Library
Who_Daily Link: < a href="http://persiflage-1.livejournal.com/203631.html">Library by < lj user=persiflage_1> (Characters: Martha/Ten, Colonel Mace, OC | Rating: NC-17 | Spoilers: None)
Title: Library
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Martha/Ten, Colonel Mace, OC
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: None
Prompt: 100 - Writer's Choice: Library
Summary: Martha and the Doctor chase an alien with a nasty device to a university library.
Disclaimer: I occasionally wish that I did own it!
Author Notes: This fic is a holiday gift for fourzoas - happy holidays my dear, and thanks for sharing the Who love with me! fourzoas requested Ten/Martha--some adventure set in a university. Secksings optional. The plot bunnies went demented!!
This is one of a series of follow up fics to the "30 Days with Martha Jones" series. It's an AU verse in which Martha and Jack are an established couple, although Jack's still with Ianto and Martha's still engaged to Tom. However Martha and Tom have decided to pursue an open relationship since they're on separate continents a lot of the time. Martha is also in the early days of a rather timey-wimey relationship with the Doctor which spans his 10th, 11th and 12th incarnations.
Beta: The lovely radiantbaby.
~~~~~~
Martha followed the quiet beeping of the tracking device in her hand; the Doctor had lashed up two of them in the TARDIS lab in less than an hour, and she'd watched, fascinated as ever, by his ability to create something useful out of the random bits and pieces he had at hand.
Two hours earlier
"It's not exactly elegant," he said, a rueful expression on his face as he peered at it through his black-framed glasses, "but it is functional, and that's more important right now."
"How does it work?" Martha asked, peering at the round object festooned with odd bits of wire that was sitting on the bench in front of them.
He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer as he began to point out the various controls, and she tried hard to concentrate on what he was telling her. She wondered if he knew that listening to him when he was in 'Science Geek' mode was a huge turn on for her, especially when he was wearing his glasses, and she was already aroused.
"Did you get all that?" he asked, interrupting her reverie.
"I think so," she answered. "This button turns it on and off, this dial is to calibrate the direction finder to see where the signal is coming from, and this LED will go red if I move away from the SRT device, and green when I'm close to it. In addition, it'll beep while following the signal."
"Exactly," he said, beaming delightedly. He picked up the device and put it in her hand, then picked up the second, before pulling off his glasses. "Right, let's see if we can track down Mr Destrai, shall we?"
Now
As she followed the beeping of the device, Martha couldn't help thinking that universities seemed to be remarkably similar whichever part of the galaxy you were in. Featureless corridors punctuated by the occasional door leading into a lecture theatre seemed to be prominent in this particular building.
When the Doctor had turned up a few hours ago, relative time, to invite her to spend the weekend with him, Martha had wondered which incarnation was going to step out of the TARDIS. During the weeks since the Brigadier's 80th birthday party the eleventh incarnation had visited her twice, and the twelfth once, so she no longer assumed it would the tenth who stepped through the doors of the ship when they opened. When it had been her first Doctor on this occasion she'd felt absurdly pleased; she had quickly grown close to both his later incarnations who were, anyway, aspects of the same man, but it was the tenth, tall and skinny with his 'mad scientist' hair and energetic manner, who gave her an extra frisson of pleasure when he appeared.
Whichever incarnation stepped through the doors of the TARDIS, however, she was sure of being enveloped in a bear hug and usually she was greeted with "Hello Martha Jones, when are you?", and after she had told him the date, he would tell her why he'd turned up.
The second time she met the eleventh incarnation after the Brigadier's party, he presented her with a diary in which to keep a record of all her meetings with his various selves as they happened to her, explaining that it would help her to help him keep things straight.
"Martha!" The Doctor's urgent shout cut through the silence and startled her, she'd been so lost in her thoughts as she followed the steadily beeping tracker.
"Here!" she called back, picking up her pace and noticing immediately that the beep from the device was becoming more continuous as she moved further along the corridor.
She turned the corner and saw the Doctor standing in front of two large wood-panelled doors; both the tracking devices were now emitting a continual sound.
"It's in here," he said, rather unnecessarily she thought.
Martha nodded. "What's the plan of action?" she asked.
"This is the library. We'll search it section by section until we find him," the Doctor answered, a grim expression on his face.
"Are we splitting up again, or staying together?"
"Staying together," he answered softly, turning off his device as she turned off her own. "I don't want to risk him injuring you again without knowing about it."
He watched as Martha pocketed her tracker, then pushed open the door. She followed him inside, and suppressed a gasp of awe at the size of the library of the University of Seso Tillit.
"How on Earth are we going to find him?" Martha asked quietly, feeling slightly daunted by the enormity of the task of searching through five immense floors of densely packed bookshelves.
"You're forgetting this," the Doctor answered, holding out his sonic screwdriver. "I've programmed it to track the energy signature of the SRT device." He gave her a small smile. "It will grow warmer to my touch the closer we get."
"And grow colder the further away we get?" she guessed.
"Exactly." He beamed at her, and she smiled back, but they were both aware that Mr Destrai's device could seriously injure either one of them.
Four hours ago
One Friday evening Martha had only been home from work about half an hour when a familiar wheezing, groaning sound emanated from her hallway. She set aside her empty coffee mug, picked up the remote to switch off the news on the TV, then uncurled herself from the sofa.
The TARDIS solidified and the door opened with its customary creak; a blue suited figure stepped out and enveloped her in a hug, picking her up off the ground.
