The Boy That Time Remembered

(Currently sleeping in a hammock in the console room)

ML: (Walks over to me and flips over the hammock, depositing me on the floor)

GAH! (Gets up from the floor) What the hell?!

ML: Time to get up-chazu.

Why are you doing this to me sis? Nande?

ML: Because without me you would never be able to do anything on time.

That is so not true! I do things on time!

ML: Do you want me to bring up Little Setsu-chan and Hetalia Meets Wikipedia?

(Winces) Alright, I get it. I am irresponsible and cannot manage my time correctly. Geez!

ML: Glad that you admitted it. Now go say hello to the nice people.

(Sighs) Fiiiiiiiine. (Turns to the audience and grins) Hello everyone! It's so good to see you guys again.

ML: I'm happy to see you all too- chazu.

Yep! And it is very endearing that some of you have decided to read this story. I'm getting warm feelings in my heart because of it.

ML: So far we have 8 reviews, 9 favs and 19 follows. Pretty good but I know we can do better!

That's right! I would like to give special thanks to Son of Whitebeard, Tornado123, Agent Q, slvrhvk, BlackJack, Charlie-BADWO_F, and Thunderstrike16 for their lovely reviews. And to entice all you lovely readers, here comes another chapter.

ML: On another note, we will be posting the first two chapters of The Boy That Time Remembered on A Teaspoon and an Open Mind.

You can view it under our other title, NanatheValkyrie295. Now that all of that is done, it's that time again. ML, do the thing!

ML: Taiyo-chan does not own Doctor Who. It is the property of the BBC, is run by Steven Moffat and I am sure Taiyo-chan does not want to go against their lawyers.

Hell no! Those lawyers are devils in disguise! But Steven Moffat is cool. (Pounds chest with fist and holds out two fingers) Respect to the Moff.

ML: (Repeats action) Respect to the Moff-chazu.

Enjoy everybody! Yoi ichinichi o!

Chapter 3: The Runaway Bride Part 1

"Tell me where I am! I demand you tell me right now where am I!"

"Inside the TARDIS."

"The what?"

"The TARDIS."

"The what?"

"The TARDIS!"

"The what?!"

"It's called the TARDIS!"

"That's not even a proper word! You're just saying things!"

Adric could only stare in helpless confusion as the Doctor and the mystery woman argued with each other. Even though he was really getting tired of feeling confused, he did not know what to do here. Neither of his Doctor's had been much for arguments. Sure, there were disagreements now and then, but not the type of volatile bickering that was happening before him. He was usually 'Now you listen to me young man.' and the like. And besides, he wasn't one for playing peacemaker. That was the Doctor's job. Or it used to be. Was it still?

He really hated being confused.

"I'm having the police on you! Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, we're going to sue the living backside off you!"

The Doctor looked like he was going to retort with a scathing insult of his own but Adric decided that it was time for him to step in. He stepped away from the doorway and walked determinedly up the grated walkway. "Doctor!"

The Doctor paused and turned, looking at Adric in surprise. "Adric! You're supposed to be sleeping!"

Adric barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. "Well apparently I'm not. And besides I don't need to sleep anymore. I've had enough rest for one lifetime."

"But still." The Doctor took on a concerned look as he walked towards Adric and put his hands on his shoulders. "You're not even supposed to be walking around yet."

"I'm fine, Doctor."

Unbeknownst to the two aliens, the mystery woman was slowly making her way around the castle before making a run for the door.

The Doctor noticed but was too late in his warning. "No, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Don't!"

The woman opened the doors to the TARDIS and immediately stopped dead. The woman gasped and Adric couldn't blame her. A swirl of colors lay outside, stretching out on a fine black canvas that went on forever. Stars shone like beacons within the nebula, making the colors stand out even more. Adric was mesmerized as he looked at the sharp reds and fluorescent pinks. He didn't believe he would see a sight as wonderful ever again when he stood on the freighter. He didn't realize he had moved until he was standing in the doorway of the TARDIS, the Doctor standing between him and the woman.

