Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. The italicized quotes are from "Human Nature"/"Family of Blood" and therefore cannot be mine either...

Echoes

Sometimes, there were voices.

In the dark, when he was alone, he could hear them whispering.

Keep me close…

He knew that the dreams weren't real. They couldn't be.

And yet, he felt a strange reluctance just before he handed the journal to Joan.

Just a moment, not even a second's hesitation, and he almost didn't notice.

Keep me safe…

He hated himself, just a little, because of the fear.

And then he was angry: human or madman, there was no reason to fear.

Fear of illusions, or servant's delusions, was irrational.

Wasn't all fear irrational? Hadn't there been a watch after all?

Beware…

And what else could he do?

He'd told Joan that John Smith was somewhere inside, and that he could be

Everything that John Smith had been.

Half-truth, half lie. How very like the Doctor.

And the truth was a few months of perfectly preserved humanity,

A new set of nightmares.

Even now, alone in the dark, a part of him still dreamed in past echoes

Of a future never taken.

Sometimes, there are voices.