Martha Jones, Maria Jackson, Sarah Jane Smith, and any other characters mentioned in this work are the property of the BBC. I will not be making any money off of them.
"Hey, Martha?"
"Hm?"
"You ever… y'know… fancied someone? Someone you shouldn't have, I mean." Maria's voice was casual. Entirely too casual.
Martha yawned, covering her mouth with one hand, and looked down at where Sarah Jane's young friend was sprawled out on the floor, her legs and bare feet on the couch. "Well… I don't think there's such a thing as fancying the wrong person," she said reflectively, looking down into her glass of wine. "I mean, fancying someone can't really be helped, one way or another."
Maria snorted. "That's a diplomatic answer," she said, nudging Martha's thigh with one foot. The plum color painted on her toenails contrasted nicely with the light green of Martha's pajama pants. "Let me rephrase…. Have you ever fancied someone you know you'll never have a chance with?"
"Oh, sure, loads of times." Martha grinned down at Maria. She had initially been a bit reluctant to let one of Sarah Jane's kids stay with her - she was a bit old to be having a teenager around the house, and she'd had a few nervous thoughts about someone borrowing her clothes or bringing friends over at all hours of the night. Of course, at seventeen, it was Maria's right to do as she pleased (at least, as far as Maria was concerned), but Sarah Jane had subtly (or at least, as subtly as she was able to be when she was nervous, which wasn't very) asked Martha to keep an eye on Maria while she was work-studying at Torchwood. Truth be told, Sarah Jane wasn't exactly thrilled with Maria working for Torchwood at all, but Maria had wanted to spend the summer in the UK, and they had needed an excuse for her not to live in her mother's flat. So in came Jack Harkness and his wonderful new medical examiner who certainly wouldn't say no to an assistant to carry the medical kits and hold the specimen trays.
"What did you do?" Maria stretched, her back arching and her shirt riding up. "About the person you fancied, I mean." They were tired - there was… well, they didn't really get the details of what kind of alien it had been, but there had been a lot of it, and it had taken six hours to fully dissect it. Maria had been a help then, at least, handing Martha tools, holding flashlights, keeping away nosy bystanders. Now, freshly showered (and it had taken three washings to get the smell out), the two women were relaxing in Martha's living room. Martha probably should have been hustling Maria off to bed, but they were both at the point where they were too tired to sleep, and had to wind down.
"Which time?" Martha shifted, propping her feet up on an ottoman. "You sure you're comfy like that, lying on the floor? Couch is a lot softer…." Martha had never been a sprawler as a teenager, although she remembered Tish getting comfortable in the weirdest positions. It always made their mother a bit crazy.
"Yeah, I'm comfy." She wriggled her toes against Martha's leg. "And I dunno, the most recent?" Maria put her hands behind her head, eyeing Martha's wine glass. "Can I have some?"
"No," Martha said, taking another sip. "Sarah Jane would have my head. And the most recent…." Martha shrugged. "I moved on."
"But what if you can't move on?" Maria sat up, her wet hair leaving darker patches on her shirt. "What if it's someone you see every day and every time you're close together you want to kiss them?" Maria blushed, then. She didn't have much in the way of female friends, and Martha gave off the "wise older sister" vibe. Which was rather the problem, as far as Maria saw it.
Martha laughed. "It'll pass," she advised the girl. Then she grinned. "Do I know this person?"
"… yeah," Maria mumbled, her face turning red. She sat up, letting go of Martha's leg and leaning back against the couch, her head on Martha's knee.
"Is it Jack?" Martha had seen the looks that Maria had been shooting Jack, but everyone looked at Jack like that.
"Well, he is handsome…," Maria said. "But he's too… y'know, he sleeps around too much. I wouldn't want to get any kind of disease or something."
