"Might as well get it over with…" Hermione muttered to herself as she quickly got dressed. Since she now realized that there had been no malice behind the Doctor's words and actions, she also rationalized that there was a distinct possibility that he did not even know that he had hurt her feelings at all. She had certainly tried her best to hide that fact from him on the previous night, after all. Since Harry and Ron had often seemed quite clueless about her emotional state, as well, that rationale really seemed to be quite likely.

It must be a bloke thing. Human or alien – it just doesn't seem to matter, she thought sadly.

At any rate, she decided that she would make it as easy as possible for both of them by just ignoring the situation completely. After all, it was over now, and she would just make sure that they did not end up in that kind of situation again.

That way, at worst, he might just feel a little awkward about the kiss (That kiss! Her knees still felt weak at the very thought of how amazing it had been before…well…everything else happened.) She shook her head to clear out those conflicting thoughts, though, and focused back on her decision instead. She sincerely hoped that she was correct in thinking that…at worst…things would be a little awkward between them at first, but would get better if she did not make a big deal out of it. At best, however, it would just be like any other day.

Since Hermione had made her decision, there was no longer any reason to dawdle. She turned to go but quickly grabbed her wand off of the nightstand first. She frowned again at the damage, however, and tried to push down her panic as she wondered what in the world she could do about it. She shoved aside that worry for the time being, however, as she stepped out into the corridor.

One issue at a time, she said to herself.

She tried to shrug off the remaining uneasiness, though, as she headed quickly towards the galley. She did not know if she would find the Doctor there or not. Regardless, she found that against all odds, she was quite hungry – especially since she had missed lunch yesterday and skipped dinner, as well. Therefore, food seemed to be a very good place to start.

…

The Doctor had experienced a very uncomfortable night. However, it was not just because he was stuck on the console room's small jumpseat…or later at the galley's small table where he spent the rest of the night drinking coffee and brooding. In fact, both of those locations were quite luxurious compared to some of the places where he had kipped before. Plus, because of his physiology, he did not really need the sleep, after all. Therefore, his discomfort was mainly because he continued to worry about Hermione.

He hated the thought that he had hurt her – even unintentionally - especially since she had been nothing but kind and caring towards him. He also worried about how their interactions would go when she finally came down to breakfast…or if she would try to avoid him entirely. After he thought about it, however, he decided that Hermione would probably just pretend that nothing untoward had happened on the previous night. After all, she had obviously tried to hide her pain from him then…and would probably continue to do the same thing at the current time in order to avoid any awkwardness. She would probably do so to make things easier for him, as well. That just seemed to be the wonderful woman's way.

…

As Hermione entered the galley, she paused when she saw that the Doctor was already there – hunched over a mug of what smelled like coffee. She paused to gather up her Gryffindor courage and to pull up a smile, a small one so that it would not seem fake, before she strolled in.

"Good morning, Doctor," she said in what she hoped was a casual tone as he spun around to look at her.

His eyes raked over her face and his hearts tugged with dismay when he noted that her eyes were still a bit swollen from crying. Other than that, though, they seemed clear and besides a few scratches on her arms, she did not seem to be physically injured from their adventures on the day before.

"Good morning," he said carefully, even though his voice still sounded a little too uncertain for his liking.

"Coffee?" she asked, just a bit confused as she tried to ignore his scrutiny. She had seen him drink coffee a couple of times before, but tea was his usual morning beverage of choice.

"Couldn't sleep," he muttered, still looking at her carefully as his eyes came to rest on her lips. Those soft warm lips that had tangled so passionately with his before…He forced those thoughts away. "Would you like some?"

She thought about it for a moment before she declined. "No, thank you," she said politely as she started to walk across the galley away from him. "I think that I will stick to the familiar comfort of tea this morning." She then froze momentarily and the blood pounded in her ears as she realized what she had just said. She hoped against hope that he did not read anything into the simple statement. However, the Doctor did not say or do anything, so she tried to release some of the uncomfortable tension that had built up in her shoulders as she continued her way across the room. As she suspected, their interactions were quite stiff and awkward the morning after that kiss, but at least he did not seem to realize that anything else was amiss.

Thank Merlin for that, she thought, grateful to be spared that kind of embarrassment - for both of them! Just then, though, she paused mid-reach for a mug when a steaming cup appeared at her spot at the galley table, instead. It was followed by a tray complete with a traditional English breakfast – all perfectly portioned for one person!

