Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. All rights go to the BBC. Episode transcript for Gridlock was received for free online.
Story Summary: "My name is Marie Morgan and I am completely unextraordinary. Everything about me is unextraordinary. My life is normal. Or, at least it was. Because even a child knows that life with the Doctor changes you. You can't ever really go back to who you were before you met the Doctor. And with me, that was for the best. When I met the Doctor, I ran from my previous life. I ran from the normal, the boring, the sane. And I've been running ever since."
Chapter Word Count: 7,031
Date Published: 4/17/16
Gridlock
"Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see." -Martin Luther
"Just one trip." The Doctor repeated to the two women who had grins large enough to match his. "That's what I said. One trip in the TARDIS, and then home."
Marie bit her lip to hide the giggle threatening to slip. The Doctor either ignored it or didn't notice it, because he continued speaking, but Martha looked over at her best friend with a hand over her grinning mouth.
"Although, I suppose we could stretch the definition. Take one trip into the past, one trip into the future. How do you fancy that?"
"No complaints from me!" Marie cheered, having had a feeling this would probably happen.
"Nor me," Martha agreed. The Doctor grinned wildly at the two, glad that his two friends wanted to stay for a bit longer.
"How about a different planet?" The Doctor gave the option casually, but somehow Marie had gotten to know him enough to know that he was showing off.
"Can we go to yours?" Martha's question, Marie knew, was innocent, but judging by the brief flicker of something darker in the Doctor's eyes, it held a less than innocent answer. Marie bit her lip. She had seen flashes of something that didn't agree with the portrait the Doctor was painting of himself as a fun, brave, smart and excited man-child when they were with Shakespeare, but they were over before she had a chance to analyze him too deeply.
"Ah, there's plenty of other places." The Doctor brushed off Martha casually.
"Come on, though." Martha persisted, not noticing Marie trying to silently get her to leave the subject alone despite her natural curiosity begging her to let the Doctor reveal more about his planet. "I mean, planet of the Time Lords. That's got to be worth a look. What's it like?"
The Doctor hesitated, as if he was weighing all of his options, before responding. "Well, it's beautiful, yeah."
"Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?" Martha asked, getting more and more excited at the prospect of an alien planet by the second, and Marie couldn't say she blamed her.
"I suppose it is."
"Great big temples and cathedrals!" Martha sighed wistfully.
"Yeah."
"Lots of planets in the sky?" Marie couldn't help but ask. The Doctor's sad eyes turned towards her, but he looked down quickly and focused on the grate floor of the TARDIS while he spoke.
"The sky's a burnt orange, with the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow."
Marie found herself completely transfixed by the Doctor's description of his home planet. The picture the engineer was drawing up in her mind was stunning, though she figured that it most likely paled in comparison to the real thing. The black haired woman was pulled abruptly out of her thoughts by Martha's voice.
"Can we go there?" Marie couldn't help but feel hopeful to the Doctor's answer to her best friend's question. It sounded so beautiful, so pure, but Marie had seen the shadows in the Time Lord's eyes. They wouldn't visit his home planet, but Marie had no idea why.
"Nah." The Doctor responded easily, not meeting either of their eyes. Marie bit back a sigh. She knew it. "Where's the fun for me? I don't want to go home. Instead, this is much better. Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth. Second hope of mankind. Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically it's the fifteenth New York from the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built."
"You missed one." Marie teased, walking over and nudging the Doctor with her shoulder. She didn't like seeing him upset, even though they had only known each other for a short while. Marie took care of her friends, and the Doctor was her friend now.
The taller man stuck his tongue out at her playfully, and the engineer returned the gesture before turning to Martha and grinning widely at her.
"Martha, we're on another damn planet!" Marie giggled, linking elbows with her best friend who laughed as they stepped outside of the TARDIS doors, ready to see new things, incredible things, shining and beautiful – rain. Rain and a dirty alleyway.
"Oh, that's nice. Time Lord version of dazzling." Martha said sarcastically, fixing the Doctor with a look. The alien in question only shrugged, a smile now present on his face that met his eyes.
"Nah, bit of rain never hurt anyone. Come on, let's get under cover!" He enthused, taking Marie's hand in his own and Martha's in his other hand.
"I think it's fantastic!" Marie beamed, her blue eyes darting around and taking in everything around her.
