FOUR
"Blimey, I've missed this place," she said with a smile as he opened the TARDIS door for her.
"I think it's fair to say she's missed you, too," he said, following her inside.
She stopped and looked around, hearing the familiar noises and smelling the strange, faint wisp of alien metal.
He walked past her, carrying the box and new iPod attachment to the centre console, sitting it on top and busying himself with connecting it somehow.
"So… What have you been up to?" she asked, walking along the grating, sliding her hand over the railing by the centre console, making an effort not to watch him.
He reached over and pulled a lever, then squeezed two handles together. The TARDIS rumbled and the Time Rotor started to move.
"Oh, I've missed that sound," she grinned. "So come on, spill," she said. "What've you been doing?"
"Oh, not much," he said cheerfully. "Been a while since I've been on Earth, though."
"Really?" she asked. "Why's that?"
"Well, er, just found stuff going on elsewhere, I suppose," he shrugged, not looking at her.
Really? Or more like you didn't want to come back here, she thought. She bit her lip, then folded her arms.
"And you've just been knocking around by yourself?" she asked. "Haven't bumped into anyone you know, or picked up any more waifs or strays?" she teased.
"Well, there was one," he said carefully, standing back from the console to pull levers and push a small ball around carefully.
"And?"
"And… I… Well, I kinda got us into trouble."
"No surprise there then," she smiled. "Is that was this power source is all about? And how come you nearly drowned in open air?" she asked suddenly. "You were chucking up this bright blue stuff and everything."
"Oh, that," he said gingerly, then put his hands in his pockets, looking at her. "Well… You're a doctor, you know all about tablets and enteric coatings."
"Yeah," she said, slightly confused.
"Well they're made for humans," he said slowly.
"You had an aspirin and nearly died," she said flatly.
"No. I licked an aspirin and nearly died," he said. "Well, it wasn't an aspirin, as such, but it had the same –"
"Woah woah woah," she said, putting her hands up. "Are you telling me enteric coating, designed to protect stomach linings and keep tablets from bleeding ingredients until they hit the right spot, is actually harmful to you?"
"Yes. As I said, they're made for humans," he said indignantly. "Anyway," he interrupted himself brightly, "Course plotted, TARDIS moving, us chatting. Sorted." He clapped his hands together suddenly, nodding and looking a shade more relaxed. She walked over to the high chairs, jumping on.
"How long has it been?" she asked knowingly.
"Sorry?" he asked, that pretty-much patented aloof expression on his face.
"Since you had someone in here with you?"
"Not that long," he said cheerfully, his hands in his pockets again, walking back round the opposite side of the console. "Maybe… I don't know, a couple of years? Then… and then someone got in my way," he said, smiling to himself.
"A couple of years? Of you in here, all by yourself?" she prompted, then snorted. He looked up at her.
"What?"
"I'm not surprised you got into trouble."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, but he was grinning.
"Without me to keep you out of it?" she pointed out. "Sounds like this new friend of yours is only making things worse."
"Not as… reserved as you, have to admit," he said awkwardly, scratching an ear, and she smiled.
"So come on then, tell me all about her."
He looked at her. "Ah… Look, we've got…" He paused, leaning over the console and reading something, "less than an hour. Before we land, maybe I should…"
"What? Tell me what? Is she even human?" she asked, oddly eagerly.
"Well…" He hesitated, thinking, then swung round and looked at her. "Oh, you know what?" he said, apparently to himself, "forget it. You're not going to have a problem."
"Thanks," she said, smiling to herself smugly. "Cup of tea, then?"
-------------------------------------------------
He opened the door cautiously, looking out. She squeezed up next to him, lifting her torch and pointing the beam out into the pitch.
He reached out quickly and knocked it down. She bit her lip, withholding judgement as the beam shut off.
She looked out, realising the light from the TARDIS behind them would illuminate the place just as well. She stared, letting her eyes acclimatise and trying to see what was out there.
"Right. Follow me," he breathed, his voice a near-whisper. She felt him push past her and simply followed. She hesitated to close the TARDIS door and lock it firmly. She slipped the key back into her pocket and looked around.
