September 2007
Cautiously, she headed into the non-descript office building just outside downtown London. So far Martha had seen nothing telling what this place was or why she had been called here.
"Can I help you?" a young man in military uniform asked, looking up from his desk.
Pulling back her shoulders and raising herself to her full height, the young woman responded. "Martha Jones. I'm not sure who I'm supposed to be meeting, but the call said it was urgent."
At the mention of her name, the young man snapped to attention. "Yes, ma'am, the Captain is expecting you. If you will follow me, please." He motioned for Martha to follow him down the brightly lit hallway. Briefly, she wondered if this was another one of Jack's Torchwood offices.
"I'm sorry, but can you tell me why I'm here?" Martha asked. Ever since the year that never was, she had kept her guard up in unfamiliar situations.
"Captain Tyler will explain everything, ma'am." He stopped outside an office at the end of the corridor. "She came in from the Leadworth office specifically for this meeting, at the Brigadier's personal request." The young man knocked on an office door and then peered in through the crack in her door. "She's appears to be finishing a call. Just wait here."
Nodding, Martha responded, "Thank you. I'm sorry, what was your name?"
"Private Cooper, ma'am," he said curtly before turning to leave.
"Thank you, Private Cooper," Martha said to his retreating figure. There was only one chair in the small hallway, right next to the open door. She sat down.
A woman's voice drifted out into the hallway. "Of course I'll take good care of Martha… Yes, Captain, I understand that she is vitally important to you and the Doctor. I just wish you would tell me why." Martha didn't see Captain Tyler give the person on the other end of the phone call a knowing smirk. In fact, she had no idea that a version of the Doctor had just recently filled his family in on the entire story of Martha Jones and how she had walked the Earth to defeat the Master.
The chair squeaked loudly as Martha adjusted in order to get a better listen. "I've got to go… No, dinner is absolutely out of the question… Lunch with my mother next time you're in town is fine… Goodbye, Captain." There was a click as the woman hung up the phone and then soft footfalls as someone crossed the small office.
An obviously pregnant, petite brunette in a green military uniform opened the door. Martha jumped to her feet. "Dr. Jones, please come in." The woman stepped aside and allowed her to enter. "Captain Patricia Tyler, please call me Trisha or Trish, anything but Patty really." She extended a hand to Martha. "You have no idea how pleased I am to meet you."
"Thank you, and it's not Dr. Jones, at least not yet." Martha looked around the sparse office, still not seeing any signs of why she would have been asked to come here today. "I'm sorry, Trisha, I have no idea why I'm here."
Captain Tyler smiled brightly. "No, I'm sorry. Sometimes I get ahead of myself. Welcome to the London offices of UNIT. The Unified Intelligence Taskforce. Our primary mission is to investigate and neutralize extraterrestrial or paranormal threats to the Earth." The Captain indicated for Martha to take a seat. "As to why you are here, we would like to offer you a job, Ms. Jones."
"Call me Martha, please. I've heard of UNIT; in fact, I've recently spent some time on the Valiant." Suddenly uncomfortable, she turned slightly in the chair, recrossing her legs. "Why would you want to offer me a job? I mean, I still have to finish medical school."
Trisha waved a hand dismissively. "You were in your final year, only your internship left to complete, yeah?"
"Yes, but I had only completed three months of my program," Martha said quickly.
"True, but you come highly recommended and a few months internship is nothing compared to the real world experience you've had. A few phone calls and a few weeks under the tutelage of a trained physician and we can have you licensed within the month." Her smile was almost infectious. Almost.
"Wait, are you for real? And who recommended me?" Martha was still a bit skeptical.
Opening a drawer on her desk, Trisha pulled out two thick files and handed them to Martha. "Truthfully, you've had three very credible recommendations, one from the highest authority."
The plain manila folders were thick and Martha noted the names on the front covers, Harkness, Captain Jack and Doctor, The. "The Doctor made a call to his old friend Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and of course we called you the very next day."
Something clicked for Martha. "You were talking to Jack earlier weren't you? Before I came in?"
Trisha smiled again. "Yes, I've known Captain Harkness since I was a young girl. Third generation UNIT, he and I spent time here when I was a child. My mother, Lt. Colonel Hannah Stalwart, was sort of a liaison with Torchwood. Now that job has fallen to me." She gave a small laugh. "Jack is an incorrigible flirt, nothing seems to stop that man from trying to, well... I'm sure you know. Not even this pregnancy."
Martha laughed, knowing Jack all too well. "A man that knows what he wants and that seems to be everyone." Another thought struck her. "Hold on, you said three recommendations. Who's the third?"
