Flipping through one of the magazines in the waiting lobby, John let out a sigh into the silence -- broken only by the occasional beep or buzz from a machine in some other room. It was nice; it really was. The doctor was enjoying the equipment and was still thoroughly intrigued by the files filling themselves out. It was only days like this when he had come in and not seen a single case all evening that left him a bit stuck. Thinking it made him feel an immense amount of guilt though, because really it was a good thing that the citizens were all in healthy, orderly condition.
With a huff, he pushed himself up from the sofa and laid the periodical on the table. Surely there was something he could dig his hands into: tidying something amiss in his office or flipping the cushions over in the lounge. However, those were only minor tasks that took little to no time to complete. Perhaps some dusting needed to be done, seeing as how the clinic had been left untouched for two weeks. John pursed his lips. He was not typically an idle man.
But coming out of his office, his eyes landed on the door to Martha’s and his feet were carrying himself over without really a second thought. Him and the other doctor had gotten on quite well thus far, he thought. Between coffee breaks and the occasional chat online, they seemed to have quite a bit in common, and that always made it easier in any sort of association, didn’t it?
Knocking twice on the door frame, he hoped he hadn’t startled the woman as he peeked his head inside the door. “Anything new?” he asked, pleasant smile present among his features.
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Hold Back The River ☤ The Doctor (11) + Martha - Event 6
For the strangest of reasons the Doctor only suddenly remembered that he had promised Martha Jones that he would visit her at the clinic. Of course, he should have been more observant to the fact and he probably should have remained honest and told her as much as he had told River, but it was in that time that the Time Lord really didn’t have much going on for him, and really, he was a bit mentally unsound.
But Martha Jones was important and he needed to recognise in the fact that she was. He needed to talk to her, to keep a connection with her, and to make sure that she was alright. Her radio, well blog silence was something that was screaming out to him and he realised he needed to catch up with her immediately. So, with a quick check in the mirror, the Time Lord dashed out of his house and made his way towards the clinic where she said she’d be.
Knocking on the front door and then laughing at himself for how ridiculous that was, the Time Lord entered the sterile place and glanced around before poking his head into a room. She wasn’t in there and he realised that it was far too big of a place for him to play hide-and-seek with her. Though, if she wanted, he’d be completely all for it. Straightening his bowtie, the Time Lord decided to take a sharp left down a hallway and follow it in hopes that that was where it’d lead to his former companion.
Seeing a light on and wondering if it was going to either be Rory or Martha or that Watson fellow, the Doctor took a deep breath before pushing the door open and stepping inside with a smile. Only to have it falter as he realised Martha was in a complete panicked meltdown. “Martha!?” Rushing towards her, the Doctor being all unhelpful limbs flailed around and began to try to calm her down as best as he could. “Martha Jones, what on... this Pocket Universe, is going on!?”
Doctor? Doctor? ...Donna? ☤ The Doctor(10), Martha Jones, Donna Noble
TAGGING: The Doctor, Donna Noble, Martha Jones
TIME FRAME: Sometime in the afternoon/evening
LOCATION: the TARDIS, the Clinic
GENERAL NOTES: The Doctor runs to help Martha save Donna. Donna regains her memories.
Martha walked through the clinic, frowning at everything that still needed cleaning. It looked like the worst of it had been somehow repairing itself - a trick of the pocket, she guessed - but there was still a lot she would have to do before it was in full working order. At least by her standards. With a sigh, she set to work, starting with the cleaning the blood from the main hallway, trying not to think about who the blood belonged to. It was easier to pretend that it was just dark red paint. She had just finished cleaning the worst of it when she heard the front door open. Immediately she dropped the sponge she'd been using into the bucket so she could walk around the corner to see who it was. She was surprised to see the woman standing there, looking lost as ever, was actually an old friend. "Donna?" She called, stepping closer, with a warm smile.
Donna had mostly kept to herself ever since she woke up in that strange town. She couldn't make heads or tails of it and the few people she did manage to talk to online, that apparently lived there, she didn't understand at all. The more she tried, the more she felt overwhelmed, and scared, and the more she wished she was back at home. She didn't even like being alone, because ever since she got there, her headaches had progressively gotten worse, and the dreams she didn't dare speak about more vivid. Then she'd wake up sad, without a clue as to why. Eventually, she decided that kidnapped or not - she probably should visit the hospital and try to get something that might help. But not even a minute after she walked through the front door, she was met with yet another person who recognized her. "No," she shook her head and backed up. "No, I don't know who you are," she insisted, even as a flash of something unfamiliar flashed through her memory featuring the young doctor in front of her, along with a fresh wave of pain through her head causing her to lean against the door she just came as she grabbed her head.
Martha furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, quickly growing alarmed by Donna's reaction. She didn't just insist that they'd never met - which she presumed wasn't all that impossible if she was brought in here from an earlier timeline somehow - but the thought of Martha knowing who she was seemed to thoroughly freak her out. Red flags went up immediately as soon as she watched Donna back herself up against the wall, and she hurried over to her to make sure she was okay. "Donna, what's wrong?" She asked, feeling dumb the second the words left her mouth. Obviously, she was experiencing some pain in her head judging the way she was clutching at it. "Nevermind that, if you come with me, I might be able to help." She insisted, wrapping her arm through Donna's to lead her to a room that was the most clean.
Donna shook her head, but went with the doctor anyway. She ignored the woman's question, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the woman, until she was stopped inside of what she assumed was an examination room. Immediately she moved to sit in the nearest chair, bending over so she could clutch her head in both of her hands. "I don't know what's wrong with me," she answered finally. "My head... It burns..." she murmured. It's just gotten worse ever since I've gotten here and I keep seeing ... or remembering things... that never happened..." She trailed off, realizing how crazy she sounded until she remembered all of the people, including the woman in front of her who seemed to know who she was and she sat herself up again to send an accusing look her way, ignoring the way it made her head spin. "And you -- you lot. Who are you? How do you know me?"
Martha pressed her lips together, watching Donna carefully as she sat herself down. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't concerned beyond just as a friend or doctor, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something. There was one person she knew might know what it was, and she had just reached into her pocket for her phone to call him when Donna was suddenly looking at her again, except now she actually seemed angry with Martha. "I don't know, I saw your blog?" Martha told her, thinking on her feet and wishing that she'd sounded more confident in her answer. She turned around and found a cloth, wetting it in the room's sink and handed the now wet cloth to Donna. "Hold this to your head, I'll be right back." With that, she slipped out of the room, and dialed the Doctor's number.
the Doctor had just finished doing a routine check up on John and Jack. The two seemed to be getting better and as long as no one went into a homicidal maniac phase, the Doctor was alright with it. Flipping his sonic into the air, the Doctor caught it in one fluid movement when he heard a cellular phone ring off somewhere in the distance. Pausing, he raised his brow before pocketing his screwdriver and dashing off down the hall towards the console room. Once there he began to pull items out of every orifice that the room had to offer until he was on his hands and knees and scrambling to grasp the phone. "Ahhhh-gotcha!" Snatching it, the Doctor hit the 'talk' button before pressing it to his ear. "Yes, hello, the Doctor speaking, well, clearly-I mean if I'm speaking then that means you're not, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Am I right to assume this is one Martha Jones?"
Martha let out a sigh of relief when the phone finally clicked and the familiar voice of the Doctor came over the phone. "That would be correct," she nodded, a small smile appearing on her face despite herself. At least until she glanced behind her to peak into the room to check on Donna. "Hello, Doctor. Sorry to bother you, I hope you're not terribly busy at the moment because I have Donna here at the clinic, and... I don't think she's okay. She doesn't recognize me, or anyone I think from what she said and she's in quite a lot of pain from the looks of it.. I don't know, I feel like I'm missing something. Was hoping you could help," she explained, her voice low to make sure Donna couldn't listen in.
