"You know, Tish," Martha began. "You keep saying there are things I need to know, I don't understand. You keep telling me I need to know something, but there is not a lot of what I need to know being told.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you sure this is what you want, Tish?" he asked as the image of the tiny fetus continued to hover in front of them.

Tish shook her head, "Yes, I am sure,"

"There is no guarantee that Martha will agree to any of this. I know what you are thinking, but it's not meant to be." He placed his fingers over his eyes. "I don't like the idea of you carrying this for rest of your life."

"Afraid of my sister?" Tish asked with a smirk.

"Who wouldn't be?" he asked as if it was the stupidest question in the world. "But Letitia, I am also afraid for you. It's a heavy burden to carry, and if that infant is never carried by someone else—"

"By Martha." Tish insisted with a nod.

"By Martha," he nodded. "Then it could be a lifelong battle for you, Letitia. DO you understand that?" she nodded but he went on as if talking to a nine year old. "This bond he made with you, its etched in stone. There is nothing I can do to undo it, it's as indelible as the baby himself."

She turned her gaze to the alien creature. "How do you know? Howe do you know it might meant to be? You travel in time, that doesn't mean you can tell fortunes."

The Doctor offered her a sneer and folded his arms. "It does mean that I have had a lot of practice with knowing people. I know the best of them, but I also know of the worst."

"You don't know Martha like I know her, Doctor. If you did, then you would be as confident as I am about all of this. "

He tucked his hands into his pockets but turned back to the screen. "It's just that, Tish do you realize what this will do to you?" you will have to carry that bond until he is either born or…"

Tish shook her head. "It won't take that long. Why does it feel like you are trying to talk me out of this, I thought it would be something that you would want, to not be alone anymore."

"Or until one of you dies, Tish. Do you understand? My people have an odd sense of romantic notions, and I can assure you, it's a miserable way to live without that other person. Can you really say you are ready to face another 60 years with that burden?" His voice had taken on a desperate tone. Tish surmised that he thought he was rescuing her from a dismal fate, but she had faith in Martha Jones."I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, I more than anyone else knows about how stubborn you Jones women are."

"Then what, Doctor?" Why the bombardment of negativity?"

The Doctor stopped, head held lower than usual, "I have always given people choices, Letitia, this is how I operate. I need you to know what you are getting into."

"And?" she asked with a gentle prodding.

"It might not work, she might not do it." he said in a near whisper. "I am not exactly her favorite person anymore."

"It will work out. You are not going to talk me out of this, Doctor. My mind is made up" She smiled and hopped off the table. So, what do we do next?"

The Doctor shook his head in obvious defeat. Letitia, I know you are confident of this happening, but I just want you to think for a second."

Tish brought her hand to his shoulder, "When you whispered into Martha's ear, knowing you were sending her off for a year to fend for herself, did you once question that she would do it?"

"I had the benefit of knowing the time lines, and there was no one else that could have done it." The Doc tor stopped and a far off look cascaded across his features. "There was no other choice, she was my only hope. Our only hope."

"Exactly! " Tish grinned. "I may not know time lines, but I know my sister. You gave her a mission, and she followed it to the letter and completed that mission with no variance from the plan. She will do this Doctor, I know she will."

He took the small woman by the elbow as they made their way through the corridors of the ancient ship. "Well, since you are so certain that you want him delivered alive, I must tell you that changes things here quite a bit."

"How so?" Tish asked

"It's going to be a longer stay before I can perform the separation, and a bit longer recovery. You will still feel the connection, of course. But, Tish, you will understand that the stasis will be a sort of prison for him. You will feel that too."

"I know," she admitted. "More the reason to get Martha on board, I just need to find the words to tell her."

"I could do it for you, you know." The Doctor offered with a sniff. "I mean, if it's too difficult…"

Tish smiled as she spoke. "You mean like you could go in and do the mind whammy on me, make me forget all this happened."

"You would still feel the bond, it would be worse without the rational memory."

