𝔐𝔬𝔬𝔫, 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔖𝔬𝔩𝔞𝔯 𝔖𝔶𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔪
𝔐𝔞𝔯𝔠𝔥 2007
It seemed that Martha was not as well versed in avoiding aliens as EJ and the Doctor. As they ran through the corridors, it didn't seem like there was enough space amongst the screaming patients, but they acted as a good cover from the Judoon. Martha stayed outside for a short time whilst EJ and the Doctor searched for somewhere to look through the files.
The room was small, with little but a coat rack and a computer. The Doctor was glued to the device with his sonic screwdriver, and EJ watched. It was interesting, sort of...
"They've reached the third floor." Martha announced as she ran into the room, though she stopped in her tracks, the door slamming shut behind her. "What's that thing?"
The Doctor didn't even look at her as he replied. "Sonic screwdriver."
"Well, if you're not gonna answer me properly." She remarked, and EJ scoffed at her boldness. He was like that when he had met the Doctor, almost a completely different person to who he felt like now.
"No, really, it is!" It said a lot that he just stopped, and looked at her, holding up the small metal device. "It's a screwdriver. And it's sonic. Look."
He pressed the button, and it buzzed, so Martha joked. "What else have you got? A laser spanner?"
"I did..." The Doctor trailed off. "But it was stolen by Emmeline Pankhurst, cheeky woman."
"Oh, I loved her." EJ responded, dreamily. "She was brilliant, you know. One of the best people I've met yet. Goes up there with, like, Queen Victoria and the Face of Boe."
"The Face of-"
"What's wrong with this computer!" The Doctor hit the computer in frustration. "Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon."
EJ giggled, and smiled. "I love it."
Though, the Time Lord was not as forgiving. He wiped his face, and sighed. "Cos we were just travelling past, I swear. I was just wandering. I wasn't looking for trouble. Honestly, I wasn't. But I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital. And that lightening, that's plasma coils, it's been building up for two days now, so I checked in, thought something was going on inside. Turns out the plasma coils was the Judoon up above."
"What are they looking for?" Martha asked.
"Something that looks human, but isn't."
"Like you." She said, unconvinced. "Apparently."
"Like me." The Doctor agreed. "But not me."
"Haven't they got a photo?"
"Like no one ever thought of that before." EJ rolled his eyes, playfully. "Space police... surely they've got bigger brains than that."
As the Doctor scrolled through the files, finding each one empty, he replied. "Might be a shape-changer."
Martha looked at him, half concerned. "Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?"
"If they declare the hospital guilty of harbouring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution."
"All of us?" She seemed surprised.
"Thems the rules, I guess." EJ's eyes widened, though it was sort of awkward. "Hand over the fugitive, or be killed."
"Oh, yes. But... if I can find this thing first... Oh!" He was exuberant with every one of his words, not choosing them as carefully as he ought to. "You see! They're thick! Judoon are thick. They've wiped the records! Oh, that's clever."
He ran his hands through his hair, making it stand on end. "I spent ages doing that." EJ grumbled. "It looked good as well."
"What are we looking for?" Somehow, Martha was still on the task at hand... he didn't understand how, nor did he care to ask. The distractions kept him alive.
"I don't know. Say, any patient admitted in the last week with usual symptoms." He grabbed onto the computer and looked behind the monitor. "Maybe there's a backup..."
"Just keep working." Martha told them, backing away. "I'll go and ask Mr Stoker. He might know."
The Doctor worked on the back up, and EJ stared at him as he did. Although, he hoped that it wouldn't take an age. He wanted to see more of the Judoon... but if that was dangerous, then he needed to stay away. Instead, he struck up conversation.
"You like her, don't you?" EJ asked as he leant against the chair where the Doctor sat in front of him. "You really like her."
"I'm busy, EJ."
His vagueness of interest didn't deter the Thompson boy as he picked up a packet of custard creams from the desk. "I mean, I like her too. Well, she looks at you a lot... everyone looks at you a lot, you're gorgeous, and I-"
"Ezra, I'm busy." He reiterated.
