It was nearly seven in the evening when Superman landed on the gravel drive outside the scallop fence of the Kent Farm. He carefully put Jimmy down, and the photographer straightened the suit and tie of his costume while the hero spun in a circle, changing into his civilian clothes.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you where you keep your clothes when you change," Jimmy said, amused as he and Clark headed toward the house.

"Trade secret," Clark replied with a smile as they walked up the stairs. He opened the door and walked in with Jimmy behind. "Hey, guys, we're here."

Martha looked up from the pie crusts she was working on for the next week and smiled. "Hi, you two," she said.

"Hey, Mom," Clark said as he walked over and kissed her cheek before glancing into the living room. "Where's Linda?"

"Upstairs," Martha replied, "putting the last touches on her costume; she'll be down soon."

"I thought I heard a familiar whoosh," Jonathan said as he came in. He shut the door and smiled at Jimmy, holding out his hand. "Jimmy, good to see you again." He tilted his head slightly, glancing at Jimmy's costume—blue pinstripe suit, red converse shoes, and a long brown coat; the farmer smiled, amused. "You are Jimmy, aren't you?"

"Usually," Jimmy replied, smiling a little as he shook the farmer's hand. "Thanks for letting me come over, Mr. Kent."

"You're more than welcome anytime," Jonathan replied, smiling warmly.

"Oh, that reminds me," Martha said. "Jimmy, are you and your mother doing anything next week?"

"Well, Mom's gonna be out in Vegas again," Jimmy answered, "so I'm kinda gonna be on my own, actually."

"For Thanksgiving?" Jonathan asked, noticing the subtle change in Jimmy's expression and tone. "No, you can spend the day with us."

"I don't want to intrude," Jimmy replied shrugging. "I'll be fine—I can get a few of those 'Hungry Man' frozen turkey dinners."

"Jimmy, we insist you join us," Martha replied as she continued working on her dough. "Besides, it'll be Linda's first Thanksgiving; I'm sure she'd love having you over."

Jimmy sighed and closed his eyes briefly; he could not believe he was being guilt-tripped—by his friends' mother. "Okay, okay," he said, "I'll come, I promise."

Jonathan chuckled and patted Jimmy's shoulder. "Why don't you go wait in the living room? Linda should be down soon." Jimmy nodded and left the kitchen, leaving the Kents alone. Jonathan glanced over at his wife, seeing the slight curl of her mouth. "Martha Kent, you are horrible."

"What?" Martha asked innocently as she continued working on the dough. "I didn't say anything that wasn't true."

"I never thought I'd see my own mother manipulating people through guilt," Clark added, amused.

"I'm only doing it so Jimmy isn't sitting alone in his apartment on Thanksgiving," Martha replied. "I know Sarah's trying hard to provide for the two of them, but it just seems like Jimmy's being left behind; to be honest, I don't remember the last time the two of them actually spent a holiday together."

"And that wouldn't be happening at all if his father wasn't a deadbeat coward," Jonathan muttered.

"Can we not bring him up now?" Martha asked, glancing briefly toward the living room. Jonathan sighed and nodded; Martha smiled. "Now, I have your paper on the table; Clark, I brought down 'To Kill A Mockingbird.'"

"Good, now I can pretend I'm doing something else while eavesdropping," Clark joked.

"You will do no such thing," Martha replied, smiling. Clark grinned as he and Jonathan headed for the table.


Jimmy slowly walked around the couch and furniture, trying to ignore the tight feeling in his stomach. He knew it was stupid feeling nervous—he and Linda were just going to watch their favorite show together—but he couldn't help it. He glanced around the living room at the string of TARDIS lights hung up over the window, the coffee table with two plates with a fish fingers and French fry 'chips' and two cups filled with a nonalcoholic 'sonic screwdriver' punch (made of orange, peach, and lemon juices) and then looked around at the numerous Doctor Who Cubees placed around the room, the teenager felt a little more at ease as he smiled, amused; he still couldn't believe just how obsessed Linda had become with the show over the span of a few months.

The sound of pattering feet caused Jimmy to look over at the stairs as Krypto came bounding down, wearing a handmade cardboard K-9 costume. The puppy trotted into the living room and stopped at Jimmy's feet; he glanced up at the teenager and barked once, tail wagging.

