Storms Gathering

The astronauts cleared out of the room, making it much easier to find Ellie. She still stood there with her father, and she seemed so happy to see him. So rediculously happy, that it made Eric just the tiniest bit jealous. It was nice that Ellie got to be with her father after being separated from him. But where was his own father? He certainly wasn't coming to see him. In frustration and annoyance, he kicked at the foot of a display case, his sneaker harmlessly bouncing off the wood framework. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and wandered over to where Ellie and her father stood, talking. He over heard the last of the conversation, and he stopped in his tracks. He knew Ellie lived in an orphanage, and places like those were bad. But if he took her out of there, where would Ellie live? Where did she used to live before she went to the orphanage? He bet it was far away, and she'd even have to go to a new school. He wanted to cry just thinking about it, but he didn't. He held his tears back like a brave little boy.

But he was still screaming inside. Why did she have to find her dad? Why did she have to go? It wasn't fair. Nobody ever stuck around for him! They were always passing him off to someone else to take care of him. Or they were going off on some mission, or they were too busy, or a number of other things he hadn't yet thought of. As the two walked off for the doorway, he stared sulkily after the two. They were so happy...and he didn't get anything in the end. Just a momentary bit of fun, then back to the rudimentary life of no one ever caring to be around him. Ellie wasn't like that, she would always play with him and wouldn't make fun of him. But she was leaving now too.

He skulked after Ellie and her father, growing more and more upset as he debated what he really wanted to do. He supposed he should run after her and say goodbye. But he didn't really want to. He just wanted to skulk off to some corner of a street and cry. Or kick things around and throw things at windows. He didn't usually throw things at windows, but it seemed like a pretty good idea right then. Maybe if he called Ellie, maybe she might listen to him and not go away with her father. But would she, or would she just ignore him like he was a stupid little boy, like the Doctor and everyone else seemed to?

"Ellie," he said timidly, almost afraid to speak. Then he ran towards them. Even though they were not that far off, it seemed an eternity to reach them and make Ellie turn her head. "Ellie!" he shouted, this time louder. "Don't go! Please come back!" The words echoed in his ears as the ground seemed to spin in a mirage of color, but he didn't seem to notice. He ran down the tunneling walkway, grabbing onto Ellie's hand desperately. She had to stay, she must stay. She must!

Ellie and her father may have noticed the weird tunnel, but Eric didn't. He saw it out of the corner of his eye, but that wasn't important to him. What was important was stopping Ellie from walking out on him. He clung tightly to her hand as things finally became the normal city landscape, and he was almost in tears as he began his tirade.

"Ellie! Please don't go! I know you just got your daddy and you gotta leave the orphanage, and orphanages are bad places. But if you leave then I won't have a friend anymore, please don't go!" Now he WAS crying. The tears were streaming down his face and his voice had cracked, and he looked down right pitiful. All thoughts of bravery had flown out the window as he instead tried to cling to what little he felt he had left. "Captain Jack doesn't come around much anymore cause he's always off on a mission, and if you leave, I won't have anyone to play with or talk to!"

Eric held tight to Ellie as she hugged him, tears streaming down his face onto her clothes. He managed an "Okay" as she promised not to live too far away, but her father had ultimate control over that. Still, she had managed to stem the tears, and he stood there rubbing his eyes. Upon hearing her father continually call for Ellie, he was afraid they'd be leaving, and almost burst into tears again. Relief flooded him as he realized that it was something entirely different. What were they saying? He removed his hands from his face, his eyes looking very red. The Doctor had taken them to the wrong decade? "Huh?" He looked between Ellie and her father, awaiting some kind of clarification. What made them think that there was anything different? He looked around himself, noting that there seemed to be the same exact buildings, and ordinary people walking back and forth. Granted they were dressed a little differently than normal, but that didn't mean anything to him. "Why is it the wrong decade?"

