Fic: The Linear Life (1/?)
Title: The Linear Life (1/?)
Author: spellweaver731
Beta: redcircewho looked at this over a year ago. I’ve made some changes and have re-edited it myself. Hopefully there is nothing too wrong with it :)
Rating: All
Characters: Rose Tyler, the Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones
Pairing: Rose/Doctor
Genre: AU, Adventure, Romance, Angst
Spoilers: Series 3. Maybe stuff from S4.
Summary: After being reunited with Rose right after dealing with the four things and a lizard the Doctor has been traveling the universe with both Rose and Martha. An encounter with the Weeping Angels leaves them stranded together in 1969 where they will have to sort out their various relationships and learn to get along in one flat while finding the way home.
Author's Notes: Sequel to Failing to Fetch Me but it is not strictly necessary to have read it. Just know that Rose used the dimension cannon a bit early and is now traveling with the Doctor and Martha in late series 3. It's short though.
Disclaimer: The Doctor, Rose, Martha, the TARDIS and all other Doctor Who characters, settings and artifacts belong to the BBC or so I am told.
Chapter 2
***
How he managed to fly the ship one-handed Martha couldn't fathom. In the past he'd often seemed to need to involve his feet and-on one memorable occasion-his tongue. The ship gave a violent jerk, throwing Martha painfully into the railing. She glared at the couple in front of her in annoyance, particularly their joined hands. She was sure that the turbulence was a direct result.
Another convulsion knocked them all off their feet as the ship came to a sudden stop. Rose giggled absurdly from the floor. The Doctor laughed like landing on his rump was the best thing that had happened to him all year.
Martha got to her feet as gracefully as she could manage, cataloging her bodily damage. All minor.
She risked a glance back at the prostrate pair. They were still giggling and poking each other with their free hands. At last their laughter calmed somewhat and the Doctor went from sprawled on the floor-on her-to vertical so fast it was dizzying. His body flowed like quicksilver from one position to the next as he got back to his feet. He tugged Rose up by her armpits and-like a sloppy drunk-she fell against his chest, still laughing. The Doctor grinned at Rose-his nose only an inch from hers-before dashing off to grab his coat, their hands finally disconnecting as he slipped it on.
“So this planet, Bisnarth? What do we need to know about it?” Martha asked him briskly.
“Oi! It's no fun knowing beforehand! Take all the adventure out of it why don't you?” Rose said, continuing to giggle. “I wanna just step out into the complete unknown and discover it as we go!” She skipped-she actually skipped- over to the Doctor's side. She giggled inanely the whole way and took his hand again.
Annoyance surged through Martha at Rose's words. She wanted to be prepared. Travel with the Doctor was no laughing matter. She'd learned early on that it was best to grill the Doctor for information before ever stepping foot outside the TARDIS. There could be fanged rodents of unusual proportions or indigenous mobs of spear wielding locals.
“Yes, more fun that way, wouldn't you agree Martha?” the Doctor said, swinging his and Rose's joined hands between them and grinning. He never even looked at her. They just kept smiling at each other like dopey idiots.
“Sure, let's just step out into the wild unknown. What's the worst that could happen?” Martha asked, sarcasm lacing her words. The Doctor didn't even notice, of course. Even more infuriating, Rose seemed to have caught her tone just fine and was giving her a pitying look. Whatever.
The Doctor led the way to the door, pulling Rose by the hand as if she were incapable of going anywhere without an adult to monitor her and keep her from crossing the street without looking both ways. Rose kept glancing back at her with apology in her eyes.
She hoped they'd both be eaten by giant flying squirrels. With fangs.
Martha lingered near the console, wondering if they'd even notice if she didn't follow them out when the grating sound of Rose's laughter filtered back through the doors.
“You mucked it up again,” Rose sing-songed.
She heard the Doctor's baffled voice respond. “I could have sworn this was Bisnarth, everything was set properly before we landed.”
“Face it Doctor, you're still a rubbish driver,” Rose said, still laughing. Martha stuck her head out to see if they'd ended up somewhere interesting. She immediately sought out the Doctor and Rose. Some small part of her hoped to catch the Doctor looking angry at Rose's criticism. She was disappointed on both counts however.
The pair of them were still playing at being conjoined twins attached at the palm and behind them was a house. A run-down and dull, human-built house. The accompanying over-grown lawn and derelict fence came with it free of charge. It was overwhelming in its ordinariness.
“Oi!” the Doctor squawked in mock indignation, still beaming at Rose.
“I'm not complaining, it's fun not knowing where you're gonna end up. Mind you, it'd be nice if once in awhile it wasn't London. Was born here you know, I've see all this,” Rose said, waving her hand about to encompass the area and looking back at Martha knowingly, as if she was expecting support.
“We don't know if this is London, could be anywhere on Earth really, or even an Earth-like planet,” the Doctor said, waving his free arm about to encompass the whole scene just as she had. “Someplace Earth-ish.”
“Yeah, it doesn't look particularly London-like to me,” Martha said, rushing to defend the Doctor. Why, however, she couldn't imagine.
He nodded at her and gave an approving smile. Her heart fluttered. She found herself smiling back at him before she could think about it. As he turned back to Rose her heart fell. He was right back to ignoring her existence again.
Martha took a deep breath. She would just have to make her presence felt.
“Back inside then?” she asked. It was far from the first time he had bungled up their destination. Usually he got it right on the second try.
“Don't you want to explore the spooky old house?” Rose asked, putting on a stage whisper and emphasizing the word 'spooky'. She smiled at Martha. Her smile faltered when Martha didn't respond in kind. Martha quickly schooled her features into a smile that she hoped wasn't too tight looking.
“You never know, it could be haunted,” Rose continued in the same spooky voice, now shifting her focus back to the Doctor. Martha tried not to feel as though her intelligence was being insulted. She was sure that Rose talking to her like she was an easily frightened five-year-old was more a reflection of Rose's own mental capacity and not a statement on her belief about Martha's.
