Chapter Twenty-Six
The Doctor smiled at Rose as he lay beside her on the boulder. She had stirred only once when he scooted up beside her. He calmed her fears and Rose went back to sleep. The Doctor laid his arm behind his head and lay on his back. He glanced over at Martha who was lying on the other side of him.
"You okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah, it's not too comfortable up here though," Martha replied.
"We'll be back in the TARDIS soon."
Martha looked at him.
"Yeah?"
The Doctor looked at her.
"Yes," he said, confidently.
"How do you know for sure?" Martha asked.
"Because…I'm the better man. He's nothing like me. He relies on his laser blaster, while I use my mind as my weapon."
"He can shoot you, but you'll still have the moral high ground?"
The Doctor glanced over at Rose who was giggling softly.
"That's right," he said, grinning at her, "I will."
"Another private joke you two have?" Martha asked.
"Yup," the Doctor replied.
He leaned over to kiss her, hesitated a moment, and then pressed his lips to hers. Leaning up, he glanced at Martha and noticed she was staring at the sky. He looked at her face and couldn't detect any jealously He mentally shrugged.
I love Rose and I have the right to kiss her if I want, he thought.
He looked back at Rose and smiled when he saw the sparkle in her eyes.
Oh my Rose, thank God, you found a way back to me, he thought, even if the circumstances are a bit unusual.
He stroked Rose's side while he watched her fall back to sleep. He waited until she was snoring softly before he carefully rose to his feet.
"Where are you going?" Martha said softly.
He looked at her.
"I'm going to do a bit of reconnaissance and make sure we're still alone," he whispered.
"Doctor," Martha said, nervously.
"It'll be alright, Martha. I won't go far. I need to do this in case my double is nearby," he said.
He glanced back at Rose and looked at her.
"I need you to take care of Rose and look after her. If she wakes up, tell her where I am. Can you do that?"
Martha nodded.
The Doctor smiled and put his hand on her shoulder when he reached inside his jacket and brought out his sonic screwdriver.
"Here," he said, handing it to her, "just in case something happens while I'm gone."
"What about you? What if you run into your other self? Won't you need this?"
The Doctor shook his head.
"I'll be alright; I have other ways to defend myself. You need it more than me, especially since Rose is still weak. Remember, it won't kill him, but you can use it to bring down tree limbs, rocks, anything that will delay him from getting to the two of you until I can get back."
Martha nodded. She took the sonic screwdriver from him and put it in her pocket. The Doctor gave Rose one last look before he rose and walked down the boulders. Martha sat back and watched him walk across the clearing into the trees.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Doctor," she muttered.
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Martha sighed. It had been almost fifteen minutes and still no sign of the Doctor. She considered calling to him, but decided against it. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself and Rose with the Doctor's double looking for them.
As she stared at the trees, she noticed Rose moving. She looked down and saw she was waking up.
"Doctor?" she said, sleepily.
"It's alright, Rose. The Doctor has gone to check out the area and make sure we're safe. He'll be back soon," she said.
Rose looked at her.
"How long has he been gone?" she asked.
"Um…'bout ten, fifteen minutes I think."
Rose looked over at the trees for a moment. She groaned as she slowly sat up.
"Rose, you don't have to get up now. I'm sure the Doctor will be back any moment," Martha said.
"No, I need to sit up. My back hurts from laying on this bleeding rock." '
Rose rubbed her back while she stared out at the trees.
"I wish the two of you would just move on. I'm slowing you down," she said.
She sighed.
"Maybe it would have been better if I had stayed in the other dimension, then you guys wouldn't have gotten into this mess," she whispered.
Martha felt a twinge of guilt knowing that she had thought the same thing at one point.
"Don't say that, Rose," she said.
"Why not? It's true. I'm the reason you're in this mess," Rose said, looking at her, "I'm sure you and the Doctor were doing fine until I showed up."
Martha bit her lip.
"No, that's not true," she said, choosing her words carefully, "the Doctor…he missed you, Rose. He was so depressed and lonely and it was because you weren't here. He's so glad you're here now and I know everything that has happened is worth it. You aren't a burden, Rose. To him…or to me. Please quit thinking of yourself that way."
Rose stared at her.
"I heard what you and the Doctor said awhile ago," she said, "the Doctor thought I was asleep, but I wasn't."
Martha averted her eyes.
"The Doctor shouldn't have done that to you."
Martha looked at her.
"What?"
"The Doctor shouldn't have done that," Rose repeated.
"But…he's right. I am jealous of you. I mean, I was…I mean, I'm trying not to be…"
"Why didn't you tell him what I said about understanding all of it?" Rose asked, "because I do. I told you that."
"I don't know. It just came out of the blue, so I guess I didn't think of that," Martha admitted.
"I'll tell him then. When he gets back."
"No, its okay, Rose. I'm not interested in the Doctor anymore, okay? The Doctor's right. It's a crush and that's all it ever will be. I'm not gonna spend the rest of my life pining for a man I can't have. He loves you and I accept that. Just let the matter drop. I want to be friends with you and travel with the Doctor. That's all I wanna do."
Rose nodded.
"I'd love for you to travel with us," she said, "and I'd love to have you as a friend."
Martha smiled.
"Me too. And hopefully someday I'll find someone who loves me just as much as the Doctor loves you."
"I hope so," Rose said.
They looked over when they saw the Doctor emerge from the woods.
"Well, someone's awake," he said, walking over to the boulders.
Rose smiled at him while she watched him climb up to them.
"Yeah, I feel a lot better," she said.
"Good, because it's time to move," the Doctor said, reaching for her hand.
"You found something?" Martha asked.
"Yeah, I found him. My double was nearby. He was hiding in the trees watching us. I saw him, and made a noise to distract him. He followed me for a while and then I gave him the slip and came back here. We have to get going before he realizes what's happened."
Martha jumped to her feet while the Doctor helped Rose up. They hurried down the boulders.
"Follow me. I'll see if I can find us a safer place to hide," the Doctor said.
He gathered Rose up in his arms and hurried off into the woods with Martha following behind him.
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(Ten minutes later…)
The Doctor emerged from the woods and walked towards the boulders.
"Martha, Rose, everything seems to be okay. I have some more pulava berries for you. I know you don't like the taste, but you need to eat and…"
He paused and his eyes widened when he noticed there was no one on the boulder.
"Martha? Rose?" he cried out, "Martha! Rose! Where are you?"
He looked all around him
"No, no, no, don't tell me they went running off without telling me or…"
He paused and his eyes widened, as a horrible thought occurred to him.
"No! They can't have gone off with…"
His hearts beating out of his chest, he ran off into the woods praying to God that he wasn't too late.