"Jack's disease free," Martha said, reaching down to run her fingers through Maria's hair. She couldn't help it - the girl looked so… forlorn, and she'd seen the way Sarah Jane was so hands on with all of her kids. She'd seen her with her arms around Clyde's shoulders, kissing Luke on the cheek (although Luke was her son, so that was somewhat different), linking arms with Rani, letting Maria fall asleep on her shoulder. Maybe that was the nice thing about working with teenagers - you could be a bit more hands on and not have to worry about it being taken the wrong way. Or the right way, for that matter. At any rate, Maria didn't seem to mind.
"Yeah, but… not my type," Maria mumbled, yawning. "Anyway, I heard Sarah Jane threatening him with castration if he tried any funny business." Maria grinned at the memory.
"Was that why he looked so cowed when she walked out?" Martha grinned - it was funny, considering she knew for a fact that Sarah Jane had slept with Jack at least once. Then again, they all had. Except, possibly, Rhys.
"Probably, yeah,," Maria giggled, sighing happily as Martha's strong fingers stroked through her hair.
"So… it isn't Jack…." Martha moved to the sides of Maria's head, her fingers feather light as they stroked across Maria's temples. "Is it…." She scanned her memory for people who Maria would view as "off limits". "Well, why shouldn't you fancy this person in the first place?"
"They're… older than me," Maria said, and she was starting to go stiff. "And not interested. And… my mother wouldn't like it."
"Does your mum like you going off to hunt aliens?" Martha had moved to the hair at the back of Maria's head, pulling it into a ponytail, then letting it go.
Maria giggled. "Good point," she admitted.
A thought occurred to Martha. "Is this person a girl?" She asked gently, finger combing Maria's hair to lie as flat as it ever would.
Maria looked down at her lap, blushing. "…yes?"
"Well, that's hardly a reason not to fancy someone!" Martha put a comforting hand on Maria's shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with you fancying girls or boys or anything else…."
"You're saying I should fancy aliens?" Maria looked at Martha upside down, sighing as Martha's fingers brushed across her nose.
"Weelll… I have." Martha patted the tip of Maria's nose and smoothed her hair away from her forehead. It was getting rather hard to do this with one hand - she put her wine glass carefully down on the floor, so that she could start to braid Maria's hair. She hadn't really done this kind of thing, this girl talk kind of thing, in a very long time.
"What kind of alien?" Maria shifted, going stiff as Martha took her feet off of the ottoman and shifted, opening her legs, so that Maria was sitting between them. She sighed as both of Martha's hands began to finger comb her hair, starting to go a bit boneless at the faint tingles that spread from her scalp down her back.
"An odd kind. They're called Time Lords. Funny lot," Martha concentrated on separating Maria's hair into three pieces, then began to braid it, carefully.
"Was it a he or a she or an it?" Maria sighed, relaxing back against the couch and into Martha's hands.
"A he," Martha said. Maybe she was a bit drunk… Maria's hair felt wonderful on her hands, soft and thick.
"But that's different," Maria said, looking upside down at Martha's big brown eyes. She really was very pretty.
"How?" Martha had run out of hair to braid. Without really thinking about it, she began to sketch out a design on the back of Maria's neck with the tip of her finger.
"'cause even if he was an alien, he was still a he." Maria shivered, her skin breaking out in goosebumps. "I mean, it would've been okay if he was a she, I suppose, but wouldn't it be weird to date someone who wasn't either?"
"Not especially," Martha said, putting Maria's hair over her shoulder and writing her name in cursive on the soft skin of her neck with her fingertip. "There are humans that aren't either," she said. A little voice in the back of her head was telling her to back off, continue the discussion but sit Maria down on the chair across from the couch. This was Sarah Jane's girl, and just because she hadn't been threatened didn't mean she wasn't held to the same standards.
"What, really?" Maria looked upside down at Martha again, closing her eyes as Martha's hand cupped her cheek, thumbing her cheekbone. "I thought humans came one way or another, no exceptions."
"You haven't talked to Jack about that, have you?" Martha traced Maria's nose with the tip of her finger, tapping it gently. "He could explain it better than I could."
