Sorry not sorry about the cliffhanger :) Also, Human Nature and Family of Blood will last at least another 2 chapters so enjoy! It's a big one


Martha found Asher kneeling in a large puddle of water, absolutely dripping as she grumbled under her breath and wrestled with a wrench on a piece of piping.

"Stupid people putting pipes in stupid places. Couldn't find the damn water shut off… students being assholes laughing at me… goddamn dean huffing like he's so fuckin' above it all and—"

"Ash?"

Asher looked up, blinking and having to swipe some water away from where it was dripping into her eyes. "Martha? Oh, hey. What's up?"

"What… Sorry, do I want to know what you're doing?"

Asher wrinkled her nose, turned her frown toward the pipe, and narrowed her eyes at it before turning back to her. "Fighting with a water line."

"I thought you were a gardener."

"Technically, I'm neither but hey. Whatever gets me money for food, right?" She said with a shrug, getting up and picking at her shirt that stuck to her skin. "Gonna need a new shirt."

Martha rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you bother now that you know where the Tardis is. You are eating now, right?"

Asher nodded, reaching down to pick up the wrench off the ground with a small wince. "Yeah, though only if I can't afford it. I don't like just collecting other people's money and I'm a busybody so it's not like I hate the work I'm doing. You know, so long as the rest of the morons here can mind their own business."

Martha scoffed. "Yeah, right. You should see when I'm working."

Asher pointed at her with the wrench. "I'll fuck them up for you Martha, just say the word. I don't mess around when kids are being dicks."

Martha smacked her shoulder with a grin. "Stop it. You're going to get us in trouble. What if they heard you?"

"I'll just tell them I'm American and they'll probably shut up," Asher said with a shrug as she started back toward the school to return the wrench.

Martha wasn't stupid though and immediately noticed how stiff Asher was and the small limp she was trying to hide. Martha grabbed her by the elbow with a stern frown on her face, stopping her from continuing.

"Hey, you're hurt, aren't you?"

Asher awkwardly looked away. "Don't know what you mean."

"Ash, the Doc—John told me he fell on you when he tripped down the stairs. You're limping."

"Just twisted my ankle. It's fine."

"Asher."

She sighed heavily, not wanting to get into a fight over this. "Yes, yes, Doctor Jones. Can you at least wait until after I'm off to drag me to the Tardis medbay?"

Martha went to argue before an idea came to mind and she smirked, making Asher frown.

"Why are you smirking? I don't like when people smirk like that. It usually means—"

"Come on. We don't have to go to the Tardis," Martha said, tugging her toward the stairs instead.

"I really don't think—"

"You need to get treated and I don't think you should wait. So, why not get it looked at now?"

"Maybe because John and Nurse Redforn are having a moment?" Asher suggested and Martha whipped around and put a firm finger on Asher's chest.

"Which is exactly why we're going in there to interrupt."

Asher looked down at the finger and back up at Martha. "Because…"

"Because if those two get close? Closer than just friends? What's going to happen to us? What about when the Doctor comes back?"

Asher shifted uneasily, biting back the few things she wanted to point out like how this might be more about Martha's jealousy than anything. What she didn't realize was how wrong her point of view was on the whole situation. Martha wasn't doing this out of jealousy. She'd gotten over her crush on the Doctor mostly because she'd realized that there would never be a day where the Doctor looked at her the way he did Asher.

Martha knocked on the door of the open study, drawing the attention of John and Joan inside, the former grinning at the sight of a disgruntled Asher.

"Mr. Watkins!" John sang, pleased to see Martha had hunted him down.

Martha grabbed Asher by the arm and lightly tugged her forward. "He hurt his ankle in the fall, if you could look at it, Nurse Redfern."

Joan gave her a look, suspicious at the sudden change in attitude after Martha had bickered with her but nodded, gesturing to the chair that John had vacated. Asher begrudgingly settled into it as John headed over, noticing that he was wet.

"Are you wet?" He asked, reaching out and lightly touching Asher's hair until she leaned back away from his touch.

"Sorry. I was working on that pipe," she muttered as John's gaze drifted toward the way her shirt stuck to her frame slightly before turning away and clearing his throat.

