chapter thirty-one : gridlock
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"MARTHA!"
Luna's hair whipped behind her shoulders as she turned her head, relief flooding her head at the sight of the Doctor. He looked around, terror written on his face until he spotted her, leaning against a brick wall at the bottom of the stairs. He raced down the steps, pulling her into his arms only a moment later, his hands shaking against her skin.
"God, Luna," he breathed out, cupping her face in his hands. "I'm so sorry, I should've seen them, I--are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
Luna shook her hand, lip trembling, eyes wide and full of fear. He planted a kiss on her forehead, resting his own against hers.
"I'm fine, Doc," she whispered. "We have to get Martha," she pulled away from him, guilt stretching over her features. "It's may fault, I should have fought harder and grabbed her. I had the dream and I made us come here and now she's--"
He moved his thumbs across her cheeks gently, wiping away the tears that slipped from her eyes. "You listen here, it is not your fault. I'm responsible for both of you and it's my fault you were in that situation. Let's get her back, alright?"
Luna nodded, pulling her face from his hands and taking a shaky breath. "Yeah, let's go get our girl."
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The Doctor banged his fist against the door to the shop, a dark look on his face. Luna stood next to him, arms crossed with a cold expression.
"I thought you'd come back," the shopkeeper who'd sold the forget to the woman prior greeted them, "do you want some happy-happy?"
"Those people, who were they?" The Doctor questioned aggressively. "Where did they take her?"
The man in another stand opened his window. "They've taken her to the motorway."
"Looked like carjackers to me."
Another shopkeeper spoke up. "I'd give up now, darlings. You won't see her again."
"Used to be thriving, this place," the male shopkeeper told them. "You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."
Luna's face hardened. "You listen up, sweetheart and you listen good. Martha's my friend. I'm not giving up on her. You better start packing up your things because when we find her, and we will, your shop's going to close," she looked around to the other shopkeepers, her voice raising. "Every last one. All your fucking drugs are going down the drain and if I see any of you by the time we come back, I promise I will make your lives hell. So tell me what the damn deal is with this motorway or so help me god, none of you will make it 'till tomorrow."
The Doctor stared at her for a moment, expressionless, his eyes filling with anger as he looked around to the shopkeepers. They looked startled by Luna's declaration, and glanced at her fearfully. "He kept on saying three, we need three. What did he mean, three?"
"It's the car-sharing policy," the woman from before spoke up shakily, watching Luna with caution. "To save fuel."
Luna's hands clenched into fists. "Save fuel," she whispered, shaking her head. "They used her to save fuel! Like she's a fucking object you can toss out when you're done! No, I'm not having it. What does that mean? Car-sharing?"
"You get special access if you're carrying three adults."
"What special access?"
"This motorway, how do we get there?"
Luna and the Doctor glanced at each other. They'd asked their questions at the same time. He reached over tenderly, grabbing her fist and outstretching her fingers, hooking her hand into his own. "How do we get there?" He asked the shopkeeper again.
"Straight down the ally, keep going to the end, you cannae miss it."
The Doctor didn't say another word as he and Luna walked down the street into the foggy streets, stopping when the woman called out to them again.
"Tell you what, buy some happy-happy. Then you'll be smiling, my love!"
The Doctor turned around swiftly, glaring at the shopkeepers. "A word of advice to all of you. Cash up, close down and pack your bags. Because as soon as we've found her alive and well, and we will find her alive and well, we're making good on Luna's promise and we will come back. And this street is closing! Tonight!"
Without another word, Luna squeezed the Doctor's hand and they were off down the alley again.
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The Doctor sonic'd a rusted green door to the alleyway, opening it with ease. They hadn't said anything since threatening the shopkeepers, but he'd held her hand tightly the entire walk. Luna had a feeling they were too angry to say anything nice -- after all, they were still fighting, even with Martha missing. Just because their friend was gone didn't mean she was going to forgive him for talking about Rose and blowing up at her on their last trip. Even with her dream, he'd still taken them to the exact same place he'd taken Rose -- without her -- after mentioning her like some sort of saint.
No, she wasn't eager to forgive him. In fact, the rage about Martha's kidnapping only made Luna more furious with him. Had he just looked into the dream and not taken her here -- none of this would have happened. She was in a delirious state when she'd asked him and he had to have known it would be a bad idea.
