30 Days with Martha Jones: Sunrise
Who_Daily Link: < a href="http://persiflage-1.livejournal.com/183444.html">30 Days with Martha Jones: Sunrise by < lj user=persiflage_1> (Characters: Martha Jones, Harry Sullivan | Rating: G | Spoilers: Season 3)
Title: 30 Days with Martha Jones: Sunrise
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Martha Jones, Harry Sullivan
Rating: G
Spoilers: Season 3
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
~~~~~~
Late one afternoon Jack went to ask Martha about some tests she'd been running for him and found her staring sightlessly at the computer screens in front of her. He held back from approaching her; he'd found her like this once before and she had later revealed that she'd been remembering something that had happened to her during her year walking the world for the Doctor. He knew that two years was not nearly long enough for Martha to have dealt with her memories of that apocalyptic year, and that sometimes a particular date would act as a trigger. Since Gwen and Ianto were out interviewing someone the team suspected of trying to sell off alien artefacts that had come through the Rift, he settled down on the bottom of the steps to wait for Martha to work through her memories.
* * * * * *
"It'll be sunrise soon," Martha's companion said softly.
She sighed. "I guess we'd better find some shelter then." She felt Harry touch her arm and allowed him to lead her aside; they moved as quickly and quietly as they could along a steep, rocky path that took them up to some caves that looked east, back along the route that they'd spent the night trudging down.
Harry concentrated on getting a fire going while Martha sorted out something to eat; she didn't tell him that their rations were getting desperately low, knowing that he knew this as well as she did.
He sat down beside Martha once the fire was going and accepted the hunk of bread and cheese that she offered him while their small kettle began to heat up some water for coffee. They didn't have anything they could cook to eat since the Toclafane had scared away the animals as well as the people, but Harry insisted that they at least have a hot drink before sleeping.
"Is this the last of the cheese?" he asked.
Martha nodded, then swallowed her mouthful. "Tomorrow we'll have to start on the tins of meat you brought with you."
He wrinkled his nose a little. "I didn't imagine I'd ever be eating army rations again. Still, beggars can't be choosers." He grinned at her ruefully and to her surprise she found herself managing to smile back at him.
"Come and watch the sunrise while you drink your coffee," he said once they'd finished their meagre meal.
She smiled again. Every morning for the last two weeks while they'd been travelling together, Harry Sullivan, formerly of the Royal Navy and UNIT, former companion to the Doctor's fourth incarnation, had said the same words. The first morning Martha had been reluctant to follow his suggestion: the long night they'd spent scrambling over the worst terrain she'd yet experienced on this trek had left her trembling with exhaustion. All she'd wanted to do once she'd eaten was sleep as best as she could, but Harry had been quietly stubborn and insisted that she join him.
"Why?" she'd asked wearily. "I need to sleep."
He took her small hand in his larger one (it was only the second time he'd touched her after their formal handshake when he'd introduced himself), and led her to where she could see the sky just beginning to change colour.
"I know you need to sleep," he'd said quietly, "but you need hope, too."
"A sunrise will give me hope?" she'd asked sceptically.
"Doesn't it?" he'd countered. "A new day is dawning. You've survived another night in spite of the Master and the Toclafane, and you're another day closer to ending this madness." He'd wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest. "That gives me hope, and it should give you hope too."
She'd felt dizzy with exhaustion, and dizzy, too, at being held in such a caring manner; he was the first person to do more than shake her hand in the 214 days since she'd left Jack and the Doctor aboard the Valiant, and she hadn't realised how extraordinarily comforting it was to be held again.
They'd watched the sunrise in silence, then Harry had given her the lion's share of their blankets and tenderly wrapped her in them, before spooning up behind her with his arms around her middle. She had slept solidly for six and a half hours that day before the nightmares had started, and it was the longest period of unbroken sleep she'd managed since her worldwide trek had begun.
