She went through the wardrobe with increasing disgust. Apparently all of his companions had been skinny and rather short. She was nearly as tall as the Doctor, and her pear shape took her right out of the skinny category, at least as far as jeans went. The TARDIS could probably help her out, but she wasn't quite sure how to ask yet. Did she just say, "Hello, TARDIS, can you please bring the clothes that would fit me to the front?" Or was there some secret code? She'd have to ask. For now, she settled on a green dress that settled down nicely on her hips and a pair of brown knee-high boots that were actually flat. It would keep her warm enough for now. Hopefully Barcelona had jeans stores.

She passed a mirror, and had the sudden urge to look pretty. She could only imagine that she'd be doing a lot of running, but she wanted to look good while running with him. She tried to control her hormonal brain, but rummaged through a pile until she found a ribbon to tie her hair back with. She gave herself a quick once-over and decided it was good enough. A jacket from a hook near the door warmed her up nicely. She felt the TARDIS jolt to a stop as she was entering the control room. The Doctor's back was to her, and she watched him for a second. He really knew what he was doing.

She had to trust that now. She really didn't have anywhere to go. Without the Doctor, now, she'd be stranded. She hadn't realized just how much she trusted him until then. It was silly to trust someone she'd never met based on a TV show that wasn't supposed to be real. But trust him she did. Every confident move of the controls reinforced that. She padded down the stairs. "Do they sell jeans on Barcelona?"

He whipped around as though he hadn't known she was there until just then. Must have been lost in his own thoughts, she reasoned. She watched him closely as his eyes moved over her, evaluating her clothing. "I hope this is all right," she offered weakly.

"It's fine. It's beyond fine. You look fantastic." He turned and spun a dial. "But to answer your question, I believe they do. But the TARDIS will have some for you once she's back to full power."

"Oh, ok. Didn't know how that worked." She consciously unbunched her hands from the fabric of her dress, smoothing it over.

He slid his hand into hers and helped her up, tucking her arm in his. "Shall we?"

She giggled nervously and followed him down the stairs. He pushed open the door confidently, and stepped outside first, holding out a hand for her. She stepped out into the sun slowly. It was a beautiful world. The sun seemed to make the colors deep rather than bright, and everywhere she looked there were different beings – a byproduct of it being 52836, she imagined. She wondered if that was AD, or not based on earth time at all. She'd have to ask.

"What to do first? Sample the local fare? Take a tour? Beautiful fruit trees here. They grow bananas that are just fantastic." He began to lead her through the streets, narrating as he did so. "Barcelona the planet came before the city on Earth, of course. The natives from this planet made a bit of a resort of the city, naming it after themselves and all that. They even showed Gaudi pictures of their home planet's architecture, which is how he got his distinctive style. And his reputation for being a little nutty."

Sure enough, the streets were lined with beautiful buildings, the likes of which could only be seen on earth in Gaudi's handiwork. She stopped and looked up. "La Sagrada Familia…" she breathed. "Saw it once."

He grinned, giving her a long moment to look up at it. The look of awe on her face drew him in. He sometimes forgot how full of wonder just being on a planet was. He was glad this was a good choice. She tilted her head back – and back, until she was looking nearly straight up. "This is the original – the name means Star-Touching Temple in the language their sacred text is written in. It's the temple to their great god. It's much larger than La Sagrada Familia."

"It's enormous. It would dwarf the Sears Tower."

"Oh, lots of things dwarf that. The Sphere of Gonza on Minarin 8, for example. It's a blue spherical structure that houses all the science labs on that planet. It's nearly half the size of Earth's moon, though. Absolutely enormous. Or the law center on Moxx. A series of towers that seem separate on the ground but all connect near the top, where the highest court meets. A real feat of engineering genius, especially considering how often they have earthquakes. The building has to actually grow itself to accommodate shifts in the ground below."

"That's possible?" She tore her eyes away from the building in front of her, fixing the Doctor with the same look of awe and wonder. He could bask in that look for hours.

"'Course it's possible. Bio-engineered building materials become pretty common, even on Earth, roundabouts the fifty-sixth century."

