2. Who but Why?
Could the Doctor's companion be the Doctor?
"What was the result?" Alyssa asks much later, having put the boy to bed in the rest room in the Tardis.
"John is only four years older than ... me!" The Doctor speaks slowly and contemplatively as he reveals the answer to Alyssa. .
"That means you have a companion who is ... YOU!" . The probability of anyone else having such a close age to the Doctor seems staggeringly small! .
"Apparently!" the Doctor thinks out loud. "Or might be! And we'll know why in just four years' time! Can you wait that long?" .
"No!" Alyssa says, laughing. "Of course I can wait. Some TV series leave a question hanging until the next series, and we all have to wait!" .
"Yes, I know you can wait," the Doctor laughs. "We both have to. No spoilers here!" .
"I suppose you'll be up all-night thinking about it!" Alyssa says. . "I'll rest now."
The Tardis reduces its light level, thoughtfully.
"Thank you, Tardis," Alyssa says. "I'll see you in a while, Doctor."
After Alyssa retires to the rest room for her bedtime, the Doctor fully recognises the situation. As the boy looks about four years old, they might not have to wait four years until they learn of the solution! .
During the night in the Tardis.
Alyssa awakens. Something; some sound has awoken her.
She turns to face the bed where John had been.
Quickly she looks around the rest room in the vastly reduced light level. A figure can be seen leaving the rest room. .
Quickly and silently she follows at a distance and soon John enters the Tardis Console room.
The Doctor is standing at the Console, tapping buttons and observing the monitor screen.
He looks up as John enters, and smiles.
"Ah, hello, John," he says. "What can I do for you?"
"I awoke and couldn't get back to sleep." John trots to the Console. "Can I help?"
The Doctor quickly clears the screen. . "Yes, I have a question for you. Is that alright?"
"Was that it? Was that the question?" .
"No, I wanted to ask your full name. Not just John. What's your full name?"
"John Smith," John says. .
The Doctor smiles. "Do you know, I thought it was!" .
Alyssa has been waiting just out of sight and now enters the Console room.
"Meet John Smith!" the Doctor says.
"Glad to meet you, John Smith," Alyssa echoes as she enters the Console room from the corridor. She's heard the Doctor mention the name recently, but the significance of it passes her by. .
The Doctor frequently uses the name John Smith as an alias when he wants to. (Ref. TV episode Alias Smith and Jones.)
The boy turns and ... touches the Doctor!
A loud screeching sound is briefly heard in the Console room that might have been normal in Jurassic days. .
The Doctor jumps back, but the boy runs off down the corridor from the Console room.
The Doctor quickly presses some buttons on the Console.
"Aha! There's another Tardis aboard! It was cloaked, but not now! ... Ah, it's going!" he gasps, "... It's gone!"
"Who was that?" Alyssa asks. An obvious leading question, but as the other Tardis has departed, the question becomes rhetorical, at least for now.
Alyssa now has another question. "Doctor, what was that awful screeching noise?"
"That, oh," the Doctor wants to make light of it, but disaster had very nearly happened. "Just the Reapers. Sometimes they get a bit jumpy. They want to repair breaches in Time, if it's needed. They aren't usually affected by me and what I do." (TV episode Father's Day.)
"What are the Reapers?"
"Oh, they appear ... when the future is threatened."
"Why did they come and why did they go? What happened?"
The Doctor thinks for a moment. He feels he must provide a satisfying reply rather than a strictly correct reply, but there are things he's still unsure of here.
"I think the Reaper's response confirmed to us that the boy, John, is me. They don't usually affect me. They arrived with a screech; they assessed, and they left – they found they had nothing that needed doing, but I think the screech response also told someone else something, too. And that person was flying that other Tardis!"
"Doctor, is John in danger?"
"No, I don't think so... Maybe... Only possibly!" The Doctor seeks to calm Alyssa, but he's far from certain of this. Numerous possibilities flood through his mind, many of which might leave John in quite a lot of danger! .
Just before the next chapter, a question: What happened to the CyberMasters? The Master created the CyberMasters from making Cybermen from the Time Lords on Gallifrey in TV episode The Timeless Children. Cybermen that can regenerate!