After the Fall (8/?)
Title: After the Fall (8/?)
Author: TARDIS_Mafia
Rating: PG-13 (R/NC-17 in later chapters)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in Doctor Who or Angel...which is unfortunate.
Characters: Martha Jones/James Noble, Angel, Cordelia Chase, Winifred "Fred" Burkle, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Spike, Lorne, Charles Gunn, Tenth Doctor, Captain Jack Harkness, Mickey Smith, OC's in further chapters.
Summary: Martha and James Noble, the Doctor's human counterpart, are working for Wolfram & Hart, but something is growing underneath the building of the LA Branch...(I'm not great with summaries).
Beta: The fantabulous persiflage_1
The next morning, they reconvened in Angel’s office for their assignments. Martha, James, and Cordelia took one of the company cars to the hospital, where the recent victims of Jasmine were being treated.
Unfortunately, the only patient and client they were able to see was the 26 year old witch with a missing tongue. The other patients were in ICU and weren’t allowed to be seen except by family.
“Hi, I’m Doctor Martha Jones, and this is Cordelia Chase, and James Noble. We’re with Wolfram & Hart; you’re a registered client of ours and we’d like to talk to you about your recent attack.” Martha introduced herself, hoping she wouldn’t scare the woman off.
The woman, Sage, who was also a teacher at the Magic School for the Gifted, nodded her head and got out her small white board and markers to write her statements on.
“Do you remember what she looked like?” Martha asked the woman, and saw her sadly shake her head.
‘I just remember the smell of a rotting corpse when I woke up, and my tongue was gone,’ the woman wrote before erasing it, then covered her mouth with her hand.
“Alright,” Cordelia jumped in. “To make you as safe as possible, we can either bring you back to the firm where you can stay in a secured room, or we can have someone look after you here.”
‘I’d rather not be here. I’ve heard Dr. Jones is an exceptional doctor, and I’d rather be where I can get the best treatment.’
“Thank you.” Martha smiled. “I am the only doctor on staff, but I’d be happy to look after you. Would you mind answering a few more questions for James while we request a transfer?”
Sage nodded her head and waited. James asked the rest of the questions while Cordelia and Martha gathered the necessary information for the transfer. The doctors weren’t comfortable about letting her go from their care, but given Sage was Wolfram & Hart’s client, it was the firm's responsibility to take care of her.
“So, what do you think?” Martha asked Cordelia as they waited at the reception desk.
“I don’t know, to tell you the truth. She works at the Magic School, which is also where the other women work, so…maybe there’s something at the school Jasmine’s drawn to. I really don’t know what to think. Angel and Spike can’t get through the door leading into the Hellmouth, we don’t have the amulet to destroy it, and the doctors insist we can’t talk to the other victims, so what else can we do?” Cordelia ran her hands through her hair, racking her brain trying to figure out what else they can figure out.
The transfer was finally completed and Cordelia arranged for Sage to be taken to Wolfram & Hart, and into one of the empty rooms close to Martha’s office. While Martha went with her new patient, James and Cordelia continued their investigation and headed to the Magic School.
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“The day Sage came in with her tongue missing, we found the school nearly torn apart.” One of the female teachers showed James and Cordelia around the school and the places that received the most damage.
“Do you know who did this?” Cordelia asked, stepping over old books that were scattered on the floor.
“No, but I’d like to find the person who did and make them clean this up.” The woman, Quinn, turned to them and crossed her arms. “We’ve had break-ins before from people who don’t understand the curriculum we teach here, but this is just unacceptable.”
“I don’t suppose you keep things hidden here.” James suddenly got an idea.
“Well, if I told you that, it wouldn’t be hidden, would it, Mr. Noble?” Quinn smiled at him, admiring how cute he was.
James shifted uncomfortably and continued with the questions.
“Have you ever heard of a Hellmouth?” he asked, breaking the smile on her face.
“Yeah, there was one in Sunnydale, there’s another…I can’t remember where, and I’ve heard there was one under your building.”
“There is,” James nodded. “Would you know how to destroy it without the amulet?”
“Well, according to one of the myths about the Hellmouth, three amulets were created, not one,” she said, walking over to the half empty bookshelf and sorting through the books on the floor to find what she needed.
