Child's Play (2/2)
Who_Daily Link: < a href="http://persiflage-1.livejournal.com/294941.html">Child's Play (2/2) by < lj user=persiflage_1> (Characters: Martha, Ten, Other Characters | Rating: PG | Spoilers: None )
Title: Child's Play (2/2)
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Martha, Ten, Jamie (OC), Francine
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Summary: The Doctor and Martha's son is about to have an 11th birthday he'll never forget.
Disclaimer: Any characters you've not seen on TV are mine, the rest belong to the Beeb.
Author Notes: After I posted Child of Time several people asked for more, and before I knew it I'd been ambushed by a plot bunny. Consider this your official introduction to James Thomas Jones, the son of Dr Martha Jones and the Doctor.
Betas: catholicphoton and abstruse_fangrl who probably shouldn't be encouraging me to do this!
~~~~~~
Part 1
Jamie showered quickly, then got dressed in the black jeans his Mum had specified and a navy blue t-shirt with the Star Wars logo on it. It took him a few minutes to find a jumper as they were at the bottom of one of his drawers along with the rest of his winter clothes, since it was only July 31 and reasonably warm.
He put the jumper on the end of his bed, then sat down at his desk; he guessed that his Mum and Dad would be talking for a while, and since he could sense that neither of them was angry, he didn't feel the need to go downstairs just yet. He'd discovered early on that his parents wouldn't row in front of him and he had developed the habit of wandering in if he heard them arguing.
As Jamie sat looking at his almost finished pen-and-ink portrait of his parents he wondered what it would be like at his new school. He knew his mum had been talking to her friend Sarah Jane and her son, Luke, about tutoring for him: Luke wasn't quite a normal human being, either, so his mum had said, although that wasn't too obvious except for the fact he was a genius. Luke was doing a PhD - his second, Jamie thought Sarah Jane had said - but he'd agreed to give Jamie private tuition in the sciences, mathematics and computing. Jamie liked the idea of doing lessons via email and IM, but he worried that his new classmates would pick on him for being too much of a swot. His classmates at his old school had mostly been tolerant of him by the end of his final year, but when he was eight (not long after he'd found out the Doctor was his dad) he'd been bullied and there'd been a bit of trouble at school.
He frowned now, remembering the day he'd come back from school with his clothes muddy and torn, and his books battered; his mum had been working from home that day, and she had hit the roof because he'd got into a fight with three boys in his class who'd been jealous of the ease with which he sailed through his schoolwork. She'd called his Gran to come and stay with him while she went down to the school to talk to the headmaster; Jamie had had a bath and changed out of his school uniform so his Gran could wash it, and then sat down to do his homework, his notebooks covered in the scrawls of the boys who'd called him freak, dork, and other, more horrible, names.
Jamie had worried that there would be reprisals from the boys if the headmaster punished them, and he wasn't sure what his mum would say about the fact that he'd started the fight in the first place.
"Your mum went through something similar when she was ten," Francine told him, coming in with a sandwich and a glass of his favourite juice. "Although she didn't get into a fist fight like you." She smoothed his hair down with one hand, then squeezed his shoulder.
"What did you do?" asked Jamie, wide-eyed with surprise.
"Your granddad Clive went to see Martha's headmistress and told her just what he thought of the situation; I think he scared her a bit. Then he came home and told Martha that there would always be people who would be jealous of her, and that she had two choices."
"What choices?" asked Jamie.
"Either you can pretend to be someone you're not in order to fit in and be accepted, or you can accept who you are and stay true to yourself, even if it means upsetting other people. You have to decide which will make you happiest, and no one can make that decision for you."
She sat on the corner of his bed, watching him eating his sandwich. "It's not easy, Jamie. There will always be people who want everyone else to be like them, and usually those are the dull people who cannot enjoy and celebrate differences. Some people will dislike or fear you because you're smarter than them, or richer than them, or, sadly, darker-skinned than them. I don't know if we'll ever get to the point where we won't collectively fear what's different - you might want to ask your dad about that some time - but until we do, we each just have to learn how to live with the situation." She leant forward and kissed his forehead. "We love you just as you are Jamie, remember that."
"I will."
Once he'd realised that his mum had been through something similar and coped, he was determined that he would also cope, but he still couldn't help feeling a bit nervous about September, even if he did have all of August to enjoy first.
"Jamie." Martha spoke from the doorway of his room, startling him. He looked around in surprise to see both his parents watching him.
"You must have been really engrossed," she said. "It's ages since I've been able to catch you by surprise."
"What are you drawing?" asked the Doctor.
"Come and see," Jamie answered.
They crossed the room and stood either side of his chair to look down at his desk.
"Oh!" gasped Martha softly. "Wow! That's brilliant Jamie."
The boy looked up at his dad, wondering why he hadn't said anything, and saw that the Doctor was staring at the drawing with something like awe on his face, and his eyes were bright as if he was going to cry.
"That's beautiful work," the Time Lord said quietly. "Did you take the picture from life?"
"Gran showed me some photos taken at the LazLabs event, before the machine turned Lazarus into a monster," Jamie answered. "I thought Mum looked pretty in her dress, and you looked really smart in your tux - you looked like film stars."
Martha laughed. "I wish."
"You did a good job, Jamie," the Doctor said, squeezing his shoulder.
"Thanks Dad."
"Are you ready to go, then?" Martha asked.
Jamie nodded eagerly, slid off his chair and then grabbed his jumper off the bed. He ran downstairs ahead of his parents, then dashed across the sitting room to the TARDIS doors, excited at the thought of his first trip in the ship.
"Now then, Master James Thomas Jones, you'd better hold on, 'cos this will get bumpy." The Doctor grinned down at his son as he promptly grabbed one of the coral struts on the console.
"Ready?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Jamie, breathless with excitement.
Martha gave a nod as she wrapped her right arm around her son's shoulders, and grabbed the same coral strut with her free hand.
"Allons-y!" cried the Doctor gleefully, setting the TARDIS on her way.
"I can hear her, Dad!" Jamie said excitedly. "I can hear the TARDIS. You didn't tell me she sang so beautifully!"
"Singing to you, is she?" the Time Lord asked, amazed. "She usually only hums to me."
Martha couldn't help chuckling at the Doctor's pout. "Jealous much?" she teased.
"Not at all! Well, not much. Well, okay, a bit," he answered. He looked down at Jamie. "She must really like you. Mind you, she's always had a very soft spot for your mum, so that's not really surprising." He grinned. "She's got good taste, this old girl," he said, patting the cylindrical Time Rotor.
Jamie grinned back, his dark eyes full of joy. "Can I have a tour?" he asked.
"Of course," his dad said promptly. "What do you want to see first?"
"The library and the Medical Bay," Jamie said immediately.
Martha laughed. "Guess you really are your mother's son."
