The dreams came at night.
A redundant statement to make, Caroline was aware. Of course dreams came at night. When else would they come? Nobody could dream during the day- well except the children, only Caroline was no child anymore. Daydreams were for children. It would be pointless of Caroline to hold onto silly dreams.
These dreams weren't silly- something was wrong with them. Something by instinct told Caroline this- showed her the hairline difference between her dreams and normal dreams. Between her dreams and nightmares.
The dreams were never the same. She would see many faces, hear many names. Caroline had never seen them before in her life. She knew that she hadn't. She knew the faces she'd seen. None of them matched the ones in her dreams.
They were full of such pain and sadness. Grief colored the faces she saw. The places around them tinged gray as they came to her. She mourned people, watching her dreams and knowing the people she saw were long dead.
The dreams weren't all bad. Worlds lit up brightly by such vibrant colors. Machines that Caroline had never thought to dream up. Some of them were, according to the dreams, built by her own hand. Caroline marveled at the contraptions.
Then she'd cry, because it was always the dreams that started happy that ended the worst.
Caroline saw and felt pain in this dream like she hadn't ever before. Like someone had taken her, broke her in half like a pencil, then pushed her broken pieces back inside her body. Waking up from these dreams always felt like stepping on broken glass.
Tonight's dream was no different.
==ROTF==
It was the machine again. The wonderful machine that Caroline knew was more like a real living thing. Caroline never felt afraid of this machine. This place was a second home to her- or it appeared as such in her dreams.
John Smith was there
And Martha the maid.
They were all running into the machine. Caroline only felt the feelings of fear. They were running from something.
"Get down!" John Smith yelled out.
Caroline ducked behind the console unit.
A loud BANG came from the doors. Carolina grunted as the entire room shook. Sparks began flying from the middle space in the room, from what looked like a complicated mess of equipment. Something whined at her side. Carolina turned to it, seeing her dog Rebel curled up by her feet.
John Smith rushed to her side. He held her shoulder. "Did they see you?" John Smith asked herself.
"No!" Caroline answered. In her dream, she knew who he was asking about. She knew what the threat was. It made total sense to her. There was danger. She was worried. She held tighter to Rebel.
John Smith nodded. He rushed over to Martha. "Did they see you?" He asked her.
"I don't know." She answered.
"But did they see you?" John Smith pressed.
"I don't know. I was too busy running." Martha explained away.
"Martha, it's important. Did they see your face?" John Smith asked her.
Her dog whined. Caroline scratched behind her dog's ears. "They couldn't have!" She told John, quite rudely she thought. "I used my hood and she was ducked in front of us!"
John dashed about the machine, pulling levers and cranks. Caroline couldn't tell what any of them did- dream or not. "Off we go!" He called out.
The ship was flying.
Caroline leaned back. One arm grabbing the metal railing behind her, the other holding Rebel.
The machine tilted towards the side. Caroline braced herself on the side.
John smacked his hand on the console. "Argh! They're following us."
"I hate it when they're smart!" Caroline complained. Her head went thunk on the rail behind her.
"How can they do that? You've got a time machine." Martha dismissed.
"The last one to do that was Jack, and he cheated." Caroline recalled.
Recalling things was so odd in dreams. She remembered things that she'd never seen before. A man who was very handsome. Bright blue eyes that always twinkled with mischief. He never wore a coat- how scandalous. Then again if the memories about the man were true, he was often scandalous.
"Looks like they are too." John tapped away on the controls once again. "They've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator. They can follow us wherever we go, right across the universe. They're never going to stop." John explained. He ran his hand in his hair. He looked over to Caroline, who was still hugging her dog. "Unless."
She couldn't tell exactly where his voice was coming from in the next few minutes. His mouth had no movement but his voice came loud and clear.
'Terra. You said you had used a Chameleon Arch before?' John asked.
'Yes.' Caroline answered. 'I did.' She knew this was a lie- she'd never used one before. But she had felt the effects just the same. And she had indeed said she'd used one. Not a complete lie.
'I'll be here. The entire time. I promise.'
'I know you will. I'll still remember Rebel, right?'
'You should, yes. I swear. You won't be without him. Or me.'
'I trust you.'
John's eyebrows creased together, his mouth curled down. He seemed to want to say something, opening and closing his mouth. As though what he was doing was going against everything he'd ever believed in and he wanted to justify it to Caroline. "I'll have to do it."
Caroline nodded at him. She scratched Rebel's fur.
John turned to the maid. "Martha, you trust us, don't you?" He asked her.
"Of course I do." Martha replied, confused.
"Because it all depends on you." John explained. He reached below the contraption, pulling on a wire below.
A helmet fell from above.
"What does? What am I supposed to do?" Martha asked him.
Caroline held tighter to her dog. She was dreaming, safe from danger, but she was concerned about that helmet.
John stood up. He held a watch in his hand. He looked over to Caroline. She reached into a bag she had at her side. A Bag that occured in all her memories, no matter the places or the people she was with. She only had the Bag...
She pulled out a golden pocket watch. She remembered this from something. Caroline was fairly certain she'd bought it in a store, that she'd spent months upgrading the clockwork inside on sleepless nights the past year. Until it matched the watch in John's hand.
She handed it over to him.
John showed both these watches to Martha. "Take these watches, because my life-Terra's life- they depend on them. These watches, Martha. The watches are-"
==ROTF==
Martha walked into the room of one Caroline Brown. Or rather, what the school thought was Caroline Brown.
The young girl was sleeping at her desk, a pencil in her hand and drool dripping onto the paper. The girl was still in her nightgown, and her hair was a short frizzy ball behind her head. She was just so off without a headband in her hair, or a hoodie on. Behind her chair, Rebel was reclined in a protective perch. The companion had lost count of how many times she had found them like this.
It had been a little over two months since they arrived in 1913. Martha Jones had watched as the two new humans blended into the time like ducks to water. John Smith became the professor, Caroline Brown was his niece, and Martha Jones was their maid. 'Which the Doctor is gonna get it for when he comes back. Terra's going to help me. May even get her dog to help.'
She put down the tray of food on the nightstand. Caroline had a small room, adjacent to John Smith's. A good enough size for a man with his teenage niece, in 1913. Martha knew that Terra's own room on the TARDIS wasn't much larger. Martha walked up to the desk.
Rebel whined, his tail wagging in a distinctly slow pace.
Martha knelt down, scratching the dog's head. The alien dog whined pitifully- tearing Martha's heart in two. He missed Terra- missed her so much. It seemed like no time had passed between them before Terra had turned into Caroline. "I know, boy, I miss them too." She stood up to see what Caroline was working on now.
