He moaned softly, trying to lift his head up. His limbs felt heavy, and he had the sudden urge to just turn over and go to sleep, and forget whatever the hell had just happened. He soon gave up his failing attempts, the TARDIS nudging him mentally, and he lifted an arm as he forced his eyes open.
"Light… Too bright… Rhyming… Bad." He murmured, his words refusing to join as a sentence like disgruntled neighbours, or his postman with the bad work ethics back on Earth.
He placed his arm over his eyes, letting lie there, acting as a shield. He closed his eyes, shifting a little on the cold floor to make himself more comfortable, when he heard a familiar voice. A familiar voice that made his eyes snap open in shock and confusion.
"I think 'e just wants to sleep. I'm tellin' ya, I'm sure 'e does it on purpose, this one, you said 'e never sleeps yet when I see 'im that's all 'e ever does!"
"Jackie?!" The Doctor sat bolt upright, startled by all of this. She was in a parallel universe, unless they'd accidentally crossed time-lines, in which case he could not under any circumstances meet himself, and then there'd be another case of a black hole a lot bigger than Belgium…
His vision blurred slightly, and a hand forced him gently by the shoulder to lie back down.
An all-too familiar face appeared in front of his, smiling softly.
"Welcome back, brother. I'm going to admit it - you gave us quite a scare. We at least thought that you wouldn't be in the vortex quite so early, especially when you have a leak. By the way, my name's John, now." He grinned at him. "Brilliant, isn't it? Oh, but the leak's fixed now, isn't it?"
The Doctor simply stared at his half-human self. "Erm, hi, John, Jackie, Pete and…"
He swallowed the lump that had settled in his throat.
"…Rose. Blimey, I really didn't expect you lot to be here. Or I'm just hallucinating, and I think that would make a lot more sense -"
"We used the cannon and the hoppers," Rose interjected suddenly. "We thought that it might work a bit better, and would allow us to focus sharper on coordinates?"
The Doctor nodded, dumbfounded. His eyes snapped open again, trying to push past the four people who had crowded down beside him.
"Oh crap, first that and now this… Thank god for lower gravity…" He rambled quickly, but Pete pushed him back down.
"Oh no you don't mister, you always put yourself second, you need to care for yourself as well, you know."
"Yeah, Doctor," Rose said softly, brushing a finger against his cheek. "Just relax, everything will be fine. It was just a knock, something that we didn't quite plan for…"
"No, Belle… She'll be unconscious…"
"Belle?" Jackie echoed, and the Doctor nodded.
"Travels with me…"
"She's your companion then?" John asked, smiling.
"Yeah…Kind of," He replied, smiling.
"So that's a no, then!" John laughed, before placing his fingers at his Time Lord self's temples.
"Rest, Doctor."
"No…"
"We'll find her, Doctor. Now rest."
"Don't wanna rest…"
"Rest, that's not a question Doctor, it's an order." That was Pete's voice, instructing him, as the Doctor felt darkness seep into his mind.
"No fair… That's cheating… Cybermen armed with Vista, gonna takeover the world…" The Doctor moaned, as his eyes grew heavy and shut softly, falling into a peaceful sleep.