves." The Doctor smiled so proudly. A gleam in his eye like no other. He placed down what he held, coming up to her then and wrapping her into a hug. "The entire island, an amazing piece of land on this beautiful Earth, and we're the first people to ever set foot on it. It's brand new. Untouched. And it's all for us," he spoke then, his voice low, soft, as he brought up a hand and cupped the side of her face as Madison stared at him in awe. Then he frowned somewhat. "Well, not all for us. It's not our island or anything. Just the beach is free for us without worrying about people poking their heads around. Thought maybe you'd enjoy the real ocean for once."

"I . . . I can swim in the ocean . . . freely?" she breathed.

"To your heart's content," the Doctor assured her.

Madison felt her breath catch in her throat. All she could do was gaze at him as he smiled warmly at her. Her heart thumped away under her chest as she looked around at the beach once more. Gazing back at him, she swiftly grabbed the back of his head and crashed their lips together. She smiled through the kiss as he let out a surprised 'hmph!' before a deep chuckle came from him as he wrapped her tighter against him. When they pulled away, her cheeks were flushed and she was breathing hard. But her eyes shone with glee.

"Thank you," she whispered, brushing a loving hand against his cheek. "This is truly magnificent."

"Glad you think so," said the Doctor, puffing his chest up proudly. "I put a lot of thought into it. Worked out all the details and everything. I'd say it's one of my better thought-out trips if I do say so myself."

Madison giggled as she moved away from him. Eager to get into the warm, clear water, she didn't even hesitate in taking off her clothes. She could hear the low whistle from the Doctor from behind her as she shimmied out of her trousers. "Shut up," she laughed, shaking her head as she looked behind her, seeing how he eyed her with a haughty grin. "It's not like you haven't seen it before."

"Yeah, well, it's a dazzling sight to behold every time. Especially that bottom," he answered rather smoothly, a foxy grin growing on his face as she threw her rolled-up jumper at him. He caught the item easily. "Oh! Before you get into the water, let me put a sunblock patch on you."

"Patch?"

"Yep! Something from the 28th century. Just a patch that you slap on and it gives you all the benefits of sunblock without having to rub all that grease on you. It absorbs right into your skin."

Madison watched as he pulled out a white, square patch from his suit pocket. From there he peeled a thin plastic layer that must protect the adhesive by her guess. She held still as he pressed the cool patch onto her upper arm. She watched as the patch gradually vanished on her skin, looking as though it had never been there in the first place. She could feel a tingle in the spot where it had been, though it was not unpleasant. Only a tickle, honestly.

"There you are! Go have fun," the Doctor said brightly as he stepped back from her.

"Will you be joining me?"

"I will in a minute. Just let me finish up here. For now, go enjoy." He gave her another happy grin before turning to the bag and umbrella he had brought.

Madison smiled, beaming as she turned and stared at the ocean once more. Quickly undoing her braid, she shook out her hair as she ran for the water, jumping in the moment she splashed into the small wave that came ashore.

XxXxXxXxXx

The Doctor continued to set up a spot to relax near the edge where the water reached. Close enough so that when Madison wanted to, it wouldn't be far for her to reach the shady spot he had created. The umbrella cast the perfect cover shadow around where the large beach towel he had spread out. The picnic basket rested in between the two folded-out hover chairs that sat just above the ground. He pulled out a book from the basket, laying it on his chair so that way if Madison wanted him to continue reading it he could. It had been something that they did while in her room when she was in the bath right before sleeping. Either they sit together and watch a movie, or she'd listen to him read some book from another world, going over the life stories told amongst the pages of the variety of species out there. Even more recently, he had been getting into the bath with her, sitting on the seat within the tub and her on his lap curled up. It had become something of a comfort for the two of them. He couldn't help but smile when thinking of it.

Finished putting together their lounge area, he stood up from his crouch and turned to gaze at the waters of the Pacific Ocean. There was no Madison in sight as she had disappeared the moment she had dove in earlier. He wondered if she was enjoying her time swimming amongst the reef, twirling around with the fish, and maybe even gliding alongside any passing sea turtle. He was then grinning when he finally spotted her. She was off in the distance, far from shore now, leaping out of the water in a perfect arch before diving back into the water once again. She loved doing that in their lagoon. She had described the act as something to feel as though she were flying. A wonderful sensation, she had called it. He knew if he could swim that fast, he might just do that often as well. It looked like brilliant fun. Speaking of fun, he hurried to pick up her clothes from the towel to fold them up before walking back over to the TARDIS with clothes in hand. Once inside the ship, he set the clothes to the side of the door, not wanting them to get all covered in sand. From there he began undressing, down to the swim trunks he had been wearing under his trousers.

He had been planning to take her to this beach for some time now. Especially after Rose had left a few hours ago. He thought it might be the perfect escape from what they had gone through in the parallel universe. It had been . . . rather difficult on them all. Especially Rose and Madison. He knew what it was like, to meet people who were once dead. Even meeting parallel versions of people who were dead in this universe. It was always troubling. Always heartbreaking. At least Rose still had a parent to go to after experiencing such traumatic events. But Madison? She had no one. She was all alone . . . Well, she had him, but he didn't feel good enough to make her feel any better about being the last Mer. Especially in knowing that, in just a universe next to theirs, Mers were living and almost thriving. They still had to live in hiding, though being alive and in a good amount of numbers meant everything to Madison. He knew what he would have felt if it had been Time Lords running around Earth. He wondered if he should go ahead with this original plan for this trip. Finally confessing the absolute truth of how he felt for her. The one thing he knew she had been waiting to hear for a while now. He hoped he would be able to finally say it. Those three words which felt so heavy on his hearts. It had been so long since he had told anyone that. The last one to hear him say it was . . .

Shaking his head to clear his sombre thoughts, he grabbed some more sunblock patches in case Madison might need them later. He didn't bother placing one on himself as there was no need. Time Lords evolved past the whole 'sunburn' thing in being able to regulate the radiation intake into their skin and whatnot. He looked to the water then, wiggling his toes in the warm sand as he stood by their picnic spot. He didn't know where Madison was off to since he last spotted her. She had been so far away that he didn't think he could catch up with her. And just as he was contemplating going into the water or not, he saw Madison's head pop out of the water. She was close to shore now, swimming in the heart of the cove. She smiled so brilliantly, waving her arm high in the air at him. Her green eyes sparkled with joy. Her long red hair floated around her shoulders in swirls. He couldn't help but smile, his hearts involuntarily picking up in beat as he experienced a rush of joy upon the sight of her happiness. One of the few times he saw her allow herself to be nothing more than giddy over life.

Hurrying into the water, he waded out to her. She grabbed him the moment he got close enough, giggling away in delight as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down for a kiss. He closed his eyes, finding the feel of her against him blissful. Then, he felt her smirking against his lips. Suddenly, he was pulled under. His eyes shot open in surprise and as he pulled away from her a few bubbles escaped him in trying to exclaim in shock. The water was clear enough for him to see her perfectly. Her sly grin glinted at him as she lay down in the sand. Rolling his eyes, he lifted himself out of the water to take a large gulp of air before diving back down. They wrapped their arms around each other as they kissed again. It was slow. Nothing more than a way to comfort one another. It made his hearts soar and he could feel her own lone heart fluttering against his chest. Eventually, they parted and he scooted himself over to lie next to her, facing her. She turned to face him as well, lifting a hand to caress his face as she gazed at him. The sunlight warping above them in the ripples of the water, creating an almost ethereal effect around them. He adored this. Being with her. Watching her happy. Just as much as he . . . well, she knew how he felt. It was an unspoken thought between the two. Though she said it for them. She was kind like that. Speaking words which she knew he couldn't. Yet . . . maybe he could.

"What's on your mind?" she asked him quietly in his head. He knew he had been lost in thought, staring at her in-depth, searching her eyes for the answer he sought. Should he say it now?

