Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far- you give me hope that maybe I can actually write something for Doctor Who fairly decently.

I'm thinking about changing the summary for this story… what do you think? Should I keep it or use the new one?

Current Summary: He gave her the stars, the universe, new worlds... a chance to escape, and in turn she healed the lingering wounds of war. It was amazing what a different time, a different place, a different person, can do for one's destiny.

New Summary: When the Doctor saves an 18 year old Elena from the Autons, neither of them were prepared for the direction their lives would take. Elena finally had a chance to escape the suffocating protectiveness of her friends and family and the Doctor had found someone who could help him heal from the Time War. However, he soon learns she isn't as normal as he first believed.

Chapter 4: Visit to the Eye of Orion

"No wonder you never sit still." Elena said, glancing at the Time Lord beside her, who was indeed messing with something under the control console. "You can go back and see days long past- relive them as if they're the present." She added, remembering the conversation they'd had about where to go when she'd first arrived.

They weren't doing much currently- just floating in the Time Vortex, with him tinkering with something and her watching. She had to admit, the greenish light from the rotor was beginning to lull her off into sleep but she fought it.

"Not a bad life." The Doctor told her, reappearing briefly long enough to smile at her before ducking back under.

"Better with two, though." The human said, returning his smile- not that he could see it from where he was.

"Alright, where do you want to go next?" He asked, fully reemerging from underneath the console.

"How about you choose? You know more about traveling than I do."

The Doctor seemed to think about it for a bit, before a grin spread across his face. "Then I know exactly where to go!" He told her, nudging her aside and plugging more coordinates in. The brunette would never learn how anyone discovered coordinates existed in space, but figured it must be something to do with the superior technology and whatnot of the Time Lords.

He hadn't told her anything else about his now extinct race, but she'd managed to piece together that they had been generally intelligent, very advanced people. Obviously, to be able to figure out how to travel through time and space.

"Where are we going?" She asked, his eagerness causing excitement to rise and the lingering fatigue to dissipate. Anything that got him eager must be something very interesting.

"It's a surprise." He replied, his grin taking on a hint of mischief. "And nothing you say or do will get me to tell you, so don't even think about it." He added, already seeing the objection forming on his companion's face.

Elena shot him a glare but kept silent, despite curiosity gnawing her from the inside out. The moment she felt the TARDIS shake in landing, she leapt from her spot and made for the doors.

Tossing them open, she was greeted by nothing but lush grass shrouded in mist. It didn't look like much, but for some reason just looking at it caused a sense of tranquility and peace to wash over her.

"Welcome, Elena, to the Eye of Orion." The Doctor said from behind her, making her jump. She turned and saw he was smiling.

"Where are we? Is this some sort of planet?" She asked, glancing at the landscape. It looked almost like Earth, yet she'd never felt this much peace… it was like as long as she stayed here, she wouldn't have to worry about anything ever again. It was a kind of nice feeling, actually. "And what's with the sudden feeling of peace?"

"To answer your first question, yes, this is another planet. It's considered one of the most tranquil places in the universe- quite apt, if you ask me." He replied. "The peaceful feeling you're getting is because it's constantly bombarded by positive ions."

The brunette had to agree with him; she was at the most peace she'd ever been. A very welcome relief after the way the past few years had gone, with losing her parents, Jenna, Klaus' ritual…

"What are we doing here? Not that I'm not glad you showed me this but… is there any particular reason we're here?" She continued, hating to sound unappreciative.

"No real reason." The Time Lord told her, shrugging. "I figured you'd need proof we could go to other planets and I thought 'why not show her one of the best places possible?'"

"Any doubt I had about you and time travel disappeared on that space station. But thank you." Elena told him. He just smiled slightly before stepping outside and glancing behind him as if to ask 'You coming?'

She didn't hesitate to head out after him, secretly hoping they could stay here for awhile.

-DW-VD-

The Doctor couldn't stop himself from smiling at the look on Elena's face when she first saw the planet. It was always fun seeing how they reacted to a new planet.

He had meant what he'd said about taking her here to show her proof, but there had been more to it. He was secretly hoping being here would quiet the storm he felt in his mind, left over from the war, before it drove him mad. So far it seemed to be working.

And, judging by her expressions, it's doing wonders for her too.

She really did look carefree and utterly at peace, something that seemed to transform her entirely. No longer did she look stressed or worried or fearful about something; just peaceful with a brilliant smile on her face.

"What?" He hadn't realized he'd been staring until she turned to face him, her smile slipping somewhat.

"Nothing."

The human looked at him for a few seconds, obviously trying to see how truthful he was being. He was glad he'd long since mastered the ability to disguise his emotions past the depiction of humans, and sure enough her smile returned and she forgot anything had possibly been wrong. Not that there was.

"Well… are we going to stand here all day or are we going to have, I don't know, some fun?" She asked.

In response, he grabbed her hand and took off, granting a laugh from her. He didn't know exactly what 'fun' they could have here- what he recalled from visits in his past incarnations, there wasn't much- but he wasn't someone to let a trip to go to waste.

-DW-VD-

The calming effect of the planet seemed to effect the Doctor as well, as Elena noticed how at times the brooding expression he wore completely disappeared. It's like he was a new person and could almost see him like this if the Time War had never happened.

Seeing him even briefly without it caused her to see him in a completely new light. He looked almost like someone she could easily see herself becoming close to- someone she could laugh and forget everything with.

As they went further on the planet, Elena began to see trees and rocks appear, indicating that there was more than lush grass to it. The mist never let up however.

