Chapter Three
A/N: Thanks to my brilliant reviewers so far, Syblime, ukaladydrumgrrl and loulouflowergirl.
The pair were soon running, hand-in-hand, just as they had done in so many of Sybil's dreams for the twelve years that they had been parted.
"Where are we going?" cried Sybil, laughing a little as the madman jumped down across a river, then reached over to lift her across.
"I haven't got a clue!" cried the man in response.
"Then why are we running?!" she yelled above the noise of rushing wind in her ears, trying desperately to keep up with the man, lest he disappear once again.
"Running's great!" he yelled back. "Great way to get the adrenaline pumping, love a good run, who doesn't love a good run! Are those petunias?" he asked suddenly, stopping at the flowerbed, causing Sybil to almost run right into his back.
"You're absolutely mad!" gasped Sybil, her throat burning as she tried to regain her breath.
"I know!" cried the man in response. "I get that a lot. Just because I like fish fingers and custard."
"I tried that once as a child." said Sybil, looking at the flowers as she reminisced.
"Did you?" The man looked up in genuine interest, waiting for the answer.
"Yes, I did. I tried dipping salmon into the crème anglaise, but Mama told me off terribly and I had no pudding for a month. I never tried it again after that, it was vile."
"It's an acquired taste!" defended the man, his arms crossing over his chest as he pouted comically, causing Sybil to burst out laughing.
"One that I have not personally acquired, thank goodness." she retorted, her cheerful laughs slightly distorting the words. The man still remained pouting at this point and remained so for long after. Eventually, Sybil could stand it no longer and asked the quesion burned into the back of her mind for so long.
"Doctor?"
"Yep?"
"Why didn't you come back for me?" A slight sense of relief washed over Sybil, as if a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders, but also accompanied by a sense of dread that his answer would be that he had simply forgotten about her, as she had assumed long ago. The pout on his face disappeared immediately, replaced with only a serious expression. A long silence followed afterwards.
"I don't know." The Doctor eventually answered, his gaze directed to the grass.
"You forgot about me, didn't you?" Sybil sighed in sadness. Her tone showed that the sentence was less a question than a statement of truth. The Doctor's head snapped upwards to face the young woman, his mouth and eyes both wide open.
"Sybil Persephone Crawley, I never forgot about you. Not for a single moment."
"Then why didn't you come back? Truly, now." she asked again. The man sighed.
"Because I honestly thought that you would be better to get on with your life without me holding you back."
"You never held me back. You were the magical man I met in the corridor on Christmas Eve night, a madman who spoke of the stars. You weren't the person who held me back, Doctor, you were the person who taught me to fly. And no-one can ever ground me now."
"That's the girl I know." The Doctor commented fondly, placing a quick kiss on Sybil's forehead before taking the woman's hand and pulling her up before beginning to walk towards the distant trees.
"Doctor, where are you going?" Sybil asked, suddenly extremely nervous. The madman whipped right around, his loose tie flying in the wind.
"You said that you couldn't be grounded, Sybil. So it's time for you to fly."
A/N: Not sure how good this chapter is, but I hope you like it nonetheless. Please review!