Part 01 - What Came Before?
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1 through F › Doctor Who
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Category:
1 through F › Doctor Who
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
7
Views:
2,180
Reviews:
0
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Dr. Who, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 02 - Old Friends
Chapter 02 - Old Friends
Retired Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart was startled by the appearance of an antique British police box appearing in the corner of his living room. It’s appearance although unexpected was not nearly as disconcerting as It’s unusual entrance. No noise, no partial appearance first, it was just suddenly there and led him to think he might have dosed off or be dreaming. Blinking, Alistair stood up wondering if his random thoughts of the Doctor earlier in the day might have somehow induced his appearance in his dreams. Sighing he figured he probably wasn’t going to be that lucky. Much as he cared for his old friend and usually enjoyed his visits, he knew that trouble was usually never far behind him. Getting to his feet, he rose and walked over to the TARDIS expecting the Doctor to pop out at any moment. Idly he wondered if he looked the same.
After walking to the TARDIS and touching the door to confirm it really was there, he was startled when instead of the doctor emerging the door opened with no Doctor in sight. Looking in the doorway, he saw an interior not quite like any he had seen previously, and wondered where the Doctor was. Almost in answer to his thought, a monitor on the console lit up.
Walking up the metal ramp leading to the central mushroom shaped control area he noted the coral like support structures. An odd smell that reminded him of a cross between ozone and burnt wires, burnt meat, and a few other unpleasant smells that he couldn’t quite classify set him on edge and almost as an after he thought he smelled roses.
Ok, not good, he still didn’t see the Doctor. “Doctor? Doctor are you around?” he called becoming concerned for his friend.
The only reply he received was an insistent beeping from the control panel with a lit monitor. Stepping up to the monitor, he found it blank and just as he thought to turn away to search for the Doctor a message came up on the screen. “Alistair, the Doctor has been hurt, please help him.”
Not quite sure what to make of the message he asked mostly of himself aloud “What, have you got up to now Doctor.”
The screen then displayed a space battle with the unmistakable images of Daleks swarming toward a planet. Moments later the planet exploded and the image rolled momentarily as if the recording device had been thrown end over end. Halting a good distance from the devastation, it was displaying a shattered planet and Hundreds of thousands of Daleks and damaged ships were being rapidly sucked into a black hole.
As he watched the scenes play out on the monitor, his face became hard and grim.
The scene then shifted to the inside of the TARDIS. A man that he assumed was the Doctor lay curled up in a fetal position the on the floor of control room sobbing uncontrollably. His clothing ripped and burned and dozens of red raw injuries showed across the man’s body. The control room itself looked as battered as the man who inhabited it; sparking wires were hanging everywhere. Scorch marks and shattered bits of debris strewn all around the room. Looking around the control room he was in currently he noticed many of the metal support beams on the screen that had looked fragile and unstable had been replaced. They were now what appeared to be coral supports. All of the damage so evident on the screen now was gone leading him to wonder how old were the images being displayed.
Responding to the Brigadiers thoughts, the TARDIS displayed a date and time that was a little less then a week previous. Speaking aloud the Brigadier said, “Ok then were is the Doctor?”
The next images displayed were of the Doctor lying in room that looked like some sort of lab or medical area. The white walls were splatter with undefined substances and there was lots of damaged equipment. The Doctor lay clothes unchanged, injuries untreated and with an obvious growth of 2-3 days worth of facial hair. Most alarming was the pool of blood expanding outward from his body from an injury the Brigadier couldn’t see from the camera angle. Just as he started to demand where he could find him the body on the floor burst into a bright golden light. Shortly to be replaced by a man in the same place, position, and clothes but with significantly different facial features; where the earlier man had almost gentle classical features and soft brown curls of hair that seemed very fitting for his classical dressing style. The new man in contrast had an almost a buzz cut hairstyle largish ears and a prominent nose. Even in unconsciousness he had an appearance of ruff hardness that Alistair had rarely seen before in the Doctor. If he had any question remaining before in his mind those last images convinced him that this was the man he knew. From the looks of him, it looked like he had been through something truly hellish. The screen then replaced the original words that he had seen when the monitor first came to life. “Alistair, the Doctor has been hurt, please help him.”