But she held onto his hand, as tight as ever, and they were both grateful for it. Mad or not, neither of them could go through any of this without the other. Luna knew he needed her to keep him calm, and she needed him to stay focused. Without each other, they were just angry history buffs with too much time on their hands.
They stood on a square platform facing miles of floating cars, honking and beeping at each other. Luna coughed, finding it hard to catch her breath and the Doctor let out his own cough. It smelt like smoke and fumes and Luna's chest ached. She covered her mouth, coughing violently and the Doctor let go of her hand, covering his own mouth. She dug into the Doctor's pockets, pulling out a spare bit of cloth, ignoring his curious look, and held it to her mouth, trying to block out smoke.
The vehicle in front of them opened its door and a man stepped out, wearing a thick brown jacket and jeans, his face covered in a white scarf. He had a leather hat and goggles over his eyes -- and Luna wondered why he had so much covering his face. Was the smoke really that bad?
"Hey! You daft little street struts! What are you both doing standing there? Either get out or get in. Come on!" He waved them down and Luna didn't hesitate, feeling as though her lungs were going to burst. She walked down the platform quickly, into his car. The Doctor hurried behind her, still coughing.
They struggled to catch their breath as the door shut behind them, coughing and breathing heavily.
"Did you ever see the like?" The man asked wondrously.
A woman from the front leaned back, offering them both oxygen masks. "Here you go."
Luna put hers on her face, taking a deep breath and sighing in relief at the clean air.
"They were just standing there, breathing it in." The man pulled up his goggles and took off the scarf, revealing a cat face, nose and whiskers included. Luna's eyes widened in surprise but she hid it quickly. "There's this story," he explained, "it says back in the old days on Junction 47 this woman stood in the exhaust fumes for a solid 20 minutes. By the time they found her, her head had swollen to 50 feet."
The woman smiled fondly, shaking her head. "Oh, you're making it up!"
"A 50-foot head, just think of it."
Luna smiled at the pair, obviously married, and looked around the small van. Brown drapes covered a portion of the back and as the man clambered in the bag, Luna moved away from the doors, looking out at the street.
"Fifty-foot head does sound strange," she commented lightly, letting out a light cough at the end. "Would have loved to see it though."
The cat-man smiled at her, waving his hand to her triumphantly. "See? She believes me. Imagine picking that nose."
Luna laughed at the woman snorted. "Oh, stop it. That's disgusting."
"What, did you never pick your nose?" He teased her.
"Bran, we're moving," she gasped, tapping his arms and pointing out the dashboard. Luna could hardly see through the fog, narrowing her eyes and leaning forward a bit.
"Right, I'm there," Bran replied. "I'm on it."
Horns beeped and blared again as Bran pressed down a lever and Luna exchanged a look with the Doctor. They didn't move very far at all. Things were very odd here, to say the least.
"Twenty yards," Bran exclaimed. "We're having a good day."
The Doctor leaned his elbows on the front seats and Luna rested her head agains his arm, her head feeling quite a bit lighter than before.
"And who might you two be?" Bran asked. "Very well dressed for a hitchhiker."
The Doctor took off his mask, but Luna kept hers on, still trying to breathe clearly. Every few breaths she'd let out a light cough.
"Thanks," the Doctor smiled. "Sorry, I'm the Doctor."
Bran's face filled with surprise. "Medical man? My names Thomas Kincade Brannigan, and this is the bane of my life, my lovely Valerie."
Luna smiled at the pair, taking her mask off. "Why don't you ever introduce me like that, Doc?" She asked him teasingly. He rolled his eyes playfully.
"This is Luna, bane of my existence."
She laughed, her cough cutting through it harshly. "Ay, watch it, I know where you sleep."
Bran and Valerie smiled at the pair. "You look lovely together," Valerie told them. "it's nice to meet you."
"And that's the rest of the family behind you," Bran told them, nodding behind the draped curtains. The Doctor pulled them back and Luna's eyes widened at the litter of kittens. How did -- she tried not to think about it. Human evolution, she reminded herself. Everyone comes from somewhere.
"Oh, that's nice," the Doctor cooed, his voice dropping as the kittens meowed responsively.
"They're so cute," Luna complimented. "Really sweet."
The Doctor picked up a black one with white paws, holding it to his chest. Luna moved her hand around all the kittens, petting them behind the ears and under their necks.
