The Time Lady in the Watch

CHAPTER ONE

Fred Smith

'... Doctor...'

'... Romana...'

'... Gallifrey...'

'... Lady President...'

'... Daleks...'

'... Time War...'

'... TARDIS...'

'... Fire...'

'... Burning...'

'... Run...'

'... RUN...'

'... Find HIM...'

'... Doctor...'

'... Find the Doctor...'

'... Doctor...'

|x|x|

"FRED?!"

Fred Smith jumped, her arms moving without any conscious thought and accidentally knocking over the plastic cup containing coffee in front of her.

"I'm sorry!" She said and got to her hands and knees and picked up the cup and trying her hardest to ignore the persistent pounding in her head. She sat up as a waitress came and cleaned up the spilled coffee and bit her lip, trying to hide her burning face as she noticed everyone's stares. Her friend, Alice, was sat opposite her and was trying her hardest to suppress her laughter but Fred could easily see through her. "Oh, shut up." She said and pulled her bag towards her. She groaned when she saw the wetness, knowing that the coffee had caught her bag. She sat it on the table and Alice chuckled.

"Not been getting much sleep again?" She asked as she helped her pull out book after book, piling them up on the table between them to allow them to dry out.

"No." She replied and sighed when she saw that her books were ruined. All of that hard work had disappeared in a moment of thoughtless clumsiness. "I'm going to have to do this all over again!" She groaned, slumping in her seat as she looked at all the work she had put so much effort in. Alice took a book in her hand, flicking through the pages.

"Couldn't you say it was deliberate? Say it gives the book an.. I don't know, vintage look?" She suggested and Fred shook her head. The previously pristine white pages were now an aged yellow; she could say it was deliberate but she had put so much work into getting it the way it previously was. She didn't want her teacher to mark her for something she did not intend.

"No. I'll just do it all again." She said, taking the book from Alice and placing it on top of the pile of other ones.

"Perfectionist." Alice remarked with a raised eyebrow and Fred smirked.

"If that's supposed to be an insult then I'm ashamed to call you my friend." She chuckled and Alice kicked her under the table. Fred flinched and let out an "Ow!" but let the supposed to be insult slide.

"So, when are you going to start doing all of this again?" Alice asked with a nod at the shaken books and Fred sighed.

"As soon as I get home. Better off just getting it over with." She sighed and Alice's eyes widened.

"I don't care how much work you have to do; you are coming to Sebastian's party!" She said quite loudly and Fred shushed her. A few of the other customers in the small cafe had turned to stare and Fred flushed slightly whilst Alice took no notice, always the confident one.

"Don't worry, I paid too much for the dress and shoes to let it go to waste. I was saving up four months of wages." She said and Alice nodded.

"Good. I can't go without my best friend." She smiled and Fred returned the gesture. "Oh, look." Alice said as she caught sight of something in Fred's bag. Fred watched as she pulled out the small and dainty watch which she had owned for several years now. "It was covered in coffee." Alice said and handed the watch over to Fred who raised an eyebrow. She held it in her hands for a second before gripping it tightly and attempting to pull open.

"Still won't open though." She sighed and placed the watch between them gently. Alice chuckled.

"That is one resilient watch." She laughed and Fred grinned.

"I know! It's been through so much." Fred giggled.

"Simon throwing it down the stairs."

"Joshua throwing it in the middle of that road and letting it get run over."

"Sophie dropping it at college."

"Me putting it in the wash."

"Reminds me of my old Nokia." Alice said and they both burst out laughing. When they had both calmed Alice took one of the books in her hand. "Well, we'd better get going so you can redo all this work." Fred groaned at the thought.

"God knows what Georgia is going to say." Fred sighed, referring to her Art lecturer. Alice laughed but started putting the books back in her bag as Fred stood. "I'm going to get another coffee." She said, pulling her purse towards her.

"Oh, leave me to put all your books back!" Alice mumbled and Fred grinned.

"Thank you, dear." She winked and walked up to the counter and ordering a coffee to take out. She wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings and was surprised when a hand touched her shoulder. She jumped and spun around, only to have to look up at the tall man.

He was quite handsome. Very, actually. He had gorgeous thick hair which was practically stood on end and he wore a brown suit which exaggerated his thin body but in a good way. A really good way.

Fred felt her cheeks heat a little at that thought but the man didn't seem to notice.

"What are you doing here?" He asked and Fred raised an eyebrow at the impatient tone in his voice.

"Getting coffee?" She said but it came out as more of a question. The man leaned down and looked at her closely.

