Penny hadn't slept that night. Not because she couldn't, but because she had to study.

The Doctor had given her the psychic paper and told her to get a job as one of the teachers. Penny had gone and gotten a job as a Latin teacher, the only problem was that she didn't know a lick of Latin.

She read through the text book she brought from the Tardis again.

"Simple sentence structure will be written: subject, direct object, verb." She look up. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?" She groaned, wishing she could just go back and live in the Tardis.

There was a knock on her door before she could confuse herself more. "Come in!" She called, shutting the book and tossing it on the bed she was sitting on.

"Good morning, Penny." Martha's voice said.

"Is it?" Penny questioned. "What makes it good? I have to learn a language in two days and you have to wait on a bunch of little bastards." She said, falling back onto her bed.

Martha fought to keep a straight face. "Please refrain from calling the children 'little bastards.'"

"Why?" Penny whined. "If I'm going to be here for three months, at least let me have some fun."

Martha burst into laughter, coming to sit by Penny on the bed.

Penny was wearing modern sweats instead of the night dresses Martha had told her she had to wear. "Did I mention that I hate dresses? I don't know how you wear that maid outfit-thing."

"It's not that bad." Martha said, lying back with her friend. "Except for the kids who speak to me as if I'm an object. Right little bastards they are."

"Want me to give them detention?" She paused. "Nevermind, I'm not allowed." She huffed, sitting up and crossing her arms.

"Why not? You're a teacher, aren't you?"

"But I'm a girl, and apparently girls rule using their emotions instead of logic." She did a bad impression of the Dean of Students who had hired her.

"What are you supposed to do with a misbehaving student?"

"Ask a man for help."

Martha scoffed and got up, walking to the tray she had brought in with her. "You asking for help? And from a man none the less?" She glanced as her friend who looked exhausted. "I just can't see it."

"Nor me, Martha." Penny said, standing.

"I brought your breakfast." Martha said, passing her the tray.

"You're an angel, Martha. Truly." Penny said happily, finding that food tended to fix most of her problems.

"I know." Martha smirked, making Penny snort. "I was just with the Doc- John Smith, and he told me he's been having dreams."

Penny wiggled her eyebrows as she poured herself tea. "Dreams?"

Martha shook her head fondly, "Dreams about the Doctor."

The mood in the room quickly turned serious. "Oh." Penny said. "He's remembering then."

"Yeah, he writes them all down in a journal. I don't know how much he's remembering though. He's convinced they're dreams."

"Good." Penny sighed. "He can't know they're real." Penny took a bite of her toast, offering the other piece to Martha, who she was sure didn't get much food.

Martha accepted, and they lifted their bread as if toasting something before eating them.

"He mentioned you." Martha said after they both ate her breakfast.

"Really? Why?" Penny snorted.

"He asked if I'd spoken to you, something about wanting to meet the new teacher."

Penny rolled her eyes. "I'm starting tomorrow, two days after he started." She pointed out.

"I don't know, I think he's interested in you." Martha wiggled her eyebrows.

Penny rolled her eyes again. "If he's anything like the Doctor, then it's just because he wants to be nice." Penny looked back at her Latin book. "I've got to keep studying, but you're welcome to chill here while I do, I have a few books I brought from the Tardis. Don't tell the Doctor, but I brought some Harry Potter."

Martha grinned. "Did you bring the seventh?" Penny nodded. "I'll come round after I've done my work to read it." She said.

"Good luck, tell me if anyone gives you shit." Penny said, turning to the last page she was on in the textbook.

"What are you going to do, ask a man for help?" Martha joked, leaving the room.

Penny sighed. This was going to be a long three months.

"Good morning class."

"Salve, Magisterium." The class responded.

"For those of you who haven't realized, I'm your new Latin instructor, Miss. Walker." She gave a small smile to the class. A few boys returned it, most looked bored. "I hope you are all ready for a short quiz." Nearly every student looked like he wanted to complain. "It will not be graded. I want to see how much your last teacher got through before they had to leave." Penny clarified, receiving grateful looks from the students. "I'll write the questions up on the board, please answer them in your note books and turn them in when you are done. If you cannot answer a question, please leave it blank."

