"Broken"
Sometimes, on the days when they go somewhere they've never been and see something they've never seen and the Doctor bounces around like a little kid at Disney World, it's easy to forget that the Doctor has seen so much hurt and destruction.
And then there are days when it all gets to him. There are days when he doesn't leave his room, when he doesn't talk to his Companions, when he even ignores the TARDIS.
When they woke up, Alex and Jack could tell it was one of those days. The night before it had been a difficult one – a painful reminder that even the Doctor couldn't save everyone.
Alex leans against the kitchen doorframe. "I wish there were some way we could help him."
Jack pauses his pacing and looks at her. "We could, if he'd let us. But we've been through this before – he wouldn't even let us though the door."
"Right," agrees Alex. She sighs. "He has to deal with it on his own. It'd be easier for him if he'd just talk to us, but no. Days like to day he just ignores us, and days like tomorrow he pretends it never happened."
Jack walks over to her and hugs her. "He feels responsible. You know how he gets."
"But he isn't!" Alex exclaims frustratedly. "When it came down to it, there was nothing he could do." She shakes her head. "It wasn't even his decision in the end.
Jack nods. "He'd gotten kind of attached to M'kaela though."
"We all had," Alex agrees. "But it was her or half the planet, so I can't feel too terrible about it. She saved everyone."
"Everyone but herself," corrects Jack.
"Well, yeah," says Alex. "Hence –" she nods at the closed door across the hall. Jack nods.
They stand there in silence for a while.
"Did he do this sort of thing the first time you travelled with him?" Alex asks after a while.
Jack nods. "Once or twice."
Alex looks disappointed. "If he did this with Rose around, then there's really nothing you and I can do."
"He's broken," says Jack. "He's broken, and the universe never really gives him enough of a break to stop and fix himself. Time will help, a bit. But even though it seems like we can't help, we have to keep trying. 'Cause he needs our support, too."
Jack and Alex walk into the Doctor's room and sit down on either side of him.
Alex notices that M'kaela's name has already been added to a constantly growing list of lost friends that sits on the desk.
(She lives in a state of constant temptation to take the list of 'failures' and hide it, but she long ago decided that she never would.)
She puts her arms around the Doctor and refuses to let go. "We're here for you, Doc," she whispers. Then she kisses him on the cheek.
Jack presses a soft kiss to the top of the Doctor's head and adds, "We love you."
And the Doctor, who has seen far too much hurt and felt far too much pain, just nods and pulls them both closer.
He may never be fixed, but at least he's not alone.