“Three?” Cordelia asked in surprise. “We thought there was only one amulet, and it’s been used before to close the Hellmouth in Sunnydale.”
“According to this,” Quinn held up a small emerald colored book with a picture of the amulet on the cover. “Three were created; one was taken and buried somewhere; it should tell you in the book. The second was destroyed by the demons in the Underworld, and the other was stolen, but never found. I’m guessing the one that was used to close the Hellmouth was the one that was stolen. I wasn’t able to read all the way through it, but I understood that much of it.” She handed them the book and pushed more books out of the way with her feet.
“May we borrow this or make copies of the pages we need?” Cordelia asked, flipping through the book.
“You can keep it, if it’ll help,” Quinn nodded. “Well, I’d better get going; my class is about to start and I need to finish cleaning up.”
“Thank you.” Cordelia smiled and shook her hand. James shook her hand briefly before pulling away and following Cordelia to the car. “Wesley’s going to have fun with this,” she said, looking over at James as he got in the passenger seat, and noticing how quiet he was. “You alright?”
“I don’t know,” he frowned. “For the sake of our situation, let’s say Jasmine and her gang of misfit demons rifled through the school in search for the amulet…why didn’t she take the book that told her where the other was buried?”
“Maybe she didn’t see it,” Cordelia suggested and started the car, putting on the air conditioner. “Or maybe she wasn’t looking for the amulet…”
“There are too many gaps, is what I’m saying, Cordy.” He looked out of the window, then back to the wavy haired brunette. “If there is another amulet out there, and if this book can tell us where it is…what if Jasmine is trying to get us to find it so she can take if from us and destroy it later?”
“I’d say that was farfetched but, then again, you could be right on.”
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“Are you comfortable?” Martha asked her new patient Sage. She nodded her head and relaxed on the bed as Martha started checking her vitals before inspecting her mouth.
When she finished, she turned her back to write her notes in Sage’s file and just as she turned back around, Sage got to her feet, ready to attack Martha with a nearby syringe. Before the tip of the needle made it into Martha’s jugular, Martha kicked Sage in the chest, using the techniques Spike taught her. Her eyes then generated an electric shock across the room, causing Sage to be hit by it and thrown against the wall, knocking her unconscious.
Martha reached under the counter and pressed the red button for emergency assistance. Spike was the first to arrive and saw Sage lying on the floor with her hair covering her face.
“She just came at me and,” Martha panicked - worried she killed her own patient.
“It’s alright,” Spike said, and walked over to the woman to check her neck to see if she was alive. “I’m moving her into The Square.” Martha nodded her head and stood back as Spike quickly carried Sage down the hall and into another part of the building.
The Square was a 6ft by 6ft silver room, made of steel, and only held demons or vampires that weren’t strong enough to break out.
“What happened?” Angel came running in. “Where’s Sage?”
“Spike took her to The Square. She came at me with a syringe.” Martha sat on her stool, trying to slow her hearts down.
“She’s under Jasmine’s control,” Angel stated, coming to a conclusion. “This isn’t the first time she’s put people under her control. A little over a year ago she held people in a trance and they only killed on her command.” He took a look at Martha, then looked at the burnt wall. “What happened to the wall?”
“My eyes, they electrocuted her.” She took another minute to think and stood up, realizing what power was inside of her. “Tekton said when I flat lined he had to use the defibrillator to get my hearts started again, and a defibrillator gives an electric charge to the heart.”
“Right.” Angel leaned against the counter, looking at her with his arms crossed.
“I can feel my body absorb energy, so maybe it also stores a type of power somewhere, and I can use it when I react emotionally,” she said, thinking out loud. “Of course, that’s just my theory; I’d have to test it out.”
“So you’re like a human receptor,” Angel said, trying to catch on to what she was saying.
“Exactly,” she said with a satisfied smile. “I have an idea.”
Martha ran out to of the room and went to find the Doctor, who was in the lobby talking to James and Cordelia. Angel quickly followed her and was joined by Spike, who was running back to see if Martha was alright.
“I need your sonic,” she said as soon as she made it down the stairs.
