When the Sun Sets ☼ Eleven x Reader

X - A Hand to Hold

'Well you know what we have to do now, don't you?' you say as the door ominously clicks open and the two of you step out. The hallway seemed ever longer now that you had such a fast deadline and such a high stake if you don't meet it.

'Well, yes, I was listening.' the Doctor replies, rolling his eyes.

'I meant more as a plan of action, I wasn't being condescending,' you begin to speed up in order to catch up with the Doctor who was striding further and further ahead of you. 'Will you slow down a minute, I'm not as tall as you,'

He suddenly stops, turns on his heel and looks you directly in the eyes. 'I can't afford to slow down, [Y/N]. The slower I move, the longer it takes us to solve this riddle, and I can't waste time. I need to keep you safe. You, and Amy and Rory. I can't risk any of you getting hurt because of me. I would never forgive myself. And I live too long to have that sort of hurt consuming me. Without you three, I'd be alone- and I wouldn't want to be alone with thoughts like mine. Not if you three weren't there.'

He stands up a little taller, and straightens his bow tie as a physical sign of his recomposition. 'I'm sorry. I'm just scared, that's all.'

'Understandably.' you reply. 'I am too. Who wouldn't be? But I'm here, and I'm capable. If anything happened to you I'd never forgive myself either.'

The Doctor smiles down at you sweetly, with no insincere emotions hiding beneath the surface of his face. He extends his hand out to you, and you take it gladly.

The two of you begin to march quickly down the hallway- the Doctor running, you almost getting dragged over the deep red carpets. It probably would have been more comfortable for the both of you if you had let go and just ran alongside him- it's not as if you didn't have the stamina to keep up with him- but both of you were so anxious that any sort of harm would come to the other, it was a connection of reassurance, not of necessity.

By the time you reached Amy and Rory's room, you had about 55 minutes left. You were feeling strangely confident at this point. Something about the speed with which you had reached the couple put you at ease. Without so much as loosening his grip on your hand, the Doctor uses his left hand to knock on the door with three strong taps with a closed fist. When no reply came after a few seconds, the knocking became repetitive and gradually more forceful, until a tired looking Rory eventually moved the door away from the pounding.

'Doctor, it's midnight. Can whatever it is wait until tomorrow?' he yawns, rubbing his eyes sleepily as they attempt to adjust to the brightness of the hall.

'Absolutely not. I'm coming in now!' the Doctor announces, pushing past Rory and hitting the light switch as he dragged you into the hotel room. Amy sits up quickly in her bed, squinting and rubbing her eyes as they fail to properly make out what was in front of her.

'Doctor? It's midnight. Can-'

'I've already had this conversation. We need your help and we need it now.'

The couple look understandably lost at the sudden urgency of the two of you rushing in, but you could tell from how quickly they composed themselves that they were used to being awoken by the Doctor and a call of foreign danger that needed their immediate attention. When they were both sufficiently awake and dressed, you summarised what Mr Skinner had told you over the intercom, and what Nine and Ten had told you before that. This begged the question of the Doctor's regeneration history, but after the amount of time it took you to get to grips with it, you carefully avoided that with a simple 'I'll explain later.'. The rest of what you said they seemed to take incredibly well- nodding in agreement and understanding (Rory maybe not so clear on the latter) before standing up quickly, ready to find themselves in Prince's Bliss.