Martha's activity in this section is largely based on The Story of Martha by Dan Abnett. Since there's a canon account of her first six months walking the Earth, I figured why not use it and make things easier on myself? Most of the dialogue is either original or heavily reworked.
Chapter 42: Always Together, Even When We're Apart
Rose focused on Martha's escape instead of the Toclafane swarming outside the ship. She'd breathed a sigh of relief when her friend disappeared; as long as one of them was free, they still had a chance to defeat the Master.
The Master turned around, and she tensed at the smug expression on his face. "In all the excitement, I haven't eaten breakfast," he said congenially. "Doctor, would you and your lovely bond mate care to join myself and Lucy for brunch?"
The Doctor and Rose looked at each other warily, but they couldn't exactly decline. They both nodded slowly, and the Master clapped his hands together. "Excellent!" he chirped. "My personal chef has something ready for us in the Captain's Mess."
The guards led them off of the flight deck and down a corridor to a spacious room with a nicer dining table than Rose had expected to find on a military vessel. The narrow surface was laid with several platters of steaming food and, to her embarrassment, Rose's stomach growled loudly.
The Master smirked at her, then turned and tutted at the Doctor. "Doctor, I'm surprised. Don't you feed your bond mate?" He pulled out a chair, and Rose was guided into it by the burly guard holding her arm. A female guard pushed the Doctor to sit directly across from her, leaving the seats at the ends of the table for the Master and his wife.
Rose clenched her hand into a fist and rested it on her leg. She wanted—no, needed—to touch the Doctor, but he was just out of reach. She sighed and took a slice of toast, and as she spread butter on it, she felt his foot brush against her calf before he lowered it to the floor and hooked it around her ankle. It wasn't much, but the tactile reminder that he was there with her relaxed her enough to tuck into her breakfast with gusto.
The Master reached for the teapot and poured for everyone, and when he was done, he took his seat and loaded his plate with eggs, hash browns, and thick rashers of bacon. "The traditional English fry-up," he said conversationally. "There are a few things to recommend this backwater planet you're so fond of, Doctor."
Lucy Saxon cut into her sausage and took a dainty bite, then set her fork and knife down. "Harry says you've been the Doctor's companion for almost four years, Rose."
It was on the tip of Rose's tongue to counter that she was a hell of a lot more than the Doctor's companion, but she bit back the words and took a sip of tea while she waited for the impulse to pass.
"That's right," she said after setting her cup down.
Lucy shuddered delicately. "Harry took me on one trip. It was incredible, but I don't think I could do it again. It's so bumpy and unpredictable."
Rose narrowed her eyes. "I think she's brilliant."
The Master broke in. "If I had my TARDIS, I'd show you what time travel is meant to be like."
"No, ta," Rose said, her voice short. "I'm perfectly fine with how our TARDIS flies."
"Your TARDIS?" The Master pursed his lips. "TARDISes belong to the Time Lords who bond with them. You are only a hybrid."
Rose felt the Doctor echo her surprise. Does he not realise… the Doctor asked.
Rose thought over the conversation Professor Yana had overheard between Jack and the Doctor. No, you never said.
They exchanged a quick glance. If the Master didn't know she was connected to the TARDIS at all, that would certainly be an advantage for them.
After a few minutes of silence, the Master spoke again. "Do you know, I've never had the privilege of talking to a bonded couple before."
Something about the way he said it sent a shiver down Rose's spine.
"Did the Doctor tell you, Miss Tyler, that bonding wasn't common any longer on Gallifrey?"
She looked across the table at the Doctor, and a hint of red flushed his cheeks.
The Master chuckled. "I see he didn't." He took a bite of bacon and egg, and then said, "It was considered beneath us—well, beneath the Time Lords, at least. Ordinary Gallifreyans still bonded all the time, but without the regeneration aspect, it didn't mean as much to them. After all, the whole reason Time Lords kept the old custom was to stabilise relationships during the tumultuous period surrounding regeneration. But by our time, the regeneration process no longer caused the turbulent change it brought in the past—for competent Time Lords, at least. Tying your mind to another was unnecessary, as well as being hopelessly archaic and sentimental."
Rose met the Doctor's eyes and smiled. I love you.
"And, of course, it was a tactical weakness."
They both froze, then looked at the Master, who was leaning back in his chair, smirking.