"No shit." She chuckled. "No thanks, Doctor. I will tell my sister everything when it all gets too much. I don't want him to sit in that tube too long, but we are all still healing from what happened on the Valiant. Even you."

The Doctor shrugged as they entered the console room. "SO, Letitia, I feel it is my sworn duty, as your host, to take you anywhere you want to go. Anywhere at all." He added with a flourish. "Anywhere safe, that is. I think too much running might be a bad idea at this stage of development. But," he added/ "I think there are some beautiful relaxing places that will cater to your every whim."

"Every?" Tish asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Letitia Jones, I am shocked." The Doctor smiled. "But, I think I know a place that will make you melt into your stilettos."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Was there a lot of running when those doors opened?" Martha asked with a small smile.

"The running wasn't so bad. We ended up on a colony just hours away from revolutions. "

"That sounds about right." Martha nodded. "Wasn't too dangerous, was it?

Not as much as the tongue lashing I gave him for dropping us five hundred miles and two centuries from where he said we were going." Does he ever fly that thing right?"

Martha laughed and shook her head. "She flies where she wants, where she is needed. I kinda figured that out the day she hauled us off to Messaline." Martha grew silent, she pondered how to phrase the question without causing her sister any great discomfort. "How did you know I would do it, Tish? How could you have so much faith in my decisions? There was a pretty good possibility that I would never have done it, you know.""

Tish threw her head back and laughed aloud. "You're not serious?" she asked before laughing again.

"I was worried you would be offended by my question." Martha pouted lightly.

Tish laughed harder at her look of absolute confusion. "Oh, my dear little sister, don't you know? When we were kids, you were the one with the heart, and the sense of right and wrong. You were the one that couldn't walk into a fight without trying to appease both sides. As much as you try to deny it, you two are exactly alike. Can't stand to see someone in pain, especially someone you really care about."

"You two?" Martha asked as if she did not know."

Tish stopped her mirth and suddenly grew serious, "you and the Doctor, its like it was meant to be-"

"Tish, just stop." Martha huffed.

But, Tish wouldn't stop, she shook her head and went on. "He is in love with you Martha, has been for while. I think." she said then stopped and thought a while. "I think, he has loved you for a very long time."

"Tish, don;t do this." Martha said, her voice choked, strained against the strength she tried to maintain. "Don't put this on me, you know what I have been through, you know that I have been through hell since the day I met him."

The older sister nodded at the younger. "You are right, Martha. And I am just trying to find the right words to explain. When the Doctor went into my head, some of his thoughts bled into mine." At her sister's look of disbelief, Tish went on. "Martha, I can sit here and tell you how he felt about you, at least at the moment I knew. I can tell you what was going through his head, but, I think what would be better is for me to tell you what happened on Far Cry Nebula 3"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How we feeling today?" The Doctor asked with his usual cadence, Tish appreciated that he never treated her as if she were fragile, or had lost some semblance of the strength she always felt she had.

"It's good, I'm good." In truth, it had been a week since she and her coffee mug had turned up on the TARDIS. A week of tests, vitamins, and sitting around with her feet up. The Doctor had informed her that if she was really was serious about keeping the baby, then more tests were needed. "And," he added over a dinner of homemade lasagna. "We have to wait until he is past the critical stage."

"What's the critical stage?" Tish asked. She had made the lasagna with a sudden craving for comfort food. She had insisted he sit with her and eat. The Doctor did not need to be told twice.

HE spread his hands across the table, "This is part of it, you are starting to bond with him, and he with you. This meal, Tish, he wanted to share in it, with you. With us, actually."

Tish placed her fork on her plate and stared at him. "Are you telling me he did this, I mean, made me do this?"

The Doctor sniffed. "It's no different from a human pregnancy, is it? I mean all those weird little cravings in the middle of the night, Perfectly natural means of communication between growing fetus and host." He took another large forkful of Italian pasta and sighed. "Really, when you think about it, it's rather the same."

