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Story: Innocence
Author: Love! Slash! Angst!![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
loveslashangst
Characters: Ten, Martha Jones, Rose Tyler (implied)
Rated: R for some EXTREMELY suggestive banter and at least one scene that's not ready for primetime, though this is not -- strictly speaking -- a Ten/Martha fic
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, because if I did, there might be real science in Dr. Who instead of just the usual pseudo-science. (ophymirage adds: But Stephen Moffatt's welcome to steal the Universal Model Map any time. Because I want to see that on screen, dammit...)
Spoilers: AU, Sequel (kinda) to The Lady in the Fireplace.
Summary: Ten makes a decent proposal. Martha takes him up on it. Hilarity and adult-themed hijinks ensue. Not exactly a Martha/Ten, but more my love letter to her, hoping she finds what she's REALLY looking for.
Gamma's Note: Yet more apologies are due to you for the lateness of this installment. While Dickens Faire is over for the year (and went BRILLIANTLY), holidays and Real Life Worries (tm) have been plaguing me to distraction.
Author's Note:
In which Ten finds something worth living for and Martha finally gets to dance with the Doctor. (No, it’s STILL not what you think.) But it will be the end... at least for now.
(And for hints about what Rose is actually up to, read this in conjunction with “Fifty Things Rose Tyler Learned after Being Trapped in a Parallel Universe.”)
Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and everyone who will read and review. You make this worthwhile. I’m pleasantly surprised at how much love this piece has gotten. :D
WARNING: There is no sex in this nor the subsequent chapter, but there is excessively geeky quantum physics and Martha/Ten cuteness. If you’re allergic to either, PLEASE STOP READING NOW.
The Doctor nods. “I knew you were clever, Martha Jones.” He winks at her. “I just didn’t figure it’d take you six hours, fifteen minutes and twenty nine seconds to suss out the real reason I brought you here.”
My God, he’s a genius. Totally brilliant. “You’re gambling that you can figure a way to cheat your way onto another board. Another universe.”
The Doctor rolls the dice. Adjusts a wormhole above alpha board. Nods, first in satisfaction and then in answer to her assertion. “I lied when I told you this room had all the secrets of the universe.”
She gets it. She really gets it. “It has all the secrets of the multiverse.”
That earns her a real grin. “That’s my girl.” He nods at the cube. “This is not so much of a model as a sketch. A way for me to begin to figure out the rules of the game. The bigger picture, if you like.”
“But aren’t you like a million years old?” Surely a man as smart as he is figured out the rules ages ago.
“Nine hundred, thank you very much.” His voice squeaks when he’s huffy. She smirks. (And it’s comforting to know someone like him has something resembling human emotions.) “And to answer the question you almost asked,” he says, “I used to know the rules. I used to live by the rules. Once upon a time, I was intimately familiar with which ones I could bend and which ones I could break.”
She gets up. Snatches the screwdriver. Rolls the dice. Moves her wormhole. “So what happened?”
“A war.” He folds his arms, grim.
Martha’s ball only sets off the traps on three sides before it misses again. She clicks her fingers to reset the traps and hands him the screwdriver. (She at least is still playing by the rules.) “And Rose?”
“Yes,” he says. “Rose changed everything.” He rolls the dice. Repositions a wormhole, musing. “Things are changing, Martha. She’s changing. I’m changing. See, that’s what we do. I escape. She changes things. What that means for this little game still remains to be seen because I’ve never had less of a sense of how things are meant to be.” He fidgets with the screwdriver. “But I have to figure out how to get her back before it all begins to unravel.”
He knocks on the cube, which resonates with a weird hollow ring. “This game is built on a solid base. Rose and I were separated by punching holes in things that weren’t designed to have holes punched in them.” He blows on the ball for luck. Tosses it into a wormhole on the far side of the cube. “Plus she’s a bit of a wild card because the universe she’s in knows she doesn’t belong there. She sounds wrong to it.”
That actually makes sense. “Like having one voice in the choir that insists on singing a different song from everyone else?” Martha says.
“Quite right.” His eyebrows go up the way they only do when he’s impressed. “Very good. That’s very good indeed. Can see why I love you for your mind.” He winks. His wormhole spits out a ball that causes a reaction that sets off traps on five boards before eating the ball.
Martha swears for him. “Gone?”
He nods. “Well lost, that one.” He clicks his fingers. The traps reset.
“Where is it this time?” After the initial annoyance, losing a ball can be even more entertaining than having one reappear. She’s become fond of imagining where it might’ve got to.
The Doctor pulls a face. “Best not to ask. Even if we retrieved it, you wouldn’t want to touch it afterward.”
Martha decides ignorance is bliss.