"Hello Martha Jones, when are you?" he asked, setting her back on her feet again, but holding onto her shoulders as he grinned down at her.
"It's six weeks since I saw you at the Brigadier's party," she answered, grinning back up at him.
"Have you seen much of me lately?"
"Three times," she answered. "The most recent visit was from your eleventh self and River."
A fleeting expression of sorrow crossed his face and she leant her cheek against his chest, her arms going around him again. He reciprocated and they held each other for a minute or two.
"Not seeing anyone this weekend, are you?" he asked.
"Not that I'm aware of," she answered. "Jack's busy in Cardiff and I'm not due to go down again for another couple of weeks, and Tom doesn't get here until next weekend."
"Your elusive fiancé?" he asked lightly.
"The very same." She pulled back a little to look up into his face, and he gave her a gentle smile in which there was no trace of jealousy or concern.
"I hope you both enjoy the visit," he said sincerely. "In the meantime, can I tempt you to spend this weekend with me?"
"Well," she began, pretending a reluctance she didn't actually feel. "I don't know. What have you got in mind?"
Before the Doctor could answer, Martha's phone rang and he gave her an enquiring look, aware of how she often ignored her phone.
The answer machine cut in and they both heard the anxious tone in Colonel Mace's voice as he spoke.
"Dr Jones, please contact HQ immediately - " His voice was cut off as she picked up the handset and spoke to him.
"Colonel?" she said questioningly, then listened intently. "All right, I'll be there as soon as I can," she told him.
The Doctor gave her an inquisitive look as she set down the phone. "Trouble?"
She nodded, a grim expression on her face. "UNIT have had a call from someone in Ealing to say that there's a man there terrorising people with some kind of weird weapon."
"Ealing?" echoed the Time Lord, looking horrified.
"Sarah Jane should be safe," she assured him quickly, "he's not near Bannerman Road."
"I'll still come with you," he said, "we'll take the TARDIS."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked. "I thought you told me that she wasn't that good at short hops?"
"As a rule, she's not, but with you aboard - " He broke off to grin at her surprised expression. "She won't have forgotten how you helped her and my twelfth self on the night of the Brigadier's party."
He held open the door of the ship as Martha, who'd grabbed her mobile, keys and a coat, approached.
"She's like me, you see," he said in her ear as they reached the console, "she responds well to your touch." He grinned cheekily as she ducked her head, slightly discomfited by this remark, but he spared her any further embarrassment by asking for the location of the man with the weird weapon, then programmed in the coordinates to make the hop.
"Did Colonel Mace say what sort of weapon it is?" he asked as the Time Rotor began to move.
Martha shook her head. "The informant didn't know, but from what the eyewitness said it appears to be a telepathic weapon of some sort."
The Doctor scowled. "I don't like the sound of that," he said.
"Neither did Colonel Mace," she answered.
He put an arm around her shoulders. "I want you to be careful out there," he told her, "I don't want my Doctor getting hurt."
"I'm always careful," she answered, "but I still have to do my job."
"I know." He pulled her into an embrace, kissing her gently.
The TARDIS landed with less of her customary thump than usual, and they immediately turned towards the monitor. "There," the Doctor said, pointing to an angry yellow pulse on the screen. "He's about six yards away from us."
"Then let's go and nab him," Martha said with a determined expression. "The sooner we wrap this up, the sooner we can get off to cause whatever mischief you were planning."
"Oi!" protested the Time Lord, looking outraged.
She skipped away from him, grinning cheekily, then went down the ramp to the doors. When she looked up at the Doctor as he joined her there he saw that her expression had turned professional and serious again.
They let themselves out of the ship and found they were in the corner of someone's front garden.
"I hope the TARDIS didn't squash any plants," she said lightly as they made their way to the gate and out onto the pavement.
He gave her a distracted nod as he reached inside his jacket pocket for his sonic screwdriver, while Martha looked up and down the street.
"There," she said, pointing to a very tall, very thin (even thinner than the skinny man beside her) figure who had just stepped into view a dozen feet away.
"Is it human?" she asked quietly, watching as the figure, which had its back to them, stalked towards a mother and two children who were walking along the pavement on the opposite side.
"Not quite," answered the Doctor, his attention on the readings from his sonic. "The weapon is some sort of modified SRT device."
Martha frowned, the initials tugging at her memory. "SRT?" she asked, when the information didn't immediately spring to mind.
"Sympathetic Resonance Technology," he told her. "You lot have been developing it recently. It's a way to adjust the Signal-to-Noise ratio to improve the balance between the two. There's a company in California that makes jewellery containing SRT components that improve physical health by cancelling out the effects of things like mobile phones and computers. This chap seems to have twisted that and turned it into a weapon, possibly one that interferes with someone's biofield to do them harm."
She suppressed a shiver of disquiet at this information. "Shall we go left and right and approach him that way?" she suggested.
He nodded. "Quietly does it, though, we don't want to startle him.
Martha nodded her understanding, and they began to approach the figure cautiously, their eyes fixed on what he was doing.
They were still a few feet away when he swung round to face them and Martha swallowed a yelp of fright at the sight of the cadaverous face with its sunken yellow eyes and a mouthful of sharp, pointed teeth that were bared in a grimace.
"Time Lord," he acknowledged.
The Doctor frowned, looking disconcerted at being recognised. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"You may call me Mr Destrai."