"Are you alright?" He asked. "You look a little flushed." The heat increased at the mention of her pink cheeks. "When did you change your clothes?" He asked, looking at the jeans and simple top she wore with a confused expression. "It doesn't matter, come on. Donna's waiting for us." He said and trailed his hand from her shoulder and down her arm until he was gripping her hand. He grasped it tightly, her smaller one practically childlike in his large one; he pulled her through the cafe and she tried her hardest to pull her hand away.

"What are you doing?" She asked and he stopped and turned around to face her.

"What am I doing? There's Slitheen and you're getting coffee and you're asking me what I'm doing?"

"Yes, are your ears working correctly?" She asked. She was quite shocked at her own boldness; she had never been this outspoken, always preferring to stay in the background with her sketchbook and pencil.

"My ears are working perfectly, the question is..." He ducked down again until his eyes were level with his. "... What's the matter with you?" She inhaled sharply at that, a rush of anger flowing through her.

"There is nothing the matter with me!" She hissed and pulled her hand out of his loose grip. "You're the one who just came up to me and started pulling my out of the cafe. Who are you?" She asked and the man straightened, looking down at her as she tilted her head back to look at him and placed her hands on her hips. The man had his mouth open as he looked at the tiny woman in front of him and he took a step back. Fred felt a little empowered at that; men usually laughed at her anger, believing her to be harmless.

"The Doctor." He said softly and Fred's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the vague answer.

"Doctor who?" She asked and the man smirked as though the question was amusing. She didn't see how though; it was an honest question since he purposely left out his name, instead choosing only to give his title.

"Who are you?" He asked rather than answered and Fred crossed her arms.

"Winifred Smith." She answered. "But call me Fred." The man grinned as he looked down at her and leaned down to smile at her.

"Fred Smith, huh?" He asked and she nodded slowly. "Human Fred Smith." He chuckled and placed his hands on either side of her head. "When you see me, show me the watch." Was all he said before he took of running again, leaving Fred standing there with a look of bewilderment on her face. She ignored everyone around her and ran outside. By the time she got there, he was gone.

|x|x|

"I'll be fine." Fred laughed as she pulled Alice's arms from around her. It had been two weeks since the incident at the cafe and they were at Sebastian's twenty second birthday party. Fred had been too stressed to even think about getting drunk and instead chose to sit with friends who had decided to take the same sober path as her.

"No, I-I can't make you g-go home on your own!" Alice drunkenly protested and Fred laughed.

"Yes, you can. Besides, I don't think whatever-his-name will be very happy if I take you home with me. I think he's hoping for that pleasure." She laughed and Alice grinned.

"Damn right." She said before wrapping her arms around Fred again. "But you shouldn't go home on your own! Maybe find that hot blonde guy. He s-so wanted you!" Fred smirked but a blush stained her cheeks.

"I'll be fine. I'm going to go home and try and do some work." She said and Alice scoffed.

"Y-You're all dressed up a-and looking gorgeous and you're g-going home to d-do work!" She looked vaguely disgusted and Fred smiled softly. "What happened to you, Freddie?" She asked sadly.

"I grew up, Allie!" She laughed and pushed her friend back into the arms of the dark haired man waiting to take Alice home with him. She didn't know his name but Alice had assured her he was in her English class and she had flirted with him on several occasions. "Have fun and use protection!" She laughed and Alice glared at her before falling over herself. Fred shook her head and left the house, having already said goodbye to Sebastian.

She walked down the street, cursing the heels she wore. She was so distracted by the pain that she didn't notice the blue box she walked straight past or the man who climbed out of it.

"Excuse me! What's the date?" Someone shouted from behind her in a vaguely familiar voice. Fred frowned and turned to face the voice only to come face to face with the man who had tried to drag her out of the cafe weeks ago. The Doctor.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, walking up to him. One hand held a pretty silver clutch bag but the other was clenched into a fist at her side. His eyes widened as she stormed towards him and he actually took a step away from her.

"Er.. Do I know you?" He asked, his voice going slightly higher in his confusion. She glared at him.

"What? You don't remember the girl you practically dragged out of the cafe a fortnight ago?" She demanded and the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, a slightly uncomfortable look on his face.

"Ah.. Time travel." He muttered answer Fred froze. Time travel. TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Fred shook her head at the sudden onslaught of voices which occurred when he muttered about time travel.

"Time travel?" She asked in a quiet voice and he grinned down at her. Even in four inch heels she just came to his chin.

"Yeah. From your perspective I have dragged you out of the cafe but from my perspective I have yet to do so. Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey." He grinned and Fred raised an eyebrow; what an intelligent way to describe the impossibility that is time travel. Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey? "Why did I drag you out of the cafe?" He asked, his eyes wide and looking vaguely childlike. It was quite endearing, actually.

