Hey guys! It's been a while. I've missed you! Here's the next installment of Full Circle. I'm not quite pleased with it though. I wanted it to be longer but it didn't quite come to me, so I present to you these humble offerings.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, not making any money.

Chapter XI:

A distant buzzing broke her from her catatonic state at the kitchen table. She had no clue how long she'd been sitting there, staring at the wicked stack of papers. It could have been minutes. It could have been months. But now, reality called- literally. She ran to the next room for her bag, wishing that she could ignore real life completely, but she knew if she didn't answer, he'd just appear in her living room anyway- which would be much worse.

"Hey, you!" She said, a bit too enthusiastically while trying to hide her distress. The last thing she needed was for him to know that she was still married. Even if it was an accident. He didn't seem to notice.

"Hello love. Did you ever find out who the flowers were from? Inquiring minds are dying to know."

"Nope." She lied. "A secret admirer."

"Hmmm.. That's some admirer. An office full of flowers and no name to attach them to. Ah well, stranger things…"

They made small talk before the TARDIS picked up a distress signal. He promised he'd be back as soon as he solved the universe's latest crisis. They exchanged 'I love yous' and she hung up quickly, getting back into her own head.

"Quick fix, right?" She said aloud. "Just sign the papers and send them back. See? Quick. Easy. Simple. Right. Sign the papers. Send them back." She made her way back to the kitchen.

"But what about the flowers? And the note? Why did he send the flowers?" She bit at her nails and walked back towards living room. She was pacing, making and unmaking decisions. She hadn't thought about Mickey; hadn't considered that he might throw a wrench into her current contentment.

Then she remembered, and she instantly felt the waves of guilt as they washed over her. Their anniversary.

As if on cue, the phone rang again. It was him.

Despite the anger, the sadness, the guilt… she couldn't help but smile. She had loved him- still loved him in her own way. He was sweet, kind, compassionate and strong. He was always the one to remember the little things, even when birthdays, parties, and special events slipped from her memory. He had been the sentimental one in their relationship, where she was the one who was always too busy. Always unavailable- physically and emotionally.

Her head was always somewhere else, and he knew it, but he never made her feel bad. In fact, he went out of his way, sacrificing his own feelings so that she wouldn't have to deal with the guilt she currently felt. He knew what he was getting himself into, knew that she was still in love with The Doctor, but hoped against hope that he could change her mind. He loved her unconditionally, and she didn't realize how fully and deeply she'd been hurting him until it was too late. Until he walked out on her, unable to take the strain of her unrequited love any longer. It was then that she realized that she'd treated him the way the Doctor had treated her in her time on the TARDIS- except what she did was worse. Instead of ignoring his feeling completely, she acknowledged them and acted as if the feelings were mutual- all the way to the point of marrying him.

It was for those reasons that she picked up the phone. It was out of love and respect for the husband and friend he'd been. For how much she'd put him through.

"Hello," She said into the receiver, trying to calm her quivering voice. Another thing about Mickey: he was perceptive as hell.

"What's wrong?" He asked, and her heart warmed at the alarm and concern in his voice. He was concerned for her. Their last conversation had ended in a fight and with him giving up on their marriage. Their last conversation had been 5 months ago. Their last correspondence had been the divorce papers, 2 months ago, and he was still concerned for her.

"It's nothing." She said, knowing that no matter how convincing she might have sounded, he would still be able to tell something was wrong. "Thank you for the flowers. Caused quite a scene, you know." Martha changed the subject and he graciously didn't push the issue.

"Sorry about that. But hey, what anniversary isn't complete without an office full of flowers?" She let out a genuine laugh. "Now there's something that I haven't heard in a while. That trademark, Jones-woman" cackle of yours. It's genetic, I tell you. You, your mum, Tish… all of you Jones women… you cackle." She laughed again.

"Oi! At least I don't snort, Mister!" She teased back. She missed this easy banter. It was one of the things that attracted them in the first place.

"Oh, it was one time. One snort and you'll never let me live it down, will you?"

"Nope!" She replied, popping the 'p' like He did. Like the Doctor. She mentally cursed the slip, knowing he'd notice. There was an awkward silence before he spoke up.

"Well, I just wanted to see if you wanted to come to dinner. I know we're not really, uhh… together, but…" He was unsure of how to continue, she could tell, and she was unsure of how she'd answer.

They weren't together, but they were still married. She and The Doctor were in love, but she still wasn't quite sure what they were. She knew life and love with The Doctor would never be as easy, as safe, and as predictable as simple admissions of love. The other shoe had yet to drop. Her thoughts stilled as he continued.

"You're my wife. And it's our anniversary. We got married two years ago, today. And I guess just wanted to celebrate it. Will you accompany me to dinner, Martha?" He sounded hopeful and she remembered when they were 'happy'; holding hands, walking through the park, going on freelance missions as a team- as a family. She remembered how her mother loved him and why. She remembered how he liked his coffee and always packed her lunch in the morning. She remembered the way he made love to her. She remembered the pain as he walked past her and out of the door.

"Pick me up at 8?"

Whoa, Nelly! What's going on Martha? What do you think will happen?

Review!

xoxo, LPL