The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday – Chapter 47
A/N: And here's the final part of Smith and Jones. We have the infamous kissing scene between the Doctor and Martha in this chapter. Of course, that all depends on whether the Doctor actually kisses Martha in this rewrite ;)
And I have a note about character bashing that I'd just like to say (only because it's arisen in my other story). I try and treat all of the characters equally, especially in this story, because Rhea's sort of an all around character. But if you feel like I'm being particularly mean to one character, please let me know.
Replies to Reviews:
dream lighting: Thank you so much for your review!
TheGirlWhoLives: Thanks so much. The problem is I've been out of touch with writing ever since university started again. So, I haven't had the chance to write anything in 2 weeks which is really annoying. I'm trying my hardest to get back into it, but it's starting to get to me.
SpeckledLily: Thank you so much! I try and be as realistic as possible when it comes to describing everyone. I try and put their best and worst points. And you know, they kind of mention it in Doctor Who itself with Matt Smith, like his eyebrows and his chin. And he is very lanky and awkward, but I don't know, 11 kind of suits Rhea in this way. She's very collected and he's very goofy around her. So, thanks for appreciating that. I didn't want anyone to seem perfect :)
NicoleR85: I think so too, of course, she could always be incredibly traumatised by Rose's loss that she doesn't say anything, but who knows?
Guest: I'm glad you're so into the story :) I haven't worked out what I'm going to do for Doomsday just yet. Who knows :)
Marmalade1512: I did mention Damian in a very early chapter, of course, I forget which one. Hopefully, he can make an appearance in the future :) I haven't quite decided if the Doctor will blame Rhea or not. I think it would be interesting if he did, just to see what the fallout is.
grapejuice101: Thank you so much! I like to add a Docthea moment every chapter if I can. I am really excited for the 23rd. I have it saved onto my phone just in case I forget :)
The-Smart-Nerdy-Type: Thank you so much!
BAMM. It'sSydney: I am definitely planning on doing Day of the Doctor. I haven't decided when of course, but definitely. It's Rhea's ideal fantasy, of course, it's missing the 9th Doctor. But with the frequency that the Doctors end up meeting each other, I might do an original chapter with 9, 10, 11 and Rhea. Human Nature... I don't want to give a lot away about those chapters. It's going to be a long two episodes, I can promise you that. And very important and coming soon, I promise.
BloodyBlondeVamp: Thank you so much! I wouldn't mind giving a second opinion if you needed one. But, a warning, I get really busy, so don't stress if you don't hear from me in a few days :)
DRWfangirl: Oh, well, I'm South Indian, so pretty much anything north of Bangalore or Chennai is exotic for me. I do like Bollywood references because I don't believe Rhea would be the Indian to completely forget that she's Indian. About what happened to her, that's a long story for another day :)
PrincessMagic: Thank you so much!
Warnings: Flirting, sweetness, kissing.
Smith and Jones: Barely Breathing
The motorcycle man launched himself at the door a final time and the door fell to the floor flat, the motorcycle man standing tall in the doorway.
"Now!" The Doctor shouted.
Rhea cursed and grabbed Martha's hand, slamming both of their hands onto a big yellow button in the centre of the control panel. "Good as a choice as any!"
The entire room flashed black and white, the Doctor's skeleton visible as the radiation struck right through him, the motorcycle man flashing with no bones, just solid bones, and then everything was back to normal. The motorcycle man toppled over, stiff as a board, and fell to reveal the sign 'X-RAY DEPARTMENT' behind it.
There was absolute silence in the room. Martha shook, still scared, from behind the partition that blocked the x-ray room from the control room, while Rhea looked at the Doctor, warily.
"… What did you do?" Martha asked, worriedly.
"Increased the radiation by 5000%. Killed him dead." The Doctor explained.
Rhea frowned. "Won't that kill you?"
"Nah," The Doctor scoffed. "It's only Rontgen radiation, we used to play with Rontgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe for you both to come out, I've absorbed it all."
Martha and Rhea stepped out of the control room, slowly, as the Doctor began to shake and shudder, doing some sort of twitching dance.
"All I need to do is expel it, say, if I concentrate and shift the radiation out of my body and into one spot… say, my left shoe," The Doctor began to wave his left foot back and forth. "Ooh! Ah! There we go, easy does it! Out, out, out, ooh, that itches, ow, ouch, hold on!" He yanked off his shoe and sock and shoved it in a yellow, plastic-lined waste bin. "Done!" He exclaimed, triumphantly.
There was a pause from the two women, both of them not sure of what to say. "You're completely mad." Martha said, disbelievingly.
The Doctor stared at her, strangely, and then nodded. "You're right, I look daft with one shoe." The Doctor whipped off his second shoe and sock, throwing them into the bin. "Barefoot on the Moon!" The Doctor said, wiggling his toes.
Rhea rolled her eyes and moved over to him, carefully slotting herself into his arms, making sure she didn't step on his feet. His arms came around her, wrapping around her waist, and he kissed her hair.
"So what's that thing, where's he from, the Planet Zovirax?" Martha asked, sarcastically.
The Doctor pulled Rhea along with him and the two knelt beside the motorcycle man. "Just a Slab, they're called Slabs. Basic slave drones, d'you see..." The Doctor reached out and squeezed its arm. "Solid leather, all the way through. Someone's got one hell of a fetish." He muttered. He stood up and went over to the x-ray camera, removing the burnt-out sonic from where he had jammed it in.
"But it was that woman, Miss Finnegan, it was working for her." Martha explained.
"My sonic screwdriver!" The Doctor cried out, mournfully. Rhea bit her lip and patted him on the arm, comfortingly. He held it up for her to see, clearly, a singed rod at the end.
"She was one of the patients, but... Mr Stoker, she killed him." Martha continued.
"It burnt out the sonic screwdriver!" The Doctor complained.
"She had this straw, like some sort of vampire-"
But, the Doctor wouldn't allow her to continue. "I love my sonic screwdriver!" The Doctor whinged to Rhea, who rubbed his back.
"Doctor!" Martha exclaimed
Rhea stared, pointedly, at Martha. "She's trying to tell us something important, honey. You might wanna listen."
