"That is my responsibility," Rohstan said, stepping forward and kneeling by the side of the bed. "I halted the disruption when you did not show signs of regenerating."

"Oh." The Doctor looked at the scientist. "Did you escalate?"

Rohstan nodded his head. "Yes. All the way to level twelve."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and blew out a breath. "I passed out at...what? Level five this time?"

Rohstan nodded again. "Yes. Five point seven. I continued to escalate as you had directed. But..." The scientist bowed his head, his crest flattened along his skull and down the nape of his neck. "I failed you. I could not continue. I was so afraid you would not regenerate. That you would simply cease to live." He looked back up at the Doctor, his eyes great pools of distress. "I would not be responsible for terminating your existence. Such is not the purpose of my research. I endeavor to extend life, not extinguish it. Especially not the life of one such as you. A hero of our people. Unique in the universe. And although I have proved myself unworthy of the name--my friend."

Thank you, Rohstan, Sarah thought quietly. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

"Oh," the Doctor said again, more softly this time. He looked at the scientist kneeling at his bedside and his mouth hung open for a moment. "Blimey, I've done it again," he finally said, his voice heavy with regret. "Rohstan, please. Stand up. It's not your fault."

"Whose then?" the scientist responded without looking up.

"Mine." The Doctor looked at his friend with deep sorrow in his brown eyes. "I get...carried away sometimes." He stopped, took a breath and started again. "I don't always realize what I'm asking of people. And I end up asking too much." He reached out and put a hand on Rohstan's shoulder. "I am so sorry."

Rohstan looked up at him, then climbed to his feet. "Thank you. Your forgiveness is healing to me."

"Good," the Doctor said. "Let's go to the lab and check out exactly what happened." He started to throw off the towel, then stopped and raised it just far enough to peer under it. He wrapped it tightly around his slim waist, one hand holding the ends together behind his back. "Erm. Clothes?"

"No way," Martha said. "Pyjamas, yes. Clothes, no. You're not going anywhere, mister."

"But I feel fine," he protested.

"You weren't fine an hour ago."

He frowned. "An hour?"

Sarah nodded. "That's about how long it's been since Rohstan carried you in, yes."

"But..." His frowned deepened. "If I didn't regenerate. Why don't I feel like...."

"Like you've been run over by a steamroller?"

He tipped his head from side to side, considering. "Yeah, that'd be one way of putting it."

Martha picked up the last tub of salve. "Because Rohstan told us about this stuff this time." She held it so he could look into it.

He dipped up a fingerful of it. "Oh. This stuff. I used it on Sarah." He sniffed it. "That's the funny taste in my mouth." He looked from one of them to the other. "Did you feed it to me?"

Sarah shook her head. "We rubbed it on you. But you absorbed it completely. So no wonder you can taste it."

He licked the blob on his finger, rolled it around in his mouth, and frowned. Then he licked the rest of it off his finger, and his eyes went a bit starey. He dipped into the tub again, came up with a generous fingerful, and licked it up like a kid at the icing bowl.

"Why are you eating it?" Sarah asked, equal parts mystified and horrified.

"Dunno," he said as he dipped up another glob with two fingers, stuck them both in his mouth, and sucked the salve off. "Tastes good," he said around his fingers.

"His body is craving the healing ingredients," Rohstan explained. "His internal organs were also damaged and need the salve. Some would have reached them from the absorption through his skin, but they need more."

The Doctor pulled a "who knew?" face, and scooped up another two fingersful of salve.

"Would you like a spoon?" Sarah asked, watching him.

He shook his head. "No, this works." He ate another big black glob, then his lip curled and he held his fingers away from his face. "That's enough," he said, looking a bit queasy.

"Your body really knows what it wants," Martha said admiringly.

"And how much," he agreed.

"Wish ours worked that way."

He laughed softly. "It is handy."

"Are you going to need to detox again?"

He sat up straighter, breathed in and looked thoughtful. "Not like last time. This stuff..." He looked at his black fingers. "...seems to have minimized the cell damage. But still. A good detox is never a bad idea. Should do it more often. And now that I've got ginger beer, I can do it the easy way."

"Want me to get some from the TARDIS?" Martha offered.

"No, I can get it," he said. "Well. If I can get dressed, I can."