"I'm thinking . . . that I'd love for you to take me around the reef. Loved to see it for myself," he finally said, his gut twisting in shame for his lack of courage. Damn.

"But of course." She was smiling again, appearing delighted by the aspect. She sat up from the sand, pulling him up to float in the water. Wrapping an arm around his waist, he felt the powerful kick of her tail as she propelled him through the water.

They swam around the reef for a while. With him having to go up to the surface every so often to get a fresh bit of air before diving again. There were all sorts of colourful fish, coral, and other such varieties for them to view. A healthy environment for the reef given the date they were visiting. Before pollution took over much of the ocean. How sad to think what humans of the future will miss out on. Though, if he were honest with himself, he wasn't paying attention to much of the environment. Instead, his eyes kept drifting to Madison, finding her delight with everything even more beautiful. He wondered just how long it's been since she had a chance like this. To swim without a care in the ocean and explore its wonders. He wondered how many Mer were out there now during this year. How many until they were slowly wiped away from existence. What had changed between this world and the one they had visited? What had made the difference in the Mers' survival? She could have had it all if she had stayed back in that other world. Had her family again. Lived amongst the Mer and been free. It was because of him that she felt forced to stay. It was because of him that she couldn't find a family, a people, like that for herself. He didn't even think he could ever give her a family. Something that she very well might have wanted. If only he could fix this . . .

"You're doing it again," he heard Madison's voice in his mind, gently pulling him from his thoughts.

"Doing what?" he responded, trying to fake innocence. He knew he had been caught. She was too good at picking up on his change of behaviour.

"Brooding. Thinking too hard." She swam over to him where he had sat down by an open patch of sand amongst the rocks and coral. She grabbed his hands, lifting him up from the ocean floor so that they could float together in the water. "I know. It's been hard on us all this last trip. Instead of allowing it to overcome our thoughts, let's simply enjoy what we have here. Live in the moment and let go for once. We'll have plenty of time to discuss what we've been through back in the TARDIS. Deal?"

He smiled softly, bringing up a hand to cup her cheek. He felt her leaning into his touch before lifting a hand to cover his. "Deal." He then pushed himself forward, pulling her down for a deep kiss.

When they eventually broke apart, he carefully threaded his fingers into her hair at the back of her head to keep her in place, pressing their foreheads and noses together so they are nothing short of squished against one another. Gradually, he opened his mind to her, allowing her to feel the depth of his happiness and gratitude to have her here with him. She returned the gesture. Her own happiness caused his to swell tenfold. The kindness that was her mind spoke to him in song. Singing a lullaby, a delicate song meant for him and him alone. It was beguiling. It was ethereal, otherworldly, heavenly. It was . . . love. Her love for him, with all her heart. At that moment, he wanted to tell her. Tell her everything that was in his hearts. He knew he needed to. And soon. She wouldn't wait forever. Even if she said she would, he feared that any day she would tire of him and leave. She could leave him at any moment and he would be lost without her. He needed to say it . . .

In the end, he was a coward like always.

"Let's get to the beach. I have food prepared for us," he told her, moving away from her now though still holding onto her hand. With a nod, she swam up beside him, leading the way as she was the better swimmer.

XxXxXxXxXx

Madison sat in the shallow water by the shore, waiting for the Doctor to bring over a foldable chair for her. It was white, made out of sleek plastic material with a blue light circled around at the bottom of it. It hovered just above the ground as it floated over to her with the Doctor walking along beside it.

"Where did you get the chairs? Let me guess, also from the 28th century?" Madison asked him curiously.

"25th, actually," he answered easily, giving a knowing sniff. He pushed up the chair for her and walked over to help her into it. The chair remained unmoving, not lowering in the slightest by her weight as it stayed perfectly above the ground. He then pulled the chair back to where the large umbrella and beach towel lay for them. Her tail dragged along the sand as they went, leaving a shifting trail in its wake. Once she was finally under the massive umbrella, shaded from the bright sun, she relaxed into her chair to gaze at the ocean before them. In the corner of her eye, she could see the Doctor grinning as he sat in his own chair.

"Packed us up a nice lunch. Some sandwiches and crisps. Some fruit and vegetables from Svyao. Thought you'd like to try them. Some biscuits. Some cakes. Plenty of tea and water. Then I brought the book we were reading in case you get bored. After you've dried and eaten, we could always go exploring. The island is beautiful. We could even hop to the different islands around here. Well, then again, I'm not sure which other island has been found yet. Now that I think about it, we might just want to stick with this one for now. Just in case," he rambled, continuing on to talk about the island and its history.

Madison listened to him, smiling as she watched him excitedly discuss the visitors of the future who would love these islands and replicate them on other planets. She couldn't help but smile warmly at his enthusiasm. "It all sounds amazing. We should visit these replica islands," she said when he finally gave a pause in his babbling.

"Oh, you'd love them. We should even visit these islands in the future. Have the whole tourist experience and everything. Since you've never been and all."

"I thought you hated doing tourist things?"

"Yeah, well, sometimes it's nice to have paths to walk around places instead of fighting through dense jungles."

She had to agree with this thought, nodding absently as she turned her gaze back to the ocean. "Still . . . I don't think I've ever seen the ocean this clean before. It's wonderful."

"Humans will learn from their mistakes. In the colonies, they'll keep their oceans taken care of. I can always take you to those, too."

"You can take me anywhere you'd like, Doctor. I'll be happy as long as I'm with you." She reached a hand over, meeting his outstretched hand in the middle between them. They held each other's hands with their fingers entwining. Each of them gave the other a warm smile. "I do hope that wasn't too sentimental," she laughed quietly as she felt herself blushing.

"Nah. Just the right kind, actually," he replied smoothly with a wink.

They ate their lunch then, with the Doctor doing most of the talking for them as Madison remained quiet for the most part while she ate. Once their meal was finished, the Doctor grabbed the book and began reading aloud to her. His glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, slipping down just a tad as he read over the new chapter discussing the atmospheres of the Earth's colonies in the future. He would occasionally wave his hand absently as he read, not once taking his eyes away from the pages. Madison leaned back in her chair while he spoke, watching him absently and finding it entirely peaceful in listening to his comforting voice. She had been so lulled by his voice and the words he spoke that she almost fell asleep right there and then. However, something caught her eye.

She thought she was just seeing things when she turned her attention back to the ocean. But as she squinted her eyes and stared hard in one direction, she knew she was seeing the beginning shapes of boat sails coming closer to the island.

"Ah, Doctor? I do believe we've accidentally come to the date of the Polynesians' arrival on this island," she spoke up, voice tense as she knew the large canoes would be arriving soon.

The Doctor looked away from his book, stopping in mid-sentence. He blinked for a moment before his eyes went wide. "I, ah, erm, yep, seems that way, doesn't it?"

He moved quickly then, going so fast that Madison had to blink in shock. He packed away everything swiftly into the massive bag he had brought, not even bothering to do it nicely. Instead, he merely threw things into the bag haphazardly. Once everything was back into the bag, beside the chair she sat on, he threw the bag around his shoulder and then grabbed the back of her chair. He yanked her along back to the TARDIS, the hover chair remaining as steady as ever. Her tail, which was starting to transform back into legs, continued to drag through the sand. They were back in the TARDIS just as the first canoes were making it to the shore. Each of them began laughing, giddy in almost being caught as the Doctor piloted the ship away.

XxXxXxXxXx

Madison was rather nervous, to say the least. She shifted around by the console, drumming her fingers against the edge as she waited for the Doctor to arrive. She knew he would be soon. It was a few hours after she had woken, dressed, cooked breakfast, and walked around in a sleepy haze. Now she was wide awake, with her plan ready to be executed. She had thought of it last night and the TARDIS helped her practise this before. She knew she could do it. It was merely the act and where they would be going that made her somewhat anxious. Would she make a mistake? Would the Doctor not enjoy her idea? She had thought that maybe he would, though, then again, it was hard surprising him with such things.

