Dead Doctors Are Not As Useful As They Seem
Finally, last part of Smith and Jones! I'm so sorry this took so long, but hopefully
you'll enjoy it so it's worth the wait. Please, i'd love it if you dropped me a review
or PM telling me which episodes you'd like me to cover. coz i have no clue. and
i am sorry for the random chapter title, i couldn't think of one so you got that one.
Five minutes later, we join our travelling trio and yet again they crouched behind some plant pots. This was not good for the legs, as cramp was beginning to signal it's arrival.
"That's the thing about Slabs," the Doctor said, so quietly Rose almost didn't catch it. "They always travel in pairs."
"What about you two?" Martha said, and both Rose and the Doctor looked at her.
"What about us two what?"
"Haven't you got, like, back-up or something? You guys claim to know about aliens – hell, you claim to be aliens – so you must work for some government agency or something," Martha whispered.
Rose nearly burst out laughing, and the Doctor looked close. Biting on the inside of her lip to stop herself from roaring with laughter at the thought of her and the Doctor working for something like Torchwood. She couldn't imagine it. More likely than not the Doctor would probably get bored and start doing his own thing, and Rose could imagine him protesting at the unfair treatment of aliens.
"Humans!" the Doctor said, finally, after a few moments of stunned silence. "We're stuck on the moon, running out of air with the Judoon, a bloodsucking criminal and worst of all no sonic screwdriver, and you're asking personal questions!" He rolled his eyes, then looked to Rose for support.
She shook her head. "Nuh-uh, Mister. I used to be human, so don't go insulting them and then expect me to throw in a comment. We're half as well, y'know," she said, waggling her finger at him, "So don't go giving yourself airs. Oh, god, I sound like my mother," she said, her face changing from one of amusement to one of horror.
"Yeah, you did," the Doctor said, and Rose looked scandalised, obviously not expecting him to agree. He smiled. "But you're much prettier." Rose blushed, and smiled.
"You are half human, aren't you?" Rose said, as if seeking confirmation. He nodded.
"I like that. 'Half-human'. I'm still not convinced you two are aliens," Martha said, amusement dancing in her eyes.
The Doctor peeked around the corner, and nodded to the two women. They stepped out and ran straight into a Judoon, the Doctor stopping so abruptly that Rose walked straight into his back, a small 'umph' emitted from her.
The Doctor was nose-to-nose with the Judoon. He couldn't help but notice they stank. Reeked, even, and not in the going-out-on-Saturday-night reeked. As in ponged. He opened his mouth to say a witty one-liner about the importance of personal hygiene when the Judoon did exactly what he hoped they wouldn't; shone their little blue light in his face.
"Damn," he muttered. Rose tapped his shoulder blade in sympathy, her small hand worming it's way into his larger one.
"Non-human," the Judoon said finally, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a nasty-looking laser gun.
"Oh, my God, you really are!" Martha said, disbelief etching her features. Rose couldn't help but wonder how she was so surprised, they'd hardly been striving to keep it a secret from her.
"And again!" the Doctor said, pulling Rose along by the hand and leaving Martha to follow as they ran away from the Judoon, who seemed intent on killing them. A bolt of a laser gun shot in their direction and hit over the top of their heads, causing Martha to scream aloud. Luckily, the Judoon obviously weren't built for speed and the trio lost them, having run down some stairs. Rose peeked through the door, and ran back to where the Doctor and Martha were waiting, shaking her head.
"They're not following us," she said, having been sent to see if the Judoon were still on their tail.
"They've done this floor," the Doctor said absently, looking at a oxygen-deprived patient with a large, black 'X' on his hand. He turned to explain to the two women. "The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't come back to check a floor they've already checked. If we're lucky," the Doctor added, sniffing.
"Julia," Martha said, going over to a nurse, the same one – Swales, if Rose remembered rightly – they'd left in the ward before going out to discover the Judoon.
"How much oxygen is there?" Martha was asking Swales.
"Not enough for all these people," Swales replied, a frown creasing her forehead as she held an oxygen mask over a weak patient's mouth. "We're going to run out sooner rather than later."
Martha straightened up, looking to the Doctor and Rose.
"How are you feeling, are you all right?" the Doctor asked.
"I'm fine. Running on adrenaline," she admitted, and Rose smirked.