"Wait, do you mean he has included you in this?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Of course, I told you, my people were mildly telepathic. It stands to reason he is reaching out for any mind he can. At this stage, he needs the connection, he will need it much more after the seventh month. That is when the brain development happens."

"So he would need to be here, on the TARDIS The whole time? That means that Martha would have to be on the TARDIS, all the time, then."

"Wellll," he drawled. "It's not really that simple, Tish. See, the Gallifreyian child needs the security of both parents, and the brain connection of at least one. It is complicated, hence the need for bonding. It gives the child a better chance of survival." He stopped chewing then, "In fact, it's why we went to the looms, all that bonding, sorta fell outta fashion. We sorta ran away from the old ways in my culture…"

Tish nodded, she understood. It was like that on Earth, people get the idea that the old ways are the same as savage behavior. "What does that mean, then? How does that affect him? And if he is getting too close to you…"

The Doctor shook his head. He'll always have me, Tish. We are the same, him and me." He gave a small sad smile and pushed his plate away. "It's more of a gamble with Martha." He admitted.

"Do you think she won't want him?" Tish asked, suddenly burdened with the thought that Martha may still want her freedom. Plus, she had just become engaged to Tom. While all of this, on paper, seemed like such a good plan, the whole thing began to unravel before her eyes. In her haste to rid herself of a burden she never wanted, she had plotted to give away a gift that she was not sure someone else would want. Maybe she had led the false hopes go wild, and now the Doctor and the hope for him to have someone else…

"I wasn't thinking." She said suddenly, eyes boring into her plate. "I wasn't considering anyone's feelings in all of this. I would carry him myself, Doctor, but it's too much. The whole thing is too much."

The Doctor stood suddenly, hands placed on the table in front of him. "All right, time fro a trip. All this maudlin emo is too much, even for me. " he smiled down at her. "All right, where do you wanna go this time, Tish?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

""It's so beautiful." she breathed, helpless as she spun around in endless circles trying to take

Well, you did say purple was your favorite color. " He grinned.

Tish could only nod; the Doctor dropped to sit in the purple sand and began removing his maroon colored shoes. Like a child, he grinned as he dug his bare feet. "OOO you need to try this!" the Doctor insisted as he grabbed her feet and began to untie her shoes. She kicked at his fingers as he untied her laces, and laughed when she found herself in the sand next to him.

"You are about five years old, aren't you?" she giggled as he continued to pull her shoes off.

"Give or take a millennium. " he smiled back.

But, as her feet sank into the sand, Tish was grateful for his insistent immaturity. "Is the sand vibrating? Or have I finally lost my mind?"

The Doctor smiled bigger. "Bare skin and the reaction to certain microbes in the sand." He placed his hand on her ankles when she made to remove her feet. "Completely harmless, Tish. I promise. In fact, you are doing them a service, they eat dead skin,"

"I had a pedicure like that once," she answered, feeling as if she never wanted to leave that spot. The Doctor nodded silently next to her, but said nothing. The two friends sat with their backs against the TARDIS ankle deep in the purple sand. The afternoon sun danced across the beach and the purple tides lapped at the sands in front of them.

"This is the best trip to the beach I have ever had." Tish grinned digging deeper into the sand.

"This isn't even the best beach in the universe," the Doctor answer. "Not by a long shot." He turned to face her. "In fact, the best beach in the universe is actually on Hysteriax 7."

"Really?" Tish asked, caring far less than she could admit and still retain politeness. The fact was, the vibrating sand was lulling her swollen feet into the sweetest of comas that was spreading through her entire body.

"Really, it's got edible sand, and endless miles of turquoise water. The planet is literally one big beach."

"Sounds, nice, why didn't we go there, then?" she asked.

"Oh, you know…." He said easily.

"Doctor, what did you do?" she wanted to sound stern, but the corners of her mouth turned up into a knowing smile.

