Christmas Eve
Who_Daily Link: < a href="http://persiflage-1.livejournal.com/331286.html">Christmas Eve by < lj user=persiflage_1> (Characters: Martha/Seven, Hex (cameo) | Rating: G | Spoilers: None)
Title: Christmas Eve
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Martha/Seven, Hex (cameo)
Rating: G
Spoilers: None (set after The Harvest for Seven & Hex, before The End of Time for Martha)
Summary: Martha isn't really expecting to enjoy Christmas this year, but then the Doctor arrives.
Disclaimer: I occasionally wish that I did own it!
Author Notes: This is a Holiday Gift fic for madelf who requested a Martha/Seven Christmas fic and offered the prompts: happiness, vacation, present, music, dancing.
Betas: the lovely abstruse_fangrl, bewarethespork and catholicphoton
~~~~~~
The UNIT Christmas party was in full swing, and every now and then a snatch of music echoed up the corridor towards the Infirmary, where Dr Martha Jones was still working, despite the festivities. Since neither illness nor injury acknowledged the calendar, and there were three soldiers recovering from a training accident - one of whom had a punctured lung - Martha had remained on duty. She did have nursing staff who could have stayed with the patients, but she had felt it would be unfair to deprive them of their chance to attend the party.
She was sitting at a desk in the corner of the Infirmary, updating Private Morris' notes, when the swing door behind her opened and two men walked inside; one was wearing a straw boater, a light coloured jacket and slightly darker trousers, and carrying an umbrella with a curved handle that looked like a question mark, while the second, younger, one was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. The younger man was roughly Martha's age, and the elder looked as if he was in his forties, except for his eyes.
She stood up, setting aside the file she'd been holding. "Can I help?"
"We're here to help you, actually," the older man said, smiling. He had a soft Scottish burr in his voice, she noted.
Martha raised her eyebrows. "How?" she asked.
"I'm the Doctor, and this is Hex, who's a trained nurse and will keep an eye on your patients for a while."
"You're the Doctor?" She looked him up and down - if it hadn't been for the ancient look in his eyes, she might have doubted that he was who he claimed to be. "Which one?"
He smiled again. "This is my seventh body," he answered. "Now, shall we?" He offered her his arm, elbow out, just like her own Doctor had so often done.
She looked from him to Hex, who also smiled. "It's all right," he assured her, his own accent clearly indicating his Liverpudlian origins, "I'll take care of them for you."
Martha shook her head slightly, then accepted the Doctor's arm. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"The TARDIS is parked downstairs," he told her as he led her into the corridor. "I've left your gift there."
"My gift?" asked Martha, puzzled. "Why would you bring me a gift? And why are you here?"
"I came for the party," he answered. "One of me always comes to the UNIT Christmas party - it's traditional. Anyway, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was explaining to Sarah Jane Smith that you were stuck in the Infirmary looking after some injured soldiers, so Hex and I decided that it wasn't fair for you to miss out."
She frowned. "But why do you care? You don't know me. I'm not ungrateful, but I don't understand why it matters to you."
He paused to open the door to the stairs that led down to where he'd left the TARDIS. "The Brigadier and Miss Smith speak very highly of you," he said, as if that was explanation enough.
Martha opened her mouth to ask further questions, then shook her head and closed it again, and he grinned at her, his eyes dancing with amusement.
"Just relax, Dr Jones," he suggested, "and enjoy yourself."
A few moments later he unlocked the TARDIS door and ushered her inside, noticing the way Martha's face brightened into a smile of delight when the ship hummed a greeting at her.
"Hello, old friend," she whispered, running a hand over the unfamiliar-looking console.
"If you'd care to step this way?" the Doctor asked, setting his boater and umbrella down on a chair.
Martha followed him deeper into the ship until they reached a door, which the Time Lord pushed open. He then gestured for her to precede him. She stepped into the room, the lights brightening to reveal they were in the library, which was decorated with tinsel and fairy lights along the edges of the bookcases, and an enormous Christmas tree between two of the windows.
