Jay hovered a few feet away from the car, her hands trembling and her eyes uncertain as the Doctor flew between the window Wilf was nearly unconscious against and the actual ATMOS device, unable to figure out where he was needed most. If he shut the ATMOS off, then Wilf would be safe, but how long did he have to do that when Wilf was choking to death?
Donna was sobbing, her fingers pressed to the glass. "He's gonna choke!" she cried, and the Doctor threw her a frantically apologetic look because he was trying, but he wasn't sure they'd be able to help Wilf at this point. Apology turned to startled shock, however, and Jay squawked when she was knocked aside by a rushing Sylvia, who hoisted a semi-large axe into the air without comment and slammed it into the windshield. She hit it again and again until the glass finally shattered.
Silence fell, except for soft coughing on Wilf's part. The Doctor, Donna, and Jay all gaped at the woman, who merely glared back at them and nearly snarled, "Well, don't just stand there! Get my father out!"
Jay dove for the car, not hesitating to slam the hood shut. She nearly caught the Doctor's hands, and he ripped them back just in time. She clambered onto it, ignoring the glass that raked at her skin and drew blood as she leaned in and gripped Wilf's arms gently. "Come on," she murmured, "out you go."
Weakly but with determination, Wilf climbed out with Jay's help and Donna and Sylvia were there to catch him as he slid down the front of the car. His knees buckled a little, but he looked more lively as he said tiredly, "Thanks."
"No problem," said Jay, sliding down beside him and glancing to the Doctor when he tugged at his hair in frustration, glaring around at all of the cars spewing ATMOS.
"I can't believe," gasped Donna, coughing herself, "that you've got an axe!"
"Burglars!' cried Sylvia as if it were obvious, trying to herd her father towards the house when the Doctor told her to get inside and seal off the doors and windows. The Doctor turned his attention back on the car for only a moment before giving up. Instead, he looked up as a taxi cab suddenly screeched to a halt beside them. Ross leaned out the open window, his face grim and serious.
"Ross!" Jay greeted with a relieved smile.
He smiled back faintly and then said, "Doctor! This is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS."
"That should work," said the Doctor, bolting for the vehicle. If something couldn't be done here, something could be done back at the factory - or at the Rattigan Academy. He threw the door open and clambered into the backseat, not wanting to take the time to run around the other side. "Donna!" he shouted as Jay climbed in after him. He pressed back to give her room to climb past him and then into the passenger seat from the inside. "You coming?"
Donna glanced back from where she'd been watching her mother and grandfather. "Yeah!" she said, deciding her help might be useful.
Sylvia snapped her head around. "Donna," she protested, worried, "don't go! Look what happens every time that Doctor appears! Please, stay with us. Please!"
Donna bit her lip guiltily but continued back towards the cab, especially as Wilf in a small surge of recovering strength pushed forward and cried, "You go, my darling, don't listen to her! You go with them aliens." Donna met his gaze, uncertain, and he gave her a warm smile as the Doctor shouted for Donna again. Donna nodded curtly. She turned and sprinted for the cab, slamming the door shut behind her and within seconds, the car was off.
Wilf was confident that his granddaughter's place was with the Doctor and his small blonde companion - whether Sylvia liked it or not.
As the cab rumbled along a road, Jay reached back and touched Donna's arm comfortingly. "They'll be okay," she promised with a gentle smile. "We're going to make sure of it."
Donna took a deep breath and chased away her worries and fears. "I know."
With Ross driving at high speeds, they reached the factory in record timing. The taxi had barely rolled to a stop when the three travelers flew from it. Jay and Donna paused to wait for the Doctor turned to address Ross through the cracked window. "Ross, look after yourself and get inside the building."
"Will do," Ross promised, and the Doctor threw him an incredibly proud smile before turning his attention on his companions. He gave them a once over, concerned. Donna had a hand over her mouth and was coughing, eyes watering, but Jay looked perfectly fine, her breathing regular. A frown encompassed his face when Donna complained that the air was disgusting.
"It's not so bad for me," he admitted, "so go on, get inside the TARDIS. Both of you. Air will be clear in there." He paused when she blinked in surprise. "I've never given you a key!" He shifted through a pocket. Within moments, the Doctor had found what he'd been looking for. He produced a TARDIS key and pushed it into her hands. A beaming smile appeared. "Go on," he encouraged, "that's yours. Quite a big moment really."
"Yeah," Donna seethed heavily, coughing. "Let's get sentimental after the world's finished choking to death!"
Jay cleared her throat awkwardly, not sure how to address the matter. "I don't...I'm completely fine. I don't find it hard to breathe." She ran her fingers over her arm, prodding at where the black veins resided. She was willing to bet it was those. "Can I come with you, Doctor?"
The Doctor debated, not entirely sure he liked the idea. It would be safer in the TARDIS. So, the Doctor shook his head. "Stay with Donna," he said firmly. Maybe she felt fine, but what if it furthered whatever the process was? "I'll be fine. I'm going to go and stop a war." He turned on his heel and ran off without pausing to see what they thought of the matter.
Jay huffed in frustration but turned to Donna. "Come on," she said. "To the TARDIS then." She took Donna's shoulder gently in her hand and pushed her in the direction of the time machine they called home. They meandered with ease to where she'd been left, finding her just where they'd left her in an alleyway. She smiled broadly when the TARDIS hummed upon them reaching her.
Donna unlocked the door for the pair and said firmly as she did so, "I'm sure the idiot will be here soon. Right?"
"Right," confirmed Jay, stepping in after Donna. The TARDIS hummed a second time as she kicked the door shut behind her, rubbing Donna's back soothingly as Donna doubled over, coughing and struggling to drag in good air. She didn't understand the struggling; she felt fine, but chose not to say anything. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."
He'd need the TARDIS, she was sure, for something or another.
Jay walked to the console and ran her fingers over it, remembering how just hours before she'd been driving the TARDIS with Donna, and then settled into the captain's seat, yawning. Donna followed her, leaning against the console. "So that was Martha?" Donna said hoarsely. "The Martha you talk about?"
