Disclaimers: I do not own Doctor Who, Torchwood, or any of their respective characters. I am making no money from this.
Please do no sue me.
Notes: AU. I have nothing against the 11th Doctor, but I am far too fond of the 10th regeneration. Complete AU.
Second Chances
Part Two
Martha sighed, tapping the end of her pen against her desk. She hadn't realized how much paperwork she'd have to do
when she'd agreed to help Gwen. Torchwood had been direly understaffed. It hadn't taken much convincing for Martha or
her husband to step in and assist. They'd managed to rebuild the Hub and while it wasn't exactly the same as when she'd last
been here, the familiarity of it was welcoming.
It had been months since Gwen had returned from her maternity leave. The few new employees they'd had since then hadn't
been working out very well, so it was just Martha, Gwen and Mickey now. Rhys helped out every now and then, but he
wasn't officially on the payroll, and there was Andy, but again, he wasn't truly a member of the team though the man
desperately wanted to be. A bit of training and he might turn out to be useful, she thought. Gwen was the one holdout on his
joining in. Martha supposed she was being protective of her friend.
The lights in her office - 'Jack's office,' she reminded herself - flickered and a few loose papers fluttered to the floor. The
achingly familiar whooshing sound of a TARDIS had her jumping from her seat and running from the room.
Gwen was at her station, her eyes narrowed as she looked up at the ceiling. "What was that?" she wondered aloud,
moments before the Rift Monitors began to blare. Something big was happening. As abruptly as the alarms had gone off,
they silenced, leaving the Hub eerily quiet.
Martha didn't waste time with an explanation. She'd know if she was right or wrong soon enough. "Bring up the CCTV of
the Plass," she called out as she hurried over.
Gwen did as told, even as she inquired, "What is it Martha? That sound, do you know it?"
Her smile couldn't be contained as the other woman called up the appropriate view. "The TARDIS," she laughed, "The
Doctor." She watched as the doors of the Police Box opened and two people came hurrying out. She pointed, nearly
bouncing in excitement. "It's Jack!"
Gwen nearly beat her out of the Hub. But Martha was a bit more fit, as she hadn't just had a baby three months ago as
Gwen had done.
Martha almost fell over as she stumbled to a halt. She stood there, breathing heavily and not sure if she could trust her eyes.
She was stood inbetween two identical blue Police Boxes. This wasn't right. The Doctor had said there weren't any other
TARDISes. His was the only one. So what was going on?
She looked to her left. This was the one that the Doctor and Jack had gotten out of, so that meant they might be in the other
one now. She turned, just in time to see the Doctor run out and past her, appearing all the while like a child running from his
worst nightmare. Jack was close behind him. They were headed for the TARDIS, neither paying her any mind.
"Wait!" she yelled.
They stopped, the Doctor fiddling with the door and not glancing back at her. Jack on the other hand flashed her one of his
most brilliant smiles, though his eyes did swerve to take in the Doctor's odd behavior.
She yanked Jack into a tight hug. He lifted her up off her feet, swinging her around before placing her gently down. "Oh, I
was so worried when Gwen told me you'd hitched a ride on some cargo transport to God knows where in the universe!"
She drew back, placing her hands on either side of his face. "How have you been?"
Jack shook his head. "I survive, Martha. That's all I ever do."
Martha felt a stabbing ache, but chose not to bring up any more of the other man's pain. If he wanted to talk, he would come
to her, she knew that much about him. She turned, intending to give the Doctor just as warm a hug, but thought better of it
when she saw that he was injured. There were minor scrapes and cuts on his face. His shirt wasn't buttoned and she could
see patches of bruises and more cuts and abrasions. There was bandaging here and there, the most prominent circling his
wrist. If she had to judge by sight alone, it looked like he'd taken a fall, or went through a window. Maybe both.
"Doctor! Oh my God! Are you all right?"
