"I thought I told you not to wander off," the Doctor reminds her but she ignores him.
"I changed my mind," Cherry muses, a small smile playing on her lips.
"You want to go home?" The Doctor assumes and she shakes her head.
"No, of course I don't,"...
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Cherry is sheepish as she silently creeps down the metal staircase that leads beneath the console room's glass platform. The steps are freezing underneath her bare feet, but she doesn't complain. She finds the Doctor sitting on his swing, goggles on his face, completely engrossed as he tends to the Tardis' engine. Cherry stands at the bottom of the stairs, and a small smile finally graces her lips as she watches him. After hours of tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep or ignore the empty feeling in her chest, the jealousy that eats away at her, and the guilt that consumes her for her envy, the Doctor is a welcome sight. He's ditched his jacket, and his sleeves are rolled up his arms, and Cherry finds it absolutely ridiculous that she can find someone in a strange red shirt, a bow tie and matching burgundy braces so attractive. She even likes his stupid goggles.
"What are you doing?" She asks softly. Her voice startles the Doctor, who drops the tool in his hand to the floor with a clatter. Cherry laughs, covering her mouth as she walks over to him. He rips the goggles off his face and sends her a pointed look. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"I thought you wanted to sleep?" The Doctor says, raising his eyebrows, and she sighs, her eyes flickering down to the floor.
"Yeah... I couldn't sleep," she admits quietly, and then Doctor's brow furrows.
"Is something wrong?" The Doctor looks concerned, and Cherry can't help but let her shoulders slump as the reminder of her troubles. He notices, of course, and he stands up. "What is it?"
"Can we go somewhere?" Cherry looks up at him pleadingly. "Another planet, or... somewhere nice on Earth?"
"Of course," the Doctor says, sending her a quizzical look as he walks past her and makes a start up the steps. "Where would you like to go? Ancient Greece? An art gallery? Somewhere warm? Your choice."
"I think I want to go somewhere rainy and cold," Cherry says as she reaches the platform. The Doctor pauses before the console and turns to her with a confused expression. The cold and rain are a rather surprising request from her. He checks to make sure she is okay and then slams down the lever with green flashing lights on its base and smiles at her.
"Rainy it is!" The Doctor exclaims, grabbing onto the console as the ship begins to shake. Cherry loses her footing and stumbles into him. He catches her with one arm, holding her close to him as he reaches over and switches on the stabilisers. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"
Cherry contemplates it for a moment and then worries that admitting how she feels may tarnish his image of her, and she deliberates. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Do you know?" The Doctor says as he lands the Tardis. He waits for the engines to quieten down before he looks over at Cherry again. "A smart woman once told me that talking about things can be very helpful."
"Well, she sounds wonderful," Cherry says playfully, knowing full well he is talking about her, and the Doctor nods with a small smile.
"Oh, she is," he assures her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and steering her to the doors. "Though she certainly doesn't believe that."
