DOCTOR WHAT? May 26, 2008

Title: Doctor What?
By: ellymelly
Spoilers: Up to and including Doomsday
Pairing: Doctor/Rose
Summary: An alternet ending to Doomsday – (ie. let’s pretend the runnaway bride doesn’t exist lol) You know, one of those endings where Rose and the Doctor will eventually get back together and we can resume loud squeeing.

Chapter One: Wanderer

“Quite alright too.” The beach was cold. The Doctor couldn’t technically feel it but he knew must be. Norway was like that, cold one minute, cold the next. This is what it came down to then. All those words scattered about, trailing him through time and space. Letters for stalkers, that’s what he had. All the weird things in the universe and he always managed to run into them. What would it be next week? Numbers with feelings? He hoped it wasn’t numbers with feelings. He’d never been very good at numbers, not his talent. Survival was more his field. It’s what got him here, the knack for finding trouble and getting out of it. Except this time, the universe was forcefully removing him and no matter how deep The Doctor dug his heels in or how impressive the supernova, nothing was going to be able to save him from being saved.

That was his curse – something he wanted to shake, outrun, but it is a clever little curse. It clung persistently to The Doctor and everything he touched. They were a package deal – The Doctor and the Monsters. He often wondered if he really was worth all the monsters. The person in front of him, he noted with a touch of hope, seemed to think so.

The Doctor’s electronic image rippled slightly. He smiled sadly, the Timelord to his companion. “And I suppose,” he continued, hoping what he was about to say wouldn’t break some universal law he hadn’t heard about and send them both spiraling back into the void hovering close by. Two universes collide and ripped apart because The Doctor wants to be human, “It’s my last chance to say it.” Time was short, and that was a new concept for a Timelord. This was one moment he could never replay. Once only – he wasn’t sure how good he was at, ‘once’.

Rose readied herself for it. She was human and humans had been doing this for thousands of generations. Last goodbyes in unfair circumstances. Two school friends who know that tomorrow they will be far away, an old couple by each other’s bedsides and a Timelord, wavering before his human companion, driven apart by the impossible reality of separate universes with all of time and space watching on. The lonely Doctor says goodbye again. So many names which do not fade. These last few precious minutes will be as clear to him in a century as they are – here on this beach with sand beneath his feet that he cannot feel and air he’s not breathing whipping around his face. A man who wanders alone again, as punishment intended. All these things he knows, but if he knows one more thing, with absolute and fantastically undeniable certainty, it’s that today there is one thing he wants to do before then end, and it is something he has never done before.

Become human. Just for a moment. Nothing big, just a moment.

“Rose Tyler -” His breath leaves his mouth and he begins to slip. The rest he said to no one.

It was cold again. A gentle green glow surrounded him and loneliness echoed off the hull of his ship. He didn’t even get to say it to her. What an idiot he was to think the universe would conspire for him instead of against. Funny though, this feeling running through his circulatory system, beating through his two hearts. He’d found the common thread that linked these two, distant species. Humans and Timeslords. A sort of, enduring loss – an existence that can only be defined by having your heart(s) ripped out in order to have meaning. The Doctor smiled after all, he was human. At least for a moment.

Time to move, to continue – to return. Not that he actually believed he really could but maybe, if he was very lucky, he could fool himself into thinking that he could.

Back on the beach, the universe ripped the ghostly figure of her Doctor away. Maybe not physically, but Rose felt it all the same.

“Get this ship out of here or we’re all going to end up like that sorry excuse for a breakfast you ate this – oh…” A woman appeared in the centre of the room, still yelling at something at a crowd who obviously weren’t there anymore. By now, they weren’t anywhere anymore, whoever they were. The woman shivered. She was standing somewhere green, cold and dampish with a bewildered, very usual looking individual staring at her.

“Who are you?” Asked The Doctor, forgetting about a couple of tears making their way down the side of his face.

The woman cautioned a few steps toward him wondering where the hell she was. “I’m the doctor,” she said, adjusting to her new environment. “Who are you?”

“What?” he looked her vaguely Earth-like attire up and down, inspecting it for signs of doctory things. “I’m The Doctor.”

“Doctor what?” she quipped. He was the most non-doctor looking person she had ever seen. All pinstripes and brown coat. God, she hoped this wasn’t one of those hallucinations she’d read about, the last thing she needed was to be hallucinating nerdy little doctors with ruffleable hair and pinstripes in the middle of a crisis.

