The morning after the ultrasound, Kayla, the Doctor, and Martha all huddled into the console room.
"Right, a trip. A trip and if you like it then you can stay," the Doctor said proudly.
Martha nodded and then frowned. "Why would I not like it?"
She soon found out the answer. As soon as the Doctor started to actually fly the TARDIS instead of letting it drift through space like it had been, the machine shook violently and made the black woman clutch onto the railing with a vise like grip.
"What…are we traveling through time?" Martha gasped, looking up to see the Doctor and Kayla pilot the time machine.
Kayla nodded in answer to Martha's reply and then lunged over at a button. The Doctor gave the brunette a sharp look, making her huff but calm down and just watch the Doctor pilot while she held onto the console.
"But how do you travel in time? What makes it go?" Martha yelled over at the two.
Pouting, the Doctor shook his head. "Oh, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything. Martha, you don't wanna know. It just does. Hold on tight!"
Not needing this advice that much, Martha just gripped tighter when she saw the Doctor literally go behind Kayla, bang a button, and then wrap his arms around her waist which allowed him to catch her as they fall backwards. She soon followed.
While the Time Lords picked themselves up fairly quickly, thought the Doctor did keep an arm around Kayla's waist in case she fell, Martha to her feet slowly. "Blimey!" she huffed, "Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?"
The brunette shrugged and looked at the Doctor, who just grinned brightly. "Yes, and I failed it," he replied cheerfully. Grabbing a coat, he shrugged it on and turned to Martha. "Now, I promised you this trip, and if you like it then you'll go on more ones, but first-
"We gotta finish this trip," Kayla interrupted, and then sighed while giving Martha a grin. "One step at a time. Now if you'll open this door, you'll find a brave, new world."
Beaming at the thought, Martha turned to the TARDIS' doors. Take a small moment to compose herself, she opened the doors and stepped out into a street that would have belong in a film set for a Jane Austen novel, only it had to be real because who would ever allow a set to smell so bad?
All composer that the black woman had gathered dropped quickly and she jumped slightly while she spun on the spot, trying to take everything in at once. Briefly, she noticed the Doctor and Kayla just leaning against the TARDIS with a bemused expression on their face, but then she noticed something more interesting and she forgot about them.
"Oh, you are kidding me. You are so kidding me. Oh, my God! We did it. We travelled in time. Where are we? No, sorry. I gotta get used to this whole new language. When are we?" she looked at the couple eagerly, her eyes sparkling with glee.
Not answering, the Doctor just quickly pulled her back from a gutter-like trench she was standing in and then held out an arm to keep Kayla back as a bucket with something foul smelling was tossed out of a second story window. Only after it hit did the thrower yell, "Mind the loo!"
"Well, we're somewhere before the invention of the toilet," Kayla said dryly. Making a face, she plugged her nose as the smell drifted over.
"Sorry," the Doctor apologized while giving her a kiss on the cheek. And while it did get her to smile, she didn't unplug her nose.
Completely agreeing with the brunette's response, Martha moved away and looked around. With a sigh, she decided that it would be best to brush it off. "I've seen worse. I've worked the late shift and A&E." Shuddering, she shook her head. She would never work there again.
Nodding, the Doctor had been in A&E when it was late, though he was about to regenerate and therefore not really able to notice, he could definitely remember the smell.
"But are we safe?" Martha asked suddenly, "I mean, can we move around and stuff?"
Kayla frowned at her. "Of course we can move. Why do you think we couldn't?"
Martha shook her head. "It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly; you change the future of the human race."
Seeing what she was getting at, Kayla sighed, "Nothing would happen if you stepped on a butterfly."
"Though why would you step on a butterfly? What have butterflies ever done to you?" the Doctor pointed out.
Shrugging, they continued to walk down the street in silence, just watching everyone. Until Martha asked another question, "What if, I dunno, what if I kill my grandfather?"
Kayla laughed at the question, "Why are you going to kill your grandfather? Are you planning to?"
"No," Martha admitted, a grin starting to form as she realized that the question was a bit stupid.
Nodding, as if to say 'well then,' they continued to walk and watch. Nearby, two men got in a fight and one called out a very British sounding, "Oi!"
