The Doctor and Willow owe Martha their lives and he wants to repay her with a chance to travel with them, though Willow only wants it to be one trip.

***

Willow sat on the small sofa by the console as the Doctor was controlling the TARDIS whilst it was in flight. Every so often, he would glance over at her in an anxious manner. It was definitely noticeable and Willow was beginning to become infuriated by it.

"Ok, what is it?" She questioned.

He froze, surprised. "I don't know what you mean?"

"For the last hour, you've been staring at me and then looking away when I notice. I can tell when you're in deep thought." Willow described. "Whatever you're thinking about, you're nervous to tell me."

The Doctor smirked, sighing. "I can never get anything past you."

"Of course you can't, Kas." She said, standing up from her seat. "I'm your girlfriend after all.

With a smile, he wandered over and put his hands around her wait. "Fiancée, you mean, Raven."

She paused for a moment, taking a second of thought before talking once again. "Of course. That's what I meant..."

Once he turned his back, Willow's fake smile contorted into an unsure frown. For quite some time, she had wondered whether she wanted to get married. They loved each other, of course they did. 

However, at points she pondered whether or not the Doctor only wanted to marry her because they were the same species. Even if she wasn't, would he still have wanted to be with her forever?

She didn't even understand who she was meant to be. When growing up, she was Raven; a girl who had been secluded her whole life. Then she was Willow, a normal human girl who had a family that loved her. But now she didn't know who she was, and it was unbearable to say the least.

"I was just thinking," The Doctor's voice interrupted her deep contemplation. "Perhaps we should thank Martha for what she did to help us today."

Willow nodded, agreeing. "Yeah. After all she was the one to revive you. What should we do to thank her?"

He sighed, biting his lip. "Well... I was thinking maybe she could... travel with us...?"

Her face dropped, a feeling of fury faintly burning inside her. "Just for one trip."

"Why?"

"Well, otherwise it would just feel like we're replacing Rose." She stated.

The Doctor gulped, having not realised. "Oh..."

She waltzed over to his, placing her hand on his with a small smile. "It's not like I don't like her. I just think we should wait it out. It's going to take a while for me to get used to someone new."

He nodded understandably. "Ok then. One trip."

"One trip."

***

Outside a pub where Martha's brother, Leo, was having his party, their Dad's girlfriend had to mess it all up. 

"I am not staying in there to be insulted!" She said, storming out in frustration.

Clive came running after her. "She didn't mean it, sweetheart. She was just saying you look healthy."

Then Francine emerged, wagging her finger. "No, I did not. I said orange."

"Clive, that woman is disrespecting me. She's never liked me." Annalise cried.

"Oh, I can't think why, after you stole my husband!"

"I was seduced. I'm entirely innocent. Tell her, babe!"

Just as Martha, Leo and Tish emerged from the pub, Francine continued to argue with her. "And then she has a go at Martha, practically accused her of making the whole thing up."

"Mum, I don't mind. Just leave it." She emphasised, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

Annalise rolled her eyes, mocking her. "Oh. "I've been to the moon!" As if! They were drugged. It said so on the news."

Francine put her hands on her hips. "Since when did you watch the news? You can't handle Quiz Mania."

As they all argued with one another, Tish turned to her siblings. "Annalise started it. She did. I heard her."

"Tish, don't make it worse." Leo warned her.

"Oh, come off it, Leo!" She protested. "What did she buy you? Soap. A seventy five pence soap."

"Oh, I'm never talking to your family again!" cried Annalise, finally marching away.

"Oh, stay. Have a night out with Clive." Francine sarcastically insisted.

At the same time, Clive was arguing with her from a distance. "Don't you dare. I'm putting my foot down. This is me, putting my foot down!"

He began to follow his girlfriend as Francine shouted from behind. "Clive, stop, now!"

"Mum, don't!" Her words trailed off as the family ran after Clive and Annalise, leaving Martha by the pub.

She clung onto her dark pink jacket, disappointed that she couldn't do anything to prevent this from happening. Her eyes were drawn to the corner of a nearby alleyway, spotting two familiar figures waiting for her.

Martha couldn't help but smile, happy to see them again. The two backed away, beckoning her to follow; to which she complied.

Upon turning the corner and wandering down the alleyway, she found the Doctor and Willow leaning against the TARDIS, waiting for her. "I went to the moon today."

"A bit more peaceful than down here." He commented, gesturing to their family argument from earlier.

"You never even told me who you are." 

"The Doctor and Willow." He replied.

She knew that though, and she wanted to know more. "What sort of species? It's not every day I get to ask that."

"We're Timelords." stated Willow as she slipped her hands into her pocket.

"Right! Not pompous at all, then." Martha remarked, making Willow laugh a little.

