The Gallifreyan Festival of Lights
Title: The Gallifreyan Festival of Lights
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Ten/Martha, TARDIS
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: S3 up to Gridlock
Summary: Martha learns more than she expected to about Gallifrey
Disclaimer: The BBC owns "Doctor Who" and the Doctor owns me.
Author Notes: This is my contribution to the lifeonmartha Holiday ficathon - using my own holiday prompt: The Gallifreyan Festival of Lights (because an idea for the fic came into my head with the prompt) and the "object" prompt "Sun".
A while ago cesario wrote a piece of Martha meta Ten Things That Are Almost Absolutely True About Martha Jones, and One Thing That's True About the Doctor and she included two items about Martha, the TARDIS and the Doctor's monologue about Gallifrey in "Gridlock". In the comments to it shadowturquoise said she would like to see those items included in a fic and I realised they'd fit perfectly with the overall idea I had for this story - so I asked cesario's permission to use them - and this fic is the result. This fic is dedicated to cesario and shadowturquoise to wish them both a Happy Holiday.
Edited to add - the icon on this post was made for me by shadowturquoise - which is just lovely !
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Martha curled up in her bed, sleepy and warm, and lay thinking about what an extraordinary day it had been, even for someone new to travelling in Time and Space. Arriving on New Earth in the rain then being taken hostage at gunpoint; getting stuck on the motorway; and nearly being killed by giant crabs, or Macra as the Doctor had told her they were called; meeting cat-people and a giant head in a jar; then, finally, sitting in a cold, dingy alleyway, listening for all she was worth as the Doctor talked of Gallifrey, his beautiful lost homeworld, the Daleks and the Time War.
She had realised early on in his monologue that he wasn't talking to her so much as remembering aloud, but that was OK - she could sense his need to talk, to remember, so she'd nodded and asked the occasional question to let him know she was listening, to remind him that she was still there, almost as if she was giving him permission to keep talking.
He'd talked for hours - through the twilight and on into the darkness, and when he'd finally fallen silent, she'd reached out and taken his hands in hers. "Thank you for telling me," she said, looking at him closely, and seeing that he was looking lighter somehow, despite his emotional exhaustion.
"Thank you for listening," he said, meaning it. "Come on, let's go back to the TARDIS and get warmed up." He stood up and pulled her to her feet, then into a hug, wrapping his coat and his arms around her. "You must be half frozen," he observed.
"Now you mention it," she answered with a little shiver as she realised that she hadn't noticed that before.
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "TARDIS," he said. "Hot drink, hot shower or bath, then sleep. Doctor's orders," he told her with a half smile.
"Very well." She smiled back and allowed him to pull away; she wasn't very surprised when he slid his hand into hers and held it tightly all the way back to the TARDIS.
"If you wouldn't mind putting the kettle on, I'll get us into the Vortex," he said once they were inside.
She nodded. "Tea?" She knew he preferred it to coffee.
"Please. Thank you." He smiled warmly at her before turning his attention to the console.
Martha went off to the kitchen and filled the kettle, then got out two mugs, preparing hot chocolate for herself. The Doctor wandered in just as the kettle finished boiling and rooted around in a cupboard for a moment before emerging with a tin of biscuits. They soon settled themselves at the table, cold hands wrapped around their hot mugs for a few moments before the Doctor opened the biscuits.
"Help yourself," he said.
"Thanks." Martha didn't comment on the fact that the tin contained a variety of chocolate biscuits - somehow he seemed the type to prefer chocolate ones.
They sat in companionable silence over their drinks. Martha suspected the Doctor was feeling drained; she was feeling tired too, but simultaneously she felt as if her brain was about to overflow with all the new information and impressions she'd received today.
The Doctor watched his Companion with curiosity; she had her eyes half closed, but he was sure it wasn't just that she was tired - he sensed a buzz of energy about her, overlying her exhaustion. He suddenly found himself wishing he could take her to see Gallifrey - he was sure she'd appreciate it.
"Let me show you to a room," he said, breaking the silence at last.
"Thank you."
He led her out of the kitchen and down the corridor towards the Control Room, passing several doors along the way. "This one." He opened a door that looked no different to any of the others, and stepped aside with an 'after you' gesture to Martha.
She stepped inside, the Doctor following, and the lights brightened automatically revealing a room decorated in shades of blue and gold. There was a desk against one wall with several full bookshelves above it. Opposite the desk was a dressing table with a stool in front, whilst facing the door and near to the desk was a large double bed. On top of the midnight blue duvet, at the foot of the bed, was a neat pile of blankets, whilst a number of pillows and cushions were piled near the head.
"The en-suite's through there," the Doctor said, pointing to a discreet door in the corner down from the bed.
"Thank you." Martha gave his arm a quick squeeze, then walked into the middle of the room and turned in a circle. "Thank you," she said again, looking up at the ceiling, and smiling in pleasure when the TARDIS hummed back at her.
The Doctor was startled that she thanked his ship, but hid it behind a half smile. "Sleep well."
"You too," she answered with a warm smile. He nodded and went out, leaving Martha to pull off her jacket and boots. She padded over to the bathroom door in her socks and looked in to see a deep bath, a separate walk-in shower, plus a toilet and hand basin. There was a cupboard above the hand basin and she opened it curiously to find it filled with shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, etc., all in her favourite brands.
"Wow!" she said softly, amazed. "Thank you." She patted the wall beside the door as she went back into the bedroom. Lying on the bed was a thick, pale blue bathrobe, a pair of thick cotton pyjamas, and a pile of towels; on the floor was a pair of slippers to match the bathrobe. Martha laughed aloud in pure joy. "I think I love you!" She laughed again when the TARDIS' hum increased, sounding like a giant purring cat. She stripped quickly and slipped on the bathrobe and slippers, before grabbing the towels and heading for a shower.
As she fell asleep her last thought was that despite all she'd seen that day, the TARDIS was still the most amazing of them all.
Martha woke several hours later after a night filled with dreams of Gallifrey, its twin suns blazing high in the red sky, or the copper-coloured moon brightening the night sky, and the silver-leaved trees shining in the sunlight. She'd dreamed of several things that the Doctor had not mentioned, but she put them down to her over-active imagination and a love of science fiction stories.
She stretched and rolled onto her back, then started at the quiet knock on her door. "Come in."
The door opened and the Doctor came in carrying a covered, heavily laden tray. "Breakfast, Miss Jones," he announced.
