Sooooo... I'm back! Don't kill me, please? I know it has been a looong time but! I have an excuse. Family drama PLUS I moved to the UK and started Uni! Which is pretty weird and really stressful and really really fun so, I kinda forgot about this. Oops.

But I'm back! So, enjoy! :) And tell me what you think! I've been planning this for a looong time but the break may have broken my flow between chapters, so it may be kind of weird? I don't know, you tell me. And thanks for the patience!

It was dark and wet as we trudged along the forest floor. My shoulders were hunched and I burrowed into my coat as I tried to escape the cold.

No one spoke a word.

Nurse Joan had insisted she knew where we could hide, and, not knowing what else to do, we followed. I felt helpless. Useless. We were stuck here, at the family's mercy, and there was nothing we could do. Not without the watch. Not in this damned forest.

It seemed like we were doomed.

Not that I would say it out loud. We were too miserable already.

It wasn't until the trees spanned out and disappeared that I looked up. Joan had led us to a stone house. It was big and dark, as if it was making an effort to look as unapproachable as it could. It was succeeding.

"Oh, here we are." Joan panted. "It should be empty. Oh, it's a long time since I've run that far."

I still couldn't make myself look at the Doctor. I didn't even know how I was feeling. I felt uncomfortable, knowing I couldn't even reassure him. I was a complete stranger to him now. I was nothing to him.

"But who lives here?" Martha asked.

"If I'm right, no one."

Leaving it at that, we entered the house after Joan. I shuffled behind the Doctor, staring at the tails of his coat.

"Hello?" Joan's voice echoed. "No one home. We should be safe here."

"Whose house is it, though?" Martha pressed.

Joan looked uncomfortable. "Er, the Cartwrights. That little girl at the school, she's Lucy Cartwright," she hesitated. "Or she's taken Lucy Cartwright's form. If she came home this afternoon and if the parents tried to stop their little girl, then they were vanished." She leant forward, touching a teapot sitting on the table. "Stone cold. How easily I accept these ideas."

I couldn't resist it. My eyes were drawn to the Doctor, and once they reached his face, they were glued. A look of pure desperation colored his pale face, accentuating the dark shadows under his eyes and the crease over his eyebrows. The guilt brewing inside me doubled.

"I must go to them," He said, a bit of his old self shining through. "Before anyone else dies."

"You can't." Joan insisted, turning towards us. "There must be something we can do."

Martha shook her head mournfully. "Not without the watch."

John's fist hit the table, and I jumped, widening my eyes.

"You're this Doctor's companion." He accused her, his voice rising. "Can't you help?"

"Hey!" I interrupted. "Don't take this on Martha. She is helping."

He turned towards me. "And you. Who are you? You said you lived here in the village. Was that also a lie?"

I looked away. "Yes."

"Can't you help? Either of you? What exactly do your do for him? Why does he need you?"

Martha was the only one brave enough to speak up. "Because he's lonely."

His voice lowered. "And that's what you want me to become."

I winced, my heart clenching painfully.

Before the silence could stretch any longer, a knock came from the door. Startled, we all turned to look.

"What if it's them?" Joan whispered.

Martha shook her head. "I'm not an expert, but I don't think scarecrows knock."

I swallowed the snort that threatened to escape. Martha approached the door, slowly opening it and peering outside. She gasped, opening the door completely and ushering a kid inside.

"He has the watch!" She exclaimed.

I blinked. "What?"

The kid handed Martha the fob watch I had seen inside the TARDIS. John seemed to flinch back, even as his eyes were riveted on the object.

Martha offered it to him. "Hold it."

John shook his head. "I won't."

"Please," Martha pleaded. "Just hold it."

The boy stepped forward. "It told me to find you. It wants to be held."

I frowned. "It spoke to you?"

He nodded. It explained what I had heard back in the school, the whispers in the halls. It had been the watch all along.

"Latimer, have you had this watch all this time?" Joan asked him. "Why didn't you return it?"

"Because it was waiting." Latimer explained, swallowing. "And because I was so scared of the Doctor."

Joan frowned. "Why?"

"Because," he paused. "I've seen him. And he's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun."

"Stop it." John muttered.

Latimer didn't stop. Instead, he stepped towards John even as he spoke. "He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe."

"Stop it!" John insisted, louder this time. "I said, stop it."

The boy wasn't finished. His eyes held John's. "And he's wonderful."

I couldn't help the smile that stretched my lips.

John looked shaken, like something had cracked inside of him. He looked away from Latimer, trying to hide how scared he was.

Joan rummaged through her bag. "I've still got this." She said, holding up a journal.

John stood up from his perch on his seat, and even from afar, I could see him shake. "Stop this! Those are just stories!"

He turned on his heel, storming off through one of the doors, leaving us behind in silence.

Martha looked towards me, and I understood the look on her eyes all too well.

"We need to make him understand." She said.

I nodded. "We need to talk to him."