Donna didn't believe the doctor's cover story, but she was unusually not up to arguing the point at the moment. She took the wet washcloth gratefully and applied it to her forehead. The cool touch to her forehead was soothing, but did little to actually help with the pain. Something told her to try and veer thoughts to something more safe - like memories of her granddad, her mum, her husband. All of those things were safe. But she couldn't help but try to listen in on the phone call taking place out in the hallway, which was actually a lost cause since she couldn't hear a word.
the Doctor placed his hand on his chin as he began to tap at it with certainty. Martha seemed worried on all accounts and as much as he wanted to keep up with the pleasantries with her, he knew something more grave was at hand. "Oh its not a bother at all, especially with you, Martha!" He paused a bit longer to hear exactly what else it was that she had to say and only nodded when she mentioned Donna. "Ahhh. Right. Well, hang on, keep her company and don't let her think too long and hard about anything. She's not in a good state of mind, I'll be over soon." As soon as the Doctor hung up on Martha he was already halfway out the TARDIS and heading towards the front door of his house. Once clearing that, the Time Lord made his way towards the clinic where he cautiously entered and peered around. "Martha?"
Martha frowned but still voiced her compliance with a "Alright, thanks. See you soon." As soon as she hung up and pocketed the phone again though, she let out an exasperated sigh. "How am I supposed to keep her from thinking?" She shook her head and walked back into the room to rejoin her old friend. "How's that washcloth working? Wish I could offer more right now, but I will soon. Promise," she gave Donna a warm smile before walking over to sit next to her. She was rambling, and she continued to ramble on about nothing, unsure of any other way to keep Donna from thinking too long on one thing, until she heard the sound of the Doctor out in the hallway. "--I'll be right back." She assured, trailing off from talking about weather, shooting up from her chair to dash out into the hall. "Doctor! We're in here," she waved as soon as she saw him, ushering him over to her.
Donna groaned, pressing the cloth to her forehead with more force than necessary. She was trying to make a connection between the dreamlike memories and the people there in the pocket after giving up on listening to the phone conversation, until she was no longer alone and the woman was back with her just babbling about nonsense. She could say that she was at least almost annoyed enough to forget about the pain in her head. Almost. She couldn't even focus on what was being said and she had just opened up her mouth to ask the doctor to 'shut up' when she suddenly found that she was alone again.
the Doctor widened his eyes and made quick haste over towards Martha. Once he got to her, he reached up and placed his hand on her arm as he looked down at her and sort of edged her away from the room where he suspected Donna would be in. Being careful to mask his face so that if Donna could peak, she wouldn't see him-the Doctor finally focused onto Martha and gave her a quick grin before nodding. "Alright, sorry about how cryptic I was being-had to be careful. Donna, she's in a very fragile state at the moment and I'm worried that seeing me might quite literally make her brain implode." Raising both brows, the Doctor dropped his hand from Martha's arm and frowned. "Do you remember that other Doctor has part Donna in him? Well, that's not because we stored her DNA, she quite literally had a hand in making him. Which means that she got Time Lord in her. It's the Time Lord that's killing her-so either I have to stabilize it, or I absorb it into myself. But I have to be very careful because this face-" he pointed at himself and continued to frown "-is the face that did it to her... That repressed those memories. She doesn't remember anything. Also," Adopting a quick grin the Doctor waved at Martha despite the fact that he was directly in front of her. "Hello!"
Martha let the Doctor usher her away from the door, giving him her full attention. It was obvious now that he was actually there that she'd been right to call him, and that things were even more serious than she realized. She sucked in a breath as her eyebrows shot up her forehead, and she gave the room behind them a quick glance. "Oh god," she murmured, remembering the last time she saw Donna and understanding what the Doctor was talking about. "Are you going to be able to fix it then? Are you going to be able to help her here- we can't just leave her like that. Tere's too much here that could trigger -- wait, how are you going to be able to help with that face?" She stopped, and lifted both of her hands up as an idea came to her, her eyes widening. "What if I give you a mask, like a hospital mask? It'll cover a good portion of your face at least?"
the Doctor frowned heavily at Martha and tried his best not to express how unsure he really was about it all. "I'm going to try, there's always a chance her brain might become pudding." Not a very reassuring image but the Doctor was trying. Or so he thought he was. "Yes, exactly this face, I know." Raising a brow the Doctor watched as Martha started to form an idea. When he realized what she was getting to, a wide smile spread across his lips. "Oh! Brilliant! Yes! Oh Martha Jones I could kiss you!"
Martha widened her eyes, horrified by the thought of something of the sort happening to Donna. With a grin, she dropped her hands and dashed into another room to find a proper hospital mask. It wasn't going to cover his whole face, but at least enough of it.. she hoped. With an proud "Aha!" once she found one, she slipped back into the hallway with a quick check into Donna's room before handing it over to the Doctor. "There we go." Her smile dropped then, not sure where to go from there, but she hoped the Doctor would.
the Doctor gleefully accepted the mask and began to place it on his face. Once on and adjusted, the Doctor turned his head from side to side for Martha to look at. "What do ya think? Think It'll work?" Not exactly waiting for a reply, the Time Lord moved past Martha and started to head towards the room Donna was in. Pushing open the door, he peered inside and smiled at the woman-even if she couldn't see it-and kindly waved at her. "Hello! I'm the Doctor, heard you had a bit of a headache?" Taking a few cautious steps towards her, the Doctor paused and knelt down so that he was at eye level with the woman.
Martha just nodded, quickly following after the Doctor into the room she'd left Donna in. She couldn't afford to doubt whether the mask would work or not. She just hoped it would. She held back, once she was in the room and leaned against the counter connected to the sink to watch Donna and the Doctor carefully. Ready to jump in at a moments notice if she needed to.
Donna leaned forward again to try and get a look at what was going on out in the hallway, but the two of them clearly didn't want to be seen or overheard. She huffed out an annoyed breath, and threw the washcloth in the direction of the sink. It had been slightly soothing at first, but now it was just useless. By the time they had walked back into the room, she had bent over to clutch uselessly at her head fighting of the tears that threatened to fall at any moment. She looked up, suddenly finding a man standing in front of her wearing a hospital mask which really she just found absolutely ridiculous. "A bit," she replied, her voice full of sarcasm, and she would have rolled her eyes if she didn't think it would hurt more than it was worth. She squint her eyes warily at the man in front of her instead, his introduction ringing a bell in her mind. "...Doctor who?"
the Doctor raised a brow at Donna, a cheeky grin appearing under his mask. "Just... the Doctor." Quickly changing the subject he looked Donna over before hesitantly reaching forward to touch her temple. "You're going to feel something moving around in there but no worries its just me moving around in there."
Donna "Right..." she whispered, pretending the name didn't actually spark some sort of recognition along with a fresh wave of pain that made her visibly wince. She jerked up, alarmed when the man reached forward. "What do you mean, move around in there? What are you doing-- oh.." Her words morphed into a pained gasp, and her eyes clenched shut as she grit her teeth together. She had no idea what he was doing, but she was certain she didn't like it.
the Doctor closed his own eyes and reached up with his other hand so that he could have a better hold onto her mind. "I'm not going to hurt you, not anymore. All that pain you're feeling is memories that want to resurface, places, names, people, ...times." Gasping as his own surge of pain struck through him. Unlocking her mind was like unlocking doors beyond doors until he reached the final 'room'. Once inside, the Doctor began to carefully reconstruct her memories while extracting the Time Lord in her. Once as finished as he could get without his Metacrisis' aid, the Doctor backed off slowly from Donna and tore his mask off. "Donna? Donna Noble-are you in there?"