"Come on then," the Doctor said, offering a hand, which his son quickly grabbed.
"Coming Mum?"
"Of course," she answered, taking his other hand.
Out in the corridor they paused together. "Now then, what's behind this door?" said the Doctor, patting it gently. "Want to look?"
"Yeah!" Jamie pushed the door open and his eyes lit up at the sight of the Medical Bay with its advanced equipment gathered from all over the galaxy.
"We brought you here when you were eight, do you remember?" Martha asked.
Jamie screwed up his face. "A bit. It's not very clear. That's the day you told me that Mr Milligan wasn't my dad, isn't it?"
She nodded agreement, remembering that conversation as clearly as if it was yesterday.
Three years ago
Martha stood beside the Doctor, holding her son's hand, as the Time Lord prepared to wake Jamie from his healing coma.
The Doctor's long fingers rested on the boy's temples, and she saw that he had his eyes closed in concentration. After a few moments Jamie stirred, and Martha almost sobbed with relief when his eyes opened and he looked up at her in bewilderment.
"Mummy?" he said, his voice weak and shaky.
"Yes love, I'm here."
"What happened?"
"You fell into a cataleptic state induced by overwhelming telepathic pressure on your prefrontal cortex," answered the Doctor.
Martha saw Jamie's expression change to confusion. "You were in my head," he said disbelievingly.
"Hello. I'm the Doctor," the Time Lord said gently.
"Mum's friend?"
"That's right," Martha answered. "The Doctor's going to help you to shield your mind from other people's thoughts, and then we're going to have a snack and a chat in the kitchen. Okay?"
Jamie gave her an uncertain nod, and she squeezed his fingers before the Doctor put his fingers back at the boy's temples.
Watching them, Martha had no idea of what was passing between father and son, but she could feel the tension relaxing out of Jamie's body, and when he opened his eyes again a few minutes later there was a peaceful expression in them. She moved past the Doctor to wrap him in a hug and he clung to her, both of them shedding a few tears of relief, then she scooped him up off the bed and carried him into the corridor, the Time Lord following close behind.
In the kitchen the Doctor began getting out things to make them tea and pulled out a box of Jaffa Cakes. "Do you like these?" he asked Jamie, who was sitting on Martha's lap since she was reluctant to let go of him for the moment.
"Yes, thank you," the boy answered quietly.
"Tuck in then." The Doctor patted his shoulder and then delved into the fridge. "What juice do you like, Jamie?"
"Apple, please."
A few moments later, as Jamie was munching on a Jaffa Cake, the Doctor set a glass of juice down on the table, then a teapot and two mugs.
"There's something we have to tell you," Martha said. "We found out today that Tom Milligan, the man I was going to marry, isn't your dad, as I thought."
Jamie craned his neck to look up at her face, obviously surprised. "Who's my Dad?"
"The Doctor," Martha answered.
He turned to look at the Time Lord, and she watched as they exchanged intent gazes. "Okay," Jamie said calmly, and went back to his juice and Jaffa Cakes.
Martha exchanged a surprised look with the Time Lord, who shrugged almost imperceptibly.
"You don't mind?" she asked.
"If the Doctor is my dad, then I can see him sometimes, can't I?" the boy asked.
The Time Lord nodded. "Definitely. I'll come and see you, and your mum, regularly."
"Good. Mr Milligan is dead so he can't visit me. I like having a dad to visit me."
"I'm glad," the Doctor said. He offered Martha a mug of tea and she accepted it gratefully, relieved that Jamie didn't seem too fazed by their revelation.
* * * * * *
Now
Martha watched as Jamie explored the Med Bay with his dad, who was telling him what the various bits of equipment were called and what they did; he and the Doctor had such a good relationship that she felt a bit guilty sometimes about having denied Jamie the chance to have his father in his life from the outset. She hadn't known for sure, of course, that the Doctor was his dad, but she'd wondered once or twice, and she could easily have taken a DNA sample to check. But at the back of her mind was the memory of the Time Lord's reaction to having Jenny foisted on him, and although she knew that the Doctor had bonded with his daughter during the course of events on Messaline (something which Donna had described to her while they were travelling back to Earth afterwards), she'd still felt reluctant. Part of the reason, of course, was that she felt that she and the Doctor could never have a straight forward relationship: she might have forgiven him for the way he'd behaved to her when she was travelling with him, but he had hurt her and she was still wary of him hurting her again. Their relationship now was akin to that of a divorced couple who remained on reasonably good terms for the sake of their son; while a part of her would always love the Doctor, there was no longer any lust in her feelings for him.
"Right then, library next!" said the Doctor, breaking into her thoughts.
Jamie joined her by the door and slid his hand into hers. Are you okay Mum? You seem sad.
I'm okay, she answered. I promise.
The Doctor put his arm around her shoulders. "Okay?" he asked, giving her the same look of concern as his son.
"I'm okay," she assured them both. "I was just thinking about something, but it's okay. Let's go and look at the library."
They spent an hour travelling the corridors of the ship, showing Jamie the wardrobe, reacquainting him with the kitchen, and then wandering through the arboretum before the boy suddenly stopped dead and looked up at his parents with eyes shining in anticipation.
"We've arrived," he said breathlessly.
"How do you know?" asked Martha curiously.
"The TARDIS told me," he told her.
"C'mon then!" exclaimed the Doctor grabbing Jamie and swinging him around. "Let's go and see your first ever planet!"
His son giggled and as soon as the Time Lord set on his feet, he went racing through the trees towards the door. The Doctor put his arm around Martha's shoulders as they headed after the boy in a slower fashion.
"You okay?" he asked. "I get the feeling you're not just quiet because you're tired."
"We need to talk about Jamie's education," she said. "He's already outstripping everyone at school, and even though he's changing schools in September, he's still going to be ahead of everyone else in his year group. I've been talking to Luke Smith about private tutoring."
"Sarah Jane's Luke?" the Doctor asked. Martha nodded. "What's he up to now?"
"Doing his second PhD," she answered. "He's agreed to help by tutoring Jamie in the sciences, mathematics and computing, but I don't want him to neglect the humanities, so I need to find someone else to tutor him in languages, English literature, history and geography. I thought that if I could get him studying for some of his GCSEs now, he won't get so bored when he's in his classes."
"I can help," the Doctor said promptly. "I'll build a K9 unit for you, and he can tutor Jamie, and I can come and give him lessons as well."
"I don't know," Martha said. "I want him to have some stability, and even with the best will in the world, you don't always time things right. You said yourself, this morning, that we'd got out of synch. You thought it had been six weeks since you were here, but for us it's been almost three months."
"Then come with me," he urged. "Travel in the TARDIS again, and we can teach Jamie between us, with the help of a K9 unit. He'll get a broader education than if he stays on Earth."
