Love Takes Time (ch. 3)
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.
“Jack!! What am I doing wrong?” The Doctor asked as he paced in the Cardiff flat of the Time Agent a few days later. “There's the dates, the random bring of food when she's at work, complimenting her outfits, gifts when I see things she would like.” He stopped pacing and turned to his womanizing (and every thing/one else with a pulse) friend. “We even share a bed on occasion, focus Jack, and I've done chores. What am I doing wrong? I've all, but announced the fact I'm domesticated.”
Jack couldn't help, but laugh at the Time Lord. Seeing him look so...human was hilarious. The Doctor's expression was complete aggravated confusion. “Well, Doc here's the thing...did you actually...ask her out on dates? Or did you appear random and tell her you were taking her somewhere?” He's smile dimmed at the Time Lord's bemused look. “It might be obvious to you what your intentions are, but Martha doesn't see it that way. She sees it as you hanging out with her because Rose, Donna and Handy are gone.”
“B-but Jack!”
Captain Harkness shrugged, “She didn't detail how things were when she traveled with you. Though, I can tell you managed to muck things up a bit.”
“More than a bit.” The Doctor muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. “I'm trying here Jack.”
The Leader of Torchwood Three nodded, “I know you are. But Martha's never been a woman easily impressed. You should know that and women of science tend to stick with facts. If there's a fact that you've hurt them once, then they consider it fact you'll do it again. So Doc, is going after Martha Jones what you really want to do?” Jack was serious, he loved Martha Jones to pieces. And he'd hurt anyone that tried to hurt her. With the Doctor he was torn, he'd settle for knocking common sense into the man.
The Time Lord stopped pacing and stared straight ahead, “She'll end up hurt or worse dead because of me.” He remembered when he thought she had been dead on the Starship Brilliant, he had never been more thankful for a screwed up time loop in his entire existence.
“She'll end up dead anyway. Human life cycle and humans aren't always friendly you know.” Jack reminded him. “So, with or without you, she's doing to die.”
The Doctor glared at the former Time Agent, “With me, I might as well hand her over to my enemies.” Jack crossed his arms and kicked his feet up on to the coffee table. His flat was sparsely decorated. There was nothing personal in it really other than his clothes. His office and underground room in Torchwood held more personal items. The only reason he was in his flat was because a certain Time Lord refused to go near the Hub.
“Yes, Doctor because you wouldn't fight tooth and nail for her right?” The sarcasm caused the Time Lord to roll his eyes. “Next.” Jack stated with amused boredom.
The Doctor stood straighter, “She is human. Short life span, very short life span really. And fragile.”
“You wouldn't call her fragile to her face.” Jack retorted with a smirk. Nothing about Martha Jones was fragile, though Jack would be lying if he said he had never thought that once or twice.
“I happen to like this face.” The Doctor replied running a hand over his cheeks. He was so handsome in this body and emotional. It was annoying and explained rather well why he was trying to court Martha Jones. And his attachment to this face meant he wasn't going to tempt Martha into killing him.
Jack laughed, “It is rather attractive. I did love the ears though.” The Doctor touched his much smaller ears, “Those are fine too Doc. So she's got a shorter life span. You can have some happiness, giving Martha the rest of her life with happiness or you can mope about and do that 'what if' thing. It's pretty depressing though.” Jack slid his legs off the table and moved around grabbing a bottle of scotch. “Don't suppose we can finish this chat over a good pint or two?”
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
“Wait, so the Doctor's been over to see you again?” Leticia 'Tish' Jones asked her younger sister with more excitement than necessary. Martha raised an eyebrow at the computer screen. “Oh, he fancies you.”
Martha laughed, “He loves Rose Tyler. I don't blame him, she's nice, pretty and blond.”
“Really?” Tish snorted, she never cared for blonds since she had met Annalise. Not that Martha blamed her, she had been done with blonds after Joan Redforn. “Men never learn that you don't give up the best thing that ever happened for quickies with blonds.”
Martha rolled her eyes, “To be fair- he loved Rose long before he met me.”
“And she's, what, in another dimension?” Tish made a clicking noise with her mouth as she adjusted her camera. The older Jones girl was dressed for bed with a light pink dressing gown covering a black night dress. “She was in one when he met you right? It's not like he met you right away, no bloke is daft enough to look for girls right away after the last one was 'lost'. He had time to distance himself from those feelings. So the fact that he's now after you begs the question...what changed?”
