The crows cawed as Vincent set up his easel, planting it into the dirt, as he placed the canvas on it, getting his materials ready.

"And, be sure to let me know if you see any monsters." The Doctor instructed, as Vincent sat down in his chair.

"Yes, while I may be mad," He turned to look at the Doctor. "I'm not stupid."

"No, quite." The Doctor sat on the ground next to the painter. "And to be honest… I'm not sure about mad either. It seems to me depression is a very complex-"

"Shh…" Van Gogh hushed, getting into his element. "I'm working."

"Well, yes." The Doctor stammered. "Paint! Do painting!"


"I remember watching Michelangelo paint the roof of the Sistine Chapel!" The Doctor commented, as Vincent got the sky around the church painted first. "Wow! What a whiner! I kept saying to him, if you were afraid of heights, why'd you take the bloody job!?"

"Shh!" El hushed the Doctor for Vincent.


"And Picasso…" The Doctor huffed, as Vincent continued with the windows of the church. "Ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, 'look, Pablo, concentrate! It's only one eye, either side of the face.'"

"Quiet." El ordered, smacking the Doctor on his side.


"Is this how time normally moves?" The Doctor asked, sitting on a rock, staring ahead. "Really slowly… in the right order…" He got to his feet, marching over to the canvas. "If there's one thing, I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack."

"Dad," El looked to the Time Lord. "Did you forget your ADHD pills again?"

The Doctor spluttered. "What!? Where'd you learn that!?"

"I heard Aunt Sarah say that if you weren't on medication, you probably need to be."

The Doctor huffed. "Oh, that woman. Always-"

"There!" Vincent suddenly pointed. "He's at the window!"

The Doctor whipped around, looking. "Where!?"

"There!" Vincent pointed again. "The one on the right!"

"As I thought, you two, stay here!" The Doctor ordered, breaking into a mad dash for the church entrance. "And don't follow me under any circumstances!"

"…are you going to follow him?"

El snorted. "Yeah."


The Doctor strapped the scanner to his chest, pushing the old wooden door of the church open. The scanner beeped as the Time Lord entered the building, the Krafayis grunting as the Doctor entered further, checking the scanner over both sides of his shoulders as he slowly proceeded.

Taking the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor flicked it open, setting it to a setting that would stun the alien, as he proceeded in.

The scanner suddenly stopped, and the Doctor checked it, angling it towards the window. "Damn. He's moved."

The Doctor suddenly felt the wind get knocked out of him as the scanner shattered, and he fell to the floor.

"Dad!" El from outside upon hearing the glass break.

The Doctor shot back up quickly, sonicing the air where the Krafayis stood, the creature huffing in pain. The Time Lord made a break for the door.

"Dad!" El shouted, appearing in the doorframe.

"Ah!" The Doctor screamed. "Don't do that! You scared the living- Never mind, we'll talk about it in here!" He said, pushing her into a confession box, before climbing into the other side.

'El… keep absolutely quiet.' The Doctor mentally directed, El willing her breathing to steady in response.

The place went quiet, the only thing either of them hearing the Krafayis as it stomped around the church's main hall.

The wall next to El suddenly exploded.

"Never mind, I think he heard us!" The Doctor replied.

"Hey!" Vincent bellowed from outside, "Are you looking for me, sonny!? Come on! I'm right here!"

"That's got to be the most Scottish Dutchman I've ever seen!" The Doctor remarked sprinting out, pulling El out of the other side, before running across the church to get behind Vincent. Sonicing the air where Vincent was attacking with the chair, the Doctor looked to the painter. "Doing anything?"

"No!" Vincent shook his head.

Deciding to retreat, the Doctor pulled El outside, while Vincent kept the Krafayis at bay.

"Whare is he!?" The Doctor frantically looked around.

"Where do you think he is, you idiot!?" Vincent replied. "Use your head!"

The Doctor soniced the air again. "Anything!?"

"Nothing!" The artist informed. "In fact… he seemed to rather enjoy it."

"Eugh. El?" The Doctor turned to her.

"Can't see it, can't move it!" The girl told him.

The Doctor took a few steps back.

"Duck!" Vincent shouted, the Time Lord immediately dropped, as the Krafayis's invisible tail swept the air over the Doctor. "Left!"

The Doctor bobbed to his right, before being thrown through the air, hitting the wall.

"Sorry, my left!"

"This is no good at all." The Doctor grumbled, getting to his feet. "Run like crazy and regroup!"

"In here!" El pushed the door to the crypt open, ushering Vincent and the Doctor inside.

