Chapter 24! Tell me what you think? :)

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We stumbled into the TARDIS, the Doctor's hand hot on my back, urging me on.

"Get down!" He yelled.

I didn't think. My body followed the Doctor's order without consent, tucking in on itself as I rolled over the TARDIS metal floor. Any other time I would have rolled my eyes. The Doctor played his companions like well-tuned instruments. He called; we came, sat, rolled over, and played dead. It was ridiculous.

Something zapped over my head before the Doctor had the opportunity to close the door. My eyes widened as I ducked, seeing the green blast explode on one of the TARDIS walls.

The door slammed shut, and I scrambled to my feet. The Doctor was breathing fast, and his eyes looked like saucers. His hands settled on Martha's shoulders as he bored into her eyes. "Did they see you?"

"I don't know!"

"But did they see you?" He pressed.

"I don't know! I was too busy running."

"Martha, it's important. Did they see your face?"

"No, they couldn't have."

The Doctor's head snapped in my direction. I stepped back, lifting my arms in a placating gesture. "No, they didn't see me."

Some of the tension seemed to slip from his shoulders. But he didn't stay still. He jumped to the controls, quickly punching the buttons and pulling the levers.

"Off we go!" He cried.

Only a moment later, an alarm blared. The Doctor clutched one of the screens, frowning as he read the signals.

"What is it?" I asked.

The Doctor made a sound of distress. "They're following us."

"How can they do that?" Martha asked. "You've got a time machine."

"Stolen technology." The Doctor explained between breaths as his hands raced over the controls. "They've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator. They can follow us wherever we go, right across the universe. They've never going to stop." He ran a hand through his hair, pausing as he contemplated his choices. "Unless…" He paused, breathing out. "I'll have to do it. Martha, Kylie, you trust me, don't you?"

Martha's answer was immediate. "Of course I do."

I was stumped for a second. Did I?

"Yeah."

At least, with this, I did. Perhaps not with my secrets, but I did with our survival.

If they noticed my hesitance, they didn't say anything about it. The Doctor stared levelly at Martha, before he looked at me.

"Because it all depends on you." He said. "Both of you."

"What does?" Martha asked for the both of us. "What are we supposed to do?"

The Doctor ducked beneath the controls, procuring an ornately decorated pocket watch seemingly out of nowhere. "Take this watch, because my life depends on it."

I gulped.

"This watch, Martha, Kylie. This watch is me."

Martha nodded, an eyebrow raised as she took the watch from his hands. "Right, okay, gotcha. No, hold on. Completely lost."

The Doctor brushed past me as he kept fiddling with the controls. "Those creatures are hunters. They can sniff out anyone, and me being a Time Lord, well, I'm unique."

I huffed, rolling my eyes. "Please."

The Doctor shot me a look, his mouth twitching into a small grin before sobering and continuing. "Yes. Unique. They can track me down across the whole of time and space."

Martha grimaced. "Huh. And the good news is?"

"They can smell me, they haven't seen me. And their life span'll be running out, so we hide." He glanced up at us, meeting our eyes. "Wait for them to die."

"But they can track us down." Martha pressed.

Finally, the Doctor stopped and straightened up. "That's why I've got to do it. I have to stop being a Time Lord. I'm going to become human."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Oh, yeah, right. You're only going to become human." I shook my head. "That's not even possible."

The Doctor winced. "It is. I will." He flicked a lever and looked up, and I watched with him as a piece of machinery – a headset? – was lowered down. "Never though I'd use this." He breathed. "All the times I've wondered."

"What does it do?" Martha asked.

"Chameleon Arch." He explained. "Rewrites my biology. Literally changes every single cell in my body. I've set it to human."

He took the watch for Martha, putting it in the headset.

"Now, the TARDIS will take care of everything. Invent a life story for me, find me a setting and integrate me. Can't do the same for you. Martha, you'll just have to improvise. I should have just enough residual awareness to let you in."

I stepped forward. "And me?"

He paused. "You're Osirien. Not particularly high on their list… but still useful. Stay in the TARDIS. Take care of her. Watch over each other. Help Martha. Stay out of sight. Don't let the hunters realize what you are."

"Just… stay here?" I asked, horrified.

Stay? I hadn't just stayed somewhere for over sixty years. Even the thought of it made me anxious, desperate to leave right away.

"Yes." He said.

