Chapter Text
“Find me.”
Those were the last words the doctor ever heard from Rogue. Of course that was the very first thing the doctor wanted to do as soon as Ruby was off of that platform, but where would he even start?
Ruby was insistent on taking a break afterwards, but all that would do is leave the doctor alone with his thoughts: Ruby almost died. If she had stayed on the platform, How long would it take for the doctor to start looking? Would he even know to look, where to start? Would Rogue follow him on his mission to find his best friend? Would Rogue lose interest in the Doctor? Would the Doctor lose interest in Rogue? Would Ruby die before the Doctor could find her? Chuldur live for 600 years but Ruby is human, would she live long enough until the Doctor found her? And what about Rogue? The Doctor doesn't know his real name let alone-
“Doctor? Are you alright?”
He looks up, startled, “What? Yeah, of course.” The Doctor stands, facing Ruby, “Where to next?” He seems to have cheered up in a matter of seconds, running to push buttons on the TARDIS console.
“The Pluto colonization? Brazil 2318? No wait, that was, a really bad year with the.. Floods…”
“Doctor?” Ruby interrupts with concern in her voice.
“Yeah?” He turns to her, “Oh, love, what's wrong?”
Tearing up she takes a deep breath, “Can I go see my mum? That uhm,” She tries to chuckle, but it didn't do much, “Almost dying bit was, uh, eye-opening? I dunno, I’d just like to go see her.” He pulls her into a hug, “Yeah, of course you can see your mum, I'm sorry. I didn’t rea- no. I'm sorry.” He pulls away to look at her face, “Now, go get dressed, or out of.. That.” He gestures jokingly at the yellow dress, obviously not appropriate for 2024 AD Earth. “Let's go see Ms Carla Sunday.” He turns back to the console, with a more stern look on his face now that he's alone; lost in his thoughts again.