The three of them pushed against the door as the Krafayis tried to hold it open, jamming its foot in the doorframe.

Vincent stomped the invisible clawed foot, the monster screeching as it pulled away, the door slamming shut now that the space was empty.

"Right, okay, here's the plan." The Doctor flopped back against the door. "El, Vincent…" He trailed off.

"What's the plan!?" El demanded.

"I don't know!" The Doctor replied. "All I know is that in the future the only thing I'm using this screwdriver for is screwing in screws!"

"Give me a second," Vincent told them, "I'll be back." He outlined, running out the back.

"I suppose we could try talking to him." The Doctor considered.

"Talking?" The girl demanded once more.

"Well, yes." The Doctor said. "Might be interesting to know his side of the story."

The Krafayis screeched.

"Though maybe he's not in the mood for conversation."

The Krafayis banged against the door, the Doctor still holding it shut.

"Well, no harm in trying!" The Time Lord spun around, placing his hands on the wood. "Listen. Listen!" The Doctor bellowed, the banging ceasing immediately in response. "Now, I know you can understand me even though you won't know why you can understand me. I also know that no one's talked to you for a pretty long stretch, but please… listen. I also don't belong on this planet." He sympathized. "I am also alone. If you trust me I'm sure we can come to some kind of understanding. And then… and then, who knows?"

The glass on the other side of the room suddenly shattered, heavy footfalls thudding against the stone, as the Krafayis's breathing disturbed the dust under it.

A flag suddenly tipped over, as the Krafayis knocked into it, running into the wall.

"Over here, mate!" Vincent came back from nowhere, brandishing his easel like a pitchfork, pointing the spikes on the bottom in the direction of the alien.

"What's it doing?" The Doctor questioned, putting himself and El behind the man.

"It's moving around the room, feeling its way around." The artist answered.

The Doctor frowned. "What?"

"It's like its trapped." Vincent said, looking at the Krafayis. "It's moving around the edges of the room."

"Oh… I am stupid." The Doctor muttered.

"Yes, you are." El confirmed. "But we'll talk about it later."

"No, but listen!" The Doctor ran over to their position. "Why does it attack and never eat its victims?" He asked, lowering his voice. "Why was it abandoned by its pack and left here to die? And why is it feeling its way helplessly around the walls of the room?"

The Krafayis screeched as it knocked into a statue.

"It can't see." The Doctor looked to them. "It's blind. Which explains why it has such perfect hearing!" He bitterly shouted.

"Yes, which unfortunately also explains why it's now turning around and heading straight for us!" Vincent shot to his feet.

"Stupid!" El smacked the Doctor on the arm.

"Vincent," The Doctor got up, pulling her up as well, standing behind Vincent, as the painter pointed his easel. "Vincent, what's happening?"

"It's charging now, get back!" He warned. "Get back!" Vincent repeated, the floor thumping as the Krafayis charged.

Vincent staggered slightly as the Krafayis hit the end of the easel, howling in pain. The easel was pulled up, Vincent holding onto the end, thrashing about, as the easel dug deeper into the alien's flesh.

The artist dropped, and the Krafayis howled, stumbling back, before it fell, the only indication the creature was there being the easel floating about a foot off the ground.

"He wasn't without mercy at all." Vincent mournfully took off his hat, as they slowly approached the dying alien. "He was without his sight… I didn't mean that to happen." He breathed, as the Doctor crouched by the Krafayis's side, placing a hand on empty air, feeling the alien's breathing slow. "I only wanted to wound it. I didn't mean to…"

The Krafayis warbled, as El stood by the Doctor, holding onto him as the creature bled out.

"He's trying to say something…" The Doctor spoke. "I'm having trouble making it out, but I think he's saying… 'Afraid. I'm afraid.'" The Time Lord tried kindly stroking the dying creature. "Shh… Don't worry. It's okay. You'll be fine…"

The Krafayis finally stopped, and the Doctor sighed, rubbing his face as he stood up.

"He was frightened… and he lashed out. Like humans who lash out when they're frightened." Vincent recognized. "Like the villagers who hate me… Like the children who throw stones at me."

The Doctor slowly nodded, looking down. "Sometimes… winning is no fun at all."


The three of them lay in the grass in a ring, looking up at the starry night sky above, stairs twinkling faintly as the moon hung up there, like it was watching the three as well.

"Hold my hand," Vincent held out both his arms, the three of them all joining hands as they stargazed. "Try to see what I see… We're so lucky we're still alive to see this beautiful world." The painter smiled, gazing into the sky. "Look at the sky. It's not dark and black and without color. The black is in fact deep blue. And over there!" He pointed. "Lighter blue. And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the wind swirling through the air, and then shining, burning, bursting through! The stars!"

