Kayla was standing in a room. Somehow she easily placed it as the console room in the TARDIS despite knowing that she had never been in such a place and that the room didn't even exist except in her husband's imagination. Still, she was in that room and she found herself to be curiously anxious. There was a weight in the air only matched by the worried weight in her chest. She placed a hand on her stomach and relaxed slightly at the familiar feeling. At least she was still pregnant in this dream.

The doors suddenly opened, causing her to turn quickly to face the open door. Her face grew pale as she saw Martha, not wearing her maid uniform but something far less appropriate and her husband dressed in a pin striped suit. She nodded slightly to herself as she took in their less than natural appearance. This was her over-active imagination giving her a dream in the world that John had created.

But…why did it feel so real? Why did she hear herself tense at the voice of John, far angrier than she had ever heard it, cry out, "Look out!" And, why did she drop to the floor at the cry without a second thought only to get up mere moments later as the doors to the machine closed without anyone touching them.

Suddenly, it felt like they were flying. Yet Kayla was not as in shock as she ought to have felt at the flight. It seemed natural, she would later realize, that the machine was flying; just like it felt natural for her to be standing next to John – the Doctor, really – and helping him fly it. She heard him growl in anger. "They're following us!"

It seemed entirely correct for her to reply with, "They're never going to stop, are they? That's got to be Time Agent technology." She felt a flash of anger go through her at the thought of someone using whatever 'Time Agent technology' was.

John nodded, his brow furrowing in obvious worry. "Right across the universe," he said in a soft voice. Suddenly, high and stressed out energy once more, he spun and faced Martha, staring at her intently. "Martha, do you trust us?"

Martha blinked and then nodded. "I do."

For a moment, despite the worry that she was feeling, Kayla felt as if she might cry. For some reason, the fact that Martha trusted them, that Martha trusted her, meant…something.

John, though, didn't pause like Kayla would have. Instead, he nodded. "Good, 'cause it all depends on you."

He turned and held out two fob watches. Kayla paused as she recognized both of them. She was sure that she had seen one of them, the one in John's right hand, on the mantle of the fireplace yesterday. And the one in his left, Kayla was very sure that she had seen it a few days ago when John was using it as a paper weight.

"Martha," John started in a serious voice, "these watches are Kayla and I."

Martha took the watches from him and then frowned. "...Right, okay, gotcha...No, hold on! Completely lost!" She looked up to see him on the other side of the console.

Kayla, who was shocked by his quick movements, hurried over to him. She heard Martha run over and turned to face her. "The creatures following us are hunters," Kayla started, though she honestly had no clue how she knew this information. "They can sniff out anyone."

John, fussing around with something, poked his head out to add on. "With us being Time Lords, well, we're unique. They can track us down across the whole of time and space."

Martha laughed nervously. "And the good news is?"

"They can smell us, but they haven't seen us," Kayla said with a cross of her arms. "Their lives' are bound to be running out-"

"So we hide," John interrupted. "Wait for them to die."

Martha's brow furrowed. She looked in between the two and then shook her head. "But they can track us down."

Now finished with what he was working on, John watched in complete apprehension as what appeared to be a headset of sorts lowered from the ceiling. Kayla, though she truly did not know what it was, felt a pang of fear. She took John's arm and squeezed it, her breath hitching.

"Will it be safe?" She heard herself ask, "For the baby, I mean."

John looked down and then sighed. "It was made for pregnant Time Ladies." He paused to swallow hard, "There was a war before the Time War that got bad. It was a civil war. Everyone thought that Gallifrey would be above that sort of thing, but we weren't. A lot…" John looked down. Sensing how difficult this was for him to talk about, Kayla took his hand. He gave her a small, sad smile. "A lot of Time Ladies from the noble houses were targeted. My mother was one of them. My father feared for her life, so he created the Chameleon Arch. It changes the DNA of a Time Lord…and the baby."

Kayla rubbed her stomach, a frown forming on her face. "And if we're still human when I give birth?"

John took both her hands, a sudden sense of urgency. "That will not happen." He turned to face Martha, an expression on his face so strong that she took a step back. "If we're still human and she's about to give birth, you need to wake us up. I don't care how close they are to us, you have to change us back." He moved forwards until his hands were on both of her shoulders. "Promise me Martha."

