I was looking forward to writing this one - did not enjoy the sadness of rewatching the ending.
3rd Person P.O.V.
"Doctor, I have a quick question!" Charls shouted as they ran towards the TARDIS in the distance.
"What?!" The Doctor shouted back.
They ran faster, running from something they couldn't see anymore, "Why is it, that we're always in danger?"
"Because," The Doctor panted and opened the TARDIS door, "We're lucky!"
Charls laughed and squatted on the floor, "What was that?"
The Doctor looked more serious now, "We're going to need some extra help for this."
"Really?" Charls scoffed, "We're getting Martha?"
The Doctor ran around the console, "We need Martha, and quickly. They've stolen a Time Agent's vortex manipulator. They can follow us wherever we go without stopping."
Charls nodded, "Martha then."
"Hey, Martha. Nice to see you," Charls smiled at Martha through a crack in the TARDIS door, "just wondering are you busy right now?"
Martha rolled her eyes, "Are you kidding me? You could at least call before you appear in my room!"
"Hi, Martha," The Doctor popped his head out the door, "Bit of a rush right now. We need you to help us with something."
Martha sighed and set down her pencil, stepping inside the TARDIS, "What is it this time?"
"We need you to take this watch, because our lives depend on it. This watch, Martha." The Doctor showed her a silver fob watch, "This watch is-"
Theo woke up, breathing heavy and staring at the ceiling. His dreams never made any sense and they always thrilled him to no end. His doctor had suggested moving to the country for a bit of fresh air but that hadn't made the dreams fade. Theo sat up and stretched, the old mattress never agreed well with his tossing and turning while he slept.
"New day." Theo sighed and looked out the window next to the bed.
When he'd moved to this new town, he'd barely had enough money to get a place to live and work. A small, two floor studio of sorts. With a place to sleep on the 2nd floor and a little flower shop on the 1st. Theo always liked flowers, they were another way to express what he was thinking besides drawing or writing. Drawing was a difficult task for Theo because he'd never been able to get the image he had in his onto the paper. It'd always turn out strange or too messy. He liked writing but it proved too difficult as well, it always felt he'd forgotten a word or a sentence. An empty feeling that he liked to ignore. He'd preferred reading rather than writing. Other than his flower shop, his favorite place was the library. For as long as he could remember, flowers had always been there so it was natural that would be his way to live.
Theo tossed himself out of bed and changed into a raggedy shirt that he wore while working with plants. It was stained with mud and grass and had holes in the places where he'd accidentally cut himself with loppers.
On the wall next to the door was a small piece of paper that detailed his schedule for today. He made a new one every night, otherwise he'd forget what he'd need to do. Today he was to not set up shop until after he'd done everything else on the list, very important as the other things on the list made money while the shop made extra funds. First he was needed at the school, Farringham School for Boys, because the gardener had recently broken his leg due to an accident with a bullet. After he was done at the school, there was a farmer's wife who had a few questions about soil, then he'd been asked to do a few favors in preparation for the village dance. Only after all that, could Theo go home and open up shop.
"Why did I agree to help with the dance…" Theo wondered aloud, "I don't even remember how to dance."
John Smith awoke in his bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what he'd just dreamt about. He groaned and rolled out of bed, the door clattered open.
"Come in." He sighed.
Martha entered, wearing a maid's uniform and carrying a breakfast tray complete with tea and toast.
"Pardon me, Mister Smith. You're not dressed yet. I can come back later."
"No, it's all right, it's all right." John threw on a bathrobe of sorts while Martha placed the tray on the table behind the couch, "Put it down. I was um...sorry, sorry. Sometimes I have these extraordinary dreams."
Martha walked over to the curtains and opened them, letting sunlight flood in, "What about, sir?"
"I dream I'm this...adventurer." John drawled out, "This daredevil, a madman. The Doctor, I'm called. And last night I dreamt that you were there, as my companion, and there was this other person...not just you...no...was just you..."
"A teacher and a housemaid and a ghost, sir?" Martha glanced up, "That's impossible."
"I'm a man from another world, though." John bragged.
"Well, it can't be true because there's no such thing." Martha reassured and set out the bread and tea.
Theo walked quickly to the school, it was still early and only teachers would be awake at that hour. Hopefully. He hurriedly went to the shed with the supplies and began to get to work. Normal gardening things, pulling weeds, trimming bushes, watering the flowers, sweeping leaves. Ordinary human tasks.
"Gardener!" A man called out to Theo.
Theo looked up from putting away his tools, "Ah! Headmaster, good morning."
The Headmaster, Mister Rocastle strode closer and pointed at the flagpole, "We need someone to give the flag to the students to raise, Gardener. Think a man like you will be able to handle it?"
Theo ducked his head, "Yes, sir."