The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, well ... depends on what you mean," he uttered softly, his eyes on the ground. She'd never
seen him act like this. He seemed shaken, almost afraid. It just wasn't like him.
At that moment, Gwen ran up to them, launching herself into Jack's arms. "Why the bloody hell didn't you let me know you
were coming back?"
Jack was smiling, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes. "It wasn't planned or anything." he twirled her around, much like he
had with Martha. "You are looking great, by the way. So, what is it? Boy or girl?"
She slapped his shoulder as he set her down. "A girl. Caridwen. She's three months now."
"I bet she's as beautiful as her mother."
"You'll just have to see that for yourself."
Martha tuned away from their conversation, her attention solely on the Time Lord. "Doctor, what's going on? Why are there
two TARDISes here? You're hurt. What's happened?" A chill ran down her spine when a voice she had hoped never to
hear again spoke up.
"Hello."
Before she could even register the implications, Martha spun and pulled her gun on the man standing by the open doors of
the second TARDIS. Everything in her screamed to just shoot the Master, but she remembered the Doctor's reaction the
last time the other Time Lord had died. She couldn't inflict that pain on her friend. But what the hell was this man doing alive?
"No sudden moves," she warned. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gwen and Jack pull their own weapons. While
Gwen's was trained on the Master, Jack held his in a more relaxed pose, almost as if he knew something.
The Master's red-rimmed eyes had widened when they had trained their guns on him and he raised his hands in a gesture of
surrender. "Okay. Not quite the reception I was expecting, but I had rather hoped it would be somewhat cordial." He
paused and regarded the group. "Oh no." He frowned, looking to the Doctor and sighed softly. "I'm evil, aren't I?" When
he received a nod, he sighed again. "I THINK I can explain. May I put my hands down? Honestly, I'm not armed and my
ship is in no condition to take me anywhere."
Martha looked to the Doctor, and reluctantly lowered her gun at the nod he responded with. She narrowed her eyes at the
Master. "You've got two minutes."
The Master sighed and lowered his hands, keeping them stationary at his sides. "As far as I can guess, my TARDIS and I
have been brought to a parallel dimension. One of which, judging by your reaction to me, some form of myself exists or
existed and was quite evil." He held up a hand. "Please, don't elaborate. I just lost my husband and am not really in the
mood to go over or apologize for things that I, personally, haven't done."
The Doctor let out what could only be described as a squeak. "Wait a minute! I may have been hearing things, but did you
just say your husband?"
Martha frowned at the shock that both Jack and the Doctor were displaying as the Master nodded. She and Gwen were
just confused. What was going on here?
"Yes." The Master was smiling and a fresh tear trailed along his cheek. "Oh, I know he didn't look like much, but you
should have seen him when he was younger. He used to be so full of life and joy, a bundle of contagious energy that couldn't
be stopped." He shook his head, sniffing once as he wiped away the few tears that had escaped him.
"Earth, is it?" he asked, looking around. "Cardiff?"
He received four nods.
"Not surprising. He loved this planet. And we did need the energy of the Rift to get here. Well, I suppose I should
introduce myself. I'm Harold Saxon. You could call me Harold, Harry, Saxon or Mr. Saxon depending on what you're
comfortable with."
Martha blinked. "Harold Saxon, is it? Not 'The Master'?"
The Time Lord rolled his eyes, letting out an exhasperated cough. "The Master? Oh, please don't tell me that my
counterpart still goes by that title! I gave that up after the Time War. Needed to make a new life for a while and I suppose
the new name stuck with me. You can still call me Master if it makes you feel better." He smiled warmly at Jack. "Glad to
see you lived in this reality."
Jack snorted derisively.
The Master sighed and regarded the immortal. "And, judging from your attitude, you've already died at least once or twice."
He gave his attention over to the Doctor and opened his mouth to speak, when a voice from inside the TARDIS interrupted
him.
"Oi, Saxon, we're going bonkers in here. Is it safe to come out now? Not to trample all over the seriousness, but I swear
we're about to go at each other's throats in a minute."
