One day as they were traveling Michelle remarked to the Doctor, "You know, I found this song in the databases. It kind of reminds me of you."

"You did, huh?" He did not look up from the tangled mess of wires that he was working on.

"Sure did." There was an awkward pause.

"Well?" he asked.

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to play it?"

"Erm..." Michelle reddened. "I can, yeah, but I thought we'd just discuss it instead."

"Oh no, doesn't work like that. Anytime anybody suggests to me a new theme song, I've got to at least hear it. You know, try it on for size."

Michelle shrugged. "It's your funeral, DW." She hit a button on the console.

Nik Kershaw - Wouldn't It Be Good to Be In Your Shoes

I got it bad
you don't know how bad I got it.
You got it easy
you don't know when you've got it good
It's getting harder
just keeping life and soul together

I'm sick of fighting even though I know I should
The cold is biting through each and ev'ry nerve and fibre

My broken spirit is frozen to the core
I don't want to be here no more

Wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes even if it was for just one day
And wouldn't it be good if we could wish ourselves away
Wouldn't it be good to be on your side

The grass is always greener over there
Wouldn't it be good if we could live without a care

You must be joking
you don't know a thing about it
You've got no problems
I'd stay right there if I were you
I got it harder
you couldn't dream how hard I got it

Stay out of my shoes if you know what's good for you.
The heat is stifling
burning me up from the inside
The sweat is coming through each and ev'ry pore
I don't want to be here no more, I don't want to be here no more
I don't want to be here no more
Wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes even if it was for just one day...
I got it bad, you don't know how bad I got it...

Michelle looked over. The Doctor had vanished from whatever project he was and was standing next to her, hands in pockets, with a rather pensive face. He gave a wry grin. "There are times when I almost lose my faith in humanity, and then there is one human that tends to get me figured out pretty well. And so I keep that faith."

She corrected, "Well, I didn't think the song was so much about you as it makes me want to be in your shoes. I want to be a time traveler forever and see new and exciting places."

The smile rapidly disappeared from his face to be replaced by anger, something Michelle had not seen on the Doctor's face before. "You think that's all it is about? Fun and games, and jokes?"

Michelle stammered, "N-no, I only meant that..."

The Doctor snapped, "Then maybe you ought to be quiet for once when there are things you don't understand!" He threw his hands up in the air and exclaimed, "I'm really sick of this rubbish!" He stomped over to the wall, which rapidly opened into the bedroom and vanished.

It confused Michelle. What an odd thing to say. "How am I ever supposed to understand you if you won't tell me what you are really all about???" There was no answer.

****

That night (or whatever could be considered night for Michelle's Circadian rhythms), Michelle lay in the other bedroom of the TARDIS. She was not used to what was called the continental quilt, which was one large coverlet, as most American beds came with sheets and blankets to be pulled over oneself.

Tonight, for some reason, there was an odd scent of perfume on the quilt. It was both subtle and fragrant at the same time, something a bold and brassy woman would have worn. It made Michelle think about who had used the bed before her, and what they were like.

She covered her eyes with her one arm, and attempted to rest. Eventually the sleep overtook her, and Michelle's muscles relaxed. Her arm rolled off her face and her fingertips touched the wall. A soft blue glow came from the TARDIS and traveled up her arm, through her shoulder and neck into her mind. It was quiet, and did not wake her.

*****

The next morning, when she was awake and they had landed and were exiting the TARDIS, Michelle shielded her face with one hand. "Damn, that's bright!" The sun pounded down relentlessly.

"It's why I told you to wear sunglasses, a big hat and sunscreen. The Desert Moon is lit up 56 hours a day, four days a week." The Doctor reached out and pulled the brim of her hat down farther over her face until she could put on the sunglasses.

"How many hours and what's it called?" She used the sleeve of her T-shirt to wipe the sweat off her eyes.

"The Desert Moon." The Doctor casually chewed the end of a toothpick. Besides sunglasses, he was dressed normally.

"So why the hell are you wearing your suit and coat???"

"I'm not human. You are. I can absorb the ultraviolet light much better than you can."

Michelle stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine, be a walking, talking advertisement for skin cancer. See if I care." She went to take a step off the platform they were on and was immediately pulled back by the Doctor.