"You're in space." The Doctor put his hands in his pockets. "Outer space. This is my space ship. It's called the TARDIS."

"...How am I breathing?"

"The TARDIS is protecting us." The Doctor waved one of his hands in an all-composing gesture. "Shielding us from falling into space."

The woman took in a shaky breath. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"What about him?" she asked, gesturing towards the young man who appeared out of nowhere.

"Hmm?" The Doctor turned towards him. "That's Adric."

"I can introduce myself well enough Doctor." Adric groused.

"Of course you can, Adric." The Doctor smiled softly at him before turning back to the woman. "And you. What's your name?"

"Donna." The woman tilted her chin upwards. "Donna Noble."

"Human?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah." She eyed the Doctor. "Is that optional?"

The Doctor shrugged one shoulder. "Well it is for us."

"You?" Donna looked between the both of them rapidly. "You're both aliens?"

"Yes." Adric cut in before the conversation could go on any longer than it already has. "We are."

The three of them continued to stare off into the bright nebula before them, letting the information exchanged sink in. A few moments later, the silence was finally broken by Donna. "It's freezing with these doors open." She stated, wrapping her arms around herself.

The Doctor nodded and reached out to close the doors of the TARDIS. He turned and quickly made his way back to the control console. Adric hurriedly followed after him and Donna slowly walked after them, still nervous about the aliens before her.

"Right." The Doctor started to pace the console. "I don't understand that and I understand everything. This- this can't happen!"

"What can't happen, Doctor?" Adric asked him, watching him as he began to rapidly manipulate the controls.

"Her!" the Doctor gestured towards Donna. "There is no way a human being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be-!"

The Doctor reached into a tool belt on the edge of the console, pulled out an ophthalmoscope and began to intently examine Donna in her eyes. She flinched back slightly.

"Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field?"

Adric perked up slightly. This, this was something that he can understand better. He can help with this. "Something might be pulling her into the alignment with the Chronon shells, Doctor?"

"Possibly." The Doctor took back the ophthalmoscope and pocketed it. "Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix?" he continued to mutter to himself, paying no heed to the increasingly annoyed woman before him. "Maybe…"

The Doctor's head snapped back from the force of the slap Donna delivered to him. Adric blinked rapidly in shock, his jaw dropping. It would occur to him later that he has seen the Doctor injured various other times but right now he was stuck on the sheer audacity (or bravery) that she had to just go and slap him like that.

The Doctor managed to snap himself out of his shock enough to incredulously ask "What was that for?!"

Donna glared at him furiously. "GET ME TO THE CHURCH!"

The Doctor was just seconds away from yelling back 'I don't want you here anyway!' but then he looked towards Adric. He subtlety reeled in his irritation at the situation and drew on his deep well of calm. He couldn't go on and start yelling things like that while Adric was here. He's supposed to be the adult. He must act responsibly.

'Must set a good example. Must set a good example. Must set…. Blimey, I feel like my fifth self again. And not in a good way!'

With great difficulty, he said calmly. "Fine. Alright. Where exactly is this wedding?" The other passengers blinked at his rapid mood change but Donna immediately started to rattle off the address. "Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England." Then she added in a scathing tone. "Earth. The Solar System."

Adric's head twisted around so fast he was surprised he didn't get a crick in his neck. His hands gained a slight tremble. He could hear the displaced bride accusing the Doctor of kidnapping others as she found a blouse on the railings. But right now he did not care because she said Earth. His head started to get dizzy.She said that she was fromEarth.

"Earth?" His throat was painfully dry as he voiced his question. "You said you were from Earth?"

Donna looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and irritation. "Well of course I'm from Earth! All humans come from Earth, Star Boy!"

But that was impossible, that was so impossible. She could not have come from the planet Earth because the Earth was gone. It had been destroyed in the 20th century, when he had failed to save it from the crashing freighter ship that he stayed behind on to stop. The way Donna acted and her speech patterns implied that she came from the 20th century, possibly further in time. So how was it possible for her to exist if the Earth was gone? Adric reached for the railing, feeling as if his legs was about to give out again.

