A/N: So, the long awaited (at least by two kind commentors) chapter. Finally, the cake reveal. *cue dramatic music*. This is a pretty long chapter, so I hope you enjoy :) I have two more chapters lined up - and then I'm out of ideas to write. So, faithful readers, what do you think should happen next?

The Doctor had led her through a maze of corridors, and the two had ended up in a small, but comforting kitchen. The walls were tiled with white and pink, and a few tiles were painted with flowers. Not just any flowers, roses. Rebecca turned to look at him and he looked shell-shocked. With a trembling hand, he traced the meticulously painted petals. Shaking his head, he bent down, and pulled a kettle out of the redwood cupboards.

"Sorry. I've just never seen this one before. Must've belonged to a friend."

"This one?"

"This kitchen." He replied, filling it with water from the tap.

"How many kitchens do you have?" she exclaimed, hopping into a barstool next to the countertop.

"OK..." the Doctor began "Close your eyes. Imagine the largest ship you could believe."

"Okay..." her eyes were screwed tightly shut.

"Are you imagining it?"

"Yes." In mind's eye, it looked rather like the Titanic.

"Now forget it. The TARDIS is infinite, it can create and destroy as many rooms as you require"

She widened her eyes. "Infinite. Wow, no wonder you didn't let that Volvian onboard."

A shifting noise resounded, and a door appeared next to the kitchen, on the left hand side wall.

"Did it just, make that happen?"

"Yes" the Doctor responded, entering the room and returning with his arms laden with packets of Jammy Dodgers, and granola bars.

"What about the food, then"

"Well, we have to buy that. But somehow the pantry never seems too far away."

"You" Rebecca stroked the countertop "Are amazing."

A hum ran through the walls of the room.

"And sentient"

A whistle came from the kettle, and with a few flailing movements, the Doctor had set a steaming cup of green tea before Rebecca, and a plate full of Jammie Dodgers and tea cake.

"Thank you." She moved to pick up the mug, but before that, she had something to ask. "Before I start with my story, which.... May take a while, I have a few questions. One, how come the first Volvian didn't try and communicate with us. Two, who is your friend and where is she. Three, do you have yogurt?"

"Well. The Volvian was communicating, but you just couldn't understand because you hadn't entered the TARDIS. It's the translation matrix, translates any languages that it knows for you, and allows you to speak it as well. And yes, before you ask you were speaking Volvian."

He put down a finger and held up two.

"Her name is Rose Tyler, and she.... Stopped travelling with me. However, she is safe and sound in a parallel universe, with her real mother, alternate universe father, and a strange accident – a weird clone of me. This kitchen was probably attached to her room, and she must have painted it."

Rebecca nodded, sensing that there was more to the story, but she didn't want to push it.

"Thirdly, yes I do. It's leftover from... Well, basically I don't like yogurt anymore. Or beans, beans are evil." He smiled, flailing wildly while talking; it seemed to be a habit. He swept out of the kitchen, and returned with a pot of yogurt.

"Don't worry, it's still fresh. I didn't want a fridge, so we got a stasis chamber instead."

Rebecca laughed "You got a stasis chamber instead of a fridge?!?! Talk about overcompensation!"

"Haha. Now hush up and drink your tea."

Rebecca nodded, and held the mug with clasped hands. The warmth was comforting, like a miniature hug. She hadn't grown out of her British habits; tea was the ultimate comfort drink – fit for any occasion. She lifted the warm ceramic and took a sip, letting the hot liquid fortify her insides.

"Her name was Alexandria Melvin, and she was the kindest, smartest, sweetest, and most charismatic person I knew. She was outgoing, and funny. Everything I wished I could be." Rebecca's voice cracked over the words. The memories were like jagged shards of glass, she had buried them deep, deep down. But as they came back up they tore at her, making old wounds she thought had healed open up again.

"What happened?" The Doctor covered her hand with his.

