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FIC: Paved with Good Intentions
Author: dk323
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Martha, Ten, Donna
Spoilers: Journey’s End
Disclaimer: Don’t own Doctor Who, just playing with its characters.
Summary: And just like that, the Doctor was back in her life again.
Author’s notes: Takes place a month after the events of Journey’s End. Beta'd by ![[info]](https://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
otterfudge :-) Thanks for putting up with me. ;-)
An accidental shove shook her out of her thoughts as Donna went past her without even stopping to say ‘Hello’.
“Sorry!” Donna called back, only sparing a momentary glance before moving on.
“What?” Martha said out loud, confused at the other woman’s dismissal of her.
This couldn’t be Donna. The Donna Noble she knew would have stopped to chat for the simple fact that as far as Martha was concerned, the two were friends. And Martha had liked her – no matter if she had been the Doctor’s latest companion, which should have left a tinge of jealousy on her part. But no, Donna was something else entirely. And when Martha left the TARDIS a month ago, hand in hand with Jack and Mickey following behind, she had hopes to see Donna again.
But this was just weird.
Martha quickly ran after her because she just wouldn’t let this go. She couldn’t. And she had a bad feeling that the Doctor had something to do with Donna’s odd behavior. Honestly, how could he not be involved?
She touched the redhead’s shoulder, and said, “Hey, sorry, but aren’t you Donna?”
Donna whipped around, her red hair almost hitting Martha’s face, “Yeah, why? Am I in trouble?” She said the last bit impatiently.
Martha shook her head, removing her hand from her shoulder after the touchy look on the other’s face, “No, no. I just – I was just wondering. Do you know who I am?”
Donna just gave her a blank look (it hurt Martha more than she cared to admit), “No, should I know you? And shouldn’t I be asking you how you bloody know my name?”
Martha wasn’t sure what to say next. If this was Donna, but she didn’t know who Martha was, then could she just have a memory problem or was it something far worse?
“My name is Martha, Martha Jones.” She said finally, figuring a proper introduction would help.
“Martha Jones! Fancy seeing you here.”
And just like that, the Doctor was back in her life again.
He came up beside her, and she couldn’t help but look around for a glimpse of the TARDIS before the Doctor locked her in place with an arm around her shoulders. Martha noted the uncomprehending look on Donna’s face whilst staring at the Doctor.
Okay, not just a minor memory problem. A big one then.
Donna looked at the Doctor strangely, “Who the hell are you?”
Martha looked questioningly at him, wanting answers, and only getting a whispered, “Let me handle this. I’ll explain later.”
“Ah, come on then. Don’t you remember me? About a month ago – John Smith?” He said to Donna.
Donna’s eyes widened, pointing her finger at him, “You’re that weird bloke who came to my house. What were you there for?”
“Ah, just visiting. You know.”
She looked disbelievingly at him, “That’s a cheap excuse if I ever saw one. I suppose I should apologize for not introducing myself properly. I was a bit preoccupied.” She chuckled before holding out her hand.
“Donna Noble. And you are?”
Martha saw the Doctor’s momentary shock at Donna’s actions, before shaking her hand and smiling genuinely.
“John Smith. Nice to meet you. I mean really. It’s been brilliant.”
“Always make good first impressions. Or second. I’ve got to go though. Nice meeting you, Martha, John. Maybe we’ll bump into each other again some day. It’s been one of those days, I suppose.” She mused.
“Yeah, see you around.” Martha said, smiling at this unfamiliar Donna who still had hints of the Donna she had known.
“Those days are the best, aren’t they?” The Doctor spouted off, before saluting Donna and guiding Martha away from her.
Donna shook her head at the strangeness of it all, though she felt happier as she walked away. As if something extraordinary had just happened, but she couldn’t quite understand what it was.
“It’s later.” Martha pointed out when they had arrived to where the TARDIS was parked in an unassuming alleyway.
The Doctor grinned, “Dr. Martha Jones! Oh, how I’ve missed you!” And he took her in his arms and lifted her up in a great, big hug.
Martha couldn’t help but laugh, happy to see him again as well.
“Put me down, Doctor!” She said, smiling when he did just that.
He led her into the TARDIS, Martha smiling softly at the greeting hum of the TARDIS.
