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FIC: Interlude After Midnight
Author: dk323
Rating: PG
Characters: Martha, Ten, Donna
Spoilers: Midnight
Disclaimer: Don’t own Doctor Who, just playing with its characters.
Summary: Martha finds the TARDIS parked in front of her home.
Author’s notes: After watching Midnight, I thought it would be interesting to have Martha find out what happened from Donna.
Martha could hear the familiar sound of whirring engines as she made her way home from a long day at UNIT.
She sighed - the TARDIS was parked right in front of her door effectively blocking her only way in.
Well, there was another entrance through the back, but if the Doctor had wanted to see her, then Martha decided to humor him. She was looking forward to seeing Donna again anyway.
She took out her TARDIS key to open the door, but the door flung open from the inside before Martha could stick the key into the hole.
And there was the Doctor, grinning a little too brightly at her and moving aside to let her in.
“Martha! Nice to see you again!” He said, his usual cheery self as he went over to the console.
Martha raised her eyebrow, “Don’t seem so surprised, Doctor. You’re the one who parked in front of my home. Is there any reason for the unexpected visit?”
She could see the Doctor scratch the back of his head as he concentrated on the console monitor.
He didn’t say anything to her, just muttered distractedly, “That’s weird,” to something on the monitor.
“Doctor, I was talking to you…”
Still nothing.
“All right then. Is Donna around?”
The Doctor only pointed his finger straight ahead, “In the kitchen having tea.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Martha started to make her way in that direction, but then she decided to ask one more question. Though the Doctor seemed all right, Martha was getting an unsettling feeling that something was wrong.
“What about my hug then?” She ventured. Not too much to ask and she knew far too well how he was with personal questions.
The Doctor smiled warmly at her and wrapped his arms around her easily.
Martha sighed – she never grew tired of these hugs.
“I’ve missed my Doctor.” He murmured, still hugging her tightly.
“It’s good to see you again, Mr. Smith.” Martha said, smiling lightly at the Doctor as she pulled back.
“Smith and Jones. To the end.” He said quietly, brushing a loose strand of hair from Martha’s face.
“You all right, Doctor?” She asked gently.
“Oh yes. Now, I have things to do and somewhere the tea’s getting cold...”
Martha nodded, “I’ll go see Donna. And keep the TARDIS here, will you? No unexpected trips to alien planets, hear me?”
“Nah, wouldn’t dream of it.” The Doctor replied dismissively.
Martha looked back at the Doctor as he moved aside the console grating and climbed down, sonic screwdriver in his teeth.
She shook her head and went toward the kitchen.
Martha found Donna seated at the kitchen table, absentmindedly stirring her tea. She looked up when she saw Martha enter.
“Hey Martha.” Donna said, smiling as she stood up to give her a hug.
“It’s great to see you again. Any more tea left?” Martha asked after they pulled back from the hug.
“Oh, of course. You’re the guest, how rude of me.” She said quickly and went to get another cup of tea ready.
“One milk, two sugars please by the way.” Martha put in before Donna could ask.
Once Donna had given Martha her tea and took her seat across from her, there were a few minutes of silence as they drank their tea.
Martha decided to voice what was on her mind, “How’s the Doctor doing? He hadn’t told me why you made a pit stop at my place.”
Donna took a sip of her tea then looked at Martha, “It was the Doctor’s idea. After what happened, I think he feels somewhat guilty for not being much for company.”
“What happened? If I may ask…” Martha asked lightly.
Donna waved her hand, “Oh, I wasn’t there. Unfortunately or fortunately, not sure which. Sort of feel guilty for not being there to look after him. Can you imagine? The one time I choose not to go somewhere with Martian boy and he ends up in deep trouble?”
Martha chuckled, “More so than usual, I’m guessing?”
“It’s better I start from the beginning. We were in the future taking a much-needed break after – well, let’s just say I’ll never look at libraries the same way again – but anyway, so we were at the
“So where did it go wrong?” Martha wondered.
Donna smirked, reminiscing, “Well you know the Doctor - he can’t sit still for too long. Heard about a bus trip to this tourist attraction called Sapphire Waterfall. Said nothing bad could possibly happen. He wanted me to come along, but I just wanted to have a nice, relaxing time.”
“You needed a break from the running?” Martha put in, cheekily.
Donna rolled her eyes, “And the danger, trouble, and general mayhem. Don’t tell the Doctor this, but I had a nagging worry that something bad would happen if I went with him. ‘Cause isn’t it always like that?”
Martha nodded, “Trouble does seem to follow the Doctor around. I suppose that it’s part of the job description for being his Companion: Be willing and resourceful enough to help the Doctor out – or at least get him out of the mess he usually gets himself in.”
