Yup, another chapter has arrived. Wrote this to awesome Doctor Who music. You needed to know that. MOVING ON. I hope you enjoy the chapter! Disclaimer- If I owned Doctor Who, I would be rich enough to have someone type these chapters for me.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.
The Doctor, ever since regenerating into this form, had a certain aversion to knocking four times. It bothered him on occasion, but not too often. To him it seemed perfectly logical, to the rest of the world, well, the rest of the world hardly noticed, now did they?
He waited for a moment, a short moment, before the door opened and he was met with the sight of his friend and former companion. The Time Lord straightened his bowtie and tugged at his tweed jacket nervously.
"Hello, Martha." He greeted. He was met with a blank stare.
"Who are you then?" She asked. The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"You don't recognize me? I mean, I know I've changed quite a bit physically, but really?" He asked, half way joking. Martha leaned against the door frame of the house.
"Nope. Never seen you before in my life. Should I know you?" She inquired, scanning him up and down, but still finding no familiar features to identify with. The Doctor shoved a hand in one of his coats pockets, searched for a moment, and then tossed the retrieved object casually at Martha. She looked at for a minute before studying the object she now held. A fob watch. A fob watch, silver in color, with forgein, circular designs on it. A fob watch that Martha recognized only too well. She slowly looked back up at the strange man who stood on her door step, his hands behind his back, shifting his weight from side to side uneasily.
"Where did you get this?!" She demanded to know, her tone probably harsher than it needed to be. The man let a look of hurt flash across his face at the words.
"It's- it's mine-" He managed to stammer out. " Martha. It's me. It's the Doctor." He said, sounding worried, as if he was afraid that his friend would never believe him. Martha fixed him with a perplexed stare.
"You. Come in. Explain. Now." She ordered. The Doctor wordlessly complied, stepping inside the home.
"Where's Mickey?" He asked after a moment.
"And how, exactly, do you know about Mickey?" Martha inquired. The Time Lord sighed.
"Because, I'm the Doctor."
The expression on Martha's face told him, quite clearly, that she still didn't believe a word of what he said, so he decided to try a different tactic instead.
"Look, ask me something, anything, something that only the Doctor would know." He offered, seeing that it might be the only way to get Martha convinced of his true identity. Martha thought a moment.
"When did we first meet?" She asked.
"Easy. Hospital. I was checked in with 'severe abdominal pain.' Got H20 scooped right off the Earth we did. Jadoon were there." He rambled on and stopped to take a breath before continuing. "Plasmavores as well. Took off my shoes and went barefoot on the moon. Must do that again. Anyways. Yeah, that's how we met. Mind you, that was a typical human question, but it served its purpose." He said in a rather offhand fashion. Martha's expression softened some, almost believing that the man in front of her might actually be her long-lost friend.
"Typical human question..." She muttered. "Alright then. How about this one? John Smith. Who was he?" She challenged. The Doctor's face fell a little but he answered anyways.
"He umm...He was me. But human. In 1913. Teacher. History teacher at a school. And he-" The alien was cut off by a rib-crushing hug from Martha, which he returned. A few moments later they broke contact.
"Where have you been?!" Martha demanded to know, her voice raised to the point of almost yelling. The Doctor flinched at the harshness of her words and Martha appeared to notice, looking slightly concerned. The Doctor studied his shoes, deciding that the boots held untold secrets of the universe.
"I've...been around. Saving the universe and what not." He answered quietly.
"I tried to call you." Martha said, her voice kinder this time around. The Doctor nodded.
"The phone was destroyed I should think. Haven't seen it anyways. Probably got destroyed during my regeneration." He explained.
"Your what now?"
"Regeneration. It's how I- why, I changed into this form. Donna- You remember Donna?"
"Of course."
"Donna's grandfather, Wilfred, I saved him. And in the process absorbed 500,000 Rads of radiation." He said. Martha gave a low whistle.
"No need to say it really, but that much radiation killed me. At least that regeneration of me that is. Time Lords we can, we could, when we're about to die, or have been afflicted with a mortal wound, change ourselves. Every cell in our body actually changes, healing itself in the process. The end result is that we live, but we change. My physical appearance changes, as does my personality, to a certain degree. But I'm still me...Just a bit different." He said, smiling some. Martha let out a sigh.
"You didn't just kick the radiation out of your shoe?" She asked. The Doctor shook his head.