Sarah quirked a smile at him, then went to the wardrobe and pulled out his dressing gown. "Let's start with this and see if you're as fine as you think you are." He slid to the edge of the bed, holding the towel around his waist, and she helped him into the robe. He tied the sash around his waist and gave her an amused "waiting for instructions, ma'am" look. "Stand up, then. See if you're steady on your feet."

He obeyed, taking a few steps across the room, then turning and walking back. "Everything seems to be in working order."

She shook her head. "Amazing."

"Rohstan, can I take some of this salve with me when I go?" the Doctor asked.

"Of course. How much would you like?"

"Oh," he said. "Couple of cases?"

"It is yours, my friend," Rohstan said, his eyes smiling. "I only wish I had advised your hens of its healing powers earlier."

"I'd say you were just in time," the Doctor said. "Now. May I get dressed, Doctor Jones? Ms. Smith?" He tipped his head toward them, eyebrows up.

*******

Rohstan headed off for the lab, with the Doctor promising to meet him there shortly, after he had detoxed. By the time they reached the TARDIS, his stride had shortened and slowed, and he had wrapped his arms around Sarah and Martha's shoulders, in friendship, yes, but also for a surreptitious bit of support. When they entered the galley, he sat down gratefully without first getting his ginger beer. Sarah and Martha exchanged concerned glances, and brought the drink to him. He told them where the other things he needed could be found, rather than getting them himself, and gave them a tired smile when they brought them to him.

"Why don't you two just step out for a second while I do this," he said, once everything was ready.

"You sure?" Sarah asked, glancing at Martha.

"It'll just take a second. Really. Nothing like last time."

"Well. Okay." Martha gave a small shrug of her shoulders, and led the way out of the galley.

"Wonder what he's up to in there," Sarah said.

Before Martha could answer, they heard a sharp cry from the galley. They turned back, and saw a grey cloud billowing out of the door. The Doctor emerged from the cloud a second later, waving a hand in front of his face.

"You okay?" Sarah asked.

He clicked his teeth. "Never better." Then he blew out a breath. "Needed that more than I thought."

"Now you need some zero room time," Sarah said.

He gave her a crooked smile. "Yeah. I do. That salve's good stuff, but I'm still a bit knackered. Just want to nip over to the lab first and see what happened."

Sarah felt her heart take a sudden dive south. "You're not..." she started to say.

"No. I'm not," he interrupted her firmly. He sighed. "Couldn't ask Rohstan to do it again, even if I were ready to bang my head against that particular brick wall for a third time." He looked down at her and furrowed his brows. "Why is it that half the universe would like nothing better than the chance to kill me, but when I want someone to do the deed...."

She laughed reluctantly. "Maybe you should have found a cyberman or a dalek to help you with the experiment."

His eyebrows went up. "They might have been a bit too thorough," he said. Then he shook his head and sighed again.

"This body's just not ready to give up yet," Sarah said softly, wrapping an arm around his waist and leaning in to him. She looked up at his face. "Got too much life in it. It wants to stick around until that spiky hair goes thin and gray and your freckles turn into age spots and you get all jowly."

He laughed. "Thanks for the visual," he said. "Maybe it's a good thing after all that I've only lived out one full lifetime."

"Come on, then, to the lab," Martha said brightly, taking up a position on the Doctor's other side.

"Erm. Maybe you should wait here. I don't think hens are allowed."

"We're not hens," Sarah said pointedly.

"Really?" The Doctor scratched the back of his neck, looking bewildered. "I could swear I remember you...baucking."

"Well, that was bauck then. This is now."

The Doctor and Martha groaned.

"Besides, I think we've got past that with Rohstan."

"Past what?" the Doctor asked. "Respecting his people's customs?"

"Well. If you want to put it that way. I'd be more inclined to say that he's starting to respect our customs." She looked up at the Doctor. "Two-way street?"

He just looked at her.

"Wouldn't it have been nice to know about the salve before?" she asked.

He raised his eyebrows and gave a reluctant nod. "You have a point."

"Then...allons-y."

Eyes popped when the three of them walked into the lab together, but Rohstan's colleagues were either too polite or too stunned to do anything about the presence of hens in their males-only workplace. The Doctor showed them the cellular disruptor and Sarah scowled at it.

"Why would they even have such a thing?"

