the pearl

Girls' Own Adventures

Martha will always remember the night Henrik's exploded. Not because the incident itself was particularly eventful -- it happened at night, and there was only one deceased and a few injuries -- but because it was her first night shift. And it was when she met her.

Her mother argued against Martha taking that shift, pointing out that all the other students were just doing their shifts during regular class hours, but Martha wants to see what it was like at night, seeing if she can cope with the stress of A&E.

And when the first casualties of Henrik's start coming through, she's excited, standing there with gauze and bandages at the ready, hoping for something that would really show off how much she wants to be a doctor. Maybe they'll let her into theatre. Or she'll get to revive someone.

But her only case this night is a girl, close to her own age, with soot-streaked blonde hair. The girl keeps staring off into space, lost in thought. Martha glances at her chart, notes the cuts that need bandaging, and promptly settles into the work.

"So... Rose, is it?" At the girl's nod, she continues. "I'm Martha Jones. I'll be bandaging up your injuries." Rose nods again and Martha starts. "So," she says, trying to distract her. "What were you doing around there?"

"I just got off work -- I had to drop off the lottery money to Wilson. This..." She stares back at the wall, distracted again. "This man, he got me out before it blew."

"Huh," Martha says. "You're lucky he was there, then."

"I suppose." Rose trails off into silence, frowning to herself. Martha continues bandaging up the small cuts, watching her for signs of serious injury. No obvious concussion, no apparent pain aside from slight bruising along the shoulders and arms...

Rose looks up after a few minutes. "You about done here?"

"Yeah," Martha says, applying the last bandage. "You got a way to get home?"

Rose sighs, checking her pockets. "There's still that late bus that goes past here, right?"

Martha frowns. "Yeah, but..." She pauses, reviewing what she's read. "You've just been in a serious accident. You don't have anyone to pick you up or money for a cab?"

Rose shrugs, wincing slightly against pulled muscles. "Not really," she says. She smiles wryly. "It's not like I'll be getting paid any time soon, is it?"

Martha frowns and looks up at the clock. "Look, um, this is going to sound crazy, but I have a car, and my shift's ending in around a half hour. If you can keep yourself busy in the waiting room, I'll give you a lift home."

Rose shakes her head. "To Powell Estate? You are crazy."

"C'mon," Martha says. "You've had enough adventure tonight -- you really want to face all the people on the bus?"

Rose frowns, then sighs. "I suppose not." She slides off of the bed and looks towards the waiting room. "Half hour?"

Martha smiles. "Half hour."

The half hour passes by quickly, and Martha drives her home. They spend the drive talking about celebrities, mostly, making fun of actors and pop stars, the common language of British people. Martha briefly returns to being a doctor as she stops the car, looking over Rose critically. "Be sure to change your bandages regularly, and if anything starts hurting more than it currently is, or if you start to feel unwell, go back to A&E, okay?"

Rose smiles and nods. "Thanks," she replies.

Martha pauses for a second, thinking. "Here," she says, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a notepad. She writes down her number and hands it to Rose. "Take my number, just in case."

Rose looks at the number. "Why?"

Martha shakes her head, laughing. "I don't know. Just in case?"

Rose tilts her head, looking at the number, then takes it. She smiles widely at Martha and leaves the car.

Martha waits until Rose is inside her flat before driving off. On the way home, the radio talks about a just-happened bus accident, with no casualties, apparently caused by a shop mannequin lying on the road.

Martha shakes her head and keeps on driving.

 

Rose wakes up in the morning and is halfway through her first cup of tea before she realises she doesn't have to go to work.

She groans and stumbles into the living room in her slippers, reaching for the TV remote. The news is on, and, naturally, Henrik's is the top item. She sighs as she watches it, wondering if she should call in, wondering if there are still phones to call into.

She's about to switch channels, find Jeremy Kyle or Tricia, take full advantage of her unexpected day off, when the newsreader starts talking about a bus accident. She sits there, watching the report, then walks back to her bedroom, rummaging through her clothes from the night before, still smelling of smoke. When she finds the note, she reaches for her phone, briefly noticing that Mickey still hasn't phoned her, but then punches in the number Martha left her.

It rings a few times, and Rose is about to hang up, when Martha answers, groggily responding with "Hello?"

"Hi, it's Rose -- Rose Tyler, the girl you dropped off at her house last night?" Rose bites her lip, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I woke you, didn't I?"

"No, no, it's fine," Martha says, her voice slightly higher in pitch until it cuts off in a yawn. "Needed to get up anyway."

"I just...Have you seen the news today?"

"You did just wake me up, y'know."

Rose chuckles. "Yeah, sorry." She pauses. "There was an accident with that bus I was going to take. So I wanted to thank you, again, for driving me home."

"It was nothing, really," Martha replies.

There's a pause, then Martha suddenly says "Hey, what're you doing today?"

Rose frowns, trying to phrase the answer, when Martha suddenly says "Sorry! God, I'm sorry."

Rose laughs. "No, it's fine. I'm not doing anything -- woke up all ready for work, too."

