Disclaimer: Anything recognizable is property of the BBC. I don�t own Doctor Who and I don�t make a cent off of this.
Legacy
By: NightCat
The warm summer sun beat down pleasantly upon Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart�s face as he walked through his garden. Everything was teeming with life in this organic sanctuary, bringing a pleased, but sad smile to the retired Brigadier�s face. During a happier time, years ago, he and Doris would spend whole days there tending the plants, smelling the flowers, and talking about everything under the sun. Those were better days, ones not spotted with melancholy and regret.
These days he could barely bend down to smell the roses let alone take proper care of the garden. To his annoyance and dismay, he had been demoted to supervising the hired gardener. The old soldier�s body had steadily fallen apart since Doris�s death years ago, the inventible result of the decline into old age.
Alistair sighed and, with the help of his cane, slowly lowered himself onto a bench. This was his favourite spot in the garden. The shade of a tall tree, a beautiful view of the surrounding property, and the light smell of the various plants and flowers helped him feel more at peace. He often came to the serenity of the garden to think and reflect. Here he can let his thoughts drift and dissect them at his leisure.
These days his thoughts flowed towards the prospect of his own mortality. Death wasn�t a subject he feared. He had, after all, become quite acquainted with the topic during his days in the military. It was never easy, but he had accepted it as a fact of life.
No, something else was bothering him. A feeling of incompleteness. He couldn�t shake the fear that he was leaving a job unfinished.
Alistair breathed deeply and leaned back into the bench. He wasn�t ready to die, he realized. But what else was there to do? He was too old to go back into action, too ill to stray far from his home for any long length of time, and he had served his years and more in UNIT. He had saved the world a few times, saw some amazing sights, done some dreadful things, and came out of it with his sanity intact. He had lived a long and full life.
Then why wouldn�t this feeling go away?
�Stubborn, that�s all,� he muttered to himself, trying to will the feeling away. There would always be a threat of some sort, he tried to tell himself. There are others out there to protect Earth, groups like UNIT and people like the Doctor. Everyone needs to retire sometime, even old Brigadiers, no matter how much they may not want to.
He wasn�t content with retirement, he admitted. Not since Doris died. Alistair was a man of action. He couldn�t sit back and watch events unfold, he wanted to be in the thick of things. Whether it be defending Earth from the Daleks or tending the garden with Doris, he couldn�t stand aside and let someone else deal with it alone. Not if he had a say in things.
But now, Alistair had no choice. It was out of his hands. All he could, and was permitted to, do was to rest and wait for the end, according to his doctor. An end he wasn�t ready for.
Shaking his head of these thoughts, Alistair pulled himself up from the bench and started to make his way back to his home. The doctor would be in soon for a check up. Heaven only knows what he would snoop into if Alastair wasn�t there to keep an eye on him.
His train of thought was interrupted by a sound that most certainly didn�t belong in a garden. The sound was accompanied by a familiar blue box materializing out of thin air before Alistair�s eyes. He knew he should have been surprised, but over the years Alistair had developed a resistance from shock when it came to his Time Lord friend.
�Well,� he thought, doing an internal sigh. �My life was feeling too normal anyway.�
The TARDIS finished materializing and stood there silently. Alistair waited for the eccentric owner to come out, grinning like the manic he is and babbling about some sort of doom or another.
Five minutes. Nothing.
�Odd,� Alistair mumbled to himself, making his way toward the silent TARDIS. The doors swung open easily when he pushed on it. His concern rising, Alistair stuck his head in the open doorway. Something wasn�t right at all.
�Doctor?� he called into the empty console room. �Are you there?�
When he received no answer, he ventured into the console room and looked around. No signs of struggle, no note, nothing. It was almost as if the Doctor had abandoned his beloved TARDIS.
�Doctor?� Alistair called out again. The silence was his only answer. Worried, he started to head towards the corridor that led deeper into the vast ship. If the Doctor was hurt, he would do what he could to help. If this was some sort of childish prank (and he wouldn�t put it past some of the Doctor�s more hyperactive personalities) then he would have the Time Lord�s head, friend or no.
He had only made it across the console room when, from behind, he heard an odd buzzing sound. Turning around, Alistair saw the Doctor staring back at him.
�Ah, there you are,� he said, relieved. He made to address his friend again but stopped. This wasn�t the Doctor, he realized. At least, not in the flesh. In real life, the Doctor isn�t am odd shade of blue-green, and he certainly doesn�t flicker.
