Notes: I wanted to give warning that I'll be jumping back and forth between the Doctor and Lady. Oh and Warning Sexual Content
Chapter 30
One Last Trip/Gridlocked
By: Izzy
Lady awoke to an empty bed. She found it strange because even if the Doctor didn't have to sleep he would still be laying in bed with her. She assumed he was tinkering with the TARDIS. She shrugged as she started her daily routine. After she was done with her daily routine she smiled as she happily walked to the console room. Her smile faded slightly when she found the room empty. "Jess?" she asked. She got no reply, and that worried her. "Jess?! " Still no answer, she frowned. "Doctor?!" She walked through the halls of the TARDIS. She felt panic take hold of her mind. "Martha?!" No one answered her. She started to walked a bit faster. "Anyone?!" She walked faster and faster until she was running. "DOCTOR!" She ran and ran, panic fueling her feet. "DOCTOR!" Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. The pain was so great it stopped her in her tracks. She doubled over and couldn't breath. She felt warm liquid run down her leg. She looked down to see blood flowing down her leg. "NO!" She screamed in pain, emotional and physical.
"Rhiannon!" she could hear the Doctor shout. She felt her body being shook. She woke up in bed, so she sat up. She was covered in sweat and her throat hurt. "Rhee? Are you all right?"
"Water," she choked out. He jumped out of the bed, grabbed the glass she had used the night before, and filled it in the bathroom. He was back to Lady in no time. He handed her the glass.
"Here," he said. She took the glass and drank the whole glass in one go. "Slow down, or you'll choke." She put the glass on the night stand beside her.
"Thanks," she said.
"You had a nightmare," he said.
"Yeah," she said as she laid back and sighed.
"What to talk about it?" he asked.
"Fear," she said.
"Fear?" he asked as he got back in the bed and tried his best to comfort her.
"My worst fears," she said. "I'm afraid of being alone."
"You're not alone," he said. "I'm not going anywhere for a long time."
"No, Doctor," she said. "I was totally alone. Even Jess wouldn't answer me. Then, then, then-" She was cut off by a wave of sobs that racked her body.
"Shh, Shh, Shh," he said trying to soothe her. "It was just a dream. A really bad dream."
"You don't understand!" she cried. "It felt so real! I lost the twins!"
"No, you didn't," he said softly as he put his hand on her stomach. "Both are still here and healthy. But if will help you I can give them a check up." He offered her a smile. She nodded sadly. He helped her to the Med Bay she finally stopped crying as they walked. He ran a full work up on the three of them. He did an ultrasound and showed her the twins on the monitor. "See, two beautiful healthy babies." She started to cry again, and he hugged her and rubbed her back as the monitor played the babies heartsbeats. "It's all right, Love. They're fine. I promise, they will be fine." She pushed him away so he let go of her.
"But how can you promise that?!" she cried. "How?!" He shuddered at her words. "With how crazy our lives get how can you promise that they'll be safe?" He walked out of the room and shut the door. She started to cry hard again. He stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall he started to cry as well. He fell into a heap in the floor as he cried.
"Doctor?" Martha asked as she walked up to him. "Are you all right?" She knelt down. He didn't look up at her but she saw a puddle of tears on the floor.
"She's right," he said in a low broken voice
"What happened?" She asked with great concern in her voice.
"I shouldn't have promise her that they'll be fine," he said still speaking low. "I shouldn't have."
"Doctor, what happened?" she asked again.
"I should have just left it," he said.
"What happened?" she asked louder this time. He looked up at her with tears welding in his eyes.
"She needs a friend," he said. "Please go to her." He pointed to the Med Bay door.
"OK," she said. She didn't really want to leave him in this state but if he was like this then Lady had to be worse. Martha got up and entered the Med Bay. "Lady?" She saw Lady lying on the examination table with her back to the door.
"Go away!" she shouted bitterly.
"No," Martha said as she stepped farther into the room. "I don't think you really mean that."
"Yes, I do!" Lady shouted. "Go away!"
"No," Martha said again.
"Get away!" Lady shouted as she rolled over. When she rolled over Martha saw the tears flowing from her eyes, with abandon. "I don't need you!"
"I think you do," Martha said calmly with a loving tone. "I think you need a friend."
"I don't!" Lady shouted as the tears flowed heavier. "I don't need anyone!"
"Not even the Doctor?" Martha asked softly.
"I-" Lady started but stopped, because no matter how mad or upset she was she could never say that she didn't need the Doctor.
"I knew it," Martha said. "You are experiencing what's called antepartum depression."
"But," Lady said as she sniffed. "I didn't think that Time Ladies could experience depression."
"I don't know much about the physiology of Time Lords or Ladies," Martha said. "But I've worked in the maternity ward enough to recognize antepartum depression when I see it." Lady didn't respond so Martha continued. "I can help if you'll let me." Lady sat up slowly, Martha rushed to Lady's side and helped her up.
"How?" she asked. "How can you help me?" She took a deep breath. "Can you help me fix things with him?"
"Tell me what happened and I'll do my best," Martha said as she pulled herself up on to the examination table. So Lady told her everything that happened from the dream until Martha stepped into the Med Bay. "Well that would definitely trigger antepartum depression."
"I didn't mean to say those things to him," Lady said with a loud sigh. "The words flowed from me before I even had time to think. I know he will do his best to protect us, and if something happens it won't be his fault, but the words just split out of me like water from a over flowing cup." Martha slipped a hand into Lady's hand and Martha squeezed Lady's hand lightly trying to give her support. Lady looked into Martha's eyes and for a moment Lady could have swore she saw love in them. Not the love felt between friends but a lover's love. Then it was gone.
"Let's get you cleaned up and back to your Doctor," Martha said happily. She jumped off the examination table and offered Lady a hand. "The thing that will help you the most right now is to tell him what you just told me." Martha smiled brightly. Lady took the hand and got off the table. They walked to the Doctor and Lady's room. "Let's get you into the bath for a good soak." Martha guided Lady to the bathroom.
"Martha," she said. "I'm pregnant not broken."
"I'm not leaving you alone for even a split second while you're like this," Martha proclaimed.
"Fine," Lady said, but to tell the truth she was happy that Martha had said that. Lady didn't want to be alone, in anyway shape or form. Martha helped Lady undress and climb into the tub. Martha even filled the tub. "Thank you. But you didn't have to do all this."
"I wanted to," Martha said with a sweet smile. "I don't mind helping you."
"Thanks," Lady said as she took her hair out of it's bun. She started to relax in the tub.
"So," Martha started. "How long have you been with the Doctor?"
"Now that is a complicated question," Lady said.
"Why is it complicated?" Martha asked.
"Time travel is in of itself complicated," Lady laughed.
"I saw that with Queen Elizabeth," Martha said. "So longer for one than the other?"
"For me," Lady said. "For me we have been together for a little over six years. For him a little over a year I think."
"Wow," Martha said. "Here, rise up a bit and I'll get your back." Lady rose up as far as she could and Martha moved Lady's hair so Martha could light rubbed a soapy cloth on Lady's back. "I didn't know your hair was this long. You always keep it in a bun."
"It's either a bun or cut it again and I think the Doctor might just have a hearts attack if I do that again," Lady said lightly.
"You cut it once already?" Martha asked.
"Yeah," Lady said. "When I start a new relationship I always cut my hair as a symbol of new beginnings."
"That's sweet," Martha said as she guided Lady back down. Martha pulled all of Lady's hair out of the tub and started to carefully wash it.
"I could wash my own hair, you know?" Lady said.
"I know, but I just wanted to so something for you," Martha said. "You do so much for everyone, not just the Doctor but everyone you meet." She gently worked the soap into Lady's hair, almost sensually. "I mean you saved that poor man's life, and even gave him the means to protect himself in the future. That is amazing and in my opinion, the Doctor doesn't appreciate you as much as you deserve."
"Now that isn't really fair," Lady said. "He and I are the last of our kind and he does what he can when he can. He treats me good and gives me everything and anything I require."
"That's my point," Martha said. "He doesn't go beyond that, you deserve so much more."
"He is all I need," Lady said. "Him and my twins." She rubbed her belly affectionately. Martha use the shower head to spray off the soap. Then she moved to sit on the lip of the tub.
"I think you deserve more than an old ship and what you need," she said as she braced her arms on the other side of the tub and leaned down. "You deserve to be waited on hand and foot. You deserve to have someone that can please you the way a woman was meant to be pleased." She leaned down farther until her lips were so close to Lady's that she could feel Martha's breath on them. Lady's breath caught in her throat as she felt the urge to kiss Martha come on strong. But before either of the two women could act on said urges they heard the Doctor enter the main room.
