Making Christmas Brighter [Snapshot #6]
Title: Making Christmas Brighter [Snapshot #6]
Author: radiantbaby
Characters/Pairings: Martha/Dr. John
[Note: Dr. John was a David Tennant character from “Love in the 21st Century”]
Word Count: 1340
Genre: Romantic fluff
Rating: G
Spoilers: Post-S3 new!Who [AU]
Summary: Between medical school and saving the universe, Martha Jones hasn’t had a proper Christmas in years. So, when John gets called in to perform a last minute surgery on their first Christmas Eve together, things aren’t looking promising. Will this Christmas follow that same unfortunate pattern?
Disclaimer: All your Doctor Who are belong to us Sadly, I own nothing related to Doctor Who or ‘Love in the 21st Century’ et al. I am just playing around in their sandbox for a bit of fun.
Author Notes: Thank you to persiflage_1 for her beta-work. Any other mistakes are mine.
This is Part Six in the group of supplemental short pieces called “Snapshots.” It takes place during the time between my story A Thousand Pieces [Snapshot #1] and persiflage_1’s story Home Is Where the Heart Is
You can probably enjoy this piece if you’ve not read either of those stories, but it may make more sense if you have. YMMV.
Feedback is happy-making, so please leave a word or two if so inclined [even if I am a bit slack in responding, your comments always make my day]. Concrit [and any beta-ish comments] welcomed.
===
Martha wrapped her coat more tightly around her as she made her way to her flat, watching as her breath curled in frozen clouds before her, and the sky seemed more and more gray with a tease that it might just be about to snow.
She had hoped to spend a lovely Christmas Eve with John - their first - but he’d called shortly before she’d left her job at UNIT for the day to tell her the heartbreaking news - he was called in for an emergency surgery and he wasn’t sure when he would get home that night (though, sadly, he said he was sure it wouldn’t be before midnight).
So, with John unavailable to give her the usual drive home, it was a night home alone on the train for her, surrounded by families eager for the upcoming holiday and frantic last-minute shoppers buying gifts. She thought that she should feel happy for all of the excited people around her, but, despite herself, it only made her feel more sad.
She honestly didn’t know why she was feeling so disappointed. She’d not had a proper Christmas for several years now between medical school, her adventures with the Doctor, and the whole nightmare of walking the Earth while the Master reigned.
Even before the Doctor had even come into her life, though, she was always busy at the hospital, or studying for one exam or another, and, honestly, there was a part of her that liked the distraction - she hated to admit it, but being alone on Christmas always hurt that little bit.
Sure, she had her boisterous family who filled in the gaps of loneliness with their laughing, gossiping, fighting, and loving, but there was still an empty hole in her heart when she would trudge home and put on some pajamas, eat some ice cream, and play CDs of Frank Sinatra singing Christmas songs (the latter, a bit of a guilty pleasure of hers - the romance of Ol’ Blue Eyes always stirred her heart strings, even in the throes of melancholy).
Still, so very much had changed for her now that John had been in her life for seven months. They were in the midst of looking for a home together after a beautiful trip to Edinburgh, on the verge of starting the new adventure of (what just might be) a long life together, and things truthfully seemed that they couldn’t be any better.
Even months after meeting him, Martha could still feel that little lightness in her step or the racing of her heart at the thought of John and how everything seemed that little brighter and more optimistic with him around.
Of course, this also meant that she’d harbored some dreams about their first Christmas together. Nothing she said out loud, of course, as it all felt a bit childish, but still little daydreams she would let her mind wander off into, smiling in a daze from time to time at work.
Of all of the little fantasies she’d had, though, she never anticipated that John would be trapped at the hospital most of the night.
Still, such is the life of a doctor, Martha knew that all too well, and she mused perhaps that was why she never let herself get too excited even about this Christmas, never even decorated her flat or bought a tree. She had a bad feeling her daydreams would be doused by the starkness of reality.
And now, with Christmas finally upon her, most of her belongings were being packed away in boxes anyway and life felt in too much of a transition right now to worry about a silly holiday that she honestly hadn’t paid much attention to since her teens.
+ + +
Martha pulled out her mobile, flipping it open before scrolling to John’s name. “Thinking of you,” she sent in a text to him, suddenly feeling his absence more than she cared to admit.
(Watching couples walking by laughing hand in hand was certainly not helping matters).
Her phone chirped back quickly in response - “Always thinking of you. Are you snug at home yet with some hot chocolate?”
She smiled at the thought of putting on some warm pyjamas and a sipping from a nice mug of hot chocolate. “What a lovely idea! No, almost home, just around the block. And you?”
“Making Christmas brighter and fixing broken hearts, I hope.”
She laughed. “Is that how you are describing heart surgery these days? You’re such a great doctor.”
“I do my best. Anyway, must rush. I love you.”
“I love you.”
