Martha was tired. Not just physically tired, but also mentally and spiritually. She had spent a year walking the Earth, but the last six months brought a different type of pain.

'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,' she told herself. She knew she was strong, but occasionally she needed the gentle reminder. It was hard without anyone to lean on. Sam stayed with her for the first few months, but eventually he felt it was time that he moved on. That was the promise after all.

Dean promised that after Dick was gone and the Leviathans were no longer a threat that they'd stop hunting. They could be a normal family and live a normal life. She couldn't fault Sam for going for it. After growing up the way that they did, she would probably do the same thing in his shoes. But she couldn't let go of this life yet. She couldn't stop hunting until she found Dean.

Every avenue she went down turned into a dead end. She contacted Garth and some other hunters she had met along the way. No one could figure out what happened to Dean and Cas. When the hunters' network failed her, she decided it was time to expand her resources.

She rang Jack. He said he'd see what he could do, but he didn't sound very hopeful. Even the Doctor was at a loss.

"You know your future, Martha," he told her. "River told you that you'd be together."

"Time can be rewritten. The future River saw could change."

"I know," the Doctor conceded. "But when has that ever stopped us before?"

Martha knew that the Doctor was right. She was clever. Martha knew what needed to be done, but first she had to go back home. If something went wrong, she needed to say goodbye to her family.

Francine Jones was thrilled to her daughter back on their side of the Atlantic and the fact that she hadn't brought that Winchester boy was just icing on the cake. Tish was also happy to see her little sister again, but she knew something was wrong. When Martha told her not to press the subject, she kindly obliged.

With her family appeased, Martha had one more stop to make. She sank into Jack's warm embrace the instant she saw him. "It's been too long, Dr. Jones."

"I know," she muttered against his chest. "And it'll probably be longer still."

"What's going on Martha?" Mickey stood nearby with his arms crossed over his chest. "What's with all the cloak and dagger?"

"I need the two you to watch out for my family," she instructed.

"And where will you be?" Mickey asked.

Martha sighed. "I don't know, but I won't be able to see them for a while. I just need to know that they're safe. Can you do that for me?"

Mickey groaned. "Are you about to go and do something stupid?"

Jack laughed. "Of course she is. It's what we do."

"I have to find Dean and that means making a deal," she explained.

Jack arched his brow. "A deal? Martha, what kind of deal are we talking about here?"

"I'll tell you more after it's done," Martha replied. "Now can you do what I ask and keep an eye on my family?"

Jack nodded. "We promise."

Jack and Mickey insisted that Martha take them with her, but she knew this was something she needed to do on her own. This decision wasn't one she had made lightly. In the nearly two years that passed since she left London, a lot had changed. She wasn't the same woman she had been before. She wasn't running from her mistakes anymore. No, now she was running towards something. She had something to fight for. She had a family to protect. She could find her way back to Dean, even if it meant doing something she thought she'd never do.

Martha looked at the ground. She used the tip of her shoe to cover the hole she had dug in the dirt with her heel. She looked up when she noticed someone standing in front of her.

"I've been expecting to hear from you," the woman in the trench coat said.

Martha nodded. "I figured you would be."

"Honestly, I thought it was a rumor."

"Clearly, it wasn't."

"I reckon you didn't summon me here just to chat, Dr. Jones."

"Winchester," Martha corrected.

"Yes, of course. Well then, shall we get down to business?"

"You know my terms," Martha replied.

"And you know mine."

"I'll sign my life over to you in exchange for my husband's rescue."

"No need to sound so dramatic. I don't want your soul, Martha, I just want you to work for me."

"Sometimes I wonder if there's a difference."

The woman smirked. "Now you're starting to sound like a different Doctor."

Martha exhaled sharply. "So do we have a deal or not?"

The woman extended her hand to Martha, who gave it a firm shake. "It's a deal."

END OF PART 1

To Be Continued in No One Together