All He Ever Does
The Doctor is standing on the balcony, an ever light breeze blowing softly across the rocky plains, the sun so low in the sky, only just beginning to rise after the ever long night Darillium was home to. 24 years had passed by since the doctor had first set foot on Darillium, just as the sun began to disappear from the sky. Then, he had been filled with an almost melancholic happiness. He was once again with his River after her being out of his life for nearing 900 years. Yet he knew the sun was setting, it was almost time to say goodbye. One last night, 24 years or not, was a such a finite time when set against the potential enormity of the time he would live after. He did his best to push this sobering thought back and enjoy the time he had left with her.
Yet when the moon finally began to descend and it came time to bid River farewell, he found himself at a loss. Unable to truly tell her his sorrow, spoilers and all, he was distraught. "Until we meet again, Sweetie." She said, still hopeful despite their first conversation on the planet. Kissing him lightly. He simply smiled sadly and said, "Spoilers, River." She smiled coyly, never tiring of the eldest doctor and the way he had taken to her own habit of teasing him of the future. Unaware of the silent tears flowing down The Doctor's left cheek as she disappeared into the ship behind her, The Doctor knowing it would eventually bring her to The Library, where she would meet her end.
Now, as he stared out to the Singing Towers themselves, those spectacles of nature, he heard a song. Once again a tear rolled down his cheek, for he knew the song was over, yet a new one was beginning. The night had ended, and what a night it had been, yet now, it was a new dawn. He turned, leaving from the balcony and returning inside the restaurant. He passed by the busy tables, all the diners unaware of the enormity of the events that had transpired. He gave a nod to the staff nearby and went into the basement of the establishment, filled with purpose. Winding his way through the corridors of machinery, he finally came upon her. His Old Girl, his TARDIS.
Having sat inactive for 24 years in the depths of the building, she had accumulated dust, yet she was still ever gorgeous in his eyes. His impossibly ancient blue box, not always listening to him but always helping him. With a snap of his fingers, the doors opened, as he knew they would, just as they had the first time he had done so, ever so long ago, after meeting River for the first time. He walked in, closing the doors behind him. The lights churned on with a slight groan, revealing the Steel Grey and Blue interior that he had grown so accustomed to. He walked up to the console, his feet ringing against the metallic floor as he went. He began to work on the console, starting to plot a course to somewhere, anywhere other than Darillium, when his eyes caught on something.
It was the chalkboard, present just at the top of the stairs, the words still as clean and as clear as they had been decades ago. "Run you clever boy, and be a doctor." They said. Words from that ever elusive Clara, the woman he knew was a monumental part of his life yet could not picture. At first, he had seen it as a clear, singular meaning message. "Move on from me, and go on helping people as you always try to do." Yet now, the words found a new meaning, as well as a second person to be attributed to. He let out a chuckle as realization hit him. "Run, that's all I ever do, isn't it? Run away, push everyone to the back of my mind and continue on, being The Doctor." He said to the inanimate chalkboard, as if it could reply. "Now, I suppose, she's the one running and pushing me to the back of her mind, isn't she?" He said, fully aware of the irony before him.
"You watch us run..." He echoed, the words River had said that day in The Library coming back to him. Run they had, for so very long. Now it was over, but he was not done. Nowhere near it. Running, that was all he ever did. A strange sort of determination filled him as he spoke them once more. "Yes, Clara. You watch us run. The Girl That Never Was, the Old Girl and I will never stop." He said, smiling as he ran over to the console, plotting co-ordinates for wherever. It was time he got back into the swing of things. He could never stay alone for long, of course. He wondered who would be next as the TARDIS went into flight, causing the room to shake as he flew off into the Time Vortex, running toward his next destination.
Author's Note: This was my first ever fan-fiction. A short one-shot depicting the bridge between The Doctor leaving Darillium and the start of Series 10. Please, feel free to tell me what you think! I have huge plans for stories in the future, this was quickly written up late after I registered, in the interest of stretching my newly created muscles on this site!