POWERFUL

By Enola Jones



Since the first moment he laid eyes on the pair, the Doctor had sensed smething strange about Doctor McKay and Colonel Sheppard. He mentioned this to Donna in their shared quarters.

Donna looked up from her tablet, cocking an eyebrow at her "brother". "Why is it that you always have these grand realisations in the shower?"

Grinning cheekily, the Doctor finished toweling off his ginger hair and slid on a pair of sleeping pants, only then removing the towel from around his waist. "The warmth helps me think."

"I completely understand." She set the tablet aside and sat up further on the bed. "So, what did you sense that's so strange? They're human, aren't they?"

"Yeah," the Doctor said, his voice muffled by the t-shirt he was pulling on.

Donna chuckled at the sight of this strangely human Doctor in track pants and a black t-shirt, climbing into bed and trying futilely to fingercomb ginger strands into a semblance of order. "What?" he asked her, seeming bemused.

"Just realising how much more human you are now, Mister Needs-Sleep-And-Wears-T-Shirts."

He snorted. "I blame your DNA that bled through in our mini-regeneration."

Donna chuckled, then asked, "So, any ideas what this energy you're sensing inside McKay and Sheppard could be?"

"Not yet." The Doctor curled onto his side, facing Donna. "But I'm gonna find out."

"M-hm. And how do you intend on going about that?"

Silence.

"Doc?" She turned, and chuckled softly.

The Doctor had fallen asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As John Sheppard walked into the ship -- which they had learned was called a TARDIS -- he found himself in the perfect position to catch a flying spanner. "Whoa, hey!" he chuckled. "What's going on?"

The Doctor glared at him. "I am currently stuck in the middle of what you would deem a classic Catch-22!"

John glanced around as he wandered over. He had been inside the TARDIS earlier in the day, so he didn't do the 'holy Hannah, it's bigger inside!' he'd done then -- but she was still a beautiful ship. "How so?"

"One of her components is a crystalline matrix. It's been damaged. It can be regrown, but the machine to grow them works off a crystal -- and it's damaged!"

John blinked. "Could it grow the part you need to fix it?"

"Yes, but--"

"How long would it take?"

"For something that small? About 30, 45 minutes."

John nodded and tapped his earwig radio. "Sheppard to McKay. Please report to the TARDIS. Your.... special talent.... is required." He listened and then smiled. "Yes, and it should be finished in roughly 45. ....All right. Sheppard out." He smiled as he tapped it again. "He's on his way."

The Doctor frowned. "I'm not sure I understand."

"You will," Sheppard grinned. "You will."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Donna glanced up as the Doctor all but bounced into their quarters. "You look happy."

"I solved the mystery!" he laughed. "That strange energy inside McKay and Sheppard?"

"Yeah?"

"They're meta-humans!" he crowed, spreading his hands. "Sheppard is mildly telekinetic, and McKay can harden air into crystal!"

Donna grinned as he just kept rambling. She decided not to let him know she'd figured it out a few hours earlier.

THE END




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