THE ADVENTURES OF THE DOCTOR'S AMAZING HAND

Chapter Twenty Eight

Blimey, this is getting depressing," Rose said as she and Ianto walked through the deserted streets looking for the address Charles had given them.

Once again people would occasionally come out of their houses and give them suspicious looks before hurrying back inside. A few men leered at Rose but because Ianto was with her they did nothing which Rose was thankful for. She was glad she found her new friend. He not only was a source of protection but she had someone she could talk to and share in her journey…besides John, of course. Rose glanced down into her jacket and saw John resting comfortably. He waggled a hello with his index finger and she did the same. She smiled when he patted her chest lovingly and she patted the outside of her jacket where his back was.

Finally, they found the address and Ianto knocked on the door of an old white house that had black shutters on the windows and 3 stone steps that led up to a black door. A woman opened the door. She was young, Caucasian with long black hair that was swept up into a loose bun. Her face was heart shaped with no makeup on and her eyes were dark green and haunted. She was wearing a shabby white shirt and black skirt with battered dress shoes.

"Oui?" she said.

"Parlez-vous Anglais?" Ianto asked.

"Yes, I speak English," she replied.

"Oh good, my name is Ianto Jones, this is Rose Tyler. Charles sent us."

"Scottish Charles?"

"Yeah."

"Oui, my name is Collette. Nice to meet you both. Come in, come in."

They stepped inside her house which was very modest. As they walked through it they saw evidence of Toclafane attack but it wasn't as bad as they houses they had seen in London. Collette led them into the kitchen and made them some tea while they rested at her table.

"So, what brings you to Paris?" she asked.

"We're traveling," Rose replied.

Collette gave her an odd look.

"Pardonez-moi, traveling? With the Toclafane all over the Earth?"

"We're telling people about this man called the Doctor," Ianto said.

"The Doctor? The man who is from outer space who saves people?"

Both of them perked up.

"Yeah, you saw Martha Jones?"

"Oui, she is staying at a friend's house, she gathered us all together last night and we listened to her story."

"Is staying? She's still here?" Rose said.

"Oui, the poor thing was tired so we gave her a place to rest and recover before she moves on," Collette said.

"Can you take us to her? We wanted to find her. We're on the same mission she is," Rose said.

Collette shrugged.

"If you wish to see her, I will take you. Follow me."

Rose and Ianto grinned at each other and followed Collette back out the door. They went with her down the street past three houses till they came to one that resembled Collette's house except they could see a lot more scorch marks on the outside walls and there were wooden boards over some areas of the windows where the Toclafane had blasted them out or barged their way inside. Collette knocked on the door.

"Yvette? Open up, it's Collette. I have two people who wish to see Mademoiselle Martha. "

The door opened and an elderly woman stuck her head out. She looked Rose and Ianto over and nodding, opened the door. Yvette had white curly hair that was shoulder length, a round face with a dimpled chin and granny glasses that perched on her nose. She was wearing a long flowered dress, loafers and a white shawl was draped around her shoulders.

"Mademoiselle is resting at the moment," Yvette said. "I'll go see if she's awake and wants to talk to these people. Go ahead and have a seat in the living room."

They nodded and went through the house to the living room. It was homey with several pictures on the white walls of family members and a little Pekinese that they assumed was her pet. The furniture was old and worn and they could see scorch marks on them. Rose and Ianto sat down on the sofa while Collette sat down in a leather chair nearby. A moment later Yvette returned with a young black woman following her. She looked weary and her long hair hung limply down her back but she managed a tired smile.

"Yvette said you wanted to see me, yeah?" she said.

"Yes, hi. My name's Rose Tyler and this is Ianto Jones. We've been searching for you and…"

She trailed off. She noticed the moment she said her name Martha got an odd look on her face and then she looked angry for a few seconds before she smiled again. Rose was puzzled about it but chose to remain silent for the moment while Yvette and Martha sat down in two overstuffed chairs across the way.

"Um…we escaped from the Valiant," Rose continued. "I was taken by the Master from my universe. He used the paradox machine to kidnap me and I found Ianto in London. He's Jack's lover."

She could see the shocked looks on Collette and Yvette's faces when she said that but Martha didn't freak out so she continued on.