"It is a medical device." Rohstan answered her words, not her tone. "Its proper use is to disrupt malignant cells and make them cease to live." He looked at Sarah and spoke directly to her. "Do your people experience this condition?"

"Yes. We call it cancer," Martha answered.

"Cancer. Yes. That is also what we call it," Rohstan said.

"Does it work?"

"Its efficacy is acceptable at ninety-five percent. We are continuing to research the technology to improve the success rate."

"Ninety-five percent?" Martha said, her eyes widening and her mouth falling open. She looked at the Doctor hopefully. "Be nice to have that technology on Earth."

He looked away, sighed, compressed his lips unhappily, then looked back at her. "Let me think about it. Do some checking."

Martha nodded gratefully.

"What's this?" the Doctor asked, picking up a small phial from the counter. He pulled his glasses out of his pocket, slipped them on, held the phial up and examined its golden glow with a frown of concentration.

"I wished to pose the identical question of you," Rohstan said.

"Me? Why?"

"You produced it." The Doctor's eyebrows shot up. "After I returned you to your quarters. This...essence...came out of your mouth."

"And you captured it!" Rohstan nodded. "Brilliant!" The Doctor pulled his glasses off to stare at Rohstan with pure joy. "This is regeneration energy!"

"And what's that when it's at home?" Martha asked.

"It's the energy that is released in a regeneration," he explained a bit impatiently, as if it should have been obvious. Martha pulled a "pardon-me-for-asking" face and received an understanding grin from Sarah. "Rohstan, if you can analyse this and duplicate it, you might have a way to stimulate regeneration without having to genetically engineer the ability into your people." He stared at Rohstan again, mouth slightly agape, wheels clicking away at a million miles an hour behind his brown eyes. "You might be able to beam this energy at the person, or the limb, or whatever...." His thoughts overtook his speech again and he fell silent.

"Will you stay and help me?"

"Ah. I'd love to. But...well, let me show you a few things to get you started." He put his glasses back on and he and Rohstan huddled over the instruments, the Doctor pointing from one display to another, twisting dials, making suggestions and then backpedalling and explaining the suggestions, correcting the suggestions, and elaborating on the suggestions, all just as fast as the words could tumble out of his mouth, until Sarah's head was swimming. Rohstan was taking it in, wide-eyed, bobbing his head occasionally, and she hoped he was getting more out of the Doctor's enthusiastic explanation than she was.

She hitched herself up on an empty stool and looked at Martha. "Maybe we should have stayed in the TARDIS after all."

Martha ducked her head and smiled. "Be careful what you ask for, yeah?"

"You'd think I'd learn that one eventually."

If the Doctor had been fighting fit, they might have been there for days. As it was, although his enthusiasm didn't wane, his energy started to flag after a bit. He straightened up, took off his glasses, folded his arms and leaned back against the counter, answering questions from Rohstan calmly, thoughtfully.

Rohstan looked up at the Doctor, his eyes shining. "Thank you, Doctor. You have given me an entirely new direction in which to take my research. This is most exciting."

The Doctor nodded, smiling happily. "I'll be back." He glanced up at Martha and Sarah and raised his eyebrows. "To see how you're progressing."

"You will always be welcome. And if you truly can travel through time in that remarkable box of yours, then come back when you are aged and ready to regenerate naturally and we can monitor the process and record it."

The Doctor laughed ruefully. "Doesn't often happen like that. But if it does, I'll come back. Count on it."

The three time travellers started back to the TARDIS after saying a temporary good-bye to Rohstan, who assured them he would bring the promised supply of black salve to them before they left and would then see them off in proper style.

"Doctor," Sarah said thoughtfully as they walked through the corridors of the research center.

"Mmm?"

"I was just thinking."

The Doctor nodded sagely, pooching out his lower lip. "Good. I encourage thinking. Especially in my companions." She clicked her tongue and looked up at him and received a cheeky grin in response. "What were you thinking, Sarah Jane?" he said, humouring her.

"Rohstan's done so much. For you. For us. And we haven't repaid him very well. Me thinking he was an evil scientist."

"Me asking way too much of him," the Doctor continued softly for her when she paused.

She left that alone, not wanting to agree but not able to honestly deny it either. "I'd like to do something for him. Something he'd really enjoy."

"Such as?"

"I'd like to invite him to visit Earth. I mean, he's a scientist and all. I'd think he'd appreciate the chance to visit another planet. And travel in the TARDIS."

