A Madman and His Couch (7/8)
Previous Parts: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six
He could remember. He could remember everything. His identity, his home planet, his previous selves. The Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Silurians, the Time War and the Time Lords. And then there was the Doctor. The brilliant, infuriating man who has antagonized him as much as he'd inspired him. The Doctor and Veridicus had never quite been able to see eye to eye. Their methods differed vastly, despite the fact that they often had the same aims in mind. And now, as far as he could tell, it was just the two of them who were left. The other voices in his head had been silenced completely and he had never felt so scared in his life. Just what had happened during the culmination of the Time War? Had anybody else managed to escape? What of Romana, Braxiatel, the Rani, the Master and all of the others?
Teresa Lisbon came rushing through at that moment and immediately started to shout at the Doctor. She wanted explanations and fast. The Doctor just stared back at her, momentarily baffled and almost amused by her tirade. He couldn’t blame him for that; when he’d been human, he’d often sought amusement from Lisbon’s fiery temperament. Eventually, Veridicus stood up, took her by the arm, and led her out of the interrogation room and into her office. Irritably, she threw him off and glared at him.
"What the hell is going on, Jane?"
He made an indistinct noise, a cross between a hum and a grunt and smiled at her. Simultaneously, he was feeling more and less alive at the same time. Just like Patrick Jane, Veridicus had the burden of loss hanging over his shoulders. Unlike Jane, there wasn't a single focus for him to fixate on in order to stay sane.
"He is innocent. We should let him go, Teresa."
"Oh really?" she asked, clearly skeptical. "Because from where I'm standing, he sounded very guilty to me, Jane."
"My name isn't Jane."
"Then what is it?" The tone in her voice suggested that she was almost scared of him and what he had become. It sounded foreign in somebody like her and he didn't like it.
"Veridicusanimadverto. But please, call me Veridicus."
"Have you drunk some funny tea lately? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Absolutely nothing," he answered simply.
"Then why are you acting like this?"
How could he explain it to her? Lisbon was as cynical as they came. Though she had become more open-minded since she had worked with 'Jane' it still took a lot to convince her of something that was before her very eyes. He remained wordless and she shook her head and changed the subject.
"Okay," she said with a sigh. "You're having a crazy day. Just tell me why you are so convinced that this man didn't kill the John Doe?"
"How can he be responsible for his own death?" Veridicus asked.
"Two things: that would be called suicide and he looks nothing like the John Doe."
"That's because he's regenerated."
"He's what?" she responded, clearly baffled.
"I'll show you."
The bullpen had mercifully been deserted by the time Veridicus and Lisbon made it into there. He positioned himself in front of the couch and smiled warmly at it. Then, he turned to face Lisbon who looked completely bemused. It seemed like she was seriously considering asking for a psyche evaluation, or worse, calling for a psychiatrist directly. She knew that Patrick Jane had already had one breakdown and she was probably thinking that this was another one.
"Get in," he instructed.
"It's a couch, Jane. It's been here longer than I have."
"Right."
He snapped his fingers and the couch had suddenly been replaced by a nondescript grey box. The door to his type 52 TARDIS swung immediately open and he indicated that she should enter. Veridicus smiled as Lisbon walked in and then out again three times before turning to face him.
“This is not happening,” she whispered quietly.
“It’s real, I assure you.”
“But it’s impossible.”
“Anything’s possible when you put your mind to it.”
"I hate to state the obvious, but..."
"Yes, it's bigger on the inside,” he interrupted, with a smile on his face.
"Well, yes, and that is impossible.”
“But you’ve been inside. If it’s happened, clearly it must be possible?” he stated, trying to help her to see the logic.
“What the hell happened to the couch?"
“It‘s a TARDIS. A device, a machine,” he muttered quickly and placed a hand on the small of her back. “Trust me, Teresa.”
He encouraged her back in, something she seemed reluctant to do. While inside, he programmed the TARDIS for the first of three locations he wanted to take her to. Then, he explained the capabilities, but Lisbon appeared almost overawed by all the new information. This was something completely outside of her scope of thinking and he could tell she was trying to make sense of it all.
"Look outside," he whispered.
"Why?"
In the end, he opened the door for her. They were currently orbiting the Earth and she looked astonished. He couldn't blame her for that; it did look much the same as the vistas that were printed so often and yet, it was real. Eventually, she shook her head and slammed the door to the TARDIS shut. Briefly, she took another glance outside to check it was still there, and of course, it was. Then, Veridicus stood beside her and guided her hand across to where his first heart was and then the second.
"You..." she started but the words died on her lips.
quot;Not human," he explained simply.
"But your family, I've seen the autopsy results. They were perfectly normal..."
"Patrick Jane was a real man. He was killed by Red John."