"Doctor, your telepathic shields have always been strong enough to keep me out. But your bond mate here—well, she's only been telepathic for two years. And if I can break down her walls, then how simple would it be to follow your bond with her and enter your mind?"
The Doctor's jaw clenched. "I doubt you'll find it as easy to break Rose's barriers as you think, Master."
"Hmmm… maybe not." The Master tapped his fork against his plate in an echo of the drums beating in his head. "But I'm so looking forward to trying."
The Master pushed back from the table. "Not today, though. I've got far too much to do."
Rose and the Doctor looked at each other uneasily.
"Oh, you don't need to get up," the Master said politely. "Please, eat your fill. The guards will take you to the rooms I prepared for you when you're done."
He paused at the door. "They do have instructions to shoot you if you try to touch," he added. "Bye-bye!"
Rose's appetite was gone, but the Master's mercurial temperament made her question when she'd next get a decent meal. She and the Doctor ate in silence, and when they stood, the guards led them from the room.
When they came to an intersection between corridors, Rose's stomach jolted unpleasantly when she was prodded to go straight while the Doctor was directed to turn. "Wait a minute!" she demanded. "Why're you splitting us up?"
The guard assigned to her rolled his eyes. "Our Master isn't foolish enough to leave you in the same room," he sneered. "You'll have individual quarters for the duration of your stay on board the Valiant."
The Doctor didn't seem surprised by that announcement, and Rose supposed she shouldn't be either. But still, the thought that they wouldn't see each other for who knew how long made her chest tighten.
Rose, we'll be fine. Don't forget, we have this. The small hint of connection offered by his subtle caress along the bond calmed her slightly, and she lifted her chin.
"Well, if we're gonna be split up, I want a last kiss."
The Doctor's guard snorted, and Rose turned to glare at her.
"Look, you can't tell me your Master wouldn't enjoy the thought of us bein' driven to beg," she snapped. "You can go back to him and tell him how pathetic we were, and you know he'll laugh."
The two guards exchanged a look, then finally the Doctor's shrugged and pushed him forward. Rose grabbed the lapels of his coat and closed her eyes when he pressed his forehead to hers.
I love you, you brilliant woman, the Doctor told her. One of his hands dropped to her hip to pull her close while the other threaded through her hair to tip her head back so he could kiss her.
Rose slid her hands over his chest to hold onto his shoulders. The press of the Doctor's lips to hers was achingly tender as they both tried to make this last moment together count. After a moment, she swiped her tongue over his bottom lip, and his hands clutched at her jacket when he parted his lips for her.
Love you too, Doctor, Rose told him as she slipped her tongue into his mouth. Oh God, I love you so much.
The Doctor made a soft sound in the back of his throat, then his tongue pushed into Rose's mouth and tenderness was swept away by passion. The desperate edge to the embrace added a touch of carnality they wouldn't normally have indulged in with witnesses standing by, but today, Rose couldn't care less who saw them snogging. She carded her fingers through his hair and tugged, and the Doctor dropped his hands to her bum and pulled her closer.
A hand on her shoulder pulled her away from the Doctor. "That's enough," her guard said gruffly. "You said kiss, not shag in the middle of the corridor."
The Doctor bounced on his toes. "Well, you know," he said brightly, "I've always believed in making the most of opportunities."
Rose bit her lip to stifle a giggle. When he winked at her, she realised his insouciance was solely for her benefit, to make their last moments together easier for her.
She grinned at him, letting her tongue peek out. "Oh, you definitely make the most of every moment," she said, innuendo dripping from her voice.
The guards both grunted in disgust, then the woman grabbed the Doctor by the arm and dragged him away. "Come on," she snarled. "We let you have your moment; now it's time to say goodbye."
The Doctor looked back at Rose and waved merrily, as if they would only be parted for a few hours. Rose shook her head fondly and waved back.
oOoOoOoOo
The accommodations that had been prepared for them turned out to be officers' quarters. Much like a dorm room, there was a bed, a table, a wardrobe, a dresser, and a closed door that the Doctor assumed led to the lavatory. All in all, it was nicer than he'd expected.
He turned a slow circle, his hands in his pockets, and nodded approvingly. "This will do nicely."
The guard snorted. "So glad you approve." She dropped a plastic tub on the table. "Now, empty your pockets. And since our Master has told us they'll be bigger on the inside, I want you to take your clothes off and tip them upside down, so there's no chance of you hiding anything."
