Categories > TV > Life On Mars > A Better Future

Epilogue: The End?

by xwingace 0 reviews

Some questions are answered, others remain. But for now, this will serve.

Category: Life On Mars - Rating: PG - Genres: Angst - Warnings: [!] - Published: 2006-04-14 - Updated: 2006-04-14 - 445 words

0Unrated
Sam paused in front of the gates. Here he would be. The real Gene Hunt. Or what was left of him.

"Now what's the point of going in there?"

Closure, Gene.

"You that eager to get rid of me?"

That's not what I meant.


A car turned into the parking lot behind him as Sam walked past the gates, into the cemetery. A quick search located the required headstone. There were no flowers, and it carried two names. One of which was Gene Hunt. Sam gently placed the dried bouquet he'd brought on it, then remained crouched by the grave.

That was it, then. The people who, in his version of 1973, had been his closest friends, the people he had trusted, were gone. Dead, or moved somewhere they couldn't be found. There went his chances of ever finding out if his version of the '70s had been the real one or not. If he was crazy or not.

"If you think I'm dead and gone, think again, Sammy-boy."

In my head doesn't count.

"Doesn't it?"


A hand descended on his shoulder. Sam looked up to see - well, an old man's face, really, with a heavy grey moustache hiding most features from the nose down. Still, there was something familiar about it.

"Ray?"

The old man grinned. Then he nodded to Sam's mother, who had now come up on the other side of him. "You should talk more to your mother, boss. The lady might have something important to tell you."

"DI Carling helped solve Maya's case, sweetheart. I met him at Maya's wedding reception." His mother helped Sam up, then wrapped her arms around him for a second. "When we got to talking I realised I'd met him before, a long time ago, when your dad disappeared. Didn't think about it much at the time. But then you started talking about what happened there, and you knew so much, and you looked so familiar..." She trailed off.

"Gave me quite a start when you turned up at the Arms a couple of nights ago. And you didn't even seem to notice." Ray gave another grin. "Not much changed there then, eh, Sam?"

Sam grinned back. "You have. I didn't recognise you. You got old."

"And you didn't," Ray answered, but before he could formulate the question that should go with that statement, Ruth Tyler had already done so.

"Son, what happened? How did it happen?"

"I still don't know what exactly happened, mum. But at least I know it did." He hugged her, then patted Ray on the shoulder. "And right now, that's what matters."

"So that's it then?"

For the moment, yeah. It'll do.
Sign up to rate and review this story