Martha stepped out of the TARDIS into her bedroom followed closely by the Doctor. He looked around eagerly and then turned to Martha.

"Where did you see her most often? Where would you go to find her?"

Martha stared at him. She didn't quite know how to feel. Her imaginary childhood confidante turned out to be somehow connected to the Doctor's missing Rose and now they were back on Earth searching for said imaginary friend, who, apparently, might not be quite so imaginary after all. What if they found Rose? Martha could almost see that: the Doctor and Rose reunited and herself, shunted off to the side, forever overlooked. She tried to suppress the part of her that wanted to refuse to help.

"The park, I guess. I mean when I was really little; when I got older, I never talked to her in public."

Flashing her that beautifully manic grin, the Doctor held open the door for her.

"Well, then, Martha Jones, let's go to the park. I'd like to meet this 'imaginary' friend of yours."

oO*Oo

They strolled over the grass side by side and Martha craned her head around, trying to catch a glimpse of the familiar blonde hair. No luck.

She tugged the Doctor's arm. "Come on; let's go over to the swings. They were my favourite."

As they wandered over, it began to drizzle and then to full-out rain. The parents quickly gathered up their children and left, shielding their heads with arms, newspapers or coats.

Left alone with the Doctor in what was rapidly developing into a downpour, Martha shot her companion a dark look.

"It just had to rain, didn't it?"

"Well, look on the bright side, now there's nobody to see us acting loony, is there?" He answered her glare with a cheeky smile and shouted, "Rose! You there? Yoohoo!... Ugh, don't like that one. Rose!"

Martha rolled her eyes at his antics and turned to look around for any trace of the woman. She stopped short, face to face with the image of Rose Tyler. The other woman seemed to be half-laughing, and half-crying, though no sound reached Martha's ears, and her arms came up to wrap Martha in an intangible hug.

Painfully, Martha cleared her throat and called, "Doctor! She's here."

He was at her side in an instant.

"Where? I don't see anyone." His eyes darted around wildly and, seeing nothing, he grabbed Martha's shoulders and asked desperately, "Where?"

"Right there, Doctor, in front of me. She's... now she's trying to hug you."

Eyes closed, the Doctor stood absolutely still, an expression of pain over his face. "I can't see her." His voice was hoarse. "I can't sense her at all." His head suddenly snapped up. "Martha! Could I maybe... would you let me link minds with you? Then I could see what you see, and we could help her. Please."

Again facing a dilemma, Martha swallowed hard. She didn't want the Doctor to see inside her head, to see and feel her infatuation and her jealousy. But that loneliness and heart break that she sometimes saw in the Doctor's eyes, wouldn't she give almost anything to see it disappear?

Martha nodded with only slight reluctance.

"Brilliant! Oh, Martha Jones, you're amazing! Now, put anything you don't want me to see behind a mental door and shut the door. I won't look, so just keep that door closed. And..." He placed cool fingers on her temple and suddenly she was hyperaware. Every sense overloaded for a second before the sensations faded rapidly.

"That wasn't supposed to happen, sorry." The Doctor muttered and removed his fingers from her forehead. He turned away from her and then Martha felt every muscle in his body tense up.

"Rose?" He breathed, his voice slightly hoarse with an emotion that shot a spark of jealousy through Martha, and the other woman nodded, grinning. "Oh, Rose. I'll, we'll figure this out...Think! Oh, why would...unless –" He peered at her. "Ah ha!"

Martha jumped; Rose just grinned ecstatically up at him.

"This isn't really Rose, well not exactly. It's a psychic manifestation of her consciousness, which means that her brain, at least, and likely her entire physical form are in working order and somewhere nearby: Rose doesn't have enough psychic ability to project far." He frowned suddenly. "But why would Martha be the only one to see the manifestation? Wait, wait, oh I know! Martha, you're a bit unusual psychically speaking: see, your mind is wide open. No shields at all; that's why you got my senses when we linked until I blocked them from you. Now, Rose isn't strong enough to project past even the terribly rudimentary mental shields that most humans have, much less mine. Which is where you come in, Martha: I would guess that once Rose found someone who could see her, she stuck with you. She must have been so lonely. Oh, Rose I'm sorry."

Rose smiled and shook her head dismissively. She mouthed some words, exaggeratedly and slowly.

You're here now, Doctor.

"We'll fix this, Rose. I promise we'll sort this out." To Martha, he sounded almost desperate and her heart seemed to squeeze painfully. She was losing the Doctor.

Martha stole a look at the pair of them, staring at each other intently. The Doctor's hands twitched and fluttered agitatedly, as if he didn't know what to do with them.

"Almost like last time, eh?" He said softly with a weak chuckle and then frowned. "Except you can't talk. I guess that means I have to. I, uh, never finished what I was going to say." His hand came up to scratch his ear nervously. "You know, of course, but some things just need saying and so, Rose Tyler..."

And then Rose, eyes bright with emotion, a smile beginning to spread across her lips, flickered and vanished.

"Rose? Rose! Oh, why can't I ever manage to say it!" He spun to face Martha, his expression one of determination. "Right, we are going to find her body right now. Then we are going to wake her up and I am going to finally tell her."

Martha didn't dare ask what he was so desperate to tell the blonde; she had a feeling she knew, anyways.

"Now," continued the Doctor in his brightest I'm-going-to-save-the-world-and-have-fun-doing-so voice, "her body will be somewhere nearby. Somewhere at least your age and relatively undisturbed."

"Doctor?" Martha spoke up a little timidly; the Doctor got a bit snappish when in a thinking mood. "The whole neighbourhood got redone about five years ago, so most of the buildings are new. The only thing that escaped renovation is the school, which, I suppose shows peoples' priorities..."

"Show me."

Nodding, Martha set off and they walked in uncharacteristic silence.