Chapter Text
Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart walked through the corridors of UNIT HQ surveying the wreckage. That damn Ogron had caused a lot of damage- especially to some of the more expensive equipment that his scientists needed. To add to the problem, a few of his men had disappeared. Nothing to be concerned about but a nuisance nonetheless.
Lethbridge-Stewart kicked a telephone that had fallen off its place on the wall and tutted. If only the Doctor had been here. Well, his Doctor. That other man had claimed to be the Time Lord and the Brigadier had believed him but there was no doubt in his mind that the other Doctor would’ve solved it more quickly. And with less destruction. He tutted again and stepped through the threshold of the nearest door, remembering having seen one of his men in here earlier.
“Lance-Corporal Winters!” He exclaimed and came face to face with- oh . A look of shock fell onto his face as he caught Winters kissing the new scientist, Mr. Clare.
“Oh,” coughed Winters as he quickly pulled away from the other man, his face quickly going scarlet, “Sir!”
“Oh, good heavens!” whispered Clare as he turned away from the Brigadier and fumbled with something on his desk.
“Uh, I was just, uh, liaising with Mr. Clare about…” He paused, failing to come up with a cover-up, “What were we liaising about?” He asked Winters whose ears had turned bright red.
“That piece of equipment! We, uh, seem to have mislaid it…”
The Brigadier nodded, running through ideas on what he could possibly say in this situation.
“I see… well, I shall be in my office. If you see the Doctor and Miss Grant send them along, would you?” He turned around sharply and then paused.
“And as for the other matter…” He turned around and looked at the two petrified men, hoping his expression portrayed the sympathy and understanding he was feeling, “The one you were both… discussing.”
“Sorry, sir.” Winters said after a short pause, “Won’t happen again, sir. Not on duty.”
The Brigadier forced down a small smile at the last sentence.
“Not on duty is right!” He paused, wracking his brain for a way to convey his thoughts in a manner that wouldn’t lay all of his cards out on the table, “However-”
“Sir?”
‘ Less harsh, Alistair ’, he thought.
“What my soldiers do after hours is entirely their own affair.” He smiled, “And good luck to them! UNIT has dealt with stranger things in its time.”
Both men looked shocked and incredibly relieved and the Brigadier couldn’t help but smile a bit.
“Really, sir?” Winters looked incredulous, “Thank you, sir.”
“Yes… well, carry on Lance-Corporal,” he said, turning on his heel and stalking out the door, “Liberty hall…”
As he walked down the hall he heard Winters and Clare and the definitive excitement and relief in their voices. Alistair smiled. Even though it was just two men, just two men , who knew that UNIT was a safe place for them, a place where they were okay, that was enough for Alistair. It was, after all, what UNIT was all about.