"So this is me, getting out". Martha couldn't believe she was standing in front of The Doctor, telling him how she really felt. All these feelings that she had kept inside her for the last year, bottled up, suddenly out in the open. She threw her mobile at The Doctor.
"Keep that, cause' I'm not having you disappear, if, when that rings, you better come running. Got it?"
"Got it." The Doctor replied, Martha's mobile in hand.
Martha turned, and walked towards the Tardis door, had a final look at The Doctor, and said 'I'll see you again mister'. The Doctor replied with a cheeky grin.
As Martha's hand reached out to push the Tardis door open, a loud buzzing sound erupted within the Tardis.
"Ahhh." She cried out, her hands covering her ears.
"What the..." The Doctor raced around his ship, frantically pushing buttons, trying to find anyway to stop the annoying buzzing. As The Doctor pushed and pulled at random levers, and buttons, he realized he made a mistake. He quickly glanced over at Martha, to find that she was on the floor, hands covering her ears, in some sort of pain. She hadn't noticed. He thought about going over, comforting her, but he needed time. In all of his panic, he had pulled at a lever he shouldn't off. Auto Pilot. Oh how he hated it. Taking him to unknown destinations when he least expected it, or didn't want it at all. This was one of these times. And if he knew Martha as well as he thought he did, she wouldn't be happy.
As the Tardis took off, he fumbled around for his hammer. 'This should do the trick' he thought, and gave an area of the Tardis control one great smash. The loud buzzing noise stopped.
"There we go." He looked over at Martha. She was still on the floor. But this time, her eyes were closed.
The Doctor slowly walked over to her, and bent down. He put his hands around her arms, and shook her softly. Nothing. The waves from the buzzing sound must of knocked her out, he thought. Thinking that it would be a wise decision to leave her were she was, he walked into the bedroom, and collected a pillow and a sheet. He then walked back, over to Martha, carefully placing the pillow under her head, and the sheet lightly on top of her.
The Doctor turned on his heels, and headed back to the Tardis control. He pulled the screen round and looked at the coordinates. Completely unfamiliar, to him, and to his faithful ship. For once in his 900 years of life, he had no idea where he was. He decided against going out and investigating, when Martha woke he wanted to be there to explain what had happened, not that he was 100 sure of that himself. He came to the conclusion, that the Tardis was orbiting some small planet.
The Doctor sat on the captains chair, trying to gather his thoughts. Why had the Tardis acted so strangely. Part of him knew, but part of him was scared to admit it, because then it would seem real. He tried to break down what had happened before, just before the Tardis started buzzing. His clever mind was frantically searching for an answer. The Doctor was a genious, and yet this was one thing he didn't understand. He was never going to get an answer, unless he admitted it. An alien, feeling such human emotions, but he wouldn't admit to it. Not yet anyway.
Martha stirred, snapping The Doctor out of his thoughts. He poked his head round, to see that she had just pulled the sheet over her body slightly. She must be cold, he thought, and took it upon himself to turn the heating up ever so slightly.
The Doctor began to pace The Tardis. He had no idea what to do. He thought it best to stay put, and not try and go anywhere, especially anywhere near earth. Martha would be fuming when she woke up, but that was just something he had to deal with. He hadn't done it on purpose, gone against her wishes, it just kind of happened, and was sort of out of his hands. But then again he could of prevented it.
Martha opened her eyes, to find herself looking at the roof of The Tardis. She sat up, realizing how uncomfortable the floor was. As she sat up, she noticed The Doctor pacing The Tardis, in quite an unusual way. It wasn't his normal, 'i need an answer' kind of way, more of an, 'I'm waiting for something to happen' kind of way.
"Everything okay?" Martha asked, as she stretched out and began to stand up.
"Yes, wonderful, fantastic, brilliant in fact. Nice sleep?"
"Well, no, not really. Quite uncomfortable if I'm honest, nothing against The Tardis, but well not the best place to fall asleep. I don't even know why I chose to fall asleep there."
"Ah yes, well one can only wonder." The Doctor replied, giving Martha a slight grin.
"But, why would I chose to sleep there? I've never slept on The Tardis floor, I've always gone to my room. Hang on, maybe I didn't choose to sleep there."
"Ah yes well, I was going to say that. Try and think about what happened before you went to sleep."
"Well I remember, I remember, talking to you, oh what was I saying? That's not important. Anyway, I was talking to you, I threw you my phone, and then, went to walk out the door. Oh yes, I was telling you I was leaving, that's it. And then, the buzzing, and then i don't remember." Martha looked puzzled, and broke her gaze away from The Doctor, to try and figure things out.
"Yes, that's, basically correct, well, you were knocked out, asleep, whatever, and then we ended up here." The Doctor waited...he knew it would come.
"And where is here exactly?" Martha demanded.
"Ah, well that I'm not entirely sure of."
"Well isn't that just great. How did this happen? I thought we were on Earth!" Martha's voice raised, she was getting annoyed.