The Doctor's face split into a grin at Rose's words. “Brilliant! Let's see what's inside.” He pulled Rose along, leaning over to whisper something in her ear as they approached the door. They both giggled. Martha sighed and followed them.
***The inside of the house was just as disappointing as its outside had suggested it would be. It was old. It was falling apart. It was dusty. There was nothing the least bit interesting about it. The Doctor and Rose however were acting as if they'd just been transported to Narnia, giggling and pointing at every moldy bit of wallpaper or dusty light fixture. It had been like this everywhere they'd been since bumping into Rose in that park.
It'd only been about a day and a half since then, maybe less. It could be hard to tell, but since they'd picked up Rose the Doctor had been taking them places non-stop. Quick trips that were nothing like what Martha was used to in TARDIS travel. Martha for one was getting tired and was in need of a good night's sleep.
First they'd gone to Barcelona, the planet not the city, apparently. The phrase had been frequently repeated during their brief stay there to have a fruity drink and pet some strange orange-ish dogs. Her two traveling companions had laughed like it was the funniest joke anyone had ever heard. Martha found that she'd no appetite for the fried dough balls the Doctor had been so excited about and ended up throwing hers to the hyper animals.
Rose had changed into a sundress for the occasion. Evidently she had a room on board that was filled with her things. Martha was still wishing she'd thought to bring more clothing the one time they'd stopped at her flat. At the time she'd just been so happy to be invited along for real that she'd not thought to pack much. She'd yet to work up the nerve to ask the Doctor to stop back, afraid he might want to leave her there like the last time.
Especially now. Now that he had Rose back. Rose who had left him for her family and then shown up again out of nowhere, waltzing back in to the Doctor's life without a care. Martha wondered if she had any idea of the havoc she had caused. It had been clear to Martha when she first met the Doctor that he was torn up about her leaving him. Martha had hoped to pick up the pieces.
If Rose had done it once she would likely do it again. She seemed rather fickle to Martha. Perhaps all she had to do was wait it out, wait for Rose to get tired of him again. Then Martha would still be there, loyal and caring and willing to help him through it.
The Doctor had liked Rose's sundress. He'd said so while Rose twirled around on the pavement as they'd walked along the sunlit streets of Barcelona. As she came out of her spin Rose had offhandedly mentioned that she found her clothing options unsatisfactory, something about having the wardrobe of a teenager. Martha wasn't paying too much attention to their conversation, but before she knew it they were off to Jaladrianon 5. The planet was well known for its shopping and clothing industry according to the Doctor-the perfect place for Rose to replace her wardrobe.
Martha had been a little excited at first. She liked to shop after all, but that soon changed upon landing. They stepped into what was clearly a very up-scale woman's clothing boutique. The Doctor waved his psychic paper around and all too soon they had a couple of private rooms with attendants to fetch her and Rose clothes in different colors, styles, and sizes.
It should have been great fun-they were being treated like royalty-but all Martha could see when she looked at the Doctor and Rose was Annalise and her father. Rose giggled and simpered, trying on outfit after outfit, parading in front of a wall of mirrors-and the Doctor. The Doctor watched as he sipped the tea provided by the overly helpful staff, grinning and complementing her even when things clashed horribly with her coloring. Rose should never wear orange. Martha hoped that some of the things she'd picked out had been meant as jokes.
The Doctor told Martha to pick out anything she liked and Rose encouraged her to try on clothes. She had tried on a few things and even chose a couple of tops and a perfectly adorable pair of shoes, but her heart was just not in it.
Rose on the other hand acquired a whole new wardrobe, courtesy of the psychic paper once again. She was not really sure how that worked, but in the end Rose walked away with a veritable mountain of clothing. Tops and trousers, skirts and shoes, a few dresses and a pale blue mid-length trench coat that would have looked terrible on Martha were all loaded into the TARDIS by the staff. Rose offered to pay as she had a bag full of small gold bars that Martha was deeply curious about, but the Doctor wouldn't hear of it and Rose had given in. Martha thought she'd noticed her leaving a few of the gold pieces in one of the dressing rooms however.
They'd departed Jaladrianon 5 and stopped off at 37th century Thailand for dinner. The restaurant had been wonderful, some of the best food Martha had ever had. It was definitely the best she'd had while traveling with the Doctor. He seemed to forget she needed to eat most of the time and she had always been grabbing food on the go wherever she could get it. He'd certainly never taken her anywhere just for the food, but that had been the only purpose to this visit to the future Earth as far as Martha could tell. Like a date.
The restaurant had been clearly intended for couples. Each table was secluded and candle lit with just enough room for two. The wait-staff had seemed a bit surprised to see a group of three, but they had gladly squeezed in a third chair at their table. It was ridiculously cramped and Martha found herself more than once having her foot stroked by Rose's as she mistook her for the Doctor. She'd been half tempted to claim to be not hungry and meet them back at the TARDIS.
After dessert they'd walked outside to find a gorgeous and close looking full moon hanging on the horizon. Martha was lost in memories of her first meeting with the Doctor, staring up at it while she trailed a few paces behind the deeply conversing pair. She was surprised when she nearly ran into Rose's back. They'd stopped to admire the moon as well.
“What do you say Martha?” the Doctor asked her.
“About what?” she asked.
“About going to see the first moon landing!” Rose said. She turned to look at Martha, a hopeful smile on her face. Martha smiled back, genuinely this time. The idea did sound fun. Rose's smile became even wider in response. Martha felt a small pang of shame for how she'd been acting. Her mother had raised her better than to behave the way she was, all sullen and unfriendly. Martha vowed with new determination to make an effort to at least be polite back.
“Sounds great! I love to see history happening,” she answered with rising cheerfulness.
“Me too,” Rose said. “Let's go! Race you back to the TARDIS.” She took off with the Doctor, both so intent on beating the other that Martha was able to easily pull ahead while they tried to hold each other back. She reached the doors and unlocked them, running up the ramp. The Doctor and Rose were right on her heels. Rose pushed through first, hip checking the Doctor at the doorway so she could slip through, still laughing.
