(While set during the events of the previous tale, this story does not contain any spoilers if read first)

Hayzel had been in a lot of tricky situations before, but few as awkward as this. She didn't have the first idea what she was doing, and without Vaidya to help her, things looked pretty grim for them. But she persevered nonetheless, hunched over the slim leather-bound book, trying desperately to make sense of the writing on the pages through the flickering candlelight that barely penetrated the darkness around her. Things shifted and stirred in that blackness; disembodied voices whispered and muttered, and from somewhere close above her there was a crackling, hissing sound, which further strained at her tattered nerves.

It was no good. Conscious of the cool, quizzical gaze of the man standing beside her, Hayzel uttered a weary sigh and decided to go with plan B: When in doubt, seek the advice of an expert.

She looked up from the wine list and frowned up at the waiter. "Well, er... what do you recommend?"

The waiter's smile was polite if practised. Hayzel guessed he'd been asked that question a million times. "If I may recommend, miss, for the dishes you have ordered, one of our chianti's, although we have an excellent cabernet sauvignon which should prove an exquisite companion to your meal."

Wine knowledge was a little beyond Hayzel, beyond the fact it got you drunk and tasted good - usually. "That's, um, a red... right?"

The waiter wasn't fazed for an instant. "Yes, miss."

She closed the wine menu with a snap. "Right then... that'll do."

The waiter gave a small bow. "Excellent choice, miss. I'm sure your friend will agree too."

Hayzel shot a glance at the vacant seat opposite her. Where the hell had he gone? "He'd better," she muttered darkly, snapping a breadstick in half and munching on it.

Above her, the speaker crackled again, emitting another burst of static, before tinny music started to drift through the room. Hayzel winced; she preferred the sound of the static to the syrupy strains of violin and guitar music that the restaurant seemed to like to play.

A door banged gently and a shadowy figure appeared from a back room at the rear of the restaurant, dodging quickly through the other tables to take the seat opposite Hayzel. Vaidya smiled apologetically.

"Sorry about that... when you gotta go, you gotta go."

She raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. She was pretty sure that the bathrooms were back in that direction, but knowing Vaidya, he'd probably vanished for a couple of months on some secret mission in the space of the ten minutes he'd been absent from the table. Right now, she wasn't sufficiently motivated enough to enquire further, and let it drop.

Vaidya settled into his seat and fiddled with the cutlery before him absently, neatly avoiding her gaze. "Did you order the wine?"

As if by magic the waiter reappeared with the bottle, and poured a sample for Vaidya to taste. "Here we are, sir..."

Vaidya tried it, and liked it. He nodded approvingly. "Excellent choice, Hazyel."

Hayzel glanced at the waiter. "Well, it wasn't really me who..."

Vaidya winked. "Ah, no, but you listened to the voice of experience... and there's no one better here who knows about wine than Guiseppe, eh?"

The waiter smiled, busy pouring them both out a drink. "Thank you, sir."

Vaidya leaned forward conspiratorially. "I always ask him too!" he whispered loudly.

Hayzel smiled laconically. "And there was I, thinking you were an expert in every subject!"

"Almost every subject..." he started ticking things off on his fingers. "I've never quite mastered quantum mechanics, or silicon chemistry, and truth be told, my knowledge of sub-space harmonic field waves leaves a lot to be desired." He took a small sip from his wine, and then smiled. "Plus, I've never quite been able to fathom the off-side rule. Is it really true they're penalised if they're level?"

Hayzel shook her head, baffled. "I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about!" She picked up her own glass and took a sip. It was good. She smiled at the waiter. "Thank you. It is excellent."

The waiter bowed again. "Miss. Sir. I shall return shortly with your meal."

He departed, and Hayzel returned her attention to Vaidya. "Besides, you know me... I'm only an expert in one thing."

He shook his head. "Not true. You forget, I've read your dossier."

"What does that prove?"

"It proves that you've developed a flair for art, and music... you like sculpture, and painting." He smiled. "I hear you have quite a collection in your room."

"Had to spend Lavarre's money some how... what better way than to invest it?"

He shook his head. "Oh no, there's more to it than that... you didn't get that stuff just for its monetary value. You have an appreciation for it. An eye for beauty, and creativity. That speaks volumes."