"You think?" The Doctor asked, raising an eyebrow at the short engineer.
"Yeah! Absolutely! This is a whole other planet, in a whole other time! By rights, this should be impossible, but here we are." It was one thing to go to the past to see a scene straight out of the history books, but this was the future, something nobody could accurately predict. It may look ordinary, but it had an undeniable feeling that Marie couldn't place.
"Well, I think it looks like the same old Earth to me, on a Wednesday afternoon." Martha wrinkled her nose, looking around at the dirty, abandoned alleyway.
"Hold on, hold on. Let's have a look." The Doctor let go of Marie's hand to rummage in his pockets, and the pale engineer put her own hands in the pockets of her black leather jacket and looked around, not minding even in the slightest that she was getting a bit wet from the rain. Marie turned to look at the whirring noise that she vaguely recognized now as the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and the pleasant female voice that followed on a TV screen.
"And the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway." Marie's eyes lit up as the TV showed a very high tech version of a city with flying cars and bright, shimmering buildings.
"Oh, that's more like it. That's the view we had last time." The Doctor mentioned. "This must be the lower levels, down in the base of the tower. Some sort of under-city."
"You've brought us to the slums?" Martha asked, nonplussed, but still holding his hand to show she wasn't really that upset.
"Oh, it's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city." The Doctor grinned, looking down on one of his newest friends.
"This is much more interesting," Marie stated happily.
Martha rolled her eyes, but smiled back at the pair. "You two would enjoy anything."
The Doctor and Marie smiled over at each other and shrugged sheepishly. It was true, no doubt.
"Ah, the rain's stopping. Better and better." The tall alien cheered, looking all around with interest.
"When you say last time, was that you and Rose?" Marie paused when she heard Martha's question. She knew where this was leading. Martha hadn't hid her blatant desire to see her best friend in the Doctor's arms in a far less friendly and far more romantic fashion, and the Doctor had mention that he had been 'together' with Rose. Marie looked over to her best friend with a glare, hoping that she would pick up on her nonverbal cues to stop talking, but to no avail.
"Er, yeah. Yeah, it was, yeah." The Doctor muttered awkwardly, scratching at the back of his neck.
"You're taking Marie the same planets you took her?"
Marie groaned internally. She knew Martha wanted nothing but the best for her, but she really hoped her best friend would give up this nonsense sooner rather than later.
"What's wrong with that?" The time traveling alien asked, confused.
"Nothing." Martha replied airily, rolling her eyes. "Just, ever heard the word rebound?"
"Martha Jones." Marie admonished sharply, but the young medical student didn't get to say a word in her defense because a stall slammed open and a man popped his head out, clearly excited at the prospect of customers.
"Oh! You should have said. How long have you been there? Happy. You want Happy."
Marie tilted her head to the side in confusion and looked to the Doctor, but he didn't seem to have any more answers than she did.
"Customers, customers! We've got customers!" Another stall owner shouted with glee, prompting one more stall to prop open.
"We're in business. Mother, open up the Mellow and the Read."
"Happy, Happy, lovely happy Happy!"
"Anger! Buy some Anger!"
"Get some Mellow. Makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long."
"Don't go to them," the first stall owner implored, this time looking to the Doctor. Marie was reminded of a farmers market she had once been to as a little girl with her family, people of all sorts shouting at you to buy their product. It was making her a bit dizzy. "They'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?"
"No, thanks." The Doctor sniffed.
"Are they selling drugs?" Martha asked, almost horror struck.
"I think it's moods." Marie stated slowly.
"Same thing, isn't it?"
Marie's blue eyes looked over a new small crowd of people, all dressed in rags and looking practically lifeless. It was pitiful. The young engineer felt a pang in her chest, but she knew there was truly nothing she could do to help so many people. She hated it.
"Over here, sweetheart! That's it, come on, I'll get you first!"
"Oi! Oi, you! Over here! Buy some Happy!"
Marie watched with a small frown as a sad looking woman, no older than herself, stepped up to one of the vendors, who regarded her with a warm smile.
"Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?"
"I want to buy some Forget." Marie could see the trembling wracking the woman's body.
"I've got Forget, my darling. What strength? How much do you want forgetting?"
