Title: Beauty, the Beast

Rating: T

Warnings: Violence and adult themes; mild swearing; complete nerdy-ness

A/N: So another chapter. I would have written this sooner except my muse has been attacking me lately with Sherlock/Criminal Minds stories. She is simply addicted to Sherlock and refuses to let me focus for more than a few minutes on anything I actually have planned to do anywhere else.

Thanks so much for all of the wonderful reviews (I think I almost cried when I realized I've gotten over a 100 on this already!) You guys are fantastic! Thank you for being patient with me, as always.

And now back to the complicated tangle of knots that has become this story!

Beauty, the Beast

Chapter Ten

Morgan and the Doctor trudged through the street in relative silence. A stiff, awkward tension still hung in the air between them and neither was sure what to do to dispel it. The Doctor, for his part, was more focused on Martha anyway, but the annoy thickness in the air made it difficult to concentrate on anything other than the FBI agent currently walking alongside him as they searched for their missing friends.

It was Morgan who finally broke the silence, clearing his throat a bit nervously, though he wasn't sure why he sounded so nervous.

"How long have you and Martha known each other?" he asked. It was more to break the tension than because he really cared, honestly. He was just tired of feeling that heavy weight on his shoulder when he was already busy enough feeling like a jackass for what he'd said to Reid.

The Doctor glanced back at the agent, surprised to hear him speak at all, let alone ask a question. He thought for a moment and felt that guilt wash over him, "Not long, really, we just… Well I just met her recently and I've already nearly gotten her killed several times."

Morgan looked at him curiously and took a deep breath, this time squashing down the instinct he had to demand to know more about this mysterious man and his companion. Reid had trusted him and that was something.

"What are you doing here?" Morgan asked, "Really? If you aren't human –"

"I'm really not," the Doctor said, looking straight ahead as they made their way down a side-street, the Doctor occasionally using his sonic screwdriver. Morgan wasn't sure what he was using it for, but maybe it could track Martha. It apparently did a lot of other things, why not?

"Ok," Morgan kept himself calm this time. He'd had time to think over the ride – and the awkward walk – and even though he still wasn't entirely sure he believed the man, he had to admit the possibility was at least there. He might not like it, but the last few years, and the last year especially, had forced him to rethink his entire idea of the universe. He still wasn't really sure what he believed about it all anymore.

"Then what are you? And why are you here?"

Again there was a pause before the Doctor let out a heavy breath and sighed, "I'm a Time Lord, not that you'd know what that is. And I'm here because something is killing these girls and I want to stop it. Same as you, really,"

Morgan frowned, "Why?"

"Why?" now the Doctor looked confused as he glanced back at the FBI agent.

"Why do you want to stop it?"

"Why do you?" the Doctor shot back.

Morgan was quiet for a while, thinking that over. Okay, so maybe the Doctor really was only there to help. That didn't explain everything. "What about Garcia's search? All those things she found about you? You were even there when the President was assassinated!"

The Doctor's brows scrunched together and he whirled around, staring at Morgan with wide eyes, "What? I was where?"

"The President," Morgan said, frowning at him, "He was killed. Garcia found reports about a man called the Doctor and there was even a picture."

The Doctor blinked, looking a little bit unsure as he thought over this information, "When?"

"What do you mean?"

"When was the president killed?"

"2007,"

The Doctor nodded slowly, "Alright. Something to think about then. Of course that could be a while from now. No, I should stop now…"

Morgan watched the Doctor talking to himself with a furrowed brow, completely lost. Suddenly the Doctor stopped and turned around, narrowed eyes. "What else did your analyst find? She must be very good, those files are impossibly to find unless you dig deep enough, I made sure of that. Thought I did at least…"

Morgan snorted, "Garcia's the best there is, Doctor, she can find anything if it's online,"

He nodded slowly, "What else did she find?"

"Why?"

"Just… curious," the Doctor said, eyes wide. Morgan started to answer him when the Doctor suddenly cut him off, shaking his head quickly, "No, better not tell me. Bad idea. Sorry, forget I asked."

"Okaaaay," Morgan was starting to rethink his change of heart. Maybe this man was crazy. He decided to change to subject, just to be safe. If he really was unstable he didn't want him going into some kind of fit while they were searching for Reid and Martha.