The Doctor smiled as he skimmed the surface of Vincent's mind, allowing him to truly see the sky as Vincent saw it, and then he passed that along to El as well.

"Can you see how they roar their light?" Vincent asked, as from the perspective of the other two, it looked like the stars in the sky began to swirl, light streaming between them. "Everywhere we look, the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes."

Blue began to swirl, the sky flowing like water, as the moon began to glow gold from the perspective of the two...

A Starry Night, indeed.

"I've seen many things, Vincent." The Doctor softly smiled, as he let the image fade. "But you're right… nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see."

"…I will miss you terribly, Doctor."


"I only wish I had something of real value to give you." Vincent apologized, birds singing as the gold light of the morning sun cast itself down upon the Earth.

The Doctor giggled giddily, as he held the self-portrait in his hand by Vincent's face. "No, no, I could never accept such an extraordinary gift."

"Very well." Vincent took the portrait back from the Time Lord. "You are not the first to decline such an offer. El," He pointed to the child, "You keep this idiot from getting himself killed, understand?"

The girl mimicked the motion she'd seen the Doctor perform, giving Vincent a two-fingered salute. "Got it."

"Doctor, my friend," Vincent vigorously took the Time Lord's arm. "We have fought monsters and we have won… On my own, I fear I may not do as well."

"…Bah." The Doctor pulled Vincent into a hug.


"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The Doctor inquired as he and El walked away from Vincent's house.

The girl looked down at her stomach. "Hungry."

"Well then, no, you're not thinking what I'm thinking." The Doctor came to a stop. He spun around, back to the house. "Vincent!"

The Dutchman poked his head out the window, brush held between his teeth as he was already starting work on another painting.

"Got something I'd like to show you."


"Now, you know we've had quite a few chats about the possibility of there being something more to life than normal people imagine?" The Doctor rambled as they walked down the alley, back to the blue box waiting at the end.

The Doctor stopped, groaning as he looked at the flyers plastered all over the outside of the TARDIS. Shaking his head, he nevertheless continued.

"Yes." Vincent answered.

"Well," The Doctor chuckled, "Brace yourself, Vinny."

Taking the key, the Doctor cut a line down the flyers at the door seam, before placing the key in the lock, pushing the door open, before stepping aside.

Vincent poked his head in first, gasping at the colossal space inside.

The Doctor and El glanced at each other, keeping from laughing, as Vincent felt his way around the outside of the TARDIS.

"How come I'm the crazy one and you two have stayed sane?" Vincent asked, finally stepping into the TARDIS fully.

The Doctor chuckled, placing Vincent's hat on the coat rack as he and El followed, shutting the door.

"What do these things all do?" Vincent asked, stepping up to the console.

"Oh, a huge variety of things." The Doctor answered, moving around the control unit. "This one here, for instance, plays soothing music!" He hit the radio dial on the communications panel, a classical station from Earth emitting from the speaker. "While this one makes a rather significant amount of noise." He pushed the dematerialization lever forward, the ship thudding. "And this one makes everything go absolutely tonto!" He pushed the throttle forward, the TARDIS launching into movement a microsecond later.

Vincent stumbled around, laughing, as the TARDIS moved.

"And this one?" Vincent pointed.

"THAT'S THE FRICTION CONTRAFIBRULATOR!" The Doctor's eyes bugged out as he moved Vincent away from the control.

"And this?" Vincent pointed to the yellow and red buttons.

"Ketchup, mustard." El pointed to each one.

"Nice." Vincent laughed, turning to grab the Doctor. "Come on! Come back to the café and we can talk all about the wonders of the universe!"

"Ah," The Doctor smiled, holding up a finger as the TARDIS completed the rematerialization sequence. "Good idea, but there's a little something I want to show you first."


The posters that had been plastered on the TARDIS burned away, fire being smothered out as the scraps landed in the faint snowfall.

The doors opened, the Doctor, El, and Vincent stepping out.

"Where are we?" Vincent breathed, looking around, as the sounds of car horns and ambulance sirens reached his ears.

"Paris." The Doctor answered, spinning around. "2010 AD. And this is the mighty Musée d'Orsay." He threw an arm around Vincent's shoulder, gesturing. "Home to many of the greatest paintings in history."

"That's wonderful." Vincent smiled. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, as he looked to the couple walking by, holding a radio.

"Ignore that." The Doctor instructed. "I've got something more important to show you."


