A/N: Many thanks to all who have reviewed, followed, and faved! You're all great motivation! And to the few guest reviewers, while I can't respond directly to you, just know that you're also amazing and I adore you as well. Thank you! :D

Oh, and this is specifically for Candy thy Cutie: If you're hearing this, thank you so much! I hope you're doing okay, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Much love! -Angie ;)


Chapter 12: Gridlock Part 1

"I can't believe we're gonna be enemies of Queen Elizabeth the first!" Rose exclaimed as the Doctor helped her stand fully to her feet.

"What a laugh!" the Doctor cried happily, jogging up to the console.

Rose followed, still laughing. "Why is it that we have such a horrible track record with royalty?"

"Well, we do have a habit of not abiding by the rules, and when it comes to people of such high power, we're bound to get ourselves into some kind of mischief." He moved around the console, twisting and turning controls.

Martha sat on the jump seat and flitted her eyes between the two, shocked. "You've met other royals?"

"Oh, here and there," the Doctor answered. "Not too often. We don't always make a habit out of it."

"Very lordly of you," she commented with a small smile.

"What did we do that made us her sworn enemies?" Rose asked.

He stopped and pointed a finger at her. "What will we do that'll make us her sworn enemies," he corrected with a grin.

She waved her hand. "Yeah, yeah, you know what I meant."

"Don't know. We'll just have to wait until it happens, Rose."

"Well I'm curious to know why the hell I was called a temptress of a wife," she said.

"So am I," the Doctor mumbled.

Rose overheard him and smiled, "What was that, Doctor?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know what we'll do, but Rose, you have to admit you can be a bit distracting."

"What!? I don't go around flirtin' with people. If anything, you are the seductive one."

His eyebrows shot up. "Me!?" His voice squeaked in an unmanly manner, then he cleared his throat. "That's unintentional."

She crossed her arms. "You saying you don't?"

He ignored answering her question and did what he always did—changing the subject. "Anywaaay, just one trip. That's what I said. One trip in the TARDIS, and then home," he informed. He tilted his head and looked over to Martha, who was grinning at them as they conversed. "Although…I suppose we could stretch the definition—take one trip into past, one trip into future. How do you fancy that?"

Martha smiled. "No complaints from me!"

Moving over to stand at the console beside the young med student, Rose asked, "How'd you feel about meeting William Shakespeare?"

"Oh, it was amazing! Almost like a realistic dream," she exclaimed. "Do you both live your lives like that every day?"

Rose bit her lip and gave her the same answer she had given Donna when she asked: "Not all the time." She smiled at her before turning to the Doctor. "Where'd you have in mind, Doctor?"

He glanced up at them with a smile. "How about a different planet?"

Martha's face lit up. "Can we go to yours?"

Rose saw how his smile started to slowly falter, which led to her own disappearing. She noticed that familiar saddened look creeping into his eyes as he averted his gaze and returned his focus on the console.

"Ah, there's plenty of other places," he said casually, hiding his solemnity just as he always did.

"Come on, though. I mean, planet of the Time Lords. That's got to be worth a look," Martha said lightly. "What's it like?"

"Martha…" Rose began quietly. She tried to warn her that it wasn't really safe territory to walk on when it came to the Doctor. It was too painful and personal for him.

He didn't seem to stop himself though from saying, "Well, it's beautiful, yeah."

"Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?" Martha said, still smiling at him.

He sniffed, his hands stilled on the console and eyes staring at them. "I suppose it is."

Not noticing his discomfort, Martha just continued in wonder, walking away from the console and gesturing her hands in the air. "Great big temples and cathedrals?"

The Doctor blinked once, his voice quiet. "Yeah."

Rose moved to stand close to him for comfort as Martha continued with her imagination. "Lots of planets in the sky?"

Lifting his head, a small smile appeared on his face but it couldn't reach his eyes as he reminisced. "The sky's a burnt orange," he began. "With the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow…" he trailed off as his eyes met Martha's briefly before returning his gaze to his hands and toying with a button on the console.

