A/N: Welcome back!
I don't own Doctor Who. All I own is my OC Katy, and this story.
Please review and no flaming will be tolerated. Thanking you :)
FIGHTING AGAINST ALL ODDS
"I found a love, for me.
Darling, just dive right in and follow my lead.
Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet.
Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me."
– Ed Sheeran: 'Perfect' (Divide [2017])
Smith's study
Smith was in his study, using his free time to catch up on some schoolwork he needed to grade for some of his students, when he is interrupted by a knock at his study door. He rises from his desk and heads over to answer the door; part of him hopeful that it might be Katy. But he frowns curiously when he opens up and sees one of his students; a young boy named Timothy Latimer, standing there and looking at him politely.
"What can I do for you?" Smith inquires.
"You told me to come and collect that book, sir." Latimer reminds Smith, who pauses for a moment, before realising that he indeed did request that this boy come and retrieve a book from him at an earlier class.
"Good lad. Yes. Yes! The Definitive Account of Mafeking by Aitchison Price. Come in!" Smith steps back and allows Latimer to walk pass the threshold into his study and he closes the door behind him. "Where did I put it?" Smith mumbles to himself as he heads over to his library alcove, eying the boy sternly as he goes. "And I wanted a little word. Your marks aren't quite good enough." He pointed out to Latimer who looked a bit surprised.
"I'm top ten in my class, sir."
"Now, be honest, Timothy, you should be the very top." Smith scolds him, gently. "You're a clever boy. You seem to be hiding it." He climbs a ladder to search the top shelf of the library. "Where is that book?" He mutters to himself in annoyance. "And I know why," He announces to Latimer. "Keeping your head low avoids the mockery of your classmates. But no man should hide himself, don't you think?"
"Yes, sir." Latimer agrees. Smith continues searching for the book in question, as Latimer suddenly takes an interest in the Doctor's pocket watch and goes over to inspect it curiously.
"You're clever," Smith tells Latimer, oblivious to the fact that his student was distracted by his pocket watch. "Be proud of it. Use it." Latimer picks up the watch and nearly drops it when he suddenly hears voices inside his head.
'… Time lord. Hide yourself…' A mysterious male's Estuary English voice whispers. '…the secret lies within. I'm trapped. I'm kept inside the cogs…' Mesmerised, Latimer pops open the watch and is nearly blinded by a golden glow emanating from it. '…In the dark, waiting. Always waiting…' Latimer quickly shuts the watch and shoves it into his pocket, just as Smith comes back into the room, carrying the book he was lending to Latimer; who attempted to compose himself after the shock he had received from opening the pocket watch.
"…Fascinating details about the siege. Really quite remarkable." Smith rambled on, before noticing how flustered Latimer looked and frowned at him with genuine concern. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, sir. Fine, sir." Latimer quickly responded. Smith nodded, a little curious about the boy's behaviour before just as easily dismissing it.
"Right then. Good. And remember. Use that brain of yours." He encourages Latimer.
'…Power of a Time Lord…' The watch in Latimer's pocket whispers at him again as Latimer reaches for the book Smith was offering to him. However, when he accidentally grazes Smith's hand with his fingertips, Latimer suddenly sees split-second images of the Doctor using his sonic screwdriver with a stony expression on his face. He gasps in surprise, before blinking and re-focusing on his teacher's frowning face. He looked exactly like the man he had seen in his head.
'What on earth…?' Latimer thought, freaking out a little.
"You're really not looking yourself, old chap. Anything bothering you?" Smith was concerned.
"No, sir. Thank you, sir." Latimer responded, before turning and leaving the study without another word.
Dormitory
The moment he left Smith's study, Latimer races to his dormitory; with the intention of properly examining the pocket watch he had filched from his teacher. He sits cross-legged on his bed and pops open the watch again; some more of that golden energy from before drifting out.
'…You are not alone. Keep me hidden…' the Doctor's voice in the watch urges the boy. Other voices start whispering inside Latimer's head as he sees images of Daleks, Cybermen, Ood, Werewolves, Racnoss, Lazarus, and the Sycorax.
'…And infinite fire. Burn with light. Burn in time…'
Shooting range
A few hours later, Latimer practices firing machine guns with his classmates at rough targets on the ground below the terrace wall. The students are being supervised by Smith and Headmaster Rocastle. Latimer feeds in an ammo belt for Hutchinson, whom he is assisting.