"Explain what?" Maria held her breath; Martha Jones was touching her, and not just touching her, but… intimately touching her. Not intimate-intimate, but this went beyond the linking arms or brushing hands that they did day to day. Then again, helping someone pick squid guts (well, giant cephalopod guts, at any rate - apparently it had too many arms to be a squid) tended to bring people closer together. Maybe that was why everyone in Torchwood was shagging everybody else….
"There's more than girls and boys," Martha said, and she sounded a bit awkward. She tugged gently on Maria's hair. "Y'know, this would be easier if I could see your face without craning my neck."
"Oh, sorry," Maria said, and climbed onto the couch, sitting cross legged and resting her elbows on her thighs. "So you were saying?"
"Whether you're a boy or a girl or something else, it's not just your body. D'you see what I mean?" Martha reached forward, entwining her fingers with Maria's. It was an instinctive gesture, although what instincts she was following she wasn't sure.
"Not really," Maria admitted, blushing to the roots of her hair. It wasn't entirely obvious if she was blushing due to the subject matter or the fact that Martha's fingers were calloused and warm against her own, dry and soft.
"Well… you're a girl, right?" Martha stroked the back of Maria's hand with her fingers. "Like, remember when Gwen got zapped by that weird sex changing device but she was still a girl, even though she didn't have a woman's body at that point?"
"Yeah…." Gwen had made a handsome bloke.
"Well, some people are like that, girls or boys in the wrong bodies. Or some people aren't either, girls or boys, even though they've got a specific kind of body. And some people have bodies that aren't entirely male or entirely female either." It was a bit difficult to explain this stuff while slightly tipsy. "You should get Jack to explain it. It's more common where he's from." She squeezed Maria's fingers in what she hoped was a reassuring manner.
Maria was staring intently at Martha's face, biting her lower lip. "So… what should I do if I fancy someone I shouldn't?" She moved a bit closer, her knees pressed against Martha's leg.
"Maybe talk to them, see if maybe they do fancy you?" The exhaustion and the wine were starting to get to Martha, because she knew she was missing something, and it was probably something important.
"Well… what if you don't think you have a chance?" Maria was tracing little circles on the back of Martha's hand with her thumb, seemingly unconsciously.
"Can't hurt to ask," Martha said. She smiled at Maria, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
Maria blushed, looking down at their joined fingers. Then she looked up at Martha, leaned forward, and planted a clumsy kiss on Martha's lips.
Martha blinked and pulled her head back. "What was that?" Her lips were tingling, as was the spot where Maria's knees were pressed against her, and their linked hands.
"Well, um…." Maria let go of Martha's hand, biting her lip and blushing. "I'm sorry, I'll just… go to bed now." She made to get up, but Martha grabbed her hand again, squeezing it gently.
"No, it's alright. Really, it is." Martha squeezed Maria's fingers gently, trying to radiate reassurance.
Maria looked up at her, still blushing hotly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," she said, but she was still looking at Martha's lips as she spoke - Martha was acutely aware of it, and she could feel her own face heating up.
"Am I the person you were talking about earlier?" Martha licked her lips, feeling Maria's eyes on her tongue. "The one you fancy, I mean."
"Well, no, not exactly." Maria looked down at their linked hands, admiring the contrast of Martha's soft brown skin against her own lighter skin. "I've wanted to kiss you since I first saw you, and I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen-"
"Oh, stop it," Martha mumbled, blushing and looking down at their hands as well. Maria's hand was smaller than hers, and it was a stark contrast to the blokes who usually linked their fingers with hers. She hadn't fancied a girl in a good long time (apart from the standard pangs of lust at the sight of Gwen in her knickers after an alien exploded on her, or flushing at the sight of Tosh licking jam off of her fingers, but she figured that that was more or less normal), and while she didn't fancy Maria exactly, there was no denying she was an attractive girl.