The Doctor placed his right hand on her right shoulder and steered her towards the tree, which she realised had a number of well wrapped gifts lying beneath it.
"Now then, where is it?" he muttered, peering down at the pile. "Aha, here we are." He straightened up and held out a slim parcel to Martha, who accepted it with a smile.
"Go on," he urged, "open it."
She hesitated for a moment, then carefully unwrapped the dark blue paper to reveal a long, narrow leather case similar to a spectacles case. She lifted the lid, then gasped in amazement.
"A sonic screwdriver! Oh, Doctor, thank you!" Impulsively, she threw her arms around him and hugged him, then kissed his cheek.
"You're very welcome, Dr Jones," he answered, laughing softly at her enthusiastic reaction. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, then tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. "Now, will you dance with me?"
She pulled back and looked up into his face. "Dance with you?"
He nodded and the library was suddenly filled with music, which Martha recognised as Kostelanetz's Skater's Waltz, a favourite of her late grandmother. The Doctor stepped back, then made a deep bow, before stepping forwards again. She pocketed her gift, then allowed him to clasp her hand in his and bring her closer so they could begin to dance.
"You probably should know I'm not a brilliant dancer," she told him. "I'm a klutz."
He raised his eyebrows at her as he led her around the open space in front of the Christmas tree. "You don't seem to be doing too badly so far, Dr Jones," he observed.
But when the tempo of the waltz increased slightly, it caught her by surprise and she stumbled over the Doctor's feet with an apology, then stood looking dejected.
"It doesn’t matter, Martha," he assured her, lifting her chin with his hand and gazing into her dark eyes with a smile in his own. "Why don't we go and get something to eat?"
She smiled back, grateful that he didn't seem to mind her lack of grace in dancing. "Well, I've had nothing to eat this evening but a couple of mince pies."
"Come along then." He put an arm around her shoulders and led the way out of the library and down the corridor to the kitchen.
The Doctor made her take a seat, refusing all offers of assistance as he made her a cup of tea, then took a plate of sandwiches from the fridge before he began opening cupboard doors. "Now then," he muttered, "have Ace and Hex eaten all the cake?"
"Ace?" asked Martha.
The Doctor straightened up and turned. "Ah, yes, you haven't met my other travelling companion yet. She was dancing rather vigorously with a young Sergeant when Hex and I came to see you, so I left her to have some fun. I'll introduce the two of you later." He resumed his search through the cupboards, and after a few more minutes pulled out a large cake tin with a flourish. "Here we are."
She watched as he found a knife and a plate, then cut her a very large slice of a very rich-looking Christmas cake. "Don't just look at them!" he admonished. "Now, what else? Aha!" He stuck his finger in the air, as if about to raise an important point, then whirled around and dived into another cupboard.
Martha smiled, amused to realise that some things about the Doctor apparently didn't change between bodies, including a manic energy that was quite wearing to watch when your day had been as long as hers had.
"Here we are!" he said, sounding as triumphant as if he'd defeated a host of Carrionites. He set down a large plastic box, which she saw contained mince pies. "Now, do you want custard, cream or ice cream on your warm mince pies?"
"Ice cream," she suggested, grinning at the idea.
"An excellent choice, Martha," he asserted. He produced a bowl, apparently from his coat pocket, and placed three mince pies in it, then whisked it away. By the time she had finished eaten three of the ham sandwiches and was eyeing the slice of cake, the pies had been returned and a huge scoop of ice cream was just starting to melt over them.
"Eat, eat!" he urged, setting the bowl down in front of her, along with a spoon.
"Thank you. I'm not sure this is the healthiest meal ever - " she began, but he made a dismissive gesture, and a noise that sounded rather like "Pshaw!"
"It's Christmas," he said, as if that was excuse enough, and Martha couldn't help smiling, knowing that it was excuse enough for many people.
"Aren't you having any?" she asked.
"No, no, not now," he answered. "Tuck in."
