Chapter 8: Judoon Platoon Upon the Moon
Rose felt a little like a secret agent as they ran through the corridors, ducking into doorways and slipping carefully around corners. She grinned up at the Doctor when they took cover behind a water dispenser, seeing the same spark of excitement in his eyes that she felt.
They all heard loud footsteps just around the corner. A slab walked by, and the Doctor murmured, "That's the thing about slabs. They always travel in pairs."
Martha glanced back at him. "Not like you can talk. I never figured alien investigators would do something as domestic as getting married. What's that all about then?"
The Doctor's fingers flexed around Rose's hand. "Oh, humans. You always think you're the only ones to do things. Do you really think no other species in the universe takes a life partner?" He stood up and crept around her. "Come on."
"I like that," Martha muttered as she stood up. "Humans. I'm still not convinced you're an alien."
Rose wasn't even surprised when the Doctor ran straight into a Judoon at that moment. "Non-human," the Judoon grunted after he scanned the Doctor.
Martha gaped at them. "Oh my God, you really are."
The Doctor's exasperation was off the charts. "And again."
Rose was two steps ahead of the Doctor and Martha, running away from the Judoon. Hearing laser blasts behind them, they all ducked and then managed to turn the corner before the Judoon fired their weapons a second time.
But the chase was on. Heavy footsteps thudded behind them, and the Doctor sped past Rose and pushed the door to the stairwell open.
Rose, he said as they exited the stairs on the next floor up, remember what you said about your human DNA being useful?
You need a distraction, she said, easily picking up on that much of his plan.
I might. You up for it if I do?
Always.
They passed through a door that led them to the main corridor, and he turned the lock.
"They've done this floor," he explained. "Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky."
All around them, people were beginning to pass out from lack of oxygen. Martha's friend was giving oxygen to a patient leaning against the wall, and Rose and Martha stopped next to her.
"How much oxygen is there?" Martha asked.
The Doctor noticed they weren't following and turned around.
"Not enough for all these people," Martha's friend said. "We're going to run out."
Rose was grateful for the changes to her own biology that enabled her to breathe a little more efficiently, but she looked at Martha in concern. "How are you feeling? Are you all right?"
She grinned. "I'm running on adrenaline."
The Doctor nodded once as he analysed the oxygen content remaining in the air. Not enough. "Welcome to our world."
"What about the Judoon?" Martha asked.
He shook his head. "Nah, great big lung reserves. It won't slow them down. Where's Mr. Stoker's office?"
Martha got back to her feet and led the way around the next corner. "It's this way."
The door at the end of the short corridor stood half open, and the Doctor stopped Martha with a hand on her shoulder and walked around her. If the plasmavore or the other slab were still there, he could hold them off long enough for Rose and Martha to get away.
He peered through the doorway, and once he was satisfied the office was empty, he jogged into the room.
"She's gone," Martha said, following right behind him. "She was here."
They all bent over Mr. Stoker, who was quite a bit paler than he'd been earlier. "Drained him dry," the Doctor said. "Every last drop. I was right. She's a plasmavore."
"What's she doing on Earth?"
Rose put the pieces together. "She's hiding, isn't she, Doctor? On the run. The Judoon are here for her."
"Yep," he said. "Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. What's she doing now? She's still not safe." He stood up and moved toward the door. "The Judoon could execute us all. Come on."
"Wait a minute," Martha said. Rose's respect for her grew when she bent down to close Mr. Stoker's eyes. Then they all left the office together.
"Think, think, think," the Doctor muttered, running his hand through his hair. "If I were a wanted plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?"
He looked up quickly and groaned when he caught sight of something. Rose followed his line of vision—the sign pointing to the MRI.
"She's as clever as me. Almost."
Rose started to ask him to elaborate, but crashes and screams behind them interrupted that thought. A crowd of panicking people ran down the corridor, slowing the Judoon down.
"Find the non-human. Execute," a Judoon ordered.
Time for the distraction, Rose. Before she'd fully grasped what he was saying, the Doctor wrapped one arm around her waist, tipped her head back, and kissed her hard. I need to leave enough trace DNA to confuse their scanners, he explained as he traced the seam of her mouth with his tongue.
