AN: This is already the last chapter of this story but the sequel will be up very soon.

Thank you for all your support and love. I'm in awe of how many reviews I've gotten for this fanfiction. I'm so happy you liked this story so much and I hope you'll enjoy the sequel just as much.

A big thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Chapter 5

"Mum," Martha said surprised. The Doctor turned around to follow her glance and saw Francine standing in the doorway. The incredulous look on her face was now gone, replaced by the stony expression Martha had seen a lot of times on her mother's face.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she said, looking directly at her daughter. "Alone," she added.

Martha glanced up at the Doctor. "I'll be back soon. Wait here," she said. Then she followed her mother out of the room.

Francine led her through the back door into the garden for privacy. Martha had just shut the door behind her when her mother started.

"So is that why you're back with him?" she said, her arms folded over her chest.

Martha folded her arms as well and looked straight in her mother eyes. "Yes," she said. Her mother exhaled sharply but before she could say anything Martha continued. "I love him, mum. And I know that he loves me too. I'm going to stay with him."

"But all this time you were studying to be a doctor and now that you are one, you want to throw all that away to travel with an alien?"

"I'm not throwing anything away mum. I wanted to become a doctor because I wanted to help others and that's exactly what I'm doing now. And I can help far more while I'm with the Doctor. I know exactly where I want to be and that is with him."

"You sleep with an alien?" her mother asked suddenly, as if she'd just realised it.

"Yes. What of it?" Martha asked back. Than she closed her eyes to calm herself down a bit. "Mum I'm an adult and I know what I'm doing. You don't have to worry about me. Just trust me, okay?"

Her mother's face softened a bit. "I do trust you, Martha," she said. "I just don't trust him. I mean I know that he's saved the planet a few times and that he's one of the good guys but that's it, I don't know anything about who exactly he is or his past and I don't think that you know much more about him."

"I know who he is. There are a few things about his past that he's not ready to tell me yet but he'll get there," Martha said. At least she hoped he would someday tell her everything about him. But she knew who the Doctor was now, even if she didn't know about all the events that made him this person, and that was enough for her for now.

"The point is maybe I trust him with saving Earth when aliens attack us, but I wouldn't trust him with your safety. What if you get hurt while you're with him?"

"I can look after myself," Martha said. "And the Doctor would do anything to make sure I'm safe. So please stop worrying."

"Just one more question," Francine said. "Are you happy? Does he make you happy?"

"Yes," Martha said.

...

The Doctor paced in the kitchen. He wondered what was going on in the garden right now. He knew that Francine would try to convince Martha to stay on Earth. But she wouldn't succeed. Martha had already made up her mind.

He felt like he should be there for her. Martha shouldn't have to defend their relationship against her mother on her own. But she had told him to wait. And maybe a mother-daughter conversation was exactly what they needed.

When he heard the back door open, indicating that Martha and her mother were coming back inside, he turned around to look expectantly toward the open kitchen door.

Francine came in first, closely followed by her daughter. He immediately made eye contact with Martha and was relieved when she smiled at him, letting him know that everything was fine.

"Martha, I want to talk to the Doctor alone for a minute. Why don't you go back to the living room? We'll be there soon," Francine said.

Martha looked between her mother and the Doctor, who now looked a bit nervous.

"All right," Martha said. Before she went out she leaned towards her mother and whispered "Please be nice to him," before she left.

"Doctor," Francine began. "I just want to ask you something: Will my daughter be safe with you?"

"Mrs. Jones, I will do everything I can to keep Martha safe. I love her," he said earnestly.

Francine nodded but still looked sceptically at him. "All right. But if you hurt her…" She didn't finish her thread but let it linger in the air for a moment. The Doctor nodded to show that he understood what she meant.

With that Francine turned around and left the room. The Doctor let out a breath and followed her. He knew that he hadn't convinced Francine about his sincerity yet, but he hoped that she would see with time that he really loved her daughter and would do anything to keep her safe and happy.

...

After dinner the Doctor and Martha said goodbye to everyone. Tish let her sister know that she would call her soon because she wanted to know everything about Martha's new relationship with the Doctor.
"My mum took our news better than I thought she would," Martha told the Doctor as he opened the door and let her into the TARDIS.

"I'm not sure if she trusts me yet but at least she seems to have accepted that you want to stay with me," the Doctor added as he followed her inside his beloved ship.

"See? You didn't have to worry so much. She didn't even slap you," Martha said.

The Doctor walked up to the console and started to pull levers and push buttons to move the TARDIS back into the vortex. Martha sat down on the jump-seat and watched him.

"That wasn't the only reason why I didn't want to go," he said.

"And what's the other reason?" Martha asked. He was quiet for a while. When he finally turned around to look at her Martha noticed a sad expression on his face. He leaned against the console in front of where she sat.

"I used to have a family before the Time War," he began. "And I guess that's why I don't like family meetings. They remind me of what I've lost."

Martha had wondered lots of times what his life before the war had been like. He had told her a bit about his past companions and some of his adventures, but he had never said anything about his home planet and the people he had lost. The only time he had ever talked about the war had been in New New York on their second trip together.

She had never asked him about it because she didn't want to push him into telling her more. It should be his own decision to tell her when he was ready.

She took his hand and held it. "Do you want to tell me about your family?" she asked. "You don't have to if you're not ready."

"I know." he said. "But I think it's about time that I told you more about my past. I love you and I want you to know everything about me. You've already told me so much about your past and now it's my turn."

Martha smiled at him. She had to admit that she was still a bit insecure when it came to his feelings for her because he didn't often open up to her. The last time he had really opened up had been on Durelia after their first date.

But she knew it wasn't because he didn't trust her or didn't want her to know. He had been through a lot and was used to burying everything deep down. He was used to keeping everyone at bay and was afraid of getting hurt again. And that was why his words meant so much to her. He was ready to overcome his fears and open up to her because he loved her.

"I've been a father before the war," he began quietly. Martha looked at him surprised. That wasn't something she had expected to hear. "You had children?" she repeated.

He nodded. "Yes, and grandchildren. And a great-grandchild. I used to like family meetings back then."

Martha could see the pain clearly in his intense, brown eyes. She got up and laid her arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. She wished she could somehow take the pain away from him.

"Let's go somewhere more comfortable," she murmured. He nodded.

The two of them move deeper into the TARDIS and settled down on a comfortable couch in the library. Martha listened intently as the Doctor told her about his family, Gallifrey and the Time War.

After a few hours he stopped talking. He had told her how the war had ended and a few tears were rolling down his cheeks. Martha leaned over to wipe them away.

"I've still got more I need to tell you," he said.

"I know," she said. "But you can tell me another time." She kissed him softly on the lips and he reached out and held her face in his hands, caressing her with his thumbs.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?" Martha asked him softly.

"Just for being here with me."

"Always," she answered. She laid her head against his chest, and he put his arms around her holding her close.

"I feel somewhat lighter for having talked about it," he said after a few minutes of silence.

"That's wonderful," Martha told him. "And I will always be there for you."

They looked into each other's eyes, both of them feeling how much their relationship had deepened in the last few hours.

AN: Thanks for reading. Please leave a review to let me know how you liked it.

The first chapter of the sequel should be up within a week or so.