"Welcome to our world," Rose said, but pulled at the top of her blue hoodie dramatically. "The air is getting pretty tight, isn't it?" she said.
The Doctor nodded, but didn't seem to be in any discomfort. Respiratory bypass system, Rose remembered. Of course he would be able to go without air.
"What about the Judoon? Will they run out of air, too?" Martha asked, a smidgen of hope in her voice.
"Ah, great big lung reserves, won't slow them down," the Doctor said, and the hope Martha had faded; the Doctor and Rose, however, didn't really seem too bothered. "Where's Mr. Stoker's office?"
Martha pointed to the right. "It's this way," she said, and led the way down some corridors, through countless double-doors and past hundreds of patients dying from lack of oxygen. Rose tried not to look.
"In here," Martha said finally, outside a door with a silver plaque.
The Doctor pushed the handle down, and it was open. The three entered, only to find Finnegan gone, and Mr. Stoker lying on the floor, eyes wide open, his skin having obviously bypassed white and was going for a greyish tinge. He looked like a vampire, Rose noted.
"She's gone! She was here … " Martha was saying, as the Doctor, rather than step around the desk, put his bum on it and swivelled his legs from one side to the other, before examining Mr. Stoker.
"Drained him dry. Every last drop. I was right; she's a Plasmavore."
Martha gasped so loud it was almost theatrical. Rose struggled not to laugh. "So, what's she doing on Earth?"
"Hiding, like Rose said. On the run, like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. Remember him?"
"Yeah. He was not the nicest person I've ever met. The smelliest, but never the nicest," Rose said. "Stank. Hadn't had a shower in six months," she said to Martha, who winced.
The Doctor threw her an amused look. "But what's she - the plasmavore, not Ronald Biggs - doing now, is the real question. She's still not safe, the Judoon could execute us all … c'mon," he said, pulling Rose up from Mr. Stoker and heading towards the door. "Martha," he called, as she remained bent beside her bosses' still form.
"Coming," she said, and touched Stoker's body; Rose realised she was closing his eyes. She felt a rush of sympathy for Martha; however much of a pompous idiot he was (at least, that was the impression Rose had got), he was still her boss.
They walked together out of the office, and into the corridor. "Think, think, think," he said, bashing the hand that wasn't in Rose's against his forehead. "If I was a plasmavore surrounded by police … and don't worry, I'm not," he said to Martha, for her benefit as she didn't quite know what alien he was. Or, what type of aliens they were. Nice as it sounded, it felt like going against the grain, and it was going to take some getting used to, calling Rose an alien. He looked up, and was face to face with the large sign. MRI Room.
Rose saw him looking at the sign with a delighted grin on his face. "Plan?"
"For once," the Doctor said, smirking. "She's as clever as me. Almost."
Suddenly, the Judoon's voice echoed out. "Find the non-human. Execute."
"I need time. Wait, have I got it? No, yes, no, yes!" he said, and Martha and Rose shared bewildered glances. "I need you two to stay here, to hold 'em up."
"Nu-uh, Mister, don't even think ab - "
Rose was cut off as the Doctor clamped his hand lightly over her mouth. "I know, but for this one time only, you're going to have to. This once, because we don't have time to argue," he said, pulling a bio-damper out of his pocket, identical to the one he'd given Donna.
Rose pulled his hand away from her mouth. "Why didn't you use that earlier?" she said, eyeing the bio-damper in his hand.
"I kinda-maybe-sorta forget I had it," he said, hopping from one foot to the other, impatient. He checked something on the right, before tossing the ring to her, and Rose slipped it on. "It'll hide the part-Time-Lord part of you. It's a modified version, I made them stronger after Donna, in case of … well, now, really. They'd have to be really strong to hide Time Lords, so ta-da!"
The Judoon were getting closer; they could hear the footsteps. "'Kay," Rose said, as Martha nodded. It was clear Rose was not happy about staying behind.
"Rose, I need you to do this. And, I need to both of you safe," he said, and Martha knew he was not referring to her. "I'll see you soon, Shiver," he said, completely ignorant of Martha.
"Not if I see you first, Shake," Rose replied, before proceeding to snog him senseless.
Martha just stood there, embarrassed, waiting for them to stop. Did they ever need air? Apparently not, it seemed. The Judoon appeared at the end of the corridor.
