SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Eighty They reached Gatlinburg a few hours later, checked into a hotel and settled in for the night. The next morning they drove to a local Wal-Mart and purchased some food and supplies for the picnic. After they did that, they drove out to the Smoky Mountain National Park. Driving through the park, they found one of the picnic sites and parked near it. Rose put some charcoal in the grill, poured a bit of lighter fluid on it and lit it. When it was ready, she made several patties and put them and a few hot dogs on the grill. Alan sniffed the air taking in the aroma of the cooking meat. “Oh yes, nothing beats a good barbecue,” he said. Awinita looked at the trees circling the picnic site. “It’s so beautiful here. But, it’d be even more beautiful if the leaves were silver though,” she said. “Yup, nothing beats the sight of silver leaves illuminated by the sun,” Alan said, wistfully. “Still there’s beauty here as well. Especially in the fall with the red and gold colors, that’s just as magnificent.” He took another whiff. “And speaking of magnificent…how much longer we got, grill lady?” he said, looking at Rose. “Not long now.” He got up from the picnic table and stood beside her. “Need any help?” he asked. “Nope, I got everything under control.” “Where’d you learn to barbecue?” “Dad, he taught me,” she said. “We used to have backyard barbecues in the summer with a lot of mum and dad’s friends.” “What about you? Didn’t you have anyone there?” She shrugged. “Mickey and Jake, that was it.” “No one else?” She sighed. “I…I tried to make friends, I really did, but…it was hard to relate to people after everything I’d seen and done. Mickey and Jake understood because they’d known the Doctor but they were the only ones. Plus, I really wasn’t in the mood to go back to idle gossip about famous people and significant others which is what most of the people of Torchwood chatted about on their breaks. And really, Jake was more Mickey’s friend than mine. He was mates with me because Mickey was. You two are the closest friends I have now since Mickey went back to the other universe.” She looked at Awinita. “I’m so glad I met ya because you’re the only I know of that’d I want in the wedding. And you may be the only one standing up there with us.” “At least you have Awinita. I don’t know anyone here who would be my best man.” “Jake probably would.” “Yeah, but I don’t want Jake. I don’t know him all that well, not enough to be a best man at any rate. Hate to tell you this, Rose, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to do a proper wedding since we don’t have enough people. We might have to get married in a register office with just your family and Awinita present.” “Just as long as we get married, it really doesn’t matter,” she said, shrugging. “We could get married in the middle of a field standing in cow shite for all I care.” “Hmmm, bit messy and smelly but if that’s what my fiancée wants, then a cow crap wedding is what she’ll get,” he said as Awinita laughed. “And speaking of cow, are the burgers done yet?” “Yes, my little hungry man, they’re done. Get a plate and grab some buns.” She gasped when Alan pincher her butt cheeks. “Got my buns right here,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. Rose smiled and shook her head when he went over and put some hamburger buns on his plate. He came back and held the plate out to Rose while she used the spatula to slide the burgers onto the buns. “Thanks muchly, Starlight.” “No problemo, Stitch,” she said. He passed Awinita on the way over to the picnic table. He put some cheese on his burgers along with some onions, mustard and ketchup. He took two handfuls of potato chips, grabbed a couple of pickles and poured some Coke into a plastic cup. Whistling cheerfully, he carried his meal over to the far side of the table, sat down and tucked into his hamburger with gusto. Awinita joined him shortly thereafter and Rose did too after she had finished cooking everything. “I made extra to take back to the hotel room tonight,” she said, gesturing to the plate heaped with burgers and hot dogs. “That way we won’t have to worry about supper.” “Molto bene,” Alan said through a mouthful of food. He chewed his burger while he glanced around at the scenery. He noticed a squirrel nearby and threw a potato chip at him. “Alan, be careful about that,” Rose said. “You’re not supposed to feed the animals because the bears might get used to human food and start coming into campsites. You can get in trouble for doing that.” “Gotcha,” he said. “And they want people to clean up the picnic area thoroughly for the same reason so we have to do that before we go horseback riding,” she added. When they had eaten enough