Realm of the Muse, Prompt 1.56.3
In that moment where Catherine was just about to fall away into a well-needed sleep, the covers were snatched away, leaving her a bit cold in the chill of the room.
She let out a pointedly exaggerated sigh, and turned to address the snoring form beside her. "You're bloody fortunate I love you as much as I do, Doctor."
He didn't hear her, however, as he was completely asleep, cocooned inside the blankets he'd stolen when he rolled over onto his side. His back was to her, a bit of his shoulder and his neck visible.
Catherine sighed again, and pushed herself up into a seated position, scooting closer and gazing down at him. He was still, which was something she rarely saw, what with the Doctor being such a bundle of energy all the time. He was even quiet…er, with the covers pulled up over his nose and mouth muffling his snores. His hair, as always, was sticking up all over.
He looked so much like a little boy. One that was completely knackered at the end of a long day. Something of the vulnerability that Catherine knew he had, but that he fought so hard to hide, showed through now, as he slept.
Catherine smiled. She reached over and ran her fingers through his hair, trying to tame a few unruly locks, before lifting up the edge of the covers and sliding beneath, spooning herself up against the Doctor’s back. He murmured something, and stirred a bit, and Catherine shushed him. “Go back to sleep,” she said softly, throwing an arm lightly across his waist and resting her cheek between his shoulder blades.
She nestled against him as he settled again, stifling a laugh when the snoring started up anew. The Doctor was completely at peace.
With a pang, Catherine found herself fervently wishing she could hold him in this moment forever.
Catherine had no doubts in either mind or hearts that he genuinely loved her, needed her, and delighted in having her near. But, though he tried so very hard to hide it, behind the joy and the reverence in his eyes when he looked at her there hid something else.
Pain.
It hurt him sometimes, to see her. Be with her. And she desperately wished she could spare him that, save him from whatever pain had marked him in his past, her future.
If it were in her power, she’d wrap him in her arms and keep him safe, protected from whatever it was that was coming. Whatever had hurt him so, made it so hard for him to love her without that sadness.
As if reinforcing that thought, her arm tightened around his waist. She turned her face and planted a reverent kiss at the base of his neck, squeezing her eyes shut.
A very soft whine issued forth from under the covers. “…I was sleeping, you know…”
Catherine opened her eyes, and blinked. She cleared her throat, preparing to speak, but was cut short by a flurry of movement. The Doctor wriggled around under the blankets, turning himself around to face her. He flailed a bit, and the covers fell away from his face. He blinked at Catherine a few times, thickly, his eyes still clouded with fatigue.
Then the Doctor broke into that brilliant smile of his. “S’good I don’t mind you waking me up in the middle of the night,” he pronounced sleepily, before leaning and planting rather a wet and sloppy kiss on her mouth.
He squirmed closer, wrapping his arms around her, and he tucked his head under her chin. A few minutes later, he was back to snoring.
Catherine held him fiercely, burying her face in his hair. Maybe she couldn’t save him, in the long run.
But she could keep him safe tonight.
Catherine Endicott/The Rani
Doctor Who
Word Count: 634