A/N: Good morrow, readers! Tis time to venture onto yet another two chapter updates. If you haven't already guessed by the greeting, we are about to head into the Doctor Who episode of 'The Shakespeare Code'.
I do not own Doctor Who. All I own is this story and my OC Katy.
Please review and no flaming will be tolerated. Please enjoy!
ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE
"Well, you can fall for chains of silver, you can fall for chains of gold
You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold…"
– The Killers: 'Romeo and Juliet' (Sawdust [2007])
The Tardis
Console Room
Martha and Katy clung to the console as the Tardis continued bucking and jolting her way down the Time Vortex, taking them and the Doctor to whatever coordinates their Time Lord tour guide were taking them to. The Doctor glances over at Katy.
"Sweetheart, be a dear and flick that switch just by your left hand," He instructs his partner, who obligingly does what she's told, and the Tardis stabilises a little bit. Martha, for the entire trip was bouncing questions off the Doctor, left, right, and centre about, the Tardis and time in general.
"But how do you travel in time? What makes it go?" She asks curiously, and the Doctor rolls his eyes at her inane question, while Katy just giggles and shakes her head in amusement.
"Oh, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything," the Doctor grumbles. "Martha, you don't want to know. It just does. Hold on tight!" The Tardis comes to an abrupt stop, causing Martha and Katy to fall to the floor.
"Whoops! Easy does it!" Katy tells Martha as she gets to her feet and extends a hand to help her new friend up from off the metal grated floor.
"Blimey. Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?" Martha asks.
"Yes, and I failed it," the Doctor confirms.
"That's a huge comfort," Katy drawls sarcastically, shrugging on her black-hooded peacoat in preparation for what was likely to be outside those double doors. Naturally, her partner ignores the comment, and focuses on Martha.
"Now, make the most of it. I promised you one trip, and one trip only." He races towards the double doors and stands, ready to open up the doors. "Outside this door, brave new world…" He grins with excitement and takes Katy's hand when she steps up beside him to observe their newest friend's reaction.
"Where are we?" Martha questioned, a little nervous.
"Take a look," the Doctor pushes open the door and takes a step back, gesturing with his hand like a game show host. "After you…" Martha lights up with anticipation and strode confidently through the double doors.
Southwark, London
1599
It was evening. Folk dressed in Elizabethan clothing were walking about, going about their business and paying no attention to the fact that a blue wooden box had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere, and that a young dark-skinned woman in strange clothing had just stepped out of it. Martha spun about on the spot, trying to take in as much as possible.
"Oh, you are kidding me. You are so kidding me!" She exclaimed in pure wonder. "Oh, my God, we did it! We travelled in time." She turned back to face the Doctor and Katy with a huge grin on her face. "Where are we? No, sorry. I got to get used to this whole new language. When are we?" She goes to take a step forward, only to be yanked back by the Doctor at the last second.
"Mind out!"
"Gardez l'eau!" A man from an upstairs window in the building beside them, empties his slop bucket, depositing its waste onto the dirt and straw strewn ground. All three of them look down at the waste with disgust.
"Somewhere before the invention of the toilet," the Doctor grimaces. "Sorry about that."
"I've seen worse," Martha waves off the apology. "I've worked the last night shift A+E." The three of them step around the mess and walk on, exploring their surroundings. "But are we safe?" Martha was curious. "I mean, can we move around and stuff?"
"Of course we can. Why do you ask?" the Doctor frowned at the question.
"It's like in the films. You step on a butterfly, you change the future of the human race," Martha explains.
"Tell you what then, don't step on any butterflies. What have butterflies ever done to you?" The Doctor was mystified by Martha's speculations. But apparently she wasn't done.
"What if, I don't know, what if I kill my grandfather?"
"Are you planning to?" Katy asked, a little exasperated.
"No."
"Well, then…" the Doctor gestured for her to hurry up, and Martha drops the subject; much to the Doctor's relief.
"So this is London?" Katy guessed, intrigued by this latest adventure that the Doctor had brought herself and Martha on.
"I think so," the Doctor stated. "Round about 1599."
"Oh but hold on. Am I alright?" Martha suddenly looked alarmed. "I'm not going to get carted off as a slave, am I?"