As the images of Gallifrey came to her mind, Rose couldn't help but imagine its beauty as he had described it. She had always thought it was beautiful, but knew she'd never be able to see it in real life—just like him. Very rarely did the Doctor mention anything of his home, and whenever he did the pain was perfectly visible when he would. It hurt her deeply that he could never go back, that he lost so much, so many people, which was why she told him she'd always be with him for comfort whenever those wounds would be reopened, so he could understand he wasn't alone anymore.

Not as long as she was by his side, which was guaranteed to be forever.

Rose placed a hand over one of his and squeezed it, reminding him of that certainty and reassuring him that he wasn't alone. She saw his eyes quickly glance over to her face as she watched him. He stopped fiddling with the button on the console and let out a low sigh that only she heard, turning his hand over to return the gentle squeeze while brushing his thumb softly over the backs of her fingers.

Martha stood on the other side of the console and stared at them. "Can we go there?" she asked breathlessly.

How she wished they could. Rose attempted to divert from the topic when it started up, but she needed to end it right now. It wasn't Martha's fault, she just didn't know. "The thing is Martha, we—"

"Nah!" The Doctor flipped his switch and returned to his manic self, just as he always did. "Where's the fun for me? I don't want to go home." He released Rose's hand to fiddle with the controls, putting the TARDIS in-flight. "Instead, this is much better." They landed with a light jolt as the Doctor ran over to the coral strut to retrieve his coat while explaining. "Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth. Second hope of mankind. Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically it's the fifteenth New York from the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York."

"Congrats for repeating that so easily," Rose said with a smile, following him to grab her jacket.

He lifted his chin and sniffed. "Thanks! I've wanted to say that again," he turned to Martha, "It's one of the most dazzling cities ever built." He nodded his head to the doors. "Go on, ladies first." His hand was on Rose's back as he led her and Martha outside—into the pouring rain.

Martha yelped at the surprise and zipped up her jacket, scowling. "Oh, that's nice! Time Lord version of dazzling."

"Could be worse," Rose commented, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Bit of rain never hurt anyone," the Doctor said nonchalantly as he came out of the TARDIS to join them. He turned to pull out the arrow that was still stuck on the door and observed it briefly before tossing it aside. "Come on, let's get under cover!" Grabbing Rose's hand they took off into the streets with Martha catching up.

This wasn't the New Earth that Rose had been to, or at least the same part. This section was very urbanized and somewhat ghetto. Rubbish was thrown on the ground in piles, large boxes were lining the streets, pieces of laundry hung loosely on clotheslines, and the air was…bland. Definitely a major turn around from last time.

An awning hung over a wall, which they quickly ducked under to avoid the rain. "Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me," Martha said critically, looking around the area. "On a Wednesday afternoon."

"Yeah, where's the apple grass?" Rose asked. "And the flying cars, and the beautiful scenery?" She turned to the Doctor. "You sure you landed us in the right place?"

He arched a brow. "Questioning my driving again, Rose Tyler?"

"Well, if I made a list of how many times we've—"

"Oh, hold on, hold on," he looked around and spotting a small screen on the wall behind them. He took out the sonic and tried to operate it. "Let's have a look." The screen turned on and showed static. With his hand the Doctor smacked it and the picture cleared, showing a woman's face.

"—and the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway," the woman reported before fading. The next clip that came up was a view of the city, and it was exactly as Rose remembered—the vast hills of apple grass by the coast of a shimmering blue river bordering the tall buildings and the cars flying by overhead.

She pointed to the screen and smiled. "That's it, right here. We landed just over there by the hill and laid out on the grass—" she looked up at the Doctor, "—where the new new Doctor went on his usual lecturing about the city, and the planet…" she trailed off at the memory.

The Doctor hummed. "That was an amazing day…very thrilling, eh?"

He looked down at Rose and smiled. Truth be told it was one of the best days he's ever had—minus the diseased processed humans, cat nuns, and that flab of skin. Everything was beginning anew—he just regenerated and that was their first trip together in this incarnation. Now look how far they've come. A lot's changed since their last trip, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Coming out of his memories he glanced back at the streets. "This must be the lower levels. Down in the base of the tower, some sort of under-city."

