This chapter is almost entirely exposition and floof.

Also, I am contemplating writing a prequel to this story at some point. One where we get to see Willa's back story that I keep hinting at. Is that something that you would be interested in reading?

Enjoy!

-RainingCoffee


My eyes open slowly. Stars greet me, winking out from the darkness of the sky. I'm…not entirely sure what's going on. My head feels muddled and stuffed with cotton.

Coming from my right is the shuffle of cloth against cloth, and then the Doctor's head pops into view.

"Willa!" He exclaims, relieved smile curling around the edges of his lips. "You're up."

I attempt to talk, but my voice cracks horribly as if I haven't been awake in a while. The Doctor helps me sit up, handing me a glass of water. I drain the glass and the Doctor takes it back, squeezing my hand in response. "You don't have to speak out loud. I'm tuned into you right now, all you have to do is think."

Relief. I still feel muddled and out of sorts. The effort that talking would take seems like far to great a task at the moment. The Doctor's eyes furrow at that, the hand not clasping mine reaches out and stokes down my hair.

I'm touched, but a tendril of amusement manages to sneak its way in. He is such a worrywart.

The scowl on his face deepens. "I have a reason to be worrying."

Gathering as much concentration as I can muster, I try and actually send him something concrete, instead of just stream of consciousness. 'What happened?'

"The process went a bit wonky. Having the time vortex in you doesn't seem to be very conductive for a peaceful regeneration." The Doctor responds.

My neurons fire rapidly, connecting events that I hadn't really cared about when I first woke up. Especially the revelation that I was apparently Gallifreyan. And the fact that I had just regenerated.

"Hey!" He protests as I use my other hand to pull a handful of hair around to see it. Still ginger. It actually happened.

Turning to the Doctor, I only ask him one thing. 'How?'

His face softens. Hand coming up, he gently untangles my hand from my hair. "All I know is that when I scanned you the first time, you came up as Gallefreyan. I thought it was a trick at first. At least until I had a hold of you and you broadcasted your fear into my mind." The Doctor shakes his head. "I did the base scans. Physical attributes, even blood type all came back as Gallefreyan."

I shake my head, digesting that. Vibrating. I remember him vibrating. 'You were so keyed up when you came to see me in the library after you ran the scans. I remember thinking it was weird.' Pausing, I try to think about it rationally instead of emotionally. 'Why didn't you tell me then?'

"Would you have believed me?" The Doctor replies. "It was very clear to me that you were raised as a human. It was difficult enough for you to come to terms with the fact you were even in this universe in the first place." He raises an eyebrow. "Or did I just imagine someone trying to throw themselves out into space?"

'Don't say that like I meant to.' I send him. 'I had no idea it was real, if I had been in my actual universe than I would have just fallen out into a set and not into space.' I shake my head, annoyed that I can't stay on topic. 'I guess there wasn't really a good way to do it though. At least this way proved it without a doubt.' I gesture to my body.

"That's normal. The not being able to concentrate." The Doctor tells me, taking the opportunity to sit down on the bed.

For the first time, I notice the fact he's wearing pajamas. With the observation comes the vague notion that he's been in the pajamas for far longer than he should have been.

The Doctor smiles wryly. "And there's also that. There is a reason that I blocked off the knowledge you have of the show from the other world in the first place, but you pushed yourself far past any type of limit when it comes to that. I was able to repair your barriers, but you were open to the possibilities for a long time. I wasn't able to completely cut you off again so things might fall through every now and then."

"And Rose told me what you said to her and Mickey." He continues, face turning stern. "Proving a point is not worth your health."

'It's not like I knew it was going to tip me over the edge.' I reply, knowing my mental voice has probably taken on a tinge of petulance, but at this point I'm unable to stop it.

The Doctor tilts his head, voice steady. "That's not the point. You need to rest, promise me that you won't tap into it unless completely necessary."

