Chapter Ten

Martha

“So I called in a few favors down in Manhattan—they’ve got a great Torchwood branch there, not better than mine, but good—and they helped me track you down.”

Jack took another drink of his lager as he leaned against the kitchen sink, throwing a self satisfied grin her way. Martha couldn’t help but grin back, seeing Jack was like having a little bit of home show up on her doorstep. It righted her a bit, made her feel as if things might eventual go back to normal.

Only—normal meant without Dean.

She turned her eyes to the table, where Dean was hunched over a large book, turning pages with a bit more force than was necessary. He’d barely spoken to her since Jack arrived, which made her slightly anxious for some reason. She couldn’t have done something wrong in such a short time, so it had to be something else, something he wasn’t telling her.

She just wished he look at her again.

“You tracked her down how?” Bobby said, his eyes alight with interest. “I mean—yeah, how?”

“Oh, it was easy.” Jack said. “I just ran a trace on any abnormal energy surges in the past few days, and cross referenced that with the energy signal from the TARDIS. Wasn’t too hard to track you down once I had a general area. Brilliant idea really, wish I’d thought of it first.”

Martha’s eyes finally left Dean to focus on Jack once again.

“It wasn’t—then it was—”

“That’s right beautiful.” Jack said. “Got that one straight from the man himself.”

Martha felt her heartbeat quicken at his words, only now realizing she’d started to believe The Doctor had forgotten her somehow. Well, maybe not forgotten, but definitely been distracted in some way. He was a Time Lord after all, and she was just—Martha.

“Jesus man.” Dean said as he looked up from the book. “Sweetheart? Beautiful? Nightingale, what are you like a hundred?”

Jack’s eyebrow rose as Martha glared at Dean.

“That question’s more complicated than you think.” Jack said. “Either that, or I don’t know the answer, which is probably more likely. What with the time traveling, and the immortality thing, one has to wonder when a birthday actually stops meaning something. No grey hair is no grey hair in my book, who the hell cares about the candles. Am I right?”

They stared at him as he took another drink, then gave a small wink to Ellen, who turned away abruptly, suddenly fascinated with the barrel of her shotgun. Dean grunted, and shook his head, a derisive smile on his face.

“Well that---was just fucking odd man.” Dean said, and Jack nodded in agreement.

“Agreed. But coming from a guy who hunts vampires and witches—I’ll take it with a grain of salt.”

“What are you doing?” Martha said quietly. Dean straightened in his chair when he realized she was talking to him.

“What—I’m making conversation.”

“You’re being an ass.” She said, crossing her arms beneath her chest. “And we both know that you’re not, so why are you—”

“I just asked the man a question.” Dean said, his hand giving another hard flip to the pages in front of him. “Kinda”

“Oh.” Jack said, causing Martha and Dean to stare at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”

“What?” they asked simultaneously. Jack only grinned as his eyes drifted back and forth between the two.

“Light bulb moment.” Jack said. “Of a sexual nature—exactly what are you looking at there might I ask.”

“It’s an ancient text of demons.” Bobby said as he entered the kitchen. He carried three more books in his hands, and slammed them down on the table, the resulting dust causing Dean to cough loudly.

“Sorry.” Bobby said, and Dean watched him though squinted eyes.

“That shit could be toxic, you know.” He said. Martha found a chair, and slid next to Dean at the table, Jack moving forward to look over her shoulder. Dean glanced up at her, and their eyes held for a moment, before he looked down again, turning the page.

“Ruby said Lilith was behind all this shit. She’s a demon.” Dean said to Jack. “And you’re late to the party, so let’s not rehash the real, not real bullshit okay?”

Jack lifted his hands in surrender.

“No argument here. Whatever we’re dealing with sounds like fun. I brought the big gun.”

“What big gun?” Ellen asked, and Jack’s dimples deepened slightly.

“Oh, I have several. One I have particular interest in showing you.” he said. Ellen’s mouth tightened, and she cocked the shotgun violently, causing them all to jump.

“You can cut that shit out any time now.” She said, and Bobby moved forward, blocking them from each other’s view.

“You were saying?” he said to Dean, who stared at Ellen and Jack a bit longer before clearing his throat.

“Right. So yeah, Lilith and my brother went toe to toe about a year ago she tried to kill him and it backfired on her. Sent her ass straight to hell. At least, that’s what me and Sam liked to tell each other anyway, made sleeping a lot easier.”

Martha leaned in closer, feeling Dean’s eyes lingering as he watched her.

