prompt response: theatrical_muse 302. answer a question that you're never asked
"Do you love him?" the Doctor asks, tipping his chin to indicate the identical TARDIS next to his.
Martha gives him a tight smile. "You're him, shouldn't you know the answer to that already?" Discussing your feelings for your current lover with his future self, who you just happened to be madly in love with for well over a year? Yeah, it's a bit awkward. This is the sort of question the Doctor should never ask. It's one that goes unspoken between her and the other Doctor; they're too scared to ever vocalise what they feel. Their relationship is a fragile thing, one that shouldn't exist - doesn't exist in this Doctor's timeline, if he doesn't know the answer to that question. And it breaks her heart, knowing that one day, this will all come to an end; in order to keep time straight and proper, he'll forget about her entirely. And what'll happen to her then? Will she be back on Earth? Will she have died in the course of their travels? It terrifies her - but not enough to leave him.
"I just - " The Doctor pauses, taking a breath and rocking on his heels. Martha knows that emotions are difficult for him to talk about - difficult for both of them to talk about, when they're so raw and human. "I'm worried it's for all the wrong reasons, Martha." Which she's pretty sure translates into 'he's your rebound Doctor'.
She's actually a little insulted by that, to tell the truth. She'd got over him long before she met this one - but, well, he isn't half egotistical, and probably has trouble imagining someone not being in love with him. "You're like two different people," she says quietly. "I mean, you're both the Doctor, and you're both my Doctor, but...he's not like you at all, really." Which is a bit of an exaggeration, because she can see the similarities between the two, plain as day, but she loves him for the differences. And she loves this Doctor, but not in the same way - he's more like a best mate now. An occasionally infuriating best mate, but, well, that's what friendship is like sometimes.
"He needs me," Martha continues, "and I can't just leave him." Not broken in body and spirit like this, still bearing the scars of the Time War. She finds him in the console room sometimes, clutching his head and sobbing, mourning the loss of the other Time Lords. And there are other, subtler ways in which she can tell he's not quite right - but the thing is, she's not quite right, either. Not after the Year, or working with Torchwood, or losing Tom to the Daleks. What she won't tell this Doctor is that she needs him nearly as much as he needs her. He lets her be herself, a luxury she hasn't had for longer than she can remember.
He closes his eyes, pain etched into the lines of his face. "I don't want you to get hurt, either, Martha." She can see the circles under his eyes behind his glasses. "'Cos, well, you're clever enough to figure out how all this has to end. It's not the sort of thing I would choose for anyone." It's heartbreaking when she thinks about it - about all she means to him now, and how he won't remember a thing when he meets her again in his future. So much has passed between them, and it'll all be erased completely.
Martha hugs him impulsively; he's got to be lonely right now, without anyone travelling with him. After so much time spent with the other Doctor, it's strange to feel the planes and angles of his body again. "I choose my own path, Doctor," she whispers to him. It's the one thing he's never been able to figure out about her - and one thing the other Doctor has known from the beginning.
As she lets go, the door to the TARDIS opens, and the Doctor pokes his head out. "Oi, Martha, you coming?" He looks a little worried, his brow furrowed slightly, and she wonders if he's been eavesdropping somehow.
She grins at him - at both of them - and takes his outstretched hand. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Martha waves at the Doctor in the brown suit. "See you later, Doctor."
He smiles sadly back at her. "Best of luck, Doctor Jones. Keep him out of trouble, yeah?"
Muse: Martha Jones
Fandom: Doctor Who
Words: 748
Martha gives him a tight smile. "You're him, shouldn't you know the answer to that already?" Discussing your feelings for your current lover with his future self, who you just happened to be madly in love with for well over a year? Yeah, it's a bit awkward. This is the sort of question the Doctor should never ask. It's one that goes unspoken between her and the other Doctor; they're too scared to ever vocalise what they feel. Their relationship is a fragile thing, one that shouldn't exist - doesn't exist in this Doctor's timeline, if he doesn't know the answer to that question. And it breaks her heart, knowing that one day, this will all come to an end; in order to keep time straight and proper, he'll forget about her entirely. And what'll happen to her then? Will she be back on Earth? Will she have died in the course of their travels? It terrifies her - but not enough to leave him.
"I just - " The Doctor pauses, taking a breath and rocking on his heels. Martha knows that emotions are difficult for him to talk about - difficult for both of them to talk about, when they're so raw and human. "I'm worried it's for all the wrong reasons, Martha." Which she's pretty sure translates into 'he's your rebound Doctor'.
She's actually a little insulted by that, to tell the truth. She'd got over him long before she met this one - but, well, he isn't half egotistical, and probably has trouble imagining someone not being in love with him. "You're like two different people," she says quietly. "I mean, you're both the Doctor, and you're both my Doctor, but...he's not like you at all, really." Which is a bit of an exaggeration, because she can see the similarities between the two, plain as day, but she loves him for the differences. And she loves this Doctor, but not in the same way - he's more like a best mate now. An occasionally infuriating best mate, but, well, that's what friendship is like sometimes.
"He needs me," Martha continues, "and I can't just leave him." Not broken in body and spirit like this, still bearing the scars of the Time War. She finds him in the console room sometimes, clutching his head and sobbing, mourning the loss of the other Time Lords. And there are other, subtler ways in which she can tell he's not quite right - but the thing is, she's not quite right, either. Not after the Year, or working with Torchwood, or losing Tom to the Daleks. What she won't tell this Doctor is that she needs him nearly as much as he needs her. He lets her be herself, a luxury she hasn't had for longer than she can remember.
He closes his eyes, pain etched into the lines of his face. "I don't want you to get hurt, either, Martha." She can see the circles under his eyes behind his glasses. "'Cos, well, you're clever enough to figure out how all this has to end. It's not the sort of thing I would choose for anyone." It's heartbreaking when she thinks about it - about all she means to him now, and how he won't remember a thing when he meets her again in his future. So much has passed between them, and it'll all be erased completely.
Martha hugs him impulsively; he's got to be lonely right now, without anyone travelling with him. After so much time spent with the other Doctor, it's strange to feel the planes and angles of his body again. "I choose my own path, Doctor," she whispers to him. It's the one thing he's never been able to figure out about her - and one thing the other Doctor has known from the beginning.
As she lets go, the door to the TARDIS opens, and the Doctor pokes his head out. "Oi, Martha, you coming?" He looks a little worried, his brow furrowed slightly, and she wonders if he's been eavesdropping somehow.
She grins at him - at both of them - and takes his outstretched hand. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Martha waves at the Doctor in the brown suit. "See you later, Doctor."
He smiles sadly back at her. "Best of luck, Doctor Jones. Keep him out of trouble, yeah?"
Muse: Martha Jones
Fandom: Doctor Who
Words: 748