The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday – Chapter 66
A/N: Okay, here's the first chapter of The Family of Blood. John's not going to like a lot of those revelations in this chapter. And I'm so sorry for the delay in this update. Honestly, I've been really unmotivated to write in the last few months, and that's why this chapter took so long to come, but hopefully you enjoy!
Replies to Reviews: Down at the bottom.
Warnings: Language, Racism, Dark Themes etc.
The Family of Blood: East of Eden
"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor? Being human? Has it taught you wonderful things, having the love of a beautiful woman? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then, let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or the Mrs? Your friend… or your wife? Your choice."
"Make your decision, Mr Smith." Jenny smirked.
"No!" John lurched forwards and Rhea cursed him under her breath. "Don't hurt her! I don't know what you're talking about! Please, please, just… I… just tell me what you mean, I'll give you anything you want, just please, let her go."
John stared at her, his heart clearly broken, silently pleading with Rhea to make everything better, to confess that it was all a joke so that they could carry on and dance the night away, to make him understand what was going on so that he could give them whatever they wanted and have them set her free. As if she were capable of that. On a good day.
Timothy reached into his jacket pocket and slowly pulled out his watch.
"Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge." Baines crowed.
Timothy opened the watch.
"Time Lord…" The watch said, hushed.
Rhea closed her eyes in disbelief. Oh, hell.
"It's him!" Baines exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.
"Okay, look," Rhea drawled, rolling her eyes, and everyone's eyes were immediately drawn to her. "He's miserably clueless, but I-"
Rhea dipped her body, twisting her head underneath the arm that was locked around her neck and freeing her body from the man's grip. She twisted the arm that had pinned her behind his back, revelling in his scream of pain, and heard the sharp snap of the bone breaking, grinning, viciously. She slammed her forearm down on the man's throat, using all of her weight, and shoved him to the floor, his back cracking as it met the tiled floor.
She smirked, spinning on her heel, and tugging her gun out of her harem pants, aiming at the rest of the Family, who remained shocked by the sudden strength and skill she had just shown.
"I survived being tortured for five years straight by my bastard of a husband and serving under an assassin for three goddamn years and I didn't put myself through all that hell to die at the hands of a bunch of psychotic body jumpers in 1913." Rhea snarled.
Out of the corner of her eye, she barely registered John staring at her with absolute disbelief and terror and she heard him gasp out her name in shock.
Okay, reality check time. And drama queen much?
Rhea looked over to Jenny and Martha, staring at the latter, expectantly, and the younger woman smirked. Martha drove her elbow into Jenny's gut and her arm loosened around Martha. She slammed her foot down on Jenny's feet and snatched Jenny's gun away from her, point it at her as well, joining Rhea's side.
"I taught you well, young Padawan." Rhea teased, approvingly, and Martha grinned at her. She turned back at the Family. "Let's not try anything that stupid ever again, okay." She purred. Her eyes flashed bright green. "Otherwise, I can assure you, you will all end up dead."
"The maid and the missus are full of fire!" Baines smirked.
"Yeah, well, I'm Italian, honey. It comes with the territory." Rhea grinned.
She raised an eyebrow in challenge and smiled, aiming her blaster at Mr Clarke, the man who had been holding her hostage, and shooting once, the flash of light hitting him directly in the forehead and sending him to the floor, dead.
Baines and Jenny started, shocked by the sudden action, and Baines looked at John, who was looking completely out of his depth, stunned by what he had just witnessed his wife do. Joan bit her lip and went to stand beside the Doctor.
"If you're going to shoot, shoot." Rhea rolled her eyes. "Don't talk, moron." She looked at John out of the corner of her eye. "John, honey, would you mind getting everyone out. There's a door at the side. It's over there. Go on!" She said, sweetly.
John stood indecisive. "But Rhea-" He began to protest, fear for her flashing in his eyes.
"Do it, John. Now!" She said, sharply, thoroughly finished with pleasantries.
Joan swallowed hard, seeing the danger in Rhea's eyes and wondered what sort of demon was possessing her. She had just witnessed the woman do impossible things. Use violence against a man, snatch a gun away from him and shoot a man dead all in the span of a few minutes. This woman couldn't be human. She just couldn't be.
"Do what she said. Everybody out now." Joan began to usher everyone out. "Don't argue, Mr Jackson. They're mad." Rhea and Martha rolled her eyes. "That's all we need to know. Susan, Miss Cooper, outside, all of you!"
"Do you think if I put her in a coma, the Doctor would be mad?" Rhea whispered to Martha.