The palms of my hands broke out in sweat. "You don't know what you're asking of me."

He paused, looking at me. "I do."

I grimaced. "No, I don't think you do."

"You're not listening," he said. His hand on my shoulder startled me, and I looked up at his eyes. "I think I do."

I blinked, my heartbeat suddenly speeding up. What?

"But, hold on." Martha interrupted. The Doctor immediately went back to work on the Chameleon Arch. "If you're going to rewrite every single cell, isn't it going to hurt?"

He looked up at us. "Oh, yeah. It hurts."

He went to the computer to film himself giving us instructions. I remained in place, looking at the headset.

Rewrites every single cell.

It crossed my mind. Of course it did. It would make the lives of those looking for me living hell. They would never find me.

But to no longer be an Osirien? To leave everything it meant behind?

Maybe I was coward. But I couldn't do it.

The Doctor approached the headset, took a big breath, and slid it on.

"Ready?" I asked him.

Another big breath. "Yes, I suppose I am."

I didn't know what to say. What did you mean? How can you know what waiting here means to me?

"Good luck?" I tried.

His eyes met mine. "Everything will be alright. Don't worry. You won't have to wait long."

Then, he flipped the switch.

Two. Months.

I'd been waiting.

Two. Fucking. Months.

What the hell was taking the hunters so long? Why couldn't they just die?

Maybe an unfair question. But I was going insane.

Martha was all right, of course. She saw the Doctor on a daily basis. She had the freedom to walk around. She'd even made a friend.

Me? I'd taken to simply run up and down the stairs and halls of the TARDIS. The Doctor had adjusted her settings into power emergency mode, and most of the lights were dimmed, if not out completely. Most of the rooms had disappeared or were out of limits completely. Only my room was close by. I spent most of my time in the console, however, trying out whatever still worked.

The TARDIS was an exceptional machine. The few buttons the Doctor almost never pressed were the best. Scanners for life forms and terrains. An invisibility switch. An alarm that worked similarly to a car's. It was fun to explore a little.

Everything got old fast, however. There was only so much the old console could entertain me with. And I couldn't relax with the knowledge that I was a sitting duck. That we weren't moving. That my friends were out there in danger. That I was doing nothing.

It was driving me mad.

I wished I could at least work like Martha was doing. She, at least, was talking to people. She was leading a life out there, even if it wasn't hers. I lived for the few visits she paid me. When she talked of the people she met and how the now human Doctor was doing.

I'd been sneaky, I had to admit. I'd sometimes leave the TARDIS and walk a few laps around the abandoned cottage it had landed in. Nobody was ever around, and the few minutes of the brisk village air refreshed me.

They weren't much. And they were few and far in between. But they were probably the only things keeping me sane.

A click by the TARDIS doors called my attention. I jumped to my feet, my eyes riveted on the blue doors.

Maybe it was the Doctor. Maybe the wait was finally over. Maybe we could finally-

Martha stepped in, closing the doors behind her.

My shoulders slumped, and I sat back down on the pilot's chair, closing my eyes in resignation. The wait wasn't over yet.

"Kylie?" Martha called.

I sighed, opening my eyes. "Right here, Martha." I drawled.

Martha climbed the stairs, walking around the console. "How have you been?"

"Oh, you know. Trying to keep busy. Anything new?"

She sighed, leaning against the console. "The Doctor's dreaming about us again. He's filling up this journal of his with his stories, and some pictures too. There are some pretty great of you."

I smiled. "Are they?"

"The few I could see, at least. He gave the journal to the school nurse. Joan." She said the name with a slight twist to her mouth.

I arched an eyebrow. "You don't like her?"

She hesitated. "It's not that. She seems nice. But, I don't know… the Doctor – Mr. Smith – seems to fancy her."

I scrunched up my nose. "He does?"

She nodded. "I just want everything to return to normal." She looked up. "Oh, I almost forgot. I saw something last night."

Intrigued, I sat forward. "What?"

"A green light, over the forest. And I wasn't the only one. The nurse saw it too. Mr. Smith said it was only a meteorite. I followed its direction into the forest, but there was nothing there. Do you think it has anything to do with the hunters?"

I frowned. "Probably. Can't be a mere coincidence."

She nodded. "That's what I thought."

She turned around and pulled the scanner close to us, turning it on. Immediately, the Doctor's face filled the screen. Martha pushed play.

