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"So is that it now mystery solved?" Alice asked a short while later, taking a sip of tea that Shakespeare had done her. It tasted just as delicious as her mum's whenever she popped in to visit from university. Well, almost as delicious as her mum's.

Martha nodded with a smile, putting her tea down, "'Love's Labours Won' over and done. Thought it might be something more, you know, more mysterious."

The young redhead hummed thoughtfully into her tea. Knowing her best friend had a point. She agreed with, "Exactly, not some angry boss having a hissy fit. Like come on..." she finished with a scoff.

"So why can't it be?" the Time Lord asked both women.

"Have things ever been that simple for you?" Alice asked with a raised eyebrow, lowering her voice so Martha and Shakespeare couldn't hear.

She sees him think on it momentarily when he probably already knew the answer, "Well..."

But before he could even give her a complete answer, suddenly there was a scream coming from outside, and everyone was out the door, with Alice being the last, taking another quick sip of tea as she uttered under her breath, "And there we go right on cue."

She finally makes it outside in time, like the Doctor, her best friend and Shakespeare. But, as they and the crowd of people witnessed in horror, the man's name they had learned was Lynley, coughing up copious amounts of water.

"What on Earth?!" Alice exclaimed.

"It's that Lynley bloke," Martha gasped as Alice rolled her eyes for her friend, stating the obvious.

"What's wrong with him?" the Time Lord mumbles to himself, to then voice out loud and dash over Lynley's aide, "Leave it to me. I'm a doctor!" he grabbed hold of the man just as Alice and Martha came rushing over her beside the Doctor whilst Alice went the opposite side.

"So are we nearly, in case you forgot!" the young Noble reminded him, gesturing between herself and Martha.

All three were at a loss for what to do to help Lynley until the man suddenly collapsed onto the ground in a heap, almost bringing everyone down with him. The Doctor instantly got back up to running down one way of the street and then the other.

"We've gotta get his heart going," Alice suggested, glancing across at Martha before dropping to her knees, not caring if her jeans would get dirty, "You check on his breathing."

"Okay," Martha nods and kneels, holding her hand over his open mouth and shaking her head, "Ally, he isn't breathing.

The redhead nodded, knowing now strictly what to do and began to speak softly to him, even though he probably couldn't hear her anyway, "Alright, Mr Lynley, come on. Can you hear me? You're going to be all right."

Just as she started clearing Lynley's airway, the Doctor had since returned. But to everyone's horror, water suddenly gushed out of Lynley's mouth, making Alice quickly jerk her head away, her and Martha's eyes vast as saucers as they stared at the man.

"What the hell is that?" Martha asked, still looking rather shocked.

The Time Lord kneeled beside Alice and frowned, "I've never seen a death like it."

"What, and you haven't?" the redhead asked with slight surprise.

He responded with a shake of his head, "His lungs are full of water. He drowned and then, I don't know, like a blow to the heart," Alice watched him frown, "An invisible blow," getting up he went to address they had learned called Dolly, not noticing the young woman watching from the balcony above, "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural, if unfortunate, demise. Call a constable and have him taken away."

"Yes, sir," the woman nodded and was about to leave and do that when a young maid with brunette hair appeared, making Alice glance up at her.

"I'll do it, ma'am," the young girl nodded. But Alice couldn't help but notice the mischievous smirk the girl had on her face just as she left. Then, with a shake of her head, she thought nothing more of it and returned her attention to the Doctor now crouched beside her.

"And why are you telling them that?" Martha demanded him moodily.

"This lot still has got one foot in the Dark Ages. If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft."

"So what was it then?" Alice questioned with a frown.

The Doctor now offered her a deadly serious expression, "Witchcraft."

So it looks like they've just ended up in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, Alice thought as she rolled her eyes sarcastically in amazement.

