Yuna was young, no older than seventeen, and she was alone on the streets. She looked much older than she really was, so no one ever questioned her entering stores alone and staying out late at night. Life had not been forgiving to her at all, and it could be seen in her jaded grey eyes.
She was leaning against the brick exterior of a furniture store that had long since been abandoned. Her old shoes reflected this same neglect, as did the backpack that she had patched together with duct tape.
It was a cold afternoon, and she was hunched over her one belonging that remained in one piece- a notebook. Its pages were blank, even though she often got the urge to fill them. Nothing seemed quite worthy of the smooth cover's protection. Even she didn't have that luxury- something to protect her.
She looked up from the light blue lines of the paper as a shadow crossed over hers, blotting out the sun. The thin, blond-haired man in front of her wore a dusty coat and celery on his lapel. He smiled knowingly at her and hesitated before beginning to walk away.
"Are you going somewhere?" Yuna said before he had taken two steps. She sensed a warmth behind his eyes that she hadn't felt in years. She suddenly desired nothing more than for him to stay within her sights. A hint of desperation leaked through her voice.
The man stopped and turned again to look at her. "Yes," he said bluntly. "Are you meaning to come along?"
Yuna tilted her head slightly, trying to evaluate his intentions. "Would you permit such a thing?"
"Well, I rather think you'd like my destination, and I'm sure you'll be welcome there." He held out his arm, inviting her to come nearer. "I'm the Doctor, by the way," he added with a smile.
Yuna lifted her backpack up from the pavement and placed her notebook inside. She slung the bag over her shoulder as she stepped forward. "My name is Yuna," she said softly. "It's good to meet you, Doctor."
Yuna looked up from the enthusiastic scribbles in her weather-worn notebook and smiled at the Doctor, whom she had come to know so well. He adjusted the controls on the console and smiled back at her.
Peri, the Doctor's other companion, was still off in her room getting dressed. The Doctor never seemed to care about Peri's clothes and Yuna never understood why she bothered. "It's the heart behind that frilly blouse that he cares about, silly," she'd say to Peri. Peri would return with some comment about self-confidence.
"Are we going somewhere?" Yuna asked, knowing full well that the Tardis was always destined for someplace extraordinary. She just liked to hear the Doctor's reply.
"As always, the coordinates are set for adventure, Yuna." He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped a smudge from the console.
A distorted echo of the engines resounded through the room suddenly, and the Doctor looked up worriedly. Yuna shoved her notebook in her backpack and stood- ready for anything.
"What's wrong, Doctor?" she asked.
"T-that's the sound of the Tardis engines," he said. His brow was furrowed and his sunny smile had inverted.
"Well, of course, but why is it doing that?"
"It's not. Not this one anyway. There's two of our Tardises landing." He pulled the lever that activated the scanner.
"Two of our Tardises? What do you mean?"
"Look."
On the scanner was the image of a police box. It was much older looking than the Tardis, but aside from the dust and scratches the two boxes were nearly identical.
"There's our other Tardis." The Doctor gestured to the box on the screen with a grimace. "It seems a future me has decided to pay us a visit."
The door of the other police box opened slowly and a curly brown-haired man in a green Victorian suit stepped out. He looked sadly at the Tardis before coming up to the door and knocking. The Doctor pulled a lever on the console and the door opened for the strange man.
The man had a very grave expression as he stepped over the threshold of the Tardis. He looked directly at Yuna and swallowed, attempting to conceal the lump that was forming in his throat. He glanced to his left at the Doctor and then back at Yuna.
"Yuna," he said with a slight crack in his voice, "you need to come with me." His already grave expression deepened and Yuna thought she glimpsed a tear in his eyes.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"I'm the Doctor; a future version. I came to tell you that your time with this version of me," he gestured to the Doctor in the cream coat, "is ending."
Yuna looked frantically between the two Doctors and fixed her eyes on the one she was familiar with. "I don't understand," she said. "Why must I leave?"
