I AM THE DOCTOR

[aevummedicus-blog]

shoreditchnurse:

“ Well Amy and I are married. Never exactly seems to stop her. “ He doesn’t mean to sound so bitter about the subject. It’s just a very specific wound for Rory that hasn’t quite healed over the years. “ Bigger on the inside? “ He frowns, the specific phrase sparking a certain sense of familiarity in him that he can’t quite explain. “ Huh…”

“Are you? Well, congratulations!” Back at it with the generous grin, the Time Lord reached forward and took Rory’s hand in his, giving it a congratulatory shake before letting it go. “It must be the personality; she and Jack seem to be quite similar if you ask me. Both will flirt with anything, but never would stray from their devoted.” He gave a solid nod. “Yup,” he replied to Rory’s question, putting a heavy emphasis to the ‘p’. However, he took note of the change in the other man’s expression, causing his own to twist into concern. “Oooh, you’ve heard that before, haven’t you?”

[aevummedicus-blog]

shoreditchnurse:

“ I don’t think most people are looking. “ He smiles, a slight blush on his cheeks. They’re married and it still makes him happy to know that she talks about him. “ Bowties. “ He’s not sure why the phrase makes his chest tighten, with a weird combination of happiness and deep sadness. “ I don’t know if I’ve ever found them particularly cool myself. “

“That’s also a very good thing. You wouldn’t want many people to find an actual working spell book, would you?” He nodded his head as he glanced down and away from the other. No, indeed. A small smile appeared on his lips when Rory repeated the nickname. “No, I’d like to think you wouldn’t.” He spun around and gave the other a widened grin that hadn’t quite met his eyes. “But you’d look dashing in them, you should try it someday.”

[aevummedicus-blog]

shoreditchnurse:

It’s becoming quickly apparent that they’re unlikely to make it to the teachers lounge anytime soon. Not that he minds. He’s actually quite enjoying the conversation he’s currently having with the caretaker. However odd it might be. “ Oh he’s that Jack. “ He chuckles a little, memories flooding in. “ Amy mentions him sometimes. They both appear to have a thing for flirting on first contact. “ He’s gotten used to it at this point, having learned long-ago that however much his wife may flirt, he’s the one she loves. “ Bit small for a lounge isn’t it? “

“Do they now?” The Doctor raised both his brows and turned to look at Rory with a complex expression that both read ‘knowing’ and ‘surprised’. “Not sure how John Smith the teacher would take to that. Heard he and Jack are married. Funny thing, that. Mind you, not them being married, that’s perfectly acceptable, no I mean them. Never saw either as the marrying type.” Well at least for Jack. Maybe the Time Lord didn’t know the immortal all that well, after all. Sucking on his teeth, the Doctor peered into the room. “Yeah! Yeah, yeah a bit tiny, sort of a shame, isn’t it? Could do with being bigger on the inside, wouldn’t you say?” He turned his gaze back onto the other man, now his own face fixed with a curious expression.

[aevummedicus-blog]

shoreditchnurse:

“ I mean everyone knows of a book. Doesn’t mean they work. “ He smiles at the nickname, a certain sense of familiarity inherent in the name. “ Does Amy mention me then? I mean, you did sort of say my name without me introducing myself. “ It doesn’t occur to him that there might be another reason, one that combines his sense of familiarity with the others apparent knowledge of his name. The actual answer is probably too much to be believed. “ She calls you Bowties. Also Chinman sometimes, which is sort of what sparked the earlier comment. “

“Or they just haven’t found the right book, there’s a very big difference.” He wiggled his index finger in the air as he peered over his shoulder at Rory. “Er...” he paused and gritted his teeth, taking the moment to compose his face and to reply to the other man. “Yes! Of course. All the time, brilliantly so as well. Rory, her Rory, always her Rory. You’re hers.” Well he wasn’t wrong. He gave a faint smile to the nicknames that were given to him by the red head. “Chinman makes me sound dashing and some sort of hero-” he paused and spun to face Rory. “I like it. Bowties is nice as well. Because, well, they’re cool.”

