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The screams. He could still hear their screams, mingled with the dreadful robotic noise, the metallic screeching - good god, he couldn’t get a good breath in, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t even move. What army man can’t move when under threat? Those horrific imposing furry monsters have surrounded them. They outnumber him and his soldiers. It was hopeless. The grenades and bazookas were barely having an effect. Bullets - In the corner of his eyes, laid one of his fellow soldiers, the blood slowly trickling across the ground toward him. Another one lost. No doubt the Yetis will kill him soon too-
“Brigadier.” That wasn’t his title, it was a trick, it must be. He hadn’t heard them utter a word, but at this point he wasn’t too shocked. First the webs, then the invincibility, their brute strength - and now speech,”Brigadier,” there went that voice again, “Alistair, you’re safe now. There’s nobody trying to harm you. You can stand down.”
Shocked to hear his christian name, he took a proper look at the thing speaking, and to much his confusion it wasn’t a thing, but rather a civilian. The man must have been in his 50s, with grey bouffant hair, and a rather striking outfit. He thought all civilians were evacuated from London. What fool stayed behind, ignoring orders from the army? He seemed familiar though, he knew this man, but he couldn’t quite place him. Not that it mattered when you were under attack.
The man spoke over the screeches from the Yeti, “Alistair, I need you to take a look at the clothes you’re wearing, and describe it to me.” He furrowed his brows in confusion. Why would he need to describe his combat fatigues? It was an inappropriate time to ask such a question. He wanted to shout at the man, but he could not force the words out.
Reluctantly, he did as the man said. White chequered shirt, loosened tie, a cardigan- wait - “In my civvies.” The words were hard to say, and hard to hear too, but he could feel his body relax at the fact. He wasn’t in uniform. He wasn’t… But the noise..
“Top of the class,” the man smiled slightly,”Are you able to identify who I am?”
Who was he? He was the Doctor.. the Doctor was a small man in ill-fitted clothes and a bowl haircut.. And yet.. No, the Doctor had changed appearance since then. The dandy in front of him was his Doctor.
“The Doctor.”
He wasn’t there. It was just memories.
“Exactly, my dear,” The Doctor said, and Alistair leaned his head on the Time Lord’s shoulder, finally taking some needed deep breaths,”that’s it, deep breaths.”
Faintly in the background, he could hear the usual hubbub from the streets. Footsteps, people talking, honking from impatient drivers. It simply sounded like.. Life. The screams had seemed to die down, slowly fading away. The metallic screeching however-
“The noise,” Alistair forced out, “The metallic noise.”
“It is from construction works, there’s no yetis here," The Doctor explained, rubbing Alistair’s back, “Do you need to block out the noise?”
He wanted to so, so bad, he could not stand the noise one bit, but he knew the loss of one of his senses would not be a smart idea. He was already on edge, already fearing an attack. Taking away his hearing would only make him more on edge.
Alistair shook his head, “Rather we just get out of here.”
The Doctor hummed, “Home, or just away from here?”
“Away from here.”
“Alright. Just say when you’re ready to move.” Alistair nodded, and closed his eyes, feeling rather exhausted. The crash after something like that was horrid. So much anxiety, and stress, it left the body sore and aching, and with very little energy.
It was quite frankly, embarrassing to have to deal with it (no matter how often the Doctor told him otherwise), and even more embarrassing to have such a public breakdown, even if it were a quiet street adjacent to the busy Neil Street.
He and the Doctor both winced at the screech of metal, and his mind almost immediately wandered back to the Yeti. He could just feel their presence behind him, even though he knew rationally he was up against a wall.
Alistair took a deep breath, forcing himself to stand up, despite his body’s loud protest, “Tea.” He needed to get moving right now, and he needed to shake off the tiredness.
“Is it quite wise to have caffeine after that?” The Time Lord asked, frowning.
“Tea is fine,” coffee would be worse,“and I fear.. I might fall asleep otherwise.”
The Doctor thought for a moment,“Well I do know this exquisite cafe a short walk from here.” The Doctor suggested,”It is rather quiet, and they have a large collection of different teas.”
He let out a small sigh of relief when the Doctor did not argue with him.
“That sounds perfect,” Alistair smiled slightly,”Thank you.”