The young woman clutched her hands to her chest, her eyes closing momentarily as if she was in pain. "It's my mother and father. They went on the motorway."
"Oh, that's a swine." The vendor tsked, reaching around and finding a small slip and held it out to the girl. "Try this. Forget 43. That's two credits."
The young girl paid the vendor, and Marie's eyes widened. This young woman wanted to forget her parents because they drove away?
"No, wait, hold on a minute." The pale engineer interjected, stepping closer to her. "What happened to your parents?"
Her answer was simple, as if it explained everything in the world. "They drove off."
"Yeah, but they might drive back." The Doctor countered from behind Marie.
"Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them." The woman said sadly, as if driving on the motorway was some sort of a death sentence. Marie turned and looked at the Doctor, frowning. Something was definitely going on here.
"But they can't have gone far, you couldn't find them." Marie pleaded, hoping to save the woman from such an awful fate, but she was already pressing the Forget tab to her neck. "No! No, no, don't!"
The woman looked over at Marie, now serene instead of hopeless, but her body was still trembling. Marie placed a pale hand over her lips, muffling the sounds of distress she was making for the poor girl who had forgotten.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" She asked, her voice lighter.
"Your parents. Your mother and father. They're on the motorway." The Doctor said slowly.
"Are they? That's nice." The young woman looked at the three, and smiled softly. "I'm sorry, I won't keep you."
As the woman turned and walked away, Marie turned around to face her best friend and the Doctor, putting her hands in her pockets until she was certain she had stopped shaking. She hated when people saw her tremble like that.
"So that's the human race five billion years in the future." Martha scoffed. "Off their heads on chemicals."
Marie let out a shout as she felt hands grabbing her and saw out of the corner of her eye a gun being pointed at the Doctor and Martha, who both looked equal parts terrified and infuriated.
"I'm sorry, I'm really, really, sorry. We just need three, that's all." The voice behind Marie said, sounding incredibly apologetic for a man that was kidnapping a woman.
"No, let her go! I'm warning you, let her go! Whatever you want, I can help. All three of us, we can help, but first you've got to let her go." The Doctor pleaded, keeping his eyes fixed on Marie's captor.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. Sorry." Marie's second captor said, and that was when they started running, dragging Marie with them.
"Martha! Doctor!" Marie shouted, tears welling up in her eyes as she tried to fight the man that was holding her in place as they ran through a passageway and locked the door behind them. "Please, we can help you! Anything you need, the Doctor, Martha and I, we can help, just let me go, please!"
"Give her some Sleep." Her male captor said, having the decency to still look apologetic.
"No!" Marie cried, fighting harder now against her kidnappers. "No, don't give me that stuff, don't!"
"It's just Sleep 14." The woman soothed, moving her black hair away from her neck. "No, baby, don't fight it."
"I'm telling you, don't!"
And that was all Marie remembered before the blackness took her.
"Yeah," Marie heard a woman's voice say wistfully. "The view from the windows. You can see all the way out to the flatlands. Clear blue sky. They say the air smells like apple grass. Can you imagine?"
Marie's eyes snapped open and she immediately peeled the Sleep tab off of her neck, but stayed put, looking for something, anything that could help get her out of the small area she was in.
"The houses are made of wood. There are jobs going in the foundries. Everyone says so." The man responded, looking over at the woman in the seat next to him with a smile.
"Please," Marie begged softly, catching their attention. Their eyes were apologetic, but what good was an apology when they had just taken her away from Martha and the Doctor? "Please, just take me back. You don't understand, I don't belong here. Just take me back to my friends, please."
"I'm sorry, dove, but we really can't. We just need access to the fast lane, but I promise, as soon as we arrive, we'll drop you off and you can go back and find your friends." The woman said softly.
Marie deflated, her shoulders dropping and a small sigh escaping her. "How am I supposed to believe that? You're kidnappers."
"No, we're not kidnappers, not really." The man reasoned, and the woman nodded eagerly.
"Besides, look here!" The woman smiled, pulling her hair away from her neck. "Honesty patch."
Marie distrustfully eyed the patch, but nodded slowly anyway. "Right. Okay. I'm Marie Morgan."
"I'm Cheen, and this is Milo. Welcome to the motorway."
