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The Doctor thought he was hearing things when he heard muffled sobbing coming from his usually stoic companion’s bedroom. But as he was beginning to think that all of those years being alive was finally catching up to him, he pressed his ear against the door where his suspicions were confirmed.
(Y/n) (L/n) was crying.
And he wasn’t sure why, so he strained his ears to listen for any possible clues before he would make the decision to ask them what ails them. Between sobs, he managed to make out a couple of muddled sentences.
“Poor baby”
“She was all alone”
“She was left to die”
“What kind of cruel person would do that to someone so innocent”
With that, his worries grew larger and larger. Has a close friend of yours died recently and you’re just now finding out about it? A family member perhaps? Maybe someone got kidnapped? Though his mind ran rampant with possible explanations, he knew one thing: whatever happened, it was terrible enough to make the stoniest person he’s ever come across (in this regeneration at least) cry.
He brought his hand up to your door and gently knocked on the wood. It wasn’t as loud as he normally did it, but he was hoping that it was enough to catch your attention. And it did, as he heard the crying abruptly stop and shuffling behind the door. The door cracked open slightly to reveal your bloodshot eyes peering at him in question and your comforter wrapped tightly around your body.
He tried to give you the gentlest smile he could muster, the feeling almost foreign to him. He hoped that he didn’t look like he was pitying you because he certainly wasn’t; he was just worried. “Is everything alright? I just heard you crying and I-”
“I wasn’t crying,” you shakily insisted, “just- just thinking ‘s all.” A lip wobble, your voice cracking at the end of your sentence, and the tears pricking at the corners of your eyes told him that you were trying your hardest to stop yourself from breaking down in front of him.
“What were you thinking about?” That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Tears started to trickle out of your eyes steadily as a sob broke past the iron fortress that was your pursed lips. He wordlessly opened his arms, surprised when you buried your face into his shoulder. You weren’t a touchy-feely person at all. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.
He held you against him tightly and rocked you back and forth in your doorway. He did everything that came to mind to comfort somebody that was crying, lightly rubbing your back, petting your hair, humming a song that he had long ago forgotten the origins of, everything. And it worked, your tears eventually reduced themselves to sniffles when you had pulled away from him.
“Sorry,” you mumbled, wiping your tears with the back of your hand and shifting on the balls of your feet. It reminded him of the way his children used to act after he caught them crying, and he felt his heartstrings almost tear in two. You seemed so small, contrasting against the usually confident and large presence you brought with you to every room.
“No, no! Don’t apologize, never be sorry for crying,” he gingerly wrapped an arm around your shoulder and led you to the kitchen when you made no move to protest against it. He plopped you down into a chair and, after sliding you a glass of water, sat across from you.
“Now it’s alright if you don’t want to talk about it, but I think it’d be helpful. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“It’s stupid,” you grumbled as you swirled the water around in your glass.
“(Y/n), look at me,” he said.
You weren’t exactly sure what you were expecting to see. Maybe it was disappointment or maybe anger for interrupting his plans for that day, or maybe even a mixture of both. You didn’t want to find out, so you tried your hardest to avoid making eye contact with the alien in front of you.
It was only when he grabbed your hand and squeezed it lightly that you finally looked up at him. To your surprise, he wasn’t mad or disappointed at all. No, he was looking at you with more sincerity in his eyes than you’ve ever seen someone with. “Not once in my hundreds of years I’ve been alive have I thought something was stupid when someone was upset over it.”
You glanced at his hand around yours and sighed before taking a swig of your water. Your fingers twitched around his, unsure about what you should do in this situation. “Really?”
“Really,” he nodded firmly with an accentuated raise of his eyebrows, “everyone has a right to be sad sometimes, it’s only natural. I’d actually be more worried to find that someone’s never been upset before.”
“Promise not to laugh at me?” You asked him, feeling way too exposed and out-in-the-open for your likings.
“I promise.” The way his thumb started to rub the tops of your knuckles reassuringly made you realize that he wasn’t going to laugh at you or ridicule you like so many others have whenever you were vulnerable around them. So, you took a deep breath in and prepared yourself, “I was thinking about Laika. You know, the first animal to orbit the Earth.”
Oh he knew about the dog, how could he not? It was a major human accomplishment regarding space, so of course he would know all about Laika.
Admittedly, he’d forgotten about her until you had brought her up today. He’d been preoccupied lately with running around the universe saving lives. Maybe he could save one more today since she meant so much to you.
