Humans – they wither, and they die. They grow old, and they crumble into dust.
But not Time Lords. Not the Doctor, or Romana. She could have been with him – should have been with him – forever.
It's perhaps his greatest tragedy that she didn't stay.
Even amongst the frantic goings on – taking under his wing Adric, Nyssa and Tegan, trying to defeat the Master – the Doctor still can't stop thinking about her. There's so much going on, that she should be off his mind, should be somewhere in E-Space with K9, where she belongs now – but no. She's in his mind, as beautiful and wonderful as ever.
Romana. Her smile. Her eyes. Her hair, the strands dancing in the sunlight.
He remembers that hair on his neck when they kissed for the first time.
He remembers slowly making love to her and the way she whispered his name.
Romana should have been with him forever.
He wonders what she's doing now. Whether she's thinking of him.
When he regenerates, she's the last thing he thinks of. She'll find someone else, he knows. And maybe he will too. After all, when this is over, when a new man sits up, he won't be himself anymore. Not in the same way. He'll have lost his curly hair and wide grin and fondness for ridiculously long scarves. Somebody else will take his place.
And somebody else will take hers. He fights against that as he slips away, wanting her to be the last thing on his mind.
He'd spare all the time in the world for her. But that's just it – his time is running out.
This shouldn't be ending. Still, the Doctor thinks, at least it ended on her own terms.
It's his greatest tragedy that it ended it all.