Description: The Doctor has secret feelings for the reader but will he get to confess them in time? (So Much Angst, Fluff, also SAD, mentions Torture )
Features: Capitain Jack Harkness
The Doctor paced around the console of the TARDIS, running his fingers over the knobs and levers, his usual energy a little less chaotic than usual. He was distracted, his eyes flicking occasionally to the door leading to the small corridor. He was waiting. For what? For you. For something.
The truth was, the Doctor had been feeling something for a while now. Something that was both utterly foreign to him and utterly obvious to everyone else. Everyone but you, that is. Captain Jack Harkness had noticed first. He’d seen the way the Doctor’s eyes lingered on you just a little too long, the way his voice softened whenever he spoke your name, the way his hands seemed to twitch when he was near you.
Jack had been all too eager to point it out. One night, after an adventure on a volcanic planet, when everyone had returned to the TARDIS, Jack had pulled the Doctor aside.
“Mate,” Jack had said with a grin, leaning against the console, “you’ve got it bad.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” the Doctor had replied, his voice a little too high-pitched, too quick. It had made Jack raise an eyebrow.
“Oh, don’t try to fool me,” Jack had chuckled. “It’s so obvious. You fancy Y/N.”
The Doctor had turned away, hiding his face behind the TARDIS console, trying to act nonchalant, but his hearts had been hammering. “I don’t—” he’d begun, only to stop short, his usual bravado slipping away. The truth was, he didn’t know what was going on. The feelings had come so unexpectedly, so out of nowhere, and he was still figuring out how to deal with them. But Jack wasn’t having any of it. He kept pushing.
“Okay listen, you don’t know how long you have with Y/N. Do you really want to regret not having said anything?” Jack said in a more serious tone. The Doctor paused looking at Jack, thinking about what he’d said a little longer.
If he was honest with himself, he was terrified. Terrified of how vulnerable he would be if he let himself fall for you. Terrified of the idea of losing someone again. He’d seen so many people die, and the thought of losing you too—someone who had come to mean so much to him—was too much to bear.
He had avoided it, brushed it aside, and pretended that everything was fine. But deep down, he knew it wasn’t.
You stopped just inside the door, hands still gripping the edges of the wooden frame. Both men turned toward you, Jack’s mouth slightly open as if he’d been caught in the middle of saying something. The Doctor, on the other hand, looked like he’d been shot with a stun gun. His eyes widened in a mix of surprise and something else — something you couldn't quite place.
"What's wrong?" you asked, your voice light, but something in your gut told you that there was more to the silence than you could see.
Before either could respond, a harsh, shrill alarm cut through the tension like a blade. Red lights flashed urgently above, casting the room in a frantic glow. The Doctor spun around to the console, his fingers dancing over the buttons with practiced haste.
“Not now! This is so typical,” he muttered under his breath, but you could see the urgency in his movements, the way his brow furrowed with determination. “Jack, help me with this!” His voice snapped into command mode, but you could still feel the strain beneath it.
Jack didn’t need telling twice. His long strides took him to the other side of the console, where he quickly began scanning readings on the monitors. “It’s not good, Doctor. Something’s wrong with the core systems. This isn’t just a malfunction. It’s like someone’s tampered with the TARDIS itself.”
The Doctor shot a quick glance at you, his eyes briefly softening as they met yours, though there was something flickering in them — hesitation? But then it was gone, replaced by the familiar urgency that only the Doctor could exude.
“Right,” the Doctor said, snapping out of whatever momentary distraction had taken over him. “We need to get to the source of the problem, but we need to move quickly.” The panic in his voice was enough to send a cold chill through you. “What happened?”
“It’s a trap,” Jack said, his voice low but clear. “The TARDIS is being pulled somewhere. It’s... it’s diverting all its energy to stop us from escaping. Whatever’s out there is targeting you.”
You felt the weight of his words settle on your chest. "Targeting me?"
The Doctor didn’t say a word as he looked at you, His face twisted in frustration as he slapped a few more buttons, trying to correct the course, but the ship wasn’t responding.
A cold knot formed in your stomach as you exchanged a look with Jack, who was already pulling on his jacket, ready to spring into action. The Doctor turned sharply to you, his expression no longer playful or teasing. This was the Doctor on a mission, focused and serious. “We don’t have time for questions now. We’ve got a life to save—yours included, I’d wager.”
