The Forgotten Companion (A Ninth Doctor Fan Fiction) by Dani Hoots

Originally hand written in this lovely leather journal above made by D’Vyne Wrytes. Check out her stuff, she is amazing!

 

Here it is! Hope you enjoy! I will keep adding more to this for a bit when I have time.

 

The Forgotten Companion (A Ninth Doctor Fan Fiction) by Dani Hoots

Short Story #1

 

My life was meaningless. I felt utterly alone, abandoned, not worthy to be a part of this planet. The only time I felt at peace was when I went into the woods. I felt as if the trees needed me, as if they created such a perfect place just for me to visit them. It was the only time I felt complete.

That was, until I met the Doctor.

He came running by, as he is always in a hurry, I found. His silly large ears, his nose driving him in the direction he needed to go. He was lengthy, his long arms and legs hanging about him in such a manner. I thought it strange, though, that such a man would come into my life at that time and place. And then change it forever.

I felt like a child as I was sitting under a maple tree, crying my eyes out as I had just been fired from my job. And my fish had died. And I had locked myself out of my flat. Again. It definitely wasn’t my day. I stayed quiet as he started by, hoping he wouldn’t notice me.

But of course he did. He always notices everyone.

He turned and faced me, his grin making me feel a little warmer. Maybe it was just because my cheeks were starting to turn red.

“Ah, hello there. I didn’t think anyone was out here.” He stepped in front of me and placed his hands in his leather coat pockets.

“Um… Hi.”

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Ruby Boldfaw.”

“Nice to meet you Ruby.” He stood there in silence for a moment, glancing around. “Haven’t seen anything strange out here now have you?”

I looked at him confused. “I don’t think so… What do you mean by strange?”

He simply shrugged. “Myst have been nothing. Oh well.”

A wind crept by, only it didn’t feel like a normal wind. It touched my skin yet the branches around me didn’t move. The stranger’s smile faded as he looked out in the distance.

“So it is here,” he mumbled.

I watched him as he focused on something out in the distance. I didn’t like the way he looked out there, as if something dangerous was coming.

“What’s here?”

He looked back at me and grinned widely, as if nothing was wrong. He was good at that, hiding away his sadness and fear, I came to learn. “Nothing. Now, by the looks of you, you could use some company. Have a bad day?”

I stared at him, surprised that he cared about my well being. No one had ever taken the time to see how I was, not in quite some time. Yet here was this stranger asking how I was.

“Yes, you could say that.”

“Well.” He held out his hand. “No use sitting there. We should get out of this place, go somewhere safer.”

I grabbed his hand and let him help me up. I wiped away the remaining tears that were on my face. “What do you mean ‘safer’?”

“Don’t worry about it, it will be fine. But we should get going. Then on the way, you can tell me what happened.”

“Uh, alright.” We started heading towards the train station. I thought about asking more questions as to why he was there looking for something he called ‘strange’ and we he insisted in leaving this place, but I didn’t bother. He didn’t seem like he wanted to explain. “I guess it started when my fist died this morning, then I went to work and got fired. Broke too many dishes they said. Then when I got back home, I found I had locked myself out of the flat.”

“Well you are in luck. I am good with locks.” He pulled out a strange silver object and tossed it up in the air. It had a blue end to it and didn’t look much bigger than a screwdriver, though I could tell it wasn’t one. “I am quite handy. I can get you back into your flat in no time.”

“Really? well thank you very much. Oh, I didn’t catch your name. What was it?”

“Doctor. Just call me the Doctor.”

***

As we arrived to my flat, the Doctor, or so he says he’s called, pulled out the silver object he had before and pressed a button, making it project a buzzing sound and light up.

“What is that?” I asked, not quite sure as to how it would unlock my door. It wasn’t even in the lock or anything. He just brought it close and let it make a strange noise.

“It’s a screwdriver. A sonic one.”

I shook my head. “I’ve seen screwdrivers, that does not look like a screwdriver.”