Rose hummed and leaned in to him, her hands automatically coming up to grab his lapels. Better do a good job of it then, Doctor.
She felt his lips curve up in a smile, and then his tongue swept into her mouth. Oh, I'm always thorough, he promised her.
"Oi!" Martha exclaimed. "Is this really the time for a snog?"
The Doctor broke the kiss and backed toward the connecting corridor. "Martha, stay with Rose. I need to stop the plasmavore."
So kissing me is just a diversion? Rose teased her Doctor as he ran away.
Never, he replied.
Martha grabbed Rose's shoulder, pulling her out of her conversation with the Doctor. "What do we do now?" she asked.
Rose drew in a deep breath and turned toward the distant sound of heavy boots marching toward them. "We wait for the Judoon. That kiss left enough of the Doctor's DNA on my skin to confuse their scanners. That'll give him more time to find Miss Finnegan and stop her."
The doors at the end of the hallway burst open, bouncing off the walls from the force of the Judoon's push. "Find the non-human. Execute."
Stay safe, Rose ordered while she stood calmly waiting for the Judoon to reach her.
I'll do what I can, he promised, which didn't exactly make Rose feel any better.
The Judoon stopped in front of her and pulled out his scanner. Even though she knew what it did, having the blue light flashed in her eyes was still a little disconcerting.
"Human," he barked, then looked at his scanner again. "Wait. Non-human trace suspected." Another Judoon pulled out his weapon, and Rose clenched her hands into fists. "Non-human element confirmed. Authorise full scan."
Rose found herself pushed against the wall by a giant space rhino, his arm pressed against her chest and his face only inches from hers. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of his breath—Judoon clearly weren't accustomed to dental hygiene.
"What are you? What are you?" he demanded, getting right in her face.
She wasn't given time to answer the question before another Judoon stepped forward with a different kind of scanner. The light was red this time, and she stood still while it passed slowly over her body.
"Confirm human," the Judoon said after a minute, drawing black Xs on her hand and Martha's. "Traces of facial contact with non-human. Continue the search."
Most of the Judoon marched away, but the leader stayed and handed Rose a booklet the TARDIS kindly translated to English for her. So this language isn't beneath you? The ship hummed noncommittally.
"You will need this," the Judoon said gruffly.
Rose flipped it over and read the back. "What's it for?"
"Compensation," he replied, then marched away.
oOoOoOoOo
Rose teased the Doctor as he ran toward the MRI department. So kissing me is just a diversion?
Despite the circumstances, he grinned. Never.
Stay safe.
The Doctor cringed. What he had planned wasn't safe, but it wasn't necessarily unsafe. I'll do what I can, he promised, walking the line between truth and falsehood. He didn't fool her at all, which wasn't really a surprise.
Electric sparks shone through the door to the MRI room, and the Doctor squinted as he pushed it open. As he expected, Miss Finnegan and her slab were inside. She had a mark on her hand that indicated she'd been scanned, and the Doctor groaned. So much for safe.
He walked slowly into the room, watching Miss Finnegan tamper with the MRI. Once he was almost to the door, he took a deep breath and put on his best clueless human expression.
"Have you seen them?" he exclaimed, pointing to the door. "There are these things. These great big… space rhino… things. I mean, rhinos, from space!"
Miss Finnegan looked over, then went back to her work. The Doctor blinked—it was the same woman he'd seen wandering the hallways the night before. Of course, blood banks.
"And we're on the moon!" the Doctor continued. "Great big space rhinos, with guns, on the moon. And I only came in for my bunions, look." He held his right foot up, pointing at the non-existent bunions. "I mean, all fixed now. Perfectly good treatment. The nurses were lovely. I said to my wife, I said I'd recommend this place to anyone, but then we end up on the moon."
Miss Finnegan had finally left the computer she was working on and was slowly walking toward him, a cold look on her face.
"And—did I mention the rhinos?" the Doctor repeated, pointing to the door again.
"Hold him," she ordered, and the slab grabbed the Doctor's arms and held them behind his back.
Miss Finnegan walked over to the MRI chamber, which was humming with excess electricity and flashing lights. "Er, that, that big, er machine… thing. Is it supposed to be making that noise?" he asked, knowing very well it wasn't.
