Correspondence, a doctor who fanfic

Title: Correspondence
Author: evilhobittess (aka thecrystalkey)
Disclaimer: Do not own anything except the words below in the order they appear.
Rating: Um. PG-13?
Warnings: some swearing but nothing horrible

Summary: A series of emails between those left behind...

A/N: Just a thing in my head that won't go away. I'm quite proud of it, actually. Though I do kinda bash UNIT a bit, so UNIT-lovers beware.

A/N2: Corrections made.

May get posted to Teaspoon in due time. Planning to cross-post to lifeonmartha, jackmartha and marthajonesfic.

Dear Jack,

Bet you didn't expect to hear from me. At least not this soon, or this way, because I did promise to call, didn't I? Still…I thought a lot about what we talked about, feeling second best and why I was planning to go with him. And what I concluded is this: I am good. And I really don't need anyone to tell me that. Though it's still nice to have heard it even once, so thanks for that. :)

So I stayed. Because I have exams to finish and a family to re-connect with. Speaking of, they send their love. Everyone but Leo and Annalise, who don't understand our sudden fondness for total strangers who did nothing but turn me into a wanted criminal, however briefly. The worst part is that we can't even tell them because at best they'd think it was all a practical joke and at worst they'd think we're all mad. Can't tell anyone else, either. I'd get sectioned.

So I went into the hospital this morning (to work) and it was the same as anything. Everyone was going on about Harold Saxon being nutters and how'd you fancy that and –arghh. Julia and M are still the same as I remember them but I'm not and they've noticed. It's a good thing I do have people to talk about it to or I think I really would go mad.

Mum and Dad have both taken some time off work to "re-prioritize" and Dad's still with Annalise but he's meeting mum for coffee every morning and they're actually talking these days. They're friends, which is something I hoped for but didn't think I'd ever see. I told Leo once that the only chance of them getting back together was for the world to end. Does that make me right or wrong these days? Because the world didn't really end, except for us. And they're not really back together (although it's looking more and more like I should add a 'yet' to that). Oh, doesn't matter.

Mum wants to change jobs, do something…bigger. She says "more important" but that doesn't quite cover what she's really looking for. She's applied to the MoD, something to do with the UNIT liaison office or something. Not that's it's called that in the ad but the Doctor told her how to look these things up. He knew what she wanted before she did. So desperate to find a way to help them, bless him.

On that note…Poor Tish. She's out of a job, again, and with less than a week in her last two positions, not to mention that they were for LazLabs and Harold Saxon, respectively – well, her prospects don't look good. She says it doesn't matter, because she doesn't want to work in PR anymore anyway but I'm not sure I entirely believe her. She's talking about joining up, if you can believe it. Says she thinks it might be good therapy to get to kick a little arse. Her words. If she does join up I was hoping you might see your way to giving her a reference for Officer School or whatever it is because I don't see her being happy as an enlisted man. Woman. Whatever.

And here's the big news: Dad says he's going to run for office. I'm still not completely sure he isn't joking because he claims his platform is going to be 'I can't be worse than Harold Saxon' but his expression when he talks about it is serious. He says he wants to be in a position to stop someone like that coming to power again, or if not that at least be in a position where his objections could be heard. I still say an awful lot of anti-Saxon people died under mysterious circumstances in that eighteen month run-up and I'm glad he wasn't one of them. But it seems like nothing will change his mind so there's nothing to do but be supportive. Oh, well.

Listen to me go on. You're probably busy defending the earth or something and I've exams to study for and a good night's sleep to get before work. Love from the family (and me, of course).

Later,

Martha

Martha Jones,

You shouldn't be told once, you should be told once a day: You are better than good. You saved the world when those of us whose job it is couldn't. You survived. You became a legend in your own time. You walked the world alone, facing death and worse every day, and returned triumphant. That's some damn fine work. And just because the rest of the world doesn't remember it, can't honor you for it, doesn't mean it isn't true.

My love back to Tish and Francine and Clive. You know, they were so proud of you that whole time. Tish and Francine used to tell me Martha stories before we nearly succeeded once too often at our escape/overthrow plans and the Master banned us from talking to each other. Seeing a friendly face every day helped to keep me sane, even after that. And it didn't hurt that your sister's gorgeous. :) Feel free to tell her I said that.

