Chapter Two: Love Hurts
"This should be it Martha, good ole sand and surf and plenty of Beach Boys music."
Martha smiled, she was wearing a bathing suit and ready for an enjoyable day at the beach, "I have been looking forward to a break from exams."
"I know, that's why I decided that good ole 1960 was the place to go," The Doctor said with a good natured grin.
The TARDIS dematerialized and the Doctor opened the door. Martha Jones exited and frowned, "Doctor, this is not the beach."
The Doctor looked around, around him was various run down flats. He could hear yelling and screaming. A woman or at least they looked like a woman, walking down the street. He stopped and looked at Martha and smiled, "Nice swimsuit, I really ought to get myself one of those. But you're a long way from the beach, honey. What happen did you take a wrong turn?"
Martha blushed lightly, "You could say that."
The Doctor put on his glasses and looked at the 'woman', "That's my fault actually. Where are we?"
"You're on skid row."
Alarm goes off at seven
And you start uptown.
You put in your eight hours
For the powers that have always been.
Till it's five P.M.
Then you go
Downtown
Where the folks are broke.
Downtown
Where your life's a joke.
Downtown
When you buy your token,
you go
Home to skid row.
Yes, you go
Downtown
Where the cabs don't stop
Downtown
Where the food is slop
Downtown
Where the hop-heads flop
in the snow
Down on Skid Row
Uptown you cater to a million jerks.
Uptown you're messengers and
mailroom clerks
eating all your lunches at the
hot dog carts.
The bosses take your money
And they break your hearts.
Uptown you cater to a million whores.
You disinfect terrazzo on their
bathroom floors.
Your morning's tribulation,
afternoon's a curse
And five o'clock is even worse
That's when you go
Downtown
Downtown
Downtown
Down on skid row
Down on skid row
Down on skid row
Down on skid row!
Someone show me a way to get
outa here,
'cause I constantly pray I'll get
outa here
Please, won't somebody say I'll get
outa here
Someone gimme my shot or I'll
rot here.
The Doctor nodded, "Never mind, I get the point." He then grinned, "Martha this is brilliant. Of all the places the TARDIS picked it chose skid row. Now you watch, these people they are the lowest of the low. They starve, they preserver and yet…." He gave Martha a squeeze, "You humans really are amazing!"
The 'woman' gave the Doctor an odd look, "Humans?"
The Doctor chuckled, "That's right. I am an alien."
She then laughed and turned to Martha, "He'd fit in here nicely."
The 'woman' then wandered off. Martha then whispered, "Doctor was that a…."
The Doctor grinned, "Yep. The 60's were lots of fun, Martha Jones. Some had a little more fun than others."
Suddenly a motor cycle was heard as a man who looked a lot like 'James Dean' or maybe even a bit like 'Elvis' drove up. He wore a leather jacket and the Doctor sighed, "I remember when I wore a leather jacket like that."
Martha frowned, "You wore a leather jacket?"
The Doctor grinned, "I sure did. Can't understand why I did though. It wasn't very practical, all that leather and I'd get hot and sweaty in it. But that was so long ago and I was a different man back then."
A girl sat on the back of the bike and she got off the bike, she gave the rider of the bike a kiss on the cheek and the man took off. She looked a bit like a cross between Marilyn Monroe, except this girl had a nasty black eye.
Meanwhile a big burly man stood in front of the shop. "Audrey, where'd you get that shiner? I tell you that boyfriend of yours is no good."
Audrey said, "Mr. Mushnik, this is Skid Row, none of the boys are any good."
Where the guys are drips.
Where they rip your slips.
Where relationships are no go.
Down on skid row
Down on skid row
Down on skid row
Down on skid row!
Mr. Mushnik opened the door of his shop and yelled, "Seymour Krelbourn, have you finished with those bulbs yet?"
Seymour ran to the door with pots in his hand, "Yes sir, yes sir." Seymour suddenly dropped the pots and a dozen bulbs went tumbling out all over the place."
Mr. Mushnik glared at Seymour, "I take it that those were my bulbs, you slob. I took you in to help me, Seymour not to make a mess. Clean it up Krelbourn."
"Yes, Mr. Mushnik."
Mr. Mushnik went inside the shop.
Seymour sighed and began to slowly clean up.
Poor! All my life I've always been poor.
I keep asking God what I'm for,
and he tells me "Gee, I'm not sure
sweep that floor, kid."
Oh, I started life as an orphan,
a child of the street
Here on skid row.
He took me in, gave me shelter, a bed,
Crust of bread and a job
Treats me like dirt, calls me a slob,
Which I am.
A bulb landed near the Doctor's foot. He grinned and picked it up and he sighed, "You dropped this."
Seymour took the bulb from the Doctor's hand, "Thanks…."
"Not a problem."
