Title: Trust in Me
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Spencer Reid
Fandom: Doctor Who/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG
Table: 100_tales
Prompt: 59, Trust
Author's Note: Continuation of Runaway.
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 had no idea how he was going to explain the Tardis to Spencer, or how he was going to get the young man to agree to come along with him. He only knew that he had to manage to do so; he wouldn't let Spencer deal with his drugs problems alone.

Had Spencer's friends and colleagues tried to help him? Somehow, he doubted if they even had an inkling of what this young man was going through. Spencer didn't seem the type to want to admit to failings -- and he knew that kind of attitude well enough.

It was his own attitude, really. He'd never been the sort of person who'd wanted to admit that he needed any sort of help, either. Though he'd learned to swallow his pride as he grew older, there were times when he was still convinced that he could do everything alone.

Of course, that wasn't true, the Doctor told himself with an inner sigh. He did need help at times -- and he needed a companion. That much he knew.

Maybe Spencer could fill that need -- if he wanted to. He would have to let the young man see the Tardis first, and put the proposition to him. He wasn't going to spring this on Spencer and expect an answer right away, especially not an affirmative one.

And he certainly wasn't going to push for an answer when Spencer was in the condition he was in at the moment. He needed to get the drugs out of his system, to be able to look at every side of the question of being a companion with a clear mind. He didn't want this young man approaching this with drugs clouding his thoughts.

At least they were on the way to the Tardis now, and Spencer didn't seem to be under the influence, he told himself, casting an anxious glance at the young man. Actually, he seemed calm and rational, more so than the Doctor had expected him to be.

He hadn't had much experience with people who were on drugs -- at least not this sort. Spencer hadn't specified just what he was taking, but the Doctor knew enough about various kinds of drugs that humans took to have a good idea.

Still, he wished that he was a bit better informed. All he could do was feel his way along in the dark, and hope that he could help Spencer get past his drug habit.

First, his main problem would be to figure out how to tell Spencer who and what he was -- and get him into the Tardis without him thinking that it was some sort of drug-induced hallucination. He had to make Spencer understand that the ship was real, not some figment of his imagination.

That probably wasn't going to be easy to do. Spencer knew that his mind was impaired when he injected himself; he more than likely wouldn't be willing to accept that anything he considered the least bit fantastical could possibly exist.

Though walking into the Tardis and seeing her with his own eyes would have to at least partically convince him, wouldn't it? The Doctor bit his lip as they walked along, glancing over at Spencer. If only he could think of something to say, some way to cut through the uneasy silence that was hovering all around them.

He cleared his throat, searching for the proper words to explain to Spencer what he was, and what the young man was about to see --

-- And found himself coming up with a complete blank. For once, glib words eluded him; his mind seemed to be pressed against a brick wall, no words leaping into his usually overactive brain and tumbling out into the air.

Spencer looked over at him, raising his brows and giving the Doctor what seemed like a somewhat uneasy smile "Something on your mind?" he asked, his tone conversational. "I'm guessing that wherever you're taking me, you want to talk about it before we get there."

The Doctor nodded, unsure of what to say. Spencer was right; he wanted to talk about the Tardis, about what he was, but the words wouldn't make any sense. It wasn't something that he'd be able to explain without actually showing Spencer that he was telling the truth.

Finally, he sighed and shook his head, moving closer to the young man as they walked. "I wish I knew what to say about where we're going, Spencer," he said softly, measuring his words before he spoke. "It's going to seem .... unbelievable, maybe even a little crazy. You may think that you're having some kind of bizarre dream."

Spencer frowned slightly, shaking his head. "I doubt that," he protested, his tone firm. "From what I already know about you, you're not the kind of guy who's going to lie to me for your own gain. I trust you, even if that might sound weird considering we just met."

The Doctor blinked, amazed by the fact that this young man could say those words. After all that Spencer had seen in his line of work, what he'd been through when he'd been kidnapped -- he could still say with all sincerity that he trusted someone he'd just met.

"That means a lot to me," he finally managed to say, his voice soft and a little choked. "I know it can't be easy for you to put your trust in people."

"It isn't," Spencer admitted with a soft sigh. "But I can't spend my whole life hiding from people, can I? Then I'm not going to be much good at my job, and I'm never going to be able to let anybody into my life. I don't want to be like that."

"I've spent a lot of time feeling like that in the past -- and maybe even very recently," the Doctor admitted, the words tumbling out before he could stop them. "It's not a very pleasant way of thinking. You don't want to get into that state of mind, believe me."

Spencer nodded, looking ahead of them down the street they'd just turned onto and squinting. "What in the hell is that?" he asked, sounding baffled. The Doctor followed the direction he was looking in, nervousness rising in his throat.

It was the Tardis, sitting there at the end of the street. To him, she looked perfectly normal -- but here, in this city, she must look more than a little strange and out-of-place. Now was the time he had to tell Spencer a bit about her -- about himself -- before they left this young man's normal, everyday world and entered the world of a Time Lord.

He opened his mouth to speak -- and then thought better of it. Maybe it was better to let Spencer see the inside of the ship before he tried to explain anything, and let him form his own opinions before he knew the truth.

After all, if he told Spencer that he was an alien, his young companion could very well accuse him of being the one who was doing drugs.

"It's my .... home," he said, not wanting to say the word ship. "You can go inside, if you like. Don't worry, there's plenty of room," he hurried to assure Spencer, as the young man threw him a dubious look.

"It's a .... box," Spencer murmured as they approached the Tardis. "There's not enough room for anybody to live in there. He looked startled, his eyes widening as he looked at the Doctor. "Are you telling me you're homeless, and that you live .... here?"

"Hardly homeless," the Doctor chuckled, shaking his head. "Just go inside, Spencer. You may not believe your eyes at first -- but I can guarantee you that you're not seeing things. What you'll see is no illusion, nothing to do with drugs -- it's completely real."

Spencer hesitated for a moment, looking at the Tardis, placing one thin hand on her door as if he was feeling what she was made of. He peered around the side of the blue box, frowning; when he finally turned to the Time Lord, he wore a look of resignation.

"Okay," he said softly, nodding. "I'm going to trust you. If you say what I'll see is real, then show me what you want me to see. I'm putting my trust in you." His shoulders lifted in a shrug, a small smile curving his lips. "I've seen some pretty crazy things that I never thought I'd see. I don't think you could show me anything I couldn't handle."

"Keep your mind open," the Doctor told him as he laid his own hand on the Tardis' door. "And remember -- this isn't your mind or the drugs playing tricks on you, Spencer. It might seem odd at first -- but don't be afraid to step into a new world."

He pushed the door of the ship open, standing back and gesturing for Spencer to precede him inside. The young man hesitated for a moment, then walked through the open door, disappearing into the ship.

The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment, then followed Spencer and closed the door behind him. This was going to take quite a bit of explaining -- though he had a feeling that Spencer was more than ready to accept the truth. At least he hoped so.

***