Gabriel's eyebrows rose when Shanti threw the book. He took it back, and then Shanti was praising him. It was as if someone had transplanted his mother's personality into a pink stuffed bear. This was fascinating.

"All right, I'll try it, Shanti. But I'm not a Time Lord, either. And I've never seen it before. So it might take me awhile to learn. But if I do learn it, I'll read some of this to you, okay?"

He patted the top of her head, scritching behind the plush ears, and she nodded. "Okay," she said. "But read me the whole thing!"

"We'll see," Gabriel said warmly. He was going to get to the books, but not immediately. He wanted to test something. "And I have something to ask you, Shanti, before I try to read. Can I ask you to do something for me?"

"Yes!" said the bear, who turned her face from the book to him. "I'll do it if I can. What is it?"

Gabriel smiled, glad to have her attention. "I want you to promise me that you won't hurt Mohinder in the future. You are my friend and so is he, and friends shouldn't fight or be mean to each other. We can all play together, can't we?" This sounded rather hypocritical coming from him, but that's why he was asking it, honestly.