"What are Time Lords?"

The Doctor took a moment to think about that, frowning in thought. "That's a bit complicated," he finally decided.

Morgan grit his teeth, but decided not to press the issue. Fine. Time Lords were complicated, that much he could agree with. "Alright. Reid said he saw your ship, what is it? Where is it, actually? Why haven't we noticed it?"

The Doctor smiled, "Hidden. You'll probably end up seeing it soon if we don't find Martha and Spencer soon…" he trailed off and silence fell for another minute as they walked along the street, the Doctor suddenly making a turn down a narrow street, darkened with the lack of streetlights.

Morgan cleared his throat as the Doctor held the sonic screwdriver out in front of him, the faint whirring noises the only sound for a long few seconds. "What are you doing that?"

The Doctor lowered his arm and sighed, "Trying to see if it can pick up Martha. It probably won't work, but theoretically if we get close enough it may detect the TARDIS energy on her, maybe Spencer too since he's been onboard her as well,"

Morgan frowned, "The TARDIS?"

"That's my ship," the Doctor answered absently, "Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

Morgan nodded slowly like he understood, even though he had absolutely no idea what that was supposed to mean. The Doctor seemed unfazed by his lack of response, his dark eyes determined and focused as he and Morgan crept down the street.

Morgan nearly jumped when his cellphone rang and he snatched it from his hip, "Yeah, Hotch?"

The Doctor stopped, sighing and frowning at him, annoyed. He didn't want to stop. Every second they wasted was more time that Spencer and Martha could be in danger. He kept telling himself they didn't know for sure what had happened, but it was the only answer he could come up with.

"What? Hotch, are you sure? But that… Ok. Ok, yeah. We'll wait for you," he looked around and jogged ahead a few feet to look for the street sign, quickly rattling it off to his boss. "Yeah. Hurry, ok?"

He frowned, snapping the phone shut and clipping it to his belt again before looking back up at the Doctor.

"Hotch wants us to wait here," he said. "They're on their way back."

"What! We can't wait! What about Martha and Spencer, they could be hurt or, or in danger or –"

"I doubt Martha's in any danger," Morgan cut him off, a brooding, confused expression on his face.

"What? Why not?"

"She's with them now,"

"What! ?"

~/.\~

Martha walked over to Mickey, a large smile on her face as she regarded the team, her brown eyes sparkling. "Agent Hotchner, nice to see you again, it's been… well a while,"

"A while?" Prentiss gaped at her, "It's been about an hour, maybe!"

Martha frowned, her brow wrinkling in confusion as she eyed them and then turned to look at the evidence board, "An hour? Wha are you – Oh!" Her eyes widened and she stared at the photographs. "The Aphrontian, of course, this is that case. I'd nearly forgotten about it, seems like a lifetime ago."

"What are you talking about?" Mickey frowned now, confused.

"You remember I told you the Doctor and I were here before?" Martha asked, glancing over at her husband, "This is that case, apparently. I never did get the proper date, just knew it was in 2011. Blimey, this is about to get complicated. How long have I been gone again? An hour? Where's Agent Morgan and the Doctor?"

"Wait, hold on, you mean the Doctor's here? But how can he be here? Last time we saw him I thought…"

"I know," Martha nodded, "But remember what he says, Mickey, time isn't a straight line. That hasn't happened to him yet. Best not to mention it, don't want to risk ripping a hole through the universe do we?"

"Should we go then?" Mickey asked, "Before the Doctor gets back?"

"No," Martha shook her head, "I don't remember everything, but I do remember us being here. Don't worry, it's fine. I think." She frowned again and sighed, shaking her head and turning back to Hotch and the team, who were staring at them as if they'd been speaking gibberish.

"Right then, first things first, we need to find me. And Spencer," her eyes got wide and she bit her lip. "And we probably want to hurry. The Aphrontian's got a spaceship in a group of warehouses in the city. We need to find the Doctor and Agent Morgan. We don't have much time…"

"A warehouse?" Rossi frowned at her, "What you are you talking about?"

"That's where we are. Right now. I can't remember the street we were on, we got lost, I'm sorry. It was really my fault, Spencer's headache was bad and I didn't know the city. But I'd recognize the area, I think," she paused, looking thoughtful.

