Disclaimer: My therapist is concerned by my sudden desire to destroy the world and tells me I should find a healthier expression for my frustration. I replied that she doesn't get a spot on the spaceship.
Ch. 55:
A half an hour later found Lily and Martha in the TARDIS's wardrobe, desperately searching for something for Lily to wear to the dance.
"So, let me get this straight." Martha said, collapsing in a chair nearby. "At last count we have at least three major problems."
She held up a finger and started counting them off.
"One: A strange green light in the sky. Two: Your watch giving you cryptic warnings, which it's never done before. And Three: John Smith, a character you created to take the Doctor's place, seems to have fallen in love with you." she said. "Did I miss anything?"
Lily poked her head out from behind a rack.
"Joan Redfern seems to have fallen for John. That could become problematic if she tries to fight for him, or some other fool thing." she called.
"Right, so four problems that could completely destroy everything." Martha replied. "We're dead."
"I said that from the beginning." Lily told her. "And I know the first two are the most important, but can I please freak out over the third for a little while?"
"Go right ahead." Martha said, standing again to help her look. "How 'bout this one?" she asked holding up a dress.
Lily took one look and shook her head.
"No, that's Dickensian." she told her. "Plus, Rose wore that dress on the first trip she ever took. I think you stumbled onto the 'don't ever wear again' rack. Is there a horrible, long scarf?"
"Yeah." Martha called back. "What makes something worthy of the 'don't ever wear again' rack?"
Lily walked over to join her.
"Mostly, they're old things the Doctor wore in previous incarnations." Lily told her. She pulled out a black leather jacket that had recently reappeared. "This was his previous incarnation's favorite. My original Doctor wore an identical one."
"So why is the dress here?" Martha asked.
"Because it was the first time the Doctor told Rose she was beautiful." Lily told her simply. "It's really here so no one else will wear it. She probably could have worn it again. Now this," She grabbed another dress off the rack. "How did this get here?" she asked.
The dress was the one she had worn to the Lazarus fiasco.
"This needs to go back to my room." Lily murmured to herself. She set it down nearby and went back to looking.
"This is hopeless." Martha complained. "There must be hundreds of dresses in here. We'll never find one in time."
"This would be so much easier if I could just talk to the TARDIS." Lily agreed.
"Well she can still hear you, right?" Martha asked, a plan forming. "Why don't you just asked for help? Even if she can't answer, she might still do it."
"Martha, you're a genius." Lily said hugging her.
She walked to the middle of the room.
"Okay, so I know you can't answer, but could you please move any dresses that might fit at a 1913 dance party to that rack there?" Lily asked, pointing. There was a blur and about thirty dresses appeared.
"Thanks so much, love." Lily called, moving towards the dresses. "So back to my original thought, what the hell?!" she asked. "How could he kiss me? I know the others were like life ending things but that's the one that's really going to screw me."
"Why?" Martha asked from the other end of the rack.
"Because I have only two options." Lily told her. "Either I let him go on thinking I have feelings for him and then have to have a very awkward conversation with the Doctor, or I tell him I don't and risk a fiasco involving Joan. I mean how did he even develop feelings for me? I so didn't write that into his personality."
"Maybe it was there already." Martha said slyly.
Lily stopped what she was doing to face her friend.
"What do you mean?" she asked her.
"Well," Martha replied slowly, "some things of the Doctor remain right? His love of history, stuff like that. I mean you still have aspects of your Time Lord personality, right?"
"Yeah, my love of music, my need to roam, stuff like that, but what does that have to do with the human John falling for me?" Lily asked her.
"Maybe the feelings were already there and they transferred over." Martha told her.
Lily stared at her.
"No." she stated. "No. Cause that would mean….no. Cause, see, the Doctor loves Rose. He will always love her. And I love the other Doctor." Lily stuttered.
"You haven't noticed how you stopped calling him 'my Doctor' and changed to 'the other Doctor' in the last few months?" Martha asked her.
"That's…that's totally not the point." Lily said, turning once more to the dresses.
"Lily." Martha said, making her turn back to face her. "It's alright to admit you like him."
"But…" Lily started, but trailed off.
