| Date: 11 December 2007
Characters: The Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones Location: random building Link to IJ: thread #3058 |
 He hadn't meant to come here, but then he often ended up places he hadn't exactly planned on going. He locked the TARDIS up behind him, stepped out of the supply closet he'd landed in and headed off along the hall. He tried doors at random, and peered into the few that weren't locked.
He was just turning around a corner to head down another hall when he spotted a familiar face. He grinned, broadly. "Martha! Good to see you. What are you doing here?" |
 Turning on her heel, Martha stared in the direction of the voice. The relief at recognising the Doctor faded rapidly into frustration, because if anyone knew what was going on, he would. "I have absolutely no clue!" It came out rather louder than she intended. "What are you doing here?" |
| "Oh, you know how it goes. Take a trip around the solar system, wrong turn somewhere and next thing you know you're in a supply closet." He frowned, and his forehead wrinkled. "What do you mean you have no clue? What's the last thing you remember?" |
| She did know how it goes. Mostly because she'd got very clear memories of how they'd ended up in some very peculiar places indeed.
Setting her shoulders, she took a deep breath, and lowered her voice. You never knew who would be around when the Doctor showed up. "I was just finishing a shift at the Royal Hope and I came out, I was on my way home..." Her forehead wrinkled as she thought. "There was a storm, maybe lightening in the park?" |
| "You think you got hit by lightening in the park and wound up." He stopped and looked around, back over his shoulder and down. "Here?" |
| "No!" Because she's certain of that much. "I mean, I wasn't hit by lightening, but...where is here, anyway?"
Some big old building, she could work out that much. With long hallways, and a lot of doors. Kind of like something from a horror film. |
| He ran a hand through his hair, to the back of his neck and rubbed. "No-when. Somewhere, but I haven't worked that much out, yet. Want to take a look around, then?" |
| "No-when?" Fascinated despite herself, Martha glanced around again. "You mean, we're outside time?"
|
| "Looks like," he said, perkily. He paused, though, and ammended. "Well, that or the TARDIS' flipped a switch." |
| She threw him a Look because, well, yeah, the TARDIS did that regularly, but this was just weird. Not weirder than usual where the Doctor was involved, but weirder than the average day at the Hope. "Are you coming, then?"
Not waiting to see the answer, she set off down the corridor. |
| It took him a minute to realize she was walking off and he was going to have to follow after her. "Well, Yes!" he said, and scrambled to catch up, off down the hall. "So, anything exciting happen since you've been gone?" he asked, continuing to peer into and try doors at random intervals. |
| "Depends what you call exciting." Martha wasn't bothering with the doors. What she was after was a window, or something that gave onto the outside world. "Leo's a dad again, Tish got a new job, Mum and Dad broke up again, we've had some really weird cases at the hospital..."
No sign of a window anywhere. "How long have I been gone, anyway? For you?" |
| "Sounds normal," he said, voice a little more serious, or at least quieter, for a half-second or so. Until he bounced and tried another door. "Stairs!" he announced, as he ducked through. "Up or down?" |
| She paused for a moment, glancing both directions, but there didn't seem to be much difference in distance. Sending him a grin, excitement spreading, she pushed her hair back behind her ears again, and pointed. "Up." |
| His grin broadened at her reaction. "Up it is!" He grabbed her hand as he passed her, and dragged her up after him, all the way past another couple of landings, to the top - and out onto the roof. |
| "Whoa!" Okay, so, she was on the roof, and she really hadn't expected that, because it had seemed a lot further away when they'd started running. But this was definitely a roof. And a flat one, too, which was handy for not falling off and there was air, because she was still breathing, and presumably somewhere behind the milky clouds there was sun. "Okay, so that's up."
Stepping cautiously away from the door, she glanced back at the Doctor. "And don't think you're getting away with that one, mister. How long?" |
| He looked down from the sky to her. "Getting away with what? How long what? What what?" He wrinkled his nose and squinted at her, just a little. |
| Martha wasn't about to be put off that easily. "Since you last saw me."
