My thoughts on how the Doctor will regenerate. Disclaimer: As much as I'd love to, I do NOT own Dr Who or-sadly-David Tennant.

It was a quarter to midnight, and the streets were strangely busy. Well, not that strangely if it's New Year's Eve. Still, the gathered masses, the giggling, excited children and the even more excited adults didn't notice the blue police box suddenly appear on the street corner with a roar, or the tall, slim man and the small, old one step out of it and walk up the street. The old man was grinning.

"Thank you so much, Doctor." He grinned. "Seeing planets and stuff is completely awesome, but even I have to come home to visit the family on New Year."

"It's alright Wilf. New Year is one of the best times of the year; you know, out with the old and so on..." The Doctor smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He'd lost so much in such a short time-his friends, his family, Rose...

But he halted his thoughts and separated himself from his emotions, so the mental pain left him. He was rather mastering that now; he'd had to do it so many times it was as simple as shutting a door. Speaking of doors, he thought, stopping beside Wif's home, he ought to be going through this one soon.

Wilf's home.

Donna's home.

Shutupbrainshutupbrainshutupbrain...

He banged loudly on the door to distract himself. Wilf looked at him anxiously.

"You alright?" Noting the concern in the man's voice, the Doctor turned to him.

"Fine, fine." He said hastily. Wilf drew out a key-"I should have thought of that!" Groaned the Doctor-and let themselves in.

Four knocks.

He'd knocked four times on the door.

Sylvia Noble hurried down the stairs. When she saw the Doctor, she let out a small scream.

"Why did you come here?" She hissed at him like a viper. "You said if Donna remembered-"

"I thought she'd already gone with her friends!" Wilf cried.

"She's up in the bedroom!"

"At the end, you will knock four times."

The Doctor's hearts almost stopped.

"I've gotta go, Wilf," He gabbled, interrupting their bickering and reaching for the door handle. "I'll come back when-"

"Mum, couldn't you have told me that we had guests?" A redheaded woman dressed only in a fluffy white towel walked down the stairs.

"DONNA, DON'T COME DOWN!" Sylvia shrieked.

"Too late now Mum." Donna huffed, looking up. "I've already embarrassed myself, so-" She saw the Doctor. The Doctor froze. He couldn't do anything but watch as recognition dawned in her soft brown eyes.

"Doctor..." She murmured. She winced suddenly.

"Nonononono!" The Doctor gabbled, desperately-vainly-trying to stop the damage. "I'm John Smith, remember? JOHN SMITH!"

"Oh, Doctor." Donna's eyes were full of sympathy as she stretched out her hand and pressed her hand against his cheek. His eyes were dark, wary. "You lost her. I'm so sorry I-" She gasped and crumpled. "My head!" The Doctor darted forward and caught her as she fell, laying her gently on the floor.

"What are we going to do?" Wailed Sylvia. "She glared at the Doctor. "This is your entire fault, if you hadn't-"

"It's not the Doctor's fault!" Said Wilf desperately. "And besides, he can fix it, can't you, Doctor?" He turned to the Doctor, his eyes pleading with him to not to say what he knew he would say: that there was no hope, that Donna was dying from being part human part Time Lord and that they could only watch her die.

The Doctor watched Donna, trying to avoid Wilf's pleading gaze. Her breath was coming out in short, quick gasps, her forehead wrinkled in pain. It was slightly awkward because Donna's towel had fallen off, but because of the circumstances no-one particularly cared.

Could he do this?

He could.

He had to.

The only solution.

"There is a way." Wilf looked surprised, but quickly covered it. He turned to Sylvia. "See? I told you he could fix it!"

The Doctor leaned over Donna. It was now 1 minute till Midnight. Outside, everyone was counting down the seconds.

59...58...57...56...

"I'm sorry Rose." He whispered softly. Donna's eyelids fluttered.

"I'm not Rose, you idiot!" She gasped.

"I know." The Doctor said simply. And he kissed her.

To Donna, it was the best kiss in the world. As she kissed him back, she felt the pain falling away from her, and a heavy tiredness swooping upon her. But she wasn't going to give in to it yet-she was going to enjoy this while it lasted.

To the Doctor, it took all his concentration not to pull away. Every thread of energy being pulled into him hurt more than anything he'd ever known, even a broken heart, but he kept a ghost of Rose in front of him, kept the feel and touch of her in his mind until he could almost kid himself that it was Rose he was kissing, and that she wasn't stuck in a parallel version of Earth with a similar version of him...

The Doctor pulled back, panting for breath. His lungs ignited and several nuclear missiles went off in his head as he lay on the carpet, trying to breath.

25...24...23...22...21...20...19...

"What's going on?" Shrieked Sylvia.

"I don't know." Wilf crouched down by the Doctor. "Doctor, what did you do?"

"Stay...back..." The Doctor managed to choke. He staggered to his feet, holding onto the banister of the stairs to support him. He felt the regeneration energy rising inside him...

10...9...8...

...And he turned to Wilf, holding it back. "Sorry, I needed to tell you something..."

5...4...3...

"Oh forget it." The Doctor sighed.

2..1...YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Doctor regenerated.

Fireworks fizzed and crackled outside, but they were tea lights compared from the brilliant golden energy wrapped around the Doctor. As Wilf and Sylvia watched, the Doctor's sharp features shifted, vanished...changed...

And when the last of the regenerative energy died away, the Doctor that wasn't quite the same Doctor turned to Wilf and Sylvia and smiled an almost similar smile.

"I've remembered what I was going to say!" He grinned. "Happy New Year!"

And he collapsed.

There was a silence. Then-

"DID NO-ONE EVEN BOTHER TO COVER ME UP? THERE'S SOME DIRTY PERV STARING IN THROUGH THE WINDOW, FOR CRINE OUT LOUD!"

Yeah, yeah, I know it isn't that good. But still, please review!