"Why would they do that?" the Doctor was getting a little annoyed with the paranoia, and Martha just gave him a flat look.
"Well, I'm not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed…" Martha gestured to herself, and Katy grabs her by the hand and steps in front of her.
"Martha, you really need to relax. Okay? The Doctor wouldn't intentionally bring us somewhere we're likely to get into trouble or danger." She reassures her. "Besides, he's not even human."
"Exactly! Well put, Katy." The Doctor grinned at her. "Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me." They continue on. "Besides, you'd be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time." He gestures towards a man who was shovelling horse manure into a bucket. "They've got recycling…"
"Ooh! Wait, don't tell me. Water cooler moment?" Katy points towards two men who were chatting over a water barrel.
"Yep!" The Doctor nods.
"And the world will be consumed by flame!" A nearby priest predicts to a group of people who were crowding around him standing in a nearby doorway.
"Global warming," the Doctor and Katy say in unison.
"Oh, yes, and entertainment." He grabs Katy's hand and leads both of them a little further down the street. "Popular entertainment for the masses. If I'm right, we're just down the river by Southwark, right next to…" The Doctor leads Katy and Martha along the south end of the old London Bridge, past St Mary Ovarie (or Southwark Cathedral) and stops to reveal… "Oh, yes, the Globe Theatre! Brand new. Just opened. Though, strictly speaking, it's not a globe, it's a tetradecagon. Fourteen sides."
"Wonder why?" Katy frowned, curiously.
"Who knows?" The Doctor shrugged. "But it contains, the man himself…" He hints and both Katy and Martha immediately lit up with excitement.
"Woah, you don't mean… is Shakespeare in there?" Martha exclaimed.
"No way! Doctor, you're the best!" Katy squealed and stood up on her toes to plant an appreciative kiss on her partner's cheek, causing him to blush a little at the PDA. He clears his throat awkwardly.
"Miss Jones, Miss Tyler, will you both accompany me to the theatre?" The Doctor requests, extending his arms out to both ladies. They eagerly latch on.
"Mister Smith, I will!" Martha immediately agreed.
"Just try and stop me!" Katy echoed. They set off towards the crowds of people already cuing up to get inside the world-renowned; or what would become the most world-renowned theatre to see Shakespeare's latest play.
"When you get home, you can tell everyone, you've seen Shakespeare," the Doctor tells Martha, who makes a face at the very idea.
"Then I could get sectioned…" she responds, sarcastically.
The Globe Theatre
In a crowd of thousands, the Doctor, Katy and Martha cheer along with everyone else when the performance concludes, and the actors take their well-deserved bows. Martha was beaming from ear to ear; clearly ecstatic that she was here standing in what was the sixteenth century's version of a mosh pit, watching a VERY authentic Shakespearean play come to life.
"That's amazing! Just amazing!" Martha praised.
"And it's worth putting up with the smell," Katy added, looking just as awed.
"And those are men dressed as women, yeah?" Martha observes, and the Doctor sighed.
"London never changes," he mutters, as Martha glances about searching for someone in particular.
"Where's Shakespeare? I want to see Shakespeare. Author! Author!" She cuts herself off when she realises that no one was joining in with her, and that the Doctor and Katy were staring at her with amusement. Martha immediately flushes with embarrassment, believing she had unintentionally committed a faux pas. "Do people shout that? Do they shout Author?"
"Author! Author!" a random man behind them echoes Martha and soon after the crowd takes up the chant. The amusement grows on the Doctor and Katy's faces.
"Now they do!" Katy grinned, laughing a little as Martha sags with relief. At that moment, Shakespeare comes out on stage. He bows and blows kisses to the crowd, as the three of them size him up.
"He's a bit different from his portraits," Martha observes, while Katy makes a face at the fact that he was essentially behaving like a bit of a tart.
"He's a bit full of himself, ain't he?" She comments, earning a little nudge from the Doctor for the comment, and he scowls at her lightly.
"Oh, be fair! I think he's deserved the right to be. The man's a genius. The most human human there's ever been." The Doctor was practically fan-boying, and both Katy and Martha smirked at this. "Now we're going to hear him speak. Always he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words!"