I study him. He looks calm and collected, but I can tell he's still worried. The air around him is practically saturated with it. 'I promise I'll try not to, unless it's completely necessary.' And I am serious. Having blood come out of my nose and my head feel like someone is dancing on it isn't exactly an experience I'm keen to re-visit.

The Doctor relaxes, tension releasing from his muscles. "Good, good. I'll hold you to that."

Suddenly, a thought hits me. I lower my gaze to the ground. Honestly I'm rather ashamed that it hadn't occurred to me earlier. My mental voice comes out rather quiet. 'I'm sorry.'

Confusion radiates off of him. "What for?"

'You weren't supposed to have to regenerate.' I manage to project.

"Oh, that. It's no big deal." The Doctor waves me off. "It wasn't the worst way to die, all things considered."

I shake my head sharply. 'That's not something you should trivialize. You died, Doctor. It matters.'

He studies me, face becoming serious once more. "And how did you expect to survive that, if I hadn't stepped in?"

'I wasn't.' I reply, holding up a hand to stop his immediate anger. 'No, hold on, let me finish. I could feel it, after I talked with Rose and Mickey. I knew I had pushed to far, and that the chances of fixing it were low. With how in tune with everything I was at the time, I could see the variables, and they were not stacked in my favor.'

Sighing soundlessly, I finally look up to meet his eyes. 'It was originally supposed to be Rose. She took in the vortex, and you saved her. I figured that since I already had a rapidly closing in expiration date, I might as well use it for something.' The Doctor looks as though he's about to explode, so I finish up quickly. 'I always felt that you didn't have enough time in that body. It was never fair to you. And I'm sorry, because you still regenerated and it was my fault.'

He makes a noise of frustration. "I don't see how my decision to save you turned into you apologizing to me for me saving your life." Shaking his head, his face turns even more frustrated. "More importantly, you had no idea you were anything other than human. Which means that you had no idea you would be able to regenerate. Which means that you were just going to throw your life away!"

Reaching over, he smacks me lightly on the head. "We need to get some facts straight. I am an adult. You are a child. I made the decision to protect you. There is no need to apologize for that! And for that matter, my life will never be more valuable than yours."

Taken aback, I rub the top of my head as I look at him, eyes wide.

"Willa." The Doctor says, leaning in so that I'm looking him dead in the face. "Do you understand?"

'I-I guess.' I reply, still bewildered by his actions.

"Good." He leans back in satisfaction.

Feeling a little awkward now, I change the subject. 'What happens now?'

He shrugs. "We go on as usual."

Not what I was really asking, but I have a feeling he knew that. 'So, how long have I been asleep?'

"It's been forty three hours, fifteen minutes and twenty seconds since you first collapsed." The Doctor says, face softening. "You're so very young. That, coupled with the stress that the vortex caused, made for a nasty case of regeneration sickness."

'Have you been in those pajamas the whole time?' I think, bemused.

He barks out a laugh. "Not what I thought you were going to lead with." Shaking his head, the Doctor turns serious again. "And nah. They actually aren't even mine. I think they belonged to a bloke Jackie was seeing."

What? Why would he be wearing a pair of Rose's mom's boyfriend's pajamas? My confusion must be clear on my face or something because he just launches into the explanation without me having to prompt him.

"This regeneration wasn't just tough for you, it was a rough go for me as well. I passed out shortly after you did. Then there was an issue to take care of." The Doctor explains.

'Are you okay now?' I ask, squeezing his hand.

He nods, some of his good cheer returning. "Yep! And once I handled the issue, I moved you here and well, you know the rest."

I frown at him. 'You mean to tell me you've been sitting here ever since then?' The Doctor stares at me evenly. 'Doctor! You could have at least taken the time to change or eat or something. Have you even slept?'

"And you called me a worrywart." He mumbles as if to himself, before he raises his voice. "Willa, calm down. Everything is perfectly fine. I wanted to be here when you woke up."

'I understand that, but that doesn't mean you can ignore your own needs Doctor.' I reply. I decided here and now that today will be the start of a new mission, Get the Doctor to take care of himself more.