"Where's Reid?" JJ demanded, "How did you even get away?"

Martha sighed, wincing, "That's a bit… complicated and I'm sorry but we really don't have time. We've got to hurry, if we haven't been found yet then we don't have any time to waste. Time can be rewritten, that's what the Doctor says, and if it is, I'd rather we find us sooner, you barely got there in time last time."

"In time for what?"

"Come on!" Martha insisted, "I'll try to explain on the way, I'm really sorry, but we just don't have time!"

Hotch, Rossi, JJ and Prentiss frowned as Martha hurried out of the building with Mickey behind her, looking only slightly less confused than they did. "What's going on, Hotch?" Prentiss asked, frowning at the Unit Chief.

"I'm not sure yet," Hotch said, pulling his phone off its clip, "But we'll find out. I'll call Morgan, let him know we're coming."

~/.\~

"Ok," Reid winced, "So you're siphoning the energy from these girls and… storing it? To keep yourself young?"

She grinned, something sinister in that smile. For one brief moment Reid thought he saw the flash of nearly glowing white fangs. "Oh, you're a bright one aren't you?" she said, walking towards him, her heels clicking on the metal flooring.

"I think I like you," she beamed at him, kneeling in front of him, her sapphire eyes sparkling as he jerked back away from her, not sure what to expect. He immediately regretted the move when pain jolted through his head and he grimaced.

"Ooh, what's wrong, sweetheart?" she crooned sweetly, placing a manicured hand on his head, running her fingers through his hair. "Got a bit of a headache I'd assume. That can happen…" then she frowned, pausing with her hand on his head. Reid swallowed roughly and stared into her eyes, this time certain that they flashed that strange green-yellow color before quickly shifting back to the unnatural blue.

"What is this? Oh there's something in your head… something…hmm… This is new…" she trailed off, licking her lips and closing her eyes. "Oh, my! There's so much energy! You are going to be delightful!"

Reid stared at her in confusion, breathing a little easier once she stood and moved away, going back to the machine.

"You know what's causing his headaches?" Martha asked, frowning. If this alien could figure it out in just a few minutes, why hadn't the Doctor? Or had he? She frowned, biting her lip as the Aphrontian spun around, a bright, sickening grin on her ethereal features.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, but there's more to your little boyfriend than meets the eye, sweetie. Much, much more," those sapphire eyes glittered and she turned back to her machine, making an odd sound in her throat and pouting.

"Ugh! This stupid thing!" she crossed her arms, "You two are going to have to wait a while," she said, a hint of aggravation in her tone, "My machine takes a few hours to cool down. Takes a lot of energy to drain a life form of its energy. Especially you humans, you're so deliciously full of energy!"

"Well, can't say I'm sad to hear that," Martha said, tugging at her bonds as inconspicuously as she could, which wasn't all that easy with those sparkling eyes on her. "I'm not exactly in a hurry to die."

The Aphrontian laughed and smiled at her, "Oh, dear, it doesn't matter how long it takes for my machine to cool, you're still going to die. Why should when matter?"

"Because –" Martha bit her lip and stopped. She'd nearly said because the Doctor was looking for her, but decided it wasn't the best idea to tell her that they had a rescue party. Because she was certain of it. The Doctor was coming. He always came, usually at the last second. More fun that way, apparently.

"Never mind," she shook her head. "You're right. It doesn't really matter, does it?"

Reid shifted his weight and grimaced as the handcuffs bit into his wrists, "Why not kill me first?" he said, eyes darting to Martha, "If I have more energy?"

She smiled at him, "Don't be silly. That'd take too long. I'll drain her first and save you for last. Dessert should always come last, after all."

Reid frowned at her, "What do you mean anyway? How do I have more energy?"

She laughed and shook her head, "Oh, that's probably a bit over my head, sweetheart, I'd explain it but I don't really know. But that energy… oh, it's so overwhelming," she licked her lips turning away from them again, her eyes focused on her machine.

"I can almost taste it,"

~DW/CM~

A/N: I don't know why, but I feel a bit "blah" about this chapter. Maybe that's just me. Anyway, action-y stuff next chapter, promise :D And very possibly two Marthas meeting each other. That should be fun. And the Doctor meeting future Martha and Mickey. Oh there's so much to do…

Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!