The sound woke him up.
The air was cold against his sweat covered skin, the covers were soaked and tangled. There was not a single draft or sound in the room, save for his own erratic breathing. A single bead of sweat rolled from his brow down the side of his face and courses down to his neck.
He stared ahead at the darkness, listening to the gentle hum of the surrounding vessel.
He sighed, feeling the covers restrict the movements of his ribcage. His hearts were pounding, but the Doctor forced his frightened pulse to calm itself. It was over, all of it.
He brought one hand to meet the other, feeling every joint, every fold, every possible detail. His arms clutched his chest, and his hand lightly pressed on each rib, counting them over and over again.
He was fine, he was safe, he was still the Doctor. It was just a dream. A nightmare set within a nightmare, and illusion set in a reality, but an illusion none-the-less.
Slowly, he allowed his fingers to rise up and trace his own features, feeling his face, it was different than it had been that day, but it was his. It was still his, and blissfully Gallifreyan.
He had regenerated twice since that particular day, and both times it had gone as smoothly as he had ever been able to manage. He had come out, in the end, looking like he should and acting like he should. Not a monster, not a weaponised parody of a Time Lord acting out the obsolete orders of a long dead High Command.
Just himself, the Doctor, Theta Sigma.
With one last calming exhalation of cool air, his panicked mind finally regained a semblance of peace.
He was safe now, there was no longer anything in the Universe that he couldn't handle, couldn't survive. The Daleks had been reduced to interstellar dust by the Bad Wolf, and the Time Lords…
They had had to be stopped.
All that mattered at the moment was that he was safe. A light wave of comfort washed over his consciousness, the Doctor basked in the presence of his beloved ship.
She would keep him safe, as she always has.
He was himself, she was herself, and there were safe and together.
And for now that was all that mattered.