Chapter 3

The Doctor and Robert were walking along the vineyard. Rober was a large, gregarious man in his late forties and was very outgoing with a zest for life. Looking over the fields- "One man's idea of paradise."

"Yes, Irving's"

"Never did I know anyone less interested in grapes than you, Doctor."

"No, I was interested, Robert. And I was proud that my brother helped to preserve the traditions. But I did not feel bound by those traditions… as he seemed to be."

"You always reach for the future. Your brother for the past."

"There should be room for both in this life."

They walked on…

"And you, old rascal, you've made quite a shift toward the past yourself…"

"Well, marine geology turned out to be so dull…"

The Doctor laughed. "You should have listened to me from the beginning."

"If I had listened to you I never would have gone on that cycling trip with the Jacobsen sisters…"

"And broken your leg!"

"And got married. Twice."

They laughed.

"I hear you've been promoted to supervisor of the Bismarck project…"

"I'm part of a team…" he said modestly. "Although my wife would have you believe I run the entire project."

"It's certainly exciting work. I've kept up with it in the journals…"

"Really?"

"There's only one thing I don't understand… It's just that you were such a desperately poor swimmer… thinking of you working on the ocean floor…"

Robert grinned. "I guess we all find a way to confront our greatest fears."

"Seriously, how do you plan to determine whether the Bismarck was sunk by the British or was scuttled by its own crew?"

"You really have kept up, haven't you? The truth is… we don't know yet…"

"The TARDIS used harmonic resonators to examine a shipwreck on Drema Four… it's obviously not exactly the same problem but…"

"You know, it's a shame…" Robert interrupted. "The team's been looking for someone to take over the project… a real leader who can come in and get it moving… They're looking for you, Doctor. But I know you'd never leave the stars."

"No, I'd never leave the stars."

And he said it, but the words came out hollow, without conviction. And no one was more surprised than the Doctor. The revelation was extremely disconcerting and Robert was sharp enough to catch the subtle shading in the Doctor's voice.

"That's what I thought." He thought for a second. "Hey, if nothing else, why don't I send over some of the internal studies of the ocean-crawling robot… since you're interested… We could use any thoughts you might have…"

"All right."

Robert smiled as he realized that the subject was still alive… and anything was possible. They continued walking in the vineyard.

Nita was sitting at the kitchen table with her parents. She'd been telling them stories of her travels.

"You sound like a great team, Nita… and they think the world of you…"

"They really do…"

"Mum, Dad… I wish you would be a little more… reserved… when they come to visit."

"Oh, I know we go too far sometimes…"

"We're just excited to have you here."

The phone rang. Nita answered it. "Hello?"

It was Jane. "I'd like to see you, do you want to meet at the Coffee Club in half an hour?"

"Ok, Jane." She hung up and turned to her parents. "I'm going out to have coffee with Jane…"

She left. Marjorie glanced at John – what did he think? John shrugged, worried, but didn't know. It was the shorthand communication of people who had been married a long time.

"Maybe we should just leave it alone."

"I can't leave it alone. I'm her mother."

They looked out the window.

There was a knock on the door. John answered it and smiled. It was Jane.

"Hi Mr Llewcots."

"Hi Jane, come in." Marjorie motioned for her to sit and they joined her. "I'm afraid Nita has gone out for a little bit."

"May I wait for her?"

"Of course."

"Actually, I've been wanting to ask you something."

"Please, go ahead."

"What do you think of Nita running off with the Doctor and now marrying him?"

"The Doctor?" asked Marjorie, surprised.

"He's very different, I'll give you that."

"He's taught me some new dishes."

"I don't know that I like them though."

"Nita was a difficult teenager."

"You ought to write a book."

"We didn't do anything special."

"You don't think so? Look at her now… I think that's pretty special…"

"We knew it wouldn't be easy for her… going travelling at such a young age without us to look to for guidance…"

"We let her discover and explore the world for herself… let her find her own path…"

"A lot of parents could learn a few things from the two of you…"

Marjorie and John exchanged a loving glance.

"I'm afraid Nita thinks we don't understand her…"

"Because we're not travellers, you know."

"Maybe a part of her believes that. But there's another part of her I've seen… the part that talks about home."

The Doctor was sitting at the table, lost in thought. The lights were low. There were papers on the table with some diagrams that Robert sent over about the underwater project. He was staring through rather than at them. Samantha entered carrying some jars and glasses. "Doctor?"

The Doctor glanced up.

"Are you all right?"

"Actually… I seem to have made a disturbing discovery…"

She looked at him with concern…

"Robert mentioned the Bismarck project needed a director… and I actually found myself thinking about it."

Her face brightened considerably… "But that would be wonderful, Doctor…"

"Do you think so?"

"Having you back on Earth… of course…"

"Samantha, I've spent my life exploring the universe…"

"You've been as narrow-minded as your brother… and it's time both of you began to appreciate each other's worlds…"

"I can't argue with that."

"Given a little time, you might even get to like one another."

The Doctor grinned at her. "Well, I already like his choice of wives. I haven't thanked you for your correspondence, it made me feel like part of the family."

"You're not like part of the family. You ARE part of the family, Doctor."

He looked at her with appreciation. Irving entered, drying his hands with a cloth, just as there was a knock at the door. Irving moved to open it… Robert entered.

"Irving…"

"Hello, Robert."

"Come in, Robert… I'll get you some wine… The two of you can talk business…"

"Business?"

"Well, there's really nothing to talk about…"

"I'm interested to know what you thought about our plans."

"I've just really had a chance to glance at them… I have a few ideas but…"

Irving observed with curiosity…

"Wonderful. We should discuss them with the board of National Geographic… I've set up a meeting…"

"A meeting…?"

"Just a preliminary conversation… tomorrow morning…"

The Doctor began a slow build… to contain his anger… "Preliminary to what?"

Robert took a breath… okay, he was going for it – "They want you. I mentioned your interest in the project, that's all. That's all I had to say. They jumped at the prospect…"

"I never said there was a prospect…"

"At least, listen to them, Doctor."

The Doctor went inside himself and turned away, shook his head, trying to contain whatever was trying to get out… inside him was the anger and pain… feeling pulled between two worlds again… defeated… he never turned back to Robert as he said in his softest voice. "Fine. Good. I'll listen to them."

Samantha – who missed the full import of this – smiled, glanced at Irving who was not smiling at all. He studied his younger brother.

"You won't regret it, Doctor. I promise you. I'll see you in the morning…"

Later, the Doctor stood alone on the empty grounds… a lost man.