‘Mmmm…’ The Doctor frowned again, and jumped up. He started to pace around the console once more, tapping controls seemingly at random. Maybe it was me using the words ‘terribly hurt’ that had set him off again.

God, I was being careful of his feelings!

His glance fastened on a monitor and an uneasy grin spread over his features.

‘Found it. Good girl.’ He tapped a few buttons and straightened up. ‘There’s a planet called Crex in the Augon system. They have a market there. Would you like to go?’

I had the feeling that saying no would invalidate several days’ worth of hovering in the vortex. ‘A sort of spacecraft boot sale? Is there something particular you’re after?’

‘A white elephant. Maybe a pink one.’

‘Is this an item or an acquaintance?’

He paused for a moment, and then smiled one of his more dangerous secret smiles.

‘Both.’

The TARDIS materialised with that noise it has (sorry, I’ve never been able to come up with a good description) amidst a tight little knot of stalls, under the shade of purple silks and great canopies of striped fabric. The first thing that caught my attention as the Doctor locked the door behind us was the smell, a wonderfully jumbled mixture of spices and cooking scents, a hundred different cultures in one place.

Nobody seemed to bat an eyelid at the TARDIS landing. They must have been fairly used to materialisations. The Doctor raised his umbrella like an aerial, and turned it and his nose until he’d settled on a direction. ‘This way.’ He walked off in a straight line, tossing a memory module from the TARDIS databanks in his hand thoughtfully.

I followed him through the masses of alien species, both humanoid and otherwise, their bargainings and gestures and laughter merging in one great shout. Felt odd to be out and about, a bit vulnerable. Shrugged it off. The Doctor led the way to a little hillock, its surface once grassy, but now a churned patch of mud. He pulled me after him up to the top of it, and from there we got a good look at the whole market.

It went on for miles, all the way to one cloudy horizon, a brilliant jumble of tents and awnings. The other way, it petered out a bit in the direction of some mountains, and a big dark square with some buildings indicated a rough spaceport.

‘It’s wonderful,’ I opined. ‘How did it start?’

‘Tax concessions.’ The Doctor was still turning like a weather vane. His eyes suddenly focused on something in the distance. He nodded, and then turned to me.

‘I’ll be gone for an hour. Maybe two. I’ll find you.’

‘What, in that lot?’

‘Back at the TARDIS then.’ He seemed eager to get away, flustered and impatient.

In the middle distance I glimpsed the solution to our problem. ‘Tell you what,’ I said, pointing. ‘I’ll meet you over there.