"Uh uh. Stay on the conveyor belt."

"I prefer to use my legs and walk, thank you very much."

"You can't. This is the home of the Living Sands. Walking on them could gravely injure the creatures."

"Huh?" Michelle peered over the tops of her sunglasses and noticed that the sand dunes, which stretched as far as the eye could see, were seemingly alive, writhing and twisting into all sorts of shapes. "But how do they make different forms? Sand has to be wet to join together cohesively."

The Doctor pointed out the water jets spraying a continuous stream from under the conveyor belt. "It's a watering system that pulls the liquid directly from the core of the Desert Moon. The water is used, reabsorbed into the core, and pumped out again. The ultimate recycling."

Michelle nodded in response.

"Come on then." The Doctor took her hand and helped her onto the conveyor belt. They stood next to each other in relative silence, traveling along and watching as the sand morphed into shape after shape. Michelle was most impressed with a giant whale that leaped many feet into the air, and was once again absorbed into the sand with no sound at all.

"Like an art show, isn't it?" The Doctor pointed out to Michelle a waltzing couple. "Absolutely beautiful and brilliant. The Living Sands exist solely for the purpose of making lovely shapes. They exist to be happy."

"Yep," said Michelle, and this time she popped the p at the end of the word, except it was more in a sarcastic manner.

The Doctor frowned. "Are you all right?"

Michelle looked at him pointedly. "My name is Michelle Reynolds. I am 26 years old, I was born in Naperville, Illinois, and I lived on a farm with my Aunt May until I was 18 and graduated high school. I then went out and worked various odd jobs until I went to Europe, and found the Jewel of the Kedron. I have no siblings, no one is really bothered that I'm gone, and no one really knows I'm gone, as well."

He did not answer so she continued, "I have never been in love and never been in a relationship, which is the best thing that could ever possibly happen to me. I am not attached, not pretty as I'm essentially 250 pounds of Jell-O, and I can do whatever I want in life because of it. No one cries for me, and I don't cry for them. Bada bing, bada boom."

Michelle took a shuddering sigh, and looked back at the Doctor. "And now it's your turn."

"They call me the Doctor, and I'm a Time Lord. I come from the planet Gallifrey." He tucked the toothpick inside his jacket pocket, remembering not to throw it into the sand.

Michelle shook her head. "Of course. That's it. Nothing more about who you are, what you've been through, who your family and loves are. That's all I ever get."

The Doctor looked at her sadly. "I can't tell you any more. It would hurt you."

She snapped, "I want to make it clear that nothing hurts me, okay? I am made of stone when it comes to that kind of thing. Unattached, remember?"

"Kongo!" There was a joyful roar of sorts behind her.

"Huh??" They had got to a stopped platform, and she turned to find a huge ape behind her.

"Sorry, Michelle, this is a good friend of mine from about 250 years ago. It's Kongo of the Simianus tribe. Do you mind if we catch up for a few minutes? I won't be long, I promise."

"Um...sure, go ahead." She headed away to let the Doctor and the gorilla-like creature talk, and stood near the edge of the stationary platform. The winds blew against her face.

*****

There was a brief moment when Michelle heard a voice from far away.

"But I was gonna be with you forever...for the rest of my life!"

She looked down. There was a perfectly shaped human hand that the Living Sands had formed, and it reached for her. Mechanically, she got down on her knees and reached over the side of the platform, taking the hand.

Desert Moon - Dennis DeYoung

"Is this the train to Desert Moon?" was all she said
but I knew I'd heard that stranger's voice before.
I turned to look into her eyes, but she moved away
She was standing in the rain
Trying hard to speak my name
They say first love never runs dry

"Her name was Rose. Rose Tyler."

The waiter poured our memories in a tiny cup
We stumbled over words we longed to hear
We talked about the dreams we'd lost, or given up
When the whistle caught the night
And shook silence from my life
As the last train rolled toward the moon

"But she was better with you!"

Those summer nights
When we were young
We bragged of things
We'd never done
We were dreamers, only dreamers
And in our haste
To grow too soon
We left our innocence on Desert Moon
We were dreamers, only dreamers
On Desert Moon
On Desert Moon
On Desert Moon
Desert Moon

"Because if she remembers, she'll burn up."