“You’re supposed to say, ‘Doctor who?” he corrected.

“Why?” Her hands fell to her hips, resting on the remnants of a uniform.

“Because,” started The Doctor, completely stumped, “that’s what you say. I say, ‘I’m The Doctor’ and you, curious species say, ‘Doctor who?’ “

The woman frowned impatiently, “Look,” she said, “if you’re not a real doctor – that’s fine. Can we just get this introduction over with so I can determine whether or not your a hallucination?”

This human is totally off her Utopian Berry Pies. “Fine!” The Doctor threw his hands up in defeat. He didn’t have time for irritating humans. The sooner he knew who she was and where she’d come from, the sooner he could send her back and he could return to his lonely, self pity driven existence.  “Who are you then?”

“The doctor.” She repeated simply.

“Doctor who?”

“Not who - what. I’m the doctor of SpaceFleetThree and I need to get back to my ship. Except -”

The Doctor pulled his glasses out of his pocket and moved to inspect her more closely. “Back to your what?”

Good lord, he had glasses to match the pinstripes. “My ship,” she said, “you know, for a doctor you repeat things an awful lot. You must be one of those quantum doctors – always getting caught in the uncertainty loop.” The woman approached, “You’re sort of shortish, too. Interesting. I wonder if that means anything, you know, if you’re a hallucination.”

“I’m not a figment of you damn imagination! Always something with the new ones. They’re not very creative though, it’s always, ghost, god, alien or dream. You’d think people could come up with new ways of explaining my existence. At least she didn’t say I’m from Mars. I’m sick of being from Mars – there’s nothing there anyway. Most dreary place I’ve ever been to. Honestly,” he continued off in his little verbal explosion, “I don’t know what the fascination is with Mars.”

“Are you done?”

The Doctor wasn’t listening, “Martians, as interesting as slugs in primordial soup. But you,” he pointed at the intruder, “said you were from a ship. Now that’s quite impossible because we’re in orbit around a supernova and you can’t possibly have a ship in orbit around a supernova. Unless, of course, you’re as brilliant as me.” He looked her up and down again, “Which you’re not.”

The woman wondered whether or not it was possible to be insulted by a funny a totally unhinged, smallish doctor. “It wasn’t a supernova five minutes ago. In fact, the weather was rather pleasant out here in the middle of nowhere until ‘poof’. We were checking out a distress beacon when a seemingly blissful star decided to blow its head.”

The Doctor slipped off his glasses, “Uh oh.”

“Uh oh? You would be indicating to me that you had, in some small or enormous way, something to do with a rogue supernova – would you?”

“No, no, no, no yes – well, maybe.” There hadn’t been any ships when he checked the star system. Unless – unless they’d been orbiting on the other side. Stupid, stupid Timelord. Reckless as usual. Reckless, stupid and not ginger.

“So was that a maybe then?” The woman folded her arms. She looked tired. The last few months had been rough to her and the crew. Being out of the chaos, even for a short while, was bringing it to the surface.

“Well, yes.” Said the Doctor, “But I promise it’s a really long story.”

“You might as well tell it, strange little man, because I’ve got all this time and nowhere to go.”

“Sure you do – back to your ship.” The Doctor jumped back up to the consol, ready to work out how to reverse whatever it was that brought her into the TARDIS.

“Check your universe, my ship’s long gone. Some stupid star exploded while our engines where down. The extrasolar drive stopped working.”

“You mean to say,” said The Doctor, “that your ship was destroyed?” What he really wanted to say was, ‘by me?’

“That would be my guess.”

More lives, what a waste. “I’m sorry.” It was an honest apology. “This is a ship,” he motioned to the room around him, “is there anywhere I can take you?”

She laughed, “Nowhere left to go. Last of a species and all.”

Guilt racked The Doctor along with that annoying waft of empathy that seemed to stick close by since the war. Maybe he was turning into a woman. All this bursting into tears at the mention of extinction. Any reference to his home world did it to – and thinking about the past, or the future. Time in general really. He had a soft spot for kids, and he found that chocolate made the universe a better place. Gawd, he was turning into a woman., “You too? I’m sorry.”