"It's true!" Maria looked at Martha through her eyelashes, squirming a bit closer, until her knee was pressed against Martha's thigh. "You're… gorgeous. But…." Her eyes turned back down. "I've sort of… fancied this one person for a very long time and I don't have a chance with her. Like, at all."
"Well, how can you know until you try?" Martha smiled, then paused, her brow wrinkling as her exhausted synapses finally made a connection. "It's Sarah Jane, isn't it? Sarah Jane is the one you fancy."
Maria bit her lip, still staring down at their hands.
"There's nothing wrong with fancying Sarah Jane, she's gorgeous," Martha said, and she might have been speaking a bit fast. "And she's like your mentor, isn't she? I used to get crushes on my teachers all the time, loads of time. It's perfectly normal."
"But… I don't have a chance with her," Maria said again, quietly. She pulled her hand out of Martha's, resting it with her other one in her lap. "She still sees me as a kid. Besides, she doesn't even like girls. And even if she did, I'm not gorgeous like Rani…."
Martha sighed, slipping her fingers under Maria's chin and forcing their eyes to meet. "Maria Jackson, we both know that's bull," she said bluntly, squeezing the girl's chin gently before letting go. "You're a funny, smart, inquisitive, gorgeous girl and whoever you end up with will be blessed to have you as a partner." She shifted around, until she was sitting with her feet up on the couch, and leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. "How do you know that Sarah Jane doesn't like girls? Have you ever asked her?" This was turning into a weird evening. Possibly weirder than the giant squid-thing.
"Well, no," Maria admitted, twisting her fingers together. "How do you ask someone something like that anyway?" She wasn't blushing as hard now, at least.
"Don't jump to conclusions," Martha advised. "And if you want Sarah Jane to stop seeing you as a kid, why don't you try showing her that you're not one anymore?"
"You don't think I'm just a kid, do you?" Maria's eyes were searching as she looked up at Martha.
"'course not," Martha said lightly. "A kid wouldn't have taken on a Zawdri with only a bucket of soapy lemon water and come out victorious." It had been impressive - the pointy headed beast had been charging towards Maria full-tilt, and the girl had thrown the bucket over it, calm as you please.
"Well, I did, as a kid," Maria admitted. She fiddled with the hem of her pajama top, rolling the worn red fabric. "But… thanks." She yawned, stretching. "I think I'm going to go to bed now," she said, getting up off the couch and stretching. Her shirt rode up, baring her navel, and Martha had to resist the urge to lean forward and slip her tongue into it.
"Not a problem," Martha said. "I should probably head bed soon. Just do a bit more reading." She indicated the medical journal lying on the floor next to the couch. She was paying attention to the magazine, not the curves of Maria's breasts, right at eye level. She was a grown woman. She did not fuck teenagers. "If you ever need to talk or anything… my door is always open."
"Thanks," Maria said. She leaned down and kissed Martha again, a nervous, tentative kiss. It lasted for about thirty seconds, and when Maria pulled away, her face was flushed and her eyes were bright. "My… my door is open too," she said, sounding slightly nervous. "If you… I mean, if you… need anything. Or want anything." She bit her lip and looked down at her painted toenails, then back up at Martha's face.
Martha swallowed. "Good night, Maria," she said carefully. "Sleep well." She reached over for the medical journal, opening it at random.
"Good night," Maria said, and yawned. Right before she climbed into bed, she cracked her door open. As she felt her mind go foggy with sleep, she pondered (vaguely) if she was disappointed that she didn't feel Martha's warm body crawling into bed with her, or relieved.
Martha sat on the couch, resolutely reading and rereading the same sentence. She wasn't going to go to bed with Maria, as much as she wanted to. Maria was young, and she was under Sarah Jane's care. Sarah Jane had threatened Jack, and she would probably threaten Martha, if she had seen her the same way. Still, Martha slept on the couch that night. She wasn't sure if she could resist the temptation of an open door.