Chapter 2 

Martha

“I should get up.”

The man she was currently splayed over just smiled up at her and shrugged.  

“That’s one option.” He said.

His voice deep and very American, and she felt the vibrations from his chest move through her as he spoke. It was an odd sensation, but not a completely unpleasant one.

Martha cleared her throat and slid sideways, trying her best not to brush against anything that would make her blush. He was very attractive though, in a very blond sort of way. And his cocky smile told her he was well aware of that fact.

She placed her hands on the pavement, covertly checking out her surrounds. Earth. This looked liked Earth, not some alien time dimension or anything. But judging from current company and her ability to see stars in the sky, it looked very likely that she hadn’t landed back in London.

“You okay?” he asked when she swayed on her knees a bit. Martha took a deep breath of air and nodded.

“Yeah. Just slightly off balance, that’s all. Not an every day occurrence, popping out of the sky. Might be easier the second time around, yeah?’

“Yeah—Wait, huh? The sky?”

“Well, yes I...”

“Hold on.” He said, and then quickly got to his feet. Martha watched as he walked toward the black car she’d only recently been hopelessly trapped in.

“Sam, is this the practical joke shit again? Fuck this is sad, you know I always win.”  He leaned down; taking in what she knew was the empty interior of the car.

Who was Sam?

He gave an irritated grunt, then scanned the parking lot.

“That fucking…Okay, fine. You wanna start this? I'm game. I’m not the one who ended up with a superglued dick, remember?”

“Whoa, okay. Excuse me..” Matha said, rising to her feet as well.

“Just a minute.”  He cupped his hands around his mouth, yelling even louder. “It was stupid bringing the girl in, I could have fucking shot her you know—I wasn’t going to shoot you.” He said this last part quietly; turning to face Martha’s alarmed expression.

He gave her what she assumed was his reassuring smile.

“I don’t just go around shooting people, I’m just.. Sam!”

Martha waved her hands in the air, drawing his attention back to her.

“Who’s Sam?” she asked.  He smiled again.

“Who’s Sam…Sam is the asshole that put you up to this shit.”  He turned toward her, his hazel eyes eyeing her appreciatively.

“What did he say, that this was some kinda movie audition or something? Cause I got a video camera if you’re into that kinda thing, but not much else.”

Martha stared at him for a moment before shaking her head side to side, backing away from him.

“Oh, no, no. This.” She gestured back and forth between them emphatically. “ This must end immediately.”

She reached into her pocket for her mobile, her dark eyes widening as she met only an empty space.

“I’m Dean, by the way. Dean Winchester, though I’m sure Sam probably told you that.” He said, scratching his chin. “And you are?”

“Royally fucked.” Martha moaned, staring up into the sky. “I left it in the TARDIS”

“Hmm? What’s that, some kinda Volvo or something?”

Sam

“I’m telling you, I don’t know any Martha. I just...this just….shit.”

Sam ran his hand through his hair nervously, feeling trapped under the man’s angry gaze. The Doctor, that’s what he called himself. Just The Doctor. He wouldn’t give him his actual name, which was itself freakishly odd, but that along with the current surroundings, was scaring the holy shit out of him.

What the hell was this place?

“Look.” Sam said, holding his hands out in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture. “I was in my brother’s car, waiting for him to pick up his goddamn pie so I could finally go home and rest, and this...big green light just appeared and…”

“Hold on.” The Doctor squinted at him, walking closer. Sam resisted the urge to back away, figuring the squint had to mean better things than the glare. The glare was giving him hives.

“Did you say green light?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I looked down and…”

“Your hands were covered in green light.” The Doctor brought a hand to his chin, his eyes wide.

“Oh, this isn’t good.” The man said, almost to himself. “Not good at all.”

“Really?  You caught that too?” Sam said an exasperated smile on his face. “Cause I sorta got that when I ended up—where the fuck am I?”

The Doctor had moved to the big column thingy in the middle of the room. He looked up Sam’s question, as if he just remembered he was still there.

“What? Oh, this is the TARDIS.”

“Oh.” Sam said nodding his head. “Thanks. That helped.”

The Doctor sighed and removed his glasses.

