The Watchmaker's Daughter: Chapter Nine

[amberfocus]

Title: The Watchmaker's Daughter (9/?)
Author: amberfocus
Characters/Pairings: The Tenth Doctor(John Smith)/Rose Tyler, Pete Tyler, Martha Jones, Joan Redfern, Timothy Lattimer, various original characters
Genre: Action/Adventure, Romance, HN/FOB rewrite
Rating: Teen (for now, may go up later)
Betas: amyo67, thetesh
Summary: At the Doomsday wall an unexpected twist of fate sends Rose and Pete Tyler back to 1913 instead of to the parallel universe. While the Doctor and Martha are hiding from the Family of Blood at Farringham School for Boys the Tylers try to make a life for themselves in the nearby village.
Author's Notes: Recognizable dialogue is from the episode Human Nature though the characters saying it might be switched about a bit.

Previous Chapters: http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/565160.html

Chapter Nine: Soulless

John Smith had dallied at the bookstore so long that Joan Redfern had found herself in need of a drink. It wasn’t something she indulged in often, but she’d grown weary of waiting for the man who apparently felt the need to thumb through every single tome available before deciding on the purchase. She’d left him with plans to meet up at the pub for the walk back to the school.

As she headed that way she found herself in much need of courage as a brilliant green beam from the sky stopped her in her tracks. She had had to be brave many times in her life. As a nurse there wasn’t much call for cowardice as a character trait. She’d been brave when her child had died, been brave when her husband had been buried, and of course in the face of blood and bodily fluids when she stitched up the injured. So she tried hard not to quake in the face of such a strange and unnatural source of light.

When the beam suddenly switched off she felt tremendous relief, as if something evil had chosen to pass her by. The light flashed on again, further from her, almost in a ball as it illuminated Cooper’s Field and continued to move away. On and off, on and off, the brilliant light flew on. She couldn’t help but watch it, though something in her mind was urging her to run in the opposite direction. Her curiosity was something she had long since learned to tamp down, but she could feel it raging beneath the surface.

She took a few deep breaths. She knew that the sensible, the practical, the logical thing to do would be to continue on her course to the pub and walk away from the magical and the mystical. She urged her feet to walk, but in which direction she didn’t know. Finally the decision was made for her as the light disappeared once and for all in the distance. She shook herself, the spell broken, and hurried toward the pub.

When she arrived at the pub she noticed Jenny, one of the maids from the school, sitting at a table outside the door. The woman was sipping a mug of ale and looking in the direction Joan had come from.

“Matron, are you all right?” she asked solicitously as Joan stumbled up to her out of breath.

“Did you see that? There was something in the woods—this light.”

“I don’t see anything, ma’am,” said Jenny.

“But it was there…all lit up green and glowing.”

“There’s nothing there now, ma’am,” Jenny said. “Perhaps you should order something. Take the chill out of your bones.”

“Perhaps,” said Joan frowning as she stared at the sky. She went into the pub and ordered an ale. It was smoky and much too hot inside so she took her mug outside. There was only the one table. She glanced at Jenny who sat up straight.

“You’re welcome to sit here, ma’am, if you don’t mind being with the help. I’m just waiting for Martha to walk back to the school.”

Joan sat down, forgetting propriety for the moment. She’d rather have someone to keep her company after what she had experienced. She drank down half her mug quickly, ignoring the maid’s wide eyes.

“Are you meeting someone, ma’am?” Jenny asked after a long silence.

“What?”

“I’m just asking in case you are alone. It’s a long walk over the moors and if you be needing someone to walk home with, you can walk with Martha and I.”

“Did you not come into town on bicycles?” asked Joan.

“Aye, but we could walk them back. No woman should be alone on the moors at night.”

“Thank you, Jenny, but Professor Smith will be arriving soon. He was taking more time at the bookstore than I cared to spend,” Joan said.

“Ah, head in the clouds, that one is,” Jenny said.

“I don’t think it is appropriate for you to discuss your superiors in such a manner.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Jenny stiffening and sitting up straighter. “The ale must be going to me head.”

John Smith appeared around the corner of the pub, taking in the tense appearance of both women. “Anything wrong, ladies? Far too cold to be sitting around in the dark,” he said.

A light flashed across the sky, this time a pure white oval of light with a small tail of green trailing it like a comet. “There. There,” said Joan, pointing. “Look in the sky.”

