AN INVISIBLE FRIEND
Synopsis/Proposal
The 8th Doctor.
This is set during the 8th Doctor novels* when he is traveling to St. Louis 2001 the old fashioned way. (One day at a time.)
To the best of my knowledge there are only five novels in this arc. I don't know if it occurred in any other media so, if this idea has been used before, my bad.
There are gaps in this journey, some much longer than others, where we have no knowledge of what he was doing. I don't imagine that the Doctor was simply hibernating between the First and Second World Wars, or keeping a low profile from 1951 to 198_. However, that is too much to deal with unless we just consider discrete elements, minor fragments of the kaleidoscope.
So let's say a child is born just before The Great War, probably a boy, as the sexual politics of the times to come would severely limit a female protagonist.
(This rough date is suggested as he needs to still be alive later in the Century.)
As he grows up and lives his life he continually hears of, and encounters, a man who never ages.
He is usually only ever peripherally involved in these situations and this man, whom he once hears referred to as 'the Doctor', never really notices him. He becomes increasingly obsessed with this 'Forever Man' as he thinks of him, and begins to follow any accounts or references he can find that may be related to him.
And he decides that he wants to help.
It probably wouldn't be advisable to implicate him in any of the published novels, but I can read them again if there is any interest in the idea.
For the moment his name is unimportant, but he should probably be in the military, or a spook, or both. This explains his access to information, and his presence at the points of conflict where the Doctor so frequently makes an appearance.
So, one possible timeline:
Encounter One: 1923. The boy is ten. His father died in The War, nothing unusual in that, except that he didn't die in France. The boy's mother says it happened somewhere in Yorkshire, but she doesn't know any details. Officials and their secrets.
Now his friends are full of talk of strange goings on here at home. He investigates. He see's something he doesn't understand, something bad very nearly happens to him. A man in a green jacket saves him.
Two: 1930. Something witnessed decides him to join the army at 17. The man in a green jacket was involved.
Three: 1944. Having survived through-out the war, he is now an operative or sniper in France during the dying days. He is instructed to kill someone, but once he has the target in his sights he realizes that it is the man in the green jacket.
He doesn't pull the trigger.
From now on he is actively trying to track down the Doctor.
On some occasions he comes very close to actually meeting him, but something always prevents it.
He becomes increasingly convinced that the Doctor is a force for good in the world.
*'The Burning', 'Casualties of War', 'The Turing Test', 'Endgame', 'Father Time'.
AN INVISIBLE FRIEND
Sample Narrative
(Note: This is totally off the cuff and un-researched, it is just written to give the flavor intended.)
I returned from overseas just in time to catch the tail end of some flap in London, something to do with The Underground of all places!
Everything was decidedly hush-hush and, quite frankly, smelled of a cover-up to me. (Hmm… Elspeth always used to chide me for my suspicious nature, I recall.)
However, one pertinent item did find its way across my desk eventually – the name of the chap in command of the military response - and there were also some vague intimations circulating of a 'mysterious' individual who had provided invaluable assistance.
Being somewhat familiar myself with secrecy and misdirection, and overly acquainted with the Holy Trinity of 'Rumors, Gossip, and Lies', I nevertheless believed that I had enough clues to allow myself some hope.
This incident had all the hallmarks of a situation that would draw 'the Doctor', like a moth to a flame!
I hadn't seen Lethbridge-Stewart since Korea some _ years earlier, and whilst I had followed his own career with interest, I thought it unlikely that he would be familiar with mine.
I wasn't even sure the man would recognize me, anonymity being in my nature both personally and professionally; but I wangled my way into a private party nonetheless, with the intention of 'accidentally' bumping into him.
Now a full Colonel, Lethbridge-Stewart ("Please, call me Alistair, Sir" he murmured to me politely) had lost none of the keen wit, and sharp observational skills, that had so impressed me back then.
I regret to say that I did not return his kindness, instead allowing him to address me by rank, as my superiority permitted. I no longer had any doubt that he knew exactly who I was.
We exchanged small talk for some time, comfortable in each other's company - I congratulating him on his well-deserved rise through the ranks, he enquiring after my health - were the old wounds giving me any trouble, that sort of thing.
It was only as he passed me a large brandy and asked if my wife was well, that the conversation faltered momentarily.
He had always been a good sort, and I regretted his discomfort and genuine distress as he offered his condolences but, being the bastard that I am, I chose that moment to broach the subject of the Doctor.
This evidently took him completely by surprise or, perhaps, had shocked him deeply, for one eyebrow rose an entire eighth of an inch before he composed himself.
"Doctor?" he enquired mildly, swirling his own brandy beneath his nose. "Medical chap?"
I was obliged to explain my interest in, and desire to meet, this fellow that might possibly be known to him. Alistair studied me shrewdly over his drink.
"Describe him to me." He suggested briskly. And so I did.
I pride myself on an ability to read faces, so my heart sank as I told him about the man in the green jacket.
Whilst he listened politely, it was evident from his total lack of recognition that Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart had never met the Doctor, or anyone even vaguely resembling him - and was now wondering how to deliver this news without embarrassing me.
As I said, a good sort.