He tried again to entice the Doctor into action, leaning against an edge of the console as the Doctor idly flicked buttons on the opposite side. "You mentioned wanting to go to Jaranis to see the moonflowers."

The Doctor glanced up. "Yes, I thought Tegan would enjoy them. I rather don't have any interest in them myself at the moment."

"You know," Turlough said slowly, "I'm still here."

"Yes, Turlough, of course you are."

The Doctor uttered the words in such a weary tone, like he had said them many times before. He hadn't, but had he perhaps thought them that often? Turlough wondered. Was it his secret desire to dispose of Turlough? Would he have preferred to be alone with Tegan, all those months? Certainly, he could never have actually asked Turlough to leave. He knew Turlough had nowhere to go, and if the Doctor specialised in anything, it was in picking up strays for companions.

The more these thoughts roiled inside Turlough's brain, the more confused and upset he became. "You knew she would leave sometime," he accused.

"But not like that, Turlough," the Doctor quietly replied. "Never like that."

He seemed utterly defeated. Yet why? Surely Tegan wasn't worth it. Tegan, who had hurled words at the Doctor like weapons and bolted, not caring enough to listen to him. Tegan, who had a chip on her shoulder, was judgmental, holier than thou. Suddenly, with a mad rush, Turlough hated Tegan again, hated her for making the Doctor feel this way, like he had done something wrong, was less than her. The very idea, that a puny, thoughtless human girl should be allowed to pass judgment on the Doctor. Her primitive, undeveloped mind could not begin to comprehend the greatnesses he had achieved.

"You can do so much better than her," he whispered. "I would never run from you like she did. I wouldn't ever want to." He sidled around the console to stand before the Doctor. "You're so tense you're nearly shaking. It isn't all from stress, is it?" Turlough smiled slyly. "How long has it been for you? Hmm? I know you weren't giving it to Tegan. You look ready to burst. Probably pop off in less than a minute."

"Turlough!" The Doctor shook his head and retreated a half step; the console hit his back, stopping him.

Turlough inched closer. He sensed something, and it wasn't refusal. "What, was I being a bit crude for you? It's a fair question, isn't it? You must need to relieve tension sometimes. More than most, I think, with your life. How do you do it? It must be by yourself. I've watched you. On all these planets we visit, you never go off with any of the women. Or men, for that matter. Even the ones who offer. So you must be doing for yourself. So lonely, isn't it? So unfair. But it doesn't have to be that way." Turlough took a deep breath. This was it; the deciding moment. "Let me. Let me do something for you." His movements were as bold as his confidence was not; he reached his right hand forward those few inches toward the Doctor's trousers, hesitated for just a second, then unfastened them.

The Doctor did not move; he merely stared at Turlough as if he had never seen him before. His respiration was so shallow, he might almost have been holding his breath.

Encouraged if only by lack of discouragement, Turlough slipped his hand inside the opening, found the Doctor's length, and cupped it. It was half erect already and responded readily to the touch, stiffening and throbbing against Turlough's palm. He hadn't been stopped yet, began to experience the heady realisation that perhaps he wouldn't be.

Slowly, his hand began to move. He didn't know what the Doctor liked so he simply did what he would for himself, alternating fast strokes with slow, applying mild pressure here, circling there. He chanced a look at the Doctor's face, saw his lips parted, eyes bright and dazed, a tremor staring in his shoulders and echoing down his spine. Turlough increased the pace, pumping, pausing, gliding, teasing, unless the Doctor groaned and moved against him, with him, almost frantically.

"It's all right," Turlough murmured. "It's all right, it's all right, it's all right," he continued, as the Doctor shuddered to completion against his hand. He braced the Doctor with his body and tenderly stroked that golden hair with his free hand. "Everything is going to be all right now."