Martha nodded quickly. "I promise."

Moving away from her, John moved back to the strange headset, which Kayla had almost forgotten about, and placed her pocket watch inside. He turned to face her. "It will be…easier," the word came out have choked, but he pressed on, "If you go first."

Kayla nodded. She stepped over to the headset but paused. Grabbing him by his tie, something she would never do now, she kissed him deeply. "I love you," she said in a soft voice. "We will get through this."

John rested his forehead against hers. For a brief, silent moment, they stayed like that. But all too soon, Kayla took a step back from her husband and stood still as he strapped her into the headset. She felt a tear slide down on her cheek, but John brushed it away before it could travel far.

"It'll be over before you know it."

With the promise still ringing through her, Kayla felt John turned the Chameleon Arch on and then nothing but blinding red pain. She faintly heard her screaming in the background and a worried Martha cry out, "Doctor! That can't be right!"

With a gasp, Kayla jerked awake. It was morning and for a moment, she was blinded by the sun. She looked around for John and felt a brief stab of panic. Perhaps the people who were hunting them had found him…

Shaking her head, she laughed at her own silliness. It was a Saturday morning, and John always went on walks in the morning on Saturdays. He would likely laugh at her dream when she told him; comment on her over-active imagination. And already, the dream, which is all that it was, was starting to fade.

Pulling on a robe, Kayla frowned as she felt a weight in the pocket of it. Reaching in, she pulled out a shiny silver fob watch. It was quite similar to the watch in her dream; she could feasibly call it almost identical. For a brief moment she thought about opening it, but a brief lift to her ear made her laugh. The watch was broken; there was nothing special about it.

Still laughing, Kayla placed the fob watch on top of John's and went about the rest of the morning preparations. Martha was out for the day, having asked to go for a long bike ride. She had done this a few times already and each time Kayla had told her that she didn't need to ask permission to go for a bike ride. Exercise was good for the soul and something that doctors were recommending more and more, and it was a day when there wasn't really anything Martha could do. The boys always scattered on these mornings, which was why John would take the opportunity to go for walks. He had such little time to himself.

It was in the afternoon when John finally remembered to warn her that Timothy was stopping by to pick up a book soon.

Kayla, who was reading a book, looked up at her husband. "Timothy Latimer?" She asked, her brow furrowing. "He's not in trouble, is he? Some of those boys he's with…" her voice trailed off as she thought about yesterday. "Baines made such a horrible comment to Martha."

John nodded, though he didn't look up from the little scrap of paper he was writing, as Joan still had his journal. "Is that why he and a friend apologized to me after class yesterday? I thought they had taken a leave of their senses. Going on about the 'honor of your family' and such."

Kayla felt a blush rise to her cheek as she heard John repeat her words. Hearing it from him did make it sound a little much. "I went off on them a bit," she admitted.

John looked over at her and then laughed. "It's quite alright Kayla, there's no need to feel bad," he consoled her as he took in her flustered appearance. "Those two boys do have a bit of a, shall we say, ego problem."

Getting up, Kayla sat down next to John and kissed him softly. "Thank you," she said in a low voice. She rested her head on his shoulder, causing him to smile and kiss the top of her head. The two sat there like that for a while, Kayla on his shoulder and watching him write while the Doctor scribbled down some random words.

When he wrote the word, 'TARDIS,' however, Kayla started. "Oh! I forgot to tell you. I'm having strange dreams now too." She said as she lifted her head to explain.

John looked at her, his brow furrowing. "Strange dreams?" he repeated, causing her to nod.

"Last night I dreamt that I was in the...console room I think you call it." She shook her head. "It's faded so much already, but I remember that you were there and so was Martha."

For a moment, John looked torn between laughter and slight concern. The mirth won, however, so he fondly shook his head and chuckled lightly. "Your imagination is over-active."

"I knew you would say that," Kayla said victoriously, as if this proved some point.

