A/N: Okay guys, here's the seventh chapter under way. This chapter had the least surgery done to it (though that's not saying much), but I'm otherwise happier with it. I apologize to those who just recently followed (thank you darlings), so yeah go back and read it again lol

For a moment he felt the cold breeze of the night, with the grass on his face and the symptoms of the bite overwhelming his senses: his organs felt as though they were failing; hot liquid rose in the back of his throat as the stomachache that once plagued Cindy turned into what felt like several ulcers stabbing at his gut. All over he felt as though he were on fire. There was little time for him to do much of anything now, for he knew he had only minutes to live.

Sufficing all the strength he could muster, he stood up, noticing his surroundings and recognized that it wasn't far from the TARDIS. He sprinted, feeling his hearts ache but kicked in his respiratory bypass to get through the last few yards. The TARDIS hummed with concern as he approached, opening her doors immediately for him as he tumbled inside, rasping and unable to move back up. Squirming on the ground as the venom continued to consume him; he knew he wasn't going to make it. He wondered how he was going to officially die for millennia now.

Confusion was all he could feel other than pain, and he could hardly stand up. It was difficult to breathe, and he knew for the few moments he had before he blacked out that the venom injected into him was fatal. It was only logical for the aliens to not kill Cindy, and instead use a more potent dosage against him. Needless to say it was agonizing, his head swimming as he could barely open his eyes to see his beautiful ship. He felt her presence… and sent so many warm signals to her, to tell her how much he appreciated his ship for being the only friend he could depend on in times of turmoil.

Gold light tore through him moments after his final goodbyes to the TARDIS, and he opened his eyes to see blurry visions of light coming towards him.

The Bad Wolf…?

It didn't feel like the time vortex was going to rip through him, because he felt it before and what the light was doing was nowhere near as lethal. He knew it was the TARDIS, but it was nothing like the time vortex that had changed his face. Knowing just about everything regarding the TARDIS, the Doctor didn't realize that he could discover something new about his ship. He didn't feel himself regenerating, and the more the light continued to explode all around him, mental as well as physical relief flooded his senses. The symptoms resided, and no longer was his life threatened. As quickly as the light came, it slowly faded out. The Doctor sighed, his body relaxing as he turned to his side, resting his cheeks on the cool surface of the floor.

It was regeneration energy. The TARDIS had residual regeneration energy, most likely stored in her heart. The Doctor wanted to laugh with glee at this knowledge, having wondered for ages if the TARDIS had the ability to heal physical wounds as well as mental. If the TARDIS were a Time Lord he would kiss her.

He started laughing weakly, exhausted from the long fight with the venom that pulsed through his veins. "You're amazing, old girl."

And with that, he was out.

The only sounds Cindy could hear were the crickets outside and the distant clip clopping of horses' hooves on stone roads. Those same horses were drawing carriages, which carried the very monsters that caused her nothing but grief.

They knew that in order to move the story along, Cindy would have to go to the Ball through other means. Cindy especially knew this as an essential part of the storyline, but couldn't figure out how she could go to the Ball without the tools she needed. If anything she wanted to go out and find the Doctor, to know for certain if he was dead or not. For all she knew he could never be found, but she was too frightened of the aliens. She hated admitting it, but she didn't want to face them alone, and just assuring herself of the Doctor's fate was enough to give her closure. She was terrified of going out to search for him, only to find his body covered in blood. Dead.

Even if he was gone, Cindy had her fighting spirit back, and the fighting spirit told her that, despite not wanting to, she needed to go to the Ball. The problem was how, and in what.

She looked down at her dull dress, wishing it were a gown so she would look somewhat presentable. However, she had no money, and by now the Ball had already started. She heaved a sigh, wandering into the garden in the backyard and went under the willow trees. The night was warm, despite the moon rising. She noticed a white marble bench that hadn't been sat on for many years, and chose to sit on it for the sake of not sitting on the ground. Cindy hadn't felt so alone in what felt like years, and it was painful to feel like that again. Just days ago the Doctor was her only friend, and now that he gone, it felt emptier than she ever felt before. She didn't need a man to live a life of her own despite her dreams of having a husband off somewhere in the forests, but being so drawn to the Doctor made her feel as though she had a drive and a plan. It comforted her to know that she could possibly have a life after all of this madness. Once more, she was too tired to even cry, and could only feel the deepest sadness she had not felt since the death of her father.

