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Done for fanfic 100 prompt #71; Broken

A/N: I always wondered how Martha ended up with Mickey. I mean, she was engaged to that Tom bloke one second, then married to Mickey the next. I think they could have done so much more with that plot line. Sigh. Anywho, this is my take on what happened.


She had broken off the engagement.

It was a difficult thing really, but, when she admitted it to herself, it had been bound to happen. Tom was brilliant, really. Near perfect by any ordinary girl's standards. But Martha Jones was no ordinary girl.

She had travelled through all time and space, saved the world even, though nobody quite remembers that part. She had seen things no human ever had, and probably never will. She was a time traveler, an Earth defender. A child of time. He was a pediatrician from London. There was really nothing to be done about it.

Martha knew exactly why she had been so quick to accept he proposal. She had been eager to fill the hole in her heart that had existed ever since she had said goodbye to her doctor. Well, not her Doctor anymore. Never her Doctor, really. His hearts had belonged to another, and despite her best efforts, they had remained out of reach. Looking back, she knew that she never had a chance, but it still hurt like hell. No one could ever replace the Doctor, and it was foolish of her to half-hazardly try to jam poor Tom in the Timelord's place. No, Tom Milligan had never had a chance.

She supposed she knew, at least subconsciously, that the engagement could not last forever. In those last few months, she began to avoid him, spending hours in the labs at UNIT, and taking on more missions than ever before. When Tom would try to spend time with her, she would fabricate an excuse, and retreat to her lab, burying herself in numbers and figures. She would find herself comparing him to the Doctor, or Jack, or anyone, really. Anyone who understood what it meant to travel among the stars, what it feels like to know there are things so much bigger out there. He didn't understand. He didn't know.

The final straw came, appropriately, aboard the Tardis. They were all together again, The Doctor and his children of time. She was smiling so wide, she thought her face might split open. Then it occurred to her, the world had been about to end, and she hadn't spared Tom a parting glance before she rushed to the Doctor's side. She hadn't phoned him to tell him she loved him, hadn't even thought of him since she had left for work that morning.

The revelation had crushed her. She was broken. She couldn't even properly love the man who had given his life up for her. What had the Doctor done to her? She pasted on a smile as the Doctor dropped her off along with Jack and another man (what's his name, Ricky?), then promptly broke down as soon as she reached home.
She refused to talk to anyone for a couple of days. She isolated herself in her room, knowing what would have to take place as soon as she rejoined the real world.
She would have to break Tom's heart.

In the end, it wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be. She sat him down on a couch in her flat, grabbed his hands, and for the first time, told him everything. There were questions and tears, and a fair amount if accusations, but in the the end he nodded, pocketed the ring that she had given back to him, kissed her cheek, and told her he would always love her before walking out the door and out of her life. She had sat in silence for a while there, tears streaming from her swollen eyes, before wiping her cheeks and going to make herself a cuppa. God knew she would need one.

From there, she threw herself with renewed passion into her work. When she wasn't on a mission she was preparing for one, or monitoring someone else's. She read whatever physics textbooks she could get her hands on, hoping to further unravel the mysteries of the universe. She spend hours and hours compiling as much informantion about alien life forms as possible, building up a massive database in the UNIT computers. She did anything she could to occupy her thoughts, to drown out the tiny voice in the back of her mind that was constantly reminding her that there was still something missing. Some nights, that voice won. On those dark days you could find her curled up on her sofa, clutching her Tardis key and absentmindedly rubbing the spot where her engagement ring used to reside. She was alone.

She always told him it was the first time he ever saved her, and he would just wrap his arms around her and pull her tight to him, letting her bury her head in his chest. He had just walked through the doors of UNIT's London base and slapped his hand on the receptionist's desk, informing her that he had come for a job as a field operative, and wouldn't be leaving until he had one. One look at his resume and he was on he payroll.

Mickey Smith was lightning across Martha's night sky. He knew. He knew everything, if not more. She finally could tell someone who would understand, not just nod sympathetically. The Doctor had taken his ability to love as well, albeit in a different way. It all circled back to Rose Tyler, didn't it? She had rolled her eyes and he had shrugged, before they both broke into twin grins. They became fast friends, gradually learning to trust, and even depend on each other. Martha was able to pull herself out of her depression with Mickey by her side. She had found a best friend.

Then he kissed her.

It was innocent really, a New Year's Eve party for two, while they were stuck on a surveillance mission over holiday. They were knee-deep in mud, lying in a ditch, awaiting the arrival of a Sycorax ship they had been tipped off about earlier that week. Mickey had a tiny handheld radio set, and they were listening to the countdown to the New Year, trying to ignore the fact that they could no longer feel their toes. She had been laughing at a joke he had whispered when the count down hit one. Suddenly, his mouth was on her's, and her hands were snaking their way around his waist and they couldn't bring themselves to care about the Sycorax, or how cold it was, or really anything besides how perfectly their lips meshed together.

Neither of them remember if an alien ship really showed up that night.

The next day she had panicked. The last two times she had fallen for someone it had ended in heartbreak. She wouldn't allow her friendship with Mickey to be wrecked by a relationship. He was too important to her. So, she did the logical thing and studiously ignored an increasingly confused Mickey. After a week and a half of no contact, Mickey softened and agreed to just be friends, though there was a dull sort of pain floating in his eyes as he said so.

It only took three days for her to realize that they were far beyond the level of 'just friends'.

It took her three weeks to get up the nerve to tell him so.

It took about three seconds after that for her lips to find Mickey's, his hands knotting themselves in her hair and her arms locking around his waist.

He told her he loved her for the first time when they were running from an angry mass of ALIENS. She was too out of breath to say anything back. So instead she grabbed him by the lapels of his leather jacket and planted her lips on his. She pulled back and winked, taking off at full speed. Oh, she loved him too, and she would tell him that every day.

They worked hard for each other, mending each other's wounds and quelling each other's fears. Fears of being abandoned and alone. She slowly realized that she wasn't alone anymore. She had finally found someone who understood her completely. Someone who knew. Someone that had made her want to love again.

So when he asked her to marry him, she didn't have to think twice. He had travelled through all time and space, saved the world even, though nobody from this universe will ever know. He had seen things no human ever had, and probably never will. He was a time traveler, an Earth defender. A child of time. And he was perfect for her.


A/N: There you have it! I actually quite like Martha. I know a lot of people hated her simply because she wasn't Rose, but I actually liked her character, especially after the year that never was, because she grew so much stronger. And I love everyone's favorite third wheel and tin dog, because he's awesome. Enough said.

Quick Question: Should I make a companion piece from Mickey's POV?

So, love it? Hate it? Please tell me what's on your mind!

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