| abstract | - The Doctor saw a lonely bus bench before him. No place better to think than a bus bench. There is no liability to have to go somewhere just as there is no reason not to leave at your leisure and go wherever the number 23 should so ever take you. The Doctor sat with an exhaling breath, looking up to the bright blue sky with a thoughtful gaze. He'd left her three months ago and yet it only felt as though three minutes had passed since he was on that god forsaken beach, asking her if it needed saying. Of course it needed saying, he should have told her. At this thought the Time Lord inhaled with the weight of the world, which happened to amount to the guilt and regret he was harbouring, as his stare narrowed on the cloudless expanse above him, breaking contact with the fragment of ozone he was staring at only when he felt a presence beside him. "Hello. My name's Forrest, Forrest Gump. You want a chocolate?" The Doctor lolled his head to his right shoulder, seeing a man, nearing thirty, sporting a slightly off-white suit and a smile to match. He readjusted himself offering the white box of chocolates he was clutching by raising them further into the Doctor's scrutinizing eye line. "No thanks" he returned, watching the man carefully. His green eyes looked softly back, this Forrest had a warmth to him, a refreshing warmth that the Doctor found most intriguing. "My momma always said, life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Forrest continued, placing the box on his lap with precision, adjusting the angle so that the sides were parallel with his legs and then placing his hands palm down on the lid. The Doctor nodded, considering how astoundingly correct this man was and pondered the thought that his mother must have a brilliant lady, making a mental note to pay her a visit some time. After doing so the Doctor seemed prompted to sit up straight, having observed the man's movements, putting legs together in much the same fashion as though testing the position out before relaxing into his usual falsely at ease posture. Forrest had in turn been studying the curious man at the opposite end of the bench and sashayed his shoulders subtly. A comfortable silence passed as a young man strolled by, the pair watched him for no particular reason, Forrest's eyes then noticing the seated stranger's shoes. There were lovely worn shoes, not like any he'd seen before "Those must be comfortable shoes, I bet you could walk all day in shoes like those and not feel a thing" The Doctor diverted his eyes to Forrest. "Yes, I suppose they are" he smiled, outstretching his ankle as it tilted from side to side. He admired the scuffs, his mind couldn't help but wander to thoughts of the places they'd been and more importantly who with. "My momma always said you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes, like where they've been. I've worn lots of shoes, I bet if I think about it real hard I can remember my first pair of shoes" Forrest added, his head moving in accordance with the Doctor's ankle. Again, the Doctor decided that Forrest's mother must have been a brilliant woman of rare wisdom. "I like the sound of your mother" the Doctor thought aloud, causing the man to beam widely. "Oh you would have liked her mister..mister. Er-" Forrest stammered on realization that he didn't know the man's name. "I'm the Doctor, sorry, should have said earlier…nice to meet you Forrest, was it?" the Doctor interrupted, offering a hand - the man in the white suit took it with a friendly expression, nodding. "You don't mind me asking but how did she…you know…" the Doctor asked inquisitively. "She got the cancer and died on a Tuesday" the man replied with a nod as though confirming the statement. "I'm sorry" the Time Lord commented. "Don't be. Mama always said, dying was a part of life" Forrest remembered. "I know that more than you could believe my friend" the Doctor said, looking outwards at nothing. "I sure wish it wasn't." Forrest stated, mimicking the Doctor's eye focus. The Doctor's softened as he focused his attentions on the man beside him. A quiet breeze tumbled passed, taking a piece of newspaper along the curb in front of the men "Mama told me that, when I asked why she was dying, that it was her destiny. Now I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time" Forrest proceeded, watching the paper float away. The Doctor furrowed his brow momentarily. This man was a genius, an utter genius. Okay, perhaps not the most eloquent as his southern accent clung to his proverbial words, but then again geniuses come in all flavours - he only had to assess himself or think back to Malcolm to confirm that. The Doctor was astounded that he was able to know something people can barely grasp, and he had never even experienced time travel.
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