She stared. His tie was half undone and his hair looked, if possible, even wilder than ever. He put the tray down on her desk, and she pulled herself up into a sitting position before he passed her a bowl of branflakes topped with banana slices and yoghurt. "Thank you," she stammered. She hadn't been expecting breakfast in bed, and how did he know her breakfast preferences anyway?
"How did you sleep?" asked the Doctor, perching on the edge of her bed by her knees.
"Very well, thank you." She watched as he pulled a banana from his jacket pocket and began peeling it.
"Good." He noticed her watching him. "Eat up," he said, before taking an obscenely big bite of the banana.
"How did you know what I liked for breakfast?" she asked curiously, before starting on her cereal.
"I didn't," he answered. "The TARDIS told me."
Her eyes widened and she swallowed her mouthful, then reached out to pat the wall beside her. "Thank you," she said quietly. She went back to her breakfast, missing the look that crossed the Doctor's face: he was amazed at how easily she'd accepted his ship's sentience, and the way she acknowledged the things the TARDIS did for her. And it was abundantly clear to him that the TARDIS liked Martha. He'd woken after a couple of hours of sleep filled with dreams of taking Martha to see Gallifrey, only to find his ship purring her name at him. And it had been the TARDIS who'd nudged him into preparing breakfast for Martha, letting the Time Lord know when his Companion was coming to the end of her sleep cycle, as well as letting him know what to prepare for her. He'd talked to his ship as he'd got Martha's breakfast ready, teasing her that he'd start to get jealous if she paid too much attention to Martha, and that had earned him the telepathic equivalent of a clip round the ear, so he'd apologise profusely, wondering just what was going on.
Now the TARDIS gave him a mental nudge and he realised he'd been staring off into the distance for several minutes. He looked at Martha and saw she was looking at him in concern.
"Are you OK?" she asked. "Only I spoke to you twice."
"I'm sorry. I got lost in my thoughts."
She nodded her understanding as he took her empty bowl from her and swapped it for the covered plate. He uncovered it and she grinned. "I like your ship, Mr Smith," she said accepting the plate of scrambled eggs on toast, accompanied by crispy bacon and fat sausages.
He grinned back. "She's definitely taken a shine to you," he said, resuming his seat and starting on another banana.
"I usually don't have a big breakfast like this except on my days off," she told him before beginning to eat.
"Well I can't promise you this every day," he said, "but I'll see what I can do." He finished his banana and flipped the skin onto the tray, his long arms making nothing of the distance.
"Show off," she teased, then squeaked indignantly when he swiped a piece of sausage from her plate. "Oi! Get your own," she said, moving the plate out of his immediate reach.
"Aw c'mon Martha, just one little bit of bacon?" He gave her his best begging look, reminding her of a puppy.
"How old are you?" she asked, still holding the plate out of reach, then giggling when he pouted like a thwarted toddler. "Four, I think," she asserted. He stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled again. "You're just convincing me I'm right," she told him.
He promptly folded his arms across his chest and attempted to look dignified and serious. Martha relented and offered him a piece of bacon, which he accepted with a wide grin. "Thank you Miss Jones." He munched the bacon and she concentrated on finishing her breakfast. "Now, before we can go anywhere else, I'm going to have to sort out a power drain in the TARDIS' systems that seems to have developed overnight. You're welcome to come and sit in the Control Room with me, but that might get a little dull soooo - " he drew the word out lovingly, "I thought I'd show you the library."
"The library?" asked Martha, looking excited as the Doctor took away her empty plate and handed her a mug with a blue lid, before picking up a similar mug with a green lid. She removed the lid and found the mug full of delicious smelling coffee that was just the right temperature.
He nodded as he swallowed a mouthful of tea. "I've got every book ever published on Earth, plus a vast number of books from across the galaxy."
"Brilliant!" she exclaimed, making him grin.
He slid off the bed and put his mug on the tray. "I'll leave you to get dressed then," he said. "Come and find me in the Control Room when you're ready."
"OK." She gave him her mug and he went out with the tray, and Martha quickly got washed and dressed before heading to the Control Room. She had worried she might get lost, but found the TARDIS guided her with a little mental nudge when she reached a junction in the corridors and wasn't sure which way to go.
She found the Doctor in his shirt-sleeves, tie off and glasses on, peering at the console monitor. He glanced up as she walked in and smiled warmly. "Alright then?"
"Yes thanks." She crossed to look at the monitor, intrigued by the symbols she could see on the screen.
"That's Gallifreyan," he told her, sliding an arm around her.
"It looks very different to any Earth language I've seen," she commented.
"That's because it's got a mathematical basis." She nodded. "Right, let me show you to the library." He pulled off and pocketed his glasses, then offered her his arm and she grinned before slipping her arm through it, feeling the same kind of excitement that she'd felt when he'd invited her to go and see Shakespeare perform.
The library was huge: like a Gothic cathedral but full of books - bookcase after bookcase stretched away into the distance and Martha stood and stared, mouth open and eyes wide until she remembered herself. "Wow! That is - wow!" She turned and hugged the Doctor tight, making him laugh with delight.
"So you don't mind hanging out here whilst I work on the TARDIS?" he asked.
She laughed. "Are you joking? You'll probably have to dig me out with a pickaxe when you're ready to travel again."
"Well if you want a change of scenery, feel free to bring some books to the Control Room with you. Otherwise I'll see you later."
"OK." Martha was only half listening, she was so entranced by the sight of so many books.
The Doctor chuckled quietly, kissed her forehead and left her to it whilst he went back to the Control Room to see if he could sort out what was causing the massive power drain in the TARDIS' systems.
Martha didn't know where to start, with so many books to choose from, but as she wandered, browsing a shelf here and there, she became aware of the TARDIS guiding her in a specific direction, just as she had when Martha had been heading to the Control Room earlier. She followed the nudges to find herself facing a large collection of leather-bound volumes and when she moved closer she saw that the books were marked on their spines with similar symbols to those she'd seen on the console monitor earlier.
"Books from Gallifrey?" she asked aloud and received a positive hum back from the TARDIS. She pulled one from the shelf and opened it: the symbols seemed to swirl before her eyes, then resolved into English and she read Fairytales for Young Gallifreyans on the title page. She smiled, then took the book over to a nearby leather sofa where she settled down to read.
Martha spent an enjoyable day in the TARDIS library, only re-emerging to eat when the Doctor fetched her. By the time he turned up to remind her to get some sleep, she'd dipped in and out of half a dozen different books.
