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Once he is back in the TARDIS, the Doctor can’t stop thinking about his and Jamie’s time on the Dominators’ ship. Especially how the ‘test’ they made him do was horrifyingly similar to the ‘therapy’ he went through as a child.
It was almost the same. Except put your hands in here and we will shock you if you do it wrong, was more like make eye contact or we will rub sandpaper all over your hands. It was exactly the same hateful, terrifying principle: do what we say or you will be punished.
It was hard to process at the time (he was too busy playing the fool to save him and Jamie from ending up as the Dominators’ slaves), but he has plenty of time to process it now. And thinking about it makes him want to be sick as his hearts palpitate and he rocks himself backwards and forwards.
In bed that night, a nightmare tears him from his sleep. He’s back in the Dominators’ ship, except he’s a child and they’re calling him a retard and their words hurt as much as the feeling of his skin being torn by sandpaper. He wakes up in a panic, his limbs tangled in his blankets, his face covered in sweat and tears. He makes such a noise as he sobs and gasps for breath that Zoe comes running into the room, whilst Jamie cradles him and rubs his back in an attempt to calm him down. It doesn’t really work, but they stay with him until he finally falls back asleep.
In the morning, the Doctor tells them both why his experience with the Dominators triggered his PTSD so much. When he has finished, they are both crying, and they hug him as tears run down his face.