Title: Milestones (1/?)
Author: Syreene
Characters/Pairing: 10Doctor/Martha
Rating: PG
Spoilers: none
Summary: Has it really been that long?
Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who...just a copy of his scarf.
Author's Notes: This one is going to take longer as I don't have a complete story in my head yet…though the banter between the two always seems to flow freely, lol. So….here's the beginning of my next story, anyway!
The rhythmic thumping of Martha's feet rang out through the TARDIS hallways, but for once it wasn't because of an emergency; she was on her morning jog. She and the Doctor had been running enough in their adventures she figured that starting some conditioning training probably wouldn't hurt. Her ponytail bobbed to the beat of her feet as sweat dripped down her face, and finally she pulled up to lean her arm against the wall and take her pulse.
So far so good, Doctor Jones. If anything is going to be the end of me with the Doctor, it's not going to be a heart attack from all the running.
She looked up to notice which part of the TARDIS she had stopped in and saw that the kitchen was right down the hall. "You're a peach!" she said with a smile as she patted the wall, a cold bottle of water being exactly what was on her mind.
As Martha strolled into the kitchen she was brought up short by the Doctor's rear-end sticking out of the cupboard on the floor near the fridge. She could hear faint mutterings coming from the cupboard as he rifled through its contents.
"This is what I get for having endless cupboards too…"
Martha gnawed her lip as she leaned against the counter next to him as she appreciated the Doctor's love of tightly tailored suits. She smiled and crossed her arms as she asked, "Having trouble?"
She heard a muffled thump and then what she thought must have been swearing in an alien language before the Doctor replied, "I'm too old for unnecessary shocks to my system, Doctor Jones."
"And how old would that be?" She questioned as she leaned over him, trying desperately not to giggle.
The Doctor backed out of the cupboard and rubbed the back of his head as he sat down on the floor, a pair of jewelers' glasses falling from his hair to rest precariously on his nose. "I'm a rather stately 923, I'll have you know," He answered with a mock offended expression on his face as he pushed the glasses up with his long fingers, "And I still haven't had a Companion who respected their elders," he muttered to himself.
"943…so lightning strikes are still good, but head thumps are out?" Martha said with a barely contained smirk as she offered a hand to pull him up. "If it helps, you look incredibly good for your age."
"Plastic surgeons, eat your heart out!" the Doctor replied with a smile and a wink as Martha reached into the fridge for a bottle of water.
"So…what were you looking for, anyway?" she asked before she leaned against the fridge and took a long drink from her bottle.
"Hmmn?" the Doctor answered after a few seconds, his eyes lingering on the sweat dripping down Martha's neck and pooling at the base of her throat. "Oh…tea, actually. I've been working on this project and I needed a break, so I remembered this tea that I once received as a gift from the British Raj when I helped them with a particular problem back in the 1920s." He scanned the kitchen again and started looking through the items on the counter. "Delicious blend of oranges and cloves…good for the thought processes, it is…"
"Project, eh?" Martha asked with a raised brow, her hand on her hip and the water bottle dangling between her fingers.
As if suddenly realizing his slip of the tongue, the Doctor's eyes widened before he said, "Oh…it's nothing much, really…just working on a back-up for my sonic screwdriver after the last one got fried at the Royal Hope."
"Uh-huh…" Martha said, just knowing he was hiding something. "Lucky for you, a shower sounds a lot nicer than finding out what you're hiding right now, so you've got a head start," she said as she tapped her bottle against his chest.
"As much as I appreciate the warning, Martha," the Doctor said innocently as he sidled towards the doorway, "I have no idea why you would think I'd be hiding something from you." He took a few steps more and as he reached the doorway he nervously tapped his fingers against it. "So…um…" he ran his fingers through his hair and Martha couldn't help but smile, as the 'mad scientist' look was just so him.
"Off to finish up your project before I come see, yeah?" Martha prompted.
"Um…yeah!" he quickly took a step back into the hallway and took off down it.
Martha shook her head with a smile as she reached up on her toes and pulled down the tea in question that the Doctor had been looking for from the top of the fridge. He must really be preoccupied…we were drinking this last week. She leaned against the doorway with the tea held in her outstretched hand, and a few seconds later the Doctor's hand reached out to grab it with a quick "Thanks!" before he was off down the hall again.
Martha finally lost it and laughed out loud before she walked in the other direction towards the shower.
A half-hour later Martha was feeling refreshed with a baby blue tank-top and black jeans, her hair held back by a matching headband.. She strolled towards the Doctor's workroom, knowing she was headed the right way as she could hear the echo of clanking of metal and drawers being slammed shut down the hall. With a smile she leaned into the doorway with a knock-knock on the wall.
The Doctor quickly stuffed the last of his tools in one of his multitude of drawers in his workroom and turned around to face Martha, his hands hidden behind his back. "Ah!" he said in surprise, "I see now that the previous record for Companions to take long showers no longer holds true!"
"We've always got to find ways to keep you on your toes," Martha agreed with a laugh as she imitated his stance with her hands behind her back. "So…are you going to give, or are you going to make this hard on yourself?" The Doctor didn't reply at first, just merely tilted his head up slightly in thought.
"Doctor?" Martha prompted.
"I'm still trying to decide…" he replied as he scratched his chin. Martha went up to him and teasingly thumped him in the shoulder.
"Oi…humans always getting physical…" he said with a cheeky grin as he backed away from Martha.
"Oh you…" Martha flared her fingers out in front of her with a dangerous look on her face as she slowly walked towards the Doctor, "Don't make me use these…I've got years of tickling experience being an older sister with two siblings."
The Doctor's eyes flared in alarm for a second before he quickly said, "Okay, okay, okay…I give. Do you know what day it is today, Martha Jones?"
Martha pulled up short and bit her lip as she thought about it. The days seemed to flow together with the Doctor, so keeping a calendar seemed kind of pointless after awhile. "Um…Thursday?"
The Doctor rocked back and forth on his feet with a wide grin on his face. "Today, Doctor Martha Jones, is our 6 month anniversary!"
Martha was struck speechless and dropped her hands to her sides. "No…couldn't be…has it really been that long? It feels like last week we were just…"
"Indeed it has, though I can understand why it might not seem that way. Time can be so…"
"Wibbly-wobbly?" Martha answered with a smile.
The Doctor laughed and nodded in agreement. "Aptly put, Doctor Jones. 6 months ago effective time, I met a doctor in training at the Royal Hope, and now I have a very able doctor as a companion who I feel deserves some suitable accoutrements." He brought his hands in front of him to reveal a small rectangular box with a blue ribbon tied around it. His smile softened as he handed it to her and said, "Happy anniversary, Martha."
Martha took the small box and held it in front of her. She looked down at it and ran her fingers over the blue ribbon before she looked up at the Doctor. "But…I didn't get you anything…I didn't even know…"
"Oh pshaw, Martha." The Doctor said reassuringly as he placed an arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side. "Do I need to go over everything you've done for me?"
Martha blushed slightly and shook her head.
"Now go on…open your present!"
Martha pulled the ribbon carefully off the box and opened it eagerly. Inside in a layer of tissue paper she could see a long cylindrical object with small buttons, an LED screen, and various knobs. As comprehension dawned on her she gasped. "Is this…"
"I thought about it, and it seemed rather fitting, didn't it? I mean…here you are a doctor and all…" the Doctor pulled at his ear with his other hand, "shouldn't you have your own screwdriver?"