Doctor Who Fan Fiction ❯ Dr Who – Martha and Ten The Inbetweens and Backstories ❯ Chapter Seven ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Martha placed the contents of her bag into the wardrobe and the drawers, leaving out a black blouse, blue jeans and a denim jacket for her to change into. She took off her evening gown and hung it up, before putting on the practical clothing.

Checking herself in the mirror, she set off to find the Doctor in the console room. She walked past the “forbidden room” and stopped. She looked up and down the corridor, there was no one about. It wouldn't hurt just to have a little peep would it?

She tried the handle, but the door was locked. She presumed he'd locked it after the last time she had gone to open the door. Oh well, can't blame a girl for trying. She carried on to the console room, where the Doctor gave her a big grin.

`That's better,' he said. `Dressed for adventure. So where do you fancy going next? Are you hungry? I could do with a bite to eat. How about you? Have you ever tried a kronkburger? No course you haven't, never eaten out away from the Earth before have you?' He rattled on without giving her a chance to answer, and she just laughed for the joy of being in the TARDIS.

`Kronkburger sounds great,' she said with a smile.

`Right, kronkburger and chips coming right up.' He adjusted the controls as the TARDIS swayed this way and that before coming to a stop with a gentle “clump”.

'Here we are then,' the Doctor said as he opened the door of the TARDIS for Martha. 'Reblais Beta; best kronkburgers in this part of the galaxy.'

'Urgh! Smells like they've gone off,' Martha said, wrinkling her nose as she waved her hand in front of it.

'Hmmm, yeah. Sort of boiled cabbage and bad eggs,' he said, looking around in confusion. 'Must be vegetarian option day.'

'And where are all the busy streets and shops you mentioned? All I can see are tents and huts.'

The Doctor realised that they weren't where they had expected to be (again). 'Ah, right. I really must get those gyroceptors looked at. Now, bad eggs, tents and huts . . . we're on Belepheron!'

'And is that good or bad?' Martha asked uncertainly.

The Doctor gave her his grin of enthusiasm. 'No idea. Let's go and find out what kind of burgers they eat.'

They walked towards the collection of primitive buildings, and the inhabitants stopped to watch them with smiles of curiosity. The natives looked like pre-teen humans, being small in stature, with dark green hair and a yellowish green tinge to their skin.

Martha was reminded of a scene from “Close Encounters”, when the little aliens greeted Richard Dreyfuss and led him into the mother ship. They were friendly and whispering excitedly amongst themselves.

An elderly man emerged from a large hut at the far end of the circular village, wearing a colourful headdress and face paint, and it was obvious that he was the tribal leader.

Ignoring Martha completely, the leader greeted the Doctor with a bow. `Pale skinned giant, you honour us with your visit.'

The Doctor grinned. `Do I? Yes, of course I do. Brilliant, eh Martha?'

`Yeah, very nice for you,' she said sarcastically. Having dark skin and being a woman was not a good combination in an unenlightened society.

`We must celebrate,' the chieftain said, and started giving instructions and hand signals to the villagers.

The Doctor was ushered along with the chieftain, whilst Martha went with the female villagers in a different direction.

`Doctor?' Martha called out uncertainly, looking over her shoulder towards him.

He looked back and gave her a cheery wave. `Don't worry; it's probably just their custom for the men and women to celebrate separately.'

`Don't worry he says,' she muttered to herself. `Easy for you to say.'

She was led to a raised, circular dais that was surrounded by a semicircular curtain. In the centre of the dais was a smooth wooden pole. She was encouraged onto the dais by a group of giggling, excited girls. It was difficult to assess how old they were because of their small size, although they did seem to have mature cleavages in front of them.

They helped her take off her denim jacket, and she didn't resist, giving them an embarrassed smile. When they tried to undo her blouse and jeans, she patted their hands away.

`Er, I think we'll stop at the jacket thanks,' she said. Suddenly, a dozen pair of hands were at her clothing, and within seconds she was standing there naked.

'DOCTOR!?' she called out, realising that things were taking a turn for the worse.

Just as she called out, the curtain was parted, and she could see the Doctor sitting on a wooden throne next to the chieftain. The throne was about two sizes too small for the Doctor, and he was trying to get his bottom in between the arms of the chair.

There were tiered benches in a circle from where he was sitting, around to the dais where Martha was standing. He could see the village girls had been having fun doing what girls do, and he saw Martha was half crossing her legs in a crouch, and holding her forearms over the front of her chest in an attempt to hide her nakedness.

'Martha, what's going on?' he called across the space between them. He was getting an excited, friendly vibe from everyone, and presumed they were going to dress Martha in their traditional sarongs. There was certainly no sense of menace or danger; if anything, it was the opposite, a feeling of gratitude.

