Title: Help Wanted
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: gen
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG
Table: 50ficlets
Prompt: 40, Help
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor. Please do not sue.

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The Doctor propped his chin on his hands, frowning down at the console of the Tardis without really seeing it. He'd had an idea in the back of his mind for the past few days, an idea that was now pushing into the forefront of his thoughts.

It was time for him to start searching for a new companion. He'd been by himself for too long; he couldn't let that situation go on. He worked best when he had someone with him, someone to watch his back and to help him when he needed it.

His pride rankled at the thought that he needed any help to accomplish anything he set his mind to -- but he had to admit that he couldn't do everything alone.

There had been too many narrow escapes since the last companion had been left behind -- escapes that he didn't want to think about. And not only that, but he'd found himself slipping into a lethargy that he didn't want to continue.

He had to pull himself out of that lethargy, to make himself stop feeling as though he didn't really matter in the world and that no one would care if he simply drifted away. He couldn't take that kind of attitude, not if he wanted to be effective at being what he was.

A Time Lord didn't give up, he told himself sternly. A Time Lord didn't put his own desires ahead of what he needed to do to keep the galaxy safe. He couldn't start thinking that his own personal needs were more important than the needs of the world.

Besides, he really couldn't be as effective as possible when he had to do everything alone, he reminded himself with a sigh. It was a blow to his pride to admit that, but it was true. Having someone as a companion would only help him in the long run.

Of course, there was the fact that most of his female companions seemed to fall for him -- and that wasn't something he wanted to deal with again.

There had been too many who'd done that, especially since he'd been in this body, he thought, his frown growing. He had been more than willing to have them with him, to care for them as friends -- but they had wanted much more than he'd intended on giving.

They hadn't been able to fathom why he wouldn't want them -- and their complete disregard for how he felt, their determination to force him into a relationship he didn't want, had made him feel relieved to know that they wouldn't be with him any longer.

But that was all in the past now, he told himself, tapping his fingers on the console as he pushed his thoughts back to his immediate problem -- namely, just how to go about finding someone who would be the kind of companion he needed.

Just going to Earth and wandering around until he met someone who seemed as though they would be the kind of companion he could spend time with wouldn't work. He'd tried that before, and it had never worked out well in the end.

But what other alternatives did he have? It wasn't as though he could hold auditions, or ask anyone to help him procure a companion.

Yet another thing he could say that he needed help with, the Doctor thought sardonically, sighing. That was another problem that assailed him; the fact that he needed help at times, and that he had none in sight, and no way to know if any help would be there when it was needed.

If his fellow Gallifreyans could hear him now, how they would smirk and talk behind their hands! He'd always tried to be so self-assured around them; he'd shrugged off his need for a companion as being something that he chose for himself.

Quite a few of them would probably be shocked at the thought that a Gallifreyan, much less a Time Lord, could have any sort of need for help, especially from a human. In fact, they would probably all be shocked by the admission.

Not, not just shocked -- they would be ashamed. As they would expect him to be, if he ever admitted aloud that he needed help. But he wasn't ashamed of the fact -- he was more than willing to admit it, and to admit that he needed a companion.

Was that help going to be forthcoming, from any quarter? He heaved another sigh, pushing himself away from the console.

No, it wasn't, not unless he decided to be proactive and find it himself. There was really no way for him to go searching for a companion, really; he would simply have to wait until some situation cropped up that threw someone into his path.

That was how it usually happened, and he had no doubt that life would lead him into that same sort of situation again. It couldn't be predicted -- he would just have to wait for it. A smile spread over his face as he bent over the console again, setting a course for Earth and whatever might await him there.

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