Longish rainy sunday chapter. Enjoy :)
Chapter 14
When I reach Donna's house again, the Doctor is dragging Wilf out of a car while Sylvia is brandishing an axe.
"Thanks", Wilf says.
"I can't believe you've got an axe", Donna is telling her mom.
"Burglars", she shrugs.
The Doctor glances at me, but is still talking with the Nobles. "Get inside the house. Just try and close off the doors and windows".
Jenkins arrives in a black cab.
"Doctor. This is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS".
"So, what did I miss? What's ATMOS doing now?", I nod at the Doctor.
"You mean apart from almost choking Donna's gramps to death? Well, let's see. The visit at Rattigan was a blast - spoiled little genius, you'd have had a field day with your sass there. But really, clever boy. And, found out who's behind this. Sontarans. Aaaand, ATMOS's now apparently poisoning every car", he says at full speed. "Where have you been?", he asks.
"I had my own... family visit". I say, a bit shamely. He looks at me puzzled, and it's quite clear we'll likely need more time to discuss both ATMOS, the Sontarans - part of my mind is trying to figure out if I ever had anything to do with them, what they look like and what would they want with Earth - and especially Chloe.
I see his eyebrow worriedly raise, then he lets out a sigh.
"Great. Right. Okay. Donna, you coming?".
"Yeah".
"Donna. Don't go. Look what happens every time that Doctor appears. Stay with us, please", her mother pleads. "You're not like that punk there, please".
"Hey!", I snap, holding the cab door. Not that I normally take punk as an insult, but I'm sure she meant it as such.
"You go, my darling", Wilf says, half already inside the house.
"Dad!", Donna's mom protests.
"Don't listen to her. You go with the Doctor. That's my girl", Wilf insists, encouragingly.
I scoot over to make room for Donna on the passenger's seat of the cab.
"Bye!", calls her granddad. I've only barely met him and he's already one of my favourite people on Earth and other planets, I'd say.
Sontarans. Nope. Not a single clue. Or... Potato heads? I remember something from season 1 or 2 of that low-budget tv show. We basically had just two extras of that size so we decided they would all be clones. Ugh. Clones. When did clonation start appearing everywhere in my life? Anyway, yes, potato heads. Big fans of war. Honourable soldiers. Button at the base of their neck. Wait, where am I getting this from?
"Doctor?", I ask.
A big war. Involved in the Time War? No, it's, something else. Another ongoing war. Am I just imagining this stuff?
"Yeah?", the Doctor says, distracted, as we enter the car park at the industrial estate.
"Sont-?", I half say, before listening to the radio message. "The gas appears to be toxic. We are warning anyone and everyone, stay away from the cars. Repeat, stay away from your cars".
"Ross, look after yourself. Get inside the building", the Doctor says, and I nod at Jenkins. Well we started with the wrong foot but I'm starting to like him.
"Will do. Greyhound Forty to Trap One. I have just returned the Doctor to base safe and sound. Over".
"The air is disgusting", Donna says.
"Is it?", I ask. I can't really smell anything wrong.
"It's not so bad for us", the Doctor shrughs. "Zoe, with me. Donna, go on, get inside the Tardis. Oh, I've never given you a key. Keep that. Go on, that's yours. Quite a big moment really", he says to Donna smiling, waving a seemingly normal yale key to her.
"Yeah, maybe we can get sentimental after the world's finished choking to death", Donna says between coughs.
"Good idea".
"Where are you two going?", she asks as I follow the Doctor.
"To stop a war", he says menacingly.
We're running to the factory. "Why did I never get a Tardis key?", I ask him.
"Do you feel like you need one?", he asks in return. "Here", he says, tossing a key at me, just like the one he tossed Donna.
Boy, that man never stops surprising me. Here I was already wondering if I still needed to earn some trust, or if there was something about the fact the last time I was in the Tardis alone I turned her into a paradox machine, and he's promptly giving me a key.
"You know, it is quite a big moment actually", I say.
"Yeah, well, we'll talk about it later. Just don't lose it. You should put it on your suddenly-reappeared-necklace chain alongside with the Masters' pendant".
Uh-oh. Did I notice a bit of angst there? How could I possibily think he wouldn't notice the damned necklace?
