TITLE: CHANGING TIME

PAIRING: Ten/Sarah

RATING: Teen

PROMPT: At the end of End of Time, the Tenth Doctor doesn't regenerate…

'Mum!' Luke Smith called, running for 13 Bannerman Road. Sarah Jane came flying out of the house. 'It's him, it's the Doctor!'

Sarah looked and saw the Doctor's long brown coat retreating towards the TARDIS parked on the corner. The Doctor turned and looked at her. She looked at Luke. 'Tell Mr Smith to activate emergency protocol five. Quickly.' Glancing both ways, she took off down the street after the Doctor.

'Sarah, you need to go back home.'

'Something's happened, I can tell. Let me help you.'

'Sarah—' he started again, then looked into her eyes and saw the determination there. With a silent nod, he opened the TARDIS door and ushered her in. Once they were inside, the Doctor walked up to the console and put his hands on the controls, bowing his head. He took a deep breath, grimacing in pain. 'Regeneration energy building up. Not sure how long I can control it.'

Sarah nodded as she stepped up next to him, putting a hand on his arm. 'What can I do?'

'Why?' He turned to look at her.

'Why what?' She took in his expression, a mix of pain and loss. 'You shouldn't be alone, Doctor. I've seen how you are after a regeneration.'

He turned and wrapped her in a hug, holding her close as if their lives depended on it. 'Thank you. But you just walked into the most dangerous room in the universe. Regenerations are much more explosive since the War.'

'So I'll take cover. I'm going to help you pick up the pieces. That's what best friends do.'

He nodded again, taking a step back away from her. 'Brace yourself, I can't hold it back much longer.'

Sarah took a step back as she saw the glow beginning to appear on the Doctor's hands. As she crossed to the opposite side of the room, the Doctor gave her a small smile and a nod. Sarah watched as an explosion of light surrounded the Doctor. The next thing she knew, a band of energy radiated around the room and knocked her to the ground.

Sarah's eyes fluttered open, the slats in the grates of the TARDIS floor pressing into the side of her face. She pushed herself into a sitting position and moved her jaw around, trying to get the feeling back into her facial muscles. She could see the Doctor's feet on the floor on the other side of the console. Not feeling strong enough to stand, Sarah crawled on her hands and knees around to where the Doctor lay unconscious.

She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair, still just as spiky as it had been. His eyes opened and locked with hers. 'Sarah,' he whispered roughly. 'Am I ginger?'

'Doctor,' Sarah ran a hand along his sideburns, 'you didn't change.'

'What?'

'You didn't regenerate.'

He ran his tongue along his teeth. 'Same teeth.' He brought his hand up to his hair, his fingers feeling along the spikes and the sideburns. 'I didn't change.' He sat up and wrapped his arms around her, practically pulling her into his lap. 'This is wonderful!' He held her close as Sarah's head dropped down to his shoulder.

'The regeneration energy,' Sarah whispered into his shoulder. 'I saw it.'

'I know, but I don't know what happened.' The Doctor could feel her shaking. 'Sarah, what's wrong?'

'Nothing, why?'

'You're shaking.' He wrapped his arms tighter around her and kissed the top of her head.

Sarah slipped her arms around his waist. 'Is it cold in here, or is it just me?'

The Doctor was immediately concerned. He turned her so she faced him and took her face in his hands. 'Oh Sarah.'

Sarah smoothed down his lapels. 'Is something wrong?'

He stood up, pulling Sarah with him. 'Come with me. There's something you need to see.' As she stood up, her legs promptly collapsed under her. The Doctor moved his arm around her waist, supporting her before scooping her up in his arms.

'Oh gosh, I've gotten dizzy,' she let her head fall against the Doctor's chest.

He carried her through the inner door towards the sickbay. 'Don't worry, we'll get this all straightened out, I promise.' He glanced down at her and saw that her eyes were closed. 'Sarah? Sarah Jane? Talk to me.' When she didn't respond, he took a deep breath and walked faster.

Swinging her up onto the bed in sickbay, he looked down and saw she was still unconscious. He tapped lightly on her cheek. 'Sarah, come on, wake up.' He turned on one of the monitors and smiled at the results. 'All right, there's nothing wrong with you.' He took her hand in his. 'That regeneration energy that hit you had some interesting side effects.'

Sarah's eyes fluttered open. 'What happened?' she asked groggily. She turned her head towards him. 'You didn't change.' She smiled, obviously pleased.