Martha cleared her throat, and the Doctor pulled back to look at her oddly. Martha just pointed at the Judoon, and with a chaste kiss to Rose, he ran off.
The MRI room door slid open, and a slightly ruffled figure with slightly swollen lips entered. Florence Finnegan was working with the controls, swivelling around when the Doctor sniffed. He couldn't help noticing the MRI machine was acting odd.
"Have you seen - there are these things, those great big space rhino things, I mean rhinos from space. And we're on the moon. Great big space rhinos with guns on the moon. And I only came in for my bunions, look," he said, playing the 'confused human' card. He showed her his feet, still bare from the radiation incident.
Florence just looked at him.
"They're all right now, perfectly good treatment, I said to my wife, I'd recommend this place to anyone, but then we end up on the moon. And did I mention the rhinos? With GUNS? My wife was going mental. I was only meant to pop in. Was shouting at me because I never got to Tesco's to get teabags. She likes her tea, she does," he rambled, and he could see Florence was getting impatient.
"Hold him!" she said, and the Slab held him in a grip even he couldn't worm out of. For someone made of leather, he had a death grip.
Meanwhile, in the corridor, Martha and Rose were having small mental breakdowns. Rose, because she had no idea how to hold up the Judoon, and Martha, because … well, she was being hunted by aliens, she had a right to.
The Judoon came stomping up to them, and Martha and Rose was soon cornered against a wall.
"Now, listen. I know who you are looking for. A woman, she calls her Florence … " Rose said, looking the Judoon in the eye, trying not to breathe, for the fact the stench coming from him was unbelievable.
"Finnegan. She's a plasmavore, about this high," Martha supplied, holding up her hand to about her shoulder, "And she's wearing a hospital gown. She's about sixty-seven."
Rose knew this information was unimportant to the Judoon, but Martha was doing the main objective; hold the Judoon up, so the Doctor could do whatever he had to do. She hoped to God that it wasn't anything stupid or drastic.
"Human," the Judoon said, drawing a black 'X' on Martha's hand. He moved onto Rose, who bit her lip, praying that the upgraded bio-damper would work.
"Human, with non-human traits suspected," the Judoon said, flicking a switch so an even brighter light shone on Rose's face, making her squint. "Non-human traits confirmed. What are you? What are you?" He repeated, pushing her against the wall as it scanned her.
Florence Finnegan was busy. Her Earth domination plan was going great, and now this little man had come stumbling in, ranting about bunions and teabags. Well, he was going to be worrying about a lot more than getting to Tesco by the time Florence was done with him, you could bet on that. She smiled grimly.
"That thing," the Doctor butted in, nodding to the MRI machine from where he was still encased in a Slab's grip, "That big machine thing, is it supposed to be making that noise?"
"You wouldn't understand," Florence snapped, not taking her eyes off the machine she was currently modifying.
"Isn't that a magnetic resonance imaging thing? Like a ginormous sort of a magnet? I did magnets at GCSE. Well, I failed, but all the same," he said, smiling. If he was going to go down with an old woman, he was at least going to try and save himself with only the gift of the gab. Then, he thought of Rose. Holding the Judoon up, for him. Risking her life, every day, for him and their adventures. Carrying their baby, their little accident that had turned into their glorious little miracle.
He knew then that he was not going to die.
Or regenerate. Wait, he couldn't regenerate.
He forgot about the blood exchange with Rose. Since that, he couldn't regenerate, since the one-hundredth vortex meant he would live in his body forever. Regenerate into the same body, in a fashion. Heal himself.
He didn't know if the vortex's powers stretched to bloodsucking. It was all too new, too unknown, he hadn't run proper tests yet. No person had ever been one-hundredth vortex. Only he knew of one person who had the full extent of the vortex's powers, and that was Rose when she absorbed it. She was a God when she had one hundred percent. He didn't think they were Gods - he didn't want to be, thank you very much - but he knew, somewhere inside of him, that they were different. Hybrids, if you insisted on using the term to the Doctor hated.
He knew then what he was going to do.
He was not going to go die. He was not about to go dying when Rose and the baby needed him most. A steely new resolve burned inside of him. He'd always, always tried to save himself for Rose, but now it wasn't just trying. He was going to, no questions, no choice, no other option. He was going to get out of this room with the same face he came into it with.
