It was lights out for both time travelers— at least that's what it felt like for the both of them. The universe seemed to sync with them at their slumber. Everything was serene and only the humming of the TARDIS can be heard throughout. No distress calls from Churchill, no sudden landings and no banana shortages, just recharging and abusing this time to take much needed rest. After all, these past few days were a bit too stressful and downright exhausting, even for the Doctor and that really says much. He was just way too ecstatic when he traded his regular infinite tweed jacket, suspenders and bowtie ensemble for his occasional 'authentic' solar system patterned pajamas, bunny slippers and fez. And with that, no one can stop him from his quest for ultimate recharge.
"Okay we need tea and scones before shutting off, which—"he turned around and pointed at his new brought companion. "-you will prepare, 'cause of… reasons that are…reasonable." He shrugged and brushed his vague explanation off with a chuckle. His toothy grin suddenly turned into a frown when he saw his companion's judgmental expression toward his actions. "Oh come on, do you really want the kettle incident to happen again?" he reasoned out as he crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. The images of the hilarious yet tragic event slowly came back to her and made her shook her head quickly in disapproval, making his toothy grin appear in a flash. "Brilliant!" the Doctor clasped his hands together before walking towards the kitchen door. "I'll be in my room and—"he whipped his head to face her, "—if you need me—"he raised his index finger, "—don't just… just don't." he pointed his finger at her and pulled a dead serious look on his face and swaggered off. "No one sleeps until I get my hands on tea!" he shouted to remind her.
She tilted her head, peeking at the doorway to see if he's out of sight, before sighing in exasperation and storming off to the cupboards to make the domineering time lord happy. "1105, he said." She grumbled to herself quietly. She opened the cupboard and grabbed the box of chamomile tea and two tea cups, "Who lives for 1105, travels throughout the entire time and space continuum and can't make even one cuppa without blowing up his own ship?" she asked out loud. She grunted and grabbed two tea bags, throwing both in the two cups violently, "Great, now I'm talking to myself." She said in a crude cheery tone. "Just what I needed…" she mumbled as she opened the cupboard and grabbed the kettle to be filled with water. She went to the sink and turned the faucet knob clockwise tapped her shoe impatiently, waiting for the kettle to fill, which seemed like decades to her. She quickly turned the knob counter clockwise when she felt the kettle getting heavier and dragged herself to the stove.
Like every single one of his companions, their world stopped completely when him, the living offer to be something, showed in their doorsteps. Time and space, anywhere you choose, who can refuse that? No one can. If anyone refuses this offer it's because they had seen it all or it's because they are seeing it all. Every single one he meets says yes at the end, even Mary Jane Scott, the girl who never took the leap, the proper girl of West Essex, the kind of girl that will be the 'ideal girl' if she lived and starred in one of those grainy fifty's health awareness videos—took the risk and shoved herself in the maddening blue box that is apparently bigger on the inside (which still baffles her to this day, no matter how many complicated and scientific explanations the Doctor throws at her).
The answer for her actions starts with one single question, who wouldn't get sick and tired of being so… predictable? 'Oh that girl will never stay up late on a Friday night' 'Always have As, what a clever little truffle' 'She can't do that, she's proper', everything about her always leads to others expectations like she was programmed by the entire society. It didn't hit her until she met him. When she met him, he did what he always does and that's change your life in a flash. One touch from him and the course of your entire existence changes even if it was just only a measly second. What made him different for her was the way he never assumes what she'll do next, the way he pushes her to go left instead of right, to rise up instead of piping down and to face life straight in the eye instead of running away in cowardice. He taught her something the school and even her own parents never bothered to talk to her about, and that is to live. But now, she doubted if she made the right choice. She expected risk and fighting here and there but the only risk she could ever get right now is getting minor burns from the drops of hot water in that kettle. Don't get her wrong, she love being with the Doctor, she really does, more than anything in the world. And being here is just the trip of her lifetime; she wouldn't miss it for the world. It's just that the last thing she expected was for her adventure through time and space being a little… domestic.
Of course they go to adventures; there wasn't a day that adventure left their side. They literally, eat danger for breakfast. Well not danger, danger, but danger from the planet they went to last week, which the name still escapes them both (the Doctor says its name was meant to be forgotten, Mary Jane thought that was just bullocks), where they sell edible situations. It was something like pop tarts but has an unexpected burst of flavor every time you take one bite out of it. The Doctor found it as a fantastic way to start the day, Mary Jane found it as a good alternative for her not having to cook at all. Every day, the both of them, The Doctor and Mary Jane against all odds—that's her new life now. And the thing was, she just can't wait to bask into it; to take a deep breath of unknown planet's air, watch a Shakesperean play and meet the man himself afterwards, see actual dodos—she's all up and ready to go in a pull of a lever and the Doctor adores her spunk and enthusiasm about it all. Except that there are times that he just wants to lay back down on the living room, watch movies, eat home cooked meals, those kinds of ideals and that was their impasse.