She obeyed, and the Doctor sat down beside her, talking about Sarah Jane and the Brigadier, whom she gathered he'd known for considerably longer than she'd previously realised.
When Martha had finished eating, the Doctor made her another cup of tea, and one for himself. "Your sonic screwdriver is set up slightly differently to mine," he told her, and she fished it back out of the pocket of her trousers to look at it. "I adapted for your personal use, so it's got a host of medical features to it."
"That's brilliant, thank you." She grinned at him.
"Would you like me to show you how it works?"
She nodded eagerly, and he plucked the device from its case, then began instructing her on its use. After an hour the Doctor was satisfied that Martha was thoroughly proficient in its use, and she was almost desperate to have the chance to try it out.
"Maybe I should take you on a trip?" he suggested.
She raised an eyebrow. "Right now?" she asked.
He laughed. "This is a time machine, remember."
"I know, it's just - " She broke off, not wanting to insult either the Doctor or his ship.
"She's not always reliable, I know," he said, reaching out to pat the wall. "But I think she'd be okay for just a brief trip, there and back again."
Martha didn't try to hide the excitement that she felt at the idea, so he helped her up from the chair, then led the way back to the Control Room.
"When did you last see me, the self with whom you travelled?" he asked, as he began fiddling with the buttons and levers on the console.
"Not for some time," she answered, frowning. "Why?"
"I sense something is coming soon - something difficult and painful, and possibly life-changing. I think I will need you more than ever."
"You mean regeneration?" she asked quietly.
He glanced up, saw she was looking rather upset and crossed to where she stood. "Yes. I'm not saying it will definitely happen," he said. "I can't see that far ahead in my own personal timeline, and wouldn't want to anyway, but I can sense an immense battle on the horizon." He clasped her shoulders, looking down into her face. "But don't worry. I won't forget you, Martha, once I change. I don't forget my friends. And you're not just my friend, you're my doctor, too." He lifted a hand and tapped her nose gently. "Try not to worry about it. I just thought I should warn you."
He took her arm and led her over to the console, and she held on as the ship dematerialised.
"Where are we going?" asked Martha.
"Halergan Three," he answered. "It's a holiday planet, visited by a wide variety of species from across the galaxy, and therefore a good place for you to learn more about your sonic screwdriver's capabilities."
* * * * * *
"Wow!" Martha said for the third time in as many minutes as yet another sight caught her eye: first it had been the twin suns, then it had been the size of the city, and now she was quietly exclaiming over the sheer variety of people, most of them not humanoid, in this busy marketplace.
The Doctor was grinning as he walked beside her, evidently amused by her astonishment. "Let's get a drink and sit down," he suggested, "and then we can try things out."
She nodded agreement, so he offered his arm and led her across to what looked like a mobile coffee stall, ordering them both a cold fruit-flavoured drink, then leading the way to one of a handful of tables scattered in the area to the right and left of the stall.
Martha sniffed her drink, then sipped cautiously at it, before taking a bigger mouthful. "This is lovely," she said enthusiastically.
"Mmm," agreed the Doctor, swallowing a mouthful of his own.
She pulled the case holding her sonic screwdriver from the pocket of her trousers and took the device out, running her fingertips lightly down the slender casing with a smile teasing the corners of her mouth. Then she activated it and pointed it discreetly at the two insect-like aliens at the next table.
A tiny, holographic, display appeared from the end of the screwdriver and she read the information provided about the two Malmooth, whom she had recognised from her meeting with Chantho in the distant future.
During the next hour the Doctor bought her a second drink, and a snack similar to a Chelsea Bun, while Martha continued to scan the various patrons of the coffee stall; if she had looked up from her absorption in the information she was digesting, she'd have seen a fond smile on the Time Lord's face as he watched her.
Finally she sat back and rubbed a hand over her eyes, then looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you for my very useful present," she said softly, reaching over to squeeze his arm.