"I didn't know you were already awake. Why didn't you tell me?" came his voice from around the corridor. She turned from the console, facing him. She could see his hands stuffed into his pockets, a small pout given to her as he walked closer. She couldn't help but chortle at his child-like frown of disappointment. She could only imagine his thought process of being let down by not spending the morning with her.

"If you wanted to wake up alongside me, then you should have waited in bed," she teased him in response, winking slyly. She snickered at the other pout he gave.

"You were sleeping too long. I got bored," he countered in defence of himself.

"Oh, you poor thing." Snickering for a moment, her smirk slowly disappeared as her nerves came back tenfold. "I suppose . . . I could make it up to you. I have this . . . idea in mind."

"Oh?" The eagerness of his next smile was not subtle. There was a flash of excitement sparking in his eyes as he bounced up the steps to get closer to her.

"It's somewhat of a surprise. An anniversary gift for you." She walked around the console then, absently running her hand along the edge. Eyes raising to meet his, she could see this statement had indeed shocked him.

"Oh. Maddie, you don't have to—"

"I know I don't. Just as you did not have to the other day. But I want to." She averted her eyes, feeling her heart fluttering as she nervously placed her hands along the edge of the console.

Concentrating, she focused on the controls that were needed. Levers flipped, knobs twisted, dials were turned, and orbs were rotated as the controls on the console moved on their own. Well, technically speaking, not on their own. It was all done through her mind, focusing on everything that needed to be done. It was the only way she could pilot the ship so far. In the future, she hoped she could work the controls more manually as the mental strain was hard on her. In fact, as they landed, she could feel the pounding headache already forming. But she smiled through the pain, looking at the Doctor again. She felt her heart swell when seeing the proud expression the Doctor gave her. An absolute grin of delight spread across his face as he stood across the console from her.

"You've been practising!" he blurted out.

"I have." She couldn't help but give him a warm smile. "Though don't expect me to steer the TARDIS all the time. It's extremely straining on my mind."

His grin fell, turning into a thoughtful frown. "Right. We'll have to work on that." Then his bright smile returned. "Still! You did it! Your first flight. Well, not your actual 'first' flight through the Vortex. This is, what, your third? But your first flight done for fun! This is exciting. A Time Lord's first flight was always something to celebrate." He bounced over to her, swiftly wrapping an arm around her waist and swooping her up close to him. He grinned eagerly. "We should celebrate."

She pushed a hand against his chest, making him let go of her. "Later. For now, I want to show you the surprise."

"Where are we?" he asked, seeming unable to keep his curiosity at bay as he followed her to the door, holding her hand tightly as she steered him.

"Somewhere you've never been before," she promised him, smiling when seeing his sudden shift to unequivocal zeal. He tried yanking her to the door, ready to get going. But she pulled him back. "Hold your horses," she laughed, snickering when seeing his pout. "It's a surprise, remember? Close your eyes."

He did as instructed, shifting on his feet impatiently as he did. She made certain that he kept his eyes closed before she pulled open the door and guided him out of the ship. Good, they had arrived exactly where she had wanted. And at the right time, too.

"Smells like high altitude, dry climate, and," he gave another sniff, "a distinct scent of western honey mesquite and seep willow. Shifting sediments in the soil. Night time." He kept trying to mutter his observations, but she swiftly shushed him.

"You're ruining your own surprise," she laughed, shaking her head at his antics. "Stop observing everything for just a moment. Patience is a virtue, Doctor."

"Oh, I hate that saying," he groaned.

"Only because you're absolutely the most impatient man. Now, shush and wait." She made him walk right to the edge of the cliff. Right where he needed to be. Her anxiety came back, nervous about this being a good enough gift. It wasn't anything special. Just a sight to see. But it was something he had never seen before and she knew how important new experiences were for him. She looked to the sky over the distant peak. The dim glow in the sky was growing brighter. She timed it just right. "Okay. Open your eyes."

He opened his eyes just at the right moment. The Sun just started to rise above the distant peaks, over the ridge of the canyon. The sky lit up with a warm glow of yellow, orange, purple, and red hues as the few clouds overhead caught the rays of light from the Sun. As it slowly rose, the Sun's light began to expand across the canyon, creating morning shadows and allowing them to see the great expanse. The different ridges and peaks and valleys. The colourful bands of rock, different layers of sediment that twisted and turned without the high cliffs. The vegetation that was scattered around the area seemed to brighten in their green hues as the Sun's light reached them.

"You told me once that you'd never visited the Grand Canyon," Madison said after a long moment of them standing there and watching the Sun rise over the canyon. "I've only been here a few times myself. And every time I've watched the sunrise, it's always breathtaking. Almost as if I'm watching my first sunrise." She glanced at him, seeing how he stared out to the canyon. His face was expressionless, unreadable as he watched the Sun make its way over the canyon. She couldn't feel what state his mind was in as it was blank to her. Her stomach began to twist nervously again. Did he not enjoy it? Was he expecting something more? Maybe she should have brought him somewhere else. "I'm sorry. I know it's nothing special."

"No. It's . . . It's incredible." His whisper was soft, barely above a breath. He continued to stare, eyes refusing to leave the sight before them. A soft serenity seemed to overtake him. Madison stood closer to him, leaning her head against his shoulder as she too watched the sunrise. Their hands brushed against one another before slowly threading their fingers together. The serene silence between them was welcomed as the quiet morning settled. Eventually, he spoke again. "There was a canyon like this . . . on Gallifrey. It was beautiful. Had so many colours in the rocks. I'd only been there a handful of times. Never visited or explored it all that much. I took it for granted, thinking it would always be there . . ." He was silent again and she gave his hand a strong squeeze.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, now worried that the sight upset him.

"I'm not upset," he assured her, squeezing her hand and letting her know he had heard her mind. She felt him moving and she stepped away to see him turn his gaze onto her, his eyes shining with happiness. "It's wonderful. Thank you. I . . ." He paused, suddenly appearing conflicted by something. She could see an unspoken turmoil in his eyes, desperate to say something but unable to. With a soft smile, she brought up a hand to cup the side of his face.

"I know. I love you, too," she said before leaning forward to gently kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her then, holding her tightly against him. She snaked her arms around his shoulders, lifting a hand to thread her fingers through the hair at the back of his head. Gently she scraped her nails along his scalp, earning herself a soft sigh from him.

Their kiss deepened, turning sensual as she felt his mind opening for her. She sank into his mind, following a path she recognised and had travelled frequently. She travelled deep, nestling into the corners of his mind that he allowed her in. The tender hold that they shared amongst each other, made them feel as one. Their hearts beat together in the same rhythm. It was then that she saw images sent her way. Memories of a speculator, beautiful canyon. One that dwarfed the one beside them. It had colours of the rainbow in rock bands throughout the canyon in his memory. With more hues of red and orange standing out from the rest of the colours. The colourful canyon in Gallifrey with the burnt orange sky . . . it was wondrous. She could feel a stray tear leak down her face as he continued to show her different memories of his homeworld. Sharing with her memories he had never shown before. Memories that she knew she would hold in her heart and always keep safe.

When they eventually pulled away, the Sun was higher in the sky showing them that they had been locked together for some time. She watched as he turned toward the canyon again, staring at it with distant eyes. Eyes that she knew were drinking in the sight as he compared the canyon to the one from his memories.

"I hope you don't mind, but I want to stay here a little while," he finally spoke after a moment.

"I don't mind at all," she assured him. As he walked over to sit down by the edge of the cliff, legs dangling over the side, she went over and sat next to him. She held his hand as they sat together, both of them staring at the canyon and recalling distant times from their past.