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They all had now since returned to Shakespeare's room just as Dolly stood outside the doorway as she politely informed him, "I got you a room, Sir Doctor. You, Miss Noble, and Miss Jones are just across the landing," with that, she left with a smile. Alice thought that all three of them in one room would be awkward.

"Poor Lynley," Shakespeare let out with a heavy sigh as he sat at his desk, "So many strange events. Not least of all..." his eyes scanned over Martha for a moment, gazing at her with interest, "This land of Freedonia where a woman can be a doctor?"

Martha challenged with a stare, "Where a woman can do what she likes."

Shakespeare now went to pass his gaze upon the Doctor as if noticing something about him, "And you, Sir Doctor. How can a man so young have eyes so old?"

"I do a lot of reading," he replied without a blink of an eye.

Shakespeare chuckles slightly, "A trite reply. Yeah, that's what I'd do," his eyes wandered towards Martha again, "And you? You look at him like you're surprised he exists. He's as much of a puzzle to you as he is to me."

The Time Lord glanced in Martha's direction, but she awkwardly avoided his gaze.

"And what about you, Miss Alice," she almost swooned at him, calling her that, reminding her of the film Gone With The Wind with Rhett Butler when he had talked to Scarlet O'Hara like that. But the next thing he uttered made Alice stiff as a board, "Yet, you are always looking at him as if you have something to say, only that you're just too scared to for fear of his rejection."

Alice instantly stood up from her chair. She just wanted to exit from this conversation quickly and pretended to yawn, "Well...I'm off to bed...goodnight..." she uttered hurriedly, avoiding the Doctor's questioning eyes as she left the room and sensed her best friend coming not far behind her.

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She entered the room they were staying in, and Martha now asked her best friend with a frown, gesturing back from where they came, "Ally, what the hell was that back there?"

"Martha, please just drop it, alright," she put her hand up to her friend before picking up a candle she found lighting another in the room.

"You fancy him, yet you are in total denial about it," Martha gives her a pointed look and folds her arms in front of her.

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about," Alice returned, trying to be oblivious.

"Oh, come on, Ally," Martha throws her a dubious look, "I know that you flirt with any man that comes within your radar, but I'm not stupid enough to know you fancy the Doctor," she hesitated for a moment before trying to make her point, "You say you're friends with him, but the way I've seen him looking at you says different. So how do you think he feels when you're making goo-goo eyes at Shakespeare."

"Mar, please just leave it for now, alright," Alice pleaded with a heavy sigh.

"Alright, but we're not done talking about this," she rolled her eyes before changing the subject, her eyes scanning the room, "Now, this isn't what you exactly call five stars, is it?"

Alice now notices the room, passing another lit candle holder to Martha. It was all a bleak and tiny room with just one bed. How on Earth were three people going to sleep in here? One may have to take the floor, which would be fine. But to Alice, neither the bed nor the floor looked comfy.

"That's a bit of an understatement," the young redhead scoffed, "I've stayed in much fancier places than this."

"Oh, well, but what can you expect? It's the 1500s."

Alice sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Well, you're not wrong."

Both women turned to find the Doctor standing behind them. It made Alice wonder if he caught any of Martha's conversations with her not long ago, who now turned to ask him, "So what do you think about the room, Doctor?"

"Oh, it'll do. I've seen worse," the Time Lord shrugs, not bothered.

Alice scoffed, "Well, I sure ain't."

The other woman nodded, giving the other two a rather amused look, folding her arms in front of her and joking, "I haven't even got a toothbrush."

"Oh, hang on," the Time Lord roots around in his coat pocket before pulling out two toothbrushes, "Contains Venusian spearmint."

The young Noble raised her eyebrows at him as she took a toothbrush, "Do you bring everything with you in those pockets?"

"They're bigger on the inside," he smirked at her.

Martha only rolled her eyes as she took a toothbrush, "Thank you," going on to change the subject, "So, who's going where? I mean, there's only one bed."

"We'll manage. Come on," the Time Lord approached the bed, slinging himself onto it.