“What for?” the Doctor asked, removing it from his breast pocket and handing it to her.
“Just watch,” she said. “Angel, lock the door to your office.” She commanded then punched in the correct setting for unlocking doors into the sonic, placed the blue tip of the screwdriver into her palm and turned it on. She waited for five seconds and gave the slender object back to the Doctor. As she walked to Angel’s locked door, she placed her hand on the silver lock and heard it click. She turned the knob and the door easily opened.
“How did you do that?” the Doctor asked, taking her hands and looking them over.
“Whatever goes into my body stays with me until I release it. Tekton was right about the power being centered in my eyes and my frontal lobe, but during the gene modification, the power spread through my body.” Martha smiled and the Doctor smiled with her. “I just haven’t been able to use it until now.”
“Have I ever told you how brilliant you are, Martha Jones?” he wrapped his arms around her and felt her small arms wrap around his back.
“I think you’ve mentioned it once or twice,” she smiled against his chest. He reluctantly let go when she pulled away.
“Damn that was the coolest thing I’ve seen all day,” Gunn smiled.
“You should’ve seen what I did earlier. I had electricity coming out of my eyes,” Martha shook her head free of the thought. It wasn’t her fault about what she did to Sage, she had no choice and no control over the outcome.
“And now that you’re all figured out,” James smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “How’s Sage? We needed to ask her a couple more questions.”
“That might be difficult,” Spike said. “She attacked Martha so I threw her in The Square and when I put her down on the ground, the psychotic bitch tried attacking me.”
“What did you do to her?” Martha asked.
“Knocked her out,” Spike held up his fist. “Got her right across the face and I’ll do it again if I have to,” he said proudly as he walked away. “Hello love,” he smiled at Fred as she passed him on the stairs.
“Hi Spike,” she said briefly and walked right past him. “We’re getting more readings from the Hellmouth. The doorway to it is still not opening, but it’s definitely causing a disruption under the building and if we don’t find that amulet soon, the building is going to collapse before the Hellmouth starts consuming all of LA.”
“I just found out where it was buried,” Wesley said, holding the green book in his hands, and standing outside of the group as he read quietly. “Anyone want to take a trip to Egypt?”
“You understood that jibber jabber?” Cordelia asked.
“It’s not jibber jabber, Cordelia. It’s an ancient language that’s been dead for centuries, but luckily I’ve done my homework. The book doesn’t give a detailed description about its actual whereabouts; just that it’s in Egypt.”
“I can call for a plane and schedule a flight to get us there,” Angel said. “What else does it say, Wes?”
“I can’t quite recognize a few words; I’d have to spend more time deciphering them and put them in the correct order,” he said. “I’ll figure it out before we get to Egypt.” Wesley disappeared into his office to pack a bag of helpful books and the emergency bag with his clothes.
“Where are Jack, Mickey, and Tekton?” James asked.
“Mickey is sleeping and as for Jack and Tekton…well, knowing Jack, they could be doing anything.” The Doctor gestured his head towards the TARDIS.
Just as Martha was about to ask the Doctor if he was going to go with them to Egypt to find the amulet, she turned to James as he clutched his chest again in pain.
“James?” she started placing her hand on his chest, but he stopped her. “What’s wrong?
“Nothing…just heartburn I think.” He smiled, trying not to worry her. “I’d better go take my medicine.” He headed up to Martha’s office where she kept the pills, but didn’t take one when he grabbed the bottle.
He didn’t tell her he had turned off the watch that reminded him to take his medication. The pills she prescribed weren’t helping his heart, and instead of letting her find another way to stop his heart from forming into the size of a pea, he was letting himself die a slow death. The Doctor was right, he was selfish for making that decision, but it was his decision.
“What’s wrong with him?” Martha turned to the Doctor, knowing James wouldn’t tell her what was wrong.
“Just as he said, probably heartburn,” the Doctor shrugged his shoulders. He was tempted to tell Martha about James’ heart, but after hearing the human’s plea, he decided against it.
“I know he’s as stubborn as you are, but he won’t tell me something is wrong…Doctor, please tell me. Don’t tell me ‘nothing’ because I know it’s something.” She stepped closer to the Time Lord and looked into his eyes.
