Alex stabbed her fork into the medium rare steak before slowly putting it to her lips. It was really good, one of her favorites, but she had lost her appetite a while back.

She glanced over in amusement at Amy and Rory, who seemed to be confused by the concept of fried chicken. Amy, at least, was picking at the food with an expression of unabashed disgust on her face. Alex felt like reminding her that the Scots were notorious for frying things, but she decided doing so would retract her from her true mission: listening in on Marigold's interrogation of the Doctor.

Marigold had been the epitome of southern elegance when she and Lacey arrived with the three Brits in tow. She had graciously welcomed them in, politely inquired on Amy and Rory's upcoming wedding, and chit-chatted with the group as she led them to the large dining room off the kitchen in the rear of the house. However, Alex had immediately noticed that the rest of her attention was focused on the Doctor.

Alex wasn't sure what had set her off. The Doctor's attire could be a possibility but people around here wore stranger things. A bowtie and a tweed jacket wouldn't raise too many eyebrows, except in cases of extreme heat. Then again, it could have been how his arm had been wrapped around her shoulders as they came in, or any number of other small details. Whatever the case, Marigold was currently grilling the Doctor, asking him everything but his shoe size.

Alex watched the Doctor tug on his collar as Marigold peppered him with another question. "So . . . Doctor, what is it that you do exactly?"

The Doctor glanced over at Alex, who was sitting right across from him. Even though it looked like she was casually sipping on lemonade, he knew she was actually listening in on his and Marigold's conversation with great interest. "Well . . . I'm a doctor."

"Of what exactly?" Marigold asked as she easily cut her butter-thin steak.

"Many things," the Doctor answered quickly. God, when will this bloody interrogation be over? This has never happened with the others!

Marigold eyed him. The Doctor bristled slightly. Even though Marigold was acting like a true Southern lady on the outside, he could see the dangerous curiosity and apprehension in her sapphire blue eyes. She was truly not a woman to be crossed. "Any specifics?" she asked, her voice light but her tone saying something else entirely.

"Brain surgeon!" Alex suddenly piped up, causing all eyes to shoot to her. After noticing everyone staring at her, she cleared her throat nervously and babbled, "Uh, yeah . . . brain surgeon . . . consultant at . . . Cambridge!" She nodded her head confidently and the Doctor was quick to nod also. "He's a medical consultant for the medical department at Cambridge."

The Doctor nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! What she said!" He swiftly took a sip of the huge gin and tonic Marigold had served him, Amy, and Rory. Maybe alcohol would help rush this whole evening along.

"That must be fascinating work," Marigold commented.

"Yeah, it really is," the Doctor muttered, taking another long sip of his drink.

At that moment, Alex was wishing for some alcohol as well, but Marigold didn't believe in underage drinking. Her liquor cabinet was locked tighter than the White House at night. Instead, she took a long sip of her lemonade and glanced over at the small clock on the Empire sideboard behind Marigold's chair. It was only six seventeen. They still had a long time to go.

Next to Alex, Lacey had been watching the Doctor's interrogation with fascination. But she wanted to know a few things as well. "So, Alex? How'd you and the Doctor meet?"

Alex coughed slightly and held her finger up in the international sign to wait a moment as she swallowed and tried to come up with an answer. Oh, the same way everyone meets, Lacey! She thought wryly. He saved the world from an alien that looked like a giant worm that was living in Amy's house ever since she was seven years old and then after a two-year absence, invited me and Amy to travel in his bigger-on-the-inside time machine. Oh, did I mention that he's an alien? Could you pass the green beans? Yeah, that would go over well.

Luckily, Amy sensed her friend's plight and decided to step in. "Alex was looking into attending Cambridge. The Doctor gave her a tour and was so enchanted with her that he tried to put in a good word with the board—"

"But they still didn't accept my application," Alex jumped back in, seizing onto the lie like it was a lifeline.

Lacey looked over at the Doctor. "And you've just been hanging around her since then?"

The Doctor laughed slightly, more at the absurdity of the lie than anything else. "Pretty much," he agreed, taking another sip of alcohol.

Marigold eyed him and then turned back to her food. "I still can't imagine why no college in the world will accept you, Alex," she said, stabbing her fork into a chunk of steak. "Honestly! Your ACT scores were phenomenal."

Lacey nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "I know! I know that no other person in our class got a 31 in English and a 30 in Reading."

Alex blushed slightly and the Doctor looked over at her in astonishment. He had known she was brilliant, but to score that high on the ACT. . . You had to be especially brilliant. "Very impressive, Ally," he complimented. Marigold's eyes widened when Alex only giggled at the nickname instead of snapping at him. "What about math and science?"

Alex looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Um. . . Math was a 22. It took me forever to get it up there. Science was a 24. I'm better in reading and writing than math and science."

"What were you thinking of studying at college?"

Alex thought for a moment. She loved reading and writing, but she was also intrigued by the medical profession. "I'm not really sure," she confessed. "Maybe creative writing? Or even a little bit of medicine? I've got too many interests."

"I always told you that you should go into foreign languages," Marigold revealed.

"It's true," Lacey confirmed. "I'd have barely passed French without her help."

Marigold eyed her niece critically. "Perhaps it would've helped for you to study more than attending bonfire parties at the lake," she commented dryly. Lacey, hardly bothered, simply made a noise of acknowledgement and dug back into her food.

Alex ran a hand through her hair. "Well, it hardly matters now," she said, pushing some peas around her plate. "I'm not going to get in anywhere so there's really no use in discussing this further."

Seeing that the current topic of conversation bothered Alex, Marigold quickly resumed her interrogation on the Doctor. During the rest of the dinner course, the Doctor and Alex fabricated an elaborate lie about the Doctor being raised in Gallifrey, Ireland (the Doctor had mistakenly told Marigold the name of his planet when she asked him where he was from and Alex hurriedly supplied that it was in Ireland). Soon, the dessert course arrived, vanilla ice cream with chocolate shavings on top and strawberries on the side.

"How long are you planning on staying?" Marigold asked the Doctor once they had settled into their food. "Alex told me that it would probably only be a day, seeing as how you all are unused to this heat."

"Actually, it'll be a bit longer than that," the Doctor replied. "Alex and I are looking into the new Carslile-Locke Plant."

Marigold looked relieved at this. "You are? Well good! I swear, I knew there was something fishy behind that plant! All those experts swearing up and down there's not? It's complete ridiculousness!"