The boys took about half of the time to finish, so she let them quietly talk as she looked through the answers.

Penny silently sighed, this class was advanced. She'd have to bust her as off to be able to teach them properly.

After she dismissed the students, she took a small walk before her next class walking to where she knew Martha was stationed. She saw John walk past.

"Morning, Sir." Martha greeted him.

"Yes, hi." He said politely before walking away.

"Head in the clouds, that one. Don't know why you're so sweet on him."

"I agree, Miss. Jenny." penny said, a small smile on her face.

Jenny looked over in horror. "Oh, I'm so sorry Ma'am, I didn't mean-"

Penny waved the apology away. "There's no need, I agree." Jenny looked shell shocked. Penny smiled at the young woman. "I'm Penelope Walker, it's a pleasure to meet you." She said.

"Penny!" Martha said happily.

Jenny looked at her friend in horror. "I'm so sorry Ma'am, she's new here, and-"

"You must stop apologizing to me." Penny cut her off. "You'll find I'm not easily offended." She looked back to Martha. "How are you, Martha?"

"I'm well as I can be, I suppose." She said, still scrubbing the floor.

The three didn't notice the three boys walking past until one spoke to the two. "Now then, you two." He addressed the maids. "You're not paid to have fun, are you? Put a little backbone into it."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." Jenny automatically replied, putting her head down and working.

"You there," The other one spoke, pointing at Martha. "What's your name again?"

"Martha, sir. Martha Jones."

The boy smirked smugly. "Tell me then, Jones. With hands like those, how can you tell when something's clean?" The two boys laughed, turning and walking away.

Penny could tell Martha wanted to respond as the two walked on, but Penny spoke first. "You say she can't tell when things are dirty?" She questioned calmly. The two boys turned around. "Well, I should say you are lucky you don't have that problem, because my classroom could use some cleaning, and according to you, Miss. Jones cannot help with that, so you two can do it instead, yes?" She tilter her head to the side, a sweet smile on her face, though her eyes were stern enough to make the boys a bit scared.

"Yes, Ma'am." They both replied.

"Lovely." She said. "Now off you go, don't be late for your next class."

She watched as they walked off, whispering to each other. She turned back to the two, only one looking surprised. "Martha, it was lovely seeing you, but I should be off. Take care."

"You as well, Penny."

Penny winked at her, turning to up the steps, running into John on one of the landings. He was holding a large pile of books that looked ready to topple over.

"Good morning, Mister Smith." Penny said, John jumping in surprise, not having noticed her. He dropped a few books and before he could begin to bend over to pick them up, Penny was holding them.

"Let me help." She offered. "Where are you off to, I can carry these."

"No, no, I've got it, no." He denied, looking flustered.

"I insist, Mr. Smith."

"Oh, alright, then." He sighed, giving in.

"And which way might we be going?" Penny prompted, making John's eyes go wide as his face went redder.

"Th-This way." He stuttered, about to point, but realizing his books would fall if he did. "How are you finding the school?" John tried to make polite conversation.

"It's nearly perfect." Penny lied. Truth be told, she was hating every moment. It would be different were the Doctor there to make things interesting.

"Nearly perfect is high praise." John pointed out.

"I suppose, how are you finding it?"

"Wonderful. My students are well versed in their studies. A teacher could not ask for more." He said, smiling softly.

"I agree, Mr. Smith."

"Are you having any problems with the students, Mrs. ?"

"Ms. Walker." She informed.

"Ms. Walker." He repeated.

"Not my students, no. Though I have seen some rather concerning behavior from some of the older boys."

John quirked an eyebrow. "What kind of behavior?"

"Appalling actions towards the help." She said.

John's eyebrows furrowed. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out."

They made it to John's quarters, and Penny gave his books back, forcing a smile at the man who looked like her best friend.

She walked back in the direction of her classroom and sighed. This would be a long three months.

Surprisingly, Penny's easiest classes to plan were fore the more advanced students. She simply wrote Latin on the board and they translated it. They were slowly working through Caesar's De Bello Galico.

Her younger students were harder to prepare for, because she actually had to know what she was doing. She mostly focused on memorization and vocabulary work.