“I can’t,” he said. “I told James I wouldn’t and it’s his decision if he wants to tell you or not.”
“Alright,” she said, stepping closer to him so they were standing toe to toe. “But if I find out that he’s dying and you knew and didn’t tell me…I will never forgive you so you had better make sure your decisions are worth it.” The Doctor watched her walk away from him and up to her office where she kept her own emergency bag.
With a deep sigh, he kept to himself and headed into Angel’s office to offer the TARDIS as a way to get around rather than calling for plane.
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“I’m fine,” James said just as the pain passed and Martha came into her office unhappy.
“I didn’t come in to check on you,” she said, half lying. Martha looked over at him and approached him like she did the Doctor. “I hope you’re telling me the truth, because as I told the Doctor, if I find out you’re dying and decided not to tell me, I will not forgive you.”
James looked at her, trying not get teary eyed, but he still stood by his choice.
“I love you, but I don’t want you lying to me, especially when it comes to your health. I think as your doctor and as your…you know…girlfriend, I think I deserve right to know so I’m going to ask you again. What is wrong?”
“Martha,” he took her hands. “I really am fine; it’s just heartburn or indigestion.”
“As I said, I hope you’re telling me the truth.” She snatched her hands away, grabbed their bags, and left to join the others.
James closed his eyes for a moment before slowly walking to the lobby where he saw everyone piling into the TARDIS. Angel agreed to let the Doctor take them to Egypt, but he needed the blue box to be in reach, given he and Spike would turn into dust when the sun came up.
“Ready?” he asked and received one loud ‘yes’ from the group. He watched James closely as the twin started getting into the TARDIS. “Well?” the Doctor asked, stopping James in the doorway with a hand on his arm.
“I told you, I’ve made my choice, Doctor,” James said.
“She won’t forgive me if you die, and I don’t want her hating me for respecting your wishes.”
“Telling her won’t change anything. She’ll cry, be heartbroken, and then what?” James snatched his arm away.
“If you die, she’ll cry and be heartbroken anyway,” the Doctor growled at him. “I am giving you until we get back here, and if you haven’t told her by the time we land in the lobby, I will tell her myself and let you suffer the consequences because I refuse to be in the middle of this. You told me how much I hurt her…how is what you’re doing to her any different?”
The Time Lord brushed past him, putting on a fake smile when he approached the console. Mickey, Jack, and Tekton appeared in the Control Room, excited they were going somewhere with everyone on board.
“You’re walking funny,” Martha whispered to Jack. “Do you need anything?”
“Not unless you brought an anal repair kit in your bag,” Jack smiled. Martha blushed and hid her smile behind her hand.
“Jack!” she exclaimed in a whisper, swatting his arm.
“Welcome aboard again,” the Doctor announced as James finally shut the door and walked up the ramp to stand next to Martha. “Before we take off, I suggest you hold on tight…it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”
“Oh sure, warn other people who are only going on one trip, rather than your companions.” Martha rolled her eyes, holding on to one side of the console.
“Oh don’t be sore, Martha…it wasn’t that bad our first time, was it?” the Doctor asked, nudging her arm.
“No, not after I realized I needed to hold on for dear life.” She smiled briefly.
The Doctor bounced on his feet as he got the TARDIS into the Vortex before landing somewhere in Egypt. Martha walked down the ramp first, opening the door slowly, followed by the rest of her colleagues.
“Well?” Cordelia asked, squeezing through to see where they were. “We’re here, right?”
“Here in Cairo!” The Doctor pushed his way through the doors and shoved his hands in his pockets and squinting at the bright sun.
They followed the Doctor out of the TARDIS like a flock of sheep and took a good look at their surroundings.
“I think we’ll wait here until the sun goes down,” Angel said from inside the TARDIS with Spike.
“No, no, go ahead…I won’t miss you.” Spike encouraged. Angel turned to him, ready to drive a stake through his un-beating heart.
“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Cordelia assured him before following the Doctor into the city.
“Well, we’re here, it’s hot…now where do we start?” Gunn asked. They continued to follow the Doctor further into the city as Wesley flipped through the pages of the emerald colored book, trying to find something that would give away the location of the amulet.