"It's too dangerous," she answered immediately.
"You always say that," the Doctor said.
"Do you blame me?" Martha asked. "When I travelled with you we got stranded in 1969 and 1913, I nearly got stranded in 1930s New York, I was kidnapped on New Earth, and nearly fell into a living sun. Not to mention having to spend an entire year walking a post-Apocalyptic earth while the Master tried to destroy the Human race, and you and my family were held prisoner."
They stepped out into the corridor and saw Jamie was not waiting for them.
"Jamie!" Martha cried worriedly.
He popped his head around the corner ahead of them, eyes wide with surprise. "Mum?"
She sighed. "You had me a bit worried," she said. "I didn't know where you were."
He came back down the corridor, looking concerned. "Sorry Mum." He slid his hand into hers. "I'm not going to leave the TARDIS without you," he said.
Martha knelt and hugged him. "I know. You're a sensible boy. I just had a bit of a panic." She kissed his forehead. "Not enough sleep, that's my trouble."
"You could always get some sleep once we're on our way back to Earth," the Doctor suggested. "Jamie and I will keep each other company."
"Yeah, I just might do that," she said. "But first, let's go and explore."
"Yeah!" exclaimed Jamie eagerly. He ran ahead of them up the corridors and back to the Control Room. When they reached it, he was struggling into his jumper, which Martha now realised was a bit tight on him.
"Looks like I'd better go through all your winter clothes before you start school and see what no longer fits." She helped him get it straight, then tried to tidy his dishevelled hair. "You need to stop growing," she said.
He pouted at her, looking even more like his dad. "I won't stop growing for at least seven more years," he said.
Martha sighed. "I know." She gestured at the doors. "Go on then. I know you're dying to have a look."
Jamie grinned at her and skipped down the ramp towards the doors, grabbed the handle, then paused as he looked back at his parents who were following him.
"Go on son," the Doctor said, grinning, his eyes as bright with excitement as the boy's.
Jamie opened the door carefully, then stood and peered out, looking from right to left and back again. "It looks like Earth," he said, sounding bitterly disappointed.
"It's not though," Martha assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it. "Go on, step outside, and you'll soon realise it's not."
He moved out of the ship and took several steps across the short springy turf, and she watched him registering the way the air felt like Earth after a thunderstorm.
"Oh!" he said softly, staring up at the unfamiliar constellations in the sky.
"This place has a higher than average bombardment of positive ions," the Doctor said as he and Martha followed Jamie out of the TARDIS. "It's what gives it such a tranquil atmosphere."
"An ion is an atom or molecule where the total number of electrons isn't equal to the total number of protons, which gives it either a net positive or negative electrical charge," Jamie said.
"That's right," agreed the Time Lord promptly. "Well remembered."
The boy grinned, bouncing up and down eagerly, and reminding Martha of the Doctor yet again. It seemed to her that the older her son got, the more like his father he became.
The Time Lord moved past Martha and grabbed Jamie's hand. "Come on, then." He turned and held out his other hand to Martha and she smiled at them both, then slid her hand into the Doctor's.
They spent some time exploring the ruins on the Eye, and then the Doctor took Jamie to see the memorial to the Time War; Martha accompanied them, but hung back feeling that it was a father/son moment.
When they joined her, she gave Jamie and the Doctor a hug, and then they wandered away again. Soon Jamie was running off ahead of them and Martha hoped he'd use up some of his excess energy.
"Have you thought any more about my suggestion?" the Time Lord asked as they rambled through a wood.
"About us coming with you?" He nodded. "I'm really not keen on the idea," she said.
"Well, why don't we give it a trial run?" the Doctor said. "You two come with me for the next month, and if we decide things aren't working out, he can start school as planned in early September."
"And if it doesn't work out?" she asked.
"Then I'll stay on Earth, mostly, and tutor him at home."
"You'd hate that," Martha said instantly.
"How do you know?" asked the Doctor. "I've never tried it."
"You didn't like being tied to Earth in 1969."
"Well of course not," he said. "I didn't have any choice in the matter - we were stranded there without the TARDIS. This would be different: I'd have the TARDIS at hand, and I could go off in her as necessary, and then come back. Or you two could come with me."
"What would you do during the day, while Jamie's at school and I'm at work?"
"I can come and work at UNIT, or do some work for Torchwood - I daresay Jack would be happy to have me around."
Martha laughed. "You know Jack, he's always happy to have you around."
"You needn't worry, Dr Jones, I wouldn't get bored." He slid his arm through hers. "Besides, I would be glad to spend some more time with you as well as Jamie. What do you say?"
She sighed. "Okay, we'll give it a trial run for a month, although if anything really drastic happens, I'm calling off the trial instantly."
"Good." He stopped to give her a hug. "I promise, I'll take good care of our son and you."
"You'd better, mister, or my mum will have your guts for garters. You'll run right out of regenerations!"
The Doctor laughed. "She would too," he said. "Come on then, let's get back to the TARDIS, and you can catch up on some sleep while we head back to Earth, and then we'll pack up some things and head out into the Universe, give our son an education like no other."
"Okay." Martha looked around and saw Jamie crouched at the base of a tree, a handful of leaves in his hand. "Looks like he's collecting plant specimens," she said.
"Oh dear," the Doctor said, letting go of Martha and hurrying forward. "Jamie, what have you found?" he asked urgently.
"Toadstools Dad, look!" He pointed out the dark green caps that were scattered around the base of the tree.
"Don't touch them!" the Time Lord said quickly. "They're poisonous."
Jamie withdrew his hand and straightened up. "Oh. I wanted to pick some to see if I could classify them."
"Not a good idea, son," he said.
"Jamie, I've told you before that you have to be careful about picking strange plants," Martha said anxiously. "You didn't touch them, did you?"
"No!"
"Good." She caught hold of his free hand and gently pulled him away from the tree. "Come on, we're heading back to the TARDIS now."
"Are you mad at me?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly as he looked from the Doctor to Martha.
"No," they both said instantly. "But you do have to be careful when you're somewhere strange," Martha said.
"I forgot. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," the Doctor said. "No great harm done. Why don't I put your leaves in my pocket until we get back to the ship?"
"Thanks Dad." He carefully slid the leaves into the Time Lord's coat pocket, then grabbed his dad's hand.
Once back aboard the TARDIS Martha headed to her old room for some sleep as she was beginning to flag a bit; she'd only had a couple of hours sleep during the two nights that she'd spent at UNIT working on the antiviral drugs, and three hours last night. She left Jamie and the Doctor heading towards the TARDIS laboratory to examine the leaves Jamie had gathered, the Time Lord talking enthusiastically about the microscopes he had in there.