"What are you?" asked Martha, curiosity overcoming her fear.
"No business of yours," he answered. His hand thrust out towards her with inhuman speed and she gave a choked cry as she fell to her knees, clutching in agony at her head. Faintly she heard the Doctor give a cry of rage before she passed out.
"What have you done?" demanded the Time Lord furiously as he rushed to his companion's side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he lifted her torso.
"Shut her up," answered Mr Destrai. "I don't like nosy, impertinent humans. Goodbye Time Lord."
There was a flicker of yellow light, and then he was gone. A moment later the road was filled from either end by UNIT jeeps, and Colonel Mace leapt from the foremost one before it had barely stopped moving.
"You're too late, Mace," the Doctor told him as he rushed over to join his MO and the Time Lord.
"What's happened to Dr Jones?" asked Mace, looking at her unconscious form.
"The alien used a modified SRT device on her. She's going to be out of it for a while."
The Colonel heard the quiet fury in the Time Lord's voice and noticed that his expression was cold and dark, as if he was barely restraining his anger.
"I'll get Ross Jenkins to drive her back to HQ," Mace said, beckoning over the young private.
"That won't be necessary," the Doctor said. "I'll take Martha to the TARDIS. It's nearby," he added, when the Colonel opened his mouth to argue or object. "Then I'm going after this alien."
"How many men do you want?" asked Mace.
"None," answered the Time Lord.
"But - " began the soldier.
"Colonel Mace, do you want to risk throwing away your soldiers' lives unnecessarily? I'll take Dr Jones with me, she's got plenty of field experience, as you know, and we work well together."
He gave the other man a half smile. "It's not that I don't trust your soldiers," he assured him, "I just don't want to risk their lives."
"But you're willing to risk Dr Jones' life?" asked Mace.
The Doctor shook his head. "Not really, but I know that if I go without her, she'll probably kick me from here to next week when she sees me again, and I'm not willing to risk that."
Colonel Mace shook his head, obviously not completely happy with the situation. "Very well."
"Good man. You look after the situation here, make sure those who've been injured get the necessary medical help," the Time Lord said, "and Dr Jones and I will deal with this Mr Destrai, as he calls himself."
The Colonel offered a crisp salute, then turned away to issue orders to his soldiers while the Doctor bent and picked up Martha properly, carrying her back to the TARDIS. He wasn't sure why the alien had attacked her, rather than himself, but he was deeply grateful that she was only unconscious. He settled her on his bed, then hurried back to the Control Room and programmed the TARDIS to follow the energy signature of the alien's device.
Once the ship was in flight, he went back to his room to make his companion more comfortable, gently removing her shoes and coat. After a few moments of thought he pulled off his own jacket, shoes and tie, then lay down besides her to wait for her to wake up.
Some time later the Doctor awoke from an unexpected nap to find Martha's head on his shoulder and his arm around her body; he smiled even as he tried to work out what had happened. Then she lifted her head and gave him a quizzical look, one eyebrow raised in the familiar manner, and he unthinkingly pulled her head down to kiss her.
"Doctor, what happened?" she asked when he let her go.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"The TARDIS landing in someone's garden," she answered, frowning with the effort of trying to recall the events that had led to her waking up, fully dressed, beside the Doctor a few minutes ago.
"You don't remember meeting an alien called Mr Destrai, and him knocking you out with his modified SRT device?" Martha shook her head. "Well, don't worry about it," he said. "It will probably come back to you."
"So where are we going?" she asked, her fingers toying absent-mindedly with his shirt buttons.
"We're following the energy signature of the alien's device," he answered, his hand sliding down her body to cup her bottom.
"How long will it take?" she asked, her own hand drifting down his torso, moving towards his crotch.
"I don't know," he said, "it depends where he's fled to." He bit back a moan when Martha's hand reached its target and she cupped his growing erection through the thin material of his trousers.
"You're growing bold, young lady," he observed, pleased with how steady his voice sounded.
"Blame your next incarnation and Jack," she told him, shifting position to rub her crotch against his leg.
Before they could take things any further they both heard the change in the sound of the TARDIS' engines which heralded her arrival somewhere. The Doctor swore quietly in Gallifreyan and Martha groaned, but they disentangled themselves, and put their shoes and other clothes back on before heading to the Control Room.
"Later," the Time Lord promised, not bothering to hide his expression of desire before he turned his attention to the monitor.
"Definitely," she agreed. "Where are we then?"
"On Begrip, at the University of Seso Tillit. It's 2am local time, apparently."
"And where's that in relation to Earth?"
"It's in the M57 galaxy, so a very long way from home," he answered absently, still looking at the monitor. "This university's huge, so I think I'd better rig up a couple of tracking devices to save us time, or we could be searching here for days."
"Can't you use the TARDIS?" asked Martha.
"She can pinpoint which building he's in, but not his whereabouts in the building."
"Oh."
"Right, let's go and see what the lab holds, shall we?"
She nodded, then followed him back through the ship to the Science Lab, where a vast quantity of components of many kinds lurked, along with scientific equipment, much of it unrecognisable to Martha.
Now
The Doctor shut the library doors behind them.
"What's to stop him making a run for it while our backs are turned?" asked Martha softly.
He smiled at her. "A good question, Dr Jones." He turned to the electronic keypad with its card reader beside the door and aimed his sonic screwdriver at it. The lights lit up briefly, then it hummed. "There. I've reprogrammed it so that it can't be opened without using the sonic."
