Waylaid In London

Chapter 7

After the somewhat painful silence during the five minute drive, Polly was relieved to be back in the bright, cheery atmosphere of the Magpie & Stump. She and Ben had tried to keep a conversation going, hoping that either Jamie or Kathryn would join in, but the two of them sat in the back of Ben's car hardly saying a word. Jamie would speak up every now and then out of politeness, she assumed, but Kathryn seemed somewhat pensive. She hoped the inviting ambiance of the pub would help the girl loosen up. A few drinks would probably help, too.

Following closely behind Ben with Kathryn and Jamie on her heels, she smiled as she took in the relaxed scene with familiar sounds and smiling faces. Rod Stewart's "Maggie May" was playing at a good volume and it got her in the mood to kick back with good company over some drinks.

"Polly! There's my girl!" a familiar woman's voice in a Midlands accent suddenly exclaimed.

"Minnie! Wonderful to see you again," she returned, giving the quirky, thirty-something blonde co-manager a one-armed hug as Ben went to grab her jacket from her.

"And look at this bloke here! You didn't tell me he was comin' back already!"

"I only found out myself at the last minute! He arrived back a few days ago."

"I'd have come back sooner if I was able, believe me!" Ben interjected, also reaching over to give her a hug.

Pleasantries exchanged, Polly watched as Minnie's gaze settled upon Jamie.

"And who've we got here?"

Polly turned to Jamie. "Oh, this is our good friend, Jamie McCrimmon."

"Ah, I see." The other woman appeared to be scrutinizing him closely. "How old are ya, lad? Ya know we can't serve ya if ya under eighteen years, eh?"

Polly stifled a grin as she watched Jamie's expression change from confusion to a bit of indignation. "Hey, I'll have ye know I'm ..." He then blushed and cleared his throat. "I mean ... I'm twenty-three."

"That so? You look quite a bit younger than that. Got any identification on ya?"

Polly decided it was the perfect time to step in. "I can vouch for his age. Ben and I have known him for five years now. He was eighteen back then. In fact, his birthday was a few weeks back, but we decided to wait until Ben got home before celebrating."

She met Jamie's nonplussed gaze as he quickly turned to her. He looked about ready to protest but she discreetly shook her head, warning him against it. Instead he'd turned back to Minnie and nodded.

The other woman sighed. "That's not usually proof enough, but you're such a loyal customer I'll make an exception." Her poker face melted into a smile. "Good to see ya back, 'specially you, Ben." She gave Ben a pat on the shoulder.

Polly sought out their usual table in the far corner and led the way.

Jamie quickly caught up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder."What did ye do that for?" he whispered sharply. "I have identification. The Doctor gave it tae me." He reached into his jacket's breast pocket and removed a small card, showing it to her.

She looked it over briefly. It contained a photo of Jamie and some general information such as his name, date and place of birth. His birth date had been updated to the twentieth century but it wasn't enough, especially for official business.

"That's not bad, but we still need to get you a proper one as soon as possible," she replied quietly, handing it back to him. She caught him giving a shrug as he took it and put it back in the jacket pocket.