A/N: Well, I'm continuing with the story. This is still not exactly a full chapter but rather like an interlude, but then it contains an important hint for the future, so I decided to leave it as it is.
Also, I want to thank Kyhy() and IrelandSavage for the reviews - I appreciated them a lot.
As for the question about genre, well, unfortunately I'm not a slash fan, at least not when it comes to the Doctor and the Master. They do love each other, that's obvious, it's just that it's different kind of love. I actually think that the Doctor owes Martha an apology – she didn't watch too much TV and a lost younger brother comes pretty close to the way he sees the Master. And I think I should warn you that I do have some plans for the romance in the story, and it might me not the most popular pairings as I see the situation on ff - but then, all of them are more or less hinted in the canon. Well, all but one, but that concerns Sara Jane.
And since I've discovered that my plans fit the idea of a series better than a single story, this can be considered part of the "Rules of Time Traveling" series, and every chapter now starts with a rule – and they do have meaning, I should say.
Chapter 2. Time to Change.
A time traveler is required to have a profound understanding of the concept of time.
The ability to explain it, however, is highly approved of but not obligatory.
"So, you're really going to do this?"
They were standing outside of the TARDIS, located in front of Martha's home. The sun was setting down, bathing the street with golden glitter, and a slight wind was blowing, swaying the leaves, making it a perfect afternoon of the early autumn.
It's been a couple of days since the scene on the Valiant, everyone got back home safely and with all the people around living their ordinary lives like nothing ever happened – they always do, not even knowing what sort of future they barely escaped! – all the Toclafane, extraterrestrial invasion and the crusade over the continents have already started to feel distant, like a book page that has been flipped over. It's fascinating, the way the human brain works – a doctor should know.
But with one chapter ending the other was starting.
"Yes." The Doctor nodded, with the same determined look he'd been having a lot since he had made his decision. To say the truth, she had never seen him this concentrated continuously for such a long period of time – if it wasn't a case of saving the Earth or the whole universe with no time to waste – so Martha felt a little worried. But still, if it really was like she had been told...
"Then good luck with it, Doctor. You're going to need a lot of it, if it's him we're talking about."
The ex-Prime Minister of Britain – she had no idea how they managed to calm the international scandal about that – and alternatively, another Time Lord besides the Doctor who managed to survive the Time War, the Master, was still in the process of healing. The technologies abroad the TARDIS far surpassed those of the Earth's 21 century, but then to Martha's surprise she discovered that other than their ability to regenerate, Time Lords were not that great when it came to health, so their recuperation from a bullet wound took a little longer than for an average human. The Doctor tried to convince her that it was a special case about the Master thought.
"Thank you, Martha. Really – thank you for everything. You're brilliant, you know that?" The Doctor smiled, the sincere and whole-hearted way he always did that charmed her a long time ago. And he still didn't notice...
"I know" she smiled back. "I'm pretty good, ain't I?"
"Oh yeah!" the Doctor laughed, and so did she.
"Well, it's been a nice time."
"Yes, it was!" he exclaimed. "And if you want..." he paused, hesitant. "I mean, it's going to be a lot tougher now, and I don't want to put you in danger, but if you want, you can still..."
"No, I think I've traveled enough." She made her decision as well, and she was content her voice sounded confident when she said it. "This year-that-never-was really made me think, I realized there are lots of things I can do here, on Earth, lots of people I can help, being the doctor I've always wanted to be. And I have my family to take care of – they had experienced terrible things and I have to help them get on with their lives... You said it was time for you to change – and so it is for me. Time to move on with my life. Time to..." get out. Get out from the relationship that won't be going anywhere, but she couldn't tell him that. But the a thoughtful expression on his face made her wonder if he had actually guess what she was about to say – or was it just her wishful thinking? "Anyway, I think our last adventure was a good finishing point, I doubt I could do anything on the same scale any time soon" she laughed, and the Doctor smiled in return.
And so, she laughed it off, the thing she wanted to tell him so much... But then, maybe it was for the best. At least he smiled – she didn't want him to look sad, no reason was good enough for that.
"Well, I do think you have a potential to do something even bigger, Martha Jones", the Doctor couldn't help adding with a theatrical seriousness in his tone, "but then..." he opened his arms and hugged her.
She hugged him back – and while they stood there, neither of them willing to let go, she felt infinitely happy that out of all the things what could happen in the whole wide universe she was lucky enough to meet the Doctor. Everything else was not important – it was worth it, definitely, it was.
"Thanks for everything" he repeated again.
She felt she was missing him already.
"Hey, so it is only pretty girls who get a hug from you? That's not fair!" they heard a familiar voice, and when they let go of each other and turned their heads to the sound, they saw Jack standing right next to them. That came sort of unexpected – to say the least. And gave off a feeling of a magician's trick.
"How on Earth did you pulled that off?" the Doctor exclaimed. "Have you teleported? But I am pretty sure I switched your vortex manipulator..."
"Calm down, this time I chose something rather old-fashioned." He nodded at the car parked a dozen yards away from the TARDIS, smiling brightly. It was obvious he enjoyed seeing their surprised faces.
"But how?.."
"I was a Time Agent once, you know. The fact that I do prefer to make an impression" – Martha chuckled, hearing that – "doesn't mean that I can't be rather... imperceptible if I want to."
"You just wanted to make fun of me." The Doctor was trying to sound offended.