"Concentrate!" Smith orders, sternly. Leaving the school to stretch her legs and get a breath of fresh air; Katy wonders outside and literally freezes in tracks when she sees the class. In particular, who was supervising it. "Hutchinson, excellent work!" Smith praises the boy for his marksmanship and Katy is shocked by what she had seen. She is unused to seeing the Doctor standing this close to a group of guns, and not being completely disapproving of them being used, let alone by children. But then she remembers, she is not seeing the Doctor, she sees Smith; looking cool, calm, collected and completely unfazed, and as far as he knew, this was completely normal.
Katy forces herself to keep walking.
"Cease fire!" Rocastle shouts, and the boys immediately stop what they are doing. Smith nods to his superior in greeting.
"Good day to you, Headmaster." Smith greets him, respectfully. Rocastle grunts at him in approval.
"Your crew's on fine form today, Mister Smith." He praises Smith. However, Hutchinson immediately objects.
"Excuse me, Headmaster. We could do a lot better." He reckons as he glowers down at a visibly distracted Latimer. "Latimer's being deliberately shoddy."
"I'm trying my best," Latimer defends himself.
"You need to be better than the best." Rocastle lectures him, sternly. "Those targets are tribesmen from the dark continent." He encourages Latimer to visualise, but the boy shakes his head in disagreement.
"That's exactly the problem, sir. They only have spears." He contradicts Rocastle, who frowns disapprovingly at him.
"Oh, dear me. Latimer takes it upon himself to make us realise how wrong we all are," Rocastle attempts to shame Latimer by singling him out in front of the class. "I hope, Latimer, that one day you may have a just and proper war in which to prove yourself. Now, resume firing." He orders the rest of the class.
The shooting recommences. However, as Hutchinson starts firing again, Latimer is suddenly distracted when he hears the whine of mortar shelling and sees himself standing on the front lines of a muddied and ruined landscape with barbed wire and sandbags, and the scattered remains of mutilated corpses, blown apart by shellfire…
(The distant future – World War One)
"Mind the wire! Keep your heads down!" An unseen officer shouts at Latimer and – to his surprise – Hutchinson, as they struggle their way back to the safety of the trenches. Latimer pauses and glances down at a watch; the same watch that he had only just taken hours ago from Smith's office. His eyes widen in alarm.
"One minute past the hour. It's now. Hutchinson, this is the time. It's now!" A shell screams straight towards them…
Shooting range
1913
The machine guns have stopped firing, but Latimer is too distracted by what he had just seen in his head to focus on the task at hand and reload the gun he is assisting Hutchinson with.
"Stoppage. Immediate action!" Hutchinson shouts at Latimer. When nothing happens, the older boy looks over to see what the hold up was and sneers when he sees the visibly horrified look on Latimer's face. "Didn't I tell you, sir? This stupid boy is useless. Permission to give Latimer a beating, sir." Hutchinson calls out to both Smith and Rocastle.
"It's your class, Mister Smith." Rocastle states, and Smith sighs; disappointed with Latimer, unaware that Katy was standing nearby, overhearing the entire conversation.
"Permission granted," Smith responded, and Katy is shocked; despite knowing that it was standard for this day and age from her history classes.
"Right!" Hutchinson gets to his feet, roughly grabbing Latimer's arm and yanking him to his own. "Come with me, you little oik." He and his friend lead a still visibly shaken Latimer away. Smith watches them go and raises an eyebrow at Baines who looks at him and sniffs loudly.
"Anything the matter, Baines?" Smith inquires, coolly.
"I thought…" Baines mumbled, before smiling politely at him. "No, sir. Nothing, sir." He leaves, and both Smith and Rocastle give him perplexed looks before Rocastle dismisses it and addresses Smith.
"As you were, Mister Smith." He gives permission for the class to resume, just as Smith spots Katy standing nearby, watching the class with a blank expression.
"Ah, Pemberton, Smythe, Wicks, take post." Smith orders before walking over to the wall Katy was standing against and smiles warmly at her in greeting. However, Katy doesn't return the smile, much to Smith's surprise.
"Ah, Miss Tyler."
"I'll, erm, give you back your journal when I next see you…" Katy formally tells Smith, whose cheerful smile falters a little at her cold reception.
"No, no, no. You don't have to." Smith reassures her.
Katy frowns and turns to leave.
"If you'll excuse me, Mister Smith. I think I'll return to the library. This brings back some rather painful memories for me, that I'd rather not relive." Katy states before hurrying back inside, not noticing the disappointment and concern on Smith's face as he watches her go.
Farringham Village
A few hours later, Smith invites a pleasantly surprised Katy for a walk around the village. He was both deeply concerned and curious about what memories were triggered from watching schoolboys practice their marksmanship and decided to clear the air with Katy to make sure she was alright, and to get to know her a bit more. Katy, while wary, accepted the invitation and mentally prepared herself for some serious editing of the facts to avoid accidentally triggering Smith's locked away 'Doctor' memories prematurely.
