Chapter Text
The Doctor flipped Martha’s cell phone closed with a smile as he leaned against the doors of the TARDIS and opened them to the bright afternoon sun of Earth.
“Ah, England!” he said with a smile as he took a deep breath and turned back to the police box. “See, old girl?” he said with a loving pat on the door, “I told Martha that you were entirely capable of getting the coordinates right when you wanted to.”
He turned to look at the tree lined path leading up to the medical building where Martha was taking her exams. “Right…now we’ve just got to get her back so you can show her yourself.”
“Besides…” he muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck and started walking down the path, “I think I’m feeling a bit under the weather and could use a check-up…”
Martha blew her hair out of her eyes in frustration as she got out of her car and looked at the medical building. “Right…nothing to be afraid of…you’ve faced down Judoon, Daleks, and the Master himself…you can face up to a piece of paper with your score on it.” She gripped the strap to her purse tightly and walked purposely down the path to the medical building.
As she pushed open the glass doors to the foyer of the building she saw the large message board on the wall in front of her with the list of scores posted on it…almost daring her to come closer and face her fate. “It’s just a piece of paper…it’s just a piece of paper…” she muttered her mantra to herself as she closed her eyes and stepped closer.
“Doctor Jones, I presume?” whispered a voice in her right ear, and her eyes quickly opened as she stared ahead. Not like she had any choice, as they were getting ready to bulge out of her head after hearing that voice again so close. She quickly took a hold of herself and turned around as she saw the familiar pinstriped suit, tousled hair, and wide grin of the Doctor. “Doctor!” she yelped as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a huge hug.
The Doctor laughed as he wrapped his arms around Martha’s waist and spun her in a circle in the hallway. Martha’s hands slipped into his hair, and when one of them ran over the bump on the back of his head he couldn’t help but visibly wince as he set her down.
“Tsk…now what did you do to yourself now?” Martha asked in concern. “I leave you alone for…for…” Martha bit her lip as she thought about it for a minute, “Well, a month for me anyways and look at what happens!” She gestured at his head in frustration.
“Oi! Did I not tell you that I willingly afflicted pain upon my person in order to answer your call, Martha Jones?” The Doctor answered in mock offense as he ran his hand through his hair. “Besides…I’ve come for my appointment with my doctor,” he finished with a cheeky grin.
Martha’s eyes lit up as she suddenly remembered why they were standing in the hallway in the first place. “My scores! You mean…” she slapped her hands on each side of the message board and scrolled quickly down the list of names.
“Jones, Martha A, with a ninety-six percent,” the Doctor confirmed with a smile as he leaned over her shoulder. “I’d say that’s a passing grade, wouldn’t you, Doctor Jones?”
“Yes I would, Doctor Smith!” she answered with a grin as she put her arm through his offered one.
“Good,” he said he opened the doors and they walked through them together, “Because you owe me a story!”
“I still say you should’ve let me take you to Santrageny V for tea….they’ve got a blend there you just wouldn’t believe!” The Doctor complained as Martha sat down in their booth at the coffeehouse and handed him his cup of tea.
“You can take me later, Doctor…” Martha began as she dropped a cube of sugar into her cup. When the Doctor became suspiciously quiet, she looked up to see him holding his cup to his mouth with his eyebrows raised high.
Suddenly realizing what she just said, Martha blushed embarrassingly and started stirring her tea vigorously as she stared at the tabletop. “You know what I meant…” she mumbled.
When she finally had the courage to glance up, she noticed that the Doctor was still holding his tea to his mouth, but instead of raised eyebrows he had a crooked grin and a faraway stare.
“Doctor?” she asked as she touched his other hand resting on the table. The Doctor quickly snapped out of his daze. “Right…where was I…the tea! They have this ritual where they collect the herbs under a double full moon with…”
“As lovely as that sounds,” Martha interrupted gently, “The reason why we’re having tea here is so that we won’t get distracted by events like that.”
“We could always have tea in the TARDIS, nice and simple…I’ve still got your cup with the daises on it even…”
Martha laughed softly as she glanced down at the table and noticed that the Doctor’s hand was now resting on hers. When did that happen? Does he know he’s doing it? Doesn’t matter! Yes, it does!
“Nothing is ever simple with you or the TARDIS, Doctor…” she said with a shake of her head.
“Ahh…but it’s nice, eh?” He said pointedly with a wag of his spoon at her.
Martha smiled as she couldn’t help but agree. “Yes, Doctor…as crazy as it got sometimes…as dangerous as it got…when I was traveling with you and the TARDIS it was very nice.”
"Well, there you go!” He said as his spoon clinked into his cup and he leaned back in the booth with a satisfied look on his face. “So tell me, Doctor Jones, why did you become a Doctor? Quid pro quo, eh?”
“Well…Mom told me once about my first word after I was born. It wasn’t ‘Mama’ or ‘Papa’ or anything like that…it was ‘Why.’ I guess my life’s been like that ever since, really.” Martha smiled and shrugged her shoulders slightly as her fingers played with the rim of her empty teacup. “I’ve never been happy with easy explanations; I always had to know why things happened and what made them work. I drove my parents crazy with my endless questions…with everything from “Why is the sky blue?” to “What kind of engine would have to be in the sleigh to get him all over the world in one night?”
“Hmmn…” muttered the Doctor as he rested his chin in his hand and stared at the ceiling. “Other than a TARDIS, of course, he’d have to have something like a…”
Martha’s eyebrows shot up at the thought of finally having a serious conversation about one of her childhood questions, but she quickly shook her head to break the distraction.
“It wasn’t till I met my cousin Adeola for the first time that my questions started to turn inward. She had a broken arm in a cast when my aunt brought her over, and I couldn’t get over it. There we were looking exactly like each other, yet I was fine and she was broken. I had to figure out what had happened to make her that way, and how I could fix it.”
The Doctor could see the sadness in Martha’s eyes as she spoke of her deceased cousin, and he swallowed hard. I’m going to have to tell her about her cousin someday… but not yet; dear Rassilon…not yet. Instead, he squeezed her hand gently in support and encouragement to go on with the story.
“After that I was obsessed with how the body worked. I studied all the anatomy books Mom could give me, and by the time I was 15 I could tell people every single bone that made up our hands.” Martha rolled her eyes and laughed, “I think by the end of that year just about everyone in school knew I knew that too. God…I must have been so annoying!”
“Oh…I don’t know…some people really like that kind of thing…keeps them on their toes,” the Doctor replied with a smile as he took another sip of his tea and suddenly made a face. “Bleh! Cold tea…”
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver. As he fiddled over it looking for the setting for ‘tea warmer,’ Martha noticed that her cup was nearly empty, as well as cold. “I’m going to get another cup…I’ll be right back.”
The Doctor nodded distractedly and Martha got up to go to the counter, as well as gather her thoughts. Calm down, Martha. You practically told him a month ago that you left him because you loved him and he didn’t see you, and now here he is, letting you know in no uncertain terms that he needs you to take care of him and that he likes your questions. Was he paying attention to you after all? You said it yourself that he was on the rebound…maybe he just needed time to sort things out (like you did)?