“Well pardon me for having a screwdriver that doesn’t look like a screwdriver. Sorry it doesn’t met your standards.”

Sassy one, he was. I folded my arms as he kept at the door. “And what do you mean by ‘sonic’?”

He turned to me. “Do you want me to unlock this door or not?”

“Yes.”

“Then stop with the bloody questions.” With that, he turned back around and started up whatever he was doing again. I stayed quite, watching him carefully. He was strange, I could tell, but not strange in the way I am used to. There was a whole different atmosphere about him, as if he had seen things I could never imagine. Although he had a Northern accent, I didn’t believe he was from the area.

Suddenly I heard the click of the lock. The Doctor stood up. “Well, then. There you go. Good as new.”

I started into the flat. “Thank you, so much! Would you like some—“ I stopped as a wave of heat hit me. The furnace had been running, stuck on again. “Oh god, the heater.”

“I was wondering why you had it so toasty inside. Broken I take it?”

I sighed. “Apparently so. Landlord was supposed to fix it but it looks like he didn’t.”

The Doctor held up his sonic screwdriver. “No matter, I can fix it.” He stepped inside the flat and headed towards the controls. I thought about stopping him, as he had already done enough, more than anyone else really, but he seemed happy to do it. I watched him as he used the same crazy screwdriver, simply pointing it at the controls. It didn’t make sense, how could something as simple as that fix both the lock and heater?

Closing the control case, he grinned widely. “Well, there you have it. Good as new.”

I was thrown off at how quickly he had fixed it. Usually it took hours. “Um, thank you.”

“No problem, happy to help,” he said as he stood there. We were both quiet for a moment, I wasn’t sure what to say as this strange man had entered my life and thrown it off. “Well, I better be off.”

I held out my arm. “No wait, let me repay you. Would you like some coffee or tea?”

He glanced at the clock. “Sure, why not?”

The Doctor appeared as if he had somewhere to go. I wasn’t sure if he was just being polite or if he did want to stay. “If you have somewhere to be, that’s fine, you could come back later.”

“No, no. I have time. That creature isn’t going anywhere for a while anyway. I can have some tea.”

“Great.” I turned to the kitchen. I thought about asking about the creatures, but decided not to. I didn’t really want to know. “Do you take cream in your tea?”

“Yes please. And two sugars.” He walked into the kitchen behind me.

I opened the fridge, a wave of spoiled food hitting me, making me gag. I quickly closed the fridge. It had overheated when the heater was on and now I needed to go the grocery. And get a new fridge.

“How about we go to a cafe, drinks are on me?”

He grinned his goofy grin I had already grown accustomed to. “That would be swell.”

***

I took him to the nearest coffee shop, which wasn’t too far, especially in London. He seemed to know his way around well enough, but it felt like he knew the area from a while ago, as he mentioned shops that were new, but they really had been there for a few years now. He could have been staying away from the big city for while, but it didn’t explain what he was doing in the middle of the forest, or what he was looking for.

After getting our order, two Early Grey’s, we found a small table in the corner.

“Thanks again, for everything,” I said as I sat down.

He shrugged. “Just a lock and heater. Easy-peasy.”

That wasn’t what I was thanking him for, but actually his company. No one had stopped to see if I was okay before, and I was thankful for that, thankful someone considered me as important. I smiled and sipped my tea.

“So what brings you to London?” I asked.

“You presume I wasn’t from here. Why is that?”

Was I wrong? Was he actually from the area? “I don’t know, something about you says traveler. You seem happy with every step you take.”

He grinned. “Very good. I am a traveler. Travel a lot actually. Get’s lonely though.”

“Is that why you decided to come to tea, then?” I asked.

“And I make it an effort to never decline an invitation from a lovely girl such as yourself.”

I blushed and moved a piece of hair back behind my ear. “What were you looking for in the forest? You acted like it was dangerous, but I was led to be believe there weren’t any dangerous creatures in this area.”

“That’s simple. It’s not a creature.”