Donna wanted to pull away, unsure of what was happening. But deep down, she knew she trusted this man, so instead she found herself leaning into his touch. She gasped, memory upon memory flashing through her mind. Memories that she started to realize weren't just dreams, but wonderful, brilliant things that she experienced. So much of who she was that had been taken away, but she knew that had been for a good reason and she suddenly felt even more alarmed as she started to realize what was happening. Fear gripped her to her seat and she nearly reached out to grab ahold of the Doctor for support when her head started to spin. But then he was pulling away, and she sat there with her eyes still squeezed tightly shut feeling very disoriented. She heard him call to her, but it felt more distant than it probably shook his head. "Yeah.." She answered even as she shook her head no after a full minute of silence passed.
Martha frowned, clasping her hands tightly together in front of her. If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was feeling useless. She watched the scene before her carefully and felt her heart ache for the both of them as she watched the pain progressively across Donna's face, and then across the Doctor's face. When the Doctor finally pulled away, she let her eyes slide over to Donna, settling on her face. It was unsettling how lost she looked, or how long it took for her to answer. She wanted to ask if it worked or if something was wrong, but knew the Doctor would say so if something had been wrong. At least she hoped he would.
the Doctor raised a brow at Donna before turning to look at Martha. "Generally speaking she should be alright. Headache will still be there, but Donna should survive this." But what he didn't say was how he was going to transfer the left of Time Lord that he had in him over to John. "Donna, I'm gonna need a teensy bit more of a response than just 'yeah', alright?" Edging closer towards her, the Doctor reached out and placed a gentle, but firm hand on her shoulder. "You can open your eyes, I promise it'll be okay. And look! Martha's here! You remember Martha Jones, yes?"
Donna felt like she'd been blind for months and was suddenly given her sight again. Slowly the disorientation slipped away and she became more aware again. Upon hearing the Doctor's remark and feeling his hand on her shoulder, she pursed her lips together and tilt her head to the side. "Oi, yes, I know that," she snarked despite still having her eyes closed. But soon opened her eyes to finally look the Doctor in the face and a smile broke across her face. "Oh, you bloody idiot," she scolded suddenly, with an obvious fondness to her tone before she directed her attention to Martha, her face softening. "Let's take all his good memories away and then cram them back in... See how he feels." She was teasing of course, and when she turned back to the Doctor, she have him a wary eye. "You didn't hurt yourself doing that, did you?"
Martha nodded to the Doctor without taking her eyes off of Donna. She trusted him, but she still needed to see for herself. She could have laughed with relief at the sound of Donna's voice. Her mouth fell open slightly at Donna's suggestion and she shook her head, finally sliding her eyes over to the Doctor for a moment before looking to her again. "It's good to see you're feeling better, Donna. I think I might have something that should help with the headache you still might have."
the Doctor beamed at Donna as he backed off and looked between her and Martha. His smile faltered a little bit when Donna asked if he got hurt in the process but it was quickly brought back up before anyone could really notice. "Me? Oh, I'm fine. Always fine." Winking, the Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets before looking back at Martha. "Anything else? I must really get back... can't leave other Doctor and Jack alone too long." His smile faded for a moment before he nodded at the two of them. "You're both welcome to swing by, you know. I'm sure they'd love to see you two."
Donna "Fine? That a lot like alright?" She asked, giving him a pointed look but letting it drop for now, temporarily distracted by what Martha told her and what the Doctor said next. "Some aspirin might be nice, thank you, Martha." She nodded, lifting her finger to her temple, but she quickly dropped her hand again to look at the Doctor a bit excitedly. "Other Doctor- like... The part me one? He's here too? Oh I'll come along then. I'd love to see him. Won't exactly be punishment if I happen to see Jack too."
Martha gave the Doctor a wary look at his insistence that he was fine again but didn't say anything on it. Instead she turned around to rummage through the cupboard for a small bottle of aspirin. As soon as she found it, she poured Donna a glass of water and handed it over along with the bottle. "Go ahead and take the bottle. We've got plenty here and you might need more later." She smiled, considering going along with them but she knew if she went se might not want to leave for a while. "I'd love to, but I've got a lot of work left here. Send my love to them both though and I'll be around later," she promised, smiling at them both.
the Doctor nodded at Martha and understood completely why she couldn't come along. "If you need any help around here, don't hesitate to ask-I'll snap into one of my er..." looking down at himself, the Doctor gestured vaguely to his frame before looking back up at her and smiling. "Less skinny faces." Still holding his grin, he turned to look at Donna and brightened. "Yes! That's the one, that'd be him. Same face, basically same everything with a few added bits of you. And as for Jack, well, he'll be happy to see a few familiar faces."
Donna had about a thousand and one questions, but for now she stored them away for later. For now she quickly took a couple of the aspirin Martha handed her before slipping the bottle into her jacket pocket with silent 'thank you' to her. "Brilliant." She beamed, standing up just a little too fast. She felt like she had a lot of time to catch up on, so she wasn't worried much about the headache anymore, sure the aspirin would help before too long.
Before They Flare and Fade Forever || John and Martha
He hadn't really had the chance to say goodbye, the last time. The time that he'd walked out of the TARDIS' doors onto a beach in a parallel world and watched his ship dematerialise without him.
He didn't know whether they'd missed him. He supposed they hadn't - he'd been the Doctor, after all, and they still had the Doctor (insofar as anyone ever had the Doctor) and he, well. He'd been a cross reference in a footnote in an afterword stowed after an epilogue that was buried right until a pile of credits.
But things were different now. He wasn't quite the Doctor, and if he'd been a footnote before, he'd grown into a book of his own. A sequel, or maybe a spin-off. An alternate world version of the Doctor. And fate had conspired to bring him here, back to a place that ... wasn't the place where it had all started, but was something close to the rerun that he'd never really known he wanted.
The Doctor had been right, in the end. He'd needed someone to stop him. He'd needed someone to hold his hand and tell him to slow down, to quit trying to run after the shadow of who he'd been, chasing the past that he'd been just as driven to run from. He'd needed someone to teach him the lessons that the Doctor couldn't, wouldn't learn, the lessons of mortality, of being human, of being one of those whose lives were fleetingly transient and yet blazingly bright.
Martha had been one of those who'd shown him how to live again. Her and Jack, the two familiar faces who had greeted him upon his entry to this world, who had dealt with him through adjustments and meltdown. One mortal. One immortal. Between them, they'd taught him the value of time, viewed through the dual lenses of the moment and of eternity.
And just - just when he'd started to learn those lessons, just when he'd started to learn to breathe again, fate conspired to remind him of the crueller - cruellest - side of all of this.
He could practically feel the device strapped to his chest ticking now, even though there was nothing so crude as a timepiece or clockwork in it. Nevertheless, it sat in silent judgement, right over his hearts, measuring out the steady dual heartbeat with the same inexorability of sand sliding through the hourglass.
The end, as they said, was nigh. And he owed it to the two who'd said hello to him, when he stepped into this new world and this new life, to have the chance to say goodbye.
He stepped into the bank, casting his eye around the hasty setup that Martha had put into place, not really seeing any of it. Once, he would have been all over the equipment, peering, poking, criticising and making random comments and adjustments. He had no time for that now, caught between the need to find the Necronomicon and to wrap up all his personal business before the sand ran out. Brushing past, he sought out Martha, trying to keep his step as jaunty as possible to keep up appearances.
It took a moment to spot her, and he paused in the distance to watch, smiling fondly, his mind running back through memories of their travels together. A different lifetime. A dozen different skies.
