The Constant Companion
She was gone, again. He was alone, again. He was hurting, again. He was angry, again. But I was there. He didn't know it, but I was there. I'm always there. We've met on many occasions, but he never sees me without me wanting him to. Oh, of course he realises I hover around day in day out, but he would rather ignore me than face up to the truth. I was the only one that ever stuck around.
He leans on the control panel, fists clenched and I lean over him, my breath on his neck, my arms around him, comforting him. My embrace a familiar touch, my presence the one constant thing in his life.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to show yourself." he says to me.
"I'm never far away Doctor." I whisper back.
"No matter how hard I try to get away from you."
"I'm afraid me being around is inevitable. She was a good catch, that last one, one to hold on to."
"Until you took her away from me." He growls, turning sharply on his heel, trying to lose me.
"She was mine before she was yours. She was only a loan." If I could, I would shrug.
He wants to lash out and cry at the same time, I can tell that, he's always the same after our encounters. He tries to busy himself, looking at charts and maps and scales, tries to work out where to go next, where is safe. Nowhere is safe though, I'm always right behind. He accepts that, often he tries to fight that, but he would be nothing without me. A flare shoots across the screen. He's found something. He runs over and taps into the co-ordinates. A whole new planet. This should be fun.
"Can't you leave me alone, just this once?" he begs me, desperate.
"That's entirely up to you." I reply, honest.
The TARDIS starts up, the vortex whirls passed. Such a rush, feeling all of time and space surrounding you, enveloping you, everything connected. She twirls and spins, landing delicately at our next destination. He grabs his coat and walks out of the door, me gliding along beside him. Two's company you see.
My brother has been here. The sky is violet, noxious, deadly. The ground is scorched and burning. Plants, trees and buildings slumped into the desolate land. He's been here alright. Havoc has been wreaked from the smallest weed to the biggest skyscrapers. A happy shiver goes down my spine, but how can I be expected to help that. I gather them all to me, my children, leaving him be for just a split second. Come on, come with me. Young, old, male, female. A humanoid species wiped out. Oh, but what's this? He finds someone. I direct my charges on and join him again.
"Are you alright? Can you hear me?" he cries.
He digs through rubble and glass, cutting his hands and grazing his knuckles, frantically trying to dig her out. It is a her. A pretty little thing, bright auburn hair, violet eyes. Fourteen perhaps. Oh, I know her. I've seen her before. She's certainly changed since the last time I saw her. He pulls her free and her legs fail her, she lands in his arms.
"What's your name?" he asks.
"Mercy." She croaks. "My name is Mercy."
Ah, that was it. He supports her, checks her over, asks her what happened, where we are. We're on Te'oma. A planet twinned with earth across light years. The Te'omans a peaceful, intelligent race, evolutionary cousins of Humans and Timelords. Two hearts and limited control of time and space, in every other way human, except for their mental abilities and intelligence. A big storm has ravaged their planet, leaving this devastation in it's wake.
"I think I'm the only one left." She holds back her tears, but I can hear them in her voice. "Who are you?"
"I'm The Doctor. I'm here to help you. Maybe we can find more survivors."
Unlikely Doctor. This one's gotten away before, it was near enough impossible for her to get away twice, only extraordinary beings could do that. As you should know. Oh, but this is how you work is it not? You lose someone, you try to help someone else. She follows him through battered streets and torn bodies. Mercy feels faint, overwhelmed by what she is seeing. But he understands. Better than anyone. Don't you, Doctor? Only she's innocent, and you're not.
"Who's there?" she gasps suddenly.
I think she is focusing on me, and The Doctor looks alarmed. He knows what that means. Oh, delicious. He looks at me, absolutely terrified and positions himself in front of her as they walk along, telling her it's just a trick of the light. This could get interesting. Maybe she recognises me from before. As a child. She wasn't supposed to make it. She did, irksome little girl. Intriguing though. He stops in front of a fallen tree with crimson leaves, which seems to be moving. It's a man, I guess he's in his fifties. Mercy recognises him, it's her uncle, Julian. They wrestle the tree off him, but he's too far gone.
"Take care of my girl." He splutters. Then he's mine.
Go away and join the others Julian. The Doctor glares at me. What, it's my job. Sorry and all, but you do yours and I'll do mine. They carry searching everywhere. I could tell them before hand there's nothing alive here apart from them, but they won't listen to be. Bull headed stubbornness. Mercy gives up before he does. Bless them. Two loners have found each other amidst the chaos. It's one of those sweet stories that disgusts me, because they're very rarely reality.
"Who keeps following us?" demands Mercy.
"No-one you should worry about." The Doctor replies.
"Is that right?" I breathe in his ear.
He takes her back to the TARDIS. But not for long, he's planning ahead. Find her a nice new home and then move on. No more picking up strays, his hearts can't bear it. Although who knows, I might get her first. It's interesting, watching them. She's not as amazed about the machine as other people have been, maybe because she's a relative, of sorts? He explains to her what he's doing and she doesn't look happy.
"I can't just leave all those people out there. They need to be taken care of properly." She protests.
"Mercy, there's nothing you can do, trust me. I know." He sighs.
"But Doctor, my friends, my family, my neighbours…"
"I'm sorry Mercy, so sorry."
He's always saying that. Always apologising, but he knows it'll take a whole lot more than a few apologies to make amends. I feel a little sorry for him about that and I'm not supposed to have sympathy, or differentiate. But he's special, one of my closest colleagues I would say. Useful for me, not so for him, but I can't help who I am.
I know where he's aiming for, another of Te'oma's twin planets. Where she can find people like her. I wouldn't go to that one Doctor. For once he listens to me, neither of us is entirely sure why. Minutes later another storm breaks that planet, my brother is having a field day today.
"You know where to go." I murmur in his ear.
Good old Earth. I've been here as often as he has. The TARDIS lands, he knows someone who can take care of Mercy, an old friend of his, an acquaintance of mine. He parks in an alley between two houses. It's a warm, sunny day, quiet, suburban. Very boring, unless you know where to look. I can see what's happening already as she crosses the street, urged on by The Doctor. Only I can change this. A car speeds around the corner. The Doctor cries out. I rush to the driver in one foul swoop, one touch, the car swerves out of control, stopped by crashing in to a wall, feet from where the girl is. Sorry mister. Time for you to go. Bye now.
The Doctor's friend saw the whole thing, she runs out, three children at her heels, the same age as Mercy, that's why he has brought her here. His friend fusses around Mercy. Mercy. The one thing that can change my mind. The Doctor quietly slips away and I wait for him.
"She's was mine before she was yours." I hiss to him as he gives me the funniest look. "I let you have this one. But no-one can escape me. Not even a Timelord."
"Clive:
The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes
he's there, and he has only one constant companion.
Rose:
Who?
Clive: Death."