“She was just- she deserved so much more. She deserved someone to love her unconditionally and give her the best life she could have lived and-”
“Breathe,” the Doctor instructed when he saw that you were practically turning blue as you were rambling. “We have all the time in the universe to talk, so don’t pass out because you forgot how to breathe,” he lightly jokes, hoping to lighten the mood slightly.
You took a couple of deep breaths before nodding, “they picked her up from the streets and she probably felt so confused and scared when she was alone again. And I just- God, Doctor, she deserved so much more than what she was given.”
“I agree, nobody deserves to die alone,” he told you gently, feeling a twinge in his hearts when he realized how often you thought about the dog to feel that way about her. “I’ll tell you what, we could save her. Give her to a family that’ll love her.”
“You can do that?” The way you looked up at him with so much hope in your eyes and your mouth slightly agape made him solidify his plan; you both were going to save Laika today. Normally, the TARDIS would never allow an animal to come on board, but he was absolutely certain that she was willing to make an exception for you judging by the comforting whirrs that came from above and the dimming lights.
“Yes, of course we can.” He stood up from his spot and started to pace around the kitchen mumbling to himself. “If we just materialize around her ship we can get her out. Next, take her to a veterinarian, and maybe after that a trip to the pet store and the dog park.”
“But Doctor,” the sudden loss of hope in your voice made him stop completely in his tracks and snap his head to look at you. You were once again swirling the water in your glass and staring into it sadly.
“Yes, what is it?”
“Aren’t deaths a fixed point in time? Like, something that can’t be changed under any circumstance?”
“I’m… surprised that you remembered that. But no, Sputnik 2 disintegrated when it re-entered the atmosphere. We can nab her before she passes and toss her ship back into orbit. It’s simple, I’m honestly surprised I haven’t done that before,” he mumbled the last part to himself. “Now c’mon! We have a dog to save,” he grabbed your hand once more and dragged you to the center console room.
He made quick work of navigating the TARDIS to the correct time and coordinates, not wanting to wait for a second more. When he had finally materialized the TARDIS around Sputnik 2 and used his sonic screwdriver to open the doors, the sight of Laika almost made you start sobbing again.
She was trembling and panting harder than you’ve ever seen a dog pant before. Her ears were practically flattened fully to her head as she stared at you and the Doctor. Small growls left her mouth as her hackles rose.
The Doctor approached her slowly and slightly crouched as he spoke softly to her, “hello Laika. My name is the Doctor and this is my companion (Y/n) (L/n), we’re here to save you… Yes, you can trust us, you’re safe here.” He hummed before looking at you over his shoulder, “could you grab something for her to eat? Poor girl’s starving.”
Without a second thought, you went to the kitchen and dug through the pantries and fridge for anything that might be nutritious for a dog. Some chopped-up liver, a raw egg here and there, and a dash of milk garnished with spinach should do the trick. Oh, and a bowl of water, too; can’t forget that. She would also probably like to have something to lay on, so you hung your abandoned comforter over your shoulder.
When you returned to the console room, you could feel your heart melt at the sight of Laika sniffing around the room curiously with her tail wagging from side to side and the Doctor seemingly talking to himself quietly. Her head perked up when she saw you carrying in her dinner and she came bounding over to dig into her feast.
“You know, she’s eating better than you do,” the Doctor pointed out quietly as he watched you maneuver your comforter near Laika. You were moving meticulously, making sure that she had somewhere comfortable to lay down.
You nodded firmly, “I’ll be damned if she isn’t; she deserves it after everything she’s been through…”
He nodded with you, “we caught her right as the ship started to overheat so she’s completely fine. Her vitals are healthy, she was just spooked is all.”
You went quiet and your hands stuttered to a complete stop. He could see your shoulders begin to shake and your breath begins to hitch slightly before you launched yourself at him for the second time that night. He had to step back to stop himself from falling with the sheer amount of force. Just as he was beginning to worry that you were going to start to cry again, a shaky laugh escaped you and you looked up at him with such joy he'd never seen you have before.
“Thank you, Doctor. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” You repeated that like it was a mantra between your joyous laughter. Your laughter was contagious and made him join you quickly. He honestly couldn’t remember a time where he was this happy to see someone else happy, it had been a while; far too long for his likings.
“You’re very welcome, (Y/n),” he said with a large smile as he returned your hug with full force. His gaze wandered over to the dog, who was now drinking water in content. “Now if Laika’s feeling up to it, how about we visit the largest dog park in the history of dog parks? It covers an entire planet and has tons of enrichment and fun for our little pooch here.”
Laika’s head perked up and she rushed over to the both of you at the mention of the word ‘park’, making you both laugh once more. “The dog park it is!”