Doctor Who_ Return Of The Living Dad Part 8

'It's like that Foglio 'toon,' said Joel, as Jason sat down again. 'Where all the people are running screaming from the alien, but the fan is saying, "Long trip?" '

'I'll take your word for it,' said Jason. 'Is everybody in Little Caldwell as relaxed as you are?'

It's just us, the crew and the guests. Except for Mr Sullivan in the post office. He's been here twenty years and he still hasn't noticed anything weird. We try not to keep lots of aliens around. London's the best place for them, or sometimes New York.'

'What about Tony?'

'Oh, he's been part of the crew almost from the start. He was a kind of backwards case - he deserted from the Tzun when they were trying to invade in the fifties. He's our computer expert. He did stuff to my Commodore 64 that'll be advanced even in ten years' time.'

'And what about you?'

'Oh... I'm a latecomer,' said Joel, fumbling with a packet of cigarettes. 'They needed a fan real bad. What people think about aliens mostly comes from films and TV. Thank G.o.d for ET ET and and CE3K CE3K.'

'Why no guns?' said Jason.

'Because that way you know anyone with a gun is a bad guy. 'Scuse me, I'm just going outside for a minute. This must be about the first non-smoking restaurant in the world.'

Jason pushed the undrinkable coffee away and gloomily looked at the newspaper. 'Face it, Kane,' he told himself.

'She's going to be attached to daddy dearest like a hyper-leech. Until the novelty wears off.'

'What about the professionals?' Chris was saying. 'If you get paranormalists, do you get them too?'

'Well, we've had more than one run-in with C19.'

'And that would be?'

'Well,' said Tony, 'not to, um, sharpen too fine a point on it, they would dissect me faster than you could say "von Daniken". You learn to tell friend from enemy.'

'What about us?' insisted Roz.

Tony looked between them. 'My hologram makes you a bit nervous,' he ventured.

'Oh?' said Roz. 'And why would it make me nervous?'

'Well,' said the Tzun, 'it makes you wonder who else around the place is in disguise.'

Roz grimaced. Chris said, 'How many, er, guests do you have at the moment?'

'Six. About once every two years we have to evacuate the extraterrestrials. That's my job,' said Tony proudly.

'Sometimes it's the secret service, but usually it's the military.

Last year UNIT cordoned us off for twenty-four hours, as part of a "training exercise". There were unsuspecting soldiers tramping around all over the place. We sold a lot of coffee that day, I can tell you!'

'So what did you do?' said Chris.

'In the end the Americans asked them to leave.'

'And that's another thing,' said Roz. 'If I was going to choose a place to harbour alien refugees, my first choice wouldn't be next door to the air force.'

'It actually draws attention away from us,' said Tony. 'It's all in the misdirection, you see. Um, I'd better get back to the Pyramid. Just phone us up if you need anything.' He headed for the door, looking relieved. 'I hope you two will be comfy together!'

Roz gave Chris a sideways look. The boy's ears were turning red. 'Thanks a bundle,' she said.

Woodworth pulled up at the coffee shop and shut off the engine. She smiled at the sign that said THE PYRAMID, LITTLE CALDWELL. The village was real. She was here.

She got out of the car and locked it, looking up and down the street. It was barely a village, more a sort of hamlet, a handful of buildings spread out along the road; at the west end, a petrol station, to the east, a few cottages and a church. No wonder people missed it.

There was a boy leaning against the wall outside the cafe, smoking a cigarette. She went inside, pulling off her scarf and gloves, and the lad followed her in.

'Hi,' he said, ducking behind the counter. 'What can I get you?'

She peered at the menu. 'Just a coffee.'

'What kind?'

'No milk or sugar,' she told him. There was nothing supernatural about this place. Even the oddly dressed man struggling with The Times The Times crossword was probably merely in fas.h.i.+on. crossword was probably merely in fas.h.i.+on.

Woodworth pulled off her gla.s.ses and rubbed her ageing eyes. She peered at her watch. Would the village still be here if she drove away and tried to find it again? 'Will the bookshop be open tomorrow?'

'Yes, ma'am,' said the boy. He sounded American - the son of someone from the airbase? 'It's open Monday to Sat.u.r.day, but not on Sundays.'

'Right then, make that coffee to go. I'll be back tomorrow.'

'No problemo.' The boy poured the steaming stuff into a polystyrene cup. She pushed a handful of change over the counter at him. 'Have a nice day,' he said.

Woodworth grimaced as she stepped out into the cold again. 'It doesn't seem likely,' she muttered.

The Doctor had spent a relaxing half-hour in the graveyard next to the boarded-up church, looking for just the right stick.

The place was cozy, with a smattering of naked trees between the headstones. He chatted for a while with old Tom the grocer, who popped over every day to do a bit of unofficial caretaking.

When Benny found him he was dozing with his back to a tilted headstone, holding a stick shaped like a large wishbone. The mist had cleared, but it was still bitterly cold.

