Drops of Jupiter
Summary: As Martha laid dying in the American West, she noticed something odd. Something that makes the Clades, "Unknown" scan proves true. What does that mean for the Doctor and herself? [Eventual Doctor/Martha]
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or "Ain't no Mountain High Enough"...
A/N: AU Utopia/LotTL and seasons 4-6. Let's see, I'm not too sure on UK laws governing the use of apartment building roofs. Considering the whole Olympic missile thing, I think you probably need only permission of the building owner. I didn't follow the issue that closely though. So, if it's illegal, feel free to tell me. I'm sure I'll care sooner or later.
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"Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out."
-Anton Chekhov
Chapter 4
Martha worked six days a week at a clothing shop. Her boss distrusted her because of her skin color. She never worked the register unless it was overcrowded in the shop. Instead, she ended up doing inventory and re-stocking merchandise. Day-to-day Martha had swallowed some of her retorts, especially to the customers and her boss.
More than once, considering she no longer needed much sleep, she had thought about getting a second job. The Doctor hadn't been happy with that idea. "Martha Jones, wondering the streets of London at night? Are you mad?"
The Human-Time Lord sent him a glare. "A night job would mean no worrying about bills and food! Two sources of income work better than one." Of course, the silly alien pouted over the bits and pieces of his Timey-Wimey device.
"I know how to help!" Martha wasn't entirely sure she should trust the Doctor's idea. Aliens trying to destroy Earth? Fine, she'd take his advice. A domestic situation where his attempts to hold down a job for the past two weeks failed miserably every time? She'd get back to you on that one. "Don't doubt me Martha Jones. You trust me, right?" He asked pausing in his tinkering to look at her.
Martha bit her lip as she nodded. "I do, but Doctor you can't do anything crazy. You get hauled off to jail, I won't be able to help."
"Honestly Martha, what do you expect me to do?"
Martha raised an eyebrow as she rolled over on the floor to look at the telly in front of them. "Something dramatic and not quite human."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes at her, "Are you implying I can't blend in with humans? I'd like to think I've been doing a good job these last two weeks."
"You remember Chrissy?"
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, "Downstairs neighbor."
"Right, she's convinced you're actually cheating on me with Thomas." Martha informed him in a bored tone. "I've warned you more than once about going to Thomas' house for anything. He's been throwing himself at you, hasn't he?" The Doctor's jaw dropped.
"B-b-but Martha, I-I..."
She ignored his stutter. "Monica and Rayne do think you're a time traveling alien or at least a mega swot because of all the techno-speak while you fixed their shower pipes the other day. I think they like the alien theory better. Did you really tell them we meet Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?"
"They were fans of Sherlock...it might have slipped out."
"And there's good ole Mister Winston. You drank the whole bottle of hard liquor and then told the old man it was fine because your body could break down the alcohol faster than human bodies?"
The Doctor scratched the back of his head. Maybe he hadn't been doing as great a job as he thought.
"They think I'm engaged to a nut." Martha concluded as she looked away from the black and white show to stare at the ceiling. "If only they knew the truth."
The Doctor frowned trying to figure out if he was offended or not. "Honestly Martha...are you implying I'm not the sort of bloke you'd marry?"
"I'm implying they aren't aware that you are more than a nut." Martha yawned. "Tomorrow's my day off and we're going to get that marriage license." Her eyes slid close as she fell asleep.
The timey-wimey device was placed quietly on the coffee table. Moving quietly, the Doctor actually knelled next to Martha. She had this habit of falling asleep in front of the telly. It seemed to have developed over the past few days. "What am I going to do with you Martha Jones?" The young woman worked hard to take care of both of them. She rarely complained to him about it, though she did threaten to kill him on occasion.
If only he was John Smith again, but a 1969 John Smith. One that would be able to take care of Martha properly, he'd be programmed to blend in better with humans. Scooping Martha into his arms, the Doctor carried her to their bedroom. He gently laid her down on the bed. "Sleep well Martha Jones." One of Martha's hands gripped his arm. Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he pulled his arm from her. Martha rolled over sleeping soundly.
The Doctor knew she'd be up again in a few hours. Being a Human-Time Lord had shortened the number of hours of sleep she needed each night. Unlike his sleep patterns, which meant he could go days [or months really] without sleeping really before crashing.
If there was one thing the Doctor was happy about at the moment, it was the fact that he could still surprise Martha Jones. Oh, they'd be getting a marriage license...but what did she think he was up to after getting fired numerous times? Surely, she didn't think he spent all that time moping and building the silly device that would help him get his beloved TARDIS back? Chuckling quietly as he took his seat again, the Doctor stroked his own ego.