“Well, that’s beautiful,” said Jenny.

“Ah,” said John, turning his eyes to the heavens. “All gone. Commonly known as a meteorite. It’s just rocks falling to the ground, that’s all.”

“Yes,” said Joan. “It came down in the woods.”

“No, no, no,” John contradicted. “They always look close, when actually they’re miles off. No, nothing left but a cinder.” He sighed. “Now I should escort you back to the school.” He turned to Jenny.

“What about you?” he asked.

“No, that's kind of you, sir, but I’m waiting for Martha.”

“Then I shall bid you good night,” he said with a nod. He offered his arm to Joan, she took it with a faint smile, and the two of them struck off across the moor toward the school.



Timothy Latimer sat on the floor at the end of his bed in the dormitory polishing a shoe that was 4 sizes too big. He didn’t really mind the chore, there was something simple and mindless about doing it, and it was better to polish Rochester’s shoes than some of the more evil things he might be forced to do by the bigger boy if he didn’t keep on his good side. If it weren’t for the fact that he knew one day Rochester would be a good man, he might feel somewhat differently, but he’d seen it.

He listened to the others talking, but felt himself slowing tuning out their words as something began raising the hairs on the back of his neck. He waited for the vision to overwhelm him, but it didn’t come. “Polish, Latimer!” barked Rochester and he quickly set his mind back to the task at hand, though he felt something was very wrong. This time he listened to the inane chatter more closely, trying to stay focused in the here and now.

“Where is he? Promises a beer, then vanishes into the night,” Rochester complained. Three slow taps on the window pane turned everyone in that direction. “There he is. Let him in.” One of the other boys moved to quickly open the window. It was more than the squeaking of the hinges that made a sudden wave of fear wash through Timothy’s stomach. He swallowed it down, hard. It was just Baines.

But on second glance it was more than just Baines. The boy climbed through the window, his eyes wide and almost…soulless? That was a strange word to come to mind. He’d thought a lot of things about Baines during the last three years, but soulless was never one of them.

Rochester rose to his feet to meet Baines. “Well, Baines, you dolt. Thought you’d been caught by the Rozzers.” Baines looked at him blankly. “Well, then. Where is it, man? Where’s the blessed beer?”

“There was no beer. It was gone.” Again a chill swept through Timothy. Even Baines’ voice had changed timbre.

“Damn it all, I’ve been waiting,” Rochester said with disappointment. “Pretty poor show, Baines, I have to say.”

Timothy’s hands nervously picked up the pace of his polishing and Baines seemed drawn to the sound. His head shifted and then his eyes, and yes, soulless was the only word he could think of as the other boy took him in, then sniffed.

“What’s the matter with you?” Rochester asked. “Caught the sniffles out there?”

“Yes, I must have.” He focused for a moment on Rochester. “It was cold.” His gaze moved back to Timothy and again his head tilted. “Very cold.” His mouth opened slightly as if he were about to taste the air and he sniffed again. Timothy stopped polishing altogether.

“Well, don’t spread it about. I don’t want your germs.” He sighed. “Come on. Might as well get some sleep.” The other boys didn’t move, seeming to pick up on what Rochester did not. “Come on, chaps. Maybe tomorrow. Jackson’s got some beer in the pavilion.”

The boys moved to do his bidding, but Baines just stood there meeting Timothy’s stare. He sniffed again and Timothy jerked his head away, his heart pounding a mile a minute. What could he do? Something had taken possession of Baines. He was sure of it, but who would believe him?

He returned to his vigorous blacking of the shoe. Martha. Martha would believe him, but it was too late to go to her now. Curfew would be sounding any moment and there was no way he could sneak away without the other boys seeing him go and demanding to know what he was up to. Well, in the morning then. He’d seek her out. He swallowed and turned his head back around, but Baines was gone. He doubted very much that he’d sleep that night.



“And he was here?” Rose asked. “Here in this house?”

Pete nodded. “Down in the shop, anyway. It’s just as well you weren’t here. I had thought that all I’d need to do was warn you of the doppleganger. I had no idea…well, how could I have thought he was really the Doctor?” He glanced at Martha. “How can he have no memory of who he really is?”

Martha sighed and tried to get comfortable on the Tyler’s sofa. She really detested the furniture of this era. What she wouldn’t give for a bean bag chair or an overstuffed recliner or something she could put her feet up on. “Magic ship?” she offered.