"Why would you think that?" the smile on Jack's face became even wider.
Yep, that was probably the point.
"Then why are you here, then?" the Doctor continued. Seemed like he was still suspicious.
"Just want to see you off" Jack explained happily. "Really, I only wanted to make sure it wouldn't look like you're running away from me again." The Doctor returned him a look which somehow succeeded in being both offended and apologizing. "Just seeing you off properly, just that."
"Well... thank you for seeing me off, then." The Doctor smiled, and Martha felt that he finally believed in Jack's sincerity – and probably even felt a little ashamed of the way he acted before. Something quite expected from the Doctor, if you know him well enough.
"And what about you? You sure you don't want me to drop you off somewhere, some place and time you choose?"
"No, for once I am equally uninterested in sports cars and space hoppers. That year we spend on the Valiant... I thought about them a lot, that team of mine. Seems like I've gotten my own responsibility, just like you. Looks like a popular trend these days." The face Jack made was definitely not the one a nice and proper responsible person would make – Martha couldn't help laughing yet again – but there was something about him, something underneath that mask of a joker that made one believe he really meant what he was saying.
"So, are you still... sure about this, Doctor? Absolutely sure?" the was some worry slipping out in those words, as much as he wanted to sound carefree. He was still pretty much worried about the Doctor.
"Yes, I am." The Doctor spared him the irritation he could have shown on the fact that everyone kept asking him the same thing, unable to accept that he did know what he was going after all. He just answered truthfully, knowing that his friend was simply concerned about him.
"All right. And how it he doing?"
"He's still sleeping inside the TARDIS. Since it's not regeneration, healing the wound is going to take a while."
"And is it safe for us to stand outside while he is inside?" Jack raised his eyebrows. "Mind me, Doctor, I am definitely not going through all of that for a second time." Martha wasn't sure exactly how much Jack was joking while saying, and how much he meant it, dead serious.
"Don't worry, he's not going to do anything" the Doctor answered nonchalantly.
"But Doctor...
"Isomorphic controls" the Doctor added the same way – like it explained everything. Maybe it did to Jack, but when the Doctor caught the puzzled look on her face, he continued. "I put TARDIS on isomorphic controls, the only one who can operate it now is me. And I double-checked it. And triple-checked it too" he added, before Jack could say a word. "Yes, I know who I am dealing with. No more tricks with the TARDIS."
"Yes, about that – " Jack looked satisfied with the safety questions, so he let himself slip to another topic. "How is TARDIS doing? I mean, it wasn't in a very good shape the last time I saw it..."
"Last time you shot it with a rifle" the Doctor specified. "No offense" he added right away, "it was the only way, and I should say "thank you" for doing that, if I have forgotten to tell you that before, but then... It did take a lot of effort to get rid of the Paradox Machine parts and turn it back into an good old TARDIS. But it is back, finally, and... it's about time for me to go, I think."
"What do you plan to do, then?"
"Well, a little thing here and there... it all depends" the Doctor said indefinitely, much like the way he had always answered questions about plans. He never had any plans – it was the Doctor they were talking about. "You know me – I'll manage somehow." He smiled again, reassuringly. "It's just that right now I have something to do, someone to take care of – so it's going to be different. But then it's never the same anyway, so..."
"So, that's it, then." Jack stated.
"Yep, that's it." The Doctor confirmed.
"Well, then..." Jack made himself stand at attention and saluted the Doctor.
The Doctor casually saluted back. Then he looked at Martha.
They hugged again, this time just for one fleeting moment, and when she was letting go, she kissed him on cheek. A little farewell gesture.
"Oh, and by the way" she searched in her pockets and took her get-a-signal-everywhere phone out, only to throw it into the Doctor's hands. "Keep that, I'm not having you disappear, especially if you're on the quest like that. Don't you think so, Jack?"
"Oh, I agree with you, ma'am" Jack nodded in support, his jokier side clearly being in charge.
"Then I should better be ready for a call, shouldn't I?" the Doctor smiled, holding the phone.
"You'd better."
The Doctor turned to open the TARDIS, and then turned back to them, leaning against the door.
"See you, then" he smiled.
"See you. And good luck!" she wished him.
"See you soon." Jack saluted again, casually this time.
The Doctor looked at them for a couple of moments, one last time – then turned back decidedly and went inside the TARDIS, closing the door being him.
The next moment the Time Machine started to make its familiar grinding and whirring sounds – and in a matter of seconds became transparent and finally disappeared, leaving the empty space on the road in front of them as well as in their hearts.
When she looked at Jack she saw anxiety written all over his face, yet again.
"It is going to be all tight." She said to him, her voice not loud, but firm
"Well, it's not like it's impossible, I know, but still..." Jack commented, obviously still having doubts about the risks the Doctor was getting himself into, taking the Master together with him in what appeared to be the last proper Time Machine in the universe.
She couldn't blame him, she would have been worried too, if she were in his place. And to say the truth, she was worried, she still was. But then – she decided to believe those words. But then...
"No, you don't get it" she continued calmly. "It's really going to be all right – at least it's going to be better."
Jack shifted his gaze to her and looked closely. Well, he was the one to understand what she meant, considering his previous occupation.
"What do you..."
"Believe me – I just know."
Jack stared at her with even more suspicion, but she met his gaze with confidence.
For the moment, she did not plan to give any further explanations.