His Constant Companion
By Twin Kats

He doesn't remember when, exactly, he found the little monochromatic ageless teen. He could have be One, Two, Eight, Five, or even Seven way back, that first day he stumbled across the boy. Really it doesn't matter in the end because no matter how long it has been the ageless teen just seems to have always been there.

The Doctor could look back and almost say he'd even been on Gallifrey, although that was quite impossible.

He does remember landing the Tardis, opening the doors, and stepping out into a snow-strewn land. Something or someone had called the Tardis to this place and he was mighty curious. So with sonic screwdriver in hand the Doctor took to searching the winter-wasteland. It looked like Earth, it felt like Earth, but even now the Doctor just wasn't sure if it was Earth or not.

He had wandered for a bit, no more than a minute, before he had spotted the black smudge on the white world, laying so still that for a minute the Doctor thought he'd wandered upon a corpse. But no, this wasn't a corpse he learned as he got closer. Bright, brilliant, and unearthly green eyes stared open yet dulled.

Some sort of tragedy had struck the being there, the Doctor figured. Cautiously he approached; cautiously he asked if he could sit there. The child said nothing, didn't even glance in his direction. Cautiously the Doctor seated himself down upon the snow, next to the boy. It was silence for some time before the Doctor spoke again.

"Mighty cold out, innit?" the Doctor asked, rubbing his arms. "I mean brrr! But you…you don't seem all that affected to the cold. I wonder why? Not that it matters, really, I suppose. Not unless you want to tell me. Still even for my physiology this is pretty darn cold. Any reason why you're just lying out here like your waiting to die? Or is that it, you want to die? Bit lonely place to die, don't you think? Well I suppose there's a sense of beauty here…lonely beauty."

The Doctor trailed off and then asked, "Do you want some hot chocolate? I'd go for a bit of hot chocolate. I've got some, if you want it, back in me ship. Free of charge, I swear, but it'd be nice for a bit of a warm up wouldn't it? What do you say, fancy some of my famous hot chocolate? It's a recipe I got from Chocoletoria, or at least I think it was Chocoletoria. Might've been Foolgatia. Bah, who cares? It's hot chocolate! So what do you say?"

The Doctor had then shoved his hand in the tan, monochromatic boy's face. Green eyes went cross-eyed but, after a second, a gloved hand gripped his. The Doctor almost shivered. The boy was cold.

He had pushed it aside, brought the kid back to his Tardis, chattering on all the while. They got some hot chocolate, the Doctor still chattering on. Eventually the Doctor asked if the boy would like to travel. The boy shrugged.

He didn't leave, though.

Years passed and moved on, the Doctor remembered, and the boy never left. Not truly. At first the Doctor had been quite surprised that the teen had stayed but it became apparent after a while why.

No one but the Doctor could apparently see him.

His hearts went out to the kid, truly it did, and he tried his hardest to help him. Rarely did they run across someone who could see the teen, and even then it was a passing or fuzzy glance. More than once the Doctor offered to see why this was but the boy always shook his head.

Over a hundred years went by and then the Doctor realized the child wasn't aging, which made him wonder how old the boy was, although he couldn't truly be called a boy. He'd almost asked, once, but those sad green eyes hit him and he stopped.

The Doctor couldn't remember how many companions he had in-between finding the ageless teen, nor could he remember if said ageless teen was present during the Time War to when he destroyed Gallifrey. Most of his memories of before were befuddled, a mess that made some coherence but not a lot. As Nine he was bitter, broken.

As Nine he gave the teen the title Death, which seemed befitting. Everyone else who could see the shadow or a fuzzy image had likened him to Death, at least, despite it not being Her, the Aspect or Immortal or whatever you wish to call that feminine Eternal being known as Death. Still it was nice, for a while, having his often floating, glowing constant companion. He could soundboard off of the boy, back and forth, and not be judged.

Those green eyes never judged him.

As Ten the boy followed him as he fell in love, watched as he lost said love, tried to comfort him with his silent presence. It didn't work, not entirely. He was there, though, even as Davros rose again, even as the Master died and came back, even as he got shot full of too much radiation and he regenerated….

Eleven came into the world and smiled at Death, that monochromatic ageless boy, and then promptly nearly crashed the Tardis.

It was a whirlwind of adventure after that but, as Amy slept one night, his seemingly ghostly companion met him in the Library, silent and quiet and green eyes contemplating something. The Doctor just sent him a smile and moved to go back to his book.

Then Death opened his mouth and spoke, for the first time ever in the years he's been following the Doctor.

"I don't know how old I am anymore," he whispered, "but I can remember everything so clearly that drove me into what I am now."

The Doctor set down his book in shock.

"I was fourteen, you know, when my life pretty much went to hell. My mom, dad, sister and friends died in a fiery explosion. The explosion set of a chain reaction to a gas line underground and within seconds the entire city was one big crater…and I can still see it. The blood and the expressions and him…and I know it was my fault; my choices killed them, made him…like yours ended Gallifrey, and I cannot forget it no matter how hard I try."

The Doctor looked away for a minute and then turned back to Death and said, "Just me now. It was a bad day, bad stuff happened…and you know what I would love to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don't."

Death stared, green eyes widening.

"Not ever," the Doctor uttered and hoped, prayed, that Death understood what he meant to say.

And Death did as he murmured, shocked, eyes distant as if seeing something he'd seen once, long before, "Gone…but not forgotten."

The Doctor nodded, smiling, and closed his eyes with a whispered, "I know, I know…"

Death reached out and tugged the Doctor into a kiss. They would remember together, forever, because he was the Doctor's constant companion, and they were both most alike one another in the end. They would never forget.

The pain of losing Gallifrey, of losing love, of losing family and home and life.

The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings a storm in his wake and he was one constant companion.

Death.

Notes:

Yes, Death is Danny Phantom. He's ageless and never changes back into Fenton anymore. Why? Well I'm not quite sure.

If anyone wants me to continue this…I'll figure something out. Really. It was just something I did for some fun, some crack. It was a video, see? [Death] His Constant Companion [Danny/Doctor] you can find it up on YT under that title.

But yah. I finally got around to writing out this oneshot. Again if I get enough positive reviews…I'll make more, I suppose. Enjoy~