How to save a life, where did I go wrong, I lost a friend somewhere along in the bitterness,
and I would have stayed up with you all night, had I known how to save a life.
(How To Save A Life, The Fray)
Clara liked to think that she was good with people, especially children. She was a nanny after all and had been during many of her previous lives and even had her own children multiple times. In other lives, she had been guidance councilors, teachers and even once worked at an information booth in a shopping mall a couple of hundred years in the future to help out all types of humans, aliens and others. But there was one thing that Clara Oswald, the impossible girl, could not deal with. Death.
She'd been afraid of it when she was younger but then after her Mum had died, it had all gone downhill. She'd change the channel on the TV or the radio if anything came up about it or she would freeze, unable to look away. She'd frozen on the Firebird after Skaldak killed those crewmembers and just the other day; the Doctor had been talking – on the rare occasion – about what happened to one of his previous companions. He'd begun to describe how they had died and she'd abruptly turned and walked out of the room, needing to find a place where she could actually breathe properly.
As a consequence of her past and her fears, dealing with a suicide jumper was way out of her comfort zone, even more so than when she usually traveled with the Doctor. But when faced with a person that was important to the survival of the human race, she was going to have to try.
The TARDIS materialized with that familiar whirring noise and the final resounding thud as the Doctor landed them back in front of the Maitland home. Clara sighed before opening the police box's door, taking one more look back. They'd had a pretty adventure less day that had been nice as the Doctor actually managed for once to go where he was aiming. A beautiful crimson world that was made almost entirely of clouds, which had created the most amazing sunsets, had been nice for the day, just resting and talking.
She suspected that the Doctor was being especially careful after their dangerous trip to Trenzalore. He still worried himself about it; continually fussing over her and her new gained memories despite all the objections she gave. Sometimes, there wasn't a word in all of the worlds that could stop that man.
"Goodnight Doctor. Thank you for today." Clara smiled and waved softly, placing her hand on the door and pushing it open.
"Well, it wasn't really today as we were a couple of hundred years in the future but –" Clara's giggling as she left the TARDIS cut him off.
The Doctor smiled and for just a moment, watched the spot where his brave companion had just been, thinking about her and her uncovered mystery. The universe makes bargains after all. Launching up, he started pulling levers and turning gears so that he could skip ahead to next week when he heard an impatient knock on the door.
Frowning, he stopped and peered around to view the door, was something wrong? Was it Clara again? Was she in trouble?
"Doctor! Let me in." Clara's annoyed voice rang from outside, confirming one of his thoughts.
"Are you okay? Is something wrong?" He called out, rushing around the console to the side facing the door.
"I will be once the snogbox lets me in. " Clara demanded in much the same tone.
The Doctor darted forward, wrenching open the door to see his companion standing there with a disapproving look, her arms crossed over her chest. She also happened to be tapping her foot, which signaled to him that she wasn't in any danger. He sighed in relief, opening his mouth to talk when suddenly, Clara put her finger over his lips to stop him.
"Where are we?"
"London, England. Just like we wanted." The Doctor answered, quickly becoming anxious.
"When are we?" Clara asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Um … 2013? Thursday 12th, 2013?" He asked.
"Check again Chin Boy." She replied, pushing him gently further into the box.
He twirled over to the console's computer and peered at the location where the TARDIS had landed. Scanning it quickly, he talked aloud as he read.
"London. Yes. London, England. Yes. 1786 … 1786, London, England …" The Doctor trailed off, looking sheepishly towards his small companion.
"You were gong to leave me in 1786. For a week! Hardly the right place at all!" Clara scolded him, following him as he nervously tried to walk away.
"Well, I really didn't mean to. It was an accident. Plus, the TARDIS really doesn't like you calling her that. You wonder why you think she doesn't like you." The Doctor said, but Clara didn't miss what he was trying to do.
"No, no, no. Don't try to change the subject. You would be in so much trouble if I wasn't so tired." Clara told him. "Everywhere. I mean, everywhere Doctor. You need to check if we're in the right place, especially if you're dropping me off. What if you accidently landed us on the surface of the sun!"
"I'm sorry Clara. You know I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you. I've just been a little … distracted lately." The Doctor apologized.
Against her will, Clara melted at those words and she stepped forward and dragged him into a gentle hug. It took a moment but thankfully there was no flailing and the Doctor placed his arms around her too, hugging her back. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the thumping of his hearts before leaning back and looking up at him from within his grasp. Most of what she could she was his chin but she supposed that was okay. After all, he was her chin boy.
"I know Doctor. Just do a favour for me, stop worrying. It's all over now. We're both safe." Clara whispered to him, reaching up bopping him on the nose with her finger.
"Yes, my impossible girl." The Doctor agreed, smiling and he let her go, keeping his eyes on her as she walked back out of the TARDIS to grab her bag.
However, she wasn't out of his sight long before her voice called out to him again from outside. "Doctor? Can you come out here for a moment?"
In a second, he was by her side, scanning their surroundings with a cautious eye. "What's wrong?"
"Over there, on that bridge. I think there's a man. I think he's going to jump off?" Clara said, walking forward to try and see better in the darkness.
"Jump off? That doesn't sound too good." The Doctor muttered, moving his hand away from where his screwdriver was in his jacket pocket.
Clara looked up at him and smiled, taking his offered hand and gently placing her bag inside the police box. "We never walk away."
"That's what we do." The Doctor fondly quoted, before running off towards the man on the bridge.
The man was balancing precariously on the edge of the bridge, arms splayed out to hold his spot but his head was tipped downwards, staring at the rushing water far below him. He was young, maybe in his twenties but his clothing was quite old, at least parts of it were. A deep gray frock coat adorned his shoulders, covering a blue shirt, brown breeches and black shoes. His neck was covered though, strangely with what appeared to be a bright red neckerchief, in this age, no one wore them anymore.
