FIC: This Time Around

[dk323]

Title: This Time Around

Author: dk323

Rating: PG-13

Characters/Pairings: Ten/Martha

Spoilers: Post Human Nature/Family of Blood

Disclaimer: Don’t own Doctor Who, just playing with its characters.

Summary: AU! Martha decides to go back home.

Author’s notes: I finally made a story out of this. I had trouble deciding where to take the fic after Martha leaves, but my previous story ‘This is where we start from’ inspired me a bit. Now I must try to get working on an actual multi-chapter fic. Hopefully that’ll work out. Enjoy! Comments are love. :-)

“I want to go home,” Martha said quietly, looking up at the Doctor.

 

The Doctor kept his eyes on the console. He knew he had asked too much of her this time: to look after his human self in 1913 as a maid with no support but from the TARDIS. He just had hoped she would give him another chance to make it up to her…anything. Her pick.

 

He had only pushed Martha away because of his guilt of losing Rose. That if he grew close to the companion after her, he would be disrespecting her memory. But he could not deny that Martha Jones was brilliant – now if he could just tell her that. Would it make any difference though? After the hardship she went through in 1913?

 

“If that’s what you want.” He finally said.

 

Martha went over to him, placing her hand on top of his, “It’s been amazing. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. But I need to get back to my life. And I just can’t stay when I feel like I’m second best. You’re hot and cold with me, Doctor. I need to get out.”

 

The Doctor nodded, “Right.” And then he set to work on getting the ship back into the time vortex.

 

Martha sighed, knowing it was a bit too optimistic to expect the Doctor to say anything more to her. She hoped that once she got back to her life – her family and her studies to become a proper doctor – that her feelings for him would fade away. She didn’t know why she felt the way she did for him – it was irrational and more often than not frustrating with the way he acted toward her. It just wasn’t worth it anymore.

 

And anyway, she didn’t ask him to come back for her to invite her for just one trip. She didn’t ask him to kiss her at the hospital, even though he only did so to stall the Judoon. Yeah, right. That was one way to wave the incident away.

 

The TARDIS landed with a loud thump.

 

“Ah, there we go.” The Doctor announced.

 

Martha gave him a fake smile, “Great. Well, I’ll be off then.”

 

She went down the railing and opened the door, but the Doctor’s voice caused her to stop.

 

“Martha, wait,” He called, running down the railing to catch up to her.

 

Martha looked back at him questioningly. What was it now?

 

“I can’t let you leave like this.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You were never second best, Martha Jones. You were brilliant in fact. I’m so, so sorry I’ve waited this long to tell you.”

 

“Okay…um, thank you.” Martha said, uncertain how to respond.

 

“That’s it? Just a ‘thank you’? Is that all I get?”

 

She put her hands on her hips, giving him an exasperated look, “Look who’s talking. But really, I’m still going to go. This game we’re playing – I’m out. Game over. I appreciated seeing all of time and space, but I’ve got to end this before…well, something happens that I can’t cope with. And believe me, Doctor – Farringham came awfully close. I’m sorry, but I have to do this for me. I’m only human, after all.”

 

Without waiting for a response, Martha moved to open the door but, once again, the Doctor’s voice halted her action. She turned around and looked at him expectantly.

 

“Martha, I don’t want you to go.” He said quietly though Martha thought she heard of note of panic in his voice.

 

She took a deep breath and said firmly, “I need to go for my own sanity, all right? And well – look at my hands, Doctor.”

 

The Doctor looked at her quizzically as he took her hands in his and examined them.

 

They were still rough and callused from her manual labor as a maid in Farringham 1913.

 

He looked directly into her eyes and said earnestly, “I can fix this. I have a lotion that’ll help with it – instant results.”

 

Martha smiled weakly at him, but shook her head, “That’s just it, isn’t it? The little things can always be fixed, but it’s the big things that elude us.”

 

The Doctor let go of her hands and ruffled his hair in frustration, “What do you want me to say or do to keep you on board?”

 

“Nothing. I appreciate the compliments, but I just need to go.”

 

And before the Doctor could do or say anything, Martha Jones opened the door and left the TARDIS.

 

It was far too soon.

 

It wasn’t fair.

 

He bowed his head at the console, not knowing what to do with myself.

 

The TARDIS hummed a reproach when the Doctor kicked the console in sheer frustration. But then he ended up hopping about, his foot in obvious pain.

 

Well, that was completely pointless, he thought.

 

Placing both of his elbows atop the console, he stared at the central column pensively.

 

“What about a week later? Is that long enough for her to reconsider?” He wondered aloud.

 

The TARDIS hummed in answer inside the Doctor’s head, “You’re hopeless. Just get on with it.”

 

The Doctor took her response as a yes and started rushing about – preparing for take off, “Right then! Allons-y!”

 

A week later in Martha’s timeline…

 

Martha smiled politely at her date for the evening. She should never let Tish set up blind dates for her. She was fully capable at choosing her own dates, thank you very much.

 

But Tish’s intentions were good at heart – she just wanted Martha to have someone. And maybe a more active social life while she was at it. Martha still didn’t see what was wrong with devoting her time to her studies to become a doctor. She was good at it, after all. Why not play to her strengths?

