Chapter Eleven
Alone At Last
Controlling himself with visible effort, Jason went into the next room, closing the door behind him. He glanced over at the Doctor, seeing him leaning back in his chair, his eyes closed. Taking a seat near the door, the Alterran exchanged glances with Ace and Turlough before sighing heavily, looking again in the Time Lord's direction. Even though this was the first time since the strange affair began that he had time to talk with his old friend, Jason found himself curiously at a loss for words.
Sensing the sudden tension, Turlough gave Ace a nudge. "I think we ought to leave them alone, don't you?" he said quietly.
Ace nodded. "A discreet exit, I think."
Rising to his feet, Turlough announced that he was going to the console room to see if he could get some of the systems back on line. Ace "volunteered" to accompany him and they took their leave.
The Doctor was not fooled by any of this and sat quietly for several minutes before quietly asking, "Jason, what do you have against Asta?"
Startled by the sudden question, the King looked up sharply. "What?"
The Doctor repeated the question, going on to add, "She's a kind and gentle young woman. What did she ever—?"
Jason bristled. "I don't think that's any of your business."
The Time Lord's eyes widened and he sat up. "Really? That's a switch," he observed, receiving a disgusted snort in reply. "Jason, that young woman is risking the only thing she can truly call her own—her independence. And all you can do is bemoan the fact that your son loves her. Or thinks he does, at any rate."
"Doctor, she's not real!"
"Rubbish! She's as real as you or I."
"No! You may think she is, and I thought so too once. But she's not," the King said fiercely. "She's still a creature of evil. I know it for a fact. She's been trying to drive a wedge between Juris and me for months. I can't talk to him anymore. She never leaves his side."
"Oh, come now…"
"Doctor, I know what I'm talking about. She goes out of her way to please him."
"To please him?" The Doctor was incredulous. "Jason, you're an even bigger idiot than I re member," he observed savagely. "If that were true, she never would've attempted this. She's doing this to please you!"
"Me? Don't be ridiculous. She knows I'm on to her."
The Doctor ignored the remark. "Tell me. What does Shadra think of her? She's a good judge of character. Does she—?"
"You leave my wife out to this!" Jason snarled defensively, his eyes blazing.
"Just as I thought," the Doctor muttered triumphantly. "She likes her too, doesn't she? That rather makes you the odd man out, doesn't it?"
The Alterran merely snorted again.
"Jason, don't you think it's time you stopped acting like a child and just admit you're wrong?"
Rising to his feet, the monarch stated categorically, "I am not wrong!"
Recognizing the rare tone of regal authority, the Doctor responded with a mocking laugh. "King Jason decrees that he is not wrong."
"I don't have to listen to this," Jason hissed and started for the door.
"You're right," the Time Lord went on in the same mocking tone, "you don't have to listen to this. You're His Most Royal Majesty King Jason of Tel-Shye."
The Alterran stopped short and stiffened visibly, turning back slowly.
Ignoring the dark look and visible signs of Jason's growing rage, the Doctor continued, "You know, I knew an Alterran once who would listen. He wouldn't always do as he was told, but at least he'd listen. Come to think of it, he was of Royal Blood, too. Not that you'd've known it. He wasn't arrogant or ill mannered the way some can be. In fact, he freely admitted that he was an idiot from time to time." Pausing a beat, he added, "I wonder whatever became of him."
The Doctor watched as his friend's eyes went icy cold, the expression on his face sending a chill down his spine and causing him to stiffen involuntarily. He had seen Jason lose his temper on more occasions than he cared to remember, having been on the receiving end more times than he cared to re member, too. Yet in all that time he had never seen so malicious a look preceding an eruption of Mt. Jason.
"I hate you for that, Doctor," Jason hissed venomously. "For the rest of my life, I'll hate you for that."
The Time Lord's mouth dropped open. "Will you really?" he asked in a tone of blank astonishment.
Jason did not reply. He had always considered the Doctor his closest friend. They had been through life and death struggles, roamed distant galaxies, and shared adventures that few had even dreamed of. Now they stood at a crossroads and all Jason could see was their parting company forever. But instead of feeling sad, as he should have, he found himself filled with a sense of relief, which completely baffled him.
"On one occasion," the Doctor said quietly, "you had me give you my solemn promise that I would come back to see you at least once before you died. Would you send me away now on the promise that I never return?"
After a silence that spoke volumes, the King drew a deep breath and straightened. "You don't want to know the answer to that, Doctor," he announced. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some medicine to make up for Turlough." With that, he strode from the room.
Mystified by his friend's bizarre and totally uncharacteristic behavior, the Doctor rose to his feet, throwing a look towards the next room. "That's where you're wrong, my friend," he muttered darkly. "I most certainly do want to know the answer."