Ok everyone, here is Gridlock. It's kind of short, so sorry about that. Anyways here you go… enjoy!
Harper's POV
"Just one trip, that's what I said, one trip in the TARDIS and then home. Although, I suppose we could stretch the definition. Take one trip into the past, one trip into the future. How do you fancy that?"
"No complaints from me!"
"Oh, yay! I'm so excited now," I said bouncing on the jump sit a bit. Martha and I watched as the Doctor started to work with the controls.
"How about a different planet?"
"Can we go to yours?" I watched as the Doctor tensed up when Martha asked this. He never likes talking about Gallifrey.
"No, there's plenty of other places."
"Come on, I mean, the planet of the Time Lords. That's got to be worth a look. What's it like?"
Martha and I got up and I went of to the Doctor, worried about him. "It's beautiful, yeah," he said softly.
"Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?"
"I suppose it is."
"Great big temples and cathedrals?"
"Yeah," he was hurting I knew it, but I didn't know how to help.
"Lots of planets in the sky?"
"The sky's a burnt orange," the Doctor said and I could see it in his mind. "With a citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow."
"Can we go there?"
"Nah! Where's the fun for me? I don't want to go home." He bounced to the other side of the console setting the coordinates for our destination. "Instead… this is much better. Year 5000000053. Planet New Earth."
I scrunched up my nose at that, 'New Earth? I don't have the most fond memories of that place.'
'Oh, but it will be different this time around. Trust me.'
"It's the second home of mankind," I told Martha.
"50,000 light years from your old world, and we're slap-bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically, it's 15 New Yorks since the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York." I shook my head at the Doctor for repeating himself; this was going to end up just like last time I just knew it. "One of the most dazzling cities ever built."
We all stepped outside into the pouring down rain, "Oh, that's nice. A Time Lords version of dazzling!"
"Oh, I'm getting soaked!" I said agreeing with Martha.
"A bit of rain never hurt anyone. Come on, let's get under cover," the Doctor grabbed my wet hand in his pulling me along.
We were most definitely not in the same part we were in last time. This area was far more run down and just a bit on the dirty side.
"Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me, on a Wednesday afternoon," Martha complained.
"Hold on, hold on, let's have a look," the Doctor walked under an awning to a computer. He pulled out the sonic screwdriver to get it to work."
"…And the driving should be clear and easy, with 15 extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway."
"That's more like it! That's the view we had last time. Remember Harper?"
"No, I have blocked out any and all memories of New Earth."
"Why, what happen?"
"Let's just say I got into a fight with a trampoline with an attitude."
Martha looked confused but the Doctor started talking again stopping her from asking any more questions, "This must be the lower levels. Down at the base of the tower. Some sort of undercity."
"You've brought me to the slums?"
"It could have been worse… I have been to worse," I said after thinking about it for a second.
"Much more interesting. It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city," the Doctor said excitedly.
"You'd enjoy anything," Martha said laughing at him.
"That's me. An, the rain's stopping, better and better!"
We walked out from under the awning and Martha asked, "When you say last time, was that you too?"
"Rose and us, yeah," I said.
"You're taking us to the same planets you've already taken Harper, too?"
"What's wrong with that?" The Doctor asked not sure why that would be a problem.
"Nothing, I guess."
I was about to say something when a stand opened its window and a man looked out, "Oh, you should have said! How long have you been there? Happy, you want happy? Happy."
"Customers, customers!" Another one opened and the woman shouted, "We've got customers!"
"We have business," there were three of them now.
"Happy, happy, lovely happy!"
"Anger, buy some anger!"
"It's mellow, makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long."
"Don't go to them, they'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?"
"No, thanks," the Doctor said before taking my hand.
"Are they selling drugs?" Martha asked.
"I think they're selling moods."
"Same thing, isn't it?" Martha asked, and I had to agree with her on that one.
"Over here, sweetheart!" One of the sellers said to a young girl walking this way.
"Hey you, over here! Over here!" Another one tried.
"Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?"
"I want to buy forget," the young girl said.
"I've got forget, my darling. What strength? How much do you want forgetting?"
"It's my mother and father. They went on the motorway."
'What?' I thought.
'I don't know.'
"Oh, that's a swine. Try this, forget 43; that's 2 credits."