“Look…what’s your name?”

“Sam. Sam Win…”

“Yeah, okay. Look Sam. If this were any other time, I’d be more than happy to explain where you are, who I am, and all that bit, but I can’t right now you see. Because my friend, my very good friend, has just vanished before my eyes, and I have no idea why”

The Doctor’s voice grew louder, more intense.

“She was taken from me and I want her back.  I promised I would find her, so if you would, just sit tight, don’t speak, and try not to touch anything that might kill you.”

“What?”

“Forget that last bit, I was on a roll. Thought I should have a big finish.”

Dean 

“You said my brother is where?”

Dean saw her flinch at the anger in his voice, but at the moment he didn’t give a shit. All he knew was that his brother had gone missing somehow, and now this…this girl was telling him that Sam was in a fucking spaceship.

That traveled through time.

“I don’t know for sure.” She said for what seemed like the hundredth time. “But if what you said about the green light is true...”

“It is.” Dean grunted.

“And if I saw that same light before….before I came here, then it stands to reason that if I’m here, than he must be…”  She looked skyward, causing him to unwittingly do the same.

“Up there.” She finished.

He brought his eyes down to her again, and placed a hand over his mouth, squeezing tightly. He was beyond pissed, he was fucking boiling with anger, but he knew that yelling would either scare her or piss her off. And neither was gonna help him find his brother.

“There’s just one small problem with your theory…I’m sorry, what was your name again?”

A dark eyebrow rose and she crossed her arms over her chest. She was wearing a thin purple top and blue jeans, no jacket despite the chill in the air. Dean noted just how thin the top actually was, and struggled to focus on her words.

“Actually, you never really asked.” She said. “You were too busy being fresh and staring at my breasts.”

“Was I?” Dean said. “Damn, guess I’m kind of an asshole. But at least I’m not batshit crazy, cause aliens aren’t real. Oh, and neither are time machines. Trust me, I checked.”

“Oh my…you checked? How on earth could you check something like that?”

“I have my ways.” Dean said defensively, knowing his ways included the back of hundreds of MAD magazines he’d bought as kid. All that allowance, fucking wasted.

“Oh, well. Sorry, but they are real. And your brother is very likely on a ship with one right now.”

“No he’s not.” Dean said. She rolled her eyes.

“Look, I know this is hard to believe, hell I wouldn’t have believed it myself at one time.”

“No it’s not that. Trust me, I have no trouble believing in…weird shit, okay?”

“Well what then? Are you just being intentionally thick to annoy me?”

“Sam isn’t on a spaceship because there’s no way in hell that he could end up somewhere that awesome, without me. God doesn’t hate me that much.”

“You sure about that? You are kind of a wanker.”

“Don’t know what that is, but by your tone, I’m guessing you just called me a dick.”

The Doctor 

He was trying his best to concentrate, trying to figure out what the hell had happened, what went wrong.

Why he‘d lost her.

But he could still see that…that boy sitting in the corner, his silly long legs stretched out along the floor. That petulant scowl fixed on his long face, it was all too distracting.

He felt bad. And very guilty, because he put him there in that corner like a child, when all this wasn’t even his fault. He didn’t know how or why this had all taken place, but he felt with absolute certainty that it stemmed from the TARDIS. That light, when he touched her…he’d felt the ship. The heart of the TARDIS had pulsed inside him when he’d held Martha.  Then, it had taken her away and brought this boy, this Sam in her place.

But why?

“What were you doing?” The Doctor said aloud. Sam jumped at the sound of his voice, banging the back of his head against the wall behind him. “When the light came I mean. Anything special?”

“I told you.” Sam said, his eyes squinting in pain. “I was sitting in my brother’s car.”

“Uh huh. And that’s where all that came from?” he pointed at Sam’s shirt. “Your brother’s car?”

Sam looked down at the bloodstains, then gave him a sheepish grin.

“Oh, that’s just…strawberry jam.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to earth, but I’m relatively sure that humans have yet to make jam with blood in it. Or…wait, what year are you from?”

“2008.”

“Oh, well no then. No blood.” The Doctor gave him his best meaningful stare. “Try again.”

