Jessie looked at the Doctor in barely concealed excitement. "So?" she asked with a grin. "Where are we?"

He grinned back at her. "Take a look."

Jessie ran to the TARDIS doors and looked out them, and her jaw dropped as she took in the literally glittering landscape around them. "Oh," she said slowly. "My. God."

"Gemsamoria," the Doctor told her, stepping out after her. "Soft 'g,' not a hard one. But it is originally where they got the word for gem."

"No kidding," Jessie managed to say through her shock as she took in what appeared to be powdered moonstone sand under their feet. "Is everything here made of gems?"

"Not everything," the Doctor conceded, holding out his hand, and she took it, the two of them walking across the "beach." "But enough of it is." He waved a hand out at the sparkling clear blue water. "The sand under the water, for instance, is powdered sapphires."

"Oh, wow," Jessie breathed. She looked up at him. "OK, you don't owe me any more. This place is amazing!"

The Doctor laughed. "Come on!"

The two of them took off running, heading for the city in the distance.

***

"And they actually look like humans," Jessie said, eyes wide as they looked around the marketplace.

"Mm," the Doctor agreed. "Practically every gem known in the galaxy is sold here. The mines are filled to bursting. One of the most expensive planets in the universe, and one of the most profitable."

"Which is what makes it so expensive."

"Exactly." He smiled at her. "Also, one of the most popular choices for honeymoons."

Jessie burst out laughing. "Good choice."

"I keep telling you I'm impressive, and you never believe me!"

"That was the last you that was so full of himself," Jessie giggled, folding her arms and looking at him.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he was," he admitted.

Jessie grinned, looking around the marketplace area. "So, it's all gems galore. What else do they have here?"

"Just about everything," he replied. "Anything luxurious, they've got it. Remind me to take you to Midnight some time."

"Take me to Midnight some time," she joked. He rolled his eyes, and she grinned. "All right, you let me take a look around the market area. You go do whatever you want to do."

"Meet me at that hotel over there," he told her, nodding to one of the taller, more expensive buildings. "Looks simple, but it's one I've gone to before."

"What time?"

The Doctor checked the watch she wore. "Two hours," he replied.

She beamed at him and kissed his cheek before darting off into the crowd.

The Doctor shook his head, watching her go before chuckling to himself and moving off in the other direction.

***

The shops were incredible. If she could have, Jessie was sure she would have bought everything in the market.

She joined forces with a guide named Aliyah, who was more than eager to show her just about everything they had in the market area. First order of business, she had said, was to make her look like a local.

And by the time they were done searching one of the dress shops in the area, she was. Her blonde hair was almost golden, glossy and threaded through with a few diamonds and opals. She hadn't chosen one of the most elaborate dresses, but merely one elaborately sequined, reflecting in different colors, which Aliyah admitted did suit her more. But still, she had to admit, Aliyah knew just what to do with all of the gems in the stores around them.

It was mainly a blue and purple theme, what Aliyah had chosen, which matched her eyes and contrasted with her hair. The earrings were amethyst, dangling down to her shoulders. The necklace she had chosen was simple diamonds and rose quartz, matching her skin tone, and Aliyah had helped her decide between the sapphire and aquamarine style bracelets. She'd pulled her back into a workshop behind one of the stores - apparently her father was a master jewelry maker - and had babbled in their own language to him in excitement. In the end, he'd created two bracelets that made her eyes widen in astonishment: solid gold and silver bangles lined with sapphires and aquamarines. "I couldn't take these!" she gasped.

"He's asking you to," Aliyah told her as the man spoke in their own language. "He saw your rings. He recognizes the traditions among the Gallifreyans."

"Really?" she asked in surprise, and he nodded eagerly. "That obvious?"

"The Time Lords are well respected across the universe," Aliyah replied with a warm smile. "He wants you to take them."

Jessie smiled. "Well, I have to pay for them." She held up a hand as the man tried to stop her. "I'm going to, and that's it. My thanks."

The man hesitated, and that was all she needed. She pulled out one of the credit sticks she had in her pocket, still entirely full to who knew how much, and she handed it to them. "Give it good use," she told him when his eyes widened. "I want you to keep making all of this jewelry."

He nodded, and Aliyah smiled. "You were supposed to meet someone soon, were you?"

Jessie checked her watch and nodded. "Half hour," she replied.

Aliyah pulled her off, and Jessie laughed, running after her.