"Ah, shut your big fat mouths!" Shakespeare shouts, and the Doctor instantly looks deflated. The crowd bursts into raucous laughter.
"Oh, well." The Doctor said, disappointed. Katy hugs his arm, looking at him with sympathy, while Martha pretty much summed up what the Doctor was feeling with a simple:
"You should never meet your heroes."
"You've got excellent taste; I'll give you that." Shakespeare acknowledged. "Oh, that's a wig," he jokes to a nearby man in the crowd, who joins in the laughter. "I know what you're all saying. Love's Labour's Lost, that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops. Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon." The crowd groans in disappointment, and Shakespeare gestures for silence. "Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius." Shakespeare then suddenly goes rigid and blank. "When? Tomorrow night. The premiere of my brand-new play. A sequel, no less, and I call it Love's Labour's Won."
The enthusiasm on the Doctor's face immediately drops, and he suddenly looks stone-faced, while both Katy and Martha look confused. A short time later, everyone begins filing out of the theatre.
"I'm not an expert, but I've never heard of Love's Labour's Won." Martha commented with a frown.
"Exactly," the Doctor agreed. "The lost play. It doesn't exist, only in rumours. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. And no one knows why."
Martha suddenly lights up with an idea.
"Have you got a mini-disk or something? We can tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint…" She spots the stern expressions on the Doctor and Katy's faces.
"No," the Doctor was firm.
"That would be bad…" Martha realises.
"Damn straight," Katy agreed.
"Well, how come it disappeared in the first place?" Martha frowns curiously.
The Doctor was silent for a moment, obviously mulling it over in his head. He looked extremely tempted to stick around to find out. Katy looks at him with a pointed smile, knowing that he just needed that little nudge, and he caves.
"Well, I was just going to give you a quick little trip in the Tardis, but I suppose we could stay a bit longer."
Shakespeare's Room
It didn't take long to track down where Shakespeare was staying the night, and the Doctor, Katy, and Martha headed for a courtyard tavern called The Elephant, where Shakespeare was supposed to finishing up the script for his unexpected new play 'Love's Labour's Won'. They slyly follow a serving girl up towards his room, where she serves beer to Shakespeare and two of his fellow actors and friends.
"Here you go, Will. Drink up! There's enough beer in this lodgings house to sink the Spanish." The serving girl, Dolly Bailey, flirts shamelessly with the Bard, as she hands him his flagon of beer.
"Dolly Bailey, you've saved my life," Shakespeare acknowledges her gratefully, as he takes a swig from the beer. She gives him a lusty wink.
"I'll do more than that later tonight," she promises. She scowls sternly at a young maid who was tidying up in the room. "And you, girl, hurry up with your tasks. The talk of gentlemen is best not overheard."
"Yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am." The maid responds, and quickly leaves the room. Richard Burbage, one of the actors, regards Shakespeare with incredulity.
"You must be mad, Will. Love's Labour's Won? I mean, we're not ready. It's supposed to be next week. What made you say that?" He questioned him.
"You haven't even finished it yet," William Kempe added, just as sceptical as Burbage was. However, Shakespeare waves a dismissive hand, not really concerned.
"I've just got the final scene to go," He reassures them. "You'll get it by morning." The Doctor looks around the door post and greets the three men, brightly.
"Hello! Excuse me, not interrupting, am I?" The three men regard him with polite curiosity as the Doctor strolls into the room without invitation. "Mister Shakespeare, isn't it?" The Doctor questions, and immediately Shakespeare looks annoyed.
"Oh, no. No, no, no. Who let you in?" He scowled. "No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from." He rattles off what sounded like statements he had said a thousand times over. "Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove—" Shakespeare cuts himself off when he spots both Martha and Katy standing behind the Doctor, and instantly changes his tone. "Hey, nonny nonny!" He immediately gets to his feet and beckons the slightly taken aback girls into the room. "Sit down right here with me!" He invites Martha and Katy, focusing with particular interest on the younger girl, much to the Doctor's immediate irritation. Shakespeare hastily gets rid of Burbage and Kempe, who both roll their eyes; used to Shakespeare's antics.
