The Brigadier could hear the familiar sound in the distance and immediately felt the dual inner emotions of irritation and excitement, not exactly sure what to expect in the near future, but knowing that at least a good story would come from it. He laid back into his armchair and tried to focus on the newspaper, affecting nonchalance. Then there was a knock at his door.

He waited exactly ten seconds before rising from his seat and slowly heading for the front door. He took in the appearance of the man with his long, wavy hair and Victorian era garb, including a velvet jacket which reminded the Brigadier of the version which first became UNIT's Scientific Advisor. "May I help you?" the Brigadier asked him.

"No use playing games with me, Brigadier," said the Doctor, pushing his way inside. "We've known each other too long." He then sat down in the same armchair which the Brigadier had just been seated in; the Brigadier joined him in another nearby chair.

"So what is it today, old chap?" asked the Brigadier. "Autons? Yetis? Daleks?"

"The last one," said the Doctor. "Sort of."

"Daleks!" said the Brigadier. "Well, what are we doing just sitting around here then? I won't abide them on my planet."

"They're not on your planet," said the Doctor, a bit of spite in his voice. "They're on mine."

"Yours?" asked the Brigadier.

"Gallifrey," said the Doctor. "The Time Lords versus the Daleks in an all out war, with not just one planet at stake, but the entire universe."

The Brigadier remained silent as he absorbed the information. "So why did you come here?" he asked.

"You know the threat the Daleks can bring," said the Doctor. He shifted a bit in his seat and turned his eyes away. "I came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" repeated the Brigadier. "Nonsense."

"As a soldier," he said. "I thought you'd be the one to understand. I've already received word that so many of my people have died. And it doesn't just end there: they can regenerate, remember? They suffer the pain and misery of death over and over, praying that at least it will all be worth it in the long run."

"And you're to join them," the Brigadier nodded in understanding.

"In a word, yes."

"Did you visit anyone else?" he asked.

"No," said the Doctor. "Only you, and then I'm off."

They met each other's gaze in one brief moment of silence. Then the Brigadier asked, "Why am I so special?"

"That would take longer to explain than I have the time for," the Doctor answered him. He then stood up. "I really should be going."

The Brigadier rose to see his old friend to the door. "I hope to see you again, Doctor," he said.

"Oh," he said, smiling sadly. "You definitely will, I can assure you. But whether or not I'll ever see you again is an entirely different matter."

"I have faith in you, Doctor," said the Brigadier, extending his hand.

They shook hands, and the expressions on their faces were enough to cover ten thousand farewells.

The Brigadier stood watching well past the TARDIS' disappearance, until he finally turned away and sighed. Deciding his home was just too depressing and claustrophobic at the moment, he closed the door behind him and opted to take a stroll down the road. "I have faith in you, Doctor," he said again, this time to himself. "Just remember to have faith in yourself."