He didn't do weddings normally. Not real proper ones anyway and he probably wouldn't have planned theirs if it wasn't for Mrs. Granslaw. He had taken the wedding gown the TARDIS had packed for Martha (the Old Girl knew!) and left it in the care of Barbara. His old companion had taken the box with complete amusement as she asked why the bride-to-be wasn't helping. Ian had patted him sympathetically on the shoulder and called him a daft alien. Barbara kept him from screwing things up, she along with Nicole (one of Martha's co-workers that was nice) had helped pick colors for the other dresses. He knew human weddings were elaborate, but it had been ridiculous the amount of times he'd been asked about colors or cake layers.
Ha, but he'd managed a decent small private wedding. It wasn't in a church or anything, but on the roof of their building. Mrs. Granslaw had been surprised at the request and the other tenants chipped in.
The Doctor fancied he'd put together a decent enough thing. No reason for Martha's first wedding to be a complete sham (even though it was one).
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Martha barely turned the water from her shower off before the bathroom door burst open. Her neighbors, Monica and Rayne ogled her with abandon. "We can't let you marry alien boy." Rayne purred as she ignored Martha's attempts to reach the towel.
"He so isn't good enough for you." Monica agreed before pouting as Martha covered her body.
Martha was mortified. How the bloody hell did those two get into her flat? Where the hell was the Doctor? Someone cleared their throat and then Barbara peeked around the corner. "I'm sorry Martha. I meant to tell them to knock."
"Why are all of you here? Where's John?" She was really going to murder that Time Lord. Her neighbors smiled at her, both wearing loose dresses. Monica's dress had thick shoulder straps, blue and white horizontal stripes. Her straight black hair was done up in a half bun. Rayne wore a sky blue dress with tiny sleeves. Her red hair was in a high ponytail.
Barbara wore a semi-formal looking sky blue dress. Her brown hair was in its usual wavy state. The older woman smiled reassuringly at Martha. "He's with Ian and the others preparing."
"For what? And why are you all in my bathroom?"
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An hour later, Martha's resolve to kill the Doctor had gone down to maim. That silly daft alien had planned a wedding. With help of course, but he'd planned one and hadn't given her a hint that he had! She hadn't expected one; the Doctor just didn't do weddings! Just like he couldn't try to get along with her family because he'd done that with Rose and she was gone. Martha sat in the 1960s' style wedding gown, the lacy sleeves stopped above her elbows and her shoulders were bare. It was ball gown style; Martha had run her fingers through the lacy fluff more than once.
Would the Doctor like it? She wasn't Rose and this wasn't meant to be forever. Martha fought the tears that threatened to spill. She looked damn good, her TARDIS key around her neck as her something old and something new.
She wished for a few moments that this was the real thing that her family was around to see her. That her father would walk her down the aisle, that her mother would sit in the front row tears not falling as she watched. Tish would be her Maid of Honor and of course Leo would be carrying the rings for them, while Kesha, her little niece, would skip in front of her a pretty flower basket in hand.
Who would stand with the Doctor as his best man? His blood family was dead, but would he invite his other former companions as a stand in?
"Martha?" A familiar male voice called out nervously.
Her hazel eyes sought out the box of tissues as she cleaned up her ruined make up. "It's bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony." She replied evenly.
"We both know there's already bad luck considering I'm wearing this suit again." The Doctor replied after a moment's hesitation. Martha rose up from her seat and slid her heels on, moving to open the door. "Barbara said you locked yourself in." He informed her after the door opened.
She looked up at him, her hazel eyes swirling with emotions. "Why? You silly, silly man!" Martha threw herself into the Doctor's arms. He caught her and frowned, confused.
"Is it really that bad of an idea?" He asked her quietly, his chin resting in her hair, among the loose spiral curls. The small woman's arms were wrapped around his chest. "First weddings are supposed to be special."
Martha shook her head. She would remember this day if for no other reason than the Doctor had done something completely right. She felt selfish in this moment, wishing this wedding was real. Not some sham they had going. "Thank you. You daft, daft old man." The affection in her voice was real and the Doctor smiled slightly.
With Martha, he'd done a banged up job of screwing up most times. He always ended up hurting her somehow and right now he hadn't. Right now, Martha's smile couldn't get any wider. Her eyes were filled with those 'happy tears' human women were fond of. He felt proud of himself, he may not do weddings, but ignoring his discomfort was worth it. "You should be calling me a genius, woman."
"I don't stroke your ego for a reason silly." Martha pulled away and looked at the skinny alien before her. His hair was lying flat and his brown eyes seemed lighter. They weren't filled with anger or his usual sadness. Thankful for her heels, Martha reached up pecked the Doctor on the cheek. "How can we afford any of this?"
A cheeky grin crossed his face. "You should know I'm the gambling type of man Miss Jones."