"We're in London," she noted.
Kayla gave her a fake shocked look. "Probably around 1599," she agreed.
Martha suddenly froze, her eyes widening. "Oh, but hold on. Am I all right? I'm not gonna get carted off as a slave, am I?" she asked.
The Doctor looked at the black woman oddly, having not even considered this idea. "Why would they do that?"
Martha huffed and shook her head. "Not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed," she explained while motioning at herself.
The Doctor nodded slowly. "I'm not even human," he pointed out, which could apply to the idea of the black woman getting carted off...if aliens were also getting carted off as slaves. Still, the Doctor continued, "Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me. Besides, you'd be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time."
"Yeah, look over there. That's some good recycling in action," Kayla pointed out while nodding to a man who was shoveling manure that was most likely from a horse.
The Doctor nodded at two men who were drinking and conversing at a water barrel. "Water cooler moment," he added in.
"...and the world will be consumed by flame!" a preacher cried out loudly, ranting and waving around a bible.
"Global warming," Kayla finished, which made the preacher stop and glare at them. "But there is one thing you might not have remembered from this time period…"
The Doctor grinned and pointed ahead of them where they could vaguely hear the sounds of a giant group of people and could see lights. "Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, we're just down the river by Southwark right next to..." his voice trailing off, he grabbed Martha's hand with one of his and his other hand clutched Kayla's. Together they ran around the corner to see the Globe Theater.
"Oh, yes, the Globe Theatre! Brand new. Just opened. Through, strictly speaking, it's not a globe; it's a tetradecagon — 14 sides — containing the man himself," the Doctor explained, grinning proudly.
Martha frowned as she thought about it for a few seconds, but then her eyes widened and she looked at the two aliens in amazement, "Whoa, you don't mean...is Shakespeare in there?" she gasped.
The Doctor laughed and nodded. "Oh, yes." Grinning, he gave Kayla a kiss on her cheek, which made Martha roll her eyes.
"Alright Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I'll be chaperoning you tonight," Martha joked, making Kayla just laugh and the Doctor roll his eyes.
"In payment, we'll let you see Shakespeare," Kayla said, going along with it.
The Doctor nodded. "And you can even tell everyone you met him!"
"Then I could get sectioned!" Martha agreed in a sarcastically happy voice.
It was a hassle to get anywhere close to the theater, so by the time they had crowded in, Kayla was ready to relax and sit down. Until she realized that they were going to be standing, crowded in by people, and tilting their heads back to get a glimpse of what was going on the stage.
So by the time the play was over, Kayla was not in the mood for all the cheering going around them. She had a headache, her feet hurt, and the smell was overwhelmingly bad.
"That's amazing! Just amazing. It's worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah," Martha commented on the left side of Kayla.
The brunette tried to make herself grin but instead realized that laying her head on the Doctor's shoulder and just nodding was much easier. Thankfully, the Doctor sensed her discomfort and wrapped an arm around her waist. Calming her through the mental link, he spoke in a quieter voice to Martha, "London never changes."
Looking over at them in confusion, Martha seemed to shrug it off. "What I wanna know is, where's Shakespeare?"
Nearby, a person heard her and nodded in agreement before yelling out, "Author! Author!"
Groaning in frustration, Kayla winced as everyone stared to take up the chant, but it thankfully ended. However, this ending was short lived as the chanting gave way to even louder claps and cheers as Shakespeare came out and gave an exaggerated bow before blowing kisses at the audience.
"He's a bit different from his portraits," Martha commented, which was extremely true. Instead of an old man wearing an ugly collar, Shakespeare was, if Kayla was being truthful to herself, fairly hot. He was young with brown hair that was, for someone who had no access to any sort of hair cleanser, well kept.
The Doctor sighed, sounding as if he had developed a crush on the man, especially when he spoke about him, "Genius. He's a genius - THE genius. The most human Human that's ever been. Now we're gonna hear him speak. Always, he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words."
Holding out his hands, Shakespeare prepared to speak his amazing words…"Shut your big fat mouths!"
While the audience laughed, the Doctor groaned and shook his head. "Oh, well," he sighed.
"You really shouldn't meet your heroes," Kayla informed the Doctor, and then kissed him on the cheek.