"Mhm," Jay murmured. "She's a good friend of ours." She hoped Martha was okay in all of this - as well as her family. She'd gotten to know them well on her time aboard the Valiant. At least they'd been recovering well enough before this disaster around them…
Jay leaned forward in her seat, her gaze skimming and scanning the TARDIS almost desperately. Surely there was something they could do to help from in here…
Doubtful, she supposed with a heavy sigh. The Doctor would have likely made it the case that they couldn't do anything. Just to ensure that they were safe - something that drove Jay up the wall on a normal day and even more so when there was trouble afoot. She fidgeted, eyeing the doors. "...I'm going out," she said firmly, shooting to her feet. She couldn't just sit there. Not when people could be dying. "Whatever that smoke is, it doesn't hurt me. Right? I could be even more helpful than some of the others…"
"He told us to stay here," Donna pointed out although she didn't look as if she fully agreed with the decision in itself. "But he does get himself into a lot of trouble...let's go." Jay grinned proudly at her, and together, they both started walking for the doors. They'd only been in there minutes, enough time to give the Doctor a head start, but that would still give them some time to catch up-
They'd barely made it a few steps before there was a sudden jerk. Jay yelped, narrowly catching herself on the console. She winced at the sting of pain in her hip where it struck the console. She blinked, looking over to check on Donna, who'd also tripped, but caught herself. She clung to a piece of railing with confused eyes. "What the hell?" whispered Jay.
Donna hesitated and then tiptoed over to the doors. Jay watched her, anxious as she peeked out. When Donna yanked back inside and hastily closed the doors, latching them behind her, Jay demanded, "What? Donna, what is it?"
Slowly, the older companion turned to look at Jay. She pressed her back to the doors, looking scared. "I don't think," she said faintly, her voice still hoarse from the odd smoke that had filled the air all over Earth. "We're...well, we're not where we were. I think we're on a spaceship. Full...full of potato men."
Sontarans. Jay stared at her and then groaned, smacking a hand to her forehead. "We should have gone with the Doctor," she sighed.
Donna mutely nodded in agreement.
The Doctor burst into the busy command area, his eyes narrowing as he locked them on Mace. "Right then!" he burst out, heaving for air and catching the attention of everyone in the room. They all paused, caught off guard by the sudden explosive appearance of the Time Lord. "Here I am! Whatever you do, Colonel Mace, do not engage the Sontarans in battle. There is nothing they like better than a war. Leave it to me."
Mace blinked, startled. Frowning at the Doctor, he asked, "And what are you going to do?"
"I've got the TARDIS," the Doctor said rather smugly. With two companions on board, hopefully. If they'd done what he'd told them to do. "I'm going to get aboard their ship." He beamed as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do. He caught sight of Martha, seated nearby. She looked almost like he'd left her, her wide brown eyes staring at him. He tipped his head a fraction, studying her. Something was off with his friend. She wasn't entirely right. There were a few differences that he could see in her appearance and he wrinkled his nose when a distinct odd smell he doubted the humans could smell came from her. Still, he cried, forcing himself to keep up the same level of energy as before, "Come on, Martha!"
He took off at a sprint, and was amused when she kept up with him. Right or not, he had missed his friend. He knew Jay had, too, and that after all of the danger was gone and they left, she'd be just as sad as the first time they'd left Martha. The Doctor made a mental note to take she and Donna somewhere particularly special after this. Somewhere pleasant and beautiful, with good food and pleasant company.
He wove through halls until they were outside, not slowing his stride until they ducked into the alley he'd left the TARDIS. Only then did he suddenly stop dead. Martha bumped into him, yelping softly, but the Doctor payed her no mind as he strode forward, smacking his tongue in somewhat frustration. Martha stayed where she was for a moment before slowly making her way over. "Where's the TARDIS?"
"Taste that," said the Doctor, poking his tongue out. "Blegh. Metal tang. Teleport exchange...it's the Sontarans," he breathed, looking disappointed. He hid his anger well as he looked around, as if the TARDIS would materialize out of nowhere. "They've taken it. I'm stuck, on Earth. Like an ordinary person. Like...like a human. How rubbish is that?"
Martha didn't seem to care for the rude comment. Normally, such a comment would have earned him a rather aggressive look, or a reprimand. Instead, all she asked was, "What do we do?"
"I mean," said the Doctor, thinking over what he could do without earning suspicion on Martha's part, "it's shielded, so they could never detect it." Which also meant Donna and Jay would be safe if they remained inside - until he could find a way to help them get out of their current situation, of course. "I'm just wondering," he continued after studying Martha closely. "Have you called your family and Tom?"
Martha blinked, looking confused by his suggestion. "No. What for?"
His stomach twisted. Something was definitely wrong. Feeling terrible for not being there for Martha, wherever the real Martha might be, for he knew that this wasn't her, he said pointedly, "The Gas. Tell them to stay inside."
She shook her head a little, as if she'd forgotten entirely. "Of course I will," she said firmly, "but I mean, what about Donna? And Jay? Where are they?"
"Donna went home," he lied immediately, not wanting to give her the truth. Who knew what this fake Martha was up to? Vowing to help the true Martha, he continued, "She's not a soldier. Not like you. Jay...Jay went with her to make sure she was safe. I promised to pick her up when I could. I was about to, but since the TARDIS is gone…" He pretended to shake off his worry and grinned. "Anyways, allons-y!"
The Doctor turned on his heel and strode swiftly for UNIT's temporary headquarters. He'd find Martha, he decided. And deal with the Sontarans, and UNIT, and the missing TARDIS and companions, and he'd do it in whatever order it presented itself.
But he'd get it all done and he would not miss one step. Too much was at risk at the moment, and he didn't like that at all.
The Doctor lead the way back to where he'd dragged Martha out of, taking in all of the people and the screens pleasant. "Change of plans!" he called as he entered, and Mace immediately looked back at he and Martha.
"Good to have you fighting alongside us, Doctor," Mace said, pleased. He smiled broadly, happy to hear such a thing, and the Doctor gave him a look of distaste.
"I'm not fighting," he said sharply. Mace looked both disappointed and rather annoyed with the comment, but the Doctor ignored him and looked at the others around him. "Now," he said, "does anyone know what this gas is yet?"
"We're working on it," Martha said firmly, and the Doctor nodded, not sure if that was entirely true or not.
"It's harmful, but not lethal," another person - a woman with intelligent eyes and a confident manner - said firmly. "Not lethal until it reaches eighty percent density. We're having the first reports of deaths from the center of Tokyo City." She paused when the Doctor studied her with interest. Interest turned to irritation when she saluted him. "Captain Marion Price, sir," she said, introducing herself.
The Doctor grumbled. "Put your hand down," he muttered, shaking his head. "Don't salute." Marion Price dropped her hand, looking flustered.
Mace ignored the interaction entirely and nodded at a large screen displaying information that the Doctor knew they considered to be important. "Jodrell Bank's traced a signal, Doctor. It's coming from five thousand miles above the Earth. We're guessing that's what triggered the cars." The Doctor nodded thoughtfully; that would be the Sontaran ship undoubtedly. ""NATO has gone to Defcon One. We're preparing a strike."
The Doctor snapped his head around. Glaring at Mace, he said sharply, "You can't do that. Nuclear missiles won't even scratch the surface of this issue...of their ship! Let me talk to the Sontarans."
