Day 56: Twin Pines Restaurant (Early Afternoon)

[girlsandgadgets]

Having spent almost the entire morning in the cold, Edgar finally decided it was time to address his groaning middle. It was hard enough to focus as he thumbed through the coupon book without his stomach doing flips: he was shivering, but still felt tremendous heat radiating from within him. The attempt at a nap on a park bench hadn't helped his

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[timedork]

It had gotten later than he'd had thought by the time the Doctor made his way towards Twin Pines for lunch, but the Doctor couldn't say he was disappointed. Talking to Peter had been important, after all, and well.... That shack still intrigued him, but his stomach had been beginning to protest.

The change in temperature after being outside for so long was nice. The Doctor took a moment to enjoy it before someone came by to seat him; he was escorted to a booth and settled in, removing his gloves but not his coat. That could stay on a while longer.

He picked up a menu and started scanning it, but nothing in particular jumped out at him today. It wasn't long before a waitress came, and he held out his coupon to her. "I'll be using this," he said, folding the menu closed. "Something warm to drink, and whatever you'd recommend."

[England!]

[timedork]

The Doctor had started inspecting his other coupons while waiting for his meal-maybe he should have found Donna to give her the beauty ones... He looked up when a voice asked if the other seat was taken, and lit up when he saw it was England.

"No; it's not taken at all. Have a seat!" he said hurriedly, grinning at the man (country?) and gesturing towards the place in question. "It'll be nice to have some company for lunch. Alright?"

England looked like he was faring well, but there was no telling what kind of bandaged injuries might be hidden under clothing; the dull ache in the Doctor's arm and leg served as a reminder to that.

[timedork]

The Doctor leaned back in his own seat as England joined him, lacing his fingers together in his lap. He gave a nod when England said he was doing as well as he could be-and around here, it seemed that the best one could be was a bit lower than usual.

He shrugged when England returned the question. "Oh, well... Well enough. Could be better, but I haven't been shot in the last couple of nights... That's an improvement, at least."

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the waitress returning with the hot drink he'd asked for. "Of course, I can't say I really care for the military types who are running the whole operation now, even if they are being a bit clearer about everything." And being more generous, too, if the credit cards were anything to go by. Just like he and Peter had talked about in regards to the experiments: nothing done here was for the patients' benefit. There had to be a reason behind it.

[timedork]

As England ordered, the Doctor quickly took a sip of the tea he'd been brought; it was nice and hot, and really helped to warm him up quickly. However, he almost choked on the drink when England mentioned his inability to pull rank around here, spurring a brief coughing fit.

He actually hadn't considered the relation England had-must have had-with the military. If he could 'pull rank', did that mean he had power over it? Did the military answer to the personified nation, or did the nation answer to the military? The latter concept seemed worse, like martial law. But did England himself give orders, or was he simply in a position where he had to be afforded respect?

As the coughs subsided, the Doctor set down his glass. "The hos-..." He cleared his throat and tried again, "The hospital charade lasted long enough. I can't say how long in total it was in effect, but I was here for about three weeks before the military moved in-and there wasn't the first sign of them in that time."

[timedork]

"Yes; fine," the Doctor said quickly, giving a reassuring smile after one cough that would hopefully be the last. "Sorry. I just..." forgot you had a military attached to your name "...swallowed too soon, it seems."

Truthfully, he was curious about England's relationship with the military and all that entailed, but at the same time... Well, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know. Militaries were made up of people-they were collections of people-and as a whole, he had little against the people who were soldiers. But he'd had enough of war and of killing and of death that he was hesitant, for once, to pursue his curiosity... for now.

Instead, he turned his attention to speculation over this military's relation with the (former) hospital. "That could be," he agreed, scratching the back of his head as he thought it over. "They did mention a lack of satisfactory results after they moved in, after all-but there's something a bit... well, odd about the way it was handled. Landel was sacked in the middle of the Sun Room, after all-

[timedork]

"Ah... Yes, that could be it," the Doctor agreed. "It certainly was a way to spread the word quickly; to let us know that Landel wasn't in charge any longer... But I have to wonder how letting us know figures into the military's plan."

He paused awkward, as the waitress returned once more with their meals. The Doctor flashed a smile at her when she asked if there would be anything else-"Thank you; no,"-and didn't pick up his train of thought again until she had gone.

"Assuming, of course, that the military has a plan," he finished. "But if they're looking for certain results, I would think they would."