She nodded and he slid his free hand into hers, squeezing her fingers, then they moved into the main part of the library.
"Are we going to start at the top and work our way down, or vice-versa?"
"Top down," he answered.
They set off across the reception area to the foot of the staircase and began to climb.
"That's the good thing about spending time with you," she observed quietly as they reached the first floor, "I stay fit."
"The only good thing?" asked the Doctor lightly.
"Not fishing for compliments, are you?" she teased, smirking.
He hung his head, but she didn't miss the way a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Men, you're all the same, even when you're aliens," she said with a grin.
He flashed a wide grin at her in return, then took her hand in his as they reached the second floor.
After several minutes they finally reached the fifth floor, and the Doctor led the way onto the main floor of the library.
"This way," he said, pointing with his sonic screwdriver.
Martha followed close behind him, trying to quell her nerves; she hadn't told him yet, because she didn't want to distract him, but she'd now remembered Mr Destrai's attack, and the indescribably excruciating agony she'd felt in every part of her body when he'd turned the SRT device on her. She supposed it wasn't surprising that she wasn't anxious to repeat the experience again.
She started slightly when the Doctor reached back and clasped her hand in his. "Stay close," he said softly. "We're not far off now."
She nodded and let him lead her into a corner dominated by plush sofas and chairs which she presumed was a reading area, rather than a study area: she somehow doubted anyone would get much studying done sitting on one of those seats.
"Where is he?" she asked, her voice a mere thread of sound.
The Doctor shrugged a shoulder, and then they both saw a door in the far wall. "Through there, I think," he said softly.
The door burst open and the alien leapt through, but the Time Lord was ready for him, and he flicked a button on his sonic screwdriver: there was a deep pulse of sound which Martha felt in her belly and bowels, and the alien collapsed in a heap.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"Gave him some of his own medicine," answered the Doctor, his expression grim and fierce.
"Is he dead?"
"No, merely unconscious." He moved closer and began going through the alien's pockets, giving a grunt of satisfaction when he found what looked like ID from where Martha was leaning against a chair.
* * * * * *
Twenty minutes later Martha was sitting on one of the sofas, watching as a small group of Judoon escorted the now-conscious and very angry alien out of the library. The Doctor had summoned them to deal with Mr Destrai and the Judoon had revealed that Mr Destrai was wanted in several galaxies for a variety of crimes.
The Time Lord sank down onto the sofa next to his companion. "You okay?" he asked quietly, entwining his fingers through hers.
"Yeah."
He put a finger under her chin and turned her face to his. "Sure?" he asked. "You’ve been very quiet."
She nodded. "Just thinking about what might have happened if you hadn't stopped him."
"Don't think about it," he urged. "I stopped him, he's gone now, and he'll probably be locked up for a very long time." He leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. "Perhaps I should give you something more pleasant to think about?" he suggested.
"That might work," she agreed.
He grinned and leaned in for another, deeper kiss, his hands moving up to cup her face. Martha moaned, then shifted to straddle his lap, pressing her body firmly against his, without breaking the kiss. The Doctor growled in the back of his throat as he felt his cock hardening as she deliberately wriggled about in his lap.
Finally he pulled back to rest his forehead against hers, allowing them both to catch their breath.
"I want you," he said, his voice intense.
"And I want you," she answered. He started to get up. "Where are you going?"
He gave her a puzzled look. "Back to the TARDIS."
"Why?" she asked. "There's no one here, after all, nor likely to be for a few hours yet, I'm sure."
The Doctor's eyes widened in surprise. "That's a bit kinky of you, Dr Jones," he said huskily.
She grinned at him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "It was a fantasy of mine, when I was studying, to have sex in the library."
"You are naughty, Dr Jones, but I like you." He pushed her jacket down off her shoulders and she allowed it to drop onto the floor, then he took her t-shirt off.
"Don't I get a turn?" she asked, pouting a little.
He grinned. "Go on then."
Martha climbed off his lap, causing the Doctor to pout in turn. "Stand up," she commanded, grinning when his eyes widened a second time. He obeyed and she methodically removed his coat, jacket and tie, then unbuttoned his shirt, leaning in to nip carefully at his nipples which elicited a groan from the Time Lord.
"Martha!" he gasped. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"Definitely not," she answered. "I'm pretty sure it's not time for you to regenerate just yet." She shivered as he bent his head to nuzzle her neck, his hands coming up to cup her breasts as she undid the final button.
They quickly finished undressing each other, then the Doctor sat down on the sofa and Martha lowered herself onto his lap again, moaning softly when he slid inside her slick heat. Then he turned and lay back, his hands holding her steady as she began to move slowly at first, then faster and harder as they both grew close. Martha came first, followed swiftly by the Time Lord, her name shouted in pleasure as her muscles gripped him tightly to push him over the edge.
"Okay?" he asked, kissing her cheek and stroking her back as she lay prone and sated on top of him.
"Mmm, very nice," she murmured, nuzzling at his neck.
"Good." They dozed for a few minutes before the chilly air forced them into moving.
"Come on, let's get back to the TARDIS, we can always do this again in her library if you're so inclined." He began dressing swiftly.
"I think I'd like that," Martha said, smirking just a little as she followed suit.
They hurried back to the TARDIS, hand in hand, and the Doctor thought that maybe they wouldn't go anywhere specific; staying aboard the TARDIS for the rest of the weekend was very tempting, especially as they'd already had one adventure. He rather thought Martha wouldn't mind either.