A sudden glow interrupted her thoughts, however, as she noticed a soft glowing light materialize beside her. It was a large, golden form vibrating next to her on the bench, looking warm and inviting despite its foreign presence. The mere sight of it took her by surprise, and she had to shield her eyes as she stood up to face it. It didn't feel dangerous, but Cindy was on guard in case she guessed wrong.

"What are you? What do you want?"

What the entity did next surprised her, for the tendrils of gold energy were the only things moving.

"Do not be afraid, Rose Tyler. I am here to help you."

At the mention of her true name, she uncovered her eyes to notice that the glowing had dimmed.

"Help me?" Cindy said quietly. "How?"

"I don't have much time… but I have seen what has been happening over the course of a few days. I have been too weak to get involved, but now that some of my power has been restored, I can now intervene."

Cindy had so many questions, but after everything that's been happening, she chose to ignore all the nagging curiosities and go along with what the light was saying.

"How do you know that name? Are you involved with the Doctor?"

"I am very close to him, dear… and I know you through him. I have seen the two of you blossom and grow over the course of several months now; ever since he lost his family, he's been so alone. I've haven't seen him as happy as I see him now in an eternity."

Lost his family? Why hasn't he talked to me about this? Secrets.

They nagged at her now, as if her brain had enough questions to answer.

The glowing entity started to fade in and out slowly, which caught Cindy's attention again as she made her way back to the bench to sit beside it. Tentatively she reached out to feel what was in front of her, only to feel a warm sensation on her fingers. It felt like warm silt in hot water on the beach, and was comforting to her. She felt the need to trust it now, for it felt so familiar in a very spiritual way that she could hardly understand.

"There isn't much I can do for you, Rose. The only thing that I can offer you is a possibility to succeed in this hazardous world."

"The only thing I ask for is to see the Doctor again. Do you know how he's doing? Is he alive?"

"You'll see him again. Patience. Regardless… you have to go. And I can assist you with that."

Cindy didn't protest as the light glowed brighter, engulfing Cindy. The gold light slowly travelled up Cindy's body, sending tendrils straight towards her skin. The moment they touched her, it sent warmth throughout her body in generous amounts. Gasping in amazement, Cindy couldn't believe what was going on as she, too, started to glow.

She stared into the light that was everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. She only wanted to know one thing before the light disappeared.

"You never told me who you are. Who are you?"

The light that somehow had a voice only spoke once more.

"Your fairy godmother."

Lady Tremaine stepped out of the coach as her daughters followed, their faces filled with glee, though not because of the idea of meeting the Prince. They talked amongst themselves as they climbed the stairs and entered the palace.

"We're almost there!" said Drizella, practically jumping up and down.

"Just another day and we'll finish her off," Anastasia added, giving her sister a tight hug.

Lady Tremaine listened to the joy in their voices, smiling to herself knowing that the next generation would survive another day. They could go without food for several centuries, but after a century too long they were as desperate as hungry sharks at the smell of blood. Several have perished over the years, and if it weren't for Rose then they would have starved along with the rest of their kind. Of course they weren't going to share. Such scarcity won't be wasted.

"We might have to wait for the opportunity to drift to another galaxy to escape our planet's desolation," Lady Tremaine explained. "Rose Tyler will be our last meal before we head off."

"Can't we use the Doctor's spaceship?" asked Drizella. "We don't know where it is or what it looks like, but we can use it to our advantage now that he's dead. Why wait?"

"I doubt he'd leave knowing that his precious little human girl is gone," Anastasia joked, mocking him. "What a sad whelp. Still, it's worth a shot. We don't know his species yet, but once we know what he is it'll give us some insight into what technology he uses."

Lady Tremaine butted in. "His blood did not taste human. It was a very different flavor, one that I swear I had encountered before. It has been so long since I last tasted it, but I can't recall. The only clue we have is what he called himself: The Oncoming Storm. Does that ring a bell at all to you, daughters?"