Knowing that you were free, spiking his plans and generally making him look bad for not being able to catch you…It kept us all going. But them most of all. Francine once told me that as long as you were out there, alive and kicking, leading the resistance, giving everyone hope, they could keep going. They could keep playing servants because they knew you were coming back and that it would it mean the Master's end. Not that that kept them from trying to assassinate him or overthrow him, whichever worked.

Well, this isn't exactly the email I set out to write but I'm not going to delete any of it because I don't think anybody else has thought to tell you any of that. Back on topic, I can't think of anyone better to tell UNIT when they're full of it than Francine (unless it was you or Tish). Not that that's probably in the job description but she'll call them on any bullshit jurisdictional crap they try to pull. I'd offer her my endorsement but it would probably hurt her application. I have kind of a reputation among the bureaucrats. And UNIT.

We could do with more people like Clive in the government, to be honest. Although, if I'm really being completely honest, it also wouldn't hurt me to have some trustworthy contacts in MoD and the House. We shared a cell, back on the Valiant before the Master decided I was a bad influence on them and had me chained up in one of the engine rooms. He's a solid guy, level-headed in a crisis and not afraid to act. Probably what made him a good engineer. There's a lot of that quality in you and your sister, you know. Leo, too, most likely; him I don't know well enough to judge.

If Tish does decide to go ahead and join the military, she'll get a good reference from me and I'm sure I can dig up an old friend or two if she can't find second and third referees on her own. Tell her (and your parents) that if they ever find themselves in Cardiff, they should look me up and I can guarantee to show them a good time. ;) You, too, almost-Doctor Jones. Don't be a stranger.

I gotta go now, not to "Defend the Earth" but because something just exploded in Owen's lab. Again. He's a smart guy but sometimes he's not that bright.

Cheers,

Jack.

Dear Jack,

Mum got the job! Whatever you did, or didn't, do: thanks. Her first task, she says, is sorting out the unholy backlog in the artifacts room. Cataloguing and sorting what's to be sent to the labs in the Geneva and what's to go into storage. You should've heard her going on about the mess; three rooms worth and the only records are hand signed sheets with badly-written descriptions. She's already fired off letters to everybody about it and demanded to hire an assistant, at her own discretion, until it's sorted. I think she's got her eye on Tish for it, a temporary thing until she decides what she really wants to do. I think she'd have her eye on me too if I wasn't just starting my final qualifying exams.

At least it'll improve Tish's resume, one way or another, if she lets Mum blag her into it. They kicked me out of my flat, would you believe? Something about not having terrorism insurance. Not like I was living there anyway, I've moved back in with Mum. I say moved but there wasn't exactly much to move. My clothes are all wrecked from the smoke, I've had to buy all new (that's not entirely a bad thing but it is kind of a pain) and all my pictures and things burned. I've been able to get new copies of all the important photos so that's good.

I thought it'd be awful living with Mum, I mean I moved out for a reason, but she's much calmer than she used to be. She only gets intense about some things now, not about everything. I catch her sometimes, with this look in her eye, and I've found myself wondering if maybe she shouldn't be the one joining the military. Maybe not. Anyway, she's backed way off with badgering me to study and complaining if I take a night off. Treating me like an adult, even though I'm living at home again. She seems quieter, too; spends a lot of time sitting and just staring off into space; thinking. I offered to move out a couple of days ago and…she nearly started to cry. She covered it, as she does, but she said she likes having me around and she admitted that she'd prefer, for herself, if I stuck around. We've started talking, when it's just the two of us, about…well, about everything but mostly That Year. We trade uncomfortable confidences and I think it's helping both of us. It's like she finally sees me as an adult, really an adult. I think we're becoming friends.

It's the same with Tish. We weren't always close what with taking turns going through those stages during which teenage girls act unbearable for no reason at all. We were awful to each other sometimes. We were getting over it, before this all started, starting to get really close. Now we're both grown up and after what happened she isn't really interested in clubbing or anything anymore. She's been blowing off her friends to hang out with the family and…going out to the rifle range. But we've been talking as well, about it all. Some of the things they did to her, Jack. Things she can't, won't, tell Mum and Dad.

