Moving On and Up

A/N: This isn't part of the anthology because it doesn't follow that timeline. This is an aside that I wrote after the series ended and I started thinking about what became of Martha in-canon. In this, I've mixed parts of my story with the canon, so I'll use most of the canon story, but certain things such as Martha's family are taken from my story, because I like my mother for her better. All I can say is that, please don't kill me for this.

And, thanks to guest reviewer Cyan who pointed out some iffy things in this story, which have since been edited. However, I want to make it clear that, when Martha visits the other set for the first time, the reason she doesn't meet with the head of chambers at first is because she's strictly looking for information and doing research before deciding to pursue something, as choosing a set is a big commitment.

When she had showed up on her mother's doorstep at two AM, Katy hadn't questioned it, she'd simply let Martha in and proceeded to make tea.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or do I have to guess?" Katy asked as she set two teacups down.

"It's everything," Martha sighed before she proceeded to relay the story, from with her up and down relationship with Clive to the trial and the chambers' vote, leaving no detail unspoken as her mother simply sat and listened. "And now I just don't know what to do," Martha admitted. "I've never been this lost before and then there's this whole thing with chambers being turned completely upside down, I just…"
"Stop," Katy ordered, gently placing a hand over her daughter's. "Don't worry about all that for now. Take a day or two to let everything settle and then start turning things over in your head. You can stay here if you want, or with Granddad, or anywhere really. Just promise me you'll do some thinking."

There was a brief silence before Martha finally nodded. "Can I stay here?"

"Of course. You know where your room is," Katy said, picking up the empty teacups as she spoke, deciding not to press the issue until three days later, when she came home from work to find Martha absent-mindedly flipping through family albums in her room.

"Have you done any thinking?" She asked carefully.

"Kind of," Martha shrugged.

"Do you want my advice?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Katy let out a small laugh and moved to sit on the bed. "Move on. We've been over this. Everything happens for a reason. Sure, this trial didn't go so well, and I know you think it's all your fault that Sean is in jail, but that's not true. These things happen, and I really hate seeing you so worked up over it. And, despite what that man said you can't just run away from your problems, Martha. You can't make a change if you're not there. The same is true of your chambers situation. The way I see it, you have three options. You can give up and leave everything you've worked for behind, you can suck it up and be miserable prosecuting for the rest of your career, or you could move on. I know you love Shoe Lane, and I love what they've done for you, but sometimes, we have to leave things we love behind to move on, and oftentimes it's for the better. You will get through this, I know you will. We Costello women don't give up that easily, and you know that."

"Why do you always know what to say?"

"It's a mum thing," Katy shrugged.

"I decided that I'm going back to London tomorrow. I have some things to clear up," Martha admitted with a sigh that was repeated when she left the following morning, stopping by her flat to collect a few things before heading back to chambers, taking in a breath as she entered and ignored everyone as she headed into her room and proceeded to tear her desk apart, sweeping everything into various boxes, only stopping when the door opened.

"Martha?" Clive asked. "Where the hell have you been? You haven't been answering your mobile. Everyone thought you were dead."

"Not dead. The farthest thing from it, actually," Martha said.

"What are doing?"

"Leaving. I refuse to sit here and watch you turn everything we've worked for on its head. I got some great advice last night and I'm heeding it. I'm moving forward, just like you did." At that, she swept from the room, the last box in her hands. She made one more trip to her car and then headed back in, handing Clive her resignation without another word before leaving for good, taking some time off to do research on other sets, her fourth visit being a week later at a lesser-known, but long standing set near Shoe Lane.

"Martha?" A familiar voice said as soon as she entered.

"Niamh?" Martha said, eyes wide as her former pupil appeared. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here. After we left, Nick and I found tenancy here, though it was no easier than trying to get it at Shoe Lane. If anything, it was harder, but they needed the people and the talent. Our senior clerk has a penchant for finding it."

"Wait…Nick is here too?"

"We…um…Wanted to find a place together," Niamh admitted, a blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Don't tell me…"

Niamh nodded. "We've been dating for two years now."

"Well, congratulations."

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but what are you doing here?"

"I need tenancy. Things haven't been going well."

