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Martha slammed the TARDIS doors behind her as she ran to the console. Her eyes locked on the entrance, waiting for him to burst through them at any moment. The Family had been right behind them but she was sure they had gotten away.
Suddenly the column in the middle began moving up and down, the wheezing sound she usually loved making her stomach drop.
“Wait! Wait!” Martha cried. Why was it taking off without him? She didn’t even know how to fly the TARDIS.
“Wait we need to go back! He needs our help!” She attempted to mimic his use of the controls, yielding no result.
A figure suddenly appeared to her left. Martha spun and saw a hologram of the Doctor being projected from the console.
“This is Emergency Program One. Now Rose, please listen carefully.”
Pain twisted in Martha’s gut, cutting through her adrenaline. It must have been a while since the Doctor updated this. He must have assumed he would be traveling with Rose for longer than he did.
“I’m sure by now you’re already planning on how to reopen the time vortex to get back to me. I have no way of stopping you if you do, but please don’t. I do not want a repeat of what happened on Satellite Five.”
Martha could hardly comprehend the words he was saying. He had always been cagey about his time with Rose, and she could never bring herself to ask about it. The look of heartbreak on his face had never been worth it. Neither had her own.
“If you are that determined to save me, so be it. But you know what will have to happen after, assuming we make it out alive, and I have no guarantees for how I’ll turn out. So you may as well say goodbye to this face now.”
Was he expecting to be horribly disfigured in a fight? What did he mean “this face”? She had never noticed any scars. Not physical ones, anyway.
“And if this is the last chance this face gets to speak to you, one way or another, then I have only one thing to say.”
This couldn’t be real. She must have been knocked unconscious in the fight. This must be a cruel joke her mind was playing on her. Surely the universe couldn’t be this sadistic.
He looked right into Martha’s eyes, his gaze burning into her.
“I love you, Rose Tyler. I’m sure you must know that by now, but I do.”
The hologram flickered, then disappeared.
Martha slammed her hands onto the console, collapsing to the floor with a cry of agony. She ignores the pain shooting through her hands, the blood dripping onto the grated floor.
She knew it wasn’t the TARDIS’ fault, it was no one’s fault. But she couldn’t help it. He had already broken her heart so many times, though he had no idea. Of course it would end like this- the final twist of the knife.
It took Martha a long time to notice when the TARDIS finally landed.