The moment the lift doors opened, Rieka noticed that the office beyond was empty, save for two people she didn't recognise. Mildly, the red head wondered were the Doctor had disappeared to, but movement beside her had Rieka returned to the problem at hand.

"Don't move! Don't do anything. Just stay put," she was quick to order, although the words felt a little unneeded as the pair were already doing that, their eyes on the Dalek as it moved out of the lift.

The alien advanced on Van Statten, and although the red head stayed by the lift, she tracked the Dalek closely. She knew that if it came to it, she would take both her and the Dalek back to the Vault where she had appeared if it even thought of harming anyone, even though she was uncertain as to if the Dalek would even survive the trip if she did so.

Magic and technology were very fickle when used together.

"Van Statten. You tortured me. Why?" the alien asked as it continued to advance, and Rieka's eyebrows snapped to the man in question as he slowly backed away from the alien.

"You, what?!" she exclaimed in disbelief, but no one seemed to take any notice of her outburst as Van Statten was slowly backing away from the Dalek, terrified.

"I wanted to help you, I just..." the man whimpered as he tried to explain his actions, which only had Rieka's eyes narrowing; her mind flashing back to the pathetic waste of a wizard she only referred to as Wormtail. "I don't know, I, I was just trying to help. I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you... I wanted you better, I'm sorry," Van Statten continued on – rather pitifully in Rieka's opinion – as the Dalek still advanced; though the red head had noted it hadn't made any attempt of attacking... yet. "I'm so sorry! I swear! I just wanted you to talk!"

"Then hear me talk now," the Dalek said as it came to a stop before the cowering human, "Exterminate! Exterminate!" it screeched, causing Van Statten to wince, "Extermina-"

"No."

Rieka spoke quietly, but the Dalek startled when she appeared beside it and placed her hand against its outer shell. She took a step away when its eyestalk turned to her, allowing it to see her, and the witch looked directly into the eyepiece at the end as she continued; almost as if she was able to see the alien that was hidden inside. "You don't have to do this anymore," she said when the Dalek stayed silent; watching her. She was quite surprised that the alien did actually seem to be listening to her, and it made her question why.

Could it be curious?

"There must be something else you want to do?" she resumed, giving her head a mental shake. She could think such things after she got these people out of danger. "Not just the killing and rage. There must be som..." Rieka trailed off, her lips pursing slightly before she asked, "Has anyone actually asked you what you want?"

The Dalek was still silent, though the red head stiffened when it turned back to Van Statten, unsure as to what it would do. Her shoulders relaxed when it turned back to look at her.

"I want freedom," was all it said, and Rieka swallowed.


Unbeknownst to both Rieka and the Dalek, the Doctor was running up the stairs with the alien gun clutched tightly in his hands; Rose trying to keep up with him as she followed.

The Time Lord had no idea what the Dalek was planning, and every second that his Nesdra was alone with the alien was a second too long.

What if it decided to kill her?

It was a reoccurring thought that continued to swirl in the Doctor's mind, causing his hearts to beat faster and his grip on the weapon to tighten as he quickened his steps.

"Doctor! Wait up!" Rose called after him, sounding out of breath. But the Doctor continued as if he had never heard her.


When the doors of the lift opened on Floor One, Rieka followed the Dalek out of the lift, silently speculating if what she was doing was such a good idea. She had no idea as to what the Dalek was planning on doing, nor even to stop it, and as she trailed after the alien out of the lift and into a corridor, the red head watched and waiting, knowing that the only thing she could do was to apparate back down to the floor she had arrived in the moment the Dalek turned hostile.

The Dalek came to a stop and fired its laser at the ceiling, and Rieka tensed, ready to take it – and herself – back to the Vault. But when the Dalek just continued to just stare at the hole it had created, unmoving as both she and the Dalek were bathed in sunlight, the witch once more found herself both surprised and confused by what its intentions were.

