Important Things
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dwfictionTitle: Important Things
Author:evilawyer
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Leela, Martha Jones, Tenth Doctor
Warnings: None (or not that seem necessary)
Spoilers: None. This is a moment that didn't happen (in one universe, anyway) immediately post-The Shakespeare Code.
Summary: “Can your people not show or feel affection and love for one another without sex?”
“You make no sense, child,” Leela said as she abruptly stood up from the small sofa and paced up and down in the front room of Martha's small apartment. She had not rested since she flew her star-cruiser through the Cardiff Rift with a shrieking Meanwhile clinging to the tail section. Destroying it had destroyed her ship, but she had rejoiced. She had slain her enemy and saved the people of the place called Wales.
The victory, though sweet, left her no cause to celebrate. Her own people, for that is how she thought of the people of Gallifrey now, needed her. She had looked for and found the Doctor, although it was not a Doctor she knew. When she'd found him in this place called London, he had looked wary, almost frightened, and he had not spoken to her more than was necessary to find out how she had come to this place.
She had tried to patiently sit and wait for the Doctor to find her a solution, to get her back to Gallifrey and back to the fight, but she did not understand this Martha's words. She did not understand why Martha, who seemed as intelligent and as brave as any soldier of Gallifrey with whom Leela had been honored to serve, felt such distress at not having such a small, meaningless thing.
Martha shifted on the sofa. “You love the Doctor, don't you?”
Leela looked to where the Doctor sat in a chair, working on the piece of equipment he said would get her back home. Leela did not know this Doctor. He was not her Doctor. He was not the Doctor she first knew, the one who showed her the stars. He was not the Doctor she came to know as Gallifrey was drawn into eternal war. This Doctor was Martha Jones' Doctor, young-looking and brash, rude and frenetic and with eyes that Leela did not --- could not --- entirely trust. But he was the Doctor nonetheless. “He is a great man, and I value him greatly.”
“And you would do anything for him, yes?
“I have,” Leela answered proudly. “I have protected him and fought by his side. I have defeated his enemies for him. I have carried out his commands, and I have come to believe that the way of science is better than the way of magic because he wished it so.” Leela perched on the arm of the sofa next to Martha and shook her head as she stared at the wall opposite her. “But I do not understand this thing you call 'lovemaking', nor do I understand why you wish to do it with him.”
“Lovemaking is when two people come together,” Martha began, fidgeting and wondering if her mother had felt this embarrassed when she'd told Martha and Tish about the birds and the bees.
Leela looked down at Martha. “It is a ritual? The Sevateem have many rituals to prepare for and celebrate the kill. The Ritual of the Hunt, the Ritual of Blood, the Ritual of ...”
“It's not so violent,” Martha interrupted. “Leastways not usually. And it doesn't have anything to do with killing.”
Leela's brow furrowed in puzzlement. “Then what purpose does it serve?”
“It doesn't have a purpose, really. It's an act of making love.”
“That is what it is called,” Leela sniffed, “but it must have some purpose. All acts have purpose.”
“It creates children, but...”
“Ah,” Leela said with a look of disinterest, “you speak of sex.” Bored with the answer, she put her foot up on the low coffee table in front of her to silently wait out the rest of the time it would take the Doctor to finish his work.
“No. Not just sex,” Martha said; Leela was surprised at the desperate tone in Martha's voice.
“It's an act that a man and woman who care for one another do together.”
“The people of my tribe all care for one another. The same is true of all the people of Gallifrey, even though the Time Lords are more like the Tesh than the Sevateem. Are your people capable of caring for only one other person at a time?”
“Usually. If it's love, you only make love with one person at a time.”
Leela considered Martha's response. “Then it is for the rearing of children as well as for their creation. One man and one woman joining forces to create and raise the offspring of their union to make sure they survive to adulthood.”
“That's true,” Martha slowly agreed in a tone that implied she didn't really agree at all. “But it's so much more than that. It's a sign of affection. It shows that the man and the woman love each other.”
“Can your people not show or feel affection and love for one another without sex?”
“Of course they can,” Martha cried indignantly. “It's just that when a man and woman really love each other...”
Leela, too curious to wait for Martha's explanation, moved on to her next question. “You speak only of men and women. Must affection and love be felt and shown only between a man and woman among your people?”
Martha's mouth was still open from her prior uncompleted comment. Upon hearing Leela's question, she closed it.
