DISCLAIMER: All rights to Doctor Who belong to the BBC, yada, yada, yada. I also don't own the film 'Evolution'…well I do on DVD but I don't own any rights.
SUMMARY: The Doctor wants to give something back to Martha so he tries to live one day as a normal person so that they can spend the day together but also with her family. Things backfire on them when they bump into one of Martha's ex's, he cheated on her and now he's boasting about how wonderful their relationship is so, to make him jealous, Martha tells him that she too is in a fabulous relationship. He invites her to go to dinner with him and his girlfriend and she panics as she doesn't really have a boyfriend. She begs the Doctor to play the part and he agrees but can the Doctor really pretend to be a normal guy, and more importantly, how will he react when he finds out that she has told him that the Doctor is her fiancé?
A/N: This story is set about three months after 'Last of the Time Lords'. The Doctor is missing Martha and wants to give something back to her, as a late thank you. I know that the Doctor isn't 'normal' per se but I thought this would show him in a different way, show his human side.
Thanks for the reviews people, this story did prove more difficult than I thought to write so your continued support is always appreciated. Anyway, thanks again and I think this fic only has maybe one or two chapters left after this which is quite sad as although challenging, I have enjoyed writing it. Hope this one lives up to standards.
TITLE: The Fake Date – Chapter 7
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Previously
"Martha?" She looked up at Claire and was surprised when the blonde gave her a swift slap across the face. "You asked if I wanna fight this out…well guess what, I do." Martha looked at her in shock, she hadn't seen that coming. "Well what do you say to that?" Claire smirked and Martha glared at her.
"You really wanna know?" Claire nodded and Martha narrowed her eyes. "I say…"
Present
"I say…you really are pathetic. I'm not gonna fight you Claire…you got Liam but I got David so I really don't care." The Doctor smiled at her and she smiled back but Claire glared at her.
"Yeah, you're right but it must have been awful to have found out that your boyfriend was in bed with another woman…that when he was calling your name out, he was thinking of me." For such an innocent looking person, Martha had decided that Claire was the devil in disguise.
"Hmm, I wonder who he's thinking about when he calls out your name and you should have seen the look of jealousy on his face when he found out I was engaged." Martha narrowed her eyes and smirked in response as Claire looked back at Liam.
"Is she telling the truth?" She looked at Liam, terror in her eyes.
"No baby, she's lying I swear; you are all I want." Liam pleaded with her to listen and the Doctor watched helplessly, knowing that he was telling the truth about loving her.
"How can I be sure?" Tears leaked from her eyes and the Doctor decided to answer for him.
"Because of what he said before…he said that when he looked at you, something clicked." She looked at him shocked and asked him when he had said that. "When you and Martha were in the ladies room at the restaurant…he told me that every time he looked into your eyes; he knew he'd made the right decision leaving Martha."
Martha looked at him, shock and hurt written all over her face. "Really, he said that?"
The Doctor nodded and a tear fell down Martha's face. "Martha, please don't cry." She sank down onto the grass and he sat down next to her, pulling her against his side and rubbing her arm.
"I never thought…how could I be so stupid?" Her voice came out in a whisper and a few more tears leaked from her eyes.
"You aren't stupid Martha Jones…no matter what anyone says to you…you aren't stupid." He held her a little tighter and she turned, sobbing into his chest.
Meanwhile, Liam had wrapped Claire in a hug as he whispered into her ear the words she had wanted to hear since the day she had met him. "Marry me." She pulled back and nodded silently as tears of joy fell down her cheeks.
"Yes." She finally managed to whisper a reply and he pulled her to him again.
The Doctor looked up at the sight before him and smiled slightly; he hated seeing Martha hurt but deep down he knew that Liam would only hurt her again and that he was meant to be with Claire. "You two ok?"
"We're more than ok…we're getting married." The Doctor smiled and congratulated them before Liam joked back, "We can have a double wedding."
Martha shook her head and pulled away from the Doctor, knowing what she had to do. "Liam, I have a confession to make." The Doctor looked at her with raised eyebrows, silently asking her if she was sure about what she was going to do. She nodded and turned back to Liam. "Me and David…we aren't really engaged." She looked down at the floor, suddenly ashamed with herself for telling such a big lie.
"But…but what about your ring and the way he looks at you and…and the story about how you met?" Liam was truly confused as he sat down next to Martha and the Doctor stood up.
"I'll give you two some time to talk." Martha and Liam nodded as he led Claire away to nearby bench.
