Greetings! AH! So, my friend who shares this account with me neglected to mention she was going to upload this story until after it was uploaded. As in, before I could edit it. Sorry for any errors! Also, thanks for the very nice reviews! I really appreciate it. So yeah, thanks for reading, hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Two-

"So, out with it. Who am I?"

"The Doctor." Even as the word fell out of his mouth, Ian didn't believe it. This man was clearly not the avuncular old man he traveled the galaxy with. This was a rubber-faced stranger who smelled a bit like dusty books with a hint of lemon.

"See Donna? I told you, Chesterton's one of the more brilliant companions of mine. He's quite clever, maybe even more clever than I was back then. Dealing with Daleks, Angels, and threats to the universe sure ages you, though. I bet I could stump you now!"

"But how can this be? You're not even..."

"Oi! Doctor, the poor man doesn't even know about your silly Time Lord magical nonsense. There's no need to give the poor man a heart attack!"

"'Suppose you're right, Donna. Just wanted to see how quick he could catch on. Alright, Ian. Let's get you all caught up before that big brain of yours pops."

Ian took another hard look at the man before him. While there was nothing structurally that resembled his Doctor, he could see something in his old eyes that made his heart swell with familiarity. The same exuberance that masks a deep hurt that Ian had noticed during his travels.

"So, I am the Doctor, as you have so perceptively deduced despite the obvious evidence which is in front of you: me. So, here's where we stand. As a Time Lord, I posses the ability, among others, to regenerate myself every time I die. That leads me to a new incarnation, and thus, a new body. This is my tenth incarnation, meaning I have regenerated a total of nine times. My incarnations have all experienced the galaxy independently but retain the memory of all previous vessels, ergo I remember Sir Ian, the precocious little human, quite fondly. Any questions?"

The Doctor breezed through what Ian was certain a speech he had given before in a single breath, though the ending seemed to be tacked on, almost like a challenge. Ian actually had a thousand questions, comments, speeches, and demands spinning around his head, and he found himself trying to file through his thoughts to find one worth saying. Ian had been waiting for this moment where the Doctor stood before him again; open to unveil the secrets of the universe, time and space, yet he couldn't bring himself to utter a single one of the questions he had accrued during his sleepless nights. Indeed, and entirely new one was the only question he could bring himself to care about at the moment. So, Ian took a deep breath, looked squarely at the Doctor, and began.

"Somehow, I get the feeling I really shouldn't ask you about the science of your regeneration or I will give up on the subject all together and will have to find a new occupation. Seeing as that's not really something I'd like to deal with at the moment, let's settle for a broader question."

The Doctor smiled at Ian's overly analytical mind already processing what leaves most speechless. Oh yes, he knows how to pick his companions.

"I left you and Susan four years ago, but that was actually six years ago, so Barbara and I had to come up with some half-baked excuse that no one bought to explain our two-year absence that we weren't even aware of."

The Doctor moved his mouth as if he was going to say something, but a glare from Donna stopped him in his tracks, so he smiled smugly and nodded for Ian to continue.

"I've had no contact with you, any of your incarnations, or Susan in those four years. Now, you have yourself a time machine that can plop you down anywhere at any time, so if you really wanted to keep in touch," Ian glanced hurriedly at his watch, "4:18 in the morning on a Friday is certainly not the time to do it, which leads me to believe there's only one reason you would possibly be in my house, tracking mud across my floors, grinning like toddler with a mouth full of candy. So, let's get to my question, and I only have one."

Knowingly, the Doctor tilted his chin up and said slowly, "And what, dear Mr. Chesterton, would that be?"

"What do you want me to do?"