The red head turned her head up to the hole in the ceiling, the sunlight warming her skin before she returned her gaze back to the Dalek. She raised one of her hands, letting the sunlight play upon her skin as she asked, "Have you ever felt sunlight?" trying to keep the Dalek occupied while she tried to figure out what to do, or wait for the Doctor to show up. She hoped that he might have an idea as to how to handle a situation like this.

Before the red heads' astonished eyes, instead of answering her, the Dalek's casing opened to reveal its mutated body that had been hidden inside. It, like the witch had done, raised one of its feelers into the sunlight, feeling the warmth upon it.

Rieka continued to watch it, rather shocked by what she was witnessing until a voice behind her had her jumping and spinning on the spot.

"Get out of the way."

"Doctor?" the red head questioned, surprised by the sight of the Time Lord holding a very large gun that was aimed in her direction... or more specifically, the Dalek behind her.

"Aries, get out of the way, now!" the Doctor continued when she mode no notion of moving.

There was a flicker of confusion that passed over the witch's face as she wondered how someone she had known that had saved an entire hospital, and possibly the world, could want to kill someone, though she still didn't move.

"Doctor, what are you doing?!" Rose shouted when she appeared from the stairwell, still out of breath after chasing the Time Lord.

"That thing killed hundreds of people," the Doctor continued, trying to get his Nesdra to understand why he had to do this.

Why he couldn't let it live.

Looking back to the Dalek, Rieka found that she was a little surprised by the Doctor's words, though she knew she really shouldn't have been. When she turned back to the Doctor, the witch shook her head. "And yet, you're the one pointing the gun at me," she replied, a frown tugging at her lips.

"I've got to do this. I've got to end it," the Doctor stressed, his grip on the gun tightening; his knuckles turning white. "The Daleks destroyed my home, my people," a brief glimmer of shock and surprise appeared on Rieka's face before it was gone, being replaced by an expression the Time Lord wasn't sure of, "I've got nothing left."

"Look at it," Rieka said softly as she stepped to the side, revealing the Dalek as it continued to feel the warmth of the sunlight on its tentacle, and the moment the Doctor laid eyes on it, his expression turned understandable confused.

"What's it doing?" he asked, looking back to Rieka.

Taking a few steps towards the Doctor, Rieka made sure to keep an ear out on the Dalek in case it tried anything as she replied, "Enjoying the sunlight."

"But it can't..." the Time Lord trailed off, his voice shaking.

The Dalek couldn't be enjoying the sunlight.

It just couldn't be.

The battle going on inside the Doctor was visible on his face, and it was only when Rieka noticed his hold on the gun slacken a little did she continued to approach the man, almost as if she was approaching a wild animal. "It didn't kill Van Statten. It didn't kill me," she said as she stopped in front of the Time Lord, placing a hand atop of the gun and pushed it down slightly, "It's changing, Doctor. Into what, I don't know, but it's changing nonetheless." Rieka paused as she let her hand fall from the gun, "But what about you?" she asked.

The Doctor lowered the gun, looking at his Nesdra completely lost. "I couldn't..." he trailed off, and Rieka's expression softened, "I wasn't..." He looked to the Dalek as it turned to face them before back to the witch, "Oh, Aries. They're all dead."

His expression was stricken, and Rieka felt the urge to comfort him and it had her momentarily confused before the Dalek asked, "Why do we survive?" drawing the pairs attention.

"I don't know," the Doctor replied as he shifted the hold he had on the gun, and Rose scowled as she watched him grabbed Rieka's hand with his now free one. Though his action had Rieka startling, her eyes darting back to him.

Rose, however, was irked by the way that everyone that the red head spoke to always seemed to listen. The blonde was still questioning why both Harriet Jones and Indra had ignored her in favour of Aries, listening to her ordering them, as well as the Doctor about like she was someone important.