She laughed. "I've known maniacs and psychopaths with wonderful art collections. Doesn't make them better people."

"Even bad people have their better qualities."

"Not some of the ones I've worked with." A shadow passed across her face. "Tymus had an eye for Draconian jade sculpture. You've probably read the medical report of what he did to me in the dungeon. Balance that with his love of fine art." She picked up her glass and took a deep swig, as if to drown the memory.

Vaidya winced. "I didn't mean to bring that up. I'm sorry."

"It happened," she said with chilling indifference, and looked up at him. "But it won't happen again." She paused, and set her glass down. "Anyway, my point was, you can't tell everything about a person from their dossier. Or, what they like and dislike."

"True," he admitted slowly. "That's why, whenever possible, I prefer to find out about people first-hand, rather than through someone else's report."

"Which is why, presumably, you've brought me here."

He looked at her for a moment. "You needed a break, Hayzel. Change of scene."

She looked around the darkened restaurant, at the dim figures sitting around tables lit only by flickering candle light. Low conversation and the soft chink of cutlery on china blended with the scratchy music drifting from speakers set in the corners of the room. Hayzel guessed it was supposed to be romantic, but instead she just felt uneasy. She'd had enough of darkness and shadows, subdued conversations, secrets. "This?"

"Why not? I come here a lot. Good food, good wine..."

"There's plenty of good food and wine at home..."

He shook his head. "Not like this..."

"It's wasted on me anyway..." she leaned forward. "You'll also know from my dossier that I spent most of my life living off survival rations and garbage tips."

Vaidya smiled patiently. "Didn't Lavarre try to improve your tastes?"

"Of course... he brought us all up to be well-mannered little killers!" She swirled the wine around her glass. "But my talents were rarely called upon for grand social occasions. Lavarre had people like Chlorys and Guye for that sort of thing. I'm a stalker - a sniper. I rarely got to meet any of my victims, and when it was face to face, we never spoke. Lavarre didn't..." she trailed off.

"What? Come on... speak your mind. Don't bottle it up, Hayzel."

She cast a nervous glance left and right. "Well, Lavarre never really trusted me with that kind of job. I've been known to... get involved. From half a mile away through a sniper-scope, they're just a target. When I'm standing in front of them talking to them, they become more... real." She looked at him with a frown. "Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "And it's nothing to be ashamed of. That's simply conscience, Hayzel. You're an educated, highly intelligent woman. It's not a crime to think. Or have feelings."

She laughed ruefully. "I think I think too much sometimes!"

"No." He shook his head firmly. "No such thing as thinking too much. Dwelling on something, that's a different matter."

She looked at him levelly. "Don't you dwell on anything?"

"Sure... but I've learnt not to let it interfere with what I'm doing."

"Really?" She leaned forward. "What's your secret, then?"

Vaidya hesitated, and for the first time he seemed to look a little uncertain, but his response was curtailed by the reappearance of the waiter, pushing a trolley ahead of him which bore their meals. With practised ease he placed the plates before them.

"Bon appetit madam... bon appetit sir."

The waiter bowed gracefully and backed away from their table. Vaidya nodded gratefully and looked down at his food with satisfaction, savouring the rich aroma drifting up. He smacked his lips.

"Mmm... I always say, if you want really good Italian food, you have to come to Italy!" he declared heartily, seeming to forget about Hayzel's question. "I think it's one of my favourite reasons about why I like visiting Earth. That and cars, of course."

"Er, quite," replied Hayzel, dubiously eyeing the heap of spaghetti and rich meat, cream and tomato sauce it was contained in. She'd never had much luck with this particular dish in the past. She could handle any weapon with a skill and dexterity matched by only a few humanoid beings, but give her a fork and a plate of pasta and she became as clumsy as a child. She looked down at the beautiful dark blue silk evening gown she was wearing, and imagined it flecked with splodges of the sauce. She wanted to tuck her napkin into her collar but the dress was a little low cut to say the least, and anyway she wasn't sure if that was correct etiquette.