Sam’s broad shoulders drooped, his deep voice suddenly tired.

“Look, just so you know, I’m not some crazy serial killer or anything, there’s a reason for this.” He gestured weakly to the offending shirt.

“Oh, I’m sure there is.” The Doctor pulled a few levers as he spoke, causing the ship to shift just a bit. Which was good. At this point, any response was good. “So why don’t you tell me?”

“What?”

“The reason Sam.” The Doctor looked up; his eyes steady through his thick glasses. The boy shrank away, which in his experience, often meant very bad things.

“Yeah, that’s complicated.” Sam hedged. The Doctor smiled.

“Oh, I can do complicated. It’s where I live, actually.”

“Okay.” Sam opened and closed his mouth several times before words actually came out.

“It’s demon blood. Me and my brother, we hunt demons. And werewolves. And vampires and ghosts. And sometimes witches, but those bitches are crazy, so we kinda try to avoid them.”

The Doctor eyed him steadily for a moment, then gave a short nod.

“Alright then. Asked and answered.”   He noted the confusion that crept up the boy’s face.

“What, that’s it?  Asked and answered, that’s all you’re gonna say?” Sam said.

“What would like me to say, Sam? That I don’t believe you, that demons and hell are just myths passed down through generations, eventually perceived as truth?  From your expression, I would think you’ve heard all that before, several times even. It doesn’t matter what I believe Sam, only that you believe it. That it’s real to you.”

“Trust me, it’s definitely real. You haven’t seen the shit that I’ve seen.”

“Oh, I think you’d be surprised at what I’ve laid eyes on over the years. And that thing, whatever it was you killed, could have been something else entirely. Something from another world perhaps.”

Sam seemed consider his words carefully before responding.

“Yeah, that sounds great, but I’m pretty sure that bitch was a demon.”

Martha 

She sat on the curb, her hands cupping her chin and watched him pace back and forth. They’d been at this for over an hour, her trying to convince him that she wasn’t certifiable, him coming up with asshole remarks in response. She was bored with it really and deathly tired.

She knew The Doctor was going to show up any minute, straighten all of this out, but the waiting… if he took much longer, she would just have to sort the situation herself. She wasn’t sure exactly how she would go about that just yet, but she did know her first course of action would be to rid herself of this guy as soon as possible. In fact… 

“I think I should go now.” She said, standing her feet. He looked up, his eyes widening slightly, as if realizing she was still there. She’d seen that look before, today in fact. Great, she thought. Another man who forgets I exist.. How do you find them Martha Jones?

“Wait, what?” He walked over to her, shaking his head. “You can’t go anywhere, not while my brother’s still gone”

“I’ve been trying to tell you, your brother is probably fine. Better than fine, he’s with The Doctor. I would wager that right about now he’s pretty fantastic.”

Dean shook his head, a wry smile on his lips.

“You don’t know Sam. He could be in a Jello filled vat of naked women, and bitch about it not being sanitary.”

“Jello-filled vat of naked women?”

“Green, I think. Green Jello tastes the best, not of that red shit. Red Jello’s for pussies.”

“Alright” Martha said, raising her hands in surrender. “So, what then?  You want us to just stay here, in the parking lot? “

“You said this Doctor would come running after you right. Any time now?”

“Oh, so does this mean I’m no longer, as you put it, batshit crazy?”

“No, but I got less than shit to go on other than your fucking delusions. I’m hoping there’s some truth in with all that bullshit.”

“Nice. Well, yes, he’ll come, but it’s getting cold and I’m not really dressed for…”

Her voice trailed off as his eyes lifted from her face, focusing behind her.

“Hello? God, I heard about all the rudeness here, but honestly…”

“You should get in the car.” He said.  She looked at the black car she’d struggled out of earlier.

“Umm..well, you see I don’t usually...”  He grabbed her arm and twisted her around to face the lighted diner several feet away. A girl stood on the front steps, pretty, if slightly plain, with bright red hair that bellied her meek appearance. She wore a light pink waitress uniform that clashed horribly with her hair color.