He felt his thoughts sliding towards melancholy, and firmly pulled them back on track. "Martha Jones!" he exclaimed, grinning as broadly as he could, bounding up to her like an overexcited puppy. "What's this, then? A makeshift clinic? Brilliant! You've been keeping busy, then? Not too busy, I hope - a busy doctor means a bunch of patients, which isn't terribly good, but at least they have you." He smiled and cocked his head. "They really couldn't ask for anyone better."
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How To Scare Your Companions While Totally Trying ☤ The Doctor(5), John Smith, Martha Jones
TAGGING: The Doctor, John Smith, and Martha Jones
TIME FRAME: Morning Time
LOCATION: Outside of Martha's home
GENERAL NOTES: The Doctor and John build a Cybersnowman army to prank Martha. She's not very amused, but they are.
Martha jolted awake at the sound of her alarm. She was a bit more groggy this morning than she usually was, and she had to fight not to hit snooze instead of rolling out of bed. Her next actions were done on autopilot- getting out bed, brushing her teeth and getting dressed for the day. All things she could do half awake. She didn't have a particular reason for her tiredness this morning, but she hoped once she got to the clinic and finished the cup of coffee she made right before leaving the house, she'd perk up. Either that or fall asleep at her desk again, but after the incident with Sam a few weeks back she wasn't in a hurry to do that. She barely made it two steps outside before she saw the first one- a tall white cyberman. (At least that's what she thought at first glance.) She yelped and dropped her coffee into the snow, quickly taking a step back. Then she saw the rest of them and after a minute of her eyes adjusting, she realized they weren't actually moving like her tired mind had thought they were and that they looked to be made of snow.
The Doctor peeked out from behind the Cybersnowman that Martha had initially seen. Giggling far more than he probably should have, the Doctor, now in his fifth regeneration looked over at John and beamed before popping completely out from behind the snow army. Puffing his chest out and sliding his hands into his pockets, the Doctor flipped his hair back from his face and casually walked closer towards his former companion. Of course, he made sure to stay a safe distance away in case she felt particularly vengeful. "Martha Jones, however did you manage to find yourself surrounded by an army of snowmen that just so happen to look like Cybermen?" Inclining his head towards her, the Doctor glanced over his shoulder to where he presumed John would before looking back at her. "Lovely, aren't they?" Leaning forward so that only she could hear, the Doctor continued to hold his smile. "It was his idea."
John popped out from behind a cyber man - well, not as much popped out as fell over, clutching his stomach and howling with laughter. Admittedly, it had been quite a lot of hard work, but they had cheated with some judicious use of sonic technology to help sculpt the snowmen more quickly... But the look on Martha's face was absolutely worth it. "Good morning!" he wheezed, between gasps, then picked himself up and made his way over to where the Doctor was, plopping his elbow on the other's shoulder and beaming. "Like them? We made them just for you."
Martha suddenly felt 100 percent more alert than she did when she initially walked outside of her home. With narrowed eyes, she stared at the first man that popped out from behind one of the snowmen. She didn't recognize him, but as soon as he said her name, she had a feeling it might be the Doctor. Before she could answer him, her eyes shot towards John as he bounded into the snow in a fit of laughter. "They're beautiful," she deadpanned, her eyes going back and forth between the two men. "Oh I'm sure," she nodded at the Doctor, her eyebrows slightly raised in a way that showed she didn't entirely believe him even as her eyes rested on the Doctor Too.
The Doctor raised both his brows in surprise, not entirely realizing that Martha didn't recognize his face. Hadn't she seen the selfies he's been posting around town? Never mind that, he shifted so that John would be more comfortable resting on his shoulder before looking up at him and smiling. "I think they're charming. Could have been worse, could have been Daleks. Nasty things." Shaking his head, he turned his gaze back to Martha before nodding at her. "Hope we didn't scare you too much, had to have a bit of fun and as it stands you're possibly the most stable companion we have in the pocket." Pausing, and then frowning the Doctor redirected his gaze onto John. "That was a bit rude of me, hm." Turning back to Martha he shrugged a shoulder. "Either way, it's true."
John looked thoughtful. "Snow Daleks, though - those are cute. Can be cute." He beamed at Martha, making sure to keep a safe distance - he had the feeling that half of her was amused, and the other half was considering whether to thump him. Or the Doctor. Or both. The deadpan expression could go either way. "Sure of what?" he queried, feeling like he had missed out on part of the conversation. "Oh, there's Donna too, now. But she might just slap us into oblivion. Well, me into oblivion and you into your next regeneration..." Bounding over to Martha, he slung an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let me introduce you to our army. We should give them names."
Martha wrinkled her nose and shook her head- but mid shake her lips formed a thoughtful looking frown and she tilted her head. "Snow Daleks might have been a little less realistic when I first walked out." She tried to imagine it, but then realized how well they did with the Cybersnowmen that it probably wouldn't have mattered. What the Doctor said about her caught her off guard, and her face softened a bit and she smiled at the Doctor instead of commenting. And she didn't have to, for she was soon letting out a laugh at the mention of Donna. "And you'd both deserve it," she half scolded them, reaching over to give John a good smack in the chest before her other arm snaked around his back to give him a half hug that contradicted her tone and other actions. "You gave me such a fright! And I lost my coffee," she frowned, glancing at the mess at her feet, the snow thankfully saved her mug. "...But they are good. I'll give you that.." She relented, finally letting some of her amusement shine through as she looked at the two men.
The Doctor pulled a face as he went into thought about Donna. "I suppose you're right. It was best to avoid her, I don't fancy getting smacked, especially with this face." He pointed up at himself before letting out a chuckle of his own as Martha began to soften and took the only smack she had and aimed it at John's chest. "Oh..." he commented as he glanced down towards the snow where her wasted coffee and mug lay. Picking it up, he dusted it off before scooping some of the coffee back into it. Frowning and analyzing what he could do about it, he pulled out his sonic and aimed it at the mug. "If I put the settings just right..." Slightly sticking his tongue out in concentration the Doctor fidgeted with his sonic until he was able to make the coffee hot once more. "Aha! Alright, be careful it might be scalding, so let it cool a bit. But it's warm again and oh-beware of the slight off-taste. It's the snow." Handing the mug over he perked up when John mentioned naming the snowmen. "Oh that's fun, which one's the leader, then?"
John hastily backed up a step after getting whacked, then relaxed again as Martha hugged him. "After all we did for you! Martha, I'm wounded," he sniffed. "And a bit of excitement is good for the heart. Although the coffee... " he was about to offer to get her more, when the Doctor stepped in. "Oh, I think that works. Five minute rule? And don't worry about toxins in the snow, we've both tested it and neither of us have died." Grinning, he looked around at their handiwork. "Oh, they're not just good, they're very good. This one's probably the cyber controller," he said, gesturing at the one the Doctor had been hiding behind. "He looks like a Rudolph. Should we call him Rudolph?"
Martha almost made a comment to the Doctor about figuring out where John's version of the Doctor got his vanity issues from, but figured that would earn herself a smack so she just raised an eyebrow at him instead, and tried to suppress a giggle. Her mouth formed a surprised 'O' as the Doctor scooped up her mug and remade her some coffee with his sonic screw driver. Eagerly, she retrieved the coffee and stared down at it in awe. Finally she looked up again to roll her eyes at John but let them rest on the cybersnowman he was pointing out. "Rudolph? I don't know, think it needs a red nose first. But then again, it is Rudolph who does the leading of the sleigh, right?"
The Doctor spun around as he looked over the Cybersnowman that John pointed out. "Ah! Yes, this one does seem like the right fit." Stepping closer to it, he squinted as he scrutinized its appearance. "Hmm..." Pausing, he turned around and gave John a narrowed look. "Rudolph? Really?" Raising a brow he turned his gaze back towards the snow creation, only to smirk at Martha's response. "If my knowledge of Earth is still as good as it was five minutes ago, I'd say yes, Rudolph did become the leader of the sleigh. Though, he was different than the other's with, as you said, the red nose. Still, it could work."
