Two Ponds, A River, And A Rose {[Doctor Who Fanfic]}

18: Epilogue

He deposited Grace Hallows back at home, the morning after she left. He avoided her parents, didn't wake the dog, and made sure she was asleep before climbing back into his box and flying away again. He flew to Victorian London and hid himself away, not being able to bear being anywhere near her.

After he was in space that long, fateful night, he changed. His hands glowed golden, his face grew older, until he was once again number eleven, and knew why they had taken his Grace. They just wanted to put time right. And she's happy, he reasoned. Watching her television show, oblivious to the fact that it all really happened.

He found Jenny and Vastra, and teamed up with Strax. They hid him on a cloud to clear his mind. Only it didn't. For years he stayed in the sky in that box, thinking about the girl he came to love. Details about her were fading, quickly. He could no longer remember the exact shade of brown her hair and eyes were. Could no longer hear her sweet voice. He knew why. He wasn't supposed to have met her yet, and when she left, and he changed, she flitted away. Just like the companions when this all first started. He wanted to do something for her, anything. Inconspicuously, of course, but something. And he needed to do it fast, before he forgot. So one day, without telling anyone where he was going, he stepped up to the console of his beloved box, and started his old dance around the controls. It brought a small, sad smile to his face. He set the coordinates for Earth, 1963. When he landed, the went straight to the prehistoric Torchwood tower, which, in this time, was a two-story shack in the middle of nowhere. He knocked on the wooden door, peeking through the cracks. A man opened it. A tall, handsome man, wearing a black military looking jacket not of this time period.

"Captain Jack," The Doctor said. The man looked confused.

"Who wants to know?" he asked hotly in an American accent. The Doctor lifted his hand. A small cut snaked across his palm. Then it started to glow. When the golden light subsided, the cut was gone.

"It's me," The Doctor said. Apparently, this was all the proof that was needed for the man named Jack. Jack stepped forward and pulled the Doctor into a tight embrace.

"It's been too long, Doctor. And what's with the bow tie?" The Doctor just smiled, and with a tremor in his voice said,

"Bow ties are cool."

"What can I do for you, Doctor?" Jack asked. The Doctor looked into the other man's eyes and replied,

"How about a television show?"

And so, that is how the television series "Doctor Who?" came to be. And after that, on the day of the premier of the eighth season of the renewed series, now in his thirteenth form, the Doctor followed Grace Hallows and her friends to the theater, where they would watch as the Twelfth Doctor was born. He sat next to her, and during the previews, she started up a conversation after constant pestering from her friends.

"What's your name?" She asked. He dared not tell the truth, in case she thought he was crazy and ran away from him again. So he replied not John Smith, as he normally would, but,

"Kaden Mathews." He offered his hand to shake. "What's yours?"

"Grace Hallows." She took his hand and shook it twice. He reluctantly released her and turned his attention to the screen. He barely digested the information in the preview about a movie where a kaleidoscope traps people in the gems. He was too busy thinking about her and how close she was, yet so far away. He looked at her and jumped when he caught her staring.

"I feel like. . ." She started, "I feel like I know you. Do I?" He shook his head and screamed on the inside.

"No, I don't think so." And there the conversation ended, for the action had begun.

She never gave it a second thought. Humans, always forgetting and remembering, twisting and turning thoughts.

But the most important thing she forgot, when she looked into his eyes, is to always remember rule number one: The Doctor Lies.