The Doctor was slightly disappointed that Martha hadn't taken up his suggestion to bring some books into the Control Room to keep him company, but he told himself he was being silly as he watched her for a moment, as she sat feet up and curled into a corner of the sofa, engrossed in a book. He sat down by her feet and peered over the top of the book at her. "Time for you to get some sleep," he suggested.
She yawned discreetly, then stretched, reminding him of a cat. "OK."
"I hope you haven't been bored in here by yourself," he said, getting up and offering her his hand.
"Not a bit, it's been interesting," she assured him.
"Good."
He seemed nonchalant but Martha wasn't fooled; she understood that he'd hoped for her company whilst he worked, and she resolved that he would have it the next day if he still hadn't fixed the TARDIS. "Did you get the power drain sorted out?" she asked, sliding her arms around him.
For a moment he was distracted by her hug, glad of her touch. "No, not yet. I don't know what's wrong with the old girl and she's not telling me."
"You'll fix it," she said confidently.
"Mm-hmm." Martha had tucked herself against his body so that his chin rested on the top of her head and he was savouring the feeling. He thought of what the Face of Boe had said about him not being alone, and his dismissal of Martha's reminder that he had her. He really shouldn't have been so dismissive; whilst Boe might have been referring to other Time Lords, the truth was that he wasn't alone whilst he had Companions to travel with.
"Are you OK?" she asked, concern in her face and voice as she pulled away a little to look up into his shadowed face.
"Yes, sorry, just thinking." He looked down into her dark eyes, then bent his head and kissed the tip of her nose. "Bed," he said, sliding an arm around her shoulders. He guided her to her room, even though she was quite capable of making her own way there. At her door she stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek with a murmured goodnight, before she went inside.
The Doctor went back to the library to see which books Martha had been reading; he'd suspected that she'd been reading up on Gallifrey from the section he'd found her in. When he reached the sofa she had been using, there was a neat pile of books there and he knew the TARDIS had put them there to satisfy his curiosity about his Companion's reading material. He looked through the titles as he returned them to their shelves, then went to bed in a thoughtful mood.
Martha slept deeply, dreaming again of Gallifrey. To her surprise the dreams were the same as the night before, but they were even more detailed this time and she was certain that the boy she saw was the Doctor. She watched him in her dream as he lay on a hillside watching a meteor shower with an older male she presumed was his father. She woke shortly afterwards and immediately noticed the TARDIS' hum was coiling through her room and her head like a great purring cat and she allowed the sound to lull her back to sleep again.
Martha felt slightly guilty when she awoke the following morning because she had taken so little notice of the meteor shower, which was something she'd never seen before, but she'd been too busy watching the boy to have eyes for anything else. He'd seemed like a lively lad, from his chatter, and he appeared to be possessed of the same manic energy as the adult she knew. She felt quite sorry for his mother, as she was quite sure the Doctor would have worn the poor woman out.
The Doctor brought her breakfast again and she offered him pieces of bacon and sausage unprompted, which he accepted without question, though he wondered why. After she'd finished eating, he left her to get dressed, first checking that she was confident of finding her way back to the library. "I'll see you lunchtime," he said.
"OK." She had already decided, however, that she would join him in the Control Room and give him her company.
She easily made her way back to the library and went straight to the same section as before. Standing in front of the shelves, she asked the TARDIS: "Will you choose some for me please?" She began to walk her fingers down the shelf and felt a mental nudge from the TARDIS, so pulled the book out. She continued down the shelf until she had three volumes tucked under her arm. "Thank you." She patted the bookcase before she walked away.
The Doctor was surprised but secretly pleased when Martha walked into the Control Room a little while later with three books in her arms. He grinned at her as she put the books on the Captain's chair, then crossed to where he stood by the console.
"Hello. I wasn't expecting to see you," he said as she peered at the monitor over which he'd been poring.
"I thought some company would be nice," she answered, automatically sliding her arms around his waist in a hug.
"Your company is very nice," he assured her as he returned her hug, inhaling the scent of her shower gel and shampoo, both of them fruit-based.
She was taking note of his scent too: tea, honey, bananas and something unidentifiable that reminded her of the TARDIS and which she mentally labelled 'Time Lord'. "Are you any closer to identifying what's causing the power drain?" she asked, turning in his arms to look down at the screen, her back against his chest.
"Not yet," he answered.
"Is there something in the Vortex that's draining the power?"
"Nope. I checked that first, although it wasn't a very likely prospect."
"Well, I'll leave you to your investigations, then." She moved away from the Doctor, who tried to ignore his feeling of reluctance at letting her go, and settled down with the books. The Doctor knelt on the floor and used his Sonic Screwdriver to lift up a section of the metal grating, then slipped the Sonic back into his pocket before letting himself down into the hole.
He spent nearly half the morning in the space under the floor, and the rest peering at the monitor on the console. He talked to Martha about what he was doing, but she only understood about half of what he was telling her, and she had a sneaking suspicion he was really just thinking aloud. She didn't mind, though, he was still company.
Over lunch she asked him about some of the things she'd learnt from her reading and he talked animatedly. Then she told him about her dreams; she'd given it some thought during the morning, feeling uncertain how he'd feel about it. He looked shocked when she told him about seeing the small boy watching a meteor shower and closed his eyes.
What did you do that for? he asked the TARDIS, pain lancing his hearts. You shouldn't be showing her those things. He became aware of a pair of arms around his neck and tears on his cheeks; opening his eyes, he found Martha hugging him and made an effort to check his tears as he pushed back his chair so that he could hug her properly.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't - "
"Shh. It's not your fault," he said quickly. "I didn't know the TARDIS had been influencing your dreams. It's not something she often does." He felt the TARDIS nudging at his mind and frowned, trying to work out what she was telling him. "I think she wants to show us something," he said.
Martha let go of him and stood up. "OK."
"We'll wash up later," he said, taking her hand. He led her out of the kitchen then followed the TARDIS' lead through the corridors.
"Where are we going?" asked Martha.
"I don't know exactly," he answered. "The TARDIS is telling me which corridors and turnings to take." He glanced down at her face and saw curiosity and excitement in her eyes, and was reminded yet again of why he'd invited Martha to travel with him. He'd been thinking that he ought to offer her the chance to go home once the TARDIS was fit to travel, and he would, but he hoped that she would still want to continue travelling with him.