"Oh, thank you, TARDIS dear. You shouldn't have!" Hermione cried out in delight as a genuine smile appeared on her face this time - just as his ship privately sent the Doctor the equivalent of a big mental raspberry!

Of course, the kindhearted woman then offered to share with her breakfast companion, but the Doctor declined. He knew that it was the TARDIS's way to try and make Hermione feel special. His guilt roiled again, however, as he realized that was exactly what he should have done, as well – especially since he had been correct in his assumption that the little witch had decided to pretend that nothing was wrong.

Even though he did not deserve to get off so easily, he went along with it - in order not to embarrass her. He could not get the image of her crying in the shower out of his mind, though, and he was determined to find some way to make up for his mistakes on the previous night.

Maybe I could take her somewhere special? Maybe I should ask? he wondered. Since he could not think of anything better, he then proceeded to do so.

"What would you like to do today?"

Hermione's head shot up at the question and her eyes accidently met his for an instant. She immediately dropped them back down to her plate and tried to speak normally.

"I'm afraid that I need to see if I can repair my wand. I'm not sure that it is going to be possible, though. Unfortunately, I don't know very much wandless magic and wandmaking is a highly specialized profession in the wizarding world." She tried to tamp down her fear at the thought of losing her ability to perform magic as she pulled the wand out of her sleeve and laid it on the table in front of her in order to show him the damage.

The Doctor glanced at her for permission, and at her nod, he picked it up and ran a finger down the crack. Hermione grimaced again as she saw that the fissure was even wider now than it had been last night. The Doctor saw the small gesture of unhappiness and wished that he could help, but unfortunately he just did not have a magic wand repair setting on his sonic. It could not hurt to get some information from the witch, though. Maybe it would help her to recall something useful that could aid in its repair. Therefore, he asked her, "What can you tell me about how wands are made? Are they all the same or are they specific to each witch or wizard?"

Hermione took small bites of her breakfast and tried to ignore both the pit of fear settling in her stomach over her damaged wand, and the unease that she now felt with the Doctor as she steadily avoided meeting his gaze while they spoke. However, she still told him about the common wood and core combinations used in the wand making process, how she visited Ollivanders when she was eleven, and how the wand really chose the witch or wizard - and not the other way around. She also explained to him that a witch could use someone else's wand, but that it would never work as well as her own would. Then she revealed how she lost her first precious vinewood one when she was captured, how she went on to acquire Bellatrix's after her torture, and how she struggled constantly when using it since her own magic was not really compatible with that wand's power. Therefore, as soon as she could, she switched it out on the battlefield when she had found her current wand laying in the bloodstained grass. She did not even know who the previous owner had been, but it seemed to work decently for her, anyway. Then she choked up a bit as she recalled picking up a few of the wands of her fallen friends – an action which the Doctor now remembered seeing in her memories, as well.

At that recollection, Hermione quickly picked up her head as she finally remembered exactly what his transdimensional pockets had reminded her of on the day of the Vandelvorm incident. How could she possibly have forgotten about her little beaded bag with the expansion charm? She could only guess that it had been due to the combination of the trauma of her injuries and her overwhelming grief. Now that she had finally thought about it, though, the last time she remembered having the bag was on the battlefield when she had picked up George's wand – after she had made absolutely sure that he would not need it again - with the intention of giving it back to the Weasley family afterwards. She had put it in the bag, but afterwards had never happened. She could not quite remember what had happened to the bag, either. Did she manage to shrink it and stow it in her pocket or had it been lost in her desperate dash to the Forbidden Forest. She tried not to get her hopes up, but she had to be sure…

"Doctor?" she all but whispered…and for the first time that morning she purposely looked at him directly in the eye.

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked, suddenly concerned by her tone, and out of habit reached for her hand. After the events of the previously night, however, she was suddenly uncomfortable with the thought of being touched by him – especially since she now knew that he really wanted to maintain his distance. Therefore, she tried to make it easier on them both by quickly sliding her hand off of the table in order to place it in her lap instead. The Doctor resisted the urge to sigh as his mind registered this maneuver and knew what it meant. It was his own fault, after all, that there was now apparently a barrier between them. It was a polite, friendly wall – but it was still a wall, nonetheless.

