The Cafe of the Third Eye

The Sweetest Thing

by

Sabrina Lonewalker

The TARDIS landed with it's usual loud thump. The door opened and he stepped out. His chestnut curls slightly blowing in the soft breeze. He automatically adjusted the waistcoat, cravat and then the apple green frock coat he wore. He was still getting used to this regeneration and the timelines crackling around him still made him nervous but, he was learning to control what he saw. It would just take time.

The problem was, he knew something was coming but, it was still hazy, like in a fog and the more he tried to see what it was, the worse his headache got. He shook his head to clear it and walked on, thinking about Grace. He fell in love with her the first time he saw her but, after everything that had happened, he really wasn't surprised she had decided to stay on Earth. That last night in the TARDIS however, he thought back, he had kissed her merely to comfort her after what had happened.

What he hadn't expected was when she returned that kiss with a passion that equalled his own. When the two of them had come back to awarness of their surroundings, they had found themselves in his room in bed together, loving each other with a desperation only known to those who had come so close to death or, in Grace's case, those who had died and been brought back. He remembered the feel of her body against his, her hands caressing him and his own surprise that he could still love someone like that.

He had loved Sarah Jane back in his Fourth incarnation but what Grace had reawakened within him was so much more than what he had felt for the petite reporter from London, England. Besides, by the time he had returned to see her, she had established a life for herself on Earth as one of it's defenders so, they had said their goodbyes. No other woman had touched his hearts with passion until he met Grace Holloway.

He had thought that part of him had died when Aurellia, his first wife, had died back on Gallifrey. It took Grace to show him otherwise. He had looked into those beautiful, clear green eyes and the love he saw there almost made his hearts stop in fear. "My sweet Grace," He had mummured as he kissed her ear. She had smiled up at him, "My Doctor," was all she had said. He loved finding out what kind of sounds he could coax from her the next several hours. Then, they were spent. He held her close, already knowing she would stay behind but she had given him so much in the short time they were together.

Once outside the TARDIS, she had asked him to come with her and how he was so tempted to but, both knew he wouldn't, couldn't stay on one planet, not even Earth, not even for her. They had kissed once again under the fireworks then, he entered the TARDIS and left her standing there, watching him go. His hearts were breaking but, she had made her choice and though he understood it, it still hurt him deeply. With a sigh, he walked into the Cafe of the Third Eye and took his usual table at the back of the room.

He wasn't sure just why he had come there except he always did when his hearts were broken or there was a problem he needed a nudge in the right direction to solve. Allegra was still a few minutes from taking the stage and he ordered a cup of tea. Once it arrived, he sipped it quietly, listening to the voices around him and closing his eyes briefly at the timelines around him. It seemed this planet was a nexus, a point where parallel universes came together as a safety valve. Very few existed.

Then, he looked up as the crowd's reaction told him Allegra was taking the stage. She never changed, he thought, waist length flame red hair, green eyes, barely five feet tall. Always the same outfit too, he noticed, boots, black leggings, sapphinre top belted at the waist. The timelines he saw around her stunned him, it was as if she existed in multiple timelines all at once. "That can't be right," he muttered to himself, "Impossible." Then, he shrugged as she sat down on her stool and prepared to sing.

"When I see you in the morning

With the sleep still in your eyes

I remember all the laughter

And the tears we shed last night"

He jerked his head up at the first stanza. Once again, Allegra had picked up on him. He and Grace had laughed and cried that night. A tear slipped down his cheek as the song continued.

"And as we lie here just two shadows

in the light before the dawn

The sweetest thing I've ever known

is loving you

And I have never been afraid of losing

And i have never wanted love to be a chain

I only know that when I'm with you

You're my sunshine, you're my rain

The sweetest thing I've ever known

is loving you."

He smiled, loving Grace had been sweet, sweeter than he had ever belived possible. Then, Allegra closed her eyes and continued to sing, just to him.

"Now you and I, we're not children

we have both been loved before

we have given and we have taken

Many rides on troubled shores

But all the heartaches and temptations

only make me love you more

The sweetest thing I've ever known

is loving you"

He smiled, no wonder Grace had stayed, she understood better that he had what the two of them were, what they meant to each other but Grace, gracious, loving woman that she was, refused to tie him down to her. She would always love him and he would always love her but, their lives would not let them stay together. But she would be there if he needed her. Allegra kept on.

"And I have never been afraid of losing

And I have never wanted love to be a chain,

I only know that when I'm with you

You're my sunshine, You're my rain,

The sweetest thing, I've ever known is loving you

The Sweetest thing, I've ever known, is loving you."

Once Allegra was done, the room, as usual, erupted into applause. He joined in, again thankful to whatever dieties were out there that had allowed him to meet this extraordinary woman. Finishing his tea, he headed back to his TARDIS, realizing now that, whatever was coming for him, he had Grace's unconditional love to fall back on, to give him the hope he needed to sustain him, no matter what.

He bounced a little on the balls of his feet as he unlocked the TARDIS door and went in. Soon, the blue box faded away with it's familiar sound. Allegra watched from the window of the Cafe. "Take care, Doctor, maybe someday, you'll come to understand all of this." She smiled a secret smile as she walked back to the stage for another song.

Finis