The Doctor looked about the room that was his colleague's office, somewhere in downtown London. It was seven o' clock, and after a tiring end to the day that involved biting, screaming, and crying, he was exhausted. To say the least. 1969, sure. More like thirty years later. Stupid Sally Sparrow. It was her fault for getting the date wrong.

Actually, it was all Martha's fault. She was the one who pestered him to get a job in order to support themselves until they could get the TARDIS back again from the Weeping Angels. She was the one who thought that he wasn't doing enough "for the rent" by just fiddling with his timey-whimey detector. She was the whole reason he was working overtime tonight when he all he really wanted was a nice cup of tea. She was why he had decided to do a favour for Ms. Austen while she went on a date with that handsome new clerk from the front desk, John Fisher. Martha Jones was why he had decided to become a psychiatrist.

Well, really, he had no idea why he had decided to become a psychiatrist. Of all potential Earth professions! Maybe it was because he didn't have to work many hours. Maybe it was because he felt he was actually doing something each day. Maybe it was because of the surprisingly high salary- more than Martha got in the shop, anyway. Maybe it was because of his astonishing success in the field that had flabbergasted all his colleagues for three weeks. Or maybe, it was really just because the Time Lord thought that in helping others, he could help himself.

Whatever the reason or who was to blame or why he was even here now, the Doctor realised he couldn't do anything about it. Sighing but accepting his fate, he gazed around the office a bit more, taking in his surroundings. There was a long wooden desk, not unlike the one in his own workplace, and a sofa with thousands of magazines on it. The only other things in the room were various posters and a little table with crayons on it. And, at the table, was a girl drawing away.

The Doctor got closer. She was probably around ten years old, and she was small to boot. Her eyes, though completely focused on the paper in front of her, held a type of fire and determination that was not fit for such a young child. Not to mention that astounding ginger hair of hers, the Doctor thought as he turned to look at the clock, mentally running over the file he had read minutes earlier about his temporary patient. Amelia Pond. Ten years old. All the way from Leadworth, so make her visit worthwhile. A bit on the angry side… He struggled to remember more as he carefully adjusted his blue pinstriped suit and made sure his Converse were on tight.

"You don't look like Ms. Austen."

The man glanced back at the girl again, who was now staring at him with those impossible eyes. Putting on his specs (they made him look more qualified) and a smile, the Doctor responded. "Oh, it's okay. I'm Doctor John Smith. Ms. Austen's just on a little… errand today. I'm filling in for her. Just for today though. So if you don't like me, I'll be leaving anyway!"

The girl had no reaction to this humour. "You mean she's out on a date with Mr. Fisher, right?" the child asked.

Grinning and coming to sit on the chair across from her, the Time Lord ruffled her hair, much to the obvious discomfort of the girl. "Smart, you are!" he replied affectionately. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "You must be Amelia Pond. Great name, by the way. Lovely. Like a fairytale princess." The man smiled again.

Weirdly, the so-said Amelia stiffened at this statement. Glancing back down at her drawing, she curtly replied, "It's Amy."

"Well, Amy…" the Doctor said, trying to initiate conversation. "I can't help but notice your little… Scottish lilt." He frowned and brought his face towards hers. "So what's such a Scottish soul doing in Leadworth?"

Amy seemed to stiffen at this as well, but she looked the man in the eyes this time. "I moved there with Aunt Sharon after my parents disappeared, like…" Suddenly, she stopped and stared at the Doctor as if she was searching for something deeply hidden underground.

"Like what?" the Doctor asked, befuddled to both the girl's staring and her parents' fate.

But Amy just looked back down at her drawing. "Nothing," she replied. "A car wreck. That's how they went away. I forget sometimes."

Still confused, and a little bit disturbed, but not wanting to grill the child, he decided to bring up mainly what he remembered her file had been about. "Now, Amy, what about your Raggedy Man?"

Now this sentence conjured the strangest reaction of all. As the child met his gaze he could sense so many emotions- happiness, joy, sadness, anger, disappointment… and an emotion he could only define as waiting.

"He crashed into the shed," Amy started, dropping the crayon she had been holding all evening. "And he came into my house while Aunt Sharon was out." She was smiling now. "He was hungry, so I cooked for him. All the things he said he's liked before didn't work out, but he finally chose fish fingers and custard." The Doctor made a face and she chuckled, but then continued, becoming eerily stony-faced.