The Doctor made it to the console at last, fixing his now disheveled hair before quickly setting the controls with precise flicks of his wrists. With a small amount of envy she watched Rose help him with the same practiced ease. The Doctor gave her instructions that may as well have been in a foreign language to Martha, but Rose followed him without hesitation.
They landed with minimal turbulence this time. Some fairly serious shaking and rolling had become normal these last few trips, especially on the landing. They'd been knocked about on nearly every one since Rose had come aboard. Martha was convinced it was because the Doctor was distracted and Rose a rubbish pilot.
The Doctor pulled out a drawer under the console and took out three gleaming metal rings. “Here, put these on your wrists,” he told them. He handed one to Martha. What had looked like a solid band at first was actually a bracelet with a hinge that opened to allow it to clasp her wrist. Martha put on her bracelet and clamped it shut; hearing and feeling it lock into place.
The Doctor helped Rose put her bracelet on. Of course. He held her wrist gently still while he snapped the device closed. As he put his own on she saw Rose feel around on her band and press on it. Instantly an indigo glow shimmered into existence around her, about four inches from Rose's skin. Just as quickly the glow faded. Rose turned to look at Martha.
“Force-field,” she said. “It'll give us oxygen and keep us warm as long as we are not out there for too long.”
“They have a cloaking setting too, which we'll need to engage. Can't have ol' Neil and his buddies catching sight of us now, can we? Especially Buzz, he was an observant guy and won't buy our poorly thought out excuses of being space-dementia induced hallucinations,” the Doctor told them, bouncing around in his eagerness. Martha had never seen him quite like this. He was often filled with manic energy, but what she was witnessing now was something altogether new. He seemed lighter, more genuine. He was practically vibrating with giddiness. Always before it had felt like he was using his manic energy as a mask to hide behind or perhaps even as a shield. The differences couldn't just be because of Rose's presence could it?
The Doctor showed her how to activate the energy barrier and the cloaking mechanism. After they were all set she could still see the Doctor and Rose, but it was hard to focus on them.
“It's a perception filter, isn't it Doctor?” Rose asked.
“Right you are! As long as we stay quiet and don't draw attention to ourselves nobody should notice us,” he answered her.
They stepped out, the earth just rising over the craggy horizon. It was just as stark and beautiful as Martha remembered it. The harsh and sterile moon juxtaposed to the jewel bright Earth, both lovely in their own way.
“Remember when we were last here?” the Doctor asked. Martha turned in excitement to give an affirmative, her face shining with happiness. The sight that greeted her caused her heart to sink. He wasn't talking to her.
“Yeah, we played golf,” Rose answered. “You insisted every shot you made was a hole-in-one, even though there were no holes.”
He'd taken Rose to the moon. Martha knew it was childish, but she felt a sharp stab of resentment and jealousy. She'd thought the moon had been their thing. It was where she'd met him. Here they were again and he didn't even mention it. Was there nothing that was just hers? Had Rose done everything with him first?
“Remember when we saved the Earth from being magnetized?” Martha interjected.
“Right, yes! Judoon platoon upon the moon,” the Doctor replied with enthusiasm, turning his beaming smile on Martha.
“That sounds like a fun one,” Rose said as she tugged on his arm, her tone clearly asking for the story. She waited with her usual tongue exposed smile for them to elaborate. Martha couldn't believe how affected the expression was. How could anyone buy that she smiled like that without a thought? Clearly Rose felt that showing off her tongue in her ridiculously proportioned mouth was attractive.
“It's where we met,” Martha began. “Here on the moon. The hospital I was doing my residence at got transported, right in the middle of my shift too!”
“And I was already inside investigating some plasma coils, turns out it was the Judoon all along,” the Doctor said, picking up the tale. “You remember them Rose?”
“Yes, from that time on Eranurei Minor. Space police. Big ugly rhino heads. Not very bright.” Rose answered rapidly. “Remember how we tricked them into thinking a cactus with some bananas glued on was their perp?”
The Doctor laughed and nodded enthusiastically.
“And Jack hid a small communicator in the pot, he pretended to plead for mercy,” Rose finished, laughing through her words.
“Yes! The looks on their faces when they realized the cactus was not sentient! Ha! Brilliant!” the Doctor exclaimed, laughing along with Rose and rocking back and forth from heel to toe.
“The Doctor kissed me to fool them into think that I was an alien,” Martha said.
They both stopped laughing instantly and turned as one to look at her. The Doctor's look was unreadable, but she thought it might be disapproval. Rose looked hurt and confused for a moment. Then she smiled wryly and turned back to the Doctor.
“Kissing girls you've only just met. That does sound like the Doctor I know.” Her voice was light and teasing, but Martha could hear the underlying pain. Martha's heart was beating faster than normal. She couldn't decided if she was glad she'd shaken Rose out of her happy confidence at the Doctor's side or ashamed of her deliberate taunt. She knew the kiss had meant nothing to the Doctor. She'd imagined that he might be interested in her when she'd first come aboard, but her hopes had been dashed again and again. Even human with none of his true memories Rose had leaked through, invading his thoughts and dreams. She'd even been in his journal and he'd told Joan about her. Martha had managed to flip through it quickly once. She'd not featured on any of its pages.
The Doctor looked distinctly abashed, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yes, well. Best we start walking, wouldn't want to miss the moon landing. It's just over that rise, there should be some rocky outcroppings we can watch from,” he said as he turned away from them both.
Rose smiled, but the look she shot Martha was more guarded then her previously open and friendly expression. The Doctor took Rose's hand again. This time Rose didn't immediately squeeze back and bounce along beside him. It was a much more subdued group that watched the rather incredible moon landing.
Martha was jolted out of her daydream remembrance by Rose and the Doctor coming back into the room.
“It's such a nice day outside, we're gonna check out the back garden,” Rose said. “Looked like there were some neat old statues and things back there. Did you want to come?”
“Sure,” Martha answered. Anything to get out of this dreary old house. She followed the pair out through the rusted rear entrance.
The back of the house was just as intriguing as the inside and front had been. Martha yawned and was just about to ask how much longer they wanted to stay when Rose gasped.
