Saving the Doctor

Chapter 27

-Doctor-

Taking off? Why would we be taking off? Where could we possibly be going?

Wait. They've been talking about Earth.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

I do some typing and find the controls to Edrik's ship, trying to shut down the engines, but it's too late. Not even the manual override will activate.

"Come on!"

The ground shakes a moment and then we're in the air.

Frustrated, I hit the rail attached to the console. "Stupid girl! I should never have left her there by herself with him! Now I'm going to have to go and fix this myself."

I turn and, making sure I have my sonic, quickly go to the doors.

-Bethany-

"Very good. You're an excellent driver, Dearest."

I smile down at the console and try to concentrate on flying. I still can't really think straight, but I love the way he calls me 'dearest'.

On the other hand, flying is so much easier when you don't have to worry about running around the control panel, looking for buttons and levers and things. I can get used to this type of flying.

He activates one of the controls nearest to him and I can feel us moving farther and father from the surface. I know we must be reaching the planet's atmosphere, but it's too late to tell him about the Tardis' stubbornness in refusing to leave. Besides. Maybe I had been doing something wrong. With all those controls I had to run around looking for, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it was.

"We're coming close to the atmosphere. You may wish to fasten your safety belt."

I look down and notice he's already gotten his fastened. It's a six part belt, but I've seen it before and I get the general idea of how it works. I quickly snap the buckles in where they're supposed to meet at the middle, but I wind up with one piece left at the end and no place to put it.

"What..." I mutter as I continue to figure out how to fix it.

Edrik looks over and sees my predicament. He smiles amusedly and comes to my aid. "Here, let me help you with that." He unfastens all of the straps and starts over. As it turns out, I had put one of the straps in the wrong place.

As he refastens the seatbelt, or safety belt as he called it, I find myself staring at him again. He's just so considerate and kind. He doesn't berate me when I mess up. Instead, he helps me see what I did wrong and lets me try again. Unless he can use it as an excuse to be closer to me. Not in a creepy way, though. More like he likes being around me. Like he needs a close friend he can trust. Even though he's very open about what he thinks about me. Calling me 'Dearest' and 'Beautiful', saying he liked the way the first dress looked on me and vice versa: the way I looked in the dress. He's just so dreamy.

He might just be being overly friendly, but I can't help thinking it's more than that. I know it's probably just wishful thinking, but I really can't help it. It's all I can think about. That and how I want to stay here forever.

Wait...forever? What am I thinking?

He looks up from what he was doing as he finishes and sees me staring. I blush, embarrassed, and realize just how close he is. His gaze falls slightly and I almost think he's looking at my mouth. I feel my heart clench at what I know that means. He leans towards me and I try to calm my nerves, failing to do so as I become ever more aware of my heart pounding steadily faster.

I can't decide if I should kiss him or not. I mean, I would like to. But should I?

I feel something pulling me towards him, though, and I can't help but forget about whether I should fight it. His compliments can't be shrugged off as mere friendliness anymore, and to be honest, I would have been sad if that was all it had been.

Forget decisions. If I don't kiss him now I may never get the chance again.

I lean in to eliminate the space between us, eager for what will be my first kiss, but undoubtedly not his.

"Get away from my daughter."