I didn't even realize it until after my eyes were open, but I had been crying. Tears were streaming down my face. I wiped them away and then looked up to face the Doctor.

"Hey," he said with a soft smile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't let you finish the bond. I just…" He held up a hand.

"Shh…it's ok" he whispered, putting his hand on my shoulder. "What we did just now helped to strengthen it immensely. Don't worry. We'll complete it soon enough. Ok?" I nodded.

"It…it hurt" I said, unable to hold back the tears. The Doctor pulled me close to him, allowing me to rest my head on his chest. He lightly stroked my hair as I sobbed.

"Deep breaths, Violet. In…one…two…three…out…one…two…three…" he instructed. After a couple of minutes I had calmed down some and pulled away.

"Every time I did something wrong, he hurt me" I admitted, staring at the floor.

"Can you tell me his name?"

"It's Troy. Troy McEvans."

"Well, Troy McEvans better hope he doesn't meet me."

"But you don't even know what he did!"

"You're right. I don't. But I do know that it must have been pretty bad to put a strong, brave girl like you into thiskind of state."

"I'm not all that strong or brave" I protested.

"Trust me, you are. More so than you think. I just hope that one day you'll be able to see that."

"He burned me" I blurted out, realizing too late what I had just said.

"What! Where and how often?" I tensed, not wanting to talk about this anymore.

"It's ok, you don't have to answer" the Doctor assured me. "But nobody and I mean nobody hurts my baby and gets away with it!" His eyes filled with a familiar fury that I came to associate with the Oncoming Storm side of his.

"Please don't go back there" I begged. "Hurting or threatening him isn't going to change what's already happened. Just, promise me you won't. Please!" The Doctor took a deep breath, calming down slightly.

"Fine! I won't. But only for you."

"Thank you!"

"Troy has no idea just how lucky he is!"

"Umm…I was wondering…"

"Yes?" the Doctor asked, leaning forward and placing his hand on my arm.

"Can we try this bonding thing again? Like now, but only with a different memory this time?"

"Are you sure you're up to it?" the Doctor asked me, his concern quite clear.

"Yeah,"

"Ok. But if we encounter another bad memory, I'm pulling back immediately and we're done for the day." I nodded and then closed my eyes. "Alright, then, take a couple of deep breaths." I did as I was told. A few seconds later I felt him place his fingers on my temples and his presence cautiously enter my mind.