So the story goes as follows: over Christmas and New Year I did not a single smidgen of writing, then I got this idea for a Doctor/Donna oneshot. Seems normal enough, an idea for a story, Yippee!, you cry, but turns out It's been a bit of a nightmare. I wanted to get the OS done before writing a new chap of this, but then that's taken me ages to get into writing it, and It's still not finished. So, a little more time shall be put into the oneshot, and I wrote a new chapter of this to make up for it! WOOOHOOO!
Oh, and also in the past monthish, I have discovered Life On Mars, a series that is so amazingly brilliant (and starring another most gorgeous ex-Time Lord!) that it captured my imagination immediately, and my other new fic came about - give it a read if you're a fan of the show, I'd love to know what you think. Blame the BBC for making such amazing programmes and taking up too much of my writing time!
Mega enjoy, and to show you forgive me, I'd like at least ten thousand reviews. Hell yeah!
Donna xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
PS Can I just say the biggest thanks in the world to Well isn't That Wizard x for being my faithful, brilliant beta reader and soon to be beta-ee. Huge love, babes! D XXX
Chapter Ten - If All Else Fails
Things between Donna and Jack, everyone noticed, were a lot more civil after that. Okay, so they weren't exactly picking out china patterns just yet, but they certainly seemed to be able to stand being in each other's company without ripping each other to shreds, which was a start. The two of them seemed perfectly happy to eat dinner with everyone else for the next few nights, even deigning to share food at one point.
And when the Doctor and Gwen accompanied them out on a mission, they later described the atmosphere in the SUV to be, in their own words, "Actually, pretty much almost bearable."
In other words, their plan was very close to succeeding, and everything else was continuing to fall into place. Donna and Jack were getting closer, one bit at a time. The Doctor and Rose were blissfully happy, having fallen right back into step and picked up pretty much where they'd left off, and Ianto and Gwen... well. Ianto and Gwen still felt the need to try and hide what everyone else already knew, but feigned obliviousness just to humour the couple.
In other words, everyone was happy in their own little ways. Everyone, that was, apart from two glaring exceptions - Mickey and Martha were having none of it, never choosing to eat with the others and spending most of their days holed up in their own spaces.
Mind you, their two spaces, as well as being cut off from the rest of the Hub, were very close together. This suited the pair, as inevitably they ended up together a lot of the time, voicing their similar, drastic, scathing opinions on the rest of the group. They got on purely because the two of them were outcasts - an entire friendship by default, all based on their combined extreme jealousy of the Doctor and Rose.
"Ugh, I cannot believe them!" Martha raged, bursting into the infirmary where Mickey was filing reports, "You literally cannot turn around in this place without seeing him holding her hand, or playing with her cheap dyed hair, or even worse, actually kissing her - which believe me, is not something I hope ever to witness again."
"I know." he agreed with a sigh, turning to face her as she flung herself into a seat, "It's like they do it on purpose, just to rub it in."
"I swear they do! Dear God, if I hear another one of that girl's-" At this point, Martha changed the pitch of her voice and thickened her Cockney accent, a perfect imitation of Rose, "-I've li'erally never been 'appier in my life! Speeches, I will actually strangle her."
Mickey gave a short laugh, "Martha, that actually sounded like 'er! You've got the voice down, no problem."
"Good!" she enthused, "'Cause I reckon that 'If All Else Fails' plan we came up with earlier in the week is gonna have to be put into action."
"Me too." Mickey said, "'Cause I checked the system, and at 5 o'clock this evening the TARDIS is gonna be ready to leave again. If we've got any hope of splitting them up before then, this is our best chance."
"Then we do it." Martha said maliciously, a glint in her eye, "We give the Doctor the shock of his life and rip that couple apart for good."
For the rest of the day, they merely watched as the rest of the team went about their business in their usual lighthearted way, laughing and joking - completely oblivious to the fat that Mickey and Martha were finalizing their plans, and waiting for the opportune moment to tear their world apart.
It finally came, as luck would have it, when, at about ten to five, they saw Donna and Rose head upstairs to one of the conference rooms. Jack was in his office, and Ianto and Gwen were up in the tourist centre - leaving the Doctor alone in the main Hub.
After craning her neck to see the other side of his head, Martha nodded to Mickey - a confirmation that the Doctor was wearing his earpiece, and they were good to go. The two of them crept up a back stairway to avoid walking through the main room, and the Doctor didn't look up from his computer. Martha paused at a doorway on their way up, listening - and yes, she could hear Rose's laugh coming from inside as Donna told another of her ridiculous stories.
Martha narrowed her eyes, hating every last shrill syllable coming from the two women on the other side of the door. This would show them, she thought as she silently and deftly locked the door from the outside, eliminating the chance that they would get out in the middle of it, and ruin Martha and Mickey's little performance. Oh, no. Rose Tyler had messed up Martha's life for the very last time.
With a smirk, she darted silently up the next flight of stairs, and into the room where Mickey sat waiting, fiddling with his earpiece.
"They're locked in." Martha said, almost gleefully, "And the Doctor's still down there."
"And this is all set up," he replied, pressing one final button on the small device, "The rest of the comms are down, so only the Doctor'll be able to hear this."
"Right, let's do this." Martha said, and cleared her throat.
"This voice alright?" she asked, the pitch and accent altered once again, and Mickey nodded.
And so, her eyes alight with excitement and malice, Martha reached down and switched on the small headset, holding it between them so it would pick up their conversation loud and clear.
"Mickey!" she exclaimed in Rose's voice, "You came."
From the headset, the two of them could hear the Doctor's gasp of shock, then intrigue, and knew they were on the right track.
"'Course I did, babes." Mickey smirked, "You asked me to meet you up here, I wasn't gonna say no to this! Not likely to change my mind after four days, am I?"
"Oh, I 'ope not." Martha said, her expression comical but her voice perfectly serious, "I know I'm not about to."
And with that, she pulled Mickey towards her and kissed him passionately, making sure to be very loud and deliberate about it, merely inches from the small microphone.
After a few seconds, they simultaneously pulled away, sticking to the script, "What are you doing?" Martha asked, Rose's disbelieving tone pitch perfect.
"I just..." Mickey hesitated, "Rose, I need to know that you're sure about this."
"Why wouldn't I be sure? Mickey, I love you, surely you know tha'?"
It was all Martha could do to sustain the role and not burst out laughing as she pictured the Doctor's face when he heard that.
"Just... you know, the Doctor..."
'Rose' let out a harsh laugh, "Him?! Mickey, he means about as much to me as those Weevils down in the vaults. 'E's just too thick to figure it out, that's all."
"But you're always with 'im, actin' like the two of you are-"
"That's the 'ole point! I'm acting, darlin', so he doesn't suspect anythin'. So that when we get back on that TARDIS, he'll agree to lettin' you come with us at last. So that we can be together forever."
"Well, if you're sure..." he said uneasily.
"Dead sure." Martha assured him, "I've always loved you, Mickey, it was always you I came back for. I worked so hard for this."
"For what?" he asked playfully, and Martha recreated Rose's high pitched laugh perfectly.
"For this." she said, before pulling him towards her once more into a kiss even longer and more exaggerated than before. Through the headset, she heard a muffled thumping from the Doctor's end of the mic as he apparently wrenched it from his ear, and the loud clatter of it being thrown to the floor.
Martha couldn't hide her grin as she and Mickey pulled away from one another, for everything was finally going exactly as it should. She raised her eyebrows, a look of utter glee on her face and her voice now back to normal.
"Mission accomplished."