The Doctor explains they need to tie up some loose ends...and then an emergency happens

Martha's Point of View

The towels vanished into the TARDIS’s 4D recycling circuits with a soft hum, leaving them both clean and slightly steamed. Martha pulled on the simple, comfortable clothes the ship provided for her: soft grey leggings and a loose charcoal tunic that felt like a second skin. Amy did the same in her signature style, opting for a short burgundy dress that showed off plenty of leg from every appealing angle.

They walked through the warm, grumbling corridors, the familiar thrum of the ship’s engines vibrating up through the soles of their shoes. The organic brass walls pulsed with a gentle, golden light, casting long shadows that danced ahead of them. Martha sighed in contentment, feeling a profound sense of belonging, a rightness in every step that took her closer to the Doctor’s side.

The console room doors whispered open, revealing the cathedral-like space awash in the golden-green glow from the time rotor. The Doctor stood with his back to them, hands deep in the pockets of his tweed jacket, staring up at the swirling vortex on the scanner. He didn’t turn, but his voice cut through the soft mechanical choir of the ship. “Clean as whistles,” he said, a smile evident in his tone. “Good. We’ve got errands.”

“Errands?” Amy asked, skipping down the steps to lean against the railing, her damp hair leaving dark spots on the burgundy fabric of her dress.

He spun on his heel, his face a mask of focused charm, but his eyes held a darker, more possessive gleam. “Administrative housekeeping, really,” he explained, his fingers beginning to dance across the console’s interface. “Can’t have UNIT thinking I’ve stolen their best doctor and agent permanently without a proper note.” He explained, his smile amused. “Well, I suppose I have stolen you, from a certain point of view, but it's not like you want to leave anyway, and so it will be for the best if we clear up any misunderstandings at the pass. We’ll just…adjust their perspective.”

Martha felt a thrill, sharp and electric, at the casual power in his implied words. “So we’re going to the headquarters of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce in London?” she asked, moving to stand beside Amy, their shoulders brushing in solidarity.

“Precisely,” the Doctor said, throwing a large lever with a satisfying thunk. “A few subtle psychic impressions on the right minds, just enough to ensure they look the other way, update your file within the organization, and offer whatever we need when asked in the future.”

He looked directly at Martha, his gaze pinning her. “Who’s in charge of you as an agent?”

“Kate Stewart,” Martha answered instantly, her voice clear and certain, no hesitation clouding her thoughts. “Chief Scientific Officer. She’s sharp and practical. If she’s with us, UNIT’s resources are with us. Their tech, contacts, intel, alien sightings in my era, everything,” she explained, immediately liking the idea as it felt perfectly logical to her; a necessary step in their glorious breeding work.

The Doctor’s nod was a quick, sharp gesture of approval that warmed Martha more than the sauna ever had. “Kate Stewart it is.” His hands flew over the controls with renewed purpose, setting coordinates with a series of decisive clicks and whirs. The central column began its familiar, grinding ascent, the ship preparing to lurch into the vortex. "Might as well give Mickey a call while we are back there and check on him now that he gained all that lottery prize money from the future that I gave him with that winning ticket. And of course, to officially sign the divorce papers now that you are mine from now on."

Martha grinned at that, thrilled by the possessive way he phrased it. "Yes, Doctor," she said, her voice soft with devotion. "I'm yours now. Completely."

Amy beamed at her, squeezing her hand. "And I'm yours too," the redhead purred, leaning into Martha's side. "Both of us, forever."

The Doctor's smile widened, his eyes glowing with pride and affection. "Good," he said, his voice firm. "Because I need you both with me. Now and always."

With that, he turned back to the console, his fingers dancing over the controls as the TARDIS hummed to life. But then, abruptly, red light floods the console room, and the Cloister Bell started hammering in alarm...a deep, cathedral-**** knell that caused vibrations all around them.

"Whoa!" Martha stumbled as she caught the also stumbling Amy Pond as the TARDIS lurched violently to the side.

The bells sorrowful tolling filled the air, its deep, resonant notes shaking the very walls of the console room. The Doctor spun around, his face pale, his eyes wide with shock.

"What the hell is that?" Amy gasped, her fingers digging into Martha's arm as she fought to stay upright.

The Doctor's hands flew over the console, his movements sharp and precise. "It's the Cloister Bell," he said, his voice tight with urgency. "It only rings when the TARDIS is under attack."

Martha's medical instincts kicked in immediately as she understood the gravity of the situation. "Under attack?! We are in the middle of the Time Vortex inside a sealed TARDIS! I thought only the Time War Era Dalek Empire forces were able to counter Time Lord technology on that level so reliably...but you stopped their only remaining armada last year when they stole the Earth right across the universe, so it can't be those xenocidal monsters...right?" She asked, biting her bottom lip in concern.

The Doctor didn't answer. His fingers flew over the console, his face a mask of concentration. The red emergency lights pulsed in time with the Cloister Bell's mournful tolling, casting eerie shadows across the console room. The air hummed with tension, the very walls of the TARDIS vibrating with the **** of whatever was attacking them.

And then...they felt the shift in direction as their time and space machine was being dragged through the Vortext as if by a hook.

The Doctor started clinging to the console, yanking levers, flipping switches, his hair in chaos. "No, no, no, no, no...stop that! You do not get to steer her! Nobody hijacks my girl; that’s extremely rude!

The time rotor started grinding, overclocking. Sparks were spit out..

Amy staggered, slamming into the railing, and tried to hold. Martha held herself steady with one hand, the other pushing outwards as if to brace for impact. But Martha was getting increasingly worried because while she lacked details, she could now tell that someone or something powerful and well-versed enough in four-dimensional technology to match Time Lord technology had managed to overwhelm the TARDIS' outer defenses.

And for all her experience with UNIT and with her past travels with her beloved Doctor, she could only count the number of foes of the Doctor capable of even attempting such a thing with one, incomplete hand...

Martha swallowed and caressed her belly on reflex before her gaze hardened. "Whoever they are...they will NOT threaten my baby, my sister-wife, or the father of my unborn children without a galaxy's worth of consequences," she vowed in silence.

And after a quick glance at Amy's face, she could see the redhead was thinking somewhere along those lines, too. She gave Martha a quick peck on the lips and then squeezed her hand before they stared at the still closed doors, as they were dragged through the Time Vortex into the unknown.

A/N: And so this arc is finally kicking into high gear. Curious to know if the Doctor Who fans amongst my readers have any suspicions as to who or what is dragging their TARDIS for this arc (which was meant to be a Halloween-themed arc before my laptop got damaged and I missed the window, but oh well). I will offer one clue: the one that got this done is from an alien species we saw in Modern Who's 3rd series during Martha's time as a companion. So, feel free to guess.

Planning to get the next chapter ready as soon as I can, so I hope you liked it, and thanks for reading.