Spark of Adventure
The Family of Blood
Thanks to everyone who's followed/favoruited this story and to Maerthorial Artemis for proof reading this chapter
"Make your decision, Mr Smith." Jenny demanded
"Perhaps if that Human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge." Baines goaded
That was when Gazelle took action. She promptly slammed her boot down on Clarke's foot, causing him to let go of her and drop his gun. She grabbed it and pointed it at Jenny. "Alright, now let me tell you how this is gonna go, you're gonna let Martha go or your precious Family will be a member short." she demanded
"Oh, the wife is full of fire." Baines smirked
"And you can shut it." Gazelle retorted, firing a shot at the ceiling.
"Careful, Son of Mine." Clarke cautioned "This is all for you so you can live forever."
But Baines wasn't concerned "Shoot you down!" he sneered, aiming his gun at Gazelle.
"Just you try it." Gazelle said darkly "If you shoot me, I'll just come back and hunt you down. You know what this is?" she held her other hand, where the bio-damper was "This is a bio-damper, cos' guess what? I'm a Time Lady."
"Ah, so you're the other one." Baines smirked "Well, if we can't have the Doctor, you'll do just as nicely."
"Not gonna happen." Gazelle answered, keeping her gun levelled at him.
"Would you really pull the trigger?" Baines goaded
"I fought in the Time War." Gazelle retorted "I killed Daleks, so why should I care about killing hunter scum like you? Now, I'm not gonna ask again, let Martha go!"
Baines considered for a moment, then nodded to Jenny, who released Martha.
"You alright?" Gazelle asked her friend
"Yeah." Martha nodded
"Good, cos' I want you to get everyone out. Side door's over there." she nodded her head in that direction "No time to argue, please just do it."
"What about you?" Martha asked her
"I'll be right behind you, promise." Gazelle replied "Now, quickly."
Martha nodded, and began to usher everyone out of the room. "That includes you, Mr Smith." she told John, who was just standing there, shell-shocked.
"But Kelci...!" he protested
"Just go!" Gazelle snapped at him "Move!"
John swallowed hard and helped Martha and Joan get everyone out to safety. "Move yourself, boy. Back to the school, quickly!" he urged Latimer as he shooed the boy away. Once they were outside, he turned to a villager "Mr Hicks, go to the village, get everyone out!" he urged "Latimer, get back to the school, tell the headmaster..."
"Don't touch me!" Latimer hissed, stepping back from him "You're as bad as them!" and he ran off, leaving John staring in surprise.
In the hall, Gazelle was left facing the aggressors "Now then." she said "Family of Blood, I'm gonna give ya one chance. And if you're wise, you'll take it. Leave this planet and it's people in peace at once. I can find you an uninhabited planet where you can live your final days in peace."
"And what if we refuse?" Baines goaded
"Then I'll have to stop you." Gazelle replied grimly
"She's brave, this one." Baines laughed, he and the Family advancing on her.
"Tell me, what did you do with those people you've body-snatched?" Gazelle asked, certain she wouldn't like the answer.
"They are consumed. Their bodies are ours." Jenny replied callously
"In other words, you killed them." Gazelle noted, appalled.
"Yes! And this one went with precious little dignity." Jenny smirked "All that 'ahh!' screaming!"
Gazelle lost patience. She fired a shot at the ceiling and ran out the side door. Outside, she found Martha, John and Joan standing outside. "What're you all still doing here?" the Time Lady demanded
"They didn't want to leave you." Joan replied
"We don't have time for getting mushy." Gazelle said "Come on, all of you, run!" she grabbed John and Martha's hands and pulled them away, Joan running behind them. The Family came out of the hall and fired after them, but the group were fortunately too far away.
The quartet reached the school and ran inside the main building. John slammed the doors shut, grabbed a bell and started ringing it loudly. "What're you doing?" Martha demanded
"Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together." John replied "Take arms!" he shouted, as boys began coming out of their dormitories. Both Gazelle and Martha could only gape. The Doctor wouldn't use children to fight his battles.
"You can't do that!" Martha cried
"You want me to fight, don't you?" John retorted "Take arms! Take arms!" he ordered the boys
"I say, sir, what's the matter?" Hutchinson asked as he arrived.
"Enemy at the door, Hutchinson! Enemy at the door!" John told him "Take arms!" he went into a room where the boys were busy readying guns.
"You can't do this, Doctor." Martha protested "Mr Smith!"
But John wasn't listening "Redford, maintain position, faster now, that's it!" he ordered
"John, they're boys!" Gazelle told him "They won't stand a chance!"
