Chapter Three

Cass and the Doctor where sitting in the TARDIS kitchen – which was remarkably old fashioned Cass noticed for such an amazing ship. However, the Doctor did make an amazing cup of tea.

He'd asked if he could re-scan her with the TARDIS, she'd allowed that and it now showed her DNA as human/canine. He though the ship was just trying to make it look like she had always known – but Cass had a feeling the ship really had known what she was, but couldn't pass the opportunity to let the Doctor be confused for once.

"So your what a werewolf?" the Doctor asked "Because I've seen a werewolf before and he was much meaner then you. He had a whole domination plan that involved infecting the Royal Family."

"Probably not a werewolf then, most of us just want to be left alone. And we don't use the term werewolf – we prefer to be called Otherkin."

"Why?" he sounded genuinely confused.

"There are a lot more werecreatures out there than just wolves you know, and Wereturtle sounds ridiculous, so we chose to call ourselves Otherkin." Cass laughed.

"Wereturtle? Really?"

"Yeah, where do you think the idea for teenage mutant ninja turtles came from?" Cass said with a completely straight face. The Doctor was looking completely stoic, as if not sure if she was joking or not.

"I've travelled earth for years, how have I never come across one of you before?" The Doctor genuinely sounded outraged with himself.

Cass just shrugged again. "I'm not sure about recent years, but most Otherkin tend to live in community's completely made of other shapeshifters, completely away from humans. Keep to yourselves and no one gets hurt mentality."

"So why where you with U.N.I.T?"

Cass looked away from him then. "They didn't know what I was. And others of my kind aren't exactly welcoming to me."

"Why?"

"Not now Doctor, I just told you a secret that could get me killed if anyone ever find out what I told you, let me keep some mystery." Cass smiled softly, her eyes sad. She managed to regain her perky happiness back within a few minutes. "What about you Doctor, what's your story? Jack said you'd just had a difficult regeneration, what does that mean?"

"Something similar to you I guess. I don't die, I regenerate. Change my entire body, face even some of my mind."

"Huh" Cass sipped her tea, staring at him over the cup. "And if I hadn't thought the two hearts thing was a big give away that your alien – that defiantly would."

"How did you-?" he frowned, he'd not told her about his hearts.

Cass grinned and tapped her ears. "All the better to hear you with my dear."

Cass sneezed as the Doctor lead her by the hand back to the TARDIS. He was grinning, she was trying to pick mud out of her hair.

"Seriously, only you can get us buried alive!" Cass said smiling through her annoyed tone of voice. She had to admit that now she was back above land the situation had been quite funny – though it wasn't at the time.

"Oh come now, that was exciting. You said show you something exciting." The Doctor teased.

"I didn't say get us buried alive, and I know you found it exciting. Being pressed so close together really isn't the best way for a man to hide his attraction to a female – even if they are buried underground and running out of oxygen at the time." Cass teased, winking at the Doctors growing blush.

"Be quite Cass."

"You're still just a male Doctor, no need to get embarrassed." She jumped up before he could scoot away and pecked his cheek. She'd found in the few weeks they'd been travelling together that the Doctor wasn't really a touchy feely person – though after the evidence of his arousal at being pressed so close to her body she could understand why. He didn't seem comfortable in his own skin at all. "I'll be in the kitchen, I fancy cooking a meal tonight – not that I don't like you popping us off to all these alien café's and such. I just don't really fancy having a dinner that tries to run away from me again – that's only fun in wolf form."

"It's been awful long time since anyone's cooked in there…" the Doctor confessed. He was tugging at the collar of his shirt, face still a little pink, but Cass chose to ignore his reaction to her earlier teasing.

"Well this will be fun then wont it. I went to a market when you were off annoying that fisherman yesterday when you stopped on earth for milk." Cass smiled, walking off towards the kitchen.

When she was gone the Doctor let out a deep breath he had been holding since she pecked his cheek. He had only been travelling with the shape shifting girl for little over a month and a half, but she was already beginning to change him, he could feel it. His regeneration had left him angry, annoyed and cautious of letting people as close as his previous face had allowed the Ponds. Yet, there was something about Cass… it was like she was made to travel with him. She asked the right questions, she kept her mouth shut when she knew she should, she brought out his better side just like any of his other companions but, more. He also had to admit that having a companion that could hear and smell better than you, and spent half her time in the form of a formidable looking wolf with wicked fangs and claws, was pretty hand dealing with troublemakers.

