Blink (Part 1)

"I still don't see why we had to do this," the Doctor sulked as he, Evy, and Martha sat crammed in the back seat of a cab.

Evy rolled her eyes, "I told you…Jack and his team are busy handling some rampant Weevils and they can't exactly be in two places at once. He figured we could handle the lizards well enough."

She hadn't exactly told him Jack was a part of Torchwood yet. She and Jack both knew how the Doctor felt about the institution and they had worried that the Doctor wouldn't take her with him if he learned that Torchwood was involved. She and Jack had worked out a cover story for him. Basically it was that Jack had rounded up a few friends in this time that had experiences with aliens and alien technology and they'd formed a sort of freelance organization to help protect the world. Jack had been eager to see the Doctor, to get some answers as to why he'd left him stranded in time on the space station and talk to him about Rose, but again, he'd been worried he might offend the Time Lord and ruin Evy's chances of journeying with him, so he'd kept his mouth shut about it the last time they met. Evy had promised to tip him off the next time they were in Cardiff so that he might be able to meet the Doctor and discuss their issues.

When she'd called him from the TARDIS he'd been in the middle of a Weevil infestation and was stressing over how to take care of the lizards as well. When she said that they'd be in the area for at least an hour or two he'd asked if they could check out the lizards. She'd agreed, of course she did, she owed Jack and his friends so much. Unfortunately she also knew that Doctor didn't want to stay there too long and wanted to leave as soon as the TARDIS had charged up again. Jack understood he may not get to speak to the Doctor this time, but he said, at some point he'd be bringing Martha back and then, if he hadn't discovered Evy, her as well and he would talk then. He'd also left the conversation with a little tidbit that the lizards were about to hatch in less than a half hour. Lovely.

Which was why they were currently racing off to check out the lizards. Now, normal lizards would be no problem…but these lizards…once they started migrating and the eggs hatched they could probably take over the world.

The cab pulled off to the side just a block or two away from the nest and they hurried to get out. Martha tugged on the Doctor's coat, nodding to the left in the direction they had to go, knowing the area better than the two of them from a few previous trips.

They turned and headed off in that direction when someone began shouting behind them.

"Doctor!" a young blonde woman shouted, "Doctor! Doctor!"

He turned around, Evy standing near him while Martha ran off down the road, having not seen them stop, "Hello!" he greeted, "Sorry, bit of a rush, there's a sort of thing happening, fairly important we stop it."

"My God, it's you, it really is you," the girl looked at him before glancing at Evy, "And you! The two of you! Oh, you don't remember me, do you?"

"We don't have time for this," Martha called, running back into view.

"Migration's started," Evy confirmed.

"And Martha!" the girl's eyes widened as she saw Martha appear.

"Look, sorry, I've got a bit of a complex life," the Doctor told her, "Things don't always happen to me in order. Gets confusing, especially at weddings, I'm rubbish at weddings, especially my own."

"Oh, my God!" she breathed, before shaking her head as she realized what was going on, "Of course, you're a time traveler. It hasn't happened yet! None of it, it's still in your future!"

"What hasn't happened?" Evy frowned, stepping forward.

"Doctor!" Martha called, "Twenty minutes to red hatching!"

"It was me," the girl breathed, figuring something out, "Oh, for God's sake, it was me all along. You got it all from me!"

"Got what?" the Doctor frowned.

"Okay," she grew serious, "Listen. One day you're going to get stuck in 1969. Make sure you've got this with you. You're going to need it," she handed him a purple folder.

"Evy!" Martha shouted, sounding very aggravated, knowing Evy would be able to get him moving.

The Doctor winced though, hearing her irritation in her voice, "Yeah, listen, listen, got to dash...things happening..."

"Well, four things," Evy added, "Four things and a lizard."

"Okay," she nodded, "No worries, on you go. See you around, some day."

"What was your name?" he paused in turning to run off.

"Sally Sparrow," Sally answered.

"Good to meet you, Sally Sparrow," he grinned. Another man walked up, looking at the trio in awe, clearly as stunned by the sight of them as Sally had been. Sally reached out and took the man's hand.

"Goodbye Doctor," Sally smiled, "Evy. Martha."

She turned and led the man back into a shop behind her just as Evy reached out and took the Doctor's hand, pulling him down the road towards Martha.

"Don't even think about it," she muttered to him as they took off in a run.

"Think about what?" he asked, though he had a grin on his face that made her groan.

~8~

The lizards had been surprisingly easy to deal with. The Doctor afterwards had not.