"So the rumours are true?"

Martha nodded.

"Oh…Well, good luck. And I would encourage you to at least consider this place. It's lovely and you'll get so much work you'll be begging them to stop giving it to you."

"Thank you," Martha acknowledged with a nod before Niamh went back to work and she headed on to the clerk's room, stepping in after knocking and then waiting as she was signaled to stay by a dark-haired woman on the phone, who turned to her as soon as she hung up.

"Yes?" The woman asked.

"Hi, I called a few days ago and was told to come and speak to the senior clerk about tenancy information. And, I hope you don't mind my asking, but, where is he?"

"She is right in front of you," The woman said as she made her way around the table, holding her hand out for Martha to shake. "Maci Calloway, Senior Clerk, Arch Lane Chambers."

"Martha Costello, QC."

"Oh, I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are, actually. It's sad. What's happened at Shoe Lane. They used to be one of our big defence partners, but, I digress. Let me show you around."

"I'm sorry, but, how old are you?" Martha asked, thinking the woman looked a little young to be running a clerk's room.

"Thirty-Six. I stepped up five months ago after our old clerk retried. Been here for fifteen years. Clerking is in my blood."

"I see…Now, your website said that you handle a mix of work?"

"Yes. We work in both prosecution and defense. We have two divisions and, sometimes they intermingle, but not often. Doing so keeps the work even and steady, and if one end has a slow period, they can take up work from the other end if they so choose. It works wonderfully and the money flow is fantastic. We only deal with the best here, if you can't make it work, you're out," Maci explained as they rounded a corner and climbed a set of stairs.

"Sounds a bit harsh, don't you think?

"Well, we give everyone a fair chance. But there are only so many chances one can give out, Miss Costello. If you're not working hard, you're not doing it right."

'Uh-huh…' Martha thought as the tour and talk continued on.

When she left and hour and a half later, her head was practically spinning with information, information that she used to make her decision a week later as she stepped back in and handed over her paperwork, watching as Maci briefly flipped through it, making sure "all boxes were ticked, 'i's dotted" as she put it.

"That's everything. I'm sure you know how this works," She said as she closed the envelope again. "I'll forward this to the acting head of chambers, and if he likes what he sees, you'll be called for a meet with him and, if all goes well, he'll call another meet, this time with our top senior members. And, once you get past them, you'll put yourself before the rest of chambers and they'll vote."

"Acting head?"

"We've been struggling to find an official replacement. No one here wants to step up permanently. It's rather frustrating actually," Maci shrugged and waved Martha off as her phone rang.

Less than a week later, Martha took in a breath as she arrived for her meet, which went well enough that she was called back for two more private interviews before the meet with senior members, and, finally a session with the rest of chambers, who almost unanimously voted in favour, knowing the needed not only the body, but that talent.

"I have a room to myself," She commented the morning following the meet as Maci led her into an empty room.

"For now. We've had a hole in the senior end for a few weeks we've been trying to fill. Apparently, it's rather difficult to get established members to even consider movingfrom their chambers. But, if you happen to know anyone looking, put a good word in, will you?"

"Of course," Martha said, thinking she already had the perfect candidate in mind, but before she could think about that, she went about setting everything up and then turning to her latest brief. Another crime family murder that had made her stop a minute before she remember that this was her chance to start again and get on with her life, and that, if she didn't do this, she'd never get herself back together. For it, she took a chance and brought Niamh on as her junior, as, she had a window in the week and it gave her a bit of a break.

"Thank you," Niamh said as they entered the courtroom days later.

"For what?"

"For this. I could use the experience and it's been nice to have a bit of a break and not be tackling my own complicated brief. I'm due to do a double kidnapping in the next two weeks and I know it's going to kick my ass," Niamh admitted.

"It'll be good for you then," Martha commented, gathering her things after the security check and then waiting for Niamh before they headed into the robing room, where, they were greeted by a familiar face.

"So you're not dead?" Caroline scoffed.

"Far from it, actually. What about you? How are you doing?"

Caroline quickly looked around and then sighed. "I really could be better. I've actually been losing work. Your boy and that blonde bitch have it out for me. Just because she's shagging the head of chambers, she thinks she's so great."