The Doctor and Clara approached him carefully, not wanting to scare him but it seemed they did not need to worry, the man already knew they were there. As soon as they stepped foot onto the bridge, the man's head tilted slightly towards them and Clara got a glimpse of a pair of bright blue eyes that were stained by tears and held no spark at all. The Doctor instantly noticed the man's attention to them and stopped where he was, deciding to call out to him. Clara stood nervously at his side, unsure of what to do.
"Good evening, sir. Beautiful night this is, isn't it?" The Doctor called out cheerfully.
There was no answer except that the raven-haired man turned his gaze away from them and back to the water.
"What are you up to? My wife and I were just heading home, you look like a nice young man, would you like to join us for some tea?" The Doctor called out again, easily bringing up the façade of a gentleman from that time period. Clara looked down at modern age clothing and grimaced but a gentle nudge from the Doctor told her she shouldn't worry. At the moment, he was just trying to get him off of the bridge.
Again, there was no answer, except now as Clara began to listen more closely, she could just hear the sounds of gentle sobbing. Her heart broke as she listened, not wanting that kind of pain on anyone. She'd felt it enough after her Mum died.
"Listen, mate – uh, kind sir. We're here to help you. What is wrong?" Clara asked, stepping forward. The Doctor was about to pull her back and warn her when the most surprising thing happened – the raven spoke.
"You wouldn't understand." He said, his voice laced with pain and longing but also a strong sense of age and power. The Doctor cocked his head, frowning like he might have recognized it.
"Try me." The Doctor called, interlocking his hand with Clara's and walking towards the man.
"You wouldn't understand!" The man yelled back but the anger and hatred wasn't directed towards them. More than likely, at whatever had caused him this emotional breakdown.
"I said try me." The Doctor said, now that they were close enough to talk without raising their voices. "Trust me, I might understand more than you know."
There were a few moments of tense silence before the man slowly turned to face them but his head was still hung low and he was dangerously close to the edge of the bridge. "Why?"
"… I've seen –"
"No. Why should I trust you?" The man interrupted harshly, staring at the Doctor.
"Because we're trying to help. We're not walking away. You're going to take your own life and … we're not going to let that happen. No one deserves to have his or her life taken. Everyone is precious. Even if that person doesn't think so, there will always be someone who will miss them and grieve over them because they were taken away from them." Clara said fiercely, stepping forward.
The raven finally looked up at her, meeting her eyes. "You remind me of an old friend. She was brave, beautiful and more powerful than anyone could have ever imagined. Even she didn't think so. It wasn't power in the way you think though. She used her words to help people and in turn, everyone trusted her. She was one of my greatest friends. But Gwen isn't here anymore. She died, passing away of old age. I haven't seen her in years but I think of her every day."
"A thousand years is a long time." The man continued, turning his gaze to the rushing waters. "People talk of immortality, the wonders and joys it must bring but … I think it would be the worst thing in the world. Imagine living for all of that time, watching your friends die and knowing that you can never do anything to stop it. You'd wish for the future every day, for the countless joys that it must bring, it must otherwise, why does life continue? But then, it would get so hard. Waiting all of this time and those people that you wish for, they don't return. You begin to wonder if they ever will. Some days, you just want it all to end but whatever I do, I can't! I want him back. I want them all back. It won't let me. It just won't let me because if it does, the world will fall into an endless state where magic no longer exists. If I die, when he returns, I won't be there for him. It gets so bad. I miss them. I miss my home."
Clara's eyes widened as she watched him gradually turn from a tale to memories to the present. Tears began to roll down the man's cheeks but he didn't wipe them away, he just continued talking. She guessed that he mainly needed someone to talk to, to get it all off his chest. She was confused but the Doctor was bristling with excitement and he was grinning.
"A thousand years is a long time, old friend." The Doctor finally said. "I didn't realize at first but now … I'm sorry. You know I understand. You know who I am. You've known who I was ever since the TARDIS materialized all those minutes ago. I'm so sorry about your loss."
The man finally turned around and jumped off the edge of the bridge, looking at the Doctor with what appeared to be the ghost of what was once a bright, goofy smile. "Yes. Hello Doctor."
"This is Clara, my newest companion. She's my impossible girl." The Doctor introduced.
The man bowed politely, "I believe I have met you before, Clara. Many lives versus many years."
"I'm sorry I –'
"It's okay. You might not remember right now but one day, I do believe we will meet again." The man told her, straightening his red neckerchief.
"Were you really going to jump?" Clara asked.
"No. If I did, my magic would stop me anyway. The world seems fiercely protective about me. I assume that I'm the only one left who really does understand a little bit about what it really is." He told her. He sighed and looked up at the moon before looking back down at the Doctor. "Aithusa calls. I must be going now. Goodnight Doctor. I'll see you again soon."
"Goodnight, old friend. Good luck." The Doctor said and he gently took Clara's arm and led her towards the TARDIS, leaving the strange man to his own decisions. The TARDIS opened her doors to the pair and closed them behind them.
"Who was he?" Clara asked, leaning against the console as she watched the Doctor take her home.
"He's lived a thousand years and he's the most powerful warlock that will ever walk the earth. A very important man that one. Probably even more so than me. Definitely more powerful."
"More important? More powerful? Who was that man?" Clara asked in shock.
"You did a great deed tonight, Clara. I do believe that if you had not spoken up, something drastic might have happened. Not to himself but you have brought light back into him. The people of the world will be rewarded tomorrow." The Doctor mused. "That man was Merlin."