In loving memory of William Russell, who sadly passed away on June 3 and has gone on to join the other Doctors and Companions at the TARDIS in the sky.
Cemetery
Day
The funeral was over, the mourners were slowly departing. A woman in her mid-twenties was about to leave when she noticed a man with floppy brown hair and sad brown eyes watching from the distance. After a moment of indecision, she approached the man.
"Hello. Are you lost?" The woman asked politely and he smiled sadly.
"No just…saying goodbye. I didn't want to impose, though," the man said politely, looking at her in a way that made her feel that the man was seeing something else.
"You knew my grandfather then? Were you a former student of his?" the woman asked and he smiled tightly.
"Something like that. Ian was a good friend, once upon a time. He was a good man. And I'm sure he was a good father and grandfather as well," the man said and the woman laughed.
"The best. He'd spoil me when he could but he never hesitated to tell me when he thought I'd done something wrong. I learned a lot about being a good person from him," the woman said and The Doctor laughed.
"As did I," The Doctor said, his eyes growing sad once more.
"I'm Victoria," the woman introduced herself and The Doctor looked at her sharply. "What?"
"Just…I had a friend named Victoria once," The Doctor said softly.
"Vicki, right?" Victoria asked, her eyes lighting up in realization. "I was named after my aunt, who was named after her. You're The Doctor, aren't you? Granddad and Gram always talked about you."
"You have her eyes, Barbara's eyes. But I see much of him in you," The Doctor said with a tight smile.
"Would you…like to come back to the house? We're holding a wake, I'm sure everyone would love to meet you," Victoria said, feeling obligated to invite the old friend of her grandparents.
"Thank you, Victoria, but I'd prefer to be alone," The Doctor told her softly.
"Okay. Well, if you change your mind, it's a house three miles from here, the little house on the left," Victoria said before, reluctantly, turning and walking away, heading towards her family.
The Doctor watched them all go, one by one, waiting until all the mourners were gone until he finally approached the grave. For a long moment, it was silent.
"All the vast wonders of the universe, all the lives I've saved…and yet I can't save the people who matter most to me," The Doctor said with a miserable sigh. "You'd think I'd have learned by now that nothing lasts forever. But even an old man like me can't seem to accept that. And I know you would tell me that I should learn to live with the things I cannot control. And I'm trying Ian, I am. But every time something like this happens, I can't seem to do that. I'm trying though, I am. If there is an afterlife, I hope you're with Barbara, old friend. Farewell, Professor Chesterton."
The Doctor stared at the grave a moment longer, sadness and grief filling him before he turned away, trying not to let tears fall as he departed the cemetery.
Until next time.