Alex couldn't help from asking, "Marigold? Did you know Carla invested in the plant?"

"Not until the announcement was made in the papers." A frown line appeared on Marigold's forehead, something that would probably be erased at her next Botox appointment. "And I assure you, Alex, if I had known prior that that horrid woman was investing in such a thing with your money, I would have called my lawyer and demanded on your behalf that he take legal action!"

Alex smiled weakly. "It wouldn't have done any good."

Marigold shook her head and stabbed at her ice cream. "Honestly! That woman is a menace to society! She shouldn't have been given custody of you all those years ago. The only thing she was good for was taking you to the doctor's office and feeding you regularly."

"She had to," Lacey said snidely. She hated Carla with as much passion as Alex and Marigold combined. "She'd have been charged with child abuse if she hadn't and wouldn't see a cent of that money afterwards."

Alex remained silent and focused on twirling her ice cream around her bowl until it resembled soup.

Soon, dinner was finally over. The Doctor practically sprinted out of the room, Amy and Rory just behind him. As Marigold went off to speak to the housekeeper about arranging a room for Alex, Lacey drew her friend aside. "Hey, Alex?"

"Yeah?"

Lacey was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words to say what she wanted to. "It's just . . . you're a bit different now, you know?"

Alex stared blankly at her. "Sorry?"

"Not in a bad way!" Lacey replied quickly. "Just . . . different. It's a good different. It suits you."

"Lacey, what are you talking about?"

Lacey looked at her as though it should be obvious. "The Doctor, of course! You're so different around him! You're more relaxed, giggly, and fun, not all uptight and serious like you were all throughout high school."

"Lacey, I've always been fun," Alex argued.

"In varying degrees," Lacey agreed. "But it's even more so now. He brings out this more playful side of you I've never seen before." She paused, took a breath, and smiled. "It's really good, Alex. You've always acted older than the rest of us . . . older than you should be. Now it's like you're on the same wavelength as everyone else. And I don't care if Auntie is suspicious of him; I like him because he's changed you for the better."

Alex was silent, absorbing this information. She knew she had always been more mature and serious than other kids her age. It never stopped her from doing outrageous things, like stealing a dolphin statue on a dare or ditching school, but she had always weighed the consequences of these actions. She was always careful with what she did. She had always been careful to act carefully, knowing that if she did something truly stupid, it would have effects on her future. But with the Doctor? It was never really about the future. It was about that moment, right then and there. It was the total opposite from everything she had ever experienced. And strangely, she was okay with that.

~Living the Life of Ally~

Later that night, Alex was lying in the bedroom she had used whenever she spent the night at Lacey's years ago. The room was about the size of a regular hotel room with a red and white patterned wall behind the bed and brown hardwood floors. The bed was a large queen one, with a tan colored cloth headboard and bedding that matched the patterned wall. In one corner of the room was a white desk, a few books Alex had left behind when she left Bristol on it. A closet sat right across from the bed, the doors currently shut. Marble topped nightstands sat on either side of the bed, each containing a lamp and some flowers. Alex had always liked this room and she was glad Marigold had put her in it again.

Alex rolled over and gazed at the small amount of light emitting from under the door. She had a feeling Marigold and the Doctor were having a chat, probably concerning where he would be sleeping. She wasn't sure if the Doctor actually slept or not but if he did, it probably wasn't much.

Right at that moment, the light switched off and a second later, there was a small knock at the door. "Alex?" the Doctor's voice rang out. The knob jiggled a little and Alex presumed that the Doctor had grasped it. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Alex called out and a second later, the door opened. The Doctor didn't look any different, but his facial expression showed signs of enduring a little bit of suffering, probably from Marigold. He shut the door behind him and crossed over to sit in the desk chair.

"God, that woman," he muttered, leaning back. He suddenly looked up, his face sheepish. "Sorry. You probably don't want to hear me complaining about her."

"It's fine." Alex scooted up slightly and leaned back against the pillows. "She is kind of commanding, I'll admit."

"More like an Army General," the Doctor said wryly.

Alex giggled a little. "Yeah, I suppose that's one comparison. Truth is, I've always liked that about her. Marigold's commanding attitude helped me a lot during my life."

The Doctor nodded, deciding that words weren't important right now. Though he wanted to learn more about Alex's life pre-Leadworth, he knew that despite how good it was, it was still bad in some parts and that Alex couldn't be rushed into it.

Alex sighed and rolled over so that she was facing him. The Doctor was surprised that she hadn't changed her attire, other than taking off her shoes and removing her earrings. Her hair was tousled again from lying down and he felt a slight thrum run through his veins at the sight. Everything that girl does makes me even more attracted to her, he thought.

"So do you have a room?" Alex asked. She then smiled. "Not that I don't mind having you in here with me, of course." Oh, God, why did I just say that?! It sounded like I was giving him an invitation to sleep with me!

The Doctor laughed. "Yes, four doors down. I think Marigold thought if she placed me across the hall, I'd sneak in here."

"Which doesn't make any sense as we are not a couple," Alex said, mostly to herself instead of the Doctor.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. Sensing that the conversation would get awkward if they remained on the topic of their relationship with each-other, the Doctor turned to examine the books on the desk. "The Secret History of the World," he read, holding up a thick paperback book with a picture of the all-seeing eye on it.

Alex perked up. "Oh, that was a good book," she mused. "It's mostly about secrets like Freemasons, the Illuminati, stuff like that."

"Never pegged you for a conspiracy believer," the Doctor admitted as he flipped through the book.

Alex blushed. "I'm not, but a lot of that stuff is interesting to read about."

"Hmm," the Doctor mused, setting the book down. He reached over and grabbed another one. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Vietnam War," he recited, raising an eyebrow.

"Scoff all you want, but that book was a lifesaver in A.P. World History."

The Doctor set the book down on top of the other one and grabbed another one. "East of Eden," he read. He looked over at Alex, waiting for her to supply her reason for reading the book. She was lying on her side, her hands clasped under her head, and her eyes glittered in the moonlight coming through the window.

"We read it in English. I was the only one who actually liked it. It was the same story with To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and The Great Gatsby."

The Doctor smiled at her, glad that she was so well-read. He set the book down and grabbed the final book on the desk. It was a thick brown paperback one and had a picture of Pablo Picasso's Guernica on it. "The Life of Pablo Picasso," he recited before flipping through it.