Smiling at her, John reached over and kissed her gently on the lips. Though unplanned, the kiss started to deepen rather quickly. Soon Kayla was moving closer to him and one of his hands was tangling in her hair. Just as Kayla was trying to get even closer, a feat that was quite hard with her pregnant belly, there was a timid but very present knock on the door. John separated ever so slightly so he could look at a nearby clock. At the time, he groaned.

"That's Timothy."

Kayla looked over at the door. "You should let him in."

John nodded, though his face clearly showed his displeasure at this. "I should," he agreed.

Learning back towards her, John started to kiss her once more. Allowing it for a few seconds, Kayla pushed him away with a soft laugh at the pout he gave her. Another knock at the door prompted him to get up. Straightening the ceases in his suit while Kayla did the same to her hair, it took them a few seconds to be presentable. By the time John actually opened the door, poor Timothy had been waiting out there for nearly five minutes.

"You told me to come and collect that book, Sir," he said promptly as John blinked down at him.

John stared at him for a few minutes and then nodded. "Good lad, yes.. yes! 'The Definitive Account of Mafeking' by Aitchison-Price, where did I put it?" Turning, John walked over to his busy desk and started to sort through all the papers and files and just general scraps.

Kayla sighed and got up. Walking past her husband, she went into the adjourning library. Searching through it with little difficulty, she came back out with the book and handed it to John.

"Hello Timothy," she greeted the fidgeting boy. He was tall but clearly younger than most of the boys.

Still, Timothy had manners. He gave Kayla a smile and said, "Hello Ma'am."

John handed the book off, but stopped Timothy from leaving with a sharp look and a well-placed, "I wanted a little word – your marks aren't quite good enough."

Timothy frowned. "I'm top ten in my class, sir," he pointed out.

John just chuckled. "Now, be honest, Timothy. You should be the very top. You're a clever boy, but you seem to be hiding it." Timothy looked down at this, causing John to nod to himself. "And I know why. Keeping your head low avoids the mockery of your classmates. But no man should hide himself, don't you think?"

Kayla walked over to John and placed an arm on his shoulder, causing him to look over at her. "You know," Kayla started slowly, "I recall a young John Smith hiding his intellect. How many times did you nearly fail out of school?"

John laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close. "That is true. I was part of a group at school. The Deca they called us." A fond smile spread across John's face, making Kayla give him a kiss on the cheek. "A group of ten of the best students at the school I went to. We were all close. Even had little nicknames for each other."

Kayla looked back at Timothy. It was the first time either of them had look over at the boy during their conversation. "The point is, Timothy, is that you should be proud of how clever you are. Maybe find some boys who are like you." Leaning forwards a bit, Kayla dropped her voice to a bit louder than a whisper, "Baines and Hutchinson don't own the school."

Timothy looked up at Kayla. An expression of shock flashed across his face and for a moment, Kayla thought she saw a glint of gold in his eyes. But then it was gone. Kayla moved back to John and leaned against him.

"I hope you enjoy the book, Timothy," Kayla said.

John nodded. "Fascinating details about the siege, really quite remarkable."

Timothy gave John and Kayla a slight smile. "Thank you sir, ma'am."

"It's no problem, Timothy." He paused and then added on, "And remember- use that brain of yours!" John gave him a pat on his shoulder. Oddly, the boy paled and stared at John, his eyes widening. Kayla felt herself move forwards.

"Timothy? Timothy are you alright?"

Seeming to shake himself out of it, the boy backed away slightly. "I'm fine ma'am." Walking rather quickly, Timothy left the room.

As the door swung shut behind him, Kayla turned to John. "Does he normally act like that?"

John shook his head. "I've never seen him act like that," he admitted. "But I'm sure he's alright. He's probably just tired. There's a cold going around, you know. Baines has one, and he never gets sick." He looked over at her, his expression becoming serious. "Be careful around him; I don't want you to get sick while being pregnant."

A few days later, Kayla found herself walking with John's journal in hand. Joan had stopped her and had asked where John might be. When Kayla said that John would be practicing shooting with the boys, her face has gone ashen. Kayla had quickly reached out to her and asked her what's wrong.

In a voice far colder than the one she usually used, Joan had practically snapped, "I was just thinking about the day my husband was shot."

