Chapter 3
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Mrs Cartwright looked up from her conversation with the Doctor, who had just arrived, as her husband entered. He looked much calmer, and seemed almost happy to see their guests.
"Mr Smith, I apologise for my late arrival."
"Oh that's fine, don't worry." The Doctor replied quickly "I was just saying, these potatoes are excellent."
"Yes, they always are." There seemed to be a glint in his eyes as he continued "Tell me, Mr Smith, where were you before you came to Farringham? I don't think I was ever told."
"Oh, here, there. Travelling."
"I see. Did you ever make any enemies among those you met?" This question had everyone on guard, but the Doctor's tone remained even.
"A few. Why do you ask?"
"To see if you would remember one particular group. The Family of Blood!" He drew out a laser gun and pointed it at the Doctor.
"Richard, what are you…?"
"Shut up, be quiet, close your mouth woman!" he barked, not moving. Martha slid out of her seat next to him. He did not notice as she crept round until she stood behind him. "Now, Doctor, for too long have we waited for this day! My family grows weak, and we would have your vitality…" he did not finish. Martha had picked up a vase from the window sill and at that point, smashed it over his head. As he stood, stunned, the Doctor took control of the others.
"RUN!" he yelled. They obeyed without question, Martha holding Lucy's hand as the Doctor helped her sobbing mother out of the room. However, the creature that had been her husband was not dazed for long, and he soon had the gun pointing once more at the Doctor, who did not notice as he pulled the trigger. Mrs Cartwright did. She threw herself in the beam's path, and with a scream was disintegrated. The surviving humans fled the building, running into the woods. "Quick, to the TARDIS!" The Doctor ordered. Martha obeyed, doing her best to help Lucy in their panicked flight. The Doctor took the girl's other hand and as they ran, her feet barely touched the ground as he dragged her along behind.
In the chaos, nobody noticed a figure stepping out behind them. It was Nurse Redford, on her way to buy a new hat in the village. She came round the corner in time to see the Doctor, Martha and Lucy disappear into the trees.
"Where are you…?" She began, but was cut off by a voice behind her.
"Seize her!" straw hands wrapped themselves around her arms and shoulders and began dragging her backwards. One of the hands was over her mouth, so the Doctor did not hear her muffled cries as she was dragged through the forest.
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The instant they were through the doors, the Doctor began racing around the console, stabbing at buttons, levers and what seemed to Martha like everything else in reach.
"If I can draw them out, get them to chase us, it'll be about a week or so before they die. I can handle that, they can't. Now, Martha, I need you to…" He was interrupted as a horribly familiar voice came from the viewscreen.
"Hello Doctor." It was Mr Cartwright, or the 'Father', as he now called himself. "No pretences now, we all know who you are. Especially this lady here." The Doctor was shocked to see he had Nurse Redford, and was holding his gun to her throat. She looked terrified. "Although this young man may only know your human persona," He moved, revealing Timothy Latimer. The boy was tied to the engines, but looked slightly less afraid than the Nurse. With good reason, thought the Doctor, as he wasn't the one with a gun aimed at him. "But I will kill them both if you try to escape, I promise you. One second and they're both dead- do you really want that on your conscience? I would have thought it was heavy enough already." The Doctor sighed. He had a point, one that had struck a very raw nerve in the Time-Lord-turned-human.
"What do you want?"
"I would have thought that was obvious." Cartwright licked his lips. "Quite simply, you. And only you," He added, glancing at Martha, who had her hand on Lucy's shoulder. A tear rolled down the little girl's cheek.
"What did you do with my daddy?" she demanded. There was a sinister chuckle from the screen.
"Your daddy's dead, little girl. I wear his body. But enough of this, Doctor. My terms are quite simple: you come to me, alone, to give yourself up. Your friends will be freed and allowed to continue with their lives unharmed. Do we have a deal?" The Doctor frowned.
"Alright, but I want your word that you'll do nothing to harm them," He agreed after a moment, pointing an accusing finger at the screen.
"Their condition will not change. You have my word." The Doctor sucked air in through his teeth.
"Good. I'm heading over now."