Pete laughed and Rose grinned. “That about sums up anything to do with the Doctor,” she said.

“It was a medical device of some sort,” Martha explained. “Originally it was used to overwrite faulty DNA in the Gallifreyan gene structure. Regenerations could get messy toward the end of the lifespan and you might find yourself with an extra liver or big left toe and the chameleon arch helped to fix that. But it could also completely change one thing into another thing. I don’t think it was intended for the use the Doctor’s put it to, though.”

“How do you know all that?” Rose asked.

“Read the manual,” Martha said with a shrug. “The translation from High Gallifreyan is beastly, even with the TARDIS’s help, but I think I understood the gist of it.”

“You read the manual?” Rose repeated.

“Well, it’s not like he was going to explain it all to me,” Martha said rolling her eyes. “He may talk a bit, but he’s still tight with any of the real information.”

“No change there, then,” said Rose. “Well, I’ll just have to avoid him until the time is up.” She tried to keep the sadness out of her voice. She didn’t want to avoid him. She wanted to go to him right that minute. She had to push the overwhelming urge of selfishness back down. There were other people to think about and she had to consider everyone’s safety, especially the Doctor’s.

“Which may be easier said than done,” said Pete. “I sort of…well, I sort of set you up on a blind date with him for the village dance next Saturday.”

“You did what?” Rose sounded outraged.

“Not on purpose. It just happened. He wanted to meet you and I didn’t think and Joan had more or less implied that she wanted me to take her to the dance so I asked her and she said yes and then John said he’d be happy to escort you as well with Joan and me as chaperones and it just kind of ran away with me…” Pete trailed off.

Rose glared. “You just said I’d go.”

“Well, no. I said you’d send him your answer when you went to visit Joan next week. I thought you’d have a chance to meet him while there and make up your own mind.”

“Well, that’s somewhat better. Still, what made you think I would agree to a date with a man who just looks like the Doctor?” Rose asked.

“He is the Doctor!” Pete defended.

“But you didn’t know that,” Rose pointed out.

“But he still is!”

“He’s not really, though. He’s not the Doctor at all,” Martha said. “Neither of you should believe he is even remotely similar.”

“You can just refuse to go,” said Pete. “Turn down his invitation. Don’t meet him. Don’t go see Joan next week so you won’t have to deal with it at all.”

“I can take Nurse Redfern word that you won’t be able to attend tea with her.”

“But that’s not fair to Joan,” said Rose. “I quite like her and she’s lonely. No, I’ll just have to figure out a way to avoid this John Smith person the TARDIS created.”

Rose was quiet for a moment and then a frown washed over her face and she turned to Pete. “You asked Joan out on a date? What about Mum?”

Pete looked abashed. “When I asked her to the dance, I thought I was going to be living here for the rest of my life.” He pulled the teleporter out of his pocket. “Even if I got it to work, and if I had the right tools, I just barely could, it would only return to its last destination, a few minutes after it had left. And…”

“And?” repeated Rose.

“And it could only carry one person safely.”

“You were going to send her back,” Martha said as she saw the same realization dawning in Rose’s eyes. “You were going to stay here and send Rose back.”

“Why would you do that?” Rose asked. “You and Mum were just beginning.”

“But you and the Doctor were in the middle of something. I’d rather give up something new, than make you give up the love of your life,” Pete said quietly. “Not if I could get you back to him.”

“Dad,” said Rose, but she couldn’t say anything else. She swallowed hard. Martha wondered if her throat had closed up with emotion.

“It would be easier for me to start over. I’ve done it a few times in this life of mine. And this time period is more friendly to men than to women,” he told them. He looked down at his hands. “In the end, it’s an easy choice to make.”

“Well, now no one has to make that choice,” said Martha. “Once we get through the next few weeks, the Doctor can be himself again and he can take us all back where we belong.”

“It’s not as simple as that,” Pete said shaking his head. He met Martha’s eyes and then looked warily at Rose. “The walls between my universe and yours were closing. I can go back to my time, but I can never go back to my universe.”

“But Mum!” said Rose, horror in her eyes. “Mum will be trapped there. Alone.”

“She’ll have Mickey and Jake.”

“But they’re not you,” protested Rose. “The only way I could believe things would be all right if I left Mum and stayed with the Doctor, was knowing she’d be with you. She’d be happy.”

“Jackie is a fighter,” said Pete. “She’ll survive.”