Florence, while he was having his inner epiphany, had turned around, smiling in an evil way which reminded the Doctor of Mr. Burns of The Simpson's. He really needed to stop watching so much TV. He blamed Rose, she was the one that brought that damn Sky+ box into the TARDIS in the first place. "The magnetic setting is now at 50,000 Tesla," she said, clearly delighted with this face.
"Ooh," the Doctor said, pulling a face. "That's a big strong, is it not?"
"With it, I can send out a magnetic pulse that will fry the brainstems of every living thing within 250,000 miles! Except me, safe in this room," she said, gesturing to the room.
"But … " he said, disgusted by the thought, fighting to keep the confused mask on his face. "Hold on, hold on a minute, I did geography for GCSE and I passed that one - doesn't that distance include the Earth?"
Florence smirked; it looked somewhat out of place on the older woman's face. "Only the side facing the moon. The other half will survive - call it my little gift," she said.
"I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive me, I'm a little out of my depth. I've spent the past fifteen years working as a postman, hence the bunions - why would you do that?"
"With everyone dead, the Judoon ships will be mine, to make my escape!" she said, smiling again. Ahh, so that was her plan. To be on the run, with the Judoon ships. Of course - no-one would stop Judoon ships if they saw them in space, it was against the law. Like stopping a police car on the middle of a road when the sirens are on. They wouldn't know it wasn't a Judoon piloting those ships, so she'd be somewhat safe.
He once again fought to keep enlightenment and disgust from his perfect mask. "You're talking like you're some kind of alien!" he said, managing to lace disbelief into his laugh.
"Right-o."
The Doctor's mouth dropped open so far it would be comical in another situation. "No!"
"Yes."
"You're joshing me," he said, his mouth still agape, although his mind was currently on the fact that Josh was quite a nice name for a boy. He made a mental note to mention it to Rose later.
"I am not," Florence said, scandalised.
"I'm talking to an alien? In the hospital. What, has this place got an ET department?" he said, laughing at his own joke, although his wit was wasted on this apparently humourless
plasmavore.
"Well, it's the perfect hiding place," she said, again gesturing to the room. "Blood banks downstairs for a midnight feast, and all this equipment I'm ready to arm myself with should the police come looking!"
"So … " the Doctor said, pretending to be a human, and put two and two together slower. "Those rhinos, they're looking for you?"
"Yes, but I'm hidden," she said, holding up her right hand, a black 'X' printed on her wrinkled skin.
"Oh! Right! Maybe that's why they are increasing their scans," he said, biting his lip in false worry and confusion.
"They're doing what?" Florence said, obviously startled. The Doctor smothered a grin.
"That big chief rhino boy, he said, what was it … 'no sign of a non-human, we must increase our scans up to setting two', I think it was," he said.
"Then I must assimilate again," Florence muttered, but the Doctor picked it up.
"What does that mean?" the Doctor said, a false frown creasing his forehead.
"I must appear human," she seemed worried. She fished about in her bag, and coming out with a straw not unlike those commonly found in cinemas and McDonald's. The Doctor switched onto ramble mode, knowing he only had seconds left.
"Well, by all means, you're welcome to come home and meet the wife. She'd be honoured. We'll have cake. She's a good cook, my wife. Rose, her name is … a much better cook than her mother, she just makes sludge, although that's between me and you … " He was looking at the straw apprehensively.
"Why would I want cake? I have my little straw," she said, waving it around in front of his face.
"That's … nice," he said, worry now coming into his voice. "Milkshake? I like banana, myself," he said, smiling.
"Quite the funny man. And yet, I think, laughing on purpose at the darkness. It's time you
found some peace. Steady him." Her voice changed from wistful to commanding, and the Slab wrenched him by the hair until he was tilting on one side.
"W-what are you doing?" he said, as Florence stroked the side of his neck, which was now very visible.
"Now, I'm afraid this is going to hurt," she said, smiling at the look of horror on the Doctor's face. "But if it's any consolation," her voice dropped to a whisper, "The dead don't tend to remember."
The Judoon were still scrutinising Rose while her boyfriend was getting abused by a plasmavore.
"Confirmed: human," he said, and Rose breathed a sigh of relief. They had been fooled by the upgraded bio-damper. Not that she'd doubted the Doctor for a second. "Traces of facial contact with non-human, continue the search."
"Traces of facial contact? There were only traces?" Martha muttered, Rose too absorbed in the Judoon to hear.
