A/N: This story idea made a nest inside my head a few days ago and refused to leave. Sooooo, here we are. We'll see if this is any good at all…
BUT, first…!
DISCLAIMER: NOPE, I certainly and sadly own nothing about these to master piece shows. I'm just… toying with the characters a bit.
WARNINGS: A brief mention of drugs, mentions of school bullying, general weirdness… Ya know, the usual lot. (smirks)
TAKES PLACE: Only a litte bit before THE FALL.
Awkay… I'm really nervous right now so I'll just get to it before I'll get cold feet. I REALLY hope that you'll enjoy the ride!
The Mad Man and the Little Pirate
Later on, the Doctor didn't remember much about the days following his first forced separation from Rose Tyler. But he'd remember the intense pain. And the all consuming loneliness, which was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. Having let someone so close after traveling on alone for so long, only to lose them in such an unfair manner… It'd carved a piece off his heart.
He'd also remember the boy on a bridge.
The Doctor had absolutely no idea where he was going when the TARDIS took off, humming her familiar yet suddenly very sad song along its way. Upon emerging he dimly recognized the place as London but in his current state of mind he didn't pay much attention to the year or what day it was. The first thing he saw was a bridge over Thames, looking hauntingly beautiful amongst softly falling snow.
For a moment he stared until his feet made up his mind. Snow rustled softly underneath his footsteps while he approached, finally pausing so that he was leaning against the railing of the bridge. Feeling almost comfortably little after the hurricane of emotions he'd been through he peered down. Thames glared back at him, pitch-black, cold and unforgiving. He wasn't entirely sure why the sight stung as much as it did.
"You're not going to jump."
More surprised than startled the Doctor looked to the side. What he saw was a teenage boy, approximately fifteen years old, sitting on the railing with his back to the river. The child had a mess of black hair and a pair of bloodshot eyes the color of which was impossible to tell. Despite their haze they seemed to see far more than they should've.
The Doctor arched an eyebrow. Worry over the boy's wellbeing melted together with curiosity. "How do you know?"
The teenager shrugged, inhaling a long drag of a cigarette. Those eyes didn't shift away from him. "You're grieving. You've lost someone you love recently and you don't know how to go on. But you also look too scared and angry. You're not on your way down."
For a few moments the Doctor was at a uncharacteristic lack of words. This kid was definitely something unusual. "No, I didn't come here to jump", he confirmed in the end. Not that it would've been any of the boy's business, really.
The teen looked away. Then went on as though never having heard him. "You've also stood there for ten minutes and eighteen seconds. Those who really jump usually make up their minds far faster."
For a while the Doctor was only able to stare. How could someone with a child's face know something like that with such certainty? "How old are you? Where's your family?"
The boy's expression became defensive. "I'm twelve." The teen focused on Thames. "And my family… They're all idiots. That's why I ran away from them." Those bizarre colored eyes narrowed, almost welling over. "I'm not celebrating Christmas less than a week after Redbeard…" Towards the end the venomous voice became so frail that the wind swallowed the rest. Not that actually voicing it would've been necessary.
A twinge of sorrow crossed the Doctor. His eyes turned towards the river as well. The water seemed unnaturally dark. "I'm sorry", he murmured. Meaning it. He gave the child a few moments. "Who was Redbeard?"
If it was a sob he heard he'd never know. The boy's voice gave away barely anything but some bitterness and an echo of endless heartache. "My only friend in the world." The child threw something into Thames and the dark waves swallowed it before it could be identified. "I'll never have another friend. People are stupid."
"Sure you will." The Doctor wasn't certain if he believed in his own words but he wasn't going to let the teen notice as much. "A lot of people are stupid but not all of them. You're only twelve. You'll have a lot of friends."
For a fleeting moment the Doctor could've sworn that he felt eyes on him. It took quite a while before the teenager spoke. "You'll find new friends, too. Although you're old." Yes, the child was definitely watching him again. "What was yours name?"
The Doctor wasn't sure if he was ready to voice her name yet. Apparently his lips knew. "Rose", he murmured. Each letter filling him with immense longing. For a blink of an eye he thought he saw her face on the river's surface. "Her name was Rose. We traveled through the stars together."
Looking towards the boy he found a pair of eyes that held genuine fascination. "Through the stars? Are you serious?"
The Doctor couldn't resist a grin, despite the grief still pressing his shoulders. "Yes. Quite."
This time the child looked up, towards the stars shining impossibly far away. A deep, dramatic sigh brought a hint of fog into the air. "I wish that I could do that, too. This planet is too boring."