* * * * * *
Four hours later Martha woke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed and listening intently, but at first all she could hear was the familiar hum of the TARDIS. Then she heard Jamie crying out in fear, and she almost fell out of bed in her haste to go to him; she shoved her feet into her slippers and ran to the door of her room, expecting to find him outside, but the corridor was empty.
"Jamie!" she shouted, feeling a flood of anxiety. She turned and ran towards the Control Room, but when she got there it was empty, the Time Rotor slowly moving up and down.
Martha turned and ran back into the ship's interior, past her own room, the Med Bay, the library and the kitchen.
"Jamie! JAMIE!" She was trying not to panic, but she was unnerved by the fact that neither Jamie nor the Doctor were responding to her frantic shouts. She leant her forehead against the nearest wall and reached out mentally to both of them as she had so often reached out to Jamie.
Mum? Her son sounded scared and tearful when he responded.
Where are you? What's happened, and where's the Doctor? she asked anxiously.
I don't know where I am, I got lost. I think I killed Dad.
Martha sensed him breaking down in tears as he told her this and she immediately sought to calm him. You can't kill your Dad, not that easily, anyway. Remember that he told you all about regeneration? Even if you've injured him really badly, he won't die like I would.
What if he changes and he doesn’t like me any more? Jamie asked fearfully.
He would never stop loving you, James Thomas Jones, Martha told him firmly.
She kept him talking, suggesting that he tell her about the leaves he'd brought from the Eye of Orion, so she could use their telepathic link and mental nudges from the TARDIS to track him through the ship. Eventually she found him, huddled in a corner with his arms wrapped around his knees. She ran down the corridor towards him and he lifted a tear-stained face to hers, then tried to get up.
"It's okay, Jamie. It's okay, I'm here now." She gathered him into a hug, then sat down and pulled him into her lap, cradling his body against hers and rocking him back and forth.
"What happened?" she asked after several minutes.
"We were in the lab, and I picked up this gun thing. Dad said it was a staser from home, his home, I mean, and he had been trying to repair it because he knew he could sell it, and then he could give you the money for me." He shuddered against her. "Dad said I shouldn't fiddle with it, but then it made a really loud whining noise and then energy sort of exploded out of it and hit Dad. It threw him across the room and he hit his head against the wall and I couldn't wake him up. I thought I'd killed him, and I tried to come and find you to help him, but I got lost and you were asleep and I couldn't wake you up." He started to sob again.
"It's okay, you did wake me up," Martha said, trying to soothe and calm him. "I don't think the Doctor is dead, but we'd better go and find him, he could have a nasty bump on his head if he was knocked out like that. Can you walk with me?"
"Yes," Jamie answered with a little hiccough. He pushed himself up and then took Martha's hand.
"Can you find your way back to the lab from here?" she asked.
"The TARDIS is telling me the way," he answered. "She says it's not far."
"Good."
They reached the laboratory more quickly than Martha had expected and she hurried down the length of the room to where the Doctor was sprawled across the floor. She felt slightly alarmed that he wasn't up and awake yet, but then she realised she had no real idea how long ago the staser had overloaded.
"How long is it since this happened?" she asked Jamie, knowing he would know, as she knelt down beside the supine Time Lord.
"9.8 minutes," the boy answered.
Martha was slightly surprised - she'd thought it was longer, but that was fear for you. She loosened the Doctor's tie, then unbuttoned his shirt and put her ear to his chest. "Both his hearts are beating steadily," she said, looking up at her son with a reassuring smile. "He's just unconscious, and a bit singed." She carefully felt around the back of the Time Lord's head. "And he's got a very nasty lump on his head."
The Doctor groaned and Martha heard Jamie's gulp of relief at the sound. "Steady now," she told the Time Lord, her right hand on his chest, between his hearts. "You've had a nasty bang on the head, not to mention being hit by an energy overload."
"Martha?" He squinted up at her. "Where's Jamie? Is he okay?"
"He's fine, he's here." She reached out and pulled her son into his dad's line of vision. The Doctor reached out to him, so she helped him to sit up, and father and son hugged, Jamie crying on the Doctor's shoulder as he tried to apologise.
"It's okay," the Doctor answered, patting his son on the back. "I've had worse. Hasn't your mum ever told you about the time I got hit by lightning?"
"No," Jamie answered, his voice muffled by the Doctor's jacket.
"I'll tell you about it some time," Martha said. "For the moment, though, let's get your Dad to the Medical Bay and just check there's no lasting damage. And then I think you should have a nap - I expect you're worn out."
Jamie pulled away from the Doctor and waited while Martha helped the Time Lord to his feet, then put an arm around him to support him as he was a bit shaky on his feet.
"Come here," the Doctor said, reaching out to pull his son close. "I'll be okay once your Mum has sorted me out."
The three of them made their way into the corridor and the Doctor guided them towards the Med Bay, which the TARDIS had moved closer to the lab so her Time Lord wouldn't have far to walk. Martha helped the Doctor onto an examination bed, then lifted Jamie onto the second one.
"Go to sleep, if you can," she said, brushing his sweaty hair off his forehead, then kissing it. She waited, watching him as his eyes fluttered shut, then opened, then closed again, before she moved to the Doctor's bedside to examine him.
"Will he be okay?" the Time Lord asked.
"He'll be fine," she answered. "It's just shock, that's all." She unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way, then helped him out of his jacket and the shirt so she could examine the burn on his abdomen. "What am I going to do with the two of you?"
The Doctor suppressed a moan of pain as Martha cleaned the burn and then dressed it. "Keep doctoring us, I hope," he answered. "I won't blame you if this has put you off the idea of the two of you travelling with me."
"Accidents happen," she told him. "I just hope the two of you won't need too much doctoring."
"Me too." He sat up so she could wrap a bandage over the dressing. "Let me guess, that's to remind me not to try doing too much before I've healed?"
Martha raised an eyebrow at him, and he smirked. "You've patched me up often enough," he said, "for me to know your methodology by now."
"Yes, it is a reminder," she answered. "Please don't take it off for at least twenty four hours."
He sketched a salute with two fingers to his temple. "Mind if I have a nap?" he asked, lying back down on the bed.
"Go ahead," Martha answered. "I'm just going to make some coffee for myself."
The Doctor pushed himself upwards again, leaning on one elbow. "How long did you sleep?" he asked. "My sense of Time's a bit off after being knocked out."
"Four hours," she answered.
He opened his mouth, but Martha spoke first. "Don't apologise," she said. "It's not your fault. These things happen, especially with children in the mix." She put her hand on his shoulder and pushed gently. "Get some rest."
The Doctor grabbed her hand before she moved away and kissed her knuckles. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She ducked her head and kissed his cheek. "Sleep or I'll give you a sedative."
"Yes ma'am." He closed his eyes obediently, and soon father and son were sound asleep.
