"Zoe!" Jamie cried with relief when he saw Sister Minnie return with her. But Zoe looked sullen, her eyes burning with a foreign fury. She was still under some sort of witchcraft.

"It's, ah, good to see you, Zoe," the Doctor said uncertainly.

Zoe lifted her chin. "Good for whom, inferior?"

"Oh, dear …" the Doctor sighed

Jamie's chin dropped. "Wha' did ye call him?"

"Inferior. Because that's what you are, aren't you? she snarled. "A male."

Righteous indignation bubbled up inside the Highlander. One part of him knew that Chairman Babs had done something to her, but another, weak part of him secretly, irrationally, in the dark corners of his heart, feared that—perhaps—this is what Zoe really thought of them.

Of him.

The hurtful words coming from his friend hit that hidden nerve and brought the anxiety to the surface, blowing it out of proportion.

Jamie took a step closer. "Now ye listen! This is the Doctor, yer friend!"

"Don't be impertinent!" Zoe spat. "How could I be a friend to a mere male? I'm a woman! A superior being. Mentally, physically, and spiritually!"

She was pushing all the buttons. "Oh, are ye?" Jamie's voice was dangerously low.

Zoe did not move but stared up at him with empty coldness.

"Weel, let me tell ye somethin': we have a way of dealin' with people who don' know their place where I come from—especially cheeky wee lassies like ye!"

The Doctor tried to intercede but Jamie was not having it. The Highlander raised an arresting hand. "Ye leave it tae me, Doctor." Then he turned back to Zoe, leveling a look at her.

"You … come here."

Zoe gave a theatrical yawn to hide the strange tingle that ran up her spine. "Oh, go away little boy," her voice oozed with scorn. "Go and knit yourself another pretty skirt."

Jamie nearly hit the roof.

"Anither what?! Tha's it!"

Real Zoe or not, he said he'd larrup her if she ever called his kilt a skirt again, and by heaven, if he was not a man of his word …

Jamie grabbed Zoe and before she knew what was happening she was across his knee receiving smart little smacks on her bottom.

"Oh! Ow! Stop!"

"Oh, dear!" The Doctor tried to stop Jamie but Chairman Nora held him back. The Doctor started to apologize, explaining that Jamie was from a "much coarser period in history."

But Nora pointed at Zoe, at the expression on her face; the difference in her eyes ...

Jamie, too, could see that something had changed. He immediately let Zoe go and she pushed him away.

She stood there, face flushed, tears streaming down her face. The sight smote Jamie's heart, but outwardly he folded his arms and gave a curt nod.

"Reeght, now, what d'ye say tae tha'?"

Zoe looked up at him, then around at the room full of men and women celebrating, then down at the guard uniform she was still wearing. When she looked up at him again, her eyes were wide and bewildered. She took a step towards him.

"Jamie …" she croaked, then looked at her other companion, "Doctor! Where did you come from?"

The Doctor clapped his hands. "Welcome back, Zoe!"

"Indeed, child," smiled Chairman Nora. "It would seem that even the Silver Maiden is no match for the physical shock of 'applied psychology'."

"No," agreed the Doctor. "Especially when it's applied as firmly as that."

"It's funny …" Zoe murmured to Jamie, "I feel as if I've just woken up from a dream …"

"More of a nightmare if ye ask me." For both of us.

Zoe looked up into his eyes, Jamie could practically see the anxious questions swirling in their brown depths. He took Zoe's small hand in his and gently led her off to get something to eat. A buffet table had been set up for the celebration of the re-balance of equality between men and women.

Zoe was still looking a little dazed so Jamie picked up a plate and began putting on it what he knew she liked. Zoe looked sourly at the plate and put a hand to her stomach.

"I don't know if I can bring myself to eat right now … I still feel so odd."

Jamie put the plate down on a nearby table and gently took her by the chin, studying her face. Her eyes were clear and cognizant, not clouded like before. There were still tear steaks on her face, mixed with mascara, making her look even more ill.