"You're not authorized to speak on behalf of the planet," Mace said rather coldly.
The Doctor straightened to his full height, eyes flashing. He couldn't say he was too fond of Colonel Mace. Glaring irritably at the colonel, the Doctor said in an icy tone, "I've got that authority and I earned it a long time ago." He pushed past Mace, ignoring him, and whipped out his sonic screwdriver. The familiar buzzing of the device filled silence that had fallen at their small argument, and he glanced up when he managed to get the UNIT systems connected with those of the Sontarans. "Calling the Sontaran Command Ship under jurisdiction two of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement. This is the Doctor!"
Jay had been tapping around on the buttons and switches around the screen attached to the TARDIS console, trying to see if she could somehow get it to send a signal to the Doctor to show him where they were, when the image flickered over it. It lasted for less than a moment, but it was immediately burned into her memory: a girl.
She froze, staring at the sudden fuzzy screen. She'd been pretty, the girl on the screen, with blonde hair and warm, dark eyes. She'd been mouthing something, her face desperate. Jay's lips parted as she stared at the screen, confused. But she was distracted only moments later when the Doctor's voice cut through the air, mid-sentence.
"-Rules of Engagement. This is the Doctor!"
"Doctor?" Donna gasped, snapping around, and Jay moved over so she could look at the screen again. The Doctor's familiar face filled the screen, his dark eyes thoughtful and sharp as he thought over what must have been a thousand things. Donna looked to Jay with hope in her green eyes. "Do you think he can hear us?"
Jay shook her head and shushed her as another voice, this one rather hoarse but strict and authoritative filled the air. It belonged to someone Jay and Donna couldn't see. "Doctor...breathing your last?"
"My God," said a voice that sounded like Mace from somewhere behind the Time Lord. Jay scanned the image; she could barely see him, a few feet behind the Doctor, his face hidden by the frame of the image. Jay sighed at the horror that laced his tone. "They're like trolls."
"Yeah," muttered the Doctor with a heavy sigh, irritated. He threw a glare over his shoulder at Mace. Jay snickered at the scowl on his face as he retorted, "Loving the diplomacy. Thanks." The Doctor turned his face forward again and focused on the matter at hand. "Tell me, General Staal: since when did you lot become cowards?"
Jay blinked when the Sontaran the Doctor was speaking to cried, "How dare you! You impugn my honor, Doctor!"
Nervous about what was happening despite the fact that they were in the TARDIS, Donna slid her hand into Jay's. Jay squeezed, confident that the Doctor would figure out they were missing soon if he didn't already know. Donna, steadied by the touch, leaned forward and grumbled at the screen, "Come on, spaceman. We're here, too…"
"I'm really glad you didn't say belittle, 'cause then I'd have a field day," the Doctor muttered with a hint of a smirk into whatever camera was recording him and allowing the TARDIS and Sontarans to see him. Donna and Jay snorted. "But poison gas? that's the weapon of a coward and you know it. You could blast this planet out of the sky, Staal, and here you are, sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? The honor? Or, are you lot planning something else? 'Cause this isn't normal Sontaran warfare. What are you lot up to?"
His voice rose with each word until he was nearly shouting the demand. Jay furrowed her brow as she glanced at Donna and said, "Is he trying to get the Earth blown up? Does he want it to be worse?"
"No," Donna murmured back, narrowing her eyes at the screen. "He's trying to say that there's something else going on...didn't you hear?"
"A general," Staal answered coldly, "would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing forces."
The Doctor clicked his tongue. "Ah, so the war's not going well then? Losing, are we?" As Staal bristled, Mace questioned what war the Doctor was speaking about, and the Doctor answered immediately. "The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans. It's been raging, far out in the stars for fifty thousand years. Fifty thousand years of bloodshed and for what?" He took on a look of disgust, scowling, and Jay pressed her lips together. He hated bloodshed. Especially for something as simple as victory, as the Sontaran declared.
The Doctor rolled his eyes - and then vanished from the screen. "No!" Donna gasped, freezing in confusion when he was replaced with a cartoon. She and Jay exchanged confused looks. Where had that come from? It was a few minutes of tense waiting on their part before the Doctor reappeared. "Finished?" he asked dryly.
"Oh, thank goodness," muttered Donna.
"You will not be so quick to ridicule when you see our prize," Staal declared, and Jay and Donna grimaced, knowing precisely what prize that would likely be. We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a TARDIS."
"Well, as prizes go, that's...rather noble." Donna froze again, this time staring at the screen with awe. "As they say in Latin, Donna nobis pacem."
"That's me," Donna breathed, and Jay found herself grinning. Of course he knew they were there. He wasn't an idiot. "That's me! We're here!" She bounced up and down a few times, delighted and Jay shushed her as the Doctor continued with a drawling tone, seeming almost amused, as if he could hear his companion's excitement.
"Did you ever wonder about its design? It's a phone box. It contains a phone. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic...like if only we could communicate, you and I, like chattering birds." He flicked a finger between the screen and himself, arching a brow pointedly.
Donna looked a little befuddled by that, but Jay grinned, barely hearing what Staal said in response. He and the Doctor launched into banter. Jaybird, Jack had called her so very often. She ripped the phone out of her pocket and held it up, bouncing a little as Donna had. "Come on, Doctor," she said softly, "which number?" Not that she knew how to dial the number. But she had Donna to do that for her, and she watched the Doctor intently.
He lifted a phone. Jay was briefly confused. Where'd he gotten it? Who the hell could it have belonged to? She bit her lip, confused. "Who?" she muttered. "Who do we phone, Doctor, come on, we're not mind readers…"
But before the Doctor could say anything further, the screen turned black and Jay threw her hands in the air, furious. "Idiot!" she cried, and kicked the console in frustration. The TARDIS made a sound of disapproval. "Sorry, lovely," she muttered, patting the console in apology with a heavy sigh.
"Oof!" Donna gasped when the TARDIS suddenly shook around them. She was thrown to the grated floor. Jay hit it beside her, nearly losing the phone in her hand. It continued to shake around them for a few minutes, too violently to get up. When it finally stopped, Jay and Donna just sat there, breathing hard. They stared at one another miserably.
"This is a pain," muttered Jay, glaring at the useless phone in her hand. "I could try Martha's phone?"
"Do that," agreed Donna. She hesitated, and then suddenly asked softly, "Can...can I call my family? To make sure they're okay first?"
"Fire away." Jay handed the phone over and then flopped onto her back. She stared at the ceiling of the control room, sinking her teeth into her lower lip with a frustrated sigh. Come on, Doctor, Jay thought, we can't do anything until you do!