At that moment, Alice instantly turned to Martha, "You go ahead, and you have the bed," she offered to her flatmate, "I'll go and find Dolly to see if there's another room free."

"No, it's fine, you have it," Martha slyly grinned at her best friend, nudging her gently. Alice subtly glares daggers at her, wondering what she was playing at by leaving her alone with the Doctor, "I'll see if there's another room free."

But before the redhead could even utter a word, her best friend had vacated the room and continued to glare at the doorway Martha had just left through. So now she was left alone with the Doctor and truly hated Martha for doing this to her.

Coming to face the Time Lord slowly, she found him gazing longingly at the space beside him on the bed. With a huff, Alice crossed her arms.

"So, witchcraft? You'd think we were in a Harry Potter book, right?" Alice joked awkwardly.

"Wait till you read book seven," the Doctor now looked at her with a grin, "Oh, I cried."

Alice snorted, "You cried?" she willed herself not to laugh just from imagining it, "That I would've paid to see," making him pout in response as Alice tried to stifle her laughter, "But seriously, though? Is any of this witchcraft and black magic stuff real?"

"Course it isn't!" he replied with a scoff.

She rolled her eyes, "Alright, no need to get all snarky about it! I know that time travel is supposed to exist, yet here we are in Elizabethan England."

But thankfully, the Doctor didn't try to argue with her on it as his gaze became lost once again, "Looks like witchcraft, but it isn't. Can't be," he glanced up at her with a pointed expression, "Are you going to stand there all night?"

"Yeah, maybe I will," she retorts as he stares back at her, "But I won't because I've been standing on my feet all day, and I'm knackered and want to go sleep," She places the candle on the bedside table before sitting herself in the bed beside him, "I don't want any funny business from you either. You stick to your side of the bed and not such much as a hand on me; I'll cut them off and feed them to some dogs."

He winced, "Okay," the Doctor mumbled, shuffling over to make room for her to lie down.

"Good," Alice finally rests on the bed. Keeping to her side of it, despite being small, it was difficult to tell whose side was which, "So if this isn't witchcraft, then what is it?"

"Well, there's 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," at first, it seemed he was only talking to himself and not the young woman beside him until he turned to face her. Alice gazed down at the Doctor, resting her face in her hand, watching him continue talking, mesmerised by his voice, "No, there's something I'm missing, Alice."

"What?" the young redhead inquired softly, turning to face him, their faces just a few inches apart fully. Alice tried to move her head away, but there wasn't much room.

"I don't know Ally, but it's something close, staring me right in the face, and I can't see it..." the Doctor's warm brown eyes gazed into her own, which made her heart skip a beat, feeling her face becoming warm, which almost surprised her, "Rose'd know." Still, that moment changed as soon as he had spoken that sentence as Alice tried not to let the disappointment show on her face, "Right now, she'd say exactly the right thing to tell me."

But this time, Alice couldn't help it and let the disappointment show upon her delicate features.

Making the Time Lord frown questionably at her, not knowing what he's done to make her look at him the way she currently is, "What?"

"Thanks for making me not feel like a complete idiot for not being the perfect replacement for Rose, by the way," she ridiculed, not entirely sure why it hurt her so much.

"Ali..."

But she abruptly cuts him off, "Save it. If you are willing to lie about that, what else will you lie about?! Maybe you could be lying to me about travelling with you full time only to drop me back home with Martha after this trip with you!" he tried to get a word in edgeways, but Alice wasn't taking any of his nonsense anymore, "Forget it, alright! Goodnight!"

Alice angrily blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness and turned her back to him so he couldn't see the tears travelling down her face as she blinked before closing her eyes. Feeling the Doctor's guilty eyes staring into her, she heard him let out a heavy sigh and sensed he had also turned his back to her. It had left her drifting off into the awful night's sleep, with her asking herself why she had gotten mad at him in the first place.