It was on the third morning since the Doctor's late-night arrival that the alien finally set foot outside the guest bedroom. Craig hadn't noticed until he felt the man's gaze bearing down upon him. After looking up in mild shock, he set down the book he had been perusing and stiffened in his seat upon the sofa.
He allowed himself several seconds to study the Doctor's appearance, mostly unchanged. Disheveled hair stood atop a head that housed an incredibly tired, pallid face. Slouched shoulders and a defeated gait sported the same clothes they did three nights before, only now more wrinkled and withered.
Craig continued to stare, not failing to notice that the Doctor's withering gaze had dropped to his feet. It was a few more moments before Craig opened his mouth to speak; however, the Doctor's own words surfaced before the man could say a thing.
"Why am I here, Craig?"
The question was a hoarse croak, and Craig couldn't help but cringe as it seemed that the words had painfully scratched through an incredibly sore throat. Either way, the sentence uttered nothing but pain.
"Honestly, Doctor, I've been wanting to ask you the same thing," he answered slowly but curtly in concern. He patted the seat beside him. "Won't you sit?"
The offer was ignored. "How long have I been here?"
The Doctor's gaze—now a glare—had once again lifted to fall upon Craig. If he hadn't known the Doctor, he'd easily infer a sense of malice from those ancient eyes. Or was it regret? He answered calmly and honestly, feeling the Doctor needed nothing more, nothing less.
"Two days."
The Time Lord's jaw clenched as he inhaled through his teeth. Red eyes glared holes into Craig's own gaze as clammy hands tightened and released only to tighten again. The Doctor's eyes then darted around the room, as if trying to find a target or attempting to find something lost. Craig jumped when the Doctor let out a sharp growl bordering on being a roar.
Who was this man that stood before him?
Craig wanted to step forward and lay a comforting hand on his friend; however, he pondered whether the notion would help or just give means for the alien to lash out. Craig inhaled and once again spoke calmly.
"Are… are you angry, Doctor?" he asked cautiously. The Time Lord, now breathing heavily, whipped his glare back to the man. Craig continued with concern. "It's been two days that you been here, in my guest room. Three nights that you've spent. Don't you remember?"
The Doctor continued to stare as he inhaled scratchy heaves. His body shivered then continued in a weak tremble. Watery red eyes shook in a sort of disoriented craze.
"Doctor… do you remember?"
"RAAAAGGGHH!"
Craig jumped to his feet at the exclamation, startled and cautious. The Doctor continued in a roaring rasp.
"Remember? Remember?! All I do is REMEMBER!"
The alien swung an arm out in sharp exclamation before quickly bringing both of them back in to tightly wrap around himself, as if he were braving against a biting cold wind. He continued to yell.
"Remember?! Remember?!" He leaned forward in his shout, lips bearing back revealing clenching teeth.
"It won't leave me!" He exclaimed in a scathing growl. His arms flung out again in a swing. "NEVER! It never leaves! IT WILL NEVER!"
Craig quickly reached out to the man in urgency, tightly grasping the Doctor by either arm, but the Time Lord struggled against him, spittle flying from his mouth as he screeched.
"Why?! WHYYYY?!"
"Doctor, please stop!"
"WHYYYYYY?!"
The struggle between the two quickly became raucous, and Craig fought to keep the other man from hurting himself, tightening his grasp and struggling against the other's lashing arms. The Doctor flailed, his words falling apart, becoming nothing more than animalistic cries and sobs.
The two fought, knocking their legs into the sofa, the coffee table, the wall. The Doctor whipped back and forth, willing to free himself from the other's grasp. One sudden and strong lurch brought the two tumbling to the carpet with a painful thud. Taking his current position from above in advantage, Craig held the Doctor tight, willing him to stop as he writhed beneath him, sobbing.
"Doctor! Stop! Please!"
"RAAAAGHHH!"
"Please! Just stop! Doctor!"
The lurching and lashing eventually died down after excruciatingly long and painful minutes. The tremulous sobs continued, though the energy behind them slowly began to diminish. The Doctor's face was soaked in tears and sweat, and he trembled incessantly.
