See You Later Alligator
"Thank you again, Doctor, for all you've done for us." The Doctor, the Princess, Sadie, and a fairly sizeable group of Mortuumian people were standing around the TARDIS. Once the Lokeens had all been eliminated, Princess Ilona had lifted the cloak of darkness that had shrouded the planet, and Mortuum seemed to be returning to normal. There had been pockets of survivors tucked away in all corners of the planet, away from the Lokeens, so while the population had been diminished, it was not by any means gone. The flora and fauna were thriving again, as well. It was quite a beautiful planet, when you could actually see it, Sadie thought.
"You are always welcome on Mortuum, and we hope you'll come to visit us again," Princess Ilona had been speaking to the Doctor, but she caught sight of Sadie and continued. "You as well, Sadie!"
"Oh, I feel sure we'll come back here," the Doctor replied. "Not sure when, but at some point. It's such a gorgeous place…"
"Definitely," Sadie agreed. "On both, y'know, it being beautiful and all, because it really, really is, and coming back here, because I'd really like to someday…" she coughed, realizing she'd been babbling slightly. There was a tiny bit of awkward-feeling silence, as no one knew quite what to say next.
"Right!" The Doctor said finally. "Time for us to be going, Sadie." He bowed his head respectfully to the Princess. "Goodbye Princess Ilona."
"Goodbye Doctor," the Princess replied, throwing her arms around him and hugging tightly. "Thank you again." Princess Ilona moved to Sadie then, and hugged her tightly as well. "Goodbye Sadie. I am pleased to call both of you friends."
Goodbyes from the people of Mortuum followed the Doctor and Sadie as they went into the TARDIS. The Doctor went directly for the console, already planning the next destination. Sadie stayed to wave at the crowd one last time before closing the door. She spun around then and bounced up to the console.
"That was awesome!"
"Awesome?" The Doctor asked incredulously. "We were in danger of our skins being eaten off of us by horrible unseen creatures in the dark, and you describe it as awesome?!"
"Yep!" The Doctor shook his head, and then grinned.
"It was, wasn't it?" Sadie nodded emphatically as he turned back to the console. "Good people there, too. I'll have to make a point to come back sometime..." He looked back up at Sadie. "I mean, we could…because, well…you're planning to stay with me…right?"
"As long as you'll have me, anyway," Sadie replied, grinning. The Doctor looked a bit relieved.
"Good!" He smiled for a minute and then turned back to the console yet again. "So, where would you like to go now?"
Notes: As much as I liked this little story, I'm glad to see it end! I'm thinking the Doctor might go on a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas in my next story. The idea of a Pirate Doctor amuses me greatly.