"What's that, then? Fog? Looks really dirty." Marie asked, trying to make at least somewhat polite conversation. They said they would drop her right back off to Martha and the Doctor, and they seemed really sorry about it. The least she could do was be polite.
"That's the exhaust fumes." Cheen informed her.
"We're going out to Brooklyn. Everyone says the air's so much cleaner, and we couldn't stay in Pharmacy Town, because…" Milo's voice trailed off, looking over at Cheen with an excited grin.
"Well, because of me. I'm pregnant. We only discovered it last week. Scan says it's going to be a boy."
Marie smiled softly. These people may have stolen her away, but they were doing it for the new life they had created together. As irritated as Marie was about being kidnapped, part of that melted away at the news.
"Congratulations." Marie said, reaching forward and taking off the Honesty patch from Cheen's neck. "But maybe best not be wearing these while you're pregnant."
Cheen nodded, looking worried for a moment, but shook her head. All was silent in the car for a few moments as Marie took everything in.
"This'll be as fast as we can." Milo broke the silence. "We'll take the motorway to the Brooklyn flyover, and then after that it's going to take awhile, because there's no fast lane, just ordinary roads, but at least it's direct."
"It's only ten miles." Cheen reassured her.
"How long's it going to take?" Marie asked, already beginning a mental countdown to the next time she could see her best friend and the time traveling alien that they had both befriended together.
"About six years."
Marie's mouth dropped open, and the trembling started again. "What?"
"Be just in time for him to start school." Cheen beamed, reaching over and holding Milo's hand.
"Ten miles in six years?" Marie breathed, her eyes widening.
"Much quicker than if we hadn't had you here. Cheers, love." Milo grinned.
"But… Ten miles in six years. How many cars are out there?"
Cheen shrugged before holding out a biscuit. "I don't think anyone knows. Hungry?"
Marie shook her head. She definitely didn't have an appetite right now. "No, thanks. But how far down is it to this fast lane?"
"Oh, it's right at the bottom, underneath the traffic jam." Milo informed her as they dropped down through another layer of cars. "But not many people can afford three passengers, so it's empty down there. Rumor has it you can reach up to thirty miles per hour!"
"Wow. That's crazy." Marie deadpanned, but it wasn't long before her naturally curious mind took over despite the horrid situation she was in. "But, how are you supposed to live inside of this thing? It's tiny, and there aren't any windows. What about fuel stops, exercise, food, fresh air, things like that?"
"Oh, we stocked up." Cheen waved in dismissal. "Got self-replicating fuel, muscle stimulants for exercise, there's a chemical toilet in the back that recycles waste products as food, and the air is on an automatic recycling program that runs itself almost indefinitely."
Marie wrinkled her nose, glad she didn't eat the biscuit Cheen offered. But other than that, everything was incredible. Five billion years into her future, and a car can do all of this.
"Oh, another gap. This is brilliant." Milo cheered, driving down immediately.
"Car sign in." A robotic voice spoke from the computer in the front.
"Car 465 Diamond 6, on descent to fast lane, thank you very much." Milo said proudly.
"Please drive safely."
"See? Another ten layers to go. We're scorching." Milo's excitement was cut off by an ominous growling noise which made Marie jump in spite of herself.
"What was that? It sounds like it's coming from underneath." She asked cautiously. It sounded like this car was too advanced to have engine troubles, but maybe five billion years in the future and cars were still extremely faulty. Although, the noise didn't sound like any engine she was familiar with. Marie kept reminding herself that this was far into the future. This could be normal for all she knew.
"It's that noise, isn't it? It's like Kate said. The stories, they're true." Cheen stated, looking a bit more excited than afraid.
"What stories?"
"It's the sound of the air vents." Milo said firmly. "That's all. The exhaust fumes travel down, so at the base of the tunnel they've got air vents."
"No, but the stories are much better." Cheen turned around in her seat with a wide smile and lowered her voice to sound more spooky. "They say people go missing on the motorway. Some cars just vanish, never to be seen again, because there's something living down there in the smoke. Something huge and hungry. And if you get lost on the road, it's waiting for you."
As if to emphasize Cheen's story, Marie heard another distant roar. Fear gripped her heart, icy cold and unrelenting.
"But like I said. Air vents." Milo was sounding less and less convinced by the moment. "Going down to the next layer."
