A/N) Well, I did say the next chapter would be up by the end of the week, and to my mind Sunday is the end of the week! Thank you for all the reviews so far!

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Chapter Twenty-Four: The Family of Blood (part two)

The first thing John did was take Joan aside. He led her out of the room where the students were busy following the headmaster's instructions. He ensured that his servant Martha had not seen them leave; she had been keeping a careful eye upon him, and he was sure that she would attempt to stop him if she knew what he had in mind.

"John? Where are we going?" the Matron asked, sounding very confused and a little frightened.

He led her down the corridor and opened a door to a disused classroom. He led her inside and then closed it, taking a box of matches and lighting the few candles on the desk. "They're going to fight, Joan," he began, "I can't let them do that… I taught them how to fight, yet when it comes to it I feel guilty as if a part of me knows it's wrong and that the honourable thing to do would be to surrender…."

"No… you can't," she whispered, horror written across her features. "I can't lose you, John…"

He moved closer to her. "I know… but I just can't let them fight… I'm sorry." He lowered his gaze. "They want me… if I go to them they won't harm anyone else. Maybe I can stall them while everyone is cleared from the village and school – enough time for the authorities to be contacted… It's what the Doctor would do."

Joan was shaking her head, fingers on her lips, eyes wide, tear's gathering within them. "Your not this Doctor… you can't be. It's impossible!"

"They nearly killed you because of who I am supposed to be to them. If anything ever happened to you I would never be able to forgive myself." He lifted her chin with his right hand. He looked into her eyes. "Joan… I've got to do this. I'm sorry… but I can't let these boys fight… its something that you don't approve of after all. Our talk in the village made me think... they're too young to fight… too innocent."

Tears cascaded down Joan's face as John tipped her face upwards. "John…?"

"I'm sorry," he leant down and kissed her. When he pulled away from her there were tears in his own eyes. He didn't believe he was this Time Lord the Family spoke of but if he could hold their attention for only a little while, maybe other lives could be saved. "Just remember that…" he swallowed the lump forming in his throat, "…I always love you."

And then he ran from the room towards a fate that he did not want to have.

John made his way through the school corridors towards the front door. He kept looking over his shoulder making sure no one was following him. He felt physically sick – he knew he was walking to his death, but if he was really the Doctor, wasn't he doing the right thing? He reached the exit with no interruptions – he was glad that he hadn't met anybody – it meant he wouldn't have to explain his actions. The headmaster would have scorned him for his weakness… for his lack of courage in fighting… but it was wrong to fight when a much simpler situation had presented itself. He could avoid any unnecessary deaths like this. Everyone would live… other then himself of course.

Joan hadn't wanted him to go. He was doing this so she could live another day. He had to go on for her. He vowed that if he was to die the last thing he would think of was of her: the woman he had fallen for, the woman who deserved so much more… He wiped the tears from his face as he pulled the door open and stepped out into night, the cold wind causing him to shiver only slightly.

He yanked the door shut, not caring whether the noise echoed throughout the school. They couldn't stop him from doing this – he had made his choice after all.

Taking a deep breath he prepared himself for the confrontation that he was to face. He made his way hastily towards the gates where the Family were now congressing. He noticed that the little girl was missing. "BAINES!" he shouted, making his voice loud and clear.

The schoolboy turned to face him, his eyes glittering brightly in the moon light that shone down upon them. "Mr Smith, you came!" He sounded very gleeful about that. "And for a moment there we thought you'd let them fight!"

He stayed silent; they were goading him. He was smart enough to realise that.

"Looks like he does have a brain, mother of mine!" crowed Baines. "It's a pity it took him this long to discover it!"

Once again he chose to ignore it.

Baines walked right up to him. He cocked his head to the side and then sniffed. "Still human. Where's the Time Lord essence?"

"I don't know what you mean," John replied, swallowing, trying to ignore the funny, twisting turns in his stomach.

Baines grabbed him by the hair, pulling his head to the side. It was instinct to yell and he gasped as the sudden movement made pain travel through his head. "We'll get it out of you… we can promise you that." And then he shoved him backwards, hard.

John fell backwards onto the floor, hitting his head on the concrete. He grimaced, but the shove and subsequent bang of the head caused darkness to flit across his eyes. He tried to stop himself from losing it, but he couldn't fight it.

The last thing he remembered was Baines looking down upon him, ordering his troops to take him back to their ship.

"Martha!"