"Katy, I really must apologise for earlier this morning." Smith nervously broached the subject, earning a bewildered look from Katy.
"For what may I ask?" Katy replied. Smith hesitated, obviously attempting to choose his words carefully to avoid offending her.
"The class I was supervising today. You mentioned that it brought back painful memories for you, and I was concerned." Smith explained, and Katy offered him a small, amused smile.
"I don't see why you needed to apologise for that, John. It was such a long time ago. But I thank you, nevertheless." Katy responded.
"I wonder, would you elaborate further on that? If it won't cause you any distress of course." Smith inquired and Katy shook her head reassuringly.
"No, not at all. I don't mind explaining." Katy gave her consent. As they crested the hill they were travelling over, they both spotted that two workmen were hoisting an upright piano up to a first-floor window of the local ironmongers but ignored it in favour of focusing on Katy's 'memory'. "It was a mass shooting event that I narrowly avoided being killed in. Unfortunately my mother, father, sister and her ex-fiancé were declared missing, presumed dead in the ordeal." Katy relayed a heavily edited version of Canary Wharf to Smith, who looked shocked and sympathetic. "As a result, I have a heavy aversion to guns."
"I see. I am deeply sorry that had happened to you." Smith acknowledged sadly.
"And yet, I find myself in the employ of a school, watching boys learn how to kill using guns." Katy continued with a sarcastic chuckle.
"Don't you think discipline is good for them?" Smith argued, gently.
"Indeed. But does it have to be military discipline? I mean, if there's another war those boys won't find it so amusing." Katy countered, thinking about what was going to happen a year from now in 1914, when most of those schoolboys were likely to be recruited in what would be dubbed as 'the war to end all wars'.
"Well, Great Britain is at peace, long may it reign." Smith responded, good naturedly.
Katy nodded, looking away sadly.
"In your journal, in one of your 'stories', you wrote about next year. Nineteen fourteen." Katy tentatively broached a subject she knew quite well about but had to feign ignorance for obvious reasons.
Smith frowned.
"That was a dream," He insisted. But Katy was stubborn, she wanted to probe a little, knowing she was flirting with danger a little in doing so.
"All those images of mud and wire. You told of a shadow. A shadow falling across the entire world." 'If only you knew how right you really are…' Katy thought pessimistically.
Smith sighed.
"Well then, we can be thankful it's not true. And I'll admit mankind doesn't need warfare and bloodshed to prove itself. Everyday life can provide humour and valour, and let's hope that now on this, this country can find its heroes in smaller places." Both their heads jerk towards the ironmongers when they hear a woman ringing her bicycle bell as she peddles along.
"Steady on, lads. Easy does it!" One of the workmen calls out to his colleagues when it looked obvious that they were struggling a little with the piano. Katy's eyes widened a fraction when she noted that the rope they were hoisting the piano with was starting to fray. Even worse, a woman pushing a pram comes walking around the corner heading straight for the workmen, oblivious to the imminent danger.
'Oh, shit…' Katy cursed in her head and looked over at Smith who was also looking a bit concerned too.
"In the most…" Smith spots a young boy standing not too far away from where they were standing, holding a cricket ball in his hand. The rope continues to fray even more, and the piano drops a bit. "… ordinary of, of deeds…" Smith mutters distractedly.
However, Katy wasn't listening and was about to abandon the conversation and sprint over as fast as she could to stop the woman with the pram, when Smith suddenly snatches the boy's cricket ball and expertly throws it at the scaffolding outside the Ironmongers. It falls, hitting a plank, which launches a brick through the air to knock down a milk churn in front of the pram. It startles the woman long enough to make her stop going forward just as the rope finally snaps and drops the piano to the ground, narrowly avoiding crushing the babe. The piano falls to pieces, causing the baby to start wailing in fright.
"Are you alright?!" The workmen immediately stop what they were doing and rush over to aid the startled woman, who was trying to calm down the baby. "How's the little one?" They ask frantically.
'Woah…' Katy exclaimed in her head and looked at Smith with wide eyes, impressed. Smith looked relieved that no one was hurt.
"Lucky." He stated, and Katy let out an incredulous laugh.
"That was luck?"
"Miss Tyler, might I invite you to the village dance this evening, as my guest?" Smith immediately changes the subject, modestly.
Katy was speechless.
"I would be honoured." Katy accepted the invitation. "That was brilliant!" She couldn't wait to tell Martha all about this the next time they saw each other … which would be sooner than they thought as Katy needed to root around in the Tardis's expansive wardrobe for an appropriate dress for the dance that evening.