He was wearing a duffle coat as a gesture towards winter clothing.

He pushed his hat back and smiled up at her. 'I thought you were asleep,' she said, pus.h.i.+ng her hands into the pockets of her coat. 'I'm just taking a break. It's so peaceful here.'

'Well,' said the Doctor, 'it gives the impression of peace, and sometimes that's enough.' He stood up, and the stick twitched in his hand. 'How are you and Isaac getting along?'

'He's nothing like me,' she said. 'He's distant. Terribly serious. Military, I suppose. But...' She gestured around. 'I wish Mum could have seen this.'

The Doctor made a face. 'All right, I admit it. I'm impressed. If your father's operation didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent it.'

The tension went out of her shoulders. 'He said they'd been waiting for you. I think he expected you to...'

'Yes?'

'To disapprove. To shut them down. Doctor?'

He'd been looking down at the quivering stick. Now his eyes came back to her face, searching. Her mouth went dry.

'Doctor, you didn't didn't know about Little Caldwell, did you?' know about Little Caldwell, did you?'

He replaced the piercing gaze with a happy grin. 'Not at all. But I'm delighted to find myself here.' He looked around at the graveyard. 'We all have to find ourselves somewhere.

What do you think my epitaph ought to be?' Benny frowned.

'How about, "Don't just stand there, do something!"?'

'I know, "'Pull the trigger, end my life,' was a figurative expression."'

'It'll probably end up being "Behind you!"' He shook his head. 'I think I'd like it to be "He really did the best he could."

You can't ask for much more than that, really.'

'There was something else,' said Benny. The Doctor moved his dowsing rod around in a slow arc. 'Isaac mentioned that one of his crew had died of a cold. The rest of them have been very ill at times, from minor bugs that wouldn't bother someone from the twentieth century. They don't have any immunity.' The Doctor turned slowly, holding the stick loosely in both hands. 'And it occurred to me that I haven't had a cold since the day I got into the TARDIS.'

'No...'

'And then there was something Ace said once, about nanotechnology, and...' she ground to an embarra.s.sed halt.

The Doctor stopped in place, the stick quivering in his hand. 'This is leading somewhere,' he said, 'but I'm not quite sure where.'

'Doctor, will the nanites you injected into my system stop me from becoming pregnant?'

'Oh,' said the Doctor. 'No. They don't even notice the human genome, which means they won't protect you from cancer or autoimmune disorders, either.'

'It's just that I rather fancy giving Isaac some grandchildren.' Benny pushed her hands into her jacket pockets. And Jason and I have been trying for so long... and I keep wondering which bit of alien radiation or virus or whatever has got to one of us. Or both of us.'

The Doctor let the stick drop down. 'Oh, Benny. I'm so sorry. Come back to the TARDIS, we can try a few tests.'

'We thought about adopting, but between Jason's credentials and mine - i.e. i.e. none whatsoever - I'd hate it if I couldn't have kids at all. Ever. Not to even have the choice...' none whatsoever - I'd hate it if I couldn't have kids at all. Ever. Not to even have the choice...'

She bit her lip as he looked down at the ground, face suddenly full of ancient sadness. She wanted to hug him.

Instead she pretended to study a standing stone, an incongruous slab of grey rock in the graveyard's corner. 'I'm really grateful,' she whispered. 'You gave me my dad back.'

'We can stay as long as you like. As long as you need to get to know one another.' The stick jumped in his hand again.

'And there are a few things I want to take a look at for myself.'

'What are you up to?' she said, watching the stick move.

'My cunning plan,' he said, 'is to read the paper and drink as much tea as I can safely contain. I feel like putting my feet up for a while, and letting my subconscious churn over the question of human psi powers for a while, instead of chasing hints and shadows about... This is Isaac's show. We'll see how long it lasts.' He glanced around at the stones. 'I wonder what Joan's is.'

It took Benny a moment to realize what he meant. 'Oh no,' she said. 'Don't you start getting all morose. That's Roz's job.'

They grinned at each other.

Back in the cafe, there was a strong, acid smell of dishwasher detergent mingled with the smells of coffee and grilling. Joel looked at Benny over the counter and waved a was.h.i.+ng-upgloved hand.

Jason was sitting by himself at a table, trying not to look grumpy. She put an arm around his shoulders and kissed him on the top of the head. 'I haven't forgotten you,' she said.

'What's to forget?' muttered Jason, as she slid into the seat beside him. He pushed the paper away. 'Isn't this exciting? Finding your long-lost father after all these years.'

Benny drummed her fingers on the table. 'It's not like I thought it would be,' she said. 'I mean, there was the initial complete and total blubbing and freaking out session. For me, at least.' She vaguely gestured around. 'I wasn't expecting any of this.'

Jason said, 'Isaac doesn't need rescuing.'

'My G.o.d,' she said, 'that's exactly it. He's all right. He doesn't need to be saved.'