AN: That wasn't too long before updates, was it? Really? Sorry! Please Read & Review! And remember, this is my first ever full fanfic!


Chapter 6

Hours later, somewhere in Ohio, they stopped at a combination truck stop and restaurant for fuel and breakfast, before driving the rest of the way. The Doctor made up stories of backpacking across Europe (though for all he knew, they could actually be forgotten memories), and Shawn talked about his family, job, and more baseball trivia than the Doctor would ever care to know. After an argument over the merits of baseball versus cricket, they gave up and just talked of more trivial matters until they arrived in downtown Pittsburgh.

"Oh, I love this city. All the hills, the old buildings, and I can't forget the sports. You have to go up to Mt. Washington sometime. I used to bring all the girls up there back in college. Great times. The colleges are out now, but you'll still find a bit of life over by Pitt and CMU."

"Thanks for the ride, Shawn. You can just let me out anywhere. I'll just roam around and get myself in trouble."

Shawn chuckled. "I'll drop you off near Fifth and Forbes. There's a bus stop in front of the McDonald's and you can get to just about anywhere you'd want from there. Let me write down my cell number for you. The offer still stands – you're more than welcome to come to the game with me."

"As intriguing as that sounds, I think that I'll have to pass. I don't think I can bare sitting for another three hours."

"Your loss. Anyway, here's your stop. Are you going to be here for the fourth?"

"The fourth what?" the Doctor looked at Shawn as he got out of the truck.

"Fourth of July, of course. I know it's not something you guys exactly celebrate, but the fireworks here are stupendous. They're not as good as New York's though. If you're planning to go to New York, try to be there July 4th. It'll be hot and full of tourists, but it's still well worth it."

"That might be interesting."

As the car behind them started honking, Shawn said his final goodbyes and the Doctor walked to the sidewalk. After having just ridden to Pittsburgh because that's where the first driver he met was going, he decided that he had found his real destination: New York City. Hearing Shawn mention it, he seemed to remember going there a few times over the years, so perhaps he could find someone who knew him. Even though he didn't enjoy many of the confusing memory flashes, he knew that it was critical that he remembered more. He asked for directions from a man at the bus stop and then made his way to the Greyhound bus station.


Stepping out into the hot and humid air in Manhattan, the Doctor was feeling uneasy and much weaker. From the time he left Shawn until the moment he arrived in New York, his symptoms had gotten worse. He'd had several memory flashes during the eight-hour bus ride, and it became increasingly difficult to make the transition back to the real world. Each time, more of the memory had bled over. After the last memory as an old man, his hands had throbbed with the pain of arthritis for a full hour before fading away. He couldn't understand why he was getting so much worse, and he really didn't have anyone here to ask for help.

It had been the middle of the night when he'd arrived in Manhattan, but there were still people around as he stumbled into Times Square. As he looked around, the lights suddenly blinded him, and he collapsed in a heap as a burning heat took over his senses. Quickly, all of his senses were taken over, and his mind was in another world…

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

"What's Happened?"

"It's your fault, Captain McDonell."

"Riley, get down to area 10 and help Scannell with the doors. Go!"

Such pain and such rage he felt! "You mined that sun. Skimmed its surface for cheap fuel. You should have scanned for life!"

"I don't understand."

"Doctor, what are you talking about?"

"That sun is alive. A living organism. They scooped out its heart, used it for fuel, and now its screaming!"

"What do you mean, how can a sun be alive? Why's he saying that?"

"Because it's living in me."

"Oh my god!"

"HUMANS! You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry! AAAH! You should have scanned!"

He couldn't stop the sun…it would take him over, and he couldn't stop it… he needed help!


Officers Kearns and McFarlane were used to seeing drunks, drug addicts, and raving lunatics, working overnight in Manhattan, but the man that was currently screaming and thrashing on the ground in the middle of Times Square was somehow different. That screaming… so full of pain, rage, and terror… it was something that they wouldn't soon forget. Knowing that people in such a state were sometimes much stronger than they appeared, the officers called for back-up, and were glad they did. It ended up taking four officers to hold down and cuff the man, and by the time they were finished, the man had gone completely limp, so they had to carry him to the back of the police car.

"So, what do you think? Crazy or drugs?" Kearns asked his partner, as he started the car and began to drive away.

"I don't think I even care at this point." McFarlane replied. "Let's just drop him off at Bellevue. He's probably just another one of those psych patients that they treated and dropped on the street so that we'd have to deal with him. I hate this shift."

"Twenty Dollars on Crazy."

"I told you, I don't care."

"Thirty."

"I'm tired of all these bets. Every time we pick someone up. Ten Dollars he's guilty. Twenty says that it was meth. When are you going to grow up?"

"Fifty."

"Deal."

The officers dropped off their man at Bellevue and went about their shift without incident. The next morning, McFarlane finally received the transfer to mornings that he'd requested long ago, so he barely saw his old partner. So, it wasn't until months later that they thought about settling their bet. When they finally asked around, they couldn't get straight information about the John Doe. The doctors remembered admitting him, but the file had vanished, and no one seemed to recall the diagnosis. A missing file wasn't something that should be ignored, but in such a large city, no one ever made a fuss about a John Doe going missing. After all, there were plenty of paying patients to care about.