"Ah, yes." Trisha pulled a picture out of her wallet and hesitated before handing it over. "The third recommendation came from a former work colleague of yours, my husband."
Martha looked at the picture that Trisha had handed over. Recognizing the face of the woman's husband, she was shocked and momentarily mortified. "Tony? You're married to Dr. Tony Williams?"
"Yes."
"And the two of you are having a baby?" Martha added softly. Trisha nodded and Martha gave her a genuine smile. "Congratulations, how far along are you? Do you know what you're having?"
"Five months, we're due in January." Trisha reflexively placed a hand on her swollen stomach. "And we want to be surprised."
"I am so very happy for the both of you. Tony was an amazing mentor during the short time that I knew him. Though that seems like a lifetime ago, but it was only two months."
"In linear time maybe, but for you it was more than a year. One hell of a year, from what I've been told." Trisha's eyes widened and she mumbled a curse under her breath. To Martha, it was obvious that UNIT Captain knew more than she was saying. "I mean, sometimes experiences can feel like years when in actuality they are only a few weeks."
Raising an eyebrow, Martha stared the other woman down. "Care to try again?"
Trisha gave a weak laugh. "Not buying that explanation, are you?"
Martha shook her head and narrowed her eyes further. "Who are you? Really? I mean UNIT, I get that but, you're a Tyler, your mother was what, Stalwart? And Tony is a Williams? Not to mention that you talk about linear time like you've… Oh my god, you're a time traveler," too hung unspoken between them.
Trisha stood and Martha prepared to be thrown out of the office. Instead, the Captain opened the shut door, looked around, nodded then came back in and shut it tightly behind her. "I'm usually so cautious about everything that I say and do when faced with one of these situations. It's why I usually get these assignments. But faced with all the hormones from the pregnancy and I slip up when I shouldn't."
Trisha hesitated a fraction of a second more before continuing. "Yes, Martha, I am a time traveler, one from a point in your Doctor's future. He hasn't met yet at the point in the timeline that you know him. So yes, Martha Jones, I know your story and that is why I am so excited to meet you."
Sighing heavily, the pregnant woman sat back down. "And as for why I use the name Tyler and not Williams. It's protection for my husband's family, specifically his younger brother and sister. The Doctor is wonderful and will change your life in spectacular ways, but it can be dangerous for the ones we love the most."
That was something that Martha understood all too well. Desperately she wanted to believe this woman; it would be fantastic to have a confidant who had experienced time and space travel. "Prove it." The words came out harsher than Martha had intended. "I mean, you would know that I traveled with the Doctor if he recommended me. Can you tell me something that someone who hasn't traveled with him wouldn't know?"
A knowing smirk formed on Trisha's face. "Oh, with him there's no telling what he lets one companion or another know, that man and his precious secrets. How about I tell you something that only you and the Doctor would know?"
With a quick nod from Martha, Trisha continued. "When you were walking into Lazarus' party, you told him his tuxedo of doom made him look like James Bond. In 1599, you met Shakespeare and became a muse for the Bard himself. 1913 Faringham, a young boy named Timothy could telepathically sense the Doctor while his essence was trapped in that fob watch. In New New York, you were kidnapped and faced the Macra before meeting the Face of Boe. Are you convinced?"
"Yeah," Martha sighed. "So you know everything thing that happened on the Valiant?" She dropped her voice, even though she knew no one could hear them. "Everything about the Master?"
Trisha slowly nodded. "I do, and I am so sorry for what you had to go through. If you ever want to talk…"
"Thanks," Martha murmured gratefully, not yet ready to discuss that year. "So, is that how you really know Jack? Through the Doctor?"
"No, I actually do know him through UNIT. In fact, he has no idea that I've…traveled… with the Doctor. Please don't tell him. It could upset future events." Momentary panic broke through the woman's carefully sculpted façade. "I am so going to be murdered for letting you in on my little secret."
"Can't have that happen when you're carrying that little one, can we?" Martha smiled a bright genuine smile for the first time in weeks. "Your secrets are safe with me, Trisha Tyler, if mine are safe with you. Now I think it's high time that you showed me around this place if you expect me to work here."
"Oh Martha, I like you. I have a feeling we are going to be great friends. Come on, I'll introduce you to the troops and then we'll get started on turning you into Dr. Jones." Trisha stood and led the two of them into what would become a place for Dr. Martha Jones to shine.
Meanwhile, in a small book shop in on the outskirts of London, Amy Pond paced a small room off the display floor while Rory sat on an old battered sofa. Tension was radiating off of her in droves.
