30 Days with Martha Jones: Why?
Who_Daily Link: < a href="http://persiflage-1.livejournal.com/189970.html">30 Days with Martha Jones: Why? by < lj user=persiflage_1> (Characters: Martha Jones, River Song | Rating: G | Spoilers: None)
Title: 30 Days with Martha Jones: Why?
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Martha Jones, River Song
Rating: G
Spoilers: None
Summary: 30 Days in the life of Martha Jones
Disclaimer: I occasionally wish that I did own it!
Author Notes: I signed up to do mini_nanowrimo this year, and snagged 30 random prompts from doctorwho_100 which will form the basis of the 30 fics I write. Each fic will feature Martha and at least one other Whoniverse character, and the prompt will be included in the title of the fic.
Index Post
~~~~~~
Martha woke abruptly from a deep sleep to a very familiar wheezing, groaning sound coming from the hall of her London flat. She quickly climbed out of bed, shoving her feet into her slippers and pulling on a dressing over her pyjamas as she hurried out into the hall to see the TARDIS.
Why now? she wondered crossly. The last forty-eight hours had been exhausting as she had tried to deal with an outbreak of a nasty virus that she had only found an antidote for a few hours earlier. With the Infirmary full of recovering patients, she'd been driven home by Ross Jenkins, who'd managed to escape infection, where she had collapsed exhausted into bed.
The TARDIS door opened and Martha found herself confronting a woman a decade or so older than herself. She was red-eyed and looked nearly as exhausted as Martha had felt a few hours ago.
"Are you Dr Jones?" asked the woman anxiously.
"I am," she answered.
"I'm River, the Doctor said you'd know what to do. He's dying," she added, her voice breaking on the last word.
"Show me," Martha said quickly.
She followed River across the Control Room and into the Med Bay where the man she knew as the Doctor's eleventh incarnation was lying on the floor, with two pillows under his head.
"He collapsed before I could get him onto a bed," River said, "and I couldn't lift him."
"It's okay, River," Martha said soothingly as she knelt beside the prone Time Lord.
"How can it be okay when he's dying?" demanded the other woman.
"Hasn't he told you about regeneration?" asked Martha.
"Sort of, but he's still dying," responded River.
"Well, yes, but he'll get over it once the regeneration process has taken place."
Martha turned her attention to the Doctor and saw him open his eyes and slowly focus them on her face.
"Hello Doctor," she said gently, taking the hand that was groping for hers. "What have you been up to this time?"
"Martha Jones," he said, his voice rasping and his breath sounding wheezy. "My Doctor." He winced as a tremor ran through his body. "It's starting, you'd better move back," he told her.
She squeezed his hand, then nodded and got to her feet, moving back towards River.
His skin began to glow with a golden light, which then exploded out of his body, and River cried out in fear, springing towards the Doctor. Martha grabbed her arm and held her back.
"It's okay, River, he's going to be okay," she said. Martha found it rather ironic that she was reassuring the older woman when she hadn't ever seen the Doctor regenerate, although she had heard about the tenth incarnation's almost-regeneration after he was shot by a Dalek during the business with Davros and the Earth being moved. She had at least a rough idea of what to expect.
River clung to her arm, tears pouring down her face. "This is all my fault," she whispered, "all my fault."
"Why?" asked Martha. "Why is it your fault?"
"Because I was the one who talked him into going to see the Fall of Byzantium," she answered. "He wanted to visit a pleasure planet, and I thought we'd both be bored after an hour, so I persuaded him to take us to see the Fall of Byzantium instead."
She looked at Martha's blank expression. "Byzantium is an artificial moon, out in the Styrtet Cluster. Once a decade it falls into a new position in their solar system, and there's a big festival of celebration: lots of eating, drinking and general gaiety." She paused to rub her eyes. "But there was an attack on the city, separatists released a chemical agent on the underground, and the Doctor insisted on going down into the tunnels to help with the rescue efforts, but he stayed down there too long."
She gave the oblivious Time Lord a fondly exasperated look. "He said he'd be okay because of his respiratory bypass."
"That sounds like the Doctor," Martha agreed.
"I managed to get him back to the TARDIS with some help from the rescue workers, and he got her away, but then he collapsed. I had to drag him here from the Control Room."