“What, what is it?” the Doctor asked her, his voice laced with concern.
“That statue over there, it moved, I swear it moved. It's at least a meter closer to us than it was,” Rose answered in shock, pointing off to the right.
Martha scoffed. Moving statues? She really did have the mind of a five year old. She came here looking for ghosts and now was determined to find something spooky.
“Oh no,” the Doctor replied. “Keep looking at it Rose, don't let it out of your sight and whatever you do don't blink.”
Rose froze, staring hard at the statue.
“Martha turn around, do you see any more of them?” he asked her seriously, a note of clear alarm in his voice.
Martha looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Why, what's the big deal?” She looked to the statue Rose had indicated more closely. It was a life-sized stone angel, its hands covering its face in apparent sorrow. There was another one further off to the left, she noticed.
“I've got the one to our left and Rose has the one to the right, but do you see any more?” he asked with a quiet intensity that Martha had learned not to question. “Quickly, Martha look around!” The Doctor's shouting spurred her into action and she whipped around. She backed up to where the Doctor and Rose were standing both facing statues off in the trees. She turned to look at them, glancing between the two still statues. They were very similar, just in slightly different positions.
“I don't see any-” It was as far as Martha got. With her next breath she found herself flat on her back, looking up at a night sky framed by buildings. She was winded and dizzy.
“Everyone alright?” Martha heard the Doctor ask from beside her.
“Yeah,” Rose answered, also on the ground. The Doctor was hovering above them. He reached down to get Rose back on her feet, helping her brush off the dirt from her new blue jacket. Martha got to her feet too, bushing her own clothes down.
“I'm fine too,” Martha said a touch petulantly. Not that he was really asking me was he?
“Good, good,” the Doctor said. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He started to scan Rose, then Martha. “Hmm...”
“Hmm, what Doctor?” Rose asked before Martha could. “Where are we and what exactly happened? It was daylight out just seconds ago. Did we travel in time? That felt a bit like traveling with Jack's vortex manipulator.”
“Oh you're clever. Yes, it was very similar to a vortex manipulator. Well, similar in that we did just travel in time without a capsule. Nasty,” he said with a shudder. “Are you sure you're alright? It can take a lot out of you, traveling that way.”
“I'm fine Doctor, I've jumped across universes without a capsule, this wasn't any worse than that,” Rose assured him. “What about you Martha, feeling alright?” Her brow was furrowed in concern.
“Yeah, fine. A little shaken perhaps,” Martha answered. “What exactly happened?”
“The Weeping Angels. They're what happened. Those statues were living beings. Aliens,” the Doctor explained. As usual Martha felt like she was fumbling around in the dark at his explanation. Probably because it had lacked any real information about what had really been done to them.
“And they-what? Sent us packing on a little time-trip? For what reason?” Martha asked.
“So they could consume our lost days, we've been sent to the past and the Angels can live off the potential energy of all the time we should have had. I've never encountered them before; I almost thought they were a myth. The lonely assassins. ”
“We didn't just time-travel though did we? We moved across space as well. This still looks like London, but now we’re in an alley, tall buildings all around. If this is the past it's unlikely they pulled down all these buildings to put up a house with a garden in the future. When do you think we are exactly?” Rose asked.
“1969,” the Doctor answered without a thought.
“How do you know that? Time Lord Superpowers?” Rose asked, the second question bringing out her teasing smile as she lowered her voice dramatically.
“No, I know that because of a girl I met. Not long before I found you in that park.” As he said it he pulled out a folder from his coat pocket.
“A-hem, I believe that I found you in that park,” Rose said her voice still teasing.
Martha wasn't much in the mood to tolerate their continued banter. It seemed like it was down to her to point out the obvious.
“If we're in 1969 then how are we going to get back to the time where the TARDIS is? It didn't exactly come with us,” she said.
“We just need to trust that everything we need is in here,” the Doctor said, waving the folder around. The memory clicked and Martha remembered the girl. She'd not paid attention to her at the time-she'd had far more important things to worry about-but she remembered her saying something about being stuck in 1969.
“That blonde girl on the street! She warned us that this would happen. She said that she knew you in the future. Couldn't you have stopped it then, if you'd looked at the folder before now?” Martha asked.
“If it already happened then he couldn't change it and you can't go looking up stuff about your own future, it's dangerous,” Rose said. Martha felt another sharp stab of annoyance at her. It was bad enough getting the condescending 'laws of time' talks from the Doctor, but at least he was an expert, Rose was an ordinary human like her. She'd just traveled with the Doctor longer.
“Yeah, I just had to hang on to the folder and trust that it all works out. In fact we already know that it all works out. That girl told us so. She knew us in the future, in 2007. Ergo we must find a way back.”
He pulled out his glasses, flicking them into place one-handed as he began riffling through the documents and photos. “We just need to figure out what we already did to successfully get back to the future and do it. Simple.”
“Give me those,” Rose said. “We all know they don't do anything, you just think they make you look a bit clever.” She reached over to pluck the Doctor's glasses off his face. She put them on and danced out of his reach as he tried to retrieve them.
“Rose! Give them back! I need them to go into investigation mode,” he whined.
“You do not, you can have them back when you've figured this out,” Rose said. She put the glasses on her own face. She turned to look around, examining each of the surrounding buildings with her mouth opened stupidly. Fake or not, the glasses did not manage to make Rose look any smarter.
“First we're gonna need a place to stay. I don't know about you Martha, but I'm knackered. I feel like I haven't slept in a week. What with all the running about time and space we've been doing,” Rose said as she turned back to face them, apparently finished with her visual investigation of the nearby buildings. “We should see about checking into a hotel or something.”
Martha was exhausted, especially after their most recent time-trip. The Doctor was right; it had taken a lot out of her.
“We shouldn't be here long,” the Doctor said with a pout.
“Regardless, I don't think I can do anything without a proper night's sleep at this point,” Rose said. “You can spend the night going over the folder while Martha and I get some rest. In the morning we can all implement whatever brilliant plan you've come up with.”
The Doctor smiled at her like she was the cleverest thing he'd ever laid eyes on. Again.
