Author's Notes: I've wanted to write this story ever since first seeing the 2005 season of Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston. It went through many forms and rewrites before becoming what it is now. Chapter Two was originally Chapter One, Chapter Three was Chapter Two (and so on), and I didn't include the Time War and regeneration 'til I just happened to get the idea to do so.
Trivia and In-Jokes: Whovians know that the Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords destroyed Gallifrey, the Time Lords and the Daleks (well, minus the survivors seen in the new Doctor Who series that started in 2005) all in one fell swoop, though we don't know exactly how. What I've described is a little bit of artistic license.
Chapter One: Flashback
"Doctor, run!"
Explosion after explosion ricocheted around them. Shrapnel and bits of corridor rained down. They covered their heads as best they could, but nothing could stop the debris from flying at them at record speeds.
Together, hand-in-hand, the both of them ran for their lives. Dalek voices reverberated through what was left of the Capitol, chanting their always-chilling "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"
Also chilling were the dying cries of the Time Lords. The Doctor staggered every time one of his people was killed, which, in turn, was causing Lisa to stagger as well.
Bruised and bleeding, the Doctor and Lisa ran as fast as they could to where they had left the TARDIS. With the chaos around them it seemed very far away.
Another explosion hit between them, throwing them to opposite sides of the corridor.
"Doctor!" Lisa shrieked, scrambling to her feet and stumbling over to where he'd fallen.
There was a very large gash on his forehead, along with several lacerations on his arms and legs. She was forced to tear strips of fabric from both of their shirts in order to staunch the bleeding. She couldn't concentrate enough to heal him.
"Come on, Doctor, wake up!" she urged, shaking him.
He groaned and his eyes fluttered open.
"Let's go," she said. "Get up, come on. We have to go…"
Slowly, agonizingly so, he stood with her help. They finally made their way to the TARDIS as more explosions shook the building.
With stiff fingers, the Doctor fished the key out of his pocket, but dropped it onto the rubble-strewn floor.
Lisa retrieved it and quickly opened the doors. The Doctor leaned heavily over the console as he punched in the coordinates. They didn't care where they went, so long as it was away from there.
There were more explosions outside the ship, rocking it, throwing Lisa and the Doctor into each other, then to the floor. The TARDIS dematerialized and everything was still.
Once again, Lisa picked herself up and went over to the Doctor. He was deathly still and incredibly pale. The makeshift bandages she'd put over his wounds were caked in blood.
"Doctor…" she said, urgency in her voice. She could feel him slipping away, her senses going hazy. "Doctor! Doctor, wake up!"
The blue eyes opened slowly and looked at her, but they wouldn't focus properly.
"Lisa…" he whispered hoarsely.
She took his hand, holding it tightly against her chest. "I'm here," she said. A familiar feeling was starting to come over her; her entire body was going numb. It was a feeling she hoped she wouldn't have to experience again for a very long time.
Tears started to well up in her eyes. "Doctor, no…" she begged, taking him up into her arms and holding him tightly.
"Lisa…" His voice was so weak it was barely audible, even for her. "I'm so sorry…" His breathing and hearts slowed down almost to the point of being imperceptible. He tried hard to squeeze her hand in comfort, but he had very little strength left. "Lisa…" he whispered, "Lisa…I love you…very much…"
"I love you, too…"
Right then and there in her arms, the Doctor's features morphed and changed. His hair shortened to a fraction of what it had been, his jaw line sharpened a little. His body size, Lisa could feel, broadened in the shoulders, and he might've gained a few inches in stature.
The Doctor lying semiconscious in her arms wasn't the man she'd known and loved. The wounds he'd gotten in the fight were too much for his body to handle. He had regenerated, and now was in his ninth persona.
Lisa sighed as the numbness in her body faded. "Can you hear me?" she asked him, gently running her hand down his cheek. "Doctor?"
He groaned softly, his voice deeper than it had been. He opened his eyes; they were a very bright blue and took a long time to focus on her.
"Lisa…" he said weakly. "They're gone…aren't they?" His voice was more heavily accented now.
Remarkably, their link was still very much intact. She knew he meant the Time Lords. They and the Daleks were destroyed in the explosion that took the ships and all of Gallifrey. There was no one left except for the Doctor.
"I'm so sorry, Doctor," said Lisa, hugging him close.
"It's my fault…" His eyes glazed over with unshed tears and he clung to her arms.
"Shh," she tried to soothe him, rocking him gently like a newborn. "Come on, let's go home. We could do with a rest. Can you stand?"
As always after his regeneration, he needed time to recover. Lisa suggested going home, to her home planet of Alnilam, where she knew they could rest and relax without being bothered. For some reason, the TARDIS never had any trouble landing there.
She helped him stand and supported him as he adjusted the coordinates, then they sat back on the floor and he dejectedly put his head in his hands, breathing unevenly. When the ship had landed, it was dark, so they went to Lisa's house and slept.
During the night, a signal from the TARDIS reached his ears. Lisa was sound asleep, so she didn't hear it, but it nagged at him. Even though he knew he was a little unstable from the regeneration, he quietly slipped out of bed, pulled on his shoes and jacket, and took off in the TARDIS.
End chapter one.
