There was antiseptic in the corridors, and it was making Adric feel decidedly light-headed. There had been little like it on Alzarius, and he was grateful.

The Doctor seemed oblivious, but that didn't tally with his usual behaviour. Perhaps he was used to the smell.

Quite why it had been wise to split up from Tegan and Nyssa, he didn't know. It wasn't like the Doctor to have a plan, so this must be some haphazard approach, instead.

"Ah, Sister, could you tell me where to find Ward 8?" The Doctor had accosted some fat middle-aged woman in a white cloak. Adric knew he would be better leaving all the talking to his friend.

"I'm sorry, visiting hour finished... eighteen minutes ago precisely. Come back tomorrow."

"I'm afraid it is rather urgent, you see there's a patient there-"

"I daresay it is urgent, Sir, but rules are rules, and Ward 8 will still be there tomorrow evening."

Adric smiled at the woman's intransigence, but the Doctor was unusually exasperated.

"I am a doctor, and I need to see a patient on Ward 8, and I need to see them now! Not tomorrow night! It might be too late by then!"

The nurse looked at the Doctor more closely, pushing her spectacles up her nose. "Oh, a doctor, are we? Well, you've been misinformed. There are no urgent cases on Ward 8. For emergencies, you want the casualty department."

"Come on, Doctor, we're wasting time. We should be able to find Ward 8 from these wall signs."

The Doctor turned to look at him, as if suddenly realising that he was there. "Yes, perhaps you're right."

"Excuse me, where do you think you're going?"

"I asked you for your help, but you refused. My colleague and I will find Ward 8 by ourselves, thank you very much."

The Doctor walked off purposefully. Adric gave the woman a shrug and a smile, then followed his friend.

She watched them go, then walked back to her desk, and rang for security.

***

"I don't understand why the Doctor left us here whilst he goes off with Adric."

Nyssa thought about telling Tegan that she was well aware of this, as Tegan had said it five times already, but she had learned tact at Court, and she knew better than to upset her friend.

"I'm sure the Doctor knows what he's doing."

"Are you sure? Wherever we go, there's trouble. Whenever we split up, there's twice as much trouble!"

Nyssa shook her head. "Are you going to help me with this search or not?"

Tegan seemed to descend from her reverie. "What are we looking for again?"

"The Doctor wants us to find document records for the time period exactly 25 years ago. Some connection with the hospital."

"What have you found?"

"Nothing much yet. These books are unlike any I've ever seen."

"That's because they're not books, Nyssa. They're called newspapers. They're supposed to report the news." She picked up a copy of The Sun. "Depends what you call news, I suppose."

***

Outside the A&E building, a white van pulled up, and half a dozen men in black overalls clambered out of the back.

The driver, a slender dark-haired woman, got out, and led the men in through the entrance. She did not stop at the reception desk, walking past the people waiting for treatment.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?"

This was a senior, middle-aged man with a raggle-taggle moustache, a grey suit and a permanent frown.

"Are you a doctor?" asked the woman, in a curious accent.

"I'm an administrator."

"Where is John Clarke?"

"Who?"

"He is one of your... patients. Where is he?"

"I've no idea. Was he brought into casualty?"

A pause. "No."

"Then you're in the wrong department. He could be anywhere in the hospital. Hey!"

She pushed him out of her way, and he fell to the ground. Had he not rolled out of the way, the six men would have trampled all over him.

The woman walked through the swing doors that led onto the Orthopaedics department.

Picking himself up, the admin picked up a telephone.

***

Ward 8 was up a couple of floors, and Adric was dismayed, though not surprised, that the Doctor had foregone the lift in favour of the stairs.

Quite why he was acting with such forceful purpose, Adric was at a loss to speculate. He had been sitting briefly in the TARDIS, reading a book, when suddenly he had clicked his fingers, and slammed the book shut. Hands whirling over the console, he had given brief instructions to Nyssa and Tegan, and when they left the TARDIS, made it seem that they were running against time.

They had stopped off at someone's house first, though.

***

"Could this be it?"

Nyssa handed the page to Tegan, who had understood more of the Doctor's initial orders than she had. Plus, as Earth was Tegan's home, she would have more awareness of what the case would be described as.

Tegan read it, and nodded. "The Doctor was right, then. Come on, we'd better get to the hospital!"

