Doctor Who, "By Way of Grace" Graham, rated G

[paynesgrey]

Fandom: Doctor Who
Title: By Way of Grace
Author: paynesgrey 
Characters: Graham O'Brien, Original Character, mention of Grace, 13th Doctor
Word Count: 497
Rating: G
Genre: Introspection/Character Study
Warnings/Disclaimer: No warnings. I do not own Doctor Who or make profit from it.
Notes: Written for the "Backward" theme at who_contest. 

Links: AO3 | FFnet | Teaspoon

Summary: Graham thinks of Grace, who inspires him to be kind.

Graham fidgeted as he observed his current surroundings in the TARDIS. Everyone was catching their breaths after they narrowly escaped another harrowing battle. The Doctor was excitedly in her element, bouncing around the controls of the TARDIS to set the right coordinates.

This time they had brought some passengers with them, survivors from the work camp where they’d just escaped. The survivors looked terrified and shocked, as if they’d never hoped or believed that they’d leave that horrible work camp with their lives. They looked around the TARDIS equally puzzled at being in a ship, a ship that had appeared as a small blue box before they were rushed inside.

Graham felt sympathy for their situation, how it must have been terrifying in the camp and how he couldn’t even imagine what perils they had endured.

In times like these, he’d think of Grace, her warm, heartfelt spirit, and how she always made people feel at ease around her. She always had the right thing to say, and sometimes Graham would be in awe of her, how her compassion for others didn’t seem to have any boundaries. She took care of him, after all, and she was always there for him, ready to help and ease his struggles and pains. He only wished he had half her strength and empathy to help others.

But he did have something of hers, her memories and how she inspired him at every turn. She inspired him to live, and he admitted in more times than not, that he had struggled with wanting to live as cancer and the treatment inflicted him with the most excruciating pain. If not for Grace, he knew that he couldn’t have gotten through it as he had. These people in front of him, huddled in fear and wonder, still shaken from the recent events, the slavery they endured, and now the future uncertain in front of them, needed reassurance. They needed a comforting hand to tell them they had a second chance, and they needed to take that chance and live.

Graham moved forward, feeling the essence of Grace’s legacy inspire him, and he approached the first survivor, shivering as she hugged herself from shock and anxiety. He came close, and he reached out a warm comforting hand, lightly tapping her shoulder. She flinched and stepped backward, and she met him with wide eyes. Dirt and soot covered her face and clothes, and underneath the blanket of all that grime, he saw bruises and scratches that now had a chance to heal.

“It’ll be alright, love,” he said soothingly, and he felt her relax a little under his touch. “The Doc will take care of you; you’ll see.”

She nodded at him with a shaky smile, and that was all Graham needed. He knew that even if Grace couldn’t be here to nurture and care for the wounded, he would do so in her place. 

It was the least that he could do without her.

.