Field
The rest of their walk was spent discussing Smith's heroic actions with a cricket ball, which Katy still found incredibly impressive, and she made a mental note to inquire to the Doctor when all this was over, if he had ever played the game in one of his previous regenerations. As he certainly had the obvious experience with it.
"It's becoming clear that 'the Doctor' is someone you'd aspire to be, doing impressive things with cricket balls." Katy remarked, admiringly.
Smith chuckled light-heartedly.
"Well, I discovered a talent, that's true."
"Well from what I've read in your journal, 'the Doctor' has an eye for the ladies." Katy teased.
"The devil," Smith listed.
"A girl at every fireplace…" Katy recalls Reinette, almost nostalgically. She missed their mutual friend, and hoped she was resting in peace. However, that observation stopped Smith in his tracks.
"Ah, now, there I have to protest, Katy. That is hardly me." He scolds her, playfully.
Katy shrugged nonchalantly.
"Says the man dancing with me tonight." Smith cleared his throat out of awkwardness, flushing red; much to Katy's amusement, before spotting a lone scarecrow up on a hill. It was nearly falling off its frame.
"That scarecrow's all skewed…" He notes and both of them walk up to it. Smith straightens it up and reties its arm back on the cross-member.
"Where did you learn to draw?" Katy asked, frowning curiously, as she recalled the Doctor claiming once that he sucked at drawing and could only manage stick figures when they were attempting to solve the Isolus situation back in 2012 London. She couldn't wait to hear the explanation for that.
"Gallifrey," Smith responded automatically. Katy's eyes widen at the familiar name of the Time Lord's destroyed planet; but forced herself to claim ignorance.
"I'm not familiar with that place. Is that in Ireland?"
"Yes, it must be, yes…" Smith responded absently, frowning also.
"But you're not Irish?" Katy confirmed.
"Not at all, no." Smith agreed, straightening the scarecrow's straw hat. "My father Sidney was a watchmaker from Nottingham, and my mother Verity was, er. Well, she was a librarian, actually." He glances over at Katy with a smile.
"Oh, what an odd coincidence." Katy remarked, amused.
"It is, isn't it?" Smith concurred, chuckling a little. "Right. Yes. Well, my work is done." He takes a step back from the repaired scarecrow and admires his handiwork. "What do you think?"
"A job well done." Katy praised, walking over to see it for herself.
"All sorts of skills today!" Smith noted as he offers Katy his arm and leads her away from the scarecrow. As they walk off, the scarecrow turns its head to watch them.
Smith's study
Back at the boarding school, Katy heads back to her quarters to put back her hat and coat; promising to meet Smith at his study to resume their conversation. On her way out, she manages to grab Smith's 'dream journal' to give it back to him, but also fails to notice a piece of paper on the floor that had been hastily shoved under her door from Martha. Had she seen it, she would've learned that her friend had been searching for her to schedule a time to regroup and figure out their next move in protecting the Doctor from the Family, and that she'd try again later, unless they saw each other beforehand somewhere in the school. Once in the study with Smith, Katy immediately handed him back his journal.
"Oh, thank you. But you didn't have to return it, I don't mind you looking through it a little while longer." Smith protested, but Katy waved him off.
"No, it's fine. I've gleaned all that I can from your journal. Thank you for lending it to me." Katy stated, graciously.
"Very well. Although now that I have it back, you wouldn't mind posing for me, would you?" Smith asked, a little bit shyly.
Katy blinked at him in astonishment.
"You want to draw a picture of me?" She was suddenly bombarded with a vivid memory of the sketching scene from the movie Titanic that she, Jackie and Rose used to watch every now and then the very second after Smith asked her that question and found herself simultaneously blushing and forcibly shoving that thought away firmly, despite how appealing the idea was to her.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Smith responded, slightly puzzled by how flustered Katy had become.
"Then by all means. Where do you want me?" Katy agreed and took a seat on the Chesterfield when Smith indicated for her to do so. A few minutes later, Smith had finished his sketch of Katy. "May I see?" Katy requested, curious to see how 'the Doctor' saw her. Smith nodded and took a seat beside her on the Chesterfield and passes her the journal. Katy looks down at the sketch and blinks down at it with pleasant surprise. "Upon my word! Do I really look like that?"
"Do you like it?" Smith asks, nervously.
"It's beautiful. You really do have a talent." Katy complemented him. 'Stick figures, my arse…' Katy scoffed privately in her head.
"Well, that's how I see you." Smith explained, tenderly.
Katy could swear that her heart, or at least the one heart that maintained the illusion that she was human; not Time Lady, had literally skipped a beat at this point. She already knew that the Doctor loved her; but she had obviously not realised until now just how deep his feelings actually went. Slowly, she turned and looked at him, realising that while she had been distracted by the sketch, Smith had sat a little bit closer than before.