"Lady?" he asked. Martha shot back up and stood.
"I'll let you too talk," she said as she walked out. "She's in the bath, soaking." He walked in moments later and was at the edge of the tub in seconds.
"I'm so-" Lady started but was cut off by his lips, kissing hers. The kiss held all the pain he had felt but also all the love he felt as well. He broke the kiss.
"No, you don't have to be sorry for anything," he said while she was still trying recover from the shock of the sudden kiss. "I should have been careful with my words." He pulled the dairy from his pocket. "I hadn't read this until a little while ago. I should have."
"You have just been trying to make sure I'm comfortable," she said.
"But if I would have read this I could have prepared us for the nightmares that you'll have," he said. "And the depression."
"So all this is normal?" she asked. "Normal for a Time Lady pregnancy?"
"Well according to my mother," he said. "It runs in my family."
"Ahh," she said. "Any other tidbits of fun information I should know about?"
"Well," he said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Soon, with in the next month or so, you'll be experiencing extreme urges."
"Urges?" she asked. "Let me guess would these be sexual urges?"
"Yup," he said. "Which is the main reason looming became mandatory. The council deemed that sex was beneath us Time Lords."
"Well then I have something I need to tell you," she said. "As you know I'm bisexual." He nodded. "Well I can't just turn that part of me off."
"I don't expect you too," he said.
"Well with the bonding," she said nervously. "I didn't know if it was OK."
"Oh, you mean to be with a woman as well as me?" he asked.
"Kind of," she said. "I only want you in my life forever but there is sometimes I have urges to be with a woman sexually."
"Oh," he said.
"If you don't want me to I won't," she said. "But I just wanted you to know the urge is there."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't think it's possible. But don't get me wrong I would let you if it weren't for the bond."
"Oh," she said.
"Will you be all right?" he asked as he grabbed a brush from the drawer near him.
"Yeah," she said. "I'm only bringing this up now because, Martha nearly kissed me." He lightly pulled her very long hair out of the bath and started to brush it lightly.
"Martha?!" he asked sounding very surprised. "But she said she didn't swing that way."
"Well," she said the same way he does. "I don't think she knew until I kissed her."
"How can you not know something like that?" he asked as he finished brushing her hair.
"Well I didn't know I was bisexual until a friend of mine kissed me," she explained as she tried to stand, he saw that she was having trouble so he helped her out of the tub. "She was actually my first girlfriend."
"Yeah, I remember that," he said.
"It could be that she never had a woman kiss her before and she's bisexual too," she said as she dried off.
"True," he said. "But why wouldn't she just tell us then."
"I think that she thought that you may have had a problem with her trying to get with me," she said. He sighed as they walked back into their room.
"Do you want her?" he asked. She turned to look at him with wide eyes.
"Yes," she said. "But I won't."
"I know you, you wouldn't do anything to hurt us," he said.
"Any hidden urges I should know about?" she teased.
"Hidden?" he asked. "No, not hidden. You know all my urges." He got closer to her and held her to him gently. He lowered his head down to right beside her ear and whispered. "And right now I have an urge to make say my name over and over." She shivered as he lowered his head a bit farther and began to kiss her neck. She moaned a bit as he lightly nipped at her neck. He stopped kissing her and whispered into her ear again. "You may have had a nightmare, but last night I dreamed of having you under me as I please you over and over." He moved his head so he could kiss her passionately, she kissed him back this time. He broke the kiss. "With my lips." He kissed down the other side of her neck this time. And nipped her neck. He guided her so she was leaning against the wall. "Fingers." He moved his hands from her back to her breasts and played with her nipples. She moaned and wiggled against him.
He moved his handed to cup her behind as he moved his head to kiss her passionately again. They moaned together as he lifted her up and carried her to the bed. He broke the kiss so he could lay her down on the bed with the up most care. He stripped down, and got on the bed with her. He kissed her stomach and down to her core. He licked her wet core. "Theta!" she screamed out in pleasure. He continued to lick and suck. "Oh, yes! Theta!" He dipped his tongue as deep as he could into her core repetitively. "THETA!" She came undone. He licked up all her juices. She tried to catch her breath, and even with the respiratory bypass it was proving difficult. He laid down beside her.
"I think every time I do that you get louder and louder," he teased with large smile on his face. "In fact I know you get louder."
"Oh shut it and come here," she said as she rolled over a bit and pulled him into a kiss. She reached down and took his length into a hand and rubbed gently, which caused him to moan into the kiss.
"Roll over," he said as he broke the kiss. She rolled over so she was facing the wall instead of him. He angled himself so he could enter her from behind. "Ready?"
"Always," she said. He pushed himself into her core. They both moaned at the contact. Once he was in as far as he could he stopped, to make sure she was still good. She nodded and he started to thrust in and out of her. They moaned loudly. She reached out with her mind to his and lovingly touched his mind with hers, which caused him to moan louder. He let her in to his mind and the pleasure they felt doubled because he could feel her pleasure as well as his own and she could feel his as well as her own. They moaned louder as he picked up the pass on his thrusts. "Theta." She moaned.
"Rhee," he moaned. "My Rhee." He wanted to last longer but he could feel his release quickly approaching. He moved a hand to her breast and played with her nipple causing her to cry out in pleasure again. He felt her come undone around him.
"THETA!" she screamed his name in pleasure as she came.
"RHEE!" he screamed her name as he came undone too. He pulled out of her and laid down on his back. He wasn't tired but she rolled onto her back, and he could tell she was. "Rest, Love."
"But," she said breathlessly. "Didn't you have plans on going somewhere today?"
"Yes," he said. "But it can wait for you to take a nap."
"OK." she said not really having the energy to argue with him anymore.
"If you need me I'll be in the console room," he said. She nodded and rolled back onto her side, and then she fell asleep. He smiled at her as he pulled a blanket over her. Please help her sleep soundly. He heard a confirming hum in his head. So got dressed again and he walked out of the room and down to the console room where he took off his suit jacket and tie lying them on a coral strut, so he could start to repair the TARDIS. He was so consumed with his repairs he didn't even see or hear Martha enter the console room and sit down on the jump seat.
"So," she said causing him to jump and hit his head on the grating above him.
"Ow!" he yelled as he rubbed his head lightly, checking for any broken skin or welts left on his head. There wasn't.
"I didn't mean to scare you," she said.
"It's fine," he said. He crawled out from under the grating and saw the worried look on her face. "What's wrong?"
"Did you work things out with her?" she asked.
"Yes," he said. "What's she's experiencing is normal, and I apologized for not knowing that."
"That's good," she said. "Did she tell you anything?" She shifted nervously. He leaned against the console and folded his arms across his chest.
"Yes," he said. "She told me that you almost kissed her."
"Oh," she said looking down and not meeting his gaze.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. "Because if I recall correctly, and I normally do. Big Time Lord brain, you said you don't swing that way."
"Well ever since she kissed me, I can't get it out of my head," she explained.
"I know that feeling," he said. "After meeting her I couldn't get her out of my head." He laughed. "I had to ask her come with me. And at first she was so stunned that I asked that she couldn't move or speak, so I thought that she didn't want to come. When she over came the shock she said yes. She made me happy for the first time in over 900 years."
"She is special," she said. "She deserves everything her heart desires."
"I agree," he said. "But sometimes I feel like I fall short of that."
"No," she said. "She is in love with you. She loves you more than anyone I have ever seen."
"You really think so?" he asked.
"I know so," she said.
"Sometimes I wish I could give her more than a universe full of trouble and a old spaceship," he said. She felt the gravity of his comment and regretted ever saying what she had said about the man. He loved Lady as much as she loved him. He would give her the moon if she asked him.
"By the way," Martha said. "Where is she?"
"She's taking a nap," he said. "The nightmare took a lot out of her." She nodded.
"If you or Lady need me I'll be in the room you let me use," she said.
"As soon as she wakes up," he said. She left him alone again. He continued his repairs and reminisced about the day he met Lady. He hadn't lied about not being able to get her out of his head. Rose had pulled him from the edge, but Lady had healed the wounds and holes in his hearts left there by the Time War. The more he thought about it the more he wanted to know what happened in the show that she watched. He finished the repairs he was working on and walked to the media room. Jess, please let Lady know I'm in the media room when she wakes up.
You know you could do that yourself? Jess asked.