As soon as the lizards were gone he'd pulled the packet Sally had given him from his pocket and began examining the papers and pictures within. Evy couldn't help but shake her head at the thoughts now speeding through his head. Apparently, they would run into some Weeping Angels and be sent to 1969, without the TARDIS, where they would leave clues for that Sally girl to send the TARDIS back to them.

And apparently this adventure was too much for the Doctor to pass up on. He was currently planning a side trip back a little more than a year to the abandoned house that held the Angels.

Evy groaned quietly to herself, though Martha, who was standing near her, heard, "What's wrong?" she asked softly as the Doctor shut the folder and put it back in his pocket, turning towards them with a grin.

"We are not going to like this," was all she could say.

"How about one more trip while we're here?" the Doctor asked, walking over, not having heard them.

~8~

"You call this a trip?" Martha asked as they stepped out of the TARDIS which landed in the basement of a creepy house and proceeded to walk through it.

"Oh it gets better," Evy grumbled under her breath, sarcasm heavy in her words.

"Oh it's not that bad," the Doctor grinned again, not having heard Evy's comment. He walked around till he spotted a garden with a few statues of angels there, hiding their faces as they wept, "Have you ever wanted to time travel without a TARDIS?" he asked, his eyes still on the statues.

"Um…not particularly," Martha frowned, glancing at Evy who was glaring at the Doctor's back. He had no intention of telling Martha, or her for that matter, that she was about to be 'killed' by a Weeping Angel.

"Oh it's fascinating," he continued, before rambling about the different methods other planets had developed for traveling in time and stressing how they weren't as superior to a TARDIS, of course.

Martha turned to Evy, sensing something was up, "What's going on?" she whispered, making sure the Doctor couldn't hear them.

Evy rubbed her head, "Those statues…" she nodded at the window to the garden the Doctor was staring through, "They're called Weeping Angels. They're alien. If they catch you, they send you back in time…"

"Well…that's not so bad," Martha began.

"…so that they can consume the energy of the life you might have had in the present," she finished, "They basically let you live to death in the past. Everything you might have done in the present, in the future, they feed off of."

"So we're about to be killed by an angel statue then?" Martha's breath hitched.

Evy shook her head, "The Doctor's got a plan though..." she glared back at the Doctor, "It'll take a while, but he's got one and for once it seems to work."

"Oh," Martha nodded, still a bit in shock, "Right then."

"So!" the Doctor turned around, still smiling, "Martha you may want to close your eyes."

"Why?" she asked hesitantly.

"It's a surprise," he replied before he shut his eyes, a key to the TARDIS hanging from his hand.

Martha glanced at Evy who was staring at the angel statue, preventing it from moving. Evy then reached out and took her hand, squeezing it lightly. Martha took a breath before shutting her eyes and, moments later, Evy did the same...

~8~

The Doctor had gotten quite a chewing out from Martha once they realized they were in 1969. She'd demanded the Doctor tell her what happened, as though Evy hadn't already, because technically Evy wasn't supposed to know about his plan.

He'd been a bit hesitant to answer but eventually told her that they'd been killed by the Angel by being sent to the past to live out their lives. But then he'd taken out the folder and showed them all the evidence that said they would make it out alive and in one piece.

"But what's this bit mean?" Martha pointed to a copy of a transcript of some sort for a video they would eventually seem to make, "I get a job in the shop? What shop? A shop? A flower shop? A sweet shop? A mechanic's shop?"

"And what about this?" Evy looked up at him, "I'm apparently hounded by collegiate males?"

"Uh…well…" the Doctor stammered.

"And we support you?" Martha raised an eyebrow, "Don't you have a job?"

"You really want him to get one?" Evy turned to her, "With his luck, he'll end up inventing something earlier than it should be just to amuse himself."

"I would not!" he defended.

"Oh really?" she crossed her arms and turned to face him, thankful that he'd told them this story in passing, "Banana Daiquiri."

"Oh…" he trailed, rubbing the back of his neck, "There was that…"

"Exactly," she rolled her eyes, "And if he doesn't manage to invent something, more than likely he'll blow it up, or try to fix something and blow it up, or try to use something and blow it up…"

"I'm not that bad!" he defended again.

"Should I give you the list?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as Martha had done, "I can start with things on other planets, things on this planet, or things in the TARDIS."

The Doctor hesitated a moment before looking down glumly, as though a child who had just been scolded, "No..."

"Good," she sighed and turned back to Martha, "We're going to have to find jobs and a flat somewhere."

Martha nodded, "I suppose you're right…shop here I come."

~8~

They had managed to find a small one bedroom flat with a small kitchen, sitting room, and bath that was just cheap enough for them to rent while maintaining temporary jobs. As a punishment for getting them into this mess, the girls had taken the bedroom and forced the Doctor to utilize the sofa.