"Och, lass …" Jamie fished out a handkerchief from his sporran and dabbed at her face. "I'm sorry. I dinnae really want tae do it …"

Zoe stuck out her bottom lip and rubbed her behind. "Then why?"

Jamie put down the handkerchief then made a helpless gesture with his arms, holding them out to the sides then letting them drop. "I … I dinnae ken wha' else tae do! … If I had spoken like tha', at one time, tae people I cared aboot, my mither would've larruped my bum until I couldnae sit."

Zoe looked aghast. "What did I say?"

Jamie put his hand on her head and lightly mussed her hair. "Nae matter, lass. It's over."

But Zoe wondered.

…...

Zoe shrugged and stepped through the closing TARDIS door, shutting out the embarrassing sight of former Chairman Babs' love-sick hysterics.

"Where are we going now?" Jamie asked the Doctor, looking over the older man's shoulder at the incomprehensible dials and switches.

"I haven't quite decided, I—"

The Doctor was interrupted by the loud thud of a body hitting the floor. Both of them looked up to see Zoe lying in a crumpled heap. Jamie and the Doctor immediately ran to her side.

"Jamie, help me move her to sick bay."

"Aye."

And by "help" he meant Jamie to do it himself, which of course Jamie was glad to do. He quickly scooped her up, anxiety roiling in his stomach. She looked so pale.

After Jamie laid her out on the examination pallet, the Doctor shooed him away. As the Doctor scanned Zoe, Jamie paced in the background. The Doctor complained after a few minutes.

"Jamie, please, you're making me nervous. Go sit down."

Jamie huffed and pulled up a stool and sat, arms crossed, one leg bouncing anxiously.

After what seemed like hours the Doctor straightened. Jamie perked up.

"Have ye figured out wha's wrong wi' her, Doctor?"

The Doctor sighed and rubbed his chin. "I'm not sure Jamie. Even though your rather archaic methods freed her it may take a little time for her to fully recover. If only I knew what exactly Chairman Babs had done to her then perhaps I could …" The Doctor tapped his lips with his finger. "Perhaps … yes … I could try that …"

Jamie rose and moved to the Doctor to grip his shoulder. "What? How do we find out if she doesn't remember what they did?"

"Bring Zoe back to the Control Room please, Jamie."

"A-aye." Jamie carefully picked her back up off the table. As he followed the Doctor to the Control Room he felt Zoe lift her head off his shoulder.

"Jamie … ?"

"Zoe! Ye're awake! Och, thank goodness! Ye had me worried, lass ..."

The Doctor pivoted back around. "Oh … ah … erm, this would have been easier if you'd stayed unconscious, my dear—but no matter, I think it will still work …"

Zoe let her head drop back onto Jamie's shoulder. "My head ..."

"Ye got a headache?"

"Well … not exactly. It just … feels heavy and there's a queer pressure in it … like ... like it's got too much information stuffed inside and it's ready to burst."

"Too much information? Jamie chuckled. "Your brain? Och, tha's nae possible."

Zoe managed to flash a weak smile up at him, some color returning to her cheeks.

"If you don't want to put her down, Jamie, I can try the experiment while you hold her, but I think she'd be much more comfortable in the chair, don't you?" the Doctor said dryly.

Flustered, Jamie hurried Zoe to the Jacobean chair and, after placing her in it, sat down on the Jacobean chest by it.

The Doctor came over to stand before Zoe with the thought pattern headpiece in one hand and his pocket watch in the other.

"Now Zoe, I am going to attempt to access your memories and find out just how they brainwashed you."

"But I don't remember what happened after they put me in that ghastly machine, even the moments before are muddled."

"You do remember. Your eidetic memory recorded every detail, but you're suppressing it. So, now, I'm going to perform a little hypnosis—with your permission, of course—and we'll see what we'll see, eh?"

Zoe looked uncertain. She glanced at Jamie, then back at the Doctor, then nodded.

