Chapter Nineteen: All This Time You Were Pretending
Jack caught the Doctor as he fell; Martha and Rose watched him confused. Suddenly the whole room was in commotion. Martha and Rose ran across to Jack.
"What did you do that for?" Rose asked, bending down to nurse the Doctor.
"Rose, leave him." Martha told her.
"I told you not to call me that, my name is Joan." Martha looked to Jack for help but before he could reply Mr Clark the farmer burst in with Baines and Jenny. He walked over to them and pointed his gun at them.
"There will be silence! All of you!" He bellowed. The crowd only screamed loudly. "I SAID SILENCE!"
"Mr Clarke! What's going on?" One of the announcers asked, Clarke turned and without a moments hesitation fired upon him, disintegrating him. Rose stepped back slightly.
"Joan, please don't say anything." Martha asked.
"We asked for silence! Now then. We have a few questions for Mr Smith." Baines looked at them, a young girl moved across to join them.
"No better than that, I heard them talking, the nurse, she's the Time Lady the woman of Glondor mentioned."
"You took human form."
"I'm human, I was born human! Like everyone else in this room."
"The Doctor's woman was born human, changed by Time itself." Baines sneered at her.
"I'm human! I've never been anything else!"
"She's thick, and dull. Without her knowledge she is useless."
"We need a Time Lord." Clarke ordered. "This one is useless unconscious while the child is too young."
"Easily done." Baines raised his own gun and aimed it at Rose. "Change back."
"I don't know what you're talking about?" Rose shook her head, "I can't turn into anything!"
"Change back!"
"Into what?!" Mr Clarke grabbed the Doctor from Jack, holding a gun to his head.
"Give him back!" Jack yelled.
"Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?"
"I can't…I don't understand…"
"The Doctor and Bad Wolf have a child, there is only one child here…they would keep her close." Jenny pushed Martha back snatching Tala away from her. Rose looked between them, completely confused and terrified. She saw the Doctor beginning to stir.
"Have you enjoyed it, Bad Wolf? Being human? Has it taught you wonderful things, are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Teacher or child? Your husband - or your daughter? Your choice."
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"Make your decision…" Jack moved closer to Martha and she passed him Rose's fob watch.
"Perhaps, if she sees her child regenerate the truth will be known." Just as Jack prepared to release the fob, the Family's heads snapped round sniffing the air to find the Time Lord. Jack took his chance and grabbed the Doctor and the gun pointed at him, while Martha grabbed Tala. Martha's head snapped round to see who had the watch, he eyes rested on Timothy.
Jack helped the Doctor stand. He caught him as he shook, the Doctor's eyes met Jack's with anger – but that would have to wait. Jack grabbed Mr Clarke holding him both as a hostage and a shield.
"Do you really want to test me?" He asked as the Family stepped closer.
"Careful, Son of Mine. This is all for you so that you can live forever." Clarke told Baines as he edged nearer.
"Would you really pull the trigger?" Baines asked of Jack.
"I have no problem with it. Not the first gun I've been around." Jack saw the Family hesitate and narrowed them down with his gaze.
"Doctor, get everyone out. There's a door at the side. It's over there. Go on!" Martha told him not wanting to abandon Jack, the Doctor just stood there. "Do it, Mr Smith. I mean you!" Something inside of Rose kicked in, she turned to face the people.
"Do what she said. Everybody out now. Please, quickly, everybody out!"
"Move yourself, boy. Back to the school, quickly." The Doctor told Latimer.
"Martha go with them, make sure they get back safely."
"What about you?" She asked, his gaze never left the Family.
"I'll be fine, should've picked up a thing or two now." Martha quickly left the hall leaving Jack with them. "You're lucky they weren't Time Lords." Jack said angrily. "Otherwise you'd have the full force of the Oncoming Storm and the Bad Wolf upon you, that was the wrong thing to do threatening their daughter."
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"God, you two are rubbish as humans!" Martha snapped as they reached the school. "This is the first place they'd think to look!" The Doctor walked inside and began to ring a bell. "What're you doing?"
"Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together. Take arms! Take arms!" This time it was Rose who stepped in.
"Is this the right thing to do?" She took his face into her hands, "To sacrifice all these boys for something so silly?" Rose asked him.
"Joan…" He sighed, before resuming his yelling. "Take arms! Take arms!"
"John, you know it isn't the right thing to do."
"I say sir, what's the matter?" One of the boys asked running down.
"Enemy at the door, Hutchinson. Enemy at the door. Take arms!"
"They don't stand a chance!" Martha couldn't believe what he was doing.
"They're cadets, Miss Jones. They are trained to defend the King and all his properties." At that moment Jack ran in, completely out of breath.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"The school is under attack, we need to defend it, you saw for yourself…" The Doctor rambled.
"BOYS GO BACK TO BED!!" Jack yelled as loud as he could. "THIS DRILL WAS DESIGNED TO TEST YOUR READINESS FOR BATTLE SITUATIONS, I AM IMPRESSED." He looked back at the Doctor who didn't dare to challenge him, which Jack found an uneasy change. "GO BACK TO BED NOW!" The boys quickly returned to their rooms.
As the boys returned to their rooms, Jack noticed a scarecrow army approaching them. He groaned. Rose stood her ground, as did Martha, the Doctor however panicked. He and Martha stepped outside, Rose noticed that she had been given Tala, the Doctor followed them.