Yet he had to admit there was hardly anything he knew about this girl other than her being 202 years old, a U.N.I.T agent, and she was unwelcomed by her fellow shape shifters for reasons she didn't want to explain. Despite this, he trusted her almost completely – more shockingly, the TARDIS seemed to be able to and enjoy communicating with her. He'd caught the wolf girl conversing with mid-air a few times – particularly in the kitchen and library. Cass had explained the ship could usually get the odd message through to her telepathically.

Sometimes the Doctor dared to think he might be starting to feel something for Cass. He walked around the console room now, watching as he searched the entire universe for a trace of Cass's history anywhere – despite knowing U.N.I.T had done a good job at wiping her from existence. She was pretty, he thought not for the first time, that her features that may have displeased someone else where what made her attractive to him. He liked that her pale round face was splattered with a dozen or so freckles of different shades and sizes, and he liked that he mane of black hair was somewhat naturally messy and thick enough to make it appear big. She was petite, about five foot three or under, but she never let it seem like a problem. He was far taller than her, yet if she wanted she let him know when she was in charge of a situation, usually by grabbing him by the front, dragging him down to her size and growling at him in a canine voice. He loved her over all enthusiasm for their adventures, she was brave and optimistic and somehow managed to find a joke in everything – enough to make even their villainous opponents grin sometimes! Yes the Doctor could feel himself falling for Cass, and he couldn't even help himself.

It was at the end of his thoughts about Cass that he found himself standing in the kitchen, watching her humming and cooking at the stove he'd not even dusted in hundreds of years. It was a miracle in itself that the TARDIS remembered to include a stove whenever she redecorated.

"Smells good" he said announcing himself as he sat in a stool in the corner.

He saw Cass jump a little at his voice, she looked over her shoulder with a blush. He was secretly glad he could still sneak up on someone with wolf-like hearing. "Thanks" she said, laying stakes into a frying pan. "I was an army chef before U.N.I.T picked me up. Always made sure my men where well fed, we were fighting a war after all."

The Doctor frowned a little. He didn't like soldiers, and had disliked it knowing she was a U.N.I.T solider, he disliked it even less knowing she was in the army before that. "You were a solider?" he asked, his voice letting her know his displeasure, despite trying to keep it out of his voice.

Cass turned to look at him, removing the apron she was wearing. "No, I just told you I was a chef in the army – they were soldiers. I was just fighting the war on getting men to eat their vegetables. I refused to take part in the war." She cocked her head to one side in a very dog-like manner. "Is that a problem?"

"No. I just don't like soldiers."

"I was a U.N.I.T solider when we met." She pointed out.

"Yeah I know, but you were mistreated by U.N.I.T. You were like their experimental non-human solider."

"So what, you where saving me from U.N.I.T?" Cass asked, a little dismayed.

"No, and yes… I don't just take anyone to travel with me Cass."

They sat for a little in awkward silence, Cass occasionally poking the stakes she put in the frying pan.

"Why don't you like soldiers?" she asked the silence.

"Soldiers take life at the order of another who probably had his orders from someone else. Sometimes it's completely justified, sometimes it's not. I'd rather preserve life than take it at the whim of someone else. I don't lie, I've killed before. But I don't like killers."

Cass paused, she was putting the stakes onto plates she had found that weren't too dusty. She carried on dishing out food, pulling vegetables out of the oven and dishing those too, until she finally carried the two plates over to the table where the Doctor sat.

The Doctor wasn't stupid. He could see in the way Cass sat across from him, not speaking with was a new thing for her, and not looking at him that something he said had struck her heavily.

He didn't ask, he just waited. If she wanted to speak, she would.

They ate in mostly silence, speaking only when Cass collected the dishes to wash. "Thanks, that was amazing Cass, you're a good cook."

"Thank you" she mumbled quietly.

She didn't say anything as the Doctor hung around for a while, watching he wash the dishes he hadn't known he had quietly. She didn't even say anything when he finally, reluctantly, left the room for the library.

Fifteen minutes later the Doctor became aware of Cass standing near him in the library. She was biting her lip with worry, until she became aware that he was watching her from his seat on the sofa.

"Do you really hate killers?" she asked, her voice a ghost of what it usually was.

"That depends on the situation Cass." Was all he could answer, starting to frown and worry.

"Doctor, I-" she took a steadying breath, looking him in the eyes she said "I killed my family."