"Right then, here we are. Good", he says as soon as we're inside the temporary UNIT headquarters. "Whatever you do, Colonel Mace, do not engage the Sontarans in battle. There is nothing they like better than a war. Just leave this to me".
"And what are you going to do?".
"I've got the Tardis. I'm going to get on board their ship", the Doctor replies easily, shrugging.
So I was right, about Sontarans. How do I know that I'm not sure, but I get distracted by Martha, who barely acknowledges our return. Something is a bit weird about her but I'm not sure what.
"Come on", the Doctor whispers in her ear, and she doesn't even smile. I glance at him but he's still in action mood so, he doesn't even notice.
I feel something weird, like a shift in the air. I shoot a worried look at the Doctor, but he just nods and winks. Oh, good, yes Doctor. I don't know what that wink meant. What was it?
"But where's the Tardis?", Martha asks when we reach the alley where we left the Tardis, which is, in fact, and again, not there. I can't understand how the Doctor never thought about an alarm, or something, anything to avoid losing the stupid time machine every time.
Scratch that, sorry Tardis, I didn't mean stupid. I'm sure the Doctor has a clever plan, that's what he was just winking about.
"Taste that, in the air. Yuck. That sort of metal tang. Teleport exchange. It's the Sontarans. They've taken it".
Isn't that just great. The Doctor talks as if surprised, but not really worried.
"We're stuck", he keeps on, looking at me while his face becomes more and more disgusted. "On Earth! like, like an ordinary person. Like a human. How rubbish is that? Sorry, no offence, but come on".
Martha doesn't seem impressed, and again it's a little weird. "So what do we do?".
"Well, I mean, it's shielded. They could never detect it", he says dismissively, looking sharply at Martha.
"What?", she asks defensively.
"Martha, I'm just wondering, have you phoned your family and Tom?", I ask her.
"No. What for?". Now, now, that really doesn't sound like Martha.
"The gas. Tell them to stay inside", the Doctor says loudly.
"Course I will, yeah", she says, again, sounding a bit forced. "...but, what about Donna? I mean, where's she?".
"Oh, she's gone home", the Doctor replies. Great, so there is something wrong with Martha and he knows too. Why else would he hide the fact that Donna has just been kidnapped along with the Tardis? And what is Donna going to do in the stolen Tardis? "She's not like you. She's not a soldier. Right. So. Avanti", he calls, spinning on his feet.
"Change of plan", he shouts inside.
"Good to have you fighting alongside us, Doctor", Mace comments as the Doctor tosses his coat to a chair.
"I'm not fighting. I'm not-fighting, as in not hyphen fighting, got it? Now, does anyone know what this gas is yet?".
"We're working on it", Martha says.
"It's harmful, but not lethal until it reaches eighty percent density. We're having the first reports of deaths from the centre of Tokyo City", an officer explains.
"And who are you?", the Doctor asks her.
"Captain Marion Price, sir", she says, saluting.
"Oh, put your hand down. Don't salute", he scolds.
"Jodrell Bank's traced a signal, Doctor, coming from five thousand miles above the Earth", Mace keeps on.
"That's probably what triggered the cars", I say, looking at the monitor.
"The Sontaran ship", the Doctor agrees, pointing at a red dot on the screen.
"NATO has gone to Defcon One. We're preparing a strike", Mace insists.
"You can't do that. Nuclear missiles won't even scratch the surface. Let me talk to the Sontarans", the Doctor says, quickly.
"You're not authorised to speak on behalf of the Earth".
"I've got that authority. I earned that a long time ago", he says sternly, not even looking at him as he sticks the sonic screwdriver into the communications system. "Calling the Sontaran Command ShipUnder Jurisdiction Two of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement. This is the Doctor".
Oh, I like it when he's all authoritative. Turns me on too, a little. What is wrong with me?
"Doctor, breathing your last?", the Sontaran leader says.
"My God, they're like trolls", Mace says. They indeed look like potato heads as I already (unexplicably) knew.
"Yeah, loving the diplomacy, thanks", the Doctor says to Mace, then turns to the Sontarans again. "So, tell me, General Staal, since when did you lot become cowards?".
"How dare you!", Staal spats.
"And that's diplomacy?", I giggle as Mace rolls his eyes.
"Doctor, you impugn my honour", Staal insists, as the Doctor sits down, his feet on the desk.