Martha set off to get herself a mug of coffee, reflecting that life probably wasn't going to be any less hectic travelling with the Doctor and Jamie than it was living on Earth with Jamie and working for UNIT.
Title: Child's Play (2/2)
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Martha, Ten, Jamie (OC), Francine
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Summary: The Doctor and Martha's son is about to have an 11th birthday he'll never forget.
Disclaimer: Any characters you've not seen on TV are mine, the rest belong to the Beeb.
Author Notes: After I posted Child of Time several people asked for more, and before I knew it I'd been ambushed by a plot bunny. Consider this your official introduction to James Thomas Jones, the son of Dr Martha Jones and the Doctor.
Betas: catholicphoton and abstruse_fangrl who probably shouldn't be encouraging me to do this!
~~~~~~
Part 1
Jamie showered quickly, then got dressed in the black jeans his Mum had specified and a navy blue t-shirt with the Star Wars logo on it. It took him a few minutes to find a jumper as they were at the bottom of one of his drawers along with the rest of his winter clothes, since it was only July 31 and reasonably warm.
He put the jumper on the end of his bed, then sat down at his desk; he guessed that his Mum and Dad would be talking for a while, and since he could sense that neither of them was angry, he didn't feel the need to go downstairs just yet. He'd discovered early on that his parents wouldn't row in front of him and he had developed the habit of wandering in if he heard them arguing.
As Jamie sat looking at his almost finished pen-and-ink portrait of his parents he wondered what it would be like at his new school. He knew his mum had been talking to her friend Sarah Jane and her son, Luke, about tutoring for him: Luke wasn't quite a normal human being, either, so his mum had said, although that wasn't too obvious except for the fact he was a genius. Luke was doing a PhD - his second, Jamie thought Sarah Jane had said - but he'd agreed to give Jamie private tuition in the sciences, mathematics and computing. Jamie liked the idea of doing lessons via email and IM, but he worried that his new classmates would pick on him for being too much of a swot. His classmates at his old school had mostly been tolerant of him by the end of his final year, but when he was eight (not long after he'd found out the Doctor was his dad) he'd been bullied and there'd been a bit of trouble at school.
He frowned now, remembering the day he'd come back from school with his clothes muddy and torn, and his books battered; his mum had been working from home that day, and she had hit the roof because he'd got into a fight with three boys in his class who'd been jealous of the ease with which he sailed through his schoolwork. She'd called his Gran to come and stay with him while she went down to the school to talk to the headmaster; Jamie had had a bath and changed out of his school uniform so his Gran could wash it, and then sat down to do his homework, his notebooks covered in the scrawls of the boys who'd called him freak, dork, and other, more horrible, names.
Jamie had worried that there would be reprisals from the boys if the headmaster punished them, and he wasn't sure what his mum would say about the fact that he'd started the fight in the first place.
"Your mum went through something similar when she was ten," Francine told him, coming in with a sandwich and a glass of his favourite juice. "Although she didn't get into a fist fight like you." She smoothed his hair down with one hand, then squeezed his shoulder.
"What did you do?" asked Jamie, wide-eyed with surprise.
"Your granddad Clive went to see Martha's headmistress and told her just what he thought of the situation; I think he scared her a bit. Then he came home and told Martha that there would always be people who would be jealous of her, and that she had two choices."
"What choices?" asked Jamie.
"Either you can pretend to be someone you're not in order to fit in and be accepted, or you can accept who you are and stay true to yourself, even if it means upsetting other people. You have to decide which will make you happiest, and no one can make that decision for you."
She sat on the corner of his bed, watching him eating his sandwich. "It's not easy, Jamie. There will always be people who want everyone else to be like them, and usually those are the dull people who cannot enjoy and celebrate differences. Some people will dislike or fear you because you're smarter than them, or richer than them, or, sadly, darker-skinned than them. I don't know if we'll ever get to the point where we won't collectively fear what's different - you might want to ask your dad about that some time - but until we do, we each just have to learn how to live with the situation." She leant forward and kissed his forehead. "We love you just as you are Jamie, remember that."
"I will."
Once he'd realised that his mum had been through something similar and coped, he was determined that he would also cope, but he still couldn't help feeling a bit nervous about September, even if he did have all of August to enjoy first.
"Jamie." Martha spoke from the doorway of his room, startling him. He looked around in surprise to see both his parents watching him.
"You must have been really engrossed," she said. "It's ages since I've been able to catch you by surprise."
"What are you drawing?" asked the Doctor.
"Come and see," Jamie answered.
They crossed the room and stood either side of his chair to look down at his desk.
"Oh!" gasped Martha softly. "Wow! That's brilliant Jamie."
The boy looked up at his dad, wondering why he hadn't said anything, and saw that the Doctor was staring at the drawing with something like awe on his face, and his eyes were bright as if he was going to cry.
"That's beautiful work," the Time Lord said quietly. "Did you take the picture from life?"
"Gran showed me some photos taken at the LazLabs event, before the machine turned Lazarus into a monster," Jamie answered. "I thought Mum looked pretty in her dress, and you looked really smart in your tux - you looked like film stars."
Martha laughed. "I wish."
"You did a good job, Jamie," the Doctor said, squeezing his shoulder.
"Thanks Dad."
"Are you ready to go, then?" Martha asked.
Jamie nodded eagerly, slid off his chair and then grabbed his jumper off the bed. He ran downstairs ahead of his parents, then dashed across the sitting room to the TARDIS doors, excited at the thought of his first trip in the ship.
"Now then, Master James Thomas Jones, you'd better hold on, 'cos this will get bumpy." The Doctor grinned down at his son as he promptly grabbed one of the coral struts on the console.
"Ready?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Jamie, breathless with excitement.
Martha gave a nod as she wrapped her right arm around her son's shoulders, and grabbed the same coral strut with her free hand.
"Allons-y!" cried the Doctor gleefully, setting the TARDIS on her way.
"I can hear her, Dad!" Jamie said excitedly. "I can hear the TARDIS. You didn't tell me she sang so beautifully!"
"Singing to you, is she?" the Time Lord asked, amazed. "She usually only hums to me."
Martha couldn't help chuckling at the Doctor's pout. "Jealous much?" she teased.
"Not at all! Well, not much. Well, okay, a bit," he answered. He looked down at Jamie. "She must really like you. Mind you, she's always had a very soft spot for your mum, so that's not really surprising." He grinned. "She's got good taste, this old girl," he said, patting the cylindrical Time Rotor.
Jamie grinned back, his dark eyes full of joy. "Can I have a tour?" he asked.
"Of course," his dad said promptly. "What do you want to see first?"
"The library and the Medical Bay," Jamie said immediately.
Martha laughed. "Guess you really are your mother's son."
"Come on then," the Doctor said, offering a hand, which his son quickly grabbed.
"Coming Mum?"