[aevummedicus-blog]

shoreditchnurse:

“ You’ve got to introduce me to them sometime. Sounds like there’s some stories there. “ He’ll probably end up relaying them to Amy, maybe some of them will fit into her books. “ Okay then. “ He has to hurry to keep up with the other, thanking God for his long legs as he follows. “ Don’t worry. Lips are sealed. I don’t think I’ve met him yet anyways so your secret is safe with me. “

The Doctor continued to grin as they made their way towards the lounge. “Oh yes, stories are brilliant, absolutely wonderful-” he turned a corner and then quickly stopped, turned, and walked in the other direction. “You’ve not met Jack? That’s very odd for him, he must be lacking-or sick. Word of advice; don’t encourage him if he says hello. He doesn’t always mean ‘hello’.” Stepping in front of the lounge, the Time Lord opened the door for the man. “Here it is!”

[aevummedicus-blog]

shoreditchnurse:

“ Right, right sorry. That uh..that sort of slipped out. “ He leans back a little as the other inspects his nose, a smile on his face at the other’s antics. He’s not sure why he’s so comfortable with the other, why being with the caretaker leaves him with a feeling of warmth in his chest. “ Unfortunately not. Roman huh? “ He’s never really thought about what a Roman nose looks like. “ I’ll take Roman over witch. Definitely not Roman though. “

“It’s alright,” The Doctor grinned at him, already ready to forgive Rory for his bluntness towards his face. “I’m sure you could practice some sort of spells, I know of a book-” he started to walk away but stopped and turned back around to face Rory. “No, on second thought, that would be a terrible idea.” He nodded quickly and patted the other man on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit, Rory the Roman; has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” ...wait...Did Rory give him his name yet?

[aevummedicus-blog]

shoreditchnurse:

“ And you’ve got a lot of experience with that have you? “ It’s a funny thought honestly. Their caretaker running around, saving the world. He’s not exactly sure what the man could even save the world from. Climate change? He’s going to let the comment slide as a joke however, smiling as he shrugs. “ Longue probably. She’s too social to eat alone most of the time. “

“Oh,” the Doctor made a face and then quite smugly shook his head. “Well, I’d say that I haven’t, but there’s plenty of people here who wouldn’t believe me, so...” He paused and then grinned at Rory. “To the lounge it is! Allo-” he stopped just short of his usual phrase, realising that someone might recognise it. “Follow me!” Whirling around, the Time Lord began to bound down the hall towards the Faculty lounge. “I’m surprised I haven’t run into her much, really. I’m always in the lounge stealing tea and the occasional bag of crisps.” He paused and turned to look at Rory. “Don’t tell Jack, they’re his most of the time.” 

[playrehearsings-blog]

@aevummedicus

“ Has anyone ever told you you’ve got a remarkably large chin. “ He’s really just attempting to make conversation. Of course he’s managed to start the conversation with an insult and he’s already embarrassed. Amy’s going to kill him if this ever gets around to her. “ Not that it’s a bad thing! Everyone used to tell me I’ve got a big nose. Used to call it a witch nose. “

[aevummedicus-blog]

“Oi!” The Doctor reached up with instinct as he grabbed at his chin, giving Rory a very discrediting frown. “It’s not ‘remarkably large’, Rory Po- Williams, it happens to fit my face perfectly fine!” Dropping his hand, he turned to fully face Rory, softening his gaze before inspecting the nurse’s nose. “A witch nose? Does that mean you can do spells? Actually, I’d say it looks Roman, you look very Roman. You’re not a Roman though. Definitely not.”

[aevummedicus-blog]

shoreditchnurse:

“ You oughta start a club or something. You don’t meet people with the same name as you all that often. “ He’s certain never met another Rory Williams. The others enthusiasm is infectious and by the time the other one lets go of his hand he’s starting to think the grin on his face may be permanent.

“ I think Amy once came to work in her pajamas so it’s a fair point. “ He blinks at the reminder of why he was here, raising up the lunch bag in his hand. “ Right. My wife. She teaches European History here. “

“Oh yes! That’s brilliant, I like that. A club for John Smiths.” The Doctor rolled the idea around in his mind, knowing full well that more than 95% of those John Smiths were himself in different regenerations. Well, alright, about 99%, considering the other 1% was his Metacrisis. But details. Seeing Rory be as enthusiastic as him was enough to keep the Time Lord smiling.

“Jim-jams are among the most comfortable to wear on any occasion.” The Doctor nodded at him before leaning in, “including saving the world.” He gave another nod as he backed up and winked. “Does she? She must be close to the Captain, he teaches American. Right. Shall I show you her room?” He took a step back and pointed towards the hallway behind him, “or would you rather I take you to the lounge? I don’t mind either way.”