Terra had brought a sketchbook with her, one relevant to the times. Caroline would often draw out her dreams in them. From what little Martha had caught of them, these dreams were not often pleasant. Caroline was a poor artist- everything essentially stick figures with the occasional well drawn object.
She could see two pictures presently. The first one had multiple drawings of what looked like one man tied to a chair. Another man stood over him, and there seemed to be a girl at the end of the room. The man in the chair had sketched out lines on his arms. The man standing had an angry face, and a sharp line made to look like a sword in his hand. The girl had shadow marks to resemble tears on her face, and circles around her hands like handcuffs.
Martha hated it when Caroline had dreams like that. The human-hiding-a-Time-Lady was straining to make connections with her dreams. She had written words- names and references that Martha didn't understand. She didn't want to understand them either.
The second page had an easier image. Caroline had written out running into the TARDIS console room, hiding from 'the Family of Blood- the Father and the Mother and the Brother and the Sister' and 'stole something- Jack?- have to hide- must hide- will only bring destruction'.
Her hand was hiding the letters at the bottom. Martha carefully moved the girl's hand. She was able to peek at it before Caroline shot awake.
'Beware 1913'
The Time Lady yelped, pulling back from Martha. She clutched desperately to her chair, staring at Martha with wide amber eyes. Rebel stood up too- alerted at his master's fearful yelp.
"It's alright!" Martha assured. "Sorry Miss Brown. Mister Smith said it was time to wake up."
The girl did not seem relieved. She held tighter to the chair.
Martha could hardly stand it. Caroline Brown was just a scared girl. From what Martha could tell, her family had all been killed. Caroline had witnessed it all. She was taken in by her only living relative, John Smith. Together they moved out to this school. Martha couldn't imagine the pain she must be doing through, watching your whole family die.
She could only hope that Terra hadn't actually gone through that.
Then again, if she hadn't, then why would the Arch thing had made her history so sad? Martha was at a loss.
Still. Caroline Brown was a skittish girl who kept to herself, never left the premises of the school.
She was nothing like Terra Johnson.
Which was the point, Martha mused.
That didn't make it hurt any less.
==ROTF==
There were a lot of rules given to John Smith and Caroline Brown when they agreed to live at the school. John would teach the history classes, of which he was more than qualified. The school was militaristic in nature, for boys only, so Caroline's presence in the classes would be a disruption to the boys. Her schooling was to come from other means. She would educate herself from the school's library, and if that couldn't suffice then she was to be shipped off to a finishing school.
Caroline didn't want to be so far from the only family she had.
To her, the very idea of being far from John Smith made her heart race painfully in her chest. She could hardly speak. Her body began to shake in fear. She had no words to describe this fear, only that this was what she felt.
Her uncle had to approve her studies. Caroline always reported to him what she was studying, turned into him any papers she had written, and things along those lines. He accepted them with all the care that a professor would give.
She was grateful that Martha had come along. For some reason, Caroline felt close to the maid. Thinking about her made Caroline feel full of butterflies. She had met her just before coming to this school, yet to Caroline she had known Martha for so long. In stories she had read, there was talk about people who were just entwined by fate. Could this be another one of those stories? Where Caroline knew Martha because they had known each other in a past life? Oh some days Caroline prayed it was so.
It made Caroline hurt to hear people being so rude to Martha. She herself was too scared to stand up for the maid, afraid of how people who see her reactions. That they would judge her, judge Martha worse for it.
The days at Harrington Hall were slow and boring. Caroline didn't mind slow and boring. The weather was horrid- much more so than it had been in the colonies. Caroline found herself loving that too.
Rebel loved the wide open spaces for him to play.
She fitted him up to his leash. The simple leather cord went on easily. Rebel knew what the leash meant. He was always such a smart dog. Caroline often found herself wondering if perhaps he'd been human in a past life.
Caroline walked herself down the stairs. She had to be mindful of her dress, it was such a pain to get grass stains out of the fabric. It was a simple enough morning dress. The corset cover was colored a dark blue that made Caroline feel at home. The long gored skirt was a matching blue. Her hair had been pulled back into a tight bun behind her head. She made sure to wear sturdy boots. One thing the colonies had over England was that the ground was dryer.
As she walked down the stairs, Caroline spotted Martha and the maid, Jenny, cleaning the floors. She kept Rebel close to her. She was worried she would be messing up their hard work.
Rebel had no such qualms. He ran down the final steps, dashing towards Martha. The maid beamed at him.
"Hello there, big guy." Martha reached up to scratch his head. The dog accepted the scratches, welcomed them.
Caroline pretended that it didn't make her heart race. Not from panic, as she was one to do. This was delight- joy. Rebel was a very social dog but all the students here were dismissive towards him. Rebel wanted to play, to befriend folks. Martha was the only one that ever gave Rebel that attention.
"Rebel." Caroline called.
The dog stayed where he was.
"Rebel, come." Caroline requested. She gave a small tug of the leash. "Walk."
The dog turned to his owner. His head perked up in excitement. He walked, tugging on the leash towards the exit.
Caroline began following, frustrated that he was already going so fast.
John Smith walked in the hall. Caroline tigger more firmly on the leash, getting Rebel to hold still. "Good morning, Caroline. Where are you off too?"
"Morning walk, Uncle." Caroline replied. "For Rebel."
"Yes." John glanced down to the dog. He was beaming with excitement at John. "Best her to it."
"Yes sir." Caroline gave him a small nod of the head. She continued herself towards the door outside.
==ROTF==
Coming back in was always harder than going out. Rebel did enjoy the outside, but Caroline could hardly stand it for hours at a time. She had to rest, to eat, to study, as much as any human.
Though as they approached the house, Rebel pulled off his leash.
"No!" Caroline yelped. She reached for the leash, only for Rebel to make a sharp turn from her. He ran off towards the side of the building. She gave chase after him. She could hear him barking at something- or worse, someone. "Rebel! Rebel stop!"
She turned the corner, seeing Rebel happily running circles around one of the students. He was carrying an armful of books and papers. She was convinced Rebel was going to make him drop them.
"Rebel, stop it." Caroline scolded. She ran to the student and her dog. The dog ignored her. "Oh, what was your command for stop?!"
"Was it a foreign phrase?" The student prompted.
"Yeah, it's from Drusselstein." Caroline replied. She paused at that. It was the most made-up name for a country she'd ever heard but it did ring some bells. Maybe she'd had a dream about it? "Bewegen sie nicht!"
Rebel paused, moving to sit at Caroline's side. Caroline and the student let out matching relieved breaths. She was able to pick up his leash.
"Sorry, about him. He gets so excited for walks he never wants them to stop." Caroline apologized.