Vaidya was immaculately attired as well, in black dinner jacket and bow tie, and though he remained characteristically unshaven, the stubble was trimmed to a fashionable style and his hair was neatly combed and oiled. He looked fabulous, as did she, as he'd remarked on numerous occasions during the evening. She guessed his compliments went a lot beyond politeness, and she was slightly nervous of that. It wasn't so much that she was afraid of him, or his reasons or intentions for doing this; it was more to do with the situation. Hayzel had a great deal of elegance and beauty herself but she'd always been ill at ease about it. She could never quite reconcile looking attractive while being a heartless killer. She wasn't that kind of assassin.

He noticed her hesitation and looked up from his plate. "Your food okay?" he asked. "They have been known to put a little too much garlic in sometimes..."

"No, it's fine," she said hesitantly. "I just wish I'd ordered something a little less messy!"

Vaidya laughed, a rich, warm sound that stirred things deep inside her chest; things she hadn't felt for a very long time. She'd shied from these feelings until recently, keeping them hidden, if bubbling away, beneath the surface. But the more time she spent in Vaidya's presence, the less she felt obliged to do so, especially after the nightmare of Shenko.

But if Shenko was the nightmare, Vaidya was proving to be her wake-up call. He'd taken care of her after they'd come home, and with compassion and understanding that genuinely surprised her, shielding her from Maydred's questions and generally keeping her mind from dwelling on her bad experiences. He'd even talked her into taking a sedative, something she rarely did, and she'd enjoyed a few hours sleep unclouded by bad thoughts or nightmares. She was even starting to feel slightly better, but her unease remained; possibly because of the situation they were in now.

Before, she'd been slightly suspicious of his interests; from what she'd heard, Vaidya was something of a rogue, with a wandering eye. It had certainly wandered over Chlorys - no surprise there - and possibly Chayni too, though Chris's involvement there kept his appreciation to the odd sideways glance. She even suspected an interest in Dyane, but the girl was such an enigma that she shouldn't have been surprised. Most of the male Kids - and a few of the female - had tried to work The Dyane Problem out, and all had failed, though some never gave up trying, by fair means or foul. All had departed either disappointed or badly bruised - sometimes worse. Many had gone away calling Dyane frigid; Chlorys had, in a moment of frustration, termed the phrase 'Ice Maiden', which had stuck; but Hayzel knew it wasn't that. She was simply not interested. And Hayzel could sympathise, though they'd never spoken about it (they'd never spoken much at all, in truth). She'd tried to distance herself from that too, especially with members of the group, not only because she didn't welcome some of the advances made; and made they were too, and truth be told, she had weakened on occasion, and then only for brief flings that were more akin to letting off steam than the prelude to anything serious; but because she was afraid of what that kind of prolonged close relationship would lead to. Death was a constant possibility in their line of work, and she'd suffered the agony of the loss of loved ones too often in the past to want to experience that again.

But she was beginning to fear she would again.

She prodded at the steaming mass before her, then sighed and reached for the wine bottle, refilling her glass. The wine was good, and right now, she was in a drinking kind of mood. It wasn't that she was a great drinker or anything, but in the bad old days, after she'd completed a mission for Lavarre, she used to enjoy slipping away somewhere where the music was loud, the company was cute, and the alcohol in plentiful supply. Let her hair down, blow off a little steam, love 'em and leave 'em, call it what you like; it used to work pretty well. She flicked a glance around the restaurant and sighed again. This wasn't quite what she had in mind. Far too low key. Far too quiet. She could hear herself think for a start.

Something cracked behind her and she jumped, leaping up from her seat and swinging round to face the sound, dinner knife raised defensively in her hand.

"Woah!" cried Vaidya, dropping his knife and fork and standing up too, hands raised placatingly. "Hayzel, relax - it's just a bottle being opened!"

Hayzel gaped at the waiter standing by the table opposite who had paused from pouring a champagne bottle to look at her quizzically and not without a measure of apprehension.

"Sorry," she mumbled, and sat back down, embarrassed, heart racing. She looked down at her plate and saw that her napkin had fallen into the middle of her food. She plucked it gingerly free, tomato sauce dripping down from it. She dropped it back, reaching for her wineglass again. Her fingers were trembling slightly.

Vaidya winced. This wasn't going quite as well as he'd hoped. "You really are still on edge," he said quietly.

