A Madman and His Couch (8/8)
Previous Parts: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven
Of course, he had taken Lisbon’s request seriously. He dropped her back off at the CBI headquarters approximately an hour after they had left. As he did so, he returned the Doctor’s TARDIS key to her and she promised to release him immediately. The awkward farewells followed after, including a brief hug and a gentle peck on her cheek and then he disappeared back into his TARDIS. He needed to go before she broke both his hearts and convinced him to stay.
He had some serious thinking to do.
So, he spent some time traveling alone, catching up with the Doctor in past incarnations.
There was the time when he chose to watch the Doctor playing cricket with Nyssa, Tegan and Adric. He shared a cup of tea with him when he was painfully young, long before the birth of his granddaughter, Susan. When the Doctor needed a spare part to his TARDIS so that he could show Sarah Jane Smith the universe, Veridicus was more than happy to oblige. After all, he was the one who knew what was to come. He knew just how the Doctor was going to help him. And then there was the unknown, the things that he didn’t know he would ask the Doctor for. This way, he was ensuring that he owed him at least a favor or two in the long run.
Veridicus actively avoided the present Doctor, mostly because he was still trying to figure out what he was going to do with himself. In some ways, it felt marvelous having the universe at his fingertips once again. Without the controlling Time Lords behind him, he felt freer than he had done so for several lifetimes. There was nobody giving him rules and regulations and yet, like he had been doing on Earth, he was still trying to right as many wrongs as possible.
And yet, he still felt impossibly lonely.
His thoughts continually strayed to Teresa Lisbon. When he’d transformed back into a Time Lord, Veridicus had seen every alternative life he could have had with her. There was the possibility of catching Red John, putting him behind bars, seeking justice and solving other cases. As much as he’d tried to deny it as a human, the members of the Serious Crimes Unit were his friends. He could watch them bloom and grow in their careers and personal lives. Then, there was Lisbon himself. He’d already known that he was falling in love. It was only a matter of time before he considered moving in with her too. Getting married, thinking about starting a family and maybe even having a child. It may have been difficult, considering their respective ages, but it didn’t mean it was too late for such a thing. Having a stable and happy home, complete with a dog. Eventually, he’d grow into old age with her remaining loyally by his side. He vowed never to screw it up until they were at their death beds, side by side, just as they always should have been.
He tried desperately to focus on other tasks. Like, taking down an evil tyrant on Delta Minor or freeing a bunch of slaves on Mars. Or even just traveling back in time and meeting some of the greats of planet Earth. Cleopatra, Pablo Picasso, Mozart. People he met added color to his lives, and he liked to think he gave them something back in return. However, there were still two nagging absences in the back of his mind.
Teresa Lisbon.
Gallifrey.
As much as he tried, he found he couldn’t bear the nagging emptiness in his mind. Desperately, he’d tried searching out for other Time Lords, other people who might have submitted themselves to the Chameleon Arch process. However, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. And that was assuming that he wasn’t the only one to have undergone the process, too. It was entirely possible that the Time War had come to its bloody conclusion before anybody else had volunteered. The only reason Romana had agreed to transform him into a human was because it was the last ditch effort to ensure the survival of the species. The Time War had already cost many species their existence, and Romana, as President, hadn’t wanted the Time Lords to go the same way. Knowing that there was potentially only one other Time Lord out there now, the Doctor specifically, made his hearts ache. As hard as it was living with the burden of being a Time Lord, the species had still managed brilliant things. Gallifrey had a wonderful legacy and it had been lost, like so many planets before it.
When it came to the former of the two issues, the more he tried not to think about her and their potential, together, the more he inevitably did. It was a catch-22 situation if ever there was one.
Sometimes, he couldn’t resist the temptation. Out of sight, he kept an eye on Lisbon and watched her day to day movements. When she finally nailed Red John, his hearts practically burst with pride; she deserved to solve that career-maker of a case. He knew he’d had a helping hand in it, of course, but it was her hard work and dedication which had gotten the arrest and confession. He watched her getting on with her life, interacting with her team, at work and at rest. From her actions and her demeanor, he could tell that she missed him terribly. However, she was getting on with her life, just as she always promised he would.
Despite everything he’d done since he had discovered his other identity, it was more than he could have said about himself. He was still dwelling on the past, just like he had been when he had been Patrick Jane.
In the end, it felt like there was no decision to be made at all.