The stepsisters knew that it lied at the tip of their tongue, but the question still stood. Regardless, with the knowledge of the Doctor being dead they knew it would be easy to find him and his ship nearby. No matter what, they were going to survive beyond their little galaxy far, far away.

What on earth am I going to do?

The Ball, Cindy on her way, the aliens that were tracking his every move; the Doctor was stuck. He hated feeling so damn useless and out of ideas. If he dared to enter the palace, then they would know that their venom didn't kill him, risking Cindy's life even further. Yet if he did go, he would ensure her protection and get the pictures back from Lady Tremaine and satisfy his longing need to be with her.

She'd be the most beautiful creature in the room.

He imagined her in a dress similar to how it was in the animated film, but it was difficult to picture something beyond his comprehension. Rose and Cindy weren't drawn images, but real people in front of his own eyes. He didn't know what they'd look like at the Ball unless he found out himself.

"Doctor, you are an idiot. You're brilliant, but you're an idiot." He felt the TARDIS hum beneath him, almost as though she were responding to his comment. The Doctor assumed it was a laugh. "How can I stand them? How do humans deal with these… chemicals inside of them, bouncing around without restrictions like some wild animal? Dopamine, phenylethylamine, norepinephrine… It's ridiculous! Oh, damn it all, I might as well stay here and keep my sanity!"

He realized how human he acted nowadays, and it was bad enough that he was still adjusting to his new body and personality. Each of his regenerations were apart of who he was, and his current one was no different. His current body involved such complicated feelings, ones that he normally repressed, and yet this body was so attuned to everything in a way that he never encountered before. And this included Rose Tyler.

The Doctor swore, confused and overwhelmed at all the new information coming at him. He could feel his hearts pounding and his breathing quicken, mostly due to adrenaline and nerves.

Those large brown eyes that light up when she smiles, and the way her nose wrinkles when she laughs…

In the pit of his stomach he felt a knot tighten the more he sat and did nothing. "Bloody hell…" he grumbled to himself, stomping away to the nearby dressing room.

Cindy never thought that a pumpkin could change into a coach, or that mice could morph into horses, or that her favorite mare in the stables could be a coachwoman. Even on the way over, she could hardly grasp what had happened. Everything felt so fake and unrealistic, but whenever she looked down in her lap, seeing how lovely her blue-white dress felt on her skin and how pretty it made her feel, she wanted to forget that it was all somehow the result of magic. Of course, the glass slippers she had on her feet reminded her how real it really was.

"Damn, these hurt," she grumbled.

She took off the glass slippers to let her feet have a rest before she reached the palace, but she couldn't get away from the notion that something was wrong. Ever since she realized that her stepmother and stepsisters were aliens, she started questioning everything around her, even the ground she walked on. Was she really walking on dirt? Did the bench she recently sat on really exist? Has she been washing real floors and dishes? Is she real? Is the Doctor even real?

"Okay, Cinderella… stop jumping to conclusions," she told herself, taking in a deep breath and touching her hair. "If you want to get out of here, you have to stay calm, go along with what the aliens want, sneak those pictures away from them, and get away from this place once and for all. Yeah…" She convinced herself. "Sounds about right." She looked at the floor gloomily. "And even if the Doctor's dead, I'll try to figure out how to fly his ship and go somewhere else. Shouldn't be so hard."

She didn't convince herself of that.

Eventually Cindy reached the palace, the size of it leaving her speechless. Part of her could hardly wait to walk its floors and experience something new, and reluctantly she put the glass slippers back on to do some much needed investigating. Every step was pure agony, but it wasn't enough to stop her from getting those pictures back. Lady Tremaine had kept them in her pocket, and despite the fact that they knew about her appearance at the Ball, keeping it close to her was better than leaving it at home where Cindy could have easily obtained it. They were arrogant enough to assume that she wouldn't dare try to pickpocket them, even though they knew how persistent she was.

Admiring the sheer size of the estate took her long enough, for she took in every ounce of beauty she could. She found herself almost getting lost before she followed the sound of people in a singular room close to the second floor. The hall she walked down was dimly lit, which made her even more nervous at the thought of entering such a large area where it was so bright and filled with crystal chandeliers. She felt her stomach churn at the idea of being the center of attention, knowing that the aliens were always watching. She tentatively approached the light before she was taken by surprise.