Shakespeare wasn't done talking, "You have excellent taste! I'll give you that," he informed everyone, "Oh, that's a wig!" he shouted out, pointing to a random person in the audience. The man shook his head, "I know what you're all saying. 'Loves Labour's Lost,' that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops! Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius," bowing, it seemed like he was done with the matter until he suddenly jerked up. "When? Tomorrow night."
This news brought out two different reactions from everyone. The audience cried out with glee, applauding the idea, but the actors looked confused and angry. Not noticing them, Shakespeare continued, "The premiere of my brand new play. A sequel, no less, and I call it 'Loves Labor's Won!'"
The Doctor looked over at Kayla and shook his head. 'That's the lost play. It's talked about but nobody knows what happened to it.'
Kayla's eyes widened. 'Oh great a mystery in history.'
As the crowd cleared out and started to leave the theater, Martha turned to the Doctor and Kayla who were oddly quiet. "Alright, I'm not an expert on you two, but I think I know when there's something wrong. So why are you being so quiet? Is it because of the play; cause I've never heard of 'Love Labor's Won.'"
The Doctor nodded with a sigh, "Exactly — the lost play. It doesn't exist — only in rumors. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. No one knows why."
"Have you got a mini-disk or something? We could tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint," Martha suggested.
At this, Kayla shook her head and placed a hand on her forehead, as if she was physically pained by this question. "No Martha, just…no."
Martha blinked, "Would that be bad?" she questioned.
"Yes," Kayla grounded out. It had surprised her that someone who had been talking about what might happened if she stepped on a butterfly was now talking about videotaping something that history didn't seem to remember.
Nodding, Martha sighed, "So what do we do now?"
"Why, we see the man himself," the Doctor answered.
"You mean…" Martha started, her voice trailing off.
Kayla nodded, not looking as pleased as the Doctor or Martha. "Shakespeare."
It took only a few questions to different people to find out that Shakespeare was in the Elephant Inn. Then, a clearly huffed person pointed it out to them, saying as he did so, "The drunk idiot is always there."
The Doctor frowned and looked like he was about to defend Shakespeare's honor, so Kayla quickly grabbed his arm and dragged him off with Martha saying, "Thank you," while they left.
Still looking upset, the Doctor walked up the stairs and then paused. Turning around, he grinned brightly at the two. "He isn't an idiot," he stated, and then knocked on the door. "Hello!" he called out, making Kayla winced and look over his shoulder to see the group of people, including Shakespeare, turn to him. "Excuse me! I'm not interrupting, am I? Mr. Shakespeare, isn't it?"
Shakespeare put his mug down with a loud sigh. "Oh no, no, no, no. Who let you in? No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove—-" His voice trailing off, Kayla watched as his eyes widened and then noticed how he was looking to the left of the Doctor, where Martha was standing.
"Hey, nonny nonny. Sit right down here next to me," he said with a smirk. Pulling out a chair, he waved his hand at the two men who was sipping on a drink and sewing. "You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go."
A woman who seemed to work at the inn laughed, "Come on, lads. I think our William's found his new muse."
As the two left, the Doctor, Kayla, and Martha stepped in only for Shakespeare to pull out a chair and motion for Martha to sit in it. "Sweet lady," He started as the black woman sat down, "Such unusual clothes. So...fitted."
While Kayla arched an eyebrow and the Doctor placed a protective arm around the brunette to hopefully keep the flirty Shakespeare away, Martha awkwardly replied, "Um, verily, forsooth, egads."
"No," the Doctor interrupted quickly, "no, don't do that. Don't." Taking out his psychic paper, he held it out to Shakespeare. "I'm Sir Doctor of TARDIS and this is my fiancé, Dame Kayla. And this is our companion, Miss Martha Jones," he introduced.
The writer raised an eyebrow. "Interesting, that bit of paper. It's blank," he pointed out while idly motioning for the couple to sit down.
While the Doctor remained standing, his eyes widening with shock, Kayla just sat down and gave Martha a grin.
"Oh, that's…very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius," the Doctor said gleefully.