“Would you like some tea?” The Doctor offered.
Martha shook her head, “I just want to know. I’m guessing I missed quite a lot after I left.”
The Doctor sighed and sat on the captain’s seat, Martha taking the seat beside him.
“You could say that. I had to wipe Donna’s memory of me. She’s back to the person she was before she met me. That’s not so bad, right? I told Wilf and Sylvia about her condition, and I’m sure they’ll treat her with more respect than before. Well, Sylvia really. Hopefully I got through to her.”
Martha continued to look inquiringly at him, “Why did you do that? Did it have to do with the Time Lord in her?”
The Doctor explained, a slight tremble in his voice, “Human brains can never hold the mind of a Time Lord – it’s far too much knowledge for humans to handle without it turning against them. If she does remember, Martha, Donna will burn up and die. And that’s the last thing I could ever let happen.”
He had such a sad look on his face that Martha didn’t hesitate to hug him.
“I’m so sorry, Doctor.” She whispered into his ear.
“Tell me about her. About the time you first met Donna.” Martha asked gently after they pulled apart.
The Doctor smiled, remembering. And he told her about the sudden appearance of Donna on her wedding day, no less, on board the TARDIS. How she was loud, insulting, and slapped him twice! (Martha giggled at the last part) But all the same, she grew on him over the course of that day as they took care of an alien threat, the Racnoss.
And he could never forget the look on Donna’s face when he showed her the creation of the Earth. The awe on her face made him remember why he loved humans so much – for their wonder and need to know about the universe. So soon after losing Rose, he needed that reminder.
“I found you after I left her.” He finished, rather matter-of-fact.
“Oh, did you? Didn’t want to travel alone anymore?”
The Doctor cocked his head to the side, looking thoughtful, “Yeah, well, you know how it is. No fun exploring time and space without someone beside you looking on in wonder.”
She shoved him playfully, “Not just that, mind you. Someone clearly needs to look after you.”
He looked at her, disbelief shading his features, but then he conceded, “I suppose you’re right. Donna knew it as well. She told me what I couldn’t face myself.”
“What did she say?” Martha asked softly, waiting.
“She said that I need someone to stop me sometimes.”
“Is there really nothing we can do to get her back?” Martha asked, hoping.
“No. I’d rather not try. It might do more harm than good.” He answered firmly, eyeing Martha as if challenging her to disagree.
“I know one thing, Doctor. And that is you never give up, you never quit. There is always a way, right? It’s just a matter of finding it.” She finished with a flourish.
“Not this time, Martha. I just can’t.” He said, not quite looking her in the eye.
Before she could think of how to respond, the Doctor stood up abruptly and went over to the console to fiddle with the controls, his back to Martha, saying, “I have quite a lot of things to do. You can leave now if you want, Martha.”
Martha didn’t want to leave just yet. She decided that changing the subject would be the best way to go. They would have to discuss Donna later though.
“Why isn’t Rose here, Doctor? I thought –“ She trailed off when she saw the brief flash of pain and loss in his expression.
But then it was gone and all that was left was a blank look. His defenses were definitely up, Martha thought.
“Rose is on the list of the dead in this universe. Her home is in the parallel world. I couldn’t let her make the grave mistake of choosing to stay here when her family – her real family is in a place she could never visit. I had to let her go.” He explained to her, a little too detachedly for Martha’s liking.
“Don’t you miss her?” She asked him tentatively, moving to stand beside him, and placing her hand on his arm.
He waved his hand dismissively, “It doesn’t really matter. The other Doctor is with her. She’ll be fine. Rose has him. And I’m fine – I’m always fine.”
Martha gave him an incredulous look, “Just like that? You stuck her with him – didn’t even ask if she was all right with it?”
He answered, on the defensive, “You don’t understand, Martha. You don’t know Rose. She is better off with him than with me. Being part-human, he could offer her what I couldn’t.”
“To live his one life with her? Since I’m guessing he can’t regenerate – not being a full Time Lord.”
“Yes, the one life I can never have.”
“I can’t imagine you settling down and having kids. That’s just not you, but –“ Martha stopped, hesitant.
“What?”
“You didn’t give them a choice – Donna and Rose. You decided for them.”
The stricken look on his face said it all.