"Because you did," the brown-haired Doctor said. "And because the days ahead of me," again he gestured to the other Doctor, "are nothing that you'll want to go through."
At this, Yuna's Doctor, who had been hunched over the console, stood with an anxious expression. "If you are me, then tell me what I'm thinking of," he demanded.
"Well, firstly, you're scared to death of what's coming. Don't worry, it's not as bad as you think," the new Doctor began. "But the object you're thinking of is the notebook Adric used to calculate the coordinates to E-Space."
The blond Doctor leaned against the console again, this time using it as a crutch. Yuna looked curiously at the new Doctor and lifted her finger to ask a question. "Why do you look different?"
"Whenever I am about to die my body undergoes a process called regeneration. It allows me to heal myself and continue living, but I have a new body."
Yuna felt like a bag of bricks had been thrown at her chest. "When you're about to... but that means..." she looked at her Doctor and tears welled up in her eyes. He was still leaning against the console. Fear was in his eyes, but it was nothing compared to his sadness.
Yuna threw her arms around his middle and buried her face in his knit jumper, almost throwing him against the wall. "I don't... want to go," she sobbed.
His jumper felt warm and soft against her wet cheeks and she realized that she'd never feel that again. She knew the Doctor, and she knew that once he found an outfit he liked he stuck with it until it deteriorated. This new Doctor would wear this Victorian outfit for ages, and she would likely never feel the warmth of his jumper ever again.
After a reassuring pat on the back, she managed to pull herself away, and she grabbed her bag. "No time to lose," the new Doctor said as he escorted her away.
A few minutes later Peri came into the console room. She took one look at the Doctor and decided that either her new dress was the most horrible thing he had ever seen or someone had died. She took another look around the room and frowned.
"Where's Yuna?"
Yuna clutched her backpack tightly against her chest and stared gloomily at the bobbing blue column of the console.
"I haven't died," the Doctor said. "Not really, anyway. I am the same man."
"Mostly," Yuna whispered. "But you have changed. You've had many experiences since two minutes ago that I was not there for. You're the same man, but not the same soul. Enough of you has changed for me to feel a profound sense of loss."
Yuna glanced away from the console at the Doctor, who resembled a shamed puppy as he stared at his shoes. "Did it hurt?" she asked.
"Sorry?"
"When you regenerated. When he died." Yuna half expected the Doctor to look hurt by her last statement, but his expression did not change.
"A little. I've regenerated more than once since then, you see, so it's hard for me to remember."
"Why didn't you come for me sooner?"
"You wouldn't have gotten along well with the other versions of me. They could be harsh or manipulative at times, and they certainly wouldn't have been as soft and... understanding as you'd prefer. Right now is the first time that I've felt I could care for you properly."
Yuna's lips spread into a thin line as she evaluated the worth of the Doctor's words. "All right," she said. "Can I hug you? I'm missing that old sweater of yours already; I'll need to get used to your new clothes."
The Doctor held out his arm, gesturing for her to step closer. Yuna placed her backpack on the floor and hesitated before wrapping her arms around his middle. She snuggled her face in his chest and realized that his silky vest wasn't absorbing her tears like her old Doctor's sweater had. The tears came quicker now, and all the Doctor could do was pat her shoulder.
Yuna woke up during the night in the remains of her old room. The bed frame was the same but the mattress and blankets had been replaced. The furniture was rearranged but apart from that all was the same.
She had been disturbed by a quiet click of the door. The Doctor had sneaked in and out of her room to place a soft object by her face. Instinctively, she clutched the object and pulled it closer to her.
Knit.
The object was soft, and knit, and familiar. Half-conscious, she lifted her head and spread it over her pillow. She snuggled her face in it's warm texture and her eyes shot open as she realized what it was. It was one of her Doctor's cricket jumpers. It still smelled faintly of linseed oil.