"Except, look outside." Marie urged quietly. "You don't have to be a genius to see that those air vents aren't working."
"Nah, that's kid stuff. No. Car 465 Diamond 6, on descent." Milo said, but Marie could hear the tremor in his voice. Marie closed her eyes, wishing for nothing more than the Doctor to find some way to save her.
"Fast lane access." The computer broke Marie out of her thoughts abruptly. "Please drive safely."
"We made it." Milo breathed, squeezing Cheen's hand. "The fast lane."
Marie watched with her teeth worrying at her lower lip as they descended to the fast lane. Her earlier assumptions were correct. Her mind flashed back to the young girl who chose to forget her parents because they went on the motorway. What if she never saw Martha again? What if the Doctor never saved her?
"Brooklyn turnoff one, closed."
Cheen frowned. "Try again."
Milo tapped on the monitor again.
"Brooklyn turnoff one, closed." The cool, electronic voice informed them.
"Try the next one?" Marie suggested. Everything was going to be fine. The Doctor would come. He had to. He was a hero.
"Brooklyn turnoff two, closed."
The car fell silent. Cheen's voice came out as a hushed whisper in stark contrast to her excited tone for the trip up until this point. Her baby was on the line.
"We'll keep going round. We'll do the whole loop, and by the time we come back round, they'll be open." Milo said, determined.
The car shuddered as a much louder growl echoed through the motorway.
"I'm telling you, those aren't air vents." Marie insisted, though she knew it didn't matter.
"What else could it be?" Milo snapped, frustrated. "It's just the hydraulics."
"It sounds like it's alive." Marie murmured.
"It's all exhaust fumes out there. Nothing could breathe in that."
As much as Marie wanted to be comforted by Milo's words, she had seen the impossible. Witches from before time trying to destroy the world 408 years before she was born. Shakespeare flirting with her. A hospital being transported to the moon. Rhino aliens. A time traveling alien and his bigger-on-the-inside police box. Now, here she was five billion years in her future on a flying car going ten miles in six years. Some sort of monster feeding off of exhaust fumes didn't sound all that far fetched.
"Calling Car 465 Diamond 6. Repeat, calling Car 465 Diamond 6." A new voice, a different voice, sounded through the monitor.
"This is Car 465 Diamond 6. Who's that? Where are you?" Milo was starting to sound as desperate as Marie felt. She didn't blame him. His love and his unborn child could be at risk.
"I'm in the fast lane, about fifty yards behind." Marie looked to the monitor to see what looked like a humanoid black poodle. She blinked. Well. That was unexpected. Behind the poodle, there were two very pale girls behind her. "Can you get back up? Can you get off the fast lane?"
Milo's eyebrows pushed together. "We only have permission to go down. We need the Brooklyn Flyover."
"It's closed." The poodle replied, the two girls behind it moving as something hit their car. "Go back up."
"We can't," Milo protested, "We'll just go round."
The poodle growled in frustration. "Don't you understand? They're closed. They're always closed. We're stuck down here, and there's something else out there in the fog. Can't you hear it?"
"That's the air vents." If Marie had a pound for every time Milo sounded that, she would be bloody rich.
"Jehovah, what are you? Some stupid kid? Get out of here!" Suddenly, a big bump forced the three nameless people in the car to the side, and they all shouted in distress.
"What was that? Are you alright? What's happening?" Marie rambled, leaned closer to the monitor, trying to find a way to help them.
"I can't move!" The poodle wailed, the fear in their eyes prominent even through the grainy monitor. "They've got us!"
"What's got you? What is it? What's happening?" Marie asked rapidly, her hands tightening into fists.
"Hang on. It's here. Just drive, you idiots! Get out of here!" Then the monitor turned black. Marie's heart began thumping so loudly in her chest she was sure that Cheen and Milo could hear it.
"Can you hear me? Hello?" Milo almost begged.
"Just drive!" Marie ordered. "Do what she said. Get us out of here?"
"But where?"
"Just straight ahead, and as fast as you can!"
"What is it?" Cheen asked fearfully. "What's out there? What is it?"
Something hit the car, making Marie stumble, but she caught on to a nearby shelf and gripped it for dear life.
"Go faster!" Cheen begged, her voice cracking with fear.