 

And either way, after her stint with the Doctor, the last thing she wanted to think about was getting emotionally involved with a bloke. Alien or human…

 

“Martha – look ahead,” Her date – Henry something or other – pointed out to her.

 

She looked to where he was pointing, and groaned.

 

“Let’s just go the other way, shall we?”

 

He looked at her strangely, “Why? Do you know that man?”

 

“Just an old friend. The friendship ended on bad terms, you know how it is.”

 

“He was staring at you. I think he wants to talk…”

 

Bloody blind date was too smart for his own good, Martha thought.

 

Before she could make a move toward the Doctor, he had walked to them.

 

“Hello, Martha,” He said as he placed his arm around her shoulders.

 

The Doctor, rather unnecessarily Martha thought, stared her date down as if he were a bug.

 

“I can tell when I’m not wanted. Goodbye, Martha. I had a nice time, but I suppose it wasn’t meant to be?” Henry said, winking at her.

 

“My whole life – a tragedy in three parts,” Martha said, making a face.

 

He laughed, “Good luck with everything.”

 

“Yeah, I think I’m going to need it.”

 

After Henry left, the Doctor gave her his trademark grin and swept her up in a big hug - lifting her up in the process and spinning her around.

 

“What do you have up your sleeve, Doctor?” She asked him as he put her down and stood back just a bit to give her some space.

 

“I don’t know what you mean, Martha.” He gave her an innocent look, but he wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all one Martha Jones.

 

“You want to convince me to travel with you again? Am I right? Or did you find a replacement for me?”

 

The Doctor looked at her in exasperation, “Martha Jones – I’m ashamed you would even think I’d find a replacement so soon. I came straight here. No stops in between.”

 

Martha decided to overlook the fact that he didn’t confirm or deny her first question.

 

She stared wide-eyed at him, “You time traveled to a week later in my timeline? You didn’t even give yourself any time to think things through? To, I don’t know, accept my decision?”

 

He looked sadly at her, “I want my Doctor back.”

 

“I’m not a doctor yet.” She pointed out.

 

The Doctor looked right into her eyes, “I’m a Time Lord. Trust me, I know these things.”

 

“If you’ve been skipping around in my timeline…”

 

“I just know, Martha.”

 

“All right. I’ll take your word for it. Now is there something you wanted to tell me? Otherwise, I have to be on my way.”

 

“You said that nothing would persuade you to come back to me.”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“What if – I just appreciate you like I should have from the very start? Because I do care about you, Martha. I only take the very best to travel with me. And you’re right up there – never doubt that. I trusted you with my life, Martha. And I’ve never entrusted a companion with the task of looking after my human self. I wish I hadn’t forced that on you, but you pulled through. As always, you’ve been a star. Just brilliant.”

 

Martha sighed, thinking his words over. Maybe her days traveling time and space weren’t over? She could feel a tingling within her, urging her to go back to her old, fantastical life traveling with an alien.

 

She nodded, “Okay, I’ll come back on board. I can’t deny I didn’t miss being your companion.”

 

“Just the answer I was hoping for! Martha Jones, this way…” He said, offering her his arm, which she slipped her arm through easily.

 

Once they reached the TARDIS, the Doctor spoke before he opened the doors, “There’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while…”

 

Martha looked at him questioningly before he leaned in, his hands holding her face – just like on the Moon -- and he kissed her. Just like that, right in front of his beloved ship.

 

“I’m guessing that wasn’t a genetic transfer?” She whispered, looking up at him afterwards.

It definitely felt different than the genetic transfer – a very good, ‘I think I’m on cloud nine’ different, Martha thought.

 

The Doctor shook his head, “No, it most definitely was not a genetic transfer. I never gave you a proper hello kiss, did I?”

 

Martha smirked at him, “Is this a tradition you do with all your companions? Even the males?” At her last comment, she had a mischievous look on her face.

 

Because if blokes thought two girls kissing was hot, then why not the other way around? Especially when they were attractive…

 

He only stared at her, “What goes on in that head of yours, Miss Jones? And no, it is not a tradition, as you say, but I just—oh sod it – you’re a very pretty woman and this body is uh…excitable, you could say.”

 

Martha quickly figured out what he meant and she couldn’t help but giggle at the embarrassed, ‘poor puppy’ look on his face.

 

“Thank you, Doctor. I assure you that I’ll keep you in check. No use having too much excitement – not good for the health…”

 

Martha winked at him before she entered the TARDIS. Meanwhile, the Doctor stayed where he was and wondered why he felt hoodwinked. He had a bad feeling that he had given away too much information. That wouldn’t bode well for him, he was sure.

 

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and quickly entered the TARDIS and went straight toward the console.

 

The Doctor couldn’t ignore his companion’s intrigued expression as she watched him from her seat.

 

He cleared his throat and looked in her direction when he asked, “Would you like to see the moon landing, Martha?”

 

“Yes, that would be fantastic.” She answered, smiling at him, her dark eyes sparkling.

 

“Allons-y!” The Doctor exclaimed as he practically danced around the console to prepare the TARDIS for its return to the vortex.

 

Martha smiled at his enthusiasm – for the moment soaking it all in.

 

Back in the TARDIS. Smith and Jones. Traveling through time and space.

 

And having a ball…

 

This time, she hoped, things between them would be different.

 

Maybe hope was all she needed…