"You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go!"
"Come on, lads. I think our William's found his new muses…" Dolly stated, shooing both actors from the room, and then leaving herself. Shakespeare reaches for Katy's hand first and kisses her knuckles.
"Milady," He greets her, causing Katy to wrinkle her nose in displeasure. She was a huge fan of Shakespeare's work, but after learning what he was really like from the history books and witnessing it firsthand; she was thoroughly unimpressed and actually rather repulsed. To be honest, the brunette was almost relieved when the Doctor snakes a possessive arm around her waist and tugs her towards him out of Shakespeare's reach, giving the Bard a warning glare to back off. Shakespeare takes note of this, before shrugging and turned his attention on a flattered Martha. "Sweet lady," He addresses her, as the Doctor and Katy take a seat at the table, with the Doctor taking the seat closest to Shakespeare on purpose. "Such unusual clothes you both wear. So fitted." He flirts, and Martha blushes and clears her throat.
"Er, verily, forsooth, egads…"
"No, no, don't do that. Don't." The Doctor is quick to state, before showing Shakespeare his psychic paper. "I'm Sir Doctor of Tardis, and they are my companions, Dame Caitlyn Tyler of the Powell Estate, and Miss Martha Jones." He introduces them to the Bard.
"Pleasure to meet you, sir." Katy smiles politely at Shakespeare. The playwright studies the psychic paper with interest.
"Interesting, that bit of paper. It's blank." He points out, earning an impressed grin from the Doctor.
"Oh, that's very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius."
"No, it says so right there," Martha points towards the psychic paper. "Sir Doctor, Dame Caitlyn, Martha Jones. It says so."
"And I say it's blank," Shakespeare argues, with a raised eyebrow. The Doctor immediately folds the psychic paper back up and replaces it inside his trench coat pocket.
"Psychic paper," He attempted to explain Martha. "Er, long story." He furrows his eyebrows in a grimace. "Oh, I hate starting from scratch."
"Psychic? Never heard that before and words are my trade," Shakespeare commented with interest. "Who are you exactly?" He questioned the Doctor, before his intelligent eyes swivel towards Martha and he grinned flirtatiously at her. "More to the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?"
"Excuse me?" Katy's mouth dropped open in shock, as Martha reacts with offence.
"What did you say?"
"Oops. Isn't that a word we use nowadays?" Shakespeare continued flirting, unconcerned that he might've offended Martha with his racial slur. "An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric?"
"You really just said that…" Katy mumbles, still shocked.
"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Martha agreed as the Doctor shifted uncomfortably in his seat and moved in to defuse the situation rapidly.
"It's political correctness gone mad. Er, Martha's from a far-off land. Freedonia," He explains hurriedly.
Suddenly, a man in expensive clothes and wearing a gold chain of office bursts into the room unannounced. His name was Mr. Lynley, and he looked thoroughly irritated with Shakespeare, who had immediately slumped back into his seat and stared at the man with a bored expression on his face.
"Excuse me! Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script Mister Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed!" He stated, very officiously.
"Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it round," Shakespeare promises, tiredly.
"I don't work to your schedule; you work to mine. The script, now!"
"I can't!" Shakespeare retorts, with irritation.
"Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled!" Lynley sneers unpleasantly at him. The trio observe all this with nonplussed looks on their faces.
"It's all go around here, isn't it?" Martha mutters to the Doctor and Katy, who both nodded in agreement.
"I'm returning to my office for a banning order," Lynley announces to Shakespeare, who sighed heavily. "If it's the last thing I do, Love's Labour's Won will never be played!" He spins on his heel and leaves the room, hurrying down the stairs towards the courtyard.
"Well, that was quick!" Katy remarked, looking slightly disappointed.
"Mystery solved," Martha agreed just as put out. "That's Love's Labour's Won over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know, more mysterious." She added. Suddenly, a man's scream comes up from the street, followed closely by a woman's. Katy groaned with exasperation, as the Doctor immediately gets to his feet and rushes out of the door, followed closely by Shakespeare to investigate.
"You had to go and jinx us, didn't you?" Katy bemoaned, as Martha looked a bit sheepish.