"They're cadets, Kelci." John replied "They are trained to defend the King and all his citizens and properties."
"Yes, cadets." Gazelle said "Not soldiers. You send them out there, you'll be sending them to their deaths. Do you really want that on your conscience?"
Before John could answer, Mr Rocastle came storming in "What in thunder's name is this?" he demanded "Before I devise an excellent and endless series of punishments for each and every one of you, could someone explain, very simply and immediately, exactly what is going on?"
"Headmaster, I have to report, the school is under attack." John explained
"Really? Is that so?" Rocastle replied sceptically "Perhaps you and I should have a word in private."
"No, no, I promise you, sir. I was in the village with my wife and matron. It's Baines, sir, Jeremy Baines and Mr Clarke from Oakham Farm. They've gone mad, sir, they've got guns. They held my wife and Martha hostage, and they've already murdered people in the village. I saw it happen."
Rocastle turned to Joan "Matron, is that so?"
"I'm afraid it's true, sir." Joan replied gravely
"Murder? On our own soil?"
"I saw it, yes."
Rocastle turned back to John "Then perhaps you did well, Mr Smith. What makes you think the danger's coming here?"
"Well, they said, um..." John stammered
"Baines threatened Mr & Mrs Smith, sir." Joan explained "Um, said he'd follow them. We don't know why."
Rocastle considered for a moment "Very well. You boys, remain on guard. Mr Snell, telephone for the police. Mr Philips, with me, we shall investigate." he and another teacher moved for the door, but Martha ran up.
"No, but it's not safe out there!" she protested
"Mr Smith, it seems your favourite servant is giving me advice." Rocastle sneered "You will control her, sir." he made to leave again, but Gazelle blocked his way.
"No he won't." she said "And you are gonna shut up and listen. These enemies are not like the ones you faced in your stupid Colonial wars. They are more powerful and dangerous than you can possibly imagine. Going out there would be suicide."
"I was a soldier, Mrs Smith." Rocastle replied loftily "I can care of myself." and with that, he and Mr Phillips went outside.
Gazelle could only throw her hands up in dismay. How this pompous, self-opinionated idiot ever became headmaster was beyond her comprehension. "We've got to find that watch." she said to Martha. It was their only chance. If they find it, restore the Doctor, then further bloodshed could be avoided. She and Martha hurried away. Joan followed them, deciding to get some answers.
Rocastle and Phillips went outside, where Baines, Jenny and some of the scarecrows were standing patiently, while John watched from the window. "So, Baines and one of the cleaning staff. There's always a woman involved." Rocastle sneered "Am I to gather that some practical joke has got out of hand?"
"Headmaster, sir. Good evening sir. Come to give me a canning, sir? Would you like that, sir?" Baines jested
"Keep a civil tongue, boy." Rocastle glared
"Now, come on everyone. I suspect alcohol's played it's part in this." Phillips, one of the few teachers at the school with any common sense, spoke up "Let's all calm down. And who are these friends of yours, Baines? In fancy dress?"
"D'you like them, Mr Phillips?" Baines replied "I made them myself." he walked over to one of the scarecrows "I'm ever so good at science, sir. Look!" he pulled the arm off the scarecrow "Molecular fringe animation. Fashioned in the shape of straw men. My own private army, sir. Ever so good, sir!" he finished proudly
"Baines, step apart from this company and come inside with me." Rocastle ordered
"No, sir. You sir, you will send us Mr John Smith and Mrs Kelci Smith." Baines retorted, making Rocastle flinch slightly "That's all we want, sir, them and whatever he's done with his Time Lord consciousness. Then we'll be very happy to leave you alone."
"You speak with someone else's voice, Baines, who might that be?" Rocastle questioned
"We are the Family of Blood." Baines answered proudly
"Mr Smith said there had been deaths."
"Yes, sir, and they were good, sir!" Baines grinned
"Well, I warn you the school is armed."
Baines wasn't concerned about that "All your little tin soldiers." he scoffed "But tell me, sir... will they thank you?"
"I don't understand."
What d'you know of history, sir?" Baines questioned "What do you know of next year?"
"You're not making sense, Baines." Rocastle frowned
"1914, sir." Baines continued "Because the family has travelled far and wide, looking for Mr & Mrs Smith, and, oh, the things we've seen. War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world, with your boys falling down in the mud. Do you think they will thank the man who taught them it was glorious?"
