Disclaimer: I don't own the Doctor, the Hunters' Inn, or Deal or No Deal. Everything else is thankfully a creation of my amazing mind.

Riley, Dave and I had been going to this little restaurant on the side of the highway since we were teenagers. It was called the Hunters' Inn, and they had the absolute best burgers in Minnesota. We used to go there every weekend, but they'd eventually both gotten jobs and didn't have time to go. I tried going by myself, but it wasn't the same. Plus, without Dave there I felt like some biker guy was going to kill me.

So, whenever we got the chance, we went there. Seeing as all three of us were together, plus the Doctor, we decided it was the perfect spot. That decision had put me in such a good mood, I barely registered it when the Doctor asked if he could drive.

I stupidly said yes.

As the Doctor parked my car, I quickly unbuckled myself and hopped out, throwing myself to the ground. "Thank the good Lord above!" I shouted, pressing my lips to the pavement. I wasn't even religious…

"That's unsanitary."

I snorted and slowly got to my feet again. "So is your driving."

He smirked amusedly, poking his hands into his pockets. "Was that supposed to be an insult, because it didn't make any sense."

I shrugged. "I don't care, it still made me feel a bit better."

He chuckled and looked past me as Riley's tiny car parked behind me. I turned around, smiling up at Dave as he got out of the passenger side and stood beside me.

"Cat, how much money have you got on you?" Riley asked rather loudly as she slammed the driver's door shut.

"Plenty, why?"

She smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "You're paying for Deal or No Deal."

I smiled and rolled my eyes, tucking my hands in my pockets as I started towards the door. I sneered at the small amount of people standing there smoking (I was extremely against the disgusting activity), and then pushed the heavy door open.

The Inn was poorly lit, having only a few windows and several nearly dead light bulbs. However, the sun that was shining through the few windows lit the room enough to see everything clearly. There were a few tall tables with barstools in the center of the room in front of me, and booths lined the rest of it. Through a hallway on the left was the bar, which we rarely visited because none of us really enjoyed drinking. On the opposite side of the room were the kitchens, and a hallway on the right that led to the bathrooms and the room with really long tables for birthday parties and stuff.

The Doctor stepped up beside me and poked his head through the door, looking around before grinning back at me. "Cozy."

I elbowed him and stepped inside. Riley shoved past him as well.

"The usual spot." She smiled at me, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the tall table at the far right. She threw herself onto one of the stools and started to spin herself from side to side. I rolled my eyes and jumped onto the stool next to her. Dave soon set himself on the stool on her other side, and the Doctor sat between us.

"Well, I'll be!" I looked past Dave's shoulder to see a man I knew. Well, sort of. He was more Dave's friend, but we'd met every now and then.

"Travis." Dave mumbled in his deep voice, smiling back at the man.

Travis whipped his head to the side, his golden locks whipping along with it. "Cat." He smiled at me softly, his eyes connecting with mine.

I nodded and shrank into my seat, wishing now that I hadn't come. Travis had been working Mondays here since we got out of high school, and I'd come anyways. Now, don't get me wrong, Travis was a great guy, and any girl would be lucky to have him. That girl just wasn't me.

Travis glanced at the Doctor and I saw a muscle in his jaw jump. "I'll be back in a moment." He looked at Dave, and then walked through the door to the kitchens.

Riley turned and glared at me. "Why don't you like him?" She asked, grabbing my shoulder and shaking me. "He's perfect, and you won't stop turning him down!"

I groaned and set my head on the cool table-top, ignoring her as she lectured me about how perfect he was. Dave was frowning, which was understandable seeing as his fiancée was talking about the perfection of a male specimen that wasn't him. The Doctor was just sitting there, his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. There was this little amused grin on his face, but it looked as if he was trying to hide it and was just doing a terrible job.

Eventually, Travis returned to give us menus and ask us what we wanted to drink. I barely mumbled the word 'water' and kept my eyes downcast. When he finally left us again, I sighed in relief.

Riley sneered at me. "I can't stand to look at you, you heartbreaker." She sighed, dramatically looking the other way. "Now give me a dollar for Deal or No Deal."

I rolled my eyes as she held out her hand and pulled my wallet from my back pocket, pushing several ones into her open palm. "I hope that keeps you busy for a while…" I mumbled as she hopped off of her stool and ran to the large machine a good fifteen feet away.

Dave smiled at me. "I'm gonna go make sure she doesn't break it." He left, too, leaving the Doctor and I to chat amongst ourselves.

He grinned at me cheekily. "So, who's Travis?"

I sighed and folded my arms on the table before dropping my chin on them. "Just a guy that's got a…" I hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right word. "Thing… a thing for me…"

"And you don't reciprocate the feelings?"

I snorted. "Who says reciprocate?"

He grinned. "Me, now answer the question."

I shook my head. "No, I don't."

"Why's that?" He asked, turning his body towards me slightly. "He seems like a decent bloke."

I sighed and stared at him. "He just reminds me of someone I'd rather not think about, that's all." I mumbled before hopping off of my stool and walking over to join Riley and Dave. As I stepped up to the large machine, Riley caught a glimpse of me.

"Cat, you're lucky, right?" I tried to say 'no', but she obviously didn't really want an answer. "Great, awesome, choose a number."

I blinked and looked down at the numbers that were glowing in front of me. They'd already pushed one, nine, eleven, fourteen, and twenty-two. I went for six because it was my dad's birthday, and watched the screen as the case opened and the one dollar thing popped out.

"Six, that's good number," I jumped as the Doctor seemed to appear beside me out of nowhere. "Six, six, six. Always loved six! Not my favorite number, though. Favorite number is two-thousand-and-five. That was a great year, too! Oh, fantastic year!"