'I was hoping you could tell me that,' she called back with a hint of annoyance.

'Maybe they think you're the entertainment and you've got to pole dance or something,' he said with a cheeky smile. `I'll try and find out.' He went back into a conversation with the chieftain.

He then heard Martha gasp loudly as an apparently cold, green gunk was rubbed on her body by tiny hands. 'Now what?' she called out.

A lot of religions all over the galaxy anointed special individuals to symbolize the introduction of a sacramental or divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit, power or a God. 'Oh, it looks like you're being anointed. That's probably a great honour. I'll try and find out.'

`We thank you for the opportunity to feast,' the chieftain said with a bow of his head.

`Your welcome,' the Doctor said, a little puzzled. `I mean, all we did was turn up out of the blue.'

Suddenly, the village women grabbed Martha's arms and tied her wrists together with rope before two of the women starting to pull on the other end that was looped through a metal ring at the top of the pole. She was slowly pulled towards the pole, and her arms stretched up above her head.

With her cheek resting against the pole, she looked over to the Doctor who was directly in front of her. 'DOCTOR! Somehow I don't think this is a great honour. A great humiliation more like . . .'

The Doctor's smile turned to a scowl as he suddenly realised that she was in trouble. 'Now just a minute . . .' He leaped to his feet and looked down at the chieftain. `What's going on?'

One of the villagers had started walking around Martha, spiralling the rope around her forearms, then her upper arms, her neck, shoulders, chest, waist, bottom, thighs, calfs, and finally her ankles.

She was now securely lashed to the pole, when a young woman tried to put an apple-like fruit in Martha's mouth. 'No thanks, I'm not hungry right now. DOCTOR!'

Martha felt a number of hands holding her head still as the woman with the apple-like fruit reached up and held Martha's nose. She held out for as long as she could, and then took a gasping breath. She then felt an apple-like fruit in her mouth.

She bit the fruit and spat it out in triumph. There was a disappointed "Ohhh" from the small women, and then the process was repeated. This time, when Martha gasped for breath, the fruit was thrust into her mouth, and a cloth tied behind her neck to hold it in place.

Looking satisfied, the women started to lower the pole into a horizontal position over what Martha now noticed was a fiery pit. ''Octa!' she tried to shout through the fruit gag. 'Oo umphin.' She could feel the heat of the flames below on her bare flesh as she started to slowly rotate on the spit.

'Hang on,' he called to her. 'Big cultural misunderstanding . . . well, massive really . . . humungous actually. It looks like we've been invited to a banquet in my honour . . . well, I've been invited as the guest of honour, I'm afraid you've been invited as the main course.'

''OCTA!' she growled through the gag. It wasn't time for him to ramble on; it was time for him to do something.

'Okay, sorry, I'm on it. Just got to sort out the tribal etiquette. Bit delicate this kind of diplomacy.'

'I'll 'ive 'oo 'oody 'iplomacy . . .' she looked down into the fiery pit as she rotated and the heat stung her eyes. She could feel the green gunk seasoning sizzling on her skin.

After another scorching rotation, she felt the pole starting to rise back to the vertical, and when it clunked into place, she was looking into the dark, ancient eyes of the Doctor. He reached around behind her neck and untied the cloth before taking the apple-like fruit out of her mouth and taking a bite.

`Mmm, tangy . . . bit like a lime,' he said with a smile. `You all right?'

`I'll be better when I'm free from this pole.'

`Ah yes, here, let me.' He stooped down and started to untie her ankles and then unwrap the rope from around her body. `Dark skinned bipedal animals are seen as food animals on this world,' he explained as he worked his way up her body. `Simple mistake to make really . . . I had to tell them a little white lie to get them to release you.'

`What little white lie?' she asked as she stood in front of him with her wrists bound; her arms and legs doing their best to cover her nakedness.

`Remember the genetic transfer in the hospital on the moon?' he asked her.

Remember it, how could she ever forget it. It was one of the best kisses she'd ever had. But she didn't want to tell him that and inflate his ego any more than it already was. `Yeah, I think so. Why?'

He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the green gunk from around her lips and from out of her eyes. `I told the chieftain that you were my mate, and now I've got to prove it.'

Martha looked over to the thrones and saw the tribal chief looking at them intently. She looked into the Doctor's eyes and nodded. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and gently kissed her on the lips.

Time seemed to stand still for Martha as she was absorbed by the awesomeness of the kiss. It seemed to go on forever and she became light headed. Didn't he ever breathe?

When he broke away from the kiss, he held her shoulders steady as she wobbled on jelly legs. He shrugged off his long coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. He then held out her arms and started to untie her wrists.

