Chapter Six

'Doctor!'

The Brigadier came jogging across the park. Behind him was a flash of yellow. Yes! - it was Bessie, the sprightly yellow roadster which the Doctor had used as transport while on Earth, a long time ago now. The Brigadier had taken good care of the car over the years.

A tall man the Doctor didn't recognise was sitting in the passenger seat. The Doctor and Bernice hurried towards the Brigadier, both checking the small park for anyone who might have seen the old soldier arrive. They met around a hundred yards from the car. Lethbridge-Stewart was a little out of breath, and far too formal a chap to want a hug. They shook hands instead.

'You recognise me?' the Doctor asked as they set off for the car.

'Of course. You were wearing that face in Hong Kong, remember?'

The Doctor boggled. 'I was?'

'You must remember Hong Kong back in '88, when we discovered the secret of the Embodiment of Gris.'

'I didn't even know that there was an Embodiment of Gris,' Bernice muttered.

The Doctor looked blankly at his old friend. 'I think that must have happened in my future.'

The Brigadier chortled. A couple of decades ago, the Doctor would have needed to explain such a temporal paradox in more detail. Nowadays, Alistair was almost relaxed discussing them. After all he'd been through, he knew as much as anyone how convoluted time travel could become.

The Brigadier reached over to shake Bernice's hand. 'Good afternoon, Miss Summerfield. Now - I've aged twenty years since the last time we met, but you haven't.'