Chapter 2

The rain stopped just before three in the afternoon.

By then, Tina had cleaned up the mess, tidied the house and generally hidden all evidence of last nights party. And the man called the Doctor was still sleeping. At least, she hoped he was sleeping and not unconscious, it was only the way he occasionally turned and a flicker of a frown came to his face as he felt discomfort, that told her he was actually recovering.

She had cautiously lifted back the blanket and seen the vivid bruising to his side, and then she had replaced the blanket again, guessing if he was in pain before he rested, when he woke up, it wouldn't be much better. It looked painful, and she didn't like to think how he would feel when he finally woke again and tried to sit up. Then, as she sat there on the chair brought over from the dresser to his bedside, she looked at his sleeping face and thought about his remark, the one he had made about humans. He had said that as if he wasn't human, which was crazy – he was human, he had to be, he looked human...

Then Tina thought about the other remark he had made – about something he had expected to see in her eyes – what was that about?

She hoped he was normal.

So far, everything seemed to point to the fact that he might well be a nutter...

Albeit a good looking one.

She couldn't help but think that as she watched him sleep. He was a lot older than her, and she was sure she had felt something when he had looked into her eyes that seemed – as weird as it sounded – that he was even older than he looked, as if he was ageless, as old as time... None of that made sense, but it was what she felt.

And then he turned his head and opened his eyes and looked at her, and looking right into his eyes gave her that odd feeling again:

He was not like any man she had ever met before, or ever would again. And she didn't know why...

"I don't think I can move yet. I will soon, just not yet. I broke three ribs."

She stared at him.

"You're sure?"

He slid his hand down to the bruising on his rib cage, pain briefly registered on his face and then it was gone.

"Yes, I'm sure."

And his gaze fixed on her.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

"You! Is that okay?"

He had said it so openly, as if it was obvious.

She shrugged.

"I suppose it is. Why are you looking at me?"

The Doctor glanced about the room.

"Would you rather I didn't look at you? That's okay, I don't mind. Maybe you don't like being looked at. I don't like hugging people."

"Why?"

"Why what?" he asked.

"Why don't you like hugging people?" she asked him.

The Doctor answered right away.

"Because I can't see the look on their face. I don't know what they might be hiding."

"Oh." It was all she could think to say.

The Doctor looked at her intently, thinking this young human woman was attractive, and feeling as if he had known her for years – he knew some how that he would, because the future was yet to be and still had been written on some page out there in the infinite map of time.

"So how many years have you lived here?"

She shook her head.

"I don't live here."

"But you've bought the place? You're looking good, must be all that money -"

"What money?" she asked.

The Doctor paused, closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain in his side as he thought of the future and the grey area cleared, along with the left over of a concussion.

"Sorry." he met her gaze again, "I was confused...It hasn't happened yet."

There it was again, that spooky feeling as she looked into his eyes, and the fact that he flashed her a smile only made her feel that perhaps he was lying about something, or hiding something about her future – but how could he know any of that stuff, anyway?

"Sorry," he said again, "I knocked myself out when I crashed. I was a little bit confused. A bit like you are now, hearing all this and making no sense of it, even though it feels like it could be true, although you're wondering how..."

And he gave her a knowing look.

"I don't get any of this," she replied honestly, "I totally get that you might have concussion but the rest of it makes no sense."

"Because it's 1989 and it hasn't happened yet."

His voice had dropped as he looked at her. Suddenly she felt a chill run over her flesh that prickled her skin and made her want to shiver, and she wasn't sure what it meant.

"You said that to me before you passed out," she reminded him, "What are you talking about, Doctor? And what sort of a name is that? What's your real name and where are you from?"

He shifted cautiously, pushed the pillow up and leant back on it and looked at her once more.

"You won't believe me."

"I'll give it a go."

She looked so strong, so determined to make sense of all he had said – and now the Doctor was reluctant to tell her. He knew the path her life would take, but also felt reluctant to share too much information too soon. Here she was aged nineteen, about to turn twenty - and her future as it was written was nothing like she had imagined it would be...