XxXxXxXxXx

It was the next morning for Madison and the Doctor when something strange occurred. They were in the console room, with him working on fixing something up under the grated floor before they were to return to Rose. They had gone to many different places the day before. All places she and the Doctor had been before in their lives, revisiting for nostalgic purposes, reliving some of their cherished memories. Nothing that would cross their timelines, of course. In fact, it had been interesting to Madison to be able to visit some of her destinations in the future, seeing what had changed and whatnot. For the Doctor, it didn't matter what point in time he revisited places. For the memories were just as sharp as ever for him. And he told her all of this, going over all his different memories for her. Past times with other companions as a different face, a different man. Recalling fond times he had and hardships he faced. She had held him through the night after their travels that day, laying on his bed while she listened to his stories. Through it all, even though he never shed a single tear, she had felt his sorrow and woes coming from him in waves. Pain in his hearts that she still wished she could help ease and replace his sadness with newer, happier memories.

As she contemplated this while in the console that morning, sitting beside the hole in the grated floor as she watched him work, there came a knock. Madison blinked while the Doctor let out a loud 'ow!' when he banged his head on something under the console. Soon his head came poking up from the hole in the floor, blinking in utter disbelief when staring at the TARDIS door.

"What?" he said as he gaped at the door. There came another knock. "What?!"

"Seems someone's at the door," she remarked lightly, finding his bewilderment amusing. Another knock was made.

"What? But, that's . . . just . . . how?! We're in orbit around Brorth 94! No one comes out here." He pulled himself out from under the console, closing the grate before hopping down the stairs towards the door. Madison got up quickly to follow him, but he soon halted her. "No, no, no. Stay by the console. It could be dangerous."

"All the more reason to be close by, in case you need me," she countered easily, standing by the door with him.

Each of them placed a hand on one of the doors. Glancing at each other, they nodded in agreement to peek out first before opening the doors fully. Carefully, the Doctor cracked open the door, taking a look. Soon he nodded to her and together they opened the doors wide for them to see outside the TARDIS. They were in deep space, with stars twinkling as pinpoints through the inky blackness. Close by was a barren world that the TARDIS had chosen to orbit around. Somewhere far from other civilisations to give them peace and quiet. Nothing else was seen around them. At least, not at first.

"Hey! You finally opened! I'm not going to die! Haha!" came a grainy voice. Both the Doctor and Madison blinked, slowly looking up towards the top of the TARDIS. From there they could see a man in a silver spacesuit clinging to the top of the ship, holding onto the edge for dear life. He was floating upwards, seeming to be close to floating away as his legs dangled around.

"Oh! Hold on," the Doctor said, quickly grabbing the man's hand and pulling him down. Together the Doctor and Madison helped the man into the ship. As the Doctor helped the man gain his footing, Madison closed the doors to the TARDIS.

"Are you all right?" she asked the man quickly.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a little weak. Been stuck out drifting in space for a few days now. Got any water? I'm dying of thirst. And that's not a figure speech, either," the man said rapidly, his voice wobbling as he spoke. She could see how weak in the knees he was. She knew he must be dehydrated and his muscles reacting poorly to suddenly coming back to gravity again.

"Here. Always keep a bottle on me. Just in case," said the Doctor, pulling out a bottle from his suit pocket. Again, Madison was glad that their pockets were bigger on the inside for emergencies such as this.

"And if you need more, we have a kitchen with all sorts of food as well," she told the man as she and the Doctor led him over to the captain's chair. Sitting down, the man smiled at them through the visor of his suit's helmet.

"That would be great," he sighed in relief, sitting down the water bottle in the seat briefly to reach up and undo his helmet. It hissed as he twisted it. After pulling it off, they were finally able to see his face clearer. He was a young man, possibly in his mid-twenties. He had richly tan skin, short black hair, brown eyes that shone brightly, a light moustache and goatee, and somewhat large ears. He looked a little roughened up as there was a healing black eye and a cut lip of his. But he gave a large smile of gratitude to them. Madison noticed how, when he looked at her, there was some sort of spark of recognition in his eyes. But it was quickly replaced as he grabbed his water, opening the bottle with one swift turn of the lid. In a hurry he tipped back the water, some leaking out of the corner of his mouth as he drank. He downed the entirety of the water, letting out a small 'ah' as soon as he was finished.

"Thanks, mate. That hit the spot," said the man as he handed over the now-empty bottle to the Doctor.

"If you've been drifting for a few days, we should really get you some more. And food. Though I have a few questions first," said the Doctor, nodding his head as he pocketed the bottle. "For starters, what's your name?"

"Name's Orin."

"Nice to meet you, Orin. I'm the Doctor. This is Madison. Is that a Kalvis space suit?"

"Yep."

"You're very lucky. Normal spacesuits wouldn't last a day out here."

Orin laughed nervously. "You're telling me. I only had an hour left of oxygen when I spun by your blue box."

"What are you doing out in space?"

"Well, it's sort of a long story and I'd really like to eat something." Orin's eyes turned to Madison. Again, she had that strange sense that he knew her as his eyes were much calmer as he gazed at her. "You mentioned a kitchen?"

They led him to the kitchen, helping him walk somewhat down the corridor until his legs worked properly again. He also needed help getting the rest of his spacesuit off so that he could be less over-encumbered. Finally, down to his blue jumpsuit and in the kitchen eating a sandwich, he was grinning in bright excitement at everything around him.

"This ship is amazing. How'd you manage the bigger on the inside part?" Orin asked after halfway through his third sandwich. He took a long gulp from his glass of water. He made a small 'ah' as he smacked his lips and set the glass down on the countertop. He was currently sitting on the island counter, legs bouncing as he sat on a tall stool. Madison sat beside him, watching him carefully in case he needed more medical attention. She hoped food and water would be enough for him.

"Oh, you know, this and that," the Doctor answered absently, waving a hand in dismissal as he leaned against the refrigerator, arms crossed loosely. Then, his eyes were searching as he looked at Orin more carefully. "I'm more interested in how you managed to get lost spinning around in deep space. Especially all the way out here in this section of space. I thought most human fleets avoided travelling through Sector 38B?"

Orin became quiet then, finishing up his sandwich before folding his hands together. "They do. But I was on a mission to stop a pirate convoy that's been targeting cargo crafts and killing innocent crewmen."

"What fleet are you with?"

"None, actually. I bounce around here and there. I'm more of a 'freelancer' you could say. Go where I'm needed, do my own thing, mostly, and try to help out if I can. I could have found a fleet to stick with, but, nah, there's no fun in just staying around the same people all the time. I like exploring. Besides . . . I've been sort of looking for someone."

There was this glance from him then. It was subtle, barely a glimpse of his eyes was seen. But Madison saw. Him glancing her way fleetingly, in a way that was almost involuntary on his part. She couldn't help but feel this was strange. Did she remind him of someone he knew? They hadn't met before, certainly. Though, then again, time travel. Which would make this the third time she met someone who knew her before she knew them. Though, this only made her wonder, what sort of 'freelancer' he was and why he didn't seem to be giving the same looks to the Doctor. He must know them both, right? It couldn't just be her. Or, perhaps she was simply imagining everything.

"Are you a Time Agent, Orin?" she asked him, being blunt in her curiosity. There was no point in beating around the bush, after all.

"Ah, no. Unfortunately. I did try, but I failed Basics. Didn't make the cut," Orin said, laughing awkwardly as he drummed his fingers on the countertop. Then, there was this smooth grin of his as he turned in his seat to face her better. "Why? Do I seem like Time Agent material? I hear those guys are usually pretty good-looking. Do I make the cut?" He held his chin, tilting his head as if to show off his looks.

"No. Simply asking for my general curiosity," Madison replied easily, ignoring the blatant attempt at flirting from him. "I've met a Time Agent before from this era. Thought I'd cover the basic questions."

"No, yeah, right. Of course," he responded a little too fast, scratching at his face and laughing awkwardly again. There was a flush on his face as he turned away from her again to face the Doctor. It was then that she wondered if her earlier thoughts had been incorrect and Orin was merely finding her somewhat attractive. Seeing how flustered he suddenly was, she couldn't help but find his behaviour rather amusing. However, it seemed she was the only one who thought so as when she gave the Doctor a glance she could see his furrowed brow and hard stare, eyes locked on Orin now.