“Destroyer of children and seducer of men. Well.” She leaned back. “That leaves me out, I’m neither of those things.”

“But Dean is.” Bobby said. “And she’s got a hit out on you cause your fucking with her favorite toy.”

“I’m not a goddamn Weeble.” Dean said, but Martha was only half listening. John Winchester’s words kept playing through her mind, that it wasn’t just Dean they were after, it was her. Someone, or something was after her, and if Lilith preferred the more masculine side of things, did that mean there was something else? Something they didn’t know about.

“We should talk to Ruby again.” She said, and Dean slammed the book shut.

“Wrong fucking answer.” He said. Martha let out a frustrated sigh as Dean stood up from the table, his body tight with anger as he walked toward the living room. Jack slid into his vacated seat and opened the book again, his eyes scanning the pages with interest.

“Dean—” Martha began, but Dean only shook his head as he turned around, his eyes taking on that angry squint she was beginning to dislike. He always said something that pissed her off after.

“You are not going anywhere near that broad, understand?” he said, and she stood as well, feeling her own eyes narrow a bit.

“She just downstairs, it doesn’t make sense not to—“

“It makes all the fucking sense in the world to stay clear of that bitch, she’s poison. The nasty shit she tried to do with my brother. She’s lucky I haven’t shot her ass yet.”

“And why haven’t you.” Martha said, only making him scowl more as he leaned his body against a nearby wall.

“Cause I haven’t eaten yet.” Dean said deliberately. “I don’t like exorcisms on an empty stomach; makes me grumpy and shit.”

“You’re so full of it.” Martha said, and Dean raised his arms out to the side.

“Can’t be full of anything. Haven’t eaten yet.”

“Hey guys.” Jack said, and they glared at each other for a moment before turning towards him.

“Who’s the Dark One?” Jack said.

Martha’s stomach dropped at his words.

“What—why did you say that?” she said, and Jack pointed to the book, sliding it around for her to see.

“Cause it’s right there.” He said. “Granted my Latin’s a little rusty, but I’m pretty sure this says the Dark One is the end of light. Or kills light, or something like that. Like I said, I’m rusty.”

Bobby rushed to Jack’s side, taking the book away from him. Martha felt a strong hand grip her arm as Dean walked up beside her and fought the urge to lean into him, press her face into his shirt. But she didn’t do any of those things because they wouldn’t be of much help to the situation. Plus, Jack was there, and he’d only tease her about it later.

“The Dark One is the end of Light.” Bobby said, then looked up at Martha. “This talks about some kind of death bringer that walks the earth.”

“So it’s a prophecy?” Ellen asked, and Bobby nodded.

“Looks like.” He replied, glancing at her before looking toward Martha again. She shook her head, waving her arms in the air.

“Alright, enough of this.” She said. “This is madness, I’m not a bloody death bringer. This Dark One nonsense, it’s just—Christ, I’m not a death bringer.”

“Adriana.” Jack said, and Martha looked down at him, her eyes wide.

“What about it, that’s my middle name.” she replied. “Why is everyone suddenly calling me—”

“That’s your name?” Bobby said, and she looked towards him, inadvertently moving closer to Dean.

“My middle name, yes.” She said. “Why, what’s—”

“Spit it out Bobby.” Dean snapped. “You’re freaking her out with this shit.”

Bobby and Jack looked at each other, before Jack turned to Martha, his eyes softening a bit.

“Martha, Adriana in Latin means—” But her mind already completed the sentence as the connection fell into place.

“Dark One.” She said, feeling her body grow cold at the realization. “It means—The Dark One, doesn’t it?”

“Martha—“Dean said, but she didn’t hear him not really.

“Death.” She said quietly. “I—I bring death. Ha. Good to know.”

They all fell into silence, hearing only the faint sound of the dogs barking outside. Dean gripped Martha’s shoulders and turned her around, forcing her to meet his eyes.

“I’m gonna go talk to Ruby.” He said. “You stay—”

“No.” she said. “We go together, I want to—we go together.”

“I could have told you that wasn’t gonna work man. Not with her.” Jack said, and Dean tossed a glance his way.

“Yeah, I’m figuring that out.”

“Dogs.” Ellen said softly, her brown eyes fixed on the doorway. “The dogs are barking.”

“Yeah.” Bobby said, before his eyes widened. “Yeah.” He said again, reaching for his gun.

“Did I miss something?” Jack said, and Ellen gestured to his pistol, which was currently lying on the table.

