DW Fic: The Human Experience (4/5)
Title: The Human Experience (4/5)
Author: irishlullaby
Beta: amyo67 & amberfocus
Rated: Adult
Pairing/Characters: Nine/Rose, Martha Jones
Summary: The Doctor, Rose, and their new friend Martha Jones have to hide in 1913 from the Family.
The rest of the series can be found: H E R E
banner by me :)
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
The silence that followed John’s proclamation was deafening. Baines shook his head to clear it. “Come again?” he asked snidely.
“You won’t hurt either of them,” he vowed.
A whisper of power seemed to cut through the room. Baines’ head jerked towards another direction. “It’s him!”
Martha used the moment to kick Jenny in the shin and take the gun, reversing the hostage situation. Rose somehow managed to get free and raced to John’s waiting arms. “One more move from any of you and I shoot,” Martha threatened.
Baines’ eyes glimmered with sadistic delight. “Ooh, the maid is just so full of fire.”
“And you can shut it,” Martha stated, shooting the gun at the ceiling before returning it back to Jenny’s head.
Mister Clark looked to Baines and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Now, Son of Mine, be careful… This is all for you so that you may live forever.”
“I’ll shoot you down,” Baines threatened.
“Oh yeah?” Martha challenged. “Have a go. I’ll take you with me.”
Baines chuckled darkly. “Would you really pull the trigger you scared little thing?”
“Scared and holding a gun really isn’t a good combination, is it?” Martha asked, trying her best to stay on par with the alien. “Doctor, get everyone out. Through the side door over there.” She kept her eyes locked with those of Baines, daring him to make a move towards her friends. “Do it, Mister Smith, I meant you!”
Behind her, Martha could hear Rose and Joan encourage everyone towards the door. With a quick glance from the corner of her eye, she could see John watching, completely horrified. “You shift on too, Mister Smith.”
“But…” he said helplessly and Martha could practically feel her heart breaking. Even as a human, the Doctor cared too much about other people.
“I think you need to escort Rose to safety, don’t you?” Martha asked. “Considering she’s having your baby.”
That seemed to snap him out of his conflict. “What?”
“You heard me, now go,” Martha said. She knew it wasn’t true, but she figured that would get the Doctor to shove on. It had, she realised as she heard his retreating footsteps. As soon as the dancehall was clear, Martha shoved Jenny away and looked at the Family face forward, gun gripped in both of her hands. “None of you try anything.”
The Family moved closer, Martha stepped back. “This one is almost brave,” Baines commented with wicked delight.
“I should have taken her form,” Jenny purred. “Much more fun and so much spirit.”
Martha took a step back with each one they took forward. “What’s happened to Jenny? Did you kill her?”
“I consumed her. She is gone and this body is mine,” Jenny replied.
“Dead…”
“Oh yes, and she went with precious little dignity,” Jenny replied. “All that--Ah!--screaming.”
Martha gasped in surprise as a pair of arms grabbed her from behind. She easily got free of the scarecrow and hurried out of the building. The Doctor was holding Rose back, fighting to keep her from going back into the dancehall. She ran out, Rose cried out her name and Martha ran straight to her and hugged her tightly.
“Come on, let’s go,” Martha said and the three of them ran for the school.
#
By time they arrived at the school, the headmaster already had most of the boys up and about, ready for battle. John held fast to Rose’s arm, making sure she didn’t get into harms way until he could speak to her about what Martha had said at the dancehall. It was no surprise that Rose fought against his hold, despite the fact he knew it was in her best interest.
Nor was it any surprise when he looked back over his shoulder and saw Martha blocking the doorway to the school, preventing the boys from exiting to battle. Annoyed, the headmaster turned. “Mister Smith! It seems your favourite servant is giving me advice. Control her!”
“Martha!” John barked. The girl snapped her attention to him. “Come keep Rose safe.”
Martha frowned but shuffled away from the door and grabbed Rose’s hand. “We’ve got to find that watch!” she grumbled.
John grabbed Martha’s arm to keep her from retreating. “Martha…” he said gently, searching her face. “Please. Keep Rose safe for me?”
Martha smiled affectionately at him. “You know you don’t have to ask me to do that Mister Smith.”
John pulled Rose to him one last time and kissed her deeply. Rose’s arms wrapped around his neck and he soon felt the warm dampness of tears on his face. He took her face in his hands and held her close. “I love you,” he murmured, then kissed her again.
Rose sniffled. “You act like I’m never going to see you again,” she whispered. “I’m not gonna say it until after all this is done.”
“Gives me something to live for then, yeah?” he asked. Rose nodded and allowed herself to be pulled away by the maid. The Matron disappeared behind the women, hopefully to safety as well.
“They seem to be after you, Mister Smith so myself and Phillips will go out to investigate,” the headmaster said. “I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
John watched from the window as the headmaster and Mister Phillips stalked out to greet Baines and his fellow mad people. His hearts raced in anticipation. What on Earth did they want with him? They seemed to think he was a character in his book… and John made a mental note to make sure Rose never put silly ideas into Martha’s head ever again.
Rose. His mind almost instantly calmed and a smile went to his lips. According to Martha, Rose was with child. That alone made him want to get to the bottom of the current issue and see it put to rest. It had been like getting doused with a pail of water when Martha had shared the news. Of course he had been asking and asking Rose--begging Rose--for a child of their own, but he had never really thought about what it would be like to be a father.
He had been one, long ago. So long ago and so briefly that he could scarcely recall it clearly. Surely there had been joy and excitement before? Why couldn’t he remember?
“You, sir, you will send us Mister John Smith!” John snapped out of his reverie at the sound of his name. “That’s all we want. John Smith and whatever he’s done with his Time Lord consciousness. Then we’ll happily leave you alone.”
Him. They would leave everyone alone if he went to them and let them take him. Is that really all it took to make everyone safe? To make Rose and his child safe? Rose was kind and generous. She would be able to easily find someone new to love… someone that would love her and his child. Perhaps Jack would…
John shook his head, tossed such a silly notion from his mind. No. He was going to live and be a proper husband and father. He would grow old with Rose, watch her hair turn silver. He would kiss wrinkles as they appeared and hold her in reverence forever.
Baines had started murmuring to the headmaster again. John watched fearfully as the two men exchanged words. Then, Phillips was shot and the headmaster returned to the school, his face ashen and fearful.
“Why are they after you, Mister Smith?” the headmaster asked.
John shook his head. “I have no idea, sir. Perhaps Baines, in his madness, saw me as the source of his personal conflict?” He sighed heavily. “I got word that the phone lines have been severed so we’re alone in this, sir.”
The headmaster nodded curtly. “Right then. Lads! Build barricades in the courtyards, fortify the entrances, build defences!”
John felt a chill run down his spine and his gaze moved towards the staircase, to where his quarters rested. For a moment he saw her swimming through the air to him, then taking him into her arms. Her hair fanned weightlessly around them as she laughed and they bumped into a wall. Part of him wondered if what Martha had said was true. Could he really be an alien hiding as a human?
It seemed all a bit mad so he dismissed it and silently hoped that Rose was okay. When he made it through this entire ordeal, they would get everything squared away once more.
#
“You told him what?” Rose exclaimed.
“Sorry,” Martha apologised. “It was the first thing that popped to mind. But you’re not so it doesn’t much matter anyway does it?”
“What are we looking for again?” Nurse Redfern asked.