I still can hear the whisper of the summer nights
It echoes in the corners of my heart
The night we stood and waited for the desert train
All the words we meant to say
All the chances swept away
Still remain on the road to the dunes

"She was better with you..."

The Living Sands formed the shape of Donna Noble, her grandfather, and the Doctor, with Rose Tyler's face briefly in the background. While she had slept, the TARDIS had shared the stories of the companions with Michelle in her dreams. The Living Sands had detected the dormant psionic impulses from Michelle's brain, and told her the story in their own way. She had got what she wanted. and she knew everything...and now she was shattered.

*****

The Doctor called out, "Michelle, great news! Kongo wants to invite us for drinks aboard his ship tonight. You'll love the Simianus tribe...wait, where are you going?"

Michelle had broken off into a dead run, back across the platform and back across the conveyor belt, except she was going against the direction that it was traveling. But she was running effortlessly, as though it seemed not to cause her any difficulty whatsoever.

The Doctor ran after her. "Michelle! Stop! What happened?" He tried to match her breakneck pace, but was continually jostled by the mass of different aliens traveling across the belt to see the Living Sands. "Sorry, coming through...sorry! Michelle!"

She eventually made it to the landing strip where the ships were parked, raced to the TARDIS and pushed inside, slamming the door behind her.

*****

The Doctor found Michelle in a crumpled heap on the floor, crying hysterically. "Good God, what happened? Did somebody hurt you?"

"Don't come near me!!" Her tear-streaked face looked up briefly. "The TARDIS told me all about them. Something bad always happens to the people who get involved with you!"

The Doctor stopped dead in his tracks. "It's..." And he knew he had said it before. "It's the curse of a Time Lord."

"Yeah, that they have to either die, fall in love with you and lose you, or get their memories wiped. You're really safe to be around. How about a bloody disclaimer first before I left with you?"

"It's different every time, Michelle. I can't always know what is to happen in the future..."

"Shut up! You're a Time Lord, remember? No damned excuses. And I don't want to hear you tell me that 'you're sorry, you're so sorry.' I can't believe what a mistake I made coming with you. I mean...it's been fun and wonderful and everything, but I made a mistake telling you that I'm happy being unattached. I need to stop throwing away my chances for love. I need to try and find somebody, my God, before it's too late! I don't care that I'm ugly and will probably fail, I've got to try! I can't be like you, won't be like you."

Being over 900 years old, it was nothing the Doctor hadn't heard before, but the next statement she made threw him for a loop. "Take me home. Now."

He managed, "You want to go back?"

"Did I stutter, Spaz? I want to go home, I said."

The Doctor protested, "But I have so many more places to show you..."

"Tough shit. Forget the whole 80's thing, just take me back to my modern world. Get me home."

"O-of course. In a few hours. The engine needs to recharge."

*****

Michelle's tears had quieted somewhat, and the Doctor numbly moved to her side. "Have we both had it rough?" he asked her, and held out his arms.

Suspicious of his motives, she sat up enough that he could hug her. Michelle faced his chest and couldn't really see his face. "I mean it. I want out. I'm not changing my mind."

"I know." His voice was even, but if she had only seen his face...

*****

You want to go? But you make me laugh...it's been so long since I've laughed. And you want to go and leave me here alone again. I miss laughing...

The Doctor gave a muffled sob. A tear rolled down his cheek and splashed into Michelle's hair. She did not notice it.

Michelle had been in the arms of the Doctor, felt him stiffen at the mention of her leaving, and pulled away quickly. He might have dropped his mask, she thought. But a look at him revealed only a stonyfaced stare.

"Good," she said, and stood up.

"Good what?" asked the Doctor, his voice flat.

"I'm glad that you're not attached to me. I told you that no one should do that, and if they did, they ought to be slapped."

"No need," mumbled the Doctor.

Michelle ignored the comment, and turned to face him, arms folded. "I'll tell you what."

The Doctor was still sitting down. His gaze was empty and he looked defeated.

"Aren't you gonna get up?"

"I like the floor."