“She’s spent the last twenty-one years just surviving. She deserves so much more than that,” said Rose.

“Maybe the Doctor can do something. Get you back there somehow,” said Martha.

“Maybe,” said Rose, but Martha could tell by the wooden look on her new friend’s face that the younger woman did not believe it.

The clock began to chime and Martha looked at is askance. “Is it seven already?” she asked with a frown. “Jenny was supposed to stop here after her visit with her sister so we could ride home together.”

“Ride?” asked Rose. “You brought a horse to the village?”

Martha laughed. “No, a bicycle. Imagine this city girl on a horse! The school has several bicycles, including some for the servants so we get to town more quickly when running errands. She should have been here half an hour ago. It’s not like her to be late. She must have forgotten.”

“If you’re needing an escort, I can accompany you home,” Pete volunteered.

“I’d hate to make you walk all that way,” Martha said. “And it’s not like anything can catch me on a bicycle, but people at the school would talk. It’s one thing to go about unescorted if I’m with another maid…” She frowned.

“It’s no bother, truly,” said Pete.

“We’d worry about you,” added Rose. “I know you are probably perfectly capable of defending yourself physically…”

“I’m more worried about protecting my reputation at the school than my person,” said Martha. “Mum signed me up for self-defense classes when I was a teenager. I’m walking a narrow line as it is at that school, though.”

“Then it’s settled,” said Pete. “I’ll walk you back.”

“Thank you,” said Martha, “but if you wouldn’t mind, can we wait a bit longer for Jenny? I’d hate to leave her on her own if she’s only just been delayed.”

“Of course,” said Pete and Rose together. Martha settled back to wait.

Ch. 10:

Comments

[dominamia.livejournal.com]

the plot thickens!

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

It's starting to.

[susanb03.livejournal.com]

Will have to start this over from the beginning!

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

And again, I imagine.

[jer832.livejournal.com]

I really like how you can make Rose, Martha, and Pete sound modern and the others sound period, and fit the narration around both, so they sit nicely opposite each other. And then Timothy's thoughts - bridging the divide and adding to the sense of danger. Beautifully constructed, beautifully written.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That is not an easy thing to do as I keep wanting to stay in one style or the other.

[hungrytiger11.livejournal.com]

Oh, how glad I am to see this story continuing again! I love the scene with Timothy. It really helps to foreshadow his abilities and show how he uses them in the everyday world.

I also love Pete and Martha and Rose being friends together. Poor Jackie. Poor Pete. Poor Joan. (I love your Joan!)

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I like writing these friendships developing, too.

[gallifrey-eire.livejournal.com]

Oh I've missed this story!

I love how everything is coming together (or falling apart, I suppose, it all depends on your perspective...)!

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It's a little of both, probably.

[draconin.livejournal.com]

It's great to see an update but I'm going to have to go back and re-read so I probably won't get to it until the weekend. :-)

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Speaking of rereading, the next chapter is finally up.

[dominamia.livejournal.com]

I guess I need to be patient while you mend, but know that I eagerly await your updates!

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I've mended. I'm writing. Next chapter is up.

[valiant-queene.livejournal.com]

I can't believe I missed this chapter! I just want to give all these characters hugs! Poor Pete to having to consider that, and having to make that decision. Poor Rose having to leave her father just as she's getting to know him and get close to him.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they could all benefit from some comfort.

[dominamia.livejournal.com]

Any chance the muse has returned for more chapters?

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Yes.

[jo-fitz.livejournal.com]

I love your style of writing, I also love how it seems to change with each story. Your stories just flow so well and I have a hard time putting them down. I do hope you return with more of this story, and others! (I follow you on teaspoon, I'm excited to follow you on lj as well!)
I like the more mature Martha. I always felt like they didn't do her character justice. I adored her and spent all of her season wishing she could get over the pining. (ugh!!) Hanks for making her so much more and tapping into what she should have been.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I am glad you like the stories. I do get into a different mindset with each story and I think that influences what style I use. I like writing Martha the way I wish she had been written, the way she was written later on in Torchwood. I thought the whole crush on the Doctor thing was stupid and that she would have shaken it off a lot sooner than she did. They could have done so much more with her than they did.

I hope to have some time to write this summer. It's just been an extremely busy spring on the farm managing 63 animals, most of which are under 12 weeks old, and putting in a big garden, plus homeschooling my kids.