She waved a hand in dismissal without turning around. "You wouldn't understand."
"But isn't that a magnetic resonance imaging thing? Like a ginormous sort of a magnet?" Miss Finnegan looked at him sharply, and he quickly covered. "I did magnetics GCSE. Well, I failed, but all the same."
"The magnetic setting now increased to fifty thousand Tesla," she said gleefully.
That was exactly what the Doctor had figured she'd done. "Ooo, that's a bit strong—isn't it?" he asked, trying to sound uncertain.
"It'll send out a magnetic pulse that'll fry the brain stems of every living thing within two hundred and fifty thousand miles," she said as she walked toward him. Then she gestured at the room. "Except for me, safe in this room."
Okay, a little bit worse than what I'd expected. "But… Ah, hold on, hold on, I did geography GCSE. I passed that one." The Doctor squinted at her. "Doesn't that distance include the Earth?"
"Only the side facing the moon," she said matter-of-factly. "The other half will survive. Call it my little gift."
"I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me, I'm a little out of my depth. I've spent the past fifteen years working as a postman." He swallowed and looked up at the ceiling. "Hence the bunions. Why would you do that?"
"With everyone dead, the Judoon ships will be mine, to make my escape." She widened her eyes and smiled with false innocence.
Playing his part of clueless human to the hilt, the Doctor added a note of incredulity to his voice. "No, that's weird. You're talking like you're some sort of an alien." He laughed at the last word.
"Quite so," she said seriously.
The Doctor's eyes widened. "No!" he breathed.
"Oh, yes." She smirked at his disbelief.
"You're joshing me," the Doctor said, playing for time.
"I am not."
"I'm talking to an alien? In hospital? What, has the place got an ET department?" he asked, unable to resist the joke.
"It's the perfect hiding place," she said, gesturing around her. The Doctor watched as she flitted about the room, describing her calculated choice to hide in hospital. "Blood banks downstairs for a midnight feast, and all this equipment ready to arm myself with should the police come looking."
"So, those rhinos, they're looking for you?" the Doctor asked, as if he'd just figured it out.
"Yes. But I'm hidden," she whispered, holding up her hand.
"Right," he said slowly. He quickly went over the facts. The slab was holding him too tightly for him to squirm away from it. Miss Finnegan had turned the MRI machine up so high that a single pulse would kill half of the inhabitants of the Earth below—not to mention everyone in the hospital, including Rose. And she'd hidden herself well enough that the Judoon would never suspect her… unless he could change that.
He waited until Miss Finnegan walked away to set the trap. "Maybe that's why they're increasing their scans."
She spun back around. "They're doing what?"
The Doctor nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. Sorry, love—safe wasn't an option. He knew Rose would understand what he'd done right away, and he trusted her to rescue him… or stay with him, on the slim chance that his plan caused him to regenerate.
"Big chief rhino boy, he said, 'No sign of a non-human, we must increase our scans up to setting two?'" He raised his voice in question at the end and looked up at the ceiling, as if he didn't understand what the Judoon had said.
The plasmavore's gaze darted around the room. She finally looked unsettled, which was exactly what the Doctor wanted. "Then I must assimilate again."
Even though this was what he'd expected and indeed, what he'd planned for, the thought of what was coming still made the Doctor shudder.
"What does that mean?"
She walked back into the control room. "I must appear to be human."
"Well, you're welcome to come home and meet the wife," the Doctor called after her. "She'd be honoured. We can have cake."
"Why should I have cake?" She reached into her purse. "I've got my little straw."
She sauntered toward him and held the straw out for his inspection. The Doctor couldn't help the recoil, but by this point, he figured that even the most clueless of humans would probably be cottoning on anyway.
"Oh, that's nice," he stammered. "Milkshake? I like banana."
"You're quite the funny man. It's almost too bad that I need to kill you, but after all, you would have been dead anyway." She looked at the slab. "Steady him!"
The Doctor was pushed to his knees, and the slab grabbed his head and tilted it so Miss Finnegan would have a clear shot at his throat.
"What are you doing?" he asked, the nervousness not faked.
She ran a hand over his neck, searching for a vein. "I'm afraid this is going to hurt," she said. "But if it's any consolation, the dead don't tend to remember."
