Fic: When Jimmy Met Martha ch. 4
Title: When Jimmy Met Martha
Disclaimer: They ain’t mine. Don’t sue.
Rating: PG-13 to R for language and innuendo and violence.
Genre: Drama, Humor, and other such things.
Characters: Ten/Rose, Jack, Martha, Torchwood, Mickey, Jake, Jimmy, and others.
Beta: Thanks, Dettiot!
A/N: This serves as the direct sequel to Rainy Day Woman
Summary: Life in his new universe proves to be interesting for Jimmy Stone, to say the least, and the Doctor and Rose are back to traveling, though the Doctor’s sudden urge for shiny rings and cake may make things more complicated than anyone thinks.
Martha’s eyes nearly fell out of her head as she listened to Rose talk to Jack. They hadn’t closed the door to his office.
“I’m just afraid he might regret it,” Rose said. “Ever since we found each other again I just…I need to be careful. We can’t rush into things like this. He wants to rush into rebellions and nefarious plots, I’ll be right there with him…But…when it comes to us…our relationship…I’m scared, Jack.”
“It’s reasonable to want to take things slow,” Jack said. “But while you were gone, a lot happened.”
Martha got up from her desk and walked towards the door.
“A lot that he still won’t tell me about,” Rose said. “I keep asking and he keeps dodging.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“Fine. It’s accurate, but it doesn’t change the fact that I need to know what happened.”
“That’s easy,” Martha said, leaning in the door. “The Master showed up, took over the Earth, imprisoned the Doctor and had all of us by the throat. I saved the world, the Doctor took us back so that the entire year never happened and the only people who remember it are Me, Jack, my family and the Doctor.”
Rose and Jack stared at her. Jack in annoyance and Rose in shock.
“Martha…”
“Who’s the Master?” Rose asked.
“Time Lord,” Martha replied.
“But…they’re all-“
“They are now,” Martha cut her off. “If you ask me you’re being an idiot.”
“I’m what?” Rose snapped.
“Probably the most brilliant person in the whole universe asks you to marry him and you say no?”
Rose got to her feet. “He didn’t give me the chance to give him an answer. And it’s really not any of your business whether I say yes or no.”
“He’s my friend.”
Jack got to his feet and took Rose by the arm. “Out.”
“Oi!”
He gently pushed her out the door and then shut it, before turning to Martha. “What are you doing?”
Martha crossed her arms.
“Look,” Jack sighed. “I know you’ve still got a thing for him…I know it’s hard to see them together, sometimes it’s hard for me, too. But it’s not your place to tell Rose about the year that never was.”
“Why not? It’s not like he’s going to.”
“But it’s not your place,” Jack reiterated. “He has to be able to do this stuff in his time, in his own way, and you know it.” He eyed her warily. “Unless you’re trying to sabotage them.”
“I’m not!” she said quickly. “I just…If he asked me to marry him-“
“But he asked Rose,” Jack said. “And Rose has a complete different set of baggage. She also knows him better than any of us. The fact that she’s not jumping headfirst into this is a good thing…something I was counting on.”
“What?”
“If he really wants this, they’ll work it out, and it’ll happen,” Jack explained. “And if he doesn’t, Rose is saving them both a whole lot of heartache.”
Martha sighed heavily and glanced out of the office window into the hub. Rose was sitting on the couch, talking to Jimmy.
“She has all of you wrapped around her bloody finger,” Martha said quietly. “You, and the Doctor, and Jimmy and Mickey…”
“If anything Jimmy has Rose wrapped around his finger,” Jack grinned. “As for the rest of us, you’re probably right.”
Martha looked back at Jack. “What d’you mean…about Jimmy, I mean?”
“Rose feels guilty about Jimmy.”
Martha narrowed her eyes.
Jack sighed. “Jimmy…the one from this universe…was Rose’s ex-boyfriend.”
Martha’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “And he abused her.”
“So…she feels guilty…?”
“Because he was a drunk and a junkie, and she couldn’t change him,” Jack said. “She couldn’t save him.”
Martha shook her head. “That’s crazy.”
“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “She met this Jimmy in the other universe, and found him cleaner, if not saner, and took to him. Decided to be his friend.”
