Martha is asking the Doctor, "But how do you travel in time? What makes it go?" but Rose isn't paying much attention to their conversation.
"Oh, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything. Martha, you don't want to know. It just does. Hold on tight," the Doctor responds. The Tardis lands quite abruptly. It's a much harsher landing than Rose is used to. Almost like the Tardis wasn't happy about something. Rose nearly tumbles out of the jump seat. Marth falls to the floor groaning. Rose knows from experience that falling onto the metal grating of the Tardis is not a pleasant feeling.
"Blimey. Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?" Martha asks.
"Yes, and I failed it."
"Well, that explains a lot," Rose mutters to herself. The Doctor hears her and turns a playful glare on. But he frowns when Rose doesn't smile back at him.
He pauses before turning back to Martha. "Now, make the most of it. I promised you one trip, and one trip only. Outside this door, brave new world." He gestures to the door.
Martha looks at it with a look of wonder before turning to the Doctor and asking excitedly, "Where are we?"
"Take a look. After you." The Doctor and Martha run to the door. Rose lingers behind. She doesn't want to ruin this for Martha. She's not very excited. All she can think about is Martha saying that the Doctor kissed her. It didn't matter if the Doctor had called it a genetic transfer or whatever. He had still kissed Martha. Why hasn't he ever kissed me? Rose couldn't know that the Doctor had kissed her before on satellite five she just didn't remember it.
Rose makes her way to the door and peers outside. Definitely the past then, she thinks.
Martha is asking questions but Rose interrupts. "Doctor?"
He turns around so fast his coat whips out and hits Martha but he doesn't seem to notice this. "Yeah, Rose?"
"You think Martha and I should make use of the wardrobe?" She tries to smile teasingly at him but it feels wrong.
"Quite right! I would have forgotten if not for you." He turns back to Martha. "Follow Rose to the wardrobe and you can get changed into something more time appropriate."
Martha nods and Rose leads her back into the Tardis. Rose follows the now familiar path to the wardrobe room. When she opens the doors she hears Martha gasp. The wardrobe is huge with two floors and a spiral stair case in the middle leading to the upper level.
"How are we supposed to find what to where?" Martha asks from behind Rose. The Tardis lights up a section in response.
"There's your answer," Rose points to the lit up corner of the wardrobe. "The Tardis helps when she can. Like if you get lost or need something she'll help you."
Rose walks to the area the Tardis had lit up. "She?" Martha asks. Rose nods in response already looking trough the dresses. "Like it's alive?"
"Of course she is," Rose says frowning. "And she doesn't much appreciate being called an it. How would that make you feel?"
"Sorry," Martha mutters walking over to stand near Rose. She starts to shift through the rack of dresses. "There's so many to choose from. I don't even know where to start," Martha exclaims.
"Well, we better hurry. The Doctor might get bored and stir up some trouble while were gone," Rose tells her. While it was mostly a joke there was also a small part of Rose that acknowledged the validness of that statement.
"Does that happen often?" Martha asks.
Rose nods her head and tells her, "More often than I would like. He hates waiting."
She pulled out a renaissance dress. It was very simple. Technically it was two parts. The chemise was an off white with long flowing sleeves that nearly reached her finger tips. The chemise would be long enough to brush the ground. The over dress was blush pink and would tie in the front creating a simple but nice design. The dress wasn't overly complicated and wouldn't draw attention to them which would be perfect.
Martha followed her lead and picked a very similar style dress only in burgundy. Her dress did not have the long flowing sleeves that Rose's did. Rose nodded her approval and made her way to a changing room. She drew the curtain behind her and took a deep breath.
She found that she did like Martha. Which was annoying because she wanted to hate her so badly. Martha was everything Rose was not. She was beautiful and smart and clever. She definitely had her A-levels. She was studying to be a doctor. Over all she was a better fit for the Doctor than Rose could ever hope to be.