"I am the last of the Daleks," the alien stated, though they could all hear the strain that had creeped into its voice; almost as if it took a great effort to get the words out.

"You're not even that," Rieka said, her head moving to look back to the Dalek, "Rose did more than regenerate you. You absorbed her DNA. You're mutating."

"Into what?" the Dalek asked, and the witch could pick up the fear that was behind its question.

The Doctor looked away from his Nesdra as he spoke, "Something new. I'm sorry."

"Isn't that better?" Rose piped up as she approached the Doctor, though she scowled when they looked to her as if they had forgotten she was even there.

"Not for a Dalek," Rieka explained, turning her gaze back to the alien in question. Her eyes held no pity for the creature, but there was a sense of understanding as to why it sounded scared.

"I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness..." the Dalek's eyestalk moved until it was looking at Rieka, "Give me orders! Order me to die."

"Wha-?"

Rieka's eyes widened in shock at what it was asking of her and shook her head. "I... I can't do that," she said, taking a step backwards and away from the Dalek.

She barely felt the Doctor's hand tighten around hers as her words only seemed to enrage the alien. "This is not life," it all but screeched, "This is sickness. I shall not be like you," it almost spat the last word, "Order my destruction! The hybrid will obey! Obey! Obey!"

The witch's expression was conflicted as she stared at the Dalek. It was only when she felt the Doctor's hand shift, his fingers intertwining with hers, did she sigh; her shoulders dropping. She knew what the right thing to do was. The Dalek was begging her for its death, and as much as Rieka didn't want to say the words, she did anyways.

"Do it."

"Are you frightened?" the Dalek questioned, and the red head nodded, unable to say anything less her words betray her. "So am I," it said, unknown to anyone but itself if it actually believed the witch. "Exterminate," it finally said as it replaced its shell before levitating into the air. The golden knobs that lined the bottom half of its outer shell detached and surrounding the alien; making a perfect sphere. It glowed briefly before imploding inside, vanishing into nothing.

The Doctor and Rieka stood there in shock, eyes still trained on the spot where the Dalek had just been. Neither could believe what had happened. All the while, Rose wasn't. Her gaze was instead locked onto the pair, and her eyes narrowed when she watched the Doctor let Rieka's hand go before wrapping his arm around the red head's shoulders.


The Doctor, Rose, and Rieka all walked silently back towards the Exhibit Room where the Time Lord had told Rieka where his TARDIS was. He still had his arm around her shoulders, and Rieka could feel the glare coming from Rose, though she took no notice.

The red head was still a little shocked at what the Dalek had done, as well as learning that the Doctor was the last of his kind – whatever it was. And although she could relate to the Doctor a little in that regard, it helped her understand why he had been so excited when he had stopped the nanogenes and saved everyone.

The Doctor had lost his home, and his people to the Daleks, and Rieka could relate to his desire to try and save anyone he could. It was the reason behind why the witch had placed herself in a hospital during the second World War, having by that point lived through three wars. She felt that having the foreknowledge of history, knowing what happened before it did, was pointless if you didn't try to do something. And although she made certain she didn't change anything too much, understanding that if she was to change anything significant would be disastrous, the witch found that she couldn't just sit on the sidelines.

And she could admit, rather shamefully, that it also explained why the Doctor had brought Rose back to see her father, not once, but twice. The Time Lord would have, more than anyone, recognised and understood her need – her desire – to see a loved one again. And holding the technology to time travel would just make doing so possible.

"A little piece of home," the Doctor said sadly as he removed his arm from around Rieka and stepped towards his ship, "Better than nothing."

The red head blinked, having lost herself to her current revelations, and blinked once more when she watched the Doctor as he patted the side of the blue Police Box; purposely ignoring how her hand seemed to feel far colder without the Doctors' touch. She hadn't had time, nor the attention to ask him why his ship looked as it did, though now she was more interested in asking just how it was made; feeling a – friendly? –energycoming from the ship.

