DISCLAIMER: All rights to Doctor Who belong to the BBC, yada, yada, yada.
SUMMARY: The Doctor wants to give something back to Martha so he tries to live one day as a normal person so that they can spend the day together but also with her family. Things backfire on them when they bump into one of Martha's ex's, he cheated on her and now he's boasting about how wonderful their relationship is so, to make him jealous, Martha tells him that she too is in a fabulous relationship. He invites her to go to dinner with him and his girlfriend and she panics as she doesn't really have a boyfriend. She begs the Doctor to play the part and he agrees but can the Doctor really pretend to be a normal guy, and more importantly, how will he react when he finds out that she has told him that the Doctor is her fiancé?
A/N: This story is set about three months after 'Last of the Time Lords'. The Doctor is missing Martha and wants to give something back to her, as a late thank you. I know that the Doctor isn't 'normal' per se but I thought this would show him in a different way, show his human side.
TITLE: The Fake Date – Chapter 4
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They finally arrived at the park twenty minutes later; of course they could have gotten there quicker if Martha and Leo hadn't spent so much messing around and stopping because he was 'going to drop her'. They walked along the path, Clive carrying the picnic basket and Francine carrying a couple of rolled-up blankets. "Nice to have everyone together again, don't you think?"
"Yeah…we can make this work Fran, I know we can." She looked at him and he smiled.
"I know." She returned the smile and they continued to walk up the path in a comfortable silence.
The Doctor and Tish, meanwhile, walked in front of them, catching up on what had happened in each other's lives. "Wow, so what happened to her, I mean is she ok?"
"Yeah she's fine; she just decided that she wanted to be back with her family." He reassured her as best as he could, needing her to know that he would never let another one of his assistants get hurt…not after Rose.
"Ah I get it, kinda like Martha huh?"
"Yeah I guess so." He smiled at her as fond memories of his time with Martha flooded his mind.
"She really does have you wrapped around her little finger." He grinned and Tish smirked. "You really don't care though, do you?"
"Nope." His simple reaction made Tish laugh, watching him try to be normal for the day was something that she was not going to miss out on.
They eventually stopped walking and set the picnic stuff up in a well-kept field which belonged to the park. Francine and Clive set the blankets down and Leo placed Martha back on the floor. The Doctor helped Martha's parents smooth the blankets out and Tish walked over to her brother and sister. "What did you do to him, he looks almost normal?"
Martha smiled, he did look normal and she realised that she actually preferred him in his pinstripe suit; it was a part of him. "I didn't actually do anything; he said he was going to be normal for the day, as a 'thank you for helping me to save the world'."
"He adores you, you know." Tish said in a very matter-of-fact manner.
"What?" Martha sounded surprised; she knew that he liked her, that they were friends but adoration was a strong term to use.
"Any idiot could tell from the way he spoke about you before."
"You think so?"
"I know so." Martha smiled at her but gasped in surprise as someone covered her eyes and whispered in her ear.
"Guess who."
"Is it Johnny Depp?" She asked in an innocent tone, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.
"Nope, try again."
"I'm sorry but if you aren't Johnny Depp then I'm not interested."
"Well alright but I bet he doesn't have a sonic screwdriver." She couldn't hold it in any longer and a laugh escaped her lips. He smiled and pulled away from her, dropping his hands to his sides. "Sorry I know I said I'd be normal and I will but that was too good to pass up." She grinned at him and he winked at her.
"Martha pass me your bag, I want that Frisbee…" Leo grinned like a five year old and Martha finally understood why he and the Doctor got on so well.
"How old are you?" Tish rolled her eyes but smiled and Martha playfully hit her on the arm.
"Aww, he's getting in touch with his inner child, leave him alone Tish." Martha joked as she passed her backpack to Leo and he enthusiastically opened it to find his Frisbee.
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An hour later everyone was getting on rather well. Leo and Tish were playing a game of volleyball; Francine and Clive were sitting on one blanket, watching them and Martha and the Doctor were laid on the other blanket playing 'Connect Four'. He took his turn and smiled at her, having won for the sixth time in a row. "Now I know you're cheating."
"No I am not; it's just that you're really bad at this game." She rolled her eyes and he innocently grinned. They decided that they had had enough of that game and put it back in the backpack. Twenty minutes later they had been roped into playing volleyball with Tish and Leo.
"That so isn't fair, you'll obviously have an advantage over us; I mean you guys are taller and I'm stuck with short arse." Tish smiled at Martha, letting her know that she had only been joking.
"Ok tell you what then, I'll go with Martha and you can have the Doctor; I'll go with the 'short arse'. Leo smiled at Tish and she nodded.
"Ok fine, good luck." The Doctor walked over to Tish and smiled at Martha, mouthing a silent 'good luck' to her.
"May the best team win." Martha walked over to Leo's side of the net, which was tied to two trees to keep it up, and smiled at him.
"Oh don't worry, we will." The Doctor confidently told Leo as Tish prepared to serve the ball.