"I was with the Doctor and Jack before they helped me escape. The Doctor didn't ask me to do this but Ianto and I want to help you on your mission."

Martha perked up at that.

"You wanna help me?" she said.

"Yes, and there's actually a third member of our group but we'll introduce you to him later."

Martha was puzzled by that but said nothing.

"It's nice to meet you. I've heard a bit about you, Rose. The Doctor's mentioned ya a couple of times."

Rose smiled at that but she noticed one again the flicker of anger that briefly lit in Martha's eyes before it faded.

"I'm sorry I never met ya before but you came after me," Rose said.

"And Jack never mentioned you either," Ianto said.

"Well, I only met Jack when he ran after the Doctor and got sent with us to the end of the universe. Are they alright? Both of them?"

"Um, they were when I left but the guards had nearly caught up with them and I think they surrendered. I have no idea what happened after that since I rode an escape pod down to London."

"And my family?" Martha asked. "My mum, dad and sister Tish?"

"I never saw them. We never found them, sorry."

Martha lowered her head to her hands and Rose's heart went out to her when she heard a brief soft sob escape her lips before she composed herself and put a brave smile on her face.

"If you want to help that'd be great. Lord knows I could use the help," she said. "Did the Doctor mention what you needed to do?"

"There was a woman in London you spoke with. She told us what you said and the instruction about saying the Doctor's name. Do you know anything more about that, what does it mean?" Rose said.

Martha smiled.

"The Doctor is using the clock and at a certain time he'll use this satellite system called the Archangel Network to tap into it's energy."

"For what?" Ianto said.

"Dunno, he didn't tell me that part. But the satellites link everyone together. It's how the Master was able to hypnotize them by using it to put a hypnotic subliminal beep on everyone's mobile. That's how he got everyone in the UK to vote for him. He wants to use that same principle in reverse and somehow link up with the satellites so if everyone thinks of him, the psychic energy will be beamed back to him. He also told me to make up a story about a gun that can kill Time Lords and the chemicals that are scattered around the world in case I am captured and they try to get a confession out of me. That's all he managed to tell me before he made me leave. I have a vortex manipulator though that allows me to teleport and that's how I got to Paris. I'm gonna use it to hop around the world since it's daft to go the whole way on foot."

"Halleluiah," Ianto said while Rose giggled. "Thank you. I'm so glad you have a way to cover long distances!"

"Yeah, I don't think I'd be able to make it otherwise. It was grueling just getting over here and unfortunately, I didn't cover all of England yet because the Toclafane are looking for me and I just wanted to get out of England before I was spotted."

"They know you were heading this way though. We saw reports from spies on your whereabouts," Rose said.

Martha cursed under her breath.

"It can't be helped, I s'pose. I have my perception filter at least. That protects me."

"You what?" Rose said.

Martha showed them the key and explained what it did.

"You don't have one?" she said.

"No but we have forged medical passes that will allow us to drive if we need to."

"You do? Brilliant!" Martha said. "You'll have to be careful though. I can hide from the Toclafane with this key. You two can't."

They nodded.

"We'll be as careful as we can be," Ianto said. "Hopefully with the passes, they'll accept us as medical workers and leave us alone."

Martha nodded.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. Hopefully with the three…or four of us working together we can get this over with and get back to the Valiant in time to see the Doctor defeat the Master. Now if you don't mind, I'm knackered and I'd like to sleep."

"Same here," Rose said.

"I can offer you my home," Collette said. "I have a sofa and a guest bedroom. You're welcome to use it."

"Well, wait, what about this third person?" Martha said.

"Oh don't worry, he sleeps with me," Rose said.

Martha was puzzled but Rose only gave her an enigmatic smile in return. She shrugged. For the moment, she was too tired to ask any more questions and she needed sleep. She was a little upset that Rose Tyler was here in the flesh, especially since she had feelings for the Doctor but the mission was more important and she was willing to put aside her feelings and work with her and Ianto and the mystery man they would introduce later. Both Rose and Ianto bid her goodnight and followed Collette back to her house. Martha thanked Yvette for waking her up, declined the offer of a cup of tea and with a sigh, carried her weary body back into the bedroom for a good night's sleep.

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