"It's alright. He's an excitable dog." The student assured her. "Professor Smith's American niece, yes? I've seen you around the school."
"Yes. Caroline Brown." She held out her hand towards the student.
"Timothy Latimer." He introduced himself. He accepted her hand with a tilt of his head.
Caroline gave it a firm shake. "Well thank you, Timothy Latimer, for help with my dog. What made you say foreign?"
Timothy hesitated before answering. "Sometimes I say things, and they turn out to be correct. Just little things, tiny things."
"That's incredible." Caroline praised. Though she immediately felt her face light up. Now this moment felt awkward. She fumbled with the leash in her hands. "Helpful too, at least in cases of runaway dogs. Like mine." She pointed down to the golden furred dog. "Him."
Timothy looked at the dog. Rebel was staring up at them both, his tongue lagging out from his mouth.
"Thank you, again." Caroline began walking back towards the door. "Goodbye." She walked off.
Another successful humiliation, Caroline. She told herself. Why, keep up like that and you'll be the laughing stock of England!
When she appeared inside, Martha was running past.
"Miss Jones?" Caroline asked.
"It's John- he's fallen down the stairs!" Martha told her, reaching for Caroline's arm to bring her along.
Caroline inhaled sharply. If asked, she would say it was out of concern for her uncle.
Rebel had seen the truth of it.
==ROTF==
Martha pushed the door to John's room open. Caroline and Rebel came in behind her.
"Is he all right?" Martha asked, startled.
Caroline stopped just behind Martha. At John's desk was hur uncle, hunched over for the Matron to check over his head. Caroline was indifferent towards the nurse.
"Excuse me, Martha. It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking." The matron instructed.
Caroline felt a cold gaze take over her eyes. She narrowed them onto the matron. As far as Caroline was concerned, Martha was as good as family. The matron had no right to make demands of her like that.
The maid stood up straighter. "Sorry. Right. Yeah." She walked around Caroline towards the door. Rebel ran from Caroline's side to sit at John's feet. He rested his head in the professor's lap.
Martha knocked on the door.
Caroline was so proud of Martha. Strong Martha, who didn't need anyone to stand up for her because she always gave back as good as she got. Martha who was never scared to say what she felt. Martha Jones, what a woman to remember.
She ran back in while Caroline went over to sit on her uncle's bed. "But is he all right? They said you fell down the stairs, Sir."
"No, it was just a tumble, that's all." John assured. He glanced up at Caroline, who nervously fretted with the ends of her sleeve. "I promise, I'm fine."
"Really?" Caroline asked, her voice small. She had seen in her nightmares what falling down stairs could do to a person. So many people hurt or die from falling...falling so far down. It terrified Caroline that her uncle had almost become one of those memories.
What would she even have done? Reacted with the same detachment she would in her dreams? She didn't want to mourn like that thing mourned people. She who watched people die with expectation, with a countdown hanging over her head that she did nothing to stop. Caroline couldn't imagine mourning her uncle like that.
"Have you checked for concussion?" Martha asked the Matron.
"I have. And I daresay I know a lot more about it than you." The matron scolded in reply.
Seeing as the man was fine, Rebel left John. He went back to his owner. He licked at Caroline's hand. It did much to shake away the cold glare.
"Sorry. I'll just tidy your things." Martha replied, much less bright than before. She went about the room, organizing John's things.
"I was just telling Nurse Redfern-" John began. "Matron, about my dreams, Caroline." Caroline's hand went to Rebel's head. The dog moved his head onto Caroline's leg. "They are quite remarkable tales. I keep imagining that we are other people, and that we are hiding."
Caroline remembered that. She remembered that feeling of hiding- of being afraid. There was a thing she was hiding from. She'd written that down in her journal many times. Have to hide...always have to hide...
"Hiding? In what way?" The matron asked.
"They're almost every night." John added too. He seemed surprised to note that the matron was still there, standing behind him. "This is going to sound silly."
"Tell me." The matron prompted.
"I dream, quite often, that Caroline and I have two hearts." John admitted.
Caroline froze.
"Well, then. I can be the judge of that. Let's find out." The matron pulled out her stethoscope. She held it up to John's chest. After checking both sides she went to Caroline.
The matron held up the stethoscope.
Caroline was frozen before her. The matron checked her chest, moving to the other side.
Only one heart.
But if she strained...in her dreams...she felt her heart racing so fast. Too fast. Too loud.
"I can confirm the diagnosis. Just one heart, singular." The matron assured.
Caroline did not feel assured.
Because she could remember that feeling so well.
"I have er, I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction." John walked over to his nightstand. He pulled out a simple journal. "Not that it would be of any interest."
"I'd be very interested." The matron told him.
Caroline thought about her own journal. She thought about the sketches and drabbles she had written in it. She thought about the things she'd seen.
"Well, I've never actually shown it to anyone before." John admitted. He handed over the journal all the same.
She cracked open the cover. "A Journal of Impossible Things." The matron read off. She began turning the pages.
Caroline stood up off the bed, walking over towards the bookshelf. Rebel followed dutifully behind her.
"Just look at these creatures." The matron praised. "Such imagination."
"It's become quite a hobby."
Monsters
Monsters in the dark
Monsters all around
Monsters coming up from far away
Caroline did not think such monsters were a thing of joy. She didn't want to know what imagination created those abominations.
'Do you think they'll ever stop finding new ways of hurting people?'
Caroline inhaled sharply. Her entire body had been shuddered by this overwhelming cold. Her hands had begun to shake.
"It's wonderful." The matron praised. "And quite an eye for the pretty girls."
"Oh no, no, she's just an invention. This character, Rose. I call her, Rose." John explained. "Seems to disappear later on."
Caroline could remember a Rose. She glanced towards them, trying to catch a peak at 'Rose'. To her dismay, it was the same as the one from her dreams.
She saw a box.
The machine.
She whirred so loudly.
A woman in a form blue dress, eyes glowing blue.
The box banging against walls, John hanging out from the edge.
Rose standing in her doors- glowing as good as the sun.
"Ah, that's the box. The blue box. It's always there. Like a- like a magic carpet." John recalled. Caroline knelt down, holding Rebel close to her. "This funny little box that transports me and Caroline to far away places. See? There she is."
John pointed to another drawing of the box, this one with a young girl leaning against the side. It had enough of Caroline's features. Instead of a dress, she was wearing some odd form of dark shirt and trousers. Her hair was down also.
'You failed it! You failed it! There was a drivers test and you failed it!'
'Shut it!'
"Like a doorway?" The matron asked.
Caroline reached up for her own hair. She rather disliked it down.
"Mmm." John went back to turning the pages, observing his remarks and drawings. "I sometimes think how magical life would be if stories like this were true."
"If only." The matron agreed.