The Doctor passed the thought pattern headpiece to Jamie to hold then he turned back to Zoe.

He dangled the watch in front of her face. "Now, watch the watch." The Doctor gave a little giggle. "'Watch the watch' …"

"Doctor," Jamie ground out.

"Yes, yes."

Zoe's eyes followed the swing of the timepiece.

"You are getting sleepy …"

…..

Once the Doctor saw that Zoe had slipped into the trance he began to ask a few control questions.

"What is your full name?"

"Zoe Iolanthe Heriot."

Jamie did not like her blank stare, it was too reminiscent of her brainwashed look.

"What is the formula for calculating the operating speed of the TARDIS?"

"Veff = d/t, effective velocity of the TARDIS exterior equals displacement of TARDIS exterior over time for TARDIS exterior to be displaced by the displacement of the TARDIS exterior."

The Doctor clapped his hands, quite pleased with himself.

"Oh, I feel like a stage magician! Or like the great Mesmer!"

"Doctor."

"Oh, right, sorry—back to, ah, the task at hand. Now, Zoe, I need you to put your mind back to … let's see … twenty-four hours? … Replay your memory from there, just picture it in your mind, no need to speak."

The screen slowly flickered to life. Jamie got up from the chest and moved to get a closer look.

The view was from Zoe's perspective. A cold, empty room with a table and a book in front of her. Zoe was reading out loud:

"When God created woman He created the most perfect, the most noble being of all, and the most noble of them all is our glorious Chairman Babs to whom we owe everything …"

There was a clicking sound and the voice of former Chairman Babs was heard. The Doctor shivered. He had hoped never to hear that voice again.

"Sisters? Sisters, we are pleased with your work. Zoe, you seem to be making fine progress. Carry on with your lesson."

Silence from Zoe.

"I said, carry on, child!"

"No."

"What?"

"Oh, I can't! It's ridiculous! Every word of it! I've never heard so much rubbish in my life!"

The woman who was now Chairman Nora came into view. "Stop, Zoe! Please, just do as she says, for your own sake."

"No! It's no good! I don't believe a word of it. Your glorious chairman Babs is a fake! An old killjoy who's taken all the fun out of life!"

Jamie let out a delighted snicker. "Oh ho! Tha's tellin' her, Zoe!"

But Zoe was not done.

"Men and women are different—that is a fact, but it's a false dichotomy to conclude that one has a lesser or greater value than the other as a result. Men and women need each other! And I can say for one that my life has been better for having Jamie and the Doctor in it!"

Proud smiles blossomed on both Jamie and the Doctor's faces. Jamie even blushed a little.

"Good girl, Zoe," the Doctor murmured.

"That's enough! Turn it off!" They heard Babs yell, then the mic was shut off.

Nora hovered over Zoe. "Zoe, why did you do that?"

"Because it's true! I will not be party to these destructive false narratives your 'beloved Chairman' Babs is pushing. It's wrong!"

"She's too wicked to be saved," Sister Minnie hissed off screen.

A crackling again and the voice of Sister Mavis was heard this time.

"Bring the corrupt one up to the control room."

The Doctor and Jamie watched as Zoe's views shifted along corridors until she was brought into the control room.

Looming large in the room was a highly polished, tall, silver cylinder—just the right size to encase a person. There was a door in the front; lights and controls on the door formed what might have been a monstrous, grinning face. Whatever this shimmering, silver technology, it was something diabolical.

"Wha' is that?"

"That is the Silver Maiden Nora mentioned," the Doctor answered gravely. "A very powerful brain washing tool."

The Silver Maiden loomed closer as Zoe was dragged to its yawning door. Sisters Minnie and Mavis looked on from the side, undisguised malicious pleasure on their faces. Nora was the only one who looked concerned.

"Let go of me! Leave me alone!"

Nora humbly asked Chairman Babs for just a little more time to rehabilitate Zoe.

"After what she said about me?" Babs huffed.

"We warned you not to say such things," Sister Minnie crowed at Zoe, "and now you're going to pay for it!"