"Don't you forget, boy, I've been a soldier." Rocastle retorted "I was in South Africa. I used my dead mates for sandbags. I fought with the butt of my rifle when the bullets ran out, and I would go back there tomorrow for King and Country."
"Etcetera, etcetera." Banines cut in. He promptly whipped out his gun and fired at Phillips, completely vaporising him. John had seen all of this and could only stare wide-eyed in horror. "Run along, headmaster." Baines goaded Rocastle "Run back to school and send us Mr & Mrs Smith!"
Rocastle finally gained a bit of common sense and legged it back into the school, while Jenny cackled callously.
John and the boys were waiting when Rocastle came back in. "Mr Philips has been murdered, Mr Smith. Can you tell me why?" Rocastle questioned
"Honestly, sir, I have no idea." John replied "And the telephone's been disconnected. We're on our own."
"Well, if we have to make a fight of it, then make a fight of it we shall." Rocastle swallowed "Hutchinson, we'll build a barricade within the courtyards. Fortify the entrances, build our defences. Gentlemen, in the name of the King, we shall stand against them!"
"Yes sir!" the boys all chorused
And so, the boys got to work. Three of them barricaded the doors with a wooden beam, while the rest hurried around the courtyard building a barricade with sandbags and setting up a machine gun, while John and Rocastle gave orders.
Meanwhile, Gazelle and Martha were in John's study, searching for the fob watch. Joan stood in the doorway watching, trying to comprehend what was happening. "I know it sounds mad, but when the Doctor became Human, he took the alien part of himself, and stored it inside the watch." Martha explained to the matron. I mean, it's not really a watch, it just looks like a watch."
"And 'alien' means..." Joan probed "Not from abroad, I take it?"
"Correct, John and I are from another world." Gazelle told her "If you want proof, get your stethoscope and check me. I've got two hearts."
"Impossible." Joan frowned, not quite believing that "Tell me, in this fairy-tale, who exactly are you two?"
"I'm the Doctor's partner." Gazelle replied "We've been together for 52 years now, and Martha's our companion and our friend."
"And she's Human, I take it?"
"Human, don't worry." Martha told her "And, more than that, I don't just follow them around, I'm training to be a doctor. Not an alien doctor, a proper doctor, a doctor of medicine."
"Well, that certainly is nonsense." Joan scoffed "Women might train to be doctors, but hardly a skivvy, and hardly one of your colour."
"Martha is not a skivvy." Gazelle told her sharply "And, no offence, but she knows more about medicine than you ever will. Show her, Martha."
Martha held up her hand "Bones of the hand: Carpal bones, proximal row, scaphoid, lunate, triquetral, pisiform, distal row, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate. Then the metacarpal bones, extending in three distinct phalanges: Proximal, middle, distal."
"Spot on, Martha." Gazelle smiled, then turned to Joan "Well, got any more snobbish remarks, matron?"
"She read that in a book." Joan blustered, dumbfounded at Martha's knowledge.
"Yes, to pass my exams." Martha said "Can't you see this is true?"
"I must go." Joan swallowed and turned to leave
"Joan, if we can find that watch, then all this will stop and no one will get hurt." Gazelle told her "Help us, please."
"Those boys are going to fight. I might not be an alien or a doctor, but I'm still their nurse." Joan said "They need me." and she strode out of the room.
"Ok, let's think this through." Gazelle said "That watch was definitely still here this morning. I saw it when I left to meet you in the TARDIS. And we know the Family hasn't got it, or they wouldn't be still here. So, apart from us three and the matron, who else has access to this room?" she asked Martha
"The Doctor sometimes calls boys up to lend them books or review their performance." Martha replied
"Then one of them could've taken it." Gazelle realised "I'll go and ask him. Can you keep searching here, just in case?" Martha nodded and Gazelle went off to find John.
John, meanwhile, walked into one of the rooms with two boys. "You're with Armitage and Twaites. They know the drill." he told them, then he noticed that Joan was in the room, now dressed in her matron's uniform and preparing her medical bag. "Joan, it's not safe." he told her
"I'm doing my duty, just as much as you." she replied stiffly
Just then, Gazelle hurried in "John, this important, has any students been in our room today?" she asked
"Yes, Timothy Latimer. I lent him a book this morning." John replied "He didn't quite seem himself, come to think of it."
"Where is he?" Gazelle asked
"He's with Hutchinson. Why? What's wrong, dear?"
Gazelle didn't reply, she just hurried off to find Latimer. John could only stare after her, stunned. "You once told me you were born in Nottingham." Joan said, deciding to probe John for answers "Tell me about it."