Yes, but it would be faster if you tell her, he said.
Fine, she sighed. He found the DVDs of 'Doctor Who' and watched the first season. He saw that his meeting of Rose went the same. Things only changed after he met Lady. He saw how hopelessly in love that version of him was in love with Rose. He started to watch the second season, when he heard the door open and reveal his light and love. Lady stood in the doorway, all showered and changed, ready for their next adventure.
"Watching 'Doctor Who'?" she asked.
"I just wanted to see what you liked so much about it," he said.
"So, what'd you think?" she asked.
"Well, I don't find it as entertaining as you do but it has it's redeeming moments," he said.
"Then don't watch the episode Doomsday in the second season," she said.
"Why?" he asked.
"You'll cry," she said. "Like you did for the seventh book of Harry Potter."
"I was surprised you didn't cry!" he exclaimed.
"Well, Doomsday I did cry," she said.
"Well then I have to watch it!" he proclaimed. He picked up the remote but she snatched it from him. "Oi!"
"You have to watch Army of Ghosts first," she said as she sat it up for him. She sat down beside him and he curled up into her the best he could without hurting her. "Be happy I love you. Because I made a promise I would never watch this episode ever again but I will for you."
"I'm always happy that you love me," he said. "Because I love you too!" They watched in silence until they got to the part in Doomsday where Rose is trapped in Pete's World. He gasped as they watched the Doctor on the screen. "I wasn't-" The Doctor couldn't say anymore as Rose on the TV was crying and begging for them to take her back. He moved to the edge of the sofa as it got to beach seen.
"Where are you?" Rose on the TV asked.
"Inside the TARDIS," the Doctor on the TV responded. "There's one tiny little gap in the Universe left, just about to close, and it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a super nova. I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."
"You look like a ghost," she said.
"Hold on," he said as he used his Sonic to solidify his image.
"Can I-" she started to asked as she reached out to touch him.
"I'm still just an image," he said, as he shook his head lightly. "No touch."
"Can't you come through properly?" she asked.
"The whole thing would fracture," he explained. "Two universes would collapse."
"So?" she asked. Lady heard the Doctor laugh along with the Doctor on the TV.
"Where are we?" he asked as he looked around. "Where did the gap come out?"
"We're in Norway," Rose on the TV said.
"Norway," he said. "Right."
"About fifty miles out of Burgen," she said. "It's called 'Dårlig Ulv Stranden'."
"Dalek?" he asked sounding worried.
"Dårlig," she corrected. "It's Norwegian for bad. This translates as Bad Wolf Bay." He looked a bit surprised by that. "How long have we got?"
"About two minutes," he said.
"I can't think of what to say!" she exclaimed as she started to cry heavily.
"You've still got Mister Mickey, then?" he said nodded to Mickey who stood behind her.
"There's five of us now. Mum, Dad, Mickey and the baby," she said.
"You're not?" he asked.
"No," she said with a laugh. "It's mum. She's three months gone. More Tylers on the way."
"And what about you?" he asked. "Are you-" He started but cut himself off.
"Yeah," she said. "I'm back working in the shop."
"Oh, good for you," he said.
"Shut up," she said. "No, I'm not. There's still a Torchwood on this planet. It's open for business. I think I know a thing or two about aliens."
"Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth," he said proudly. "You're dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day and you've gone missing. You're on a list of the dead. Here you are, living a life day after day. The one adventure I can never have." The Doctor grabbed Lady's hand as the scene played.
"Am I ever going to see you again?" Rose on the TV asked, as she started to cry harder again.
"You can't," the Doctor on the TV said.
"What're you going to do?" she asked as her voice cracked.
"Oh, I've got the TARDIS," he said with fake cheer. "Same old life, last of the Time Lords."
"On your own?" she asked. "I-" She fought back more tears. "I love you."
"Quite right, too," he said. "And I suppose, if it's one last chance to say it, Rose Tyler I-" He vanished before he could finish his statement. He stood in the TARDIS, crying. She fell to her knees as she was overcome by sadness. Jackie on the TV ran to comfort her sobbing daughter. The Doctor took the remote and paused it. He turned and looked at Lady with tears in his eyes.
"You were right," he said as he sniffed. "And I understand."
"What?" she asked as she had to wipe tears from her own eyes.
"You were right that I would cry if I watched this," he said as he wiped tears from his face. "What you have to go through every time we go on an adventure that was part of this show. I don't think I could do what you do, without causing a paradox."
"Well it hasn't been easy," she said. "But I think Jess is helping me."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"There are moments where I can remember everything so clearly, and moments that I can't remember anything," she explained. "I think that is Jess, helping me not cause a paradox."
"Except your circular paradoxes you have created," he said with a laugh.
"Well, sometimes I need a swift kick in the ass," she said. "And who best to give it to me than me." He nodded like he understood. "Let's go get into trouble." He grinned at her.
"Allons-y!" he exclaimed as he grabbed her hand and they walked swiftly to the console room where Martha was standing.
"I was looking for you," she said.
"Let's get into trouble!" Lady exclaimed as he put in coordinates.
"Just one trip," he said. "That's what I said. One trip in the TARDIS, and then home." He thought for a minute. "Although I suppose we could stretch the definition. Since my Lady likes you so much. Take one trip into past, one trip into future. How do you fancy that?"
"No complaints from me," Martha said with a large smile.
"How about a different planet?" he asked.
"Can we go to yours?" she asked. Lady looked at him and saw the sadness that passed behind his eyes. She wanted to tell him that Gallifrey was fine but she knew he would find out soon enough.
"Ah, there's plenty of other places," he said.
"How 'bout New Earth?" she asked happily. She was trying to signal to Martha to drop it but she didn't get it.
"Come on, though," she said. "I mean, planet of the Time Lords. That's got to be worth a look. What's it like?"
"Well, it's beautiful, yeah," he said as she flipped switches and didn't meet the gaze of either woman.
"I know!" Lady exclaimed. "Let's go to the Rings of Akhaten!"
"Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?" Martha asked as she tried to envision Gallifrey. She ignored Lady again, mostly because Martha really wanted to see the planet of the Time Lords.
"I suppose it is," he said as he remembered Gallifrey.
"Wait no!" Lady exclaimed. "I've always wanted to see Ivalice!" Knowing there was no such place.
"Great big temples and cathedrals!" Martha exclaimed at the same time Lady exclaimed a different destination. She huffed and just sat in the jump seat feeling very ignored.
"Yeah," he said.
"Lots of planets in the sky?" Martha asked.
"The sky's a burnt orange, with the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns," he said. The way he spoke of Gallifrey always left Lady in awe. "Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow."
"Can we go there?" Martha asked excitedly.
"Nah," he said. "Where's the fun for us? I don't want to go home. Instead, this is much better. Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth." Lady sighed heavily and he gave her a strange look but continued to tell Martha about 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." He opened the doors and let Martha go through first, into the poring rain. They had landed in an alleyway.
"Oh, that's nice," she said sarcastically. "Time Lord version of dazzling."
"Nah, bit of rain never hurt anyone," he said. "Come on, let's get under cover!" He ran off with Martha and Lady just stood in the doorway of the TARDIS. She could still see and hear them from where they took shelter from the rain.
"Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me, on a Wednesday afternoon," she could hear Martha complain.
"Hold on, hold on," he said. "Let's have a look."
"And the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway," Lady heard Sally on the monitor.
"Oh, that's more like it," he said. "That's the view we had last time. This must be the lower levels, down in the base of the tower. Some sort of under-city."
"You've brought me to the slums?" Martha asked sounding offended.
"Much more interesting," he said. "It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city."
"You'd enjoy anything," she teased.
"That's me," he said as the rain stopped. "Ah, the rain's stopping. Better and better." He stepped out from their hiding spot at the same time Lady stepped out of the TARDIS.
"When you say last time, was that you and Lady?" Martha asked.
"Er, yeah," he said with a nod of his head as they explored. "Yeah, it was, yeah."
"You're taking me to planets you've already been?" she asked.
"What's wrong with that?" Lady asked.
"Nothing," Martha said.
"Honestly I think it makes us better tore guides," Lady said with a smirk. They walked a bit farther and suddenly he stopped, letting her catch up with him.
"You look like you recognize this place," he said.
"That's 'cause I do," she said.
"Show?" he asked in a whisper.
"Yeah," she said.
"Anything you can tell me?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said. "Two things. One all pigs are useless. And two everything is connected."