“You got something bigger than that, I suggest you pull the fucker out.” Ellen said. “We got company.”

Jack was still for a moment, before breaking out into a huge grin.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Sam

He knew this was coming.

On some level, he’d always known the demon shit would hit the fan, so to speak. You couldn’t just walk around with something like that inside you without some fucked up thing eventually happening, life just didn’t work that way. At least—his life didn’t work that way.

Before it was just visions and even those had been few and far between lately. He’d started to think that maybe, after the standoff with Lilith, that something had been switched off, that whatever it was inside him had already done it’s thing—or something. But now this—he was feeding on fear, just like a demon would. Sure, it was some metal covered alien thing, but it had been alive. It had a life and he’d taken that somehow. And no matter how hard he tried to spin it, the fact remained that he’d killed those things without even realizing what he was doing.

Sam looked up at The Doctor and Donna, who had both fallen into an uneasy silence. He could tell from the look on the man’s face that The Doctor was having the exact same thoughts he was, probably light years ahead of him by now.

“I’m sorry.” Sam said, because it was the only thing he could think to say. “I’m sorry I dragged you guys into—this…”

“What exactly is this, Sam?” The Doctor said. “I didn’t listen before, that was an error in judgment on my part.”

“One of many.” Donna mumbled, then fell silent at The Doctor’s hard stare.

“As I was saying—I’m listening now. You said you were part demon, that you had their blood inside you?”

“Yeah, this demon—he did it when I was a baby. It was for some prophecy of his or some shit, I don’t know. But he’s dead now, Dean killed him.”

The Doctor nodded, running his hand through his hair as his eyes rested on the dead Daleks.

“And you’ve never been able to do something like this before?” he said, and Sam shook his head emphatically.

“No, never. There were a few visions, and some small shit but never anything like this. And you said my eyes turned white?”

“Oi, like bloody Christmas.” Donna chimed in. “Very creepy, thought I might go off you for a second. Good thing I like alpha men.”

“Thank you Donna.” The Doctor interjected, before turning back to Sam. “So what you’re saying is that recent events could have triggered all of this somehow, perhaps your trip to the TARDIS threw off some sort of switch?”

“No, I didn’t say any of that actually.” Sam replied, but The Doctor was already walking through the backyard, toward the front of the house.

“You would have eventually.” The Doctor called out. Donna and Sam looked at each other, before Donna tilted her head toward The Doctor’s departing figure.

“You sick of that yet?” said Donna, and Sam just gave her a tired smile. She looped her arm through his, and they began to follow, their pace significantly slower than The Doctor’s.

“So, you have a brother.” She said, and Sam nodded. Donna’s blue eyes watched thoughtfully as she continued.

“And he knows about—”

“Yeah.” Sam said. “Dean knows everything—he, he tried to protect me from a lot of it. What happened. What might happen.”

“And you two run around hunting demons all day? How do you do that? What do you do for money?”

Sam couldn’t help the small grin that formed at her words. He knew better than to tell her the truth, that they’d become pretty good at forging credit cards, as well as stealing them outright. It wasn’t something he was proud of necessarily, but—damn he was good at it.

“Oh, we get by.” He said instead. “You know, odd jobs here and there—”

“You know, your dimple shows when you lie.” Donna said, and Sam brought a hand to his cheek.

“I don’t have—” he began.

“I know.” Donna said, letting go of his arm as they reached the TARDIS. “I was just testing you.”

“How’d I do?”

“Miserable failure.” She said. “You don’t have to lie to me Sam, remember that. You can trust me.”

Sam nodded quietly, as the doors to the TARDIS swung open, The Doctor emerging with a large smile on his face.

“What?” They said simultaneously, with Donna gasping as a thought occurred to her.

“Bloody hell, you fixed it!” she said, and The Doctor swung his body from the door, holding onto the TARDIS with one hand.

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far. Using Sam’s imprint has made her return to normal, she’s ready to go exactly where I tell her.”

Donna shook Sam’s arm in excitement as he let go of a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. The Doctor met his eyes, and they gave each other knowing smiles.

“Ready to go home Samuel?” The Doctor said. Sam immediately thought of Dean, and his stupid car. The damn obsession with pie, constant comments about female body parts. He thought about hunting, having blood in his clothes every night, sometimes not sleeping at all because he was so fucking afraid. He thought of all of this, as well as what he’d seen in the past few days, things someone like him couldn’t begin to describe. It was fantastic, all of it.

