One day, one night, one moment
My dreams could be tomorrow
One step, one fall, one falter
East or West, over earth or by ocean
One way to be my journey
This way could be my Book of Days...


No day, no night, no moment
 Can hold me back from trying
One flag, one fall, one falter
I'll find my day maybe...far and away.


One day, one night, one moment
With a dream to be leaving
One step, one fall, one falter
Find a new world across a wide ocean
This way became my journey
This day brings together far and away.
	--Enya



EPILOGUE:  JOURNEY


...nineteen months later...


          Ace stood beneath the giant arch that Benny had excavated so long
ago.  It was corroded and overgrown with vines but still had an elegant,
timeless beauty that stood as a testament to those who had constructed it
eons ago.  Tears touched the corners of her eyes at the memories this place
recalled to her mind, memories which still held the power to move her. 
However, on this starlit night on a planet named for an unearthly paradise,
it was not the past that touched Ace's heart but the future that might have
been.
          The Doctor came up to her and took her hand.  "Are you all
right?" he said, examining her profile as she gazed up to the curve of sky.
          She nodded, smiling slightly.  "Yes."  They stood in silence,
contemplating the heavens.  "Do you know what day this is?"
          "Yes, I do."
          She squeezed his hand.  "She would be a year old today."
          "I've tried not to think about it."
          "Oh no...I've tried *to* think about it.  The only way she can
have a life is if I give her one by thinking about what she would be doing
if she were here."
          He dropped her hand and slipped an arm around her waist.  "I've
said it before but it bears repeating...in many ways you're far more of an
adult than I, my love.  Your ability to cope with hardship never fails to
amaze me."
          She laid her head on his shoulder.  "Another of your legacies. 
It's because of you that I've had to acquire that ability."
          "Hmm...I'm not sure quite how to take that."  
          She laughed quietly, then sobered.  "She would have been the most
amazing person in the history of the universe, Doctor."
          "I think she would have been, yes."  They stood quietly again,
the chill night wind ruffling their hair.  "Can I ask you something?"
          "Of course."
          "Why did you want to come here?  I would think this place...would
stir up many mixed feelings." 
          "Well, it does, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. 
Depending on which memory I pick, the thought of this place can make me
miserable or happy...maybe that's why I wanted to come here for her
birthday.  Thinking about her is a mixed-feeling thing too."
          "All I can ever think of is that this is where it started to go
wrong for us."
          "'Wrong' is such a subjective term...though it was pretty bad
there at the end.  But we did get Benny out of it, after all."
          He grinned.  "Yes, we did.  Seems strange that there was a time
before I knew Benny.  Somehow she pokes her nose into all my memories so it
seems like she's always been there."  He glanced towards the TARDIS, parked
a few hundred meters away.  "Shall we go inside?"
          "No," she said, sitting down in the damp grass.  "I want to stay
out here."  She looked up at him.  "Stay with me?"
          He sat down behind her and she leaned back against his chest. 
"It is a beautiful night," he said.
          "Yeah...the kind that makes you think deep thoughts about the
meaning of life and the shape of your future."
          "What's the shape of our future?"
          She squinted into the night sky.  "Hmm...difficult to see.  The
future's so malleable, you know."
          "Of course."
          "But I don't think the shape is so important, as long as it's
*our* future."
          "Well said.  But whatever's in store for us, one thing is certain."
          "What's that?"
          "It won't be dull."
          She smiled.  "Thank God for that."  They sat there for a few more
minutes contemplating the brilliant starfield spread above them, then Ace
stood and pulled him to his feet.  Arm in arm, they walked back to the
TARDIS and stepped into the light and warmth of their home, shutting the
doors on the darkness.  The vehicle dematerialized and was gone.  The two
travelers had taken the next step down an uncertain path, the shape of
which was unknown even to them.
          We might wonder where their journey took them next.  What befell
them there?  What strange and wonderful adventures did they have?  The
answers are no doubt as varied as the questions.
          But those are stories for another day.




                                                                               
						THE END