“A watch. A fob watch,” Rose said, dumping out the contents of a desk drawer on the bed. She held up a pair of her knickers with her pinkie and shook her head. “What is his fixation with my knickers? I swear, human or alien…”
“I know it all sounds a bit mad,” Martha stated. “But when the Doctor became human…” She plundered through a basket full of yarn. “He took the alien bits and put them inside the watch. Well, it’s not really a watch, it just looks like one.”
Joan eyed her with uncertainty. “And by alien… you don’t mean from abroad, do you?”
Rose laughed gently. “The man you call John Smith isn’t of this world,” she said quietly.
“A different species,” Joan said slowly, still very uncertain.
“Yeah,” Martha and Rose replied together.
Joan frowned and seemed to get lost in thought. “So, what exactly are the two of you to him?”
“I’m his friend. And Rose’s friend too,” Martha replied, she shared a wicked grin with the woman in question. “And Rose is…”
Rose shook her head and sighed. “It’s complicated. We’re… lovers. Not married or anything.”
Joan was quiet, once again processing the information. “Do you love each other?”
“Me and the Doctor?” Rose asked, then nodded. “I’d like to think so. I mean, I’m not what you’d call a loose woman or anything. I wouldn’t be his lover if I didn’t love him. I mean, we’ve never said the words but…”
“So you’re both human?” Joan asked.
“Yeah,” Martha replied. “Don’t get me wrong, we don’t just follow him about fawning over him. Rose has saved the world dozens of times. And I’m actually studying to be a doctor. Not an alien doctor but a proper medical doctor.”
Joan scoffed in disbelief. “Well that certainly is non-sense. Women may train to become doctors but hardly a chivvy and one of your colour.”
“Oi!” Rose barked in offence. “Martha’s going to be a brilliant--”
Martha covered Rose’s mouth and shook her head. She took a deep breath and held up her hand. “Bones of the hand…” she indicated each bone and named each one without a moment of hesitation. Joan’s eyes widened in shock.
“You must have read that in a book,” Joan said in awe.
“Of course,” Martha replied. “To pass my exams.”
“Even I don’t know all the bones in the hand,” Rose commented then laughed.
Joan shook her head in disbelief. “I must go…”
“Wait!” Martha called out and Joan stopped. “If we find the watch, we can stop them…”
“Those boys are going to fight, ladies,” Joan said sternly. “I may not be a doctor, but I am still their nurse and they are going to need me. I would appreciate a couple of extra hands if at all possible. If what you say is true, Martha, then your help would be invaluable.”
Martha looked to Rose. Rose sighed with defeat. “We’ve searched the room half a dozen times…” Rose said. She shook her head. “It’s not here.”
“Then let’s go help,” Martha said with a decisive nod.
#
John directed a pair of boys off to their post and walked into a room only to find Rose, Martha, and Joan prepared to tend to any injuries. “Ladies, it’s not safe for you here. Especially you, Rose.”
Rose rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “I’m hardly going to just sit back and do nothing,” she said defiantly. “At least this way we can be of some use.”
“We’re doing our duty, just as you are Mister Smith,” Joan added in. She moved across the room to prepare strips of gauze. She cast a glance at Martha and Rose, who were preparing beds. “Tell us about Manchester.”
John blinked at the kind Matron. “Pardon?”
“That’s where you were brought up, wasn’t it?” Joan asked. “Tell us about it.”
“Matron…” Rose objected but fell silent when the woman gave her a pointed stare.
John sucked in a deep breath and sighed. He wasn’t really sure how all of this pertained to the battle that was about to be going on outside and he had precious little time to be dawdling. “Manchester… is… in the south-central part of north west England. It’s fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south and Pennines to the north and east.”
His attention shifted to Rose as she put an index finger in each ear and shook her head. “No… no. I don’t want to hear it,” Rose whimpered. Martha hurried to her and hugged her gently, whispering soothingly.
Joan laughed lightly and shook her head. “You sound like an encyclopaedia, Mister Smith. Where did you live?”
“Thorpe Street, just off of Northumberland Road,” he replied quickly. Honestly, what was she getting at? Surely none of these things were important. Not when insane people were beating down the doors of the school.
Joan shook her head. “More facts, Mister Smith. I want to know about the places you played. Where did you hide away when your mother and father made you angry?”
“Don’t tell me you believe it too!” John exclaimed. “Martha? Rose? How can you think I’m not real? I’m standing here. I’m John Smith… The Doctor is just some madman. Is that who you want me to be Rose? Am I not good enough?”
Rose choked back a sob. It felt like his heart was breaking. Had everyone around him gone mad? He turned to leave. If the madness was spreading, it was only a matter of time before it infected him. Would he actually think of himself as the Doctor they sought if he descended into the same madness?
“Those boys,” Rose said, her voice breaking. “They’re only children. John Smith wouldn’t want them to fight, would he? Nor would the Doctor. You know it’s wrong, don’t you?”
John paused at the door. He stared away aimlessly, echoes of horrified screams from his past ringing in his mind. So many lives…
“Mister Smith!”
He turned and looked at the three women. “What choice do I have?” he asked then raced over to kiss Rose before running out into the fray.
Once outside of the room, he slumped against the wall and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. Voices whispered to him, telling him to find the watch, telling him that it needed to be set free. It was all just a story. Wasn’t it? That’s all.
The more he repeated the query to himself the quieter the voice became. Perhaps, if he instructed the others to do the same, their own madness would settle? It seemed to be working on him. He took a deep breath and then slowly released it. The voices in his head were soon replaced by the very real shouts of the headmaster giving out orders.
John looked at his hands. They were shaking, just as they had when he’d had his hand forced in the last great battle for Gallifrey. He shook his head to clear it. No. No. That place wasn’t real, it was only a dream. Red grass and silver trees were only the products of his vivid imagination. The imagination that Rose constantly complimented.
He could hold it together. He could keep his sanity long enough to finish this fight and finally hear the words he so dearly wanted Rose to say. Then they would watch their child grow into an adult as they grew old together.
The first word I ever said to you, so long ago… I took your hand…
John groaned in frustration and ran his hands over his hair. No, no, no. It wasn’t real. Especially that. He wasn’t a man with messy brown hair and dark eyes. He couldn’t be.
The sound of pounding against the school doors made John push away from the wall and stalk down to the battle. The headmaster handed him a gun as he came up. Everyone aimed, including him. He hated guns, Rose hated him using guns. He could still remember seeing disappointment in her eyes, once upon a time.
“He’s not the one pointing a gun at me.”
With shaking hands, John aimed his gun. The doors split open and all the guns went off as scarecrows piled in. John’s finger went to the trigger but he couldn’t pull it. The headmaster rushed forward as the gun fire stopped. He grabbed fistfuls of straw.
“They are made of straw,” the man said in disbelief. His head jerked towards the door. “Stand to!”
Everyone stood ready once again, even John did. But then the small girl from the party walked in. The headmaster stared at her for a long moment. “I can’t do it… she’s just a child…” he said helplessly. “You’re Lucy Cartwright, aren’t you?”
“No!” Martha shouted from seemingly nowhere. “You know she’s part of it, Mister Rocastle.” The maid sprinted through the line and tried to urge the headmaster away. “Come away from her, please.”
“You were told to be quiet!” the headmaster shouted. He turned, his hand drawn back in preparation of giving Martha a swift smack. John lunged forward, ready to grab the other man’s arm. But the headmaster dissolved into ash in a flash of green light.
Lucy clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Hitting girls really is a very bad thing,” she said plainly, lowering her weapon. “So which of you are going to shoot me? And be honest.”
“Everyone retreat,” John shouted.
“But sir…” Hutchinson said.