The Doctor stares at me, for 10, for 20, for 30 seconds before he says anything. "It's strange. Most of the people who travel with me don't even bother to think about things like that. I say I'm fine once and they accept it." He tilts his head to the side. "And then there's you. Little Willa, with a big spirit. You have seen too much of my life to take the first answer as the truth. To be honest, it's a peculiar feeling."

I narrow my eyes. 'Little Willa?' The Doctor's lips twitch but he doesn't say anything. I rewind what he said and some of my insistence dissipates. 'Peculiar? I-I wasn't trying to make you feel bad or anything.' My face flushes, and I practically mumble the next sentence. 'I was just worried.'

"I know." He replies, eyes crinkling with the force of his smile. "I never said it was peculiar in a bad way."

Then we sort of descend into silence. I shift uncomfortably, not really want to talk anymore. But at the same time not really wanting the Doctor to leave.

"How about we read a book?" The Doctor suggests carefully.

I'm not entirely certain why he asked it like I was going to say no. Listening to him read a book sounds like a wonderful idea right now.

His face lights up, and he reaches over for a book on the table next to my bed. Looks as though he was anticipating this. Nudging me over, the Doctor makes himself comfortable on the bed next to me. To ensure I can still talk with him even while his hands are busy with turning pages, he rolls up his sleeve and offers me his arm.

I curl my fingers gingerly around his wrist, and then settle in for whichever story he decides to read.

Hint, it ends up being the Princess Bride.

This body is just at good at telling stories as his last one was. The Doctor always does the best voices, he makes the story come alive in a way that normally only happens if I read a book alone.

We aren't far into the book when the Doctor changes up our normal routine. I'm lying there, leaning into his arm and enjoying the story he's bringing to life in my head, when he nudges me mentally. He inserts himself into the story I've created and adds a bit of detail. I'm confused at first, but the next time he does it I think I start to understand. I add my own embellishment here and there, spring boarding off of the material the Doctor has inserted me.

Halfway through the book, the story is being told entirely through mental contact. The Doctor animates the characters, making them move about, I add background for them to move through.

By the end of the story, I'm completely engrossed by this whole fantasy world we've created. It dissolves slowly, but I don't think I'll forget the feeling of working together with him to make it. It was fascinating.

'That was so cool!' I think to him, squeezing his arm and beaming so hard that I hardly notice how strange it still feels.

"It was, wasn't it?" The Doctor replies, a sneaky smile lurking at the corner of his lips.

Turning my head to clear my throat, my hand comes up as a shield to cover the sound. The Doctor frowns, gently grabbing my hand and placing it back on his arm. "Willa, you need to stay in contact so I know how to help."

'Okay.' I think, bemused again. 'My throat is dry. Is that glass of water still hanging around?'

The Doctor frowns out over at the table, where an empty glass of water stands. "Stay here, I'll go get you one." He pats my hand, then gets up and leaves the room.

Okay, that was weird. I know that things change with regeneration, but I suppose I didn't expect anything to change in respect to me. That didn't seem to be the case though. He was always attentive before when I talked or something, but I don't remember the Doctor being ready to jump up for something at the first sign of me needing it.

Though I wasn't going to lie, it was kinda nice. Anyways, now that he was busy doing something else it was time to check out what I looked like in the mirror. I scooch my way to the edge of the bed and jump down, padding to the bathroom door.

I don't really notice anything is wrong until I'm in front of the sink and it ends up being much higher up than I remember it being.

Whirling around, I look for the ceiling to floor mirror. I find it, and still at sight that greets me. The small waif of a girl in the mirror that's looking back at me can't be me.

I'm almost a full foot shorter than I was before. The Doctor was right, I did have ginger hair but he had failed to mention that it went halfway down my back. A light sprinkling of freckles covered the bridge of my nose, with brilliant blue eyes to complete the picture.

I flush as I realize I've seen those eyes before, on the face of a man who doesn't even look like that now.

