Trapped in Time (Doctor Who Fanfiction)

Chapter 22: A Writer and a Goodbye

Chapter 22: A Writer, and a Goodbye

"Tell me about home again, Doctor. It's been so long since I looked up at a sky that wasn't blue."

A young Death stared into the small wispy flames of the residing fire. Embers remained in the ashes that hummed blue and orange. They paled in comparison to the death of black left in the gritty ashes of the black marble fireplace. There in the recesses of ash and burnt wood lied a glimmer of hope in the flickers of orange and blue. The fire had not completely gone out yet, but remained like a lingering dream, or a memory long forgotten.

"The sky's burnt orange, with the citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slops of deep red grass, capped with snow. The second sun would rise in the south, the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver. When they caught the light every morning, they lit the forest on fire."

The Doctor stared up at the ceiling in a daze and reached out, but caught himself in the act and pulled away concealing his emotions. The flicker of excitement vanished from his face and a somber, broken expression passed over his face.

"But, it's gone now. What's the use in remembering it anymore Sig? So, don't ask me about it anymore," he said sullenly.

"It was your fault this happened! I had a home in Gallifrey and you ruined it all! You never were there for me, you were a disgrace to the family. I won't forgive you for that ever, Doctor. I don't even know who you are anymore. You might as well be a rogue traveler out on a journey to nowhere. Don't even try to explain Doctor, I don't want to see you again. Find yourself another brother, or better yet another companion," he said icily.

His dark blue eyes glared at the Doctor. The very name of his brother disgusted him. When had he become a Doctor? He could barely take care of the people who actually cared about him. Death stood up from the tiled floor and threw the gift of a sonic screwdriver from his brother against the opposite wall.

It shattered and broke into several pieces that scattered across the tiled floor.

"Sig-Death, wait come back. Can't we talk about this? I want to be your brother again." The Doctor turned to face Death who stood at the exit to the house.

"Face it Doctor, you never were my brother. Find a replacement," he said seething in anger.

Death slammed the door behind him, and sent a wave of air flashing through the room.

Shortly after, the ember of hope vanished from the fireplace. What remained left was ashes and death.

The scene changed and became the interior of the Tardis.

"What are you going to do without her?" An older Death turned to face the Doctor.

"Who said I was going to leave her? I'll drop her back home, give her some time to adjust maybe, and then ask her to be my companion. I don't think she would refuse, I mean the whole Savior prophecy thing shouldn't get in the way. She really has been a great help to me, and I am indebted to her. One adventure, maybe?"

The Doctor put on some headphones and began to press random buttons on the Tardis console. He chuckled in delight at the results he heard through the headphones.

"Stop kidding yourself Doctor. The one adventure thing never is a one adventure thing. I mean look at what happened with Martha. But, you're always so blindsided to these types of things!"

He pulled off the headphones and squinted at Death.

"Were you saying something? Ah, nevermind! I really think these headphones I used for Jessie were a brilliant idea! I'll have to experiment with them more. The whole dreamscape was quite a success. I should try using it again sometime."