"Sorry." The Doctor said, apologetically, and threw the sonic screwdriver over his shoulder in a random direction, not knowing where it fell. He grinned, delightedly, at Martha. "You called me Doctor." He grinned, barely holding back a smirk of triumph.
"Anyway!" Martha glared at him. "Miss Finnegan is the alien, she was drinking Mr Stoker's blood."
"If I were her, I'd be hiding." Rhea mused.
The Doctor nodded. "Funny time to take a snack, unless…" The Doctor's eyes widened, comically, and he shook his head. "No! Yes! That's it! Wait a minute... Yes!" He exclaimed, triumphantly. "Shape-changer, internal shape-changer! She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it." He practically bounced on his feet.
Rhea frowned. "You mean, if she drinks Mr Stoker's blood, she'll register as human on the Judoon's scanners?"
The Doctor nodded and grinned at her. "You are so brilliant." He gushed, kissing her on the top of the head. "We've got to find her, and show the Judoon, come on!"
He grabbed Rhea's and Martha's hand and they ran out of the x-ray room, only to stop in the corridor when they saw another Slab turning, carefully, from side to side, as though looking for something in particular, further down the corridor. The three could guess that they were the 'something particular' and moved, quickly and quietly, so that they were crouching behind a trolley. They waited until the Slab had walked off, even then still tense, making sure the Slab was at a good distance.
"That's the thing about Slabs, they always travel in pairs." The Doctor muttered.
"And what about you two?" Martha asked, looking at the Doctor and Rhea.
Rhea frowned. "What about us?"
"Haven't you got back-up? You must have a crew or a gang or something."
"Humans!" The Doctor scoffed, shaking his head. "We're stuck on the Moon, running out of air, with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, and you're asking personal questions?" He grimaced.
Rhea nudged him in the elbow. "Humans?" She raised an eyebrow.
The Doctor grinned down at her. "You're the exception that proves the rule, Beautiful." He started to rise up, cautiously, stepping out from behind the trolley.
"Oh I like that, 'Humans'! I'm still not convinced you're an alien-" Martha muttered.
The Doctor and Rhea stepped out right in front of three Judoon. The Judoon in the front held up his scanner, shining a light on the Doctor's forehead. There was a sound.
"Non-human!" The Judoon growled.
Rhea smacked her forehead. "Oh, great." She muttered.
Martha paled. "Oh, my God, you really are!" She whispered, disbelievingly.
The Doctor sighed and grabbed both Martha's and Rhea's hand. "And again."
The three of them started to run. Rhea looked back to see the Judoon, standing just where they were and lifting up their guns to point at the three escapees, three streams of vicious red erupting from the barrels. Rhea yanked the Doctor and Martha and ducked left, onto a stairwell, as the red beams shot right past them, just missing them by inches, hearing the explosion at the far end of the corridor, where the beams hit. The Judoon started to stomp after them in pursuit, their lumbering bodies taking them longer to come after them.
The Doctor, Martha and Rhea ran up and up and up, desperate. They reached Floor 6, charging through the corridors, after locking the door behind them, the Judoon following them up the stairwell. They came onto a corridor, where people were now leaning against the walls of the corridors, a huge number of them clinging onto oxygen tanks, breathing in deep, a few of the couples swapping the tanks between them, sharing a mask, but there was no sign of the Judoon.
"They've done this floor." The Doctor looked around, seeing the X's marked on peoples' wrists. "The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already." Rhea narrowed her eyes at him. "If we're lucky." He amended.
Rhea groaned. "When are we ever lucky, honey?"
They ran down the corridor, dodging collapsing people. But Martha stopped, suddenly, kneeling beside her friend, Julia, who was helping a woman with the oxygen tank.
"How much oxygen is there?" Martha asked her friend, worriedly.
Julia shook her head, mournfully. "Not enough for all these people, we're gonna run out."
The Doctor frowned and looked at Rhea. "How are you going?" He asked her, lowly.
Rhea smiled, wryly. "I can hold my breath for pretty long." She patted him on the shoulder. "And I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot." She looked at Martha. "No offence." She offered.
"None taken." Martha shrugged.
They both looked down at Martha. "How do you feel, are you okay?" Rhea asked, worriedly.
Martha smiled and nodded. "Running on adrenaline." She offered.
Rhea and the Doctor grinned. "Welcome to my world." They said, at the same time, and grinned at each other.
"What about the Judoon?" Martha asked.
The Doctor frowned and looked around. "Great big lung reserves, it's not gonna slow them down, where's Mr Stoker's office?" He asked Martha.
"This way." Martha gestured and they ran in the direction of the doctor's office.
The Doctor knelt beside Mr Stoker's corpse, examining the body. The man was wide-eyed in death, a pin-prick, which was bloodstained, marred his neck.
"Drained him dry. Every last drop. I was right, she's a Plasmavore." The Doctor said, grimly.
"So, what's she doing on Earth?" Rhea asked, confused.
"Hiding, on the run, like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro."
"Who's that?" Rhea asked.
Martha and the Doctor looked at her. "The Great Train Robbery?" They asked her.
Rhea stared at them, strangely. "Am I supposed to know what that is?"
The Doctor shook his head. "Sometimes, I wonder what you learnt in your doctorate."
"Hey, watch it, alien boy." Rhea threatened. "And, besides, this is coming from the guy who doesn't even know who Radiohead is."
The Doctor rolled his eyes and stood up. "But what's she doing now? She's still not safe, the Judoon could execute us all, come on."
The Doctor started to run out of the room, but Martha stepped forward. "Wait a minute." She murmured. And she knelt down beside Mr Stoker and reached out, gently closing the man's eyes. She stood and turned around, watching the Doctor and Rhea look at her, softly, respecting her for that.
The Doctor, Rhea and Martha ran out into the corridor outside Mr Stoker's office, the Doctor's eyes shifting, madly, as his mind raced a mile a minute.
"Think, think, think, if I was a wanted Plasmavore, surrounded by police, what would I do?" The Doctor looked around and stopped. "Uh oh…" He stared at the sign at the far end, including an arrow towards the MRI Department. "She's as clever as me." He muttered. "Almost."
There was a crash from the opposite direction and they looked around, wondering where and how far the Judoon were. The Doctor tensed and looked at Martha, his eyes dark.
"Martha, I need time, stay here, you've got to hold them up." The Doctor said, urgently.
