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Entry tags:
fic: In the aftermath
Title: In the aftermath
Author: dk323
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Martha, Nine, Rose, Ten
Spoilers: Series 1: The Parting of the Ways
Disclaimer: Don’t own Doctor Who, just playing with its characters.
Summary: Martha finds out what happened on the Game Station. The Doctor regenerates.
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fourzoas :-)
Author’s Notes: This is an AU! version of The Parting of the Ways that is set in the alternate reality Martha dreamed about in the one-shot “Memory” here (it would be helpful, but not necessary to read that story first). "In the aftermath" will serve as a sort of introduction to future stories in the series.
In this alternate reality, Martha met Rose when they were kids. They have been friends since that time. Years later in 2005 when Rose is 19 and Martha is 21, they meet Nine and travel with him.
This story takes place after Rose comes back and does her Bad Wolf thing, so in the aftermath…
~ * ~
She was still a bit disoriented and she looked around, wondering what was going on. A moment ago she was sure that a Dalek beam had hit her and she had died.
She had died, hadn’t she?
Now Martha wasn’t quite sure of anything anymore. She could scarcely believe she was actually alive.
“Doctor, what happened? Where’s Rose? Jack? Are they all right?” She pressed him as she regained her footing.
The Doctor gave her a tight smile. “Rose is all right! Just fine. Best not waste time though.”
He gave her a grin at her nervous look. “Always got to move on, you know that, Martha.”
She shook her head, still hoping for more answers.
“But what about Jack?” Martha asked.
He looked at her. “He didn’t make it. A Dalek got him. Sorry.”
“But, that’s it then?”
“Yep! Can’t be helped.”
“I liked him. I’ll miss him,” Martha commented as she walked alongside the Doctor back to the TARDIS.
“That was his lot in life,” he said simply, but pulled her to his side, placing his arm securely around her shoulders.
When the two neared the TARDIS, she ventured another question. “So what happened back there?”
“I had to send Rose back home, but she came back to help.”
She smiled. “Saved the day at the last minute, I’m guessing?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“How?” Martha asked.
The Doctor looked down at his hand where the veins were emitting an odd golden light.
Martha noticed his look and gasped at the state of his hand. “What is that?”
He shook his head. “Oh, nothing! C’mon, let’s get inside. Rose should be in there.”
She sighed, muttering under her breath, “That’s NOT going to work with me,” before she entered the TARDIS after the Doctor.
“Oh Martha! I’m so glad you’re okay,” Rose exclaimed, going to hug her before she was completely inside of the ship.
“Thanks. I’m glad to see you – heard you saved the day.”
Rose let go of her and tilted her head to the side, looking puzzled. “Yeah, I just can’t remember what I did exactly.”
The two looked at each other and then, in unison, they directed their attention toward the Doctor, waiting for him to provide them with the answers they needed.
The Doctor was at the console, hands firmly gripping it and his head down. He didn’t look too well, Martha thought worriedly.
“What’s wrong, Doctor?” Martha asked, moving closer to him.
“It would be best if you backed away. It’s always tricky, this process.”
Martha suddenly recalled a text she had recently read in the TARDIS Library.
This process.
Regeneration. He was going to change. He would look different, but at the core – his memories, his knowledge…would still be there.
An odd calm settled over Martha. Though she had read this in a book, it was an entirely different story to see it happen right before her eyes. And she wasn’t quite sure how she would react to a change in physical appearance and a change in personality as well. She chided herself that of course she would accept him no matter how he looked or acted. At the end of the day, he was still the Doctor.
And that’s all that mattered. That was the important thing.
She went to stand beside Rose who was looking anxiously at the Doctor from her place by one of the columns.
“Is everything all right, Martha? What’s happening to him?” Rose asked.
Martha smiled reassuringly at her and took her hand.
“The Doctor’s done this before. It’ll be all right.”
“But what’s going on?”