“I said retreat!” John barked. “Retreat now.”
They all listened to him that time. John looked at Joan as they met in the corridor. “Where’s Harold?” she asked.
John tried to tell her, his mouth opened but the words didn’t come out. Tears welled in the woman’s eyes but she nodded and turned to run back. She helped Martha and Rose guide the students out of the back door, towards the stables.
“The village won’t be safe!” Martha exclaimed as he raced away from the school, Rose’s hand firmly clasped in his own. “Will you ever listen to me?!”
Rose came to a halt, yanking John to one as well. “Martha’s right. It won’t be safe there. In fact, you’d put everyone in danger if we went there.”
John looked around for a likely place for them to run. In the end Martha chose and led them into the forest. Through the trees, John could hear Mister Clark calling for the Doctor. He stopped when the source of the voice was standing in front of them. A wooden blue box towered over the man, like it was straight from his own dreams.
“Come home, Doctor,” Mister Clark hissed with delight. “Come and claim your prize.”
“You recognise her don’t you?” Martha asked gently, standing next to him.
John wanted to reach out and touch the wooden panels. Instead he shook his head. “Never seen it a day in my life,” he lied, his voice wavering.
“Don’t you want to run away into the stars,” Mister Clark asked. “It would be so easy.”
Rose turned him to face her. She searched his face. “What’s she called? You have seen her… in your dreams. She’s in your book… What is her name?”
TARDIS, the voice in the back of his head whispered. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. Susan had named her… John shook his head in denial. “No. No! I don’t know it!” he insisted. He wasn’t going to get pulled into their madness. He still refused to give in so easily. “I’m… I’m… I’m not John Smith, am I?” He stared blankly at the blue box. “He’s just who I want to be. His life. His job. His love?” John stared at Rose. “Why can’t I be John Smith? Aren’t I a good man?”
“The best,” Rose said softly, cupping his cheek.
“But we need the Doctor,” Martha added. “Only the Doctor can end this.”
John could feel the heat of tears sliding down his face. “Why can’t I stay here? Why can’t I just be with Rose? Why can’t I just grow old with her and live the life I want?” Unable to take anymore, he ran away, he ran away from all of them.
He could hear Rose and Martha calling after him. But he kept running, hoping he could outrun whatever it was he running from.
#
Up ahead, John stopped to catch his breath. It gave the three women plenty of time to catch up to him. Rose, still panting for air, walked up and rested her hand on his shoulder. He swatted her hand away.
“Don’t touch me!” he snapped, then focused on her. His eyes softened.
Rose tentatively reached for him and he let her pull him into a gentle embrace. The four of them stood in the silence of the night for a long moment. But then Joan’s voice cut through, “I think there’s somewhere we can hide close by.”
Rose gently coaxed the broken John down the path the Matron was leading them down. She shared a look with Martha. Martha’s eyes asked how he was doing. To be honest, Rose didn’t know. She didn’t know if he could change back without the watch. Sure, he had said he couldn’t, but maybe there was still yet something they hadn’t tried?
The Matron’s journey led them to a darkened house. “Whose place is this?” Martha asked curiously.
“If I’m right,” Joan replied sadly. “No one.” She pushed open the door and they all eased inside. Martha made sure the door was latched securely behind them then ran off to check the other doors and windows. “Hello?” Joan called. “No one home.”
Martha returned. “Whose house is this then?” she asked, repeating her query from moments ago.
Rose guided John to the table that was set for a dinner that would never get served. His face was blank, emotionless, like his entire world was coming undone around him. And in a way, she guessed, it was. He had believed himself to be such a simple man with simple human wishes and desires. And now he was being told that he was just a copy. A human copy, but still a copy nonetheless.
Joan touched the kettle sitting on the table. “It’s the Cartwright house. The little girl from the school--Lucy Cartwright. Or, rather, she’s taken her form. If she came home and her parents tried to stop her…” Her voice trailed off. “Harold…” She quickly composed herself. “The kettle is cool. I’m amazed at how quickly I accept these ideas.”
“I have to go,” John said quietly. He finally budged and leaned over to hide his face in his hands. “I need to go before anyone else dies because of me.”
“Not as you are,” Joan scoffed. “You need to become the Doctor again, first. Is there anything, Martha? Rose? Is there nothing we can do to make him change back?”
“Not without the watch, no,” Martha replied, plopping down in a chair of her own with a heavy sigh.
John scowled and looked at Martha and Rose accusingly. “You’re his companions. Is there nothing you can do? What exactly is it you do for him? Why does he need you? Why? Why does he need useless humans tagging along with him?”
Rose moved away from him, feeling like he had slapped her. Tears stung her eyes as his words rang truthfully in her mind. They were useless humans, weren’t they? John wouldn’t think it unless the Doctor did on some level. Thankfully Martha had an answer where Rose came up empty handed.
“Because he’s lonely,” Martha said quietly. “He needs friends, even if he can’t always depend on them. And Rose, he needs Rose. He once told me he needed her because she made him better. He’d be lost without her. And he loves her, even if neither of them say it.”
“And that’s what you want me to become?” John said, his voice hushed and pained. Rose felt her heart beat faster as their eyes met. “You would rather I become a man that can’t even tell you he loves you?”
Rose opened her mouth to reply but thankfully a knock at the door offered a reasonable distraction. Joan’s eyes widened fearfully. “What if it’s them?” she asked in a hushed whisper.
“I’m no expert, but I don’t think they’d bother knocking,” Martha commented and walked over to open the door.
A young blond boy ducked in. He smiled warily and even in the darkness Rose could see him blush. Rose recognised him as one of the students, one of John’s personal favourites--a bright lad with lots of untapped potential. “I brought this,” he said shyly, holding out a fob watch. “He told me to come here.”
Martha gingerly took the watch from the boy. Rose stood between John and Martha. She shook her head when Martha pressed her lips into a thin line. “I don’t want him to turn back yet,” Rose whispered.
“We have no choice,” Martha said. “You know that Rose.” She brushed past and held the watch out to John. “Hold it.”
John looked up at Martha defiantly. “No.”
“But it wants you to hold it, Mister Smith,” the boy said urgently. “He’s ready.”
“You had it the whole time?” Rose asked. “You little--”
“Rose,” John said sternly.
“If I hadn’t,” the boy said, “they would have stolen him away. I didn’t return it because… I was afraid of the Doctor. I was afraid of the rage and fire that burns inside of him.” John shook his head. “He’s ancient and forever. He can feel the turn of the universe--He told you once, too, Rose. Don’t you remember? The words that made you love him? Hurtling through space, clinging…”
“Stop it,” Rose choked out.
The house rumbled. Joan raced to the window. “They’re destroying the village!” she exclaimed. Rose and Martha ran to join Joan and could see meteors crashing to the ground. John put his hands on Rose’s shoulders before reaching around and taking the watch from Martha. He gazed at it blankly, like he had never looked at a fob watch before.
He moved away, his finger stroking the cover to the watch.
“Can’t you hear it, sir?” the boy asked. “He’s calling out to you.”
“Sleeping,” John murmured. “Waiting for me to wake him.”
“Why can I hear him?”
Rose watched John pacing slowly, the watch cradled in his palms. She could hear a vague whispering. The whispering. It had never occurred to her that it had been coming from the watch.
“Low level telepathic field,” John answered airily, with the same causal, matter of fact tone the Doctor often used. Rose felt her heart leap with joy as he waved his hand dismissively. “Born that way, most likely. Nothing more than an extra synaptic engram cau--.” He pulled a face. “Is that really the way he talks?”