"But what?" Martha asked.
"I thought that you…" she trailed off again.
"I do." Martha told her softly. "But you and him have a connection I'll never have." She held up her hand to stop Lily from talking. "I'm not just talking about your mind bond thing. You have a shared history, a shared loss, a shared pain. You need each other, so it makes sense that your feelings for one another would run deep. That's my point. Maybe John loves you because that's the way a human interprets what you feel for each other."
"But the Doctor doesn't love me." Lily protested weakly. "Not that way."
"Maybe not." Martha replied. "But, and keep in mind I'm not really sold on that by the way, he does love you. In his own way." She smiled at Lily. "Just like you love him."
Lily sat in a chair heavily.
"When did things get so complicated?" she asked.
"About two seconds after you were born." Martha replied with a grin. "Ah ha!" she pulled out a dress and showed it to Lily.
"Perfect." Lily replied with a smile.
Latimer sat toying with the watch as he sat on a bench.
"The darkness is coming…" the voice whispered. "Keep me away from the force and empty man…find the firebird…mate…last of the Time Lords, the last of a wise and ancient race…find her…she'll protect us…"
Latimer saw Baines heading across the grounds to join a man from town, Mr. Clarke. A second later a young girl with a red balloon joined them. As one they turned to watch him. They all tilted their heads and sniffed deeply.
"Lily, are you ready?" John called through the door.
"Yeah, yeah, just calm down." Lily called back, making the final adjustments. Her hand went to rest where the Firepoint usually sat. It had been three long months since it had been there, but tonight, she found she missed it more than ever.
She opened the door to find John in his best suit, staring at her.
"What?" she asked, defensively.
He shook his head.
"Nothing." he told her. "It's just…you look wonderful."
"We still have a little while before we have to be there, and I'm not quite ready yet." Lily said, motioning him in.
John walked in and stood awkwardly as Lily sat back down in front of the mirror. Seeing him in the reflection, she turned back with a sigh.
"Will you sit down?" she asked. "You're making me nervous."
He chuckled and did as she asked.
As she turned back, her watch caught her eye.
"Danger…" it whispered again. "Find him…protect him…"
"Um, actually, could we go to your room?" Lily asked him suddenly, picking up the watch and slipping it into the front of her dress.
"What for?" John asked her.
"I think I left a book there and I want to go find it." she told him, coming up with the flimsy lie on the spot.
"Now?" he asked.
She nodded.
"If I don't find it, I'll just think about it all night." she told him, moving to the door. "I just want to set my mind to rest."
"As you wish." John said as he followed her out.
Martha smiled as Jenny walked in.
"There you are!" she called. "Come and look what I've got. Mr. Poole didn't want his afternoon tea, so cook said I could have it. And there's enough for two."
Jenny remained motionless in the doorway.
"What are you standing there for?" Martha asked her.
Jenny sniffed loudly.
"Are you alright?" Martha asked.
"I must have a cold coming on." Jenny answered stiffly, joining Martha at the table.
"Problem is," Martha told her continuing a conversation from earlier, "I keep thinking about it, but I don't know what to tell her."
"Thinking about what?" Jenny asked.
"Mr. Smith and Miss Lily." Martha replied. "Because she doesn't think she feels the same way, but she doesn't want to break his heart. And then we're leaving in a few weeks still."
"Why?" Jenny asked her.
"It's like his contract comes to an end." Martha told her. "And it'll cause problems if they can't be around one another."
"Leave for where?" Jenny asked her.
"All sorts of places." she replied. "I wish I could tell you Jenny, but it's complicated."
"In what way?" Jenny asked.
"I just can't." Martha repeated.
"It sounds so interesting." Jenny said. "Tell me. Tell me now."
Martha knew something wasn't right with Jenny. Frowning, she changed the subject.
"Would you like some tea?" Martha asked her.
"Yes, thanks." she replied.
"I could put a nice bit of gravy in the pot." Martha told her. "And some mutton. Or sardines and jam, how about that?"
"I like the sound of that." Jenny replied.
Now Martha was sure something was seriously wrong.
"Right…" she said slowly. "Hold on a tick."