"Of course," she answered, taking his other hand.
Out in the corridor they paused together. "Now then, what's behind this door?" said the Doctor, patting it gently. "Want to look?"
"Yeah!" Jamie pushed the door open and his eyes lit up at the sight of the Medical Bay with its advanced equipment gathered from all over the galaxy.
"We brought you here when you were eight, do you remember?" Martha asked.
Jamie screwed up his face. "A bit. It's not very clear. That's the day you told me that Mr Milligan wasn't my dad, isn't it?"
She nodded agreement, remembering that conversation as clearly as if it was yesterday.
Three years ago
Martha stood beside the Doctor, holding her son's hand, as the Time Lord prepared to wake Jamie from his healing coma.
The Doctor's long fingers rested on the boy's temples, and she saw that he had his eyes closed in concentration. After a few moments Jamie stirred, and Martha almost sobbed with relief when his eyes opened and he looked up at her in bewilderment.
"Mummy?" he said, his voice weak and shaky.
"Yes love, I'm here."
"What happened?"
"You fell into a cataleptic state induced by overwhelming telepathic pressure on your prefrontal cortex," answered the Doctor.
Martha saw Jamie's expression change to confusion. "You were in my head," he said disbelievingly.
"Hello. I'm the Doctor," the Time Lord said gently.
"Mum's friend?"
"That's right," Martha answered. "The Doctor's going to help you to shield your mind from other people's thoughts, and then we're going to have a snack and a chat in the kitchen. Okay?"
Jamie gave her an uncertain nod, and she squeezed his fingers before the Doctor put his fingers back at the boy's temples.
Watching them, Martha had no idea of what was passing between father and son, but she could feel the tension relaxing out of Jamie's body, and when he opened his eyes again a few minutes later there was a peaceful expression in them. She moved past the Doctor to wrap him in a hug and he clung to her, both of them shedding a few tears of relief, then she scooped him up off the bed and carried him into the corridor, the Time Lord following close behind.
In the kitchen the Doctor began getting out things to make them tea and pulled out a box of Jaffa Cakes. "Do you like these?" he asked Jamie, who was sitting on Martha's lap since she was reluctant to let go of him for the moment.
"Yes, thank you," the boy answered quietly.
"Tuck in then." The Doctor patted his shoulder and then delved into the fridge. "What juice do you like, Jamie?"
"Apple, please."
A few moments later, as Jamie was munching on a Jaffa Cake, the Doctor set a glass of juice down on the table, then a teapot and two mugs.
"There's something we have to tell you," Martha said. "We found out today that Tom Milligan, the man I was going to marry, isn't your dad, as I thought."
Jamie craned his neck to look up at her face, obviously surprised. "Who's my Dad?"
"The Doctor," Martha answered.
He turned to look at the Time Lord, and she watched as they exchanged intent gazes. "Okay," Jamie said calmly, and went back to his juice and Jaffa Cakes.
Martha exchanged a surprised look with the Time Lord, who shrugged almost imperceptibly.
"You don't mind?" she asked.
"If the Doctor is my dad, then I can see him sometimes, can't I?" the boy asked.
The Time Lord nodded. "Definitely. I'll come and see you, and your mum, regularly."
"Good. Mr Milligan is dead so he can't visit me. I like having a dad to visit me."
"I'm glad," the Doctor said. He offered Martha a mug of tea and she accepted it gratefully, relieved that Jamie didn't seem too fazed by their revelation.
* * * * * *
Now
Martha watched as Jamie explored the Med Bay with his dad, who was telling him what the various bits of equipment were called and what they did; he and the Doctor had such a good relationship that she felt a bit guilty sometimes about having denied Jamie the chance to have his father in his life from the outset. She hadn't known for sure, of course, that the Doctor was his dad, but she'd wondered once or twice, and she could easily have taken a DNA sample to check. But at the back of her mind was the memory of the Time Lord's reaction to having Jenny foisted on him, and although she knew that the Doctor had bonded with his daughter during the course of events on Messaline (something which Donna had described to her while they were travelling back to Earth afterwards), she'd still felt reluctant. Part of the reason, of course, was that she felt that she and the Doctor could never have a straight forward relationship: she might have forgiven him for the way he'd behaved to her when she was travelling with him, but he had hurt her and she was still wary of him hurting her again. Their relationship now was akin to that of a divorced couple who remained on reasonably good terms for the sake of their son; while a part of her would always love the Doctor, there was no longer any lust in her feelings for him.
"Right then, library next!" said the Doctor, breaking into her thoughts.
Jamie joined her by the door and slid his hand into hers. Are you okay Mum? You seem sad.
I'm okay, she answered. I promise.
The Doctor put his arm around her shoulders. "Okay?" he asked, giving her the same look of concern as his son.
"I'm okay," she assured them both. "I was just thinking about something, but it's okay. Let's go and look at the library."
They spent an hour travelling the corridors of the ship, showing Jamie the wardrobe, reacquainting him with the kitchen, and then wandering through the arboretum before the boy suddenly stopped dead and looked up at his parents with eyes shining in anticipation.
"We've arrived," he said breathlessly.
"How do you know?" asked Martha curiously.
"The TARDIS told me," he told her.
"C'mon then!" exclaimed the Doctor grabbing Jamie and swinging him around. "Let's go and see your first ever planet!"
His son giggled and as soon as the Time Lord set on his feet, he went racing through the trees towards the door. The Doctor put his arm around Martha's shoulders as they headed after the boy in a slower fashion.
"You okay?" he asked. "I get the feeling you're not just quiet because you're tired."
"We need to talk about Jamie's education," she said. "He's already outstripping everyone at school, and even though he's changing schools in September, he's still going to be ahead of everyone else in his year group. I've been talking to Luke Smith about private tutoring."
"Sarah Jane's Luke?" the Doctor asked. Martha nodded. "What's he up to now?"
"Doing his second PhD," she answered. "He's agreed to help by tutoring Jamie in the sciences, mathematics and computing, but I don't want him to neglect the humanities, so I need to find someone else to tutor him in languages, English literature, history and geography. I thought that if I could get him studying for some of his GCSEs now, he won't get so bored when he's in his classes."
"I can help," the Doctor said promptly. "I'll build a K9 unit for you, and he can tutor Jamie, and I can come and give him lessons as well."
"I don't know," Martha said. "I want him to have some stability, and even with the best will in the world, you don't always time things right. You said yourself, this morning, that we'd got out of synch. You thought it had been six weeks since you were here, but for us it's been almost three months."
"Then come with me," he urged. "Travel in the TARDIS again, and we can teach Jamie between us, with the help of a K9 unit. He'll get a broader education than if he stays on Earth."
"It's too dangerous," she answered immediately.
"You always say that," the Doctor said.