Martha frowned up at him, confused. "How do I do that?"
"Just forgive me for this." The Doctor said, quickly. "It could save a thousand lives. And it means nothing, honestly, nothing." He turned to Rhea, who was staring at him with that same amount of confusion. "Rhea," He looked at her, his eyes earnest. "It means absolutely nothing."
Then, the Doctor leaned down and pressed his lips against Martha's for a few moments, much to Rhea's and Martha's shock.
Rhea paled and looked away as he kissed Martha, feeling a slight hurtful ache blossoming deep in her ribs. It hurt Rhea, for a reason she wasn't willing to consider in depth, that the Doctor was kissing Martha. She didn't know why, maybe it had something to do with the fact that she had yet to see the Doctor, any of them, kiss someone that wasn't her, at least on the lips. She thought he only did that with her. Apparently not. She thought, mournfully, her dark eyes raking over the Doctor and Martha. She started to get angry at herself. There was no reason why the Doctor shouldn't kiss anyone he wanted. She had just kissed River on the Byzantium, hadn't she? That would be a double standard, saying that she was allowed to kiss anyone she wanted, but the Doctor could only kiss her. And she didn't believe in double standards. The Doctor could kiss anyone he wanted, she didn't own him, he wasn't hers in any way, and she didn't deserve to be his. So that's that. She thought, her words sounding stronger than her actual mental makeup. She refused to call the pain in her chest anything like jealousy or possessiveness or some stupid emotion like that. She was probably just irritated at the inopportune timing. Yeah, I like that, irritated. We should be running, he shouldn't be kissing a pretty girl, while we're in mortal danger.
The Doctor broke away, already hating himself for what he had just done. He didn't even need to look over at Rhea to see how hurt she was, even if she kept her face blank of any emotion. He cursed the situation for needing that particular event to happen and grabbed Rhea's hand, tugging her in the opposite direction, towards the MRI sign.
The Doctor didn't wait long after he found an abandoned side-corridor, pulling her inside, breaking their journey.
"What are you doing?" Rhea asked, carefully, not knowing how to act around him anymore after what she had just seen. She couldn't even bring herself to hate Martha. She knew Martha and the Martha she knew didn't have romantic feelings for the Doctor. At least, as far as she knew. But, she didn't want to hate Martha. She liked Martha. She would just have to suck it up and deal with the possible romance between the two if it happened. I don't own him. She reminded herself again, ignoring the small voice screaming in her mind that she did, in fact, own him, just as much as he owned her.
The Doctor looked at her, intensely. "It meant nothing, Rhea. Absolutely nothing." He reminded her.
Rhea looked away, uncomfortably, not willing for him to see anything that might give her away. "Look… whatever you do with girls is none of my business and I'm not gonna pretend that it is-"
The Doctor leaned down and slanted his mouth over hers, hard. His hand curved around her hip and he arched her body into his, her lips parting under his. Her hand came up to slide into his hair, digging into his scalp, pleasurably, and she nipped at his lower lip, resisting the urge to whimper. I'll let him kiss me, but I won't let him see how much the kiss affects me. She tried to reassure herself. The Doctor's grip tightened around her waist and he pulled away, pressing his lips against her hair, briefly, taking in the scent of jasmine.
"Now, that… that meant everything. It always does." The Doctor said, softly,
He leaned down and kissed her on the lips once again, this time, his lips moving over hers all soft and heartfelt and meaning so many things like you're beautiful and let's stay here forever and have everything you want. So many sentiments ran through her mind and for the first time in six years, Rhea actually mourned the loss of the girl she had used to be. The Rhea that would have let him love her. Let him have every part of her that he wanted. That Rhea would have given into him anytime he wanted and would have let herself fall for him again and again, until she didn't know how she had ever gotten by with him. But she wasn't that Rhea anymore. This Rhea, in front of the Doctor at this precise moment, was hard, she was cold. She had built this icy shell around her and lined the walls of her heart with barbed wire, determined to not get hurt again. And she wouldn't let him in. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much she wanted to. She couldn't let him in.
Rhea chewed on her lower lip, resisting the urge to say whatever it was that she wanted to say, and the Doctor grabbed her hand, the two rushing down another long, echoing corridor, skidding to a halt suddenly. Right in front of them was the door to the MRI room, the edges flickering with the light that signified the radiation was turned on.
The Doctor and Rhea ran into the MRI room, which was practically humming with power, the flickering blue light of electricity stemming from the MRI machine, like occasional arcs of blue lightning coursing around it. In the sealed off observation booth, Florence Finnegan was standing with armfuls of wiring, rebuilding the entire thing.
The Doctor squeezed Rhea's hand and stepped forwards. "Have you seen?! There are these things, these great big Space Rhino things, I mean, Rhinos from space, and we're on the Moon! Big space Rhinos, with guns! On the Moon!" The Doctor exclaimed, his eyes wide and his voice a mix of awe of horror, attempting to play the quintessential human who was stunned and shocked by what was going on in the hospital. Rhea chanced a look at the Doctor and decided to just go along with it. "I only came in for my bunions!" He gestured to his bare feet. "Look! I mean, all fixed now, perfectly good treatment, and the nurses were lovely, I said to my wife, Sunehri," The Doctor motioned the silent Rhea at his side. "I'd recommend this place to anyone, but then we end up on the Moon! And did I mention the Rhinos?!"
"Hold him." Florence snapped at one of the motorcycle men, who was previously hidden from their sight.
"No!" Rhea shouted and her foot lashed out to stop the motorcycle man, ready to disable him if need be.
But despite her skill, he managed to use his own brute strength against her and grabbed her by the head, shoving her into the wall and she hit her head against the wall, slumping against it as her eyes fell shut. The motorcycle man grabbed a hold of the Doctor, as he struggled in the grip. He pinned the Doctor's arms behind his back.
"No! Let me go!" The Doctor roared, gritting his teeth, as he stared at Rhea's limp body, half leaning against the wall and half on the linoleum floor. Thoughts of concussion all the way to brain injury swarmed through his head and he struggled all the more in the Slab's grip.
Martha was standing right in the middle of the corridor, steeling herself, as the Judoon appeared from around the corner, charging towards her.