Martha flipped her phone closed and made her way up the stairs to her flat. For some reason everything felt that much more cold and lonely as she approached the door, the flickering bulb above her was starting go out for good, and everything was seemingly so silent. Still, all around her was the scent of pine - of the Christmas trees, likely bought and decorated by her neighbors.
The smell of Christmas, she mused. A smell she honestly missed sometimes.
She frowned a bit as she pushed the key into the lock, trying to make herself look forward instead to an evening of reading a nice book, wearing some cozy pyjamas, and, as John had suggested, indulging in some hot chocolate.
Yes, that would be good, she thought. A quiet night after all the recent stress and insanity of work. John would be there eventually and he would wake her with a kiss and all would be right with the world --
Yes.
She warily pushed open the door and flipped on the light. To her utter surprise, though, not only did her living room light flicker on, but so did strings of colorful lights hanging all around the room and, most brightly in the corner, lights curled around a beautifully decorated Christmas tree.
“Oh my - ” she said out loud, shocked, dropping her keys on the table by the door as she shut it behind her.
“You like it I hope?” John said, stepping out from the kitchen with a nervous smile on his face, much to her delight.
“I…I love it,” she replied, happy tears beginning to prick her eyes.
John’s nervous smile quickly grew into a big loopy and joyous grin, his whole face lighting up with her response. “I just…wanted our first Christmas together to be special,” he said, shuffling his foot in front of him a bit shyly.
“I thought you had to work? The Smythe surgery?” Martha, despite wanting to run and fling herself into her lover’s arms, was still frozen to the spot by the door, so completely overwhelmed by his gesture.
“Yes, well, that may have been a bit of a white lie,” he said, scratching the scruff at the back of his neck. “I’ve actually been here for a few hours decorating everything. Your landlord even helped me get the tree up the stairs after watching me struggling with it. I’m amazed you didn’t see all the shoots of pine on the stairs from when I, well, sort of fell there, dropping the tree rather clumsily at one point before I had his help, but then he might have taken pity on me and cleaned it up.”
The vision of John flat on his back on the stairs, all arms and legs flailing about and looking as if a Christmas tree was mauling him gave her a bit of a chuckle. “Dr. John MacLachlan, what am I going to do with you?”
“I was hoping,” he paused, looking up at the mistletoe hanging in the doorway to the kitchen, and then back at her with a mischievous glimmer in his eye, “I might get a kiss.”
“Oh, you’ll get more than that, mister,” Martha said, finally finding her feet as she quickly made her way across the room to him, letting him wrap her in his arms and give her a long and languorous kiss.
Yes, perhaps this Christmas wasn’t going to be so bad after all.
Author: radiantbaby
Characters/Pairings: Martha/Dr. John
[Note: Dr. John was a David Tennant character from “Love in the 21st Century”]
Word Count: 1340
Genre: Romantic fluff
Rating: G
Spoilers: Post-S3 new!Who [AU]
Summary: Between medical school and saving the universe, Martha Jones hasn’t had a proper Christmas in years. So, when John gets called in to perform a last minute surgery on their first Christmas Eve together, things aren’t looking promising. Will this Christmas follow that same unfortunate pattern?
Disclaimer: All your Doctor Who are belong to us Sadly, I own nothing related to Doctor Who or ‘Love in the 21st Century’ et al. I am just playing around in their sandbox for a bit of fun.
Author Notes: Thank you to persiflage_1 for her beta-work. Any other mistakes are mine.
This is Part Six in the group of supplemental short pieces called “Snapshots.” It takes place during the time between my story A Thousand Pieces [Snapshot #1] and persiflage_1’s story Home Is Where the Heart Is
You can probably enjoy this piece if you’ve not read either of those stories, but it may make more sense if you have. YMMV.
Feedback is happy-making, so please leave a word or two if so inclined [even if I am a bit slack in responding, your comments always make my day]. Concrit [and any beta-ish comments] welcomed.
===
Martha wrapped her coat more tightly around her as she made her way to her flat, watching as her breath curled in frozen clouds before her, and the sky seemed more and more gray with a tease that it might just be about to snow.
She had hoped to spend a lovely Christmas Eve with John - their first - but he’d called shortly before she’d left her job at UNIT for the day to tell her the heartbreaking news - he was called in for an emergency surgery and he wasn’t sure when he would get home that night (though, sadly, he said he was sure it wouldn’t be before midnight).
So, with John unavailable to give her the usual drive home, it was a night home alone on the train for her, surrounded by families eager for the upcoming holiday and frantic last-minute shoppers buying gifts. She thought that she should feel happy for all of the excited people around her, but, despite herself, it only made her feel more sad.
She honestly didn’t know why she was feeling so disappointed. She’d not had a proper Christmas for several years now between medical school, her adventures with the Doctor, and the whole nightmare of walking the Earth while the Master reigned.
Even before the Doctor had even come into her life, though, she was always busy at the hospital, or studying for one exam or another, and, honestly, there was a part of her that liked the distraction - she hated to admit it, but being alone on Christmas always hurt that little bit.