The trio walked up the stairs of the main hall, Vincent looking around at all the art exhibits in wonder, almost childlike awe, as the two time travelers led him on.

The Doctor struck a pose in front of a statue, giggling slightly, as he guided Vincent to continue.


They reached the Van Gogh exhibit, and Vincent stopped, looking around.

His jaw dropped slightly, as he saw all the people looking at his paintings. Admiring his paintings. Taking pictures of them, talking about each one and what made it great.

"Dr. Black," The Doctor caught the man's attention.

"Yes?" Black turned to the Time Lord.

"We met a few days ago," The Doctor jogged the man's memory as he led him slowly over to Vincent, still looking around in shock, "I asked you about the Church at Auvers."

El smiled and turned Vincent to face in their direction.

"Oh, yes." Black recalled, "Glad to have been of help. You were nice about my tie."

"Yes," The Doctor chuckled, "And today is another cracker, if I may say so. But, I just wondered, between you and me, in one-hundred words…" He turned to Vincent to make sure the man was looking. "Where do you think Van Gogh rates in the history of art?"

"Well, um…" Black began, like he'd finally been asked the question he wanted to answer most. "Big question. But, to me, Van Gogh is the greatest painter of them all."

Vincent turned to face the man, shocked beyond belief.

"Certainly, the most popular great painter of all time," Black continued, "The most beloved. His command of color the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty."

Vincent grew misty-eyed, looking around at all of it.

"Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and your pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world… No one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. To my mind, that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world's greatest artist… but also one of the greatest men who ever lived."

The waterworks had started at that point, the Doctor turning to the painter.

"Vincent," The Doctor shot over, uncaring of who heard them at that point, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, is it too much?"

"No." The man shook his head, as the Doctor comforted him. "They are tears of joy." He pulled back from the Time Lord, marching over to Dr. Black. "Thank you, sir." He embraced the man. "Thank you…"

"You're welcome." Black blinked in confusion. "You're welcome."

"Come on…" The Doctor whispered to Vincent, as he pulled away from Dr. Black. "Come on."

Dr. Black turned to go about his business, before freezing.

He looked between Vincent, and the self-portrait, before shaking his head. Vincent Van Gogh back from the dead to see all the people who loved his art?

Impossible.


The TARDIS solidified, in a field not far from Vincent's house.

"This changes everything!" Vincent said, upon stepping out of the TARDIS. "I'll walk outside tomorrow, easel on my back, a different man! …Though I still can't believe one of the Haystacks was in that museum. How embarrassing."

The Doctor laughed. "It's been a great adventure. And a great honor."

Vincent laughed as he embraced the Time Lord. "You've turned out to be the first doctor ever actually to make a difference in my life!"

"I'm delighted! I won't ever forget you!" The Time Lord smiled. "Ah… to hell with it." He gave the painter a quick peck on the lips. "There's one more historical figure off the list." The Doctor pointed. "See about trimming that beard." He recommended. "Come along, El."

El nodded, but looked at Vincent, waving. "Goodbye, Vincent."

The doors closed behind them, and Vincent watched, as the TARDIS vanished in faint light. The painter fixed his hat and went about his day.

…but not before wiping his lips.


"Come on, dad!" El pulled the Doctor, "Let's go see what he's painted!"

El stopped at the Van Gogh exhibit, looking around at the place being exactly how it was at the very beginning.

"We have here the last work of Vincent Van Gogh, who committed suicide at only 37." Dr. Black spoke from the other side of the room.

El's face fell. She was sure, so sure…

"Hey…" The Doctor gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"We couldn't save him…" A tear fell from El's eye. "We couldn't save him."

"Oh, El," The Doctor pulled her into a hug. "No matter how hard you want to, how hard you try… you can't always save everyone. But I will tell you what we did do." The Doctor murmured into her ear. "…The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always take away from the pain of the bad, but the bad things don't spoil the good things and make them unimportant…" He smiled. "And we definitely added to his pile of good things. And, if you look…" He pointed over to the Church at Auvers.

"No Krafayis…" El allowed herself a smile as well.

"No Krafayis." The Doctor echoed, tapping her nose.

The girl nodded slightly, looking around, before she froze. "Dad… look."

The Doctor turned to follow her line of sight, and he too, stopped. Walking across the room, El's hand clasped in his, they stopped in front of the painting… To a mirror of themselves in Vincent's impressionist style.

"'Doctor Who.'" The Doctor read, with a slight smile. "'Doctor Who…' You know what, El? …I think this is the best museum trip I've ever had."