"I really want to say no, but I think he would be." Martha whispered back.
They grinned at each other.
The villagers exited the hall through the front door, screaming.
John looked at Timothy, who had remained stationary. "Move yourself, boy. Back to the school, quickly." He said, hurriedly.
"I thought I told you to get out of here." Rhea said, sharply.
John stared at her, not knowing what to think of his sweet wife that had just transformed into a hellish dame. But, she was still his wife and he'd be damned before he left her here. "I refuse to leave you here alone with these mad people." He said, furiously.
Rhea tensed. "John, honey, your protectiveness is usually endearing – and slightly misogynistic – on a good day, but right now, it's just getting on my nerves. So, why don't you escort your lady friend to safety?"
John looked to the door, then to Rhea, observing that Martha had no intention of leaving Rhea to the mercies of those strange people, and then decided to head out of the hall, making the decision to wait out in the corridor until Rhea came out. He came out into the corridor and walked out of the hall to direct everyone who was currently gathered outside.
"Mr Hicks, go to the village. Get everyone out. Latimer, get back to the school. Tell the headmaster-"
"Don't touch me!" Timothy snapped. "You're just as bad as them!" And he ran off in the direction of the school.
Martha tightened her grip on the handle of the gun, pushing Jenny away and letting her shoulders fall back, the same way Rhea had taught her how to shoot a gun.
"Don't try anything. I'm warning you, or sonny boy gets it." Martha said, sharply, amazed at the way she was able to keep her voice straight and unshaking.
"She's almost brave, this one." Baines mused.
And the Family slowly advanced on the two women.
"I should have taken her form. Much more fun. So much spirit." Jenny smirked.
Rhea rolled her eyes. It's like the trash talk never changes for any of these aliens. "So, tell me something, what happened to Jenny? Is she dead?"
"She is consumed. Her body's mine. And she went with precious little dignity. All that screaming."
Suddenly, Rhea saw something move out of the corner of her eye and turned to see a scarecrow grab Martha from behind, the girl screaming as she dropped her gun. Rhea narrowed her eyes and raised the gun, landing one shot of the blaster on the scarecrow and allowing it to fall to the ground, dead. She decided that there were much more important things to worry about at the current moment than to kill all of the Family and grabbed onto Martha's wrist, tugging her from the room. She could always kill them later.
She had to find the watch.
She needed the Doctor.
Rhea and Martha ran out of the door to the hall and saw John and Joan simply standing there, waiting for them.
"I thought I told you to get out of here!" Rhea snapped. She turned to Martha. "You remember that, don't you? I wasn't just saying that in my head? I told him to get out of here."
"He's rubbish as a human." Martha shook her head.
"No, he's a fucking idiot." Rhea muttered under her breath.
"You're never going to let him live this down, are you?" Martha smirked, knowingly.
Rhea laughed. "No chance in hell, Dr Quinn." She said, bumping her hip with Martha's.
They finally reached John and Joan and Rhea grabbed John's hand, running as fast as she could.
The Doctor, Rhea, Martha and Joan arrived breathless at the school. The Doctor closed the heavy wooden main door behind them. Once inside the school's front hall, he immediately began ringing a bell.
"What are you doing?" Rhea asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together. Take arms! Take arms!" John said, furiously.
"Don't you dare, John." Rhea said, sharply. "We don't have time for this. We have to find the watch and get back to the TARDIS. Now." She snarled.
"Enough," John ordered her, coldly, having absolutely no patience to treat her sweetly at the moment. "I have no time for your hysterics."
Of all the words to use, he just had to use that one.
Rhea's jaw dropped and she felt the rage swell up inside of her, burning her stomach. "My hysterics?" She spat, advancing on him, her fists clenched.
Come now, Mrs Moretti, don't you think this is all just a bit dramatic?
Your husband is a model citizen, ma'am. I can't believe him capable of such… cruelty.
Mrs Moretti, you realise that lying about such things… it can have serious consequences for your husband. Surely you don't want that?
It's okay, ma'am. Everything will be alright. All you have to do is just take this pill and everything will go away.
She had never wanted to hurt him so badly.
"You want me to fight, don't you?" John snapped and Rhea hitched in a breath when she saw the anger and pain in his eyes. "Take arms! Take arms!"
Rhea rounded on Martha. "The next time the Doctor tells me to trust him or to take care of him, I'm telling him to 'go directly to hell'." She hissed.
Boys began to rush down the stairs, marching so that they were standing right in front of John.