Title: Library
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Martha/Ten, Colonel Mace, OC
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: None
Prompt: 100 - Writer's Choice: Library
Summary: Martha and the Doctor chase an alien with a nasty device to a university library.
Disclaimer: I occasionally wish that I did own it!
Author Notes: This fic is a holiday gift for fourzoas - happy holidays my dear, and thanks for sharing the Who love with me! fourzoas requested Ten/Martha--some adventure set in a university. Secksings optional. The plot bunnies went demented!!
This is one of a series of follow up fics to the "30 Days with Martha Jones" series. It's an AU verse in which Martha and Jack are an established couple, although Jack's still with Ianto and Martha's still engaged to Tom. However Martha and Tom have decided to pursue an open relationship since they're on separate continents a lot of the time. Martha is also in the early days of a rather timey-wimey relationship with the Doctor which spans his 10th, 11th and 12th incarnations.
Beta: The lovely radiantbaby.
~~~~~~
Martha followed the quiet beeping of the tracking device in her hand; the Doctor had lashed up two of them in the TARDIS lab in less than an hour, and she'd watched, fascinated as ever, by his ability to create something useful out of the random bits and pieces he had at hand.
Two hours earlier
"It's not exactly elegant," he said, a rueful expression on his face as he peered at it through his black-framed glasses, "but it is functional, and that's more important right now."
"How does it work?" Martha asked, peering at the round object festooned with odd bits of wire that was sitting on the bench in front of them.
He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer as he began to point out the various controls, and she tried hard to concentrate on what he was telling her. She wondered if he knew that listening to him when he was in 'Science Geek' mode was a huge turn on for her, especially when he was wearing his glasses, and she was already aroused.
"Did you get all that?" he asked, interrupting her reverie.
"I think so," she answered. "This button turns it on and off, this dial is to calibrate the direction finder to see where the signal is coming from, and this LED will go red if I move away from the SRT device, and green when I'm close to it. In addition, it'll beep while following the signal."
"Exactly," he said, beaming delightedly. He picked up the device and put it in her hand, then picked up the second, before pulling off his glasses. "Right, let's see if we can track down Mr Destrai, shall we?"
Now
As she followed the beeping of the device, Martha couldn't help thinking that universities seemed to be remarkably similar whichever part of the galaxy you were in. Featureless corridors punctuated by the occasional door leading into a lecture theatre seemed to be prominent in this particular building.
When the Doctor had turned up a few hours ago, relative time, to invite her to spend the weekend with him, Martha had wondered which incarnation was going to step out of the TARDIS. During the weeks since the Brigadier's 80th birthday party the eleventh incarnation had visited her twice, and the twelfth once, so she no longer assumed it would the tenth who stepped through the doors of the ship when they opened. When it had been her first Doctor on this occasion she'd felt absurdly pleased; she had quickly grown close to both his later incarnations who were, anyway, aspects of the same man, but it was the tenth, tall and skinny with his 'mad scientist' hair and energetic manner, who gave her an extra frisson of pleasure when he appeared.
Whichever incarnation stepped through the doors of the TARDIS, however, she was sure of being enveloped in a bear hug and usually she was greeted with "Hello Martha Jones, when are you?", and after she had told him the date, he would tell her why he'd turned up.
The second time she met the eleventh incarnation after the Brigadier's party, he presented her with a diary in which to keep a record of all her meetings with his various selves as they happened to her, explaining that it would help her to help him keep things straight.
"Martha!" The Doctor's urgent shout cut through the silence and startled her, she'd been so lost in her thoughts as she followed the steadily beeping tracker.
"Here!" she called back, picking up her pace and noticing immediately that the beep from the device was becoming more continuous as she moved further along the corridor.
She turned the corner and saw the Doctor standing in front of two large wood-panelled doors; both the tracking devices were now emitting a continual sound.
"It's in here," he said, rather unnecessarily she thought.
Martha nodded. "What's the plan of action?" she asked.
"This is the library. We'll search it section by section until we find him," the Doctor answered, a grim expression on his face.
"Are we splitting up again, or staying together?"
"Staying together," he answered softly, turning off his device as she turned off her own. "I don't want to risk him injuring you again without knowing about it."
He watched as Martha pocketed her tracker, then pushed open the door. She followed him inside, and suppressed a gasp of awe at the size of the library of the University of Seso Tillit.
"How on Earth are we going to find him?" Martha asked quietly, feeling slightly daunted by the enormity of the task of searching through five immense floors of densely packed bookshelves.
"You're forgetting this," the Doctor answered, holding out his sonic screwdriver. "I've programmed it to track the energy signature of the SRT device." He gave her a small smile. "It will grow warmer to my touch the closer we get."
"And grow colder the further away we get?" she guessed.
"Exactly." He beamed at her, and she smiled back, but they were both aware that Mr Destrai's device could seriously injure either one of them.
Four hours ago
One Friday evening Martha had only been home from work about half an hour when a familiar wheezing, groaning sound emanated from her hallway. She set aside her empty coffee mug, picked up the remote to switch off the news on the TV, then uncurled herself from the sofa.
The TARDIS solidified and the door opened with its customary creak; a blue suited figure stepped out and enveloped her in a hug, picking her up off the ground.
"Hello Martha Jones, when are you?" he asked, setting her back on her feet again, but holding onto her shoulders as he grinned down at her.