The Doctor does some really bad sleight of hand and makes a ball “appear” by taking a new one out of his pocket.
Unless she’s miscounted, that’s at least the fifteenth ball he’s conjured. Either he has them rigged to return or... “How many have you got in there?”
“As many as I need.” He indicates the pocket. “Bigger on the inside.”
(He certainly is.)
And just then, he stops moving. His jaw drops. Mouth works without words. She hasn’t seen him look this surprised since...
(Well, actually, since last night.) But judging by the radiant smile that breaks over his face, this surprise is a welcome one.
“Doctor--?”
“Shh shh shh shh shh!” He waves a hand for her to be silent. She shuts up, curious. Looks around. Nothing seems out of place.
The Doctor begins to hum. Hums louder, nodding. Finally, he bursts into song. “She wouldn’t dance with another... when I saw her standing there!”
Yup. He’s completely mental.
“Well, my heart went ‘boom’.” He grabs her hand. (And he’s SINGING! Since when does the Doctor SING?) “When I crossed that room.” He pulls her into his arms. “And I held her hand in mine...” He begins an impromptu swing-dance. (And he’s fast on his feet and nimble. And tuneful. Bastard can DANCE too? She really is cursed. If she didn’t know Rose half so well...)
“What the hell?” she says. But he’s too good for her to want to stop.
“Whoah, we danced through the night.” He spins her outward. “And we held each other tight.” He spins her in. (Ohhhhhhhh to be this close to him.) “And before too long I fell in love with her.” He dips her. “Now, She wouldn't dance with another.”
(Too right!) “What are you--”
He moves with her across the floor. “When I saw her standing there!” He spins her hard enough that she collapses into the rocking chair. It nearly upends. She shrieks. Balances it back to sane.
“Doctor?” she manages. That was entirely too fun.
Beaming, he offers her a hand up. “Message from the great beyond.” He gives her a firm kiss on forehead. (Oh, the press of those lips is as lovely as ever.) “And I believe it was your turn.” He offers up sonic screwdriver.
Her turn. He’s voluntarily missing a chance to cheat? Now she knows something major has happened. “Are you all right, Doctor?”
“Yes? ... Yes?... YES! Of course I hear you! Hello!” He looks like he might leap and click his heels together at any moment.
Before she can ask, he laughs. “Hello there! Welcome!... What?... Oh yes... Will do.” Is he talking to her? He can’t be.
His face falls. “Must you?... Really?... Yes. Yes, of course.... Well of course if you must.... Do say hello to everyone, won’t you? I mean, everyone that you can? Limitations understood... Good.... Fine...”
He pauses. Listens. “Absolutely.... I’ll be there.... Promise....” He crosses his heart, once on the left, then on the right. “...And hope to die -- well, not really die, it’s a human expression I’ve picked up.... Yes.... Yes?... Oh that’s brilliant. Thank you!”
The Doctor turns to her, all business as usual as though he hasn’t just had a conversation with thin air. “Well, c’mon, Jones. We haven’t got all day!”
Communication from the great...? Oh. Her. (Didn’t he say he couldn’t communicate with Her directly?)
Martha gets to her feet. Obediently rolls. Moves her wormhole. “What does Rose say?”
The Doctor rubs the back of his neck, babbling to himself under his breath. She can’t make half of it out, but it’s something about “changes everything.”
She pitches her voice to carry. “Doctor?” He actually looks at her. “What does Rose say? Is she all right?”
“Yes,” he says. “She’s all right. They’re both all right. Better than all right. I hadn’t counted on this.” He hugs her fiercely. Holds her by her upper arms. “This is important, Martha. I need you. Your help. Your courage. Your intelligence. Your ability to cope. Your perceptive nature. I have to survive long enough to find them.”
“Them?” He’s making even less sense than ever. “I thought it was just Rose.”
“So did I!” The overgrown kid is back, but with a more driven edge to that grin. “But like I told you, Rose changes things. She changes everything.” He looks at the Mousetrap cube, clicks his fingers to reset it, and looks back at her. “Would you be my partner, Martha?”
“Your partner?” He’s not going to start dancing again? (Check that. Dancing with him was fun. Here’s hoping he starts dancing again.)
“Lab partner,” he says, smiling. “Help me figure out this puzzle once and for all so I can find the one thing in the multiverse worth living for.”
“Rose?” (Of course Rose. She shouldn’t even bother asking.)
He looks like the thought hadn’t occurred to him. “Well, her too.”
The Doctor forgot Rose? Now she’s almost afraid to ask. “Then who?”
He gives the sweetest and most genuine smile she’s yet had the good fortune to see. “My daughter.”