"You will need this," the Judoon said, handing her a slip of paper.
"What is this?" Rose waved it around. It had words on it, but Rose didn't have the time or patience to read it; to Martha, it was just a lot of squiggles.
"Compensation."
The Doctor really, really hoped Rose was coming soon. The room was swimming in and out of conciousness, as his blood was being sucked out of him.
The door slammed open, and heavy footfalls signalled the arrival of the Judoon. The Doctor felt his hearts stop, the majority of his blood gone from his body.
"Now look! See what you've done - this poor man died of fright!" Florence said, pointing to the body of the Doctor on the floor.
"Scan him! Confirmation: deceased," he said, scanning him.
A choked sob sounded behind him. "No … no, he can't be, he physically can't be!" Rose was verging on hysterical sounding. "Please, let me see h-him!" She barely got the last word out, barging through Judoon to get to him, Martha close by.
He seemed dead. Still. Ashen, not breathing. But he said we couldn't die, Rose thought, collapsing at his side. She was vaguely aware of Martha picking up his wrist. He has to wake up. Please. Don't leave me, don't leave us.
"There's no pulse," Martha whispered, beyond disbelief herself.
"Case closed," a Judoon called, and Rose sobbed louder, holding onto his hand, cradling his body against her own. Even Martha had a tear rolling down her cheek at the pure heartbreak on the woman's face.
Martha decided she was at least, for his sake and for Rose's, she was going to bring his murderer to justice.
"But it was her!" she said, pointing a finger at Florence. "She killed him. She did it. She murdered him!"
Rose's sobs got louder at the word 'murder'.
"The Judoon have no authority over human crime," was the mechanical reply.
"But she's not human!" Martha said, and Florence laughed.
"Oh, but I am. I've been catalogued." She held up her hand, again displaying her black 'X' on her hand as evidence.
"But she's not! She assimila - wait, you drank his blood? You drank the Doctor's blood?" Martha smiled grimly. She snatched a scanner off the nearest Judoon, pressing the blue button - it was her best bet, and it worked, shining a ray of blue light into Florence's face.
"Oh, all right," Florence said, as if surrendering. "Scan all you like!"
The scanner chirped, and the Judoon read the output. "Non-human," the Judoon read.
"What?" Florence's voice was shocked.
"Confirm analysis," the Judoon said, as a brighter light not unlike the one they had shone at Rose beamed onto Florence's face.
"Oh, but it's a m-mistake, surely, I'm as human as they-y come … " Florence stuttered, clearly dumbfounded by this latest turn of events.
"He gave his life so they could find you. He had a family, you know that? He'll never see his unborn child, thanks to you," Martha said, hoping to form some remorse out of the plasmavore.
"Confirmed: plasmavore. I charge you with the murder with the crime of murdering the Princess of Patrival Regincy Nine," the Judoon chanted.
The plasmavore snapped. "She deserved it! Those pink cheeks, and those blond curls, and that simpering voice. She was begging for the bite of a plasmavore," she said, running her tongue over her teeth in a way that made a shiver of fear race down Martha's spine.
"Do you confess?" the Judoon were withdrawing their guns.
Martha shot a look at Rose, who was in no state to do anything. She was still cradling the Doctor's ashen body, tears streaming down her face; she made no attempt to move them.
"Confess?" Florence said, eyes alight. "I'm proud of it! Slab, stop them!" On her command, the Slab shot a laser beam at the Judoon at the same time they did; the Judoon won, and the Slab disintegrated.
"Verdict: guilty. Sentence: execution," the Judoon said. No-one noticed the MRI was flashing 'magnetic overload'.
"Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me, burn in hell!" she said, as a shot of light disintegrated her as easily as the Slab.
Now that the plasmavore was dead, Martha rushed over to the Doctor, who hadn't responded to anything Rose was saying. He really was dead. Martha felt like crying, crying for Rose who would now have to bring up her child alone, without it's father. Crying for the Doctor, who would never see his child being born or grown up.
She was dimly aware of the Judoon announcing the case closed. Martha looked up from her crouch beside the Doctor's body.
"What did she mean 'burn with me?' The scanner shouldn't be doing that, she's done something to it," she said, pointing at the MRI. The Judoon stalked over and scanned it, reading the output.