The girls hurry to keep up with the Doctor.
The Elephant courtyard
When they get to the courtyard, they come across the very peculiar and alarming sight of Lynley staggering around and spewing copious amounts of water from his mouth. Both girls run up to where the Doctor and Shakespeare were standing and watching this unfold.
"It's that Lynley bloke!" Martha noted with shock.
"What the hell is happening?" Katy exclaimed. The Doctor snapped out of his shock and moves to assist the apparently drowning man.
"Leave it to me, I'm a doctor!" He informs everyone, and Martha rushes up to help him.
"So am I, near enough." But before either of them could do anything, Lynley suddenly jerks like he had been prodded with a cattle prod, and immediately collapses to the ground. Both the Doctor and Martha flip him over onto his back. "Got to get the heart going," she instructs the Doctor, who had a grim expression on his face. Martha grabs Lynley by the shoulders and shakes him to try and get him to wake up. "Mister Lynley!" She shouts at him. "Can you hear me? You're going to be alright!"
Martha opens up the poor man's mouth to clear his airway for CPR, only to recoil back in horror and disgust when water gushes out of his mouth. The Doctor instantly pulls her away.
"What the hell is that?" Martha demands, and Katy jogs up to see for herself what was going on. The Doctor looks mystified.
"I've never seen a death like it. His lungs are full of water. He drowned and then, I don't know, like a blow to the heart, an invisible blow."
"How's that possible?" Katy asks, disturbed. The Doctor turns towards Dolly Bailey, who had come over to investigate for herself, and fabricates a believable lie.
"Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural if unfortunate demise," He explains, earning quizzical looks from both Martha and Katy. "Call a constable and have him taken away." He instructs.
"Yes, sir." Dolly nods, and the same young maid from earlier approaches her.
"I'll do it, ma'am." She volunteered before turning and walking away.
"And why are you telling them that?" Martha frowns at him, curiously. The Doctor beckons both Katy and Martha closer.
"This lot have still got one foot in the Dark Ages. If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft." He hurriedly explains.
"Okay, what was it then?" Katy asks.
"Witchcraft," the Doctor responded, gravely.
Shakespeare's Room
Still confused about the mystery surrounding Mr. Lynley's death, the Doctor, Katy, and Martha return back to Shakespeare's room to regroup and discuss what the hell was going on. Dolly Bailey sticks her head into the room and addresses the Doctor briefly.
"I got you a room, Sir Doctor. You, Dame Tyler, and Ms Jones are just across the landing. I apologise that you all will be in the same room, but we're limited on space…" she grimaces, but the Doctor waves a dismissive hand.
"We'll manage, thank you." He acknowledges and Dolly retreated, leaving them to their own devices. Shakespeare looked troubled.
"Poor Lynley. So many strange events. Not least of all, this land of Freedonia where a woman can be a doctor?" He glanced at Martha curiously.
"Where a woman can do what she likes," Martha corrects him, firmly.
"And you, Sir Doctor," Shakespeare redirects his attention upon the Doctor, who was sitting casually on his chair with his feet propped up on Shakespeare's desk, also lost in thought; while Katy sat beside him, clutching his hand and quietly observing. The Doctor looks over at Shakespeare, acknowledging him. "How can a man so young have eyes so old?"
"I do a lot of reading," the Doctor mumbles back, earning a grin from Shakespeare for his response.
"A trite reply," Shakespeare approved. "Yeah, that's what I'd do. And you…" He gestures to Katy who looks at him guardedly. "A maiden as young as you are; it's surprising that your eyes hold just as much wisdom as his…" he indicates to the Doctor, "... and yet, a veil of mystery surrounds you too. Pray, tell me why that is?"
"Oh, I'm just full of surprises, I suppose." Katy replied, smiling politely. Shakespeare appeared to be mildly frustrated by the vague reply, but then smirks at Katy and she falters a little.
"I do love a good intrigue," Shakespeare gives her a lusty wink, and the Doctor immediately intercedes.
"Let's not and say we did, huh?" the Doctor states firmly, with a cold smile, as he squeezes Katy's hand protectively. She leans over and mutters loud enough that only the Doctor could hear her.