[occultfm]

Two Doctors and a Captain ¶ Jack + Doc + Doctor

[aevummedicus-blog]

harknessjack:

strandsoftime:

Too many questions, too little time. Flinging his hands in the air, he shot Jack an annoyed look. “I was busy, he was distracting, and I see myself all the time. Just because we’re married doesn’t mean I need to tell you anything. Everything. I meant everything.”

Staring at the Doctor, his jaw dropping at the criticism of his timey-wimey detector, he shook it vigorously in the Doctor’s face. “Well, I’d like to see you come up with something better! All you have is a broom!” He eyed the broom and cautiously sidled back off to the side. “A very… broomy-broom, nice broom, good quality, very bristles, but still a broom. It’s not even sonic. And I created the thing and improved the thing. This one doesn’t explode chickens. Well, only a little. Well– anyway, point is…”

Whatever the point might have been was lost as he shied back from the imminent broom threat to his hair. “Not the hair! And from a certain point of view, I am your biggest fan. I regenerated into me. How’s that for being a fan? Besides, it’s not like you don’t lie all the time, especially to preserve the time line. Blimey, talk about exothermic combuster calling the I-gen radiator hot.”

But it was when the Doctor’s comments turned to Jack that Doc went very still… and he might have blacked out for a moment, because the next thing he knew, he’d reared back and slapped the Doctor right across the face. 

Oh. 

He hadn’t done a Donna-ism in a very long time. 

“Stop that,” he hissed. “That wasn’t funny - that wasn’t even rude - that went right past rude and entered orbit. Missed the moon. Fell into the Medusa Cascade. You’re right, Coal Hill is better with one Doctor, and it isn’t you.” 

Jack was admittedly very confused. When he would be stuck in a room with more than one Doctor, this wasn’t how he saw it going. He was about to say something more when the imminent eruption of violence between the two aliens was about to come to a head when Doc snapped at him.

Widening his eyes a bit, the Captain raised a brow and took a step back and gave his husband one of the most offended looks he could muster. Sliding his gaze over towards the Doctor, the immortal placed his lips into a tight, thin line deciding that now wasn’t the time to have a domestic; especially in front of the Doctor.

Besides, Doc corrected himself quickly after.

“Guys, it’s just a detection devise, it’s really not something to fight over…” but he knew his words were being drowned out over the arguing that was going on between the two. Sighing, heavily, Jack re-crossed his arms over his chest and only paused to give the Time Lord a confused glance.

“Head in a jar? What-” Growing silent when Doc slapped the Doctor, Jack looked between the two knowing that there was a shared secret that he wasn’t privy to. Stepping forward, he placed himself between the Time Lord and his husband, taking care to face Doc and to show his back to the Doctor.

“Stop, both of you.” He warned, giving them both an equal look before meeting Doc’s gaze. Lowering his voice, he shook his head. “He’s not worth it, just let him go, he’ll disappear soon enough. Just remember that you decided to stay here and he didn’t. You’re saving these kids more than he is and you are the better Doctor.”

The Doctor was well within the realms of being absolutely rude and unforgivable and though in the back of his mind he acknowledged this; it was too far back for him to stop or decide to apologise. Besides, he knew better not to apologise when he didn’t really mean it.

Standing in stunned silence after he had been slapped, he blinked once, then twice, before allowing his jaw to slack open. “I wasn’t trying to be funny.” Was all he managed to get out, recognising the ‘Donna’ in his Metacrisis. “I was simply stating what could happen, as you’re well aware.” Sniffing, the Doctor moved to paying more attention to his broom than Jack and Doc.

Except he absolutely was listening in on their conversation. Rolling his eyes at Jack’s ‘you’re better than him’ speech, the Doctor moved the stick end of the broom away from him and tapped the Captain on the shoulder. “He’s not, but it’s nice for you to say that.” Giving a vicious grin, the Doctor adjusted his shoulders before placing the broom down correctly and leaning against it.

“I’ve been coming back regularly, you know, just to check in on the place and a few of it’s staff members.” He gave them a knowing look before continuing. “I’ve also been laying traps around to catch things and to read the meters when the Rift inevitably opens.” Tilting his head, he narrowed his gaze at Doc. “Which, by the way, I’ve seen you do very much the same. Good on you. However, you should adjust your readers to tell when it’s me coming through so you won’t have to waste your time chasing me down whenever I pop in for a visit.”