She set hands on her hips, tilted her head, and fixed him with a firm glance. |
| He honestly looked startled. "Oh! Um." He looked at his wrist and then looked around. "I dunno. Half an hour, give or take?" |
| "Half an hour?" Martha gaped a little at that before she could stop herself. "It's been months here. Or...there. Or...wherever, you know, I have no clue where here is."
Which was something she was getting more concerned with. "Oh, God, Tish is going to kill Leo if Mum talks to her before I get to." |
| "Sorry," he lied, because he wasn't in the least sorry. "This isn't any where particular. Bit like an island paradise, only in time instead of the ocean, and the weather's not so nice, and there's - Maybe paradise isn't the right word, after." he stopped. "If Leo talks to your Mum about what? Why is Tish killing people?" |
| "Well," Martha began, and then paused. It was a long, long story and really, didn't mean a great deal, except the Doctor had met her family, most of them, anyway, and spent the best part of a year with them. Or not. "Not people, just Leo? He's got this idea that he can get Tish to babysit while he goes on holiday with Caroline. Babysit both his kids, and of course Mum thinks it's a great idea because she wants Tish to have kids though God knows that babysitting both of Leo's kids for a week isn't going to make her want to have them and anyway." She stopped for breath, and to check whether the Doctor was actually interested.
Besides, her Mum wanted her to settle down and have kids, too, and she wasn't anywhere near ready for that. |
| Well, maybe not all that interested, but he was following along and now that she'd started he wanted the rest of it. Especially after the past - well, his past - year. He squinted a little while he worked it out, then nodded firmly. "Right. Leo, babysitting, Tish, overbearing mum. Go on, then." He made a vague hand gesture to encourage her. |
| That was all Martha needed. "Well. See, Mum's kind of promised Leo that Tish is going to babysit them, for the whole week, in her flat, but there's this really cute guy that Tish has got her eye on and she's finally got a date with him next week so having the kids around isn't going to help and if I don't talk to Mum and then Leo to stop Leo making that assumption and stop Mum from telling Tish that it's a done deal then there's going to be blood." |
| "Well." He blinked. "Why are you talking to your Mum instead of Tish doing it?" he asked, because he was really easily confused, or it was really that confusing or. No, he just didn't get people. |
| "Because," Martha rolled her eyes, looked around again and yes, still on the roof, right, that's...a little confusing still, too, "if Tish talks to Mum then she'll find out that Mum promised that Tish would babysit for Leo so I need to stop Mum from telling Tish because she's already fought with Tish over Simon three times this week."
She drew a deep breath and looked around once more, just to be certain. Still no sign of, well, anything, really. "I bet there's no signal here." |
| He lifted both his eyebrows and nodded in a way that's ususally reserved by sane people humoring the crazy and then gratefully takes the o ut. "Probably not. On the upside no time means you should be back in time to save the day. Or, well, your sister from your mum." |
| Martha hadn't missed that look, and sank down to sit on the roof, legs stretched out in front of her, and rested her hands on her thighs. "Yeah." |
| He rubbed the back of his neck, then moved and crouched beside her. "We'll get you home," he promised. "Always have so far, haven't I?" |
| "Yeah, you have." And there was no point worrying about it now, when she couldn't do anything about it. More use to worry about missing her final exams.
She turned her head to offer the ghost of a grin. "Though you didn't get me in to this one, unless there's something you're not telling me." |
| He scratched his ear and didn't look any more guilty than usually. "Not a thing to do with me." He went thoughtful again. "At least that I know of. There's another me running around, though, and hard to tell just what he did." |
| "Another you?" That was just plain confusing, and wasn't one enough? "What kind of place is this?" |
| "There's nothing all that weird about there being more than one of me running around!" |
| "Right." Martha rolled her eyes. "Right, there's always more than one of you. C'mon, you've got to admit it would be at least a little bit weird." |
| "I do not. I don't have to admit anything, but it is a little bit weird looking yourself in the face like that. Especially that face," he mused. He was teasing, being light. There was still some worry and warmth there. |
| "Oh, your face isn't that bad." It was easier to tease back, even if she still didn't know where or when she was.