Quickly she shrugged the chemise on and then looped the over dress through her arms. She took the laces and looped them through the eyelets on either side creating the simple design before tying the laces into a neat bow at the base. The remaining laces hung down the front of her dress. Rose looked in the mirror. She had to do something about her hair. She braided a small chunk on each side of her face before pulling them behind her head and pinning them in place there.
She stepped out from the behind the curtain to find Martha already waiting for her. Martha looked beautiful in her dress. The burgundy color complimented her skin nicely and her hair was neatly pulled back into a simple knot at the base of her neck. "Oh, you could have left with out me," Rose told her.
Martha laughed nervously, "I couldn't remember the way."
Rose laughed too, "Yeah, it can be a bit confusing. I'll show you." The girls made their way back to the console room. Martha ran ahead to interrogate the Doctor again. Rose stepped out as Martha was asking, "And this is London?"
The Doctor shrugged and said, "I think so. Round about 1599."
Martha paused and looked back at him, "Oh, but hold on. Am I all right? I'm not going to get carted off as a slave, am I?"
Rose rolled her eyes as the Doctor said, "Why would they do that?" Sometimes he was so dense.
Martha rolled her eyes, too, "Not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed." She pointed at herself.
The Doctor still looked confused, "I'm not even human. Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me." He turns around looking back at the Tardis. He stops and stares at Rose when he sees that she is standing beside the Tardis quietly. She's never usually this quiet. It worries him.
"Doctor?" Martha waves a hand in front of his face.
He snaps out of his daze and continues his lecture, "Besides, you'd be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time. Look over there. They've got recycling." The Doctor pointed at a man shoveling manure into a bucket. Rose grimaced. "Water cooler moment." Two men were talking at a barrel presumably full of water.
"And the world will be consumed by flame," a man proclaimed in the middle of the street. Everyone around him ignored what he was saying. They walked straight passed him without a backwards glance.
"Global warming. Oh, yes, and entertainment. Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, we're just down the river by Southwark, right next to…" The Doctor grabs Rose's and Martha's hands and drags them along the road. He stops abruptly when they reach their destination. "Oh, yes, the Globe Theatre! Brand new. Just opened. Through, strictly speaking, it's not a globe, it's a tetra-decagon. Fourteen sides. Containing the man himself."
Rose only has to wonder who he is talking about for a second because Martha exclaims, "Whoa, you don't mean. Is Shakespeare in there?"
"Oh, yes. Miss Jones, will you accompany me to the theatre?" The Doctor grins at her just as excited. He extends his arm to Martha.
Martha takes it as she says, "Mister Smith, I will."
The Doctor looks at Rose expectantly, "Miss Tyler?" He extends his other arm to Rose who takes it hesitantly. Briefly she wonders if she should let the Doctor and Martha have some time together alone. But who is she kidding. Rose could never do that. The very thought of leaving the Doctor alone with Martha has jealousy rearing it's ugly eye.
The Doctor turns back to Martha and says, "When you get home, you can tell everyone you've seen Shakespeare."
Martha laughs. "Then I could get sectioned."
XX
The Doctor gets them into the globe theatre with the use of the psychic paper. The seats are not the best and they are crowded and it smells but the energy in the room makes Rose smile. Everyone hear is excited for this play. It reminds Rose of concerts from her time.
The play is long and boring and Rose doesn't follow the plot very well. She grew up on the estate where education was not a priority. Rose had always prioritized boys and hanging out with her friends over education before she met the Doctor. He had made her want to be smarter. But Rose was still not very acquainted with Shakespeare. She only recognized his more popular work and the play being put on now was not one of those.
The Doctor and Martha seemed to be enjoying it, though. It just made Rose think about how much better of a fit for the Doctor Martha was. And once that thought entered her mind it was all she could think about for the remainder of the play.
By the end Rose was desperate to get out of the theatre. She couldn't stand to sit here anymore. She released a breath of relief when there was cheering around her. Surely this meant the play was over.
"That's amazing! Just amazing. It's worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah?" Martha shouted her eyes shining bright.
"London never changes," the Doctor joked.