"I just thought since you saved my life and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver which needs road testing, you might fancy a trip." The Doctor fiddled with the second version of his sonic screwdriver, inviting her to join them.

Her eyes widened. "What, into space?"

"Well."

She shook her head. "But I can't. I've got exams. I've got things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent, I've got my family going mad."

"If it helps, we can travel in time as well." He informed her.

"Get out of here."

"We can."

"Come on now, that's going too far." She declared.

Willow shrugged, sharing a look with the Doctor. "I guess we'll just have to prove it."

They opened the TARDIS doors, stepping inside. It began to dematerialise to Martha's astonished eyes, reaching out at the now empty space. In an instant, it started to return to the exact same space it had been in a few seconds ago.

The two emerged, the Doctor holding his tie in his hand with a smirk. Ultimately, it all clicked for her. "Told you."

"No, but, that was this morning. Did you?" She gasped, becoming extremely excited. "Oh, my God. You can travel in time. But hold on. If you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go in to work?"

"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden." The Doctor explained whilst adjusting his tie back onto his neck. "Except for cheap tricks."

"Yeah, I thought back to when you were telling us that we were outside and... it all clicked." Willow summarised.

"And that's your spaceship?" Martha questioned, creeping closer and stroking the blue wood.

The Doctor nodded. "It's called the TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"Your spaceship's made of wood. There's not much room. We'd be a bit intimate." She said, acknowledging its small size.

"Take a look." He pushed on the doors, widening the view inside.

Martha slowly wandered inside, observing how much bigger it was. She had no words, no possible explanation to how this existed. The couple crept in behind her, just as she turned away. "No, no, no."

She went out to check that she wasn't going mad, trudging around the whole box in awe. "But it's just a box. But it's huge."

Willow snickered under her breath, admiring her reaction. Soon enough, Martha came back inside. "How does it do that? It's wood. It's like a box with that room just rammed in. It's bigger on the inside."

The Doctor mouthed her exact words before finally closing the doors as a sign that she was coming with them. "Is it? I hadn't noticed. Right then, let's get going."

"But is there a crew, like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?" She asked.

"Just us." 

"All on your own?"

"Well, sometimes we have guests. I mean some friends, travelling alongside. I had... There was recently, a friend of mine. Rose, her name was. Rose." He described to her.

"She was my cousin. Well, adoptive cousin... Anyway." mentioned Willow.

Martha noticed their despairing faces, the solemn frowns that described their pain perfectly. "Where is she now?"

"With her family. Happy. She's fine. Not that you're replacing her." Willow hissed through her teeth.

She seemed slightly threatened by her statement. "Never said I was."

"Just one trip to say thanks. You get one trip, then back home. We'd rather be on our own." She declared, making Martha feel a little unwanted by her.

"Of course, that's fine. As long as I get home on time." She said.

"That's good enough for me." Willow stated, turning away from her.

The Doctor sighed to himself before putting on a grin and preparing the TARDIS for flight. "Close down the gravitic anomaliser, fire up the helmic regulator. And finally, the hand brake. Ready?"

"No." Martha chuckled.

With his hand on the lever, he pulled it towards him which caused the TARDIS to convulse and shake. "Off we go."

"Blimey, it's a bit bumpy." She complained, hanging onto the side of the console.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Jones." The Doctor said, reaching out his hand for her to shake.

"It's my pleasure, Mister Smith and Miss Hughes-Tyler!" The trio laughed as they began to travel through the time vortex to who knows where.

***

It was only a few days before the election, it was almost time to take his crown and crush the Doctor's hope for good.

A secretary entered the room he was sitting in, holding a file in hand. "Mr Saxon?"

He swivelled his seat, facing the nervous man nearby. "Yes?"

"We have some new photos of her." He told him.

Harold Saxon, the name and identity he had been going by for over a year, clapped his hands together in excitement. "Oh, goodie!"

The file was snatched away and laid out on the table. He observed every picture, grinning wickedly at each of them.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, but why are you so interested in her? Aren't you married?" The secretary wondered. "What's so important about this girl?"

"She's a very old friend. Very, very old." He said, admiring each photo that the security camera at the hospital took of her. "I like this one. It's the clearest out of all of them."

"Good choice, sir." The secretary removed the photos from the desk, all except one, and left the room in a hurry.

Saxon picked up the photo with a smirk, wandering into another room where the walls were lined with pictures of the same girl. Like the others, he pinned the photo securely onto the wall. "Soon, Raven... soon."

***

I have no idea what is going on at the moment.

So back in lockdown until like the end of February. I don't know if I'm still doing my exam next week, as you can tell I'm very confused.

Anyway, I'll see you all for the next chapter.

- Alice ❤