Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, I wouldn't bring Rose back, that's for sure. But as she is back, you can see that I obviously don't own anything.
Title: In Which Exposition Takes Place In a Really Big Flat
Word count: 1 191
A/N: All I can say is I'm truly sorry this took so long to update. If not been feeling myself recently, and I had no energy to do anything other than work and go to college. And also, I lost my notes on this story. I will try to be speedier with the updates, but exams, the are a-looming – this smacks of excusism, but all I can say is I'll try.
"Talk. Now."
The Doctor had slumped into the biggest sofa Martha had ever seen, matching the astonishing size of Maria's apartment, which took up the entire top floor of the tower lock. The view… was stunning, but neither of them noticed. The Doctor eyeballed Maria with such intense hatred that Martha wondered if he was trying to burn a hole through her. Maria simply stood in front of him, wringing her hands nervously. Now she'd got him up here, after the fiasco with the troll-brained door guard, she seemed at a loss for words.
"Fine, I'll begin the pleasantries, shall I?" The Doctor growled, looking anything but pleasant. "Martha, this is Maria Mesenjaro, a Time Angel as old as the Universe."
A pause.
"A what?"
"A Time Angel, sent by God at the beginning of Time to watch over His most precious creation," Maria said, only briefly glancing at Martha as she spoke.
"Only they got uppity, kicked God out of His club -"
"I swear I had nothing to do with that!"
"- and so Time Lords evolved to put the Angels in their place."
Martha stared from Lord to Angel. "Angel's kicked God out of the Universe?"
"We were forced to let Him back in by the Lords, in a fierce battle where many of us were killed," Maria said, still staring at the Doctor. Martha couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"So you're an ineffable manifestation of a human conception?" She said abruptly, making the Doctor lower his defences and allowing a flicker of a grin cross his features. Maria sighed heavily.
"Yes, I suppose so. My Lord," she knelt in front of the Doctor grasping his hand. "I need your help." The Doctor seemed moved by this display of devotion. Martha wondered how many men would kill to have Maria Mesenjaro look at them like that; tears were filling her eyes, threatening her perfectly placed eyeliner and fake eyelashes. Martha didn't like being dismissed so offhandedly, and was pleased when the Doctor looked annoyed at Maria for insulting her.
"Go on out with it, Angel." He dripped acidity on the last word, twisting it into the verbal slap on the face. She stood up, shocked at his coldness, but recovered instantaneously.
"Future is getting younger by the minute My Lord – She's dying."
This sounded like a code, because the Doctor leapt out of his chair, jolted by the news. Martha looked blankly at them both.
"Is Past with her?" He said, leaving Martha well behind.
"Yes, and Present. I left them an hour ago to find you."
"Show me to them." Maria turned her heal and sped away, the Doctor and a thoroughly confused Martha trailing in her wake.
"Doctor, what's going on? What's Past, Future and Present?" She said, panting slightly and they navigated their way through Maria's massive home.
"Maria isn't the only Angel – Past, Future and Present are too; they're like the Fates, you know?"
"Okay – but why is Future getting younger? They'd stopped outside a door way, Maria turned to them.
"I'll go first, she if Future can handle an extra visitor. Martha, you are a lucky lady; you're the first human to have ever seen us and known who we truly are." She slid into the door, clicking it shut behind her.
"Future started life as the oldest possible thing – she was as old as the Universe was young. She grows younger as the Universe grows older, and she's a sort of barometer for God, showing him how much time His universe had left. If Future is getting younger quicker than she's supposed to," The Doctor turned to face her, his eyes full of a primal fear that shook Martha to her core, "Then the universe is about to end, and not even I can stop that."
Maria opened the door to them, worry etched across her features. "You may enter, but please don't distress her." The Doctor walked in wordlessly, his jaw set, eyes focused.
Martha stepped in behind the Doctor, and goggled at the vastness of the room, she realised that Maria must have TARDIS technology at work; no where could a tower be this spread out. The Fate-like Angels were near them, all manner of machines and monitors surrounding the bed, yet Martha didn't recognise any of the equipment. They approached cautiously, realising that any sudden movements could destroy the universe. Maria was no longer timid and nervy, but marched to the bed, where Martha presumed Future lay.
"Doctor she's here," she said flatly. The Doctor walked to the bed, and swore quietly. The two other women (Angels, Martha corrected) stood up and curtsied at their Lord. He ignored them, but took out his sonic screwdriver and began examining the Angel on the bed.
"Her organs are still fully developed and she's not beginning to loose IQ too rapidly. She is getting weaker though, and it won't be long until her brain starts to shrink," The Doctor said, Martha hearing the slight hesitation before the word 'brain'.
"What is her IQ? We checked last night and it was five thousand and thirty seven," said the one on the left, wearing the same clothes as the people outside with her hair coloured the same way too. Ah, thought Martha, You're Present.
"Four thousand, nine hundred and ninety three," The Doctor replied. A middle-aged woman dressed archaicly with her hair pulled back in a bun shook her head in disbelief. And you're Past, then. Martha still hadn't seen Future, and gently pushed past Maria, who was standing at the foot of the bed, saw the reason for all of this. She gasped in horror.
It wasn't an old woman, or a middle-aged woman, or even a young woman lying on the bed, with hundreds of tubes leading out from her.
She looked ten years old.
And the Doctor had tears in his eyes.
A/N: Hope that was long enough for you all! I'm sorry there wasn't much action, but I'm still sort of finding my feet with this one. It's swung itself in an entirely different direction than what I was hoping, but that's the way the rolling stone moves, then so be it.
Thanks for reading!