`Thank you,' she said, pulling the open front of the coat around her. A woman approached and presented her with a bouquet of wild flowers. Martha accepted them with a smile and the coat fell open again. She pulled it around her again and looked at the Doctor. `What's this, more seasoning?'

He laughed and hugged her shoulder. `It's an apology. They're really sorry about trying to cook my wife,' he told her, before continuing hesitantly. `And I'm afraid I've still got to convince them of that.'

`Wha, I thought we just did that,' she said, although a replay of that snog wouldn't go amiss. How many times did they need her to do it she wondered?

`Well, er, the chieftains mate needs to see us get . . . intimate so that she can report back to him,' said the Doctor with a sheepish smile.

`You are kiddin' me!' Martha said in disbelief.

`No. Originally the chief wanted the whole village to watch, but I managed to get it down to one person that he trusts. That's why you had a couple of rotations on the spit . . . sorry.'

Martha couldn't believe her luck. Okay, it wasn't ideal circumstances, but beggars couldn't be choosers. That didn't sound right in her head, because she wasn't begging for it. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, yes that was better.

`So,' she said, sidling up to him. `Where d'ya want to do it then?'

`Ah, right,' he squeaked. `There's a tent over there that newlyweds use after the ceremony.'

The chieftains mate led them to a tent made of animal hides and held open the flap at the entrance for them. They stooped inside and saw a variety of soft animal furs on the floor. The woman stepped in behind them and lowered the flap before sitting crossed legged at the entrance.

`Right, we'd better make this look convincing then,' he said as he gently lowered Martha onto one of the furs.

`You'll get no argument from me,' she said with a saucy smile.

`Good. Touch my temples with your first and second fingers,' he instructed.

`Eh?' she queried, but he just waggled his eyebrows for her to play along. `Okay,' she said uncertainly, and did as he said.

`Now do the same to the gooseberry at the door, it's a ritual that we do before . . . well, you know.'

`Is it? Oh, okay.' She got up onto her knees and touched the woman's temples.

The Doctor then lay Martha back down and touched her temples in the same way, before turning to the woman at the entrance and touching her temples. He caught the woman's shoulders and lowered her to the floor as she passed out.

`Right, time to sneak out the back door,' he said with a grin.

`What did you do to her?' Martha asked open mouthed.

`A simple solomnastic suggestion.' He saw Martha's puzzled look. `I suggested that she was tired and needed to sleep.'

He poked his head under the rear edge of the tent and had a quick look around. Seeing the coast was clear, he beckoned for Martha to crawl through the gap, and they quietly crept back to the TARDIS.

'Right, I'm going in the bath,' Martha said as she walked past the console.

'I'll make us something to eat as we missed the celebratory lunch', the Doctor said with a cheeky smile. 'Pig roast all right with you?'

She stuck her tongue out at him, laughed, and headed for her room. A while later, she appeared in the kitchen-dining room in her bathrobe and towel around her head. The Doctor was sitting at the table with two plates of food.

'Kronkburger and chips, with a fizzy drink,' he said.

Martha laughed and sat down to tuck into her burger. 'Mmmm, thish ish good,' she said, covering her mouth as she spoke through a mouthful of food. She hesitated for a moment before continuing. 'Can I ask you something?'

'Yeah, of course.'

'Something about Rose?'

His face became an unreadable mask. He continued eating without speaking or looking at her.

`Only while I was in the bath, I was thinking . . . wondering if that kind of thing happened to her? Was she as useless as me, getting into trouble and having to be rescued by you all the time?'

His face softened into a smile as he realised she was feeling uncertain about her suitability as a passenger in the TARDIS.

`You're not useless,' he said kindly, `just inexperienced. Rose got into her fair share of scrapes, but she was resourceful like you.' He gave her a cheeky grin. `Although I think you've got one up on her. She never got smeared in green gunk and tied naked to a roasting spit.'

“So there's something I'm better at than his ex”, she thought resentfully.

`Although there was this one time when she ended up in a skimpy fur bikini top and loin cloth in the Neanderthal era,' he said with a boyish grin. She thought he was finally going to open up to her, but he stopped talking and continued eating his burger.

He was driving her crazy! How long was he going to mope about, missing his ex? She'd had boyfriends who had dumped her when she thought they were the love of her life, but she got over it and moved on.

He could see that she was expecting him to say something, so he did one of his standard, mercurial changes of subject. 'Sorry we missed Reblais Beta, can I make it up to you by taking you to the beach?'

'That depends on which beach; Brighton or Bondi?'

'Nacre,' he said, which elicited a frown. 'Twin suns, crystal clear blue water, and beaches that stretch further than the eye can see.'

'Sounds perfect,' she said with a smile. 'All we have to do is get there,' she finished sarcastically.