He held out his hand.

"Go on," he said, "Take hold of my hand. Just for a moment, just do it..."

She reached out and the charms on her gold bracelet caught on the light as she placed her hand in his.

"One day you'll own this house," he said to her, "It will come at a price – a personal cost to you, but you'll own this place. "

She blinked.

"Are you trying to tell my fortune or something?"

He kept a gentle grip on her hand.

"Time has fixed points, Tina. Some of it can be altered, but I wouldn't want to tinker with certain aspects. It's too risky. But I will tell you this – you think you'll get away from the under world, but you'll need them to sort out the money. You already have connections on the street, those guys your late father knew. And this house will mean something to you, in fact you won't be able to keep away from the place. You'll buy this house and live here because of the ties to the past. You'll have the money and the mansion. I'm sorry about the rest, but I think you already know life isn't really like a fairy tale."

She stared at him. Nothing he had said made sense, because he was talking about the future and to her, it stretched out unknown, but his words seemed to ring true in a way she couldn't explain...

"So I'll never find true love?" she whispered.

And he looked into her eyes and thought of Clara, and wondered why. Then he pushed that thought firmly aside.

"I don't know," he said quickly, and let go of her hand.

His side was aching and he blamed the pain on being the reason his twin hearts were beating a little faster than usual. Or perhaps it was how he felt when he looked into her eyes...

"I won't stay long,"he added, "Maybe another day and then I'll be gone. By then my Tardis will have repaired itself. It was minor damage compared to what happened to me."

"What did happen?" she asked.

As he replied, she wondered why she didn't laugh it off or call him mad – but every word he said seemed to whisper of truth, even though it seemed impossible:

"I'm not human," he stated, "I'm a Time Lord, from a planet far from here called Gallifrey. I've lived for many years and had many lifetimes. My species doesn't die, it simply regenerates. I'm very familiar with your world and people, Earth is a planet I consider a second home. And I'd do anything to defend it. I have an old enemy, her name is Missy. She stole something and I'm sure she has bad intentions for it and I tried to stop her but she out ran me and I crashed here. Which brings me to this point: If you meet her, don't trust her. The fact that my Tardis ended up here in pursuit of her must mean she's close by, or has already been and gone. If I'm right, she will come back one day. I just hope when she does, you're not dragged into this mess."

"What mess?" she asked, but as pain flickered in his side, pain registered on his face and he settled back against the pillow, turned back the cover on the bed and placed his hand on his deeply bruised side.

"I heal fast. The pain will be bad. But I'll be away from here soon enough."

Her gaze shifted from the bruising to his toned and perfect chest, and as she thought again about her mouth on his body, she felt a bolt of pleasure shoot through her insides, as if her body was begging her to let it happen, and hand this man her virginity at once.

Their gaze had locked a little too long, and the Doctor knew it.

"I'm not a hugger," he repeated, and there was a flicker of a shy smile about his lips, and then it was gone.

"I know that," she replied.

"Good," he said, and laid back with the covers still exposing his upper body as he wished the pain would go away in his side as he wished at the same time that the stirrings of an erection would also go away. To him,all humans were fascinating and mostly wonderful – but so short in their life spans, and this one was still young. She was almost twenty. Every human lover he had ever taken had been younger than him simply because he liked the company of humans and he was so very old and his species was to blame for that difference, but this one was youthful and still learning about the world she was stepping into – a harsh world, one that just wouldn't be fair on one so innocent.

She smiled at him, and he silently wished his body would not respond like his erection had a mind of its own.

"I think I'll rest now." he told her, and closed his eyes.

She got up and stepped closer. He heard her take that step, he smelled the scent of her perfume – a cheap body spray deodorant – it was light and fragrant despite its simplicity and he liked that, and wished that he didn't like it so much. She was a good person. Right here and now, she was sweet and innocent and reminded him of all the things that he thought of when he thought of earth and its people and why he adored them. He even thought far back to Rose and another lifetime in that moment. Then as she ran her hand over his hair, he tensed and snapped his eyes open.