Despite the indignity of being forced to strip to his pants and oxford in front of a stranger, the Doctor held his head high as he obeyed her orders. Her eyebrows rose as various bits of detritus continued to pour from his pockets, and he grabbed a white bag and offered it to her.
"Jelly baby?"
The blonde woman took the bag from him and inspected the contents, then rolled her eyes and dropped it on the table. "You can keep those," she told him, then looked at the tub, which was three-quarters full.
The Doctor popped a sweet into his mouth, then said, "A little more than you were expecting… what was your name?"
She straightened her spine and glared at him. "ADC Dexter."
The Doctor whistled. "The Master's aide-de-camp," he mused. "Not just a guard, then."
Her eyes glittered with pride. "Our Master trusts me more than anyone."
The Doctor pulled his clothes back on. "Oh, I'm sure he does."
Dexter scowled at him and carried the tub full of his belongings to the door. "Meals will be brought to you at 7:30, noon, and 6:00. You'll find changes of clothes in the wardrobe and toiletries in the lavatory. Anything else you want will need to be discussed with a guard. You can call one by pressing this button." She pointed at a doorbell on the wall, then shifted her hand to indicate the small camera over the door. "The security camera is always running, twenty-four hours a day."
The Doctor put his hands in his pockets. "I expected nothing less," he said truthfully.
Dexter nodded sharply. "I'll leave you to get used to your accommodations now."
After she left, the Doctor wandered the room, opening and closing doors. The lavatory was small but functional, with a toilet, pedestal sink, and a shower stall. The clothes in the wardrobe were less satisfactory. He wrinkled his nose when he saw the boring dark grey suits in the wardrobe with their even boring-er plain black ties.
They're dressing me like a detective inspector, he grumbled, and closed the door.
Once he'd inspected his surroundings, he didn't have anything to keep himself occupied with. It was tempting to reach for Rose and pull them both into the bond, but after the Master's questions, he was wary of making it too obvious how much he depended on her presence in his mind. They could communicate freely without anyone being the wiser, but taking the bond to its deepest level gave the appearance that they were asleep; the Master would recognise it immediately.
He paced the small confines of the room, running his hand through his hair over and over. He'd expected the Master to capture them both if he caught one of them, but that didn't make it any easier to accept Rose being in the Master's grasp for the next 366 days.
His hand drifted to his shirt pocket, but the guards hadn't noticed the picture of Rose, and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.
Still, they could talk, and they spent the afternoon sharing what they'd found in their rooms. She was just as unimpressed by the clothes as he was, though all she'd tell him was that the Master was dressing her like a chav. When Rose discovered a stack of books tucked away in her dresser, the Doctor rifled through his drawers and discovered he had some, too.
He picked up one book he was very familiar with. I could read to you, if you want. Rose's affirmative was clear, so the Doctor took off his suit jacket and sat down on the bed, with his back to the wall. He opened the book to the first page and began.
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
When dinner came at 6:00, the Doctor used a bookmark to hold their place and set the book down. He ate quickly, eager to be done with the meal and go back to reading to Rose, but when she was done eating, she told him she was going to take a shower before bed.
Finally, the lights in the room dimmed slowly, and the Doctor took off his jacket and tie and laid down on his bed. As soon as he was ready, he reached for Rose and sighed when he felt her reaching for him in return.
I'm sorry, he said.
Rose's exasperation coloured their bond. This isn't your fault, she told him. If we ran into one of my old schoolmates and discovered they'd gone completely insane, blowing things up and claiming they were going to take over the world, would you blame me?
The Doctor ran a hand over his face. Of course not.
She easily picked up on the fact that her argument hadn't swayed him, and he felt a twinge of remorse when he sensed her weariness. Can we just… not talk about anything? I just need you to hold me tonight.
Together, they deepened their connection until they were wrapped in the full communion of their bond. Pulling a desire from Rose, the Doctor directed their shared experience, and a moment later, they were lying together in their own bed. Of all the ways they'd used telepathy over the last two years, none had meant as much as the simple feeling that they were at home, where they belonged.
Rose relaxed into his embrace and wrapped one of her arms around his waist. I love you.
I love you too, Rose. Picking up on her slight headache, he massaged her scalp gently. How are you feeling? he asked, the headache making him worried that the TARDIS would be too ill to offer Rose the assistance she depended on.
I'm fine, she assured him. She feels a bit off, but I can tell she's still there, helping out. I might have to sleep like a regular human, but that's not so bad.