The Doctor yanked the clipboard from Martha's hands. He balanced it in one hand. He didn't know if Jay and Donna would call him via Martha's phone - something that he worried about - or if he would need to call them to get them on the other end, but first...he needed to figure out what the Sontarans were doing. Martha said firmly, "There's carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, but ten percent unidentified. Some sort of artificial heavy element we can't trace. Have you ever seen anything like it?"
"Must be something the Sontarans invented. This isn't just poison, they need this gas for something else...what could it be…" He huffed, wishing that he knew the answer or was with someone who could come up with something helpful...Martha was unhelpful as of the current moment. He wished he had normal Martha around…
"Launch grid online and active," Price suddenly said, snagging his attention.
"Positions, ladies and gentlemen," said Mace grimly, straightening. "Defcon One initiatives in progress."
The Doctor whirled around in horror, alarm sparking in his chest. "What?" he cried, glaring at Mace. "I told you not to launch!" The humans stood no chance whatsoever against a ship full of Sontarans, regardless of whether or not they had nuclear weapons. Not that he approved of battle at all, of course, but he worried about what would happen if the humans didn't get it together and understand what he was saying.
"The gas is at sixty percent density." Mace's eyes locked with the Doctor's, fierce. "Eighty percent and people start dying, Doctor. We've got no choice."
"You're making a mistake!" the Doctor snapped. "For once, I hope the Sontarans are ahead of you." The Doctor set his jaw as Price quietly began to count down, simultaneously keeping an eye on the status of it all. She listed who was online, what the systems were like, and who was ready before beginning to count down again from ten.
But when the number hit zero, the screen turned dark, and the Doctor blinked. That had gone shockingly well. Mace began to demand what had happened, and Price explained quickly that the launch codes had been wiped. Upon asking if they could override it, Mace received a swift answer of, "Trying now."
"Missiles wouldn't even dent that ship," the Doctor said slowly, watching as UNIT scrambled around him. "Why are the Sontarans so keen to stop you?" He glanced at Martha, who was watching all of the comings and goings of the group with a hint of coldness in her dark eyes. "Any ideas?"
Martha gave a shrug, looking almost insulted that he thought she might know. "How should I know?" she snapped, and the Doctor fought the urge to wince. He hoped he could fix what was wrong with Martha soon.
Someone's radio suddenly exploded with static and the Doctor felt a flash of worry when Ross's familiar voice crackled to life. "Enemy within! At arms! Greyhound Forty, declaring absolute emergency. Sontarans within factory grounds, east corridor grid six."
"Absolute emergency," Mace said in response over the radio, sending the message out to all of the present troops. "Declaring Code Red. All troops, Code Red!" He ignored the Doctor's demand that Mace get the UNIT soldiers to safety. "All troops, open fire."
The Doctor's face hardened when Ross's voice responded with surprising calm, "The guns aren't working. Inform all troops, standard weapons do not work. Tell the Doctor it's a cordolaine signal. He's the only one who can stop them."
Static filled the air a moment later and the Doctor's jaw tightened with rage when he heard it. His hands trembled as he fought to control the temper that had suddenly risen. Snapping his gaze to Mace, who was demanding that "Greyhound Forty" respond, he nearly snarled, "He wasn't Greyhound Forty, his name was Ross. Now listen to me and get them out of there!"
Mace fell silent, searching his face. Finally, he grimaced and turned away. "Trap One to all stations," he said into the radio, not pleased about it. "Retreat. Order imperative, immediate retreat."
The Doctor pushed his hands through his hair, watching as chaos ensued. The people within UNIT's temporary headquarters were all busy, some giving orders, others tapping away on machinery, trying to get their weapons back online. The Doctor watched it all, his gaze taking in every action. He hoped he could call his companions soon - especially as reports came in that the Sontarans had managed to take the factory that had initially been under investigation.
"Why?" he muttered, frowning. "Why take the factory? They don't need it...why attack now? What are they up to?" Frustration built again. "Times like this, I could do with the Brigadier," he commented to Mace with a scowl. He paused, then added, "No offense."
"None taken, sir," Mace said, although there was a hint of annoyance on his face. "Sir Alistair's a fine man, if not the best. Unfortunately...he's stranded in Peru." Mace focused when Price declared that the launch grid was back online - and then sputtered when it suddenly shut down again, the screen turning black once more.
"They're inside the system, sir," reported Price with gritted teeth, frustrated. She glanced over her shoulder at him. "It's coming from within UNIT itself." The Doctor noted that; it could be important. He made a mental note to possibly thank whoever it was...although he'd not missed the hasty movements of Martha moments before. He frowned at her.
"Trace it," Mace barked. "Find out where it's coming from and quickly. Gas levels?"
"Sixty-six percent in major population areas and rising," Price said and went to work on figuring out where the signal canceling out their launch grid was.
It was while Mace was muttering to himself, watching the flickering screens and questioning just why all of this was happening, that the Doctor suddenly came to a realization. He straightened, glancing at Mace. "They wanted UNIT here. You gave them something they needed. Something hidden inside the factory...something precious." His gaze briefly crossed over Martha, and he paused, puzzling it out in his mind. Martha was special. Unique. And was high-ranking within UNIT. Martha would be desirable to someone who wanted something precious from UNIT. And it would explain quite a bit about his friend.
"Then we've got to recover it," Mace declared confidently, as if it would be easy. The Doctor just barely avoided rolling his eyes. "This cordelaine signal...how does it work?"
The Doctor quickly explained how it worked for him, and Mace vanished to work on it. The Doctor didn't bother to try and warn him about fighting the Sontarans again, instead whirling around. He needed to get into contact with Donna and Jay - sooner rather than later. Making sure Martha wasn't watching, he found a quiet but pleasant looking woman seated nearby, working furiously to fix the launch sequence. She glanced up when he purposefully brushed a hand over her shoulder and hissed, "Phone. Have you got a phone? I need it." She was a bit too slow for his liking, so he snapped, "Quickly!"
The woman, startled, handed it over.
Donna and Jay were sitting in quiet, the phone held tightly in Jay's hand, when it finally began to ring. Jay and Donna stared at it, and then looked at one another. "Answer it!" Donna cried, and Jay just blinked at the device in confusion, not entirely sure of what to do. So Donna snatched it from her hands and did it herself, making sure to put the phone on speaker so Jay could hear whatever was heard. "What's happened?" demanded Donna sternly, leaving no room for any lies. "Where are you?"
The Doctor spoke quietly, as if he was trying to keep himself from being noticed - unlikely, Jay thought. He was noticed everywhere he went. "Still on Earth. But don't worry, I've got my secret weapon - you two."
Jay pressed her lips together, not entirely excited to be considered a secret weapon. Donna agreed, apparently, for she said unhappily, "Somehow, that's not making me happy. Can't you just...zap us down to Earth with that remote thing?"
