A/N: A wild Doctor Who fanfic appears!

This story is set in between "The Runaway Bride" and "Smith and Jones". I'm going to try to explain the Doctor's presence at the hospital (aside from looking for the Plasmavore), and introduce a new OC at the same time. Woot.

Rated M for language and some dark-ish themes.

Reviews are loved and appreciated.

And yes, I named it after a Marilyn Manson song. Don't hate.

Running to the Edge of the World: Chapter One

Tryst

"Doctor? That friend of yours? What was her name?"

"Her name was Rose..."

Reminders! Constant reminders, everywhere he went! What he needed was a distraction. A walk through a park, an alien race to save, a new flavour of ice cream to try, something, anything! Donna's last words had been difficult to hear, and had literally destroyed walls of mental defence against the memories of Rose.

The Doctor sighed, reaching forward one long, slender arm to pull a random lever on the console of his TARDIS.

"Hmm, perhaps a quick visit to the White Cliffs of Dover! Why not?" he said, grinning. His head swivelled around, as if to confirm his choice with an invisible passenger.

Moments later, the TARDIS fell silent, and the Doctor pushed the blue door open, revealing the wide-open, windy space of the cliffs. The sun was just setting, leaving the cliffs empty and quite peaceful.

Suddenly, a silhouette appeared against the setting sun. A lone figure was walking towards the edge of the cliff. It stood, staring over the edge for a few minutes. The shadow was bulky, and looked to be wearing a backpack.

"A hiker, maybe? Or a homeless person?"

The figure stretched out its arms, leaning slightly over the edge, and suddenly the Doctor knew that there was something very, very wrong.

0o0o0

"Cynthia May Allen, you useless child! First the failed classes, then the scratched arms, now the police! What have I raised? A common miscreant, or a respectable human being?"

Cindy sighed, opening the door to her bedroom.

"Mum, it was just a quick smoke between classes! I don't know why the police would throw a fit over one silly fag. I won't do it again, okay?" she shouted, walking back to her desk to continue her writing.

"No, it is not okay!" screeched Janice, her mother. The short, frizzy-haired woman stormed into the room, her face pink and her arms crossed. "You're so irresponsible, I can't even trust you anymore! I was going to go out tonight, but I don't think I will. Ever since your father left, you've been a silly, disobedient wreck! Not a day goes by without something bad happening around you. I'm sick of this! Tomorrow I'm taking you to see Ms. Della!"

"No, Mum! Not your stupid psychiatrist. I hate her, and she hates me!" said Cindy, leaving her seat.

Madge raised one arm, sending a sharp slap across her daughter's cheek. Cindy fell down to her knees, avoiding her mother's eye.

"We'll go tomorrow! Understood?" said her mother, glaring down at her daughter.

"Ugh, fine. Yes, Mum, we'll go tomorrow." whispered Cindy.

Janice left the room, stomping back down to the kitchen. As soon as she could, Cindy slammed her door shut and leaned over her journal. Her hands reached to pull up her sleeves, revealing criss-crossed scars and bruises. She picked up her pen, continuing to write.

I really don't know how much longer I can take being here. Mum is so violent, and I'm sick to death of the people at school. They bully me because my Dad left and we haven't got much money. It's not my fault I only have one jumper to wear to school! Mum keeps hitting me and my brother, and I have bruises on my chest and arms from when those boys shoved me down the stairs at school. I can't do this any more, I just can't. I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I know what I have to do. I'll head to the cliffs tonight. I'm sorry, but I cannot stay here any longer.

0o0o0

The Doctor ran, propelling himself towards the shadow in front of him. Just as it started to tip over the edge, he grabbed onto one of the straps on the figure's pack.

"Hey, what the hell?" it shrieked, in an obviously female voice.

He pulled her back, grabbing her shoulders, spinning her around, and looking into her face.

The female before him looked to be about seventeen. Even in the low light he could see how distressed she looked. Her hazel eyes flashed at him, showing her unhappiness towards the man that had probably just saved her life.

"Who the fuck are you, and why did you grab me?" she hissed.

"I saved you from falling over that cliff!" he said, releasing his firm grip on her shoulders. "What where you even doing out here, this late? Standing there like that, you looked like you were looking for trouble! Why would you stand at the edge of a...?" A look of slight shock crossed the Doctor's face as his mind worked through what he had seen.

"You were...you were trying to kill yourself! But why?" he asked, looking right into her eyes.

"Why the hell should I tell you?" she spat, turning away from him. "I don't even know you!"

He grasped her shoulder again, turning her to face him.

"Walk with me, miss...er?"

"Cindy. My name is Cindy." she said, sighing.

The two walked towards the main road. The road was mostly deserted, aside from the odd car here and there, and a nearby bus stop.

"I'll catch a bus back home, and hopefully make it in before my Mum gets home." she explained, motioning towards the small, beat-up bus stop.

"Your mother doesn't know that you're here?" he asked, sitting down on one of the metal benches.

"Of course not!" she said, reaching into her backpack. A few seconds of rummaging around produced a small carton of cigarettes,

"Hey, you don't mind if I smoke, do you?" she asked, digging around for a lighter.

"You really shouldn't." he replied, sternly. "It'll kill you, you know."

"Don't nag me! What are you, some kind of doctor?" she said, laughing as she lit her cigarette.

"I am, actually! I'm the Doctor." he grinned.

"Doctor?" she asked, confused. "Doctor who?"

"Just 'the Doctor', please." he said, rolling his eyes slightly.

"What the hell kind of name is Doctor?" she laughed again, taking a deep pull from her cigarette and exhaling the smoke. A bus pulled up, and she sighed, putting out her cigarette against her leg. She stood, turning to him as she boarded.

"Goodbye...Doctor."

Another A/N: There, that's done. Forgive my pathetic excuse at trying to use correct British terminology. I'm Canadian, and my knowledge is pretty limited!