This was always one of my favourite bits of the film. Get to see a bit more of Martha this chapter, and a bit of DoctorxRose interaction. They'll all get their fair share of time by the end, don't you worry. Enjoy!

12:26pm

By the time Donna and Jack had made their way back to the library with drinks – it angered Rose to see that, despite the fact that the students had to make do with water, the teachers still got Coca-Cola in their vending machines – the Doctor had managed to get himself another Saturday detention from Saxon. Rose quickly gave the others the full story – Donna was pretending not to listen, but Rose could tell that she was interested.

It had gone very much like this: Saxon had come back in and told the Doctor to get off the desk. The Doctor had complied by standing up on top of the aforementioned desk and leaping onto the one next to it, continuing in this vein until he reached the end of the line, where he jumped off onto the floor, landing perfectly with his arms in the air, like a gymnast. Rose was of the opinion that he might have gotten away with that if he hadn't then asked Saxon if all the lights were off at his house, because he had clearly gotten dressed in the dark.

Jack sighed, chucking a can of Coke in Martha's direction. She fumbled a bit but managed to hang onto it, rolling her eyes at Jack again. "I suppose you think that was worth it, do you?"

"Oh, definitely." The Doctor was sitting in the seat next to Rose now - he couldn't seem to be able to sit still for more than 5 seconds. Maybe he just ate way too much sugar. "Love to see Saxon getting a bit angry – plus he's dressed abysmally today. Besides, I don't have anything else to do this Saturday. I like to think of it as an adventure."

Jack rolled his eyes and turned away. The Doctor looked at Rose sideways and made a "what's up with him?" face. Rose laughed a little. His facial expressions were hilarious, it was like his face was made of elastic or possibly Play-Doh.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing," Rose replied, specifically using a tone that made him certain that there was definitely something. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at this, but shrugged before grabbing a can of Coke and flinging it haphazardly in Donna's direction. She caught it without even looking up from the desk. The Doctor and Rose looked at each other in wide-eyed confusion at this apparent skill. Either that or Donna had eyes in the top of her head.

"Are you eating or what?" the Doctor asked her, a little crease appearing between his eyes. It was at that moment Rose realised that she had forgotten her lunch. It was probably sitting in the kitchen at home. Damn.

"Er, I'll be fine, I forgot my lunch, I'll wait 'til I get home."

"No, hold on." The Doctor was still frowning, rummaging in the pockets of his jacket. His face brightened, and he pulled out first one, then another banana. From his expression, Rose would've thought he had just discovered a winning lottery ticket.

"One for you, one for me," he told her firmly, pushing the yellow fruit across the table and beginning to peel his own. "Best food in the world, bananas, couldn't live without them."

Rose nodded. "Oh yes, I'm sure. Without bananas your life just wouldn't be worth living, I bet." She smirked as he nodded eagerly, almost choking on his mouthful in his effort to reply as fast as possible.

"Exactly! They're so exciting! I mean, look at everyone else." He leaned over to peer at Jack."Hmm, sandwiches, boring." He stretched up a bit, bum just leaving his chair – do not look at his bum, Rose commanded herself – nosing at Martha's lunch. "Soup. Slightly more interesting, but still nothing amazing." Martha, apparently concentrating on the medical book she was reading, stuck her middle finger up at that comment without her eyes even leaving the page. The Doctor gasped in mock horror as Rose laughed.

Both their heads swivelled round at a strange crunching noise that Rose couldn't place. It seemed that Donna had deconstructed the lunch she had brought with her, instead choosing to fill her sandwich with something else. Rose squinted at Donna's table. Ah. Sugar Puffs. Donna took another bite and stared straight in front of her, not catching anyone's eye. The Doctor, on the other hand, seemed delighted that someone had finally produced a lunch that wasn't completely dull.

"Ha! Now that's much better: Sugar Puff sandwiches, food of the gods." Rose frowned at him, pausing just before taking another bite of banana. "Oh right – apart from bananas of course." She grinned at that.

"Would you like a jelly baby?" The Doctor had produced the paper bag from his pocket – how was he fitting all that stuff in there? And who bought jelly babies in paper bags any more, come to that? – and was holding them out towards her. She took one, fingers brushing his as he stuck his hand in the bag too. Apparently he could not wait any longer for jelly babies. He tossed one in his mouth, chewing and grinning at the same time as Rose deliberately bit the head off her sweet, looking at the little decapitated body in her hand.

"Bundle of laughs, you are."

Rose shrugged. "He's not complaining." She pointed at the jelly baby, who was indeed not making a sound, before eating him in one bite.

"I am so bored, this is a nightmare." Martha had her head in her hands, elbows leaning on the desk. She had abandoned both her book and her lunch, neither of them able to seem interesting when she was stuck in this room for the foreseeable future.