"It's a sonic screwdriver, Donna," Jay muttered gently.
"Yeah, I haven't got a remote, although I really should." The Doctor seemed distracted. His words were spat out quickly for the next few moments. "But I need you on that ship. That's why I made them move the TARDIS. I'm sorry, but you've got to go outside."
"You put us here on purpose?" hissed Jay. She was going to throttle him next she saw him. The Doctor ignored her, and instead went to work on comforting them as if it would convince them to go out into a battleship full of Sontarans who would kill them as soon as look at them.
"The Sontarans will all be on battle stations right now. They don't walk around having coffee like we do. I can talk you through it." Jay opened her mouth to protest and wondered if he could see them somehow when he said sharply, "Both of you need to go."
"But what if they find us?" Donna said with a shaking voice, her green eyes round with fear at the idea of going outside the TARDIS.
"I know, and I wouldn't ask, but there's nothing else I can do," the Doctor said gently. "The whole planet is choking, Donna. I'll walk you through it, just like I said I would. I'll be on the phone the entire time. Trust me?"
Jay met Donna's gaze, and they exchanged a quick nod. They could do this, Jay knew. She'd been through a hell of a lot worse and more dangerous. Donna had, too, she realized, remembering the Arachnos, and she knew that the Doctor had gotten them through it. "Yes," Donna said faintly, but confidently.
"Jay?"
Jay swallowed thickly, pushed her blonde hair from her eyes, and said fiercely, "Always." She rose to her feet with Donna and took a deep breath to steady herself. "Donna, you want to take the lead, or will I do it?" she asked as Donna turned the speaker off, putting the phone to her ear instead so she could continue hearing what the Doctor said.
"I will," Donna said firmly. "I have the phone."
"Okay." Jay waved her ahead, and Donna made sure she was completely ready before gently pushing the door to the TARDIS open. She peeked outside as the Doctor explained that he needed them to reopen a link between teleportation devices for him. She hastily closed the door again, swallowing nervously.
"There's a Sontaran," she explained to Jay and the Doctor, her eyes wide. Jay shifted as she waited for instructions on what to do, wishing she had some kind of ear piece that would allow her to hear what the Doctor said. Maybe she'd speak to him when this adventure was over about getting her something like the popular ear pieces from her time. "No," Donna said, dragging Jay's attention back to her. "He's got his back to us."
Jay felt a stab of sympathy when Donna whimpered after a few moments of quiet, "He's gonna kill me."
Jay touched Donna's shoulder reassuringly and then waited for instructions on what to do. Donna nodded slowly and then turned to Jay. "Could you get the mallet? From the console?"
"Sure," Jay agreed immediately. She quickly trotted back to the control console and searched until she found the hammer that the Doctor had been banging on the console only hours before, when they'd gotten the call from Martha. She weighed it in her hand and made her way back to Donna, who was nodding slowly as the Doctor said something to her.
"Trade?" Donna said, offering her the phone with a shaking hand. Jay took it, handing over the mallet, and desperately worried what Donna was about to do. The second the phone was pressed to Jay's ear, Donna was silently slipping from the TARDIS, hissing at Jay to wait until she told her to come out.
Jay bit her lip. "Doctor, what's she doing?"
"There's this probic vent at the back of their necks. One blow to it will knock 'em out."
Jay blinked, remembering the rant he'd gone on earlier - when they'd been at the Academy with Ross, and they'd first learned what was behind everything that was going on. "Their weak spot," she said, echoing his earlier words, and the Doctor chuckled.
"Their weak spot," he agreed, and then demanded, "Is Donna back?"
"Not yet - oh! She's good!" Jay said with a soft cheer when Donna threw the door open and beamed proudly, wielding her mallet. "I'm giving the phone back to Donna now." She did just that, and Donna told her to hang onto the mallet before edging out of the TARDIS. Jay was a step behind, shifting her grip on the mallet she'd been given and feeling a lot more confident now that Donna had knocked out a Sontaran.
Donna hissed into the phone, nervously looking around them, "What's it look like?" The Doctor must have said something entirely unhelpful to her, because she sighed and said with frustration, "There's a door." Another pause. "Yeah, there is. But it's Sontaran-shaped. You need three fingers."
Jay could nearly picture the Doctor running a face down his face in frustration. Giggling under her breath, Jay cleared her throat and said pointedly, "Donna, you've got three fingers."
"Oh!" Donna blinked, startled, as if she'd not thought of that. "I do." Blushing, she stepped carefully over the unconscious Sontaran, leading the way to the door. Jay followed closely, not daring to get too far from her friend and the phone she carried. Donna paused before pressing her hand into an orb-like shape beside the door, complete with a three-fingered imprint. It lit up green and the door slid open. Donna looked proud as she said, "We're through. Shut up," she muttered a moment later, flustered. "Right. Jay, we're looking for a 'T' with a line through it."
Donna fell silent as they made their way through the door and down a hall. Jay kept right behind her, so close that she nearly tripped Donna once or twice. She shook out her tingling arms every now and then, her heart racing in her chest, and winced. This was going to be a problem soon. Hopefully, she thought, testing it all, she wouldn't go down in the middle of the Sontaran ship.
Suddenly, Donna hissed softly and pushed Jay back. She ducked into a corner, back pressed against a wall. Jay echoed her movements with shaking fingers, and stiffened in terror when an entire troop of Sontarans marched past, guns held in their hands.
Jay pressed her lips together, hoping that they'd be back on Earth - and soon.
"Positions!" cried Mace, ignoring the Doctor's horrified protests. The Doctor followed him down a long hall, and Martha was only a step behind. He glared at the Doctor as he walked, looking almost disappointed in the Time Lord, as if he'd expected more of a war-loving person. Well, tough! the Doctor wanted to snarl at him. "That means everyone, Doctor," he said, stopping before a set of doors and tossing something at him. The Doctor caught it. He stared at the gas mask in his hands and a smile danced across his suddenly saddened expression. The last time he'd seen one of these, Rose had been with him. He'd not had this body, but another, with an entirely different personality, and it had been one of very few times that he remembered not watching someone die in the process of saving the planet.
"You're not going without me," said Martha sharply.
"Wouldn't dream of it." The Doctor looked expectantly to Mace, and he tossed another to Martha. She expertly fitted it to his face, and the Doctor did, too, not liking how it felt. He made sure to check the phone before doing so; all he heard was Donna hissing something. She was alright for the time being. She'd scream if something went wrong.