The TARDIS indicated they'd reached her destination and he glanced up to see a door in front of them: it was decorated with a silver-leaved tree. He looked at Martha again and saw her eyes were shining and her lips half-parted in a smile of pure pleasure, and knew that she understood the significance of the decoration on the door. He reached out with the hand that still clasped hers and pushed down on the handle. The door swung inwards and they stepped inside together to find themselves standing on a hillside overlooking a valley. In the distance stood the Citadel, enclosed in a transparent dome, and overhead the night sky was littered with stars and brightened by a copper-coloured moon.
Martha turned and hugged the Doctor tightly. "Thank you," she said. "It's beautiful."
He hugged her back. "Thank the TARDIS," he told her. "This explains the power drain. She's diverted power here to recreate a part of Gallifrey." He felt as if his hearts would burst with joy, gratitude and awe at what his ship had done.
He led Martha across the red grass and she sat in front of him, her back to his chest, and their legs stretched out in front of them, then he put his left arm around her middle. He pointed across the valley to a spot above the Citadel. "Look," he said. She looked where he pointed and saw a meteor shower beginning to dance across the sky.
"This is known as the Gallifreyan Festival of Lights," he told her, his breath tickling her ear as he spoke. "Every few years a large comet passes through the orbit of Gallifrey's suns and then we see this meteor shower. It's equivalent to Earth's Leonids, which happens roughly once every thirty-three years, when Earth observers will see hundreds of thousands of meteors per hour. Our meteor shower is called the Kasterboran Shower, because Gallifrey was in the constellation of Kasterborous, about 250 million years from Earth."
The Doctor wrapped his free arm around Martha's waist and she immediately wrapped her own arms over his, leaning back into his chest. She felt safe and comfortable here with him, and wished they might stay here for some time. It pained her that something so beautiful as Gallifrey should have been destroyed.
"Whenever the Kasterboran shower arrived, everyone would spend time with their families or friends. We would have a feast and give each other a small gift - a bit like some of Earth's religious festivals, although there's no religious basis to our Festival."
"You must miss it very much," Martha said quietly, her eyes fixed on the lights streaming faster and faster across the sky above the Citadel, the dome of which was ablaze with their reflections.
"I do, when I remember. I try not to remember too often. It hurts too much otherwise."
She half turned in his arms and kissed his cheek, tasting his tears. "I'm sorry," she said simply.
"I know. Watch the lights, we can talk afterwards."
She turned back again and the Doctor closed his eyes, swallowing hard. Martha had so much compassion and he hoped life would never treat her so harshly that she lost that compassion for others, because it would help her to be a brilliant doctor.
Four hours later, after a fantastic light show, they headed back to the kitchen to wash up their lunch things. "I need to go and check all the systems are working properly again, then we can think about going somewhere."
"OK." Martha waited for him to disappear, then put her hand on the TARDIS' wall. "How about we make him a small feast?" she asked and received a positive hum back. "You keep him busy in the Control Room for a bit then." She giggled at the conspiratorial tone of the TARDIS' hum, then opened the cupboards and rapidly began pulling things out and assembling ingredients.
When the Doctor walked back down the corridor 45 minutes later, wondering where Martha had got to, he found his nose twitching appreciatively at the smells that were wafting his way and his stomach rumbled, surprising him. He walked into the kitchen and stopped on the threshold, surprised at the sight of the table laid with a snowy white cloth and fine china. There were also candlesticks with scented candles in them which he realised were contributing a Jasmine scent to the nasal bouquet.
"What's this?" he asked, looking at Martha, who had changed into a gold dress and shoes.
"This is your Festival feast," she said, smiling with pleasure at his obvious surprise as she crossed the kitchen to hug him.
"You didn't have to do this," he said, swallowing a lump of emotion as he returned her hug.
"I know. I wanted to, though." She took his hand and led him to a seat, then fetched the first dish.
"This smells lovely," he said. "What is it?"
"This is Firecracker Pork Fusilli," she answered. "I thought it was appropriate." She grinned as she served it up, and he grinned back.
"I like your style Miss Jones," he said before attacking his food with a will.
Martha wasn't surprised that he demolished it at an almost indecent pace: he always seem to eat as if he hadn't eaten for a month. She removed their empty plates, then placed two bowls on the table instead.
"This is Strawberry Margarita Sorbet," she informed him. "I hope alcohol isn't bad for you?"
He shook his head and licked his lips in anticipation. "Definitely not."
"Good. I thought something cold after the fiery hot pork would make a nice contrast."
"You could give that Jamie Oliver bloke a run for his money," he said before tucking into the ice cream dish. He grinned madly when Martha offered him seconds.
"You're not having more?" he asked when she sat back down.
"No. Some of us don't have your metabolism and have to be careful about how much ice cream we pig out on," she said.
"With all the running we do, I wouldn't have thought you needed to watch your weight," he observed. "Besides, curves suit you." He glanced up and saw a look of shock on her face.
"Thank you," she said faintly. She hadn't realised he'd been looking at her in that way. She ducked her head for a moment as she struggled with a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure at his compliment.
"I mean it," he said softly, putting a hand on her arm. "You're a beautiful woman Martha Jones, and I'd have to be blind not to have noticed that." She looked up and saw a wealth of affection in the smile he was giving her. He pushed his chair back from the table and tugged on her hand. "Come here."
She got up and wasn't very surprised when he pulled her down to sit in his lap, wrapping his arms around her middle. "You, Martha Jones, are a wonder and a marvel."
"Thank you. You're pretty marvellous yourself." He grinned. "I've got something else for you," she said and picked up something from the table. She held out her hand and he saw a small red and gold box on her palm.
"What's this?"
"You said your people gave each other gifts. I asked the TARDIS to make something for me to give you."
He took the box from her and holding it in his left hand, opened it with his right. Nestling in cotton wool was a silver tie pin shaped like a leaf and engraved with a sun. He looked up at her face, his eyes shining with joy, then dropped the box onto the table to cup her cheek in his free hand. She realised, a moment before it happened, that he was going to kiss her and closed her eyes as his cool lips met her warm ones.
"Thank you, Martha," he said softly when he pulled away. "I didn't prepare a gift for you, but there's something I would like to give you." She looked at him questioningly. "Me." He saw her eyes widen in surprise before he stood up, lifting her easily in his arms. "Is that OK?"
"Yes," she sighed.
He carried her out of the kitchen to her room and laid her gently, almost reverently, on her bed. He fixed the tie pin to the lapel of his jacket, then pulled his tie off. He bent down and pulled off Martha's shoes, then quickly removed his own shoes and jacket, before lying on the bed beside her.
The TARDIS dimmed the lights and her hum changed to a soft purr as the Doctor gave himself to Martha.
