Story Title: The Latimer Effect
A/N: I'm not saying I didn't like "The Family of Blood", but I do wish "Human Nature" would have gone in a slightly different direction at the end. And that's what inspired this story.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and all related characters/spin-offs belong to the BBC.
*This story starts just after the Doctor throws Martha out of his quarters for slapping him.
Timothy blinked hard as a vision of a Martha Jones from the future danced before his eyes. He did not register the fact that he called out to her after she bumped into him, and he barely heard her reply. "Not now, Tim!"
He sensed that something was terribly wrong. A foreboding hovered underneath the surface of his strange vision, throbbing just behind his eyes. He felt the urge to do something about it, but without knowing what was coming, he had no idea what action he could or should take. Not for the first time, Timothy Latimer wished he had some control over his visions. What was the use of seeing flashes of the future if he couldn't understand them?
Turning back in the direction he had originally been heading, the boy shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and began walking again. His fingers brushed over flat, round metal and a whispering voice echoed in his mind. It was the watch – Mr. Smith's fob watch! The lingering foreboding of his vision retreated somewhat as the whisper gained strength, and suddenly Timothy realized there was something he could do. He just hoped this course of action wouldn't result in Mr. Smith giving him a beating.
0000000
"I don't understand. How could I forget about a fob watch laying on a mantelpiece which I pass by several times a day?"
Joan watched as Mr. Smith tugged at his hair in both frustration and embarrassment, leaving it sticking up in a fantastic disarray. She was surprised the man had not yet started to pace the room, his agitation was so great.
"I know I'm not a particularly tidy person, in my living quarters or my mind," the professor shot her an apologetic smile as he gestured at the mess around them, "but I look at that mantel every day. Letters, spare pens, paperweights, my tinder box, all things I use every morning before classes begin and again once they end, and I keep them right there on that ledge."
"John, I'm not sure you'll manage to find an answer as to why you forgot about your fob watch, but perhaps it would help simply to find it first and then ask these questions?" Joan reached out to capture Mr. Smith's hand as he started to raise it to his head again. Smiling softly, she used her free hand to smooth the ruffled mess of his hair back to some semblance of order. "Martha may be confused as to why the watch is important, but I believe she wasn't wrong in labeling it as such. I remember it being intricately engraved, John, and no man spends that kind of money on a timepiece unless it's important to him."
"Thanks, but that does nothing to make me feel better about it." The teacher sighed. "I suppose I should apologize to Martha and ask her to help me find it again."
"And what on Earth do you have to apologize for?" Joan asked, receiving a shrug in answer.
"I don't know. I just feel like I own her an apology, the poor, simple girl. It's not her fault that she can't discern the difference between fact and fiction."
"I don't believe her lack of understanding justifies her slapping you. A maid raising her hand to a teacher and her superior? She deserves a beating, John, at the very least, not an apology."
"Hmm, a beating, yes, but I dismissed her…"
Before either of them could comment further, a knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
"Ah, come in!" Mr. Smith called, stepping away from the fireplace and putting some distance between himself and Nurse Redfern. The door opened to reveal a nervous-looking Timothy Latimer.
"Mr. Latimer, what can I do for you?" the professor asked, giving the boy an encouraging smile as he picked up on his student's mood.
"Sir, I… I'm sorry," Timothy said, drawing up his courage as he pulled the watch from his pocket. It would do him no good to delay his confession, and so he held forth the timepiece without hesitation. "I shouldn't have taken this, and I'm now returning it to you."
"Is that my fob watch?" Mr. Smith glanced between Nurse Redfern and the item in question, earning a nod from the woman in confirmation. "Mr. Latimer, why would you take my watch?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but I doubt you'd believe me if I told you." The boy bowed his head in embarrassment.
"Try me," the teacher requested as he reached for the watch.
Their fingers brushed briefly, and Timothy blinked as a new vision flashed before his eyes: Mr. Smith, as the Doctor, standing before a wooden, blue box inside a barn, pointing a buzzing object about the size of a fountain pen at an unseen adversary. Timothy gasped as the vision released him as suddenly as it had come, and he found himself staring up into his teacher's surprised gaze.
"What was that?" Mr. Smith shook his head as if he was dazed.
"You saw it too, didn't you?" Timothy asked. "Just now, that vision."
"I… How? It was just a dream. How can you see my dreams?"
"I don't believe they're just dreams, Prof. Smith." The boy hesitated for a moment before explaining further. "The fob watch, it's shown me numerous visions of the Doctor. And forgive me for saying this, sir, but I doubt they're a coincidence. The Doctor is real, and you are him."
"This is nonsense. The Doctor is just a character, stories, all fiction!" John shook his head. "I don't know how you know about him, Latimer, but it would be best if you just forgot about all of this. I'll even ignore the fact that you stole from me if you promise not to bring this up again."
"But sir, I can't. Something's wrong. Something's coming. And I think the only one who can possibly deal with it is the Doctor. Please, sir."
"You're starting to sound like Martha. She was just in here raving about how aliens had done something to Jenny."
"Martha's a part of this, too, though! I've seen her, just like I've seen the Doctor. She's different, not alien but from the future." Timothy kept trying to convince Mr. Smith of this extraordinary truth, not knowing why it was important but not willing to give up either. "Please, sir, you need to find her and talk to her. She knows the truth."
"Fine! Fine, we'll go find Martha, and I'll set you both straight once and for all. Then there will be no more talk of these Doctor fantasies." The teacher pulled his coat from its hook and grabbed a second one for Nurse Redfern. "Perhaps you'll have more luck talking sense into these two should I fail again. Some things just need a woman's touch, or perhaps a nurse's."
"Or perhaps it's a combination of the two." Joan suggested, taking the proffered coat.
"I don't suppose you have any clue as to where Martha ran off to, do you, Mr. Latimer?" Mr. Smith asked.
"There's an abandoned barn near the edge of the school's property. I think she may have gone there." Timothy replied, remembering clues from the vision he had shared with his teacher. "Please, follow me."
End A/N: Shall I continue with this story? The amount of interest I get for this will help determine whether it becomes just a two-part story or if I develop it into something more than that. Reviews are much appreciated!
- Stony Knight