"You'll have to catch me first!"

Zoe's perspective suddenly reeled as she twisted nimbly to throw one guard over her shoulder and kick the other, sending her flying into Chairman Babs.

Jamie's mouth dropped. "S-Since when could she do tha'?"

The Doctor looked equally surprised. "I saw her defeat the Karkas in a similar way in the Land of Fiction, but I assumed it was because she knew his character and thus had some sort of power over him … But I guess her skills are real."

Captain Mavis leveled her gun at Zoe, but Zoe karate-chopped it out of her hand.

"Och, tha's sexy…"

The Doctor whipped around to stare at Jamie in blank surprise, his eyebrows disappearing into his fringe. The Highlander blinked and blushed, putting a hand on his mouth. "I-I mean, I … it-it-it jist popped out . . ."

"And where did you learn that word?" The Doctor asked, his expression vacillating between shock and amusement.

Jamie self-consciously rubbed the back of his neck. "Weel, I … Ben."

"Ah ... of course." A fond, wistful smile tugged at the Doctor's lips as he recalled the way Ben's eyes used to linger on his "duchess" when he thought she was not looking.

The Doctor turned his attention back to the screen.

All levity was soon gone as Zoe appeared to be running up a set of stairs. The watching pair then heard the sound of a stun gun going off followed by Zoe's cry of pain. The view of the stairs upended as she went tumbling down them. The screen went dark—Zoe must have lost consciousness right then. When the view flickered back on Zoe was inside the Silver Maiden.

"What degree should the Maiden be set to, Chairman Babs?"

"Number Six."

Sister Nora's muffled voice protested. "We all know what the Silver Maiden can do, you don't need to prove a point by setting it that high!"

"I also know what this girl can do. Power on!"

A malevolent hum was heard and Sister Mavis's vindictive face peered in through the glass

Jamie tensed and turned to glance back at Zoe to remind himself that she had come out okay in the end—well, relatively okay …

Zoe was pounding against the door with her fists but they could not hear her.

"She's still resisting," Mavis said, grudgingly impressed.

"Then increase to full power!"

"Might I remind you," came Nora's voice, "the machine could destroy her brain cells and leave her a mindless vegetable!"

"She must be made to submit! Full power!"

Through Zoe's vantage point through the glass, they could see Sister Nora look away while Mavis and Minnie watched eagerly. Steam then clouded up the window obscuring everything. All that was left was the audio of the working of the machine and Zoe's screams, then the screen went dark and stayed dark.

The Doctor sighed. "Well, that's it, I suppose."

Jamie felt a throbbing pain in his hands; he looked down and opened them to see angry red marks in his palms, made by his own fingernails.

"I should'hae been there …" he said, his voice shaking, the sound of Zoe's screams still ringing in his ears. "I should'hae protected her."

"Even if we had known what they were doing to Zoe, there was nothing either of us could have done!" The Doctor snapped, his own thoughts mirroring Jamie's feelings. "We were trapped in that blasted space prison."

Jamie began to pace again, "And then I spanked her like a naughty bairn as if she knew what she was sayin' … if I had known wha' she'd gone through, I'd hae been more patient …"

"Not your finest hour, I admit, but it worked; you did save her."

The Doctor turned back to Zoe and brought her out of the trance. Zoe's eyes fluttered open.

"Were you able to see what you needed?"

The Doctor steepled his fingers. "Ah, well, yes, we were able to access your memories to an extent, but unfortunately I'm still none the wiser. I do have some thoughts though …"

But Zoe was no longer listening, she was glancing over the Doctor's shoulder at Jamie standing a few feet behind, looking morose.

"What's wrong with him?"

The Doctor waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, he's feeling bad again for, ah, well you know ..."

Zoe rose, a little unsteadily, to her feet and approached the Highlander.

"Jamie …" But the boy would not look at her. He raised his hands and spun away, looking shamefaced and muttering that he did not want to talk about it.