"Yeah," she muttered before taking another mouthful of wine. She closed her eyes, swallowed, and followed the sensation of the liquid trickling down her throat into her stomach. It felt pretty good, the after taste lingering sweetly on her palate. She opened her eyes and looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry... I guess I'm just not very good company at the moment."

"Not true. If anyone should apologise, it's me. I'm so caught up with myself that I didn't stop to think whether this kind of place wasn't to your taste. I should have asked you first." He scratched his cheek, looking rather shamefaced. "Guess I was just trying to show off. Impress you, like."

Hayzel smiled slowly. "You don't have to wine and dine me to impress me." She paused for a moment. "You already did that, carrying me back from Shenko. Looking after me." She toyed with her glass. "I don't usually break down like that..."

"Well, it was a rough experience for you back there... and before that too," he added hesitantly. "I just want to make sure... nothing like that happens again."

She struggled to keep her voice level. "I'll try not to let you down in the field again. I'm conscious of the fact that I'm... prone to make mistakes."

He looked up at her sharply, and through the dull orange glow of the candle, she could just about make out that his face was flushed... no, not flushed; he was blushing.

"That's not what I meant! Look, er..." He played uneasily with his food, then continued softly: "I just think you've suffered enough, and I want to help you make things better. And I want you to know that you mustn't be afraid of... making mistakes, whatever." He looked up at her painfully. "I'm not Lavarre, Hayzel. I won't be putting anyone in a dungeon for whatever reason. And I won't let anyone else do it either." He cleared his throat and looked down at his plate again, struggling to look and sound professional again. "I just wanted to let you know where I stood."

She reached across and took his hand, squeezing it gently. "I know you're not Lavarre. You strike me as a decent man, Vaidya. I appreciate what you're trying to do for me."

"For everyone," he murmured, looking up at her. Though his eyes said, especially for you.

They regarded each other for a moment, then Vaidya smiled.

"Want to blow this joint?" he asked.

Hayzel smiled back, a little warily. "I wouldn't say no."

He nodded, still smiling. "I think I know where we can go." He tossed is napkin down and stood up, raising a hand to summon the waiter. Hayzel stood up too.

"Where's that?" she asked.

He grinned. "Somewhere... wonderful. You'll see."

***

He wasn't far wrong.

"Wow..."

Hayzel was gazing across a scene of incredible natural beauty. They were standing near the top of a tall, gently sloping hill, looking down across a sweeping panorama of rolling green fields and woods, bathed in warm sunshine. There were a few animals grazing in the fields, and what were probably farm buildings dotted around in the distance, otherwise they were alone. The sky was a deep blue, with only thin whisps of cloud drifting across it, and a gentle breeze rippled through her hair and clothing. She took a deep breath and smelt clean, fresh air; better than the smoky, garlic-tainted air of the restaurant, and certainly better than the stale mustiness of the house. Birdsong drifted through the air, a gentler, relaxing sound than the scratchy music in the restaurant.

Beside her, Vaidya grinned. "Isn't it? That's more or less what I said the first time I was brought here."

She glanced at him. "Earth?"

He nodded. "Yes. Southern England, to be exact."

Hayzel looked behind her at what was at the top of the hill they stood on. It was a massive tree, towering into the sky with a multitude of gnarled leaf-covered branches reaching up into the blue. The wind shook the branches delicately, filling the air with a soothing rustling sound, and the sunlight filtering through the gaps danced and played on the ground in time with the random rhythm of the air.

"That's quite a tree," she breathed.

"It's an oak. And yes, it's a very remarkable tree." He wandered up the hill and patted its side. "It lives for centuries up here, watching down on everything..."

Hayzel came up to join him. "Centuries? Do trees live that long?"

"They live for a long time, but this one..." he smiled. "This one is special."

Hayzel rested a hand on its bark too and gently ran her fingers across it. "Special? How?"

"Because it lives for so long. I've revisited the tree hundreds of times down the centuries, and it's always here... no matter what." He paused. "The Doctor told me it was one of times' constants. Something that's always there." He patted the tree again. "That's possibly why I like it so much."

"Because it's always here..." she nodded slowly. "Constant... yes. I think I understand."

He looked at her and smiled. "I thought you would." He looked up through the branches. "It's home to a lot of different species as well. Animals, insects, birds... the Doctor said it was a favourite roost for owls." He frowned quietly at that thought. "Owls, yes..." he murmured to himself.

