What's this? A new story? *gasp* It's been ages, I know! Enjoy, guys.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. Abigail belongs to me.
The Doctor and Abigail raced through the streets of Paris, dodging people left and right. Behind them came the ominous ticking noise they'd grown to dread.
"This is the last time!" Abigail yelled, leaping over a water-filled ditch. "This is the last time we go to medieval France and get attacked by clockwork robots!"
"This isn't medieval France, this is 1723! The medieval period ended in the fifteenth century!" the Doctor yelled back. He nearly plowed into a carriage, only barely sidestepping the vehicle in time. "You're a history student, you should know that!"
"Ancient history!" Abigail yelled back.
"What's the point in studying only a little bit of history when you can study all of it?" If he hadn't been running for his life, the Doctor would have given a derisive snort. "So narrow-minded, you are—"
Abigail nearly tripped over a loose cobble at his words. "OI!" she yelled after regaining her balance.
This time, the Doctor did give a derisive snort. "Don't get all huffy with me Abigail Ainsley, you can't get angry at the truth—" He made to dodge the wigged, masked man who stepped out of a side alley in front of him, when the 'man' turned, driving the spinning blade on the end of his hand into the Doctor's side. The Doctor yelled and fell to the ground, clutching at the wound in his side. The robot—for clockwork robot it was—raised its arm to deliver the killing blow.
"Doctor!" Abigail yelled. She ran at the robot, slamming it into the ground. It whirred furiously as it tried to get back up. Abigail hurried to the Doctor and helped him stand. "Doctor, are you okay—?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine, just get to the TARDIS," the Doctor snapped, putting a hand over the wound. He pushed Abigail ahead of him, feeling blood leaking from between his fingers. It didn't seem serious, but it would definitely require a trip to the TARDIS' medical bay when they got back. Yes. He nodded to himself and stumbled after Abigail, then regained his footing and ran after her, grabbing her hand with his free one when he caught up. Together, they ran through the city, the ticking behind them growing fainter and fainter, even as more blood trickled down the Doctor's side. It was extremely difficult to breathe. Damn, did the blade hit one of his pulmonary tubes? It wasn't impossible, certainly, but that was definitely not good if that was the case. He could feel himself beginning to weaken.
He stumbled again, and Abigail put an arm around him. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, helping him down the street. Behind them, the ticking was starting to get louder.
"Never mind that," the Doctor rasped. "We just need to get to the TARDIS, it's not far now—just one more street—"
The Doctor's fingers tingled, and his hearts jumped. No, not now, not when they were so close. He'd just have to hold it off until then.
"Hold what off?" Abigail asked, panting slightly under his weight. The Doctor realized, a little belatedly, that he must have spoken aloud.
"Never mind, just hurry it up. I need—" He broke off, hissing through his teeth as a sudden flash of pain shot through him. It was starting already?
"Doctor, look, just stay with me, the TARDIS is right here—" Abigail was almost carrying him at this point; not an easy task for her. She propped him against the TARDIS and fumbled with her key to get the door open before half-dragging the Doctor inside. He swatted at her hands and forced himself upright, took two steps toward the controls, and fell face-first onto the floor. Ow.
Abigail locked the door behind them and knelt beside the Doctor, her eyes going huge when she saw the bloody mess that was his side. "You call that nothing?" she cried, pulling off her shawl and pressing it to his wound. "We've gotta get you to the medical bay, that doesn't look good!"
The Doctor rolled his head to the side to look at her. "CPR," he mumbled. "Worked last time."
Abigail gave him a bewildered look. "CP—CPR? For blood loss? Are you mad, or is that the exsanguination getting to you—?"
The Doctor smiled faintly. "Such big words from a little girl," he said, reaching up a shaking hand to touch her face. "Don't ever change, Abigail Ainsley—AUGH!" He shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut when another spike of pain hit him. When he opened them again, he could see his hands were starting to glow.
"Er, Doctor?" Abigail seemed to have noticed as well, because she was eyeing him warily. "You're, er, you're glowing."