"I'm at top speed!" Milo said, tapping furiously at the monitor.
"No access above."
"But this is an emergency!" Milo protested.
"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."
"Bloody machines!" Marie growled, closing her eyes and trying to think of a quick solution, trying to think like the Doctor. Her eyes snapped open. "Turn everything off."
"You've got to be joking." Milo laughed emotionlessly as he ducked and weaved through gigantic snapping claws.
"No, listen," Marie insisted, "It's all fog out there. How can they see us? It's probably the engines, the sound of them, or the heat or the light, I don't know! Just turn everything off and they might not be able to find us."
"What if you're wrong?"
"This is our only hope, just do it!" Marie shouted, and Milo hit the necessary buttons to make the car go dark and still. The outside was silent, and without the lights, Marie couldn't see the huge claws.
"They've stopped." Cheen whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks. Marie placed a comforting arm on her shoulder, wanting nothing more than her best friend to be at her side to comfort her.
"Yeah, but they're still out there." Milo replied quietly.
"How did you think of that, Marie?"
The pale engineer shook her head solemnly. "I don't know. It just seemed like the only option. Trouble is, I don't know what we're supposed to do next."
"Well, you'd better think of something, because we've lost the aircon." Milo said, defeated. "If we don't switch the engines back on, we won't be able to breathe."
"How long have we got?"
Milo's answer to Marie's question rang hollowly in the car.
"Eight minutes, maximum."
Marie sat down, running her fingers through her hair and closing her eyes, trying to think of something, anything that could save them.
"How much of the air is left?" Cheen asked, breaking the silence and Marie's concentration. Not like it mattered. She hadn't come up with any ideas and didn't think she was any closer to one.
"Two minutes."
"We need the Doctor." Marie replied simply. "He could save us."
"Marie, no one's coming." Milo stated, his voice hollow and empty.
"He looked kind of nice." Cheen tried to bring up the mood.
"He's a good man. One of the best." Marie didn't know how on earth she managed to gain such a high opinion of the time traveling alien in such a short amount of time, but she did.
"Are you and him…"
Marie chuckled, shaking her head even though Cheen and Milo couldn't see it. "No. Though Martha, my best mate, she seems to think otherwise."
"I never even asked. Where's home?"
Marie frowned at Cheen's question. "It's… It's a long ways away. It's not like I have much, I never knew my mum and dad, not really, but Martha's family sort of took me in. If I die here, at least they'll still have her. I can take comfort in that, at least. The Doctor will take her home."
"So, er, who is he, then? This Doctor?" Milo asked.
"I don't know." Marie shivered, and it wasn't because of the cold. "I don't know. He's the Doctor, but that's all he says. He's a mystery to me."
"But that means that the only hope right now is a complete stranger. Well, that's no use." Marie could hear the anger building up in Cheen's voice, and she rushed to calm her. He may be a stranger, but Marie knew enough about him.
"It is, though. You haven't seen the things he can do. He's a hero, and I don't think he even realizes it. He's saved the world. You two, you've got your own faith, and for the longest time I wasn't sure of mine, but now, I have the Doctor. I have to believe that the Doctor will come save us."
All was silent as the two took in Marie's words. The air was starting to grow thin, and she knew it was time to switch everything back on again and hope for the best.
"Right." Milo said, and turned the car back on.
"System's back online."
"Good luck."
"And you."
Without any more preamble, the three began driving through the gigantic claws, ducking and weaving and hoping and praying for the Doctor. No sooner than Marie had closed her eyes did she hear the very voice she had been desperate to hear since she was kidnapped.
"Sorry, no Sally Calypso. She was just a hologram. My name's the Doctor."
"Yes!" Marie cheered, laughing and grinning through the tears. "Yes, yes, yes! The Doctor did it!"
"And this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now. I've opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you, the whole under-city. Drive up, drive up, drive up! Fast! We've got to clear that fast lane. Drive up and get out of the way."
"Oh my god!" Cheen cried in happiness, her hands resting on her stomach.
"Oi! Car 465 Diamond 6. Marie Morgan, drive up! I've got someone who is far too anxious to see you." The Doctor grinned, and Marie matched his smile. Martha was okay. The Doctor had saved them, and Martha was okay.
"We can't go up, we'll hit the layer!" Milo protested.