“You’ve said ’sorry’ a lot. From what I can see, I’m still alive – unless this is some persistent dream, which you seem determined to deny.”

“Yes but -” But you’re the last one left. I destroyed your ship, your life.

“But nothing. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Everything dies Doctor. Our species met its end long before this star melted our ship. Perhaps it’s kinder this way – to go out fast. You know, there’s no point dragging your feet with it. Who wants to wander space, alone and tired. There any chance of beaming me back there Doc?”

“Beam you back?” he said, confused, “To space – no no chance of that. My ship doesn’t do suicidal beaming services. Sorry, insurance doesn’t cover it.” She looked like a human, but if her world was gone then there’s no way she could be. “You’re not human?”

“Of course I’m not human. My name’s Meiva’sal’are. Admittedly, most people called me Meiva – I suppose that’s, ‘called’ now.”

“Interesting name. Not Lirrien dialect is it?”

“No.”

Chapter Two: Going Down?

“Hmm, give me time. I’ll work it out.”

“You could just ask me where I’m from.” Meiva watched The Doctor’s eyes widen with a strange amount of delight.

“Ah, but that would be easy. No fun in asking. No one ever found out anything interesting by asking. Asking is for lawyers and women.”

Meiva glared disapprovingly until the ground underneath her moved and she ended up feet in the air, head staring up at a green, glowing tube that seemed to be pulsating. The Doctor sprung up from where he had fallen on the floor and started touching things on the main consol of his ship. “Fascinating.” He muttered, rolling his hand over a ball shaped device, “This is amazing, don’t you think it’s amazing?”

Meiva propped herself up onto her elbows. The Doctor watched the tube glow brightly then, with a look of devious excitement, he pulled down on one of the large levers. “You up for a quick spell in the Milky Way?”

“What’s going on?”

“The Time Vortex is sucking us in,” said The Doctor, putting all of his weight onto the lever, “It’s pulling us like a great, big, ah –“ the Doctor’s mouth hung open. Either he had stopped, stuttered or suddenly become afflicted with a small vocabulary,

“Magnet?”

The Doctor thought for a moment, “Magnet. Yes, that fits with the metaphor. Like a great, big magnet.” His mouth moved in an accentuated fashion.

Meiva hauled herself up using one of the railings nearby, nearly slipping when she grabbed a shirt strewn over the bars. “Why is it doing that?”

“I have no idea. Isn’t it brilliant?”

“You’re insane.”

The Doctor grinned and the floor shuddered. Then everything went quiet.

*  *  *

In another universe, Rose Tyler crawled through a narrow tunnel inside a network of caves. There was no light except the Torchwood issue flashlight strapped to her helmet and the dim flicker of her locator beacon. The caves smelt like an old library which something had chosen to curl up and die in. Dust and decay, it made her breathe as little as possible as she crawled further down hill.

“I can’t believe I’m the one doing this.” Rose muttered darkly to her audio transmitter as a small, clear spider fell onto the dirt in front of her and scurried around the ground. “Ew.”

The sound of static crackled in her ear, “It’s not so bad Rose.” If she hadn’t been a couple of hundred meters below, covered in muck and inhaling potentially toxic air, Captain Jack Harkness might have seen her frown. “I mean, think of it this way,” he continued, “it could have been me down there.”

“Yes, it could have been you. The man that cannot die. Tell me again, why did the mortal have to crawl into the dangerous cave?”

Jack cocked an eyebrow, “Because you suck at cards.”

“Because you cheat at cards.”

“Of course,” he corrected himself over the transmitter, “that’s what I meant to say, you suck at cards.”

The tunnel in front of Rose ended in a large cavern. The last part of which was narrower than the rest. She had to lie on her stomach and use the uneven walls to pull herself out into the main chamber. It was hard to tell the chamber’s size from the small amount of light she was wearing, so Rose pulled a neon stick from her pocket and broke it in half.

The ground in front of her illuminated with an orange glow. It made little difference. She couldn’t make out any walls or ceilings, only more darkness. At least she was standing up now, that was a bonus. ”Alright,” she said, “I’m in.”

“Good, about time. I was about to run out of donuts.”

“This is not a stakeout Jack, and you are not a cop. Therefore you don’t get donuts.” Rose removed a second torch from her belt.