“He’s dying. Every cell in his body is changing -- he goes through this process called regeneration. It'll still be him though, same memories, same everything except for outward appearance and personality, I suppose.”
Martha saw the Doctor mouth a ‘thank you’ to her before he grinned weakly at both of them.
He explained, “I’m going to look different, Rose. You won’t be seeing this daft old face anymore. Don’t know how I’ll look. Like I said, it’s a tricky process, but it’s my way at cheating death.”
Rose nodded quietly, though she still looked rather unnerved.
“It’ll take some getting used to, I know,” Martha said to her. “But we can get through it together yeah?”
“Yeah,” Rose breathed out as she watched the Doctor struggling against unseen pain.
The Doctor let out a worn out sigh and smiled at his two companions before speaking, “Before I go, Rose, Martha – I just wanted to say that you two were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what?”
The two spoke at the same time. “What?”
“So was I!” He finished, a beaming grin on his face.
And then he regenerated, a brilliant glowing light leaving him.
~ * ~
Rose knocked on the door of Martha’s room on the TARDIS. Soon after the Doctor had changed, he had told them (after some obvious prodding from the two of them) of what had happened on the Game Station.
Rose had looked into the heart of the TARDIS and had become the Bad Wolf. She had obliterated the Dalek fleet and then had brought Martha back to life.
“Fortunately you were able to control it enough so you didn’t bring her back for forever. But Martha, you’ll be living longer than the average human. For how much longer, I’m not quite sure, but-” the Doctor had explained.
At that point, Martha had abruptly left the console room, Rose noticing a frustrated look on her face before she left.
Rose went after her and waited a few minutes before Martha opened the door to let her in.
Rose smiled weakly at her and went to sit on her bed.
“Martha, I don’t remember what happened when I was the Bad Wolf. It’s all out of me now. But I’m sorry for what pain it has caused you. The Doctor said you had died. If I hadn’t been there – that would be horrible if you had stayed dead! I’m sorry to say it, but I’m glad the Bad Wolf brought you back to life. You deserve it, Martha. Think of all that you can give to the world as a doctor. You can save lives.”
Martha sighed, sitting beside the blonde on the bed.
“I’m not a doctor yet. And I don’t blame you. I understand it wasn’t you, that it was something you had little control over. I care for the Doctor too, and I would have done the same thing if it was the only way to save him.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“It’s just – what about Jack? Why did the Bad Wolf bring me back to life, but not have enough power to bring him back from the dead?”
Rose looked carefully at her, placing her hand on her shoulder.
“I don’t know the answer to that. I wish I did, but I do know one thing for sure.”
“And what’s that?”
“You’re the closest friend I have and maybe because of that, you were saved. A part of the Bad Wolf may have known how important you were to me. So you were priority.”
“But Jack was a good guy. He was making amends. He deserved a chance too.”
“I agree. I suppose nothing works out quite the way we want them to yeah?” Rose said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
“Allons-y! Who wants some chips?” the Doctor interrupted them cheerily at the doorway.
Martha shook her head, smiling at his happy mood. “Not so fast, mister. You’ve just regenerated, you need to rest up. I want to make sure your body is adjusting properly.”
He pouted, looking to Rose for support. The blonde just smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek before she left Martha’s room.
“Listen to the Doctor, Doctor!” Rose called back.
Martha rolled her eyes and then turned her attention to the Doctor.
He gave her a cheeky grin. “Hello, Doctor Jones.”
“Just as charming as ever,” Martha said drily.
“Quite right. Handsome too?” he winked at her.
“Don’t push it,” she replied, though he could tell she was only teasing him.
Martha found that she was rather looking forward to getting to know this Doctor.
He had potential…
~ * ~
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Great job!
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I'm glad you mentioned Martha being affected by the Vortex. I do plan to go into that further. I have an idea as to how she'll handle this big change in her life. I'm going to work that into the next installment. It's definitely an issue that'll have to be dealt with early on.