Born Again

The Doctor turned to the console and flicked a few switches, checking the monitor at the same time.

"6 PM…" He said as Seren watched him, closing her mouth though her eyes were still wide in shock at the change – not only physical but the apparent personality changes that were already evident. "Tuesday…" he turned a knob on the side. "October… 5006… On the way to Barcelona!"

He straightened up, stepping away from the console and faced Seren, with a pleased grin stretched across his face.

"Now then…" he said. "What do I look like?" Seren opened her mouth to reply but he held up a hand to stop her from saying anything. "No, no no, no no no no no no no. No. Don't tell me." She slowly went from shock to bemused as she watched him examine his new body. "Let's see... two legs, two arms, two hands..." he tested his wrist, circling it lightly as he pressed the thumb of his other hand against his inner wrist. "Slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle." His eyes widened slightly, and his hands flew to his head, examining his hair. "Hair! I'm not bald!" He began running his hands through his hair gleefully. "Oh, Oh! Big hair!" As he ran his fingers through his hair, giving him a completely tousled look in the process, he found his side burns, exclaiming in delight, "Sideburns, I've got sideburns! Or really bad skin." He ran his hands down his side as he examined his build and bringing them to his front, looking down as he slapped his flat stomach lightly before running them over his lower back, "Little bit thinner - that's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it." He slowly looked up, his eyes wide as he looked as though he had discovered something wonderful. "I… have got… a mole. I can feel it. Between my shoulder blades, there's a mole." He rotated his shoulders thoughtfully, nodding, "That's all right. Love the mole." He grinned at Seren. "Go on then, tell me." He straightened up in front of her, ready for her assessment, his hair still completely tousled from his earlier examination. "What do you think?"

"Doctor?" Seren asked, her eyes still wide as she took a hesitant step towards him.

"Yes, Seren Rhosyn, it's me." He replied, still grinning at her.

"Please prove it." She said softly, her shock fading as her fear took over – fear that something went wrong during the regeneration process and it wasn't the Doctor, fear that he was actually one of his enemies and the real Doctor was in danger.

He looked slightly crest-fallen at her request.

"I saw you, him, change, but I need to know that it's you. That you're the Doctor." She pleaded with him, tears filling her eyes. "I've seen enough since I began traveling with him to know that there are plenty of people out there that would love to kill him and get their hands on Idris." A tear made its way down her cheek. "Please, prove to me that you're the Doctor."

"Very first word I ever said to you." He began gently, walking towards the beautiful barefooted woman. "Trapped in that cellar. Surrounded by shop window dummies... oh... such a long time ago." he looked away for a moment, reminiscing as Seren remembered the moment as well. He looked back at her as he continued, "I took your hand..." to emphasize his point, he took her tiny hand – the gold shimmer still visible along her veins and arteries - in his own, just as he had done when he first explained who he was the day after he blew up her job. Seren looked down at their joined hands for a brief moment before looking back up at him. "I said one word... just one word, I said... 'Run'."

"It is you." Seren said in relief, letting go of his hand and hugging him tightly in relief before pulling back, her hands on his forearms. "Doctor."

"Hello." He said softly, grinning at her once again.

"Oh, Duw." She sighed exasperatedly as he let her go.

"And we never stopped, did we?" He asked as he took off around the other side of the console. She leaned back against the console and watched as he flicked a switch. "All across the universe. Running, running, running..."

"Can we go home?" Seren asked quietly after several minutes of watching him dash around the console.

He stopped suddenly and turned to look at her. He was still by the console but closer to her.

"Do you want to leave?" he asked, just as quietly. "Stop travelling with me? It's your choice, if you want to go home."

"No. I don't want to stop travelling with you." Seren replied, shaking her head. "But Siwan, Aunt Jackie, the others, they don't know that we survived. They might be thinking that we're dead, and we need to at least tell them that we're okay."

"Okay." He said, nodding and turning to the console. "Cancel Barcelona. Change to…the Powell Estate... ah... let's say the 24th of December." He looked at her. "Consider it a Christmas present." Seren nodded, a small smile on her face as she stepped towards the console. He pressed the final button. "There."