"You're welcome. May I?" He gestured at the device and she passed it over, then watched as he pulled out his own sonic screwdriver and pointed the two devices at each other. "I've adjusting the settings for that display screen," he told her. "Enlarged the magnification so you won't strain your eyes in future. And I've also given it the option of putting the display onto a wall or desktop." He showed her the two new settings, and she grinned, then put the device back in its case and pocketed it.
"Thank you."
"Now, would you like to do some shopping while we're here, or would you prefer to head back?"
"If we've time, I would like to do some shopping," she answered.
"We've time," he assured her.
So they spent an hour wandering through the marketplace and Martha bought a number of small items as supplementary Christmas gifts for her family, Tom, and Jack (though she had no idea when she was likely to see him again.)
Then they headed back to the TARDIS, and the Doctor suggested that Martha take a nap before he took her back to UNIT HQ. She was startled to find that the bedroom he took her to was her own room from her travels aboard the TARDIS, but when she asked him to explain, he merely smiled enigmatically and commented that the old girl was obviously very fond of Martha.
* * * * * *
Hex looked up from the book he was reading as the TARDIS materialised in the corner of Infirmary about an hour after Martha and the Doctor had left; the young medic stepped out of the old blue box looking relaxed and quite animated, and he smiled at the Time Lord's pleased expression.
"All right?" Hex asked, getting to his feet.
"Yes! Thank you," Martha said.
"You're welcome." He walked across to join them, and was slightly startled when she gave him an impulsive hug, then a quick peck on the cheek that left him blushing.
"I appreciate you staying here," she told him.
"It was nothing," Hex protested, feeling embarrassed by the look the Doctor was giving him over Martha's shoulder.
"To you, maybe, but it meant a great deal to me." She turned to the Doctor. "And thank you, too. For everything."
The Time Lord gave her a salute to the brim of his hat, then guided the young man into the ship, telling Hex that he planned to 'park her downstairs again'.
Martha resumed her seat, setting down on the floor beside it the small canvas bag full of presents she'd bought on Halergan Three: she looked forward to seeing everyone's faces when they unwrapped their extra presents.
Really, this evening wasn't a complete write-off, after all, she thought, picking up Private Morris' notes again and glancing over at her sleeping patients with a slight smile before she turned her attention back to her work.
Title: Christmas Eve
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Martha/Seven, Hex (cameo)
Rating: G
Spoilers: None (set after The Harvest for Seven & Hex, before The End of Time for Martha)
Summary: Martha isn't really expecting to enjoy Christmas this year, but then the Doctor arrives.
Disclaimer: I occasionally wish that I did own it!
Author Notes: This is a Holiday Gift fic for madelf who requested a Martha/Seven Christmas fic and offered the prompts: happiness, vacation, present, music, dancing.
Betas: the lovely abstruse_fangrl, bewarethespork and catholicphoton
~~~~~~
The UNIT Christmas party was in full swing, and every now and then a snatch of music echoed up the corridor towards the Infirmary, where Dr Martha Jones was still working, despite the festivities. Since neither illness nor injury acknowledged the calendar, and there were three soldiers recovering from a training accident - one of whom had a punctured lung - Martha had remained on duty. She did have nursing staff who could have stayed with the patients, but she had felt it would be unfair to deprive them of their chance to attend the party.
She was sitting at a desk in the corner of the Infirmary, updating Private Morris' notes, when the swing door behind her opened and two men walked inside; one was wearing a straw boater, a light coloured jacket and slightly darker trousers, and carrying an umbrella with a curved handle that looked like a question mark, while the second, younger, one was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. The younger man was roughly Martha's age, and the elder looked as if he was in his forties, except for his eyes.
She stood up, setting aside the file she'd been holding. "Can I help?"
"We're here to help you, actually," the older man said, smiling. He had a soft Scottish burr in his voice, she noted.
Martha raised her eyebrows. "How?" she asked.
"I'm the Doctor, and this is Hex, who's a trained nurse and will keep an eye on your patients for a while."
"You're the Doctor?" She looked him up and down - if it hadn't been for the ancient look in his eyes, she might have doubted that he was who he claimed to be. "Which one?"