Gwen let out a choked gasped. "Oh my GOD! Owen?!"
Martha stood with an open mouth when the man who looked exactly like their dead friend poked his head out of the second
TARDIS. His eyes focused on Gwen and they widened almost comically. "You're not dead!" He gave the Master a look.
"Different universe, right? You didn't tell me she might be alive! And who's the rest of this lot?"
The Master smirked and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Well, alternate universes are alternate, aren't they? Different
choices, diverging paths, anything could happen. For all I know you could be a ballerina here."
"Not bloody likely," Owen muttered, then fully stepped out of the TARDIS, his eyes focusing on Gwen again. "Never
thought I'd see you again." Then a huge smile lit his face and he turned back to the open doorway behind him. "Hey, love!
Come see who's here!" He walked over and grabbed Gwen's hands. "Good lord, look at you! Have you put on weight?"
Martha let out a laugh as Gwen smacked his arm.
"Oi, you twat, give me some slack. I've just had a baby." There was a genuine joy in Gwen's voice that Martha shared.
Their friend was alive. Oh, this was amazing.
"What a coincidence," Owen muttered. He turned back and called over his shoulder. "Will you lot hurry up?!"
"Hold your horses, Owen! I can only go so fast!" The familiar voice made Martha's heart skip. To not only have Owen
back, but Tosh as well, she'd hardly hoped.
Then Toshiko emerged and it was all Martha could do not to fall over in shock. The Japanese woman was obviously
pregnant and balancing a toddler on her hip. The child's features gave no doubt that she was Tosh's daughter.
"Oh my God!" Tosh exclaimed. As fast as she could, she handed the girl to Owen and pulled Gwen in for a hug. "How did
you survive the gunshot wound when we were up against those cannibals?"
Martha turned to Jack, who was standing there with a look of shock on his face.
Gwen wiped her eyes and motioned toward the Captain. "Well, thankfully I was with Jack and Owen at the time. They got
me sorted quickly enough. Was only a flesh wound really."
Owen and Tosh both gave her looks of complete confusion. Owen was the one who spoke. "Who? No, you see, when we
were up against the cannibals, I went with Tosh and you went off with Lisa. You bled to death before I could do anything."
He frowned as Gwen went pale. "What's wrong?"
Jack was the one who answered. "Excuse me. Lisa?"
Tosh gave a curt nod. "She's the one who recruited us for Torchwood. Oh!" She beamed at Gwen. "Owen and I got
together after the cannibals!" She motioned to the toddler in Owen's arms. "We named her Gwen."
"Oh, she's beautiful," Gwen cooed.
Jack interrupted again. "Lisa? As in Lisa Hallett?"
Owen sighed in annoyance. "Yes. That's what we said. No offense, mate, but who the bloody hell are you?"
"Jack?"
All eyes were on the other TARDIS as Ianto stepped out, his eyes wide and staring at Jack as if he hadn't seen the immortal
in years. Martha almost squealed in delight, but restrained herself. There was no telling if he even knew who she was.
Owen and Tosh hadn't given her a second glance.
Jack's tone was soft when he answered, his tone full of disbelief. "Ianto?"
Whatever Martha was expecting, she was not prepared for the mild-mannered Welshman to march straight up to Jack and
deck him solidly in the jaw.
Jack took the strike which spun him around. He would have fallen, if he hadn't grabbed hold of the TARDIS. He spun on
Ianto and gave him a look full of confusion. "What was THAT for?" He gingerly rubbed his jaw where a bruise was already
starting to spread.
Ianto's fists clenched at his sides. "Because I can't punch HIM for what he did!"
Martha was going to question what he meant when the Doctor spoke up for the first time in several minutes. He'd been so
quiet, Martha had nearly forgotten he was there. He wasn't usually so silent and it worried her immensely. Something was
definitely wrong.