Sure, she had her boisterous family who filled in the gaps of loneliness with their laughing, gossiping, fighting, and loving, but there was still an empty hole in her heart when she would trudge home and put on some pajamas, eat some ice cream, and play CDs of Frank Sinatra singing Christmas songs (the latter, a bit of a guilty pleasure of hers - the romance of Ol’ Blue Eyes always stirred her heart strings, even in the throes of melancholy).
Still, so very much had changed for her now that John had been in her life for seven months. They were in the midst of looking for a home together after a beautiful trip to Edinburgh, on the verge of starting the new adventure of (what just might be) a long life together, and things truthfully seemed that they couldn’t be any better.
Even months after meeting him, Martha could still feel that little lightness in her step or the racing of her heart at the thought of John and how everything seemed that little brighter and more optimistic with him around.
Of course, this also meant that she’d harbored some dreams about their first Christmas together. Nothing she said out loud, of course, as it all felt a bit childish, but still little daydreams she would let her mind wander off into, smiling in a daze from time to time at work.
Of all of the little fantasies she’d had, though, she never anticipated that John would be trapped at the hospital most of the night.
Still, such is the life of a doctor, Martha knew that all too well, and she mused perhaps that was why she never let herself get too excited even about this Christmas, never even decorated her flat or bought a tree. She had a bad feeling her daydreams would be doused by the starkness of reality.
And now, with Christmas finally upon her, most of her belongings were being packed away in boxes anyway and life felt in too much of a transition right now to worry about a silly holiday that she honestly hadn’t paid much attention to since her teens.
+ + +
Martha pulled out her mobile, flipping it open before scrolling to John’s name. “Thinking of you,” she sent in a text to him, suddenly feeling his absence more than she cared to admit.
(Watching couples walking by laughing hand in hand was certainly not helping matters).
Her phone chirped back quickly in response - “Always thinking of you. Are you snug at home yet with some hot chocolate?”
She smiled at the thought of putting on some warm pyjamas and a sipping from a nice mug of hot chocolate. “What a lovely idea! No, almost home, just around the block. And you?”
“Making Christmas brighter and fixing broken hearts, I hope.”
She laughed. “Is that how you are describing heart surgery these days? You’re such a great doctor.”
“I do my best. Anyway, must rush. I love you.”
“I love you.”
Martha flipped her phone closed and made her way up the stairs to her flat. For some reason everything felt that much more cold and lonely as she approached the door, the flickering bulb above her was starting go out for good, and everything was seemingly so silent. Still, all around her was the scent of pine - of the Christmas trees, likely bought and decorated by her neighbors.
The smell of Christmas, she mused. A smell she honestly missed sometimes.
She frowned a bit as she pushed the key into the lock, trying to make herself look forward instead to an evening of reading a nice book, wearing some cozy pyjamas, and, as John had suggested, indulging in some hot chocolate.
Yes, that would be good, she thought. A quiet night after all the recent stress and insanity of work. John would be there eventually and he would wake her with a kiss and all would be right with the world --
Yes.
She warily pushed open the door and flipped on the light. To her utter surprise, though, not only did her living room light flicker on, but so did strings of colorful lights hanging all around the room and, most brightly in the corner, lights curled around a beautifully decorated Christmas tree.
“Oh my - ” she said out loud, shocked, dropping her keys on the table by the door as she shut it behind her.
“You like it I hope?” John said, stepping out from the kitchen with a nervous smile on his face, much to her delight.
“I…I love it,” she replied, happy tears beginning to prick her eyes.
John’s nervous smile quickly grew into a big loopy and joyous grin, his whole face lighting up with her response. “I just…wanted our first Christmas together to be special,” he said, shuffling his foot in front of him a bit shyly.
“I thought you had to work? The Smythe surgery?” Martha, despite wanting to run and fling herself into her lover’s arms, was still frozen to the spot by the door, so completely overwhelmed by his gesture.
“Yes, well, that may have been a bit of a white lie,” he said, scratching the scruff at the back of his neck. “I’ve actually been here for a few hours decorating everything. Your landlord even helped me get the tree up the stairs after watching me struggling with it. I’m amazed you didn’t see all the shoots of pine on the stairs from when I, well, sort of fell there, dropping the tree rather clumsily at one point before I had his help, but then he might have taken pity on me and cleaned it up.”
The vision of John flat on his back on the stairs, all arms and legs flailing about and looking as if a Christmas tree was mauling him gave her a bit of a chuckle. “Dr. John MacLachlan, what am I going to do with you?”
“I was hoping,” he paused, looking up at the mistletoe hanging in the doorway to the kitchen, and then back at her with a mischievous glimmer in his eye, “I might get a kiss.”
“Oh, you’ll get more than that, mister,” Martha said, finally finding her feet as she quickly made her way across the room to him, letting him wrap her in his arms and give her a long and languorous kiss.
Yes, perhaps this Christmas wasn’t going to be so bad after all.