Tales From The TARDIS

Nothing Can Be Eternal

The Doctor leaned against the dirty wall, staring blankly at the roof riddled with holes. Moonlight shone down on the funny little group that had decided to make the abandoned building they're refuge for the night.

It was eerily quiet. Beggars, thieves, and merchants alike had retreated from the streets, weary from another long day of misery.

Surrounding the sitting Time Lord was an odd bunch of misfits. There was his companion, Emily. Whom was currently lying down on the hard floor, using the thigh of a dark skinned woman as a pillow. The woman in question was a merchant, or she was, until her goods were raided by the local goverment on the grounds that they were a 'batch of illegal narcotics'. (They weren't.)

Next to the woman was a black haired fellow that had been accompanying her after she was practically ruined, he was also the one who had helped The Doctor and Emily escape from the guard.

Sleeping soundly next to The Doctor was a man in his 30's, a chef during a better time of his life.

It had certainly been an interesting day.

The Doctor, Emily, and Maddie had been visiting the world Mahaan. It was supposed to be a shining world of immense riches and cultural advancement far removed from the other colony worlds of the human race. Unfortunately, the TARDIS had taken them to the wrong time period. Landing them squarely in the most broken down, economically bankrupt era of the entire planets history.

After infiltrating the castle, easily the most lavish building on the entire planet, they had been chased by the guards to be sent to the dungeons on grounds of trespassing. As they ran trough the streets, chased by a platoon of soldiers, the young man named 'Venlig' had helped them escaped. Though Maddie had been unfortunate enough to be captured.

Emily wriggled in her sleep, clutching empty space where her mind expected a hand to be. She was having a nightmare, The Doctor sensed trough his phsycic abilities, which he proceeded to use to calm her down. He wasn't all too good at psychic manipulation, having failed the subject at the academy and always preffering to use the practical approach. Still, he had managed to learn that trick thanks to a stressfull night with an infant granddaughter.

During all the years I've been taking care of you, you in return have been taking care of me.

"Hey." A young voice called out to The Doctor. "A-Are you awake?"

He turned towards the source of the voice and saw a young girl sitting opposite to him. She was the daughter of the merchant, Estella if he recalled, and was the only other one not asleep.

The Doctor stared at the young child, before his blank expression morphed into a small smile. "Yes, though you shouldn't be." He said quietly, trying not to wake the others. The girl was covered in a dirty piece of fabric that served as her blanket. "I'm cold." She said in a weak voice.

"Why don't you sleep with your mother?" He suggested.

Estella shook her head. "I don't wanna bother mommy. She doesn't get to sleep alot." The Doctor nodded keeping the small smile on his face. "How about you sleep next to me?"

She looked unsure for a moment. "How do i know you won't hurt me?" The Time Lord mulled over his answer, unsure if he could give one. "Don't worry." He chose to say. "You'll be alright, i promise."

After some time spent considering his offer, Estella decided that the promise of warmth outweighed the possible danger. She rose and walked towards him, still clutching the blanket to her body. The girl sat down next to The Doctor, whom proceeded to take of his grey frockcoat and offered it to Estella.

The girl took the coat slowly, using it to cover her small body. "My name is Estella by the way." He nodded. "Hello Estella, i'm The Doctor. And your mother was very kind to let us stay here."

There was a comfortable silence afterwards, silence that The Doctor used to contemplate his next move. He had parked his TARDIS somewhere near the castle, hopefully the old girl was still there and not taken inside the building. The perception filter should've been enough to dissuade the patrols, but it had proven faulty before.. 

"Uhm." The girl beside him spoke suddenly, stealing The Doctors attention. "I'm sorry, but can i ask you something?" He looked at her surprised, yet nodded anyway. Estella looked down at the floor. "Well, your not from around here, right?"

The Doctor nodded again.

"C-Can you tell me about other worlds?" She asked in that curios and wondering voice that only children could possess. "Are they like this one?" The Doctor shook his head. "Some of them are, but most of them are quite different."

He let out a tired sigh, Time Lords didn't require as much sleep or nourishment as humans required, but he did realize it had been some time since he had properly slept. "Some of them are very beautiful, some of them are rather dangerous, and some.. well some are more so than others."

Estella nodded along. "Have you seen a lot of them?"

'A lot would be an understatement' The Doctor thought. "Yes. I have." He said with a chuckle. "I've seen quite a few. Worlds of diamond and gold, the sweetest sounds and most vibrant colours. And the people, Estella.." His smile grew slightly larger. "They're the real beauty. So many kind, brave, loving people going about they're days. So many lives and stories being played out all around the universe."

The girl found that his smile was somewhat infectious, as her own mouth curled upwards. Though it didn't last too long. "I wish this place was like that."

"Oh it will be." The Time Lord said confidently, earning a skeptical gaze from the child. "You don't need to lie to me." She said in a somewhat bitter tone. "I can't remember a time when Mahaan wasn't like this."

He met the young girls gaze. "You know, there's something an old friend i once knew said." This peeked Estella's curiosity. "What did he say?"

"You think it's going to last forever." The Doctor started, gesturing towards the ruined cityscape surrounding them. "This dirt, this grime, this misery. But it won't." He closed his eyes. "Planets come and go. Stars perish. Matter disperses, coalesces, forms into other patterns, other worlds. Nothing can be eternal."

Estella tilted her head. "That sounds sad."

He smirked. "I used to think so as well." The Doctor remarked. "But after so long, after so many years and so many lives touched. I've realized something." The Time Lord looked at the young child, his countless years of experience burning trough his eyes. "The endings are what make the rest of it mean something. If everything lasted forever, than there would be no change, no life." For a fraction of a second, he could've sworn Estella looked something like a little scottish red head or a young black haired girl caring for her grandfather. "And i ever so adore life."

The girl smiled a little. "You sound really old."

"I suppose i am." The Doctor said.

Later, when he had saved Maddie and set the ball rolling for a better future, he realized that getting older had made him sentimental.

And maybe, that wasn't a bad thing.

A/N: Yeah, so this was just a short little thing i wrote about my version of The Doctor, as seen in Doctor Who: Serpents Catacomb. Whom is a male version of the Thirteenth Doctor (made before the announcement of Jodie Whittaker)

Basically, i wrote the thing to put a positive spin on a Sixth Doctor quote.

Hope you enjoyed.