The Doctor watched out of the corner of his eye as she stabbed him with the straw. That wasn't comfortable, but the odd suction when she began to drink his blood was worse.
Rose was almost there, and if the Judoon weren't moving in this direction, she'd lead them here. Somehow, she'd get them to scan Miss Finnegan again, and hopefully keep him from dying. He didn't really want to regenerate. That was his last thought before he lost consciousness.
oOoOoOoOo
Rose shook her head and tossed the pamphlet in the nearest bin. With the Judoon safely distracted for the moment, she could return her attention to the Doctor.
"Come on, Martha, he went this way," she said, jogging in the direction the Doctor had gone.
Sorry, love—safe wasn't an option.
Rose skidded to a halt when she got the Doctor's message. After she processed what he was saying, she took off running again, faster this time. It had only taken her a second to realise what he must have done. He was letting Miss Finnegan take his blood so she would scan as an alien again.
"Rose! What are we doing?" Martha asked, panting for breath in the thin air.
"We're going to save my husband's life. That daft idiot."
The Judoon reached the MRI room just ahead of them. Through a gap in the crowd, Rose spotted Miss Finnegan tucking her straw away in her purse, and the Doctor lying on the ground.
"Now see what you've done," Miss Finnegan said, pointing to his body. "This poor man just died of fright."
"Scan him," the Judoon ordered. "Confirmation. Deceased," he said a moment later.
"Oh no he's not," Rose muttered. If he were dead, he'd be regenerating. And besides, she could feel him in her mind still. She pushed forward to start CPR. "Martha, she assimilated his blood. Tell them."
"What?"
Rose switched to his left heart. "Remember what the Doctor said about why she was drinking blood."
"Oh!" The medical student turned to the Judoon. "She's the one you're looking for, not him," she insisted. "She's not human."
"Oh, but I've been catalogued," Miss Finnegan said smugly, holding her hand up.
"Oh really?" challenged Martha, and Rose heard the distinctive sound of a Judoon scanner again.
"Oh, I don't mind. Scan all you like," Miss Finnegan said blithely.
Rose really wanted to strangle her, and not because she'd tried to kill her bond mate. Well, not just because of that.
A little bloodthirsty, Rose?
Poor choice of words, Doctor, Rose said, feeling a surge of happiness that he was aware enough to communicate, even if he wasn't yet fully conscious.
"Non-human," the Judoon leader said.
"But, what?" Miss Finnegan said, and Rose smirked at the shock in her voice.
"Confirm analysis." Rose heard several Judoon reach for their scanners, and she knew what was happening now—they were doing a full scan on her, and would be able to tell she was a plasmavore.
After three rounds of CPR, the Doctor finally heaved a breath, coughing a little as he sucked in air.
"Oh, but it's a mistake, surely," Miss Finnegan said, panic building in her voice. "I'm human. I'm as human as they come."
The Doctor groaned and sat up, still coughing hard. "I'm afraid that gig is up."
"Confirm," the Judoon leader said. "Plasmavore, charged with the crime of murdering the child princess of Patrival Regency Nine."
Rose supported the Doctor and they watched the plasmavore erupt into anger.
"Well, she deserved it!" she spat out. "Those pink cheeks and those blonde curls and that simpering voice," she said, switching to a squeaking tone for those last words. "She was begging for the bite of a plasmavore."
"Then you confess?" the Judoon asked.
"Confess? I'm proud of it!" She stepped behind her slab, back into the MRI control room. "Slab, stop them!"
"Doctor, what's she doing?" Rose asked in a low voice as the Judoon destroyed the slab.
"Something very much not good," he replied. "Help me stand up, Rose."
While the Judoon handed down the verdict and sentence on the plasmavore, Rose stood up slowly with the Doctor's arm draped around her shoulder. They wobbled for a second, then Martha came up to support his other side.
They got him steady just as the Magnetic Overload sign turned on. Miss Finnegan sneered at them all through the window of the control room. "Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me. Burn in hell!"
The last word turned into a scream as all four Judoon fired their weapons into the control room, and the plasmavore disintegrated into nothing, leaving a hole in the glass. "Case closed," the leader said.