For a moment, as odd and silly as it was, Kayla had wanted to reply that she too had lost someone in a war. That she had been forced to leave someone behind for someone she loved, and when she thought she was close to finding him, she had lost him forever. Once again, the image of a man with similar hair to her and, now that she thought about it, similar features, flashed before her eyes. But she quickly shook the idea out of her head. It wasn't true at all and it would just be mocking her loss.

But whether or not the feelings that a loss of a solider were real, Kayla had lost her parents only a year ago. She knew what the pain of loss of a loved on felt like, so she hurried towards Joan as she started to walk away from the target site and asked in a soft voice, "What was he liked?"

Joan looked over at Kayla and gave her a soft smile. "His name was Oliver," she started.

Kayla and Joan had walked and spoken about their shared losses. They had left the school behind a long time ago and were now traveling through the countryside nearby. The fields they were passing were littered with ratty, old scarecrows. Some were leaning over as if they had been hit by a very hard breezing, but others were standing straight and proud. Judging by the birds that were in one of the pastures, it was clear that the scarecrows weren't doing their job as well as they could be.

"Did you read the part about 1914?" Kayla asked, motioning to John's journal still in her hand.

Joan nodded. "All those images of mud and wire," she mused. "A great shadow falling across the entire world."

Kayla couldn't help but giggle a small bit. "It's a bit dramatic."

Joan made a noise of agreement. "Yes." There was a pause in the conversation before she added, almost worried, "But I checked the details on some of the other things he mentioned. Things that were long ago. All the facts are correct!"

Kayla looked over at her, a frown forming on her face. "You don't actually think that what he writes might be real?"

"It's not entirely impossible," Joan admitted, a slight blush on her face. "Some of the details he put in are being argued by historians currently."

Kayla stopped walking, causing Joan to do the same. "Joan," Kayla said slowly, "He's a history teacher. History is his passion, what he does every single day for work. But this journal, this journal is not real. It's a work of fiction." Kayla placed a hand on Joan's shoulder. "Don't fall into the trap of thinking it's real. That's dangerous thinking."

Joan frowned slightly. "How is it dangerous? It's just fiction."

Kayla shook her head. "I don't know, it's just a gut feeling."

Joan nodded. The expression on her face became sour as she turned to look out over the fields. "I had a gut feeling the day Oliver…" she swallowed and paused, allowing Kayla to guess the ending to her sentence. "I was in the middle of writing a letter to him but I couldn't write anything on it. I tried, but I just felt so ill."

Turning away, Joan gave Kayla what seemed to be a reassuring look, but the sad expression on her face slightly ruined it. "I understand those kinds of feelings, Kayla. I believe you."

It was far later that evening that Kayla found herself in an uncomfortable pale blue dress. It was ruffled down the front, as if trying to hide her pregnancy, but she was so large at this point that it did little of anything except looking slightly nice. But Kayla hated the dress. She felt like she was on display, like a glorified cake. A glorified, heavily pregnant, cake.

John, however, seemed absolutely floored by her dress. He had stared at her and then started to beam when he had first seen her in the dress and hadn't stopped smiling since. It was making her blush at this point. She knew that John found her attractive, but he usually didn't outright gape at her.

"Has your dancing improved at all since our wedding?" Kayla asked, a smile spreading as she recalled how horrible John had been when it came to their waltz. He kept tripping over his own shoes and was hardly able to actually keep to the beat.

John blinked at the question. "Um...I'm not certain..." he admitted with a nervous scratch at the back of his head.

Kayla giggled and kissed John on the cheek. "Don't worry then. I doubt I'll be able to dance very much anyways."

John smiled at her. "I'll enjoy every moment," he promised.

Leaning down he started to kiss her gently when the door burst open, causing Kayla and John to jump apart and stare at the door, both in shock.

"They've found us."

"Martha?" Kayla asked, a frown forming at the woman's terrified expression.

Martha shook her head. "They've found us, and I've seen them- they look like people, like us, like normal. I'm sorry, but you've got to open the watches." Hurrying into the room, she grabbed a fob watch off a bedside table and then headed to the mantle. Her expression changed to one of horror as she took in the mantle, which was covered in books. Whirling around she faced Kayla and John, both of where watching with concern.