"And I love when you call me Ezra." It came out like a whisper into the Doctor's ear, his bright blue eyes piercing as their gaze met. "But only you. I couldn't... I couldn't bare it if anyone else called me Ezra."
The Doctor took his hand, squeezed it once, and then pulled him through the door and out of the room. "I've done it, come on."
It always took EJ a moment to remember that the Doctor wasn't human, and he didn't process things like a human. He'd been so many people, and he had done so many things. They were never going to be consistent.
As they hurtled towards the end of the corridor, they stumbled into Martha. It was a rather happy accident, because it meant they didn't have to run anymore. EJ was glad of it. He was quite sweaty, and his heart felt like it was beating to the high heavens. Someone hated him, somewhere.
"I've restored the backup." The Doctor announced.
EJ raised his hand, rather proud of himself. "I found biscuits!"
Martha seemed the most breathless of the three of them. "I found her!"
"You did what?" His eyes widened as the Doctor pressed. Though, when a door was flattened by a leather-wearing man with the bicycle helmet, they had little time to converse as the Doctor held onto EJ's free hand with all of his strength. "Run!"
There weren't many places that they could run to, not with the Judoon forcing them to turn when they reached the stairwell. Luckily, EJ was being dragged along, because he had no idea where they were going. His sense of direction was getting worse by the second.
They turned into a set of corridors which looked more than a little preloved. If they were skin, they would be beaten and bruised, purple, and raw. EJ knew the sight. However, the three of them didn't spend long there, being pushed by the Doctor down another avenue. He pushed them into the room, sonicing the door behind them. EJ didn't even know where they were.
"When I say now, press the button!" The Doctor said, swiftly, urging them behind the screen. That was when it clicked. It was an X-Ray room.
Martha's eyes widened as she called back to him. "But I don't know which one!"
"Then find out!"
EJ mock saluted, pushing another biscuit into his mouth. "Sir, yes, sir."
The sonic buzzed incessantly as the Doctor pulled down the scanner. The door bent with every kick and barge that the leather man sent its way. Then, as Martha panicked about which button she should press, flipping through an operators manual, the Doctor stuck the sonic in the port, and the door broke down.
"Now!" He commanded, and Martha pressed the biggest button she could find.
The leather man stood by the door, and the room turned a shade of bright white as the machine activated. When it stopped, it fell onto its back, unmoving. That was comfort enough to know that they were safe from it, not what killed it. EJ would have to wait for the Doctor's conclusion on that front.
Breathless, Martha queried. "What did you do?"
"Increased the radiation by 5000%." The Doctor sighed, wiping beneath his nose with his sleeve. "Killed him dead."
"But isn't that gonna kill you?"
EJ scoffed, and shook his head. "Not human, remember?"
"Nah, it's only Röntgen radiation. We used to play with Röntgen bricks in nursery." His gaze flickered between the two of them. "It's safe for you to come out. I've absorbed it all."
"Absorb." EJ chuckled, pulling the biscuit packet further apart. "I love that word."
"All I need to do is expel it. If I concentrate, shift the radiation out of my body and into one spot- say, my left shoe." The Doctor began to hop, shaking his foot, uncontrollably. "Here we go. Here we go. Easy does it! Out, out, out, out, out, out, out, ow! Ah! Itches, itches, itches, itches!"
He groaned in discomfort until he pulled both shoe and sock off completely. Although, he wasn't done until he chucked it into the medical waste basket. At least there, it would do them no harm.
"Done!"
"You're completely mad." Martha stared.
"Aren't we all?" EJ raised an eyebrow, as if he had sobered up to the situation. "Just a little bit, I mean. We're all just a bit mad."
"You're right. I look daft with one shoe." The Doctor agreed, taking off his other converse and binning it like the other. "Barefoot on the moon."
"Are you eating biscuits?" Martha finally noticed. "You can't eat in here. The crumbs will ruin the machinery."
"Are you kidding? We're on the moon. He literally just said." EJ deadpanned, seriously unimpressed. "There are greater things than biscuits. Although, these are very good."