"Let me get you a towel. I have a spare shirt here somewhere as well."

"I really don't—" Asher was cut off as she hissed in pain; Joan having grabbed a hold of her ankle and was in the middle of checking it.

"Hold still," she scolded, making Asher frown but begrudgingly stay in place as Joan removed her shoe and sock to twist and prod at her bruised and swollen ankle.

"I was just telling Nurse Redfern, Matron, about my dreams," John piped in as he searched through a cabinet nearby for a towel. "They are quite remarkable tales. I keep imagining that I'm someone else, and that I'm hiding."

"Hiding?" Joan asked. "In what way?"

"They're almost every night. This is going to sound silly," he trailed off, giving Asher a sheepish smile as he lifted the towel and shirt he'd discovered.

He placed the shirt down on his desk and went over to Asher with the towel. She reached out to take it but he pulled back.

"No. Let me."

She frowned up at him but let him set the towel on her head and work on drying her hair since Joan was still eyeing her ankle, preventing her from fidgeting too much.

"It's definitely sprained," Joan informed her, setting her ankle down and standing. "I don't believe it's broken though. Let me wrap it and I suggest resting it for a while. I can let the dean know—"

"No, don't worry about it," Asher replied, making John frown.

"Mr. Watkins—"

"I told you, Ash is fine, and I can tell him. I can still do some things even with my ankle like this."

John sighed, leaning over her to frown at her in scolding. "You should just ask for time off."

"I just started!" Asher argued. "I'll take care of it, okay? Just drop it."

He didn't want to but he did, letting the room fall into a bit of silence as Joan got what she needed from her bag before changing the subject.

"I… I dream, quite often, that I have two hearts."

Asher glanced up at him as he dried her hair, offering her a sheepish smile.

"Silly, isn't it?"

Asher shrugged, lowering her head and closing her eyes as he wiped the extra water off her neck and pulled the towel away. "Dreams are strange. You can be anything in them so two hearts isn't weird."

"I have, um… I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction," John said, moving to his desk and picking up a book. "Not that it would be of any interest."

"I'd be very interested," Joan said, taping up Asher's ankle and standing.

"Well, I've never actually shown it to anyone before," John murmured, glancing at Asher as she carefully pulled back on her sock and shoes, not seeming to be interested in reading it herself.

So, begrudgingly, he handed the book to Joan.

"A Journal of Impossible Things," she read, flipping through the pages and eyeing his sketches and scribbles. "Just look at these creatures. Such imagination."

"It's become quite a hobby."

Asher carefully got to her feet and glanced at the book, making John's stomach twist and flip. "You draw pretty good. Like really good."

"Oh, no, no. They're just doodles."

"I think it's wonderful," Joan added, giving him a small smirk at the portrait on the next page. "And quite an eye for the pretty girls."

"Oh no, no, she's just an invention. This character, Rose. I call her, Rose. Seems to disappear later on…" John trailed off, lost in thought for a moment.

"Your handwriting could use some work," Asher pointed out with a teasing smile, making him pout before he spotted a smudge of ink on the next page.

"Ah, that's the box. The blue box. It's always there like a… like a magic carpet. This funny little box that transports me to faraway places."

"Like a doorway?" Joan asked, making him hum before she flipped to another page and stopped. "Oh, this one kind of looks like you, Mr. Watkins."

"Hm?" Asher looked at the small sketch, surprised to see it in there. "Oh, it kinda does."

It wasn't much and their face was smudged and partially covered with writing but it was definitely her drawn on the same page as a number of the Doctor's old faces. John was blushing furiously, having not remembered that was in there and knowing he'd draw it before he'd met Asher. It made his head spin because surely he hadn't drawn him and met him in the future. That was impossible. It'd be like some sort of premonition but thankfully they didn't comment on it other than that and as the bell chimed overhead signaling the start of the next round of classes, the group began to go their separate ways.

"Ah, wait!" John said, stopping Asher before she could leave and placing his spare shirt in her hands. "At least change your shirt. You're still a bit damp. Would hate for you to catch a cold."