Martha bit her bottom lip as she brushed her hair. The Doctor had admitted what happened to Rose and Handy. How he had drop them off in Pete's world. How he fully expected them to be happy together. The Doctor had even told her about Donna. How Donna's memories were erased so she wouldn't die.
It had to be terrible losing a best friend that way.
It was even more terrible giving up the girl he loved to a copy of himself.
“The fact that he has given both Rose and himself closure?” Martha replied. “I mean he gave Rose to Handy as if Handy didn't have a mind of his own. Or that Rose would be happy with someone that wasn't him.” Now that Martha thought about it, it sounded like a forced together relationship. Handy had the Doctor's memories, that didn't necessarily mean he had the Doctor's feelings. Handy was also part Donna, so what would that mean for the Human-Time Lord meta-crisis? “And who says he's after me? He could be completely lonely and using me until he finds another companion.”
Tish rested her cheek against her fist as she raised an eyebrow. “Sis, no man “just does” the washing up without having a reason. And let's be honest here you can't tell me you missed the same signs I'm seeing.”
“I didn't miss them. I'm just saying he's not attracted to me like that. He's more than likely trying to entice me into re-joining him on the TARDIS.” Martha put her brush down and checked the time, half past nine. “You should head to bed, it's late there.”
Tish covered her mouth as she yawned. She was in her London flat, sitting at the desk talking with her younger sister that was in New York. The time difference was only a slight annoyance to the older Jones girl. “I will, in a bit. We aren't done yet.”
“Why aren't we done?” Martha whined. She really didn't want to keep talking about the Doctor.
Tish clicked her tongue and wagged a finger at her. “Because Martha Adelia Jones when you were with the Doctor you acted like a total spaz. Now he's late returning your feelings and you've placed him in the 'friend zone'.”
“He placed me there first!” Martha snapped crossing her arms, “And I'm not changing my mind! The last time I ran off with him, what happened? My family was tortured for a year, my planet burned, and so many people died.” Her voice softened at the end.
Tish sighed, as she knew it was true. “And you don't think mum's learned her lesson? Or me? Dad didn't trust any of those people to begin with.” Tish made a waving gesture. “I always have Jack run background checks on my employers now and I've been taking self-defense classes. Imagine it, drop dead gorgeous and able to kick ass.” Martha rubbed her forehead. Only her sister, her sister that lived to torture guys. “Don't make that face at me! Just don't flat out reject him if he does confesses Martha.”
“Him...confess?” Martha laughed at that. “He'd confess in a million years. He'll do and say everything else, but 'Martha Jones, I fancy you!'” After she stopped laugh she quirked an eyebrow, “And even if he did confess I doubt I'll ever hear it. He couldn't even tell Rose that he loved her.” Martha wagged her finger at her older sister, “So, nope no random confessions from Time Lords.”
Tish smiled, “If he did confess what would you do?” Martha paused, what would she do if the Time Lord did the impossible?
“Check him for a fever and then ask if he's dying.” The young doctor replied with her own smile. Her sister chuckled.
“Most men, would prefer a statement saying you fancy them back.”
“And I look like I'm going to give him one? Just because he's lonely and decided to pass time doing this thing with me?”
Tish sighed, “Why do you have to be so rational?”
“Why don't you try it sometime?”
“Stop being afraid.”
“I'm not afraid.”
“Yeah, well open your heart again.”
“It's closed for repairs.”
“How long has it been that way?”
“Not long enough.”
“So what's your favorite breed of cats?”
“Go to sleep.”
“You'll probably want the hypo-allergic ones without fur. Then they won't ruin you-”
“Leticia Alicia Jones go to bed. And I do not want cats.” Cats reminded Martha of the old woman she had meet with the Doctor in the town of Blackwood Falls. A lonely old woman, that was also psychic because of the area where her family's home had been built.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Ice (Hoshi): That town is a reference to the novel, “Autumn Falls” by Mark Morris. Pretty amusing, the Ten/Martha relationship is typical of season three. The Doctor should have been hit once or twice more than the few times Martha did hit him, but hey at least she popped him when he was being rude. Silly alien.