"Why would you make all that stuff up? You were so convincing." She nodded but didn't look up at him and he waited for her answer.
"Because…because I was jealous and I wanted you to feel the same…to feel how I felt when you cheated on me." He sighed and took hold of one of her hands, causing her to look up at him in confusion.
"Martha…I'm happy with Claire; I could never be with you, I wasn't meant to be." His voice was soft and held no anger or annoyance.
"I know and I don't wanna get back with you, I just didn't want you to think that I was still pathetic and single." He laughed slightly and she looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"I never thought of you as pathetic Martha, never and for what it's worth…you won't be single forever." She smiled slightly and he smiled back. "I didn't want to hurt you but it's true; every time I look at Claire, I know I made the right decision." She nodded and was surprised at how sweet he was being.
"I can see that and I know I was just being stupid but…I was hurt because you kept rubbing it in how happy you were and I…I didn't have anyone to talk about like that." Martha had decided that honesty would be a better option right now and Liam was shocked at just how big a lie she had told to make him jealous.
"So, how did you get David to agree to it?" It had come as a massive surprise when he had been told that David hadn't even been her boyfriend let alone her fiancé.
"I told him how I felt and what I'd told you and he agreed to play along for the night. We rehearsed our story a few times so that you'd believe it and…" She trailed off and shrugged her shoulders.
"So you did all that to make me jealous?" She nodded slightly and he laughed. "Wow, you must still have it bad for me." He sounded pleased with himself and she dropped his hand and looked at him. "I had a feeling that you never got over me."
She was disgusted when she realised that he thought it was funny. "How could you?" Her voice came out in a whisper and he raised his eyebrows. "You've just sat and told me that you love Claire and that you're marrying her but you're pleased that I haven't gotten over you, that's sick Liam." He shrugged his shoulders and said nothing, a delighted grin on his face. "You haven't changed one bit…I thought you'd grown up a lot but now I can see that you're still the childish prat that cheated on me." Again, he said nothing and she lost her temper and leant over, slapping him hard across the face. He placed a hand over his cheek, wincing slightly and she stood up and walked away from him. She walked over to the Doctor and Claire, changing her ring back onto her right hand as she did so and smiled at Claire. "I feel sorry for you Claire because he does actually love you and he's nothing but a childish prick. You could do so much better but good luck to you for having him."
"I love him too and I know I can make this work." By this point, the Doctor had told Claire about his false relationship with Martha and explained everything. She too had been shocked by his revelations because she had seen the way he looked at Martha and it was clear that he adored her.
"I hope you can because if he's with you, he can't hurt anyone else." Martha offered her a sad smile before walking away and heading down the path.
"I'd better go after her but good luck with Liam, hope the wedding is nice." She smiled at the Doctor and saw the sincerity in his eyes as she nodded.
"Thanks David, good luck with Martha…she's lucky to have you."
"But we're not…"
"I've seen the way you look at her, she belongs with you…even if she doesn't realise it yet." The Doctor smiled slightly and nodded before giving her a kiss on the hand and telling her to have a nice life with Liam. He had meant it too, he knew that Liam did love Claire and she was head-over-heels in love with him so he hoped that they would make it work.
He chased after Martha and found her sitting on a small hill, her arms wrapped around her knees and her chin resting on them. She was unsuccessfully trying to keep warm by pulling his jacket closer and he smiled slightly at the sight. He sat down next to her and mirrored her position but she didn't turn to look at him. "You think I deserved it don't you?"
"No, I don't think anybody would deserve that." He turned and looked at her sympathetically, wishing that he could take her pain away. "Look, just because I'm happy for Claire and Liam, doesn't mean that I accept the way he treated you." She turned and looked at him, glad when she saw the sincerity which had reached his eyes. "He had no right cheating on you and I don't blame you for wanting to make him jealous but Martha…he's moved on and you need to do the same." She knew that he was making sense and when he switched positions, crossing his legs and holding his arms open to her, she shuffled closer to him and allowed him to pull her into a warm embrace.
"I know." They fell into a comfortable silence until Martha spoke up again. "I'm sorry that you had to eat the pears…again." He looked down at her and grinned before dropping a kiss onto her head.
"Don't worry about it…the taste's bound to go away eventually. In fact, have you got any mints?" She nodded and handed him her purse but didn't pull away from him. He kept one arm wrapped around Martha and used his free hand to rifle through her handbag, determined to find something to get rid of the taste. Eventually he found a packet of polo mints and popped one into his mouth before handing her purse back to her.