"What?" he asked her.

She took her hand off him and smiled.

"Sorry,I didn't mean to make you jump. I was just wondering if you wanted anything – water, tea?"

"Coffee, later on. Not right now, I need to sleep."

She looked down at him and he saw a hint of fascination in her eyes. Then she touched his hair again, running her fingers through it lightly, and as much as he wanted to protest, it felt too good to object.

"You really believe you're an alien?" she said.

"I am an alien. And my Tardis is my ship. I'll show it to you, as soon as I'm healed enough to get out of this bed. I promise you I'm not lying!"

"Okay," she replied, and it was said in a tone of voice the reminded him of Clara: A simple answer, and only she truly knew what she really meant by it...

"Maybe you believe me or maybe you don't," he said to her, "But I'll show you tomorrow."

Then he turned over on his side, and gave a cry of pain that was muffled into the pillow as he grabbed at his side.

"Oh no, I shouldn't have done that... just felt the bone snap again..."

He took a few short breaths as he perspired, and then he closed his eyes again.

"Leave me to rest. I need to keep still, I'm in a bit of a mess."

"I'll be right here," he heard her say, then he let himself slide deep into a velvet darkness, where sleep went deep and dreamless and only then did real healing begin to commence.

By nightfall, the Doctor was still sleeping.

Tina switched on the bedside lamp and closed the window as the evening air gave way to a hint of night time chill, and as the Doctor turned on his back and murmured a faint protest of pain and carried on sleeping, she climbed on to the bed and kicked off her shoes and slid under the covers beside him. Her heart was racing as she made that daring move, and as she settled beside him taking care not to touch him and remembering how he had said he didn't like hugging, she lay there on her side, watching him sleep, then her gaze wandered over his bare chest and she watched it rise and fall, now he was sleeping peacefully.

The lamp light threw a soft glow about the room and seemed to lift the deep lines from his face, and as she looked at him she smiled, deciding even if he was mad, she still liked the man who believed he was an alien...

For a moment, she wondered what she would do if she found out he actually was a real alien...then she smiled at the thought and turned out the light, deciding to lay beside him at least for a little while, enjoying the masculine scent of him as he rested beside her. He was in a deep sleep. He would never know...

The Doctor woke to early morning sunshine falling through soft nets, and as he opened his eyes, he pushed the covers down to his waist and took in a breath and let it out cautiously, noticing the deep bruising was slowly starting to fade even though the pain was still present.

"A slight improvement," he said aloud.

"Good," she whispered, and her hand slid around his waist, and he smiled, forgetting the time and place as the familiarity of the warmth of a lover played tricks on his mind.

"I'll be fine, Clara," he whispered, "I'm a Time Lord, I heal fast."

And then he laid back, enjoying the freedom of being able to move on to his back with less pain than before. He looked up at the ceiling. Then he remembered where he was, and it hit him like lightning that Clara was no longer with him, and that meant only one thing:

Tina was in his bed...

His eyes widened in alarm as he grabbed the covers and pulled them up sharply. It was then he turned his head and looked at her, and she looked at him, alarm registering in her eyes as she realised it was daylight and she had slept far too long beside a man who really hadn't wanted her there in the first place...

"I'm sorry...I was just keeping an eye on you and I fell asleep!"

"Okay, thank you for your concern - you can get out of my bed now," he replied nervously, keeping a tight hold on the covers.

She got up. The Doctor watched as she shot him an apologetic glance, and then she went over to her bag, unzipped it and took out a change of clothing.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to do that...I just wanted to watch over you, I meant to stay there for a couple of hours and then -"

"Could you get changed in another room?" he asked.

She had her back turned to him as she stepped out of her zebra print leggings and he saw her dark silky underwear and how it fitted her perfectly and then felt bad for looking. But as she stripped off her top and he saw the back of her bra strap, he looked away quickly.

