A/N: Here's a new story, completely unrelated to any of my others. So no need to worry bout catching up.

Unraveling

"Right then Miss Jones. This is our stop," the Doctor called as the TARDIS bumped to a halt.

Excitedly Martha ran to the doors with a huge smile on her face. It soon disappeared though as she stepped out.

"But this is my flat. What are we doing here?"

"I'm done," the Doctor's voice floated over her shoulder.

"What do you mean you're done?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I mean I'm done. It's was lovely to meet you Martha Jones. Have a fantastic life." He didn't offer even a whisper of a smile and Martha had never seen his eyes so hollow. Reaching behind him he pulled out a bag. "You might want these. Goodbye Martha."

Before she could protest he shut the door and sent the TARDIS back into the vortex.

XxXxX

"I don't get it. Why hasn't he responded?" Jack raked his fingers through his hair, messing it up even more as he paced round the hub.

"Who?" Gwen asked her eyes following him.

"The Doctor."

"Doctor who?"

"Very funny."

"Jack what are you talking about?"

The time agent stopped in his tracks and regarded her. "My friend, the Doctor. The man who saves the universe on a weekly basis? The guy we have a million files on."

Gwen frowned at him and tapped away on the keyboard in front of her. "Jack have you been at the Retcon again? There is no Doctor on the system."

"What?!" Jack ran to Gwen's side and stared at the monitor. "That's not right. It can't be! He has to be here, without him we're sunk."

XxXxX

Martha jumped off the bus and took a taxi to the Millennium centre. She needed to talk to Jack.

The Doctor had taken off a week ago and hadn't come back, now she was worried. He never took off and what did he mean when he said he was 'done'?

She thought she had a vague idea but she wanted to be wrong. Ever since Jack had left them to go back to Torchwood the Doctor had been almost impossible. She'd seen him sad before but that was excruciating. It was like a big black cloud followed him every where he went. Some days she didn't see him at all, like he was avoiding her.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket she searched for Jack's number.

"Jack, its Martha…"

"Oh thank god! Where the hell have you guys been? There's some funky things going on and I don't like the look of it one bit."

"I'm outside, can you let me in?"

Jack didn't like the tone of her voice. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's the Doctor, he's… he's…." she didn't know what to say, she didn't know what he was anymore or where.

"Hang on, I'm coming up."

Sure enough a few seconds later Jack appeared on the pavement.

"Where's Doctor?"

Martha shrugged. "I don't know. Something's wrong Jack. I feel like I'm starting to forget him. Things we did a few weeks ago, things he said, they're hard to recollect. And now it's hard to even picture his face."

"The computers have lost all the files on him that I had. When did you last see him?"

"Last week. He landed in my flat, dumped my bag out and said he was 'done'."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I think it means he's given up."

"What about the TARDIS?"

"I found it in a park in London. It's been there ever since, not moved. The lights on the outside are off and it won't let me in."

"But you've got a key haven't you?"

"It doesn't work. It's like he's changed the locks and gone into hiding."

"Jack!" Gwen's voice gasped as she reached the top of the stairs and burst out onto the street. "You better come quickly! We've got serious trouble!"

The three pounded down the stairs into the hub.

Jack skidded to a halt as his gaze locked onto the monitor. "Where is that?"

"London," Gwen panted.

"It can't be. It just can't. It's impossible. The Doctor wouldn't let this happen."

"Jack?" Martha stepped up behind him to look at the monitor. "But….." Her hand flew to her mouth.

"We need to find him!"

XxXxX

They stood staring at the TARDIS.

"I don't get it, why did he park it here?"

Jack looked around him and scanned the area with his wrist computer. Looking sadly at Martha he held out his hand, "Come on, I'll show you."

The pair walked in silence for a few minutes until Jack stopped in the middle of a courtyard.

"The Powell Estate; former home of Rose Tyler." His pressed his lips into a thin line as he looked around him, secretly hoping for any sign the Doctor was nearby.

"Do you think he's here? Living in her home?"

Jack shook his head. "No. I think leaving the TARDIS near here was his way of saying goodbye to her. Come on, let's see if we can get inside and see what the hell is going on."

