Chapter 9

Martha stood at a round paned window looking over the yard behind Councilor Maverrant's house. In the light of the setting suns, workers were packing up the last of the canopied cots and moving things back inside now that the earthquakes had stopped. Over the past few days, Martha had been making herself useful by volunteering at the hospitals and shelters. Today had been a good day at the hospital; the first comatose patient woke up. He was confused and seemed to be presenting memory loss approaching amnesia but it was undoubtedly an improvement. She was rapidly learning more about Rilophrian medicine, essentially on her way to becoming the first human poly-species doctor. She smiled at the thought, what would her supervisors back at Royal Hope make of that?

While the damage would take a long time to repair and the suffering would never be forgotten, signs of life were returning to Cadifus. Now that the debilitating headaches were gone, the citizens were throwing themselves into the recovery activities with hope and vigour. In a remarkably short space of time the once silent city had begun to ring with the noise of reconstruction as work gangs began a systematic clean up and inspection of the city.

Much of this renewed activity was due to the efforts of Councilor Maverrant. With the destruction of the transference tank and the extensive damage to the temple, the Order of the Oracle had been thrown into disarray. Maverrant lost no time in filling the void. Besides rallying the survivors in Cadifus, he marshaled his considerable telepathic abilities and began a global broadcast to provide information and comfort to the rest of Rilophrius. As a result, similar recovery work had begun across the planet and teams were being dispatched to search for survivors through some worryingly silent provinces.

However, there were bigger problems still to deal with. The meager food stores would soon be gone and it would be a long time before the Oracle breathed new life into the fields. To deal with this Maverrant contacted the Shadow Proclamation, demolishing the stern isolationist policy that had gripped his planet for so long. Already emergency response troops were on their way, with rations and medical aid.

The Doctor had missed all of this. Martha turned from the window as the last rays of sunshine crept along the simple bed and over his still face. His hearts were beating steadily and his breathing was deep and even. All of his cuts and bruises from their adventures in the cave and temple had healed almost miraculously and his skin was smooth and clear. He appeared to be in a natural sleep, showing no sign of the coma she had feared when she had reached his collapsed form on the dais.

She hadn't really known what else to do for him but make him comfortable and wait. And so she had, filling her days with work at the hospital and shelters, while her nights were spent in this room with him. She wasn't left alone, Maverrant had seen to it that his household staff was at her disposal and his mother had been particularly kind. However, she missed the Doctor desperately. She would come back here each evening hoping to see him sitting up, greeting her with that goofy grin but he was always unchanged.

Sighing she turned back to the window, letting her gaze travel upwards towards the Temple Mount. If she squinted, she could just make out a blue box on the edge, its top picked out by the last rays of the twin suns. The power was back on in the Tardis now that the Oracle acolytes were no longer working to control it. Martha understood now, as Maverrant had commented, that they really hadn't had the power to control it completely. The Doctor could have left anytime he wanted to. Despite his anger with the planet and his clearly complicated feelings about this Time War, he had still come and stayed to help. That was just The Doctor.

She'd visited the Tardis since its power had returned, enjoying the feeling of welcome and warmth she always had when she went there. She talked to it to, telling it her worries and fears, allowing its soft thrumming to calm her. She would give the Doctor one more day. After that she was going to have him moved to the Tardis and hope that it could help him to wake up somehow. She had to try something. A mental picture of herself as an old woman flashed through her mind. She would grow old and grey looking out this same window, while the Doctor remained, never-changing in that bed.

"A rilo for your thoughts?" Interrupted an inordinately chirpy voice from behind her. "That's quite a good bargain, worth much more than a penny. Although exchange rates are funny things, it doesn't really work when one commerce system is more of a psychic construct, while the other is - well, let's face it - an accepted arbitrary –"

"Shut up Doctor!" Martha said grinning broadly, as she threw her arms around his pajama-clad frame. The Doctor laughed hugging her back.

"How long was I out for?"

"Six days. You scared me." Martha said bluntly.

"Wooo, six days. I honestly didn't think it would be that long. I knew I would be able to channel it, but that was one pent up Oracle. I'm sorry Martha. But hey," He slapped his knees and swung his legs over the bed.

"Now that I'm awake we can go somewhere fun!" He stood up and promptly sat down again as his weakened legs refused to cooperate. "Or maybe in a bit."

"Yeah, in a bit" agreed Martha grinning again.

...

The day The Doctor and Martha left Rilophrius, they were given a typically silent send off. Councilor Danuel Maverrant in company with other officials of Cadifus, stood in on the Temple mount. Their official robes hanging loosely on their gaunt bodies, but their smiles were broad. Matlena, Maverrant's little girl, held his hand and smiled shyly from behind her father's robes.

With ceremony, Maverrant presented The Doctor and Martha with psychic charms that would, as it was explained to Martha, provide them with a link to Rilophrius for whenever they needed it. Maverrant turned to the small crowd lining the stairs of the slope. In silence he addressed them. Judging by the expressions on the faces of the gathered, Martha was sure that whatever Maverrant said was stirring and thought provoking. For her part, she spent the speech enjoying the warmth of the twin suns on her face and noting the burgeoning twinges of purple amongst the brown brush of the slopes. Eventually Maverrant turned towards The Doctor and her.

"I do not have the skill to put into spoken words, all that we feel. I can only say thank you and hope that this can mark a new beginning. Doctor if ever you have need of us, rest assured Rilophrius will answer your call." Maverrant and the Doctor locked eyes for a moment before both relaxed and smiled.

"Likewise Maverrant, and I promise I will pop in from time to time." The Doctor answered. Maverrant held his gaze for another moment and then turned to Martha with smile.

"And Miss Martha, your assistance and compassion has been greatly appreciated. If you have a desire to continue your studies in non-earthling medicine you will be most welcome."

"I think one life form is enough for now, but you'll be the first to know! Good luck with everything, I hope the recovery plans work out." Martha grinned widely, holding up her hands to the sides of her head and bowing in a Rilophrian greeting. Maverrant smiled and held out his hand for her to shake in Western Earthling manner.

"So formal!" Protested The Doctor as he threw his arms around both of them in a classic group hug. The Doctor and Martha turned and walked to the Tardis doors.

"Where are you going this time Doctor?" Maverrant called after them as they opened the doors. Leaning, back out, The Doctor grinned mischievously. "Well first we're going to jump back to Earth for a quick visit and refuel at a temporal rift I know about and then…" He waggled his eyebrows.

"Who knows!"

The End