They were a month in and Penny was dead bored. In her free time, she took up learning the piano after seeing a piano book in the library. She was terrible at it, but she was at least doing something instead of staring at the celling.

"Penny?" Her door opened and Martha walked in.

"Hi." Penny said blandly, laying on her bed and

thinking.

"Don't you have class?"

"No. They're all in that gun training thing."

Martha winced, sitting beside her. "I never thought the Doctor would be teaching people to use guns, let alone children!"

"Martha, that's not the Doctor." Penny reminding, wishing she was wrong.

"I know." She sighed. "Sometimes I just want to slap him into remembering."

"Me too." Penny admitted. "I don't know how it's possible to miss someone who isn't even gone."

Martha shot up, looking at Penny with a smug smile. "You miss him then?"

Penny sat up, shrugging. "He's my best friend who is currently pulling a Penny and not remembering either of us. Of course I miss him."

Martha blinked. "Pulling a Penny?" She questioned, trying not to laugh.

"I don't know." Penny shrugged again.

Martha giggled at her friend and shook her head fondly. "I just came to let you know that the matron is sending goo goo eyes at John."

"Oh, Joan?" Penny asked, perking up at the name of the only other woman employed by the school who wasn't a cleaner or cook.

"Yeah, her."

"Okay," Penny thought for a moment, scrunching up her face in thought. "It'll be fine as long as John doesn't get attached, I think."

"Why can't he et attached?" Martha asked. "You jealous?"

Penny shook her head. "No, but if he gets attached, he might not want to go back to being the Doctor when he has to."

"Oh."

"Yeah, it should be fine as long as we keep an eye out."

Penny would occasionally run into John around the school, one such time was after a particularly obnoxious class. She was headed back to her room for her lunch break when she ran into the Doctor outside of the library.

"Oh, good afternoon, Mr. Smith."

"And you, Ms. Walker."

Penny internally sighed in annoyance. "Please, I believe we know each other well enough for you to call me by my first name, Mr. Smith."

She could have sworn John's face went a bit red. "And your first name would be?"

"Penelope."

"Well then, Penelope. I'd rather you use my name instead of Mr. Smith anyways."

Penny was sure this time, his face was definitely getting redder. "It was John, yes?"

"Yes." He confirmed.

"It was lovely seeing you, John." She said with a polite smile. "But, I must be preparing my lesson plans."

His ears went red. "Of- Of course, don't let me keep you."

Penny let out a small laugh at the look on John's face. "Right." She said.

It was another few days before she ran into him again, this time literally. John was walking down the hall he believed to be empty while writing something down in a journal.

Penny had turned the corner just to fall over as John ran into her, dropping his journal by accident.

"Oh, goodness, are you alright, Penelope."

Penny winced, it was beyond weird to have him call her Penelope instead of Penny.

John saw the wince and assumed she was hurt. "Oh, please forgive me, I was in my own world and didn't notice you." John rushed.

Penny reached for the journal and stood up, brushing the skirt of her dress off. "I'm quite alright, John. Nothing to worry about." She smiled, handing his journal back, though not before glancing at the title. "Journal of impossible things?" She read aloud.

John's face went red. "Yes-well- er... I often have the strangest dreams, and I've taken to writing them down." He stuttered.

"Hmm, what sort of dreams?" Penny asked.

"Well, they're all written down if you'd like...?" He offered her the journal.

"I'd love to, thank you."

"Would you care to discuss it over a cup of tea?" He asked before his eyes went wide. "Oh dear, I do hope that didn't come off as-"

"John," Penny interrupted calmly. "A cup of tea sounds lovely."

That's how she ended up sitting on John's couch as he went over his dreams, confiding that he hadn't shown his journal to anyone before.

Penny opened the book, setting her tea cup down. Her eyes were drawn to the sketches immediately. "You are a talented artist." She said, finger hovering over one drawing of a young woman.

"That's Rose." John explained. "She seems to disappear later on, though."

Penny realized that was the same Rose he had told her about and focused on something else, sure that if the Doctor was there, he wouldn't want Penny to be asking about Rose.

"Are there any other reoccurring characters?" She asked, wondering if she had been in them at all.

