A Cure for a Nightmare
Title: A Cure for a Nightmare
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Martha
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: The end of 42 and The Shakespeare Code if you squint.
Summary: The Doctor has a nightmare after being inhabited by a living sun. Martha offers an unconventional cure for nightmares.
Disclaimer: The BBC owns "Doctor Who" - if they didn't, Martha wouldn't have been banished to Cardiff !
Author Notes: I had this image of Martha giving Ten a head massage in the TARDIS library. Other than that, what can I say ? The Ten!Bunny made me do it…
AN 2: This story has a direct sequel Consent?.
~~~~~~
Martha started awake abruptly. Someone was calling her name. Clicking on her bedside light, she pulled on a t-shirt and went in search of the Doctor.
"Where is he?" she wondered. She heard him scream, then sobbing her name and she set off down the corridor towards the library at a run, worried that something was attacking him. She burst through the door and looked about her until she spotted the Doctor sprawled in a large leather chair.
"Martha! Where are you?" he sobbed, sounding terrified.
She rushed to his side. "I'm here," she said, then realised he was asleep and presumably having a nightmare about that living sun they'd encountered a few hours ago. She crouched down beside the chair and put her right hand on his left arm where it lay along the arm of the chair, fingers gripping so tightly that his knuckles were clearly white, even in the dim light of the room.
"I'm scared. I'm so scared." He was sobbing again.
She put her left hand on his arm and touched her right to his forehead, finding it warmer than was usual for him. "Doctor, I'm here. Wake up now." She clasped his left hand with hers, then brushed his hair back from his forehead. "Wake up Doctor."
He opened his eyes and looked down at her face where she crouched beside the chair. "Martha?" He sounded confused.
"Hello." She smiled, trying to keep her fear to herself.
"What's wrong?"
"You were having a nightmare," she said.
He scrubbed his right hand across his face. "Did I wake you?" She nodded. "Sorry."
"It's OK. Are you OK, though? You're still rather warm for you."
He nodded. "It'll pass."
"What about the nightmare? Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really." He looked away and she sensed he was embarrassed.
"Do you want me to stay with you for a bit?" she offered, expecting him to send her back to bed, but he surprised her.
"Would you?"
"Of course." She noticed a book on the floor by the chair and picked it up. "You're re-reading Deathly Hallows?" she asked. He nodded. "Come on then, you can read it to me." She gestured towards the nearest sofa where they could sit together.
He took the book from her, then took her right hand in his left as they moved towards the large leather sofa.
"I swear even you could stretch out full length on this one," Martha said as she settled on one end.
"I can." She noticed a wistful tone in his voice and wondered if he'd done just that in the past with Rose.
"Go on then."
He looked at her in surprise. "What?"
"Stretch out on the sofa, if you like. You can put your head on my legs."
He sat down beside her, clutching the book. "Are you sure?"
"Of course."
She waited whilst he stretched out his long limbs, settling his head in her lap before putting on his glasses. He began to read and she waited until he was well into the first chapter before she began massaging his temples with the tips of her fingers. He stopped reading in surprise and she felt a shiver run through him.
"OK?" she asked, moving her hands away, suddenly aware that he might not appreciate it.
"Please don't stop," he whispered.
She resumed her ministrations and he went back to reading, although she could tell he was distracted by what she was doing. She didn't comment when he laid the book on his chest a few minutes later and closed his eyes.
"That feels good."
"Good." She ran a finger lightly down each side of his face, stroking his sideburns, which elicited a strangled moan. His mouth was hanging half open and he was clutching the edge of the sofa with his left hand as if hanging on for dear life. Her eyes followed the line of his arm, then she noticed that he was aroused. Oh dear. She hadn't really meant to arouse him, just to soothe him after his nightmare. She sought for a way of distracting them both.
"I'm sorry that I said earlier that we didn't need you today. Obviously we did." He opened his eyes and looked up into her face as she began playing with his hair. "If you hadn't been infected by the sun, we wouldn't have known how to escape its grasp. We'd have all died, instead of five of them." She closed her eyes.
The Doctor reached up and clasped her hands.
"How do you stand it?" she asked. "Losing people. Knowing you can't save everyone?"
"I don't know," he answered in a low voice. "It doesn't get any easier, even after all this time." He let go of her hands and swung himself around to sit up properly, then took her hands in his again. "If it gets too much for you, you must tell me."
She opened her mouth to argue, but he stopped her with a long finger laid across her lips. "I mean it, Martha Jones. You're almost a doctor and it will be harder for you than it is for most people since you've been trained to help and heal people. Promise me you won't stay if it gets too much for you and the deaths outweigh the excitement and adventure."
She nodded.
"Good."
"But I want you to make me a promise too," she said.