He spent a while tracking down the Doctor. It wasn’t too difficult a task; the Doctor had as much of a penchant for Earth and its inhabitants as Veridicus did. When he found the Doctor in London, England, Veridicus wasn’t surprised. It had always been his favorite country on his favorite planet. He was still alone though, which surprised him considerably. The Doctor seemed to have even more of a need for sentient company than Veridicus did. But then, it felt like it hadn’t been long in the Doctor’s timeline since they had last seen one another. It had possibly been a day, at the very most. Veridicus wouldn’t have been surprised if this was the Doctor’s first destination after Lisbon had told him that he was free to leave.
Even so, he approached with a little trepidation. The Doctor was enjoying a plate of fries, as if it were the first meal of a man who had just been released from jail. He almost felt guilty for putting this burden onto the Doctor, but he also knew that he had very little choice in the matter. There was nobody else who would be able to help him in this way.
“Doctor?” he said quietly.
The Doctor looked up and there was still more than a little hint of sadness in his eyes. He smiled weakly, but it didn’t reach his eyes; it was completely unconvincing. Then again, this Doctor looked like he had been through hell and back again. It didn’t surprise him; the man was a product of his creation. He was born out of the fires of the Time War, and left feeling weary and battle-scarred by the event. Of course, the Doctor never wanted to talk about it and equally, Veridicus felt no desire to push him into doing so. The Doctor still believed that by undergoing the Chameleon Arch transformation, he had taken the coward’s way out.
That may well have been the case, but he didn’t care. Not anymore. He couldn’t continue to live like this. Not when he had had a taste of an alternative universe, an alternative life. The Doctor hadn’t given him a choice when they had been in the interrogation room at the CBI headquarters. Instead, he had taken matters into his own hands and converted Patrick Jane back into his original Time Lord self.
“I want to be human again.”
Humans, in comparison, may have only lived for a brief, brilliant, flash, but Veridicus knew that it was far better than anything he could have as a Time Lord. There was a woman practically waiting for him to return, and like she had said herself, he had a whole life which he’d carved for himself there. Naturally, the Doctor looked impossibly sad. However, he agreed to carry out the procedure once again.
It wouldn’t be long now until Patrick Jane was back where he belonged: by the side of Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon.
Two years later…
The Red John case had been closed while he’d been absent from the CBI for an extended vacation. It had been eighteen months since the bastard had been sent to death row and Jane was finally finding that he was thinking about the man less and less. Naturally, he had stayed with the CBI. He didn’t need to be a mind-reader to know that this was where his future lay. He was happy now; happier than he had been for years. It had taken a lot to bury all of his demons, but he’d finally succeeded. Now he was on an even keel once more, and actually living again.
There was a slight chill in the air. Then again, it was early winter, so it was to be expected. Even so, it was still pleasant enough to be sitting outside a café, and indulging in his favorite hobby: people-watching. Jane could learn so much about an individual from just a single glance that it was hardly surprising that he found it so fascinating. Besides, it gave him something to do while he was waiting for Lisbon and his tea. Eventually, one specific couple caught his eye. A youngish man in his mid-thirties, wearing a pinstriped suit and tie was beaming as he guided his young slip of a girlfriend through the tables. They were clearly tourists; she wore a Union Jack shirt with obvious pride.
“Los Angeles, California,” the man stated loudly, grinning, as the girl listened attentively. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
“This sign says Sacramento, Doctor,” the girl retorted with a heavy sigh belying her young features.
“Close enough! Sacramento is a fascinating place, the capitol of California…”
“But I wanted to see Hollywood. You promised, Doctor!”
“The TARDIS is an old girl… she can’t always…”
He drifted off when Jane caught his eye. Almost immediately, the man looked impossibly sad and tightened the grip of his hand around the girl’s. Jane watched as he shook his head and they walked quickly off in the opposite direction. Somehow, he felt familiar, but he had long since learned to put those nagging thoughts into the appropriate boxes. Some things just weren’t worth thinking about, not when he had the whole future ahead of him. Footsteps approached from behind and he turned, smiling, when he saw Lisbon behind him, holding two polystyrene cups in her hands. She handed him one wordlessly and they sat in silence.
It wasn’t a work day and Jane was grateful for that. As a consequence, it meant that he got to enjoy some downtime with, as far as he was concerned, the most beautiful woman in the world. She had to be, in order to put up with him and his daily insanity. Lisbon let out a sigh and started to look at her left hand. Jane knew that the ring on her finger still felt foreign to her; he had only proposed to her two nights previously and he’d been thrilled when she’d accepted immediately. Instinctively, he caught hold of it and pressed a kiss onto her knuckles.
“You okay?” she asked, when he finally freed her hand from his touch.