"Ah, right. Yes, well…" Asher awkwardly took the shirt before looking behind her out the door. "I'll just… go do that."

"Stay," John said before realizing how that could be misinterpreted and hastily holding up his hands and correcting himself. "I-I mean, you can change here. I-In my washroom. I won't look. I swear."

Asher raised a brow at his fumbling and he looked away and covered his mouth to try and hide it. She just shook her head though and headed for the washroom to change. John shifted uneasily in wait, checking the time to make sure he wouldn't be late for his lesson, but Asher didn't take long and soon stepped out; rolling up the sleeves of the new shirt to her elbows.

"It's a little big," she commented, though John swallowed thickly and struggled to say anything at all upon seeing her in his shirt. "I hope you don't mind if it gets dirty. I can buy you a new one if it stains."

He finally regained his senses and shook his head adamantly. "No, no. You can have it. I have plenty of shirts."

"You say that like I don't have any," Asher quipped and John hastily scrambled to try and fix his blunder.

"No! I-I didn't mean—Not that you don't—I know your situation is hard but—I really didn't mean to—"

"John," Asher said firmly, cracking a smile as she lightly bumped his arm with her elbow. "I'm joking."

"R-Right. Right, of course… Sorry. I'm not usually so… flustered."

"It's fine," Asher brushed off as they headed to the door and John locked it behind him. "Don't worry about it and don't feel bad about loosening up. I don't care about etiquette."

John wasn't entirely sure about doing that but knew he could at least try to be friendlier to Asher. "I'll… try my best… Asher."

Asher smiled a little and nodded. "Alright. Long as you try it out. Enjoy your class."

John hummed, watching her go and silently wishing he had more time to talk with her.


I had stopped working earlier than I expected. My ankle was throbbing something fierce by the time classes were over and I'd excused myself to head out toward the Tardis for some rest. I'd iced it after having showered and eyed the shirt John had given me that was now smudged with dirt from the schoolyard. I glanced up at the dimmed Tardis lights with a small sigh.

"Don't suppose you'd clean this up for me, would you?"

The ship hummed, though it was hardly an answer when I couldn't really understand her. So, I set the shirt beside me on the jumpseat and tipped my head back to close my eyes. I must have drifted off at some point and woke up a couple of hours later with a muttered curse. I needed to eat and then hang out around town for a bit or people might get suspicious. So, I scarfed down a quick sandwich in the kitchen, refilled my water flask, grabbed my coat, and headed out into town. The shops were closing down for the evening as the pubs began to open up, and I wasn't surprised when I bumped into the farmer who'd hired me heading for one with a few other workers.

The group spotted me and hauled me inside to join them. They all knew I didn't drink much, but bought me something anyway before having their own fill of alcohol. I hardly touched mine, not being a fan of the potent alcohol taste in this time period, and instead asked for water and pulled out a few coin for a bit of bread to get the harsh taste of ale out of my mouth. The workers teased me of course but they knew how I was and backed off after a while. More people drifted in as the night grew later and then, I knew I needed a break. The heat in the pub and the potent smell of alcohol were starting to give me a headache. Not to mention that I had hit my socializing limit for the night. So, I stepped out the door and let out a sigh of relief as the crisp cool air brushed off some of the lingering alcoholic scent clinging to my clothes.

"Asher! I didn't know you were here."

I turned toward Martha and Jenny seated at one of the tables set up outside with a small lantern and offered a small smile. "Didn't expect to be here. Ran into the farmers I work with who dragged me along." I turned to Jenny who eyed me hesitantly, offering her a small smile and offering my hand. "Ash Watkins. I work in the wheat field just by the school and was just employed as the school gardener."

"Oh! Yes, I've heard about you. I'm Jenny."

"Nice to meet you," I hummed, moving around the table to sit beside Martha, though I was sure to put some space between us. Early 1900s etiquette stuff isn't my strong suit but I know some random young "man" sitting close to any unaccompanied woman is bound to start up trouble; whether I know Martha or not.

"Surprised you don't have a pint," Martha said, lifting her own slightly as I waved a hand in front of my face.

"Had one earlier kind of forced on me. Bit strong so the rest of it was handed off. Came outside for some air. It was getting stuffy."