The Doctor stumbled forward, supported by both women. "Right. This is not good. This is very much not good," he repeated as he examined the controls to the MRI machine.
"What did she mean, burn with me?" Martha asked. "The scanner shouldn't be doing that. She's done something."
The Judoon scanned the machine. "Scans detect lethal acceleration of monomagnetic pulse."
"Yes, yes, she rigged the whole unit to send out a magnetic pulse strong enough to fry half the Earth," the Doctor said impatiently. "Now if you'd be quiet, I'm trying to work."
"All units withdraw." The Judoon marched out of the room, leaving the two Time Lords and a human behind.
Martha leaned closer to the Doctor. "You can stop it, can't you Doctor?"
"Oh, yes!" He looked down at the machine and pulled Rose's borrowed sonic out of his pocket. But the blood loss had left him a little fuzzy, and after he blinked a few times, trying to remember what setting to use to stop the pulse, he put the sonic in his mouth and got down on the floor.
"Sod it," he mumbled around the metal cylinder. He reached under the desk for the cables and yanked them apart. The scanner turned off.
"You did it," Martha said, and he noticed she was finally starting to sound out of breath.
"Come on, let's go back to the lounge," he said, pushing himself back to his feet. Rose slipped her arm around his waist, and he leaned against her gratefully. "We can watch the Judoon send us back to Earth."
The corridor was lined with people passed out from hypoxia. For once, the Doctor could sympathise with the feeling of being out of breath; he was still coughing now and then as they stumbled down the corridor. In fact, Rose was the only one who didn't appear to be suffering ill effects, but then she wasn't fully human, and she hadn't needed CPR.
They pressed themselves up against the window of the lounge, watching the thrusters fire on the Judoon ships. The ships lifted off from the surface of the moon, and the Doctor pressed a hand to the window.
"Come on, Judoon, reverse it," he muttered.
A second later, raindrops started splattering on the windows, a sign that the H2O scoop had been reversed and the hospital was being returned to Earth.
"It's raining," he said. "It's raining on the moon."
The crack of the plasma coils resonated through the hospital, and then a flash of lightning covered the building. The next moment, they were looking back out at London.
Air slowly sifted into the hospital, enough to revive the people who'd just passed out. Martha drew a deep breath, then turned and walked back into the corridor. She looked back at them from the doorway. "I've got to help."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow and held out his hand to Rose. Let's leave the clean-up to the humans, he suggested.
She agreed, and after a quick detour to her room to pick up her bag, they exited the hospital through the back door. The plasma coils were gone, leaving behind no sign at all that the hospital had ever encountered aliens.
The Doctor felt a prickle on the back of his neck as they crossed the street to the TARDIS, and when he looked over his shoulder, Martha was watching them. He jiggled Rose's hand, and they both smiled at their new friend before crossing the busy street and slipping inside their home.
They worked on automatic to take the ship into the Vortex, then Rose grabbed his hand and pulled him into the med bay.
"I'll be fine," he insisted.
Rose crossed her arms and looked at him. "You passed out," she said flatly. "Your hearts weren't beating. The Judoon scanners thought you were dead. How much of your blood did she drink?"
He tugged on his ear. "Ah… two, maybe three pints?"
Her lips thinned. "Sit," she ordered, pointing to the bed. He obeyed, and she nodded, somewhat appeased. "Now, tell me what supplies you need to start a transfusion."
He leaned back against the pillows and directed her quietly, taken aback by the fierce protectiveness he'd picked up on from the moment he'd regained awareness. It was a side of her he didn't often have a chance to observe in action, since she was usually the one in danger. Looking at her now, though, he remembered that she had once been so determined to save his life that she had absorbed the entire Time Vortex to keep him safe.
He shivered and pushed the memory aside. "Is this what it feels like?" he asked as he hooked the transfusion up to his arm.
"What what feels like?" she asked absently, fiddling with the IV hook.
Knowing everything was arranged properly, the Doctor took her hand in his. "Is this what it feels like when something's happened to you and I'm trying so hard to not be afraid?" he asked softly.
The hand he wasn't holding clenched into a fist, and the fear she'd kept locked away flooded over both of them. "The Judoon thought you were dead," she repeated in a raspy voice.