"Truly?" She whispered. Smith just nodded before leaning in and kissing her, as Katy's heart soared and she melted into the kiss. However, Smith frowned and momentarily pulled away. "What's wrong?" Katy questioned.
"Nothing. Except this feels strangely familiar—" He noted, and panicking, Katy leans and kisses him again to distract him; raising a hand to gently cup his face and smiling when he leans into it. Suddenly, the study door bursts open, startling them apart, as Martha walks in, annoying Smith. "Martha, what have I told you about entering unannounced?" He yells, angrily.
"I-I'm sorry…" Martha stammers before running out of the study, closing the door behind her. Katy huffs exasperatedly but pastes on a nonplussed smile to reassure Smith.
"I am terribly sorry, Katy." Smith apologises. "I'm going to have to have a word with Martha about this—"
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for it." Katy reassures him. "I need to be going anyway. I still have a few errands I need to do before the dance this evening. I'll see you here tonight." She gets to her feet, and heads towards the study door, giving Smith a brilliant smile before leaving.
Outside Smith's study
Leaning against the study door, Katy sighed in annoyance.
"Seriously, Martha. Nothing like being a bloody cockblocker…" She grumbles to herself before heading back in the direction of her quarters to retrieve her coat and hat; knowing exactly where Martha was likely to have disappeared to after walking in on Katy and Smith.
School grounds
Latimer sits on a stone bench by a tree in the middle of the school's courtyard, holding the Doctor's watch and still hearing voices whispering in his head, including the Doctor's himself.
'…Darkness is coming…' A woman's voice whispers ominously.
'…Keep me away from the false and empty man…' the Doctor's voice urges Latimer.
'…The last of the Time Lords. The last of that wise and ancient race…' A man's voice whispers just as mysteriously as the woman's voice.
'…Merge with the faces of men…' Her voice whispers again.
Movement forces Latimer to look up sharply as he spots his classmate Baines walk up to Mister Clark, a well-to-do farmer, and then a red balloon bobs along behind a wall before a little girl appears and joins them. Her name was Lucy Cartwright. Simultaneously, the three tilt their heads to the right in the direction of Latimer and sniff deeply. Latimer, creeped out, shudders before getting up from the bench and heading back inside the school.
Tardis
Katy walks into the barn and lets herself into the Tardis, spotting a sheepish Martha standing at the console. She looks up the second the door opens and smiles apologetically at an unimpressed Katy.
"Did I interrupt something?" Martha asks, awkwardly.
"Yes, you did." Katy confirmed. "We really need to work on your early 20th century knowledge, Martha, or Smith is going to suspect something is up." She scolds her friend, who winces.
"I'm sorry. I really am." Martha states sincerely. But then a mischievous grin spreads across her face. "But before I interrupted everything, what was it like?" Katy's eyes lit up with excitement.
"It was … informative." Katy responded. "And wonderful! I never knew that he truly felt that way for me." She gushed and Martha smiled warmly at her.
"Well, I'm definitely jealous. And I'm happy for you."
"So what was so important that you had to come barging into Smith's study? I presume you were looking for me?" Katy questioned. Martha immediately became solemn.
"Yeah, I just wanted to know if you've found anything that related to the green light from yesterday?" Martha asked.
Katy shook her head.
"Not really. Have you?"
"Not as such. But I've got a horrible feeling something bad's gonna happen soon. Plus, Jenny's gone missing; and it's weird because she's usually on time." Martha stated.
"Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much. But keep a sharp eye out just in case. Nothing is irrelevant when it comes to this. I've been in this long enough to know the difference." Katy advises. "What are you up to for the rest of the evening?"
"I've got the rest of the night off, mostly because some of the staff are going to that dance in the village." Martha confirms, looking a little irritated.
"Funny you should say that. Smith invited me to be his date this evening." Katy stated and Martha grinned.
"Lucky. Plus you'll be with the Doctor. Kills two birds with one stone."
"My thoughts exactly. Now I just gotta find the right dress." Katy mused unenthusiastically.
Martha immediately perked up at that.
"Ooh, I gotta be in on that. C'mon!" Both of them immediately headed off towards the Tardis's wardrobe; unaware of the horrors they were going to encounter that evening.