"This working?" The Doctor on the screen asked, tapping the lens with his finger. Satisfied, his eyes flickered to the center of the screen, and I felt as if he was looking right into my eyes. "Martha, Kylie, before I change, here's a list of instructions for when I'm human. One, don't let me hurt anyone. We can't have that, but you know how humans are like. Two, don't worry about the TARDIS. I'll put it on emergency power so they can't detect it. Just let it hide away. Kylie, try not to touch anything too important. Four. No, wait a minute, three. No getting involved in big historical events. Four, you two. Don't let me abandon you."

I had to smile at that.

Martha fast-forwarded the video, the Doctor moving comically fast on the screen.

"But there was a meteor, a shooting star." Martha muttered. "What are we supposed to do then?"

She played the video again. "Twenty two. Kylie, don't despair. You won't have to wait in there long. It'll all be over fast. I'll let you decide where to go next. And twenty-three. If anything goes wrong, if they find us, then you know what to do. Open the watch. Everything I am is kept safe in there. Now, I've put a perception filter on it so the human me won't think anything of it. To him, it's just a watch. But don't open it unless you have to. Because once it's open, then the hunters, the Family, will be able to find me. It's all down to you two." His eyes bored into us. "Your choice." He started to get up, before pausing and returning to his seat. "Oh, and thank you."

His smile was the sincerest I had ever seen, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"I wish he'd come back." Martha whispered.

I slid an arm over her shoulders, hugging her to me. "He will. Don't worry. Just hang in there."

She thanked me with a smile, hugged me goodbye, and left.

As the door closed behind her, leaving me in the dimmed lighted room, I decided I'd had enough. I would go outside for a little while. Not just to walk around the TARDIS, but a proper walk through the small town.

I slipped on a long coat from the now limited wardrobe of the TARDIS. I still wouldn't look the part, not with the jeans underneath it, but perhaps nobody would look closely enough. Placing a hat over my head, I headed out, closing the blue doors softly behind me.

I placed my now gloved hands over the wood for a second. "I'll be back in a moment."

The small was, well, small. It had a school for boys and one pub. That was about it. I walked between the houses, keeping my head down, trying to hide my smile. I'd needed this. To see other people walking about, smell the fresh air, and stretch my legs. I'd miss it.

Everything was going perfectly well. That it, until I rounded the corner, and I had to stop on my tracks.

A group of men were pulling on a rope, trying to lift a piano up high. A woman with a stroller was walking in their direction, her attention caught on something her baby was doing. A kid was playing with a cricket ball, throwing it over his head and catching it as it fell.

But what caught my attention was the pair standing across from me, smiling and laughing as the man, the incredibly tall man, spoke. His messy hair was hidden beneath a hat. He wore a coat, a different one from his usual ones, over his clothes.

The Doctor seemed almost oblivious to anything else. He was immersed in his conversation with the woman – nurse Joan? – and I could see it in his eyes. He liked her. A lot.

I saw him glance up at the piano, and I knew him well enough to know something else was suddenly running through his mind. Unexpectedly, he snatched the ball from the kid playing with it. A mere second after the Doctor grabbed the ball, he threw it, and I watched as it hit the scaffolding, rolling down and hitting a plank that sent a brick flying through the air. My eyes followed it in surprise, seeing it knock down a milk churn that rolled in front of the woman and the stroller, immediately stopping them. Just a second later, the rope holding the piano snapped, and the piano came crashing down mere feet from the woman and the stroller.

People rushed to the woman and the now crying baby, but I couldn't take my eyes off the Doctor. He was human now. I knew it. Heard his single heart as we carried him into town after he used the Chameleon Arch. But even as a human, he was extraordinary.

He glanced up from the woman beside him, and I was too surprised to duck away when his eyes suddenly met mine. His words died off his lips as he stared; his mouth and eyes open in shock.

I saw him mouth a single word. Kylie. That shook off my stupor, and I immediately jumped back to the corner, hiding behind a brick wall. My hat flew back, but I couldn't waste time on stopping to pick it up.

He had recognized me. From his dreams? Probably. But I couldn't let him find me. I scurried off, running out of the town, never mind that I was running in the opposite direction of the TARDIS. It had been a mistake to wander off. I shouldn't have.

Did I regret it?

No.