�This is Emergency Program Thirteen,� the recording said with a sad smile. �Hello again, Brigadier. I wish I could be there with you but if you�re watching this it means that I�m, more likely than not, dead. That�s okay, I�ve had a good, long life. I just hope that it wasn�t for nothing.�
Alistair felt himself go cold. The Doctor, dead? Not possible! Even at his most vulnerable, the Doctor seemed to have an air of indestructibility, immortality. Through the haze of thoughts swimming through his head, Alistair heard the Doctor�s hologram continued.
�I want to make one final offer to you. Whether you accept it or not is completely up to you. All I ask is that you hear me out before deciding.
�We both know that the universe is still filled with all sorts of nasty things. Daleks, Cybermen, Autons, and countless others we haven�t even discovered yet. I also know that they won�t go away just because I�m dead. This is where you come in, Alistair.
�In the lab you will find a little device I�ve managed to rig up. It�s similar to what is used to give Time Lords the ability to regenerate. I think you can see where this is going.�
Alistair blinked in shock. �He can�t be serious, can he?�
�If you choose to go through with this I have left everything you need either in the lab or in the library. This includes how to use the machine, how to control the TARDIS, and some general readings on the history of the universe. More or less a crash course version of what I had to go through at the Academy. It looks like a lot, but you�ll have thirteen whole lives to go through them. All that I ask is that you try to refrain from blowing up every menace you encounter. Big booms aren�t always necessary, Alistair.�
Despite himself, he couldn�t help but grin at that. �You know me too well, Doctor,� he said quietly.
�I know that you probably think I�m insane for even suggesting this,� the message went on. �And maybe I am. However, I have thought long and hard about this. Out of everyone I have known throughout all of my lives, Alistair, I can�t think of anyone better suited for this job than you.
�Now, I can already hear you say, �Doctor, I�m too old for this sort of thing!� Never fear, Brigadier. I�ve modified the device to give you a brand new body, in a way. You�ll see what I mean.
�If you choose not to do this, I�ll understand. I won�t come back from the dead and haunt you for your decision. There will be others. All that I ask of you is that you lock up the TARDIS and leave her, let her die. We both know that there are people in this universe that would do anything for the type of technology that the TARDIS possesses, and we can�t allow that to happen.
�Whichever way you decide to go, I trust you to make the right decision.
�You have been a dear friend to me, Alistair. I realize that we haven�t always seen eye to eye with each other, and we do have some different ideals and values. However, at the end of the day, it is you that I would trust with my life, and the universe.
�Until we meet again, my friend.�
The hologram flickered away, leaving Alistair alone and stunned. The reality of the situation banged around inside his mind. He knew what he wanted to do. He also knew what he should do. Each was in direct opposition of each other. However, the thought of the Doctor and what he had fought for was the deciding factor.
He wouldn�t let his friend�s efforts be for nothing.
�Splendid chaps,� he whispered. �All of you.�
***
Alistair inspected himself in the full length mirror. Staring back at him was a young man with black hair and moustache, a well built body, and clad in some crisp new clothes from the TARDIS wardrobe. If he hadn�t known any better, he could have sworn that he was looking at a picture taken during his prime days at UNIT.
�Well,� he thought, adjusting his blazer slightly. �If I�m going to play the part, I�d might as well practice a bit.�
Clearing his throat, Alistair spoke to his reflection. �Hello, I�m the Doctor.�
The words felt strange on his tongue, and not in a good way. He tried again. �I�m called the Doctor. It�s a pleasure to meet you.�
Again, that awkwardness. It didn�t feel right to Alistair, not one bit. Every time he proclaimed himself with the Doctor�s name, he felt like he was tarnishing his old friend�s memory. Pretending or not, he wasn�t the Doctor, Alistair admitted. No one could ever be the Doctor but the man himself. Chosen successor or not, Alistair wouldn�t let himself stomp on his dear friend�s reputation like that.
Inspiration chose that moment to smack him upside the head like a ton of bricks. He couldn�t stop a small grin from growing on his lips. He couldn�t replace the Doctor, and he didn�t want to anyway, but he could make his own name in the universe. That�s what the Doctor would have wanted.
With a new surge of confidence, Alistair drew himself to his full height, looked his reflection square in the green eyes, and introduced himself again.
This time the words felt right.
�Hello, I�m the Brigadier��
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