Ties Between Freedom and Love

✦Epilogue✦

Epilogue
The End And The New Start

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Emma groaned as she came to, darting her eyes around the TARDIS as she slowly sat up, and looked over at the Doctor, who was standing by the console. "What happened?"

"Don't you remember?"

"Wouldn't be asking if I did," Emma commented, slowly climbing to her feet. "It's like. . . there was this singing."

"That's right," the Doctor grinned. "I sang a song and the Daleks ran away."

"I was at home," Emma frowned in confusion. "No, I wasn't. I was in the TARDIS and. . . there was this light. I'm not sure what happened after that."

The Doctor went silent as he watched the regeneration energy rush up his hand. It glowed and he sighed, how was he going to explain this? He looked back at Emma and gave her a small smile. "Emma Winchester," he chuckled. "I was gonna take you to so many cities. Barcelona, not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona," he clarified. "You'd love it! Fantastic place. They've got dogs with no noses," he laughed and Emma grinned. "Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke and it's still funny!"

"Then why can't we go?" Emma asked.

"Maybe you will," he looked at her. "And maybe I will, but not like this," he smiled, his reply extremely more vague than usual.

"You're not making sense," Emma smiled at him.

"I may never make sense again," the Doctor admitted. "I might have two heads or no head!" he laughed, his words becoming faster. "Imagine me with no head. And don't say that's an improvement!" he warned her.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"But it's a bit dodgy this process," he confessed and her smile slowly faded. "You never know what you're gonna end up with."

"Doctor!"

A light shot out of nowhere, shoving him backward as Emma rushed over to him but then quickly stopped when he yelled, "No! Stay away."

"Doctor, tell me what's going on," she told him and he gritted his teeth as he held his hand like he was in serious pain.

"I absorbed all the energy of the time vortex and no one's meant to do that," he told her, and she remembered everything.

"But-" she looked at him. "You did that because of me? Why would you do that?"

"Because I couldn't lose you." Emma took another small step forward as he shut his eyes in pain. Guilt and sympathy running through her. "Every cell in my body's dying."

"I can try and heal you," she quickly offered. "We can do something."

"I'm doing it right now," he reassured. "Time Lords have this little trick. It's. . . sort of a way of cheating death. Except. . ." he looked up at her. "It means I'm going to change. . . and I'm not going to see you again," he sadly smiled at her. "Not like this, not with this daft old face."

"But you'll be alive?" she asked.

"Yeah, just different."

"Then I don't care what you look like," Emma told him. "If you're alive. I don't care."

He smiled at her, "I know. But before I go. . ."

"Don't say that!"

"Em, before I go," he said, using her nickname and she went quiet. "I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic," he praised, grinning. "And do you know what?"

"What?" Emma asked.

"So was I," he smiled, and she couldn't help but smile back at him.

Then a gold light burned out of him like a raging wildfire, it shot out of every limb until his neck was craned upward toward the ceiling, and he was completely enveloped. Emma stumbled back, her arm catching on the side of the wall as she stared at him.

The light vanished and a man she'd never seen before took her Doctor's place. He was lankier, skinnier, and he had thick, wild brown hair, with dark brown eyes. He gasped as he came to before looking over at Emma and smiling.

"Hello, okay. . ." he stopped his eyes going slightly wide as his tongue ran over his teeth. "New teeth, that's weird," he muttered, and Emma watched him, completely wide-eyed and in disbelief. "So, where was I?" he asked, then looked back at her, smiling again. "That's right, Barcelona!"