"Just do as he says!" Marie ordered, "Go up!"
"You've got access above," the Doctor agreed through to monitor is if it was only them. "Now go!"
Marie watched with a newfound brightness in her blue eyes as the sunlight was revealed and Milo began to drive up.
"It's daylight. Oh my god, that's the sky, the real sky." Cheen breathed.
"He did it!" Marie cheered, "I told you, he did it!"
"Keep driving, Brannigan. All the way up. Because it's here, just waiting for you. The ciry of New New York, and it's yours. And don't forget I want that coat back." The Doctor said over the monitor, pointing sternly at the camera. Marie shook her head, not caring who Brannigan was or why he had the Doctor's coat. She was being saved. "And Car 465 Diamond 6, I've sent you a flight path. Come to the Senate. It's been quite awhile since I've seen you, Marie Morgan."
"We're on our way." Marie grinned, looking at the two people in the front seat who were holding hands tightly as Milo drove up and the city of New New York was revealed to them. Marie laughed and cried along with them, feeling her heart lift.
"Marie, thank you." Cheen cried as they parked in front of the senate, stepping outside to the fresh air and real ground, enveloping the young engineer in a hug.
"It was all the Doctor." Marie denied, hugging the woman back nonetheless.
"You don't understand what this means to us." Milo grinned, shaking her hand. "We won't forget you, not ever. Not you, not the Doctor, not your friend Martha."
"Nor I, you!" Marie promised before she ran up the steps of the Senate, and ran right into the waiting arms of her best friend in the whole world.
"Marie!" Martha sobbed, squeezing her tightly. "Marie, I thought we had lost you forever! I thought I'd never see you again!"
"Never. Never ever." Marie promised, holding on to her best friend just as tightly.
The two stayed that way, locked in their embrace for a few minutes before they walked back, hand in hand to find the Doctor.
"I swear, you should have seen him looking for you." Martha gushed, making Marie roll her eyes good naturedly. "It was like nothing in the world would stop him. Honestly, I barely existed to him unless I was being useful. It was annoying, but very sweet."
"Oh, Martha." Marie tsked, shaking her head. "The Doctor would have done the same if it was reversed. Think about it. He took us out of time and to another planet, and one of us got kidnapped. You really think he'd let anything stand in his way of rescuing us and bringing us to safety? Especially when a whole city is also at stake?"
Martha shook her head. "No, no, it was different. I swear. You'll see."
"Over here!" Marie heard the Doctor call, and she grinned and ran over to the sound of the voice, trying to ignore all of the skeletons all around her. She skidded to a stop, taking Martha with her, when she noticed a gigantic face on the ground, the Doctor kneeling by its side. Marie swore that she had seen more strange things in the short time that she had known the Doctor than in her whole life.
"Doctor? What happened out there? What's this?" Marie asked quietly, sensing the emotions in the room.
"It's the Face of Boe." The Doctor explained quietly, gesturing for the two girls to come forward without taking his eyes off of the Face. "It's alright. Come and say hello. And this is Hame. She's a cat. Don't worry. He's the one that saved you, Marie, not me."
Marie blinked, looking up at the cat woman, who seemed to be in tears, and then back down at the giant face.
"My lord gave his life to save the city, and now he's dying." Hame said through a choked sob.
"No, don't say that. Not old Boe. Plenty of life left." The Doctor refuted, but Marie could see the heaviness in his posture.
"It's good to breathe the air once more." A low, rumbling voice echoed in Marie's mind, and her eyes widened, looking down at the Face of Boe. A giant, telepathic face had given his life to save the city. She would have to think on that later, at another time.
"Who…" Marie began, but she couldn't finish her sentence.
"I don't even know." The Doctor answered. "Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now."
"Everything has its time. You know that, old friend, better than most."
Marie frowned in confusion.
"The legend says more." Hame spoke quietly.
"Don't." The Doctor said sharply. "There's no need for that."
But Hame persisted. "It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveler."
"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?" Marie wished there was any way she could comfort the Doctor, but it was like she was telling Cheen and Milo. She didn't know this man, not really. This situation with the Face of Boe only proved that.
"I have seen so much." The Face heaved a heavy sigh. "Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor."
Marie's eyes widened. The last of his kind? What was that supposed to mean?
