"This is not what I signed up for." Martha muttered to herself as she hung up the phone with John Smith. No, he wasn't John Smith, he was the Doctor.

It had been nearly a month since they encountered the Family and the Doctor had to stuff his being into a fob watch and assume the life of a man the TARDIS created for him. All in the hope of waiting out the remaining lifetime of these entities that wanted to harvest his essence for their eternal life.

He had said 3 months. At least she was a third of the way there. But this was not what she was expecting. An actor? Of all things! He was supposed to be hiding! But this cocked up story the TARDIS created made it so the media and the public followed him around wherever he went. His name and his face were everywhere. At least, as his agent, she could keep an eye on him, no one could get to him without going through her.

But he sure did seem to like making her job (and life) harder. He almost never checked in, he avoided her phone calls, never kept appointments. This was getting unbearable! When she was really exasperated with him she tried to remind herself that this could have been worse. When he got more difficult to handle she sometimes tried to think up personas and times that would have been even more frustrating just to give herself a bit of a silver lining. Her favorite (or maybe least favorite) at the moment was that the TARDIS made him into a school teacher at the turn of the century, and she his maid, AND that he fell in love with the school nurse. That would have been awful!

Martha had visited the TARDIS once a week or so, sometimes more, depending on how much of a reprieve she needed from John. At her last visit, the TARDIS seemed edgy and nervous. She couldn't outright communicate with the TARDIS but she had enough of a sense of her to know when the old girl was upset. Martha attributed this to the Family getting closer. So the need to move the Doctor to another location to keep him safe was now paramount.

Leaving wouldn't be impossible to convince the Doctor-well, John to do. He was an actor and, thanks to the TARDIS, was used to traveling for roles. The problem was the role the TARDIS seemed to pick for him. He wasn't going to like it.

John Smith was emotionally unavailable, much like, Martha thought, the Doctor was to her. The filmography that the TARDIS created for him certainly agreed with that. All action, no heart. But the only role available at the moment, the only role that would take them away from here, was not exactly in line with John Smith's repertoire. It seemed like the TARDIS was continuing to allow her Time Lord to grieve for this lost companion. Even though the Doctor only mentioned her briefly, Martha could tell that the loss of Rose weighed deeply within him. She felt constantly compared to Rose and found wanting. It was like being the rebound relationship. But given the concocted history of John Smith and the roles he apparently excelled at, Martha was seriously confused at the script and production the TARDIS fabricated for him. It was for this reason that Martha stuttered while on the phone with him. Well, that and the image of him in the shower. Who did that really? Talked on the phone while in the shower. Anyway, she was either going to have to convince the TARDIS to change her mind (not likely) and formulate another role, or the Doctor - John Smith was going to have to get over himself and learn how to become a… prince.

Not all at once of course. There was a bit of a reprieve with this role. He didn't have to be romantic from day 1, unless they shot the movie entirely out of order. He should be allowed to ease into it a bit because the role was the leading man in the live action version of Beauty and the Beast. John Smith was going to play Adam, the prince transformed into a hideous beast as punishment for his cold-hearted and selfish ways. The man that must love and earn the love of Belle, who he imprisoned in his castle, to break the curse.

Martha decided that she better go and try to have a chat with the TARDIS because when John finally got his hands on the script he was probably going to fire her.

x13x

The TARDIS was hidden in a park, off an abandoned trail. To Martha, she looked totally conspicuous and she wondered how in the world she remained undisturbed. The Family was looking for the Time Lord, wouldn't his TARDIS be a big clue? It was like playing 'hide and seek' with a bell around your neck.

Martha unlocked the door, and walked into chaos.

Lights were blinking, the console was sparking, the air was thick with smoke, and she got the feeling of an overwhelming need to pull as hard as she could. She just wasn't sure what she was supposed to be pulling on. Coughing, Martha ran to the console, desperate to try to figure out what was causing this.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She yelled to the TARDIS. There was no answer, just a continued straining and sparking and burning. It seemed like she was ripping herself apart. "What am I supposed to do?"

The Doctor would know, but that option was quite significantly off the table.

Then, just as alarmingly, there was a crash from somewhere below the console, and everything went eerily dark, and still.

Martha blinked a few times. The smoke was still thick but seemed to be clearing, and it was pitch dark. So much so that she was sure if she moved she'd trip and end up bleeding to death from a head wound. Just then, a low moan split the silence.

"Is someone there?" She asked the darkness. There was no response.

Martha now thought that the TARDIS had been fighting off an invader and that's what the fireworks had been about. Someone, or something had breached the TARIDS's defenses. What if it was the Family?

Another, more strangled moan sounded from below the console, followed by a dull thud, like something, or someone hitting the floor.

After debating with herself for a while about the merits of going beneath the console to see what (or who) was down there, Martha cautiously climbed below. It was still very dark in the TARDIS, and Martha was navigating the wreckage and haze with the light from her mobile. Finally getting to the floor beneath, she thought she saw a faintly glowing... something… She approached the dim golden glow with trepidation, this could be the entity responsible for the trauma to the TARDIS. Little did she know how correct she was.

x13x