"Now listen, I know who you're looking for, and she's this woman, she calls herself Florence-"
But the Judoon weren't listening to her and the captain raised his device, the blue light shining across Martha's forehead. "Human!" He grunted. But, then there was another off-key sound coming from the device. "Wait! Partial Non Human!"
All of the Judoon raised their guns, aiming them at Martha, and she flinched, scared. The Captain shone the device on her mouth, where the Doctor had kissed her. The same off-key sound blared out.
"Non Human element confirmed! Authorise full scan!" The Judoon captain grunted. He reached out and shoved Martha against the wall, one meaty paw pinning her against the wall by her neck.
The Judoon clustered around Martha and shone their scanners on her.
"What are you? What are you?" The Judoon captain grunted.
Martha flinched away from them, pressing her head against the wall, and gritted her teeth against her discomfort, knowing that the Doctor and Rhea needed this time.
The Doctor pretended to be all scared and helpless, the whole time sneaking worried looks at Rhea's unconscious body, while he was held back by the Slab. Florence was walking around the room, calmly, adjusting random bits of equipment. The power around the MRI scanner started to build, the blue light flickering.
"Um, that big metal thing, is it supposed to be making that noise?" The Doctor asked, his face a picture of bewilderment.
"You wouldn't understand." Florence gave him a sick little smile that looked odd on her wrinkled face.
"But…" The Doctor frowned. "Isn't that a Magnetic Resonance Imaging thing? Like, a ginormous sort of magnet? I did Magnetics GCSE. Well," He drawled, a fake smile forming on his face. "I failed, but all the same..."
Florence's eyes widened and she smiled. "A magnet, with its settings now increased to 50,000 tesla."
The Doctor paled but hid his horror with a confused smile. "That's a big strong, isn't it?"
Florence smirked. "It'll send out a magnetic pulse that should fry the brainstem of any living thing within two hundred and fifty thousand miles. Except for me. Safe within this room."
The Doctor swallowed hard. "But hold on, I did Geography GCSE, and I passed that one, doesn't that distance include the Earth?"
"Only the side facing the moon." Florence said, innocently. "The other half will survive. Call it my little gift."
"But... you'll have to excuse me, I'm a bit out of my depth, I've spent the past fifteen years working as a postman, hence the bunion, why would you do that?"
"With everyone dead, the Judoon ships are mine, to make my escape."
"No, but that's weird. You're talking like some sort of alien." The Doctor said, slowly, as if he didn't know what she was.
"Quite so." Florence nodded.
"No!" The Doctor's eyes went as wide as saucers.
"Oh, yes."
The Doctor grinned, mockingly. "You're joshing me!"
"I am not!"
"I'm talking to an alien? In a hospital? What, has this place got an E.T. department?" The Doctor joked, his eyes seething.
Florence raised an eyebrow, not at all amused by the Doctor's joking. "It's the perfect hiding place. Blood banks downstairs, for a midnight feast. And all this equipment, ready to arm myself, if the police should come looking."
"So…" The Doctor drawled, his fists clenching at his side. "Those rhinos, they're looking for you!" He said, his voice mock-incredulous.
She held her hand, showing him the black marked 'X' on the top of her hand. "Except I'm hidden." She whispered, conspiratorially.
"Oh, right," The Doctor nodded. "Maybe that's why they're increasing their scans."
Florence's eyes widened and she stopped dead, staring at him. "They're doing what?"
"Big Chief Rhino Boy," The Doctor nodded, hiding a smirk. "He said, no sign of Non Human, we must increase our scans up to Setting Two."
Florence pursed her wrinkled lips, looking around. "Then I must assimilate again."
"What does that mean?"
"I must appear to be human."
"Well you're very welcome to come home and have cake, the wife would love to make some cake." The Doctor looked down at Rhea, who was barely stirring at this point, her eyes drifting.
"Why would I have cake?" Florence dug in her handbag. "I've got my little straw."
"That's nice." The Doctor nodded. "That's nice. Milkshake? I like banana."
Florence stepped forward, studying him, a calculative look in her eye. "Quite the funny man. And yet, I think, laughing on purpose. At the darkness. I think it's time you found some peace." Florence turned to the Slab. "Steady him!"
The Slab tilted the Doctor's head up, harshly, exposing his neck to Florence.
"What are you doing?!" The Doctor snarled, struggling in the Slab's hold.
"I'm afraid this is going to hurt. But if it's any consolation, the dead don't tend to remember." And with that, Florence advanced on him, an awful smile on her face, as the Doctor watched, helplessly.
The Judoon drew an X on Martha's hand.
"Confirm: Human. Traces of facial contact with Non Human." The Judoon captain turned to his troops. "Continue the search!"
As the other Judoon stomped away in the MRI direction, the Captain handed Martha a sheet of paper.
"You will need this."
Martha frowned down at the paper. "What's that for?"
"Compensation." The Judoon captain grunted and stormed away.
Martha just stood there for a moment, stunned by what had just happened, but then ran in the direction of the Judoon.
Rhea's eyes drifted open, finally, and she squinted seeing the blurry forms of the Doctor, the Slab and the old woman… who had a straw buried in the Doctor's neck. Her eyes snapped open, widening in horror as she saw the Doctor go slack in the Slab's hold.
"No!" She screamed and jumped to her feet, lunging for the old woman.
The Judoon charged down the corridor outside the MRI room, Martha hot on their heels. Martha stopped for a second, heaving for breath and holding onto the walls, the lack of oxygen finally overwhelming the surge of adrenaline she had been running on the entire time. She shook it off, straightening, determinedly, and ran after the Judoon.
Rhea managed to shove Florence away from the Doctor, the woman recoiling away, a drop of blood falling from the straw that was still in her lips. The Slab let go of the Doctor, who fell to the ground, utterly still. Rhea closed her eyes, momentarily, not wanting to know whether he was really dead or pretending. If he was pretending, she'd kill him. If he was dead, the thought allowed a sick sort of feeling to form in her stomach and she steeled herself, glaring at the Slab.
"Completely leather, right?" Rhea muttered to herself. She spun on her feet and delivered a damn good roundhouse kick, if she did say so herself, her heel clipping the side of his face and sending him flying in the direction of the MRI scanner. His entire body convulsed with the blue electricity and he sank to the floor, dead or unconscious, Rhea couldn't make out through the helmet. She suddenly bent at her hip, winded by that show of strength and skill, especially with the fact that she was currently fighting off suffocation, and took a deep breath of air, shaking her head as she rose.
