Love Takes Time (ch. 5)
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. XD Sorry, I don't. Otherwise Mickey/Martha would not have been thrown in outta no-where. shakes fist at RTD.
Martha looked at Colonel in front of her. He was reading her in on a highly classified assignment that she was to be in charge of. That wasn't a problem. The problem was the fact the assignment was time sensitive and needed to be completed during the winter holidays. “I do apologize Doctor Jones, I'm aware that vacation time was previously given to you. We need an expert and you're the best.”
“It's no problem Colonel Davis, protecting Earth comes first.” Dark brown skin, a slight American South accent and slightly glazed hazel eyes. The Colonel was at least six feet tall and his uniform contained a number of awards and medals. A decorated soldier of UNIT.
“Excellent, we'll see you at 0600 Doctor Jones.” The man saluted to her before taking off down the hall.
“No problem.” Martha muttered as she turned on her heel and left empty room, a coffee cup in hand. “Its only my family that I never see now.”
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“Martha Jones take a vacation?” The woman stated talking to herself. “As if! The best UNIT has...was recommended by an impeccable source.”
Martha tuned out the sound of a sonic screwdriver and continued ranting to herself as she packed. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful to be given all the responsibility. She would prefer more than a 12 hour notice that she was going to be dragged across the world. With her intended holiday delayed.
The Doctor peered into the room. He had missed Martha's rant, instead arriving in time to watch Martha drop on to her bed and curl into herself. He watched as she rubbed her forehead in frustration. Her expression was a hopeless and depressed looking one, there was even a slight glaze to her eyes.
It bothered him, that expression didn't belong there.
One hand shoved into the pockets of his blue pin-striped suit, the Doctor walked towards her. He sat next to her and slid an arm around her. Martha didn't move for a moment before she shrugged his arm off her.
“Why are you here now?”
The Doctor pulled his arm back to him and linked his fingers together. “Just visiting, as usual.” He looked at her, his eyes taking in the smooth brown skin. “Bad day at work?”
“What's it matter to you?” Martha snapped, she wanted to be alone. God knew she wouldn't have a moment to herself once the mission started.
Quirking an eyebrow, the Doctor frowned. “Don't be snippy Martha. Let's get ice cream! Harry Ho's is the place to go, you can get your chocolat-y thing...”
“Shut up.” The Doctor had never known Martha to be rude. “I don't want to go anywhere with you. Why haven't you found a new companion yet?” The Doctor felt a strange feeling overcome him. Not waiting for him to reply, Martha kept talking. “Do you find this game funny? Oh, I know! I'll see how many times I can make Martha Jones fall for me! Even better I get to break her fragile little ape heart!”
The Doctor's jaw dropped open, he wasn't that cruel. He had always tried in the past to persuade Martha otherwise, but did she really think-
“Is that the game Doctor? Is that why you've become domesticated? To try and lure me back as a full time companion?” Martha moved away from him. “I don't want to. I can't do it again. I'm not Rose and I'm not Donna. Sorry, I'm more book smart and didn't promise you my forever. Didn't realize you needed to hear such a thing. Wait you've got the mindset of a sugar-high six year-old most days right?”
Martha was pacing in front of the Doctor.
A very shell-shocked Doctor.
“Oh I know! The Matron, you fancied her didn't you? She's blonde, go take her to see the stars. Or what about the Sally girl? She looks like she'd be a good companion. And guess what Doctor? She's blond!”
Martha crossed her arms as she closed her eyes. Ranting to the Doctor wasn't what she had in mind. “I'm not bitter, I'm just done. Doctor please, next time we see each other let it because Earth is being invaded. I won't let you play your stupid games with me a second time around.”
The alien wanted to tell her she was wrong.
That it wasn't a game he was playing with her.
That he was happy to know she loved him.
Because he loved her.
The tall alien stood in front of Martha. What he saw was the woman he loved and a woman that was scared. “Martha, I-”
“You need to leave.” Martha cut him off. Then she locked herself in her bathroom refusing to leave until she heard a door slam shut. As Martha sat blocking the bathroom door, she absentmindedly tapped out a silent beat on her knee.
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“Martha Adelia Jones!” Tish stated angrily. “You can't be serious! You haven't been home in months. I'm the only one you talk to normally.” Martha watched as her sister took a deep breath. “What in sanity's name do you mean you aren't coming home for Christmas?”
Martha shrugged, “I've got work. They decided to tell me last minute, apparently it can't wait until after my holiday.”
“Do you know what mum's going to do? What she's going to say?” Tish looked ready to strangle her younger sister through the screen. “What about the Doctor?”
“What about him?” Martha asked as she slowly packed things for her work trip.
Tish raised an eyebrow, “Oh I don't know...he's an alien with a time machine. What's it going to cost him to just pop you here for the day and then back?”
“It won't cost him anything.” Martha told her sister calmly. “Mainly because he shouldn't even be speaking to me anymore.” The younger Jones girl could see her sister's confusion.
“A new companion?” Tish knew Martha had a belief that a new companion would make the Doctor go away, but she didn't buy it.
Martha shrugged, “Hopefully he's found one. I suggested his favorite type- blond and without a lot of brains.”
“Wait, wait, wait...what the hell happened?” Tish asked. Her little sister was leaving something out. And since when did Martha openly imply blonds are stupid? Martha hadn't with Annalise, that Joan woman or even Rose.
“I might have yelled at him to stop showing up.” Martha mentioned casually, “And I may have told him the next time I saw him there had better be aliens invading.”
Tish's brown eyes couldn't have gotten any wider. “You told him what?”
“To stop playing his stupid game with me.”
Tish wished she was in New York to knock some common sense into her sister. “What did he say?”
“Nothing, I didn't let him speak. He would've lied anyway.”
“Martha!”
“Oh sod you and your opinion!” Martha snapped, “You're on his side anyway! You don't know him! You don't know a bloody thing about him.” Tish ended the video call sending her sister a glare. Martha Jones would regret it, Tish was sure of it.
Though the older Jones girl wondered for just a moment if her sister had really been tapping out that beat. Before dismissing it, Martha probably did it by accident. And it was a late hour, she could have imagined it to begin with.
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Alone in her dark flat, Martha raised a hand to her forehead as her free hand tapped out a rhythm in a count of four. The sounded echoed around her bedroom as her dark eyes glazed over more.
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Hoshi: Lol, and I'm leaving it here. I think we all know who our villain is...the question is...will the Doctor figure it out?
Harry Ho's...another reference to the novel “Autumn Falls.”