"Yeah, I'm really glad you didn't say belittle, because then I'd have a field day. But poison gas? That's the weapon of a coward and you know , you could blast this planet out of the sky, and yet you're sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? Where's the honour? Orare you lot planning something else, because this isn't normal Sontaran warfare. What are you lot up to?", he asks.
"A general would be unwise to revealhis strategy to the opposing forces".
"Ah, the war's not going so well, then. Losing, are we?". He teases, spinning the chair. He's so smug. He loves it.
"Such a suggestion is impossible", Staal says, offended.
"What war?", I ask, whispering.
"The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans", the Doctor answers loudly to the entire room, Sontarans on the screen included. "It's been raging, far out in the stars, for fifty thousand years. Fifty thousand years of bloodshed, and for what?".
"For victory. Sontar-ha!", Staal says, then all the Sontarans start chanting. "Sontar-ha. Sontar-ha. Sontar-ha. Sontar-ha. Sontar-ha...".
"Give me a break", the Doctor says rolling his eyes, then sonicks the screen to change the channel to a cartoon. I like it when he's this smug, it means he knows how to handle things. Although I have to wonder, did he anticipate the Tardis would be taken?
"Doctor. I would seriously recommend that this dialogue is handled by official Earth representation", Mace says, annoyed, while the Doctor zaps the Sontaran communication back.
"Finished?".
"You will not be so quick to ridicule when you'll see our prize. Behold. We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a Tardis".
"Well, as prizes go, that's... noble", he says, now looking directly into the camera. I know he's trying to talk to Donna now. I still wonder where is he going with this plan, though. "As they say in Latin, Donna nobis pacem. Did you never wonder about its design? It's a phone box. It contains a phone. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic. Like, if only we could communicate, you and I", he says, returning to Staal.
"All you have communicated is your distress, Doctor", the Sontaran says.
"Big mistake though, showing it to me", the Doctor says, leaning back, wriggling the sonic screwdriver. "Because I've got remote control".
"Cease transmission!", Staal says quickly, before the screen zaps off.
"Ah, well", the Doctor says, putting the screwdriver back in his pocket.
"That achieved nothing", Mace says, dismissively.
"Oh, you'd be surprised", the Doctor shrugs, nodding for me to follow. I grab his wrist and lean to speak in his ear, outside other's hearing.
"Was this your plan from the start? Have the Sontaran get Donna?".
"It's, well, still coming along", he says, quickly, looking at Martha who's collecting data on the gas.
I sigh. "Something's off with Martha".
"Oh, yeah", he shrugs, and then sort of pulls me until we're both at her side, and he snaps the clipboard from her hands to give it to me.
"There's carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, but ten percent unidentified. Some sort of artificial heavy element we can't trace", she says as I'm reading, then I pass the clipboard to the Doctor. "You ever seen anything like it?", Martha asks.
"It must be something the Sontarans invented", I say, tentatively.
"This isn't just poison", the Doctor agrees. "They need this gas for something else. What could that be?".
"Launch grid online and active", Price says. The Doctor shots a wary look around.
"Positions, ladies and gentlemen, Defcon One initiatives in progress", Mace instructs.
"What?", I ask, unable to hold it. Mace looks at me as if I'm not even there.
"I told you not to launch!", the Doctor says angrily.
"The gas is at sixty percent density. Eighty percent and people start dying, Doctor. We've got no choice", Mace admits. Well, hard to be so stubborn against him, he's got a point. The Doctor is being elusive and clearly not filling me in on whatever he's planning, so. Can Mace trust him to solve this before the gas hits eighty percent?
"Launching in sixty, fifty nine, fifty eight, fifty seven, fifty six. Worldwide nuclear grid now coordinating. Fifty four, fifty three...", Price continues.
"You're making a mistake, Colonel. For once, I hope the Sontarans are ahead of you", the Doctor says warningly.
"North America, online. United Kingdom, online. France, online. India, online. Pakistan, online. China, online. North Korea, online. All systems locked and coordinated. Launching in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five...".
"God save us", Mace prays.
"Four, three, two, one, zero".
The screen goes blank.
Well that didn't sound like a global nuclear launch. It didn't sound like nothing at all, in fact. I shoot a look at the Doctor and Martha, who's face doesn't show any emotion. You'd expect some trepidation about the fact we should have launched nuclear bombs, like, worldwide.