John hunted around in his pocket until he found a red sweet wrapper. "I think this might work?" He tossed it over to the Doctor. "Though ... speaking of festivities." A stray thought occurred to him. "Martha, you never told me how your wedding went. I'm sure you must have invited him." He raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, fairly certain that the other had, naturally, failed to turn up. Or perhaps he had turned up very discretely? Either way, he was pretty certain that there was a scandal to be had.
Martha finally did let out the laugh she'd been trying to suppress upon realizing that the Doctor was on the same page as her when it came to the name 'Rudolph'. Her eyes followed the red wrapper, nodding in approval and not the least bit surprised it just happened to be in the Doc's pocket but her face fell slightly at the mention of her wedding. She cleared her throat and shot a look at the Doctor and then back to the other. "It was lovely. Jack was there. He actually set us up, did you know that?" The look on her face grew a little distant as she recalled the memories and ignored actually mentioning her invitation to the Doctor.
The Doctor caught the wrapper and placed it perfectly onto where the nose should go for the Cybersnowman. He was musing to himself with how ridiculous it looked when John spoke up about Martha's wedding. Straightening up, the Doctor turned slowly to give a very dark look towards John's direction only to be cut off when Martha spoke. Smiling faintly at her, he imagined Jack setting the two up and would need to remind himself that he needs to compliment the Captain on his choice of setting people up. "I was there, different face and you nor Mickey noticed me, but I was there. Martha," the Doctor took a step closer towards her and held out his hand. "Believe me, if I wasn't restricted due to the events that followed that Jack and his team had to handle, I would have been the first to congratulate the two of you."
John simply smiled sweetly when the Doctor shot him a dark look, although he didn't miss the slightly sad expression that had flashed across Martha's face. Ah yes. Instincts still on track, then. Still, he didn't regret bringing up the topic, if only because it was something they'd probably never talk about otherwise. "Oh, different face. Of course." He shot the Doctor a quizzical look, wondering whether he'd regenerated so soon after they'd parted ways. It would have explained the lack of a runner as well. His next regeneration seemed less inclined to stay away. "Good!" he enthused. "Look, he did show up, had a reason for hiding and everything." He grinned brightly at Martha, the brightness of his tone not quite masking the apology in his eyes for not being able to attend. "So! Snowmen! I've named the first one, you two figure out the rest."
Martha 's eyes flashed over to the Doctor, and they widened in size when he said he was there. Both her and Mickey had looked for him of course, but it would make sense that they wouldn't recognize him if he'd regenerated. She didn't realize that her eyes had started to well up until her vision blurred and she rushed to wipe away the evidence of her getting emotional. She gave the Doctor a warm smile and reached over to squeeze his hand, mouthing a 'thank you' before her attention was brought back to John. The look in his eye didn't get passed Martha's notice. There was more she wanted to say on the subject, and she was sure a lot of it was clear as day on her face, but she brightened up her expression and let go of the Doctor's hand to clap hers together. "Right, cybersnowbabies to name. I vote we stick with the reindeer names. Which one do you think would make a good Vixon?"
The Doctor wanted so very badly to wipe away Martha's tears, unhappy with her having to be reduced to this as they were all supposed to be having a fun time together. He gave another, longer glance towards John before pulling on a smile that could convince nearly anyone. Giving Martha a squeeze back, the Doctor let her let go as he turned to look at the other Cybersnowmen. "Whatever one looks the closest to Jack, I'd imagine." Placing his hands onto his hips, the Doctor cleared his throat as he pointed at the one farthest away from him. "Prancer, looks a bit like Doctor here, all legs and nothing much else to go on, eh?" Bounding over to it to avoid any retaliation from John, the Doctor quickly pulled out his sonic and began to quickly build up a snow ball flurry that would be ready to launch if one of the two he was with decided to start something involving snow.
John really didn't see what the fuss was about. He was pretty sure that those were tears of ... well, if not joy, then at least some kind of sentimental, happy emotion. Happy emotion was good, wasn't it? Not all crying was bad - people cried at weddings too. It was all so romantic. He nodded in agreement to the Doctor's selection of Prancer, looking about for a possible Vixon, then spun back as he heard the whirr of a sonic. "Oh hey, wait. What are you..." eyes narrowing, he peered over at the Time Lord. "Taking up arms, are we, Doctor?" Hastily grabbing his own snow, he started to pack it quickly. The best defence was a good offence, they always said.
Martha actually giggled and nodded about the one to be called Prancer, still recovering from her moment of getting maybe a little too emotional over an innocent conversation. She blamed the morning. She finally lifted the new coffee to her lips and took a sip, wrinkling her nose at the bitter taste. She opened her mouth to comment but then she noticed the same thing John did, and quickly ducked behind one of the snowmen- who she decided needed to be named 'Comet' - which she shouted to the other two while she took cover and found a place to safely stash her coffee.
The Doctor , for lack of any better words, let out a giggle as he heard John call out to him. "Oh, it's nothing, I'm just fixing something up. Nothing to be worried over." Except, John and Martha probably should have been worried considering with the aid of his screwdriver, the Doctor had a huge pile of snowballs ready to chuck at his Metacrisis and former companion. Grabbing a ball, he turned to look at John and pointed at him. "Are you going to dare strike me first? Because, I have a good aim, you know." Glancing towards Martha, he smirked and gave her a head tilt telling her to run towards him so that she could use his prepared snowballs.
John tipped his chin up, staring at the Doctor through narrowed eyes. "Oh ho, trying to turn Martha against me? That won't work," he said. "Martha would never do that, right, Martha?" he glanced at her, turn used the opportunity to lob at snowball at the Doctor while apparently distracted. "And I don't have to dare you to strike first if I launch a pre-emptive assault!" He shot a grin at the other, then ducked behind the nearest cybersnowman.
Martha just grinned, catching the Doctor's glance just before she slipped behind 'Comet' and dashed towards the pile of snowballs. "No, of course not," Martha assured even as she bent over to grab two snowballs, one for each hand. With a quick glance at both of the Doctors she backed up until she hit the arm of a cybersnowman behind the Doctor and quickly turned to kneel behind it before taking a shot at John first.
The Doctor rose a brow as he watched Martha come closer towards him, smirking smugly as she moved to grab some snowballs and to hide behind one of the snowmen. "No?" Ducking as he saw the snowball being hurled at him, he turned around to watch it smack into 'Prancer' which was the Cybersnowman that Martha took cover behind. "He's loony, if he thinks he's going to win." he commented before aiming his ball and chucking it at his Metacrisis. "Yes, well, everyone knows I have the most handsome of faces, you just have the hair."
John had been paying more attention to the Doctor than Martha, which was why he managed to duck the snowball from the former, only to get caught square on by the snowball from the latter. Turning to Martha with an exaggerated look of utter shock and betrayal, he stared wide-eyed at her. "Martha Smith-Jones!" he spluttered. "How dare you?! After all that we've been through together?" Shooting the Doctor a look of 'I'll get you later for that', he grabbed two snowballs and hurled them at Martha.
Martha raised her hands in the air, still clutching the second snowball to give John an innocent shrug and barely contained a laugh when she ducked behind the cybersnowman again. The first snowball hit her, but she made it to cover before the second one hit, and she turned her head to watch it break apart in the snow. "There's cybersnowmen in my yard," she called out as her only explanation before throwing the other snowball in the Doc's general direction, already kneeling down to hurry up and hand make a few of her own and eyeballing the pile the sat next to the Doctor. With a smirk, her gaze lifted to watch him and threw one of her own made snowballs at the back of his head this time.