Author: TARDIS_Mafia
Rating: PG-13 (R/NC-17 in later chapters)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything in Doctor Who or Angel...which is unfortunate.
Characters: Martha Jones/James Noble, Angel, Cordelia Chase, Winifred "Fred" Burkle, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Spike, Lorne, Charles Gunn, Tenth Doctor, Captain Jack Harkness, Mickey Smith, OC's in further chapters.
Summary: Martha and James Noble, the Doctor's human counterpart, are working for Wolfram & Hart, but something is growing underneath the building of the LA Branch...(I'm not great with summaries).
Beta: The fantabulous persiflage_1
The next morning, they reconvened in Angel’s office for their assignments. Martha, James, and Cordelia took one of the company cars to the hospital, where the recent victims of Jasmine were being treated.
Unfortunately, the only patient and client they were able to see was the 26 year old witch with a missing tongue. The other patients were in ICU and weren’t allowed to be seen except by family.
“Hi, I’m Doctor Martha Jones, and this is Cordelia Chase, and James Noble. We’re with Wolfram & Hart; you’re a registered client of ours and we’d like to talk to you about your recent attack.” Martha introduced herself, hoping she wouldn’t scare the woman off.
The woman, Sage, who was also a teacher at the Magic School for the Gifted, nodded her head and got out her small white board and markers to write her statements on.
“Do you remember what she looked like?” Martha asked the woman, and saw her sadly shake her head.
‘I just remember the smell of a rotting corpse when I woke up, and my tongue was gone,’ the woman wrote before erasing it, then covered her mouth with her hand.
“Alright,” Cordelia jumped in. “To make you as safe as possible, we can either bring you back to the firm where you can stay in a secured room, or we can have someone look after you here.”
‘I’d rather not be here. I’ve heard Dr. Jones is an exceptional doctor, and I’d rather be where I can get the best treatment.’
“Thank you.” Martha smiled. “I am the only doctor on staff, but I’d be happy to look after you. Would you mind answering a few more questions for James while we request a transfer?”
Sage nodded her head and waited. James asked the rest of the questions while Cordelia and Martha gathered the necessary information for the transfer. The doctors weren’t comfortable about letting her go from their care, but given Sage was Wolfram & Hart’s client, it was the firm's responsibility to take care of her.
“So, what do you think?” Martha asked Cordelia as they waited at the reception desk.
“I don’t know, to tell you the truth. She works at the Magic School, which is also where the other women work, so…maybe there’s something at the school Jasmine’s drawn to. I really don’t know what to think. Angel and Spike can’t get through the door leading into the Hellmouth, we don’t have the amulet to destroy it, and the doctors insist we can’t talk to the other victims, so what else can we do?” Cordelia ran her hands through her hair, racking her brain trying to figure out what else they can figure out.
The transfer was finally completed and Cordelia arranged for Sage to be taken to Wolfram & Hart, and into one of the empty rooms close to Martha’s office. While Martha went with her new patient, James and Cordelia continued their investigation and headed to the Magic School.
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“The day Sage came in with her tongue missing, we found the school nearly torn apart.” One of the female teachers showed James and Cordelia around the school and the places that received the most damage.
“Do you know who did this?” Cordelia asked, stepping over old books that were scattered on the floor.
“No, but I’d like to find the person who did and make them clean this up.” The woman, Quinn, turned to them and crossed her arms. “We’ve had break-ins before from people who don’t understand the curriculum we teach here, but this is just unacceptable.”
“I don’t suppose you keep things hidden here.” James suddenly got an idea.
“Well, if I told you that, it wouldn’t be hidden, would it, Mr. Noble?” Quinn smiled at him, admiring how cute he was.
James shifted uncomfortably and continued with the questions.
“Have you ever heard of a Hellmouth?” he asked, breaking the smile on her face.
“Yeah, there was one in Sunnydale, there’s another…I can’t remember where, and I’ve heard there was one under your building.”
“There is,” James nodded. “Would you know how to destroy it without the amulet?”
“Well, according to one of the myths about the Hellmouth, three amulets were created, not one,” she said, walking over to the half empty bookshelf and sorting through the books on the floor to find what she needed.