"So, Orin, you still haven't told us how you managed to get trapped in space," the Doctor said then, his voice light and cheerful though his expression spoke of irritation.

"Right. That. Ha. It's . . . it's not a pleasant story." Grim now, Orin folded his hands together as he stared at them. A heaviness seemed to overtake him then. "I was with a small crew the Xoutania Fleet loaned me. It was supposed to be a covert mission, sneak into the space which had been targeted, do some reconnaissance, and then report our findings on who exactly was targeting these cargo ships and how they've been managing to slip away so easily. We came to this section of space, reconstructing the last known area the pirates had been in when they showed up out of nowhere. They attacked us and destroyed our ship. I only just managed to get into a deep space suit and jettison out of the airlock before the whole thing blew up. I made sure I was the last to leave. Got everyone else to the escape pods, but . . . the damn bastards destroyed those, too. Watched the entire crew go up in flames while I was spinning away." It was quiet then as Orin hung his head in remorse.

"It wasn't your fault," Madison whispered, bringing up a hand onto his shoulder as she stared at him in empathy. She could feel the pain in his mind. It truly tore him up in knowing all those people were lost, his guilt settled heavily in his heart.

"I know. Still hurts, though," he muttered. Then, he was angry, banging his hand down in a fist on the counter. "Damn those Volzell."

The Doctor, who had also held a sympathetic gaze on Orin, suddenly blinked in shock. "Volzell? The pirates you're after are Volzell?"

Orin gave a curt nod. "Yeah."

The Doctor started rubbing at his neck, staring up in thought. "Ooh, that's not good."

"Who are they?" Madison questioned, knowing it must be bad if the Doctor was concerned.

"They're sort of a race of scavengers who are well adapted to space travel. Normally they're not so bad. Usually stubborn when it comes to negotiations but, for the most part, relatively nonviolent. But get a group of rogue Volzell, and, well, you're in for rough trouble," the Doctor explained to her.

"Yeah, and this bunch are particularly bad. I've run into them before. You could say we've got history with each other. And what's worse now is they've got themselves a Time Agent's manipulator," Orin told them.

The Doctor sucked in a sharp breath. "No."

"Yeah. Exactly. That's how they've been managing to get away with pirating cargo ships. They attack, take everything valuable, then jump through the Vortex back into the past to hide away their goods. Worst of all, just before I escaped I learned they were about to develop the technology to replicate the manipulator and send it out to different groups of rogues. They plan on invading the colonies next when this happens."

The Doctor was quick to push himself into action, rushing right out of the kitchen in a hurry. Orin blinked in shock at the sudden disappearance while Madison shook her head.

"We best catch up with him. He has a habit of leaving people behind when his mind is racing," Madison explained as she got up from her stool. Then she paused. "Actually, it might be best if you stay here. Or I can take you to a room to rest. You've been through enough as is."

"No, I'm fine. I want to stop those Volzell bunch and make sure what happened to my crew doesn't happen to anyone else," Orin said, his demeanour set in determination. He followed her out of the kitchen, both of them walking fast to catch up with the Doctor. The Time Lord was back in the console room, working fast on the controls. At the same time, he was seen putting together some sort of handheld device with so many flashing buttons Madison wondered how it could ever possibly work.

"I'm guessing you're coming up with some sort of a plan, yeah?" Orin asked as he and Madison watched the Doctor at work.

"Something like that," the Doctor answered absently as he continued to work.

"Don't tell me you're just winging it," Orin said.

"He tends to do that quite often, yes," Madison replied, chortling quietly at Orin's bewildered expression.

"Are you contacting your fleet?" Orin questioned them.

"Nah. No fleet for us. We're also a couple of freelancers," the Doctor told him, flashing a cheeky grin. "We travel around, exploring. Sound familiar?"

Orin laughed. "Yeah, pretty familiar." Then his humour fell. "Though going in with just three people seems reckless."

"Going in with any more than that could cause things to get worse. Trust me, Orin, I know what I'm doing. I'll get us in, stop these pirates, get rid of the manipulator, and have you back home before you know it."

XxXxXxXxXx

Things didn't go so well for them. In fact, Madison would consider it rather chaotic as the day progressed. No matter what they did it just kept getting worse and she had half a mind to tell the Doctor off for not actually having a real plan when it came to negotiation. That is if she could find him in the mess of this maze of a spaceship. The entire place was cramped and tight-spaced, like that of a submarine. Though with so many twisting corridors that it made her feel dizzy. It did not help that it was hot and humid on the ship as well. Every breath she took felt as though she were getting a lungful of hot moisture. Water dripped down the dingy, slim-encrusted, dark-coloured walls, leaking across the floor and making it slippery to run. The place was also very dimly lit, making it hard to see where she was going.

Turning down another random corridor, she tried keeping a good pace to get away from the ambush they had faced from the Volzell. It was not intentional, her getting separated and lost from the Doctor and Orin. It had been somewhat of a panicked moment in their attempt at escaping the laser fire from the Volzell's blasters. It had only taken her falling down behind a bunch of crates to lose sight of her companions. From there she kept running, hoping she was going the right way and would eventually catch up with the Doctor and Orin again. Though she still had no sign of them in sight and she could still hear the clicking and clacking of the Volzell behind her. She had to glance over her shoulder, looking to see how close they were to her. They were bizarre creatures. The Doctor called them 'photosynthetic'. They had crab-like bodies, with extra pairs of arms and legs that were covered in thick, pointed exoskeleton plates and large eye stalks that could turn in all sorts of directions. Their eyes were unsettling with how black and lifeless they appeared to be, which, apparently, could see the entire electromagnetic spectrum. They carried enormous dishes of bone on their backs as well, which the Doctor had explained were used to capture and focus light. That was the source of food for the Volzell, light from the deep reaches of space amongst the stars. They could absorb the tiniest bits of light from the distant suns, allowing them to survive easily in space. Which is why they kept the lights so low in their ships. Light, their source of life, was also their biggest weakness.

That had been the Doctor's plan. Give them a choice to stop, or turn up the lights to blind them all until the proper authorities could come to collect them. The Volzell didn't even give them a chance to discuss things with them. It was almost immediately straight into opening fire on the trio. Though not before clicking laughter from the Volzell upon the Doctor's offer of peace. And the plan with the lights did not succeed, either as the device the Doctor had flattered and sputtered in his hands when he tried to use it. Which led to running and now getting lost. Oh, dear. This is just how her day was meant to be today. She knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from the Doctor later. That is if they made it out of this. Her stomach churned as disturbing thoughts reached her. Thoughts of the Doctor severely injured in some way or another. She managed to push these thoughts away and keep focused on outrunning those who wished her harm.

Just as she turned down another corridor, trying to get out of sight from the Volzell, she ran straight into someone. It was only a brief moment of fear of being caught before she realised it was Orin. He too was panting hard, out of breath from running. She could see his face was flushed from the heat, a layer of sweat along his forehead and cheeks. She knew she would be covered in sweat as well if it wasn't for being Mer. That was the problem for Mer, they only had a few sweat glands compared to humans. That was why heat affected her kind so badly. In fact, this heat was starting to get to her somewhat. It was only fortunate enough that it was humid, giving enough water in the air for her.

"Oh! You're okay!" Orin exclaimed, appearing relieved. "I was worried they'd gotten you."

"They will in the moment if we don't hurry," she replied, already sensing the approaching Volzell.

"Right," Orin muttered, growing more serious now as his eyes narrowed past her. "Come on. Stay close to me. I'll get you out of this mess." He grabbed her hand, yanking her along with him down the corridor.

"Where's the Doctor?" she asked him, keeping up with his fast pace as they ran down the hall.

"Somewhere around here. I sort of split off from him to come look for you."

"You should have stayed with him. What if he needs help?"

"Trust me, I don't think he needs any help from me. In fact, I think he blames me for losing sight of you. That man has some serious anger in him."