A throat is cleared from the doorway. I look over, unsurprised to find the Doctor looking back at me. He walks over, coming to stand behind me in front of the mirror. "Were you actually even thirsty, or did you just want to get me out of the room?" He asks. The question is a bit harsh, but his tone isn't. Like he'd be fine with it either way.

I shift, reaching for his hand which he immediately stretches out to meet me halfway. 'I was thirsty, honestly. And then I figured since I had the opportunity, I would check out what I looked like.' I'm sure my mental tone takes on a more irritated flavor, as the Doctor's lips twitch when I say the next bit. 'I didn't expect to find that I'd shrunk a foot and now look like a ten year old!'

"Regeneration, it's a lottery." The Doctor responds.

I glare at him. 'Says the man who rarely gets a body that isn't under 6 feet tall.'

He brings his unoccupied hand up and waves it at me in an unconcerned way, teasing smile firmly in place. "And some people are better at exploiting it than others."

We are going to play it that way are we? 'Ah yes, that's why you've been ginger for all your regenerations. Because you wanted it so much, and you were so good at exploiting the cycle.' The Doctor pouts. Willa 1, Doctor 0

'No, but seriously Doctor.' I redirect the conversation. 'Why am I a child again?'

The Doctor's pout smoothes out into a soft look. "You've always been a child to me." He must know that that was the wrong thing to say, because he starts rambling through the next bit. "But if you were to be technical it probably has something to do with growth cycles and the fact that your last body wasn't the healthiest. I was trying to get you up to a healthy weight, but you were fighting me on it." A pointed look is thrown in my direction.

I don't really want to get into it, so I ignore that and change the subject. 'But now I can't even reach the sink properly!' I whine as obnoxiously as possible, just to break the ambivalent mood of course.

The Doctor barks out a laugh, hand reaching out and tugging on a strand of my hair. "You're going to be a handful, aren't you?"

'I resent that remark.' I tease him back. 'I've always been a handful. Now I'm just a short handful.'

He rolls his eyes in response, but very pointedly doesn't say anything to deny what I've just said.

Things move fairly quickly then, I finally get my glass of water, and my voice back. After that happens, I shoo him out of my room so he can get dressed properly and I can take a shower.

The Doctor seems hesitant to go, looking back even as I shut the door behind him. It makes me think that I was in a worse way than the Doctor had told me about. It would make sense, he was so very pleased when I woke up.

I go about my usual routine, noting that there were some things I didn't have to worry about doing quite yet. And strangely enough, that I didn't really like the smell of my shampoo anymore, which led to a 5 minute detour of me smelling all the shampoo bottles in the closet next to the shower before I found one I liked again.

Crisis averted, I attempted to wash my unreasonably long hair. I mean, it was nice to look at but it took forever to lather the shampoo into, and even longer to rise it out. Not to mention I had to do the same thing with the conditioner.

Maybe I could convince the Doctor to take me somewhere to get my hair cut?

Speaking of the Doctor, there were several things I noticed that I found strange. Before, I noted that he seemed more attentive now, but that wasn't everything. I was able to piece together, through the faint images I still had in my head, that he looked older appearance wise than he should.

If I remember correctly, he regenerated younger for the specific reason that Rose liked younger pretty boys. Which quite frankly was ridiculous, because anyone besides the Doctor could see that she had liked him just fine as he was. It was the same body I remember him having, just aged a bit. And there was something else, something that I couldn't put my finger on.

Frustrated, I let go of the thought. If it was really important then it would come back to me at some point. Then I busy myself with finishing my shower.

That finished, I go looking for clothes. I wasn't interested in trying to find that one perfect outfit like the Doctor always did, I just wanted something comfy. The Tardis delivered, she always does, by having a pair of leggings and a graphic tee waiting on my bed for me when I make my way out of the bathroom.

I change into the clothes provided, then look around my room awkwardly. I'm not entirely sure what to do now. The Tardis burbles, opening my door and flashing the lights at me. Smiling, I decide to take her up on her offer.