The young girl paid and the seller handed her a patch that said forget 43 on it. She then turned to leave but the Doctor stopped her, "Sorry, but hold on a minute. What happened to your parents?"
"They drove off."
"Yeah, but they might drive back."
"Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them."
"They can't have gone far," I said softly. "You could find them."
"No, no, no don't!" But the Doctor was to later; the young girl put the patch on and instantly looked more calm and happy.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" She asked.
"Your parents, your mother and father, they're on the motorway," the Doctor said slowly trying to understand everything.
"Are they? That's nice. I'm sorry, I won't keep you."
We watched her walk away in confusion.
"So that's the human race five billion years in the future? Off their heads on chemicals," Martha said.
Martha screamed and we turned quickly to see a man hold her with a gun and a woman pointing a gun at us. "Sorry, I'm really sorry. We just need three, that's all," the man said.
"Martha!" I yelled as the Doctor said, "Let her go! I'm warning you!"
"I'm sorry, it's not our fault!" The woman said.
"Whatever you want, I can help. We can help," they were moving away from us, but we tried to get closer. "But first you've got to let her go!"
"Sorry," the woman shut a door in our face and we ran to it quickly. It was stuck so it took a couple of tries and the sonic screwdriver to get it open.
I was so worried about Martha; we had to get to her. We kept running and busted out a door, only to see a hover car take off with Martha inside.
"Martha!" The Doctor yelled as I sank down to me knees. I can't keep losing people like this.
The Doctor's POV
"Come on, Harper. We've got to find Martha," I pulled her up off the ground and saw her watery eyes; my hearts both broke right then and I pulled her in for a tight hug. "Don't worry, Love. I promise you we will find Martha, safe and sound. Okay?"
I felt her nodded her head against my chest. I gave her another tight squeeze and pulled away grabbing her hand.
We made our way back quickly to where we had began. I banged my fist against one of the stand windows, and it opened quickly, "I thought you'd come back. Do you want some happy-happy?"
"Those people, who were they? Where did they take her?" I spat out.
"They've taken her to the motorway," another seller said.
"Looked like carjackers to me."
"I'd give up now, darlings. You won't see her again."
"Used to be thriving, this place. You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."
"He kept on saying three, we need three. What did he mean, three?" Harper asked.
"It's the car-sharing policy, to save fuel. You get special access if you're carrying three adults."
"This motorway, how do we get there?" I asked.
"Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You can't miss it." We started that way when the seller stopped us. "Tell you what, buy some happy-happy. Then you'll be smiling, my loves."
"A word of advice to all of you. Cash up, close down, and pack your bags," I said forcefully.
"Why is that, then?"
"Because as soon as we've found her alive and well, and we will find her alive and well, then I'm coming back. And this street is closing, tonight!" I grabbed Harper's hand pulling her away.
We followed the directions and ended up in an underground motorway of some type. There were millions of cars, all running, in there. Horns were beeping and the cars were barely moving. The exhaust fumes from the cars were making it hard to breath and soon Harper and my self were coughing.
"Hey!" The car, next to the platform we were one, open up and a man yelled out, "You daft little street struts! What are you two doing standing there? Either get out or get in. Come on!" We both ran for the car and he shut the door. "Did you ever see the like?"
"Here you go," a woman said hand me an oxygen mask. I quickly held it up to Harper.
'You need it too,' she thought.
'I will use it in a minute. First you.'
We looked at the man, he took off the scarf he was wearing and we saw he was a cat person. Just like the cat nuns from the hospital.
'He's a cat! He is a CAT! This is going to end up just like before!'
'Well, maybe a little. But he seems nice. And there is a human with him.' I thought referring to the woman in the car.
"They were just standing there, breathing it in. There's this story. It says back in the old days, on junction 47, this woman stood in the exhaust fumes for a solid 20 minutes. By the time they found her, her head had swollen to 50 feet."
"Oh, you're making it up," the woman said with a laugh.
"A 50 foot head. Just think of it. Imagine picking that nose."
"Oh, stop it. That's disgusting."
"What, did you never pick your nose?"
I felt Harper move and looked down at her. She took the mask from my hand and held it up to me. I smiled down at her but we both looked up when then woman said, "Bran, we're moving."
