Sultry Heat
Rose was more than willing to follow wherever the Doctor led, eager even. Usually that meant excitement, danger and running for your life, and in one case hopping for their lives.
But this time, following the Doctor, her hand firmly grasped in his larger one, she was more than simply eager to follow, she was trembling with the NEED to go where he ( Read more... )
But this time, following the Doctor, her hand firmly grasped in his larger one, she was more than simply eager to follow, she was trembling with the NEED to go where he ( Read more... )
Rose was leading them down a well worn path. “He might play who’s got the bigger brain bit, but I felt… I dunno. I can’t explain it. I just… Needed to get away.”
Rose didn’t know why she was explaining herself. Maybe because Martha was part of an exclusive group. People who traveled with the Doctor.
“Protective he can do. He’s got cause here. This island is completely mentle. We’re all kinda stuck. We’ve got these… things attacking in the dark, killin’ people, and people kidnapping some of us for experiments and people from all times and places just popping up. But I dunno what was really goin’ on back there.”
Rose ran her fingers through her still wet hair. “Not to mention all the new thoughts an’ such goin through my head. I never got my A levels, so knowing that the derivative of y with respect to x at a is, geometrically, the slope of the tangent line to the graph of f at a.
I mean, it makes my head hurt. I’m wonderin’ how much of me is ME anymore… and I’m not makin’ much sense am I?”
Rose looked at Martha with a sheepish smile.
“They kidnapped me a couple of weeks ago. Experimented on me. Some of it was fertility experiments. Others... So he can be as protective as he likes. And maybe my hormones are all over the place. But... now I’m rambling as bad as HIM.” She looked up as if seeking divine help.
The two women had walked out of the wood to a long stretch of beach. The sound of the surf created a background shush to people laughing and talking. There was a volleyball game closing up closer to the water, and the smell of salt, fish, grass, smoke and sweat filled the air. Dozens of makeshift shelters in many different shapes and forms littered the area, with no real set plan or formation.
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Parts confused her - like Rose feeling Nine's emotions and having odd thoughts in her head - but Martha would find out about it later. If the Doctor wouldn't tell her, it was clear that Rose would.
Rose didn't know how lucky she was to be treated like a prize, fought over by two (the same?) man. All Martha wanted was to be seen and appreciated and noticed for who and what she was - she thought she and the Doctor were there finally and now all she could do was worry that she'd take a backseat to the flesh and blood version of Rose Tyler as well as the mysterious Time Lady Romana.
(The girl doesn't know how good she's got it,) Martha thought bitterly. A little voice chided her about the grass being greener and Martha ruthlessly suppressed it. As always, she kept her thoughts and opinions to herself; with her family, she'd learned early in life how to do that.
When Rose began going on about the dangers of the place where they landed - (Got dumped without the TARDIS), Martha corrected herself mentally - the envy and bitterness took a back seat to curiosity, worry, and a mild bit of panic.
For a long moment, Martha stared at the primitive survivalist camp without really seeing it or the people. Giving herself a mental shake, her eyes drawn incredulously to the volleyball game, she asked, "Exactly where are we and how long have you been here? Most importantly, where's his TARDIS and why haven't any of you lot left?"
The latter was the most pressing question. Deep inside, Martha knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it.
Kidnapped, experimented on, creatures killing in the dark and Nine and Rose were still here. That didn't sound like the Doctor she knew, but then again, considering what she just learned about him, Rose Tyler and their relationship, maybe she didn't know the Doctor at all.
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Rose walked out onto the sand. There was a nice breeze out here, making it feel much cooler after the heat of the jungle. “We can’t leave. The Island is uncharted, evidently, and no one can find us through the six moth phase of the bubble we’re in. We’ve attempted to get messages out. The Doctor and Rodney may have gotten one out, but if they did the outside world is still trying to figure out how to get in. The magnetic field here fluctuates as well. So while the Tardis powers up, it’s also being drained. So it is going to be months before we can break free and get to Cardiff. We’re working on getting out of here, but at the same time, we’re trying to make being here livable. We’ve got some pretty big brains working on attempts to get us out of here, and make use of the alien technology here.”