"He fixed the crack in my wall, with all the voices. The girl stopped and frowned. "Said it was two pieces that should never have touched. Talked about space, and rifts, and other such nonsense but I couldn't understand him, really. It was all gibberish." Then, she smiled again, with a hint of sadness in those fiery eyes. "And then he went away, like everybody does. Said he'd come back in five minutes, but… it's been three years." Amy Pond locked eyes with the Time Lord again. "You don't believe anything I just said. Just like everybody else." She sighed and picked up her blue crayon again, but was stopped from drawing by a certain Doctor's hand.

He gazed at the girl with sadness beyond her years and spoke as soothingly as he could. "Oh, I believe you, Amy Pond. Adults always say that children are the ultimate liars, but really, they're the ones free of prejudice and bias, so innocently full of truth. I'm not here to tell you that man's not real. I'm here to help you cope until he comes back for you. Because I know he will, Amy. No one ever truly leaves."

And amidst his genuine surprise as the girl gave him the biggest grin he had ever seen come from her, he also realised that he couldn't deny that something was so very, painfully, familiar about this Raggedy Man. However, he couldn't resist smiling to when Amy Pond remarked, "You really aren't like the others, are you?"

The rest of the evening went swimmingly as Amy and the Doctor conversed. It started out with the little, normal things- favourite colours, subjects, and pet names- but gradually got deeper. Fears, pain, loss, and sadness were talked about with such ease it was hard to believe this conversation was between an alien and a ten-year-old child.

But good things must come to an end.

"Goodbye! I wish you could come next week!" Little Amelia Pond hugged her Doctor as tight as she possibly could as she stood up from the drawing table. Smiling, he watched as she waved out the door toward the parking lot, turning his back to start cleaning up when-

"You know, it's funny."

The Doctor swiveled around to see his tiny enigma standing in the doorway. The girl smiled as she leaned against the side, staring at him yet again with unprecedented forcefulness. "You remind me of him," she continued.

"Remind you of whom?" the Doctor asked, puzzled.

Laughing, she replied. "My Raggedy Man. Your eyes, really. You're so young, yet your eyes seem to hold everything in the universe. Like his." Shaking her head, Amy walked over to him, putting a folded-up piece of paper into his blue suit's pocket. "Keep it," she instructed, pointing a finger at him. Then, grinning once again, she started to leave the room.

But he had to say something to that marvelous girl. Oh, she would make a fascinating companion. Maybe when she was older. "Amy Pond!" he yelled, just as soon as she had disappeared from sight.

"What now?" a voice sounded as a bit of fiery red hair appeared in the entryway.

Grinning, the Doctor talked. "You know, I think you're Raggedy Man will come back for you. I know it. Never give up hope, Amy. One day, you're impossible life will make so much more sense. Thank you for a wonderful session, Miss Pond."

Still smiling widely, she pursed her lips. "I hope so, Doctor Smith. And you're most welcome. Thanks for…" Amy Pond began. "Everything." Beaming widely, she walked away- this time for good.

The Doctor turned away too; curiosity pressing him to fish that piece of paper Amy had given him out of his pocket. What was he expecting? Why did this little scrap seem so important? It was probably just some silly drawing or message, nothing meaningful. Nothing like what he was about to see.

A blue police box.

A drawing of an old 1960s blue police box.

His blue police box.

His beautiful, sexy TARDIS that he missed so deeply.

And then he knew who Amy's Raggedy Man was.

Her Raggedy Doctor.

He never forgot, either. Even when he landed that fateful day at little fairytale Amelia Pond's (well, more like crash-landed), even when all those neurons were messed up and jiggling around after regeneration, he never forgot.

He knew he'd have to leave her waiting, he knew how much her life didn't make sense. But no matter how much he wanted to change it all, the Time Lord knew he couldn't. It was a fixed point in time and could not be changed or altered.

He made up for it though. The best he could, at least. He came back and took Pond to see the universe, just like he had wanted to since they met in that psychiatrist's office.

Oh sure, he still felt guilty all the time about having to make her wait, ridiculed and disappointed, for so many years. But the Doctor took a bit of solace in the fact that she was never really alone.

Because no one ever truly leaves.

I'm so busy with all my chapter stories right now so I just wanted to do a little one-shot. Really have no idea how I came up with this- I just really like Amy and Ten together and I watched Blink a few days ago, I guess. Actually, come to think of it, this is my first published one-shot, by the way! Hope you enjoy and please read, review, and favourite! Love you all!

NOTE: I promise, people who are reading Just a Programme and A Lonely Child, that they will be updated soon. Thank you so much for your patience.