Chapter 2
Author: spellweaver731
Beta: redcircewho looked at this over a year ago. I’ve made some changes and have re-edited it myself. Hopefully there is nothing too wrong with it :)
Rating: All
Characters: Rose Tyler, the Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones
Pairing: Rose/Doctor
Genre: AU, Adventure, Romance, Angst
Spoilers: Series 3. Maybe stuff from S4.
Summary: After being reunited with Rose right after dealing with the four things and a lizard the Doctor has been traveling the universe with both Rose and Martha. An encounter with the Weeping Angels leaves them stranded together in 1969 where they will have to sort out their various relationships and learn to get along in one flat while finding the way home.
Author's Notes: Sequel to Failing to Fetch Me but it is not strictly necessary to have read it. Just know that Rose used the dimension cannon a bit early and is now traveling with the Doctor and Martha in late series 3. It's short though.
Disclaimer: The Doctor, Rose, Martha, the TARDIS and all other Doctor Who characters, settings and artifacts belong to the BBC or so I am told.
Chapter 2
***
How he managed to fly the ship one-handed Martha couldn't fathom. In the past he'd often seemed to need to involve his feet and-on one memorable occasion-his tongue. The ship gave a violent jerk, throwing Martha painfully into the railing. She glared at the couple in front of her in annoyance, particularly their joined hands. She was sure that the turbulence was a direct result.
Another convulsion knocked them all off their feet as the ship came to a sudden stop. Rose giggled absurdly from the floor. The Doctor laughed like landing on his rump was the best thing that had happened to him all year.
Martha got to her feet as gracefully as she could manage, cataloging her bodily damage. All minor.
She risked a glance back at the prostrate pair. They were still giggling and poking each other with their free hands. At last their laughter calmed somewhat and the Doctor went from sprawled on the floor-on her-to vertical so fast it was dizzying. His body flowed like quicksilver from one position to the next as he got back to his feet. He tugged Rose up by her armpits and-like a sloppy drunk-she fell against his chest, still laughing. The Doctor grinned at Rose-his nose only an inch from hers-before dashing off to grab his coat, their hands finally disconnecting as he slipped it on.
“So this planet, Bisnarth? What do we need to know about it?” Martha asked him briskly.
“Oi! It's no fun knowing beforehand! Take all the adventure out of it why don't you?” Rose said, continuing to giggle. “I wanna just step out into the complete unknown and discover it as we go!” She skipped-she actually skipped- over to the Doctor's side. She giggled inanely the whole way and took his hand again.
Annoyance surged through Martha at Rose's words. She wanted to be prepared. Travel with the Doctor was no laughing matter. She'd learned early on that it was best to grill the Doctor for information before ever stepping foot outside the TARDIS. There could be fanged rodents of unusual proportions or indigenous mobs of spear wielding locals.
“Yes, more fun that way, wouldn't you agree Martha?” the Doctor said, swinging his and Rose's joined hands between them and grinning. He never even looked at her. They just kept smiling at each other like dopey idiots.
“Sure, let's just step out into the wild unknown. What's the worst that could happen?” Martha asked, sarcasm lacing her words. The Doctor didn't even notice, of course. Even more infuriating, Rose seemed to have caught her tone just fine and was giving her a pitying look. Whatever.
The Doctor led the way to the door, pulling Rose by the hand as if she were incapable of going anywhere without an adult to monitor her and keep her from crossing the street without looking both ways. Rose kept glancing back at her with apology in her eyes.
She hoped they'd both be eaten by giant flying squirrels. With fangs.
Martha lingered near the console, wondering if they'd even notice if she didn't follow them out when the grating sound of Rose's laughter filtered back through the doors.
“You mucked it up again,” Rose sing-songed.
She heard the Doctor's baffled voice respond. “I could have sworn this was Bisnarth, everything was set properly before we landed.”
“Face it Doctor, you're still a rubbish driver,” Rose said, still laughing. Martha stuck her head out to see if they'd ended up somewhere interesting. She immediately sought out the Doctor and Rose. Some small part of her hoped to catch the Doctor looking angry at Rose's criticism. She was disappointed on both counts however.
The pair of them were still playing at being conjoined twins attached at the palm and behind them was a house. A run-down and dull, human-built house. The accompanying over-grown lawn and derelict fence came with it free of charge. It was overwhelming in its ordinariness.
“Oi!” the Doctor squawked in mock indignation, still beaming at Rose.
“I'm not complaining, it's fun not knowing where you're gonna end up. Mind you, it'd be nice if once in awhile it wasn't London. Was born here you know, I've see all this,” Rose said, waving her hand about to encompass the area and looking back at Martha knowingly, as if she was expecting support.
“We don't know if this is London, could be anywhere on Earth really, or even an Earth-like planet,” the Doctor said, waving his free arm about to encompass the whole scene just as she had. “Someplace Earth-ish.”
“Yeah, it doesn't look particularly London-like to me,” Martha said, rushing to defend the Doctor. Why, however, she couldn't imagine.
He nodded at her and gave an approving smile. Her heart fluttered. She found herself smiling back at him before she could think about it. As he turned back to Rose her heart fell. He was right back to ignoring her existence again.
Martha took a deep breath. She would just have to make her presence felt.
“Back inside then?” she asked. It was far from the first time he had bungled up their destination. Usually he got it right on the second try.
“Don't you want to explore the spooky old house?” Rose asked, putting on a stage whisper and emphasizing the word 'spooky'. She smiled at Martha. Her smile faltered when Martha didn't respond in kind. Martha quickly schooled her features into a smile that she hoped wasn't too tight looking.
“You never know, it could be haunted,” Rose continued in the same spooky voice, now shifting her focus back to the Doctor. Martha tried not to feel as though her intelligence was being insulted. She was sure that Rose talking to her like she was an easily frightened five-year-old was more a reflection of Rose's own mental capacity and not a statement on her belief about Martha's.
The Doctor's face split into a grin at Rose's words. “Brilliant! Let's see what's inside.” He pulled Rose along, leaning over to whisper something in her ear as they approached the door. They both giggled. Martha sighed and followed them.