Mace forced them to follow him outside, and the Doctor pushed his hands into his pockets as sauntered along behind him. He'd hand over control eventually, when he finally listened and realized they stood no chance against the Sontaran armies. They always did, when they realized the Doctor had been right the entire time. He'd somewhat play along until that moment came. Jay had commented once that she thought he rather enjoyed that moment, when the humans all turned to him.
The Doctor only quietly admitted to himself that he did.
They finally stopped beside a series of crates. The Doctor watched Mace intently as he withdrew a gun from it, showing it to the Doctor with a triumphant kind of manner. "Latest firing stock...what do you think, Doctor?"
He still thought that the Doctor had a fondness for war, realized the Time Lord. An expertise that he'd just willingly show to help them win against an enemy the Doctor knew they would lose against. So, just to annoy him, the Doctor simply looked at him and tipped his head to the side as he said, "Are you my mummy?" Another flicker of pain at the memory of Rose flashed through him, but he pushed it back. Not now. Not when lives were at stake.
Mace knew exactly what he was doing and scowled. "If you could concentrate. Bullets with a rad-steel coating, no copper surface. Should overcome that cordelaine signal, correct?"
The Doctor scowled at him though Mace couldn't see it. "They've got lazers. You can't even see in this fog. The night-vision stuff doesn't work."
"Thank you, Doctor," Mace said bitingly. "Thank you for your lack of faith. This time, I'm not listening." He suddenly snatched the gas mask from his face and the Doctor stepped back as he launched into a small speech. "Attention all troops!" he shouted and everyone working around them stopped to look at him, waiting for his words. "Sontarans might think of us as primitive. As does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more! From this point on...it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back and we show them! We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do!" He suddenly tipped his head back to look skyward, his eyes flashing. He lifted his radio to his mouth and said, "Trap One to Hawk Major. Go!"
The Doctor heard it fairly quickly and looked up in alarm when he heard the loud roaring sound that came from above. His eyes widened with astonishment, and he ripped the gas mask from his face as he stared. "The Valiant!" he said in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing. A flash of distaste flickered over his features and he was glad that he'd left Jay with Donna. He glanced over his shoulder as the fog was blown away by the massive ship. Martha barely seemed to be reacting. He clenched his jaw, hoping that he'd be able to help her soon.
"UNIT carrier ship Valiant reporting for duty, Doctor, with engines strong enough to clear away the fog." Mace smirked proudly at the ship, and then lifted the radio to his mouth again. "Valiant, fire at will."
The Doctor jumped a little when the Valiant suddenly fired at the ATMOS factory. Explosions flashed and the ground trembled beneath the force of the attack. Mace ordered the ground soldiers forward and the Doctor admitted that he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Sontarans were being forced back.
Impressive, overall, although he wasn't one for admitting that he'd been wrong.
Mace started walking, clearly expecting the Doctor to follow, but the Doctor only shook his head to himself and put the phone he'd been carrying to his ear. "Donna?" he said quietly, eyeing Martha as she hurried over to stand beside him. "Hold on, I'm coming."
He hastily put the phone away and hung up, not hearing Donna's response, and frowned when Martha questioned whether they should follow the colonel or not. "Nah!" he said with a grin, eyes sparkling. "You and me, Martha Jones, just like old times!" He took off at a dead run for the factory, not caring at all about the violence that had been going on around it. He used his sonic screwdriver to track a signal that he found fairly quickly, noting that Martha had pulled her phone out while running for some reason or another.
"Alien technology," he murmured as they jogged along, "this way." He guided her through twists and turns within the building, hastily avoiding a Sontaran that raced past, and then stopped. He could go left or right, and he chose left when the signal proved to come from that direction. The Doctor frowned. He'd not missed the signal that Martha had given off, and wondered why she'd not tried to stop him. He had a suspicion as to what she was, but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt until it was completely confirmed. He got the feeling it'd be confirmed or denied fairly soon anyways.
He pushed his way through a set of doors and found himself in a deserted space. The cement floor was scraped up and hard beneath his feet, and it looked shockingly empty. He wondered if it was used for storage on a normal day. If there was a normal day in the ATMOS factory.
"No Sontarans down here," the Doctor said after doing a quick scan, noting the curtained off area that the real signal had come from. He started for it, muttering about how Sontarans were unable to resist fights and how much it bothered him. Martha remained blank-faced as he threw the curtains aside and grimaced, guilt crossing his features at the sight of the real Martha Jones, unconscious. He should have worked to help her more quickly. Completely abandoning the false Martha, he bolted over. He took in the odd table-like contraption she'd been strapped into. A device had been fitted over her head and a hospital gown thrown on her body, and he was quick to check her pulse. "Oh, Martha," he breathed, relieved to find she was still alive, "I'm so sorry."
The click of a gun's safety made him pause, but he pushed on, pressing the button of his sonic screwdriver and going to work on freeing Martha from the straps. "Am I supposed to be impressed?" he said, not bothering to give the false Martha the attention she expected.
"Wish you carried a gun now?" she said coldly.
"Not at all."
She narrowed her gaze. "I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time."
The Doctor's lips twitched as he finished removing the straps and paused to finally look at her. "Doing exactly what I wanted. I needed to stop the missiles, just as much as the Sontarans. I'm not having Earth start an interstellar war." He beamed as if she wasn't pointing a small handgun at him. "You're a triple agent."
She looked a little unnerved, which he thought to be interesting after having been so unreactive for the time she'd been alive. "When did you know?" asked the false Martha, confused.
"What, you?" He began looking over the headpiece, wincing. He scanned it first, not wanting to hurt her. "Oh, right from the start. Reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple. Frankly, you smell, too. You might as well have worn a T-shirt saying 'clone.'" He paused in his work and then muttered to himself, "Don't do that in front of Jack. You remember him, right?" he said louder, glancing over at the clone. "You've got all her memories. that's why the Sontarans had to protect her and keep her alive - to keep you alive inside UNIT. Which means…" He ripped the device from Martha's head and she awoke with a terrified scream that matched the agonized cry of the clone as she hit the floor, writhing in agony.
The Doctor gently snagged Martha's shoulders. He pulled her into a gentle hug after she'd finished thrashing, eyes wild with fear, and said softly, "It's alright, Martha. You're safe. I've got you."
She shuddered, a sob wracking deep in her throat. "There was this - this thing," she sobbed, burying her face in his shoulder. "This alien-"
A ring came from his pocket and she faltered. The Doctor winced and pulled back, fishing the phone from where he'd put it. "Blimey, I'm busy," he muttered, ripping the phone open and putting it to his ear. "Got it?"
Jay's voice came from the other end this time. "We found it. What do we do?"
"Take off the covering," he ordered, glad that Jay was doing it. She'd have a bit more knowledge on how the insides of a spaceship, even if it was a teleportation device, worked. "All of the blue switches inside? Flick them up. And that should get it working."