The Doctor nodded his agreement. "So. Why didn't you ask him?"

"Well," she said. "You're driving. Figured it would be good to clear it with you first." She looked up at him. "Would you mind? You could stay for a few days while he visits, help me show him around, or you and Martha could go on travelling and just come back to give him a lift home."

The Doctor quirked her a grin. "You want to take him home to your time?" She nodded. "Are you sure that's wise? In your time, your people have only just begun to realize that they share the universe with other species. And so far, the ones they've encountered haven't been too friendly."

"Well," she said again. "We don't have to announce he's an alien." His eyebrows shot up. "You don't," she pointed out.

He laughed. "I think I blend in a little better than he would."

Sarah's brow wrinkled in thought. "We can tell people he's an actor. Working on a science fiction movie. Not needed on set all the time, but since it takes so long to get into the makeup and prosthetics, he can't take it off until the day's shoot is over. And...and...he's from the United States, first time in London, so wants to get in some sightseeing while he can during breaks."

"Brilliant," Martha laughed. "An actor and an American. That would be enough to explain anything bizarre he might do. Twice over."

"Besides," Sarah said, warming to the idea more and more. "We're talking about London. He could walk down the street, feathers, beak, kilt and all, and no one would blink an eye."

"Some parts," Martha agreed, nodding.

"Why don't we take him a few hundred years into your future? When Earth's become a bit more cosmopolitan?" the Doctor suggested.

"I wouldn't be able to show him around," Sarah said. "It would all be strange to me too." She grinned up at the Doctor. "Ah, c'mon. It'll be a lark."

He and Martha stopped walking and stared at her warily.

"What's the matter? Chicken?"

The other two groaned as if they'd been punched in the stomach.

"Or do you think I'm just being a silly goose?"

The groans took on a new tone of anguish.

"What if your idea lays an egg?" Martha asked, a twinkle in her eye.

The Doctor reeled back, while Sarah grinned. "Could be my swan song."

"Enough! Enough!" The Doctor bent over, arms wrapped around his chest, shaking his head. "Ask him! Anything to stop this torture! You'll have me crazy as a loon if you keep it up!"

"Sorry," Sarah Jane said contritely. Then she flashed him a cheeky grin. "Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers."

They continued on to the TARDIS, mining the English language for every bird, feather, egg and nest saying, idiom, and double-entendre they could come up with as they went, each doing his or her best to top the others. Sarah and Martha laughed and groaned and then laughed some more, until tears were streaming down their faces. The Doctor ran through his entire repertoire of groans and moans until he had to start repeating himself. They were all leaning against each other, weak with laughter, by the time they reached the Doctor's time ship.

Sarah wiped her eyes as she waited for the Doctor to open the doors, then climbed the ramp and collapsed on the bench seat, arms wrapped around her rib cage. "Oh, my sides hurt," she said. "I haven't laughed this much since..." She stopped, thought a moment, shook her head and continued. "I can't remember when."

"What, no bird-related expression for a long, long time?" Martha asked, sitting down next to her and drying her eyes.

Sarah shook her head. "I think I've run dry."

"About time," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes at her..

Martha gave Sarah an amused and quizzical look. "You've been holding that in the whole time we've been here, haven't you?"

"Yes!" Sarah cried, throwing her head back and laughing again, then clutching her sides and moaning. "I try to behave. I really do. But sometimes..."

The Doctor grinned at her, then turned to face the console and started manipulating the controls.

The two women sat without speaking for a minute, Sarah catching her breath and wiping her cheeks. When Martha broke the silence, her voice was serious. "You know. If you're going to invite Rohstan for a visit. It would be nice for him if he could bring a friend." The Doctor looked quickly over his shoulder at her. "If you don't mind," Martha said to him in response.

He thought a moment, then shook his head. "Two wouldn't be any more trouble than one. Might actually make it easier for you to pass them off as humans in fancy dress if there are two of them."

Martha smiled at him, then at Sarah, this time with just a hint of bashfulness. "It is nice to have someone of your own species along when you go travelling."

Sarah gave the younger woman a warm smile of agreement. "It is, isn't it?"

The Doctor turned back to the controls and went very still. Sarah and Martha both realized, just too late, what they'd said and what it meant to him.

"Oh, Doctor. I'm sorry," Martha said, her voice full of regret.