"Doctor," she said again and his eyes and attention snapped back to her face. "What happened to the clothes that I was wearing when I arrived here? I know that you must have removed them because I woke up in my underwear." She uttered the statement with downcast eyes again because, due to the recent events, the thought was now quite embarrassing to her, even though it had not bothered her before now.

She tried to shake off the feeling, however. I can't keep acting like this! I am a Gryffindor, remember? I survived a war that took everyone I knew and loved. So what if he didn't want to kiss me? Big deal! How can that possibly compare? she thought forcefully. She then realized the absolute truth of that statement, squared her shoulders, and forced herself to meet his eyes again.

The Doctor watched her obvious struggle to get a grip on her insecurity. It had not been present before the events in the jungle yesterday. In fact, she had often surprised him with her admittedly hard won self-assurance. Therefore, he knew very well what had caused her to fall into that particular emotional trap. Just as he was about to say something…anything…to let her know that she was not the problem, Hermione suddenly looked up, straight into his eyes, with a determined gaze. He felt a sudden surge of pride knowing that she had just decided that she was not going to let anything keep her down.

Not even me, he thought ruefully.

Then, he suddenly realized what she had asked him, and had to clear his throat as he thought about how he had undressed her that day. He had been concerned, but was able to be quite detached and clinical about the process since she had been a stranger to him at the time. However, if he had to undress her now… A surge of longing rushed through him at that thought, as well as quite a bit of regret since he knew that he would be lucky if she ever let him hold her hand again – much less anything else! Apparently he had zoned out a little too long, because soon the young woman's concerned voice broke into his thoughts.

"Doctor," she said, her eyes now purposely meeting his and then scanning his face for any signs of problems that may have been caused by leftovers from the stresses of the previous day. "Are you alright?"

Her gentle concern rocked the Doctor! She is worried about me! he thought with amazement. Even after I rejected her, hurt her, and made her cry, she is still concerned about me!

"I'm…fine," he answered slowly, pleased with the proof that she was trying not to hold his thoughtlessness against him. "Just busy thinkin'…the TARDIS must have put your things into storage – just in case…but I don't remember seeing anything like that beaded bag with them."

Hermione nodded. "I am fully prepared to accept that fact, but I still need to know for sure."

The Doctor also nodded in understanding and the TARDIS sent feelings of comfort to Hermione as a small pile of clothes suddenly appeared on the table in front of her – in the same spot where her breakfast dishes had been just a moment before. The clothes were clean and folded, but they were obviously tattered, right down to the boots that were sitting on top of the pile.

Tears immediately sprang to Hermione's eyes as she remembered the last time that she had worn them – the day that she had lost…everything. She fought to hold the tears back, though, and the Doctor kept a close eye on her – unsure about how to reach out to her since he had messed everything up between them – but he wanted to be there for her, anyway. Therefore, he just watched her carefully as she reached first into the pockets of the jeans and then moved on to the pockets of the jacket. Both times she came up empty and she tried, but failed to hold back her sob of disappointment.

She suddenly stood up and went to rush out of the room, but at the last minute he also stood and intercepted her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried. At first, she leaned into his embrace, as usual, and allowed him to comfort her. However, after a moment she seemed to remember where she was and she quickly pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she said as she took a step away from him and wiped her eyes while he once again cursed his rash behavior of the evening before. "It's just that…well…there is no way that I am going to be able to mend that wand…not without another one. I just don't have the skill. Now, I'm going to lose most of my magic…and I have already lost everything else."

The last was said in a whisper of despair that caused his hearts to clench with sorrow for his friend. He ached to reach out to her, but he was afraid that she would just move away again. Therefore, he just watched her as she gathered her old clothes up. All of a sudden, she stopped and grabbed the hooded jumper. "I forgot that this had pockets!" she exclaimed. She pushed her hand into one side and then, with more desperation, into the other one. This time her hand did not come out empty. The Doctor saw that she was holding a miniature version of the beaded bag that he had seen in her memories.

"Oh, thank Merlin!" she cried out joyously. The Doctor spared a smile at her choice of words while he continued to watch curiously as she grabbed the cracked wand and carefully waved it over the little bag.

"Engorgio!" she all but shouted and he watched in amazement as the bag grew in size.