"You've brought me to the slums?" Martha asked flatly.

"Much more interesting!" the Doctor cried happily as he turned around. "It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city."

"Yeah, rubbish and broken down appliances, right?"

"Of course! All sorts of stuff. You don't find any of that in the posh sections."

Rose chuckled. "Obviously."

Martha smiled at the two. "You both would enjoy anything,"

The Doctor grinned. "That's us!" They heard less raindrops over their heads on the awning as the rain eased up. Holding out a hand he grinned a little wider. "Oh, the rain's stopping! Better and better!"

"So why're we coming back here?" Martha asked, looking around as the rain stopped.

"Oh…we didn't get much chance to explore last time," the Doctor answered.

"Thank Cassandra for that," Rose muttered.

Martha raised a questioning brow. "Who's that?"

"Oh, just a bitchy trampoline, that's all you need to know," she answered as she waved her hand while the Doctor smirked at her.

Martha stared at them. "You two never make any sense, you know that?"

"That's us," he repeated, taking Rose's hand. "C'mon."

Stepping out from underneath the awning, they walked a few steps when a top of one of the large boxes opened up like a vendor's cart, revealing a man smiling wide. "Oh! You should have said. How long you been there? Happy! You want Happy!"

"Customers!" another voice shouted from behind. They turned and saw another cart open. "Customers! We've got customers!"

More and more carts began to open as the vendors shouted over each other to sell their products.

"What the hell?" Rose said, eyeing the vendors.

"We're in business!" another shouted directly at them. "Mother, open up the Mellow, and the Read!"

"No, thanks," the Doctor answered with a frown, uninterested.

"Are they selling drugs?" Martha asked.

"I think they're selling moods," he said quietly.

"Same thing, isn't it?"

The attention drawn to them was redirected to a young woman dressed in black. She made her way over to one of the carts, the three travellers watching.

"And what can I get you, my love?" the vendor asked the sulking woman.

"I want to buy Forget."

"I've got Forget, my darling. What strength? How much you want forgetting?"

"It's my mother and father. They went on the motorway."

"Oh, that's a swain," the vendor shook her head before reaching behind her to pick out a small circular patch and showing the woman. "Try this, Forget Forty-three. That's twopence."

After paying, the young woman turned away with the patch and stared at it in her hand as she walked away. Rose went up to her for answers. "Excuse me, what happened to your parents?" she asked softly.

"They drove off," the woman answered.

"But they might drive back, yeah?"

"Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them."

"But they couldn't have gone far, I mean, it's only a motorway. You could find them," she gestured back at the Doctor and Martha behind her. "My friends and I, we could help you."

The young woman discarded her reasoning and frowned. Looking down at the patch, she lifted it and pressed it on her neck.

"No, no," the Doctor stepped forward to stop her. "Don't—"

The woman raised her head and appeared neutral. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" she asked with a dazed look in her eyes.

"Your parents," the Doctor reminded. "Your mother and father. They're on the motorway."

"Are they? That's nice," she said with a smile. "I'm sorry, I won't keep you." With that the woman walked away, both the Doctor and Rose watching her go.

"That's new," Rose commented.

"So that's the human race five billion years in the future," Martha said from behind. "Off their heads on chemicals."

Suddenly she screamed, causing both the Doctor and Rose to whip their heads around. They were met with a man and a woman each holding a gun—the man holding it to Martha as he grabbed her and the woman pointing it towards them.

Holding their hands up in a surrender, they tried to approach the kidnappers to get Martha back. both held their hands up in surrender. "No, let her go!" Rose yelled.

"I'm warning you, let her go!" the Doctor shouted.

"I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry. We just need three, that's all," the man said sincerely.

"Whatever you want, I can help. Both of us, we can help. But first you've got to let her go!"

Everyone was shouting over each other, but the man backed up to an open door, just as the woman cried. "I'm sorry!" and dashing out the door.