"Right, I'm there. I'm on it." The car moved from just a second before it stopped again. "Twenty yards. We're having a good day. And who might you two be, sir? Very well dressed for a couple of hitchhikers."
"Thanks. Sorry, I'm the Doctor and this is Harper."
"Hello," Harper said with a small wave.
"Medical man? My name's Thomas Kincade Brannigan, and this is the bane of my life, the lovely Valerie."
"Nice to meet you," Valeria said.
"And that's the rest of the family behind you."
Harper and I turned, moving a curtain out of the way, to see kittens. "Oh, that's nice. Hello," I picked one of them up petting it.
"Oh, they are so cute," Harper, said also picking up one of the kittens, "How old are they?"
"Just two months," Valerie said.
"Poor little souls," Brannigan said. "They've never known the ground beneath their paws. Children of the motorway."
"What, they were born in here?" Harper asked.
"We couldn't stop," Valerie explained. "We heard there were jobs going, out in the laundries on Fire Island. Thought we'd take a chance."
"You've been driving for 2 months?" I asked.
"Do I look like a teenager? We've been driving for 12 years now."
"Sorry," both Harper and I said.
"Yeah, started out as newlyweds. Feels like yesterday."
"Feels like 12 years to me," Valeria said with a laugh.
"Ah, sweetheart, but you still love me."
"Twelve years? How far did you come? Where did you start?" I asked.
"Battery park. It's five mile back."
"You travelled five miles in 12 years?" Harper asked. "I can walk five miles faster than that."
"I think they're a bit slow."
I set the kitten I was hold down as Valeria asked, "Where are you from?"
"Never mind that. We've got to get out! Our friend's in one of these cars; she was taken hostage. I should get back to the TARDIS." But when I opened to door I was hit by the fumes and started coughing again.
Harper pulled me back in, shutting the door and Brannigan said, "You're too late for that. We've passed the lay-by. You two are passengers now, sonny Jim."
"When's the next lay-by?" Harper asked.
"Oh, six months."
I looked at Harper and saw a look of panic flash in her eyes. This was not good.
Harper's POV
I was going to kill the Doctor; we were stuck inside a car with Martha in a different car, most likely in trouble. I knew he was worried about Martha and that was making it hard for him to concentrate.
"They seem to like you. Do you have kids?" Valeria asked me as I played with the kittens.
"No, I just love kids," I said with a laugh.
"Well, you would make a good mother."
"Thanks, but I… I don't think that's in the future for me. We all make chooses, some just lead to these ends."
She looked confused and I saw the Doctor look at me out of the corner of his eye. He looked sad but I ignored it because now was not the time to talk about this.
"I need to talk to the police," the Doctor said into an intercom system, getting back to the problem.
"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold." The system said back to him.
"You're the police!"
"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."
"Is there anyone else? I once met the duke of Manhattan. Is there anyway of getting through to him?" The Doctor asked, turning back to Brannigan and Valeria.
"Oh, now, ain't you lordly?" Brannigan said with a laugh.
"I've got to find our friend!"
"You can't make outside calls," Valeria explained. "The motorway's completely enclosed."
"What about the other cars?" I offered.
"We've got contact with them, yeah. Well, some of them anyway. They've got to be on you friend's list," Brannigan leaded forward to make the call. "Now, lets' see, who's near by? Ah, the Cassini Sisters! Be still your hears, my handsome girls. It's Brannigan here."
"Get off the line, Brannigan. You're a pest and a menace," We all heard over the speaker.
"Come on now, sisters, is that anyway to talk to an old friend?"
"You know full well we're not sisters. We're married."
"Ooh! Stop that modern talk; I'm an old fashioned cat. Now, I've got a hitchhiker here, calls himself the Doctor."
"Hello, sorry, I'm looking for someone called Martha Jones. She's been carjacked. She's inside one of these vehicles, but I don't know which one."
"Wait a minute. Could I ask what entrance did they use?"
"Where were we?" The Doctor asked Brannigan.
"Pharmacy Town."
"Pharmacy Town," the Doctor told the Sisters. "About 20 minutes ago."
"Let's have a look," one of the woman said when the other complained, "just my luck to marry a car-spotter."