"Where is it?" she asked them.

Kayla blinked. "Where's what?"

Martha hurriedly shuffled through the items on the mantle, causing some of them to fall to the floor. "Oh my god, where's it gone? Where's the watch?"

Moving so that Kayla was slightly behind him, John took a hesitant step forwards. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

Martha held up the fob watch she had. "You had a fob watch, like this one, on that mantle there. Right there!"

John frowned. "I don't recall that…" he looked over at Kayla, whose brow was furrowed.

"I think I remember it, John," she said hesitantly. "It was there just a few days ago." Moving from behind her husband, though he seemed to want to hold her back, Kayla stepped over to Martha. "Why do you need them, Martha? What's upsetting you so much?"

Martha shook her head. "Doctor, Kayla, we're hiding from aliens, and they've got Jenny and they've...possessed her or copied her or something and you've got to tell me, where's the watch?"

Seeming to come to a realization of sorts, John picked up his journal and pointed at it. "Martha, this is what we call a story," he said in a slow voice. "I know it must be so confusing for you."

Martha's eyes widened and she took a step forwards. "Oh you complete..." she shook her head and pointed at him. "THIS is not you, THIS is nineteen thirteen."

John nodded, pleased. "Good. This IS nineteen thirteen," he agreed.

Kayla huffed, "John stop it." Looking affronted, the brunette sighed and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Martha clearly believes that something is very wrong." Moving over to the maid's side, she checked the woman's forehead with the back of her hand and frowned. "You're rather warm, Martha. Maybe you should go lie down."

John jumped at the suggestion. "Yes! Yes, I'll walk you to your rooms now. We'll check on you with Matron tomorrow morning."

While Martha started to splutter in protest, John took her by the arm and started to rush her out of the room. Kayla sat down on the couch, taking in a deep breath as she felt the stress fade out of her. To see Martha, the woman she thought of as a friend, so clearly concerned for their safety, made her feel overwhelmed with gratitude. The fact that she cared, though Kayla felt as if they, especially herself, didn't deserve it, made her want to cry.

There was a sudden noise in the hallway, and John angered voice said, "Martha you're acting insane! You are dismissed for the night, and if you keep acting this way then you will be permanently dismissed!"

Kayla got to her feet and rushed to the door to see Martha sprinting down the hallway and John straightening his suit, his face flushed. She took his hand and gave it a careful squeeze, causing John to look down at her.

"I'm very worried about her," he admitted.

Kayla nodded, watching as Martha ran off.

Despite their worry for their maid, Kayla and John still decided to go to the dance. While they were a little late, no one seemed to mind as they stepped into the dance hall. The band had just announced a waltz that the two easily started to sway to in the corner, comfortable and happy.

But swaying took a toll, no matter how gentle it was, and Kayla soon found herself sitting at a table while John awkwardly tried to get drinks. Kayla smiled at him and waved, making him gesture towards the laughing women at the drink table that he was trying desperately to get around without interrupting. The brunette had a small feeling that the women knew that and were giggling at his attempts.

Looking away, the smile slipped off her face as she saw Martha walk towards her hurriedly, flushed from her run in the dark. She sat down at the table and placed a fob watch onto it. "You're going to have to open this."

Kayla couldn't help herself and picked up the watch, studying it in her hands. "It's heavy," she murmured. "A heavy burden for a maid to carry." She looked up to Martha staring at her intently, waiting for her to open it. "It's not the right time, Martha," Kayla said in a soft voice, "He has to open it first."

She let the watch drop from her hands and stared at it like it had burned her. It felt like it had burned her. "Those were not my words," she said with a shake of her head. Picking up the watch gingerly, Kayla put it on the table and slid it across with one finger. "Take it and leave, Martha, before John comes over and dismisses you."

Martha took the watch reluctantly and stood up, pocketing it. "There's one more thing I need to do," she said as John came over.

"Oh, now really, Martha. This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave," John protested as he placed the drinks he had finally gotten onto the table.