"What is it? What happened? Did we launch? Well, did we?", Mace asks in confusion.
"Negative, sir. The launch codes have been wiped, sir. It must be the Sontarans", Price says.
"Can we override it?".
"Trying it now, sir".
"Missiles wouldn't even dent that ship, so why are the Sontarans so keen to stop you?", The Doctor asks.
I give Martha a threatening look. "Any ideas?".
"How should I know?", she shrugs.
I hear Ross's voice from the intercom. "Enemy within. At arms. Greyhound Forty declaring Absolute emergency".
I swear, I don't get it. Why are they attacking the troops on Earth? It makes no sense.
"Sontarans within factory grounds. East corridor, grid six". Jenkins reports.
"Absolute emergency. Declaring Code Red. All troops, Code Red".
"Get them out of there!" The Doctor screams.
Mace looks at us defiantly. It's clear he doesn't think I'm worth listening, but at this point he's not even listening to the Doctor. "All troops, open fire", he orders.
We hear gunshots. "Guns aren't working. Inform all troops, standard weapons do not work".
There's a pause, then other gunshots.
"Tell the Doctor it's that cordolaine 's the only one who can stop them".
Silence.
"Greyhound Forty, report. Over. Greyhound Forty, report. Greyhound Forty, report", Mace insists.
"He wasn't Greyhound Forty. His name was Ross. Now listen to him, and get them out of there!", I scream. If he ordered a retreat as soon as he called, Ross Jenkins would still be alive. And who knows how many are dying down there.
"Trap One to all stations. Retreat. Order imperative. Immediate retreat", he finally says.
It really makes no sense. Why the factory? There's something they need down on Earth. I'm still looking at this gas canister, trying to figure out what they would need it for. If they've stopped the launch, they don't want us to blow up. But what for? The gas... maybe they don't even need to kill humanity, maybe they just want the ATMOS gas to reach-
"Launch grid back online", Price says, but before anything, the grid goes blank again.
"They're inside the system", I say. "It's coming from within UNIT itself".
I take a look at the screens. Sontarans are all lookalikes. They're- oh, my, if what I'm thinking is... I shiver.
"Trace it", Mace orders. "Find out where it's coming from, and quickly. Gas levels?".
"Sixty six percent in major population areas, and rising", Price reports.
"Doctor?", I call.
He's on the phone with Donna now, and he's not using Martha's phone, which unsettles me even more because it's a signal that maybe he's thinking what I'm thinking too, and that's creepy.
"That's why I made them movethe Tardis. I'm sorry, but you've got to go outside", he's saying. He gives me a quick glance and puts Donna on speaker. It's just me and him in a tiny office now.
"But there's Sonteruns out there", she says. Her voice is shaky and I can't believe the Doctor thought about this since we came back from her house.
"Sontarans", he corrects. "But they'll all be on battle stations right now. They don't exactly walk abouthaving coffee. I can talk you through it".
"But what if they find me?".
"I know, and I wouldn't ask, but there's nothing else I can do", he says, avoiding my gaze. I don't know if I should be offended. "The whole planet is choking, Donna".
"What do you need me to do?", Donna asks.
"The Sontarans are inside the factory which means they've got a teleport link with the ship, but they'll have deadlocked it. I need you toreopen the link", he instructs.
"But I can't even mend a fuse", she protests.
"Donna, stop talking about yourself like that. You can do this", I tell her.
"I promise", the Doctor insists.
"There's a Sonterun. Sontaran".
"Did he see you?", the Doctor asks.
"No, he's got his back to me".
I take the phone from his hands. "Right, Donna, listen. On the back of his neck, on his collar there's a sort of plug, like a hole. The Probic blow to the Probic vent knocks them out". He looks at me surprised, but he doesn't correct me.
"But he's going to kill me", Donna says, worriedly. She didn't have to go through this, I'm so mad at the Doctor.
"I'm sorry. I swear I'm so sorry, but you've got to try", the Doctor insists.
There's a pause, and then Donna's smug voice returns. "Back of the neck", she repeats.
"Now then, you got to find the external junction feed to the teleport..." he starts, and I'm distracted by movement on the bigger office outside the glass panel. What is UNIT doing now?
I take a quick look at the monitors, but then almost every officer is leaving, and Colonel Mace comes back, armed. This doesn't look good.