Then the TARDIS began to dematerialize, started to shake and he really had to hold onto the rails before he fell down.

Linebreak! Linebreak! –

"I said 'Saint Mary's'. What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?"

After a bumpy flight and landing (and really, has the Doctor actually gotten worse at driving?), the three of them had landed in an alleyway. Adric had taken one look around and felt himself driven into shock. It looked so much different than the picture that Tegan had described to him and Nyssa on some occasions. But he could see the tall buildings made of concrete and glass, the highway filled with cars and trucks. But the most important thing of all was that he could see living humans. He saw them walking down the pavements, busy in their own little lives, hear them talking to each other and just being.

Adric backed up slowly and pressed himself against the door of the TARDIS. 'Am I hallucinating?' he thought to himself as he stared at the concrete below his feet. 'If I am, then it is a very nice hallucination.'

"Something's wrong with her." Adric lifted his head up and saw the Doctor dash back into the TARDIS, while Donna stayed outside. "The TARDIS, it's like she's recalibrating!" his voice echoed from within the depths of the TARDIS. While the Doctor continued to babble explanations to himself, Donna began to make a slow circuit around the disguised ship. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as she continued her actions, becoming more surprised by the second. Honestly, didn't she understand already? It was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. Big deal, though a part of himself was telling him that these thoughts were due to a combination of fatigue and too many shocks. Adric thunked the back of his head on the TARDIS and closed his eyes, trying to fend off the emerging migraine.

"Adric!" Adric's eyes snapped open and he caught sight of Donna putting her hands up to cover her mouth before the Doctor emerged from the depths of the TARDIS. He stops and looks at Adric with worry. "Are you alright, Adric?" He reached forward to rest a hand on Adric's forehead. Adric shivered at how cold it felt. "Not getting sick, are you?"

Adric pushed the hand away. "I'm okay Doctor." He ignored the migraine and looked over the Doctor's shoulder. "Doctor, is she supposed to be walking away like that?" The Doctor turned around and saw the bride walking rapidly out of the alleyway.

"Donna!" He grabbed Adric's arm and steered them both to the escaping woman. They caught up with her and kept in step. "Donna."

"Leave me alone." Donna determinedly ignored the man beside her as she continued to walk away. "I just want to get married."

"Come back to the TARDIS." The Doctor tried to persuade her, gesturing backwards to the blue box.

Donna shook her head resolutely. "No way. That box is too weird."

"Oh come on." Adric voiced his own opinions on the matter. "It's bigger on the inside, that is all." It was as simple as that. Why did people always overreact when they go inside the TARDIS? By all things considered, it was not the strangest thing that could exist in the universe.

"Oh! That's all?" Donna mocked back at him before glancing down at her wrist watch. "Ten past three. I'm going to miss it."

"You can phone them. Tell them where you are." The Doctor suggested.

Donna looked at him. "How do I do that?"

"Haven't you got a mobile?"

Donna snorted. "I'm in my wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting at Chez Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me pockets!" she was yelling by the end of her rant and gesturing madly.

A moment of silence descended before-

"What's a mobile?" Adric asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The Doctor scratched the back of his head while Donna stared at him.

"You don't know what a mobile is?" Donna rested her fists against her hips. "You're some kind of advanced alien or whatever and you don't know what a mobile is, Star Boy?"

"Well excuse me for not living up to your expectations on how alien encounters should be! You're not exactly a dream come true." The young Alzarian let his irritation get the better of him, hiding the slight embarrassment he was feeling at not knowing something. Adric frowned then repeated. "Star Boy?"

"Alright. That's enough." The Doctor interrupted before the argument could continue. He turned to Donna. "This man you're marrying? What's his name?"

"Lance."

"Good luck, Lance." The Doctor muttered under his breath and grinned when that managed to bring a tiny smile to Adric's face. Unfortunately for him, Donna saw his grin.

