Chapter Nine: Memory from the Old Homeland

John Smith sat at the counter in Granny's Diner the next weekend, reading more of "Once Upon A Time," Henry's storybook. Most of what the schoolteacher had gotten from the book intrigued him, regardless of the fact there were certain pages missing (some of which included images referring to this "Doctor" character of Henry's). The character sounded vastly different in comparison to Smith himself – an eccentric alien with a taste for bowties and "cool" hats. Although Smith enjoyed the occasional baseball cap every now and then, he was not quite too fond of hats of any type…especially not a fez. Reading about this "Doctor," Smith could not fathom why Henry would be reminded of such a strange character when he looked at him.

"Interesting book you've got there."

Smith turned away from where his focus was in the book to see an unshaven gentleman approach him from the left, glancing at the book he had in front of him. He recognized the individual as the recent visitor to have arrived in Storybrooke. No one, not even Smith, knew of his name or where he had come from; they only knew that he was a writer.

"Yes, it is." Smith uttered. "A friend gave it to me…says that one of the characters in it reminded him of me."

The stranger nodded. "Nice. Prince Charming, I'm guessing?"

Smith chuckled, shaking his head. "No…a doctor."

"A doctor?"

"Well, The Doctor, from what he describes. Some sort of alien from another planet, flies around in this blue box, and somehow ends up in this fairy tale land where he's seen as some sort of wizard. I'm reading this part of the story where he meets the Wicked Queen and bargains with her over his 'magical' blue box."

The stranger grinned. "Interesting indeed. Mind if I take a look at it?" Smith shrugged nonchalantly, sliding the book over to the stranger. Flipping through a few pages, the stranger nodded and smiled from what he saw. "This'd be great inspiration for the book I'm writing. Can I borrow this book for a while?"

Smith was not certain whether he should have given his approval or not for the stranger; he only just met him, so he did not know how much trust he could put in him, especially with a property that was not his. Yet there was something about this stranger that Smith felt trusting about, so he decidedly nodded and said, "Sure. Why not? I'm certain Henry wouldn't mind. You've met him before, right?"

"The Mayor's kid? Oh, yeah. We've gotten to know each other really well over the week." The stranger confirmed. "Bright kid. I can see how he thinks of you as this Doctor character. You look like you could be one."

It was a flattering comment that the stranger left him with before taking the cup of coffee that he ordered and walking off with Henry's book. Smith pondered on the thought of actually being a doctor, not necessarily the one out of the storybook, but merely a doctor of sorts. Taking a sip from his tea whilst lost on such a thought, he was soon approached by Emma, who he noticed walked into the diner, bundled up in a wool hat and gloves.

"Hey there, Mr. Smith." She said. "You got time to go and see Henry with me at his castle?"

"Certainly." Smith approved. "In fact, I was just talking about Henry a second ago with our new visitor – the writer?"

Emma nodded slightly. "Well, it's good to hear him making some friends in this town. The guy seriously gives me the creeps."

"Ah, he's not such a bad chap." Smith remarked as he got up from the counter and followed Emma out of the diner. "In fact, he even believes I could be a doctor."

"The Doctor?" Emma said in surprise.

"No, not him. That bloke is ten shades of weird from what I read of him in Henry's storybook."

As Smith and Emma walked out of Granny's Diner, they quickly spotted Mr. Gold across the street with a few movers, surrounding the antique police box. Gold guided the movers as they wheeled the police box away from the spot it had been sitting in for weeks and into a box truck parked near the curb. Smith was slightly confused at the sight.

"Mr. Gold's made claim on the police box?"

Emma shrugged, equally as confused as Smith. "I guess. I thought it was his the entire time it was there."

While the movers were wheeling and securing the police box into the box truck, Mr. Gold spotted Smith and Emma from across the street and walked over to them, his cane guiding alongside him the entire way. "Ah, Miss Swan, Mister Smith…either of you wouldn't by chance happen to be interested in purchasing the newest addition to my shop." After stopping in front of them, he pointed to the obscured police box with his cane.

"I don't think Mary Margaret would be too interested in having a nine-foot tall blue box sitting in her living room, Mr. Gold…but thanks." Emma answered with a hint of sarcasm.

Nodding in understanding of Emma's decline, Gold then turned to Smith and offered him a chance. "How 'bout you, Mr. Smith? I'm sure an Englishman such as you deserves a piece of English memento like that box…a memory from the old homeland?"

Smith did not want to admit it aloud, but he did grow a little fond of that old police box in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings that he would stop by the diner and see it across the street while having breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, he knew in the end that it was just an old police box; probably not worth much at all. Smith had to commend Mr. Gold for even obtaining it to try and sell to someone in or out of town for a sucker price.

"No thank you, Mr. Gold." Smith politely rejected. "As much as I miss my old home in Gallifrey, England, I'm much happier making new memories here in Storybrooke, Maine."

Emma raised a puzzled eyebrow. "I thought you were from Nottingham, England."

Smith seemed perplexed himself of what he had said. "Right…Nottingham. What did I say the first time?"

"You said 'Gallifrey, England.'" Emma recalled. "Where did you get 'Gallifrey' from?"

He tried to think back on it, but could not come to any reliable conclusion. "No idea." Momentarily distracted, staring off into space, he soon snapped out of his trance and returned his focus on Gold. "Thank you, Mr. Gold, for your offer. I hope you find a good customer for that police box."

Gold smiled confidently. "I'm certain that I will, Mr. Smith."