Doctor Oneshots

Silver (Imagine)

I jumped up and down, giggling madly, which just made the Doctor chuckle and grin. "It's snowing!"

"Yes, yes it is. Excellent observation." He smiled about and nodded approvingly. "Snow. I like snow. Snow's good."

"Snow's definitely good," I agreed, picking up a clod of it and tossing it at him playfully, "And this snow is amazing, because it's actual alien snow." I laughed again. The Doctor smirked, shirked off the snow, rubbed his hands pointedly and shoved them in the pockets of his coat. "Well, I'm glad to see someone's enjoying it."

"Oh, shut up," I smiled, running up to him at last and pulling him into a tight hug, "You know you still love it." He just nodded, looking out at the frankly phenomenal view we were getting from this little hilltop.

Spread out below us was a seemingly endless forest, stark white trees glistening with the silver-tinted snow of this world. The minty green sky added another layer of awe to the already beautiful, frigid landscape. The barest white light filtered through the cloudcover from the sun that shone on us, slightly smaller than the one back home, lending the place a kind of glow as opposed to the harsh light I was used to on the snow in New York, for instance.

Yep. I liked the snow here so much better than the snow in New York.

"You know what?"

"Probably." I shoved him and he grinned. "What?"

"I think silver is one of my favorite colors. Silver things are so pretty. Silver sky, silver snow, silver trees." I glanced over at him to find the grin faded into a small line of a mouth.

Oh man. I'd messed up again. That was the 'She's brought up my tragic past' face.

I sighed heavily and leaned on his shoulder, teasing his hand out of his pocket and threading my fingers through his. For once, his hand was warmer than mine. It felt nice.

"What's up?"

"Nothing really."

"Doctor."

"I'm fine."

"Doctor."

He sighed and glanced down at me, then looked back out. But by the look in his eyes, I could tell he wasn't seeing the forest anymore. He was looking at something far, far away from our hilltop.

"They remind me of home."

I blinked in surprise. "What do?"

"The trees, how they look right now."

I looked out again. The light the way it was right now, it seemed to me like the whole forest was either liquid, or made of silver fire.

"It's beautiful," I murmured. His only response was to nod.

"So," I ventured bravely, "the trees, on...Gallifrey," his jaw stiffened ever so slightly at the name. No wonder. I'd only learned it what felt like a week ago, completely by accident, and I'd known the Doctor for somewhere around two years. "They were silver?"

The Doctor started talking hesitantly, but not as if he was afraid to continue. Almost like he was remembering how. The more he talked, the more the hesitancy disappeared, the bigger and sadder and happier his smile and his eyes got. Near the end, he was talking so quickly, like he needed to get it all out before it disappeared again.

"Some of them, yeah. A lot of them, actually. Whole silver forests, as far as the eye could see, on the outskirts of the Citadel of the Time Lords, stretching across Wild Endeavor. When the leaves caught the light from the second sun rising in the South, it looked like fire was sweeping across the entire forest but still leaving nothing burning in it's wake. Fire without destruction. It was beautiful."

And then, I could see it. The trees seemed to morph and change, growing taller and brighter and thicker. The sky went from green to deep, burnt, beautiful orange. The sun split in two and they grew brighter, warmer, and I saw, for just a second, a great forest of silver trees on fire in the morning's light. Far off in the distance, a huge domed city loomed over the trees, golden spires looking like they wanted to touch the fiery sky.

My breath caught in my throat and I gave a strangled gasp, staring out in awe.

As quickly as it came, it was gone. The trees were white tinted silver again, and the sky was green, and the Citadel was nothing but endless horizon.

"Mildly telepathic atmosphere. Projects images if they're strong enough in someone's mind." I jumped and looked up at the Doctor. He had taken a step forward, and his hand was falling to his side, as if he'd been reaching out, toward the forest. If the wavering in his normally steady voice hadn't tipped me off, then the tear tracks he was quickly wiping away on his coat sleeve would have. Other than that, his expression and stance were ones I'd seen a thousand times before. Closed, emotionless, and hiding.

I took another shaky breath. "So...what I just saw...that was really...?"

"Just an image. An imitation."

"A memory."

He nodded.

I pulled him into a proper hug again. His chin rested on the top of my head, and I buried my face in his suit jacket. Neither of us commented on how hard we were clinging onto each other.

We stayed like that for a long time.

When we finally let go, by mutual agreement, he stuffed his hands in his pockets again and immediately headed back to the TARDIS.

"C'mon. Places to go, people to see, worlds to explore." I smiled, wiping the tears off my own face and ran to catch up, fishing his hand out and holding it again. After a while, I broke the silence.

"Doctor?"

"Hm?"

"It was a beautiful memory."

"Hm."

"Thank you."

I just managed to catch the small smile on his face and the passing final glance as he stepped back through his box's doors. I glanced back, and made a mental note: This place was definitely worth another visit.