Triptych 2/10
"Messy?" Donna squeaked. "What do you mean, messy?"
"I'm going to materialise the TARDIS right over - my TARDIS. The control rooms will blur and fuse."
"When?"
"Right now."
The walls suddenly went white. Some of the coral growth vanished. And a stunned-looking man in a military uniform stood gaping at them. "....what the bloody hell..." he breathed.
"Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart," the Doctor grinned, "meet Donna Noble."
She took his hand and inclined her head in greeting. "Brigadier."
He muttered a "Charmed, I'm sure," but his eyes were on the ginger-haired man. "Bloody hell," he breathed. "Doctor?"
"Yup," he said, popping the "p".
"Oh, my stars, you've done it again...." he murmured.
"Done what again?" Donna asked.
"Regenerated," the Doctor replied. "He's known me since my second body."
She whistled.
The Brigadier shook his head. "Regardless, you're here. Miss Grant has been going out of her mind--"
"Jo Grant," the Doctor explained to Donna. "My former assistant. So this is my third body we're dealing with."
She nodded in complete understanding.
The Brigadier shook his head again. "But we can't very well have Doctor John Smith looking over Doctor John Smith..."
Donna pulled out some psychic paper. "Who does that say he is, Brigadier?"
"'Doctor Jonathan Noble'," the Brigadier read, then nodded. "Good, if you pose as marrieds, it will be--"
"Brother and sister," Donna corrected.
"Yes," the Brigadier said slowly, studying them. "With that matching hair, that would be even better of a cover than marrieds. All right, then! Onward and outward!"
"Allons-y!" the Doctor laughed, and opened the doors.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is that him?" Donna asked, even as the Doctor grabbed her hand in reflex.
"That's him," he breathed. "That's me."
They watched from the observation window as the nurse finished washing and gently brushed the salt-and-pepper waves into a semblance of order. The covers were pulled to his waist, as the bath had just finished and he wasn't dressed in scrubs yet. The face was lined, restless even in sleep, but the physique revealed was that of a much younger man - and a powerfully strong one, at that.
"How tall is he?" Donna breathed.
"Two inches taller than I am now," the Doctor told her. "Six-three. What happened to him?" he asked the Brigadier.
"There was an explosion inside the TARDIS," the Brigadier said. "We don't know what yet. He and Benton were alone in there. Benton came out, carrying him, and he's been like that ever since."
"Brainwave activity?"
"Depressed, but present," a new voice said and the Doctor smiled as a man with curly black hair walked in. "Doctor Harry Sullivan," he introduced himself. "At your service."
"I'm Donna Noble," she introduced herself. "This is my brother, Doctor Jonathan Noble."
"We were called in as consultants," the Doctor said. "We're familiar with - his unique anatomy."
And Harry's mouth opened in a silent "Ah!" of comprehension. "Well, welcome aboard, Doctors Noble! As I said, both hearts are beating normally. Body temperature is absolutely normal for him. But the brainwaves are depressed, though they are holding steady for now."
Donna's head tilted. "For now?"
"Aye, they've been fluctuating. Sometimes nearly normal for him, sometimes down to basic functions only. Right now they're somewhere in between, and he's holding steady." He nodded. "And if you'll excuse me, I need to go check on him."
"Certainly." As Harry and the Brigadier left them alone, the Doctor grinned at Donna. "He was a companion for awhile, as well. Both of them were."
"So we weren't all female," Donna teased, and his grin grew.
Then it faded as he looked back at himself, now being gently dressed in light blue scrubs. "I just can't figure it out," he said. "What happened to him and what Benton has to do with it...."
"Well, well," a gravely voice from behind them made them both spin to see a tall figure with auburn hair and a strong cleft in his chin leaning against the doorframe, arms and ankles lazily crossed. He was dressed in blue jeans and a white button-down shirt with a crushed red velvet smoking jacket over it.
"Benton," the Doctor whispered, and Donna nodded.
Benton nodded, pushing off the doorframe and striding into the room. "I must say," he said in a voice liberally laced with amusement, "that of all the people I expected to find in here, a future version of myself was the last one I figured I'd see."
And the Doctor's jaw slammed open. ".....what?" he squeaked.
On to chapter three