He approached the thing on the floor, and crouched beside it. Martha followed in his footsteps and joked. "So what is that thing? Where's it from, the Planet Zovirax?"
"Just a Slab." The Doctor said, his face sturdy once more. "They're called Slabs. Basic slave drones, you see. Solid leather all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish."
EJ sighed. "Someone after my own heart."
"But it was that woman, Miss Finnegan." Martha spoke with disdain. "It was working for her, just like a servant."
The Doctor had found interest elsewhere, by pulling his sonic from the X-Ray machine, and letting his face fall entirely when he saw the state it was in. "My sonic screwdriver!"
"She was one of the patients, but..."
"Burnt out my sonic screwdriver!"
"She had this straw, like some sort of vampire." EJ enjoyed listening to the two completely separate conversations.
"I love my sonic screwdriver!"
Eventually, Martha snapped, calling his name to get his attention. "Doctor!"
"Sorry." He threw it behind him, and smiled. "You called me Doctor. Did you hear that?"
EJ put down the packet of biscuits for his own good, and grinned back at the Time Lord. "I did, my love."
"Anyway, Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr Stoker's blood."
"Funny time to take a snack. You'd think she'd be hiding." The Doctor mused for half a second, and then, burst into a frenzy of words. "Unless... no? Yes! That's it! Wait a minute. Yes! Shape-vhanger! Internal shape-changer! She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it. If she can assimilate Mr Stoker's blood, mimic the biology, she'll register as human! We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!"
It didn't come as a surprise to EJ that they were running again. Although, he was getting tired now. He supposed that it was the restricted amount of oxygen, because his heart was working overtime. Part of him wanted to guess how long he would last like this.
The Doctor hid them in a doorway when another slab walked past them, and he grumbled beneath his breath. "That's the thing about Slabs- they always travel in pairs."
"What about you?"
He seemed to be taken by surprise by Martha's query, and he shrugged. "What about me what?"
"Well, haven't you got backup?" She pressed, practically pushing him for information. "You and your partner... or something?"
"Ugh, humans!" The Doctor rolled his eyes. "We're on the moon, running out of air, with Judoon, and a bloodsucking criminal, and you ask personal questions?! Come on."
"Unacceptable, Martha." EJ remarked, sarcastically. "Absolutely unacceptable."
"I like that- humans!" She chuckled as they stood from the doorway. "I'm still not convinced you're an alien."
It was just their luck that when they turned around, they were faced by a helmeted Judoon. It shon a light in the Doctor's face, and chanted. "Non-human!"
That seemed to change her mind. "Oh my God, you really are!"
"And again!"
They took off running for the hundredth time that day. The Doctor kept a hold of EJ's hand, purely so that he didn't get himself lost, because it seemed more and more likely as time went on. He was only thankful that the Judoon were poor shots, as the laser guns they wielded missed entirely as they turned the corner.
The stairs were the safest place for them, and the Judoon chased slowly, which gave them time. The door closed behind them, and a woman slumped down against the wall. The day was getting harder. It didn't seem like anything would ever get better.
"They've done this floor. Come on." The Doctor lead them down the corridor. "The Judoon are logical, and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky."
"Is this one of those making it up as we go along thing again?" EJ raised an eyebrow.
The Doctor blew air into his cheeks. "Yeah, yeah... I think so..."
Martha had crouched beside her friend, seeing how she slumped against the wall, which didn't bode well for them. "How much oxygen is there?"
"Not enough for all these people." She panted, exhausted. "We're gonna run out."
"How are you feeling? Are you alright?"
The girl smiled at the Doctor. "Running on adrenaline."
"Welcome to my world."
EJ nudged him, gently. "Yes, I'm fine too, thank you."
"I know you're not." The Doctor whispered back to him, gently. "You're struggling to breathe."
"It's just something that goes with the surgeries, I guess." EJ shrugged, nonchalantly, his face firm. He didn't want to let the Doctor know how much he was struggling. That would be to admit defeat. "Dodgy heart, wouldn't surprise me if he fucked up my lungs as well."
