Author's Note: Alright, last chapter! Thanks for sticking with me through this whole story! I have the next one written and should be posting it in the next week or so.

Chapter 12

"Rey…Rey…"

The voice was blurred, fuzzing at the edges. The world twisted around her in strange, shifting patterns of color and noise and schematics, flashing through her mind like afterimages. She was floating, floating on something as soft and fluffy as a cloud.

She tried to force her eyes open, but white light exploded in front of them. She squeezed them shut again with a little groan.

"Rey…"

Something cool touched her and she started and pulled away. Her eyes popped open to a blinding flash.

White. She was floating in white, surrounded by white. Everything was horribly, blindingly white.

Something moved at the edge of her vision and she tried to turn, tried to get a look at the amorphous shape. It twisted in her vision and seemed to double then blur together again as she tried to force her eyes to focus. Something tall and dark hovered over her, like a streak of black against the floating white.

She let out a little cry and fumbled for a weapon.

The creature morphed itself into something human-like. A face leaned toward her and she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.

He was blurry. But he was a person—he was—someone—

"D—oc—tor?" The word came out stilted and slurred and she licked her lips, swallowed, and tried again. "D—Doctor?"

"You're awake!" Even through the throbbing blur, she could see the grin that spread across his face. She reached out, searching vaguely for his hand or—or something. Something to tell her he was real and not the floating, blurry creature she'd seen a moment ago. "Iria! Iria, she's awake!" The dark streak that was the Doctor disappeared out of her vision, and she heard running footsteps.

Iria? Why did that name sound so familiar?

Two blurred faces appeared in her vision again, one of them female, blonde hair pulled back in a long straight ponytail.

She blinked and looked again.

"Irena?"

"Rey." Something cool touched her arm, and after a long moment, it registered that it was Irena's hand. "Thank the Spires."

Rey blinked and tried to look around again. White ceiling, white walls, and—she was laying in a bed of some kind, a blanket pulled up to her chest, the pillow fluffy-soft. Light filtered in through a window to her side, and she edged her head over to look.

Bright sunlight danced off of silver spires, which rose at varying lengths, some shooting toward the sky and some coming just to the level of the window. She squeezed her eyes shut, pain exploding in her head at the flashes of sunlight off metal.

"Where am I?" she managed as the pain faded.

"You're in the hospital ward on the Planet of Spires." It was Irena who spoke, a cool hand still resting on Rey's arm.

"Hospital?" Why was she…? "What happened?"

"You nearly killed yourself saving the Mariana," Irena said.

Rey turned her head just slightly to look at Irena, who sat just on the edge of her vision. Pain exploded in her temples at the movement and she tensed, biting her lip hard.

"You'll have a headache for a while yet." Irena's voice was clipped yet somehow kind. "We've got you on some painkillers and we want to keep you under observation for a bit to watch for any unexpected side effects."

Rey closed her eyes and tried to remember. Saving the Mariana? Had she saved it? She remembered sitting in the giant metal chair, the helmet lowering over her head, and then…then what? Remembering made her headache worse.

She had saved it?

There it was—a flicker of something concrete. She had hooked herself into the Imagination Machine. She had…fixed the ship? She had fixed an entire ship? Was that even possible?

"You saved the S.S. Mariana!" She could hear the grin in the Doctor's voice. "Would have collapsed if it wasn't for you!"

She felt a frown twitching at her lips as she tried to think. He was right, wasn't he? She had fixed it—somehow. She had saved it. She had saved it?

"What happened to…"

"We have it in the repair wing," Irena said, as if she were expecting the question. "We should have it back in working condition in a few days, and we've provided temporary lodging for all those aboard. We've decided to use it as an exploration ship." A slight smile turned up her lips. "I'm to be commander."

"I got the whole psychic link problem fixed, too. Kinda had to, since it would have killed you." Despite the casual cadence of the words, the Doctor's voice had a serious, almost strained undertone. "Figured out how to disconnect it and all that."

"And we brought you here the minute we landed." Irena patted Rey gently on the shoulder. "Now, I'll leave you two alone for now. Doctor," her voice turned stern, "let her rest, and please, do try not to overwhelm her with your enthusiasm right now."

The Doctor grinned and gave a mock salute. "Yes, Commander."

Rey heard a door click and just laid there for a moment. Then she reached out, searching for the Doctor's hand again. Her fingers found his and she pulled it closer, a little absently. Things were making sense. They could make more sense once this headache went away…

She closed her eyes and let herself drift into blackness again.

"Doctor." Commander Iria stepped out of the doorway of the S.S. Imagine, formerly the S.S. Mariana, and motioned for the Doctor and Rey to follow. "Come, I believe we owe you something."

Rey looped her arm through the Doctor's. A barely-there underlying headache still throbbed beneath her thoughts and she found herself leaning a little too heavily on the Doctor as they followed the commander, but she was on her feet, and she could move without pain exploding in her head.

She looked up at the Doctor, a grin twitching at her lips. He grinned back.

Irena—no, it was Iria, somehow Rey couldn't get used to that—turned back with a slight smile. "Alright you two, you can be as sappy as you like once you've got your ship back."

Oh, great. She still thought they were married.

At this point, it honestly wasn't worth correcting her.

"Ship?" The Doctor's eyebrows shot up. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

Irena turned a corner and opened a door. "I'm quite sure it does," she said, and there was a smile in her voice. She stepped inside a small room, empty except for—

Rey's eyes widened and she let out a little gasp.

The TARDIS sat behind the door, filling most of the small room with its bright blue bulk.

She glanced at the Doctor, and then they were both running forward, laughing. Rey wasn't sure if she dragged him inside or if he dragged her inside but somehow they ended up throwing open the doors, and then they were standing inside the console room—that great big beloved console room that she had grown to love so well. She grinned, spun in a small circle, and then threw her arms around the Doctor, giggling.

He laughed. "What do you say to a nice, relaxing trip this time, Mrs. Smith?" His grin turned to a smirk, his eyes twinkling. "I think you deserve it."

She wrinkled her nose at him and pretended to glare before laughing and turning to the console. "That sounds wonderful," she said. "Have any ideas?"

"How about we try for random this time?" He leaned on arm against the console and casually flicked a lever. "Allons-y!"

The End