"Hello, Miss." Cindy turned to see a handsome man with black hair and nearly jumped out of her skin. The man looked like royalty, and wore red pants with a light tan uniform, and had a friendly and awestruck expression on his face. She presumed it was the Prince himself, judging from the fact that he was one of the only males in the entire Ballroom. "I couldn't help but notice you all the way by the throne, and you by far have to be the most beautiful maiden I've ever seen. Do… do you care for a dance?"

Immediately she was on edge as he held out his hand, bowing slightly. She glanced back at the Ballroom, and like an elephant in the room she spotted them, with their eyes glowing a noticeable green color. They were staring, waiting for her to come to the center of the room and go along with whatever this Prince was talking about.

If it's a way to get close enough to them…

"Of course. I'd love to," she replied, trying to force a smile. He irked her more than Lady Tremaine at the moment, but didn't have a choice in the matter as she joined hands with him and followed him into the threshold. And as if on cue, the lights in the room dimmed as the very center of the ballroom lit up for the couple to dance, making Cindy feel sick. Again she looked at her stepmother and stepsisters, and both were staring intensely. She gulped down her fear and tried to keep her cool as the Prince put her hand on her waist, following his steps as the classical music played in the background.

For a few minutes, she danced around the ballroom with the Prince, who was smiling the whole time, not taking his eyes off her face. At times she had to shift her eyes away from his to avoid his uncomfortable gaze. She pretended to like it, though, simply because she knew that they were watching.

How long is this dance, anyway? This is taking forever!

For a split second as she dared to look back at his smiling face, she saw something strange form in his eyes. He looked happy, but the state of mind he was in felt mechanical and forced, almost programed. She couldn't figure out why he was like this, but as she glanced around her, every guest looked the same: giddy and immersed in the atmosphere and towards her and the Prince dancing in the center. As everyone soon came into the center to dance around them, feelings of claustrophobia made the situation for Cindy ten times worse. It felt eerie and disturbing, enough to make her face go pale. She didn't feel the least bit safe.

Is this some sort of trick?

She looked around for the stepmother and stepsisters, but they were lost in the crowd, meaning that they couldn't see her either. She feared that they were somehow still hovering nearby, ready to spring if she attempted at doing anything foolish despite her need to get her picture back.

As her mind wandered, the Prince danced with her away from the large crowd, separating them from the madness as he took her hands in his and guided her outside. Cindy soon snapped out of her anxious state to realize what was happening, but the Prince's actions were more frightening to her than the ballroom.

No way in hell am I going to fall for this again!

The Doctor sat by the enormous water fountain just outside the ballroom, watching the water flow over the statues and the moonlight emphasizing every drop. The animated sequence he recalled in the movie was all he could imagine about now, with the scene looking more beautiful in real life. There was so much blue, the lighting coming from the large castle that lit up the garden as though it had bioluminescence. As blue as it was, he didn't feel the least bit sad... and if anything, quite flustered.

He fiddled with the suit he wore, and despite how modern the attire looked it was one of the only good suits he had. He hardly used it during his adventures since it was a very bold white tuxedo, and he almost felt it was appropriate for this adventure in particular. He wondered why he even bothered to put so much time into picking out something to wear back at the TARDIS.

Oh, you know why, you idiot.

He couldn't help himself. He couldn't stay away. The Doctor was going to regret it, but he didn't care. It was unhealthy, the way he was thinking, because he wanted Rose so badly that it was just plain atrocious. He managed to let himself fall hard during such an emotionally unpredictable time in his life, and it pained him to watch himself become a victim of it.

It's only because I've lost everything. She's the first companion in a long while, Doctor. Now snap out of it before you get hurt. You know you won't get what you want.

He couldn't do much about it now. He was already there, waiting, knowing that she would come out of the ballroom with the Prince and walk about the garden.

He felt as though he had a fever, with his hearts pounding out of the natural fear of the unknown, and he knew that the rush of emotions firing all at once inside his body were the cause of it. He denied it in front of Rose. He denied it in front of Mickey the Idiot. He denied it in front of Jack and when he had big ears and a daft old face. He couldn't deny it now.