Smith's study
Katy and Martha returned to the boarding school after finding the right party dress for the dance, and after confirming that Martha would continue sleuthing after supper tonight, Katy headed for Smith's study. She paused outside the study door and smoothed down her borrowed dress to remove any wrinkles. The dress she had finally decided on was in a flattering shade of champagne gold with a sinched-in waist, a square neckline, billowy sleeves that ended at her elbows, and a small train. Her long brown hair had been pinned into an elegant bun popular for the 1910s. Drawing in a calming breath in, Katy knocked on the door and gave Smith a beaming smile when he answered the door, dressed in a dapper brown three-piece suit with a matching waistcoat and black bowtie. His normally spiky brown hair had been neatly combed back.
"Hello, John!" Katy greeted him, brightly.
"You look wonderful!" Smith complimented her, earning a blush from Katy as she comes over and adjusts Smith's tie for him.
"Now you'd better give me some warning. Can you dance?" Katy inquires, already knowing that he could, but was keeping up appearances. Smith looked a little awkward.
"I'm not certain," He admitted, earning a giggle from Katy.
"Well, we'll find out. But is there anything you're certain about?" Smith reaches up and gently takes Katy's hands in his.
"Yes," He replied, meaningfully looking into her eyes. 'Oh, boy…' Katy thought, feeling a little flustered.
Servant's quarters
Martha was just settling down and pouring herself a cup of tea when Jenny walks in. The tray that Martha had unexpectedly acquired from one of the teachers had two cups and a small cake on a stand. Martha looked up when Jenny entered and sagged with relief. She was pleased that her friend was safe.
"There you are!" She greeted Jenny, who was studying her attentively, almost calculatingly. "Come and look what I've got. Mister Poole didn't want his afternoon tea so Cook said I could have it. And there's enough for two." When Jenny didn't say anything, Martha looked up curiously. "What are you standing there for?" Jenny suddenly gives a deep sniff, earning a strange look from Martha. "Are you alright?"
"I must have a cold coming on," Jenny responded almost immediately. Martha nodded, accepting this answer and continues playing mother, pouring the tea into both cups.
"I really hope everything goes alright tonight. I really think they need this." Martha sighed.
"They who?" Jenny questioned.
"Mister Smith and Miss Tyler. They've been through a lot, and they need a bit of happiness."
"Why?"
"Doesn't everyone need happiness in their life?" Martha frowns at Jenny, thrown by the demanding questions. It wasn't like her at all. "Besides their contracts end soon, and we're leaving in a few weeks."
"Leave for where?" Jenny demands sharply.
"All sorts of places. I wish I could tell you, Jenny, but it's complicated." Martha stated regretfully.
"In what way?"
"I just can't," Martha insists firmly.
"It sounds so interesting. Tell me. Tell me now!" Jenny requests aggressively, and alarm bells go off in Martha's head. Something was not right, and she needed to make an excuse to leave. Forcing a polite smile, Martha responds to Jenny's request.
"Would you like some tea?"
"Yes, thanks." Jenny responded automatically. Martha nodded, acknowledging her.
"I could put a nice bit of gravy in the pot. And some mutton." Martha tested a theory, waiting to see if Jenny would prove her wrong with her suspicions. "Or sardines and jam. How about that?" She offered.
"I like the sound of that," Jenny promptly agreed, and Martha made a face. 'Ew. Does she even know what she's agreeing to? Sardines and jam, together?' She slowly rises to her feet, not making any sudden movements now that her theory had been proven right.
"Great. Hold on a tick…" Martha turns and leaves the room, before running outside. Jenny immediately goes to the window and fires a green energy ray at her from an alien gun.
Smith's study
Realising that the jig was up and that they had been found, Martha runs like the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels and once again bursts into Smith's study again without knocking. Only this time, she could care less if anybody was pissed off with her for ruining any special moment.
"They've found us!" Martha announces breathlessly, as Smith and Katy break apart after almost kissing. However, instead of being annoyed, Katy manages to catch what her friend had just said and looks at her with concern.
"Martha? What's wrong?" Katy asks at the same time that Smith exclaims: "Martha, I've warned you!"
"They've found us, and I've seen them!" Martha relays to Katy, ignoring Smith completely. Katy's eyes widen in horror when she realises what this entails. The Doctor was in serious danger, and they needed to act now and wake him up. "They look like people, like us, like normal." Martha turns to an irritated Smith and looks at him pleadingly. "I'm sorry, but you've got to open the watch. Where is it?" She heads over to the mantlepiece where the fob watch was kept, and freezes when she doesn't see it.
"What is it?" Katy comes over to Martha.
"Where's it gone? Where's the watch?" Martha panics, and Katy looks over to see for herself.
"What are you talking about?" Smith frowns, in confusion.
"You had a watch. A fob watch. Right there." Martha points towards the mantlepiece, and Katy curses underneath her breath.
"Did I? I don't remember." Smith recalls, puzzled as to why the fob watch was so important.