"In the last half hour, 53 new cars joined from the Pharmacy Town junction."
"Anything more specific?" The Doctor asked.
"All in good time. Was she carjacked by 2 people?'
"Yes, she was. Yeah."
"There we are! Just one of those cars was destined for the fast lane. That means they had three on board. And the car number is 4-6-5-diamond-6."
"That's it! So how do we find them?"
"Ah, now there I'm afraid I can't help," she said.
"We can call them on this thing," I said. "We've got their number, diamond-6."
"Not if they're designated fast lane. It's a different class," Brannigan explained.
"You could try the police," one of the Cassini Sisters said.
"They put me on hold."
"You'll have to keep trying. There's no one else."
"Thank you," the Doctor said before hanging up. He grabbed my hand and I knew he was running out of ideas.
"We've got to go to the fast lane," the Doctor said after a couple of minutes of no talking. "Take us down."
"Not in a million years," Brannigan said immediately.
"You've got four passengers."
"I'm still not going."
"She's alone and she's lost. She doesn't even belong on this planet, and it's all my fault. I'm asking you, Brannigan, take us down."
"That's a no, and that's final. I'm not risking the children down there," Valeria said firmly.
"Why not?" I asked. "What's the risk? What happens down there?"
"We're not discussing it. The conversation is closed," Valeria said ending the debate.
"So we keep on driving?" The Doctor said.
"Yes, we do."
"For how long?"
"Till the journey's end," Brannigan said.
The Doctor grabbed the intercom again, "Mrs. Cassini, this is the Doctor. Tell me, how long have you been driving on the motorway?"
"Oh, we were amongst the first. It's been 23 years now."
"And in all that time, have you ever seen a police car?"
"I'm not sure," Mrs. Cassini sounded a little nervous.
"Look at your notes. Any police?"
"Not as such."
"Or an ambulance? Rescue service? Anything official, ever?" The Doctor was pushing; this was not going to end well.
"I can't keep a note of everything."
"What if there's no one out there?"
"Stop it," Brannigan pulled the intercom away from the Doctor. "The Cassinis were doing you a favor."
"Someone's got to ask," I said and then the Doctor added, "'Cause you might not talk about it, but it's there, in your eyes. What if the traffic jam never stops?"
"There's a whole city above us," Brannigan said. "The mighty city state of New New York. They wouldn't just leave us."
"In that case, where are they? Hmm? What if there's no help coming, not ever? What if there's nothing? Just the motorway? With the cars going round and round and round, never stopping? Forever!"
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Valeria screamed.
"This is Sally Calypso, and it's that time again," the monitor in the front of the car came on and a woman appeared on the screen. "The sun is blazing high in the sky over the New Atlantic. The perfect settling for the daily contemplation."
"You think you know us so well, you two. We are not abandoned. Not while we have each other."
"This is for all of you out there on the roads. We're so sorry, drive safe," Sally Calypso, said and then the song 'Old Rugged Cross' started to play. Brannigan and Valeria started to sing along, but the Doctor and I stayed quite. I noticed something on the floor of the car and tapped the Doctor on the shoulder showing it to him.
The Doctor's POV
Once the singing stopped I started my plan, "If you won't take me, I'll go there on my own." I went to the door on the floor of the car that Harper had showed me.
"What do you think you're doing?" Brannigan asked.
"Finding our own way," Harper said. "We usually do."
'Capsule open,' rang out in the car as I opened the door.
'Stay here, Harper. It's safer for you.'
'Yeah, that's not going to happen.' She thought back and I let out a sigh.
'No convincing to stay is there?'
'Nope.'
"Here we go. Look after this," the Doctor took off his jacket and tossed it to Valeria. "I love that coat. Janis Joplin gave me that coat."
"But you can't jump."
"If it's any consolation, Valerie, right now I'm having kittens."
"This Martha, she must mean an awful lot to both of you," Brannigan said.
"Hardly know her. I was too busy showing off. And I lied to her. I couldn't help it, just lied. Bye, then!" Then the Doctor dropped down out of the car.
"He's completely insane," Valeria said.
"That, and a bit magnificent."
"Yep, he is both of those things and more," I said and quickly took my own jacket off. "Well, see you two later." And with that I dropped out of the car, following the Doctor.