Clearing his throat, he raised his head and listened in to Time. “The Rift will be opening again soon, I’d want to be there if I were you, I think something might be coming through this time.”

[aevummedicus-blog]

strandsoftime:

Had he really been that terrible when he was young? He researched his memories, but the ones that came up all seemed to be pointing towards a disconcertingly firm yes. 

He winced mentally, shoving the memories back in the box labelled ‘the follies of youth’. 

“Friends aren’t a bad thing to have,” he said slowly, feeling like he was treading a little on dangerous ground here. Advise his younger self too much and he risked shredding a hole in the universe. On the other hand, holding his tongue on giving advice was also very much contrary to his nature. Dilemma dilemma.

Biting his tongue, he tried to focus instead on the task at hand.

“So what have you discovered so far?” he asked. “And when did you get here?” 

“That my dear boy, all depends on what your definition of ‘friends’ are.” The Doctor knew that John’s words were very true, after all he’d consider Peri a friend if he’d only admit it aloud to anyone else. However, the Doctor was a stubborn fellow and quite persistent and he wasn’t about to let his ‘biggest fan’ win any sort of debate; friendly or not.

Giving his coat a colourful twirl as he moved to turn away from the man, the Time Lord peered over his shoulder at him as he asked more questions.

Always questions with this one, eh? The Doctor had to remind himself to be more careful with him in case he turned out to be the Master in disguise. He gave a great pause and looked John Smith up and down before deciding that the Master wouldn’t be that desperate.

Continuing his trek, he gave a thoughtful nod and then shrugged. “Not very much, I’m afraid. Not because I don’t have the capability to, but because I’ve only just landed here myself.” He boasted, pulling at his lapels on his coat. “I suppose I’ve answered both of your questions; do you have any more for me?”

[aevummedicus-blog]

On Wednesdays we wear non-flammable clothing. ¶ Doctor (11) + Clara

@certainlynotlittle

Was it really Wednesday already?

The Doctor’s mind was boggled by the fact that in linear, Earth time, that the day he was supposed to see Clara had come around once more. Weeks were strange, and stranger so were the days that were held within them.

So, donning his Caretaker gear (which he thought was silly), the Time Lord landed his TARDIS and popped out of the shed, making his way merrily towards his current companion’s classroom.

Peering in, he saw that she was just finishing up a class, and though he’d interrupted her during a lecture in the past, he decided that it could wait.

...Except waiting was too boring for him and after about a minute he couldn’t take it anymore. Busting through the door, the Doctor grinned widely and spread his arms out as he peered at the students and the teacher. “Hello!” He cheered, before pointing over at Clara. “You and me, we have a date, I do believe!”

Whirling in a circle as he made his way over to her, he gently patted a few students on the head as he moved between them. “Are... you... ready?” Each word was spoken slowly as he took his time to get up within an inch of Clara’s face.

[aevummedicus-blog]

shoreditchnurse:

“ I suppose there are a fair amount of John Smith’s around here. The confusion’s fair. “ He grins back, taking the others hand and shaking it. This is the first time he’s gotten a proper chance to meet this particular John Smith, and he’s already a fan. Something about the enthusiasm is comforting although he’s not sure why. “ Rory Williams. You’re very nicely dressed for a caretaker. “

The Doctor scrunched up his nose as he moved to bring his hand up to scratch the back of his neck. “Eh... yeah, ‘suppose so. Didn’t really think about that, probably should do some investigating on behalf of the other Smith’s.” Raising his brow, his grin grew even wider and he shook the other’s hand vigorously; as Rory introduced himself.

“Rory Williams! Lovely name. And-” he paused and looked down at his suit and then back up at the man’s face. “Yes, I am. Strange, isn’t it? Must have gotten mixed up in my wardrobe this morning. These things happen all the time, really.” He gave a small shrug and finally released Rory’s hand. “Sorry, didn’t you say you were dropping someone’s lunch off?”