He was currently sitting there, flipping through the few TV stations that were available as he waited for the girls to get back. They had gone to look for jobs, trusting that he wouldn't set the apartment on fire or blow it up while they were out. Evy had even gone so far as to unplug every appliance in there besides the TV.

"…honestly," he heard Martha say just before the door unlocked, "You're the only one I know who could go into a university to apply for a librarian position and walk out with a spot teaching physics!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Evy was defending, shutting the door behind her as they entered the room.

"What happened?" he asked eagerly, twisting on the sofa to face them, dying for some sort of amusement.

"You're looking at the new professor of physics at the university," Martha smirked, elbowing Evy.

"Really?" his brow furrowed, "I thought you were going to work in the library."

"I was," she replied, walking over to sit on the arm of the sofa beside him while Martha sat on a small chair next to it, "But apparently as I was being interviewed the current professor went into labor…she's gone on maternity leave."

"But how did you end up with the job?" he shook his head.

"The headmaster had to go check on the professor who was still in the classroom and it was in chaos. Stupidly I corrected something on the board from a homework assignment they were working on and the headmaster decided I could fit the bill, so to speak," she rubbed her head, thinking of the transcript, "I was trying to avoid having to deal with the boys of that school."

"By getting a job in the school?" Martha laughed.

"Well what sort of self respecting college student actually uses the library?"

The Doctor just laughed at that and turned to Martha, "And which shop did you get a job in?"

"It's a nice flower shop down the street," she answered, "Really not a fan of grease or exhaust so I took the first shop I could find."

He nodded, before frowning, Martha was currently grinning broadly at something, "What?"

Martha looked away, "Nothing."

The Doctor shook his head and turned to Evy curious to see what she was planning to teach. Martha glanced back, her smile growing as she saw that the Doctor, though seemingly unaware, had taken and was holding Evy's hand in his own.

~8~

"Morning," Evy yawned as she poured Martha a cup of tea.

They had been there about a month now and had settled into their jobs nicely. Apparently, when word went round that Evy had taken over the physics class there was a huge shift in class attendance. The lecture hall was now filled with young men. Evy was determined to think that it had to do with her lesson plans and teaching style, but Martha thought it may be her wardrobe.

It seemed all sorts of professions during that time had little to do with a dress code. As long as you actually showed up most employers could care less if you arrived in your birthday suit. They'd gone out to get some clothing more appropriate for the time since it seemed like they might be there longer than the Doctor thought. They had arrived at the beginning of February and weren't sure exactly when this Billy boy would be showing up, they just knew it was before the moon landing, which was still months away.

Both girls had been more than a little uncomfortable with the clothing that was available to them. The skirts were far too short for them to feel at all comfortable, but that was the fashion of the time. Martha had seemed to gravitate towards the turtlenecks and long sleeved shirts with a skirt and braces with matching leggings and go-go boots. Her hair was often slicked back but poofed out in the back. Evy, on the other hand, had ended up with a sort of tunic style dress that was a bit too short for her tastes. She hadn't been able to find any skirts or leggings that seemed to work for her though so she was stuck with just the tunic dress. She'd opted out of go-go boots as she claimed her legs were a bit skinnier than the boots and made it seem like her legs were swimming in them. As a result, flats were all she'd been able to wear. She'd also left her hair entirely down, held back a bit by a scarf she'd turned into a headband.

Another interesting turn of events that arose from their wardrobe was a particular reaction from the Doctor. Martha loved watching him whenever Evy was in the room. His eyes would immediately go to her and follow her around, wandering more than a few times towards her legs. He often seemed to get a bit tongue tied whenever she would talk to him as well. It was the most amusing thing Martha had ever seen from the Doctor so far.

She grinned into her cup of tea as she saw the Doctor was sitting on the sofa, seeming to be reading, but staring at Evy from the corner of his eye.

"He's staring at you again," she muttered quietly from behind her cup.

"No he's not," Evy replied, not looking.

"He is. I swear it."

Evy hesitated a moment before looking over to see the Doctor quickly look back down at his book as he had, indeed, been staring at her.

"Martha…" she sighed.

She was well aware of what Martha was trying to do. She'd always comment on Evy's outfit for the day, pulling the Doctor's attention to her, and then she would always leave early for the shop to give them time alone. She would set their small table so that the Doctor had to sit across from her…it was starting to get her. She'd asked Martha more than a few times to stop it, but it seemed Martha had taken to becoming temporarily deaf during those conversations.

"I know, I know," Martha rolled her eyes, "It's just...it's adorable."