"Scans detect lethal acceleration of the monomagnetic pulse," the Judoon announced. Rose tore her sodden and swollen eyes away from her boyfriend's dead body to the machine, having no idea what they were talking about.
"Stop it," she whispered, her voice hoarse, as if she hadn't used it in a long time. "Please."
"Well, do something! Stop it!" Martha shouted at the Judoon.
"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate."
"You can't just leave it!" Martha yelled, "What's it going to do?"
The Judoon ignored her, instead evacuating.
"You can't leave it! We're running out of air! That … thing is gonna explode and it's your fault!" she said, pointing at a retreating Judoon. She turned back to the Doctor and Rose.
"Let me try something," Martha said, moving Rose, who wasn't in any position to protest, as she started CPR. "One, two, three, four, five … any oxygen tanks, Rose?" she said, as she took a deep breath to connect her mouth to the Doctor's to give him some vital air.
Rose walked over the other side of the room like a robot, before coming back and shook her head.
"Take a breath, keep breathing, don't hold you're breath, it will make it worse," Martha ordered, and Rose did as she was told, breathing normally. Martha repeated the pulmonary techniques. "It's not working ... " she muttered, and Rose caught it.
"Oh … he's got two hearts," Rose said, her voice a monotone, and Martha could hear her struggling for breath. She obviously wasn't aware of what was going on around her, or she'd be a lot more responsive to the fact Martha was trying to save her boyfriend.
" … 'Kay," Martha said, repeating the action on the right side of his chest. "Any oxygen, Rose?"
Rose shook her head. "Used up," she said, barely, starting to drift in and out of conciousness.
Beneath Martha's hands, the Doctor started to cough, his hearts fighting to work with the blood loss. Martha smiled at him, before gasping.
Rose was unconscious. Martha knew oxygen starvation wasn't good for the baby - even though the baby was alien, and she didn't know what it might do, she just assumed that it would cause brain damage, the same as humans. She ran outside and found a quarter-full oxygen tank, placing the mask over Rose's mouth.
"The scanner," Martha said, to the now slightly more concious Doctor, watching as Rose's eyes began to flutter, "She did something."
The Doctor, barely concious himself, took a couple of breaths before staggering to his feet, unplugging the scanner. The machine died down, and he crawled towards Rose, who still had the oxygen mask over her mouth.
She was regaining conciousness, however slowly. The Doctor picked her small form up and cradled her against his chest, and gave the oxygen mask to Martha, who was on the floor. He could give Rose any oxygen she needed.
He staggered to a window, praying. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, Judoon, reverse it," he said, as it started to pour. "It's raining on the moon, Rosie," he said to the unconscious woman in his arms, who only mumbled, 'Doctor' as a reply.
He smiled. A flash of white, and they were gone.
The Doctor and Rose walked towards the TARDIS, hand-in-hand. Rose was still staring at him as if he was gonna disappear.
"I thought you were dead," she said quietly, looking at their intertwined hands.
"For a moment," the Doctor said, equally as quietly, "So did I."
Rose looked up at him, and pressed her lips to his softly. "But you're not … and that's what counts, yeah?" she said, giving him another kiss, not as softly this time.
"Yeah," he said softly, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, before pointing to a figure. "Look," he said, as Martha looked at them, as a woman beside her was talking and hugging her frantically.
The couple waved, and made their way to the TARDIS. "I think, a trip to the Vortex may be in order," he said, as the TARDIS dematerialised.
"Yeah," Rose said, resting a hand lightly on her stomach, "And I want a jam doughnut. Now."
The Doctor laughed loudly, the sound like music to Rose's ears. Neither of them noticed Martha's shocked face as they disappeared without another trace.
A few weeks later (two and a half, if anyone's being specific) and the Doctor and Rose returned for buying milk at Tesco, again. They seemed to go through it at an alarming rate.
The Doctor took all the bags, as Rose was showing off quite a neat little bump now, and he was always banging on about heavy weights and pregnant women. He was putting them in the TARDIS when she saw her.
Martha, having what could only be described as a tiff outside a pub. A young woman in a short dress was yelling at an older (but not old) woman in a longer dress, pulling on a man's arm who was considerably older than her.
"What day is this?" Rose said, asking the Doctor as she walked back to the TARDIS, poking her head through the door.
"Hmm … not too sure. Why?" he asked, and Rose pointed round the corner to Martha.