***

The woman and her troops marched to the reception desk, where they made enquires about John Clarke. This time, with a little less brusqueness, they had found that if they were looking for a patient, they should look on the wards, although as visiting time had finished, they wouldn't get access.

But they marched off regardless. When they found a lift, they all crammed in, forcing a woman pushing a man in a wheelchair out abruptly, but firmly.

***

The Doctor was glad to reach Ward 8 without being stopped by anyone, and in what Adric again considered to be an unusual bit of planning, he stopped off to find a white jacket, which he swapped his cream coat for. He gave a jacket to Adric too, and the young Alzarian was glad to take his green jacket off.

Out on the ward, they walked up to reception, where the Doctor chatted to the receptionist about some biological complaint that was troubling the woman behind the desk.

Whilst this was going on, Adric was checking for the bed that contained the person they were looking for. The Doctor had told him to check the cards that hung at the ends of the beds, and Adric thought this was a commendably efficient method of identification.

***

Tegan and Nyssa's progress had been tricky, as Nyssa was continually baffled by the speed of vehicles across the road.

Finally, they crossed onto the pavement, and walked into the building. Tegan had paused to check the large map, and got Nyssa to memorise the quickest way to the wards. If they were in time, that would be the best way to find the Doctor.

***

The woman stepped out of the lift, and checked the wall signs. They were close to the target now.

***

The first John Clarke himself knew of all the attention, was a young man with what reminded him of a Beatles haircut, and a loose white coat, stood at the end of his bed. He seemed to be trying to attract the attention of someone... a doctor.

As he watched, a middle-aged blonde man in a rather better fitting coat suddenly sauntered over. Perhaps insisting on a bed near the window hadn't been so clever. He should have tried for a solo room.

"Ah, good evening, Mr Clarke. I hope you're feeling well."

Before he could reply, a thick-set grey-haired man in a black jumper rushed over, and pinned the blonde man's arm behind his back.

"Right, your fun's over, sunshine. We don't want your sort mucking about. Don't you care about sick people?"

"I assure you I care very much! You could be making a big mistake, someone is trying to hurt that man!"

John tried to say something, but the words wouldn't come. He saw that the young man was still there. Having crouched out of sight, he popped up again, muttering mild curses that the doctor had been taken away.

These curses became less mild when a woman walked around the corner, with half a dozen heavies behind her. To his less-than-complete delight, her eyes clearly lit up when she laid eyes on him. Not the young feller... him.

She walked over and stood at his side, staring down at him with a worryingly unfamiliar expression. He barely noticed the young chap had already slipped from view.

"The target is here, as was planned. He appears unharmed."

***

The Doctor and the security guard were struggling on the lip of the open lift. It was a real teeter job.

"Listen, did you see those people marching on the ward! They are your threat, not me!"

"Stop struggling, you're only making things worse for yourself."

Sighing, the Doctor relaxed, and as the guard stumbled to adjust, he tensed again, clouting the man on his jaw, and finally slipping free from his grasp.

The guard was briefly stunned, but saw his quarry slip back to the ward, and he gave stumbling chase.

***

Nyssa had stopped to check at reception, but Tegan had forcibly grabbed her friend and dragged her along.

"There isn't time for niceness, Nyssa, the Doctor might need us right this minute!"

They waited a while for the lift, but gave up, and headed for the stairs.

***

John shivered, partly because his stomach was now open to the air. Mostly because this rather dodgy looking woman was holding a rather savage looking knife.

"The time approaches fast!" She held the knife above him, and he hoped she knew what she was doing. Then he thought that even if she knew what she was doing, that might not be a good enough reason for letting her do it.

"Stop this now!"

John was surprised to find how relieved he was to see that middle-aged blonde bloke again. Perhaps he knew how to deal with these people.

"Who are you to interrupt the ceremony?" The woman, thankfully, had not only turned to challenge the intruder, but she wasn't holding the knife as forcefully.

"I know what this is all about. I know what you set in motion all those years ago, and I know what you are trying to do now."

John really wanted to speak, but still seemed unable.

"The ceremony must take place, we have not worked all these years for nothing. Hold him!"

Two of the six heavies grabbed the blonde man's arms, and he heaved a deep sigh. "I could help you, you know. I really am a doctor."

She sneered, and raised the knife again.

"If you put that knife in, you'll kill your precious cargo!"