"My maid, Martha Jones, appears a few times." He said, thinking. He flipped a few pages of the journal that was still in her hands, landing on a full page drawing of a woman with long hair and a snarky smile on her face. "She does too, though I don't know her name. She seems to be a good omen, though."

Penny knew immediately the drawing was of her, but John didn't seem to. Beside her, the Tardis was drawn and labeled 'Magic Box.' In swooshy cursive that seemed too neat to be the Doctor's.

"And the 'magic box?'" Penny asked, tilting her head to the side in feigned confusion.

"Oh, it's always there. It appears like a magic carpet, taking us off to different places."

'Us?' Penny wondered. "I dare say your dreams seem like a better reality, John." She joked.

"Yes, well, it is a shame some of it is not real, isn't it?" He joked back, a smile on his face as he finally seemed to relax around her.

"A shame indeed." She said, turning the page and reading about his adventures.

Two months in and Penny was bored beyond belief. She had taken to sneaking out in the dead of night and sitting at the lake nearby. She had lugged an astronomy book with her one night and tried to find constellations, but she could only find a few of the dozens listed.

Her classes were going well and she seemed to be a decent teacher, if the students attitude and scores were anything to go by.

John would come to her often now, telling her of his dreams or discussing their childhoods (something Penny had to make up on the spot, apparently, she was born in London and had always wanted to teach). She found herself enjoying his company, but she missed the Doctor.

"I heard there's a town dance next week." John said.

"Really?" Penny asked, pretending she hadn't seen the poster both in town and in the school. "Sounds interesting."

"Yes, I was wondering if you were planning on going?" He asked nervously.

Penny realized what was going on and resisted the urge to stand up and walk away. The last thing she wanted to do was begin a relationship with John and then tell him his life wasn't real.

"I'm not sure." She said, trying to find a way out of the conversation.

"Well, if it isn't too forward of me to ask," John began. "Would you like to attend it with me?"

Penny blinked. If she said no, not only would John be upset, but it might break their friendship, which would make keeping an eye on him difficult. She internally sighed and forced a small smile. "Sounds fun." She managed to get out.

John's face lit up and Penny was almost glad she had said yes. Almost.

"Wonderful."

The day before the dance, John fell down the stairs. Penny crossed her fingers, hoping that he had twisted his ankle or something. As long as it stopped him from going to the dance.

No such luck, it seemed as she knocked on his door.

"Come in." John called.

Penny walked in, closing the door behind her. Martha was already there, along with Joan, who was dabbing at a small cut on John's head. "Are you alright?" She asked him.

"Quite. I'll be fit as a fiddle by tomorrow." He assured, though it had the opposite effect intended.

Penny held back a groan as she realized she'd have to go to the dance. "I'm glad." She said, ignoring the curious look Martha sent her. She'd fill her in later.

Both Martha and Joan dismissed themselves soon after, claiming they had duties. Penny wished he could say the same, but her classes for the day were over and she didn't think she could lie to the Doctor, even if it wasn't really him.

Finally, Penny excused herself under the pretense of grading papers, something John was very familiar with, as he had a stack he had to grade as well. "I'll drop by your room at five?" He asked as Penny walked to the door.

Penny nodded. "I'll see you then."

Penny closed the door behind her, sighing.

When she made it to her room, Martha was waiting for her. "What was that about?" She asked ad Penny closed the door.

Martha was on her sofa, Harry Potter book in hand. She set it down and looked at Penny expectantly.

"He asked me to the dance." She said numbly.

"I told you he was interested in you!" She scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah. You were right. Isn't that wonderful?" She groaned, flopping onto her bed face first.

"Moving on," Martha chuckled. "Joan's getting suspicious. Says John seems like he's not 'all there.'"

Penny snorted. "He wasn't all there when he was the Doctor." She pointed out, Martha snickering. She rolled over. "We need to stop be the Tardis, I don't have any formal dresses here. I didn't think I would need them."

"And I didn't think I'd be traveling with and alien and his girlfriend, but here we are."

"...I'm not his girlfriend."

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A/N

HannahHPandDWfanJones: I'm glad you liked everything! I hope you like this chapter just as much!

I honestly love this chapter, not going to lie, so I hope you all love it too!

If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Thanks for reading!

See you next chapter

-Jamie