"How am I supposed to know?" She asked, her voice still quite shrill but a lot less angry. "You were saying something about Slitheen!"

"Slitheen?" He asked and rubbed his ear. "Blimey, not looking forward to that!" He muttered and she stepped closer to him.

"You're accepting this as though it is normal." She said and he grinned.

"Well, it sort of is for me." He shrugged and Fred narrowed her eyes.

"This is not normal for anyone!" She argued.

"Well..." He drawled and Fred glared at him just as a scream rung out. The high pitched sound was extremely loud in the silence of the night and both of their heads turned to look at where the sound came from. "And here I was hoping for a quiet trip." He muttered before turning to Fred with a smile on his face. She was shocked at how he could be smiling when someone was screaming in obvious pain. "Coming?" He asked and Fred growled.

"No." She grabbed his tie and pulled. He was surprised at the action and allowed her to pull him to where she pushed him against the nearest object which turned out to be the blue box he had come out of. She pulled him down so she could look him in the eyes, her hand still gripping the tie tightly. "Who are you?"

"The Doctor." He answered straight away, no hesitation in his voice as he noticed the determined gleam in her blue eyes.

"You've already said that. Doctor who?" She asked.

"I haven't said it... Well, in my timeline. I have yet to tell you but in your timeline I have already said that. Like I've said before wobbly wobbly, timey wimey." He grinned.

"Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey?" She repeated and he nodded cautiously. "Time travel is not real!" She yelled and he gripped her arms tighter.

"I would love to argue about this with you but I really need to go and see what the scream was about." He pushed her back gently before holding his hand out. "Now, are you coming?"

She still wasn't sure what made her take his hand.

|x|x|

When Fred woke that morning it was with a torn dress, a mess of hair and her heels missing. She sat up slowly, her hand resting on her head as her mind caught up with the events of the night before.

After the Doctor had her hand in his securely they had run in the direction of the scream where they found a man holding the body of a dead woman, his mouth at her neck. When he - if it actually was a he - had caught sight of the two of them he had run off, leaving the dead body of the woman in the middle of the street. Fred had immediately checked the woman and had cried when she found she was dead. She was dressed up in a gorgeous green dress and she assumed that she had been at Sebastian's party as well. It was upsetting to think that she had been in the same room as the dead woman in front of her only an hour earlier.

The rest of the night had been spent following the Doctor as he tried to track down the man. Fred had given up trying to get answers and went along with him before he had muttered something and ran off shouting about a TARDIS. Fred had tried to ignore the feeling of familiarity as he shouted that and went off home, feeling tired and wondering if she would ever get all of her work redone in time for her deadline.

She checked her alarm clock and saw that it was eleven in the morning. She was lucky her lecture for today didn't start until one that afternoon and took her time getting ready. She had several missed calls from Alice, wondering where she was before she assumed that Feed had gone to find the 'hot blonde' and had a fun night. Fred had rolled her eyes at her friend but was glad that at least one of them had a good night that didn't consist of running after a madman.

Fred left at twelve and arrived at the University campus at half past. There had been no sign of the Doctor and she thought that she would be free from him once again until the blue box from the night before literally faded into existence right in front of her eyes.

She froze and looked at the box with her mouth hanging open. She walked closer and touched it before jumping back; the box felt as though it was alive. It was vibrating under her hand! The door opened as soon as she touched it and she came face to face with the grinning face of the Doctor.

"I wondered where you got off to. Asked the old girl to track you down. Quite easy actually considering you're human." He grinned and Fred blinked.

"How the hell did you..?"

"Oh, this is the TARDIS." He grinned and stepped back, shutting the door behind him and looking up at the blue box with a proud grin on his face. "Last TARDIS in existence. Stands for..."

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space." She whispered to herself. It took her a moment to realize that the Doctor had stopped speaking and was looking down at her with his own mouth now hanging open.

"Yes... That's right." He muttered before turning to face her fully, looking down at her with narrowed eyes. "How did you know that?"

She looked up at him, blue eyes meeting brown and her mind flashed back to the first time she ever met him which turned out to not be the first time he met her.

"... show me the watch..."

Her hand reached into the pocket of her coat and she wrapped her hand around the silver watch that was in there. The Doctor was still watching her closely with an intent look in his eye.

"When I saw you at the cafe... You told me I had to show you something." She said quietly and his eyebrows furrowed at the complete change of subject.

"Show me what?" He asked and Fred sighed and pulled the silver watch out of her pocket and held it out to him. She had showed the watch to many people but they had scoffed at how possessive she was of it or cooed at how pretty it was. The Doctor, however, had a completely different reaction that she had never seem or expected.