She walked round the tree, studying it. "The Doctor brought you here, then?"

He nodded, kneeling down to pick up an acorn. "When I was growing up. I spent most of my early years on Earth..." he looked away across the landscape, expression unreadable. "I had to." He smiled wistfully and looked up through the branches at the sky, bouncing the oak seed in his palm. "He brought my mother here once too... they camped here at night. Built a fire, sat out under the stars... talked the night away. She learnt a lot from him... I did too."

Hayzel watched him, fascinated. She'd never heard him talk about the Doctor before - or his family. The transformation as he did was quite something, revealing more of the man that lay beneath the sardonic adventurer he liked to present.

She hoped she'd see more of that.

"What was your mother's name?" asked Hayzel softly.

Vaidya looked at her cautiously. She cast her eyes down apologetically, as if sensing that she was intruding.

"Her name was Leela," he replied quietly. He returned his gaze to the view when he saw the name meant nothing to her. But then the Doctor had assured him that Lavarre would have made certain exceptions from the list of names given to the kids, names excluded because of their Gallifreyan connections.

"You know the Doctor well?"

He closed his eyes, as if savouring the feeling the sun of his face. "I don't know if anyone knows him that well... I think he prefers it that way."

She was moved to rest a hand on his shoulder. "Do you prefer it that way as well?"

He smiled wryly. "Maybe. I thought I did, but..." He shook his head and opened his eyes again. "There's a lot of... things, that have happened to me in my life, Hayzel. Some of which are probably better left untold."

"We've all got memories like that..." she said gently.

He looked round at her and she was struck by how melancholy he looked. "Mine go back a little further than yours, Hayzel. By a century or two." He turned away again, and tossed the acorn to the ground again. "Some people would envy me for living for centuries, but I wonder how much envy they'd feel if they realised what memories they'd get..."

Hayzel squeezed his shoulder. "Want to talk about them?" she asked shyly.

He looked round at her again, and smiled sadly, but he shook his head. "No... not right now." He reached up and placed a hand over hers. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just..."

She nodded sympathetically. "It's okay. I won't pry."

He looked down at his feet. "There are things about me, Hayzel..."

"There are things about all of us," she said quietly.

"Bad things," he murmured, taking his hand away from hers as if in shame, his face bleak and pinched.

"Well," she said softly, "I'm a murderer - or I was, anyway. That's bad enough, don't you think?"

"There's murder and there's..."

"Murder?" she completed his sentence for him. "Yeah, I know..." She managed a smile. "Come on... what was it you said earlier about dwelling on things?" She slapped him lightly on the back. "You're supposed to be cheering me up... not the other way round!"

His face twitched. "That's right... I was, wasn't I?" He looked up, animation slowly returning to his face again. "Am I succeeding?"

She snorted. "You were..."

Something clinked in his hand, and from beneath his dinner jacket he produced a bottle and two glasses. "Would this help?" he smiled. "Liberated it from the restaurant before we left."

She laughed. "Wouldn't hurt!"

"Thought it wouldn't!" he beamed, and sat down on the ground beneath the tree to open the bottle up. Hayzel smoothed her dress down and sat awkwardly beside him. She giggled suddenly, and he looked up. "What?"

"It's just struck me how odd we probably look - dressed up like this!"

"I've looked odder," he confessed.

"I bet!"

"Careful," he warned, pulling at the cork, "or I won't share!"

"Oh!" she cried in mock indignation. "Drink that all by yourself, would you?"

He freed the cork with a soft pop and grinned. "Could drink five times this amount... six or seven, with a good dinner!"

"Them's fightin' words!" she growled good-naturedly.

He raised his eyebrows. "Says nothing in your dossier about being an alcoholic..." he carefully poured them both a glass of the red liquid, which glowed crimson in the clear sunlight.

"I'm not!" she glared. "I'm just letting you know, I can hold my own..."

Vaidya picked up both glasses again and smirked. "A witty rejoinder came to mind about that remark... but I think I'd be sailing into Chlorys territory if I made it!"

She took one of the glasses and regarded him balefully. "You steer well clear of that particular shore..."

He raised his glass to the light to examine the colour. "Why? The natives look friendly..." he remarked casually.