There was a sound from behind her and the Judoon kicked the door open.
"Now, see what you've done? This poor man just died of fright." Florence said, innocently.
"Fucking bitch." Rhea swore and attempted to lunge, the Judoon preventing her from doing so.
"Scan him!" The Judoon captain ordered.
The entire Judoon platoon brandished their devices, pointing them at the Doctor's body, as Martha ran through the doorway, held back by a Judoon as she made for Rhea, who was staring at the Doctor, half hopeful half discouraged. Her hands shook at her side and she practically trembled. Come on, come on, come on… don't you dare, Doctor. Don't you dare.
"Confirmation: deceased." The Judoon captain grunted.
"No, he's not!" Rhea protested. She struggled against the Judoon that had formed a blockade in front of her. "Let me through, let me see him!" But her struggles were to no avail.
"Case closed."
Rhea spun around to face him, her eyes wild and desperate and her heart hurting like hell. "But it was her! She killed him, she did it, she murdered him!"
"Judoon have no authority over Human crime." The Judoon captain grunted.
"But, she's not human!" Martha protested, feeling herself ache when she saw the broken look in Rhea's eyes.
"Oh, but I am, surely? I've been catalogued." Florence held up her hand, triumphantly, showing the skin marked with the 'X'. "I've been catalogued."
Rhea threw her hands up in the air in frustration, gritting her teeth. "But she's not, she assimilated-" Her eyes widened and she turned to look at Florence, her nails digging into her palm. "Wait a minute. You drank his blood?" She asked, a sudden vicious smile breaking out onto her face. You bitch, you just wait. "The Doctor's blood!" She grabbed the device off the Judoon and pointed it at Florence, the familiar sound filling the air as it scanned the plasmavore.
"I don't mind, scan all you like." Florence shrugged.
There was a high-pitched sound and the Judoon returned their attention to the conversation. "Non Human!" The Captain growled.
Florence's eyes widened, comically. "What?!"
"Confirm analysis." The Judoon captain ordered and all of the Judoon held out their scanners, pointing them at Florence, as she started to panic. "But, that's a mistake, it's got to be, I'm Human, I'm as Human as they come-"
"He gave his life so they'd find you." Rhea hissed at her. And if they don't kill you, I will, you demonic bitch. She growled in her mind.
"Confirm: Plasmavore! Charged with the crime of murdering the Child Princess of Padrivole Regency Nine." The Judoon captain intoned.
Florence's face shifted from the panicked old woman to a cruel, sneering witch. "And she deserved it! Those pink cheeks and blonde curls, and that simpering voice, oh, she was begging for the bite of a Plasmavore!" She snarled, hatefully.
"Then you confess?"
"Confess? I'm proud of it!" Florence sniffed and made a run for it, into the booth.
"Verdict: guilty. Sentence: execution!" All of the Judoon lumbered into the room and raised their guns in a neat line, looking remarkably like a firing squad, facing the glass of the control room.
Florence was jamming two circuits together, her motions stiff and quick. "Enjoy your victory, Judoon. Cos you're going to burn with me! Burn in Hell." She shrieked.
All of the Judoon fired, simultaneously, boiling streams of red flowing out of the guns, melting a hole in the glass window, the beams blistering right through without any opposition. Florence was wrapped around in red light and she burnt away into nothing, screaming her last words. The Judoon lowered their guns, and as they did so, both Rhea and Martha collapsed next to the Doctor, frantically searching for what they might do to help him, their faces distraught.
"Case closed." The Judoon captain grunted.
Another arch of lightning spread across the room and the tunnel of the scanner was now becoming a hollow light-storm, spitting power everywhere.
"But what did she mean, burn with me?" Martha asked Rhea and the Judoon.
Rhea nodded. "The scanner shouldn't be doing that, she's done something to it." She hissed, her hands running over the Doctor for any signs of life.
The Judoon captain ran his scanner over the MRI machine. "Scans detect lethal acceleration of mono-magnetic pulse."
"Well, do something, stop it!" Rhea shrieked.
"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate."
"What?! But you can't just leave it! What's it gonna do?" Martha stared at the lumbering rhinos with horror.
The Judoon captain pulled out a communication device. "All units! Withdraw!"
The Judoon in the MRI room stomped out in an orderly line. Martha rushed to the doorway of the MRI room.
"You can't just go! That thing's gonna explode, and it's your fault!" She screamed after them.
But they stomped away regardless. For a second, Martha fell against the wall, feeling dizzy from the lack of air all of a sudden, but she recovered, quickly, and schooled her face, running back into the MRI room. The lightning in the scanner tunnel was wild now. Martha rushed over to Rhea, who was checking for the Doctor's vital sign, cursing when she didn't find any. Martha sank to her knees on the other side of the Doctor's very still body.
"You do the compressions." Rhea hissed. "I'll do the breaths." She pinched the Doctor's nose with one hand and opened his mouth with the other, her head swinging down and covering his mouth with hers, breathing into his lungs as deep as she could.
Martha nodded and got to work, pressing her hands against his chest and pumping. It was only after a few moments that the light-headedness returned and she felt weak. Rhea frowned, reaching over and gripping one hand with as much strength as she could muster.
"S'okay, Martha." Rhea said, reassuringly. "I can handle the lack of air better than you can. Just take it easy, honey." She patted her on the hand.
"But I need to-" Martha protested, determined to ignore the black spots that were skirting the edge of her vision.
"Seriously, Dr Quinn," Rhea smiled at Martha, weakly, the familiar nickname falling from her lips. "It's okay. Just take a breather."
Martha nodded and smiled over at her, thankfully, slumping against wall and closing her eyes, half in relief and half in necessity.
Rhea clucked her tongue and looked down at the Doctor. "Okay, baby, this might be the best time to get up." She sighed and leaned down. Two hearts. She noted and applied the chest compressions to his left heart first. "One, two, three, four, five." She leaned down and breathed into him. Her hands moved to his right heart. "One, two, three, four, five." She covered his mouth with hers, ignoring her burning lungs and stinging eyes, breathing into him. Come on, come on, come on. Tears formed in her eyes and she blinked them away, gritting her teeth against the feeling of hopelessness and despair. Come on, don't you dare die on me, you jackass. What am I gonna do without you? Just for this one moment, the moment where she wasn't sure that they would survive, she let herself feel everything she had wanted to feel for him since the day she had met him. Please don't die, please, please. Oh, God, please, I believe in you, damnit, don't let me lose him too. Not him.