As they watched the golden light surrounding the Time Lord faded, then disappeared. The man who lay on the floor now had short brown hair and a lined face, but he looked a few years younger than his eleventh incarnation. When he opened his eyes, Martha saw they were grey.
"Hello," he rasped. "How do I look? Am I ginger?"
Martha laughed softly and shaking her head, she reached up and took a small, free-standing mirror down from a shelf. She knelt down beside the Doctor and angled it so he could see his face.
"Oh, I was hoping to be ginger this time," he said with a little pout, then he winked at Martha. She smiled at him. He reached up and clasped her hand in his. "Thanks love," he said very softly.
"You're welcome," she answered, equally softly, before getting to her feet to return the mirror to its customary place.
She heard River move towards the Doctor and kept her back turned, wanting to give them some privacy as she could hear the older woman was apologising brokenly. The Time Lord did his best to reassure her, but when she began crying Martha moved to her side.
"I think you should go and get some rest," she suggested. "Things will probably look a lot better once you've had some sleep and, if you'll forgive me saying so, you look exhausted."
"Martha's right," the Doctor chimed in. "You spent several hours helping the rescuers while I was down in the tunnels. Go and get some sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up." He caught Martha's eye and gave a tiny jerk of his head towards the cupboard where she knew he kept a variety of sedatives and she gave a fractional nod back.
She got up and took a small bottle and a needle from the cupboard, then she helped River to her feet.
"Come on," she said quietly. "I'll give you something to help you to sleep for a few hours, and you won't dream either. I can keep an eye on the Doctor."
The older woman allowed Martha to lead her out of the Med Bay and through the corridors to her bedroom, only seeming to register what the young doctor had done when they were there.
"How did you know where to come?" asked River, sounding baffled.
"The TARDIS told me," Martha answered, guiding her to sit on the bed. "I'm going to give you a mild sedative and you'll be asleep fairly quickly, so don't think about having a bath or shower. Do you want to change into some pyjamas or something?"
River shook her head, so Martha knelt down and took off her boots for her, then she pushed up River's sleeve and injected the drug.
"Sleep well."
River nodded, then lay down, and Martha grabbed a gaudy blanket that was folded up at the foot of the bed, spreading it over her. She saw the older woman's eyes close and squeezed her shoulder before returning to the Med Bay.
To be continued tomorrow…
* * * * * *
A/N the second: Here's the Twelfth Doctor.
Title: 30 Days with Martha Jones: Why?
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Martha Jones, River Song
Rating: G
Spoilers: None
Summary: 30 Days in the life of Martha Jones
Disclaimer: I occasionally wish that I did own it!
Author Notes: I signed up to do mini_nanowrimo this year, and snagged 30 random prompts from doctorwho_100 which will form the basis of the 30 fics I write. Each fic will feature Martha and at least one other Whoniverse character, and the prompt will be included in the title of the fic.
Index Post
~~~~~~
Martha woke abruptly from a deep sleep to a very familiar wheezing, groaning sound coming from the hall of her London flat. She quickly climbed out of bed, shoving her feet into her slippers and pulling on a dressing over her pyjamas as she hurried out into the hall to see the TARDIS.
Why now? she wondered crossly. The last forty-eight hours had been exhausting as she had tried to deal with an outbreak of a nasty virus that she had only found an antidote for a few hours earlier. With the Infirmary full of recovering patients, she'd been driven home by Ross Jenkins, who'd managed to escape infection, where she had collapsed exhausted into bed.
The TARDIS door opened and Martha found herself confronting a woman a decade or so older than herself. She was red-eyed and looked nearly as exhausted as Martha had felt a few hours ago.
"Are you Dr Jones?" asked the woman anxiously.
"I am," she answered.
"I'm River, the Doctor said you'd know what to do. He's dying," she added, her voice breaking on the last word.
"Show me," Martha said quickly.
She followed River across the Control Room and into the Med Bay where the man she knew as the Doctor's eleventh incarnation was lying on the floor, with two pillows under his head.
"He collapsed before I could get him onto a bed," River said, "and I couldn't lift him."
"It's okay, River," Martha said soothingly as she knelt beside the prone Time Lord.
"How can it be okay when he's dying?" demanded the other woman.
"Hasn't he told you about regeneration?" asked Martha.
"Sort of, but he's still dying," responded River.
"Well, yes, but he'll get over it once the regeneration process has taken place."