“Three?” Cordelia asked in surprise. “We thought there was only one amulet, and it’s been used before to close the Hellmouth in Sunnydale.”
“According to this,” Quinn held up a small emerald colored book with a picture of the amulet on the cover. “Three were created; one was taken and buried somewhere; it should tell you in the book. The second was destroyed by the demons in the Underworld, and the other was stolen, but never found. I’m guessing the one that was used to close the Hellmouth was the one that was stolen. I wasn’t able to read all the way through it, but I understood that much of it.” She handed them the book and pushed more books out of the way with her feet.
“May we borrow this or make copies of the pages we need?” Cordelia asked, flipping through the book.
“You can keep it, if it’ll help,” Quinn nodded. “Well, I’d better get going; my class is about to start and I need to finish cleaning up.”
“Thank you.” Cordelia smiled and shook her hand. James shook her hand briefly before pulling away and following Cordelia to the car. “Wesley’s going to have fun with this,” she said, looking over at James as he got in the passenger seat, and noticing how quiet he was. “You alright?”
“I don’t know,” he frowned. “For the sake of our situation, let’s say Jasmine and her gang of misfit demons rifled through the school in search for the amulet…why didn’t she take the book that told her where the other was buried?”
“Maybe she didn’t see it,” Cordelia suggested and started the car, putting on the air conditioner. “Or maybe she wasn’t looking for the amulet…”
“There are too many gaps, is what I’m saying, Cordy.” He looked out of the window, then back to the wavy haired brunette. “If there is another amulet out there, and if this book can tell us where it is…what if Jasmine is trying to get us to find it so she can take if from us and destroy it later?”
“I’d say that was farfetched but, then again, you could be right on.”
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“Are you comfortable?” Martha asked her new patient Sage. She nodded her head and relaxed on the bed as Martha started checking her vitals before inspecting her mouth.
When she finished, she turned her back to write her notes in Sage’s file and just as she turned back around, Sage got to her feet, ready to attack Martha with a nearby syringe. Before the tip of the needle made it into Martha’s jugular, Martha kicked Sage in the chest, using the techniques Spike taught her. Her eyes then generated an electric shock across the room, causing Sage to be hit by it and thrown against the wall, knocking her unconscious.
Martha reached under the counter and pressed the red button for emergency assistance. Spike was the first to arrive and saw Sage lying on the floor with her hair covering her face.
“She just came at me and,” Martha panicked - worried she killed her own patient.
“It’s alright,” Spike said, and walked over to the woman to check her neck to see if she was alive. “I’m moving her into The Square.” Martha nodded her head and stood back as Spike quickly carried Sage down the hall and into another part of the building.
The Square was a 6ft by 6ft silver room, made of steel, and only held demons or vampires that weren’t strong enough to break out.
“What happened?” Angel came running in. “Where’s Sage?”
“Spike took her to The Square. She came at me with a syringe.” Martha sat on her stool, trying to slow her hearts down.
“She’s under Jasmine’s control,” Angel stated, coming to a conclusion. “This isn’t the first time she’s put people under her control. A little over a year ago she held people in a trance and they only killed on her command.” He took a look at Martha, then looked at the burnt wall. “What happened to the wall?”
“My eyes, they electrocuted her.” She took another minute to think and stood up, realizing what power was inside of her. “Tekton said when I flat lined he had to use the defibrillator to get my hearts started again, and a defibrillator gives an electric charge to the heart.”
“Right.” Angel leaned against the counter, looking at her with his arms crossed.
“I can feel my body absorb energy, so maybe it also stores a type of power somewhere, and I can use it when I react emotionally,” she said, thinking out loud. “Of course, that’s just my theory; I’d have to test it out.”
“So you’re like a human receptor,” Angel said, trying to catch on to what she was saying.
“Exactly,” she said with a satisfied smile. “I have an idea.”
Martha ran out to of the room and went to find the Doctor, who was in the lobby talking to James and Cordelia. Angel quickly followed her and was joined by Spike, who was running back to see if Martha was alright.
“I need your sonic,” she said as soon as she made it down the stairs.
“What for?” the Doctor asked, removing it from his breast pocket and handing it to her.