"It's six weeks since I saw you at the Brigadier's party," she answered, grinning back up at him.
"Have you seen much of me lately?"
"Three times," she answered. "The most recent visit was from your eleventh self and River."
A fleeting expression of sorrow crossed his face and she leant her cheek against his chest, her arms going around him again. He reciprocated and they held each other for a minute or two.
"Not seeing anyone this weekend, are you?" he asked.
"Not that I'm aware of," she answered. "Jack's busy in Cardiff and I'm not due to go down again for another couple of weeks, and Tom doesn't get here until next weekend."
"Your elusive fiancé?" he asked lightly.
"The very same." She pulled back a little to look up into his face, and he gave her a gentle smile in which there was no trace of jealousy or concern.
"I hope you both enjoy the visit," he said sincerely. "In the meantime, can I tempt you to spend this weekend with me?"
"Well," she began, pretending a reluctance she didn't actually feel. "I don't know. What have you got in mind?"
Before the Doctor could answer, Martha's phone rang and he gave her an enquiring look, aware of how she often ignored her phone.
The answer machine cut in and they both heard the anxious tone in Colonel Mace's voice as he spoke.
"Dr Jones, please contact HQ immediately - " His voice was cut off as she picked up the handset and spoke to him.
"Colonel?" she said questioningly, then listened intently. "All right, I'll be there as soon as I can," she told him.
The Doctor gave her an inquisitive look as she set down the phone. "Trouble?"
She nodded, a grim expression on her face. "UNIT have had a call from someone in Ealing to say that there's a man there terrorising people with some kind of weird weapon."
"Ealing?" echoed the Time Lord, looking horrified.
"Sarah Jane should be safe," she assured him quickly, "he's not near Bannerman Road."
"I'll still come with you," he said, "we'll take the TARDIS."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked. "I thought you told me that she wasn't that good at short hops?"
"As a rule, she's not, but with you aboard - " He broke off to grin at her surprised expression. "She won't have forgotten how you helped her and my twelfth self on the night of the Brigadier's party."
He held open the door of the ship as Martha, who'd grabbed her mobile, keys and a coat, approached.
"She's like me, you see," he said in her ear as they reached the console, "she responds well to your touch." He grinned cheekily as she ducked her head, slightly discomfited by this remark, but he spared her any further embarrassment by asking for the location of the man with the weird weapon, then programmed in the coordinates to make the hop.
"Did Colonel Mace say what sort of weapon it is?" he asked as the Time Rotor began to move.
Martha shook her head. "The informant didn't know, but from what the eyewitness said it appears to be a telepathic weapon of some sort."
The Doctor scowled. "I don't like the sound of that," he said.
"Neither did Colonel Mace," she answered.
He put an arm around her shoulders. "I want you to be careful out there," he told her, "I don't want my Doctor getting hurt."
"I'm always careful," she answered, "but I still have to do my job."
"I know." He pulled her into an embrace, kissing her gently.
The TARDIS landed with less of her customary thump than usual, and they immediately turned towards the monitor. "There," the Doctor said, pointing to an angry yellow pulse on the screen. "He's about six yards away from us."
"Then let's go and nab him," Martha said with a determined expression. "The sooner we wrap this up, the sooner we can get off to cause whatever mischief you were planning."
"Oi!" protested the Time Lord, looking outraged.
She skipped away from him, grinning cheekily, then went down the ramp to the doors. When she looked up at the Doctor as he joined her there he saw that her expression had turned professional and serious again.
They let themselves out of the ship and found they were in the corner of someone's front garden.
"I hope the TARDIS didn't squash any plants," she said lightly as they made their way to the gate and out onto the pavement.
He gave her a distracted nod as he reached inside his jacket pocket for his sonic screwdriver, while Martha looked up and down the street.
"There," she said, pointing to a very tall, very thin (even thinner than the skinny man beside her) figure who had just stepped into view a dozen feet away.
"Is it human?" she asked quietly, watching as the figure, which had its back to them, stalked towards a mother and two children who were walking along the pavement on the opposite side.
"Not quite," answered the Doctor, his attention on the readings from his sonic. "The weapon is some sort of modified SRT device."
Martha frowned, the initials tugging at her memory. "SRT?" she asked, when the information didn't immediately spring to mind.
"Sympathetic Resonance Technology," he told her. "You lot have been developing it recently. It's a way to adjust the Signal-to-Noise ratio to improve the balance between the two. There's a company in California that makes jewellery containing SRT components that improve physical health by cancelling out the effects of things like mobile phones and computers. This chap seems to have twisted that and turned it into a weapon, possibly one that interferes with someone's biofield to do them harm."
She suppressed a shiver of disquiet at this information. "Shall we go left and right and approach him that way?" she suggested.
He nodded. "Quietly does it, though, we don't want to startle him.
Martha nodded her understanding, and they began to approach the figure cautiously, their eyes fixed on what he was doing.
They were still a few feet away when he swung round to face them and Martha swallowed a yelp of fright at the sight of the cadaverous face with its sunken yellow eyes and a mouthful of sharp, pointed teeth that were bared in a grimace.
"Time Lord," he acknowledged.
The Doctor frowned, looking disconcerted at being recognised. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"You may call me Mr Destrai."
"What are you?" asked Martha, curiosity overcoming her fear.