Martha shook her head, stepping towards me, and held out the watch. "You go talk to him. It'll be better if it's just you."

I frowned; hesitating, but it only took one look at her eyes to convince me. I turned on my heel, following the direction he took.

He had entered one of the rooms, probably the parents'. The room was big, and neatly furnished. The window was open, and moonlight streamed softly through the swaying curtains. He sat in the bed, facing the window with his back towards me. His face was in his hands, and his back was hunched over and tense.

It tensed even more as he heard me enter. "Go away Martha."

I stopped. "Not Martha."

His head lifted a little, before shooting me a quick glance over his shoulder. "You. Doesn't matter. Go away."

I frowned. "'You'. Why not call me by my name?"

I heard him sigh. "Ms. Reynolds. Please leave me alone."

I rolled my eyes, even if he couldn't see them. "My real name, John."

He hesitated. "You never told me your name."

"And yet," I said softly. "You know it."

He shook his head. "How could I? I barely know you. Even less than I'd first thought so."

"Kylie." I said, and heard how his breath hitched. "But you already knew that."

"You read my journal." He mumbled.

I strode over towards him, until I was directly in his line of sights and I could finally see his face. "No, I did not. Stop making excuses, John. You dreamt of this. You remember me."

His eyes met mine, and in the poor lighting his eyes were darker than night.

"The way you say my name." he wondered. "I don't know how to explain it. You say it like it means so much and so little at the same time."

I sighed, sitting on the bed beside him. "You are a good man, John." I tried, slowly. "But the Doctor? He's exceptional."

He winced. "He was your friend?"

"I'd like to think he is."

We paused.

"Are you sure?"

His question stumped me. Was a bit of the Doctor bleeding through to John? Maybe the Doctor didn't actually see me as a friend. Maybe he just had me around because of my secrets, the one thing that he didn't seem to be able to figure out.

"I-" I hesitated. "I hope so, at least."

"Just his friend?"

Oh. Oh. Now I knew where he was going with his questions. "Just friends, John."

He frowned. "In one of my dreams… You were there with him. You two were jumping from machine to machine, floating in the middle of… a road? And," He cleared his throat. "Then you stop. And I think he gets jealous. Maybe. He pulls you to him and, well, he kisses your neck. And you… seemed to like it." He looked away, embarrassed.

I fell my cheeks flame. He was describing what happened in the middle of the road in New New York, when the attraction patch had made me want him.

I tried to explain. "Oh, well, actually-"

"And he finds you attractive. That seems to run through his head every once in a while, when he looks at you."

Attractive? The Doctor finds me attractive?

My face was definitely red by now. "Oh, um-"

He shook his head. "You look so surprised. Why? Is this man not capable of caring for anyone?"

My thumb passed over the grooves of the fob watch. "No, John. That's the problem. He cares too much. For so many people. He is this world's protector. He has done incredible things to save humanity."

"But that's it!" He exclaimed, exasperated. "The way you talk of him. It's not like he's a real person. He's just this stranger that saves people. An alien. This sounds like a children's book. I need something to make him real."

"There are aliens outside, Doctor! I mean, John. And they're killing people. I don't know what else to say to make it seem more real."

He frowned. "Tell me something, then. Something that just happened between the two of you. Something personal."

I blinked, trying to arrange my thoughts. "Oh. Umm. Okay, that dream you had? Where we were jumping from machine to machine? We were in New New York. Don't even ask, please. I don't have the time to explain that part. The thing is, somebody drugged me and…" I blushed. "It made super attracted to the Doctor. And later, when I was going through the withdrawals, I-" I looked away, embarrassed. "I tried to kiss you. I mean, him."

He was quiet, for a moment. "And?"

I chuckled. "He rejected me, of course. Used it as a distraction to drug me back to health."

He breathed out, and I risked a peek at him. He was frowning. "But, how is he? Do you like him? Really, truly, like him? As a person, not this… this… hero."

"Yes, I do. I really, really, like him."

He raised an eyebrow.

I blinked, suddenly having the urge to clarify. "As a man. You know. Not as in like like him. Not that he's unattractive. We're just friends. Because, you know, he's good looking, I suppose. Well, you are too. The two of you. But we're, you know, just-"

He moved so fast that it even felt slow, if that was possible. And it took me a moment just to rationalize what was happening, for my brain to finally catch up on what he was doing.

He was kissing me.

And I was kissing him back. Unconsciously, without even realizing what I was doing. My body took over, and the next thing I knew, one of my hands was on his shoulder, holding on to him. My other hand was on his chest, and I could hear his heartbeat picking up.

His single heartbeat.

I broke away, breathing fast, as I tried to scoot back. I stared at him as he stared back, noticing how his face had regained color and how his eyes were dark, so, so, dark.

The Doctor just kissed me. But he wasn't the Doctor. John had just kissed me. Not the Doctor. What the-

Ah, hell.

I cleared my throat, looking away, struggling to find words, any words.

"Oh, umm, what about Joan?" I tried, wincing even as I heard how breathless I sounded.