"How old are they?" The Doctor asked.
"Just two months," Valerie answered. "Poor little souls. They've never known the ground beneath their paws."
Luna's smile fell at Bran's next words. "Children of the motorway."
"What, they were born in here?" The Doctor asked.
"We couldn't stop. We heard there were jobs going, out in the laundries on Fire Island. Thought we'd take a chance."
"You've been driving for two months?" Luna asked in shock.
Bran laughed. "Do I look like a teenager? We've been driving for twelve years now."
Luna's eyes widened. "Twelve years? Blimey, I thought the family road trip when I was five was bad. We'd only driven eight hours."
Bran nodded. "Yeah, started out as newlyweds. Feels like yesterday."
Luna's eyes watched the Doctor subconsciously and she pictured him in a fancy tuxedo, her heart skipping a bit at the thought of marrying him. Maybe someday, if she got lucky enough.
"Feels like twelve years to me," Valerie countered and Luna chuckled.
"Ah, sweetheart, but you still love me," Bran teased, tickling her.
"Twelve years?" The Doctor asked again, still flabbergasted. "How far did you come? Where did you start?"
"Battery park," Bran answered. "It's five miles back."
Luna turned, setting the kitten she'd been holding back on the mat. "Five miles in twelve years? Are you serious?"
"I think they're a bit slow," Bran told Valerie. The Doctor put the kitten back with its siblings.
"Where are you from?" Valerie asked curiously.
"Never mind that," the Doctor dismissed. "We've got to get out. Our friend's in one of these cars. She was taken hostage. We should get back to the TARDIS." He went to open the door but the smoke got to him and he immediately began coughing. Valerie covered her mouth and Luna turned away, struggling to breathe again.
"You're too late for that," Bran explained. "We've passed the lay-by."
The Doctor shut the door again.
"You're a passenger now, sonny Jim."
"When's the next lay-by?"
"Oh," Bran thought for a moment. "Six months."
Luna shook her head. "No," she told them sternly. "Martha's in trouble, we shouldn't even be here, we've got to get her back. Who knows what'll happen in six months."
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The Doctor sonic'd a screen showing the police symbol from before, holding the radio to his mouth. "I need to talk to the police."
"Thank you for your call," an automated voice responded. "You have been placed on hold."
Luna rolled her eyes. "Hold means we're never speaking with a representative," she told the Doctor.
"You're the police," the Doctor protested into the radio.
"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."
"See?" Luna shrugged. "Told you."
The Doctor turned around, ignoring her words, to Bran and Valerie.
"Is there anyone else?" He asked them. "I once met the Duke of Manhattan. Is there any way of getting through to him?"
"Oh, now," Bran commented, "ain't you lordly?"
"We've got to find our friend!"
"You can't make outside calls," Valerie explained gently. "The motorway's completely enclosed."
Luna's eyebrows furrowed. "So you've got no way of reaching outside family, anything?" That's why the woman wanted forget.
"What about the other cars?"
Bran nodded. "We've got contact with them, yeah. Well, some of them anyway. They've got to be on your friends' list," he turned to the screen in between him and Valerie. "Now, let's see, who's near by? Ah, the Cassini sisters!"
Pictures of two elderly woman appeared on the screen. Bran grabbed the radio.
"Be still your hearts, my handsome girls. It's Brannigan here."
"Get off the line, Brannigan," an elderly woman spoke over the radio. "You're a pest and a menace."
"Come on now, sisters, is that any way to talk to an old friend?"
"You know full well we're not sisters. We're married."
Luna grinned at the woman's words. "I love them," she told the Doctor quietly. "They sound like a hoot."
"Ooh! Stop that modern talk, I'm an old-fashioned cat."
Luna's smile dropped a fraction. She hoped he was joking. As a bisexual herself, gay rights were incredibly important to her. She'd told the Doctor numerous times that if he ever regenerated into a woman, she'd find it far more attractive. She'd dated plenty of women in her life, but the Doctor seemed to be an exception, as one of the few men she'd stayed with for more than a month, without any sort of sexual intimacy.
"Now, I've got a couple hitchhikers here, one calls himself the Doctor, and his wife, Luna."
The Doctor didn't bat an eye at Brannigan's explanation but Luna cleared her throat. "Oh, we're not -- we're not married," she corrected. The Doctor glanced over at her, his face impassive. What was all that about?