“Just watch,” she said. “Angel, lock the door to your office.” She commanded then punched in the correct setting for unlocking doors into the sonic, placed the blue tip of the screwdriver into her palm and turned it on. She waited for five seconds and gave the slender object back to the Doctor. As she walked to Angel’s locked door, she placed her hand on the silver lock and heard it click. She turned the knob and the door easily opened.
“How did you do that?” the Doctor asked, taking her hands and looking them over.
“Whatever goes into my body stays with me until I release it. Tekton was right about the power being centered in my eyes and my frontal lobe, but during the gene modification, the power spread through my body.” Martha smiled and the Doctor smiled with her. “I just haven’t been able to use it until now.”
“Have I ever told you how brilliant you are, Martha Jones?” he wrapped his arms around her and felt her small arms wrap around his back.
“I think you’ve mentioned it once or twice,” she smiled against his chest. He reluctantly let go when she pulled away.
“Damn that was the coolest thing I’ve seen all day,” Gunn smiled.
“You should’ve seen what I did earlier. I had electricity coming out of my eyes,” Martha shook her head free of the thought. It wasn’t her fault about what she did to Sage, she had no choice and no control over the outcome.
“And now that you’re all figured out,” James smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “How’s Sage? We needed to ask her a couple more questions.”
“That might be difficult,” Spike said. “She attacked Martha so I threw her in The Square and when I put her down on the ground, the psychotic bitch tried attacking me.”
“What did you do to her?” Martha asked.
“Knocked her out,” Spike held up his fist. “Got her right across the face and I’ll do it again if I have to,” he said proudly as he walked away. “Hello love,” he smiled at Fred as she passed him on the stairs.
“Hi Spike,” she said briefly and walked right past him. “We’re getting more readings from the Hellmouth. The doorway to it is still not opening, but it’s definitely causing a disruption under the building and if we don’t find that amulet soon, the building is going to collapse before the Hellmouth starts consuming all of LA.”
“I just found out where it was buried,” Wesley said, holding the green book in his hands, and standing outside of the group as he read quietly. “Anyone want to take a trip to Egypt?”
“You understood that jibber jabber?” Cordelia asked.
“It’s not jibber jabber, Cordelia. It’s an ancient language that’s been dead for centuries, but luckily I’ve done my homework. The book doesn’t give a detailed description about its actual whereabouts; just that it’s in Egypt.”
“I can call for a plane and schedule a flight to get us there,” Angel said. “What else does it say, Wes?”
“I can’t quite recognize a few words; I’d have to spend more time deciphering them and put them in the correct order,” he said. “I’ll figure it out before we get to Egypt.” Wesley disappeared into his office to pack a bag of helpful books and the emergency bag with his clothes.
“Where are Jack, Mickey, and Tekton?” James asked.
“Mickey is sleeping and as for Jack and Tekton…well, knowing Jack, they could be doing anything.” The Doctor gestured his head towards the TARDIS.
Just as Martha was about to ask the Doctor if he was going to go with them to Egypt to find the amulet, she turned to James as he clutched his chest again in pain.
“James?” she started placing her hand on his chest, but he stopped her. “What’s wrong?
“Nothing…just heartburn I think.” He smiled, trying not to worry her. “I’d better go take my medicine.” He headed up to Martha’s office where she kept the pills, but didn’t take one when he grabbed the bottle.
He didn’t tell her he had turned off the watch that reminded him to take his medication. The pills she prescribed weren’t helping his heart, and instead of letting her find another way to stop his heart from forming into the size of a pea, he was letting himself die a slow death. The Doctor was right, he was selfish for making that decision, but it was his decision.
“What’s wrong with him?” Martha turned to the Doctor, knowing James wouldn’t tell her what was wrong.
“Just as he said, probably heartburn,” the Doctor shrugged his shoulders. He was tempted to tell Martha about James’ heart, but after hearing the human’s plea, he decided against it.
“I know he’s as stubborn as you are, but he won’t tell me something is wrong…Doctor, please tell me. Don’t tell me ‘nothing’ because I know it’s something.” She stepped closer to the Time Lord and looked into his eyes.