"Not another one," the Doctor groaned. He brought his hand to his head, smearing through the blood that was steadily
trickling from a fresh wound to his scalp. "I just got used to looking at Jack without wanting to run from him."
Martha remembered the conversation the Doctor had had with Jack at the end of the Universe. "Wait! You mean ... he
can't die?" She pointed to Ianto.
When the Doctor nodded, the expression on Jack's face was heartbroken. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not the one who did it, and I
wouldn't wish this fate on anyone because it sucks, but I am sorry." He sighed. "So, how many times have you died?"
Ianto's face was incredulous. "You make it sound like it's a course I picked in school. I haven't, not since coming back that
first time. But Mr. Saxon explained what was going on when we were traveling together."
Jack's eyes widened and he turned a brief glance to the Doctor. "At least you weren't abandoned."
"Oi! I was regenerating at the time, Rose had just absorbed the Heart of the TARDIS, there were dead people and Dalek
dust everywhere and you were a fixed point in time and space. That's a lot for anyone to deal with. I panicked." He
shrugged. "It all worked out in the end."
The Master huffed a little with a small smile curling his lips. "A runner, huh?"
The Doctor gestured wearily to the doors of the other TARDIS. "You would know."
Saxon blinked a few times before his mouth dropped open in disbelief. Tears began to form in his eyes. "Doctor?" He let
out a watery laugh. "We've been here, nattering away all this time, and I never even thought to ask who you were!" He
wiped his eyes and shook his head. "I guess it was too much to hope for. Out of all the Time Lords, it had to be you." He
sniffed again and regarded the other Time Lord. "So you weren't driven mad by the drums in this universe."
"No. You were." Martha heard the venom in her own voice, but she couldn't help it.
The Doctor turned on her. "Now, be fair, Martha. It's not like it was his fault he was being manipulated by the Time Lords.
Then again, I didn't even know that bit until a few days ago."
"It was weeks ago for me ... for us," The Master uttered softly. "Stopping them ... it still didn't help him."
"Sorry to sound rude," Ianto broke in, "but I don't suppose we can go someplace a little less out in the open to discuss this?"
"I can't do this," the Doctor was talking softly, almost mumbling. Martha watched him, concerned as he reached up to grab
Jack's shirtsleeve. "Jack, I can't. I need to go. Please, let me go."
Jack grabbed his shoulders, everyone's eyes focused now on the trembling Time Lord. "Doctor, calm down." He tried to
shift the Doctor to look him in the eyes.
"I need to go," the Doctor repeated, his eyes unfocusing. "Please. Please." he gripped Jack's arms, then his eyes rolled
back and he fell.
Jack caught him, sweeping him up into his arms. "Martha, door!" he ordered.
She was quick to oblige. She took out her key - she never went anywhere without it - and opened the TARDIS doors.
Then she stepped back to allow Jack through.
What she wanted to do was follow after them. But she had more pressing matters now. She pulled the doors closed and
spun to face the worried looks on the faces before her.
"What happened to him?" the Master demanded.
"No idea. But Jack will deal with it." She gestured vaguely. "If you'll all follow me, we can go down to the Hub to wait for
them there."
The Master frowned, his eyes watching the TARDIS before he nodded toward his own. "Just a few more people inside."
He turned.
"Not you." Martha raised her gun again. "I don't trust you walking in there and not trying something funny. Owen can go, or
Ianto, but not you. Gwen, cuff him, please."
Ianto gave her a pointed look. "Is that really necessary?"
"I'm not taking any chances."
"Don't worry, Ianto," the Master said. "I'm willing to go along with them. Apparently I was a bit of a bastard in this
universe."
Martha nodded. Once the Master was securely handcuffed, Gwen led the group into the Hub while Ianto returned to the
second TARDIS. Martha waited just outside the door from him to come out. She had to remind herself that this wasn't her
Ianto. This was a complete stranger. For all she knew, he could be a homicidal maniac.
This was bound to get complicated.
To Be Continued ...