"No business of yours," he answered. His hand thrust out towards her with inhuman speed and she gave a choked cry as she fell to her knees, clutching in agony at her head. Faintly she heard the Doctor give a cry of rage before she passed out.
"What have you done?" demanded the Time Lord furiously as he rushed to his companion's side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he lifted her torso.
"Shut her up," answered Mr Destrai. "I don't like nosy, impertinent humans. Goodbye Time Lord."
There was a flicker of yellow light, and then he was gone. A moment later the road was filled from either end by UNIT jeeps, and Colonel Mace leapt from the foremost one before it had barely stopped moving.
"You're too late, Mace," the Doctor told him as he rushed over to join his MO and the Time Lord.
"What's happened to Dr Jones?" asked Mace, looking at her unconscious form.
"The alien used a modified SRT device on her. She's going to be out of it for a while."
The Colonel heard the quiet fury in the Time Lord's voice and noticed that his expression was cold and dark, as if he was barely restraining his anger.
"I'll get Ross Jenkins to drive her back to HQ," Mace said, beckoning over the young private.
"That won't be necessary," the Doctor said. "I'll take Martha to the TARDIS. It's nearby," he added, when the Colonel opened his mouth to argue or object. "Then I'm going after this alien."
"How many men do you want?" asked Mace.
"None," answered the Time Lord.
"But - " began the soldier.
"Colonel Mace, do you want to risk throwing away your soldiers' lives unnecessarily? I'll take Dr Jones with me, she's got plenty of field experience, as you know, and we work well together."
He gave the other man a half smile. "It's not that I don't trust your soldiers," he assured him, "I just don't want to risk their lives."
"But you're willing to risk Dr Jones' life?" asked Mace.
The Doctor shook his head. "Not really, but I know that if I go without her, she'll probably kick me from here to next week when she sees me again, and I'm not willing to risk that."
Colonel Mace shook his head, obviously not completely happy with the situation. "Very well."
"Good man. You look after the situation here, make sure those who've been injured get the necessary medical help," the Time Lord said, "and Dr Jones and I will deal with this Mr Destrai, as he calls himself."
The Colonel offered a crisp salute, then turned away to issue orders to his soldiers while the Doctor bent and picked up Martha properly, carrying her back to the TARDIS. He wasn't sure why the alien had attacked her, rather than himself, but he was deeply grateful that she was only unconscious. He settled her on his bed, then hurried back to the Control Room and programmed the TARDIS to follow the energy signature of the alien's device.
Once the ship was in flight, he went back to his room to make his companion more comfortable, gently removing her shoes and coat. After a few moments of thought he pulled off his own jacket, shoes and tie, then lay down besides her to wait for her to wake up.
Some time later the Doctor awoke from an unexpected nap to find Martha's head on his shoulder and his arm around her body; he smiled even as he tried to work out what had happened. Then she lifted her head and gave him a quizzical look, one eyebrow raised in the familiar manner, and he unthinkingly pulled her head down to kiss her.
"Doctor, what happened?" she asked when he let her go.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"The TARDIS landing in someone's garden," she answered, frowning with the effort of trying to recall the events that had led to her waking up, fully dressed, beside the Doctor a few minutes ago.
"You don't remember meeting an alien called Mr Destrai, and him knocking you out with his modified SRT device?" Martha shook her head. "Well, don't worry about it," he said. "It will probably come back to you."
"So where are we going?" she asked, her fingers toying absent-mindedly with his shirt buttons.
"We're following the energy signature of the alien's device," he answered, his hand sliding down her body to cup her bottom.
"How long will it take?" she asked, her own hand drifting down his torso, moving towards his crotch.
"I don't know," he said, "it depends where he's fled to." He bit back a moan when Martha's hand reached its target and she cupped his growing erection through the thin material of his trousers.
"You're growing bold, young lady," he observed, pleased with how steady his voice sounded.
"Blame your next incarnation and Jack," she told him, shifting position to rub her crotch against his leg.
Before they could take things any further they both heard the change in the sound of the TARDIS' engines which heralded her arrival somewhere. The Doctor swore quietly in Gallifreyan and Martha groaned, but they disentangled themselves, and put their shoes and other clothes back on before heading to the Control Room.
"Later," the Time Lord promised, not bothering to hide his expression of desire before he turned his attention to the monitor.
"Definitely," she agreed. "Where are we then?"
"On Begrip, at the University of Seso Tillit. It's 2am local time, apparently."
"And where's that in relation to Earth?"
"It's in the M57 galaxy, so a very long way from home," he answered absently, still looking at the monitor. "This university's huge, so I think I'd better rig up a couple of tracking devices to save us time, or we could be searching here for days."
"Can't you use the TARDIS?" asked Martha.
"She can pinpoint which building he's in, but not his whereabouts in the building."
"Oh."
"Right, let's go and see what the lab holds, shall we?"
She nodded, then followed him back through the ship to the Science Lab, where a vast quantity of components of many kinds lurked, along with scientific equipment, much of it unrecognisable to Martha.
Now
The Doctor shut the library doors behind them.
"What's to stop him making a run for it while our backs are turned?" asked Martha softly.
He smiled at her. "A good question, Dr Jones." He turned to the electronic keypad with its card reader beside the door and aimed his sonic screwdriver at it. The lights lit up briefly, then it hummed. "There. I've reprogrammed it so that it can't be opened without using the sonic."
She nodded and he slid his free hand into hers, squeezing her fingers, then they moved into the main part of the library.