"Suit yourself, Spaz. But anyway, as I was saying, I have a better alternative. I'll go ahead and get a good night's sleep. I'm damned exhausted." As if on cue, the lights in the TARDIS dimmed slightly.

"And then?"

Michelle smiled genially. "And then you can use your Time Lord know-how to figure out how to drop me off at Aunt May's farm near Elburn, Illinois. You'll need to give me a plausible excuse about how I managed to afford to come back home after nearly 10 years and this terrible economy that the US has."

"That's what you want?"

She joyfully patted the Doctor on both shoulders. "You got it, DW. And then we can both be rid of each other."

"I'll get cracking on that right away," snapped the Doctor. "How about a free mansion too? And a family to live the rest of your life with? I'll just snap my fingers and make it all appear for you!"

Once again she did not respond, but instead whistled cheerfully and disappeared into the second bedroom of the TARDIS.

*****

The Doctor paced back and forth in frustration. Energy crackled between his fingertips. "Our lifetimes together, and you did this to me? How could you? Why is she special?"

The ship hummed in response.

"So what if she's a psionic? She doesn't know that yet! And even if you can bond with her, that doesn't give you the right to tell her the story of Donna Noble without sharing my side too!"

The Doctor clenched his fist. "There's nothing else to be done. I'll have to erase her memory, just like I did with Donna."

The TARDIS shuddered as the Doctor stormed toward the second bedroom. Old anger, hurt and pain from long ago, and not so long ago, boiled up in his veins.

He tried to enter the second bedroom, and found the wall remained solid. "TARDIS? Let me in."

The ship hummed.

"I'm not doing this merely for personal reasons! Her mind needs to be wiped. If our time together has been meaningless, then this is the best solution. It's not safe for her to remember everything if she's merely going to run off home. We can place her in a train station, or somewhere safe with a lot of people. She'll receive good care!"

Another shuddering sensation came from the TARDIS. "Yes, I know, I haven't said this for any of the other companions, but..."

This time the ship actually bucked. The Doctor stumbled, brushed himself off, and conceded, "All right, I won't do anything until you show me what's going on."

The doorway slowly formed and opened. With light footsteps, the Doctor went into the second bedroom.

*****

He suppressed the urge to laugh at the sight of Michelle sprawled across the bed, one leg drawn up to her chest and mouth open, snoring slightly. A piece of material that he did not recognize hung off the edge of the bed.

Curious, and being careful not to wake Michelle, the Doctor picked up the material. It was a sea green color, fuzzy on one side and with worn satin on the other. It even had a few scorch marks around the edges.

The Doctor inhaled gently. It did not have the whiff of generated particles like what the TARDIS created. Instead, it had a scent of spicy orange, combined with a mild tang of sweat.

He chuckled. Well, well, he thought. The icy one has a blanket. That's the only thing that truly reminds her of home. Good job, TARDIS, on rescuing it from her suitcase before she blasted it to hell.

The Doctor sighed. This would make his job that much harder. But it was still acceptable, as long as this trip meant nothing to her.

The Doctor lifted his hand toward Michelle's face, telepathic powers at the ready, when suddenly there was a flash, and he was watching Michelle from just a few hours earlier, sitting in the room. Her eyes were red-rimmed from that day.

"Oh, dear TARDIS, don't tell the great Time Lord, but I'm going to miss you both. This has probably been the best time of my short life, and I'm always going to treasure it. In fact, your Doctor is probably the best and only friend that I've ever had. Please don't tell him that, but make sure he keeps safe and continues to do his good work. He is the greatest thing to happen to this universe and I can finally live my life. My only regret is that I won't dance in the 80's. Good night, TARDIS."

Touched, the Doctor pulled his hand back. "She does care! Most certainly and truly she does..." Joy pounded through his two hearts. "Tomorrow, we'll go. We'll go to an actual 1980's prom in America, in a high school! I'll see if this incarnation can pass for 18!"

The urge to laugh and the excitement of the next trip made him want to smile, but the reality that he was once again about to lose someone he cared about overwhelmed that feeling. "I'm just sorry we won't have more time together."

Instead, he just sat and watched her for a moment more, before slinking out of the room quietly.