"It's just a dream." John dismissed.
Caroline feared what it meant if her dreams were as such.
She held tighter to her dog. Rebel locked at Caroline's face.
Martha watched the entire scene, trying to hide how close to the truth their dreams had become.
==ROTF==
Caroline was out walking with Rebel again. The dog loved running more than any creature not fleeing for their life. Caroline enjoyed the quiet walks, herself.
Though for the nightly walks, her uncle insisted on joining her.
Together she and John walked the sparse roads towards the pub. Caroline was fine to have these walks in silence. John seemed to think differently.
"So...how are your studies going?" John asked.
"Quite well." Caroline replied.
John nodded, clearly expecting more.
Caroline gave nothing more. Why would she say more, Uncle John read everything she worked on. Why wouldn't he know?
"Yes...yes...um." John glanced up to the starry sky. "It's a good sky. Do you see any new stars?"
Caroline glanced up. "The stars in the Perseus have become clear."
John squinted. "Yes. Algol." He went on about facts about the star. Facts from distance, the star itself, all those facts.
Caroline was thinking more about the story of Perseus. That you could see Cassiopeia, and Andromeda on the horizon. She wanted to discuss not school. Was that so hard? Why could her uncle never talk about her wants? Her interests? She felt pain, felt that pain deep in her bones that couldn't be shaken off like it did for her uncle.
She had lost everything. Her family, all gone so fast. Her friends, gone just as quick. She could barely contain herself, some days, the grief coming to overwhelm her.
She left it all to go with him.
And he wouldn't ever speak of it.
Why?
That's what she got, Caroline conceded. She had little choice in the world around her. She should have gotten used to it- especially with her family dying. All her choices for freedom were now in her uncle's hands. Her stern, no nonsense, professor of an uncle. He showed no interest in truly getting to know Caroline, why should she expect any?
She had always felt this awkwardness between them. Something painful and distant. Something that kept them from fully connecting. If she knew what it was, Caroline might actually care to change it. She knew the blame was mostly on John's side.
She wouldn't be the first to cave.
As they approached the pub some twenty minutes later, John and Caroline noticed people sitting outside. Martha, Jenny, and the matron were all standing around. They appeared to be looking up at the stars.
The pink in Caroline's cheeks came from the cold. Definitely not the butterflies in her stomach, or from the butterflies dancing in her head around Martha's face.
"Anything wrong, ladies?" John asked. Rebel whined, curling himself closer to Caroline. "Far too cold to be standing around in the dark, don't you."
"There, there. Look in the sky." The matron pointed towards the sky.
Caroline looked up. A shooting star was crossing the sky.
"Oh, that's beautiful." Jenny praised.
"All gone. Commonly known as a meteorite." John recited. Caroline clenched on the leash to keep from rolling her eyes. "It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all."
"It came down in the woods." The matron stated. She pointed off towards the forest.
"No, no, no. No, they always look close, when actually they're miles off." John told the ladies. Caroline once again fought the urge to say anything. "Nothing left but a cinder." John turned to Caroline. She was still looking towards the woods. "Now, I should escort the matron back to the school. Ladies?"
"No, we're fine, thanks." Martha replied. Caroline would've been more inclined to believe her if her voice was more confident, and she wasn't still looking towards the star.
In her dreams, when they ran together, Martha and her were always running towards danger. John got lost.
"Then I shall bid you goodnight." John made to leave. He saw Caroline wasn't following. "Caroline?" He prompted.
"I don't trust it." She muttered. She riddled with the leash again. Rebel growled, glaring towards the woods. "There's something wrong with them."
"There's nothing wrong. This happens all the time." John explained again to her.
Caroline gave a subtle shake of her head. "Stars don't fall at an angle." She muttered again.
"We must be heading back." John instructed her. Caroline reluctantly obeyed.
Rebel whined as they walked back.
Caroline idly wondered if he had those dreams too.
She kept herself far enough away from John and the matron so as not to hear them converse. She knew they wouldn't last.
She couldn't explain how she knew.
All she could say was there was another blonde that he had in mind.
And dream.
==ROTF==
The next day, Martha went to the TARDIS.
It had been hidden in what looked like a decrepit barn. Martha his away her bike. She walked inside the small barn, unlocking the TARDIS. She walked inside.
The TARDIS had darkened herself to better hide. The entire ship seemed lesser without the Doctor or Terra around.
"Hello." She greeted the TARDIS with a sad smile. She dropped it when she realized what she'd said. "I'm talking to a machine."
She pulled off her coat, hanging it over the railing. She looked over towards the console. She would've puther stuff on the coat rack, but the Doctor had hung up his coat and Terra's hoodie (along with her bag) took up all the space. She saw the helmet, just hovering from where the Doctor had last used it.
Martha could still remember it.
==ROTF==
"They're following us. They can follow us wherever we go. Right across the universe. They're never going to stop." The Doctor looked over at Terra. It was a short pause, but Martha was certain they were having another one of their silent conversations. This was confirmed when Terra nodded, so the Doctor turned to Martha. "Martha, you trust us, don't you?"
"Of course I do." Martha answered automatically. She trusted the Doctor and Terra so much.
"Because it all depends on you. Martha, these watches are us." The Doctor explained.
Martha blinked in confusion. "Right, okay, gotcha." She lied.
"It's okay time be confused." Terra told her.
"Yeah. I'm completely lost." Martha admitted.
"Those creatures are hunters. They can sniff out anyone, and us being Time Lords, well, we're unique." The Doctor explained. He continued pulling on various switches and locks. Terra was resting her head against Rebel's, clearly telling him the same things. Martha didn't like the parallels there. "They can track us down across the whole of time and space."
"Huh. And the good news is?" Martha joked.
"They can smell us, they haven't seen us." The Doctor explained. "And their lifespan will be running out, so we hide. Wait for them to die."
"But they can track us down." Martha pointed out.
"That's why we've got to do it. We have to stop being Time Lords. We're going to become human." The Doctor explained. He went over to the lowered headset. "Never thought I'd use this. All the times I've wondered."
"What does it do?" Martha asked.
"Chameleon Arch. Rewrites our biology. Literally changes every single cell in our bodies." The Doctor reported. "I've set it to human." He slid the watch that Terra had given him into the slot.
He turned to Terra, just at the Time Lady looked up from Rebel.
"Now, the TARDIS will take care of everything. Invent a life story for us, find us a setting and integrate us." The Doctor explained, looking torn but set in his decision. "Can't do the same for you. You'll just have to improvise. We should have just enough residual awareness to let you in."
"And for my dog. Because Rebel is important." Terra ruffled the dog's head. Rebel replied by trying to lick her hand again. "How can anyone forget you?" Rebel snorted in agreement.