"So, she managed to rope you into this, huh?" Jimmy asked, amused. Krypto's tail wagged faster. Jimmy sighed and shook his head, smiling. "I hear ya, boy; she is hard to say no to, huh?" He reached into his coat and pulled out a pair of old fashioned 3D glasses—the white cardboard frames with the red and blue lens—and put them on. "So, how do I look?"

"'Good looks are no substitute for a sound character.'" Jimmy looked toward the stairs as Linda walked down, smiling. She wore a white, button-down dress shirt, tucked into a black wool skirt that stopped just above her knees; over the shirt was a dark brown cardigan with diamonds, and over that a rust-brown corduroy blazer that stopped at mid-calf. Her hair hung loose under the floppy fedora, and a pair of brown, knee-high lace-up buckle military combat boots, the multi-colored scarf, and a replica of the Fourth Doctor's screwdriver completed her ensemble.

"Luckily, you have both," Linda continued as she stopped just inside the living room. "Hi, Jimmy."

Jimmy just stared at her, dumbfounded, his mouth slightly open. "Uh…hi," he replied slowly after a few seconds.

"So, what do you think?" Linda asked as she turned around.

Jimmy carefully raised his glasses until they were resting on top of his head as his eyes slowly drifted south. "Uh…you're wearing a skirt…again," he remarked, "and, uh…boots, too."

"Is that a good thing?" Linda asked coyly as she walked over.

"Oh, yeah," Jimmy replied, smiling; he glanced up at Linda, and his smile quickly faded as his cheeks grew warm. "Uh, I mean…they, uh, look good together…with the rest of the costume."

"Thanks," Linda said before she went over to the coffee table and sat down before fiddling with the plates. "So, what do you think of K-9 Krypto?"

"I think it's creative," Jimmy replied as he joined her, "though I'm a little surprised you didn't dress up Streaky as well."

"Actually, I attempted to," Linda replied. "I made her a little Sister of Plenitude costume. When I tried putting it on her, she hissed and swatted at me; she's been hiding under my bed ever since."

Jimmy chuckled. "Well, hey, at least you have your faithful companion, Doctor," he said.

"Thank you, Doctor," Linda replied in a horribly fake British accent, smiling. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a yellow candy bag opened on one side; she held it out to Jimmy. "Would you like a jelly baby?"

"Most definitely," Jimmy answered in an equally horrible British accent as he grabbed a few of the candies; he popped them in his mouth and chewed.

Linda grabbed the T.V. remote. "So, are we ready?" she asked.

Jimmy nodded. "Allons-y," he replied. He grabbed one of the cups and held it up; Linda grabbed her cup and followed suit. "To fifty years of Doctor Who: for giving us a madman in a blue box that travels across time and space, for making us laugh, for making us shed a tear—and for making us scared of mannequins, gas masks, angel statues, blinking, shadows, tally marks, cracks in walls, astronauts, and snowmen."

"Here, here," Linda replied. The two clinked their cups together; they took sips as they settled in on the couch.


"Doctor, what's going on?"

"It's a…timey-wimey thing."

"Timey what? Timey wimey?"

"I've no idea where he picks that stuff up."

Linda and Jimmy snickered as they sat on the couch munched on their food, both wearing their 3D glasses.

"You know," Linda said after she swallowed a mouthful of French fries, "if you really think about it, the Doctor's trying to get himself out of trouble with himself—by blaming himself."

"Yeah," Jimmy said, nodding in agreement. "It's a shame they couldn't get Eccleston; if it wasn't for him, Doctor Who might've never happened."

"Uh, huh," Linda replied, smirking. "He was pretty fantastic."

"But Tennant was awesome, too," Jimmy said, smirking back as he straightened his 3D glasses. "None of the other Doctors had the universe sing to them as they regenerated."

"Don't go there," Linda warned gently. "You know that makes me cry every time I watch it."

"You know how his favorite phrase was 'Allons-y,'" Jimmy continued, "and then the last thing he said before he regenerated was—"

"'I don't want to go,'" the teenagers said simultaneously.

Linda groaned as she leaned back. "Sometimes, I think Davies was a masochist," she said, "torturing us like that." She sighed as she grabbed her drink and gulped it down, smacking her lips softly as they continued watching.

"I demand to be incarcerated in the Tower immediately with my co-conspirators, Sand Shoes and Granddad."

"'Granddad'?"

"They're not sand shoes!"

Bright white light suddenly blinded Linda's vision—almost as if a camera flash had gone off right in front of her—causing the young girl to reflexively squeeze her eyes shut.

(End of Chapter 2)