I got to see the Doctor. After two months, that made me happy. I hadn't realized how I'd missed him. He looked okay. Almost… happy. Though I couldn't say I liked him being with the nurse. I could only hope that he wouldn't fall in love with her.

I came to a stop in the middle of the road, right by a field of wheat. The only thing visible in either direction was the scarecrow guarding the field.

I sat down on the half wall beside the street, folding my legs beneath me. A few minutes more and I would go back to the TARDIS. And I wouldn't go back out again, I decided. At least, not back to the town. The risks were too great.

"Oi! You!"

I froze, recognizing his voice. A second later, I jumped down to my feet. I would have to outrun him.

"No! Stop! Please! We have your hat!"

Wincing, I looked back in the pair's direction, seeing the tall figure of the Doctor waving my hat. The nurse walked briskly beside him, trying to keep up with his long legs.

They finally reached me, and I saw how the Doctor kept running his eyes over my face. He couldn't remember me, could he?

He seemed to shake off his stupor. "Good morning, Madame. You seemed to have dropped your hat."

I forced a smile. "Thank you, mister…?"

"Smith." He said. "And this is Matron, from Farringham School."

I shook their hands. The Doctor's hand was warm and big, and our eyes held. His brow was furrowed, and I knew I had drawn his attention.

I stepped back, realizing our handshake had lasted a second too long. I had to leave. "Very much appreciated. Now, if you don't mind-"

The Doctor's eyes hadn't left my face. Why was he watching me that way? "Wait, Mrs…?"

I gulped. "Oh, umm, Ms. Reynolds."

The Doctor blinked. "Have we met before, Ms. Reynolds?"

I didn't know what to say. Yes we have! "Oh, I don't think so."

He exhaled. "Well, can we walk you somewhere?"

"No, thank-"

His eyes still hadn't left my face. "I insist."

It was probably the strangest thing I had ever lived through. To see him, talk to him, listen to him, and know he wasn't the same man. That he didn't truly remember me.

"Well," I hesitated. "You could walk me to the next crossroad."

He nodded. "Excellent."

He offered in unoccupied arm, and I took it, careful to replicate how the nurse held the other one. We started walking, and I had to be careful not to trip and take all three of us down.

"Oh, it's all becoming clear now." Joan finally said, interrupting the silence that was quickly becoming awkward. "The Doctor in the man you'd like to be, doing impossible things with cricket balls."

I stumbled, my eyes wide and a breath caught in my throat. What? Doctor?

I quickly righted myself, ignoring the quick look Mr. Smith sent me. She must have been talking about his dreams.

"Well, I discovered a talent, that's certainly true."

"Did you see it?" Nurse Joan addressed me for the first time. "You were there, weren't you?"

I cleared my throat. "Yes, I was. Quite impressive."

He ducked his head. "Oh, it was nothing."

"If I may ask," I said, unable to stop myself. "Who is this… Doctor?"

Mr. Smith waved it off. "Oh, it's just a character in my dreams. An adventurer. Meets these awfully strange creatures."

"Ah, and the Doctor has an eye for the ladies." The nurse pointed out.

I arched an eyebrow, careful not to look at him.

The Doctor chuckled. "The devil."

"A girl at every fireplace. The girl with a strange watch on her arm."

I stumbled, again, and this time, if it weren't for Mr. Smith's quick reflexes, I would have eaten dirt.

"Are you alright?" he asked me.

I spluttered, eternally thankful that my coat hid my wrists and the Timepiece underneath. "Ah, yes."

He turned back to the nurse. "Ah, now, there I have to protest, Joan. That is hardly me."

She smiled. "Says the man dancing with me tonight."

The Doctor? Dancing? With a nurse? With Joan? What was he doing?

"That scarecrow's all skewed." He suddenly said.

He disengaged his arms from us, and walked into the field and the scarecrow. We followed in his steps. He reached it, tying one of its arms back onto the cross-member.

"Ever the artist." The nurse said in something akin to wonder. "Where did you learn to draw?"

He tied the knot. "Gallifrey."

I blinked, stupefied. What?

"Is that in Ireland?" She asked him.

He paused, seemingly also confused. "Oh, yes, it must be. Yes."

"But you're not Irish?"

He started on the other arm. "Not at all, no. my father, Sidney, was a watchmaker from Nottingham, and my mother Verity was, er. Well, she was a nurse, actually."