The Doctor's POV
I catch Harper as she jumped down onto the car. We were both coughing horrible so I quickly opened the car letting Harper jump in first.
"Who the hell are you?" The drive asked. He was very pale and wearing a white suit. In fact the entire car was white and covered in bubble wrap.
"Sorry, motorway foot patrol," Harper said as I worked on the bottom door. "We're doing a survey. How are you enjoying your motorway?"
"Well, not very much. Junction 5's been closed for 5 years."
"Thank you, your comments have been noted," I said getting ready to jump. "Have a nice day!"
Both of us jumped down to the next car and started it all over again, this time it was two women, with an interesting taste of clothing.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Your comments have been noted. Do you mind if we borrow this?" I took two bandannas, a pink one for Harper and a purple one for myself. "Not my color, but thank you very much!" We tied the bandannas to cover our noses and months, and then jumped down onto the next car.
The next car had a man and a woman in it. Both without clothes on, "Oh, don't mind us." I quickly got the door opened and we jumped out with Harper laughing the whole time. She thought something about me being awkward with humans showing too much skin, but I just ignored her.
Then we entered a car that was complete red, including the driver. When just kept going, talking less and less to the people in the cars. We were getting close to the end. We finally made it to the last layer before the fast lane and entered quickly, as the bandannas weren't doing any good now.
"Excuse me! Is that legal?" The driver, a man in a black pinstriped suit and a bowler hat, asked.
"Sorry, motorway foot patrol. Whatever," I said giving up on that story. I looked at Harper and saw she was on the ground coughing. "Have you got any water?"
"Certainly," I got a small cup of water for both Harper and I. "Never let it be said I've lost my manners."
"Is this the last layer?" I asked.
"We're right at the bottom. Nothing below us but the fast lane."
"Can we drive down? There are three of us."
"No, there's only two. I think I'm going to die right here in this car," Harper said very dramatically.
'You're being a bit dramatic there, love.'
'But it's true!'
'You can't die. Did you forget that?' She didn't answer back but I saw a small pout form on her face. I let out a small chuckle before turning back to the driver.
"So can we go down?"
"I would rather not," he said nervously.
"Okay then," I went over to the door moving Harper foot out of the way and opened it up.
"You can't jump its 1,000 feet down," the driver said.
"No, I just want a look. What's that noise?"
"I try not to think about it."
"What are those lights?" Harper asked.
"What's down there? I just need to see." I went to the computer and started to work on it. "There must be some sort of ventilation. If I could just transmit a pulse through this thing, I could trip the system. Give us a bit of a breeze. That's it! Might shift the fumes a bit. Give us a good look."
"Doctor?" Harper said finally getting up and looking down below.
"What are those shapes?" The driver asked looking down also.
"They're alive," Harper said.
"What are they?"
"Macra," I answered. "The Macra used to be the scourge of this galaxy. Gas, they feed off gas, the filthier, the better. They built up a small empire using humans as slaves and mining gas for food."
"They don't exactly look like empire-builders," the driver said.
"Well, that was billions of years ago. Billions. They must have devolved down the years. Now they're just beasts. But they're still hungry, and my friend's down there."
Someone started to cut the door above and the driver said, "It's like New Times Square in here. For goodness sake."
"I've invented a sport!"
A cat nun jumped down holding a gun, "Doctor! You're a hard man to find."
"No guns! I'm not having guns!" The Driver cried.
"I only brought this in case of pirates. Doctor, you've got to come with me."
"Do I know you?"
"You haven't aged at all. Time has been less kind to me," the nun said.
"Novice Hame!" I pulled her in for a big hug but then pushed her away. "Whoa, hold on. Get off! Last time we met, you were breeding humans for experimentation."
"Ugh, this is just like last time," Harper complained.
"I've sought forgiveness, Doctor, for so many years under his guidance. And if you come with me, I might finally be able to redeem myself."
"He's not going anywhere!" Harper said coming over beside me. "You've got Macra living underneath this city. Macra!"
"If our friend's still alive," I continued, "she's stuck down there!"
"You've got to come with me right now!"
"No, you're coming with me," I told her. "We're got more than three passengers."
"I'm sorry, Doctor, but the situation is even worse than you can imagine. Transport."