Staring at the screen he said only one word “Where?”
Behind him there was a beeping noise and a door on the side of the room opened. Turning he strode to the door in full military mode to find that just inside was a hall. Another door just inside was opening into the room from the screen. This room unlike the control room had not changed much from the images he had been viewing.
Moving rapidly to the prone figure on the floor he began to check him over for injuries. On the floor surrounding him was a pool of dried blood like some macabre aura. Although the Doctor now appeared to be uninjured he couldn’t help but wondering what had caused him to regenerate this time. Why had the TARDIS taken so long to bring him here and the very pertinent and pressing question, why was he still unconscious.
He figured the first couple of questions would have to wait for the Doctor to wake up but he was going to need some help if he was going to figure out the third. He knew of only one man who was as close to an expert on Time Lord physiology as he was going to be able to find short of the Doctor himself.
Pulling out his cell phone, he quickly found the number he was looking for and dialed. “Harry, this is Alistair I have an unexpected visitor at my house and I was thinking that you might want to come over for a visit.
Harry was surprised at the Brigadiers unexpected call. After working with the man for so many years, four things were obvious. He could tell by both his words and the tone of his voice 1) the Doctor had showed up 2) something was wrong, 3) Alistair was reluctant to discuss the matter over an unsecured phone line and 4) since he was calling him it probably meant that something had happened that required his medical skill set.
His response accordingly was simple “I could be there in about 30 minutes their not in a big hurry to leave are they?”
His response was reassuring “No, I don’t think so, right, we will see you then.”
Twenty-five minutes later Harry Sullivan arrived at his friend’s home. On ringing the bell he was greeted by Alistair’s wife Doris who escorted him to the living room and the TARDIS which was now taking up space in the corner.
Doris told him "He hasn't come out yet, but he asked me to let you know to go on in, he's in the med lab." With that, the front door to the TARDIS swung open invitingly.
"Thanks Doris, looks like someone else is waiting for me too,” he said with a small smile. He turned and entered. Lightly patting the door on the way in he said in a quiet voice "Thanks old girl"
When he got to the med lab, he found Alistair moving around picking things up, while obviously keeping an eye on the Doctor. Meeting him at the Doctor's side he said to the Brigadier "So what's going on?"
"Not completely sure. The TARDIS showed me on one of the monitors when I got here that the Doctor had been in some kind of war zone. From the looks of things it didn’t look like he and the TARDIS were on the winning side." At that, both men were startled to feel a poignant wave of grief coming from the TARDIS.
After a brief pause the Brigadier continued. "From what she showed me approximately two days ago the Doctor had to regenerate from injuries sustained." Knowing how intensely private the Doctor was he paused unsure if he wanted to express his next thoughts. In his minds eye he contemplated the images the TARDIS had shown him of the Doctor curled up weeping on the control room floor. Saying more softly, "I think she wanted him to be among friends when he woke up."
Sensing there was more, but that the Brigadier was unwilling to continue he stated, "Well then lets see how he’s doing." As he knelt down to get the Doctor's vitals, he noted the large pool of dried blood. He came to the conclusion that regardless of what other injuries he many have had, and from the state of his clothing that was quite a few, ultimately what probably caused his regeneration was blood loss. From his estimate, it appeared there was more then enough on the floor to have drained him to the point of death. Proceeding with his exam he determining what ever injuries the Doctor may have had previously they had been healed in his regeneration so he reported, "Well from what I can tell, it looks like we should be able to move him with out doing him harm. So lets get him cleaned up and more comfortable." With that, he started putting actions to his words.
After about a half hour they had successfully got him out of his ruined clothes, into pajama bottoms, washed, and moved to one of the beds.