Now that she had her new life, she doesn't want to be reminded of her old one, her life on earth. Dull and mind numbing things like this sickens her, and it just reminds her too much of the people she left behind. She makes herself believe that she need not to care about them but she does, she can't help but do so and every time these little moments between her and the Doctor comes, her mood automatically turns sour causing both of the travelers' camaraderie to hit a rocky path for a short interval.
With her thoughts on her home back on Earth, it took her a while to get pulled back to reality and hear the loud whistle of the kettle beside her. She quickly jolted and cursed under her breath, pressuring herself about setting the stove off. Without thinking, she touched the handle of the kettle without a pot holder. "Ahh!" she screamed, jerking her hand away from the handle, making the kettle tumble and the water spill out. Unknowingly, her screamed echoed throughout the whole ship even through the Doctor's bedroom and through hearing this, he quickly rose up from his comfortable position on the bed and rushed to his companion's aid. "Mary Jane, Mary Jane!" he shouted as he pushed the doorknob and ran to the kitchen quickly. "Mary Jane— ah hell, MJ!" he shouted his new dubbed nickname for her. He went out bursting into the kitchen door with his hand sonic screwdriver in hand, "What's wrong? I heard shouting. I hate shouting, why…" he walked towards her, pointing and scanning his screwdriver at her from top to bottom, "…where you shout…" he looked at the stove where the kettle was lying on and water pouring out, getting a grasp on the situation quickly. "Oh… that." He pointed his screwdriver at the kettle. "Would you stop pointing that thing!" she shouted pushing his hand away from the stove, "Oi, what did you that for?" he exclaimed with his gaze shifting to hers, seeing predicament number two. "Oh…" he trailed off as he stared at her holding her slightly burnt hand out, hissing from the pain. "Well there's no crying over spilt water." He suddenly perked up. "Or was it spilt milk?" he wondered on, making her shot a glare at him. He gulped and laughed nervously, "Ha, well it does work either way in this situation." He nudged her arm, her eyes still staring through his soul. "W-well, no tea's fine by me. Let's just get some scones from the pantry eh and we'll just—""This is your fault!" she shouted, finally breaking her silence.
"My fault?" he pointed his sonic at himself. "Oh don't play dumb. It's your fault!" she hit his arm lightly with her burnt hand, making her wince a bit. "You and your homey hoo-has." She scoffed, "Hoo-has?" he questioned her usage of the word. "I hadn't heard that in a while." He flashed a smile at her, trying to dissolve the tension. "Don't use that on me mister!" she pointed the pot holder at him. Seeing that his attempt didn't work, he sighed in exasperation and gave in. "Alright, alright. What's wrong, what did I do now?" He asked her, setting his pride aside unwillingly. "I didn't signed up to be your personal care taker, Doctor." She pointed out to him, folding her arms against her chest. His eye widened and motioned his screw driver around and around, "So this is what it's all about?" he asked her, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. "Me…" he pointed his screwdriver to himself, "…asking you…" he pointed it to her, "…to make me tea and get me scones." he tauntingly pointed it to her repeatedly.
She pushed his screwdriver away from her and stomped out of the kitchen, not looking back at him or leaving a word. "Mary Jane, come on." He sighed, following her out of the room. "Oh wait." He turned back and poked his screwdriver to the doorway, pointing it to the stove. "Don't want to start a fire, really don't need that right now." He mumbled as he dropped his hand down and closed the door behind him. "Mary Jane…" he beckoned her as he walked to the hall, "Come on, don't be like that." He begged her as he sped up his pace. He finally kept up behind her, "MJ…" he grabbed her hand and spun her to face him, only to reveal her more infuriated than ever. "What?" she asked him flatly. "You know what?" he shook his head, wanting to know what's on the girl's mind. After she stared at him on what seemed like forever, he broke the silence and grabbed her by the hand. "Come on, let's go" He mumbled to her as they walked on the way to the timelord's room.
"Okay, now what is it and why do I need to sit for this?" He asked for the fifth time as he kept his gaze on his companion who was pacing from left to right. "Are you going to get married tomorrow?" he guessed, making her whipped her head around, facing him with a completely puzzled look on her face. "What? No." she answered him, shaking her head in denial. Her gaze fell down again on her shoes as she went back onto her pacing. "Sorry, well in my defense, it did happened once." He said as a-matter-of-fact. "Well it isn't." she said coldly, "Well what is it then?" he flailed his arms up in the air, tired of her games. He rose from his sitting position and grabbed the fidgety girl by the shoulders, "Just… tell me." He said calmly, "You can tell me anything, trust me." He gave her a warm smile of reassurance. He let go of her and sat back down on the edge of his bed. "Now, tell me, what is it? What's been making you all…" he motioned his hand, trying to spit out a word to explain her situation. She took a deep breath and finally caved in to him.