She got up calmly and walked out the door. The moment it was shut, Martha was running out of the building and to the school. To Lily and John.
She burst through the door to find Lily and John talking urgently.
"But I could have sworn-" Lily was saying.
"They've found us." Martha told her swiftly.
"What?" Lily breathed, but before she could say anything else, John butted in.
"Martha, I've warned you." he told her.
"They've found us." Martha told Lily, ignoring John. "And I've seen them-they look like people, like us, like normal."
"John, Martha isn't feeling well." Lily said, turning to him. "Let me deal with this quickly before we leave."
Without another word, she grabbed Martha's hand and dragged her outside.
"What are you doing?" Martha demanded.
"The watch is gone." Lily told her.
"What?" Martha gasped. "How?"
"I don't know, but we've got to keep the ruse going." Lily told her. "Until we find the watch, he's got to believe he's John Smith. Now I'm going to take him to the dance, and you," Lily reached into her dress and pulled out her watch, "you're going to take this."
Lily put it in Martha's hand while she stared at her.
"Why?" she demanded. "This is you, why are you giving me this?"
"There was a reason I couldn't keep the watch." Lily told her. "My watch recognizes his watch as it's other half. They call to each other." Lily looked at her very seriously. "When you're near his watch, this watch will start to glow. In our hands, mine or John's, they would open if they were brought together, and nothing could stop it. You're the only one who can hold both and not cause them to open of their own free will, do you understand?"
"I think so." Martha told her.
"When you find the other one, bring it to me at the dance and we'll go from there." Lily said, before walking back inside.
"I'm sorry." Lily told John. "She had told me earlier she wasn't feeling well and I ignored her. She has a high fever and she was imagining things."
"Should we call a doctor?" John asked her.
Lily shook her head.
"I laid her down in my room." she told him. "She just needs some rest."
"Well then." John said, handing Lily her coat. "Shall we go then?"
The moment Lily was through the door, Martha slipped the watch in her pocket. There was something they were probably going to need also.
She took off at a run. What they needed was in the TARDIS and they didn't have much time.
She ran into Latimer on her way out.
"Oh, sorry!" she called.
As Martha hit him, Latimer saw Martha bump in to in a different time in a different place.
"Mate…" the watch whispered. "Firebird…"
"Martha?" Latimer called.
"Not now Tim." Martha called back. "Busy!"
"But I think you're looking for this!" He called making her stop.
She turned and saw that he was holding the Doctor's watch.
"How did you get that?" Martha demanded.
"It said I should take it to it's mate. Someone called the Firebird." Latimer told her. "It said she would keep us save. And then it called out for her when you passed. Are you the Firebird?"
"Phoenix." Martha whispered. "It's calling for Lily."
"Miss Lily, Mr. Smith's sister?" Latimer asked.
"She's not really his sister, and I'm not the one your looking for, but I don't have time to explain." Martha told him quickly. "I just need you to trust me, can you do that?" she asked him.
"Trust…" the watch whispered. "She will lead you…follow…"
"It says I should." Latimer told her. "So I will."
"Good lad." she said. "Come on, we haven't got a lot of time."
She took off running again and he followed after.
She led him to the shed where the TARDIS was hiding.
"Tim, I need you to stay here." she told him. "If anything happens, come inside and just start calling for me, otherwise, you need to stay here."
With that she disappeared inside, leaving him alone.
Martha ran inside and straight to the Doctor's coat. She began going through all the pockets, looking for something.
"Spare a penny for the veterans of Crimea, sir?" a man asked as Lily and John approached the dance.
"Yes, of course." John replied, digging in his pocket for some coins. "There you are."
Lily and John made their way inside.
"Would you like to dance?" John asked her.
Lily smiled.
"Actually, could you get something to drink?" she asked him. "The walk over here has made me parched."
"Of course." he said, leading her to a table. "Sit and I will bring it right away."
He walked off and Lily sighed.
"Come on Martha." she whispered.
She didn't notice the little girl watching them.
"Oh, staff entrance I think, miss!" the man called as Martha and Tim ran up to the dance hall.
"Yeah, well think again mate." she said, pushing past him and Tim following.