"How's the ankle?" She asked, going into doctor mode. "You've not been working on it, have you?" She turned to Jenny. "Mr. Smith fell on top of him when he tumbled off the stairs."

"Oh, no! Are you alright?"

"Bruises mostly," I brushed off. "And I iced it for a bit after work, Martha. Finished up early even."

Martha hummed, eyes narrowed suspiciously as she lifted her pint to her lips. "Just making sure. I know how you are with injuries."

"Have you two known each other long?" Jenny asked. "Are you friends or…"

Martha and I bother grimaced. "Oh, no."

"No, no. Definitely not."

"We're just mates," Martha informed her. "Friends, that's all."

"Oh, well… are you leaving too then?" Jenny asked me, making me raise a brow in confusion. "Martha was talking about leaving in a month. I assume you're going with her?"

"Might do," I replied, knowing that there was also the possibility I just tripped somewhere else before I got the chance.

Jenny grinned. "Martha says she's going out to the stars. She does say half-mad things, I think."

"Well, you never know," I replied, glancing up at the sky. "It'd be nice, I think. Flying off into the sky like that."

"Oh, the two of you are just the same, aren't you?" Jenny commented, looking up at the stars herself. "Thinkin' up impossible things."

A flicker of green light flared briefly then, making the smiles on our faces fall.

"Did you see that?" Martha asked, but Jenny had looked away at just the right moment to miss it.

"See what?"

"Did you see it, though? Right up there, just for a second," Martha pressed as Jenny looked again and I brought a hand up to rub the back of my neck.

"Bit not good," I murmured under my breath, making Martha turn to me with a hint of annoyance.

"A bit?"

We heard footsteps then and we all stood as Nurse Redfern suddenly ran up to us.

"Matron, are you alright?" Martha asked the out-of-breath woman as she stared up at the sky in a panic.

"Did you see that? There was something in the woods. This light."

Then, another familiar face joined us as John stepped out of the pub, holding his hat in his hand as he eyed our group in slight confusion.

"Anything wrong, ladies? Far too cold to be standing around in the dark, don't you think?"

"We were just having a pint," I said, though my gaze was aimed up at the sky as the green flare of light appeared again, drifting like a falling star.

"There, there. Look in the sky!" Joan said as Jenny sighed wistfully.

"Oh, that's beautiful."

John smiled as well. "All gone. Commonly known as a meteorite. It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all."

"It came down in the woods," Joan insisted.

"No, no, no. No, they always look close, when actually they're miles off. Nothing left but a cinder. Now, I should escort you back to the school. Ladies?"

"No, we're fine, thanks," Martha said and John hesitated but I waved him off.

"I'll make sure they're back safe."

"Right. Good lad," John said with a smile, making me roll my eyes as he replaced his hat and gestured for Joan to take the lead. "Then, I shall bid you goodnight."

Once they were gone, Martha spoke up again. "Jenny, where was that? On the horizon, where the light was headed."

"Cooper's Field," I said, turning toward Martha. "The field I work in. I can lead if you'd rather catch up with John and the Matron, Jenny."

"You sure?" Jenny asked, hesitating and I nodded with a small smile.

"I'll make sure Martha gets back safe."

Slowly, she nodded and set off to catch up with them as Martha grabbed my hand.

"Come on then. If that was them—"

"Then we need to be careful," I reminded her. "We can't tip them off too early."

"It is them, isn't it?" She said as we headed up the road toward the field. "You would know, wouldn't you?"

I hesitated but nodded. "Yes, and I'm sorry but this isn't going to be a very good adventure for anyone."

"You know I hate it when you say things like that," Martha grumbled as we made it out past the trees and into the empty field. "Where is it? Is it invisible or something? Are we in the right place?"

I nodded, gesturing out at the field in the distance. "That's Cooper's Field there."

"Okay, but you didn't answer my other questions. It's here in front of us isn't it?" She started to step forward but I grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"You can't."