"You said this thing is capable of amazing things, yes? Prove it," she demanded.
As they traveled through time, Lisbon remained quiet. He could tell by her demeanor that she was still trying to make sense of it all. One look in her eye suggested that she thought she was dreaming it all and was desperate to wake up again and return to sanity. She didn’t want to accept the TARDIS, in all its clinical beauty, nor did she want to believe that the man she had grown accustomed to over the past decade wasn’t the person she believed him to be. It was only when he motioned to her that they could leave the TARDIS that she dared to speak once more.
“You do know this is abduction, right?” she quipped as they walked into Jane’s home on the day of his family’s murder.
“You came willingly.”
“You gave me no choice!”
“Shh,” he muttered and she clamped her mouth shut. “We need to go hide in Angela Ruskin-Jane’s closet. Then, you can witness it all.”
“If you’re right and we have traveled in time and space, then I could stop him. I have my gun and-“
“Then, you’ll cause a paradox. At least you’ll know Red John’s identity for when we’re back in your own time. And not a moment sooner, Agent Lisbon,” he instructed firmly.
“But…”
“You have rules in the CBI, yes? Well this time, you have to follow my rules. It’s as simple as that.”
He was faintly surprised when she willingly followed his instructions. Charlotte was the first to die and Angela had been forced to watch. As Red John committed the murder of the five year old girl, Lisbon buried her head into Jane’s shoulder. Tentatively, Veridicus stroked the back of her head soothingly; just because Lisbon dealt with murder on a day to day basis, it didn’t mean that seeing it happen was going to be easy. Besides, he could still remember everything Patrick Jane had felt, especially his emotions when it came to Lisbon. He knew she was something special, that she had endured him through thick and thin. And he knew just how much she wanted to stop Red John right now, in order to prevent so many deaths in the future.
Lisbon was shaking when the real Patrick Jane pushed open the door to the master bedroom. Red John had just finished killing Angela at that moment and stepped out of the shadows to greet her husband. The man was literally a doppelganger for Veridicus and that was precisely why he was able to take over the man’s life when he underwent the Chameleon Arch process. Patrick Jane’s death happened as soon as it started, and Red John fled the scene of the crime. Vaguely, Veridicus remembered him working for the FBI for a while. If he recalled correctly, which he generally did, Red John was the FBI’s liaison officer with the CBI.
Veridicus knew what happened next. Romana and the Doctor were going to remove the body of Mr. Jane and allow Veridicus to step into his shoes. That meant it was time for him and Lisbon to leave before more Time Lords ascended on the building. It took a short while to cajole Lisbon into moving; she had just bore witness to a grisly triple murder. And now, she also knew what Red John looked like; he hadn’t taken to wearing the mask yet. It wasn’t until they were back in the safe confines of the TARDIS that Veridicus spoke to her again.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “I could have stopped him.”
“I know. You still can.”
“Right. Right, I’ll just have to find a reason to get a warrant for Agent McClair’s house when I get home,” she answered, sounding more confident than beforehand. “And what about the current case? How come you are certain that Doctor Smith isn’t responsible for the John Doe’s death?”
This took a lot less time than beforehand. It didn’t take long for them to reach the precise time and location of the Doctor’s regeneration. One of the things Veridicus had specialized in at the academy was flying TARDISes alone. In the shadows of the morgue, they observed as the Doctor regenerated from the John Doe body into the man they had been interrogating merely hours ago. Once again, Lisbon remained stubbornly silent. Veridicus couldn’t blame her for that; she had had to endure revelation after revelation and all things considered, she was coping remarkably well.
“If you’re not human,” she stated carefully when they were back in his TARDIS. “What do you call yourself?”
“Time Lord.”
“That’s… very ostentatious. Why am I not surprised?”
“I should probably be offended by that.”
He started to haphazardly flick switches on the console, all the while he was aware of Lisbon’s eyes watching his every move. It didn’t bother him in the slightest; in fact, he was happy to have such a trustworthy companion with him. Veridicus knew that Lisbon was human through and through, but that didn’t stop her from reminding him a little of Romanadvoratrelundar. They were both honorable, trustworthy and had a sensible mindset. But both of them had a limitation and he suspected that Lisbon was getting to the end of hers.
“Where do you want to go next?”
“Home,” she answered swiftly.
“Are you sure?”
“I have a life, Jane. I can’t just leave it. And so do you. The team cares about you, I care about you.”
“But I’m not Jane,” he said quietly.
“I know, but there’s enough of him in you to make me see that you are the same person. I didn’t know the real Patrick Jane, but I knew you.”
“If I am the same person to you, then why can’t you stay here with me?”
“I have responsibilities. I need to stop Red John. I’m not asking you to stay at the CBI… with me, it’s your choice. But I do need to go home. I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” he whispered.