“We should write a Companions handbook.”
“Oh, it’s seriously overdue.” Martha agreed.
“Look at me, can’t keep to the story.” Donna commented.
“Continue please. I promise I won’t interrupt.”
“All right, well, so he went on the bus while I stayed behind. It wasn’t too long before I heard people whispering urgently about the bus to Waterfall requesting for rescue. Something had gone wrong.”
Donna took a deep breath and continued, “About an hour later, I met the Doctor as he came back. Oh Martha, you should have seen him. He looked miserable. Like he didn’t know what to do with himself. I just hugged him – no words because I didn’t know what to say – but just a hug. And then he told me what had happened.”
She shuddered involuntarily, and Martha placed her hand over hers, “It’s okay. It’s not your fault, Donna. Talking about this will help, trust me.”
“There was this unknown life form that managed to get inside of the bus. The Doctor wasn’t even sure what it was. It didn’t take long to inhabit one of the passengers onboard, a woman named Sky. The life form had rendered her incapacitated and only able to repeat the words of the others onboard.”
“Don’t tell me that –“ Martha began, warily.
“Yes, though the Doctor is an alien – he wasn’t immune.” Donna admitted.
“And you weren’t there…what about the other passengers?”
Donna looked down, “They felt threatened by him, according to the Doctor. Apparently his unwillingness to reveal personal things about himself gave him a big disadvantage.”
Martha gasped, “Oh no. Did they hurt him?”
Donna looked at Martha straight in the eye, “Apparently the others believed that he was in league with the life form because he kept interacting with it. And he had gone to talk to the pilot and mechanic soon before the life form vaporized them. Very suspicious, of course, to people who are already in a panic. Then things took an even darker turn when the life form decided to target the Doctor. It had stopped echoing the other’s words except for his. And then he gave it an opening by going near it and engaging it. That’s when it stole his voice.” She finished, rubbing her forehead tiredly.
“So he couldn’t move like Sky?”
Donna nodded, “Sky – who could move just fine once the Doctor was taken - was able to trick the passengers by suggesting that they throw him out of the bus. That the Doctor was the real threat, that everything would be all right once he was gone.”
“And the Doctor couldn’t talk, couldn’t move…” Martha said softly.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing. He was at the mercy of a panicked mob led by the person who was the real threat. The others didn’t realize it. If only I had been there – I could have knocked some sense into them!”
“What happened then?” Martha prodded gently, squeezing Donna’s hand.
“The Doctor said that he was trying to regain control – but it was so hard – and for a few minutes there he was positive he would have been a goner.”
“Oh Doctor.” Martha murmured sympathetically. She couldn’t bear to see him in pain – his possession by the Sun immediately came to mind.
Donna gave a half-smile, “Luckily the hostess realized who was the real threat and threw Sky out of the bus. Unfortunately, the hostess went with her – sacrificing herself.”
“That’s dreadful. And the Doctor was all right after that?”
“Yeah, whatever it was left him.” Donna said, though Martha felt that there was more to it.
The Doctor always said he was all right, but it didn’t mean it was the truth.
Donna moved her hand to curl around her tea cup, “I could see it in his eyes, his face. And then I said something. A harmless word, a phrase he likes to use, and he just froze on me. He never explained why he reacted like that. All I did was say, “Molto bene,” after he said it…and then he told me not to do that like I had sworn at him or something.”
Martha looked thoughtful, “Did the Doctor ever do that thing with you when you tried to say something clever and ‘with the times’, and he said not to do that? It happened to me when we visited Shakespeare.”
Donna nodded slowly, “Yeah, when we popped in to see Agatha Christie. I wanted to sound posh and the Doctor was – well like you said. But what does that have to do with anything?” Her voice trailed off.
“Just reminded me of that – cursory trip down memory lane, sorry. Anyway, we don’t have much to go on, but if the life form stole his voice, then it must have stolen his words. Shot his favorite phrases back at him. Enough to leave a bad taste in one’s mouth, I suppose.” Martha mused.
“He didn’t seem serious when he said it before, but now things have changed.” Donna said, realization dawning on her.
“Just a bit.” Martha replied, just as the floor rumbled beneath them.
“Uh oh.” Donna looked warily at the other woman knowing what she was thinking.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Martha exclaimed and abruptly stood up and rushed out of the kitchen.
She nearly collided with the Doctor who grabbed her arms to hold her back.
“What part of “keep the TARDIS here” did you not understand?” She said, a stern expression on her face.
