He'd chosen to take the train from London. He'd always liked long trips where he could relax and think about things. Now all that he could think of was that it was really cold and it rained too much.
It was ten o'clock when the cab stopped in front of his house. It was the same old house he'd always loved, with his mother's beautiful flowers. He hadn't expected to find his mother waiting at the train station, but this was a bit odd. All the lights were off.
He rang the doorbell, and after about ten minutes he heard his mother coming to open the door.
"This isn't funny, you know. Waking up an old woman in the middle of the night."
Carson smiled. His mother hadn't changed a bit.
"Hello Mum. Sorry to wake you up."
"Carson! I didn't know you were coming. Come in, son. You must be exhausted."
"I'm fine, Mum."
"I'll make you a cup of tea and we'll talk."
The house hadn't changed, either. It was over a year since he'd last been here. He sat on the big couch in the living room, with his small suitcase close to him. He missed the feeling of this house. The remembered warmth that had always made him hurry back home, the smell of his mother's cooking, the way the morning sun lighted his room. His mom was looking at him. He looked so lost, so lonely.
"Here's your tea, love."
"Thanks, Mum."
Carson was wondering what was going on in Atlantis. Zelenka should manage, so should Schwartz and Biro, but he couldn't help feeling wrong. He should be there. He thought of the snowflake city and wondered how he could he miss it the way he did.
"So, Mum, how are things here?"
"Aw, you know how they all are. Your uncle Magnus is busy as always, broke his leg last week. Um... Martha got married a week ago. Did you read about John?"
"John?"
"Your cousin John. He's going to become a teacher. I wrote about this in last month's letter. Didn't you receive it?"
"I did. Just... we've been a bit busy."
"Aye. I'm sure you were. So, how is your work going? Did you discover anything?"
Carson felt his stomach twitch. He'd discovered something, all right. The way to transform a healthy man into a bug. The way to kill half of the population of a planet.
"No, Mum. Not really."
"But you continued your research?"
"Aye. I'm feeling pretty tired - I think I'll get some sleep."
He didn't move, he just wanted to stay there and let everything pass him by . He wished he could lie down and sleep on the couch. But then his mom would be worried, so he got up and slowly started walking towards the stairs. He heard his mom coming behind him. She was always worried about him.
His room was the same, as well. He was standing in the middle of it, staring at the bed. The bed in Atlantis would be more comfortable . He heard his mother sigh... he'd closed that door, hadn't he? He wished it closed. But things didn't work that way here, did they?
"I'm okay, Mum. Goodnight."
His mother went downstairs and took his cup of tea from the table. He hadn't drunk any of it. Her son had changed. He'd always read her letters before and he'd always called to tell her he was coming home.