"For what?" he asked in a low voice, not turning around.

Martha gave Sarah an agonized look. "For being totally thoughtless."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's okay." He turned slowly, folded his arms and leaned back against the console. "Other species can be good company, too," he said softly, smiling warmly at them both.

"Of course they can," Martha agreed wholeheartedly. "I just meant...well...it's nice to have someone to talk to. To compare notes with. Someone who knows what it's like, back home, and understands just what an amazing thing it is to travel with you."

His smile grew broader and the hurt faded from his eyes.

"And to have someone to discuss it with once you're back home," Sarah added. "Someone who won't think you're insane or a liar because they were there, too."

The Doctor nodded. "I get it. I said yes. Put a 'plus one' on the invitation."

Just then, there was a rap on the TARDIS doors. The Doctor was down the ramp in three long strides and opened the doors to see Rohstan standing to the rear of three workmen, each of whom was pushing a sack barrow piled with boxes. Their eyes bugged out when they saw the inside of the TARDIS, but Rohstan must have briefed them on what to expect as they proceeded up the ramp with their burdens instead of bolting in fear.

"Your salve, Doctor. Will this be enough?"

The Doctor laughed. "Should last me awhile, yeah. Thank you."

"Whe...whe...where would you like them?" asked the trembling workman who was first in line.

"Follow me. I'll show you." He threw a glance over his shoulder as he started leading them off the console room and into even more amazement. "Rohstan. Sarah and Martha have something they want to ask you."

Rohstan looked at the two women expectantly. "Rohstan," Sarah started, after glancing at Martha. "We were wondering if you'd like to visit our world."

His eyes grew wide. "Travel to your world? In this marvelous machine? With you and the Doctor?"

Martha nodded encouragingly. "Yeah. And you can bring a friend if you like."

Rohstan gasped, his beak hanging open. "Such an invitation. Such an opportunity. To travel to other worlds."

"Well," Sarah said, wrinkling her nose. "Just one other world actually. Ours." She thought a moment. "Although the way travel with the Doctor goes, you never know."

"I know exactly whom to invite," Rohstan said excitedly.

"That's a yes then?" Sarah asked, smiling.

Rohstan nodded. "Oh indeed it is an acceptance of your invitation. Thank you! Permit me to com my sister-son. He has always been much infatuated with the idea of alien life forms. He has been extremely exhilarated since your arrival." He started to pull out his mobile com unit, then stopped and hit himself on the forehead with his fist. "Oh! I will need to pack! How long will the visit last?"

"Well, that's another thing that's always a bit up in the air when you travel with the Doctor," Sarah said, sharing a grin with Martha. "I was thinking a long weekend--three or four days? And I'd say just pack the bare essentials and I'm sure that, between us and the Doctor, we'll be able to get you anything else you might need." Rohstan stared at her. She stared back. "It is a civilized planet," she assured him.

"Of course it is, of course it is," Rohstan agreed hurriedly. "So, it is routine on your planet for aliens to visit?"

"Ah. Well. No, not exactly," Sarah said. "We may have to, erm, embellish the facts a bit while you're there."

Rohstan scowled and cocked his head at her. "Embellish the facts?"

"She means lie," Martha explained. Rohstan's eyebrows went up. "About who you are."

"Is this the custom on your world?"

Sarah glanced at Martha. "Sort of," she said. Then she thought it over for a moment. "Well, no." Then she thought it over for another moment, opened her mouth, and shut it again.

"Only when absolutely necessary," Martha said with a smile. "And never among friends. Right?" She looked at Sarah.

Sarah nodded decisively. "Well summarized, Doctor Jones."

The three workmen appeared, moving much faster than they had on the way in, and raced down the ramp, their empty sack barrows bouncing ahead or trailing behind them. "Thanks!" the Doctor called after them, but they didn't stop or even slow down to acknowledge his cheery cry and wave. He turned to Rohstan, then looked at Martha and Sarah. "Did you ask him?"

They answered him with big smiles. "In how much time do you wish to leave, Doctor?" Rohstan asked.

"Whenever you're ready. You and your plus one."

"I will go now and prepare. Thank you! Thank you!" He hurried down the ramp in the wake of his assistants.

