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“Doctor,” Romana said. “What is that?”
Romana eyed the creature that had wandered into the TARDIS console room warily. It was a small, furry mammal, with pointed ears and yellow eyes. She wasn’t very familiar with non-Gallifreyan fauna, but it didn’t look particularly dangerous. But Romana decided to be cautious, remembering the shrivenzale back on Ribos.
“Don’t worry, Romana,” the Doctor declared, approaching the creature. It sniffed at him suspiciously, and then allowed him to pet it. “It’s just a cat.”
“A cat,” Romana repeated. “And where did it come from?”
“It must have wandered onto the TARDIS at some point.” The Doctor was now sitting on the floor as he stroked the cat’s white fur, apparently completely unconcerned that an alien creature had obtained entry to his TARDIS and had been living there for an unknown period of time. “Lots of planets have cats.” The Doctor waved her over encouragingly. “She’s very friendly.”
Romana approached the cat. Carefully, she stroked the creature’s fur, just as the Doctor had. She was surprisingly soft, and leaned into Romana’s touch, making a strange rumbling noise. The Doctor grinned at her and Romana felt herself smile back.
Romana hadn’t been sure what she had expected the Doctor to be like before she met him. There had been so many stories about him back on Gallifrey. But she had found that he had such an enjoyment of life. He savoured it all—the people, the places, the dangers. Even something as small as petting a little creature called a cat. Romana didn’t understand the Doctor, not entirely—but she was starting to think that she would like to.
The cat had begun batting at the Doctor’s scarf.
“On second thought,” the Doctor said, drawing his scarf up protectively. “I don't think K9 likes cats.”