One

"So this is me getting out," said Martha simply. She knew now that the Doctor finally understood.

She reached inside her jacket pocket and clasped her slender fingers around her mobile phone. "Keep that," she smiled, tossing it to him, "'cause I'm not having you disappear! If that rings... when that rings, you better come running... got it?"

"Got it."

"I'll see you again mister!" grinned Martha, making her way towards the Tardis door.

She turned her dark head for one last glimpse of the Time Lord and her heart skipped a beat when she saw his handsome face beaming back at her; but only a second later did it register on the Doctor's face that there was something terribly wrong.

It seemed as though his eyes were about to protrude from his skull, his mouth had gasped open and all colours had been drained from his face. His legs gave way, and the phone he had been clutching tightly in his hand fell to the floor with a loud clang.

Martha darted to the Doctor's aid, her heart pounding inside of her chest as she desperately tried to force him into a lying position. "Doctor! Doctor, can you hear me?"

The Doctor's eyes found Martha's. For a fraction of a second they gazed at one another helplessly. And then his eyes lost focus. His body became limp and still, and the devastated cry that escaped Martha's lips went unheard, save but one.


When the Doctor opened his eyes sometime later, he found himself lying face down on a deserted beach. The sand was moist and icy cold and the waves were roaring in the distance behind him. It took him a moment to register his surroundings as he got to his feet, brushing the damp sand from his clothes.

"Doctor."

"Martha?" He turned suddenly on the spot. He thought he had heard her voice calling to him but must have been mistaken for he soon came to realise that he was very much alone on this beach.

"But how did I get here?" he asked himself, turning his head in all directions. There was no sign of the Tardis or Martha anywhere and, as his hopes sunk even lower, he remembered he had left his overcoat onboard the Tardis, his sonic screwdriver tucked away inside one of the pockets. There wasn't any point in panicking, he told himself. He just needed to establish where he was and how he had gotten here, but he wasn't going to be able to do that unless he found himself some help first.

He decided it best to figure out his location by making his way towards a wooden sign in the distance, leaving behind a trail of faint footsteps in his wake. Yet as the Doctor strolled along the sand, certain thoughts of a young woman with windswept blonde hair and teary eyes began to plague his head and made him feel as though he was being forced to confront inner demons he had long ago lost.

"… Here you are, living a life, day after day. The one adventure I can never have."

"Am I ever going to see you again?"

It had hurt the Doctor to his very core hearing such sadness in her voice, knowing that there was nothing he could do, or say, to stop the tears from cascading down her cheeks.

"You can't."

And even now, after all this time, he could still picture her beautiful face clear as day. He could still see her warm brown eyes and loving smile; and no matter how far the Doctor travelled across time and space, he could never truly escape the sweet sound of her voice echoing inside his head, nor would he want to.

With a heavy heart, and distinct lack of motivation, the Doctor stood before the sign protruding from the cold sand, and slowly averted his eyes to the words that had been scrawled across the wooden surface. He gasped.

"…Darlig Ulv Straden... It's Norwegian for bad. This translates as Bad Wolf Bay!"

"Can't be!" breathed the Doctor, the colour once more draining from his face. "This is impossible… this is physically impossible!" He turned his head and gazed back at the ocean, at the waves splashing violently against the rocks.

"Can't you come through properly?"

"The whole thing would fracture... two universes would collapse."

"So."

"I shouldn't be here!" yelled The Doctor suddenly, running his fingers through his hair, "I can't be here!"


"M'am, we have the Doctor's location."

"Where is he?" beamed Rose Tyler, her eyes gleaming.

"According to this he appears to be in Norway."

"Norway?" said Rose, slightly taken aback. Then it clicked. "Bad Wolf Bay," she whispered, more to herself than anyone. Was it really that simple? "Right. Lock me onto the Doctor."

"But M'am, we haven't yet been granted full authorization! The teleport base code still needs time to - "

"You don't understand!" retorted Rose, "I'm so close to finding him and I'm not giving up now!"

A third voice suddenly joined in the conversation.

"That'll be him then? The Doctor?" asked Pete Tyler, surveying his daughter carefully. He could see the determination and desire burning away in her eyes as she nodded her head.

"We need to find him Dad! He's the only one that can stop the darkness from ever happening! Without him, each and every dimension is going to collapse until the whole of reality is destroyed… we need the Doctor, now more than ever!"

"She's right," said Pete. "We haven't got time to run equipment checks! The time devices are compatible with this world on a ninety percent basis. Now get to it! That's an order!"

"Yes sir!"