The World on his Shoulders, A Saviour in his Arms
Title: The World on his Shoulders, A Saviour in his Arms
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Ten/Martha
Rating: U
Spoilers: Season 3
Summary: The Doctor brings Martha Jones a gift.
Disclaimer: The BBC owns "Doctor Who" and the Doctor owns me…
Author Notes: This fic is for teenytinyghosty who asked me for a non-smutty post-S3 finale story something like this. Happy holidays and thanks for sharing the DW love!
~~~~~~
It was three months to the day since Martha Jones had stopped travelling with the Doctor: three months of helping her family to cope with their trauma, of helping Leo to adjust to not knowing what everyone else had been through, of taking her finals (and passing them with flying colours), of finding a new flat and finally moving in. Her mother had urged her to throw a house-warming party which Tish had offered to organise, but Martha had turned her down gently. She simply didn't have the energy.
"All I want to do for the next four days is sleep," she told her mother. "I feel like I haven't slept properly since - well, you know." She didn't need to elaborate, they both knew what she meant.
"Well don't forget to eat as well," Francine admonished.
Martha laughed. "I promise. I'll see you on Sunday for lunch, yeah?"
"OK. Stay safe."
"Bye."
She always said that now: the end of every conversation with her daughter ended with the words 'Stay safe' - Martha wasn't sure her mother was even aware that she was saying it. It struck her as somewhat ironic that her mother was telling her to stay safe now, when she'd been earth-bound for three months.
Martha went through to the kitchen to see what she needed to stock up on and was going through the fridge, making a list when her doorbell rang and startled her. She frowned, wondering who it could be, then realised the easiest way to find out was to go and look. Oh I really do need to sleep! she thought ruefully as she made her way to the door.
Opening it, she wondered if she had fallen asleep and was now dreaming. "Doctor?" She blinked up at him in astonishment.
"Hello *Doctor* Jones!" He laid emphasis on her title, grinning widely at her. "Congratulations!"
"Thank you." She stepped back. "Come in."
He stepped inside and waited until she'd shut the door before looking at her hopefully. "Am I allowed a hug from my favourite Doctor?"
She held out her arms and he stepped forward, then picked her up off her feet and held her tightly, his face buried in her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck, wondering just what he was doing here.
After a while he set her back down on her feet, then kissed her forehead, before pulling a box from his pocket. "This is for you, from me and the TARDIS."
She felt her eyebrows climbing. "What is it?" she asked.
He gave her a look and she realised she was doing it again, asking a question instead of doing the obvious thing and opening it to find out.
"Come through," she said. "How did you know where to find me?"
"The TARDIS. Once you've travelled with me, she can usually find you anywhere in Time or Space."
"Oh." She sat down on the sofa and the Doctor joined her, stretching out his long legs.
"Aren't you going to open it then?" he asked, nodding at the box she still clutched.
"Yeah, sorry." She looked down at the flat box in her hand, then lifted the lid. "Oh!" she gasped. Inside was a name plate such as might go on a office door, with her title and name in ornate gold lettering. The name plate was the same colour green as the TARDIS' Time Rotor and seemed to shimmer in the light. It was oddly light in her hands and she turned it over, trying to decide what it was made from.
She turned to the Doctor, a look of wonder in her eyes. "It's from the TARDIS?" she asked.
He nodded. "She gave up a piece of herself for me to make that for you."
"It's beautiful, thank you." She kissed his cheek, then wrapped her arms around his neck again, trying not to cry.
The Doctor held her tightly. "Don't thank me, thank the TARDIS," he said. "It was her idea."
"Can I?"
"Can you what?"
"Thank the TARDIS? Is she nearby?"
"Of course you can! She's just around the corner," he answered, inordinately pleased by the suggestion.
A few minutes later, Martha let herself into the TARDIS, tucking her key back inside the neck of her t-shirt. The Doctor slowly followed her up the ramp as she hurried up it and over to the console.
"Hello old friend," she said softly, running her hands delicately across the controls. She grinned when the TARDIS' hum intensified, sounding like a purring cat. "Thank you for my lovely present." The lights flickered and Martha's grin widened.
"Tea?" the Doctor asked after a few moments.
"Yes please."