“A person then?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“Then what was it?” I asked.

He looked up at me, straight-faced. “A tree.”

I stared at him as he took a sip of his drink. “A tree?”

He nodded. “Yup.”

“Is it poisonous or something? I don’t understand.”

“I wouldn’t know, I don’t believe anyone has ever eater it.”

He wasn’t making sense. Maybe he was crazy, which would be my luck. “Then how is it dangerous?”

“It’s lost, a long way from home, actually. Not quite sure how it got here in the first place, but it is indeed here and I need to get it home before it hurts any more people.”

“A lost… Tree?” I repeated.

He nodded again. “Yup.”

Okay, so maybe this guy wasn’t all the way there, I thought. He seemed normal enough, though, and I felt like I could trust him. Maybe it was his genuine smiled when he looked at people, as if her really did enjoy whatever it was he did.

“They are from Androzani Major. Really an effective fuel source, but also a very intelligent species, can separate its life force and everything.”

“Then why doesn’t it do that? Go back home?” I couldn’t believe I was going along with this. It made no sense. Yet something about it all felt true, as if this Doctor was incapable of lying.

“It can’t. Doesn’t have the power. Need a ship and even if it had one, they need someone to fly it for them, they are trees after all.”

“Of course,” I commented, not quite sure how to respond. “What’s your plan now?”

“Well, I have to find it fist, then convince it to go in my T.A.R.D.I.S. back to where it belongs.”

“Your what?” I asked.

“My T.A.R.D.I.S., Time and Relative Dimension in Space. T.A.R.D.I.S.”

Okay, I thought, this man had to be off his rockers. I really should have left him right then and there, but honestly this was the first time someone had offered to spend time with me in quite a while.

“And then you will be on your way?”

He grinned. “Yup. Just like that.”

I sighed. “Well, I know those woods fairly well, I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary.”

“Been there for a while, good at blending in.”

“Then how do you know it’s there?”

He pulled out a newspaper and placed it on the counter. “Page 8.”

I opened up the paper and went to page 8. An article on three suicides in the same area I was in the forest. “This says suicide.”

He shook his head. “No suicide. none of them showed any signs. They were hung by the tree.”

“Do.. do you have any other proof?”

He nodded. “My scanners also show something out there, but when I get close, the sensor gets scrambled. It knows I’m looking for it and it’s trying to hide. It thinks it’s in danger for what it’s done, but I’m just trying to help it. I know what it’s like to be alone. It’s confused and just wants to return to its people.”

He seemed to go somewhere, in his mind, away from the present. Wherever it was, it seemed sad, heartbreaking even. When he said he knew loneliness, he truly meant it.

I stood up. “Come on then, let’s go find this tree and get it home.”

He looked at me for a second then grinned. “Fantastic.”

***

We went back to where all this started, in the middle of the forest. I’ve had a few friends and boyfriends over the years, none of them had ever been interested in coming out here with me. Although, none of them had been looking for a lost tree to take home before either.

There was something this man who called himself the Doctor that I felt like I could connect with, as if he could somehow solve my loneliness, as if we understood and wanted the same thing: a companion.

Maybe it was all in my head, maybe I was just imagining it all and eh wasn’t looking for a friend. It was just a means to finding the tree, which I had to admit, would be a first, but not the worse reason a guy has spent this much time with me.

As we approached the edge of the forest, we stopped and stared inside.

“Well,” I said. “Any ideas?”

“Nope.”

“It’s a big forest. Probably should split up,” I began.

A scream resonated through the forest.

“Or we follow that.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go.”

I stared at his hand for a moment and smiled as I grabbed it and ran with him towards the noise.

Five teenagers were surrounding a tree and by the looks of it, a girl was caught up in it. Each of the teens were shouting up at her, as the tree branches were swaying around, knowing them back.

I stood there for a moment, stunned at the fact the tree was indeed alive and it was going to indeed hurt that girl. This wasn’t fiction, the Doctor had been telling the truth.