Author: Persiflage_1
Characters/Pairings: Ten/Martha, TARDIS
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: S3 up to Gridlock
Summary: Martha learns more than she expected to about Gallifrey
Disclaimer: The BBC owns "Doctor Who" and the Doctor owns me.
Author Notes: This is my contribution to the lifeonmartha Holiday ficathon - using my own holiday prompt: The Gallifreyan Festival of Lights (because an idea for the fic came into my head with the prompt) and the "object" prompt "Sun".
A while ago cesario wrote a piece of Martha meta Ten Things That Are Almost Absolutely True About Martha Jones, and One Thing That's True About the Doctor and she included two items about Martha, the TARDIS and the Doctor's monologue about Gallifrey in "Gridlock". In the comments to it shadowturquoise said she would like to see those items included in a fic and I realised they'd fit perfectly with the overall idea I had for this story - so I asked cesario's permission to use them - and this fic is the result. This fic is dedicated to cesario and shadowturquoise to wish them both a Happy Holiday.
Edited to add - the icon on this post was made for me by shadowturquoise - which is just lovely !
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Martha curled up in her bed, sleepy and warm, and lay thinking about what an extraordinary day it had been, even for someone new to travelling in Time and Space. Arriving on New Earth in the rain then being taken hostage at gunpoint; getting stuck on the motorway; and nearly being killed by giant crabs, or Macra as the Doctor had told her they were called; meeting cat-people and a giant head in a jar; then, finally, sitting in a cold, dingy alleyway, listening for all she was worth as the Doctor talked of Gallifrey, his beautiful lost homeworld, the Daleks and the Time War.
She had realised early on in his monologue that he wasn't talking to her so much as remembering aloud, but that was OK - she could sense his need to talk, to remember, so she'd nodded and asked the occasional question to let him know she was listening, to remind him that she was still there, almost as if she was giving him permission to keep talking.
He'd talked for hours - through the twilight and on into the darkness, and when he'd finally fallen silent, she'd reached out and taken his hands in hers. "Thank you for telling me," she said, looking at him closely, and seeing that he was looking lighter somehow, despite his emotional exhaustion.
"Thank you for listening," he said, meaning it. "Come on, let's go back to the TARDIS and get warmed up." He stood up and pulled her to her feet, then into a hug, wrapping his coat and his arms around her. "You must be half frozen," he observed.
"Now you mention it," she answered with a little shiver as she realised that she hadn't noticed that before.
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "TARDIS," he said. "Hot drink, hot shower or bath, then sleep. Doctor's orders," he told her with a half smile.
"Very well." She smiled back and allowed him to pull away; she wasn't very surprised when he slid his hand into hers and held it tightly all the way back to the TARDIS.
"If you wouldn't mind putting the kettle on, I'll get us into the Vortex," he said once they were inside.
She nodded. "Tea?" She knew he preferred it to coffee.
"Please. Thank you." He smiled warmly at her before turning his attention to the console.
Martha went off to the kitchen and filled the kettle, then got out two mugs, preparing hot chocolate for herself. The Doctor wandered in just as the kettle finished boiling and rooted around in a cupboard for a moment before emerging with a tin of biscuits. They soon settled themselves at the table, cold hands wrapped around their hot mugs for a few moments before the Doctor opened the biscuits.
"Help yourself," he said.
"Thanks." Martha didn't comment on the fact that the tin contained a variety of chocolate biscuits - somehow he seemed the type to prefer chocolate ones.
They sat in companionable silence over their drinks. Martha suspected the Doctor was feeling drained; she was feeling tired too, but simultaneously she felt as if her brain was about to overflow with all the new information and impressions she'd received today.
The Doctor watched his Companion with curiosity; she had her eyes half closed, but he was sure it wasn't just that she was tired - he sensed a buzz of energy about her, overlying her exhaustion. He suddenly found himself wishing he could take her to see Gallifrey - he was sure she'd appreciate it.
"Let me show you to a room," he said, breaking the silence at last.
"Thank you."
He led her out of the kitchen and down the corridor towards the Control Room, passing several doors along the way. "This one." He opened a door that looked no different to any of the others, and stepped aside with an 'after you' gesture to Martha.
She stepped inside, the Doctor following, and the lights brightened automatically revealing a room decorated in shades of blue and gold. There was a desk against one wall with several full bookshelves above it. Opposite the desk was a dressing table with a stool in front, whilst facing the door and near to the desk was a large double bed. On top of the midnight blue duvet, at the foot of the bed, was a neat pile of blankets, whilst a number of pillows and cushions were piled near the head.
"The en-suite's through there," the Doctor said, pointing to a discreet door in the corner down from the bed.
"Thank you." Martha gave his arm a quick squeeze, then walked into the middle of the room and turned in a circle. "Thank you," she said again, looking up at the ceiling, and smiling in pleasure when the TARDIS hummed back at her.
The Doctor was startled that she thanked his ship, but hid it behind a half smile. "Sleep well."
"You too," she answered with a warm smile. He nodded and went out, leaving Martha to pull off her jacket and boots. She padded over to the bathroom door in her socks and looked in to see a deep bath, a separate walk-in shower, plus a toilet and hand basin. There was a cupboard above the hand basin and she opened it curiously to find it filled with shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, etc., all in her favourite brands.
"Wow!" she said softly, amazed. "Thank you." She patted the wall beside the door as she went back into the bedroom. Lying on the bed was a thick, pale blue bathrobe, a pair of thick cotton pyjamas, and a pile of towels; on the floor was a pair of slippers to match the bathrobe. Martha laughed aloud in pure joy. "I think I love you!" She laughed again when the TARDIS' hum increased, sounding like a giant purring cat. She stripped quickly and slipped on the bathrobe and slippers, before grabbing the towels and heading for a shower.
As she fell asleep her last thought was that despite all she'd seen that day, the TARDIS was still the most amazing of them all.
Martha woke several hours later after a night filled with dreams of Gallifrey, its twin suns blazing high in the red sky, or the copper-coloured moon brightening the night sky, and the silver-leaved trees shining in the sunlight. She'd dreamed of several things that the Doctor had not mentioned, but she put them down to her over-active imagination and a love of science fiction stories.
She stretched and rolled onto her back, then started at the quiet knock on her door. "Come in."
The door opened and the Doctor came in carrying a covered, heavily laden tray. "Breakfast, Miss Jones," he announced.