"The flag is in my office," Mister Rocastle informed him, "The students will meet you at the flagpole."
Theo nodded and scurried away. Mister Rocastle was indeed intimidating, especially to a man who just wanted to live with flowers in peace.
Theo caught his breath and walked slower, he had nearly an hour before the flag needed to go up. The Headmaster's office had to be somewhere on the top floor...maybe. Theo didn't go inside the school much - too many people and too little flowers. He would have to ask for directions otherwise he'd get lost. Theo kept his head low and watched his feet as he walked.
"Charls!" Martha called out accidentally, seeing them pass by in the hall.
Even if Theo didn't know who Charls was, he stopped anyways.
"Excuse me?" He asked, looking up at Martha.
Martha breathed in quickly, realizing her mistake, "Sorry, you look like someone I used to know, that's all."
Theo nodded and opened their mouth to speak but got cut off.
"I've never seen you around before," Martha chattered, "Are you new?"
Theo shrugged, "I guess, I moved into town a couple weeks ago and was hired as a substitute gardener. The Headmaster asked me to find the flag and give it to the students."
Martha smiled, "The Headmaster's office is down the hall and the 3rd door on the right."
"Thanks." Theo nodded once more and scampered away.
Martha sighed and whispered to herself, "How long am I going to need to do this?"
Theo breathed in the outside air as he watched the three students raise the flag. It wasn't really as glorious as Theo thought it would be. He sighed and walked towards the exit, next would be to talk to the farmer's wife.
John strolled through the hallways, watching the students march past him. It wasn't really a special day, more like a day like any other day. He watched the boys raise the flag for a brief minute before noticing something very strange. Like something out of his dreams. A flash of bright green. He walked quickly towards where it came from, not really knowing why.
"Excuse me!" He called out and Theo stopped walking.
Theo whirled around and watched as a professor ran towards him.
"Yes, sir?" Theo asked politely.
John examined him, "Sorry, it's just that you seem awfully familiar."
Theo frowned, this was the second time today that someone thought he was someone they knew.
"I don't think that's possible, sir." Theo blinked.
"Your eyes are very green." John noted.
Theo tilted his head, "Yes, they've always been green."
John fumbled, "It's just that it's quite unusual - green eyes. Especially such a bright green."
Theo smiled and began to back away, "Well, sir, that's nice of you to say but I really must be going."
John nodded, "Yes, sorry for interrupting your day."
Theo breathed out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He walked as calmly as he could back to his shop. Trying not to think about the strange professor and maid who thought they knew him. Theo began to think even more about the strange professor. It bothered him all day, throughout the conversation with the farmer's wife and even during the floral planning for the dance. The strange professor and maid who thought he looked familiar. The strange professor and maid who he thought looked familiar, too.
John continued his walk through the halls and to his class. Through his class he thought about the strange green-eyed man he'd met. He'd thought about his dreams while walking through the halls.
"Morning, sir." Martha greeted him as he walked past.
John replied, distracted by his thoughts, "Yes, hi."
Martha frowned and continued to scrub as John went up the stairs. John continued through his day distracted, but his purpose of his distraction changed through the day. From the green-eyed gardener to Joan Redfern the nurse. She'd even asked him if he was going to go to the dance. He'd been so distracted by her that he'd fallen down the stairs. The day was going strangely. Even Martha was acting out of place.
He'd even gotten a chance to tell Joan about his dreams. About his two hearts and his running. However real those dreams felt, the diagnosis was one heart. John had even given his Journal of Impossible Things to Joan for her to read. First time he'd ever shown anyone that.
"What about this page?" Joan asked about a mostly blank page that came right after Rose.
John hummed, "There's always this person in my dreams and this person is neither female nor male. Which is interesting because who's ever thought of that? Not a man nor a woman. I can never remember this person's name, though."
"You don't have much written about this ghost." Joan read through the small notes John had written on the paper.
"A ghost, eh?" John sighed and Joan flipped to the next page.
It was night now, John had been taking a night walk and Martha was drinking with Jenny, a friend she'd managed to make. Everything seemed normal, except for Theo - he'd had an ongoing headache ever since they started thinking about that strange professor.
He'd concluded that the best way to forget something that gave you a headache would be to go out. Maybe look at some wildflowers or even find someone to drink with. The latter seemed nearly impossible to Theo but he'd try the pub anyways. A bright light flung itself across the sky and made his head throb more. So much so that he forgot to look where he was walking and ran into another person.
"Sorry," Theo muttered while holding his head.
John smiled, "No problem here. Are you okay?"
Theo looked up to find the strange professor, "It's you."
John recognized him too, "Oh! You're that green-eyed fellow that I met earlier today!"
Theo nodded, "M'name's Theo. Theo Woods."
"Nice to meet you, Theo." John held out his hand that Theo tentatively shook, "I'm John, John Smith."