"I won't be long," she told him, "And I've got my back turned."

"I'm not one of your friends and this isn't a sleep over!" he said sharply, and then he braced himself for the pain that would follow as he sat up in bed, and paused to clutch at his healing ribs.

"Can you get dressed in another room, please?"

She stopped looking through her bag and turned around.

"Why?" she asked.

The Doctor's gaze darkened as he took in the sight of her standing there in her underwear, a matching bra and knickers set that was silk and lace and rather sheer. She knew what she was doing, and he wished that she wouldn't do it. He was a Time Lord but still male and he knew when a female of any species was making a play for him and now, while he was alone and sore and his hearts still ached for a distant lost memory of a life with a love called Clara, she was very tempting...

"You know what you're doing and I think you should stop," he said, looking at her knowingly.

She walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it.

"I'm twenty years old in six weeks time," she replied, "And I've had boyfriends. I know about sex. The only thing I haven't done yet is lose my virginity."

He laughed nervously.

"And you want to lose it to an alien?"

She smiled.

"Maybe. Or an attractive, older, experienced man who thinks he's an alien?"

The Doctor's face flushed and he felt awkwardly shy, then he took hold of her hand and placed it on the left side of his chest.

"Feel that?"

She nodded.

"Your heart beat. What about it?"

He moved her hand to the right side of his chest, and then as she felt the beat of a second heart, her eyes widened in surprise.

"No way!"

"Yes way Tina, I have two hearts, I'm an alien," he confirmed.

She shifted closer to him and let go of his hand and placed her head against his chest, pressing her ear to the warmth of his skin as she listened in fascination to the double beat.

"Wow... I can hear two hearts!" she exclaimed, and then she looked up and into his eyes. And as she smiled and so did he, the Doctor's smile faded as he realised she had been smart about this and taken him by surprise - now she was up close to him, so close their lips were almost touching as she looked into his eyes, and he wanted her even though he wished he didn't, she knew it and he felt very close to admitting defeat and giving into her now.

"You're a little too close," he said politely.

The look in her eyes was one of pure desire.

"No close enough," she murmured, and leant in, surprising him with a soft kiss that he quickly broke away from.

"Don't...I can't... not with you. Not here under these circumstances... it wouldn't be right."

"It's not wrong either," she reminded him.

The Doctor gave a sigh and looked at her, feeling certain she was about to get what she wanted, because he was injured and tired and she was so persuasive and his body was screaming yes even though his mind was objecting...

"I think you should get dressed now," he said.

But she was still on the bed and close to him, and as she ran her fingers through his hair, his erection ached beneath the covers and he gave her a weary look.

"I need some coffee," he said, "Could you make me coffee, please?"

Disappointment reflected in her eyes as she got off the bed.

"Okay, if it makes you feel better."

Suddenly he felt a tug at his twin hearts, and he knew what that meant – he really didn't want to let her go, even though letting go would have been the wisest and easiest choice to make. He ignored the pain in his ribs and drew in a breath, summoning his courage as she turned back to her overnight bag to put on some clothes.

"In your underwear."

She turned around and looked at him in surprise.

"What was that, Doctor?"

She had started to smile, and so did he as he said it again.

"I said, you can make me some coffee just as you are – in your underwear. And then we'll see what happens next."

Her eyes sparkled as she smiled, and then she left the room and headed for the stairs.

For a brief moment the Doctor considered escaping out the window but then remembered he had broken ribs and it was one hell of a drop to the ground from up here. Then he laughed at the thought, and enjoyed the feeling of arousal that easily dampened down his pain as he thought of what would happen when Tina returned – and hoped she would be content with what he was prepared to give her, because although he wanted to make her happy, he certainly wasn't going to be taking her virginity – she wasn't ready for a full on encounter with a Time Lord just yet, and wouldn't be for many years to come...

Yes, he would satisfy her, but on his terms, and his terms were not negotiable...