In response, Martha just held out a gray pen-like object with an odd blue light on the trip of it. "Do you know what this is? Name it. Go on, name it."

John stared at the object and slowly took it, a thoughtful-frown on his face as he studied it. From her seated-position, Kayla took in the object. "Wasn't that one of the items in your journal?" she asked in a soft voice.

Martha nodded eagerly as John studied the object. "You're not John Smith. You're called the Doctor. The man in your journal, he's real. He's you. And the woman is as well." She turned to Kayla and smiled at her. "You're Kayla Hark, not Kayla Smith. You're his…Bonded, I think. And you need to open that fob watch."

Looking like he was about to protest, John, Kayla, Martha, and the rest of the room all jumped as a…larger man stormed into the room, knocking down a hat stand in the process. An odd, gun-like object was in his hand that looked sinister and just wrong.

Because his appearance led to screams from several people, the man roared, "There will be silence! All of you!" Two more people, Baines and Jenny, walked in behind the man along with multiple…scarecrows?

More people screamed at this, causing the man to yell again, "I said silence!"

The announcer for the dance looked over at the man with a frown. "Mr. Clarke! What's going on?"

In response, the man, Mr. Clarke, turned and fired at the announcer with his gun, causing him to dissolve into nothing.

Martha quickly turned to John and Kayla. "Mr. Smith, Kayla, everything I've told you two, just forget it! Don't say anything," she hissed.

John nodded and pushed Kayla behind him, mostly hiding her from Mr. Clarke, Jenny, and Baines.

Baines glared around the room a few times before allowing his gaze to land on John and Kayla. "We asked for silence! Now then. We have a few questions for Mr. and Mrs. Smith," he finished with a sneer.

A little girl with a red balloon skipped forwards and joined the group. "No, better than that," she said with a shake of her head. "The teacher. He's the Doctor and the famous Kayla Hark is his Bonded. I heard them talking."

The group exchanged positively gleeful expressions at this news. Kayla felt a pit in her stomach grow and Martha hissed a curse. "You two took human form," Baines smirked as he turned back to the couple.

John took a hesitant step forwards. "Of course we're human, we were born human! As were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mr. Clarke! What is going on, this is madness!"

Baines frowned some. "And a human brain, too! Simple, thick and dull."

Jenny shook her head. "They're no good like this."

On the other side of Baines, Mr. Clark nodded. "We need a Time Lord and a Time Lady."

Baines rolled his eyes. "Easily done." In a simple movement, he took a step forwards and raise his arm, pointing his gun, not at John, but at Kayla. "Change back, both of you," he ordered.

John stared at the gun and then at Kayla, who had one hand placed on her stomach. Something seemed to flip in him and, with a startled gasp, he pointed the sonic screwdriver at the gun. A high-pitched, whirling noise filled the room and Baines growled and dropped his gun, rubbing at his now red hand.

"Get out!" John shouted to everyone. Turning to Kayla with a shockingly intense expression, he grabbed her hand and then, oddly enough, grabbed Martha's as well. He pulled the two behind them and started for the room when a blast from one of the guns sailed over his shoulder, causing him to turn, still keeping Kayla and Martha behind him.

Baines, looking rather murderous, had picked up his gun and was pointing it at John. "You're no longer human, Time Lord," he spat.

John did not answer. Instead, he just stared at the boy. Kayla very slowly looked at him and then at Martha, who was beaming. For a moment, she was confused, but then what Baines had said hit her. She gasped softly and looked at the man who still looked like her husband, but was certainly not her John.

So I do have a reason for how John changed back to the Doctor, and it has a lot to do with the reason why the Chameleon Arch was needed in the first place.

Also, I noticed that we're really close to fifty reviews. If we hit the big fifty, then I'll post a short thing from the next book.

Don't forget to vote for the poll. It finally is showing up on my profile so I'll delete the google poll.

and...review time:

CaptainWilliamsN7: Thanks! I'm actually really excited about all the stories. The Deadpool/OC is really interesting because she's very...innocent. The Peter/OC is also really interesting because she pops up in the prison and joins in with them. Her character is very different from the ones I've written before because she's very no-nonsense and is very reactive to threats to people she cares about.