"But if it's them—"

"Then, what?" I hissed, eyeing the empty space in front of us cautiously, knowing that it wasn't actually empty. "We can't do anything here. What good would it do us to walk right into their ship without a plan? We have nothing. No weapons, no idea of how their ship works so we can't just blow it up with a few switches or buttons."

"What about the sonic?"

I shook my head. "No. The second we bring any sort of alien tech out they will know we're here and that will ruin everything. You have to stick to the plan. We just need to keep the Doctor safe and unnoticed."

"Hold on," Martha said, jerking her arm free of my grip and frowning at me. "But if you know what's going to happen, then you know that doing nothing is going to turn out bad. You said this wasn't a good adventure so why can't we change it so it is? Wouldn't that fix everything?"

I reached up and held my jaw tightly, trying to think of how to explain this. Though I would have thought Martha knew better by now. She's not exactly early or new to how things work with me. Maybe I'm missing something.

"Look, I'm not sure what to tell you," I tried, starting to head back through the forest with her for now. "If we tip them off early and change how the plan goes too soon, then everything I know could just become obsolete. The way things go that I know will change and worse things could happen. If we let things go as they should, then I have a better chance of doing small things to fix small things, if that makes sense. The bigger the change, the bigger the ripple. Like throwing rocks in a pond."

"But people are going to get hurt, aren't they?" Martha pointed out. "Will people die?"

I winced, knowing that quite a few people would and there were a number of them that I had no chance of preventing. "Martha, I can't—"

"No," she said firmly, stopping me and poking me harshly in the chest. "No, you listen, okay? Because I've seen you change things. I've seen you save people a-and make things better because you changed things. So, why the hell aren't you trying now? You don't look much younger than the future you that I've met, and if people are going to get hurt and die, the Asher I know would do something about it."

"It's not that easy," I tried to explain. "Every adventure is different. There are different circumstances at play here compared to things like Shakespeare and the witches or the Daleks or wherever else you've seen me."

"So you're just going to let them die?"

"The Doctor isn't here to fix things if I fuck them up, Martha!" I finally shouted, frustrated that I was being blamed for things that hadn't even happened yet that I knew for a fact I wouldn't be able to do anything about. "If I save a life now, not knowing the consequences of it, then anything can happen! The entire world could fall to the Family! We could get tortured or used as bait by them! John could end up dead and then what? Then there would really be no hope and is that what you want?"

Martha bristled, shoving me away from her with a glare. "I want you to do something instead of just sitting around making excuses."

"And I'm telling you, I can't."

"The Doctor would," she said sharply, making me grit my teeth tight enough to make my jaw ache. "And I always thought you were just like him but apparently, I'm wrong."

She started to storm off and I almost spoke up to stop her, to try and explain that things don't work the way she thinks but the words were caught in my throat and she was already long gone by the time I managed to move.

"Goddammit!" I shouted, slamming a fist into the nearest tree and leaning my forehead against it as I tried to calm my shuddering breath and cool the frustration boiling within me. "Dammit all. What do you want me to do?"

There were too many things at risk, too many people who had no chance. Jenny would die, get taken over like Baines and the others, but how would I prevent that? How could I? Stopping her or the others from getting taken over would mean someone else being in their place. I'd be saving one life and condemning another. I can't be the one to make that decision. I hit the tree again and one more time for good measure, ignoring the stinging of my knuckles and throbbing of my hand as I took another breath.

"It's not like I want to stand around," I murmured, pushing off the tree and turning around to lean back against it. "They have to be the ones who get taken by the Family. I can't change that. I can't."

I stared up through the canopy, heart aching knowing that I couldn't do anything. Tim will get the watch soon, keep it hidden and safe. He has to have it or we won't be able to survive. He distracts the Family at several key points, so I can't even do that. Things get out of hand though. They start bombing the village. I've no idea how big of a key point that is with the World War coming up. It could be a pivotal moment in history that I don't know about. So… So what can I do? What could I possibly do?