"We studied him in A.P. Art History," Alex revealed. "I thought he was rather interesting. All those different periods of his life fascinated me."

The Doctor set the book down on top of the others. "Did all that admiration inspire you to draw any?"

Alex laughed. "God, no!" she cackled. "I can't draw to save my life. My freshman art teacher hated me. It's only stick figures for me."

"Me too," the Doctor admitted, laughing slightly.

Alex glanced over at the small old-fashioned alarm clock on the nightstand closest to her. It was eleven thirty-five. She was a little tired, but the Doctor didn't seem like it at all. "Do you sleep?" she asked suddenly.

The Doctor seemed surprised by her question, but decided to answer her anyways. "Not really," he admitted. "Time Lords don't need a lot of sleep. I could probably only sleep five hours a week, maybe even less than that."

Alex gawked at him. She would have loved to have that kind of biology during high-school. Half the time, she would stay up late, almost until two thirty or three in the morning studying and reading ahead so she could try and excel in all her classes. It hadn't been too exhausting then, but it hadn't been easy either. "I'm so jealous," she remarked, causing the Doctor to laugh.

"You should be. You humans sleep so much! It gets boring having no one to talk to eight or nine hours every day."

"I don't sleep nine hours a day!" Alex argued.

"You and Amy both sleep something close to it," the Doctor retorted. "Rory is up before the both of you."

Alex stuck her tongue out at him and shifted so that she was lying in the middle of the bed. "If you're going to continue insulting me, I might just go to sleep and ignore you."

"And I might just annoy you, waking you up every five minutes," the Doctor shot back.

Alex looked over and noticed him eyeing the large vacant space beside her. Raising an eyebrow, she smiled and patted the spot beside her, almost as though she were encouraging a dog or cat to join her. "Care to join me, Doc?" she asked sweetly.

Even though the Doctor's reasonable side was arguing against it, he got up, crossed over, and joined Alex on the bed. He carefully arranged himself so that he was leaning back against the headboard and the pillows while Alex was lying flat on her back, head on a pillow, looking up at him. He watched as she rolled over, facing him. Her head was level with his hip and he watched as she tilted her head up so she could look at him.

She giggled slightly, not sure what to say. "Hello," she smiled.

The Doctor felt much the same way. "Hello," he repeated, causing Alex to giggle more.

"Think you'll be able to sleep tonight?"

"Probably not," the Doctor admitted. "You?"

"Not for a little while," Alex replied.

"And until that time comes, are you just going to lie there staring at me?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Alex retorted. She looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, "Ever heard of Twenty Questions?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied hesitantly.

"We could play that," Alex suggested. "I'll start. Favorite . . . movie?"

"That's not really Twenty Questions," the Doctor pointed out.

Alex made a face. "I don't care. This is my version and the question still stands. Favorite movie?"

The Doctor thought about that for a moment. "Harry Potter," he said after a minute. "You?"

Alex gave it some thought. There were a lot of movies she liked. When she was a little girl, she used to watch the classic movie's channel on TV and quickly became enchanted with Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, and more. "Singin' in the Rain," she decided.

"That's surprising. I figured you would go for something more modern."

"Well, I did like the recent remake of Fame."

"Okay, my turn." The Doctor thought for a moment. "Um . . . favorite song?"

"I see you like the tough questions," Alex quipped. "Okay. . ." She thought for a long moment before finally saying, "I Run to You by Lady Antebellum. You?"

The Doctor gave it some thought. "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick by Ian Dury and The Blockheads."

Alex stared at him blankly. "Who?"

The Doctor gaped at her. "You've never heard of Ian Dury?"

Alex shook her head. "Sorry to disappoint."

The Doctor let out a long breath of air. "Remind me to take you to one of their concerts as soon as we leave here. They're phenomenal."

"What kind of band are they?" Alex questioned, unconsciously curling into his side.

The Doctor rested a hand on her head and began raking his fingers through her hair. "Rock and roll mostly, but you could probably classify them as punk as well."

Alex groaned. "God, I hate punk music! I've never quite gotten it."

"Don't knock it until you try it, Ally," the Doctor said quite seriously, but Alex caught a twinkle in his eye that meant that he was also joking.

"Okay, I know there are a bunch of good punk bands; Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, and such, but I still don't really like the genre."

"Aerosmith isn't so bad," the Doctor admitted.

Alex racked her brain for other well-known rock/punk bands she had heard of. "What about KISS?" she suggested.

"Hate KISS," the Doctor revealed.

Alex stared at him. "Aren't they like the fathers of rock and roll or something?"

"That would be Elvis Presley," the Doctor corrected her. "And I'm taking you to see one of his concerts as well. And KISS? A bit much, don't you think?"

"True," Alex conceded. "All that makeup and tight leather is a bit ridiculous."

"I think we've strayed off-topic, don't you?"

"Sorry," Alex giggled. "My turn, then? Okay. Oh! Here's one that'll stump you. What's your favorite time period?"

The Doctor laughed. "That's too easy! Early 21st century. You?"

"Wait! Why is the early 21st century your favorite?"

"You do realize this is only Twenty Questions, right?"

"As I said before, I don't care!" Alex bounced a little on the bed. "Come on! Tell me! I won't stop pestering you until you do."

The Doctor sighed, knowing that this was very true. "It's because you humans are finally beginning to discover that you aren't really alone in the universe. You're finally breaking free of a shell and joining the rest of the universe. It's truly amazing."

Alex smiled. "Wow. I had no idea you were so amazed by us."

"It's this incarnation," the Doctor explained. "One of my previous ones constantly referred to humans as apes."

Alex frowned in thought. "Well, scientifically, you were correct. But metaphorically? That's insulting."

"Yes, I know. Luckily, it was only that incarnation. Now, your favorite time period?"

"Well, it's not in the future, considering I don't know much about it." Alex pulled back slightly and smiled up at him. "I've always liked the Prohibition era. Mobsters, illegal drinking, partying like it's the end of the world? It sounds exciting."

The Doctor shuddered. "Not when you're being chased by Al Capone's men in Chicago after you were trying to peacefully get a dangerous alien artifact back." Clearly, he was reliving some memory.

Alex studied him. "Personal experience?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Yep."

"Is it something I'm going to have to pry out of you later?"

"Most likely," the Doctor confirmed.

Alex hummed and scooted closer to his side. "I'm looking forward to it," she murmured, her voice slightly muffled by the Doctor's jacket.

