Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 11 . . .
Upon arriving at her mum's home, Martha and the Doctor found everyone crowded around the dining table eating and chatting loudly. The conversation abruptly ended, though, when the tardy pair stepped through the doorway.
"Hi guys, sorry I'm late," Martha began looking at her less than pleased mother.
The Doctor recognized the tension instantly and quickly added, "It was totally my fault. I just popped in unexpectedly."
"No worries. All that matters is that you're here. Right?" chimed in Tish.
Francine sighed while looking intently at her youngest daughter, "I suppose, though, the whole point of this dinner was spending time with you."
Clive gave his ex a censorious look, "Francine, just leave it. She's here now. Let's enjoy it."
The matriarch clicked her tongue but otherwise remained silent. The attention then went back to the pair standing at the door with Leo attempting to lighten the mood, as usual.
"So are you two waiting for an engraved invitation?"
Martha smirked and then turned back to the Doctor, "Thanks for coming in with me."
He raised a brow, "You putting me out?"
"No, of course not. I just know how much you like to avoid any semblance of domesticity," she softly replied.
Martha's father firmly interjected before the Doctor could attempt to respond, "Nonsense. As much time as he's spent in our lives, he's practically part of the family. Of course he is staying."
Martha was set to protest on the Doctor's behalf when her mother regained her voice and added, "Besides, look at him . . . he's just skin and bones. I wouldn't feel right sending him back out without a proper meal."
Martha narrowed her gaze at her mother, disturbed by her suddenly accepting words. She then turned back to her companion and quietly asserted, "You can go, really. I'll deal with this lot."
He looked from her eyes to the other Jones' gathered around the table before finally declaring, "Wouldn't want to be rude." He then briefly paused, clapping his hands together, "So what are we having?"
The evening went surprisingly well. Once the Doctor and Martha got settled around the table, the conversation resumed and flowed freely. The chatting was kept light for the most part. The Jones' shared what they'd been up to while Martha was away and the Doctor and Martha regaled them with tales of their travels, leaving out their most recent trip. Tish, Leo and even her father appeared to step in just at the right moment whenever her mum began to pry too much. The evening went on this way until everyone seemed to get their fill. As everything began to wind down, Leo and Martha's dad gravitated towards the den to catch the end of a football game while her mother and Tish began putting away the leftovers. This left Martha and the Doctor with the final task of washing the dishes.
The duo went about their chore in relative silence until her sister and mother finished up and also drifted into the den. That's when Martha, who was prewashing while the Doctor loaded the machine, leaned in and softly said, "Thanks for staying."
He glanced over at her and smiled, "It was actually quite fun . . . seeing you interact with your family. I mean without a monster attack or a meltdown in the streets."
Martha chuckled as she playfully nudged him with her elbow, "You getting sentimental in your old age?"
"Maybe I am. Seems to be happening a lot since you came back into my life," he replied.
She paused in passing him dishes and gazed at him, "Is that compliment or a complaint?"
The Doctor returned her look and calmly stated, "It's an observation."
The pair then shared a brief, quiet gaze before continuing on with their task. When she handed him the last dish he took it and put it aside and kept hold of her hand, causing her to look into his eyes once more. In them she observed something she had seen rarely and never directed at her. It was something akin to longing and finally he spoke with such earnestness that Martha had to fight to remain stoic.
"You are my best friend too, Martha, and I am so thankful that you came back into my life."
They both shared a smile before she removed her hand from his and proceeded to wrap her arms around his midsection securely. He encircled her small frame as well and gave her a light squeeze before the couple settled in to the embrace. It was a comfortable but brief interlude that was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. They both started and turned to see Francine watching with a deliberate eye.
She had actually been observing the pair the whole night and came in on the tail end of their clean up, having overheard their exchange. Even with her skeptical view of the twosome, she could see just from that little interaction that the two were quite close. As a mother, Francine was still anxious about the relationship and probably always would be. Yet she also knew continuing to push against the grain would only drive her daughter away and she would not allow that. So gently she stepped further into the kitchen and got the pair's attention.
"We about done in here?" she inquired.
Martha slowly removed herself from the Doctor's hold and turned to her mum, "Yeah, the machine just needs to be started."
"Good. Now you can go see what Tish is on about. Something about her MyBook page going loopy."
Martha chuckled, "I think you mean Facebook, Mum."
Francine waved her off, "Whatever. She needs your help so can you go handle that?"
Her youngest daughter nodded, "On it." She quickly glanced back at the Doctor, "You coming?"
He was about to reply when Francine caught his eye. Inwardly he sighed, expecting this. He gave Martha another small smile, "I'll be along after I start the dish machine."
Martha seemed to hesitate briefly. The idea of leaving the two of them alone in a room was not a comforting one. Though Francine had been pretty well behaved this night, Martha had no illusions about her mother suddenly accepting her lifestyle with the Doctor. Her companion sensing her tentativeness, reassuringly urged her on, "Go on. Don't want to keep Tish waiting."
She looked between two of the most important people in her life one last time before relenting and heading towards the den, leaving her mother and the Doctor alone.
Once Martha was out of sight, Francine placed her gaze firmly on the Time Lord. For his part the Doctor held her gaze without so much as a flinch. They stayed like this for what appeared like any eternity but was actually only moments before the Doctor broke the stalemate.
"Mrs. Jones, I get that you still don't trust me and would prefer that your daughter have nothing more to do with me but she made that choice and you agreed to abide by it. I think we should both respect her wishes."
Francine remained quiet a beat longer before finally speaking. "Are you done?"
He only nodded, steeling himself for the expected barrage that surprisingly never came. Instead, the woman before him calmly continued, "All I want to say is as long as she is happy and you keep her reasonably safe, you will be just as welcome here as Martha."
Shock registered on his face, "I'm sorry? What?"
"You heard me. I'm done interfering in my daughter's life. It hasn't done any good, for one thing, and for another, I want her to have whatever it is she thinks she wants and right now that is being with you. Just remember how precious she is to her family, Doctor, and treat her that way."
The Doctor smiled earnestly, "She's precious to me too and I promise to do my very best to keep her safe and happy."
Francine returned the smile, "Then we will have no problems."
Martha returned to the kitchen just as the pair had wrapped up their conversation. When she noticed that neither her mother nor the Doctor had returned to the den, she quickly finished up with her sister and made her way back to what she was sure she would find was a war zone. Surprisingly both occupants had amenable smiles on their faces.
"Hey, you two. Everything alright in here?"
"Perfect, Sweetheart," her mum replied as she glanced at the Doctor who echoed her sentiment.
"Brilliant."
Martha was still unsure, "Really?"
The Doctor nodded, "Yes. Your mum and I were just having a friendly chat."
Martha looked between the pair once more, "Alright, since there was no obvious bloodshed I guess I'll take your words for it."
"Oh Martha, really. When did you get so cynical?" her mother offered before turning and heading towards the door.
Once she left Martha turned back to the Doctor who had an innocent what look on his face. "So tell me the truth, did you have to threaten her with banishment in a wormhole to get her to be nice?"
He shook his head, "I have faced some of the most fearsome creatures the universe has to offer but threaten Francine Jones? I shudder at the thought."
The duo shared a deep laugh before the air turned serious once more as the Doctor asked, "So are we hitting the road tomorrow?"
"Where did you have in mind?" she returned.
He moved closer to her and silkily said, "Why don't we let the wind guide us?"
Martha closed the distance and smiled up at him happily, "That works for me."