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𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐃 his fists down on the console. "How could they have escaped?" he growled, the rest of his crew cowering in fear. "You assured me this was fool-proof."

"Maybe they're not fools, sir," Ratnar spoke up, and Vorn spun around, staring daggers at him. But Ratnar didn't falter, not bothering to bow his head. "Maybe we require better leadership on your part, sir."

"How dare you?" Vorn fumed, marching over to his senior officer. "A commander is as strong as his crew. Are you strong, Ratnar?" He towered over the other, but only successful in intimidating the rest of the crew.

Ratnar stared up at him. "You had this under control, didn't you sir?" he teased. "It doesn't seem like you have control at the moment." He cried out in pain as Vorn struck him across his cheek, forced backwards onto the cold floor by the impact. He glowered up at his commander.

"Anyone else?" Vorn snarled, and the crew shook their heads.

Litu hurried over to Ratnar, dropping to her knees to cradle his face in her hands. Vorn scowled at them before turning his back, facing the large monitor once again. "Anybody else have any bright ideas?"

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐃 and appeared where they had been situated before, under the large oak tree in the park in front of Libbie's apartment, in Surrey, England, on planet Earth. Libbie stumbled out, gripping onto the edge of the Tardis and then the base of the tree, sitting herself firmly on the grass and closing her eyes. "Do you always feel this damn dizzy?" she groaned, laying her head back against the tree trunk.

"First time is always the hardest," the Doctor says, walking out to join her.

She opened her eyes slowly, glancing up at the blue sky she was used to. She frowned. "How long were we gone?"

"About two minutes."

She stared at him, trying to make a logical connection. "It felt like hours though."

He shrugged, smiling. "All of time and space. You'll get used to it."

"You say that like I'll be doing this again," she laughed, using the tree to help her onto her feet. She glanced at him and noticed he was no longer smiling. "Doctor?"

"All of time and space, Libbie," he enthused. "Don't you want to see it?"

Her heart dropped. "I have responsibilities here," she sighed. "I have rent to pay and people who rely on me, and not to mention, a heck of a clean up at work. We'll need all new printers." Her attempt to lighten the mood fell on deaf ears and hardened hearts.

"Humans," he scoffed to himself. "You always want more than you can have, and when it's given to you, you get scared."

"Because it's scary!" Libbie retorted. "You show up out of nowhere and take me to a completely different world and expect me to uproot my whole life for it? It doesn't work like that, and if you think it does, then you really are an alien."

"And you're bossy!" He crossed his arms over his chest again and stamped his foot. "Maybe I don't want to show you the universe now."

A sly knowing smile crept onto her face as she watched him pout. "All of time and space?" He turned to her and she gave a one-shouldered shrug. "Just come find me when I'm free."

The Doctor tried to smile, but it was more sad than happy. She walked over to him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you though," she said. "It was... enlightening." Her smile widened. "Whenever I look up to the stars, I'll think of you, madman."

He finally smiled, but Libbie knew it wasn't as joyous as he wanted. She began walking towards her apartment before looking over her shoulder. "I'll see you 'round, Doc."

He nodded, avoiding the pang of anguish that sat in the pit of his stomach as he watched her, like others before, walk away.

Libbie unlocked her front door and stepped inside her apartment, dropping her keys on the top of the hallway table. She let out a small gasp of realisation before grabbing her copy of the sonic screwdriver from the drawer. "Doctor!" she called out, running out the door and onto the balcony, but the blue box was gone.

The Doctor was gone.

Libbie's lips were pursed in disappointment as she placed the screwdriver back in the top drawer before making her way to the kitchen.

"You alright?" Maggie asked, not looking up from the sandwich she was making.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Libbie replied, masking her regret in not joining the Doctor, even if for just another short trip.

"Want one?" the blonde asked, gesturing to her sandwich before looking up. Her demeanour changed, sparking a caring and worried look to spread over her face. "Oh, Lobster. What's happened?"

Libbie's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Maggie's brows lifted in concerned astonishment, as if Libbie had no idea of her own emotions. "I know that look. It's the same look you had when that jerk what's-his-name stood you up."

Libbie swallowed, blinking quickly. "I'm okay."

Her flatmate shrugged. "Okay, I won't push it." She handed Libbie the already-made peanut butter sandwich.

"I thought this was yours."

"It was," she confirmed. "But I can make another. You need it first."

Libbie smiled a grateful smile. "Thanks, Mags."

Maggie winked. "I got your back, kid."

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𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐊, Libbie could see the IT team roll in each new printer on Monday morning, replacing the ones that were considered damaged and irreparable. When asked, she simply answered that there was a power outage on Saturday and they must have all shorted out, and that was that. No one asked further, and she didn't necessarily consider it lying. She chewed at her bottom lip, her mind still stuck on the mysterious mad Doctor.

"Libbie?" Leo appeared in her doorway and she regained her focus. "I hate to ask, but this Phillips novel, it's a bit more time-consuming than I anticipated. Would you mind staying late and working on it with me tonight?"

Libbie inhaled, nodding. "Sure."

"Would it be inappropriate for me to order dinner then?" he asked, trying to not overstep his bounds.

"Uh," she thought aloud before shaking her head. "No, that's okay. I eat." She narrowed her eyes to him. "As long as it's only dinner, Leo."

He threw his hands up innocently. "Only dinner, I swear." He grinned before retreating to his own office, leaving Libbie to let her mind wander again.

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