Ever the Same

Disclaimer: Doctor Who does not belong to me. I am just borrowing the characters for a bit.

Chapter 1: Down the rabbit hole

He does not remember how he ended up at her door. Yet here he stood upon the two-story brick house stairs, torn between two choices. Should he should knock or just returned to his Tardis once more and make believed everything was okay? He could go with the first choice because that was what he was good at…pretend. He could make believe to have no need for anyone. Make believe his life was fun and not full of death, destruction, and loneliness. Make believe he did not have a hole, an ache, in his heart. Make believe he did not need a home or craved a place he once fled.

'Gallifrey' His mind whispered and he flinched. An image of a planet with two suns engulfed in flames filled his mind.

Make believed there was not a void in his soul because of what he had done. The 1000 year old or was that 935 year old man pressed his lips together.

Alternatively, he could open up like he did that evening under the two suns of new new new new York and let someone in. Let someone else take this burden that was his life upon their shoulders and help lessen it a bit, because it had become a bit too much for him to bear alone…

He clutched his left fist and a dark look crossed his face.

Alone… how he hated that word. No! More than, hated it. He despised it. This was the reason he sorted out companions in exchange for adventures and traveling the universe even though he knew the danger he placed them in every time they traveled with him. He couldn't stand to be alone so he risked their lives every times. And every time fate would played a cruel joke upon him and ripped them from his side one way or the other.

An image of a petite blond filled his mind followed by a fiery red hair then many others. All echoed the same statement.

'I will travel with you forever,'

The young man in the brown trench coat blinked and raised his right arm to knock, as he does a voice echoed though his mind that caused him to pause.

'You are the bringer of death,' it whispered to him. 'You are the cause those close to you get hurt and kill. You destroy lives. She escaped you once. Do you really want to destroy her life so much?'

The man arm fell back down to his side, he turned around and begun to walk down the stairs and headed for the street. His decision made. Pretend he will and must.

She stared at the white walls of her bedroom, her eye's distance. Her mind was searching, wondering over what could have been. Besides her laid a white, beautiful, lovely wedding gown. It was her gown, the one she will never wear. One because there was no need, the groom was dead, and two it was a painful reminder of what could have been.

Mind absence from reality, the dark skin woman pulled the diamond engagement ring on her finger off and on. It had been a gift from her finance the day of their first year anniversary as a promised to her that he was forever and so where their relationship. He had presented it to her during a dinner date at one of London finest restaurant. It had been one of the most magical nights of her life. He had done everything right that night. From getting the band to play her favorite music, to sending her favorite flowers earlier that day, to having the restaurant staff do a little show in which at the end they posted up a sign that read 'Will you marry me Martha Jones?" However, the best part was when he had got down on one knee and posed the question himself with the ring in hand. How she had adore him like no other at that moment. Yes. More than the Doctor himself.

A sad smile graced her lips and the woman pulled her leg closed to herself and begun to shook all over. Despite her body reaction as if she was weeping yet not a drop of tears fell from her eyes. Her doctor self-told her it is because she was stay in shock from the news. Yet her heart told her this was the man she had planned to spend her whole life with in sickness and in health, in rich and in poor. She should weep like her soul had never. Yet nothing...

Martha Jones untangled herself, stepped down from her bed and headed for her bathroom because life must go on. She is half way to the door when a ring filled the air and broke the silence in the room.

I'm bringing sexy back

Yeah!

Them other boys don't know how to act

Yeah!

I think you're special, what's behind your back?

Yeah!

So turn around and I'll pick up the slack.

Yeah!

She paused, turned around and begun to searched the room for her cell phone. She located it upon her dresser next to her bed. It is a red iPhone 3. She approached, picked it and pressed talk. She did not need to see the caller id to know who it was.

"What do you want Jack?" she greeted as she pressed the phone to her ears. She does not have time for him or Torchwood right now as much as she loved him as a friend.

"Nightingale!" He returned her greeting chirpily then… "I…"

The young woman pressed her lips together. The is something about the way her friend broke of mid-sentence that clue her in that whatever it was he was going to say was not going to be what she would like to heard at the moment.

"Yes. Jack?"

There was a silence then…

"Do you remember Donna Noble?"

"Yeah…" She said and wondered where this was heading. Donna Noble was a mature red hair she last saw with the doctor a bit over two days ago. There older woman had been sweet and kind and a bit loud but all in good spirit sort of liked her Aunt June in America. "Last I remember she was traveling with the Doctor as a companion."

Another paused.

"…Well…" The was a shifted of weight on the other end of the line. "Not anymore."

"Not anymore?" Martha inquired. She wondered what happened. Donna had looked like the type who enjoyed her travels with the Doctor and seems to have a generally good relationship with him. "What do you mean?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Jack said there was a bit of weariness in his voice that had not been there before. "You remember how she became part time lord?"

"Yeah…"

"Well it seems it was not good for her. I do not know the full story but it seems her brain overloaded with too much knowledge and in order to stop her from dying the Doctor had to erase her mind of everything related to time traveling which means all of her adventures with the Doctor and the Doctor himself."

"It can't be!"

"Yeah…" The agent of Torchwood continued.

"But…" The young woman said, her mind already two steps ahead. "What does that have to do with me? I mean I made be good as a doctor but he is better and if he could not solve it then neither can I Jack. You know that."

"Yeah. I know. But that isn't the reason I am calling for nightingale."

"Then what Jack? Because I have a funeral service to attend to if you haven't forgotten."

"…I...I haven't." The Brunette said then paused again. Martha heard a sighted and felt a bad feeling in her stomach. Jack was never much of the serious kind not unless something awful was involved or he was pushed to his limits. "It is just the others are a bit concern and so am I."

"Others?" she pushed. "What do you mean? Concern about what?"

"The Doctor, Martha, we are a bit concern about him and the others agencies fear that this might have precautions down the road. And this is between me and you but they would rather not be named just yet for fear of what happen to Harriet Jones befalling them if the Doctor gets a sense of this. "

Martha eyes narrowed. She can guess Jack reason for calling her all of a sudden. "I see."

"Yeah…" He continued. "I am sorry. I know this is not what you need right now. However, there is no one else. Rose is in another dimension. Donna cannot remember him. Sara Jane is having problems of her own. Not saying of course, you do not. He believed Mickey is an idiot and moreover he does not trust me. We both know that. Not after the whole Torchwood thing. This leaves you Martha Jones. I am sorry."

She sighted. Of course, it always left her. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing big." Jack answered. "Just you know call him and get him to talk. Please."

"You mean be his shrink?"

"Yeah. If you want to put it that way. Yeah."

"How bad is it?" She whispered. She knew Jack cared too much for her to put her in this situation if the wasn't a need for her. So she wanted to know.

"Bad."

Martha nodded then answered."...Alright I will give him a call."

"Thanks. I owe you one and so does the universe." Jack said then hanged up. Left to her own thoughts, Martha wondered what the brunette meant by the universe owe her one as well.

Author: Alright so I edited it up a bit.