"I knew you'd see sense. I look forward to your arrival. The ship is located in a clearing in the wood, which you often passed on your way to the Cartwright's home. I will see you soon Doctor," the message ended and the screen resumed its normal display. The Doctor pinched his chin, eyes wide as he thought.
"You're not actually going to just surrender to them, are you?" Martha asked incredulously "He'll kill you!"
"Perhaps." Then he shook his head, winked at her and strode out through the doors.
"DOCTOR!" Martha was about to run after him when Lucy said something that made her stop.
"Why did he leave his watch behind?" she turned to see the little girl picking up said watch from the console.
"Of course…" Martha breathed "The key to turning him back!" But then she frowned as another thought entered her head "What if he kills him anyway?" she turned to Lucy "I have to go- stay here, okay?" the girl shook her head.
"Can't I come with you? Please- I'm scared." Martha's heart melted. Poor Lucy had been through so much, it seemed unfair to leave her out.
"'Course you can. Come on, let's go."
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The Doctor heard a twig snapping behind him and whirled round to see Martha and Lucy, looking like rabbits caught in the headlamps of a car.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded.
"You forgot something." Martha grinned, holding out the watch. He gave an exasperated sigh before reaching out and curling her fingers around it.
"Now, this time I need you to actually do as I say, alright?" He saw them nod and continued "When we reach the clearing…"
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The Doctor walked out of the trees and into the open space. He heard the faint hum and opened his arms wide. "Alright, you got me. You going to let those two go now or what?" He was suddenly engulfed in green light, which faded to reveal the interior of the craft. "Bit outdated, that transporter. Anyone would think you wanted to blind me there." He told Cartwright, who stood motionless in the centre of the room. Timothy was tied up behind him, but Nurse Redford was nowhere to be seen.
"Ah, Doctor. So glad you could join us." He nodded to someone standing behind the Doctor "Secure him." Straw hands took a surprisingly strong grip on his arms and led him over to the wall, where they held him fast, facing away from the mottled green. He felt something. Buttons. He couldn't move any muscles in his arms at that point however, so he made a mental note to see what they did later. Cartwright sniffed. "Still human, then. Doctor, you surprise me. I, as you may have guessed, am the Father. And I would like to inform you, Doctor, that you have been led into a trap. Wife of mine!" he called, and the Doctor's heart sank as Nurse Redford stepped out from behind the engines, but he did his best to hide it.
"So, if she's your 'wife', then I'm guessing that Mr Latimer over there would be your son?"
"You are quite right. Only my daughter lacks a home, but she is content to stay within the ship. These human bodies are so very frail, after all. Not like yours. That superior biology that will be returned when you change back."
"Oh, is that what you wanted me for?"
"Don't act like you are stupid Doctor- we both know it is not so."
"But I honestly hadn't thought… that's not good."
"What?"
"Well, if you really want me to change back, then there's this watch I need to do it."
"Do you have it?" Nurse Redford snapped, losing her patience.
"No, but," he added as the untied members of the Family took a step towards him "I know someone who has. And where she is."
"Who is she? Where is she?" Cartwright demanded.
"Outside I expect, I told her to stay at the TARDIS, but she never listens to a word I say." Cartwright's eyes glinted.
"Wife of mine, see if it is so."
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Martha shivered. The onset of night had brought an almost brain-numbing cold with it, and she and Lucy stood huddled together for warmth as they waited for something to happen. The presence of the watch in Martha's hand comforted her, although she was afraid for the Doctor, and more than a little for herself. Finally, as the Doctor had told them they would be, they were taken in a flash of green. When her sight cleared, she saw Nurse Redford pointing a gun, similar to the one Cartwright had fired earlier, at her head. She realised that the Nurse, too, was now a member of the Family, but wasn't all that unhappy. After all, Martha had been the butt of many racist jokes over the past two and a half months.
"Ah, there you are." Cartwright's voice boomed. Lucy's lower lip trembled as he strode into view, but she fought her tears back with some success as the man who had been her father approached, holding out his hand. "The watch, if you don't mind." When she hesitated, he scowled "Give me the gun now, or I will kill the girl first, then you!" Martha handed the watch over with a show of reluctance. Cartwright snatched it out of her hand and strode over to Timothy Latimer. His 'wife' joined him. When they were all gathered, Cartwright flipped open the watch and they inhaled as though it was the rarest scent in existence. After a moment, they began to look confused, then angry. Nobody noticed that Lucy had quietly slipped behind the machines and, with nods and shakes of the head as guidance from the Doctor, had begun flicking switches, levers and dials.
