Title: Come Undone
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Spencer Reid
Fandom: Doctor Who/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5, sound_of_drums
Prompt: 1, Come Undone
Author's Note: Continuation of State of Shock.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Spencer Reid, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor cast his eyes over the console of the Tardis, just to make sure that they were in a zone of space where they weren't likely to be bothered. He wanted Spencer to have a chance to recuperate from the experience of detoxing before he took the young man anywhere.

It hadn't been easy -- on either of them, he reflected with a wry smile. It had been a long time since he'd had to help anyone through something like that, but he thought that he'd done a fairly good job of being there for the other man.

And Spencer seemed to be doing well -- though it was hard for him to judge that accurately, never having been through it himself. Still, the younger man had shown a marked interest in the Tardis and how she worked, which was a good sign.

Fortunately, Spencer was young and healthy, and the Doctor was sure that he woudln't suffer any ill effects from the drugs. At least, he sincerely hoped not.

If he could come face to face with the monster who'd done that to Spencer .... his hands clenched into fists at his sides as he scowled. That man was incredibly lucky that he was locked away in a prison, away from the Doctor's anger ....

Taking a deep breath, he forced his thoughts away from the path they were taking. Being angry wasn't going to do Spencer any good; and as the young man had told him, it was in the past. The man was no longer a threat -- to Spencer, or to anyone.

A part of him had expected Spencer to come undone while he was detoxing, but to his amazement, the young man had remained at least partially lucid. He knew what was going on around him, and he knew that the Doctor was trying to help him.

He'd held Spencer tightly, rocking him like a baby when the shaking had begun, refusing to let him go. He'd simply sat there, on the bed that was rumpled from Spencer's restless tossing and turning, with the young man in his arms, holding him for what seemed like hours.

Maybe it had been hours -- maybe it had even been days. He couldn't be entirely sure of how much time had passed; but then, time had never been that much of a concern for him. He was a Time Lord, after all.

Time was something he'd have to pay more attention to now that Spencer was with him. And of course, there were other reasons for him to notice the passing of time more acutely.

Spencer probably wasn't going to stay with him forever. He had to face that fact. This wasn't some person who was just off the street, who had nothing they particularly wanted to go back to. This was a man with an important job to do on Earth.

He had to face up to the fact that Spencer would want to go back to his job -- he obviously loved it, even though it did involve some danger. He wasn't going to want to trade in that life and the friends he had to live a life with the Doctor.

Closing his eyes, he leaned against the console, his teeth sinking into his lower lip. He shouldn't have let himself become so attracted to Spencer. Hadn't he known from the first that this young man wasn't going to want to stay with him?

Maybe if he'd told Spencer how he was feeling .... but he hadn't really felt as though he could. After all, Spencer was going through the physical hardship of detoxing from the drugs he'd been taking. Adding the complication of emotions to that wasn't fair to him.

It wasn't too late to tell Spencer how he felt, of course. But he didn't want to push the other man for anything, not yet. If Spencer made the first move, that would be different -- but the Doctor didn't feel that he should do that himself, not at this point.

Besides, they still had time, didn't they? Spencer was interested in the Tardis, in the life the Doctor led, the places he saw. He wouldn't want to leave right away.

He could feel his hearts lightening at the thought. Spencer would be here for a while. And even when he eventually left, they would have had some time together. It was better than nothing, and it was really the only thing he could expect.

The Doctor's eyes flew open wide as a pair of arms slid around him from behind; he could sense the presence of his young companion before he heard Spencer's soft voice, though it was still startling to be wrapped in such an embrace.

He'd just been telling himself a few moments ago that Spencer wasn't interested in him, not enough to make the first move and certainly not at the point they were at now -- but maybe he'd been wrong. It definitely seemed as though he could be ....

"Hey." Spencer's voice was soft in his ear, breath warm against the Doctor's skin. "Sorry if I startled you. I was just wondering where you were."

"I've been here for a while," the Doctor answered, hoping that he didn't sound as breathless as he felt. There was something about the feel of those arms around his waist, the way Spencer was pressed against him, that felt incredibly .... intimate.

Spencer nuzzled his cheek against the Doctor's, his voice husky when he spoke again. "I'm sorry I've put you to so much trouble, Doctor. I just kind of wanted to .... to show my appreciation for all you've done for me so far."

This was merely "showing his appreciation"? The Doctor blinked, feeling that now he was the one who would come undone. Yes, he'd wanted Spencer; he wasn't going to deny that. But this was completely unexpected.

He hadn't thought this young man would want him. But apparently, he'd thought wrong; from what he could feel pressed against his body from behind, Spencer most definitely wanted him. There wasn't any doubt of that fact.

"I know this might seem kind of sudden, but .... I've been attracted to you ever since we met," the voice in his ear continued. "I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to say -- or do -- anything about it. But now I am, and I wanted you to know how I felt."

"Does this mean that you want to stay with me -- at least for a while?" The words tumbled out before the Doctor could stop them, or even think about what he was saying.

"Did you ever doubt it?" Spencer asked him, sounding surprised. The arms around his waist loosened slightly, and the Doctor turned in Spencer's embrace to face the younger man, their gazes meeting and locking with each other.

"I wasn't sure of how you felt," the Doctor murmured in answer to Spencer's question, feeling a little awkward. He'd apparently misjudged this young man; looking into those eyes, he couldn't doubt the sincerity that the saw there.

"If I didn't want to be with you, then I wouldn't have come to the Tardis in the first place," Spencer said simply, raising one hand to lay it against the Doctor's cheek. "It wasn't just because I was interested in the whole bit about traveling in time and space. I was interested in you."

The Doctor's hearts seemed to skip a few beats; all he could do was nod and raise his hand to the other man's cheek in a mirror image of Spencer's movement.

"You're welcome here for as long as you want to stay, Spencer," he said softly, hoping that the young man would realize just what he meant by those words. "As more than a companion, if that's what you want," he added, hardly daring to speak.

Spencer smiled, leaning forward to press his lips against the Doctor's those arms sliding around his waist again and pulling him closer against the younger man's body. "I've wanted to be more than just your 'companion' since the minute I saw you," he whispered.

The Doctor's eyes fluttered closed as their lips met, melting into Spencer's embrace, his own arms sliding around the young man's waist. This was more than he'd dared hope for, and at the moment, he was sure that he was indeed coming undone.

But he was also sure that Spencer would be able to put him back together if he did. And he was more than positive that the future was open before them -- a future that he was ready to leap into head first, running forward into it with Spencer by his side.

***