"Yeah, we were, and now well, were not, like I said before, I have no idea where we are. The Tardis did it, not me." The Doctor felt horrible, lying to Martha, even thought it was partly true, he still knew that he had something to do with it.
"Oh, how nice of her to do that. The one time I don't want to go traveling, she takes me to some bloody alien planet that even The Doctor knows sod all about. Bloody brilliant."
"I'm sorry Martha, this wasn't meant to happen, I swear."
"Is that meant to make me feel better? Not working. Why are we here, I know you know something about it, I can tell."
"How?" The Doctor asked, confused and quite surprised that she had figured him out.
"You broke eye contact, like you always do, when your fibbing. Now tell me what really happened!" A sense of control in Martha's voice.
"I can't." The Doctor replied, breaking eye contact from Martha, looking at the ground.
"Why not?" Martha's voice was softer, but The Doctor sensed she was still annoyed.
"And don't give me any of this you wouldn't understand it's to complicated crap. I want to know. Now."
"Right, well The Tardis is telepathically linked into my mind. It can sense my emotions, my feelings, my thoughts. When I want adventure, it takes me to it, anywhere. When I want peace, it takes me to quiet beaches with gentle waves. And when I want to escape, it takes me away, from everything. Like it has now."
"Right, okay, so you wanted to be away, why couldn't it wait until i had managed to get out of the Tardis?"
"Because, I think, I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think your part of the reason that the Tardis brought us here." The Doctor was so confused, and yet, quite sure of what he was saying.
"So your trying to tell me that the Tardis is quite fond of me, and doesn't want me to go?"
"Yes, yes, that,what you said." Martha wasn't completely convinced of The Doctors excuse.
"Oh right okay. So anyway, where exactly are we?" Martha decided that changing the subject was her best bet. The Doctor looked uncomfortable and she knew there was more to it, but she wasn't going to get the full story right now. She would have to wait.
"I have a feeling, that we are orbiting a small planet. No idea what planet though. No idea what life forms are on it. I know nothing about it. Maybe I should try and find something, hang on." The Doctor tried to busy himself, looking around the Tardis control, looking for some sort of resource that would help get him the answers he wanted. Even though he wasn't remotely interested in anything about that planet, or the life forms that may, may not live on it.
"Okay. Anything you want me to do?"
"No, I'm fine thanks. You can go and rest if you want. I'm going to try and get back to earth." The Doctor told Martha, not even looking up at her.
"Oh, right, okay. I'll be in my room if you need me." Martha left the control area, and headed for her room. She made sure to close the door behind her, and fell onto the bed in a heap.
She thought about what The Doctor had said to her. About how the Tardis was connected to his mind. When he wanted to get away, that's what the Tardis would do, take him away. So why, did she take him when she was still on board. That's the part that puzzled Martha most.
But Martha couldn't deal with that problem at that moment in time. It seemed ovbious that he wasn't going to tell her, so she decided to forget about it, and think of a polite way to ask, when she was going home.
She decided, that the best thing to do would be to go and find The Doctor, and see if he brought it up first.
The Doctor was stood around the control area of the Tardis, trying to figure out a way of how to get Martha home. That's where she wanted to go. Home. And The Doctor had to let her go. Wether he liked it or not. He wanted Martha to be happy, and if this made her happy, then The Doctor's loneliness wasn't important. He heard Martha's soft footsteps a meter or so behind him, and turned around.
"Hey, getting anywhere?"
"Sorry anywhere with what?" The Doctor asked, a look of confusion spreading across his face.
"The getting back to Earth thing!" Martha gave him a warm smile.
The Doctor's heart melted. She obviously hasn't had second thoughts about staying. She still wants to go. The Doctor had to fight back the temptation to ask her again, because he knew she would be suspicious, and that's not what he wanted. But he wasn't strong enough to fight it this time. He had to have a definite answer.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" The Doctor asked, nervous of the answer he might get.
"What do you mean, are you sure this is what I want?"
"I mean, is this what you want. To go home, back to your family. No more traveling, no more aliens, monsters. No more excitement, temptation or thrills. No more, me."
"It's been a tough decision for me to make. I've been thinking about it for a while now, and given it some serious thought." Martha took in a deep breath, and continued. "Of course I'll miss everything, the aliens, monsters, that feeling you get in your stomach when you step out of the Tardis and have no idea where you are, or what your getting in to. But, my family need me right now. I can't leave them, their whole world has collapsed, I can't leave them to build it back up again. I have to help them." Martha looked deep into The Doctors hazel eyes. She was confused by his question, and didn't quite understand why he wanted her to repeat herself, she had told him this before, at the beginning of the day, she thought.
"Right, okay, I understand. I'll take you back." The Doctor looked away from Martha and began pushing buttons on the control. 'Now' The Doctor said sharply. Martha could tell that there was something wrong with The Doctor. She always could. After spending the last year together, so close, they had learnt to know each other well. When the other wanted space, they gave it, when one wanted a chat, the other listened, when one was scared, the other held their hand. It was like living with a close friend. Only better. And all because, it was him.