"Martha!" Rose screamed as they ran to the door. She grabbed the knob and found it locked.

"Watch out," the Doctor whipped out the sonic and unlocked the door before they chased after the kidnappers through a dark tunnel.

"Doctor, what do they mean they need three?" She asked as they ran.

"We won't know 'til we catch them!"

They reached the end of the tunnel and into the light, but no one was there. Running over to the railing they saw a car hovering in the air. "MARTHA!" They both screamed as the vehicle zoomed away.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Quickly making their way back to the streets, Rose could easily sense his frustration. Two strangers just kidnapped Martha and carjacked her, speeding away to somewhere. They made it back to the stalls and the Doctor walked up to the first one he saw, pounding on the top.

The vendor that came out was the one who sold the Forget patch to that young woman. "Thought you'd come back. Do you want some happy Happy?"

"Those people, who were they? Where did they take her?"

"They've taken her to the motorway," answered another vendor.

"Looked like carjackers to me."

"I'd give up now, darling. You won't see her again," another vendor spoke.

"Used to be thriving, this place. You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."

"That woman said that," Rose cut in. "And the man said something about them needing three. What does that mean?"

"It's the car-sharing policy, to save fuel," the vendor answered. "You get special access if you're carrying three adults."

"This motorway," the Doctor said, "How do I get there?"

The vendor pointed in the direction. "Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You canna miss it—"

Not wasting another second, they made their way down the alley while the vendor called from behind. "How about some happy Happy? Then you'll be smiling, my loves."

Stopping in his tracks, the Doctor turned to face all of the vendors. "Word of advice, all of you. Cash up, close down and pack your bags."

"Why's that, then?" one asked.

"Because as soon as we've found her, alive and well—and we will find her alive and well—then we're coming back, and this street is closing tonight!"

Rose grabbed his hand as they made their way to the end of the alley until they found another door. Using the sonic, he got the door open and stepped found themselves standing on a platform by the motorway. Thousands, possibly more, cars were lined in the air in lanes in the middle of a traffic jam. Down below was nothing but smoke and probably a never-ending empty space. The exhaust fumes from the cars was too strong for them as they both began to cough and gasp for breath. Pulling their jackets over their noses in an attempt to help them proved to be useless. The Doctor brought Rose close to him, trying to shield her from most of the toxic fumes, but they were too strong, even his respiratory bypass wasn't effective at the moment, and that was bad.

Much to their need the car in front of them opened its side door. A man wearing a World War II pilot outfit complete with a helmet, goggles, and a scarf around his face stood at the doorway and shouted at them over the noisy back-up. "Hey, you daft little street struts! What are you doing standing there? Either get out or get in. Come on!"

Without hesitation the Doctor pushed Rose in first before following her as the man shut the door and sat back in the driver's seat. They still coughed roughly as they tried to catch their breaths and started wheezing. A dark haired woman sitting beside the man immediately reached beside her and pulled out two oxygen masks.

"Here you go." She stood up and placed them on their faces, both the Doctor and Rose nodded their heads in thanks as they started to regain their breath.

The man unwrapped the scarf from his face, which was revealed to be that of a cat's, which still seemed a bit surprising to Rose despite the fact she's seen them here before. "Just standing there, breathing it in! There's this story, says back in the old days, on Junction forty seven, this woman stood in the exhaust fumes for a solid twenty minutes. By the time they found her, her head had swollen to fifty feet," the man claimed.

The woman shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Oh, you're making it up."

"A fifty foot head! Just think of it. Imagine picking that nose!"

"Oh, stop it. That's disgusting."

The man laughed. "What, did you never pick your nose?"

"Bran, we're moving!" The woman tapped his arm and pointed out the front window.

"Right. I'm on it." Shifting gears, the man moved up a short distance until coming to a stop behind the car in front of them. "Twenty yards, we're having a good day," he said with a chuckle before turning to the Doctor and Rose. "And who might you two be? Very well-dressed for hitchhikers."

Finally able to breathe, the Doctor took off his oxygen mask. "Thanks. Sorry, I'm the Doctor and this is Rose."