But the thing that bothers her the most, after all this time, was watching the Islands of Japan burn from the deck of the Valiant. It haunts her deeply, but she can't give a reason why. And it was awful, don't get me wrong. I was on the ground. Days before, trying to convince the Imperial Army that launching those weapons would be the biggest mistake they could make. Naoko, Mayumi, Tetsuya, people I knew and respected died that day and I had to let them. I had to play the coward and leave when it started, because there was nothing I could do except move on. Sigh. Best not to dwell.

Tish and Dad come over for dinner once a week, now. We talk sometimes all four of us, about That Year. And Mum and Dad meet for coffee three times a week; Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, without fail. Dad and Annalise are 'on a break' which only came as a surprise to her and Leo. On one hand I feel bad for her because she doesn't know where this is all coming from but on the other hand…they're my parents and part of me wants them to get back together. As long as they can be happy with each other. And that's the thing because, I want to be happy about it, but I'm not convinced it's going to last.

Enough of my troubles. How are things with you? Were your team all right when you got back? How'd they enjoy their trip to the Himalayas?

All our (the family's) love,

Martha.

Dear Martha,

Francine sent me a copy of the letter. Wince-worthy, in the best way. Let me tell you that I wouldn't want to go up against her. I saw the look in her eyes when she had that gun on the Master. If she'd been looking at me like that, I'd have gone for cover. As it was I was kind of hoping she'd tell the Doctor that she really wasn't better than that and pull the trigger. That sunavabitch deserved to die, a lot slower than he did. And, for the record, that is not Torchwood affecting my judgment. I'm just that much of a ruthless bastard. When I'm not under the influence of a certain Timelord.

Anyway, getting yelled at couldn't have happened to a nicer group of bureaucratic idiots (and I'm not just talking about the UNIT admin staff, she sent that letter to a lot of people). [Insert evil laugh here. For the record, I love your mom and she will hold a special place in my heart forever. Not that she didn't already.

I know these kind of conversations, post-battle analysis, they can be difficult. They can be very difficult. But they can also help. Holding it all inside is only going to screw with your head, with all of your heads. I'm glad you're not letting that happen. Keep talking, because the worse the memory hurts, the better it'll be for you to get it out there. You're lucky to have your family around you and they're lucky to have you.

The team's fine, though there was a hell of a lot of griping about the 'lack of civilization' and allergies to grass and mountain air and grass. Mostly from Owen and Tosh, though Gwen wasn't exactly pleased with the trip either. City-slickers is the American term. Disgraceful.

Ianto just seemed smug, but then he often does, especially when he manages to one-up the others in something. I've decided my team needs to spend more time away from city comforts. They're getting spoiled in all this luxury. I've instituted training in technology-less tracking and survival. We're starting inside the city limits (part of my plan to lull them into complacency) and then we'll move outside. From what you told us about the world outside the Valiant those are skills that came up. If anything like that happens again (knock on wood) I want them to be prepared. Don't suppose you'd be willing to guest lecture after your exams?

If you want my advice, (and even if you don't here it comes) don't worry about your parents getting together. If they do, they do; if they don't, at least they're friends now and can co-exist in the same time and space without erupting. Trust me, I lived through some of those eruptions while we still sharing a cell, everyone's much better off this way. And don't worry too much about Annalise, I have a feeling she's the type who'll land on her feet.

When do you finish your exams? You should visit Cardiff.

All the best,

Jack.

Dear Jack,

Three more left, over the course of a week. And I've two weeks off after that, which I'd completely forgotten about until I checked the rota at the Royal Hope this morning. I remember I wanted to travel, get away from myself. Go to New York, or Shanghai, or St. Petersburg or something; away from everyone and everything to decompress.

Seems like I made those plans a lifetime ago. I've seen all those places now. I close my eyes and try to picture them and the only thing I can see is the ruins and the radiation pits and slave quarters. New York was a wasteland, they hadn't even bothered to pick up the bodies in the streets, just left 'em lying there like so much trash. The entire city had retreated underground, there were miles of tunnels Down Below, you wouldn't believe how far down it goes. They continually rebuild the city on top of itself, have since the day it was founded. Picture any sewer you've ever been in and then pack people in like they were in The Silo. Millions of people living like that to avoid living like that on the surface.