"Is that the end of it?" Rose asked as she watched the Doctor, rather glad that he had let the red head go. She wasn't liking how his attention settled on Rieka the moment the red head had appeared. Which she still didn't know how... or why.

"I'm the only one left," the Doctor replied, trying to shrug off just what that meant, "I win. How about that."

"I..." Rieka swallowed as she hesitantly reached out and grabbed the Doctor's hand, trying to offer him some sort of comfort as she spoke. The urge was there, and she didn't deny herself this time. "I didn't know. I'm sorry," she apologised, unsure as to what else she could say.

How was one supposed to comfort someone who had lost everything?

The Doctor interwound his fingers around Rieka's once more, giving it a squeeze though didn't let it go. He was a little surprised by her action, but welcomed it none the less.

"The Dalek survived," Rose spoke a little louder than she had intended, and it caused the pair to glance at her, "Maybe some of your people did too."

The Time Lord shook his head. "I'd know. In here," he told them, tapping his temple and causing the witch's eyebrows to raise in surprise, "Feels like there's no one."

"Well then, good thing I'm not going anywhere," Rose said with a grin. It faded not a moment later when she realised that the Doctor wasn't even listening to her; having refocused back onto Rieka.

"Do yo-"

"We'd better get out," Adam remarked as he jogged up to the trio. They turned to him, the Doctor glaring at the young mans' interruption, though Adam didn't appear to notice, continuing on oblivious to what he had done. "Van Statten disappeared... They're closing down the base. Goddard says they're going to fill it full of cement! Like it never existed!"

"About time," Rose muttered as she glanced at the Doctor, wondering what he had been about to say.

"I have to go back home," the young man continued.

"Better hurry up then," the Doctor retorted with a roll of his eyes. He let Rieka's hand go and wrapped his arm back around her shoulders. "Next flight to Heathrow leaves at fifteen hundred hours."

Rose glanced at Adam before looking to the Doctor. "Adam was saying that all his life he's wanted to see the stars..." she hinted.

"Tell him to go and stand outside, then," the Time Lord replied rather bluntly. His arm unconsciously tightened around Rieka at what Rose was suggesting; the thought of the younger male travelling with them turning his stomach.

He missed her confused, though curious glance.

The red head wasn't too sure how to feel about the Doctor's arm around her. It felt nice, almost natural. But it was also confusing. She hadn't really noticed it before, but there was something almost... familiar about the Time Lord's scent. It was like she should know what it was, but couldn't find the information associated with his scent in her mind.

"He's all on his own, Doctor," Rose continued to try and sway the Time Lord. Originally she had hoped that if Adam travelled with them, it would make the Doctor jealous. But with the red head there, she wondered if she could push the pair together, and get Rieka away from the Doctor. "And he did help," she added when she noticed that his expression hadn't changed.

"Wait, sorry," Rieka suddenly cut in, her eyebrows furrowing and Rose shot her a glare, "But did you say Heathrow?" she asked the Doctor, though seeing his confused expression, she asked, "Where, exactly are we?"

"You don't know?" the Doctor responded with a question of his own. Though something occurred to him as he looked – really looked – at his Nesdra. She didn't look much different than when he had last seen her, but her hair was a little shorter, and the Time Lord could have slapped himself for not having noticed sooner, unable to feel the same connection he had after their bond had started to form.

It was as if the woman beside him hadn't started their bond yet. But the Doctor knew that is should have been impossible.

"How do you not know where you are?" Rose asked, her tone turning sarcastic as she continued, "What? Did you appear out of thin air?"

Rieka frowned as she looked at the blonde. "No," she said, and Rose smirked. Though it disappeared as the witch continued, "It was a vortex, actually."

"You can't be serious?" Rose asked as she stared at the red head, unable to believe her.