"Better?" He nodded and wrapped his other arm around her once more. "Thanks for tonight by the way."
"S'ok, it wasn't as bad as I expected…well until dinner came." They both laughed slightly as memories of the mussels, pears and oyster casserole came back into memory. "Never again will I eat a pear…I mean it this time." She sighed and looked up at him. "I think I owe you a drink Mr Berkley."
"What did you have in mind Miss Jones?" He looked down at her, a soft smile gracing his lips.
"I was thinkin' a nice cuppa back at my place." His smile widened and she smiled back, a heartfelt smile which reached her eyes.
"Sounds most delightful." She let out another small chuckle and he pulled away from her before standing up and offering her his hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet then laced his hand with hers as they set off for her apartment.
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When they got to her apartment, she let them both in and locked the door behind her then walked into her kitchen, dropping his jacket onto the back of the sofa as she went, and filled the kettle with water. He walked in and came up behind her, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist and resting his chin on top of her head.
She smiled as she put the teabags and sugar into the cups then settled back into his arms. "You wanna watch a movie; after all, it isn't that late?"
"Hmm, which one do you wanna watch?" She shrugged her shoulders and made the mistake of saying that he could choose what they watched and he grinned before leaving the kitchen to root through Martha's DVD collection. Five minutes later, she walked into the living room with the cups to find him sitting cross-legged on her floor with a circle of movies around him.
"What are you doing?" She let out a small laugh when he looked up at her with big, innocent eyes.
"I can't decide which one to watch." She rolled her eyes and set down the cups on the coffee table before kneeling down and looking through his choices. Eventually they settled on 'Evolution' and made themselves comfortable on the sofa with their tea. "How incredibly unrealistic." She rolled her eyes but said nothing, content on settling back into the soft sofa cushions. Somewhere, towards the end of the movie, they had both fallen asleep and the next time Martha woke up, the clock read 3:30am and the Doctor was hanging off the sofa. She rolled her eyes and mused that if he rolled over, even slightly, he would find himself on the floor. Being comfortable enough and not wanting to disturb the sleeping time-lord, she closed her eyes again and drifted back into sleep only to be woken up half an hour later by a thud and a yelp. Her eyes popped open and she tried to stifle a laugh as he sat up, confused and half asleep. "What the…" He groaned and picked himself up off the floor then looked down at Martha, a mock glare on his face. "Oh, you find that funny?"
"Umm…no." She lied unconvincingly and got worried when she saw the mischievous glint in his sleepy eyes. "Doctor? What are you…?"
He cut her off by grabbing her waist and tickling her sides, just like he had the other morning only this time, when she begged for him to stop, he didn't. "It's not nice to laugh at people Miss Jones." She giggled and shrieked when he tickled her harder.
"Doctor…come on…stop it…" She trailed off as tears of laughter fell down her face and she tried to bat his hands away. He manically grinned at her and she tried to tickle him back. He laughed but slipped along her floor, falling flat on his face at the side of the sofa as Martha laughed. He rolled over onto his back and grabbed her hand before pulling her off the sofa. She let out a surprised gasp and the Doctor released a puff of air when she landed on his chest.
"Ah Martha, you aren't as light as you look." He groaned and she looked down at him with raised eyebrows.
"Serves you right." He laughed but then contentedly sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I just thought…this is the perfect position for payback." He looked at her with worried eyes and she laughed before pushing herself up and straddling his hips, tickling his chest and causing him to yelp in surprise. "Not so smug now are we?"
"Martha…please…darling I love you." He looked at her with pleading eyes and she laughed.
"We aren't engaged anymore remember." He groaned as she slipped her hands underneath his shirt and tickled his sides.
"Marthaaaaaaaa, let go of me." He managed to push her off him and she rolled onto her back beside him, breathlessly laughing. He also laughed as he tried to catch his breath and wiped the tears from his eyes.
Eventually she sat up and looked at the clock. "Well, you can spend the night on my floor if you want but I'm goin' to bed." She stood up and looked down at him, laughing when she realised that he had fallen asleep again. He was laid on his back, his eyes closed and a sleepy smile on his face. She smiled to herself and, feeling sorry for him, grabbed a cushion of the sofa and put in under his head. She then covered him up with a throw rug before heading to her bedroom and changing into her pyjamas.