Nurse Joan grinned. "Oh. We make such good wives."

I felt my eyebrows rise on their own. Oh, really?

He smiled. "Really? Right. Yes."

One of the ropes slid from his fingers, landing on my feet. With a sigh, I bent and recovered it, passing it on to Mr. Smith.

"Thank you, Kylie. Almost done."

I blinked, trying to fight the smile that threatened to appear. Kylie? I'd missed him saying my name.

Nurse Joan also noticed his slip. "Kylie?" She paused, and I felt her eyes on me. "Yes, she actually does look like the girl in your drawings."

Mr. Smith froze; his eyes suddenly back on me, his brow furrowed. "She does, doesn't she?" he muttered.

I tried going for the confused look. "What?"

Blinking, he turned back to the scarecrow. "Oh, nothing. You just look like one of the characters from my dreams." He stepped back from the scarecrow. "Well, my work is done. What do you think?"

The nurse beamed at him. "Masterpiece."

Mr. Smith smiled back. "All sorts of skills today!"

We started down the field and into the path.

I'm not sure what urged me to look back. A tingling on the nape of my neck. The feeling that something wasn't right. Whatever it was, I glanced back.

The scarecrow's neck had turned. His unseeing eyes were staring right at us.

Gulping, I paused in my tracks, noticing one of those long spade forks they used for farming. That could come in handy. "Um, thank you for the company, Matron, Mr. Smith. But I think I'll be staying here. My, um, brother will be here any minute."

The nurse looked almost happy to oblige. Mr. Smith hesitated.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

I didn't like how he was looking at me. Everything in him was the Doctor. Everything. From the way he stood to the way he grinned. What unsettled me where his eyes. The usual sparkle was gone. The curiosity and the adventure were gone. I did not like it at all.

I forced a smile, all too aware of the scarecrow behind us. "Yes. Don't worry about me. Thank you for bringing back my hat."

"Well, if you're sure." He lingered. "A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Reynolds."

"The pleasure was all mine. Have a nice evening!"

They turned on their heels, walking back to the path. It was only seconds before they struck up another conversation.

He glanced back only once, and I knew it was the Time Lord somewhere in him that did so. I sighed as they disappeared around the bend of the path.

I turned back around, my hands on my hips as I stared down the scarecrow. It was still looking at me, that eerie smile upon his face.

"Alright then," I said. "Mind telling me what you are?"

It didn't respond. Feeling strangely unsettled, I bent down and picked up the long fork. I approached the scarecrow, and in one swift move, plunged the fork into it.

Tufts of hay fell out. The scarecrow started to tremble. I stepped back in alarm. What the hell?

In one strong move, the scarecrow snapped the ropes that tied him to the post. Cocking his head at me, he started moving in my direction, stiff and awkward moves that made him all that more terrifying.

Clenching my teeth, I raised the fork. It didn't seem to scare him. I drew the fork back, like a baseball bat. When he was close enough, I swung.

The thing stumbled. I watched as the head flew back, completely severed from the body. It flew, landing a few meters away.

My eyes snapped back to the scarecrow just in time to see him swing his arm. I ducked, rolling away. Not having a head didn't seem to impair him in the least.

Another arm swung, and this time, I was too slow. It hit me on the side, and it threw me to the ground. I scrambled to my feet. Damn scarecrow. That would leave a bruise.

With a snarl, I ran in its direction, the fork gleaming in the sun. I tackled it, driving it to the field with enough force that the fork's tips were buried deep into the ground.

The thing struggled, pinned into the ground. One of the legs managed to hit me again on my side, and I rolled to the ground with a groan. It was going to pay for that one.

I grabbed one of its legs, pulling with all my might. It slid free with some difficulty, and I threw the appendage to a side, starting with the other leg. The arms were a bit more difficult; its greedy hands were trying to close around my neck. When the last arm was thrown away, I sat on the ground with a huff. The torso was useless without its appendages. It couldn't even move.

I'd just severed a scarecrow into pieces.

A breathy laugh escaped my lips as I forced myself to climb to my feet.

Kylie the ripper.

I grabbed the head, one of the arms, and a leg as I started towards the path. I'd heard enough stories pieces finding their way together and building themselves up again to risk it. There was a small river near the hut the TARDIS was in. I would throw everything there.

I just hoped nobody would stop me and ask on my way.

Oh, what a story this would make.