"Come on. Come on. Come on." She muttered, her voice coming out as a sob, and applied the chest compressions on both hearts one more time. She could feel herself losing more and more air, her face was slowly becoming flushed and exhausted and she could feel the air becoming thinner and thinner around her. No, he's not dying. Not here. Not while I'm here. She lifted her head up with some trouble and looked up, her eyes going glazed as she fought the loss of consciousness, her breathing shallow and pained. She managed to open her mouth and take one, long deep breath, lowering her head down again and giving him every bit of air she had.
And then, the Doctor breathed, slowly, in, his eyes flickering open. He was in pain and he was dazed, still slightly out of it. Rhea curled in on herself and the Doctor's hands went to hers, gripping with as much strength as she could muster.
"The scanner..." She muttered. "She did something..." She shook and almost clutched her throat, slumping against the floor next to Martha.
The Doctor managed to summon every single iota of his strength and hauled himself up and around, stroking her hair, gently, as he looked over her.
"The air... I gave you the last." And Rhea's eyes rolled back in her head, her head swimming, and the world around her faded to black as she lost consciousness.
The Doctor blinked, trying to shake off the blood loss and suffocation, and looked around to see the MRI scanner now bursting with electricity. The insane blue lightning was ripping across the room in arches, as the Doctor, still in obvious pain, used every last reserve of energy to haul himself into the control room. He looked at the cannibalised electricity and reached for his pocket, grimacing when he realised there was no sonic screwdriver to help him.
He grabbed a messy handful of wires and circuit boxes and looked at the two thick wires, one red and one blue. He was still dazed and was not able to think clearly, his head still swimming.
"Red or blue...? Red or blue..." He muttered to himself, as the noise from the scanner began to grow louder. "…Oh, blue." He paused. "No!" And he ripped out the red wire.
The tunnel died and the lights started to flicker away, the room returning to normal. The Doctor was breathing hard, still recovering, but relieved that one problem was solved. The Doctor stumbled back over to the two collapsed women, grabbing them by the waist and holding them up against his body, as he staggered through the ward corridors, breathing hard and his face pale. He managed to make it to a window in one of the wards and looked out, watching the Judoon ships leave one by one, rising upwards.
"Come on. Please. Please... Come on, Judoon, reverse it." He muttered to himself again and again.
And then, there was a flash of lightning, travelling down, outside the window, rain hitting the window, steady, constant rain.
The Doctor started to smile and he looked down at Rhea in his arms, her eyes still closed. "It's raining, Rhea. It's raining on the Moon." He murmured.
The entire window blazed a bright, blinding white and the hospital returned to its place in London.
The Doctor and Rhea had managed to sneak out of a back door, while the commotion was going on, the two of them not even second-glanced by anyone. The Doctor wrapped an arm around Rhea's waist, pulling her into his side, and walked towards the TARDIS. They looked around and saw Martha looking at them with a smile. They grinned back at her and waved, though they didn't stop walking. The Doctor held the door of the TARDIS open for Rhea, allowing her to step inside, following her into the time machine.
He bounced over to the console, pulling the lever down for dematerialisation and grinned when the time rotor started to rise and fall and the sound of grinding metal echoed through the console room. He turned to Rhea, expecting to see her with a similar expression of excitement on her face, but instead saw her, sitting silently on the captain's chair, looking down at her hands.
The Doctor frowned and walked over to her, sitting beside her. "What's wrong?" He asked, lowly. She turned to face him and she punched him in the arm. "Ow! What was that for!?"
"You almost died." Rhea gritted her teeth and glared at him. "You almost died and I didn't know what to do." She hissed out of her teeth. She glared up at the ceiling. "I don't think I've ever felt that lost in my life." She glared at him. "Who the hell do you think you are coming into my life like that and turning it upside down?!" She growled.
The Doctor couldn't even bring himself to be worried about her anger, he was entirely too happy. Rhea made to get up from the captain's chair, when his hand reached out and grabbed hers, pulling it back. She fought against his hold for a few moments, before melting in his embrace.
"You know, Rhea, it's not a bad thing to care for people." The Doctor said, soothingly, wrapping his arms around Rhea and trapping her against his chest. "I know you think it is, but it's not."
Rhea grimaced. "Are you sure? It feels like it should be."
The Doctor shrugged. "That's what being human is all about."
Rhea snorted. "And you'd know, right?" She rolled her eyes and turned in his arms. "Just…" She started, reluctantly. "Don't do that to me again." She said, sternly.
The Doctor cracked a smile. "I won't."
Rhea threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder, nuzzling into the material of his suit, smiling, contentedly, glad that he couldn't actually see her face. His arms tightened around her and he breathed in the scent from her hair and skin, a mixture of jasmine and roses.
"I can't…" She struggled to get the words out. "I can't see you get hurt. You mean… you mean too much." She muttered,
Something lifted inside the Doctor, leaving him blissful and light inside. "I know, beautiful, me too." He murmured, kissing the side of her head.
She broke from his embrace and turned away, making sure he couldn't see her face as she schooled it into an expression of nonchalance. That was enough of emotion for one day. "Come on."
The Doctor realised that this was probably the most bare he would see Rhea for the foreseeable future and grabbed her hand, tugging her in the direction of the console. "Where do you want to go?"
"Go get Martha." She ordered.
"What?" The Doctor frowned and looked at her, curiously. "Why?"
"Well, she saved our lives, don't you think we owe her a trip or two?" She asked, slyly.
"Rhea… I like it just the two of us." The Doctor whined, his hand reaching across the edge of the console and stroking her hand.
Rhea rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away to tap her hand, lightly, against his cheek. "So do I, honey." She crooned. "But I'm not always here, am I? And I'm not always the same. You need a constant, honey."
"You're plenty constant enough for me." The Doctor protested.
