His Constant Companion: The Survivor

by Vilinye

In "Rose," Clive told Rose that the Doctor's constant companion was death. What if it really was? Death from The Book Thief describes his interactions with the Nineth Doctor. Ten and Eleven will come later

1. Skyless

His Constant Companion

he has one constant companion: death.

~Clive, "Rose"

Skyless

There is no sky on the day I come for his soul. And when you've been on this job as long as I have, you need any distraction you can get; the colors of the sky generally do the trick. I've seen a million billion skies on countless planets, but I have never seen anything like the end of the Time War. Not just the Daleks and the Time Lords, but the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Skaro Degradations and more, all trapped in Time forever.

Across the universe, my load is piling up, but I wait a moment out of respect. Respect for the civilizations destroyed here. Respect for the soul in my arms. His curly hair and open face only heighten the horror in his eyes. Horror at his own actions.

"It's over," I whisper to him, wanting to comfort him. But golden energy rises from the body on the floor of the TARDIS. His soul jerks with pain and surprise.

A Time Lord regenerates. I nearly drop him then, wanting to rush off to the next disaster. Instead, I kneel on the floor and gently lay him down. The body changes into a thin man with dark, angry eyes.

The Doctor, I think. The Doctor. We are better acquainted then most Time Lords, he and I. Eight regenerations in less than ten centuries; not to mention all those who died around him.

The man gasps for breath. I stand nearby and whisper to the TARDIS. "Come on, help him." It moans, sharing his pain, but the glow softens. The precise nature of the TARDIS eludes me, but I know it's not just a machine—as I'm not just an abstract figure.

Come on, Doctor, you can do it! You might wonder that Death would want anyone to escape, much less the Doctor, a man dedicated to making things better. But he had saved the world so many times, lessening my load in the process. Every time he snatched someone from my hands, I had to smile.

The glow is fading. I have to move on. The universe is too vast for me to wait with one dry-eyed man watching his home planet destroyed.

But I never really leave anyone. Not even the Doctor.

Especially the Doctor.