He followed her father's finger and walked over to the newpaper stand. Picking one up, he peered at it and saw there was some new skyscraper being built, as well as a UFO sighting. What was so special about that? "I don't see anythi--"

"Hey!" The guy manning the newspaper stand hollered at Eric, making him jump in alarm. "You can't take that without paying for it!" He swiped at Eric, who ducked behind Ellie's father. While the stand manager turned his attentions on the two with him, Eric peered cautiously from behind her dad.

When Eric saw the date, he understood why they thought they were in the wrong decade. "Wow..." He knew newspapers should have the current date, and for this one to say 1971, it meant they had travelled backwards a lot. "Wow. That's forty-three years!" His voice carried an awe that replaced the pitiful crying of before. He strolled after the two, pondering their latest predicament, not with sadness but with a new found fascination. "I'm not even born yet! Gee, how old does that make me now?" He started counting in his head, but decided that a negative number of odd years would be a bit strange, and soon gave it up.

He sat down on the bench beside Ellie, and peered over at her father. He seemed to be in deep consternation, and Eric stared at him wondering what was wrong. When Ellie finally asked where they were going to live, he suddenly remembered his own place. Captain Jack wouldn't even be around in 1971, he thought, and probably wouldn't even know him yet. He couldn't go find the Torchwood building...not that he even knew where it was. Suddenly he realized he was just as lost as they, and he pulled his legs up against him. He had no place to return to anymore, and he hoped that Ellie's father wouldn't leave him behind. He stared towards the back of Ellie's head, and then up towards her father, his eyes locking with her father's. A little hope, but mostly a glum look resided within his own eyes. When he asked whether Eric had a family, he simply shook his head.

And then he asked.

"You...you mean it?" Eric's jaw nearly dropped. "You really want me to live with you? You won't get tired of me and leave me in some orphanage?"

Eric was practically grinning from ear to ear as they spoke, he could hardly speak he was so excited. Someone really wanted him. Not only that, but Ellie truly wanted him to live with her and be her brother. He squirmed on the bench, hardly knowing what to say next. Of course the answer was yes, but he was almost stuttering. He almost felt like he was dreaming; something he'd always wanted had finally come true. They talked about having to change their name, and whether having a new last name would bother him, but it didn't matter. He squealed in glee as he threw his arms about Ellie, squeezing her tight.

"Yes yes yes! I want to be your brother! I want to be part of your family! I want to...all that!" he exclaimed, not sure what else he was agreeing to, but didn't mind it. He had a huge smile that would take a considerable amount of effort to wipe off his face. He let go of Ellie and moved to hug her father, but stopped halfway through, wondering if it was right as he was practically a strange person. Then his happiness of being accepted by his friend's father won him over, and he hugged him almost as tightly as he had hugged Ellie. "Thank you!"

Eric walked along with Altair, well, dad, and Ellie. He looked around as they walked, noting the streets and some of the buildings. He knew where they were! They were in London! But wait...he didn't recognize some of the signs at all, and remembered that they were in the wrong decade. Forty years too early. He looked up as his new dad said they needed a name, and he knew one right away! "Zimmer!" he cried, looking up at Altair expectantly. But no, he didn't like that, or at least, he wasn't satisfied.

He was quiet for a while as Ellie gave her own suggestions, then suggested Davidson as he passed by a sign that read "Davidson's Market". But nope, that wasn't good either, and he tried to think harder. Then it was "Zimmer" again, and he got looked at for suggesting the name again. A third time, and he almost tried to hide behind Altair's back. Time passed as they tried to think of ideas, and Eric thought they'd travelled a great deal. They even passed by a park, which had a bunch of trees and stuff. That's when Ellie made the new suggestion involving a tree. At first he thought it was dumb, but when his new father seemed to like it too, he went quiet. He had to think about this new name. Did he really like the name "Ravenswood?" He really liked Eric Zimmer...

"Ravenswood," he repeatedly, biting his lip in concentration. "Eric Ravenswood." Eric Zimmer Ravenswood. Yeah, he liked that name. "I like it," he finally said, looking up at the two. "But do you think it's a bit long? It might not fit on the paper when spelling it."