Martha whirled as she heard the unmistakeable voice of Rose calling her. Students ran past her as they rushed to get to the courtyard to set up a barricade, but Martha trawled her way through the throng and back to Rose who was standing in a large archway that dominated the main hallway. Beside her stood a scrawny boy with ginger hair.

"I can't find him!" panted Martha as she reached them, ignoring the watch that the pupil held in his hand.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Rose grabbed Martha's shoulders, imploring for her not to say what she thought she meant.

"John's gone. I can't find him anywhere. He just slipped out the room when I wasn't looking. Both he and Joan! I'm sorry."

Rose shook her head. "He can't have gone far… He must still be here. He wouldn't lead Joan into danger… but if he is like the Doctor and believes he can stop it then he might… Did anything happen while I was looking for Tim and the watch?"

"Tim?" Martha cocked her head and then realised she meant the student standing next to her.

He held out his left hand, placing the watch in his right pocket. "Tim. Timothy Latimer."

Martha shook his hand but turned her attention back to Rose as she began to speak. "The headmaster and a teacher went outside to talk to the family… I don't know what was exchanged; John was listening in by the window but when the headmaster came back the teacher he had gone out with had been murdered. John was gone from the room by the time the headmaster returned; I didn't see him leave. He must have made sure I wasn't looking when he left with Joan."

Rose bit her lip. Where would he have gone? "If he's surrendered to the Family I don't think they will kill him. Not till they have the watch and hopefully they don't know his essence is in there. But if he has handed himself over to them to stop the fighting then… well… we have to find him and fast."

"You're too late," a sad voice said from behind them.

Rose turned to see Joan walking towards them, tears were falling down her cheeks. "He's gone. He couldn't let those people hurt anyone else. He sounds so much like that Doctor in that journal he wrote…" From her pocket she withdraw the journal, holding it up to them.

"But that is who he is," replied Martha. "What he has written in that book is real…" She raised her hands to fend of Joan's denial. "I know it sounds impossible, but we know John better then you know him. Rose and I, we're here to look after him. Keep him safe…"

"You didn't do a very good job of it did you?" accused Joan. "If you'd kept John safe none of this would have happened; I wouldn't have fallen in love with him either!"

Rose willed herself to stay calm. She couldn't fault Joan for falling in love with him when she had done the same thing herself. "Joan, I know it sounds mad. Completely and practically impossible. But John is the Doctor. He is the character he wrote about. He was being chased, there was no where we could go so he made the decision to turn himself human. He took the alien part of himself and stored it inside this fob-watch." She indicated Tim who had drawn the fob-watch out of his pocket. "He charged us to look after him, Martha and I, but the watch had to stay with John because people of our status in this time-line would be sacked if we had been found with that watch. We couldn't keep an eye on it as well as we could have done - then we found that Tim had taken the watch."

"I was drawn to it by voices," said Tim. "It spoke to me, told me to protect it, that the time for it to be opened was getting nearer and nearer, but not yet. I had to keep it safe. It was me that distracted them in the hall - I opened the watch only briefly. But even then I couldn't return it to its rightful owner; the watch wouldn't let me."

Joan's lip was trembling. "I've already lost my husband to war; one cannot be so unlucky in love."

Martha stepped forward, a sad smile on her face. She reached Joan and pulled her into a hug. "I don't know how you feel, but I can guess you feel devastated, upset that of all people in this world, it had to happen to you. I'm sorry… if we could change things we could. If John could stay here, then he would, but the universe needs him. He's an alien capable of great things… but if we lose him… I can't say for sure what will happen, but the universe won't be safe anymore."

Joan sniffed, holding up a tissue and wiping her nose. "And alien means… not from abroad, I take it."

"The man you know as John Smith… he was born on another world," replied Martha.

"A different species then," stated Joan.

"Yeah."

"Then tell me, who are you two in this?"

Martha exchanged a look with Rose. "I think you should explain. It might be better coming from you."

Rose nodded. "We're from the future. The Doctor is capable of time travel. You might have gauged that from reading the journal. We know what happens in the future, how the world pans out… but all we are to the Doctor are his friends. We just travel with him seeing the universe. We're both human, but the Doctor isn't. He's an amazing person, but without him we're stuck here. We're only here because of the Family. If they hadn't caught his scent we wouldn't be in this situation and we can't lose John."

"I've already lost him," mourned Joan. "From the moment I met him I knew it couldn't last… yet I ploughed on…"

"We'll get him back Joan," said Rose evenly a determined look in her eye. "But first we need to find out where the Family have got their ship. Only then, can we rescue John."