The Doctor dropped her hand and reached for her chin, tipping her head back so he could look her in the eye. "But you knew I wasn't," he pointed out evenly. "You knew what I'd done, and you brought me back to consciousness in time to turn off her magnetic weapon and save the hospital."
She curled her fingers around his tie. "Was that really the only way?" she asked.
He patted the open space on his other side, indicating he wanted her to sit on the bed with him. She walked around to the other side of the bed and cuddled into his side.
"Possibly not the only way," he admitted once she was settled, "but it was the one most likely to work."
Rose finally sighed and relaxed against him. They waited for the transfusion to finish, then he took care of unhooking things himself and cleaning up the med bay.
"Time for a kip?" he suggested, holding out his hand. Rose looked worn out, and though he didn't want to admit it, he was a little drained too.
Ah! I knew you weren't feeling as well as you pretended you were, Rose said as they walked to their room.
I'm not feeling as poorly as you were afraid I was either, the Doctor pointed out. But it's been a long, taxing day, and I just want to sleep for a bit.
oOoOoOoOo
Rose felt much better after a nap. Whether that was down to the rest or the Doctor's soothing presence in her mind, she didn't know, but she was humming to herself as they prepared dinner.
"What did you think of Martha?" she asked once they were sitting down.
"Clever. Quick on her feet. Good to have around in a crisis." He raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to ask her to come with us?"
Rose considered; she still couldn't decide if she wanted another person on the TARDIS, long-term. "Maybe not permanently, not at first at least, but she was brilliant. A thank you trip?" she suggested.
The Doctor leaned back in his chair. "Right. One trip, backward or forward, just to say thank you for… well, helping save the lives of 1000 people."
oOoOoOoOo
By the time they finished eating, the TARDIS had tracked Martha's location and created a replacement screwdriver for the Doctor. He flipped it in the air twice before putting it in his coat pocket, then held the door for Rose as they walked out of the TARDIS into a narrow London alley. "Martha and her family are having dinner at a restaurant just around the corner," he said. "We can just slip in, get a table, make eye contact, and wait for her to come talk to us."
It was a good plan, as far as the Doctor's plans went, but it was derailed before they even set foot inside the restaurant. As they turned onto the street, a willowy blonde in a short dress, high heels, and a fake tan stomped through the door away from an older black man.
"I am not staying in there to be insulted!" she said.
The man looked at her beseechingly. "She didn't mean it, sweetheart. She was just saying you look healthy."
"No, I did not," retorted a smartly dressed woman who had followed them out of the restaurant. "I said orange."
Let's let this boil over before we try to go inside, the Doctor said, and Rose agreed 100%.
One by one, other members of the family drama poured out onto the sidewalk, and Rose was only slightly surprised when Martha joined them.
The longer the argument went on, the more uncomfortable Martha looked. As an only child of a single parent, Rose couldn't fathom what this kind of altercation was like. She and her mum had rowed, yeah, but it was always just the two of them having it out, not this mess of people talking over each other and taking sides.
Finally, the Jones family stormed off, one at a time or in pairs, leaving Martha all alone outside the restaurant. Rose saw her heave a sigh, and then they caught her eye.
Martha tilted her head in question, and Rose smiled at her. She and the Doctor strolled around the corner, keeping eye contact to indicate they wanted her to follow.
They were leaning against the TARDIS when Martha appeared at the end of the alley. "I went to the moon today," she said.
"A bit more peaceful than down here," the Doctor said.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Sorry about that, Martha. The Doctor makes a habit of being accidentally rude."
Martha shook her head, dismissing her concern. "You never even told me who you are."
"Yes, we did," the Doctor countered. "The Doctor and Rose Tyler."
Martha walked toward them slowly. "What sort of species?" She tilted her head. "It's not every day I get to ask that."
Rose felt him stiffen, but knew Martha wouldn't notice. "I'm a Time Lord," he said.
"Right! Not pompous at all, then." She looked at Rose. "But your wife is human."
Rose smiled at Martha and shook her head. "Not exactly," she said.
Martha crossed her arms over her chest. "Those Judoon things though, they said you were human."