Rose waved as she took off hers. "Hello. Thanks so much!"

The man smiled. "Medical man! My name's Thomas Kincade Brannigan, and this is the bane of my life, the lovely Valerie," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Valerie said.

"And that's the rest of the family back there," Brannigan said, nodding his head to the back.

Turning around the Doctor pulled the curtain behind them aside and both he and Rose smiled at what was revealed - a basket of adorable little kittens meowing softly. One of which saying, 'mama.' "Awww," Rose cooed as she picked one up with a blue ribbon and pet it. "Hi, little one."

"Ah, that's nice," the Doctor said, chuckling. "Hello." He picked one up with a pink ribbon and also began to gently pet its head.

Rose couldn't help but feel her insides melt at the sight before her. The Doctor, the Oncoming Storm, a man who can strike fear into the hearts of many adversaries across the entire universe—holding a little kitten delicately in his arms. It was utterly adorable.

She leaned over and whispered quietly, "Thought you weren't a cat person?"

He shot her a look but kept smiling as he turned back to the adults, still petting his kitten. "How old are they?" he asked Valerie, glancing up at her for a second.

"Just two months," she answered.

"Poor little souls. They've never known the ground beneath their paws," said Brannigan. "Children of the motorway."

"What, they were born in here?" Rose asked.

"We couldn't stop," Valerie told them. "We heard there were jobs going, out in the laundries on Fire Island. Thought we'd take a chance."

"Hold on, you've been driving for two months?" The Doctor asked.

Brannigan gave a short laugh. "Do I look like a teenager? We've been driving for twelve years now."

Rose's brows shot to her hairline. "What!?"

"It's true! Started out as newlyweds," Brannigan turned to his wife with a dreamy look on his face. "Feels like yesterday."

Valerie shook her head. "Feels like twelve years to me."

"Ah, sweetheart, but you still love me." He said as he started to tickle her, both of them giggling.

Rose couldn't help but smile at their obvious love for each other. Oddly enough it reminded her of she and the Doctor - without the marriage and children part. Given these circumstances this couple should be raving mad for being stuck on a motorway for twelve bloody years, but their love and admiration is what kept them hopeful and sane. Looking down at the kitten in her arms she could see it even clearer.

Beside her, the Doctor was still trying to understand what was going on. "Twelve years? How far did you come? Where did you start?"

"Battery Park. It's five miles back," Brannigan answered.

"You traveled five miles in twelve years?"

Brannigan eyed his wife. "I think he's a bit slow."

The Doctor and Rose exchanged a shocked look before he turned and placed his kitten back in the basket with its siblings.

"Where are you from?" Valerie asked them.

"Never mind that, we've got to get out." The Doctor said as he moved to lean on the backs of the couple's seats to look out of the front window. "Our friend's in one of these cars. She was taken hostage," he glanced back at Rose. "We should get back to the TARDIS." Turning around he opened the door and saw that the platform was gone, then started to cough again from the fumes.

"You're too late for that. We've passed the lay-by," Brannigan told him. "You and your lady here are passengers now, Sonny Jim."

Shutting the door, he asked. "When's the next lay-by?"

Brannigan averted his gaze and swallowed. "Oh, six months?"

Rose stilled. Six months!? There was no way they were going to stay here for that long. "I'm sorry, but please tell me you're kidding."

The man shook his head regretfully. "Sorry, dear."

"We haven't got six months," the Doctor said.

"If you're that desperate you can try the police," Valerie offered, pointing to the back of the car. "The monitor's back there."

Locating it the Doctor moved to the back, Rose following. Using the sonic he turned the screen on and took the transmitter, speaking into it. "I need to talk to the police."

"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold," came an automatic computerized voice.

"Placed on hold?" Rose asked, confused.

The Doctor furrowed his brows at the screen before talking back into the transmitter. "But you're the police," he tried to reason.

"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."

Rose sighed dramatically as she moved to place her kitten back in the basket. This was going to take a while—but hopefully not six months.