"Counter attack", he says.
"I said, you don't stand a chance", the Doctor repeats angrily.
"Positions. That means everyone", Mace replies, unfazed. He tosses us gas masks.
"You're not going without me", Martha says.
"Wouldn't dream of it", the Doctor replies, picking up his coat.
Outside, I thank for the gas mask, because the air is now really thick and filled with gas.
"Bullets with a rad-steel coating. No copper surface. Should overcome the cordolaine signal", Mace explains.
"But the Sontarans have got lasers", I say.
"You can't even see in this fog. The night vision doesn't work", the Doctor adds, worried. Martha is just, well, basically just standing by.
"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you for your lack of faith. But this time, I'm not listening", Mace says, removing his gas mask. "Attention, all troops. The Sontarans might think of us as primitive, as does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more. From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back, and we show them. We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do. Trap One to Hawk Major. Go, go, go".
There is a sudden massive downdraft, that starts blowing the gas away. I suddenly feel a sting at the back of my head. I hope it's not another headache.
"It's working. The area's clearing. Engines to maximum", Mace orders, and the fog clears a little more, and I look up, recognizing the shape in the sky.
"It's the Valiant", I whisper to the Doctor.
"UNIT Carrier Ship Valiant reporting for duty, Doctor. With engines strong enough to clear away the fog", Mace confirms.
"Whoa, that's brilliant!", the Doctor grins, removing his mask. I scratch my head - so the Master's ship is back and I get a headache. Guess that makes sense. What doesn't make sense, and gets my suspicion on alert, is Martha's reaction in seeing the ship where her family was kept hostage for a year.
Which is... None. No reaction at all. And I'm guessing it's not because she's been working with UNIT and now familiar with the ship. That's enough for me, that's not the Martha Jones I know.
As the attack goes on and the Valiant fires at the factory, I notice the Doctor looking at Martha too, then he looks at me, nodding seriously with his yeah I know face.
We run inside following UNIT troops, but as soon as we're in, the Doctor takes a turn to go downstairs.
"Shouldn't we follow the Colonel?", Martha asks.
"Nah, you, Zoe and me, Martha Jones. Just like old times", he says, following a signal on the sonic. We run downstairs, no Sontarans in sight. They must have all run to battle upstairs.
As soon as the Doctor sonics the lab door open, I rush to the cot where the real Martha is laying unconscious.
"Still alive", I check, while the Doctor leans over her. "Oh, Martha, I'm so sorry", he says, while the other points a gun at the Doctor's head.
"Am I supposed to be impressed?", he says, smugly.
"Wish you carried a gun now?".
"Not at all", he says. I'm still reaching for the laser screwdriver, though.
"I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time", she says, smiling.
"Doing exactly what he wanted. We wanted to stop the missiles, just as much as the Sontarans. The Doctor is not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent". I tell her as I realize what's been going on.
She looks surprised. "When did you know?", she asks him.
"About you? Oh, right from the start. Reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple. And, frankly, you smell. You might as well have worn a T shirt saying clone. Although, maybe not too respectful in front of Zoe. And certainly dangerous in front of Captain Jack. You remember him, don't you? Because you've got all her memories. That's why the Sontarans had to protect her, to keep you inside UNIT. Martha Jones is keeping you alive", he finishes, and nods at me.
I take the device off Martha's head, and the clone collapses. He kicks the gun away.
"It's all right, it's all right, I'm here, I'm here. I've got you, I've got you", he says, hugging Martha as she struggles to breathe, frantic.
"There was this thing, Doctor, this alien, with this... head".
She looks at me while the Doctor steps back to answer the phone.
"Oh, my God. That's me", she says, looking at the clone laying down.
My head starts spinning and I blink vividly to stay on my feet. Everything around me seems fading, and the Doctor's and the two Martha's voices become muffled. Don't worry, the voice in my head says. Why is this happening again? I hold onto a pillar. Maybe it's that Martha clone thing that makes me sick. Clonation, again. Clonation... Clonefeed...
"...Clonefeed!", the Doctor says, and the voice becomes clearer.
"What's clonefeed?", Martha asks.
"Like amniotic fluid for Sontarans. That's why they're not invading".