***

As soon as they were gone, the Doctor poked his head around one of the other doors that led to another work room he'd been hiding in when he'd heard the two coming, and blew out a breath. "That was close," he muttered.

The jeweler, Jordan, chuckled. "She is lovely," he told him. "You are a lucky man."

"No kidding," the Doctor agreed, hands in his pockets. "Thank your daughter for me when she comes home."

"I will," Jordan replied before opening a box underneath his work station. "It is lucky I was done before they arrived."

He opened it, and the Doctor smiled at the other works Jordan had been working on. "Thank you," he told him. "She'll love it."

"I hope so," Jordan replied, shaking his hand. "Take good care of her, old friend."

"I will," he promised, taking the box and walking out of the shop.

***

Jessie found the Doctor waiting for her in the lobby of the soft green hotel accented with emeralds. "Well, look at you!" the Doctor exclaimed, eyes lighting up.

Jessie laughed, doing an experimental twirl, the dress flaring out around her. "You approve, then?" she asked.

He grinned. "If it's you wearing them? Of course." She blushed a little, and the Doctor laughed, holding out a hand. "Come on, we'll put those bags upstairs."

"How long are we staying here?" she asked.

"Longer than a day," he replied. "The rest of it is up to you." Jessie's eyes lit up, and he quickly added, "but not longer than a month, OK?"

She grinned. "All right. A day less than a month." He mock sighed, but she laughed again and leaned on him. "Two weeks?" she offered.

"That I might be able to handle."

She grinned when they reached the top floor. "Did you use the psychic paper or something?"

"Not the first time I've been here," he replied. "When I first started traveling, I took Susan here, and for a few other companions who really wanted a place that was . . . expensive." He made a face. "Those times were torture."

"Oh?"

"They didn't want to leave."

Jessie laughed. "Well, don't worry. I think this could get to be too much after a while."

"Exactly what I told them," the Doctor said with a grin as he found the key to one of the rooms. "But . . . this one's a treat." He winked, opening up the door. "Full suite included."

Jessie's jaw dropped as she stepped inside, putting the rest of the shopping bags she had from going around with Aliyah on the table as she looked around the full suite indeed, still with many gems, but not overpowering. "Wow," she whispered in shock, leaning back against the Doctor when he slipped an arm around her waist. "You . . . "

"I love you," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "And you were right. I did owe you. 1969, the Year That Never Was . . . you kept me going."

Jessie blushed. "You're definitely making up for everything before Asgard."

He chuckled. "I asked a few friends for a favor. Dinner is downstairs in a half hour. I think you'll like the people I asked to come with us."

She knitted her eyebrows and looked at him. "You didn't go back to the TARDIS and steal a few people, did you?"

He grinned. "No, I didn't. Go on. I know you want to look impressive."

She kissed him, taking her bag and disappearing into the bathroom. She leaned against the door, locking it behind her, and sighed. "He is going to be the death of me," she whispered happily before grinning at her reflection.

She had work to do.

***

"We're going to be late!" the Doctor called later, fidgeting in front of the door to the suite, still frowning as he ran a hand through his hair. "And every time I wear the suit, something happens," he added.

Jessie laughed, stepping out of the bathroom, and his eyes widened when he looked at her. "Oh, not if I have anything to say in it," she told him lightly before looking herself over. "So? What do you think?"

"Gorgeous," he replied honestly, smiling widely. She had chosen an emerald colored fitted dress that shimmered like scales, only down to the top of her knees. She was still wearing her bracelets, but the earrings she'd swapped for emerald studs, and a diamond and emerald necklace almost a choker style. Her hair was clipped to the side in an emerald and opal clasp, her hair still shining. Her makeup was done lightly, smoky eyes and a dark green eyeshadow, but she shone with a healthy glow that had amplified since their wedding. "You look like one of the natives."

"Thanks, I think," she laughed, slipping on her black heels. "You just keep on throwing surprise and surprise at me, and I don't know when it's going to stop."

"Not yet," he warned her, opening the door and letting her step out. "Trust me on that."

"I do. It's a boring day if I don't get surprised."

He laughed as they headed back to the elevator. "And I'm not messing up time this time. It's fine cuisine."

"That was a horrible trip," she muttered, wrinkling her nose. "Adam was an idiot. I was an idiot for asking for him to come."