Now they stood together, Martha's back to Harry's chest as usual, and her arms resting over his where they were wrapped around her, and she wondered if she was falling a little in love with Dr Harry Sullivan. She knew it was foolish: even if they both survived this year, he wouldn't remember her afterwards, once the Doctor had stopped the Master, and there was also the knowledge that falling for the wrong man had got her into this situation in the first place. If she hadn't allowed the Doctor to sweep her off her feet, her life would have been very different. But another part of her said that emotions couldn't be turned on and off like a tap, and that there was so much hate and fear in this world now, that even the tiniest particle of love should be cherished. She'd begun to worry, before Harry had appeared to help her 'quest', that she was becoming hardened by all that she'd witnessed in the last nine months, but that fear had melted away as her feelings about Harry had grown.
"There's a river nearby," he told her as they settled down to sleep, "I could smell it when we were down on the road. We'll see if we can find it this evening and try some fishing."
Martha smiled. "Harry Sullivan, you're a marvel."
He blushed, as he always did when she complimented him. "You're adorable when you blush," she told him, then leant forward to plant a quick kiss on his lips, before she rolled onto her side.
"Oh I say!" he said, startled by her gesture. After a moment, he settled down behind her and slid his arms around her middle.
* * * * * *
Martha surfaced from her memories to find tears on her face and Jack's arm around her shoulders.
"Sorry," she whispered, scrubbing at her wet cheeks.
"It's okay Martha," he told her, pressing a kiss into her hair. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Two years ago today, Dr Harry Sullivan died saving me from the Toclafane," she answered. "They ripped his body to pieces before my eyes and there was nothing I could do to save him."
"Oh Martha." Jack pulled her into his lap and cradled her in his arms. "I'm sorry, Martha, I truly am."
He held her as she cried again, until she fell asleep, worn out by her emotions, then he lifted her carefully and carried her to the sofa where he set her down, then covered her with a blanket.
When Martha woke a couple of hours later, there was a thermos of coffee on the floor beside the sofa, with a note from Jack taped to the top:
Had to go and help Gwen and Ianto. Then there was a phone number and an address, below which he'd written, Ring him, or better still, go and see him.
She didn't bother wondering how he'd found the address and the number, she just folded the paper carefully and tucked it into her pocket, before helping herself to the coffee, thinking that maybe she would do as Jack had suggested once she got back to London again.
Title: 30 Days with Martha Jones: Sunrise
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Martha Jones, Harry Sullivan
Rating: G
Spoilers: Season 3
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
~~~~~~
Late one afternoon Jack went to ask Martha about some tests she'd been running for him and found her staring sightlessly at the computer screens in front of her. He held back from approaching her; he'd found her like this once before and she had later revealed that she'd been remembering something that had happened to her during her year walking the world for the Doctor. He knew that two years was not nearly long enough for Martha to have dealt with her memories of that apocalyptic year, and that sometimes a particular date would act as a trigger. Since Gwen and Ianto were out interviewing someone the team suspected of trying to sell off alien artefacts that had come through the Rift, he settled down on the bottom of the steps to wait for Martha to work through her memories.
* * * * * *
"It'll be sunrise soon," Martha's companion said softly.
She sighed. "I guess we'd better find some shelter then." She felt Harry touch her arm and allowed him to lead her aside; they moved as quickly and quietly as they could along a steep, rocky path that took them up to some caves that looked east, back along the route that they'd spent the night trudging down.
Harry concentrated on getting a fire going while Martha sorted out something to eat; she didn't tell him that their rations were getting desperately low, knowing that he knew this as well as she did.
He sat down beside Martha once the fire was going and accepted the hunk of bread and cheese that she offered him while their small kettle began to heat up some water for coffee. They didn't have anything they could cook to eat since the Toclafane had scared away the animals as well as the people, but Harry insisted that they at least have a hot drink before sleeping.
"Is this the last of the cheese?" he asked.
Martha nodded, then swallowed her mouthful. "Tomorrow we'll have to start on the tins of meat you brought with you."
He wrinkled his nose a little. "I didn't imagine I'd ever be eating army rations again. Still, beggars can't be choosers." He grinned at her ruefully and to her surprise she found herself managing to smile back at him.
