I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters

"New teeth," he mused, running his tongue along the unfamiliar structures in his mouth. "That's weird. Now, where was I? Oh, that's right," he gave his Rose a big smile, hoping she'd see some of him in it. "Barcelona."

He watched her. Gauging her reaction from inside his new body, his new personality, his new mind. But not with new emotions.

Rose, his Rose, was terrified. She thought he was a monster, a transmat, or a body swap. But not him. It's me, he wanted to say. I'm still me, just with a different face. Rose, I love you it's me. Still me. But he didn't say any of that. Instead he took stock of his new body parts, trying to get a reaction out of her, a scream, a laugh, a smile, a frown anything but that horrible look of horrified shock.

Don't be afraid, Rose, he wanted to scream it. Don't be afraid, not of me, never of me. Please. Instead he babbled something about he didn't even know what. Then he got an idea.

"I said just one little word," he whispered, her hand so warm and wonderful in his. "Run."

"Doctor," she asked, and everything in him jolted, electricity firing through his entire being. His name, his name on her lips, lips that were begging him to be telling her the truth. Begging him to be the Doctor. And how badly he wanted to prove that he was.

He ran around the console, pressing things, saying something he wasn't even thinking about, something about her mother. It caught his eye like a flash out lightning, brief and beautiful. Instantly she had his full attention.

"Was that a smiled?" he asked, unable to keep the delight out of his voice. She frowned and looked at the floor.

"No." she said. He felt joy rise up in him like a bubble.

"You smiled," he sang, teasingly.

"No it wasn't." she insisted. Now he was becoming desperate. When they landed, was she going to leave him? Was she going to run away and never come back to him? Was he going to have to be alone again? He didn't think he could take it, not now. Not when he'd finally worked up the courage to kiss her.

"Oh come on, all I did was change," he was grasping at straws now, anything and everything that might keep her from leaving. "It's not like I- ah!"

Pain spilt him and he could feel himself slipping. Panic slipped into his veins like snake venom, because he knew what was happening. He needed to get Rose to earth, now. He was truly babbling now, not in control of his words or his actions, jumping around, only knowing that he needed to go faster, get her to earth before he went into the coma. He couldn't focus on his hands or his feet, even his thoughts were blurry and vague.

Only one thing could he truly see. Rose's fear and horror were blatant, written upon every corner of her face, her eyes brimming with tears. He was doing this. He was doing this to her, to the one he loved. Wasn't that always how it went though? He got close to someone and it destroyed them. Only this time, Rose would be running away, far away, until she was so far from him, he could never hurt her. With that much fear in her, how could she possibly want to be anywhere near him?

And with that, as they hurtled towards Earth, the Doctor felt both his hearts shatter into broken dust.