My Hope (Doctor Who x reader)

10: What's in a Face?

"The Doctor, last of the Time Lords. Seen throughout history traveling with a minimum of one companion, commonly Earth Human. Many say that he brings death wherever he goes, but eyewitnesses defend that he's always done his duty to save everyone he can. Notable events he has been involved and/or depicted in include: the eruption of Mt Vesuvius, the Clockwork Event of the 18th century, the signing of the Magna Carta, the humans landing on their moon, the Great Fire of London, the sinking of the Titanic (1, 2, 5, and the Max Capricorn Incident), and many more. He has been through many faces, mainly male. The Doctor–"

"Yes, yes, I know. But what was his role in the war? And... can you show me what faces he has gone through?"

The TARDIS' screen quickly switched sights with a faint whirring sound, displaying the newly requested information. Y/n took a deep breath and mentally checked that she was ready to truly know more. Best case scenario, he had nothing to do with the war. Worst case, however, he was directly involved with the end of her human life.

"The Doctor brought an end to the Time war."

Y/n paused, reading over the information again as though the AI voice misread it somehow. But no, right there beside images of many of the Doctor's faces, were those exact words. "How is that possible?" she mumbled to herself, leaning her palms against to console of the TARDIS and furrowing her brows with a small frown. "The war ended with everyone dead. He couldn't have ended it himself. That's an impossible task, not to mention an impossible decision..."

"The Doctor brought an end to the Time War. He made the impossible decision and blew up Gallifrey for the sake of the universe. The Doctor brought an end to the Daleks and the Time Lords alike."

Y/n let out a shaky breath, collapsing into the couch behind her. She dug her elbows into her knees and held her head in her hands, hoping the coldness of her skin could soothe the forming headache behind her temples. She wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to feel about this. She didn't know why she was so conflicted.

She wanted a reason to hate him.

She wanted a reason to never speak to him, to kick and bite and claw against his every word. She wanted him to be wrong. But he wasn't.

If she was truly more unbiased, she would possibly be more inclined to like him now. A part of her was. It was the Daleks that killed her captors (though not out of kindness), yes, but it was the Doctor who essentially ensured her freedom. If the Time Lords still lived, they would have caught her again hundreds of years ago.

She found herself feeling sick. "And..." Y/n trailed off. She wasn't even sure what else she was going to ask. She couldn't remember what else she wanted to know. She shut her eyes tightly and sighed. "TARDIS, can you... can you set up the theater for me? Any film, please, it doesn't matter."

But then she paused. 'Wait...' The photos on the screen, of the Doctor's past (and even a few future) faces, were still displayed fully. One of them looked eerily familiar. Y/n thought back to when the first met at the end of the Earth, and recalled recognizing him, if not by his face. At some point she had assumed he was a run-of-the-mill shape changer before she knew truly, but that wasn't what mattered. What mattered was the photo, right in front of her, placed between the "Eighth Doctor" and the "Ninth Doctor."

She knew that face.

Labeled as the "War Doctor," She knew him. They never met before but she had seen him. He... begged the High Council not to follow through with what they did to her. She remembered feeling hope that maybe they would listen to a grown man's warnings. She remembered the horror she felt when the High Council shut down the call with the man, ignoring his words entirely. There was resentment at first, right after everything started happening. Resentment because he didn't do more to stop them. To her, he quit. But then, when things got worse, there was a glimmer of gratefulness that he had even tried in the first place.