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"Time, Rain and Tears" |  |
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| an Earth 2 / Doctor Who crossover | ||||
| by | ||||
| Douglas Neman |
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"Time, Rain and Tears" | |
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| an Earth 2 / Doctor Who crossover | ||||
| by | ||||
| Douglas Neman |
Several years after meeting the colony ship at New Pacifica, Devon went walking in the woods on a snowy day.
After being surrounded by metal and plastic for most of her life, she never ceased to be amazed by nature’s ability to calm her aching heart. She held herself as she walked, the cold stinging her face with life.
The planet lay silent under a blanket of snow, like an old friend who knew just how to be with her without saying anything at all.
She’d had two arguments in one day. The first had been with Max’s father. He seemed to disagree with every single idea and opinion she had, no matter what it was.
The second had been with Uly, which was why she was walking alone now. Since the moment he’d become a teenager, it seemed that he never spoke to her without snapping at her. Most of the time, he ignored her. He wanted to spend all his time with his friends, and he resented her whenever he couldn’t, as if she was his enemy.
And that hurt. Badly.
Julia had gently tried to tell her it was because he was spoiled rotten. After all, she’d pointed out, an entire planet had been colonized because of him, and an alien race had chosen him as ambassador -- all before his ninth birthday.
Children naturally think that the universe revolves around them. Only Uly had been given proof that it actually did. She just needed to straighten that out, and get a little tougher with him, Julia had said -- tell him he wasn’t so special that he couldn’t just roll right over her and do whatever he wanted.
But Devon knew that wasn’t it. Or, she didn’t want to believe that was it. She might have spoiled Uly in some ways, but she’d also taught him responsibility, to be respectful, and to do his chores. And Terrian link or no, he wasn’t so big that she still couldn’t bend him over her knee and smack his backside.
As she’d proven that morning.
God, she thought, and closed her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d spanked Uly, or been as angry with him.
So what was wrong? she thought. Was it puberty? Was it just one of those passing early teenage things? Or was he jealous that some of the other boys had fathers and he didn’t? No, that wasn’t it. Did he have a crush on some girl, and was too embarrassed to tell his mother? No, that didn’t fit, either. Did he feel like he needed to cut strings with his mother in order to fit in?
She stopped. Yes, she thought, that was it.
And then she remembered what Uly had gone through shortly after the colonists had arrived. He had eagerly told all the other children how he was the first link with the Terrians, and told them all he knew about the planet. It was so new and frightening to them, they’d hung on to every word, for a while. The spotlight on Uly had never shone so bright -- until the other kids got tired of hearing how special he was and left him alone. It had been a hard lesson for Uly to learn.
So was this the backlash? she thought. Was Uly so desperate for approval from the other kids that he was willing to rebel against her, even though she didn’t feel there was anything, really, to rebel against?
An old Earth phrase Bess had shared with her once drifted through her mind: "Preacher’s Child." Evidently, on Earth, where various religions flourished more than they did on the stations, children of religious leaders sometimes rebelled ten times as much as anyone else, because they didn’t want others to assume they were like their parents.
Devon leaned against a tree, her eyes closed. Was Uly just tired of being the community leader’s son? She’d never really thought about it before. It had never occurred to her that, as her son, Uly had a reputation either to live up to -- or to live down. And apparently, he was choosing to live it down.
And she remembered asking John all those years ago, as clearly as if it was yesterday, "What, you think I’m some kind of spoiled rich lady, is that it?"
And for a moment -- just for a moment -- she found herself wishing for that bygone time, when it had been just the 16 of them, banding together for protection from all the dangers around them.
How sad! she thought. She was actually feeling nostalgic about a time when fighting against starvation, renegade Terrians, ZEDs, and Council agents had given her a family, a place to belong -- and her son had not treated her like a disease or a bad name.
She shook her head. Something had to change. She wasn’t sure exactly what, but she knew it had to change. She refused to let her son become estranged from her.
