Gallifreyan Nature: Chapter 6

[nevermoreraven]

Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: Teen
DISCLAIMER: Other people have actually read this one before the internet.  Yes, I know.  It's weird.
Summary: This is a rewrite of the Human Nature/Family of Blood two-parter, because I really liked Latimer.  It's long.  I liked it pretty well at the time, as did the other readers, so let's see how well it held up.  ...so far, so good.  also I actually bothered to tab for once on this one.
It's not finished, but it's fairly close.

 

Martha was very good at looking busy anymore.  Back at Royal Hope, she’d never even considered the notion, but when many of the tasks she was forced to perform really weren’t all that pressing, she got a little more lax about her standards.  Someone’s life wasn’t depending on it; it could wait.  At the moment, though, she was looking for someone-specifically, Daniel.  She needed to know more.  Like-who was he really?  What was he doing here?  And was he, as he seemed to claim, at all related to the Doctor?

It was outside the Mathematics classroom that she heard Winters’ voice, babbling out some sort of explanation.  She found an angle where a) she didn’t look completely suspect and b) she could see into the classroom while not being seen and took a peek.  For some reason, Mr. Smith had made him go up to the front of the classroom and try to teach a different method of doing-whatever they were doing.  The diagrams on the board looked large and complex, but he was drawing them very, very quickly indeed.  Eventually, his voice came to a halt and he glanced downwards, to what appeared to be a watch on his wrist.  “Thirty-nine seconds,” he stated with some satisfaction, and looked back up at John Smith.  Anyone else would have been embarrassed with all those eyes upon them, but Daniel just seemed a bit apologetic.  He sighed, and asked, “Show of hands-who was lost in the first five seconds?”

All hands in the classroom raised, and he grimaced.  “That badly, huh?  Well, I did warn you.  And I said it was faster.  See?  Got the same answer-you will, every time, mind.  Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a different way to go about it.  But I’m not surprised you didn’t get it.  It’s really complex-not what you have to do, but understanding it.  Whereas, I suppose, the current way is the opposite-it’s easy to understand, but complex and lengthy to get through.  The man who made the final calculations that led to the discovery of this method took ages to figure out how to do it-and as far as I can figure out, it takes months to learn it properly.  Matthew Longsville, I think.”

“How did you learn it then?”  Mr. Smith was rubbing his head.

“I had a lot of time on my hands.  And Lord Brixton had learned it from the bloke who’d come up with it in the first place.  He loves new advances, that sort of thing, and had to share it with someone, I suppose.”  Daniel looked completely at ease at this point, sticking his hands in his pockets and sauntering back to his seat.

“Winters?”  John Smith called, as he was settling in.

Daniel’s head shot up, as if his life depended on it.  “Yes?”

“You can do half the problems…your way.  The rest-do it normally.”  Mr. Smith didn’t seem quite sure of how to term things, but he was trying, at least.

The smile that spread across Daniel’s face was, at its core, Doctorish.  It warmed Martha’s heart to see it.  She could spend the whole of her life like this, if only she got to see the Doctor now and then…

Well…she was forgetting her hopes and dreams.  She still had to become a doctor, a proper doctor.  Save people’s lives, and she wasn’t likely to do all that much of that from where she stood right now.  But she wouldn’t hate him.  Not that she could hate him.  She just…

‘You are such a lovestruck idiot, and he’s a bit younger than you,’ she told herself.

Another part of herself felt compelled to argue. ‘Yes, but…it feels good….’

She rolled her eyes and moved on to more practical things.

 

Daniel Winters would have thought the bullies would have learned their lesson by now.  Then again, they weren’t bullies for nothing.  Smarter ones would just use insults that hurt or figure it wasn’t worth the effort.  Dumber ones wouldn’t be able to get away with much, trying to get Latimer to sting-not that they really were getting away with it.  Not with him around.

Tim’s tongue had slipped out some remark that had the older boys furious.  It was something small-he’d meant nothing by it-but they were ganging up on him anyway.

Daniel had had a look over Latimer’s body earlier, and found that he wasn’t hurt.  Often, then, his mouth had gotten him out of the same situations it’d gotten him in, but not today.

The bullies’ heads snapped up as Daniel took a deep breath and stated firmly, “Leave him alone.”

“Stay out of this, Winters!” Hutchinson snapped, secretly afraid that the new boy would join in.  Nobody knew what he was capable of, or where he came from.  They’d speculated, but he was weird, and no one wanted to mess with him.

Daniel looked stern, and if they could have without losing face, the lot of them would have run away as fast as they could.  As it was, they were stuck.  He eyed them each speculatively, then suddenly broke into a dazzling smile.  “Tell you what.  You, Hutchinson, isn’t it?  Single combat.  If I win, you leave him alone, you hear me?  He’s under my protection.  And if I lose…well, it’s a chance for you, isn’t it?  Take out all your fear, aggression, on me.  And save a little for Latimer too, if you want.  Though I wouldn’t if I were you.”  For a moment, the storm clouds came back again, then it was all sun and brilliant smiles once more.

“Whaddaya say?  Shake on it, word of honor?”  The strange boy held out his hand, and almost without knowing what he was doing, Hutchinson took the hand.

“Guns?” he asked, a little worried.  He had no idea how good the newcomer was with guns.

The look that came over Daniel’s face was almost one of distaste.  “Never liked guns, me.  Not really manly, is it, hiding behind things, shooting your enemy.  Now, facing someone who’s pointing a gun at you, that’s different.  I do it all the time.  I’d say swords.  With those you have to face your enemy, close up.  All the way back, up to ancient times, it’s been considered civilized.  All the best of the best know swordsmanship-or fencing at least.  And don’t worry-I’m good with one.  I won’t inadvertently hurt you.  I’m guessing you can’t say the same thing, but you know.  It’s either that, or fisticuffs.”  At Hutchinson’s confused look, he clarified, “Like wrestling.  Unarmed.  You against me.”

Nervous, but unable to back out of this one, Hutchinson chose.  “Swords.”

“Lovely,” Daniel clapped him on the arm, and it was almost as if they were best buddies, not two people that were about to start fighting in a short while…