She entered the hall and immediately spotted Lily and quickly walked up to her.
"Did you find it?" Lily asked urgently. "And what are you doing with Latimer?"
"It seems the Doctor decided to hide out in the pocket of a school boy." Martha told her.
"Tim, do you have a certain watch?" Lily asked him.
"It told me to take it, miss." Latimer told her. "Then it told me to find it's mate, a woman it called the Firebird."
Lily laughed to herself.
"Always making things harder than they need to be, aren't you Doctor?" she whispered. "I'm the Firebird, Tim." She told him. "One of my names is the Dark Phoenix."
"He said you would keep us safe." Tim told her.
Lily reached out and rested her hand on his cheek.
"I will Tim." she told him. "I'll keep you both safe."
Tim reached into his pocket and pulled out the watch.
"Then I believe this belongs to you." he said, holding it out to her.
As it came closer, it began to glow faintly.
"No it doesn't." Lily told him, backing away slightly. "It belongs to a great man."
She held out her hand to Martha.
"Give me mine." she told her. "And then take the Doctor's. It's your job to protect it."
Martha did as she said, setting Lily's watch in her hand and taking the Doctor's and slipping it in her pocket.
"I also went and got this." Martha told her, pulling out the sonic screwdriver.
"Now see here," John said coming up behind them. "I thought you were sick, Martha. And what do you think you're doing here, Latimer?"
"John, we have to leave." Lily told him. "Now."
"What are you talking about?" John demanded. "You know I put up with quite a bit from you, but-"
Suddenly, someone screamed as Mr. Clarke came in holding a gun in his hand.
"There will be silence!" he called. "All of you!"
Baines and Jenny walked in followed by animated scarecrows.
"I said silence!" he called again.
"Mr. Clarke!" a man yelled. "What's going on?"
Mr. Clarke turned and fired, dissolving him on the spot.
"Damn it." Lily muttered. "Tim, I'm going to trust you." she whispered to him. "Because the Doctor trusted you."
She quickly handed him her watch.
"When I give you the signal, I need you to open this." she told him urgently. "Just for a moment. Then close it. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Miss Lily." he told her.
"Good. Now try to get as far away from us as you can without attracting attention." she told him.
He nodded and began to inch away from them slowly.
"What is going on?" John demanded in a whisper.
"Just…" Lily trailed off. "Trust me." she finally finished.
"We asked for silence!" Baines called. "Now then. We have a few questions for Mr. Smith."
"No, better than that." the little girl called, walking over to join them. "The teacher. He's the Doctor. I heard them talking."
"You took human form." Baines said, looking him over.
"Of course I'm human, I was born human!" John told him. "As were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mr. Clarke! What is going on? This is madness!"
"And a human brain, too!" Baines said. "Simple, thick, and dull."
"He's no good like this." Jenny said.
"We need a Time Lord." Mr. Clarke agreed.
"Easily done." Baines said, walking forward and pointing a gun at John's head. "Change back." he ordered.
"I don't know what you're talking about." John told them.
"Change back!" Baines ordered again.
"I literally do not know-" John ordered, but broke off when Jenny grabbed Martha, holding a gun to her head.
"Get off me!" Martha shouted, struggling.
"She's your friend, isn't she?" Jenny addressed John, ignoring Martha. "Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?"
"I don't know what you mean!" John insisted.
"Wait a minute…" Jenny said. "The maid told me about Smith and that girl there."
"Let's have you!" Clarke said, grabbing Lily and pulling her along.
"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor?" Baines asked. "Being human? Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or Librarian? Your friend-or your lover? Your choice."
A/N: Human Nature is done! Family of Blood is next. To see an idea of what Lily's dress looks like, check my profile. And while you're there, don't forget to take the poll. Tell me who you think River Song is in this universe!
Question: Just out of curiosity, how many of you are Team Rose and how many are Team Martha?
Answer: Please don't hate me or stop reading if you don't agree, but I've got to say Team Rose. I love Martha, but she never really stood up to the Doctor. And I think he really needs someone who will. Which is why I loved Rose and why I'm already in love with Amy.
Abbey
