Slowly, Martha reached into her own pocket and pulled out another glowing key. "It's got to mean something," said Martha, "but the Tardis couldn't possibly be here. The Doctor had no way of getting back to it when I left him."
"Let me see that sphere again," said Rose.
Martha handed it to her, and Rose looked it over, turning it all around and feeling the surface. Near the bottom, there were several thin slots cut into the sphere.
"I didn't notice these before," said Rose. "But what if... What if the sphere needs something to activate it or charge it up? Like before, let's say it was charged up, and you just had to give it a destination. Now, we need to give it a spark, like you would with a car and jump leads."
Martha nodded. "Ok, but how big a power source would we need? I mean, it could be anything, from a 9-volt battery to a nuclear reactor."
Rose shook her head slowly. "I think we just need these." She pointed to the two glowing keys. "I think that's what the glowing means. They're connected to the Tardis, even a universe apart, and they can somehow sense the potential of the sphere. They'd fit in these slots, wouldn't they?"
"You're right. So how should we do this? Plug them in at the same time?"
"Sounds good to me," said Rose. "Also, we should both hold it, just to be sure neither of us gets left behind."
"Agreed."
Slowly, they lifted the keys and held them up to the slots. With one hand each firmly on the sphere, Rose and Martha looked at each other.
"Ready?" asked Rose.
"I just hope we get there in time. When we plug these in, think of the Doctor, just him. I'll think about him in the last place I saw him, and hopefully, the two of us combined will give this thing enough direction to get there," said Martha.
"Here we go. One, two, three."
At that moment, both girls shoved the keys firmly into the sphere's slots. Martha could feel a familiar wind whipping around them, lifting them up, and the sphere glowed so brightly that she had to shut her eyes against the light.
Then it all stopped.
Rose opened her eyes. The room was mostly dark, though there was a little ray of red-tinged light casting shadows on the wall. She couldn't hear anything. Lifting her head up, she looked around. Martha was sprawled on the floor beside her, unmoving. The sphere lay between them; it wasn't glowing anymore.
"Martha," Rose whispered. "Wake up."
She reached over and gently pushed Martha's shoulder. Martha stirred and looked up at her, blinking. For a moment, she didn't say anything but slowly took in their surroundings. Then, she smiled.
"We're here, Rose. We've made it!"
"Shhh. I'm not sure who else might be here with us. Haven't done any proper reconnaissance yet."
"Let's see," said Martha, as she sat up. "I wish I knew how much time passed here while I was in the parallel world. It took me a couple of days there. I hope it hasn't been that long here."
The two girls shared one unspoken, yet fervent thought: I hope the Doctor's okay.
Martha began creeping around the large lab tables, and Rose followed close behind, both keys now firmly in her pocket. Tiptoeing through the room, they kept an eye out for where Martha had last seen the Doctor. The trouble was that many parts of the massive lab seemed to look alike. After several minutes of silent searching, Martha stopped walking suddenly. Not seeing this, Rose bumped into her. As Rose got up, Martha turned to her, a small smile on her face.
"I found him. He doesn't look very good from here," said Martha in a worried tone.
Energized thoroughly by the idea of seeing the Doctor- the real Doctor, not a hologram- Rose stepped around Martha and looked. There he was, sitting in a forlorn heap, eyes closed, wrist firmly encircled by the glowing chain.
Rose looked around quickly, then ran silently over to the Doctor's side. Martha hurried after her.
"Oh, Doctor," breathed Rose. "My Doctor."
She looked over at Martha, who nodded. "He's got a pulse and everything; it looks like he's just thoroughly exhausted. I'd bet it's got something to do with that chain."
Slowly, Rose reached over and tenderly brushed a stray lock of hair away from his face. Just then, the chain glowed brighter for a moment, then returned to its normal glow.
"Hang on. I think that did something to the chain, you touching him," said Martha. "Try it again."
Rose reached toward the Doctor again, this time clasping his limp hand in hers. Looking down at their intertwined fingers, Rose thought she saw a golden glow leap from her arm into his. The chain's glow increased ten-fold, then seemed to vanish altogether. The flash blinded them for a moment, but Rose looked down again when the Doctor's limp fingers tightened their grip against hers. The chain had snapped and lay in pieces on the floor, its glow gone. With her free hand, she stroked his cheek, and his eyelids fluttered open.
"I must be dreaming. This is... It's impossible."
"You like impossible," said Rose, a smile hovering on the corners of her mouth.