“I had to. I couldn’t let Donna die. And I gave Rose what she wanted. She just needs time to adjust – that’s all.”
Martha slapped him suddenly.
“Ow!” The Doctor cried, hand rubbing his sore cheek, “What was that for?”
“For being you. Honestly, thank goodness I’m still here to knock some sense into you. Hell if Jack would do it. Sometimes, I can’t stand how you handle things. For example, how you just let me walk out that door and you didn’t say a word.”
“Martha…”
Martha went on, not deigning to let the Doctor say a word just yet, “But I just realized something. You allowed me to decide whether I wanted to leave or not. I decided my fate – how my life would be like after you. How is that, Doctor? Did you not care enough that you just let me leave with only the usual thank you?”
He looked intensely at her, saying firmly, “I knew you were going to leave the moment you stepped inside the TARDIS. You had such a great life ahead of you – I knew you wouldn’t want to wait too long to qualify as a doctor and your family clearly needed you. Don’t you ever think I didn’t care about you. In fact, you were at the forefront of my thoughts during that Year. I was ashamed, Martha, of what I put you through. It was never my intention. You were literally the only hope we had. There was only so much I could do.”
Martha couldn’t bear to see the pained expression on his face.
She said quietly, “It’s all right, Doctor. I mean – after I left I just about went mad with the nightmares. I almost called you because I knew you could do something. Take those horrible memories away, but then I remembered that that Year wasn’t all bad. The spirit of the human race against impossible odds and those little moments of charity and kindness – it kept me going during that Year. I can’t forget that.”
“I would have, you know.” The Doctor said, looking at her intently as if he was offering to do it at that moment.
She shook her head, taking hold of his hand, “I’m not sure I trust your judgment after what you did to Donna. I’m fine, really. Everything I did with you – I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
“Even—"
“Let’s not get into 1913 again, shall we?” Martha cut in, knowing what he was going to say.
She’d already gone off on him quite a few times about her stay in Farringham 1913 and how he should never turn human again because he was a complete misery as one. Well, Martha was exaggerating a bit at the time (John Smith had fired her after all), but the Doctor definitely got the message. Hopefully.
The Doctor put his finger underneath her chin so she would look up at him, “How’s Tom? The Daleks didn’t get him, I hope?”
Martha shook her head, but stayed silent. He could tell there was something else going on, but he didn’t want to push.
Suddenly, there was a loud beeping sound in the console room that caused the Doctor to rush into action.
He went over to the console monitor, whipping it around so the screen was facing him.
“It’s a distress signal. We’re in orbit, Martha. I could try and see if I can do an override to drop you off.”
“Oh no, that’s all right. I think I’ll stay on board, if that’s fine with you.” Martha replied, sounding – the Doctor was almost positive – actually happy about doing so.
The Doctor just stared at her, “But last time, you yelled at me to take you back home.”
“A lot has happened in the past month, Doctor. Things can change in a blink of an eye. Sometimes it takes you a while to notice. That’s a bit of a pain. I visited Jack recently – charming as ever -- but honestly--” She said, her words almost bumping into each other as she spoke rather quickly.
The Doctor interrupted her, “Martha, is there a problem between you and Tom?”
Martha didn’t say anything right away. She just held on to the console for support as the ship shook with turbulence.
She grinned unexpectedly, “I’m running away.”
He raised his eyebrow, “The Martha Jones I know wouldn’t do that.”
“You wouldn’t know the half of it, Doctor. And you do it all the time. Don’t deny it. You can’t resist moving on and never looking back just in case you get more attached than you ever wanted to.”
“Martha – what’s wrong?”
She turned away from him, though he could see her quickly wiping at her eyes with her hand.
Martha looked back at him seeming to be more somber than before.
“Just give me this, all right? One trip – no questions.”
“You know how our one trips go…”
She smiled softly at him, “I’ll follow your lead then. Because sometimes, I think you need someone to look after you.”
He smiled back at her, “Well, all right then. Welcome back on board, Miss – or should I say – Doctor Jones.” The Doctor finished, winking at her – his pride in her achievement evident.
“It’s my pleasure, Mr. Smith.” Martha said, her smile lighting up her face.
The TARDIS hummed happily in the background, feeling contented with the knowledge that Martha Jones would look after him properly when she herself wasn’t near.
Fin