"I just… well… I just…""I'm the lord of time, we both know that. But, in all honesty, I do not have the time for umm's and ah's so out with it." He said sternly. She exhaled and went out with her dilemma, "This, all of this, the home cooked meals, the sitting on the couch, this 'lounging' thing of yours. It's just… well don't you think it's a bit domestic?" she asked her with her hands on her hips, tapping her toes waiting for an answer out of him. He blinked at her like she just told him something groundbreaking, "What?" he managed to spat out. She rolled her eyes and motioned her hand to him, "You are freaking timelord for Pete sakes, you can do these things with more edge!" she exclaimed. "You can get a breakfast in a real fifties diner, with a real jukebox and roller skating waitresses, you can watch Cassanova on its premier night and you can have tea with Marie Antoinette!" she pointed out to him, "What do you need all this… normal stuff for?" she asked him, laughing dryly.
His gaze went down on the floor, rummaging through his infinite vocabulary, trying to find the right words to explain with and finding the answer for this question she had laid down for him. She did have a point, the universe, the time, all of it—he has it all. He could do all these things he enjoyed with more of a twist in a snap, he could do all the things she had mentioned easily—effortlessly even. But why did he settle for the subtlety of it all? Why? He lifted his gaze up at her and patted the seat next to him, "Sit down." He asked her. Rolling her eyes, she did as she was told. He wrapped his shoulder around her and held her close to him. He took a deep breath and finally answered her, "I can do all of those things. All of those in one day but…" he turned his head to his right and gazed down at his companion, "…for the last 1,105 years that had passed me by…" He paused for a second and shook his head, "…the most memorable moments for me were the little ones, the dull ones because simply… they were the best days of my life, every single one of them."
She looked at the man, with a puzzled look on her face. Seeing this, the Doctor explained further. "The most memorable moments of your life doesn't really need to be something…" he trailed off, trying to find the right word, "…extravagant." He finished. "You see, it's not really what you are doing… it's who are you doing it with." He told her, "That's what makes a moment." He smiled at her, holding her tighter. She smiled slightly at the warmth of his touch, finding it comforting and assuring. They both shared each other silence for a short while, only to be broken by the real reason of her episode from earlier. "I miss home." She mumbled almost inaudibly. "What?" he asked her, unable to catch it all. "I said I missed home… the people I left behind and all." She said a little bit cleared. He clammed up, knowing it was bound to happen soon. He kept her grip on her and listened intently on what she had to say.
"I know I shouldn't but I do, I really do." She said her voice breaking. "Who said you shouldn't?" he asked her, making her look up at him again. "What?" she asked him, confused on what he's trying to imply. "Who said you can't miss them?" the Doctor chuckled lightly, making her more puzzled than ever. He gazed down at her and rubbed her shoulder, "I miss them too, you know. My family, my friends, my race, my people, my home…everyone, I miss them all." He sighed. "But life goes on, they go on as well. They go on with their lives, go places and they leave you or you leave them either way. That's life." He shrugged, "But that doesn't mean you forget them and tell a timelord off just because you're getting homesick." He chuckled, joking around a bit to lighten her up more. Silence over took the travelers once again, only to be broken by the timelord. "Do you want to know a secret?" he asked her. She lifted her gaze back up at him and nodded. "Home isn't the place you lived on. It's the people you lived and are living with." He told her. "Home had left, home had died, home is gone, home is out and about and home… is in here, with you, right now." He smiled softly.
His heartening words made her felt way better than she expected, leave it to 1, 105 year olds to make a moving speech. Her eyes started to swell with tears, making her laugh at her overjoyed state, "So does that mean you're my home?" she asked him. He nodded and kept his smile on his face, "Yes… yes I do." He said in agreement. "And does this mean I'm yours." She asked him once more. Her question caught him off guard, making him froze for a short while. His companion waited eagerly for his answer, he stared and blinked at her, as she did so but at the end, his smile crept back on his face and nodded. "Yes, yes you are." He answered. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face on his chest, "You're amazing." She told him. He chuckled and held her tight, "Yes, yes I am." He responded making her laugh as well. "But so are you, Mary Jane Scott." He returned the compliment back to her, making her lift her head and smile back at the man.
She slowly let go of him and straightened herself up, wiping her tears with her arm sleeve. "So, does this mean we could get another try at that tea?" he slowly inserted back his request making her playfully glare at him and hitting him in the arm lightly. He chuckled at her actions and pretended to be hurt, "Oh alright, I suppose not." He sighed. "How about them scones then?"
