The Doctor needs the Rain.

It had been so many years. So many long, long years. Nine hundred and twenty years old, he was. And he was still young. Regenerated ten times. He rather liked this face. Bit foxy. His last face had been so . . . cheeky.

Well, tonight, he was on a planet. Some far off planet, in a different galaxy, in a different time. Never had anyone but her. He wasn't the last of the Time Lords anymore. But he was still so alone. This planet, it was always sunny. Never snowed, never hailed, never rained. Was never dark. It's five suns kept the whole place in the light. He was so surrounded by light. So why did he feel so in the dark?

Never had anybody but her.

"Doctooooor . . . Doooooooooooooctoooooooooooor . . ."

He whirled around. What the heck? He shook his head, turning back to the console of the TARDIS. Now where was he? Oh, s'right. In the dark. Such a fascinating planet, Zion. Means 'Light'. But in Gallifreyan, it meant 'Loneliness'. He didn't particularly like this planet. Gave him a bad feeling, it did. Something odd . . .

"Doctor . . . Doctooor . . . Doctoooooooooooooooor . . ."

"Will you quit that?!" he snapped at the TARDIS. He figured that she was making the noise.

"It isn't me."

He blinked. Not the TARDIS? Oh, God, he was getting old. The Time Vortex must be driving him insane. He shook it off, instead making his way slowly up the spiral staircase. What greeted him was the familiar hallway with four bedrooms. The first two a guest, the third his.

And the fourth . . .

That room was hers. Rain's. Or, the Rain. That was her title, at least. "The Rain."

"Tears don't fall, Doctor. They rain."

Now he knew he was hearing things. Rain had said that many years ago. Years before she left. But all the same, she was gone now. No use sittin' there, feelin' sorry for himself.

"Doctor . . . Doctor, can you hear me?"

He couldn't listen to it anymore. It'd drive him mad. So, instead of staring at the fourth door for hours on end like he usually did, he opened his door and retreated inside. Usually, he'd stay up 23 hours a day and do console repairs, but ever since she'd left, he didn't quite feel up to it. He'd spend two hours asleep, then three, then four. He was almost up to a regular human's sleeping pattern of eight hours. He'd never slept that much before. Well, he had. Right after the Time War.

But then came Rain. Sweet, delicate, fragile Rain. Defenseless, little Rain. She couldn't fight for herself. Or, well, so he had thought. She packed a punch harder than a boxing champion on Zigarshee. She was little, she was sweet, she was delicate, and she was fragile, but she wasn't defenseless.

It was hard to forget her. The last Time Lady alive. She made such an impact. She loved to sing, you know. She sang all sorts of things. She particularly liked 21st-century music. He even remembered a few songs.

"Even Angels Fall." "I Hate This Part." "Never Too Late." Oh, and "Nobody's Home."

She sang more than those four, but he couldn't recall the rest of them. She had a brilliant voice, Rain did. She came from a family who loved music. Just adored it. She used to have a little, er, player in her room. Sleep with the music on all night. Couldn't live without it. She used to claim she heard songs in her head. Crazy as the Master, she was.

But he kind of liked it. He wondered how on Earth his parallel self had found her. He remembered it perfectly, how he'd come to meet Rain. His parallel tenth incarnation had appeared in the TARDIS, with the unconscious Rain. Said he'd found this gap in time to give her to one of his other selves. Told him to take good care of her, that she was a Time Lady. He was crying, the parallel Doctor. Didn't want to leave her. So he gave her to the other Doctor. Said he'd done somewhat of the same with Rose.

He'd never quite figured out who Rose was. Rain couldn't remember. Or, she wouldn't tell him. All she could remember is that she was a Time Lady, and she'd been traveling with his parallel self. Didn't know anything else. She'd cried for days after she became conscious. Somehow, she knew he wasn't her Doctor. Because he was only on his ninth incarnation. Her Doctor was on his tenth. She didn't want anything to do with him, at first. Even though she knew that he would soon become just like her Doctor, she wanted that Doctor. Not him.