"Jeez, he could give Jack a run for his money…" Katy stated, and the Doctor shudders at the thought.
"Oh, I don't know. Two peas in a pod, you might say." The Doctor sardonically jokes back, and Katy makes a face.
"Oh, God! Don't, just don't…" She squirms. As much as she missed Captain Jack Harkness dearly; Katy was glad that the pansexual ex-Time Agent wasn't with them at this precise moment. Shakespeare reluctantly takes the hint and moves on to Martha.
"And you? You look at him like you're surprised that he exists. He's much of a puzzle to you as he is to me." Martha gives a tired smile and immediately gets to her feet, fighting back a yawn.
"I think we should say goodnight," she suggests, and Katy nodded and gets to her feet also, and both girls leave the room in search of their lodgings. Shakespeare glances at his unfinished play and takes a seat behind the desk.
"I must work. I have a play to complete. But I'll get my answers tomorrow, Doctor, and I'll discover more about you and why this constant performance of yours." He looks pointedly at the Doctor who also rises to his feet.
"All the world's a stage…" He quotes As You Like It¸ and Shakespeare grinned.
"Hmm, I might use that. Goodnight, Doctor!"
"Nighty night, Shakespeare…" the Doctor mumbles out a response before leaving the room and following Katy and Martha.
Inn Lodging
Martha lights up a candle as she and Katy inspect their very basic room. It was slightly cramped and only contained a king single four-poster bed, an ablutions table with a chamber pot which was tucked underneath it, and a solitary chair standing beside the bed, which the Doctor immediately sank onto after walking into the room and shrugging out of his trench coat, which he draped over it.
"It's not exactly five stars, is it?" Martha was unimpressed.
"Oh, it'll do. I've seen worse," the Doctor muttered, dismissively. He brushes his hand over his face out of exhaustion and exasperation; this adventure was doing his head in, and it had barely even started. Martha continues her inspection of the room, while Katy stands over at the window; hugging herself for comfort and playing with her locket as she looked outside at the darkened London streets; lost in her own thoughts, and a bit shaken about how Shakespeare had somehow picked up on the fact that she was an enigma. "Katy-love?" She glances back and sees the Doctor looking over at her with a small frown on his face. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Katy stated, moving away from the window and taking a seat on the bed beside the Doctor, who doesn't look convinced but drops the subject when Martha goes over to the opposite side of the bed and groans.
"I haven't even got a toothbrush…"
"Oh! Er…" the Doctor pats himself down and produces a toothbrush from inside one of his many pockets. "Contains Venusian spearmint." Martha takes it from him gratefully, before glancing at the bed.
"So, who's going where? I mean, there's only one bed." She points out, and the Doctor just gestures towards it.
"You can share with Katy, I'm fine with the chair." The Doctor reassures her, and Martha just raises an eyebrow.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, he's sure," Katy confirms, a bit impatiently. She tended to get that way when she was tired or not feeling very well. "The Doctor doesn't usually need more than probably four hours sleep at most, unless he's really exhausted or unwell. Although that's rare. Otherwise, he just tinkers around with the Tardis while we sleep."
"What Katy said…" the Doctor confirms with a fond smile as Katy lays down on her back and stares contemplatively at the exposed beams of the ceiling above them. Martha shrugged and put down the candle on the bedside table, before laying down and curling towards the Doctor and Katy.
"So, magic and stuff. That's a surprise. It's all a little bit Harry Potter," She observed and the Doctor grins at her.
"Wait till you read book seven. Oh, I cried!" He hints and Katy shoots him a glare.
"Oi! Spoilers!"
"But is it real, though?" Martha interrupted. "I mean witches, black magic and all that, it's real?"
"'Course it isn't!" the Doctor scoffs.
"Well, how am I supposed to know? I've only just started to believe in time travel. Give me a break." Martha states, a little defensively.
"Looks like witchcraft, but it isn't. Can't be." The Doctor insists. "But there is such a thing as psychic energy, but a human couldn't channel it like that. Not without a generator the size of Taunton and I think we'd have spotted that." He stated with frustration.
"There's obviously something that we haven't noticed just yet. I think in this case patience is a virtue," Katy mumbles, half asleep. "Let's just sleep on it. It'll become clearer eventually."