***The inside of the house was just as disappointing as its outside had suggested it would be. It was old. It was falling apart. It was dusty. There was nothing the least bit interesting about it. The Doctor and Rose however were acting as if they'd just been transported to Narnia, giggling and pointing at every moldy bit of wallpaper or dusty light fixture. It had been like this everywhere they'd been since bumping into Rose in that park.
It'd only been about a day and a half since then, maybe less. It could be hard to tell, but since they'd picked up Rose the Doctor had been taking them places non-stop. Quick trips that were nothing like what Martha was used to in TARDIS travel. Martha for one was getting tired and was in need of a good night's sleep.
First they'd gone to Barcelona, the planet not the city, apparently. The phrase had been frequently repeated during their brief stay there to have a fruity drink and pet some strange orange-ish dogs. Her two traveling companions had laughed like it was the funniest joke anyone had ever heard. Martha found that she'd no appetite for the fried dough balls the Doctor had been so excited about and ended up throwing hers to the hyper animals.
Rose had changed into a sundress for the occasion. Evidently she had a room on board that was filled with her things. Martha was still wishing she'd thought to bring more clothing the one time they'd stopped at her flat. At the time she'd just been so happy to be invited along for real that she'd not thought to pack much. She'd yet to work up the nerve to ask the Doctor to stop back, afraid he might want to leave her there like the last time.
Especially now. Now that he had Rose back. Rose who had left him for her family and then shown up again out of nowhere, waltzing back in to the Doctor's life without a care. Martha wondered if she had any idea of the havoc she had caused. It had been clear to Martha when she first met the Doctor that he was torn up about her leaving him. Martha had hoped to pick up the pieces.
If Rose had done it once she would likely do it again. She seemed rather fickle to Martha. Perhaps all she had to do was wait it out, wait for Rose to get tired of him again. Then Martha would still be there, loyal and caring and willing to help him through it.
The Doctor had liked Rose's sundress. He'd said so while Rose twirled around on the pavement as they'd walked along the sunlit streets of Barcelona. As she came out of her spin Rose had offhandedly mentioned that she found her clothing options unsatisfactory, something about having the wardrobe of a teenager. Martha wasn't paying too much attention to their conversation, but before she knew it they were off to Jaladrianon 5. The planet was well known for its shopping and clothing industry according to the Doctor-the perfect place for Rose to replace her wardrobe.
Martha had been a little excited at first. She liked to shop after all, but that soon changed upon landing. They stepped into what was clearly a very up-scale woman's clothing boutique. The Doctor waved his psychic paper around and all too soon they had a couple of private rooms with attendants to fetch her and Rose clothes in different colors, styles, and sizes.
It should have been great fun-they were being treated like royalty-but all Martha could see when she looked at the Doctor and Rose was Annalise and her father. Rose giggled and simpered, trying on outfit after outfit, parading in front of a wall of mirrors-and the Doctor. The Doctor watched as he sipped the tea provided by the overly helpful staff, grinning and complementing her even when things clashed horribly with her coloring. Rose should never wear orange. Martha hoped that some of the things she'd picked out had been meant as jokes.
The Doctor told Martha to pick out anything she liked and Rose encouraged her to try on clothes. She had tried on a few things and even chose a couple of tops and a perfectly adorable pair of shoes, but her heart was just not in it.
Rose on the other hand acquired a whole new wardrobe, courtesy of the psychic paper once again. She was not really sure how that worked, but in the end Rose walked away with a veritable mountain of clothing. Tops and trousers, skirts and shoes, a few dresses and a pale blue mid-length trench coat that would have looked terrible on Martha were all loaded into the TARDIS by the staff. Rose offered to pay as she had a bag full of small gold bars that Martha was deeply curious about, but the Doctor wouldn't hear of it and Rose had given in. Martha thought she'd noticed her leaving a few of the gold pieces in one of the dressing rooms however.
They'd departed Jaladrianon 5 and stopped off at 37th century Thailand for dinner. The restaurant had been wonderful, some of the best food Martha had ever had. It was definitely the best she'd had while traveling with the Doctor. He seemed to forget she needed to eat most of the time and she had always been grabbing food on the go wherever she could get it. He'd certainly never taken her anywhere just for the food, but that had been the only purpose to this visit to the future Earth as far as Martha could tell. Like a date.
The restaurant had been clearly intended for couples. Each table was secluded and candle lit with just enough room for two. The wait-staff had seemed a bit surprised to see a group of three, but they had gladly squeezed in a third chair at their table. It was ridiculously cramped and Martha found herself more than once having her foot stroked by Rose's as she mistook her for the Doctor. She'd been half tempted to claim to be not hungry and meet them back at the TARDIS.
After dessert they'd walked outside to find a gorgeous and close looking full moon hanging on the horizon. Martha was lost in memories of her first meeting with the Doctor, staring up at it while she trailed a few paces behind the deeply conversing pair. She was surprised when she nearly ran into Rose's back. They'd stopped to admire the moon as well.
“What do you say Martha?” the Doctor asked her.
“About what?” she asked.
“About going to see the first moon landing!” Rose said. She turned to look at Martha, a hopeful smile on her face. Martha smiled back, genuinely this time. The idea did sound fun. Rose's smile became even wider in response. Martha felt a small pang of shame for how she'd been acting. Her mother had raised her better than to behave the way she was, all sullen and unfriendly. Martha vowed with new determination to make an effort to at least be polite back.
“Sounds great! I love to see history happening,” she answered with rising cheerfulness.
“Me too,” Rose said. “Let's go! Race you back to the TARDIS.” She took off with the Doctor, both so intent on beating the other that Martha was able to easily pull ahead while they tried to hold each other back. She reached the doors and unlocked them, running up the ramp. The Doctor and Rose were right on her heels. Rose pushed through first, hip checking the Doctor at the doorway so she could slip through, still laughing.
