A/N: I seem to have lost my PB-inspiration again. I'm searching for it, just so you know. In the meantime, here's a series of Doctor Who-oneshots. It will consist of seven short oneshots, all centered around outtakes from the absolutely brilliant song "Out on the Town" by Fun. Ten-centered, but will mention Ten's companions. Will post one part per day, so prepare for a week of Doctor Who.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or the lyrics to "Out on the Town".

1. The Important Thing

I set all my regrets on fire
'Cause I know I'll never take the time
to unpack my mistakes and call all of our friends
I figure they would take your side

- Fun.

It had been a good life, the Doctor reckoned. Well, mostly. If you didn't count all the sad things. Rose in the parallel universe, Martha leaving, Donna forced to forget. But everything was fine now. Rose had him, a version of him by her side and a man who was her father in her life again. Martha had a mission and a man. Donna lived and had gotten married. Everyone would live happily ever after.

Except for him.

The regeneration energy shot through him, the excess lighting him on fire. The end was near, again. He would fade, while his missteps and misfortunes lived on, no matter how happy the ending. Rose would still be stuck in the wrong universe. Martha would still remember the mess he made that forced her to leave. Donna wouldn't remember him at all. How did they not hate him? How had he not turned into a cautionary tale, something parents scared their children with?

For all his efforts, he was still a bad influence. The Oncoming Storm. The Destroyer of Worlds. The Doctor. Always messing about, never quite closing all the wounds. He hoped that whoever came after him, whoever he became, would be a better man. Less mistakes, less mayhem. A new Doctor. The eleventh time's the charm.

His bones ached, split and healed. Something new grew inside him while he shrank away, fading into the collective consciousness of all the Doctors before him. He thought once more of them, of Rose and Martha and Donna. The most unlikely trio to ever save the world. A shopgirl, a doctor and a temp. Worlds across the stars and through time sang songs of them, remembered them. That was the most important in the end. They deserved to be remembered.

He would, after all, live on for a long time to come.

A/N: Reviews are better than regenerations.