He jumped back, his body colliding with the blue box behind him. He was staring at her with wide eyes and his mouth wide open. He looked terrified but at the same time his eyes were showing how hopeful he was feeling. Fred was confused; it was just a boring and simple watch which was broken. Why would he react this way?

"Where did you get that?" He asked quietly and Fred shrugged.

"I've had it for as long as I can remember." She said and he moved forward cautiously.

"Can I...?" He held his hand out hesitantly and Fred nodded, placing the small silver watch in his hand. He turned it over carefully before holding it between both hands and looking at it closely.

"Have you ever tried to open it?" He asked her, not turning to look at her. Fred nodded slightly.

"It doesn't open." She whispered as she looked at the watch in his hands. The watch which had haunted her for as long as she can remember; the watch terrified her and she would love nothing more than to get rid of it but she just couldn't. She wrapped her arms around herself as the familiar feeling of insecurity washed over her.

"But you can see it..." He whispered and looked between her and the watch. "You shouldn't be able to. You should just see it as an ordinary watch."

"It's not though." She told him and he nodded.

"Who are you?" He asked and Fred smiled at the confused look on his face. He looked like he had the last time he had asked her.

"Winifred Smith. But call me Fred." She said and he narrowed his eyes.

"Human Fred Smith, huh?" He held the watch between them. "Not so human Fred." He muttered and Fred froze; he was muttering under his breath and she knew she wasn't supposed to overhear bit she had and doing she did not like what she had heard.

"What was that?" She asked and he looked at her with wide eyes. "What..?" She asked before she shook her head, grabbed the watch and did the thing anyone in her position would have done.

She ran.

|x|x|

She ran to her lecture and she ran home when it had finished. She didn't come across the Doctor or his big blue box and Fred was grateful; she would not be able to handle the feelings he made her feel.

"Alice!" She shouted as she unlocked the door to the flat they shared and walked in. Alice didn't reply. "I have food!" She shouted, waiting for the inevitable yell of excitement and the thundering sound of her footsteps as she ran towards her. However, the flat was hauntingly silent. "Hey, if you're ignoring me because I wasn't here when you came home then I would like to remind you of all the times you've done that to me." She said as she walked to the kitchen and set the bag of take-away food on the counter. Alice still didn't reply and Fred frowned. Even when angry Alice was never quiet; she preferred to let everyone know that she was angry whilst Fred was the quiet one who preferred to let everyone figure out why she was angry. "Alice?" She asked, her voice now worried rather than defensive. She walked to her bedroom door and her worry grew when she found it closed. This was not like Alice. She knocked on the door and when there was still no reply she pushed it open.

"You alright?" She asked and froze, her eyes widening and face losing all colour when she saw exactly why Alice hadn't replied to her.

The pretty cream bed cover was a dark red as the blood pouring from Alice's open throat poured out. It had happened recently considering blood was still running freely but Alice was already dead, her skin paler than Fred's and her brown eyes shut. The dark curls Fred had always envied were around her face, the blood causing it to stick together in horrific clumps. The once pretty, vibrant and energetic girl Fred Smith had the pleasure to call her best friend was dead.

"No." She whispered and fell to her knees. "Alice, no, no, no, no, no." She sobbed as she crawled closer to her. She reached her shaking hand out and touched Alice's; it was freezing and completely unresponsive. "Alice." She whispered and wished that the girl in front of her would jump up and laugh at her reaction. She wished it was a joke. But she knew it wasn't.

She wasn't sure why she reached into her pocket to grab the watch but she did. She looked at it closely, her whole body shaking as the familiar feeling of loneliness washed over her. Her best friend was dead. She had no family. She was all alone.

"All I have is a watch that doesn't work." She whispered and closed her eyes. She didn't notice the watch being surrounded by a golden light and she didn't notice the catch of the watch loosen. "It doesn't even open." She muttered before pulling it open gently and to her surprise, it opened and a bright golden light escaped it.

"... Fred..."

She opened it fully with a smile and Fred Smith died.

|x|x|

When Romana woke it was with a dead body nearby and a tall, thin figure crouched beside her. Romana pulled herself up and touched her head gently, willing the pain to leave. The Doctor said nothing, just helped her up gently with soft hands; it was as if he was convincing himself that she was actually there but was unwilling to touch her too hard as though the illusion would shatter if he did.

She met his eyes but said nothing. Neither did he. Then Romana realized that there was a dead body not too far away from them both. Not just any dead body... The dead body of her human self's best friend.

"Doctor..." She whispered, getting used to the softness of her new voice. ".. I know what did it."

He didn't reply, just took her hand and helped her up before leading her into the big blue box that she called home.