Joan was walking through the school grounds during classes, having no children to care for at the moment and she soon found herself outside near the shooting range. John's class was learning how to fire the machine guns as a team, and they were soon interrupted by the headmaster, who'd dropped by to check on them. Joan hated the idea of them preparing for war like this. They were just kids, just boys, and she knew firsthand how war could ruin someone. She flinched then when a hand came up over the short wall she was standing before; relaxing upon seeing it was just the gardener frowning as he swiped sweat off his brow while holding a scraper. He seemed to notice her then and stiffened, glancing down at himself momentarily as though realizing how messy he looked, and awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Apologies, Nurse Redfern, for disturbing you."

"Nonsense," she replied, offering him a small smile. "I should have paid more attention to my surroundings."

Asher hummed, glancing over at the group of boys now leading one away, a solemnness in his gaze as he watched them. "Hard to pay attention seeing that."

"Yes… Yes, indeed. I'm… surprised you're against it."

He shrugged, using the tool to scrape at some moss growing on the low wall, pulling his eyes away from the machine gun and the boys. "I think people should be prepared for whatever bad things are coming… but children shouldn't be fighting in a war created by adults." he paused, looking over at her. "Sorry. That might not make sense."

"No. No, I understand completely. They are… quite young." She pulled her eyes away from the boys, afraid of letting her emotions get the better of her but if the gardener noticed he showed no signs of caring; which she was grateful for. "How is your ankle?"

"Fine," he replied easily. "I had no work this morning in the fields, so I was able to rest it more."

"That's good," Joan said, though she caught the small frown on his face. "Not your lack of work, of course. I didn't mean to offend."

Asher waved her off though. "No worries. I just… The farmer's home was empty, is all. He seems to have vanished so I'm not the only one out of a job this morning. It's been weighing on my mind, is all."

"Oh. That is strange. I do hope he's alright." She said before spotting something and frowning. "Hold on. What's this?"

Asher flinched when she grabbed his wrist, showing her the deep purple bruising and scrapes across the knuckles of his right hand.

"How did you manage this? It's as if you were punching stone!"

Asher sheepishly looked away, mouth fumbling to come up with some excuse before they were interrupted.

"Ah, Nurse Redfern," John hummed, having approached with a smile before he spotted Asher's hand in hers. "And Mr. Watkins."

Asher tugged his hand free of Joan's, giving John a small nod of greeting as Joan spoke up somewhat shakily as she pulled her eyes away from the machine guns out on the grounds as they started up again.

"I'll… give you back your journal when next I see you."

"Ah, I have your shirt as well," Asher added as John shook his head.

"No, no, no. You don't have to."

Joan wasn't really listening though, looking down at her hands. "If you'll excuse me, Mr. Smith. I was just thinking about the day my husband was shot."

She took off then and Asher started to reach for her but pulled up short, wincing as Joan hurried back inside the school. He turned to John then with a frown and slapped a hand across his chest.

"Ow!"

"You dunce. Have some tact would you?"

John pouted, rubbing where he'd been hit. "What'd I do?"

"Look, just go make it up to her."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. She's upset. Go take her out into town for a bit or something once you're done with classes."

John didn't look eager to do so but nodded, understanding that he'd missed something he'd done to upset Joan and that he should at least make sure she was okay. "Alright. I'll… see what I can do." He hesitated for a second. "Would you—"

"Can't," Asher denied immediately, knowing what he was going to ask. "I was out of a job this morning so I need to check with someone in town about another."

"Oh, alright. Then, perhaps we might see each other?"

Asher shrugged and John nodded a bit solemnly. Seems today wouldn't be a good day to get to know him better. So, he went back to his students for the moment and as soon as the bell was rung, he made his way to Nurse Redfern's office to invite her out. She was happy to escape the school even if for a moment and the two of them went out to the village for a walk as she discussed her husband's unfortunate passing.

"His name was Oliver. He died in the battle of Spion Cop. We were childhood sweethearts. But you see, I was angry with the army for such a long time," she said, though John could tell the anger hadn't abated.

"You still are."

"I find myself as part of that school watching boys learn how to kill."

"Don't you think discipline is good for them?"

"Does it have to be such military discipline? I mean, if there's another war those boys won't find it so amusing." Joan paused for a second and looked over at John. "Mr. Watkins said much the same."

"Did he?" John asked, surprised that Asher was against the disciplining of the children.

"Yes. He seems… kind. A good friend of yours, I'm sure."