"My mistake," Brannigan corrected over the radio. "She's his lover, not wife."
Luna slapped her forehead. "Girlfriend is fine, but sure, let's go with lover."
The Doctor smirked, leaning his head to her. "You could've been with my wife."
She raised her eyebrows. "Is that what you want?"
He shrugged. "I'm not proposing in this van."
"You're going to propose?"
He didn't answer, focusing on Brannigan and the Cassini's over the radio, grabbing it from Brannigan. "Hello, sorry, I'm looking for someone called Martha Jones. She's been carjacked. She's inside one of these vehicles but I don't know which one."
"Wait a minute," one of the women replied back. "Could I ask what entrance did they use?"
"Where were we?" The Doctor asked Brannigan quietly.
"Pharmacy Town."
"Pharmacy Town, about twenty minutes ago."
"Let's have a look," the woman responded.
"Just my luck to marry a car-spotter," the other spoke up.
Luna smiled. "They're so cute," she said quietly.
"In the last half hour, fifty-three new cars joined from the Pharmacy Town junction."
"Anything more specific?"
"All in good time. Was she carjacked by two people?"
"Yes!" Luna answered for the Doctor. "A man and a woman. They suck and I hate them."
"There we are! Just one of those cars was destined for the fast lane. That means they had three on board. And the car number is 4-5-6-Diamond-6."
"That's it!" The Doctor exclaimed into the radio. "So how do we find them?"
"Ah," the woman replied. "Now there I'm afraid I can't help."
"We can call them on this thing," the Doctor addressed Brannigan and Valerie. "We've got their number, Diamond-6."
Luna shook her head. "No, remember, friends only?"
"Not if they're designated fast lane," Brannigan agreed. "It's a different class."
"You could try the police," the woman suggested over the radio.
"They put me on hold."
"You'll have to keep trying," the other elderly woman told them. "There's no one else."
"Thank you," the Doctor said over the radio, handing Brannigan back the radio and pressing a kiss to her temple, spotting Luna's crestfallen expression. "We'll find her," he promised quietly.
"We've got to go to the fast lane," he spoke to Brannigan. "Take me down."
"Please," Luna added. "Please, we can't leave her down there."
"Not in a million years," Brannigan shook his head.
"You've got four passengers--"
"--I'm still not going."
"She's alone and she's lost," the Doctor pleaded. "She doesn't even belong on this planet, and it's all my fault. I'm asking you Brannigan, take me down."
"That's a no, and that's final," Valerie interrupted swiftly. "I'm not risking the children down there."
"What's down there?" Luna asked, heart sinking to her stomach. If Martha ended up...she couldn't think of it. She'd had the nightmare that brought them here, what if she died because of her dream?
"We're not discussing it," Valerie shook her head. "The conversation is closed."
"So we keep on driving?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes, we do."
"For how long?"
"'Till the journey's end."
The Doctor shook his head, reaching passed Brannigan and grabbing the radio. "Mrs. Cassini, this is the Doctor. Tell me, how long have you been driving on the motorway?"
"Oh, we were amongst the first. It's been twenty-three years now."
Luna scoffed. "Twenty-three years, that's almost my entire life."
"And in all that time, have you ever seen a police car?"
Brannigan and Valerie looked at the Doctor cautiously, as though no one had ever dared to ask such a question.
"I'm not sure."
"Look at your notes," Luna encouraged. "Any police?"
"Not as such."
"Or an ambulance?" The Doctor asked, maintaining eye contact with Brannigan. "Rescue service? Anything official, ever?"
"I can't keep note of everything."
"What if there's no one out there?" The Doctor asked harshly.
Brannigan pulled the radio from his hands. "Stop it," he ordered. "The Cassinis were doing you a favor."
"Someone's got to ask 'cause you might not talk about it, but it's there, in your eyes," he told him through gritted teeth. What if the traffic jam never stops?"
"There's a whole city above us. The mighty city-state of New New York. They wouldn't just leave us."
"In that case where are they?" Luna asked. "Why hasn't anyone seen them? Why've you been traveling for years? Something's not adding up and you both know it."
"What if there's no help coming, not ever?" The Doctor prodded again. "What if there's nothing? Just the motorway. With the cars going round and round and round, never stopping? Forever!"
"Shut up!" Valerie ordered, her voice shaking. "Just shut up!"
