The Preparation for the Moment
After his little chat with the Curator of the Undergallery had concluded, the Doctor thought back to the original incarnation to wear that face...and how he was told of a Moment by the enigmatic Watcher. He remembered his 4th self, dying beneath the Pharos Project...
*DW* ...1981...Pharos Project... *DW*
Well, he thought as he felt the life leaving him, the Watcher said to be prepared for the worst – and to be prepared for the Moment. Over the years, the Doctor had lost his resolve, the resolve that went with youth...and a week ago, that ended up leaving him with a choice that would break him either way. Not any more, he thought. It's now that I get my spirit back...
He heard his three companions – Adric, Nyssa and Tegan – approach his near-dead form. There was a pause, before...
"Doctor?" Nyssa whispered, fear evident in her voice.
"Doctor?" Tegan tried, her tone of voice matching Nyssa's.
Suddenly, the Doctor was overtaken by a vision...a vision containing every friend he'd had in this life, all of them saying the same word...Sarah Jane...Harry...the Brigadier...Leela...K-9...and the woman he'd miss most of all, the woman who'd stolen his hearts from him – Romana...
Doctor, they all called out to him. He turned his thoughts to them.
Sarah, he called back. I never forgot you...and I'm sorry...Harry...you were the Best Imbecile in the Universe...Alistair, my old friend...I do hope the UNIT Crew are doing well...Leela...things with Andred are alright, I trust? K-9...a Time Lord's Best Friend...Romana...come back to me, please...I have to see you one last time...I love you...
He then heard Adric try to get a response from him, and he just managed to turn his head to the boy...and whispered something to all three of them before the Watcher merged with him to catalyse the regeneration...and as he was engulfed by the Light, he saw another vision...a vision of Gallifrey standing tall against the Daleks in a Time War...the Doctor realised at last...
The Moment has been prepared for...
*DW* ...2013...London, Undergallery... *DW*
...and it's then that he believes he know the secret of the Curator...the man who is undoubtedly him – it would be an enormous coincidence if he wasn't, and there was no such thing as Coincidence. He knows why the Curator chose that face...the Moment had come...and of all his lives, the one who first wore that face was prepared for it...