"We .... it was a summer in Mauritius. For a summer camp on coastal environments. You have to understand, in an environment like that ... it was beautiful and emotions were running high! It wasn't- I was only eighteen I didn't know any better-" she kept breaking off her sentences, unable to complete them fully. He suspected he knew the truth, and he drew her into a hug.

"I won't judge you" he whispered into her dark hair.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Her voice was muffled against his chest. She drew back and cleared her throat, swivelling on the barstool and facing forward again.

"We fell in love. It wasn't supposed to happen. But it did. Our days were spent smiling at each other on the beach. Sneaking kisses when no one was looking. I wasn't exactly comfortable with it. My parents weren't narrow minded or anything. But we never spoke of things like sexuality or love openly. It was always a taboo topic. So I didn't know what I wanted. I knew I loved her. But I didn't want anyone to know because I thought I'd be shunned.

But Alexandria... She wasn't like that. She was comfortable with her bisexuality, not like me. She told people, and the truth went flying around the camp. Some people got wind and they cornered both of us while we were sitting at the edge of the pier. They taunted us until I was driven to tears but she -" Rebecca smiled, her aching heart recalling the moment.

They sat on the edge of the pier, hands clasped, and whispering sweet nothings to each other. Alexandria smiled and leaned forward, hair blowing in the breeze. Her white t-shirt rippled, and her blue skirt swayed gently. It was casual – but in that moment she looked like a regal Greek queen. Rebecca had grinned back hesitantly – her black hair was long and wavy, and it covered half of her face. Alexandria brushed it back gently, and tipped her head forward, kissing Rebecca gently.

Rebecca had leaned into her, but before she could go any further, they were interrupted.

"You look adorable when you love me" Alexandria pulled away from the kiss and teased her gently.

"A-are you saying I look adorable all the time?" Rebecca taunted back, smiling gently. She didn't say it too loud, though ; ears could be hiding anywhere.

"FREAK" the four teenagers formed a ring. Three boys and one.

"Hey, at least my mother wanted me" Alexandria stood, and put a hand on her hip, smirking.

"Haha. She probably got stuck with you" the girl curled her lip.

"Hmm... As far as I know, she never tried – and failed to abort me. Is that why your personality is so fucked up, Polly. Some deep-seated feeling of rejection?" Alexandria stepped in front of Rebecca, shielding her ever so slightly. She endured this every single day – she knew how to deal with it.

"Why don't you step away from your girlfriend you unnatural freak? You're a quirk of nature, Alexandria, you were never supposed to exist. UNNATURAL." The tallest boy reached out a hand and shoved her back.

"Alexandria – ignore them. We'll leave." Rebecca laid a soft hand on her arm, pleading.

"No. It's not my problem if they can't accept us" A fire lit in Alexandria's bright blue eyes.

"Why should we accept you? You're twisted and disgusting."

"Please understand. My sexuality is my most personal decision. You have no right to judge me for it. If you're going to deny me the right to love somebody then that's cruelty at its finest. I don't get why you think I'm a freak, or twisted. Inside, we're all the same. I'm German. Rebecca is half black-British, half Indian, for God's sakes. You're from England, Italy and France as well. We're all the same inside, can't you see?" Alexandria's tone was rational, logical.

"We are NOT the same" one of the boys stepped forward, shoving her in the gut. "Why don't you say anything, other half of the freak show. Alexandria and Rebecca, you two belong in a circus. The Twisted Two." He taunted, and slammed another blow into her shoulder.

But still, Alexandria stood. Swaying slightly, yes, but still standing.

"S-stop!" Rebecca pleaded, clutching onto her girlfriend's hand.

"Why should I listen to you? You're just a dirty... A dirty LESBIAN." The teen spat the word, lip curling in utter disgust. The sight was like a physical blow to Rebecca, and she took a step back.

"And you're just a dirty, imbecilic twit who can't get with the times." Alexandria spat her words as well, venom infecting them.

The, one stepped forward and socked her in the chin. Alexandria went down, hard, landing with her face on the wood. Rebecca's eyes were wide in fright, she remembered every single detail.

