Aftermath

"Home…please."

Those had been Sadie's only words to the Doctor after the book had been burnt into cinders, and the cinders then tossed outside of the TARDIS doors to scatter throughout all time and space. Sadie had curled herself into a ball underneath a large, slightly ratty blanket after that, which had worried the Doctor. She was sore, no doubt, and exhausted in every way imaginable, so maybe it shouldn't really worry him, but it did.

The TARDIS landed in the backyard of Sadie's house, and the Doctor made his way over from the console to tell her they'd arrived.

She got to her feet without a sound, wrapped her blanket tightly around herself, and headed out the door. The Doctor followed anxiously. A small part of him was worried about any maternal responses to the state of his companion. He'd been down that route before, and he was not looking for a repeat performance. Angry mothers were the worst.

Sadie went immediately for the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The Doctor heard the small 'ping' as the lock slid home. He hovered nervously in the hallway for a few moments, until he heard the shower running. Well, he might as well make himself comfortable, since he was going to have to wait. Lucky for him, no one seemed to be home. So at least he could wait in peace and reflect. He headed for the living room, letting himself fall back onto an overstuffed chair.

Sadie stood under the shower, letting the water wash over her. She'd turned the faucet as far as it would go, meaning that the water was nearly scalding, but it felt soothing to her aching body. She rested her forehead against the cool tile, her back to the spray, and let the quiet sound of the water soothe her mind as well.

She was tired, so tired. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for days. She couldn't remember ever feeling this way. Nothing she had encountered with the Doctor compared to this. Of course, all of those had been different. She had caused this problem. Maybe that was the difference.

She turned, resting her back against the tile. Much of her body was covered with rapidly-forming bruises. Soon, she'd be more purple than flesh colored. She was a mess. How would she ever explain this to anyone? She'd have to go into hiding for a while. Maybe hiding in her bed for days wasn't such a bad idea after all. How would one explain this? Especially to…oh man, she hadn't even thought of her mother. She could never lie to her mother. She could try, of course, but her mother always seemed to have a sixth sense about those things.

Sadie's mind turned then to the Doctor, who was most likely oscillating nervously through her house. He would probably need rescuing from her mother's endless questioning about now. She sighed and reached for the soap.

The Doctor was finding it hard to keep still. He moved from the chair to the hallway, from the hallway to the chair, back to the hallway with a momentary stop to look at a few portraits hanging along the wall, then back to the chair yet again. He perked up when he heard the shower turn off. He hated waiting, especially waiting like this, so the thought of it coming to an end was wonderful.

Four minutes and twenty-six seconds later, the door opened and Sadie made her way out. She paused briefly, looking around for her mother.

"She isn't here," the Doctor stated, answering her wordless question. Sadie nodded. She crossed the room in a few strides and let herself fall back onto the couch, her eyes closed. The two of them sat in silence for a few moments before Sadie muttered something so softly that the Doctor couldn't make it out. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"What did you say? I couldn't hear it."

"'m sorry," Sadie mumbled again, looking up to meet his eyes once before dropping her gaze to the floor. She took a deep breath as if she was going to continue, but then stopped.

"You're sorry? For?" the Doctor questioned, frowning. Sadie sat up, taking a shaky breath.

"For everything! For being so stupid and for bringing that thing into the TARDIS and for putting us in danger and then for being stupid again and not being able to figure out how to get rid of that creature and just...for everything. It's all my fault, and I'm just really sorry. I've been thinking a lot, and I'd completely understand if you'd want me to stop traveling with you because of all this and-"

"Sadie, breathe." She did as told, taking in a few much needed breaths. "Now. Nothing has changed. I still want you to come with me, as long as that's what you want."

"I do!" Sadie met his eyes once again. "More than anything, I do, but I just thought…y'know…since it was in the TARDIS and that's your ship! I mean, I could have completely ruined your whole lifestyle and-"

"There have been worse things happen to the TARDIS, believe me," the Doctor interrupted.

"Really?"
"Really. Plus, it'd take a lot more than a little old Skeeva to stop me. I am the Doctor, after all." Sadie grinned. "There now, that's much better. See, I told you my ego was good for something."

"I'll concede that it was good this one time, and this one time only. The other times not so much. But I suppose we'll have plenty of time to argue the point, won't we?"

"All the time in the world."