"Of all the days for it to go missing…" Katy mutters, earning a look from Smith.
"Oh, God, Doctor, 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?" Martha questions him, urgently. Smith is quiet for a moment, before a look of understanding passes his face. Both Katy and Martha relax, thinking he knew where the watch was.
"Oh, I see. Cultural differences," He explains to Katy, whose face falls when he says this. Smith smiles a little patronisingly at Martha, who bristles a little. "It must be so confusing for you. Martha, this is what we call a story." He explains, indicating to the 'dream journal' calmly and carefully, as though Martha was lacking the brain capacity to understand what he was talking about. Katy winces behind Smith's back, as Martha looked like she wanted to strangle Smith for the implication that she was stupid.
"Oh, you complete—" Martha gathers up her patience and makes an attempt to try and help Smith understand the seriousness of the situation. "This is not you. This is nineteen thirteen."
"Good. This is nineteen thirteen." Smith agrees, talking to Martha in an exaggerated understanding tone. Martha just looks at him with disgust, before giving up and moving onto what she deemed to be plan B.
"I'm sorry," she says to both Katy and Smith who look at her questioningly. "I'm really sorry, but I've got to snap you out of this." Martha rears back and slaps Smith hard across the face, alarming Katy.
"Martha! What are you doing!" Katy exclaimed. But Martha ignores her, staring intently at an outraged Smith who was rubbing his jaw.
"Wake up! You need to come back to the Tardis with us!" Martha shouts at him, forcing Katy to intervene by pulling her to one side away from Smith.
"Martha, this is not the best way around this!" She scolds her friend and was about to give her some possible instructions about what to do next, when Smith steps protectively in front of her to confront Martha.
"How dare, how dare you!" He snarled. "I'm not going anywhere with an insane servant." Smith grabs Martha by her upper arm and leads her forcibly to the study door. "Martha, you are dismissed. You will leave these premises immediately. Now get out!" He opens the door and pushes Martha out into the corridor, slamming the door shut behind her. "The nerve of it. The absolute cheek." Smith was completely appalled by Martha's actions, while Katy panicked, trying to think fast on her feet about what to do next to bring the Doctor back. Smith looks at Katy incredulously. "You think I'm a fantasist? Well, what about her?"
Katy knew that Martha was more than capable of taking care of herself and figuring out what to do next. Still, she knew she had to point something out to Smith.
"The thing is, John. You did have a fob watch, right there. Are you sure you don't remember?" Katy hinted, looking at him hopefully.
Courtyard
Latimer was returning to his dormitory when Martha accidentally bumps into him on her way back to the servants' wing.
"Oh, sorry!" Martha apologises to him. However, the minor collision gives Latimer a vision of Martha running away from him in her 2007 clothes. He blinks once in bewilderment. "Sorry!" Martha apologises again and continues running.
Latimer calls out to her.
"Martha?"
"Not now, Tim. Busy!" Martha shouts back, leaving Latimer feeling very confused. Going on a hunch, he sets off towards the village towards the hall for the dance.
Outside the Village Hall
Katy and Smith head for the dance, with the former remaining vigilant to any approaching danger as they went. Smith was still shocked about the behaviour of his former servant.
"I'm sure Martha meant well, John. Something obviously frightened her." Katy attempted to reassure Smith who still didn't look completely convinced.
"That may be so, but her behaviour is out of character for her. It's not like her at all." Smith looked more concerned than angry, prompting Katy to question him further.
"But does that justify you dismissing her? She may well know something that we don't." Katy challenged.Neither of them notices Latimer watching them both from around the corner.
"Spare a penny for the veterans of the Crimea, sir?" A return veteran asks Smith who smiles politely at him.
"Yes, of course." Smith reaches into his pocket and produces the asked for penny, popping into the collection tin the veteran holds out to him. "There you are." The veteran doffs his cap at the couple as Smith and Katy head inside to get out of the cold night air.
Latimer sneaks in behind them while the veteran checks the coins he has collected in his tin.
Village Hall
Cheery music greets them as Katy and Smith walk into the hall, handing off their coats and hats to attendants before mingling with the crowd of partygoers. Smith leads Katy towards a vacant table and pulls out her chair for her so she could sit down. It wasn't long before the Master of Ceremonies stands up to announce the next round of dancing.
"Ladies and gentlemen. Please take your partners for a waltz." The village band begin playing a cheerful, upbeat waltz just as Smith stands and offers his hand to Katy, who takes it with a smile and allows him to lead her to the dancefloor. Katy smirks playfully at him.
"You can dance," Katy confirms, earning a chuckle from Smith.