“Never better.”
Of course, he had taken Lisbon’s request seriously. He dropped her back off at the CBI headquarters approximately an hour after they had left. As he did so, he returned the Doctor’s TARDIS key to her and she promised to release him immediately. The awkward farewells followed after, including a brief hug and a gentle peck on her cheek and then he disappeared back into his TARDIS. He needed to go before she broke both his hearts and convinced him to stay.
He had some serious thinking to do.
So, he spent some time traveling alone, catching up with the Doctor in past incarnations.
There was the time when he chose to watch the Doctor playing cricket with Nyssa, Tegan and Adric. He shared a cup of tea with him when he was painfully young, long before the birth of his granddaughter, Susan. When the Doctor needed a spare part to his TARDIS so that he could show Sarah Jane Smith the universe, Veridicus was more than happy to oblige. After all, he was the one who knew what was to come. He knew just how the Doctor was going to help him. And then there was the unknown, the things that he didn’t know he would ask the Doctor for. This way, he was ensuring that he owed him at least a favor or two in the long run.
Veridicus actively avoided the present Doctor, mostly because he was still trying to figure out what he was going to do with himself. In some ways, it felt marvelous having the universe at his fingertips once again. Without the controlling Time Lords behind him, he felt freer than he had done so for several lifetimes. There was nobody giving him rules and regulations and yet, like he had been doing on Earth, he was still trying to right as many wrongs as possible.
And yet, he still felt impossibly lonely.
His thoughts continually strayed to Teresa Lisbon. When he’d transformed back into a Time Lord, Veridicus had seen every alternative life he could have had with her. There was the possibility of catching Red John, putting him behind bars, seeking justice and solving other cases. As much as he’d tried to deny it as a human, the members of the Serious Crimes Unit were his friends. He could watch them bloom and grow in their careers and personal lives. Then, there was Lisbon himself. He’d already known that he was falling in love. It was only a matter of time before he considered moving in with her too. Getting married, thinking about starting a family and maybe even having a child. It may have been difficult, considering their respective ages, but it didn’t mean it was too late for such a thing. Having a stable and happy home, complete with a dog. Eventually, he’d grow into old age with her remaining loyally by his side. He vowed never to screw it up until they were at their death beds, side by side, just as they always should have been.
He tried desperately to focus on other tasks. Like, taking down an evil tyrant on Delta Minor or freeing a bunch of slaves on Mars. Or even just traveling back in time and meeting some of the greats of planet Earth. Cleopatra, Pablo Picasso, Mozart. People he met added color to his lives, and he liked to think he gave them something back in return. However, there were still two nagging absences in the back of his mind.
Teresa Lisbon.
Gallifrey.
As much as he tried, he found he couldn’t bear the nagging emptiness in his mind. Desperately, he’d tried searching out for other Time Lords, other people who might have submitted themselves to the Chameleon Arch process. However, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. And that was assuming that he wasn’t the only one to have undergone the process, too. It was entirely possible that the Time War had come to its bloody conclusion before anybody else had volunteered. The only reason Romana had agreed to transform him into a human was because it was the last ditch effort to ensure the survival of the species. The Time War had already cost many species their existence, and Romana, as President, hadn’t wanted the Time Lords to go the same way. Knowing that there was potentially only one other Time Lord out there now, the Doctor specifically, made his hearts ache. As hard as it was living with the burden of being a Time Lord, the species had still managed brilliant things. Gallifrey had a wonderful legacy and it had been lost, like so many planets before it.
When it came to the former of the two issues, the more he tried not to think about her and their potential, together, the more he inevitably did. It was a catch-22 situation if ever there was one.
Sometimes, he couldn’t resist the temptation. Out of sight, he kept an eye on Lisbon and watched her day to day movements. When she finally nailed Red John, his hearts practically burst with pride; she deserved to solve that career-maker of a case. He knew he’d had a helping hand in it, of course, but it was her hard work and dedication which had gotten the arrest and confession. He watched her getting on with her life, interacting with her team, at work and at rest. From her actions and her demeanor, he could tell that she missed him terribly. However, she was getting on with her life, just as she always promised he would.
Despite everything he’d done since he had discovered his other identity, it was more than he could have said about himself. He was still dwelling on the past, just like he had been when he had been Patrick Jane.
In the end, it felt like there was no decision to be made at all.