"That's a bit vague," he said. "And pigs? Pigs have hundreds of uses." Before he could go off on all the uses of pigs she got in front of him and stopped. She put a finger on his lips.
"I gave you the hints but I'm leaving it to you to figure them out," she said. "I can't spell everything out for you." He nodded and she removed her finger. Meanwhile, Martha was walked farther into the alley were a window opened up to reveal a man in a stall.
"Oh!" he said. "You should have said. How long you been there? Happy. You want Happy." More windows opened as the Doctor and Lady joined Martha. The next couple windows were women.
"Customers," the first woman said. "Customers! We've got customers!"
"We're in business," the second woman said. "Mother, open up the Mellow, and the Read."
"Happy," the man called. "Happy, lovely happy Happy!"
"Anger," the first woman called. "Buy some Anger!"
"Get some Mellow," the second woman called. "Makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long."
"'Don't go to them," the man said. "They'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?"
"No, thanks," the Doctor said.
"Are they selling drugs?" Martha asked.
"I think they're selling moods," he said.
"Same diff'," Lady said bitterly. She has always had a disdain for drug dealers, or in this case mood dealers. A small girl entered the alley only in rags. Lady felt sorry for the poor girl.
"Over here, sweetheart!" the second woman called out to the girl. "That's it, come on, I'll get you first!" The girl walked up to the second woman.
"Oi! Oi, you!" the man called. "Over here! Over here! Buy some Happy!"
"Come over here, yeah," the second woman said as the girl got close enough to buy something. "And what can I get you, my love?"
"I want to buy Forget," the girl said.
"I've got Forget, my darling," the second woman said. "What strength? How much do you want forgetting?"
"It's my mother and father," the girl said. "They went on the motorway."
"Oh, that's a swine," the second woman said as the Doctor ran to them. "Try this. Forget Forty three. That's two credits." The girl gave the second woman two credits and the second woman gave the girl the strip.
"Sorry, but hold on a minute," he said as he put his hand on the girl's shoulder. "What happened to your parents?" He let go of her.
"They drove off," she said.
"Yeah, but they might drive back," he said trying to console the woman.
"Everyone goes to the motorway in the end," she said sadly. "I've lost them."
"But they can't have gone far," he said. "You could find them." She goes put the strip on her neck. "No. No, no, don't." He tried to stop her but she got it on and sighed.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" she asked.
"Your parents," he said. "Your mother and father. They're on the motorway."
"Are they?" she asked sounding like she was out of it. "That's nice. I'm sorry, I won't keep you." She leaves the alley from the way she came.
"So that's the human race five billion years in the future," Martha said. "Off their heads on chemicals." Lady moved in front of him and opened her mouth to say something but a man grabbed her from behind. A woman points a gun at the Doctor and the stalls close their windows.
"I'm sorry," the man said. "I'm really, really sorry. We just need three, that's all."
"No, let her go!" the Doctor yelled. "I'm warning you, let her go! Whatever you want, I can help. All of us, we can help. But first you've got to let her go."
"I'm sorry," the woman said as they pulled Lady through a green door. "I'm really sorry. Sorry." They push Lady into a van. She doesn't fight them, mostly because she knows if she fights them it could hurt the twins. Plus she knew that this was the best way to motivate the Doctor.
"Please let me go," she begged. "That man was my husband and I'm not human. I'm pregnant and he is the only one in the universe that could deliver my babies." Which she knew that was stretching the truth a bit but she needed them to understand that she wasn't human and he was her husband.
"Give her some Sleep," the man said.
"Please don't I'm not human!" she cried. "Don't put that stuff in me, don't! Please don't!" She didn't fight hard but she wiggled just enough to make it hard for the woman to put the strip on.
"It's just Sleep Fourteen," she said. "No, baby, don't fight it." She got the strip on Lady's neck.
"No," she said as she felt sleepy but didn't fall asleep. "Don't please. I beg you."
"Give her another," he said.
"I promise it won't hurt the babies," the woman said as she put another strip of sleep on Lady's neck.
"But," she managed to say as the sleep kicked in and she was out.
"RHAINNON!" the Doctor screamed at the closed door. He pounded his fist against the door as tears flowed from his eyes.
"Doctor," Martha said softly. "I think we should go back. The vendors they seemed to know what was going on when Lady was taken." He continued to pound on the door. She knew how he felt but still. He needed to focus in order to save Lady. Martha frowned as she grabbed the Doctor and turned him to face her. She slapped him across the face. "Get a hold of yourself. You aren't doing Lady or those babies any good just beating down the door." He simply nodded and walked back to the vendors, who had opened their windows again. Martha sighed then thanked God he didn't try and argue with her.
"Thought you'd come back," the second woman said. "Do you want some happy Happy?"
"Those people, who were they?" he asked as calmly as he could. "Where did they take her?"
"They've taken her to the motorway," the man said.
"Looked like carjackers to me," the second woman said.
"I'd give up now, darling," the first woman said. "You won't see her again." The Doctor opened his mouth to say something but the man in the window spoke before he could.
"Used to be thriving, this place," he said. "You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."
"He kept on saying three, we need three," Martha asked. "What did he mean, three?"
"It's the car-sharing policy, to save fuel," the second woman said. "You get special access if you're carrying three adults."
"This motorway," the Doctor said. "How do I get there?"
"Straight down the alley, keep going to the end" she said. "You can't miss it. Tell you what. How about some happy Happy? Then you'll be smiling, my love."
"Word of advice, all of you," he said angrily and as he spoke he got louder. "Cash up, close down and pack your bags."
"Why's that, then?" the second woman asked. Martha watched him closely.
"Because as soon as I've found her, alive and well," he said loudly. "And I will find her alive and well. Then I'm coming back, and this street is closing tonight!"
"Yeah," the woman that kidnapped Lady said as Lady woke up. "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?"
"The houses are made of wood," the man said. "There are jobs going in the foundries. Everyone says so."
"Please take me back," Lady begged even though she knew it was not good. "Whoever you are, just take me back to my bondmate. That's all I want. Just please take me back." She started to cry.
"I'm sorry," the woman said. "We can't."
"I know," Lady said as she hung her head and cried harder.
"What's your name?" the woman said trying to change the subject.
"I'm the Lady," Lady said as she wiped some of the tears away with the sleeve of her leather jacket.
"Well, I'm Cheen, and this is Milo," the woman named, Cheen said. "And I swear we're sorry. We're really, really sorry. We just needed access to the fast line, but I promise, as soon as we arrive, we'll drop you off and you can go back and find your bondmate."
"But I will have given birth by then," Lady said as she rubbed her stomach affectionately.
"I swear you'll be with him again!" Cheen exclaimed. "Look. Honesty patch." She pointed strip on her neck that said 'Honesty'.
"You know that stuff is bad for ya," Lady said sadly remembering what happened to the Senate. "So where are we?"
"We're on the motorway," the man called Milo said.
"I know that much," she said. Then she noticed the smog filling the air. "What's that? Fog?"
"That's the exhaust fumes," Cheen said.
"We're going out to Brooklyn," he said. "Everyone says the air's so much cleaner, and we couldn't stay in Pharmacy Town, because-"
"Well, because of me," she said before he could finish. "I'm pregnant. We only discovered it last week. Scan says it's going to be a boy."
"That's great!" Lady exclaimed. "I'm having twins. A boy and a girl."
"Congratulations!" Cheen exclaimed. "You're not upset that we took you away."
"Don't get me wrong," Lady said. "I'm sad that I'm not by my bondmate, but I understand wanting to do all you can for your child. I was a mother once before."
"What do you mean?" Cheen asked.
"My first daughter and second husband died in a fire," Lady said sadly but not as sadly as she had before.
"I'm so sorry," Cheen said.
"It's alright," Lady said. "It was almost nine years ago now." She saw that Cheen hadn't taken off the Honesty strip yet so Lady got up, walked over to Cheen and ripped it off of her.
"Ow!" she exclaimed.
"I told you these are not good for you," Lady said. "So where are we now? And how long 'til Brooklyn?"
"This'll be as fast as we can," he said. "We'll take the motorway to the Brooklyn flyover, and then after that it's going to take awhile, because then there's no fast lane, just ordinary roads, but at least it's direct."
"It's only ten miles," Cheen said.
"And please remind me how long that is gonna take," Lady said.
"About six years," Cheen said.
"So, another six years without him," Lady said. Then added sarcastically, "Yay."
"Be just in time for him to start school," Cheen said as she affectionately rubbed her stomach and smiled at Milo.
