When Kerry came round, she found herself lying on her back on the cool TARDIS floor, her arms sticking out to the sides. A brief glance sideways told her that the unconscious boy was also lying on his back a short distance away. Kerry pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked around. A lazy glance up at the console platform told her that the Doctor had not moved at all the whole time she'd been in the Caves. (Or if he had, she thought briefly, then he'd managed to get back into the exact position that she'd left him in!)

Feeling somewhat refreshed, Kerry staggered to her feet and slowly climbed the few steps up to the console. She stepped over the Doctor (she hadn't the strength to move him; besides, he was fine where he was) and reached for the scanner. She switched it on and it flared into life. At first, she wondered if the TARDIS had moved of its own accord, so different was the landscape. Then she realised that the TARDIS had not moved at all; it was the fact that the Caves were no longer standing, no longer blocking the horizon, no longer a threat… no longer there. All that was left of the Forbidden Caves was a very large pile of rubble and a hazy dust cloud hadn't yet settled. At that moment, Kerry felt the enormity of what she'd just done hit her, filling her with disbelief and a sense of exhilaration –she had achieved what the Gallifreyans couldn't and had saved a boy on her own!

She began to adjust the screen to show her a panoramic view of the TARDIS's surroundings. As the scanner swept slowly around, Kerry spotted a small group of Gallifreyans slowly trudging up towards the TARDIS, which she correctly guessed was her welcoming committee. She zoomed in on their faces and saw that each member wore an expression of utter disbelief and pure joy, and just a hint of awe and wonderment. She felt a slight pang of smug satisfaction at this as she flicked the scanner off and sank wearily into the tattered old leather chair that lived by the console (presumably for the Doctor to land on should his spaceship break too fast!). She sat there and thought about her narrow escape from those Caves, with the boy too, and how fortunate she was. It also dawned on her that she must have been asleep for quite a while, as she was no longer dripping wet from crossing the river, as she had been when she had been in the Caves. Of course, all that running would have dried her off a bit, but now she was as dry as dry can be, and there was no sign of the puddle of water that she vaguely remembered lying in…

However, she decided, she did not want to dwell on those terrors she'd only just put behind her, and instead she just let herself relax. She wouldn't budge until it was absolutely necessary.

But what about the approaching people? asked that little voice in her head, anxiously.

What about them? Kerry closed her eyes indifferently. Let them approach. When the Doctor and the boy come round, then we can go out to meet them. Until then, they can wait.

He was on a cold, smooth floor. His arms and legs felt like lead, and he was aware of a slight headache, but that was subsiding already. He opened his eyes with an effort and looked blearily around him. Where was he? He knew he was no longer in the Caves – he remembered the girl who had come for him –but where was he? As he stared blankly at the ceiling, he felt a strange wave of déjà vu wash over him; somehow, this 'place' seemed familiar. Groaning softly, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked about him. And then, suddenly, he knew where he was. He was in a TARDIS! And, he noted with a pang of glee, from what he could see from its shape and build, it was a Type 40 model! He cast his eyes around, his eyes drinking in the interior of this wonderful ship. He looked towards the console on its small platform, and frowned slightly when he saw a tall, thin man – who appeared to be asleep – lying on the floor next to the console. Why did he think he vaguely recognise the sleeper when he was sure he'd never seen the man before? It's probably my mind playing tricks, he thought, and dismissed it.

He looked around for the girl who had rescued him, but he could neither see nor hear her. A terrifying idea occurred to him; maybe this was just a terrible dream! A hallucination! Maybe the girl had just been an element of his imagination! For a moment he lay in a horrified stupor, before reason finally kicked in.

Why would you be dreaming a TARDIS? asked a little voice in his mind. After all, you've never actually seen inside one, so if this is a dream – which it isn't –, how do you know what it looks like? And why would you dream of a man you've never seen before?

But I have seen him before, thought the boy, I just don't know where…

Does that matter? persisted the voice, The TARDIS is perfectly real…

The boy groaned again, loader this time, as he struggled to push himself off his elbows and into a sitting position. He couldn't believe just how stiff his limbs were; they were trying to go in every direction except the one he wanted them to go in. Ow! he thought as he fell back onto his elbows with a thud. He tried again, and as he did so he heard footsteps approaching him. He paused and looked up, and there was the girl, coming down the steps that led up to the platform on which the console stood.

"Hi" she said as she reached his side and crouched down. The boy didn't answer immediately and resumed his efforts to rise into a sitting position. He was slightly surprised when he felt the girl's hands grip his arms and pull him up so that he was sitting up with his body leaning on hers for support.

"Thanks." he said gratefully. For a moment, he just sat and enjoyed the warmth of the girl's body; it was a welcome change from the hard, cold stone he'd had till a short while ago. Then he looked up at her scratched face and her long, browny-blond hair…and had a sudden feeling that he knew her too – and he noticed that she had a similar expression of puzzlement in her brown eyes. "Who are you?" he asked, though more to himself than to her. However, the girl appeared to push whatever thought she had just thought to the back of her mind, and she answered him in a decisive but still friendly tone.

"I'm Kerry," she said. "Short for Kerry-Anne. D'you know, you're the first Gallifreyan child I've ever seen!" she added after a pause, grinning at him.

The boy relaxed and decided to once again ignore all niggling thoughts. "Nice name!" he said, feeling a weak grin stretching across his face.

"Are you hungry?" asked the girl called Kerry.

As often happens when someone mentions food when you haven't eaten for a while, the boy suddenly realised just how hungry –no, famished – he was, and his stomach answered for him by giving a loud rumble. Kerry laughed at his expression, which reminded her of a puppy begging for a treat while trying to pretend it wasn't, and produced a packet of sandwiches. She unwrapped one for him and he ate it slowly, enjoying the taste. It didn't take long for him to finish the packet, which he washed down with a long drink of water, and when he had finished, he felt much better than he had for days!

He found himself liking Kerry immensely; she had fearlessly entered the Caves, to find and rescue him, at the risk of her own life.

"Kerry?" he said softly, just to make sure she was really there.

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

And they both knew what he meant.