"As far as most people can tell, I am, and I have a feeling today won't be the last time that comes in handy. But… well, it's complicated and I'd rather not get into it right now, but long story short, I'm more like the Doctor than I am human."
Martha looked back and forth between them, and Rose could see the questions on her face.
Before she could ask any of them, the Doctor pulled his new sonic out of his pocket and flipped it a few times. "We just thought, since you were brilliant today and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver which needs road testing, you might fancy a trip."
"What, into space?" she asked incredulously.
"Well." He shrugged.
"But I can't," Martha said, even though they could both tell how much she wanted to say yes. "I've got exams. I've got things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent, I've got my family going mad—"
"He always forgets to mention the best part, Martha," Rose said, bumping her shoulder against his arm. "We can travel in time, too."
Martha snorted. "Get out of here."
The final piece of the puzzle slipped into place. "I can," the Doctor insisted.
"Come on now—that's going too far."
"I'll prove it." He pivoted and pushed the door open. I'll be right back, Rose, he promised, just before the TARDIS dematerialised.
Rose laughed at the look on Martha's face as the ship disappeared. "It really does travel in time," she said, just before the TARDIS reappeared.
A moment later, the Doctor stepped back out, holding his tie in his hand. "Told you," he said smugly, and draped the tie over his head.
"No, but, that was this morning," Martha protested while the Doctor tightened the tie back up around his neck. "Did you? Oh, my God. You can travel in time. But hold on. If you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go into work?"
"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden," he said severely, then smiled with a twinkle in his eye. "Except for cheap tricks."
"And that's your spaceship?" Martha asked, moving forward slowly and putting her hand on the blue box.
"It's called the TARDIS," Rose told her. "Time and Relative Dimension in Space."
"Your spaceship's made of wood," Martha said drily. She peered around the edge of the TARDIS, and Rose knew what was coming next. "And I'd fit in there, along with both of you?"
The Doctor pushed the door open. "Take a look."
Martha took two steps inside the console room and the Doctor followed her. "No, no, no."
Rose leaned against the building, watching in growing amusement as the clever medical student's understanding of science was turned on its head.
She circled the box, mumbling, "But it's just a box. But it's huge."
Rose laughed; she couldn't help it. Between Martha's shock and the Doctor's growing impatience, this was the best entertainment she'd had in weeks.
Martha didn't notice though. She looked back inside, and Rose could imagine her wide eyes. "How does it do that? It's wood," she exclaimed, knocking on the outside. "It's like a box with that room just rammed in. It's bigger on the inside."
"Is it? I hadn't noticed," the Doctor said sarcastically.
Rose raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged and waited for her to join them inside before closing the door. Her coat was tossed on top his over the strut, and she joined him at the console.
The Doctor grinned at her. "Right then, let's get going."
He'd already set the coordinates, and Rose peeked at them as she took her usual spot. Elizabethan England. It had been a while since they'd visited Earth's history.
"Wait a minute," Martha asked. "Is it just the two of you?" She peered down the corridor, and Rose could tell what she was thinking—it was an awfully big space for just two people.
"Yep!" she confirmed. "Just us. Well, sometimes we take a friend along for a trip or two—like we're doing with you."
Martha looked around the console room, her gaze never landing on one spot for long. "So this is your life? Travelling through time and space together?"
"What's wrong with that?" the Doctor asked.
"Nothing!"
He sniffed. "Good." Rose caught his eye and smiled at him, and his good mood came back. "Well, then. Close down the gravitic anomaliser, fire up the helmic regulator," he said, and Rose followed the standard dematerialisation procedure. "And finally, the hand brake."
He spun around the console and put his hand on the lever that would send them into the Vortex. "Ready?" he asked Martha.
"No," she said, and Rose laughed at her honesty.
"Off we go." The Doctor threw the dematerialisation lever, and the TARDIS left the dingy London alleyway for the distant past. She shuddered and rocked as they entered the Vortex, and Rose and the Doctor laughed joyfully.
Martha looked at them with wide eyes as they all held on tight to the console. "Blimey, it's a bit bumpy."
"Welcome aboard, Miss Jones," the Doctor said, holding out his hand.
She grinned and shook it. "It's my pleasure, Mr. and Mrs. Tyler."