After she had taken care of her immediate morning needs, realization hit Hermione like a ton of bricks. Her mood instantly switched from the relaxed calm that she had enjoyed ever since waking up next to the Doctor to an almost frantic fervor as she paced back and forth in the middle of her room and berated herself about what she had done. Not only did I kiss him last night, but I also crawled into his bed in the middle of the night, and snuggled with him this morning. What is wrong with me? What is he going to think of me now?
The TARDIS hummed comfortingly in her mind as she sent the young woman a picture of the two of them in the Doctor's bed this morning. Hermione noticed how comfortable they both looked. Then her mind drifted to how wonderful it had felt in those few moments when they had their arms around each other before she had to get up. Well, at least he looked like he enjoyed it, too, and she was pretty sure that it had helped with his nightmares. Therefore, even though she was still a bit embarrassed about her impetuous behavior, she decided not to worry about it anymore. After all, the TARDIS did not seem concerned and Hermione had come to trust her sentient friend. Instead, she finished her morning routine and, since she had not allowed herself to even think about what the day might bring, she dressed casually and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She knew that she would be prepared for anything that way. Then she headed off to the galley in order to prepare breakfast for the Doctor as a 'Thank You' gift since he had handled dinner for her on the previous night.
She had just finished setting the food out and wondered if she should ask the TARDIS to deliver a message and summon the Doctor, when the alien himself finally showed up in the galley. He wore his usual outfit, but had switched out the black jumper for a dark green one. Hermione thought the color looked good on him and that it really brought out the bright blue of his eyes – especially when he smiled at her as he walked over to the table. She was also glad to notice that there did not seem to be any awkwardness between them after the unusual events of the past few hours. Before she could tell him any of that, however, he plucked a piece of fruit out of the bowl on the table.
"I like bananas. Bananas are good!" he reflected as he took a seat. Everything she was about to say was forgotten then since Hermione just had to giggle at how the dead seriousness of his tone contrasted with the silliness of the statement. Her amusement caused him to look at her and place a hand dramatically on his chest, as if he was wounded by her actions. "What?" he asked innocently. "They're a good source of potassium!"
At his deadpan comment, her snicker turned into a full-fledged belly laugh and she soon found that she was laughing so hard that she had to hold on to the edge of the table to keep from falling over. Deep down inside, she knew that what he had said was not really all that funny, but more and more of the horror and stress from the last few days seem to melt away with each cathartic round of laughter. Therefore, she let it all out. When she was finally able to regain control of herself, with the exception of just a few aftershocks of giggles, she looked up to see the Doctor smiling at her fondly.
"Better?" he asked, since he fully understood her need for an emotional release.
"Oh yes! Thank you, I do believe I needed that!" she replied in a prim manner that contrasted greatly with the wild abandon of her earlier amusement as she sat down at the table across from him to eat. When she finally looked up and met his eyes, the amusement that he still saw there coaxed out his own bark of laughter and he reached across the table to squeeze her hand. After that, they found that they were able to eat their breakfast with just some light companionable chatter about nothing in particular. When they were finished with their meal, Hermione also handled the cleanup with just a wave of her wand and a whispered word.
The Doctor then offered her his hand and when she took it, they exited the galley, and he led her to the console room. Upon their arrival, he directed her to the jumpseat and then he turned to face the console. The time had come to make their decisions and the Doctor had to determine what to tell the pretty little witch who looked up at him so earnestly while she waited for him to begin the discussion.
Despite his extensive research, the Doctor still had no answers to Hermione's predicament. He was still not certain how or why she had ended up on his ship…or where she even really came from in the first place. What he did know was what they would eventually have to do to get the answers that they needed. However, he just could not bring himself to suggest that course of action right now – especially since he knew that, no matter what, the consequences would be dire for her – in one way or another. Therefore, he decided to do something else that he was extremely good at, instead. He was going to stall! He would distract her from her problems with some time and space travel. After all, it usually worked for him!
He told himself that such a temporary delay was for her own good and that it would give her more time to heal, both physically and emotionally. He argued with himself about a lot of other things, as well, but in the end he just set the controls and flipped the switch to take them out of the Vortex for the first time in days. He was determined that she deserved a trip and he knew that his chosen destination was neutral enough to be the perfect time and place to take her. He could only hope, however, that he had done the right thing as he turned around to face her. He leaned up against the console, in what seemed to be his signature position - arms crossed over his chest and one booted foot over the other – and despite his uncertainty at avoiding the issue, he smiled at the sight of the hopeful look in her eyes.
"I think that we need a change of scenery. Plus, we are out of tea," he explained. "We can't make any important decisions without tea. Therefore, I am going to take you shopping." His smile grew even larger as her eyes widened in understanding. Perhaps he had done the right thing after all!
"Do you mean…?" she started to ask.