"I surprise myself." He replied, grinning back. They accidentally bump into a nearby couple. "Sorry." He apologises before leading Katy away from them and towards the middle of the dancefloor. When the waltz finishes, Smith escorts Katy back to their table before wondering off to get drinks for both of them. While this happens, Martha manages to sneak inside and makes a beeline for the table, taking a seat in front of Katy who scowls sternly at her friend for her actions.
"Martha, what the hell were you thinking?" Katy reprimands Martha who looks apologetically at her, but also looks unrepentant.
"I was improvising." Martha responded, and Katy sighed heavily.
"Then let me be the first to say that you suck at it." Katy glances around for Smith before leaning in closer to talk to Martha without being overheard unintentionally. "Do you have any other ideas to help jog his memory?" She asked, urgently.
"Just one. But it's a long shot." Martha digs into her jacket pocket and withdraws the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, showing it to Katy, who eyes it contemplatively.
"Do you think it could work?"
"We're about to find out," Martha stated as Smith approaches returns to the table, carrying two cups of punch. He frowns when he sees Martha sitting there looking at him with anticipation, and Katy looking between them both nervously.
"Oh, now really, Martha. This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave." Smith suggests firmly. Martha holds up the sonic screwdriver and Smith eyes it, going quiet when he sees it.
"Do you know what this is?" Martha prompts him. "Name it. Go on, name it." She encourages him. Katy observes Smith's reaction to the scientific instrument with both trepidation and hope.
"John?" She calls out to him, gently. Smith reaches out and takes the screwdriver from Martha, holding it carefully in his hand.
"You're not John Smith. You're called the Doctor." Martha tells him, causing Smith to look up at her with surprise. "The man in your journal, he's real. He's you." Martha reveals with a small smile.
Latimer who was sitting at a table close to the backdoor observing them, looks out of a nearby window and jumps back when a scarecrow suddenly pops up in front of him. Scared, he closes the curtain, hiding the scarecrow from view just as Mister Clark, Baines, and Jenny burst into the room.
"There will be silence! All of you!" Clark bellows loudly, causing an uproar amongst the crowd; especially when several scarecrows suddenly enter the room. "I said, silence!" He repeats himself. The Master of Ceremonies approaches the three of them, looking bemused.
"Mister Clark, what's going on?" He questioned. Clark promptly vaporises him without a word. The crowd screams in horror, as Martha's eyes widened and she immediately turns towards Smith and snatches the screwdriver from him, stuffing it back into her pocket.
"Mister Smith? Everything I told you, just forget it! Don't say anything." She warns him. Smith blinks at her in bewilderment and opens his mouth to inquire why when Baines suddenly speaks up.
"We asked for silence!" The crowd falls silent, and Katy grabs onto Smith's arm nervously. "Now then, we have a few questions for Mister Smith." He stated, smirking over in Smith's direction. Lucy Cartwright, who had been sitting amongst the crowd the entire time, suddenly gets to her feet and comes over to the trio, looking pleased as punch.
"No, better than that. The teacher; he's the Doctor." She reveals, much to Martha and Katy's horror. "I heard them talking."
"You took human form." Baines remarks, looking at Smith with interest.
"Of course I'm human," Smith retorts, looking confused. "I was born human, as were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mister Clark. What is going on? This is madness."
"Ooh, and a human brain, too." Baines looked amused. "Simple, thick and dull."
"But he's no good like this," Jenny noted.
"We need a Time Lord," Clark added, smirking smugly.
"Well, that's easily done." Baines pointed out, before stepping forward and raising his ray gun, pointing it directly at Smith. "Change back." He orders, loudly. Smith frowns at him, raising his hands to show that he was unarmed.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Change back!" Baines raises his voice.
"I literally do not know!" Smith insists, looking thoroughly helpless. Seeing that they were getting nowhere fast, Jenny reaches out and grabs Martha, putting her ray gun to her head.
"Get off me!" Martha shouted angrily.
"She's your friend, isn't she?" Jenny taunts Smith, ignoring Martha's request. "Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?" Katy steps forward in an attempt to defend Smith.
"Shouting at him isn't going to help the situation." She points out logically.
Jenny eyes her with interest.
"Wait a minute. The maid told me about Smith and the Librarian." She stated, indicating towards Katy, who pales.
"Then let's have you." Clark decides, grabbing Katy by her arm and tugging her towards him, putting his own gun against her head. 'Oh, me and my big mouth…' Katy admonishes herself.
"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor, being human?" Baines taunts Smith, who looks at Katy and Martha with concern. "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? Maid or Librarian? Your friend or your lover? Make your choice!"
A/N: Stay tuned for the next chapter.