Chapter Thirty-Seven: Mister John Smith

Smith entered Mr. Gold's shop with a huge smile; the smile was there with him because he planned on buying the engagement ring to propose to Ruby with. Tomorrow would be the day that he would finally do it – right in front of everyone in the diner like Sean Herman did with Ashley Boyd that eventual Valentine's Day. As many times as Smith had been to Mr. Gold's, he had seen many gorgeous rings there; out of all of them, there was one that caught his eye the most – a gold ring with an emerald gem that literally glowed. Smith did not care how much he had to spend for the ring, as long as it would make Ruby's heart soar when he proposed.

It was late in the evening when he showed up; he knew that Mr. Gold closed at random times (sometimes before sundown and sometimes after), so he hoped that he was not too late. However, when he stepped in, he did not see Mr. Gold, but Alder Dorm instead, standing beside the counter. "Oh," he sheepishly muttered, "'ello, Dr. Dorm. I was, uh, expecting to see Mr. Gold here."

"Apparently, he had to leave for the evening." Dorm informed. "One would think that a shop owner would leave a note or put up the 'Closed' sign before having to leave his post."

Smith chuckled, hiding his disappointment. "Well, I'm sure he had his reasons. I'll just come back in the morning." He turned back to the door, but he was suddenly stopped by Dorm's next words, which were spoken coldly…

"What's your hurry, Doctor?"

Smith's hand stopped and hovered over the doorknob. Slowly he turned and faced Dorm again, seeing the smug expression on the little man's face. "What did you call me?"

"Oh, stop denying it. The charade is over, Doctor. It's time for you to embrace who you really are and do what you came to this abysmal town to do."

Smith stared upon Dorm with a grimace, shaking his head and snickering. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but…who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that? Has Henry gone to you, too? Has he gone to every person with an accent and said that I was this Doctor character of his?"

"He's not a character. He's as real as you are…consequently he is you."

"I'm not listening to this rubbish anymore. I have a lovely woman to propose to in the morning, so…"

"Amelia Pond." The name that Dorm had said silenced Smith and kept him inside the shop much longer. "The young redhead you've been having dreams of – c'mon, Doctor! Even as 'John Smith,' your feeble mind can grasp the idea of fate. What were the chances of a young redhead named Amy to appear to you in the flesh sometime after you dreamt of her?"

For the first time in the conversation between them, Smith was at a loss for words. His eyes darted about the shop in great anxiety until they finally connected with one disheartening sight – the blue police box that stood just beside him. Gazing up and down at the box, Smith discovered it to have been the same one that the madman named Jefferson had in his home. In a soft voice, Smith asked, "Where did Mr. Gold get this?"

"Let's just say he and Jefferson have one huge thing in common – you."

Smith angrily looked away from the police box and centered on Dorm. "I am not this bloody Doctor everyone says that I am!"

"We both know that's a bold-faced lie. Ever since you read about him, you've always wanted to be him. You've always wanted the stories to be true, so you could travel across the stars and through time – to do the things that you could never possibly do in the pathetic form you're in now."

Dorm's insults clearly were not encouraging Smith to believe him. "You show me an ounce of proof to show that everything – this whole 'posh' life of the Doctor's – is true, and I'll accept that I am him." Smith knew that this request was impossible for Dorm to carry out. Many had tried before – including Henry – but have failed to provide concrete evidence to show that he was really the Doctor.

Of course, Dorm seemed to have anticipated Smith's request from the smile he gave him once he made it. Reaching into the right side pocket of his jacket, Dorm retrieved a peculiar key that he went over to the police box with. Smith frowned with curiosity as he watched Dorm use the key to open the doors of the police box. At first Smith knew that Dorm had failed in his attempt of getting Smith to believe, because Smith had seen the inside of the box before, and it looked as ordinary as it did on the outside. But then something happened…something completely different from before…

After Dorm opened the doors to the police box, Smith saw a room beyond them that looked entirely bright…and alien. It was bigger than the outside of the box, which was hardest part for Smith to believe as he walked towards it. Dorm watched him as he was drawn to the majestic sight, seeing the look of astonishment on the so-called schoolteacher's face. The key to the TARDIS was exactly that – the key to getting Smith in believing that he was the Doctor; and it was all thanks to Amy, who was the one that loaned it to him. Of course, that was all she needed to help the self-proclaimed Dream Lord do; the rest he pretty much had covered.

As soon as Smith was completely inside the TARDIS, the Dream Lord stepped in himself, sealing the door shut behind him. Within moments, the TARDIS dematerialized, making the otherworldly sounds it normally made as it began its departure from the space it occupied. The noise did not fall on deaf ears as Amy and Rory heard it from the back of Mr. Gold's store, hiding there until the Dream Lord called for them. As expected, the Dream Lord held back on his promise, and Amy and Rory were left watching the TARDIS disappear completely.

Rory clearly was displeased with the Dream Lord's betrayal. "Well, that's just marvelous!"

"Oh, stop whinin'." Amy said. "The idea was to get the Doctor back."

"Yeah, but he has to stop the curse also, and the Dream Lord just took away the one last hope everyone in this town has!" Rory reminded her, and she obviously had forgotten this fact from the disgruntled look she had after hearing Rory. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"You go back home."

Amy and Rory's heads rapidly turned toward the shop entrance; standing there was River Song, dressed conservatively with high heels and eyeglasses, her hair tied into a bun. She smiled to her shocked parents and softly said, "Hello, Mum and Dad."

"River?" Amy said. "Have you been here in Storybrooke this whole time?"

River nodded. "Yes…just like everyone else here, I waited for the time to come when things changed…when the Doctor would finally remember and start saving everyone like he always does." She then revealed an object that she had been hiding behind her back, holding it in the same hand she wore her vortex manipulator on. "He came to the Storybrooke Library, where I've been keeping cover as a librarian, and asked for this – a book by Verity Newman."

"A Journal of Impossible Things." Rory said the title aloud without even looking at the cover first. "Yeah, Henry and the Dream Lord told us that's the book he had been reading."

"And he's been reading it for twenty-eight years – the only book he had ever read during his time as John Smith." River revealed. "The Dream Lord was right. He's wanted to be the Doctor his whole life as 'John Smith.' All he needed was the push, and he got it just now."

Amy smiled. "So…he'll be coming back…to Storybrooke?"

"The Doctor never leaves unfinished business behind, Amy. We both know that." River answered. "But we also know that there's one vital piece of business he has to take care of before he comes back."

Amy lost her smile as she realized what River meant. "He has to die…and keep himself hidden."

"And neither of you can be here when we comes back to Storybrooke." River advised.

"Why's that? Is it one of those timeline things?" Rory questioned. "We can't see the Doctor again before a specified point in time?"

River grinned. "He always has a plan mapped out for these things."

"Spoilers." Amy whispered and River looked to her in delight as she fully understood the purpose.

Setting the Verity Newman book down on the counter near her, River fiddled with the vortex manipulator on her wrist and beckoned for Amy and Rory to come near her. They had done so and, knowing what she was about to do, locked their arms around with hers. Before she pressed the button that activated the sequence, Rory stopped her upon realizing something. "Uh, wait. W-We left behind some luggage back at Granny's. Could we…?"

"Oh, shut up, stupid." Amy jested.

"Right." Rory acknowledged.

After the brief moment of bickering between her parents, River smiled and let her vortex manipulator teleport the three of them out of Mr. Gold's shop…and away from Storybrooke.