"I say, sir, what's the matter?" Hutchinson asked, curiously.
"Enemy at the door, Hutchinson. Enemy at the door. Take arms!"
The boys began to load machine guns and other weapons while John strode around to all of the congregated groups, all the while clutching Rhea's wrist and keeping her close at his side.
"Can you at least let go of me so I can go and find the watch?" Rhea offered, not wanting to actually injure John so that she could get her wrist free.
If anything, her suggestion did quite the opposite and he rounded on her, his grip tightening, his ire threatening to overwhelm him. "Madam, if I let you out of my sight, I have a feeling that you will do something incredibly foolish." He growled. "You're obviously not feeling well, but I don't have time for this right now."
Rhea laughed, bitterly. "Yes, because 'not feeling well' or 'hysterics' is the only way to explain why a woman would possibly disagree with you." She shook her head, disbelievingly. "Of all the people in this world, I never thought you'd be a misogynist."
"I am not a misogynist!" John protested.
Rhea took a deep breath and willed her anger away. Touched nerves aside, she couldn't-wouldn't let her baggage interfere in the mission the Doctor had given her. She would deal with what he had said, all the memories it had brought up, all the anger that had awakened, later. After everyone was safe and they weren't under the threat of the pod people in the village.
"You are the Doctor, John." Rhea said, quietly. "I know it's hard to believe and none of this makes any sense, but that is the truth. Now, you can say whatever you like about me. You can call me a lunatic, you can threaten to put me in an asylum if you want," Her face tightened, significantly. "But I have a job to do and it involves making sure you live long enough to open that goddamn watch. And if I have to knock you out to protect you, I will do so. So, if you really want to keep an eye on me, I'd trust me and help me look for the watch."
John stared down at her, his face pained and fearful.
"It's my job to protect you." He said, earnestly. "I can't very well do that if I let you gallivant around the school when those… monsters… could invade at any time." His voice was fierce with determination. "I don't understand anything that is going on here. But I know you well enough to know that you at least believe what you are saying, and that worries me the most. But I can't tend to you right now. You say you have your duty, but I have one to this school now."
Rhea turned to Martha, once John walked away, who was leaning against the wall, the slightest bit of humour in her gaze as she watched Rhea being dragged around like some naughty child. "He needs to be alive to turn back into the Doctor, right?" She asked, slowly, as if she didn't know the answer.
Martha nodded. "Afraid so." She said, sympathetically.
"Great." Rhea muttered under her breath.
"Maintain position over the stable yard." John ordered the boys.
"They're just boys! You can't ask them to fight!" Martha protested, stepping up to Rhea's side.
"Faster, now! That's it!" John ignored Martha.
"They don't stand a chance!" Martha hissed.
"They're cadets, Miss Jones. They are trained to defend the King and all his properties." John said, tightly.
The Headmaster stormed into the room.
"What in thunder's name is this? 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?"
John straightened. "Headmaster, I have to report the school is under attack."
The Headmaster raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really? Is that so? Perhaps you and I should have a word in private."
"I promise you, sir. I was in the village with my wife and Matron. It's Baines, sir. Jeremy Baines and Mr Clark from Oakham Farm. They've gone mad, sir. They've got guns. They've already murdered people in the village. I saw it happen." John said, sternly, leaving out the part where his wife and maid had snatched the guns from the mad people and his wife had shot one of them.
The Headmaster turned to Joan. "Matron, is that so?"
Joan nodded, chancing a quick look at Rhea, who remained stone-faced. "I'm afraid it's true, sir."
"Murder on our own soil?"
"I saw it, yes."
The Headmaster nodded, thoughtfully. "Perhaps you did well then, Mr Smith. What makes you thing the danger's coming here?"
"Well, sir, they said, um..." John trailed off.
Joan pursed her lips. "Baines threatened Mr Smith, sir. Um, said he'd follow him. We don't know why." Although, she guessed that Mrs Smith and her maid knew exactly why.
"Very well. You boys, remain on guard. Mr Snell, telephone the police. Mr Philips, with me. We shall investigate." The Headmaster ordered.
Rhea cursed under her breath and stepped forwards, stopping the Headmaster from moving. "No, it's not safe out there." She said, coldly, wondering exactly why she was trying to protect the bastard who had sexually assaulted Martha. She should be ripping his throat out with her nails.
The Doctor had made her soft.
"Mr Smith, it seems your wife is giving me advice. You will restrain her, sir." The Headmaster said, sharply.