"Are we going to start at the top and work our way down, or vice-versa?"
"Top down," he answered.
They set off across the reception area to the foot of the staircase and began to climb.
"That's the good thing about spending time with you," she observed quietly as they reached the first floor, "I stay fit."
"The only good thing?" asked the Doctor lightly.
"Not fishing for compliments, are you?" she teased, smirking.
He hung his head, but she didn't miss the way a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Men, you're all the same, even when you're aliens," she said with a grin.
He flashed a wide grin at her in return, then took her hand in his as they reached the second floor.
After several minutes they finally reached the fifth floor, and the Doctor led the way onto the main floor of the library.
"This way," he said, pointing with his sonic screwdriver.
Martha followed close behind him, trying to quell her nerves; she hadn't told him yet, because she didn't want to distract him, but she'd now remembered Mr Destrai's attack, and the indescribably excruciating agony she'd felt in every part of her body when he'd turned the SRT device on her. She supposed it wasn't surprising that she wasn't anxious to repeat the experience again.
She started slightly when the Doctor reached back and clasped her hand in his. "Stay close," he said softly. "We're not far off now."
She nodded and let him lead her into a corner dominated by plush sofas and chairs which she presumed was a reading area, rather than a study area: she somehow doubted anyone would get much studying done sitting on one of those seats.
"Where is he?" she asked, her voice a mere thread of sound.
The Doctor shrugged a shoulder, and then they both saw a door in the far wall. "Through there, I think," he said softly.
The door burst open and the alien leapt through, but the Time Lord was ready for him, and he flicked a button on his sonic screwdriver: there was a deep pulse of sound which Martha felt in her belly and bowels, and the alien collapsed in a heap.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"Gave him some of his own medicine," answered the Doctor, his expression grim and fierce.
"Is he dead?"
"No, merely unconscious." He moved closer and began going through the alien's pockets, giving a grunt of satisfaction when he found what looked like ID from where Martha was leaning against a chair.
* * * * * *
Twenty minutes later Martha was sitting on one of the sofas, watching as a small group of Judoon escorted the now-conscious and very angry alien out of the library. The Doctor had summoned them to deal with Mr Destrai and the Judoon had revealed that Mr Destrai was wanted in several galaxies for a variety of crimes.
The Time Lord sank down onto the sofa next to his companion. "You okay?" he asked quietly, entwining his fingers through hers.
"Yeah."
He put a finger under her chin and turned her face to his. "Sure?" he asked. "You’ve been very quiet."
She nodded. "Just thinking about what might have happened if you hadn't stopped him."
"Don't think about it," he urged. "I stopped him, he's gone now, and he'll probably be locked up for a very long time." He leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers. "Perhaps I should give you something more pleasant to think about?" he suggested.
"That might work," she agreed.
He grinned and leaned in for another, deeper kiss, his hands moving up to cup her face. Martha moaned, then shifted to straddle his lap, pressing her body firmly against his, without breaking the kiss. The Doctor growled in the back of his throat as he felt his cock hardening as she deliberately wriggled about in his lap.
Finally he pulled back to rest his forehead against hers, allowing them both to catch their breath.
"I want you," he said, his voice intense.
"And I want you," she answered. He started to get up. "Where are you going?"
He gave her a puzzled look. "Back to the TARDIS."
"Why?" she asked. "There's no one here, after all, nor likely to be for a few hours yet, I'm sure."
The Doctor's eyes widened in surprise. "That's a bit kinky of you, Dr Jones," he said huskily.
She grinned at him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "It was a fantasy of mine, when I was studying, to have sex in the library."
"You are naughty, Dr Jones, but I like you." He pushed her jacket down off her shoulders and she allowed it to drop onto the floor, then he took her t-shirt off.
"Don't I get a turn?" she asked, pouting a little.
He grinned. "Go on then."
Martha climbed off his lap, causing the Doctor to pout in turn. "Stand up," she commanded, grinning when his eyes widened a second time. He obeyed and she methodically removed his coat, jacket and tie, then unbuttoned his shirt, leaning in to nip carefully at his nipples which elicited a groan from the Time Lord.
"Martha!" he gasped. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"Definitely not," she answered. "I'm pretty sure it's not time for you to regenerate just yet." She shivered as he bent his head to nuzzle her neck, his hands coming up to cup her breasts as she undid the final button.
They quickly finished undressing each other, then the Doctor sat down on the sofa and Martha lowered herself onto his lap again, moaning softly when he slid inside her slick heat. Then he turned and lay back, his hands holding her steady as she began to move slowly at first, then faster and harder as they both grew close. Martha came first, followed swiftly by the Time Lord, her name shouted in pleasure as her muscles gripped him tightly to push him over the edge.
"Okay?" he asked, kissing her cheek and stroking her back as she lay prone and sated on top of him.
"Mmm, very nice," she murmured, nuzzling at his neck.
"Good." They dozed for a few minutes before the chilly air forced them into moving.
"Come on, let's get back to the TARDIS, we can always do this again in her library if you're so inclined." He began dressing swiftly.
"I think I'd like that," Martha said, smirking just a little as she followed suit.
They hurried back to the TARDIS, hand in hand, and the Doctor thought that maybe they wouldn't go anywhere specific; staying aboard the TARDIS for the rest of the weekend was very tempting, especially as they'd already had one adventure. He rather thought Martha wouldn't mind either.