Hayzel smirked. "Appearances can be deceptive..." She leaned closer. "Didn't your mother ever warn you about man-eaters?"

A faint hint of his earlier melancholy threatened to return to Vaidya's face at the mention of his mother, but he hid it by widening his smile. "I'm not quite sure I'm her particular flavour..."

Hayzel roared with laughter. "Chlorys isn't choosy - she's no gourmet, that's for sure!"

He cocked his head on one side. "How would you know?"

That made her laugh even harder, but she forced herself to stop when she started to spill her drink. She hiccuped, pressed a hand to her mouth, and took control again. "Now stop it," she warned. "It's bad enough when she starts implying things..."

Vaidya grinned and swirled the wine around his glass. "Just curious," he shrugged.

"Well, I'm not," she said meaningfully, and raised her glass. "What shall we drink to?"

Vaidya raised his and considered. "Hmmm..." he leaned his head back against the tree, feeling the rough bark through his hair against his skull, and suddenly smiled. "How about to constants?"

"Constants..." Hayzel smiled slowly, and nodded. "Yeah, I like that..." she chinked her glass against the side of his. "To constants..."

"Wherever she may be..." intoned Vaidya.

Hayzel cracked up again, but this time the tears that welled in her eyes were from laughter, not sorrow.

High in the tree above, awakened by the sound of laughter, a small brown owl opened one eye and peered down at the couple below. It regarded them solemnly for a moment, then closed its eye again to go back to sleep.

***

The afternoon slowly passed, the pair of them content to enjoy the wine, the sunshine, the scenery, and each others' company.

Eventually Vaidya tipped the bottle up and shook it slightly. "All gone," he sighed.

"Shame," murmured Hayzel, propped up against the tree with her eyes shut, a picture of contentment.

"I'm tempted to go back for some more, but..."

"I suppose we have work in the morning."

"Probably." Definitely, he thought ruefully.

"Ah well," she sighed, and opened her eyes. "It was nice while it lasted."

He looked round at her. "I liked it too."

She looked at him too. "Maybe we should do this again."

"Would you like to?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I think I would."

They held each other's gaze for a moment longer, then he looked away across the landscape. "It's nice to have a place you can forget your troubles... even better when you can share it with someone."

She smiled, glowing almost. "So, this is where you come to forget yours?"

"Yes. Frequently," he smiled, a little sadly.

She held out her hand. "Then, thank you for sharing it with me."

He took it. "That's what friends are for," he replied softly.

She raised an eyebrow coyly. "Friends?"

He looked at her for a moment, still smiling, then raised her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "If you'd have me as a friend," he murmured.

She was suddenly conscious of how hard her heart was beating. "Just a friend?" she answered hesitantly.

A faint flicker of... fear, was that? Passed across his face, but didn't linger long enough to register properly. "A good friend, I hope," he smiled.

She smiled back, but if felt a little funny. "I'd like to think that too."

"Good!" he grinned, and scrambled to his feet and began to help her up.

Head buzzing slightly from the wine, Hayzel staggered slightly - though she wondered later that it felt more like a push, but as they were the only ones there that was impossible, wasn't it? - and lost her balance, pitching forward into him. He lost his footing and, still holding onto her, tumbled over, taking her with him. They rolled breathlessly down the slope a short way until they came to rest, Vaidya all but lying on top of her.

"Whoops," she breathed, all too conscious of how close his face was to hers.

"Sorry..." he muttered, looking down at her, all too conscious of her proximity as well.

"No, my fault... too much wine."

"It was a bit heavy - especially on an empty stomach," he agreed.

"Plays hell on the balance."

"Yes."

"It's nice though."

"Very nice."

He still didn't move to get up. She could feel his heartbeat - his twin heartbeat - against her chest through the thin silk of her dress. One seemed to be pulsing faster than the other.

Hers was certainly racing. She wondered if he felt it too.

"It's been a nice day," she said.

"Yes, it has..."

They fell silent again, still not moving. Time might almost have frozen.

"I was wondering when you were going to make your move..." she said softly.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly, seeming to misunderstand her question, shifting his position away from her. "I'm probably squashing you!"

"That's not what I meant..."