Madison let out a sigh. "Yes, he does tend to get that way at times." She yelped as there came a sudden blast from a weapon discharging, hitting a few large crates they were passing down the hallway. They had reached a four-way branching section of the ship. The corridor in front of them kept going straight while one to the left went down and one to the right went up another level.

"Get down!" Orin shouted as he pushed her behind one of the crates. He ducked behind the opposite side of the corridor, using another crate as coverage. He then yanked a blaster that Madison just noticed was strapped to his hip, firing it over the top of the crate with deadly aim.

"Please don't kill anyone. That's not what needs to be done here," she said to him. She understood they needed to protect themselves, but the idea of Orin killing someone for her sake made her stomach twist into knots.

"Don't worry. Already got an ear full from the Doctor earlier. I've set it to stun only," Orin told her, ducking down to avoid getting hit before reaching over and firing again. This went on for a few minutes with Orin keeping the Volzell at bay. The Volzell could not advance on them, but, in return, neither Orin nor Madison could leave. They were trapped, and Madison doubted that Orin's blaster could withstand much more of this. Eventually, it would run out of energy. And she was so focused on this that she didn't sense the other Volzell until they were right upon them.

"Orin!" she shouted, too late for a warning as the three Volzell showed up around the other end of the hallway. They shot at the two of them and hit Orin right in the side of his lower abdomen. He let out a sharp cry from the pain, clutching at his stomach as he doubled over. Madison rushed to him and grabbed him, pushing him down the stairs of the left corridor. There was luckily a thick door to the opening of the hallway, so she hurriedly pushed it shut. There was a spinning door locking wheel that she swiftly cranked and turned, making the metal bars slam around the corners of the door. She got it locked just in time as vicious loud thumps were heard on the metal of the door. She didn't bother to hang around any longer as she turned to Orin, who had been leaning against the rail of the grated staircase, and hoisted him up to get them moving again.

"I'm okay. You don't have to hold me," he told her after a moment.

"All right, if you're certain. But if you start to feel dizzy, just let me know." She let go of him, watching him carefully as he swayed in place a little. But he seemed to be pushing through the pain, wincing with each step down the stairs but keeping himself as steady as possible.

She went ahead of him, ready to catch him in case he fell, as well as checking out where they were heading. So far, it just seemed to be a long set of grated stairs that led into the dark bowels of the ship. Eventually, she could see the stairs come to an area lit up with red lights. Around were large cages or jail cells with rusted metal. There were chains hanging from on top of the cells with shackles attached. Some buckets were inside the cells, meant for a toilet for the prisoners. There did not appear to be much else in the cells besides the buckets. Luckily, she couldn't see anyone within these cages. Though she could see signs that they had been used recently judging by the state of some of the buckets. Was this some sort of prison for their enemies? Or something far more sinister?

"These cages are for slave trading," she heard Orin say behind her. She glanced over to see he was at the bottom of the stairs next to her now.

"Have you seen much of this sort of thing?" she asked, keeping her voice low as she gazed around once more, taking in the sight with disgust. Hot anger started to boil forth in knowing what horrors must have occurred down here. All those poor people, put through such hell all in the name of profit.

"Yeah . . . You could say I'm well acquainted."

There was a low undertone to Orin's voice. Something which told Madison that he had old history with this sort of thing. The haunted look in his eyes and the sudden turmoil she felt from his mind . . . It was always an unpleasant experience, reliving one's terrible past. "I'm sorry. For whatever you had to live through." She reached for his hand, grasping it gently.

He didn't get a chance to reply as suddenly he doubled over and let out a cry of agony. He started to fall forward, but she rushed forward and caught him. She had his arm around her shoulders and moved him farther into the room as fast as she could. She could see a dark spot growing on his jumpsuit around his stomach. So she had them stop by one of the larger cages, setting him down on the ground so she could get a better look.

"I'll need to get your suit open. Just hold still, all right?" she said as she began unzipping his suit down the front. The only response she received was a groan, so she continued with her work, opening the top portion of the jumpsuit to see that his wound was bleeding badly. "I think they might have hit an artery. I'll need to apply pressure." Grabbing the top of one of his suit's sleeves, she ripped it off entirely from his arm before folding up the material and pressing it down onto his injury. He let out a yelp but did not complain. "You're doing great, Orin. Just hang in there while I get the bleeding to slow down."

"Yep," he muttered, gritting his teeth as she pressed down harder. While she kept applying pressure on his injury, she began hearing something within the quiet room. Something shifted and moved across the metal floor. She tensed, worried about what might be down here. What if it was more than people that the Volzell transported around? Then, came the shaky voice.

"Hello? Is—Is someone there?" came a quiet, timid voice. Madison looked up, seeing a small skinny child standing in the centre of the large cell next to her and Orin. They stood under the red light coming from a lamp hanging above the cell, allowing Madison to see them clearly. The child had on metallic clothing that appeared worn and ragged, torn up and dirtied from their living conditions. Their black hair was hanging around their shoulders in a tangled mess, their skin had patches of grim around, and their brown eyes appeared puffy and red from crying.

"Oh! Hello!" Madison replied, shocked by the presence of the child. She was surprised that she had missed them entirely when observing the cells earlier. She wondered if the child had pressed themselves into a corner and had hidden in the darkness, scared to be found by the Volzell. She worried about the child seeing Orin in pain and injured, so she tried blocking the child's view of what she was doing. "How did you get down here, sweetie?"

"Those—those monsters grabbed me. They got my mum and dad, too. But I don't know where they went. I woke up alone," the small child said, scooting up closer to the cage door. She could hear the tears in their voice as they spoke shakily. "I don't know where they are. I d-don't want to be alone." They started sniffling then.

"Hey now, don't worry. You're not alone. Not anymore. I'm here," Madison replied calmly, trying her best to give the child a smile of encouragement. "And as long as I'm here, I won't let the monsters get you, okay? So, please, don't cry."

"B-but what about mum and dad?"

"I'll try my best to find them, too. But I think they'd rather me focus on keeping you safe first. Don't you think so?"

"Y-yeah." The child rubbed at their face, smearing dirt around from their wet tears.

Madison glanced down at Orin's wound, seeing that the bleeding was stopping though not by much. She needed more cloth of some sort to help. "Sweetheart, do you happen to have anything in that cage that might help my friend here? Some kind of cloth of some kind? Maybe a blanket?"

"I don't think so?" The child glanced around their cage, looking for anything. Then, they looked back at Orin with wide eyes of fright. "What happened? Is he gonna die?"

"No, sweetie, he's fine. He just needs a bandage and he'll be right as rain." Madison knew this might be a horrible lie. If she couldn't get control of this injury, she might just lose Orin. The thought alone sent a horrible twist in her stomach, but she kept on a straight face so as to not frighten the poor child.

"Blaster," she heard Orin say through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"Blaster," he muttered again, grabbing the blaster that he had dropped to his side. Shakily, he did something to it before handing it to her. "Cauterise it."

"Oh." Madison sucked in a sharp breath before steeling herself and nodding. "Okay." She moved away the blood-soaked cloth from his stomach, grabbing the blaster from him. "What do I do?"

"Hold it . . . at the side . . . keep pressing the trigger . . . until it glows red." With a trembling hand, Orin showed her what he meant.

Madison knew what to do. Use the heat of the barrel to burn the wound. So, tilting the blaster to the side and laying it against the open wound, she started to press the trigger but halted as she saw the child still staring, their eyes wide. "Sweetie, I need you to cover your ears and go stand in a corner. Just stay there until I say it's okay. Can you do that for me?"

Seeing how the child nodded and quickly did as instructed, Madison only wished that this would not be too terrible. She would hate to traumatise the child any more than they already had been. Sucking in a breath to steady herself, she started to pull the trigger. The blaster could be heard whining then as though it were trying to start up. It shook in her hand as she held on tight and pressed it harder into the wound. Slowly, the tip began to glow, changing from brown to glowing red. The burning heat of metal did fast work on sealing up Orin's wound as he ground his teeth together and tried his best to keep from shouting in pain. Eventually, she was able to pull the weapon away and let go of the trigger.