"Great," Martha stated, a little disappointed as she rolls over and blows out the candle.
The Doctor chooses to stay awake and keep watch, while the girls slept; but he also used this time to go over everything they had seen already and come up with a plan. But this was spoilt by a woman's terrified scream across the landing in Shakespeare's room. Immediately, the Doctor shoots out of the chair and bolts for the door; two groggy half-asleep girls leaping out of bed and following him.
Shakespeare's Room
The Doctor bursts into the room, abruptly waking up Shakespeare who had passed out on his play.
"What? What was that?" Shakespeare mumbled. The Doctor spots Dolly Bailey, who had obviously come into check on Shakespeare and had somehow ended up collapsed on the floor. He and Katy attend to the fallen woman, while Martha goes over to the window. Her eyes widen in disbelief when she sees an archetypical witch on a broomstick silhouetted against the full moon; cackling as she flies off.
"Oh, my God, she's dead!" Katy realises in dismay after she checks for Dolly's pulse. She looks sympathetically at Shakespeare who immediately looks saddened by the loss of his friend.
"Her heart gave out," the Doctor confirms, grimly. "She died of fright."
"Doctor? Katy?" They both look over at Martha who was still staring out of the window in shock.
"What did you see?" the Doctor questioned, with concern as he goes over to her.
"Yeah, you look like you've seen a ghost…" Katy noted. Martha was still trying to work out if she had in fact seen something that was supposed to be fictional but decided to answer with the truth.
"A witch," She confirmed. "I saw a witch."
A few hours later, a cockerel crows; announcing the dawn of a new day, prompting dogs to start barking at the rising sun.
"Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey," Shakespeare lamented at the loss of his friend, while the Doctor, Katy and Martha sat around the room, tucking into a meagre breakfast that had been brought up for them. Though, none of them had a particularly big appetite. "She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place when we all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit."
"Rage, rage against the dying of the light…" the Doctor muttered, quoting Dylan Thomas, and grabbing Shakespeare's interest.
"I might use that," He perked up a little.
"You can't. It's someone else's," Katy states, as Shakespeare pouts. Martha gets up from her chair and starts pacing the room.
"But the thing is, Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly died of fright, and they were both connected to you," She points out, earning a defensive frown from Shakespeare.
"You're accusing me?"
"No," Martha reassures quickly when she realises how it sounded. "But I saw a witch, big as you like, flying, cackling away, you've written about witches." She states, and both the Doctor and Katy look at her in alarm, as Shakespeare looks thoughtful.
"I have? When was that?"
"Not, not quite yet…" the Doctor mumbles to Martha underneath his breath, and Martha's eyes widen at her mistake. However, Shakespeare wasn't paying attention. It appeared that something that Martha had mentioned, jogged something in his memory.
"Peter Streete spoke of witches," He recalls.
"Who's Peter Streete?" Katy questioned.
"Our builder," Shakespeare explained. "He sketched the plans to the Globe." The Doctor blinks at this piece of information.
"The architect…" He mutters contemplatively. "Hold on. The architect! The architect! The Globe!" He jumps to his feet, grinning triumphantly. "Come on!" He snatches Katy's hand in his and bolts for the door, pulling her behind him. Both Shakespeare and Martha follow, looking a bit bewildered by the Doctor's outburst.
The Globe Theatre
Stage
The Doctor paces the length of the straw and dirt covered mosh pit area, while Katy sits on the stairs leading up to the stage, and Martha and Shakespeare stand on the stage; all three just watching him and pitching in with their views as they attempted to figure out why the Globe Theatre had been constructed in this way.
"The columns there, right? Fourteen sides. I've always wondered, but I never asked. Tell me, Will. Why fourteen sides?" the Doctor questioned Shakespeare, who looked puzzled by the question.
"It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all. Said it carried the sound well."
"Fourteen," the Doctor muttered with a frown. "Why does that ring a bell? Fourteen."
"There's fourteen lines in a sonnet," Martha pointed out, helpfully. The Doctor looks at her thoughtfully.