"Between you and me, if you want to, you can put in a formal application at Arch Lane. They have a spot to fill in the senior end and are looking for a permanent head of chambers," Martha said. "I know you just moved, but…"

"What's the name again?"

Weeks later, everything started to finally fall into place again. Though it took her awhile, Martha got the hang of the different regime in her chambers, even finding out that after she had left, Kate had moved in there as well and headed the junior end. She found that Maci was typically a hard-ass, but that got things done, even if it meant throwing out underperforming juniors and screaming at her other clerks, which she was about to do following a conversation with a solicitor.

"Which one of you put Cranitch on the Heckley trial?" She snapped as she stepped into a busy room that suddenly went silent at her appearance.

"I…Did…" One of the junior clerks, Clara, said as she stood.

"What the hell were you thinking? Do you know who the judge in that trial is? Her father. The solicitor just called me because they caught the conflict. Do you what image that gives us?"

"I thought it was just a coincidence."

"How many people do you know with the surname Cranitch?! Take her off."

"What?"

"Take her off of it."

"But no one else on that end has a free window…"

"Then switch her with Donahue's murder. They both start the same day and moving them around now won't kill us. And, if you ever do something like this again, we're going to have a serious talk," Maci snapped with narrowed eyes before moving to answer her own ringing phone the same time Caroline stepped in.

"You wanted to see me," She said and Maci gestured to her next-in-line, Annalise.

"Mortgage fraud," Annalise said, standing to hand over a rather large brief. "Trial starts next week."

"What about the rape?"

"Handed over to someone else. This is bigger, far bigger. Far better for someone of your standing, Miss."

"And far more work."

"Mr. Slade is your junior; he had a free window and is waiting to see you."

Taken aback by the efficiency, Caroline simply took the brief and headed out, immediately pulling Nick from his room and into hers, where she handed over half the evidence. "I don't think I need to tell you what to do with this."

Nick simply nodded as Martha appeared, a new brief in her hands as well.

"The work never stops here, does it?" She commented as soon as Nick had left.

"It feels like it, but at least they're more efficient about getting us help," Caroline observed. "And we all know we need it."

"Isn't that partially your doing?"

"It wasn't that big of a push. The only problem we had was getting people to move in and pick up on the pupilages."

"I'm still surprised you got Bradshaw to step down so quickly."

"He never really wanted the work that came with the position. Just the single room."

"And you let him have it?"

"I don't need a huge room to prove myself, thank you very much. I'm going for a drink. Join me?"

"Why not. We could ask Nick and Niamh as well, I know she had a difficult trial today."

Caroline said nothing, and Martha took her silence for an answer, soon heading into a nearby pub with all three of them.

"First round's on Martha!" Nick declared as soon as they stepped in, getting a laugh in response.

"Only if you pay for the next one," Martha retorted.

"We both will," Niamh said, her arm firmly linked in her boyfriend's. "I see an open table by the window. Come on," She said, dragging him along as Caroline followed and Martha headed to the bar.

"Haven't seen you in awhile," Clive commented as he stepped up next to her, Harriet just a few steps behind.

"I've been busy," Martha said.

"Ah, yes. New set and all. How's that working out for you?"

"Great, actually. I get to do what I love and am assured steady work. The senior clerk is kind of a hard ass, but she gets the job done."

"And takes everyone else's top earners," Harriet snapped. "I know it was you that gave Miss Warwick the information on moving."

"You're right. I gave the information, but I didn't make her decision for her," Martha commented as she was presented with four pints. "Excuse me," She said, moving past them and through the crowd to the table, where, Caroline was looking at Niamh strangely due to something she'd said and Nick was fiddling with his mobile. However, the tension broke as she set the drinks down and everyone settled and Martha found herself thinking, not for the first time, that her mother had been right. Moving on had done her a world of good, and she found herself happier than she'd been in months. Not stifled by in-chambers tension and drama. She hadn't cute anyone off, not intentionally, just switched crowds, and though the distance separated her from people she'd known for years, she was growing accustomed to it, because, sometimes, that was just the way things happened. Life had moved on and so had she.