To Part Eight
He could remember. He could remember everything. His identity, his home planet, his previous selves. The Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Silurians, the Time War and the Time Lords. And then there was the Doctor. The brilliant, infuriating man who has antagonized him as much as he'd inspired him. The Doctor and Veridicus had never quite been able to see eye to eye. Their methods differed vastly, despite the fact that they often had the same aims in mind. And now, as far as he could tell, it was just the two of them who were left. The other voices in his head had been silenced completely and he had never felt so scared in his life. Just what had happened during the culmination of the Time War? Had anybody else managed to escape? What of Romana, Braxiatel, the Rani, the Master and all of the others?
Teresa Lisbon came rushing through at that moment and immediately started to shout at the Doctor. She wanted explanations and fast. The Doctor just stared back at her, momentarily baffled and almost amused by her tirade. He couldn’t blame him for that; when he’d been human, he’d often sought amusement from Lisbon’s fiery temperament. Eventually, Veridicus stood up, took her by the arm, and led her out of the interrogation room and into her office. Irritably, she threw him off and glared at him.
"What the hell is going on, Jane?"
He made an indistinct noise, a cross between a hum and a grunt and smiled at her. Simultaneously, he was feeling more and less alive at the same time. Just like Patrick Jane, Veridicus had the burden of loss hanging over his shoulders. Unlike Jane, there wasn't a single focus for him to fixate on in order to stay sane.
"He is innocent. We should let him go, Teresa."
"Oh really?" she asked, clearly skeptical. "Because from where I'm standing, he sounded very guilty to me, Jane."
"My name isn't Jane."
"Then what is it?" The tone in her voice suggested that she was almost scared of him and what he had become. It sounded foreign in somebody like her and he didn't like it.
"Veridicusanimadverto. But please, call me Veridicus."
"Have you drunk some funny tea lately? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Absolutely nothing," he answered simply.
"Then why are you acting like this?"
How could he explain it to her? Lisbon was as cynical as they came. Though she had become more open-minded since she had worked with 'Jane' it still took a lot to convince her of something that was before her very eyes. He remained wordless and she shook her head and changed the subject.
"Okay," she said with a sigh. "You're having a crazy day. Just tell me why you are so convinced that this man didn't kill the John Doe?"
"How can he be responsible for his own death?" Veridicus asked.
"Two things: that would be called suicide and he looks nothing like the John Doe."
"That's because he's regenerated."
"He's what?" she responded, clearly baffled.
"I'll show you."
The bullpen had mercifully been deserted by the time Veridicus and Lisbon made it into there. He positioned himself in front of the couch and smiled warmly at it. Then, he turned to face Lisbon who looked completely bemused. It seemed like she was seriously considering asking for a psyche evaluation, or worse, calling for a psychiatrist directly. She knew that Patrick Jane had already had one breakdown and she was probably thinking that this was another one.
"Get in," he instructed.
"It's a couch, Jane. It's been here longer than I have."
"Right."
He snapped his fingers and the couch had suddenly been replaced by a nondescript grey box. The door to his type 52 TARDIS swung immediately open and he indicated that she should enter. Veridicus smiled as Lisbon walked in and then out again three times before turning to face him.
“This is not happening,” she whispered quietly.
“It’s real, I assure you.”
“But it’s impossible.”
“Anything’s possible when you put your mind to it.”
"I hate to state the obvious, but..."
"Yes, it's bigger on the inside,” he interrupted, with a smile on his face.
"Well, yes, and that is impossible.”
“But you’ve been inside. If it’s happened, clearly it must be possible?” he stated, trying to help her to see the logic.
“What the hell happened to the couch?"
“It‘s a TARDIS. A device, a machine,” he muttered quickly and placed a hand on the small of her back. “Trust me, Teresa.”
He encouraged her back in, something she seemed reluctant to do. While inside, he programmed the TARDIS for the first of three locations he wanted to take her to. Then, he explained the capabilities, but Lisbon appeared almost overawed by all the new information. This was something completely outside of her scope of thinking and he could tell she was trying to make sense of it all.
"Look outside," he whispered.
"Why?"
In the end, he opened the door for her. They were currently orbiting the Earth and she looked astonished. He couldn't blame her for that; it did look much the same as the vistas that were printed so often and yet, it was real. Eventually, she shook her head and slammed the door to the TARDIS shut. Briefly, she took another glance outside to check it was still there, and of course, it was. Then, Veridicus stood beside her and guided her hand across to where his first heart was and then the second.
"You..." she started but the words died on her lips.
quot;Not human," he explained simply.
"But your family, I've seen the autopsy results. They were perfectly normal..."
"Patrick Jane was a real man. He was killed by Red John."
"You said this thing is capable of amazing things, yes? Prove it," she demanded.
