CHAPTER 6
WAYLAID
Jason followed the corridor around the stripped down area in what the map indicated was the back part of the Dome. When he reached what was apparently the midway point he came literally to a blank wall that stretched up towards the lobby with no apparent breaks in it.
Picturing the map in his mind, Jason realized he had to go all the way back up to the lobby to get around the barrier and wondered if it were a main support wall for the building. He soon discovered it contained the service elevator that led to the surface, which seeming to verify his observation.
Arriving at the lobby at last, he was about to go down the other side when he saw LiaDonna in a sitting room crying. Before he knew what he was doing, Jason was in the room standing over the weeping figure. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.
His mother caught her breath, looking up in surprise. "Oh, Jason, it's you," she said in a relieved voice, relaxing visibly.
Jason took a seat across from her and asked what was wrong. After several minutes of urging, he finally managed to convince the hesitant woman that sometimes sharing with a stranger was easier than sharing with a friend.
"What are you?" she asked mildly. "A psychiatrist?"
"No. A surgeon, actually. Now, what's wrong?" Catching his breath, Jason said fearfully, "It's not your baby, is it?"
This only seemed to make matters worse. Finally, LiaDonna confessed two things that she knew with absolute certainty. She was dying and her husband did not love her.
Stunned, Jason listened in mute astonishment as his mother went on to tell him that she had put off the treatment for her illness until after her baby was born. (Until he was born!) She had even gone so far as to consult with one of the experts on the subject who was present in the Dome. He had verified what she already knew. Even if she did not delay, there was very little hope of her living to see her child's sixth or seventh birthday. After that he would be left in the care of a man incapable of showing any emotion at all.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be burdening you with all this," she said tearfully.
"Nonsense, you need a shoulder to cry on," Jason soothed. "But, what makes you say Aaron doesn't love you? Just because he doesn't show it doesn't mean he doesn't feel it. We Alterrans aren't exactly known for emotionalism, now are we?"
LiaDonna gave him a watery smile. "If you knew Aaron, you'd understand. He's more than that. He's so cold and distant."
Jason sat back, reflecting on his own father's personality. It was indeed true. He could be very cold and distant—to everyone but him. Never with him. He looked at the distraught woman beside him, thought on all the warnings the Doctor had given him, and then did what his heart told him. "I do know Aaron," he said at last. "Better than you could possibly imagine."
LiaDonna looked up in bewilderment. "How could you?"
"The Doctor is a Time Lord," Jason explained. "He brought me here as a surprise look at my past. It was more of a surprise than he thought. We didn't know you and Aaron would be here."
"A Time Lord? I don't…"
"It isn't a coincidence I have the same name as your baby. I am your baby. I was born Jason, the Marquis Krystovan." Looking the astonished woman in the eyes, he said calmly, "I'm your son."
LiaDonna looked into his sapphire blue eyes, the eyes of the Royal Bloodline. She reached up to touch his face and he pulled away, holding up a hand to stop her. "No, don't touch me!" he said quickly. "You'll get a lot more than a shock if you do. It's an energy discharge cause by my having contact with a past self. Aside from shorting out the time differential, it could short us both out."
His mother's hand immediately went to her abdomen, where her unborn child—the young man sitting across from her!—was still growing within her.
"I'm dead, aren't I?" she said at last.
Jason started. "What?"
"For you. Now. I'm dead. That's why you reacted the way you did when you saw me."
"I can't…" The young man stiffened visibly, clearly uncomfortable. "I shouldn't be telling you any of this," he said evasively. "And the Doctor will kill me if he ever finds out."
"Don't worry. I won't tell him."
The young man smiled affectionately. "No. I know you won't. It's just…" Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes, a pained look coming to his face. "How do I tell you about my father? You say he doesn't love you, but I know for a fact that he does. He just doesn't know how to show it. He's not emotional like you—we—are. Teach him how to feel. Believe me, he'll learn."
LiaDonna closed her eyes. "Will he learn to feel or how to appear to feel?"
"How to deceive, you mean?" Jason corrected. "I'm Alterran. I know the ground rules."
His mother gave him a watery smile. "I really shouldn't be bothering you with this. Children should believe their parents love one another, not—"
"Not that they married because of convenience or to escape an obsessed third party," Jason injected knowingly. He received a startled look in reply. "I know all about Dru,"(5) he informed. "But not from Father. He doesn't talk about you unless pressed."
"There you see!" LiaDonna said quickly. "I was right!"
Jason shook his head. "He doesn't talk about you because it hurts too much," he said sadly. "He learned that from you." He paused before going on to say, "The man I know, the Aaron I know, stopped lecturing to raise me. All my life, I never questioned that he loved me. Never. He's a man who—" Breaking off, Jason suddenly got to his feet. "A man who's heading this way! I have to go. He can't see me here."
LiaDonna turned to see her husband striding purposefully across the room. When she turned back, Jason was gone and her heart sank. If only he could've stayed longer…
"Lee!" Aaron called as he drew nearer, waving a hand. He stopped when he saw she had been crying and stiffened, uncertain what to do. "What's the matter?" Looking up, he asked, "That boy I saw leaving. Did he do something to upset you?"
Shaking her head, she replied, "No. He was a sweet boy. He saw me crying and asked if I was alright."
"And are you alright?"
A startled look came to the woman's face as she realized what she had just said. He was a sweet boy. Gentle, compassionate, caring—and raised by the man standing beside her! Taking her bewildered husband by the hand, LiaDonna said, "I am now."
(5) – Whom The Gods Destroy – chapter 17
Unbeknownst to Jason, the Doctor had passed through the lobby while he was talking with his mother. He had watched the obvious heart-to-heart talk for several minutes, his annoyance with his companion only increasing. He continued on, moving toward the corridor Jason had already investigated.
The Time Lord backtracked his companion's route, coming to the locked bulkhead door. The sonic screwdriver made quick work of it and he pulled it open with a grin. The room on the other side of the door was a stark contrast to the corridor in which he stood; it seemed to be all metal and walkways.
The instant he passed through the door the Doctor was overwhelmed with a surge of psychic energy and staggered back against the wall. It took a moment for him to steady himself. There was not doubting now that what he had felt upon arrival was the real thing and originated here. Closing the door, he moved along the walkway, passing what looked like long stacked cases. The only visible part were the ends, the boxes having been stacked lengthwise in each section, five across and five high. There was a number on the end of each crate above which was the section and compartment number. Whatever was stored here, someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to catalog it.
Turning, the Doctor surveyed the room, looking down at the center of the floor below. He could see several empty containers stacked near an odd looking piece of equipment. His curiosity piqued, he descended to the lower level, giving the equipment a closer look. It was obvious the storage containers fitted into this contraption to be sealed for storage. But to what end? What was inside?
Straightening, he turned in place, looking thoughtfully at the storage compartments that encircled the room. "Just what are you storing in here that would give off that kind of energy?" he muttered before crossing to the far door.