Martha frowned and took the paper from the Doctor. "No, it says so right there. Sir Doctor, Dame Kayla, and Martha Jones. It says so," Martha protested.
Kayla looked over at the paper as well and shrugged. "I think it's blank," she agreed, "Though I've trained with psychic paper."
Shakespeare just frowned. "Well, I say that paper is blank."
Noticing Martha's confused frown, Kayla explained, "Psychic paper," she started, "Shows you what you think it says unless you're a genius or know how to trick it."
"Psychic," Shakespeare started with a thoughtful frown, "Never heard that before and words are my trade. Who are you two exactly? More's the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?"
Martha coughed. "What did you say?" she asked, her eyes wide.
Shakespeare tilted his head. "Oops. Isn't that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric..."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Martha said, cutting off Shakespeare.
The Doctor gave Martha grin. "It's political correctness gone mad. Um, Martha's from a far-off land. Freedonia," he informed Shakespeare.
"Excuse me!" An annoyed man called out as he stormed into the inn, "Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behavior. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mr. Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed."
Shakespeare rolled his eyes and set down the mug he was about to drink from. "Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it 'round," he promised.
"I don't work to your schedule, you work to mine. The script, now!" he ordered loudly, glaring at the man.
Shakespeare shook his head. "I can't," he protested.
The man nodded, as if he had expected this. "Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled."
"It's all go, 'round here, isn't it?" Martha muttered to the Doctor and Kayla, who nodded but said nothing.
"I'm returning to my office for a banning order. If it's the last thing I do, 'Love's Labors Won' will never be played," the man cried out, and then he left.
Having rented a room with two twin beds, Martha was to sleep in one and Kayla and the Doctor in the other, the trio settled in for a night of sleep. After all, it wasn't every day that you got to sleep in an actual inn in Shakespearean London.
"Well, then...mystery solved. That's 'Love's Labours Won' over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know...more mysterious," Martha stated, lying down on her bed.
Kayla shrugged, "That's time travel for you," she said just as a horrible scream. Exchanging worried looks, the three ran out of the room, down the stairs, and to the street were the man from earlier who Shakespeare had named Lynley was spitting out water.
"It's that Lynley bloke," Martha pointed out, her eyes wide.
The Doctor leaned forwards, studying the man. "What's wrong with him?" he muttered to himself, and upon seeing others press in he held his arms out, "Leave it to me— I'm a doctor."
Upon seeing the Doctor kneels down next to the man, Martha joined him. "So am I – near enough."
Kayla, not being anything near to a Doctor, helped control the crowd.
Without warning, the man sat up, trying to breathe, and then fell back. Seeing this, the Doctor got up and ran around the street, trying to see if anyone was around to have done this to the man.
Martha, meanwhile, listened for the man's heart. "Gotta get the heart going. Mr. Lynley, c'mon, can you hear me? You're gonna be all right." Opening his mouth to do CPR, the black woman jumped back as water gushed rapidly from the man's mouth. "What the hell is that?"
Having arrived back, the Doctor took out his stethoscope and listened to the man's lungs. "I've never seen a death like it. His lungs are full of water — he drowned and then...I dunno, like a blow to the heart, an invisible blow."
Kayla nodded and turned to the owner of the inn. "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humors. A natural if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away."
Her eyes wide, the woman nodded. "Yes ma'am,"
"I'll do it, ma'am," A young girl offered.
As the two walked away, the Doctor frowned at the body. "And why are you telling them that?" Martha wondered.
"This lot still have got one foot in the Dark Ages. If we tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft," the Doctor answered.
Martha shrugged, seeming to agree with that. "Okay, what was it then?"
"Witchcraft," Kayla answered.
Sorry this is a bit late but here's the chapter! Kayla and the Doctor and Martha with Shakespeare! I tried to show how Kayla's strength is slowly going down and that she's more sensitive to smell so you guys tell me what you think.
Also can I just say how much I love Martha and Kayla. They are seriously good duo and with the Doctor the trio is amazing to write. I hope it reads as well too!
And, if anyone is interested in seeing covers for each episode which is linked on my profile. I'll also write it here: ultramasterdoctor
And now...review time:
.77: Thanks! I post every Saturday for Kayla
NicoleR85: Thank you so much!