He offered her his arm and they went to the kitchen, Martha answering the Doctor's questions about her exams and her work as he made their drinks.
"Let's take this into the library," he suggested and she nodded agreement. They'd always preferred to retire to the library to talk and unwind after adventures.
"So you haven't found another Companion yet?" Martha asked when they were settled in the library on their favourite sofa.
"No."
"Why not?"
He shrugged expressively. "Haven't met anyone I wanted to ask along." He didn't dare to tell her that he was waiting for her.
"You need someone to watch your back," she told him.
"I've travelled alone before," he said as he remembered his fourth incarnation's solo trips.
"Mmm." She wasn't surprised when he changed the subject and started asking after her family. Then she asked him about his travels - where and when he'd been. He was half way through a long-winded story about some Mäklare he'd met when he realised she'd fallen asleep. He stopped talking immediately, remembering that she'd said earlier that she'd just come off a week of nightshifts and realising with a guilty start that he'd been keeping her from her bed.
He considered whether to try moving her to her old room, then decided that she was probably comfortable enough where she was, with her legs tucked up under her. He slid along the sofa then gently pulled her into his arms so that her head rested on his shoulder, her hair tickling his neck. She mumbled something, then shifted against him slightly without waking.
As he held her in his arms, his mind roamed through all the adventures they'd shared together and all the things he'd put her through. She was so small, yet so strong, and she had a warrior's heart, as well as a healer's. He'd known for a long time that he was privileged to have her Companionship, but what he hadn't realised until too late was just how much he loved her.
The year that Martha had been walking the world had been agony - not just because of the Master's wilful destruction of a planet that had effectively become his second home - but because of her absence. He simply hadn't realised until then how much he'd relied on her to be there at his side. When she got back, having survived that awful year, he'd intended to tell her; instead she'd told him that she was leaving and he couldn't bring himself to try to persuade her to stay. She was right that her family needed her, and since he'd previously given her too little of himself, he couldn't really expect her to believe that he needed her too.
He lived in the hope that she would want to travel with him again - but until she did, he was travelling alone: he wasn't going to make the same mistake with a new Companion that he'd made with Martha, comparing them to her.
For now, though, he was content to sit here, with her sleeping in his arms.
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Ten/Martha
Rating: U
Spoilers: Season 3
Summary: The Doctor brings Martha Jones a gift.
Disclaimer: The BBC owns "Doctor Who" and the Doctor owns me…
Author Notes: This fic is for teenytinyghosty who asked me for a non-smutty post-S3 finale story something like this. Happy holidays and thanks for sharing the DW love!
~~~~~~
It was three months to the day since Martha Jones had stopped travelling with the Doctor: three months of helping her family to cope with their trauma, of helping Leo to adjust to not knowing what everyone else had been through, of taking her finals (and passing them with flying colours), of finding a new flat and finally moving in. Her mother had urged her to throw a house-warming party which Tish had offered to organise, but Martha had turned her down gently. She simply didn't have the energy.
"All I want to do for the next four days is sleep," she told her mother. "I feel like I haven't slept properly since - well, you know." She didn't need to elaborate, they both knew what she meant.
"Well don't forget to eat as well," Francine admonished.
Martha laughed. "I promise. I'll see you on Sunday for lunch, yeah?"
"OK. Stay safe."
"Bye."
She always said that now: the end of every conversation with her daughter ended with the words 'Stay safe' - Martha wasn't sure her mother was even aware that she was saying it. It struck her as somewhat ironic that her mother was telling her to stay safe now, when she'd been earth-bound for three months.
Martha went through to the kitchen to see what she needed to stock up on and was going through the fridge, making a list when her doorbell rang and startled her. She frowned, wondering who it could be, then realised the easiest way to find out was to go and look. Oh I really do need to sleep! she thought ruefully as she made her way to the door.
Opening it, she wondered if she had fallen asleep and was now dreaming. "Doctor?" She blinked up at him in astonishment.
"Hello *Doctor* Jones!" He laid emphasis on her title, grinning widely at her. "Congratulations!"
"Thank you." She stepped back. "Come in."
He stepped inside and waited until she'd shut the door before looking at her hopefully. "Am I allowed a hug from my favourite Doctor?"