The Doctor, noticing this, shuffled a bit until he had managed to remove the jacket and toss it on the desk chair. "Better?" he asked, scooting down some until he was almost eye-level with Alex.

"Yes," Alex answered. She reached out and fiddled with his bowtie a little. "Not sure about this though," she snickered.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Bowties are cool."

Alex waved this argument off though. "Whatever. Your turn now."

"Alright. Favorite . . . book?"

Alex groaned. "Another difficult one! Hmm. . . There's so many, but if I had to go with just one, I'd say To Kill a Mockingbird. You?"

"Great Expectations by Charles Dickens," the Doctor quickly rattled off.

"Oh, Dickens is good," Alex said. "I'd have pegged you for the Shakespeare type though."

The Doctor laughed. "No, I've always admired Dickens. Actually, I met him once. Shakespeare, too."

Alex stared at him, wide-eyed. "You did?!" she cried. "Was it under ordinary circumstances or not?"

"Depends on your definition of ordinary," the Doctor quipped.

"So . . . there was trouble going on?"

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor confirmed. "With Dickens, Rose and I had landed in Cardiff by accident on Christmas Eve 1869. There were these aliens that kept possessing dead people from a funeral parlor and walking out on the streets. One of them ended up at a reading Dickens was doing."

"Let me guess. It was a reading of A Christmas Carol?" Alex guessed. "I'm right, aren't I?"

The Doctor chuckled a little. "Yes, you are. How'd you guess?"

Alex giggled, her eyes changing from light green to topaz. "Dickens surrounded by ghosts on Christmas Eve? That just screams A Christmas Carol. Okay, what happened?"

"The aliens were trying to get through a rift in Cardiff. They wanted this young clairvoyant girl from the funeral parlor, Gwyneth her name was, to act as a bridge to get them across."

Alex frowned a little. "What's a rift exactly? I mean, based on what you're saying, it's like a bridge, correct?"

The Doctor scrunched up his face, trying to figure out how to explain it to her in terms she'd understand. "Sort of," he finally admitted. "Think of it like the San Andreas fault in California. But instead of being a crack between two tectonic plates, it's a crack between two different dimensions. All sorts of things can fall through it and end up in Cardiff."

"That doesn't sound good though," Alex remarked, studying the Doctor carefully. "How come you aren't there twenty-four seven monitoring it?"

"I don't need to be. A friend of mine runs an organization there dedicated to monitoring the rift and making sure that anything that comes through it doesn't harm anyone in Cardiff. It's called Torchwood."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "But isn't that the same organization that caused Rose to end up in a parallel universe?"

"It's of the same organization, but it's completely separate from the others. Torchwood One in London was destroyed during the Battle of Canary Wharf, but Torchwood Three is dedicated in my name, supposedly."

"Could we go there sometime? I've never been to Cardiff before and I really want to see it, even though Amy and Rory argue that it's boring."

The Doctor inwardly groaned. He already knew he was attracted to Alex and just imagining all the flirting Jack would do with her was nauseating. He'd probably end up punching Jack in the nose and that would not end well. "We'll see," he said vaguely.

Alex shrugged, accepting this. She'd find out more about this Torchwood later. "Okay, getting back on track, what happened with Shakespeare?"

"Martha, a friend of mine, and I went to the Globe Theater in London in 1599. I originally planned to make a quick trip and then take Martha back home but at the theater, Shakespeare announced that the next night would be the unveiling of his play, Love's Labor's Won."

"I've never heard of that play," Alex argued. "And I should know. I had to write a ten-page biography about Shakespeare and his plays for A.P. English senior year."

"Exactly. The Carrionites, a witch-like alien race, took temporary control of Shakespeare to write a series of directions and controls in the play's closing monologue that would allow the Carrionites back through the universe, breaking out of their eternal imprisonment."

"And that would be a bad thing?" Alex asked, already knowing the answer.

The Doctor nodded. "If the Carrionites got back into our universe, they would bring back times of blood and chaos and the human race would die out. Luckily, we managed to send them back through a portal . . . along with all the copies of Love's Labor's Won."

Alex laughed. "That's insane! And genius."

The Doctor laughed a little as well. "Yeah, you're right. Three of the Carrionite witches, the ones who were trying to get the rest of their race out, got trapped in their crystal ball." He paused, evidently thinking something over. "I need to go and find that sometime. When the TARDIS redesigned herself, everything ended up completely out of place."

Alex hummed and softly said, "I think it's my turn now." She thought for a long moment and before she even knew what she was doing, she had asked, "Is there one thing that you really regret?"

The Doctor stiffened and Alex bit her lip. Damn! What the hell was I thinking?! Alex cringed and started to move away a little. "Never mind, forget it. I don't know what caused me to blurt that out."

"It's fine," the Doctor dismissed. Truthfully, he was giving Alex's question a lot of thought. He remembered what he thought about how it was easy to open up to Alex and that he hoped that maybe she could shed some cheerful light on the vile darkness within him. But will she be willing after she hears what I did? If Alex were smart, she'd run away from him screaming.

Alex scooted back over to him. "Whatever it is," she began hesitantly, "you can tell me. I mean, I won't be all judgmental or anything."

"You should be," the Doctor argued, "after hearing this." He sighed and closed his eyes, collecting his thoughts as he tried his best to figure out how to reveal to Alex what his biggest regret was. "Do you remember how Rosanna said I should be in a mausoleum after I told her I was a Time Lord?"

Alex nodded and she was glad that she was learning the truth behind the Doctor's race. She had been trying to figure out a way to casually broach the subject, but she hadn't been able to come up with anything. "Yes. Go on," she prodded.

The Doctor gritted his teeth and Alex noticed his whole body tense up. It was as though he had to go through physical pain just to get the words out. "There was a war," he began slowly. "The last great Time War. It was a war between Time Lords and Daleks." Alex felt her heart clench. She had seen those Daleks and what they were capable of. Imagining the devastation they would cause during a war wasn't that hard.

"It was terrible. So many species were affected, not just the Time Lords and Daleks. Thousands on both sides were dying, day after day. Both sides were using time travel to try and change the battles, causing it to worsen." The Doctor paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink into Alex's skin. She only nodded, silently urging him to continue.

"Eventually, Rassilon, the founder of the Time Lord society, resurrected himself to lead the Time Lords against the Daleks."