" 500,000 Rads. That's too much to get rid of, even for me." He answered.
"Okay...So instead of dying, you regenerated into the man with an impossible chin and a bowtie?" She asked, partly joking.
"Bowties," The Doctor proclaimed. " Are cool." He said with great confidence in his choice of neck-wear. Martha snorted a laugh.
"What ever you say, mister." She agreed. " Here, come on, we can sit down, catch up some. Would you like some tea?" She offered, leading the Doctor into a sitting room with two chairs.
"Tea would be fantastic, thanks." He replied enthusiastically.
"Sugar?" Asked Martha.
"Yes. Lots."
The former companion shot a curious glance at the Doctor as he sat down; he had never been one for very much sugar when she had known him.
"Ah, yes. Taste changes as well." He explained.
"Are you still crazy for bananas then?" Martha inquired.
"Not as much. They're still brilliant mind you. What I like now though, is fish fingers and custard."
At this Martha laughed.
"You're kidding!" She exclaimed.
"No." Responded the Doctor, quite seriously. "Not kidding. I regenerated, was still finishing up the job. Needed some food. Apples, rubbish. Yogurt, stuff with bits in it. Beans are evil. Bacon is poison." He said.
"And so, the only thing that made any form of sense for you to eat, was fish fingers and custard." Said Martha, shaking her head and smiling.
"Naturally." The Doctor confirmed.
"Of course. I'll be back, just got to get the kettle boiling."
"Right. Take all the time you need."
Martha disappeared into what the Doctor assumed was the kitchen, leaving him alone. A few minutes later sh re-appeared and sat in the chair opposite to the Doctor.
"So you regenerated. What then?" She asked. The Time Lord took a deep breath.
"Oh you know, traveling, saving the world and such." He said flippantly.
"Alone?"
The Doctor lost his voice for a moment.
"No. Not- not alone." He said.
"Where are they then? Your companions, I'd like to meet them."
"I- they're not with me anymore." The Doctor explained, his voice cracking, emotions obviously pouring through. Martha put two and two together.
"Oh...did they-"
The Doctor cut her off.
"No. Nothing like that. They're not dead. They're not trapped in a parallel dimension, their minds haven't been wiped. They're just not with me. Gone. Forever." He said forcefully, tears threatening to appear at any moment.
"I'm sorry, Doctor...What happened?" Martha asked, partly because of her own curiosity, and partly for the Doctor's sake. She knew that whatever had happened to the traveling companions was weighing heavily on her old friend, and that he needed to get it off his chest.
"I- I left them, Martha." The Time Lord admitted, sounding tortured. He looked up at her desperately. "They almost died. Amelia and Rory. They could have. They've had too many close encounters with death while they were with me. Never again. I'm never having another friend die because of me..." He trailed off. "It would be Adric all over again..." He said, mostly to himself, but loudly enough for Martha to hear. Adric? She'd never heard the Doctor mention anyone by such a name. She wanted to ask questions, but given the Doctor's current state, guessed that right then wouldn't be a good time.
"Hey, Doctor, it's okay. It's alright, do you hear me? Don't beat yourself up over it too much. You did what you thought was the right thing to do." Martha tried to comfort her friend. The Doctor trembled and sniffed.
"And that's what makes it so hard. I knew it was the right thing to do. Because other wise they would have died. And now I'm alone again..." He said, his tremor evolving into a definite shake. "Because I can't ever stop it!" He exclaimed angrily, burying his face into his hands. "I'm never good enough. And I can never. Stop. It." The alien said, sounding completely defeated and utterly out of character. Martha decided that it was her job to cheer him up, make him feel better, force him to realize that he wasn't as worthless as he appeared to think he was. After all, who else did the Doctor have to do that for him? She opened her mouth to do exactly that, when the door opened to the house, stopping her words. Mickey walked around the corner and proceeded to look incredibly confused at the sight of Martha and a complete stranger in his house, apparently conversing. He stayed composed though, and made his way over to the still shaking Doctor, offering his arm out for a hand shake to which the Doctor complied.
"Mickey Smith." He introduced himself. And for just a second, the Doctor smiled.
More on its way soon. Fluffiness and feels and such things as that. Please review, I love reviews as much as the Doctor loves running! So, please review or PM me if there's anything at all you want to see and I'll do my best to make it happen. Other than that, have a wonderful day and DFTBA!