"Remember, she said she had a party the night of the Judoon. I think we've landed on the same day," Rose said, smiling.
"Remember we were going to go and find her … I think we should take this opportunity," the Doctor smiled, and the pair decided to wait on the corner. Of course, soon enough, Martha spotted them, and smiled. They disappeared around the corner, hoping Martha would follow.
As they hoped, Martha made an appearance less than ten seconds later, her face in a smal l smile. "I went to the moon today," she declared, and Rose and the Doctor exchanged a look.
"Bit more peaceful than down here," Rose said, bobbing her head in the direction of the argument. Martha just rolled her eyes, then they widened as they took in Rose's slightly more rounded shape.
"Either you've gotten much bigger in the last six hours, or you've … gotten bigger within the last six hours," she said, as Rose rested a hand on her stomach.
"We'll tell you later," Rose said, smiling. Martha frowned.
"Honestly, you don't tell me anything - not even who you are!" she said, throwing her hands up.
"The Doctor and Rose," the Doctor said, pointing to them both. "Hello!" they both waved comically.
"But what sort of species are you? God, it's not every day I get to ask that, is it?" Martha said, looking slightly shocked.
The Doctor and Rose laughed. "We're part Time Lord," the Doctor said, fully prepared for Martha to ask 'what?'
"Oh … so not pompous at all, then?" was her sarcastic answer, which made all three roar with laughter; one because he knew she'd hit the nail right on the head, one become she knew she might be slightly right, and one because the other two were.
Rose stopped laughing and elbowed him sharply, causing the Doctor to wince. Rose nodded her head in Martha's direction.
"I'm getting there, you don't need to wound me!" he said, rubbing his ribs. Rose rolled her eyes. Martha frowned.
The Doctor smiled. "Right, Martha Jones. Since you saved our lives, and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver which needs road testing, and we've got tons upon tons of worlds left in the universe to visit, I thought you might like a trip. To say thanks."
Martha looked dumbfounded. "What, in space?"
The Doctor nodded.
"I … can't," Martha said, eventually, disappointment oozing from every pore. The Doctor nodded, while Rose looked just as disappointed as Martha was. "I've got exams, I've got things to do. I have to go and pay my rent first thing, and then my family's kinda going mad … I just can't."
Rose was smiling now, because she knew what the Doctor was going to say before he said it.
"If it helps, I can also travel in time, as well."
He never said it to anyone else the way he said it to her. The five words, he always insisted, saved his life. Did I mention, It also travels in time ?
Never quite the same, and it made Rose's smile a little bit brighter as Martha looked on at them quite dumbfounded.
"Get out of here," she was saying, walking one step away as if they were mad.
"We can, can't we, Rose?" the Doctor said, and Rose nodded.
"Yep. Met Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, Ronald Biggs … and I've got photos to prove it," Rose said, smiling. "Well, some have, because he-" she pointed to the Doctor - "Wouldn't let me take photos of people before cameras weren't invented. Something about
timelines and that rubbish."
Martha laughed, but the Doctor looked offended.
"It isn't rubbish, you can't invent the camera before it was actually invented," he said, nodding as if that was the final say.
"Ye-ah, Mister 'I just made the VCR 30 years early'. Don't try and kid me, even though I may have had no face … you gloated about it later so I know," Rose said, and Martha coughed.
"Sorry, 'scuse me … you had no face?!" she said, eyes wide. Rose grinned.
"Later," she said, and the Doctor nodded.
"Go and get the pictures, Rose, so Miss Jones can have her proof," he said, grinning as well. It only took two seconds for Rose to retrieve her camera from it's perch on the central column. Martha gasped as she looked at the pictures of far-off worlds with red sand to pictures of the Doctor and Rose with Albert Einstein.
"Okay … I believe you. Either that or you guys spent way to much time with Photoshop," she said, and the three laughed. "Yeah, I believe you. But you are mental. Wait a minute … if you can travel in time, why didn't you just stop the Judoon from coming? Or at least go back and get rid of Finnegan earlier? Or stop her from coming?"
The Doctor gasped dramatically. "Ahh. Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden."
"Except for cheap tricks," Rose butted in, "Or you have an ex-con-man-slash-Time-Agent called Jack Harkness on board. Then it's just best to go with it, or he gets you drunk and you go along with it anyway," she said, smiling.