the three of them cleaned up the picnic area, put everything in the van and drove off towards the stable to rent some horses for the day. Alan rubbed the side of his horse’s face after the attendant got through putting the saddle and bridle on him. It was a golden palomino. Rose’s palomino was white and Awinita’s was chocolate colored. “Beautiful animal,” Alan said. He grinned at Rose. “Isn’t Arthur beautiful?” he said. She groaned. “Here we go again. Namin’ the horse Arthur,” she said. “Arthur is a perfectly good name. After all, it’s my middle name now,” he said, proudly. “Your middle name is Arthur?” Awinita said. “Yup, Alonzo Arthur Timelord.” “How’d you come up with Alonzo by the way?” “It’s a long story,” Rose said to her. “I’ll tell ya later when we get back to the hotel.” They climbed up onto their horses. “All set?” Alan said to them. They nodded. “Make sure you stay on the designated trails,” the attendant said to them. “Going off them is strictly forbidden.” They nodded. Alan clicked his tongue and lightly kicked the horse with his trainers. The horse walked off and the three of them headed out of the stables and down the trail. An hour later the three horses were slowly walking along a dirt path next to a lush forest. The Smoky Mountains loomed in the distance, tall and majestic. As Arthur walked along, Alan kept his head turned towards them marveling at their beauty. He looked back at Rose who was taking a picture of them. “I’m so glad you found this, Rose. This is wonderful,” he said. “Yes, it is. I love the mountains. I think this is going to become one of my favorite places to visit.” “Mine too.” He looked past her. “You okay?” he said to Awinita. “Oh yeah, I’m fine. I--“ Suddenly her horse let out a terrified whinny and reared back. They watched, shocked, as the horse suddenly dashed into the woods. “AWINITA!” Rose screamed. “Stay here, Rose, I’ll get her! YAH!” Rose watched while Alan galloped off after her. As he urged the horse through the woods, he leaned forward and kept his head low. He saw Awinita up ahead hanging on to her horse for dear life and he urged the horse to go even faster. “HANG ON, I’M COMING!” he screamed at her. She hazarded a glance back at him but it was only for a second since she was trying desperately to stay on her spooked horse. Alan skillfully guided Arthur through the trees and over fallen limbs. Ignoring the occasional twig thwacking him in the face, he managed to find an opening and get his horse over beside his friend. He leaned forward even more reaching for the reins while he kept urging his horse to go faster. Finally the horse sped up enough that he could grab them and he tugged repeatedly. “Whoa!” he yelled. “Whoa, boy, whoa!” He breathed a sigh of relief when the horse finally slowed and stopped. He stopped his horse next to hers and hugged Awinita tightly. “God, I’m so glad you can ride a horse,” she said. “Are you alright?” he said, letting go of her. “Yeah, I’m just thankful I didn’t fall off the horse. Now if I can just get my heart to stop thumping out of my chest I’ll be fine.” She winced when she saw the scratches on his face. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, just a couple of twigs in the face, I’ll live,” he said. “The main thing is you’re safe and sound.” Alan took the reins and turned the horses around. He led her horse back through the woods towards Rose. “Guys, be careful,” Rose said when she saw them. “I know what spooked the horse. After you left, a huge snake slithered across the road. It might still be around here so watch out.” Alan nodded. He led their horses back onto the road. “Are you alright?” Rose asked Awinita. “Yeah, thanks to your fiancé,” she said. “I owe him one, that’s for sure.” “Nah, you don’t owe me. I was happy to play the knight in shining armor,” he said. Rose noticed the scratches on his face and winced. Alan smiled and told her the same thing he told Awinita. Once everything was calmed down, he handed the reins back to her and looked all around them for any signs of snakes. Finding none, the three of them headed down the trail. As they rode on, the trail led deep into the woods. The three of them kept their eyes open for any snakes as the horses slowly walked it. Alan kept looking back over his shoulder checking for any signs of trouble but there was nothing. He eventually relaxed and enjoyed the view. Occasionally the trees would thin out and they would see a wall of stone beside them. Then the forest would become thick again. Alan smiled when he heard birdsong in the trees all around them. Fresh air filled his lungs and he felt peaceful and content. He definitely agreed with Rose. This was one of his favorite places on Earth now. As the horses walked along, he suddenly spied