You nodded, already bracing yourself for what was to come. It had been a wild ride with these two, but somehow, this felt different. You didn’t know how you knew, but something told you that whatever was out there waiting for you, it wasn’t going to be just another adventure.
"Right," you said, steeling yourself, "let’s go save the universe, then."
The Doctor shot a grin at you—small, almost unrecognizable, but there—and then he turned back to the controls.
The TARDIS landed with a violent jolt, the kind that meant trouble. The Doctor barely had time to flip the stabilizers before the familiar hum of the time ship was replaced by an eerie silence. Too quiet. Outside, the planet was shrouded in an unnatural fog, a dull, metallic scent clinging to the air.
“Brilliant,” Jack Harkness muttered, stepping out behind the Doctor and you. “Because mysterious planets that forcefully drag us in are always a good sign.”
The Doctor adjusted his coat, his face unusually serious. “Something wanted us here,” he murmured. “More specifically, something wanted you here.” His dark eyes met yours, concern etched in the creases of his brow.
You swallowed hard. “Why me?”
Jack smirked. “Oh, come on, sweetheart, it’s always the pretty ones they want.” But even his usual flirtatious tone couldn’t mask the unease beneath.
The three of you wandered through the dense fog, your boots sinking slightly into damp, mossy terrain. Strange shapes loomed in the distance—massive, skeletal remains of creatures that looked long extinct. The atmosphere crackled with an unnatural energy, sending shivers down your spine.
The ground beneath you lurched violently, splitting apart as shadowy figures emerged from the mist. Before the Doctor or Jack could react, a cold, metallic claw wrapped around your arm. You screamed as you were yanked backward, your body dragged through the air like a ragdoll.
“NO!” The Doctor’s voice was raw with panic as he lunged, but a barrier of electric-blue energy slammed between you and him, knocking him to the ground. Jack fired his vortex blaster, but the shots ricocheted uselessly off the shimmering field.
The last thing you saw before everything went black was the Doctor’s horrified expression as he pounded against the energy field, his voice breaking as he yelled “Y/N! HOLD ON”
When you woke up, you wished you hadn’t.
You were strapped to a cold metal slab, harsh white lights burning into your retinas. Strange, insect-like creatures loomed over you, their translucent, veined skin pulsating with eerie bioluminescence. Their fingers were tipped with razor-sharp instruments, and their multifaceted eyes gleamed with something cruel.
“Subject is pure human,” one of them hissed in a language that somehow slithered directly into your mind. “Perfect for extraction.”
“Extraction of what?” you spat, struggling against your restraints.
Another creature stepped forward, taller than the rest, its voice smoother, more calculated. “Your DNA will fuel our rise. We need a steady supply to create the ultimate biological weapon—one that will wipe this planet clean of opposition. A war born from your suffering.”
Your stomach twisted in horror. They weren’t just planning to kill you. They were planning to drain you slowly, keeping you alive just long enough to milk every last piece of genetic material from your body.
As if to drive the point home, a searing pain shot through your arm as a thick needle was driven into your vein. You screamed, the agony unlike anything you had ever felt.
“You won’t get away it with” Your raspy voice spat out. “The Doctor, Jack. They’ll find you” you looked and the emotionless creatures before you.
“It’s too late, the process has already begun. The Rise Has Started” before you could say another word another sharp pain struck your arm, You felt it in your core you let out another gut retching cry.
Panic started to spread over you. Your body was getting more weak, More cold. You screamed for the Doctor, for Jack. Anyone who could hear but you knew it was useless. You were completely helpless.
With a last sharp stab and wave of cold, you let out a faint, weak cry of pain and drifted off into unconsciousness.
Back with The Doctor and Jack, The Doctor was pacing in circles, running his fingers through his hair. Jack had never seen him like this. The Time Lord was always the cleverest man in the room, always one step ahead. But right now? Right now, he looked desperate.
“Doctor,” Jack said cautiously. “We’ll find them.”
The Doctor spun, his jaw clenched. “Do you know what kind of technology that was? That wasn’t just a simple teleport. It was a harvester—a collector for something sinister.” His voice lowered slightly at the thought of something so evil, Jack realized just how much the Doctor was struggling to keep himself together. “I can’t-“ the Doctor chocked out.
“I can’t lose them Jack. Not Y/N.”