"But, hold on. If you're going to rewrite every single cell, isn't it going to hurt?" Martha realized.
"Like your body is torn apart piece by piece and put together by a teething four year old who has no concept of what pain is." Terra recalled, reaching for the Arch. "I was supposed to say something comforting, wasn't I?"
"Might've helped." Martha remarked.
Terra winced. "Sorry."
The Doctor made to lower it on Terra's head. He paused for a moment to give her a concerned stare. "Are you going to be alright?"
"No. Cascade of pain. Teething four year old. Nobody's okay with that." Terra replied. She gave him a curt nod. "Prolonging it is only gonna make it worse. Just do it."
Martha had been told to leave with Rebel for a few minutes. To stay out until the change was complete and the TARDIS landed.
She hadn't listened.
And sometimes, in the quiet of 1913, she still heard Terra and the Doctor screaming.
==ROTF==
"Martha. I've got too many rules and not enough time to explain any of them. Watch out for my dog. The commands are basic and are as follows-"
Martha moved it forward.
"-the only thing I'm sure of is her eyes will still be purple. Keep my human self away from her, she doesn't need that-"
She moved it again.
"-don't be alarmed if I have nightmares, those are common. Just get worried if I start reenacting them. Don't think she will, but you never know with humans."
Forward.
"If they find us, or you think we've been found, do whatever you think is best. Also. The Doctor is going to do something really stupid. Just know it's not going to last."
Forward.
"I want to thank you. For all you're going to do to help us." Terra smiled softly at the camera. Then she seemed to realize that she was smiling, so she dropped the smile. "I...um...yeah. So...you're uhh...you're gonna do great."
Martha switched off Terra's instructions. There was nothing in there that wasn't in the Doctor's video.
==ROTF==
Timothy ran out from Professor Smith's room. He looked down at the set of watches in his hands. He hadn't thought ahead when he'd taken them. They had just seemed so loud- he swore he heard voices from them. And he had a feeling, a tiny little feeling, that he had to take them away.
He ran and ran.
He ran all the way to his room.
He had seen many things from Professor Smith's watch. The Doctor's watch. Timothy could hardly believe what his professor had been.
Or-
He eyed the golden watch.
Or perhaps-
Timothy heard a noise from outside. He looked out the window, seeing Caroline chasing after Rebel again. The dog truly lived up to his name-
The watch in his hand glowed.
'He's not your son!' 'He's as good as!'
Rushing up to the dog, sweeping them up into a hug. Laughing as gold fur got all over her purple hoodie.
"Hello Timothy. You understand. You've got to hide me- hide him. Close the watch! You have to hide us!"
Timothy closed the watch. He gasped, finding himself still looking out the window. Caroline had caught up with her dog. Rebel was happily pouncing on his owner, knocking them both to the ground.
He checked Professor Smith's watch once again. He opened it, seeing gold dust ease out.
"You are not alone. Keep us hidden."
Timothy saw monsters...real monsters...ones beyond human imagination.
==ROTF==
Caroline pressed her forehead to Rebel's. The dog seemed to like it when she did this.
She took deep breaths, just focusing on her dog. She scratched down on his neck, ruffling the fur. Rebel moved to lie down with her.
She kept her breathing steady, calming herself down. She wasn't good to anyone when she was so high strung. Rebel just needed lots of love and attention. She pulled herself into a hug around the dog.
Rebel happily licked her cheek. Caroline laughed, feeling a sudden surge of unbridled joy and affection. Rebel did it again- making Caroline laugh harder.
There was a gunshot in the distance.
Caroline was pulled out from her joy. She turned towards the gunfire. She was aware that it was a military school but that didn't make the constant gunfire any better.
(She still reached for her side when she heard gunshots.
She couldn't figure out why.
She also didn't know why it made her so stressed out)
Rebel was made just as on edge as her. Caroline cooed at him, trying to silently assure him that it was alright. Whenever the school started firing-squad training, Caroline and Rebel became incredibly tense.
She figured the best way to stop it would be to see that there wasn't any threat. She also couldn't get the instinct out of her from at least checking.
Rebel consented to being led over to the large clearing for the guns.
At the shooting range, Caroline saw John's class at the ready. The boys- some of them barely over her age- were firing machine guns. She saw their made opponents. They were just scarecrows, with poorly drawing on markings to look like tribal tattoos.
Caroline felt something deep inside her gawking at it.
"Concentrate." John instructed them.
She spotted the Headmaster walking out from the school. Caroline knelt down, hiding behind a fixture. She hugged Rebel to her side, watching it all.
"Hutchinson, excellent work." John praised in a professional tone.
"Cease fire!" The Headmaster called out.
The students creased the machine guns firing. Caroline let out a long breath. She ruffled the top of Rebel's head.
"Good day to you, Headmaster." John greeted.
"Your crew's on fine form today, Mister Smith." The Headmaster praised.
"Excuse me, Headmaster. We could do a lot better." Another student complained. "Latimer's being deliberately shoddy."
Caroline huffed.
"I'm trying my best." Timothy defended.
"You need to be better than the best. Those targets are tribesmen from the dark continent." The Headmaster scolded.
"That's exactly the problem, sir. They only have spears." Timothy explained.
Rebel perked up.
"Oh, dear me. Latimer takes it upon himself to make us realize how wrong we all are." The Headmaster remarked, not bothering to hide his disdain. "I hope, Latimer, that one day you may have a just and proper war in which to prove yourself. Now, resume firing."
The gun fire started back up again.
Caroline flinched away. She held onto Rebel, breathing through her nose. She ignored the flashes of unease- ignoring the feelings that came from her dreams coming up in the day.
Rebel whined, curling closer to her. She felt his tail on her back. Caroline rubbed his back in thanks.
"Stoppage. Immediate action. Didn't I tell you, sir? This stupid boy is useless. Permission to give Latimer a beating, sir." The student requested.
"It's your class, Mister Smith." The Headmaster replied.
"Permission granted." John stated.
Caroline shuddered.
"Right. Come with me, you little oik." The student lifted up Timothy, dragging him off.
Caroline watched with a disappointed face. She stood herself back up to her feet. "Come on, boy. We'll need to get supplies for him."
Rebel didn't follow after her. He was staring out towards the shooting range, growling.
"Come on, Rebel." Caroline instructed.
Rebel yipped.
Caroline knelt down, giving him an assuring scratch. "Hey, hey boy, it's okay. We're okay now. They stopped, see? We need to go inside now. Come on. Please?"
The dog conceded. He kept the pace with his owner as they returned into the school.
At the shooting range, a student named Baines- possessed by Son-of-Mine, walked back towards the school.
