Summary: Rose's thoughts after the Doctor regenerates.
Setting: During the Christmas Invasion.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.
Author's Notes: Review. Please review.
Spoilers: For Parting of the Ways, sort of. As in, now you know that he regenerates.
Better With Two
She missed him.
Oh, she missed him. She missed his leather jacket, his manic grin, his big ears that would've looked ridiculous on anyone else but somehow fit him perfectly. She missed the way she could tell him anything. She missed teasing him, joking with him. She missed the way he would brag about his intelligence. She missed the fact that he needed her as much as she needed him. She missed the way he would insult whole species when he got frustrated. She even missed the way he would insult her when she'd done something wrong, calling her a stupid ape but never really meaning it.
She missed him so much it hurt. And it was ridiculous, really, because he was right there, lying on the bed in front of her, just with a different face. He was the same man. He was still the Doctor.
But he wasn't, not really. At least, he wasn't her Doctor. Her Doctor brooded over everything, and he was practically silent compared to this stranger. From what little she'd seen, this man was hyper, and he didn't seem to need her as much.
She hated him for it. She hated her Doctor for changing, for leaving her with this man she didn't know. Mostly, though, she hated this man for not needing her. If he didn't need her, he might leave her. And if she was honest with herself, even though she hated this substitute Doctor for not being hers, she'd rather be with him than stuck on Earth.
So she was incredibly relieved when he wanted her to stay with him still. Even though she didn't know this Doctor yet, she could get to know him, and grow to love him as she had loved his other self.
Because really, it was still better with two.