As they had moved him he had shown the first signs of waking but it wasn't till they had finished settling him in one of the beds and Harry had stepped out of the room to the kitchen to get some tea that the Doctor woke with a quiet moan of "Nooo"
Retired Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart was startled by the appearance of an antique British police box appearing in the corner of his living room. It’s appearance although unexpected was not nearly as disconcerting as It’s unusual entrance. No noise, no partial appearance first, it was just suddenly there and led him to think he might have dosed off or be dreaming. Blinking, Alistair stood up wondering if his random thoughts of the Doctor earlier in the day might have somehow induced his appearance in his dreams. Sighing he figured he probably wasn’t going to be that lucky. Much as he cared for his old friend and usually enjoyed his visits, he knew that trouble was usually never far behind him. Getting to his feet, he rose and walked over to the TARDIS expecting the Doctor to pop out at any moment. Idly he wondered if he looked the same.
After walking to the TARDIS and touching the door to confirm it really was there, he was startled when instead of the doctor emerging the door opened with no Doctor in sight. Looking in the doorway, he saw an interior not quite like any he had seen previously, and wondered where the Doctor was. Almost in answer to his thought, a monitor on the console lit up.
Walking up the metal ramp leading to the central mushroom shaped control area he noted the coral like support structures. An odd smell that reminded him of a cross between ozone and burnt wires, burnt meat, and a few other unpleasant smells that he couldn’t quite classify set him on edge and almost as an after he thought he smelled roses.
Ok, not good, he still didn’t see the Doctor. “Doctor? Doctor are you around?” he called becoming concerned for his friend.
The only reply he received was an insistent beeping from the control panel with a lit monitor. Stepping up to the monitor, he found it blank and just as he thought to turn away to search for the Doctor a message came up on the screen. “Alistair, the Doctor has been hurt, please help him.”
Not quite sure what to make of the message he asked mostly of himself aloud “What, have you got up to now Doctor.”
The screen then displayed a space battle with the unmistakable images of Daleks swarming toward a planet. Moments later the planet exploded and the image rolled momentarily as if the recording device had been thrown end over end. Halting a good distance from the devastation, it was displaying a shattered planet and Hundreds of thousands of Daleks and damaged ships were being rapidly sucked into a black hole.
As he watched the scenes play out on the monitor, his face became hard and grim.
The scene then shifted to the inside of the TARDIS. A man that he assumed was the Doctor lay curled up in a fetal position the on the floor of control room sobbing uncontrollably. His clothing ripped and burned and dozens of red raw injuries showed across the man’s body. The control room itself looked as battered as the man who inhabited it; sparking wires were hanging everywhere. Scorch marks and shattered bits of debris strewn all around the room. Looking around the control room he was in currently he noticed many of the metal support beams on the screen that had looked fragile and unstable had been replaced. They were now what appeared to be coral supports. All of the damage so evident on the screen now was gone leading him to wonder how old were the images being displayed.
Responding to the Brigadiers thoughts, the TARDIS displayed a date and time that was a little less then a week previous. Speaking aloud the Brigadier said, “Ok then were is the Doctor?”
The next images displayed were of the Doctor lying in room that looked like some sort of lab or medical area. The white walls were splatter with undefined substances and there was lots of damaged equipment. The Doctor lay clothes unchanged, injuries untreated and with an obvious growth of 2-3 days worth of facial hair. Most alarming was the pool of blood expanding outward from his body from an injury the Brigadier couldn’t see from the camera angle. Just as he started to demand where he could find him the body on the floor burst into a bright golden light. Shortly to be replaced by a man in the same place, position, and clothes but with significantly different facial features; where the earlier man had almost gentle classical features and soft brown curls of hair that seemed very fitting for his classical dressing style. The new man in contrast had an almost a buzz cut hairstyle largish ears and a prominent nose. Even in unconsciousness he had an appearance of ruff hardness that Alistair had rarely seen before in the Doctor. If he had any question remaining before in his mind those last images convinced him that this was the man he knew. From the looks of him, it looked like he had been through something truly hellish. The screen then replaced the original words that he had seen when the monitor first came to life. “Alistair, the Doctor has been hurt, please help him.”
