Etched in History
Doctors At Work
As the machine stopped moving, so too did the sounds of that alien engine, leaving the Doctor grinning from ear to ear. Martha watched him, wide eyed, unable to wait much longer to see where he would have taken her now. He had taken her to the past, to see Shakespeare himself, then forward to see New New York (count 15 'News,' but that's just a technical thing), and the next adventure was always greater than the last. Everywhere they went seemed to get much more exotic, well, apart from the time that he was going to just drop her back off at home. Right at the moment, though, that wasn't what the newest companion wanted to think about, as they were together now, and that's all that mattered. Well, not together per se, but they were travelling friends, and Martha could deal with that. Would a relationship with an ancient alien really work out in the long run anyway?
"Where are we?" Martha asked suddenly, the calm voice she had wanted slipping into something much more excitable.
"You always ask that... why don't you just go and have a look?"
"Alright, I will!" Beaming, Martha stood in front of the exit, taking a deep breath as she prepared herself to see something never before seen, heart beat racing ahead, her arms then flinging the doors wide open to find... the middle of London. Frowning, Martha poked her head out of the TARDIS, making sure that she wasn't mistaken. "Back here? What are we doing here?" She turned suddenly, folding her arms in defiance. "You're not getting rid of me again, Doctor. This just isn't fair!"
Raising an eyebrow, the Doctor put his hands in his pinstripe pockets as he walked past the headstrong student. "What are you talking about? We're going to visit someone rather special. I've always meant to meet her, the mystery's too good to keep away." As always, he was talking ninety to the dozen, and Martha was finding it difficult to keep up. Letting her arms drop to her side, Martha opened her mouth to say something, but the Doctor decided to continue. "Now, I think we're a little late, so we'll have to hurry. Last chance to see, and all that."
As the pair left the police box, further down the road that they were on stood a fairly large crowd. "What is it?"
"What's with you and the questions? If you don't know, go and find out!" The Time Lord was starting to get a little annoyed with the constant questions, but his true desire was just to get and see exactly what was going on. Curiosity was always an excellent trait to have, he believed, and he wasn't about to stop now. "C'mon, then!" Suddenly, the man started running down the street, Martha rolling her eyes as she followed. Would it kill him to once just stay in the background?
When they reached the crowd, the Doctor pushed his way to the front, the dark-skinned literal doctor-to-be not long behind him. They then found a girl, probably Martha's age, but collapsed on the ground, unable to breathe. "Hang on, gimme some space!" Martha called, her natural need to help people in need shining through. The Doctor looked on a little proudly, glad that he always picked the best people to be around. It also helped, considering he wasn't an actual Doctor, even though that was always how he introduced himself. This time, he could pass off Martha just as a trainee, or something. He didn't really think about that, though, more concerned with the human lying on the pavement. The crowd was growing, interest breeding interest, especially as it was unknown why the girl was unconscious.
Putting a hand to her head, checking temperature and the like, Martha was then surprised when a sound escaped the young woman's lips. She was obviously unconscious, so it should have been impossible for her to communicate. That single word... "Doctor." Did she mean that she understood that Martha was a doctor (well, as long as she passed her exams), or was there something else going on? Looking a little fearfully back at the Doctor, he crouched down on the ground, ready to try something of his own, when the patient's eyes inexplicably flew open, the girl coughing violently. "Doctor..." a hand went to her chest, and another to her throat, as the burning of earlier subsided. Slowly sitting up, she closed her eyes again, the place spinning about her.
"Are you alright?" Martha then asked, putting a hand on her back. "What happened?"
A look at all of the other people quickly brought her back to her senses. "Nothing. I'm fine." A pause, then she added, "Thanks." Her voice was low, the crowd whispering amongst itself, as people obviously realised that they had other places to go, and there was little drama left.
"That's a bit strange for 'fine,' isn't it? Fainting in the middle of the street." The always-inquisitive mind of the Doctor couldn't help but scoff at her quick and easy explanation of 'nothing,' as he knew when 'nothing' was when he saw it.
Martha gave him a glare. "Just ignore him. Can we get you home? I'm Martha Jones, by the way" - where the girl began to shake her head, looking up at the Doctor suspiciously - "and this is... this is the Doctor."
She opened her mouth to say more 'nos,' and that she was fine, but a look of something entirely different took over her gaze. "Um... yes. That... that would be great. Thanks."
As the Doctor stayed crouched on the ground, Martha helped the mysterious girl stand, picking up her bag for her on the way up. "You're alright standing and walking, yeah?" At a nod, the Doctor stood, face a little impassive as he began to think about what could have caused a collapse... many ideas came to mind, but then the strange reawakening? That just didn't happen with humans, not like that. "You just walk, and we'll be there." Giving an encouraging smile, Martha kept the girl steady on her left hand side, waiting for the Doctor to fill the gap on the other.
As he did come to hold up her right side, the pretty brunette suddenly exclaimed, "No! No, sorry, I think Martha has it. Can you, um, get my bag, please?" It was a lame excuse, but there was nothing else for her to say. She bit her lip, and then just carried on walking. The girl really needed a sit down, but she wasn't about to rest outside... she needed her privacy.
"No? Oh, okay, then..." Giving a puzzled look to Martha, it was true to say that wherever the Doctor went, something strange happened. This may not have been the most exciting of adventures, but there you go... and Martha still didn't have a clue about why they came back to her present day. Oh, well, they always ended up getting sidetracked, didn't they?