Jack placed a hand on his shoulder. “Then let’s go save them”
The Doctor inhaled sharply and nodded, just once. Then, with a flick of his sonic screwdriver, he locked onto your bio-signature.
“I’m getting a Reading of Y/N from this direction, stay close and be quiet. You don’t want them to know that we know where they are.” The Doctor said as he made his way into the darkness of the planet they were on.
It was only after finding an abandoned war ship filled with machinery and observing the alien technology beyond this time that the doctor finally realized what was happening. What the creatures wanted.
"They’ve been using Y/N’s DNA for medical warfare," the Doctor muttered in disgust, maybe even disbelief. "Experimenting, creating hybrid soldiers—perfect killing machines. They think they can control it. They think they can control everything."
Jack clenched his jaw, the horror of the situation settling in. "So we need to stop them before they finish whatever they're doing."
The Doctor nodded, his eyes burning with a cold fire. “We will. We will stop them. But we need to find Y/N first. And fast.”
They sprinted toward the crumbling structure, dodging the occasional blast of fire from the strange, alien sentinels who patrolled the area. The Doctor’s mind buzzed, working through every bit of information, piecing it together like a puzzle that had too many missing pieces.
Finally, they reached the central facility,
In the ruins of all the destroyed war ships. There in the center if it all, a cold, metallic structure pulsating with unnatural energy.
They snuck through the wreckage, Jack providing cover as the Doctor hacked into the control system, his fingers moving with practiced speed. “There.” The Doctor’s voice was a whisper, a low hum of triumph. On the screen in front of him, a map of the facility glowed, highlighting the location of Y/N “Alive. But barely.”
Without hesitation, they moved.
The halls were dark and damp, the air heavy with the scent of blood and chemicals. As they neared the designated room, the faintest sound of gut wrenching screams reached their ears. The Doctor’s hearts stuttered in worry.
They rounded a corner and came upon a sealed door, the screams getting louder. The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the control panel nearest the door.
Inside, the sight of you lying on the table, hooked up to machine after machine. Wires were sticking out of you collecting blood samples and bone marrow. your body visibly weak. your face pale—it hit him like a punch to the gut.
"No!" The Doctor’s voice cracked as he rushed to your side, his hands trembling as he gently lifted your head. "Don’t—don’t do this to me."
Your eyes opened, barely focused, but you managed to smile faintly. "Doctor..."
“Shh, shh, don’t talk,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I’m here. We’re going to get you out of here.”
Jack stepped forward, scanning the room with a rifle in hand. “We’ve got company,” he warned, his eyes narrowing on the dark shapes moving in the shadows.
The Doctor ignored the warning for a moment, focusing entirely on you. Your breath was ragged, your chest barely rising as you fought to stay conscious. Then with another jolt from the machine you tensed, a weak cry of pain escapes your lips. The doctor holds you too shocked for words.
“Please- please make it stop…” your voice was weak. Helpless. The Doctor can’t stand to see you like this.
“I’ll you get out of here don’t worry Y/N” He placed a delicate kiss on the top of your head before Jack’s voice cut through the air again. “Doctor, we’ve got to move. They’re coming.”
The Doctor’s eyes flickered with determination. He gently placed your head back down on the cold metal table, His anger rising, a fire igniting in his chest. He turned to Jack. “Go. Get to the control room. We need to destroy this place. Every last bit of it.”
Jack didn’t need to be told twice. He dashed off, his footsteps echoing through the corridors.
The Doctor turned back to you, his eyes softening as he took your hand once more. "I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner. But I promise you, we’re going to fix this."
He drew out the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and aimed it at the metal walls surrounding them. He could hear the faint hum of machinery—life support systems, shields, whatever it was keeping this place alive. It wouldn’t be for much longer.
A crash rang out as the door at the far end of the room exploded inward, a group of the alien creatures flooding the space.
“Get away from Y/N!” the Doctor shouted, fury bubbling up inside him as he set the sonic to maximum. The walls shuddered as the energy pulse blasted through the control systems, lights flickering and alarms wailing.
Jack’s voice rang through his earpiece. “I’ve gotten to the control panel and secured the detonator. this place isn’t as stable as it looks Doc we won’t have much time.”
“Do it!” the Doctor ordered.