The Doctor matched John's look before letting out a loud and jovial laugh. Readying himself to turn around to pick up some more ammunition, the Doctor stopped short when he felt a snowball smack him right in the back of the head. Letting out a gasp, the Doctor spun around and pointed at Martha. "How dare you!" Picking up a snowball of his own, he chucked it directly at her torso, to make sure that he wouldn't hit her face. Shouting over his shoulder to John, the Doctor kept one eye still on his companion "She's betrayed us both!"
John grinned as the Doctor echoed his words, busy prepping more snowballs as he took cover behind one of the cybersnowmen. "They're nice cybersnowmen - though I suppose that puts the rest of us on the naughty list." He raised his eyebrows at the Doctor. "Does that make us automatically allied, Doctor?" Snagging a few snowballs, he sidled closer to the Time Lord, tossing one of the snowballs in Martha's direction ... then shoving one of them down the back of the Doctor's coat as he got near enough.
Martha just laughed with an exaggerated shrug to her shoulders after the Doctor's snowball hit and she ducked down to begin making her own snowballs-admittedly a lot slower than the Doctor. "They're--Oh!" she cut off when another snowball hit her shoulder and she looked over in time to deduce it came from John. Then another giggle slipped past her lips and she moved to quickly aim another snowball at the Doctor soon after John stuffed one down his back.
The Doctor nodded at John and smirked, "It does indeed, my friend!" Letting out a loud laugh when the snowball John projected hit Martha, he soon turned it into a squawk as he felt snow go down his back. "Not the coat! Anything but the coat!" Shaking and twisting to get all the cold off of him and his precious coat, the Doctor whirled around and pointed rather accusingly at John. "How dare you!" Picking up a snowball he aimed right for the Metacrisis' face while letting out a devious but delighted cackle.
John ducked the snowball from the Doctor, anticipating it, but back pedalled and lost his balance as he stumbled over a snow drift. Landing heavily against a cybersnowman, he caused the entire cybersnowman to come collapsing down on him. "Time out, time out!" he yelled, flailing.
Martha stood up with her arm raised to throw another snowball at the Doctor when out of the corner of the eye she saw the DoctorToo run into a cybersnowman and she dropped her arm. "Are you okay!?" She asked alarmed, moving over to where he was still flailing and yelling time out.
Saving Gwen ☤ The Doctor(10), John Smith, Martha Jones, and Gwen Cooper
TAGGING: The Doctor, John Smith, Gwen Cooper, and Martha Jones
TIME FRAME: Mid-afternoon
LOCATION: Abandoned house in south neighborhood; TARDIS
GENERAL NOTES: Martha discovers Gwen and goes to get the Doctor and John Smith for help.
Martha sprinted from the town hall, heading right for the south neighborhood. Jack hadn't specified which house, and as far as she was aware, that neighborhood was still fairly vacant. She just hoped she found the right house on time. The thick snow slowed her done, and she could hear the snow crunching loudly under feet as she ran but soon enough she reached the first row of houses and she slowed to a stop at each door, looking in each one -not stopping to check if someone was actually living there first. By the time she reached the fourth house, she couldn't help but feel as if she was wasting her time when she finally found a house with an open window. It was the only house so far to have that, which wasn't that unsurprising in this weather. The sight striking her odd, she immediately went up to it and opened the door. It didn't take long to figure out she had found the right house. The sight of Gwen on the ground... like that... was enough to make her instantly need to throw up. But thankfully she was able to keep herself together long enough to walk in and find a pulse, whisper to Gwen -if she could even hear her- that she was going to get help and then ran to the house that she knew belonged to the Doctor which was thankfully not far. She didn't bother knocking as she normally would, instead barged right into the home and started yelling for the Doctor knowing that she probably didn't have much time. "Doctor... it's Gwen... Jack... I need you to come with me." Was all she said in explanation when she spotted him, urgently and in between breaths. She wasn't even 100 percent sure whether this was the Doctor or DoctorToo, but either one she was happy to see.
The Doctor was still in his ninth regenerations outfit when the door to the TARDIS busted open and a frantic and breathless Martha came rushing in. Eyes widening, the Doctor whirled around to face her and looked her over before frowning. "Where is she at?" Already heading towards the exit, he called over his shoulder in a slur of panicked words that he could only hope John would hear. "Be back soon, prepare the medical bay if you can. We've got trouble!" Before he could fully leave, he snagged Martha's hand and dragged her with him. Once outside, he looked around the neighborhood before he spotted her tracks and began to follow them towards the house "Is she alive? What's happened? And most importantly," he paused and turned on Martha, effectively getting into her face, "where is Jack?" Not giving Martha the proper time to reply but listening as they moved along, the Time Lord pushed open the door to the house where he knew he'd find Torchwood's latest victim. Entering the room, he stilled as he looked down at the broken body. Pulling out his sonic, he slowly knelt down and began to run tests on Gwen. "Not much time left, Jack's nearly broken every bone and I can't begin to explain how many ruptures she's got going on internally." Frowning and running a hand through his hair, he looked up at Martha and shook his head. "I have to carry her back to the TARDIS but there's a chance that by me moving her, I'll kill her."
John caught the sound of Martha's panicked voice followed by the Doctor's. It took a moment for him to lever himself out of bed, thanks to the knee being stiff, and by the time he reached the console room, they were gone. Quickly checking on the tracker that the Doctor had planted on Gwen, he noted that it wasn't moving, whereas Jack appeared to have left the scene. He could only guess at what had just transpired. Grabbing for his mobile, he dialed Martha's number, hoping that she would pick up. "What's wrong?" he demanded, as soon as the call clicked through. "Is it Gwen? Is she hurt?" He limped towards the medbay, firing up equipment, and looking around. Assuming that Gwen was in bad shape, they might have to rush medical supplies to her... "I'm in the TARDIS medbay," he told Martha. "Do you need me to bring you anything?"
Gwen opened her eyes as best she could. One of the contact lenses had cracked. The way it was irritating her eye was the absolute least of her problems. She couldn't make a sound if she wanted to. There were voices she couldn't make sense of and more pain than she'd ever imagined possible. She was freezing too and strained to beg for answers or mercy
Martha didn't get a chance to answer right away and she squeezed the Doctor's hand for support, almost feeling like that hand was the only thing keeping her up straight at this point. "She's just a few houses down. She's alive." She stopped there, to catch her breath but moreso because explaining what she'd seen... she wasn't sure she'd be able to do it. As for Jack, she had no idea where he was. They had reached the house she'd found Gwen, saving her from having to explain herself and she quickly moved to kneel next to the Doctor and finding Gwen's pulse again. Unable to look at her for long without feeling completely helpless and that churning feeling in the pit of her gut, she directed her gaze towards the Doctor instead, just in time to meet his eyes. She nodded, about to ask what she needed to do when she heard her phone going off. Frowning, she pulled it out to see John's ID- which was the only reason she answered and put the phone to her ear. "Yes," She all but squeaked, her voice thick with emotion as she continued to stare at the Doctor and repeated what the timelord had just told her to John over the phone. "Do you have anything in the TARDIS he can just bring here so we don't have to move her?"
The Doctor glanced away from Martha as his mind went into a flurry of thoughts. He'd caught Gwen's subtle movement and shook his head to tell her not to move. Groaning, he shot up and began to pace the room. Snapping his fingers, he muttered 'think, think, think' Before slamming the window shut and pointing in the air with a very audible 'aha!' Turning to face Martha, the Doctor pocketed his sonic and nodded. "Tell him to bring the container that looks like a canteen. Got it on my travels between River and Clara, anddon't open it until he gets here!" whirling back around, the Doctor knelt down near Gwen's face and moved in close enough to see her contact lenses. "Martha, could you remove these? One of them's broken, don't want her to lose an eye."