I chuckled, and poked him. "Have you ever realized that you tend to ramble… a lot?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah…" He groaned. "Bad habit, can't really stop it."

I shook my head. "No, no, it suits you."

He smiled down at me, I smiled up at him, and then we both focused on the screen again, watching as Riley completely failed her game and started another one.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Riley whined as she angrily dug through her large leather purse. "I don't have a dollar! I can't find anything! Dave!"

I leaned back on my stool and crossed my legs and arms. "That's what you get for playing seven games in a row." Her head snapped my way. Her teeth were barred and she had a crazy look in her bright blue eyes. Perhaps that hadn't been the right thing to say…

"Alright!" I groaned and sank into my seat as Travis sauntered over, a circular plastic tray balanced on his up-turned palm. "Dave, Riley, your wings. Cat," He smiled at me. "Your burger. And…" His eyes drifted to the Doctor, a small frown replacing the gentle smile. "Here." He dropped the Doctor's box of onion rings on the table and turned to leave.

The Doctor stared after him with an upset look on his face. "I don't think he likes me."

"He just doesn't know you, that's all." I mumbled as I sat up again and poked my burger.

"I don't know him and I like him." Riley said as she got off of her stool. "Let's go to the bathroom." She grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the table, towards the hallway. Just as we disappeared from the boys' view, I heard Dave mumble something along the lines of 'women' and the Doctor chuckle.

"Alright, spill." Riley smirked at me as she pushed the heavy bathroom door open and stepped inside.

I followed. "Spill what?"

She sighed and turned on the single faucet in the bathroom. "Everything. Where'd you meet him? How long have you known him? Why didn't you tell me about him?"

I blinked. "Um… It's kind of hard to explain." I mumbled.

She squirted some of the foaming hand soap into her palm and ran it through her hands, making sure they were nice and clean. "I don't care, tell me anyways."

"He's only been here a couple of days, and I guess you could say he's my neighbor… Sort of…"

She flashed me a look.

"What?"

"If you don't wanna tell me the truth, fine." She frowned and looked at her reflection in the mirror, pinching her cheeks and running her fingers through her hair.

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe the truth." I said under my breath as I leaned against the plastic countertop.

"Try me." She glared, grabbing a paper towel and drying off her hands.

I bit my lip. "I would, but I don't know if…" It suddenly occurred to me that it might sound odd if I told her that I didn't know if he wanted it kept secret or not. I shook my head. "Just, maybe I'll tell you later."

She sighed, and nodded. "So, just making sure I get this right," She smirked at me cheekily. "You're not sleeping with him?"

I groaned and hit my head against the wall, ignoring the odd look a middle-aged woman shot my way as she entered the restroom and stepped into one of the stalls. "Riley-"

"Why not?" She interrupted. "I mean, he's a pretty good looking guy. All tall and mysterious. If I weren't engaged, I'd happily saddle up and ride that pony!"

I repeatedly hit my head against the wall, trying to get that mental image out of my mind.

"Stop that, honey," She grabbed my shoulder. "Don't wanna get the floor all bloody." I shot her a glare, and she grinned. "Just saying, if you go with him over Travis, I understand and fully approve."

"Since when do I need your approval to date someone?" I asked, the glare softening.

"Since forever."

After thinking about that for a moment, I concurred, I grinned and nodded. "Yeah, forever."

"After all, I know your type better than you do."

"I thought we agreed that I don't have a type."

She winked at me. "In high school, yeah, but now we've met him." She hooked her arm through mine and pulled me out of the bathroom, back towards the boys. "Now we've got an example."

I shook my head and smiled as we approached the table. We all launched into conversation, listening to Riley and Dave about their wedding plans, and then listening to the Doctor talk about the recent alien activity. Riley had called him a science geek, but Dave seemed to listen intently, both under the belief that he was an author that wrote science-fiction.

I didn't say much. I was busy thinking about everything Riley had said in the bathroom. She'd been right when she said that he wasn't bad looking. Tall, lean, great hair, add in those dazzling eyes of his and you've got one sexy guy. He also had that silly little grin that I'd grown so fond of. Ooh, and those glasses! Plus, he'd showed me that he was brilliant several times. After I'd thought about it, I knew why he'd been so emotionless when talking about his dead race. That's just how much it hurt, and to be emotionless was a completely normal reaction. I had a bit of experience with that feeling.

"Catherine, are you alright?" The Doctor's gentle voice pulled me out of the clouds and back down to earth.

I blinked and nodded, smiling at how concerned he'd sounded. "I'm fine, just thinking."

He smiled and nodded, and then turned back to Dave, who was going on about his newest house design. I glanced at Riley, who winked as if to say 'he's totally into you' and took a sip of her Coke. I couldn't help but to roll my eyes. I doubted he thought very highly of me. I mean, I must've looked so small to him. I was just one human on this huge planet. Nothing special.

Nothing special at all.

A/N: Once more, I apologize if Riley's words are at all offensive. However, I have a feeling a few of you will agree to her comment about ponies...

Anyways, I'm sorry this is a few days late. After my week in Florida, I have a lot of absent work in school that I'm still trying to catch up on. Plus, my teachers keep piling on projects, and packets, and stuff like that.

So, I'm curious as to how you think this whole thing with Travis is going to work out. Obviously, I know what happens... suckers... I'm not sure how I feel about him. I know Cat isn't very comfortable around him, but that doesn't mean I can't be. Who do you guys think he reminds her of? Once more, I already know...

So, I will be posting next Thursday. I'll try my hardest not to be late.

Thanks for reading!

Jazmine