Chapter 5
Samantha entered the front door… and reacted at what she saw. "What in the world…?" She saw the Doctor and Irving still covered with mud, eating cheese and fruit at the table… they looked up like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar… "What happened here?"
They followed her glance, so see a trail of mud tracked into the house… "Ah…"
"It's entirely my fault, Samantha…"
"Yes, you see, he fell… and then I fell…"
"We both fell together…"
Samantha came over and examined the bruise on Irving's chin. "Have you two been fighting?"
"Fighting? Oh, you mean this. There's a perfectly good explanation for this…"
"Shame on you both. What would your father say if he saw you like this?"
"He's probably send us to bed without our supper."
They laughed together. Samantha smiled, shook her head. "Well, perhaps it was good to get it out of your system."
"Perhaps it was, Samantha. Perhaps it was. "I'll contact Robert and cancel the meeting with the Board of National Geographic. It's time for me to be going…"
"Already, Theta?"
"The TARDIS is ready to go… and I belong on board. If I ever doubt that again… I know where to come."
Irving smiled slightly and the brothers exchanged a look.
"You can't leave yet."
"I'm sorry. I must."
"You're not leaving until you clean up this mess… both of you…"
They rose quickly… "What mess?" Then Irving saw her expression. "Yes, ma'am…"
Ace stood in front of the VCR. Her expression was excited, expectant… but there was a trace of apprehension there too. She hesitated. This was a big moment in her life. She took a deep breath, sat down and pressed Play on the remote control.
The screen showed Harry McShane sitting on a chair. Not the towering figure of legend that Ace expected to meet… Harry was of medium build, about Ace's height, finely boned, and about 34 years of age. He wore a British Naval uniform. His expression and attitude were cheerful, confident… a man with his entire future ahead of him.
Ace studied him… this was not what she expected. Harry didn't look much older than she did. The man who was her father was more like a peer than a parent. Ace expected to be awed by what she remembered only as a very big man who played with her as a child. As Harry spoke, Ace tried not only to pay attention to what was being said, but also to try and get a feeling for who he was and what kind of man he might have been.
"Hello, Dorothy. As I make this recording, you're ten years old. I want you to know who I am today. You see, this Harry McShane won't exist by the time you're grown up… I'll be older, more experienced… hopefully a little wiser. But this person will be gone and I wanted you to know who I am now, who your father was when you were little. I see you playing there in your room… and I realize that I'm still learning how to be a father. So let me just apologize for all the mistakes I've already made, and the ones I am about to make as you enter your adolescence. I hope you don't grow up… resenting the fact that I was gone so much. That comes with both this uniform and with marriage separation. Right now, you're visiting me for the weekend, before I accept a posting on the HMS Stargazer. I don't know if I can explain why the Navy is so important to me… maybe you'll understand when you get this… later on. Maybe you'll even want to try one of these uniforms on. You'll probably be a doctor. We named you after the main character of The Wizard of Oz because your mother and grandmother are fans of the film. Your mother claims that your grandmother found it took her away from all her miseries. You come from a fine family… of scholars, explorers, artists… your great-great grandfather was a painter whose work once hung in the National Gallery…
We've had a skeleton or two in our closet… someday, I'll tell you about the McShane who was a horse thief… but we also had our share of family heroes… a McShane fought in the Jacobite Rebellion. One died at Trafalgar. It's a proud heritage, Dorothy… one for you to pass on to your children.
You're only a child… but it's remarkable… I see in your face all the people I've loved in my lifetime… your mother… my father and mother… our family. I see me in you, too. I can feel that you're my daughter. I don't know how to describe it… There's this connection, this bond… I will always be a part of you, Dot… Well, I hope this made some sense to you… I'm not sure it does to me. Maybe I'll do better next time. I love you, Dorothy." He smiled, finished.
Ace hesitated… then got up and moved toward the screen, but just as she reached out… the screen went blank. Ace stood in front of the empty screen. "Good-bye, Dad," she said in a hoarse whisper.
The Doctor, Irving, Samantha and David were standing outside the house. The Doctor was now in his question-mark jumper, carrying a rucksack. Irving had a small package. Samantha gave the Doctor a hug. "Be careful Theta. Come back to us again."
The Doctor smiled at her. "I hope to see all of you at my wedding."
"We'll be there."
The Doctor held out his hand for David to shake. The boy stood tall, proud to be treated like an adult.
"Take care, Uncle."
"Someday, I'll be leaving for my TARDIS too."
The Doctor glanced at Irving, knowing that this wasn't his brother's first choice. "There's plenty of time for that…" said the Doctor gently. "Keep your mind open… you may decided to do something else as you get older. Try not to be so… narrow-minded."
Irving handed over the package to the Doctor. "Here, Theta. A little of the eighty-one. Do not drink it all at once. And try not to drink it alone."
The Doctor put it in his sack. They shook hands… and then the Doctor pulled him into a hug… they could bear the intimacy for only a moment. The Doctor glanced one more time… and then walked back down the path he had come towards where he had parked the TARDIS.
Nita, John and Marjorie walked towards the TARDIS parked in the back yard. Nita was less stiff with them, more of a family feeling here at last.
"Is there anything you want to take with you from home?"
"No…" She glanced around quickly to make sure Ace or the Doctor weren't listening. "Perhaps some of your Rhubarb Apple pie…"
"I'll run inside and get some," said Marjorie, her eyes twinkling.
They were near the TARDIS, the doors opened and the Doctor stepped out.
"Doctor… welcome back."
"Thank you, Nita."
The Doctor looked at Nita's parents.
"Doctor, Mum and Dad missed you."
The Doctor smiled and shook their hands. "Delighted to see you again."
"Nita missed this ship of yours, Doctor."
"You'd like a tour, I expect…"
"Well, actually, yes we'd love to…"
"John, it's time for them to go…"
"Yes. Yes. Okay. I've heard all about it…"
The Doctor watched them for a minute and then shook his head slightly and went back into the TARDIS.
Samantha and Irving looked out the window.
"He's still out there… dreaming about timeships and adventures." She moved to go outside, but Irving gently stopped her. "It's getting late."
"Yes… but let him dream."
Samantha was a little surprised, but she smiled at this change in Irving. They kissed and moved away from the window.
David was lying on his back in the vineyard, looking up at the night sky, as a shooting star streaked across the heavens…
The End