I own nothing.

He sees the '11' emblazoned on a gold plaque on the door, and the Doctor is drawn to that room, despite his increasing dread of what he suspects will be inside. He does not wish to face it, but the room has a terrible pull and, for all his attempts not to, the Doctor finds his legs working and his feet moving towards the door.

What does the Doctor fear? What does the Doctor have nightmares about, when he dreams?

No one can say for sure. As the years go down those who have known him, cared for him, loved him have looked at what they know of his past and drawn their own conclusions. The Daleks. The Time War. The monsters that the Time Lords became, and how the Doctor had to stop him. Losing his companions. Watching his loved ones die. These are only guesses, and no one can say for certain what keeps the Doctor up at night.

No one but him.

The Doctor could tell you what he fears. The Doctor could tell you what he has nightmares about when he dreams. The Doctor could tell you the names of the shadows that hang over him, why he gazes at the darkness with more than a little wariness.

He could, but he won't.

That's not something anyone needs to know, not something he wants to burden anyone with. Never.

Coming to stand just outside the door, the Doctor looks the door up and down, fingers twitching, before the compulsion overrides common sense and his hand curls over the knob, opening the door.

The sight that greets him is a familiar form sitting on the edge of the bed, a familiar mocking smile, a familiar mad gleam of the eye.

And the look that the Doctor shoots his greatest fear is not one of terror, or even hatred. Just immeasurable sadness, as deep and vast as space itself.

"Oh, of course it would be you."

"When you get to your room, you don't know what's inside, but when you see it, you realize that it could never have been anything else."

That's not entirely true. Others might not know what lurks in their rooms, waiting for them, but the Doctor knew. He knew all the long what he would see when he opened the door, what he would be forced to face. He didn't want to, but in the end, he had to.

Just a moment more is spared, staring at the form on the edge of the bed, before the Doctor slams the door shut and goes to look for the others.