Which meant this was the most honest relationship I ever had with a human being.

“We got to stop it, we got to get these kids out of here. I will distract it, you just try to get her out of there,” the Doctor ordered.

“Right.” I hurried around to the other side and awaited his distraction.

The Doctor ran in front of the tree (is there a front of a tree?) and waved his arms around. “Hey, look at me!”

That was it? I really had thought he had something more planned but was wrong. The tree did stop moving though and I was able to sneak up to where the girl was.

“Hurry, I will help you down. Take my hand.”

She was shaking, I could tell, but she had enough courage to take my hand and jump down. Once I got her to safety and to her other friends, I checked to see what the Doctor was going. He was still talking to the tree as I walked up behind him.

“Yes, I know you are lost.” The Doctor listed to the tree creak and crack. “1941? That long huh?” There were more creaks and cracks. The Doctor turned to face me, a bit confused. “Her?”

I wasn’t sure how to take that.

“No, I can take you on my ship.”

Tree branches flailed around in every direction. A two food diameter branch hit the Doctor straight in the chest, sending him flying in the other direction.

“Doctor!” I started after him when suddenly I felt something grab me. I screamed as the tree wrapped a branch around me and lifted me up in the air.

“Let her go! You have no right to take her.” The Doctor had recovered himself and was standing up again.

More creaks and cracks as I just hung there in the air.

“But she won’t survive that.” He stopped an listed. “Your life is not more important! I will stop at nothing to get her back.”

“What? We had just met and he was willing to try anything to save me. No, that wasn’t right. No one could be that selfless. No one could easily put their life on the line for another.

“But you did just that for the others.”

What the hell was that, I thought. Who was talking?

“I am the tree, the one you came to destroy.”

No, I replied, we came to help. The Doctor wants to help you.

The Doctor? The Doctor was there when I was separated. He didn’t do anything then, why would he do anything now?

I… I don’t know. I don’t understand, I thought you were lost in 1941.

“Yes. He was there, though he looked a bit different.”

I looked down at the Doctor, who was still trying to figure out a way to get me down as the tree swung at him again and again.

What do you want me to do? I asked. 

“I need you to take me home.”

But I don’t know here that is, nor do I know how to get you home.”

“I can show you,” the tree said.

The Doctor says I will die. Is that true? Is that what happened to the others? Did you try with them and fail?

The tree didn’t answer, but i felt this strange sensation. A sense of loneliness, a sense of frustration. It had been here for most of the century, stranded from its family.

If you let the Doctor help, I explained, he may be able to take you home. He knows how you feel, he knows loneliness. Why else would he go through so much trouble to help you? Anyone else would have hurt you but he is going out of his way to make sure you are okay. That we are both okay. If you don’t think he can do it, that he can’t take you home, then I don’t think anyone will. 

The tree stopped swaying around and slowly put me on the ground. I ran into the Doctor’s arms and he wrapped them around me.

“What happened? Why did it…” he began.

Suddenly a flash of light came form the tree. I closed my eyes, the intensity causing them to burn. The light finally went away and I was able to open my eyes. The tree was gone.

The Doctor went to where the tree once was and picked up a seed, laughing. “Went back to its original self, easier to deal with while traveling.”

I stared at it. “That’s it?”

“Yup. What did you say to it to change its mind?”

I shrugged. “Just that I felt I could trust you, so it should do the same.”

He examined me for a moment. “Fantastic that’s absolutely fantastic.”

I grinned. “You say that a lot.”

‘Only when it applies.” We stood there, silent for a moment. “Well, I better be on my way.”

“On your way?”

He nodded. “Yes, that’s right. My T.A.R.D.I.S. isn’t that far from here actually. That is, unless you want to come with me.”

I laughed. “Go with you where?”

He shrugged. “Well, first we have to take this feeling home. And then, well… we can go anywhere.”

I bit my lip and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. Anywhere sounds good.

He held out his hand. “Then let’s go, Ruby.”

END SHORT STORY #1