As they traveled through time, Lisbon remained quiet. He could tell by her demeanor that she was still trying to make sense of it all. One look in her eye suggested that she thought she was dreaming it all and was desperate to wake up again and return to sanity. She didn’t want to accept the TARDIS, in all its clinical beauty, nor did she want to believe that the man she had grown accustomed to over the past decade wasn’t the person she believed him to be. It was only when he motioned to her that they could leave the TARDIS that she dared to speak once more.
“You do know this is abduction, right?” she quipped as they walked into Jane’s home on the day of his family’s murder.
“You came willingly.”
“You gave me no choice!”
“Shh,” he muttered and she clamped her mouth shut. “We need to go hide in Angela Ruskin-Jane’s closet. Then, you can witness it all.”
“If you’re right and we have traveled in time and space, then I could stop him. I have my gun and-“
“Then, you’ll cause a paradox. At least you’ll know Red John’s identity for when we’re back in your own time. And not a moment sooner, Agent Lisbon,” he instructed firmly.
“But…”
“You have rules in the CBI, yes? Well this time, you have to follow my rules. It’s as simple as that.”
He was faintly surprised when she willingly followed his instructions. Charlotte was the first to die and Angela had been forced to watch. As Red John committed the murder of the five year old girl, Lisbon buried her head into Jane’s shoulder. Tentatively, Veridicus stroked the back of her head soothingly; just because Lisbon dealt with murder on a day to day basis, it didn’t mean that seeing it happen was going to be easy. Besides, he could still remember everything Patrick Jane had felt, especially his emotions when it came to Lisbon. He knew she was something special, that she had endured him through thick and thin. And he knew just how much she wanted to stop Red John right now, in order to prevent so many deaths in the future.
Lisbon was shaking when the real Patrick Jane pushed open the door to the master bedroom. Red John had just finished killing Angela at that moment and stepped out of the shadows to greet her husband. The man was literally a doppelganger for Veridicus and that was precisely why he was able to take over the man’s life when he underwent the Chameleon Arch process. Patrick Jane’s death happened as soon as it started, and Red John fled the scene of the crime. Vaguely, Veridicus remembered him working for the FBI for a while. If he recalled correctly, which he generally did, Red John was the FBI’s liaison officer with the CBI.
Veridicus knew what happened next. Romana and the Doctor were going to remove the body of Mr. Jane and allow Veridicus to step into his shoes. That meant it was time for him and Lisbon to leave before more Time Lords ascended on the building. It took a short while to cajole Lisbon into moving; she had just bore witness to a grisly triple murder. And now, she also knew what Red John looked like; he hadn’t taken to wearing the mask yet. It wasn’t until they were back in the safe confines of the TARDIS that Veridicus spoke to her again.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “I could have stopped him.”
“I know. You still can.”
“Right. Right, I’ll just have to find a reason to get a warrant for Agent McClair’s house when I get home,” she answered, sounding more confident than beforehand. “And what about the current case? How come you are certain that Doctor Smith isn’t responsible for the John Doe’s death?”
This took a lot less time than beforehand. It didn’t take long for them to reach the precise time and location of the Doctor’s regeneration. One of the things Veridicus had specialized in at the academy was flying TARDISes alone. In the shadows of the morgue, they observed as the Doctor regenerated from the John Doe body into the man they had been interrogating merely hours ago. Once again, Lisbon remained stubbornly silent. Veridicus couldn’t blame her for that; she had had to endure revelation after revelation and all things considered, she was coping remarkably well.
“If you’re not human,” she stated carefully when they were back in his TARDIS. “What do you call yourself?”
“Time Lord.”
“That’s… very ostentatious. Why am I not surprised?”
“I should probably be offended by that.”
He started to haphazardly flick switches on the console, all the while he was aware of Lisbon’s eyes watching his every move. It didn’t bother him in the slightest; in fact, he was happy to have such a trustworthy companion with him. Veridicus knew that Lisbon was human through and through, but that didn’t stop her from reminding him a little of Romanadvoratrelundar. They were both honorable, trustworthy and had a sensible mindset. But both of them had a limitation and he suspected that Lisbon was getting to the end of hers.
“Where do you want to go next?”
“Home,” she answered swiftly.
“Are you sure?”
“I have a life, Jane. I can’t just leave it. And so do you. The team cares about you, I care about you.”
“But I’m not Jane,” he said quietly.
“I know, but there’s enough of him in you to make me see that you are the same person. I didn’t know the real Patrick Jane, but I knew you.”
“If I am the same person to you, then why can’t you stay here with me?”
“I have responsibilities. I need to stop Red John. I’m not asking you to stay at the CBI… with me, it’s your choice. But I do need to go home. I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” he whispered.
To Part Eight