“Yes!” Rose said, her voice mixing with a sob of elation. She had missed the Doctor. God how she had missed hearing him say all those things she could never understand. Martha hugged her gently. Rose covered her mouth with both of her hands.
“It’s him! It’s really him!” Martha enthused. “Just open the watch and he’s back, Mister Smith.”
“You both knew all along!” John balked. “You knew all along and never said nothing!” He looked at Rose and Rose felt her heart drop. “Is that why you can’t tell me you love me? Because you love this madman and only saw me as a temporary replacement?”
Martha stepped forward. “You love her because he loves her! You stupid man.” she snapped, jabbing him in the chest with her finger with each sentence. “And Rose loves him more than anything. I may not have travelled with them for long, but… he’s told me. He’s useless without her. His life has no meaning without her in it. She showed him what it was to love someone so much that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe--even break the laws of time. If that’s not love then I don’t know what is.” She opened her mouth to say more, but Rose gently pulled her away.
“Can I… talk to him alone for a minute?” Rose asked.
Martha nodded mutely and she left the room taking the boy and Joan with her. Rose studied her hands for a long moment. She could hear John resume his pacing as he looked at the watch.
“I could just give them the watch,” he commented. “Give them the watch and they’d go away. You and me could be together forever.” Rose looked up when he stopped, their eyes met. “I’d do it if it could make you happy.”
Rose shook her head. “If they get that watch…” her voice trailed off. “They have a limited lifespan. That’s why they’ve come after him. The Doctor, I mean. If they get that watch, they become immortal. They’d have forever to spread across the universe breeding and feeding.”
“Do you love me, Rose?” John asked. “As the Doctor, I mean. Do you love me?” Rose nodded. “Does he really love you?”
“I’d like to think he does,” Rose replied quietly.
“You’d rather be with someone that can’t tell you he loves you?” John asked.
Rose held her head up in defiance. “It doesn’t need saying,” she said firmly.
John snorted. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
With a heavy sigh, Rose looked down. “You are the Doctor. The Doctor is you. At least this way I know he loves me. And… I love you because you are him. You’re the same, whether you believe it or not.” She carefully took the watch from him and smiled affectionately at the watch. “I can hear it, you know. I can hear the Doctor talking inside this watch, like your student. Just I never realised it until just now. But, none of it makes sense to me. The Doctor never makes any sense to me.”
She laughed despite the fact she wanted to cry. But that was her lot in life while being with the Doctor. It would sort of figure that, just as she had accepted and started to love the John Smith side of the Doctor, he would be taken away over something as stupid as aliens with a hunger for immortality.
John slid his hand into hers. Rose gasped as images danced across her mind. The two of them growing old together, having a family. They were happy, their children were happy.
“‘I create myself,’ the Bad Wolf said, scattering the letters of the corporation with a wave of her magical hands. She sent them into the whole of time and space as a message to herself to lead her back to the Doctor once again.’” Rose turned the page and looked up just in time to see John lounging in the nursery door.
“He’ll have nightmares again,” he teased.
“That’s alright, Da. The Doctor will keep the Daleks away,” their son proclaimed.
Even Martha was happy.
“It’s just a small tweak to history, yeah?” Martha asked. “The first woman of my status and colour to become an honest to goodness doctor! I could be an inspiration to my future self!”
They laughed as Rose agreed. “But don’t you ever wish you could go back?” Rose asked.
Martha shrugged indifferently. “I try not to dwell on it,” Martha replied. “Besides, I’ve still got my best mate.” She hugged Rose tightly.
Suddenly Rose could see John old and laying in a medical bed, his eyes closed and he was breathing slowly. His eyes fluttered open and he reached up to touch her cheek.
“Is everyone safe?” he asked weakly. “Are you going to be safe?”
“I love you,” Rose whispered. He smiled and his hand slowly fell to the bed as he died.
Once the rush of images stopped, Rose gasped and released John’s hand. “What was that?” she asked, wiping tears from her face.
John looked at her longingly. “It’s… a life I could never have as a Time Lord.” He looked at the watch. “But… as John Smith, I could. We could have that kind of life.”
Rose worried. Would he really take the coward’s road and run until the Family finally died? It should only be a few more weeks, but the havoc that could be wrought in that amount of time would be disastrous. “What are you going to do?”
John simply studied her face.
#
John staggered into the Family’s ship, his hands brushing over various buttons. The four turned to look at him. The corner of the Brother’s mouth quirked with bemusement. “Stop, please stop,” John pleaded. “I’m here. I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt anyone else.”
“Say ‘please’,” the Brother said.
“Please,” John amended. “I’m sorry for all of this. You have to understand, I had no control over any of this. He forced me into existence.” He held out the watch as he fell against more buttons.
The Mother sniffed deeply. “He’s still human, I see. The coward. Always a coward, the Doctor.”
“Take it,” John said, his voice going up a couple of octaves. “Just take it and let me be done with it. I just want to go home to Rose so we can live our lives together. That’s all I want.”
The Brother snatched the watch from his hand and eyed it like it was the greatest prize he had ever received. He grabbed John by his coat and yanked him forward, John fell against even more buttons as he lost his footing. “Thank you, Mister Smith. But don’t think you’ll get to have your happy ending. You won’t be leaving here alive.”
The Brother shoved John away and he hit more of the ship components as he fell to the floor. “Oh, Family of Mine,” the Brother said with reverence. “Now we shall have the lives of a Time Lord… stretching endlessly. And…” He clicked open the watch and the Family inhaled deeply. The Brother scowled. “It’s empty!” He threw the watch. “Where is he?!”
John caught the watch one handed and sniffed as he opened the watch and studied it. He shrugged. “Oh, I think, perhaps you lot were had. Probably by a slight olfactory misdirection. I’m the reigning champion at Camp Lake Phobos for the Possibly Insane. The year 2150 a girl came close to beating me but I won by misdirecting four at once.” He squinted as he crawled to his feet, his eyes on the panel in front of him. Most of the metres had blinking mauve lights. “The readings on your hydroconometre is absurd! There’s energy feeding back to the retrostabilisors and right into your primary heat converter!”
John tapped one of the gauges and shook his head. “You really shouldn’t have let me push all those buttons just now. Rookie mistake. Though I do have a bit of helpful information you may want to consider.” He gave them a cheeky grin. “Run!”
He legged it as quickly as he could, laughing as a madman would. Behind him, the ship exploded, the force of the shockwaves throwing him and the Family to the ground. The thrill of being himself again faded as the Doctor stood and dusted off his clothes. All that remained was the blind fury over what they had cost him.
The Doctor snapped a thin silver bracelet around his wrist. With a cold smile he held up four matching bracelets. As he snapped one onto each of their wrists, he said, “A friend of mine gave these to me. Admittedly, when he gave them to me they only gave a good enough shock to surprise the prisoner. But, you should feel honoured, I’ve done a slight modification for this special occasion. You will need to stay within ten feet of me or you will be in a lot of pain.” The last line was delivered coolly. Four sets of eyes filled with fear as he stood as his full height. “As I said… ten feet.”
Without a second thought, he turned and started to stride away. He knew they hadn’t had time to stand and follow when a few seconds later he heard four blood curdling screams of pain. One of them cried for mercy and he stepped back towards them so that they were back within range.
“Oh, I tried to show you mercy,” he growled. “But, no, you had to hurt my friends. You had to threaten the two people that mean the most to me for your own selfishness. You had your chance for my mercy.”