"Oi!" She stalked up to him and poked a finger sharply into his chest. "No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married. To hell with you!" With that, she turned around and continued walking to the street.

The Doctor opened and closed his mouth rapidly. "I'm – I'm not- I'm not from Mars."Without looking, he grabbed Adric by the arm again and pulled him along in Donna's direction.

"Doctor?" Adric was starting to deflate slightly now that the argument had stopped. The Doctor stopped and looked down at him. "Are you sure we should keep following her? It looks like she can take care of herself just fine."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, Adric. Something caused her to appear on the TARDIS. She didn't do it by herself. And whatever caused it may still be keeping track of her. So we have to make sure that whatever that is does not do anything more to her. Understand?" Adric nodded slightly. "Good." The Doctor smiled brightly at him. "Now come on, we need to catch up with her."

While they ran up to the bride, Adric kept thinking. 'When this kind of stuff happened to people, when he was in the body I met him in, he wouldn't have taken all of this effort to watch over them. And even in his next body, he would not have stayed with them the entire time. He would have just run off to stop the impending danger and would only pop back to tell the people it was over and done with. He didn't really take the time to get to know the people.'

The two aliens managed to reach the street where Donna was attempting to catch a ride to the church, although with very little success.

"Taxi!" Donna threw her hand up into the air but the vehicle drove past her. Donna lowered her hand and wondered "Why's his light on?"

"There's another one!" The Doctor pointed towards another incoming taxi.

"Taxi! Oi!" The bride to be tried to hail another ride but this one ignored her just like the first one. And the next one did the same thing. Adric stared, confused by this human activity.

"Do you have this effect on everyone?Why aren't they stopping?" the Doctor wondered as they were routinely ignored by the drivers.

"They think I'm in fancy dress." Donna despaired.

"Stay off the sauce, darling!" Another driver shouted at the trio.

"They think I'm drunk."

"You're fooling no one, mate!" One more driver states.

"They think I'm in drag." Now Donna just sounded insulted. Adric blinked in confusion.

"What is drag?" he asked. Donna stared at him while the Doctor decided that yes, time to solve the transportation problem because he was most definitely not having that conversation with his teenage companion anytime soon. Or perhaps never at all.

The Doctor raised his hand. "Hold on, hold on." He put two fingers to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle that had Adric reach up to cover his ears. Tires squealing had him look up and catch sight of a taxi screeching to a halt in front of them.

Several minutes later they were unceremoniously tossed out of the taxi and left standing on the curb.

"And that goes double for your mother!" As Donna continued to scream abuse at the taxi driver, Adric was left to wonder if there was something in the atmosphere that caused humans to act so irrational and/or emotional. It would certainly explain a lot. He sighed heavily and rested his head against a pole, wondering if he would be able to get away with staying right in this spot.

"Come on, Adric!" Apparently not as the Doctor appeared out of nowhere and began herding him in another direction. "Where are we going?" he asked as he tried to keep up. How could the man run so much?

"Money." The Doctor replied. "We need money for a cab. Donna's trying to phone somebody to tell them she's alright."

Adric's eyebrows furrowed when they came to a line for a machine implanted into a wall. "Are you sure that it's a good idea to leave her alone like that?"

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively as he waited impatiently for the ATM. "It's all right. What's the worst that could happen?"

Linebreak! Linebreak! -

"You were saying?!" Adric shouted as they tore through the crowd, dodging civilians who rushed for the banknotes flitting in the air.

"No time for arguments, we gotta go now!" the Doctor shouted back as they rushed back into the TARDIS. The Doctor began pulling levers and Adric only just managed to grab onto the railing before he was sent sprawling onto the platform. The engines churned while the Doctor looked at the monitor screen.

"Where is she, where is she?" the Doctor chanted as he stared at the screen. A sudden beeping had him shouting "Aha!" and pulling another lever on the control panel. The TARDIS lurched and Adric lost his footing, falling to the ground, still clinging to the railing. Sparks shot out of the console.

"Behave!" The Doctor admonished while he hit the console with a hammer he pulled out. Adric stared in disbelief.