"What type of vortex?" the Doctor enquired curiously. It did seem a bit out there, but it would explain how his Nesdra had appeared in a sealed vault, forty-six levels below the surface. And it also may answer how, in two thousand and twelve Aries Prince hadn't started their bond, when he knew that they had when they met in two thousand and six.

"I'm... I'm not actually certain," the witch replied as she turned back to the Doctor.

"What are you guys talking about?" Adam interjected as he looked between the three of them like they were crazy, "We've got to leave!"

The Doctor acted as if he hadn't heard the man. "What did it look like?" he asked Rieka as he let his arm drop from around her so he could unlock his ship. He may not like the young man, but Adam had a point. And if his Nesdra had come from a time before they had met – before he realised who she was to him – it gave the Time Lord the perfect opportunity to show her the TARDIS.

Jealousy played no part in his actions...

Rieka's eyebrows knitted together, though her eyes watched as the Doctor pulled out a silver key and unlocked the blue police box. She once again tried to ignore how she felt about the loss of his touch. "It was black, gold, and blue," she told him, "Well, more black than the others. It also felt as though..."

Rose watched Rieka disappear inside the TARDIS after the Doctor had gestured the red head to enter first before he followed after her. The blonde glanced at Adam before throwing up her hands with a huff and stormed after the Doctor as she called out his name.

"What are you doing?" Adam exclaimed as he watched with wide eyes as Rose disappeared inside the box. "She said 'cement'! She wasn't joking, we're going to get sealed in. Rose? Doctor?" he called their names, sounding concerned when he wasn't hearing anything. "What're you doing standing inside a box?" he asked before trying to take a peek inside.

The TARDIS had other ideas however, and the door slammed shut on his face and caused the young man to stumble backwards. The engines started up and Adam watched as the ship dematerialised before his very eyes.


"... as though the wind had been knocked from me when..."

Rieka trailed off as she took in the inside of the Doctor's ship. It was far more spacious to what she had imagined very briefly after seeing it starting to materialise inside the church, and she wondered how. The witch may have seen things that were, unknowing to muggles – or anyone in the universe she was in – impossibly bigger on the inside than the outside, but as she ran her hand over the railing as she approached what looked to be the centre console, feeling it warm under her touch, the red head knew that what she was seeing should have been impossible.

She couldn't feel a trace of magic in the room and was both awed and curious as to just how the ship was made.

The Doctor smiled as he stopped to watch his Nesdra, hearing a welcoming hum sing in the air as she slowly approached the console. "She's called the TARDIS," he told her quietly, enjoying how her face was filled with amazement, wonder, and curiosity. He couldn't help but feel delighted at the knowledge that he was the one that had her looking like that, thinking she looked younger and, dare he say, untroubled. "Stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."

Turning to the Doctor with a small smile, Rieka ran her hand along the edge of the console, careful not to touch anything she shouldn't. "She's beautiful," she declared, earning herself a warm hum that reverberated around the room as a slight breeze ruffled her hair. Her eyes widened in surprise at the reaction her words caused. "Oh, that... that's not possible. Is she sentient?" she asked as she eyed the Doctor.

Her expression had turned from open to guarded, though he could still see that her wonder hadn't vanished completely, and her change had the Doctor pausing. Though before he could think over why, Rose's voice cut through the air as she stormed into the TARDIS, and the Time Lord rolled his eyes as he turned to face her.

"Doctor! What are you doing?" the blonde demanded, glaring at Rieka as she continued, "You say that Adam should go and stand outside, then allow her to come along?"

Sighing, Rieka turned away from the Doctor and Rose as she ran her hand over the side of the console once more. She had no idea why Rose always held a dislike towards her, and it wasn't as if Rieka was going to apologise for doing something that she either hadn't done yet. Or whether or not the blonde had actually deserved whatever Rieka had supposedly done/will do in the first place.

And aside from that, the witch wasn't even too sure if she should travel with the pair. Firstly, she had no idea as to what had happened to Luka and Mickey after she had stepped through that vortex. And secondly, Rieka wasn't even sure where Rose and the Doctor appeared in her timeline, and she really didn't want to run into herself.