He spent a while tracking down the Doctor. It wasn’t too difficult a task; the Doctor had as much of a penchant for Earth and its inhabitants as Veridicus did. When he found the Doctor in London, England, Veridicus wasn’t surprised. It had always been his favorite country on his favorite planet. He was still alone though, which surprised him considerably. The Doctor seemed to have even more of a need for sentient company than Veridicus did. But then, it felt like it hadn’t been long in the Doctor’s timeline since they had last seen one another. It had possibly been a day, at the very most. Veridicus wouldn’t have been surprised if this was the Doctor’s first destination after Lisbon had told him that he was free to leave.
Even so, he approached with a little trepidation. The Doctor was enjoying a plate of fries, as if it were the first meal of a man who had just been released from jail. He almost felt guilty for putting this burden onto the Doctor, but he also knew that he had very little choice in the matter. There was nobody else who would be able to help him in this way.
“Doctor?” he said quietly.
The Doctor looked up and there was still more than a little hint of sadness in his eyes. He smiled weakly, but it didn’t reach his eyes; it was completely unconvincing. Then again, this Doctor looked like he had been through hell and back again. It didn’t surprise him; the man was a product of his creation. He was born out of the fires of the Time War, and left feeling weary and battle-scarred by the event. Of course, the Doctor never wanted to talk about it and equally, Veridicus felt no desire to push him into doing so. The Doctor still believed that by undergoing the Chameleon Arch transformation, he had taken the coward’s way out.
That may well have been the case, but he didn’t care. Not anymore. He couldn’t continue to live like this. Not when he had had a taste of an alternative universe, an alternative life. The Doctor hadn’t given him a choice when they had been in the interrogation room at the CBI headquarters. Instead, he had taken matters into his own hands and converted Patrick Jane back into his original Time Lord self.
“I want to be human again.”
Humans, in comparison, may have only lived for a brief, brilliant, flash, but Veridicus knew that it was far better than anything he could have as a Time Lord. There was a woman practically waiting for him to return, and like she had said herself, he had a whole life which he’d carved for himself there. Naturally, the Doctor looked impossibly sad. However, he agreed to carry out the procedure once again.
It wouldn’t be long now until Patrick Jane was back where he belonged: by the side of Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon.
Two years later…
The Red John case had been closed while he’d been absent from the CBI for an extended vacation. It had been eighteen months since the bastard had been sent to death row and Jane was finally finding that he was thinking about the man less and less. Naturally, he had stayed with the CBI. He didn’t need to be a mind-reader to know that this was where his future lay. He was happy now; happier than he had been for years. It had taken a lot to bury all of his demons, but he’d finally succeeded. Now he was on an even keel once more, and actually living again.
There was a slight chill in the air. Then again, it was early winter, so it was to be expected. Even so, it was still pleasant enough to be sitting outside a café, and indulging in his favorite hobby: people-watching. Jane could learn so much about an individual from just a single glance that it was hardly surprising that he found it so fascinating. Besides, it gave him something to do while he was waiting for Lisbon and his tea. Eventually, one specific couple caught his eye. A youngish man in his mid-thirties, wearing a pinstriped suit and tie was beaming as he guided his young slip of a girlfriend through the tables. They were clearly tourists; she wore a Union Jack shirt with obvious pride.
“Los Angeles, California,” the man stated loudly, grinning, as the girl listened attentively. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
“This sign says Sacramento, Doctor,” the girl retorted with a heavy sigh belying her young features.
“Close enough! Sacramento is a fascinating place, the capitol of California…”
“But I wanted to see Hollywood. You promised, Doctor!”
“The TARDIS is an old girl… she can’t always…”
He drifted off when Jane caught his eye. Almost immediately, the man looked impossibly sad and tightened the grip of his hand around the girl’s. Jane watched as he shook his head and they walked quickly off in the opposite direction. Somehow, he felt familiar, but he had long since learned to put those nagging thoughts into the appropriate boxes. Some things just weren’t worth thinking about, not when he had the whole future ahead of him. Footsteps approached from behind and he turned, smiling, when he saw Lisbon behind him, holding two polystyrene cups in her hands. She handed him one wordlessly and they sat in silence.
It wasn’t a work day and Jane was grateful for that. As a consequence, it meant that he got to enjoy some downtime with, as far as he was concerned, the most beautiful woman in the world. She had to be, in order to put up with him and his daily insanity. Lisbon let out a sigh and started to look at her left hand. Jane knew that the ring on her finger still felt foreign to her; he had only proposed to her two nights previously and he’d been thrilled when she’d accepted immediately. Instinctively, he caught hold of it and pressed a kiss onto her knuckles.
“You okay?” she asked, when he finally freed her hand from his touch.
“Never better.”