"If you need anything..." The Time Lord looked into his eyes, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Shut up." The Thompson boy took it and held it gently before dropping it. "I'm a big boy, I can handle myself."
Martha seemed to notice their discontent and gulped. "What about the Judoon?"
"Ah, great big lung reserves. Won't slow them down." The Doctor carried on as usual. "Where's Mr Stoker's office?"
"This way." She stood, leaving her friend behind, and leading them down the corridor.
They were tentative in approaching the office, because they weren't sure if they would find what they were looking for. She could have been waiting for them, and they didn't have a plan. EJ trusted the Doctor more than anything, but he wished that sometimes they had a plan.
"She's gone!" Martha exclaimed as she pushed through the doors. Swiftly, the Doctor approached Mr Stoker's dead body whilst EJ kept his distance. "She was here."
"Drained him dry." The Doctor observed, his fingers on Mr Stoker's neck, as if to test for something. "Every last drop. I was right, she's a Plasmavore."
"That's something to do with blood, I know that." EJ pointed at him, enthusiastically. "Plasma is in the blood."
"Then what's she doing on Earth?"
"Hiding. On the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio De Janeiro. What's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on."
He raced from the room, and EJ followed. However, Martha stopped, "Wait a minute." because there was one more thing left to do. She closed Mr Stoker's eyes, at least giving him some form of conventional peace. The others waited for her at the door, and then, they continued.
"Think, think, think. If I was a wanted Plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?" The Doctor scratched at his head, mind working faster than the entire hospital combined. Then, he looked up, and the directions to the MRI suite were in front of them. "Ohh... she's as clever as me. Almost."
When the people in the corridor began to scream gain, EJ knew that the Judoon had reached their floor again. "Find the non-human! Execute!"
"EJ, Martha. Stay here." The Doctor said to them both, quickly stopping at the edge of the corridor. "I need time, you've got to hold them up."
The girl was quivering. "How do I do that?"
"Just... forgive ne for this. It could save a thousand lives." She seemed willing, though confused, as he attempted to reassure her. "It means nothing. Honestly, nothing."
The Doctor kissed her. He kissed Martha Jones, someone who was practically a stranger to him, when EJ was right there in front of him. It seemed like a joke. It had to be, but he didn't stop. As soon as their lips parted, he ran to the MRI rooms, presumably where the Plasmavore would be. Even so, EJ couldn't help the way he was feeling.
It made his chest ache like nothing else. It was like all that was good and living was torn from him. It was as if his heart was made of paper, and it had been crumpled into a ball.
Breathless, Martha whispered. "That was nothing?"
"Fuck off." EJ retorted, angrily. "You have no idea."
"Find the non-human! Execute!"
The Judoon marched towards them, and they didn't make the effort to move once. Martha was frightened. She was breathing heavily, body shaking from the nerves. EJ, however, wasn't. He didn't know why, perhaps because he wasn't guilty of anything... or perhaps he was just scared.
"Now, listen." Martha said as they faced them dead on. "I know who you're looking for. She's this woman. She calls herself Florence."
It shone the light in her eye to scan her. "Human. Wait! Non-human trace suspected! Non-human element confirmed! Authorise full scan!" The Judoon pushed her against the wall, and EJ felt like an idiot just standing there. "What are you? What are you?"
"Well, you're idiots." The black haired boy grumbled beneath his breath, hoping that they wouldn't hear him. "Dunno what she is, like..."
Eventually, they marked her hand with an x to show she was clear. "Confirm human. Traces of facial contact with non-human. Continue the search. You will need this,"
"What's that for?" Martha asked as she started at the illegible paper in her hand.
"Compensation."
EJ was half expecting them to leave without turning to him; it wouldn't have been surprising. After all, he was the youngest of four children. He wasn't the only person to travel with the Doctor. He was never first on the list, and it made him forgettable. However, the Judoon seemed intent on getting a hold of him.
They turned to face him, and the blue light shot into his vision. It was momentarily blinding, and EJ was afraid to hear what they had to say. He didn't even know who he was anymore, and this only seemed to be confirmation of that.