"Right," Jay muttered, and he heard her muffled voice as she said something he didn't quite catch to Donna.
The Doctor lurched to life, leaving Martha to finish getting herself together. He flew over to the teleport device at the back of the laboratory that Martha had been dragged to earlier in the day, silently listening to the conversation that had started behind him. Martha had approached her dying clone, who seemed surprisingly emotional now. He glanced over his shoulder as he tore into the device to fix it. It matched the one from the Rattigan Academy, and it made him grin triumphantly as he put the phone he'd been using aside in order to work.
"You've got a brother, sister, mother, and father," the clone said suddenly, and the Doctor nearly stopped dead in his tracks. "You love them."
"I do," Martha said warmly, softly, "and if you don't help me, they're going to die."
"The gas," the Doctor breathed, realizing the clone would know what they didn't. "Tell us about the gas!"
"He's the enemy," snapped the clone, recoiling at the idea of helping him.
"So tell me," Martha said, slipping a few inches to the side so the clone couldn't see the busy Time Lord. "It's not just poison, what's it for? Tell me. Please, Martha." It was odd, addressing one's self, but she did it.
And she beamed when the clone said quietly, "Caseofine concentrate. One part bosteen, two parts probic five."
This time, the Doctor did stop. He stared at the exhausted clone for a moment and then breathed, "Clone feed. It's clone feed!" His voice rose to a cry and Martha stared questioningly at him. Going back to work, he explained rapidly in a way that normally made her dizzy with confusion. "Like amniotic fluid for Sontarans. That's why they're not invading, they're converting the atmosphere. Changing the planet into a clone world. Earth becomes a great big hatchery. 'Cause the Sontarans are clones! That's how they reproduce. Give 'em a planet this big and they'll create billions of new soldiers. That gas isn't poison - it's food."
Martha pretended to know what he was talking about, although there was a bit more understanding that came along with his mess of an explanation. She turned her attention back on the clone when it wheezed, "My heart. It's getting slower."
The Doctor winced as Martha reassured her, keeping her clone calm even as it began to die. He felt a flash of grief; the clone hadn't been at fault. She'd done what she'd been created for, and hadn't known any different. He wished he could help. But helping...it meant losing one of his friends, and that wasn't acceptable at all.
He heard when the clone breathed her last gasp of air, and heard Martha murmur a final farewell.
"Doctor!"
He snatched the phone back up, tucking it between his cheek and his shoulder. His side was done. He was just waiting. He just needed confirmation from Jay and Donna about their end. "Well?"
"The blue switches are done - oh!"
He grimly pressed his lips together when Donna's muffled voice cried, "They've found us!"
"Let's make a show for them then!" he said cheerfully and pointed his sonic screwdriver at the at the teleport pod. He listened to the familiar buzz, and then grinned when there was a brilliant flash of light. There was a brief moment in which he was just barely worried that he'd brought the wrong people back, but then the light died out and he found Jay and Donna standing there, hand in hand. Jay still had the phone pressed to her ear, and she wheezed for breath, caught off guard. Donna looked just as stunned.
"Alright?" the Doctor demanded, making sure he brought back the TARDIS as well, leaving it where it had initially been. The sonic beeped, letting him know it had worked, and the Doctor nodded in satisfaction before grunting when Donna suddenly tackled him in a tight hug that he returned with a grin.
"Have I ever told you how much I hate you?" she mumbled, still shaking from the encounter she'd just had with the Sontarans.
"Are you alright?" he demanded again, and Donna nodded, stepping back. So, the Doctor turned his attention on Jay, who'd staggered over, looking a little ill. "And you?" he asked as she snapped the phone shut and grimaced.
"Fine," said Jay stiffly, "just...I don't like the feeling of teleports." She shook her head a few times to clear it and then smiled faintly at Martha...and Martha? Jay stared at the dead clone nearby and then Martha, and then the Doctor with wide eyes. He shook his head, indicating there would be a later explanation.
"Right! Things to do." He hurried over to the teleport, dragging Jay and Donna with him. Jay groaned in protest, but he only looked over his shoulder at Martha. "Martha, are you coming?"
"Sure," she agreed stepping over. She paused, however, a few feet away and frowned, showing him the phone in her hand. "What about this nuclear launch thing, Doctor?"
"Just keep pressing the 'N,'" he answered, reaching out and tugging her into the teleport pod with them. It was a tight fit, with all four of them, but he pretended not to notice. Now wasn't the time to complain about such matters. The Doctor squirmed until he could lift his sonic screwdriver. "We want to keep those missiles on the ground." He beamed at his friends. "Look at us! The old team, back together - well. I suppose it's the new team now."
"Please tell me," Donna pleaded, "we're not going back on that ship."
"No, no, no," he reassured, smiling. "I needed to get the teleport working so that we could get to-" He cut himself off, activating the teleport. Between one moment and the next, all of them were transported to a room that Jay recognized immediately upon stumbling out of the teleport pod, fighting the urge to vomit. "Here!" the Doctor finished. "The Rattigan Academy, owned by-"
He was interrupted by a squeak and he snapped his head around to find Luke Rattigan standing there with an expensive looking handgun aimed right at Jay's head. A scowl darkened the Doctor's face as he immediately advanced on the boy, who spluttered, face splotchy from crying, "Don't tell anyone what I did! It wasn't my fault. The Sontarans lied to me, they-"
The Doctor yanked the gun out of his hands, ensuring the safety was on before tossing it away. He glared at Luke as he muttered, "If I see one more gun…" He shrugged off his coat and threw it to Martha before disappearing from the room, and Martha gratefully pulled it on over the thin gown she'd been forced into. Donna, trying to make the uncomfortable woman feel better, teased lightly, "That coat sort of works for you."
Martha looked down at herself. "I feel like a kid in my dad's clothes."
"That means you're definitely getting over him, if you're calling him 'dad,'" Donna said happily, and Martha chuckled before giving Jay a gentle hug when the young blonde decided she felt better. Jay hugged her back tightly, glad that she was okay, and then trailed after the Doctor as Martha and Donna began to chat about what had happened to Martha and vice versa.
She realized immediately where he'd gone the second she followed him into another room. It was the lab they'd investigated earlier in the day. It seemed like a lifetime ago, thought Jay.
Jay's sharp blue eyes followed the Doctor's movements as he began to take various items, piecing them together and using his sonic screwdriver when necessary. "Doctor," she said, curious, "what are you doing?"
He glanced up briefly, seeming surprised that she'd followed him. Focusing back on what he was doing, he said, "The Sontarans had to stop the missiles because they were holding back. Caseofine gas - the clone feed they're injecting into the air - is volatile. It's why they had to use Martha to stop the nuclear attack. Ground-to-air engagement could have lit a spark."