"What did you do with it?" Redford demanded Martha.
"Actually," the Doctor broke in "I think you've been tricked by a simple olfactory misdirection. Little bit like ventriloquism of the nose. Elementary trick in certain parts of the galaxy. Lucy- it's the one to the left." the scarecrows suddenly slumped and the Doctor stepped forward, massaging his arms. "Thanks. Anyway," he continued, leaning against a piece of machinery "I really don't like the look of that hydrochonometer. It seems to be indicating you've got energy feedback all the way through the retrostabilisers, feeding back," he tapped another part of the ship "into the primary heat converter! 'Cos if there's one thing you should've done before you started mouthing off about how you won, you should have kept an eye on little Lucy here, and you should never have let her press all those buttons! But," he said, turning away and beckoning to the two girls "I will give you one word of advice," he grabbed Martha's hand in his right and Lucy's hand in his left "Run!" he turned and dragged them forward to the exit hatch, just as the ship glowed red. Over the shrieking of alarms, they heard the Family running behind them as they sped out of the ship and across the clearing.
An massive BOOM resounded through the trees, the shockwaves from the explosion pushing everyone to the ground. As they got up, the Family realised that in their haste to flee, they had forgotten their guns, and Latimer. Only the Father and the Mother was now left- the Son and Daughter had been on the ship when it blew up. They looked at the Doctor. He looked back. And at that point, as flames lit up the scene, they saw why he'd run. Why he- who had seen and fought gods and demons- had hidden from them.
He was being kind.
As he and Martha dragged them off, Lucy following behind, nobody noticed a cloud of greenish-white gas hover above the trees before fading away.
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The TARDIS doors closed, but the Father's screams resounded in their ears until they took off. The Doctor turned to Lucy. "You alright?" she didn't reply. He knelt in front of her and she suddenly burst into tears, flinging her arms around his neck. He awkwardly returned the embrace as she sobbed into his shoulder, with Martha looking on concernedly. When the little girl finally calmed down, she knelt next to her.
"What's the matter?" She asked quietly. Lucy raised her head, having buried it in the Doctor's shoulder and managed a tearful reply.
"Why did they kill Mummy and Daddy?" Martha sighed, trying to think of an answer.
"I don't know, sweetheart. They were just evil, and creatures like that don't care who they kill so long as they get what they want." The Doctor slid carefully out of Lucy's embrace and looked her in the eye.
"You got anywhere to go?" he asked gently.
"My nanna lives on the other side of the village. I could go to her, she likes me." She sniffed "But how will I tell her about Mummy and Daddy?"
"Tell her it was a madman. That was what they were after all- completely mad." The Doctor told her. She nodded and he stood, offering her his hand. "You want me to show you how I can get there?"
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As they stepped out of the TARDIS and round the corner, there was a shriek.
"LUCY!" they turned to see an elderly woman running towards them. The Doctor and Martha moved closer to the girl, so they were in a more protective stance.
"And you would be?" The Doctor asked her.
"My nanna." Lucy told him, stepping round him to hug the woman, who returned it with tears of relief coursing down her face.
"I was so worried- when I found your parents, I thought you were dead! You are alright, aren't you?" She asked, holding the girl at arm's length.
"I'm fine. Mr Smith and Martha saved me."
"Thank you sir!" The woman enthused, shaking the Doctor's hand "You have no idea how grateful I am that you have returned my granddaughter."
"No problem." The Doctor assured her, turning to Lucy. "You okay?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Good, good. Time we were off then. Martha?" he offered his hand and she took it. "Bye Lucy." He grinned at her and she smiled back. Then they turned and strode back to the TARDIS. Once inside, he turned to Martha. "By the way, I don't think I ever said thanks, did I?"
"For what?"
"Those first weeks. Without you, I don't know where I'd be. Thankyou." He smiled, enveloping her in a hug. She returned it, enjoying the warmth of the embrace.
"Any time."
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