It had been made clear to the red head that the pair had run into her on more than one occasion, and although they had never mentioned Adam before, for all the witch knew, this was their future. She had no clue if where they ended up next was somewhere she had been, or will be. And after what had happened at the church, Rieka really wasn't interested in an encore... as it were.

The red head was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the golden wisps of energy that slowly appeared around her hands as they came to a rest atop the console. Nor did she realise that her silver-grey eyes had turned golden.

It wasn't until a voice called from behind her did Rieka realise that something was amiss.

"Ly! Aru! Come have some lunch," a female's voice called, and Rieka turned, just in time to see two young girls dash passed. Though the pair looked to be made up of nothing but thousands of golden particles.

Suddenly, the same particles started flying around Rieka faster than her eyes could track, and her golden eyes widened as the room shimmered and changed. Not seconds later, the red head found herself standing in her father's classroom; two others made up of the golden particles stood before her.

"You must first learn to control your mind. If you cannot do that, there is nothing more I can teach you," she heard a painfully familiar voice say, and Rieka realised that she was watching her first occlumency lesson.

Before she could do anything, the scene changed again. Everything was plunged in darkness for a moment before her surrounding slowly started to appear in a faded glow, and Rieka felt her heart stop when she realised where she was as the moon reflected off the lake in front of her. Her head shot up, her eyes immediately locking onto the full moon that was glowing golden in the night sky above; golden, twinkling stars amongst the black.

Noise caught her attention and her head snapped to her left, and the witch faltered as a werewolf appeared from the Forbidden Forest. Though as it continued towards the retreating witch, its shape shifted and changed until Lupin stood before her.

"Pr-professor?"

"Strolls around the grounds when the moon is full seems a bit foolish to me, don't you think?" Lupin asked with a smirk that didn't seem to match his face.

Rieka stumbled backwards and away from her professor when his form started to change again, only to run into someone and spun on the spot.

"Chestnut," Rieka breathed in relief when she recognised the centaur filly she had accidently bumped into. Though the centaur didn't respond; instead she grabbed Rieka's hand and tugged the witch towards her friends. The red head found herself giggling and laughing as she suddenly found herself surrounded by a small group of foals.

She barely even noticed her father standing to the side, his black gaze watching her and the foals as they nickered and pleaded with Rieka; trying to drag her away to show her their latest find.

Suddenly, an adult centaur stepped into the scene, and Rieka couldn't help but smile at the sight of Magorian. She managed to untangle herself from the foals and approached the elder, giving him a respectful bow.

Magorian placed a gentle hand upon her head as he spoke. "We cannot give a name to one who has already been named, Aria."

Particles flew around Rieka, her surroundings changing once more, and the witch let out a gasp of surprise when she came face to face with her father.

"These blocks may seem unnecessary now," Severus said as his fingers hovered above Rieka's temples, and she swallowed heavily as her eyes filled with tears, "But you must understand that I do this for your own protection."

"I love you too."

The voice was but a whisper on the wind as the golden particles swirled once more, and Rieka felt her breath catch in her throat.

"No," the red head breathed in both fear and alarm as the Shrieking Shack started to appear around her; bathing her in a dim, golden light. Her body trembled and she shook her head as she dropped to her knees, her eyes clenched shut as she tried to block everything out. She could hear Potter shouting that he and his friends needed to go and her hands clenched.

"Please," Rieka begged, not wanting to relive what she knew happened next, "Just stop it!" she shouted.

Her eyes snapped open and a wave of magic exploded from within her as she tried to get the visions to stop.

"With the Snake's setting sun, the Wolf shall be reborn," was the last thing that Rieka heard before everything went dark.


Amongst the various corridors, in the depths of the TARDIS, a door shimmered into view.