She stared. His tie was half undone and his hair looked, if possible, even wilder than ever. He put the tray down on her desk, and she pulled herself up into a sitting position before he passed her a bowl of branflakes topped with banana slices and yoghurt. "Thank you," she stammered. She hadn't been expecting breakfast in bed, and how did he know her breakfast preferences anyway?
"How did you sleep?" asked the Doctor, perching on the edge of her bed by her knees.
"Very well, thank you." She watched as he pulled a banana from his jacket pocket and began peeling it.
"Good." He noticed her watching him. "Eat up," he said, before taking an obscenely big bite of the banana.
"How did you know what I liked for breakfast?" she asked curiously, before starting on her cereal.
"I didn't," he answered. "The TARDIS told me."
Her eyes widened and she swallowed her mouthful, then reached out to pat the wall beside her. "Thank you," she said quietly. She went back to her breakfast, missing the look that crossed the Doctor's face: he was amazed at how easily she'd accepted his ship's sentience, and the way she acknowledged the things the TARDIS did for her. And it was abundantly clear to him that the TARDIS liked Martha. He'd woken after a couple of hours of sleep filled with dreams of taking Martha to see Gallifrey, only to find his ship purring her name at him. And it had been the TARDIS who'd nudged him into preparing breakfast for Martha, letting the Time Lord know when his Companion was coming to the end of her sleep cycle, as well as letting him know what to prepare for her. He'd talked to his ship as he'd got Martha's breakfast ready, teasing her that he'd start to get jealous if she paid too much attention to Martha, and that had earned him the telepathic equivalent of a clip round the ear, so he'd apologise profusely, wondering just what was going on.
Now the TARDIS gave him a mental nudge and he realised he'd been staring off into the distance for several minutes. He looked at Martha and saw she was looking at him in concern.
"Are you OK?" she asked. "Only I spoke to you twice."
"I'm sorry. I got lost in my thoughts."
She nodded her understanding as he took her empty bowl from her and swapped it for the covered plate. He uncovered it and she grinned. "I like your ship, Mr Smith," she said accepting the plate of scrambled eggs on toast, accompanied by crispy bacon and fat sausages.
He grinned back. "She's definitely taken a shine to you," he said, resuming his seat and starting on another banana.
"I usually don't have a big breakfast like this except on my days off," she told him before beginning to eat.
"Well I can't promise you this every day," he said, "but I'll see what I can do." He finished his banana and flipped the skin onto the tray, his long arms making nothing of the distance.
"Show off," she teased, then squeaked indignantly when he swiped a piece of sausage from her plate. "Oi! Get your own," she said, moving the plate out of his immediate reach.
"Aw c'mon Martha, just one little bit of bacon?" He gave her his best begging look, reminding her of a puppy.
"How old are you?" she asked, still holding the plate out of reach, then giggling when he pouted like a thwarted toddler. "Four, I think," she asserted. He stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled again. "You're just convincing me I'm right," she told him.
He promptly folded his arms across his chest and attempted to look dignified and serious. Martha relented and offered him a piece of bacon, which he accepted with a wide grin. "Thank you Miss Jones." He munched the bacon and she concentrated on finishing her breakfast. "Now, before we can go anywhere else, I'm going to have to sort out a power drain in the TARDIS' systems that seems to have developed overnight. You're welcome to come and sit in the Control Room with me, but that might get a little dull soooo - " he drew the word out lovingly, "I thought I'd show you the library."
"The library?" asked Martha, looking excited as the Doctor took away her empty plate and handed her a mug with a blue lid, before picking up a similar mug with a green lid. She removed the lid and found the mug full of delicious smelling coffee that was just the right temperature.
He nodded as he swallowed a mouthful of tea. "I've got every book ever published on Earth, plus a vast number of books from across the galaxy."
"Brilliant!" she exclaimed, making him grin.
He slid off the bed and put his mug on the tray. "I'll leave you to get dressed then," he said. "Come and find me in the Control Room when you're ready."
"OK." She gave him her mug and he went out with the tray, and Martha quickly got washed and dressed before heading to the Control Room. She had worried she might get lost, but found the TARDIS guided her with a little mental nudge when she reached a junction in the corridors and wasn't sure which way to go.
She found the Doctor in his shirt-sleeves, tie off and glasses on, peering at the console monitor. He glanced up as she walked in and smiled warmly. "Alright then?"
"Yes thanks." She crossed to look at the monitor, intrigued by the symbols she could see on the screen.
"That's Gallifreyan," he told her, sliding an arm around her.
"It looks very different to any Earth language I've seen," she commented.
"That's because it's got a mathematical basis." She nodded. "Right, let me show you to the library." He pulled off and pocketed his glasses, then offered her his arm and she grinned before slipping her arm through it, feeling the same kind of excitement that she'd felt when he'd invited her to go and see Shakespeare perform.
The library was huge: like a Gothic cathedral but full of books - bookcase after bookcase stretched away into the distance and Martha stood and stared, mouth open and eyes wide until she remembered herself. "Wow! That is - wow!" She turned and hugged the Doctor tight, making him laugh with delight.
"So you don't mind hanging out here whilst I work on the TARDIS?" he asked.
She laughed. "Are you joking? You'll probably have to dig me out with a pickaxe when you're ready to travel again."
"Well if you want a change of scenery, feel free to bring some books to the Control Room with you. Otherwise I'll see you later."
"OK." Martha was only half listening, she was so entranced by the sight of so many books.
The Doctor chuckled quietly, kissed her forehead and left her to it whilst he went back to the Control Room to see if he could sort out what was causing the massive power drain in the TARDIS' systems.
Martha didn't know where to start, with so many books to choose from, but as she wandered, browsing a shelf here and there, she became aware of the TARDIS guiding her in a specific direction, just as she had when Martha had been heading to the Control Room earlier. She followed the nudges to find herself facing a large collection of leather-bound volumes and when she moved closer she saw that the books were marked on their spines with similar symbols to those she'd seen on the console monitor earlier.
"Books from Gallifrey?" she asked aloud and received a positive hum back from the TARDIS. She pulled one from the shelf and opened it: the symbols seemed to swirl before her eyes, then resolved into English and she read Fairytales for Young Gallifreyans on the title page. She smiled, then took the book over to a nearby leather sofa where she settled down to read.
Martha spent an enjoyable day in the TARDIS library, only re-emerging to eat when the Doctor fetched her. By the time he turned up to remind her to get some sleep, she'd dipped in and out of half a dozen different books.
