A Match Made in Heaven | Doctor X OMC | Doctor Who

The Beast Below

The Doctor stood at the Tardis' console, sneaking what he hoped were subtle glances at Haylen Pond. The other man was not human, he knew that much. Humans, in his experience did not have the capability for telepathy on the level that he had found in the younger man.

He was studiously ignoring how his hearts had skipped at the feeling of another mind connecting to his after so long. As disappointing as it was, he'd had to admit that he knew the other was not a Time Lord. It had been the first thought that had crossed his mind when he felt the connection and realised what it was, but it just wasn't possible. If he had been a Time Lord who was hidden under a Chameleon Arch, then there was just no way that any of his Time Lord traits could have leaked through.

No, Haylen was not a Time Lord, and the crushing reality of that after the first surge of hope had been almost as crippling as waking up again after using the Moment.

He was at a bit of a loss if he was being honest with himself, which he didn't like to be. He could only think of a few humanoid species with such advanced telepathy, and they were all either extinct, or incapable of time travel. In the time period that Amy and Haylen lived in, any of those species who had existed in their past no longer existed.

'Haylen, stand still for a second would you? I'm just going to get the Tardis to scan you,' the Doctor called suddenly, startling the younger man. He got a nod in reply and set his beloved Tardis to scan and identify.

'You don't have a pair of wings you're hiding somewhere do you? Or antenna? Webbed toes maybe? Any non-human appendages?' he asked, giving the other man a curious stare.

'No,' Haylen responded blankly. The Doctor nodded absently, mind already a million miles away.

Why?

'I'm just trying to narrow it down, figure out what species you are. It's very frustrating. Feels like it's staring me right in the face.'

He spun away from the console and stepped up into Haylen's personal space leaving about an inch of space between them.

'What are you?' he whispered, more asking himself than Haylen.

I thought I was human.

The Doctor smiled and backed off a few steps.

'You're getting better at that,' he noted, his smile lingering. The other man might not be a Time Lord, but he was still another telepathic being, and it was comforting to feel another mind so close to his own. He'd forgotten just how it felt to not be alone in his own mind.

A confused look crossed Haylen's face.

'Ah, you didn't realise, did you? You've been projecting your thoughts. We'll have to work on that,' he muttered the last part and waggled a finger at the other man. 'Can't have you projecting every little thought to every telepathic being we meet. Imagine the misunderstandings!'

He spun back around and loped back over to the display screen on the console. Frustratingly, she hadn't pulled up the results yet.

'Come on old girl, you can do it. Tell me what he is,' he muttered while fiddling with some of the settings.

A low rumble and a light jolt of electricity zapping him was his only response.

'Ouch! What was that for? What did I do? You're the one who won't tell me what he is!' he pouted. What was she playing at? It never took this long to get a result from a simple scan.

'You know,' Amy called from somewhere on the other side of the console, 'I'm still not convinced that this thing is a spaceship.'

The Doctor was sufficiently distracted from his tiff with the Tardis. His new companion had just dissed the Tardis!