Doctor Who Oneshots

10th Doctor X Reader: Nightmares

This is a dream. It's all a dream.

You were dreaming. Right? It had to be a dream.

The Daleks were coming. "Exterminate!" They shouted, their shrill chants vibrating through you, making you feel the most uncomfortable level of dread.

No, dread would be an understatement for this feeling. Maybe pure untempered fear was the word.

The Doctor was leading you down a dark hallway that seemed to go on for an eternity. He turned to you and spoke, but you could not understand a word he said. Literally, it was another language.

"I don't understand you!" You try to shout, but his kind face was replaced with an unfamiliar look that was a mix of disappointment, contempt, and anger. It did not seem like the face of your beloved best friend.

Suddenly, the endless hallway came to a dead end wall, with a turn around a corner. Thinking it was a way out, the Doctor started to walk down it, but the Daleks had been waiting for him. In a blast of light, you saw the Time Lord crumple to the ground. You rushed over to him, holding him, frantically asking what to do while tears streamed from your eyes. He tried to say something, but you still couldn't understand him.

"Keep the human alive," you heard the Daleks say. "So she can watch her loved one die, and then she will die of emotions!" In fear and anger, you looked up to scream at the Daleks, to scold them for killing your Doctor. But when you looked up, you did not see ordinary Daleks.

You saw stone Daleks with Weeping Angel wings, fire Daleks with devil horns, Cyber Daleks made of silver metal and screaming "Upgrade!" All the enemies of the Doctor you had faced while being with him fused into one army. You sobbed and screamed and threw yourself over the Doctor's now dead body. He was too late to regenerate.

Suddenly, there were no more Daleks, or any of the Doctor's enemies fused with Daleks. Everything was silent, so silent that you thought you had gone deaf. You sat up, and looked around, only to find that you were in another dangerous situation. You were on a bridge, if you could call it that, over a fiery chasm of lava. It was a weak, wooden bridge that looked very old, and you saw a spark fly up from the fire and into one of the farthest boards of the bridge, quickly setting it aflame. You panicked, and turned to see the Doctor sitting upright, staring at you. You shouted at him, "We have to get out of here! Help me!"

The scariest thing about this part of the nightmare was not the fire burning the bridge, or even the threat of the long drop into the lava-filled abyss.

It was that the Doctor, who you had shouted at for help, only stared at you with blank eyes. Like he didn't even know you, or he didn't even care. And then, his irises in his unknowing eyes expanded, absorbing all white of the eyes, and then turned black. Then, he smiled the scariest and most evil smile you had ever seen. You screamed.

And then, you woke up.

Feeling sweat dripping in the tight places of your body, you came to, feeling the blankets scattered around you. You felt tears drying in the cool air on your face. A light had been turned on, and you realized that there was a figure by your bed, saying your name in a soft tone. The Doctor. Of course.

"Shh...(Y/N), it's okay. It was just a nightmare. Just a silly little bad dream," the Doctor whispered as he rubbed your arm. You sat up and pushed some hair out of your face. Then you flung yourself into him, catching him off guard at first, but he quickly and gently put his arms around you, and put one hand on your hair. He stroked it slowly. Calmly, he asked, "Are you alright?"

You tried to stutter out an answer, but it came out sleepy and overwhelmed by tears. "I-I... Oh, Doctor!" You sobbed, and he hugged you closer to him.

"Shh, it's okay. You don't have to talk about it," he whispered sweetly. "Just a bad dream, (Y/N). Nothing to worry about." He continued to stroke your hair, and as you felt the slow and steady double beat of his two hearts under your head, you realized how soothed and relaxed he had made you in such a short time.

After a few minutes of silence, you sniffed and asked quietly, "Doctor?"

"Yes?" He replied softly,

"I think I can tell you about the dream."

"Go on if you feel like it," the Doctor said, and you told him of your nightmares, which were now slowly fading.

After a couple seconds of silence after you finished, the Doctor spoke just above a whisper. "I will always try to understand you, (Y/N). Don't worry."

You nodded, as much as you could with your head still pressed against his chest. "I know."

"And I will never, ever die and leave you in danger. You can count on that."

"You better not," you half-heartedly joked, causing him to chuckle, which vibrated up from his chest against your ear.

"And I will never, ever, ever just sit by as things fall apart," the Doctor continued. He sounded so serious, as if he were making the most important promise of his life. "If you're in trouble, I will make sure that you are safe and happy. You are precious to me, remember that."

You pulled out of his embrace to look at his face. On it you saw a look of concern in his eyes, but a small smile on his lips. His kind actions, words, and expression had reminded you of how grateful you were that he had found you and offered to take you traveling in his big blue box.

You smiled back at him and took his hands. "Thank you, Doctor. You are the kindest man I have ever met."

He looked down, and though the light in the room was dim, you thought you saw his cheeks redden the slightest bit. "Thank you for being the most wonderful companion I've ever had!" He exclaimed, but still speaking in the quiet, gentle voice.

You squeezed his hand. "No problem," you joked. He grinned.

"So, you think you can go back to sleep? I don't want you to lose any energy you need for tomorrow," the Doctor asked, slowly standing up.

You nodded slowly and yawned. "I think I can. Thanks for calming me down. It really made me feel safer after that terrifying dream." You laid your head onto your soft pillow.

"No trouble at all. Always ask if you need anything," he said sweetly. He started to walk towards the door.

"Um, Doctor, wait a second."

The Doctor turned around at your words, looking at you expectantly. "Need something?"

"Yeah." You let out a tired breath. "Could you, uh...could you stay with me in here as I fall asleep?" You stuttered, a little embarrassed to ask the Doctor to stay in bed with you. It's not like you were going to do anything inappropriate, you just needed to keep his comfort close to you as you slept. "So I don't have any more nightmares?"

The Doctor smiled. "Sure thing," he said kindly. He switched off the light, and walked back to your bed. You scoot over to make room for him, and he put his arms around your waist as you turned to face him. It was a wonderful sight to see his smiling face, knowing that he would protect you from the monsters of your dreams, as well as the monsters of life.

"Thank you so much again," you whispered to him.

He snuggled himself closer to you, and you felt warmth radiate off his body, heating your own chilled one. "Absolutely no problem." He grinned. He kissed you on the forehead. "Goodnight, (Y/N). Sweet dreams."

You sighed happily, and whispered, "Goodnight, Doctor."

You fell into a deep, happy sleep, and had no more nightmares.

Wow. I impressed myself. I started this at about 2 AM-ish (I'm a night person) and it is now 4 AM-ish. This was really pleasant to write though.

Anyway, hope it have you feels! The Eleventh Doctor comfort oneshot should be coming soon!

Thanks for reading!