Understanding flashed through her. "They would have lit the atmosphere on fire?"
The Doctor's voice grew irritable after he'd nodded, growing more so with every word. "They need all the gas intact to breed their clone army. And all that time, we had Luke here in his dream factory." He paused to break something off of what looked like a project that had taken someone a long time to piece together. "Planning a little trip, were we?"
"They promised me a new world." Jay jumped when the voice came from beside her. She hadn't noticed as Luke had followed them nor had she seen Martha and Donna come to stand in the doorway of the lab.
"You were building equipment, ready to terraform a planet so that humans could live there," the Doctor continued, "and breathe the air with this!" His irritation vanished and the Doctor lifted his new device into the air, looking so proud of himself that Jay laughed. "An atmospheric converter!"
He lurched for the doors, pushing past Donna and Martha, who hurried after him. Jay shoved past Luke to follow, and heard Luke a few steps behind. They all burst outside, and Donna sucked in a sharp breath of horror at the fog that covered the entire city of London. "That's...that's London. You can't even see it...my family is in there."
The Doctor only pushed the device he'd made deep into the grass and began to fidget with it, trying to find the right setting. Jay blinked as he grinned, finding it. "Wait!" she gasped. "But you said-"
"I did, didn't I?" hummed the Doctor and pressed a button.
They all jumped when a ball of flame shot out of the device, soaring up, up, up, up-
"Please," breathed the Doctor as the sky exploded into an inferno of swirling fire. It looked as if it had been overwhelmed by the burning surface of the sun, Jay thought, stepping closer to Martha and squeezing her fingers. Donna took Martha's other hand, the three women nervous about what would happen as the flames spread until they were in every which direction.
It seemed like ages - forever, until the sky began to clear. And with the fire went the smoke. Jay grinned as wide as she could at the sight of the city of London, clear as can be, across the way. Donna and Martha cheered, jumping in excitement, and Luke stared at the Doctor in awe. Jay's smile vanished, however, when the Doctor suddenly said grimly, "Now we're in trouble."
"What?" muttered Jay and then sputtered when he snatched up the converter and bolted back for the Academy. She tore after him, and swept into the room with the teleport pod in time to see him clambering into it. "Doctor!" she snapped. "What are you doing?!"
He ignored her, looking over her shoulder as Martha, Luke, and Donna rejoined them. Martha looked breathless and Jay winced; she must have been exhausted after everything that had been happening for the past few hours. "Right!" he said, shifting within the teleport bod, the converter tucked under his arm. "Donna, thank you. For everything. Martha, Jay, you, too. Oh...so many times." He seemed briefly wistful. "Luke," he continued a moment later, narrowing his eyes at Luke. "Do something clever with your life."
A flash of horror filled Jay. "You're...no. You can't say goodbye." Horror turned to angry worry. "You can't."
"Sontarans are never defeated," he said with a gentleness that made her want to throttle him. "They'll be getting ready for war, which isn't something the human race can win. And, well, you know, I've recalibrated this for Sontaran air, so…"
"You'll kill yourself!" Donna said with horror, understanding what was happening.
"Just send that up." Martha staggered forward a step, concerned by what was happening. Her dark eyes were wide, her face full of distress and worry for her friend - as well as Jay, who suddenly looked absolutely terrified. "All on its own. Put it on a delay."
"I can't," the Doctor said firmly, shifting his grip. "I've got to give them a choice."
He gave them a final smile, his expression one so full of sadness, and then vanished as he activated the teleport pod. Jay just stared at the empty space blankly, the only expression on her face one of fear. She didn't know what to do without the Doctor. He was the one who'd helped her, who'd been pulling she and Donna along on their adventures. He had given her a family, in place of the one she didn't care much for back home.
Normally, Jay wouldn't have been worried. Normally, he seemed to have a way out, even if they didn't know about it.
But this time...the way he'd said goodbye and looked at them with such sadness...
"Jay," Martha began, but she only breathed, "What do I do? What do I do? If he dies...if he dies, where do I go?" She rounded on Martha with a wild expression, trembling.
"He won't," Martha said fiercely, eyes blazing. She drew closer and gripped Jay's shoulder tightly, trying to be as reassuring as she could. Jay merely looked back to the teleport pod. "He's gotten out of worse things, right?" She pulled Jay in for a tight hug, comforting her. She frowned a little. Jay tended to face things in a more positive light, trusting the Doctor fully even at times when she shouldn't. She didn't like seeing her friend in such a way.
Jay didn't answer, only buried her face in Martha's shoulder and returning the hug tight enough to make Martha wheeze. Donna sadly watched, looking stunned and unsure of what to do. Luke studied the three women closely before suddenly pressing his lips into a hard line and starting forward. Donna's attention turned to him as he stopped before the teleport pod, and she frowned as he went to work on fidgeting with the pad that allowed the user to control it. "What are you doing?" she said, catching Martha's attention.
Luke's voice only trembled a little as he said, "Something clever."
Jay looked up then, confused. Luke silently finished what he was doing and then stood, his face pale. He met Donna's gaze. "Don't let me be remembered for something bad," he practically pleaded to their confusion.
"We...we won't?" said Donna, not sure about what was happening.
Luke smiled in relief and then hit a key on the pad vanishing in a flash of light. A moment later, a shocked looking Doctor had appeared in his place, crumpled to the floor of the teleportation pod. His suit was rumpled messily, his dark eyes wide and hair sticking up in every which way. Donna's face went white when she realized what the boy had done, though she forced her horror back. At least the Doctor's okay, she thought.
The Doctor crawled from the back of the teleportation pod and, heaving for air and looking shocked, just sat at the edge, staring at nothing in particular. Martha's lips twitched a little, and she gently nudged Jay. Jay pried her face away from Martha's shoulder, tears glistening in her eyes, and then gave a strangled sound of relief and hurled herself forward. The Doctor grunted as she half-slammed into him, half-slid to the ground at his side, her arms tight around him in a hug. He mindlessly patted her shoulder, frowning a little.
Martha just shook her head when he looked to her for an explanation about his friend's strange, upset state, and sank down beside Jay and the Doctor, gently rubbing Jay's shoulder. After a moment, Donna joined them. The Doctor yelped when she gave him a nasty slap on the arm, but she joined the group on his other side, her fingers tangled in his sleeve as if he would disappear into thin air.
In the peaceful silence that followed, they all simply sat there, catching their breath.
And the finish to the two-parter! I'm not so fond of this chapter. BUT next we'll be seeing Jenny and then an original chapter. :D
Thanks to reviewers (lautaro95 and Jaimee2014 (chapter 1)) as well as those who favorited and followed! It means the world. :)