He raised his eyebrows at her and Martha saw a closed look appear on his face. "What?" he asked guardedly.
"Talk to me more, please? I know I don't mean as much to you as Rose, but I can listen. I've done stints on the Psychiatry wards, and I know about bereavement and PTSD. I know you're an alien, rather than a human, but I'm still sure that bottling up your feelings isn't good for you."
He breathed in heavily, before answering. "I'll try."
"Good." She gestured at the book. "Are you going to read me some more?"
He shook his head. "There is something I'd like you to do for me, though, if you wouldn't mind?"
She looked at him in surprise. "Of course."
"Would you mind giving me a proper massage? I had a bath earlier but it doesn't seem to have helped much where the aches are concerned.
"OK." She agreed, but she was wondering if it was a good idea since just massaging his head had apparently been enough to arouse him.
"Your room or mine?" asked the Doctor.
She shrugged. "It doesn't matter."
"Yours then, if you don't mind."
She nodded, then led the way out of the library and back to her room. "You'd better take your jacket and shirt off," she said.
He took off his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair by her desk, then began unbuttoning his shirt. Martha went into the bathroom and came back with a towel and a small bottle.
"Massage oil," she explained on seeing the Doctor's enquiring look. He'd taken off his t-shirt as well and she was trying not to stare too openly; she was so used to seeing him in layers and layers of clothes that seeing his bare chest was very disconcerting. She put the bottle of oil on top of the bedside locker, pulled the duvet off the bed and heaped it on the floor, then spread the towel out on the sheet.
The Doctor lay down on his front, his head resting sideways on his folded arms. Martha hesitated a moment, then knelt on the bed, straddling his legs. She picked up the bottle of massage oil, poured a little into her palm, then placed her hands on his shoulders. He gasped.
"Too cold?" she asked.
"No, just a surprise," he answered. "It smells nice."
"It's Jasmine, which is good for exhaustion."
"Ah."
She began to knead his muscles, trying hard not to think about the fact that the Doctor was half naked and in her bed. They'd shared a bed before, but that had been rather different, not least because he'd kept all his clothes on.
The Doctor was also trying not to think about being half naked in Martha's bed. He felt as if he was taking advantage of her kindness, especially since he found her touch arousing. He was already half hard and she'd barely started. He fought the urge to moan and turned his face into his arms.
Her hands stilled. "Doctor?"
He could hear uncertainty in her voice and lifted his head. "Yes?"
"This will only be useful if you actually relax," she said. "Tensing up isn't going to help." She ran a hand down his back to emphasise her point.
"Sorry." He swallowed. "Maybe this wasn't such a sensible plan after all. I should let you get some sleep again and I'll go back to the library." He started to lift himself from the bed, wondering if he could get out of her room without her realising his state. "Um, Martha, you'll need to move so I can get up," he said.
She put her chin on his right shoulder, then reached down and cupped his arousal. "I think you're already up," she murmured, stroking his length through his trousers.
"Rassilon!" he gasped. "Martha, please don't."
She began to undo his trousers and he grabbed her wrist. "Please don't do this," he begged. "It's a bad idea."
"Why?" she demanded. "Because I'm not Rose?"
"What? No! NO! It's a bad idea because I don't do this sort of thing with my Companions." He hissed as she freed his erection. "Please don't." He sounded on the verge of tears.
"You want this as much as I do," she said.
"That doesn't mean it's a good idea," he said, panting as she began to slide her hand up and down his length.
She moved around in front of him, then bent her head to take the head of his erection into her mouth and he moaned at the sensation of her hot mouth on him. She swirled her tongue over the tip and hummed in satisfaction when he moaned. He put his right hand on her head, then twined the fingers of her left hand in his own as he realised that he couldn't stop her now. Her mouth and hand worked up and down his length, sucking, stroking, licking and kissing, and he quickly reached the point of climax. He cried out wordlessly, then slumped forward bonelessly. She caught him in her arms and found he was crying.
"Shh, shh. It's OK." She grabbed a box of tissues from the locker and gave him a handful, stroking her hand across his shoulder blades and murmuring to him. After a while he sniffed and pulled away from her a little.
"OK?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yes. Sorry, I - uh - " he broke off, embarrassed.
"It's OK. You don't need to apologise, or explain, or anything." She unfolded her legs and pulled him to lie down with her. Some of the haunted look had gone from his eyes, she noticed and that mattered more than anything at the moment. She leant forward and kissed him gently on the lips.
"Sleep," she said. "We can talk later."
"OK." He sat up again and pulled off his trousers. "Seems silly keeping them on now," he said as he lay down again.
Martha smiled at him, then moved so that her head was resting on his chest. She listened to his hearts beating and the change in his breathing as he fell asleep, before allowing herself to fall asleep again.