"I'm sorry?" John questioned
"That's where you were brought up. Tell me about it."
"Well, it lies on the River Leen." John answered "With it's southern boundary following the course of the River Trent, which flows from Stoke to the Humber."
"That sounds like an encyclopaedia." Joan noted "Where did you live?"
"Broadmoor Street, adjacent to Hotley Terrace, in the district of Radford Parade."
"But more than facts." Joan probed "When you were a child, where did you play? All those secret little place, those dens and hideaways, that only a child knows? Tell me, John, please tell me."
"How can you think I'm not real? I have a wife!"
"How did you meet your wife? Where was she born?"
John couldn't answer. "I've got to go." he said, changing the subject.
"Your wife and Martha are right about one thing." Joan said "Those boys, they're children. They shouldn't be fighting."
"Mr Smith, if you please." Rocastle called from outside, so John complied, though he felt in the pit of his stomach that the women were right.
As Gazelle hurried towards the courtyard, she suddenly felt a Time Lord presence for a split second, meaning that Latimer had opened it briefly. She went out onto the courtyard. "Keep back, Mrs Smith." Rocastle said "This is no place for a woman."
Gazelle ignored him and went over to where Hutchinson was manning a machine gun "Where's Latimer?" she asked "It's important I find him."
"He ran off." Hutchinson sneered "He's a filthy coward."
"And you're a vile bully." Gazelle retorted. She then turned to go back inside when she saw John come out and take up position. The gates began to buckle, as if something was beating on the outside.
"Stand to." Rocastle ordered, and everyone took aim. Gazelle looked at the boys' faces. They all looked terrified. "At post!" Rocastle continued, not bothered at all.
"Enemy approaching, sir." a boy reported, as the pounding on the gates continued.
"Steady. Find the biting point." Rocastle continued to order. The wooden bar on the gates gave way and the gates burst open, allowing the scarecrows entry. "Fire!" Rocastle ordered.
The boys opened fire, mowing down scarecrows, though more just appeared to replace them. Gazelle watched all this with heavy hearts. She couldn't help but flash back to the Time War, where even children took up arms against the Daleks. Then she noticed that John wasn't firing. He had his rifle aimed, but his finger was just hovering on the trigger. Clearly some of the Doctor was leaking though.
"Cease fire!" Rocastle ordered when the last scarecrow had been felled. He stepped forward to investigate the bodies. "Just straw." he noted "Like he said. Straw."
"Then no one's dead, sir?" Hutchinson asked John "We killed no one." he sounded relieved at that.
Then, they all heard footsteps "Stand to!" Rocastle ordered, running back behind the boys. Lucy Cartwright came out of the darkness. "You child, come out of the way." Rocastle called to her "Come into the school, we don't know who's out there." he began to walk towards her "It's the Cartwright girl, isn't it? Come here, come to me."
"Mr Rocastle, please." Martha begged, running outside "Don't go near her."
"You were told to be quiet." Rocastle sneered
"And you were told to listen." Gazelle snapped, having had enough of him "She may look like a little girl, but she's just a shell now. The Family of Blood killed her and took her over. She's one of them. Tell him, matron." she said to Joan
"I think... I don't know. I think you should stay back, headmaster." Joan struggled
"John." Gazelle continued
"She was... She was with... With Baines in the village." John confirmed
"Mr Smith, I've seen many strange sights this night, but there is no cause on God's Earth that will allow me to see a child on the field of battle, sir." Rocastle scoffed then turned back to Lucy "Come with me."
"You're funny." Lucy remarked dryly
"That's right. Now take my hand."
"So funny." Lucy said, and promptly pulled out a gun, then vaporised the foolish headmaster. John and the boys stared wide-eyed in shock while Gazelle bowed her head briefly. Despite her dislike for the man, he didn't deserve to be killed like that. "Now who's going to shoot me?" Lucy taunted "Any of you? Really?"
"Put down your guns." John ordered, having seen enough mayhem this evening.
"But sir, the headmaster..." Hutchinson protested
"I'll not see this happen, not any more." John said firmly "You will retreat. In an orderly fashion, back through the school. Hutchinson, lead the way."
"But sir..." Hutchinson continued to protest
"I said, lead the way." John ordered, just as Baines walked into the courtyard.
"Go on, then. Run!" Baines smirked, firing his gun into the air "Soldiers, reanimate." and the scarecrows came back to life.
The boys wisely did as they were told and began to retreat. "Come on!" Martha urged, as Gazelle took John's hand and led him back into the school.