"Oh, we've only just met," John countered, attempting to brush off this nagging feeling but unable to. "Though… it feels like we've known each other for much longer. It's strange."

"You get along quite well for having just met."

"He is… intriguing. I'm not sure how else to explain it," John mused, smiling a little as he spotted said person just up the road. "Speak of the devil."

Asher was talking to the baker nearby, a smudge of flour already smeared over his cheek.

"He's always working. Said he enjoys earning money with his own hands. Doesn't appreciate people giving him things out of pity or charity," John hummed as Joan frowned slightly.

"He should take better care of himself then," Joan huffed. "His hand was injured as well."

"It was?" John questioned, understanding now why he'd seen Joan holding the man's wrist earlier.

"As though he'd been in a fight," she informed him, making John frown and look over at Asher.

"He doesn't seem the type."

"Then, perhaps I am wrong. He does hard work so having injuries from it isn't surprising."

"Everyday life can provide honor and valor," John mused. "Perhaps he was helping someone. Heroes can appear in the most…"

His eyes caught on a couple of men lifting a piano with a fraying rope.

"...ordinary of places…"

Then, on a woman pushing a pram rounding the corner. He wasn't the only one though, and his gaze caught on Asher's across the way. He too had seen the piano and abandoned the baker to hurry toward the two men struggling with it; shouting for them to lower the piano because of the rope. John had taken a chance as well, grabbing the cricket ball a boy nearby was tossing around and throwing it to knock a milk churn down to block the woman's pram. She pulled up just short enough to be out of the way as the piano finally fell and hit the ground. Joan looked at John in stunned disbelief as Asher helped one of the men to his feet and the other rushed over to check on the lady and her crying child.

"Lucky," John breathed, surprised himself that he was able to do what he'd done and coordinate with Asher from so far away.

He knew Asher had seen the woman coming up as well, but trusted John to take care of it while she went for the men to try and prevent the incident entirely. He wasn't sure how Asher knew he would help from that far off but the trust was there. In that split second, they knew what they needed to do.

"That was luck?" Joan questioned him with a grin, impressed and reminding him that he wasn't alone.

"Yes, well… I-I suppose it must have been."

Asher hurried up then, a little out of breath and his hands shaking ever so slightly from the adrenaline. "J-John. Nurse Redfern. Sorry to… to interrupt. Thank you, John, for that."

John nodded with an easy smile. "Of course. Ah, you have some flour…"

Asher went to swipe at his face but John reached out first, wiping the smudge of flour away with the pad of his thumb before his gaze locked on Asher's. He didn't move for a moment, silently wondering if somehow Asher could hear his heart racing in his chest, but the moment was ruined when Joan cleared her throat beside him. He'd forgotten she was there and awkwardly pulled away from Asher, looking away sheepishly with a hint of red on his cheeks as she spoke.

"We should probably head back to the school. Classes will be resuming soon."

"Right, yes. Of course. I'm done for the day but I'm sure you have work you need to take care of, Nurse Redfern."

"I'll come with you," Asher said, wiping his palm over his cheek in case more flour remained. "I need to check in with the headmaster about what time I'll be working in the mornings."

John nodded and the trio headed back toward the school. "Did you get the job then?"

Asher bobbed his head with a small smile. "The baker was happy to give me something to do. It's early in the morning which is a little annoying but it's something. I can check with a few other places for small jobs between then and when I have to be at the school but it depends on how late the headmaster will let me come in."

"Don't overwork yourself," John lightly warned, reaching out and touching the back of Asher's injured hand, making him pull away slightly.

"I'm fine. I know my limits," Asher grumbled as they reached the school.

"At least let me check it up in my office," John pressed as Joan sighed softly and slipped away into the school unnoticed. "I'm no nurse but Martha keeps some supplies in there just in case."

"Because you're clumsy, you mean," Asher commented with a small teasing smile.