Rhea's lip curled. "He has been restraining me. Otherwise, I'd have gutted a rapist like you months ago. No more." She said, ominously.
It was mere seconds before a small blade was slipping into her hand and she was lashing out, burying it in the Headmaster's carotid artery. The Headmaster's eyes bulged out of their sockets, as he desperately clutched at the side of his neck, as if to shove the blood back inside, as it spilled out at an alarming rate. After a few moments, there was the tell-tale death rattle in the Headmaster's throat and he choked one final time, his corpse falling to the ground.
"That is what men like you deserve." She hummed.
Martha simply trembled, remembering the terror she had felt when the Headmaster had pinned her against the wall. "Um, Rhea…" She didn't know whether to thank Rhea or recoil at the sudden act of brutality.
"Leave it alone." Rhea said, flatly. "I promised you he would die and now he is dead." She paused, her eyes softening when they fell on Martha. "It wasn't rash, Martha. I promise. He would have done something stupid and led the Family right to the Doctor." Her brow furrowed. "I won't have that." She said, simply, her face devoid of emotion, but fierce in her righteousness.
"But Rhea-" Martha protested.
"Enough." Rhea said, coldly. "If more men feared a punishment like the one I just dealt, women wouldn't have to fear their own shadow. This was justice."
"You just murdered someone! In cold blood." Nurse Redfern snapped, taking a step back away from her in horror, flinching at the sight of an emotionless Rhea who didn't even seem to regret what she had just done. A blood-chilling fear rushed through her as she wondered whether this woman was insane, like they kept saying she was, or simply some demon sent to rip the skin from their bones. "What kind of monster are you?" She spat out, her eyes wide with terror and false bravado.
"Yes, I did." Rhea turned to look at her, blankly. "I'm the kind of monster who really doesn't like men who think it's okay to put their hands on women who don't want them to. So, I killed him. Do you have a problem with that?" She challenged. "And you want to be very careful about what you say next. Because there is a special place in hell for women who defend men like him." She said, coldly, her eyes fiercer than ice.
"Rhea, this is- I cannot stand for this. This is beyond-" John stammered, his heart jumping into his throat at the sight of the corpse that lined the floor in front of his wife. "What have you done, Rhea?" He snapped, looking at her as if he had never seen her before in his life.
"Look," Rhea huffed, shoving down the part of her that broke at his horrified and disbelieving gaze. This is who I am, alien boy. Now tell me if you love me. She thought, bitterly. "I get that I've mortally offended you, but I don't have time for this. Can you please save the judgment until after all of hell hasn't rained down on us? We have better things to do right now than for me to stand here and listen to your stupid, black-and-white, sexist lectures about morality and rape." Rhea sighed and unpinned her hair, letting the long curls fall down her back. She ran her hands through it and sighed. "We have to find that stupid watch."
She and Martha headed out of the room, while John was otherwise occupied, and Joan followed, reluctantly, shying away from Rhea as much as she possibly could. Running down the hallway, they passed Timothy, who was hiding in a small alcove, listening to the Doctor's voice coming from the watch.
"Hold me. Keep me safe. Keep me dark. Keep me closed. The time is not right. Not yet. Not while the Family is abroad. Danger!"
John looked up when the Deputy Headmaster entered the room, his mind on edge as he wondered exactly where Rhea had run off to amidst all of the panic. This wasn't the time for her to be strolling somewhere. He needed her at his side so that he could make sure she was safe.
"Mr Philips has been murdered, Mr Smith. Can you tell me why?" The Deputy Headmaster asked, coldly, his stern face pinched.
"Honestly, sir, I have no idea. And the telephone line's been disconnected. We're on our own." John told him.
Perhaps he would burn for the lie he had just told, but it was a better outcome than his wife being carted off to prison.
What line wouldn't he cross for that woman?
The Deputy Headmaster nodded. "If we have to make a fight of it, then make a fight we shall. 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 cried out in unison.
The Deputy Headmaster walked out of the room and the boys filed out to help with the defences.
"Right. Get on. Let's get moving."
Outside, the other teachers were directing the boys as they prepared for the attack.
"Sandbags to the north and west." One of the teachers ordered.
"...stables in case of..." John instructed.
"Load the spare magazines with bullets." The Deputy Headmaster growled.
"Quickly now! Take the magazine cut-off out!" Hutchinson shouted.
"That's it. We need water for the Vickers gun. See to it. Faster! All of you, faster!" The Deputy Headmaster shouted.
"Lockley, when firing commences, you're in charge of the gallery." John told the boy.
