C9 – To Portugal (or Dublin)
Jonah sat on one of the desk chairs, spinning slowly as he thought. They were ten minutes from Earth – these people, Paul Schwartz and his crew, had a much better ship than him, so the forty-two days it had taken him to get to his location was cut down to six hours. After he had thought long and hard about the subject, he decided the ship was from the future somehow. He decided to do some research on time travel when he got home.
Home. He smiled – a real, genuine smile. Glancing up, he saw Amy was watching him with an equally wide smile on her face.
The Doctor appeared in the doorway (this ship's so much bigger than mine, but then again, it has to accommodate seven crewmembers), carrying a tray in his hands. The smell of hot chocolate wafted across the room to Jonah.
"Ah, Doc, you know how to make a guy's day," he grinned, knowing (how did he know?) that the Doctor hated being called 'Doc'.
The minutes flew by as the ship made an unauthorised landing in a field.
"Are we in Kansas now, Toto?" asked the Doctor. When Schwartz nodded, Jonah felt a thrill of excitement, the huge weight he'd been carrying for the last couple of months lifted off his chest.
The crew helped him off the ship, and he glanced around the field, recognition sparking. He knew this place. It was only a few miles away from the farm he'd grown up on. He couldn't help but grin again.
"Good luck." He spun around. The Doctor was sat on the steps on the edge of the craft, elbows on knees and chin in hands.
"Thanks." He hoisted his rucksack tighter to his back. "You too. Tell your friends I said goodbye."
The Doctor nodded, and Jonah scuffed his feet (it felt weird wearing shoes for the first time in over a month), unsure of what to say or do. In the end, he just said, "Well, I'm off. Got to turn up out of the blue on Scarlett's doorstep."
"Bring some chocolates," the Doctor advised. "Chocolate and wine. Maybe a teddy bear. Ooh, and a fez!" He frowned. "No, ignore that last one. Women can't be angry when you give them chocolate, wine and some sort of stuffed animal."
"Thanks." He wanted to say something else, wanted to ask this strange man about how he'd gotten onto his ship in the first place, what a vortex manipulator was, and why he didn't feel human when Jonah looked at him. But words, like they always had, failed him, so he simply nodded and began to walk away.
After a few paces he halted, turning around. The Doctor was getting back into the ship, so he called out, "Doctor!"
Running up to him, Jonah removed his journal from his jacket pocket. He placed it in the Doctor's hands, and the Doctor looked stunned.
"I can't accept this."
Jonah smiled, like he had earlier, but for some reason this one didn't feel natural. "It's okay. It's a thank you. For taking me home."
"Jonah Matthews, I didn't take you home. You took yourself home."
He shook his head, backing off as the Doctor tried to force the journal back into his hands. "Please. It's all I ask. Read it. I want you to." And with that, he turned and left, neither of them saying anything more.
(Portugal, three years later. Or is it Dublin? It's definitely one of the other, and the weather is lovely, thank you.)
Jonah blinked, sitting up in bed with a stretch. Beside him, Scarlett stirred, but quickly fell back into her slumber. It was the first good night's sleep they'd gotten in so long, what with Katie staying at her godmother's overnight. Jonah hadn't realised how much of a toll a baby was on his life. But hey, I flew into space, somehow summoned (or did I?) three mysterious people and a futuristic spacecraft, and returned to Kansas, whisking Scar away to Portugal/Dublin, he thought. After all I've been through, I'm sure I can manage a baby.
He got out of bed and was just putting on his socks when he noticed a small leather-bound book on his bedside table, beside which was a box of hot chocolate packets. With a frown, he looked closer and saw a note lying on the cover of the journal.
To Matthew-Jonah-Matthews, great read. Need to improve on your punctuation, but other than that, your theories on travel between different dimensions were fascinating. Thanks for the hot chocolate brand (best I've tasted in a long time), and for helping Amy, Rory and me home. Your friend, the Doctor.
Jonah read the note three times before any of the words sunk in, and even then, he didn't . . . get it. How had . . . ? What?
"What's the matter, Joe?" asked Scarlett sleepily, sitting up in bed beside him.
He screwed up the paper, turned, and smiled. A real proper smile. "Nothing. I was just thinking."