"Aries?" a voice called, and Rieka let out a small groan as she opened her eyes. She frowned slightly when she felt something slightly cold on one side of her face, and blinked a few times to clear her vision. Though she was confused when she found herself looked at the concerned face of the Doctor.

The Doctor was frozen to the spot, his hand resting against his Nesdra's cheek. His hearts quickened their pace as he saw a flicker of gold pass over Rieka's eyes, realising what had happened. It should have been impossible, but the Time Lord had seen it with his own eyes and it had his thoughts swirling at the thought of what the gol-

"Wha-" Rieka cleared her throat, causing the Doctor to snap out of his stunned thoughts. "What happened?" she asked, her frown growing ever so slightly when she realised that she was resting against the console, and the Doctor's hand fell from her cheek as he moved back to give her a little room.

"You fainted," Rose said with a snort from behind the Doctor, and Rieka's eyebrows creased.

The red head knew that she hadn't fainted. Flickers of memories flashed across her mind, but they disappeared before she could grasp onto them, knowing that something had happened, but couldn't recall exactly what.

"Rose, enough," the Doctor chided as he shot his companion a disapproving look. Though the blonde only rolled her eyes with a huff and looked away. Feeling the urge to roll his own at her behaviour, the Doctor instead turned back to his Nesdra when she tried to get up and was quick to assist her. "Easy," he murmured when she swayed a little once she was back on her feet.

"Sorry," Rieka muttered as she ran a hand over her face, trying to gather her thoughts, "I don't know what happened."

"I can take you to the med bay if you're not feeling well," the Doctor offered in concern.

"No, it's fine," the red head waved him off. "I'm fine," she added when she noticed that he was about to protest, "Just felt dizzy for a moment."

"Arie-"

"I'm fine," she repeated as she managed to stand on her own. And the witch wasn't lying. Rieka felt fine, if not a little light-headed. But other than that, just a slight buzz from... What? the red head mused as she looked back to the console, The after-effects of a mental... connection?

Shaking her head and leaving that train of thought for when she was alone, the red head frowned. "Where's Adam?" she asked, not seeing the young man.

"He's not here," Rose stated angrily, crossing her arms against her chest.

"I can see that," the witch muttered with an eye roll, only to pause when she caught the Doctor frowning. "What?" she asked.

"I, uh, don't think my ship liked him," the Time Lord said with a shrug, knowing that it wasn't only his TARDIS that hadn't liked the younger man. There had been a small – minuscule – part of the Doctor that had actually considered allowing Adam to join them, if only to keep Rose distracted and away from both himself and his Nesdra. But the Doctor didn't trust the younger man around Rieka.

Sentient spaceship... check, Rieka thought rather dryly as her gaze wandered back to the console, Something I could have known earlier... most definitely.

She felt a little confused and her eyebrows drew together as she wondered why she didn't feel alarmed about the fact that the Doctor's ship had invaded her mind and formed some kind of connection with her. But she felt no malice coming from the ship, and the red head found her surprisingly curious, if anything.

"So, where are we going now?" Rose asked before she shot Rieka a look, "Are we dropping her off at home?"

The Doctor looked up from the console, his eyes darting to his Nesdra as a small spark of fear shot through him at the thought of her leaving. More so after what had just happened.

It wasn't something the Doctor had ever experienced with a former companion. Although as he moved towards the scanner, the Doctor had an inkling that there had been far more to what had happened to his Nesdra than anything a previous companion would have experienced.

Every Time Lord knew that a TARDIS only had one pilot. But in exceedingly rare occasions, the Doctor also knew that ones' Nesdra could also form a sort of bond with their ship.

It didn't explain why Rieka had fainted, however.

He shook his head and glanced in Rieka's direction; rather afraid to ask her if she wanted to go home. He knew that she was from a time before Downing Street, though the Doctor still had no idea as to what the vortex was that could have left her in a sealed vault, and he understood that she couldn't stay with them.