"Yep!" he replied as he popped the "p" sound and grinned even wider as her enthusiasm for his plan became obvious.
"Yay!" she exclaimed as she jumped up from the jumpseat and clapped her hands like an excited child who had been offered a treat. "I didn't know if I would get the chance to do any traveling with you, but I had so hoped…" Her words trailed off uncertainly and they shared a warm look before…Boom!...they both crashed down to the grating as the TARDIS roughly reached the chosen destination.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. He could not help but to laugh, though, at the surprised look on her face as he rolled over in her direction and stood up. He then offered her a hand and easily pulled her slight form upright, as well. "Rough landing - it happens sometimes!" Then he shrugged, as if it was not important.
"Hmm, only sometimes?" she asked teasingly as she looked up at him. He still held the hand with which he had pulled her off of the floor and they stood very close to each other. Nevertheless, neither of them thought that it was strange. Close just seemed to be an increasingly normal place for them to be. In fact, Hermione wore such a huge smile on her face that the Doctor found that he could not help but to return it with one of his own - especially when she whispered with excitement. "Where are we? Ooh! When are we?"
Instead, with their hands still firmly clasped, he just led her to the door. "Hermione Granger," he intoned while he tried to look serious, but failed miserably at doing so. "Outside of these doors is Barcelona – the planet, not the city. It was colonized by humans about a thousand years ago. It's 6 pm on a Tuesday in October 5006. It's a market day, and Hermione…" he paused
"Yes, Doctor?" she asked, excitedly.
"They have dogs with no noses!" With that statement, he grinned and paused for a moment as if waiting for something.
Hermione quickly caught on to what he wanted - mainly due to that contagious grin of his. "How do they smell?" she asked, as she set up the punch line that she knew he was about to deliver.
"Terrible!" he exclaimed in response. They both laughed at the very bad joke as he threw open the door and quickly pulled her outside where she stood blinking in the bright sunlight for the first time in days! Hermione looked over to see the Doctor with his signature manic grin and then she turned around, eager to see her other friend, the TARDIS, for the first time.
"Sweet Merlin!" she exclaimed as she looked at the impossibly small blue Police Box in front of her. "That's brilliant!"
The TARDIS hummed in amusement and the Doctor laughed. "I had forgotten that you had not seen her, yet," he admitted sheepishly. "What d'ya think?"
Hermione walked around the exterior and stopped to pat a blue paneled side before grinning. "She's multi-dimensional, right?" The Doctor nodded proudly at her intelligent deduction. "Okay, then. That explains the "bigger on the inside" issue. However, this…" she paused and gestured at the Police Box exterior. "I would guess that it is some sort of urban camouflage, but we are in a field…on another planet… in the future. I don't think a Police Box is going to blend in here!" She looked at him questioningly.
"Well…you are definitely on the right track," he said, as he looked both proud of her deduction…and yet a bit sheepish, as well. "It's a chameleon circuit and it lets the TARDIS mimic her surroundings for camouflage purposes."
"But…?" Hermione prompted him, as she smiled at the thought that he was obviously a little embarrassed about something.
"Well…that circuit burned out once when I was visiting the 60's to see the Beatles in concert…and I never fixed it. However, I like her this way!"
"Then so do I!" she exclaimed. She was a little amused at his eclectic choice in music, but little things like that just did not seem to matter when he beamed at her…and her answer of easy acceptance…with such delight.
"Good!" he exclaimed. "It is not important at the moment, anyway. You and I are probably the only ones who are going to see her here because she has a perception filter built in, as well. It is kind of like the ones that you used to hide your scars….but scientific - not magical! Therefore, nobody is going to notice her - unless they are specifically looking for her to begin with and even then…"
"Brilliant!" Hermione murmured again and patted the TARDIS. "You are just full of surprises, aren't you, Girl?"
"Well, now that we have that settled…I believe that it is time for you to …"
"…explore a new planet!" Hermione finished excitedly. Then she automatically reached up to pat her sleeve in order to reassure herself that her wand was still there. "Is is safe?" she asked seriously as she considered the possibility of danger. She would normally be more confident of her abilities to protect them in the muggle world…but this was an entirely different planet…and she was still not in the best condition.
The Doctor seemed to follow her train of thought. "Hermione, I wouldn't purposely bring you somewhere unsafe – especially not for your first time," he answered her sincerely. "While I do sometimes have a knack for finding trouble, this planet…at this time…is very safe. That's why I picked it. I just want for you to enjoy yourself." The sincerity in his eyes and tone settled her doubts and her excitement returned in a rush.
"Well, then, come show me a good time...for my first time!" she exclaimed in an overly flirtatious manner, as she gave him big moon eyes and playfully fluttered her lashes to tease him. He was pleased that he could set her mind at ease. Consequently, he just laughed at her antics, grabbed her hand, and turned them both towards civilization.