She held out her arms and he stepped forward, then picked her up off her feet and held her tightly, his face buried in her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck, wondering just what he was doing here.
After a while he set her back down on her feet, then kissed her forehead, before pulling a box from his pocket. "This is for you, from me and the TARDIS."
She felt her eyebrows climbing. "What is it?" she asked.
He gave her a look and she realised she was doing it again, asking a question instead of doing the obvious thing and opening it to find out.
"Come through," she said. "How did you know where to find me?"
"The TARDIS. Once you've travelled with me, she can usually find you anywhere in Time or Space."
"Oh." She sat down on the sofa and the Doctor joined her, stretching out his long legs.
"Aren't you going to open it then?" he asked, nodding at the box she still clutched.
"Yeah, sorry." She looked down at the flat box in her hand, then lifted the lid. "Oh!" she gasped. Inside was a name plate such as might go on a office door, with her title and name in ornate gold lettering. The name plate was the same colour green as the TARDIS' Time Rotor and seemed to shimmer in the light. It was oddly light in her hands and she turned it over, trying to decide what it was made from.
She turned to the Doctor, a look of wonder in her eyes. "It's from the TARDIS?" she asked.
He nodded. "She gave up a piece of herself for me to make that for you."
"It's beautiful, thank you." She kissed his cheek, then wrapped her arms around his neck again, trying not to cry.
The Doctor held her tightly. "Don't thank me, thank the TARDIS," he said. "It was her idea."
"Can I?"
"Can you what?"
"Thank the TARDIS? Is she nearby?"
"Of course you can! She's just around the corner," he answered, inordinately pleased by the suggestion.
A few minutes later, Martha let herself into the TARDIS, tucking her key back inside the neck of her t-shirt. The Doctor slowly followed her up the ramp as she hurried up it and over to the console.
"Hello old friend," she said softly, running her hands delicately across the controls. She grinned when the TARDIS' hum intensified, sounding like a purring cat. "Thank you for my lovely present." The lights flickered and Martha's grin widened.
"Tea?" the Doctor asked after a few moments.
"Yes please."
He offered her his arm and they went to the kitchen, Martha answering the Doctor's questions about her exams and her work as he made their drinks.
"Let's take this into the library," he suggested and she nodded agreement. They'd always preferred to retire to the library to talk and unwind after adventures.
"So you haven't found another Companion yet?" Martha asked when they were settled in the library on their favourite sofa.
"No."
"Why not?"
He shrugged expressively. "Haven't met anyone I wanted to ask along." He didn't dare to tell her that he was waiting for her.
"You need someone to watch your back," she told him.
"I've travelled alone before," he said as he remembered his fourth incarnation's solo trips.
"Mmm." She wasn't surprised when he changed the subject and started asking after her family. Then she asked him about his travels - where and when he'd been. He was half way through a long-winded story about some Mäklare he'd met when he realised she'd fallen asleep. He stopped talking immediately, remembering that she'd said earlier that she'd just come off a week of nightshifts and realising with a guilty start that he'd been keeping her from her bed.
He considered whether to try moving her to her old room, then decided that she was probably comfortable enough where she was, with her legs tucked up under her. He slid along the sofa then gently pulled her into his arms so that her head rested on his shoulder, her hair tickling his neck. She mumbled something, then shifted against him slightly without waking.
As he held her in his arms, his mind roamed through all the adventures they'd shared together and all the things he'd put her through. She was so small, yet so strong, and she had a warrior's heart, as well as a healer's. He'd known for a long time that he was privileged to have her Companionship, but what he hadn't realised until too late was just how much he loved her.
The year that Martha had been walking the world had been agony - not just because of the Master's wilful destruction of a planet that had effectively become his second home - but because of her absence. He simply hadn't realised until then how much he'd relied on her to be there at his side. When she got back, having survived that awful year, he'd intended to tell her; instead she'd told him that she was leaving and he couldn't bring himself to try to persuade her to stay. She was right that her family needed her, and since he'd previously given her too little of himself, he couldn't really expect her to believe that he needed her too.
He lived in the hope that she would want to travel with him again - but until she did, he was travelling alone: he wasn't going to make the same mistake with a new Companion that he'd made with Martha, comparing them to her.
For now, though, he was content to sit here, with her sleeping in his arms.