When he turned away again, he heard them quickly follow.
Chapter Five
Author: irishlullaby
Beta: amyo67 & amberfocus
Rated: Adult
Pairing/Characters: Nine/Rose, Martha Jones
Summary: The Doctor, Rose, and their new friend Martha Jones have to hide in 1913 from the Family.
The rest of the series can be found: H E R E
banner by me :)
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
The silence that followed John’s proclamation was deafening. Baines shook his head to clear it. “Come again?” he asked snidely.
“You won’t hurt either of them,” he vowed.
A whisper of power seemed to cut through the room. Baines’ head jerked towards another direction. “It’s him!”
Martha used the moment to kick Jenny in the shin and take the gun, reversing the hostage situation. Rose somehow managed to get free and raced to John’s waiting arms. “One more move from any of you and I shoot,” Martha threatened.
Baines’ eyes glimmered with sadistic delight. “Ooh, the maid is just so full of fire.”
“And you can shut it,” Martha stated, shooting the gun at the ceiling before returning it back to Jenny’s head.
Mister Clark looked to Baines and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Now, Son of Mine, be careful… This is all for you so that you may live forever.”
“I’ll shoot you down,” Baines threatened.
“Oh yeah?” Martha challenged. “Have a go. I’ll take you with me.”
Baines chuckled darkly. “Would you really pull the trigger you scared little thing?”
“Scared and holding a gun really isn’t a good combination, is it?” Martha asked, trying her best to stay on par with the alien. “Doctor, get everyone out. Through the side door over there.” She kept her eyes locked with those of Baines, daring him to make a move towards her friends. “Do it, Mister Smith, I meant you!”
Behind her, Martha could hear Rose and Joan encourage everyone towards the door. With a quick glance from the corner of her eye, she could see John watching, completely horrified. “You shift on too, Mister Smith.”
“But…” he said helplessly and Martha could practically feel her heart breaking. Even as a human, the Doctor cared too much about other people.
“I think you need to escort Rose to safety, don’t you?” Martha asked. “Considering she’s having your baby.”
That seemed to snap him out of his conflict. “What?”
“You heard me, now go,” Martha said. She knew it wasn’t true, but she figured that would get the Doctor to shove on. It had, she realised as she heard his retreating footsteps. As soon as the dancehall was clear, Martha shoved Jenny away and looked at the Family face forward, gun gripped in both of her hands. “None of you try anything.”
The Family moved closer, Martha stepped back. “This one is almost brave,” Baines commented with wicked delight.
“I should have taken her form,” Jenny purred. “Much more fun and so much spirit.”
Martha took a step back with each one they took forward. “What’s happened to Jenny? Did you kill her?”
“I consumed her. She is gone and this body is mine,” Jenny replied.
“Dead…”
“Oh yes, and she went with precious little dignity,” Jenny replied. “All that--Ah!--screaming.”
Martha gasped in surprise as a pair of arms grabbed her from behind. She easily got free of the scarecrow and hurried out of the building. The Doctor was holding Rose back, fighting to keep her from going back into the dancehall. She ran out, Rose cried out her name and Martha ran straight to her and hugged her tightly.
“Come on, let’s go,” Martha said and the three of them ran for the school.
#
By time they arrived at the school, the headmaster already had most of the boys up and about, ready for battle. John held fast to Rose’s arm, making sure she didn’t get into harms way until he could speak to her about what Martha had said at the dancehall. It was no surprise that Rose fought against his hold, despite the fact he knew it was in her best interest.
Nor was it any surprise when he looked back over his shoulder and saw Martha blocking the doorway to the school, preventing the boys from exiting to battle. Annoyed, the headmaster turned. “Mister Smith! It seems your favourite servant is giving me advice. Control her!”
“Martha!” John barked. The girl snapped her attention to him. “Come keep Rose safe.”
Martha frowned but shuffled away from the door and grabbed Rose’s hand. “We’ve got to find that watch!” she grumbled.
John grabbed Martha’s arm to keep her from retreating. “Martha…” he said gently, searching her face. “Please. Keep Rose safe for me?”
Martha smiled affectionately at him. “You know you don’t have to ask me to do that Mister Smith.”
John pulled Rose to him one last time and kissed her deeply. Rose’s arms wrapped around his neck and he soon felt the warm dampness of tears on his face. He took her face in his hands and held her close. “I love you,” he murmured, then kissed her again.
Rose sniffled. “You act like I’m never going to see you again,” she whispered. “I’m not gonna say it until after all this is done.”
“Gives me something to live for then, yeah?” he asked. Rose nodded and allowed herself to be pulled away by the maid. The Matron disappeared behind the women, hopefully to safety as well.
“They seem to be after you, Mister Smith so myself and Phillips will go out to investigate,” the headmaster said. “I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
John watched from the window as the headmaster and Mister Phillips stalked out to greet Baines and his fellow mad people. His hearts raced in anticipation. What on Earth did they want with him? They seemed to think he was a character in his book… and John made a mental note to make sure Rose never put silly ideas into Martha’s head ever again.
Rose. His mind almost instantly calmed and a smile went to his lips. According to Martha, Rose was with child. That alone made him want to get to the bottom of the current issue and see it put to rest. It had been like getting doused with a pail of water when Martha had shared the news. Of course he had been asking and asking Rose--begging Rose--for a child of their own, but he had never really thought about what it would be like to be a father.
He had been one, long ago. So long ago and so briefly that he could scarcely recall it clearly. Surely there had been joy and excitement before? Why couldn’t he remember?
“You, sir, you will send us Mister John Smith!” John snapped out of his reverie at the sound of his name. “That’s all we want. John Smith and whatever he’s done with his Time Lord consciousness. Then we’ll happily leave you alone.”
Him. They would leave everyone alone if he went to them and let them take him. Is that really all it took to make everyone safe? To make Rose and his child safe? Rose was kind and generous. She would be able to easily find someone new to love… someone that would love her and his child. Perhaps Jack would…
John shook his head, tossed such a silly notion from his mind. No. He was going to live and be a proper husband and father. He would grow old with Rose, watch her hair turn silver. He would kiss wrinkles as they appeared and hold her in reverence forever.
Baines had started murmuring to the headmaster again. John watched fearfully as the two men exchanged words. Then, Phillips was shot and the headmaster returned to the school, his face ashen and fearful.
“Why are they after you, Mister Smith?” the headmaster asked.
John shook his head. “I have no idea, sir. Perhaps Baines, in his madness, saw me as the source of his personal conflict?” He sighed heavily. “I got word that the phone lines have been severed so we’re alone in this, sir.”
The headmaster nodded curtly. “Right then. Lads! Build barricades in the courtyards, fortify the entrances, build defences!”
John felt a chill run down his spine and his gaze moved towards the staircase, to where his quarters rested. For a moment he saw her swimming through the air to him, then taking him into her arms. Her hair fanned weightlessly around them as she laughed and they bumped into a wall. Part of him wondered if what Martha had said was true. Could he really be an alien hiding as a human?
It seemed all a bit mad so he dismissed it and silently hoped that Rose was okay. When he made it through this entire ordeal, they would get everything squared away once more.
#
“You told him what?” Rose exclaimed.
“Sorry,” Martha apologised. “It was the first thing that popped to mind. But you’re not so it doesn’t much matter anyway does it?”
“What are we looking for again?” Nurse Redfern asked.