John rolled his eyes as the Doctor's voice, loud enough to carry over Martha's mobile, reached him. "Container that looks like a canteen." He patted the wall. "Any idea what he's talking about?" he murmured to the TARDIS, limping his way around the med bay. It was different from what he remembered, the layout changed and the cupboards all rearranged, but a rattle from one of the cabinets eventually drew his attention. Considering that the only thing sitting in it was a silver flask, he shrugged and grabbed it, then made his way towards the door. "Found it and on my way," he told Martha, snagging bandages and IVs on his way just in case they were needed. The Doctor hadn't said, which made him suspect that the container held everything needed, but it never hurt to be sure. "Might take a while," he said, "can't quite move as fast as I would like."
Gwen understood the warning for what it was. She had a very limited range of motion, but something like panic was setting in. Breathing hurt as she tried hard not to shake. She was alive with Martha and... was that John? The gaps in her memory made everything else unthinkable. She wanted to will herself back into unconsciousness and instead grimaced with her teeth clenched, trying not to blink, since that seemed like the only way to be helpful.
Martha didn't have to give John the message because he was already repeating it back to her through the phone. She nodded to the Doctor and shifted on her knees to face Gwen, putting the phone on speaker and laying it next to Gwen so she could still hear the metacrisis when he found what he was looking for and work on taking the contacts out of Gwen's eyes. She perked up when she heard John's voice again and nodded despite him not being able to see her. "Just try to hurry," she urged, almost adding an 'and be careful' but she knew at this point it would fall on deaf ears. She didn't bother hanging up the phone since she was still in the middle of sliding the contacts off of her friend's eyes. Finally both of them were off and she put them aside (a lot less carefully.) "Okay, he'll be here soon," he told both Gwen and the Doctor, more for herself than them knowing they both would have heard him on the speaker- or at least the Doctor would have. She wasn't sure about Gwen.
The Doctor muttered a 'brilliant' before pulling out his glasses and sliding them on so that he could bend over and pick up the contacts to examine them. "These aren't normal contacts, are they Gwen?" Sliding his eyes to view the woman on the floor, the Doctor went back to examining them carefully. Picking up the broken one very carefully he brought it closer to his eyes and squinted before raising both brows in realization. "Oh you're clever, very, very clever. Martha, do you know what these are?" Extending his hand out towards his companion, he smiled brightly at the two women. "Recording devices, Torchwood technology I'd bet." Turning to face Gwen, the Doctor beamed at her, "Stupid but clever Gwen Cooper." Pocketing the lenses, the Doctor stood up and waited for John to arrive so that he could snatch the canteen and open it onto Gwen. Scratching his chin, he paced the room looking for clues to pass the time. "We've really got to stop him."
John Smith spared a moment to upload a trace from Martha's mobile to his, feeling a momentary pang as he remembered his broken sonic. At least the TARDIS was here, he could try to make a new one. But later. First .... Stumbling out of the door, he swore as he stepped into deep snow and nearly fell over. Pausing long enough to double back for a pair of trekking poles, he limped towards the indicated house. "How is she?" he asked over the phone, calculating seconds and minutes in his head. It took a few minutes to make it to the house, minutes that he wasn't sure they had, but no one was screaming yet, so maybe that was good? Finally shouldering his way into the house, he tossed the container at the Doctor, only then realising that he'd snagged the brown suit, while the Doctor, wearing his face, was in the blue one. Well. This would be interesting.
Gwen remembered a 'one blink for yes, two blinks for no' system that someone on the team had implemented for when they couldn't give too much away. Watching John(?) figure out the Eye-5 lenses was a slight distraction and she welcomed it. She shut her eyes, reconsidered, and then blinked a second time. No: they weren't ordinary; and then a third: yes,'stupid but clever' was a fair summary of her actions, and a kinder one than she'd expected. Of course, she couldn't count on them knowing what any of her signals meant, but this was good. Her laptop would be much easier to find than Jack's damn book and then they'd see he was still in there. Another John entered the scene and Gwen just took a second to realise he was the metacrisis: injured but alive, just like Jack said. Thank god! Gwen relaxed her jaw so her mouth opened slightly. It wasn't a smile, but it was the closed to a 'hello' she could manage.
Martha noticed Gwen blinking, and realized instantly that she was trying to communicate. Realization instantly dawned on Martha when the Doctor told her what the contacts were. She felt dumb for not realizing sooner. "I know exactly what those are actually," she explained. "I've used them before..." She trailed off and turned to watch Gwen again, a small smile on her face for the first time. "Hopefully whatever's on that recording wherever it is can help us do just that." She didn't realize that she hadn't answered John's question over the phone but thankfully it was only a few (agonizingly slow) minutes later that he was coming through the door. She had a brief moment of confusion when she turned around and saw him. Seeing both of them in the same room again was... weird. But it also gave her a sense of relief and comfort having both of them there. She had to look back and forth between the two of them at first, and if it weren't for the limp in the metacrisis' walk, she'd probably not be able to tell them apart. "Thank god you're o-- here," she smiled at him, torn between getting up and hugging him and staying put. Ultimately, she knew the hug could wait, so she stayed put and her gaze slid over to the man's twin - the Doctor - for further instruction, hating how helpless she felt.
The Doctor turned sharply to look at John and rushed over to him to snatch the canteen from his grasp. "She's fine, well, she will be fine." Holding up the canteen, the Doctor rattled it before moving back towards Gwen and kneeling down beside her. "Funnily enough, the last time I used these, Jack and Rose were with me. Of course, it was Jack's fault in the first place, but he meant well... eventually." Pausing and frowning, the Doctor slowly opened the canister and pointed it towards Gwen, "Nanogenes do your work, and don't look to me for your biological map either. Not sure Gwen would like to be part Time Lord," muttering to himself but keeping a close eye on John, the Doctor looked towards Martha before looking back at Gwen. "You'll be alright, just let them do their work."
John Smith couldn't see Gwen at first, but as soon as he'd passed the canteen to the Doctor, he limped forward and -- felt a bolt of pure horror go through his heart. Gwen was so still that it looked like she was dead. In fact, he would have thought that she was dead except for the fact that her eyes were open and looking at him, and her mouth moved just fractionally when she made eye contact with him. He all but collapsed next to her, his stiff knee making his movements ungainly, as he ran his eyes over her injuries. Taking her hand, he squeezed it, trying to calm his breathing down enough to speak coherently. "Hang in there," he choked out. It was practically an order. "You'll be alright. Don't you dare die on me, Gwen. Don't you dare." He pressed her bloodied knuckles to his lips, blinking back the tears that were trying to spring to his eyes. He should have been furious that she'd disobeyed his orders and engaged Jack, but all he could think of was that she was his team mate, he'd failed her. "You'll be okay. You're strong, you'll be okay," he said, mindlessly repetitive, even as he glanced towards the Doctor as he knelt beside Gwen. "Nanogenes?" Both eyebrows rose. "Oh, brilliant!" Inching backwards so that Martha was between him and the canister - he didn't think that Gwen wanted to be part Metacrisis either, he grinned at the others, holding his breath.
Gwen took some amount of comfort in that she wasn't just safe now, she was cared for and maybe forgiven. It didn't make her painful and uncertain future any easier to face, but she blinked twice for John, because death was absolutely not an option. He was different from this version of the Doctor in ways she hadn't taken the time to notice before; she'd take her clues from something less changeable than his suit when things got better. She felt a little less secure when John moved away and shifted her gaze to focus intently on Martha instead. It couldn't be easy to look at her, Gwen could only imagine the sight, but she couldn't stand to be alone either. The- what was it? -Medicine(?) that the Doctor provided was something funny: little things flying and glowing. If she could, she would have tried to catch them. Instead, she relaxed and watched in a sort of daze that slowly turned to wonder.