"You know, that sort of black leather Roman skirt thing you've got going on is kind of sexy." EJ began to ramble as they grunted. "Not on you. On me. I'd look sexy. Although, I'm sure that if you're the kind of person who's into space-rhinos then this is like a wet dream."
"Human." It said eventually, and EJ sighed in relief. "Partial non-human genetic mutations. Species, unknown. Category, irrelevant."
They let EJ go eventually, and they ran. However, when they reached the MRI suite, he was uncomfortable from the moment he saw that there were Judoon gathered outside of the door. A voice was faintly talking, but EJ didn't recognise it. It couldn't have been the Doctor... that was when the panic set in.
"Now see what you've done!" An old woman, who must have been Mrs Finnegan like Martha had explained. "This poor man just died of fright!"
"Scan him." The Judoon leader said, before nodding. "Confirmation, deceased."
"No..." EJ whispered as he pushed through the hoard of rhinos. He didn't care for them, and when he saw the Doctor, just lying on his back, pale and lifeless, he dropped to his knees. "Not you... it can't... you can't..."
"No, he can't be!" Martha announced as she burst through after him. "Let me through, let me see him."
"Stop," Said the Judoon commander. "Case closed."
"But it was her!" The young doctor insisted, pointing at the old woman. She did not join the Time Lord, though she so wished to, for the tears had started to roll down EJ's cheeks as though they were two small waterfalls. "She killed him, she did it, she murdered him."
"Not now, please..." The Thompson boy whispered, tentative to touch his skin, knowing well that he would still be warm. "You were supposed to stay with me... we were supposed to be together forever... you... you can't leave me..."
"Judoon have no authority over human crime."
Martha insisted. "But she's not human!"
"Oh, but I am." Ms Finnegan's voice quivered with her old age. "I've been catalogued."
"But she's not, she ass- wait a minute." It dawned upon her, swiftly. "You drank his blood? The Doctor's blood!"
She snatched the scanner from one of the Judoon soldiers, and shone the blue light in her eye from a small distance. "Oh, I don't mind, scan all you like."
"Non-human!"
The confidence dropped from her wrinkled face in a singular moment. "What?"
"Confirm analysis."
The entire hoard removed their scanners from their utility belts, and shone them as Ms Finnegan, though she continued to plead her humanity. EJ did not spare her a glance, he did not even know what she looked like, nor did he want to. She didn't deserve that satisfaction. "Oh, but that's a mistake, surely. I'm human, I'm as human as they come."
"He gave his life so they'd find you." Martha spoke through a whisper.
"Confirm, Plasmavore." The leader said, eventually. "Charged with the crime of murdering the Child Princess of Padrivole Regency Nine."
"Well, she deserved it!" She announced, shrilly. There was a disdain in her voice, an anger. "Those pink cheeks and those blonde curls, and that simpering voice, she was begging for the bite of a Plasmavore!"
"Then you confess?"
"Confess? I'm proud of it?" She cackled before pushing the second leather man in front of her as she began to tap away on the computer. "Slab, stop them!"
It only took one gun to kill it, evaporating into nothingness. It was one less horrible thing to deal with, but not enough to halt the Judoon. "Verdict: guilty. Sentence: execution!"
Though she was protected behind the screen, it didn't give her very much time. Marta crouched down to EJ's level, only then understanding the pull that the Doctor had upon him, as he was so grievously distressed. Then, all of the guns were pointed towards her. Ms Finnegan would not leave the hospital alive.
"Enjoy your victory Judoon! Cos you're going to burn with me! Burn in hell!"
She screamed as they fired at her, a lasting impression made. When the noise ceased, EJ finally looked up. The empty space was a relief to him, though his heart still weighed heavily in his chest.
"Case closed."
"But what did she mean, burn with me?" Martha asked, hoping for an answer from anyone, but she knew that the Thompson boy would be of no use to her. "The scanner shouldn't be doing that, she's done something."
The Judoon scanned the machine too. "Scans detect lethal acceleration of mono-magnetic pulse."