“Oh,” said Jack smugly, eating another pink frosted donut, “but I do.” Captain Jack slipped his feet off the desk in front of him and pulled his chair closer to the computer screen. Everything Rose saw while she was down in that cave, he saw. Which hadn’t been much, with the exception of primitive earth life and the occasional shot of Rose’s –“

“Jack,” Rose interrupted his thoughts, “make yourself useful. How far away is the beacon?”

“Somewhere in front?”

It had been about a week since they picked up a faint distress signal coming from ground below London. Something was down there, buried in the dirt and rock. And it wasn’t native to this planet.

Rose scanned the cavern with her torch. It was hopeless; the place was just too big. “This is useless, this is.” She said, walking forward into the cave. “Don’t you have any alien technology we could have used or doesn’t Torchwood bother with non-violent equipment?”

“Now, now Rose,” replied Jack, squinting at the screen which showed nothing but blackness and a bright glow where Rose’s torch came too close to the camera, “don’t berate the hand that feeds. Besides, if you continue taking cheap shots, I might not tell you what happens if you press the button on the back of the torch.”

“On the back of the –“ Rose turned the torch around to find a small button. She pressed it.

A strong beam of light poured out of the tiny torch and illuminated the cave. “Ah,” said Jack happily, able to see bits and pieces on his screen, “that’s much more interesting.”

“My life is but to serve.” Mocked Rose, walking forward. “Are you going to tell me about the position of this beacon or are you ignoring that part of the conversation that involves you doing actual work?”

“Oh, right, sorry.” Jack turned one of the other screens toward him. “It should be just in front of you.”

“There’s nothing ‘just in front of uh-“ Rose nearly fell into the hole in the floor in front of her. No wonder she hadn’t been able to see anything from the other side of the room. Whatever it was, must be down there. Rose pointed her torch into the hole. It wasn’t very deep and there were some roughish steps leading down into it. “This is like Journey to the Centre of the Earth.”

“Except not as cool.”

Rose followed the ‘steps’ into the hole. Soon, the ground plateaued and something eerily familiar stood in front of her. “It can’t be…”

*   *   *

“Earth, early twenty-first century, beginning of the golden era – well, almost the beginning of the golden era. Few little world ending hiccups and then, then,” he repeated energetically, “the human race is magnificent.” said the Doctor, beaming at the busy city of Cardiff from the doors of the TARDIS. “It’s a bit damp and grey but trust me, this little planet and its people will do great things.”

Meiva appeared next to him and looked out at the alien world. It looked primitive. The transportation was all ground based and the buildings lacked the daring architecture of her home world. The air smelt of the bi-products of early energy supplies and the population density was too high for her liking. What she found most interesting though, was the striking resemblance these beings had to herself and The Doctor. Three alien species, all in the same place and nobody even noticed.

“Oh they might not look like much,” he continued, “but give them time and evolution will prove that it’s better to be lucky than smart. I wonder why we’re here though… Oh well, best take a look. You coming?”

The Doctor stepped out of the door and waited for the Meiva to join him. “Won’t they notice that I’m not human?”

“Nope. Park a blue box in the middle of a busy footpath, or crash an alien spaceship into Big Ben and what do these little people do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, they don’t even blink. Come on then, let’s go for a stroll.”

The Doctor and Meiva didn’t get very far though. The moment the stepped out onto the pavement, the paver they were standing on started to descend beneath the rest of the ground.

“That’s odd.” Said the Doctor, watching the world around him rise above. “Busy square, two people sinking into the ground and no-one’s stopped to look.”

“I thought you said Earth people didn’t notice anything?”

“Some things they notice, most things they don’t. Disappearing paver should raise some eyebrows. They’re a curious lot.” Meiva didn’t look very convinced as the crowd continued to waltz idly by and her shoulders cleared street level. “No really. They’ve a saying here, ‘curiosity killed the kitten’.”

“So, it’s not advisable to be curious on Earth?”

Their heads disappeared below ground and the pavement sealed above them. They were now descending into a large, underground room. “Only if you’re a kitten.”

The paver they had been standing on was still moving but Meiva couldn’t see anything now that the light from the street was gone. “What’s going on Doctor?”

Even if she couldn’t see it, she could feel the Doctor grin, “Going down…”

*   *   *

“What is it Rose?” said Jack, staring at the screen. Some kind of energy was interfering with his transmission. The screen in front of him showed nothing but static. “I don’t understand, do you know what it is? Can you see something Rose?”

