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Martha was settling back into “normal” life quite well. Her and Tom had started talking, and that was good. She could hear his voice without seeing his corpse, his body dead, for her, now.
Living at home was not so positive, she missed having her own space, but the ambient noise of the rest of her family was reassuring, when she woke up and forgot that they had reversed the paradox, forgot that life was back to normal.
UNIT had called, and offered her a job, and a medical degree, and she accepted, of course. All Martha had wanted to be since she was a little girl was a Doctor. And she wasn’t sure if she could ever be properly “normal” again, so UNIT was a good inbetween.
She hadn’t spoken to any of her older friends, her friends from before That Year since she stopped being Enemy Number One. She’d fielded a lot of strange calls from people who had been watching the news then, especially those who saw the death of the President, and noticed her in the background. She could say that was why. Say that it was awkward.
The truth was, she wasn’t sure that she could interact with them. She wasn’t the Martha who they knew, not anymore. She didn’t know if she could pretend.
So, that was why she was panicking in the frozen aisle of Tesco. It wasn’t uncommon for her, or anyone else in her family, to have panic attacks, or trauma responses. Trust her, she’s a Doctor.
It was stupid, but she’d seen Keira. She hadn’t seen Keira since before she went on full time placement as a medical student, and their messy breakup, that wasn’t a proper breakup, since they’d not actually been dating.
But, Keira was a reminder. A reminder of how different she’d become. A reminder that she wasn’t just Martha Jones, Student Doctor, but Martha Jones, the Woman Who Walked the Earth, fulltime Doctor.
And Martha Jones was clutching a frozen pizza, pepperoni stuffed crust, practising the breathing exercises her UNIT therapist had introduced her to. 4 breaths in, hold for 4, breath out for 4, hold for 4. Repeat.
“Martha?” Keira’s voice caught in her throat, and Martha looked up at her. She was as beautiful as when they last saw each other. Her hair was no longer braids, but two afro puffs, positioned like stars on her head, which complimented the bright yellow eyeliner she wore, and the navy dress, all brought together with a pair of yellow cowboy boots.
She took in a deep breath, “Keira. How have you been?”
Keira smiled, and looked at Martha, noting her black leather jacket, jeans and hiking boots, along with her relaxed hair, which sat on top of her head in a bun.
“Good. I’m working for the government now,” Keira laughed, and Martha felt warm, despite the freezers, “top secret.”
Martha laughed too, “So am I. No longer Little Miss Martha Jones.”
“Doctor?” Keira cheered, wrapping Martha in a hug before she could even react, “Oh, that’s wonderful! I knew you could do it.”
Martha took in a deep breath, and reminded herself of where she was, and who Keira was. She was safe.
“Thank you. It’s good to see you again. You look good.”
“So do you, although I do miss all your curls,” Keira sighed, but it was a content one, “anyone new in your life?”
“Well, there was this guy,” Martha started, and then cut herself off, “didn’t work out. He never saw me, you know?” Some part of her felt guilty for not mentioning Tom, but she wasn’t planning on hooking up with her ex anytime soon.
Keira gritted her teeth, “How anyone couldn’t see you is lost to me, Little Miss Doctor.”
The familiar nickname brought back fond memories, but didn’t invoke the butterflies as it used to.
“Thanks. I’m glad I figured it out.”
Buzz. Buzz.
“Oh, sorry. That’s me,” Martha reached into her bag, and pulled out her phone, “Tish!”
Keira smiled, “It was good to see you, Martha.”
“And you,” Martha turned back to her phone, “where do you need me? I’ve got the car.”