"Well, do something, stop it!"
"Our jurisdiction has ended." It grunted. "Judoon will evacuate."
"You can't just leave it!" Martha was practically begging. "What's it gonna do?"
"All units withdraw!"
They didn't stay a second longer, and marched out in their troops. Their footsteps echoed through the entire hospital, shaking it to its core, until they had left the hospital altogether. That was something to be glad for, EJ supposed, but it brought no comfort to him as he silently sobbed over the Doctor's limp body.
The oxygen levels were running dangerously low. There was a nagging in the bottom of EJ's lungs, pulling for more, but receiving absolutely nothing. It made his head reel, the focus of his eyes becoming distorted. He didn't understand how Martha was still functioning like a real human being.
"You can't go!" Martha called out to them, before they left, even following them into the corridor. "That things gonna explode, and it's your fault!"
With what little strength EJ managed to muster, he allowed himself to let the Doctor go, though it forced his heart to ache. He pulled himself over to the MRI scanner, which was buzzing more than he believed it should be. Although, with a mind like his in that moment, and the complexity of the machine, it didn't seem like he would be able to help in the way he wanted to.
He only looked back once, and saw Martha giving the Doctor CPR. His chest twinged as he watched their lips meet, her hands slamming onto his ribs to push the air back into his lungs. EJ turned back his attention. The hope made it worse.
"Two hearts..." Martha whispered, before changing her CPR pattern .
When the air became truly too thin to breathe, EJ slipped from the desk. His body slumped against the cold ground, eyes closed, unmoving. Martha was in a similar way, breathing shallowly, giving everything she took in to the Doctor. For a while, it didn't seem as if anything would change, but then he coughed and spluttered, which allowed the girl to relax.
Her head pressed against the ground as she soaked up as much oxygen as he was able, only managing a few words more before her eyes fluttered shut too. "The scanner. She did something."
The Doctor took her cues, and pushed himself over to the computer where EJ was lying, motionless. Reaching into his pocket, he groaned, whispering to himself. "Oh, the sonic!"
With one more look to the Thompson boy, the Doctor pulled apart the red wires after debating on the blue, but it was the correct choice. The MRI came to a holt, thankfully, and though the oxygen was low, he was able to breathe a little more normally. Though, he was unable to stop himself from doing more.
The Doctor struggled, but picked EJ up in his arms nonetheless. The Time Lord held him like a bride, limply hanging into his arms, hoping that something would happen... that anything would happen to change their situation. He stepped into the corridor, and looked towards the windows, and over to the moon.
"Come on, come on, please. Come on, Judoon, reverse it." The Doctor sounded as if he were pleading as the Judoon ships took off, and then, a smile crossed his face. "It's raining, Ezra." He whispered, gaze flickering from the horizon down to the boy in his arms. "It's raining on the moon."
With a single thunderclap, the hospital was returned to Earth in the exact position it had been stolen from.
From that moment onwards, it was as if heaven and highwater had been pushed onto them. Flurries of ambulances and doctors swarmed in to take away the patients and assess the staff, but that was not enough.
EJ awoke in the Doctor's arms, spluttering. His entire body ached, and he surged forwards, as if he had been drowning. There was something in the back of his mind which attested to the thought of crying, at the loss, and when his chest tightened, he felt the arms around him, and he could relax.
"It's alright." The Doctor whispered, brushing EJ's hair back with the palm of his hand. "You're alright, you're okay."
As swiftly as he was able, EJ turned to face him, not caring how many people saw them huddled together as his hand briefly touched the Doctor's cheek. "You... I thought you were dead... I... you can't do that to me again."
"I know." He pressed his lips against the Thompson boys forehead, gently. "I know, I'm sorry."
They took only a moment longer for themselves before returning to their former ways, leaving the hospital only when they were ready to fully let go of one another. The Tardis was parked not too far from the walkway, and they caught the gaze of Martha Jones not too long before stepping inside.
