Exhale
Summary: There's a mysterious teen with a penchant for saving Martha Jones. Who is he? Why does he keep helping her? And what's his connection to her? Martha is in for one big surprise as she tries to unravel the mystery. A surprise that may end up saving the universe.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.
Martha's back was pressed to a wall as a Zygon started to target her. In her ear was a headset and it buzzed with other UNIT members trying to reach her location. The medical officer grind her teeth as the alien moved to choke her. She ducked out of its reach, only to have the blue alien get hit from behind. “Alright there?” A male voice asked. For a minute it sounded like the Doctor, but the voice was lower.
“Fine. Thanks for the help.” She replied as she stood up. Her brown eyes narrowed at the teenager across from her. He smiled, shoved something in his pocket and tilted his head. It was a familiar gesture. The teen's skin was olive toned, he had dark brown eyes, an angular face and black hair that stuck up in every direction. “How did you get in here?”
He shrugged. “I've got ways.” He replied evasively. Martha frowned as she took in the boy's clothing- teal blue converse trainers, black trousers, teal blue long sleeve button down shirt, a black vest fastened over it and a knee length black overcoat. He looked more like he should be working and not near aliens.
“Have you got a name?” Martha asked as she bent over the unconscious Zygon. UNIT was going to have fun rounding up this nest. Though, to be fair they should have left this planet twice now. Her headset buzzed asking for a status report from her.
The teen shrugged, “Got plenty of them.” He's dark brown eyes stared down the empty corridor of the house they were in. “Your men will be here in a few minutes.”
“How do you know that?” Martha asked as she stood up, holding an alien device in hand.
He chuckled, “I just do. See you Doctor Jones.” Martha looked at him startled as he pulled his right sleeve up and pressed a button on a Vortex Manipulator. Where the hell did he get that? How did he know who she was? She glanced from where he had stood to her outfit, her badge wasn't visible at all.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
The next time Martha was saved by the teen, she had been trapped in a cave. Someone accidentally caused a cave-in separating her from the rest of UNIT. The aliens they were hunting, Gyams, were nesting insects that were killing off the humans that wondered into the cave. They literally ate every bit of tissue and meat off the human bones. More than a dozen missing explorers were linked to them.
UNIT was there with the purpose of disposing of the hostile aliens. Martha cursed softly, as she kept her flashlight aimed around her. Gyams were not creatures she wanted to die facing. The Clades were a better choice, if she had to pick. After looking around, she decided to take one of the pathways, she needed to get out of here. The medical officer decided to take the right, it was normally a good place to start in mazes.
“I wouldn't go that direction.” A voice called out in the dark. Martha literally felt her heart speed up.
“What? Why not?” She asked as she aimed her light in the direction of the voice. The same teen that had helped her out weeks before was back.
He was digging around in his over coat pockets, “Ooo, here we are.” He pulled out a torch which he then turned on. “Artificial torch. Much better than that flashlight.”
“That shouldn't have fit in those pockets, mate.” Martha retorted. She didn't know why she trusted him, but she did. Her instincts never led her astray before. Besides, the last time someone pulled something out of their pockets that shouldn't have fit...it had been the Doctor. If this teen was the Doctor, he didn't act like it. At least he wasn't acknowledging her like they had traveled together before.
He shrugged as he waved the light to the left pathway. “This leads to the exit and the Gyams nest. I can negotiate with them so they leave Earth, unless you really want to kill them.”
“If they will leave, I'm all for not killing them.” He grinned at that. “So, am I going to get a proper name?” She asked as she followed his lead. Martha heard him chuckle as he ducked his head to pass through a low ceiling area.
“Not this time.” He reached back and grabbed one of her hands. “And before you ask, yes I do enjoy helping you Doctor Jones.”
Martha raised an eyebrow. “Why the secrecy?” He turned the light out and pressed his back against the wall. Martha, thankful for her black military gear, imitated him. The visible entrance way was soon passed by green humanoid creatures with antennas on their head and thin wings attached to their back. The teen squeezed her hand and they waited until the sounds of wings flipping passed them by.
“They're attracted to light, which is why all those humans disappeared. They always create fires or carry flashlights.” He informed her. “They eat humans because they feel as though they're protecting their territory. Though, I guess humans taste good as well. Can't imagine how, they're rather stringy with all that muscle and fatty tissues.”
Martha pulled her hand from the teens and punched him in the arm. “Alien are you?”
“Ow, that's gonna bruise!” He replied. Dark brown eyes glanced at her smaller frame. “I was joking, mostly. I have heard humans are really stringy and not meaty enough.”
“What sort of alien are you?” Martha asked as he grabbed her hand again. “Your people think its fun to eat humans? Why help me?”
The teen chuckled again as he tucked the torch away. “Trust me, eating humans was not something my people did. Unless you count the cannibalism in human history and that's from my mum's side.”
“Half-human then?”
The teen shrugged, “I don't admit it to often. Stick with my dad's genes really.” He turned the torch back on. “Come on, we're getting close. We just have to negotiate with Queen and then you're out of here.” He paused and then frowned, “Actually, let's get you out of here first.”
“No way! Besides, if you really wanted me out of here, you've got a Vortex Manipulator.” Martha retorted stubbornly. She didn't fancy the idea of leaving him alone to deal with the other aliens. Something about that idea, didn't sit well at all. It was like the Doctor always trying to keep her out of danger by making use of her medical skills. Or just plain using her as a distraction while he dealt with the more dangerous enemy.