[playrehearsings-blog]

@aevummedicus

“ John? “ He turns to face the other, a confused smile on his face. “ Sorry, Amy’s not here I’m just dropping off her lunch. Although you’re not the Scottish caretaker so I suppose you aren’t looking for her anyways. Did you need something? “

[aevummedicus-blog]

The Doctor was more than content to keep on walking, temporarily forgetting that he’d dubbed himself ‘John Smith’. It wasn’t until the man spoke of ‘Amy’ and then said he wasn’t the ‘Scottish’ caretaker, that the Time Lord turned around in surprise and acknowledgement. “Oh! Hello! Sorry, didn’t realise you were speaking to me.” He grinned widely, and offered up his hand. “Need something? Well, I could always need something, but that’s not what you were asking. I’m the-no, wait, I’m John Smith, nice to meet you.”

[occultfm]

Two Doctors and a Captain ¶ Jack + Doc + Doctor

[aevummedicus-blog]

harknessjack:

strandsoftime:

Doc shot Jack a look of genuine irritation. While he loved his Captain’s little quirks, this was neither the time nor place. And that barely suppressed eye roll? Oh, he’d seen that. 

Plus, it was really a bit irksome not to have someone paying attention to how clever he was being.

“I aroused enough suspicions in exactly the wrong direction, thank you,” he snapped. He would have said more, except that there was another resounding bang, and…

“Ouch,” he said, wincing sympathetically as Jack reeled backwards, and a very irate Time Lord reeled in.

“What is what?” he asked, glancing back down at the device and back up at the Doctor. “It’s a timey-wimey detector. Can’t you recognise one when you see it? And what am I doing here? What are you doing here? I’m trying to figure out what is going on with the–”

His eyes went wide as the Doctor raised the broom, and he scurried back to hide behind Jack. “I have no idea what you’re– oh. Oh. Of course. Oh, come on! What was I supposed to do? Give you–us–you– our younger face spoilers? Rip a hole in the fabric of space the size of Belgium?”

He paused. “Plus, that coat really was hideous.”

Jack literally couldn’t believe that both the Doctor and Doc had manged to slam a door right into his face. At least Doc apologised initially and grimaced when the door hit him once more.

Holding his face and stepping back, he openly glared at the Doctor and then softened his glare when he turned on his husband. “Woah!” he stated, reaching up to block the broom and to stand in-between it, the Doctor, and Doc. “Put that down.”

It didn’t take Jack long to realise that he was being completely ignored in this scenario. Stepping back and a bit away from the two of them, the Captain folded his arms across his chest as he subtly looked at his face in the nearest reflective surface.

“Wait-” he interjected, placing his hand up and pointing between the two. “You,” moving his hand to point at Doc, “saw the Doctor earlier? Why didn’t you tell me? Which face was it?” He moved his hand again to point at the Time Lord. “Ugly coat?”

The Doctor let out a very heavy and very irritated sigh. “Of course I can recognise one when I see it! That-” the Time Lord pointed at Doc’s hand before sniffing in pretentiousness. “Is not a proper Timey-Wimey device! And I should know, I created the thing.”

Narrowing his gaze, he continued to hold the broom up, long after Jack intervened and his Metacrisis hid behind him. Lucky.

“Move aside Jack, the hair gel and various other products on his head would be more than enough for a sufficient helmet for at least the first few thwacks!” Rearing up the broom again, the Doctor only stopped when Doc made a comment about the coat.

“I’ll give you that, it was horrible, but that doesn’t mean I can’t defend it still. You lied to me, you weren’t my biggest fan. You should have been honest!” The Doctor was about to say more when Jack interrupted once more. “Yes, Captain, what is it that you want? He saw me. I saw him. We had a spat and we both survived, are you happy or do you want a play-by-play?”

He frowned, now taking the time to really notice the immortal’s features. “What happened to your face? It’s like you’ve become a balloon, a big red balloon! You should do something about that before your face gets stuck like that and you end up a head in a jar!” His smirk after that was cruel enough, but he didn’t care.

Turning his attention back onto Doc, the Doctor heaved out another irritated sigh. “I was here first. Move along and take him with you, Coal Hill is better with just one qualified Doctor, thank you.”

[evieofthestars-blog]

Millie had very definitely been taken. 

Or well, not definitely at all. But she was late, and that was more than enough ammunition to put Evie’s nerves on end. It was silly, she knew. Irrational, even. Things were fine. Bordering on normal even. Bordering because one could never truly feel normal wearing gloves all year round. But it was winter, there was a chill in the air, and everything was fine. 

Except that it wasn’t because she had been waiting for Millie out front of Coal Hill Academy for ten minutes now and she was nowhere to be seen. There was definitely going to be a chat about good manners when they got home. 