Martha laughs. "Um, okay, this is probably going to sound a bit strange, but do you want to have coffee?"

Rose frowns slightly, thinking, but then smiles. "Yeah, okay."

 

Martha sits at the small café they decided on, and feels like an idiot. Rose is nearly an hour late, and Martha can't stop checking her phone, hoping that Rose will call, or text, or walk in.

Her cappuccino is cold, the foam long gone, and the man behind the counter keeps on giving her looks, waiting for her to buy something new or leave.

The clock on the wall shows it's been an hour and Martha sighs, picking up her phone. She quickly dials the number Rose called her on and listens to it ring. "Um, hi, it's Martha. I thought we were meeting for coffee at two. It's three now, and I'm going to go home. I hope everything's okay."

Just as she pushes the "off" button, the door opens. "I'm so sorry!" Rose says, walking over to her. "You're not going to believe what happened!"

Martha raises an eyebrow and Rose sits down, looking at her. "Okay, you know how last night, there was this man who saved me? He came to my flat today!"

Martha looks at her. "Really?"

"Yeah. It was really weird -- he said he wasn't following me, but how'd he show up at my flat, then?"

"So what'd you do?"

Rose smiled. "I thanked him for saving me, of course." She pauses. "And then I told him to bugger off."

Martha laughs and Rose joins her. "Suppose I better get a drink then, huh?" Rose says, looking towards the menu. "Can I get you something?"

"What happened to 'not getting paid any time soon'?" Martha teases.

Rose smiles and stands. "It's the least I can do, y'know, what with saving me and everything. So...another one of those?"

Martha looks up at her and grins, nodding. Rose matches her grin, then suddenly blushes, looking away, her tongue touching her teeth as she smiles.

 

Coffee led to dinner led to wandering along the Thames, laughing and talking as they walk along. Martha leans closer and closer to Rose as they walk, and their voices lower, becoming more intimate.

They stop at one place, looking out towards the London Eye. Martha leans on the railing, looking up at the Eye. "I've never been on that," she says.

Rose laughs. "Neither have I," she says, leaning on the railing as well. Their arms rest against each other.

Martha looks at Rose, turning slightly to face her. "Y'know, I've had a really nice time today," she says.

Rose smiles and looks up at Martha. "Me too," she says. "I..."

She's interrupted as Martha moves towards her, kissing her hesitantly. Rose's eyes widen, briefly, and then close as she pulls Martha closer, deepening the kiss.

When they separate, Martha looks at Rose worriedly. "Um..."

Rose grins, nodding. "Yeah."

"I've never--"

"Me neither."

"But you--"

"Yeah."

Martha starts laughing and Rose joins in as she pulls her closer for another kiss.

Rose tastes sugary, like childhood sweets, all pink and sticky, and Martha gasps against her lips.

Rose gasps as well, but pulls away from Martha. "Look!" she says, pointing towards the Eye.

Martha turns, and sees the Eye glowing, energy crackling from it. "It looks like..." she shakes her head. "It looks like it's transmitting something."

They hear a scream and breaking glass from the shopping centre nearby. "C'mon!" Rose says. She grasps Martha's hand tightly and pulls her as she starts running.

 

They arrive to chaos. Shop dummies are walking around, faces still and impassive as they attack people.

"God," Martha says. "What are they?"

Rose shakes her head. "These were at Henrik's last night! The Doctor--"

"Doctor?"

"The man who saved me -- he said he stopped them!"

"Obviously not!" Martha looks at Rose. "We have to do something."

"But what?"

Martha looks around, scoping out the scenery, and reaches for a large branch that has fallen off one of the trees. "C'mon," she says, handing Rose the branch before grabbing another. "Let's save these people."

Rose and Martha run towards the crowd, sticks swinging.

 

The first, a small child mannequin dressed in a formal suit, goes down quickly enough, Rose hitting it in the stomach and Martha going for the head. The matching flowergirl is just as easy, but the bride and groom are a bit more difficult. The mother of the bride proves the worst, and both Rose and Martha end up on the ground, facing the barrel of her gun when...

The creature stops, suddenly, and begins to recoil in dismay, putting its hands up to its ears and collapsing in a heap on the pavement. Rose looks at Martha, and they stand, carefully, looking at the creature as it finally stops moving.

"It is over?" Rose asks, breathing heavily.

Martha picks up her branch and, gingerly, pokes the creature. When it doesn't move, she relaxes. "I think it is." She dusts off her hands on her jeans and looks around. "We better start helping some of these people."

Rose nods. "So," Rose says, as they walk towards some of the people. "Some first date."

Martha stops and looks back at her. "'First date'?" she asks. "Really?"

Rose shrugs. "Well, you do keep managing to save my life -- there must be a reason for it."

Martha grins and Rose laughs and they hug each other tightly.

This Doctor Who story was written by Kate Bolin. If you liked it, there's plenty more at http://www.dymphna.net/fanfic/. And you can feedback her at dymphna@dymphna.net.