He smiled again. "This is my seventh body," he answered. "Now, shall we?" He offered her his arm, elbow out, just like her own Doctor had so often done.
She looked from him to Hex, who also smiled. "It's all right," he assured her, his own accent clearly indicating his Liverpudlian origins, "I'll take care of them for you."
Martha shook her head slightly, then accepted the Doctor's arm. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"The TARDIS is parked downstairs," he told her as he led her into the corridor. "I've left your gift there."
"My gift?" asked Martha, puzzled. "Why would you bring me a gift? And why are you here?"
"I came for the party," he answered. "One of me always comes to the UNIT Christmas party - it's traditional. Anyway, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was explaining to Sarah Jane Smith that you were stuck in the Infirmary looking after some injured soldiers, so Hex and I decided that it wasn't fair for you to miss out."
She frowned. "But why do you care? You don't know me. I'm not ungrateful, but I don't understand why it matters to you."
He paused to open the door to the stairs that led down to where he'd left the TARDIS. "The Brigadier and Miss Smith speak very highly of you," he said, as if that was explanation enough.
Martha opened her mouth to ask further questions, then shook her head and closed it again, and he grinned at her, his eyes dancing with amusement.
"Just relax, Dr Jones," he suggested, "and enjoy yourself."
A few moments later he unlocked the TARDIS door and ushered her inside, noticing the way Martha's face brightened into a smile of delight when the ship hummed a greeting at her.
"Hello, old friend," she whispered, running a hand over the unfamiliar-looking console.
"If you'd care to step this way?" the Doctor asked, setting his boater and umbrella down on a chair.
Martha followed him deeper into the ship until they reached a door, which the Time Lord pushed open. He then gestured for her to precede him. She stepped into the room, the lights brightening to reveal they were in the library, which was decorated with tinsel and fairy lights along the edges of the bookcases, and an enormous Christmas tree between two of the windows.
The Doctor placed his right hand on her right shoulder and steered her towards the tree, which she realised had a number of well wrapped gifts lying beneath it.
"Now then, where is it?" he muttered, peering down at the pile. "Aha, here we are." He straightened up and held out a slim parcel to Martha, who accepted it with a smile.
"Go on," he urged, "open it."
She hesitated for a moment, then carefully unwrapped the dark blue paper to reveal a long, narrow leather case similar to a spectacles case. She lifted the lid, then gasped in amazement.
"A sonic screwdriver! Oh, Doctor, thank you!" Impulsively, she threw her arms around him and hugged him, then kissed his cheek.
"You're very welcome, Dr Jones," he answered, laughing softly at her enthusiastic reaction. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, then tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. "Now, will you dance with me?"
She pulled back and looked up into his face. "Dance with you?"
He nodded and the library was suddenly filled with music, which Martha recognised as Kostelanetz's Skater's Waltz, a favourite of her late grandmother. The Doctor stepped back, then made a deep bow, before stepping forwards again. She pocketed her gift, then allowed him to clasp her hand in his and bring her closer so they could begin to dance.
"You probably should know I'm not a brilliant dancer," she told him. "I'm a klutz."
He raised his eyebrows at her as he led her around the open space in front of the Christmas tree. "You don't seem to be doing too badly so far, Dr Jones," he observed.
But when the tempo of the waltz increased slightly, it caught her by surprise and she stumbled over the Doctor's feet with an apology, then stood looking dejected.
"It doesn’t matter, Martha," he assured her, lifting her chin with his hand and gazing into her dark eyes with a smile in his own. "Why don't we go and get something to eat?"
She smiled back, grateful that he didn't seem to mind her lack of grace in dancing. "Well, I've had nothing to eat this evening but a couple of mince pies."
"Come along then." He put an arm around her shoulders and led the way out of the library and down the corridor to the kitchen.
The Doctor made her take a seat, refusing all offers of assistance as he made her a cup of tea, then took a plate of sandwiches from the fridge before he began opening cupboard doors. "Now then," he muttered, "have Ace and Hex eaten all the cake?"