Jack took Martha's key and tried it in the lock, sure enough it wouldn't turn. "Come on girl, it's me. And we're here to help." He pressed his hand against the door. He wasn't sure what happened but his hand began to glow slightly for a few seconds before he heard the lock click.

"How did you do that?" Martha looked up at him.

"No idea."

He pushed the door open and almost cried out.

The control room was dark and cold. The walls were no longer glowing with life like they used to, instead they were dull and almost grey. The usual humming of the ship was now barely more than a whisper.

"What's he done to you?" Crossing over to the monitor Jack began typing. "Come on girl, I need some English here," he begged.

Martha stood rooted to the spot at the state of the TARDIS. "What's going on?"

"She's dying. She's been out of the vortex too long and the Doctor is definitely not here. She misses him."

The girl bit her lip as her eyes misted over. She shook her head. Why was she crying over a space ship? It was absurd, it was just a machine. "So what do we do?"

"Well first we need to find out what's happening which means spending a while in the vortex and then we need to land back in time to get to Canary wharf and find out what the hell is going on. That building should be empty." Turning back to the TARDIS he stroked the control panel in much the same way the Doctor used to. "Whaddaya say girl, you gona let me take care of you?"

After a bit of labored wheeze the control panel lit up a bit more and the screen displayed English instructions.

"Atta girl! Hold on tight Martha, this may be a bit bumpier than normal."

Sure enough, the TARDIS trembled and jolted off into the time vortex.

"So what now?"

"We wait. She can charge herself up sufficiently enough in the vortex to give us a few hours at least and while I'm here I'm going to find the Doctor."

"What if he doesn't want to be found?"

"Tough."

XxXxX

The Doctor strolled around the TARDIS, stroking the walls as he went. One last circuit before he left. Landing in the park that was just round the corner from the Powell Estates the Doctor began to shut the TARDIS down, piece by piece, feeling the darkness impose on him with every flick of a switch. He could hear her protests and felt her sadness that he was leaving her.

"Sorry old girl. Time to stop running," he sighed, hoisting a duffle bag onto his back and walking to the doors. Without a backward glance he stepped out into the night.

"Well the good news is, he is definitely in London and with a scan from the TARDIS we should be able to locate him," Jack told her cheerily.

"And then what? He gave up for a reason Jack. What if he doesn't want to help?"

"He can't have given up on us completely otherwise he wouldn't have settled on earth."

"The Doctor would never settle anywhere. It's not in his nature."

"Well he did. He's only been gone a little while, with any luck when we find him he'll be bored enough to fix the mess."

"Who will?" Martha asked, looking around her, a confused look on her face.

"Not funny Martha." Jack looked up at her and saw the look of fear in her eyes.

"How do you know my name?"

"Martha, quit kidding around." He frowned and took a step towards her. She took a step back. "It's me, Jack. You know me we saved the world together, me you and the Doctor. You've got to remember Martha."

She squinted at him, analyzing his face. "Captain Jack," she said finally.

"That's the one. Memories getting a little fuzzy are they?"

She nodded. "It's like, every now and then someone gets out a massive pencil and ruler and just starts crossing things out so that they don't make sense."

"Yeah, Gwen didn't know who I was talking about earlier either."

"So she's forgetting him too?"

"Well to be fair, she never really met him so all she knew was what I'd told her." He smiled softly at her before turning back to the monitor. "Now what on earth did he do that for?"

"What?"

"He entered some really weird commands that make no sense at all."

The TARDIS started beeping and its light began flashing.

"What now?"

"She's picked up on a signal that matches mine but that's impossible. Doc said I'm the only person in the universe to still contain the time vortex."

"So?"

"Well something's on the radar now that is drawing her attention."

"Could it be ….him?" Martha didn't want to admit she'd forgotten his name for a moment.

"Maybe. Hang on tight, we're going in."

XxXxX

Next time:

"The Doctor solved all this, he fixed it. This is insane," Jack complained staring at the wall in front of him.

"You're telling me. Where is he anyway?"

Jack froze, almost not daring to turn round. Now he knew how the Doctor had felt earlier. The owner of the question stepped into his sightline and gave him a small smile.

"You shouldn't be here."

A/N: Ooo What's the Doctor done and where is he? And is the TARDIS really dying?