She could feel it, not under her fingertips, but in her very soul. Her body had looked into it once, all the way into the heart of the TARDIS and now here it was, right in front of her, and she could feel it pulsing through her veins. “Impossible.” She whispered as she walked toward the blue box. It looked slightly damaged from what must have been a rough landing. Reaching out, she laid a hand on its beautifully Earthlike exterior – just to make sure it was real.

“Rose, what do you see?” Repeated Jack, trying to make sense of the static.

Rose ran her hand along the side, following its contour until she reached the front door. “It’s the TARDIS.”

Chapter Three: You’ll Do

“What is it Rose?” said Jack, staring at the screen. Some kind of energy was interfering with his transmission. The screen in front of him showed nothing but static. “I don’t understand, do you know what it is? Can you see something Rose?”

She could feel it, not under her fingertips, but in her very soul. Her body had looked into it once, all the way into the heart of the TARDIS and now here it was, right in front of her, and she could feel it pulsing through her veins. “Impossible.” She whispered as she walked toward the blue box. It looked slightly damaged from what must have been a rough landing. Reaching out, she laid a hand on its beautifully, Earthlike exterior – just to make sure it was real.

“Rose, what do you see?” Repeated Jack, trying to make sense of the static.

Rose ran her hand along the side, following its contour until she reached the front door, it was ajar. “It’s the TARDIS.”

*  *  *

Captain Jack pulled himself closer to the screen. Static. Nothing but static. “Say again?”

Rose let her hands brush lightly over the wooden surface. When she removed them she noticed a few flecks of blue paint clinging to her skin. She rubbed them gently between her fingers until they fell to the ground. It was the TARDIS. Different universe yet it looked exactly the same as when she’d left it. “’Been a long time old girl.”

The intercom was dying as well. There was static on the screen and static in his ears. Jack hit the monitor. “Dammit!” He removed his headset and abandoned the chair, searching the small tent, which was perched on the pavement outside a camping store, for a torch. “I’m coming down there!” He shouted even though he wasn’t wearing a headset anymore.

Jack strapped a workmen’s helmet to his head and switched its light on then descended down into the hole they’d dug in the middle of one of London’s busy streets and concealed, very poorly, with a bright yellow tent.

Ianto strolled back into the tent carrying three cups of coffee. “Fabulous…” He sighed, seeing the empty chair and static screen. “Without fail…”

*  *  *

“Don’t you think we should be concerned?” Meiva tested the edges of the paver. There was defiantly nothing but air and goodness knows how much of a drop. What was she even doing here? “I can’t see anything. It’s pitch black, wherever we are. Is Earth usually this dark?”

“Always,” replied The Doctor almost gleefully, “therefore it’s better to be curious than concerned.” The Doctor grinned. “Better to be blissfully unafraid. Besides, no point being concerned when I have this!” he announced triumphantly.

Meiva stared into the darkness approximately where she thought The Doctor was. After a few minutes of silence she spoke up. “Ah… have what exactly?”

“This!” he insisted, waving something around.

If she had a desk, she would have hit it with her head. “It’s dark, you moron.”

“Oh, sorry.” A strange humming noise started up and a blue light illuminated the pair. The Doctor grinned broadly. “See? Isn’t it cool?” He waved it around a little more, making patterns through the darkness. “Like a little blue sparkler, can’t recommend these things enough. They should really start making them again. The last time I saw one of these for sale I was on Heollen back in, oh – what was it? Can’t remember, but it was a while ago. They had a whole city devoted to all things sonic and I picked this little screwdriver up as a spare, good thing I did too because just last week I – OW!”

Meiva shook her hand painfully.

“What was that for?” demanded The Doctor, rubbing his well slapped face.

“Too much bliss, not enough concern.” She muttered darkly.

“What planet did you say you were from?”

“I didn’t. You were trying to work it out.”

“You don’t know a Jackie Tyler, do you?”

*   *   *

The door of the TARDIS was slightly open. Inching closer, Rose approached the gap. She could hear the familiar noises of someone humming about inside, fiddling with things – most likely breaking things. Tilting her head she caught a glimpse of the room.