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare!"
Novice Hame grabbed my arm and at the last minute I felt Harper grabbed my other arm. We were transported away.
Harper's POV
"Oh, I hate teleports," I said. "That was rough."
I knew the Doctor was mad by the look on his face, "You can go straight back down and teleport people out, starting with Martha!"
"I only had the power for one trip."
"Then get some more! Where are we?"
I felt something was off with this place and as the Doctor and Novice Hame talked I walked around.
"High above, in the overcity."
"Good, 'cause you can tell the Senate of New New York I'd like a word." The Doctor said, "They have got thousands of people trapped on the motorway! Millions!"
"This is the Senate," I said and Novice Hame turned on the lights saying, "May the goddess Santori bless, thee. They died, Doctor. They city died."
Everywhere we could see skeletons of the Senate, everyone there was dead.
"How long has it been like this?"
"24 years."
"All of them? Everyone? What happened?"
"A new chemical, a new mood. They called it 'bliss'. Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished. Even the virus in the end. It killed the world in seven minutes flat. There was just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the undercity. Those people on the motorway aren't lost, Doctor. They were saved."
I walked around the corner and stopped at what I saw, "Jack?"
'It's been a long time since I heard that name.' I smiled running forward to Jack… well the Face of Boe now.
"Jack, it is you." I hugged the glass tank he was in, so happy to see him again. "I've missed you."
'And I you, my dear petal. You look as pretty as the day we first met. Although, the green hair is a bit different.'
I laughed through my tears, "You think? It's kinda growing on me. I think I will keep it."
'You should. It suits you.'
"So the whole thing down there is running on automatic," I heard the Doctor say.
"There's not enough power to get them out. We did all we could to stop the system from choking."
"Who's we? How did you survive?"
"He protected me. And he has waited for you these long years."
"You're a good man Jack Harkness." I said as Jack called out to the Doctor.
'Doctor.'
"The Face of Boe!" The Doctor cried as he came around the corner seeing us and immediately coming over. "Harper, you know the Face of Boe?"
"Yes, we are old friends."
'I knew you would come,' Jack said.
"But in the old days, I was made his nurse, as penance for my sin," Novice Hame said.
"Old friend, what happened to you?" The Doctor asked.
'A failing.'
"He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke. But with no one to maintain it, the city's power died. The undercity would have fallen into the sea."
"So he saved them," I said proudly.
"The Face of Bow wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running."
"But there are planets out there. You could have called for help," the Doctor said.
"The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe," Novice Hame explained. "The automatic quarantine lasts for 100 years."
"So the two of you stayed here. On your own all these years."
"We had no choice."
"Yes, you did," the Doctor said.
'Save them, Doctor. Save them.'
I looked at the Doctor and he looked back at me, both of us giving a nod knowing we had to do it.
"Car 4-6-5-diamond-6, it still registers," I said looking at the screen.
"That's Martha," point at me. "I knew she was good. Novice Hame, hold that in place. Take the residual energy, convert it, feed it through the electricity system."
"But there isn't enough power," Novice Hame said.
"Oh ye of little faith. We have power! We have him," I said pointing to the Doctor.
"I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch. Harper, every switch on that bank up to maximum!" I quickly got to work on what the Doctor said. "I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people."
"So what are you going to do?"
"This!" The Doctor flipped a switch but nothing happened. "No, no, no, no, no, no! The transformers are blocked. The signal can't get through!"
'Doctor.'
"Yeah, hold on, not now."
I ran over to Jack afraid of what he was about to do. 'I give you my last…'
Everything started up and the Doctor yelled, "Hame, look after him! Don't you go dying on my, you big old face. You've got to see this. The open road. Ha!"
The Doctor then got on the intercom system saying, "Sorry, no Sally Calypso, she was just a hologram. My name's the Doctor, and this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now. I've opened the roof of the motorway. Come on, throttle those engines, drive up. All of you, the whole undercity, drive up. Drive up, drive up! We've got to clear that fast lane. Drive up and get out of the way. Oi, car 4-6-5-diamond-6. Martha! Drive up. You've got access above, now go!"
I then heard Brannigan's voice, "did I tell you, Doctor, you're not bad, sir? You're not bad at all."
