Work Text:
The TARDIS door slammed shut, the Doctor ducking inside apparently juts in time - no sooner had the door closed than it shuddered like something had just hit it. Arrow, undoubtedly. Good aim, too. If he'd been just a little slower...
Loreana bowled into his legs with a cheery bark, nearly knocking him over. He tripped, turned the tripping into a bound up the ramp to the console, and met Martha halfway there, grabbing her by the shoulders and spinning her around with a short laugh. "Not bad for a first trip, was it?"
"Not bad?" Martha repeated, grinning, and the question came out in a little half-laugh. Good sign, that. "That was-"
"We almost died," Ozzy pointed out.
"Oh, hardly!" the Doctor scoffs. "A witch or two, the odd irate queen... That's not a bad day for me."
Martha laughed. Ozzy looked like he was calculating just how much of a threat the Doctor was and whether he might have to bite him. Or maybe he just wanted to bite him. The Doctor turned his attention back to Martha, while Loreana wandered up to Ozzy, nudging him with her shoulder.
"Come on. You had fun. Admit it! 's better when you almost die anyway."
Ozzy stared at her for a moment, huffed, and wandered over to jump on the jumpseat and lie down there, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "You're all mad."
The Doctor grinned and swung his attention back to Martha. "She is right, you know. Something about almost dying - all that adrenaline, makes everything seem a little more..."
"Wait, hold on. You're not human - do you even have adrenaline?"
"Well... no," he admitted. "But close enough." He paused a moment, and realized his hand was on her shoulder, and while it was nice to have her beaming up at him, there was just something that...
He broke away, turning toward the console, flipping a few controls more by instinct than conscious thought. "Just one trip. 'S what I said. One trip in the TARDIS, and then home. Although - I suppose we could... stretch the definition."