EJ didn't mind the fact that he had many things laying around the console room. His pyjamas from the day before, a few Shakespeare plays, as well as his journal seemed to be permanent object. Though, for one of the first times he could remember, he did not jump straight onto the beams, and instead pulled the Doctor towards the console, and stared.
"Can I help you?" He asked, much more cheery than he had been before.
"Hmm, I wonder if you can." There was a glint in EJ's eyes, which could only be described as mischief. "You were going to say something to me this morning before you got distracted, and I want to know what it was."
"I'm not sure I remember." The Doctor replied, with half a smirk.
Rather seriously, he responded, though there was an element of playfulness still to his voice. "I need you to know that I don't care how we're together, only that we are."
"You're rather forward today, aren't you?" He grinned, widely. "I quite like it."
"Well, someone had to do it. If not you, then me." A happy smile crossed his lips as he pressed their foreheads together. "Do you understand me?"
"I understand you, EJ." He promised, which was all he needed. "Loud and clear."
There were a few more conversations which took place in the Tardis before a mutual consensus was made. They could not go on without once saying thank you to Martha Jones, who saved the Doctor, and consequently, EJ too.
They knew that it was her brothers party that night, and after that, it was easy to find her. The two of them stood on the edge of a street corner, an arm wrapped around a shoulder and a waist loosely. Though couple wasn't the exact phrasing they would use, they were the most handsome pair indeed.
Martha's family appeared to be a wreck, all over the place as they argued. Her father, divorced from her mother, with a blonde girlfriend half his age. There was an argument, something which happened inside of the pub, all spiralling out of control. It almost made EJ glad that he and his siblings were not on speaking terms. At least this sort of experience would never happen to him, not now.
When Martha was the last of her family in the street, she seemed to notice them, because everything had calmed. Not a word transpired and yet, the look on the Doctor's face said more than an entire novelette. EJ adored it, and he could barely keep his hands to himself.
They turned the corner, and leant up against the Tardis. It was no surprise that Martha was joining them, seeing as they were an intriguing bunch. The man in the blue suit, and his tattooed companion. How could anyone ever refuse faces such as theirs?
"I went to the moon today." Martha said, softly, keeping her distance.
"Bit more peaceful than down here." The Doctor remarked, and EJ pushed his side.
"I told you." He reminded. "It's the old age, you're insufferable sometimes."
She took a step forwards, bracing herself slightly. "You never even told me who you are."
"The Doctor."
"But what sort of species?" An amused smile pressed upon her lips. "It's not every day I get to ask that."
There was a slight arrogance to his voice as he spoke. "I'm a Time Lord."
"Right," Martha scoffed. "Not pompous at all, then."
"I just thought, since you saved my life, which saved EJ's life, and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver which needs road-testing, you might fancy a trip."
"What, into space?" Everyone always seemed to be confused by that concept, though it was possibly the easiest of them all.
"Well..."
"I can't, I've got exams." It was turning into a track record, two for two who didn't want to travel in the Tardis, "I've got things to do, I've got to go to town first thing and pay the rent. I've got my family going mad."
"Oh, we saw." EJ chuckled to himself. "I do not envy you."
"If it helps," The Doctor offered, nonchalantly. "I can travel in time as well."
"Get out of here."
"I can!"
"He can." EJ nodded in agreement.
Martha just shook her head. "Come on, that is going too far."
"I'll prove it."
They watched as the Doctor stepped into the Tardis, and closed the doors behind him. EJ stepped backwards by only a step or two, and watch as the ship dematerialised. Martha was wide eyed as it disappeared, but even more so when a second had passed, and it was back again.
He walked back outside, and EJ would have sworn upon everything that he knew, that the Doctor in that moment was the most attractive that he had ever been. His hair was all over the place, collar upturned, and tie loose. That layered with a smirk was the only thing that EJ could think of.
"Told you." The Doctor grinned, proving his notion from only a minute beforehand.
"No, but, that was this morning, but... did you?" She seemed to stammer as he attempted to make himself more presentable. "Oh, my God! You can travel in time. But, hold on, if you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go into work?"
"Crossed into established events is strictly forbidden." The Doctor nodded, making a point of it all. "Except for cheap tricks."