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Martha
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: The end of 42 and The Shakespeare Code if you squint.
Summary: The Doctor has a nightmare after being inhabited by a living sun. Martha offers an unconventional cure for nightmares.
Disclaimer: The BBC owns "Doctor Who" - if they didn't, Martha wouldn't have been banished to Cardiff !
Author Notes: I had this image of Martha giving Ten a head massage in the TARDIS library. Other than that, what can I say ? The Ten!Bunny made me do it…
AN 2: This story has a direct sequel Consent?.
~~~~~~
Martha started awake abruptly. Someone was calling her name. Clicking on her bedside light, she pulled on a t-shirt and went in search of the Doctor.
"Where is he?" she wondered. She heard him scream, then sobbing her name and she set off down the corridor towards the library at a run, worried that something was attacking him. She burst through the door and looked about her until she spotted the Doctor sprawled in a large leather chair.
"Martha! Where are you?" he sobbed, sounding terrified.
She rushed to his side. "I'm here," she said, then realised he was asleep and presumably having a nightmare about that living sun they'd encountered a few hours ago. She crouched down beside the chair and put her right hand on his left arm where it lay along the arm of the chair, fingers gripping so tightly that his knuckles were clearly white, even in the dim light of the room.
"I'm scared. I'm so scared." He was sobbing again.
She put her left hand on his arm and touched her right to his forehead, finding it warmer than was usual for him. "Doctor, I'm here. Wake up now." She clasped his left hand with hers, then brushed his hair back from his forehead. "Wake up Doctor."
He opened his eyes and looked down at her face where she crouched beside the chair. "Martha?" He sounded confused.
"Hello." She smiled, trying to keep her fear to herself.
"What's wrong?"
"You were having a nightmare," she said.
He scrubbed his right hand across his face. "Did I wake you?" She nodded. "Sorry."
"It's OK. Are you OK, though? You're still rather warm for you."
He nodded. "It'll pass."
"What about the nightmare? Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really." He looked away and she sensed he was embarrassed.
"Do you want me to stay with you for a bit?" she offered, expecting him to send her back to bed, but he surprised her.
"Would you?"
"Of course." She noticed a book on the floor by the chair and picked it up. "You're re-reading Deathly Hallows?" she asked. He nodded. "Come on then, you can read it to me." She gestured towards the nearest sofa where they could sit together.
He took the book from her, then took her right hand in his left as they moved towards the large leather sofa.
"I swear even you could stretch out full length on this one," Martha said as she settled on one end.
"I can." She noticed a wistful tone in his voice and wondered if he'd done just that in the past with Rose.
"Go on then."
He looked at her in surprise. "What?"
"Stretch out on the sofa, if you like. You can put your head on my legs."
He sat down beside her, clutching the book. "Are you sure?"
"Of course."
She waited whilst he stretched out his long limbs, settling his head in her lap before putting on his glasses. He began to read and she waited until he was well into the first chapter before she began massaging his temples with the tips of her fingers. He stopped reading in surprise and she felt a shiver run through him.
"OK?" she asked, moving her hands away, suddenly aware that he might not appreciate it.
"Please don't stop," he whispered.
She resumed her ministrations and he went back to reading, although she could tell he was distracted by what she was doing. She didn't comment when he laid the book on his chest a few minutes later and closed his eyes.
"That feels good."
"Good." She ran a finger lightly down each side of his face, stroking his sideburns, which elicited a strangled moan. His mouth was hanging half open and he was clutching the edge of the sofa with his left hand as if hanging on for dear life. Her eyes followed the line of his arm, then she noticed that he was aroused. Oh dear. She hadn't really meant to arouse him, just to soothe him after his nightmare. She sought for a way of distracting them both.
"I'm sorry that I said earlier that we didn't need you today. Obviously we did." He opened his eyes and looked up into her face as she began playing with his hair. "If you hadn't been infected by the sun, we wouldn't have known how to escape its grasp. We'd have all died, instead of five of them." She closed her eyes.
The Doctor reached up and clasped her hands.
"How do you stand it?" she asked. "Losing people. Knowing you can't save everyone?"
"I don't know," he answered in a low voice. "It doesn't get any easier, even after all this time." He let go of her hands and swung himself around to sit up properly, then took her hands in his again. "If it gets too much for you, you must tell me."
She opened her mouth to argue, but he stopped her with a long finger laid across her lips. "I mean it, Martha Jones. You're almost a doctor and it will be harder for you than it is for most people since you've been trained to help and heal people. Promise me you won't stay if it gets too much for you and the deaths outweigh the excitement and adventure."
She nodded.
"Good."
"But I want you to make me a promise too," she said.
