A/N: First, I want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed and alerted my story. It is really, truly appreciated. I know it's been a while between postings and the truth is I got burned out on writing for a bit. Working on my thesis for the past year was part of the reason I took a hiatus but a lack of inspiration was another. Now that the thesis is done and my muse is returning thought I'd give this another go. So here is a bridge chapter with the next chapter coming up as soon as it is edited. A special thanks to Elizabeth for checking up on me. Sorry I didn't have the time to reply to your email but your words of encouragement meant a lot. Anyhow, enough of my rambling. Here the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 10 . . .

Martha had been second guessing herself since she stepped through the door of the TARDIS. This was so irresponsible and unlike her yet she had done it anyway, once again allowing herself to be whisked off by the Doctor to God only knew where. She knew it wouldn't be long before the people in her life, especially her mother, began to hound her about her whereabouts. She did manage to leave a voice message for Tish stating that she would be away on assignment for a few days and hoped that would placate everyone for now. As for her fiancée, he was out of the country doctoring in Africa for now so her not physically being in London would not affect him directly. Yet she was concerned about their contact while she was away. Even in the best of conditions their communication was spotty because of him being stationed in a jungle setting. Who knew how time travel might further affect that?

She stopped her train of thought with a mocking laugh as she mused "you weren't thinking of Tom when you packed that little bag and sprinted out to follow the Doctor again." Then another part of her mind stepped in to defend her actions claiming her need to do this in order to truly move forward with her life . . . with Tom. She owed it to both of them to be sure that this part of her life was over. As things now stood, she already held a fair bit of guilt where the handsome MD was concerned. Martha could honestly say she loved him. He was a good man, everything she should want—smart, sexy, loving, and compassionate and almost as importantly, her species. Yet even as she accepted his surprise Valentine's Day proposal, she knew she was not in love with him. Memories of a different time, place and person kept her from truly giving her heart to the man she planned to marry.

She felt disgusted with herself because of that but when he proposed, after a simply romantic evening, she could not bring herself to ruin his efforts and dash the hope that shone so brilliantly in his eyes. So instead, she took the easy way out, convincing herself this is what she wanted and eventually settling in to the role of the dutiful bride to be, looking through bridal magazines and making plans with her mother and sister. She did care for him and believed that in time she would come to love him properly, unfortunately fate decided to step in yet again and fling the Doctor back into her life muddling her feelings once more.

Tom was the sensible choice and Martha wanted to believe they could have a good life together but just the short time she had spent with the Doctor during this latest crisis had brought more intensity of feeling to her than a year and a half of her relationship with Tom. She knew she wouldn't be able to go on as she had. This, she decided, would be her opportunity to put to rest some things and move forward with her life, wherever it might take her. Her musings we ultimately cut short by a knock upon her door. She was pretty sure of whom it was by the tentative knock. Sighing lightly, she rose from her bed, where she had sat contemplating, and moved deliberately towards the door, preparing herself to face her past head on . . .

The Doctor, too, was contemplating the current situation as he stood hovering outside her closed door. The truth was for the first time ever he had no idea of how to handle a situation. He was unsure of how he could convince Martha to leave behind all she had apparently gained and rejoin him permanently on the TARDIS. He feared anything he said or did would be met with skepticism. It was his own fault, he knew, because of his previous behavior but that didn't make the uncertainty any less frustrating. He knew there had to be a way to break through the fog of suspicion that surrounded them but until he found it he recognized he was assured only a short time with her and that only thanks to Donna's prodding.

He, though, was a confident man. He would figure things out because the thought of her walking away again was simply too much to consider. So with a deep sigh, he finally brought a fisted hand up to the door to knock. Yet before he could make contact with the wood, a sudden rush of emotion made him pause. His attempted knock turned into his flat palm resting on the door. That action intensified the feelings of what he recognized as reservation and doubt. Instantly, he realized that Martha was the source of those emotions and that the TARDIS was amplifying them for his benefit. Like him, the ship had been energized about Martha's call and also shared the desire for the former companion to rejoin the crew permanently. His oldest friend seemed to impress upon him the need to convince her she had not made a mistake in coming back. Taking another cleansing breath, he finally, gently, knocked upon her door, silently steeling himself for whatever concerns she might voice . . .

Martha opened her door to find, as she expected, the glowing face of the Doctor. She attempted to return the bright beam with a smile of her own but when his began to waiver she knew she hadn't succeeded in her effort. The Doctor schooled his features into a more neutral expression before softly breaking their silent stalemate.

"So . . . settling in alright?"

Martha nodded as she glanced behind her, "It was pretty easy since I didn't bring much and everything else was pretty much the way I left it."