"There. That's good enough. The Doctor will have to patch you up better once we get back to the TARDIS," Madison said as she set aside the blaster. She moved Orin then, helping him sit up somewhat and lending against the bars of the cage next to them.

"Nah, no doctor for me. Just slap on a bandage and I'm right as rain," he joked. He gave her a weak smile and a thumbs up.

"Using my words against me I see."

Orin laughed. "You made it too easy."

She rolled her eyes lightly before turning to the cage door. She could see that it was a generic lock. Old school for this time period. But it meant it was easily accessible to her, so she pulled out her lock-picking bag from her pocket and began to work. "Okay, sweetie, you can look now. It's all right. I'll have you out of here in a jiffy." She had the cell door open before the child even turned around. "There we are. No more cage for you." She was surprised when the child rushed forward and threw themselves on her, wrapping her in a hug. She returned the hug strongly, patting the child's head in comfort.

A loud screeching noise came from the stairs then. Madison abruptly grabbed the child and brought them over to Orin. "Protect them," she ordered Orin before scooping up the blaster from the floor. She knew there was no hiding for them. It was a dead end where they were at. So the only thing she could do was to defend Orin and the child as much as she could. She knew it wouldn't last, but . . . she had to make her stand. "Which setting is stun?" she asked quickly.

"Setting three. Turn the knob on the side," Orin instructed her.

She did as he said before aiming the blaster straight at the stairs. She could hear the loud bangs before something started to come down the staircase, rushing to where she and the others were. She kept her strong stance, ready to duck when they began shooting. The footsteps that pounded on the grated stairs grew closer and closer. The loud clicking of a Volzell's shell grew louder by the second. With heart pounding and body tense, she fired the moment she saw an outline of a figure approaching.

"Woah! Maddie, it's me!" exclaimed the Doctor after ducking from the shot.

Madison dropped the blaster in shock. With a start, it occurred to her that the clicking she had heard had not been the moment of body armour but that of the creaking stairs. "Oh! Doctor, I'm so sorry, I thought it was—"

"I know. It's all right." His shadowy figure, barely seen through the darkness and dim red light, came over to her. He halted just before her. "You're hurt," she heard him say after sucking in a sharp breath.

"What? Oh." She glanced down at herself, seeing some of Orin's blood on her hands and jumper. "No, not me. Orin was hit in the stomach. I had to cauterise the wound, though I'm not certain if I did it well enough. You might wish to check him over before we move again." She could see the tautness in the dark outline of his figure soon depart as his shoulders relaxed. As he stepped into the light so that she may see him better, she witnessed the relief pass through him before he enveloped her in a hug and pulled her tightly against his body. "I'll get blood on your suit," she tried warning him, holding her hands away from his body to prevent staining his clothes.

"I don't care. I'm just glad you're safe," he breathed into her ear.

Soon she gave into the hug, wrapping her arms around him. Her hands gripped the fabric of his suit in a tight clutch. "I'm glad you're safe, too," she whispered. "I was so worried." Her eyes began to burn as she buried her face into his chest. Her dreaded thoughts of what could have happened flashed through her mind.

He let out a small breath, stroking her head with his fingers running through her hair. "I know."

XxXxXxXxXx

It was over just as quickly as it began. A fleet that the Doctor had messaged arrived and took the Volzell away into custody, ready to be processed for their crimes. Their ship and the manipulator they had stolen were dismantled. The Doctor took Orin back into the TARDIS medical bay and patched him up, while Madison stayed with the child. Madison got the child, whose name was Wylow, washed, into clean clothes, and cooked them a nice meal. She kept them happily entertained until the Doctor could take them back home. It turned out that the Volzell were using the manipulator for more than simply stealing cargo. They were also going to the past to steal away people from small colonies, selling them into slavery. Wylow had been one of those taken from their time. Unfortunately, none of the others who had been stolen could be traced. The Volzell kept no records, and there were far too many places throughout the universe to search. It was only lucky that Wylow had some family still around in the colony, ready to take on the role of guardians for them.

"But what about my mum and dad?" Wylow whispered to her as they stood outside the home of an aunt and uncle, the Doctor speaking with them and explaining the situation.

Madison gazed down at the child who still clung to her hand, refusing to let go. Crouching down, she made their eyes meet. "It'll be okay, sweetie. No matter where they are, I know they'll always be thinking of you and fighting their way back to you. It may take a long time, but maybe, one day, you'll find them again. Just keep fighting and know they'll be waiting for you in the future."

Wylow nodded, their lip trembling as they sniffled and rubbed at their eye. "Will I ever see you again?"

"Maybe one day. Next time, let's hope we can go on an amazing adventure together. How does that sound?"

The child gave her an uncertain smile but nodded all the same. After hugging her hard one last time, Wylow went to their aunt and uncle while the Doctor and Madison left in the TARDIS. Orin was in the console room, sitting in the captain's chair waiting for their return. He was all patched up, in a fresh set of clothes, and ready to get back to the Xoutania Fleet to finish his report. He watched the Doctor steer the TARDIS away for a moment before turning his attention to Madison.

"Thanks again for saving my skin back there," he said.

"I didn't really do much. The Doctor was the one who made certain you didn't bleed to death," she replied, shaking her head slightly.

Orin gave her a firm look then. "No, really, I would have died sooner if it weren't for you. Thank you."

Seeing how steadfast he was in thanking her, she eventually smiled and nodded in return. "You're quite welcome."

"All right! Here we are!" the Doctor announced suddenly as they felt the TARDIS come to a stop in her flight. "On the viewing deck of the Xoutania Fleet. Just a few hours after taking care of those Volzell." He grinned at them as he leaned against the console. "So! Orin, it was nice to meet you, but I'm afraid this is where we say 'goodbye'."

"Goodbye? Just like that?" Orin looked between the two of them, stunned by the Doctor's announcement. "You can't just leave. We did good today. Why don't we go to the fleet's lounge to get ourselves a drink or two? My treat."

"Nah, we're fine. Go enjoy yourself, though. Besides, I don't do so well on military ships," the Doctor said, waving a hand in dismissal as he turned back around to face the monitor on the console. He gave a small sniff. "People who carry guns aren't typically my sort of crowd to hang around." He then gave Orin a side glance. "No offence."

Orin frowned, clearly disgruntled but not wanting to respond to that. He glanced edgily toward Madison then. "What about you? Would you like a drink?"

Looking down at herself, she saw that stains of blood were still on her jumper and trousers. She knew she was a mess and she felt it, too. Exhaustion from all that running in a hot climate had run her down and she only felt the call to her bath at the moment. "Unfortunately, I'll have to pass. I'm far too tired to think of anything other than sleep at the moment."

Orin appeared troubled then. He looked briefly at the Doctor before turning directly to her. "Can I at least talk to you before I go?" Seeing the Doctor's curious gaze, Orin gave Madison a pointed look. "In private."

Madison could see immediately that the Doctor did not like this. He held a heavy frown, brow furrowing as he shot Orin a sharp reproachful gaze. Ignoring this from the Time Lord, she nodded as she saw no harm in it. She followed Orin out of the ship, closing the door behind her as they now stood in a dark hallway. In front of them was a more open area, with lounge chairs and drink dispensers all around a massive window that showed the view of space. Orin walked over to the viewing area, staring out at the nebula in the distance. Madison went over to stand beside him, also gazing out into the deep reaches of space.

"I honestly don't know where to start," Orin finally mumbled, rubbing at his neck nervously. Madison waited patiently, watching him gather his thoughts. "I guess I could start by thanking you again."

"You don't have to keep thanking me, Orin."

"No . . . I think I do." He turned to her then, his eyes soft, staring at her with this old sadness that couldn't be placed. "You saved me twice over today. More than you realise."