She scrambled back to her feet, looking around for the door they'd come up from. "I guess we should try down, huh?" |
| "You haven't seen that face!" he protested and climbed back to her feet, went to the door and opened it. "Down it is. You go first. Let me know if anything scary pops out." |
| "Oh, thanks." Martha stared into the stairwell. "I've seen your face, how many more have you got?" |
| "Oh, Nine or so." He peered from behind her. "Want me to go first, then?" |
| "Nine?" She threw a look back over her shoulder, and took a tentative step down, slowing to let her eyes adjust to the relative darkness. "I'm going, I'm going..." |
| He followed behind. "Sure. What's wrong with Nine? Unlucky number or something?" He stopped briefly. "Ten, actually, since you've got to count the first- Nevermind." |
| "Nothing." Martha continued down, trying to remember how many flights of stairs they'd even come up in the first place. "I mean, I've heard of being two faced, but..." |
| He was confused by her confusion, mostly because he was. Well, because he was him, actually. 'But what?" |
| "Nothing," Martha said again, and she was pretty sure that she was below the level they'd started out at. "Is the TARDIS with you, then?" |
| "Well, she's here, but she's not exactly in my pocket." He grinned, warmly, and pulled the door open. "Mind you I'm not sure there's not something wrong with her. Need to find Jack, see if maybe he can sort it out." |
| "Jack's here, too?" Martha looked through the door, and then stepped through back into the corridor, which could be the one she'd started from, or could be a completely different one. It looked the same, sure, but that didn't mean that it was the same. |
| "So I heard. Haven't actually seen him yet, mind. Also think he's froma bit earlier than either of us." He peered down the hall and started walking. "Come on, the TARDIS should be along here, somewhere." |
| "So," Martha said slowly, trailing behind as she pieced together thoughts, "this place is just sort of...sucking people in? From all kinds of times and...places?" |
| He stopped walking just long enough to say, "Maybe. Or they're falling through or walking in. Little hard to be sure until we find our way out again." |
| Oh, well, that was obviously very helpful. Not knowing how she'd got here or where or when here was, and the Doctor wouldn't know until they got out. "Walking in like on purpose?" |
| He patted his pockets down, looking for the TARDIS key as he found the door to the supply closet. "No idea," he said, cheerfully. |
| "Right. Okay." Martha reminded herself again that she didn't have deadlines to meet when time didn't exist, and made the mental shift one bit further towards where she'd been however long ago it had been that she'd been travelling with the Doctor. "Okay. So, I guess we need to find out who else is here. I mean, apart from you and me and...you and Jack." |
| He unlocked the TARDIS door and pushed it open. "That'd be the place to start. Oh, and this is a hotel. There's a bar and dining room down-stairs. Probably a good place for keeping an eye out. Everyone's got to eat sooner or later." |
| Martha's stomach growled loudly at that reminder. Her hand flew to press against it, as if that could stop the noise. "I guess...I'd better head down there." Though who knew what would pass for money, here. She had a feeling they wouldn't take her Visa card. "Don't go without me, right?"
Because well, at least she recognised the Doctor, and it was someone she knew. Knew and...cared about. |
| He made A Face at her stomach growling. "I'd say you better get down there fast," he told her, trying for serious. Then he smiled, and softened a little. "Won't leave without you." If he could help it. Probably. "Go on, then. Go get something to eat and try the purple drink. Good stuff." |
| "Purple. Got it." She gave him a thumbs up and her best attempt at a confident smile. "It's good to see you again, Doctor."
She turned and headed off along the corridor, back towards the stairs. Stairs went down, and down was food. |