Audrey came out with a broom, "Here Seymour…."
She looked at the Doctor and Martha Jones, "You chose the wrong place for a swim."
Martha blushed lightly, "It his fault." And Martha motioned towards the Doctor.
Audrey nodded, "Gee he's tall and he so cute what with that British accent. Is he your boyfriend?"
Martha shook her head negatively, "No, that's just the Doctor. He's not my boyfriend."
"Doctor….really? My boyfriend is a doctor too….well sort of. He's a dentist."
Martha nodded and looked at the black eye, "Did your boyfriend give you that?"
Audrey cringed a bit and then spoke up firmly, "What's it to ya? I have got a hard enough life and then I have some colored girl telling me I ought to do something about it."
Martha said softly, "I am sorry, I didn't mean to….its just that you really ought to put some ice on it."
Audrey's posture softened some and she sighed, "You think so? What are you some sort of doctor as well?"
"Actually I am training to be a doctor."
Audrey laughed, "That's funny. A girl like you training to be a doctor, I guess we all have dreams though."
Martha flinched. Something about Audrey's words seemed really offensive but then she realized this was 1960. For a woman like her to want to become a doctor really was an impossibility.
Martha said calmly, "I have lots of dreams. Where I come from, girls like me become doctors and lawyers and all sorts of things."
Audrey laughed some more, "Those really are dreams, but here on skid row no one really has that much of a chance."
"And boyfriends hurt their girlfriends."
Audrey sighed, "Love hurts…ummm"
"I am Martha Jones."
"Love hurts, Martha Jones, especially on skid row."
"I am sorry…umm."
"Audrey."
"That's a pretty name."
Audrey smiled, "You think so? No one compliments me that much, well except Seymour."
The Doctor listened to the two girls talk meanwhile he helped Seymour clean up the mess and Seymour was protesting all the way, "Mr. Mushnik wouldn't like this, sir. You really shouldn't help me."
The Doctor shook his head, "I shouldn't but I am. I am the Doctor, what's your name?"
"Seymour Krelborn."
"Pleasure to meet you, Seymour Krelborn."
The Doctor took up the broom from Audrey's hands while Martha and her talked.
"Honestly get two girls together and they never shut up." The Doctor began to sweep up the spilled soil off the ground. Seymour said, "I wouldn't know, sir."
"Don't be so nervous, Seymour. You really ought to chill a bit more."
"I can't, sir. See Mr. Mushnik took me in as a small boy. He gave me a home. If I was to 'chill' as you put it, he might throw me out and then where would I go?"
The Doctor sighed and nodded, "I understand. But you don't have to call me sir. Just call me Doctor."
Seymour smiled, "Doctor…."
"That's it."
The two finished cleaning up the mess and gathering up the bulbs. The Doctor smiled, "There all finished. I have to admit this is a strange spot for a florist."
Seymour nodded, "It is but Mr. Mushnik is a good man. See he thought this little shop would help the community."
The Doctor grinned, "That's what I love about you humans. You put something in a lowly little spot and you make it go."
Seymour frowned, "Humans? Aren't you human, Doctor?"
"No I am not."
Seymour backed away from the Doctor, he obviously was crazy and on skid row there were plenty of odd balls and strange people. "Come on Audrey. We really need to get inside the shop. Mr. Mushnik will be upset if we don't get back inside the shop soon."
Audrey frowned, "Why?"
Seymour whispered in Audrey's ear. Audrey turned to Martha with a look of sympathy as well and then said quietly to her, "You poor thing. And I thought I had troubles. Good bye Martha Jones. Just be careful of that guy of yours and make sure he doesn't hurt you."
Martha frowned, "Hurt me?"
"Yea, these nut jobs can be dangerous."
Martha looked at the Doctor and he grinned. Meanwhile Seymour and Audrey went back inside the shop.
Martha shook her head, "Do you have to tell everyone right off that you're an alien?"
"Martha Jones, this is skid row. I was just having some fun."
Martha sighed and the Doctor's smile faded, "Oh you're probably right. But you better change; you look a bit daft standing out here in a bathing suit."
Martha snorted, "I look daft. I am not the one who goes around saying that I am an alien."
"Uhhh….back to the TARDIS."
They walked back to the TARDIS passing a homeless mental guy with a piece of cardboard that stated: The end of the world is coming….
The Doctor grinned and stated, "You've got a long time to wait. Try at least 5 billion years from now."
The homeless guy looked at the Doctor strangely and then ran off, convinced that the Doctor was mentally off.
Martha shook her head, "Doctor that wasn't nice."
The Doctor gave a bit of a sheepish look at Martha but didn't say anything. He then took out his key and opened the TARDIS door. They then went inside the blue box.
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A/N: Okay I consider this my first in-depth chapter. Hope you all like it and please R/R