Martha's Theme by Murray Gold

***

"But this happened," I said.

The Doctor stared out the window, his face scrunched in thought.

Outside the glass, the sky was black and the earth a dark grey. There was no sign of the busy, colourful city we'd just been plucked from, and the strange rain had vanished just as completely. A glaring white light hung in the corner of my vision - the sun? My head spun as I tried to reconcile the situation with everything I'd ever thought to be possible.

Today was turning out to be a very interesting day.

"Right," said the Doctor finally. "That's... new."

"But it isn't," I realized, taking a step closer to the window. "I've seen this. The H2O scoop, the hospital on the moon, those rhinoceros aliens, and that creepy vampire chick. This happened."

I glanced back for some kind of confirmation, and the Doctor was right in my face, grabbing my shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"What did you say?" His voice was intense, eyes boring into mine.

My mouth opened, but nothing came out. His sudden closeness made my mind go blank.

"H2O scoop. How did you know?"

"I - well..." I leaned back slightly, looking out the window again to recover myself. "The TV show. This was in one of the episodes, with Martha. The hospital, and the moon, and - oh, what are they called? The aliens. I can't remember."

He released me, stepping back and looking me up and down with a new spark in his eyes. "So you know everything that's going to happen."

My eyes widened. "Yes? Maybe? I mean, if it turns out the same way - but how can this be happening in my universe? There aren't any aliens on the moon."

"See for yourself." The Doctor tilted his head to the glass, three huge black alien ships visible even from where we stood. He shoved both hands into the pockets of his brown coat, taking a pace or two around me like I was a car he was going to buy. "The aliens. Who are they, why are they here?"

"I - I don't remember. It's been ages since I saw this episode." I racked my brain. "They look like rhinoceroses, but they walk on two legs and wear these black helmets... they're like the galactic police or something?"

"Galactic police." He squinted.

I bit my lip. "There was a joke. It rhymes with... with - a platoon of them, on the moon—"

"Judoon." The Doctor glanced sharply out the window. "Of course! Bloody meddlers, is what they are. Right, how do we get them to leave?"

I tried not to feel like his personal encyclopedia. "Um. They're looking for someone. This alien creature who sucks people's blood to pretend to be human or something, that was kinda gross. I don't remember much else. She's dressed like a little old lady—" I turned back to him, my face crumpling in confusion.

The Doctor had pulled out his sonic again, and was tugging at cords behind the TV. Putting the screwdriver between his teeth, he used both hands to swap two cables.

"Keep going," he said around the object in his mouth. "I'm rerouting the security cameras to here. If I'm lucky I can even pull up patient information. What's this person's name?"

I shook my head. "No - it's ridiculous. This can't be happening."

"What?"

"This!" I sat down on an upright waiting room chair, suddenly conscious of the commotion around us. People were still panicking about the view from the front windows, a few staff members trying to console them while others had their own mental breakdowns. The Doctor didn't seem to notice the others in the room, coming round the TV as soon as it lit up.

"How is this even possible?" I glared daggers at his back, looking for someone to blame. "Look, in your universe this is probably totally normal. But here - there aren't any aliens. NASA's explored space, at least our solar system. There's nothing on the moon, and an entire hospital definitely did not get ripped from the ground in London or people would have heard about it. This is crazy."

"No aliens, eh?" The Doctor was frowning, but at least he was looking in my direction. "You've probably been sending rude messages out into space, they're all avoiding you."

I glanced out the window again, clenching my fists in frustration. "Maybe this is all a weird dream. Full credit for lucidity, I guess. Or I'm just going mad." I turned pleading eyes to the Doctor. "I'd ask you, but you're probably a figment of my imagination."

"Ash." He pointed the screwdriver at me, a wicked grin crossing his face. "We're all mad here - does it matter? The important thing is that you're the only one who can help."

My gaze skittered across the room full of panicking people. "What - me? You're the Doctor, you always save the day."

"But you know how it ends. You know what we have to do to fix this. Can we get home? Can we save everyone? What do we do, Miss Forrester? It's up to you."