You get the idea. Going to see those places again, it'll only bring back those memories. Mum says maybe I should go, replace the bad memories with some good ones. And that's logical and fine but…I just have this feeling, in my gut, that says it doesn't work like that. Like the way Mum and Tish have taken to wearing any colour combination except black and white. Neither of them owns a little black dress anymore, reminded them of the uniform.

If I had a flat I'd be tempted to tell people I was going away and just hole up for a week or so. Turn off my phone and become a hermit for real. Maybe that's what I should do, find a cave and spend the time communing with nature. Or something. As a fellow hermit, d'you have any recommendations:)

I could just trade shifts with someone and keep working but I think I do need some time away. I love being around my family and lately we've really been helping each other (The Jones Family Support Group: 0-800-IWASONTHEVALIANT. -- Kidding. Mostly.) but I think I need some time alone.

I spent all that time walking on my own before and being around people, ones who actually know me, it's hard to get used to again. It's all right at the hospital. Being in charge, keeping a clear head, split-second decisions in triage…that's easy, now. Spent a year doing that in the Resistance.

I'm supposed to be figuring out a specialty, for when I come back, and I think maybe I need some time away to do that. I wanted to be a GP before all this started. Now, I find myself drawn to A&E during shift. Emergency medicine. I'm used to it, anyway. Drawn to the familiar.

Speaking of… you'll never believe – UNIT's offered me a job. Even though they know I'm one of those Jones women (Mum, Tish, and I are apparently referred to as those Jones women). Grin Can't help being proud of that. And it's getting Dad a lot of sympathy in certain corners, the right ones for his own plans so it's all fine.

It's tempting, I'll admit. Alien biology has fascinated me since I found out for certain aliens exist. All the ways a being can be put together, all that complex biochemistry carefully balanced in so many possible ways. It's beautiful and endlessly interesting. I always knew I was a geek, I could list all the bones in the human hand at age 15, but I wish I could spend my days finding out about all the different biological systems.

I somehow don't think that's what they're offering, though. I suspect I'd mostly be trying to study aliens they've caught and heal ones UNIT probably shot themselves. Or heal the teams from the diseases they pick up and that. It would be something, I suppose, and more interesting than hospital work. But it's UNIT!

They were…I don't have words. When the Spheres came down, they were completely useless. Most of them went right to work in the Master's GroundForce, (switching sides? what's that?!) and the ones that didn't were either annihilated right off the bat or went so far to ground, I literally had to dig them out. Well, only literally the once, but you get the idea. They're just so, so rubbish. Unreliable. And kind of arrogant considering they've completely failed to prevent not just one but three alien invasions in recent years (it may be more, Mum keeps us updated as she finds out even though she's not supposed to).

Maybe I should stick with that hermit plan. Go camping. I quite like camping. Those were the nights I didn't have to work and usually had enough food. Moments of peace, maybe worth recapturing without the mortal danger. I hear the Brecon Beacons are nice, ever been?

Love,

Martha

Dear Martha,

Did I forget to mention where I called dibs on offering you a job once you'd qualified? Apparently UNIT didn't get the memo. Or they ignored it, damn them. Tell you what, one hermit to another, come to Cardiff. We'll have the ten year meeting a little early. :)

Give me a week to convince you that Torchwood's where you belong. If I haven't managed to seduce you into working with us by then, I'll pay for your camping trip. However it turns out, I guarantee I'll show you a good time. Make some happy memories to balance those other ones. The trick isn't to replace the bad with the equivalent in good, you know. It's to spend time making sure the mistakes that led to the bad memories don't happen again.

Anyway, it'll be an all-expenses-paid week vacation in exotic Cardiff. With a handsome and charming tour guide. C'mon, you know you want to. ;)

Best of luck with those last three exams (not that you'll need luck to pass them). Hope to see you soon. Let me know your plans and I'll arrange tickets.

Jack

Dear Jack,

Are you really offering me a job? Oh, ignore that. You wouldn't have said it if you weren't serious. You did know that to call dibs on something, you have to actually tell other people that you've called dibs on it, right? ;)

It took me a couple of days of debating with myself, and talking it out with Mum and Tish, but…I've decided to give in to temporary insanity, and come to Cardiff. I've arranged my own tickets. Details to follow.

See you in a few days.

Martha

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