"Doctor?" she whispered hoarsely, trying to remain relatively quiet.
Something brushed her arm and then trailed it down, and she felt the familiar feel of oddly cool fingers sliding through hers and holding on firmly. She let him pull her on, into the complete inky blackness.
She felt grass under her feet – possibly icy cold and brittle, by the slight crunchy sound. She felt a very chilly breeze across her face and her nose suddenly felt sore, breathing in icy air.
"It's cold," she whispered, holding onto his hand a little more tightly. The Time Lord didn't answer, just pulled her on.
They stumbled along in the cold dark, apparently randomly, until the Doctor pulled on her hand to bring her to a stop. She felt a biting wind now across her face and found herself edging slightly behind his right shoulder, knowing it was cutting the wind down quite a bit.
She heard the familiar sound of his screwdriver and suddenly light flooded around her feet. She looked down to see a rectangle sliding upwards, and belatedly realised it was some kind of sliding door, opening up.
He pulled her after him, ducking in as it raised still. He let go of her hand and she heard the screwdriver again, even as she took a moment to look around.
"Where are we?" she whispered, as the door began to move down again. It slammed home with a dull metallic thud. She looked around.
They were stood in a spotless white corridor, dull lighting making it appear slightly dingy.
"This, Martha Jones," he said quietly, turning to look at her, "is Nosskin Prime. Dir City Detention Centre," he added gingerly.
She watched him walk past her down the corridor and simply followed.
"So… you two got arrested? What for?" she asked.
"We were just looking at stuff," he said indignantly. "Not my fault if the exhibit was closed."
"Exhibit?"
"I was showing a friend around, that's all," he added cheerfully. "Museum assistants took it upon themselves to eject us. We got separated, I escaped."
"By licking aspirin coating?"
"I didn't know the keypad was covered in that stuff," he said defensively. "How else was I supposed to know which keys had been used recently?"
"Alright, I'm sorry," she said, prepared to let it go. The corridor began to widen and he pushed his hands in his pockets, finding something and pulling it out.
The corridor bent suddenly to the left and Martha followed him, then stopped abruptly.
The huge room before her was heaving with beings of all shapes and sizes. She even recognised a few human heads in the mix bustling around the hangar-sized reception area. It too was spotlessly white and obviously well-manned, and she started to take the beings wearing black jumpsuits as some form of prison guards.
"Is this a prison?" she dared.
"Yes. Stick close to me. I'm not losing anyone else," he said, gripping her hand and pulling her on past the desk with him. He pushed his way past, determined not to let the reception droid notice them as it dealt with several tall, unpleasantly-featured aliens.
She followed him as he made for the set of lifts on the opposite side of the room. He let himself smile, pressing the lift button.
"What are you happy about?" she asked suspiciously.
"Over there," he said, nodding to the side of the hangar. She spotted newspapers and assorted flowers and snacks.
"What?"
"They've got a shop! Not a big one, just a shop, just so people can… shop. You know I like a little shop," he grinned. She chuckled and shook her head slowly.
"You haven't changed, have you?"
"Not yet," he allowed.
The lift pinged and the doors opened immediately. She stepped in, watching him look up and around the ceiling area before stepping in too.
"What?" she asked cautiously.
"Cameras," he said succinctly, and she heard the buzz of the screwdriver, noticing a slight blue glow through the stiff weave of his overcoat. There was a slight pop and fizz, and she looked up at sparks jumped out of the camera in the top left corner of the lift.
"What the –"
"I've been here before, after all," he said darkly.
"Yeah, so tell me again where we're going?"
"We're going to…" He pulled out the silver box and peered at it thoughtfully. "The third floor," he said, "Probably somewhere round… cell 358b," he said cheerfully. "And then we're snatching back my TARDIS tinkerer and making a mad dash for it."
"Oh, she fixes TARDISes, does she?" she said airily. "No wonder you don't want to leave her behind here."
"Wait and see," he said, grinning at her impatience. "Honestly, all you do is judge, judge, judge," he tutted to himself, still smiling.