Prologue

One day, you meet the Doctor. No surprise, it's the best day of your life, because…he's brilliant, and he's funny and mad and best of all, he really needs you. When you first meet him, like everyone else before you, you ask those questions: "Who are you?", "Where are you from?", "What set you on your way and where are you going?", "Have you ever had a family and what were they like?", "Oh, and what is your name, your real name?" He doesn't answer all of them and the ones he does it takes him a while, for he needs to find out: Can you be trusted with the answer? So, for his and your sake, you stop asking. You get used to it. But I know now, the answers to all of them. No matter how long I travel with that brilliant man, no matter what face he wears, I would never give it up for anything. I say this now because I must remember it all, where I am and why. It feels like I'm breaking into a million pieces, but I must remember. I must save the Doctor. He always looks different, but I know it's him. The madness, the brilliance, the hilarity, the ego, the mismatched clothes, it's always him. Yet sometimes I think I'm everywhere at once, running every second of eternity just to find him. Just to save him. But he never hears me. Well…almost never. The first time he met me was the day he started running. And he never looked back.

Citadel, Gallifrey
A Very Long Time Ago

Two men are working in a repair room, full of broken tools and electronics when an alarm goes off. One of the men stops working and goes to the computer monitor to check. "Something wrong?" The other man asked.

"It's the repair shop. What kind of idiot would steal a faulty TARDIS?" The first quipped dryly.

On the monitor was a black room full of undisguised TARDIS capsules. A white-haired old man, 5ft 8 with steel blue eyes and dressed in a black frock coat approached one capsule, accompanied by a young brunette girl, 5ft 1 with brown eyes and wearing a cream vest. The girl goes inside first whilst the man stops, checking around for any followers. When he is satisfied that no one else is there, he moves to enter but a girl in an orange Gallifreyan dress interrupts him as she moves into the room. "Doctor? Doctor?" The girl called.

"Yes, what is it? What do you want?" The Doctor asked impatiently.

"Sorry, but you're about to make a very big mistake." The girl said. His eyes flickered for a moment before he quickly composed himself and nodded for her to continue. "Don't steal that one, steal this one. The navigation system's knackered, but you'll have much more fun." The girl said while leaning on a TARDIS, a smirk wide across her face and her eyes twinkling.

"And why should I trust you, hmm?" He asked.

"Because you're running, but not just from fear or anxiety or for safety. You're running because you can't stand being still, so why would you run if not for a smile on your face and adrenaline running through your veins?" She asked like a mentor testing her student, her northern accent flourishing on her every word.

The Doctor gave an impressed smile at her cunning and truly turned his attention to her. The girl was 5ft 2, with dark brown hair and eyes, A round face, he playfully noted and…such a lovely smile. "What's your name, my dear?"

"Clara Oswald."

"Clara. Beautiful name." He complimented with a kind glow in his eyes. "But I must ask you Clara, what reason would you give me that would make me accept your advice?"

"Like I said, Doctor, it's in your nature. A faulty type 40 TARDIS compared to a better model gives you more fun. And I know that you will be choosing the faulty TARDIS." She looked at the model she was leaning against and whispered, "No offence."

The Doctor, who was still contemplating her reasoning, didn't hear the TARDIS whisper back in electronic beeping, "None taken," before it unlocked its doors in anticipation.

Clara then wordlessly turned and walked back to the door. As she reached it, she looked back at the Doctor. "It's your turn to choose, Doctor, but I know what you will pick. Just promise me one thing."

"What?" He asked in surprise.

"Run. Run, you clever boy. And remember me." She said before disappearing, and the Doctor was left staring at the doorway in confusion at her words. He thought for a moment in silence, then he reached into the nearby model and pulled the young girl back out.

"What's going on grandfather? Who were you talking to?" The girl asked.

"Someone who's given me the best advice in a long time. We're not taking that one, Susan, we're taking this one." He said, pointing to the type 40 TARDIS.

"But why? This model's in better condition." Susan pointed out.

"Because we know exactly when and where we could be going with a better TARDIS. A faulty one, *Chuckles* well, that makes it a mystery for us that we'll never solve, and it would be more fun that way." He said with a smile. "Now come along, my child. We should leave now. The other Time Lords that I may or may not have insulted will be on their way." The last sentence made Susan giggle as she entered the TARDIS, but it melted away as she looked at the interior in awe, a wide smile growing on her face. "Is something wrong, Susan?" He asked as he closed the door, before stopping and almost imitating Susan's look to a tee. The interior was white with round, hollow circles on the walls, and a giant rectangular shape on the opposite side by another door, which the Doctor assumed was the scanner screen. The room was almost completely empty except for the main console unit in the center, with a red and white time rotor.

"Oh grandfather, she's beautiful." She cried in joy.

"That she is, my child." He walked up to the console, placed his hand on it and said to himself, "She is the most beautiful thing I've ever known." The TARDIS beeped back an amused thanks as he and Susan moved around the console, flipping switches and controls to set their first journey. When they finish, the time rotor started up, and they promptly left Gallifrey.

Sometimes I think I'm everywhere at once, running every second of eternity just to find him. Just to save him. But he never hears me. Well…almost never. The 2nd was the beginning of the final day. The final day of hell in the cosmos and on this day, he told himself and the universe he had made his decision: No more.

AN: Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. BBC does. Just saying. ;) Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this bloody long story. XD