Then she heard it. It had been several years, but she recognized the sound instantly -- the wheezing, groaning sound of the Doctor’s TARDIS. She watched, fascinated, as it materialized 30 yards ahead of her.
The door opened and the Doctor popped his head out. He looked around, spotted her, smiled, crooked a finger at her to join him, and disappeared back inside.
Smiling, feeling like someone had just given her a surprise party, Devon walked up to the doors of the police telephone box. She pushed them open and crossed a dimensional threshold into the pocket universe somehow stored within those tiny walls.
It was slightly redecorated since she’d seen it last. Fancy exercise equipment had been carefully laid out in one corner near the door, then seemingly abandoned, as all the machines were covered with dust.
On the far side of the room, by a door which led further into the depths of the time machine, a dartboard hung on the wall. Half the darts belonging to it were stuck nearly dead-center. The other half were stuck in the wood-paneled wall around it, and one had even landed in the fish bowl. However, as far as Devon could tell, the fish didn’t seem to mind it being there.
In the opposite corner, the pile of magazines by the easy chair had grown into three piles, two of which had fallen over. Beyond that, a makeshift chemist’s lab had been set up. An unattended beaker was boiling over with some strange substance. A crate which said, "DANGER: RADIOACTIVE" had been turned upside-down to be used as a pot for a large plant. On the table beside it lay a gray cat with shiny fur. It blinked at her lazily, as if it had not a care in the world.
Devon approached the central console where the Doctor was setting coordinates.
"How’ve you been?" she asked.
"Better and worse," he replied.
"It’s been a while," she said.
The Doctor looked up, blinking. "Has it?" He tried to remember, then shrugged. "Depends on who’s point of view you’re using, yours or mine."
"So what’s going on?"
"Well, I was in the area," he smiled. "Thought I’d pop down and say hello! I thought maybe you’d like to meet some of your ancestors. We’re headed for 20th-century Earth."
"Earth?"
"Yes, you know, Earth -- that home planet of yours which you’ve never actually set foot on."
"My ancestors?"
"Yes."
"The 20th century?"
The Doctor looked around the console room. "Hmm," he said, "there seems to be an echo in here. Odd -- I’ve never noticed it before."
Devon just laughed. "Are you serious?"
"Of course," he replied. "I was involved in a bit of trouble while visiting the 20th century recently, and I had occasion to check someone’s background. When I did, I came across conclusive evidence that this person is an ancestor of yours. I just thought I’d show you how they lived, firsthand. That is, if you’re game."
Devon was thunderstruck for a moment, then finally said, "Yes, I’m game! Uh, we will be able to get back, won’t we?"
"Fear not, Devon, I won’t strand you."
The central column ground to a halt. The Doctor opened the doors, and they stepped out.
It was so warm. Devon was still shivering from her cold walk through the snow -- snow which, now, wouldn’t be falling for several hundred years. World-hopping with the Doctor was very disorienting, she realized.
They were on a city sidewalk. The sky was overcast, the buildings dead and gutted. Trash blew along the street.
The Doctor walked up to a building on a street corner, and she followed. He stopped at a white, cast-iron door and pressed a button.
"Yes?" Devon heard over the speaker. It was a woman’s voice.
"It’s the Doctor," he said. Then he glanced at Devon. "I’ve brought the guest I promised."
There was a pause, and Devon could tell the woman was nervous. She couldn’t blame her -- her own heart was racing with excitement! Then she heard, "I’ll be right down."
"You told her who I was?" Devon asked the Doctor incredulously. "Isn’t there a Time Lord law against that, or something?"
"Only if you were to reveal the future to her," the Doctor said. "And I trust you won’t do that. Besides...I think you can help her."
Devon glanced at the city around her. A corner street sign read, "E St." Beside the "E," someone had spraypainted a "Z."
The door opened. She caught her breath.
"Theresa, I’d like you to meet Devon Adair," the Doctor said. "Devon -- this is Theresa Conners."
The two women stood in the doorway and stared at each other for what seemed a long, long time.
After a while, it began to rain.
===The End===