The Doctor made it to the console at last, fixing his now disheveled hair before quickly setting the controls with precise flicks of his wrists. With a small amount of envy she watched Rose help him with the same practiced ease. The Doctor gave her instructions that may as well have been in a foreign language to Martha, but Rose followed him without hesitation.
They landed with minimal turbulence this time. Some fairly serious shaking and rolling had become normal these last few trips, especially on the landing. They'd been knocked about on nearly every one since Rose had come aboard. Martha was convinced it was because the Doctor was distracted and Rose a rubbish pilot.
The Doctor pulled out a drawer under the console and took out three gleaming metal rings. “Here, put these on your wrists,” he told them. He handed one to Martha. What had looked like a solid band at first was actually a bracelet with a hinge that opened to allow it to clasp her wrist. Martha put on her bracelet and clamped it shut; hearing and feeling it lock into place.
The Doctor helped Rose put her bracelet on. Of course. He held her wrist gently still while he snapped the device closed. As he put his own on she saw Rose feel around on her band and press on it. Instantly an indigo glow shimmered into existence around her, about four inches from Rose's skin. Just as quickly the glow faded. Rose turned to look at Martha.
“Force-field,” she said. “It'll give us oxygen and keep us warm as long as we are not out there for too long.”
“They have a cloaking setting too, which we'll need to engage. Can't have ol' Neil and his buddies catching sight of us now, can we? Especially Buzz, he was an observant guy and won't buy our poorly thought out excuses of being space-dementia induced hallucinations,” the Doctor told them, bouncing around in his eagerness. Martha had never seen him quite like this. He was often filled with manic energy, but what she was witnessing now was something altogether new. He seemed lighter, more genuine. He was practically vibrating with giddiness. Always before it had felt like he was using his manic energy as a mask to hide behind or perhaps even as a shield. The differences couldn't just be because of Rose's presence could it?
The Doctor showed her how to activate the energy barrier and the cloaking mechanism. After they were all set she could still see the Doctor and Rose, but it was hard to focus on them.
“It's a perception filter, isn't it Doctor?” Rose asked.
“Right you are! As long as we stay quiet and don't draw attention to ourselves nobody should notice us,” he answered her.
They stepped out, the earth just rising over the craggy horizon. It was just as stark and beautiful as Martha remembered it. The harsh and sterile moon juxtaposed to the jewel bright Earth, both lovely in their own way.
“Remember when we were last here?” the Doctor asked. Martha turned in excitement to give an affirmative, her face shining with happiness. The sight that greeted her caused her heart to sink. He wasn't talking to her.
“Yeah, we played golf,” Rose answered. “You insisted every shot you made was a hole-in-one, even though there were no holes.”
He'd taken Rose to the moon. Martha knew it was childish, but she felt a sharp stab of resentment and jealousy. She'd thought the moon had been their thing. It was where she'd met him. Here they were again and he didn't even mention it. Was there nothing that was just hers? Had Rose done everything with him first?
“Remember when we saved the Earth from being magnetized?” Martha interjected.
“Right, yes! Judoon platoon upon the moon,” the Doctor replied with enthusiasm, turning his beaming smile on Martha.
“That sounds like a fun one,” Rose said as she tugged on his arm, her tone clearly asking for the story. She waited with her usual tongue exposed smile for them to elaborate. Martha couldn't believe how affected the expression was. How could anyone buy that she smiled like that without a thought? Clearly Rose felt that showing off her tongue in her ridiculously proportioned mouth was attractive.
“It's where we met,” Martha began. “Here on the moon. The hospital I was doing my residence at got transported, right in the middle of my shift too!”
“And I was already inside investigating some plasma coils, turns out it was the Judoon all along,” the Doctor said, picking up the tale. “You remember them Rose?”
“Yes, from that time on Eranurei Minor. Space police. Big ugly rhino heads. Not very bright.” Rose answered rapidly. “Remember how we tricked them into thinking a cactus with some bananas glued on was their perp?”
The Doctor laughed and nodded enthusiastically.
“And Jack hid a small communicator in the pot, he pretended to plead for mercy,” Rose finished, laughing through her words.
“Yes! The looks on their faces when they realized the cactus was not sentient! Ha! Brilliant!” the Doctor exclaimed, laughing along with Rose and rocking back and forth from heel to toe.
“The Doctor kissed me to fool them into think that I was an alien,” Martha said.
They both stopped laughing instantly and turned as one to look at her. The Doctor's look was unreadable, but she thought it might be disapproval. Rose looked hurt and confused for a moment. Then she smiled wryly and turned back to the Doctor.
“Kissing girls you've only just met. That does sound like the Doctor I know.” Her voice was light and teasing, but Martha could hear the underlying pain. Martha's heart was beating faster than normal. She couldn't decided if she was glad she'd shaken Rose out of her happy confidence at the Doctor's side or ashamed of her deliberate taunt. She knew the kiss had meant nothing to the Doctor. She'd imagined that he might be interested in her when she'd first come aboard, but her hopes had been dashed again and again. Even human with none of his true memories Rose had leaked through, invading his thoughts and dreams. She'd even been in his journal and he'd told Joan about her. Martha had managed to flip through it quickly once. She'd not featured on any of its pages.
The Doctor looked distinctly abashed, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Yes, well. Best we start walking, wouldn't want to miss the moon landing. It's just over that rise, there should be some rocky outcroppings we can watch from,” he said as he turned away from them both.
Rose smiled, but the look she shot Martha was more guarded then her previously open and friendly expression. The Doctor took Rose's hand again. This time Rose didn't immediately squeeze back and bounce along beside him. It was a much more subdued group that watched the rather incredible moon landing.
Martha was jolted out of her daydream remembrance by Rose and the Doctor coming back into the room.
“It's such a nice day outside, we're gonna check out the back garden,” Rose said. “Looked like there were some neat old statues and things back there. Did you want to come?”
“Sure,” Martha answered. Anything to get out of this dreary old house. She followed the pair out through the rusted rear entrance.
The back of the house was just as intriguing as the inside and front had been. Martha yawned and was just about to ask how much longer they wanted to stay when Rose gasped.
“What, what is it?” the Doctor asked her, his voice laced with concern.
