A/N: I am not to particularly sure if I am really fond of this chapter. I felt like I am rambling a bit. Oh well. Title is basically snipped from Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. hehe. And yes the answer is 42. ;) Please reivew and I'd be even more plused if I got 42 reviews.

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Chapter 4: Life, the Universe, and Everything else In-between….

The Doctor closed a panel on the TARDIS, "That should do it…." He tried to turn it on. It remained off. The Doctor frowned and then he hit it and lights blinked on. He heard a light knock at the door and he frowned, "I wasn't expecting company." He took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and he went to the door and opened it to see a brown haired green eyed Mala'shraian girl that looked around 50 years old. She was quiet and stared at the Doctor. The Doctor smiled, "You must be one of Tash's brood."

The woman laughed lightly, "I am the youngest. I always get sent on boring tasks like this. My name is Ta'sheeka but informally I am called Ta'sheekara and even that has been shortened, most people call me Kara, so I am not confused with my mum."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, kind of surprised that Ta'sheeka would name her youngest after her and not the oldest. The woman smiled, "Normally it is the oldest that carries on their parent's name but, my mum stated that she was the youngest and that it would be the youngest that would carry her name. Unfortunately, for all my other siblings there are a lot of Ta-hyphened names."

"Oooh that must be confusing," The Doctor added with a smirk.

Kara laughed lightly, "Indeed so. You should meet Ta'zir, my brother or my sister Ta'qiala. They are teased; they say my mum was running out of names."

The Doctor chuckled, "Soooo what brings you here?"

She sighed, "My mother of course. When she didn't respond on her ship, I was sent to track her. I found you instead and her ship, absent with her in it. You're sort of legend around here according to her."

The Doctor sighed,"Your mum isn't well Kara. I am taking her away from here."

Kara gulped, "No, you can't…."

"Why not? She's not well."

Tash's daughter looked at the Doctor, her green eyes filled with concern, "We'll miss her. She's our leader. She's so much to us. She's our spiritual leader; she tells us the will of Mala. She's our mother, wise and blessed. She's lead us to a new glorious and grand age, what will we do without her?"

"Didn't your mother leave someone else to take over?"

She looked scared, "I am her heir, and she said I was to lead after she was gone along with some of my family. But I am so young. I am only 210 years old. Some of my older siblings have so much more experience than me. Please don't take her away. Please, please….please."

The Doctor sighed and then said calmly, "Kara, I don't know what to say but I think it's time the apron strings to your mum should be cut. You rely way too much on her. She has taught you hasn't she? And your brother's and sisters? You'll be fine. You seem like a sweet, smart, and intelligent young Mala'shraian."

Kara fell to the floor of the TARDIS sobbing, "No….I am not ready."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. He did not do domestics well. This would have been so easy if this had been Rose and Jackie. He normally was yelling at Rose's mum. It was a bit strange. Kara was just a young girl although looked to be older than most normal humans. And Tash? Tash was an old woman but looked…. Oh never mind all that, he thought. The situation was still the same, mother, daughter. Although Kara was acting a lot like Jackie, pleading for the Doctor not to take Rose, only this time it was a daughter pleading for the Doctor not to take her mother away. Such a strange group of people Mala'shraians were. He had better get out of here before all of Tash's progeny decided to storm the TARDIS. If they were anything like Kara, this really could be trouble.

"Kara Nirata quit your sobbing. I told you you're mother is not well. If you don't believe me come and see for yourself."

He grabbed the Mala'shraian by the hand and pulled her off the floor and went through the TARDIS.

Taking her into a quiet little room, he said to Kara, "Now be quiet, your mum's sleeping away. I don't want anyone to wake her."

Kara nodded and sniffed lightly. The Doctor sighed and took out a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. Kara dried her tears and blew her nose. She went into the room. She looked at her mother. She was so quiet. She lightly kissed her on the cheek. Tash did not stir. "Mum?"

The Doctor gave Kara a bit of an angry glance, he had told her not to disturb her. But Tash moaned lightly but did not wake up.

"What's the matter with her?" Kara said suddenly concerned.

"Straight out mental and physical fatigue, basically she's worn out. Her whole body chemistry is way off, for a member of your race, it's a wonder she's still alive."

Kara sighed and looked thoughtful, "She's been talking odd for days now. She said that her trip to Cheem was going to be her last trip. I was worried. There was some talk that she was just going to disappear. Mala'shraians do that when they get older. They just wander off. Although generally that doesn't happen till we get older. We don't generally talk about it. It's just one of those things."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and then nodded, "It could have very well have been. Kara, do you have any idea how old your mother is?"

She shrugged,"No, she doesn't really say. If I had to guess, I would say at least 600."

"She shouldn't be that tired not at that age. At least I think she shouldn't. And what do you mean wander off?"

"Death, Doctor. At least my mother told me that in the final days before we feel ourselves become younger, we take the journey. It's hard to explain because my mother didn't really tell me much about it. She said I'd know when that time came. She said it's just part of instinct and that eventually at our end we just quietly fade away. We go somewhere, I don't know where. Mum never said where. She said it wasn't fit for the old to talk about death to the living."

The Doctor looked a bit frustrated, at Kara's lack of description regarding death, like that was really helpful. Lots of coded words, metaphors and things that made no sense to him, then again death made very little sense to most sentient species. Most species came up with stories and beliefs trying to explain the end of their own existence. And it sounded like Tash was trying to protect the sensitivities of her children. Thinking about it a lot more, he wondered if Tash's people practiced a type of ritual suicide when they got older. But since suicide was normally considered a taboo among most species, it might explain the lack of description. Although Tash didn't strike him as suicidal, he would have to ask her about it when she woke up, provided that she did actually wake up.

"You wouldn't happen to have any treatments to help sick Mala'shrians do you?"

Kara reached into a pouch that she had with her and pulled out various treatments and ointments and other such things. "Mum taught me to be a healer. So you're fortunate that I have a lot of those treatments. Do you want me to tell you which one does what?"

"Nah….I'll figure it out. Now you go along Kara. Go back to all your siblings and tell them I am helping you're mum out. If I leave, I leave and if I don't I don't. I am very worried for her. Besides if it's your mum's final journey as you say it is, then you're just going to have to get use to living your life without her. Now go on."

Kara sighed and a few tears were in her eyes. She bent over her mother and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Good bye mother…..if this is our last meeting then I pray Mala keep you well on your journey."

The Doctor watched as Kara left and he sighed. He hated taking Tash away from her home, after all this was her home and her people relied heavily on her. But he wanted to save her life. And the only way he felt to do that was to cut the ties that bound her to her people. So after the young daughter had left her mother he went to his control panels and took the TARDIS into the void. The Blue Police Box dematerialized away from the planet; this time floating in the void meant something. It meant the life of a friend.