"Peterson, that is not acceptable. Report to your senior officer."
Martha and Rhea were in John's office with Joan, both of them avidly searching for any sign of the fob watch.
"I know it sounds mad, but when the Doctor became human, he took the alien part of himself and stored it inside the watch. It's not really a watch, it just looks like a watch." Martha told Joan.
"And alien means... not from abroad, I take it." Joan said, hesitantly, making sure she stayed a comfortable distance away from the gun-toting she-devil in the blue dress.
"Wait, I have a question," Rhea said, suddenly, and Martha looked at her, questioningly. "Why are we telling her any of this?" She demanded.
Martha rolled her eyes. "Because, like it or not, she's a part of this now." She patted Rhea on the hand, comfortingly.
"If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have to put up with any of this. I hate him." Rhea grumbled. "I hate him so much. I'm gonna punch him in his stupid face when he comes back."
Martha shook her head, smiling to herself. At least Rhea was the same, no matter what. She turned back to Joan, who was staring at Rhea with unconcealed horror. "The man you call John Smith...he was born on another world."
"A different species." Joan nodded.
"Yes." Rhea said, sharply.
Joan turned to her. "Then tell me, in this fairy tale... who are you?" She asked, curiously, viciously.
Rhea started to mutter something under her breath in furious Italian, and Martha heard the word stronza being thrown around a lot, and while she didn't know any Italian, from the look on the older woman's face, she didn't think it was anything particularly nice.
"You know, it is quite rude to speak in a language that the other people in the room do not understand." Joan said, sternly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You need to shut up," Rhea said, warningly, and she straightened, her eyes flashing bright green. "Let me tell you something, Joan, a bullet sounds the same in every fucking language, so stick a fucking sock in it, you cow!" She snarled and Joan reeled back in shock, her hands trembling from absolute and utter fear, remembering how shamelessly and guiltlessly Rhea had reached out and snapped the Headmaster's neck. "You saw how I killed the Headmaster earlier, right? Don't think I won't do the same thing to you if you make me angry." She said, coldly, her possessiveness over the Doctor and John rushing at her all at once. "John or the Doctor, he's mine, sweetheart. Don't think you have a shot with him, human or Time Lord." She growled.
Joan swallowed hard, a little scared by the anger burning in Rhea's eyes. She turned to Martha. "And you?"
"Just a friend." Martha rolled her eyes. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't fancy him. I'll leave his high maintenance self to Rhea, thank you very much." Rhea smacked Martha's arm. "I'm just their friends."
"You're both human, I take it?" Joan asked, her voice clipped.
Martha smirked. "Human, don't worry, and more than that, I just don't follow them around." She gestured to Rhea, who grinned at her. "I'm training to be a doctor, not an alien doctor, a proper doctor, a doctor of medicine."
Joan rolled her eyes. "Well, that certainly is nonsense. Women might train to be doctors, but hardly a skivvy and hardly one of your colour."
Rhea gritted her teeth. She turned to Martha, pleadingly. "Can I hit her? Just once? I won't even bruise her. Just once, though."
Martha scowled. "Oh, d'you think?" She licked her teeth and paused, trying to figure out how to prove it. Her eyes lit up. "Bones of the hand." She held up left hand and pointed to each. "Carpal bones, proximal row; scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform. Distal row: trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate. Then, the metacarpal bones extending in three distinct phalanges: proximal, middle, distal."
Joan swallowed hard, a little stunned by the specificity of her knowledge. "You read that in a book." She said, weakly, trying faintly to undermine the woman, who had seemed to inferior to her just moments ago.
Martha laughed, harshly. "Yes, to pass my exams."
"And you?" Joan turned, sharply, to Rhea, who was watching Martha with thinly guised pride. "I suppose you are also one of these new-fangled doctors?" She raised an eyebrow, as if she would not be able to believe it even if Rhea said yes.
"Well, I'm not a doctor of medicine, but I am a doctor." Rhea's voice was as sweet as honey. "I'm a doctor of psychology."
Joan shook her head. "That's not possible." She protested.
"Well, unlike you, I don't need to validate myself by making other people feel inferior." Rhea said, matter-of-factly. "I know exactly what I am and who I am. I have an amazing degree from one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and I did it all on my own merit. I don't need someone like you to make myself feel better."
"Can't you see this is true?" Martha asked Joan, desperately.
"I must go." Joan said, suddenly, heading for the door, thoroughly shaken by what Martha and Rhea had just revealed to her.