“They don’t act like friends,” Martha muttered. “They insult each other all the time.”
“That’s just them,” Jack grinned. “But you were on the TARDIS when they saved Jimmy’s ass, the Doctor told me as much. What he didn’t tell you is that Rose practically begged him to go get Jimmy, because the Doctor was pretty satisfied to leave him there for a couple of months.”
Martha shook her head. “There’s gotta be more to it than that,” she said. “Our Jimmy is a whole different person from the one from this universe…”
Jack nodded. “You remember the Cybermen?”
A chill ran up her spine at the mention of the creatures that had killed her cousin. “Yes.”
“They killed his parents,” Jack said factually.
Martha stared at Jack, and then out at Jimmy and Rose. “That’s awful…”
“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “Especially since rumor has it he was a whole lot saner before it happened.” He sat back at his desk and looked down at his paperwork. “Afterwards, he set the main headquarters of Cybus Industries on fire, and got carted off to jail. He got out shortly after Rose was trapped in that universe.”
Martha didn’t say anything for a long moment. “What about Jimmy? Doesn’t he feel guilty about the way his double treated Rose?”
“Yeah,” Jack snorted. “That’s probably why he killed him, other than pure disgust for the way the guy was living his life.”
Martha bit her lip and glanced back out the window.
*****
“They’re still alive here,” Jimmy said as he slumped down on the couch next to Rose.
“Yeah, I know,” Rose nodded.
“I wanna see ‘em.”
Rose closed her eyes. “We’ve discussed this. They’re not your parents, Jimmy. And you’re not their son.”
“I could be.” He turned to her. “We…we’ll tell them…I went to rehab. That I’ve cleaned up, and I’ve turned my life around, and they’ll believe I’m him. They will, Rose.”
She gave him a sad look. “Jim…it’s not a good idea…”
“It is! It’s a brilliant idea!”
“Jimmy, he did a lot more damage than a supposed trip to rehab is ever going to repair,” Rose said.
“You could come with me to see them.”
“No,” Rose said firmly. “No, I can’t. I’ve got to fix things with the Doctor. And I’ve got to figure out a way to get Martha to like me before she starts throwing knives at a picture of my face.”
“Ah, Martha’s just jealous that you’re shagging the big alien wanker,” Jimmy said, waving it off.
“He’s not a wanker!”
Jimmy grinned. “Please Rose? Please?”
She sighed heavily. “We can’t just spring ourselves on them…maybe we should have Martha call them and pretend to be your doctor or something…”
“She can pretend to be my doctor any time,” Jimmy chuckled.
She slapped his arm, and he chuckled again.
“You really turned down the Doc’s proposal?”
Rose sighed heavily and closed her eyes. “No. I didn’t get a chance to say yes or no before he assumed I was saying no and stormed out of the console room.”
“You wanna marry him,” Jimmy said.
“I wanna marry him for the right reasons,” she replied. “I want him to want this for the right reasons.” She sat back and crossed her arms.
He gave her an incredulous look. “Men are cowards. Especially ones with instant get-away cars. The fact that he asked you at all should be reason enough to say yes.”
“He only asked cause he’s afraid of losing me.”
“Why shouldn’t he be afraid, Tyler?” Jimmy scoffed. “Never mind the fact that you’ve only got roughly seventy more years on this earth, and he’s probably got thousands. Look at the kind of work you do. Look at the trouble you get in. Look at all the close calls. He should be afraid.”
Rose didn’t reply.
“Stop being a bitch and marry the poor bugger.”
“Oi!”
“If the leash fits!”
“You keep it up, you can forget about my helping you out.”
He pouted.
Rose grinned a little.
Jimmy shook his head. “Go back up to that TARDIS, put that ring on and shag him before he mopes himself to death. I don’t want to see you until well past midday tomorrow.”
She quirked an eyebrow.
“I mean it! Someone should be getting laid round here…even if it isn’t me.”
Rose pursed her lips. “Jimmy?”
“Hm.”
“Do you really like Martha?” she asked. “I mean…I know you flirt and hit on everything within a ten mile radius, but…really?”
Jimmy sighed and sat back.
“You do, don’t you.”