"Do you blame me?" Martha asked. "When I travelled with you we got stranded in 1969 and 1913, I nearly got stranded in 1930s New York, I was kidnapped on New Earth, and nearly fell into a living sun. Not to mention having to spend an entire year walking a post-Apocalyptic earth while the Master tried to destroy the Human race, and you and my family were held prisoner."
They stepped out into the corridor and saw Jamie was not waiting for them.
"Jamie!" Martha cried worriedly.
He popped his head around the corner ahead of them, eyes wide with surprise. "Mum?"
She sighed. "You had me a bit worried," she said. "I didn't know where you were."
He came back down the corridor, looking concerned. "Sorry Mum." He slid his hand into hers. "I'm not going to leave the TARDIS without you," he said.
Martha knelt and hugged him. "I know. You're a sensible boy. I just had a bit of a panic." She kissed his forehead. "Not enough sleep, that's my trouble."
"You could always get some sleep once we're on our way back to Earth," the Doctor suggested. "Jamie and I will keep each other company."
"Yeah, I just might do that," she said. "But first, let's go and explore."
"Yeah!" exclaimed Jamie eagerly. He ran ahead of them up the corridors and back to the Control Room. When they reached it, he was struggling into his jumper, which Martha now realised was a bit tight on him.
"Looks like I'd better go through all your winter clothes before you start school and see what no longer fits." She helped him get it straight, then tried to tidy his dishevelled hair. "You need to stop growing," she said.
He pouted at her, looking even more like his dad. "I won't stop growing for at least seven more years," he said.
Martha sighed. "I know." She gestured at the doors. "Go on then. I know you're dying to have a look."
Jamie grinned at her and skipped down the ramp towards the doors, grabbed the handle, then paused as he looked back at his parents who were following him.
"Go on son," the Doctor said, grinning, his eyes as bright with excitement as the boy's.
Jamie opened the door carefully, then stood and peered out, looking from right to left and back again. "It looks like Earth," he said, sounding bitterly disappointed.
"It's not though," Martha assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it. "Go on, step outside, and you'll soon realise it's not."
He moved out of the ship and took several steps across the short springy turf, and she watched him registering the way the air felt like Earth after a thunderstorm.
"Oh!" he said softly, staring up at the unfamiliar constellations in the sky.
"This place has a higher than average bombardment of positive ions," the Doctor said as he and Martha followed Jamie out of the TARDIS. "It's what gives it such a tranquil atmosphere."
"An ion is an atom or molecule where the total number of electrons isn't equal to the total number of protons, which gives it either a net positive or negative electrical charge," Jamie said.
"That's right," agreed the Time Lord promptly. "Well remembered."
The boy grinned, bouncing up and down eagerly, and reminding Martha of the Doctor yet again. It seemed to her that the older her son got, the more like his father he became.
The Time Lord moved past Martha and grabbed Jamie's hand. "Come on, then." He turned and held out his other hand to Martha and she smiled at them both, then slid her hand into the Doctor's.
They spent some time exploring the ruins on the Eye, and then the Doctor took Jamie to see the memorial to the Time War; Martha accompanied them, but hung back feeling that it was a father/son moment.
When they joined her, she gave Jamie and the Doctor a hug, and then they wandered away again. Soon Jamie was running off ahead of them and Martha hoped he'd use up some of his excess energy.
"Have you thought any more about my suggestion?" the Time Lord asked as they rambled through a wood.
"About us coming with you?" He nodded. "I'm really not keen on the idea," she said.
"Well, why don't we give it a trial run?" the Doctor said. "You two come with me for the next month, and if we decide things aren't working out, he can start school as planned in early September."
"And if it doesn't work out?" she asked.
"Then I'll stay on Earth, mostly, and tutor him at home."
"You'd hate that," Martha said instantly.
"How do you know?" asked the Doctor. "I've never tried it."
"You didn't like being tied to Earth in 1969."
"Well of course not," he said. "I didn't have any choice in the matter - we were stranded there without the TARDIS. This would be different: I'd have the TARDIS at hand, and I could go off in her as necessary, and then come back. Or you two could come with me."
"What would you do during the day, while Jamie's at school and I'm at work?"
"I can come and work at UNIT, or do some work for Torchwood - I daresay Jack would be happy to have me around."
Martha laughed. "You know Jack, he's always happy to have you around."
"You needn't worry, Dr Jones, I wouldn't get bored." He slid his arm through hers. "Besides, I would be glad to spend some more time with you as well as Jamie. What do you say?"
She sighed. "Okay, we'll give it a trial run for a month, although if anything really drastic happens, I'm calling off the trial instantly."
"Good." He stopped to give her a hug. "I promise, I'll take good care of our son and you."
"You'd better, mister, or my mum will have your guts for garters. You'll run right out of regenerations!"
The Doctor laughed. "She would too," he said. "Come on then, let's get back to the TARDIS, and you can catch up on some sleep while we head back to Earth, and then we'll pack up some things and head out into the Universe, give our son an education like no other."
"Okay." Martha looked around and saw Jamie crouched at the base of a tree, a handful of leaves in his hand. "Looks like he's collecting plant specimens," she said.
"Oh dear," the Doctor said, letting go of Martha and hurrying forward. "Jamie, what have you found?" he asked urgently.
"Toadstools Dad, look!" He pointed out the dark green caps that were scattered around the base of the tree.
"Don't touch them!" the Time Lord said quickly. "They're poisonous."
Jamie withdrew his hand and straightened up. "Oh. I wanted to pick some to see if I could classify them."
"Not a good idea, son," he said.
"Jamie, I've told you before that you have to be careful about picking strange plants," Martha said anxiously. "You didn't touch them, did you?"
"No!"
"Good." She caught hold of his free hand and gently pulled him away from the tree. "Come on, we're heading back to the TARDIS now."
"Are you mad at me?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly as he looked from the Doctor to Martha.
"No," they both said instantly. "But you do have to be careful when you're somewhere strange," Martha said.
"I forgot. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," the Doctor said. "No great harm done. Why don't I put your leaves in my pocket until we get back to the ship?"
"Thanks Dad." He carefully slid the leaves into the Time Lord's coat pocket, then grabbed his dad's hand.
Once back aboard the TARDIS Martha headed to her old room for some sleep as she was beginning to flag a bit; she'd only had a couple of hours sleep during the two nights that she'd spent at UNIT working on the antiviral drugs, and three hours last night. She left Jamie and the Doctor heading towards the TARDIS laboratory to examine the leaves Jamie had gathered, the Time Lord talking enthusiastically about the microscopes he had in there.
* * * * * *
Four hours later Martha woke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed and listening intently, but at first all she could hear was the familiar hum of the TARDIS. Then she heard Jamie crying out in fear, and she almost fell out of bed in her haste to go to him; she shoved her feet into her slippers and ran to the door of her room, expecting to find him outside, but the corridor was empty.