Only…

Sam nodded slowly.

“Yeah.” He said quietly. “Yeah, I’m ready to find my brother.”



 

Dean

Dean could feel his frustration every time he looked at Martha’s face. She was scared, she had to be. She didn’t even believe there were demons a day ago, and now she was reading about herself in some fucking prophecy. It just didn’t make any sense, and he wasn’t sure if he believed all that shit anyway. Translating prophecies was always tricky business, you could read about a ball of fire falling from the sky, and it could just be the lighting or some shit, you never really knew. Sure, the stuff with her name was creepy as hell, but there had to something they were missing, that would make some kind of damn sense. And the fucked up thing was, there was only one person currently in the house that could explain it to them, one fucking, ho bag of a demon whose throat he was dying to cut open.

Martha and Dean had made it down to the basement and were currently staring at the thick wooden door that led inside. Bobby, Ellen, and Jack were preparing for another demon onslaught; which Ellen assured them would take some time because of the protection spells she’d cast around the place. It not only gave Dean and Martha enough time to grill Ruby, but Bobby time to call in reinforcements, ring up any and every hunter within a thirty mile radius.

And the Jack guy---hell, he didn’t know what the fuck that guy was doing besides staring at Ellen’s ass. He kept talking about some gun in his truck that would take care of all the shit, and they’d finally left the room to the sounds of Ellen bitching about the guy’s hair.

“Don’t talk to her.” Dean said, before he opened the door.

“Dean, it’s fine.” Martha replied. “I’m fine, and I spoke to her before, yeah? She hates you.”

“And the feeling’s mutual. She’s demon and demons lie.” Dean said. “Shit, I don’t even know why we’re doing this…”

“I have to try.” Martha said. “If she knows something, I can’t just—I have to try.”

Dean nodded, his hand moving to twist the knob at the door. He froze for a second, then turned to Martha, pulling her into a deep, lingering kiss. He felt her hesitate at first, her lips parting in surprise, before she melted against him, meeting his probing tongue with her own.

He raised his head after he’d kissed her thoroughly, and she looked up at him, eyes full of questions. Dean pushed a strand of hair from her forehead, and kissed her lips once more, lightly this time.

“I just wanted to do that.” He said. “Before.”

“Before what?” Martha said softly, and Dean felt his face tighten.

“Before I go in there.” He said. “Cause after—you may not want…”

“What are you talking about?” she said, but he’d already released her, his hand turning the doorknob as he swung it open. Ruby stood in the middle of the basement, her eyes pitch black as they quickly focused on Dean’s.

“I knew you’d come.” She said, smiling slowly. Dean walked towards her, each step stronger than the last as he gained momentum, his fist slamming into her mouth the moment he reached her. He felt the bones crush under his fist, and she cried out in pain, a byproduct of being stuck inside a human body. He’d already pulled out the Colt by the time she looked up, aiming the long barrel of the gun directly between her eyes.

“Where is Lilith.” He said coolly. She opened her mouth to speak, and he slammed the barrel into her cheek, causing her to screaming again. Dean re-aimed the weapon, his eyes steady as she met his gaze.

“I’d tell the truth by the way.” He said. He heard the soft sound of footsteps approaching and didn’t have to turn around to know it was Martha. He just prayed that she didn’t get too close.

“Ruby.” He warned and she let out a heavy sigh.

“She’s in hell Dean.” Ruby said. “Playing fetch with her fucking hellhounds.”

“Then why is she after Dean?” Martha said, interrupting another round of pistol whipping. “I mean—if she’s there and he’s here…”

“Got me.” Ruby said, shrugging slightly. “Though I wouldn’t bet on that whole hell bound thing for long, she’s gaining strength as we speak. I can feel her getting stronger, all that heat is—it’s so…”

“Nobody cares.” Dean said. “What’s this got to do with her?” Ruby’s eyes turned toward Martha, the grin now gone.

“She wants her dead. Nothing simpler than that. Keeps talking about the Dark One, the destroyer, blah blah…”

“Destroy what?” Maratha said. “Destroy her?”

Ruby titled her head to the side impatiently.

“Like that bitch would actually tell me anything important. No, she rambles on about fucking blueberry pancakes for hours, then orders me to rip out your intestines, it’s pretty damned—”

The sentence was cut off by another blow from Dean, this one sending her head flying backwards. Dean’s knuckles were aching, but he couldn’t help the satisfied rush he felt as he watched her bleed.