"They're converting the atmosphere, changing the planet into a clone world. Earth becomes a great big hatchery. Because the Sontarans are clones, that's how they reproduce. Give them a planet this big, they'll create billions of new soldiers. The gas isn't poison, it's food", I say, the Doctor looks at me with wide eyes.
"Are you okay?".
"Mmh. Think so", I say, but I notice I'm still holding onto the pillar as If I would fall otherwise.
Martha takes back her engagement ring from her dying clone and gives me a sympatethic look, when we hear Donna's voice.
"Doctor. Blue switches done, but they've found me", she says shaking.
"Now!", the Doctor says, zapping the teleport cabin, and Donna appears out of nowhere.
"Have I ever told you how much I hate you?", she spats, hugging him.
"Hold on, hold on. Get off me, get off me. Got to bring the Tardis down", he says, shaking off Donna to zap the teleport again. "Right, now. Martha, you coming?".
"What about this nuclear launch thing?", she asks, as I step into the teleport pod.
"Just keep pressing N. We want to keep those missiles on the ground".
"There's two of them", Donna says, unbelievingly.
"Yeah, long story", he cuts off. "Here we go. The old team, back together. Well, the new team".
"We're not going back on that ship!", Donna protests. She did well on there, but she's still a bit shaky, no wonder she's still scared.
"No, no, no. No. I needed to get the teleport working so that we could get to... Here. The Rattigan Academy, owned by-"
There's a kid pointing a gun at us.
"Don't tell anyone what I did. It wasn't my fault, the Sontarans lied to me, they-", he says, panicking, and the Doctor barely acknowledges him. He steps past him, taking the gun from his hand and throwing it away.
"If I see one more gun...", he snorts.
I give the kid a look. "Is that the spoiled one you were talking about earlier?".
"Oh, he's all yours", the Doctor smiles at me.
"Well isn't this quite a playground", I say as we enter the lab room, and the Doctor starts looking around. I have the feeling I know what he's searching for.
"That's why the Sontarans had to stop the missiles. They were holding back. Because caesofine gas is volatile, that's why they had to use Martha to stop the nuclear attack. Ground to air engagement could spark off the whole thing".
"What, like set fire to the atmosphere?", Martha asks.
"Yeah. They need all the gas intact to breed their clone army. And all the time we had Luke here in his dream factory".
"Planning a little trip, were we?", I ask him, getting my hands on a large machine shaped like a little rocket.
"They promised me a new world".
"You were building equipment, ready to terraform El Mondo Luko so that humans could live there and breathe the air... with this".
"What's that?", Donna asks.
"It's an atmospheric converter", I explain.
We all run outside, despite the Valiant arrival before the air around London is thicker than ever. Donna looks at the fading shape of the London Eye with a worried look. "That's London. You can't even see it. My family's in there", she says.
"If I can get this on the right setting", he says, wriggling his hand so I give him the laser screwdriver to try instead of his sonic, then he switches for the sonic again.
"Doctor, hold on. You said the atmosphere would ignite", Martha says.
"Yeah, I did, didn't I?", he says, finally activating the converter. I'm sure it's going to work, but the Doctor is literally keeping his fingers crossed as we watch the fireball spreading in the upper atmosphere.
"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please", he's repeating.
"He's a genius", Rattigan says once the air is clear and we can all breathe again. The sky over London is clear and blue.
"Just brilliant", Martha adds.
The Doctor looks at me with a hint of sadness. "Now we're in trouble", I say, and we all walk back in until we're at the teleport again, the Doctor still holding the device.
"Right", he says, taking a deep breath. "So, Zoe, you know how this goes. You'll be great", he adds, with a sad smile. "Donna, thank you for everything. Martha, you too. Oh, so many times. Luke, do something clever with your life", he says quickly, and I know what's happening.
"You're saying goodbye", Donna whispers, confused.
"Sontarans are never defeated. They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know, I've recalibrated this for Sontaran air, so...", the Doctor explains.
"You're going to ignite them", Martha says.
"You'll kill yourself", Donna realizes.
"Just send that thing up on it's own. I don't know... Put it on a delay", Martha pleads, looking at me in search for support, which I'm not giving.
The Doctor looks at me. "I can't", he just says.
"Why not?", Donna asks.
"Because he's got to give them a choice", I admit out loud, even if the amount of rage in my mind is reaching dangerous levels. I mean, I could do that. It doesn't have to be him.