His head throbbed as consciousness returned to him. He was disconcerted to discover that what he had hoped to be a nightmare had indeed been real - all the events that had happened in the past twenty-four hours had led him to this. He had not been returned from the nightmarish world that he had hoped to have escaped from. It was real and he was scared.

The first thing he was aware of was that his hands were secured tightly behind his back and he was leaning against a wall. The green glow of the lights confirmed his suspicions. He was in a dark and horrible place. Alien. The word rolled around his mind - it sounded foreign, and yet seemed to describe him perfectly. This was not the world he had ever wanted to be a part of. His dreams had just been dreams, not reality, but they were reality, no matter how much he didn't want them to be.

For him this place shouldn't exist. It was from the realm of impossibility. Yet he was here, trapped within it and he was scared.

He wondered why he had even given himself up. All the values he had been taught growing up had said that fighting was honourable, yet why had it felt so wrong to let those children fight? They were trained cadets, ready to fight for King and Country. He had, on occasion, been feeling guilty by teaching them, but on others had been proud to pass on his knowledge, so why had he given himself up on the basis that it was wrong for school boys to fight?

It hadn't been the sole reason why he had surrendered - he knew it was partly because he loved Joan and he hadn't wanted them to hurt her. He could imagine a future with her in his mind, but the revelations that seemed to suggest he was the character of the Doctor seem to have put paid to his thoughts that he could spend his life with Joan. These people, the Family of Blood, were convinced he was the Doctor - could they not have got the wrong person? It was feasible after all.

However there was one thing he couldn't understand, and it was the problem that led him to believe that he was the Doctor.

The kitchen girl, Rose - he had drawn a sketch of her in his journal a few days before he found her in his room. During his time at the school he had not seen her before; he had gone down in the kitchens but she had not been there, yet days after he had drawn a sketch of her from his dreams he had suddenly met someone who resembled her. How was that even possible? How could his dreams become a reality, unless there was some basis of truth in them? He didn't want to pretend to be someone he was not. He felt like denying everything, hoping that this was all a bad dream, but the truth, the overwhelming evidence (Rose, the dreams, and the Family) all pointed to the Doctor being real. He, John Smith, was just a story. Why couldn't he be real? Wasn't he entitled to live his life?

But one thing confused him most of all - if he was the Doctor why did he not have any memories of him? Why were they just dreams? It was the only thing he had to hold onto that this was just one long nightmare, one that he would wake up from very soon.

Footsteps echoed around the room he was in. John pushed himself as far back as he could go as it came near to his position. Out stepped Baines, a nasty smile spread across his features.

"Ah! I was wondering when you would wake, Doctor!" He leaned down towards his prisoner, squatting so that he was at eye level with him. "It's a pity you don't have what we require from you. So, WHERE IS IT?" he spat.

John was shaking his head. What did he mean? He had him didn't he? Wasn't he what they had been after? "I don't know what you mean!"

Baines stared at him, his look murderous. "If you don't tell us where you've stored it perhaps we'll carry through with out threat to kill your lover? Perhaps even one of your companions too…"

"Please, don't!" John was practically crying, a wet trail bled from his eyes.

"Then tell us where it is!" Baines yelled. "Or do you want her to die, knowing that it was your denial to give us what you want that caused us to take that action?"

Tears were now cascading heavily down John's cheeks. "I don't…"

He was abruptly cut off as Baines lifted his right hand and slapped John, hard, around the face. "Then you know what we must do," his captor said, before getting to his feet and sauntering off.

John gulped, nearly choking on the sobs that wrecked through his body. He had naively thought that surrendering himself he had guaranteed Joan safety, but he hadn't. They were going to kill her… and it was all his fault.

I'm so sorry, Joan. So Sorry.

"So, the Family arrived only a few days ago and took Jeremy Baines, Jenny, Farmer Clark and Lucy. I can understand the last three but how did they manage to infiltrate the school and get Baines? I know that students are forbidden from leaving the school," summarised Rose.

Tim Latimer cleared his throat. "Baines snuck outside school yesterday night. It shouldn't have taken him more then fifteen minutes to get back but he was gone for hours. It was nightfall by the time he returned. When he did, I noticed that he was acting… strange. It was rather odd - he was not himself… I was afraid of him…"

"That explains it then… Baines must have been found by them on his outing," replied Rose, frowning. "Question is, where did he go? The Family's ship must be on his route somewhere…"

Martha nodded enthusiastically. "If we can find that ship, we can try and rescue John!" She turned urgently to Tim. "Do you know where Baines would have gone to get whatever he did?"