"Okay," Martha said, slightly spooked out by Rose's 'Jack' person. She gestured to Rose's bump. "That must be why you're bigger. It's been longer for you, hasn't it?"
Rose laughed. "She's smart, this one," she said to the Doctor, who nodded.
"Is that's your spaceship?" Martha asked, pointing the TARDIS.
"Yep. It's called the TARDIS - Time And Relative Dimensions In Space," he elaborated, stroking the outside of the beautiful time ship.
"And he doesn't go a day without stroking her like a cat," Rose butted in, smiling at his hand, which the Doctor withdrew quickly.
Martha had caught him though as well. "Boys and their toys, I guess."
"Tell me about it."
Martha walked up to the TARDIS, and contradicting herself slightly, started stroking the TARDIS too. "Your spaceship is made of wood," she said, knocking her knuckles against it. "There's not much room, how do you both get inside - more to the point, how would all three of us get inside? It'd be a bit cosy."
"Take a look," the Doctor said, pushing the door open dramatically. Martha gasped, walked inside, and walked back out again, in much the same fashion as Rose had done when she first arrived.
"Oh, no no no!" she was saying, looking around the sides. "It's just box. But it's huge! How does it do that, it's made of wood!" she said, against rapping her knuckles against it, as if to make sure it really was wood.
Martha made her way back inside, to the central column. The Doctor and Rose leant against the railing, facing each other, laughing at Martha's fascination. "It's like a box with this room rammed in."
The Doctor started mouthing words along with Martha, making Rose giggle. "It's bigger on the inside!"
"Is it?" Rose said, closing the TARDIS doors as Martha didn't seem to want to leave.
"We hadn't noticed," the Doctor said sarcastically, shrugging off his overcoat and tossing it lazily over a support strut. He rubbed his hands together. "All right, then, let's get going!"
"But is there a crew, like a navigator and stuff?" Martha enquired, walking around the central column, trailing a finger around the rim as she admired all the bits and bobs that littered the column.
"Nope, just us. We can fly it ourselves, can't we, Rose?" the Doctor said, resting himself against the captain's chair as Martha familiarised herself. Rose walked over to him and giggled.
"Barely. If you count 'flying' as falling on your arse all the time."
"And it's just you guys?" Martha said, evidently stuck on the personal questions.
"Yep," he said, popping the 'p'. "Sometimes we have guests, though, like yourself. Like Donna," he said.
"Mickey."
"Adam."
"Jack."
"Madame de Pompadour," the Doctor said, laughing aloud at the look on Rose's face. "Although she wasn't liked quite as much by some, was she, Rose?" he said, clearly teasing her. Rose just stuck her tongue out playfully, but Martha could see something in her eyes before it was wiped clean. It was evidently in the past, whatever it was.
"She doesn't count, she never came on board, ha!" she said, as the Doctor laughed, holding up his hands in surrender.
"Okay, then there was - "
"You don't have to list them all, y'know," Martha said, cutting him off. The Doctor smiled.
"I know, I know … right, okay then, Miss Martha Jones. One trip, to say thanks. We can't stay in one place for too long. I'd much rather be on a world with inhabitants that have hands when Rose goes into labour."
"And I'd quite like that too, shockingly," Rose said sarcastically. Martha grinned.
"Right-o! Alonsy! Still haven't met an Alonzo. Do you know anyone called Alonzo, Martha? Anyway," he said, not giving her time to answer, he ran around the other side of the colum n and started pressing random buttons. "Close down the gravitic anomalizer. Fire up the helmic regulator. And, finally, Rose, the handbrake," he said, as Rose stood there, her hand
poised over a lever. "Ready?" he shot the last question to Martha.
"No," she said honestly, although she was grinning from ear to ear.
"Off we go, Rosieeee!" he said, as she released the handbrake, and as if on cue the TARDIS jolted, shook and made all three occupants fall hard on their backsides.
"Blimey!" Martha said, as she grasped onto the rim of the central column as Rose and the Doctor were doing to hoist themselves up, one of the Doctor's arms around Rose's slender waist to make sure she didn't go tumbling. "It's a bit bumpy!"
All three laughed, and the Doctor stuck out his hand. "Welcome aboard, Miss Jones," he said in a pompous voice, and Martha giggled, shaking his hand.
"It's my pleasure, Mr. Tyler," she said, and the Doctor and Rose exchanged a look before they shot off into time and space.