DRINKS
and came upon this prompt I'd written, linking Doctor Who to drinks. This is going to be a series of short one-shots. Here's hoping they're vaguely interesting!
Xena.
He is a sentinel, constantly watching over the world - the ever-vigilant angel who never rests or abandons his post, in the duty of guarding the universe. It is true, of course, that Time Lords need little sleep but there is a difference between a choice and a denied requirement.
The Doctor never shuts his eyes unless he can help it; not for fear of missing an oncoming danger but for fear of a returning past, a reoccurring trend in his lingering night-time thoughts. He doesn't dare sleep because he is scared of what he might see returning out of the mists of time - the deafening final screams of his people, the harsh metallic shriek of the manufactured Dalek race, that desperate feeling of world-numbing guilt, horror and shock he felt in his last moments before his most recent regeneration. He feels he would understand survivor's guilt if he hadn't been the one to cause the genocide of the two warring sides - he still wonders bitterly why it was his responsibility, why he was the one forced to carry out this action.
It surprises him that he doesn't find it strange when Rose notices his little superstitious habit. If I don't sleep, I won't see anything bad… like a small bargaining child, trying to rationalise something they can't understand. He always knew deep down that they had some kind of connection - she understood without knowing the details, the ultimate embodiment of compassion. And love. It's odd to him how some little ape has suddenly become the centre of his life, the person he wants to keep safe and happy no matter what the cost. She sees him, careworn, restless, tired, and knows that something she perceives in his eyes is not longing for some far off world; it's the desperation for peace, free from fear. He never tells her but she naturally understands, like two pieces of the same puzzle. She just brings him tea – milk and two sugars. She remembers from all that time ago, when they'd only just started running.
After he finishes it, with her hand clasped in his, his head on her shoulder, Rose watches him relax; an act of friendship and love. His world finally fades away into comfortable oblivion.
Thanks :-)