She's not a big fan of Rose, but it's for reasons beyond the other girl's control and Martha knows that. It's not Rose's fault that Martha is constantly compared to her, standing in her shadow. And she obviously needs help.
Still it is frustrating that she's here now. In a situation she can't just walk away from.
"Rose?" She approaches, placing a gentle hand on the girl's arm. "I'd ask if you were all right, but that seems to answer itself."
Rose jumps a little, startled at the contact, and stares at Martha with pain-filled eyes.
After a moment of silent staring, confused, she takes a couple of deep breaths, trying to steady herself. "I know you," she says softly. "I've seen you before. Who are you?"
And we're not just talking from her last time in the Inn, either - Martha's cousin was at Canary Wharf, after all.
Her hand remains on the girl's arm despite the fact that it had startled her so, obviously, she needs help to keep steady. "We just met yesterday, you, me, the Doctor... don't you, remember? Or..." She sighs and places her free hand against her forehead. "I bet time's been all mixed up again. I can't even try to keep track of it."
Rose's breath catches in her chest, and she closes her eyes against more tears, distracting herself by trying her damnedest to remember where she knows this girl from.
"Martha... Jones. Martha Jones. And I met you... you and the Doctor, back... and Canary Wharf." Her eyes fly open. "You were at Canary Wharf. I saw you."
"What? No, but... I never..." Martha hesitates and then shakes her head in silent disbelief. "I can't believe it, that you... were there, but that was probably my cousin, Adeola that you saw at Canary Wharf. People mistake us for each other all the time. Or... they used to anyway, before she... disappeared."
Rose presses a hand over her mouth for a moment. Oh god. She doesn't know.
"Martha... she died. The Cybermen killed her."
Oh, god, how could the Doctor not tell her? But then... why would he, after all? He never was one for disclosing information like that if he didn't have to.
"I... oh." Martha's voice grows very quiet and she has to swallow, because her throat feels so tight. "I figured, to be honest. I mean she was just... gone, y'know? Nothing. No note, no anything."
She raises an eyebrow and tilts her head to the right. "But how did you... know? Were you- You weren't there, were you?"
Because that would mean that the Doctor was probably there and that he knew, and God.
She swallows hard, willing herself not to cry. It's hard, but she's managing so far. "We... we stopped it. We sent them all back to the void, closed the rift."
Her eyes focus on nothing over Martha's shoulder. She's seeing him, again, awkward, lanky, trying so hard to not let on how much he was hurting, telling her that he was killing a star, just for her.
Martha bites her lip hard, taking in a deep breath, and then she squeezes Rose's arm and leads her to the nearest chair, because this girl clearly needs to sit down.
"We closed the rift, like I said. Forever. With him on one side and... and me on the other."
Breathing. Breathing is good. Breathing is necessary if she's ever going to find a way to get through the rift without destroying both worlds. Not that she thinks she'll be able to.
"Oh, I'm in London. Parallel universe. Me'n Mum. Well, and Mickey. It's where the Cybermen came from. We'd been there before, accidentally, and it... I don't know."
Her voice is quavering. "Then Torchwood started playing with the rift, and it opened more and more and the Daleks and the Cybermen got through. And we had to open it, let the void suck them all back in. It would close the rift forever, when it did that. And Mum was on the other side, with Pete - my dad, only in the parallel world. He died in mine, when I was a baby. Um... and I'm really going on, I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine." Martha hesitates, and then moves to sit next to her. "I'm sorry about your dad."
She takes in a deep breath. "So you know where you are and you have family there?" Martha nods slowly. "Then you will be all right in the end. It will hurt like bloody hell for a long time, maybe the rest of your life, but you'll be all right."
She's not a big fan of Rose, but it's for reasons beyond the other girl's control and Martha knows that. It's not Rose's fault that Martha is constantly compared to her, standing in her shadow. And she obviously needs help.
Still it is frustrating that she's here now. In a situation she can't just walk away from.
"Rose?" She approaches, placing a gentle hand on the girl's arm. "I'd ask if you were all right, but that seems to answer itself."
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After a moment of silent staring, confused, she takes a couple of deep breaths, trying to steady herself. "I know you," she says softly. "I've seen you before. Who are you?"
And we're not just talking from her last time in the Inn, either - Martha's cousin was at Canary Wharf, after all.
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Her hand remains on the girl's arm despite the fact that it had startled her so, obviously, she needs help to keep steady. "We just met yesterday, you, me, the Doctor... don't you, remember? Or..." She sighs and places her free hand against her forehead. "I bet time's been all mixed up again. I can't even try to keep track of it."
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"Martha... Jones. Martha Jones. And I met you... you and the Doctor, back... and Canary Wharf." Her eyes fly open. "You were at Canary Wharf. I saw you."
Distraction, of any sort, is good.
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"Martha... she died. The Cybermen killed her."
Oh, god, how could the Doctor not tell her? But then... why would he, after all? He never was one for disclosing information like that if he didn't have to.
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She raises an eyebrow and tilts her head to the right. "But how did you... know? Were you- You weren't there, were you?"
Because that would mean that the Doctor was probably there and that he knew, and God.
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She swallows hard, willing herself not to cry. It's hard, but she's managing so far. "We... we stopped it. We sent them all back to the void, closed the rift."
Her eyes focus on nothing over Martha's shoulder. She's seeing him, again, awkward, lanky, trying so hard to not let on how much he was hurting, telling her that he was killing a star, just for her.
"We closed it forever."
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It's not hard to see that Rose is not focused on the moment. The Doctor tends to do that to a person.
"... are you going to be all right?"
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I made my decision a long time ago, and I'm never gonna leave you.
She can breathe. Really she can. "I don't..."
Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life.
She's just not sure if she can, anymore. Not without him.
"I don't know."
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"What's happened?"
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Breathing. Breathing is good. Breathing is necessary if she's ever going to find a way to get through the rift without destroying both worlds. Not that she thinks she'll be able to.
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She knows from experience how difficult that is.
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Her voice is quavering. "Then Torchwood started playing with the rift, and it opened more and more and the Daleks and the Cybermen got through. And we had to open it, let the void suck them all back in. It would close the rift forever, when it did that. And Mum was on the other side, with Pete - my dad, only in the parallel world. He died in mine, when I was a baby. Um... and I'm really going on, I'm sorry."
It's easier to just talk, than think.
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She takes in a deep breath. "So you know where you are and you have family there?" Martha nods slowly. "Then you will be all right in the end. It will hurt like bloody hell for a long time, maybe the rest of your life, but you'll be all right."
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She takes a deep breath. "I'll survive, yeah. There's a big difference between surviving and living, though."
And she'd seen that. The Doctor, when she met him, no matter what he said, was just surviving. And then she saw him start living.
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