Saskia's Trials - Epilogue

The following morning Saskia and the Doctor said goodbye to Dr Karg and Jeff, then the Doctor took the TARDIS into the Time Vortex. Saskia was seated on the Control Room bench watching as he checked their position. He finally finished checking the scanner screen then came to sit beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders. She leant against him companionably.
"What happens now?" she asked.
"Now, my lady, we do whatever you want to do until you feel fit enough to take another trip. We can watch movies, listen to music, read, sleep and eat in whatever combinations you choose."
"Reading sounds good right now," Saskia said thoughtfully.
"Then reading it is. Where would my lady like to read – in the library, in her room, in here?"
"In the den," Saskia answered.
"The den?" The Doctor frowned. "Does the TARDIS have a den?"
"You probably call it something else. It's the room with the home cinema system in it," Saskia said. "I thought 'den' sounded cosier than 'the home cinema'."
The Doctor nodded. "Then we'll read in the den. We can stop off at the library to get some books on the way there."
He stood up and offered Saskia his arm which she took gratefully. She had a tendency to have random dizzy spells as a result of her treatment at the hands of Oscar, so having an arm to hang on to was a necessity and comforting too. They went to the library and chose a book each, the Doctor tucking them both into his pockets, even though Saskia's choice was a hefty copy of the Complete Works of Shakespeare. He wanted to keep both his hands free since Dr Karg had warned them that Saskia might also suffer from blackouts.
In the den the Doctor settled himself on the left hand side of the leather sofa. "I thought you might want to stretch out," he said as Saskia sat next to him.
"If I stretch out properly I'll probably fall asleep," she said, swinging her legs up onto the sofa. She turned and leant her back against the Doctor's right shoulder. "Is that OK?" she asked.
"As long as you're comfortable," he answered. He put his right arm around her middle, the two books balanced on his hand. "Which one do you fancy first? Dickens or Shakespeare?"
"Shakespeare please." She took the book and opened it on her lap as he put Great Expectations on the sofa arm beside him.

"You know, I remembered that there's a line in The Tempest that I was thinking was suited to you and Rose," she said as she turned the pages, searching for the play she wanted to read.
"Oh?"
"Miranda says to Ferdinand, 'I would not wish any other companion in the world but you.' I thought it was apt for you two."
The Doctor was silent for a moment. "Saskia you don't have to keep comparing yourself to Rose or thinking of my relationship with her all the time. I loved Rose and I miss her enormously, I always will, but you are my companion now."
Saskia stopped turning the pages, puzzled by the note in his voice. "I know I am, but –"There is no but," the Doctor said firmly. "I've had dozens of companions over the years, but right now I only have one and that's you. Do you remember that when talked in Eupatoria, I told you I'd rather have you travelling with me than almost anyone else?"
"Yes." Saskia's voice was barely more than a whisper.
"And I reminded you of that exact conversation a few days ago, when were having a picnic in Oxford. I'm going to remind you of it again, and I'll tell you again what I told you then. I meant what I said. Rose has gone somewhere that I cannot follow her, so I have to travel without her. I could travel alone, but I prefer to travel with someone else. And this time, I chose you." He turned and put his other arm around her, hugging her. "It's you and me now, OK?"
Saskia nodded, unable to speak past the lump she suddenly had in her throat.
He turned the pages of the book in her lap for a few moments, then stopped. "Perhaps you know these lines from Hamlet Act I, Scene 3," he said pointing at the page.
Saskia looked at the lines at which he pointed.
"Read it out to me, please?"
She read aloud: "Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel."
"You'd better be prepared to have you soul grappled with hoops of steel," he told her.
She made a noise that was halfway between a laugh and a sob. "OK."
"You know, when you're feeling up to travelling again, we could go and see Shakespeare."
"Really?" asked Saskia.
"Really, really. But only if you want to."
"Yes please."
He smiled at the note of excitement in her voice.