(This isn't really 10/Martha. It's Handy (aka 10.5)/Martha, but there was no character choice for him.)

Chapter 1

Martha heard the explosion before the floor beneath her shook. She ran towards the north wing of the building as she pulled the keycard from her coat pocket and hoped to anyone listening that it would work despite the electrical explosion. As she reached the door, she slid the card through the slot and quickly typed in the numeric code. She swore as she was rewarded with nothing. She tried the sequence again only to have the same thing happen.

"Oh, this is just brilliant!" she said sarcastically to the empty corridor.

Just then, she heard footsteps down the bordering corridor. The unknown person was headed toward her, as indicated by the footsteps' increasing volume. The irony was not lost on the young doctor as she wondered why someone would be running towards an explosion instead of away from it. Martha decided she didn't have time to wait and see who the mystery person was. She needed to get the door open so she could stop the Nhajk from doing more damage to the Earth's defense system. She wished she had called Jack to help. Now, it was too late for them to do anything.

As she continued to alternately try the card/numeric sequence and bang on the door's keypad, she noticed that the footfalls had stopped. She turned her head to see who the anonymous person was, only to look into familiar, astonished eyes.

"No time for tearful reunions, Doctor," she told him. "Where's your sonic screwdriver?

"I…I don't…" he stammered. "I'm not…"

"Doctor, please!" Martha interrupted. "We need to get this door open now!"

Just then, his eyes lit up. He moved to the keypad and pried it opened. Martha was curious as to why he didn't just use the sonic screwdriver. Before she could ask, the door opened. She decided to keep quiet about this and the fact that he was wearing jeans and a dark green, long-sleeved button-up shirt instead of his usual suits. She followed him into the laboratory and went to work helping him to destroy the computer virus planted by the Nhajk.

--

Martha called UNIT to take care of everything once they'd diffused the situation. As they walked out of the building and let UNIT handle the aftermath, Martha thought now would be a good time to ask the Doctor about the whereabouts of the sonic screwdriver.

"Doctor," she said. "What happened to…?"

"Please stop calling me Doctor," he interrupted. "I'm not him, Martha. That's not my name."

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "You're him! You're the…hand!"

"Well, I'm a bit more than a hand at this point," he teased. "But, you know that."

"What are you doing here on your own?"

"I'm not a child, Dr. Jones," he answered a bit irritated. "I'm perfectly capable of going places alone…by myself!"

Martha looked into the sad eyes of the man before her and realized not only how alone he must be, but also how disappointed he supposed others may have been to find out he wasn't the Doctor.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"No, I'm the one who should apologize," he told her. "You're the most compassionate woman that he or I have ever met. I know you didn't mean anything by it." He looked down at his feet and shook his head before happily looking up at her. "Let's start over," he cheerfully stated. "Martha Jones! Imagine meeting you here! Let's catch up on what's been going on, shall we? Would you like to go to dinner?"

"Your mood swings are a bit disconcerting," she announced.

"I'm still learning how to be human," he reminded her.

"Speaking of which…what happened?" she inquired.

"Do you mind if we talk over dinner?" he asked. "I really am hungry."

"I'd love to," Martha told him as she smiled warmly.

--

"So, after the Doctor left me in the parallel universe with Rose and her family," the Doctor's human/Time-Lord counterpart explained. "I tried to fit in. Of course, it didn't work out with Rose."

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I know how much being with her meant to you…both."

"Thank you," he told her. "But, she and I never stopped being friends. That's what's important." He smiled sadly, remembering the beautiful blonde.

Martha waited a few moments to give him time to relive whatever memory he had chosen. The gorgeous young doctor also took a moment to remember her brief meeting with the younger woman.

"How did you end up in this universe?" she gently prodded.

"An unexpected result of destroying the dimension cannon," he answered. "I think Rose was missing the Doctor a bit too much. Since she used the cannon after he told her that universes would collapse if she did, Jackie, Pete, and I decided it would be best to destroy it." He sighed. "I figured out a way to destroy it and the plans for it; but, something in the device backfired and it exploded, sending me to this universe. I've been here for about 3 months."

"Why didn't you try to contact me?" Martha asked. "I could've helped you; got you a new identity or something."

"I didn't want to be a nuisance," he replied. "I know that when people he knows see me, they think I'm him. I see the disappointment in their eyes. I can't tell you how bloody awful that feels."

"You don't have to tell me," she stated. "I already know." His eyebrow shot up. "Every time he looked at me, he wanted it to be Rose."

"That's not true," he contradicted. "He saw you. Martha, the Doctor got over pining for Rose."

"That's not the way I saw it," she insisted. "Besides, I said I knew how it felt. It makes you feel less than what you are."

"Touché," he chuckled.

"So, why did you stay here if you thought people would see you as the Doctor?"

"I thought about moving to the States," he told her with a shrug. "I'm actually still considering it."

"You can't run away from your problems…" Martha paused. "Wait a minute. What is your name?" She couldn't believe she had just thought to ask.

"My name is Ross," he told her. "Ross Moore."

"There's a story behind that name, isn't there?" she speculated.

"Well," he said as he drew out the word. "I've always got a story to tell."

End part 1

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