Martha laughed as she realized that's how they ended up with extra money. It made sense considering, being an on-site repair man (the only job he could hold down) didn't always have jobs readily available in their small building. "Doctor, we'll talk later, yes?" She looked at him a serious expression on her face. He nodded.
"No more tears, I think Barbara was really upset she couldn't get in." The Doctor raised a hand to Martha's face and cupped her cheek gently. "I'll see you upstairs." He stated quietly as Martha leaned her head to his touch. He swallowed hard as he took in the sight of Martha, in their bedroom, before him. The creamy white color of that gown looked so gorgeous on Martha. Part of him wanted to strip the gown off her, to taste the brown flesh hidden underneath the white fabric. To hear her cry out his name in pleasure as she dug her nails into his skin.
Martha was his companion.
He didn't sleep with companions.
And he did not lust after Martha Jones.
This wedding was just a sham.
A very elaborate sham.
Though that didn't explain why his hearts pounded faster. Nor why he was having such randy thoughts about the junior doctor.
Martha's arm was hooked through Mr. Winston's as she crossed the flat top terrace of their apartment building. She was amused the small ceremony was there, then again they had been careful not to set off any of the fire alarms. (Martha was pretty sure the Doctor's sonic was the reason for it.) The little corner the Doctor and herself normally occupied held their chair being used by another neighbor. Several rows of mix-matched chairs that had been bought up as apparently the entire building attended. One of their neighbors was using a camera to take pictures as she walked.
The Doctor gave her one of his 'I'm terribly clever' grins as he took her hand. Martha glanced at the bouquet of orchids instead of at the handsome alien as he carefully lifted the veil and looked at her. This whole mess was wreaking havoc on her emotions. The Pastor took the time to read all the boring stuff that Martha normally tuned out at weddings. Was it bad? Yes. Was she glad her mother wasn't around to realize it? Hell yes. She was no romantic at heart.
Exchanging the standard vows and rings, Martha was thankful when the man stopped talking. Her hazel eyes stared into the Doctor's dark brown ones. Raising a hand to cup her cheek he pulled her closer before kissing her. Martha hesitated for a moment before returning the kiss. Her hearts pounded in her chest matching the rhythm of the Doctor's own hearts. They broke apart as it started raining.
"Rain." Martha stated amused.
The Doctor grinned, "We always end up in the rain don't we?" He removed his blazer and covered Martha's bare shoulders. Turning to their audience (some of whom appeared unaffected by the rain), "Let's move this inside. Wouldn't want the bride to get sick, now would we?"
"She's still too good for you John!" Rayne called out as she and Monica started helping people get back into the building.
"I'm going to maim you for letting those two into our flat." Martha told him, a grin on her face as they moved inside like everyone else.
The Gallifreyian cocked an eyebrow, "You're going to maim your husband? It hasn't even been an hour yet!"
"Yes well, I could have done with a warning that they were coming over. They practically broke down the bathroom door while I was still showering."
The Doctor laughed. "That's why Rayne's gotten more serious about stealing you away from me." He held on to her hand and led her through their building. "Our reception Mrs. Smith."
...Listen, baby
Ain't no mountain high
Ain't no valley low
Ain't no river wide enough, baby
If you need me, call me
No matter where you are
No matter how far
Just call my name
I'll be there in a hurry
You don't have to worry
Martha sang along softly as she danced with the Doctor. Tammi and Marvin were right; there was nothing that could keep her from being at her Doctor's side except the alien himself. And part of her hated that fact. She was too close to the Doctor emotionally.
The Gallifreyan held the petite woman close to him. He knew it was wrong. His mind was reasoning why he should not be doing this. More than anything, he remembered that Rose had expected this from him. That the only reason he had this body was because he had saved her. Martha Jones was human, did she really love him? Like Rose? Or did she lust after this body?
"My love is alive…way down in my heart…" The tone was a soft, sad one as if it were a hidden confession and not a song lyric.
The Doctor moved to the rhythm with Martha. His hand was on her lower back as they moved about having their first dance. Ian stood to the side with Barbara and another neighbor of theirs, recording the dance. After the song ended, other people joined the makeshift dancefloor as the wedding party moved to get final pictures.
"You both look amazing." Barbara commented once the four of them were left alone. Everyone else mingled and talked as they maneuvered around Rayne's flat.
Martha smiled shyly at the older woman, "Thank you. Thank you both for helping the Doctor with planning this."
Ian smiled at the younger woman. "Trust us, we were surprised to be asked…but considering it's one of the less dangerous things he's ever asked of us…we didn't mind." Both teachers had been returned home after being abducted by the alien with a new lease on life. They were working to get their doctorates and to teach at the university level. While doing so, they had moved in together and started dating.
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Silver: After the next chapter we will be leaving '69.