DW- You Are Not Alone

Title: You Are Not Alone
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters: The Doctor (10 and 14)
Word Count: 739
Rating: PG
Summary: 'This song is ending, but the story never ends...' said Ood Sigma. Near the end of his life, 10 meets a future self who gives him some peace of mind.
Author's Notes: Takes place during 'The End of Time Part 2' while the Doctor is waiting for Rose to come along.
Disclaimer/Claimer: Doctor Who (c) BBC. Fourteen (c) Moi. Savy?



January 1st, 2005


The TARDIS materialized in the snow covered lot, unseen and unheard by the happy celebrators of the early morning. The Doctor stepped out into the cold, wincing as he felt another pang of the slow regeneration. He knew Rose would be along soon enough, he just had to wait.

He hopped it wouldn't be too long. He wanted to say goodbye before he became someone else. The Doctor felt his head ache sharply, making him dizzy and wobbly on his feet. He almost hit the ground before a pair of arms reached out and grabbed him before he could kiss the concrete.

"Steady on, old boy." said the man.

"Thanks." said the Doctor as he got back on his feet. He looked at the man, and found something familiar about him. A familiarity he couldn't place.

"Are you going to ask?" said the man. The man in question was a bit shorter than the Doctor. His hair was black with a few greys, his eyes were the same bright blue as his Fourth life. He was dressed a bit like his Eighth self, except it was blue and burgundy.

"Ask what, exactly?" said the Doctor. The man rolled his eyes.

"I'll never understand how you can mistake some human for yourself, and be so blind when you are standing right in front of yourself." the man, who by now had just blatantly told Ten that he was a future incarnation; turned on his heels and walked towards the old TARDIS.

"Oh no, I don't need this right now." said Ten. "So are you the next me?"

"I'm not Eleven, no. I'm..." The other Doctor paused and thought on his words. "I'm 1b, I suppose. But enough about me, I'm here for you." The future Doctor patted the TARDIS, as if patting an old pet he hadn't seen in forever.

"Here you are, mopping like you're about to face the gallows. Seriously, you'd think after nine regenerations you would be used to it by now. But you're acting like it's the end. The end end."

"Did you come here just to criticize me?" said Ten to One-B. Or Fourteen, rather. "I know it isn't the end end. But its the end of me, this man here!" Ten had started to cry again. "I'm not ready to become someone else!"

"I wasn't ready, either." said Fourteen. "I was so certain it was the end end. The last stop on the bullet train to the Big Kaput. I even asked my companion to hold a wake for me before it even happened. But something else happened, and needless to say here I am now. Standing right here telling you to stop being melodramatic and remember this. This is the reason we regenerate. Its not for the long lifespan or the damned near immortality. Its because no one can live as long as we do without growing hard and cold."

Ten stood looking at his future self, seeing the wisdom of his words in his bright blue eyes.

"And so we change, we renew ourselves. Mind, body and soul. So we can keep going forward and look to the universe with knew curiosity and wonder. And so we can show others those same feelings." Fourteen held a hand out to his younger self, and Ten took it.

"I'm just so tired. And I'm so scared." said Ten.

"We all were, son. But remember that it isn't the end. Certainly not for you, and definitely not for me." Fourteen smiled at Ten, hoping he had given the younger Time Lord some peace of mind.

"I'd best be going now. Rose will be along any second now. I can remember how much you're dying to see her." said Fourteen with a devious voice.

"Oh, stop it." said Ten happily. "You miss her too."

"I'll always remember her, indeed. But this is between you two. I'd be just a unneeded third wheel." Fourteen walked off past Tens TARDIS and into the shadows. "Cheerio!"

Ten waved to his older self and leaned against a metal sliding door, waiting in the shadows for his old friend to walk by. He thought about what Fourteen had told him. He couldn't tell if he felt better or worse for it.