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She woke up the next morning to the smell of toast and coffee and when she opened her eyes, she saw him stood at the side of her bed with a tray. "Morning Miss Jones."
She smiled up at him before shifting into a sitting position. "Morning, what's all this for? If anything, I should be making breakfast for you and this is all a bit…domestic isn't it?" He laughed then put the tray down on her knee and sat down on the other side of the bed.
"I thought you might want a bit of cheering up after last night." She smiled; he really could be so sweet sometimes.
"Aww, thank you but you cheered me up this morning…it was a bit earlier than expected but still…" She trailed off and he laughed as thoughts of earlier that morning popped into his head.
"I know but you deserved a bit of cheering up." She smiled widely at him and he grinned back, proud of his efforts. "Mind if I borrow your shower?"
"No, go for it." He nodded and thanked her before placing a quick kiss to her forehead, stealing a piece of toast and giving her a cheeky wink. She simply rolled her eyes and sipped her coffee.
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Once they had both gotten dressed, they found themselves stood in Martha's living room; trying to say an awkward goodbye. "Well, this is goodbye…again."
He nodded and smiled at her. "It's been…interesting." She chuckled slightly and he sighed. "You sure you don't wanna come with me?"
"Yeah, I belong here." He nodded and pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly against his chest. "Just you make sure you come back and visit." He told her that he would and she smiled against his shirt, knowing that he would keep his promise.
"Call me if you ever need me, you know where I'll be." He whispered in her ear before pulling away from her and she raised her eyebrows.
"Well no not really." She laughed and he rolled his eyes.
"Well you know how to find me. Seriously if you need anything…anything at all, just call me." He smiled at her and she nodded, before standing on her tiptoes and kissing him on the cheek, telling him she'd see him soon, hopefully. He gave her a lingering kiss on the forehead then left, heading back to the TARDIS yet again.
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It had now been three days since he had left and Martha sat on her sofa, sipping a cup of hot chocolate and feeling very lonely. She missed him already; the way he could make her smile, the way he always listened to her and most importantly…the way that he always made her feel special. The time she had spent travelling with him had been the best few months of her life and she would have given anything to stay with him but she had known that her family needed her more. Now, sat alone in her empty apartment, she realised that she needed him. Knowing what she had to do, she picked up the phone and dialled a familiar number.
"Hello?" Francine picked up the telephone and waited for the response of the person on the other end of the line.
"Mum, I need to talk to you." Martha's voice was filled with worry and Francine sat down at the kitchen table, terrified about what her youngest daughter was going to say.
"What's wrong, what's happened?"
Martha rolled her eyes at her mother's concern as she answered. "Nothing's wrong but I've been thinking and…I miss him."
"The Doctor." It was more of a statement than a question, Francine had noticed on the day of the picnic that Martha wanted to go with him.
"Yeah…I miss him and I…" She trailed off, not knowing how to explain it.
"Want to go travelling with him?" Francine helpfully offered her an ending to her question and Martha smiled to herself.
"Yeah but if you don't want me to go then I won't…I'll stay here." She needed her parents to know that they meant a lot to her and that she would always be there for them. After all, she had almost lost them once and wasn't about to again.
"Martha, I just want you to be happy and if that means going with him then…go." Francine's voice was filled with sincerity and Martha sighed in relief.
"Are you sure because if…" She needed to be certain and Francine interrupted her.
"I am positive Martha, just make sure you keep in touch and keep…keep safe." Martha promised her that she would and the two exchanged goodbyes before Martha set about packing some stuff together. Her flat in London didn't feel like home anymore, it was an empty place which she slept in every night but it was missing something and she had a feeling that that something was the Doctor.
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The Doctor was also sat miserably and alone. He missed her more than he thought he could ever miss anyone and that day, when she had said that she wouldn't go with him, had hurt him. Donna had told him that he needed someone and he had told her that he was fine on his own but he was beginning to think that she had been right. He did need someone and he was certain that that someone was Martha Jones. He wanted nothing more than for her to call and tell him she needed him but he was confident that she wouldn't. A few hours later however, when he was staring at the picture which hung on the wall opposite his bed, the call came and within two seconds of stepping out of the TARDIS she was in his arms. He hugged her to him and smiled into her hair, she'd decided it was time and as she walked into the TARDIS she knew that she was finally home.
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A/N: Well there you go folks, it is finally complete. Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Please review this last chapter as I would like to hear your thoughts on the ending and yeah…until next time
Luffles and Huggles
RoxxiSanders
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