Without warning the door opened and a head popped out, looked Rose up and down and said, “You’ll do!” Before she could think, she found herself inside the TARDIS wielding a sonic screwdriver. “Just aim and hope!” Shouted The Doctor, buried under several layers of TARDIS floor. His leather jacket strained over his shoulders as he reached for something deep under the floor. Rose did nothing but stare. “Well come on then, hurry up. Haven’t got all year you know. Time vortex is splintering, throwing things out here and there. We haven’t got time to have a cup of tea.”

Rose pointed the sonic screwdriver at the consol and the whole room lit up, filled with an intense blue. From nowhere, a wind kicked up and any loose objects took flight, swirling around. The door of the TARDIS slammed shut and she heard The Doctor call out, “Hang on to something!”

*   *   *

Outside, Captain Jack hauled himself through the cave system. Up ahead a blue glow appeared out of the darkness. “Oh no you don’t!”

He pulled himself through faster until he came to the clearing Rose had described. The cavern was huge but in the centre, the floor glowed. Jack approached the edge. He shielded his face from the wind and light as he looked down onto the box. There was no mistaking the sound pulsating through the chaos.

*   *   *

Rose clung onto the consol as everything around her blurred. The pressure built, and the noise of the wind was overpowering. Closing her eyes, she held the sonic screwdriver steady, keeping it fixed on the spot The Doctor had pointed to.

*   *   *

Jack stumbled backwards as the blue box rose up from the hole. Electrical energy arced around its exterior, illuminating the cavern. One particularly large river of electricity escaped and hit him on the arm, throwing Jack to the ground. The box spun furiously above his head and the noise intensified. Through the light Jack could see the TARDIS fade in and out of existence until finally, it was gone.

He was alone with only the light on his helmet to penetrate the darkness. “Rose…”

*   *   *

Meiva and The Doctor continued their descent in silence with The Doctor still rubbing his face. Just when they were beginning to worry that the rest of their existence would be spent proceeding through the darkness, the paver came to a halt. “Here we go then.” Chirped The Doctor, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world to disappear under the street.

“Exactly where would you say we are?”

“No idea.”

Meiva frowned. “This seems to be a common theme with you.”

Tempting fate, they stepped off the small platform. As they did, harsh office lighting flipped on and the pair found themselves faced with four people trailing their every move with side arms.

“Ah,” began The Doctor, raising his hands into the air in surrender. Meiva copied him. “Hello there, how are we all? We seem to have stumbled into this, well, lair it looks like.” He continued, surveying the place. “Nice. Hold on.” He recognised the man in the centre holding the largest firearm. “I know you.”

Captain Jack stepped forward. “Who are you, and how did you get in here?”

“Accident actually. You should remember to lock your paver.” The Doctor lowered his hands and put them in his pockets, “Long time no see Captain Jack. Last time I saw you, you were dead.”

“You know these people?” Whispered Meiva.

“Well, I know this person.” Replied The Doctor, waving at Jack.

Captain Jack raised his weapon higher, “Who are you!”

*   *   *

The TARDIS hit the ground with a bang, scattering its occupants on the floor. Rose stared up at the ceiling. There was a little bit of smoking making its way up, obscuring the tiny, eye-like lights that decorated it like stars. She had missed it.

A hand entered here field of view. She took it and The Doctor pulled her to her feet.

“That was different.” He smiled, dusting her shoulders off. “Not every day the fabric of the universe rips. Certainly makes life more exciting though when it does.” A small flame peaked up from the consol next to where they were standing. Without a word, The Doctor batted it out with his hands frantically then returned to her as if nothing had happened. “No damage done. The old girl can take a lot of wear and tear but we better give her a couple of hours to cool off after that little trip. Watch out though,” he pointed down at the ground were some green liquid was making its way across the floor towards her shoe, “you don’t want to get that on you. Time plasma, it’ll stain throughout all of time…are you always this quiet?”

Rose became aware that her mouth was agape. Everything was the same. The accent, the clothes – his manner. It was her Doctor in every way that she remembered before his transformation.

“It’s you.” She said, “It’s really you. The Doctor”

“That’s me alright.” His smile took up more space than seemed possible on his narrow face. “Doctor with a question mark. Your friendly alien in a box. Package deal. ‘Saves the Universe and easy to store.’”

Rose lunged forward and hugged him so tightly he was actually afraid he might suffocate. Death by hugging. That would be something new for The Doctor. “You always this emotional?”

TBC