He gave a pained look. “Don’t tell her. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
Rose smiled and got to her feet. “You might want to try being nice to her.” She reached out to muss his hair, but her fingers snagged on the gel-covered coif. “Gross!”
Jimmy smirked. “That’s what you get for touching my hair.”
****
When she got back to the TARDIS, all seemed quiet. She was relieved to find one of the service hatches in the grating open. Obviously, the Doctor was trying to keep himself busy.
“Hello?” she asked quietly.
She got no answer.
Rose sighed and walked over to sit down next to the hatch, looking down. There was the Doctor, concentrating on a tangled web of wires, sonic screwdriver out and ready to do some work.
“Hi.”
He didn’t reply.
She bit her lip. “Planning on ever talking to me again?”
Still, he didn’t reply. He merely kept working.
“You didn’t give me a chance to answer you,” Rose said. “I never said no.”
“You didn’t exactly say yes.”
“That’s not-“
“Questioning my motives in asking you to marry me isn’t a yes,” he interrupted.
“It’s not a no.”
“I don’t know about that,” he muttered.
“I was scared!” she cried. “Still am.”
“Of what?”
“Of waking up one day to find that you’ve realized you’ve made a mistake,” she blurted out. “You’ve never talked about wanting to get married before, and you’ve said that you’re rubbish at weddings.”
The Doctor gave a long sigh and slid out from under the console, sitting up in the service hatch. “Have you completely forgotten about what we’ve been through? Rose Tyler, I ripped open reality for you. You left your whole family behind for me. Is this…jogging some sort of memory?”
Rose blushed.
He shrugged. “And just because I haven’t talked about getting married doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it…how could I not, after Nigel was ready to drag you kicking and screaming down the aisle?”
She smiled the tiniest bit. “And…being rubbish at weddings…?”
He smiled fully. “My first wedding was Gallifreyan. Ceremony lasted twenty-seven hours. You’d be rubbish at it, too.”
Her smile widened.
The Doctor reached into his jacket pocket and produced the ring box again, holding it out her.
Rose took the box carefully and opened it again, looking at the perfect diamond, shining off of the green and gold lights of the TARDIS. She pursed her lips and then took the ring out and put it on.
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Is that a yes?”
She smiled again.
Disclaimer: They ain’t mine. Don’t sue.
Rating: PG-13 to R for language and innuendo and violence.
Genre: Drama, Humor, and other such things.
Characters: Ten/Rose, Jack, Martha, Torchwood, Mickey, Jake, Jimmy, and others.
Beta: Thanks, Dettiot!
A/N: This serves as the direct sequel to Rainy Day Woman
Summary: Life in his new universe proves to be interesting for Jimmy Stone, to say the least, and the Doctor and Rose are back to traveling, though the Doctor’s sudden urge for shiny rings and cake may make things more complicated than anyone thinks.
Martha’s eyes nearly fell out of her head as she listened to Rose talk to Jack. They hadn’t closed the door to his office.
“I’m just afraid he might regret it,” Rose said. “Ever since we found each other again I just…I need to be careful. We can’t rush into things like this. He wants to rush into rebellions and nefarious plots, I’ll be right there with him…But…when it comes to us…our relationship…I’m scared, Jack.”
“It’s reasonable to want to take things slow,” Jack said. “But while you were gone, a lot happened.”
Martha got up from her desk and walked towards the door.
“A lot that he still won’t tell me about,” Rose said. “I keep asking and he keeps dodging.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“Fine. It’s accurate, but it doesn’t change the fact that I need to know what happened.”
“That’s easy,” Martha said, leaning in the door. “The Master showed up, took over the Earth, imprisoned the Doctor and had all of us by the throat. I saved the world, the Doctor took us back so that the entire year never happened and the only people who remember it are Me, Jack, my family and the Doctor.”
Rose and Jack stared at her. Jack in annoyance and Rose in shock.
“Martha…”
“Who’s the Master?” Rose asked.
“Time Lord,” Martha replied.
“But…they’re all-“
“They are now,” Martha cut her off. “If you ask me you’re being an idiot.”
“I’m what?” Rose snapped.
“Probably the most brilliant person in the whole universe asks you to marry him and you say no?”
Rose got to her feet. “He didn’t give me the chance to give him an answer. And it’s really not any of your business whether I say yes or no.”