Alexandria curled on the wood; kicked and shoved by the four teens.

Blue bruises mottled her pale skin, lit up under the moonlit sky.

The open sea stretched before them – the only way to get help was to run down the pier to the camp.

She screamed in pain, making herself into a tiny ball.

The cliffs loomed on either side – large, immovable forces of nature.

As the gang turned on her, Rebecca felt much the same way about them. Opening her mouth, she helped the only way how.

"We're not together. We don't love each other. All those kisses were jokes to creep you out." Rebecca blurted the words, and looked down at Alexandria.

Her eyes were wide and filled with so much pain and sorrow and betrayal that Rebecca wished she was the one being beaten. Unable to look at her one instant longer, she fled down the pier as fast as her legs would carry her.

"She was defiant. I remember how she looked that day. Her blond hair shone silver in the moonlight, and her pale skin was lit up like the moon. She looked like an angel, Doctor. A beautiful, beautiful angel. She jibed back. Insulted them worse than they insulted her. So they kicked her. They kicked her and they beat her until her pale skin turned blue and black and her blond hair was torn and tattered.

They broke her.

And I stood there, watching it all happen, and denying that we were together. So they left me alone, and I ran like the wind and got the instructors. She was OK. No broken bones, no particularly bad injuries. Now that I think about it... because I loved her I saw it a lot worse than it actually was. But they sent her back home, and I said nothing. Her eyes, Doctor. When they looked at me they were empty. Because I denied that I loved her when she needed it most. I did not stand up for her when she couldn't do it herself. I let it all happen." Rebecca blinked rapidly, holding back tears.

"A year later I contacted her parents. In tearful sobs they told me about how she had confessed it to them, and how she had been all alone with no friends. They told me that she loved me, and I didn't believe them. But she's okay now. Had I talked to her, told her that I still felt the same, then she probably wouldn't have turned to drugs.

And all the while. All the while I sat alone thinking, she's Alexandria. She'll make it through. She's much stronger than I. And she did, she recovered, and she became the same person she was when I first met her. But I did NOTHING. I did absolutely nothing to help her."

Rebecca dissolved completely, imploding in on herself. All that shame and guilt came through in her cries. The Doctor held her while she rocked back and forth.

He couldn't believe that the human race could be so cruel as to ruin something this beautiful. It was obvious that Rebecca blamed herself, but in his opinion there was no one to blame but those idiots that beat her up.

"So, Doctor. Mother Vildia told me not to let anyone forget their sins. But I forgot mine for a whole year. And now I've made a vow."

He brushed her hair back and pressed his lips to her forehead. "How long have you been carrying this in you without telling anybody?"

"Four years. It's been four years since all of that happened."

"Becca...."

"That's what Alexandria called me." Her tone was bitter.

"You held this all in you? How much did it hurt?"

"So much, Doctor. But I deserved the pain."

He pulled back, and held her shoulders, looking into her teary eyes. "Remember what you told Mother Vildia? You can't fight violence with violence. You can't punish pain with more pain. Take it from me, at some point, you have to forgive yourself and just keep moving."

"Just keep swimming" she sang softly.

"Just keep swimming, swimming swimming" he responded, drawing her into another hug.

"Wanna know what the cake said? I was going to use it to come out to my parents?" Her attempt at levity seemed half-hearted.

"What did it say?"

"Not as straight as the edges of this cake." She buried her face in her hands. It was rather ridiculous.

"So THAT'S why there was purple frosting everywhere!" he exclaimed, slapping the counter.

"Yep, colours of the bisexual flag."

They burst out laughing, and then sat in amiable silence for the next hour, filling up on strong tea, Jammie Dodgers, tea cakes and biscuits.

"What now, Doctor?"

"Rebecca. Did I ever tell you what TARDIS stands for?"

"No." she looked curious.

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space." The Doctor sounded impossibly smug.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes. Rebecca Smith. All of space and time. Care to join me?"