mw: backdated who ten & martha what bringing him some news where the TARDIS when few weeks back--when she'd decided to move out warnings just a sad panda doctor, really!
This might be a difficult conversation, but Martha was determined to make it as easy and positive as possible. She went looking for the Doctor, and smiled at him when she found him, tinkering around with the TARDIS’ controls. She couldn’t have pretended to know what he was doing, but it was a familiar and reassuring sight.
She approached him, but stopped before she got too close, to give him a moment to untangle himself before she went in for a hug. “How’s the tinkering coming?” she asked, curiously. “Any progress?”
--
It was the place he felt most at ease. Some part of him liked to even believe that if he spent enough time there, he’d be safe from being drawn back to his own universe; he wanted no part of that. Going back after all the things he had gotten experience in Mount Weather--well, it would happen one day, he just wanted to make his time last there as long as possible.
His future was, by his own standards, rather bleak.
With a flashlight in his mouth and a cable slung over his shoulder, he was just popping up from being half-buried in a panel of the main console. He’d been trying to find a way to use the TARDIS as a monitor for when people disappeared, but there were still pieces he needed to find around the ship before that would be a complete success.
Shrugging the cable off, he spit the torch into his hand and stowed it in a pocket. Greeting his friend with a bright, unassuming smile, he gave a lighthearted shrug. “Oh, it’s a tortoise’s race for certain, but that’s promising, isn’t it? Hello, Martha Jones!” He held his arms open for her and wriggled his fingers in a coaxing fashion. “Where’s that hug I was promised?”
--
Martha didn’t leave him waiting. She stepped into his arms and wrapped hers around him as well, tucking her chin right over his shoulder. Still smiling, she closed her eyes. There was a very large part of her that loved having the Doctor back in her life, but the other part… well, it was better if she was around him in small doses. Standing too close to the fire meant that she risked getting burned again.
“The tortoise did win the race,” she said, as she squeezed him tightly. “As I remember.”
She let him go, and took a small step back. “I’ve every faith that you’ll manage it, Doctor, and if there’s anything you can do to help, you can let me know. But -- what I wanted to tell you was that, as much as I love the TARDIS, I think I need to go back to the rest of the bunker. If I’m going to be here a while - and it seems like I will be - I should make a life outside of… all this. The way I did before.”
--
Contrary to his former companion, the Doctor was intent on keeping them all close. He’d been on his own for so long, forced himself into solitude because of the mistake he’d made and losses incurred, so having them around again meant the world to him. He’d felt lighter in Mount Weather than he had in a long time despite not being able to fly away in his TARDIS at the drop of the hat. He’d always have the burning need to flee, especially given the shifts in the relationships he’d made, but that was his nature.
“Exacta---oh, no,” he cut himself with a pronounced frown. “Almost said a word I’d said I’d never say again! Exactly. Precisely! Should’ve taken you back to meet Aesop, fabulous fabulist, hell of a gob!”
When she stepped away and pelted him with disconcerting news, the Doctor’s smile slowly faded. His hands wove their way into his pockets and his stance became slightly more tense. Uncertain of what to make of it, he bowed his head in contemplation. He remembered her decision to leave the TARDIS, but more than that--he remembered the life she paved thereafter. She had thrived without him. People were better away from him.
That was why he’d chosen to be alone, after all.
“Ah,” the Doctor said quietly, head nodding despite not wanting to understand. “Of course, yes. That’s important.”
--
Martha couldn’t help but smile when he started rambling about taking her on more adventures. She loved him, she really did - not romantically, anymore, but all the same. And there was still a part of her that wanted to go on those exact adventures, that wanted to fall right back into the excitement of this life. It was especially hard when he looked so upset, even though she wasn’t leaving him all on his own this time.
He did care about her, and she cared about him. They just didn’t quite fit back together again the way they once had, even though both of them might want that. Which meant she had to be the one to say no - but, she could try not to break his heart too much more while she was at it.
“You’re not getting rid of me quite that easily this time,” she informed him, playfully poking a finger at his chest. “You’re still the best shot of figuring out how this whole universe works. And seeing all of it, while I’m here. You’d better tell me when you’re going to run off and save this world, alright? I might want to come with you.”
--
“Might,” he echoed with a halfhearted smile. His days of traveling with Martha were far behind them and they both knew it. She was right to sever her close ties to him, in a manner of speaking. The Doctor knew he was toxic despite possessing good intentions. She’d walked the Earth for him, it was only right that she got to live on it on her terms.
“Might not, either way--you’ll always be welcome,” he added, smile brightening slightly. “Never did want to be rid of you, Martha Jones, so I’m glad you’ll still be about. Ah, so. That all, then? Come for a hug and say you’re moving out? I’m feeling a bit used! Think I’ll need one more hug for the road, if you don’t mind!”
--
“I’d say there’s a good chance,” Martha told him, smiling. “I’m here, aren’t I? Might as well do something about it.”
She stepped in and hugged him again, tightly, and she left it up to him to pull away when he’d gotten enough. It felt good to have this conversation over, out of the way. They could go back to the way they’d been before, with some distance, but a lot of affection between them nevertheless. “Always got a hug for you, Doctor.”