Zoe blew at her bangs in frustration and followed him down the corridor.

She cornered Jamie in the kitchenette, rummaging through the cabinets, fiddling with tea things.

"Would you feel better if I spanked you? Then we'd be even."

Jamie jumped and whirled around to see Zoe with her hand poised and a wicked smile on her face. He pressed his back against the pantry door.

"Don't ye dare!"

Zoe burst out laughing.

"Oh, Jamie, if you could see your face! As if I'd seriously … !" She then doubled over, peals of laughter bouncing off the walls.

Jamie glared at first but as he watched her enjoy her joke, he could not help but smile himself. It was good to see her laugh again, even if it was at his own expense.

"Ye had me goin' for a minute there, lass."

Zoe continued to chuckle, but then, as he watched, her smile faded and her eyes lost focus.

Jamie just managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

…..

The Doctor and Jamie stared down at Zoe lying in her bed, brows knitted. The Doctor passed the scanner over her form, looking grave.

"I thought she was better," Jamie said.

The Doctor did not comment but reached down to gently brush the fringe out of Zoe's eyes. Her face screwed up but her eyes remained closed.

"Don't touch me . . . inferior . . ." She croaked. Jamie reared back in alarm and looked to the Doctor.

"Don't worry," he said, passing the scanner over her again. "It's not a relapse, just a little residue.

"The Silenski capsule implant from her time in the Wheel saved her from the Silver Maiden's full power. Now it's trying to assist her mind in deprogramming itself from what's left of the brainwash. The side effect of the effort is what, I think, is causing these physical symptoms. It's a bit like the appearance of a fever as the immune system is fighting off a virus. As I said, though . . . these are just the physical repercussions, who knows what the emotional may be. The physical effect should not last too long, maybe another twenty-four hours. She needs rest to heal, but unfortunately, sleep is also when her mind is at its most vulnerable."

"No . . . let me out …" Zoe moaned.

Jamie's heart squeezed in anguish as he remembered the vision of her thought patterns and was again overcome with the maddening feeling of helplessness and anger.

"Can ye nae give her anythin' tae calm her doon?"

"No. I'm loath to introduce anything else into her system right now."

Beads of sweat appeared on Zoe's forehead. Jamie instinctively reached out to feel her skin for fever.

Zoe suddenly stopped tossing, seeming to settle under Jamie's touch.

The Doctor tilted his head, observing them both with a look of bemusement. He tapped his lips. "Hm . . . ah-ha. . ."

Jamie frowned at him "Wha'? Wha' are ye ah-ha-ing aboot? Yer ah-ha's make me nervous."

"I can't possibly imagine why. Now, Jamie, I have a theory: Zoe's freedom came through your application of force and shock, right?"

Jamie grimaced. "Aye."

"So, perhaps—and I know this may sound a bit crazy—but, perhaps the opposite will be the engine of her recovery."

"The opposite? Wha' d'ye mean?"

The Doctor rubbed his forehead, then wearily ran his hands down lined his face. "Oh, I haven't really thought it out much further than that. Maybe I'm on the wrong tack. I must get some sleep or I shall be of no help to anybody, let alone Zoe. Good night, Jamie. Good luck."

Jamie stood looking from the sleeping girl to the Doctor leaving the room. "Ey? I—Doctor!" Jamie jogged over to the threshold. He called after the Doctor's retreating back. "Wha ... wha' am I supposed tae do?" But the Doctor raised a weary hand without turning around.

Jamie huffed and crossed his arms leaning against the door post, his back to the room.

A whimper suddenly came from Zoe. Jamie immediately returned to her side. Zoe was asleep, but seemingly only just. She was tossing again, her face pale and screwed up as if in pain.

Jamie bit his lip as he looked down at her, racking his brain.

The opposite of force.

What was the opposite of force?

… Tenderness.

Zoe was shivering now, almost violently. Tears were slipping out from underneath her full lashes.

Reservations be damned, Zoe needed him.