She'd claimed she was alone now. That when she was apart from her Doctor, they were both alone. There was no one else. She said she needed to get back to her Doctor. Before it was too late. She didn't like what the TARDIS had told her.

"The gap has closed."

Oh, she was mad. And miserable. She felt so alone. It took her four months just to accept that she was stuck here, with another Doctor. And then three more months to trust him. Then one month to come out of the TARDIS. Then two months to fall for him.

He thought he knew why she started to trust him. Because around the end of the seven month period, he regenerated. And she seemed inclined to act better. He guessed that she knew what his parallel ninth incarnation had been like, and she didn't trust his ninth form. But she trusted his tenth. Oh, she just about trusted him with her life when he was his tenth incarnation.

And he'd screwed it all up. He was still his tenth incarnation. But there was a little difference. He felt more compelled to show her that he cared. In that fact, he'd fallen for her. It was okay, though. They were both Time People. They could sped the rest of their lives with each other. They were the last of the Gallifreyan race. But they could rebuild it. One generation at a time.

"Doctor . . . my Doctor . . . I'm coming . . . I'm coming back . . ."

That voice interrupted his thoughts. That annoying little voice that wouldn't leave him alone. It was Rain's voice, but it was an echo. Like a ghost, or an old recording. And it was irritating. Never stopping, but always saying something different. It was driving him bonkers.

"Doctor . . . Doctor, I'm almost here . . ."

The Doctor sat down on his bed. This voice was crazy. 'I'm almost here'? No way. Rain was long gone. She'd never come back. Though, he wouldn't mind if she did come back. It'd make his day. He shook his head, taking the water from his bedside and taking a drink.

A knock on the door.

"Doctor? Are you there? It's me, Rain."

And he promptly spit out the mouthful of water. That was not a recording. That was a voice. A real-life voice. And the knock? There's no way the TARDIS could imitate Rain's knock. She had a specific tune of the knock that only she could do. He knew. He'd tried to imitate it and he'd failed. The TARDIS had tried too, and she'd failed. Well, time to prove that this was the TARDIS, once and for all.

"Come, er, in."

The door opened. And the Doctor couldn't believe what he saw. That was not the TARDIS, that was Rain. Standing there, flesh and blood, with the time vortex in her eyes, just like every other Time Lord or Lady. But, that was impossible, right? Rain was stubborn. She'd never come back.

"Doctor, you have water all over yourself." Rain laughed, like a bell ringing. Rain's laugh, alright. Definatly Rain's laugh.

Rain's black hair, with that white streak in her right bang, Rain's blue eyes, and Rain's pale skin. This was Rain. This was definatly Rain. There was no doubt.

Rain saw the look on his face, and her smile fell. She knew what she had to do now.

"I'm sorry." she said. "I shouldn't have run off like that. I would've never done that to . . ." She trailed off, but he knew what she was going to say. Him. Her Doctor. "I should've never done that to you."

He looked guilty now, not looking her in the eyes. He'd been the one to push her too fast, even though he knew she was still getting over the loss of her Doctor. Rain frowned, making her way through the space junk in his room and sitting beside him.

"Hey, it's my fault, too." She'd always been good at guessing what he was thinking. She was almost always right. Well, sometimes.

"It hurt." Now she hadn't been expecting that. The Doctor got hurt? No way. "I thought you weren't ever going to come back."

Rain frowned again. "It took me a long time to find the TARDIS, what with you jumpin' all over the place."

That seemed to get a smile out of the Doctor. "Sorry."

"Eh, no problem. Bit of time and space travel, tryin' to find your skinny-space-boy butt. All a lot of fun."

"Was that sarcasm?"

"No, not at all." Rain said. "And I spotted you on a planet once. I was still angry, so I didn't aproach you."