"He said something about a secret supply of beer in Blackdown Woods…" Tim recalled. "Does that help? It's near Cooper's Field."

Martha gaped. "But we searched that area. We found nothing! There was no sign of a spaceship. If it was there how come we didn't see it?"

"It was invisible," grimaced Rose. "The only explanation for it. Baines must have been in the area when w were searching… or he was already in the ship. It can't be that hard to find a great big invisible spaceship. The touch and feel technique - hope we bump into it."

"And that's your plan is it?" asked Joan, stepping forward. She had stayed quiet all this time, listening to them. But now she let her opinion be known. "To walk into a place that is not 'there' and hope for the best?"

Rose nodded. "That's what the Doctor would do. And that's what John did to an extent. He did that to save you Joan, to save the rest of the boy's from fighting. We need to get him back. John has to decide what to do. We can't force him to change back." She looked across at Joan, levelling her gaze. "It's not fair on you. John deserves happiness, but the Family won't leave him alone until they get the Doctor's essence. And the only person who can stop the Family is the Doctor."

"Either way John has got to choose death," sniffed Joan, mournfully.

Everyone knew she was struggling to take in what Rose, Martha and Tim had explained to her. They realised she was hoping that they had got the wrong John Smith. It had only been the journal, from reading the end of the diary, that had convinced her that what was happening was reality and there was nothing she could do about it. She had already lost the first man she had loved - her husband in the war, now she stood to lose another loved one. She looked up as Rose called her name.

"Martha and I are going to save John. We're going to get him back to you, Joan, I promise. We'll be back as quick as we can. Just, please, stay safe - John will be with you soon."

Joan shook her head dejectedly. "He won't be with me soon; he'll be with you, just as he's meant to be. I know the journal can't lie to me… I've read the end, it all makes sense, no matter how much I don't want to believe it. They'll tear the world apart if they get the Doctor. John won't let that happen." She turned away before either of them could utter a word to her. She needed to be alone.

Rose watched her leave, feeling sorry for her. She turned to Tim Latimer, levelling her gaze at him. "Look out for her." She indicated the pocket where the fob-watch was stored. "And look after him too."

"I promise," replied Tim. "Good luck."

"You too," said Martha, giving Tim a quick hug.

He hurried off following Joan, who had since disappeared from sight. Rose and Martha watched him go. Two lives had changed in the last few hours so drastically, that they wondered if normality would ever find them again.

Together Rose and Martha exchanged glances before running out the school towards where they hoped the Doctor was being held.

"This place is really eerie," shivered Martha as they stepped slowly through Blackdown woods. They had opted to take the slow approach, ensuring that they didn't give away their position to the enemy, if they were watching that is. It was possible there would be sensors or traps to prevent intruders, yet it didn't seem probable to Martha, because Baines had made easy access, but they had probably encouraged him as they had, had a use for him, which had killed him in the process. A slight breeze was rustling through the trees; nightlife was sweeping overhead or scurrying along branches and the ground. "It can't be too far in the forest…"

"You want that because you're scared, don't you?" teased Rose. "If it helps, I'm scared too."

"Glad to hear it," mumbled Martha. She had tried to sound cheerful but she realised her attempts were failing. A though struck her. "Could we have missed the ship by any chance?"

"It is possible," Rose responded, rubbing her chin, "but its unlikely." She grabbed Martha's arm as a though struck her. "I just realised there's a clearing over there. You can see it through the tree's … it leads into Cooper's Field doesn't it? And Cooper's Field is situated right next to the edge of Blackdown woods, right?"

"I think so," replied Martha. "No harm in checking it out… after all we thought it had gone in this direction…"

"Yeah…"

They made their way over to the clearing, their feet shattering tiny twigs. The one thing that they had tried to avoid and couldn't - it was just one more noise to add to the twittering around them. However the noise around them at least dissolved the theory that there were sensors detecting movement about.

When they reached the edge of the forest and emerged into the field they both stopped, staring into the distance.

"I guess the only thing we can do is walk forward and hope we bump into it," said Rose.

"If it's here that is," replied Martha. She reached out an arm with Rose doing the same and they both took a step forward.

Nothing.

Another step.

Still nothing.

And then…

"Ouch!" Martha yelled as something sparked up her arm and at the same time green light wavered in front of her. It had looked like she had disturbed a cloaking shield. She brought her stinging fingers to her lips and sucked them. "Ow. That hurt!"