"Is it so hard for you to comprehend the fact that white people may not always rule the world?" Rhea called out, just the slightest bit spitefully, and then smiled to herself with glee.
Martha hit her on the arm, silently asking her to stop baiting the nurse, much to Rhea's annoyance.
"If we find that watch, we can stop them." Rhea said, much gentler.
Joan swallowed hard. "Those boys are going to fight. I might not be a doctor, but I'm still their nurse. They need me."
And she walked out, leaving Martha and Rhea alone in the office.
"There you are." John exclaimed, as Rhea walked back into the room where all of the boys were preparing for battle. "Where have you been?"
"Well, I thought since it's such a nice night out that I'd go for a drink." Rhea said, sarcastically.
"You don't have to be snide." John huffed, but his eyes were soft.
Rhea swallowed hard, her heart clenching when she saw the way his eyes looked everywhere but her. "Tell me about Nottingham."
John frowned. "Sorry?" He asked, confused.
"That's where you said we were raised. I want you to tell me about it." Rhea encouraged, placing a slim hand on John's knee.
John shrugged. "Well, it lies on the River Leen, its southern boundary following the course of the River Trent which flows from Stoke to the Humber."
Rhea smiled, sadly. "That sounds like you're reading it out of an encyclopaedia. Where did you live?" She asked.
"Broadmoor Street, adjacent to Hotley Terrace in the district of Radford Parade. You lived in Oak Lane, it was the street parallel to mine."
"But more that facts. When we were kids, where did we play? All those secret little places... hideaways that only kids know? Tell me, John. Please, tell me." She said, quietly. "Can I tell you a few things about what I remember?" She asked, slowly.
John nodded, jerkily.
"Well, I grew up in San Francisco," Rhea explained. "This town in the middle of the Santa Clara County. I went to elementary school, middle school and high school there." Rhea smiled to herself. "My dad was a lawyer and my mom owns her own flower shop." She said, proudly. "I used to work there after school a couple of days a week when I was younger." She mused. "I moved away for college, of course. I got a scholarship to Stanford University."
John shook his head. "No. None of this is-"
He made to get up, move aside, but she pulled him back down, keeping him firmly against her side.
"It's true." Rhea said, finally, reached out and taking his hands in his. "I know you don't want to accept it and if I were in your position, I probably wouldn't accept this either." She paused and licked her lips, wondering how far she was willing to go to prove to him that he was the Doctor – whether she was able to destroy every single image he had of her to do so. "When I was… seventeen… I had just finished high school, my dad had just passed away, so I went to this bar. Or pub, I suppose you guys call it. And I started to have a drink with this guy." She pursed her lips. "He was handsome and charming and intelligent and probably every girl's dream guy." She mused.
"Anyway, I ended up going home with him." Rhea murmured, watching the way that John's face transformed into an expression of disbelief, touched with horror and hurt, and even some vague jealousy. "And I never really did things like that. I mean, I'd been with my fair share of boys in my teenage years, but sleeping with a guy after one drink? That's never happened to me before." She shook her head. "Suffice it to say, that one drink thoroughly screwed up my life." She mused. "It wasn't until years after that I found out he put something in it. I ended up marrying him, can you believe that?" She rolled her eyes. "I have such great taste in men." Her eyes widened. "Not counting you, of course. You're… different." She said, as if she didn't quite believe it herself.
"You're trying to make me angry." John hissed. "You're trying to spin some absurd story so that I will believe you. Well, I don't."
"That's the thing, John," Rhea said, sadly. "It's not a story." She whispered.
"It is. It has to be." John growled. "How could it not?"
"John," Rhea sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I just killed two people in front of you and you're looking at me like I'm a monster. How does that fit into whatever picture-perfect life you think we have?" She asked, softly.
"How can you think that I'm not real?" John asked, quietly. "When I kissed you, when we made love, was that a lie?"
Rhea swallowed hard and tightened her grip around his hands. "No, it wasn't." She said, earnestly, not finding anything other fact in her life truer than those words. "It really wasn't."
"But this Doctor sounds like some... some romantic lost prince. Would you rather that? Am I not enough?" John asked, angrily.
"No." Rhea said, suddenly. "That's not true. Of course you're enough." She said, sincerely. "John…" Her shoulders slumped and she sighed. "If I were different… if I were the same Rhea that existed before that night in the bar… she would love nothing more than to choose you, I know that. But I can't be selfish here. Not with this and not with you. I have to be the martyr." She chuckled, hoarsely.
"I've got to go." John said, suddenly.