==ROTF==
Not long after, Caroline was sitting outside. She had with her medical supplies.
Timothy was sitting out by himself in the cold. She held out a coat towards him.
"I get little things too." Caroline explained. She held up a bandage.
Timothy accepted the coat, wrapping it around himself. He tried not to let his worry show on his face. The watches in his pocket were humming, so elated were they to just be around the hidden Time Lady.
He also knew that Rebel knew. The visions had shown him that much. A telepathic dog, for a telepathic alien. And though the girl had changed, her dog was still fully capable of reading his mind.
Caroline began patching him up. Rebel at her side. It was all so Florence Nightingale.
"It's okay, Caroline." Timothy assured, wincing at the new wound on his head.
"You were right to defend them." Caroline told him. She pressed on the bandage to keep it from falling off. "People don't know how kind hearted the Africans are."
"You do?" Timothy asked.
"Oh yes." Caroline lowered her hands onto her dog's head. Her words sounded more distant now, as though she wasn't fully aware that she was saying all of it outloud. "My father was originally from Africa, born in Joburg. His parents moved to the colonies when he was ten. Dad would always make sure to stay in contact with them. Why, once a year we'd travel down to Florida to meet with all the African relatives. They're always so bright and festive. Never let us have a sad moment around them."
Timothy listened to her talk, looking at her with fascination at her history.
"They were doctors." Caroline recalled. She scrunched up her face in confusion. "No, wait. Granny Martha was a nurse. She told me she became a nurse because becoming a doctor took time away from having my aunt. I always loved that story. That my aunt was better than being a doctor."
"They sound like wonderful people." Timothy praised.
"They're great." Caroline admitted with a distant smile. "It hurts to see people wanting to fight them, all because of the stupid idea of war."
"War is supposed to be this grand thing but it's not, is it?" Timothy pondered. He looked around at the school building. His stare seemed to be gazing through the building itself, through all the ivory walls to a hidden darkness beneath. "They don't tell us the bad parts."
"Nobody ever does. Then the young generation get the idea that war is glorious, that it brings good things, so they start up another one. It sets the cycle off again." Caroline mused. She leaned against the wall behind her. Rebel whined, so she started up the scratches again. "These boys don't know what's coming for them."
Timothy watched her. For a moment, he wondered if she saw things too. Saw things, like he had seen from the watches. The golden one that was practically burning a hole in his pocket seemed most inclined to knowledge from the future. "And you do?"
Caroline blinked. "Maybe I do."
The golden pocket watch hummed at her words.
Timothy fought not to reach for it again. But the humming was loud. Really, truly loud. Loud enough that the dog's head perched, searching for what must feel like his owner's inner voice.
He reached his hand in his pocket, thumbing the lid of the watch.
'The dance.
She has to go to the dance.
She doesn't want to go but she must go.'
"Caroline." She looked up at Timothy. "Would you like to go to...to the dance...with me?"
Caroline leaned back, surprised at the request. She had expected boys to ask, yes, as she was the only dateable girl for miles around. She would've told all of them no, besides. But from Timothy? She didn't know what to expect.
"Not as a date." Timothy admitted. "But just...friends? I seem to be lacking them around here."
Caroline had a much more relaxed smile at that. "So am I. Then I supposed we should...we should go together. Protest the idea that parties are just for couples."
Timothy smiled. He tried to fight the instinct to look at the dog.
Not knowing that eye contact barely mattered to Rebel's kind.
Nope. All that did was show Rebel what a fearful thought was.
==ROTF==
Martha had run back to the TARDIS.
She had just-
She had just seen the Doctor-
And that matron-
Martha couldn't believe it. She had seen it over the months, ofcourse, that the Doctor and the matron had grown closer. That hadn't made seeing it any easier.
She turned on the Doctor's message again. She searched the rules for it, for that one rule to explain what she needed to do.
"Four. You. Don't let me abandon you-"
"That's no good. What about the stuff you didn't tell me?" Martha pleaded with the screen. It continued on with the list of rules, unaffected by her distress. "What about women? Oh no, you didn't think of that. What in hell am I supposed to do then?"
The Doctor on the screen just smiled, grateful. "Thank you."
"You had to, didn't you? You had to go and fall in love with a human." Martha drooped as the video came to an end. "And it wasn't me."
In an enraged fluster, Martha stormed back out the TARDIS.
As she did, Martha missed the message playing automatically.
"-The Doctor is going to do something really stupid. Just know it's not going to last." Came Terra's voice. "I want to thank you. For all you're going to do to help us. I...um...yeah. So...you're uhh...you're gonna do great."
The video cut off.
The TARDIS powered down once again.
==ROTF==
Timothy was looking at the Doctor's watch again. He could hear voices coming from it. Wise, ancient voices that revealed the truth of the universe. Timothy couldn't stop listening to them.
He heard footsteps. Looking up, he spotted Baines walking in the woods. He saw a man join, Mister Clarke if he recalled correctly. Also approaching was a little girl holding a red balloon-
"Never met a red balloon I liked." A girl spoke, her voice American. Terra was there- laughing with her.
"Still not taking you to meet the demon clown."
"You hate me."
"Just a tinsy bit."
Timothy came back to himself to see a little girl skipping towards Baines and Mr Clarke. They all turned towards Timothy. He stiffened on the bench. They tilted their heads, before sniffing.
Yes that was setting off warning bells.
==ROTF==
Caroline was cleaning Rebel's coat. He was lucky he didn't have fleas, the overgrown roly-poly. She was as ready as she could be for the dance, wearing a darker green fancy dress that she had found in her trunks.
She was aware that in the next room her uncle was with the matron. She had been informed upon entry that they were going to the dance together, something Caroline could have gone without knowing.
Rebel yelped.
Caroline flinched back, holding up her hands. "Tangle?" Rebel whined, flopping onto the ground. Caroline blew out a long breath. "Yeah...this is gonna take awhile." She complained to herself. She sat back up, clicking her tongue. Rebel pushed himself back to his feet. "Okay...minding the tangles." She ran the brush over his fur again.
Martha threw her door open. "They've found us!"
Caroline yelped, pulling the brush too fast.
Rebel whined loudly from pain.
"Sorry." Caroline apologized. She turned to Martha. "What-"
Martha grabbed her arm, pulling Caroline to her feet. She dragged her into John's room. A confused matron stood behind an annoyed John.
"Martha, I've warned you." John scolded her.
"They've found us, and I've seen them." Martha explained, her eyes wide with panic. Caroline was inclined to believe anything Martha was saying right now. It sounded outlandish and like something from her dreams, but she was inclined to believe it all the same. "They look like people, like us, like normal. I'm sorry, but you've got to open the watches."