I shook my head again. "But I—"

"Aha!" The Doctor snatched something from the floor and waved it in my face, his grin broadening. "Here's your newspaper. Eh?"

I took it, looking for the date. There - in the corner. "March 31, 2007," I read aloud. "I thought you said we were going to 2006?"

"Trying to." He shrugged. "TARDIS doesn't like parallel universes. And now we're here, on the moon, can't get back until we solve this. You with me?"

"Fine." I got to my feet, suddenly decided. "There was something about the air - we're in some bubble that keeps the oxygen in, but after a while we'll start suffocating so that gives us a time limit. How's that?"

"Good observation." The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "The whole building, in one little bubble of air - smart, but stupid. Maybe a thousand people in here? The Judoon better work fast if they're looking for someone."

"Oh, right. And they'll be scanning for aliens, so you have to hide."

"Hardly fair." He tucked away the screwdriver. "We can search while we stay out of their way, yeah? If we turn in this alien person, the Judoon will go?"

"Yeah... she won't be easy to capture, though," I said, looking at the TV screen. "Also don't let her suck your blood if you can help it. I don't know how to do CPR."

"Noted. I've got the basic floor plan figured out - shall we?"

"Okay." I caught a glimpse out the window again, imagining I could see the Judoon ranks approaching over the dark grey terrain. "Let's go."

***

It was surprisingly easy to find and break into a deserted office - the main difficulty was navigating the hallways.

Every patient who could walk was out of their room, crowding into the passage, searching desperately for someone with answers. The Doctor plowed through them all like he knew exactly where he was going. I did my best to keep up, feeling like we ought to be doing something for these people but with no idea exactly what.

The Doctor glanced through doorways as we passed, ducking into a small office at a "T" in the hallway. I looked back as I pulled the door closed, desperately trying to remember what came next in the episode. How did Martha find the shapeshifter? Hadn't they already got to someone before the Doctor and Martha found them? I shuddered, hoping it wasn't too late.

Then my eyes widened. Hang on. I was in the show. Martha wasn't there, so it was my job to find this person, wasn't it?

Great.

The Doctor was bent over the computer, the screen flashing through files at an impossible speed. He wasn't looking at the monitor, though, leaning under the desk to thump on the hard drive.

"Ohhh, this computer," he growled. "No organization, slow as molasses, typical human technology. Had to delete Solitaire and Minesweeper for it to run at all."

"Aw, someone's high scores." I glanced nervously out the glass in the door. "So, um, will this take long?"

He shook his head. "Impossible to tell. Judoon must have locked it down - oh, and they're thick! Completely thick." Sweeping a hand through his hair, he pushed back from the keyboard. "They've wiped the records. Oh, that's clever."

"Maybe there's a backup," I suggested, suddenly making up my mind. "I'm going down the hall a bit, see if the Judoon are inside yet. Don't... you know, go anywhere."

The Doctor was already under the desk, sonic screwdriver out. He didn't look up as I opened the door, bracing myself for the crowd in the hallway.

It was much sparser than I remembered. As I walked down the corridor I tried again to remember the order of events. It had been Martha who discovered the little old lady, hadn't it?

When I came out into an open area, I remembered I was on the second floor. A glass railing enclosed a view to the main reception, and voices could easily be heard from down below.

Alien voices.

I looked over the edge. People huddled in groups, white and silent, as hulking figures in black armour lurched around them, growling directives. A woman cringed against the wall as one advanced on her, flashing a blue light into her eyes.

"Remain still," the creature told her in guttural English. "You will be catalogued."

"It's all right," a human voice broke in quickly. "They're not going to hurt you, just hold still, it's all right."

I stared in surprise. It was the receptionist, looking far more confident under pressure than he had when asked a simple question about the TV downstairs. He came up beside the woman, grabbing her hand reassuringly. She shot him a frightened look, but didn't struggle as the Judoon marked a black X on her hand.

"Category: human," the Judoon said with an air of finality. "All suspects catalogued."

The rhino-like alien turned, barking a few more orders to the rest. "Identify humans and find the intruder. Find it!"