The Doctor unlocked a metal door and stepped out, with Martha, onto a small balcony. The exhaust fumes made them both go into a fit of coughing. The stationary traffic was stacked in all directions, including up and down. The car nearest the balcony opened its door and a figure in WW2 flying jacket and helmet, goggles and a white scarf across its face looks out. "Hey!" the cat man said in an Irish accent. "You daft little street struts. What are you doing standing there? Either get out or get in. Come on!" He helped both the Doctor and Martha into the cat man's car. "Did you ever see the like?"
"Here you go," a woman in the passenger seat said as she handed them a oxygen mask.
"Just standing there, breathing it in," the cat man said as he shook his head and took his seat in the driver's seat. He removed his goggles and scarf. "There's this story, says back in the old days, on Junction forty seven, this woman stood in the exhaust fumes for a solid twenty minutes. By the time they found her, her head had swollen to fifty feet."
"Oh, you're making it up," the woman said as she playfully hit him.
"A fifty foot head!" he exclaimed. "Just think of it. Imagine picking that nose."
"Oh, stop it," she said. "That's disgusting."
"What, did you never pick your nose?" he asked the woman.
"Bran, we're moving," she said.
"Right," he said as he drove the car. "I'm there. I'm on it. Twenty yards. We're having a good day. And who might you two be? Very well-dressed for a hitchhikers."
"Thanks," the Doctor said. "Sorry, I'm the Doctor.
"Martha," Martha said between inhales of the mask. "Martha Jones."
"Medical man!" the cat man exclaimed. "My name's Thomas Kincade Brannigan, and this is the bane of my life, the lovely Valerie."
"Nice to meet you," Valerie said with a nod of her head in respect.
"And that's the rest of the family behind you," he said. Martha drew back the curtains, to reveal a litter of kittens.
"Hello," she said as she picked up one.
"How old are they?" the Doctor asked.
"Just two months," Valerie said.
"Poor little souls," Bran said. "They've never known the ground beneath their paws. Children of the motorway."
"What, they were born in here?" the Doctor asked fearing for his own childern.
"We couldn't stop," she said. "We heard there were jobs going, out in the laundries on Fire Island. Thought we'd take a chance."
"What, you've been driving for two months?" he asked growing more and more concerned for the well being of this own childern.
"Do I look like a teenager?" Bran said. "We've been driving for twelve years now."
"I'm sorry?" the Doctor asked because he couldn't believe his ears.
"Yeah!" Bran said. "Started out as newlyweds. Feels like yesterday."
"Feels like twelve years to me," she said bitterly.
"Ah, sweetheart, but you're still love me," he said.
"Twelve years?" Martha asked. "How far did you come? Where did you start?"
"Battery Park," he said. "It's five miles back."
"You traveled five miles in twelve years?" the Doctor asked still shocked.
"I think he's a bit slow," Bran said to his wife.
"Where are you from?" she asked.
"Never mind that," the Doctor said. "I've got to get out. My bondmate's in one of these cars. She was taken hostage. We should get back to the TARDIS." He moved to open the door but stopped when Bran spoke again.
"You're too late for that," Bran said. "We've passed the lay-by. You're a passenger now, Sonny Jim."
"When's the next lay-by?" the Doctor asked.
"Oh, six months?" Bran said. The Doctor's eyes widened.
"Six months?!" he exclaimed. "She's due in four!"
"How many people are stuck here?" Lady asked genuinely curious.
"I don't think anyone knows," Cheen said as she offered Lady some food. "Here we go. Hungry?"
"No, thank you," Lady said as she shook her head. "But how far down is it to the fast lane?" She only asked because she couldn't really remember and she was trying to prove a point to Milo and Cheen.
"Oh, it's right at the bottom, underneath the traffic jam," he said. "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."
"I don't know about you guys," Lady said. "But I don't think I can live in a place like this. I mean, I've lived in some tiny places but this is a bit too small for even me."
"Oh, we stocked up," Cheen said happily. "Got self-replicating fuel, muscle stimulants for exercise, and there's a chemical toilet at the back. And all waste products are recycled as food."
"And yet another reason I can't live here," Lady said.
"Oh, another gap," he said happily. "This is brilliant." She put her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't Milo," she said. He gave her a puzzled look.
"Car sign in," the computer said.
"Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, on descent to fast lane, thank you very much," he said. She sighed heavily as she moved away from him.
"Please drive safely," the computer said. Cheen put her hand on Lady's shoulder.
"Everything will be fine," Cheen said.
"Only if he hurries," Lady said. Cheen smiled because she thought Lady was talking about Milo, but she was talking about the Doctor.
The Doctor hacked into the communications network, and called the police. "I need to talk to the police," he said to the computer. Martha came up behind him.
"Thank you for your call," the computer said. "You have been placed on hold."
"But they can't do that they're the police!" she exclaimed.
"Thank you for your call," it repeated. "You have been placed on hold." Then it doned on him Lady had warned him that the police would be no good. "She knew."
"Who knew?" Bran asked. "What?"
"Lady, my bondmate, earlier she said, 'All pigs are useless,'" the Doctor said. "At first I thought she talking about literal pigs."
"Then what did she mean?" Martha asked.
"Lady's American," he said. "And some Americans call the police, pigs."
"Is there anyone else?" she asked as she turned to Bran.
"Yeah," the Doctor said. "I once met the Duke of Manhattan. Is there any way of getting through to him?"
"Oh now, ain't you lordly?" Bran teased.
"I've got to find my bondmate," the Doctor urged. "She's pregnant."
"You can't make outside calls,: Valerie said. "The motorway's completely enclosed."
"What about the other cars?" Martha asked.
"Oh, we've got contact with them, yeah," Bran said. "Well, some of them, anyway. They've got to be on your friends list. Now, let's see. Who's nearby? Ah, the Cassini sisters!" He pushed some buttons and on the screen appeared a picture of two older women and a number, 3-1-7-a-1. "Still your hearts, my handsome girls. It's Brannigan here."
"Get off the line, Brannigan," the driver said. "You're a pest and a menace."
"Oh, come on, now, sisters," he said. "Is that any way to talk to an old friend?"
"You know full well we're not sisters," she said. "We're married."
"Ooo, stop that modern talk," he said. "I'm an old-fashioned cat. Now, I've got a couple of hitchhikers here, one calls himself the Doctor." He handed the radio to the Doctor.
"Hello," he said. "Sorry. I'm looking for someone called Lady. She's been carjacked. She's inside one of these vehicles, but I don't know which one."
"Wait a minute," the other woman said as she put her knitting away and pulled out a giant book. "Could I ask, what entrance did they use?"
"Where were we?" he asked Bran.
"Pharmacy Town," he replied.
"Pharmacy Town about twenty minutes ago," the Doctor said.
"Let's have a look," she said.
"Just my luck to marry a car-spotter," the driver said.
"In the last half hour, fifty three new cars joined from the Pharmacy Town junction," the other woman said.
"Anything more specific?" he asked.
"All in good time," she replied. "Was she car-jacked by two people?"
"Yes, she was, yeah," he said with a mix of hope and desperation in his voice.
"There we are," she said. "Just one of those cars was destined for the fast lane. That means they had three on board. And car number is four six five diamond six."
"That's it!" he exclaimed finally feeling some hope. "So how do we find them?"
"Ah," she said. "Now there I'm afraid I can't help."
"Call them on this thing," he asked Bran. "We've got their number. Diamond six."
"But not if they're designated fast lane," he said. "It's a different class."
"You could try the police," she suggested.
"They put me on hold," he said sadly.
"You'll have to keep trying," the driver said. "There's no one else."
"Thank you," he said sadly
"See?" Milo asked as they were traveling down. "Another ten layers to go. We're scorching." A roar was heard in the distances.
"What's that noise?" Lady asked, even though she knew what it was but she couldn't let Milo or Cheen know that Lady knew what they were. Because she would have to explain about other dimensions and about time travel. "It's coming from underneath."
"It's that noise, doesn't it?" Cheen asked. "It's like Kate said. The stories, they're true."
"Stories?" Lady asked sounding fearful.
"It's the sound of the air vents," he said. "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 said excitedly as if she were telling a ghost story. "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."
"But like I said," he said as the roar was heard again. "Air vents. Going down to the next layer."
"Does it really look like the vents are working?" Lady said.
"No," Cheen said.
"So what's making that noise, then?" Lady asked.
"Nah," he said. "Kid stuff. Car four six five diamond six, on descent."
