It only happened when he was alone, which seemed far too frequent an occurrence these days.

He would dream of being on Gallifrey, sometimes it would be the day of his wedding, other times it would be later on in his marriage, but each dream started out the same.

There would be soft music playing, the light would seem to indicate early evening and he'd have his wife in his arms while they slowly danced together.

The location varied. The most frequent setting was their chambers, but sometimes it would be the great meeting hall, empty save the two of them. The sounds of their soft familiar laughter at the joy of being together, more important than the almost unheard music.

Other times they were outside the Citadel, inexplicably dancing to the sounds of the wildlife around them. The Lerlskels singing in the background.

Even in his dream state The Doctor would think how much the Lerlskels resembled Cardinals, with the exception of being a flame orange inside of the deep red of the Earth birds. But their song was nothing the same, he would remember sadly.

Then something would interrupt the peaceful scene, sometimes it was a storm, soaking them and raging all around until they would have to break apart and seek shelter.

Other times it would be more sinister, the sound of bombs dropping, things exploding and his wife melting before his eyes.

Each time he'd wake from the dream, holding his pillows tightly to his chest as if unable or unwilling to let go of the memory of his wife. Her familiar scent, the warmth of her body still as real to him in those first waking moments. Until his rational mind kicked in, reminding him that his one true love was gone forever.

The dream served as a warning flag that he had spent too much time on his own, and he would go in search of his adopted family, the humans of Earth. Their noisy culture, their problems and his need to keep them safe would allow him to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Or so he hoped.