“He’s my friend.”
Jack got to his feet and took Rose by the arm. “Out.”
“Oi!”
He gently pushed her out the door and then shut it, before turning to Martha. “What are you doing?”
Martha crossed her arms.
“Look,” Jack sighed. “I know you’ve still got a thing for him…I know it’s hard to see them together, sometimes it’s hard for me, too. But it’s not your place to tell Rose about the year that never was.”
“Why not? It’s not like he’s going to.”
“But it’s not your place,” Jack reiterated. “He has to be able to do this stuff in his time, in his own way, and you know it.” He eyed her warily. “Unless you’re trying to sabotage them.”
“I’m not!” she said quickly. “I just…If he asked me to marry him-“
“But he asked Rose,” Jack said. “And Rose has a complete different set of baggage. She also knows him better than any of us. The fact that she’s not jumping headfirst into this is a good thing…something I was counting on.”
“What?”
“If he really wants this, they’ll work it out, and it’ll happen,” Jack explained. “And if he doesn’t, Rose is saving them both a whole lot of heartache.”
Martha sighed heavily and glanced out of the office window into the hub. Rose was sitting on the couch, talking to Jimmy.
“She has all of you wrapped around her bloody finger,” Martha said quietly. “You, and the Doctor, and Jimmy and Mickey…”
“If anything Jimmy has Rose wrapped around his finger,” Jack grinned. “As for the rest of us, you’re probably right.”
Martha looked back at Jack. “What d’you mean…about Jimmy, I mean?”
“Rose feels guilty about Jimmy.”
Martha narrowed her eyes.
Jack sighed. “Jimmy…the one from this universe…was Rose’s ex-boyfriend.”
Martha’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “And he abused her.”
“So…she feels guilty…?”
“Because he was a drunk and a junkie, and she couldn’t change him,” Jack said. “She couldn’t save him.”
Martha shook her head. “That’s crazy.”
“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “She met this Jimmy in the other universe, and found him cleaner, if not saner, and took to him. Decided to be his friend.”
“They don’t act like friends,” Martha muttered. “They insult each other all the time.”
“That’s just them,” Jack grinned. “But you were on the TARDIS when they saved Jimmy’s ass, the Doctor told me as much. What he didn’t tell you is that Rose practically begged him to go get Jimmy, because the Doctor was pretty satisfied to leave him there for a couple of months.”
Martha shook her head. “There’s gotta be more to it than that,” she said. “Our Jimmy is a whole different person from the one from this universe…”
Jack nodded. “You remember the Cybermen?”
A chill ran up her spine at the mention of the creatures that had killed her cousin. “Yes.”
“They killed his parents,” Jack said factually.
Martha stared at Jack, and then out at Jimmy and Rose. “That’s awful…”
“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “Especially since rumor has it he was a whole lot saner before it happened.” He sat back at his desk and looked down at his paperwork. “Afterwards, he set the main headquarters of Cybus Industries on fire, and got carted off to jail. He got out shortly after Rose was trapped in that universe.”
Martha didn’t say anything for a long moment. “What about Jimmy? Doesn’t he feel guilty about the way his double treated Rose?”
“Yeah,” Jack snorted. “That’s probably why he killed him, other than pure disgust for the way the guy was living his life.”
Martha bit her lip and glanced back out the window.
*****
“They’re still alive here,” Jimmy said as he slumped down on the couch next to Rose.
“Yeah, I know,” Rose nodded.
“I wanna see ‘em.”
Rose closed her eyes. “We’ve discussed this. They’re not your parents, Jimmy. And you’re not their son.”
“I could be.” He turned to her. “We…we’ll tell them…I went to rehab. That I’ve cleaned up, and I’ve turned my life around, and they’ll believe I’m him. They will, Rose.”
She gave him a sad look. “Jim…it’s not a good idea…”
“It is! It’s a brilliant idea!”
“Jimmy, he did a lot more damage than a supposed trip to rehab is ever going to repair,” Rose said.
“You could come with me to see them.”
“No,” Rose said firmly. “No, I can’t. I’ve got to fix things with the Doctor. And I’ve got to figure out a way to get Martha to like me before she starts throwing knives at a picture of my face.”