"Where's Shakespeare? I want to see Shakespeare. Author! Author!" Martha shouted. People looked at her strangely and Martha stopped her chant to ask, "Do people shout that? Do they shout Author?"
A man in front of them started to yell, "Author! Author!" And the rest of the crowd took up the chant as well. Before they knew it shouts for the author were being yelled all across the theatre.
The Doctor shrugged before looking at Martha, "Well, they do now."
A man steps out onto the stage. Clearly he is Shakespeare. But Rose didn't remember Shakespeare being quite this handsome when looking at pictures in school.
Martha voices the thoughts running through Rose's head, "He's a bit different from his portraits."
"He's gorgeous," Rose idly commented.
The Doctor's head whipped around to look at her with wide eyes. He splutters for a minute before saying, "Genius. He's a genius. The genius. The most human human there's ever been. Now we're going to hear him speak. Always he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words."
"It doesn't stop him from being hot," Rose mutters to herself. Why does it matter if I think he is attractive? The Doctor has Martha. Rose thinks to herself bitterly.
The Doctor continues to stare at her. But Rose doesn't look at him. She is completely focused on the renowned author on stage. The author that opens his mouth to speak now, "Ah, shut your big fat mouths!" A startled laugh slips out of Rose's mouth.
The Doctor's shoulder slump, "Oh, well." Clearly Shakespeare had not lived up to his expectations.
Marth patted his shoulder sympathetically, "You should never meet your heroes." The Doctor nods but his eyes still haven't left Rose.
The author continues, "You've got excellent taste, I'll give you that. Oh, that's a wig." He points to a man in front of the stage. Rose laughs along with the crowd. Martha and the Doctor are silent. "I know what you're all saying. Loves Labour's Lost, that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops. Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius."
Suddenly Shakespeare spine straightens unnaturally. Rose leans closer with furrowed brows. Why was he standing so strangely? "When? Tomorrow night. The premiere of my brand new play. A sequel, no less, and I call it Loves Labour's Won." That doesn't make any sense. He had just said that it wasn't ready. How can you perform a play that's not ready? Rose thinks.
As they file out of the Globe Theatre the Doctor and Martha are still in deep conversation. Rose listens intently as Martha says, "I'm not an expert, but I've never heard of Loves Labour's Won."
The Doctor nods, "Exactly. The lost play. It doesn't exist, only in rumors. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. And no one knows why."
Marthe says, "Have you got a mini-disc or something? We can tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint." Rose turns to look at her as the Doctor stops and scowls. They did not need another Adam on their hands.
"No," the Doctor says firmly.
Martha grimaces and says, "That would be bad?"
"Yeah," he tells her.
Martha changes the subject by asking, "Well, how come it disappeared in the first place?"
The Doctor tugged on his ear. Rose knew exactly what he was going to say before he said it. The Doctor could never resist a good mystery. "Well, I was just going to give you a quick little trip in the Tardis, but I suppose we could stay a bit longer." Martha nods her head eagerly.
They only have to ask one person to find out where Shakespeare is staying. They make their way to the tavern known as the Elephant after receiving directions.
Inside the tavern is full but the Doctor quickly finds his way to the authors room. They hear voices discussing the play from inside.
The Doctor pushes the door open and says, "Hello! Excuse me, not interrupting, am I? Mister Shakespeare, isn't it?"
Shakespeare looks up from the papers spread across his desk. He frowns at the Doctor before saying loudly, "Oh, no. No, no, no. Who let you in? No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove…" He stops as he notices Rose and Martha standing in the doorway behind the Doctor. Instead of continuing with his sentence he says, "Hey, nonny nonny. You two lady's can sit right down here next to me." He waves vaguely before turning his attention to the two young men standing in the middle of the room. "You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go." He waves them away.
A woman ways, "Come on, lads. I think our William's found his new muse." She smiles at Shakespeare before pulling the men out of the room.