But... is there any harm in asking? he mused, Even if it is for just one trip.

"You can't be serious?!" Rose exclaimed when she noticed the shift in the Doctor's expression. Her outburst had the pair looking to her.

"What?" Rieka asked, her brows knitting together as she looked between the Doctor and his companion.

"Rose," the Time Lord warned, but the blonde wasn't listening.

"No!" she snapped, "Ever since you have bloody met her," she jabbed her finger at Rieka, "It's like no one else exists. You don't even know h-"

"Enough!"

Rieka's voice sliced through the air, and it had the others looking to her. She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "I can clearly see that me being here is causing problems," she continued when she saw she had their attention, "Maybe it would be best if I le-"

Before the witch could even finish the word, the TARDIS lurched, throwing the trio off their feet.

"Doctor!" Rose called as the Time Lord quickly scrambled to his feet and managed to grab the scanner. "What are you doing?!" she continued as she pulled herself up off the grating floor; scowling darkly when she spotted Rieka doing the same.

"I'm not doing anything!" the Doctor snapped at her, not taking his eyes off the scanner before dashing around the console as he tried to regain some sort of control over his ship.

Rieka held onto the console, shaking her head as she tried to get the buzzing in her ears to disappear. Something caught her eye on the console, though she ignored it in favour of staying on her feet when the ship jerked again.

The Time Lord was growing more and more frustrated as the seconds ticked by as he continued to dash around the console; almost losing his balance it it hadn't been for Rieka grabbing his arm to steady him.

"Thanks," he said before moving off, flipping a few switches and pressing more buttons.

Rieka was about to reply when her gaze was once again drawn to something on the console and the buzzing in her ears increasing slightly. She frowned, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Doctor!" she heard Rose call. But the blondes' voice sounded muffled; far away as she continued to stare at the lever that had first caught her eye.

Without thinking, Rieka reached forwards and pulled the lever up, and the TARDUS came to a stop; the buzzing in her ears receding until it felt like nothing but a slight, but ignorable drone in the back of her mind.

"What the hell was that?" Rose exclaimed as she pulled herself to her feet once more, not having been as lucky as Rieka or the Doctor.

"I..." the Doctor frowned as he looked up at the time rotor before he glanced towards his Nesdra. She was still frowning at the lever under her hand, and the sight had a small grin appearing on the Time Lord's face. "That was the TARDIS letting us know her thoughts," he explained.

Rieka finally raised her head as she asked, "What do you mean?" rather confused as to what had just happened.

The Doctor hesitated before replying, something about his Nesdra's posture warning him that her mood had shifted. He rested his hand on the console, his grin returning as it warmed under his touch, and taking it as a good sign, he replied, "I don't think she wants you to leave."

There was a curious hum that rung through the air, and the witch's eyebrows raised as she got the feeling that the ship was agreeing with the Doctor's words.

"Oh," she breathed, not seeing the scowl that was on Rose's face as she looked back to the console; her hand slipping of the lever. "I don't thi-"

The lights in the room dulled and the buzzing grew in her mind, causing Rieka to stop, her eyes darting to the Doctor in confusion. The witch wasn't sure what to make of the Time Lord – or his ship, for that matter – at the moment. But she knew that she also couldn't stay. Luka and Mickey were, as far as she knew, still at the church with those Reapers, and she had been gone long enough as it was.

"One trip," the Doctor said as he moved slowly around the console and closer to his Nesdra, "Anywhere in time and space. What do you think? Afterwards, I can take you back to where you were before."

Rieka's eyebrows creased, still uncertain. It was tempting to take the Doctor up on his offer, but if she did agree, that would mean that to drop her back off...

"Can you drop me off somewhere else?" she asked, causing the Doctor to grow confused, "Afterwards, I mean?"

It was the TARDIS who gave her an answer with another flash of the lights and the Doctor grinned.