The Doctor’s heart raced as he scanned the room around him, the walls of the collapsing facility groaning with the weight of the destruction. The building was beginning to buckle under the force of Jack's detonator, and the ground beneath them shook violently. The sounds of alien screams and the crackling fires filled the air. It was a race against time, and they were running out of it.
You were barely conscious, your head lolling against the Doctor’s shoulder as he worked to free you from the machinery. You screamed and groaned in pain at every wire and tube that was pulled from your body. it made his hearts clench in worry, but he refused to let that stop him. Not now.
With one last wire you were free. The Doctor carefully scooped you from the metal table and began to carry you to safety.
“Doctor, we’ve gotta move!” Jack called from ahead, his voice sharp and urgent, as he fired another shot to clear the path. The TARDIS was just a few hundred meters away outside, but the crumbling ruins, the fire, and the chaos made it feel miles away.
The air was thick with the scent of burning metal and scorched earth. The planet was on the brink of total collapse—its core destabilizing from not only the destruction the Doctor and Jack had just caused but from the war that had been festering from the creatures own doings.
The Doctor knew they were cutting it close. He could feel the pull of the planet’s dying gravity, its slow decay threatening to drag them down with it.
“Doctor!” Jack shouted again, glancing back toward the two of you “We’re not going to make it!”
The Doctor continued on, though the panic in his chest was threatening to choke him. He could see the TARDIS now, just a blur of blue against the hellish background of the planet’s final moments.
He pushed forward, each step feeling like it might be his last, but the TARDIS doors were just within reach. He could almost taste the safety, the promise of escape.
The Doctor burst through the threshold, Jack already inside and preparing the ship. The Doctor didn’t even pause, rushing straight to the console, carefully laying you down on one of the benches.
“Hold on,” the Doctor whispered as he checked your pulse again, still weak, almost non existent. He turned toward Jack, his face a mix of frantic urgency and determination. “Stay with Y/A while I get us out of here”
Jack didn’t need to be told twice.
As the doctor made his way to the console, the hum of the TARDIS engines roared to life. The ship’s doors slammed shut, sealing them away from the dying planet. The Doctor could feel the familiar disorienting lurch as the TARDIS took off, hurtling them into the time vortex.
The planet’s final death throes echoed in the distance, but they were gone. Free.
“Doc,” Jack said softly, “is she going to be okay?”
The Doctor didn’t answer immediately. He rushed to your side.
Jack stepped closer, but he kept his distance, giving the Doctor the space he needed. “Doc... Y/N’s fading. You know it too.”
The Doctor didn’t answer. He couldn’t. The words were lodged in his throat, and he hated himself for it. He could fix anything. Save anyone. Anyone but you.
“Don’t you dare,” the Doctor whispered, his voice breaking, hands hovering over the controls. "Don't you dare leave me. Not like this."
“I can't—I can't do this,” he whispered, his voice breaking as his chest tightened. He squeezed your hand gently, as if holding onto you could somehow hold the universe together. “I can’t do this without you. You’ve been with me, with us, from the very beginning, and you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I… I’ve never…” He paused, swallowing hard, eyes closing briefly as if to collect himself. But he knew he couldn’t run from it anymore. Not when this was his last chance to say it.
“I love you,” he said, the words raw and heavy in the air. His heart ached as he spoke them, each syllable an aching admission of what he had known all along but had been too terrified to face. “I love you more than I ever thought I was capable of loving someone. You’ve made me a better person, You’ve—” His voice cracked and his hands shaking. “You’ve made me feel like maybe I don’t have to be alone. Maybe I don’t have to be this lonely, broken thing anymore.”
He leaned closer, his forehead gently resting against yours. “I never wanted to need someone,” he whispered, “but I do. I need you. I need you here with me. Please, please don’t go. I need you to stay.”
Your eyes weak and full of tears fluttered once, one last look at your Doctor. then closed again, your hand slipping from his.
Your pulse had stopped. The Doctor’s entire being froze. He had spoken his truth, but it was too late.
Jack’s voice cut through the stillness, soft and hesitant. “Doc…their gone.”
The Doctor’s head snapped up, his chest tight, his breathing erratic. “No, No, No” he protested, his voice raw with emotion. He reached for your hand again, his fingers desperately clasping yours, trying to force life back into you.
But there was nothing. Nothing but the soft hum of the TARDIS and the silence.
