Disclaimer: I don't own the Doctor. Well, at least not in this regeneration. But maybe someday...

CHAPTER 3

"So, how did you manage to find us all?" asked Sara Jane. The Doctor couldn't even find South Croydon, how could anyone manage to locate all these people spanning from who knows how far-reaching across the galaxies?

"I must admit that it took some ingenuity on my part," said Romana, grinning superiorly. "I told the Doctor that he had traveled with so many people over the years that he probably couldn't even remember them all. That got him so mad that he stormed off and about an hour later came back with a fully typed out list of all his companions, plus how they met, why they departed, and if he regenerated during their time together. It was simply amazing. You've all touched him so deeply, you know."

"He has a funny way of showing it," said Mickey.

"Pardon?"

"I just never got the feeling he liked me all that much," he said. That wasn't true, and he instantly regreted saying it our loud. Sure, the Doctor usually liked to call him an idiot, but it was all in jest... mostly in jest. He considered the Doctor a friend, but sometimes he still wondered what things would've been like for Rose and he if the Doctor never materialized into their lives... probably killed by Autons, but you know what he meant. And Mickey the Idiot just had to open up a huge can of worms right now without the Doctor even here to defend himself.

"That's nothing," said Ian. "The Doctor would threaten to kick out Barbara and I practically every week, no matter where we landed." He turned to Barbara. "Do you remember that time he got really fed up with us? It's a good thing I talked him into seeing us off or else the two of us would've been stranded in Revolutionary France (and probably for not very long, either, if you catch my drift)."

"I still remember the time he snapped at us," said Nyssa. "He said how he never got to choose his company: that I had begged him to come along, that Tegan barged her way in with her curiosity, and that Adric was a stowaway."

"But you can't blame him for that?" said Tegan. Sure, she was usually all for criticizing the Doctor, but not for this. "He was under a lot of pressure; the entire universe was about to be destroyed."

"Oh, I know you're right," said Nyssa, her pacificist Trakenite-nature kicking in. Deep down, she knew the Doctor cared about her. And once upon a time, she would've done anything for him. Even kill for him if need be, though the Doctor would never have a llowed it. That's just the kind of man the Doctor was.

"He abandoned me," said Peri, stoicly.

"Really?" asked Jo. "I can't imagine him doing that." Sometimes it was even she who felt like she had abandoned him.

"He left me without saying goodbye," said Peri. "That really hurt me."

"He once left me, too," said Tegan. "But it was all through some miscommunication. I forgave him."

"He did the same to me, too," said Jack. "Technically never apologized about it. Just gave me some flimsy excuse."

"Well, at least he gave you an excuse," said Peri. "I didn't see him again at all. I never even had a chance to tell him I met someone. He probably doesn't even know what happened to me... Do you know I'm a queen?"

"Wait?" said Mel, suddenly. "Are you Peri?"

"Yes," she answered, very surprised by the question.

"You've got it all wrong," Mel said.

"What do you mean?" asked Peri.

"The Time Lords snatched the Doctor out of time and put him on trial. The Valeyard falsified all the evidence against him. The Doctor thought you were dead and that it was all his fault; he was devastated."

"What? He really thought I was dead?"

"The truth was eventually revealed, but still!" said Mel, emphatically. "And it's got to be the worst feeling in the world to have everyone against you, and the only one who's willing to stand up to the injustice is your worst enemy."

"Who was that?" asked Polly.

"The Master," said Mel. "The Doctor would be long dead right now if it weren't for him."

"Yeah, but the Master also killed him once," said Tegan. "So I suppose that makes them even. And the only reason he snapped at us like Nyssa just mentioned was because the only way he knew to save everyone was to partner with the Master to come up with a way to stop the destruction, and we were complaining that he shouldn't. It must have been terribly stressful for him."

"I don't know how he manages to get himself into situations like that all the time," said the Brigadier. "It's like he's a magnet to danger. Simply incredible."

"Think of all the enemies he's made over the years," said Sara Jane.

"Like the Master," said Peri.

"Or the Black Guardian," said Turlough.

"Or the Cybermen," said Victoria.

"Or the Daleks," said Ian. "Of course, Barbara and I shall have to thank them. We'd never have gotten back home without them. The Doctor certainly wasn't able to manage it."

"Of all the creatures I have met with the Doctor," said Leela. "The one I was most afraid of was the Doctor himself."

"The Doctor!" gasped Sara Jane. "But why?"

"On my planet, he was a vengeful god of evil," Leela said. She noticed some curious looks. "Sometimes he makes large mistakes." Several heads bobbed in understanding.

"You can say that again," agreed Martha. "But come on, yeah. We all know he likes us. Our friendship with him is something special; that's why we're all here. And I think it's been proven that he still thinks about us after we've gone."

"I've seen many versions of the fellow, and met many of his companions," said the Brigadier. "Believe me, he gets rather out of sorts after he says goodbye. He barely spoke for a week after Miss Shaw quit, buried himself in his ridiculous experiments. And even though I had to practically blackmail the Doctor into letting Miss Grant assist him at first, he was very depressed to see her go, too. Happy for her, to be sure, but still didn't like that she went."

"You had to force him to get along with me?" asked Jo, a little hurt. "Well... I didn't make the greatest first impression."

"That's okay," said Liz. "If he can still call the Brigadier a friend after all they've been through, you should have nothing to worry about. They made quite a duo- both were so insufferably hot-headed. What did he call you that time... 'a pompous, self opinionated idiot.' I almost died laughing."

"Yes," said the Brigadier, calmly. "And then he made a fine spectacle of himself by leaving in such a hissy-fit... Served him right to land in the rubbish tip."

"What? We don't want to bear a grudge over a few hasty words, now do we?" Liz said, trying her best to quote as accurately as possible. "No... not all the years that you two have worked together."

The Brigadier frowned.

"Come along my dear fellow. Put on a smile!" she continued.

"If you're quite done, Miss Shaw..." said the Brigadier. Her smirk informed him that she was.

"Well," said Romana. "I hope you're all quite done because the Doctor should be back any moment. And I'd hate for all of you to pounce on him at once, demanding reparations for past grievances. That's not why I brought you here."

Everyone suddenly became silent with sheepish expressions on their faces. Barbara took the initiative to step forward. "We're sorry, Romana. It's just that we're all suddenly reminded of all these things we've done- some exhilirating, some frightening, or both at once. It's pretty hard to believe we were really there, like it must have been something we dreamed. We've all learned and grown from these experiences; it was all the Doctor's doing. And you should know that even if it was sometimes hard to keep up with his unanticipated thoughts and emotions, we can never express the gratitude we have towards him for making us who we are now."

Romana smiled. "Now I know why the Doctor liked you, Barbara."

"Yes, I'd grown to really like him, too," said Barbara. "He may not do it often, but he is very good with apologies."

"Really?" said Romana, grinning. "You shall have to tell me more about that sometime."