Chapter 16

Going Home

Inside the TARDIS's impossibly large console room, the Doctor was scowling down at the control console. He moved from panel to panel, mystified by the fact that everything seemed to be in working order. While this should have pleased him, he found it disconcerting that the TARDIS should suddenly choose this particular moment in time to start behaving herself.

"Doctor, is it true you actually traveled with a knife wielding savage?" Turlough asked amusedly as he and the Prince entered.

The Doctor shot a murderous look at Jason, who felt the invisible daggers flying in his direction and came to the immediate conclusion that he had better end the details from the past before his friend decided to drop him off on the nearest asteroid.

"If you're referring to Leela," the Doctor replied tersely, "then the answer is yes." A small smile came to his face at the thought of the strong willed warrior of the Sevateem.

Seeing the smile, Jason relaxed slightly. Getting reacquainted with old friends was difficult enough without its being complicated by regeneration. The Doctor was a little more even tempered and a little less erratic than the last time Jason had seen him. But he still retained the insatiable curiosity that always seemed to land them into trouble.

"How long before we arrive?" Tegan asked as she joined the others in the console room.

"Not long," the Doctor replied vaguely.

"It'll be nice to be home for a while," the Prince breathed happily.

The Doctor was puzzled. "A while? You're not staying?"

"You saw the message from Father," Jason said, pulling a paper from his pocket and waving it in the air. Without opening it, he recited the passage that most annoyed him. "…am working on the arrangements to enable you to comply with all traditions related to your status as Crown Prince." Crumpling the note, he gave an indignant snort. "You know what this means, don't you? He's fixing me up to get married! Arrangements indeed!"

Turlough had to stifle a laugh. A gesture the Prince did not appreciate. Tegan found it difficult not to giggle and hid her amusement behind a hand to her face. Looking at the Doctor, Jason saw his eyes twinkling above a broad smile. Not you, too.

"Oh, come now, Jason," the Time Lord said cheerily. "She can't be as bad as all that."

"That's just it! I don't even know who it is. Now that I'm Crown Prince, I can't even choose my own wife. Or if I even want one, for that matter," the Alterran protested. "I've been perfectly happy on my own for the last two and a half centuries, thank-you very much."

"An arranged marriage?" Turlough said in surprise. "Isn't that a bit…archaic for a race as old as yours?"

"If Terran—my father's predecessor—hadn't died without issue, I wouldn't be in this fix to even be worrying about it," Jason replied evasively. A growl rumbled in his throat and he thumped a fist on the console in frustration. "I'm gone for months and this is the welcome home I get. Well, I'm not going to let him do it to me. I'm not!"

"Don't be so theatrical," the Doctor admonished. "Aaron's just looking out for your best interest the way he—"

"Best interest!" Jason exploded. "Doctor, I can't believe you're defending him. The whole purpose of that invitation was to get you to bring me home and you know it! We both know you never would've even gotten a thank-you otherwise."

The Doctor's companions exchanged a baffled look. "Have we missed something?" Turlough inquired.

The Time Lord cleared his throat, throwing a quick glance in the agitated Alterran's direction before replying, "Let's just say Aaron was never too keen on the idea of Jason traveling with… well, me, actually."

"Let's say he hated the idea!" Jason countered fiercely. "And the fact that we were both nearly killed in that row with the Master when you first turned up didn't help matters either. Somehow he got it into his head that I was too young to make a proper decision."

"Well, it might've helped if you hadn't chosen to take on the appearance of an eighteen year old," the Doctor retorted. "How old were you then? About seventy-five?"

This was a new wrinkle, thought Tegan. There was a great deal more to all this than either of them had been letting on. No wonder the Doctor had been so reluctant to accept the King's seemingly gracious invitation, seemingly being the operative word.

Jason rounded angrily on the Doctor. "You know perfectly well I'd just reached my first century! And just who are you to be talking about appearances? You—" He broke off, suddenly realizing how silly he was being. He wasn't angry with the Doctor. Not really. He was angry with his father.

In an apologetic tone, he said, "You're probably right, Doctor. I'm…sorry. I shouldn't be yelling at you."

"That's alright, my friend. You've been away a very long time. It's just nerves, I expect."

The Prince gave him a wry smile. Why—Oh, why!—did he always have to be right? It was nerves. A terrible case of the jitters that was growing worse and worse as the time rotor slowed down. Finally it came to a halt, nestling down in to the center of the console as the TARDIS materialized.

Closing his eyes, Jason drew a deep breath, his anxieties seeming to evaporate as he let it out again. He was home. Suddenly he felt like a condemned man whose death sentence had been commuted, which was closer to the truth than he cared to admit. His reverie was broken when the Doctor activated the scanner and he stared at the image on the viewer in disbelief.

The TARDIS had materialized at the edge of a lawn not far from an elegant mansion. A balcony ran the full length of the second floor, an exterior stairway leading to the ground at the end nearest the TARDIS. The building was set on a hillside overlooking a sparkling blue ocean and beach of unusual black sand.

The Doctor groaned inwardly. He knew things had been going too well and quickly rechecked the coordinates, only to be puzzled further when he saw them to be the ones transmitted with the King's invitation. He looked back at the viewer, completely baffled. This can't be right. The Royal Palace is in the heart of Krystos.

"I don't believe it," Jason breathed, finding his voice at last.

The Doctor began steeling himself for the onslaught to follow, being certain he had somehow managed to get them to the wrong place, possibly even the wrong time zone. "Oh, no," he moaned under this breath, "I've done it again."

To the Doctor's amazement, the onslaught never came. Jason suddenly pulled the door lever and vanished through the double doors.