“A watch. A fob watch,” Rose said, dumping out the contents of a desk drawer on the bed. She held up a pair of her knickers with her pinkie and shook her head. “What is his fixation with my knickers? I swear, human or alien…”
“I know it all sounds a bit mad,” Martha stated. “But when the Doctor became human…” She plundered through a basket full of yarn. “He took the alien bits and put them inside the watch. Well, it’s not really a watch, it just looks like one.”
Joan eyed her with uncertainty. “And by alien… you don’t mean from abroad, do you?”
Rose laughed gently. “The man you call John Smith isn’t of this world,” she said quietly.
“A different species,” Joan said slowly, still very uncertain.
“Yeah,” Martha and Rose replied together.
Joan frowned and seemed to get lost in thought. “So, what exactly are the two of you to him?”
“I’m his friend. And Rose’s friend too,” Martha replied, she shared a wicked grin with the woman in question. “And Rose is…”
Rose shook her head and sighed. “It’s complicated. We’re… lovers. Not married or anything.”
Joan was quiet, once again processing the information. “Do you love each other?”
“Me and the Doctor?” Rose asked, then nodded. “I’d like to think so. I mean, I’m not what you’d call a loose woman or anything. I wouldn’t be his lover if I didn’t love him. I mean, we’ve never said the words but…”
“So you’re both human?” Joan asked.
“Yeah,” Martha replied. “Don’t get me wrong, we don’t just follow him about fawning over him. Rose has saved the world dozens of times. And I’m actually studying to be a doctor. Not an alien doctor but a proper medical doctor.”
Joan scoffed in disbelief. “Well that certainly is non-sense. Women may train to become doctors but hardly a chivvy and one of your colour.”
“Oi!” Rose barked in offence. “Martha’s going to be a brilliant--”
Martha covered Rose’s mouth and shook her head. She took a deep breath and held up her hand. “Bones of the hand…” she indicated each bone and named each one without a moment of hesitation. Joan’s eyes widened in shock.
“You must have read that in a book,” Joan said in awe.
“Of course,” Martha replied. “To pass my exams.”
“Even I don’t know all the bones in the hand,” Rose commented then laughed.
Joan shook her head in disbelief. “I must go…”
“Wait!” Martha called out and Joan stopped. “If we find the watch, we can stop them…”
“Those boys are going to fight, ladies,” Joan said sternly. “I may not be a doctor, but I am still their nurse and they are going to need me. I would appreciate a couple of extra hands if at all possible. If what you say is true, Martha, then your help would be invaluable.”
Martha looked to Rose. Rose sighed with defeat. “We’ve searched the room half a dozen times…” Rose said. She shook her head. “It’s not here.”
“Then let’s go help,” Martha said with a decisive nod.
#
John directed a pair of boys off to their post and walked into a room only to find Rose, Martha, and Joan prepared to tend to any injuries. “Ladies, it’s not safe for you here. Especially you, Rose.”
Rose rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “I’m hardly going to just sit back and do nothing,” she said defiantly. “At least this way we can be of some use.”
“We’re doing our duty, just as you are Mister Smith,” Joan added in. She moved across the room to prepare strips of gauze. She cast a glance at Martha and Rose, who were preparing beds. “Tell us about Manchester.”
John blinked at the kind Matron. “Pardon?”
“That’s where you were brought up, wasn’t it?” Joan asked. “Tell us about it.”
“Matron…” Rose objected but fell silent when the woman gave her a pointed stare.
John sucked in a deep breath and sighed. He wasn’t really sure how all of this pertained to the battle that was about to be going on outside and he had precious little time to be dawdling. “Manchester… is… in the south-central part of north west England. It’s fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south and Pennines to the north and east.”
His attention shifted to Rose as she put an index finger in each ear and shook her head. “No… no. I don’t want to hear it,” Rose whimpered. Martha hurried to her and hugged her gently, whispering soothingly.
Joan laughed lightly and shook her head. “You sound like an encyclopaedia, Mister Smith. Where did you live?”
“Thorpe Street, just off of Northumberland Road,” he replied quickly. Honestly, what was she getting at? Surely none of these things were important. Not when insane people were beating down the doors of the school.
Joan shook her head. “More facts, Mister Smith. I want to know about the places you played. Where did you hide away when your mother and father made you angry?”
“Don’t tell me you believe it too!” John exclaimed. “Martha? Rose? How can you think I’m not real? I’m standing here. I’m John Smith… The Doctor is just some madman. Is that who you want me to be Rose? Am I not good enough?”
Rose choked back a sob. It felt like his heart was breaking. Had everyone around him gone mad? He turned to leave. If the madness was spreading, it was only a matter of time before it infected him. Would he actually think of himself as the Doctor they sought if he descended into the same madness?
“Those boys,” Rose said, her voice breaking. “They’re only children. John Smith wouldn’t want them to fight, would he? Nor would the Doctor. You know it’s wrong, don’t you?”
John paused at the door. He stared away aimlessly, echoes of horrified screams from his past ringing in his mind. So many lives…
“Mister Smith!”
He turned and looked at the three women. “What choice do I have?” he asked then raced over to kiss Rose before running out into the fray.
Once outside of the room, he slumped against the wall and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. Voices whispered to him, telling him to find the watch, telling him that it needed to be set free. It was all just a story. Wasn’t it? That’s all.
The more he repeated the query to himself the quieter the voice became. Perhaps, if he instructed the others to do the same, their own madness would settle? It seemed to be working on him. He took a deep breath and then slowly released it. The voices in his head were soon replaced by the very real shouts of the headmaster giving out orders.
John looked at his hands. They were shaking, just as they had when he’d had his hand forced in the last great battle for Gallifrey. He shook his head to clear it. No. No. That place wasn’t real, it was only a dream. Red grass and silver trees were only the products of his vivid imagination. The imagination that Rose constantly complimented.
He could hold it together. He could keep his sanity long enough to finish this fight and finally hear the words he so dearly wanted Rose to say. Then they would watch their child grow into an adult as they grew old together.
The first word I ever said to you, so long ago… I took your hand…
John groaned in frustration and ran his hands over his hair. No, no, no. It wasn’t real. Especially that. He wasn’t a man with messy brown hair and dark eyes. He couldn’t be.
The sound of pounding against the school doors made John push away from the wall and stalk down to the battle. The headmaster handed him a gun as he came up. Everyone aimed, including him. He hated guns, Rose hated him using guns. He could still remember seeing disappointment in her eyes, once upon a time.
“He’s not the one pointing a gun at me.”
With shaking hands, John aimed his gun. The doors split open and all the guns went off as scarecrows piled in. John’s finger went to the trigger but he couldn’t pull it. The headmaster rushed forward as the gun fire stopped. He grabbed fistfuls of straw.
“They are made of straw,” the man said in disbelief. His head jerked towards the door. “Stand to!”
Everyone stood ready once again, even John did. But then the small girl from the party walked in. The headmaster stared at her for a long moment. “I can’t do it… she’s just a child…” he said helplessly. “You’re Lucy Cartwright, aren’t you?”
“No!” Martha shouted from seemingly nowhere. “You know she’s part of it, Mister Rocastle.” The maid sprinted through the line and tried to urge the headmaster away. “Come away from her, please.”
“You were told to be quiet!” the headmaster shouted. He turned, his hand drawn back in preparation of giving Martha a swift smack. John lunged forward, ready to grab the other man’s arm. But the headmaster dissolved into ash in a flash of green light.
Lucy clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Hitting girls really is a very bad thing,” she said plainly, lowering her weapon. “So which of you are going to shoot me? And be honest.”
“Everyone retreat,” John shouted.
“But sir…” Hutchinson said.