Martha looked at The Doctor. Really looked at him, trying to absorb as much of the image as she could, so she could remember it forever. She couldn't be with someone, who didn't love her like she loved them. She could return to Earth, have a life with another man. Have children, family, a proper life. With The Doctor, it might as just as well be impossible. She had made her final decision.
"So, how many days have I missed on Earth?" Martha asked, hoping that this would be hint enough, as her final answer.
"Don't know." The Doctor said, not even looking at her. This didn't please Martha. Either he wasn't taking the news well, or he didn't care that she was going. Her vote, went on the second one.
"Helpful. Can you find out for me please?" Martha said, as politely as she could, even though she was quite annoyed and hurt inside.
"I'm a bit busy at the moment trying to get you home." snapped The Doctor. He started pushing buttons a bit harder than he should, and hurt his finger in the process.
"Oh, bloody hell!" The Doctor cried. He started shaking his finger around, as if it was on fire.
"Oh what now!" Martha yelled back at him, she noticed that he was doing something odd with his finger, and walked over to him.
"Nothing I'm fine."
"Let me see." Martha tried to get hold of The Doctor's hand, but he wasn't having any of it.
"I'm fine, just leave it!" Replied The Doctor, quite coldly in fact.
"Sorry, I'm only trying to help! There is no need to be rude!" Martha was getting quite annoyed now. Frustration was building up inside her. She was about to explode.
"Maybe I don't need your help! I'm going to have to learn to do things on my own now, aren't I, seeing as your leaving me!" The Doctor yelled back at her.
"Well that shouldn't be a problem for you, because you can just replace me! Can't you, find someone else to take half way around the universe. I'm sure in a few days you'll forget about me. I won't matter anymore. Just be someone you used to travel with. Won't I!" Martha's eyes filled with tears. She tried to hold them back, but she wasn't strong enough. The tears rolled down her cheek, filling her face with sadness.
The Doctor stood there, amazed. He was about to defend himself when Martha cut in.
"I've always been second best in your eyes. That's not what I want." Martha sobbed on. "I made it pretty clear to you how I felt, before we ended up in the middle of nowhere, you didn't exactly stop me did you! You just planned to let me walk away, back to Earth, back to normality, after all the things I've seen, we've seen, and you were prepared to let it go, just like that." Martha gave The Doctor a stern look, then broke away. She wiped her face clear of her tears, and searched around her pockets for a tissue.
For once, The Doctor was lost for words. There were so many things he wanted to tell Martha, but the words weren't forming into sentences.
"I'm, I'm sorry Martha." stammered The Doctor.
Her breathing became harsher and harsher. "After all this time all you can say is sorry?" she spat at him, bitterness dripping from every fallen word.
The Doctor had never seen Martha like this before. He had no idea what to say. He wanted to hug her, to hold her, but he thought that wouldn't be wise, the way she was, it was probably safer to go up and ask a Daleak out for dinner.
"What else do you want me to say." The Doctor muttered to himself.
"I'm sorry what was that?" Martha demanded.
"I said, what else do you want me to say. Really. I mean, what can I say, to make you feel any better?" The Doctor paused for a moment, and then continued. "Indeed. I can't believe you think I'll be over you in a couple of days. Who the hell do you think I am! It's going to take me years to get over you Martha Jones, even then I'll never forget you. I didn't say anything because I thought this was what you wanted. And if your happy than I'm happy, even if it means being without you! Of course I care, how can you think that I don't!" The Doctor leaned against the Tardis control, directly in front of Martha.
"I never said you didn't care." Martha's face dropped, and her eyes focused on the ground.
"It felt like it."
"I didn't mean for it to come out like that, I'm sorry. You just get me wound up sometimes. You talk but you never really speak. It's all facts and figures. Never things about you. I had to drag it out of you about Galifrey. Seems like I have to drag everything else out as well. I just wish you would talk to me more about things. I'm your friend, not your enemy!"
"It's just me, keeping distance. I've lost people before, it hurts more when you know them too well. I was scared of getting close to you, and then loosing you."
"Sometimes, you have to get close to people, in order to keep them."
"I know, I understand that now." The Doctor looked up at Martha, his facial expression soft.
"It's okay, were both learning." Martha began to walk nearer to The Doctor. She felt her anger from before disappear into nothing.
When Martha was close enough, The Doctor scooped her up into a friendly hug. He whispered softly in her ear 'I'm sorry.' and she whispered it back. They stood there for a while, holding each other. In the end, it was The Doctor that let go first.
"Martha, tell me now, honestly and truthfully. Do you want to go home, and end it all. All the traveling, all the laughs, all the excitement? Do you want to throw it away?" The Doctor looked deep into Martha's eyes.
"No, I don't ever want to leave." She replied, and then gave The Doctor a cheeky grin.
"Good." The Doctor smiled softly, before picking Martha up into yet another warm embrace.