"Will you please sit down? You're going to wear a hole in the floor," Rory said, gently patting the cushion beside him.
Ceasing her pacing, Amy turned around and tapped a foot impatiently on the already threadbare carpet. "How can I sit down? I can't do this, Rory. I can't go out there and talk in front of all of these people. What if I screw up, hmmm? What if they hate the book? How on Earth am I possibly going to do a book tour across all of Great Britain? Have you even bothered to think about that?"
Strands of her long red hair had fallen out of its carefully sculpted plait. Along with that fiery determination in her eyes, it made her look like a bit of nutter. To Rory, however, it made her look adorable. Quickly, Rory stood and crossed the room, gathering her in arms.
"Everything is going to be fine. You can do this. I believe in you. This is nothing. It's just a room filled with kids that you will never, ever see again." He planted a kiss on her temple.
"Yes, but they are all probably all evil children. And what about your parents, brother and sister? They're out there and so is Mels." She leaned into his embrace and buried her face in his neck.
"Yes, Mum, Dad, Tony, Sabrina and Mels are all out there and they all think your book is brilliant." He brushed an errant strand of hair out of her face. "Look at it this way; you have your very own six man cheering session. Seven when Trisha gets done with her assignment. She promised to meet up with us at the book reading this afternoon."
Sticking out her bottom lip, Amy mock-pouted. "But what if everyone else hates it?"
"Sod everyone else. You are brilliant, my beautiful Amelia Pond, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Here you are, eighteen years old and a published author with a very lucrative deal for your second one." He wiggled his eyebrows in an attempt to make her giggle. It worked.
"Ah, so that's why you put up with me. All that money I'm going to have. You are my little groupie." She pulled back far enough to place a featherlight kiss on the tip of his nose.
"My evil plan foiled. Yes, I have been following you around like a lost puppy since we were seven on the off chance that one day you would be rich and famous. Not because I'm in love with you."
He moved his head in to kiss her and she pushed him back. "What did you say?" They had been dating for over two years and yet they had never said the word love. She felt it of course and she hoped he did too, it's just that they were so young. In fact, Rory had always acted like a proper gentleman, never going past intense kissing. Another frustrating yet endearing quality that he possessed.
"I said I'm in love with you. I love you, Amy, only you." Rory smiled hesitantly as he waited for her to respond.
Swallowing down the lump in her throat, Amy stared into his golden brown eyes. So full of love, for her, he loved her. Of course she knew he did, she'd known for years. He had shown her a hundred ways every single day. It's just that he'd never said the words aloud. Oh, how she'd wanted him to, she had longed to hear them. And the sound of them coming from his lips had stolen her breath away.
"I... I love you too, so very much. You know that right?" she finally managed to breathe out.
With his usual chuckle, he said, "Well, I do now." This time when he leaned in for a kiss, she eagerly complied, kissing him fiercely. There was something of a promise in his kiss and Amy could have gotten lost in it forever. Until they were interrupt by a knock on the door.
"Ms. Pond." The voice of the store manager drifted through the closed door. "It's time, everyone is ready for you."
"Show time," Rory said as he smoothed a hand over hair and added, cheekily, "Go get 'em tiger." He swatted her bum before he left the room.
Once out in the main lobby of the bookstore, Rory found an open seat next to his mum. Probably looking more than a little smug he sat down; he perused the program left on the seat. And why shouldn't he be? The girl he had always loved, loved him too.
"How's she doing?" His mum leaned over and asked in a whisper.
In an equally low tone, Rory said, "She was a little nervous, but I managed to calm her down."
"Right... Calmed her down." Rose snorted. "That's a lovely shade of lipstick you're wearing by the way. Brings out your rosy cheeks."
Rory quickly wiped his mouth, while his mum stifled a laugh. Before he could retort, the manager stepped up to the small podium. "Ladies and gentleman, we here at Callisto books are very proud to introduce a new and very talented author today. Her first novel is sure to be a best seller in young adult fiction. So without further ado, here to read an excerpt from her book A Mad Man and his Blue Box... Ms. Amelia Pond." The small crowd erupted into applause, the majority of the noise coming from the six people in the back row.
Amy stepped up to the podium, tucking that pesky stray hair behind her ear. "Thank... thank you all for coming today. You'll have to excuse me, I'm a bit nervous." The crowd chuckled. "Alright let's get to it. Chapter One," She opened the book that had been left out for her.
"It is a universal truth that a lonely man in possession of a Blue Box must be in want of a friend."