"Ace?" asked Martha.
The Doctor straightened up and turned. "Ah, yes, you haven't met my other travelling companion yet. She was dancing rather vigorously with a young Sergeant when Hex and I came to see you, so I left her to have some fun. I'll introduce the two of you later." He resumed his search through the cupboards, and after a few more minutes pulled out a large cake tin with a flourish. "Here we are."
She watched as he found a knife and a plate, then cut her a very large slice of a very rich-looking Christmas cake. "Don't just look at them!" he admonished. "Now, what else? Aha!" He stuck his finger in the air, as if about to raise an important point, then whirled around and dived into another cupboard.
Martha smiled, amused to realise that some things about the Doctor apparently didn't change between bodies, including a manic energy that was quite wearing to watch when your day had been as long as hers had.
"Here we are!" he said, sounding as triumphant as if he'd defeated a host of Carrionites. He set down a large plastic box, which she saw contained mince pies. "Now, do you want custard, cream or ice cream on your warm mince pies?"
"Ice cream," she suggested, grinning at the idea.
"An excellent choice, Martha," he asserted. He produced a bowl, apparently from his coat pocket, and placed three mince pies in it, then whisked it away. By the time she had finished eaten three of the ham sandwiches and was eyeing the slice of cake, the pies had been returned and a huge scoop of ice cream was just starting to melt over them.
"Eat, eat!" he urged, setting the bowl down in front of her, along with a spoon.
"Thank you. I'm not sure this is the healthiest meal ever - " she began, but he made a dismissive gesture, and a noise that sounded rather like "Pshaw!"
"It's Christmas," he said, as if that was excuse enough, and Martha couldn't help smiling, knowing that it was excuse enough for many people.
"Aren't you having any?" she asked.
"No, no, not now," he answered. "Tuck in."
She obeyed, and the Doctor sat down beside her, talking about Sarah Jane and the Brigadier, whom she gathered he'd known for considerably longer than she'd previously realised.
When Martha had finished eating, the Doctor made her another cup of tea, and one for himself. "Your sonic screwdriver is set up slightly differently to mine," he told her, and she fished it back out of the pocket of her trousers to look at it. "I adapted for your personal use, so it's got a host of medical features to it."
"That's brilliant, thank you." She grinned at him.
"Would you like me to show you how it works?"
She nodded eagerly, and he plucked the device from its case, then began instructing her on its use. After an hour the Doctor was satisfied that Martha was thoroughly proficient in its use, and she was almost desperate to have the chance to try it out.
"Maybe I should take you on a trip?" he suggested.
She raised an eyebrow. "Right now?" she asked.
He laughed. "This is a time machine, remember."
"I know, it's just - " She broke off, not wanting to insult either the Doctor or his ship.
"She's not always reliable, I know," he said, reaching out to pat the wall. "But I think she'd be okay for just a brief trip, there and back again."
Martha didn't try to hide the excitement that she felt at the idea, so he helped her up from the chair, then led the way back to the Control Room.
"When did you last see me, the self with whom you travelled?" he asked, as he began fiddling with the buttons and levers on the console.
"Not for some time," she answered, frowning. "Why?"
"I sense something is coming soon - something difficult and painful, and possibly life-changing. I think I will need you more than ever."
"You mean regeneration?" she asked quietly.
He glanced up, saw she was looking rather upset and crossed to where she stood. "Yes. I'm not saying it will definitely happen," he said. "I can't see that far ahead in my own personal timeline, and wouldn't want to anyway, but I can sense an immense battle on the horizon." He clasped her shoulders, looking down into her face. "But don't worry. I won't forget you, Martha, once I change. I don't forget my friends. And you're not just my friend, you're my doctor, too." He lifted a hand and tapped her nose gently. "Try not to worry about it. I just thought I should warn you."
He took her arm and led her over to the console, and she held on as the ship dematerialised.
"Where are we going?" asked Martha.