Evy shook her head at her friend before setting her cup in the sink to wash later and gathering up some books, "I should be back the same time as always," she called before heading to the door.

"Oi!" Martha shouted, "Are we still on for lunch?"

"Of course," Evy smiled. Martha's schedule had recently been shifted, giving her a lunch break the same time as Evy and the two had agreed to do lunch together. Evy turned to the Doctor pointing at him, "You. Stay."

He pouted and looked back at his book as Evy left.

"It's your own fault you know," Martha laughed at him, "You just had to go out and try and buy a new light bulb…why you felt you needed the coil of the first one I'll never know."

"It should have acted as a…"

"I don't need to know either," Martha cut him off quickly, knowing how he could ramble, "I really, really don't."

She picked up her apron and went to leave as well, locking the door behind her. She shook her head, recalling exactly why the Doctor was no longer allowed out of the apartment.

It had been only a week ago when he'd taken to trying to make…something…not even Evy knew what it was...and ended up breaking all the light bulbs in the flat. He'd then gone about trying to find a store to buy some more from and ended up on a farm half a mile away being arrested for disturbing the peace.

They were still trying to figure out how that one happened.

~8~

"Is it very hard?" Martha asked as she and Evy walked down the street, both eating an ice cream, about a week before mid-semester break was to start.

"Is what?" Evy asked.

"Having to pretend. I mean, I knew about the Angels because you told me, but then to pretend like I didn't? Like I wasn't scared out of my mind about this thing trying to kill me with my eyes closed…how do you do it? You know everything he does, don't you?"

Evy sighed, "Everything he learned about time and history and science I learned as well on Gallifrey, and everything he's learned from his travels I know because I've experienced it through the Link. But it's too important for me to not seem like I do to just let it slip."

"Why is that?" she looked at Evy, "I mean, I know why you don't want him to Link to you just yet, but...can't you tell him you're a Time Lady? You don't have to say you're his Link, but just...so he knows he's not alone?"

Evy hesitated a moment, "I'm...selfish."

"What?" Martha laughed. Evy was probably the least selfish person on the planet.

She bit her lip, trying to find the words to explain her hesitance in telling the Doctor, "He just lost Rose yeah?" Martha nodded, "I...I don't want him discovering I'm a Time Lady to be overshadowed by that...if that makes any sense at all."

"Not really. No."

She laughed, "He's lost someone he cares for. I...I don't want him to confuse those feelings, that loss of...of, well, love...to be put on me for the wrong reasons."

Martha stared at her, "You're afraid you'll be like a...rebound?"

"Of sorts," she nodded, "It's mad, I know. But...I want him to want me to stay, to travel with him, not because I'm a Time Lady...but because...I'm Evy," she looked at Martha, "I want to be the reason I stay and not what I am. I don't want him to take me along because I'm the last of our species. I want him to take me along because he enjoys my company, or because I'm interesting, or just because..."

"Because he just wants to," Martha nodded, understanding. She hadn't wanted to be taken along as Rose's replacement, she just wanted to be taken along as Martha. She understood perfectly.

"I...I also don't want him to start to like me because I'm a Time Lady," she added, "I don't want him to try and force any feelings because I'm like him. We're the last of our kind, but I don't want that to be the reason he loves me, if he ever does. I...I don't want to influence him. I don't want the fact that I'm a Time Lady to be a cause for him to try and force any feelings. Like I said, I want him to want mefor me, for my mind and my personality and my hearts, and not because I'm a Time Lady," she sighed, "It's why I'm hiding who I am even though I know it kills him to think we're all dead. I don't want him to hurt, but...I don't want to be hurt either. Especially not by him. It's why I have to try and be human, why I have to be very careful about what I say or do around him..."

"Must be frustrating," Martha remarked, reaching out to take Evy's hand, squeezing it. She wanted to be loved for who she was, not what she was, it was understandable. She wanted her own special connection with the Doctor outside of the Link, outside of being a Time Lady, just as Evy. She also knew, given what Evy had told her about the Link and what could develop from it, this was probably just as much about trying to see what sort of relationship might develop on its own. If the Doctor gave any sign that he might feel even slight romantic feelings for Evy, then there was a chance that he might develop more romantic feelings for her once the Link had formed. A woman's heart is a fragile thing, it was no wonder Evy was even more protective of it, having two of them.

"Oh it is," Evy laughed, smiling at Martha, thankful that the woman was trying to steer the conversation away from that topic slightly, "I may have an idea of how to help out or I may see something he's missed, but I can't say anything because if I do it might be just that little thing that tips him off. If I give him too much to notice about me then it won't matter if I'm wearing the Filter or not, he'll figure it out."

