Disclaimer: I do not own Dr Who I am just borrowing the characters for a little while. I promise to return them when I'm finished.
Thanks as always to my lovely beta, dustyashes.
Chapter Two
When the door to the TARDIS opened, the Doctor strolled into the hub. His hands were tucked into his pockets and he had a grin on his face.
"Hello there", he cheerfully greeted.
"Doctor!" Martha exclaimed, greeting him with a smile and a hug.
"Martha Jones," the Doctor stated with an even larger grin.
"Oi!" Mickey exclaimed. "That's Martha Smith now." Mickey wrapped an arm around his new wife.
"Well then, this is a surprise." The Doctor ran a hand through his wild hair. "Not really", he amended. "It was obvious when he followed you. Congratulations, but weren't you already engaged to somebody else?"
"Yeah," Martha admitted with a sigh. "But it's kind of hard to marry someone who would try and commit you if you told them what you really did. At least with Mickey, I don't have to hide anything."
"This is the first time that two of my companions have gotten together. Well, when I say together, what I mean is married." With his manic grin plastered on his face, he spun to face Ianto and Gwen. "And congratulations to you as well."
"Thank you," Gwen replied, touching her swollen stomach. "But what about Jack?"
"Not a problem", his grin grew larger. "See everyone who has ever set foot in the TARDIS has left a neural imprint on her. So should just be a matter of calibration to tell where, should be the same when, not many have the ability to travel through time. Oh I hope it's not another when that would make it more complicated and harder to trace." The Doctor looked around the room. "We all ready?"
With a nod, the Doctor spun around and boarded his ship. Leaving the rest to follow behind him.
Martha and Mickey nodded to each other; they put Ianto, Gwen, and Rhys between them and entered the TARDIS. At least Ianto knew what to expect, but Gwen and Rhys had no idea. Gwen stopped in her tracks and grabbed a hold of Rhys and Ianto. Rhys was in a state of shock and Gwen's hand just slipped right off him. But on her other side Ianto picked up the slack and wrapped his arms around her.
"Relax," Ianto cooed as Gwen held a death grip on his suit jacket. "After everything you've seen and done, this shouldn't be too much to take in."
"It's bigger on the inside", Gwen gasped.
"Is that seriously what I sounded like?" Martha questioned.
"It's what most of you say the first time, and those that don't say it out loud are almost always thinking it." The Doctor answered. He walked to the console and began pressing buttons. "She should take about 10-15 minutes to get a trace on him." He glanced at the shell shocked Rhys. "Martha have him sit and get Gwen to the jump seat."
"C'mon Rhys," Martha spoke softly. She took his arm and guided him farther on board, having him sit on the gratin and hold onto the railings.
"I'll take Gwen," Ianto spoke softly and lifted her into his arms. He carried her to the jump seat and placed her on it. "Water?"
"I'll go," Mickey answered. With a smile on his face he wandered down the hallway, deeper into the TARDIS.
"How far along is she?" Martha asked, crouching in front of Gwen.
"Almost 7 months," Ianto answered. He placed a hand on Gwen's shoulder.
"Are you all right?" Martha asked Gwen.
After blinking a few times, Gwen looked down at Martha. "Yeah, just a little surprised is all."
"Let's get you to the med bay and make sure the little one is all good." Martha helped Gwen to her feet and followed Mickey down the hall.
Taking one look at the catatonic Rhys, Ianto begain trailing after Gwen and Martha. Since her husband was out of it, he would take care of his friend.
The Doctor watched them leave the room and glanced down at Rhys. This was definitely going to be an interesting trip. A smile crossed his face when he remembered Mickey having a similar reaction the first time he was in the TARDIS. But the moment soon passed and he returned his focus to finding Jack.
Aeryn opened her eyes slowly, the world around her seemed fuzzy and out of focus. She tried to lift her head from the pillow but as soon as she managed an inch, her entire body throbbed with pain.
"Shh," a male voice whispered into her hear. He eased her body back down to the bed. "I don't know what they did to you, but it looks painful."
Aeryn tried to roll over so she could see the man behind her, but another wave of pain crashed over her. She avoided crying out, but a cascade of tears fell down her face. Against her will, a sob broke free from her mouth.
As though he was sensing her intentions, he moved so he was crouching in front of her. He had short dark hair and deep blue eyes. "Relax," he said softly. "I won't let the touch you again." He lifted a hand and began stroking the side of her face, and brushing her hair back.
Aeryn fought against the sleep that was dragging her down. Something about him made her feel safe. A whimper escaped her mouth as she felt him climb back up behind her and mold his body to her protectively. While she had no idea who he was, she somehow knew he would keep her safe, that he would protect her with his life.
The next time she came around, she was able to move more. She didn't feel the man behind her and rolled over to look. There was no one. Sitting up so she could look around the room, she realized she was alone in the room.
Aeryn took in a shallow breath then after a minute of no pain, she took another deeper breath. Then she sighed out the relief of no pain. Half a heartbeat later, she began to worry about her mystery friend.
Time passed slowly for her. She had no idea if the man would come back, what they were doing to him, or if he could really be one of them.
"Breathe," she whispered to herself. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and began breathing deeply, trying to relax herself. Before she could inhale a second time, the door to the room slammed open, causing Aeryn to open her eyes wide. The black haired man was being pushed into the room at gunpoint.
Aeryn quickly scrambled to her feet beside the bed. A look of horror on her face as the guard forced him onto his knees right in front of her.
"What are you doing?" Aeryn demanded.
"Testing a theory my supervisors are too afraid of," the guard growled. "Enjoy."
Without another word, the guard cocked his gun. The man on the floor looked up at her and their eyes locked. He was trying to tell her something with his eyes, but before she understood, the guard fired.
Aeryn let out a scream that echoed throughout the tiny room. She fell to her knees and cradled his limp body against her. The guard smirked at her and left the room, locking the door behind him.
"Oh no, no, no," Aeryn murmured. She had pressed her face against his head and was loudly sobbing. She began rocking them back and forth. Whoever this man was, he was dead. It had been so long since someone had been killed in front of her. And the emotions hit her hard.