The boys ran through the school, the scarecrows in close pursuit. John ushered the boys though a door into the stables "Let's go, quick as you can." he urged
"Come on, hurry." Gazelle told the boys
"Don't go to the village, it's not safe!" Martha added
"And you, ladies." John said, making to usher Gazelle, Martha and Joan outside.
"Not till we've got the boys out." Joan told him
As the last of the boys went out, Gazelle realised something "Where's Latimer?
"I'm sure he's fine, Kelci." John told her "Now go. If there's any more boys inside I'll find them." he opened the door to the school, only to find scarecrows on the other side. He hastily slammed the door shut and bolted it locked. "I think... retreat!" he urged, taking Gazelle's hand and leading them away, Martha and Joan right behind.
The quartet crept through the woods outside the school when they heard Clarke calling out in a sing-song voice "Doctor!" They peered through the trees to see Baines, Jenny, Clarke and a scarecrow standing in front of the TARDIS. Gazelle paled at the sight. She knew that the Family wouldn't be able to gain entry to the box, but it made the situation more difficult. "Come back, Doctor. Come home!" Clarke baited "Come and claim your prize!"
"Out you come, Gazelle." Baines called "There's a good girl. Come to the Family."
"Time to end it, now!" Jenny added
Martha noticed John staring at the TARDIS "You recognise it, don't you?" she said
"Come out, Time Lords!" Jenny called "Come to us."
"I've never seen it in my life." John shook his head
"You wrote about her in the journal, John." Gazelle tried "Can you remember her name?"
"I'm not..." John stammered, unable to comprehend how his dreams were somehow reality "I'm John Smith. That's all I want to be, John Smith. With his life, and job, and his wife. Why can't I be John Smith?" he sobbed "Isn't he a good man?"
"He is." Gazelle replied "But the Doctor is a brilliant man."
"Why can't I stay?" John whimpered
"Because as much I like John Smith, I love the Doctor." Gazelle told him gently "And we need him."
"Is it all a lie, then?" John questioned, hurt "Our marriage, just a lie?" he got up and ran off
"John, please, don't take it like that." Gazelle called, going after him. Martha and Joan followed.
They caught up with John on a country lane on the outskirts of the village. Joan decided to take charge "This way." she advised "I think I know somewhere we can hide."
"We've got to keep going." John protested, wanting to get as far away from this madness as possible.
"Just listen to me for once, John." Joan told him firmly "Follow me!" she led the way along a path. They soon arrived at a cottage. "There we are." Joan panted "It should be empty. Oh, it's al long time since I've run that far."
"Welcome to our world, matron." Martha said "Who lives here?"
"If I'm right, no one." Joan replied. She led them into the house and into the kitchen. "Hello?" she called out. No response. "No one home. We should be safe here."
"Who's house it it, though?" Martha asked, seeing some half-drunk cups of tea on the table.
"The Cartwrights." Joan replied "That little girl at the school, she's Lucy Cartwright, or she's..." she swallowed hard "Taken Lucy Cartwright's form. If she came home this afternoon, and if the parents tried to stop their little girl, then..." she tailed off, shuddering to think what might have happened to the Cartwrights. "Stone cold." she remarked, checking the teapot.
"The poor family." Gazelle sighed "I was a mother once, a long time ago. If anything like that had happened to my son, I'd have done everything to try and stop him."
John sat down dejected on a chair "I must go to them." he sighed "Before anyone else dies."
"You can't." Gazelle told him gently "Not like this."
"There must be something we can do." Joan said
"Not without the watch." Martha shook her head
"You're this Doctor's companion, can't you help?" John snapped "What exactly d'you do for him?! Why does he need you?!"
Gazelle promptly whacked him on the shoulder "Don't talk to her like that!" she scolded "Martha's our companion, and our friend. She's saved our lives several times, and I know you're scared and confused, John, but you do not have the right to her like dirt."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. "What if it's them?" Joan asked cautiously
"I'm no expert, but I don't think scarecrows knock." Martha replied, as Gazelle went to the door. She opened it to find Latimer standing there.
"Are you a sight for sore eyes." Gazelle breathed
"I brought you this." Latimer said, showing her the Doctor's fob watch.
"Thanks." Gazelle smiled, taking it and holding it out to John "Hold it." she told him
"I won't." he protested, backing away.
"Please, John. Just hold this watch and everything will be fine." Gazelle reassured him
"It told me to find you, it wants to be held." Latimer added
"You had this watch all this time, why didn't you return it?" Joan asked the boy
"Because it was waiting." Latimer replied "And because I was so scared of the Doctor."