"So there is. Good point!" He compliments her and resumes pacing. "Words and shapes following the same design. Fourteen lines, fourteen sides, fourteen facets." He grimaces with frustration. "Oh, my head. Tetradecagon. Think, think, think!" The Doctor smacks himself repeatedly in the forehead with every 'think' he muttered, causing Katy to frown at him with disapproval. "Words, letters, numbers, lines!" He rakes a hand through his hair…
"This is just a theatre," Shakespeare stated, exasperatedly. The Doctor pauses mid-step and spins to look at him, grinning.
"Oh yeah, but a theatre's magic, isn't it?" He points out. "You should know. Stand on this stage…" He walks forward towards the stage and lays his hands reverently on the wood. "… Say the right words with the right emphasis at the right time. Oh, you can make men weep, or cry with joy. Change them. You can change people's minds just with words in this place. But if you exaggerate that."
"It's like the Tardis. Small wooden box with all that power inside," Katy suddenly pipes up, and the Doctor gives his girlfriend a look of fond approval and comes over to plant an affectionate kiss on her forehead, cuddling her close.
"That's what I love about you, Katy. You continue to come up with all the right things. Tell you what, though. Peter Streete would know." He looks over at Shakespeare. "Can I talk to him?"
"You won't get an answer," Shakespeare looked doubtful. "A month after finishing this place, he lost his mind."
"Why? What happened?" Martha asked.
"Started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled," Shakespeare grimaced, looking sympathetic.
"Where is he now?" the Doctor asked.
"Bedlam."
"What's Bedlam?" Martha questioned.
"Bethlam Hospital. The madhouse," Shakespeare clarified. The Doctor turns and starts heading for the Globe's street entrance, tugging Katy along behind him.
"We're going to go there. Right now. Come on!" He stated, and Martha hurries after him.
"Wait! I'm coming with you. I want to witness this at first hand," Shakespeare stated with a determination. Two actors walk in, and Shakespeare approaches them, holding out the script to Love's Labour's Won to them. "Ralph, the last scene as promised. Copy it, hand it round, learn it, speak it. Back before curtain up. And remember kid, project. Eyes and teeth. You never know, the Queen might turn up." He pats 'Ralph' on the shoulder and moves around him to head out the doors and catch up with the Doctor, Katy and Martha, but scoffs at the very idea that the Queen would take even the slightest interest in any of this.
"As if. She never does."
Southwark
Shakespeare eventually catches up to the three-time travellers and sidles up to Martha, striking up conversation about her. He begins to turn up the charm, and Martha smiles at him, rapt by the attention she was receiving from him.
"So, tell me of Freedonia, where women can be doctors, writers, actors…" He requests, and Martha raises an eyebrow at him for the sceptical tone in his voice.
"This country's ruled by a woman," She points out.
"Ah, she's royal. That's God's business," Shakespeare dismisses the point. "Though you are a royal beauty…" He flirts, and Martha stops and turns towards the Bard, a look of amusement on her face.
"Woah, Nelly!" She interrupts him. "I know for a fact that you've got a wife in the country."
"But Martha, this is town…" Shakespeare insists. Katy looks back and realises that Martha and Shakespeare were trailing behind, and stops, drawing the Doctor's attention. He opens his mouth to impatiently inquire why, before looking back and groaning in annoyance when he spots the culprits.
"Blimey, he really is like Jack…" Katy states with a laugh.
"We really don't have time for this…" the Doctor grumbles and goes back to Martha and Shakespeare to hurry them along.
"Come on! We can all have a good flirt later," the Doctor states, irritably. Shakespeare gives him an appreciative eye flick and a lusty grin.
"Is that a promise, Doctor?" He questioned him, and the Doctor's eyes widen; belatedly remembering that Shakespeare was historically bisexual, and both Martha and Katy unsuccessfully attempted to stifle laughter because of the expression on the poor Time Lord's face.
"Oh, fifty-seven academics just punched the air…" He mumbles, awkwardly. "Now move!"
The Doctor turns and hurries off, as Shakespeare shrugs, looking unfazed, and follows the obviously flustered Doctor, while Katy and Martha smirk at his misfortune and hurry to keep up with the two men.
A/N: Stay tuned for part two