As he swam up to consciousness his first thought was "where am I?" but the first thing that came out of his mouth was "who the hell are you?"
The man sitting next to his bed put a finger in the book he was reading to keep his place then looked up at him over his thick-framed glasses, and ignoring the hostile tone smiled at him, "I see you're awake. Welcome back!"
The Doctor attempted to sit up but was greeted with a wave of nausea and his hearts pounding in his head. He was dressed in a pair of striped men's pyjamas that were too tight and clearly not his own. He ran a hand over his close-cropped head and lay back down.
"The question stands; who are you?"
The man put down his book, "John Smith," he extended his hand, "pleasure to meet you."
The Doctor took the other's hand in his, careful not to squeeze the thin fingers too hard, "John Smith? Fantastic! You've got to be kidding me."
The other man smiled, "I know, it's a very common name."
The Doctor regarded John Smith in silence. The man didn't look remotely familiar, he was pretty sure he'd remember meeting this thin whip with his wild hair and eyes so dark that they seemed to have no pupils.
The Doctor shook his head; he must have taken more of a blow than he had thought, because damn it! this man smelled familiar. How can someone smell familiar? He laughed to himself, but yet he did, there was a slight hint of honey and an exotic spice. Where had he smelled that before?
For his part John Smith met The Doctor's gaze unwaveringly with a strange half grin on his face, "how's the head?" he finally asked.
"A bit sore, but I'll live," The Doctor's vision finally sharpened enough to realise he was in the TARDIS, in his own bedroom.
Once the shock wore off he looked at the stranger with his eyes narrowed, "how did you get in here?" he growled.
"I found you outside this um, box, with the key in your hand," John Smith replied, then in a voice reminiscent of a school boy saying his lessons, "you know it's bigger on the inside?"
Before The Doctor could answer that the stranger continued, his speech fast and his gestures wild, "and since you had the key in your hand, I figured you wanted to get in, and here we are."
The Doctor glared at John Smith, "the TARDIS wouldn't have let just anyone in."
The stranger shrugged, "but it did."
The Doctor closed his eyes, again there was that smell. It tickled his nose, this odd man in a rumpled brown suit, ridiculous trainers and hair that hadn't seen a comb in ages was someone who both intrigued and frightened him.
"Where's Rose? Mickey?" The Doctor attempted to sit up again, his memory slowly coming back. He was with Rose and Mickey there was an explosion, he heard someone scream, possibly himself? And then….and then?
John Smith's eyes widened a bit, "Rose?" he almost whispered.
The Doctor sat up, ignoring his body's protests, "Yeah a little human girl, about 19, blonde hair…likes chips."
"I haven't seen her…" John Smith swallowed hard, "you were on your own." He stood up at that and walked over to the Doctor, "now that you're awake I should probably go."
The Doctor got to his feet blocking the other man's exit. Even though John Smith was slightly taller, The Doctor outweighed the bony man by quite a bit and was prepared to use whatever means necessary to stop him from leaving.
"OK, who are you really?" He got in the man's face grabbing him by the lapels of his suit coat.
The stranger didn't flinch at the tone or even seem more than just highly amused at The Doctor's tactics, "I told you, John Smith."
The Doctor didn't loosen his hold, but laughed, "yeah OK. If that's how you want to play it, funny that's my name too."
"See?" the thin man smiled even wider, "I said it was a common name."
The Doctor was about to say something else when Rose burst into the room, "Doctor!" she shouted causing both men to turn. She ran up to The Doctor and hugged him hard before seeing the other man standing there watching her with his dark eyes following her every move.
When she heard her name escape the stranger's lips she whirled on him, hands on hips, "how do you know my name?" she demanded.
The stranger blinked a few times in confusion then quickly said, "he mentioned a couple of names…" he gestured towards The Doctor, "and you don't look like 'Mickey' to me…you're obviously not an idiot."
That last word caused The Doctor and Rose's ears to prick up. How did he know The Doctor's pet name for Mickey?
But before they could ask him he picked up a long coat he had draped over the chair he had been sitting on, slipped it on and grabbed his book. The Doctor had just enough time to read the title, "Recreational Mathematics, Volume One" before the stranger tucked it into his coat pocket.
John Smith opened the bedroom door and in a few long strides was in the TARDIS' main control room before The Doctor and Rose caught up with him. Just as he opened the TARDIS door Mickey came barrelling in, almost running him down.
The stranger smiled at Mickey and turned to The Doctor and Rose, gave a finger wave and left them standing there.
The Doctor watched John Smith hurriedly walking towards, well, towards a very familiar sight. Before he could get his head around that, Rose spoke, "that looks like another TARDIS!" she gasped.
The Doctor's mouth hung open as the stranger felt in his pocket for a key, turned the lock and opened the door of the blue box but before Rose could say another word he quickly shut the TARDIS doors and tried to block out the familiar sounds coming from outside. He looked out one of the small windows and saw the blue box disappear, shaking his head in disbelief.
****************
"There you are!" Donna shouted as The Doctor tossed his coat on one of the support pillars, "why is it you always manage to disappear when it's laundry day?"
The Doctor looked at her and ran his hands through his wild hair, "I had some business to tend to, besides you never let me help anymore anyway."
"Anyone else would know not to put red in with whites except you, you big dumbo…" Donna frowned, then she looked at him closely, his strained expression finally registering with her "This business…you OK?"
"Of course! I just met up with an old acquaintance…" He smiled at her, and twiddled with the controls "allons-y!"