some movement further up the trail. He stopped Arthur and sensed his friends doing the same. They sat on their horses and watched quietly while a doe and fawn walked across the road in front of them. They waited until they were safely across and into the trees before they resumed their pace. After about a half hour, they heard the sound of rushing water. Alan looked back at his friends. “I think I hear a waterfall,” he said. They urged the horses on and sure enough a waterfall came into view ten minutes later. They rode up beside it and stopped the horses to have a look. Crystal clear water fell down onto a mound of large rocks and cascaded down them to the river. Rose got out her camera and took a picture of it. She gave Alan a confused look when she saw him dismount. “Where are you going?” “Give Arthur a well deserved drink,” he said, taking the reins. They watched as he led him over to the river and stood beside him while the horse drank. The two women glanced at each other, dismounted and did the same. Alan patted Arthur’s side. “That’s it, Arthur, drink up. You deserve it after helping me rescue Awinita,” he said. He rubbed his side and neck while Arthur drank. He had a thought and looked at Rose. “I wonder if there are places you can rent horses the way you rent cars,” he said. “You know, when we get tired of being in the car we can ride horses instead.” Rose glanced at Awinita. “Um…I’m not sure, Alan,” Rose said. “I would think you’d have to buy a horse if you wanted to do that. I’m not sure anyone would just rent us a horse to go across state.” “Eh, it’s just a thought,” he said. “I love horses. Horses are wonderful companions.” “Yes, I gathered that since the Doctor wanted to take the original Arthur with us.” “Arthur the First could have come in handy, you know,” he said. “You lot would have treated him a lot better than the stableman would have. Come to find out, poor Arthur was in that ship because he was hiding. While the Doctor was exploring one of the time windows a man walked up and asked where he was and told him he was going to beat Arthur to within an inch of his life.” Rose’s mouth fell open. “Oh God, that’s horrible,” she said. “Poor Arthur, I hope someone else took care of him then and got him away from that bastard.” “Yeah, me too. A magnificent animal like this doesn’t deserve to be beaten, do you, boy?” he said, patting his side. “No, you’re a brilliant animal and don’t let anyone else tell you differently.” “Alan?” Alan looked over and saw Awinita peeking around Rose’s horse. “Yeah?” “Could you do me a huge favor?” she said. “Yeah?” “Could you at some point in time show me exactly why you’re considered such a threat to the universe? Because I still can’t picture it,” she said as Rose chuckled. “Darling…can you hold Arthur’s reins for a teeny tiny moment?” he said. Rose took the reins and watched while Alan walked over to Awinita. He put his fingertips to her temples and closed his eyes. Awinita closed her eyes and saw Daleks bursting apart and exploding in flames one right after the other. “You see that?” Alan said. “The Daleks exploding?” “Yup, that was all because of little old me.” He took his hands away. She opened her eyes and saw him giving her a pointed look. “What you just saw is why I’m supposedly a threat to the universe,” he said. “Yeah, but those were Daleks,” she said, shrugging. “They’re evil, aren’t they?” “Yes.” “Well, no offense but from what I’ve heard and seen from you guys, they deserved that. I’m talking about you hurting innocent people. Have you ever done that?” “Nope.” “Well, I repeat, I don’t see how you’re a threat to the universe. You destroying insane robot thingies that were designed by a maniac doesn’t count in my book. And if I ever do see this Doctor, I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind for punishing you for that. You just saved me, for Christ’s sake. Maybe not from death, but more than likely from a broken bone or two. You saved Rose from being killed by that thing in New Jersey. You’re a good person, Alan. Anyone with half a brain can see that.” He smiled at her. “Thank you,” he said. She shrugged. “Just being honest,” she said. “But thanks for trying to convince me you’re a threat. Didn’t work, but thanks for trying all the same.” He smiled and gave her a quick hug before taking Arthur’s reins away from Rose. He noticed the horse was standing quietly staring at the woods across the river. “Finished drinking, boy?” he said, rubbing Arthur’s neck. He noticed the other horses had stopped drinking. “Well, I guess they’ve had their fill, shall we move on then?” he said. They nodded. All of them mounted their horses, turned them and headed back down the trail.
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