Meeting his gaze, she could see the truth there in his eyes that she had been searching for since meeting him. Then, she gave him a kind smile. "You changed your name," she finally noted.

Orin let out a small laugh, rubbing at his neck again. "Yeah. 'Wylow', among a few other things, just didn't suit me well, so I made a few changes over the years." He dropped his hand from his neck as his eyes searched her curiously. "When did you realise it was me?"

"Sometime after I got little Wylow washed up. The resemblance between the two of you was far too close to be a coincidence. You both had the same eyes and noses, for starters. Then the way you made certain to avoid the child carefully, that was another giveaway. Though that could have been simply you not liking children, so I wasn't completely certain . . ." Looking him up and down, her smile brightened. "You've really grown a lot."

Orin returned her smile. "Yeah . . . and it's thanks to you that I'm even here today."

Her smile dropped as she shook her head. "It wasn't really my doing though. It was the Doctor who got us there and stopped the Volzell."

"But if it wasn't for you getting down to those cells I would have been trapped there for who knows how long."

"It was only luck that I went left instead of right. If anything we would have found you eventually. The military searched through the ship very carefully."

"I guess. But, still, you treated me kindly when you didn't have to. You helped me feel better through a terrible situation." Orin grabbed her hands then, holding them tightly. "You gave me hope for the future when I thought everything was hopeless. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for you."

Sighing then, Madison could only see the desperate, yet hopeful expression of his. With a small shake of her head, she gave his hands a squeeze. "But that wasn't me, Orin. Really, it wasn't. That was all you. You got yourself through all that pain and loss. You pushed yourself into living a better life. Freelancer, explorer, doing good work for people, helping out where you're needed: that was you and you alone. You didn't need me to tell you to look to the future. Nor anyone else. That was you being the wonderful person you always have been and will be."

Orin stared silently at her for a moment. Then, blushing, he let go of one of her hands to scratch at his cheek. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He smiled sheepishly before giving a small laugh of embarrassment. "Suppose I let myself get wrapped up in this idea of you being my hero and whatnot."

"I'm no hero, Orin. I'm just someone trying to live her life just like everyone else is in this vast universe."

Sighing then, Orin nodded. "Yeah. I know." He let their hands drop finally as he rubbed at his neck again. "You know, I had all these ideas of what it would be like meeting you again. I've been searching, hoping to find you one day. Never thought it'd turn out like this."

Madison gave him a sympathetic smile. "Things tend to never turn out the way we visualise. Life always has its own plans in mind."

"Right." Orin nodded slightly before giving a side glance towards the TARDIS. "Tell me though, if it weren't for the Doctor, would I have even stood a chance?"

"Orin, if it wasn't for the Doctor, we would have never met in the first place. He's the one that got me into travelling through space and time."

"Huh." Orin scratched at his cheek, glancing again at the TARDIS. "Guess that means I should be thanking him then." There was a moment of hesitation, then he appeared to second-guess this idea. "Yeah, probably not." He whispered to her then in light humour. "I don't think he likes me all that much."

A small laugh escaped Madison then. "He does tend to be like that in the beginning. Don't worry, it just takes him a moment to warm up to people."

Orin appeared sceptical of this but nodded all the same. "Will I ever see you again?"

"Maybe. One day. Until then, just keep looking to the future and keep being amazing."

They gave each other a strong hug before saying goodbye and departing. As soon as Madison was back in the TARDIS, the Doctor flipped a lever and sent them off. She could see how he didn't look in her direction, not even a glance. There were obvious signs that he wanted to say something to her, but he was pretending to be focused on the ship controls instead. Seeing how close he had been to the monitor when she came back, she knew what he had been doing.

"So, tell me, honestly, you were spying on us on the monitor, weren't you?" she asked as she walked over to him.

"What? No, no. Of course not . . . Okay, yeah, just—just a little," he finally responded. He rubbed at his ear, glancing up at her sheepishly.

She rolled her eyes slightly. "I expected as much."

"You know, I knew I felt a paradox on him the moment we met. Suppose it makes sense now, that kid being him and all. Guess that takes care of that, then." He gave a sniff, fiddling with the monitor again. "So, get in a nice goodbye?"

"I suppose. He's hoping that we'll see him again, but I didn't make any promises." Staring at the Doctor for a moment, seeing how he still seemed to be pretending to keep busy, Madison could only shake her head. "You have no reason to be jealous. You do realise this, yes?"

"'Jealous'? Who said I was jealous?" He paused. "Well, I mean," he paused again to rub at his ear, "he was a rather handsome man, and you're a beautiful woman who he definitely had eyes for."

"Yes, he had an attraction towards me, but that doesn't mean I returned such feelings." She walked over to him, standing beside him now. "You do realise you have nothing to be jealous of. There is only one man I'll ever find attractive, and he's standing right beside me." She saw the tug on his lips as he tried not to smile. It wasn't working too well for him as there was a swell in his chest. "You know, if I allowed myself to be jealous every time someone flirts with you, I'd be stuck in an endless loop. Especially since you have a habit of flirting back with them."

Now he frowned. "No, I don't."

"Oh, yes, you do. Remember Princess Daphnea? Or how about that space scavenger, Claudira? And don't forget Rayelyn, Anka, Cambrisa, Jaenelle, and Emilyse. Just to name a few." She smirked as she saw the blush on the Doctor's face and the way he rubbed at his neck.

"Had—Had there really been that many?" He stared at her worriedly then. "I don't do it for anything else other than what's needed. You know, information and such. You know that, right?"

"Yes . . . Though it would be nice afterwards if you'd, I don't know, remind me that our relationship matters. A girl tends to wonder, after all, when her man flirts around and such." Now she was picking at a spot on the console, averting her eyes as her unease of past events began to surface. She did not bring it up before with him. She tried not to allow it to trouble her. But sometimes . . . her mind did tend to wander a bit. Especially after Reinette. She tensed as he grabbed her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his.

He stared at her tenderly, moving his hand slowly to cup the side of her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. There's only one woman who matters to me and that's you. Don't ever forget that."

She reached up a hand, touching his tie. "The same goes for me. You never have to feel threatened by other men when the only one I can ever love with all my heart is you."

A smug smile played on his lips now. "Well," he drawled out, "I can't help it if I still feel . . . somewhat possessive over what's mine."

Raising one brow, she scoffed. "Oh? I'm your 'possession', am I?" She sucked in a breath as he leaned over her. His eyes grew dark with desire as he gazed hungrily at her. His hand curled around her face, scraping his nails lightly against her skin as if he itched to clutch her hard.

"Yes," he breathed against her face before capturing her mouth into a dominant kiss. One which sent a wave of electricity through her while her toes curled. When he pulled away again, she was left breathless. All she could do was stare in a daze as he grabbed her hand and led her over to the jump seat. He sat down first, pulling her so that she was sitting on top of him, leg on either side of his hips. Her face heated up as he stared at her as if she were the most dazzling sight. The smile that lay across his lips was in a dreamy state. He curled his hand into her hair, bringing her closer so that their lips hovered over each other. "How about I start here to make up for all that flirting I've done? You can do whatever it is you want. Right here and now."

Lava pooled in her stomach as his hand left searing touches across the back of her neck. Her spine tingled as she swallowed, drinking in the alluring sight that was his beauty. "Is that a promise?" Her heart sped up as he gave a deep breathy chuckle. She wasn't so good at being so forward when it came to things such as this with the Doctor. It was strange and unique to her. The only time she had been so forward was after being away from him for five years, and that had been just to prove a point. But he had been encouraging her lately to be more open when it came to him. And so, she shall be.

Buzzing with anticipation, she finally pushed through the small gap between them and met him for a carnal kiss.

---

Thought this chapter would be a nice break and change of pace. I hope it was good. Let me know in a review if you enjoyed. Can't wait to see what everyone thinks of it.

Until next time!