Martha nudged closer to Gwen after both of her Doctors moved away, figuring out what they were doing after hearing the Doctor's muttering about biological maps. She didn't know how they worked exactly, but she got the gist from what little the Doctor said. She nodded at the timelord and leaned in towards Gwen to whisper to her. "It's going to be alright. I'm so sorry this happened to you, but you're going to be okay." A few tears silently made their way down Martha's cheek, but she didn't move to wipe them away. Instead she kept her focus on Gwen, making sure that she was still breathing and watching as the (beautiful) nanogenes do their work.
The Doctor stood up and backed away from Gwen, John, and Martha and watched on in silence as he waited for the nanogenes to do their work. Slowly, but surely he could see her body being repaired and turned back into who she once was before Jack got a hold of her. The frightening truth of the entire situation was becoming real to him as he watched his friends become emotional over her and as his eyes caught onto the potential murder weapon. Clenching his jaw, he side-stepped the group and moved to pick up the skillet before exiting the room and tossing it into a closet so that Gwen wouldn't have to see it. Coming back in, he looked down at Martha and frowned. "When she's able to move get her cleaned up and comfortable, after that you can bring her to the medical bay on the TARDIS and do what you need to do." Taking his glasses off, he pocketed them before raising a brow and swiftly moving to exit from the home. Anger, pain, sadness, everything began to well inside the Time Lord, everything that made him just as equally dangerous and destructive as Jack.
John Smith watched in awe as the gold shimmered, and wounds knitted shut as though they'd never existed. The terrible, distorted angle of her shattered pelvis was corrected before his eyes, and he smiled giddily, entranced by the sight. Martha and Gwen were equally absorbed, but the Doctor -- John's eyes flickered to the Time Lord as he moved to dispose of the skillet, noticing the darkening expression. Nodding fractionally in response to the Doctor's instructions, he moved to get an arm around Gwen, helping her to sit up as the glow of the nanogenes receded. "Come on, then. How're you feeling? Can you move your feet?" He glanced between Martha and the Doctor, torn between going after the Time Lord and staying with his team mate. His team mate. He wondered when he'd started thinking of Torchwood as such. The decision, when it came to him, still caught by surprise - it would not the one his mind would have gone with. Glancing at Martha, he nodded in the direction that the Doctor had gone. "Go with him. I'll take care of things here."
Gwen at first assumed the lights were only going to numb her pain. She had only just began to process the idea of spending the rest of her life in hospital that would be enough, but the truth hit her when she actually managed a verbal response, "Oh-oh brilliant." Nanotechnology, tiny aliens, whatever they were: they were working miracles. A 'thank you' didn't seem quite right as there was no indication the things were hearing or sentient and she wasn't close to fully healed. Still, she owed her life to her friends here. The thought weighed heavily on her mind when she leaned against John. She curled her fingers and toes for a quick trial-run and managed to nod as well. "Yeah, help me." She braced herself, knowing it still wouldn't be easy. Perhaps stupidly, her mind snagged on something, still in Torchwood-mode. "Who's got those lenses?"
Martha started to smile and leaned back again. What she'd been saying to Gwen had been more out of comfort at first, but the more she watched the nanogenes put her back together again, the more she realized the words were true. She was going to be okay. More than that even, she guessed. She didn't look away from Gwen until the Doctor spoke and she finally lifted her hand to wipe away the few stray tears and nodded quickly before frowning when the Doctor suddenly vacated the home. Turning back around she got up to get on the other side of Gwen to help her sit up, her eyes sweeping her body and checking to make sure that she could, in fact, move her feet. When John asked her to go with the Doctor, she bit her lip and looked back and forth between the door, Gwen, and John, torn- desperately wanting to follow after him and helping there at the same time. Ultimately, she knew she could still trust the metacrisis, so she nodded again and stood. "Be careful and call me if you need help getting her back. Hang in there, Gwen. I'll see you in a few," She smiled, scooping up her phone and waving it pointedly at John before she too disappeared out the door after the Doctor. "Doctor?"
The Doctor squared his shoulders as he continued to stalk back towards his home and ultimately his TARDIS. He was almost there when he heard Martha call his name, "Go back to Gwen." He called over his shoulder, knowing that if pressed, he'd say something he'd ultimately regret. "It's just-it's funny, isn't it?" Spinning around, the Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked his former companion over. "The one person, the one wholly good person and he's been completely and utterly corrupted by whatever it is. Yes, Jack's had a past, and yes he's done terrible things, but he'd never do such a thing like he'd done to Gwen. And sure we can run around cleaning up after him and repairing those that are broken but do you realize whats going to happen once we save him?" Finishing his rant, the Doctor grew much quieter and stared darkly at Martha. "He won't be able to live with himself. A fate I know all too well."
John Smith grabbed for the discarded trekking poles, handing one to Gwen and using the other to push himself to his feet. Push both of them to their feet. The thought that Jack was responsible for this flickered briefly through his mind, but he pushed it aside. He'd deal with it later. "What contact lenses?" he asked. "I'd say the Doctor or Martha, at a guess." There was too much blood on Gwen to be able to tell whether there were any residue injuries. "Any pain anywhere? Stiffness and soreness is probably to be expected - the nanogenes only restore bone and tissue, I'm not sure they return you to tip-top condition." He wanted to ask her what had happened, but he suspected that it was too soon for that, and there was the chance that Jack might turn up at any moment to finish the job. "Let's get back to the TARDIS."
Gwen suffered a delayed reaction but she didn't like where this was going. She and John had no place leaning on each other in their conditions. Miraculously, they did end up standing but it was going to be a slow and miserable trek. "The lenses," she repeated uselessly, having just remembered it was actually the Doctor who'd recognized them. Martha could at least be trusted to keep them safe and she'd helped with the removal; that had to be it. Gwen willed herself to relax. "I got shot once," she said in lieu of a more direct answer. "I had a kid. It's not quite that bad." Even as she said it, the pain was starting to dull, maybe even fade altogether. "I am cold," she added because that seemed like a constant and Gwen wouldn't be who she was if she didn't find something to complain about. In a better state, she would have admitted that she'd always been a bit curious about the TARDIS and wouldn't have minded a tour under better circumstances. As it was, she did her best to work with John and tried to keep the conversation light.
Martha stopped short as soon as the Doctor turned around and her arms flew up to cross protectively across her chest. She'd be lying if his words didn't sting even a little bit, but she pushed that aside and hoped that it didn't show on her face. She understood the Doctor's anger in the situation. She felt a myriad of emotions herself; shock, anger, a deep sadness, and confusion. What possibly hurt the most though had nothing to do with herself but what he predicted about the aftermath because she knew it was true. "I know," she whispered. "But I know none of us will hold it against him and we'll just have to be there for him in any way that we can." Her voice was firm, a lot firmer than she actually felt. But it was the truest thing she could she could say when really, she sadly knew little she could say would actually comfort the Doctor in that moment.
The Doctor stared emotionless at Martha, she understood but she didn't. Beginning to shake his head, he stopped himself before holding a hand up to pause her from further talking. "Yes, be that as that may, that's not my concern." Dropping his hand to his side, the Doctor blinked at his companion before frowning. "It's Jack. You can forgive a person all you like, but if they can't forgive themselves then there's nothing you can do about it." Resigning within himself, the Doctor turned around and began to head back to the TARDIS, knowing his words would leave a terrible and stricken mark on Martha to think about.