He raised his eyebrows at her and Martha saw a closed look appear on his face. "What?" he asked guardedly.
"Talk to me more, please? I know I don't mean as much to you as Rose, but I can listen. I've done stints on the Psychiatry wards, and I know about bereavement and PTSD. I know you're an alien, rather than a human, but I'm still sure that bottling up your feelings isn't good for you."
He breathed in heavily, before answering. "I'll try."
"Good." She gestured at the book. "Are you going to read me some more?"
He shook his head. "There is something I'd like you to do for me, though, if you wouldn't mind?"
She looked at him in surprise. "Of course."
"Would you mind giving me a proper massage? I had a bath earlier but it doesn't seem to have helped much where the aches are concerned.
"OK." She agreed, but she was wondering if it was a good idea since just massaging his head had apparently been enough to arouse him.
"Your room or mine?" asked the Doctor.
She shrugged. "It doesn't matter."
"Yours then, if you don't mind."
She nodded, then led the way out of the library and back to her room. "You'd better take your jacket and shirt off," she said.
He took off his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair by her desk, then began unbuttoning his shirt. Martha went into the bathroom and came back with a towel and a small bottle.
"Massage oil," she explained on seeing the Doctor's enquiring look. He'd taken off his t-shirt as well and she was trying not to stare too openly; she was so used to seeing him in layers and layers of clothes that seeing his bare chest was very disconcerting. She put the bottle of oil on top of the bedside locker, pulled the duvet off the bed and heaped it on the floor, then spread the towel out on the sheet.
The Doctor lay down on his front, his head resting sideways on his folded arms. Martha hesitated a moment, then knelt on the bed, straddling his legs. She picked up the bottle of massage oil, poured a little into her palm, then placed her hands on his shoulders. He gasped.
"Too cold?" she asked.
"No, just a surprise," he answered. "It smells nice."
"It's Jasmine, which is good for exhaustion."
"Ah."
She began to knead his muscles, trying hard not to think about the fact that the Doctor was half naked and in her bed. They'd shared a bed before, but that had been rather different, not least because he'd kept all his clothes on.
The Doctor was also trying not to think about being half naked in Martha's bed. He felt as if he was taking advantage of her kindness, especially since he found her touch arousing. He was already half hard and she'd barely started. He fought the urge to moan and turned his face into his arms.
Her hands stilled. "Doctor?"
He could hear uncertainty in her voice and lifted his head. "Yes?"
"This will only be useful if you actually relax," she said. "Tensing up isn't going to help." She ran a hand down his back to emphasise her point.
"Sorry." He swallowed. "Maybe this wasn't such a sensible plan after all. I should let you get some sleep again and I'll go back to the library." He started to lift himself from the bed, wondering if he could get out of her room without her realising his state. "Um, Martha, you'll need to move so I can get up," he said.
She put her chin on his right shoulder, then reached down and cupped his arousal. "I think you're already up," she murmured, stroking his length through his trousers.
"Rassilon!" he gasped. "Martha, please don't."
She began to undo his trousers and he grabbed her wrist. "Please don't do this," he begged. "It's a bad idea."
"Why?" she demanded. "Because I'm not Rose?"
"What? No! NO! It's a bad idea because I don't do this sort of thing with my Companions." He hissed as she freed his erection. "Please don't." He sounded on the verge of tears.
"You want this as much as I do," she said.
"That doesn't mean it's a good idea," he said, panting as she began to slide her hand up and down his length.
She moved around in front of him, then bent her head to take the head of his erection into her mouth and he moaned at the sensation of her hot mouth on him. She swirled her tongue over the tip and hummed in satisfaction when he moaned. He put his right hand on her head, then twined the fingers of her left hand in his own as he realised that he couldn't stop her now. Her mouth and hand worked up and down his length, sucking, stroking, licking and kissing, and he quickly reached the point of climax. He cried out wordlessly, then slumped forward bonelessly. She caught him in her arms and found he was crying.
"Shh, shh. It's OK." She grabbed a box of tissues from the locker and gave him a handful, stroking her hand across his shoulder blades and murmuring to him. After a while he sniffed and pulled away from her a little.
"OK?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yes. Sorry, I - uh - " he broke off, embarrassed.
"It's OK. You don't need to apologise, or explain, or anything." She unfolded her legs and pulled him to lie down with her. Some of the haunted look had gone from his eyes, she noticed and that mattered more than anything at the moment. She leant forward and kissed him gently on the lips.
"Sleep," she said. "We can talk later."
"OK." He sat up again and pulled off his trousers. "Seems silly keeping them on now," he said as he lay down again.
Martha smiled at him, then moved so that her head was resting on his chest. She listened to his hearts beating and the change in his breathing as he fell asleep, before allowing herself to fall asleep again.