A/N: The final chapter of this story. It's pretty crazy to me how I originally thought this was going to be three short chapters, but it's grown into something I want to continue. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: some of the dialogue is by the writers of Doctor Who.

To put it simply: Ryan was exhausted. He'd spent a lot of the day running up and down the same street, and the emotional exhaustion from worrying about the Doctor just added to that. Really, it would have been a sensible idea to just say goodnight and collapse into bed, but thoughts were running through his head at a million miles per hour. Well, not quite a million miles per hour, as that was the speed that the Doctor's brain operated at, but something close to that. Resigned, Ryan flopped onto the jump seat, and let his eyes lazily follow the Doctor as he practically skipped around the console, occasionally stopping to press a button or flick a switch. He never seemed to run out of energy.

The Doctor, finished with the controls, hopped onto the jump seat next to Ryan, letting their fingers tangle together before resting their joined hands on his thigh. "Everything okay?" the Doctor asked gently, rubbing his thumb against Ryan's. Ryan let out a nondescript hum. Before he came out, the Doctor didn't ask Ryan about his emotions - unless he was very obviously not okay – but since then, the Doctor had been more attentive, always willing to listen and always offering a hand to hold.

"I'm sorry about leaving you earlier. I know… how it feels, well, how it felt when you- "

Ryan cut him off. "It's not your fault," he murmured. "'S not like you knew you were gonna be snatched up…" he chuckled half-heartedly.

The Doctor let out a short exhale in amusement. "Yeah, suppose not…"

The console room fell into a rare silence.

"Doctor, y'know earlier… when everyone was arguing…" Beside him, Ryan felt the Doctor turn towards him.

"Yeah?"

"And they all thought I was a kid… so yeah, suppose that ain't great, but at least they all thought I was a guy, so I'll take that," Ryan sighed, defeated, letting his cheek rest on the Doctor's lean shoulder.

"You know, you don't have to settle for just that."

Ryan looked up, into the Doctor's eyes which were gazing at him softly. "Huh?"

"You could start taking hormones, testosterone, specifically," the Doctor replied, rubbing the back of his head with his spare hand.

"Shit, yeah… I'd forgotten about that," Ryan yawned.

"This is a big decision you'd be making Ryan, if you want to do that," the Doctor said in a more serious tone. "I'm not trying to stop you, and you know yourself better than anyone else, but I think it would be best if we did some research so you're able to make an informed decision." Ryan gave him a nod. "Not right now though, you look like you're about to drop off," he quipped. "We can start tomorrow, if you like?"

"Thought we were going to the Olympics tomorrow?" Ryan mumbled sleepily.

"We're doing that too. And you should really go to bed," the Doctor chuckled.

"Fine," Ryan grumbled. He didn't want to leave the Doctor yet, but he knew tomorrow was going to be busy and he needed the sleep. He gave the Doctor's hand a squeeze before pulling himself off the jump seat. "'Night."

"G'night, Ryan…"

He gave the Doctor a brief smile, which the Doctor returned, before turning towards the depths of the TARDIS.

Ryan dragged his feet down the corridors until he found his room. Too shattered to shower, he quickly changed into pyjamas before brushing his teeth and crawling under the covers. He was out like a light.

The next three weeks were packed with sporting action, with the Doctor and Ryan spending hours cheering for the Team GB athletes along with the overwhelming number of British spectators. And yes, a Papua New Guinean did win the men's shotput, setting a huge new world record in the process.

The quieter moments were spent in the TARDIS library, researching testosterone and its effects, together. Once all the medals had been awarded and they had watched the closing ceremony, Ryan had made his decision.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor hummed and looked up from the book he was reading. He saw Ryan sat across from him in the library, picking at his nails, a sure tell that he was anxious.

"I've been thinking, and can I, do you reckon I could, start testosterone?" Ryan stumbled over the words.

The Doctor leant forwards in his armchair. "You absolutely 100% sure? Not to say I'm going to stop you or anything, we've done the research, I just want to make sure you're going to be happy," he said sincerely.

Ryan was touched by his words. "Yeah. I am," he said determinedly. "Also, I'm kinda fed up of people thinking I'm your kid brother or something…" he quipped, laughing slightly.

The Doctor chuckled, "Yeah, blimey. That would be… weird." He scrunched his face up in mild disgust. "No offence," he quickly added.

"Can I start… now?" Ryan hesitantly asked.

"Of course, see we could go to the twenty-fifth century, they are very efficient with their healthcare, and of course it's free, or how about back to 2007, so you could get everything done officially on your records, or– "

"Could you just do it?" Ryan interrupted.

"Yeah, suppose I could. Monitoring your levels wouldn't be difficult– "

"And I wouldn't have to worry about arriving twelve months late for an appointment…" Ryan teased.

"Oi! That was one time!" the Doctor protested.

"Naples 1860, Cardiff 1869. Sheffield 1979, Scotland 1879. London instead of New York… so what was that about one time?"

"Hey! At least I got the right year that last time!"

Ryan stood up, grinning. "Come on Doctor. Think it's time for you to live up to your name."

Ryan took his hand and led them to the infirmary.

"Where have we landed?" Ryan asked, once the TARDIS had stopped shaking and the time rotor had slowed to a halt.

"Castravalian IV, in the Andromeda Galaxy. Not too far from home, relatively speaking," the Doctor explained as he threw on his coat. "Come on."

Ryan followed him out of the TARDIS. He had promised something beautiful to recognise Ryan's brand-new start, and he certainly didn't disappoint. Huge, jagged, stone monoliths towered over them. A nearby lake reflected the light from a burning orange sunset, and the shrieks of giant, flying manta ray-like creatures echoed across the rocky landscape.

"How long are you going to stay with me?" the Doctor asked, turning towards Ryan.

"Forever."

A/N: Thank you so very much for reading! The next story, called Changes (and will cover the events of Army of Ghosts, Doomsday and The Runaway Bride) will be Coming Soon.