"How did you know it was me?"

"I can recognize your pretty-boy hair from galaxies away."

"Pretty-boy?"

"Yes, pretty-boy." she said. "Oh, come on, have you seen your hair?"

"Yes, and I very much like my hair."

Rain smiled. "I like it, too." She kissed his cheek.

The Doctor looked startled. Rain must have been out of her mind. She never so much as came near him with a loving comment. Let alone a kiss. What was going on with her? The look in Rain's blue eyes told him that she was fine, not crazy. And she was needy. She needed him. She needed that familiarity, that warmth.

"Can I tell you something, Doctor?"

"Hm?"

"I've decided something. Took me a while, you know. But I've decided that 'my' Doctor isn't in another universe anymore."

"Are you saying he's dead? Your Doctor?"

"No. What I'm saying is . . . 'my' Doctor is right here. Next to me. Looking at me with that daft smile and that pretty-boy hair."

"You really have lost it. I'm the other Doctor. I'm not your Doctor."

"You're my Doctor. You've been my Doctor since the other one dropped me off in this universe."

The Doctor was stunned. Was she raving mad? That smile was so genuine, but come on. He was her Doctor? She was raving mad. She was literally insane. Rain would never act like that. How many years had it been since she'd gone and left? 10, 20? A lot could happen in twenty years.

"What's gotten in to you?"

Now, he didn't mean to say that. And when he saw the look on Rain's face, he deeply regretted it. Not something you say to the only Time Lady left in this universe.

And Rain frowned. He hated it when she frowned.

"Um, can you just pretend like you didn't hear that?"

Rain stood up. She didn't answer him. He didn't believe her. She'd figured he wouldn't. She just wanted to tell him. Not that she'd figured he, that traveling, skinny, pretty-boy, Time Lord, was going to believe her.

It had been worth a try though.

"Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend, Somewhere along in the bitterness, And how could I have stayed up with you all night, Had I'd known how to save a life?"

"How to save a life? Rain, what do you mean?" He stood, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"How am I going to save their lives without you, Doctor?" she asked. "The Time Lords and Ladies live on, but only if we can save them.I can save them, but if you don't feel the same way, I can't do a thing."

"Rain, what are you saying? I don't understand." That was something new Usually, he understood. He always understood. "Rain, answer me this: Do you love me? Or do you love my parallel self?"

"I loved him. I love you."

"Really? Are you lying, Rain?"

Rain turned around in a flash, hot tears on her cheek.

"I'm not lying, and you know it! You know, I think I understand now, Doctor. That's how people get hurt. Loving someone, but ending up trampled on by them. I understand now. And I'm so sorry I hurt you." she said. "I think it's time for me to leave."

"No, Rain!" he exploded. "You are so thick sometimes! I don't want you to leave, you stubborn girl!"

He didn't know why, but Rain laughed. And he looked at her like she'd gone mad. She just kept laughing.

"Me and my big mouth. Now I've gone and broke her."

"I'm not broken!" Rose exclaimed. "It's just . . ."

"It's just what?"

"It's just . . . you're so cute when you're angry!"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"You're mad."

"I am not! You are!"

"I'm not mad!"

"No, you're cute! You and your skinny, pretty-boy face!"

The Doctor laughed.

"Why thank you. I enjoy being handsome."

Rain hugged him. 'I'm gonna get a paper cut,' she thought, giggling. When she let go, the Doctor shook his head, and kissed her, sweetly and hard.

It's time. Time for the Time Lords to go on. Come on, love. It's time to start walking.

Okay, that was pure randomness, but this is set between...well, technically, "One Last Dance" is the prequel in this series, "What Comes Around, Goes Around" is the sequel. I haven't actually started the original. But the series is called "13". I have no idea what I'll call the original. So, if you liked this, go and follow "One Last Dance" and "What Comes Around, Goes Around".

This has been 2,598 words. Including these.

Panda, out!