Link to All Previous Chapters
Author: Love! Slash! Angst!
loveslashangst Characters: Ten, Martha Jones, Rose Tyler (implied)
Rated: R for some EXTREMELY suggestive banter and at least one scene that's not ready for primetime, though this is not -- strictly speaking -- a Ten/Martha fic
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, because if I did, there might be real science in Dr. Who instead of just the usual pseudo-science. (
ophymirage adds: But Stephen Moffatt's welcome to steal the Universal Model Map any time. Because I want to see that on screen, dammit...) Spoilers: AU, Sequel (kinda) to The Lady in the Fireplace.
Summary: Ten makes a decent proposal. Martha takes him up on it. Hilarity and adult-themed hijinks ensue. Not exactly a Martha/Ten, but more my love letter to her, hoping she finds what she's REALLY looking for.
Gamma's Note: Yet more apologies are due to you for the lateness of this installment. While Dickens Faire is over for the year (and went BRILLIANTLY), holidays and Real Life Worries (tm) have been plaguing me to distraction.
Author's Note:
In which Ten finds something worth living for and Martha finally gets to dance with the Doctor. (No, it’s STILL not what you think.) But it will be the end... at least for now.
(And for hints about what Rose is actually up to, read this in conjunction with “Fifty Things Rose Tyler Learned after Being Trapped in a Parallel Universe.”)
Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and everyone who will read and review. You make this worthwhile. I’m pleasantly surprised at how much love this piece has gotten. :D
WARNING: There is no sex in this nor the subsequent chapter, but there is excessively geeky quantum physics and Martha/Ten cuteness. If you’re allergic to either, PLEASE STOP READING NOW.
The Doctor nods. “I knew you were clever, Martha Jones.” He winks at her. “I just didn’t figure it’d take you six hours, fifteen minutes and twenty nine seconds to suss out the real reason I brought you here.”
My God, he’s a genius. Totally brilliant. “You’re gambling that you can figure a way to cheat your way onto another board. Another universe.”
The Doctor rolls the dice. Adjusts a wormhole above alpha board. Nods, first in satisfaction and then in answer to her assertion. “I lied when I told you this room had all the secrets of the universe.”
She gets it. She really gets it. “It has all the secrets of the multiverse.”
That earns her a real grin. “That’s my girl.” He nods at the cube. “This is not so much of a model as a sketch. A way for me to begin to figure out the rules of the game. The bigger picture, if you like.”
“But aren’t you like a million years old?” Surely a man as smart as he is figured out the rules ages ago.
“Nine hundred, thank you very much.” His voice squeaks when he’s huffy. She smirks. (And it’s comforting to know someone like him has something resembling human emotions.) “And to answer the question you almost asked,” he says, “I used to know the rules. I used to live by the rules. Once upon a time, I was intimately familiar with which ones I could bend and which ones I could break.”
She gets up. Snatches the screwdriver. Rolls the dice. Moves her wormhole. “So what happened?”
“A war.” He folds his arms, grim.
Martha’s ball only sets off the traps on three sides before it misses again. She clicks her fingers to reset the traps and hands him the screwdriver. (She at least is still playing by the rules.) “And Rose?”
“Yes,” he says. “Rose changed everything.” He rolls the dice. Repositions a wormhole, musing. “Things are changing, Martha. She’s changing. I’m changing. See, that’s what we do. I escape. She changes things. What that means for this little game still remains to be seen because I’ve never had less of a sense of how things are meant to be.” He fidgets with the screwdriver. “But I have to figure out how to get her back before it all begins to unravel.”
He knocks on the cube, which resonates with a weird hollow ring. “This game is built on a solid base. Rose and I were separated by punching holes in things that weren’t designed to have holes punched in them.” He blows on the ball for luck. Tosses it into a wormhole on the far side of the cube. “Plus she’s a bit of a wild card because the universe she’s in knows she doesn’t belong there. She sounds wrong to it.”
That actually makes sense. “Like having one voice in the choir that insists on singing a different song from everyone else?” Martha says.
“Quite right.” His eyebrows go up the way they only do when he’s impressed. “Very good. That’s very good indeed. Can see why I love you for your mind.” He winks. His wormhole spits out a ball that causes a reaction that sets off traps on five boards before eating the ball.
Martha swears for him. “Gone?”
He nods. “Well lost, that one.” He clicks his fingers. The traps reset.
“Where is it this time?” After the initial annoyance, losing a ball can be even more entertaining than having one reappear. She’s become fond of imagining where it might’ve got to.
The Doctor pulls a face. “Best not to ask. Even if we retrieved it, you wouldn’t want to touch it afterward.”
Martha decides ignorance is bliss.