The screen in front of them pulled into a static, showing the blonde woman from earlier about the news. "This is Sally Calypso and it's that time again. The sun is blazing high in the sky over the New Atlantic. The perfect setting for the daily contemplation..."
"You think you know us so well, Doctor," Brannigan shook his head. "We are not abandoned. Not while we have each other."
"Maybe not," Luna spoke up. "But Martha is. They took her against her will and she has no one. And you have a chance to help us find her, and believe me, I wouldn't ask you if we didn't need your help. Please, she is abandoned and she wasn't supposed to be. Help us find her."
Brannigan watched her for a moment, his eyes falling before he turned his head and looked to the front. Luna's hopeful expression fell and she leaned into the Doctor. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her head. They had to get Martha out of the fast lane, out of the motorway, and off this planet.
"This is for all of you out there on the roads. We're so sorry. Drive safe."
A song began to play throughout the motorway, harrowing like a church anthem.
"On a hill far away..." Brannigan and Valerie sung together with the audio. Luna heard voices from outside and realized that everyone was singing. "Stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame...and I love that old cross, where the dearest and best...for a world of lost sinners was slain. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross...'till my trophies at last I lay down...I will cling to the old rugged cross...and exchange it some day for a crown..."
The Doctor looked between Brannigan and Valerie, then at Luna who watch with a heartless expression. His face fell a fraction and worry filled his eyes. Luna would've cried at something like this, something so opportunistic and full of hope -- what was wrong with her? Had Martha's kidnapping affected her this much? Was it the nightmare? Or Rose? Instead, she stood next to him, seemingly unaffected, and for a moment he felt as though he were holding a stranger. His grip on her loosened before he shook his head, holding her tighter. No, she was his Luna all the same.
Luna pulled away from him, giving Brannigan and Valerie cold looks. "If you won't take us, we'll go on our own."
The Doctor pulled out his sonic, moving back to the floorboards and holding it to them.
"What do you think you're doing?" Brannigan asked.
"Finding my own way," he replied snarkily. "I usually do."
"Thanks for the help," Luna muttered sarcastically. "Really great to see people still care."
The Doctor pulled open the hatch, revealing smoke and motorway cars lining the streets endlessly.
"Capsule open."
"Ready, love?" He asked her, staring into her eyes.
She shrugged. "Gotta get my girl back somehow."
They waited until a vehicle stopped underneath them. "Here we go," the Doctor told her, stuffing the sonic back into his pocket and tossing Brannigan and Valerie his jacket. "Look after this," he told them. "I love that coat. Janis Joplin gave me that coat."
"Oh, she called the other day, asked to see you again," Luna mentioned. "She was rather nice, come to think of it, you didn't song her too, right?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Not the time, Luna." He hesitated. "And, no, I didn't."
"But you can't jump!" Valerie protested.
"If it's any consolation, Valerie, right now I'm having kittens."
"This Martha," Brannigan spoke up. "She must mean an awful lot to you."
The Doctor glanced up at him. "Hardly know her, I was too busy showing off," he looked down to the motorway. "And I lied to her. I couldn't help it, just lied."
Luna didn't have a chance to say anything before he looked up at the couple again. "Bye, then!"
Luna looked at them with a small smile. "Hopefully, you make it to the motorway sooner than later." And then she jumped down after him.
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guys I just realized that the line "till the journey's end" represents Martha and everything, but they're just traveling endlessly, hoping for a better opportunity. this represents the doctor and his journey with Martha and donna after rose, traveling endlessly until he finds a better opportunity. and the "journey's end" is also the last episode with everyone back together until his final episodes and -- guys I was shook watching this omg. also my head hurts kinda bad rn so I'm just doing this chapter but might make another one later idk. only halfway through the episode smh. this is so tedious because I have to pause after every sentence to write down what was said, and add luna's thoughts and feelings and words, and describe tones and backgrounds and gahhh. I'm tired :( but hey! another update! and I'm also not a big fan of this chapter because I think it drags sooo so much. but I'm excited for the next couple episodes! and I'm so freaking pumped for family of blood, guys get ready big things are happening I literally just - GAH I'm so excited. okay thanks so much for reading, hope you guys liked it! leave me a comment if you did, what you thought, etc. and don't forget to vote! please don't be a silent reader! and stay safe! -osw