For a young lady, to walk unchaperoned, alongside a man; any man that is not her husband, the conduct is of questionable decency. Walking in the middle of the night, was strange and possibly dangerous. Walking in the middle of the night, unchaperoned, alongside an unattached man, was something absolutely not done.

Miss Tyler, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tyler of Powell Estate would have never dreamed of venturing on such an adventure of impudence, had she not met and befriended an exceptional man, who called himself the Doctor.

His hands were presently occupied with holding, in the one: a basket, covered with a small, but lovely quilt, and in the other a peculiar tool, which she first mistook for a lantern. It did however share its function of producing light. Under that same arm he held a device, of which Rose was sure, had to be some kind of telescope. Having his hands thus full, there was no room for hers and feeling more than a little nervous, she rather wished there was.

After the first shock on hearing his stated request outside her bedroom window, Rose had acted on pure heartfelt excitement and desire, instead of sense. She had taken little time in getting dressed, doing no more than pulling a simple dress over her nightgown, and downstairs; putting on a warm coat and picking up high shoes without heels.

Shoes in hand, she had moved stealthily through the house, until she had reached the front door, where she next let herself out. The Doctor had been waiting for her there, visible excitement in his eyes as well. That, and utter glee that she had agreed to come with him, knowing full well the impropriety of his invitation.

So there they were, pitch black shadows and shapes of trees around them, the air filled with noise and whispers of the night. A half full moon somewhere discernible between the treetops along with a million stars, if not more.

Taking a moment to look up, Rose suddenly felt the splendour of the sky above and stopped to marvel at its richness. She could do nothing more than simply stand quite still and stare. Everything around her vanished, all dangers and turmoil fading into nothingness, as she took in the brilliance of the seeming smallness, yet so unimaginable immensity of the stars.

They were arrived at a small clearing in the woods, a patch of moss and grass, just enough to have a little more sight of where to place one's feet. It was here, that Rose stood gazing upwards and it was here the Doctor set down his things and came to stand next to her. Aware of her awe, he gently took her hand, moved in a little closer and pointed upwards.

"Do you see there: the stars that form the letter W? That is the constellation of Cassiopeia. She was the mother of a beautiful daughter and her pride was abhorrent to the gods. They punished her for her idleness and offensive professions and hung her forever, upside down in the sky. Her skirt draped over her head, to be ridiculed and laughed at for all time."

Rose whispered startled: "That is horrible."

"Off course, this story only exists here on earth. The Cassiopeians are simply named after Cassius, their primary planet. There is none left alive nowadays, since there was a star that became supernova in your year 1681. Real tragedy, sad loss."

It took the Doctor a short while, before noticing the change in his companion's demeanour. Miss Tyler was no longer watching the night sky, she was observing him with a most unsettled eye. Her distinct move away from him, was probably the clearest sign of there being something wrong. The Doctor, recollecting his previous spoken words, understood immediately the reason for her bewilderment.

He took a firmer grasp on her hand as if to make sure she would not run off, before he had a chance to give a thorough explanation.

"My dear Rose, please do not be alarmed. You may well just believe me to be an eccentric, mad man and forget everything I have spoken in a moment of absent-mindedness. However, I must give you more credit than that and dare raise a suspicion in your mind, that not all is what it might seem."

"I-"

"Please, allow me to continue. You declared yesterday eve, your fondness of the works of Master Shakespeare and in particular the Midsummer Night's Dream, you therefore must have some partiality towards the fictional tales, have you not?"

"I have."

"It has not been in my intentions as to be so forthcoming, quite so early in our acquaintance. And this, least of all, is a setting in which I feel my sentiments being well accepted, however, to leave you now so unsatisfied will not do."

Rose felt all the uneasiness of a most unwanted secret becoming unravelled. Her curiosity nevertheless was aroused and with only a slight hesitation, she seated herself upon the quilt, the Doctor single-handedly placed before them.

From the basket he next took several refreshments and a flask, containing most likely an alcoholic beverage. The Doctor offered her a glass and poured some.

"The night can be cold, even in the midst of summer and you being well clothed. We do not want you to become ill, please; drink this, it will keep you warm inside."

Rose obliged and emptied the glass in one gulp. Instantly she felt the heat spread through her limbs and becoming at last a little more content, she took some of the refreshments.

They sat there, listening to the sounds of nocturnal life, both to much lost in thought to converse. Both unable and unwilling to forgo the hand they still clasped.

Finally, unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Rose pointed at the device and asked: "Did you bring a telescope?"