"Why the hell did you hit the console?! And where did that hammer even come from?!" he gestured at the tool in question with one hand.

"It works!" The Doctor replied, returning to the controls.

"That wasn't really an answer! And you didn't even answer my second question!"

"Never mind that, come hold the controls for me!" The Doctor answered back and gestured for Adric to come over. Adric looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"What?!"

"Just come on!" With a weary sigh, Adric slowly got up and made his way to where the Doctor was standing. He had to be careful because the TARDIS was still moving around erratically. When he finally reached the controls, the Doctor pointed to a specific lever.

"Here's the control lever! Hold onto it and keep us steady!" The Doctor instructed, waiting for Adric to grip the lever before rushing to the doors. They open and Adric got a good view of the score of cars rushing on the roadway. He valiantly resisted the urge to bang his head on the console.

The Doctor leaned out of the open doors. "Open the door!" he shouted at the taxi across from him.

"Do what?" He could hear Donna answer back.

"Open the door!"

"I can't, it's locked!" The Doctor solved that problem by pulling out his sonic screwdriver. Donna managed to get the window open.

"Santa's a robot!" she despaired.

"Donna, open the door." The Doctor called out.

"What for?"

"You've got to jump!"

"I'm not blinking flip jumping. I'm supposed to be getting married!"

'Is getting married really that important to her?' Adric thought to himself as he kept the TARDIS steady. He didn't ponder it any further as the taxi accelerated away from them, taking Donna with it.

"Adric, after them!" The Doctor shouted. Adric pulled the control lever and, with several bangs coming from the console, the TARDIS gave chase. Sparks rose up from the console. Adric hissed when some of them stung his hands. He fought to hold on when they bounced off the roof of another car. After several moments, he managed to level them next to the taxi and the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to stop the robot driver.

"Listen to me! You've got to jump!" The Doctor shouted at Donna again.

"I'm not jumping on a motorway!"

"Whatever that thing is, it needs you." The Doctor tried to reason with her. "And whatever it needs you for, it's not good! Now, come on!"

"I'm in my wedding dress!" Donna despaired.

"IS THAT REALLY THE MOST DISTRESSING PIECE OF INFORMATION HERE?!" Adric shouted at her from the console. Sparks flew again.

"Yes, you look lovely! Come on!" The Doctor tried reasoning once more.

Reluctantly, Donna opened the taxi door and looked out the speeding motorway. The Doctor held his hand out to her. Her terrified eyes met the Doctor's.

"I can't do it!" She shouted.

"Trust me."

"Is that what you said to her? Your friend? The one you lost?" Donna yelled and Adric was suddenly very interested in what was being said between the two adults. "Did she trust you?"

'Who?' Adric thought in confusion. He vividly remembers the scene he came upon in this room, before Donna made her surprise appearance. Of the Doctor, with tears choking up his voice, wishing a goodbye to a faint image of a woman, her form shattering with static.

"And I suppose….since this is my last chance to say it...Rose Tyler...I-"

Those words were expelled from his mouth, like it filled him with a grievous pain to even consider saying them at all. And what a strange concept it was, the Doctor he knew before (number 4 and 5) were not ones for emotional displays, not ones who talked about their feelings with other people. But this Doctor…. It was like he couldn't keep his feelings to himself. It just spewed out of him, like an errant fire hydrant broken on a street corner.

"Yes she did." The Doctor was speaking again. His voice was softer now, filled with an undertone Adric couldn't quite describe. "And she is not dead. She is so alive. Now, jump!"

That last word was shouted loudly and Donna, with one final look at the road, took a deep breath, screwed her eyes shut, and jumped right into the TARDIS. The Doctor caught her and both adults landed roughly on the floor of the console room. Adric finally lifted the lever up and the TARDIS doors shut, the ship lifting them away from Robo-Santa and his Taxi of Doom.

Adric almost wished he was back in Castrovalva. Surely that time wasn't as stressful as now.

