A/N: Pretty sure this turned out a little bit more angsty Doctor then I intended it to be. Oops.
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.
His name was a like a whisper heard but not understood, like eavesdropping young children who didn't know any better that spied on their parents but had no idea what the dangerous words might have meant. Not many knew it, but at the same time, it felt like everyone knew it, for he had a name and yet had no name at all.
He's considered a mystery, but many know of his existence. He could be myth, the stuff of legends, but that would imply that he is glory in itself, one that could be considered an equal to the god, and he was, frankly, nothing of the sort.
People have called him an oncoming storm, and still others have referred to his gentleness as that of a warm gust of wind. He is known as the savior of planets and the destroyer of homes and what could've been great and powerful beings. Some women have dreamily called him a whimsical lover and some men, a cunning enemy. And they are both right.
One might name him as a hero, or a foe, depending on how they treated him first. One might see a man with a big ego and bigger eyes that widen and light up when he's discovered something absolutely brilliant. But there are others, others who have seen the tears and the grief and the pain that can dim the lights in his eyes when he believes no one else can see him, and if they can, they are in no position to help.
That is how I found him. I saw what no one else noticed, and at the same time what everyone could see. I found myself drawn to him, wanting to help him, this crouching man gripping his hair between his fingers as if he let go he would be torn apart by the invisible demons beating him from the inside out. I had seen this many times before, in my father. When mum had gone, I would find him with a blank stare and bundles of hair clutched beneath his dirty fingers, holding tight to the lifeline like he wanted to but just could not let go.
I saw my father in him when he looked up, startled at my careful touch. I saw the glinting tears, the ones that should've let loose a long time, the words left unsaid and the gestures made not quite enough, and the regret he was forcibly drowning himself in. He had felt pain before, I could see that, but now it was as if it had grown to the point that it had become unbearable. Licking his lips through ragged breaths, he parted his trembling lips.
"It hurts so much, to be left behind, I know. But this…oh, this hurts so much more." His voice was hoarse. The voice that was said to pierce the thickest of skin trembled, and sent a spiral of pain through me.
He reminded me of a young lost child, frightened and not knowing where to turn in the night that looks as endless and seemingly dark as time itself. I knew that he was hundreds of years old, but sitting there, hiding his grief in his hands and crouching to protect him, I couldn't help but let it bring back my own memories of loss. I had already gone through this process before, and I knew just how to help him heal.
Tentative, I pushed the hair from his face, and cupped his cheeks with my cold hands to look at him. He met my eyes and I motioned for him to take a deep breath. He complied almost too readily, and I smiled. "It's not the end of this world." I said softly. "You'll recover, you'll see."
"You really think so?" Everything about this man seemed broken, but not beyond repair. I could see the pieces inside of him already beginning to mend, the light in his eyes already beginning to glow.
Helping him rise from his place hunched next to the park bench, I replied sincerely, "I really do."
"Thank you." He sniffled and I averted my eyes as he composed himself. I studied his red sneakers, which wouldn't be so odd if it wasn't for the very nicely tailored suit. I wanted to stay with him, to make sure that he would turn out alright, but I knew what that would entail. I didn't know much, but I knew that I was never meant to meet with this man of mystery ever again; no, not in his lifetime.
"I better get going. Don't want to miss my ride or anything!" I stood and my feet started to move, but something held me back—a hand that slipped into mine.
"Don't you want to…to stay?" he asked.
I turned back to look at him, and smiled once more, but this time I couldn't hold back the remorse burrowing deep inside. "More than anything, Doctor. But…I think you knew that."
He grinned through those bright, old eyes, eyes that could witness destruction and still manage to twinkle. He chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, I did." He sniffed. We waited for a moment, standing in the middle of the park with runners passing by and toddlers squealing around us, but they were just more people, more distractions for us to avoid each other with. Finally, our eyes locked and he half-squinted at me. "Who are you?"
"No one."
"Well then, No One." He grinned for what I fear would be the last time, at least for me. "I thank you very much. You are just what I needed." With that, he planted a hurried kiss at the corner of my lips and giddily sprinted off.
I waited for a few moments before I heard the sound of the Doctor leaving me in the park alone, the sound of his Tardis leaving my world to go off and visit another place, another time. I knew that I could've taken his offer; I could've gone with him. But I didn't, because we were only supposed to meet once in his lifetime. It wasn't a chance meeting, finding the Doctor in the park, even though most would've written it off as so.
No, it was fate, a fate that my mother had told me off when I was old enough to understand her dangerous words. She said I was meant to heal, but that this gift would only serve me once my whole life, for one very special man. It helped me put a lot of things into perspective, helped me understand what few people could.
And I knew for a fact that we were meant to meet, but I was not meant to stay.
A/N: Well, for my first Doctor Who tribute, it's not too shabby, if I do say so myself. But what did you think?
(I know that most people don't write about 10 anymore, but this is meant to be somewhere between his companions. Take your pick c;)