“It's dangerous and they could kill you. I won't be able to protect you the entire time we're in there.”
Martha pulled her hands away and crossed her arms. “I can handle myself. Besides, I'm not going to be responsible for your death. What do I tell your parents? Do they even know where you are?”
“Oh, they know.” He muttered as he frowned down at the petite woman. “Fine, stick close to me and don't offend them.”
The military doctor was confused on that, offend them how? She started walking quickly to catch up with the alien teen. “What do you-”
“Not now.” He held the torch out to her and she took it. Martha watched as he started going through his pockets again. He pulled out what Martha was sure was a sonic screwdriver. Then he pulled out a tiny bell. “In case things go bad. Run. To the left is the exit from the nest and to your UNIT people. Just look for the opening when we go in.”
“What about you?” Martha muttered. She hated not having a part to play at the moment.
He ran a hand through his hair, “Oh I'll be fine.” Honestly, Martha had forgotten about UNIT. Her commlink had been smashed when it fell out of her ear earlier doing the cave-in. He handed her the sonic screwdriver, and took back the torch. Finally, he gave her the bell. “Sonic-ing the bell will create a sound wave that knocks them unconscious. Long enough for UNIT to get them into custody.”
“What about the cave?” She didn't want there to be another collapse while they were inside.
He sent her a grin. “Completely stable, they would have made sure of that.”
Martha's curiosity on who and what the teen were was piqued as she watched him deal with the Queen of the Gyams. The insects had surrounded them and yet, the teen had been completely unafraid. As if this happened to him before and more than once. Martha eyed the crowd that was watching them, the teen was giving them an ultimatum to leave Earth before they found out who defended this planet.
Something about what the teen was doing rung bells in Martha's mind. There was no way this teen was...he was like the Doctor. He wasn't the Doctor, that Martha was sure.
The Queen of the Gyams agreed to leave Earth, if someone repaired their ship. Martha half expected the teen to look to her help, but he didn't. He merely nodded. “Can you do it? I can always call the Doctor.” She whispered to him as the swarm turned their attention back to their Queen.
Call the Doctor, something she hadn't done in the past nine months since she left him. She knew he'd pop in and fix the ship without pausing for breath as he talked to her. The teen raised an eyebrow at that, before shaking his head. A few of the other Gyams had watched over the two of them as the teen worked. Half an hour later and the ship was roaring to life. “Oh, I am so awesome.” He muttered to himself.
“And so modest.” Martha replied elbowing him, a relieved smile on her lips.
He tucked the sonic into his vest pockets and the torch back into his coat pocket. “You're abusive.”
“Am I?” The medical officer asked as she crossed her arms. They were outside the door of a giant rock designed door.
He grinned, the smile didn't meet his eyes but his teeth showed through his full lips. “Nah, let's get out of here before the cave collapses.” Martha didn't get to reply as he activated his Vortex Manipulator. She landed on the other side of the cave entrance. “Your people are over there. I'll see you later Doctor Jones. Get them out of here.” He activated the Manipulator again and disappeared in a flash of white light.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
“He's on our side.” Martha informed the former Time Agent as he eyed the teen holding on to her. They were inside the Pharm in Cardiff. The teen had showed up not long after Martha had been injected with a double dose of reset. Jack's gun had been aimed at the teen when he had burst into the door. Martha leaned against the alien rather weak and shaky. The alien had used some type of device to erase the two mayflies that had been in her body.
Jack put his gun down when he realized that Copley and his assistant were both handcuffed and gagged. “Wow, how the hell did you get here before us?”
The teen smirked, but didn't reply. Instead he turned his attention to Martha. “Are you alright?” She nodded a hand rubbing a slight ache on the right side of her chest. “I'm wary of leaving you in Torchwood's capable hands.”
“We wouldn't hurt Doctor Jones.” Owen pointed out as Jack's eyes narrowed. Why did this kid distrust Torchwood? The Leader of Torchwood Three noticed something about the teen- his eyes were the same shape and his lips just as full as Martha's own.
Martha tried to pull away from the teen. “I can stand on my own.”
“No doubt about that,” The teen replied. His brown eyes conveyed worry as he let Martha stand on her own.
“Jack, the others?” Owen reminded him. He had noticed the similarities as well. The group headed outside the building as Jack gave orders into a headset. The teen frowned as Jack had his team literally wipe the Pharm off the map. Martha shook her head, but said nothing. How Torchwood did things was different from UNIT. The teen grabbed Martha's hand and he squeezed it before he released it.
“Captain Harkness,” The teen called out. “Anything happens to her that can't be undone and I'll drop you into the sun.” Jack raised an eye brow, but smirked. “See you Doc-”
“Wait.” Martha breathed out as she clutched Jack's coat around her tighter. “Why not stick around this time?”
He raised an eyebrow, “Maybe next time? I'll think about it. Take care of yourself Doctor Jones.” The alien activated his Vortex Manipulator.
“One day, I'm going to have the Doctor's sonic and I'm going to break that thing.” Jack laughed at Martha's irritation. “He always does that! Never tells me his name. Just swoops in and saves me.”
Jack smiled as he helped Martha climb into the car. He had an idea why the teen never gave a name. And why he was so protective of Martha Jones. Though he did wonder, where the hell did he get a Vortex Manipulator?