With the determined look of a man preparing for battle Jamie pulled back the covers, eased himself down next to her and arranged blankets back over them both. He drew Zoe to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her shaking frame.

Almost immediately her body relaxed. With this confirmation that he was on the right track, Jamie relaxed a bit, too.

Suddenly, Zoe sighed and wrapped her arms around his midsection.

"Jamie …" she murmured.

A wave of heat swept through him. No, this had been a bad idea, after all. If he extricated himself would her distress start all over again?

"Thank you…" Zoe mumbled against his chest. Jamie lifted his head to get a better look at her. The peace on Zoe's sleeping face caused him to relent again. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He hoped the remainder of her sleep would be restful, because his certainty wouldn't.

What if this ruined her reputation? Jamie turned that thought over in head:

To have a reputation you would need a village, a society in whose eyes it would be ruined. There was no village or society here to answer to, no tongues to wag. Just the Doctor and himself … and he certainly didn't think any less of her.

Zoe whimpered again. Jamie stroked her hair.

"Wheesht, lass. It's alreeght."

…..

"Zoe! It's you! Wha' are ye doin' in tha' get up?"

Zoe looked blankly at the inferior.

"Zoe, it's me, Jamie! Don't jist stand there, get me out of here before it's too late."

"I know no Jamie," she heard herself saying, "I only know my orders." She leveled her laser gun at him. "Try to escape and I'll shoot you … shoot you … shoot you!"

Jamie took a cautious step forward. "I dinnae know what they've done tae ye lass, but—"

Zoe pulled the trigger and the laser hit him square in the chest.

Jamie fell to the ground, his body sprawled out, eyes open, unseeing. Just like Dr. Corwyn.

A scream of horror and grief built in Zoe's throat but for some reason it would not go past her lips; there was no breath left in her body with which to scream.

Her body spasmed, her eyes flew open and she gasped.

"Jamie!"

"Wha'?! Wha' is it?"

Zoe stared wide-eyed up at the Highlander sitting bolt upright beside her, dirk at the ready, scanning the dark for enemies, his sleep-tousled hair comically belying his fierce warrior's pose.

"Oh, Jamie!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck with the desperation of a drowning person coming upon a life preserver. She was surprisingly strong, though perhaps Jamie should not be so surprised, given her display of athleticism earlier.

"Zoe, I cannae breathe!"

"I didn't want to shoot you!"

"Ey? Ye didnae shoot me …"

"I didn't?"

Jamie shook his head.

Relief flooded her senses; it had only been a nightmare. "Oh, thank goodness … I thought …" she clutched her hands to her head. "Oh, everything's a mess!"

"Ye did try …"

So it had not been just a dream, it had been blended in with a partial memory of her time under the influence of the Silver Maiden. Zoe's face crumpled and she began to sob in earnest.

"Oh, Jamie, I'm so sorry!"

"Och, nae I'm sorry. I shouldnae hae told ye." Jamie tsked at himself then put his arms around her, easing her back down the bed. "Whessht, now," he crooned. "Dinnae fash yerself. Shhh."

Zoe's cries eventually quieted and she tried going back to sleep, but within a few minutes she stirred again with a huff of frustration.

"It's no good, Jamie. Every time I close my eyes and begin to drift I hear their lies, like a recording I can't turn off. That probably doesn't make sense to you."

"I think I ken a wee bit o' wha' ye speak."

The young astrophysicist shifted to look at him in surprise. "You do?"

"Aye. My first night on the TARDIS … every time I closed my eyes I heard the sounds of battle: the guns and steel of Culloden, the …" Jamie paused to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. "The, uh, cries of my countrymen calling out for their mithers and wives as they lay dyin' …"

"Oh, how awful!" Zoe put a hand on his chest. Jamie's heart sped up, he hoped she did not feel it, but she had, and silently tucked that observation away in her mind.

"What did you do?"

"Do?"

"To drown out the voices."

"Not much I could do … Jist sing mesel' tae sleep."