"Yes, I am." The Doctor closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, bracing himself for the pain of regeneration. "Stand back, I don't want you getting hurt."
"Getting—? Doctor, what's—?"
"DO IT!" he roared. Abigail leapt to her feet and scurried to stand on the far side of the control room, where she watched him anxiously.
The Doctor took a deep, shuddering breath as the heat began to spread like wildfire. I had a good run, he thought. Saved some people, made some friends. Lost others. But… He smiled. I wouldn't change a thing.
His back arched and he exploded in a golden light. He screamed as every molecule, every atom in his body warped, rearranged, changed.
When it was over, he lay on the ground, gasping. "Well!" he said, turning his head to look at Abigail. "That must've been one of my better ones! Blimey, my voice is high! Abigail!"
The girl's eyes looked about ready to fall out of her head. "D-Doctor?" she stammered.
"Yes, it's me. I have a very. Important. Question." The Doctor gave Abigail a stern look. "Am. I. Ginger?"
Abigail's mouth opened and closed several times before she nodded. "Yes," she said faintly.
The Doctor sat up with a whoop. "YES!" he yelled, punching the air. A lock of hair fell into his face and he held it out for inspection. "Ohh, I'm ginger at last, that's brilliant, absolutely spec-TAC-ular! Blimey, my hair's really long! Blimey, I say blimey a lot! Or is that just the post-regeneration effects? AM I TALKING TOO LOUD?" he suddenly yelled. Abigail nearly jumped a foot in the air.
"Just—just a bit." Abigail took several hesitant steps forward. "Doctor, is it really you? You've… changed—"
"Yes, it's called re-gen-er-aaaaaaay-tion," the Doctor said, hauling himself upright using one of the rails around the central area. "Balance is a bit off, let's see, everything here? Arms, legs, fingers, yes, ten, good—"
"You've… changed… into a woman." Abigail grabbed her hair. "How is this possible?!"
The Doctor looked down. Slowly, she let go of the railing to poke at one of her breasts. "Huh. That's new."
"Why are you a woman?!"
"No, no, nonononono, that's not the real question. The real question," the Doctor continued, patting herself down, "is why wouldn't I be a woman? Hmm?"
"I… don't… know?" Abigail closed the rest of the distance between them. "So, this, this regeneration thing, does it happen a lot?"
The Doctor tried to nod and shake her head at the same time and ended up just causing her head to flop around a bit. "Only if I'm about to die. NOT fun!" she declared, pointing a finger in the air. She stumbled; Abigail barely caught her before she hit the floor. "Oof, I feel like I'm about to—" The Doctor's face contorted before she let out a whooshing breath. A mist of golden artron energy escaped her mouth. "There we go," she mumbled. "Abby, be a dear and help me to bed, would you? I think I need to…" Her eyes were already closing. "...sssleeep." Her words were followed by a soft snore.
Abigail stared down at the woman—the Doctor—on the floor. She'd seen suns go supernova, she'd seen Daleks, she'd seen a clone of herself before, so why should this particular new development be any stranger? Still, she thought, grabbing the Doctor under the arms and dragging her to her room, she certainly had no idea how to react to this.
After she laid a towel on the Doctor's bed, she hauled the Doctor into place, positioning her so her bloody clothes weren't on the sheets. The Doctor mumbled something in her sleep, but didn't stir. Abigail brushed a strand of hair out of the Doctor's face and left, shutting the door behind her. She leaned against it, breathing hard.
After a moment, she dragged a hand down her face. "I need a drink," she mumbled, and headed for the kitchen.
A/N: Yes, my attempt at writing a 'Doctor regenerates into a woman' thing. I'll just go ahead and answer some questions now:
1) I deliberately made it ambiguous as to which Doctor precedes the new one, since it's always going to be subject to change. Obviously, this is just speculation as to how the Doctor and his (her) then-companion would react to such a change.
2) I made the companion an OC to reflect on the ambiguous nature of which Doctor this is.
3) This will be short, just two chapters and an epilogue.
Thanks for reading!
-Dndchk