“Alright.” Martha said, confused. “Did you forget to pay her or…”

The rest of her thoughts were lost as the girl walked towards them, her face becoming clearer as she approached. Her skin was flawless and lightly freckled, her lips a little too thin for the rest of her face.

And her eyes, well, Martha was sure they were some pretty color, maybe green or a light grey. But now they were dark, her irises completely gone. They were as black as coal.

Martha opened her mouth wide, and took a deep breath, shivering as the temperature instantly grew several degrees colder. The waitress’s black eyes focused on her face and the girl smiled a dark, sinister smile that made her skin crawl.

“Whaa…” Martha took a deep breath and tried again. “What the fuck is that?”

Dean leaned his head down, and moved his lips close to her ear, his breath warm on her skin.

“That, Martha Jones, is the weird shit I was referring to earlier.”

“Oh.” The thing grew closer.

“Well, next time, let’s be a bit more specific, yeah?”

The Doctor  

They’d stopped. 

The TARDIS gave a strong heave before coming to a sudden standstill. The Doctor’s eyes were wide and instantly shifted to find Martha’s intelligent brown gaze, only to meet Sam’s confused blue one instead.

Oh, this wouldn’t do at all.

“We stopped.” Sam said.

“Yes, I suppose we have.” The Doctor replied. He looked at the door, and felt it calling to him, that insatiable curiosity twisting in his gut. Where had she taken them?  What world would they meet outside those doors?

“Can we…are we gonna look outside.” Sam said.

“No need.” His voice had a clipped finality that made Sam stand a little straighter, as if rebuffed. “We’re not staying, I just have to make a few small adjustments and we’ll be off again. Only be a minute.”

“You keep saying that but it’s been hours already.” Sam sighed.

“No, it hasn’t.”

“Yes, it has. You were just all…pinched faced-up in that thing too long to notice.”

“No, it has—pinched faced?”

“Look, I realize you might think this is fun for me, watching you talk to this…ship like it’s a person or something, but I’m bored out of my mind and I’m worried about my brother. I just wanna take a walk, maybe find a bathroom or something, that’s all. Clear my head.”

The Doctor was still for moment.

“Alright, off you go then.” He said, then bent down over the console again.

“Off…wait, by myself?”

“Yeah, why not?” He shrugged “Door’s right there, only needs a push. Just knock when you’re finished, I’ll open up.”

Sam looked at the door, then back at him, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

“You’re really not going?”

“I went before I left.”  He straightened his glasses and didn’t look up again until he’d heard the TARDIS door opening. There was a rush of air, and after an extended amount of time, it closed again.

Sam was gone.

“Interesting.” The Doctor said, staring at the door once more. “He actually did it.”

He waited for Sam to come back, raving about cat people or a frozen tundra, but he didn’t. The Doctor flicked a switch on the panel on and off, (not really sure what exactly it was turning on and off, too many switches in this thing), and found himself unable to concentrate on the task at hand. He needed to get control of the TARDIS, needed to find Martha again. But the ship refused to respond, and he was starting to think that perhaps he’d been brought here for a reason.

Wherever here was.

“Oh, sod it.” He said, and made a beeline for the door. Both hearts were pounding in his chest as the door flew open and a light filled sky burst into view. He was….

“The Library?” The shock was unmistakable in his voice as he stared at the seemingly endless stacks of books, large enough to cover an entire city. An entire world, actually.

“But I was just here.” The Doctor said, his voice slightly tinged with disappointment.   Sam walked up beside him, his arms full of books and a wide smile on his face.

“Can we stay?”

 Dean 

“What is that thing? “ Martha said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“It’s a demon. Well, it used to be a girl, but now….that thing’s inside her.”

“A demon?”

“Yep.”  Dean reached for his gun, letting out a soft shit after realizing he’d left it on the ground next to the car.

“So,” Martha continued. “I’m thinking this wouldn’t be the time to explain that demons aren’t real then?”

“Nope, probably not.”

“Okay. Should we be running or something?”

“Nah, it’s only one.” Dean said, moving slowly toward his car. “I can take care of her, I just need my—”

“You mean only two.” Martha said.