Martha ran over to John's mantle. She stopped, tense and scared. Caroline tried to see what she must be searching for, seeing nothing on the mantle.
"Where are they?" Martha questioned. "Oh, my God. Where've they gone? Where're the watches?"
"What are you talking about?" John asked, perplexed.
"You had two watches: one silver one gold." She slapped her palm onto the mantle. "Two fob watches. Right there."
"Did I? I don't remember." John answered, confused.
"They sound pretty." Caroline added in, trying to be helpful for Martha.
"I can't see what concern it is of yours." The matron added in to Martha.
Caroline narrowed her eyes, trying not to be rude.
"But we need those." Martha ran her hand on her head. "Oh, my God, Doctor, we're hiding from aliens, and they've got Jenny and they've possessed her or copied her or something, and you've got to tell me, where's the watch?" She insisted.
Caroline stepped forward. "Ma-"
Before she could even utter a word, her uncle stepped in. "Oh, I see. Cultural differences. It must be so confusing for you. Martha, this is what we call a story."
Carlisle was too busy being offended at being interrupted to be offended at what he'd said. She would get offended by both, just give her a moment.
"Oh you complete-" Martha seethed. "This is not you. This is 1913." She presses her hand to her face.
"Good. This is 1913." John nodded, speaking down to Martha.
And wasn't that just Caroline's limit. How dare he speak so lowly of Martha, stereotype her and her kind as superstitious naive fools. Had he no respect for her grandparents? For the homeland of her dad? He dared to speak negatively of Martha in front of Martha in front of Caroline?
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but I've got to snap you out of this." Martha excused. She slapped John in the face. Caroline yelped, clapping her hands over her mouth.
She loved Martha so much.
"Martha!" The matron gasped.
"Wake up!" Martha yelled in John's face. He only stared, confounded. Martha pointed at him.. "You-" She turned to Caroline, teaching for her hand. "-and you are coming back to the TARDIS with me."
Caroline loved her.
She loved Martha.
That's...
That was...
What.
"How dare, how dare you." John snapped. He walked up, pushing himself between Martha and Caroline. The teen was still stunned by her revelation, too stunned to pay attention to what was going on. "I'm not going anywhere with an insane servant, and neither is my niece! Martha, you are dismissed.
"No." Caroline pleaded. "Uncle she didn't mean anything-"
"You will leave these premises immediately." John barreled through. He grabbed Martha by the arm. "Now get out!" He threw Martha out into the hall.
Caroline almost snarled.
Rebel- rushing to Caroline's side- actually did.
"Caroline, control your dog!" John snapped.
Caroline glared. "You are not my boss!" She stormed out of the room. Rebel followed.
"The nerve of it. The absolute cheek." John huffed. He shook his head, frustrated. He ran his hand in his hair. "You think I'm a fantasist? What about her? Caroline as well, I've never seen her like that."
"The funny thing is, you did have fob watches, right there." The matron pointed to the mantle. "Don't you remember?"
John looked over, confused.
In the hall, Caroline was coming to another startling conclusion.
==ROTF==
As Martha ran out of the school, she bumped into Timothy.
"Oh, sorry!" She apologized.
Timothy caught a flash. Martha, wearing a red jacket, orange shirt, and trousers. He saw Terra smiling at Martha.
"Sorry." She apologized as he came back.
"Martha?" Timothy asked, at the vision of her very much in future times.
"Not now, Tim. Busy!" Martha called back. She continued running off. She had to get to the TARDIS.
Timothy watched in confusion. More so when a minute later, Caroline ran out with Rebel on her tail. She seemed a million miles away. From what Timothy had seen, maybe she was. "Caroline?"
"Martha." She panted. "He- he was rude to Martha. I have to say sorry."
Timothy tilted his head. "You? Why you?"
"It's- I just do!" Caroline snapped. Timothy took a step back. Her face fell. "I'm sorry. I- I'm so sorry I don't- I didn't mean it."
"I know." Timothy replied. Caroline let out a long breath, turning into a white in the cold night. "Did you still want to go to the dance?"
Caroline squares her shoulders back. She put on a big smile. "Yes."
Timothy had seen that look on Terra's face dozens of times.
==ROTF==
Timothy and Caroline were approaching the dance hall just as John and the matron were. Caroline pointedly avoided looking towards her uncle.
Inside, the party was in full swing.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Please take your partners for a waltz." The host announced.
Rebel perked up at the music playing. Caroline smiled, reaching down to stroke his head. Timothy walked off, feeling something off in the air here.
Caroline sat herself down at a table. She sat back in the seat, listening to the music that played. Rebel hopped up in the seat beside her. Caroline laughed, ruffling his neck. Rebel beamed.
As the dance continued on, Caroline stayed at the table. Before long someone joined her at the table. She sat up as the matron took a seat.
"Hello, Caroline." The matron greeted.
Caroline kept herself composed. "Good evening Matron."
"John hadn't mentioned you were coming to the dance." The matron mused.
Caroline hummed. "I hadn't told him."
"You left quite suddenly earlier." The matron noted.
Caroline looked towards her dog. The dog tilted his head at her. "Rebel needed a walk." She lied, quite blatantly.
The matron sighed. "I understand that you're upset about the maid-"
Caroline turned up her nose at the matron.
"You have to underst-oh no." The matron sighed.
Caroline looked up. Martha was walking towards their table. Caroline turned her head back towards Rebel, trying to ignore how elated she felt to see Martha there again.
"Please, don't. Not again." The matron pleaded with Martha.
Martha pulled out a chair, putting it besides the matron to look her in the eyes. "He's different from any other man you've ever met, right? And so is she?"
The matron glanced at Caroline. "Yes."
"And sometimes they say these strange things, like people and places you've never heard of, yeah?" Martha prompted.
Caroline looked down at her hands, clasping them together in her lap to hide the fidgeting.
"But it's deeper than that. Sometimes when you look in his eyes you know, you just know that there's something else in there. Something hidden. Right behind the eyes, something hidden away in the dark." Martha warned.
"I don't know what you mean." The matron lied.
"Yes, you do. I don't mean to be rude, but the awful thing is it doesn't even matter what you think." Martha told the matron plainly. Coldly, one might also say. Yet still something in Caroline wanted to applaud her. "But you're nice. And you're lucky. And I just wanted to say sorry for what I'm about to do."
She leaned back in her seat, waiting.
Caroline spotted her uncle over Martha's shoulder. She sat up straighter, daring her uncle to say anything again.
The professor only glared down at Martha. A man at the end of his patience, anyone could see. "Oh, now really, Martha. This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave."
Martha held up a silver stick with a blue tip, and a-
Caroline found she couldn't look away at what Martha was holding.