“I said retreat!” John barked. “Retreat now.”
They all listened to him that time. John looked at Joan as they met in the corridor. “Where’s Harold?” she asked.
John tried to tell her, his mouth opened but the words didn’t come out. Tears welled in the woman’s eyes but she nodded and turned to run back. She helped Martha and Rose guide the students out of the back door, towards the stables.
“The village won’t be safe!” Martha exclaimed as he raced away from the school, Rose’s hand firmly clasped in his own. “Will you ever listen to me?!”
Rose came to a halt, yanking John to one as well. “Martha’s right. It won’t be safe there. In fact, you’d put everyone in danger if we went there.”
John looked around for a likely place for them to run. In the end Martha chose and led them into the forest. Through the trees, John could hear Mister Clark calling for the Doctor. He stopped when the source of the voice was standing in front of them. A wooden blue box towered over the man, like it was straight from his own dreams.
“Come home, Doctor,” Mister Clark hissed with delight. “Come and claim your prize.”
“You recognise her don’t you?” Martha asked gently, standing next to him.
John wanted to reach out and touch the wooden panels. Instead he shook his head. “Never seen it a day in my life,” he lied, his voice wavering.
“Don’t you want to run away into the stars,” Mister Clark asked. “It would be so easy.”
Rose turned him to face her. She searched his face. “What’s she called? You have seen her… in your dreams. She’s in your book… What is her name?”
TARDIS, the voice in the back of his head whispered. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. Susan had named her… John shook his head in denial. “No. No! I don’t know it!” he insisted. He wasn’t going to get pulled into their madness. He still refused to give in so easily. “I’m… I’m… I’m not John Smith, am I?” He stared blankly at the blue box. “He’s just who I want to be. His life. His job. His love?” John stared at Rose. “Why can’t I be John Smith? Aren’t I a good man?”
“The best,” Rose said softly, cupping his cheek.
“But we need the Doctor,” Martha added. “Only the Doctor can end this.”
John could feel the heat of tears sliding down his face. “Why can’t I stay here? Why can’t I just be with Rose? Why can’t I just grow old with her and live the life I want?” Unable to take anymore, he ran away, he ran away from all of them.
He could hear Rose and Martha calling after him. But he kept running, hoping he could outrun whatever it was he running from.
#
Up ahead, John stopped to catch his breath. It gave the three women plenty of time to catch up to him. Rose, still panting for air, walked up and rested her hand on his shoulder. He swatted her hand away.
“Don’t touch me!” he snapped, then focused on her. His eyes softened.
Rose tentatively reached for him and he let her pull him into a gentle embrace. The four of them stood in the silence of the night for a long moment. But then Joan’s voice cut through, “I think there’s somewhere we can hide close by.”
Rose gently coaxed the broken John down the path the Matron was leading them down. She shared a look with Martha. Martha’s eyes asked how he was doing. To be honest, Rose didn’t know. She didn’t know if he could change back without the watch. Sure, he had said he couldn’t, but maybe there was still yet something they hadn’t tried?
The Matron’s journey led them to a darkened house. “Whose place is this?” Martha asked curiously.
“If I’m right,” Joan replied sadly. “No one.” She pushed open the door and they all eased inside. Martha made sure the door was latched securely behind them then ran off to check the other doors and windows. “Hello?” Joan called. “No one home.”
Martha returned. “Whose house is this then?” she asked, repeating her query from moments ago.
Rose guided John to the table that was set for a dinner that would never get served. His face was blank, emotionless, like his entire world was coming undone around him. And in a way, she guessed, it was. He had believed himself to be such a simple man with simple human wishes and desires. And now he was being told that he was just a copy. A human copy, but still a copy nonetheless.
Joan touched the kettle sitting on the table. “It’s the Cartwright house. The little girl from the school--Lucy Cartwright. Or, rather, she’s taken her form. If she came home and her parents tried to stop her…” Her voice trailed off. “Harold…” She quickly composed herself. “The kettle is cool. I’m amazed at how quickly I accept these ideas.”
“I have to go,” John said quietly. He finally budged and leaned over to hide his face in his hands. “I need to go before anyone else dies because of me.”
“Not as you are,” Joan scoffed. “You need to become the Doctor again, first. Is there anything, Martha? Rose? Is there nothing we can do to make him change back?”
“Not without the watch, no,” Martha replied, plopping down in a chair of her own with a heavy sigh.
John scowled and looked at Martha and Rose accusingly. “You’re his companions. Is there nothing you can do? What exactly is it you do for him? Why does he need you? Why? Why does he need useless humans tagging along with him?”
Rose moved away from him, feeling like he had slapped her. Tears stung her eyes as his words rang truthfully in her mind. They were useless humans, weren’t they? John wouldn’t think it unless the Doctor did on some level. Thankfully Martha had an answer where Rose came up empty handed.
“Because he’s lonely,” Martha said quietly. “He needs friends, even if he can’t always depend on them. And Rose, he needs Rose. He once told me he needed her because she made him better. He’d be lost without her. And he loves her, even if neither of them say it.”
“And that’s what you want me to become?” John said, his voice hushed and pained. Rose felt her heart beat faster as their eyes met. “You would rather I become a man that can’t even tell you he loves you?”
Rose opened her mouth to reply but thankfully a knock at the door offered a reasonable distraction. Joan’s eyes widened fearfully. “What if it’s them?” she asked in a hushed whisper.
“I’m no expert, but I don’t think they’d bother knocking,” Martha commented and walked over to open the door.
A young blond boy ducked in. He smiled warily and even in the darkness Rose could see him blush. Rose recognised him as one of the students, one of John’s personal favourites--a bright lad with lots of untapped potential. “I brought this,” he said shyly, holding out a fob watch. “He told me to come here.”
Martha gingerly took the watch from the boy. Rose stood between John and Martha. She shook her head when Martha pressed her lips into a thin line. “I don’t want him to turn back yet,” Rose whispered.
“We have no choice,” Martha said. “You know that Rose.” She brushed past and held the watch out to John. “Hold it.”
John looked up at Martha defiantly. “No.”
“But it wants you to hold it, Mister Smith,” the boy said urgently. “He’s ready.”
“You had it the whole time?” Rose asked. “You little--”
“Rose,” John said sternly.
“If I hadn’t,” the boy said, “they would have stolen him away. I didn’t return it because… I was afraid of the Doctor. I was afraid of the rage and fire that burns inside of him.” John shook his head. “He’s ancient and forever. He can feel the turn of the universe--He told you once, too, Rose. Don’t you remember? The words that made you love him? Hurtling through space, clinging…”
“Stop it,” Rose choked out.
The house rumbled. Joan raced to the window. “They’re destroying the village!” she exclaimed. Rose and Martha ran to join Joan and could see meteors crashing to the ground. John put his hands on Rose’s shoulders before reaching around and taking the watch from Martha. He gazed at it blankly, like he had never looked at a fob watch before.
He moved away, his finger stroking the cover to the watch.
“Can’t you hear it, sir?” the boy asked. “He’s calling out to you.”
“Sleeping,” John murmured. “Waiting for me to wake him.”
“Why can I hear him?”
Rose watched John pacing slowly, the watch cradled in his palms. She could hear a vague whispering. The whispering. It had never occurred to her that it had been coming from the watch.
“Low level telepathic field,” John answered airily, with the same causal, matter of fact tone the Doctor often used. Rose felt her heart leap with joy as he waved his hand dismissively. “Born that way, most likely. Nothing more than an extra synaptic engram cau--.” He pulled a face. “Is that really the way he talks?”