The Doctor only grinned at her, “This isn’t an unexpected trip since I planned it nor is it an alien planet. See, I listened.” He waved two fingers at her to emphasize his point.
He beckoned the other two to follow him as he turned around to head back into the console room.
Martha looked back at Donna, whispering, “Don’t know how I lasted with him.”
Donna snorted, “You’re telling me.”
“Oi! Hurry up you two! And don’t think I can’t hear what you’re saying!” The Doctor called back to them.
A few minutes later, Donna and Martha were sitting (a bit precariously) on the edge of the ramp, the TARDIS doors wide open and only the ship’s force field protecting their lower extremities.
The Doctor kneeled behind them in the middle, both arms around each companion.
“What do you think?” He asked quietly.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Lovely. Really something.”
He smiled, pleased.
“Hey, hold on. What’s a bee doing there?” Martha asked, pointing it out to the other two.
“Get away from the doors!” The Doctor said, alarmed as a swarm of bees joined the lone bee.
Martha and Donna quickly scrambled away from the doors and the Doctor slammed the doors shut, breathing heavily.
“You have got to be kidding me! “ Donna exclaimed in disbelief.
The Doctor, back still to the door, tugged on his ear, looking deep in thought.
“I think now I should be getting back. Don’t you think, Doctor?” Martha voiced, standing up.
“Yes, right. Sorry about the bees. Not sure how that happened. I suppose you were right, Donna.” He said as he made his way over to the console to set the coordinates.
“Except why were they in space and coming right at us?” Donna asked, still frustrated as she went nearer the console.
Nevertheless, the Doctor was paying more attention to piloting the TARDIS than to what she was saying.
“That’s
“Ah, sorry. Accidentally set it for Planet of the Giant Insects.” He said jokingly.
Donna lightly slapped him on the arm, “I’ve seen enough giant insects for a lifetime, mister. Now listen to the only real doctor around here.”
The Doctor raised his eyebrow at her and Martha couldn’t help but grin at Donna.
“Yeah, you heard her.” Martha said, pretending to be stern.
He looked back and forth between the two of them and said, “You two scare me sometimes.”
The two companions looked at each other mischievously before they went on either side of the Doctor and hugged him tightly.
“You’re welcome.” Donna and Martha said in unison.
About ten minutes later, the TARDIS landed near Martha’s home.
After Donna hugged Martha goodbye with hopes to meet up in the near future, the Doctor insisted on walking the short distance to her place.
They walked in silence, hand in hand.
When they were in front of Martha’s place, the Doctor spoke, “Thanks for visiting the TARDIS. She missed you.”
Martha smiled, “I missed her too.”
“Donna told you what happened, didn’t she?”
Martha bit her lip, and said softly, “Yeah, I’m sorry. It sounded horrible. If there is anything I could do or say to help…I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
The Doctor sighed, “Just being you, Doctor Martha Jones, is enough for me. You’re amazing, don’t you forget that. I know I could always count on you.” He grinned at her.
“Thanks for stopping by. I’ll be seeing you soon, I’m sure?” Martha asked, trying to sound in no way anxious for the next visit.
“If Time will allow. Whole universe to see and explore. There never seems to be enough time. You should know, Martha.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. All the same, be careful. Make sure you let Donna look after you properly. No more having her drink tea alone and fetching me just so she’d have someone to talk to.” She told him seriously.
“I didn’t –“ The Doctor started, but knew she was telling the truth. Futile to argue, really.
Martha just hugged him in response.
The Doctor returned the hug, holding on to his former companion a little longer than usual.
“I have to go.” Martha whispered, extracting herself from the hug.
“Good-bye, Martha Jones.”
“Yeah, good-bye. Here’s to hoping the next time we meet it won’t involve an alien invasion.”
The Doctor grinned, “Care to bet on that?”
“No, it would jinx it.” She answered reasonably.
He saluted her, then waved before he turned around and headed back to the TARDIS.
Martha smiled to herself. The Doctor would be all right, she was sure of it. She trusted Donna. The Doctor seemed to have a knack for choosing only the best.
As she opened the front door to let herself in, Martha felt comforted by the sound of the TARDIS’s engines as the ship left her quiet block and off to extraordinary places.
But Martha was grateful for the life she had made for herself here on Earth. It certainly made it easier each time the Doctor came and went.
And for that, she was glad.
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I agree. :-) Martha has gone through a lot, and could definitely speak from experience. Not to mention she's a doctor as well.
I was thinking of actually writing a Ten,Donna,Martha fic wherein they have that dinner at the anti-gravity restaurant, just a bit of fluff/crack but eh, we'll see what muses demand :p
That would be worth a read!