The Doctor ran a hand through her hair and silently thanked their ship. Good. At least that's one thing we don't need to worry about. And… He hesitated, but dove in after a moment. I am sorry this happened. Even if it isn't my fault.
Rose shook her head. Don't focus on being sorry, she told him. Focus on finding a way for us to get out of here.
The Doctor tried to clamp down on the truth, but Rose caught it. You already have a way.
He ran a hand up and down her back. As soon as I saw the TARDIS, I started thinking about a backup plan. It's a bit more involved, and it'll take longer, but it'll work.
How much longer?
His hand stopped moving. A year, he finally told her. And I can't tell you anything more, Rose. The Master knows me well enough to know I'll come up with something, and when he asks if you know my plan, it'll be better if you can honestly say you don't.
Rose pressed a kiss to his chest. Why do you think he didn't visit either of us today?
Knowing him? The Doctor snorted; this was classic Master. He enjoyed making us squirm at breakfast this morning, and now he'll wait until we've almost convinced ourselves that he's going to ignore us for good.
Your old mate is a sadistic bastard.
The Doctor laughed humourlessly. Yep.
There was a moment of silence, then Rose propped herself up and looked down at him. So… speaking of things that made us squirm at breakfast…
It took the Doctor a moment to catch on to what she was saying, but when he did, his face flamed.
Her eyes sparkled, and her tongue peeked out when she smiled at him. I never would have taken you for an old-fashioned bloke.
Not old-fashioned, but I was a renegade. I didn't like to do anything the way the rest of the Time Lords thought it should be done. He wrinkled his nose at the memory of their stuffy rules, then smiled up at Rose. And truthfully, Rose… from the first time my mind touched yours, I knew it would never be enough. I needed you.
She blushed delightfully, and the Doctor cradled her face between his hands and kissed her. The awareness that they were being observed and taped made it easy to keep the embrace chaste. He really didn't want to know what telepathic intimacy would look like to an outside observer—similar to a wet dream, he imagined.
Rose broke the kiss to yawn, and the Doctor encouraged her to rest her head on his chest again. Go to sleep, love.
He was awake long after Rose drifted off, holding her close and considering how different this was from what it would have been like if Rose weren't there. A year in the Master's company wouldn't be pleasant, but with Rose at is side, he could handle whatever his adversary threw at him.
oOoOoOoOo
"It's been two weeks." The Master threw the report on Martha Jones onto the table, and the papers scattered. "How has one pathetic human evaded capture for two weeks?"
Dexter stood at attention. "She must still have the perception filter, sir."
The Master scowled. "The key doesn't make her invisible; it just makes you not want to see her. Haven't you found someone in the Unified Containment Forces who could see through that?"
She handed him a second folder. "I believe so, sir. UCFA Griffin. You need someone with tenacity if they're going to look beyond the perception filter. Griffin has that—and the team he's assembled is exceptional."
The Master took the folder and skimmed its contents quickly. "Do it. And Dexter?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Tell them this is a personal favour to me. Let them know that when they find Jones, we'll make it worth their while." He stared at her. "Hard target. I don't care if they bring her in dead or alive, as long as the Doctor's pet isn't still walking free."
oOoOoOoOo
After two weeks, Rose started to hope the Master would simply leave them to rot in their rooms. Of course, the next day, her door opened at three in the afternoon—directly between lunch and dinner—and the Master walked in.
"I hope I didn't keep you waiting," he said. "This whole ruling a planet business is actually more work than I thought it would be."
"You'll excuse me if I don't feel sympathetic for your workload," Rose said sarcastically.
The Master ran his fingers over the tabletop. "How have you found your accommodations? I did leave instructions with the guards to give you anything you asked for, except of course for the key to the door."
Rose nodded at the pile of books stacked up on her desk. "I've been using the time to catch up on a little reading."
"Excellent." The Master tapped his fingers against the books in the four-beat rhythm Rose had come to hate. "What about sleeping? I assume your bed is comfortable enough, since you've been sleeping over eight hours a night, like an ordinary human."
Rose forced her features to remain even. The last thing she wanted was for the Master to discover his interference with the TARDIS had affected her own health. "Well, as you keep pointing out, I'm only a hybrid, after all." She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you being so considerate?"
"I just think hospitality is a lost art, don't you?"
"You've got a different definition of hospitality than I've ever heard," Rose said. "For one, what kind of host splits a couple up into separate rooms?"