She leaned up and kissed him on the corner of the mouth. "You are such a sweet talker." She laughed. "You should at least give her a trip as a thank-you. She deserves it and I think she could be good for you."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Okay." He said, reluctantly.
The doors of the pub flew open and a made-up blonde in a tight dress stormed out, her heels clacking against her pavement. She was followed by an older, dark-skinned man and an older dark-skinned woman, all three in the middle of a blazing argument.
"I am not staying in there to be insulted!" The blonde shrieked.
"She didn't mean it, sweetheart, she was just saying you look healthy." The dark-skinned man tried to reassure the blonde.
"No," Francine corrected him. "I did not, I said orange!"
The blonde glared at her and turned to the man. "Clive, that woman is disrespecting me! She's never liked me!"
Francine rolled her eyes. "Oh, can't think why, after you stole my husband!"
The blonde's eyes widened. "I was seduced!" She protested. "I'm entirely innocent, tell her, babes!"
"And then," Francine continued. "She has a go at Martha, practically accused her of making the whole thing up…"
At this point, Martha, Tish and Leo followed them out of the pub. "Mum, I don't mind, just leave it." She said, hurriedly, looking around, not wanting a family feud to break out in the middle of the street.
"Oh, 'I've been to the Moon!', as if… they were drugged, it said so on the News!" The blonde hissed.
Francine scowled at her. "Since when did you watch the News? You can't handle Quizmania!"
"Make her apologise!" Annalise shrieked.
"I can't make her do anything!" Clive protested.
"You make me suffer, you're an expert in that!" Francine spat out.
"Annalise started it, she did, I heard her-" Tish added.
"Tish, don't make it worse." Leo said, warningly.
Tish scowled. "Come off it, Leo, what did she buy you? Soap! A 75 pence soap!"
Everyone split up in different directions, Annalise storming off one way, Clive following her in an attempt to assuage her, Leo following the couple. Francine stormed off in the other direction, Tish following her.
"I'm never talking to your family again!" Annalise screamed.
"Annalise, don't you dare! I'm putting my foot down! This is me, putting my foot down!" Clive shouted.
"Let her go, Dad, we don't need her, come back inside, come on..." Leo said, soothingly.
"Have a nice party, Clive! Go on, cavort with your little piece, make a fool of yourself, God knows you've been doing it for twenty five years, why stop now?" Francine snarled.
"Oh Mum, don't, I asked the DJ and he's playing that song later, he's playing Popcorn, like we did when we were little, don't go..." Tish reassured her.
The whole family scattered into the night and Martha was left in the street, exhausted and forgotten. She looked around and a smile grew on her face, seeing the Doctor and Rhea leaning on a wall across the road, the Doctor wearing the same blue suit with a brown coat thrown on top of it, and Rhea wearing patterned white tights, a pink shirt that she had tied under her breasts and a scarf tied in her hair, looking like something out of a sixties movie.
The Doctor and Rhea stepped back into a nearby alley, into darkness. Martha ran across the road and around a few corners in the alleyway, coming across the Doctor and Rhea, who were leaning against a big blue box.
"I went to the Moon today." Martha said, slowly.
"Bit more peaceful than down here." The Doctor mused and winced when Rhea elbowed him in the stomach.
"Now, don't be rude, honey. Everyone has family drama." She gave Martha a sympathetic smile. "I have a racist, homophobic aunt who points out every one of my mother's and my faults every chance she gets."
Martha smiled, gratefully, at her. "You never even told me who you two are."
"The Doctor and this is my Rhea." The Doctor said, simply.
"I am not your Rhea. You have got to stop introducing me like that." Rhea muttered.
"But what sort of species? And it's not every day I get to ask that." Martha asked, slowly, thinking about it.
"I'm human." Rhea held up her hands. "Completely and utterly human."
The Doctor smiled at her, before looking back at Martha. "I'm a Time Lord."
"Right." Martha nodded and stepped forwards, closer to the Doctor and Rhea. "Not pompous at all, then." She said, sarcastically.
The Doctor and Rhea laughed, the latter laughing more as she remembered her saying a similar thing the first time she had met the Doctor. The Doctor pulled out his brand-new sonic screwdriver.
"I just thought…" The Doctor drawled. "Since you saved our lives, and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver which needs road-testing… you might fancy a trip."
"What?" Martha's eyes widened as she looked in between the Doctor and Rhea. "Into space?" The Doctor and Rhea nodded. "But... I can't, I've got exams," A smile started to form on Rhea's face. "I've got things to do, I've got to go into town first thing and pay the rent, and I've got my family going mad," She turned around, hearing her sister's angry voice, and started to smile, turning to face the strangers again. "Then again..."
"If it helps... we can travel in time, as well." The Doctor offered.
Martha grinned, thinking he was joking in order to get her to come with them. "Get out of here."
"He can!" Rhea laughed.
"Oh, come on." Martha shook her head, disbelievingly. "That's going too far."
"I'll prove it." The Doctor accepted the challenge and made to re-enter the TARDIS when Rhea grabbed the back of his coat.
"If you're going to show off, go and get me something to eat." She ordered. "I'm starved. And from In-N-Out Burger too." She said, sternly. "I want French fries… with ketchup, none of that gravy and no fish. Just American style French fries." She reminded him.
The Doctor sighed and nodded. "Yes, dear." He disappeared inside the TARDIS, starting the dematerialisation sequence.
Rhea watched a gobsmacked look form on Martha's face with a grin on hers, when the younger woman saw the TARDIS disappear from right in front of her. Rhea laughed as Martha walked forward into the space where the TARDIS had just been standing, holding out her hands, checking to see if it had been an illusion.
Then, Rhea heard the sound of the TARDIS engines and pulled Martha back, just in case she might get crushed, as the TARDIS rematerialises in the exact same spot.
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, one hand brandishing is loose tie and the other carrying a white take-away bag. He handed the bag to Rhea, who took it, gratefully, digging into the bag and pulling out a French fry, dipped in sauce, with glee.
Before she ate the fry, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, honey." She murmured and shoved the fry in her mouth, groaning at the taste.
The Doctor smiled down at her and turned to face Martha. "Told you." He said, smugly.
"No, but…" Martha shook her head. "That was this morning, but... Did you just..?" Martha's eyes widened, comically. "Oh my God! You can travel in time!" She paused. "But hold on, if you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go to work?!" She asked, confused.