"What do you know of history, sir? What do you know of next year?" Baines yelled across the
"It's 1914!" Jack yelled to them.
"The Family has travelled far and wide looking for Mr Smith and, oh, the things we have seen. War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world, with all your boys falling down in the mud. Is that what you want to be remembered for Mr Smith? Teaching boys to fight, yet the Doctor despises fighting."
"Look around you Baines there is no one to fight!" Jack yelled cutting short Baines' speech. "No one else will die tonight!"
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The Family stood their ground; Martha and Jack shared an uneasy glance. Rose whirled round to talk to the Doctor.
"Tell me about Nottingham."
"Sorry?"
"That's where you were brought up. Tell me about it."
"Well, it lies on the River Leen, its southern boundary following the course of the River Trent which flows from Stoke to the Humber."
"John that doesn't sound like somewhere you love, tell me about Gallifrey."
"The sky is burnt orange, the citadel encased in a large shield. There stood…"
"The Time Lords." Rose looked at him. "You can describe a place supposedly made up but not your own home."
"You think I'm not who I say I am? When I kissed you, was that a lie?"
"No John, of course not."
"But this Doctor sounds like some…some romantic lost prince. Would you rather that? Am I not enough?"
"You know that's not true. But does it really matter? If they say we're happily married…"
"With a daughter!" He part shouted.
"Yes with a daughter," She handed him Tala. "Look at her, she doesn't look anything like Jack, she looks like us. She has your hair and eyes." He looked at her.
"You want to revert back to being them, if it's true?" She didn't answer his question, she looked away but he noticed the tears. "Joan?" The door opened and Latimer came out to them.
He said three words: "Come with me."
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Jack ushered them into the woods, he noticed the Doctor's jaw was bearing the signs of being knocked out.
"Doctor! Doctor!" Clarke sang, the group stopped and turned. "Come back, Doctor. Come home. Come and claim your prize." Behind Clarke was the TARDIS, powered down.
"Out you come, Doctor! There's a good boy. Come to the Family."
"You recognise it, don't you?" Martha laid a hand on Rose's arm.
"I've never seen it in my life." The Doctor protested loudly.
"TAR…DIS!" Came the happy giggle from Rose's arms. "Mummy TAR…DIS!" The Doctor turned to them. "Daddy!" Tala pointed giggling more.
"I'm not—I'm John Smith. That's all I want to be. John Smith, with his life…and his job…and his love. Why can't I be John Smith? Isn't he a good man?"
"Yes, but he's already in love with Rose Tyler!"
"Who you say is right in front off me." He looked at Rose. "I'm not the only one who doesn't want to go back, ask her." He nodded to her for her to continue. Rose didn't answer, only thrust Tala into his arms and ran.
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Jack caught Rose and pulled her into one of the empty houses in the town, the rest of them followed. He sat her down, before making his way across to the window. Timothy looked around the room it was completely bare except for the basics. The room was cold.
"I must go to them before anyone else dies." The Doctor told them quickly, he looked at Rose who just turned her head.
"You can't." Rose whispered quietly. "What exactly do you do for us, supposed Time Lords? Why do we need you?"
"We're there because we're your family." Jack told them. "We're not related by blood but you're like a brother and sister to me, to both of us." Timothy passed Martha the watch; she tried to give it to the Doctor, Jack still had Rose's so he began to pass it to her. Neither of them took their respective watches.
"Why did you take the watch Timothy? Why didn't you return it?"
"Because it was waiting. And because I was scared of the Doctor." The Doctor paled. "Because…I've seen him. He's…like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun."
"Stop it."
"He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe."
"Stop! I said stop it."
"And he's wonderful. Nothing surpasses the love that he has for his family, and the love for his wife's home." Suddenly the building shook as a small explosion occurred outside.
"What the hell?" Martha ran to the window, the others followed her.
"They're destroying the village." The Doctor looked down at the two discarded watches. He picked them up gently, passed one to Rose.
"Can you hear it?" Timothy asked.
"I think he's asleep. Waiting to awaken."
"Why did he speak to me?"
"Oh, low-level telepathic field." He began normally.
"Similar to our telepathic connection." Rose told him, confirming what he said.
"You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing…" The pair gasped realising what they'd said. "Is that how we talk?"
"That's it! All you have to do is open them and they're back!" Martha told Jack excitedly.
"You knew all along that me and Rose were married, yet you just let us carry on, giving you your own romance story…"
"Because we had to, because you told us to!" Jack cut in. "You were the ones who removed all traces of being married. We'd have been happier if you weren't!" Jack sighed. "Do you really think we enjoyed running round after you? Watching as you had accidents?" The Doctor looked down and prepared himself to open the watch, fully understanding everything and no longer afraid. "If you do this it changes nothing, it doesn't change the love you have for each other, you gain a daughter, isn't that reason enough?" Jack looked to Martha for help.
"Doctor read the back of Rose's locket." The Doctor gently turned the locket round reading the inscription. To Rose love Theta.
"That doesn't mean anything."
"Open it." The Doctor opened the locket, gasping as he saw the pictures.
With that the Doctor looked at his fob watch and opened it slowly. He felt the energy fill him, slowly restoring him to his former self. He grinned manically as he realised that Martha and Jack were right, nothing had changed. He tucked the watch into his pocket. He looked down at himself.
"This bow tie isn't me is it?" Martha and Jack laughed. He bent down to Rose's level, brushing stray hairs from her face. "Rose it's time to open your watch…"
"No."
TBC