They remained in the same position, with Craig holding himself above the other as he feared another tantrum would arise if he removed himself. Each sob from the other man seemed to stab a dagger through Craig's chest, but he waited, forced to listen.
As the Doctor's cries finally withered down into pitiful moans, Alfie's own wailing could be heard from upstairs. After waiting a few more minutes in order to ensure that the Doctor would not attempt to lash out again, Craig slowly lifted himself from the other man and rose to his feet.
The Doctor didn't move from where he lay. The poor figure only continued to tremble, moaning and whimpering, staring off into nowhere, face adorned with sweaty, matted hair and a sniveling, runny nose.
Craig finally forced himself to tear his gaze away from the sight, and he quickly plodded up the stairs to tend to his son.
He heard the Doctor let loose another wailing sob, and it was all Craig could do to wipe away the tears that had fallen down his own face.
He wasn't surprised to find the Doctor in the same spot on the floor when he returned after finally managing to put Alfie back to sleep. The Time Lord lay curled up with his arms wrapped around himself, fingers digging into his sides. His body still trembled, and he whimpered as if it were only because he had lost the energy to sob. He was faced with his back toward Craig and his forehead resting against the leg of the coffee table.
Craig sighed, slowly walking to his friend, lowering himself to his knees. The Time Lord startled when he laid a hand on him but soon calmed down to slight shivers as Craig stroked his arm in comfort.
"Doctor," Craig started wearily. "Won't you please get up? You can't–"
Thud. Craig jumped as the Doctor reared his head back only to knock it hard against the corner of the coffee table leg. "Doctor!" The man exclaimed in horror as he scrambled to turn the alien over. The Doctor's limp body complied, falling to his back on the floor, revealing a gash on his forehead framed by dark bruises. Craig grunted in distaste and slight panic as he pushed back the Time Lord's greasy locks of hair to study the wound. It was certainly not an injury earned after one mere hit. Had he been doing this to himself the whole time he was left alone?
Falling into a sure panic, Craig bustled to his feet and quickly shot toward the kitchen, but not before hesitating and turning back to his friend, weary to once again leave him to himself. The Time Lord hadn't moved. Blank eyes stared past the ceiling. After fidgeting in more worry, Craig quickly turned back to his goal, retrieved a roll of bandages from the kitchen as well as a wet rag, and bolted back to his charge. He practically stumbled back down to the Doctor.
"Get up," he demanded even as he found himself lifting his mate into a sitting position. The Doctor's figure was dragged up to lean against the coffee table. His head lolled about as he had no strength or resolve to hold it up on his own.
Craig made quick work, wiping away the bit of blood from the man's forehead and cleaning the wound. A few more worried minutes had the Time Lord's head hastily wrapped in the bandages. With a few more sweeps of his fingers through the Doctor's hair, Craig sat back to examine his handiwork and the pitiful image of his friend. All the while, the Doctor only stared down at his own knees, his lanky legs strewn before him and one of his limp arms in his lap, the other flopped out beside him. Craig huffed incredulously.
"What has gotten into you, Doctor?" he demanded, no longer calm. He laid a hand on his friend's knee, holding it firmly to show his concern. "What is going on? Why are you doing this to yourself?"
The Doctor didn't respond. He only blinked incoherently, sending Craig into further exasperation.
"Talk to me, Doctor! Please!"
The Time Lord did not raise his gaze, nor did he answer. With another sigh, Craig turned to sit beside his friend, his back resting against the coffee table as well. The two sat in silence, and the minutes dragged on.
Craig could only blink when the Doctor chose to speak.
"It hurts," the Time Lord rasped, letting a light sob escape his lips. Craig's face fell further as the Doctor continued. He fought the urge to turn to look at the other, knowing it would only break his heart further.
"It hurts… so much."
Craig squeezed the Doctor's knee again in assurance.
"Then don't hurt yourself. Please," he whispered, stealing a quick glance at the other's bandaged head, but he knew that the Doctor wasn't speaking of his wound.