"Those boys… they're kids, John." Rhea said, slowly. "John Smith wouldn't want them to fight, never mind the Doctor. The John Smith I kissed and made love to and whose memories I wished to God were real, that the life he believed that we led was real, he knows it's wrong, doesn't he?"
"Mr Smith, if you please!" A teacher called from outside.
John smiled at her, sadly. "What choice do I have?"
He leaned down and pressed the sweetest kiss she had ever felt on her mouth, his thumb stroking over the dip in her chin.
And then, he left.
Rhea rushed over to the window, watching as, in the courtyard, the boys were standing at their guns watching the main doors.
"Stand to!" A teacher ordered.
The scarecrows pounded on the door and Rhea had the errant thought of what sort of psychopaths had scarecrows do their bidding.
"At post!" The Deputy Headmaster called out.
All of the boys aimed their guns, including John, which was a sight that was hard for Rhea to comprehend let alone watch.
"Enemy approaching, sir." She heard one of the boys urge the Deputy Headmaster.
"Steady! Find the biting point." The Deputy Headmaster advised.
The wooden bar across the gate to the school cracked apart and the scarecrows entered.
"Fire!" The Deputy Headmaster shouted.
It's no use. They'll all be killed. Rhea snarled.
The boys fired and some of the scarecrows fell but other kept coming like a never-ending army. However, John did not fire.
"Cease fire!" The Deputy Headmaster ordered and walked over to the bodies of the fallen scarecrows. His eyes widened when he observed them. "They're straw. Like he said. Straw!"
Hutchinson looked at John. "Then, no one's dead, sir? We killed no one?" He asked, hopefully.
Footsteps were heard and the Deputy Headmaster headed back for cover behind the guns.
"Stand to!" He shouted again.
Martha and Joan rushed to Rhea's side, watching the spectacle along with her.
"Oh, hell." Rhea muttered, seeing a little girl that had been by Baines' and Jenny's sides during the confrontation in the village. "She's one of the Family." She snarled.
Rhea ran from the window the second she saw the little girl approach the torrents of boys, the Deputy Headmaster and John.
"You, child, come out of the way. Come into the school. You don't know who's out there. It's the Cartwright girl, isn't it? Come here. Come to me."
"Mr Rocastle. Don't go near her." Rhea said, sharply.
The Deputy Headmaster scowled at her. "Keep quiet." He growled.
"Listen to me, she's part of it!" Martha said, encouragingly. She turned to Joan. "Matron, tell him."
Joan swallowed hard, remembering how the little girl had stood at the side of the mad people in the village hall. "I think… I don't know. I think you should stay back, Headmaster." She said, warningly.
"John." Rhea said, sharply.
"She was… she was with… with Baines in the village." John nodded, looking at Rhea, briefly.
"Mr Smith, I've seen many strange sights this night but there is no cause on God's earth that would allow me to see this child in the field of battle, sir." The Deputy Headmaster turned to the little girl. "Come with me."
Rhea sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"You're funny." The little girl giggled, her eyes gleaming.
"That's right. Now take my hand." The Deputy Headmaster held out his hand, encouragingly, to the seemingly innocent little girl.
"So funny." The little girl reached into her coat, pulled out a gun and shot the Deputy Headmaster, turning him into a pile of dust. She observed the shock-stricken boys and cocked her head. "Now who's going to shoot me, any of you, really?" She smirked.
"Well, at least, my hands are clean." Rhea mused.
John turned to the boys. "Put down your guns." He ordered and lowered his own rifle.
"But sir, the Deputy Headmaster-" Hutchinson protested.
John shook his head. "I'll not see this happen. Not anymore." Rhea looked at him, proudly, a look that made him feel as if he were the strongest man in the world. "You will retreat... in an orderly fashion back through the school. Hutchinson, lead the way." He ordered.
"But sir-"
"I said, lead the way." John said, sharply.
Baines finally arrived. "Go on, then, run!" He shouted and fired his gun into the air.
There were screams on all sides and panic as the boys retreated back into the school
Rhea growled out of her teeth. "Come on!" She snarled, grabbing John by his suit jacket and pulling him away.
Baines turned to the fallen scarecrows. "Reanimate!"
The boys ran back into the school, chased by the scarecrows, and Timothy ran upstairs. John, Rhea, Martha and Joan took the boys out via the passage through the stables.
"Let's go! Quick as you can!" John called out, ushering the boys through the passage.
"Don't go to the village! It's not safe!" Rhea shouted.
John turned to Rhea, Martha and Joan. "And you, ladies!" He insisted.