The troops of Judoon marched toward the stairs. I found myself letting out a breath of relief when I couldn't see them anymore, pushing my hair out of my face as I straightened.

A flash of movement across the hallway caught my eye.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The words tumbled out of my mouth as a tall figure rose from behind the glass railing on the other side of my second-floor passage and swung a leg over the edge.

He glanced up, perching on the railing. Balancing only with his legs, the young guy pushed up the sleeves of a ratty blue dress shirt and loosened his tie with a pale hand, raising his eyebrows at me as though he didn't look perfectly insane.

"They've already done that floor, so I'm just popping down to check out the gift shop." Shrugging at my incredulous look, he added, "I like a little shop."

I squinted at him. "There are, you know, stairs."

"The Judoon are using the stairs. I'm not planning to get catalogued, as they're calling it. Are you, then?"

There was something familiar about the way he spoke. A sort of British accent, maybe, contrasting sharply with my own voice...

They're all British, I reminded myself. This is Britain, idiot.

"Oh, um, it's okay." I tried to sound reassuring. "It's not like it hurts or anything. They just shine this light and mark your hand, right? It's just to check you're human."

The guy dropped a slow wink from behind his glasses. "Yes, well... that's the problem."

I stared, at a complete loss for words. Down the hall, the stairwell door banged open, and the sound of alien boots filled the corridor.

He grinned suddenly, plucking a leaf from the potted plant beside him and flicking it into the air. "That would be my cue."

Sliding over the edge, he hung on to the railing with both hands for a moment, then dropped.

"Don't—!" The warning died in my throat. I looked down the hall, then back over the edge just in time to catch a glimpse of curly brown hair as he ran off through the lobby. The leaf fluttered slowly to the ground after him.

My mouth snapped shut as I remembered the Judoon. I took off running down the hall.

When I burst into the office again, the Doctor was already standing right inside the doorway.

"I've restored the backup," he said.

I shoved the door closed behind me. "They're coming. I hope you found something good."

"Yes, well... there's still something that doesn't make sense, and I can't put my finger on it. I need time to think."

He turned, pulling out his sonic screwdriver again and sweeping it around the room.

"Nothing makes sense," I countered, laughing. "You're a fictional character, there's aliens in London, we're on the actual moon, and the light switches still work." Flipping the switch by the door, I threw up my hands. "How is there electricity in space?"

The Doctor blinked, looking around the brightened office. "Electricity in space," he repeated under his breath.

"Wow, plot hole, much," I said. "This has got to be a dream."

"No, it's genius!" The Doctor grabbed my shoulders. "Genius. I could kiss you."

I laughed awkwardly. "Um, I'm good thanks."

He shook his head. "How on Earth - on the moon, I should say - do we have power?" Releasing me, he yanked the door open.

Fifty feet down the hall, a troop of black-armoured alien soldiers were making their way toward the office we'd just stepped out of. The passage was almost empty of people, only a few still between us and the approaching blue lights.

"Shouldn't we be, I don't know, running or something?" I asked. "They're going to scan you."

He nodded slowly. "The source of the power, that's what I'm missing. I need time. I need - I need a distraction."

"I can distract them," I suggested, glancing up at him. "They can scan me, it's all right."

"Yes." The Doctor glanced down the hall, then rounded on me, a hard, blazing look on his face. "Ash, forgive me for this. It's to save a thousand lives, it means nothing. Honestly, nothing."

"What?" My eyes widened in realization. "No, no, no, you don't have to do that. Wait, no, stop—"

He cupped my face in both hands and kissed me firmly on the lips, then broke away with a gasp and took off running down a side corridor.

"That's not what I meant!" I shouted after him, but he was already gone.

I spun around to face the Judoon, emotions surging through me. I was furious. I was... flattered? It means nothing, he'd said, and I was angry again. I felt hurt, betrayed, energized. I had no idea what I was feeling or what I was going to do, but nothing was going to stop me.

The Judoon were less than ten feet away, two holding back a stocky man as a third shone the blue light into his eyes.