He matched her grin with his own. 'Nope,' he replied, popping the "p" at the end. 'But you did.'

Her voice was dark. 'What?'

The Doctor helped Sarah into a sitting position, then grabbed a mirror from next to the bed, holding it up so she could see her reflection. While her features hadn't changed, she looked as if thirty years had disappeared. The few lines around her eyes and mouth were gone and her hair was thicker and fuller with no sign of grey. 'You've regressed, age-wise.'

Sarah stared into the mirror, her hands coming up to touch her own face, disbelieving the evidence in front of her. She sighed deeply and flopped back onto the bed. 'Oh no, not again.'

'Again?' The Doctor raised an eyebrow. 'Sarah Jane Smith, how long have you known that you're not quite human?'

'The Death Zone on Gallifrey.'

'You remember that?'

She propped herself up on her elbows. 'Not only do I remember that, when I came back, I looked ten years younger. Then there was Hong Kong, I woke up in the hospital looking just like I'd gotten home from Aberdeen. And the Dauntless, when I got back to Earth, same thing.'

'Oh Sarah,' the Doctor sank down on the edge of the bed. 'I had no idea. I'm so sorry.'

She sat up on her knees and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. 'I don't blame you, if that's what you think.' She rested her chin on his shoulder and leaned her head against his. 'Doctor, there's no blame in this.' She squeezed his shoulders. 'Do you understand me?'

He turned, and stood up, leaving her kneeling on the bed. 'That's from travelling with me.'

'Or maybe I was always like this. You don't know.' She shifted to hop off the bed and stand in front of him, but a wave of dizziness washed over her. He reached out and caught her to keep her from falling. 'Sorry,' she mumbled. 'Always takes a bit of equalisation when this happens.'

'Sleep, best thing for it,' the Doctor admitted as he picked her up again.

'I can walk, Doctor.'

'Why, when you don't have to.' He looked down at her and grinned. 'I'm going to tuck you into bed and make sure you are stable before I let you out of my sight.'

'Protective much?' she laughed.

'Where you're concerned, yes.'

He made his way towards one of the TARDIS bedrooms. He set her down and made sure she wasn't wobbly before he let her go. 'Why don't I leave you for a minute so you can grab something comfy from the wardrobe and then I'll come back and make sure you're tucked in properly.'

She only nodded, then made her way to the wardrobe as he left, shutting the door behind him.

He leaned back against the door and closed his eyes, his emotions rolling. Yet again, he was forced to acknowledge that he'd inexplicably changed one of his friends. He'd known Sarah for years and yet he'd never known what she went through. It surprised him, but yet, somewhere, in the back of his mind, he had to have known. Some way, some how. He heard her small voice from inside, 'All right, Doctor, I'm decent.'

He walked in to see her standing there, hands on her hips, giving him the look he knew so well. She was dressed in a long flowing white nightdress. It suited her and he knew instantly that the TARDIS made sure she'd found it. He smiled and closed the distance between them, his hands rubbing her upper arms. 'Sarah,' he said with a smile, 'It's time to get you tucked into bed.'

'Why? You said yourself I was perfectly fine. And it's not like this hasn't happened before.'

He nodded, unable to take his eyes away from hers. 'Yes, right. You are. Perfectly fine, nothing wrong at all, nope, not with you. Still, you should rest. It will help with stabilisation.'

'So, what do we do now?'

'I'm going to tuck you in, but first things first.' He took her face in his hands, lowering his face towards hers. 'I've wanted to do this for a long time.' He leaned in, his lips taking possession of hers. Her hands went around his neck, the fingers of one hand running up into his spiky hair. He pulled back to allow her to breathe. 'It's been too long, Sarah.' He slid one arm around her to rub her back as his other hand caressed the base of her neck.

She smiled as she buried her face in his neck. 'I've missed you tucking me in, Doctor.'

He picked her up and in two steps carried her to the bed, easing her down before toeing off his shoes and dropping his jacket in the floor before sliding into bed beside her and adjusting the covers over them. He propped himself up on his elbows, his hands catching in her hair as he leaned over her. He smiled at her, his hearts warmed by the affection he saw radiated there. Bringing his lips to hers, he stopped just short of kissing her. 'My Sarah Jane,' he whispered.

'For always,' she replied before putting her hand in his hair and pulling him down to her.

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