A cool breeze filtered through the open window, billowing the curtains. In the distance you could hear the sound of frogs croaking and the chirp of crickets. The atmosphere was quite nice for an alternate universe that should not have existed.
Two people laid in the bed. One wandered in the land of sweet dreams, with a smile playing on her lips. The other had his arm draped over the girl protectively. He always slept like this, never truly resting. He always felt he had to be on alert.
Few of the Doctor's enemies had followed him into this universe. There was a glitch now and then- nothing a good machine that goes ding when there's stuff could not fix. Other than that, the life The Meta-Crisis Doctor and Rose lived remained relatively quiet.
As time went by his new humanity became more pronounced. The Doctor now lived a mundane life but even with all his knowledge of his other self swirling around in his head, he could not think of a time when he felt happier. He missed his wife from Gallifrey still, his children, and Susan. Oh yes he missed Susan very much. However, all of them now felt like hazy dreams from another life. Only Rose mattered now. She was his present.
The night wore on and the Doctor whimpered as his mind wandered away to his alternate self. This had happened a few tmes now but the first time it had scared him. Now, he knew shared thoughts was a consequence of being a clone. His consciousness would reach out into impossible places; back to his TARDIS, back to whatever was going on with the 'normal' time line.
Suddenly, the Master's face swam into his mind's eye.
A scream escaped the Doctor's lips and he felt Rose jolt awake. "Doctor? Doctor? Are you alright?" she sounded panicked, but he could not speak, and he could not open his eyes.
'He will knock 4 times'. A voice in his head shouted, and it felt as though he he had electrodes shocking his body. He cried out in pain, flailing violently upon the bed. He gasped as he struggled to breathe.
"It's not fair, there's so much more I can do!" The Doctor yelled out, tears pooling behind his eyes and making them sting. He felt Rose's hand clutch to his. She sounded as though she was a million miles away.
Then the pain stopped. The Doctor shook, as he sat up. "Rose?" He croaked out, clutching at her hands, tears streaming down his face. "What's wrong with me Rose?"
She looked at him, her eyes filled with doubt, but a small smile ended up on her lips. She bit it away by snagging her lower lip between her teeth. "Well I'm no Doctor, but I think you may be having a perfectly ordinary, albeit 'human' panic attack."
The Doctor stared at her, alarmed. "A panic attack? Panic has a form? Where's it attacking me from?" Still delirious, he clutched at himself then, as if trying to pull off an invisible enemy. His heart, his one lonely human heart, felt as though it was going to explode in his chest.
Rose let out a laugh and reached over to turn on the bed side lamp. Golden light cast over The Doctor's frightened brown eyes. His hair was mused from sleep, and tears still pooled on his cheeks. She reached over and wiped the tears away, and kissed his cheek gently.
"Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. Sometimes we get so worried that... all that extra energy kinda just... builds up and then it goes... Kerpow!" To illustrate her point, she opened her arms wide and waved them around.
"So I'm safe?" The Doctor asked, his eyes crinkling as he started to smile, relieved.
"I'm pretty sure," Rose yawned and peered at the clock. It was nearly three AM. "I'm going to get a glass of water, you want some?"
"No, no..." He smiled at her now, as he settled back into bed. "Thank you."
She returned the smile, knowing he was thanking for more than just an offered glass of water. She yawned again and pulled her robe tightly around her.
Once she had gone, The Doctor stared at the window. The moonlight filtered through the curtains. What he had not expressed to Rose was that he was still scared. His only heart felt... broken... and he did not know why.
Then as if on cue, the electrocution feeling returned. He struggled to keep himself from yelling out. His shout came out as some sort of half grunt. His hands clutched, his mind swam, and tears poured out of his eyes once more.
Downstairs, Rose decided to put the kettle on for a cup of tea to calm her nerves. She loved the Doctor, she really did, but she constantly worried that he would never be able to handle being part human.
Once her tea had been made, she carefully brought it to her lips, blowing on the heated cup impatiently. Then her gaze snapped upward when she heard a loud crash above.
"No!" The Doctor shouted. He screaming as if he were on fire. "I don't want to go, NO!"
Rose dropped her glass, fear creeping over her every cell. She did not even flinch when the cup smashed. Her blond hair felt as though it stood on end. "Doctor?" She shouted as she ran up the stairs. "What's happened?"
She nearly slid into the door frame of the bedroom. On the ground the Doctor lay, in a pool of blankets, his whole body shaking and glowing. Because of the light he was emitting, Rose did not notice that the lamp had been knocked over and broken. Without thought, she ran across the floor. Her foot caught on the glass but she did not notice.
"But, this isn't possible!" She sobbed, cradling the unconscious Time Lord's head in her lap. He was limp and unmoving, and yet he glowed, a terrible glow almost brighter than the sun.
'Rose?', he thought, but no sound came out of his mouth. But 'he' had not thought it... his other self...
His eyes snapped open and he looked up at Rose in confusion. He reached his hand up to her lovely face, which was covered in tears. His hand lit up her skin, and it sparkled. He smiled up at her. "It's not... possible..."
"What's not?" Rose asked. "You mean, that you're regenerating? You told me you couldn't do that anymore, you said..."
He rubbed his thumb over her lips and shushed her. He looked up at her with a look she had not seen before. It was as if he had not looked at her her in years. Now he was looking upon her face, desperate to memorize each feature. She breathing became ragged, as tears continued to pour out of her eyes.
"Don't cry Rose," The Doctor said softly, stroking her hair now as he sat up. He continued to glow as if he always did that, and nothing different was happening. "I'm alright, I'm right here..."
"But you said.. 'I don't want to go!' Go where?"
He pressed his lips against hers. As he did, the glowing passed through his lips to her as well. Soon, they were both glowing, their eyes alight, in each other's arms.
"That's not possible..." Rose echoed The Doctor, more tears pouring down her face, and she trembled.
He knew she was now seeing what he could. All his memories from the time he left her in Bad Wolf Bay, fast forwarded in both their minds. Then all the memories they had made after. From their first kiss in front of... well... himself, to their first night home, to their first night making love... their first everything.
"What does this mean?" Rose asked, her hands running up and down The Doctor's back.
"It means," The Doctor began. "That I've regenerated." The glowing light vanished. The pair of them plunged back into the darkness once more.
"No you have not!" Rose said, her eyes searching his face to see if anything had changed. When she was satisfied it had not, she crossed her arms.
"Oh yes... Yes I have. The Doctor has regenerated."
"You mean...? You, in the other universe...?"
"Oh yes."
There was silence between the two of them as they looked into each other's eyes. This continued until the Doctor realized Rose's foot still bled onto the carpet. Dark splotches followed behind her from when she hurt her foot on the lamp. "We should mop that up..." he said, frowning. "Are you in pain?"
It was if he were speaking Latin for all the response he got from her. Her eyes stared wide at him, her mouth slightly open.
"Rose?"
"So you're..."
"I'm what?"
"You're the only... the only 'you'?"
"Well..." He scrambled to his feet, doing his best to avoid the broken glass. He then reached down and picked Rose up, smiling to her. "My consciousness joined together from my time as this Doctor, and the Doctor is still out there, but with a different face, different companions..." He sighed and walked slowly to the door with Rose cuddling into his arms. "But minus all the timey whimey, yes, I am."