I do not own Doctor Who. It belongs to the BBC.

oO*Oo

As Martha shifted the Doctor's jacket off the breakfast table, a small, brightly coloured pebble fell out of a pocket. Grumbling a little at her friend's messy habits, Martha bent to pick up the little rock. To her surprise (though, really, it being the Doctor's coat, she should be prepared for anything and everything), it felt a little warm to her touch. She lifted the thing up to eye level for a better look and then immediately cringed back from a bright flash of light. When the spots stopped dancing in front of her eyes, Martha's jaw dropped at the sight in front of her: the pebble had projected a hologram, roughly the size and shape of a TV screen about half a metre above her hand.

She must have some sound of astonishment because the Doctor looked up inquiringly from his book. The moment he caught sight of the hovering picture, his face closed down in that inscrutable way and, unable to help herself, Martha turned to examine the hologram.

It depicted, in the foreground, a laughing trio: a big-eared man with a buzz-cut and a leather jacket, a handsome younger man in a greatcoat and...

Martha felt herself pale and she sat down hard.

"How did – I mean, that, that's not funny. It can't be... How is...?"

The Doctor took in her incoherent query amusedly, though his cheer seemed slightly forced.

"Honestly Martha, you've seen the universe, and you're flummoxed by a holographic souvenir? As it happens, that's from Raxxon IV. We visited, oh, must be a year now in my timestream. That's her, you know, Rose, I mean. With me and Captain Jack Harkness. It was her idea to take that picture.

"See, it's like those booths in your malls, well sort of. You know, put in some coins and come out with set of pictures; Jack and Rose have, well, had the other two. I'm surprised the projector's still got power, actually." He pulled out the sonic screwdriver to take some readings.

Martha, still shaken, had stopped listening somewhere in the middle.

"That's Rose? It can't be, just can't. I've seen that woman before and there's no way that's your Rose."

"Why not? You both lived in London during roughly the same time period. As they say, it's a small world and –"

Martha was already shaking her head.

"No, it's not like that. That's not a real person; that's my imaginary friend, from when I was a kid, I mean."

The Doctor spluttered, his face contorted bizarrely in consternation and Martha struggled not to find him adorable.

"What?"

Martha thought back to the companion of her youth, her brow furrowed a little. "She was a funny sort of imaginary friend. Most kids imagine real playmates, but she was more like a... a mentor. She never talked or anything but she was a great listener; I used to tell her everything. My parents' divorce, bullying, boys..." Martha shook herself out of the memories. "I say 'she', but it's really just a manifestation of my subconscious, right?"

Doctor ignored her desperately hopeful question and stared at the hologram.

"But that's her? You're sure, one hundred percent?"

Struck by the seriousness of his tone, Martha turned back to the image and stared into the face of the blonde woman, searching for any inconsistency. She found the same golden hair, the same thickly lined brown eyes, the same full mouth.

"I think so. I never saw her laughing though. She always seemed so sad..."

The Doctor, his expression bleak, rummaged in another pocket and pulled out a more conventional (by Martha's standards) photograph. It showed the same girl, this time staring pensively past the camera with just a trace of wistfulness suffusing her features. Martha let out a small disbelieving gasp.

"Yes, that's her. Absolutely. Unless she's got a twin or something."

"When did you stop seeing her?"

Martha blushed a little and looked away.

"Not 'till I was about fifteen, I guess. I know it's silly, but I was lonely a lot of the time and I guess I just couldn't let go." Martha paused and then continued a bit dreamily, "It's weird, though, now that I think about it, I think I still see her sometimes, when I'm back home on Earth, I mean. She's always just out of the corner of my eye, and when I turn around, she's gone..."

Springing up suddenly (thereby making Martha jump), the Doctor all but ran to the console room and worked the controls almost frantically.

"Hold on Martha Jones; we're headed for Earth."