"That's why we have to survive." The Doctor practically begged. "Both of us. Don't go."
"I must." The Face of Boe replied carefully. "But know this, Time Lord. You are not alone."
Marie felt a few tears slip from her eyes as the Face of Boe breathed his last, and Hame wept over him.
The walk to Pharmacy Town was silent. This time, Marie was in the center of the hand-holding, and she suspected it was because they were both more affected by her kidnapping than they let on. But that was okay. So was she.
"All closed down." The Doctor commented as he looked over at the stalls.
"Happy?" Martha asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Happy happy. New New York can start again, and they've got Novice Hame. Just what every city needs, cats in charge. Come on, time we were off." The Doctor said, but Marie could tell the happy lilt to his voice was forced.
"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe? You're not alone." Marie asked, looking up at the Doctor who didn't meet her eyes.
"I don't know."
"You've got us," Martha suggested. "Is that what he meant?"
The Doctor spared her a look, but only briefly. "I don't think so. Sorry."
"Then what?" Marie persisted.
The time traveler was silent for a moment before bringing up that false cheer of his again. "Doesn't matter. Back to the TARDIS, off we go."
Marie scowled as she felt the two walking back to the police box, and stopped, making them both stop in their tracks and look back at her, confused. The pale engineer let go of their hands and pulled up a chair, sitting down in it with her legs and arms crossed. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, are you staying?" He asked sarcastically.
"Till you talk to us properly, yes." Marie retorted, before her eyes softened. "He said 'last of your kind'. What does that mean?"
"It doesn't really matter."
Martha silently pulled up two more chairs, one next to Marie and the other across from them and sat down with her best friend. "You don't talk. You never say. Why not?"
Then, the singing started. A soft, choral sound, waving through the breeze. It tugged at Marie's heart. That was the song of a whole city seeing the sunlight for the very first time.
"It's the city." Marie said quietly, not taking her eyes off of the Doctor, who was looking at her now. "They're singing."
The Doctor sat down, his eyes trained on the floor.
"I lied to you two because I liked it. I could pretend, just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt orange sky. I'm not just a Time Lord. I'm the Last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong. There is no one else."
Marie felt her heart breaking with every single word. He was alone. He was lonely. That's why she was here. He was a lonely man.
"What happened?" Marie asked.
"There was a war. A Time War. The last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky." The Doctor shook his head, his eyes glimmering with unshed tears for his destroyed planet. "Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song."
Marie closed her eyes, trying to imagine it, the great and magnificent planet of the Time Lords, just as she had tried earlier in the day. Except now, the false memory was twinged with sadness over the loss of something she was never destined to know.
"I'm sorry." Martha said softly. The Doctor nodded his thanks before standing up.
"Time to go back to the TARDIS." He said, and he and Martha began walking away.
"Martha, you go on ahead. I need to talk to the Doctor." Marie called, standing up and catching the Doctor's wrist, causing him to look back at her with curiosity and Martha to simply nod and open the TARDIS doors, disappearing into police box.
"I'm sorry." The Doctor said before Marie could get a word out edgewise, his voice choked with emotion. "I'm so sorry, Marie Morgan. I let go of you for a minute and you were being kidnapped."
Marie shook her head. "No. If it wasn't me, it would have been you or Martha, or some random person off the street. I'm glad it was me. That's fine. I'm just…"
"I can't promise you it won't happen again." He said quietly, looking down at her. "I can't promise you that you won't ever be in danger like that again."
The pale engineer nodded. "I know. I've seen your world. I don't think I'm ready to leave it quite yet. But you can promise me one thing, can you?"
The Doctor remained silent, allowing her to continue.
"If it comes down to it, if… when something like this happens again, and there's a solution that doesn't involve saving me, do it. I want you to promise me that you'll save Martha, and you'll save yourself if it ever comes down to it. I couldn't bear it if you didn't. Please, Doctor. You have to promise me."
The Doctor only looked at her solemnly. A small tear leaked through the corner of Marie's blue eyes, but she ignored it, waiting for the Doctor's response.
"Okay."
Marie nodded. That was all she needed. Slowly, she opened her arms for a hug, which he accepted immediately. With the height difference between the two, he practically swallowed her, but that was okay. They both needed this.