It sounded like a desperate cry, but she turned and walked over to the blonde man, grabbing his chin with a steely hand. "What would you do?"

The man smiled at her. "Scrub up."

***

Belatedly, Tegan and Nyssa rushed onto the corridor, to find a security guard urging them to keep low.

"What's the matter?" asked Tegan.

"There seems to be some funny business going on. There's half a dozen big thugs and this woman leading them."

"Does she have long, dark hair?" asked Nyssa, remembering the article.

"Well, yes. Do you know who they are?"

"Terrorists," said Tegan, and Nyssa gave her a funny look. "You need to get back-up, fast."

"Yeah, already radioed for it. Better tell them it's terrorists. You sure about that?"

"Yes." Tegan hoped the white lie would do the trick.

***

Adric was getting cramped. He crouched underneath the bed, looking at the pairs of legs surrounding the patient. The Doctor was there, but seemed curiously quiet. There was a woman in charge of six men, and he didn't like them at all.

From what he could tell, the Doctor was preparing to undertake an operation.

***

The Doctor held the scalpel gingerly, looking down at John's stomach. He had drawn a X on the likely area, but it didn't make him feel any better about doing this.

"Mr Clarke, can you hear me?"

John moved his eyes to indicate he could.

"Now, I realise this is going to be painful, but there is a reason for it. A reason that goes back at least 25 years, is that not right?" He addressed this to the leader of the infiltrators, although he was also trying to check he was right in his assumptions, and reassure his patient along the way.

"Far longer. But every time the new Calpa is created, it needs the same process of incubation."

John flashed his eyes at the word 'incubation'.

"Yes, I thought as much. This poor man will have been in hospital 25 years ago, and you took advantage to place a nucleus inside him."

"Now is the time for that Calpa to be born, and lead us out of our depths and towards a new destiny. It is a small sacrifice to make."

"Oh fine. Well, here goes." The Doctor pressed the scalpel onto John's skin.

But not any further.

"What are you doing? Make the cut!"

"Ah, well. You're absolutely sure this is the only way?"

"Give me that!" She tried to shoulder him out of the way, making a grab for the scalpel, but he had a firm grip, based on the fact that it was safer in his hands than in hers.

"FREEZE!"

All eyes turned to look (except John's, which were fixed on the scalpel). There were three policemen aiming guns at the 'terrorists'. Tegan and Nyssa stood slightly behind the security guard, who seemed anxious that he looked a lemon for not having a gun to hold.

"Raise your hands! Move slowly away from the patient!"

The woman looked furious at the intrusion, but she raised her hands, and her gang did as she did.

In fact, the only person to disobey orders was the Doctor.

"Sir! Raise your hands, or these men will shoot!"

Sighing, the Doctor raised his hands slowly, holding the scalpel high.

"Now move away from the patient!"

Even more slowly, the Doctor tiptoed away from John's side.

***

Finally, the pain in his legs was too much.

"Ow!"

The police lowered their guns in surprise, and the gang rushed towards them. Although unarmed, they were physically trained for close combat.

In the melee, the Doctor located the source of the cry, and pulled Adric out into the open. Pleased he was okay, he spun him towards the woman.

Then he sprang forward and cut open John's chest.

***

Nothing happened for a moment. The noise, the action, all seemed to pause.

Then it appeared. Crawling slowly out of the small nick that the Doctor had made in John's chest, the Calpa emerged from its gestation, to the delight of the gang leader.

"The plan was a success! We have a new Calpa!"

The Doctor pulled bandages from his pockets, staunching the flow of blood from John's chest. He had assumed that the Calpa would cause little damage, but that now looked a forlorn hope.

Nyssa had slipped past the fighters, and joined the Doctor. "Can I help?"

"Put your hand here." With some plasters, he made a rough attempt at patching up John's chest. He really needed stitching, but that was not possible in this chaos, and besides, he didn't want to take any more risks with a patient.

The fight came to a halt, as the gang followed their leader, who was carrying the Calpa. The policemen were mostly stunned, and the security guard was trying to rationalise the thing he had seen come out of a man's stomach.

Adric and Tegan almost dragged the Doctor and Nyssa away. Assured that John would recover, the Doctor agreed that they now needed to get back to the TARDIS. The Doctor left a scribbled message insisting that John needed stitching immediately.

Pausing only to allow the Doctor and Adric to swap jackets again, they took the stairs, relying on the staff to take the lift.