"Why?" Joan questioned
"Because... I've seen him." Latimer explained "He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm at the heart of the sun."
"Stop it." John breathed
"He's ancient and forever." Latimer continued "He burns at the centre of time, and he can see the turn of the universe."
"Stop it, I said stop." John blustered
"And he's wonderful." Latimer finished "You showed me that." he said to Gazelle "I saw it, you're his rock, you stop him from going to far. Together, you're both a perfect pair."
Joan then pulled the journal out of her coat "I've still got this, the journal." she said
"Those are just stories." John insisted, desperate to cling on to his life.
"Now we now that's not true." Joan told him, resigned to the truth "Perhaps there's something in here we can..."
She was cut off by a loud explosion from somewhere nearby, causing the house to shake. "What the hell?" Martha gasped. They rushed over to the window to see what looked like meteorites raining down nearby.
"Aerial bombardment." Gazelle realised, bowing her head sadly "They're destroying the village to flush us out."
"Watch." John said to her. She handed it to him and he walked over to the over side of the room. He could hear a faint whisper coming from the watch.
"Can you hear it?" Latimer said to him
"Like he's asleep." John murmured "Waiting to awaken."
"Why did he speak to me?" Latimer wandered
Gazelle was about to answer, but John got there first "Oh, low-level telepathic field." he said in the Doctor's voice "You were born wiv it. Just an extra synaptic engram causin'..." he gasped as he realised what he'd just said "Is that how he talks?"
"That's him." Martha grinned "All you have to do is open it and he's back." another explosion sounded from outside.
"You knew this all along." John accused Martha "And yet you let me pretend to be married to..."
"I didn't know how to stop you." Martha defended "When the Doctor made himself Human, his feelings for Gazelle carried over."
"And now you both expect me to die?!" John asked tearfully, as more explosions came from outside.
"It was always gonna end, John." Gazelle told him, doing her best to be gentle at how she broke the news to him "The Family's got a limited lifespan, that's why they need to consume either the Doctor or me. Otherwise, three months, and they die. Like mayflies."
"So her job was to execute me?" John said, gesturing to Martha
"No, mine was." Gazelle told him "The Doctor decided we'd better split up, make it harder for the Family to find us, then after two months, I'd come down here, stay with you for the last month then get you to open the watch, and we'd be on our way."
"Why you?" John asked
"Because I love him." Gazelle replied "The Doctor is the most amazing, wonderful, brilliant, daft man in the universe, and I love him with all my hearts. People are dying out there. We need him, I need him, more than ever."
Yet another explosion sounded, this one much louder than the previous ones. "They're getting closer." Latimer realised
"I should've thought of it before, I can give them this!" John said suddenly, gesturing to the watch "Just the watch. Then they can leave, and I can stay as I am!"
"I won't let you do that." Gazelle told him, appalled at such an idea.
"If they want the Doctor, they can have him!" John insisted "If they get what they want, then..."
"Then it all ends in destruction." Gazelle told him firmly "If those creatures consume the life force in that watch, then they can live forever. They can breed and conquer, wage war across the universe... for every child." she could see John was in tears "Joan, Martha, Tim. Could you give us a moment alone, please?" the three Humans went into the living room to give them some privacy.
Gazelle and John were both soon sat in front of the fireplace, John holding the watch in his hand. "I wish I could do this instead of you, John." Gazelle said gently "But the Family want me just as much as the Doctor."
"Does he love you?" John asked
"Yes." she replied
"As much as me?"
"Oh, you can't imagine the times we've had together." Gazelle smiled "The best of times, and the worst of times, but we've stood together and emerged stronger for it. I can show you." she told him "If you would allow me." John nodded his consent and Gazelle placed her hands on his temples "This won't hurt." she promised him "Just open your mind." they both closed their eyes, focussing.
John found himself looking through Gazelle's memories of her travels with the Doctor. There was the Doctor's ninth incarnation talking to her about the Time War, and her showing her acceptance of what had happened, then accepting his offer for her travel with him. Then he saw the Doctor giving Gazelle her sonic screwdriver, followed by the memory of his reaction to seeing her dressed up in 1860's Cardiff, then their little chat while playing trains afterwards. Then he saw the Doctor's current incarnation and Gazelle's first kiss on Christmas Day, then a date they went on after France, where they'd gone to a pub in 2010's Birmingham, and they dueted on the karaoke, performing an outstanding rendition of Dead Ringer For Love. Then, he saw Gazelle's 725th birthday. Next, John saw the Doctor giving Gazelle flowers, just prior to Canary Wharf, followed by a little moment just prior to New York, where the Doctor was watching Gazelle getting dressed for the day, and he told her she was the most beautiful woman in the universe. Finally, he saw their little moment just before Lazarus.