Staring at the screen he said only one word “Where?”
Behind him there was a beeping noise and a door on the side of the room opened. Turning he strode to the door in full military mode to find that just inside was a hall. Another door just inside was opening into the room from the screen. This room unlike the control room had not changed much from the images he had been viewing.
Moving rapidly to the prone figure on the floor he began to check him over for injuries. On the floor surrounding him was a pool of dried blood like some macabre aura. Although the Doctor now appeared to be uninjured he couldn’t help but wondering what had caused him to regenerate this time. Why had the TARDIS taken so long to bring him here and the very pertinent and pressing question, why was he still unconscious.
He figured the first couple of questions would have to wait for the Doctor to wake up but he was going to need some help if he was going to figure out the third. He knew of only one man who was as close to an expert on Time Lord physiology as he was going to be able to find short of the Doctor himself.
Pulling out his cell phone, he quickly found the number he was looking for and dialed. “Harry, this is Alistair I have an unexpected visitor at my house and I was thinking that you might want to come over for a visit.
Harry was surprised at the Brigadiers unexpected call. After working with the man for so many years, four things were obvious. He could tell by both his words and the tone of his voice 1) the Doctor had showed up 2) something was wrong, 3) Alistair was reluctant to discuss the matter over an unsecured phone line and 4) since he was calling him it probably meant that something had happened that required his medical skill set.
His response accordingly was simple “I could be there in about 30 minutes their not in a big hurry to leave are they?”
His response was reassuring “No, I don’t think so, right, we will see you then.”
Twenty-five minutes later Harry Sullivan arrived at his friend’s home. On ringing the bell he was greeted by Alistair’s wife Doris who escorted him to the living room and the TARDIS which was now taking up space in the corner.
Doris told him "He hasn't come out yet, but he asked me to let you know to go on in, he's in the med lab." With that, the front door to the TARDIS swung open invitingly.
"Thanks Doris, looks like someone else is waiting for me too,” he said with a small smile. He turned and entered. Lightly patting the door on the way in he said in a quiet voice "Thanks old girl"
When he got to the med lab, he found Alistair moving around picking things up, while obviously keeping an eye on the Doctor. Meeting him at the Doctor's side he said to the Brigadier "So what's going on?"
"Not completely sure. The TARDIS showed me on one of the monitors when I got here that the Doctor had been in some kind of war zone. From the looks of things it didn’t look like he and the TARDIS were on the winning side." At that, both men were startled to feel a poignant wave of grief coming from the TARDIS.
After a brief pause the Brigadier continued. "From what she showed me approximately two days ago the Doctor had to regenerate from injuries sustained." Knowing how intensely private the Doctor was he paused unsure if he wanted to express his next thoughts. In his minds eye he contemplated the images the TARDIS had shown him of the Doctor curled up weeping on the control room floor. Saying more softly, "I think she wanted him to be among friends when he woke up."
Sensing there was more, but that the Brigadier was unwilling to continue he stated, "Well then lets see how he’s doing." As he knelt down to get the Doctor's vitals, he noted the large pool of dried blood. He came to the conclusion that regardless of what other injuries he many have had, and from the state of his clothing that was quite a few, ultimately what probably caused his regeneration was blood loss. From his estimate, it appeared there was more then enough on the floor to have drained him to the point of death. Proceeding with his exam he determining what ever injuries the Doctor may have had previously they had been healed in his regeneration so he reported, "Well from what I can tell, it looks like we should be able to move him with out doing him harm. So lets get him cleaned up and more comfortable." With that, he started putting actions to his words.
After about a half hour they had successfully got him out of his ruined clothes, into pajama bottoms, washed, and moved to one of the beds.
As they had moved him he had shown the first signs of waking but it wasn't till they had finished settling him in one of the beds and Harry had stepped out of the room to the kitchen to get some tea that the Doctor woke with a quiet moan of "Nooo"