"Oh, just,… He drew out two pairs of sunglasses and passed one to Tish. "If you are ever in a situation where you have the option to go to a nude beach or not, Just remember, on Hysteralax, the answer should always be no."

"Wasn't ready for the nude Time Lord, then?"

"The name of the planet says it all, not allowed back until I change faces again."

"Well, this is much nicer than any old stuck up endless beach." She sighed. "And my feet thank you for this."

The Doctor's gaze followed to a small group of human looking people who were making their way in their direction. "Looks like we have company." The Doctor grinned. He stood up, his feet still in the sand and made his way toward the small group. Tish snorted at his need for constant interaction with others, a trait she had noted the last time they stopped at a planet and he got into a twenty minute dissertation with an inhabitant about the proper hanging of toilet paper.

"Over, not Under." She shouted at him, not willing to stand up.

"Do you even science?" he asked over his shoulder with a mock scowl. "Completely goes against the laws of physics." He made his way barefoot to the small cluster of people that had come onto the beach. They spoke for a time in voices that Tish could not hear and cared not whether she did or not.

She closed her eyes and felt herself sink deeper into the sand. IT was a loud shout that made her sit up, comfort forgotten. The Doctor seemed to be trying to flag her down as he was held by his other arm. Tish brought her feet to the ready position and charged after him. She thrtew her self between the large human male and the Doctor. "What seems to be the trouble?" swhe asked in her best Public Relations Nightmare voice.

The Guard neered at her from a height of seven feet, he folded his arms and it was then that Tish noticed the Doctor was handcuffed. "This your mate?" he asked with a voice that reminded Tish of when writers say someone spoke as if they had a mouth full of pebbles.

Tish looked at the Doctor, who gave her a slight smirk before raising his chin and speaking. "She is not my mate, we are friends. We came here to relax, there is no reason to place me in cuffs." he wiggled his bound hands for affect. "Well unless you re into that sorta thing, in which case I could be-"

"Not helping, Doctor." Tish grunted "Listen, whatever my friend here has donw, we will pay the fine and be on our way, yeah?" Tish flashed him a toothy grin that usually sent men to their knees, but not this time.

The large human male in front of her was not impressed, he stepped closer tot the Doctor and took his arm in his hand. "This man is a wanted criminal." he asserted.

"Well, I don't know about wanted. There are plenty of planets that don't exactly want me. I could name a few dozen right off the top of my head. Entire star systems actually."

Tish folded her arms and tried a different tack. "All right, so what are the list of charges?"

The giant pressed a button on his arm and soothing voice began rattling off a litany of charges, Tish stood still as she listened to the laundry list of offenses; everything thing from forgery and unlawful entry, to unlawful restraint and operating a time machine without a license. When that charge was levied from the still soothing voice, Tish turned to the Doctor with a look of horror.

"Failed that test," he grinned impishly.

Tish turned back to the large officious looking guard. "You can't be serious? This man has saved the galaxy more times than you can count."

The guard stopped the broadcast of charges and began to drag the Doctor along. "It's not for me to decide." he huffed.

"Doctor?" Tish asked, running to keep up with the retreating guard along the still vibrating sand.

"The Doctor turned to her with a careless grin. "Normal day, Tish. Nothing to worry about. " He raised his bound hands and wiggled his fingers at her. She noticed the sonic screwdriver hanging out of his pocket.

Tish flew into action, a burst of energy she ran in front of the large man and stopped with folded arms. "What is this really about? All of those charges, he would have been arrested long ago. What is this really about, then?"

"He knows what this is about," the large man spoke.

"I don't. Really." The Doctor admitted, but added with a grin. "But, I can;t wait to find out."

Tish gave him another look that made him clamp his mouth shut from any more words. She knew she had to buy some time while the Doctor worked his sonic. "No, there are rules, even in the universe, my client has a right to know what this is all about."

The guard, probably surprised at the small woman standing up to him seemed to be taken by surprise. "This, is about The Infinite."