Martha turned her attention to the Doctor and saw him open his eyes and slowly focus them on her face.
"Hello Doctor," she said gently, taking the hand that was groping for hers. "What have you been up to this time?"
"Martha Jones," he said, his voice rasping and his breath sounding wheezy. "My Doctor." He winced as a tremor ran through his body. "It's starting, you'd better move back," he told her.
She squeezed his hand, then nodded and got to her feet, moving back towards River.
His skin began to glow with a golden light, which then exploded out of his body, and River cried out in fear, springing towards the Doctor. Martha grabbed her arm and held her back.
"It's okay, River, he's going to be okay," she said. Martha found it rather ironic that she was reassuring the older woman when she hadn't ever seen the Doctor regenerate, although she had heard about the tenth incarnation's almost-regeneration after he was shot by a Dalek during the business with Davros and the Earth being moved. She had at least a rough idea of what to expect.
River clung to her arm, tears pouring down her face. "This is all my fault," she whispered, "all my fault."
"Why?" asked Martha. "Why is it your fault?"
"Because I was the one who talked him into going to see the Fall of Byzantium," she answered. "He wanted to visit a pleasure planet, and I thought we'd both be bored after an hour, so I persuaded him to take us to see the Fall of Byzantium instead."
She looked at Martha's blank expression. "Byzantium is an artificial moon, out in the Styrtet Cluster. Once a decade it falls into a new position in their solar system, and there's a big festival of celebration: lots of eating, drinking and general gaiety." She paused to rub her eyes. "But there was an attack on the city, separatists released a chemical agent on the underground, and the Doctor insisted on going down into the tunnels to help with the rescue efforts, but he stayed down there too long."
She gave the oblivious Time Lord a fondly exasperated look. "He said he'd be okay because of his respiratory bypass."
"That sounds like the Doctor," Martha agreed.
"I managed to get him back to the TARDIS with some help from the rescue workers, and he got her away, but then he collapsed. I had to drag him here from the Control Room."
As they watched the golden light surrounding the Time Lord faded, then disappeared. The man who lay on the floor now had short brown hair and a lined face, but he looked a few years younger than his eleventh incarnation. When he opened his eyes, Martha saw they were grey.
"Hello," he rasped. "How do I look? Am I ginger?"
Martha laughed softly and shaking her head, she reached up and took a small, free-standing mirror down from a shelf. She knelt down beside the Doctor and angled it so he could see his face.
"Oh, I was hoping to be ginger this time," he said with a little pout, then he winked at Martha. She smiled at him. He reached up and clasped her hand in his. "Thanks love," he said very softly.
"You're welcome," she answered, equally softly, before getting to her feet to return the mirror to its customary place.
She heard River move towards the Doctor and kept her back turned, wanting to give them some privacy as she could hear the older woman was apologising brokenly. The Time Lord did his best to reassure her, but when she began crying Martha moved to her side.
"I think you should go and get some rest," she suggested. "Things will probably look a lot better once you've had some sleep and, if you'll forgive me saying so, you look exhausted."
"Martha's right," the Doctor chimed in. "You spent several hours helping the rescuers while I was down in the tunnels. Go and get some sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up." He caught Martha's eye and gave a tiny jerk of his head towards the cupboard where she knew he kept a variety of sedatives and she gave a fractional nod back.
She got up and took a small bottle and a needle from the cupboard, then she helped River to her feet.
"Come on," she said quietly. "I'll give you something to help you to sleep for a few hours, and you won't dream either. I can keep an eye on the Doctor."
The older woman allowed Martha to lead her out of the Med Bay and through the corridors to her bedroom, only seeming to register what the young doctor had done when they were there.
"How did you know where to come?" asked River, sounding baffled.
"The TARDIS told me," Martha answered, guiding her to sit on the bed. "I'm going to give you a mild sedative and you'll be asleep fairly quickly, so don't think about having a bath or shower. Do you want to change into some pyjamas or something?"
River shook her head, so Martha knelt down and took off her boots for her, then she pushed up River's sleeve and injected the drug.
"Sleep well."
River nodded, then lay down, and Martha grabbed a gaudy blanket that was folded up at the foot of the bed, spreading it over her. She saw the older woman's eyes close and squeezed her shoulder before returning to the Med Bay.
To be continued tomorrow…
* * * * * *
A/N the second: Here's the Twelfth Doctor.