The Doctor was slightly disappointed that Martha hadn't taken up his suggestion to bring some books into the Control Room to keep him company, but he told himself he was being silly as he watched her for a moment, as she sat feet up and curled into a corner of the sofa, engrossed in a book. He sat down by her feet and peered over the top of the book at her. "Time for you to get some sleep," he suggested.
She yawned discreetly, then stretched, reminding him of a cat. "OK."
"I hope you haven't been bored in here by yourself," he said, getting up and offering her his hand.
"Not a bit, it's been interesting," she assured him.
"Good."
He seemed nonchalant but Martha wasn't fooled; she understood that he'd hoped for her company whilst he worked, and she resolved that he would have it the next day if he still hadn't fixed the TARDIS. "Did you get the power drain sorted out?" she asked, sliding her arms around him.
For a moment he was distracted by her hug, glad of her touch. "No, not yet. I don't know what's wrong with the old girl and she's not telling me."
"You'll fix it," she said confidently.
"Mm-hmm." Martha had tucked herself against his body so that his chin rested on the top of her head and he was savouring the feeling. He thought of what the Face of Boe had said about him not being alone, and his dismissal of Martha's reminder that he had her. He really shouldn't have been so dismissive; whilst Boe might have been referring to other Time Lords, the truth was that he wasn't alone whilst he had Companions to travel with.
"Are you OK?" she asked, concern in her face and voice as she pulled away a little to look up into his shadowed face.
"Yes, sorry, just thinking." He looked down into her dark eyes, then bent his head and kissed the tip of her nose. "Bed," he said, sliding an arm around her shoulders. He guided her to her room, even though she was quite capable of making her own way there. At her door she stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek with a murmured goodnight, before she went inside.
The Doctor went back to the library to see which books Martha had been reading; he'd suspected that she'd been reading up on Gallifrey from the section he'd found her in. When he reached the sofa she had been using, there was a neat pile of books there and he knew the TARDIS had put them there to satisfy his curiosity about his Companion's reading material. He looked through the titles as he returned them to their shelves, then went to bed in a thoughtful mood.
Martha slept deeply, dreaming again of Gallifrey. To her surprise the dreams were the same as the night before, but they were even more detailed this time and she was certain that the boy she saw was the Doctor. She watched him in her dream as he lay on a hillside watching a meteor shower with an older male she presumed was his father. She woke shortly afterwards and immediately noticed the TARDIS' hum was coiling through her room and her head like a great purring cat and she allowed the sound to lull her back to sleep again.
Martha felt slightly guilty when she awoke the following morning because she had taken so little notice of the meteor shower, which was something she'd never seen before, but she'd been too busy watching the boy to have eyes for anything else. He'd seemed like a lively lad, from his chatter, and he appeared to be possessed of the same manic energy as the adult she knew. She felt quite sorry for his mother, as she was quite sure the Doctor would have worn the poor woman out.
The Doctor brought her breakfast again and she offered him pieces of bacon and sausage unprompted, which he accepted without question, though he wondered why. After she'd finished eating, he left her to get dressed, first checking that she was confident of finding her way back to the library. "I'll see you lunchtime," he said.
"OK." She had already decided, however, that she would join him in the Control Room and give him her company.
She easily made her way back to the library and went straight to the same section as before. Standing in front of the shelves, she asked the TARDIS: "Will you choose some for me please?" She began to walk her fingers down the shelf and felt a mental nudge from the TARDIS, so pulled the book out. She continued down the shelf until she had three volumes tucked under her arm. "Thank you." She patted the bookcase before she walked away.
The Doctor was surprised but secretly pleased when Martha walked into the Control Room a little while later with three books in her arms. He grinned at her as she put the books on the Captain's chair, then crossed to where he stood by the console.
"Hello. I wasn't expecting to see you," he said as she peered at the monitor over which he'd been poring.
"I thought some company would be nice," she answered, automatically sliding her arms around his waist in a hug.
"Your company is very nice," he assured her as he returned her hug, inhaling the scent of her shower gel and shampoo, both of them fruit-based.
She was taking note of his scent too: tea, honey, bananas and something unidentifiable that reminded her of the TARDIS and which she mentally labelled 'Time Lord'. "Are you any closer to identifying what's causing the power drain?" she asked, turning in his arms to look down at the screen, her back against his chest.
"Not yet," he answered.
"Is there something in the Vortex that's draining the power?"
"Nope. I checked that first, although it wasn't a very likely prospect."
"Well, I'll leave you to your investigations, then." She moved away from the Doctor, who tried to ignore his feeling of reluctance at letting her go, and settled down with the books. The Doctor knelt on the floor and used his Sonic Screwdriver to lift up a section of the metal grating, then slipped the Sonic back into his pocket before letting himself down into the hole.
He spent nearly half the morning in the space under the floor, and the rest peering at the monitor on the console. He talked to Martha about what he was doing, but she only understood about half of what he was telling her, and she had a sneaking suspicion he was really just thinking aloud. She didn't mind, though, he was still company.
Over lunch she asked him about some of the things she'd learnt from her reading and he talked animatedly. Then she told him about her dreams; she'd given it some thought during the morning, feeling uncertain how he'd feel about it. He looked shocked when she told him about seeing the small boy watching a meteor shower and closed his eyes.
What did you do that for? he asked the TARDIS, pain lancing his hearts. You shouldn't be showing her those things. He became aware of a pair of arms around his neck and tears on his cheeks; opening his eyes, he found Martha hugging him and made an effort to check his tears as he pushed back his chair so that he could hug her properly.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't - "
"Shh. It's not your fault," he said quickly. "I didn't know the TARDIS had been influencing your dreams. It's not something she often does." He felt the TARDIS nudging at his mind and frowned, trying to work out what she was telling him. "I think she wants to show us something," he said.
Martha let go of him and stood up. "OK."
"We'll wash up later," he said, taking her hand. He led her out of the kitchen then followed the TARDIS' lead through the corridors.
"Where are we going?" asked Martha.
"I don't know exactly," he answered. "The TARDIS is telling me which corridors and turnings to take." He glanced down at her face and saw curiosity and excitement in her eyes, and was reminded yet again of why he'd invited Martha to travel with him. He'd been thinking that he ought to offer her the chance to go home once the TARDIS was fit to travel, and he would, but he hoped that she would still want to continue travelling with him.