The Doctor walked up to a window looking out of the cars fly around. "You keep driving, Brannigan. All the way up. 'Cause it's here, just waiting for you. The city of New New York, and it's yours. And don't forget, I want that coat back."
"I reckon that's a fair bargain, sir."
"Car 4-6-5-diamond-6, I've sent you a flight path, come to the Senate."
"On my way!" Martha sounded over the system.
I smiled loving hearing her voice; I knew she was safe now.
"Quite a while since I saw you, Martha Jones."
"Doctor!" Novice Hame and I called. The Face of Boe's tank was cracking.
"Doctor?" We heard Martha calling.
"Over here," he said quietly.
"Doctor! What happened out there?" She came around the corner and stopped, not that I came blame her. I was crying holding onto a giant head with the Doctor next to me while on the other side sat a cat nun. Not something you see everyday. "What's that?" She asked pointing to Jack.
"It's the Face of Boe. It's all right, come say hello. And this is Hame. She's a cat, don't worry. He's the one that saved you, not me."
"My Lord gave his life to save the city. And now he's dying."
'You can't leave just yet Jack. I just got you back,' I cried in my mind to where only Jack could hear me.
'It is time, my dear petal. But don't worry, this won't be the last time you see me.'
"No, don't say that. Not old Boe, plenty of life left," the Doctor said not wanting he to go also.
'It's good to breathe the air once more,' Jack thought to the group.
"Who is he?"
"I don't even know," the Doctor said. "Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now."
'Everything has its time. You know that, old friend, better than most.'
"The legend says more."
"Don't," the Doctor warned Novice Hame. "There's no need for that."
But Novice Hame ignored him, "It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveler."
"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?"
'I have seen so much. Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor.'
I took a hold of the Doctor's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"That's why we have to survive. Both of us. Don't go."
'I must, but know this, Time Lord. You are not alone.'
And with that Jack was gone. Both Novice Hame and I broke down crying. I laid my head down on Jack crying hard. But soon felt the Doctor pulling me in a hugged to which I accepted willingly. Martha soon came over and put a hand on my shoulder and no one said anything.
The Doctor's POV
Martha, Harper, and myself made our way back to Pharmacy Town after leaving the Senate. I was worried about Harper and kept a tight grip on her hand. The lost of the Face of Boe was hard on her, but I'm not sure why. We walked to where the mood sellers were only to find no one.
"All closed down."
"Happy?" Martha asked with a laugh.
"Happy-happy," I said laughing back. "New New York can start again. And they've got Novice Hame.
"Just what every city needs, cats in charge," Harper said.
"Come on, time we were off," I said leading the way to the TARDIS.
"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe? You are not alone?" Martha asked.
"I don't know."
"You've got me and Harper. Is that what he meant?"
I gave her a small smile for trying, "I don't think so, sorry."
"Then what?"
"Doesn't matter, back to the TARDIS, off we go." I turned to leave but stopped when Harper pulled back on my hand. I looked back only to see Martha sitting on a chair watching me with her arms crossed. "Right, are you staying?"
"Till you talk to me properly, yes. He said, 'last of your kind.' What does that mean?"
"It really doesn't matter."
"You don't talk. You never say, why not?" She stopped talking when we heard singing. The 'Old Rugged Cross' could be heard everywhere. "It's the city. They're singing."
I felt Harper let go of my hand and watch as she picked up another chair to sit beside Martha.
'Harper?'
'She deserves to know.'
I gave a sigh then follow their lead by grabbing a chair sitting down in front of them. "I lied to you. 'Cause I liked it. I could pretend. Just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive. Underneath a burnt orange sky. I'm not just a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong, there's no one else."
"What happened?" Martha asked as Harper grabbed my hand in comfort.
"There was a war. A Time War. The last great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation, and they lost. They lost, everyone lost. They're all gone now, my family, my friends, even that sky. You should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver. When they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, a breeze would blow through the branches. It sounded like a song…"
We stayed like that for a while, both girls just listening to me. I haven't talked that much about Gallifrey in a long time. It felt good to talk about it again. Maybe having Martha Jones around was not the worst thing in the whole world.
So what did you all think? Sorry again for how short it was! I still hope you guys liked it. Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think. Until next time my dear fellow Whovians!