He stepped back, tucking his arms under his armpits almost defensively. He believed that she would want to stay on Earth after they landed, and he couldn't deny her that – he knew how difficult it could be for his Companions to accept the regenerations.

"Thank you." She said softly, walking towards him and taking note of the almost defensive posture. "It won't be for long."

"It's up to you if you want to stay there." He told her gently. "With your god-mother, your family, all of them… it's all waiting. Fish and chips, sausage and mash, beans on toast... no, Christmas! Turkey! Although..." he added as an afterthought, "having met your god-mother... nut loaf would be more appropriate."

Seren giggled at the comment and he loosened his defensive posture slightly, his arms lowering. Suddenly, he gaged as the TARDIS shuddered in response.

"Doctor?" Seren asked, looking at him in alarm and grabbing on to the console as the TARDIS shuddered again.

The Doctor gagged again, though much more violently. He grabbed hold of the console as he made horrifying retching noises.

"Uh-oh." He said as he stumbled back from the console.

"Doctor, what's wrong? What happened?" Seren asked frantically.

As he let out a breath, a piece of the golden Time Vortex energy curled out of his mouth and faded away.

"That's Vortex energy." Seren said, pointing to the place the energy faded away before turning to the Doctor. "Why are you exhaling Vortex energy?"

"The change is going a bit wrong and all." The Doctor replied quite calmly before he gagged again and fell to his knees.

Seren ran to him, crouching in front of him and holding him up by the forearms as his face contorted in pain.

"Maybe we should go back to the Game Station." Seren suggested frantically, not knowing what to do to help him. "Let's go and find Jack, he should know what to do."

"Gah! He's busy!" The Doctor replied impatiently, his entire body contorting against her as she helped him stand. "He's got plenty to do rebuilding the Earth!" Suddenly, a lever on the console caught his eye and he looked at it. "I haven't used this one in years." He said as he flicked.

Immediately, the TARDIS shuddered violently, slamming them both against the console.

"What are you doing?!" Seren asked in alarm.

"Putting on a bit of speed!" The Doctor replied crazily, reaching over and pressing another button. "That's it!" He began turning more knobs and flicking more switches as Seren held onto the console as they hurtled through the Vortex. "My beautiful ship! Come on, faster! That's a girl! Faster!" Seren looked at him in alarm as he began to sound violently crazed. "Wanna to break the time limit?!"

"No! Not now!" Seren screamed in panic as they hurtled even faster through the Vortex. She clung to the console as tightly as she could.

"Ah, don't be so dull... let's have a bit of fun!" He exclaimed, slightly nastily and completely crazed. "Let's rip through that vortex!" He pumped his fist in the air when he caught sight of her terrified expression. "The regeneration's gone wrong. I can't stop myself." He told her in a moment of calm lucidity before grimacing in pain. "Ah, my head..." He lowered his head against the console before violently springing up into a standing position again, his voice once again violently crazed as he exclaimed, "Faster! Let's open those engines!"

A bell began ringing rapidly and she looked up in fear, the Doctor ducking around the console.

"Doctor, why's the Cloister Bell ringing?" Seren asked in fear – the Cloister Bell only rang when giving a warning of imminent danger.

"We're gonna crash land!" The Doctor exclaimed, sounding delighted as he appeared next to her.

As she stared at him dumbfounded for a moment, he laughed delightedly as he dashed around the console.

"So then do something so we don't crash land!" Seren yelled exasperated.

"Too late!" He exclaimed, raising his voice in excited hysteria. "Out of control!" He ran around the console, giggling madly. "Oh, I love it! Hot dawg!" He hopped in the air excitedly before going back to the console.

"You're going to get us killed!" Seren yelled.

"Hold on tight, here we go!" He said, meeting her eyes across the console – he was grinning madly, and she looked completely scared. "Christmas Eve…!"

They held tight as they hurtled through the Vortex.