"We're just friends," he rumbled, never looking away, and I almost wished we hadn't stopped kissing.

No. Bad Kylie. What would the Doctor say?

"You sure?"

He shrugged. "I'm not going to lie to you. Maybe if we'd had more time, Joan and I, maybe something would've happened. But nothing has."

I bit my lip. Lips that had just kissed the Doctor. Damn.

I shook my head. "Oh, hell. This-"

A big bang cut me off, and the floor underneath us vibrated with the huge force of the impact. We were on our feet in an instant, our eyes wide in confusion, before we rushed back to the dining hall.

"What the hell?" Martha gasped, looking out the window.

I walked up next to her, leaning my hands against the glass as I looked out the night sky. Flashes of light illuminated the windowpane as bursts of lights flew by, crashing into the distance, shaking the ground underneath our feet.

"They're destroying the village," Joan mumbled.

"The watch." John demanded, drawing my attention, startling me as he reached over and took the fob watch from my hands.

Joan's face seemed to pale. "John, don't," she pleaded.

Closer.

I blinked, surprised. The watch seemed to be whispering, trails of its voice reaching my ears.

"Can you hear it?" Latimer asked.

Closer.

John's eyes were glued to the watch. "I think he's asleep," he whispered. "Waiting to awaken."

"Why did he speak to me?"

John finally looked up, staring down at Latimer. "Oh, low level telepathic field. You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing."

My breath hitched and my heart skipped a beat. The Doctor. He sounded just like him.

John started visibly shaking. His eyes met mine. "Is this how he talks?"

I bit my lip, nodding.

"That's him." Martha said softly, a grin stretching her mouth. "All you have to do is open it and he's back."

Another blast hit the earth, the floor shaking as I tried not to wobble.

John's eyes flitted between Martha's and mine, his mouth twisting in a frown. "You knew this all along and yet you watched as I settled in, made friends, and Nurse Redfern…" he trailed off, stare settling on me. "All these feelings, are they even real?"

I couldn't not look away as he said this.

"I didn't know how to stop you." Martha insisted, stepping forward. "He gave me a list of things to watch out for, but that wasn't included."

"Feelings? Those didn't even occur to him?" He asked, and he sounded so broken that pity welled up inside me.

"No," Martha whispered.

"Then what sort of man is that? And now you expect me to die?"

The earth shook again.

Martha shook her head. "It was always going to end, though? The Doctor said the Family's got a limited lifespan, and that's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, he said."

"So your job was to execute me." He accused.

"Hey," I spoke up, glaring. "Stop making accusations, John. You know nothing of what's really happening. You barely realize how important this is."

Martha placed a hand on my arm, and it wasn't until then that I realized I was shaking. That we both were.

"People are dying out there." Martha continued, much softer. "They need him and we need him. Because you've got no idea of what he's like. I've only just met him. It wasn't even that long ago. But he is everything." She paused, swallowing, and I suddenly felt like she was no longer speaking for the both of us. "He's just everything to me and he doesn't even look at me, but I don't care, because I love him to bits. And I hope to God he won't remember me saying this."

Oh, hell. He kissed me. Martha is in love with him and he kissed me. But it wasn't the Doctor. It was John. Would he even remember all of this?

Another explosion, this time, much more closer to us. I used it as an excuse to step away from Martha and John, letting Martha's hand fall from my arm.

"It's getting closer," Latimer voiced.

John looked down at the watch, and his eyes suddenly widened. "I should have thought of it before!" He exclaimed, excited, and I was immediately worried. "I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am."

A rush of anger overwhelmed me. Who was this man that thought he could run away from his problems. That he could leave the fate of humanity in someone else's man. How dare he. How could he be so different from the Doctor and still look the same.

"You can't do that!" Martha said, glaring.

"If they want the Doctor, they can have him."

Martha shook her head. "He'll never let you do it."

"If they get what they want, then, then-"

"Then it all ends in destruction," Joan suddenly spoke up, and all our heads snapped in her direction, watching as she held John's journal in her hands. "I never read to the end, but those creatures would live forever to breed and conquer, for war across the stars for every child. Martha, Timothy, Kylie, would you leaves us alone, please?"

Her voice had been soft, but Joan's face was hard, and as I looked into her eyes, I knew she understood. Finally.

"John," I spoke up, not looking at him, instead keeping my eyes on Joan. "Listen to the nurse, and listen carefully. And stop acting like the little child you're not, even Latimer has the decency to try to be brave." I finally looked at him, and my heart crumbled inside of me, seeing him so utterly broken. My voice softened. "Don't disappoint us."

The fate of humanity rested on this human man's shoulders. I could only hope that the Doctor's faith in humans wasn't displaced. Even more so now that it rested on his now human shoulders.

I followed Martha and Latimer outside, listening as Joan's steps approached John's form. Probably hugging. I tried to shake that image out of my head and closed the door firmly behind me.

It was all in Joan's hands now.