Chapter 8

That night, everyone was tense. UNIT posted double watch. Some people were up all night, managing machines and preparing for the dreaded attack. But it didn't come.

But John and Sarah knew nothing of that. They slept soundly, their first good sleep in a couple days. They woke refreshed in the morning, with their alarms going off at UNIT's set time. The dressed in the clothes UNIT had provided. Martha had very aptly guessed their sizes. And the clothes were things they would wear at home...for the most part.

After they had showered and dressed, Sarah came into John's room and sat on his bed while he brushed his teeth. "What now?" She asked after he had finished.

"Well, I'd like to talk to Martha about some things." John said.

"About what?" Sarah asked.

"You'll see." John responded.

John "phoned" Martha on the device she had given them, and within a few seconds she answered.

"John? Do you need something?"

"No, we're fine. But I was wondering if we could come up to your office. I'd like to ask you about something. Can we meet you there in about 5 minutes?"

"Sure. I don't really have anything to do or anywhere to go today, so I'm relatively free. I'll send someone down to get you."

"Oh, that's ok. I can remember how to get there."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I have a pretty good memory."

"Ok. See you in a minute then."

She hung up, and John took the device down from his ear. He looked at it, and murmured under his breath, "Huh. The thing actually works..."

Sarah laughed. "Did you expect it not to?"

John shook his head. "It just seemed to small to do anything useful. But, then again, nothing is. Anyway, let's go."

John, as usual, remembered correctly, and before the five minutes were up, they were at Martha's office door. John knocked, and a voice inside called "Come in!" They entered to see Martha sitting at her desk. She looked up and smiled.

"Good morning John, Sarah. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you." Sarah replied.

"Glad to hear it. Now, what is it you would like to ask about?"

"A couple things, actually. First of all, judging from the lack of destruction outside, I assume nothing has happened since last night?" John said with a hint of sarcasm.

Martha frowned. "No. Nothing."

John nodded. "Ok. Now, my second question is who is the Doctor? You seem to know about him, and this whole...adventure seems to be revolving around him."

Martha smiled and chuckled. "You've just asked a question that people have been trying to answer for a few hundred years. But I'll give you what I can."

She paused and leaned back. She was silent for a moment, as if trying to think of a way to start, then said, "The Doctor is a Time Lord. And you should know what that means before you know anything else. Time Lords are from the planet Galifrey and, as you could guess from their name, are masters of time. They look human, but have a few differences, one of which is that they have two hearts. Now, about 10 to 15 years ago, there was a time war. The Time Lords fought a race called the Daleks. And they lost. They all did. The Doctor had to destroy Galifrey in order to keep the rest of the universe in existence. And it hurt him. All the way to his core."

"Now, to focus on the Doctor. About 60 years ago, he was outlawed from Galifrey and exiled to Earth. From that time he has kept Earth safe from...everything really. Aliens, the Master, and just about anything else you can think of. That Police box you came to London in was his TARDIS. It stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It's his time machine. Now, the Doctor worked with UNIT a long while. He is actually one reason we know all that we do. But a few weeks ago, he just seemed to disappear. Now, that isn't all that unusual for him, but usually we at least get a contact once in a while. Or hear of an alien invasion he stopped. But now we know why. And that is who the Doctor is in a nutshell. A small nutshell, but the best I can do. The Doctor is one of those people you can't understand unless you know him personally. Even then it's hard."

John leaned back "You traveled with him, didn't you?"

Martha started. "How in the world did you know that?" She asked.

John smiled. "You talk like you know him. And like you said, he sounds like someone you can't understand unless you know him personally. And you know a lot about him."

Martha nodded. "Yes, I traveled with him for almost a year. Now, any other things you would like to ask?"

John nodded. "A request actually. I was wondering if we could go back and visit the police box. Or the TARDIS as you call it."

Sarah stared at him with an astonished expression. "Why?!" She blurted out.

"Well," John said slowly. "I felt something I've never felt before when I was there. And I sort of feel drawn back. It's hard to explain..."

Martha looked at John for a long while. Finally she nodded her head. "All right. I can take you there. But to get in, you need a key. The Doctor left me one in case of an emergency. Over on that wall, there's a key rack. Go see if you can guess which one is the key you need."

John raised an eyebrow. "How am I supposed to be able to guess that?"

Martha smiled. "Just try it."

John stood up and walked over to the rack. As he stared at the keys, one seemed to draw him. He could tell it had touched powerful things. He reached out for it, and as soon as he touched it, a spark appeared between his finger and the key. It hurt like an electric shock. He withdrew his hand, and turned around.

"That one." He said.

Martha smiled. "See? I told you. Now, let's get moving. We'll eat breakfast and then leave."

As Martha grabbed the key and turned to go, John looked at his finger. There was a small burn mark at the tip. Suppressing a shiver, he followed Martha and Sarah out of the room.