Gazelle broke the connection, and they found themselves back in the house. "You see?" she said, gently running a hand on John's face "That's what the Doctor means to me."
"He really does love you." John swallowed. He knew he could never give her a life like that, full of fun and adventure, a happy couple travelling the universe together. He looked down at the watch in his hand "I've decided..."
In their ship, the Family of Blood gleefully watched the carnage they were causing. "We'll blast them into dust, then fuse the dust into glass, then shatter them all over again!" Baines crowed, revelling in it all.
Then, they heard a noise and looked round to see John stagger into the ship. "Just..." he clumsily leaned against a wall, accidentally knocking a few buttons "Just stop the bombardment." he begged "That's all I ask. I'll do anything you want, just... stop."
"Say please." Baines smirked
"Please." John pleaded
Jenny flipped a switch, stopping the bombardment, then sniffed John "Still Human." she noted
"Now, I can't pretend to understand, not for a second." John blustered "But I want you to know, I'm innocent in all this. He made me John Smith. It's not like, I had any control over it." he accidentally hit more buttons.
"He didn't just make himself Human, he made himself an idiot." Jenny sneered
"Same thing, isn't it?" Baines smirked
"I don't care about this Doctor, and your Family, I just want you to go." John whimpered "So I've made my choice." he held out the fob watch "You can have him. Just take it, please, take him away."
"At last." Baines crowed, taking the watch, then grabbed John by the lapels "Don't think that saved your life." he told him, then threw him aside, causing him to hit more buttons. "Family of Mine..." Baines continued "Now we shall have the lives of a Time Lord." he opened the watch and they all breathed in deeply. Nothing happened. "It's empty!" Baines snarled
"Wh.. Where's it gone?" John whimpered
"You tell me." Baines growled, tossing the watch back to him, and he caught it single-handed.
"Oh, I fink the explanation might be you've been fooled by a simple olfactory misdirection." the Doctor said, getting to his feet "A little bit like ventriloquism of the nose. It's an elementary trick in certain parts of the galaxy. But it has gotta be said, I don't like the look of that hydrokinometer." he put on his specs and eyed the gauges "It seems to be indicating you've got energy feedback all the way back through the retro-stabilisers feeding back into the primary heat converters. Oh." he pulled his specs off "Cos' if there's one thing you should've done, you shouldn't 'ave let me press all those buttons. But, in fairness, I will give ya one word of advice: run." he grinned manically and bolted from the ship.
"Get out! Get out!" Baines hollered, and the Family made a break for it, as alarms blared throughout the ship. They reached the outside as the alarms reached their crescendo. The ship exploded in a massive fireball, knocking the Family to the ground. They looked up to see the Doctor standing above them, looking down on the Family with an impassive face, but in his eyes, the Family could see absolute fury blazing in there.
"He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing." Baines would recall to himself in retrospect "The fury of the Time Lords. And then we discovered why. Why this Doctor and his partner, who'd fought Gods and Demons, why they'd run from us and hidden. They were being kind."
Clarke fell to the floor in a dingy corridor, wrapped in chains. The Doctor stood behind, watching impassively. This was one of the excellent and endless series of punishments he and Gazelle had concocted for the Family.
"He wrapped my father in unbreakable chains, forged in the heart of a dwarf star."
The Doctor stood in the TARDIS, watching as Jenny was sucked out of the doors and into a collapsing galaxy outside.
"He tricked my mother into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy to be imprisoned there. Forever."
Gazelle walked into a room with an ornate mirror.
"She still visits my sister once a year, every year. I wonder if one day she might forgive her, but there she is, can't you see?"
Gazelle looked into the mirror. In the reflection, there was a door cracked open behind her, and Lucy was peering through the crack.
"She trapped her inside a mirror. EVERY mirror. If ever you look at your reflection, and see something move behind you, just for a second, that's her. That's ALWAYS her."
Baines was stood in a field, dressed as a scarecrow, that arrogant smirk permenantely etched on his face.
"As for me... I was suspended in time. And they put me to work."
The Doctor and Gazelle stood in front of Baines. Gazelle passed the Doctor a sack, and he put over Baines' head.