Their eyes met. Again, Hayzel detected a faint flicker of fear in his face.

"Look, Hayzel, I didn't get you out here just to..." He began blinking rapidly, trying to think of what to say. "I mean, I don't want you to think I'm just..." He shook his head, and started to get up. "I didn't bring you out here to take advantage of you, Hayzel. I think you've been taken advantage of badly in the past, and I don't want you to think that I'm..."

"Hey," she murmured, touching a finger to his lips to quieten him. "Did I say I was complaining?"

She reached up and grasped his lapels, and pulled him back down towards her.

Their consciousness narrowed to just each other for a period of time that was probably only seconds, but to them an eternity. As such they felt the vibrations of the footsteps running across the ground towards them rather than heard them. Vaidya snapped his face up away from hers to see who was approaching.

"Uh-oh..." he whispered. "Company..."

Hayzel turned her face round and saw a small boy running up the slope in their direction. Just behind him came three more figures, a young blonde woman with what looked like a picnic hamper, followed by an older blonde woman in a waxed jacket and an older man in a tweed jacket and flat cap who had a stiff military bearing about him. The younger woman called after the boy.

"Gordy... Gordy, slow down!"

The boy did, especially when he saw Vaidya and Hayzel, who scrambled rather guiltily to their feet and began brushing the grass and dirt from their clothes. Vaidya managed a weak grin and raised a hand. "Hello there," he called. "Lovely afternoon for it!" Out of the corner of his mouth he hissed to Hayzel: "Get going down the other side of the hill. I recognise these people."

Hayzel tensed. "Unfriendlies?"

Vaidya chuckled. "Far from it... but it would be awkward meeting them here like this! Come on..."

Vaidya waved one last time, then scampered up the hill to collect the empty bottle and the glasses. Hayzel glowered at the newcomers.

"Wonderful timing," she muttered. Then, with one last shake of the head, she set off after the Time Lord.

After a minute or two, the older couple arrived at the spot Vaidya and Hayzel had just vacated. The woman clicked her tongue.

"Disgraceful! And in public too..."

The man rumbled a good natured laugh. "Doris, I think you're becoming a real prude in your old age!"

She sighed. "Alistair, you know I'm no prude, but Gordy..."

He wrapped an arm round her shoulders. "Oh, I know, but they looked fully-clad to me!" He grinned. "Just courting, I should think." He pulled her a little closer. "Reminds me of that time in the New Forest... remember? You weren't so prudish then, as I recall," he teased.

She frowned, but there was a twinkle in her eye. "Huh! I was picking the pine-needles out for months afterwards," she complained. He bellowed with laughter at that, and pointed up the hill to where the younger woman was setting things out from the container. She waved. They both waved back. He pushed her forward gently.

"Come on... before my grandson takes a bite out of all the sandwiches again!"

Arm in arm they wandered up the hill towards the tree. Disappearing down the slope on the other side, they could see the other couple. They appeared to be arm in arm as well, strolling purposefully through the grass. Alistair thought he heard them laughing, and he smiled at that.

"Didn't you think they were dressed a bit funny?" Doris asked.

"Hmmm? Oh, probably off to some squires' ball, or something. Funny, though..."

"What?"

"Thought I recognised the feller for an instant... oh well."

"D'you suppose the Doctor told them about this place too?" she asked.

"Possibly..." he pondered. "It is a nice place to come if you're courting though."

"No pine needles at least," she smiled.

"No," he grinned. Up ahead, the little boy was racing round and round the tree, chasing or being chased by an imaginary foe, laughing.

"He'll get giddy," chided Doris.

"He's happy," said Alistair. "I thought he'd like this place."

They stopped by the side of the tartan blanket the young woman had laid out, and onto which she was placing plastic plates and lunch boxes. Doris nodded. "The Doctor said that it was a good place for children."

"Yes," Alistair murmured, a faraway look settling across his face. "For the children..."

By the tree, five year-old Gordy Lethbridge-Stewart stooped to pick up the acorn Vaidya had dropped. He examined it for a moment, and smiled. His mother called out to him, and he stuffed it into his pocket and ran across to join her.

Up in the tree high above, the little owl opened one eye again, regarded the new arrivals beneath its tree for a moment, then hooted softly before closing its eye and going back to sleep.