“This—” Ruby said as she tilted her head forward. “Is why I miss Sam.”

“There’s someone else.” Martha said, causing Ruby to look towards her again. “The book—it said Lilith focuses on men and children, why would she even look twice at me. Is there someone else down—down there besides Lilith.”

Ruby smiled.

“Shit, I’d clap if I didn’t have blood in my hair. But that put me in a bit of a funky mood.”

“There’s another demon.” Dean said. “Why the hell didn’t you—”

“You didn’t ask.” Ruby said. “And I’m not about to volunteer information to a guy using my face a punching bag.”

“Who?” Martha said quickly, desperate to keep the conversation on track. “You said there was another, who is it? Or what—”

“Don’t know his name, she keep him to herself for the most part.” Ruby said. “Possessive little bitch that she is. But damn, has he got a hard on for you. Don’t know if he wants to kill you or fuck you.” Ruby leaned in closer, her voice low and smooth as she whispered her words. “But lady…you are all that man thinks about.”

“How do you know that?” Martha said.

“I’m tied to Lilith and so is he. I can hear his thoughts sometimes, mixed up with hers. Martha, Martha, Martha—so very Jan Brady.”

“Okay.” Dean said “Enough with the monologue, how do we stop this, get this asshole.”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Ruby said. “He’s a demon Dean. How does anybody talk to a demon?”

Dean’s mouth tightened at her words.

“What?” Martha said, looking back and forth between them. “What is it?”

Dean cleared his throat before answering, his eyes falling back on Ruby’s satisfied face.

“We’ve gotta summon him.” He said tersly, and Ruby’s smile just grew brighter.

“Bingo baby.” she said.


 

Martha

Her head was reeling as they made their way back up the stairs, trying to make sense of what she’d just learned. They had to summon a demon from hell who was apparently obsessed with her for some reason. And—no, she couldn’t even think about the rest at the moment, that was more than enough make her stumble twice going back up the steps.

“Martha...” Dean said, but she waved him off. She was sick of this, this fear, this not knowing. This world she landed in, it was so different, so bloody frightening that she’d lost herself somehow. She’d been running nonstop, reacting instead of trying to come up with solutions. Well that was over, done, it wasn’t working anyway. And no more hiding behind some weapon either—

“Dean! Martha! Get up here, now!” They started at the sound of Bobby’s voice, before rushing up the rest of the stairs. Martha could hear yelling, Ellen’s mostly, and a shotgun being fired, a sound that had become so familiar in such a short amount of time. When they reached the kitchen, it was empty, the commotion having moved into the front yard. Dean grabbed his shotgun and held another out to her, frowning when she shook her head.

“Dammnit Martha—not this shit again.”

“There has to be another way besides—”

“Did I just step in your goddamn time machine, they need our help.” He shouted. Martha heard another round of shots fired, and then grabbed the gun from Dean’s hand, cocking it quickly as she scowled.

“Last time.” She said, and he rolled his eyes.

“Yeah right, let’s go.” He said and they moved outside, the screen door slamming behind them. Ellen and Bobby were only a few feet away from the house and Martha could make out Jack’s tall frame as he moved forward to stand in front of them.

“Dammit boy, you’re too close.” Bobby shouted at Jack, but Jack ignored him, concentrating on the weapon in his hands. There were demons circling the low gate around Ellen’s yard, maybe eight or nine all together. Dean aimed his shotgun and moved forward to join Bobby and Ellen, while Martha hung back, her eyes drawn to the large gun Jack carried.

“Jack.” She called out.

“Almost got it.” He said. Martha shook her head, wondering where she’s seen the weapon before. It was black and long, almost as long as his entire leg and was wide enough to have a cannon like appearance.

Cannon?

“Jack?” Martha said again, her eyes widening slightly. “That isn’t—you didn’t bring...”

The sound of the weapon charging rang out through the yard, and Martha dropped her gun before rushing off the patio.

“Dean!” she cried. “Bobby, Ellen, move back.”

“What?” Ellen shouted, and Jack straightened his body, placing the gun on his hip.

“I’d listen to her if I were you.” he said, and then smiled.

“Oh, and cover your eyes.”

 

Dean

The blast from the gun sent him flying, his body slamming into the hard ground beneath his feet. He’d heard Martha’s warning, but didn’t really process what was happening until his ass smacked against a fucking rock. Dean shouted a few choice curse words after that, and made a mental note to buy Ellen some grass next Christmas.

