Her Doctor

Make The Universe Better

The Time Lord lay her head on her companion's lap, tears welling in her eyes as the young woman ran her fingers through the blonde hair atop The Doctor's scalp.
Yaz held her friend as close as possible, closer than they had ever been before, clutching the alien's shoulders tightly as though at any moment The Doctor might slip through her fingers like a handful of sand. The Doctor's hands clutched onto her chest where a thick pool of blood was slowly forming; staining her hands and clothes red. Yaz kept her eyes fixed on the woman in her arms, refusing to look at the wound slowly draining the life from her friend's body. The air around them in the TARDIS was unbearably hot from the summer heat, only making it harder for the two to breathe through the sobs that racked their chests. Dan knelt beside Yaz, silent with no clue of what to do or how to help. He lay his hand on Yaz's shoulder though she was barely aware of his presence.

"Just hold on a little longer. You can do it, Doctor, come on." Yaz urged, sniffling and scrunching her eyes in an attempt to suck the tears back. Another effort to refuse the fate her friend faced.

The Doctor smiled half-heartedly.

A small, pained laugh exhaled from her mouth; she gazed up into Yaz's brown eyes, the eyes that always seemed to say more than words could. She groaned as another surge of pain grasped her body.

"Yaz... you know what's about to happen, don't you?" She asked carefully as the familiar sensation of regeneration tingled through her body. The younger woman could barely formulate the words for an answer, still trying to ignore all possibilities of losing the woman who gave her the universe. She nodded hesitantly as a tear slowly slid down her cheek, dropping onto her leg beside The Doctor's head. Slowly, hesitantly and carefully Yaz placed her hand against her friend's cheek, finally fulfilling the urge growing in her heart since they had first met. She lowered her lips and gently pressed them against The Doctor's forehead.

"It's happening, I can't keep fighting..." The Time Lord whispered, grimacing again as pain gripped her body. Yaz's face crumpled, shaking her head causing her hair to fall over her shoulder from its already messy updo. "Isn't there something we can do? I mean, can't we stop it or-" Dan began. The doctor shook her head, her eyes fluttering shut from the agony surging through her.

"It can't be done."

"No. No, Doctor don't go... Don't leave me." She begged. This feeling was something she had never felt, it was as if her own heart was failing just as The Doctor's were. It was as if it was literally breaking in half. The Doctor pursed her lips, shaking her head slowly. It was becoming harder and harder to stop the regeneration from occurring, the exhaustion beginning to tug at her limbs.

"Thank you for staying. Thank you for being brave, and for being brilliant." She smiled, forcing herself to ignore the pain for her final moments with Yaz.

Though they both knew that the Doctor would no longer be in pain in only a few short moments, Yaz was painfully aware that her Doctor was dying. Her Doctor would no longer be with her, travelling space and time together. She was afraid of who would be next, though they were technically the same person, she knew from the stories that when The Doctor regenerates, everything changes. Yaz shook her head again, pulling the dying woman closer.

"Please don't go yet... There's so much more I wanted to say." She sobbed, brushing The Doctor's hair from her pale tear-stained face. The Doctor reached a hand around Yaz's shoulders, slowly hoisting herself up with a wince.

"You don't need to say anything. You never had to, Yaz. I've always known." She finished her sentence with a slow, sweet, and long-awaited kiss; Dan looked away, they deserved this moment for themselves. Almost on queue, the golden mist-like effect of regeneration began to shimmer in the air around her. The pair pressed their foreheads together, their eyes interlocked. Yaz finally glanced down at The Doctor's wound, another heartbroken sob escaping her lips.

There was nothing left to do.

There was no help, no saving, just grief.

"I love you, Doctor, I always will." She shuddered, placing another kiss against The Doctor's lips. A surge of regenerative energy caused The Doctor to yell in agony.

"You need to get away from me, this process could hurt you!" She gasped, trying to push herself away. Yaz laughed shortly through her tears.

"I don't care, I don't care about anything without you." She cried. The Doctor shook her head.

"No, The world needs you. I need you. Please." The Doctor's words were quiet, Yaz hadn't heard fear in The Doctor's tone very often, she was always so confident, so brave. This was an alarming change, as was practically everything happening. The brunette shook her head again with shuddering breaths.

"Dan, please..." The Doctor gasped. He squeezed Yaz's shoulder, tugging gently, urging her to go.
She sniffled and lowered her lips to press against The Doctor's, as she did it was as though she could taste the golden energy on the lips of the blonde. The energy began to glow harsher; brighter, bringing an odd chill around them. Dan pulled harder.

"Please- I'm not going." Yaz sobbed, resisting his pull. Dan looked at the Doctor hopelessly.

"You were my universe, Yasmin Kahn." The Doctor said, a smile fighting its way onto her lips despite the pain surging through her body.

"I've loved you since the night we met, and I'll love you forever after." Yaz whispered.

"Go." The Time Lord murmured, grimacing as she did. Yaz shook her head again, holding tighter to her Doctor's deteriorating body. Dan finally conceded, hooking his arms under Yaz's and beginning to hoist her up.

"No!" She screamed. The Doctor did her best to reassure Yaz, something she had been so good at before... The brunette thrashed as Dan tried his hardest to treat her gently; not to hurt her as she resisted his grip. Finally they were stood far enough away to be safe, but Dan's arms remained around Yaz.

She didn't want to watch, but she knew this would be the last time she'd ever set eyes on her doctor, so she didn't look away. Yaz chose to savour every last glimpse of this face. Another surge, this one the greatest of them yet and the Doctor screamed in pain, curling in on herself as she clutched her wound. Yaz was sure this would kill her too, watching the woman she loved in agony greater than her imagination. She felt Dan's hands on her shoulders, gripping tightly. He wasn't often afraid, she thought, he always seemed cool and collected, except now...

The Doctor found her grip on the TARDIS control panel and lifted herself to her feet with great difficulty. She pressed her glowing palms to the centre piece, like a mother cupping her child's face. Yaz allowed her head to fall into Dan's chest, though she didn't look away from the woman before her.

"I never let a moment of this pass me by; I want that known. I loved. I did so much. Met so many people, and even better, I taught them to continue my work." She said this with a look to her companions. "The universe is cruel, and lonely. It's cold and unforgiving and endless. It's soul crushing. But it's also incredible, and there are people out there who will never give up on it. People are the core of it all, and I love them for it. It's been an honour, to see more of the universe, I can't wait to see more." And with that, another burst of the shimmering gold light shone from her hands into blinding beams. She threw her head back, her blonde hair billowing behind her as she screamed in a way no other had heard.

Yaz's eyes burned from the light but still she watched, refusing to miss another second of her Doctor. Around them the TARDIS sparked and shuddered. They were landed, but it still gave horrible groaning sounds like metal grinding and bending. The lights had turned a dark red, barely illuminating the room though the regeneration energy gave enough light for The Doctor's face to be visible. Her back arched, arms thrown out to her sides.

"Make the universe... Better..." She called, almost to nobody, and almost to everybody.

With one last great surge of gold, so bright Yaz was sure it would blind her and Dan had to shut his eyes, The Doctor's body became engulfed by it, swallowing her whole. Suddenly the lights in the TARDIS shut down entirely, leaving no source of light but the ball of pure energy shimmering beside the control panel, and slowly that began to fade.

And with that, The Doctor, her Doctor, was gone, and a stranger stood in her place.