Alex frowned. "Wait a minute," she interrupted. "He was dead before?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes. He had discovered the secret to immortality and regained control as High President." He bit his lip and closed his eyes, trying to force himself to go on.

His hard muscles relaxed when he felt Alex's slender hand rest on his shoulder. "If this is too much for you. . ." she began but the Doctor quickly cut her off.

"No," he said thickly, as though he were on the verge of tears. He swallowed and managed to cough out, "I need to tell this to someone. It'll eat me alive if I don't." Alex nodded and lightly rubbed his shoulder, an innocent action that comforted him more than he would ever admit.

"Rassilon didn't want to see the Time Lords end, so he came up with an alternative. He called it the Ultimate Sanction. It would destroy the Daleks, but also all of time as well."

Alex gaped at him. "Why would he do something like that?! He'd end up destroying the Time Lords as well!"

The Doctor sighed. Like her, he had questioned this plan many times in the past. "You have to understand," he said gently, "by this point, the Time Lords had become so war-harden and desperate, there was no going back. No hope of it really. The idea was that when they did this, the Time Lords would become a non-corporeal collective consciousness and become the only sentient life in the universe.

"I ended up learning about the plan and naturally, heartily disapproved of it. By this point, I had discovered another way to end the war, called the Moment. I originally wasn't going to use it, but after learning of the High Council voting Rassilon's plan into action . . . I was forced to." Alex remained silent, hanging on to his every word. She could tell that this wasn't easy for him and that the amount of guilt in him from doing those actions was close to consuming him.

The Doctor braced himself for this next part. It was always horrible admitting what he had done, even more so now that he was telling the specifics to someone else. "The Moment was designed to destroy both Daleks and Time Lords. I couldn't alter it in any way. At that point in the war, I wasn't sure I wanted to. With no other option, I used it." The Doctor closed his eyes, not wanting to see the look of pure horror and disgust that would surely cross Alex's face.

"I got in the TARDIS and watched Gallifrey burn. So many died screaming. . . There are nights when I can hear their voices inside my head, just screaming and screaming with agony as everything around them burns. It's gone, Ally. Gallifrey and all its people are gone, murdered by my own hands."

The Doctor fell silent, just waiting for Alex to scream, leap away from him, and run as far as she possibly could. He expected this and probably would have recommended it even. Too many people he encountered ended up dying or having terrible things happen to them. Rose and Donna were prime examples. He'd be better off traveling alone in the TARDIS, slowly going mad every day. At least then, innocent people wouldn't be hurt by him.

At that moment, he felt the bed shift slightly. Well, this was this it. Alex was going to leave or run or do whatever, making it clear she wanted nothing more to do with a murderer. The bed shifted again and the Doctor frowned as he sensed the direction Alex was shifting towards. She wasn't shifting away from him; she was shifting towards him.

He felt a slender hand snake its way up his arm, across his shoulder, and over to his neck. Goosebumps broke out at the skin-to-skin contact, but neither party moved away. Ever so hesitantly, he opened his eyes and was surprised when the first thing he saw was Alex's pretty face, eyes glittering with sadness, pity, and was that . . . love? No, it's not! He snapped to himself. Get over yourself!

Alex was unsure what to say. What the Doctor had just told her was pretty heavy, more than she had imagined it would be when she asked him what he regretted the most. Now, just looking at him, she knew he was expecting her to run away screaming, get away from the vile monster he thought himself as. But she refused to think of him that way. Had he done things he regretted? Yes, everybody did. Did he truly want to destroy the Time Lords? No. Did she think any less of him? Absolutely not.

Alex turned his head so that he was looking right at her. "Doctor. . ." Her voice trailed off, unable to voice any of her thoughts aloud.

"Go ahead. Say it," the Doctor said, sounding slightly bitter and upset, but also a bit expectant.

Alex stared at him. "Say what?" she asked, knowing what he was thinking.

"That you never want to be around me again. That you couldn't possibly go racing around the universe with a murderer."

"Stop it," Alex said weakly.

Ignoring her, he continued. "You don't want to see me, let alone stay by my side all the time. You don't even want to look at me."

"Stop it!" Alex begged, her voice stronger now. The Doctor closed his mouth and was about to turn away from her when Alex stopped him.

"Doctor, I don't feel that way about you in the slightest," she insisted, trying to convey her thoughts and feelings on the subject through her voice. She tilted his head so that he was looking directly at her and kept her hand on his neck so he couldn't move away.

"Doctor, based on the way you tell that story, you really didn't have another option. And if you didn't use the Moment, what was the alternative? Allowing Rassilon to destroy the entire universe? All those species? Earth? Me, Amy, and Rory?" Alex shook her head, trying not to imagine such destructiveness. She took a deep breath before continuing. "You mustn't blame yourself, Doctor. Yes, you killed the Time Lords. But that doesn't make you a murderer! They were willing to destroy the universe for their own selfish purposes. You cared too much about the universe and everyone else to let that happen. The Time Lords were going to kill themselves. You only sped the process up a bit. And in a way, that's a good thing. If you hadn't, you could be floating around as a collective consciousness – assuming Rassilon's plan actually worked – never knowing Rose, or Amy, or Rory, or me." Alex paused, allowing her words to resonate and sink into the Doctor. "Please, Doctor. Don't blame yourself."

The Doctor was silent, hearing her words play over and over in his head. Don't blame yourself. How was it that this girl – this beautiful, intelligent, perfect girl – could so easily see good in him and just know, like that, that he wasn't to blame for any of the cruel acts he had committed? It was strange and fantastic all at once. Before she had come along, the Doctor had been close to drowning in his self-caused spite and hatred and blame, but then Alex had come along and simply pulled him out of the black sea of darkness into the glorious light, no questions asked. How was she able to do that to him? The Doctor didn't know and he knew that he didn't really care, just so long as she kept doing it.

He focused back on her. She looked expectant and hesitant, unsure of what he was about to say or do. Then, very quietly, so quietly it could only be heard by her, he said, "Thank you."

Alex blinked and then smiled, her smile making his hearts soar and his brain to cease functioning. The effect she had on him was truly astounding. "You're welcome," she said softly, matching his tone perfectly.

Now that they had gotten the angst portion of Twenty Questions out of the way, the Doctor shifted closer to her, where he was almost touching her chest with every breath he took. "Now that you've gotten me to expose my deep dark secret," he said in a teasing voice, "what's yours?"

Alex bit her lip and turned her gaze up towards the ceiling. "It's nothing," she muttered.