The Doctor, thrilled that she recognized his contraption, acknowledged it to be so and having to let go of her hold, he apologized and stood up to assemble the machine. He adjusted the height for her benefit and when completed and set; he invited her to gaze.

Rose readily complied.

Where she was silent before, she now became completely still. Seeing the stars at night, outside the safety of a room, but also undisturbed by glass or light, made an impression unlike any other. Seeing them however, so real, so unspoiled by perception and distance, was the most overwhelming sensation Rose ever experienced in her life. Her breath caught in her throat and her heartbeat fluttered. After a moment of perplexity, she stood up tall, looked straight into the Doctor's eyes, felt her heartbeat reach an alarming rate and bent over the telescope once again.

It took her several minutes to find some composure and several more to regain the power of speech.

"It is wonderful," she almost whispered. "I never dared to dream that I would one day see them at so near a distance. The stars are no longer dots of bright light, woven in a cloak of black velvet, they are alive, burning, constantly changing and far greater than I could ever imagine. They are like the sun."

"Quite so, this sun is but a small star compared to some."

"Our sun is a star like those?"

"Yes."

There was anticipation in his voice, his eyes narrowed on watching Rose come to a conclusion and he was eager for her understanding.

"Are there-"

"Yes?"

"I assume – please correct me if I venture in the wrong direction – this sun, this star has one orbiting planet, might there be-"

Rose found it gave her much trouble, expressing her new found insights. Her eagerness to be considered astute in the eyes of this man of science, made her mindful of seeming fantastical. On the other hand, the night up till now very much answered already to that phrase, so her notions might not be so strange altogether.

She therefore continued: "Could there be another sun out there, giving warmth and life to a world like ours?"

She was instantly beginning to form an apology for her ridiculous reasoning, until she noticed the smile that formed on the Doctor's face.

It was a smile of great fondness, no mockery was found in it. He seemed pleased beyond measure. Pride and affirmation shone in his eyes, relief and gratification spoke through his actions, as he knelt down once again and kissed the palm of her hand. An intimate gesture, far beyond the courteous affections of mere friends. Rose felt her cheeks flush, not fully understanding what brought on this display of emotions.

"Sir, please, you give me far to much consideration. I assume I gave you pleasure in relaying my suspicions, but you have yet to explain to me from where your pleasure arises."

"You have proven me wrong in assuming you would not be ready enough to understand certain, might I say, difficulties, attached to my person. Allow me first to say that your guess is correct in assuming there are other planets capable of sustaining lifeforms. However let me put you on your guard as to the very strong adversities that exist in certain circles against such statements. People in general do not tend to believe, that: which cannot be perceived by the naked eye. They will most likely proclaim you mad, should you ever utter a syllable of the word extra-terrestrial."

"I have not yet declared to believe any of the ideas of which you seem so sure. I too am partial to believe only that, what I can see, hear, smell, taste or feel. You have opened my eyes to the possibility of there being more than one world, you sure seem to believe in their existence. I am not unfamiliar with the works of Henry More or Fontanelle's. Their ideas inspired hundreds of young minds, mine being among them. However there is a great difference between an idea and a fact."

They were seated on the quilt again and with some fondness Rose observed how the Doctor made ready for an animated discussion.

She however, feeling the fatigue of a sleepless night, held up her hand to stop a retort and professed: "My dear Doctor, I am very willing to discuss this matter with you, until such a time as you can prove to me, the accuracy of your claims. However, now is not a good time. I thank you from the depths of my heart, for bringing me hence and showing me the stars, but now I must ask of you to return me to my house. For I am afraid the continuance of this adventure, will mark me quite ill tomorrow."

"I am terribly sorry. I continuously seem to forget the time, which is very much not like me at all. I will escort you to the house immediately and hope you will not be too cross with me as to exclude me from your presence altogether."

On this Rose smiled and assured him fervently of her desire to see much more of him in the future.

They packed up the contents of there outing and turned to head back. Unwilling to walk again without the security of his hand in hers, Rose took the empty basket from him and placed her hand in his, before he could utter an objection.

"Ah," he then merely voiced.

They reached the house when dawn was almost upon them. Taking the basket from her, the Doctor stood still for a moment with both her hands in his. He looked down on her, finding nothing but joy in her brown eyes. The light of the upcoming sun gave her features a silken softness and he could not withhold himself from touching her cheek with a brief caress of his thumb. She tilted her head but a little and her eyes fluttered shut.

Just for a moment. He blinked and when next he looked, she was gone.

He watched the door she disappeared through, till the rooster announced daybreak and the servants were to come out at any second. He left, and on leaving, felt he left part of him behind.