The TARDIS indicated they'd reached her destination and he glanced up to see a door in front of them: it was decorated with a silver-leaved tree. He looked at Martha again and saw her eyes were shining and her lips half-parted in a smile of pure pleasure, and knew that she understood the significance of the decoration on the door. He reached out with the hand that still clasped hers and pushed down on the handle. The door swung inwards and they stepped inside together to find themselves standing on a hillside overlooking a valley. In the distance stood the Citadel, enclosed in a transparent dome, and overhead the night sky was littered with stars and brightened by a copper-coloured moon.
Martha turned and hugged the Doctor tightly. "Thank you," she said. "It's beautiful."
He hugged her back. "Thank the TARDIS," he told her. "This explains the power drain. She's diverted power here to recreate a part of Gallifrey." He felt as if his hearts would burst with joy, gratitude and awe at what his ship had done.
He led Martha across the red grass and she sat in front of him, her back to his chest, and their legs stretched out in front of them, then he put his left arm around her middle. He pointed across the valley to a spot above the Citadel. "Look," he said. She looked where he pointed and saw a meteor shower beginning to dance across the sky.
"This is known as the Gallifreyan Festival of Lights," he told her, his breath tickling her ear as he spoke. "Every few years a large comet passes through the orbit of Gallifrey's suns and then we see this meteor shower. It's equivalent to Earth's Leonids, which happens roughly once every thirty-three years, when Earth observers will see hundreds of thousands of meteors per hour. Our meteor shower is called the Kasterboran Shower, because Gallifrey was in the constellation of Kasterborous, about 250 million years from Earth."
The Doctor wrapped his free arm around Martha's waist and she immediately wrapped her own arms over his, leaning back into his chest. She felt safe and comfortable here with him, and wished they might stay here for some time. It pained her that something so beautiful as Gallifrey should have been destroyed.
"Whenever the Kasterboran shower arrived, everyone would spend time with their families or friends. We would have a feast and give each other a small gift - a bit like some of Earth's religious festivals, although there's no religious basis to our Festival."
"You must miss it very much," Martha said quietly, her eyes fixed on the lights streaming faster and faster across the sky above the Citadel, the dome of which was ablaze with their reflections.
"I do, when I remember. I try not to remember too often. It hurts too much otherwise."
She half turned in his arms and kissed his cheek, tasting his tears. "I'm sorry," she said simply.
"I know. Watch the lights, we can talk afterwards."
She turned back again and the Doctor closed his eyes, swallowing hard. Martha had so much compassion and he hoped life would never treat her so harshly that she lost that compassion for others, because it would help her to be a brilliant doctor.
Four hours later, after a fantastic light show, they headed back to the kitchen to wash up their lunch things. "I need to go and check all the systems are working properly again, then we can think about going somewhere."
"OK." Martha waited for him to disappear, then put her hand on the TARDIS' wall. "How about we make him a small feast?" she asked and received a positive hum back. "You keep him busy in the Control Room for a bit then." She giggled at the conspiratorial tone of the TARDIS' hum, then opened the cupboards and rapidly began pulling things out and assembling ingredients.
When the Doctor walked back down the corridor 45 minutes later, wondering where Martha had got to, he found his nose twitching appreciatively at the smells that were wafting his way and his stomach rumbled, surprising him. He walked into the kitchen and stopped on the threshold, surprised at the sight of the table laid with a snowy white cloth and fine china. There were also candlesticks with scented candles in them which he realised were contributing a Jasmine scent to the nasal bouquet.
"What's this?" he asked, looking at Martha, who had changed into a gold dress and shoes.
"This is your Festival feast," she said, smiling with pleasure at his obvious surprise as she crossed the kitchen to hug him.
"You didn't have to do this," he said, swallowing a lump of emotion as he returned her hug.
"I know. I wanted to, though." She took his hand and led him to a seat, then fetched the first dish.
"This smells lovely," he said. "What is it?"
"This is Firecracker Pork Fusilli," she answered. "I thought it was appropriate." She grinned as she served it up, and he grinned back.
"I like your style Miss Jones," he said before attacking his food with a will.
Martha wasn't surprised that he demolished it at an almost indecent pace: he always seem to eat as if he hadn't eaten for a month. She removed their empty plates, then placed two bowls on the table instead.
"This is Strawberry Margarita Sorbet," she informed him. "I hope alcohol isn't bad for you?"
He shook his head and licked his lips in anticipation. "Definitely not."
"Good. I thought something cold after the fiery hot pork would make a nice contrast."
"You could give that Jamie Oliver bloke a run for his money," he said before tucking into the ice cream dish. He grinned madly when Martha offered him seconds.
"You're not having more?" he asked when she sat back down.
"No. Some of us don't have your metabolism and have to be careful about how much ice cream we pig out on," she said.
"With all the running we do, I wouldn't have thought you needed to watch your weight," he observed. "Besides, curves suit you." He glanced up and saw a look of shock on her face.
"Thank you," she said faintly. She hadn't realised he'd been looking at her in that way. She ducked her head for a moment as she struggled with a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure at his compliment.
"I mean it," he said softly, putting a hand on her arm. "You're a beautiful woman Martha Jones, and I'd have to be blind not to have noticed that." She looked up and saw a wealth of affection in the smile he was giving her. He pushed his chair back from the table and tugged on her hand. "Come here."
She got up and wasn't very surprised when he pulled her down to sit in his lap, wrapping his arms around her middle. "You, Martha Jones, are a wonder and a marvel."
"Thank you. You're pretty marvellous yourself." He grinned. "I've got something else for you," she said and picked up something from the table. She held out her hand and he saw a small red and gold box on her palm.
"What's this?"
"You said your people gave each other gifts. I asked the TARDIS to make something for me to give you."
He took the box from her and holding it in his left hand, opened it with his right. Nestling in cotton wool was a silver tie pin shaped like a leaf and engraved with a sun. He looked up at her face, his eyes shining with joy, then dropped the box onto the table to cup her cheek in his free hand. She realised, a moment before it happened, that he was going to kiss her and closed her eyes as his cool lips met her warm ones.
"Thank you, Martha," he said softly when he pulled away. "I didn't prepare a gift for you, but there's something I would like to give you." She looked at him questioningly. "Me." He saw her eyes widen in surprise before he stood up, lifting her easily in his arms. "Is that OK?"
"Yes," she sighed.
He carried her out of the kitchen to her room and laid her gently, almost reverently, on her bed. He fixed the tie pin to the lapel of his jacket, then pulled his tie off. He bent down and pulled off Martha's shoes, then quickly removed his own shoes and jacket, before lying on the bed beside her.
The TARDIS dimmed the lights and her hum changed to a soft purr as the Doctor gave himself to Martha.