Jack turned around to her and Rose somehow knew he was going to put his foot in it. He didn't seem to have a brain-to-mouth filter system. "No need to be like that, you're probably having fun – people like me don't enjoy this sort of day, even if there are some interesting people around." His eyes flickered to Donna, who ignored him.

Martha sighed. "I don't want to be here any more than you do, you know. You don't need to act like I'm enjoying it just because you expect me to be doing work anyway. I knew that's what you'd be like if I ever got to know you, even if I hoped you might be nicer than you seemed."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Martha rolled her eyes and continued. "I always thought you'd be self-centred and arrogant and annoyingly over confident, but I like to think the best of people so I thought that maybe you'd turn out to be actually a decent person. Sadly not." Rose was internally rather pleased to see Jack being taken down a peg or two in this way, especially since it was Martha who was the cause of it. Jack had been talking down to Martha a lot that day, and she was sure she had not been alone in her hopes that Martha would tell him where he could shove his condescending remarks.

"And as for you," she twisted a little more in her seat, words aimed straight at the Doctor now. "If I want to actually write this essay and not spend next Saturday here like you, that's my business and not yours. OK?" She was looking at both of them now.

Jack muttered his agreement, while the Doctor gave a quick salute. "Yes Miss Jones – sorry about that, tend to get a bit annoying unless someone tells me to stop. Thanks."

"You're welcome." She offered Jack her hand. Still seeming to be slightly bewildered at the turn the conversation had taken, he shook it gently. The Doctor did the same, smiling at her with sparkling eyes. Martha gave them both a curt nod and a smile, before turning back to her lunch.

Rose caught her eye, winking and mouthing "nice one."

Martha winked back. "I spend a lot of time thinking I'm second best, but you know what? I am good."

They both laughed, and Rose turned away, happy to know that Martha could take care of herself. She caught sight of Donna watching from the desk in the corner, and risked a smile. She didn't get one in return, but the look she did get was not unpleasant, and she allowed herself to be happy with that. For now at least.

"You could say sorry, you know." The Doctor was looking at Jack. "I mean, I know you don't have to, but surely it's just good manners."

"Shut up."

The Doctor got an expression on her face that put her in mind of someone who was deciding to take up a challenge. He cocked his head on one side, considering his words in his head before they formed on his lips. "Didn't your parents ever teach you that you should apologise when you're rude to someone? Though by the looks of it they certainly didn't teach you to make your own lunch. However rude I might be, I don't need my mum to help me, like you clearly need yours to do everything for you."

"So what if she did? Not like you'd know what that's like, I suppose." Jack smirked as the Doctor's grin slipped slowly off his face. "The great Doctor, works alone, lives alone, doesn't need anyone. Why would you need them, you're doing so well on your own." The Doctor's fists were clenching, knuckles whitening and Rose couldn't hold back her urge to tell Jack to stop.

"Jack, enough."

"Oh come on, Rose, you can't think he's that different than anyone else. He's lying, he always makes out that he's so independent, then he thinks he can make fun of me for depending on other people, for having a family, it's pathetic."

"Well I don't." Both Rose and Jack's heads snapped up towards him. His eyes were like black fire, and Rose fought the urge to flinch away from him. "It's not a lie, it never was." He seemed perfectly polite in that moment, almost dangerously so, but by the time he carried on speaking he was shouting, all of his control and his calm demeanour evaporating in an instant. "No family, no friends, no anyone. I'm all on my own and I have no-one, so thanks for making me so aware of that. You're brilliant, really, I don't know what I'd do without you there to remind me of these things! You could've just stopped, but no, carry on, I really need to have it rubbed in my face, the fact that you're so much better than I am!" He was backing away now, feet moving of their own accord. His tone was laced with sarcasm and his forehead was furrowed, as though he were struggling desperately to hold himself together. "I don't think I have to put up with you any more – any of you."

The Doctor span on his heels and ran off across the library, dodging a couple of shelves of books and climbing up the side of the stairs to the upper floor using the banisters. He sat facing away from them on the higher level, feet dangling over the edge and head resting against the rail.

The rest of them remained silence. Both Donna and Martha were aiming accusing stares at Jack – the two girls, who had never met before today, somehow joined together in their disproval of what Jack had just done. Despite the Doctor being a troublemaker and a bit arrogant to boot, he was funny, effortlessly charming and quite sweet – in other words, likeable to the extent that all three girls wanted to defend him.

"Well how was I to know?" Jack was defensive. He sat down in his chair, slouching and looking at his own hands in an attempt to avoid catching anyone's eyes. Rose didn't believe that he was truly mean – she reasoned that it was probably bravado mixed with a little bit of jealousy that had made him carry on when it might have been better to stop.

No-one answered Jack, and they all continued eating in silence. Rose risked a glance over her shoulder every now and then. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the Doctor, his breathing slowing as he banged his head gently against the safety rail, feet dangling in mid-air.