Title: As A Stranger, Give It Welcome
Author: Cait
Spoilers: Through Vincent and the Doctor.
Pairings: Vincent/Amy, mentions of Eleven/Amy and Rory/Amy.
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Word Count: 1177.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who & it's characters aren't mine, no matter what my dreams may say.
It was tempting, that much was true, for the Doctor to rescue Vincent van Gogh from his inner demons. Since the day they met, the Doctor could see how he made Amy feel, could see the things that he could accomplish if his name were lesser-known. But he couldn't do it. That was a staple in history and there was no changing it… What was it that Amy had say in the Musee D'Orsay?
"Time can be rewritten. I know it can!" She had shouted on the steps, ecstatic to see the new pieces of Vincent's artwork. It was inspiring to see how his paintings made her feel. It was almost as if anything were possible, regardless of the consequences (which seemed to be the way Amy lived, if the Doctor recalled correctly). But it was more than that. She cared about him and, if the Doctor weren't wrong, in a way that he had not seen her care about anyone, not even Rory. And Rory was gone. The Doctor had let him die. No, not die, but be erased from existence.
If the Doctor went back for Vincent van Gogh, he would never be known as a renowned artist. His paintings would never grace the halls of the Musee D'Orsay. But, mayhaps something better would come of it. He would be renowned by the Doctor for all of eternity. His paintings would grace every hall of the TARDIS. And he would see things greater than in his wildest imaginations or darkest nightmares. Could he break this law of time? Of course not. But for Amy's sake?
And so the Doctor set the controls of the TARDIS for France. It was mere moments for the two time travelers since they had last the artist though, for Vincent, it had been three weeks.
"Y'ello, Doctor, mind telling me where we're headed?" She leaned against the TARDIS control panel, her long hair sweeping the blue stabilizers. "I'd like to see another planet," she stated firmly, resting her chin on gloved hands. Recalling the last planet she'd seen, Amy started to regret that statement, but didn't have to think long before the Doctor answered.
"Right, don't worry, Pond, we'll get to another planet," he said quickly, pulling switches and turning knobs as he spun around the console. "But first," he patted her lightly on the head, "I've got to run an errand." The Doctor ignored her next barrage of questions as he steadied the TARDIS for landing. Holding up a finger telling Amy to wait in the TARDIS, he slipped outside into the fresh air of France.
It was dark as the Doctor slid through the cobbled alleyways to reach the home of Vincent van Gogh. He knocked lightly on the door and was called in. As he pushed the door gently open, he came upon Vincent, putting the finishing touches on the portraiture of sunflowers. Amy's favorite. The Doctor watched in awe for but a moment as Vincent stroked two words onto the canvas. "For Amy."
Vincent turned around, his hands stained with shades of yellow and orange. "Doctor," he began, a wide smile breaking across his bearded face. "Doctor, you're back." His eyes lit up like the stars in the night sky as he looked behind the other man. "Where's Amy? I'd like to give her this," Vincent gestured to the painting in front of him as he stroked his name below hers. For Amy, Vincent. The best gift he could give to her was to paint her favorite flower. His face fell as the redhead did not follow the Doctor through the doors. But as he took in the Doctor's jubilant eyes, he knew he need not worry. She was safe and that was what mattered.
"I'd like for you to come with me, with us," the Doctor let out quietly after a moment. "The stars could roll their lights for you every hour of every day for the rest of your life, Vincent. As a stranger, give it welcome."
Vincent looked around the room at his paintings and shook his head. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Doctor, than dreamt of in your philosophy. I cannot go. I know what I am to be, who I am to be. You would have me abandon that? The only thing that gives my life meaning?" Vincent's eyes were dark. As much as he wanted to go, the curator's words rang through his mind. The greatest artist and among the greatest men. He could do wonders. And Earth, seemingly mundane, danced and whirled for him. The simplest things were beautiful and full of so much character, so much color. How could he ever leave that?
The Doctor hung his head. He was wrong again and he had known not to come. Yet he did, for Amy. And also for Vincent. The tortured artist deserved so much more than what he would settle for. Though, he seemed content in his life upon Earth and who was the Doctor to question that?
If anyone could change their minds, it was Amelia Jessica Pond, who, at that very moment, came bounding through the door, frowning at the Doctor. "You promised me a planet, Doctor, and I'd very much like to ge-." Of course, she froze when she saw Vincent and the sunflowers behind him. "Vincent!" Amy shouted, swinging her arms around him. "The Doctor's taking me to a planet, you know," she stated matter-of-factly. "You ought to come. It'll be smashing! And he can always return you to right now. S'what he's promised me." She blinked when she said that. Why did she say that? What was in her life so urgent that she needed to return on time for? Amy brushed away the thoughts of her life before the Doctor in order to focus on Vincent. "What do you say? Come with us?" Her hazel eyes sparkled in the candlelight, the same color as the flowers upon the canvas.
It was her. It was always her. Vincent nodded, gathering his paints and brushes. He began to pack a suitcase and rope together his paintings when the Doctor shouted.
"No! Leave them." He smiled. "The world shall know of Vincent van Gogh, one way or another. Great men such as yourself always leave an imprint on the world. This," he waved to the paintings adorning the walls, "shall be your mark." And in his pocket, he felt another man's mark burning; Rory's ring. But the Doctor put that thought aside. "And there are clothes a-plenty in the wardrobe. Tricky thing to find, but almost always across from the swimming pool." By now, the Doctor had begun to babble on about the many rooms found in the TARDIS, including an art gallery and janitor's closet.
Amy gripped Vincent's hand as the three walked to the TARDIS beneath the starry sky. When he looked at her with his weathered eyes, she smiled. He was ready to paint the many wonders of the universe and she would be by his side, smiling.