She lifted her eyes back to the temple. "So the fifty-something centuries are big on Earth, then. Time Agents, bio-engineering materials, and Jack Harkness." She laughed, and he frowned.

"Jack who?"

She played it off, keeping the same smile on her face. She hadn't pinpointed exactly where in his timeline she was, or whether this was even the same timeline. "It's another TV show back home."

"Oh." She shifted closer to him, her shoulder brushing his arm. She walked with him a ways, the mood having shifted somehow. "Miranda, your home… I can't…"

"I know. I really do." She stopped and pivoted to face him. "Doctor, you offered me a gift. I took it. I knew the consequences. I'll still be homesick now and then, but I'm glad I came. Just promise when you're done with me you'll at least leave me somewhere I can get by." It was a small, sad smile, seared through with the knowledge that he left all companions behind, one by one, leaving them to watch the stars and wonder what might have been if they'd have stayed. She knew.

He pressed her against him in a quick hug. "I'll make it worth it, Miranda Larsen. I promise you that."

She kissed his cheek idly, then stepped back. "So, Doctor, I hear the fruit trees are amazing." She grinned widely, and he squeezed her hand.

"Bananas especially." He lifted his hand and snapped three times. Almost instantly, a small vehicle stopped in front of them. "All aboard." The vehicle had only one wheel, and they were seated high above the driver in an open top vehicle. The view of the city was amazing. "To Capex Farms, if you don't mind." The small creature nodded – at least Miranda thought it nodded, and they began to move rapidly through traffic.

She tried not to look too much like a tourist, or to strain her neck. The Doctor, meanwhile, was narrating everything they passed, pointing out the past present and future of the buildings and the people and all the things she might ever need to know. The noise of traffic grew louder, and she rested her head on his shoulder in order to hear the narration.

He noticed she was there, sitting close to him in the two person taxi, her hand still in his, and now her head resting on his shoulder. Of course he knew she was there. But it was comfortable so far. His left heart, the one closer to her, was beating slightly faster. He kept talking. "And the star system named Barcelona was named an interspecial treasure, and the cultural icons were kept in place despite the colonization by other beings…"

"Who colonized it?"

"Lots of people have. Even the humans will be the dominant species at some point. They're never very violent takeovers. In fact, Barcelona hasn't seen a war in eight centuries. It's rather impressive."

"Part of why you like coming here so much."

"I suppose." He looked down at her. "Never really thought of it like that."

"Well, that and the dogs with no noses." She laughed again. "Can we see some of them, by the way?"

"Your wish is my command, milady."

She pushed his arm lightly. "Promises, promises. But if I know you, there will be some catastrophe we'll have to fix or problem with time that we'll have to solve."

"Like there not being any bananas!"

"Just like that." She laughed. She noticed he wasn't laughing. "You are joking, right? There isn't a problem with the bananas?" She gave him a worried look as the taxi came to a stop.

"Nah," he countered. "Bananas aplenty." He paid the driver, then offered her a hand down from the car. "The Barcelonans brought them back from Earth and made this a grove site." She let him wonder for a minute, then wandered up to the gate. The Doctor approached her as she took it in. "I like bananas."

"I'll have to keep that in mind." She smirked. "Do you also like dancing?"

"I love dancing! I do a fine jitterbug, if I can brag a little bit."

She giggled despite herself. "Oh, you can brag. You'll have to show me sometime." She couldn't believe she was saying these things. It wasn't like her. She took a deep breath and felt as though the giddiness flooded her. Something was wrong, and she felt it in part of her brain. But the rest of her just didn't care.

The Doctor noticed. He sniffed the air lightly, scenting chemicals that just shouldn't be there. Chemicals that were oddly intoxicating to human beings, causing reactions similar to alcohol. A lowering of inhibitions, perhaps even mildly aphrodisiacs. But where were they coming from? He walked away from Miranda, his mind in full analytical mode, trying to determine the source of the out of place chemical mixture. He didn't realize that he was leaving her behind until he turned around and she was gone.