All he could do was wait, consumed by anxiety yet managing to keep himself steady. Sooner or later he would have to let everything out.

His ears picked up the sound of voices, and his instincts told him that it was Cindy and the Prince. The mere thought of the Prince automatically irritated him, but he convinced himself to be civil. Sure enough, he spotted them not too far away by a short little bridge that hung over a small stream.

I shouldn't… but I really, really, really want to.

As quietly as he could muster, he tiptoed closer to the bridge, hiding behind a few bushes and trees so that he wouldn't be seen. The Prince looked particularly interested in Cindy (for she did look lovely), and was trying too hard to converse with her. Even from a distance the Doctor could sense Cindy's disinterest.

Cindy, on the other hand, didn't like how close the Prince was to her. As handsome as he was, she wasn't going to let his visage get in the way of her suspicion. She was tense and firm throughout the time the Prince courted her, and no matter how hard she addressed how uninterested she was, he wasn't giving up.

"I haven't seen you at other Balls before, Miss," the Prince said, still holding her hand. "But I must say, it has been a pleasure—"

"Okay, enough of this," Cinderella butted in as she tore his hand away from hers, suspicious enough to stop him from wooing her over any further. She got close to his face, her eyes like daggers to let him know that she was the boss. "I've seen things I never thought existed before, and when I think something weird is happening, I know that something weird is happening. You're no Prince; you never were a Prince! Do you think I'm this stupid to fall for something like this?"

Like she expected, she noticed the Prince's eyes shift to green, as his stare intensified. His smile now looked all the more terrifying as his face morphed slightly to reveal the ugly black creature underneath. "And we were having so much fun!" it purred.

Cindy sneered, getting her hands away from him as he drew ever closer, touching her hair as his nostrils flared. He took in as much as her scent as he could. "They won't be the only ones to have a taste of you."

"Get away from me!" Cindy declared. "I'll scream if you don't!"

Of course, the creature wasn't going to listen. Before it could get the chance to strike, however, a sudden tap on his shoulder stopped him. Confused, he turned around with his fangs still bare.

"Hello! Sorry to bother you, sir, but it is extremely impolite to impose yourself on a woman in such a way. Because, quite honestly, there's no way in hell that you're going to get lucky with an attitude like that." He took out his sonic screwdriver, extending the device to prepare its activation. Upon making the top of the screwdriver glow, the usual soft buzzing that came from it intensified into a boisterous alarm. The sound was painful to the creature's ears, and it squealed in agony as it tried to block it out.

To the Doctor's utter surprise, Cindy grabbed a large tree branch close by, smacking the 'Prince' in the face at it fell head-over-heels off the bridge and into the water.

"I thought it could only open doors?" Cindy said to the Doctor, throwing the tree branch off the bridge.

The Doctor looked down at the alien that was struggling at getting out of the water. "Don't question it, just point and laugh at the silly little alien flailing in the water!" To emphasize his point, he waved his fingers at the Prince below while giving him a sarcastic smile.

An earthquake, as always, was quick to ruin any scene as it made its entrance clear throughout the garden area. Cindy and the Doctor were quick to grab onto the bridge, but it too was beginning to fail. A huge crack broke through the land and towards the small river underneath the bridge, water pouring into it as the drowning Prince fell through along with it. The crack was deep, but not deep enough to see the Prince's body crash to the ground. The Doctor didn't expect to commit a murder, but with both him and Cindy in danger of joining him, he trusted his instincts to grab onto her.

Before the bridge broke apart completely, Cindy and the Doctor jumped to safety on the other side close to the forest. The earth tremors eventually stopped, creating the largest crack in the earth to date where the bridge and river used to sit. To the Doctor, it marked one of the most important changes in the story thus far, and he didn't know if it was a good or bad thing.

Cindy and the Doctor stared at the scene before them, amazed yet frightened of the idea of being heard by the rest of the guests inside the house. To their relief, no one bothered to look, which was strange, but they were only happy to be alive.