Linebreak! Linebreak! -

The Doctor gave several more bursts from the fire extinguisher before it finally gave out. The three of them had landed on a rooftop in an area called Shoe Lane. After rescuing Donna, the TARDIS had only managed to last only several more minutes before problems started to arise.

And then the console burst into flames.

So there they were, Adric and Donna standing on a rather dirty roof while the Doctor took care of the fire. Adric looked somewhat frazzled, his hair sticking up in several places and shirt bearing several burnt patches. He had several more tiny burns on the palms of his hands.

Donna looked rather traumatized.

Donna's dress, on the other hand, somehow managed not to take any sort of damage, staying as pristine as when she first arrived.

Adric could feel the migraine building in the back of his head again, just waiting to burst out.

The Doctor finally stopped with the fire extinguisher and tossed it to the side. "The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying." He took a quick peek into the TARDIS and grimaced. "We'd better give her a couple of hours." He turned to his two companions. "You two all right?"

"You know, Doctor." Adric started slowly. His voice was strangely calm. "I thought our adventures from before were the epitome of crazy. The Three Who Rule, who were essentially vampire astronauts, and the Great Vampire who you killed with a rocket. The Master destroying a part of the universe. Then that same man kidnapping me and using me as a living battery. The Kinda, who I dearly wish hadn't existed."

Donna had snapped out of her funk when the words 'vampire astronauts' escaped his mouth. She was now staring at him in disbelief. The Doctor was looking at Adric with some worry.

"Then there was the deal with the Scientifica. The time I had to travel through a warzone located on an atom. And I don't even want to get into the insanity that was Mauritz. All of that has occurred, so I shouldn't even be surprised by what happens to you or around you anymore."

"And yet." Adric felt a twitch move up his spine. "Somehow, you have managed to surprise me once again by the insanity that inhabits your life. That entire chase was absolutely crazy. You are absolutely crazy."

Several seconds after that statement, Adric grinned at the Doctor. "And I absolutely love it!" he finished.

The Doctor grinned back and patted Adric firmly on the shoulder. "Thatta boy, Adric! Nerves of steel, you have!" Adric wouldn't really call it nerves of steel, more like 'very assimilated' to the crazy that he's not prone to freak outs anymore. But he took the compliment in stride, cheeks flushing from both the praise and the adrenaline high still burning in his veins.

The Doctor turned back to Donna, who had gone back to morose once more. "How about you? Are you all right?"

"Doesn't matter." she replied quietly.

"Did we miss it?"

"Yeah." she answered sadly.

The Doctor fidgeted a little. "Well, you can book another date."

"Course we can."

"You've still got your honeymoon."

"It's just a holiday now."

Adric shifted nervously at the gloomy tone in Donna's voice. "For what it's worth, we're sorry that you missed it." he told her gruffly. He didn't apologize often, but she looked so sad that he felt the need to say something.

Donna waved off the apology. "It's not your fault."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Oh? That's a change." Adric felt his lips twitch at the comment.

Donna sighed. "Wish you had a time machine." she said, glancing at the Doctor. "Then we could go back and get it right."

"Yeah, yeah." The Doctor agreed nervously. "But, even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline." Donna gave him a mildly suspicious look. "Apparently."

Adric gave the Doctor a questioning glance but the man only gestured for him to remain quiet on the subject. Ah, no telling her about the time travel. At least, not yet.

Donna sighed tiredly and wandered to the edge of the roof, sitting down with a huff. Her dress was spread out across her lap, her veil perched precariously on her head, red hair in disarray. The Doctor sat on her right side while Adric, after a few seconds of hesitation, took a seat on her left. The Doctor shrugged off his suit jacket and put it around Donna's shoulders.

"God, you're skinny." Donna complained, clutching the jacket closer to herself. "This wouldn't fit a rat."

The Doctor huffed in amusement. "Oh and you'd better put this on." He reached into a suit pocket and pulled out a gold ring.

"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" Donna groaned. Adric rolled his eyes at her.

"It's not like he's purposely trying to." he grumbled. Donna shot a half-hearted glare at him.

