˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚honey˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

The dark had always frightened you, ever since you were young. The fear only seemed to amplify when you were regressed.

You swore you could hear something moving as you hugged your stuffie tighter, rubbing its soft fur against your cheek for a moment, telling yourself that it was okay. That this is the TARDIS, that nothing that could hurt you could get in.

But even as you repeated that to yourself over and over, your fear only seemed to get worse. You took out your nightlight that the Doctor had given you, a floating star with two circles for eyes. You tapped it twice and it flickered to life, holding it out as the soft yellow light coated your room. You stared at it for a moment, catching your breath and looking around at all your things. Everything was in its perfect place, just the way you’d left it. Stuffies and toys and all your arts and crafts.

The small bit of light helped calm your racing heart, but there were still lots of shadows looming about your room. You were just about to try and lay back down, to attempt to be brave like your papa always reassured you that you were, when the sound of scratching against your closet door made you freeze.

Sitting up again, eyes wide, you stare at the closed door. Maybe it was just your imagination?

Or maybe there really was a monster in your closet.

You shudder, suddenly not liking the idea of being alone. Quickly, you darted out of your bed, dragging your blanket with you halfway across the room until it fell into a heap on the floor. You opened your door and ran towards the safest place you could think of.

In your frantic state, you hadn’t noticed the tall figure already standing in the corridor, and you were so frightened that your brain didn’t seem to register who it was for a moment. You let out a frightened squeak and tried to run in the opposite direction, but two arms grabbed at your shoulders and spun you around.

It wasn’t until the figure spoke that your movement stilled.

“Hey, hey, hey- woah. What’s going on?” His voice was gentle and calm and made you freeze as he crouched next to you.

Your lip quivers and you try to suck in a shaky, ragged breath. “Papa.”

He nods, “yes, it’s papa. I’m right here. You’re okay, you’re okay.” His hands cup your face, thumbs gently stroking your cheeks, wiping away the tears you had not realized had fallen. “Did you have a nightmare, sweetheart? Is that it?”

You shook your head, leaning into his touch.

He wraps his arms around you for a moment, letting you lean into him. “Then what is it? I want to help, but I can only do that if you tell me what’s going on. Can you do that for me, hmm?”

Your voice quivers as you try to speak against his shoulder. “Mon.. monster… in my closet.” You say very softly, squeezing your eyes shut as if uttering the possibility of its existence would make it appear.

He tilts his head. “Monster? In your closet?”

You nod. “Uh-huh…”

He seems to think for a moment, then stands, grabbing your hand and giving you a gentle smile. “Well it’s a good thing you got me then, cos my specialty is monsters!”

He coaxes you back to your bedroom slowly, you hold his hand extra tight, clinging to his side as he stands in the middle of the room. “In there?” He asks again.

You nod, clinging tighter to his hand. The sound returns, a light scraping and shuffling about inside the small space. “Papa…”

He frowns, his own hand tightening around yours. “Ah.” He says slowly, thinking for a moment.

You point, “it’s moving! Papa…” hands shaking, you hide behind him, brain trudging up all kinds of horrid images of what could be behind the door.

The Doctor turns, letting go of your hand to take hold of your shoulders again, he tenderly pushes you back so you’ll sit on your bed. “I want you to sit here, okay? Right here, while I take a Quick Look.” He softly shushes your protests, taking your favorite stuffie from where you dropped it on the floor, “it’s alright, kiddo. And, look! Look who’s here to keep you company.” He sets it in your lap, kissing your cheek, prying himself from your clinging hands. There was more movement from the closet. He frowns for a split second, then turns.

He stalks forward, hand on the knob, looking back at you. You had curled into a ball, under a blanket, barely peaking over it. The noise continued. He gives a thumbs up and another smile, trying to reassure you silently, then he turns and his smile vanishes. How could something have gotten into the TARDIS without him noticing? Especially in your closet? None of this made sense.

He turned the knob quickly, and the door opened silently. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust, but nothing seemed to be—

Something swiftly brushed against his leg. He jumped back, turning sharply. “Ah!” His eyes dart across the room catching the form of the thing as it scurried under your bed, “Ah.”

It wasn’t a monster at all. It was a cat. A stray cat. It must have somehow gotten in that morning when he took you to the park.

The situation was so bizarre that it made the Doctor laugh. The sound made you jump, peaking out from your blanket cocoon, eyes wide. “Papa?” You asked hesitantly.

He holds out his hand. “Oh, it’s alright!” He tells you, smiling, “not a monster. Not a monster at all. Come look.”

It took him a moment to coax you out of bed, reassuring you again that it was completely safe. He squats down on the floor as you sit on your knees. You both lean forward and he takes your star nightlight from its floating position by your bed, holding it near the floor. “See that?” He says gently, pointing.

You lean forward a bit more, the fuzzy shape forming in your line of sight. “Not a monster? Not even a tiny one?” You whisper.

“Nope, no tiny monsters here! It’s a cat.”

You blink, trying to focus better. “Kitty?”

He nods, “mhm! And I think they are more scared of you than you are of them.”

You ponder that for a moment, thinking of how silly it was for the kitty to be frightened of you. You weren’t scary! “ ‘m not scared of it.” You say decidedly.

“Well of course not! You are very brave.”

“Well… I was scared… a little bit.” You admit.

“That’s alright. You know, even the bravest people in the universe are scared sometimes.”

“Really?”

He nods.

“Can the kitty come out now?”