"Even then, I would have done anything for you," he told her, waiting for the elevator to stop. "Including making sure that if I regenerated, I'd be good for you."

She full out beamed at him before tugging on his jacket and kissing him fiercely. Definitely lipgloss, he added to the makeup list. She grinned at him when she pulled back. "And I like you very much," she told him with a grin when the elevator arrived.

Her jaw dropped when she saw who was in the library. "Aliyah?" she asked in surprise when she saw the girl and her father.

Aliyah beamed and gave her a hug, which his wife returned in shock, but happiness. "I told you I had friends," he told her cheekily before shaking hands with Jordan. "I just made sure you ran into them."

Jessie laughed, shaking hands with Jordan as well. "You're right. You never cease to surprise me."

"He does it all the time," Jordan assured her. "When you were in the shop, he was hiding in back."

"Well, you weren't supposed to tell her that!" the Doctor whined, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I never even noticed!" Jessie laughed.

"You weren't supposed to! That's the point of hiding!"

Aliyah simply laughed, taking Jessie's arm and tugging her. "The restaurant is this way," she told her, and both women headed off in that direction.

Jordan chuckled. "She is definitely unlike most companions."

"Don't I know it," the Doctor laughed as they followed after their girls.

***

"And she was . . . American, you say?" Jordan asked the Doctor, who nodded as he picked out the pears from the fruit he'd been given on the side, wrinkling his nose at them. "Yes, American, and she loved everything here. He had to drag her back to his box."

"That's definitely Peri," the Doctor snorted. "That was back when I was . . . " He frowned. "Er . . . "

"Bad jacket or the celery on the lapel?" Jessie asked, grinning as she finished up the rest of her chicken marsala.

"Oh, the jacket," Aliyah replied with a shudder. "That was horrible."

"That's what I told him!"

"I was different then!" the Doctor protested.

Jessie pointed her fork at him. "Trust me. I know."

Aliyah laughed at that, and Jessie grinned at him as he rolled his eyes fondly. "Dessert's already taken care of," he told her. "I assume this you still likes chocolate?"

"Does this you kill for bananas?" she retorted.

"Yes," the Doctor said with a laugh.

"Still?" Jordan asked in a joking tone. "You have liked them ever since I have met you!"

"Yes, I still like bananas," the Doctor sighed, waving at one of the waiters across the restaurant, who nodded and went into the kitchen. "I'll never stop."

"Oh, he adored them when I first met him," Aliyah told Jessie. "And his granddaughter did, too."

"Susan?" Jessie asked.

"Yes."

Jessie grinned at him. "You just love bananas."

"Bananas are good!"

"Say that again in a Northern accent," Jessie teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Jess!"

She just giggled before her eyes widened at the chocolate cake and bars the waiter had brought to the table. "Again with the surprises. Just how many good ones do you all have here?" she asked as she inspected it.

"Many," Jordan assured her with a smile. "We are known for our luxury on Gemsamoria."

"So what's your species called?" Jessie asked, taking a bite of the cake.

"We are a mixture," Aliyah replied. "There is no true species, but anyone from Gemsamoria is merely a Gemsamorian."

"That's a mouthful," Jessie commented, both on the bite she'd taken from the cake and in the name in general. "How long's it going to take to eat this thing?"

"Long enough to give you this," the Doctor replied, sending two jewelry boxes spinning to her.

She raised an eyebrow, putting her fork on the plate, missing the knowing glance Jordan and Aliyah gave each other before opening one of them. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw the icicle drop crystal earrings in the first box. "Oh my God," she whispered.

"I had asked Jordan ahead of time right after you went off with Aliyah to make those," he told her, squeezing her knee as she switched to the other box. "I know it's hard, without Saleen and Skye . . . so I asked him to make these personally."

The next box was just a simple necklace, but with three different charms on it: one with a diamond eagle, another a crystal snowflake, and the last one a sapphire cloud. "Grant," she whispered, thumbing each one individually. "Saleen. Skye." She took a deep breath. "I can't believe it!"

"Congratulations," Jordan told her with a smile on his face. "Those clasps will never break."

"They're tuned to sonics," the Doctor explained. "Only you or I could take them off."

"These are incredible!" she insisted, looking between both of them and grinning before looking at Aliyah. "All three of you . . . . and I didn't even have a clue!"

"That was sort of the idea."

She laughed, hugging him tightly, then going around the table to hug the two Gemsamorians as well. "I love them!" She plopped back down. "Now. Cake."