“That statue over there, it moved, I swear it moved. It's at least a meter closer to us than it was,” Rose answered in shock, pointing off to the right.
Martha scoffed. Moving statues? She really did have the mind of a five year old. She came here looking for ghosts and now was determined to find something spooky.
“Oh no,” the Doctor replied. “Keep looking at it Rose, don't let it out of your sight and whatever you do don't blink.”
Rose froze, staring hard at the statue.
“Martha turn around, do you see any more of them?” he asked her seriously, a note of clear alarm in his voice.
Martha looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Why, what's the big deal?” She looked to the statue Rose had indicated more closely. It was a life-sized stone angel, its hands covering its face in apparent sorrow. There was another one further off to the left, she noticed.
“I've got the one to our left and Rose has the one to the right, but do you see any more?” he asked with a quiet intensity that Martha had learned not to question. “Quickly, Martha look around!” The Doctor's shouting spurred her into action and she whipped around. She backed up to where the Doctor and Rose were standing both facing statues off in the trees. She turned to look at them, glancing between the two still statues. They were very similar, just in slightly different positions.
“I don't see any-” It was as far as Martha got. With her next breath she found herself flat on her back, looking up at a night sky framed by buildings. She was winded and dizzy.
“Everyone alright?” Martha heard the Doctor ask from beside her.
“Yeah,” Rose answered, also on the ground. The Doctor was hovering above them. He reached down to get Rose back on her feet, helping her brush off the dirt from her new blue jacket. Martha got to her feet too, bushing her own clothes down.
“I'm fine too,” Martha said a touch petulantly. Not that he was really asking me was he?
“Good, good,” the Doctor said. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He started to scan Rose, then Martha. “Hmm...”
“Hmm, what Doctor?” Rose asked before Martha could. “Where are we and what exactly happened? It was daylight out just seconds ago. Did we travel in time? That felt a bit like traveling with Jack's vortex manipulator.”
“Oh you're clever. Yes, it was very similar to a vortex manipulator. Well, similar in that we did just travel in time without a capsule. Nasty,” he said with a shudder. “Are you sure you're alright? It can take a lot out of you, traveling that way.”
“I'm fine Doctor, I've jumped across universes without a capsule, this wasn't any worse than that,” Rose assured him. “What about you Martha, feeling alright?” Her brow was furrowed in concern.
“Yeah, fine. A little shaken perhaps,” Martha answered. “What exactly happened?”
“The Weeping Angels. They're what happened. Those statues were living beings. Aliens,” the Doctor explained. As usual Martha felt like she was fumbling around in the dark at his explanation. Probably because it had lacked any real information about what had really been done to them.
“And they-what? Sent us packing on a little time-trip? For what reason?” Martha asked.
“So they could consume our lost days, we've been sent to the past and the Angels can live off the potential energy of all the time we should have had. I've never encountered them before; I almost thought they were a myth. The lonely assassins. ”
“We didn't just time-travel though did we? We moved across space as well. This still looks like London, but now we’re in an alley, tall buildings all around. If this is the past it's unlikely they pulled down all these buildings to put up a house with a garden in the future. When do you think we are exactly?” Rose asked.
“1969,” the Doctor answered without a thought.
“How do you know that? Time Lord Superpowers?” Rose asked, the second question bringing out her teasing smile as she lowered her voice dramatically.
“No, I know that because of a girl I met. Not long before I found you in that park.” As he said it he pulled out a folder from his coat pocket.
“A-hem, I believe that I found you in that park,” Rose said her voice still teasing.
Martha wasn't much in the mood to tolerate their continued banter. It seemed like it was down to her to point out the obvious.
“If we're in 1969 then how are we going to get back to the time where the TARDIS is? It didn't exactly come with us,” she said.
“We just need to trust that everything we need is in here,” the Doctor said, waving the folder around. The memory clicked and Martha remembered the girl. She'd not paid attention to her at the time-she'd had far more important things to worry about-but she remembered her saying something about being stuck in 1969.
“That blonde girl on the street! She warned us that this would happen. She said that she knew you in the future. Couldn't you have stopped it then, if you'd looked at the folder before now?” Martha asked.
“If it already happened then he couldn't change it and you can't go looking up stuff about your own future, it's dangerous,” Rose said. Martha felt another sharp stab of annoyance at her. It was bad enough getting the condescending 'laws of time' talks from the Doctor, but at least he was an expert, Rose was an ordinary human like her. She'd just traveled with the Doctor longer.
“Yeah, I just had to hang on to the folder and trust that it all works out. In fact we already know that it all works out. That girl told us so. She knew us in the future, in 2007. Ergo we must find a way back.”
He pulled out his glasses, flicking them into place one-handed as he began riffling through the documents and photos. “We just need to figure out what we already did to successfully get back to the future and do it. Simple.”
“Give me those,” Rose said. “We all know they don't do anything, you just think they make you look a bit clever.” She reached over to pluck the Doctor's glasses off his face. She put them on and danced out of his reach as he tried to retrieve them.
“Rose! Give them back! I need them to go into investigation mode,” he whined.
“You do not, you can have them back when you've figured this out,” Rose said. She put the glasses on her own face. She turned to look around, examining each of the surrounding buildings with her mouth opened stupidly. Fake or not, the glasses did not manage to make Rose look any smarter.
“First we're gonna need a place to stay. I don't know about you Martha, but I'm knackered. I feel like I haven't slept in a week. What with all the running about time and space we've been doing,” Rose said as she turned back to face them, apparently finished with her visual investigation of the nearby buildings. “We should see about checking into a hotel or something.”
Martha was exhausted, especially after their most recent time-trip. The Doctor was right; it had taken a lot out of her.
“We shouldn't be here long,” the Doctor said with a pout.
“Regardless, I don't think I can do anything without a proper night's sleep at this point,” Rose said. “You can spend the night going over the folder while Martha and I get some rest. In the morning we can all implement whatever brilliant plan you've come up with.”
The Doctor smiled at her like she was the cleverest thing he'd ever laid eyes on. Again.
Chapter 2