And yet, I understand why he's going to do it himself.
He gives me a faint smile, sighing, and teleports away.
Timelines crash into my mind as every single one of them adjusts to the possibility of the Doctor dying now, but they just come and go. Not one of them seems clearer.
"I can't believe you let him go like that", Martha says.
Donna is speechless.
And then, with the corner of my eye, I see Rattigan meddling with the teleport controls.
"What are you doing?", Donna asks him.
"Something clever", he says, then, in the blink of an eye, he's replaced by the Doctor, who's surprised and relieved and confused and still catching breath.
I smile as I watch him sit at the edge of the teleport cabin, while Martha goes to hug him. Donna walks over and slaps his arm, then hugs him too.
I stand back and wink at him, he just smiles.
We go back to the Tardis and move it to Donna's house, where she's talking to her family. Martha is on the phone, with Tom I presume.
The Doctor gives me a wary look, and sighs. It's like he's afraid to ask but he knows I'm going to say something anyway.
"Was it, or was it not, your plan from the start to have the Tardis teleported on the Sontaran's ship?".
"Pretty much, yeah", he admits.
"Then why send Donna? She was terrified, Doctor".
"I know. I had no choice".
I stay silent. We both know what's bothering me.
"Is it about the necklace? I went to visit Chloe and you don't trust me anymore?".
"I just gave you a Tardis key", he says, puzzled, a bit offended too. "I do trust you. But as long as you keep having these... blackouts... you're, I mean, uhm, you're...".
"I'm not having blackouts lately", I lie blatantly.
"Liar", he says, with an ironic grin. "You don't faint, but it's like your mind is elsewhere. I can feel it. It happened just now and it happened even while we were together - not really amusing, if I have to say", he snorts. "I wish I could, really, but I just can't rely on you as long as you don't find a way to fix this", he says, gesturing widely around my head.
Now, it's been established by a long time and list of examples that the Doctor is a rude person, innit?
"Oh. Well, great, thanks".
"Zoe, please. I'm just worried about you".
"You were so worried that you were going to blow up that Sontaran ship yourself! Nevermind me, but what about Donna and Martha if you were gone?".
"Donna and Martha would have been just fine. Grieving, I would expect, but-".
"Oh, please".
"Zoe!", he shouts, grabbing my arm until we're inches apart. "You know me in the future", he reminds me.
Wow. That's just plain ridiculous. I slap him as hard as I can.
"Since when is that reassuring about the fact that you're not going to die anytime soon? Time can be rewritten and blah blah blah? That's just a cheap excuse and you know it".
"Can't you just admit that I'm right and you were more worried about what would this damaged version of you do without me instead of blaming me for doing the right thing?".
That's it. That's too much.
"Tell you what? I may be damaged and I may be unrealiable, but I think I'm doing just fine", I mock him. "And I think I'd do just fine on my own too. So how about we drop Martha home and then you can drop me anywhere you want? I'm sure your life on the Tardis would be perfect without this little inconvenience of you having to worry this much about me".
He looks at me, petrified. He opens his mouth to say something and oh, dear, I hope it's an apology, I hope he wants to ask me to stay, please, and I'm half thinking that if he doesn't say anything then I will apologize and tell him I'm sorry, but right then I spot Martha looking at us with an embarassed look and Donna is coming back to the Tardis, and of course an instant later we're all pretending this never happened.
Great.
"How were they?", Martha asks.
"Oh, same old stuff. They're fine. So, you going to come with us? We're not exactly short of space", Donna invites. For an instant I dread her answer, even though I've missed Martha and I sure would like to talk to her more.
"Oh, I have missed all this, but, you know. I'm good here, back at home. And I'm better for having been away. Besides, someone needs me. Never mind the universe, I've got a great big world of my own now", she says.
But then, the wooden door slams shut on its own and the time rotor activates, throwing everyone around.
"What? What?", I ask.
"Doctor, don't you dare!", Martha screams.
"No, no, no. I didn't touch anything. We're in flight. It's not me".
"Where are we going?", Donna asks.
"I don't know. It's out of control!", he insists.
"Doctor, just listen to me. You take me home. Take me home right now!".
Great. Just. Great.
There's this big original adventure I'm writing and I don't know whether to put it before or after or instead of Jenny's chapters. suggestions?