The Doctor looked back at Cindy, who he held in his arms as they sat on the grass, and Cindy looked back at him before a pair of huge smiles spread across their faces. Cindy immediately tackled him, wrapping his arms around hers as she did the same, pressing her cheek against his chest.

"Oh, my gosh, DOCTOR!" she gasped, squeezing him hard enough to collapse a lung. "You're alive! I can't believe that you're alive, but you're ALIVE!"

"Yep, that's me, alive and well!" the Doctor jovially replied, laughing along with her.

"I thought you died! What happened to you?"

"Honestly? I have no clue! One minute I was choking on my own fluids and the next, I was fine!" Cindy didn't care how clueless he was about his predicament. All she cared about was that he was physically there beside her. She continued to hug him, afraid that if she let go then he'll follow suit.

Their laughter was contagious for them both, for they couldn't seem to stop smiling. For a short while they could only stay silent, grinning like children on Christmas day and feeling shy, butterflies in their stomachs.

"C'mon!" Cindy said. "Let's get out of here!" Leaving her glass slippers behind (since they by now have made small cuts on her feet), the Doctor didn't protest and took her hand in his. With one hand lifting her dress off the ground and the other in his, Cindy ran with him into the forest where the light was scarce and where they were alone.

The forest was dark, yet a sliver of light escaped the trees and cast itself along the contours of their bodies. They could hardly see with the little moonlight available, but managed to drift deep into the forest where they knew they couldn't be tracked down. Their breathing somewhat labored, they caught their breath in a small clearing where a large oak firmly attached its roots.

The Doctor could hardly sit down before Cindy was in his arms again, and he happily accepted her warmth, making his body relax at her touch. He had to ask about her well-being. "Are you okay?"

"I am now," she said, smiling up at him. "It was just… awful in there. They kept watching me, and I kept getting eerie feelings and—" She let out a sigh. "Oh, forget it."

"Oh, no!" the Doctor said. "Please tell me what happened. I haven't seen you in a day, and while that doesn't seem like a very long time, it means a lifetime for this universe."

"Well… I mean, I was trying to find a way to snatch the pictures that Lady Tremaine had in her pocket, but that damn Prince grabbed me first! I got the strangest sensation from that room. Like there was an audience."

"I tried to grab the pictures myself, actually," the Doctor replied. "I got there before you did and got close enough to grab them in her pockets, but there were too many people there. It almost felt as if they were watching my every move, too, like you described. You're right… it was strange."

"No worries! We're away from that, now. We might as well enjoy it."

"But don't we need to—"

Cindy put a finger to his lips, shutting him up instantly. "There's nothing we can do, Doctor. Everyone was watching the both of us, and since that big earthquake, who knows what would happen next. It was best that we left, or else they would have caught us by now. I'm not surprised if they start adding you to the menu."

The Doctor snickered. "Point taken. I wouldn't be surprised if they did." He walked over to the large oak, staring at how huge it was before setting himself down, taking off the outer layer of his suit. He rested his head against the bark, sighing. Cindy wasn't far behind as she sat close to him, resting her body against his as he let her head rest on his shoulder. The more she saw him, the more she began to question everything that was said to her by the 'fairy godmother'. She felt as though she had to ask about what was told to her, even though part of her felt that it was painful for him.

"You look good in white," Cindy spoke quietly. She couldn't bring herself to ask. His eyes told a lot of stories, and after seeing them so many times, she saw a tortured and damaged soul. As independent and strong-willed as he was, deep down she could see that he was vulnerable in other ways. It broke her heart. She knew better than to bring up painful memories. "You're usually in that long tan coat all the time. You look really sharp without it."

The Doctor looked back at her, with her large doe eyes staring up at him. He gave a lopsided smile, feeling bashful by the compliment. "What, this old thing? I'm too skinny in it."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop, you big baby. You're not that skinny."

The Doctor looked at her as though she were daft.

Cindy stared back before replying to the humorous look he was giving her. "I'll take your word for it, then."

"Well, might as well do something a little different while you run for your life," the Doctor laughed, giving her a coy smile. "But by far you've beaten me in that department."