"Fast lane access," the computer said. "Please drive safely."
"We made it," he said happily. "The fast lane."
"If you only knew," Lady whispered as she sat down on the bed they had in the back.
"We've got to go to the fast lane," the Doctor demanded. "Take me down."
"Not a million years," Bran said with a shake of his head.
"You've got three passengers," the Doctor argued.
"I'm still not going," Bran said.
"She's alone and she's pregnant," the Doctor said. "She doesn't belong on this planet, and it's all my fault. I'm asking you, Brannigan, take me down." Martha put a hand on his shoulder trying to offers some comfort.
"That's a no," Valerie said firmly. "And that's final. I'm not risking the children down there."
"Why not?" Martha asked. "What's the risk? What happens down there?"
"We're not discussing it," Valerie said franticly. "The conversation is closed."
"So we keep on driving," the Doctor said.
"Yes, we do," Bran confirmed.
"For how long?" Martha asked.
"Till the journey's end," Bran said. The Doctor didn't like that answer, so he grabbed the handset again.
"Mrs Cassini, this is the Doctor," he said. "Tell me, how long have you been driving on the motorway?"
"Oh, we were amongst the first," the driver said. "It's been twenty three years now."
"And in all that time, have you ever seen a police car?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," the passenger said.
"Look at your notes," he urged. "Any police?"
"Not as such," she said.
"Or an ambulance?" he said with out missing a beat. "Rescue service? Anything official. Ever."
"I can't keep a note of everything," she said.
"What if there's no one out there?" he asked. Bran took the handset from the Doctor and gave him a dirty look.
"Stop it," Bran said. "The Cassinis were doing you a favor."
"Someone's got to ask, because you might not talk about it, but it's there in your eyes," the Doctor said. "What if the traffic jam never stops?"
"There's a whole city above us," Bran said. "The mighty city state of New New York. They wouldn't just leave us."
"In that case, where are they, hmm?" the Doctor asked. "What if there's no help coming, not ever? What if there's nothing? Just the motorway, with the cars going round and round and round and round, never stopping. Forever."
"Shut up!" Valerie exclaimed. "Just shut up!" The monitor clicked on and displayed a woman.
"This is Sally Calypso, and it's that time again," Sally said on the monitor. "The sun is blazing high in the sky over the New Atlantic, the perfect setting for the daily contemplation."
"You think you know us so well, Doctor," Bran said. "But we're not abandoned. Not while we have each other."
"This is for all of you out there on the roads," she said. "We're so sorry. Drive safe."
"On a hill, far away, stood an old, rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame," everyone but the Doctor and Lady sang. "And I love that old cross, where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown."
"If you won't take me," the Doctor said. "I'll go down on my own." As he used his Sonic to scan the access hatch in the floor of the car.
"What do you think you're doing?" Bran asked.
"Finding my own way. I usually do," the Doctor said with a bit of anger in his voice. He opened the access hatch.
"Capsule open," the computer said. A car stopped directly beneath them.
"Here we go," he said. He took of his coat and handed it to Martha. "Look after this. I love that coat. Janis Joplin gave me that coat."
"But you can't jump," Valerie said.
"If it's any consolation, Valerie, right now, I'm having kittens," he said.
"You much love your bondmate," Bran said.
"I do," he said. "She's my world. She's everything I have left in this universe." He turned to Martha. "Stay here." He gets ready to jump but Martha grabbed her arm.
"You're not leaving me here," she said as she handed his coat to Valerie.
"You'll be save here," he said.
"She told me to stay with you," she said.
"She-" he started but stopped when she pulled out a couple re-breathers. "Of course she did." The re-breathers looked like something out of Star Wars or James Bond. He took on and put it into his mouth. She did the same with the other one. They both jumped out of the car onto the next one.
"They're completely insane!" Valerie shouted.
"That, and a bit magnificent!" Bran exclaimed. The Doctor opened the next car's access hatch.
"Capsule open," the computer said as he and Martha jumped into the car.
"Who the hell are you?" the pale man in the car said. The Doctor took his re-breather out of his mouth.
"Sorry, Motorway Foot Patrol," he said. "I'm doing a survey. How are you enjoying your motorway?"
"Well, not very much," the man said. "Junction Five's been closed for three years."
"Thank you," the Doctor said. "Your comments have been noted. Have a nice day!"
"Capsule open," the computer said, as he opened the hatch in the bottom and hung his legs out until the next car was were they could jump. He popped in his re-breather. They jumped to the next car."Capsule open." He opened the hatch and they jumped in.
"Thank you for your cooperation," he said.
"Your comments have been noted," Martha said.
"Capsule open," the computer said as he opened the next hatch. They jumped onto the next car and then he open the next hatch, they jumped in. "Capsule open." In the car they're was a couple that were naked.
"Ooo!" the Doctor said. "Don't mind us."
"Try again," Cheen said as Lady woke up, because she had fallen asleep with out realizing it.
"Brooklyn turnoff one, closed," the computer said as she stood back up.
"Try the next one," Cheen said. Lady sighed as she watched Milo touch the screen.
"Brooklyn turnoff two, closed,"the computer said.
"What do we do?" Cheen inquired with a worried tone.
"We'll keep going 'round," he said trying to reassure her. "We'll do the whole loop, and by the time we come back round, they'll be open." There was a loud growl and the car shuddered.
"Ya still thinking that's just the air vents?" Lady asked as she held on to the back of Cheen's seat.
"What else could it be?" he asked. Another noise was heard.
"What the hell is that?" Cheen asked her voice full of fear.
"It's just the hydraulics," he said sounding like he was trying to convince himself of this as well as the girls.
"Something is out there," Lady said.
"It's all exhaust fumes out there," he said. "Nothing could breathe in that."
"Somethings live in gas or consume it," she said.
"Calling Car four six five diamond six," a woman's voice came over the radio. "Repeat, calling Car four six five diamond six."
"This is Car four six five diamond six," he said. "Who's that? Where are you?"
"I'm in the fast lane, about fifty yards behind," she said. "Can you get back up? Can you get off the fast lane?"
"We only have permission to go down," he explained. "We need the Brooklyn Flyover."
"It's closed," she said. "Go back up."
"We can't," he said. "We'll just go round."
"Don't you understand?" she said. "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?" A roar was heard.
"That's the air vents," he with a broken voice.
"Jehovah, what are you?" she asked. "Some stupid kid? Get out of here!" Lady took the handset from him.
"You up now!" she yelled. A loud thump was heard over the radio. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," the woman said. "Thank you for telling us."
"Not a problem," Lady said with a smile.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Drive," Lady and the woman said at the same time.
"We have to get out of here," Lady said.
"Where?" he asked.
"Anywhere but here," she said. She turned the headset on again. "You need to get off the Fast Lane."
"What about you?" the woman asked.
"Not to worry," Lady said. "We'll be fine."
"We will?" he asked. She gave him a reassuring smile.
"Capsule open," the computer said as the Doctor and Martha jumped into the car.
"Excuse me, is that legal?" a man in a suit said. The Doctor and Martha took out their re-breathers.
"Sorry," she said breathlessly. "Motorway Foot Patrol." They had just jumped from car to car very quickly so they looked exhausted.
"Whatever," the Doctor said just as breathlessly as Martha. "Have you got any water?"
"Certainly," the man said. "Never let it be said I've lost my manners." He handed the Doctor and Martha a small paper cone of water each.
"Is this the last layer?" he asked.
"We're right at the bottom," the man said. "Nothing below us but the fast lane."
"Can we drive down?" the Doctor asked. "We have three."
"Afraid not," the man said. "It's far to dangerous down there,"
"That's why I need to go down there," the Doctor said. "My bondmate was kidnapped and taken down there."
"I'm sorry but I'm not going down there," the man said firmly.
"Then excuse me," the Doctor said gruffly as he used the Sonic to open the floor hatch.
"You can't jump!" the man exclaimed. "It's a thousand feet down."
"No," the Doctor said. "I just want to look." A loud growl echoed through the cab of the car.
"What's that?" she asked.
"I try not to think about it," the man said.
"What are those lights?" the Doctor said.
"What's down there?" she asked.
"I just need to see," he said as he used his Sonic on the car's computer. "There must be some sort of ventilation. If I could just transmit a pulse through this thing, maybe I could trip the system, give us a bit of a breeze." He got up and started to connect different wires. The cars ventilation system started to work.
"That's it! Might shift the fumes a bit, give us a good look." The three of them looked down to see strange shapes as the gas cleared.