"Crossing into established events, strictly forbidden." The Doctor said, sternly.
Rhea smirked at Martha. "Except for when he wants to show off." She said, conspiratorially, making Martha grin at her.
"And that's your spaceship?" Martha nodded at the TARDIS. She stepped forwards until she was touching the wooden shell.
"It's called the TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space." The Doctor explained.
"Your spaceship is made of wood? But there's not much room, we'd be a bit... intimate." Martha smirked at him.
Rhea smiled, widely. "Take a look." She murmured.
The Doctor stepped aside, going to stand next to Rhea, so that she could go inside. She walked forwards and stepped inside the TARDIS and she stopped dead, her mind boggling as she took the console room in. She stared up and around at the magnificent sight and swallowed hard.
"No, no, no..." Martha muttered and ran back down the ramp and into the alleyway. She looked around the edges of the TARDIS, running around the police box, touching the wood as she tried to take it all in. "But it's just a box... But it's huge!" She shouted from outside, making Rhea and the Doctor smile. "How does it do that? It's wood! It's like a box with that room just... crammed in!"
The Doctor rolled his eyes as he heard the familiar diatribe and Rhea elbowed him in the stomach, holding her finger to her lips.
"Honey, don't be mean, everyone does this." She smirked, remembering Amy's wide eyes and open mouth when she walked into the TARDIS for the first time.
Martha stepped back inside the TARDIS. "It's bigger on the inside!"
"Is it? I hadn't noticed." The Doctor said, sarcastically, and he ran to the console, Rhea following him, the two of them starting to press random buttons, as Martha came up behind them, cautiously, up the ramp.
"…But… Is there a crew? Like, the navigator and stuff, where's everyone else?" She asked, slowly.
The Doctor looked up, a strange look entering his eyes. "It's just me." He said, roughly.
"All on your own?" Martha asked, softly, watching as Rhea laid a hand on the Doctor's hand in a show of comfort.
"Well, sometimes we have... guests. I mean, sort of friends, travelling alongside me. We had, there was, um, recently, friend of ours." The Doctor looked up and Rhea could see his entire body tense with hurt and she ached for him, she really did. "Rose, her name was Rose, and, um… We were together, and... anyway." Rhea reached around and rubbed his back, comfortingly, resting her head against his arm, as he wrapped one of his around her.
"Where is she now?" Martha asked, slowly, seeing the way Rhea acted around the Doctor. The Doctor and Rose couldn't have been a thing, not with the way the Doctor and Rhea acted around each other, and the pain that was in Rhea's eyes as well, that meant that Rhea cared for Rose as much as the Doctor did.
"With her family." The Doctor swallowed hard. "Happy! She's fine, she's..." He looked up, warningly. "Not that you're replacing her!" He said, sternly.
Martha held up her hands in surrender. "Never said I was."
"Just, one trip. To say thanks, you get one trip, then back home, I'd rather it be just me and Rhea." The Doctor explained.
Martha smiled, cheekily. "Well, you're the one who kissed me." She smirked. "I don't think your wife appreciated that a whole lot."
"I am not his wife!" Rhea protested.
"And that was a genetic transfer." The Doctor said, sternly, and looked at Rhea, hesitantly. "It was a genetic transfer." He said, urgently.
"And if you will wear a tight suit." Martha teased.
"Now, don't." The Doctor levelled a hesitant look at Rhea.
Rhea smirked, deciding to take the reins. "And then travel all the way across the universe to ask her on a date." She said, playfully.
"Both of you, stop it!" The Doctor said, uncomfortably.
Rhea laughed. "Okay, maybe we should take it easy on him." She tugged him down and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. "He looks like he's about to have an aneurysm." She cackled.
"For the record, I'm not remotely interested. I only go for Humans." Martha smirked, watching the two interact with amusement and making sure to wink at Rhea, letting her know that she wasn't going to make a play at the Doctor.
"Good!" The Doctor sighed, relieved. "Now then, let's have a look." He ran around the console, his back to Martha. "Close down the Gravitic Anomalyser. Fire up the Helmic Regulator. And finally... the handbrake!" He looked at Martha. "Ready?"
"Oh, god, no." Rhea rolled her eyes. "Can you not leave the brakes on?"
"No!" Martha said, a little scared.
The Doctor smirked at the two women, taking a hold of the big lever on the console. "And off we go!" And he yanked down the lever, the whole room shaking, violently jolting them around. Martha was thrown around, holding onto the console for dear life.
"Blimey! It's a bit bumpy!" Martha said, pointedly.
The Doctor and Rhea laughed and the Doctor reached across the console. "Welcome aboard, Miss Jones."
Martha smiled and reached across and shook both his and Rhea's hands. "My pleasure, Mr and Mrs Smith."
The Doctor and Rhea gave her the biggest smiles they could manage and they reached over, flipping switches and throwing levers.
Of course, Rhea never had the greatest luck when it came to her jumps, so of course she was start to glow when the TARDIS was shaking, uncontrollably. Rhea shook her head, the familiar stabbing ripping into her head, making her hands slip from the console. If the Doctor's hadn't caught her by the waist just in time, then she would have hit the TARDIS wall and most likely have broken some bones.
The Doctor held onto the console with one hand and the other held Rhea up against his body, as she trembled in pain. Her fingers curled into his suit, as the glow rose from her skin. She gritted her teeth.
"Oh, my god, what's happening to her?" Martha whispered, horrified.
The Doctor kissed the top of her head. "It's okay, Rhea, everything's gonna be fine."
Rhea's eyes closed, tightly, and she let the glow take over all of her senses, until all she could hear, see, feel and taste was white and burning light.
A/N: Smith and Jones is finished! I hope you all liked my version of this episode and all of the flirting involved with Rhea playing the part of the Doctor's wife. And I let the Doctor kiss the Martha in this chapter, because it let me write some jealous Rhea. And I also got to write a vulnerable Rhea in this chapter too. They're definitely getting close, the Doctor and Rhea. Hopefully, I managed to develop their relationship in this chapter.
Of course, I wonder where Rhea's going now. Which Doctor will she meet next chapter? I think it's been awhile since she's seen the Ninth Doctor, it might be good to do one of his chapters ;)
Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter and don't forget to leave a review!