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It was the best feeling, waking up safe and warm next to someone you loved.
As Charley slowly surfaced from unconsciousness, that was all she could think of. Because for once, she was somewhere familiar. There wasn’t any threatening evil trying to chase her. For the first time in a very long while, she was really and truly safe.
Because she was in the TARDIS.
The TARDIS. The safe, warm, beautiful TARDIS that meant she was home again in her own universe.
Well…at least she and the Doctor were.
Charley looked to where C’rizz had been sitting the night before as they had laughed and talked and shared stories. The chair was empty now; he must have gone back to the room he’d claimed as his own.
Charley made a mental note to go check on him later.
For now, she let out a contented sigh. She hadn’t realised how much she’d missed the feeling of being sure of something, anything, after living in a universe where any step could take you into a world of infinite unknowns.
After a moment of quiet thought, however, Charley realised there was something wrong.
It was too quiet.
Charley lifted her head from the Doctor’s shoulder—when did I get there?—and carefully turned to get a good look at his face. He was asleep. Actually, really, asleep. She’d seen him knocked unconscious before (too many times), but never naturally asleep.
The sight of him so still didn’t seem right. How could that springy, flighty body of his ever be at rest?
But Charley knew that the Divergent Universe had taken its toll on him, too. Maybe he was feeling the same way she was, just glad to be safe again.
Not just “safe,” she realised. Home. Because the TARDIS was his home, and hers too.
Home together once again. Charley smiled.
She had the strangest urge to touch his face, just out of curiosity. He looked so peaceful and serene, like for once he wasn’t carrying the weight of the universe on his shoulders.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed. His mouth opened a little and he mumbled something unintelligible. Charley tried to determine whether he was simply dreaming or having a nightmare when—
“Zagreus.”
Her heart stopped. Her breath caught in her throat. But no—Zagreus was gone, wasn’t he?
And yet the Doctor continued to mumble, “I…I have become…” His fingers clenched into fists. His expression contorted in agony. “No, no, I am…I am the…I am Zagreus—no!”
Charley shook off her shock and reached out to grab his shoulder. “Doctor! Doctor, it’s Charley!”
His eyes snapped open. In a single movement, he pushed himself back to the other side of the sofa. “Charley, stay away…no.”
It only took a moment for her to register that his voice was quaking with fear as she’d only heard a few times before.
The Doctor looked down at his hands and sighed. “No, it’s all right. I’m sorry, Charley.”
“Sorry? Whatever for?” She moved to get closer to him, but he held out a hand. She stopped.
“I hurt you.” He spread his fingers and continued to gaze down at them like they held the answers to everything. “All that time ago, I hurt you, Charley.”
She stood, walked to where he sat, and crouched in front of him. She slid her hands into his, but he still wouldn’t look at her. “It wasn’t really you. Besides, Zagreus is gone now, isn’t he?”
“Yes, yes. Gone from everywhere but my dreams.”
Charley squeezed his fingers. “You don’t need to be afraid of him anymore.”
The Doctor remained silent for a moment. “I wish it were that easy,” he said, his voice deep and troubled. “Zagreus isn’t just in my nightmares, Charley. He is my nightmares. He’s every dark day I’ve ever had, every evil thought I’ve ever known.”
“But I know who you are,” she said softly. “You’re the Doctor, and you beat Zagreus.”
The Doctor finally met her eyes, his lips twitching into a smile. “You beat Zagreus, Charley.”
Charley chuckled, his smile giving her hope that he was returning to his usual self. “Well, I might have helped. And that’s why I’m here, Doctor. To chase away the nightmares.” She sat by his side and wrapped her arms tightly around him. “And I’ll always be here. No matter what.”
The Doctor hugged her back and breathed out a long sigh. Charley eased into a more comfortable position, leaning her head back against his chest. The Doctor’s arms remained around her. Neither of them said anything for a long while. The silence was filled with love and belonging, safety and hope, sacrifice and forgiveness, all the things that they understood but didn’t know how to say. It didn’t matter. Charley had been with him through the best and the worst, and she’d be with him through everything yet to come.
“Charlotte Pollard,” the Doctor said eventually. “What would I do without you?”