"Nothing? I'm not falling for that. Come on. What is it?"

"It isn't anything as big as what you told me. Just drop it," Alex tried again but to no avail.

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, then this must be something good! What could Alexandria Locke possibly have done to be her biggest regret? Shoplift, perhaps?"

"Did that once," Alex offhandedly admitted, remembering the dolphin statue incident, "but that's not it. Just drop it, okay?"

The Doctor ignored her though. "Seriously, Alex, after I admit my deep dark secret to you, in a game of your own concoction I might add, I expect you to deliver. What was—"

"Trying to pierce my nose!" Alex blurted out.

The Doctor just stared at her. "What?" he finally demanded.

Alex sighed. "The one thing I really regret is trying to pierce my own nose."

There was silence for a moment but then, the Doctor began laughing. He turned away from her, lay on his back, and just laughed. "That's your biggest regret?" he managed to choke out between bursts of laughter. "I tell you my regret, which is very, very bad by most standards, and your response is that you regret trying to pierce your nose?"

Alex leaned on her elbow and glared down at him. "It's not funny! I really regretted it afterwards!"

The Doctor chuckled a bit more until Alex swatted him on the back of the head, telling him to stop. He finally sobered and solemnly asked, "So what happened?"

Alex sighed and rested back against the pillows, copying the Doctor's position. "It was a really hot summer day. Lacey and I were . . . fourteen, maybe? Yeah, fourteen. Carla had abandoned me for the summer so we were hanging out at my house, AC blasting, drinking ice cold lemonade and watching MTV. We were watching some stupid documentary that I don't even remember the name of, and it featured some girls with pierced noses. Since we were bored, Lacey suggested we try to pierce my nose. I'd wanted to get it pierced for a while, but I always figured I'd go to the tattoo parlor here in town and get it done there as soon as I could get my hands on a fake ID."

"Quite a little rebel you were," the Doctor commented. He found it hard to imagine that the sweet, beautiful Southern girl lying next to him could have once been an out-of-control, drinking, piercing obsessed teenage girl.

Alex sighed a bit regretfully. "I was wild back then. You wouldn't believe some of the stunts I pulled. Skipping school, drinking, smoking, all sorts of stuff. Anyway, back to the nose piercing. After a few minutes of haggling, Lacey finally talked me into it, so we went into the bathroom on the ground floor. I sat on a chair in front of the sink while Lacey got a needle, a towel, a little stud that had been a spare from when her cousin got her nose pierced, and a lemon."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose. "A lemon?" he questioned.

Alex let out a little laugh. "We had seen Lindsay Lohan's version of The Parent Trap recently and we remembered during the ear-piercing scene in the movie, they used a lemon slice and placed it under the ear so as to dull the feeling of the needle slicing through. The idea was that I would slide the lemon slice up my nostril and it would deaden the pain."

The Doctor shook his head and chuckled a bit at her past antics. "So, what went wrong?"

Alex winced. "We forgot to ice the site where the piercing was going to go first. Not to mention, but the lemon wouldn't exactly cooperate. After we finally got the lemon at an angle where it wouldn't shift, Lacey slid the needle in . . . and I started screaming bloody murder. It hurt. She yanked the needle out and I was left with a bloody hole in my nose. She tried to jam the stud in, but that just made it worse. She yanked it out and by that point, I was screaming and crying. After we toweled my nose off, we put a Band-Aid and Neosporin over it so I wouldn't get an infection. We threw the needle and stud out and I swore I'd never try piercing myself again or get any other part of my body pierced. A year later, for Christmas, Marigold took me to the mall in Lexington and I got my ears pierced."

The Doctor shook his head. "That has to be," he said slowly, "the most . . . hilarious thing I ever heard." At that point, he began laughing again.

Alex lightly swatted his chest. "It's not funny! I scarred you know!"

This ceased the Doctor's laughing. "What?" he cried, sitting up to lean over Alex. "Where?"

Alex reached up and tapped her right nostril. "Right here, on the side."

The Doctor leaned in close, barely aware that he was close to straddling Alex, and studied the area she had pointed to. Sure enough, on the right side of her nose was a thin white scar shaped almost like a sideways lightning bolt. "Funny how I've never noticed that before," he murmured, his breath hot on her skin.

Alex shrugged, desperately trying to keep her dignity intact as she was very aware of how close they were now. "It's faded quite a bit over the years," she said slowly so that her voice would come out as steady and even and not breathless and excited. "It used to be quite noticeable. But hardly anyone notices it anymore unless I point it out to them."

The Doctor's eyes followed the scar and he resisted the urge to trace it with his finger. Even though it was slightly startling, it was also beautiful and suited Alex perfectly. From being this close to her, he could also see a tiny zit in the center of her cheek, expertly covered with foundation and other products. Strangely, it too didn't affect her appearance. It was as though any imperfection on her body was meant to be there.

It was at that moment that the Doctor finally registered how close he was to Alex. If he wanted to, all it would take was slinging a leg over her and he would be straddling her. He was already close enough to kiss her. All it would take to do so was lean down and gently press his lips to hers. A large part of him wanted to just that, kiss her sweetly and push her back into the mattress, but the more rational side of him, the one that had been with him longer, refused to allow him to do that. The rational part knew that he would just end up hurting her and himself in the long run when she finally left and neither one of them deserved that. Therefore, he couldn't, wouldn't kiss her. Ever so reluctantly, he pulled back and moved back to his original position on the mattress.

Alex let out a breath that she didn't even know she had been keeping. She could almost feel the Doctor's desire to do something to her, though what that something was had to be left up to her imagination. In the fantasies that flashed quickly through her mind, they involved a bunch of kissing, similar to how he had done it back on the Byzantium, along with running his fingers though her hair, pushing her further into the mattress until she was begging for him to sleep with her. But of course, that could never happen.

Alex knew she wouldn't be around forever. As much as she felt safe around the Doctor, she was also very much in danger. One of these days, she could get hit by a Dalek or placed back in time by a Weeping Angel and she'd never see him again. Well, the latter scenario was debatable at best. She knew he'd look all throughout time for her. But regardless of whatever managed to get her away from him, something would. Alex couldn't be sure when that day would come, but she was sure it would. Oh, it'd be worth it, sure, for the chance of seeing all of time and space, but its cost was so great. It would hurt them both too much if they began a relationship – if that was what both of them really wanted – and she was suddenly torn away from him. She knew that he'd be an emotional wreck and she didn't want to do anything that would cause him such raw grief and pain.

