When David Rossi first heard rumors of the woman who walks the Earth, he didn't pay them much attention. He had already heard of several people who had attempted to act up against the Master, all of them captured and executed by the Toclafane. There was little doubt in his mind that Martha Jones would be just another one in a list far too long.

Which was why he was more than a bit surprised six months after the Master's take over, when she seemed to still be alive and kicking.

He had heard that she walked most of Europe and all of Africa, in search of a weapon that would be able to kill the Master. He didn't believe them to be realistic until he met the woman himself.

She arrived in the dead of night, just a few weeks after Dave met Joy for the first time. Nobody was sure exactly where she came from, only that they woke up one morning to see her walking from one shelter to the other, careful to avoid the patrolling Toclafane.

She moved through half the town in a day, arriving to the shelter where Rossi was staying, along with Joy and her husband, just as night began to fall. He didn't purposely seek her out, nor had he met her before, but she clearly knew of him.

The moment her eyes spied his frame leaning against the door she made her way through the crowd that surrounded her and came to a stop before him.

"You're Rossi, right?" she asked. "David Rossi?"

"I am," he said, more than a bit surprised that she not only knew his name but managed to match it with his face. He wouldn't be lying if he said he was more than a bit suspicious of that fact. "Can I help you with anything, Miss Jones?"

"Please, just call me Martha," she said. "I've heard about you, from Spencer."

Rossi was grateful that she used his co-worker's name, rather than the odd title that seemed so disconnected to the man he started to consider a friend.

"Did you?" he asked. "I'm afraid I didn't hear much about you."

"I didn't expect you to," Martha said, clearly taking no offense. "He was very intent on keeping his life as the Professor in his past, along with everything that followed it."

She didn't need to specify what she meant by that. It was clear that she was talking about Spencer's home planet – as odd as that expression would always seem to be for Rossi – and about his old friends and their adventures together. Which seemed to include the Doctor, the Master, and the existence of Time Travel.

"Do you have any contact aboard the Valiant?" he asked, not wanting to stay on that subject for any longer than he absolutely had to.

"Not anymore," Martha sighed. "Our spy was found by the Master's guards a couple of weeks ago." She didn't say what happened to him, but Rossi didn't have a hard time guessing. The Master was pretty straightforward about what happened to those who opposed him. "He did manage to send us an update the day before he was caught, so our intel is fairly updated."

"Do you have news about Reid?" Rossi asked, forgoing the formalities and cutting down to the chase.

In the past six months, they'd not heard a word of what was happening to the seventh member of the team. Was he injured? Was he tortured? Did the Master's obsession with him went as far as to ensure his safety, or did it only make matters worse?

"Martha?" he pressed when he received no answer. "Is he okay?"

"Physically or mentally?"

"Both."

Martha sighed. "Our contact couldn't get much about him," she said. "The Master seems to be keeping him as isolated as possible, though he is allowed regular meetings with the Doctor. Not with Jack, though, since the two of them attempted a rebellion together."

"So you don't know how he is?"

"I didn't say that," Martha replied. "Physically, he seems to be pretty much alright, most of the time. The Master never physically hurts him – not like he hurts the other prisoners, at least." As she said that, Martha's expression darkened, and Rossi couldn't help but remember the rumors that her own family was also upon the Valiant. "But the Master's been keeping him on a tight leash. He's not allowed to go anywhere without escort from the Master, Lucy or one of the guards. When he's meeting with the Doctor, they have to speak loud enough to be heard, or they'll be separated. And there's something more." Rossi didn't think he imagined the unease in her eyes when she spoke next, "The Master has been keeping him under control using some sort of drug. I don't know which, but it seems like Spencer spends most of his time under the influences."

"Dilaudid, more than likely," Rossi muttered, remembering the stories the rest of the team had told him of the first time they met the Doctor, when Reid had been kidnapped by an Unsub, and the abuse the profiler had gone through in the time before they got to him. "He had already gone through addiction and rehab for it."

"Then it does seem more than likely," Martha nodded. "At this point, I highly doubt that there's a part of Spencer's human life that the Master isn't aware of." Someone behind her cleared their throat and Martha jumped, only just realizing how long the two of them had been talking. "I need to –" she started, an apologetic tone to her voice.

"I understand," Rossi said. "Do what you have to do. Just… one more thing. Are you really…" He glanced around, making sure there was nobody other than Joy who could hear them. "Are you really going to kill the Master?"

At that, Martha almost frowned. "Do you want me to?" she asked in lieu of answering. "Do you want him dead?"

For the first time since Martha walked through the door, Rossi had to properly think his response through before saying it aloud.

"I want him somewhere where he can't hurt anybody," he finally settled. "So far, it seems as though he won't stop for as long as he lives. But killing is always the last option one should approach, and if you know of a different way to stop him then I'm all ears."

Martha nodded, seeming to take in his response before she spoke again.

"I was a medical student, when I first met the Doctor," she said. "I was just on my internship when the hospital I worked at was abducted by aliens."

As she spoke, Rossi got the feeling that not many people took into consideration what it would mean for her to take another person's life, evil as they may be. He knew from experience that it was easier said than done, and that the nightmares would stay with you for a long time later.

"But I took an oath," she went on, a fire burning in her eyes that hadn't been there just moments before. "Do no harm."

Rossi nodded, reaching out a hand for her to shake.

"It was an honor meeting you, even if the circumstances are less than ideal," he told her. "And… thank you for telling me."

"Of course," Martha smiled softly. "Like I said, Spencer told me about you. Anyone he keeps at that high regard has got to be someone good, in my books."

Thinking about what Spencer's opinion of Martha might be, and at what regard he was sure to keep the woman, Rossi couldn't help but agree.