Navigating the Tardis seems easier now, it's almost as if she's being extra helpful now. With the assistance, it doesn't take long to find the Doctor. He's in the wardrobe, which is far bigger than I remember it being on the show. Back when he regenerated into his 7th body it had just seemed like a small room. It seems like he's found his pin stripe suit, and he's in the process of shrugging on the signature hero coat.

I study him, grateful for the opportunity to do so without scrutiny in response. He really is too skinny for words. "You are really skinny." I say out loud, startling him.

The Doctor whirls around, smile forming on his face. "Willa! There you are, I've been waiting for you."

What? I'm about to respond to that, but it finally hits me what I couldn't grasp when I was in the shower. The thing that was bugging me about the Doctor. David Tennant's eyes were supposed to be brown, but the Doctor still had the same ice blue eyes that his predecessor had. The same eyes that I now saw staring at me from the mirror.

A hand waving in my face distracts me from the revelation, bringing my attention to the concerned frown on the Doctor's face. "Willa? Are you not feeling well again?"

"I'm fine." I tell him, but the frown persists. Tentatively, not sure if it's okay now that I have my voice back, I reach out with my hand and share with him what I've just noticed.

His face clears. "Oh, is that all? You had me worried."

I huff out a breath, exasperated. "I told you I was fine." Narrowing my eyes at him, I tilt my head to the side. "You aren't going to be super overprotective of me now that you know I'm Gallifreyan are you?"

"If you want to be technical, I've known you were Gallefreyan since the day you got here." The Doctor responds, but his face softens and he looks away. "I can't exactly help it now. Every instinct I have is telling me that it's what I should be doing." He looks back over to me, then nods down at my hand. The hand that is still holding on to his. "You feel the pull as well. It's something that naturally happens between a child and an adult willing to take care of them."

I pull my hand away from his and stare at it, betrayed. "You're right. I-I didn't even think about it. It just felt like the natural thing to do." I had been enjoying the feeling of being taken care of, it hadn't crossed my mind to wonder why I was feeling that way. Looking up at him, I tilt my jaw in defiance. "I don't want you to feel some sort of responsibility for me just because it's some sort of instinct. And I'll keep my hands to myself in the future."

The Doctor puts a hand on my head and viciously ruffles my hair. "You aren't listening to me. I've known you were Gallefreyan since you've been here. I've felt the pull since then, and yes I'll admit I was a little more open with you than I normally would have been with a general companion, but it wasn't till I got to know you more that I began to allow myself to act that way."

Pushing his hand off of my head, I think about what he is saying. The Doctor was open, if cautious with me at first, but over time that evolved. He would come find me and invite me to read with him, and even from the beginning he would try to make sure I ate properly. Or we would have long conversations about one thing or another. When I started to feel more comfortable, and I knew it wouldn't just be me forcing my company on him, that's when I started to seek him out as well.

I refocus on him in the present. He's patiently waiting for me to come to my own conclusion. I couldn't lie, it would be nice, having someone who was interested in my wellbeing around. But at the same time, we'd been talking about what I wanted the entire time.

"How do you feel about this?" I ask him. "I know you didn't exactly expect for something like this to happen."

The Doctor hums, looking contemplative. "You more than anyone know how damaged I was after the war. Still am, if I'm truly honest." He continues with a wry tilt to his mouth. "I didn't really know how to feel at first, when a child fell into my lap. My people were gone, but in you I found hope that no matter how impossible it seemed, maybe not everyone was dead."

I nod, to show I'm following him, but I don't say anything. I remember it being rare, the Doctor opening up like this and I don't want him to clam back up cause I said something wrong.

"At least that's how it was at first." The Doctor laughs suddenly, smiling. "You even called me out on it. On the way I was looking at you. But then I started to get to know you as a person and not as an idea." He focuses on me, the full force of his attention is like a physical presence. "This is no longer about instinct or what I should be doing. I want to be the one to take care of you. Do you want that as well?"

