AN: Greetings once again. Obligatory disclaimer: I own nothing except for Maris. The truth is a sad thing to behold. Anyway, comments and concerns are always appreciated! -Nimith.

Chapter Four: The Shakespeare Code

When she awoke, Maris was in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. She took in a nice deep breath and felt infinitely better. She looked around and saw a familiar brown trench coat hung over the bedside chair. She grinned and sat up, trying the door, and slipping into the hall. The hall circled around into a main room of amber. And there he was, the Doctor good as new, bouncing about the controls like a kid at Christmas. He looked up and grinned.

"Ha! Alive are you? Sorry, I didn't know where you lived so I just brought you here. I had wanted to see your face when you first walk in, but… well, you know. Beggars can't be chosers, eh?" He rambled as she came down the stairs to meet him.

"This…is your ship?" she asked, circling around, taking it all in.

"Eyup. Called the Tardis. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space." He said, coming up beside her.

She gave him a dry glance. "Not a very good acronym is it?"

"Well, it had to be pronounceable." He grinned before looking away a moment. "So, I hearsay that you might've saved my life."

Maris shrugged and smirked. "Yeah, you know, no big. If Martha hadn't muttered the fact you kind of have two hearts, we all might be dead. She deserves a shout out, too. How is she, by the way? What happened to the hospital?"

"Slow down, take a breath, relax. Everything is fine. The Judoon put us all back on Earth, Martha lived to tell the tale, and now you get that trip like I promised." The Doctor said happily, "How's that sound?"

Maris nodded excitedly. "Amazing! But…"

The Doctor's face immediately fell. "But?"

She scratched the back of her head. "Well, Martha seemed pretty infatuated with the whole 'being on the moon'-thing. I bet she'd like a trip, too. And technically, she helped save your life."

The Doctor folded his arms and leaned against the console. "You'd be alright with sharing a trip? Because it's just the one."

"Absolutely. She should get a trip, too." Maris repeated.

The Doctor clicked his tongue. "Alrighty, then. Let's pick up Martha Jones! You may need to hold onto something. This can be bumpy!"

Bumpy was an understatement. The Tardis lurched and veered every which way and Maris found herself reveling in its excitement. "This is insane!" she shouted as the Doctor just laughed. It finally ground to a halt.

"Okay, this should be the place." The Doctor said wistfully.

"Um, is there like, a kitchen or something? I kind of have a massive craving for…anything to eat, really. I'm famished." Maris mentioned as the Doctor strode towards the door.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Just go up the stairs, to the right, take a left and straight down the corridor. I'll grab Martha alone, then?" he asked.

"Have at it, Captain."

"No, I'm not…" The Doctor sighed and shook his head as she ran away before he could finish his sentence. "Bloody Emily Pankhurst, I swear." He opened the door to find Martha.

Maris wandered around until she found the kitchen. It looked just like any other kitchen, although there were a few bizarre looking mechanisms. She stayed away from those. She searched the cupboards, a fridge, and found some bread and jam. Deciding to take it old school, she made a peanut butter and jelly before heading back into the control room, where she heard voices.

"I mean, some friends travelling alongside me," said the Doctor. "I had…until recently….friend of mine. Rose, her name was. Rose and… We were together. Anyway," he fiddled with the console absently.

"And Maris?" she heard Martha ask. She decided to hang back and eavesdrop – morality be damned.

"Hm? Oh, Maris. Just met her. Thought she had an alien doohickey, but it turns out not so much. Saw the plasma coils around the hospital and I asked her if she wanted to come along with me. Nearly killed her because of it…"

"It just seemed like you two…" Martha trailed off meaningfully.

"Us two what?" The Doctor asked, oblivious.

"Just like you were together or something." Martha shrugged.

"Togeth—Oh, no. Not us. She's a…friend. Just a friend. But, as I said, since the two of you saved my life, you get a trip." The Doctor summed up.

"Did you promise her a trip before she saved your life?" Martha asked.

"What? Well, yes, but… you helped save my life so I thought to maybe bundle it or something. Like cable tv. Bundling." The Doctor coughed.

Maris decided now was a good time to show herself. She walked out with her sandwich and waved at Martha, "Hi! There's a kitchen!"

The Doctor shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Of all the things you could've made in that kitchen, you go with a PB&J?"

"You don't mess with a good thing, Captain." Maris pointed out.

The Doctor folded his arms in scolding. "It's the Doctor, not the Captain."

"Well, this is your ship, right?" Maris figured.

"Yes…" The Doctor frowned.

"And you pilot it?" she continued.

"Yes, but…"

"Then you're the captain." She shrugged.

"Maris…" he warned with a quirk of the eyebrow.

"La, I can't hear you." She leapt away, plugging her fingers in her ears.

Martha laughed. "Wow, this is going to be a fun trip, innit?"

"Speaking of…" The Doctor went back to the console and flipped a few switches, "And there's the handbrake… Ready?" He asked them.

They both shook their heads. "Not in the least." Martha giggled.

"Let's do it." Maris grinned.

"Off we go!" The Doctor cried, and once again they were bouncing through time.

When the Tardis finally landed, it did with a BANG.

"So, how does it travel in time? I mean, what makes it go?" Martha asked.

"Oh sure, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything. Trust me, you don't want to know. It just does!" The Doctor said, grabbing his coat. "Now, make the most of it! I said one trip, and one trip only. Outside this door," he knocked on the front door with his heel, "Brave new world."

Maris bounced on her heels, "Where are we?"

The Doctor wiggled his eyebrows. "Take a look."

"Come on!" Martha grabbed Maris by the hand and virtually dragged her outside. They were met with the smell of dung.

"Oh, that is…beautiful." Maris scowled as a man tossed manure with a shovel.

"You're kidding me! We travelled in time! When are we?" Martha squealed.

"Eh, somewhere before the invention of the toilet, sorry about that." He began to walk away as Maris followed.

"Wait! Can we move around and stuff? Is it safe?" she asked.

"What do you mean, of course it's safe." The Doctor gave her a sidelong confused glance.

"It's like in the films, you step on a butterfly and you alter the future of the human race." She explained.

"Tell you what then, don't step on any butterflies. What have butterflies ever done to you?" The Doctor asked with a frown. "Well, how about it Maris? You're the history minor. When do you think we are?" he asked, offering her his arm. He offered Martha the other as she walked over to him.

"Um," Maris looked around as they walked. "Before the toilet you said, so that coupled with what I'm seeing… I'm going to guess… 16th century?"

"Oh, you are good!" The Doctor praised. "This is London… 1599. Elizabethan. So that means…" he drove them around the corner, "Ah yes! The Globe Theater! Brand new! Though, it's not really a globe it's a tetradecagon, 14 sides, containing the man himself."

Maris's eyes widened and her inner fangirl emerged. "You're kidding me!" she had to literally stop herself from jumping up and down, "You can't mean…"

The Doctor grinned at her evident excitement. "Oh, yes. I do."

"Who?" Martha asked, looking between the two.

The Doctor and Maris glanced at one another before shouting, "SHAKESPEARE!"

AN: Hey guys, pretty exciting, right? Ha. Stay tuned for the next Chapter: The Lost Play! Should get to writing it at some point this week but school… Problems. Thanks for reading!