(If they ever got home. That taken theory was still gnawing at the back of her mind.)

With her head held high in determination, she made her way up to the entrance, through the doors, and straight up to the first person she saw.

“Sorry, don’t mean to be a bother but was supposed to meet my daughter out front,” she paused to check her watch, “Approximately,” exactly, “Eleven minutes ago. Don’t suppose you’ve seen her. Millie. Smith. Looks like me but shorter,” a beat, “and tardy,” she finished, gesturing to her own face, which was admittedly more intense than strictly necessary. She cleared her throat and gave a half shrug, not wanting to come off as a completely overprotective parent, even if she probably was. “She’s got ballet.”

[aevummedicus-blog]

Brooms! Brooms were always nice. Nice and strong, brooms were. With their coarse bristles and their ability to pick up the tiniest little specks of dust and...

Oh. 

Had he really been standing there this entire time admiring the broom that he was supposed to be using for sweeping the corridors with? Simple answer; yes, he was. But in his defense, it was a nice broom.

Engrossing himself back into the wonders of a broom, the Doctor didn’t even notice the other being approaching him down the hallway until she spoke up. Peering over his spectacles, the Time Lord arched his brow and dropped his head so he could see her more properly.

“Hm?” He started, still essentially not paying attention - that was until he could clearly see that the woman before him was distressed. “Oh! Hello! Sorry, myself. I was just... inspecting this broom before I use it on the floors. Wouldn’t want a dirty broom.” He grinned at her as he set the broom aside and glanced around as he allowed his mind to playback what she’d said.

“You’ve lost your daughter? Millie Smith.” He repeated the name and searched his memory. “Good name; Smith. It’s my last name too.” He grinned again, before turning to head towards the nearest computer. “If you give me a moment, I can search the cameras and see if she’s anywhere in the school. Or we can look for her together...” he trailed off as he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “You said she looks like you, yes?”

[aevummedicus-blog]

certainlynotlittle:

Clara gaped. Openly.

Again, she found herself asking, “Seriously?” If she hadn’t already pegged this man as The Doctor, his absolute cluelessness and lack of social skills certainly would have tipped her off. “You bumped into me. Your fault, my seriously!” Clenching her fists to stop from slapping him (just in case, better safe than slapped with a restraining order!), she huffed indignantly. “And if it had been my fault – which it definitely was not – it would only be because I’d been temporarily blinded by that –” could it really be considered a coat, that seemed like an insult to outerwear – “costume!”

“And,” she started, not quite ready to let go of the rant just yet, “I am plenty charming, I’ll have you know!”

There. Much better. That would show him.

Taking a breath to calm her nerves, she took a moment to look around the hallway. The last thing she wanted was to cause a scene. Hell, that jacket was a scene all on its own. She’d never tease him about the minimalist look again.

“Stop that,” she swatted at his hand before reaching to grab a hold of his arm. Something wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be here. Not this face. She didn’t think. Wasn’t he the grey haired stick insect now? Wasn’t that the only one who was meant to be visiting her, ideally after school hours?  

(If she’d known she could request a face, she might have called for the bow tie one. Just for a quick visit.)

“And stop talking,” she paused, biting her lip as she contemplated her options, then sighed. “Sorry, you can talk – but only to answer my question – why are you here?”

“What is with you and that word!?” The Doctor insisted, stamping his foot down showing to her that he was very rather irritated. “You’re a very possessive little girl, you know that!?” He stated, bending a bit down to get into her face. “Now that I look at you, I do believe you’re more of a student than you are a teacher; shall I fetch your nearest educator?”

Gasping quite audibly and dramatically, the Doctor flung his hand up and to his chest as he sat back and stared at Clara in horror. “Costume!?”

Oh, she was in for it now. Exceedingly offended, the Time Lord wanted to end the conversation there and completely remove this abhorrent woman from his memory. Of course, every time he looked at her something about her made him stay... and tolerate.

Inhaling deeply and preparing for an argument, the Doctor stopped when she reached for and took his arm. When she told him to stop talking, his eyes widened a bit and he opened his mouth only to clamp it shut and to turn his head away.

It wasn’t until she apologised (poorly, he might add) and said he could talk again that he finally turned to look back at her and speak. “I am here,” he glanced at her hand and pulled his arm back before adjusting his coat. “Because I want to be. Is that not a simple enough answer for you?”