"What are those shapes?" she asked.
"They're alive," he said. They watched as giant claws snapped at them. She watched as his eyes widened in horror. She didn't want to ask what they were if they scared the Doctor.
"What the hell are they?" the man asked. She was ever so happy that the man asked so she didn't have to.
"Macra," the Doctor said.
"Go faster!" Cheen yelled at him as something hit the car.
"I'm at top speed!" Milo shouted back. They weaved through the claws.
"No access above," the computer said as he pushed buttons trying to get off the Fast Lane.
"But this is an emergency!" he shouted at the screen.
"Thank you for your call," the recording said as she tried to call the police. "You have been placed on hold."
"Turn everything off!" Lady exclaimed.
"You've got to be joking," he said.
"They can't find is if we turn everything off," she explained. "They sense movement. So turn it off!"
"What if you're wrong?" he asked.
"I'm not!" she exclaimed firmly. So he turned everything off and the car settled. The Macra settled down.
"They've stopped," Cheen said with a small laugh of relief.
"Yeah, but they're still out there," he said as Lady sat back on the bed and tried to calm herself.
"How did you think of that?" Cheen asked as she looked back at Lady.
"Well," she said drawing it out like the Doctor does. "My bondmate has fought these creatures before. He told me 'bout 'em." She grimaced as a sharp pain shot through her abdomen.
"You'd better think of something, because we've lost the aircon," Milo said. "If we don't switch the engines back on, we won't be able to breathe."
"How long?" she asked as she tried to breath through the pain.
"Eight minutes, maximum," he said.
"Are you all right?" Cheen asked. "You don't look so good."
"Just a pain," Lady said. "It should pass." She took a deep breath and focused on the bond. Love?
Lady? The Doctor asked. Are you all right?
Been better, she told him.
Why? What's wrong? He asked hurriedly.
Well, Lady said in the Doctor's mind. I had a sharp pain and it hasn't gone away. I think the twins know that we are in the middle of a load of Macra. A look of horror was plastered all over his face.
You're down there? He asked.
Yes, but I had them turn the car off but we only have eight minutes of air, she said.
Pain?! Eight minutes?! He said as his brain went into panic mode.
Calm down, she said. If you don't get a hold of yourself and think clearly, you won't be able to save me or any of this other people. He took a deep breath, and cleared his head.
You're right as always, he sighed. He looked over at the man in the car with him, who was waiting for an explanation about the Macra. "The Macra used to be the scourge of this galaxy. Gas. They fed off gas, the filthier the better. They built up a small empire using humans as slaves and mining gas for food."
"They don't exactly look like empire builders to me," the man said as he looked down at the Macra.
Try not to worry about me, she said.
"Well, that was billions of years ago," the Doctor said. Easier said than done. "Billions. They must have devolved down the years. Now they're just beasts. But they're still hungry and my friend's down there."
Do it for me, she said. Focus on the task at hand and it will work out in the end. Sudden a loud thud was heard on the roof of the car.
"Oh, it's like New Times Square in here, for goodness's sake!" the man exclaimed, as a woman
"I've invented a sport," the Doctor laughed as a woman jumped down into the car with them. The woman had a familiar air about her. She was tall for a woman, about the same height as the Doctor and she even wore a long coat, but this coat was dark blue. He couldn't see much of her face in the dark car.
"Doctor?" she asked her voice was smooth as silk. It reminded him of Jack Harkness, she even spoke in an American accent. "You look so different. Well I guess that's regeneration for you."
"No guns," the man said as he pointed to the gun she had slung over her shoulder. "I'm not having guns."
"It's a stun gun," she explained. "I only brought it for my protection. Doctor, you need to come with me."
"Do you know her?" Martha asked.
"By the look on your face you don't know me," the woman said. "Well from the top then. Hello, name's Captain Riannon Harkness."
"Are you Jack's daughter?" the Doctor asked.
"Yup," she said with a proud smile. "He named me after Lady, your bondmate."
"What are you doing here is Jack with you?" he asked hurriedly.
"No," she said sadly. "Dad couldn't come with me here. But I have to take you with me."
"I'm not going anywhere," he said forcefully. "You've got Macra living underneath this city. Macra! And my Lady stuck down there."
"You don't understand you have to come with me!" she exclaimed.
"No, no, no, you're coming with me," he said. "We've got to get to Lady, she's pregnant."
"I'm sorry, Doctor," she said sincerely. "But the situation is even worse than you can imagine."
"Transport," she said ask she grabbed his hand.
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" he shouted. They teleported before he could pull away from her, and if he was honest she was holding him so tightly he doubted that he could pull free without hurting himself or her in the process. Once he could get his barings he realized that he was out of the car and in some kind of building. "Oh! Rough teleport. Ow." He shook his head and looked her in the eyes. "You can go straight back down and teleport people out, starting with Lady then Martha."
"I'm sorry if I had Dad's Vortex Manipulator I could but this piece of junk doesn't have the power," she said as she looked at her teleportor in discuss.
"Then get some more!" he demanded. "Where are we?"
"In the over-city," she said sadly.
"Good!" he exclaimed. "Because you can tell the Senate of New New York I'd like a word. They have got thousands of people trapped on the motorway. Millions!"
"Sorry," she said as she turned on the lights to show him the room they were in. "You're in the Senate." When the lights came on he looked on the seen in horror. Hundreds of skeletons littered the floor. "The city died. The senate was no different."
"How long's it been like this?" he asked.
"About twenty four years," she said. "I was off world when it happened so I don't know the day."
"All of them?" he asked. "Everyone? What happened?"
"A new mood, they called it Bliss," she explained. "Soon everyone was trying it and they couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside and that virus became airborne. Everything died. Even the virus, in the end." She chuckled darkly then her face became serious. "It killed the world in seven minutes. He had just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, and seal off the under-city. Those people on the motorway, they were saved. Sure they're trapped but they're alive.
"So the whole thing down there is running on automatic," he said.
"Sadly there isn't enough power to get them out," she said. "He did all he could to stop the system from choking."
"Who's he?" he asked.
"He has waited for you, these long years," she said with a smiled.
"Doctor," the Face of Boe said.
"The Face of Boe!" the Doctor exclaimed as he walked up to the Face of Boe.
"She told me you would come," he said.
"Save your strength," she said as she put a hand on the glass.
"Old friend, what happened to you?" the Doctor asked, he could see that the Face of Boe was fading. He looked so tired.
"Failing," he said.
"He sent me off world before it happened," she said. "I got back right after the virus died. But with no one to maintain the under-city, the City's power died. It would have fallen into the sea."
"So he saved them," the Doctor said.
"He wired himself into the mainframe," she said. "He's giving his life force just to keep things running."
"But there are planets out there," he said. "You could have called for help."
"The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe," she said. "The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years."
"So the two of you stayed here, on your own for all these years," he said
"We had no choice," she said.
"Yes, you did," he said with a smile.
"Save them, Doctor. Save them," the Face of Boe pleaded.
"How much air's left?" Cheen asked as she fanned herself.
"Two minutes," Milo said.
"The Doctor will come," Lady said trying to reassure them and keep her mind off the pain. "My bondmate, he's on his way I know it."
"Lady, no one's coming," he said.
"He looked kind of nice," Cheen said with a smile.
"He is so much more than that," Lady said.
"You and he much have a good relationship," Cheen said.
"Yeah, we do," Lady said with dreamy eyes as she thought about the Doctor.
"I never even asked. Where's home?" Cheen asked.
"Where ever the Doctor is," Lady said. "I don't have a house anymore, well that isn't completely true either. Our ship is our home. I call her Jess after my little sister." She smiled as she thought about the TARDIS.
"So, er, who is he, then, this Doctor?" he asked.
"He is the Doctor," she said. "There is no true way to decribe him. Well, that's not true either. I guess you could say that he's like fire, ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe. And he's the most wonderful man alive."
"You really love him," Cheen said with a look of awe on her face. "So we can trust him?"
"You haven't seen the things he can do," Lady said. "Trust me, both of you. You know how you've got your songs and your hymns." They nodded. "Well, I've got the Doctor, my bondmate."
"Right," he said as he turned the car back on
"Systems back online," the computer announced.
"Good luck," he said as they drove off dodging claws.
"Oh, you don't need luck when you're this good," she said with a large cocky smile on her face, but anyone that really knew her could see that she was still in pain.