“Huh?  Where the fuck are my keys?” Dean searched his pockets frantically, his mind picturing his loaded shotgun resting in his trunk, currently filled with rock salt. The bullets in his hand gun were okay, they might slow the thing down, but the rock salt would give him more time for the exorcism. Of course, the colt would be the best of all, but that was locked up in the motel room. Sam’s fucking bright idea, that one.

‘There’s two, not one.” Martha said again, and Dean’s head rose sharply, to fall on an old woman, making her way behind the waitress, her eyes just as black as her companion’s.

“All right.” Dean said, his voice slow and deliberate. “That’s…not a good thing.”

“I wouldn’t think so, no. ” Martha said, walking towards him. She put her hand in her own pocket and pulled out his key ring, complete with dangling silver skull and crossbones. Dean glared at her for a second, then jerked the keys out of her hand.  She shrugged.

“It seemed like a good idea, I didn’t know where the hell I was.”

“Little tip.” He said as he plunged the car key into the keyhole of the trunk. “Taking my keys is never, ever a good idea.”  He grabbed the shotgun, and slammed the lid down again.

“Now.” He said, “Watch and—oh, shit.”

“What...” Martha looked over at the now empty parking lot.

“Fuck me, where’d they go?” she breathed.

“I don’t know.” He began to scan the parking lot, his hand tight on the shotgun. “But they were walking pretty damn slow, so they couldn’t have gone---holy fuck!”

The old lady seemed to appear out of nowhere as he turned his head, her sudden appearance making him jump a few inches. He heard Martha gasp from behind him, and he instinctively moved to shield her body with his.

“Run.” He growled as he cocked the gun.

“No.” he heard her say. “I’m not leaving you alone with that thing.”

“Are you gonna argue with every fucking thing I say, cause that shit’ll get old real fast. And why hell is she not attacking us?”

They both eyed the old lady, whose black eyes peered at them. She’d made no move toward them at all, just stood there. It was creeping him out, the staring. Dean considered shooting her in the face just to make her stop.

“Maybe she wants to say something?” Martha said.

“Like what, I picked a shitty body, can I have yours?”

“Or something else.” She said. “Maybe she knows something…is…is she pointing at me.”

Dean looked down at the demon’s slowly rising hand, and saw the shaky index finger slowly rising to rest on Martha’s face.

“Why is she doing that?”

“Fuck if I know.”

“Well, make her stop.”

“You make her stop, she’s your friend. You’re the one who wanted to bond all girly like.”

“Great that helps...”

“They come for the dark one.”

They both recoiled at the phlegm filled hiss that emerged from her chapped lips.

“Now, that’s just…nasty.” Dean breathed.

“The come for you dark one. They come for you...”

“Dark one, eh?” Martha said, her eyebrow rising. “Right, welcome to America, Martha.”

She moved away from Dean, ignoring his whispered protests. She moved a little closer, but not within arms reach, he noted. Smart. Like she’d done this stuff before.

“Who’s coming for me?” she shouted. “Whose coming for the…the dark one?”

Dean glanced at his car, noting the reflection of his wax job, his gleaming finish giving him a perfect view of the lot behind him. He grabbed Martha’s shoulder and spun her around, ignoring her protests.

“Enough with the grabbing…” she exclaimed, but he quickly interrupted.

“I’m not sure.” He said pointing behind him. “But it’s very possible she means them.”   Dean lifted his gun, and faced the screaming hoard of demons rushing across the pavement. A dozen, maybe more, with the red haired waitress leading the charge.

“You ready to run now?” he said, his eyes narrowing as he took aim.

“You coming with me?” she replied.

He was silent for a second, before dropping his gun to his side, letting out a defeated sigh.

“Fuck yeah, let’s go.” He said.

They turned simultaneously and bolted for the Impala.

Lilith 

Her beautiful boy.

He’d run from her. Escaped her grasp and left her behind, where she couldn’t follow. She was too weak now, after the battle. After his brother.

That had been unexpected, the brother.

But brother was gone, flying in the dark and stars. Away from him.  From her boy.

Her beautiful boy.

The Master would help her, make her strong again. And then she could go back, back to the world beyond, the world of the living.

And she could find him again.

And everything would be like before. The way it should be.

She’d make sure of it.