His lips turned out in a pout. "I thought you would understand the limitations put on me by the unique situation."
"The unique situation being that you've wrongfully imprisoned both of us? Yeah, that doesn't make me feel very understanding."
"Well, if that's what you think, I'll just skip over the pleasantries and get straight to my purpose." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. "Why did the Doctor send Martha Jones away on Day Zero?"
Rose stared at him for a moment, then laughed bitterly. "You've gotta be kidding me. Martha's our friend. Why wouldn't he send her away from the resident psychopath?"
The Master rolled his eyes. "Are you really trying to tell me he was simply looking out for her? No. I've seen the security footage from that day—he whispered something in her ear before she left. What did he tell her to do?"
"I don't know," Rose replied, "and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
Underneath her sarcastic cover, Rose's nerves were taut. This was the moment the Doctor had warned her about, when the Master would ask her what his plan was. It would be a trick to convince him that she didn't know.
She snorted. "Let me get this straight. You think the Doctor has some kind of secret mission to defeat you, and for some reason, you think I'm going to tell you what it is."
The Master's smile pressed into a thin line. "You will either tell me, or I will find out, whether you like it or not."
"Yeah? And how do you plan to do that, then?"
The smug smirk was back, and Rose wanted to smack it off his face.
"I can tell you're a telepath… what kind of barriers do you have?"
Rose smiled and reclined in her seat when she realised what the Master planned to do. "Why don't you find out?" she invited. Surprise flickered across the Master's face, and Rose's confidence grew. Even if he could get past her own barriers, he'd told them the first day that the Doctor was capable of keeping him out.
What protects one, protects both, she remembered from their wedding day.
"You think you'll be able to keep me out of your mind?" He pushed off the wall and walked over to her. "I have hundreds of years experience using telepathy, not to mention my little talent for manipulating human and Time Lord minds. Or have you forgotten?" He tapped his four beats against her forehead. "It doesn't matter how strong a telepath you are; it's still a new skill to you."
"Then there's no reason why you shouldn't just dive straight into my mind, is there?" Rose challenged.
His eyes narrowed. "You are remarkably impertinent for someone who is at my complete mercy."
Rose's amusement caught the Doctor's attention, too. I'm toying with the Master, she told him. He thinks it will be easy to break my telepathic barriers, since I'm a rank amateur compared to him. A sharp wave of anger washed over her via the bond, and she soothed it away. I'm not saying I'm happy he's gonna try to get into my mind, but we both know he won't succeed. Just be ready, okay?
He calmed somewhat, and Rose felt his presence in her mind strengthen as he reinforced his own barriers in preparation for the attack. Ready, he said, and just in time.
The Master pulled a chair around to her side of the table. Then he pressed his fingers into Rose's temples, his hold not nearly as gentle as the Doctor's had been when they had connected in this way. A moment later, Rose felt him pushing against her mind, trying to get in, but he was repelled so quickly, she barely noticed his presence.
A furrow appeared in his brow, and he yanked his hands away and shook his head. He looks like he's got telepathic whiplash, Rose realised as she watched him rub at his forehead.
"How did you do that?" he demanded.
"Couldn't you tell, Harry?" Rose asked, deciding on a whim to call him by the human name his wife preferred.
"It felt like…" The Master frowned, then surged forward both physically and telepathically. This time, instead of bouncing out, he was simply stopped dead at the entrance to her mind.
His eyes opened wide when he pulled back. "Of course. The bond allows you to share telepathic barriers with your bond mate."
Rose leaned back in her chair. "You really thought my husband would leave me so vulnerable to an attack?"
The Master scowled. "I had forgotten that bond mates had that capability."
Rose pressed her lips together to hide a smile. She'd used the word husband out of habit, since she and the Doctor always used the human titles in public. But the Master seemed genuinely annoyed that she wouldn't call the Doctor her bond mate, and she added that to her growing list of ways to irritate him.
"Maybe it's not such a tactical weakness, after all."
His familiar smirk settled back over his features. "Oh, I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, Miss Tyler. I might not be able to invade your mind, but there are other ways your bond can be used against you." He looked at his watch. "However, I don't have time to explore them today. Cheerio!" He waggled his fingers, then left the room.
Rose paced after he left, running her hands through her hair and biting her lip. For one, brief moment, she'd felt like they had the upper hand, finally. The surprise on the Master's face when he was repelled from her mind still brought a smile to her lips—he definitely had not been expecting that.