Cindy blushed, ducking her head. Butterflies and nerves fluttered around inside of him, making him feel jittery and giddy at the sight of her with him. He didn't know why he felt so nervous; it was only Rose Tyler, after all—his best mate. Yet that beautiful dress fit her like a glove, the color of the fabric lighting up her face and her blonde hair that was wrapped up in a French braid. It was hard to stay focused.

"I mean it, though," he said to her, catching her attention. He looked at her up and down, warmth going through him. "You look beautiful."

Embarrassed, Cindy's face blushed a brighter red, causing her to feel butterflies of her own. Her head was filled with nothing but hormones, and it all pointed to the same idea. She loved how handsome he looked that night, and the pressure from the events that occurred that day only made that fun spirit inside of her humble itself. She tried to be patient and wait for the right moment.

"There's one thing I still don't understand, though," she asked him. "How did you survive? The bite would have easily killed you."

The Doctor's eyebrows met in thought as he drifted off to find the right words to say. "It was odd. I managed to get to the TARDIS since they tossed me near the line of trees past the village, but after that it was a bit of a blur. All I could remember was this gold light… shining brilliantly as though it were the sun. The TARDIS has a mechanism called the time vortex, which is her heart that helps her function and work properly. But this gold light was different. See, my race has the ability to heal and regenerate our cells, and as a result we end up changing our entire bodies to compensate for that. My TARDIS must have had residual regeneration energy built up somewhere, in what I can presume to be the time vortex. I've absorbed it before, hence why I look the way I do now, yet what she did to help me contradicted the nature of the vortex. It had a comforting tone to it that made me feel as though I were being healed by a unique force. And before I knew it, it passed right through me and I was healed up. It was quite an experience."

Cindy's eyes widened as she left her mouth agape. "I saw the same thing!"

The Doctor's eyes widened as well. "What are you on about?"

"After the three left for the Ball and I was alone, I went into the backyard to think about how I could get there and, well, mainly mourn you… and then I saw this flash of gold light. It started talking to me."

The Doctor was pleasantly surprised at the notion that the gold light was more alive than he thought. "What did it say to you, Cindy?"

"It didn't really talk since it had no distinct shape, but it talked to me through my head? It sounds daft when I say it like that. It told me that it knew you, and that I was going to see you again and that that it was going to help me. When I touched it, it felt so warm and comforting. It was the one that got me to the Ball, and made me this dress and the coach outside the castle."

"Of course!" the Doctor exclaimed. "The fairy godmother!"

Cindy gave him a puzzled look. "How do you know about that?"

"It's apart of the story you're fixed into. The fairy godmother is a magical being, most likely a mythical creature of some sort, who grants Cinderella her wish to go to the Ball, and she creates all the things you described for you to accomplish that goal. The TARDIS must have used Rose as catalyst to reach you. She absorbed the time vortex herself to save me once, and the reason I regenerated was because I took it out of her before she burnt up from the inside. The only problem now is… well, how did the TARDIS attract itself to you from such a distance?"

"You've no clue?"

"No… no I do not." The Doctor looked baffled, completely transfixed. "I know everything about my ship, but I guess there's more that I need to learn after all."

Cindy couldn't help but mention what the 'fairy godmother' told her. She didn't want to bring it up. She only wanted to see him happy and wrap herself in his arms, but the curiosity got the best of her. "It… it mentioned how you were the happiest you've been in a while with me, the Rose version at least." At this, the Doctor looked back at Cindy, his expression saddened yet held expectation. Eventually she was going to ask about his past. "Doctor, there's so much I don't know. Did something happen to you? Something dreadful?"

She noticed how disheartened he looked, and she regretted talking about it. Nevertheless, she wanted to comfort him like he did to her. She held his hand, rubbing it to assure him that he wasn't going to suffer alone. "Let me help you, Doctor."

Even in the moonlight, she saw the glimmer of hope in his eyes. His smile was disheartened as his mind relived the horrid memories, but inside the admiration for the girl he loved lifted his spirit and kept him going. Rose was always willing to help a person in need of help, even as a completely different human being.

The Doctor sighed, as though the air escaping from his lungs were the demons he locked in his chest. "I used to live on a planet called Gallifrey. There lived my race, the Time Lords. My TARDIS, and others like her, are time machines capable of going anywhere at any time in space, and it's what I've been doing for far too long now. There was a war between my kind and a ruthless race called the Daleks… and, in the end, my race did not survive."