The Doctor laughed at her antics as she went right back to eating, Aliyah snarfing it down as well. He loved her to bits.

***

"I swear they have everything here," Jessie said later that night as she plopped back down on the bed, just flopping on her back and crossing her ankles, looking up at the ceiling. "I mean, honestly, next you'll tell me they have over a million different kinds of animals here."

"Close," the Doctor told her, slipping off his suit jacket and sitting down on the bed next to her.

She stared at him. "You're kidding."

"I'm not."

"Seriously."

"I'm not."

His words rang in her head much clearer than they'd had before when they'd spoken telepathically, and her eyes widened as she sat up. "I heard you," she told him in shock.

"I wanted to tell you more about the blood bond," he told her. "Some of the benefits . . . but some of the consequences as well."

"OK," she replied simply, pulling her legs underneath her.

"First of all, our blood mixed together," he began. "I think that's why, on the Titanic, you could control time. While it's not as strong as a full Time Lord's ability to control it, I think you have a strong grasp on it."

"Does that mean you might have some of my mutations?" Jessie asked.

"I'm not willing to see if I do," the Doctor told her with a smirk. "But, maybe. The other point I wanted to raise was a consequence. Our regenerations are tied."

"Tied?" Jessie echoed.

"Tied," he confirmed. "If I die, so do you. If you die, so do I. No more dealing with different versions of the other."

"How much of a consequence is that?" Jessie asked in confusion.

The Doctor swallowed. "Another consequence." He looked at her. "Can I show you something?"

"Of course."

He put his hands to her temples, and suddenly, she wasn't in the bedroom anymore. She was seeing fire and smoke and - her hearts stopped - Daleks everywhere, screams of who could only be the Time Lords. They weren't her own thoughts, but they were the Doctor's. She watched the memories go by, and through the smoke, she could see a battle-hardened man fighting, his promise forgotten as he did all that he could to stop the War from continuing. His hand came down on the Moment's button, and Gallifrey was lost in fire, and Jessie sucked in a breath as she realized what she had just witnessed. "No more," the Warrior's voice whispered as she returned to the room, the Doctor lowering his hands to her shoulders as she looked up at him. "That was you," she told him. "That was you."

"A regeneration I haven't told anyone of," he confirmed. "The Warrior, the one who broke the promise I made years ago. This isn't my tenth, Jess. This is my eleventh. I only have two more regenerations left."

Jessie stared at him, thinking in mixed emotions. The first thought she had was that he had lied the first time, and that hurt a little. The next one she had was worry about how she only had so long to live, knowing the Doctor, but the main thing she thought was how much that must have taken to show her that, admit how long he really did have.

"Better make them count, then," was all she said.

The Doctor blinked at her. "You're not upset?" he asked in shock.

"No, you idiot," she laughed, reaching up with one hand to cup his face. "I could never be. I know how hard the War must have been. I don't blame you for not wanting to talk about it. Especially if it was against your beliefs."

"But once my regenerations are gone - "

"Then so am I," Jessie finished with a nod. "Yes, and I understand that. But no year of my life has been the same since I went with you after the Nestene Consciousness. I'd rather be dead than not live without you."

He shook his head. "I am never going to understand you."

"Good," she grinned cheekily. "It'd be boring if you did."

He cut her off with a searing kiss, one that she returned easily. And when he pushed her back so she was laying on the bed and whispered something in her ear that she could never repeat except to him, she didn't stop him from taking things further into the night.

***

I'll let your minds take it from there. ;) And to clarify, Gemsamoria, it's not a hard G, like in gem, but like how "gum begins." And no, I did not steal from Gamora from "Guardians of the Galaxy." I'd come up with the planet name long before I knew what her name was.

Jessie's dress off to the side is the first one she wore on Gemsamoria, too.

But yeah, hopefully I've made up for every torture these two have been through, although I know I haven't entirely. Maybe I'll just have to stick it in with the Midnight area. :P By the way, what he whispered to her at the end? Yep. His name. Might have her use it at some point, and have her tell him what she decides she wants hers to be. Then we'll get a kicker out of "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead."

But there'll be a seven month gap between this and "Partners in Crime" in how long it'll be before the Doctor and Jessie meet Donna, just an FYI.

"Partners in Crime" and its interlude is done, but I don't know if I'll get to post them today or not. If not . . . hopefully this is good enough!