There was a touch of melancholy in the Doctor's eyes while he shook his head. "Actually, this planet is one of the most fascinating ones I've faced. And you humans as a species… You're an inspiration. You'll just have to keep your eyes open and observe to see it." He grinned, just a little. "So don't give up on hope yet. You're too young."
The twelve-year-old shrugged. He didn't seem fully convinced but also not quite as crushed as he did in the beginning. "You do realize that you just claimed that you're not human, don't you?" Sharp, half mistrusting, half curious eyes were narrowed at him. "Who are you?"
The Doctor couldn't resist a smile. Well how about that, this one was perceptive. "I'm just the Doctor. A madman who has been traveling in a blue box for too long."
Instantly the boy's eyes brightened. A inexplainable flame lighting up inside them. "A blue box?" the child repeated.
The Time Lord nodded. "The TARDIS is my companion and my home." He finally took in the darkness around them and the empty streets. It was getting late. "And you, should be on your way to yours. It's Christmas and your family's worried about you."
The boy frowned. And, yes, most definitely pouted. "I'd rather go and see the stars with you."
No. No, he most certainly wasn't taking a teen to accompany him, for a large number of very good reasons. "Maybe one day." The Doctor offered the clearly distraught child a smile he hoped to be encouraging. "When the time is right, when you really need me… You'll find a way to contact me. And I'll come for you. Just… Don't be surprised if I look… different."
The boy frowned. For a moment those bizarre eyes grew moist but it disappeared quickly. "Do you promise?"
"Yes, of course." Of course there were no certainties in the world but he'd definitely try his best. And he hoped that it'd do. "Now go home, before it gets any later."
With a visible amount of reluctance the boy did as he'd been told. Just before the teen was out of sight, however, something crossed the Doctor's mind. "Wait!" He went on when the child peered back at him. "What's your name? So that I'll know when it's you calling out to me."
"Sherlock." It was spoken firmly and confidently. "The name's Sherlock Holmes." And with that the strange teenager disappeared into the night.
For a few moments the Doctor kept staring into that direction, then began to make his way towards where he assumed the TARDIS was and hoped that he hadn't made a promise he couldn't keep.
Years upon years passed by. Far more of them for the madman traveling in a blue box than for the strange boy he left behind. Sherlock tried looking for him when the bullies got too cruel. When the world in general tried to get the better of him. When no one understood him, when no one even tried to. But it was like the Doctor didn't even exist. In the end he turned to drugs to keep his head from raging a war against him. He deleted the entire solar system from his Mind Palace. What was the point in keeping it when he was never going to see it, after all? It was nothing but a waste of storage space.
But for once the great Sherlock Holmes miscalculated. Because the universe is rarely lazy enough for coincidences. And he found the Doctor again just when he needed the Time Lord the most.
With another adventure coming to a close the Doctor tried to focus on the ten lives that'd been saved instead of the four that'd been lost. It was time to head towards the next journey, to move on before the memories would root too deep. To run on once more before it'd all catch up with him. And almost magically the answer came in the form of words appearing to a psychic paper.
'You promised to come when I need you. So come. S.H.'
At first the Doctor frowned, his head trying to catch up. Then, slowly yet surely, his eyes widened. "Well how about that…!" He smirked and caressed the TARDIS with a gentle hand. "What do you say if we'd go and keep a very old promise?"
She hummed with appreciation and in a matter of minutes the journey began.
The Doctor opened the doors of the TARDIS, feeling a small shudder of excitement that the start of a new adventure always brought. He found himself from a small, decidedly unpleasant alleyway outside what looked like a hospital. Almost instantly he noticed that there was someone waiting for him.
From the shadows a man with impossibly wild dark curls emerged. The man's long, black coat billowed angrily in the wind. There was even more fury and frustration in those eyes. In those eyes that looked very, very familiar…
For a few moments the Doctor stared. And then his eyes widened slightly with realization. "Sherlock?"
The Brit nodded stiffly, approaching. "You… told me that you'd come when I really need you. That time has come."
The Doctor frowned. He tried to read the other's face but failed. "What's wrong?"
Sherlock looked at him. And although the man's face seemed devoid of all emotions the man's eyes spoke everything necessary. "I'm going to die."
End.
A/N: My gosh, how tempting the idea of those two traveling together sounds…! (grins)
Soooo… Was that any good, at all? I'm still a bit hesitant about posting this so I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts.
In any case, thank you SO MUCH for reading! And who knows. Maybe I'll see you again…?
Take care!