Title: Face the Darkness
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 30, Darkness
Author's Note: The human version of the Doctor is being referred to as John Smith in this fic, since it's the Doctor's human alias and his clone needed a name.
Author's Note: Spoilers for Journey's End, somewhat. This is an completely alternate take on the ending of Season Four.
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 his human clone. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor sighed as he contemplated the viewscreen, wishing that he and Jamie hadn't been to that planet and discovered all of the mischief that the Master was making. It would have been better for them to remain in ignorance, and go about their lives.

But no, they couldn't have done that, he told himself firmly. If they did, then the Master wold only sow more and more seeds of dissent around the universe.

And by the time he was done, they would have a much harder time countering the harm he had caused. This way, at least they knew that he was up to his old tricks, and they'd been warned in time. Surely they could put their heads together and find a way to stop him.

If not, then the universe was in danger.

He didn't want the world to be plunged into the kind of darkness that the Master could cause, but then again, neither did he want Jamie exposed to that darkness, not when he was still in the nascent stages of being a Time Lord.

It didn't matter that Jamie's memories were those of a Time Lord; his physical body was still becoming accustomed to some of the changes that had taken place within him, and it wasn't a good idea to subject him to the stress of battling the Master.

Exposing him to that darkness could cause a lot of problems, but it seemed as though they didn't have a choice. He felt that it was too soon for Jamie to jump into a conflict with one of their worst enemies -- but would he ever feel that the time was right for that?

He couldn't wrap Jamie in cotton wool and protect him from every danger in the universe. He hadn't been able to do that when Jamie was human, and he certainly couldn't now that his lover was a Time Lord. He had to let Jamie stand on his own two feet.

And if that meant facing the Master's darkness, then so be it.

But Jamie wouldn't face that darkness alone, he told himself. He would be right there by his lover's side, the two of them standing together, a team in every way. The Master would find it hard to face the two of them together; they would be invincible.

No, not that, the Doctor thought with a soft sigh. There was always the chance that they could lose, that the Master could defeat them. That possibility always existed.

They would face that darkness together, and with any luck, they would prevail. It was time for him to let Jamie stand by his side, as an equal. Though if truth be told, the Doctor thought with a wry smile, that was going to be more easily said than done.

***