"Car four six five diamond six," the Doctor said with a large smile. "It still registers! That's my Lady! Captain Riannon, hold that in place." He pointed to a lever. "Think, think, think, think. Take the residual energy, invert it, feed it through the electricity grid."
"There ain't enough power left," Riannon said.
"Oh, you've got power," he chuckled. "You've got me. I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch. Riannon, every switch on that bank up to maximum. I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people."
"What are you hoping to do?" she asked.
"This!" he exclaimed. He threw a large switch and the light fazed out. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no."
Hurry! He heard Lady shout in his head. He felt her pain and that put peep in his step, like a fire under his rear.
"The transformers are blocked," he said. "The signal can't get through."
"Doctor," the Face of Boe said.
"Yeah, hold on, not now," the Doctor said dismissively.
"No!" Riannon yelled. "Don't!" She ran to him and started to cry.
"I give you my last-" the Face of Boe said as he exhaled. The lights came back on and all the machines said full power. She hung her head and laid a hand on the glass.
"Riannon, look after him," the Doctor ordered. "Don't you go dying on me, you big old face. You've got to see this. The open road. Ha!"
"Don't die now," she begged as she sobbed. "You have to see Lady again."
"Sorry, no Sally Calypso," the Doctor said into a handset. "She was just a hologram. My name's the Doctor." There was a lot of voices that responded most in confusion. "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."
"Oi!" the Doctor's voice came over the radio. "Car four six five diamond six. Lady! Drive up!"
"That's my Doctor!" Lady exclaimed.
"We can't go up!" Milo shouted. "We'll hit the layer!"
"He removed it," she said. "Now go!"
"You've got access above," the Doctor said again. "Now go!" Milo steered clear of the Macra and up.
"It's daylight," Cheen said excitedly. "Oh my God, that's the sky. The real sky."
"I knew you could do it," Lady whispered.
"You keep driving, Brannigan," the Doctor said. "All the way up. Because it's here, just waiting for you. The city of New New York, and it's yours. And don't forget I want that coat back."
"I reckon that's a fair bargain, sir," Bran said.
"And Car four six five diamond six, I've sent you a flight path," he said. "Come to the Senate."
"Be there in asap," Lady said.
"It's been quite a while since I saw you, Mrs. Smith," he said in a flirty tone. "It's good to hear that beautiful voice."
"Martha," he said as he pushed a button for a different car. "Come to the Senate, I've already sent you a flight plan."
"Doctor!" Riannon shouted. A large creak appeared in the Face of Boe's tank. He slid out of his tank into the floor where he laid. She cried harder as she looked down at him.
"Doctor?" Lady asked.
"Over here," the Doctor said over his shoulder.
"Doctor!" she exclaimed happily until she saw the Face of Boe. "No!" She ran to him and cried hard. "No, no, no, no! Not now! I wanted to change this!"
"Doctor?" Martha asked.
"Over here," the Doctor said as he watched and felt his bondmate's hearts break.
"Doctor!" Martha exclaimed as she entered the room. "What happened out there?" Then she noticed the Face of Boe. "What's that?" There was a faint hint of discuss in her voice as she asked her last question which made Lady hurt more.
"It's the Face of Boe," the Doctor said. "It's all right." He waved her to come closer. "Come and say hello. And this is Riannon. She's a friend. Don't worry. He's the one that saved you, not me."
"He gave his life to save the city, and now he's-" Riannon said as her voice broke so much she couldn't finish her statement.
"No, don't say that," the Doctor said. "Not old Boe. Plenty of life left."
"It's good to breathe the air once more," the Face of Boe said.
Don't leave me Jack, Lady said to the Face of Boe in his head.
"Who is he?" Martha asked.
I would never leave you, he said. We have so much more in store for you.
"I don't even know," the Doctor said. "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," the Face of Boe said. "You know that, old friends, better than most."
"It says more," Riannon said.
But when? Lady cried. You are like my brother!
"Don't," the Doctor said. "There's no need for that."
And you a mother, the Face of Boe said. This girl is my daughter, your granddaughter. I named her after you. Riannon Jane Harkness. She started to cry harder but now it was a mix of sadness and joy. Never let the music die. Always keep a song in your heart.
"It says that he will speak his final secret to the travelers," Riannon said.
"Yeah, but not yet," the Doctor said. "Who needs secrets, eh?" He suddenly felt the mixture of sadness and joy in Lady.
"I have seen so much," the Face of Boe said. "Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor and Lady."
"That's why we have to survive," the Doctor said sadly. "Both of us. Don't go."
"I must," the Face of Boe said. "But know this, Time Lords." He spoke the last aloud. "You are not alone." He took one last breath and died. Lady and Riannon sobbed. They didn't move from him.
"Come on," the Doctor said sadly. "We have to go."
"NO!" Lady shouted at him. "I can't leave him!" Tears rolled down her face in waves. It broke his heart to do this to her but he had to get her to the Med Bay to find out about that sharp pain.
"Martha help me," he said as he scooped her up into his arms.
"Let me go!" she shouted at him and hit him in the face. Not hard enough to hurt him just enough to annoy.
"In my coat that Brannnigan is bringing back," he said. "There is a vial of a purple liquid and a syringe. I need three CCs of it." Martha ran to meet Bran and got the coat from him and measured out enough. She hear Lady resisting him still.
"Here," Martha said as she ran back to the Doctor with coat in hand. She handed him the syringe.
"No!" Lady shouted as she tried to get free of the Doctor's grasp as he reached for the syringe and shifted her so he could stick her with it. He got it in her somehow. She calmed down and shortly after fell asleep.
"What was that?" Martha asked.
"A safe sleeping aid," he said as he shifted Lady again so he could carry her out. He carried her to Bran's car who offered to take them back to Pharmacy Town. The trip went by quickly, or at least it seemed to be a quick trip because the Doctor was so focused on Lady that he didn't pay attention to anything else. Just as the car arrived at Pharmacy Town, she woke up. "Better?"
"No," she said. "But I'll be fine. I can walk." Something in the way she said it made him uneasy. The three of them walked back to the alley they arrived in.
"All closed down," he said.
"Happy?" Martha asked.
"Happy happy," Lady said with a fake smile.
"New New York can start again," he said. "And they've got Captain Riannon. Just what every city needs. A Harkness in charge. Come on, time we were off."
"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe?" Martha asked. "You're not alone."
"I don't know," he said sadly.
"You guys have got me," she said. "Is that what he meant?"
"I don't think so," Lady said with a small chuckle.
"Sorry," he said.
"Then what?" Martha asked.
"Doesn't matter," he said dismissively. "Back to the TARDIS, I got to check Lady out in the Med Bay." Lady stopped and watched Martha straighten out a chair and sit down in a huff with arms and legs crossed.
"All right, are you staying?" he asked.
"Till you two talk to me properly, yes," she said firmly. "He said last of your kind. What does that mean?"
"It really doesn't matter," he said sadly.
"You both don't talk," she said sounding hurt. "You both never say. Why not?" Suddenly the people of the city began to sing. "It's the city. They're singing." He grabbed to chairs and set them up in front of her. He offered Lady a seat and after she sat he did too.
"We lied to you, because I liked it," he said as she looked down and away. "I could pretend. Just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt orange sky. We're not just a Time Lords. We're the last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else." He grabbed her hand and smiled. "Just us."
"What happened?" Martha asked.
"There was a war," he said. "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. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky. 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." Lady closed her eyes and remembered the day she went to Gallifrey with the Fourth Doctor.
"I'm so sorry," Martha said after he stopped.
"We're not done," Lady said as she opened her eyes. "If we're coming clean with ya, then we're not done."
"What do you mean?" Martha asked.
"I'm American," Lady said. "Not Gallifreian."
"He said that earlier," Martha said.
"There are different dimensions out there," Lady said. "I'm from a different dimension."
"Where Time Lords live in America?" Martha asked. Lady and the Doctor laughed.
"No," she said. "I was once human. In my world Time Lords are not real. They're part of a show."
"A show like on the telly?" Martha asked.
"Yes," Lady said. "I was a large fan. I never missed an episode. While that is until my family died in a fire."
"I'm sorry," Martha said.
"Well," Lady said with a large fake smile. "Let's go back to the TARDIS, so worry wart can check me out."
Notes: Well I struggled with some of this so sorry for the late update. I will be working on my other story and hope to post the next chapter to that soon. Oh, and Riannon is pronounced Re-n-on, while Rhiannon is Re-an-on. Just wanted to show you the differences i know it would get confusing, so thought I'd help. :P Well thanks as always. Laterz!