“I mean no disrespect to your people or their ways,” Leela, worried she had insulted Martha into silence, quickly said. “It is simply that, among my people, among all of the people that have ever been mine, it has always been possible to feel affection for others and to care for their well being without having to have sex with them. And it was always so with the Doctor, to my knowledge.” Leela looked over at the Doctor. “Perhaps it is no longer so with him the way he is now?”
Martha joined Leela in looking at the Doctor. “I don't know,” she said miserably. “I don't really know him. I only know that he keeps talking about how wonderful this girl was ...” She stopped and looked at her hands. “I don't know how he shows someone he cares for them.”
Leela smiled indulgently at the top of Martha's head. “You are wise and you are brave. Those are important things, and he values and trusts you for them, Martha. He cares for you. I can see that he does.” She put a hand on Martha's shoulder. “Watch him, look at how he does treat you instead of how he does not, and you will see what I see.”
“Well, that's that, then,” the Doctor blurted out as he stood up. “All set, Leela.” He strode quickly to Leela's side and strapped the makeshift, modified Time Vortex Manipulator to her wrist. “It'll be a rough ride, but it will get you there.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Leela stood and took hold of the Doctor's hand, shifting her hand up his fingers and palm until she clasped his wrist. “I shall fight well.”
“You always do.” The Doctor smiled as he wrapped his fingers around Leela's wrist and squeezed for a moment before letting go.
Leela hit the button on the Manipulator and was gone.
“Martha,” the Doctor said in a distant voice as he looked at the spot where Leela no longer stood. “What were you two talking about?”
“Nothing you'd be interested in.”
The Doctor continued to stare into nothing. “Nothing about Gallifrey, then? Or about...about anything I'm doing there in her time?”
Martha looked up at him quizzically. “No.”
“What?!” The Doctor suddenly turned to look down at Martha. “Nothing I'd be interested in? That doesn't sound like the Leela I remember. The Leela I remember wouldn't waste time talking if it wasn't to say something important.”
Martha stood up. “I didn't say it wasn't important, I said you wouldn't be interested.” Martha moved to clear away the tools from where the Doctor had dropped them on the floor. “As it happens, I found what she had to say extremely important, and I'm going to try to remember everything she said word for word.”
The Doctor grinned. “That's my Martha. So smart you are, but always open-minded and willing to learn from other people. How about one more trip?”
“Sure,” Martha agreed. “Why not?”
January 13, 2011
Author:
evilawyerRating: PG-13
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Leela, Martha Jones, Tenth Doctor
Warnings: None (or not that seem necessary)
Spoilers: None. This is a moment that didn't happen (in one universe, anyway) immediately post-The Shakespeare Code.
Summary: “Can your people not show or feel affection and love for one another without sex?”
“You make no sense, child,” Leela said as she abruptly stood up from the small sofa and paced up and down in the front room of Martha's small apartment. She had not rested since she flew her star-cruiser through the Cardiff Rift with a shrieking Meanwhile clinging to the tail section. Destroying it had destroyed her ship, but she had rejoiced. She had slain her enemy and saved the people of the place called Wales.
The victory, though sweet, left her no cause to celebrate. Her own people, for that is how she thought of the people of Gallifrey now, needed her. She had looked for and found the Doctor, although it was not a Doctor she knew. When she'd found him in this place called London, he had looked wary, almost frightened, and he had not spoken to her more than was necessary to find out how she had come to this place.
She had tried to patiently sit and wait for the Doctor to find her a solution, to get her back to Gallifrey and back to the fight, but she did not understand this Martha's words. She did not understand why Martha, who seemed as intelligent and as brave as any soldier of Gallifrey with whom Leela had been honored to serve, felt such distress at not having such a small, meaningless thing.
Martha shifted on the sofa. “You love the Doctor, don't you?”
Leela looked to where the Doctor sat in a chair, working on the piece of equipment he said would get her back home. Leela did not know this Doctor. He was not her Doctor. He was not the Doctor she first knew, the one who showed her the stars. He was not the Doctor she came to know as Gallifrey was drawn into eternal war. This Doctor was Martha Jones' Doctor, young-looking and brash, rude and frenetic and with eyes that Leela did not --- could not --- entirely trust. But he was the Doctor nonetheless. “He is a great man, and I value him greatly.”
“And you would do anything for him, yes?
“I have,” Leela answered proudly. “I have protected him and fought by his side. I have defeated his enemies for him. I have carried out his commands, and I have come to believe that the way of science is better than the way of magic because he wished it so.” Leela perched on the arm of the sofa next to Martha and shook her head as she stared at the wall opposite her. “But I do not understand this thing you call 'lovemaking', nor do I understand why you wish to do it with him.”