"I think we've found what we're looking for," mused Rose.

"You think!?! How are we going to get through that if it hurts so much?" retorted Martha, angrily.

"Bear the pain and hope it doesn't hurt too much as we pass through it?"

Martha rolled her eyes, despite knowing that Rose could not see the action. "If it stings this much we'll be hurting all over. Effective security system though. Would be enough to keep intruders out. Question is, if its cloaked, where is the door?"

"I did not think of that. I guess we've just got to hope that we'll be lucky." Rose moved forward, both her arms raised and stepped forward, her hands brushing against the shield that covered the ship. Immediately sparks of faint electricity travelled up her arms, stinging her. She bared her teeth, telling herself to ignore the pain. She pushed forward, stepping sideways, pressing against the hull as hard as she could, and then something moved and she fell through the barrier and landed on a cold, metal flooring. She looked over her shoulder, her body aching everywhere, to see the shape of a door embedded in the hull. Climbing to her feet, despite the ache in her body, Rose allowed herself a grin of victory. She had made it! She had infiltrated the family's craft; all she needed to do now was find John.

Something moved behind her and she turned just in time to catch Martha before her friend fell to the floor. "I thought you'd never make it," grinned Rose, jokingly.

Martha pushed herself away from Rose, smiling lightly. "I couldn't just leave you to do all the hard work."

"So true," replied Rose, a sparkle in her eye, but then her expressions and demeanour turned serious as the reality of the situation hit her. "Come on. We've got a job to do."

Once again adopting the decisions they had made, the two friends carefully began to make their way through the ship. It was eerier then the forest, and a menacing feeling swept through their minds… it felt like something was picking through their brain, as if it was trying to determine what their purpose was about this ship.

"Is it just me or do you get the feeling we are being watched?" asked Rose, her voice trembling slightly. The atmosphere of the ship had installed fear into them.

Martha responded, swallowing a lump in her throat. "It's not just you." Suddenly she halted reaching out to grab Rose's arm, preventing her from moving further down the corridor. "Did you hear that?"

Rose shook her head. "No. What was it?" Then she heard it, the distinctive sound of someone crying. They traded glances, realising immediately who it must be. "It's this way," pointed Rose, once again walking forward, however they made haste knowing that they were so close to him.

They came to a set of stairs which wound downwards that suggested that at least part of the ship was buried beneath the field. Quietly they tip-toed down the stairs, emerging into what looked a control room. It was full, top-to-bottom, of various controls and equipment, neither of which the girls had any hope of operating, but their attention was diverted towards the figure huddled in the corner. Upon closer inspection they realised his hands were tied behind his back; his sobs of misery nearly breaking Rose Tyler's heart.

She felt so sorry for him, no matter how much she wanted her Doctor back, John deserved life too.

Martha stepped closer to John, kneeling down beside him and gently saying his name. "John." He didn't look at her. He was so lost in his misery that he didn't want to know they were there. She noticed that there were bruises on his face, where it was clear he had received a beating of a sort. "John," she tried again, "we're here to rescue you, take you home."

He finally raised his head, staring at Martha, his eyes wet with tears. "There's no point," he sniffed. "They've gone for her…" his voice cracked, "…for Joan. She's going to die."

"You can stop that," answered Rose. Like Martha, she was now squatting beside him, slowly inching her hands forward so that she could untie his wrists. "Everyone has a choice, but if you stay here the Family will force the choice onto you. Free they cannot. You don't need to be the Doctor to defeat them." She knew that was a lie but if she could give John the confidence he needed to face the Family then maybe it would be worth it. "Anyone can be the Doctor if they strive to, its just finding the courage to do so. Do you think you can do that? Stand up to them?"

John lowered his gaze. "I … I don't know."

"Look at me," Rose said forcefully. When he didn't she lifted his chin with her fingers. "I believe in you John - not in the Doctor - but you. If anyone can end this, it is you, as who you are now."

He was silent but it was sign he was thinking things through. When he spoke, his voice was laced with torment but also with the feeling that he had come to a very difficult decision; one he hadn't wanted to make. He blinked, and then said, slowly and carefully: "I know what I've got to do." A single tear trailed down his cheek. "Please, take me back home."

To be continued....

Please let me know what you think!!!

Next chapter: Things take a turn for the worse as John has an agonising decision to make...

Should be updated by Wednesday... (hopefully)

the-writer1988