A simple messenger bag.
It was old, yes. The fabric held strong despite that. The front was covered in colorful metal circles, of things Caroline didn't understand. She felt something inside her click into realization at seeing that.
It had been in her dreams.
All of them.
Over and over again.
"Do you know what this is? Name it." Martha challenged.
An Infinity Bag.
A bag that was bigger on the inside.
Terra Johnson hid so much in that Bag. She carried it with her everywhere. Those buttons were of some of her favorite places she had gone. Caroline could correctly guess which ones had dried blood still on them.
"Go on, name it." Martha challenged.
Caroline's words were stuck in her throat.
Rebel whined. He hopped from his chair, wrapping himself around Caroline.
"John, Caroline, what are those silly things?" The matron asked. Neither John or Caroline said anything. They stared at the objects. "John?"
John took the screwdriver.
Caroline took the bag.
If something inside her finally felt whole with it there, she wouldn't admit it.
She knew what was inside.
Knew the destruction one could wreck with any one thing from it.
Terra Johnson could end the world with this Bag.
Caroline hid her shudder. Her fingers clenched again on the bag.
"You're not John Smith. You're not Caroline Brown." Martha explained. Caroline could only stare at Terra's bag. "You're called the Doctor, and you're Terra Johnson. The people in your journals, they're real. They're you."
Caroline wanted to say no.
She wanted to reject Terra Johnson.
She wanted to do so badly.
But this bag...this bag in her hands made all the sense in the world.
She could almost hear the noise of the screwdriver.
It was hard to ignore things like that.
The doors to the dance hall were thrown open. Caroline jumped back, throwing the bag onto her shoulder in a distance instinct.
"There will be silence!" A man shouted as he walked into the hall. Behind him walked in the student Baines, and the other maid Jenny. Their faces were much colder than before. Dark smirks on their faces. Caroline saw the smirk in her worst of nightmares, from the cruelest humans who sought joy in the havoc they left behind. It scared Terra, but set her off for a fight. "All of you!"
The dancers of the party weren't silent, of course. They screamed and fretted and panicked. They ran around the party hall, scared. They searched for exits. Each way out was blocked by walking scarecrows.
"I said, silence!" The man ordered.
"Mister Clarke, what's going on?" The host of the party asked.
The man turned around, raising a weapon at the host. With one shot the host disintegrated in front of them.
The whole room lit up in screams.
"Mister Smith? Miss Brown?" Martha turned to them. She yanked the sonic out of John's hand, tucking it into her pocket. "Everything I told you, just forget it! Don't say anything." She reached for the Bag.
Caroline slapped her hand back. Her eyes were wide in shock at the action. But she wouldn't let anyone touch her stuff. Martha looked just as surprised.
"We asked for silence!" Baines shouted. The hall quieted. Martha herself stepped back, looking towards the ground. Caroline held tight to her bag. Rebel took a protective stance at her side. "Now then, we have a few questions for Mister Smith and Miss Brown."
"No, better than that." A little girl walked up, her red balloon floating above her. "The teacher and the girl. He's the Doctor and she is Terra. I heard them talking." The little girl revealed.
The smile on Baines took a more pitying smugness. "You took human forms." He cooed, as if John and Caroline were two pets that had done a clever trick.
"Of course I'm human. I was born human, as was Caroline, as were you, Baines." John scolded. "And Jenny, and you, Mister Clark. What is going on? This is madness." Her uncle ranted.
"Ooo, and human brains, too. Simple, thick and dull." Baines mocked.
Rebel growled.
"Rebel no!" Caroline instructed.
"But they're no good like this." Jenny pouted.
"We need a Time Lord. Either of them would do." Mr Clarke stated.
"Easily done." Baines stepped forward, raising a weapon at them. Caroline's hand clenched around her bag. "Change back."
"I don't know what you're talking about." John replied, panicked.
"Nor do I!" Caroline stated. She hadn't wanted to be shot, but for now it seemed like Baines and this lot bought into the-
The Family.
This was the Family.
I wrote about them in my journal.
Mr Clarke, Father-of-Mine.
Jenny, Mother-of-Mine.
Little Lucy Cartwright, Daughter-of-Mine
And Baines, Son-of-Mine. The worst out of the lot.
Terra Johnson felt about Son-of-Mine in the same way James Kirk felt towards Khan Noonien Singh.
That would've meant anything if Caroline knew who any of those people were.
"Change back!" Son-of-Mine commanded them.
"I literally do not know-" John explained desperately.
"Please just let everyone leave-" Caroline pleaded at the same time.
She heard a yelp.
Caroline snapped her head over.
Mother-of-Mine had a gun to Martha's head.
Caroline went cold, frozen in place staring. Martha didn't even seem scared. She fought against it, but never once did Martha's fierceness fade into fear.
Why couldn't my dreams have been about someone like that?
Instead of Terra Johnson?
"Get off me!" Martha commanded. She shook against the headlock Mother-of-Mine had on her neck.
"Let her go!" Caroline pleaded. She hadn't been able to handle thinking about mourning her uncle, if she lost Martha she wouldn't know what to do. She might even turn into Terra Johnson. The furious and protective, gun slinging, mad American who would destroy worlds for the sake of her friends.
"She's your friend, isn't she?" Mother-of-Mine taunted. "Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?"
But Martha wasn't Caroline's friend.
She was Martha.
That was much better than being Terra's friend.
Martha was amazing all by herself.
If she were gone...Caroline knew it would bring Terra back out.
"I don't know what you mean!"
"You let her go!" Caroline ordered. Rebel growled again. Caroline was too focused on Mother-of-Mine to tell him to stand down.
"Wait a minute. The maid told me about Smith and the Matron." Mother-of-Mine recalled. Martha winced in her hold. "That woman, there."
"Then let's have you." The matron was suddenly taken from the table. A gun aimed by Father-of-Mine pointed at her head. She was much more startled then Martha. She looked at the situation with fear in her eyes- ones that went immediately to John's.
Martha's eyes hadn't gone to Caroline.
Caroline hadn't wanted to look anywhere else.
"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor, Terra, being human? Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser?" Baines asked, mocking them if his tone was any hint. "Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill?"
Neither.
You.
I don't care.
Let Martha go.
"Maid or matron?"
I hope Terra kills you.
Just let Martha go.
"Your friend or your lover?"
Please just let Martha go.
"Your choice."
MARTHA!
==ROTF==
AN: I. Loved. This. Chapter. Something about...angst in another century. It's so *chefs kiss*.
Okay, I'm trying to be more active on my tumblr blog (authora97writingupdates) and the instagram (authora97) account. I ask questions and post pictures on both, so if you wanna see what the next Terra looks like take a gander.