"Where are we going?" She called after a few more minutes of doing nothing but walking. Somewhere along the way their hands had separated and he had begun walking ahead of her.

"No idea." He called back, and she couldn't stop herself from laughing.

They walked for a bit longer, when a set of large stones in the distance caught the brunette's attention. They seemed out of place here, even though she'd already seen quite a few rocks. Curiosity got the best of her and she headed for it.

Coming closer, she was shocked to find they weren't stones but in fact ruins. They seemed to be a memorial to something, and had etchings of some language she couldn't for life of her read carved on it.

"Hey Doctor… look at this!" She shouted in the direction that she had last seen him. "These appear to be some sort of ancient memorial." She added when she saw him begin to catch up with her.

What she was not expecting was his reaction. Upon seeing what she had discovered, he froze, looking like someone who had just seen a very frightening and unwelcome ghost.

"What is it?" Elena asked, her worry beginning to overcome the peaceful feeling the planet gave off.

He didn't respond for a bit. "This isn't a memorial for something on the planet." He finally said softly. "It's a memorial of the Time War."

And she understood why he had looked so haunted seeing it. To see a memorial for something terrible that had happened, something you had been a part of and lost everything because, it was enough to overcome any calming effects.

She had a feeling that their visit to this planet was done, and sure enough they were heading back to the TARDIS not long after.

-DW-VD-

Once on the TARDIS, the Doctor immediately engrossed himself in something to do with it, leaving Elena to go off by herself. Sensing he wanted to be alone- and knowing they wouldn't be going anywhere for a bit- she settled for exploring.

She had known the ship was large but she was not prepared for just how big it was. It seemed never ending. And there were so many rooms!

There were a few bedrooms, a kitchen, what looked like a library, a med bay, and probably others she didn't get around to finding yet. How does he manage to get around without getting lost? She wondered.

Then she remembered he had mentioned something about the TARDIS being telepathic, and pieced together the two of them must have some sort of connection.

As she explored, she began to feel the fatigue seep back in, and found her eyelids drooping. Deciding it was a good idea to get some shut eye, she began making her way to where she remembered seeing an empty bedroom when suddenly the door appeared before her.

Wordless, she glanced around for a bit, before realizing it must have been the TARDIS's doing. Smiling gratefully- and surprised at it- she whispered a 'thank you' before entering the room and falling asleep.

-DW-VD-

How can humans stand to sleep so much? The Doctor thought as he began running a diagnostic check. He knew it wasn't needed, but honestly it gave him something to do, something to get his mind off of what he had found on the Eye of Orion.

When he had sent an inquiry to the TARDIS where Elena had gone- he knew she had gone off exploring, but hadn't heard any movement from her in awhile- she sent him an image of his companion sleeping.

That had been what he assumed was a few hours ago and she was still sleeping. Being a Time Lord, he knew he didn't need that much sleep, but he also knew he wasn't getting any older. Sure, he would eventually regenerate at some point, but he wouldn't die- not like humans did.

They had such short lives- they were like candles, burning bright but snuffed out far too quickly- and they seemed to spend a good portion of it sleeping. He came to the conclusion he would never fully understand the way humans worked and settled for figuring out where they could go next.

A loud scream, however, caused him to leap up and look around for the source. He then realized the scream had been very feminine, and knew there was only one other person than him on here.

The TARDIS seemed to understand his need to figure out why Elena was suddenly screaming and helped him by moving her room closer to the console room.

Opening the door, he found the brunette thrashing around, tangled in sheets with a fine sheen of sweat on her. He could smell the fear coming off of her, and knew she must be in the middle of a nightmare. What, he had no idea. He knew some of the things they would see throughout their travels would be enough to cause them, but he didn't remember taking her anywhere where that would become a problem. Unless you include the space station, where she did almost die.

Having no idea what else to do, he walked over to her and began shaking her gently in an attempt to get her to wake up.

"Elena." He whispered. "It's a nightmare- not real."

"Klaus!" She suddenly shouted, bolting upright at the same moment and almost catching the Time Lord off balance at her sudden movement.

The Doctor couldn't help the confusion that descended on him at the mention of this 'Klaus'. Was this someone from her past? Somehow he had a feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

"Doctor?" At her voice he was pulled back to the present. "Oh, god, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you." She apologized as she tried to control her breathing. He could faintly hear her single heart beating faster than normal.

"Nightmares happen." He told her. "Though, I don't recall ever meeting a 'Klaus'. Some old friend of yours?" He continued, trying to appear as casual as he tried to find out more. Wouldn't it be just his luck to choose a companion who's already gone through some sort of hell?

At the name, she went rigid, her expression becoming one of fear. Now he was really curious to learn more about her past.

"You could say that." She finally said shakily. "It's nothing, just… forget about it. I'll be fine now." He knew she was trying to divert his attention from the subject, and was half tempted to try and press for more before deciding she'd let him in on it when she was ready. "And Doctor… thank you." She added as he began to leave the room.

He knew she meant for waking her up, and he nodded before heading back to the console room, though he couldn't get his mind off of wondering who this Klaus was and what else he didn't know about his new companions past.

-DW-VD-

Should I rewrite this chapter- add things, make it longer, etc.?

I'm not quite sure what happened here… other than getting the Doctor interested in learning more about Elena's past. I'm thinking about having them go back in time for a chapter or two- in which I might have the first hint of feelings develop- before having them return to Mystic Falls. What do you think?