"Come and watch the sunrise while you drink your coffee," he said once they'd finished their meagre meal.
She smiled again. Every morning for the last two weeks while they'd been travelling together, Harry Sullivan, formerly of the Royal Navy and UNIT, former companion to the Doctor's fourth incarnation, had said the same words. The first morning Martha had been reluctant to follow his suggestion: the long night they'd spent scrambling over the worst terrain she'd yet experienced on this trek had left her trembling with exhaustion. All she'd wanted to do once she'd eaten was sleep as best as she could, but Harry had been quietly stubborn and insisted that she join him.
"Why?" she'd asked wearily. "I need to sleep."
He took her small hand in his larger one (it was only the second time he'd touched her after their formal handshake when he'd introduced himself), and led her to where she could see the sky just beginning to change colour.
"I know you need to sleep," he'd said quietly, "but you need hope, too."
"A sunrise will give me hope?" she'd asked sceptically.
"Doesn't it?" he'd countered. "A new day is dawning. You've survived another night in spite of the Master and the Toclafane, and you're another day closer to ending this madness." He'd wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest. "That gives me hope, and it should give you hope too."
She'd felt dizzy with exhaustion, and dizzy, too, at being held in such a caring manner; he was the first person to do more than shake her hand in the 214 days since she'd left Jack and the Doctor aboard the Valiant, and she hadn't realised how extraordinarily comforting it was to be held again.
They'd watched the sunrise in silence, then Harry had given her the lion's share of their blankets and tenderly wrapped her in them, before spooning up behind her with his arms around her middle. She had slept solidly for six and a half hours that day before the nightmares had started, and it was the longest period of unbroken sleep she'd managed since her worldwide trek had begun.
Now they stood together, Martha's back to Harry's chest as usual, and her arms resting over his where they were wrapped around her, and she wondered if she was falling a little in love with Dr Harry Sullivan. She knew it was foolish: even if they both survived this year, he wouldn't remember her afterwards, once the Doctor had stopped the Master, and there was also the knowledge that falling for the wrong man had got her into this situation in the first place. If she hadn't allowed the Doctor to sweep her off her feet, her life would have been very different. But another part of her said that emotions couldn't be turned on and off like a tap, and that there was so much hate and fear in this world now, that even the tiniest particle of love should be cherished. She'd begun to worry, before Harry had appeared to help her 'quest', that she was becoming hardened by all that she'd witnessed in the last nine months, but that fear had melted away as her feelings about Harry had grown.
"There's a river nearby," he told her as they settled down to sleep, "I could smell it when we were down on the road. We'll see if we can find it this evening and try some fishing."
Martha smiled. "Harry Sullivan, you're a marvel."
He blushed, as he always did when she complimented him. "You're adorable when you blush," she told him, then leant forward to plant a quick kiss on his lips, before she rolled onto her side.
"Oh I say!" he said, startled by her gesture. After a moment, he settled down behind her and slid his arms around her middle.
* * * * * *
Martha surfaced from her memories to find tears on her face and Jack's arm around her shoulders.
"Sorry," she whispered, scrubbing at her wet cheeks.
"It's okay Martha," he told her, pressing a kiss into her hair. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Two years ago today, Dr Harry Sullivan died saving me from the Toclafane," she answered. "They ripped his body to pieces before my eyes and there was nothing I could do to save him."
"Oh Martha." Jack pulled her into his lap and cradled her in his arms. "I'm sorry, Martha, I truly am."
He held her as she cried again, until she fell asleep, worn out by her emotions, then he lifted her carefully and carried her to the sofa where he set her down, then covered her with a blanket.
When Martha woke a couple of hours later, there was a thermos of coffee on the floor beside the sofa, with a note from Jack taped to the top:
Had to go and help Gwen and Ianto. Then there was a phone number and an address, below which he'd written, Ring him, or better still, go and see him.
She didn't bother wondering how he'd found the address and the number, she just folded the paper carefully and tucked it into her pocket, before helping herself to the coffee, thinking that maybe she would do as Jack had suggested once she got back to London again.