"I'm not…good at letting people take care of me." I admit, looking down at my hands. My fingers twist together in anxiety. I want what he's talking about so much it aches, but I know I'm going to end up messing something up. It's what always happens.

The Doctor reaches over and stills my hands. He nudges at the edge of my mind. A question is posed. Did I want to continue things like we did today. 'Yes.' Is my immediate response.

"Then it's settled." The Doctor states out loud. "We continue on as we are and go from there."

I look up at him. He's looking back at me, an encouraging expression on his face. Hesitantly, against my better judgement, I give in. "Okay. Let's try."

The Doctor's encouraging look evens out into a grin. One that I can't help but return, even though my mouth still feels odd doing it.

"You'll get used to that too." The Doctor murmurs.

"It's so weird." I respond. "My hair is too long, my mouth feels too wide and the person staring back at me from the mirror is a stranger."

He hums, tapping a finger against his mouth. "I could always give you a haircut?"

I perk up. "Oh! Would you? It was such a hassle to wash all of it today."

"Of course." The Doctor laughs, standing up and holding out a hand to help me up as well.

So that's what we do. The Doctor finds a chair for me to sit on, wrapping a towel around my neck to catch the clippings. Then he proceeds to give me a haircut.

It wasn't the…best haircut I've ever gotten, but the length was a lot better. And the Doctor looks so pleased with himself that in the end, I wasn't all that unhappy about it.

We end up in the kitchen after that, trying to find food we liked. Which was a whole new ballgame with brand new taste buds. The Doctor was creating a sort of game out of it. I got the feeling that he enjoyed being able to share these things with someone once again. The more time that passed since I woke up though, highlighted the fact that there was a person who was missing. I look up at the Doctor and ask the question that's been hanging in the air. "Where's Rose?"

His smile becomes fixed, frame freezing for a second before he tries to play it off. "She's just spending some time with her mom, s'all."

I frown, pursing my lips. "I may look 10 now, but I'm not actually that young."

The Doctor sighs, setting down the carton of chocolate ice cream he had been sampling. "We had a chat, one that had been a long time coming. I pointed out a couple of things to her that I'd been remiss on addressing in the past." He leans back, looking strangely okay with the whole situation. "So for now, she's spending some time with her mother."

"And you're okay with that?" I ask, somewhat confused by the fact that he even had a talk with her in the first place. I don't ever remember that happening, at all, ever.

"It needed to be done." The Doctor states.

My eyes furrow as I look down into the mac and cheese I just pulled towards me. I take a bite but I don't really taste it. This is something that I don't remember happening at all and even though the Doctor repaired my barriers and I can't tell for sure, I'm fairly certain that it didn't happen in the future.

The Doctor's spoon smacks gently against my hand, breaking me from my thoughts. "There is nothing we can do now, no sense worrying over it." He tells me.

I study him for a second before deciding he's probably right and placing that concern on the backburner. Licking the chocolate reside left behind on my hand, I immediately cringe at the taste, then stare at he Doctor in disbelief. He stares back, just as taken aback as I am.

"Seriously?" He exclaims.

"Give me that!" I demand, making grabby hands towards the container of ice cream in front of him. He shoves it in my direction and I dip my spoon in, bringing it to my mouth. The same thing happens. I blink down at the box, pout forming on my face.

The Doctor starts laughing and I give him my best glare, which only causes him to start laughing harder.


Arashi – IV of VI – Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you are thinking about repercussions to the regeneration. That's something that kind of comes up in this chapter, but will feature more in later chapters.

That's Balderdash – Exactly! I kind of address that in this chapter.

Almadynis Rayne – Don't worry, this chapter is full of schmoopy.

Rosealyn – I was smiling reading this review, thank you!

Yasssssz – Thank you for the review!

vortexFM – Thank you so much for this review! I love it when people get what I'm trying to portray. The kinds of questions you are asking are incredibly important as well. It will be explored in future chapters, I promise!

K Daniels– Thank you for the review! I hope you enjoy this chapter.