"Halergan Three," he answered. "It's a holiday planet, visited by a wide variety of species from across the galaxy, and therefore a good place for you to learn more about your sonic screwdriver's capabilities."
* * * * * *
"Wow!" Martha said for the third time in as many minutes as yet another sight caught her eye: first it had been the twin suns, then it had been the size of the city, and now she was quietly exclaiming over the sheer variety of people, most of them not humanoid, in this busy marketplace.
The Doctor was grinning as he walked beside her, evidently amused by her astonishment. "Let's get a drink and sit down," he suggested, "and then we can try things out."
She nodded agreement, so he offered his arm and led her across to what looked like a mobile coffee stall, ordering them both a cold fruit-flavoured drink, then leading the way to one of a handful of tables scattered in the area to the right and left of the stall.
Martha sniffed her drink, then sipped cautiously at it, before taking a bigger mouthful. "This is lovely," she said enthusiastically.
"Mmm," agreed the Doctor, swallowing a mouthful of his own.
She pulled the case holding her sonic screwdriver from the pocket of her trousers and took the device out, running her fingertips lightly down the slender casing with a smile teasing the corners of her mouth. Then she activated it and pointed it discreetly at the two insect-like aliens at the next table.
A tiny, holographic, display appeared from the end of the screwdriver and she read the information provided about the two Malmooth, whom she had recognised from her meeting with Chantho in the distant future.
During the next hour the Doctor bought her a second drink, and a snack similar to a Chelsea Bun, while Martha continued to scan the various patrons of the coffee stall; if she had looked up from her absorption in the information she was digesting, she'd have seen a fond smile on the Time Lord's face as he watched her.
Finally she sat back and rubbed a hand over her eyes, then looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you for my very useful present," she said softly, reaching over to squeeze his arm.
"You're welcome. May I?" He gestured at the device and she passed it over, then watched as he pulled out his own sonic screwdriver and pointed the two devices at each other. "I've adjusting the settings for that display screen," he told her. "Enlarged the magnification so you won't strain your eyes in future. And I've also given it the option of putting the display onto a wall or desktop." He showed her the two new settings, and she grinned, then put the device back in its case and pocketed it.
"Thank you."
"Now, would you like to do some shopping while we're here, or would you prefer to head back?"
"If we've time, I would like to do some shopping," she answered.
"We've time," he assured her.
So they spent an hour wandering through the marketplace and Martha bought a number of small items as supplementary Christmas gifts for her family, Tom, and Jack (though she had no idea when she was likely to see him again.)
Then they headed back to the TARDIS, and the Doctor suggested that Martha take a nap before he took her back to UNIT HQ. She was startled to find that the bedroom he took her to was her own room from her travels aboard the TARDIS, but when she asked him to explain, he merely smiled enigmatically and commented that the old girl was obviously very fond of Martha.
* * * * * *
Hex looked up from the book he was reading as the TARDIS materialised in the corner of Infirmary about an hour after Martha and the Doctor had left; the young medic stepped out of the old blue box looking relaxed and quite animated, and he smiled at the Time Lord's pleased expression.
"All right?" Hex asked, getting to his feet.
"Yes! Thank you," Martha said.
"You're welcome." He walked across to join them, and was slightly startled when she gave him an impulsive hug, then a quick peck on the cheek that left him blushing.
"I appreciate you staying here," she told him.
"It was nothing," Hex protested, feeling embarrassed by the look the Doctor was giving him over Martha's shoulder.
"To you, maybe, but it meant a great deal to me." She turned to the Doctor. "And thank you, too. For everything."
The Time Lord gave her a salute to the brim of his hat, then guided the young man into the ship, telling Hex that he planned to 'park her downstairs again'.
Martha resumed her seat, setting down on the floor beside it the small canvas bag full of presents she'd bought on Halergan Three: she looked forward to seeing everyone's faces when they unwrapped their extra presents.
Really, this evening wasn't a complete write-off, after all, she thought, picking up Private Morris' notes again and glancing over at her sleeping patients with a slight smile before she turned her attention back to her work.