Besides, she thought sadly, what would he see in a little human like me? I'm twenty years old; he's nine hundred and seven! I'm just a child compared to him. What could he possibly see in me?

But that brought out a thought in Alex's mind. He could have easily left her behind on Earth. Why had he brought her along? She remembered what he had told Amy the night she had kissed him; that he took them along so that he could see the universe in all its glory again. While that wasn't such a bad thing when you took into account how long he had been living, Alex couldn't help but feel betrayed when she remembered the letter he had left her after the Atraxi adventure, the letter she read every single time she wrote in her diary, which was pretty much every day. Had he been lying to her then to make sure she'd accompany him on his travels? Or had he meant every word he said?

Alex opened her mouth to ask this, but the Doctor beat her to it. "You know," he said slowly, "I would've thought your biggest regret was going to Octavian."

Alex closed her mouth and pondered this thought. She didn't blame him for thinking that. It was probably the answer he had automatically thought of for her when she posed the question. It was true she hated what happened at Octavian. But it being her biggest regret? No, not really.

"You would think so, but not really," Alex said.

"Why's that?"

Alex thought for a moment, wondering how she could pose her answer so that it would come across clearly. "Well . . . ever since I was in eighth grade and a person from Octavian came to talk to our class, I knew I wanted to go there. It was surreal. I knew my chances of getting in were one in a million but I wanted to go so bad I was willing to do just about anything. I worked really hard in my classes, studied like hell for the ACTs, and wrote and rewrote my application essays for weeks before I finally sent them in. It was a goal I set in my mind and I really wanted to achieve it. And when I got in, I was so proud of myself and so was everyone else. I was the first person in my entire school going to a well-renowned out-of-state university. I had actually achieved my goals of getting away from Carla and getting a good education. Even though it didn't work out in the end, I knew I had done something that very few people have ever done." She paused, working out what she was going to say next. "So, I don't regret going to Octavian. I set an impossible goal for myself and won. How could that be considered a regret?"

The Doctor nodded and Alex turned on her side. She needed to pose this question. She needed to know where she stood with him, what the Doctor saw her as. "Doctor? Can I ask you something?"

"We're playing Twenty Questions, right? That's kind of the point of the game."

"Not in a game-playing sense," Alex clarified. "It's a bit more . . . personal."

The Doctor, surprised by the hesitancy and worry in her voice, swiftly turned on his side to look her in the eye. "You can ask me anything, Ally," he told her softly. Several years ago, he wouldn't dream of granting a companion that kind of privilege, but Alex, he was beginning to learn, was more than a companion to him.

Alex chewed her bottom lip a little before saying anything. "Okay," she said slowly. "You remember the night Amy kissed you?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "How could I forget?" he asked. "It was the first time a companion wanted to shag me."

Somehow, Alex doubted that, but chose to let that one slide. "Well, when you were talking to Amy, I was listening in the doorway. I heard her ask why she was even on the TARDIS and I heard your reply."

The Doctor swallowed. Shit! He thought. Did Alex actually think that the sole reason she was on the TARDIS was because he needed her to help him see the universe in all its amazement and glory again? Did she actually doubt everything he had said in that quick little letter he had written her?

"I'm just wondering. I remembered the letter you wrote me after we defeated the Atraxi and I was just wondering if it was all . . . true."

How could she possibly think that?! He thought. Alex was amazing! He had wanted her to travel with him from the second he saw her look past that perception filter. "Ally, no! That's not it at all! Everything I wrote in the letter was true! How could you possibly doubt that?"

Alex's eyes drifted down to the comforter, now totally embarrassed. "It just popped in my head after I heard what you said to Amy. I figured maybe everything in the letter was just lies or half-truths in an effort to make sure I came with you."

The Doctor closed his eyes, unable to believe what he was hearing. "God, Ally," he murmured. He opened his eyes and raised a hand to run through her hair, purposely making it a bit more tousled to his liking. He traced his finger down her jawline until it was right under Alex's chin. He tilted it up, exposing Alex's forest green eyes. "I swear to you, everything I wrote in that scribbled letter was true. Alex, you are the most amazing person I've ever met. From the second I met you, I knew that you were an absolute mystery I had to crack and a wonderful person I desperately wanted to see again." He swallowed slightly, knowing he was breaking his own rule about getting close to companions but in Alex's case, it was unavoidable. "You're a wonderful person, Ally. Beautiful, smart, courageous, funny, and just altogether brilliant." He smiled sheepishly. "How could I resist?"

Alex was shocked. She had already known that the Doctor thought highly of her, but that? That was just utter devotion. Best of all, he hadn't been lying in his letter. She was someone he highly valued, someone who stumped him and thrilled him all at the same time. She was special.

Alex blinked back tears. She didn't want him to see how his words had truly affected her. "I had no idea you thought so highly of me," she whispered.

"You should be honored," the Doctor told her, a smile gracing his lips. "I think highly of all my companions, but none as highly as you."

Alex blushed brightly. She was embarrassed, but she was also pleased. It was nice to know that she had a special place in the Doctor's hearts. It would only make it that much harder when she eventually left. Just as she was thinking this though, she yawned and her eyelids began drooping.

"Somebody getting tired?" the Doctor asked, rolling over onto his back to glance at the clock. He was surprised by the time; one fifteen. He and Alex had been talking for over an hour and hadn't even noticed the time flying by.

Alex nodded slightly and moved her head to his chest. The thud of his heartbeats was very soothing and was making her all the more exhausted. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be bored for a couple hours," she mumbled.

I can't become bored with you, Ally, the Doctor thought but didn't say. He had been sappy enough for one night and besides, he couldn't become attached to Alex. But it was so hard not to do just that.

Alex nestled into his side and the Doctor absentmindedly played with some strands of her hair. She felt so nice against him. He noticed that she fit perfectly into his side. That had to be some kind of coincidence. Fate couldn't have made this body just for her . . . could it?

The Doctor watched as Alex's eyes grew heavier and heavier until they finally closed. At that moment, an arm crept up and flung itself over his chest. If he had wanted to leave her, he couldn't now without disturbing her. And strangely, that didn't upset him in the slightest.

The Doctor watched her sleeping form. She was so beautiful when she was asleep. Truthfully, Alex was beautiful whether she was awake or asleep. Her hair shined in the moonlight and she looked very peaceful.