But his final words had killed much of her confidence. Rationally, she knew that had been his intent. He wanted her off balance, constantly wondering what he would do next. That was why he'd left them alone for two weeks, after all.
Rose? What's wrong? the Doctor asked, just as a guard pushed open her door to give her dinner.
She took the tray and sat down at the table to eat. The Master still has more tricks up his sleeve, she told him. I just have a feeling he's gonna find a way to use the bond against us.
Not possible, the Doctor said firmly. He might be able to exploit the nature of the bond, to a certain extent, but the only way he can truly use it against us is if we let him get to us enough to wish we didn't have it.
She felt his tender touch and shuddered.
No matter what happens, Rose, I will never regret this.
Neither will I, Doctor, she promised immediately.
She hesitated before telling him the rest of what was on her mind, but she couldn't bring herself to hold back from him when this was the only communication they had.
What is it, love?
She sighed and tried to burrow closer to his mind. I just… I miss you, she told him. I wish I could see you, just for a moment.
Rose felt the fleeting sensation of his fingers brushing her hair back from her face, and she blessed the bond. Being able to touch her Doctor like this, even when they were in different parts of the ship, was the one thing that was keeping her sane.
Do you still have your coat? he asked a moment later.
Rose blinked and looked at the lightweight black jacket she'd been wearing when they'd arrived on the Valiant. Yeah, why?
Because I might have tucked one of the pictures from our anniversary into the inside pocket.
Rose grabbed her jacket and shoved her hand into the inside pocket. Her fingers brushed against the stiff corner of a photograph. You're brilliant, she told him as she pulled it out.
I don't even know why I did it, he admitted, except that I wanted to have one with me, so I thought you should have one too.
How did you know this was my favourite? Rose asked as she stared at the picture of the two of them standing in front of the waterfall.
The smile on your face when you saw it the first time. I bet you're smiling like that again.
Which one do you have?
A moment later, he showed her the picture he'd taken of her at sunset on their last evening, as they sat on the beach again. Rose sighed; seeing the carefree, happy smile on her face almost hurt.
You know, we still haven't gone back to 1969 and taken care of things there, she pointed out. Maybe when this is all done, we can do that—and maybe we can go back to the Isle of Wight while we're there.
Whatever you want, love.
The guard returned for the empty tray, and Rose picked up a book and pretended to read while she and the Doctor kept talking. Finally, the lights dimmed and she took her pyjamas into the lavatory to change, then lay down in bed and waited for the Doctor's signal that he was ready.
At his gentle telepathic tug, Rose closed her eyes and sank into the bond. She wasn't tired yet, so she subtly directed their connection, and a moment later, they were curled up together on the sofa in the study.
Looking up at the Doctor, Rose could see the concern and frustration he tried to keep hidden. Of course I'm worried, he told her in response to her surprise. The Master is as clever as I am, and he has a lifetime of experience, finding exactly the right buttons to push to get a reaction out of me. I won't let him use our relationship as a weapon against us, but that doesn't mean I'm looking forward to him trying.
They sat in silence for several long minutes, both of them struggling to keep their imaginations from running away with them.
Rose bit her lip and looked up at the Doctor. How long are you going to stay with me?
He blinked when she asked the question that had always come from him, but he answered without hesitation. Forever, he promised her. Rose felt tears trembling on her eyelashes, and he brushed them away with his thumbs before leaning in to kiss her. I made my choice a long time ago, he told her as his lips moved tenderly against hers, and I am never going to leave you.
oOoOoOoOo
Three weeks into her year of travelling, Martha already wondered how she was going to make it. She rearranged her pack and wrapped her coat around herself. She'd managed to slip into the cargo hold of a container ship bound for France, but it wasn't exactly luxury accommodations.
Her thoughts drifted automatically to her family and friends on board the Valiant, currently living in captivity. Her mum had looked so distraught the last time Martha had seen her, so apologetic for the very small role she'd played in the situation.
Between that apologetic look and her dad's words about not sacrificing one daughter for the other, Martha figured Saxon must have taken Tish a few days before the election. Then he'd put pressure on her mum to get Martha to come home and bring the Doctor. That was why she'd invited them around for tea, wasn't it?
Martha didn't blame her for any of it. How could her mum have defied the Master when he had Tish? She tried not to think about how her big sister had been with the Master while Martha had been living months at a time in the past.