“Lovemaking is when two people come together,” Martha began, fidgeting and wondering if her mother had felt this embarrassed when she'd told Martha and Tish about the birds and the bees.
Leela looked down at Martha. “It is a ritual? The Sevateem have many rituals to prepare for and celebrate the kill. The Ritual of the Hunt, the Ritual of Blood, the Ritual of ...”
“It's not so violent,” Martha interrupted. “Leastways not usually. And it doesn't have anything to do with killing.”
Leela's brow furrowed in puzzlement. “Then what purpose does it serve?”
“It doesn't have a purpose, really. It's an act of making love.”
“That is what it is called,” Leela sniffed, “but it must have some purpose. All acts have purpose.”
“It creates children, but...”
“Ah,” Leela said with a look of disinterest, “you speak of sex.” Bored with the answer, she put her foot up on the low coffee table in front of her to silently wait out the rest of the time it would take the Doctor to finish his work.
“No. Not just sex,” Martha said; Leela was surprised at the desperate tone in Martha's voice.
“It's an act that a man and woman who care for one another do together.”
“The people of my tribe all care for one another. The same is true of all the people of Gallifrey, even though the Time Lords are more like the Tesh than the Sevateem. Are your people capable of caring for only one other person at a time?”
“Usually. If it's love, you only make love with one person at a time.”
Leela considered Martha's response. “Then it is for the rearing of children as well as for their creation. One man and one woman joining forces to create and raise the offspring of their union to make sure they survive to adulthood.”
“That's true,” Martha slowly agreed in a tone that implied she didn't really agree at all. “But it's so much more than that. It's a sign of affection. It shows that the man and the woman love each other.”
“Can your people not show or feel affection and love for one another without sex?”
“Of course they can,” Martha cried indignantly. “It's just that when a man and woman really love each other...”
Leela, too curious to wait for Martha's explanation, moved on to her next question. “You speak only of men and women. Must affection and love be felt and shown only between a man and woman among your people?”
Martha's mouth was still open from her prior uncompleted comment. Upon hearing Leela's question, she closed it.
“I mean no disrespect to your people or their ways,” Leela, worried she had insulted Martha into silence, quickly said. “It is simply that, among my people, among all of the people that have ever been mine, it has always been possible to feel affection for others and to care for their well being without having to have sex with them. And it was always so with the Doctor, to my knowledge.” Leela looked over at the Doctor. “Perhaps it is no longer so with him the way he is now?”
Martha joined Leela in looking at the Doctor. “I don't know,” she said miserably. “I don't really know him. I only know that he keeps talking about how wonderful this girl was ...” She stopped and looked at her hands. “I don't know how he shows someone he cares for them.”
Leela smiled indulgently at the top of Martha's head. “You are wise and you are brave. Those are important things, and he values and trusts you for them, Martha. He cares for you. I can see that he does.” She put a hand on Martha's shoulder. “Watch him, look at how he does treat you instead of how he does not, and you will see what I see.”
“Well, that's that, then,” the Doctor blurted out as he stood up. “All set, Leela.” He strode quickly to Leela's side and strapped the makeshift, modified Time Vortex Manipulator to her wrist. “It'll be a rough ride, but it will get you there.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Leela stood and took hold of the Doctor's hand, shifting her hand up his fingers and palm until she clasped his wrist. “I shall fight well.”
“You always do.” The Doctor smiled as he wrapped his fingers around Leela's wrist and squeezed for a moment before letting go.
Leela hit the button on the Manipulator and was gone.
“Martha,” the Doctor said in a distant voice as he looked at the spot where Leela no longer stood. “What were you two talking about?”
“Nothing you'd be interested in.”
The Doctor continued to stare into nothing. “Nothing about Gallifrey, then? Or about...about anything I'm doing there in her time?”
Martha looked up at him quizzically. “No.”
“What?!” The Doctor suddenly turned to look down at Martha. “Nothing I'd be interested in? That doesn't sound like the Leela I remember. The Leela I remember wouldn't waste time talking if it wasn't to say something important.”
Martha stood up. “I didn't say it wasn't important, I said you wouldn't be interested.” Martha moved to clear away the tools from where the Doctor had dropped them on the floor. “As it happens, I found what she had to say extremely important, and I'm going to try to remember everything she said word for word.”
The Doctor grinned. “That's my Martha. So smart you are, but always open-minded and willing to learn from other people. How about one more trip?”
“Sure,” Martha agreed. “Why not?”
January 13, 2011