The Doctor does some really bad sleight of hand and makes a ball “appear” by taking a new one out of his pocket.
Unless she’s miscounted, that’s at least the fifteenth ball he’s conjured. Either he has them rigged to return or... “How many have you got in there?”
“As many as I need.” He indicates the pocket. “Bigger on the inside.”
(He certainly is.)
And just then, he stops moving. His jaw drops. Mouth works without words. She hasn’t seen him look this surprised since...
(Well, actually, since last night.) But judging by the radiant smile that breaks over his face, this surprise is a welcome one.
“Doctor--?”
“Shh shh shh shh shh!” He waves a hand for her to be silent. She shuts up, curious. Looks around. Nothing seems out of place.
The Doctor begins to hum. Hums louder, nodding. Finally, he bursts into song. “She wouldn’t dance with another... when I saw her standing there!”
Yup. He’s completely mental.
“Well, my heart went ‘boom’.” He grabs her hand. (And he’s SINGING! Since when does the Doctor SING?) “When I crossed that room.” He pulls her into his arms. “And I held her hand in mine...” He begins an impromptu swing-dance. (And he’s fast on his feet and nimble. And tuneful. Bastard can DANCE too? She really is cursed. If she didn’t know Rose half so well...)
“What the hell?” she says. But he’s too good for her to want to stop.
“Whoah, we danced through the night.” He spins her outward. “And we held each other tight.” He spins her in. (Ohhhhhhhh to be this close to him.) “And before too long I fell in love with her.” He dips her. “Now, She wouldn't dance with another.”
(Too right!) “What are you--”
He moves with her across the floor. “When I saw her standing there!” He spins her hard enough that she collapses into the rocking chair. It nearly upends. She shrieks. Balances it back to sane.
“Doctor?” she manages. That was entirely too fun.
Beaming, he offers her a hand up. “Message from the great beyond.” He gives her a firm kiss on forehead. (Oh, the press of those lips is as lovely as ever.) “And I believe it was your turn.” He offers up sonic screwdriver.
Her turn. He’s voluntarily missing a chance to cheat? Now she knows something major has happened. “Are you all right, Doctor?”
“Yes? ... Yes?... YES! Of course I hear you! Hello!” He looks like he might leap and click his heels together at any moment.
Before she can ask, he laughs. “Hello there! Welcome!... What?... Oh yes... Will do.” Is he talking to her? He can’t be.
His face falls. “Must you?... Really?... Yes. Yes, of course.... Well of course if you must.... Do say hello to everyone, won’t you? I mean, everyone that you can? Limitations understood... Good.... Fine...”
He pauses. Listens. “Absolutely.... I’ll be there.... Promise....” He crosses his heart, once on the left, then on the right. “...And hope to die -- well, not really die, it’s a human expression I’ve picked up.... Yes.... Yes?... Oh that’s brilliant. Thank you!”
The Doctor turns to her, all business as usual as though he hasn’t just had a conversation with thin air. “Well, c’mon, Jones. We haven’t got all day!”
Communication from the great...? Oh. Her. (Didn’t he say he couldn’t communicate with Her directly?)
Martha gets to her feet. Obediently rolls. Moves her wormhole. “What does Rose say?”
The Doctor rubs the back of his neck, babbling to himself under his breath. She can’t make half of it out, but it’s something about “changes everything.”
She pitches her voice to carry. “Doctor?” He actually looks at her. “What does Rose say? Is she all right?”
“Yes,” he says. “She’s all right. They’re both all right. Better than all right. I hadn’t counted on this.” He hugs her fiercely. Holds her by her upper arms. “This is important, Martha. I need you. Your help. Your courage. Your intelligence. Your ability to cope. Your perceptive nature. I have to survive long enough to find them.”
“Them?” He’s making even less sense than ever. “I thought it was just Rose.”
“So did I!” The overgrown kid is back, but with a more driven edge to that grin. “But like I told you, Rose changes things. She changes everything.” He looks at the Mousetrap cube, clicks his fingers to reset it, and looks back at her. “Would you be my partner, Martha?”
“Your partner?” He’s not going to start dancing again? (Check that. Dancing with him was fun. Here’s hoping he starts dancing again.)
“Lab partner,” he says, smiling. “Help me figure out this puzzle once and for all so I can find the one thing in the multiverse worth living for.”
“Rose?” (Of course Rose. She shouldn’t even bother asking.)
He looks like the thought hadn’t occurred to him. “Well, her too.”
The Doctor forgot Rose? Now she’s almost afraid to ask. “Then who?”
He gives the sweetest and most genuine smile she’s yet had the good fortune to see. “My daughter.”
Link to All Previous Chapters
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