"Sweet lady's." Martha, Rose, and the Doctor make their way further into the room. There are two chairs in front of the desk and directly across from Shakespeare. Rose leans against the desk next to the author. Martha sits in one of the chairs and the Doctor follows suit frowning. Something was troubling him and Rose doubted it was the mystery of the forgotten play. She wasn't sure what was wrong though and she wasn't about to ask in front of Shakespeare.
"Er, verily, forsooth, egads," Martha says hesitantly and Rose stifles a very unladylike snort.
The Doctor waves his hand at Martha and says, "No, no, don't do that. Don't." At this Rose can't help but to laugh. Martha glares at her and Rose abruptly stops.
The Doctor shuffles through his coat and pulls out the psychic paper. He tells Shakespeare, "I'm Sir Doctor of Tardis and these are my companions, Dame Rose Tyler and Miss Martha Jones.
Shakespeare squints at the paper for a moment before turning to the Doctor and declaring, "Interesting, that bit of paper. It's blank."
The Doctor laughs, "Oh, that's very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius."
Martha looks at the paper herself and says, "No, it says so right there. Sir Doctor, Dame Rose and Martha Jones. It says so."
Shakespeare haughtily says, "And I say it's blank."
The Doctor looks at Martha and explains, "Psychic paper. Er, long story. Oh, I hate starting from scratch." He rubs at the back of his neck with a grimace on his face.
Shakespeare says, "Psychic? Never heard that before and words are my trade." He furrows his brow. "Who are you exactly? More's the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady and your golden girl?" He looks at Martha and Rose before looking back at the Doctor.
Martha interrupts, "What did you say?" It is clear by the outrage in her voice that she did not like his words.
Shakespeare looks confused, "Oops. Isn't that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric?"
Martha mumbles, "I can't believe I'm hearing this."
The Doctor groans and says, "It's political correctness gone mad. Er, Martha's from a far-off land. Freedonia. And so is Rose."
There is loud noise from outside before the door is slammed open and a pretentious man steps through. "Excuse me! Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mister Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed."
Shakespeare sighs before responding. "Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it round Lynley," he promises.
This answer is clearly not good enough for the man because he announces, "I don't work to your schedule, you work to mine. The script, now!"
"I can't," Shakespeare says defeat clear in his voice.
Lynley is clearly pleases by this news. He smiles and says viciously, "Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled."
The quiet girl that Rose had almost missed abruptly leaves the room. Rose watches her confused. Most people would stay and watch the drama unfold. So where is this girl going?
Martha asks, "It's all go around here, isn't it?"
"I'm returning to my office for a banning order. If it's the last thing I do, Love's Labours Won will never be played." Lynley spins on his heel and marches back down the stairs.
Martha sighs and sits back in her chair looking disappointed. "Well then, mystery solved. That's Love's Labours Won over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know, more mysterious." The Doctor also looks dissapointed before his face brightens when he hears a scream come from outside.
Someone yells, "Help me!" The four of them run out to investigate the cause of the screaming. Lynley is kneeling and water is spewing out of his mouth sporadically. Rose stops where she is when she notices.
Martha gasps, "It's that Lynley bloke."
The Doctor narrows his eyes. "What's wrong with him? Leave it to me. I'm a doctor."
The Doctor runs to Lynley and Martha follows saying, "So am I, near enough."
Lynley collapses completely and Martha kneels beside him saying, "Got to get the heart going. Mister Lynley, come on. Can you hear me? You're going to be all right." She attempts to start CPR but water gushes out of Lynley's mouth. "What the hell is that?"
The Doctor kneels across from her and says something Rose can't quite hear.
Rose looks around for anything suspicious. The young girl from before stands quietly to the side. There is no emotion on her face.
The Doctor suddenly calls, "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humors. A natural if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away."
"Yes, sir."
The young girl steps forward and says, "I'll do it, ma'am" before leaving. Rose watches and notices a small smile on her face. Odd, Rose thinks. Why is she smiling? Is she involved?
The Doctor and Martha have a short conversation. But Rose doesn't notice that. Her attention follows the young girl. There is something strange about her and it makes Rose uncomfortable.