“What the fuck was that!” Bobby shouted from a few feet away. He and Ellen were slowly rising to their feet, leaving Martha the only one still standing. Which made sense, she’d been behind everyone when the asshole fired his Uzi.

An Uzi that killed demons apparently. Nothing left of them but a small cloud of dust.

Jack spun around, the large gun dangling at his side as he let out a shout of satisfaction.

“Damn. That gets better every time” he said. “You guys alright.”

“I’m gonna ram that fucking thing up your ass.” Ellen snapped.

“That’s a yes for Ellen, everybody else?”

“Did you have to use the maximum setting?” Martha said as she walked towards him. Jack shrugged.

“Well, there’s no guidelines for demon killing, this things for Daleks.” He said. “I figured I should cover all the bases.”

“What the fuck is a Dalek?” Dean said as he stumbled to his feet. Martha walked over to his side, and he grunted as a sharp pain rushed up his back.

“Let me look at you.” She said, but he shook his head.

“I’m good.” He said. “Just walking off the fucking ass ache from the dumbshit with the Uzi.”

Jack nodded, and began to walk back to his truck.

“Apparently you’re okay too. Got to put this in the cooler, thing overheats all the time.”

“Good to know.” Bobby said, before turning to Dean and Martha. “I’m going on in while I can still feel my right side.”

Ellen joined him, placing a hand on his arm as they made their way inside the house. Martha ran a hand against her neck, and Dean resisted the urge to pull it away and replace it with his own.

“Martha...”

“He did kill the demons Dean.” She said, and he frowned.

“Are you two—I mean is there something between you guys?”

Martha’s eyes widened at his question as she began to smile.

“Me and Jack?” she said. “Oh, bloody—there’s nothing between Jack and I, never has been. Well—I did kiss him once, but that was only because I felt slightly left out, I hate that.”

Dean shifted his body at her words.

“You’re angry.” She said.

“My ass hurts.” He responded. “And you kissing that jackass doesn’t make it feel any better.”

“We’re just friends.” Martha said as Jack made his way towards them. Martha gave a quick glance over to Jack, then lifted on her toes to plant a quick kiss on Dean’s lips. Jack grinned as he moved closer, pointing to his cheek.

“I save the fucking day and he gets the kiss?” he said. “That’s all kinds of wrong.”

“I’ll see if Ellen is free.” Martha said as she began to move toward the house. “Though I think you may want to cover your bullocks, just in case.”

“Noted.” Jack said, and she turned around to walk up the steps. Dean threw a quick glance at Jack, before walking forward, his momentum stopped by the strong grip of the man’s hand. Dean lifted an eyebrow as he turned to face him.

“I’m not kissing you either.” Dean said. Jack gave him a baleful stare as he let go of his arm.

“I’m not the one you have to worry about. With her I mean.”

“Yeah.” Dean said. “Martha told me—I mean, it’s not like I care that you and she—if you guys ever—”

“Uh huh.” Jack said, and moved slightly closer. “I see that look in your eye, the way you watch her. It’s a beautiful thing, actually. And that woman deserves it; she got a raw deal with that fucking fiancée of hers. And trust me—”

“Wait.” Dean said, his brow furrowing slightly. “You said your not who I should worry about.”

Jack nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. Dean looked to the house for moment, before turning back to Jack.

“Who should I be worried about?”

The Doctor

He stood outside the TARDIS, leaning against the ship as his eyes took in his surroundings. The lights from the house were bright enough to illuminate a large portion of the backyard, and he could see shadows moving behind the curtains, hear voices of people talking to one another. Sometimes heard hers, shouting, laughing at times. He eventually found her thought the curtains and his eyes lingered, taking in every movement as his hearts began to pound in his chest.

The door opened slowly, slightly hesitant as she peered outside. Her dark eyes scanned the dimly lit yard for what felt like an eternity before they rested on him.

The Doctor watched the surprise light her eyes, her lips part as she stared at him. She moved forward, walking from the house before stopping several feet away, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

The Doctor lifted his body from the TARDIS and approached her slowly, unable to stop his smile from forming. He moved until he stood only a few inches from her and her head tilted up as she meet his eyes.

“Hello Martha Jones.” The Doctor said. She smiled brightly at him and he took her in his arms, pulling her close as he lifted her feet from the ground.

“I knew you’d find me.” She said, and his eyes drifted shut as he pressed his cheek against her hair.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, his arms hugging her even tighter then before.

“I’m so sorry it took me so long