It took him ten years – Gallifreyan time – to get the collar off. So that was 32.683 Earth years. Roughly. And he'd not yet even attempted the fantastically difficult and stupidly dangerous trip through the Vortex yet. Good thing he had a time machine. By linear time, Rose was already in her fifties. So much time with her would already be lost. His hands tightened on the collar as he hauled it away from the console and into the scrap room. No sense wasting genuine Gallifreyan technology; he needed every bit of it that he could get.
The Doctor spared a thought for Martha. It had been ten years since he'd seen her last. He was high from finally managing to remove the collar and could do with a bit of companionship again. Someone else to talk to besides his ship, who was only truly listening a fraction of the time anyway. And besides, the TARDIS needed to recover from what was essentially surgery without any form of anesthetic.
He cleaned up the console room and replaced the grate. Then, just because he could, danced around the whole circle with his eyes closed. For ten years, this room had been the focus of all his concerted efforts and it had resulted in a mess of wires and cables as he performed delicate surgery on the Old Girl. But now it was finally clean, and he was overjoyed.
He input the coordinates, pulled his jacket back on, and threw the lever, activating the TARDIS' motion protocols for the first time since he'd left Martha so long ago. The sound of the materialization sequence made him grin. It had been too long.
He stepped out of the TARDIS and had just managed to cross one leg over the other with folded arms so that he was the picture of nonchalance, when Martha came barreling around the corner at him.
"Doctor!" she called with a wide smile.
"Miss me?" he asked cheekily.
She stopped and dropped her smile, turning her head away as she tried to convince him of her sincerity, "No. Course not."
"Yeah, you did."
Her smile returned, more brilliant than ever. "Yeah, I did."
He took two steps forward, holding his arms out for a hug and she met him halfway, tucking her head under his chin.
"Do you feel better?" she asked from the region of his chest.
"Sorry, what?" He pulled back to look at her better.
She moved away and looked him in the eyes. "I know it's been more than five and a half hours for you. Time machine, right? So, do you feel better?"
His gaze softened and he pulled her into another brief, but tight hug. "Yes. Thank you."
His sincerity stole her breath. He was so rarely anything other than the happy-go-lucky companion that she knew. She treasured these moments when he allowed the mask to drop and she saw beyond to the man underneath. It hurt her deeply to know that each time she saw his true self, he was hurting fiercely. Did she see beyond the mask because he was too hurt to keep it up? Or was he simply always hurting, mask or no?
He let her go and gestured at the TARDIS. "Ready?"
"Yes, "she said, watching his mask slide smoothly back into place, "let's go."
ooOO00OOoo
They set off again, exploring planets and righting wrongs. It wasn't all madness and chaos, like she'd originally thought it was going to be. They could go weeks, even months without running into trouble. But then he would see something, hear something, and the next thing she knew, they would be running for their lives. All was back as it had been.
Until this last time. They'd landed on the galaxy's largest garden. He'd wanted to show her a particularly ugly flower that produced the perfume she'd found in a market and favored so much. They were laughing and having fun. Then they turned the corner and entered a massive rose garden. Instantly, his smile had slid off his face and he'd swallowed painfully.
His voice had been so soft, she wasn't sure she'd heard him. And his words…they'd shaken her, though she was unable to say why.
"What am I doing?"
He turned then and left the garden. Trundled back to the TARDIS and slammed the door in her face. She stared at the closed door for one long, unblinking moment. Maybe he didn't know she'd followed him back to the TARDIS?
Maybe.
She slid her key tentatively into the lock only to discover that he hadn't locked it behind him. "Doctor?" she called warily, sticking her head through the doors. She swallowed her next words. She wanted to ask if he was okay. But she knew he wasn't. She was going to ask if there was anything she could do. But she knew there wasn't. A question about what had happened sat on her tongue. But she knew.
Roses - Rose.
Still she haunted the Doctor. Martha felt a flash of resentment for this woman who'd made the Doctor love her and then run away. Who was she to do this to him? The way he was staring at the floor for god's sake. As if it held all of his hopes and dreams inside of it. She came inside and stood beside him, joining him in his contemplation of the grating. He sighed and tilted his head back, gazing at some far-off thing. He may have been standing next to her, but he was miles away.
She wasn't surprised when, the next week, he tried to drop her off at her apartment – just for a night. He'd be back in the morning. Promise. But it didn't work the way he'd wanted it to. Because they'd landed in Cardiff first to refuel. And that was when Captain Jack had arrived.
ooOO00OOoo
"…so this is me," she said tremulously, straining to keep the tears in her heart out of her voice, and off her face, "getting out."
The Doctor made to speak, but she cut him off.
"I spent all these years training to be a doctor. Now I've got people to look after. They saw half the planet slaughtered, and they're devastated. I can't leave them."
"Of course not." He gave her a soft, heartbreaking smile and she wavered. She had spent a year away from him. A year traveling on her own. A year dodging and hiding. A year of escaping death and telling stories. A year of so much pain and misery. Of despair so deep she never thought she'd crawl out of it.
But she had. She'd missed him- fiercely. But she'd grown strong without him, and this was something she had to do. For her family. For herself.
"Thank you," he said finally, "for everything." Then he stepped forward and enfolded her in his arms for the first time in over a year. For the last time. He pulled away and graced her with a brilliant grin. "Martha Jones, you saved the world."
"Yes," she said smugly, channeling some of his ego. "I spent a lot of time with you thinking I was second best. But you know what? I am good."
He laughed.
She fished her phone out of her pocket and tossed it at him, even as she backed down the ramp away from him. "Keep that." She pointed a stern finger at him. "Answer it when it rings! I'm not done with you yet."
She caught his salute just as the door swung shut.
ooOO00OOoo
The Doctor left the TARDIS spinning in the Vortex. Well. That was that, then. No more Martha. He couldn't blame her. Not really. He'd treated her horribly. Even when being nice to her, he'd only used her for her admiration. For her joy. For the distraction she provided by being so completely and distinctly not Rose.
Rose…
Even now, he missed her. Time for part two, then. He turned on his heel and headed purposefully for the library.