"Well we'll see, won't we?" Martha smiled at them and prepared to return the ball which Tish was about to serve.
Half an hour later, Martha and Leo were congratulated on their victory as Tish hugged her sister and the Doctor shook Leo's hand. Martha hugged Leo and the Doctor hugged Tish, thanking her for being his partner. Leo put her down and then hugged Tish, telling her that 'it's the taking part that matters, not the winning'. He then went on to tell her that 'winning just makes it easier to rub it in the other person's face about how good you really are'. Tish complained and told him not to be so smug whilst the Doctor wrapped his arms around Martha's waist, picked her up and swung her around in a circle. When he put her back down, she turned and looked at him, "Nice try."
"Well done, you umm…you're really good." She smiled and told him that she knew, she also told him that being a 'short arse' clearly wasn't such a bad thing after all.
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Another three hours later, everyone was sitting on the picnic blankets, having just eaten. Clive leaned back on his elbows and looked around him, Tish was talking to Martha, the Doctor was talking to Leo and Francine was reading a book. Tish announced that she needed the bathroom and said she was going to go to the café in the middle of the park to use the restroom, Leo told her that he would go too as he wanted to wash his hands, which were sticky from the lemonade which he had spilled on himself. Martha had thought it funny to shake up the can before he opened it and Leo had been taken by surprise when the can had exploded in his face.
They stood up and set off for the café as the Doctor lay back on the blanket and Martha crawled over to him. "Hey, you ok?" He turned his head as he asked her and she lay next to him, her head propped up on one elbow.
"Yeah, I am." She smiled at him and he grinned back at her, glad that she was so happy. "Are you alright, I know that this whole 'domestic thing' isn't very you."
He rolled over onto his side, mirroring her position. "Yeah I'm fine but it does feel a little weird." She smiled and told him that she didn't expect him to be normal all the time, she knew that he'd never be an average, human being. He smiled and rolled onto his back again, staring at the sky and thinking about the last time he was domestic with someone. He had been to Rose's house for Christmas dinner and spent the evening playing charades with her and her mother. He forced the images out of his head, determined to give Martha the day she deserved.
She could sense the unease however and shuffled closer to him, placing her other hand on his chest. "What's wrong and don't tell me it's nothing." He looked at her and she raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, I was just…thinking."
"About Rose?" Martha's voice contained no anger, just sympathy.
"Yeah, I'm so sorry Martha; I really don't wanna ruin your day, I just can't help but think of her, the last time I did domestic was Christmas at her house. He covered Martha's hand with his own and smiled at her. "Anyway, today isn't about me and Rose; it's about me and you and your family."
Martha closed the distance between them and wrapped one arm around his waist as she rested her head on his chest. "Thank you, this means a lot to me and I know today hasn't been easy for you."
He wrapped an arm around her waist, returning the hug. "That's just it, it has been easier than I thought and I'm glad we could spend time together."
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An hour later, the Doctor and Martha had gone for a walk and Tish and Leo had gone for ice cream, giving Clive and Francine some privacy.
"So, the Doctor's being pretty normal today, don't you think?" Tish and Leo walked along the path which led up to the ice cream parlour.
"I guess so; he really does care about Martha." Leo smiled and Tish simply nodded and agreed with him. She knew that Martha meant everything to the Doctor, he'd never hurt her on purpose.
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"Well I gotta say I'm surprised, you've spent the entire day being a 'normal almost human'." Martha smiled and he lightly nudged her shoulder with his own.
"I told you I could do normal." He smirked at her and took hold of her hand, lacing their fingers together as they walked over to bench near the pond.
"You did, thank you…today has been wonderful." They sat down, their hands still entwined and Martha stared out at the pond. She was shocked however to see her ex boyfriend, Liam Willis; walk past with his arm around the bitch that he had cheated on her with. She tried to hide her face by pretending to be blocking out the sun but it failed and he turned and smiled at her.
"Martha Jones, is that you?" She looked up and smiled a wide, forced smile at him and the tall, leggy woman beside him.
"Liam, so nice to see you again." It was said almost through gritted teeth and the blonde smirked at Martha.
"You too, you remember Claire, don't you?" He said it casually and Martha couldn't believe that he was trying to make polite conversation with her.
"How could I forget? I mean I did come in to find you and her in our bed after all, Liam." Her voice was laced with sarcasm but Liam didn't seem to notice, the Doctor however, did and gave Martha's hand a gentle squeeze.
"So, who's your friend?" Liam asked her and she was certain that she heard a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"I'm glad you asked that, Liam I want you to meet…"
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A/N: Hey thanks for reading and I'll update as soon as possible but I've been having a few problems writing this one so far so I haven't started chapter 5 yet but I will try and have it ready for you soon. Please keep reviewing and I will try and update in the next few days. Who will Martha say he is, is he the Doctor, is he John Smith or is he a completely different man now? Keep reading and reviewing and you shall find out soon.
Thanks again, I love you all.
RoxxiSanders.