preserved_ginger: (Default)
preserved_ginger ([personal profile] preserved_ginger) wrote2008-05-21 11:00 pm

Questions and Answers

Title: Questions and Answers
Characters: Ten. Martha.
Setting: Between Gridlock and Daleks in Manhattan
Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine (sadly).
Spoilers: Oblique ones for Smith and Jones, more obvious ones for The Shakespeare Code and Gridlock
A/N: Angst again, ’m afraid. Another story in the To Days To Come ’verse.
Summary: “Do you want to talk about it?”

The two of them were in the TARDIS, recovering from the pollution and other side effects of subterranean New Earth and their run in with the Macra, when Martha decided to broach the subject. She had noticed how he tended to be in full flow – babbling on about something – and then would stop dead for no immediately apparent reason, staring into space with an expression on his face full of wistful melancholy. Even she had managed to work out that that was when he was thinking about her.

Ever since the incident in the bedroom of that pub, when he seemed to see straight through her – she’d have laid a bet, were she so inclined, that it had been her face he’d seen – she’d wanted to know more about this mysterious Rose. Chiefly, of course, to find out why he’d let her leave him if he was as hung up on her as he seemed to be. She’d recognise the look of a man in love anywhere.

He had a slightly manic grin on his face when she came back into the console room, and she figured now was probably the best time to catch him – before he ended up in one of his moods again.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked the question tentatively, unsure what reception she’d get but hoping she might be able to get him to talk. The trick she’d pulled on New Earth had worked once but she didn’t think forcing him would work so well a second time. Better if he came to it of his own volition.

“What is it this time?” Manic grin or not, he was irritated – and his tone showed it. Martha took a deep breath and ventured on.

“About her. About Rose.” The grin vanished. She saw him physically flinch, but she had to ask this now or she’d never find the courage. “I’m no expert on the subject, Doctor, but it can’t help you get over her if you don’t talk about her. It’s not healthy …” She trailed off as she took in the look on his face. He looked like thunder but when he spoke he seemed almost unnaturally calm, despite the distinct edge to his voice.

His tone, though, was icy:

“And what, exactly,” he said, whilst deliberately not looking at her, “have I ever said or done that suggested to you that I would want to ‘get over’ her?”


[identity profile] humansrsuperior.livejournal.com 2008-05-21 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
*sputters!* What! You can't leave it like that! I demand more! *stomps foot*

Erm... anyway, as usual, it was very beautiful. :) I especially like that last line! Anyway I just love how you capture the ever-present tension hanging between them, and the Doctor's ever-strong love for Rose and how she's always on his mind. Lovely!

(but I still think you should do more of this!)

[identity profile] millylicious.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
Aww. I loved it, but poor Martha.

[identity profile] thatlibrarylady.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
Thinking that Rose was something he could "get over" was Martha's mistake for most of season three.

This was very very well written. I enjoyed it.

[identity profile] k-puff.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
I LOVE this. This completely sums up my attitude about the Rose-Doctor-Martha "triangle". *adds to mems*

[identity profile] doctordiehard.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, that is lovely. Thank you!
ext_11604: (Doc. Who-Rose Soon)

[identity profile] effulgent-girl.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
This is exactly what Martha didn't get until Utopia, Rose didn't just leave him of her own choosing and he has no intention of forgetting her.

[identity profile] canuck-kat.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
That's exactly what I say to the non-Doctor/Rose shippers! *giggles*

Excellent as usual.

[identity profile] catsfiction.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 07:50 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, that hurts. A dark and angry Ten, and poor Martha still thinking of him as a "case" and going about it completely the wrong way. But she means well, that's the sad thing.

Great last line.

[identity profile] trustme1013.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 01:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Love it! Ten still isn't over her, is he? Great work!

[identity profile] tiny-disk.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 04:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, fab fab fab! Very well done - bring on the end of season four!! I'm getting desperate now!

[identity profile] sej-1986.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 04:37 pm (UTC)(link)
All these Martha fics make me feel sorry for her, and even make me like her a little bit! Not that I overly disliked her in the first place. Forgive me being ignorant, but did she really bring up the subject of Rose like this?
ext_24573: (DW Ten Contemplative)

[identity profile] missperkigoth.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
This would have been very interesting if it had happened during the course of series 3, especially where you placed it. For all that the Doctor opened up to Martha about Gallifrey, etc., she had no idea what actually happened to Rose, or even about the nature of their relationship until Utopia. If something like this had been done straight away, the seasonal arc would have been very, very different with her character.

[identity profile] maniacalshen.livejournal.com 2008-05-22 11:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Oooh, bad move, Martha. I can easily see this scene happening; good job! If only she knew that Rose didn't leave on purpose, she could have saved herself some heartache.

[identity profile] arethusa85.livejournal.com 2008-05-23 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
Wonderful snapshot of their relationship! Poor Martha. She really never knows how to ask the right questions.

[identity profile] slvrcrystalc.livejournal.com 2008-05-23 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
Brilliant! The ending is a bit jarring, but still the prefect place to stop!

[identity profile] principia-coh.livejournal.com 2008-05-23 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
“And what, exactly,” he said, whilst deliberately not looking at her, “have I ever said or done that suggested to you that I would want to ‘get over’ her?”

As the temperature in the console room drops so fast that Martha's left with icicles hanging off her nose...

[identity profile] meezardra.livejournal.com 2008-05-24 11:28 am (UTC)(link)
Wow...the characterization was spot-on. Freakily so, actually.
Well done. =)

[identity profile] helygen.livejournal.com 2008-10-06 06:54 am (UTC)(link)
Poor Martha! I love that last line, because it's so very true for the Doctor, but dear me it must cut through her like razor-sharp ice.
Your characterisations and voices are spot on, as always, and I can quite believe this actually happened. If only it had: it would have given Martha the clue that she was wasting her time with any romantic intentions, poor girl
Gorgeously done, hun

[identity profile] bananasandroses.livejournal.com 2008-10-12 01:22 pm (UTC)(link)

Poor Martha! I love that last line, because it's so very true for the Doctor, but dear me it must cut through her like razor-sharp ice.

Poor Martha, indeed; she got a terrible hard time from him. Still, she’s over it (and him) now, which is good for her.

Glad you like this :)