A loud bang startled her, and she clutched her key and shrunk further into the shadows. Until a few days ago, she'd believed the key to be the perfect protection. Then a little girl had seen her sparkly earrings, and members of the Master's Unified Containment Forces had nearly found her.
She held her breath until the sailor returned topside. The leader of that UCF team had been so determined to catch her. He'd nearly caught up to her just before she slipped onto this ship, and Martha had a feeling she'd be seeing his scarred face in her sleep.
oOoOoOoOo
"What are the Toclafane?"
"Do you know who the Master is?"
"Why is he doing this? Do you know how to stop him?"
Martha looked at the French refugees surrounding her. Tired faces, disheveled hair, and clothes that were starting to show wear told the same story she'd seen in England before crossing the Channel a week ago. Those the Master couldn't subjugate or coerce to work for him, he was going to kill slowly by starvation and breaking their spirit.
But she remembered how she'd found this group—in the middle of an illegal flash market, organised by the refugees to make sure food and supplies kept getting to the people who needed them. The Doctor had called humans indomitable, and she was beginning to understand what he meant.
She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. "I don't know how to stop the Master, but I know someone who does." A few people leaned closer, and she made eye contact with them. "My friend—a man called the Doctor."
"The Doctor?" Several of the refugees edged away from her. "Is he like the Master, then?"
Martha shook her head. "They're both from the same planet, but the Doctor would never do what the Master has done. Think about it—don't their names tell you how different they are?" she said, and some of the scepticism lifted. "The Doctor and Rose, they help people."
"Then where are they?"
"Right now, they're on the Valiant with the Master. But the Doctor promises he can help!" she added hurriedly. "Let me tell you about the day I met him, and then you'll understand what he's capable of."
And she launched into a story of Judoon and a hospital on the moon. Several people nodded, and she remembered that had happened barely a month ago, in linear time.
"So the Judoon were looking for this alien called a plasmavore," she explained. "Only, she hid herself by assimilating enough human blood to scan as human when they scanned her. And the Doctor, he figured out what she'd done, so he tricked her into drinking his blood. Because what she didn't know was that the Doctor wasn't human, either."
A month ago, she might have hesitated to tell a story featuring blood-sucking in a crowd that included children. But they'd all seen enough since the Master had taken over to inure them to the gore.
"Wasn't that dangerous?" one teenage boy asked.
She nodded. "Oh, yeah. And Rose wasn't happy with him for doing it. But that's who the Doctor is. He was willing to put his own life on the line to save everyone on this planet, and he has done so over and over and over again."
Martha looked around at her audience. "So when I tell you that he knows how to take care of the Master and that you just need to trust him, I promise—you really can trust him."
"How can we show him we trust him?" a woman asked. "How can we let him know?"
A smile crossed Martha's face. "Just think his name."
The French refugees looked at each other, then at Martha. "Think his name?" one asked dubiously.
"That's right. At 9:00 on the morning of May 15, 2009, all of you think, 'Doctor.' That's what he's asked us to do."
Their faces fell. "That's almost a year away."
"Hey," Martha said, trying to mimic Rose's encouraging voice. "It's not going to be fast, and it won't be easy, but we can beat the Master. We just have to believe, okay?"
Her gaze swept over the crowd, trying to catch the eye of as many people as possible. Finally, a few of them started nodding, and then more joined in.
"Thank you, Martha Jones."
oOoOoOoOo
The Master tired of his attempts to break through their joined mental shields after only a few weeks, but the Doctor knew him too well to assume he had truly dropped the subject. So when the Master sauntered into his room, three months into their stay on the Valiant, looking more satisfied with himself than usual, the Doctor tensed.
"Do you know, Doctor," he said as he leaned casually against the table, "I've been thinking about other interesting side effects of this bond of yours."
The Doctor tried to maintain a poker face, but he knew his back had stiffened. The Master laughed and shook his head. "You always were rubbish at hiding those emotions, Doctor," he chided. "How human of you."
Questions were on the tip of the Doctor's tongue—what was he planning, where was Rose, and more—but he swallowed them back and made the Master volunteer the information on his own. A frown flitted across the other Time Lord's face, and the Doctor had to hide a triumphant smile.
"Aren't you going to ask?"
The Doctor looked up at the Master, affecting boredom. "You're going to tell me, whether I ask or not."