“Ah, Martha’s just jealous that you’re shagging the big alien wanker,” Jimmy said, waving it off.
“He’s not a wanker!”
Jimmy grinned. “Please Rose? Please?”
She sighed heavily. “We can’t just spring ourselves on them…maybe we should have Martha call them and pretend to be your doctor or something…”
“She can pretend to be my doctor any time,” Jimmy chuckled.
She slapped his arm, and he chuckled again.
“You really turned down the Doc’s proposal?”
Rose sighed heavily and closed her eyes. “No. I didn’t get a chance to say yes or no before he assumed I was saying no and stormed out of the console room.”
“You wanna marry him,” Jimmy said.
“I wanna marry him for the right reasons,” she replied. “I want him to want this for the right reasons.” She sat back and crossed her arms.
He gave her an incredulous look. “Men are cowards. Especially ones with instant get-away cars. The fact that he asked you at all should be reason enough to say yes.”
“He only asked cause he’s afraid of losing me.”
“Why shouldn’t he be afraid, Tyler?” Jimmy scoffed. “Never mind the fact that you’ve only got roughly seventy more years on this earth, and he’s probably got thousands. Look at the kind of work you do. Look at the trouble you get in. Look at all the close calls. He should be afraid.”
Rose didn’t reply.
“Stop being a bitch and marry the poor bugger.”
“Oi!”
“If the leash fits!”
“You keep it up, you can forget about my helping you out.”
He pouted.
Rose grinned a little.
Jimmy shook his head. “Go back up to that TARDIS, put that ring on and shag him before he mopes himself to death. I don’t want to see you until well past midday tomorrow.”
She quirked an eyebrow.
“I mean it! Someone should be getting laid round here…even if it isn’t me.”
Rose pursed her lips. “Jimmy?”
“Hm.”
“Do you really like Martha?” she asked. “I mean…I know you flirt and hit on everything within a ten mile radius, but…really?”
Jimmy sighed and sat back.
“You do, don’t you.”
He gave a pained look. “Don’t tell her. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
Rose smiled and got to her feet. “You might want to try being nice to her.” She reached out to muss his hair, but her fingers snagged on the gel-covered coif. “Gross!”
Jimmy smirked. “That’s what you get for touching my hair.”
****
When she got back to the TARDIS, all seemed quiet. She was relieved to find one of the service hatches in the grating open. Obviously, the Doctor was trying to keep himself busy.
“Hello?” she asked quietly.
She got no answer.
Rose sighed and walked over to sit down next to the hatch, looking down. There was the Doctor, concentrating on a tangled web of wires, sonic screwdriver out and ready to do some work.
“Hi.”
He didn’t reply.
She bit her lip. “Planning on ever talking to me again?”
Still, he didn’t reply. He merely kept working.
“You didn’t give me a chance to answer you,” Rose said. “I never said no.”
“You didn’t exactly say yes.”
“That’s not-“
“Questioning my motives in asking you to marry me isn’t a yes,” he interrupted.
“It’s not a no.”
“I don’t know about that,” he muttered.
“I was scared!” she cried. “Still am.”
“Of what?”
“Of waking up one day to find that you’ve realized you’ve made a mistake,” she blurted out. “You’ve never talked about wanting to get married before, and you’ve said that you’re rubbish at weddings.”
The Doctor gave a long sigh and slid out from under the console, sitting up in the service hatch. “Have you completely forgotten about what we’ve been through? Rose Tyler, I ripped open reality for you. You left your whole family behind for me. Is this…jogging some sort of memory?”
Rose blushed.
He shrugged. “And just because I haven’t talked about getting married doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it…how could I not, after Nigel was ready to drag you kicking and screaming down the aisle?”
She smiled the tiniest bit. “And…being rubbish at weddings…?”
He smiled fully. “My first wedding was Gallifreyan. Ceremony lasted twenty-seven hours. You’d be rubbish at it, too.”
Her smile widened.
The Doctor reached into his jacket pocket and produced the ring box again, holding it out her.
Rose took the box carefully and opened it again, looking at the perfect diamond, shining off of the green and gold lights of the TARDIS. She pursed her lips and then took the ring out and put it on.
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Is that a yes?”
She smiled again.