After it was all over, the Doctor was quick to get them both back to the TARDIS. It didn't particularly surprise him when Sherlock followed them – he deliberately left the door opened a crack so the detective could sneak in after them.

Molly was off in the library when the Doctor returned to the console room. Sherlock was there, gazing around, trying his hardest not to look surprised and impressed. He looked at the Doctor when he entered, looking completely unashamed of having snuck in. "You're an alien." It wasn't a question, yet a thousand more questions bubbled underneath.

The Doctor rested lightly against the arc of the door, arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah," he answered shortly.

Sherlock's gaze wandered around the console room. "This is a time machine. A box that's bigger on the inside, probably due to it being dimensionally transcendent, that can travel through time and space.

The Doctor nodded, not smiling. "It's called the TARDIS. That's Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. And it's mine."

The detective's sharp gaze snapped back to the Doctor. "And Molly travels with you."

He nodded again, the earlier protective instincts from before rising up. The kidnapping and bomb from tonight had left him particularly edgy. If Sherlock was here to insult Molly, he'd find himself stranded on some far-off moon faster than the Doctor could stop himself.

Something like concern lit up in Sherlock's eyes. "How is she?"

The Doctor glanced back down the hallway he'd just left. "I'm not sure. Your deductions from earlier hurt, and now, with Jim being Moriarty..." He turned back to Sherlock. "Her self-esteem is low enough as it is. She doesn't see how brilliant she is. She didn't need this."

Sherlock shook his head. "No, she needs you." The Time Lord blinked in surprise, but let him continue. "I've known Molly a few years now, and I can tell that she trusts you. You're good for her, Doctor."

The Time Lord was surprised at the detective's concern. Earlier, he'd gotten the impression Sherlock didn't care about Molly at all, but apparently he had been wrong.

Sherlock started for the door, but turned to look back over his shoulder quick. "Talk to her. That seems to help people, talking about things." With that, he was gone.

SCENEBREAK

Molly was curled up on the couch in the library when the Doctor found her. The fireplace was roaring a few feet away, and the ceiling looked like a continually changing night sky, swathed with the colors of far-off galaxies and planets. In her opinion, it was truly the most beautiful room in the TARDIS.

Molly looked up when the Doctor entered, the blanket she'd wrapped around herself shifting slightly as she moved. She sat up, smooching over so there was room for the Doctor to sit. He sank down onto the couch beside her, watching her face with concern. "Are you alright?"

She nodded tiredly. "I'm fine, Doctor. You don't need to worry about me."

"Why? Because you think you're not important?" Molly turned away, embarrassed, but the Doctor continued, "Don't let what Moriarty and Sherlock said get to you, alright? They're wrong. You are important. You saved everyone at that hospital, you stopped carrionites with Shakespeare, you saved everyone in Hooverville."

"But I got Frank killed," she murmured, remembering the teenager whose death she'd caused.

He stiffened. "That wasn't your fault." They sat in silence for a few moments. "You know, I wasn't going to travel with anyone again after Rose. You changed my mind."

Molly blinked in surprise. "Really?"

The Time Lord nodded. "I choose my companions carefully, Molly. And you could be a match for any of them."

Molly looked down at her hands, not sure what to say. She'd been so scared of what the Doctor would think of her after all that, but he was still her friend. She didn't know how to respond.

Then he started speaking again. But it was different from before. Before he was comforting her, soothing her that her secrets didn't faze him. This was him sharing his secrets, showing he trusted and valued her enough to share his own pain.

He told her about the Time War.

The Doctor told her everything - what Gallifrey was like before, the war, destroying Gallifrey and the Time Lords to save the universe. He even told her about Canary Wharf and losing Rose, though he didn't admit his true feelings for her. He had never been so open with her before, and as he spoke, she could see the full extent of the pain he kept hidden. In an odd way, it made her feel better, knowing the Doctor had trusted her enough to tell her this, and that he, too, had doubts and pain to sort through.

After he was done and she had expressed her sympathies, the two sat in silence for a bit, both thinking about what had been said. Finally, Molly asked quietly, "How long am I allowed to stay with you?"

The Time Lord smiled back at her. "As long as you want," he promised.

For the first time since leaving the lab, Molly smiled. That was all the answer she needed.

SCENEBREAK

After the Doctor left, Molly hung around in the library a bit longer before deciding to head off to bed. She felt better now after talking with the Doctor, and though it would take a while, she was going to try to see herself in a better light. If the Doctor thought she was a worthy companion, she'd try to see herself that way.

It seemed, however, the day had one more surprise in store for her. She froze when she opened the door to her bedroom on the TARDIS. It had been completely bare before, with wooden floorboards and a clean white wall. But not anymore.

The room now had a creamy wallpaper with slight patterning and soft peach carpet underfoot, with matching bedsheets and furniture. It seemed a little bigger too, and there were two large bookshelves inside, stocked with some of her favorites from the TARDIS library. Molly blinked a few times, wondering if she was imagining the sight in front of her, but it remained the same.

It wasn't the Doctor's work; he'd been out of the TARDIS all day like her. That just left the TARDIS herself. She'd already seen that the ship liked to change around her rooms, so it shouldn't have surprised her that she could change a room's interior based on the inhabitant's personality. But it was still a shock, and a heartwarming one at that. The TARDIS had given her a room to live in – a sign of her approval. She wanted her on board, it seemed, as much as the Doctor.

The pathologist patted the doorframe with a smile. "Thanks," she whispered to the ship. She could swear she heard a pleased hum echo through the ship.

Finally, she was home.

So here's that interlude I promised, with some fluff to compensate for the heavy emotionalness of the last episode. (emotionalness, is that a word?) So the Doctor has finally told Molly about the Time War, and the Daleks, and Rose - and though he hasn't said he loved Rose, Molly knows it.

On to 42, admittedly not my favorite episode (not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just not the most exciting one of the season.) I'm afraid I'm pretty much going to stick to the canon on this one, but after this episode canon is pretty much taking a long vacation. :P