Thoughts at Midnight
A Doctor Who Fanfiction
By: PineappleAngel
AN: this is a crazy flash idea that popped into my head after rewatching "Midnight" just moments ago… for me, this is the scariest episode. It's not about aliens who are going to kill you, or a disaster about to take your planet…the threat, the impending, monstrous threat that hangs in the balance and is the REAL monster in this…is simply human fear. Sure, there is some alien consciousness present, but it is not the thing that is going to kill, or even the biggest threat…the real potential killers are the humans, who by their fear become monsters. The thing about this storyline is, even if you don't believe in aliens, monsters, spirits, or non human powers… this could still happen. Just imagine if it were some sort of disease or something, instead of an alien. In a situation of turmoil, the humans around you…you're fellow citizens of the world could turn against you and turn to primitive instincts of murder, just to save themselves… THAT is what is so terrifying about this episode, and that is what I think the Doctor was scared of; so scared that the alien consciousness didn't need Sky anymore…she was no longer the most scared person! HE WAS! THIS TERRIFIED THE DOCTOR, so why DOESN'T IT TERRIFY YOU!?
Anyway…on to the story… (basically, it's the thought behind the scenes we're shown)
The Doctor stared into Sky's eyes, trying to hide his ultimate fear that the consciousness was invading him now. "So do we have a deal?" He muttered. Then fell bone still. "NO! NO! NO! PLEASE! NO! Don't do this! I CAN HELP YOU!" His screaming thoughts went unheard as the consciousness took over his body.
She had spoken ahead of him. And all of the others had noticed. Their attention turned to him, seeing him now as the enemy. It carried on for several minutes of utter hell. She spoke phrases over and over, forcing him to stutter out the words, unable to stop. She was welcomed back to the group, while they turned against him.
Fear. Plain and simple. The Doctor was forced rigid unable to move or talk on his own. It hurt, but he couldn't even blink. His body trembled in his obvious fear. The old timelord had thought that he knew terror before, but nothing compared to this. He was trapped in the back of his own head, unable to even control his own body. Forced to sit and listen to them, plan to kill him; murder him in cold blood. "NO! NO! Please! Why can't they see!? Can they be so thick!? She's making me say these things! IT'S HER! HELP ME! LISTEN TO HER! LISTEN TO DIDI! LISTEN TO THE HOSTESS! THEY KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENNIGN!" While they continued to argue, he trembled and sweated in the most complete fear possible. Tears welled in his eyes and ran down his rigid cheeks.
Suddenly, Sky began talking again, in his voice, trying to convince the others that he was the evil one! The possessed one! "NO! NO not again! Leave me alone! Let them make their own minds up! Please…NO!"
"YES! THROW HIM OUT! GET RID OF HIM!" She forced him to say it through clenched teeth. The Doctor fought all he could but all he could do was cry and groan silently while the angry husband took hold of his immobile frame, and dragged him to the doors of death.
"NO! PLEASE! Let me go! Please! Leave me alone! This can't be how it ends! All these years of protecting these thick puny little humans and now this? THIS IS HOW I DIE? Slaughtered by the unjust hands of their stupid little fear!?"
"THAT'S IT! CAST HIM OUT! INTO THE SUN! AND THE NIGHT!" She forced him to beg for his own death. Inside he was pleading, begging for help and mercy with tears unable to fall. Though unable to move much, he shifted his weight and used his foot to clasp onto a chair, trying to hold on. The move was useless, when the Professor added his weight, tugging him to the door.
"DO IT! DO IT NOW! FASTER! THAT'S THE WAY! YOU CAN DO IT!" He uttered her phrases in turmoil.
"NO! Please! Can't you people see! THIS IS MURDER! HELP ME! PLEASE!" The Doctor's fears rose as he was dragged just feet away from the door.
"MOLTO BENE! Allons-y!"
"NO! NO! Those are my words! That's my voice! You can't! You can't do this! Those are my words! THIS IS MY LIFE! MY BODY! CAN'T YOU PEOPLE SEE THAT!" He was able to throw a pleading glance to the hostess who stood to the side, crying.
The hostess's eyes widened, in realization. "That's his voice! She's taken HIS voice! It's her! She's taken his voice!" With this sudden wave of knowing, she bravely seized Sky and whisked her to the other door. She slammed her hand on the button and counted 6 seconds till they were sucked out, into death.
As Sky screamed, the Doctor screamed. He screamed as she commanded, and on his own accord, because the consciousness was trying to hold on, but it was being pulled away! Finally, after those painful six seconds of combined hell and hope, she was pulled away from them, forever.
The Doctor collapsed and crawled away from the others, still scared and gasping for breath. "Its gone! Its gone-its gone -its gone its gone! Its gone! Its gone!" He was so relieved to have his head and voice back. For a minute, all he could do was repeat those words, in his exhales. He wept silently as he let the situation sink in, knowing just how close he had come to death.
For twenty minutes he wept, trying to finally catch his breath. The others all guiltily stared, and at the same time, tried not to look into his face. They all withdrew to the seats, far from him, leaving him sitting on the floor, in the middle of the car. After those awful 20 minutes of silence they were alerted that the rescue vehicle had arrived. He looked up at them, thoughtfully and said. "The hostess… What was her name?"
His suspicions were confirmed when each replied with guilty silence, except for the professor, who simply muttered. "I don't know!"
They all hung their heads in guilt and shame, and didn't talk for the rest of the 2 hours journey back to the resort. In the rescue vehicle, the group all hung to one side, while the Doctor just stayed curled up in the back, weeping. "That woman…that hostess…she saved my life… I didn't stand a chance, and they would've killed me… and she saved my life! And we didn't even ask her name..." It was not often that the Doctor was saved by someone else, or so he thought. But thinking after this moment, he could think of all the people who had died or sacrificed so much, to save him.. Rose…all those people on the Titanic ship…Jenny… the people in the village where he turned human… all these people suffering, just so he could live to help someone else… And the weight of all those lives on his shoulders hurt, so he wept.
Wept silently on and on. He was always weeping, as he went through his life…sometimes he could just hide it better. This was not one of those times he could hide it…nor did he want to. So he wept for them, wept for her. All those nameless faces that died in his name.
The Name of the Doctor.
-fin-