Martha laughed at that.

"What?" Evy frowned.

"Nothing it's just…" she gave her a look, "Giving him too much to notice? All he's done since we got here is notice you."

"No he hasn't."

"Really…" Martha raised an eyebrow, "So the fact that the man who can read a whole book with just a quick flip through is always sitting there reading in the morning while you make breakfast and have your tea but never even turns a page wasn't the least bit suspicious? Evy come on, if the man was any less obvious he would be drooling whenever you walk into a room."

"It's just the clothes," she grumbled, "These skirts are far from decent."

"Don't I know it. But it's not just the clothes you know."

"…it's not?" she asked, she'd really been trying to keep her distance from the Doctor so as not to confuse his feelings, wanting them to develop natrually, but it seemed like doing that was keeping her from noticing other things.

Martha rolled her eyes, "You want the list?"

Evy sighed, "You're going to give it to me anyway."

"Too right I am," she laughed, "He holds your hand as soon as he's close enough to you to reach it. Whenever he sees you he just smiles. He always asks you how your day was first. When he's wishing us good night before we head to bed, you're the only one he gives a hug too. And have you noticed how your tea cup is always washed and put away when you get back, even though you set it aside to clean it yourself?"

Evy was silent for a moment, "Really?"

Martha smiled at her, "Yeah."

"I've got to get back," Evy said suddenly, looking down at her watch, "Class starts soon and they've got a test coming up."

"Evy…" Martha called, but Evy had already walked past the gates. She sighed. That girl was convinced that any sort of romantic gesture or inkling the Doctor felt was a result of the Link trying to form when the man had been human. She just couldn't see that, maybe, just maybe, it was all the Doctor. That maybe the stirrings of the Link were just allowing him to see and notice more of her than the Filter had previously allowed. From what Evy had told her, the Link only created a connection, not feelings, but the girl was determined to believe that the love that John Smith had felt was his human mind misinterpreting the Link as love and that it would carry over to the Doctor. She seemed to forget that the Doctor wasn't John Smith, his mind would confuse such a thing as connection with love...

Now if she could just get Evy to see that.

~8~

Two weeks later, just as April began, the Doctor had finally determined it was time to leave the clues for Sally. They walked through town and back to the old house, looking just a little better than it had been the last time they saw it.

They cautiously walked through the house but soon felt a bit more at ease when they saw that the Angels weren't there. They must have been moved there at a later time.

Martha and Evy carried the wallpaper and glue while the Doctor handled the black paint. All they had to do was leave the message just as Sally's photographs demonstrated. Nothing too hard. They were done in no time.

BEWARE THE WEEPING ANGEL! OH, AND DUCK! REALLY, DUCK! SALLY SPARROW DUCK, NOW!

Followed by a nice little signature: LOVE FROM THE DOCTOR (1969)

Then Evy had grabbed the brush and added her and Martha to the wall as the writing in the picture was a different handwriting than the Doctor's.

~8~

The girls were walking down the streets of town a few days later, Martha currently laughing at a story Evy was telling her of some ridiculous thing the Doctor had done on one of his adventures in the past. It was so refreshing to hear funny and embarrassing stories about the Doctor especially when, most of the time, he was always the suave-ish hero.

"He didn't!" Martha gasped.

"Oh, he did," Evy giggled as well, holding onto her cup of tea to go from the local café. It was bit of a chilly night and it kept her hands warm, "And then later he goes, 'I let you keep Mickey!'"

Martha turned to her about to ask something when she let out a startled yelp, disappearing into the alley they'd just passed.

"Martha!" Evy shouted, running down it to a dead end where a dirty looking man was holding a knife out at Martha.

She didn't even think…

Martha stared wide eyed as the man who had just abducted her was thrown into the wall with a sickening thud, as though he'd just been tackled from the side but no one was there. She watched as he crumpled to the floor before looking over to see Evy, hunched over, quite a few feet away, before she fell to her knees.

A/N: Oh Doctor, always blowing things up and distrubing the peace lol. I was watching the opening of the Olympics last night, have to say, there was a point where I was like...where's the 10th Doctor? Which is ironic because didn't the 11th Doctor start the Torch bearing? :)

Next chapter will finally reveal, for sure, what Evy's secret ability is and how it developed along with information on her family. Not to mention, there's a very sweet scene between the Doctor and Evy that the Doctor initiates (finally! right?). Also! There will be a small, tiny reference to the Academic Series, a joke, of something the Professor seemed fond of doing :) Virtual cookie to fans of the series who spot it!