One-shot for the RRA Post-A-Thon in honour of Nicholas Courtney, better known by DW fans as the Brigadier. Rest In Peace; we'll all miss you.
This is in Amy's POV, since it represents my limited knowledge of the character, but my hopes that he'll be at peace wherever he might be now.
...
I didn't really understand it at the time.
I guessed that they were very close friends, and I'd be upset too if my close friend suddenly died of an illness. I'd just noticed the Doctor's sudden change in face when we'd returned to the TARDIS after checking up on one of his former companions, and also running away from a bunch of aliens called Sontarans. He'd been looking at the monitor, which had been making an awful lot of beeping, almost as if the TARDIS was crying in horror at what she'd found.
His name was Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, or just the Brigadier for short. The Doctor and he were really good friends. He'd even remarked that the Brigadier was the closest thing to a boss that he'd ever had after leaving Gallifrey. They go really far back, to the Doctor's other 'regenerations', as he puts it. His other forms, basically. The forms he had before he got killed and ended up changing until he became the man he is today. He got a position in a top secret organisation called UNIT because of the Brigadier.
They hadn't gotten along well at first. Being a typical Military man, the Brigadier had destroyed a Silurian base a long time ago, even though the Doctor had argued against it. They became better friends later, though. That's probably why the Doctor is so upset now. They had so many ups and downs that he'd never had in any other companion. No one could compare to the Brigadier.
I sat down next to him on the small chair beside the TARDIS console as he stared up at the monitor, reading the article with a pained look. The Brigadier had caught a form of cancer, and it was a very short illness that led to his death at the age of 81. I didn't say anything as he continued to read it. It was times like this that it was best to just sit next to him, silently letting him know that you were there if he wanted to talk to you, and you weren't going to push it out of him if he didn't want to speak.
"All those times that I could've seen him again, but never got the chance to." The Doctor began, not taking his eyes off the screen. "I kept bumping into UNIT, but I never got to see him. I never got to say goodbye."
I couldn't tell whether or not talking was making him feel better since my eyes were also on the screen, reading as the page slowly scrolled down, as if the TARDIS was also reading silently after her pained sobs. Of course, the wonderful time machine that we sat in was alive, and had obviously loved the Brigadier as much as her pilot had.
"A few times he saved the whole planet." He chuckled slightly, though the pain was still clear in his eyes when I finally turned to look at them. "Stopped the Destroyer of World with nothing but a revolver and a load of silver-tipped bullets. I was in my seventh form back then. Thankfully that wasn't the last time I saw him.
"He was in Peru a lot." He leaned against the top of my head when I had rested my own on his shoulder. "I never found out why. Apparently he was stranded, but why was he there in the first place?" He paused to swallow, and I knew he was feeling guilty. "I mean, was there something I could've done to get him out? I knew he was there. So why didn't I act? Just one more chance to say hello."
"Hey, this wasn't your fault." I insisted, even though he rarely listened. He looked like he was listening now, though. "He would've wanted you to keep doing your job, and cancer isn't something that can be stopped very easily, but by the way you describe him, he was a very strong man. He would've been fighting it all the way."
Slowly the man from my childhood began nodding, as if accepting this point, but he still looked grief-stricken. "I keep forgetting not everyone lives as long as I do." He sighed, putting an arm around my shoulders. "And sometimes I wonder if I've lived too long."
"Don't go saying that." I immediately said, though my voice was quiet to keep him from jumping. "Is that something he'd want you to say?"
The Doctor regarded that thought for a few moments as he looked at the now blank monitor. Even the TARDIS was too upset to keep reading. I silently hoped I was cheering her up as well as him. "We'll have to go and tell Sarah Jane." He said, standing up and walking to lean on the console. "She's another friend of mine. She knew him as well as I did."
With that, he pushed a few of the controls on the TARDIS, and we set off through time and space to find Sarah Jane and tell her the news. I stayed seated, holding onto the chair whenever the time machine rocked and shook violently enough to throw me off. I hated seeing the Doctor like this; he looked so upset by the death of one of his closest friends, and it would probably worsen when we went to see Sarah Jane.
"And no." He stated suddenly. "That isn't something he'd want me to say."
So now I understand. The Brigadier was a very close friend of the Doctor's, and I'm going to do my best to make sure it doesn't keep him upset. I'm going to be there for him. I promised myself that. Because out of all the people the Doctor has met, in all of space and time, Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart was the only one who was ever his boss.
And now, the Doctor has become a little lonelier. But I hope I'll be able to make him happy again.