John smiled a little too, rubbing the back of his neck before opening the door and holding it open for Asher. Asher rolled his eyes but headed inside and up to John's office where he waved him toward the couch and dug through his things for the medkit Martha kept on hand. Asher leaned back into the leather with a small sigh, closing his eyes and seeming to drift off as John came back around and lightly took his hand. He jolted, looking down at John with a small frown as he knelt in front of him. Asher didn't pull away this time though, and John went to clean the scrapes on his knuckles.

"How'd you do this?" John asked, dabbing at the scraps with an alcohol swab.

"I got… frustrated," Asher admitted, surprising him since he thought it was work-related.

"You… got frustrated?"

Asher flushed in embarrassment, keeping his gaze away from John. "I hit a tree… a few times."

John's brows furrowed, trying to comprehend what Asher was saying as he put a bit of gauze on his knuckles and started to wrap them.

"...sorry," Asher muttered, drawing his attention. "I know it's stupid. I just get frustrated and it… helps, for a moment, anyway."

John didn't respond for a second, tying off the bandage and just staring at the hand in his for a long moment. He didn't like that Asher was hurting himself out of frustration. He didn't like that the man was frustrated at all, much less to the point of doing what he did. He wanted Asher to lean on him, to share his troubles with him, and see himself the way he did. Perhaps it was too much too soon. Perhaps John was pushing things a little quickly but something in him was screaming to be heard, shouting for him to do something because the person he loved was getting hurt.

The person he… loved…

"Ash," John said, voice low and quiet as he lifted his gaze to Asher's deep blue eyes. "Please don't do this to yourself."

"I-I wasn't…" Asher shifted awkwardly. "I don't mean to. Usually, I can deal with it. I just—Things are complicated. You don't understand."

"Then, help me understand," John pleaded, getting up and grasping Asher's shoulders. "Ash, I want to help you, even if it's something small, something stupid. Even if all it takes is me telling you time and time again that you're a good person."

"I'm not—"

"You are. You're kind and thoughtful and smart and you work hard; harder than anyone else. You look after everyone before you even think of yourself and you are… brilliant," John breathed, shifting his hand to curl around Asher's neck, placing a knee between his and leaning forward. "Absolutely… brilliant."

He pressed a kiss to Asher's lips and for a moment, everything was perfect. It felt like he'd finally found a part of him that was missing, filling up a void that he didn't know was empty. He tightened his grip on the back of his neck, his other hand reaching up under his shirt to hold his side, making him suck in a sharp breath just as the door burst open. Martha froze as John pulled away from Asher with a scowl at the interruption, having not at all expected to be interrupting them when she thought John and Joan were hitting it off.

"Martha, what have I told you about entering unannounced?" John scolded, snapping her out of her daze.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," she said, hastily leaving and grinning to herself as she rushed back down the hall. It's about time.

John huffed in annoyance though, turning back to Asher with an apology on his lips that fell apart at the look on his face. "Ash?"

His face was flushed but he looked more frightened than pleased about what had just occurred. There was confusion there and John quickly tried to fix things before they could go horribly wrong.

"Ash, I'm sorry about what happened," he blurted out. "N-Not the kiss but Martha shouldn't have—I'll give her a stern talking to. Talk won't spread, I promise. I-I know this isn't exactly common during this time but we can make it work. I want to make it work."

"I-I…" Asher scrambled for words, unable to properly explain what was going on through her head because this wasn't the Doctor.

It wasn't but it was. John was a part of him but not the same. The memories they shared weren't there. The feelings were different. His mind was blank and empty and didn't hold even a quarter of what the Doctor's had and it felt wrong. Everything about it felt like she was cheating on the Doctor somehow, that John and him being so different while also being alike didn't make their feelings towards her the same. Hell, John still thought she was a man! How could he even begin to know he loved her when he couldn't see past that? When he couldn't see who she actually was, couldn't remember the experiences they'd already had? Her mind was spinning and she was beginning to feel light-headed and overwhelmed. She needed to think. She needed time to think and she knew there would never be enough.

"I-I have to go," Asher breathed and John's heart sank as panic filled him.

"Ash—"

Asher lightly pushed him away as he got up, moving toward the door. "I-I'm sorry."

"Ash, wait! Please!"

But Asher hurried out of the room and closed the door behind him, leaving John with his arm outstretched, wondering what he did wrong.