"They killed everyone?"

He let out a small sigh. "There was a choice I had to make as a soldier: let the universe be destroyed, or my race and the Daleks. I chose the universe."

The Doctor didn't talk for much longer. He didn't want to continue. It happened so long ago, but the pain and the anger, as well as hate, remained with him through the regenerations. He could still feel all the emotions run through his head as though it had happened yesterday.

Cindy took both of his hands, and she noticed how he didn't move or respond to her touch. He was frightening her, simply because she saw that look of pure rage in his eyes. It was raw anger, and a type of anger that brought out the worst in everyone. As Cinderella, she has felt it a number of times whenever she was abused and neglected. She lost her entire family, too, and the more she learned how similar the Doctor's past was to her own, it comforted yet pained her simultaneously.

"You're not as alone as you think, Doctor. I know you're the only Time Lord left, but… at least you surround yourself with people you care about, and who care about you the same way you do. I'm sure I'm not the only person you cared about other than your family. In all of your adventures and travels across the stars, you must have the largest family of all." She gave a reassuring smile, feeling guilty for bringing up such a touchy subject. She was relieved to find that he looked back at her with his warm brown eyes, and they didn't look as cold as they were before.

"Rose was the first companion I had after the war, you know," he said, smiling softly. "I isolated myself for a while, but once she became my companion, things started to get a bit complicated."

"You started liking her?" She leaned against his shoulder, hugging his arm. The Doctor felt Cindy grasp him, and he turned to face her with his eyes fixed on her face.

The warmth was visible all over his body, as if he was relaxed just by the thought of telling the story again. "She didn't have to understand, or recollect. She was just there for me. Always forgave me, even though I didn't deserve it. Made me smile when I was being a prat. I don't know how or why—and it all happened so fast—but I started to..."

He paused, noticing how interested Cindy looked. He knew what she was thinking, and she knew that he was thinking it, too. Just the though of it made his hearts pound. "And you're still her, Cindy… like I told you."

Cindy shifted her gaze towards the ground and back at his eyes, feeling slightly bashful about the thoughts that circulated in her head. "Do you know if she, well… liked you back?"

"Oh, yes. It went without saying, really."

Cindy couldn't help herself, drifting ever closer to him. "Why not reciprocate?" Personal space was not a problem for them any more.

"I'm scared to. I'm scared about losing you—Rose—every single time we go on adventures, because some way or another you're going to end up dead and it'll be my fault. Feeling this way is dangerous for me, I can't—"

He stopped in his tracks when she placed her hands on his cheeks. He felt one of his hearts in his throat, his stomach in knots. Again he felt the chemicals surge through him, and immediately he wanted them to go away.

I can't get attached. I just cannot do this.

If there was one thing Cindy knew he needed, it was reassurance. "Rose is right here, Doctor. She's been here the whole time," she told him, using her thumbs to feel along his face. The Doctor, of course, didn't break away. "You can tell her how you feel. She's not going to leave you, not ever."

He couldn't ignore it, and the more he tried the more he failed. He'd been dying to have a peck, to feel her lips on his… on his Rose. He felt that fever return, and he could no longer bear it.

"Can I kiss you?" He didn't know why he asked, but it felt appropriate for him to do so. They were so close now, their faces just inches apart. Softly and calmly he felt Cindy's lips against his, and immediately his body relaxed at the contact as everything came together in an explosion of pleasure and relief. Cindy coursed her fingers in his hair, trailing her hands down his chest and across his shoulders as she let them dangle over his back.

As much as they didn't want to, they broke apart for air, their foreheads touching. For no reason at all, they felt their faces grow hot as their smiles widened sheepishly, happy as ever. While quiet at first, their laughter quickly became hysterical as they once again connected with much more passion. For a few more moments they were completely and utterly lost, not getting enough of each other as though it were their last days to be alive. They continued to kiss until the large clock in the distance of the castle started to chime, echoing loudly across the forest they hid themselves in. Slowly, as the clock kept chiming, Cindy's dress faded away along with the Doctor's apprehension.