His eyes focused on her, as if he wanted to be sure she was real and not a desperate hallucination. He smiled and struggled to sit up. Rose helped, as Martha went over to the aisle to keep a lookout. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"Yeah, well, forever got a little longer today, just for us."
He gazed her lovingly for a moment, then realized his surroundings. "We need to get back to the Tardis. Martha, remember where we parked?"
"It's not too far. Do you think you can make it?"
"If you asked, I think I could fly."
"So that's a yes. It's just a little ways down that hall. I'll scout it out, if you can help him, Rose."
The Doctor leaned heavily on Rose for a moment as he stood up, then seemed to find his own strength.
"There we are. Just needed a moment. All set?"
Rose nodded, and they headed out. Martha was right. It wasn't a long walk at all; once they turned the corner, Rose could see the Tardis parked at the end of the corridor.
Just then the red lights started flashing and the piercing ring of an alarm seemed to be coming from every direction.
The Doctor looked at Rose, worried eyes becoming playful as he grabbed her hand and yelled, "Run!"
They ran, hand-in-hand down the corridor, with Martha right in front of them. Feet pounding on the hard tiled floor and hearts racing, they neared the Tardis. Rose could hear shouts behind them in the distance. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time- just like it always was.
Reaching the Tardis door, Rose fumbled in her pocket, pulled out her key, and jammed it into the lock. Rushing inside, they slammed the door behind them. The Doctor practically skipped to the console, while Rose and Martha stood near the door, catching their breath.
"Ready to get out of here?" asked the Doctor.
Both girls nodded, and the Doctor grinned. "Well, then. Allons-y!"
He threw the console lever down, and the central Tardis column began to pulsate.
"Where are we going?" asked Rose.
"Oh, I figured we'd drift about 'til we picked something. Now then, Martha," he looked over at her, "I expect you've had an adventure."
"I'll say. You didn't tell me you were sending me to a parallel world."
"You didn't ask."
"Forget that, how did you send her?" asked Rose. "What's that sphere all about?"
"Ah, that. As soon as I saw it in the lab, I knew it was a trans-dimensional device. I couldn't believe it- there it was, a way around the lack of holes in the universe. Normally, I'd have looked it over and all, but as I'm sure Martha mentioned, we were discovered. I tried to be nice to them, really, I did. How was I supposed to know that offering your hand for a handshake is a rude gesture? It wasn't the last time I was on this planet," he said, shrugging.
Fiddling around with the Tardis console some more, he continued.
"Anyway, so we had a difference of opinion, and their opinion was that I should be locked up. The particular chain they used, well that was the problem. You see, the sphere and the chain are made out of the same material, but the sphere's more advanced- it knows when to stop drawing energy after it's done the job," said the Doctor. "It's really not safe to use as a chain, because it keeps drawing energy from whoever's connected to it. I knew there would be a trace of the Bad Wolf left in you, Rose. Not enough to harm you, but enough to overload this chain if you could get here to touch it. Obviously, I couldn't come get you myself, being chained up and all. I didn't have much time either- that thing was draining my energy so fast that I couldn't even give Martha proper instructions."
"Oh, like telling her she might land in Norway?"
The Doctor smiled sheepishly. "It all worked out in the end, though, didn't it? Now then, it seems to me there's something I haven't done."
Martha watched as he stepped over to Rose and swept her into a massive hug. Rose sniffled, and the Doctor loosened his grip. "Sorry, did I hurt you? I didn't mean to hug too tight."
"No, it's not that. It's just... I never thought I'd see you again after that day on the beach," said Rose, as tears spilled down her cheeks. "And now that you're here with me, it's just so wonderful; I can't help it."
He grasped her chin with one hand, wiping away her tears with the other, and she smiled one of her huge grins. A smile like that hadn't crossed her face in a long time.
"So where are you two off to now?" asked Martha.
"The Doctor thought he'd treat me to a day at the beach. Just a lazy day for the two of us," said Rose.
Then, just to Martha, she whispered, "Bet you the quiet doesn't last ten minutes and he actually lands us in Antarctica. But I don't care as long as we're together."
Martha laughed and picked up her rucksack.
"Are you sure you won't join us?" asked Rose.
"I've had enough of a vacation; now I've got to face up to my responsibilities- take my exams and finish my training. But you've got my number, yeah?"
Rose nodded. "And you've got mine? Because I'm counting on you to call us when you're ready to go on holiday. We'll swing by with the Tardis and have ourselves an adventure."
"It's a deal."
"Bye then, Doctor," Martha said as she waved and stepped over to the door.
"See you soon, Martha," said the Doctor. "And thank you."