“I can’t,” he said. “I told James I wouldn’t and it’s his decision if he wants to tell you or not.”
“Alright,” she said, stepping closer to him so they were standing toe to toe. “But if I find out that he’s dying and you knew and didn’t tell me…I will never forgive you so you had better make sure your decisions are worth it.” The Doctor watched her walk away from him and up to her office where she kept her own emergency bag.
With a deep sigh, he kept to himself and headed into Angel’s office to offer the TARDIS as a way to get around rather than calling for plane.
----------------------------------
“I’m fine,” James said just as the pain passed and Martha came into her office unhappy.
“I didn’t come in to check on you,” she said, half lying. Martha looked over at him and approached him like she did the Doctor. “I hope you’re telling me the truth, because as I told the Doctor, if I find out you’re dying and decided not to tell me, I will not forgive you.”
James looked at her, trying not get teary eyed, but he still stood by his choice.
“I love you, but I don’t want you lying to me, especially when it comes to your health. I think as your doctor and as your…you know…girlfriend, I think I deserve right to know so I’m going to ask you again. What is wrong?”
“Martha,” he took her hands. “I really am fine; it’s just heartburn or indigestion.”
“As I said, I hope you’re telling me the truth.” She snatched her hands away, grabbed their bags, and left to join the others.
James closed his eyes for a moment before slowly walking to the lobby where he saw everyone piling into the TARDIS. Angel agreed to let the Doctor take them to Egypt, but he needed the blue box to be in reach, given he and Spike would turn into dust when the sun came up.
“Ready?” he asked and received one loud ‘yes’ from the group. He watched James closely as the twin started getting into the TARDIS. “Well?” the Doctor asked, stopping James in the doorway with a hand on his arm.
“I told you, I’ve made my choice, Doctor,” James said.
“She won’t forgive me if you die, and I don’t want her hating me for respecting your wishes.”
“Telling her won’t change anything. She’ll cry, be heartbroken, and then what?” James snatched his arm away.
“If you die, she’ll cry and be heartbroken anyway,” the Doctor growled at him. “I am giving you until we get back here, and if you haven’t told her by the time we land in the lobby, I will tell her myself and let you suffer the consequences because I refuse to be in the middle of this. You told me how much I hurt her…how is what you’re doing to her any different?”
The Time Lord brushed past him, putting on a fake smile when he approached the console. Mickey, Jack, and Tekton appeared in the Control Room, excited they were going somewhere with everyone on board.
“You’re walking funny,” Martha whispered to Jack. “Do you need anything?”
“Not unless you brought an anal repair kit in your bag,” Jack smiled. Martha blushed and hid her smile behind her hand.
“Jack!” she exclaimed in a whisper, swatting his arm.
“Welcome aboard again,” the Doctor announced as James finally shut the door and walked up the ramp to stand next to Martha. “Before we take off, I suggest you hold on tight…it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”
“Oh sure, warn other people who are only going on one trip, rather than your companions.” Martha rolled her eyes, holding on to one side of the console.
“Oh don’t be sore, Martha…it wasn’t that bad our first time, was it?” the Doctor asked, nudging her arm.
“No, not after I realized I needed to hold on for dear life.” She smiled briefly.
The Doctor bounced on his feet as he got the TARDIS into the Vortex before landing somewhere in Egypt. Martha walked down the ramp first, opening the door slowly, followed by the rest of her colleagues.
“Well?” Cordelia asked, squeezing through to see where they were. “We’re here, right?”
“Here in Cairo!” The Doctor pushed his way through the doors and shoved his hands in his pockets and squinting at the bright sun.
They followed the Doctor out of the TARDIS like a flock of sheep and took a good look at their surroundings.
“I think we’ll wait here until the sun goes down,” Angel said from inside the TARDIS with Spike.
“No, no, go ahead…I won’t miss you.” Spike encouraged. Angel turned to him, ready to drive a stake through his un-beating heart.
“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Cordelia assured him before following the Doctor into the city.
“Well, we’re here, it’s hot…now where do we start?” Gunn asked. They continued to follow the Doctor further into the city as Wesley flipped through the pages of the emerald colored book, trying to find something that would give away the location of the amulet.