"Standing over the fields of England... As their protector. We wanted to live forever. So the Time Lords made sure that we did."
Gazelle and Martha stood outside the TARDIS, which was parked in a field. Both women had ditched their period garb, with Gazelle back in her usual biker outfit, and Martha in 21st century clothing. Gazelle had told Martha what they'd done to the Family. "I did give them a chance." she said "We had no choice."
"Well, you were both more merciful then I'd have been." Martha replied. After all the death and destruction the Family had been responsible for, they should consider their punishments acts of mercy.
Just then, the Doctor arrived, dressed in his trademark brown suit and coat. He'd gone down to the village to say goodbye to Joan. It was the least he could do. "Right then." he said casually "Molto bene!"
"How was she?" Martha asked. Despite the way Joan treated her, she did care for the woman, especially after all she'd had to put up with this past evening.
"Time we moved on." the Doctor replied
"If you want, I can go and talk to her." Gazelle offered
"No need, she's fine." the Doctor reassured her "Question is, are you?"
"I am now I've got you back." Gazelle smiled, and hugged him. He reciprocated, and they stood there for a moment in each other's arms. Martha watched them, happy to have things back to normal.
When the Time Lords broke apart, the Doctor turned to Martha "An' I never said, thanks for lookin' after me." He gave her a hug too.
"Anything else you'd like to say?" Gazelle asked the Doctor pointedly. Before he'd left to visit Joan, she'd told him about the terrible treatment Martha had suffered over the last two months.
"I'm sorry." the Doctor said to Martha "I'm sorry for everyfink. Every horrible thing everyone here said to you, and for everyfink you've suffered while takin' care of me. We'd like to make it up to ya, if you'd let us."
"Apology accepted." Martha nodded
Just then, Latimer came running up "Doctor, Gazelle, Martha." he called
"Tim, Timothy, Timber!" the Doctor greeted in his usual cheerful way
"I just wanted to say goodbye." Latimer said "And thank you, because I've seen the future, and I know now what must be done. It's coming, isn't it? The biggest war ever."
"Remember, Tim, you don't have to fight." Gazelle told him
"I think we do." Latimer replied
"But you could get hurt." Martha pointed out. She knew from history lessons at school just how terrible the First World War was, and how many lives it claimed.
"Well, so could you, travelling around with them." Latimer responded "But it's not going to stop you."
"Well, I'm always gonna look out for her." Gazelle said, patting her friend's shoulder.
"Tim, we'd be honoured if you'd take this." the Doctor said, handing him the fob watch.
"I can't hear anything." Latimer said
"No, it's just a watch now." the Doctor told him
"But keep it with you." Gazelle added "For good luck."
"Look after yourself." Martha pipped in, hugging the boy.
The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS and Martha went inside. "You'll like this bit." the Doctor said to Latimer, then he slipped his around Gazelle, and they went inside too.
Latimer stepped back and watched with a smile as the TARDIS dematerialised.
Of course, a year later, the First World War broke out. Latimer joined the army, and went on to become a capable and decorated soldier. On one terrible night, he even saved the life of his old tormentor, Hutchinson. Suffice to say, he was never bullied again after that!
Many years later, an elderly Latimer sat in a wheelchair at a Remembrance Day service, medals on his chest, and the fob watch in his hand. As the female vicar read For The Fallen, Latimer saw something in the corner of his eye, and he turned to see the Doctor, Gazelle and Martha standing there, poppies on their lapels. He smiled and looked down at the watch in his hand.
After their visit to the Remembrance Day service, the time travellers retreated to their bedrooms in the TARDIS. "Ah, good old bed." the Doctor sighed, leaning back on the bed "You alright, Remii?" he asked Gazelle, as she stood by the side of the bed, looking at him.
"Yeah, fine. It's just that I've really missed you, Theta." she replied "I spent two months on my own, and then, I come down to that school, and you're so different."
"Well, I'm back now." the Doctor replied "An' I'm not goin' anywhere anytime soon. Now c'mon, plenty of room." he patted the spot next to him
"Ah, it's so good to have ya back." Gazelle sighed, lying down next to him "I love you, Theta, so much." she felt infinitely happy now that her Doctor was back.
Author's notes: Well, that wraps up series 3's most well-known pair of episodes. Took a bit of head-scratching and winging it, but I think it turned out alright. Gazelle clashing with the headmaster was fun to write, cos' let's face it, that man was a pompous idiot! I'm hoping to get this story done in time for Christmas, which may mean quite a bit of burning the midnight oil. Next time, blink and you're dead! See ya there!