A/N: Thanks go to my beta, Yssy.

I hate begging for reviews, but this is my first big Doctor Who story, so any feedback would be great. Enjoy!

2. Professor Lee

Martha walked slightly behind the Doctor as he chatted with Dr. Van de Graaff about physics, things that she barely understood and hadn't studied for years, deliberately. She had never liked physics very much, chemistry had held her interest but she had always preferred biology; medical school had been a natural progression. Feeling slightly put-out because she didn't know exactly how the Van de Graaff generator worked, she silently followed the two chattering men down the corridor.

And it was quite a corridor, too, Martha noticed. Before and behind them, it almost dwindled into a vanishing point. The students flooding the halls had gradually thinned by the time the three of them had gotten to the end of the corridor and stepped outside into the sunlight once again.

"Would it be possible to see the generator?" the Doctor asked.

"That's where I'm headed now," Van de Graaff said, not sounding enthused about his work. "It's not officially on display or anything. Anyone can see it right now, but I can take you closer. You seem like a man who knows his current research."

"Well," the Doctor laughed modestly, stopping when he noticed Martha glaring at him. "I try, yes."

"I have a few minutes to spare," Van de Graaff said. "It's by my lab down the street."

"Terrific," the Doctor said. He leaned down a little to whisper to Martha. "Dr. Van de Graaff! Isn't this fun?"

"For a physics nerd like you, maybe," Martha said. Then she smiled. "I guess it is kind of fun, yeah."

They walked up the street past more unfinished buildings until they saw it.

"This one is forty feet tall, right?" the Doctor asked, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Unfortunately, yes," Dr. Van de Graaff said.

There was a crane nearby to assist with construction, and it was easy to see why. Two massive cylinders, each over a metre in diameter, stood side by side in the middle of a new metal framework, a building going up around the generator. One cylinder was topped by a huge metal dome that seemed to stare down at its observers. A truck on the other side of the building held the last dome in the back. It was an awesome site to see.

"Why is it so big?" Martha asked.

"It produces five million volts of electricity," the Doctor said before Van de Graaff could reply. "At the time, making it on this scale was the only thing that could. They wanted to observe the effects of such a huge voltage. Cumbersome, but effective. Right, Doctor?"

"Um…yeah, that's right," the other man said. Martha knew he was probably confused about the Doctor's use of the past tense during his explanation. For a Time Lord, the Doctor wasn't always very sensitive about what he said around people.

The Doctor walked around, deeply impressed with the work he saw. He pulled out his glasses and slid them on when he got close enough to read the materials that were left at the huge bases of the machine. Martha hung back and watched, happy that the Doctor seemed happy for once. Maybe they would even be able to leave soon for some liquid nitrogen ice cream.

"Hello, there."

Martha turned. An older man was staring at her. He had the unmistakable look of a professor at this school, with white flyaway hair standing up in an impossible manner and thick glasses containing hugely magnified eyes that stared at her mournfully.

"Hi," Martha responded. The old man continued to stare at her, just standing in the middle of the sidewalk outside the Van de Graaff generator. She frowned, concerned for his sanity and well-being. "I'm Martha, what's your name?"

"I am Professor Lee," the old man said. He nodded feebly toward the Doctor and Dr. Van de Graaff.. "Are you that man's assistant?"

Martha scowled inwardly but responded civilly. "Yes, I am."

"How interesting," Professor Lee said, and he shuffled past.

Martha watched him go. She'd had some interesting characters for professors herself, but that was about as absentminded as she'd ever encountered.

"Martha?"

Martha looked over at the Doctor, who, to her surprise, was standing very near her. She hadn't heard or seen him approach. She looked over to where the old man had been, but he was gone. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"You all right?" the Doctor asked, watching her.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Martha said, turning her gaze back to him. "I just met another professor."

The Doctor whipped his glasses off and stowed them, winking. "Don't go meeting too many of those, now."

Martha pushed him, laughing.

Dr. Van de Graaff joined them, still looking weary. The Doctor said, "That's a very fine machine you've built, doctor."

"It's not working," Van de Graaff said bluntly.

"Well, it's not finished yet, right?" the Doctor said. "Wait a minute, do you mean the first sphere should be working alone?"

"Yes, " Van de Graaff confirmed. "It's been making an odd sound. I've delayed the date of the completion until I can figure it out."

"What's it supposed to sound like?" the Doctor asked.

"A loud humming," Van de Graaff said. "But it's screeching instead. I can't figure it out."

"There's a little laboratory inside the dome up there, right?" the Doctor asked. Van de Graaff nodded. "Could I take a look?"

Van de Graaff shook his head. "I'm sorry, but the only people allowed up there are members of the research team."

"Aww, not even visitors from across the ocean?" the Doctor tried.

"No, sorry," Van de Graaff said adamantly. Then, "If you'll excuse me, I should get back to work now. It's been a pleasure talking to you, Dr. Smith."

"Pleasure's all mine, Dr. Van de Graaff," the Doctor said as the other genius left the Doctor and Martha alone outside the construction zone. He turned to Martha and took her by the shoulders. "We just met Dr. Van de Graaff."

"I know, Doctor," Martha said, smiling.

"Sorry," the Doctor said, getting a hold of himself. "He's one of my favorite Earth scientists ever. It's a big checkmark on my list of people to meet. Not as pleasant a fellow as I'd hoped, though."

"Seems like he's having an off day," Martha offered.

"Could be, could be…" the Doctor said mildly.

"Hello, there."

The Doctor and Martha whirled. Professor Lee was standing not a metre away from them, his head tilted to one side as he regarded the two of them.

"Hello!" the Doctor said brightly.

"Hello," the old man said again. The Doctor and Martha exchanged a look.

"Doctor," Martha said tentatively, "This is Professor Lee. Professor Lee, this is Dr. John Smith."

"Yes, of course he is," Lee said. "What a curious name."

The Doctor stared at the strange old man for a moment before clearing his throat. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Professor Lee."

Lee muttered something unintelligible and shuffled off in the other direction.

"Well," the Doctor said, scratching his head and taking in a deep breath, "I don't know about you, but I'm thinking we should follow that guy."

"Yeah, me too," Martha grinned, and they set off.