"Those creatures could trace you. This is a bio-damper." The Doctor held up the ring. "Should keep you hidden." He reached over and slotted the ring onto her hand.

"With this ring, I thee bio-damp." he said with mild amusement. Donna huffed.

"For better or for worse." Adric snickered.

"In sickness and in health." he added. They all sniggered at that line.

Donna shoved the Doctor lightly. "So, come on then. Robot Santas, what are they for?"

"Ah." The Doctor nodded his head. "Your basic robo scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. I met them last Christmas."

"Why, what happened then?" Donna asked.

The Doctor looked at her funny. "Great big spaceship hovering over London? You didn't notice?"

Donna shrugged lightly. "I had a bit of a hangover."

Adric looked at her in disbelief. "You missed an alien invasion because of a hangover?" he questioned. "What in the world were you doing the night before?"

"Quiet, you." Donna shot back.

"Now calm down, you two." The Doctor mollified the both of them. He pointed at an apartment building several dozen yards away. "I spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate, with …." Here the Doctor paused for several seconds before he continued. "This family. My friend, she had this family. Well, they were. Still, gone now."

Adric glanced worriedly at the Doctor when he made that pause but didn't say anything. This friend the Doctor had lost was like an overarching shadow to him. Even when the man was able to shift through conversations and actions without a shred of difficulty, there was still a certain dimness to his expressions that told Adric that he was hurting. Hurting very badly. He picked at a loose string on his shirt.

He remembered how the Doctor was when Romana and K-9 left with the Tharils in E-Space. Oh, the man had still been the manic, adventure-chasing individual that he met those many months ago. But there had been an undercurrent of repressed emotion. He hadn't noticed it the first time around as he was too busy feeling bitter with the Doctor's condescending attitude. And after he regenerated, he had to deal with him being an entirely new person and the shouting matches with Tegan every other day. Nyssa had been alright. She was an intelligent individual whom he could discuss science and math in depth with.

But she had been an intruder. She and Tegan both were intruders to the careful balance the Doctor and he cultivated for themselves. And he had never quite forgiven them for doing so.

Adric looked forward, observing the London skyline. The buildings rose up from the ground like weeds of stone and metal. The sky was a calm cerulean, the clouds pick-pocketing the edges.

At least until he was seconds from death, where he realized just how futile those feelings were. How they meant nothing in the wake of the end.

He tuned back into the conversation happening between the two adults, catching the tail-end of Donna's sentence. "...of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy."

"Yeah. I'm not from Mars." The Doctor reiterated.

Adric blinked. "Consequences? What in the world for? You literally disappeared into thin air. How is any of that your fault?"

"Yeah, well, they're not going to see it like that, Star Boy." Donna answered. "If I go back there, fine as rain, everyone's probably gonna think it was some trick or something. Me trying to get some more attention"

"That makes no sense." Adric deadpanned.

"Just let it go, Adric." The Doctor reached over and patted the young male on the shoulder. "Humans are rather illogical like that."

"I've figured that out ages ago, Doctor." Adric replied. "No need to remind me of the fact."

Donna sighed gustily. "Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's going to be heartbroken."

(Slides to the floor) Okay, this time. This time I am dead, for real.

ML: (Rolls her eyes) No, you're not. You're just being overdramatic again. I know that you nearly have the next chapter for Jack and His Kin done. Along with Dealing with a Teenaged Squirrel Girl and Blue Cross High. So really, suck it up- chazu.

(Glares at ML) Bitch. (Sighs and gets up from the wall) Oh well, I guess you're right.

ML: You say that like it's surprising-chazu.

Quiet you! (Turns to readers) Alright then! I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter. I'm on summer break right now so I shouldn't have too much trouble updating right now. So check my profile for updates when you can. Cause right now? I'm going to sleep. It's past midnight for me right now and I have to wake up for work in the morning. So for all of you midnight readers, I hope you enjoy this. Oyasumi!

ML: Oyasumi nasai, minna-san.