"Ha, keep dreaming." Rhea muttered, rolling her eyes.
Outside the stable, John paused before heading back. Rhea, Martha and Joan were there waiting for him.
"Now, I insist. The three of you just go. If there are any more boys inside, I'll find them." John opened the door to the passage and saw scarecrows standing just outside of it. His eyes widened and he slammed it shut, immediately, locking it behind him. He turned to Rhea, Martha and Joan, a picture of innocence and calmness on his face. "I think... retreat." He said, finally.
"Oh, really? No way." Rhea said, sarcastically, before she grabbed onto John and pulled him along, making sure Martha and Joan were right behind them.
John, Rhea, Martha and Joan crouched behind a few shrubs and trees in the woods near the school and they could hear the Family taunting them from their position at the front of the school.
"Doctor! Doctor!" Baines called out in a sing-song voice.
Rhea gritted her teeth when she saw the Family standing in front of a very familiar blue box.
"I am going to tear their hearts out of their chest." Rhea said, coldly, and Joan and John turned to look at her, incredulously, while Martha simply shook her head, closing her eyes, the threat of violence not exactly odd coming from Rhea, but still managing to send her heart into her throat. "I don't like it when people try and use the TARDIS as a bargaining chip like they're fucking smug that they've backed us into a corner. I don't get backed into corners. I don't like it when people threaten me. They will suffer for this." She snarled.
"Come back, Doctor. Come home. Come and claim your prize."
Jenny stepped out from beside Baines. "Out you come, Doctor! There's a good boy. Come to the Family. Time to end it now!"
stronza: bitch
A/N: Okay, so I hope you all liked this chapter. Not too much action, but a lot of emotional stuff. John clearly thinks his wife has gone completely insane and Rhea's trying to explain to him what she's saying is real, but John doesn't seem to be willing to believe it. We got a bit more history into Rhea and her backstory and I'm guessing a lot of what she's confessing to would be quite taboo in 1913. We don't have a good look into Joan Redfern, because I plain don't like her. I think you can excuse her actions and her dialogue and say that she's a product of her upbringing in 1913, but it's not like there weren't progressive people in 1913. In my opinion, there's no excuse for ignorance and racism. And Rhea's not one to take crap from anyone.
Oh, and I killed off the Headmaster pretty early on in the chapter and replaced him with the Deputy Headmaster. Hopefully that didn't confuse anyone.
Next chapter is probably one of the most important chapters in the whole story. So, please don't miss it.
Anyway, hope you all liked it and don't forget to review!
Reviews:
ImsebastianstanButter: Thank you so much! It will be a 11th Doctor story, so I hope you enjoy it!
NicoleR85: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, the whole you're-really-the-Doctor thing isn't an easy pill for John to swallow, especially once he finds out that Rhea's been essentially lying to him for what he considers is his entire life. It's not going to be an easy thing for them to overcome.
LookAliveSunshine03: Yep, it's definitely going to be awkward. I'm glad you liked the bath scene. Frankly, I think I liked that scene better than their first time together. I mean, I understand that Joan was a product of her time, but coupled with everything Martha had to go through with the Doctor, I just felt like that was too much. I mean, Joan went out of her way to belittle Martha, she wasn't even capable of showing the slightest bit of compassion or empathy or even kindness to another fellow woman trying to make it work. And I just felt like her romance with the Doctor or John was just really forced. What would have made it really interesting would have been if, once the Rose-coloured glasses had disappeared, if the Doctor (as John) would have looked at Martha in a different way. Or maybe he just stayed asexual for that period. I mean, they went from one blonde to another blonde. And they screwed over their token POC character as well. So, yeah, I'm not too fond of Joan, and this chapter probably was very obvious about that too. I definitely think the Doctor should've visited River. I mean, he knew that she was important, and she even knew his real name for some reason. Why bother going after some descendant of some chick who didn't even consider him to be real in the face of his human counterpart?
The Reader: Fair enough, I understand how the wording might have given that impression, but really it was just me attributing the whole computer analogy to what happened. And thank you so much!
katraj0908: I understand that Rhea's character might not be everyone's cup of tea.
gossamermouse101: Thank you so much! Hopefully this was a good follow through on the last chapter!
MissNovelistic: I'm so glad you enjoyed it and I'm really stoked that you're enjoying Rhea as well! Yeah, the whole I'm-the-Doctor-again is going to be pretty awkward with them, unfortunately.
Guest: Not annoying at all! I'm so glad that you're liking the story so far and thanks for checking in!