"Human," declared the alien, reaching for the man's hand. He jerked away, resuming struggle against the two beside him, but without much effect. He opened his mouth.

"Hey!" I yelled.

The Judoon, and the dozen or so people still sitting in the hallway, all turned to look at me.

I almost lost my nerve. "Um, who wants to scan me?"

The Judoon with the scanning device tilted his enormous head.

"Yeah, go on." I spread my arms, regaining a bit of volume. "Look, it's a volunteer to be catalogued by some freaky space rhinos. I know exactly what you're looking for with that glowy blue thing. Maybe you should ask me."

That did it. Unconsciously, I took a step back as a half-dozen armoured rhino creatures began to lumber toward me. The leader growled deep in his throat, pulling out another device shaped vaguely like a gun.

"Find the non-human," the Judoon voices chorused. "Execute."

Oh, nice going, I congratulated myself. I'm going to die in the coolest dream I've ever had.

They assembled in a half-circle around me. I gestured defiantly to my face, and the Judoon leader raised the scanning device, the blue light flashing into my eyes.

"Human," it said. I opened my mouth to protest, but the device buzzed loudly. The Judoon's lip curled back. "With non-human element suspected. Authorize full scan. What are you?"

The other aliens pressed closer, chanting "What are you? What are you?"

Like some creepy chorus line. I grimaced. More blue lights began to sweep over me and I squinted into the glow.

"Okay, listen," I started. "I'm not who you're looking for, but I know who it is. This shape-changer person, right? I can help you find her, you don't have to hurt anyone in this building."

"We are not looking for a shape-changer," grunted the alien.

I blinked. "Yeah, sorry, I don't remember her name exactly. She committed a crime on a different planet and was hiding on Earth for some reason. Killed someone, maybe?"

"Our jurisdiction does not extend to other planets. The Judoon seek an intruder on the planet Earth."

"What?" I shook my head, trying to make out the creature's expression through the haze of blue light. "No, that doesn't make sense. You don't have jurisdiction over Earth. That's why you put us on the moon, isn't it?"

I was so caught up in the conversation, it took me several seconds to notice the movement behind the Judoon. A few of the patients who had already been scanned were approaching slowly, yet keeping well clear of the hulking alien soldiers.

"The Judoon isolated the intruder and removed him from the planet. It is our commission. Earth has been shielded. Penalty for trespassing is execution."

"Your commission?" I echoed blankly. Now that I was focused on the figures behind the Judoon, I couldn't comprehend the alien's words. The stocky man who'd been most recently scanned stepped closer, keeping close to the wall. He met my eyes and nodded.

"Confirmed: human." The blue lights snapped off as the leader announced his diagnosis. "Traces of facial contact with non-human."

That's putting it nicely, I thought, a slight smirk creeping across my face.

The alien raised its head, gesturing sharply to the rest of the troop. "Continue the search."

"Wait, wait!" We still needed time. I didn't understand what was going on. "Who commissioned you? What do you mean—"

Crash.

Shards of ceramic hit the floor around the Judoon leader, who looked completely unfazed by the vase that had just broken over his head. He turned.

The guilty man was standing behind him, empty-handed and terrified. A ring of sweat was spreading from the neck of his grey shirt.

"Witness the crime."

The aliens surrounded the man, their backs to me. I stood paralyzed in the centre of the corridor.

"Charge: physical assault. Plea: guilty."

A hand grabbed mine.

"Sentence..."

I couldn't move, staring in horror at the scene before me.

"...execution."

"Run," a voice told me.

The ceiling lights flickered once, then the entire hallway was plunged into a thick, silent darkness.

The silence lasted only a moment. Screams erupted from the other end of the passage, followed immediately by blasts of scarlet-orange lasers. The Judoon were shooting in the dark, and still an insistent hand pulled me away.

Blindly, I turned and ran, trusting the firm grip to lead me through the blackness.

***

Hey guys I'm back again! Please enjoy this cliffhanger, vote, comment, etc. etc. Feel free to point out typos or whatever, I appreciate it!

Planning for the next chapter to be up in a week, and it's going to be fantastic. 😘