The Master clucked his tongue. "You used to be more curious than this. I'm disappointed, Doctor… but that's enough invitation for me." He pulled his laser screwdriver out of his pocket and tossed it in the air, catching it as it came back down. "You see, it occurs to me that a complete marriage bond allows for the easy transference of all feelings."
He twisted the controls on the screwdriver—the Doctor assumed to adjust the wavelength of the laser—then pointed it at a shiny spot on the wall. The wall opened up to reveal a television.
He aimed his laser screwdriver at a shiny spot on the wall, and it opened to reveal a television.
"CCTV," he said helpfully. "And I think this is the channel… this remote is impossible to use… Oh, there we have it."
The screen flicked to life, and the Doctor straightened when he saw his bond mate for the first time in three months. Her grey track suit looked more like something her mother would wear, but she seemed healthy, and he breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, I wouldn't relax just yet," the Master warned.
The Doctor went over what the Master had said since he'd entered the room, and he ground his teeth together. "Don't," he bit out, even though he knew exactly the reaction begging was likely to receive.
And sure enough, the Master's sadistic grin spread across his face. He pulled a comm device out of his pocket and raised it to his mouth. "Go ahead."
The door to Rose's room opened, and he could tell she didn't understand what was going to happen. Rose! Rose, be careful, he begged when the guard grabbed her.
The Master had the sound muted and the Doctor turned away from the screen, but he didn't need to see or hear to know what was happening to her. He felt it when the first blow landed across her jaw, and he bit down on his tongue to keep himself from crying out as she was systematically beaten.
By the time it stopped, he could taste the iron tang of blood in his mouth and he hated the Master more than he ever had before.
He didn't know when he'd closed his eyes, but he opened them now. The Master was looking at him with obvious glee and curiosity.
"Oh, that was fun," he breathed out. "Do you know, Doctor, you flinched with every blow."
"Torture, Master?" the Doctor said through gritted teeth. "I thought physical abuse was beneath you. You've spent too much time with humans lately."
The smile disappeared from the Master's face. "You're one to talk," he sniped. "Where's the control a Time Lord should have over his emotions? I've managed to completely wreck your composure, simply by allowing a guard to strike your bond mate a few times."
The Doctor's lips pulled back in a silent snarl. It was more than a few times, and they both knew it.
"So you tell me—who's acting more human? Me, or you?"
oOoOoOoOo
Rose curled up gingerly in bed. After the beating, a nurse had been sent into her room to bandage her up. She'd been torn between surprise that the Master had been so solicitous, and disgust that someone in the medical profession could look at her wounds without flinching. She'd held the man's gaze, daring him to offer some kind of apology, but the coldness in his eyes told her none would be forthcoming.
The Doctor had lingered in her mind, not deepening the bond, but offering what support he could from a distance. He'd explained the wariness and desire for privacy that led him to wait until after lights out to take the bond to its deepest level, but as the hours ticked slowly by, Rose wished he would make an exception today.
Instead, she'd retrieved the picture of them standing together in front of the waterfall. It was a bittersweet memory, but she clung to the hope that they could be like that again.
As soon as the lights went out, he was there, cradling her close. Rose, oh, I am so sorry, love.
Not your fault, she told him.
I will always regret you being hurt, whether I'm to blame or not, he corrected gently. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, Can I… would you show me?
Rose had been struggling to keep her telepathic visage from showing the marks the guard had left on her body. Why? she asked, unwilling to let the facade drop.
Because you don't need to hide anything from me.
Tears welled up in Rose's eyes, and she let him see. His hands ghosted over each bruise, and then, finally, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
My precious Rose, he whispered. I am so, so sorry.
Rose sniffed. Well, he said he'd find a way to use the bond against us.
The Doctor placed a finger under her chin and gently tipped her head back until he could look her in the eye. Rose Tyler, I told you once that would be impossible.
Rose finally let the Doctor see her own guilt. But… I know he only hurt me today because he wanted to see how you would react.
That, and because he wanted you to feel guilty, the Doctor explained. The Master is an expert at manipulation, and I hate him for using you like this. But I told you he would only be successful in using the bond against us if we came to regret having it, and… well I have to tell you, right now I'm grateful we're bonded.
What? Why?
He smiled down at her. Because he would have hurt you, regardless. And since we have the bond, I can comfort you, even though we're on opposite sides of the ship.
He cradled her face gently and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. The truth is, love, the Master keeps thinking he'll find a way to turn our bond into a weakness, but having you with me will always give me strength.