A small smile came to his lips as he quipped, "Maybe the TARDIS knew we hadn't seen the last of you."

Martha gave a smile of noncommittal, "Maybe."

She finally stepped back from the doorway signaling her permission for him to enter. As he followed her inside, he noted the neatness and order of a space he had never taken the time to study until after she had gone. For so long he had taken her presence for granted and never really took the time to get to know even something so simple as how neat she liked to have things. But shortly after her departure he had ventured into her space and was struck by how tidy everything was, considering all the chaos they had gone through as a team. The environment surprised him on one level and not so much on another. He didn't think their lifestyle would be conducive to such order yet when he thought further about it, it made sense that she would want a space where she could center herself. Initially after she left, he spent some time inside trying to absorb some of who she was. Inwardly, he sighed knowing that it was a sad commentary on him that it took her walking away for him to make the effort and after a couple of similar visits he stopped going, believing it was far too late for it make any difference. Now, though, he stood in the center of her space again with another chance to make things count and he intended to give it his best shot.

Martha had taken a seat on an overstuffed chair pushed off in a corner as a sort of reading nook and held her visitor's within her gaze as he seemingly studied her intently. The silence and stare eventually put her enough on edge that she attempted to break the tension with a bit of light conversation.

"So did you and Donna duke it out to decide where we are heading next?"

With mock indignation, the Time Lord replied, "I'll have you know, Martha Jones, not one duke was raised." He then paused briefly before giving her a cheeky grin and concluding, "Though she did beat me at arm wrestling, so it's her choice."

Martha chuckled in spite of herself. She had been offered the honor of choosing their next destination but declined, stating she was content to be a passenger on their journey. The Doctor joined her in the chuckle and she knew that even though he feigned being put out, he actually loved having the vivacious red head about.

Continuing to hold his gaze, she offered more seriously, "She's good for you."

His demeanor sober some as well, "Funny you'd say that because she said something similar about you when she first came on as my companion."

Martha's eyes widened in mild interest, "Really?"

The Doctor nodded, "She and I met briefly before you and I did and she could tell I was out of sorts then. Told me I needed someone with me . . . someone to stop me when things could get out of hand. You did that very well, Martha."

She gave him a tight smile, "Glad to know I could help."

The truth was, as hard as she tried to move forward with her life, she was still quite sensitive about their time together. She knew he had been going through things then but it still hurt that she felt like nothing more than a stand in. Now seeing how he was with Donna only agitated old feelings of resentment. While she suffered through, garnering mostly grief from the heartbroken Time Lord, her predecessor and successor seemed to revel in the good times.

The Doctor seemed to read her thoughts and replied as genuinely as he could, "You did, Martha. I know I didn't always show it but my time with you was so important. You helped to pull me out of my sadness and got me reenergized about traversing the universe. There's no telling what I'd have gotten into without you by my side."

"That's nice of you to say," she returned almost dismissively.

"I mean it. Without you, I don't know what I might have become," he concluded.

She held his gaze a beat longer before responding with a bit more genuineness, "I appreciate you saying that."

There was another brief silence before the Doctor pushed forward, "I really want things to be better this time around, Martha."

"I'm sure they will be. We have both grown and changed and our relationship is better defined. Besides, I think the break from my life will do me some good. I'll be more refreshed when I return and able to refocus properly," she quietly concluded.

Her entire statement caused the Doctor's hearts to drop a bit. Her business like tone when she spoke of their relationship was bad enough but the fact that she was already thinking about returning and they hadn't even gone anywhere yet tweaked him a bit. She was viewing this as a respite, a friendly little one off, while he was hoping to persuade her to stay on. Though he promised no pressure, the Doctor was certainly feeling it himself. He had a short time to make her consider staying and few ideas of how to accomplish such a feat. He finally decided to maintain a poker face in regards to his swirling emotions. It wouldn't do to scare her off before they ever got off the ground. With a small smile and nod, he acquiesced to her words for the time being, "Sometimes we need a break from our routine to gain a new perspective."

She joined him in his nod, "Precisely."

Another silence engulfed the pair as both thought on what those new perspectives might reveal. Martha was hoping for some kind of closure so that she could move on with her life, while the Doctor was hoping to show her how good things could be if she chose him and the life of a time traveler.

The pair shared one more lingering look before the Doctor switched modes again, his frantic persona returning to the fore as he turned towards her door.

"So, what's say we go and see where Donna has decided we should venture to next?"

Martha gave her first genuine smile of their chat as she rose from her perch to join him. He held out his arm which she eventually looped her own through and allowed him lead her on, as usual, towards their latest adventure.