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She shivered, and not from the ocean breeze at the mention of being trapped and unable to leave. It reminded her too much of another time (literally), and even then it hadn't been so bad because they knew they'd get out (back) eventually. Martha hugged herself, fingers running over the soft sleeves of her favorite, familiar jacket.
There wasn't much to say about what Rose told her. Martha knew that stranger things had happened, and with two versions of the Doctor and a Time Lady, maybe the scales had just tipped in their favor.
"When you say alien technology, I'm assuming you mean not native to earth in 2004?" Martha asked. She turned to the ocean. It was beautiful and peaceful, hard to believe that anything this beautiful and peaceful could be as dangerous as Rose described. However, Martha knew that looks could be quite deceiving.
"Yeah," Rose agreed.
"Sounds like Torchwood would love -" Martha stopped, something else that Rose said coming back to her at the moment. Her gaze whipped around to Rose, excitement filling her for the first time since waking under The Stone Mushroom. "Wait a minute, did you say that Jack is here? Captain Jack Harkness?"
True he probably wasn't *her* Jack, but it would be good to see him even if he didn't know her. (Besides, introductions and getting acquainted have never been a problem for Jack.)
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“How do you know Jack?”
Jack appeared to be assessing the other new people on the beach from a distance. River didn’t seem overly upset.
Just then the teen turned to look in their direction. Her dark eyes locked with Rose’s, then Martha’s. But she went back to watching Jack watch the others.
“He’s been seducing half the beach. I don’t know how he does it, but no one seems to get jealous or upset. Even when he gets rejected, he’s still all charm and sweetness.” Rose shook her head at Jack.
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Martha didn't miss the odd eye-contact moment with the dark haired, slip of a girl, but Rose didn't appear to be concerned or alarmed, so Martha ignored it for the moment. It went on her list of Things to Consider Later. (The list,) Martha noted, (Is getting overly long.)
"He traveled with us," Martha explained. "He hitched a ride, rather. I liked him at once, you know? He was just that way. And he saw me." Martha's voice trailed off for a bit as she remembered how easy it was to fall into a friendship and a rhythm with Jack, "He really saw me, made me feel special and appreciated, like I was there for a reason and not just an afterthought."
Martha studied her shoes, realizing that she'd revealed more than she ever intended. All smiles, weak as they were, again, Martha pushed back the bittersweet memories and hurried on, "Not that he'll know me at all, but it'll be fun to meet him all over again."
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So, Martha wasn't feeling appreciated, and here she was all upset about being treated like an object and not a person.
"Looks like we all have our own problems. Don't know why you aren't appreciated. You seem nice to me. Gotta be smart and resourceful, with a spirit of adventure to have the Doctor invite you along. He wouldn't take ya if you weren't up to snuff."
Roe didn't know why he was initially jealous of Martha. That wasn't her Doctor, and really, she knew he needed a hand to hold. She wouldn't want him alone. Even another version of him. He deserved company, friendship, even more. So why did her stomach twist at that last. Because she was being a silly ape.
"Why don't we go over and you can re-meet Jack?"
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Martha didn't lie and she wouldn't dwell, not right here and not right now. It wasn't Rose's fault that Martha dropped into the Doctor's life at the wrong time - or more accurately that the Judoon showed up in Martha's carefully ordered life and dropped the Doctor and his TARDIS and adventures in Martha's lap. But, Martha made her choice when she went back along for the ride, and maybe a few days past the novelty of seeing Rose - if they were here even that long - she and the Doctor would get back on the same page again.
"Yeah, let's go meet Jack, again. I think it'll be nice to be the one in the know this time 'round."
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However, if you feel the urge to do it first, don't let me stop you
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