"Sing yourself to sleep?" Zoe sounded a bit doubtful.

Jamie gave her an unamused look. "Ye needn't sound sae surprised, lassie, I can carry a fair tune."

Zoe's lips twitched. "What would you sing?"

"Weel … there was a song my mither used tae sing tae me, Cagaran Gaolach."

"Oh. Would you mind awfully singing it to me?"

Jamie looked at Zoe's upturned, tired face, shyly pleading.

"Alreeght …" Jamie nervously cleared his throat. It's, uh, it's in Gaelic."

Zoe made a noise of interest and waited.

"Weel, here goes …" Jamie closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Cagaran, cagaran, cagaran gaolach,

Cagaran laghach thu, fear dhe mo dhaoine,

Goididh egobhar dhomh, goididh e caoraich,

Goididh e sithean a innis an aonaich …"

Visions of his little cottage sprang before Jamie's eyes. Nights before a glowing peat fire in the hearth; the rhythmic pats of his mother's hand on his back in time to the lullaby—a lullaby that expressed the wish of a mother that her young son would grow up to be a strong man, one who would protect and provide …

"Cagaran, cagaran, cagan gaolach

Cagaran odhar na cloinneam mo dhaoine

Goiddh e gobhar dhomh, goididh e caoraich

Goididh e laos-buig air innis an aonaich …"

Zoe closed her eyes and breathed deeply. The song and the sensation of the weight of his arms around her gave her a surprising sense of comfort that seemed to settle deep in her core.

Zoe had never understood the concept of "belonging" before. When you were installed somewhere you did your job, and sometimes there were people around you that you had to interact with.

But life with the Doctor and Jamie was so different—so delightfully new in every way, and that included the sense of belonging that had eluded her before.

She belonged with them. They had become her family.

.., And the Silver Maiden had nearly destroyed all that.

Zoe shivered.

Jamie paused in his singing. "Are ye cold?" He asked, fussing with the blankets, making sure they were completely tucked around her back and shoulders.

"No, I'm fine. Please, continue."

"Cagaran, cagaran, cagaran gaolach

Cagaran laghach thu, cagaran gaol thu …"

Zoe smiled softly as she considered the Highlander; she thought of Jamie telling the Doctor she was irreplaceable. He would never really know how much that meant to her. She would never forget that moment as long as she lived . . .

Zoe snuggled closer, putting her free arm around his middle, and the other she curled up against his chest. Jamie's voice faltered for a moment. The simple gesture of trust and affection caused an answering warmth to blossom in his chest.

Jamie's hand slid up along her back until it reached the base of her neck. He buried his fingers in her hair at the nape, making calming, massaging movements. Zoe sighed and nestled her face deeper into him. He felt her body completely relax.

A sense of contentment settled deep within Jamie. It felt so strangely natural to be laying here like this, holding her.

"Cagaran, cagaran, cagaran gaolach,

Cagaran laghach thu, fear dhe mo dhaoine,

Goididh e gobhar dhomh, goididh e caoraich,

Goididh e sìthean a innis an aonaich …"

Jamie tilted his head to look at Zoe's face. Her eyes were closed, she was breathing evenly and deeply. His eyes dropped to her lips, slightly parted in sleep. Heat began to pool below his stomach.

Time to go, Jamie lad.

Jamie began to carefully extricate himself from Zoe's embrace. His friend made a noise of protest and grabbed his waist, pulling him against her. Jamie groaned and squeezed his eyes shut against a wave of desire. He was at his limit.

On his next attempt he was able to successfully escape her grasp and slid out of the bed. He looked down at her sleeping face a moment longer. He swept a hand over her hair, drawing back her fringe—then, on impulse, bent down and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Sleep well, Zoe."

…..

Jamie returned to his room, but he could not go back to sleep. He lay there, hands folded on his stomach, staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and, as he sometimes did, he tried to picture Victoria's face—for some reason it seemed desperately imperative that he do so.

But all he could see was Zoe.

…..