Martha grinned wider. "And that's your spaceship?"
"It's called the TARDIS." He informed as her hands ran over the wooden finishings of the exterior. "Time and Relative Dimension in Space."
"Your spaceships made of wood." She deadpanned, before making some sort of joke. "But there's not much room, we'd be a bit intimate."
Still leaning against the blue doors, he pushed them open. "Take a look."
There was only a small moment when EJ and the Doctor were alone, and Martha was inside of the Tardis before running out with a sort of fear and glee. In that moment, the Thompson boy grabbed onto the Doctor's tie and pulled it so that their bodies were flushed against one another. They kissed, and they kissed with all of the fire and fury of two most passionate lovers in history.
When they pulled away from one another, they were granted only a second to look at each other before the panic set into Martha. "No, no, no. But it's just a box. But it's huge! How does it do that? It's wood!" She knocked against the wood, and tested it out, before running back in, though this time, the boys joined her. "It's like a box with that room just crammed in! It's bigger on the inside!"
EJ had to suppress a laugh as the Doctor mimed along, feigning surprise. "Is it? I hadn't noticed." He closed the door, and threw his coat onto one of the beams. "Right, then. Let's get going."
"But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff, where is everyone?"
The Doctor was swift to reply as he worked on the console. "Just me and Ezra."
Martha raised an eyebrow. "Who's Ezra?"
"Me." EJ raise a hand like he was in school, jumping onto his beam, the one he chose the most, right beside the console. "But don't you dare call me that, alright?"
"Just you two?" She queried.
"Well, sometimes I have guests." The Doctor shrugged, like he didn't really want to talk about it. "I mean, friends, travelling with me. I had... there was recently a friend of mine. Rose, her name was, Rose. And we were together. Anyway..." He pulled the monitor over, cutting the conversation short.
Martha turned to EJ again. "Were you there too?"
"Yep."
"Where is she now?"
"With her family. Happy! She's fine." He nodded. "Not that you're replacing her!"
His sudden change in tone was startling for Martha who retorted rather quickly. "Never said I was."
"Just one trip. To say thanks, you get one trip, then back home." The Doctor was sure not to mince his words. "I'd rather it just be me and EJ."
"Well, you're the one that kissed me." Martha teased, though it was all in jest.
The Doctor pointed a finger at her. "That was a genetic transfer!"
"And if you will wear a tight suit."
"Now, don't."
"Then travel all the way across the universe just to ask me on a date."
"Stop it!" He warned.
"For the record, I'm not remotely interested." Martha shrugged, a pleasant smile on her face, as this was a usual conversation. "I only go for humans."
The Doctor seemed genuinely surprised. "Good!"
"Definitely good!" EJ announced, surprised, as he jumped from the beam and onto the Doctor's back with glee. He placed a kiss onto the Time Lord's cheek. "Cos you're all mine."
"Now, then" He pulled one of the many pieces of machinery on the centre console. "Close down the gravitic anomalyser. Fire up the helmic regulator. And finally, the handbrake! Ready?"
"No." Martha shook her head, though she was filled with a certain regiment of glee.
"Off we go!"
EJ was glad that he had jumped from the Doctor's back, because they were flung about the Tardis like ragdolls. It was always to do with the handbrake, but EJ was lost on how to fly her, because the Doctor wasn't exactly willing to teach him yet. There would have to be a certain amount of convincing in the near future.
"Blimey," Martha declared. "It's a bit bumpy!"
"Welcome aboard, Miss Jones!" The Doctor offered her a chance to shake his hand, which she obliged to.
"It's my pleasure, Mr Smith."
For once, EJ had a good feeling about the future. It didn't really matter was was going to happen now, because he knew that the Doctor would be by his side. Being alone was no longer an option, and neither was it frightening.
In fact, it was rather an exciting adventure.
✯ ★ ✯
Disclaimer!!!
I do not own Doctor Who, it's characters and original storylines. The only things I do own are my own characters, my addition to the series and my own storylines. Any similarities to real life are purely coincidental.