"Jamie!" she shouted, feeling a flood of anxiety. She turned and ran towards the Control Room, but when she got there it was empty, the Time Rotor slowly moving up and down.
Martha turned and ran back into the ship's interior, past her own room, the Med Bay, the library and the kitchen.
"Jamie! JAMIE!" She was trying not to panic, but she was unnerved by the fact that neither Jamie nor the Doctor were responding to her frantic shouts. She leant her forehead against the nearest wall and reached out mentally to both of them as she had so often reached out to Jamie.
Mum? Her son sounded scared and tearful when he responded.
Where are you? What's happened, and where's the Doctor? she asked anxiously.
I don't know where I am, I got lost. I think I killed Dad.
Martha sensed him breaking down in tears as he told her this and she immediately sought to calm him. You can't kill your Dad, not that easily, anyway. Remember that he told you all about regeneration? Even if you've injured him really badly, he won't die like I would.
What if he changes and he doesn’t like me any more? Jamie asked fearfully.
He would never stop loving you, James Thomas Jones, Martha told him firmly.
She kept him talking, suggesting that he tell her about the leaves he'd brought from the Eye of Orion, so she could use their telepathic link and mental nudges from the TARDIS to track him through the ship. Eventually she found him, huddled in a corner with his arms wrapped around his knees. She ran down the corridor towards him and he lifted a tear-stained face to hers, then tried to get up.
"It's okay, Jamie. It's okay, I'm here now." She gathered him into a hug, then sat down and pulled him into her lap, cradling his body against hers and rocking him back and forth.
"What happened?" she asked after several minutes.
"We were in the lab, and I picked up this gun thing. Dad said it was a staser from home, his home, I mean, and he had been trying to repair it because he knew he could sell it, and then he could give you the money for me." He shuddered against her. "Dad said I shouldn't fiddle with it, but then it made a really loud whining noise and then energy sort of exploded out of it and hit Dad. It threw him across the room and he hit his head against the wall and I couldn't wake him up. I thought I'd killed him, and I tried to come and find you to help him, but I got lost and you were asleep and I couldn't wake you up." He started to sob again.
"It's okay, you did wake me up," Martha said, trying to soothe and calm him. "I don't think the Doctor is dead, but we'd better go and find him, he could have a nasty bump on his head if he was knocked out like that. Can you walk with me?"
"Yes," Jamie answered with a little hiccough. He pushed himself up and then took Martha's hand.
"Can you find your way back to the lab from here?" she asked.
"The TARDIS is telling me the way," he answered. "She says it's not far."
"Good."
They reached the laboratory more quickly than Martha had expected and she hurried down the length of the room to where the Doctor was sprawled across the floor. She felt slightly alarmed that he wasn't up and awake yet, but then she realised she had no real idea how long ago the staser had overloaded.
"How long is it since this happened?" she asked Jamie, knowing he would know, as she knelt down beside the supine Time Lord.
"9.8 minutes," the boy answered.
Martha was slightly surprised - she'd thought it was longer, but that was fear for you. She loosened the Doctor's tie, then unbuttoned his shirt and put her ear to his chest. "Both his hearts are beating steadily," she said, looking up at her son with a reassuring smile. "He's just unconscious, and a bit singed." She carefully felt around the back of the Time Lord's head. "And he's got a very nasty lump on his head."
The Doctor groaned and Martha heard Jamie's gulp of relief at the sound. "Steady now," she told the Time Lord, her right hand on his chest, between his hearts. "You've had a nasty bang on the head, not to mention being hit by an energy overload."
"Martha?" He squinted up at her. "Where's Jamie? Is he okay?"
"He's fine, he's here." She reached out and pulled her son into his dad's line of vision. The Doctor reached out to him, so she helped him to sit up, and father and son hugged, Jamie crying on the Doctor's shoulder as he tried to apologise.
"It's okay," the Doctor answered, patting his son on the back. "I've had worse. Hasn't your mum ever told you about the time I got hit by lightning?"
"No," Jamie answered, his voice muffled by the Doctor's jacket.
"I'll tell you about it some time," Martha said. "For the moment, though, let's get your Dad to the Medical Bay and just check there's no lasting damage. And then I think you should have a nap - I expect you're worn out."
Jamie pulled away from the Doctor and waited while Martha helped the Time Lord to his feet, then put an arm around him to support him as he was a bit shaky on his feet.
"Come here," the Doctor said, reaching out to pull his son close. "I'll be okay once your Mum has sorted me out."
The three of them made their way into the corridor and the Doctor guided them towards the Med Bay, which the TARDIS had moved closer to the lab so her Time Lord wouldn't have far to walk. Martha helped the Doctor onto an examination bed, then lifted Jamie onto the second one.
"Go to sleep, if you can," she said, brushing his sweaty hair off his forehead, then kissing it. She waited, watching him as his eyes fluttered shut, then opened, then closed again, before she moved to the Doctor's bedside to examine him.
"Will he be okay?" the Time Lord asked.
"He'll be fine," she answered. "It's just shock, that's all." She unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way, then helped him out of his jacket and the shirt so she could examine the burn on his abdomen. "What am I going to do with the two of you?"
The Doctor suppressed a moan of pain as Martha cleaned the burn and then dressed it. "Keep doctoring us, I hope," he answered. "I won't blame you if this has put you off the idea of the two of you travelling with me."
"Accidents happen," she told him. "I just hope the two of you won't need too much doctoring."
"Me too." He sat up so she could wrap a bandage over the dressing. "Let me guess, that's to remind me not to try doing too much before I've healed?"
Martha raised an eyebrow at him, and he smirked. "You've patched me up often enough," he said, "for me to know your methodology by now."
"Yes, it is a reminder," she answered. "Please don't take it off for at least twenty four hours."
He sketched a salute with two fingers to his temple. "Mind if I have a nap?" he asked, lying back down on the bed.
"Go ahead," Martha answered. "I'm just going to make some coffee for myself."
The Doctor pushed himself upwards again, leaning on one elbow. "How long did you sleep?" he asked. "My sense of Time's a bit off after being knocked out."
"Four hours," she answered.
He opened his mouth, but Martha spoke first. "Don't apologise," she said. "It's not your fault. These things happen, especially with children in the mix." She put her hand on his shoulder and pushed gently. "Get some rest."
The Doctor grabbed her hand before she moved away and kissed her knuckles. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." She ducked her head and kissed his cheek. "Sleep or I'll give you a sedative."
"Yes ma'am." He closed his eyes obediently, and soon father and son were sound asleep.
Martha set off to get herself a mug of coffee, reflecting that life probably wasn't going to be any less hectic travelling with the Doctor and Jamie than it was living on Earth with Jamie and working for UNIT.