The Doctor retired to the zero room to wait, leaving Sarah and Martha to greet their guests. They sat in the console room and chatted for a bit, then wandered down the ramp and out the doors to watch the planet set. As the stars appeared in the night sky, two figures also appeared, crossing the courtyard.

Sarah and Martha straightened up and smiled a welcome. Their smiles turned to astonished gapes when they saw who Rohstan's plus-one was.

"Galindor Flumenplock!" Sarah said, shocked but utterly delighted. "You are Rohstan's nephew?"

"His sister-son, Sarah Jane Smith!" Galindor said, giving her an enthusiastic hug, then quickly turning her loose and hugging Martha.

"Dor, what are you doing?" Rohstan said, his crest up, his eyes wide.

"Hugging, Nunks! Have they not instructed you in this of their customs?"

Rohstan rolled his eyes. "No, they have not. Nor do I think I will encourage them to do so. It appears...inappropriate."

"Not on our world," Martha said.

Sarah just shook her head, looking from uncle to nephew. "I never would have guessed you two were related," she said quietly, mostly to herself but loud enough for Rohstan to hear.

"And why is that?"

"Well," she said, suddenly wondering if she would be insulting either of them by saying what she was thinking. "His plumage. It's so amazingly colorful and lush."

Rohstan leaned in close to her and spoke softly in her ear. "Extensions. Color-enhanced." Sarah's jaw dropped and she fought not to laugh. "It is nearly mandatory for anyone who wishes to become a popular success on the visi-screen. Even news readers."

"Nunky, you are not giving away my secrets, are you?" Galindor called.

"Remarkably acute hearing as well," Rohstan whispered.

"Oh, you're going to fit right in on Earth," Sarah said, giving in to the urge to laugh, then wincing and pressing her hands to her sides as her sore ribs made her regret it.

They led their guests up the ramp, where they found the Doctor waiting by the console.

"TARDIS doubles as an alarm clock?" Sarah asked, and he grinned in response.

"Everyone ready? Earth, London, Sarah Jane's house, here we come!" With a frenetic flurry of motion, he set the TARDIS into flight. Their guests' eyes widened as the ship wheezed and groaned, then juddered and tilted, but Martha and Sarah just grabbed hold of the railing and encouraged the first-time flyers to do the same.

In very short order, the TARDIS wheezed again and then came to a stop. The Doctor checked the controls. "You wanted to get back when Sarah?" he asked.

"Oh. Whenever." He shot her a piercing glance. "A reasonable time after I left." One eyebrow arched to add impact to the piercing glance. "Three-hours-ish. Give or take. Not a problem if it's more."

His lips compressed and one corner of his mouth quirked down. "That's what I thought you said. Well. Glad it's not a problem if it's more."

"How much more?" Sarah asked, her brows drawing together in a worried frown.

The Doctor checked the exterior monitor and grinned. He swivelled it around so she could see. "That much more."

Sarah looked in the monitor and saw Harry, lounging on her couch, staring at the TARDIS, drumming his fingers on the couch's arm and nodding smugly.

"Oh, that's an I-told-you-so face," Martha said as she looked over Sarah's shoulder at the screen. "That Harry?"

"Mm hm," Sarah confirmed. "Right on both counts." She stared at the screen for a moment, then a wicked grin stretched itself across her face. "Galindor. Would you do something for me?"

"But of course, Sarah Jane Smith! You have only to ask."

"OK, here's what I want." She gave the flamboyant alien his line. "Got it?" He said it back to her. "Good. Now. It needs a hand gesture." She demonstrated, and he ran the line again with the gesture.

"Oh, you are mean," Martha said, giggling. "Are you sure Harry's heart can take it? He's a doll, but he's..." She put a hand over her mouth, but the laughter burst through her fingers. "...no spring chicken."

Sarah rolled her eyes at Martha and laughed. "Harry's heart is sound as a bell. And don't forget he's travelled with the Doctor too." She looked at Galindor. "Ready?"

He nodded, then headed down the ramp and opened the door. The others all watched on the monitor screen as Harry's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped.

"Greetings, earthling!" Galindor said, his flaming multicolor crest at full height and spread as wide as it could go. He held up one taloned hand, palm forward, exactly as Sarah had shown him. "I come in peace. Take me to your leader!"

THE END

(Of part 1 that is. Stay tuned for Part 2, "Galindor and Rohstan Do London", coming soon to a fanfiction board near you!)