Best Laid Schemes – Chapter II

The TARDIS materialised into a familiar street. After a moment of silence, the blue door opened and Donna walked out onto the small suburban avenue. Surveying her surroundings, Donna then looked back into the TARDIS.

"Come on then! You gonna join me?"

The Doctor flung the screen to him on the consol and was fiddling with the controls. "Ah, in a minute…" He said, obviously interested in something else. "I just need to do this. I'll come in later."

"Whatever." Donna rolled her eyes then closed the door behind her and headed to one of the terrace houses on the street. Coming up to the door, she knocked and waited.

The door opened after a while, to reveal a familiar face.

"Donna!"

"How you going Martha?" Donna took Martha in a large friendly hug.

"Brilliant!" Martha pulled back and smiled with surprise. "Bit busy, I mean, but that's what happens when you've only got two weeks till you're married!"

"Two weeks!" Donna exclaimed.

"Yep. I'm a bit nervous, but still – the business helps. So, what are you doing here?"

"What, I can't come round for a little companion gossip session?"

"Of course! But shouldn't you be too busy saving the universe or something to come round for a chat?"

Donna's smile disappeared. "This is serious. I need to ask you a question."

Martha nodded in understanding. "Well, come in. I'll make us some tea." She directed Donna into the hallway and closed the door behind her. Following Martha into the kitchen, Donna looked around the house.

"So, where's this marvellous man of yours?"

"Here." A man suddenly appeared from the kitchen, with solid features and dark stubble. "Hi." He put out his hand to Donna. "Tom Milligan."

Donna smiled as she put out her hand and shook Tom's while peering over his shoulder to Martha. "Quite a looker you've got here."

Martha grinned as she continued to make the tea while Tom was left a bit embarrassed. "So, um, you are?"

"Donna Noble."

"Donna! Martha's told me all about you!"

Donna looked shiftily over to Martha. "She has?"

Martha rolled her eyes as she placed the two mugs on the kitchen table. "I work for UNIT. I can't keep the whole time travelling thing a secret from him."

Tom just shone. "I just think the whole thing's amazing!"

"That it is." Donna nodded.

"Well," Tom looked at his watch. "I better be off. I'm on call for the day. See you later?"

"Not if I see you first, mister." Martha called out from the kitchen as Tom rushed down the hall and out of the apartment.

Donna joined Martha at the kitchen table and picket up her cup of tea. "Good to see you've got a real man."

Martha smiled. "Some days though, I do miss the Doctor." Donna glared at her. "Not in that way. I'm way over that. But I just miss him. As a friend. Actually," Martha looked around. "Where is he?"

"In the TARDIS. Fiddling round with something or other. Which brings me to why I'm here." Martha leaned in slightly. "I'm worried about the Doctor. The last place we were at, some alien told him something, and it really struck a chord with him, and I'm just…I'm worried about him, that's all."

"Donna," Martha began to look a bit worried. "What is it?"

"What do you know about Rose Tyler?"

"Rose?" Martha raised her eyebrows and couldn't help but smile at the irony. "Seriously?"

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just…leave the Doctor and the TARDIS but I still can't escape from good old Rose."

Donna looked at her sympathetically. "You must have been jealous."

"Just a bit."

Donna took a sip of her tea and looked away in deep thought. "They were obviously close. The first time I met the Doctor, he must have said goodbye or something. I don't know. I remember shouting at him when I found her jacket and just the look on his face…he was just a wreck. He mentioned her a few times, but it obviously hurt him. Even just to tell me her name. I don't know…he told me he lost her, but she wasn't dead. What happened to her, do you know?"

"He never really told me either. But when I was at the end of the universe, I overhead some conversations between him and Captain Jack."

"Who's he?"

"Oh, this really hot guy. Loves to dress up in World War II uniforms for some reason. But apparently he used to travel with the Doctor when he was with Rose. But that's a whole different story. But I've pieced it all together, what happened with Rose. The Doctor was at the Battle of Canary Wharf – "

"The what?"

"The Battle? Canary Wharf? Cybermen?"

"Oh yeah – I remember. The Doctor mentioned it."

"You didn't see any Cybermen?"

"I was on holiday." Donna shrugged.

Martha looked at her strangely for a second then decided to give up. "Anyway, Rose was there, and from what I'd gathered from the Doctor and Captain Jack, she ended up in a parallel universe. The problem is though; she's stuck there. The walls are sealed off, in a way. To get her back would probably mean the end of both universes, knowing his luck."

Donna frowned. "This is bad."

"What is?"

"This really isn't good."

"What is it? Donna," Martha's gaze sharpened. "What exactly did that alien tell him?"

"He said he knew how to get Rose back. That the TARDIS could do it."

"And he, what – he believed him?"

"I don't know… He did seem to take him seriously, and now – "

" – now he's fiddling with the TARDIS!" Martha shot up. "We gotta talk to him."

Donna raised her eyebrow. "You don't seriously thing he'd put two universes at risk, do you?"

"Who knows what he'd do, but we got to smack some sense into him. Come on." Martha grabbed Donna's hand and yanked her out of the seat and together they ran out of the house, and towards the TARDIS.

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NB: Ok, so I thought I was over this fic. Turns out – maybe not. Didn't really have the inspiration before, but now; now I've got the bright spark of light! Huzzah!! Anywho, hope you're enjoying this, otherwise it's quite the pointless for me to write this, isn't it? Quite.

But review! So I can know whether you want me to continue, or to put in Captain Jack. And by the bye – this is in no way a Martha bashing fic. OH no! I love Martha to bits. And nothing or no one is going to bash her. That incudes you, strange 10/rose fan girl lurking in the shadows with a whiffle ball bat. I've got my eye on you!

Right. Sorry. REVIEW!!