The Doctor felt a wave of exhaustion creep up over him. Oh no, that wasn't possible. He didn't need sleep! He yawned. Well, maybe just a little. But it could wait. He yawned again and felt his eyelids growing heavy. Okay, maybe not. He sighed and looked over at Alex's sleeping form and how her arm was currently trapping him. Well, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. What was the harm in closing his eyes for five minutes?

Almost as if they had minds of their own, his eyes closed and his head fell sideways to where it was resting on top of Alex's. The Doctor and Alex both fell into deep sleeps, wrapped in each-other's arms, so deep in fact, that five minutes passed and the Doctor didn't even stir.

~Living the Life of Ally~

Alex stirred slightly and her eyes opened. She looked around the room, confused for a moment until all the details of the day reemerged in her brain. Bristol. Seeing Lacey and everyone else. Going to the Carslile-Locke Plant. Talking to the Doctor in this very room. . . Speaking of which, where was the Doctor?

Alex leaned up on her elbow and looked around the dark room and then at the clock. It was three thirty-five and the Doctor wasn't in her room. The last she remembered, he had been lying next to her in this very bed. She was pretty sure she had fallen asleep in his arms. So where was he now?

Alex frowned sadly and quickly pulled the comforter and sheets out from behind the pillows. She nestled under them until she was in her own personal cocoon. Why had the Doctor left? Had he gotten bored when she fell asleep? That was a possibility but somehow, Alex could sense it was bigger than that.

She sniffled slightly, tears of sadness threatening to erupt, but she pushed them back down. No. She had sworn to herself she wouldn't cry over that man, that wonderful, amazing man, and she was going to continue doing that. Instead, she settled her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes, determined to go back to sleep. Within seconds, she did just that.

Meanwhile downstairs, the Doctor paced up and down in front of the large stone fireplace in what he assumed was the living room, or the one that was actually used. The room was small and cozy with white and silver wallpaper, matching cream suede couches and chairs, a bookshelf filled with works of literature, and a crystal-drop chandelier dangling above him.

As he paced in front of the fireplace, the Doctor's eye was drawn to a series of photographs lined up on the mantel. Creeping closer, he carefully studied them.

The first showed a baby in a bright pink hospital blanket in a hospital baby bed with the words Lacey Rose Abernathy written on the tag on the front of the bed. He turned to the second photograph. This one showed Lacey, probably around the age of ten, in front of a huge Christmas tree, wearing a red velvet dress, tights, and Mary-Jane's. She was smiling brightly, exposing two missing front teeth. He turned to the third photograph. This one featured Lacey and another girl, probably around thirteen or fourteen, sitting on the front porch of this house, a banana split sundae sitting between them. Lacey's hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a light green camisole and jean shorts, her feet bare. The girl next to Lacey had long light brown hair and wore a light blue sleeveless shirt, white short-shorts, and matching blue ballet flats. Squinting slightly, the Doctor was able to make out a tell-tale scar on the girl's nose.

He gasped. It was Alex! He studied the photo again. This was clearly taken shortly after the nose piercing incident, because the scar on her nose was a bit more noticeable than it was now. She didn't have blonde highlights yet in this photo but she still looked gorgeous, grinning away at the camera. He swallowed and moved on to the next photo.

This photo had clearly been taken at a graduation ceremony. In the background, several black graduation caps had been tossed into the air, contrasting with the light blue of the sky. In the foreground, Lacey and Alex were hugging each-other, both of them in black graduation robes, their diplomas clutched in their hands. Alex had her blonde highlights in this photo and once again, she managed to look gorgeous. She probably hadn't even been trying. It had just happened.

The Doctor sighed and resumed his pacing. He was getting so attached to Alex. When he woke up in her arms just five minutes ago, he had been struck with the sudden realization that he wanted to do that again. He wanted to wake up with her nestled into his side every morning for the rest of his life. Such a realization had made him panicked and he had carefully shifted away from Alex and darted out of the room and downstairs.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily. He knew what was happening to himself, but he really didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to succumb to the feeling that was all too familiar, since it had only been two lifetimes ago when he had last experienced it with Rose. He had tried to disregard it for so long then, but he finally couldn't. And when he finally admitted what he had been feeling to himself, there was no going back. And look what happened when he tried to tell her! He had vanished before her eyes, leaving her all alone in a parallel universe while he was left all alone on the TARDIS, one silent tear streaking down his cheek. Granted, she was happy now, but still. It wasn't a feeling he wanted to repeat. It would only lead to heartbreak.

He groaned softly, not wanting anyone upstairs to hear him. How could this be happening? He tried so hard not to get that close to his companions but every once in a while, one would creep in and turn him to mush, twisting him all around until he didn't understand his own emotions and feelings. Rose had done that without even trying. Sarah Jane as well, if he was being honest. Even Romana had managed to strike a chord with him! And look what happened to all of them! It was a never-ending cycle of heartbreak and disaster with him and it would probably never end. And now, here was Alex – sweet, beautiful, caring Alex – about to become the next victim in a painful cycle.

No! He snapped to himself. He began pacing more rapidly until he was sure he would wear a hole in the rug. He would not let Alex become the next victim in such a horrible cycle. It would tear him apart if something horrible happened to her when he knew he was in lo—

STOP THAT! He yelled to himself. He clutched his hair in frustration. No! He couldn't admit that! If he did, there was no going back. If he did, the universe would immediately conspire against her and wrench her away from him in some twisted, horrible circumstance. She'd be forever away from him and he would slowly grow bitter and darker until the next companion came along.

The Doctor turned on his heel abruptly and hurried up the stairs, his footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. He wouldn't ponder this anymore. Instead, as he went down the hall, he didn't give a passing glance at Alex's room or any other room until he reached the one Marigold had assigned him. Without turning back, he turned the knob, stepped into the room, and closed the door firmly behind him.

A/N: So many things happening in this chapter! Sorry for the late update, but I had to do communications homework . . . fun. Anyway, just for future reference, for Torchwood, 'Children of Earth' hasn't happened and some of the stuff that happened in Season 2 is different, but that'll be addressed later. What did you all think of the Twenty Questions game? I thought that was cute. :)

Thank you to SopherGopherroxursox, rycbar15, jesterlover, TheGirlWhoWaited, Gwilwillith, and TheUltimateGuest for reviewing and thank you to those who followed/favored this story. Please review and see you tomorrow!