Title: Shelter Me
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Josef Kostan
Fandom: Doctor Who/Moonlight
Rating: PG-13
Table: 100_situations
Prompt: 72, Shelter
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Tenth Doctor or Josef Kostan, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor didn't know what to expect when Josef entered the Tardis. Different people had different reactions to the ship, but this was someone the likes of whom he'd never known before; Josef wasn't like other humans, or any other species who'd seen the wonder of the Tardis.

He didn't stop and gasp in wonder like so many did; he simply checked himself on the steps, then made his way into the control room and looked around. His hands were in his pockets as he turned in a circle, his gaze taking in the room around him without much of a reaction.

When he finally turned back around to face the Doctor, there was a small smile on his lips, a lift of his eyebrows that showed he wasn't as blasé as he might appear. "This is really something. It's a lot bigger on the inside, isn't it?"

"That's what I tell everyone!" the Doctor laughed, relieved that Josef didn't seem so entirely different from everyone else who'd seen his ship, after all. "The Tardis is a miracle, isn't she? And she's grown, not built. She's much more than just a ship."

"That's pretty obvious from the second you step inside." Josef's voice was admiring, his hand gentle as he placed it on the console. "So she's grown, hmmm? Does that mean she knows what I'm saying? That's a little weird, isn't it? I mean, to know you're always watched."

"I look it as a kind of companionship," the Doctor said softly, his tone almost wistful. He couldn't begin to explain to Josef just how he felt about being alone; this wasn't the time or place to launch into his problems. And besides, the Tardis might be his home, but she wasn't a companion.

Maybe Josef would want to fill that capacity, at least for a while. The Doctor's hearts thumped in his chest at the idea of having this beautiful young man by his side; Josef was the most exciting -- and attractive -- man he'd met for quite a long time.

Having him for a companion would be a stimulating experience -- but would be want to leave his home on Earth and come along into the stars? He obviously wasn't the kind of person who was looking for a breath of fresh air in his life, some new adventure to sustain him.

Besides .... he was a vampire. That was a bit frightening, truth be told. What would they do if they were stranded somehow on some planet with no way out, and Josef didn't have a blood supply? Would he drain the Doctor's blood without a second thought?

No, he wasn't like that. The Time Lord was sure of it; if Josef had to drink his blood for any reason, he would be careful about it, and only take as much as he needed for sustenance and no more. He couldn't imagine this young man draining anyone that he cared for.

Ah, that was the question. Would Josef care for him? Or would he be just an expendable person who could be looked at as .... food? The Doctor shuddered at the thought, unwilling to attribute it to Josef but wondering if he might have to.

"So what does a guy have to do to go for a spin in this ship?" Josef asked, raising an eyebrow and flashing the Doctor a smile. "It'd be fun to go out there, to see what else there is besides this planet. Did you know, in over four hundred years I've never been away from Earth?"

"That's probably because you've never known that you could!" the Doctor returned, with a smile of his own. "Most people are given to believe that Earth and the that particular solar system are the only things out there. I can assure you that they're not."

"I've always believed there was something more," Josef murmured, seeming lost in thought. "But I never had the chance to actually find out. If you're going to offer me that chance, I'll take it. It's about time I came out of the shelter I've always hidden under."

"You see Earth as a shelter?" the Doctor asked, before he could stop himself. That was an interesting way of looking at one's home planet; he'd never thought of Gallifrey in that context, and he was sure that most humans didn't see Earth in that way, either.

Josef nodded, looking surprised that the Doctor had questioned him. "Of course. Doesn't everybody see their home in that way? Whether it's their house, or the planet they live on, they have to consider that a safe place. Somewhere they can take shelter from the world."

The Time Lord considered Josef's words, nodding slowly. "I suppose you're right. The Tardis has always been my shelter -- even when I had a home planet to go back to, Gallifrey never seemed to fit me. I was always uncomfortable there, even though I do miss it."

He was glad that Josef didn't ask him to elaborate; he wasn't ready to go into an explanation of the Time Wars, and his part in them. It was a regrettable part of his life, but he'd done what he had to do -- even though the guilt over his actions would always be with him.

"I'd say this ship would be a pretty good shelter," Josef commented, resting his hand on the console. The Tardis almost seemed to glow; she obviously liked this young man. His compliments weren't empty, or she would have sensed that. He had a genuine admiration for her.

"She is," the Doctor agreed, his own voice softening on the words. He loved the Tardis, even though he could get annoyed with her at times. "She's always been there for me, and I know that I can count on her, no matter what might happen. She's saved my life more than once."

"I'll have to get you to tell me about that sometime," Josef said, his voice indicating that he actually was interested in hearing the Doctor tell of some of his adventures. "Think she'd do the same for me? I mean, considering what I am."

"If she hasn't been flaunting sirens and flashing lights at you yet, then I think you've been accepted," the Doctor said with a laugh, raising an eyebrow as he looked around. "She knows when I like someone -- and when I trust them. You're in no danger here, Josef."

"So, how do we go about getting out into space?" Josef asked him, looking around again with a curious expression. "There's no .... errr .... cockpit that I can see. How do you drive her? Or do you actually have to do the driving at all? Does she just go where you tell her to?"

"Yes and no," the Doctor said with a wry laugh. "Sometimes she doesn't end up quite where I want her to be. It's a bit hit-and-miss at times -- but we usually manage to make it to our destination sooner or later. Though it can be later a good deal of the time."

"You mean if I wanted to go to a certain planet, she might not make it there, and we'd end up somewhere completely different instead?" Josef wrinkled his brow, frowning. "That sounds like it could be dangerous. But pretty exciting, too."

"It can be," the Doctor agreed, nodding. "But traveling in time and space has its risks, as does anything else. You just have to take the bad with the good -- and hope that you're able to turn any bad situations that you might run into back to the good."

"I think we all try to do that, on Earth or otherwise," Josef told him, laughing at the Doctor's expression. "What? You think all vampires are evil creatures that just live to suck blood? I might be a bloodsucker, but I'm not some evil monster creeping around after innocent people."

"I didn't say that," the Time Lord protested, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I wouldn't have brought you here to my shelter if I thought you were evil, now would I? I trust you, Josef. I don't think you live up to the myths of the vampire."

"I did at one time," Josef said softly, his tone regretful. "But that's behind me now. I'm not ashamed of what I am, and I wouldn't change it. But I don't want to perpetrate the myth of all vampires being evil and wanting to destroy the human race. That just isn't true."

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment, then his eyes met Josef's squarely, their gaze clear and head-on. "It sounds as though you might need a shelter, too. And I'm offering to let you share mine, for however long you might want to do that."

Josef looked surprised at first; after a few moments, he nodded slowly, a smile curving his lips. "I'd like that. I'd have to let some people know that I was going to disappear -- but I'd like to come out into space with you and let you shelter me for a while."

"Time and space," the Doctor corrected him. "We can go to any place you like, Josef, any time. We can see things that you've never dreamed of seeing." He realized even as he said those words that he was talking to a four-hundred-year-old creature.

"I've seen a lot more than most people ever get to see," Josef told him, his voice soft. "But I'd like to see the things that I haven't been able to experience. And I'd like to see them with you." He held out a hand to the Doctor, turning the full force of that smile onto the Time Lord.

"It's a deal," the Doctor told him, his own smile bright and dazzling. He didn't know how long he would have Josef with him, but some time was better than none. And maybe Josef would find that the shelter of the Tardis was to his liking -- and decide that he never wanted to leave.

***