“Yes!” Rose said, her voice mixing with a sob of elation. She had missed the Doctor. God how she had missed hearing him say all those things she could never understand. Martha hugged her gently. Rose covered her mouth with both of her hands.
“It’s him! It’s really him!” Martha enthused. “Just open the watch and he’s back, Mister Smith.”
“You both knew all along!” John balked. “You knew all along and never said nothing!” He looked at Rose and Rose felt her heart drop. “Is that why you can’t tell me you love me? Because you love this madman and only saw me as a temporary replacement?”
Martha stepped forward. “You love her because he loves her! You stupid man.” she snapped, jabbing him in the chest with her finger with each sentence. “And Rose loves him more than anything. I may not have travelled with them for long, but… he’s told me. He’s useless without her. His life has no meaning without her in it. She showed him what it was to love someone so much that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe--even break the laws of time. If that’s not love then I don’t know what is.” She opened her mouth to say more, but Rose gently pulled her away.
“Can I… talk to him alone for a minute?” Rose asked.
Martha nodded mutely and she left the room taking the boy and Joan with her. Rose studied her hands for a long moment. She could hear John resume his pacing as he looked at the watch.
“I could just give them the watch,” he commented. “Give them the watch and they’d go away. You and me could be together forever.” Rose looked up when he stopped, their eyes met. “I’d do it if it could make you happy.”
Rose shook her head. “If they get that watch…” her voice trailed off. “They have a limited lifespan. That’s why they’ve come after him. The Doctor, I mean. If they get that watch, they become immortal. They’d have forever to spread across the universe breeding and feeding.”
“Do you love me, Rose?” John asked. “As the Doctor, I mean. Do you love me?” Rose nodded. “Does he really love you?”
“I’d like to think he does,” Rose replied quietly.
“You’d rather be with someone that can’t tell you he loves you?” John asked.
Rose held her head up in defiance. “It doesn’t need saying,” she said firmly.
John snorted. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
With a heavy sigh, Rose looked down. “You are the Doctor. The Doctor is you. At least this way I know he loves me. And… I love you because you are him. You’re the same, whether you believe it or not.” She carefully took the watch from him and smiled affectionately at the watch. “I can hear it, you know. I can hear the Doctor talking inside this watch, like your student. Just I never realised it until just now. But, none of it makes sense to me. The Doctor never makes any sense to me.”
She laughed despite the fact she wanted to cry. But that was her lot in life while being with the Doctor. It would sort of figure that, just as she had accepted and started to love the John Smith side of the Doctor, he would be taken away over something as stupid as aliens with a hunger for immortality.
John slid his hand into hers. Rose gasped as images danced across her mind. The two of them growing old together, having a family. They were happy, their children were happy.
“‘I create myself,’ the Bad Wolf said, scattering the letters of the corporation with a wave of her magical hands. She sent them into the whole of time and space as a message to herself to lead her back to the Doctor once again.’” Rose turned the page and looked up just in time to see John lounging in the nursery door.
“He’ll have nightmares again,” he teased.
“That’s alright, Da. The Doctor will keep the Daleks away,” their son proclaimed.
Even Martha was happy.
“It’s just a small tweak to history, yeah?” Martha asked. “The first woman of my status and colour to become an honest to goodness doctor! I could be an inspiration to my future self!”
They laughed as Rose agreed. “But don’t you ever wish you could go back?” Rose asked.
Martha shrugged indifferently. “I try not to dwell on it,” Martha replied. “Besides, I’ve still got my best mate.” She hugged Rose tightly.
Suddenly Rose could see John old and laying in a medical bed, his eyes closed and he was breathing slowly. His eyes fluttered open and he reached up to touch her cheek.
“Is everyone safe?” he asked weakly. “Are you going to be safe?”
“I love you,” Rose whispered. He smiled and his hand slowly fell to the bed as he died.
Once the rush of images stopped, Rose gasped and released John’s hand. “What was that?” she asked, wiping tears from her face.
John looked at her longingly. “It’s… a life I could never have as a Time Lord.” He looked at the watch. “But… as John Smith, I could. We could have that kind of life.”
Rose worried. Would he really take the coward’s road and run until the Family finally died? It should only be a few more weeks, but the havoc that could be wrought in that amount of time would be disastrous. “What are you going to do?”
John simply studied her face.
#
John staggered into the Family’s ship, his hands brushing over various buttons. The four turned to look at him. The corner of the Brother’s mouth quirked with bemusement. “Stop, please stop,” John pleaded. “I’m here. I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt anyone else.”
“Say ‘please’,” the Brother said.
“Please,” John amended. “I’m sorry for all of this. You have to understand, I had no control over any of this. He forced me into existence.” He held out the watch as he fell against more buttons.
The Mother sniffed deeply. “He’s still human, I see. The coward. Always a coward, the Doctor.”
“Take it,” John said, his voice going up a couple of octaves. “Just take it and let me be done with it. I just want to go home to Rose so we can live our lives together. That’s all I want.”
The Brother snatched the watch from his hand and eyed it like it was the greatest prize he had ever received. He grabbed John by his coat and yanked him forward, John fell against even more buttons as he lost his footing. “Thank you, Mister Smith. But don’t think you’ll get to have your happy ending. You won’t be leaving here alive.”
The Brother shoved John away and he hit more of the ship components as he fell to the floor. “Oh, Family of Mine,” the Brother said with reverence. “Now we shall have the lives of a Time Lord… stretching endlessly. And…” He clicked open the watch and the Family inhaled deeply. The Brother scowled. “It’s empty!” He threw the watch. “Where is he?!”
John caught the watch one handed and sniffed as he opened the watch and studied it. He shrugged. “Oh, I think, perhaps you lot were had. Probably by a slight olfactory misdirection. I’m the reigning champion at Camp Lake Phobos for the Possibly Insane. The year 2150 a girl came close to beating me but I won by misdirecting four at once.” He squinted as he crawled to his feet, his eyes on the panel in front of him. Most of the metres had blinking mauve lights. “The readings on your hydroconometre is absurd! There’s energy feeding back to the retrostabilisors and right into your primary heat converter!”
John tapped one of the gauges and shook his head. “You really shouldn’t have let me push all those buttons just now. Rookie mistake. Though I do have a bit of helpful information you may want to consider.” He gave them a cheeky grin. “Run!”
He legged it as quickly as he could, laughing as a madman would. Behind him, the ship exploded, the force of the shockwaves throwing him and the Family to the ground. The thrill of being himself again faded as the Doctor stood and dusted off his clothes. All that remained was the blind fury over what they had cost him.
The Doctor snapped a thin silver bracelet around his wrist. With a cold smile he held up four matching bracelets. As he snapped one onto each of their wrists, he said, “A friend of mine gave these to me. Admittedly, when he gave them to me they only gave a good enough shock to surprise the prisoner. But, you should feel honoured, I’ve done a slight modification for this special occasion. You will need to stay within ten feet of me or you will be in a lot of pain.” The last line was delivered coolly. Four sets of eyes filled with fear as he stood as his full height. “As I said… ten feet.”
Without a second thought, he turned and started to stride away. He knew they hadn’t had time to stand and follow when a few seconds later he heard four blood curdling screams of pain. One of them cried for mercy and he stepped back towards them so that they were back within range.
“Oh, I tried to show you mercy,” he growled. “But, no, you had to hurt my friends. You had to threaten the two people that mean the most to me for your own selfishness. You had your chance for my mercy.”
When he turned away again, he heard them quickly follow.
Chapter Five