AN/ Yay! My first fic for season 3! Doesn't really contain any spoilers for it though. The BBC, in all its glory, owns the lot. I just squee over it from time to time. TARDIS POV. Thanks to LilCosette for betaing this little rant.
My Doctor, you can't fool me. I don't even know why you keep trying to anymore. Tell me the truth, do you really believe you don't need a companion? Oh come on! That's such a laughable notion.
You gave me that speech right after the Time War, remember? You were thinking about it as you picked up that black leather jacket that became your uniform and your shield. "No more companions. I'm going alone," you muttered in that rich northern accent.
Yeah, that worked out well. You knew Rose Tyler for barely three minutes and already you started thinking of her as a companion. You were in such denial! I remember giving you a mental slap and telling you to come to your senses. You needed Rose, and she needed you too, I reckon. And I was right, wasn't I? You can't deny that! Look how well the two of you did! The love you two had for each other, and still do have right now, will out live you both. Mark my words.
Then after she was gone you tried to convince yourself again that you didn't need anyone. Hello? You're a smart boy Doctor. This is a universal truth. I know you are, you know you are, and you're certainly not afraid to let everyone else know it too. It's obvious to anyone we interact with for long enough as well. Donna asked you about it. She may have been blind to a lot of things, but she saw clearly what you can't. You do need someone to tell you when to stop.
Rose did that for you when you were about to kill that mentally ill and defenceless Dalek. She told you to stop and you were able to realise that in some ways, you would have made a good Dalek. You certainly have no qualms about exterminating those who you think deserve it. The only difference is that you give them a chance - most of the time.
Donna made you promise to find someone. It was a smart move on her behalf. I did the same soon after we took off. I made you promise me, because though there's a good chance we'll never see Donna again and so have to answer to her, your life will never be complete without me. We're stuck together, for better or for worse, until either I become too broken down to continue, or you can't regenerate any more. Whichever comes first. You will always have to answer to me.
Martha Jones showed all the signs of a great companion early on. You knew this, and couldn't help testing her. When she asked you if you were alone, you avoided the question. Then you made excuses that she deserved a one time only trip with you to say thanks for saving your life. You weren't fooling anyone, my Doctor. Not me, certainly not her, and not even yourself. You know, deep down in your hearts, deep down in your lonely soul that you will always need someone. Someone to validate you, to tell you when to stop, to love you.
Never doubt my feelings towards you though. Never think even for a moment that I don't love you, that I don't validate you or won't tell you when to stop, because I will. But there's only so much I can do, only so far I can reach. The rest of the time, you need a companion. Always have, and always will. That's the truth.